THREE WEEKS AGO…
Jason stood within the bowels of the earth with Silas, the white elk. Before him burnt an intense flame. It burnt the ground above him as well and stretched infinitely into the distance. Jason had been quenching the flames in his path. The flames above, below and before him.
"This is much worse than I thought. These flames probably originate from the volcano and spread all across the continent. We need to journey towards the source of the flame. I sense the evil behind this is currently in slumber" Silas said.
Jason fought the flames off and walked on. Silas imbued the ground where the flames had been quenched with life and moisture strong enough to resist the flames of death.
"Silas, Jason, listen to me. The volcano you're journeying towards is the closest to the core of the earth I have seen yet. Its lava flows all around the continent like veins of magma. If you think of the continent as a living being, that volcano is its heart. The evil causing the death of your land is lodged in the volcano like a disease, turning the magma flowing through the veins of this continent into poison, eating away at the land's life. But that evil is soon to awaken and erupt from the volcano. When that happens, Jason, Silas, that will be your chance. Channel your life into the very volcano. It will flow through the lava and magma around the continent and reanimate it" the voice of Jo-lan spoke within their minds.
Jason and Silas fought the flames off and restored as much of the land's life as they could as they journeyed deeper and deeper into the bowels of the earth.
A WEEK AGO…
The ship Josec and the crew were on, as well as the other ships loaded with food for the people were approaching the continent of Vung. Deep in the heart of the volcano, the evil stirred and opened its eyes.
"Fencer, so you've come, the great anomaly. I will wreak my vengeance upon you this day!" Apollo roared.
On the ship, Fencer felt Apollo's joki and extended his own towards the volcano.
"It's about time you woke up, you obnoxious flame!" Fencer thought with all his willpower.
Josec sensed their clash of wills.
"For five years, I have slumbered in the bowels of the earth, slowly regaining my strength. You won't find this battle nearly as entertaining as I will…of that I assure you Fencer!" Apollo roared as the volcano erupted in flames.
"Josec, Harry, Buern, Estelle…all of you, continue on to the continent of Vung. Josec will guide you to where you need to be" Fencer said with a serious look on his face.
"What's wrong Master Fencer?" Estelle asked worriedly.
"He's coming…that obnoxious flame and if I don't hold him off, I fear we'll lose all the ships" Fencer said.
Then he turned to the rest of the Masters.
"Fencer, no one expects you to do anything extreme. In the past you held him off for two years. We just need you to hold him off long enough for us to make our preparations" Master Colette said.
The other Masters nodded.
A bright light flashed within Josec's mind. He saw Jason at the heart of the volcano, waiting patiently, concealing his presence with Silas' help. Then he saw Apollo burst forth from the volcano and head towards the coast.
"Jason! Now's our chance!" Silas exclaimed.
"PSYCHORAGE ABILITY! GAEIA!" Jason roared and fused with Silas to become an embodiment of nature itself.
He plunged deep into the volcano, diving deeper and deeper towards the earth's core. The moment he entered the volcano, the lava changed nature. It overflowed with life flowing through the veins of the earth!
Josec shut his eyes and opened them.
"The boy, he's channelling life back into the earth in Apollo's absence!" Josec exclaimed.
"Then I'd better extend my greetings to Apollo before he realizes what is going on. RELEASING FIVE UNITS OF POWER INTO THE CORAL GEM! ENGAGE THE MYTHICAL PROGENITOR'S JO-LAN ART! SINGULARITY SHIFT! RUNE KNIGHT VER. GOLD!" Fencer roared as a loud whirring sound began to resound all around them. In the next instant, he flew into the sky, shattering the sound barrier.
Moments later, the sound of large explosions in the atmosphere announced the fact that Edgar Fencer and Apollo had begun to exchange blows over the continent.
In Jason's village, the people were frightened when they heard the sound of explosions in the atmosphere and saw the flashes of light.
"This land is cursed! We're all going to die!" they began to scream in fear.
"Get a hold of yourselves! No one is going to die. If anyone is going to die, it's the one who has resigned himself to death" a firm voice said.
The people turned towards the voice and saw an old man.
"Who are you?" they wondered.
"Just a traveller. What is happening in the atmosphere is indeed dangerous but not dangerous enough to kill anyone…yet. Right now, your greatest threat is starvation so I suggest you start digging" the old man said and picked up a pickaxe.
"Digging what?" they asked.
"Trenches of course, to your farms" the old man said.
"Does this land look like it can be farmed?!" the people yelled angrily.
"Not if you're not even going to try" the old man said.
PRESENTLY…
Josec and the crew had finally arrived at the village below the volcano, Jason's village. They saw the trenches that had been dug. The trenches led all through the village and extended outwards. The people welcomed them. They looked more hopeful now after working together for a week. They were also overjoyed with the food.
