Faith in the Spirits Arc 1: To Align the Stars

[Ursali]

Alriana slowly made her way towards the training grounds, having woken up after Versaris had already left for the day. It was a recent development, dating back to Jeremiah's arrival and subsequent accompaniment of the Tigers, but still not one she was entirely used to after getting accustomed to sharing a bed with the not-elf. Every morning with his absence brought her still unresolved feelings towards Versaris dangerously close to the surface, as well as a twinge of yet another unknown emotion, but with him gone in the morning they were left to slowly dissipate throughout the day. The only exception was the morning after the Tigers first night in the Gaffney's castle; she'd had a chance to try to resolve her feelings the night before, but instead she'd indulged Versaris' alternative suggestion. At least he hadn't woken and left before her that morning, and the rest of the day had been nice as he'd taken her on a date, and actually minded his purchases this time.

She was in no hurry to be the first to the training grounds, not with who would be conducting this training. The only Tiger privy to her ongoing quarrel with Jeremiah, save Iris, was Alvira and the Creation had no intention to end up alone with the man if at all possible, not when other Tigers could be arriving at any moment. Still, she hadn't expected to be nearly the last of the Tigers to arrive. She kept her distance from the forming cluster around Jeremiah, standing at the periphery where she could hear what was being said, but giving little indication of her presence other than a brief wave towards Alvira and Versaris. Only a few Tigers remained unaccounted for, Iris, Ullr, and Tasha. The Iron Tiger herself had likely gotten involved in something, but where were the other two? She was unaware of if Iris had further contact with Jeremiah, but surely she wouldn't dodge this training and drag Ullr into it, would she?

[GoldsbroTSG]

"Morning Tanya." Miria responded, as she turned and waved to her friend. It had been a bit, and it was good to see the cat girl doing well enough it seemed. Her request was easy, and Miria turned her body and walked a little closer, started to ease the strap on Tanya's arm. "No problem. this is an easy fix. How's this?" She asked. "Everything okay? It's been a bit, and... I don't know, checking up and stuff."

[TheRoon]

Renais rushed after Gean through the castle hallways, despite Renais' being a morning person she overslept a little. Argh, what's wrong with me...no no, I said I'd do away with being too hard on myself. Thankfully she managed to get to the court yard before things started out. It seemed like everyone was here more or less, including a new face: Roxanne. The Iron Tigers had always attracted new faces, at this point the tight circle of mercenaries felt more like a private squadron for hire. It only served as more motivation for Renais of course. She stepped close to Gean's side and announced her arrival. "Renais Silvavolke, reporting for training!" She took Gean's hand and turned her head up toward her girlfriend. "You look good today, nice ribbon."

[Xinnidy]

Üllr had arrived a bit late, for a training day. The past couple days had been a lot busier in different ways, leaving the wolf boy to ruminate matters of the mind rather than the body. Between strengthening his bond with Iris, and retreading his grandfather's memories, Üllr was a decent bit more aware of the rest of the group as he finally arrived, casting a conscious glance at the others. "...I'm not late, am I?" Mumbling, he eyed Jeremiah as he stepped closer, very curious as to what nature the training would take. Üllr understood Jeremiah's strength enough to look forward to it.

"Mmm... hey, Alriana." Seeing her a bit removed from the rest of the group, Üllr had little qualms approaching. "They didn't start yet, right? Do you know what it's going to be?"

[JakezuGD]

Elisa had been waking up earlier and earlier the past few days, getting much closer to how she usually slept, even feeling good enough to start doing her morning stretches again. Just not the full exercise routine, not quite yet. Being clean, having a good bed to sleep on, and time to relax with her wife helped a lot with the fatigue that still remained. "Nah, I'm gonna come with you. I'm sure you could easily handle healing anyone that gets hurt if something happens, but it's always better to have more people on hand," she answered, all the while holding a deep lower back stretch.

With a slight held breath, she slowly pulled herself back upright, tossing her mantle on and conjuring her own staff with seemingly no issues. "I'm feeling a lot better, but I've still got a bit of deep muscle fatigue going on. Wish I didn't, because this is a really long time to not be doing any exercise at my level of fitness... but it is what it is." With a twirl and a flourish, Elisa showed off her returned dexterity by spinning her staff like she would a lance, stancing up for a brief moment with a confident smile. "Haha, that much goes without a problem again~ Let's get going, shall we? We're still not up the earliest, so I'm sure the others are already waiting."

---

As much as she wanted to use the time to relax herself, Tasha did have a job to do as the commander, though it wasn't without getting her chances to kick back and do some important catching up with people.

Quality Time Together

Spoiler

It was all too much. Too much information… While Alvira dragged herself back to her room with Tasha, the information swirled in her mind. There was so much she knew now, so much to deal with… But she wasn't alone. At least… She hoped she wasn't. She still hadn't told Tasha about all of her memories…

As she gently opened the door, her eyes fell on the tiger, a sweater, no pants, writing in what was likely a journal or notebook of sorts. “I'm back… Hahh. Pardon me.” Alvira wasted no time sliding a hug around Tasha's shoulders, pressing up against her back and squeezing tight. “I'm not letting go for a moment… I'm recharging. Hahhh… Tasha, darling… These last few weeks have been so much. And I still have to tell you about so much of it.” She kissed the back of her girlfriend's neck and slowly pulled away, taking steps back to flop on the bed. “I'll let you choose where we begin… My memories, and what they mean… Or what my God just imparted on me? Or, neither… We'll have to talk about my memories one day, but if you just wish to relax, I'm down to. It's been a while since safe walls and comfortable beds…”

After getting things settled in their room and answering to things expected of her, Tasha was finally going to get some time to herself and Alvira… though as her girlfriend had a matter to attend to, she’d taken the moment alone to write down the matters of the day in her notebook, ever keen to keep things properly recorded. The whole god business went over the tiger’s head a little, but she was at least certain enough that Vira wasn’t setting herself up for another Mercuria moment.

Soon back safe and sound as expected, Tasha set her pen down and gently held Alvira’s arms while they were draped around her. “Yeah… Ever since Cerezia, things’ve been going a little crazy around us, and especially for you,” she confirmed, just letting her girlfriend take as much time as she needed, eventually turning around in her chair as the dragon went to relax on their bed, arms held loose on top of the backrest. “I want you to tell me everything, Vira. The longer you hold off on talking about it, the harder it’ll be to bring it up, and the more emotions you’ll have piled up about it, right? We can relax better after you’ve gotten things off your chest, y’know.”

“... Okay.” She sighed and sat up properly, hands in her lap. “I know what I must do with Fomalhaut. It’s not going to be easy… The spear, the Sol Incantio, it’s in Lufiria… Under the protection of the royal family. That’s… the problem.” She sighed, heavier, more tired, as her gaze fell away from Tasha.

“My family. The Hozt family. They were some of the main collaborators for the attempt on Princess Lucille’s life. My memories… To my understanding, my father either got cold feet or wisened up at the last minute, and demanded to the orchestrator that plans be stopped, but… He was betrayed by them, our family made to flee… My parents had myself and my siblings run on our own at some point, I assume to keep us safe from those chasing us. Even if that was over ten years ago now, my name is… My position as a noble is not a welcome one, in Lufiria. My family name, being a dragon, a fire dragon… It’s going to be tough. Very tough.”

She turned her gaze back on her partner, almost staring her down. “Are you ready for that? Because, I have to do this. If we’re going to be together… I’m going to drag you through a lot of turmoil at my side. So… Please, make it clear right now, how far you’re willing to go, Natalya. If you’re worried for the safety of the Iron Tigers, or you can’t commit to heading all the way to Lufiria for all of this political unrest and issues with the Spirits of our world… I won’t blame you. This was just supposed to be a simple escort mission, after all.”

Though she wasn’t perhaps as well informed on some things as she probably ought to be, Tasha connected the dots in what Alvira was saying without much issue. It’d be a problem for sure, and not least in how they’d be able to get into Lufiria in the first place. “I might not be fully up to speed with what happened back then with the princess, but no matter which way you twist it, an assassination attempt’s going to put a target on your back for sure. And on top of that, trying to get that spear from the same people…” She shook her head, not sure of how she’d tackle an issue of that caliber.

But, at her girlfriend’s intent question, she met her gaze unflinching. “I don’t care what this mission started out as anymore, honestly. Get two stupidly important people across the continent to get a sack of gold worth a retirement fund for everyone? Yeah, maybe, if we hadn’t gotten involved with said princess, being an irregular military unit in Islexia, and finding out we’ve got actual gods stalking us for some reason only they know. If my responsibilities let me, I’ll go with you as far as you need me to, Vira, but I can’t just leave everyone on thin ice either.” There was another problem beyond that, too… one that had her look toward the window with a sigh. “Besides, if things escalate because of what happened with the Escaflowne, there’s a good chance we’ll be called as Iseria’s vanguard unit in the alliance, and then I really don’t get much of a say anymore.”

She had expected Tasha to say things like this, but that didn't mean she wanted to hear them. Alvira bit the inside of her cheek, trying not to let her frustrations show. The tiger in front of her was important to many people, there was no way she could dump them on their asses without a leader and go along with whatever Alvira was planning. Not on such whims…

“If… If we go our separate ways for a while… W-Will you welcome me back, when I return?” She felt herself stumble some, trying to stay strong. “I love you, Tasha. And I wish I could ignore all of this. Walk away and return to Glacies… Live my years out in comfort. We could adopt and raise a child. Have a family. Be comfortable and well… But it's going to chase me. Whatever's wrong with my magic, whatever specter hangs over my family. But… If you'll still be there for me when I'm done, if I can come back, and you'll still love me… Would you?”

Raise a child, have a family… Yeah, that’s all I’ve wanted for years… Tasha was a bit stuck in her thoughts, not just over the question of whether she’d let Alvira go her own way like that, but also if she was ready to accept potentially having to sacrifice her own dream for it. Yet her girlfriend’s problems were of a higher order than any of her own that she might have, so what gave her the right to be possessive now or ever over her? If there truly was a higher good Alvira could follow to vanquish the evil that plagued her, surely she wouldn’t be the only one positively affected.

Instead of giving her a direct reply, the tiger gave another shake of her head and rose from her chair, walking up to and leaning over Alvira to give her a big, soft hug. “Love isn’t about whether we’ll be together forever all the time, it’s about knowing that even if we have to go our own ways for a while, it’ll never change how we feel about each other,” she began, petting Vira’s back a little. “I don’t know what’ll happen if you decide to go, but I can’t make that choice for you either. What I do know is that I’ll love you just the same the next time we meet.”

“Tasha…!” Alvira held tight to the tiger as she brought over a hug, sniffling a little at her words. Her memories had made her stronger, but she was still Alvira, and the idea of having to go without Tasha… Even for a time, but the dread if it had been permanent… “Thank you, so much. For everything. You’ve always… You might’ve tried to act like a mother, to me, but you were always… A woman, that I held in the highest respects, and the highest regards, t… t-towards… Mmh…” She began to turn red, her heartfelt thoughts tending elsewhere… But they were alone. Alone, and with days of rest and recuperation ahead of them. 

“Oops…” Alvira leaned back and pulled Tasha onto the bed with her, a sneaky tail sliding up along the tiger’s leg. “Guess I lost my balance… Would you mind, getting off, of me?” The pause had been plenty intentional… “Or… With me in such a precarious position… Perhaps you’re getting thoughts? Tasha…?”

“The pleasure’s all mine, really. I might not always deserve that respect, and I’m far from a perfect leader, mother or woman in general… but I try my best, and try to stay true to who I am. And if that’s enough for you, it’s enough for me.” She could recall a time not that long ago when that really wasn’t the case yet, for either of them, but stranger things had occurred in much less time on this journey already. Mentioning any of that would be better left as a funny joke in reflection.

Tasha’s eyes went a bit wide when she realized what Alvira was up to, though, her tail doing a good job of stabilizing her descent. She let go and propped herself up on her arms quickly enough, looking down upon her girlfriend… “Don’t need me to tell you to go for it anymore, huh?~ I’m plenty fine to go in that direction, if you don’t mind sleeping a little less…”

“Hmph~” Alvira smirked a bit, acting a touch smug having taken the lead. “We’ve got days. You wanna keep me up all night? I’ll make up for it tomorrow… So go ahead, Tasha.” Claws slipped into Tasha’s sweater and began to push it up, the red on Alvira’s face growing, but her expression remained a touch too confident. “Give me everything we’ve been missing this last week.”

“Before we get to any of that… if you’re set on going to Lufiria anyway, I’ve got a request,” Tasha added, lightly grabbing at Vira’s arm and pausing things for the moment. “I’ve heard a lot about how they can do a lot of stuff over there with magic that you can’t find elsewhere. So, how about this… while you’re looking for how to get what you’re actually after, see if you can’t find a way for us to actually have kids.~” She made the smallest lick of her lips at the thought, slowly pushing herself closer to the bed…

“Wha–” Alvira’s confidence splattered in that moment, returning to her usual shy and embarrassed nature in these situations, flushing a bright red. “Wh-What!? How could, I, huh?? T-Tasha, th, that… G-Geez, I… I can check, I’ll look, I, asking those kind of questions, y-you… Rrhnnh, i-is adoption so bad…?” Alvira huffed, pouted a little, then sighed, slapping her hand out of Tasha’s grasp and onto her side. “Fine! Fine… I’ll turn bright as a cherry and ask people how we could possibly go about that… Is that, satisfactory…?”

Seeing how quickly that melted Alvira’s acquired composure got a chuckle out of the tiger, unable to hold back slight surprise from how easy it still was to get her flustered. “Heheh~ Yeah, that’s all that I’m asking for. I don’t know if it’s possible to begin with, but you gotta try, right?” Clearly, her girlfriend hadn’t thought about that being a big deal, or just didn’t think that far as a whole yet. “You’re so cute when you’re flustered like this, Vira… I hope you’ll never become too proud to show it to me.~” Her freed hand slid up to caress the dragon’s cheek, gently pulling her into a kiss before she could protest.

Commander and Knight

Spoiler

The day after the Tigers arrived in Eslcas, Tasha figured she’d make good on the thought she’d gotten the previous day. Well, one of them, anyway, with how busy the day had been, and waking up late made her have to catch up a little on work before she’d get the chance to satisfy her curiosity. Not just that, but also saying something she’d forgotten to many times since coming to Islexia.

One of the things Tasha had done was to check who was in which room, just so she was on top of housekeeping regarding her mercenaries, but it did also come in handy for seeking out someone like she now was. Without much ado, she made her way to the room Laniva and Syta were staying in, giving the door a brief, firm knock or two. “Hey, it’s me. Either of you in there?”

“Just a second!” Syta responded and was the first to open the door, looking a bit disheveled, but still fully dressed. “Hey, Natalya~ Did you need one of us for something, or…? I was, uh… We were… Cat ears are really nice, h-huh?” It felt a bit awkward telling that to one of the other feline clouded in their group, but she couldn’t help being honest.

Syta’s admission got a little flick from Tasha’s own ears, as well as a slightly confused blink, though she could put two and two together easily enough. The two and two she was thinking of might not have been the same that were actually at play, but she’d find that out soon enough by talking with Lani. “Looks like you’ve been having fun. There’s something I want to talk about with Laniva, privately, if you don’t mind,” she replied, keeping things matter-of-fact and not too serious, even if the request for privacy likely would bring some concern.

Laniva walked up behind Syta soon after Tasha’s arrival, looking similarly mildly disheveled - her hair notably tousled, especially near her ears, which in turn were idly flicking back and forth, rather active. “O-Oh. Hey, Chief... we were just, um... mrah.” Her tail swished a bit, awkwardly. “A-Anyway... something to talk about privately? I, um... I think that’s probably fine. We can... pick up where we left off when I come back?” She gave Syta a little nod, and her hand a little squeeze. “That okay with you?” I wonder what it could be though…

“Yeah? Of course it is.” She wondered what they had to talk about… But it probably wasn’t a big deal, right? Whatever it was… Syta felt a slight twinge, squeezing her hand tighter and leaning up to give Lani a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you when you get back, then.” She slid back into the room and shut the door on the cat before she could get back at her for her flight of fancy.

“Mrahh?! Wha, h-hey, Syta...?!” The cat Clouded was more than a little embarrassed at the sudden kiss, turning a rather deep shade of red as she spun to face the now-closed door. “Wha, you... mrrhhh...” She huffed before turning slowly, giving Tasha a look somewhere between sheepish and bashful, tail left to its own devices with a mind of its own. “U-Um... mm. A-Anyway... you wanted to talk to me about something, Chief...?”

The tiger couldn’t help a small snicker at how Syta just pushed Lani out on her terms like that, but it did get her what she wanted, and far be it from her to criticize how a seeming couple went about things. “Yeah, well, it’d be better done somewhere other than in the middle of the hallway like this. Let’s go to one of the empty rooms here, for some actual privacy,” Tasha answered, beckoning for the other cat to follow. She knew which rooms were taken, so she didn’t have to check which ones were usable either, bringing them to one in short order, and taking a seat after closing the door again. “So, uh… how’s life? Haven’t asked you about it yet, but things look like they’re going well with Syta, yeah?”

Laniva let out a small grumble at Tasha’s little snicker, the larger cat not having made any particular effort to hide her reaction. “Mm. Right, okay, that... makes sense.” Following her to one of the empty rooms, Laniva found a seat inside as Tasha shut the door, patiently awaiting her questions. “Things are good... I’ve been feeling like I’m still learning a lot about how to fight, but not falling behind, it’s... nice to feel like I’m making progress, after... mm.” She sighed a little, not anxious, but meandering about with her answers a little. “We’ve only run into real trouble here or there, and I still feel good about your leadership, and everything, and...”

She let out a big sigh, reddening again, though only to a fraction of where she’d been after the surprise kiss. “Mm. Um, t-things are good with Syta... she’s... she’s very kind, and, um... mrahh. I-It’s hard to explain... properly...” She was struggling to make eye contact a little now, responding in a half-mumble.

