Disclaimer:
I don't own Golden Sun or any of the characters. As we all know, Camelot has those rights exclusively so without further ado, here we go.
Foreword:
Simple truths that at one time seemed to compose the very essence of our conceptions have the most peculiar way of turning out to be simply myth...
Chapter I
- Inescapable -
"The others urged Felix to cast the Mars Star into the heart of the lighthouse to once and for all break the seal holding the ancient power of alchemy. Once unleashed, the elemental dominion of earth, fire, water, and wind that had laid long dormant in all of Weyard, would awaken and bring about an age of great power enshrouded in a future of uncertainty."
"You know nothing of the consequences in which you are burdening yourselves with," spoke the Wise One in a tone of deadly conviction.
"All we know is that Gaia Falls is eroding and without the power of alchemy to nourish the world, Weyard will end up shriveling into nothing!" Isaac pleaded as the rest of the group nodded their heads in agreement. Picard the Lemurian gallantly approached the Wise One and began to speak.
"My name is Picard and I come from..."
"I know who you are and where you come from," interrupted the Wise One.
"Then you must also know," Picard stated ignoring the Wise One's bluntness," that Lemuria was once a great city of culture and vitality. There are even those still living in Lemuria who remember when there were several cities much like it scattered all across Weyard during times now long forgotten. Each one of those cities met a similar fate my home is experiencing right now. Wise One, the people of Lemuria have lost all their desire to live and prosper and have not even undertaken a great project since the construction of King Hydros's palace! The elements of fire, wind, earth, and water dwell in all that lives in Weyard and if you keep that life force sealed for too much longer, the people and all living things that coexist with the elements will die along with it. We have fought to long to let you stop us now."
"If the seal is broken, mankind will destroy itself much sooner then Gaia Falls ever could," the Wise One said dismally.
"No!" Kraden shouted. "We could combine our strengths to insure that mankind does not use the power of alchemy for evil!"
"It is inevitable. In time one man will seek to rule over all. It is human nature, inescapable. And it shall come sooner than any of you think."
"Why do you say that?" Kraden asked.
"Even as we speak", the Wise One inquired, "a young water adept is climbing Mt. Aleph's peak. His name is...Alex. Surely you know him."
"Alex? What would he be doing up there?" I asked.
"He understands far more than you do. He knows that once the four beacons are lit, their light will gather at the peak of Mt. Aleph and give birth to the golden sun."
"The golden sun?" Ivan asked suddenly feeling an unexplainable horror rise within his chest. "Isn't that the power of alchemy in its purest form?"
"Yes," answered the Wise One in a sullen voice. "The same golden sun which is formed when the Stone of the Sages takes shape. This has been Alex's one desire from the start."
"We've been duped!" Garet cried in fury. "Alex has been using us this entire time!"
Mia seemed to be on the verge of tears. "I can't believe some one of my own tribe would engage in such a plot as this! We took an oath together swearing to prevent alchemy from being unleashed at all costs. But now he has betrayed his word, his tribe...and me as well." Her voice broke as she finished and her tears were only suppressed by the tension of the situation at hand.
"That dirty, lying, no-good blue haired jerk!" Garet cursed to himself. Picard shot him a double take while Garet simply shrugged
"None of this matters right now," Isaac said. "We are going to do what Alex wants only because the beacon has to be lit. The fate of Weyard depends on it."
"Fools!" the Wise One thundered. "You will bring about imminent destruction to all that lives!"
"We will fight to insure mankind's survival as Master Kraden has already informed you," Piers said coolly.
"If you are so deeply concerned with the misuse of alchemy," Felix questioned leveling his voice to a soft but serious tone, "why don't you deal with Alex yourself? It is he who seems to be the biggest threat right now, not us."
"I can not interfere with the actions of mankind," The Wise One simply stated.
"If that's the case," I remarked, "why don't you just let us pass so we can finish what we came here to do!"
"She has a point," Ivan addressed the guardian.
"I can not interfere with the actions of mankind," the Wise One repeated. "But what if some miracle were to occur that prevented you from igniting the beacon?"
"A miracle?" Sheba said nervously. "What kind of miracle?"
