Here you go, another chapter is up and ready. Sorry about that typo on the previous chapter, by the way. I fixed it, so it should make more sense. I'll try to pay more attention to what I'm doing. This is an intermission chapter, so there's really little to no action. There's some Sveta/Matthew action, maybe a bit of Karis/Amiti and slight Isaac/Jenna. This might turn out to be a bit of a random chapter, but I thought to add a bit more character relationship development.
Still deciding on whether Tyrell should be paired with Himi or remain single. His mother will be in this chapter though. The plot may be getting a bit more complicated, but I thought I should spice things up a bit. Oh, and I know Kalay probably doesn't have a jail, but it does in this story.
I probably don't need to say this, but " indicates spoken word, ' represents thoughts and - often indicates change in character point of view, sometimes it even signifies a lapse in time.
Disclaimer: This may be getting a little redundant, so I'll try to get a bit more creative with the disclaimers. Nintendo/Camelot developed the Golden Sun series along with its characters, locations, etc.
Chapter XI: Starlight Pearl
The remainder of the day was spent repairing the damage to Kalay, which was relatively minor. Jenna, Karis and Sveta helped tend to the wounded with their healing Psynergies. Matthew went home with his parents for the night while most of the others returned to the inn or to Kalay Palace. Garet and Tyrell went to their house which was next to the inn. Blados and Chalis were thrown in jail by the Kalay guards to await their sentence after being bound and force-fed ethers to maintain just enough psynergy to live a bit longer.
While going to bed, Jenna addressed Isaac"Matthew has a special someone, already. Our boy's really growing up."
"Matthew is truly maturing every day. But what brought this on, Jenna?" The Venus Adept asked his wife.
The red-head replied"You know how Matthew, Tyrell and Karis often hang around each other? Today was so hectic, you haven't noticed anything between our son and Sveta, have you?"
"As a matter of fact, I have. It is really quite subtle, but Matthew and Queen Sveta seem smitten with each other. Almost reminds me of us way back, thirty years ago. Do you remember our quest and when we ignited the Mars Lighthouse? You almost always seemed to have a crush on me, even before that fateful journey" acknowledged Isaac.
Jenna flushed"You still remember that? A-actually, I think it was after our quest that we admitted our feelings for each other and started dating, wasn't it? It wasn't until after we returned from our quest that I fell in love with you."
"Hm. That must have been it" shrugged Isaac as he laid on their double bed.
Jenna followed suit, laying next to her husband"Time flies so fast. Speaking of which, Matthew's birthday is tomorrow. I'm thinking we should celebrate it, and I'm sure his friends would like to attend."
"That's not a bad idea, it would be nice to have a day of recreation before we get back to finding the Luna Sanctum, if you're feeling up to joining me and Matthew on our quest" acknowledged Isaac.
"Of course I am, silly. I'm not letting you and Matthew out of my sight for a while. And... Truthfully, I know very little about Morgal and its people. Well, let's get some sleep, okay?" Jenna and Isaac shared a tender kiss before falling asleep.
The following day found Matthew waking a bit later than usual before Tyrell entered his room"Hey, Matt. Wake up."
"What's up?" Matthew yawned as he stretched.
The Fire Adept grinned"Isaac wanted you and Sveta to go to the beach and do a bit of a favor for him and your mom. Everyone else is going to be busy, myself included, so sorry I can't go with you two, man."
"What do my mom and dad need?" asked the blond Adept, still feeling a bit exhausted from yesterday's battle.
"Nothing much, just gathering seashells and sand dollars, apparently. Piers and Nowell are waiting at the docks to take you to some island for who-knows-what. Sucks that I can't go, but I have to help my folks with something" said Tyrell.
Matthew nodded in acknowledgement and headed out of the house with Tyrell. Sveta, Amiti and Karis waited for them outside. The green-haired Jupiter Adept greeted them"Good morning."
"Morning, guys" acknowledged Matthew with a smile.
"Since we have the day off, we're going on some little adventures of our own. Karis and I will be doing a little sightseeing, Tyrell said that Isaac specified that you and Sveta will be paired for a little errand of your own, correct?" spoke Amiti.
