Chapter 1: The secret of Tolbi's ruler
Two months had passed since Kraden settled down in Vale.
Lune noted a few changes during the course of those months. He had spent time playing with the neighbours' kids most days, as usual, and four of them had started showing early signs of being able to wield psynergy - it was thanks to them that he'd been able to train his recently newfound power to use psynergy.
The passing of time in Vale didn't signify much more to him, but he was glad to be like this, simply spending time with friends.
However, one thing made the last two months especially significant to him.
The fact that someone from outside, Kraden, had arrived in Vale a couple months ago and become a resident wasn't something that happened every day. In fact, it had never happened as far as he could remember. Now, even though the most skeptical didn't quite trust the scholar yet, most of the Valeans had opened up to him over the course of those months.
Lune reflected on all those things as he came out of his house and started making his way to Vale's entrance, down in the lower plaza.
He also found himself thinking about those times when he visited Kraden just to talk, or maybe learn more about where he came from.
"Where do I come from?" Kraden repeated the question he had been asked. He closed the book he had been reading after putting a bookmark on it, and put it back on one of the shelves in his house.
"Yeah." Lune nodded, doing the same with another book he was reading before his current line of thought prompted him to ask the scholar. "What was it, again? 'I, like many other scholars under the service of my lord, am dedicated to studying Alchemy'. That's what you told me a few days ago, remember?" The Adept grinned as he mimicked Kraden. "If you're under the service of someone, you must've lived somewhere else before, right?"
Kraden chuckled at Lune's impersonation. "Hoho, I guess I let that one slip. Quite sharp, Lune." After a pause, he continued. "I come from a big city far to the southwest of Vale, across the Karagol Sea, named Tolbi."
"Tolbi?" Having lived in Vale since as far back as he could recall, Lune didn't know anything about other places aside from his hometown.
"It is regarded as one of the largest and most prosperous towns in all of Weyard." Kraden continued. "That's where my lord is. He's also the ruler of Tolbi."
"Whoa, he's the ruler of the city?" The Adept's eyes widened slightly. "That would mean he has the same status as Vale's elder, right?"
The scholar nodded. "Yes, I believe they have similar roles in their respective towns. But..."
"...But what?" Lune asked, tilting his head.
Kraden sighed in response. "Nothing, it's just that my lord has some peculiar ways of performing his duty as a ruler, according to rumors around Tolbi."
"What... do you mean?" The Adept asked again slowly.
"Let's just say some of his actions make people in Tolbi see him as a bit of a tyrant sometimes." Kraden explained. "Let me provide you with an example..." He made a short pause, then resumed his speech. "I was born in a poor village somewhere in Angara, but the ruler of Tolbi, Lord Babi, took me away from my parents when I was barely four years old."
Lune stood up in shock. "What!? That's just not right!"
The scholar just smiled slightly, raising his hands in a soothing manner, which prompted Lune to sit back down. "Of course, he did it for a reason. You see, even when I was just four, he said I proved to have a great degree of intellect. That's why he took me under his care. In Babi's palace, I was educated to become a scholar."
"But..." Lune began. "What about your family?"
Kraden shrugged at the question. "I don't remember anything about them. I guess that's why I never gave it much thought. In any case..." He wore another smile. "I'm glad to be a scholar. I wouldn't trade the study of Alchemy for anything else."
"However..." Lune crossed his arms in thought. "I guess such actions didn't give Tolbians a good opinion on him. Is that right?"
"Indeed." Kraden nodded. "Most of the townsfolk see his actions as amoral. I think only a few of my scholars know his true motives."
"Which would be...?" The Adept raised an eyebrow.
"Hoho, now that is something that will have to wait for another time." Kraden grinned. "We should be going to Kyle's place now. I told him we wouldn't be late."
"Oh, I almost forgot about that." Lune chuckled nervously, then accompanied Kraden out of his cottage and on to Kyle's house.
"Ah, there you are!" A familiar voice reached Lune's ears as he reached the lower plaza.
