Felix of Vale

It's a long way down...

Tue, 07 May 2013 21:33:52 GMT

It was done. Yes, Saturos and Menardi were gone, but Venus Lighthouse had been lit, the Jupiter and Mars Stars were accounted for, and Felix and Sheba were unharmed.

With a brilliant flash of light and Earth energy, the Venus Beacon finally appeared above the Aerie. The ground began to shake. Felix was able to keep his balance, his Psynergy warning him of what the Lighthouse's power was doing.

It did not immediately occur to him that not everyone had that advantage.

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Venus Lighthouse: Part 4

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 17:04:06 GMT

It was a fierce battle. The aerie was large enough that Felix and Sheba were able to stay out of danger and avoid visibly taking sides. At last Saturos and Menardi slumped together, exhausted and wounded, very close to the beacon's opening.

"We did it! We beat 'em!" Garet exulted.

Mia sighed with relief. "All right! Come on, Sheba!" she called.

What? No! Felix couldn't let them kidnap her too! Especially if he needed her for Jupiter Lighthouse - but even if not, he'd made a promise. He stepped in front of Sheba so none of Isaac's group could grab her.

"Felix? What are you doing?" asked Ivan.

"I can't let you take Sheba," he answered.

"What?" asked Garet. "But we just saved you!"

Felix sighed. "I told you, I did not need saving."

Mia seemed concerned. "Felix, you're not one of them. You're free to go. Why are you doing this?"

Felix studied their faces for a long moment. Would they accept the truth? Garet wouldn't, not now... probably not Mia either, from what Alex had said. The others he wasn't as sure about, but... "The other beacons must still be lit."

Ivan started. "You're going to light the beacons?"

"I can't let you do that," added Isaac, his gaze sharpening.

"I thought you might say that. But I will do it anyway," said Felix.

Garet paused, thinking. "If he wants to light the beacons, then that makes him our enemy, right?"

"It doesn't matter what you think of me. I will do what must be done," Felix interrupted, keeping his voice steady with an effort. Isaac and his friends had just defeated Saturos and Menardi; there was no way Felix could stand against them on his own. But he'd try if he had to.

As if on cue, Saturos spoke up haltingly. "I hope... you don't think... you've finished us off." He and Menardi got to their feet.

Mia shook her head. "You may not be dead, but you can hardly stand."

"Right now, yes," huffed Menardi. "But we'll be back on our feet... as soon as..."

Saturos stopped her with a hand on her arm, then threw something into the opening. "Was that the Elemental Star?" gasped Ivan.

Mia shook her head. "We couldn't stop them from lighting the second beacon," she muttered.

Felix could feel the Lighthouse gaining strength. Saturos smiled, already visibly recovered thanks to the increasing Earth energies. "That's not all. The energy of this beacon is restoring our power."

"How can it do that?" asked Garet. "I thought this was the Venus Lighthouse - for the element of Earth!" Isaac nodded.

Felix sighed. Didn't they pay any attention? Before he had a chance to say anything, though, the Lighthouse's energy peaked and a brilliant flash of yellow light burst from the opening. Felix was overcome by the sensation of earth - supporting, holding, grinding, cracking...

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Venus Lighthouse: Part 3

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 20:52:41 GMT

At that moment, Isaac and his group reached the top of the Aerie. "Isaac..." said Felix warningly.

Saturos and Menardi turned to face the newcomers. "So! You've come to stop us?" Saturos asked.

"You see what your defiance has brought us, Felix?" accused Menardi.

Felix cut her off. "I don't need to be rescued, Isaac. Just wait, and you can see the power of this beacon's light!" Turning to Saturos, he added, "Now, will you let Sheba go?"

"Silence!" roared Saturos. "You'd best step carefully, Felix, or the both of you will suffer."

The Water Adept with Isaac - Mia, Felix thought her name might be - whispered something to Ivan, next to her. He nodded and called out, "We won't let you lay a hand on Sheba - or Felix!"

Menardi arched an eyebrow, clearly considering that. "So you're worried about her too, are you?"

Saturos smirked. "Don't worry. We won't hurt her... if you meet our conditions."

Menardi shot him a glance. "What are you doing, Saturos?" she asked under her breath.

"Leave this to me," he muttered back. Turning to Sheba, he called, "Sheba! Do you remember the rod connected to Hesperia?"

Alarmed, Sheba tried to remember. "The... Rod of Hesperia?"

