Chapter 14: Awakening of the Sun Rune

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Suikoden game characters, and their plots and ideas. I am just playing in the sandbox as I wait for Konami to come out with another Suikoden game.

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A twitch, a feeling of ill omen swept over him as Lazlo turned his head towards the direction of the Sun Palace. Something was very wrong, the rune threads he had tied around Faroush and Lymsleia's souls were warning him that both were in danger, though Lymsleia was of the more immediate one.

"Are you alright?" Lazlo asked, prodding the half awake rune bearer lying on the grass beside him.

"Where am I?" The man asked, looking around dazedly.

"In a forest somewhere. Look, there's no time for this." Lazlo snapped, using one arm to lift the man up. "My children are in danger and there's no way I am leaving you out here alone. You're coming with me."

The air rippled and tear apart in front of him, leaving a pool of darkness hanging in mid-air.

"Hold your breath, this will be unpleasant." Lazlo said, as he dragged the other man into the portal.

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"No!" Lymsleia whimpered as Miakis collapsed onto the floor unconscious. The dull thump of her body striking the tiles sounded loud in the enclosed room. Miakis, an older sister to her in all but blood, who had been at Lymsleia's side from the time she could walk till now, was cut down by the assassin that was turning towards her next.

Dread crawled through her veins as Lymsleia stared at Hazuzel's emotionless face. Then the feeling of fear was consumed by a burning fury that surged through her. How dare this assassin harm one of her closest companion! Lymsleia trembled in fright and rage even as she faced up to the inevitable. Her logical mind knew that she would not escape out of here alive, Hazuzel was between her and the door, the room was too small for her to have any hopes of running around the assassin.

But then neither did she want to. There was no way she was going to leave Miakis behind. Lymsleia tensed her arms, accepting her death, but she would not go down like a helpless little girl. Miakis had shown her some moves which she was suppose to use when there's no one to help her, added to that, her left hand also bears a fire rune. After the civil war, Faroush had deemed it prudent that Lymsleia learn some runic arts in this troubled times. She had regular lessons from the rune sages in the palace, she just needed time to use the rune and cast its power.

Lymsleia moved her right hand to the pillar she was hiding behind. The statue that held the Sun Rune was on it. If she could just topple it when Hazuzel got closer… There! Now!

She saw the Hazuzel's eyes widen as she heaved against the pillar with her might. It tumbled towards the ground, the statue containing the Sun Rune smashing into him. The pillar had fallen across his left leg while the statue rolled onto the floor beside him. By some lucky chance, his two daggers had cluttered onto the floor, knocked out of his immediate reach.

Quickly, Lymsleia reached for the connection with her fire rune, summoning a burst of flames that flew towards Hazuzel. Hazuzel quickly rolled away, grabbing the statue with the Sun rune and threw it right at her. Lymsleia gave a cry of pain as the heavy marble statue smashed into her, sending her flying towards the wall. She gasped as her back smacked into the stone wall with force, pain lanced through her body, spreading from her back and chest.

"You are a very troublesome Queen." Hazuzel spat. "You've got no where to run now. Just die quietly and I'll make it quick and painless."

Lymsleia struggled to open her eyes, seeing only a haze of red. She felt as if some of her ribs were broken, it was getting difficult to breathe. Her hands grab the statue to try to heave it off her chest, but her hands felt so weak… and hot.

Hazuzel strode forward until he was standing in front of her. In his hands were his daggers which he had retrieved. With a wild light in his eyes, he slashed down at her throat.

No one harms my children.

An ancient and powerful voice sounded in their heads. A yellow beam of light blast out of the bust towards Hazuzel even as warmth flooded through Lymsleia's body healing her injuries.

For a moment, Lymsleia felt hope, which was crushed as the beam of light disappeared and she saw Hazuzel standing a few feet from her still alive. His daggers were braced out in front of him with curls of smoke wafting out from them.

"Do you think even the power of the Sun Rune can stop me?" Hazuzel snarled moving quickly towards her.

A blast of white light smashed into his side, sending him flying to the other side of the room.

"Interesting… You actually have metal that is blessed by the Sovereign Rune… The metal themselves can parry and block all rune magic. But it's not going to protect your side from a runic blast." A voice said. Lymsleia turned to see a young man standing at the door looking at Hazuzel in amusement. A halo of pure white power surrounded his body.

