Sixteen

"Mana. Mana, wake up." Mana opened his eyes slowly. He was lying on his back on the soft earth. Gem knelt at his side, leaning over him, hands on both of his shoulders. "Are you alright? Did they injure you?"

"I'm fine," the Guardian Heir replied quietly. "Where are we?"

"We are in the marshes, a little bit north of Lake Vise." Gem looked around and Mana followed his gaze. The only noise was the buzz of flies. All around, the heavy fog of Terra seemed like an impenetrable dark gray wall. Even the brilliant starlight couldn't pierce its dense mass, and the two could see very little. Mana waved one hand weakly, creating a small orb of light that floated up into the fog and cast light on the scenery. Trailing off into the mist were the weeds and wild grasses of the wetlands. Mana shivered as he looked back at Gem. Sitting up, he rubbed his arms, seeking warmth. It was still nighttime, and the cool, damp air of the marshes was chilling. Gem gave no sign of being affected in the same manner as Mana. Though his tunic had short sleeves and he wore no cloak, he did not seem cold in the least. His clothes and hair, previously completely drenched in Lake Vise, were perfectly dry.

"How did we get here?"

"I carried you through the Net. It turns out that it's fairly easy to use." Gem demonstrated by fading in and out of Mana's presence amidst red bursts of harmless flame. "We just got here. You've been unconscious for about ten minutes—it looks like you don't have the ability to access the Net."

"I had never been in it before. All I know of it is what I read in books, and that's not much. My father made sure that I didn't learn too much."

"I'm sorry, Mana." Gem removed his hands and placed them on his own knees, bowing his back and inclining his head.

"What for?" asked Mana, surprised at the sudden apology.

"I left you alone with them for too long," Gem said angrily. "I was supposed to only fade out long enough to avoid being killed, and then take you and run. When I reappeared, Kieku was about to put a lance of Voidfire through you. I failed."

"Failed what? Relax, Legend—I'm fine. Just a little tired. I don't think I'll be able to use much Jikkuu for a while."

"You used it to defend yourself after I entered the Net? Damn it, I knew you were weakened. I wasn't supposed to leave you alone like that. I... as a citizen of the Alliance. I wasn't supposed to leave my liege in mortal danger."

"No." Mana's voice was firm as he spoke. "I, not as the Guardian Heir, but as Mana, did not feel abandoned. I knew you were coming back. That's why I was able to fight. That mage is strong, though. Luke? He shrugged my attacks off as though I was blowing wind at on him. What do you think of his power, Legend?"

Gem raised his head and peered into Mana's eyes. Mana blinked and edged away slowly. <i>He's... looking at me funny. What's he thinking?</i> 

"Legend... so, we're brothers, huh?" Gem said after a long pause. He closed his eyes and sighed. "I guess I prefer cousins. Don't call me Legend anymore."

"What?" Mana almost gasped in astonishment.

"I don't like the name. I don't like—"

"Then I'll call you brother."

"What?" It was Gem's turn to be astonished, and it showed on his face.

"Jul's my cousin. Legend's my brother." <i>He must think that I'm just selfish from being spoiled</i>, Mana thought. It wasn't so much that Mana was spoiled as that he was still shaken from the events of fifteen minutes ago. Julien Tryn might be tough as nails, he might have survived the fall from the <i>Vapor</i>, and he might be perfectly fine, but the truth remained that he was not there. Enter Legend, the center of all of Mana's happy memories from his previous life. Legend Reborn's presence was something for Mana to support himself with, reassurance, a solid foothold. For that reassurance to appear and then vanish immediately was too much for Mana to take. Now that he was here, Legend had to stay by his side as his brother.

"Brother it is, then," Gem laughed gently. "What now? What do you do next? You probably can not return safely to the Mana Palace, and Kieku and his men are in this country. Would you like to head for Verga?"

"I can't do that," Mana replied. "I think what I'm looking for is in this country."

"The Crystals?"