“Right… About that.” Tasha figured she could leave poking about the relationship and things related to after the heavier stuff, even if the way she said that left it ambiguous as to which part of what Lani said she was replying to. “I’ve been meaning to find the time to say this for over a week now, but…” A brief pause and a small, sharp sigh prefaced her continuing, bowing her head slightly. “I’m sorry. I should’ve been there for you when things got crazy with the Escaflowne, even if there wasn’t anything I realistically could’ve done. Instead, all I did was cower where I sat like a little kid afraid of a thunderstorm.” Had things happened just a month earlier, she might not have been addressing such a moment of weakness so readily, but Alvira’s encouragement had done a lot for her to be forthcoming, even when it struck at her chief insecurity. The Tigers deserved her to be, instead of someone who tried her best to keep up an unassailable facade despite her shortcomings. “That’s not the kind of behavior a leader should show, no matter how understandable it was in the situation.”

“O-Oh. I, um... I see...” Laniva’s face fell slightly at the topic shift; she might not have consciously realized it, but her mood had been rather aflutter after Syta’s little surprise, and the change in topic brought with it a corresponding change in mood. “I... don’t really know if it helps any, but I hadn’t really thought about it like that that much. And, like you said, there wasn’t realistically really anything you could do...” She fidgeted slightly in her seat, trying to find the words.

“I don’t know if anyone knew what to do there, so... so I’m just relieved that everything ended up mostly okay. I’m - I’m so terrible with handling magic, if our places were swapped I don’t think things would be any different... I didn’t really do anything holding it anyways.” She didn't really know if she was doing more harm or good, going on like this; it was a rather different side of Tasha than the couple she had seen.

“I... mm. Thank you for, telling me. Things are so different from how they used to be... I guess it's a little unfair to you to think you'd take it all in stride, just because.”

“I’m terrible with magic too, it’s practically why I froze up like I did,” the tiger continued with a shake of her head. “It was the first time I’d felt magic. Not in the way that getting hit by a spell or something does, but in a way I can only guess mages do normally and are used to. Like I was given a new sense that I couldn’t understand… and it scared me more than I can remember anything else scaring me.” Just recalling the feeling made her tail stand up and shiver.

Since they were on the same page, dwelling on it further wouldn’t have much of a point. She’d gotten her apology and thoughts on the matter out, and they could move to other, equally important, but much more personal things. “Thanks for not taking it weird or anything, too. I’ve been thinking a lot lately, because of, well. You know. A lot’s happened this past month, and I can feel that my seniority gap to the rest of you is closing up just from all of that. I hadn’t been a mercenary for that long before most of you came along and all. I’ve sort of accepted that my best is all I can do, and as long as we’re all alive at the end of the day, I don’t need to be hard on myself for things outside my ability, but I can always try to improve myself.” Tasha raised her head back to level with Lani, a slightly sheepish smile on her features.

Laniva nodded quietly as she listened, her ears curling slightly remembering the sheer magic she felt in the air as she’d held the Escaflowne. “Mm... I remember it too. It wasn’t at the front of my mind with everything that was happening, but... I understand.” She relaxed a little as Tasha gradually shifted away from her apology, giving the bigger cat a little smile as her mood improved as well. “Of course... what’s most important is that we’re all okay, that’s right. So many of us, the Tigers... we didn’t become mercenaries to be mercenaries. We’re all here right now because you helped us, so... mm. Whatever you can do is... is more than enough for us.”

She’d responded mostly off of the top of her head, saying what felt right; it had led her to a rather more heartfelt place than she’d realized, though none of it was incorrect. It was just rather unexpected, even to herself. Her tail swished through the air, a bit awkwardly. “Mrahh... um, was there anything else you wanted to ask about? I, I don’t wanna make this talk too heavy, or anything...”

Hearing more or less the same thing from someone besides Alvira was reassuring to say the least. She could always be better, sure, but what she’d already done had done so much to so many in her employ, it’d be silly to keep holding herself to some impossible standard she’d conjured up for herself, and Tasha straightened up, regaining her confidence from Laniva’s opening up about the matter. “You know, you can be so honest sometimes you don’t even notice it, and then get flustered from realizing it. Let me guess, Syta thinks you’re cute for a lot of reasons besides your being a cat,” she asserted, even if it was a very easy guess to make thanks to that surprise kiss.

There was another thing besides that that could be considered ‘heavy’, though, and before she’d poke too far into that line of curiosity, Tasha would have to shift topics again. “But, yeah, there was another thing. I’m sure Syta wouldn’t mind telling me if I asked her, but I saw her give her amulet to the Evokers yesterday, and Tio was talking to someone I couldn’t see. I’m guessing it has, uh… someone, or something, inside it, like the Escaflowne apparently does?” She didn’t know how much Lani actually knew, or whether she’d tell her, but she didn’t need much. If she wanted to go further down that track, she could ask the girl herself.

“Mmrh...” Laniva reddened slightly as Tasha hit the mark, rather embarrassed for how easy it was to do. “I, I’m sure she has a lot of reasons... it’s not like she tells me every single thing she’s thinking about me...” Her tail was getting a bit more active now; something of a pattern when it came to talking about Syta, really. “Mm... I’m glad she doesn’t think I’m a cat cat, though... I-I mean, there’s... mrahh. She’s just really kind and nice to be around.” 

She sighed, cocking her head a little as Tasha brought up Syta’s amulet. “O-Oh. That... we talked to the Evokers about it already, yes... It slipped my mind that you didn’t know yet.” She paused for a moment, thinking about how best to explain; it was a bit of a complex magical situation, and she didn’t want to oversimplify things. “Yes, there is... A fox named Kisara. She... sealed herself away inside the amulet, I guess is the best way to say it. She did a lot during the wars, six hundred years ago... and it was her best way to escape, I think. She’s been with Syta for a long time. Um, she feels a lot different than... whatever was in the Escaflowne, though...”

Another fox, huh. Kise was enough to worry about already, but then again, this Kisara might not be the same type of fox, just like she and Laniva weren’t the same type of cat… though the mention of being around that long ago and more strange magic powers made Tasha lean toward that they probably were the same kind. Either way, if she needed anything more than that, she could ask Syta, but it was important to know that Lani knew as well, and that she wasn’t going insane hallucinating conversations. “Hmm, I see. So it’s not the same deal, but similar in that it’s an entity in an item, I guess would be the general case explanation. Dunno how much that actually applies, but it’s good enough to explain the concept.” As long as she remained inept with magic and magical artifacts, she wouldn’t really get it, but learning the basics might help her understand, even if she truly was without any kind of talent regarding magic.

Tasha shifted a little in her seat, already ready to move onto the last topic. “Either way, thanks. I figure she’s keeping it a secret because having a person like that openly associating with us wouldn’t be looked at favorably, even when it’s hard to prove.” Not that they had any shortage of people like that to begin with, thanks to the tiger’s good, if slightly overeager intuition. “So, there’s one more question I wanted to ask, but first… were you really going at it before I showed up?”

Laniva nodded. She seemed to be understanding well enough; at least her explanation had been sufficient for Tasha to draw some conclusions of her own about the situation. “Mm. Yeah, that's the idea... and yes, that's probably part of it. Kisara... doesn't really like people to know in general, I think, but she wouldn't take issue with more of the Tigers knowing... um, I hope.” Her tail swished as she let out a sigh.

Before she knew it, though, she found herself sitting up straight, just as red as when Syta had snuck in her little attack. “Wh-Wha...?! O-Oh, um... n-no...” The chair must have been a little less comfortable than she'd initially thought; she was squirming a bit now. Her blush was probably audible by now. “She was just, petting m-my ears... that's all...”

The tiger let out a hearty laugh from the tomatofication of Lani’s face and her sudden timidness regarding the matter. “Hahaha! C’mon, Lani, you don’t have to be that embarrassed about it, even if I was right. Or did you already forget we used to help each other? Must’ve been one hell of a petting session if that’s what you looked like getting out of bed, huh?” Tasha, clearly, was more than happy to talk about the subject without feeling embarrassed over it, probably because she’d had much more time to adjust to it as being something intrinsic to them as cat Clouded. She calmed herself down a bit for the question itself, considering it was important for Laniva’s health. “That was what I wanted to ask about, though. You haven’t been having any issues with heat, yeah? I’ve got Alvira now, and unless you really needed it, I wouldn’t even think of keeping our thing going, especially now that I know you’re with Syta.”

“Mrrahh...” Tasha’s laugh didn’t do much to lessen her reddening, even as the larger cat reassured her. She let out a quiet huff, managing to calm her squirming a little. “N-No, that’s... that’s really all it was, I’m serious... mrah...” Laniva was checking all the embarrassed boxes now, finding a nice spot on the ground to look at instead of maintaining eye contact. “I-I, I remember just fine, thank you... and no. I’ve been, managing okay, mostly... It helps that I understand it a bit better now.”

A sigh this time, though much lighter, bouncing back rather quickly in the face of Tasha’s genuine concern. “Mm. I still haven’t, really, explained it to her or anything, though... I don’t really know when, or how, or... y-you understand, right?” Her lingering blush deepened sharply for a moment, thinking back on her memories; then again as her imagination was briefly left a little too unrestrained, thinking on the future…

“Well, you better figure it out sooner rather than later, because your body’s not gonna wait for it,” Tasha answered… well, at least answered a little. If anything, Laniva’s embarrassed hesitation gave her a better idea about how to possibly motivate her to get it over with. “Which do you think is more embarrassing, bringing it up and having to deal with the embarrassment and potential misunderstandings, or waking up and realizing it’s going to be a really awkward twenty hours? Bet she’d appreciate not being blindsided by the fact too.”

The tiger let her suggestion hang for a moment, kicking back and bringing her hands together behind her neck, tail lazily flopping against the chair. “Think about it. Not like you have to do it right away, but I just want to make sure you’re avoiding any bigger problems for reasons in your control. I wouldn’t be so pushy about it if I didn’t know what it’s like, y’know.”

Laniva sighed; she knew Tasha was right, it would be horrific to have to wake up next to Syta feeling like... that. If she didn’t know, that was. “Mm... w-well, I suppose... it would be, pretty bad, I-I just feel like it’s a little soon...” She kicked her legs back and forth in her seat, ears flopping a bit. “I mean... y-you and Alvira, how long did you wait before... before you and her... mrah...” Her shoulders dropped; Tasha was obviously correct, despite her own embarrassment’s motivation to protest otherwise.

“I’ll ask her about it soon... She just doesn’t really seem like the type to be too interested in it, but... she’s really nice, so...” Laniva nodded, slowly. “I-I know, I know... I mean, I know what it’s like when it’s bad too, if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have realized it wasn’t supposed to be that way.” She flopped back in her chair, finally having worked the awkwardness out and picking herself up a little. “...Mm. Thanks for checking in on me.”

“Oh, you really don’t want to use us as a yardstick for that kinda thing. I mean, we did it before we were officially a couple, or I guess it’s better to say that’s what got us there to begin with,” Tasha answered, even if it was a question Lani didn’t really need an answer to, and ended off with a chuckle. She really wasn’t embarrassed bringing these things up, considering who she was talking with. “Sure, I wasn’t in heat right then, but it’s not like it took much to bring it up after. Remember how surprised I was to hear you were never taught how to take care of it? Mumbling something about ‘moms these days’, probably.”

The older cat sat herself straight again, and leaned forward to close a bit of distance to Laniva, giving her a concerned smile. “Listen to yourself. She’s the nice one? You’re here saying you’d ignore your health if it meant making your girlfriend more comfortable. Wonder if that’s the knight in you talking, or if you’re just two nice people being almost too considerate for each other.” Pulling back, her features softened a little, just happy to be of help to the mercenaries she very nearly thought of as her children. “As your commander, I’m doing my job to keep my women healthy… and as an aspiring mom, I can’t help worrying about whether you’re all doing fine. Especially Vira, Gean and you, we’re closer still than I am with the others.”

“O-Oh... um, well, okay, I guess that’s a bit different, then...” Laniva’s tail swished a bit more hearing Tasha’s answer of how quickly the couple had set about things, her point having fallen rather flat in the face of that. “Mrrh... I, maybe I just figured you knew and forgot to tell you the reason why I didn’t know. I grew up kind of far from my family, and all...”

The smaller cat smiled slightly at Tasha’s continued concern, unable to rebuff any of what she was saying, not when it was with such a warm tone. “I-I guess. I just don’t want to make her do anything she doesn’t want to...” A little nod. “Mm. Yeah... you’re doing a good job, definitely. And, I’m happy to hear that things are going well with you and Alvira, and all... I hope things stay as good as they’ve been.” Oh, but how... do I start to tell Syta... hahh...

Tasha nodded in return, and got up from her chair. “I hope the same for you two as well. Someone as diligent and considerate as you are makes for a great wife, if you get that far,” she replied, half-teasingly, since they were an even more recent couple than herself and Alvira were. It didn’t hurt to dream a little, right? “Well, I won’t keep you from Syta any longer than I already have, since I got to address everything I wanted to. Let’s hope our upcoming mission goes well, so we both get more time to relax with our partners, eh?”

She made her way to the door at a relaxed pace, but just had to get the parting shot that popped up in her head out there, briefly looking back to Laniva with a grin. “She’s right, too, your ears are fluffy,” the tiger teased, departing at once.

Laniva was red again - so very red - in truth she wasn’t even sure if she’d stopped blushing at any point in this whole conversation, but it was back in strength now for sure. “W-Wife...! Um, m-maybe... it’s, it’s a little soon for that...” She let out a bit of a protesting ‘mrow’. “Mm, okay... I’m sure everything will go fine. Things feel more and more like they’ll go okay every day now.”

As Tasha stood and walked to the door, Laniva stood slowly herself, setting the chairs back in order, turning back to face the older cat as she had her last laugh from the doorway. “Wha-- hey...! Oh, come on...” She let out a huff, simply unable to escape the allegations at every turn.

Mrahh... Oh, it’s not like Syta won’t say the same thing the second I get back...

Now, down in the throne room, she was having a brief discussion with Owen about their current material strength, tallying up what supplies they still had from their travel as well as all of their fighting equipment. "We're self-sufficient for equipment at the moment, and I can handle the maintenance for all of it. I'm an armorer by trade and all, so we've always been able to save a lot on operating costs by having me do all of that work during downtime," she explained, handing over a list she'd collected of everything in their personal possession over the previous day - everything that was relevant to mention, anyway. "Having an actual supply chain helps a lot, but we're only supposed to be here for one operation, so the logistics of all of it won't be too difficult on our side, what with having a ship we can transport everything in. Oh, right, something else I should mention, our 'friend' offered to train the Tigers this morning, so if this covers everything you wanted to know for now, I'll go watch that. You can probably join me if your morning's not busy, though I can't imagine that'd be the case." Tasha gave a shrug to that, not expecting the lord to have free time like that considering the circumstances, but she wasn't leaving before being formally dismissed, either.

[MRDRHAWK]

“What, worried about me?” Tanya couldn’t help but tease Miria, but she was grateful for both the assistance and the concern. A gratefulness that showed on her face as the teasing smile became a more genuine one, as her tail flicked over to poke Miria in the side.

”I’ll be honest… not well. I’ve been in my own head too much lately.” Tanya answered, after a moment. She wasn’t sure quite how much to elaborate on that while here, but she hoped that the general gist was enough for Miria to fill in the blanks. “With everything we’ve gone through lately, it’s just been difficult to get out of my own thoughts about it all.” Tanya made one last small adjustment to the strap and nodded to herself. “Hoping that maybe some good ol’ training will get my mind back in order. Thanks for the help with the armour, by the way.”

[scorri]

"Good to meet you, Roxanne." Cin smiled at the newcomer, nodding along to the explanation provided first by her and then with Alvira chiming in. "Ahh, one of Lord Owen's people. That makes sense. We're glad to have you here then. As for the training, Sir Jeremiah, I'm sure I'm not alone in appreciating your willingness to help us, even if it is a risk to do so. I think these last few weeks have proven that we all need to be stronger if we want to face this world." He wanted to know the answer to Alvira's question as well, the idea of facing the man himself being slightly daunting, though Versaris seemed to relish the idea. "If any of us have a chance, it would be you, Versaris." Their group was quickly growing, as the rest of the Tigers made their way in. He didn't see Siorel yet, but that didn't surprise him. She would get here eventually, if she wanted to, and if she decided to stay in the room again, well... He couldn't hold it against her, not with how scared she had been lately. He would worry about her later, for now he needed to focus on the gift they were being given. To train with someone like Jeremiah wasn't an opportunity that most people would get and he didn't plan to squander it.

---

Koba watched the other Tigers come in, wings fidgeting slightly as he did. There were so many strong people here, it really still didn't quite make sense to him why Tio had thought he would be a help to the group. He couldn't just leave though, not after everything that had happened. His time with Jesse had been nice, though frustrating at points as well, but ultimately it had reminded him that sometimes it was nice to open up to someone occasionally. He glanced around before slowly making his way over to the girl who had similar armor to Jesse, Miria he was pretty sure, and the cat... Tanya. "Hey... Miria, Tanya." Please let me be right about those name... "Hope you two don't mind me sticking by you for the training. Haven't really had a chance to make any friends with the group here besides Ren and Jesse, who aren't really Tigers, so... Ah, uh, Koba. My name is Koba. In case, you... didn't know. Or forgot." He did his best to smile, hoping it didn't seem too forced.

[Bluemask 96]

Gean squeezed Renais hand back as a 'thank you' but kept her eyes locked on Jeremiah. She had no idea what this training would be, but if "Uncle Moon" was going to give her and the rest of the Tigers the edge they needed to proceed with this plan, she was going to put her all into this. 

Family Reunion 

Spoiler

Gean was anxious. Actually, anxious was an understatement. She had been looking forward to tonight since they had left the compound. A full evening chat with Uncle Jeremiah. She had so many things she wanted to say, but those things had her mind blank. She had moved from twirling one lock around her finger to having three in a spiral. Ten years, that was the last time she had even sat down with the man, and upon reuniting she came face to face with the side of him she never truly knew. There was so much storming inside her that she was shaky as she knocked on the door to his room. “Um, it’s me Uncle. You free?”

