<i>Ten years ago, a group of three heroes destroyed the greatest threat that civilization had ever known.
Now ten years later, those heroes, and thier friends, may become an even greater threat…</i>
A young man sat in front of the Goddess Statue in the Mana Holyland, deep in thought.
Now would be about time… it had been ten years since Kevin and his group defeated the God-Beasts, and just a little later, defeated the Dark Lich.
Yes, it should be about time. He was here, after all. The others would have spread out to live where they wish, letting the rest of thier lives go…
Like they should have, a thousand years ago.
But while they were relieved of thier burden, was it right to saddle someone with a burden that they had no idea they would recieve?
If they only knew what they had gotten into.
The young man left the goddess statue, and made the short walk to the Mana Tree… well sapling now… fighting through several shapechangers that had absolutely NO idea who they were messing with.
He couldn’t say that their deeds were not good, even though they had bested him once. Probably for the best. But still… were they ready for what they would become?
He couldn’t live with that.
He nodded once at the Mana Sapling. The God-Beasts would have to be restored to return Mana to the world, and complete the Mana Tree’s growth.
The God-Beasts would be born of humans.
The humans who defeated the God-Beasts, to be precise. And the God-Beasts would become human once again, and live human lives.
This particular human God-Beast, though, could not stand it. They had no idea… His friends, heroes in thier own time, were just happy to be human. But they didn’t know. And his friends didn’t care.
Well HE did. And HE was going to do something.
She looked at the painting, thinking quietly to herself. <i>Has it really been ten years?</i>
Ten long years since the Dark Lich was defeated, and Mana had been lost. For now.
But still, today was a day of celebration of freedom. Freedom from what evil creatures would do, mainly. But it didn’t matter to her, her friends would visit.
Her finger hovered over one of the six figures in the portrait. <i>Was that really me?</i> She had changed so much since then…
But no matter. Her friends would be arriving soon. The only ones she saw with some regularity were Kevin and Lise. Everyone else, including her, had the rather annoying tendency to be rather occupied with building a world that could survive without Mana. Indeed, Altena was rapidly becoming an industrialized nation, although there were many reasearchers who were desperately trying to find a way to get around the recent loss.
Ten years… In ten years she grew up. Grew older and much wiser. She was nothing like she was then. She was proud of who she was now, however. She did not mind the change one bit.
“<i>Dai’stiho</i>, Mother Superior.” Carlie… Charlotte now, anyway, turned around.
“<i>Dai’stiho</i>, Brother Heath.” The traditional greeting of those in the Church of Light, and formal, when used to greet superiors or equals. The less formal “<i>Dai</i>” could be used causally or to inferiors. Indeed, using the full greeting (which roughly translated into “Many blessings”, or “Blessings” respectively) to an inferior was a mark of respect for said person.
Charlotte did indeed respect Heath. Mainly because he was her best friend in the world for noone knew how long. He was probably a few years older than her, but he had suffered his ordeals. He, too, grew very wise in a short time.
It was no surprise then, that Grandfather had chosen him to be his successor before he died, with the secondary recommendation of Charlotte. The secondary recommendation was just in case Heath did not want the position of Grand Priest.
Which was the case. Now, Charlotte, at 27, was the Grand Priestess of the Church of Light. A nomination that was surprising in many ways. But then, the Council did approve thier nominations.
<i>Ten years…</i> Charlotte thought to herself. <i>It was seven years ago that I actually grew up, wasn’t it?</i> Indeed, Charlotte did not look anything like her former self. <i>And maybe five years since I finally escaped that silly speech impediment.
And three years since Grandfather died…</i> Not on the exact day, of course. She missed him so much, really. Grandfather was the closest thing to a parent she had ever known.
But now was not the time to muse on the past.
Heath smiled as Charlotte greeted him. “You have visitors, Charlotte.” Heath and Charlotte were on a first name basis, while she was referred to fondly as Mother Superior by everyone else.
Charlotte could barely contain her delight. “Well, shall we greet them?”