"Yeah." Mana frowned. <i>If Kieku's looking for them here, here's the place to look for them. I won't lose.</i>

"You will run into Kieku again," said Gem, who didn't look all too happy at the prospect. "Running away is always a viable option, so we will not necessarily die if we stay in Terra, but there is no way we can win against him and his men in a confrontation. My advice is such: give up on the Crystals. So long as Kieku seeks them, you will only see defeat."

"I can't do that, either. I promised Jul—"

"Do you not understand, Mana?" Gem asked impatiently. "We do not even know why Kieku wants the Crystals. He is lashing out at us with the intention of killing, for no discernible reason. You have not seen the things I have—he is deranged. Mad. He seeks to stop Fate by killing us, though his motives for doing so have yet to be revealed. For all we know, your search for the Crystals could help him. He could most likely make use of your talents. But he is just out to kill us."

"I understand that," Mana mumbled.

"Then give it up."

"I understand that I can't stand up against them alone." Mana's eyes hardened as he realized that he had made his decision. "But with you, brother, with your skills, we can surely defeat Kieku and his minions." 

Gem stood and looked off into the mist. His eyes remained calm as usual, but his tone bespoke extreme frustration.

"My runeblades are not the runeblades that Legend forged three thousand years ago. They are imperfect and are easily shattered. They are not something we can rely on to fight even the weakest of Kieku's minions."

"My magic is also imperfect, brother," Mana pleaded. "Together, we—"

"Together we can die!" Gem yelled. "I told you that you have not seen the things I have seen. Kieku showed me the day that Zukro killed Legend. Would you like to experience the Entities sealing you into the Crystals of Mana? I imagine it was painful. Do you want to feel that pain? Mana, I am telling you. Kieku is beyond us. If we compete with him for the Crystals, the only thing that lies in our future is death."

"Legend wasn't such a pessimist." Mana pouted as he spoke, looking away from Gem.

"Yeah, that's right. I am not Legend."

Neither spoke for several minutes, each gazing off in their separate directions. Overhead, Mana's bauble of light flickered violently before dying. The fatigued mage didn't bother to maintain the spell, and sat in darkness.

"Tell me, brother... why do you struggle against your destiny?"

"Destiny? The idea of letting your life be determined by some greater pattern is ludicrous. Since the age of ten, I've heard Ji speak that name thousands of times. Legend, Legend, Legend. Time and time again, it was proven to me that I was Legend. That I couldn't escape that fate with ignorance alone. You didn't experience Verga City's destruction, Mana. I was there. It was my fault." Mana gasped. "Because I was Legend, so many people died. I decided that I would escape my fate, no matter what. Ignorance wouldn't work, but something would. I decided to fight Fate."

"Do you... realize the flaw in your logic?"

"What?" Gem's voice carried earnest surprise. "What flaw?"

"Consider this—what if Ji'Lopan wanted you to fight Fate? What if he used the name 'Legend' to give rise to resentment? Don't you realize that if you fight against your destiny because of the actions of others, you're letting your life be determined?" Mana turned around to face Gem's dark outline. He snapped his fingers, and light filled the pocket of air the two shared in the fog. "You need to decide what you want to do as you, without listening to the words of those you resent."

Gem didn't reply for a minute, then turned his head and faced the fourteen-year-old Guardian Heir. Remembering the encounter between Ji'Lopan and Kieku, he could still recall the Ly'ban's response to Kieku's challenge: <i>"Yeah, I know why you're here, Kieku. And neither Fate nor I will hand Legend over to you."</i>

"Ji'Lopan is a proponent of Fate."

"But he works for Kieku!" Mana pressed. "He—"

"When we met eleven years ago, Ji'Lopan knew Kieku. They fought violently, and I was caught up in their battle. It is impossible for me to put into words the incredible powers they possessed when they clashed. They were fighting to the death. If there had not been any interference, Kieku might well have completely annihilated Ji. When I discovered that Ji and Kieku were working together, I could not believe it. Kieku is challenging Fate, as we have established, but Ji'Lopan used the words of "Fate" and "destiny" to justify his protection of me eleven years ago. Even just now—"

"What happened just now?"