Jeremiah was focused on his journal, thinking about all that had happened. Cass and Owen’s conversation had gone smoothly, but it was another reminder of how he was viewed, and not how he was. His actions with the Gaffney were for the betterment of the clouded, and monsters in Islexia, but it was becoming increasingly clear that few viewed him as anything more than an avatar of Lufiria, and his actions hadn’t done a great job of differentiating himself. Moreover, he’d broken one of his rules. He was the head of Lufirian intelligence, but he had always worked with the rule that he was never to forget that he was Jeremiah first, and the Moonless Arbitrator second. His job was paramount, but he could never forget that he was a person, as mortal and as fallible as anyone else. Lest everyone else begin to believe it as well, and that had been the crux of his mistake with Iris, why Cass and Owen were so distrusting, and why… Aegean had been so stunned when he dispatched her attacker so swiftly. 

It was… frustrating because he knew that it wasn’t entirely in his control, but he hadn’t done his due diligence in proving that he was still who he had always been. That the Moonless Arbitrator was a mask that he was forced to wear to protect himself, and others from the toxic nature of the world around him. It was nights like these that he wished Serena was right next to him, as she almost always was and providing that aura of comfort that she simply exuded. Jeremiah shook his head, and looked up from his things when someone’s hand knocked on the door, a much gentler knock compared to Cass. Then it all made sense… because it was Aegean. Jeremiah let his head fall for a second, remembering how easily she would knock on the door, how often she would enter just to say hello. The hesitation in the knock was evident… “Aegean? Yes, I’m free. You can come in.” 

Gean let out a deep breath as her uncle’s voice replied through the door. She could do this, she needed to do this. Gean pushed through the doorway to find a familiar sight, though one she hadn’t seen in years. Her Uncle at a desk book of notes open. It was how the two would often meet, her interrupting his work just to say hi, or hide from her aunt and father. To say the man took on a lot would be like saying snow is cold, or the sun is bright. It was a constant that almost never changed, in fact Gean could say that about most of her blood related family. As she stepped in the room, some of that hesitation and anxiety faded as she looked onwards to Jeremiah. “Still the hardest working man in the world, huh Uncle J?” With Luci, there was no time for her to reach, but this time was different. She would reconnect with her family, she had to. 

Jeremiah smiled perhaps for the first time all evening as Aegean walked in and had enough of her wit still to crack a joke. "Work unfortunately is unending these days. Have to use what time I can to do what needs to be done." Jeremiah closed his notebook, and stood from the desk. "Ha… even at a distance it's obvious how much you've grown. Serena would be overjoyed… you're taller than she is now."

The ease with which the words flowed was… easier that he had thought they would be. Ten years hadn't dulled his ability to relax with her. "How have you been?" Best to start with the question I didn't ask your father.

The two of them were falling into a rhythm, good. Conversation could flow from there. “I'm… managing. Went for a swim today with Lady Cass and Aly, and came back a ship captain somehow, so I guess I didn't fall far from the tree.” Gean was still nervous about the new responsibility, but a job was a job, so Captain she would. “In general, a bit lost. A lot of reveals lately, a bunch of questions, and little answers.” No need to dive into everything just yet, the two of them had time. “Speaking of, how has Aunty been? She's probably worked herself to death harder than you.” Gean felt a pang of guilt at that last comment.

Jeremiah raised an eyebrow, “So Cassandra made you captain? That’s not quite what I would have expected of her. Seems like she has a better understanding of what she excels at.” Jeremiah didn’t doubt that Gean was probably the most adept of any of the tigers when it came to a ship, either from her father’s fishing, or just through her mother’s talents. Jeremiah ran a hand through his hair, before letting his head rest against it, “That makes two of us… but, maybe I can help with some of those questions.” 

Jeremiah couldn’t have been surprised at Aegean’s first question–it was either going to be her, or Catherine, and then the other right afterwards. Aegean was far too close with either one of them to not immediately ask. “She’s… been doing well. She has worked herself to death, but death doesn’t bother trying to come for her. We both know that she’d make it her friend, and if it turned her down, become death in its stead. No one would question it either; she’s really cemented herself as the Grand Cleric. Though, I’m sure right now she’s probably a little stressed with what’s going on.” Assuming that the mainland knows by now about Lucille. 

“Yeah that sounds about right.” Taking on everything seemed to be a generational trait of her family. By this point Gean had taken a seat on the bed, the Gaffeny’s definitely provided quality hospitality. “Well, it seems like a pipe dream with everything currently, but maybe if I pray hard enough you two could finally see a substantial vacay.” Jeremiah probably knew who was on her mind next, so Gean moved onto her next and probably most important question. “Um about Cathy, I do want to know how she’s been doing, but I also have something to tell you, that regards me and her.” Gean began to fidget, her head tilted down and her thumbs twiddled.

“Pipe dream or no… I can tell you that she and I are going to have a vacation when I return. Lufiria will survive for some time without the both of us around.” Jeremiah knew that the moment he returned home, Serena was going to be attached to his hip. She was never a clingy sort, but after long stretches of time away, Serena often wanted to make up time, and considering what was happening, she was likely beside herself. Jeremiah sat down on the bed next to her, taking note of her fidget, “This conversation is going almost exactly as I thought it might… but something to tell me, about the both of you?” It wasn’t possible that they both had seen each other before this moment; Catherine would have never let Aegean go if she had. So it had to be something else. Jeremiah’s mind worked, and perhaps found the only possible link… which wasn’t implausible given how the first encounter with Mercuria had actually happened. 

Jeremiah sighed, and leaned back on the bed, “Well, that can wait for now. Catherine… She’s doing wonderfully. She’s been studying at Azure Waters in the medical track, which should come as no surprise, she always did take after Serena. You'd be surprised how much; she really is her spitting image, even if the two are quite different in personality. You’ll have difficulty telling them apart when you see them. Otherwise… she’s started seeing her fair share of suitors, not a single one has interested her, but there are quite a few interested in wooing the heart of the future Grand Cleric. People seem quite convinced that she’s going to be Serena’s successor, and she owes a lot of that experience to being a part of the Asteria; Princess Lucille’s group of friends along with her baby sister.” 

Uncle J picked up on the last part of Gean's statement immediately, and she could see him already shooting through what she meant by that, but decided to table that for now. “Good, two of my aunty in personality would be a nightmare, although it looks like you found a doppelganger on your way to us.” Gean had yet to properly talk to this Lucretia lady, but there would be no world where she didn’t poke her Uncle about the ressemblance. “Good on Cathy, and only the best for my cousin or gods help their souls.”

Jeremiah then brought up a point of importance, this Asteria. Gean immediately flinched at the name of Luci, and more so that her sister Anna was in it too. “These friends, would one of them happened to be named Tanvir? Or Chris? Marianne?”

Jeremiah chuckled, "One Serena is enough for all of Lufiria, you're right about that. Lucretia is rather uncannily similar, isn't she? She's a cleric from Mura, on a pilgrimage of sorts… she wants to see the world as it is and not as it has been told to her." That desire to reject the story that Mura told itself was something to admire, and she was similarly talented to Serena. Serena's experience and raw magical ability dwarfed Lucretia, but with time, she could excel in other ways.

Jeremiah then sighed as Aegean avoided what she had to say, in favor of another question. The Asteria, Lucille's own personal entourage, but really just a circle of friends. Powerful, talented friends. "Yes. The Asteria… is made up of six people currently. Chris, Tanvir, and Marianne as you mentioned, as well as Catherine, Anna, and Lucille herself. To my understanding… you've met all of Christopher, Marianne and Tanvir on your journey. Does this have something to do with what you have to tell me?"

So I was right on who was involved. Jeremiah listed all of Gean's prime suspects, even the two she hadn’t talked to yet but strongly assumed were involved. Suddenly things were connecting, but not enough to make any solid claims. They were enough that perhaps her uncle could share. “They do, though you might know more than I do about just how involved they are.” Time for the big question, Gean gave a heavy sigh. “Back when I was in Eibar, I visited a fortune teller on a whim, but what I saw wasn't anything like a fortune. It showed me a weird temple place, and Cathy talking to a striking woman with blue and pink hair.” Gean folded her arms before continuing. “What really spooked me, was that the woman with Cathy seemed to be looking directly at me through the crystal, and that I could hear her voice in my head saying ‘Offer yourself to me. Levion.’ You and I both know that Cathy goes by Noire, so I think you’d be able to shine some clarity on that experience.”

Jeremiah turned, and just looked at Aegean. A temple could have been anywhere, but… the fact that Catherine had been in the vision, and then… a striking woman with blue and pink hair. “...Offer yourself to me, Levion… Are you sure it was Catherine, and not Serena? It has been ten years since you’ve seen her.” That… raised some questions. Was it a vision or was it something more, and if it was something more, then was Mercuria herself behind it? That’s who the blue and pink haired woman had to be, but… that went against what he’d known so far. Mercuria hadn’t appeared to anyone else since that first encounter… Mercuria seemed to be a focal point of a lot of questions all of the sudden. The incident with the Escaflowne that Celine mentioned, Alvira’s magic and Fomalhaut, and now this. 

Jeremiah hesitated a moment, was it proper to say? This was Lufirian national secret, and even if Aegean was his niece, and he was sure that she was innocent–her family was innocent–he couldn’t be sure that she wouldn’t mention things to other people. In the end, Jeremiah sighed, if he couldn’t trust in the people closest to him, that was a step down a road that he swore to avoid. “...I don’t know why she would have said Levion, unless that was Serena in the vision, but Serena hadn’t been present when the event happened… Catherine was. In fact, she was the person who caused the staff to react. Which released… a woman with pink and blue hair, an ethereal being, one who called herself Mercuria.” Jeremiah looked Aegean in the eyes, “I’m getting you know that name as well?” 

“I'm sure it was Catherine, ten years or not, aunty Serena has a certain demeanor and cadence to her, even in the roughest of moments. The look on her face and more importantly, her green eyes, I know it was Cathy.” Gean hadn't forgotten a single detail, it was the first time she had seen her older cousin since she left Lufiria, and that image was burned into her soul. Uncle was understandably confused, if Gean hadn't been there she'd find it hard to believe herself. As Jeremiah began to describe the scene Gean had seen in the crystal, with some added details, she crossed her arms under her chest and furrowed her brow, especially once the name Mercuria was dropped. “I’m familiar with the name, though she becomes more of a problem each time I've heard about her.” Mercuria already didn't have a good standing with Gean after everything with Alvira, but to know she was involved with her Lufiria family as well irked her even more. 

“This staff, it's a relic like Escaflowne correct? Something that resonant people feel drawn to?” That Mercuria appeared from the staff brought up more questions, but one thing at a time. If Cathy was the one the staff reacted to, then it was safe to assume that Kise's assumption on her being resonant was true. Gean then sighed again. “Well that makes two of us in the family.”

Jeremiah faintly smiled as Aegean was incredibly sure that it had been Catherine that was standing there, but that made things all the more confusing. Serena was a Levion, but other than her mother being a Levion, Catherine was not. It was possible that this was all a mistake, but Aegean had mentioned a vision, and a vision would never have gotten something so accurate. Aegean's demeanor changed when Mercuria was mentioned, further confirming that either she really was involved or something using her name. 

Troubling… Jeremiah then tilted his head. "What? Drawn to… the relic?" Resonant wasn't unfamiliar but, them reacting to the Celestarium wasn't something that he recognized. "That… is the first I've heard about being drawn to the relic, but… if that's the case, then no, it isn't. If it works as you're suggesting it does… then Chris should have reacted to it as well. More to the point… you reacted to the Escaflowne?"

Well, some things were clearing up, but it seemed that even Gean’s uncle couldn’t know everything, given the confusion on his face. Whether it was because he hadn’t been home in forever or he was being kept in the dark was unknown, but it was troubling all the same. Chris was brought into the conversation again, apparently he was present when all this happened, but didn’t react. Gean contemplated that statement for a small moment. “Perhaps his link with her wasn’t as strong, I know the others had a bigger reaction than I did…” Gean realized at that moment that Jeremiah was still waiting on a proper answer. “Sorry, um. When we got the sword back from Luci, we can talk about that later- still processing all of that, the sword seemed to have a weird pull on some of us in the tigers, just making us want to touch it for some reason. It was stronger in some than in others, and two of us apparently talked to the sword? I was drawn to it, but when I touched it there was no voice, just a feeling of wind, and my hair blew like there was a breeze, even though we were inside with no windows.”

Gean wondered for a second if she should keep a secret on who else was resonant, but it was very likely that Uncle J would find out who the four were, he already knew about her, and probably knew about Alvira at this point as well. “My guess is Miria and Lani have a stronger tie to Escaflowne, and though me and Vira could sense the blade, the relics we connect to the most are somewhere else.” Another sigh escaped Gean’s lips. “That’s how I found out about resonant people, and linking that back to an old memory,” Gean took a second to point to her scarred eye “was how I deduced that Cathy was one of those people, with some help.” A smile came to Gean’s face as she thought of Renais and Kise.

“Mmm…” Jeremiah crossed his arms and closed his eyes listening to Gean speak, “That basically confirms what I said then… if you were drawn to the Escaflowne, then that further confirms that the staff isn’t a relic. It’s not one of the twenty-two weapons, but I can be sure that if it called to resonants, then it would have called out to Chris, but other than the initial surprise, he had no reaction to the staff. Catherine may have resonated with the staff for some reason, but… Chris has actually met the spirit that he has resonated with. So I know that he would be capable of it… the other, Marianne, she wasn’t there for the awakening, but I feel as if she’d have felt the same thing.”

Jeremiah then shook his head, “Doubling back… you said that two of you spoke with the sword. So there was something… within the Escaflowne?” I wonder… could that… could that have been why Lucille was so adamant on keeping the sword? Or perhaps a piece of it? The relics were to be targeted because of their power… but now they can speak to people? What is… going on here? Is the staff linked in a different way, or…? 

Well, so it wasn’t the same idea then, if Chris and Marianne didn’t have similar reactions. Gean was a little annoyed that the people with the most knowledge were both: individuals she hadn’t seen since the very beginning of this journey and folks she was very wary of at the time. There was no telling if they would get another chance to talk openly, much less so after the fight with Luci. “You’ll have to talk to Miria and Lani on that, I never got to hear the voice, and Mercuria crashed the party once Alvira touched the sword. Though I believe the Evokers also got to hear when they did their big magic thing that saved us.” Gean did regret not helping in the moment, but there was plenty of panic all over.

“Is… is this why Luci took Escaflowne in the first place?” Gean was hesitant again, what she was asking was a big question in general, and could affect all of the Tigers. “Uncle J, what’s going on with Lufiria? Why were the borders and trade routes closed?” 

There was finally the question he expected Aegean to ask. After all these years, for her to come across Luci, and for her to have taken the Escaflowne… this conversation was never going to end without this question coming up. “...I am under no obligation to answer that question, Aegean. This would be different if your unit hadn’t already engaged Luci, despite your reasons. But because you have, I can’t answer that question.” Jeremiah then let out a long sigh, “I… couldn’t answer satisfactorily, if I wanted to. Why Lucille took the Escaflowne, I mean. Anything more about that I can’t say, but I couldn’t tell you why even if I wanted to.” 

Jeremiah then turned to face Aegean, “The second part of your question though… You already know about Mercuria, but through her we were given a prophecy of sorts. A prophecy that so far, has been entirely accurate. First, a warning that Glacies hasn’t been acting with Lufiria’s best interests at heart, and true to her word, our investigation into that discovered that people related to the government of Glacies has been handing off secrets and technology in direct defiance of our deal. Second, Islexia’s further militarization, and increased number of attacks on ships in the Valkyrie Sea and up past the tip of Islexia; the seas there have become rather turbulent, and far more incidents have been reported. And third, which was what Lucille was supposed to be working on with the Asteria, there’s… reason to believe that Islexia is not the only country who has been advancing militarization. You’re asking the wrong questions, Aegean. What’s happening with Lufiria hasn’t changed… The country is still the mess that it has always been… the real question, is what is happening elsewhere? I can’t say anything more about that. I’ve probably already said too much.” 

Gean eyes drooped a little as her uncle began to give the answer she expected… before his answer evolved into something much different. Luci’s plan being something of her own, Mercuria and a prophecy, and a lot of national plotting on all sides. The rabbit hole kept getting deeper and deeper, and in a good way. The silence between the two was palpable as Gean absorbed all the information dumped on her. Islexia plotting wasn’t surprising, but other countries, and more importantly Glacies itself doing things to stir the pot?

“I can’t force you to say anything, nor would I have blamed you if you refused to answer me at all. I… I was scared of Uncle Moonless at first, but in the end, I still love him as much as I love Uncle J. If there is one thing I’m mad about, it’s how little I know about the people I love, and how much was kept away from me and chosen for me as a child.” Gean knew she was ranting and rambling, but she needed to get this off her chest. “When I met Luci, I told her I couldn’t stop the Tigers from taking the sword from her, cause they were fighting for their families. She responded back by saying she was fighting for hers, and I just- stayed out of it without an answer of my own. Well now I have one: I’m gonna fight for both. To protect the family I found, and the family I miss, whether that means I’m chucking an axe at Mercuria, or fighting to prevent the world from going to war. I refuse to be the powerless girl I once was, and though I may be a mercenary with a contract to Glacies, I’m gonna do what I can for both of my homes.” Gean’s eyes never left her uncle’s, not for a single word.

“I don’t know everything, but what I do know is the Evokers have been good to us so far, whatever betrayal Glacies has done, I don’t believe them to be involved.” Gean didn’t know how much her word would mean, but she felt she needed to say so anyways. “Hecatia I can say much less about, the only person of major note we met was Lady Celine, and she seemed to be a good person.” Right, lady Celine “I don’t know if you’ve met her, but if you have, I’m not crazy to think she looks a lot like someone else we both know right?”

“...You know I can still tell when you’re lying, right? It’s been ten years, but I can still tell from that look in your eyes. The rest of you might change, but that look doesn’t. You would have blamed me, precisely for the reason that you’re frustrated with us not telling you things before. But that was a choice as it was a choice for your parents when they left without a word. You would have learned as you’d gotten older, but was I to tell children of the work of an assassin? Were we to tell children of our accolades in battle when the only thing we cared about then was making sure that you all were safe, and smiling? But you know now, as someone who could make that choice… and that’s why I told you what I did. Because now you can make that choice, and you’ve made it, the only thing for me to do is to honor it as best I can. If I hadn’t, you’d have held it against me.”

