A rush of air, a cacophonous boom, metallic metal ring. Jace instantly appeared before the blue-robed man, yet his blade clattered against nothing but air. A bright teal crack in the space a few inches above his head.
"I don't think so." He extended his right hand, and Jace's sword was swung aside, followed quickly by Jace, sent flying several feet backward, landing upright and repositioning the longsword.
"God do I hate mages." Jace again propelled himself forward, the sword replaced by a lance mid-lunge. Though, it appeared somewhat anticipated. The pointed tip was wreathed in ethereal light, still several inches from its target. Well, it's about 5 inches thick, good to know. Jace released his grip, and the lance vanished. Again, he clenched his hand with the last two fingers extended. Burst. As the wave of power came forth, Jace extended his right hand, second and third fingers extended and pointed to the now vacant hole. The heat wave gushed forth, finally, an attack hit. The robed man was shoved back, now coated in a light blue hue.
"Nice, excellent!" The man grabbed the slate from the air, thrusting it forward. The thin hue slipped away, streaming through the cavity and firing a needle-like spike, and sending it hurtling toward the already-in-motion Jace. It slid harmlessly along his metal shoulder plate, and Jace's momentum prevailed, sending his frame into the thick shield, and his now-equipped sword through the small opening, plunging just above the mage's ribs. "You bastard! God damned god ling piec-" Jace had already positioned his hands, the telltale left-hand sign, and his sword hand extended its thumb and fourth finger.
Burst.
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Despite the rush of power flowing from the blade into the mage's body, tearing him apart from the inside, there was no blood or viscera. It was surprisingly clean. The only remnant of his existence was the slowly less opaque blue veil and the shattered stone tablet, all other evidence of the strange assailant was seeming wiped from the world. Jace's contorted into a frown and he scattered the pebbles that remained, muttering, "God damn mages," under his breath before surveying the altar
"Well then, sorry about that, I am Jace, a being sent from the goddess Astrinar, the same who sent you to this world, you are from another one, correct?" He paused, waiting for the individual hiding behind the rubble to nod. 20 seconds, not too shabby for a mage encounter. "Excellent, I am here to ensure you learn how to survive in this world, shall we go?" No response. Jace hung his head, glancing up and observing the strange white shirt, and black shorts that they wore, then the rest of them. A boy, 17,18? those are, a... T-shirt? and shorts, right.
"That damned mage ruined my whole welcome cushion of a party, Please, don't mind that fight, I have no idea what he wanted with you but I am here for nothing but your safety, the energy discharge has most definitely attracted bigger fish, so let us be off, please?" He laced as much empathy into his words as possible, what he said wasn't untrue, already the beasts of the forest were stirring, Hungary for filling prey. The boy looked on for a few moments, then hesitantly nodded once again. "Splendid, come on, let's go!" Jace extended his hand toward the decaying quartz, helping the otherworldly boy up and beckoning him in the direction of their impending travel, to the city.
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It was dark, at least, darker when they arrived. Luckily for both, nothing had left the confines of the shadows to disturb their trek to the walls, and soon enough, seven hours soon due to the stumbling newcomer, they were along the edge. "Now, I don't want to overwhelm you too much, you've already had it rough for your first day, so we can bypass the city center, I'm sure you're tired."
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"That I am..." The boy's voice wasn't more than a whisper, quietly cutting through the air. Good, he isn't in total shock.
"Then wait just a moment, take this stone, when it glows, apply some slight pressure, okay?" he nodded. "See you in a second." Jace stepped back from the wall a few feet, then took a running leap, a dagger flashing into his hand's mid-air, he dug into the seam between the heavy stone blocks, then used its handle as leverage to propel even further. A couple of repeated maneuvers and he was over the wall, landing with a dull thump and kicking up the stone dust on the other side, right behind his homestead, the decently sized stone and wood walled house in the outskirts residential zone. as he crept in and removed his armor, Jace fished out an identical clear orb, crushing it in the dining area.
It took a few seconds, but the boy appeared right where it was crushed, wobbling unsteadily and giving the face of someone ready to throw up. "Breathe, just breathe, lean on the table if need be." He did just that, using its support to stabilize his equilibrium.
"Was that, was that magic?" In between huffing breaths, he spoke, staring up at Jace and standing up straight, with a bit of a struggle.
"Not exactly, those stones are relics, items with properties that are different from or superior to magic, at least that we use."
"So, they are magic items, can you do magic? That blast was magic right?" His words sped up a good margin, and Jace had to hold up his hand to calm him down.
"Hold on, just hold on just one second, first things first, what's your name?"
"Oh, yeah, right, I'm... wait, should I use my old name? or make a new one?"
"Well, it is your name. It's only fair that it is up to you."
He pondered Jace's words, thinking for some time. "Alkir, I am now Alkir." A nigh imperceptible shimmer danced over Alkir, vanishing before even a second had passed. Jace smirked to himself.
"Excellent, now, would you like something to eat or drink? I have bread, water, and some fruits, but no meats right now sadly"
"No no, I'm perfectly fine..." Alkir scanned the place, taking in the immediate surroundings. "is it alright if I sit?"
"Of course." Jace and Alkir both pulled out hand-carved wooden chairs from the dining table, then faced each other.
"Okay, was that thing you did magic? and what about the flashy weapons? or the tablet?" Alkir was eagerly awaiting Jaqce's response.
"By that thing, I assume you meant this," Jace pulled his hand up and performed the same hand sign as he did in the fight. Alkir vigorously nodded at that. "Then yes and no. It is based on the principles of magic, yet follows no coordination. It is the release of one of my chambers, or several, only directed by my body," he held up his right hand, performing the signs he did before, and a few others, "a mastery that took quite some time, you follow?"
"Okay, then, wha-"
"Okay, slow down there, let me answer the other questions, okay?" He gently interjected, and Alkir agreed. "The mage's tablet was a relic, a catalyst, allowing for magic enhancement, and for the use of special abilities on its face, and the weapons..." He trailed off, then paused a moment. "I believe it would be best explained tomorrow, now, your other question?"
"What is magic? I mean, I chose to come to this world, and that was one of the reasons I'll have you know."
"I, sorry, but again, perhaps this would be best demonstrated in the lighter hours." Jace's face displayed a grimace, he didn't want to deny the kid's questions, yet practical experience would trump any word-based explanation. Alkir's face fell, only making Jace feel worse. "Come now, I assure you it is more than worth the wait, just hold on for a few more hours, sleep, then when you wake, we will learn."
"Okay, okay, where do I sleep?" Jace lead him towards the couch, saying that they will get proper clothes and equipment tomorrow.
"Sleep well, we have a long day ahead." And so, the boy laid down and rested placing his trust in his supposed guide, and Jace awaited the light hours, for when his self-imposed job truly began.