"But how did you know of our plight?" they wondered.
They were surprised to discover that their help was coming from another continent.
"Rumours" Master Andrea said simply.
"But what are all the trenches for?" Buern asked.
"Water…to our farms. A nice old man, a strange but nice old man said it was for water leading to our farms. We still think he is a little crazy. The ground and air here are so hot and no matter how many times we attempted to dig wells, we only found rock. But if we are going to die anyway, we thought it would at least be better to give it a try" the people said.
"And who…may I ask was this nice old man?" Harry asked with a suspicious glare.
"Let us take you to him. He is with the other villagers preparing seed beds" the villagers replied.
"Aah, so he's with the other villagers preparing seed beds" Harry said with an apathetic look in his eyes.
Estelle punched him in the shoulder.
"What's with the attitude?" she asked.
"Hello! From what we've learnt so far, this is a village where there has been no rainfall in five years and if I might add, this strange climate affects the whole continent. Attempting to dig wells only led them to bedrock…every single time and then some random old man just appears a week ago and tells them to dig trenches and prepare beds for farms?" Harry said.
"What are you getting at?" Buern asked.
"Only one old man I know does that…only one!" Harry said.
"Wait, you think Jo-lan is here?" Josec asked.
"Think? No Jo, I don't think, I know" Harry said.
When they arrived at the farm, they heard the loud crowing of a cockerel. Everyone had surprised expressions on their faces.
"Figures it would be that old man" Harry said in an apathetic tone.
"Doctor Jollyman, what are you doing here?" Estelle asked.
"Jollyman? And she never figured out it was him? With three additional letters and one syllable, he was able to completely conceal his identity? This old man sure is scary in more ways than one" Harry said.
"In her defence, he has a much shorter beard now and no glowing lights around him" Buern said.
"Is this old man everywhere one of Souryu's generals is?" Harry asked.
"You said it yourself Harry. Jo-lan was born to aid mankind in confronting the Black Dragon" Buern said.
"Umm Estelle, look a bit closely, are you sure that old man doesn't look familiar?" Harry asked.
"Imagine him with a longer beard, glowing lights and a more ancient getup" Buern said.
Estelle stared at the old man closely as the images formed in her mind.
"JO-LAN!" she exclaimed in shock.
"She finally figured it out" Harry said with a sly chuckle.
"You're quite a genius for figuring out his identity the moment you saw him" Buern said.
"He told me his name was Albane. Imagine my surprise when I discovered he didn't only exist in books so contrary to your words dear Vane, I never figured out his identity till he revealed himself to me" Harry said with a funny look on his face.
"Looks like you all recognize me now" Jo-lan said.
"Why didn't you tell me who you were Doctor Albane Jollyman" Estelle said in a tone that showed she was close to taking offence.
"It wasn't necessary Estelle. I can only do for you what you are willing to do for yourself. Your people were crippled in fear by Anubis' rule and were unwilling to do anything to change their situation. Since no one was willing to fight, I couldn't lend my power to anyone. I could only comfort and encourage you through what you were going through. I could only act once Harry Bane chose to take action so it wouldn't have changed anything even if you knew who I was" Jo-lan said.
"I see, you were born to aid man in their confrontation of the Black Dragon, not to fight man's battles for him" Buern realized the meaning behind those words.
"I can only fight if man fights. If man chooses to do nothing, I can do nothing" Jo-lan admitted.
Buern stared at the trenches the people had dug and the farms they were preparing.
"If man acts, you will act. It makes sense. So what do you plan to do now Jo-lan?" Buern asked.
Jo-lan smiled.
"I'm going to send you on an errand, back to your own land" Jo-lan said.
"And how is that going to help? We're needed here. How does our homeland relate to the plight of the people here?" Buern asked.
"This problem won't be solved through your power alone. To save this land, each of you must play your part. Jason's part is to restore the life of the land. Fencer's part is to keep Apollo distracted while he does that and your part is to go back to the Port Town Of Wusihen, find the psychorage called Yggdrasil and return here with a variety of drought resistant seeds" Jo-lan said.
"I see" Josec said.
"So that's your plan to restore the continent's life. Impressive" Master Pheisl said.
"Just how much of seeds do you need?" Master Andrea asked.
"Just about the same amount of food you brought to this land" Jo-lan said.
"Isn't that a bit excessive?" Estelle asked.
"It's just enough" Jo-lan said. "I'll have the Masters remain here with Marina while you're gone" Jo-lan said. "Oh and before I forget, tell Yggdrasil to give you the 'earth-suturing' seeds as well. Just enough for a single ship to carry" Jo-lan said.