Jeremiah then looked up at the ceiling, “That really does sound like Lucille. That girl doesn’t have a selfish bone in her body. She’d sooner find herself impaled on swords from every direction to protect one person, than protect herself. She’s grown to be as strong as her mother… so you’re going to have to have to all that you can to catch up with her. That, too, is in your eyes. That desire to understand what she meant, and in that moment, I can see Mahalia staring back at me.” Jeremiah then turned back with a grin on his face, “Lucille’s doing what she believes is necessary to stop the world from falling into war, and from the sounds of it, you all had a difficult time handling her, even in her weakened state. That’s how strong you’re going to have to be, Aegean, if you’re going to do the same.” 

Jeremiah then ran a hand through his hair, “I don’t think the Evokers are involved. I’ve heard of them, and they’re far too committed to the betterment of the world. Even from our brief encounters, I can tell that they’re worthy of trust.” Then, the elephant in the room, of course Gean would have noticed the similarities. “Yes, I’ve spoken with Lady Celine. I saw her with the Escaflowne, and we spoke about what had happened, and your whereabouts… but it seems as if you’ve already put things together. Well then, Aegean… what is it that you believe you’ve learned?”

Gean pouted at her uncle for calling her a liar, even if he had a decent reason. It was true that she was mad at all she didn’t know, but in truth neither of them were to blame. Still he was honoring her feelings and choices, and that frustration was being filled with pride.

“Not ‘have to’, will be. I may not have special magic or be royalty, but I can swing an axe, have people around me to grow from, and a goal. I’ll get there in no time, just like a Levion should.” She would reach Luci, and when she did, she would tell her all the things she wanted to. “You know the women in our family do what they say they’re gonna do.” Gean was happy to hear she was like her mother, though probably not the ‘mom’ she felt most connected to.

Gean nodded as her uncle mapped out a part of his journey to reach her, before he flipped Gean’s question back on her. “Well… I think I learned a secret about the Shivas, or maybe Virion, that I probably shouldn’t know, not that it’s my place to ask.”

“Don’t get too far ahead of yourself, Aegean. It’s not either of those things that make Lucille as strong as she is. They help, certainly, but even if she didn’t have the magic that she does, she’d still be where she is. Lucille’s strength is her own, just augmented by her blessings.” He knew what Gean had meant, but it was better to nip that immediately. Lucille’s strength was that of her character, and willingness to break convention–it was probably best to think that no one would truly catch up to her, because no one would be able to follow in the footsteps that she was walking. They would have to chart their own path, and meet up with her, rather than catch her. 

Jeremiah chuckled, “Yeah, I do. I know all about how Levion women work.” Gean danced around the answer, clearly knowing something but not willing to say it outloud. “You know, Gean, if you say all of that, and then hesitate on something like this, it reflects poorly. You’ll find more secrets if you really are going to chase after our princess, but you have no chance of catching her if you aren’t going to be direct.” It really was obvious what she was going to say, but he already knew, and had reconciled it–so it was up to Gean to take that step. 

“Heeeyyy I wasn't hesitating, I was trying to be tactful! Lord Virion never talked about his past, I don’t want to just blurt out that I met his sister and he's actually from Hecatia!” Gean's pout grew as she huffed at her Uncle, he knew exactly what she meant, and knew what she was implying, sure they were the only two in the room, but being loose now could lead to a slip of the tongue later in less favorable company. “You also know what I meant earlier, I'm already gaining my own strength. I am gonna catch up, in my own way.” He was just caring about her, and she knew that she just needed to prove that she wasn't being completely blind in her statements. The pout died down, and Gean relaxed. “If following this path leads to more secrets then I might be a treasure hunter too by the end of this, speaking of, I'll need to figure out just exactly what I'm resonant to. If there's other gods, or whatever these beings are, connected to us, best to meet them sooner than later.” Gean didn’t trust Mercuria, but Gaia wasn't a bad person from their brief meeting with the Tigers. It was definitely possible that what this wind she was feeling could be of aid, and if not, it would be better to have knowledge of who they are.

“On a side note, what do you think of the Tigers?” Ultimately Jeremiah’s answer to this question didn’t matter as much, Gean would love the group all the same. Still, it was the first time she had both sides of her ‘family’ together, so she had to know.

Jeremiah burst out into laughter for the first time, taking a moment to calm himself down to a snicker. “I know you were, but this was more fun… and I’m aware. Not that it matters, specifically–as far as anyone is concerned, Virion died in the Islexian Collapse. I doubt anyone here would know who you’re talking about, and those who did wouldn’t believe you.” Jeremiah then leaned back on the bed, “...Yes, you’re right. Celine is almost the spitting image of Lucille, and Virion is Hecatian… Virion Altair, or Virion Celti-Altair as he would vehemently insist. The third child of Artorius Altair, and older brother to Celine. So Celine is Lucille’s aunt, but I’m sure you’ve picked up on that of course.” 

Jeremiah nodded, “Yeah… if these Spirits are influencing people, then I agree that it would be best to figure things out sooner rather than later…” Jeremiah clicked his tongue, mildly frustrated that he didn’t have more to offer in this sphere. The two best people were across the continent, and the other person who might have been any assistance was back in Lufiria. Or perhaps they’ve crossed into Islexia… They were supposed to meet up with Lucille, and I can’t imagine Anna, or Catherine would have held off if she was in danger… 

Jeremiah cocked an eyebrow, “My thoughts on the Tigers?” He pondered for a moment, “I admit that I don’t really have too much time with the group, but, at least from their handiwork back at the compound… they’re a competent group. Perhaps in a little over their head, but every group starts out that way, and then rises to meet the occasion.” Jeremiah felt it best to leave out the argument with Iris, and Alriana, even if much of the tension with Iris was defused. “They’re certainly an interesting group from what I’ve seen… rare to see a mercenary outfit so skewed towards women, but Glacies always did have more varied outfits given the culture up there.” Jeremiah then turned a sly grin on her, “It is rather interesting that you find yourself in a group of… well endowed women, and appear to be involved with two of them. It appears the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” 

Gean leaned back as well, Jeremiah answered her question in the way she expected… and teased her how she expected a certain someone else to respond. “Gods, you sound just like her. Yeah I'm surrounded by buxom women, story of my life. I don’t think either of my trees ever had a woman on each arm.” Gean scratched her neck, wondering what her father would think of her relationships. “They’re both wonderful though, and surprise me in their own ways, plus I never have to worry about the engine getting too hot~.” Gean chuckled, knowing what would be waiting for her uncle when he returned to Lufiria. “Though, that’s not what I meant when I asked the question. I know that a number of us are… to be frank ticking time bombs considering our pasts, and I’d be a fool to believe you didn’t know all the problem people in our group.” Gean sighed. “I guess if you’re avoiding that, then it’s not something for me to worry about right?”

“I’d be surprised if I didn’t sound like her at points… she is my wife after all. Though, unless your grandparents have something to say about it, I’d guess you’re right about the women on each arm…” Jeremiah then smiled, “Ha, now who’s sounding like Serena?” Jeremiah then flopped back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. “It’s quite funny that one of the people that seem to be on your arm reminds me of Catherine… She reminded me of her when I met her back in Glacies, too. A little ironic that she may be related with two things related to Lufiria.” Jeremiah then put his hands up, “I knew what you meant, and admittedly, it’s almost cosmic how many people with either direct relation to something, or tangential involvement is… almost supernatural. You, Alvira, the Astuikami boy, the two creations, Renais herself, and then you have the daughter of the Belrose involved as well… Though, at this point, I can’t see it as something to be overly concerned about. Alvira appears to be the only one who plans to have any real direct contact with Lufiria past this mission of yours, so I don’t expect there to be any real problems with the rest of you… So long as Lucille returns home just fine, that is…” 

“Yeah, Tasha hit the recruitment lotto big time with all of us, never questioned us and still trusts me even after the truth came out. She’s… like a second mom to me.” Those words were worth telling her uncle, Tasha was that much of a pillar in her life, and played a big role in getting Gean to this point. I should be doing more for her, shouldn’t I… There was a heavy sigh that escaped her lips. Jeremiah didn’t seem worried outside of Alvira’s actions, at the moment, which was about as good as Gean could hope. Gean had an urge to press more, but urges like those weren’t always great to follow. “I hoped she’s fine, or else I’ve got some words for that Tanvir guy. I didn’t take a bullet to the stomach and hand over my best friend just for him to fail.” Gean could feel a little irritation, mainly due to the uncertainty of Luci’s whereabouts, so she gave a little “hmph”, and let it be.

Jeremiah could hear the pride, and how much Aegean cherished Tasha–that had to be their commander. At a glance, Jeremiah could tell that the woman had her grounding, and for her to end up with all of these people, and to hardly bat an eyelash over it… It was whimsical in a manner of speaking, but Jeremiah knew all about how forces could bring even the most unlikely people together. It heralded a miracle almost twenty-seven years ago. “Hmm, I suppose I owe it to myself to see for myself where that pride springs from. Though, she’s gotten you all this far, and that’s impressive on its own.” 

Jeremiah then frowned, Alriana had mentioned it back when they spoke–Tanvir had taken rather drastic measures to get Lucille back. He hadn’t let it slip dealing with the creation, but Tanvir was certainly going to hear from him. Better that it was him, and not Serena, because Serena would have a lot more than just words with him. “As long as nothing else goes wrong, I can’t imagine that Lucille will be in any danger. In fact… Considering what I’ve heard, I’m quite happy, and impressed that your group escaped without any injuries. Tanvir is not someone that I think your group can handle… even if all of you fought together, right now.” That was going to be another thing to focus on with his reconnaissance, trying to pick up the trail of the princess. At this point, tailing Sara and her companion was going to take a back seat–too much was already happening, and that was before considering the turbulent atmosphere in Islexia as a whole. 

Gean was still frowning, despite the praise, mainly because she knew the gap in skill her uncle was hinting at. “Yeah, we only truly got out of that thanks to the Evokers.” That was a statement that was growing poignant as of recent. The Tigers would have to fix that if they were going to finish this mission, much less get the answers they were seeking. “Well, there’s at least two of us wanting to go to Lufiria, so maybe we can have a larger family reunion then. It’ll be great to be in the same space as the three of you again.” It was Gean’s turn to lay back on the bed, she had been chatting with her uncle for so long she had no idea how much time had actually passed. It felt… right, just the two of them chatting away.

“I can imagine… I might not be nearly as magically inclined as others, and they’ve been out of sorts for a bit now, but… it’s very easy to tell that the pair are far beyond your average mage. That’s what I can expect from two mages credited with dispelling a mana storm themselves…” The Evokers were mages that were on par, or above even Virion’s strength. For the Alliance to have such powerful mages, even if they were lightyears ahead of any other mage in the alliance was an incredible boon. Jeremiah chuckled knowing how Serena would have taken meeting the Evokers, and then how she almost definitely would have prodded him about what he thought of them. 

“I hope so. It would do a lot of people some good for that to happen. Though, I do think you’d have to weather Serena being upset for a little while–you know how she is. And… you’ll have to contend with your new cousin.” Jeremiah sighed, “...Gean, the last time you saw your mother was when all of this occurred, was it not? Your father said as much when I spoke with him before heading on my way here.” 

“Yeah, I haven’t seen mother since that night we left. She told dad to take me and run while she stayed back to fight.” It had been a while since Gean had thought of that night, outside of the occasional nightmare, the last time she had seen or heard her mother. Gean’s sadness was put on halt however as the rest of Jeremiah’s comments sank in. “Wait, you met with dad? Wait, I have another cousin!?” Gean shot straight up and looked at her uncle, face filled with bewilderment. This was almost as shocking as when she found out about Luci, sans the international incident part. “When? Who? Wh- Explain. Please.”  

Jeremiah blinked, realizing that he hadn’t mentioned that he’d spoken with Duncan before arriving here, and–what likely caused Gean’s bewilderment–the mention of another cousin. It seemed as if he’d taken his earlier mention in a different direction, “Ah… Well, your father was before I headed my way here. An accident, if I’m being honest, but one I’m glad happened. The other… yes, ah, adopted first of all, Serena and I haven’t had another child… yet, but, in the aftermath of all that happened, Serena met a sickly girl by the name of Veltica D’Almont. At first, it was patient and doctor, but Veltica told Serena a number of things that made her very concerned about her family life. Lo and behold, the family was effectively using the girl as a face for… less than positive dealings. Serena and Tica bonded, and Catherine took to her well, and well… over six years ago now, we made it official.”

Gean sat shocked, multiple bombshells being dropped on her. She flopped back on the bed, absorbing everything. Her Father and Uncle and her father talked, that was good. Uncle and Aunt might try for another child, that was something to roll her eyes at., more importantly, she had a cousin named Veltica, not by blood, but that never mattered to Gean anyways. “Man, now I gotta go to Lufiria.” Sure, Serena would have words, but those were words the two of them would hash out regardless. There was family to meet, people to care about, girlfriends to introduce as well. There was still some shock on Gean’s face, but she had a glint in her eye. 

Jeremiah laid back again as Gean’s confusion seemed to defuse; a bed was much more comfortable then he remembered it being. “Well, hopefully that can be done in positivity, and not in infamy…” The reality was that even if Jeremiah, and even Rosaria and Virion were fine with it, Hilda, and the council also held power, and it wasn’t too much of a stretch for them to drag Gean into the spotlight. Especially now that Gean had a hand in taking the Escaflowne back–even if it had been the only choice for what they had known, they still had to fight Lucille, which did place them as enemies to Lufiria. Perhaps worse depending on why Lucille was so adamant on keeping the blade. 

Jeremiah reached under his shirt and pulled out his necklace, which started to shimmer. “Ha… it’s not like we’ve been far away. …Hey, Aegean… I spoke to your father before I arrived, as I mentioned. But… I had my knife drawn on him because after all this time, not reaching out, not trying to find a way… not trusting me and Serena, for a moment… I thought it might have been true.” Jeremiah looked over at Aegean, necklace shimmering above his face, “...You didn’t believe we betrayed you, did you?” Jeremiah looked down at the bed, “I’ve been realizing as of late, maybe it’s because I’ve been in the field for so long, maybe it’s because ever since all that happened I’ve been trying to keep Lufiria from falling apart either from the Islexians, from the militant faction, even from Hilda herself, but I’ve… lost sight of what I’ve believed to be true, all because I’ve seen nothing else.” He sighed, and looked back at Gean with a smile, “It’s frustrating, but pleasing at the same time that it was your group that reminded me of that. Reminded me that my stake in Lufiria is for the people it houses, and not for the banner it files.”

Her uncle was… being vulnerable in a way Gean hadn’t expected. It seemed that while their talk ended on a positive note, the conversation between her father and uncle was anything but smooth. “I-, when I used to ask dad about what happened, he would always avoid using your names specifically. He would always use ‘Lufiria’ or ‘Intel’. I think he never wanted me to assume that you and aunty were responsible…” Gean let out a deep sigh, “Because I was his last bit of hope. He changed after we got to Glacies, and though he wouldn’t admit it outright, his eyes showed how much he was hurt by it all. Trying to stay strong for me didn’t help either.” Gean stared back at the ceiling once more, a chuckle leaving her lips, though more somber than normal. “Even with the fact that we weren’t responsible for what happened, we did hurt those we cared for, and we were hurt by those events. I’ve… been wracking my brain for years now on what to do to make things right, or even if I can. I’m just as lost as you are.” Gean knew he was right, even if she were to make up with Luci, Anna, her aunt and even most of the Shiva’s, there would be so many obstacles to face. “The only thing I can do is keep moving forward, and take in all that I can. It’s better than running away again.”

“Mmm…” Jeremiah sat up, and remained quiet for a moment, several moments longer. Of course it had harmed him, of course things had changed him… of course he nearly lost hope. Jeremiah looked down at the bed, “...That’s almost exactly what Serena said to me once.” Jeremiah let his eyes lock on Gean’s, “It was… not too long after you all disappeared… after you were all attacked. You know Rena. She never wants to bring anyone down with her emotions, so she tends to hide them, and let them all out when there aren’t people around. I found her, and she’d been crying long enough that her eyes were red, her cheeks were stained with her tears… I did what I could. Ah, she’ll be so upset with me that I’ve told you this.” 

Jeremiah put his hand on Gean’s shoulder, pausing for a moment, before pulling her up to sitting with him, “She’d taken so much from the council, from Hilda… even herself, and her infinite optimism seemed like it was going to break… but she told me, that she has to do this, because she had to stay strong for her, and Duncan. That she was at a loss to do, and what to believe… but then said that she knew what she had to do, she had to keep moving forward, head on, and take on every single one of those doubts, until she knew for certain that her brother didn’t leave her behind.” Jeremiah paused, and then pulled Gean in for a hug, “My job or no… This should have been the first thing I did when I saw you, Aegean. Because trying to stay strong for Lufiria has afforded me nothing but enemies and mistakes, but being reminded why I became head of intelligence, why I have the strength I do, what I really intend to use it for… That’s all I’ve got in the end. There are things that don’t make sense… things that I’ll have to figure out… but for now, I, I just need to be your uncle. I… just need to be reminded of why I do what I do.” 

Gean’s expression didn’t change as she heard what happened with Serena, what she endured as a result of her family’s actions. She didn’t even throw in her usual quip about her aunt being angry. It was until her uncle sat her up that a look of confusion showed, and then widen upon his embrace. Suddenly she wasn’t in Eslcas, nor was she a mercenary. She was just a kid, hiding under an office desk giggling as her aunt and mother were deceived into believing she wasn’t in the room. Gean stepped out of her reverie with a shaky voice and tears in her eyes. “I thought I got this all out at the compound.” She returned the hug and just stayed in that moment, no words, just the warmth of family. The silence of the room saying all that needed to be said.

 

 

Jesse stood near the front of the castle entrance, observing the Tiers gathering for this planned training session. The person training them was none other than the man who assisted with their assault on the Underground, this Jeremiah fellow. Miria said that if there was anyone who might have answers about their armor, it would be him. For now, Jesse would watch and see just what this individual had in store.

