The trio appeared on the edge of an oaken forest. "Away from prying eyes," as Sadoul had said. He revealed to them that he was the only person left on this planet who possessed teleportation magic, and it wouldn't be wise letting everyone know that he was alive again. Sadoul also warned them that the Danek people were a proud and haughty race, fancying their warlike ways to be above that of the other countries. He also told them it wasn't very safe for foreigners to be running around the countryside. If one of the patrols caught them, they'd try to apprehend the trio. Not that Sadoul was worried about losing to them, but he said it was wiser not to draw attention to themselves.
Ghaleon agreed.
And Kazyr offered to scout out the path towards the seaport town that Sadoul boasted had the largest wealth of the latest information, especially any dealing with its home country. The white-haired mage had darted off before Ghaleon could even ask him just how he planned on physically scouting out the terrain without being seen.
"Impetuous little wizard," Ghaleon grumbled, seating himself at the roots of a great oak. He wore his cloak again, although he had left his armor back on the island since discovering it chafed his injured shoulder.
Sadoul smirked. "Well, sometimes he makes me think of myself when I was young."
"The problem is, Kazyr may appear younger than us, but in reality he could be older than the both of us. He mentioned taking centuries to make these charms weÕre wearing."
"Ha! That's nothing to me," Sadoul laughed. "I'm a thousand and fifty-two years old. But do I look it?"
"Great. So I'm the young one then."
"Don't take it so badly!" The blond wizard's eyes twinkled. "Your years may not be our years. After all, we all orbit around the sun differently, eh? Our life spans may even be different."
Ghaleon leaned back against the tree trunk and sighed. "Sadoul, though the way we count time may be different, I assure you that the human life spans between your world and mine are not. For you see, the people of the moon and this planet sprang from the same origin."
Sadoul's smile collapsed. "Eh? Say what?"
Ghaleon pulled a dagger out of his belt and began cutting shapes into the earth beside him. "Among my people, this planet is referred to as the Blue Star. Many eons ago, all people lived on the Blue Star. But a being called Zophar arrived and he and his followers began to lay waste to this land. Our goddess Althena defeated Zophar, but the Blue Star was rendered uninhabitable for life. In desperation, Althena created a haven for her people on the dead moon of this world and named it Lunar.
"Her people lived on Lunar for many millennia, and magic was plentiful. There's a tower on Lunar called the Blue Spire, and during all these millennia, it had slowly been absorbing the magic of Lunar and storing it up. This magic was to be used to eventually restore the Blue Star.
"I didn't live to see that happen, but apparently it has worked and the Blue Star has been both restored and recolonized."
Sadoul nodded. "We have had our creation myths like any people. But our story differs from what you say. And yet, there is something that may fit. The people of Vay, or the Blue Star as you call us, no longer believe in the worship of gods or goddesses. They may have been here at one time, but they're gone now.
"According to the more common legends, this world was barren, and the Immortals came to bring us light and life. We sprang up from the ground like the plants around us. Everywhere their light touched us, something rose; be it man, animal, or plant. The Immortals gave us thought and free will, and the curiosity and desire to improve and learn about our world. Then seeing that all was good, they left us to choose our own path.
"However, there is a more obscure one that says our people did not come from Vay, but were brought here by the Immortals. But that doesn't necessarily mean we came from the moon."
"Nothing about Althena?"
"Never heard of her. As I said, these stories are merely legends. No one really believes in them anymore."
"A pity." Ghaleon caught the glare Sadoul threw at him. "I've had some personal problems with Althena, but I've seen this goddess. And when you've seen a goddess with your own eyes, you can't help but believe. I knew who she was and what she was capable of doing. It seems sad that the people of this world have lost so much of their history."
"We may have lost it," Sadoul quietly admitted, "but it has not forgotten us."
"How so?"
"A thousand years ago, this world was nearly destroyed by an alien suit of armor that fell from the sky. It was identical to the one you found me in, but this one was in good condition, and working without a pilot. And all it was programmed to do was destroy. Fortunately, five wizards, one from each of the major countries, joined forces to seal away the ArmorÕs power. The tale of the Five Magicians of Vay was a popular one. I should know. I was the Wizard of Fire, representing the nation of Danek.
"But what the five magicians never told anyone was that each of them had received a dream not long after the Armor landed. A beautiful woman with long blue hair called out to us, asking us to search each other out and contain the armor before our world, the world she watched over, was destroyed. She told us how to focus our magic and remove the Armor's source of power. We could not have saved this planet without her intervention.
"The five of us never told anyone about our dreams. At first it was because it sounded absurdly ridiculous and would be labeled as one of 'those bizarre wizard things', and later because we weren't certain how the impact of a godlike entity would be taken by the populace. Suddenly, we would have the nagging thoughts that someone was watching over us and passing judgments. Not a good feeling, I assure you. And we weren't entirely certain if the woman we saw was another powerful wizard we simply hadn't heard about, or if the woman really was a sort of goddess.
"But the feeling and awe I felt during the dream leads me to believe it was the latter."
"Yes, goddesses do have that sort of aura around them," Ghaleon agreed, continuing with his dagger drawing.
"Indeed."
Sadoul glanced down to watch Ghaleon finish up his work. "Hey, that looks like the girl on my dream! Her name is-"
"Lucia," Ghaleon said with him. "Yes, I know her. And she knows me as well. She's the guardian of the Blue Star, appointed by goddess Althena herself. I'm hoping she's still around, as she may be one of the few people who are aware of the true status of what's going on. Being that it's only been a thousand years since she last contacted anyone, she should still be here."
"I take it she's immortal then."
"Of sorts," Ghaleon simply responded.
A rustling started and then suddenly Kazyr popped out from behind some trees. His face was flushed and his wolf's head amulet gleamed brightly for a moment before landing with a thump against his chest as he came to a halt. Kazyr grinned as he took a deep breath.
"Phew!" he breathed. "That was fun!"
"What, did you run into any Danek guards?" demanded Sadoul.
Kazyr shook his head. "No. Well, actually I did, but they didn't pay any attention to me. Don't worry, they wouldn't recognize me if they saw me again."
"They had better not."
"Anyway, since that one patrol just passed, the way to the seaside town of Dunton seems to be wide open. We should be able to make it there without any trouble."
Sadoul nodded and turned towards Ghaleon. "Well, I suppose we'd better get to the bottom of Kazyr's mystery. If the Danek technology has melded with magic, I want to know just how thoroughly it has done so. Danek is not the most well-received of nations, and the status of their war machines is a thing best kept under observation."
"Rather violent homeland you have," Ghaleon commented.
"Indeed. But one cannot change one's land of birth any more easily than one's own past. And because of my past, I'm gonna need a little help from you before we enter Dunton."
"What kind of help?"
Sadoul smirked and snatched a handful of Ghaleon's cloak. "This cloak will do nicely. You see, I'm not very well-received either, and it would be best if I remained hidden. There was a reason you found me dead in the ocean."
"I think we all have pasts we'd prefer to forget, so save the melodrama." Ghaleon unclasped his torn cloak and offered it to Sadoul. "If you need it, here. Let's just get this over with. I didn't get ressurrected to wind up stranded on a planet I've only seen from the moon."
Sadoul accepted the cloak, the mocking expression disappearing from his face. "Thanks." He clasped the cloak around his neck and pulled the cloth up and over his head. "Good thing you're a tad taller than me," he chuckled, swinging around to see how the garment fit. "Now that that's taken care of, I suppose we may as well be on our way."