"Come on, everyone's waiting!" A younger voice called for him. Looking up ahead, Lune saw many of the villagers reunited in front of Vale's entrance. One of the kids, the same that called for him, was waving his hand energetically at him. His spiky red hair alone was almost more noticeable than his hand waving, Lune thought with a smile.
A girl with a darker shade of red hair approached the boy calling for Lune and gave him a smack on the back of his head. "You're too loud, Garet." She said, crossing her arms afterwards.
"Ow!" The boy, Garet, reached for the back of his head after the smack. "You didn't have to hit me for that, Jenna..." The only response from the girl was a playful giggle. Her hair, nicely tied into a ponytail, swayed to a side as Jenna turned her head towards Lune, who was exchanging a few words with some of the townsfolk during her short exchange with Garet. She looked between Lune and another boy with dark brown hair, her brother, looking at the older Adept from a small distance. She sighed exasperatedly and ran over to take her brother's hand, pulling him towards Lune. "Come on, Felix, talk to him already if you have something to say!"
"W-Wait, Jenna...!" Her brother, Felix, weakly protested as she took him to Lune and tugged on his shirt.
"Huh?" Lune looked behind him to see both Jenna and Felix. "Hey there, Felix, Jenna! What's up?" He asked the siblings.
"My brother wants to talk to you!" Jenna said, smiling as she prompted the boy to step forward with a small push. Lune crouched to meet his eyes.
"Yes?" Lune asked, tilting his head.
Felix avoided eye contact for a moment, instead of replying right away. "Um..." He eventually looked at Lune through a few strands of his slightly long hair. "...Please, do come back safely."
The Adept smiled and patted the boy's head. "I'll be back before you know it, I promise."
The gesture and his words managed to bring a smile, albeit not devoid of uncertainty, to Felix's face. "...Thanks, Lune." The youngster gave him a quick hug, then ran off to where Jenna was; the girl had separated from the two in the blink of an eye and was again discussing something with Garet.
Just as Felix left, though, Lune noticed another boy running up to him. The Adept smiled and waved at the boy as he approached, recognizing him as Kyle's son. The boy had his father's blue eyes and his mother's blond hair, Lune thought as the boy stopped in front of him.
The young one took a moment to catch his breath before talking. "...Ah... I thought I wouldn't... be here in time... to see you off..." He muttered inbetween pants, gasping for air.
"Did you come running all the way from your house, Isaac?" Lune asked.
The boy, Isaac, nodded. "I just... had to go get something before you left. Dad said it was fine to give you this!" He presented Lune with a small set of green beads joined together in a tiny bracelet.
The Adept's eyes widened in realization as he took the small bracelet. "These are...!" He trailed off as touching the beads caused something in his mind to simply click into place, immediately acquiring the knowledge to use a special type of psynergy he couldn't before. "These are Catch Beads, right?"
"Mhmm!" Isaac nodded with a smile.
"Is your dad really okay with me taking these...?" Lune asked uncertainly. He knew psynergy-infused items were not exactly common, so getting something that precious as a farewell gift was maybe a little much, he thought.
"Really, it's fine!" Isaac assured him. "Dad said Mom has another set they can share together!"
Lune couldn't help but smile at the thought of Kyle likely letting Isaac give him the beads to give the boy something special to gift him. "Thank you so much for the gift, Isaac. I'll treasure it well." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kraden looking at him. "Oh right... I need to talk with Kraden real quick." He looked to Isaac and pointed in the direction Felix had gone to earlier. "Isaac? I think Felix could use your help over there. A certain pair of redheads might be causing trouble."
"Garet and Jenna again, huh?" Isaac grinned. Felix and him were used to dealing with their antics. "I better go there soon, then."
Isaac started walking towards Felix's group, but he suddenly stopped, looking down in thought for a little while. When he turned back to look at the Adept, his expression had a hint of sadness.
"Isaac? What's the ma-?" Lune was cut off when the boy went up to him and threw his arms around his neck. He stayed like that for a while.
"...We will miss you." Isaac finally whispered. "Playing with the others won't be the same without you."
Lune's initial surprise melted into a warm smile as he returned the hug. Felix, Jenna, Garet, Isaac... Each had their own way of expressing it, but all of them would miss him once he was gone. And maybe it was because of how much he loved to play with Vale's children, to spend time with them, to laugh with them... but Lune knew he would miss the foursome. A lot.