Edited January 30 by Bluemask 96

[Mercenary on the Winds]

Tio smiled, Elisa was almost back to her full strength as well, and was into doing her exercises. That was one worry that was starting to melt away, though it had been replaced with other considerations. "Well, if it helps any, Elisa, I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary~" It was Tio's turn to lean in a little, and gave a Elisa a light slap to her rear. "Aha... I've waited for a chance do to that; I didn't think well of it when you were still recovering." Tio waved Elisa on, "Come on now, I'm sure the rest of the Tigers are ahead of us at this point." Tio winked, and lead the way, knowing that if Elisa wanted to retaliate, there wasn't really anything she could do about it. Not that she would, anyway. 

The fact that no one showed up in the halls until they made it to the throne room, where both Natalya and Owen seemed to be going over logistics, confirmed that they would likely be the last to wander in. "Oh, right, I didn't really speak much about it last night, Elisa, but yesterday, I met another person that it appears the Tigers are taking with them for the assault. Wonderful woman named Roxanne... She has conduits that are similar to mine, but built in a more readily applicable way; Alvira was able to use them just by tethering. They use resonance to achieve all of that... but the reason I mentioned it, is because her conduits aren't just special, they're required for her to cast. She appears to have a similar issue to Alvira with her fire magic, except, her dark affinity appears to grow in tandem with her light affinity, so she can't cast without something to amplify her light affinity. Before they departure, I wanted you to try and see if you can glean anything more than I did; I'm better with light magic, but you're far better with resonance, so I figured it might be a good idea to see if there's more than can be done for her." 

---

Alriana tried to keep out of sight, but her presence was so unlike anyone else's that her distance made it simple to pick her out. That was fine; he'd apologized to the one that had deserved the apology, Alriana would make her own decisions beyond that. "No, not all of you Alvira. I admit, even if I can give pointers for the mages, I'm not qualified to help in the way that I can for those with weapons. It would be foolish of me to expect that any of you could fight me on par if I went all out; there's nothing to be gained there. But, what would help, is understanding the difference between those you've fought before this moment, and the men and women you'll face when you enter the castle." Then Versaris walked up, "Don't worry, Versaris, I said I would be taking it easy on the Tigers... last I recall, you're a member of intelligence." Jeremiah smiled, "I'll be interested to see just how much you've improved over this time, so do your best. And with that, I think we have everyone that is required."

Jeremiah stepped forward, laying a hand on the sword at his hip, "I believe I see everyone here now, aside from the commander, but I'd be willing to assume that she's speaking with Lord Owen. I wish I could assist more than with this, but unfortunately, my station means that I won't be able to meaningfully assist in the field. What I can assist with though... is getting you all ready for this assault. I don't think I need to tell you that this is remarkably different from anything that you've dealt with before, and as such, you'll need to be sharper than you ever have been if you plan to keep the Tigers together. What I plan to do today is help you with that as best I can." 

Jeremiah turned, and began walking towards the training grounds, swiftly drawing his sword in the same motion, "What I plan to do is that I'll duel one of the Tigers at a time, and while that's occurring, I would like the others to pair off, and train as you normally would. I intend on getting around to all of you; because I would like to offer what insight I can on your fight style, where it can be improved, what strengths you can lean into... all of it important. Because the first thing that many of you are going to need to understand is... The men and women in that castle aren't mercenaries, they're not men and women working for a paycheck as many of your foes before have been... You can safely call them Islexian regulars, and they will not hesitate to kill you, or anyone else associated, they will take any chance you give them to take something from you. You all have a mission to complete, and people here who care for each and every single one of you, so you cannot make mistakes here. So I'd like you to make your mistakes with me instead."

As they finally arrived in the courtyard, Jeremiah turned to the group, "Now then... would anyone present like to volunteer themselves as the demonstration for what I plan to do?" 

[Ether]

Spoiler

Simple… easy breaths. It’s just practice… get into a rhythm. Roxanne prepped herself mentally for a few moments as she moved to find her centre. There wasn’t much more she could do to prepare from within Eslcas than to train, and a set timeline with little interim threat offered a unique opportunity. Drawing on her own magic to practice was not always the best choice when battle could come to a head at a moment’s notice, but there was little danger in current surroundings and company. Opening her eyes to look at her target, an unassuming training dummy, Roxanne released the crystals from her person, allowing her magic to flow through them, the conduits sparking to life as they began to circle the dummy in a loose formation.

“Throat. Heart. Right lung. Left eye…” She noted to herself, slight adjustments to the floating crystals as the words left her lips. Within moments, each conduit loosed a thin beam, piercing through the dummy with pinpoint accuracy, the conduits not aimed for lethal shots instead firing to cut off the routes of escape for a moving target. Good, she could at least maintain that much control. Moving on, Roxanne, concentrated on moving her funnels, the curious contraptions darting around the swarmed dummy in quick motions, loosing beams of light into it from their varied and ever-changing angles. Perhaps concentrating a tad too much, the monster losing awareness of her surroundings rather swiftly.

“Whew.” Alvira whistled at Roxanne’s display, wandering into the training grounds. “That’s some crazy impressive magic, miss… You were one of the people that went to speak with the lord Gaffney, right?” Alvira propped herself up to the sheep, staring down at her. “I could feel that you’re using light magic, but, I’m afraid the apparatus escapes me… Though, it is curious to see another light mage around here.” She held up her tome and gently patted it. “Figured it was just gonna be me and Tio, so it’s a welcome surprise. Alvira, by the way.” She held a claw out to shake. “You are?”

A voice snapped Roxanne out of her concentration, funnels ceasing to fire and simply hanging in place as she turned towards her spectator. In front of her was nothing if not an impressive specimen, a full-blooded dragon with all the fixings. Roxanne would have pegged her as a fire dragon from her appearance, but she seemed to be a light mage. A light mage with a tome… did dragons not usually cast without them? Curious, but she had no room to make judgments on peculiar magic. Reaching towards the woman and accepting her claw, Roxanne gave it a firm shake.

“Roxanne. Well met, Alvira… and thank you for your kind words. My magic is a little bit unconventional, so it’s nice to hear a fellow mage finds it impressive.” Roxanne replied, rubbing the back of her head with her free hand. Back in Ulara, that she needed these catalysts was generally considered a weakness, but the wider world seemed less set on that sort of idea.

“These are… special catalysts. They’re attuned to me directly. I wouldn’t expect this sort of thing to be known very widely, it’s a relatively new idea. As for Lord Gaffney, he granted me an audience, yes. I assume you are one of the Iron Tigers? I am to accompany you as far as Darmill.” The sheep added, giving her finger a small wave. In response, the floating crystals reforming ranks and drawing in closer to Roxanne, glow fading as they began to idly float.

“Whoa… And you've got complete control over them? That's wicked.” Alvira was absolutely entranced by the mysterious conduit, eager to see more of it… But if Roxanne had just finished, she'd need an excuse to get her to do more. “I am with the Tigers, yes. If you're going to come with us to help in the fight against Kazran, more power to you. That bastard won't know what hit him.” She nodded, then glanced at her casting tools once again.

“You know, we've got the continent's most powerful light magic user in tow with us. Tio Candialia, one of the Evokers of Glacies… If you don't mind coming along with me, I'm sure she'd love to see your conduits. I've never seen anything like them up in Glacies, so surely she's only heard of them, if anything. Sound fun?”

“The most effective thing about casting this way is the amount you can get out of fine control, so I made it a priority to get better at. It’s pretty easy versus an immobile target that doesn’t fight back, but practice is practice.” Roxanne replied, blushing slightly. It was a bit unusual to see someone so entranced by her casting, but not at all unpleasant. As Alvira continued, Roxanne’s elongated ears twitched slightly at her words. While she was unfamiliar with the name, the title of Evoker was something that Roxanne recognized. The premier mages of the Alliance… what would one of them be doing in Eslcas, and attacking Kazran no less? The commander had noted that the Tigers were a Glacian company, but… well, there was little use in speculating. 

“Sounds like a plan, Alriva. I’d love to meet her, especially if you think that such an elite caster might be interested in me. That said… if you don’t mind my prying, I’ve never known a dragon to cast with a tome. You seem rather interesting yourself.”

“Me? Well… I can cast innately. My magic is just, broken right now.” Alvira held up a claw, ice forming in her palm. “It’s supposed to be fire… Long story. If you stick with us past Kazran, maybe I’ll share the details with you, yeah?” She smirked a bit… With her goals set, it was starting to become less of a terrifying subject. Maybe with enough time, it would become a story she could happily tell people rather than a continued threat on her existence. 

“Let’s go find her, then.” Alvira turned to leave just as Tio rounded the corner to the training area, the dragon jumping in place. “Ah! Tio!” What a coincidence! Alvira collected herself some and waved towards her, turning back to Roxanne. “Guess that solves that, eheh… She’s plenty powerful, so get ready to see some stuff if she’s here to practice as well~”

Getting back into the swing of things was a little more difficult than Tio would have liked. She was still sleeping earlier than she normally would, and wasn’t getting as much work as she would have liked done–by now she would have been finished with the wire and onto more pressing things, but it seemed as if she was going to cut that very close. The good thing was that she was starting to feel a lot better now that they actually had real time to rest. Not fully well again, but Tio was so tired of being tired that this was good enough. She needed to practice. Magic was something that one needed to hone in order to improve, magical power, while an important part of the art, was also arguably the least important factor for a good mage. It was such a varied art that technique and ingenuity were vastly more applicable than raw power; Tio was lucky to be blessed with a wide mana pool, but it was her technique and ingenuity that set her apart from other mages. 

She made her way down to the courtyard only slightly underdressed to her usual, and no sooner had she turned the corner, Alvira and a sheep? Came into view. “Ah, Alvira,” She noticed the tome in her hand, and smiled, “It seems like you had a similar idea. Is your practicing coming along well? I apologize for not being able to assist as much as I would have liked but, well…” Tio then turned to the newcomer, the feeling of light magic emanating from her as well, and then she blinked, noticing the floating crystals, “Huh… Are those yours? Odd… The same signature is present in them as with you, and–” Tio put her hand up, “Sorry. Force of habit… I don’t think we’ve been introduced. My name is Tio. Are you also practicing with Alvira?” At the very least that aspect of her hadn’t lost a beat. 

“Broken? Sounds like quite a tale, I’d like to hear, if that comes to pass.” Roxanne responded, feeling a bit of kinship with Alvira. Their situations were more than likely vastly different, yet it seemed they had some sort of connection if that was the word she had chosen to use. Luckily enough, as they were about to set out to find this Tio, the woman in question entered the training ground of her own volition, something that would certainly save time. Tio certainly struck an impressive figure, and in more ways than the obvious. Within but a glance, she had identified that the floating conduits had been attuned to Roxanne, sharing her signature. It wasn’t the hardest assumption to make given she knew Alvira, but it had been near instant and directly identified the mechanism behind them.

“Roxanne. Charmed to meet you, Tio. I was practicing when Alvira arrived, she had yet to begin. Said you might be interested in these, we were actually about to seek you out.” Roxanne noted, glancing towards one of the funnels as it began to stir, no longer idly floating as it moved towards the new arrival, coming to a stop in front of her and hovering in place.

“Like she says, haven't gotten to practicing yet… Man, these things are wicked.” Alvira watched the floating crystal once more, almost in awe, unable to believe it was just a regular conduit. It seemed so powerful, so intense… Like you could strike from someone's blindspot in the blink of an eye. It'd be so useful to have something like that in my repertoire…

“What do you make of them, Tio? I was impressed, for sure… I've never seen anything like them. Beats a tome any day of the week…”

Tio curtsied in response, “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Roxanne.” Tio quickly noticed that Roxanne needed to have her mind on her conduits in order for them to function; a little different from her own, but her staff was specifically designed with her talents in mind. “My…” Tio looked at the conduit a bit more, forming a ball of light in her hand, and letting it spin around the conduit. Tio’s eyes widened slowly, “I… wow. That’s…” Tio quickly put her other hand out, and conjured her own staff, and then the crystals on it broke off, starting to mimic Roxanne’s.

“It’s… it’s almost the same, but the underlying system is almost entirely different, but in a… way that would almost make something similar possible for others…” Tio looked over at Roxanne, a shimmer in her eye, and a look of bewilderment, “The craftsmanship of these is incredible… how, where would you have acquired something this advanced? My, my own were a collaborative effort, and one that was not so easy put together… but this, these… this is an entirely different system that… that one could modify even, and adjust it for others…”

Tio blinked, realizing that she’s gone into one of her specialized rants, and then cleared her throat, “Ahah… I mean to say that these are remarkable. It would take some doing but… if the system is even remotely as advanced as it seems like… a similar conduit system could be designed for others.” This was not what Tio expected to find today, but every day with the Tigers so far had been her world being blown wide open, so what was another? 

“Tomes are still plenty useful though… really, in an ideal world you would mix and match according to the situation.” Roxanne noted, blushing just a little at Alvira’s fawning. It was embarrassing that the sheep herself faced such a fundamental shortcoming, even if the funnels themselves made up for it. 

As for Tio, It seemed that within moments, she had managed to analyze the floating funnel to a degree that she might even have figured out more about them than Roxanne herself, if only for how quickly she had begun drawing ideas of the conduit’s potential. Roxanne had to wonder if the alliance was really as far behind as she had always heard… in a place like Islexia it was obvious, but if Glacies had mages like this… perhaps Tio was just an extreme outlier, but she certainly made a strong case for the potential of mages outside of Lufiria. Tio seemed just as impressed as Alvira, if for entirely different reasons. What Roxanne wasn’t at all expecting, however, was for Tio to conjure a crystal staff and expel her own version of the funnels into the air, Roxanne watching them with curiosity. Entirely different make, to serve the same purpose, two divergent methods converging in the middle. So that was where Tio’s sharp understanding possibly stemmed from… she had an intimate knowledge of the underlying concept, and was appreciating the alternate path to reaching it.

“Well, I must say I wasn’t expecting to see another set. Back in Ulara, a lot of the engineers didn’t think much of mages outside of Lufiria, but it seems to me like Glacies is the real deal.” Roxanne noted, shuffling just a little bit under the attention. 

“You could definitely attune a conduit like this to someone else with the right affinity and some work… I have a strong affinity towards gemstones, so they were an easy fit. The best I can do though is make temporary ones… but they break pretty quickly.”

There was a lot of talk of attuning and creating gemstones and it was all going right over Alvira's head, the dragon's mind spinning a little. “Uh. Uhm.” It was true that Tio's equipment was similar to Roxanne's, and they were both impressive pieces of magical technology… That was about as far as Alvira could grasp.

“M-Maybe you could both go about a demonstration or something…? I'm, failing to really grasp the details behind how these things are meant to work, uh… Sorry. I'm barely good at tomes and all my magic comes to me innately… I, cast on feeling, all these devices are… Incredibly impressive, but above my head.”

Tio smiled sheepishly at Alvira as she admitted most of what was happening and being said was over her head. The fact that Roxanne could effectively make replacement conduits, albeit temporary, was both a testament to her own understanding and the ease of application. But she could ask about that later; it was better to bring everyone up to at least a perceived level of understanding.

Tio waved her hand, and her crystals began circling around her, "Well, allow me to start with attuning. All of us have a magical signature, whether or not we use magic, and attuning is adjusting the magical signature of an object to resonate with that signature. Resonance is an extremely useful and powerful application of magic; it can strengthen and weaken magic, locate other similar signatures, or, with enough magical control," Tio waved her hand, and one of the crystals moved right in front of Alvira, "You can control attuned objects. This is typically pretty difficult because you have to maintain your magical link, so that's a constant drain on your magic on top of casting."

Tio then put her finger up, "But, if you could manage all of that," Tio pulled out a tome, "You can use them in a number of ways." Tio cast a light spell at the dummy, and one of Tio's crystals recast the same spell from a different angle. Another wave of her hand, and the crystal was back at her side. "Roxanne's should function similarly, but at a glance, the system she has is one that could be applied widely, while the one I have was specially designed for me, and my particular set of skills. Did most of that make sense?"

“... Yyyyyeah. I think so.” Alvira got the idea to an extent… And then began thinking, hard, about something involving a certain sword. You can control the object through resonance. What about a person? Is that what Mercuria was trying to do to me and Laniva? Or was it different…? Mhhhrhnn… I imagine it would be really good for me to pay attention just in case, but it'd be nice to know if this is touching on that at all. Alvira was determined not to let the witch get one over her again, so if this could aid at all, so be it. More magical knowledge was good either way. “Yeah. I get it. Feel free to keep going, I'll take some mental notes, between the two of you.”

“Oh, sorry Alvira. It’s pretty rare to meet someone who understands all of this… even among mages it usually takes some explaining. In my case, these crystals are attuned to resonate with me, so I can channel my magic through them and use them to cast.” Roxanne apologized, nodding along with Tio’s explanation. Alvira seemed to understand the basics at least, appearing to dive deep into thought as she considered it. 

“Magical technology in Ulara is pretty different from anything on this side of the sands, so while the basic idea is the same, I’m sure the fine details are almost entirely different. Actually… I think…” Roxanne paused for a moment, putting her hand to her chin. It was difficult to really try to use it fighting with M, given how sensitive she was to light, but…

“If a demonstration would help you out, then maybe you can help me at the same time, Alvira. I’ve wanted to try something out, but haven’t had a good chance. Hold still.” Roxanne noted, as her funnels began to move, approaching closer and closer to Alvira, circling the dragon for a moment, as Roxanne appeared to fall into concentration. After a few moments, the conduits fell into a lockstep formation, hovering behind Alvira. The dragon would feel a faint connection to the conduits as they tethered themselves to her, Roxanne giving a small fist-bump into the air.

“I think it worked! Try directing them, Alvira. Just displaying intent should be enough, but if you want to try a little more active direction, I think it should work.”

“H-Hold still? Hwah…!” Alvira tensed as the floating rocks came near her, slowly circling around her like sharks to their prey in the water… But instead of attacking her, they began to attune to her magic, Alvira feeling the connection as it happened. She grew angry for a moment, not appreciating something magical attaching itself to her, but the intent hadn’t been anything but studious and excited, so she sighed and focused on the feeling of them floating around her. 

“Alright… I’ll give it a try.” Alvira looked towards the dummy, focusing on the gems. ... Attack! With less coordination, but just as swiftly as before, the gems flew towards the dummy and attacked it with similar spells of light, returning to Alvira a moment later. “Hahhh… Give me a warning and an explanation in the future, Roxanne. I’ve got bad experiences with magical connections being forced on me… That said, this is very interesting. It feels a bit like… Crossbows, in a way. Bows take time and experience, but any civilian can pick up and use a crossbow. Just need someone in between to be able to set them onto you. It’s powerful magic.”

