The statue mage is a special position within the statue march event. At previous marches, statue marchers would enter the terminus of their march with pallets of dirt or stone. The mage would conduct a large-scale magic spell that absorbed mana from all of the attending marchers.
This mana would be used towards the sculpting of the provided dirt or stone into a large statue.
The statue is always a person of high regard within humanity who is also a respected figure among human supremacists. In order to ensure they still have popular legitimacy, they were restricted to building only famous historical figures who contributed to the federation greatly.
In the past, they've built statues of popes, great noble warriors, beautiful paragons of the Federation's 'virtues', and other beloved figures. They were individuals who fought to protect and uphold demihuman slavery as well as human supremacy.
Today's statue mage is different however. Prisca, Cel and Sito stand beside Angelidis and Shaula, watching the mage gather the marchers into a pattern within the center of the square. Ajax has gone to see if he can get some food for their group, while Dzan and Sigvor are doing some pickpocketing.
Since the Statue March culminated in the center of the square, there were many statue march sympathizers who started pouring in. They were gathered around the square, but could not be escorted into the center with the statue marchers.
They wander around the square while watching the marchers from a distance. They also gain great pleasure from seeing the writhing counter protesters, unable to do anything at all in front of the power of the guards. The power of humanity. Of course, these smug fools made some good prey for Dzan and Sigvor.
Cel makes a comment on the march so far.
"...Have you noticed that they didn't bring any bags of dirt or earth or anything?"
"Are we sure they didn't? There are a lot of them, I just thought they were hiding it somewhere. Or are they waiting for other people to bring it in?" Sito asks.
"How are they going to do any earth magic spell without any material to use? Do you think they're allowed to use the ground of Maz square to build something?" Angelidis asks with slight concern. Earth magic cannot conjure matter out of nowhere. She wonders if they will displace and pockmark the very ground of the square in order to build something.
"I doubt that." Prisca says.
"They are pretty bold today, Prisca. What would be stopping them?" Sito asks.
"...Honestly, nothing would be stopping them. It just feels like it'd be costly to fix. Unless they decide to just leave the statue up permanently. But they'll have to displace a lot of the floor to do that, I just… no, that doesn't seem like their path forward today."
They continue to watch the statue mage doing something. It seems like he is already building up mana in his body to perform a spell. There should be no way that there would be additional dirt pallets or rocks being brought into Maz square. The guards haven’t opened up their defense perimeter for anyone to enter or exit.
Seeing the statue march proceeding unabated doesn't make their group feel good at all. Luckily, in a few minutes, Ajax returns with some food for Shaula and Angelidis. Dzan and Sigvor follow behind him, eating what Ajax has already given to them. He hands Shaula a single packet of food and Angelidis two packets.
Prisca feels hungry as well, and slightly envious towards their group. However, Ajax is a kind person. He brings out three extra packets of something delicious.
"Prisca, do you, Cel and Sito want any of this? I was just going to give Angelidis, myself and Shaula seconds, but since you're here… and from your stomach grumbling, I'm guessing you could eat?"
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How did he even hear that in this noisy crowd? Prisca pouts slightly. She turns towards Cel and Sito. Sito just looks forward while Cel looks like he's drooling.
Prisca sighs.
"Angelidis, Shaula, would you be alright with me taking some of your food?" Prisca asks.
"Have at it." Angelidis replies, before continuing to tear into her second packet of food.
Shaula looks up from her own meal and nods. In truth, neither she nor Ajax were hungry in the first place. They've noticed that recently. They don't get "hungry" anymore. They're mostly just interested in tasting new foods and this place has a lot to offer in that regard.
It isn't very surprising to either of them that they don't need physical sustenance except for its taste.
Prisca smiles and receives their food happily. She hands two packets of food, something aromatic from a top notch food stall from the looks of it, to Cel and Sito. Ajax has good taste it seems. Cel examines his food carefully, while Sito hesitates to dig in.
However, both of them get over their, now light, caution towards the group of five beside them and start eating. Prisca does the same.
Ten minutes pass before they finish off their meal. Prisca feels full but at the same time slightly thirsty. She takes out something from her pack and hands it to Cel and Sito: disposable water skins. She wonders if she should hand any of that towards Angelidis and her group. She had hoped the skins would last all day for the three of them.
In the end, she offers up her water gladly.
"Hey, would you guys… wanna have some water? I got some extra skins with me?" She asks, nervously.
"... I'd like a bit of that." Angelidis accepts her offer. She drinks some water and passes it down to her friends. Dzan and Sigvor take big gulps, but Ajax and Shaula don't partake. Angelidis hands the remaining water skin back to Prisca.
Prisca looks over at Ajax.
"You're sure you don't need any?" She asks.
"Yeah, Shaula and I drank a lot before this, we're hydrated enough, I think. Thank you for the offer though." Ajax smiles at her. Shaula also nods in recognition of her hospitality. In truth, neither of them need water. Thirst has not come to them in a long while. No need to mooch off them.
Prisca is content with their polite refusal.
"You know, I wanted to tell you two that I was really impressed by how you pulled people out of that mess. I don't know if the ones I healed will be alright, they did suffer a lot. But, they were much better off thanks to your help." Prisca tells Ajax and Shaula. She had seen how the two of them had carried and led people past the protest crowd and towards an area where she, Cel and Sito could help them.
"These two are some tough humans, I'll say." Angelidis smiles, her sharp teeth bare. "I saw the guards actually aim some of the spray directly at Ajax. He even shielded Shaula while blocking the spray with his bare hands! You're so cool, Ajax!"
She is proud of her new friends who dove into that mess to rescue people.
"Haha, you're sounding a bit like Meixi now…" Ajax chuckles a bit. Prisca however is surprised to hear Angelidis’ words.
"...You were able to block the pain spray with your hands?" Prisca asks with slight confusion. "How bad was it for you guys? And you still carried people away from there! I didn’t notice you asking for any healing either, are you alright? Taking a direct hit like that… what was it like?"
"Well, it was annoying… Shaula and I are built stronger than most, so I was surprised something like that even affected me. It made me feel sad for all the ones who don't have the strength either of us do. it must have been agony. A person's hands are extremely sensitive, full of nerve endings." Ajax answers, with a grimace on his face. Prisca looks at him with slight confusion and a little caution.
Did he just say that the pain potion spray was 'annoying'? Not excruciating, agonizing, tormenting?
Shaula looks over at Ajax with a glare. She doesn’t like that he's been a bit too fast and loose with his words today. She would have liked it if he was more discreet about his powers.
Prisca is about to ask more about them, but she notices something. A sudden display of light coming from the center of the circle. They've started doing something.
The protesters watch as the mage raises his hands towards the sky while facing forward. They cannot hear him speak or read his lips, because he's wearing a mask. But, something is happening.
Ajax and Shaula are the first to notice through the light. The mage has started building a statue. It's not an earth or stone statue however. A crystal structure slowly builds itself from the ground up.