"The rod we need to reach Jupiter Lighthouse!" Saturos snapped, clearly annoyed.

Eyes wide, Sheba nodded. "Ye-yes..." she answered in a small voice.

Gesturing to Isaac and his friends, Saturos said "These people have a rod. Is it the one?"

Sheba moved forward, only to be stopped by Menardi's sharp "Can't you do it from where you are?" She nodded nervously and started her Psynergy. Felix couldn't tell exactly what she was doing, though he guessed it had something to do with Mind Read.

She kept it up longer than Felix expected. Longer than the Proxians had expected, too, it seemed; she only stopped at Saturos' "Well?"

"It... might be..." offered Sheba tentatively.

Saturos frowned. "It 'might be'? Don't you know?"

That, Felix decided, was enough. "Don't yell at her!" he shouted, stepping between them.

"We're not yelling," hissed Menardi. "We just want a straight answer. So, Sheba...?"

"Their minds are veiled," the Wind Adept explained, "I cannot tell for certain, but... I think it's the rod."

The Proxians conferred quietly for a moment. Then Saturos addressed Isaac's group. "Do you know the terms we will require before we agree not to harm Sheba?"

Isaac nodded, scowling. "You want Ivan's rod."

"Ah, you're smarter than I thought. Yes, give us the Shaman's Rod and Sheba will not be harmed. Do you accept?"

Isaac nodded again, almost without hesitation. "If it'll save Sheba, you can have it."

"What?" asked Garet. "That's Master Hammet's! He trusted it to you, Ivan!"

Menardi looked at him oddly. "Don't you care what happens to Sheba?"

At Garet's hesitant nod, Saturos snarled, "Then you will give us the rod!"

Garet backed off, scowling furiously, and Isaac held out the rod in question. "Go get it, Felix," said Saturos.

Felix started. "Me?" Right after all that?

"You are still loyal to us, aren't you?" asked Saturos archly.

"Go on, Felix," added Menardi.

Felix sighed, but walked over to Isaac and took the rod. He tried to give him a look, to say 'You don't need to do this,' but he had no idea if Isaac got the message. He tried to hand it off to Saturos, but was waved off. "Keep it safe," the Proxian told him. Felix shrugged and returned to the other side of the aerie.

Sheba started to head toward Isaac's group, but stopped at Menardi's barked "Where do you think you're going?"

Mia turned to Menardi. "We gave you the rod, so now you're letting Sheba go, right?"

"Whatever do you mean?" asked Saturos, sounding all innocence.

"You said you'd free Sheba if we gave you the rod," reminded Ivan.

Saturos laughed. "You seem to have misunderstood. I said we wouldn't harm her... but I never said we'd let her go!"

Felix wasn't happy to hear that, but before he could say anything Garet burst out, "You're changing the deal?"

"Not at all," said Menardi lightly. "It's not our fault if you misinterpreted the terms!"

"Besides, if we were to release Sheba... she'd be in quite a fix," Saturos added.

"What do you mean?" asked Mia.

Menardi shook her head. "You don't expect her to get back to Lalivero on her own, do you?"

Puzzled, Ivan answered, "What do you mean? We're going to take... her... oh."

"Exactly," said Saturos with a smirk. "You won't be going back at all."

Garet pulled out his axe. "You're the ones who aren't going anywhere!" he bellowed.

"Bring it on, whelp!" Saturos retorted, his sword seeming to appear in his hand. "You won't live long enough to regret your stupidity!"

"Prepare to experience firsthand the power of a master Fire Adept," growled Menardi, already swinging her scythe.

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A message of hope

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 02:03:56 GMT

( Paging Felix... )

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Who am I, really?

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 18:09:24 GMT

This is a dream.

( I dreamed a dream in time gone by... )

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Venus Lighthouse: Part 2

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:36:10 GMT

Felix felt, from time to time, as if the Lighthouse were helping him get up. He never encountered any monsters on the ascent, and more than once a path was open that, he was sure, should have required Psynergy to get to. He didn't worry about it very much; he wanted to get to the top, and if the Lighthouse wanted to help, so much the better.

( On top of Old Smokey... )

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Venus Lighthouse: Part 1

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 02:38:03 GMT

Saturos wasn't happy.

( Actually, nobody was happy. )

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Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:28:23 GMT

"...which should make the vortex collapse," finishes Felix.

The people he's talking to stir. "So what's the problem?" asks Mia.

( The problem. )

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