The sky was darkening... they had obviously started later than Elanore had expected. The sunset was proving to be a beautiful one, she decided as she watched the colors drift fingers of light across the land, slowly giving up their grip in respect of the night.

Elanore, come...

Elly shivered at that sound... it had started earlier today, when she had awoke. It had been just a whisper at first, but as the day wore on, it had grown louder and louder, from an indistinguishable noise to a whisper, and now to soft words, echoing through her head, drawing her into the desert away from Beldavik.

Elanore, come... Come if you wish to learn.

"Learn what?" she asked quietly, glancing around the sand dunes around her. The city was an hours ride behind her, and the dune bike she had taken out had enough gas to get back. But tales of will o the wisps, creatures that teased mortals with colorful flickers of light and enticed them to their deaths crossed her mind, not adding to her sense of security at ALL.

But then, unexpectedly it came.

The Truth. The truth that you have been searching for.

The voice had never answered a question before.

Was she getting closer?

Yes.

"This is just too strange for me... how can you hear me?" Elly asked, driving her bike around another dune. The light was fading quickly, and she would have to turn back if she didn't find what she was looking for soon...

And then IT found HER.

It started as a low freqency rumble... a bit of trembling in the air, as if the sky itself were cowering in fear. And then it came, falling from the sky like a homesick meteor, an accompanying shriek of displaced air making Elly put her hands over her ears.

The Gear spread its arms and legs, thrusters firing to slow its descent less than twenty feet above the ground. The amount of sand it kicked up was enormous, creating a dust devil larger than any Elly had ever seen. It stopped in less than five feet, and simply hung there, just above the ground.

Do you want the power?

It was a whisper across her mind, a tender touch, filled with compassion, sympathy, and other, more complex emotions she couldn't identify.

And sadness. There was more sadness than anything else.

"Power...? What power?" Elly asked quietly.

The power that you possess. The power that brings hope to nations. The power that makes kings and queens bow to you. The power than can change the world. Do you want the power?

"What do you mean? Aren't you saying that I already have it?"

Possession and desire are two sides of the same coin. When one possesses something, it is a simply matter of if they desire their possession. Desire is the driving force behind all human actions. When one does not possess something, yet they desire it, it can change the world.

Elly didn't answer, confused by the response. She simply bowed her head slightly.

You are different from the others, different in ways that I can not begin to decipher. The plot has thickened Elanore, and we are caught in the center of a web that touches everything on this planet. Bear this in mind as you confront the events of the next few weeks.

There was a gentle thump on the sand a few feet away, and Elly raised her head to see a figure, cloaking in the shadows of the fading dawn walking towards her. She strained her eyes, trying to see the man's face.

"Elanore, bright eyed angel..." he said quietly, a trace of sadness in his voice. "Do you understand a word I've said?"

"I......" Her teeth scored her lip, but the pain was distant. The voice, its tone, pulled at something in her soul she couldn't identify. "Who are you?"

His profile shifted, as if he were laughing... or smiling. "Always inquisitive... you haven't changed at all. My name... its not important. Lets just say that I am a friend, or an ally in this uncertain time."

His response confused her more, and his shadowed features seemed so ethereal...... Did he know her? Or was she supposed to remember him? His laugh was so familiar, like something from a dream...... or -was- it a memory? The fine line had been blurred beyond recognition.

A moment later she stopped, and she felt his ran tousle her hair gently. This time, he did chuckle. "Elanore... are you truely the one I have been searching for? Or is it the other? Both of you are living flames, your will bending the world around you to your wishes. This is a most interesting prospect..."

Then, his hand settled on her face, rubbing his thumb along her cheek in a gesture that was almost familair...

She blinked slowly, staring at the glitter in his eyes. Her hand moved of its own accord, reaching up to brush his with her fingertips, and clasp it. **Why......** His fingers curled around her small hand, entwining in hers just like she remembered.

But...... what did she know this from?

"Elanore, if you do not remeber a single thing from this lifetime, remember this. The only way to triumph is to continue. Never lose hope. Never give up. If you lose hope, all of mankind is doomed." The voice chuckled again. "As my master once said, even the greatest boulder can be broken under the force of a thousand smaller blows."

He disengaged his fingers from hers, and took a step away from her.

"Find something to believe in. Something you are willing to fight for. Something you are willing to die for. That is your only protection from the storm. Remember that. The true storm is coming, one that escapes even the feeble ideals of the 'masters' of this world. And you and I are destined to be on the front lines together..."

"I...... I don't understand........Why are you telling me these things?" What was wrong with her? She wanted to cry; she could feel the tears build up. "Who -are- you......?" She wished more than anything at that moment that she could see his face. It was the key, she knew it. **Why do I feel like I should know you?**

His finger pressed over her lips. "Shhh... not yet little bird. Not yet. You are not -quite- ready to know. Soon, but not yet... But if you really want a clue, perhaps this will remind you of something..."

Before she could respond, or even react, he leaned down...

And kissed her.

Elly wasn't quite sure what would have happened to her if he didn't have such good reflexes. As it was, her legs completely folded underneath her, and her companion wrapped his arms around her just in time to keep her from dropping to the ground.

He set her down gently, letting her kneel next to her bike as she tried to sort out what she was thinking, what she was feeling.

Several images flashed across her mind in rapid succession, so fast that she couldn't sort out the individual images by themselves, but only an 'tone', or the emotions that accompanied them... joy, happiness, sadness, grief, rage......

And his eyes...... She clutched his sleeve, recalling their glittering depths, her reflection...... and the reflection of those images. Those feelings......

"If you wanted proof, this is it." he said quietly, that hint of sadness in his voice again. "It feels like something long asleep just turned over, dosen't it? And its terrifying, because you never knew it was there..."

He stood, and began to walk away. "If you ever need me, I'll be there. You just have to call me."

Such sadness...... a tear rolled down her cheek, unheeded. She couldn't just sit here...... "L...... Lacan!"

The name came from nothing she could recall; it just slipped through her lips, and the sound of it stabbed through her heart like an icicle. She thought, just for a moment, that she might faint.

He stopped. For a moment, neither of them moved.

"I don't know where you came up with that name, but its wrong. Dead wrong." Kyouran said quietly, before walking away at a slightly faster rate. His hands darted to his eyes for a moment, before flicking to his side.

If one caught the light just right, it almost seemed that he was...

...crying.