"I won't be gone forever." Lune said softly. "I know you guys will miss me, but you must be strong until I come back." He pulled back from the hug just enough to look at Isaac in the eyes, giving his shoulders a gentle, reassuring squeeze. "Just be strong. Be strong for yourself and strong for your friends, and I'll be back sooner than you think. Can I ask you to do that?"
Isaac nodded, smiling brightly at the idea of seeing the Adept again. "Yeah, I'll be strong!"
Lune patted his shoulders in response, now grinning at the enthusiastic boy. "Good, now go use that inner strength to help out Felix. He can't deal with his sister and Garet on his own."
"Alright!" With that, Isaac let go of Lune and ran off, cheerfully waving back at him. "Thank you, Lune!"
"You're welcome!" He waved back, standing up again. As he looked at Isaac's gift, he pulled the backpack from his back and opened it, safely storing it inside for the moment before deciding to take inventory of what he'd be bringing for the trip.
'Let's see... a tent, a few spare clothes, some food supplies and a bag of coins to buy anything I might need on the way, Kraden's scrolls, and... a map.' He mentally listed each of the items and put them back inside, except for the map. 'Now I just have to speak with Kraden.'
Said scholar was away from the main group at the entrance, looking at the small lake in the center of the plaza, or more specifically, at the purple colored rock standing out in the center - a rock known in Vale as the Psynergy Stone. Kraden only turned away from it to look at Lune again when he approached him.
"Found it more interesting than usual?" Lune asked with a grin. Kraden was still forbidden from entering Sol Sanctum, but no one seemed to raise objections against him studying the Psynergy Stone. This rock was well known in Vale for being capable of restoring an Adept's energy when they had used too much psynergy by simply having the Adept touch its surface. In fact, Lune himself had made use of it quite a few times when practicing his abilities.
Kraden shook his head at the question. "I was just thinking about what we know and what we've still yet to discover about Alchemy." He glanced at the purple rock, then looked up at the imposing mountain that Vale had been built at the foot of. "You've heard before about how the Psynergy Stone is said to have come from inside Mt. Aleph when it was active, right?"
"Yeah." Lune nodded. Mt. Aleph had been inactive for decades, but according to some stories, the volcano spewed out a boulder that crashed on the ground and made a small crater, which was now the same lake in front of the two. The boulder's exterior eventually fell off due to wind erosion, and the only thing standing was its core: the Psynergy Stone. Mt. Aleph, some said, ceased its activity after that.
"If the stories behind the Psynergy Stone's origin are true..." Kraden continued, smiling hopefully. "...then I can safely assume that visiting Sol Sanctum shall prove very fruitful for my studies."
"And here I thought you'd already know what to expect from Sol Sanctum since the moment you settled down here." Lune chuckled, as did the scholar shortly after.
"I only know what I've confirmed over all these years of being a scholar. But you're not here to hear me ramble again, are you?" Kraden asked rhetorically. "Do you have everything ready for the trip?"
"I do." The Adept said, pointing at his backpack, secured on his shoulders once more. He then proceeded to open the map. "I wanted to confirm the route once more."
"Ah, of course." Kraden nodded. Lune handed over the map and the scholar started looking for Vale, pointing it out once he found it. "Here's Vale. The only road from here goes south, then east." His finger followed the route until he reached a blue line that seemed to block the path. "There's a river here, and at this point there would be a bridge to cross over. After that, you will find that the road splits in two directions, north and south." His finger moved down, following the road until he reached a black dot on the map, signaling a village. "Going south, you will find Vault. There's an inn where you can stay for the night." His finger started moving to the right. "Going east, you should cross over another river and keep following the same road." After passing by the river, his finger kept following the route, which made a 'C' shape and then continued south. "After crossing a third bridge, you would reach Kalay after a few days if you follow the same direction." He stopped again at another black dot, though this one looked bigger than Vault's. "Of course, there's another inn there where travellers can stay." He then pointed to a rather large mass of water not far from Kalay. "Lastly, there's the Karagol Sea." He pointed to the shore closest to Kalay. "You can buy a ticket at the Kalay docks for a boat trip across the sea..." He pointed to the opposite shore, where a third black dot was. "...and reach Tolbi. The ship would take about four days to reach it." He gave back the map to the Adept.
