The cottage was older than most of the other buildings, and part of it was made of stone. A small bed of herbs grew under the window, and Shaun caught a whiff of a delicious medley of meat and berries and herbs. His stomach growled, and Matilda giggled. Shaun felt an embarrassed warmth bloom under his fur.
"Don't worry, Luris's stew is the best!", Matilda declared, "That grumbly tummy of yours is gonna love this!"
She walked up to the door and rapped it with her paw.
"Hey Luris!", Matilda called, "We're here!"
The old bird opened the door and smiled. "Well, come on in then! The stew is just about ready, and I think I remembered the story I wanted to tell you all about!"
Matilda beamed - literally. Her ears perked up slightly with her excitement, and a bolt of blue energy blasted into a pot hanging from Luris's ceiling, slamming it into the wall and causing it to bounce and knock over a worn desk, spilling scrolls and papers all across the floor. Matilda's eyes widened, and she gasped, "Oh no, I'm so sorry!"
Luris chuckled. "Don't worry my dear. You only evolved a couple weeks ago, so of course your new powers are a little excitable. It shouldn't take too long to clean this mess up."
"Here, I can help!", Matilda replied, and her eyes started glowing. Shaun stared as blue energy appeared around the desk, pot, and papers, lifting them up and moving them around back into their proper positions. The pot hooked itself back onto the ceiling, the desk righted itself, and all the papers and scrolls flew into neat stacks on top of it.
Luris grinned. "You've gotten very good at telekinesis! You must have been practicing quite a bit."
"Ever since I first discovered how to use it," Matilda said, smiling proudly. "Clearly I need to work more on controlling those energy blasts though, heh…"
"I am certain you'll figure it out soon enough!", Luris declared cheerfully, "Now come in, let's get you and your friend some dinner."
She led them towards the center of the room. Shaun noticed that the house was rather small, consisting only of two rooms. The room they were in was very clean, containing a desk, a central table, and four large low wooden chairs (each one carved with various Pokemon). Pots, herbs, and smoked meats hung from the ceiling, and there was a large fireplace at one end of the room. There was a stone cauldron atop the fire, the stew bubbling cheerfully inside it.
Matilda and Shaun sat down at one end of the table, and Luris ladled each of them a bowl of stew. There was no silverware, not that Shaun could use it anyways with his paws. Feeling oddly embarrassed to do so (although he didn't know why), he leaned forward and started lapping up the hot stew with his tongue, each delicious mouthful warming his stomach and pleasuring his tastebuds. Shaun felt something moving behind him as he ate, and he realized his tail was wagging happily from the taste of the stew. This only doubled his previous embarrassment, but the other two hardly seemed to notice.
Matilda, meanwhile, was elegantly levitating small mouthfuls of food into her mouth with her psychic powers, a very odd sight. Luris shook her head disapprovingly as she watched this, then grabbed her bowl and tipped it down her beak. She gulped it down fairly quickly, and gave a delighted sigh.
"Ahhh.", the Hawlucha purred, "Always hits the spot. Are you two ready for the story?"
Matilda grinned. "You bet!"
Shaun gave a soft nod.
Luris stood up, walked over to her desk, and grabbed one of the scrolls. "After I got off duty, I started trying to track down mentions of Pokemon who appeared in the wilderness with no memory, and I stumbled across something very interesting."
She held up the scroll, which showed a picture of a strange bipedal silhouette. "The story of humans."
Shaun's ears stood straight up with surprise.
"Now, our knowledge of humans is very sparse. To most Pokemon, they are nothing more than an obscure legend, a mere curiosity with no true root in fact. And yet, it is not something that should be ignored.", Luris explained.
"Some stories say that, in the very beginning, humans and Pokemon lived side-by-side in the same world. But after some sort of catastrophe, the gods split the two races away from each other, each to forget the other's existence forever. Other stories suggest that humans are powerful spirits from the great beyond, only to be summoned into a physical form in times of great need. Another one suggests humans are the souls of fallen Pokemon given a new life by the gods, with new powers of which normal Pokemon could only dream. Many say that humans didn't even exist at all."
"What do you believe, Luris?", Matilda asked.
Luris closed her eyes and smiled. "I believe that the truth is something none of us could understand. But what I want to discuss is less about what they are and more about what they do."