“Let’s.” And the two walked out into the church.
Every so often, Charlotte looked sideways at Heath. <i>He’s very handsome…</i> She thought to herself. Something that she had been noticing for years. She simply adored him, but for the Grand Priestess, that would simply not do.
In the Church of Light, priests and priestesses were required to take vows of chastity, forgoing worldly delights in favor of spiritual advisory and guidance.
<i>Vows of chastity are much easier to take when you’re thirteen and still think boys have cooties.</i> she thought ruefully to herself. Now that she was a woman… <i>As Duran might have put it, it’s like an itch you can’t scratch.</i>
She couldn’t claim to be unhappy though. This was her life’s work, a position many older priests would have died to have. She loved what she did, with all of her heart. She had no time, nor reason for regrets.
But at times, she wondered if there was more.
Heath for his part, remembered how he was often stuck babysitting Carlie. He was fond of her, but one had to admit that it was a chore that even tried the Grand Priest’s patience. It was rather interesting, too, to find that the spunky, tomboyish, and rambunctious half-elf, who barely topped four feet, grew into a lovely, elegant, and graceful woman of wisdom and restraint.
Not that he hadn’t noticed her appearance, but priests did not bother with such worldly thoughts. Of course, there were some priests who muttered (behind her back, of course) that her… sex appeal… was cheapening the message and divine mission of the Church.
<i>Like they don’t look anyway, the old hypocrites,</i> Heath grumbled to himself. They probably had issues with her in other ways, perhaps her relative youth, her gender, and perhaps because she was chosen over many other priests who believed that they were more qualified than her.
But Heath trusted the Grand Priest’s decision, even though he did not agree with his first choice. Besides, it wasn’t like she dressed to accentuate her appearance. Even in layman’s clothes she did not bother.
Besides, the people simply adored her. Wether it was because of her appearance or her wisdom, it didn’t matter to him. The Church was gathering more converts and followers by the day. Even with the (friendly) competition of the moon worshippers. They were gathering more converts also, especially when Rolante and the Beast Kingdom united. The two Churches accepted and tolerated each other. They were in some ways alike, after all, and neither really did anything that the other would tolerate.
Soon they were in the cathedral, where many priests, priestesses, and lesser monks were busying about. The page who had admitted Charlotte’s friends bowed deeply. “Your guests have arrived, Mother Superior.”
Upon entereing, the only male who’s eyes hadn’t widened or barely remained in their skull was Kevin. Even Angela looked shocked. <i>It must have been a long time!</i> Charlotte thought to herself, amused.
For Hawk and Duran’s part, instead of the brash, outspoken shrimp they had come to know and accept, was a woman who seemed to be an angel in the guise of a mortal. She was simply… beautiful. <i>How fitting,</i> Hawk couldn’t help to to think to himself.
Everyone’s shock ended the precise moment Duran yelped. It seemed that his wife had “accidentally” stomped and ground her heel into his foot.
“<i>Dai’stiho</i>, honored friends. And thank you Angela.” Charlotte said, a slight smile playing across her lips. Everyone went into shock again, save Kevin and Lise. That ended when Charlotte dropped all pretense of decorum and hugged Angela like a sister.
“Carlie! It’s been so long!” Normally Charlotte would have corrected her, but… <i>Oh, who cares?</i> “It has been a while, Angela. Why don’t you visit?”
Angela looked away. “Sorry… but.”
“Don’t bother with excuses, I’m just happy you could join us.”
“Look at you! I mean…” Words seemed to fail Angela.
“You’ve grown up.” Duran finished her sentence, with a hint of a wicked grin… and was followed by a yelp as Angela trod on his other foot.
“You could use a few lessons in fashion though, those robes… they’re simply too dumpy. Definately not your color.”
“I see you haven’t changed at all, Angela.”
Angela couldn’t help but smile. “I’m just playing with you Carlie.”
Charlotte returned the smile. “I know. And you, Hawk… Where have you been?”