“Ah…” Roxanne’s enthusiasm was immediately curbed as Alvira expressed her discomfort, the sheep’s ears flattening in response as her expression fell dour.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean, I didn’t think-” Roxanne stuttered a moment, a small wave of her fingers as the funnels untethered from Alvira, coming back into position behind their owner.

“You just seemed interested, is all. I shouldn’t have… I’m sorry, Alvira.”

“I–” Alvira looked to Tio for a moment, confused, why had Roxanne gotten so sad, so suddenly? She hoped the older woman had some words of encouragement, maybe explanation, but Alvira threw her claws up immediately. “It’s fine! Really! I know you didn’t mean anything bad by it… So please. All I asked was you tell me next time, that’s all. If I know it’s you, I can trust it.” Hopefully that would be enough to quell the sudden sour mood that had come over the sheep…

“Yes, I can imagine… Miredy, a lamia who the Tigers found not too long ago, appears to also be from Ulara, and she was mentioning self moving carriages, so it’s not too far a stretch to say that Ulara is well ahead of the rest of the continent.” I need to visit one day… Goodness, I can only imagine the technology there… and powered by magic as well. Tio watched intently as Roxanne de-tethered herself from her conduits, and after a moment, the tether formed between Alvira and the conduits. Tio’s eyes almost sparkled, but the hint of anger on Alvira’s face kept her grounded. It didn’t make too much sense in the moment, until Alvira expressed her discomfort, “...I didn’t quite think about that, actually.” Alvira had to be referencing Mercuria’s attempt to bend her and Laniva to her will, and in a manner of speaking, resonance had to be the method behind it. Their grip on the sword, and link with whatever dwelled within had to be the reason that Mercuria had been able to do what she did, and their efforts–spearheaded by Kisara–was disrupting that link. 

In the moment, however, a raising of spirits was what was necessary, not her idle musings. “I can imagine that it was a bit of a surprise; tethering like that is uncommon here in the alliance–it’s a very underdeveloped art here. Alvira did express interest in them, and if I can be frank, they seemed to work well for her magic as well. I do understand the excitement, it means quite a lot to be able to test one’s magic in a way that they wouldn’t be able to normally; I can’t imagine that you’d found too many people to be able to try exchanging the tether with someone who could make use of it.” Tio returned Alvira’s glance, hoping that was enough. “Either way, the spell work of the conduits is completely different, far less rigid than mine… It’s unbelievably impressive.” 

“I… alright. Again, my apologies… It’s rare I get a chance to converse in depth with other mages, especially of the same school, so I didn’t consider your feelings in my excitement. I don’t want to squander this chance through rude disregard.” Roxanne apologized, but her mood lifted just a little with the confirmation that Alvira wasn’t wildly upset with her. Whatever incident she had been referring to, Tio acknowledged, so this wasn’t something that Alvira was alone in either, it would seem. A blunder, but one that could be recovered.

“Miredy… she must have been the lamia who was looking after Jane. So she’s from Ulara as well, is she?” Roxanne mused for a moment, what were the chances she would meet other Ularans all the way out here? Moving away from that for a moment, Roxanne shook her head at Tio’s assessment.

“Close, but not quite. The conduits were still using my magic, I simply tethered their control systems to Alvira. Anyone without practice couldn’t really give them fine direction, but the idea behind it is that they’ll fire autonomously based on intent. In theory, anyone could operate them in that way… it’s just hard to get testing in without more knowledgeable tethers to begin with. Of course, they’ll fail if I myself am unable to properly cast when they’re used. As for the spellwork… well, they were designed foremost for me to use to cast properly, so while my theory is reasonably practiced, they had to be quite easy to use in a practical sense. That consideration is likely why they deviate so wildly in design from your own. The tool of a master is fundamentally different than the tool of a novice.” Roxanne noted, somewhat apprehensively. It was a gamble to potentially bring up her casting woes, especially so soon, but… Tio was an evoker. And even if that was a lie, she clearly had the magical chops regardless. If she only had a few days in the company of this woman, was it really a chance she could pass up?

The two of them started to go into the theory behind the magic again, leaving Alvira clutching her light tome with a small smile on her face. Even if it's broken right now, I thank my lucky stars I was born with an inherent magical ability… All this advanced theory and magicraft talk is going in one ear and out the other… “Ah, uh, why don't you try them on Tio? See how they work on someone much more suited with light magic and all its functions? Truth be told, I can use this tome, but I'm an extreme novice, so… Maybe having a master tether to them will teach you something you didn't know about them…?”

“Oh is that right?” So the spell was actually Roxanne’s, and not Alvira’s, but it was using Alvira’s intent to guide their spells. That started to make a bit more sense. Tio then raised an eyebrow, “They were specifically designed for you to be able to cast?” Tio placed a finger on her cheek, that changed the scope of things a little. That meant, at least, at current, that her conduits weren’t advanced enough to be able to apply to other people completely, but that the concept definitely existed and could be made to work in that manner. “Then, I think we both may be thinking about this in the wrong sort of manner.” Tio held out her hand, and one of her crystals floated into it, hovering there, “In a manner of speaking, your conduits are more standardized–with enough work, your conduits could work for other people. Mine wouldn't, they were designed, and work specifically because of my talents. Their make is… very specialized to the point that I’m unsure anyone will be able to make use of them in the same way, and in that regard, I’d say mine is more novice work than your own.” 

Tio then held up a finger, “In light of that… I would actually like to follow up on Alvira’s musings, because I’d like to see for myself the differences, as well as see if I can intuit why you may need these to cast. I can certainly feel your affinity for light…” Her skill and knowledge of theory are undeniable… so what would keep her from being able to cast normally? …Could it? Hmm… 

“Mmm, perhaps, Though I imagine that if yours were built with your capabilities in mind, they likely can do things I’m nowhere near capable of. Here, take a closer look then.” While Tio had a point that Roxanne’s own conduits likely had a wider range of application, the monster could only imagine what sort of output Tio could manage. At the same time, Roxanne began to tether her funnels to Tio this time around, the crystals connecting smoothly to the evoker.

“That should do it. As for why I can’t… I can help you along in that regard, but if you’d rather try to figure it out on your own, or intuit something that the researchers couldn’t tell me… well, normally I wouldn’t have mentioned it at all. But meeting someone like you… I can’t well pass up this chance, can I? Go ahead, I’ll tell you what I know if you’d like.” 

“Certainly true, but we’ll see exactly what separates them in a moment I suppose. I’d like to see what I can glean, and see what gaps need to be filled in.” Tio couldn’t help but be a little giddy, she always loved testing new magic–Elisa had plenty of things that she needed to test, either against Tio’s own magic, or with her, and she cherished every minute of it. There were some duds, certainly, but that was the intrigue of magic. Tio waved her own conduits away for a moment while Roxanne tethered hers, the first difference was immediate, the conduits themselves were more fragile compared to her own, so using her full magical ability was likely to cause issues. However, the first weakness was accentuated by the ease of use; Tio waved her hand, and the conduits followed without much more difficulty, circling around her, and then the dummy flawlessly. 

“That’s even better than I expected… My… The conduits aren’t as responsive as my own, but that’s a consequence of the fact that they’re able to switch attunement so similarly. Resonance is quite powerful, but achieving it isn’t so easy; at least at our current magical knowledge, changing resonance targets is very difficult, but this is doing it without issue at all.” I think the question lies there… this is incredibly overtuned to achieve that fact. So I think it’s possible that she needs that resonance in order to be able to cast, but what would… Tio put a finger up, and then gestured towards the dummy, allowing her magic to flow for a moment. The conduits performed almost identically to Alvira, “I suppose, that’s possible…” Tio looked over at Roxanne, “...I think the resonance is the point with these conduits, isn’t it? The ability to resonate with yourself, and others so flawlessly, isn’t just a feat of magical engineering, it’s what was necessary for you to cast… so perhaps, divergent affinities?” Tio blinked, and then waved her hand, “Ah, there I go again… if I’ve been too presumptuous, don’t hesitate to say. I have a habit of speaking out loud.” 

“You got it in one. I mentioned I had a strong affinity for gemstones… that wasn’t a throwaway. What I was told, was that the fluctuating magic around the sands altered my magic circuits when I was young. I was… implanted with a dark affinity, and that altered my magical pathways in a lot of strange ways.” Roxanne nodded, holding her hand out as a crystal not too dissimilar to her conduits began to form, floating above her palm.

“I can exert basic elemental control fine enough, and for a lot of… unorthodox applications, my magic works with no problem. But trying to form offensive spells… it always just fizzled.” Roxanne shook her head, pointing her free hand towards one of the dummies. Her magic flared, concentration at it’s peak as she directed her magic towards the target… yet without using her conduits, all that happened was a noticeable glow about her body. No light spell, no searing beam, the monster simply turned herself into a makeshift lamp from the radiating energy. Sighing as she concluded… it was frustrating even if she knew the result beforehand, Roxanne then held out her newly formed crystal.

“But if I channel my light through a gemstone, through my divergent affinity-” She began, routing her focus through the crystal, and within moments a proper light spell burst forth, burning the dummy with ease.

“-it just works. Those conduits were the solution, after we stumbled upon that fact. The sheer ease of resonance was important when I was younger, before I figured out how to use them effectively, but the tethering is my own tinkering… it might have been intended by design but they never told me if so. Despite that, I still can’t actually cast offensive dark magic… the conduits don’t facilitate it in the same way. I’m not sure how to cast a flux through light… if I figured it out, maybe it would work.” Another shake of the head. Maybe Tio would have some insight.

While all of the conduit talk was flying over the dragon's head, when Roxanne tried to cast Light without it, Alvira got a good sense of the issue. Her experiences with Mercuria and Elisa had taught her enough that the issue wasn't anything to do with Roxanne's abilities or power level, or anything like that. “It's being blocked.” Alvira blurted that out without thinking, blushing some. “Ah, uh. I mean… Have you ever considered trying to cast with your feet? Ahaha… No, that wouldn't solve anything. Ahem. What's happening is that… The dark affinity in you is mixing with your light right as you go to cast. It'd be like, a mage trying to cast an ice spell and a fire spell at the same time. They'd just… collide internally and fizzle out. Mmm…”

Alvira looked to the Evoker, “Tio, do you think you could try and do for her what Elisa has done for me? I realize that she's much better with mana flow, but you're the master of light magic… Do you think you could guide it out of her around that dark affinity just to show her it's possible? It might help with her confidence!” Alvira had noticed how quickly Roxanne deflated at the mere mention of discomfort. Her magic and her inabilities must've been a serious point of pain growing up… I understand exactly how you feel, Roxanne.

“Affinity for Gemstones…” Tio hadn’t really made much of it at first, but it was seeming more and more genuine. She’d heard stories about the oddities of magic in Lufiria; the quantity and quality of magic in the air there was much stronger than anywhere else, sans the Sands. As a result, Lufirians tended to have stronger magic, but on the flip side, they also had unusual side-effects, some beneficial, many not. Roxanne went to demonstrate, and her magic swelled, exactly the same as Alvira’s flame did, and it ended… almost the same way, the sheep was now aglow with radiant energy. “...Well, if it works that way then… It certainly makes sense to me why the conduit works, but nothing else. The implanted dark affinity is the issue of course, but, when you’re casting through your conduit, you’re casting with your affinity for gemstones, and light. In a sense, your conduit is focusing your magic such that you’re not trying to cast light and dark at the same time. It then also makes sense why you can’t cast dark magic.” 

Tio held out her hand forming a ball of light, “Casting light magic is natural for the both of us because it's our innate affinity, but many people have multiple types of magic that they could cast.” Tio held out her other hand, and after a moment, a ball of ice also appeared, “I have a minor affinity for ice as well, but it pales in comparison to my light, so when I’m using both… it’s a lot more difficult for me to maintain the ice. Your dark magic manifested in an unusual way, and so I’m unsure if your circuits developed properly to be able to really use it. However… I think that might also be an answer.” Tio looked at Alvira, “I can certainly try that, as you say, Elisa is far better at this than I am, but I may be able to get by just with my knowledge of light magic. I’ll have to speak with her about things later, but… it might be possible in the future to be able to develop your magic so that you can gain relative control of your dark magic. I think that your particular issue is that your circuits are unable to use dark magic effectively, so that when you are casting your light magic, the dark magic takes the opportunity to also try to burst forth, and nullifies them both. That… is beyond my current expertise, but I feel as if that is possible.”

“Hmm…” Roxanne nodded along as the both of them gave their input, her expression breaking as she couldn’t hold back a chuckle when Alvira mentioned casting with her feet.

“Haha… you know, I would like to say that I’ve tried everything, but I’ll admit, I haven’t done that Alvira. Mmm… what you’re saying makes sense. When I pass a certain threshold to try and cast offensive magic, my circuits open up and both affinities try to manifest. If I had better control over dark magic, or if my affinities were imbalanced or even just… compatible, then it wouldn’t be a problem, but because of my set of circumstances, they cancel eachother out.” Roxanne repeated, checking the boxes in her head. It all lined up with her own experiences… what rotten luck. The sheep couldn’t help but perk up her ears at the back and forth between Alvira and Tio about redirecting mana flow… something Tio, or rather, an Elisa, had done for her. That must have tied into Alvira’s own circumstances mentioned earlier.

“Well, given how quickly you caught on with a demonstration, it seems like we’ve had similar issues, Alvira. If whatever this Elisa did was able to help you… well it’s certainly worth looking into.” Roxanne noted, though she wondered how long looking into something like this would take. As is, she likely only had a scant few days with the Tigers.

“Yeah, I, uh… Yeah. Similar.” She really didn't want to get into the details of why her fire magic was broken, so she just smiled and moved on. “No time like the present, right? … Or do you have to speak with Elisa first to get a handle on how to do this? I know it's not your area of expertise, but… I figured since she's your wife and all… knowledge rubbed off over time…? Maybe? Ahah… Maybe I'm assuming how magic works, too much. Really not great at all this theory stuff. Innate or bust.”

“There’s some knowledge that’s rubbed off on me… but I think if I rely on my knowledge and understanding of light magic, I might be able to achieve something similar… not nearly as applicable or usable as Elisa, but similar nonetheless.” Tio strode over to Roxanne, “Alright, so, what I’ll need you to do, is prepare to cast as you normally would. Don’t do anything out of the ordinary…” Tio took a breath, and closed her eyes for a moment, allowing more of her magic to flow, half of her hair becoming a vibrant green. “That should be more than enough… What I’m going to try is to guide your light magic with my own, in a sense,” Tio waved her hand thinking of ways to word it, “You can think of it as resonating with me. I’m going to use my magic to try to amplify yours a little, see if changing the balance is enough to make your casting consistent. Perhaps a little taxing on my end, but… I need to get back into practice anyway.” 

Tio met Alvira’s gaze, “Well… I could try and help a little more with that, Alvira, if you’d like. That’s… something Solara should have done, but…” She clicked her tongue, “Either way… you’re a lot closer to a working solution than you might think. Magic is learned in all sorts of ways.” Tio winked at the dragon, “Give yourself a little more credit~”

She turned her smile to Roxanne, “If you’d like to try, then,” Tio held out her hand, “I’ll need your hand.” This would likely be the best way forward, Elisa had all of the theory down, but if Tio could get a sense of what worked, and what didn’t–the two of them together would be able to work more efficiently if there was something they could do. 

It was clear Alvira didn’t want to speak any more on the issue, so Roxanne had no intention of prying, especially as they seemed to be moving on from that topic. When Tio explained her plan, it made sense enough. They could test whether the relative balance of her affinities was the primary issue by applying extra weight to one side of the scale. What made less sense was the woman’s hair suddenly shifting in colour. Roxanne could definitely feel the magic coming off from Tio now, and if that had only caused half of her hair to shift…

“Fancy trick you’ve got there. Hope I never see what you look like fully green and pissed off, if what I’m feeling is any indication.” Roxanne joked a moment, before taking Tio’s offered hand and focusing on a training dummy. Stretching her free hand out, Roxanne’s mana began to flow, the shape of the spell filling her mind’s eye, as she attempted to cast without her conduits for the second time that day.

“I’m sure I’ve already frightened some of the Tigers with it… Stars willing, I don’t think you’ll have to.” Roxanne took Tio’s hand, and Tio focused herself, focusing on the mana building within Roxanne’s body. They were never quite sure what within a living being’s body was responsible for giving the magical energy the feel, and form that each element had, but with enough practice and skill, it was easy enough to find the strongest points of resonance. “Alright…” Tio let her magic flow into Roxanne, focusing at major points in question, trying to achieve resonance. A difficult practice on the fly, and without much practice with Roxanne, but the flow of light magic was simple enough to follow, and Tio focused her magic around that flow, syncing it with hers. The moment she did, Tio felt the slightest bit of backlash from it. My… Her affinities really are intertwined… But that’s just fine… Just a little more… 

Another moment passed, and a faint glow appeared around Roxanne’s hand, “Roxanne… if you would try now.” 

“Nawww… I mean, I guess… But you’re giving me too much credit here, Tio. I’m just thinking about things… Logically. As logical as magic gets, these days…” It wasn’t very logical for the Tigers, but they’d come across a lot of extra nonsense things in their time across Amaranth. “Give it a go, Roxanne! It’ll feel great. I know it felt great to cast my fire again after six years, so I’m sure this’ll blow your mind some~”

Nothing happened… at first. Roxanne could feel a comforting warmth flowing out from her point of contact throughout her magic circuits, spreading across her body. Even just barely tapping into Tio’s magic left her feeling awash with power, in a way she couldn’t recall feeling before. Everything just felt… right. Was this how a mage was supposed to feel? A small smile gracing her face as the feeling, along with Alvira’s encouragement lifted her up, the light gathered in her hand loosing itself at the dummy.

Of course, as always, Roxanne’s magic was a tad strange. The spell cast with no issue, incinerating the dummy on the spot, but the spell that manifested as the sheep’s most natural form of magic wasn’t a basic light spell, but rather a Cosmo. It wasn’t through any deliberate effort, merely that was the form that Roxanne’s magic took when it wasn’t actively guided towards a simpler cast.