"The sky almost immediately turned black accompanied by several storm clouds forming overhead. The lightning and thunder came almost instantly followed by rain as cold as death itself. "
"A miracle that would most definitely change your mind, one way, or another!"
"The Wise One disappeared into thin air closely followed by a thunderous cry from within the clouds. A three-headed dragon then appeared and soared down to the Mars Lighthouse to attack us. As we prepared for battle, we all heard a slight murmur from the scholar Kraden trying to echo something above the monstrous cries of the dragon. We made out a 'Wait', but it was too late for we had to fight the dragon now; we had to fight for our future and most importantly we had to fight for Weyard.
"It took all eight of us to slay each individual head of the dragon, only becoming more powerful as it lost more heads. Mia and I were busy healing the party, while Felix, Isaac, Picard and Garet bravely labored in engaging the dragon. Sheba and Ivan used their psynergy from a distance to barrage the enemy with distracting blows so that the men could make their attacks while the dragon's guard was down. After about an hour or so, we finally slew all three heads and to our surprise, each head became to take the form......the form of......a dead dragon's head. I guess it wasn't that much of a surprise after all."
Jenna suddenly remembered the scourge of pain she had felt when she discovered the true forms of the heads. The children didn't need to know that part of the story. They would be content that their father and Uncle Felix had slain a powerful dragon.
"Then what happened?" asked Adrian and Michael together within their climax of excitement.
"Well," Jenna contemplated for a second, "your Uncle Felix cast the Mars Star into the lighthouse and let loose alchemy upon the world...and...everyone has been trying their best to live happily ever after since."
The children's doors slid opened and Isaac entered drenched in rainwater. Jenna gasped and began to lecture him about the dangers of being out in the rain too long, periodically turning her head to the children for they had been guilty of their father's blunder on countless occasions.
"Father! You're home!" Michael greeted jubilantly. "Tell us the story of how you became the victor of Collosso!"
"But before you do," Adrian joined in, "tell us of your journey across the Karagol Sea!"
"Not tonight children" Isaac said. "Besides, your mother has probably already told the entire history of Weyard while I was gone. Let's save those stories for another night. Goodnight young warriors."
"Good night Father," Michael yawned.
"Sleep well children," Jenna said kissing the both of them.
"Good night Mother. I'm glad you're back Father," said Adrian.
"Me too," Isaac said as he and Jenna left the room and closed the door behind them. Adrian and Michael could already hear them talking before they even approached the stairs.
"You know," said Michael, "that's not how the story really ends."
"How do you know?" Adrian asked not being able to grasp the thought that Mother had not told them the real story.
"Naomi told me," Michael said with a hint of pride shining in his eyes.
Naomi was a young wind adept from the town of Contigo who Adrian and Michael had met while visiting one of their parent's friends. The two boys had grown fond of the young girl for her striking beauty and her spirit for adventure. The three had many a times tried to steal a boat and retreat into the Great Western Sea, but time after time were caught and returned to their parents.
The most pronounced feature about Naomi was her mysteriously advanced adept abilities. Ever since the lighthouses were lit, adepts all around Weyard found themselves learning at an accelerated pace but the speed of her development was unheard of. Even though she was only ten years of age, Naomi could already manipulate the wind to her command, often lifting bullies off their feet and throwing them into a pond or a stream. The town elders grew wary of this almost right away and quickly informed her parents that their daughter was becoming a hazard to other children.
"What did Naomi tell you?" Adrian asked pleadingly.
"She told me that those three head's were actually Grandma, Grandpa and Grandpa Kyle."
It couldn't be, Adrian thought to himself. How could his grandparents ever be a dragon? His head was spinning and he soon found himself very tired. Questions were whirling in his mind about how his grandparents could possibly turn out to be the final opposition to his father and Uncle Felix's quest.
"Bet you didn't know that did you Adrian?" Michael taunted.
Adrian closed his eyes and he let his mind clear so he would be fully refreshed for the next day's activities. They were going to Uncle Felix's tomorrow so Adrian decided not to press the matter further.
"Good night Michael."
-------------------------
Isaac was urged by Jenna to put some dry clothes on immediately. So, after Isaac put on a night robe and his slippers he headed toward the wooden table in the center of their house where Jenna was anxiously waiting for him.
