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<12/18/1971 ~ 17:45 | Fronas, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
Danny felt a shocking force wake him up, taking him by surprise. After sitting up too fast, he took several moments to realize where he was. Remembering everything that happened last night, Danny knew he was just asleep, probably awakened from a nightmare. Though he could not remember any dreams he had, not even the one a few seconds ago.
The room he slept in was still familiar to him, after he and Taylor were set up last night with their own sleeping quarters; at least that is what they would be call if they were safely aboard the Tidal Max. Then again, last night was really last morning on several technicalities. They had both fallen asleep at around seven or eight in the morning. Who knows what time it is now? It obviously could not have been nighttime already, because a bright yellow glow from the sunlight managed to peak through the wooden cracks in the wall into his room.
Talk about low maintenance. This place really must be underfunded for a medical facility. There was only one nurse as well, who just so happens to run the front desk all in the same job. Either this too is a poor country, or Fronas Town is just close to poverty, but at least the bedroom looks very nice. Much of the structure was made out of wood, but everything was neatly decorated with strange symbols and even posters of strange domes. The backgrounds in the posters looked like places, but nothing about them were familiar to Danny.
After rubbing his eyes a little more, Danny stood up out of his temporary bed, which was hardly anything but a mattress on a raft. Despite being cheap, everything looked like it had been cleaned, and the floors were well boarded up. He currently had the weather to thank for him not freezing in his still soaked clothes, since there was no heating or air conditioning, though the slim heat outside managed to take care of his comfort in the situation. This was a lot like sleeping inside of a cabin to be more precise. A cabin hotel treating injured patients by sleep or medicine was a bit unusual, but so was the rest of this place called Sprawn Valley.
Taylor woke up at about the same time Danny did, only she could not have known this being in a separate room. Her waking process was a lot more gentle, but she also managed to notice how interesting the place was. She had seen it before from yesterday, but sleep was one of the only things on her mind then. Their new friends, Kain and Bella were nice enough to hand them pancakes with a hint of syrup before they fell asleep. That must mean that despite its looks, Fronas cannot be a bankrupt town.
Unaware of what time it was today, Taylor got herself up and patted down on her clothes again. They were still a little damp from before, and regardless of the kindness of the town's people here, nobody offered her or Danny a change of fresh dry clothes. The outfit was mostly dry anyway after wearing it for so long in her sleep. Any of her owned possessions she brought with her were stuck back on the Tidal Max, and that means they are gone.
Taylor spotted a hint of sawdust in the air, visible by the small beam of sunlight breaking through the structure and into the hallway of her room. There were not even any doors for any of the rooms. Taylor remembered a short conversation with Nurse Francine before she slept, about how the doors to each room needed to be repaired using better wood; in other words, out of commission. Such a low maintenance structure even for a town working together on resource management, it was a little bit upsetting for Taylor to witness. Then again, she nor Danny knew much of anything about this country or the town they were in. It could have a totally different civilization level, with a free governmental system. Anything was possible at this point.
Danny was in deep thought again, not leaving his room until after thinking more on Taylor's injury. As he remembered again and again, Taylor fell from a high place with nothing soft to land on. Even if she did not fall down from a high enough place to get killed, it was more than enough to have her skin damaged and pierced by the ground, but he also examined that scar on the back of her head. It was halfway on her head and halfway on her neck, but that scar had defiantly broke skin, amazingly not enough to penetrate down to the bone. And then in just an hour flat, the scar is gone and Taylor is perfectly healed?
That wasn't all. Minor little cuts and a few scrapes and skin abrasions painted the back of her arms, and probably more that was covered by her current outfit, but he had not noticed until now that Taylor's skin on both hands were undamaged. There wasn't the smallest hint of any injury on her face either. A fall that high should have done either more or lasting damage...
"You coming?" Taylor was already in the small corridor of the hallway, noticing Danny just standing there in thought. Since he was awake now too, they might as well do something.
Danny noticed Taylor standing right outside his doorframe, brutally edging him to follow her. After considering that he was not going to get the answer he wanted right now, he finally agreed with Taylor and began to follow her. He quickly fixed his short poofy bed hair while proceeding to leave the comfort of the small room. It went quick for him since he had no possessions of his to take. While walking casually behind his friend, Danny had even more things to consider that didn't make any sense. He remembered himself jumping off that wall at about 100 feet. The pain of landing on his legs from a long drop is more than miniscule. After the impact, his legs were at least sore to prove to him that he should not have done something like that in the first place.
