Amara watched as Akamori stormed off into the air on a plum of void energy and sighed softly. Well, that escalated quickly, she thought to herself. Finding herself standing around alone in his dorm, she picked her way to the exit and slowly made her way back to the Weaver college. Captain Morwen’s demotion wasn’t a surprise, considering what the captain had done. How she was handling it, however, was.
Morwen didn’t strike Amara as the sort to collapse. Then again, she didn’t know the woman for very long. Amara got the impression that the Federation and her career meant a lot to Morwen. Losing them both must have been a crippling blow. Especially with the war against the Sauridius far from over. That left the question of what would Morwen do next? What would Akamori do next? And most importantly, what would she do next?
She owed nothing to these people. She’d done them a favor in leaving the ashes of her home and helping save Hidros. Her reward had been to suffer at the hands of a bunch of arrogant snobs who seldom left their own world. The “tree people” as she’d heard some of the Brotherhood marines sarcastically comment from the mess when they were eating. She understood why the people of Aeryn earned their nicknames.
They were comedically slow to take action, embroiled in petty house politics, and seemed to enjoy an unhealthy amount of social preening. It wasn’t really a wonder why they were losing this war. Too many damn generals and not enough grunts. This was the only reason she held even a micron of respect for Rayshe. The man was an arrogant, bloodthirsty bastard, but he was at least out there on the front. Though how much of that had been his choice, Amara would never know. Part of her felt that had Rayshe not been posted to Morwen, he’d have been comfortable living an opulent and ignorant life here all the same. Bossing some poor Primal around.
“Stuffy blowhard,” she muttered, passing into her dorm. A stifling giggle from the opposite side of the room drew her attention, and she found Luffa studying a tome on her bed. Her tail swishing idly side to side. Amara squinted, scanning the title. Enhancing your Spell Bolts. Luffa caught Amara’s gaze and allowed herself a pleased smile.
“Master Erlaut thinks I have the potential to become the Sectors most powerful blaster.”
Amara looked at Luffa and struggled to keep her jaw from hitting the floor in shock. “He praises nobody. Not that I’ve seen, at least.”
Luffa smirked, “I know. I’m trying not to let it go to my head. Trying.” Luffa said again with emphasis. The two enjoyed a happy laugh. Amara enjoyed seeing Luffa in good spirits. And Erlaut wasn’t wrong about her. Amara had quickly made the same guess about her roommate. She’d watched Luffa melt down spell fighters for target practice.
Amara’s smiled faded quickly though as the heaviness of the news with Morwen and their betrayal by command soured her mood. Luffa caught the change, her dark brow creasing the red skin around her brilliant emerald eyes. Luffa set her book down, folding her arms.
“Alright then. Out with it. Who’s spit in your cheerios?”
Amara bit back a laugh. “What are cheerios? And why would someone spit in them?”
Luffa shrugged helplessly. “It’s an old human expression, or so I’m told. I heard the marines down in the star port saying it a few times. That and pissing in cheerios. Between you and me, I'm not sure humans very much like cheerios. Anyway, don’t think you can avoid answering me with questions of your own. Let’s hear it.”
Amara sighed, dropping down heavily on her bed. The servos of her armor whirring as she did. She shook her head, still trying to figure out just exactly how she felt about it. About all of this. Eventually, she sighed softly when Luffa stood. The thickly corded muscles rippling under her rusty red coat of fur. The dark blue uniform jacket she wore covering her, mostly. Amara had seen her without it on enough by now to know what she looked like without.
“The Federation demoted my captain. Ordered all our awards given to a pompous dead jerk who would have gotten a lot of people killed because he was a snobby murderhobo. They also want to break up our squad just to spite the captain.”
Luffa scoffed, her face wrinkling in disgust like she’d just smelled something foul. “Damn fools. They wouldn’t know competent leadership if it kicked them in the ass.”
“Unfortunately, you’re more right than you know. I’m worried what we did on Hidros will only have delayed the inevitable now.”
Luffa’s face hardened, but the corner of her lip curled eagerly. “You think they’ll come here for a fight?”
“It’s what I’d do if I were in their shoes. They have to know how complacent Eryn is with the war effort. Especially since it’s mostly the Brotherhood who do all the dying and colonial fighting.”
“That would be a difficult to miss fact to any half capable commander.” Luffa agreed.
Amara frowned, folding her arms. “Not much I can do about it now. Were you able to dig up that book Erlaut wanted me to read?”
Luffa scooped a thick leather-bound book and gently tossed it to her. Amara gently opened the cover, tracing a finger over the aged yellow page gently reverently. Erlaut had disregarded the book as beneath his gaze, but this tome held many insights into casting and weaving she could use. She felt a tingle of aether as she brushed the page. The book was old and held a good deal of power.
Luffa gave her an amused smile from across their dorm. Tilting her nose up to Amara, the primal addressed her. “You look as though you’ve just taken the prize of the litter.”