Hawk chuckled and hugged Charlotte. “Not much. I’m married, and have a few little Hawks and Jessica’s…” Jessica, who was standing beside him, held his hand and blushed. “But they couldn’t come. So old Flamekhan wanted to watch over them. He simply loves them. Otherwise, the usual business.”
“The usual, <i>illegal</i> business.” Lise piped up, with a hint of amusement.
Charlotte smiled. “Dear dear, Brother Hawk. Will I have to take you into confession?”
“You could take me into confession any time you want.” He yelped himself.
Jessica raised an eyebrow at Angela, trying not to laugh. “Angela, that’s my job.”
“Well I’m good at it too, thought you’d appreciate not having to do it.”
Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Boys.” Then with a quick glance at Angela. “Girls.”
“Hey!” Duran protested, “I’m not a boy. I’m a man. I’ll prove it too…” And with a sidelong glance at his wife, “I don’t have any more feet for you to step on.”
BONK.
“That hurt…” Duran whimpered as he clutched his head.
Charlotte did her best to keep from laughing, and turned to Lise and Kevin, who she hugged very tightly. “Lise, Kevin… how are Dolan and Christopher?” She knew both of the children well, and they were happy to come visit “Auntie Carlie”, despite the fact that Kevin and Lise were both moon worshippers.
“They couldn’t come.” Lise sighed.
“Sick.” Kevin said gruffly. “Elliot and Beast King watching them.”
“Probably terrorizing poor Karl.” Lise muttered with a laugh, which both Kevin and Charlotte joined in. They both knew about the little pup, which would probably be a full grown wolf by now. They both knew all about him, considering that they had followed Kevin to defeat the Dark Lich.
A loud grumble announced that it was time for the greetings to end. Charlotte looked down and blushed slightly. “I can imagine you all are hungry from your long trips. Shall we partake of dinner?”
“Gladly.” Duran agreed.
“Brother Heath, you shall join us.”
“Mother Superior,” Heath protested, but smiled regardless. “I have my duties.”
“Duties, schmooties. Today is a time for friends.”
Heath nodded as the group left for the banquet hall.
It was astonishing how much Charlotte could eat.
Kevin, Lise, and Heath were unsurprised, but everyone else was stunned. How could Carlie eat so much and maintain her body?
Kevin had often complained on thier journeys, with a small smile, about how much the half-elf had cost them in food… or how much food Lise and Kevin had to hunt, the case may be. Perhaps it was because she was a half-elf, or maybe she just loved food.
Still it beat her younger days. Then she would leave an almighty mess, which made nessecary a bath after every meal. Now she ate much more like a polite, proper woman.
She still ate a lot though. And ate very quickly.
The dinner was uneventful but grand, and punctuated by small talk between Charlotte, Heath, and the six visitors. Just general small talk between friends who had not met in the longest time.
“Crime’s becoming a problem in Altena. Fortunately the Beast King was kind enough to allow a few beastmen into our police force.” Duran commented. He lived mainly in Altena, as his wife would be Queen when her mother died.
“Could imagine.” Kevin chuckled.
“Wouldn’t that count as cruel and unusual punishment?” Charlotte sniggered, with a cheerful, false frown from Kevin.
“Effective.”
“Very much so.” Angela laughed. “And there’s a new invention, it shows a lot of promise. They call it the steam engine. And of course, we’ve been looking for a way to use magic…” Angela couldn’t hide her disappointment in that. She had lost all of her powers when Mana left the world. Even though in her mind it was a lot of trouble, she sorely missed them.
“Sounds interesting. What does it do, Angela?” Lise asked.
“It’s like a furnace. You burn things in the furnace, which boils water into steam. Steam rises, and that supplies power to stuff like mills. It looks like it’ll supply more power than wind or watermills.”
“Not to mention you can get warm by them,” Duran commented dryly. Sometimes he complained that it was too cold in Altena. He was too used to the more temperate climate of Forcena.