A WEEK LATER…
The ships arrived at the Port Town Of Wusihen, in the continent of Iron. The same continent Ferus Village, Josec, Harry and Buern's Village was. Josec, Harry and Buern walked around town as they narrated their adventures in the once cursed Port Town to Estelle. Josec led them to the forest outside the Port Town. They met the two sentries who had once warned them about the Town.
"Hey, you guys! You finally returned. Everyone will be overjoyed to see you!" the sentries greeted joyfully.
"How are Fleur and her family?" Josec asked.
"They're doing just fine. Fleur was so excited yesterday. She said something about you guys returning to this Town. Also said Yggdrasil told her. Usually we'd have dismissed it as a fable but ever since you guys saved us from nature's wrath all those months ago, we've come to believe that just about anything is possible" the sentries said.
Josec led the others outside the town and explored the forest. The mass of cut down trees had regrown and the forest looked livelier than before. The birds were also returning.
"The people here really did learn from their mistakes" Buern said.
Josec led his friends into the forest, towards the heart of the forest where the tremendous tree, Yggdrasil dwelt. They arrived in the clearing and found the tree leading all the way into the sky.
"Josec, you came!" Fleur exclaimed in joy.
Josec smiled and ran to hug her.
"Are you still Yggdrasil's sentinel?" Josec asked and patted her on the head.
"A sentinel more now than ever before, look" Fleur said and stretched out her hands. Flowers bloomed in the forest all around them.
"I can't believe it! You're a Jo-lan warrior" Josec expressed his surprise.
"I now understand how the forest recovered so quickly" Buern said.
"Yggdrasil has been expecting you. All of you" Fleur said as the tree behind her slowly transformed into the tremendous lion.
"Gyata! We need seeds, tons of drought resistant seeds and something called the 'earth-suturing' seeds!" Josec called.
"So…you have begun to confront the seven generals of Souryu. It can only mean that if you need the 'earth-suturing' seeds" Yggdrasil said.
"How do you know about that?" Harry asked.
"The earth-suturing seeds are tools you need to confront one of Souryu's generals, the one known as Gargolem. He is a terrifying psychorage known to cause earth shattering quakes. To deal with him, you need a Dryad, someone like Jason or Fleur and the 'earth-suturing' seeds. The earth-suturing seeds grow into trees with roots that penetrate deep into the earth and spread far and wide holding the earth firmly together like sutures. They have the power to slow down tectonic movement and thus prevent earthquakes. Battling Gargolem is like battling the earth itself and if you cannot turn the earth into an ally, then you will have to confront it as a foe. Sowing the earth suturing seeds can turn the terrain to your advantage" Yggdrasil explained.
"Looks like trees do much more than just provide food" Estelle said.
Yggdrasil nodded. Then he breathed on the earth and varieties of seeds appeared in great numbers.
"We'll need help to take all of these to the ships" Buern said.
It took them three whole days to carry all the seeds to the ships. The villagers all helped them do this. Fleur's family was happy to see Josec, Harry and Buern. The three introduced Estelle to them. They stayed with Fleur's family during those three days. Four days later, they began their journey to Vung.
A WEEK LATER…
The people of Vung began to sow the seeds Josec and crew had brought.
"Impressive Yggdrasil. This is much better than I had hoped for. Rapid growing drought resistant seeds with the potential for high yield. The people of Vung will forever be in your debt" Jo-lan said as he directed the people to sow as much as they could.
They spread the rest of the seeds on the ground. Jo-lan called to the birds of the air to come and eat the seeds. The birds came in large numbers, happy to finally find food.
"Why are you allowing the birds to eat the seeds Jo-lan?" Estelle asked.
"These birds will eat the seeds and fly about the continent seeking more food and water. When they excrete the seeds, the life Jason is imbuing into the ground will cause the seeds to grow. It's been two weeks since you left and Marina has been filling the trenches with water to cool the soil. The other Masters left to aid Fencer who is still battling Apollo. Jason has imbued much of the continent with life, our work here is almost done.
TWO WEEKS LATER…
Seedlings had begun to sprout all over the village and the villagers were overjoyed to discover these signs of life. The birds had done their part and all over the continent, seeds had begun to sprout. Much of the ground was losing its heat and the air was already beginning to become cooler.
Over the continent of Vung, the Masters battled Apollo fiercely. Jo-lan looked at the seedlings happily.
"Now it's finally time to quench the evil flame! Josec, Harry, Buern, Estelle, you will journey to the volcano and help the Masters suppress Apollo" Jo-lan ordered.
"It's about time!" Harry said and punched his palm.
The battle to quell the evil flame was nearing its climax.