Lymsleia recognized him as another one of the Queen's Knight Candidates, Orin Harmony if she remembered correctly. Part of her felt relieved that there's someone else here to help, while the skeptical part of her wondered why he was here right now. Then there was the other matter, the statue that contained the Sun Rune was glowing and emitting reddish yellow flames, its powers washing over her body like the gentle rays of the sun, refreshing her. Somehow the Sun Rune had awaken, as if sensing her peril. If she could bring the statue closer to Miakis, maybe the powers of the Sun Rune could heal her as well.

A white steak flashed across the room. Lymsleia blinked as she found that Orin was no longer standing at the door. Instead he had appeared in front of her, a buffer between her and Hazuzel, his back facing her.

"Go help Miakis." Orin called out without looking back as he drew his short sword. "I'll take care of this."

Lymsleia hesitated for a moment watching wide eyed as Orin clashed with the much weakened Hazuzel. The young Queen's Knight Candidate struck out with expert skill in his blade. Seeing that the young man could take care of himself, Lymsleia got up awkwardly, clutching the statue of the Sun Rune in her hands. She scrambled over to Miakis, holding the statue over her, allowing the powers of the Sun Rune to wash over the unconscious body of Miakis.

"Argh…" Miakis groaned, beginning to stir as the healing light of the Sun Rune bathe down onto her.

Lymsleia felt immerse relief as she saw Miakis opened her eyes.

"Lymsleia? What are you doing? Where…" Miakis suddenly got up in a rush, snatching up her daggers, as if suddenly remembering where she was.

Miakis looked at Orin who had slashed both Hazuzel's hands before proceeding to pry the poisoned daggers from Hazuzel's grasp. He then summoned a blast of pure white energies, striking the assassin right in the chest. Hazuzel's body was snapped back by the blast before collapsing limply onto the ground.

"Well, that took care of him." Orin said with satisfaction.

"What is going on?" Miakis asked loudly, obviously confused by the events happening before her.

"That's what I would like to know too." A harsh voice said by the door.

Lymsleia turned and saw Lazlo and another dark haired man with an eyepatch standing by the doorway. She was about to run towards her great-grandfather in relief when the statue containing the Sun rune exploded into a wave of burning energies.

The wave of raw power swept through the room, consuming everything in its path.

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"Rune Sages! Begin weaving your water magic!" Faroush shouted over the roaring of the raging fire. The food storage area had been totally consumed by the fire which was threatening to begin spreading into the Palace itself.

He saw Jeane by the side holding back much of the spreading flames with a thick barrier of lightning that had formed a shield around the fire. He wondered briefly what the powerful rune mistress was doing at the palace right now, but was glad she was currently here to help.

"Jeane, hold the shield for as long as you can." Faroush called out.

"I am trying, hurry up!" Jeane called out grimly over the roaring fire. Her face was already covered with streaks of soot. "I can't hold off the flames forever."

Faroush turned to the rune sages behind him and saw them beginning to manipulate the powers of water over the fire, the air turned cooler as rain began pouring, at first just a drizzle and then a full downpour. Jeane quickly called off her lightning shield, which if combined with the pouring rain would become a great hazard to the surrounding people.

The torrent of rain sizzled as they fell into the burning flames, turning into thick steam that covered the whole area. The air was hot and heavy with the burnt smell of ashes. Working together, the rune sages were able to quickly put out the fire with their powerful water combination magics.

Someone with a wind rune summoned a gust of wind which gently parted the thick cloud of steam, revealing the blackened timbers of the food storage area. Of the huge fire, only chunks of burning embers were left.

"Looks like most of the fire had been put out." Jeane observed the wreckage, moving towards Faroush. "Just what is going on here? That wasn't an ordinary fire, something must had set it off."

"I can answer that." The Captain of the palace guards said as he walked up to them. "One of my men reported that Queen's Knight Candidate Orin Harmony had approached him about seeing another candidate, Hazuzel put a fire destruction construct in the food storage area."

"What?" Faroush asked, voice rising in shock. "Where are the two of them now?"

"We have no idea, but once I got the news, I sent out several of the guards to locate both of them." The Captain said. "Now that the fire's out, I can deploy more men to the search."

"Good, lead a search…" Faroush said, suddenly trailing off with a gasp as a wave of ancient power swept over him. It was a power that was at once familiar to him, he had encountered it several times during the civil war.

"The Sun rune!" Jeane said, her eyes widening as she felt the strange surge of energies as well.

"We'll have to put off the search for Hazuzel and Orin right now. Quickly guards! Follow me to the Sealed room!" Faroush cried out as he started running. Jeane and the guards picked up their pace, following closely behind him.