"Alright Isaac, after three weeks I think I deserve to know where exactly you've been," Jenna asked in a tone which meant that she wanted a good answer. He had grown to know this tone quite well over the years.
"Suhalla," he answered with convincing truth of which Jenna had also gotten to know over the years; and love.
"Well?" whispered Jenna dreading her husband's next words.
"Sheba's predictions were correct," Isaac answered her. "The elemental influence of the Venus Lighthouse has indeed expanded and reached, if not surpassed Suhalla. Every single child under six is an earth adept."
"That can't be," Jenna gasped. "It was just last year when Sheba told us that all of Lalivero's adolescents under six were showing signs of full-fledged adept capabilities. Suhalla is at least a two-day journey by foot from Lalivero! The Venus Lighthouse's sphere of influence couldn't possibly be expanding that fast," Jenna said hesitating. "Could it Isaac?"
"Alchemy is an ancient practice with many unknown properties that defy some things we know to be certain," Isaac said. "It would not surprise me if this were so."
Jenna smiled at the familiar quote. "You've been reading Kraden's book, haven't you?"
"Hardly," Isaac said suppressing a chuckle. "Those just happened to be the opening words of the prologue."
"Still," Jenna remarked, "Kraden will be most pleased to find out that you've finally started. He's been hounding you to read it for years."
"Well for my sake let's hope amends can finally be made!" he said as they both laughed.
"Did you stop by to see him before you came home?" Jenna asked.
"Yes," he answered sullenly.
"How is he?"
"The same," Isaac replied. "He is still obsessed with his current project. He even told me that he stumbled upon a name for the study."
"A name?" Jenna said in surprise. "What was it?"
"He called it astronomy."
Jenna sighed. "And all that he does is look at the stars?"
"Yes," Isaac answered again. "He says that the heavens alone provide the proof he needs to prove is theories."
"Let's not talk about them," Jenna quickly said. "We have too much to talk about already."
"This is true," Isaac acknowledged. "We have a different matter at hand."
"The lighthouses," she reminded him.
"I assume," he began, "that the other three lighthouses' spheres of influence have been growing just as much, if not the exactly the same as Venus lighthouse. We will need to ask Ivan and Mia to confirm this, but if this is so, Contigo and Imil will have already experienced the newborn adept effect; them being considerably closer to the Jupiter and Mercury Lighthouses than Suhalla is to the Venus."
"What about Prox?" Jenna asked.
Isaac looked down at the table averting his eyes from her. "Their town is already mostly fire adepts and I fear for what powers their young will soon possess. The people of Prox are good people though, they should be able to resist power's beckoning...for now."
"We must tell Ivan and Mia immediately for these are the signs the Wise One forewarned us of!" Jenna said as she stood to her feet. "This is the true beginning of the reign of alchemy! It's only a matter of time before these adepts will try to manipulate the elements to do their bidding and seek to rule over all! We have to gather the other adepts and tell the people of Weyard of the danger that lies ahead!"
Jenna finished exasperated and obviously full of emotion.
"Yes, Jenna," Isaac agreed, surprised at the sudden outburst in which was sure to attract the attention of Adrian and Michael upstairs. "This is why we are meeting with your brother tomorrow. We will discuss our traveling plans there. But for now Jenna, it is late and you need your rest for the late hours seem to have dealt serious blows to your self-control. No more stories to the children this week, I'll take care of that. Now off to bed with you."
Apparently she hadn't understood his humor for Jenna's sense of urgency disappeared and Isaac noticed that she was silently starting to fume.
"Good night Jenna," Isaac said trying to usher her off quickly before he received the close proximity of an imminent outburst. "I'll join you in a few minutes, but first I have to do something."
"Better get comfortable where you are, Isaac," she said wearing her highly polished malevolent smile as she edged away, "for that table is the closest thing you'll have for a bed tonight."
Jenna flipped her hair, turned her back to him, and closed the bedroom door behind her.
Okay, I guess she's got jokes too, Isaac thought. The children giggled upstairs through the railing and Isaac smirked at them. He urged them to bed and began to polish his sword.