Matthew nodded"Pretty much. It seems a bit odd, though..."
"What's so strange about that? But truth be told, I've no clue what's going on, either. This is the first time we've gone somewhere alone, just the two of us" said Sveta.
"Piers and Nowell will be there, too. So you won't really be by yourselves, according to Isaac. Good luck" said Karis.
Matthew nodded and addressed Sveta"You ready?"
"Of course" nodded the beastman queen. The two departed to the port.
Karis addressed Tyrell and Amiti"We have until they return to get things ready. Jenna's baking a cake, so that leaves Amiti and I to help Isaac ready the rest of the food."
"What, can't I help?" exclaimed Tyrell, indignantly.
The Wind Adept shook her head"Sorry, Tyrell. But you will invite everyone else to tonight's party."
"All right" grumbled the Fire Adept.
Sveta and Matthew headed towards the docks. Piers met them near his ship"Good morning, you two ready? Isaac said you'd be perfect for this short mission, Matthew. You also have a companion, for which Isaac said he will allow for this trip."
"We are to retrieve certain items, correct?" inquired Sveta.
"Yes. There probably won't be many monsters on the island we just found, so you two should be able to manage without much trouble. Nowell and I will accompany you, either way" explained the Mariner.
"Sounds simple, enough" said Matthew, heading onto the boat with his companions. As they boarded, Matthew addressed Piers"So what island are we going to? Was it discovered, recently?"
"Apparently so, it is said to be the some kind of island where pirates would stash their treasure. After the Golden Sun event, more and more new lands are being discovered since Alchemy's return" shrugged Piers as he steered their ship southwest a bit.
Eventually, they came to what looked like an empty island. Matthew spotted an ancient building with no roof over it at the center of the island"So we need to go there and... Hm. What do you think this place is...?"
"We don't know, but Captain Piers and I will be with you every step of the way" said Nowell.
The four stepped onto the beach, glancing in wonder at the sights. Sveta addressed Piers"If this was some sort of pirate hangout... Why is the place out in the open?"
"Heh, no idea, really. However, we figured that this place has some connection to the ancients. Oh, and look, there are a few seashells and a couple sand dollars here and there" said Piers.
Matthew picked up some of the items while Sveta walked towards the ruined building a bit, cautiously using her psynergy to detect possible monster activity, relaxing when she sensed there were none.
"There's a mural over there" Nowell pointed to the back wall of the ruined building. The group went over to investigate it.
"Could this, too be related to Alchemy?" wondered Piers.
"Who knows? Perhaps the mystery is not for us to unravel" Nowell trailed off.
Matthew looked at the mural, upon which a number of symbols were inscribed"... Those must be more of the glyphs from the ancient language. Huh, the wording is different on there than in the book we borrowed from King Hydros."
"Perhaps we should try to translate this. It might be important" suggested Sveta.
Matthew nodded and took out his Glyph Book, comparing the glyphs to the lettering of the modern alphabet. The glyphs resonated with the magic in the book and revealed the same inscription in the common tongue"Imbued with Light Energy, the pearl's shine can pierce the deepest darkness. Ye who discovered this forsaken place, we hope you will use the power contained within for good and return it to its proper place."
"Intriguing. Sounds like there's a stolen relic being kept somewhere on this island. But what sort of power would a pearl contain?" mussed Nowell.
Matthew looked around until he found a entrance leading deeper into the ruin. Determined to solve the riddle, he and his companions entered the opening. The passage within was dim, with a few parts of the walls crumbling. Soon they came to a chamber with what looked like a small chasm with four yellowish pillars in the corners of the room.
"This one's your department, Matt" said Piers.
Matthew nodded and got to work moving the small pillars with his Move Psynergy to make a bridge over the gap. After that was taken care of, he led his group across to a singular altar with a strange crystal-blue orb with a yellowish glow in its center. The blond Adept thought for a moment"Is this what the glyphs described?"
"Whatever it is, its beautiful" breathed Nowell.
"If what the plaque says about it is for true, then it must have come from someplace else. It may not be relevant to our mission, but we may as well take it until we know for certain where it was first located. I sense power emitting from it" mussed Sveta.
