From Ally to Antagonist: Tragic Luc In Suikoden
- Amethyst
- 8 July, 2025
- Amethyst
- 6 June, 2025
Jowlani’s eyes open after waking up from this bizarre dream. Turning around, he doesn’t see Zayden lying in bed. Anxiety hits because of the essence of the dream. Jowlani jumps up and goes downstairs immediately. Coming down the stairs, Zayden is nowhere to be seen.
“Maybe he’s in the bathroom? It’s a day off, so we have nowhere to go. It’s far too early at 9.” Jowlani goes back upstairs and opens the bathroom door. Again, no Zayden to be seen. He decides to wash his face, get dressed and heads downstairs once again.
He walks to the front door to check the status of the lock. It’s locked. Zayden has a key because of Jowlani’s sleepiness. Did he go outside and lock the door because of his boyfriend’s anxiety? Or is there a different reason to lock the door? Jowlani decides to head out on his own, and first goes towards aunt Serena.
“Auntie, did you see Zayden this morning?” Serena sees the look of anxiety in his young neighbour’s eyes. “Dear me, what’s going on? Did something bad happen? No, I have not seen Zayden this morning. And I’ve been up since six outside to finish the front garden. You know that I don’t like the heat of summer. The sunshine always shines so bright at the midst of the day and I..”
“AUNTIE! You’re rambling on and on and on… I just needed to know if you have seen Zayden. Thank you, I’ll check further. Love you loads, bye!” Jowlani quickly heads back inside, takes his bag, locks the front door and starts walking into the town centre.
Upon nearing the town centre, he comes across Laura. “Team Laura, assemble! Wait a sec.. where’s your hunk-a-dunk boy? Oh no, you look like it’s going to be yellow today. Please don’t. Talk to me and then we go together. I’ve got all the time.”
“Zayden was not at home when I woke up this morning. Not in the house, aunt Serena hasn’t seen him either. She was up very early, so there’s no chance he went by. The front door was locked as well. I’m worried sick something terrible happened.”
“Listen ‘Lani, it’ll be fine! Don’t you worry, detective Laura is on the case! Let’s go to the town centre and ask Adnap! They know everything if something happens on the market.”
They walk further and walk by the market stalls. They then see a big market stall with a large tent behind it, full of goods. Shiny, bright and colourful with Jowlani’s favourite colour included, purple. The stall owner hears Jowlani and Laura walking towards them. A tall and red bear turns around. They have a very friendly face and sees the anxiety on one face, the inquisitive on the other. “Good morning Laura, I see you have brought a friend to look at my wares today?”
“Sorry Adnap, not today. Did you happen to see a young man, tall, lean, dark hair and blue bandana, walk by on the square today? This handsome young lad Jowlani is my school protégée. His boyfriend has gone missing since this morning. You know just about everything, so can you help us out?”
“Hmm… tall, lean, dark hair, blue bandana… Let me think about that.” Adnap turns around, takes a small wand and puts it close to his head. Nothing happens in the eyes of Laura and Jowlani. Adnap then turns back around and says: “I’m terribly sorry, but I checked my memory, but he did not appear on this square today. Though do not despair, I’m sure he will turn up young mister. If ever you are in despair, or need someone to arm you for the time war comes.. I’ll be here whenever you need me. Laura’s friends are my friends.”
“Thank you so much Adnap for that. You’re the best! Well ‘Lani, it seems that Zay is not here. Do you have any other idea where he could be? Maybe he went out for a walk somewhere. Oh wait… the ruins of course!”
“Do you mean the old castle ruins of Faucon-Bas? There’s no way. What would he do there? It’s just a pile of rubble these days. Let’s check it anyway. I need to know stat!”
A twenty-minute walk later, Jowlani and Laura arrive at the front of the castle ruins. It literally is just leftover piles of rubble, with a single small wall left standing. They decide to head in and look around. Because it’s located on a hill, they can see most of the town from the central vantage point. Looking around the place, still no signs of Zayden.
“Dammit Laura, where the hell can he be. It’s not like him and he’s not even supposed to go to Altgrön yet. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted him so well. He’s not got me in his heart at all. It was just a moment…as always..”
Laura walks towards Jowlani and yanks briefly at his hair, lets it go and shouts: “’LANI, SHUT IT! I know this hurts, but you’re the most negative person on the planet at this moment. Stop it now. Zay is a good one, and you know that. Even when the going gets tough, the tough get going. No idea what that means, but I read it in a book. I mean: Zay will turn up for sure. Let’s leave here and ask more townspeople.”
Jowlani and Laura head back toward the exit and then hear coughing from afar. It turns silent and then they hear: “Oh no, that’s not good enough. I definitely need to do better. This small glimmering stone is not good enough.”
Laura runs towards the sound with Jowlani chasing her closely behind. The coughing gets louder and mixes in with: “Yahhh! Come on now, PLEASE!”.