Charlotte chuckled and smiled. “When will you two have kids?” (“That’s a scary thought,” Hawk whispered to Heath. Heath nearly burst out laughing.) “I would be happy to be the one to baptize them.” Only fitting to have someone of Charlotte’s stature to christen a young prince, or princess.
“Well, it’s not like we’re trying…” Duran said with a wink.
“We are in a church.”
Angela shrugged. “Don’t know. I’m starting to get worried. When we thought we would be lucky…” She had a tears in her eyes.
Duran sighed sadly. “Seven miscarriages. I’m starting to worry myself, but the doctor says she should be alright…”
Charlotte held her hand to her mouth. “I’m so sorry…” Jessica patted Angela’s shoulder consolingly.
Angela smiled sadly. “Well there’s nothing we can do…” She grinned impishly. “Except keep trying.”
Charlotte just rolled her eyes as everyone laughed. “How is Rolante, Lise?”
“Doing very well, Carlie. The rebellion is dying down at least…” Some group in Rolante happened to dislike the fact that Rolante would be uniting with the Beast Kingdom, and beastmen in general. And apparently there were enough to start a rather bloody rebellion.
Kevin rolled his eyes. “No more attempts on life at least. Was getting annoying.”
Angela shook her head. “There’s always a few in every bunch.”
Lise nodded. “Unfortunately. Fortunately a few ninjas…” (Here she looked over at Hawk, chuckling) “…decided it might be a bit fun to figure out where their headquarters were. After that, it was pretty quick.”
Hawk laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, we couldn’t resist. Besides, old Flamekhan figured he owed you.”
Lise nodded. “We owe Navarre quite a bit as well.”
Hawk sat back in the seat, nodding. “Doesn’t matter really, anothing for a friend. A lovely one anyway.”
BONK.
“Ok. That did hurt.” Hawk moaned as he held the rapidly growing bump on his head.
Angela just chuckled, winking to Jessica. “The force is strong with you.”
Everyone laughed for a bit, until Hawk straightened up and pelted Jessica with a grape. That threatened to escalate once Jessica threw two at her husband, until Heath grabbed Hawk’s arm from throwing the whole bunch. “Do we need to put you two in a playpen? I spent half of my life babysitting her,” and he tilted his head to Charlotte, “I don’t want to spend any more babysitting you two.”
Charlotte blushed again as everybody laughed.
Once everyone had calmed down, Hawk spoke up. “We’ve been doing well. Ironically, we’re not so much stealing now as we’re the police. Seems Flamekhan feels we owe a lot to those in the desert, after what happen. Don’t mind really, but I miss being a thief. Now that was exciting.”
Jessica rolled her eyes and smiled fondly. “Actually he’s more into being a father than a thief.”
Duran smirked. “Who would have thought you would settle down?”
Hawk just chuckled. “Not me, for one. But I think I like it.”
“For Jessica’s sake, I hope so.”
“Okay, I love it. Admittedly, we have our fights and all, but I wouldn’t give her up for the world.” Jessica blushed and kissed her husband on the cheek. “What about you Carlie?”
Charlotte shrugged thoughtfully. “Just day-to-day business. What can you say about it? It’s downright boring sometimes.”
Heath rolled his eyes. “She complains to me no less than once a day about how stressful or how boring her job is. But she would only give it up when she dies or the end of the world, and not a second sooner.”
“This is what I was born to do, Heath.” Charlotte chuckled. “I have a right to complain to my friends, don’t I? that’s what you’re here for.”
“Unfortunately,” Heath replied with a smile.
Eventually though, people tire, even great heroes of the age. Eventually Charlotte and Heath had to retire. Their friends would be staying at Wendel Inn (“Probably a good idea,” Lise had commented, watching her Hawk and Duran with their wives), with the promise that they would be seeing each other again tomorrow. After all the celebration lasted a week.
Content, and happy that her closest friends could come to see her, Calrie retired to her chambers and feel into a deep, but not dreamless, sleep.