"Could it be the same power as the Light Psynergy?" inquired Matthew.
"We don't know for sure, but that's something else we could look into during our quest for the Luna Sanctum" suggested the beastman queen.
Matthew nodded, then retrieved the jewel"I didn't catch it quite, but I think the plaque described it as a Starlight Pearl... Kind of a strange name for an old relic."
"Hm. Isaac and Kraden would be interested in this new knowledge" remarked Piers.
"Shall we return to Kalay?" Sveta inquired. Matthew nodded, and the group proceeded to file from the chamber, back to the ship.
Back in Kalay, Kais, Amiti and Isaac were making Sweet and Sour Pork along with some potatoes and other veggies to go with it. Karis breathed"It sure has been a long time since I last cooked."
"I can see that, our previous journey kept us on our toes with the Grave Eclipse incident not too long after we secured the Roc Feather" said Amiti as he carefully peeled a potato.
"Well, I bet Matthew's going to be surprised. He probably forgot his own birthday" remarked Karis.
"Probably because he never had time to think about it. But you know him better than I" said Amiti, calmly.
"Heh, that's true" flushed Karis.
"Well, everything should be ready. I'll get the food to the dining hall. Karis, you wait for Matthew at the dock" instructed Isaac.
"Okay" nodded the green-haired Adept.
Piers steered his ship back to the dock while Matthew sat about putting together a necklace with some of the items he found on the beach, he had placed the mysterious pearl in his rucksack. Sveta joined him a moment later after a brief conversation with Nowell"What are you working on?"
Matthew had finished doing the finishing touches before addressing her and showing the necklace"I... I just thought I'd go ahead and make this for you."
"Ah" Sveta received the gift as Matthew handed it to her"I had not anticipated this. Thank you, tis' an honest gift."
"No problem. And about this morning, do you think my dad and mom knew about our... relationship?" asked Matthew.
"It was strictly professional... But I cannot deny that I am fond of you" replied Sveta, trying not to blush.
"Heh, its kind of awkward for the girl to confess, first... Shouldn't it be the other way around?" flushed the blond.
The silvette smiled"Not necessarily. I remember little of my parents, but my father was not one to take initiative in their relationship, so I was told."
The ship docked at Kalay, where Karis stood waiting. Matthew's group went down the ramp to meet her.
"You're back. How did it go?" asked Karis.
"The trip went smoothly" acknowledged Sveta.
Karis addressed Matthew"Everyone else is in the dining room at Kalay Palace. Let's go."
Matthew, though curious, nodded and followed her. Sveta, Piers and Nowell followed them to Kalay Palace to the dining room, where Isaac and the others greeted them"Happy Birthday, Matthew."
"Wha-?" Matthew gasped, seeing a banner above the table and an assortment of food on the table itself.
"Its your special day, Matthew. How was your trip?" inquired Jenna.
Matthew smiled"Pretty smooth, didn't run into any monsters."
"You and kitty dog do anything special?" quipped Tyrell, who received a disapproving look from a woman with brown hair, green eyes and a blue blouse with a skirt sitting next to him. Sveta shrugged off the name-calling, not wanting to make too big a deal out of it, though her eyes betrayed a brief look of annoyance.
"Not particularly. Oh, and hey Miss Patricia" Matthew greeted the green-eyed woman.
The woman, who is Tyrell's mother smiled"Hello, Matthew."
"How's business, Patricia?" asked Piers.
Patricia replied with a smile"Fairly well, thank you. The inn is as busy as always."
Matthew and his group joined everyone at the table. The younger Venus Adept took out the pearl and handed it to Isaac"We found this at some ruins to the southwest, I read a plaque that said something about finding its proper resting place and using it for good."
"I see. I take it you passed, then? I wanted to investigate the ruin myself, but your mother insisted on letting you tackle it since there were no monsters to be found for some reason" acknowledged Isaac.
"So it was another of Isaac's tests" Karis sighed.
"Its okay, I gotta practice sometimes" smiled Matthew.
"Well, let's tuck in. Time flies when you're having fun" grinned Kraden.