"Hmm..." Lune revised the route one last time before nodding. "Alright, so the first village would be Vault, then Kalay, and finally Tolbi. It shouldn't be hard." He rolled up the map and put it in his backpack as the two walked towards the group in Vale's entrance.
"If this old man could do that trip from Tolbi, surely a young lad like you can do it as well." Kraden commented, chuckling.
Soon, Lune had said his goodbyes to all the villagers and was ready to depart. He stood by the now open entrance to Vale while everyone else was grouped between him and the Psynergy Stone's lake. The elder stepped ahead to say a few words.
"There's not much else to be said, but do remember to keep your psynergy in check." He reminded Lune.
"I know, I know." Lune replied. "People from outside must not know about us Adepts because they can't use psynergy, right?"
The elder nodded with a smile. "Exactly, Lune. I'm glad you remember." He stepped back to the group of Valeans. "We all hope you have a safe trip." Various nods and sounds of approval came from the villagers.
The Adept smiled. "Alright, I should be going now." He turned and headed outside Vale as he waved goodbye. "Farewell!"
Just as he was about to focus on the long road ahead of him, Garet came out of the crowd, stopping right at the entrance while waving at him.
"Remember to bring us something from that place you're visiting!"
Jenna soon joined Garet in bidding farewell to Lune.
"Don't listen to him, he just wants you to bring him food~!" She giggles as Garet pouts.
Next to her came her brother, Felix.
"Come back soon so we can play together again!"
Lastly, Isaac made his way to Garet's side.
"Please, don't do anything reckless!"
Lune smiled warmly at the four as he walked away. "Don't worry, I will come back! I promise!"
Soon, a hill blocked his view of Vale, so he instead focused on the route ahead of him. As he walked, he started thinking about the reason why he left Vale. The main reason was because Kraden had asked him to do something in Tolbi. But most of all, he was curious...
"W-What!?" Lune shouted in shock. "Your lord has lived that much!?"
"Indeed." Kraden nodded. "He has lived for about 150 years."
"But..." Lune replied, still trying to wrap his mind around the idea. "Is that even possible?"
Kraden nodded again. "He has aged very slowly since he took me under his wing. That is because of a mystic draught he got from a faraway land called Lemuria."
"Lemuria?" Lune asked.
"Yes. It is said to be one of the ancient civilizations from the times when Alchemy flowed freely around the world." Kraden explained. "Nowadays, those civilizations have disappeared, but it seems that Lemuria still exists somewhere in the Great Eastern Sea."
According to the maps Lune had seen, the Great Eastern Sea was actually a huge ocean that lied east of the Angara continent, as well as other continents south from Angara, like Gondowan or Indra. It seemed to be the largest body of water in all of Weyard. Lune recalled having seen a gray colored area in the center of the Great Eastern Sea. It represented an area that was always covered in fog, an unexplored portion of the sea.
"Could Lemuria be in that part of the Eastern Sea...?" Lune trailed off, but Kraden caught on quickly.
"Ah, you must mean the Sea of Time, that place in the middle of the ocean." The scholar said.
"Sea of Time? Is that what it's called?" The Adept asked.
"That's correct. Lord Babi said that he found Lemuria inside that sea." Kraden said.
"Wow..." Lune muttered. "And he has lived that long thanks to a draught he got from there?"
"Indeed." Kraden nodded. "Lemurians are said to age very slowly thanks to the water from that city, which contains part of the essence of Alchemy."
"So, this mystic draught he brought from Lemuria had that same essence?" Lune asked.
"Precisely. However, that draught he brought with him from Lemuria is running out." Kraden said.
"Oh..." Lune muttered. "But, can't he return to Lemuria and get more of that draught?"
The scholar shook his head. "It's not that easy, Lune. You probably don't know about it, but the Sea of Time is known for being extremely dangerous to navigate through. The whole area is very foggy, and the rapid currents form many whirlpools that could crush most ships against the rock formations spread around it."
