Part Two: Rosary

Rosary awoke in a cold sweat. She shivered, her mind still haunted by the nightmares that had plagued her sleep. Her eyes, glowing faintly like those of some sort of nocturnal animal, darted around the room searching for something comforting; finally settling on a portrait of her mother, Elman's late wife. As she studied the painting of the lovely blond woman, she felt a sense of doubt. "Dad said she died when I was just a baby," Rosary said to herself. "But shouldn't I have at least a few memories of her? I can't remember anything of this place before my third birthday." Reassuring herself that many people don't remember what happened to them when they were that young, Rosary fell asleep and dreamed her troubled dreams.

"Hi dad," Rosary pecked him on the cheek. "You look worried, what's wrong?"

"I didn't want to tell you this, but. . ." Elman began.

"Did something happen to Dyluck?" Rosary gasped.

"No Rosary," Elman reassured her. "He left this morning with his troops to stop Elinee from taking villagers."

"Dyluck? Gone?" Rosary squeaked. "He could get hurt. . .or worse."

"I'm sure he's well aware of that," Elman said.

"I've got to bring him back!" Rosary grabbed her Kung-Fu glove and darted out the door.

Rosary sprinted through the underbrush, not caring that the thorns slashed her legs through the thin fabric of her pants. "Whenever I love someone, they go away," she thought as she ran. "My mother, my grandparents, and now Dyluck," she bit her lip. "And dad's getting old. . ."

All Lucius could smell was the acrid scent of smoke and cinders crunched under his feet. Finally he came upon a strange looking man standing next to a cannon. "Um. . . hello?"

"Hi! You must be Lucius!" the man pushed him towards the cannon. "Hop right in! Jema already paid your way!"

"He did?" Lucius asked as he climbed into the cannon.

"Yeah. . . Oh did I introduce myself yet?" the man shouted, nearly deaf from being around the cannons. "I'm one of the Cannon Travel brothers! We're building a global network! Enjoy your flight!" The Cannon Travel man lit the fuse, sending Lucius flying into the air.

Lucius landed roughly in a clearing. He brushed himself off and read the sign beside him, which told him which direction to the Water Palace. Lucius then walked through the forest path which led to the Palace.

"At-ten-shun!!!" he heard someone shout, followed by armor clinking. Outside the Water Palace a young man, maybe just a year or two older than Lucius, was standing with a line of soldiers standing rigidly in front of him. Lucius walked up to one of the soldiers.

"That's Major Dyluck," the soldier whispered out of the corner of his mouth. "He's trying to prove himself to Elman, so Elman'll let him marry his daughter."

At those words the soldier next to him snickered. "Good luck," he whispered. "Elman's as reluctant to give away Rosary as King Manmon is to give away any of his gold!" All the soldiers began to laugh.

"Alright, funnyboys! That's enough!" Dyluck barked. "Move your sniggering tushes into that transporter and get going. We have a witch to whup!"

"Yes, Major Dyluck," the soldiers said sweetly and marched into the area marked by three stone totems. In a flash of light, the soldiers vanished.

"Ingrates," Dyluck muttered before he was teleported away.

Lucius shook his head. "Here goes nothing," he said to himself and entered the Water Palace.

A girl with hair the green-blue color of the sea sat on a set of steps that led up to a raised platform. At the top of the platform was a seed the size of a human head.

"Hey you, where's Luka?" Lucius asked her.

"'Hey you?!'" Jema fumed as he walked across a bridge in the palace to join Lucius. "That's no way to speak to--"

The girl frowned and a small stormcloud appeared over his head.

"Hi Luka," he added in a polite tone. "You didn't need to sic Undine on me. . .I wasn't going to hurt him."

"I knew you weren't, I just wanted to yank your chain a bit," the girl, Luka, said with an impish grin.

"What?! This girl is over a hundred years old?!" Lucius was shocked.

"Surprise, surprise," Luka giggled.

"This boy, Lucius, is the Mana Knight," Jema said and pointed to the sword at Lucius's hip.

"I know," Luka said serenely. "The ebb and flow of tides brings me news of the world. It has also told me that you are reluctant to be Mana Knight. . .are you afraid?"

"The sword frightens me," Lucius admitted, his ears burning with embarrassment.

"It would frighten me to hold the Mana Sword, too," Luka said. "But its power is gone. . .it used its last ounce of power to summon you. It needs you just as much as you need it."

"Why me?" Lucius was still scared. "Why not Jema?"

"The sword works in ways even I cannot fathom," Luka put her hands on Lucius's shoulders. "But I do know that you must re-energize it or the world is in peril!"

"What should I do?" Lucius asked.

"You must become a hero worthy of carrying the Mana Sword," Luka smiled.

"The Sword trusts in your abilities and so does Jema and I. Life itself is counting on you to become the Mana Knight. . .will you do it?"

"I'll do it," Lucius said. "But I still say the Sword made a mistake in choosing me."

"Enough!" Luka stepped aside. "Hold the Sword up to the seed!" she pointed to the giant seed at the top of the platform. Lucius complied and the seed levitated off of the platform and radiated a pure, pale blue light. The boy saw the Sword glow blue for a second as well.

"Wha- What happened?" Lucius asked.

"The Mana Sword just sealed the Mana Seed," Luka replied. "Now its power will only be sent to you and your sword, so you'll be able to gain power from the Mana Seed wherever you are. There are seven other palaces like this one in the world. . .visit them and receive power from the seeds they hold!" Luka then whispered something and a spear appeared in her hands. "Take this spear with you. . . the Mana Guardians used it long ago. It will gain power much like the Mana Sword. There are many other weapons like this spear that you must find!" Luka noticed the burns and bruises that Lucius has received during his fight with the mantis-ant. "I'll restore you," she said and all of Lucius's wound's healed.

"You had better go to Gaia's Navel and talk to the dwarves there about reforging the Mana Sword," Jema said. "I'll go to the King of Pandora and talk to him. The Empire mustn't win!" with those words, Jema left the palace.

"To reach Gaia's Navel, you must go south through the kingdom of Pandora," Luka said. "Good-bye Lucius. . .and good luck!"

"Okay, if I remember my geography this road leads to Pandora," Lucius said to himself as he walked the narrow road next to the stream. Suddenly, he was grabbed by goblins.

"What a nice, tender child!" one of the goblins cackled. "You'll taste good cooked in a pot with carrots, beans, spices. . ." it wiped the drool from its mouth. "Trust me kid, you'll be good eating."

"But what if I don't want to be good eating?" Lucius whimpered.

"Tough noogies, kid," the goblin replied.

As the goblins dragged Lucius off to their village, Lucius saw a small sign with the words "Beware of Goblins" painted on it. "Now you tell me," he said under his breath.

Rosary stopped outside the clearing and hunkered down behind a tree. She could hear the goblins chanting around their cook-pot. The cook had just pushed the victim into the hot water when he and his assistants noticed that the dancing, so important to most goblin parties, had begun. They ran away from the pot and joined the dance. Rosary crept closer to see who was in the pot. "It couldn't be," she said to herself. "You okay, honey?" she whispered.

Lucius looked up to see a blond girl staring over the pot. He jerked his head out of the water and sputtered, "Who are you?"

"I've got to get you out of here," Rosary hissed. She grabbed his arms and dragged him out of the pot. "Follow me," she darted off into a stand of trees.

Once safe, Lucius repeated, "Who are you?"

"Um, I've got to go," Rosary said. "It was a case of mistaken identity; I thought you were. . .someone else. . .I guess I lose," she frowned and ran off.

"She left without telling me her name," Lucius said to himself. "Wonder who she's looking for?"

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