But what about now? From the time he just woke up, even to this moment while he was following Taylor to the front desk of the small building, his legs felt absolutely fine. No pain, no stress, no lag, and no pressure. His legs were as good as new, and he had not even slept for a full night this time. Wait, what time is it anyway?
The building had poor lighting structure. Most of the areas around them had glass protected candle domes set up on desks or side tables to light up the area during the night. During the day, it was a series of simple pane glass windows letting in all of the sunlight, and there was an electrical lamp here and there. The facility management, whomever that was seemed highly adamant about saving that electrical power; either that, or the town simply had no electricity. The amount of light that poured in during the day outside of the medical rooms however was more than enough to completely reveal every detail of the facility to them, and now it resembled something more of a hotel than a hospital. Sure, there were medical supplies somewhere, but it didn't seem as if people keep them in plain sight. Despite being made out of wood, the craftsmanship and interior design seemed quite professional. Right now through the window glass, it seemed to be a clear afternoon by the looks of the sky color and lightness.
After leading Danny to the front desk of the medical facility in Fronas, Taylor noticed that Francine was not there, only an empty desk with a round analog clock hung on the top of the wall behind it. At least Danny would not have to ask for the time, but analog clocks were almost luxury items in Kalamo, so reading one was almost as difficult as it was to obtain one. The smaller dial was pointing far down, almost towards the sixth large marker. The longer dial was aimed at the far left large marker. That either means it is 9:60 o clock, or 5:45 P.M.? Taylor was not even that sure of herself, but instead of figuring what the time was, she rather decided to take it outside.
The front of the main entrance door to the building was right in view, and though Danny wanted to know the time more than Taylor did, he followed her outside with her slower pace. The front door was made mostly out of glass, so plenty of light got in from here as well. Back where the sunlight was bright, there were people everywhere, at least twenty or more of them. Fronas was a strange place. The neighborhood was in a wide-open space of area, while the other facilities were within man-made cut paths into the woods. From this position, the houses seemed a little further away than before. And as for the people walking around, where did they have to go? Some of them waltzed into the shallow end of the forest while others took to the exit paths around.
The houses here seemed to represent individual families, and their design seemed much better than the building they just came walking out of, but that still said nothing about the infrastructure here. Why is there only one water source for a place like this; that well tapped into the center of the field of short cut grass? And where did those other paths go? Taylor remembered getting out from the forest from the opposite angle, so it had to be from the South, right? That means there is more that goes West and North? While picking up on observations, Taylor soon noticed that Kain and Bella were right next to them, wearing the same bright hooded robes as last time. They were so quiet before that her new knowledge of their presence immediately creped her out. The two acquainted adults managed to notice them first, but now Danny had his chance to ask as many questions as he needed to.
Kain cleared his throat, giving him the lead on who gets to speak first. Both he and Bella were leaning on the wooden edge of the cabin, which was also the medical facility from the outside. Their faces were a lot clearer in the brightened sunlight from the daytime, but the sunlight's angle also seemed to be receding closer to the ground. It was clear they were both waiting for Danny and Taylor to wake up, ambushing them at this place. "Well, well. Look who decided to rest up."
Even Danny knew it was a bit awkward to want to start a conversation that quickly. He felt a little strange to just begin asking questions about their location to a stranger on the spot, but Kain didn't appear as reserved either. "Anyone have the time," Danny urged. Kain and Bella stared at him for a brief moment, obviously surprised at the subtle request.
"It is currently five forty seven," Bella answered. "But based on where you are from, that time zone could be really different."
"Enough about the time," Taylor demanded. After realizing that Kain and Bella were here for one reason only, it was finally time to discover what the hell was going on here. "Kain? Bella? I don't really know where to begin, but there is a lot we need to know that we don't already."
Kain folded his arms at Taylor, in total agreement with her evaluations. "Allow me to ask you one simple question first, one that will determine just where we should start. Taylor? Danny? How much do you really know about Sprawn valley, even from just rumors or legends?"
"Absolutely nothing." Danny and Taylor answered together the same way, and exchanged a brief look for confirmation. Taylor decided to take it from there, asking what comes next. "We know nothing about Sprawn Valley, or this town called Fronas. Please explain everything."