Shaun wasn't sure what she meant by this. Did humans do something special every time they appeared? Was he expected to do something special?
Because he hardly felt special in the slightest - just absolutely clueless in this brand-new world.
Luris continued, "You see, humans only appear in times of great danger - when the world of Pokemon faces a threat they cannot fight on their own. There are several examples across history, although many of them are just whispered stories carried from across the sea by sailors. The stories vary - some say the human falls from the sky, others say they wash up on the beach - but all follow a simple pattern. The human leads a quest to defeat this great evil, charges triumphantly through mystery dungeons and faces threats far worse than the standard feral, before finally facing the evil, and destroying it. Afterwards, most accounts say, the hero vanished mysteriously, returning to the place from whence they came."
"Do you know any of the stories?", asked Matilda, eyes shining with curiosity.
"I know one.", Luris said, "But everyone knows that one."
"I don't.", Shaun commented, "Could you tell me that story?"
Luris gave him a knowing look. "Of course. You're amnesiac, so you wouldn't know it. Very well. It all started five thousand years ago."
Matilda's eyes widened with recognition. "The Fall of the Darkness? But no one ever said there was a human in it!"
"Of course they didn't.", Luris said, "Like I said, many don't believe there was ever a human anywhere. But some of the characters in this tale seem to fit the Pelipper's bill quite well."
She cleared her throat, and continued, "Back then, there were only four kingdoms - the Yellow Kingdom, the Crystal Kingdom, the Emerald Kingdom, and the Platinum Empire. They were very powerful, and ruled by four great tyrants - all of which were cruel and vicious and bloodthirsty, oppressing their people in order to expand their power. They were all fighting over a great mine in the north, filled with a special metal that could focus and resist elemental attacks."
"Adamantium," whispered Matilda.
"The very same.", Luris replied, "And all of these kingdoms wanted it. After all, with this material, ordinary Pokemon would become extremely powerful warriors, capable of turning the tide of any battle. The resultant fighting lasted for years, and many people suffered and died because of it. But all that anger and fear and sorrow didn't go away. It began to coalesce into a solid form, an entity of pure evil born from the sins of thousands. The creature we all know as the Darkness."
Shaun was listening curiously, eyes wide. He wondered what this would all lead to.
"The Darkness swiftly proved its power by overtaking the mountains and driving everyone there to madness, becoming the first of what we now know as ferals. It then started pushing into the civilized kingdoms - or at least, as civilized as primitive warriors can be. For the first and only time ever, the four kings made an alliance, using their combined powers to push back the storm and trap it under a particularly powerful shield spell. But unfortunately, the Darkness was still capable of manipulating things. One by one, it slipped into the minds of each of the kings, driving them to madness and paranoia. They went to war against each other once again, giving the Darkness the power it needed to break free and take over all of Archaia.", Luris continued.
"And this is where the potential humans come into the story. Most people have narrowed down the potential candidates to two or three of the main characters. Starting with arguably the most famous and mysterious one of the bunch. The Ninetales known as Mortria.", Luris said.
"Mortria is very interesting because not much trace of her is left in this legend. We do not know where she came from, what she did, or where she went. Only that she was a powerful sorceress, she gathered the group together, and was possibly directly responsible for the defeat of the Darkness in the end. Many stories say she had a magic invisibility cloak, but no one is sure if it was real or just her amazing powers."
"We suspect Mortria was a human because of her mysterious origins, mystical powers no one else had, and how she disappeared after the threat was defeated. But she's not the only candidate, although she is one of the most likely. The other two were Rokara and Gaela."
Luris took a deep breath before continuing her story. "Rokara the Gigalith was infamous for claiming that she had fallen from the sky, like many stories say humans do, and that she was looking for a way back to her family - possibly suggesting there were more humans waiting for her wherever she came from. She too disappeared after the fall of the Darkness, and some say wise Wella the Whiscash had seen her off when she returned to the stars. Of course, no one knows because Wella carried many secrets that she never spilled all the way to the grave. So once again, just rumor and speculation."
Luris continued further, "Gaela is the least likely of any of them to be a human - the only reasons anyone suspects her is that she was somehow capable of completely resisting the Darkness's corruption, something Rokara and Mortria were also rumored to do, and that she also mysteriously disappeared after the Darkness's fall. Some say she ended up founding this kingdom but there is no evidence that proves as such."