“I… I did it… I really did it. I…well, you did it, I suppose. Still, this means… maybe someday…” Roxanne couldn’t quite form her thoughts properly for the moment, her gaze locked on the scorched ground that used to contain a dummy.

Tio was mostly focused on maintaining the resonance, but before Roxanne cast, she realized quickly that despite the flow of light magic, the spell that was forming, and then impacted the dummy was not a simple light spell. Tio blinked as Roxanne’s cosmo spell incinerated the dummy. There was a long pause from Tio, looking at Roxanne, and then back at the dummy, “...Huh? Wh… Cosmo? That… Why would that have…?” The basic form of each school of magic was generally the most natural form of magic for all living beings, it was just the form that mana took when introduced to the most basic magical affinity. Cosmo was not one of those spells, it was both a higher level spell, and an offshoot of light magic. “...Somehow, this worked, and I’m left with even more questions than I had before it worked…” Tio sighed, “Still… this does seem to confirm that it is your affinities at fault here… and perhaps there’s a bit more to this. All I did was amplify your magic, so I wasn’t adjusting your spell casting at all, and you didn’t seem to do anything different, but you cast cosmo… Hmm. I’ll have to talk with Elisa about it, it’s not common that someone’s basic spell defaults to a more powerful spell, and especially one that’s an offshoot of the major school.” 

“Whoa!” Alvira hadn’t expected the extra powerful spell to come out of nowhere, blinking a few times… She nodded along with Tio, but she did have one thing to add. “Well, uh, I mean, I did start with Elfire when I tried to cast fire again, and that was, like… What felt natural to me, so… Maybe? This is just what’s normal for Roxanne? Or maybe she just gave it more than normal since she’s been trying to give it more than normal for years…?”

“O-oh, haha… I didn’t think to mention it, but umm… when I cast purely on my own, without referencing a tome to ease the process, well… that’s what happens. It felt like… one of the less strange things about my magic, sorry to surprise you.” Roxanne blushed a little bit, rubbing the back of her head.

“So… what does this mean? Not… not cosmo, I know that’s strange, I’m sure it means… it’s own set of things, but- that I can cast without the conduits, if my affinities can be put into an imbalance. Is there any way to learn to leverage that, or is it just some trivia without an application, right now?” Roxanne asked somewhat apprehensively. It hadn’t taken long to identify her mismatched affinity once she failed to cast, but it had taken plenty of time after that to come up with her current solution. 

“That’s… so very unusual… but I suppose that I can’t quite apply the knowledge I know to those from Lufiria…” Tio sighed, and looked at Alvira, “That’s not as surprising coming from you; your circuits are better acclimated to your magic, so it’s not entirely uncommon that your magic might default to something stronger. That’s the thing with magic, and our internal wiring; it can improve with usage, which is why a lot of the most talented mages are the ones who hone it the most, not the ones simply born with strong magic. Though… perhaps… The inability to use her light normally is what caused the default to Cosmo. Use of a conduit is harder than it seems, and with her dark affinity hampering her light affinity, and vice versa… it could be the case that they’re strengthening in tandem.”

Tio then turned to Roxanne, noticing the bit of apprehension in her voice, “...There’s ways to leverage it, but to do it would be far too difficult to manage here. You would need something that would amplify your light magic in order for you to use it, which is similar to your conduits already. However, what it did also tell me is that it may be possible to develop your affinities to where you can use both… It’s something I would have to look into with Elisa. Perhaps even have her try to do this herself, and see if she comes to a similar conclusion… Maybe even borrow the Princess’s tome, and see if any of the methodology there can help… For now, I would have to say that it’s trivia, very useful trivia, but trivia nonetheless at this moment.” Tio took a deep breath, “Whew… still not a 100%... Don’t know how Elisa can manage that with me…” 

“Well. I mean. It's a start, right?” Alvira shrugged a little, but then smiled. “At least it's a positive outlook towards what's going on with you. If Tio thinks it can be solved, then it can be solved, promise. She's a genius, after all.” Alvira spoke that with plenty of confidence; despite her misgivings with the woman before, Tio had proved herself plenty of times, as a teacher, knower of things magical, and even a little bit as a friend. “Guess you've got another magic testing date with both Evokers, then. Aren't you lucky? I know Renais would be crazy jealous.”

Roxanne nodded along as Tio continued her musing. The exertion on her magic circuits from using her conduits rigorously could have strengthened her pathways at a more rapid rate than conventional casting, and if her dark affinity wasn’t keeping up, then her issue likely would have subsided by now. If both of those things were true, they could quickly compound upon one another. It was an enlightening idea to be certain.

“Well, if you want to try to have her give it a go before we depart, or during our passage by boat, I wouldn’t be opposed. Can’t say for certain how long we’ll have after all of this is over. If not… you’ve already given me a lot to think about. If this is tiring for you, we needn’t do any more today.” Roxanne bowed ever so slightly. She was a step… several steps really, closer to a breakthrough in her magic. Giggling just a little bit as Alvira continued, the sheep gave a wide smile.

“Well, I can’t speak for this Renais, but if Miss Tio is anything to go by, I can understand where she’s coming from.”

Tio smiled, but there was a bit of surprise on the older woman’s face. Admittedly, the both of them had been nothing but amiable with one another since Eibar, but honestly, she wouldn’t have expected the words genius to cross the dragon’s lips in regards to her. “Well… That’s a farcry from ‘bimbo,’ but… I appreciate the confidence, Alvira. Thank you. I hope I can continue to make those words worth it.” Tio chuckled at Alvira’s little Renais jab, that much hadn’t changed yet, but Alvira was making rather incredible strides. “I don’t know if I’m too sure about that, Alvira… She seemed content with Aegean, and Mikoto by her side.”

Tio placed her hands on her hips, “Well, I imagine it will be sometime soon, Elisa and I will not be joining the assault on Kazran. We’re already a political landmine by existing here, and if we were to be caught involved in the downfall of a Warlord… needless to say it would make things much worse for Glacies. That said… we’ll have to wait for a better time on that; Elisa was worse off than I was, and while she’s getting back on her feet, I don’t want her straining herself just yet. And as far as I’m concerned, this is mostly just my inexperience with resonance.”

Tio couldn’t stifle the chuckle that followed, “You too? Well,” She gave a small bow, “Hopefully I can live up to that praise~” It would probably do to speak with Renais soon… I haven’t really checked on her, or anyone about what happened. 

 

"Mmm, well not Lord Owen's, exactly. Just someone who wants to see Kazran pay... so our interests aligned." Roxanne gently corrected, best not to let misconceptions flow unchecked. If the Iron Tiger herself, as well as Lord Owen hadn't taken issue with her, then there was no reason to try to obscure things. With a few more arrivals, it seemed that things were about to get started. When Jeremiah asked for volunteers, Roxanne fidgeted just a moment. On the one hand, she was incredibly curious... from the way the man spoke, it became more and more likely that he really was the Celestial Knight... that he could only offer guidance rather than direct assistance was telling next to the name. 

"Well, if no one has a particular bone to pick-" Roxanne glanced at this Versaris whom Jeremiah seemed to be addressing the most directly out of anyone, before looking back at the man himself.

"-then I'll volunteer. From the way I figure it, they all know eachother, it'll be simpler for them to pair off effectively. Besides... can't say I'm not curious to see the Moonless Arbitrator in action. But if anyone else is itching to have a go at you first, I'll let them at it."

Edited January 29 by Ether

[Nanami Touko]

"Morning," Cass said with a wave, heading on over towards her brother, their new commander friend, and the two approaching Evokers. "Guess all your mercs are busy, this morning? Haven't seen a single person, walking about the fort... I imagine they must all have something planned, if you're relaxing comfortably here with my brother. Sleep well, Owen?" Cass smiled and folded her arms, looking rather well rested herself. "Having all the beautiful women around has really been raising my spirits... Even if so many of you are taken~"

---

"Hardly, Cinaed." Versaris chuckled a bit at his comments. He could see where the dragon was coming from, but... "As strong as I am, I have my limits, and I still haven't found a way past them... Jeremiah is more beast than man; don't let his good looks fool you. I'm afraid I'm still just a man... Maybe one day I'll reach his level, but unless he truly, truly holds back, trust me, I stand no chance against him."

"I'm coming Lani~ Geez... It's nice to see you so full of energy. You really like a good workout, huh?" Syta wasn't officially a part of the Iron Tigers, so it was unlikely that she'd be taking part in this training session. Still, getting to see Laniva in all her glory... Especially without her armor, swinging that big sword around... A silly smile spread onto her face for a second, imagining everything, her hair whipping around, her body in her under armor slacks--

Syta? And here I thought I had to give you these thoughts... Developed a healthy taste for Laniva, have you~?

Gah! Geez, don't look at those! It's just... She's... I like her. Don't go peeking around too much...

Kihihihihi~ Ahhh, Syta... You've finally grown up~

Syta sighed internally and followed along with the group, wondering who would suggest themselves first to fight against Jeremiah.

Lucretia had been idly walking along with the group, keeping herself in the back until they'd stopped, Jeremiah saying his piece and pulling out his weapon. That was her cue, she felt, making sure to tap Renais on the shoulder as she moved up, motioning for her to follow along. "Hello, Tigers~ We haven't all met before, but my name is Lucretia. Charmed to meet you all together~ Now, I fancy myself something of a capable fighter, but today, along with your lovely, lovely Renais, I'll be handling all your little scrapes, bruises and wounds. Got that? No fun in training if you get too hurt to continue, so go as hard as you can without killing each other, yeah?" She flexed and kissed her arm, winking at the group. "Don't you doubt my stamina; I can heal you all from the brink of death without a worry~ So have fun." She looked to Jeremiah for approval, smiling.

Versaris had been about to raise his hand when their new, completely unaffiliated arrival suggested herself first. He almost scoffed, but then shook his head. Facing off against Jeremiah, the man would hold back, sure, but he'd hold back less against his student, and it wouldn't give a good show of what the Tigers were going to get into. He would have his time with Jeremiah plenty.

Alvira, however. "Nah, sorry Roxy." She brandished her magic and stepped forward, ice idly spinning above her claw. "I've still got something of a bone to pick with you for raising your sword at me... And even if we smoothed it all over with words, pardon me for being unable to get rid of the urge to smack you in the face with a chunk of ice." She raised an eyebrow and smirked, other claw on her hip. "You ready then, big guy? Because even if you hold back, I'm not gonna. Even if you're more 'beast than man', as your protégé so lovingly put it~"

"Ah, please... Don't drag me into this little feud." It was nice to see Alvira in high spirits, at least...

Iris had been late, bounding onto the courtyard after everyone else, on all fours, of course. She'd spotted the group ahead, but Ullr and Alriana to the side, pulling herself onto two feet and waving at them as she ran. "Come on, you two! We're gonna miss the show! Don't you wanna see Jeremiah beat all the Tigers up!?" She grinned wide and did her best to catch up with their main forces, looking forward to throwing a punch or two herself!

"Well, isn't this fun..." Kise had also kept her distance, like the younger of their two lizards, eyes watching Jeremiah, Renais, Aegean. They were all going to fight, it seemed... Some well directed training before the big clash with Kazran. Akai was walking along with her, Kise patting him to sit down and then leaning against him again, her big fluffy throne, letting her tails wrap around her lap for maximum comfort. "Let's see just how well everyone does against him... Maybe he'd be willing to let me go a round, hmhmhmhm~"

Miredy had wandered along with the group so that Jane could keep her many eyes on Roxanne. Meeting with the woman and learning that Jane's mother wasn't just alive, that she was safe and away from all of this, the lamia was beside herself with glee and relief. She'd believed her safe in her heart of hearts, but the darkest corner held the fear that she'd been spewing empty lies to the child. Having the good news let her relax and fully commit to taking care of Jane, which meant viewing the sparring. "I'm quite interested in seeing how Roxanne does~ Her magic seems very unique... What about you, Jane? Which do you prefer? Magic, like Roxanne, or the weapons your mother has an interest in?"

---

Siorel yawwwwwwwwwwwwwwned and stretched, shirt slipping off for a moment. She expended extreme effort to get it back on properly, sliding out of bed-- and finding herself on the floor, immediately tripping over her tail. Luckily, she didn't have far to fall, and had plenty of padding, so it just left her sighing, slowly rolling onto her back and then back to standing. "Hahhn, good morning, Cin... Cin...? Oh, right, he works out early... Mmghhhnnnhghh, hhhhnnn... I might as well... Go about the castle, see who's up... Hahh." She gently slapped her face to get the blood flowing, dressed properly, and then slipped out of their room, heading towards the courtyard. "Wonder where everyone's gotten themselves..." I feel like Cin told me... But it's early. Memory isn't fully on... I'll remember later.

---

Here. This was the place. The castle... Owen's keep. No one had stopped her so far, no one had even batted an eye. Even the guards at the castle entrance had let her through once she'd explained she was here to speak with Lord Gaffney. Were they truly so trusting of Monsters? One of the guards had been Clouded, so perhaps... It didn't matter. She was here... Which just meant finding the man. Finding him and putting every last ounce of her magic into his body until it wasn't a body anymore.

There seemed to be some sort of commotion around the courtyard. A gathering of people, someone speaking loudly over them... And upon further inspection, so many. So many disgusting, vile, putrid beasts. Sylmaria felt her blood run cold. These are the creatures that will descend upon me after the deed. Foul. Revolting. I hope Kazran crushes you all to dust! It was getting difficult to hide her ire, her magic pulsing in her hands--

"Hello, dear."

She was stopped in her tracks by a voice, eyes turning towards a pastel pink fox woman. "... H-Hello. I... Had heard that the Lord Gaffney was, receptive to taking in Monsters and Clouded... So I, uhm. I wished to meet with him."

"Really~? I wonder what that magic was all about, then... Well, no matter. It's none of my business!" Kise shrugged and turned her eyes back towards the group, focusing on what she cared about. "You're free to watch, if you like, miss dragon... I'm sure the, Lord Gaffney," she said with a bit of a mocking tone, "will be along soon enough. Sit tight, will you? And... Watch the casting. A stranger getting so worked up as to brandish magic..." Kise's eyes flicked back towards the stranger, her grin wide, but her gaze cold and full of threats. "Wouldn't want us getting the wrong idea, you know~?"

Sylmaria shrank, her courage melting steadily the longer she looked at the woman. These were true monsters. The kind that Kazran wished to wipe out, wished to end, the kind that HAD to go. The kind they were all warned about as children. "Y... Yes. I'm sorry, I... Am something of a f-fighter and, their, preparation for combat got me a bit excited. Ahaha... That's all." She did her best to smile, despite the vortex of emotions swimming in her. Anger, disgust, fear, anxiety, it was enough to make someone vomit, but she held it back. This was her final mission. She couldn't blow it before the man of the hour even appeared...

Edited January 29 by Nanami Touko

[Ether]

And stake a claim someone did, although it wasn't the person Roxanne had been expecting. The student made sense, but Alvira... seemingly had a bone to pick with Jeremiah over raising his sword at her. Fair enough, and as she had promised, the sheep took a step back for Alvira.

"By all means, Alvira. Best of luck." Roxanne flashed the dragon a smile, as she began to scan the other Iron Tigers. Alvira really was the one she was most familiar with, and with her being the one to step up to Jeremiah, that left precious few options of potential partners that she could identify by name. Of the ones present for training, there was the colossal dragon man Cinead that had just introduced himself, as well as-

"Miria, right? I hope I remembered that correctly. I don't know too many folk here, so if you didn't have anyone else in mind, perhaps we could pair up to spar?" Roxanne asked, turning towards the girl who had been one of the first to speak with her. She did appear to be in a small grouping with a catwoman and avian man, helping the former with her armour, but that didn't necessarily mean they were a training group. If so, well, she'd have to find someone...

[Mercenary on the Winds]

Jeremiah raised an eyebrow as it was Roxanne who was the first to volunteer; she was the only unknown quality here, and she was certainly eager to test her mettle. Though, before Jeremiah could even open his mouth, Alvira stepped forward with ice in hand. There were a couple that Jeremiah had on his list, Versaris, of course, but he'd expected the feline knight, or perhaps even Miria to speak up first... Alvira hadn't cracked the top five, but her words made clear that his criteria had been lacking. Jeremiah then chuckled, "I suppose I deserve that. However, if you think I'm just going to stand there to let you do that, you'll find yourself sadly mistaken, Miss Hozt."

Jeremiah waved her forward as Roxanne stepped down for the moment; likely for the best, since it gave her time to acclimate with the others. A unit was better when everyone was on the same page. Jeremiah looked at Alvira, "Alright, since you're the first, and a spellcaster, I'll do the best I can. But here's how this is going to work. I will give you as many attempts as you can manage to down me before I break your guard. You don't need to hold back on my account; you'll be in more danger than I will be. I'd just like to see if there's anything I can see in the way you fight that can be improved... you have someone to come back to, don't you?" 

Jeremiah took a familiar stance, "Do your best, Alvira." Jeremiah tapped his chin, "Aim here if you can." 

[Xinnidy]

"Hmm... I see. It's good that the Tigers are this capable. Lets me focus what resources I have on my own forces, but don't be afraid to change your mind during the trek. Surely Kazran won't be ready for this... but I can't be sure." One problem solved, continuing his list. Owen had a lot to handle still, but slowly the list was becoming less intimidating... and hopefully would keep that way until the fated day. It was still hard to think things were so in reach... but Owen couldn't let that spike his anxieties. He couldn't afford to fumble, either.

"Hm... I am busy, but I could spare some time, provided rounds are quick. I admit I am most curious to how he performs." Considering the man's true nature, and how it related to Islexia as a whole. "One or two matches. I'll spectate this long." Couldn't completely shirk off duties regardless...

---

"Huh? Oh, Iris... yes." Üllr was more there to wait for his chance rather than watch others, but it was about to start, and he'd rather not miss a chance to learn the big shot's fighting style. "I want to watch some--Hey," Iris had already moved off to spectate, and Üllr did his best to follow behind her, throwing Aly an awkward nod as he followed Iris.