Amara grinned, cradling the book in her hands as she crossed her legs on top of her bed. “I really have. This book holds most of the common and advanced casting techniques. My people could have learned a lot from this. If there were any left, that is.” She finished her statement in a more somber tone. Amara’s family passed away when she was young. So she didn’t remember them as sharply as Akamori recalled his own. The loss felt more distant. More numb. But she missed the priests and Lord Shinjo.
Luffa nodded with a soft expression. The primal’s gaze fell to the whorls on the floorboards. “It must be hard to remember what your people were life before they were destroyed.”
Amara glanced up, her brows furrowed with curiosity. “What do you mean?”
“Primals exist on Eryn as war slaves. They steal us from our world, collared and then brought back to be auctioned to whichever noble house wins us. Most are children. I can’t even recall what my parents look like.”
Amara frowned, finding kinship in that lack of memory. “Me either. Mine died shortly after I was born. After that, the temple took me in, trained me as a priest.”
The two of them shared a look. Connecting with that similarity. The two of them quickly realizing how alike they were. Luffa was fast becoming like a sister to Luffa. A confidant she could share things with. She slipped a bookmark into the tome and gently closed the book.
A fireball streaked into the room, resolving into a scroll that unfurled in front of Luffa. Amara had been about to suggest they do something but held her words. Luffa’s eyes rolled when she finished scanning. “Erlaut wants you for training. I’m to fetch more books.”
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Amara could see the borderline contempt. “You really don’t like Erlaut do you?”
Luffa frowned. “He’s been the only thing close enough to a father to me. He doesn’t treat me poorly necessarily. But likewise, he makes it clear I’m still just one of his playthings. My worth to him measures up to how effective a caster I am. How much prestige I can earn him in the Arena. Everyone on Eryn serves a purpose in someone's game.”
Amara frowned. She wished there was something she could do to make it better. “If I could, I’d free you myself.”
Luffa shook her head ruefully. “I’m not even sure we should be, honestly.”
“I’m not sure I understand?” Amara said.
Luffa rose gracefully, patting Amara’s armored thigh. “A story for another time, perhaps. Come, we have tasks to be about before Erlaut pops a blood vessel.”
Amara rose with a sigh, scooping up the casting book. She wanted to do some quick reading as she walked. Luffa peeled off, disappearing into the library’s twisting turns and winding corners, leaving Amara to skirt the outside and head for Erlaut’s office. She found Erlaut seated in his office drinking some kind of steaming tea from his mug. Judging by the partially glazed expression on his face, it was some kind of narcotic tea.
“Ah, little priestess. You’ve come. I wanted to see how your progress was coming with the casting book.”
Amara shrank, tugging the book close. “I haven’t had a chance to really pour over it yet. This morning was a little distracting.”
Erlaut frowned. “Ah. Yes. Your former captain’s court martial, no doubt. A real pity that.”
Amara straightened some and stepped into Erlaut’s office. “You know Captain Morwen?”
“Know her? Well, yes, of course I do. I trained her. She was quite skilled. The best I’ve seen. A sad waste of good talent.” Erlaut sipped at his tea slowly.
“A sad waste? What do you mean?”
“She was so focused on her studies initially. And then the war began. The ArchPriest announced Kofex was under assault and would be lost within the month. He created this Federation of Mages and roped us all into the war to stop the Sauridius. As soon as Morwen heard the call to arms, she was off. Eager for glory.”
Amara’s back stiffened at that. “You’re wrong. The Captain’s not after glory. She fights because she’s good at it, and not many are, or will.” Her tone dropped to ice as she stared down Erlaut.
She didn’t catch the slight twitch of his lips at the corner, threatening to rise into a smirk. Erlaut allowed himself another long sip of his herbal tea. Erlaut eyed Amara appraisingly. Maybe it was the herbal tea, or maybe it was because Amara reminded the man so much of Morwen when she’d passed through his college. She had potential and passion.
“She always was a bold one. Not too unlike yourself, I think you’ll find. You must be wary not let your zeal for war to impede your training and progress, lest you find yourself stunted as she is. A shadow of her full potential.”
Amara’s brows furrowed at the sudden change in Erlaut’s tone. She was putting it together. He hinted at a future Morwen could have enjoyed, colored by his own culture’s idea of prosperity and success. He didn’t know what life was like beyond Eryn’s comfortable arboreal shroud.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Amara said coldly.
Erlaut didn’t seem phased, continuing to sip at his tea. When he finished, he set the white porcelain cup down and spent a point of his magic undo the effects in a passing wave of golden energy. When the spell finished, he laced his hands together. “Now then, let’s see if you’ve made any improvement, priestess.”
Amara rose, and Erlaut followed behind her to a dueling ring. He spun casually and gestured for her to assume the initiative. She drew her pistol, snapping off an air round that shattered into shards against a light bolt. A follow-up shot streaked in on its tail. She tumbled out of the way, popping up on a knee to fire again. A third bolt crashed into the pistol, sending it sliding free of her hand.