The large group sat about eating and talking as they celebrated Matthew's 17th birthday. Sveta addressed Matthew"I wish I had known about your birthday. In Morgal, we don't celebrate birthdays. Perhaps I should introduce this fine tradition to my people."
"Well, with everything that's been happening, I kind of forgot about it" shrugged Matthew around a bite of Sweet and Sour pork.
After dinner, they treated themselves to some vanilla cake with chocolate frosting (I know that probably didn't exist in Weyard, but it does in this chapter) after a hearty song of Happy Birthday. Once they were finished, Matthew found himself opening some gifts from his parents and friends including a book on swordplay from Karis and Florianna and a new shiny shield from Isaac.
"Great party, eh?" grinned Tyrell, who was helping himself to a second helping of Matthew's cake.
"You bet" said Matthew, admiring a pair of shoes he'd gotten from his mother.
Patricia addressed Matthew"I heard from Garet, sorry my son's been trouble while with you."
"Oh, he wasn't that bad. Karis had him wrapped around her finger most of the time" said Matthew, grinning as Tyrell restrained himself from throwing a fireball at his friend at the remark.
Jenna addressed Matthew and Sveta"I... I regret saying I have my doubts about you two. I'm nervous because I've never heard of a human/beastman relationship before."
"It is understandable, my brother has waged war with Sana for so long that it caused tension between our races" acknowledged Sveta.
"But the two of you could bridge the gap if you want. I for one would like to see a peaceful world with no war. But with people like the High Emypror, it seems all but impossible" spoke Isaac.
"Either way, I hope this works out. And... I wish I knew how Mia would react to Amiti and Karis, that boy looks much like someone else we know" acknowledged Jenna.
"Do you perchance know of my family, then? Forgive me for eavesdropping" spoke Amiti.
"No, but Mia might..." Jenna trailed off.
"Karis and I aren't in a particular relationship anyway" explained said Mercury Adept.
Isaac addressed the others"We have a busy day tomorrow, a few amongst us will go to Imil, and then to Prox. Perhaps we can gather more clues at the Mercury and Mars lighthouses. After that, we will work out a plan to enter Tuaparang."
"Tuaparang will likely have more powerful forces, there. I hear that even the High Empyror has his own set of guards, their High Commander is no different I believe. Heh, we'll just have to see what happens" shrugged Felix.
Matthew proceeded to head home with Isaac and Jenna. Sveta headed for the guest room to rest.
Karis remained behind a bit longer with Amiti. The Mercury Adept addressed her"I have to admit, this was the first time I truly had a chance to experience a birthday celebration with anyone. Ayuthay was always kept occupied by Ko'Chao, we were much too busy for such trivialities, save for one year."
"Must have been tough. I had a good time today, myself. Say, where did you learn to cook?" said Karis.
"I learned from having observed you, Matthew and Tyrell cooking before. Though I'm afraid my culinary skills pale in comparison" replied Amiti, humbly.
"Tell me about it, you were really good at it" flushed the green-haired Jupiter Adept.
The pair gazed into each other's eyes for a moment before Ivan interjected"Hey, its getting late you two. Your mother will let me have it if you get sick from lack of sleep, Karis."
"Oh, I'll be there" replied Karis before shifting her attention back to Amiti"Good night."
"Same to you" said Amiti, walking back to the inn.
Again, it took me a long time to get a chapter up. I'll try to get another one up by Wednesday or Saturday at the latest. Again, no guarantees.
Well, this story may be dragging out, but the action will get going again. In case anyone is wondering, the Starlight Pearl will have some importance in the story, but that will be revealed in a few chapters. I know I didn't do very much with Tyrell's mom who I named Patricia for this chapter, but I didn't feel I should give her an important role like Karis' mother's. I'll think upon whether Rief and Nowell's father should have some plot relevance or not in the meantime.
Matthew/Sveta and Karis/Amiti are progressing slowly so far, but there may be some awkward moments between Amiti, Karis, Mia and Ivan once they find out Amiti's connection to Alex, you'll find out in a few chapters. Does anyone support the Piers/Nowell pairing? It seemed like it was hinted at in Dark Dawn, but then I could be wrong.
Please feel free to review.