"Ji'Lopan. He let me go."

"He seemed to really hate you, though. The things he said to you—"

"Were to my benefit. They spurred me into action. He also did not use the Net to stop me immediately, and when I fled with you, he stayed behind in the Net to secure our escape. He smiled at me as I left with you. Fate won this last round, after all. You and I met and we are still alive."

"It doesn't make any sense."

"That much is true."

"Why did he need to secure our escape? All he had to do was not follow us, right?"

"Eh, there was an obstacle in the Net," Gem said mysteriously. "Suffice it to say that without Ji's help, neither of us would be here right now."

"What was this obstacle?"

"Someone who wished to hinder us—you know, Mana, don't worry about it. We'll be alright so long as we steer clear from Kieku. What do you want to do now? You look cold, and it's hardly comfortable out here."

"I want to know what obstacle you met in the Net. I want you to tell me why you were delayed in your rescue of me, since you seem to think it was such a big deal. I don't want you to hide things from me. With Julien gone, you're the only one I can rely on, and I'd feel much safer about doing so if you were to tell me everything. You're my brother, right? Why can't you—"

"You really want to know?" Gem's eyes seemed even sadder than before as he looked down at the mage. "Fine. I was intercepted in the Net by the same person who interfered in the fight between Ji'Lopan and Kieku eleven years ago, the same person who killed me. Ji'Lopan remained behind to fight him, allowing the two of us to escape."

"Zukro?!" Mana exclaimed, his sight failing as his brain overloaded. Zukro, the only one of the three sons of Bane to survive the war with Maha three thousand years ago, was thought to be permanently asleep in the Inferno along with the uncle he had betrayed his father to serve. The oldest of the three, Zukro had been the fighter, the one whose job had been to battle Maha directly. Legend's job had been to forge Zukro's weapons, and Mana's job had been to support Zukro with holy magic. Zukro was the Warrior, the one to whom the world was given, and he had thrown that away to serve Maha.

"Zukro." Leaving Legend in a pool of blood and leaving the task of slaying Maha to the youngest son of Bane, Zukro had quietly disappeared, never to appear before men again. "He has a new name, and is the lieutenant of the Infernal armies. He now goes by Ragnarr, and under that name he serves Maha unquestioningly. Eleven years ago, he sought to kill Ji'Lopan for betraying the Inferno. When Verga City was destroyed, it was by his orders—his demons were after Ji and myself."

"Zukro's... after you again?"

"Yes. Both Kieku and Zukro, the powers of whom I can't begin to comprehend, have been hunting me all this time. You really should seek safety somewhere else—quiet west Verga would work. Somewhere away from me, somewhere where Kieku won't find you."

"Do you really think that running is such a good idea?" Mana asked, doubt in his voice. "I can tell that you're Legend, brother. I'm sure Zukro can sense out our presences. I intend to continue to search for the Crystals, and I believe that your best course of action would either be to run, yourself, or to face up to your enemies. I can't back down, and there's no place for us to remain in safety."

"Did I ever say I intended to seek safety? I'm going back to Mist, no matter what you do, Mana. I need to find out how to destroy Fate."

"I'm also going to Mist, brother."

"We're insane," Gem laughed, burying his face in his hands. "I can't drag a kid like you into that place. Blazes, I'm wanted by the Underworld. And if they find you, do not think that they won't hand you over to Kieku in return for the safety of their city."

"The Underworld?"

"The mercenary organization, you know. There is a bounty on my head because of what I did in Verga City. I... defied them a little."

"Didn't I tell you to explain everything to me?" Mana demanded.

"I'd like to hear as well," came a voice from the fog. Gem jumped at hearing it. Trotting out of the dense mist came a dozen horsemen, led by none other than the blue-haired, red-eyed head general of the Libran Alliance. The arrival of the horses had been muted by the soft marsh soil, and both Mana and Gem were greatly startled to see the mounted Eldran soldiers stream into view.