"That... does sound like a really dangerous place, yeah." Lune chuckled nervously. Then, he came to a realization. "But, if the Sea of Time is so dangerous... how could Babi find Lemuria and come back to tell the tale?"
"That is a very good question, my friend. Unfortunately, I don't know how he accessed Lemuria, but I do know how he was able to leave." Kraden said. "He used a Lemurian ship to exit the Sea of Time."
Lune expected to hear something more, but when he didn't, he asked the scholar. "Is there something special about Lemurian ships?"
"Exactly." Kraden nodded. "You see, ancient civilizations like Lemuria were known for possessing advanced technology based on Alchemy. My lord could confirm this when he saw their ships. They are resilient enough to sail through the Sea of Time without risk of suffering damage."
"Wow, that's really impressive!" The Adept exclaimed, wondering what the ships would look like. But, before letting his mind wander off, he formulated another question to get back on topic. "But, if Babi has the means to go back, why didn't he return to Lemuria?"
"Well..." Kraden began. "As you may have guessed, living 150 years wouldn't have a good effect on Babi's body if his draught ran out, so he's not physically capable of sailing through the Sea of Time himself. However, that's far from being the only issue at hand." The scholar closed his eyes. "Since the Lemurian ships possess a technology based on Alchemy, they can only be used by someone with the means to manipulate the forces of Alchemy."
"Ah..." Lune muttered. He could see where this was going. "You mean...?"
Kraden nodded, opening his eyes again. "Yes, an Adept. Lord Babi had the chance to learn a bit about Psynergy during his stay in Lemuria; enough for him to be able to use a Lemurian ship. But alas, there is no one in Tolbi who can use psynergy, so he can't send anyone to find Lemuria in his place."
"Oh..." Lune frowned sadly. "I wish I could help your lord somehow..."
The scholar shook his head, smiling. "Don't worry, it's alright. He's very resourceful, so I'm sure he will come up with something eventually." After a pause, Kraden's face brightened up. "Though, there is something that could help my lord..."
"What? What is it?" The Adept instantly jumped up.
Kraden went to the table where he kept most of his scrolls and some books, then took a couple of scrolls. He showed them to Lune. "I wrote a summary of what I advanced so far in my studies here in Vale. My lord will have to see these, but I can't leave Vale right now while I wait for the elders to consider my request to study Sol Sanctum, so..."
"Hmm..." After being handed the scrolls, Lune opened one of them. But the various formulas and complex descriptions depicted there almost made him dizzy, so he rolled it up again. "So, do you want me to give them to him in your place?"
"I'm sorry for asking you this, but I don't think I can ask anyone else..." Kraden bowed apologetically. "I was pondering if I could ask Kyle about it, but..."
"I will go." The Adept nodded.
"...Oh?" Kraden blinked, slightly taken aback by the quick response. "Really?"
"Yep. Kyle's been a little busy with his family lately, and I'm a bit curious about this Lord Babi, so I'd like to go visit Tolbi." Lune said confidently.
Kraden let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, I'm sure my lord will be very grateful for this as well."
"I'm glad to help a friend." Lune just grins at the scholar. Still carrying Kraden's scrolls, he went towards the door. "I'll go tell the elder to make sure it's alright. If everything goes fine, I will be leaving the day after tomorrow."
"But wait, do you know which route leads to Tolbi?" Kraden hastily asked.
"No, but that's why I'm leaving in two days, instead of tomorrow. I'm counting on you to tell me how to reach Tolbi first thing in the morning." With that, Lune opened the door and exited Kraden's cottage. "See you tomorrow!"
Kraden could only watch from his house's entrance as Lune dashed away to the central plaza of Vale. "Ah, youth... how I wish I had their energy." He mutters to himself, chuckling softly.
After glancing at the sky, he saw a familiar reddish color in it, indicating that the sun was setting. "Oh, and it's already evening. I should prepare for tomorrow." Kraden went back inside the cottage, closing the door behind him.