[GoldsbroTSG]

"Ahh, you know, I getcha." Miria nodded. She was stuck in her own issues for a bit, especially after everything that occurred with the Underground. She reached into her pouch, and pulled something wrapped up and handed it to her cat companion. "Have a bit of bread. It might not be good for now, but it's my mama's recipe. It's good for the soul." She smiled, hoping that Tanya would take it. Sometimes, food was all Miria needed as a pick-me-up, and hoped it'd work for Tanya.

It was then that another person walked up. He'd been around, but Miria hadn't gotten around to meeting him. She gave him a smile. "Yeah, Miria. Koba, right? It's nice to me--" She was stopped by Jeremiah speaking up again, talking about getting in to spar with him. Miria was ready to shotgun herself in, but Alvira beat her to the punch. She was gonna fight him first, Miria would get her turn eventually. She turned back to Koba and Tanya, "S-Sorry, uhh, right. Nice to meet you." She nodded to the smaller man. "You know I'd be--"

It was then another approached her, it was the new girl from yesterday. Roxanne, if she remembered, "Oh, hello. Um," She turned to Koba and Tanya, pondering for a moment. She turned back and forth for a bit before, "Sure, I can spar with you a bit." She turned back to the other two. If it's alright with y'all, I'm gonna spar a bit with our new person. Maybe we can mix and match in a bit and all spar as a group?" She gave a thumbs-up, then when back to Roxanne.

"Let's do it. I wanna fight Jeremiah eventually, but... if he's stronger than Sari, I'm gonna get clapped." She laughed. "I think starting with someone more my speed will... be better to start with, y'know."

[Nanami Touko]

"You, smug..." Alvira smiled, but scowled, charging the man with her ice and letting it crash into his face without a single care! "You asked for it!" She was surprised he'd pulled out a levin sword, assuming that he would've gone for something physical to really push the mages... It still stung, but it wasn't something she couldn't handle, sending another brick of ice crashing into his arm!

"You're gonna need to step up the footwork if you're gonna-- Gah!" The sword struck her with extreme ease. Even if he was holding back, he was still that far above them... "Rrrhh... I'm not gonna lose!" She went for another blast of magic, but the residual shock of the blade made her arm tense, the magic going far off her target, resulting in getting her shocked again. "Urgh! You, just... Stay STILL!" A final, rushed toss of ice, before her muscles could stop her, landing squarely into Jeremiah's chest--

[Mercenary on the Winds]

Alvira was an emotional sort; wore her emotions on her sleeve, but it didn't appear to hamper her overly much, as she did actually hit him in the face with one of her spells. "Huh, wait a--" Jeremiah hadn't realized it before, but that wasn't just magical ice, it was real ice. He blinked for a moment, before swiftly retaliating. "You're full of surprises, Ms. Hozt... and if I did that, this wouldn't help you as much as it needs to." What followed was a more back and forth affair than he'd expected, Alvira's focus kept her on target even through the lighter strikes. Her last attack was rushed, and it appeared that as time went on there was a greater, and greater strain on the dragon. Jeremiah hadn't let the final strike hit him, but it was likely for the best that it ended there. The ice connected with his form, and Jeremiah caught himself,

"--That's enough, Alvira. That's more than enough to say you kept your word. Well done." Jeremiah sheathed his sword, and waved Lucretia and Renais over, "I didn't quite realize it before, but your magic... that's real ice. I figure that has more to do with what you've told me more than anything else... Either way, you are surprisingly quick, and durable for a mage--I'm sure you know that many mages would rather hang behind, and use their spells from a distance. You can do both reliably... but, you may, if possible, want to work on other styles of magic. I noticed that using your ice started to wear on you, and that could harm you if you decided to take to the front. I wish I could help with that, but I'm afraid that my magic never manifested in that way, so I can only grant you pointers." 

Jeremiah smiled at her, "Well done once more."

---

It had been a night and day experience with Jane after Roxanne appeared. The mirth that came from knowing that her mother was safe pulled the girl a bit more out of her shell, and for once she was all smiles. Roxanne came by often to check on her, Miredy was as safe as ever, and even the Tigers seemed like fine people. They were like the crew, though, not as rough and tumble, and many more of them women. No less capable from the sounds of it though. 

"Mmm..." Jane bobbed her head back and forth as she mulled over the question, "Both." She finally said proudly, "Momma's guns are cool; she takes them, and pulls them apart, and puts them back together again... but Roxi's magic is also cool, her crystals fly, and also cast magic..." There was an excitement in her voice, "But both! I like them both! Whatabout you?" Jane looked up at Miredy expectantly. 

Edited January 31 by Mercenary on the Winds

[Nanami Touko]

"... Hmph." Alvira folded her arms as Lucretia stepped over to deal with her wounds, giving her a thumbs up. "Of course it's real ice. I've told you everything to do with that witch... And that's why I'm stuck with this. And... I, I know that," she stumbled, her face glowing faintly red. "I'll be asking Tio for some help once she arrives. So I can work on my light magic... You worry about yourself more. If I could get the jump on you, you'll be surprised by the rest of us!"

Lucy finished touching her up and Alvira stepped aside for the next contender, fumbling with a shard of ice in her claw. He's right that it's taxing me... Because my connection to her has grown weaker. But, if it's weak enough to require my own mana, why can't I still use my fire? Wasn't that the problem? That the connection with her was getting in the way, that her essence was blocking mine... Unless she's just that strong. That this weak, half-tether is still enough to eclipse my own fire. Hhahhhh... Maybe I'll...

Alvira sat down on the side, crossing her legs, claws held in front of her. "Focus..." She could find her fire, at least. That much was easy. It was back, it wad weak, and it was there, ever present. "Just focus..." If I can concentrate hard enough, maybe I can get out... Just, one spell. Have to focus. Let it grow. Slowly...

[Ether]

Roxanne felt a little bad, it seemed Miria was being pulled in quite a few different directions. It passed rather quickly as she agreed to spar, however. If the other two wanted to get involved, they were welcome to do so. Taking a quick glance over, it seemed Alvira and Jeremiah were starting, but it would be disrespectful to pay them more attention than her own opponent.

"Well, if what I've heard about him is anything to go by, he'd clap just about anyone. Was sorta why I wanted to see it myself, but the time will come... so Miria, how do you wanna do this? Feel eachother out a bit first, or just go full throttle from the getgo?" Roxanne offered, figuring it was best to let someone from the wider group set the pace, given she was the outsider here. 

[MRDRHAWK]

Tanya was a little surprised at the gift of bread, but she’d known enough about Miria to know this was a gift from the heart. She always kinda suspected that the way to her own heart was through her stomach… glad to see she was right. “Heh. Thanks, lil’ hero.” Tanya ruffled Miria’s hair as she thanked her for the gift, before turning towards the avian fellow that slipped in.

”Well met, Koba.” Tanya was almost testing the name on her tongue, deciding she liked how it sounded. “And yeah, you got my name right, don’t worry. You’re more than welcome to hang out here, nobody’s gonna kick you out.” Probably, anyways. Tanya was only mildly surprised by the arrival of the sheep, but she wasn’t exactly offended.

”Heh, just be careful, Miss Sheep. Lil’ hero here’s pretty tough.” Tanya sounded like she was teasing Miria, but it was quite the opposite. She’d found herself on both sides of that strength, and could tell just how good Miria was as a fighter. “Not that I doubt you can handle yourself. I just know what it’s like to be on the bad end of her blade.”

---

Nyx watched along with interest, surprised at how well ‘Vira was holding up against Jeremiah. Sure, it was a little chilly whenever she used her magic, but she got used to the cold well enough by now. Dating the Tigers’ other resident ice queen will do that for you, she supposed.

“Way t’kick ‘is ass, Viry!” Nyx shouted out, before leaning on Syndra again for warmth. She was being oddly clingy today — maybe it was because a lot of people in this place gave Syn the stink eye, and she wasn’t keen on that. Sure, her family sucked, but Nyx knew Syn wasn’t anywhere near as bad as those assholes. 

[Bluemask 96]

So the Tigers were getting pointers today, while Gean felt a rush of excitement at the thought of sparing with her uncle, she could wait her turn. For now, Alvira was stepping up to take a shot.  Vira seemed to be holding her own, and setting a strong starting example for the group. With, the lessons underway, Gean chose to seek out another ice mage. "Hey Syn. You down with going a few rounds? I could use some practice going against some magic."

A Time for Prayer

Spoiler

Gean made her way through the hallways of Gaffney Castle. The brief respite the Tigers were receiving had been good to the merwoman clouded so far, plenty of time with her loved ones, and she was enjoying her time learning about the duties of being a Captain. There was one thing left she needed to do while they were in their free time. Gean’s talk with her uncle had revealed many things to her, suspicions of all the nations, secrets about people she would have never thought she would have known, and more insight into what she felt with the Escaflowne. Unfortunately, that information came with the bad news that the people with more answers were individuals Gean would have a hard time getting in touch with, mainly because their whereabouts were unknown, and were also mainly aligned with Lufiria, Lucille more specifically. Her options on finding out what that feeling of wind was were slim, but not zero.

Gean found her way to the room where Alvira and Tasha were staying. If there was anyone to ask about this, it would be Vira or the Evokers, the latter of her two options still recovering from the group’s tussle with the Underground. Gean knocked on the door a number of times, gently. She was hoping that she wasn’t being a disturbance. “Vira, are you free at the moment?”

“Coming…!” After a small bit of shuffling, Alvira slowly opened the door and smiled at Gean. “I've got a moment to talk to a friend, sure. Be back in a bit, Tasha!” Alvira stepped out and shut the door behind her. “So, what can I aid my fellow Iron Tiger with? I don't know that I can do much better than others, but I'll give it my best shot.” Alvira simply wasn't sure what Aegean of all people needed her for… Guess we'll see, and I'll just do my best.

Alvira was practically beaming, it seemed her and Tasha were having a good day. Gean smiled back at Vira before craning her head up and saying loudly. “Hi Mom!” The Clouded girl chuckled to herself before looking back at Vira. “Actually, you're the best person to ask about this.” Gean scratched her neck, unsure how to properly approach the subject. “Well, to explain things properly, I’ve been thinking back to when we all had touched Escaflowne, and how you and Lani and Miria all had much stronger interactions compared to mine, and recent talks with my uncle have urged me to explore that. So what I’m trying to ask is, could you teach me how to pray? Like how you do when you talk to Fomalhaut?”

Alvira stared at Gean for a moment and tried to get a read if this was some sorta joke or something, but she seemed completely serious. “R, Really? I’m… uhm… I suppose I could. It’s not a complicated process…” She was a bit excited that someone was asking about her praying, but also apprehensive. It was something so personal for Alvira, having someone learn how she did it… “Mmm… It’s… It’s really not complex. I just… Set a table. A little array, for Fomalhaut, and… I send my wishes towards him. Close my eyes, clasp my hands. He… Only began to reply, recently. So I can’t imagine you’d get results right away. I’ve been praying to him my whole life…”

Alvira was a little hesitant about things, which the more Gean thought about it, made the clouded woman feel a bit bad. What she was asking was a bit personal, considering this was basically her whole religious belief. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me. I was thinking about a lot of things, so I might have overcomplicated things.” What the dragon did divulge was fairly simple, and the mention of no immediate results wasn't too disheartening. “Thank you Vira. To be honest I'm just shooting in the dark right now, and the only other folks to ask about this unfortunately were our dancer duo we met when we first left Glacies. That said, I think I'll try that. Maybe it'll do me some good.”

“You don't have to apologize! I'm not offended. Promise. Just a little used to people scoffing at prayer, so I was surprised you were being so honest… I'm sure you've noticed, but there aren't exactly organized religions scattered about Amaranth. No churches or places of worship… It's all very personal and private, especially for Fire Dragons. But, I do thank you for asking, really… Just, try to treat it like a bit of meditation. Clear your mind and focus entirely on what you're trying to reach. Even if you get nothing back, it can be very calming and soothing.”

“Clear my mind, just focus on reaching out, got it.” Gean nodded in affirmation at Alvira’s instructions. “I’ve had a lot on my mind recently, with each day adding something to that list of things, but that shouldn’t be too hard. Also no need for thanks, I think that it's cool you have a system of beliefs to keep you going, even through harsher times.” Gean’s expression darkened as the last few words escaped her mouth. “Ah, I did also want to say,” there was a pause. “I'm glad you're back, Vira. You mean a lot to us, not just Tasha, and I was worried we had lost you, so I’m grateful we didn't.”

“Mmm… I’ve got something that needs to be accomplished no matter what. It’s going to take more than some psychos with weird fetishes to stop me from doing it.” Alvira flexed a little, despite her lack of muscles, then smirked. “And it’ll take the whole world to get rid of me. The Tigers aren’t gonna lose their first dragon any time soon… And even if I have to go for a while, I’ll always come back. Don’t worry about that, Aegean.” She figured the woman would say she’d worry anyway, but Alvira had to try and reassure her all the same.

“Did you need anything else? I wish you luck with your prayers either way… With all this spirit stuff occurring, if anyone can make a connection, more power to them. We’ll need all the help we can get when that ice witch shows her ugly face again.” Which sucks, because she’s not actually ugly. All that beauty, wasted…

Gean smiled at Vira’s reply of confidence, though there was worry in her eyes, not at life getting rid of Alvira, but at her comment of leaving the Tigers for a moment. Gean wanted to say something, but thought against it. “No, that was all. Thanks again Vira, tell Tasha I'll see her later.” With that Gean waved and turned down the hallway. She needed a place to herself, somewhere fitting.

It took Gean a while, but she finally found space that seemed right. Sure, there were plenty of rooms in the castle no one was using, but the one place Gean knew she could go to clear her mind was here, at the shore. Her swimming trip with Aly and Cass showed her this secluded inlet not far away from the rock the trio raced to. “This should do it.” Gean sat down on the sand, finding comfort, and closed her eyes. With the sound of the wave enveloping her, Gean let her mind empty. Um, hello. I don’t normally do this, and I don’t even know your name, but I wanted to reach out to you. It seems there’s things going on involving your group and my loved ones that worries me. If you can hear me, could you give me a sign?

All that Gean got was the sound of shore. She didn’t know how long she had sat there in the sand, but eventually she opened her eyes. “Well, it was worth a shot. Time to head back.”

 

Jesse approached the training grounds now that things had gotten underway, with some pairing off into groups for sparing. Jesse was still in a mood to just watch, but perhaps not alone. Miredy an Jane were off to the side, also spectating the training session. "Hello Miredy," Jesse called out to the rather unique monster woman. "How are you two today?"

Edited January 31 by Bluemask 96

[Billy12510]

The training session had begun, with Alvira volunteering herself to go up first against their guest instructor. She was doing a good job of holding her own as well, even if Jeremiah was clearly pulling his punches. Syndra wondered how she'd fare against him herself, but such a thought would have to wait. Someone else from the family tree had approached her for a session, all while an ethereal branch of that same tree was draped across her arm. "Hehe, you're being rather affectionate this morning aren't you? I'm afraid this cuddle session will have to wait a little Nyxied, although if you wish, there's another physical activity we could do while we're here. Although, Aegean did ask to spar with me first so..." Syndra turned towards the mermaid and said. "Well if practicing against mages is what you want Aegean I'll take you up on your offer; where shall we go for this?"

[MRDRHAWK]

Nyx couldn’t help it, as soon as Syn had mentioned ‘physical activity’. “Oi, not in front o’ m’daughter, aye?” She teased, before letting go of Syn and smirking. “Or, what, didja really like the feelin’ of an arrow in yer ass or somethin’? Cuz if ye’d like, I’ll see if I can give ye a matchin’ mark… later, though.” Turning to her erstwhile daughter, Nyx couldn’t help but grin at her, too. “Don’ go n’break yer other-other mum, aye Gean? Foldin’ ‘er’s my job.”

Since Gean had been asking Syndra for a spar, Nyx figured maybe she should find someone for target practice — and, wouldn’t ya know it, there was a slippery dog hoofin’ and woofin’ his way over. Nyx needed to get better at taking a punch, anyways — literally, in this case. “Oi, Ullr! Ev’ryone else is pairin’ off fer sparrin’, fancy a round wit me? Promise I won’t shoot yer hand off like I did that one guy!” Gods, that’d suck — especially because Ullr kinda needed those hands to fight.

Edited January 31 by MRDRHAWK

[TheRoon]

Even without Lucretia, Renais wanted to volunteer herself to keep the Tigers healthy during the sparring matches. But she appreciated the tap on the shoulder to remind her of that duty. "I'm with you all, don't forget it." She offered her support and soon enough the fights commenced. Her gaze locked onto Jeremiah and Alvira as they fought, she did really well. The way she used ice magic was quite astounding, she hoped her own wind magic would develop just as well. Jeremiah called the match and she was treated by Lucy. "You did really well, Alvira. Jeremiah isn't an easy opponent." She did her best to keep the dragon's spirits up. The pinkette turned her eyes to Gean and Syn, it seemed like they wanted to spar too. "Good luck!" She called to her mermaid girlfriend.

[Ursali]

"Ahh...!?" Alriana actually jumped in surprise as Ullr spoke, so focused on Jeremiah her attention had been. It was unusual, for her to be so absorbed in something, let alone someone, that someone could 'sneak' up on her; especially without meaning to. This quarrel with Jeremiah, though she lacked the understanding to describe it as such, was beginning to border on obsession; however, the worst part was, she wasn't sure how much of it was 'her' at this point. "S, Some sort of training, with Jeremiah. Don't know exactly what happening." No sooner than she had given her answer did Iris come bounding by, far more enthusiastic than the Creation expected her sister to be in any sort of proximity to Jeremiah. Had something happened over these past two days? She looked towards Ullr, but hesitated to ask her question and the wolf was quick to follow after Iris before it ever left her lips.

She followed along with the group, slowly closing the distance until she was in line with the Tigers as they moved to the training grounds. Jeremiah quickly outlined his plans for the Tigers and asked for a volunteer, which she felt compelled to answer. An urge to take her shot at Jeremiah, even if he would be holding back. But Alvira was the first to stake her claim, and the dragon had just as much of a reason as she did. They were meant to pair up themselves while those two fought, but she really only had the desire to fight one other person present. As Alvira and Jeremiah began, she approached her target.

"Versaris. Fight me. Don't hold back, supposed to go all out in this training." 

Edited January 31 by Ursali