“I’ve disarmed you. Taken your measure and read your moves. Now what?”
His tone was matter of fact, and his delivery was blunt. He wasn’t here to pad her feelings. This was about patching the holes in her skills and mindset. She cast with both hands, hurling a pair of level 1 spell bolts. A mind and air bolt each. A pair of counter spells flew out, meeting each half way. Amara wove a pair of air signs and hurled a bolt of lightning at the Elder Mage.
Erlaut caught the bolts leading edge and spun with it. Weaving his arms in a showy, almost watery fashion before discharging the bolt from his other hand into the shield harmlessly. The ward’s runes discolored for a second before regaining their luster. Amara’s brow rose curiously. That was new. Erlaut smiled, pleased. “Not bad. The question is, what will you do now?”
Amara wanted to know what he’d just done to counter the attack. It went far beyond a simple counter spell. But she suspected he wouldn’t just simply tell her. If she wanted to know, she’d have to ferret the secret out for herself. His words of caution echoing in her mind. “You must be wary not let your zeal for war to impede your training and progress.”
She needed to constantly learn and improve. Akamori always pushed himself to be better, even if he didn’t always understand what he was trying to learn. She needed to be like that. In that moment, she resolved to do exactly that. I will always strive to be better than I am. To push beyond current understanding.
Amara could easily recall Erlaut’s movements with her eidetic memory. But that would only give her the physical. She needed to know what he was doing magically as well. To do that, she’d have to replicate the situation. She whispered a soft prayer to the goddess. “My goddess. Reveal to me all truth. To know the unknowable. Grant me the gift of your sight.”
System Info: Success! You have prayed to your goddess and have been gifted the Eye of Maetraya. Maetrayops enable the user to view as a god would for a limited time period - At a cost. Use your time wisely mortal.
System Info: New Optional Quest: [Discover the secrets of Maetraya].
The matron of divination has blessed you with the Maetrayops ability. Further research could lead to further abilities.
*Objective: 1/0 Learn who Maetraya was.
*Reward: 5 xp
Accept Quest? Yes/No
She mentally accepted and the translucent fiery scroll blew away into fading motes of aether. She felt magic swell within her eye, and her cloudy, blind left eye flashed with a golden radiance. When she opened the eye, time and possibility stretched out before her like a tree that grew limbs into infinity. This time she was slightly less unprepared for the overwhelming amount of input and processed it with a heavy breath in and out of her nose. A rainbow shimmered above her golden iris.
Erlaut’s head tilted with curiosity as the elder mage pondered what the little princess was up to. He made no move to stop her, however, instead holding fast. Preparing to react. That suited Amara fine. She needed him ready to enact his counter. She burned another AP, channeling her ability to manifest air. Her pony tail lashed wildly behind her even as her bangs whipped at her cheeks and ears. Finally, she locked eyes with Erlaut. Her hands immediately began casting air signs. 2 more AP spent taking her down to 16. She used the air burst she’d manifested to boost her movement, and formed the ball of lightning in her hands. It writhed and crackled like a caged viper, striking for freedom.
Propelled forward, she hurled the ball of lightning at Erlaut. He intercepted it at the same time. She watched as he absorbed the energy and then redirected the bolt of energy into the wards again. This time, she could see the water magic at play. Her hunch was right, the wavy flowy movements had been water style after all. She studied the spell details. The runes cast, and how Erlaut channeled the magic. She committed everything to memory.
System Info: New Ability Learned! Spell Riposte. When a spell attack is made against you, you may attempt to parry a spell that directly targets you. Then make a free spell casting + agility test to parry a spell. Each success is subtracted from your opponent’s successes. If your enemy’s successes are reduced to zero, then the spell is parried. However, if you roll enough extra success to beat the target’s resolve, then the spell is reflected back at the caster.
That was her first ability learned outside of training with Sgt. Sirsir. She smirked. Erlaut caught the pleased look and understanding colored his expression. He clapped his hands together.
“Well done. I was beginning to wonder why you’d tried the same attack twice. But judging from your pleased look and the glowing Maetraya, you copied my spell riposte.”
Amara beamed proudly and nodded. “I hadn’t seen that ability used before and it seemed pretty handy in a situation against two casters.”
Erlaut looked even more smug and proud than she thought possible. “That’s good, because most casters can only block or counter spell. Parrying spells is an art that only most Spell Warriors learn.”
“So, how did you learn it?”
“A traveling warrior taught it to me. He was a water mage, and a skilled one at that. It was a principle and movement I wouldn’t have thought to use. He showed me how to adapt, to take on the energy of another attack, and then to redirect it through my body back out in an attack of my own.”
Amara realized now that she could take on the new ability so swiftly because she’d already been gifted with water magic and understood the basic principles and mentalities in manifesting it. She was adding to her basic knowledge. She stretched out and assumed a ready stance, leaving her pistol on the ground. “One more round?”
Erlaut smirked. “Indeed. Show me more of that sharp wit of yours.”
Then the two clashed again.