"Whether or not any of them were human, these three were part of a band of seven. Mysterious Mortria, wise Wella, jolly June, generous Gaela, fearsome Fyara, terrifying Torga, and vengeful Elesa. They came from all over, but united for one purpose - to bring an end to the Darkness and its reign of hatred, terror, and sorrow. They embarked on a grand quest to awaken the sleeping gods and unite their power to bring down this great foe."
"The resulting battle cleaved the continent in half and cast the foe into the depths of the earth, never to be seen again. The heroes split up to help rebuild this broken world, and over time the eighteen kingdoms we know today were forged. A few times over the years, a foe has arisen, but some hero always defeated them. Whether or not they were a human or just a brave Pokemon, no one really knows or cares. And over time, the concept of humans has become nothing more than an intriguing legend."
Luris then unfurled more of the scroll, showing a strange chart covered with stars and dates and numbers. "However, many still seek to find them. And this chart has a very interesting amount of info on it. Painted by some Smeargle scholar on the wall of his abode in the Crystal Kingdom due to either a fit of madness or genius - no one knows which - this chart is said to be the only thing that can predict the coming of humans. And while many parts of it have been misread or been completely wrong, there are some interesting coincidences. And one of those happened just last night."
Shaun and Matilda both looked astonished.
"The chart predicted that, in roughly this set of three days, seven stars would fall from the sky - seven humans, landing all across Archaia. One near here, in fact." Luris gave Shaun an interested look. "How odd that right after seven stars fell, a Pokemon with no memory stumbled right into our village."
Shaun felt very dizzy. Matilda's jaw dropped.
"Wait, is Shaun a human!?", she cried, "That's…that's…that's incredible!" She looked towards him, eyes sparkling. "Do you know what that means!?"
"Uhh…", Shaun replied brilliantly.
"It means…", Luris stated, "That both he and the entire world are in grave danger. The arrival of one human is alarming enough. Seven…that is very terrifying indeed."
Shaun felt dizzy, his mind racing with anxiety. He was not only supposed to fight some great enemy, this enemy was far stronger than most and could very well be the end of him! He noticed his breathing was rapid, and a strange purple sweat was oozing out of his fur. Which didn't escape Matilda's notice.
Matilda's ears drooped, and she said, "Sorry, I got too excited there. You must be completely freaking out right now, and all I could think about was…you know what, it doesn't matter." She looked towards Luris. "What do we need to do?"
Luris answered, "We will need to get him somewhere safer, where he can find the others and unite them before whatever enemy is coming appears. Do you still keep in touch with your sister?"
"Well, duh. She's the only reason I know all the awesome stuff at the Guild Academy!", Matilda replied, her usual enthusiasm returning.
"You will need to send a message to her so that she can arrange the Academy for his arrival. He must travel to the Diamond Kingdom, for there is no better place for him to prepare for what is coming and stand a fighting chance.", Luris said.
Matilda seemed disheartened for a moment again, but then perked up. "What if I escorted him there!? This could be my big chance!"
Luris replied, "That is not my choice to make. Your grandfather has that right, and he most likely will want you to stay here in the village and help him with the berry farms. I will accompany Shaun to the Diamond Kingdom."
"Aw, come on! It isn't fair!", Matilda complained, "I'm an adult now! Everyone says 'stay in the village', but I want to go out there and save the world and stuff!" She seemed to think of something. "But also, you're like the oldest person here. Do you really think you could last such a taxing journey all the way to the Diamond Kingdom?"
"There's no other choice.", Luris said softly, "I am the strongest fighter we have, and I know more about humans than anyone. I am sorry."
Matilda sighed sadly and looked down at the floor. Shaun gave her a pitiful look.
"Shaun, you and I must get ready.", Luris said, "If you could help-"
She was interrupted by the sounds of many running armored feet, and there was a loud impatient knocking at their door, one that echoed across the village.
"VILLAGERS, COME OUT OF YOUR HUTS! THE RUBY EMPIRE COMMANDS IT!"
Matilda sat up straight with alarm, her fur bristling. She looked genuinely terrified, and Shaun felt paralyzed by fear as well. His new sweating problem intensified, and the room spun and darkened at the edges. His stomach, recently filled and satisfied, felt ready to eject that all back out.
"Oh no…", whispered Luris. (-o-)