"Y-you!" Gem stuttered as he pointed at Oberon.

"You two know eachother, general?" Mana asked.

"W-well, sort of," Gem replied in Oberon's stead, averting his eyes from the young mage.

"What are you doing out here, Milord?" Oberon inquired, ignoring both the bounty hunter and Mana's question. "Were you not with airship in your travels? And headed for Verga City? You should not be out in this blasted marsh, much less this late at night. And your magic, sire. Why are you using it at will outside?"

"If only Julien were here," Mana muttered. <i>He would know what to say to this man. How to defend my use of Jikkuu.</i>

"Lord Tryn? He's here. We found him by the west shore, floating in the water along with some debris. We came out looking for you as soon as we fished him out, thinking that whatever had happened to him had happened to you as well. We are elated to see you in such good health, Milord, but it is time to return to the nearest city."

"Julien's with you? Where is he?!" Mana cried. 

"Right over here, Milord," one of Oberon's soldiers gestured towards the horse he led by the reins, across the saddle of which was stretched the body of Julien Tryn. "Don't worry—he's fine, Milord. Just sleeping. From the looks of the wreckage we found, you two had a hard time with something."

"You can say that again," Mana laughed, relieved that his cousin was alright. He rushed over to the horse and placed his hand on Julien's head. "Thank the Entities that you're safe, Jul."

"What are you doing here, <i>general</i>?" Gem asked of Oberon in an angry hushed voice behind Mana's back. "Do you intend to finish the job you started in Verga?"

"I told you what I'm doing here, <i>Legend</i>. We were looking for the Guardian Heir after we found the unconscious body of Lord Tryn floating in Lake Vise. Any objections to those actions?"

"Yeah. <i>Why are you in Terra?!</i> Do you intend to start a war between Terra and Eldra?"

"The general need not explain himself to you," one of Oberon's soldiers spoke, and he would have said more had Oberon not raised his hand in a signal for silence.

"I am seeking Kieku. I wish to speak with him."

"No need for that," Gem said firmly. "I spoke with him just half an hour ago. He just made attempts at the lives of both myself and Mana, and it is by the hand of one of his demonic minions that Lord Tryn lies unconscious upon that horse."

"I can't believe this nonsense," Oberon barked. "I let you live, Legend, but I won't take your stories for truth. If you wish to have another go at it, I will be more than glad to split you open with any weapon you choose."

"It's the truth," Mana said without looking up from Julien. Both Oberon and Gem started, thinking that there was no way Mana could have heard their conversation. "General, the man you threaten is the son of Bane; he is my brother. Learn your place." Oberon stuttered, but did not get out any words. After failing to speak, he simply bowed his head after casting an angry glance Gem's way.

"Mana, shall we head for Mist now?" Gem asked.

"Yes. General, could you lend us two horses, and send Julien with us?" Mana took the reins from the Eldran soldier who held them and led Julien's horse a couple steps towards Gem.

"I shall accompany you, Milord."

"<i>War</i>," said Gem.

"Stop it, brother," Mana cut in, exhaustion in his voice. "Let's all ride back to Mist together. I need some sleep. A lot has happened this night, and I will be better suited to face it in the morning."

"Well said," Oberon applauded. "Back to a city, safe and sound. Who knows what lurks in these marshes." One of the Eldrans at his back brought two riderless steeds forward and Mana mounted one of them.

"<i>Kieku</i>," Gem suggested. He hopped upon the remaining empty saddle and trotted off west, Mana following closely with Julien in tow. Oberon cursed under his breath before ordering his men forward. Mana's light vanished, darkness descending once more upon the mist-covered marsh. The only noise was the buzzing of flies and the stirring of reeds and wetlands brushes, but the marshes were not the same as they were thirty minutes before. 

Even the tiniest flicker of Jikkuu has profound impact upon the fabric of reality.