۞ The Kingdom of Ethan ۞
This story is written in four parts. I only have the first part right now, I hope you like it!
¤SUN¤
The sun rose high above the gray castle of Ethan one day. The Pokémon had never seen the sun this high in the sky before and decided to go see if anything was happening. So by midday there were thousands of Pokémon gathered around Ethan Castle.
Prince Lucario was very annoyed at this. “The citizens are blocking my view of the beautiful green fields below. Have them move. Nothing is happening to the sun.” he told Commander Gallade.
But this was very difficult for the commander to do. The Pokémon refused to move, saying that the sun was bound to do something. Commander Gallade returned to the prince with the Pokémon not having moved at all. This began to bother the queen herself, so Queen Gardevoir, aided by Commander Gallade and the Ethian Army, set off to the Sun Shrine, where the Sun God, Ho-oh, was said to speak to Ethian royalty when he was upset.
The queen and army were gone for three days, and with each passing day the sun grew farther and farther away. The Pokémon had not moved from their spots, and began to exchange rumors of the sun leaving them forever on empty stomachs. On the third day, though, their worst fears were confirmed, as the queen and army had returned with a black phoenix feather in hand. The Sun God was angry and wanted to see the prince.
Prince Lucario and his younger brother, Young Prince Riolu, set off with the army to the Sun Shrine.
“Be prepared to walk vast distances,” Lucario had told his brother. “The Sun Shrine is far away.”
When Riolu asked Lucario why the distance was so great, he got no reply.
The lush green landscape of Ethan was beginning to fade into dirty brown on the second day of traveling. The army had stocked up on water, as they weren’t expecting to find more in the days ahead.
”We’re moving awfully slow.” The prince commented when they sat down to rest. “Didn’t you travel to the Sun Shrine and back with the queen in only three days?”
“Yes, but now we have you and Young Prince Riolu to care for.” Commander Gallade replied.
At that moment, Riolu sat down beside Gallade.
“Are we almost there, uncle?”
“Yes, Young Prince.”
Lucario snorted.
“That’s good!” Riolu piped. “You got there quick with mother, too, right?”
“Yes, we did.”
“What did the Sun God say when you went there with the queen?” Lucario asked indifferently.
“Yeah, what did the Sun God say to mother?”
“You’re a stupid little brother!” Lucario hissed, and he got up and walked away.
Riolu gasped. “Why is brother Lucario angry at me? Did I say something wrong?”
The commander said quietly, “He’s probably upset that you call Her Majesty ‘mother’…”
“Huh? Why? She’s my mom, and she’s his mom, too!”
“…”
“Hey, uncle…why is the Sun Shrine so far away from Ethan?”
The commander jerked back to his senses, suddenly aware. “Oh, that…we can’t have…non…non-royal…non-royal blood speaking to the Sun God. He wouldn’t like it…wouldn’t like it at all…”
The commander died off. Riolu cocked his head in confusion. Just then Lucario reappeared.
“Let’s go!” he commanded. “There’s no more time to waste on resting! We must get to the Sun Shrine in reasonable time.” He added under his breath, “We should have been there already…”
The third day came and the army was close to the Sun Shrine. The land was hot and dry, as any land that got too much sun would be like.
Riolu, panting, said hoarsely to his brother, “I’m really thirsty. Can I get something to drink?”
“No!” the prince snapped back. “How do you expect to become a good king if you’re begging for water near the Sun Shrine?”
“Me…? King? But brother, aren’t you supposed to be king?”
Lucario snorted and said nothing. But a few seconds later his jaw dropped open, as did every one else’s in the army. The Sun Shrine, a tiny shrine in the middle of the wasteland, was surrounded by a blue lake.
“WAS THIS HERE THE LAST TIME YOU CAME WITH THE QUEEN?!” Lucario roared.
“No! No, no, no! Not at all!” Gallade exclaimed.
“No wonder the Sun God is angry – no, FURIOUS!” said a red-faced Lucario. “And here I thought he was going to –”
“Hmm?” Riolu looked up to his brother, but he was silent.
“What would you like for us to do now, Prince?” the commander asked.
“Send a troop back to Ethan. Tell them to deliver the message that we’re going to the Moon Altar.”
“The Moon Altar?!” Gallade exclaimed in disbelief. “But Prince, why?”
“Lugia, the Water God, speaks to the Pokémon through there.” The prince explained. “We will be able to see why he has brought his water over here.”
After a few seconds pause, the commander nodded. “As you wish, Your Highness.”