Lune awakened in a small room. That had been a dream about one of his last conversations with Kraden before all this trip had begun, he thought as his eyes scouted his surroundings.
The room, small as it was, didn't have much space for extra furniture, so it only housed the essentials: a night table and the bed he had been sleeping on. The walls, ceiling and floor were all made of the same wooden material. The wood planks seemed to come from the same tree variety as well, which gave out a certain sense of harmony for its uniform brown color; not too bright to be a strain in the eyes, and not too dull to look boring. His belongings, save for the Catch Beads which he'd decided to wear on his left wrist regularly, were all neatly stored in his backpack, which was leaning against the wall nearest to the night table.
He recognized the room as the same he had been staying in for the past three days on a ship sailing through the Karagol Sea towards Tolbi. He soon got out of his dark blue pajamas and put on his usual clothes after fetching them from his backpack with a practiced use of his new Catch psynergy, creating a psynergetic hand that deftly grabbed his clothes from inside the backpack from a distance, then brought them over to him; he then left his room and went up on deck. The ship itself was fairly big, with an impressive mast at the center holding the sail. Since the wind had been favorable during all of yesterday and part of the day before so far, the rowers at the lower decks below the passengers' rooms, that usually had the task of making the ship sail towards its destiny, had been given a well-deserved rest and were simply talking among themselves or with the few passengers that were aboard.
For a ship that big, it was odd for Lune to see it with so few passengers, so he had eventually asked one of the sailors on the second day. It seemed there was a specific day of the year when a popular competition was held at Tolbi, named Colosso. On the days prior to the competition, there were always a lot of people from all over Angara who took the sea route from Kalay to Tolbi, and since the ship he was on right now was the only one that sailed through the Karagol Sea, it had been made to accommodate the needs of carrying many passengers at once.
But, looking at the amount of passengers that were aboard the ship beside himself, Lune concluded, the Colosso event was still far from taking place, or maybe it had already happened that year.
"Land ho!" A sudden voice energetically called out from atop the main mast, catching everyone's attention. Looking up, Lune saw a sailor on the mast's top, looking at the crew and the passengers down on the deck with a grin, then turning his attention back on the sea ahead of the ship.
Curious, the Adept walked up to the ship's bow and scanned the horizon. He could indeed see land ahead of them, as well as what seemed like a port.
"Ah, those must be the Tolbi docks." He muttered to himself. Other passengers and some sailors had gathered on the bow as well. Kraden had told him that it would take about four days for the ship to reach its destination, but it only had taken less than three days. 'I guess having the wind on our side really helped.' He thought with a smile.
Less than half an hour later, he was already retrieving his belongings from his room and disembarking the ship, politely bidding farewell to some of the sailors as he stepped out.
Tolbi and Kalay's docks weren't all that different. Both had a rather simple layout; they consisted of a building, where people could purchase their tickets, and a single pier constructed at the beginning of a small cliff, which extended about 20 metres. The ship had stopped right at the end of it.
As Lune left the pier and stepped on solid ground, he pulled out his map and checked the route once more.
The Tolbi docks were at the western shore of the Karagol Sea, but the city itself was separated from the docks by a one-hour trip through a road that connected both. Once again, it was pretty similar to Kalay.
As he put away the map and walked past the nearby building's front, something - or rather, someone - caught his attention as he turned around the corner.
He noticed a woman walking right next to the building's wall, away from where he was standing. She was carrying a pink parasol, had long, blonde hair and wore a pink and purple dress. Her attire struck Lune as odd, as he hadn't seen anyone else around the place with such clothes.
Soon, she reached the opposite corner and turned to head towards the back of the building, but stopped for a few seconds, which gave Lune enough time to get a better look. She was wearing a white mob cap, and her deep purple eyes seemed to look at him for a second before closing them as she smiled at him. That was when she resumed her walking towards the back of the building.
Feeling mildly curious, Lune followed her, but when he turned around the corner, he found that the woman was nowhere to be seen.
'I wonder who that could be...?' He pondered as he started walking towards the road that leads to Tolbi.
Little did he know that the woman was now observing him from the roof of the building, her gaze betraying a hint of curiosity.
To be continued...