The sound is loud and close enough to go around yet another set of rubble. Laura and Jowlani decide to stay put behind the wall and peek around the corner. Laura checks first and turns back quickly and whispers: “This is DEFINITELY not for YOUR eyes.” Jowlani pushes Laura to the side and checks on his own. He gets back quickly and whispers back: “WHAT THE… OH MY GOODNESS! WHY IS HE LIKE THAT? WHAT IS HE DOING?”
Laura then does the unimaginable but expected from her. She checks the floor to see if it’s clear. It is fully cleared of all obstacles. She pushes Jowlani forward to put him in visible range for the individual across the wall.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!? YOU SAID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO ME. AND NOW YOU ARE HERE.. DIGGING SHIRTLESS IN BETWEEN A PILE OF RUBBLE?! EXPLAIN YOURSELF RIGHT NOW OR WE ARE FINISHED!”
It’s Zayden. He is so astonished by Jowlani’s rant, that he drops his pickaxe, steps back and walks away. He goes in the other direction, then circles back just before the wall, and walks toward Jowlani. He tries to take Jowlani’s hand, but he gets pushed away by him. This startles him even more, but he knows that an explanation is needed.
“ZAY! GOOD LOOK! AHEM… yes, why did you leave ‘Lani like that? It’s not good relationship behaviour. You can do better than that. Help ‘Lani out, explain it and make it up.”
“I.. I… I… I’m so sorry. I left a note for you on your nightstand. I should have known you wouldn’t read it. It’s absolutely my fault. Best if I explain still, so you might forgive me. A merchant here informed me that there would be jewels left in the castle ruins. And I didn’t get a present for you yet for your birthday. I wanted to get you something special, because you’re the best thing that ever happened to me. After some hours, I found nothing at all. Except this one small purple jewel. It looks a bit like the same one in your wand. I forgot the time here and it got warm, but I had to keep going. To find something that is just as beautiful as you. But it seems that this is what it is. I’ll figure something out later.”
For the first time ever, tears start coming up in Zayden’s eyes. His apology is heartfelt and a bit heart-breaking at the same time. He comes closer again to Jowlani and takes his hand to open it. “Here, this is all I could find. Again, excuse me for not letting you know or keeping you up to date. I wanted to surprise you, not scare you.” He lays the purple stone in Jowlani’s hand. The sunshine gives it a nice glimmer. Zayden closes Jowlani’s hand and then steps back, very nervous.
“Well then, that solves one mystery Zay. Thanks for letting me walk enough steps for the day at the first bit of the afternoon. ‘Lani, it’s time you say something.”
Jowlani looks at the stone, then towards Zayden and sighs. “Oh Zayden, why are you so stupid? Well not stupid, but.. you know.. uhm… I want to say something, but can you put on your shirt. I know what it looks like, but it’s distracting..”
Zayden nervously fetches his shirt near the pile of stones and puts it on. He’s still anxious in what Jowlani will say to him and keeps staring in the distance.
“I do not need a present from you for my birthday. YOU ARE my present. Every single day for over a year now. This stone may not look like much. But because YOU did all this hard work for me, it’s the best stone in the world to me. I was afraid you left me, and I cursed on that. I apologize, I didn’t mean what I said. I just don’t want to lose you now that I have you in my life. Can we just go now? I’m hungry, tired and my emotions are not in check.”
“Case closed for detective Laura! Now Zay, go treat ‘Lani like a prince, princess, whatever you call each other. It’s high time he gets to eat, or he’ll pass out. I’ve already had breakfast, so I’ll leave you to it. Next year, you’ll vote for me as Mentor of the Year in return, got it?”
“Thanks so much Laura for the help today. Without you or Adnap, I wouldn’t have known.”
Zayden looks confused: “Who’s Adnap?”
“He’s a merchant with the best memory in history and he didn’t see you this morning Zay. ‘Lani was in complete depression, so he needs all the care in the world. I’m off now. Catch you later. GO DETECTIVE LAURA!”
Laura walks off towards the town centre. Zayden takes the purple stone out of Jowlani’s hands and puts it in Jowlani’s bag. He then takes his hands and puts them on his shoulders. “Please forgive me for what I’ve done. It doesn’t seem like the end of the world for me. For you, I know you never want to be alone or without me. I underestimated the importance of that. I’ll always stay close to you, and never stray away. No matter what the bracelet says that professor Rania gave me.” Zayden hugs Jowlani tightly and kisses him on the forehead.
“Zayden, I’m hungry like Laura said. I’m okay now. Thanks for looking out for me and planning this surprise. Never leave me again without a notice. Not without me hearing you say it, okay? Let’s grab brunch and call it a day early. I’m exhausted and your departure is coming up in a week. I want to spent all the time I can with you. Oh… the brick wall is intact I saw, so you have to focus on the healthy lifestyle. I deserve chocolate for my mental health scare.”
As the pair heads into town for brunch, two questions linger over today: