Groaning lowly, Lyra stirred and arched her back slowly, just in time to hear a loud, wince-inducing clap. Trying to open her eyes to address whatever the hell was going on, she was just too comfortable to many proper success despite herself. “Wha…?” The sight before her was plenty confusing but, in a deeply visceral way, pleasing.
Alester, slapped right across the face by a hooded person. No, hooded wasn’t quite right, it was a sort of leather full cowl that clung close to their face but obscured all features entirely, with no discernable way to peer out from it or even to breathe through it. The figure was dressed in the material and cloaked beyond that, androgynous entirely. Even when they spoke, their voice was a grated, rasp like a wheezing stray. “How dare you, you’ve done countless things to irritate me, but you know what how I feel about child soldiers.” They hissed out, immediately catching Alester by the collar, the man switched out of his armour for loose shirt and trousers, much more casual and despite his situation grinning, raising his hands placatingly.
“Now, now, the young miss seems to have woken thanks to your racket, she could use some rest given her, well, everything!” Alester all-too-cheerfully chirped, only to get rattled in response but dropped to stumble on his feet as the leather dressed figure rounded to stare down Lyra. Immediately, the situation caught up to Lyra in a moment she squeaked and tried to sit up, only to groan and bring a hand up to her head to feel over a bandage wrapped around her head. “Where… where am I? Who’re you? What’s going on?” She fumbled, replaying her last few memories in her mind. Alester wanted her to join this expeditionary force, whatever it was, promised the pay well, and the key seemed to be that she of all people was magical. The simple notion was certainly mindboggling, but Lyra was a tough girl, she withstood her mother’s lectures on the regular and the news wasn’t mindboggling enough to make her pass out.
Even as she tried to figure things out, the darkly dressed figure drew closer slowly, kneeling next to Lyra. “Hush, child. You are at the the Borderlands Reclamation Taskforce’s temporary base camp. The sly wretch there brought you here for… recruitment.” Calm and gentle as a voice that sounded like metal scraping on metal could be, the figure still absolutely snarled the word recruitment with utmost contempt. “Right, uh, right, Alester wanted me to join I think under him?” Taking a breath in, Lyra again regretted it immediately, bursting into a coughing, sputtering fit, covering her mouth with a hand and promptly filling it with spittle and drool as she dry-heaved with full body tremors.
The kneeling figure visibly tensed and Alester visibly flinched, the strange recruiter-not-recruiter quick to scuttle away from the situation as soon as possible. “Easy now, here, drink some water. Slowly, do not burden yourself overly.” The figure rumbled, passing over a small cup filled with sweet, sweet water that helped the coughing fit and satisfied a parchedness in Lyra’s throat that just did not seem natural. “I am a magus, Alva, and I will answer whatever questions you have. Know though, that you are not bound to join the taskforce by any means, though I would find joy if you were to accept my offer of beating Alester for revenge.”
Taking a breath and thumping her chest lightly to clear the last of the congestion in her chest, Lyra shook her head quickly. “Right, er, Alva. Miss, or mister, or…?” “Either.” “Right, uh, Alva, respectfully, you’re… a magus? And what did Alester do that makes, you, well, so mad? They’re… weird, but they offered me money and didn’t make me join, join, I mean, they want me to join and said that I’d be paid more… I think, if I did?” Lyra trailed, perplexed but so much in control of her mind than she was when speaking with Alester.
“Mhm. Yes, I am a magus, yes, that means I am a powerful spellcaster. I specialize in contracts, geasa, and binding. I ensure the less civil of the taskforce remains as civil as they can be with my talents.” Pausing, Alva let the words sink a bit before continuing. “As for Alester… well, he lured a child to a solitary location in order to trick you into accompanying him long enough to win a bet, particularly, he used a sort of illusion magic on you to make his efforts a little easier. Nothing too invasive, but invasive enough to confuse and befuddle you. That, combined with his sleight of hand and dexterity is often enough to pull the ropes of your mind into a noose. At least, the mind of a child not to undersell you.”
Immediately, Lyra felt a cold pit form in her stomach, like an iced weight dropped into her gut and let to sink in deep. That didn’t make sense, not at all, magic, but a magus was telling her this, a user of magic themselves, then again could she take this magus’s word seriously? They were a suspicious, ominous sort despite how friendly they had been, and it was clear from the earlier display that they didn’t shy from violence, but they did seem to have ethics about children to some extent, so that was a goo-
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Lyra blinked, as two leather gloved fingers tapped against her forehead and dispelled the thoughts that boiled in her, immediately followed up with an offering of a slice of bread. “Forgive me, child. You seem still to be plagued by his tricks. A sign of poor magical resistance… and a sign of magical talent. The cheat is not entirely a cheat it seems.” Alva murmured quietly, twitching a little. “No matter. What Alester has done to you will be punished, you are welcome to partake in his discipline, a direct invitation from me. The fool thinks that his little bet is worth the pain, but he will learn otherwise.”
The fog lifted from Lyra’s mind, panic ebbed, and suddenly one thought did not immediately lead into another. She felt queasy again, but it was much more manageable, the offering of bread certainly helped even if it occupied her mouth and kept her from talking for longer than she would’ve liked. Swallowing down a mouthful, Lyra cleared her throat, “R… right, sorry, uh, I’m… still being paid, right?” The money. How could she have forgotten the money.
Alva quirked an eyebrow, maybe, it was impossible to tell with their coverings, but it certainly felt like it. “Yes, child. Alester attempted to talk his way out of punishment, saying that you would like to join. Yes, you will receive the coin Alester has promised thus far, and though I loathe to say it, there is indeed a sizeable monetary reward for you and whatever family or loved ones you have if you were to join. I am personally strictly against the application of children into matters of adult folk, but I am not in command here and the value of a potential magic user cannot be understated.”
Money. Lots of it, and from the sound of it enough to impress even an adult. “Right. Magic. Alester mentioned that I might… have some.” Alva nodded and Lyra’s heart soared. “Yes, child. You seem to have at least showings of magical talents, those who are more receptive to magical influence often manifest a degree of application themselves. A normal child, even as malnourished and tiny as you are would have naturally shaken off Alester’s shoddy work by now. You did not and that lends credence to his claim that you are a bit of an illusionist yourself. Though from the sound of things you are not familiar with your talents.” The affirmation from someone, a mage especially, was a rattling thing.
“So, illusions? I can make illusions? Only illusions? How does it work? How do I use it? How do I know if I really have it?” Lyra shot rapidly, eyes widening and a smile starting to pull at her lips. Magic. It was a dream come true. Who didn’t dream of being told they had an affinity for magic? But to think a girl like her, a wretch, a waste of space, an accident, a filthy little mess like her… magical, despite it all. It was like being a chosen hero! “You are capable of illusions it seems, but only proper practice and testing will see how talented you are and where said talents lay. You may yet be more suited to being a battle mage, a summoner, or a healer. You use it with your will, your mind, and a little arcane formula.” Alva hesitated but ultimately after a few moments pause, continued. “You would be thoroughly trained and educated if you were to enlist, but I beg you to reconsider, child.”
Lyra, clearly did not stop. This was it. This was the way out of her life, her way into something else. “Right, of course, right. If I join. … Why don’t you want to me to join? I’d get paid, I’d be taught, it sounds really great to me.” Hopeful and disbelieving of drawbacks, Lyra tipped her head and peered at Alva owlishly, whatever consequences there could possibly be, they sounded entirely irrelevant. “Child. The taskforce’s goal is to venture into dangerous wilds and reclaim them, wilds dangerous enough to have been settled and subsequently lost again. There is no telling what may be out there. Not to mention, the taskforce is comprised primarily of criminals of varying severity, and a young boy such as yourself is certainly not safe from the worst of the bunch. Even if my geasa would protect you, your mind should not be made to face such hardships. What would your parents think, child?”
Dangerous work, criminal cohorts, they did seem frightening but compared to the isolation, wallowing in a pit of loathing both from herself and everyone around her, it was relief. Even if the comment about her mother punched the air out of her sails and she drooped a little, far from caring about being called a boy. She was ugly, she knew it. “Uh, my, mother is… not… a great mother. I wouldn’t miss her.” Immediately, Lyra winced. She had voiced this before and immediately been shoved and berated for being unfilial, scolded by a passing by mother for being so vile and uncaring for her own blood. To her surprise, Alva just nodded her head. “I see. Forgive me, child, I did not think to ask Alester of your past. Forgive my misunderstanding of your hardships. … I would still advise strongly against joining, but I am not your lord and I cannot dictate your actions. I will leave you a while, to hunt down Alester and wring his bones. I will call for you once he is in my grasp and you are free to take your pound of flesh from him.” Alva murmured, rising slowly, and shifting a plate of bread, cheese, and a few slices of meat closer to Lyra, all cold but still incredibly appetizing.
“I’m not sure if Alester needs to be punished, honestly, it’s… I don’t like what he did, but the benefits are so much that…” Lyra’s call for mercy was cut short as Alva’s gaze seemed to grow heavy. Crushingly so. It was as if a mountain had decided to break her back after she pissed on it. Immediately, it was cut short, and a surge of relief filled her as Alva turned away. “Do not mistake your hardships for proof of how the world should be, child. Besides, he must be taught to remember the status quo, despite the status he has earned. The indentured volunteers cannot be allowed to slip their leashes.”
With that, Alva left, leaving Lyra to contemplate what she had felt, and what she was offered. Money and an escape from this place. She didn’t understand what exactly borderlands entailed, or what reclaiming them meant, or how dangerous the so-called criminals would be. For all the wrong Alester had done her and how grossly he had violated her trust and her mind, she found happiness through his actions. A little discomfort for such a gain was monumental, and so what if she clonked her head?
Then again, it wasn’t as if she could forgive her mother for the beatings just because she learned to behave herself.