Fear gripped Faroush as he thought of the worse case scenarios. First in his mind was that he had left Lymsleia and Miakis in the Sealed room. That the Sun rune activated its powers while they were there… The sense of dread grew heavy within him. If anything should happen to his sister…

"Hurry!" Faroush called out.

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Lymsleia blinked, one moment she was in the sealed room, then the next moment she found herself somewhere else, in a place that seemed to glow with the yellow red hue of the sun. Miakis was crouched in front of Lymsleia, her daggers out, alert for any dangers that might threatened them.

She turned around to look for Lazlo and gasped at what she saw. Her great-grandfather was wrapped in what looked like a swatch of black and white flames, signifying the powers that he wields. The stranger he had brought with him was surrounded by a shield of purple lightning. A white blazing light next to them caught Lymsleia's attention. She turned and saw in amazement that Orin, the Queen's Knight Candidate was wrapped in a cocoon that blazed in pure whiteness, with only parts of his face and body visible.

"What is going on here?" Miakis' voice lashed out into the silence.

"It seemed that the Sun Rune had truly awakened from its sleep." Lazlo's voice said gratingly behind them. "Be careful, we don't know what the Sun Rune in its awakened form would do."

"Have no worries, rune bearer of my sister, the True Rune of Punishment." A familiar voice said in the distance. "I mean all of you no harm."

Lymsleia watched as a thick glow of yellowish red light appeared in front of them. Her heart clenched painfully as she saw the figure that appeared after the light had dissipated. Beside her, Miakis gave a shocked gasp. They were looking at the late Queen Arshtat, her mother who was killed in the civil war.

"Welcome to my mindscape, sister and brothers." Queen Arshtat said, nodding at Lazlo, the man with the eyepatch standing next to him, and Orin. Then she looked at Lymsleia and Miakis with a smile. "Welcome, my children."

"Mom?" Lymsleia whispered brokenly. Then she broke into a run towards the figure, ignoring Miakis' frantic cries of caution. "Mom!"

Queen Arshtat enveloped Lymsleia in a warm hug, looking sadly down at her.

"No Lymsleia, I am not your mother, though I do have her memories." The image of Queen Arshtat said. "I am the Sun rune and I took her form because that was the one that you're most familiar with."

"You're the Sun rune?" Lymsleia asked querulously as she pulled back from the embrace.

Someone pressed a hand on her shoulder and she turned to look at Miakis who had moved to step beside her.

"What do you want from us Sun rune?" Miakis asked carefully. "Why do you have to use Queen Arshtat's form and why bring us here?"

"I used this form because it would be the least threatening to all of you." The Sun rune said looking at them. "I had called all of you here because I sensed my siblings' presence gathered around me, and also to pass you a warning, children of Falena."

"Warning?" Lymsleia asked, clutching Miakis' hand.

"Yes, powerful earth magicks are being used at the borders between Falena and the Nagarea Theocracy." The Sun rune said gravely. "I sensed the powers of the True Earth Rune being used there as well. I doubt that their presence would be beneficial to Falena."

"Earth magic?" Miakis asked puzzled. "Why would the Nagarea Theocracy be using earth magic at the borders? The only path there was blocked… There are trying to unblock that land pass that had been destroyed many years ago!"

"And once the path is accessible again, the armies of the Nagarea Theocracy would be able to march on to Falena." Lazlo reasoned as he spoke up behind them.

"That is correct." The Sun rune said nodding her head. "Now that I am awake, I would be able to set up a barrier to prevent anyone from entering Falena from that side of the lands. However, my magic can be countered, and if by any chance that the Nagarea armies managed to breach my wards and march on into Falena, I would be unable to distinguish between friend or foe. The only individuals I can tell apart from the ordinary humans of Falena would be those who bear the True Runes."

"The armies of Falena need to be called there to defend the area as a precaution." Miakis said, understanding at once what the Sun rune was trying to tell them. "We need to tell Faroush this news at once!"

"I will release all of you back, in a while." The Sun rune said turning to look at Lazlo, the stranger and Orin. "But first, I have words of warning to pass to the bearers of my siblings."

Lymsleia and Miakis turned to look at Lazlo and the rest. Lazlo was meeting the Sun rune's glare unflinchingly, Orin seemed unaffected while the stranger was unnerved by the Sun rune's stern look.

"Look, I don't really understand everything that's going on, but I mean you and your people no harm." The stranger with an eye patch spoke up nervously.

"If that is so, then you have nothing to worry about." The Sun rune spoke calmly, giving three of them a measured look. "However, should any of you turn against the people of this land as the Bearer of the True Earth Rune had, my full powers would be brought against you."

"Well, so would I." Lazlo said turning a steely glance at the stranger and Orin. "The royal family of Falena is under my protection as well, if any of you seek to do them harm, I will join the Sun Rune in taking you out."

Orin met Lazlo's eyes before turning to the Sun rune. "I am here to seek aid from you, Sun Rune, not to harm anyone. I am seeking a cure for my …"

"Curse?" The Sun rune spoke up as Orin looked at her in shock. "Bearer of the Circle Rune, I have peered into your inner most thoughts from the moment you enter my land, as I have entered the thoughts of all other rune bearers. Gathered before you are the Bearer of the Rune of Punishment and the True Rune of Lightning. It's not my aid you should be asking but the help from the Bearer of the Rune of Punishment.

My powers are direct and physical, in that aspect, my powers are more powerful than most of the other True Runes. However, to break the curse of your reincarnation cycle, you will need powers that exist strongly in the spiritual plane. The Circle Rune and the Rune of Punishment both govern the spiritual aspect of this world. In that realm, their powers are even more powerful than mine. Seek help from the Bearer of the Rune of Punishment, for my powers would not be able to aid you in any way."

Orin shot a startled look at Lazlo. "But…"

"It's time for you to return." The Sun rune interrupted. "Someone's coming."

Yellow and red mist began rising up over them, sweeping them away…

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Sasarai wiped the sweat from his brows. He had just finished a major earth shifting. Ever since he had arrived in the Nagarea Theocracy on the Harmonia warship bearing him, Archbishop Cedric and the group of rune sages inclined with using earth magic, he and the rune sages had been sent to the edge of the country, doing menial task such as shifting the earth to clear some sort of mountain pass to the neighboring country.

The work had been tedious and draining, especially since he relied heavily on the Mother Earth rune that his caretaker Archbishop Othello had affixed on his right hand. That had been necessary to hide the presence of the True Earth Rune which was underneath the Mother Earth rune. So, to maintain the façade, he had to constantly maintain vigilance that he did not call up too much earth magic that would indirectly awaken the True Rune.

The circumstances of being found out that he bear a True Rune would be dire, especially since that right now, he's a lowly bishop. If an Archbishop wanted to, he or she might well take the True Earth Rune from him by force. But that didn't prevent him from letting lose with the powers from his True Earth Rune once in a while to clear off a major patch of soil, especially when no one else was looking.

He had no idea why he was sent to this country so far from home, the low ranks of the bishop were not enough to ask about the reason why Archbishop Cedric had sent him here. But at dawn, when he gathered at the campfires with the other rune sages, he heard rumors. Rumors that Harmonia had agreed to an alliance with the Nagarea Theocracy to deal with the neighboring nation, Falena.

Of course, the conquest of another nation really had nothing to do with him. Right now, his job was to clear the mountain pass as quickly as possible.

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Faroush quick stepped up the stairs to the Sealed room. The fallen bodies of the elite guards outside the room were the embodiment of all his worse fears. Knowing that he had no time right now to check on their conditions, he quickly drew his weapon, summoned power through his Thunder rune, and burst into the room.

He gaped at the sight that greeted him.

A yellowish red mist was just beginning to fade away, leaving the forms of Lymsleia, Miakis, Lazlo, Orin and a man he did not know of, all gathered in the center of the room. Lymsleia's arms was supporting the width of the statue containing the Sun rune. The statue itself was glowing with a yellowish red hue.

"What is going on here?" Faroush burst out. He heard the footsteps of Jeane, the rest of the palace guards and the rune sages arriving behind him.

"Brother!" Lymsleia cried in a relieved voice. "The Sun rune passed us a warning."

"A warning?" Faroush asked confusedly.

"Yes, but first I think we need to deal with the assassin." Lazlo spoke up, stepping aside to let Faroush had a clear view of Hazuzel who was collapsed at the corner of the room. "Then we need to inform you of the presence of two more True Rune bears."

Faroush could feel a headache coming on as Lazlo pointed towards Orin and the one eyed stranger.

"This can't be happening! I hadn't slept all night!"

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Author's Note: I must apologize for the long wait for this chapter. I had been working on another fanfiction project 'Master of the Forbidden Seals' (non-Suikoden related) and it had taken up a lot of my time. I will try to update as soon as I can for the next chapter. Also I had made a mistake in chapter 3. According to gamefaqs, Sasarai and Luc bear their True runes on their right hands instead of their souls as I had presumed. I've since dealt with that mistake. I am sorry for that, now that I think about it, I had no idea where I heard that the true runes were on their souls from. Haiz… mistakes… P