Bella had decided to stand up from her earlier leaning pose, but kept her arms folded together. Nobody had a problem so far with estimating the length of the next conversation, and so she continued in preparation. "I take it to assume that neither of you are even familiar with the land marks of this country. So I will begin with where you are. As far as general locations go, you have arrived in the country of Sprawn Valley. You of course know that, but that does not mean you have an understanding of where you are."
Kain was now continuing Bella's conversation, as if the two knew what to say next from practice. "Sprawn Valley is very large, massive in land size. Located just northeast of Brazil is the best description of where we are. Based on where you said you were from, Kalamo, it seems that that country is very small, relatively located just southwest of Sierra Leone. I was able to figure out on a world map where Kalamo is, though I only know that much about the land. And you said you were on a ship?"
"Yes!" Taylor agreed. "We were on a cruise; the Tidal Max. It was going from Kalamo to New York."
Kain and Bella glanced at each other for a moment, and Bella took it from there. "New York? As in, New York - the United States?"
Danny confirmed, "You know it?"
"Yes." Bella allowed the two teens to take in the news they were getting, but she only stopped talking momentarily. "Your cruise should have traveled pretty closely to Sprawn Valley, but perhaps they were trying to avoid our civilization. Being unregistered in their public travel plans would prove my claim."
"Why would a public cruise like that want to avoid a place like this?"
Danny's question was not a harsh one, but Bella had a new worried look on her face. She obviously did not want to answer this one just yet. "All vehicles used to travel here are registered for a reason. The vessels of ships or airplanes that do not register only do so as a precautionary measure to avoid stopping at Sprawn Valley. Even though the pilots and officials are given such information, they try to keep their passengers from learning about this place."
"And I say again," Danny protested. "What about Sprawn Valley is so inhospitable?"
"Please," Kain interrupted. "We will get into that much later. You now know about where this country lies on a global map, right in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Your ship must have tried passing right by us, using that recent thunderstorm to cover up our visual trail. But just in case, you should also learn as much as you can about the inside of Sprawn Valley. Currently, we are standing in the southwest most section of the entire continent, in the Gulop region."
"You have a map of that?" Taylor requested.
Bella seemed eager to be the volunteer for the map, but she did not have one on her. "You know what Kain, you keep on explaining our four mini-regions, and I will go get them the map of the entire area."
"You do that Bella. I will keep our guests informed about the other stuff." Kain waited for Bella to take off in the direction of another interesting path in the distance of the open field. She seemed to be speed walking, too embarrassed to sprint in that robe.
Kain returned his face to the two youngsters, who appeared to him as more mature than they looked to be handling this separation so well. "Like it or not, there are only two entry points into Sprawn Valley. That would be Vanon Port, which of course is in the Gulop Region, and then the airport in Junon sector. Sprawn Valley's borders are tightly protected by natural barriers such as those rocks you must have climbed over. Lucky for you, those were not the tallest ones. I must say I'm impressed you managed to scale such a large rocky wall just like that, and getting down from it must have come with the same difficulty. As to what I was saying before, inside of our valley there are four other regions all separated by our own interior ocean, known as the Hollifax Ocean. So all of our regions are like large islands I suppose, but they are comprised inside of this large barrier of natural formations. Anyway..."
Danny and Taylor shortly exchanged looks. They were learning a lot of information already, but perhaps now he was realizing that this could literally drag on forever.
"The only other way to enter Sprawn Valley is at the local airport in Junon sector, which is far away from where we stand now. Air travel is usually the way to get into Sprawn Valley, because altitude can work wonders over an ocean vessel. Then there is the Eupharus, which is a much smaller region to the Northeast corner, and Iktal region, which is much larger in comparison - directly in the mid-southern section of Hollifax Ocean." Kain's tone and voice sounded so clear and confident about what he was saying and how he presented the facts. It was hard for anybody to call him lying or mistaken about any of this so far. Dare anyone even assume he seemed a little eccentric about getting a chance to explain all of this to strangers?
Taylor could feel her head beginning to twirl. She was never good at hearing the details of anything without visual aids. "That map sure is sounding useful right about now."
Kain nodded to her comment. "I'm telling you about locations because when it comes time to let you get in touch with your parents or other guardians, you will be able to explain to them where in Sprawn Valley you are. Though I must predict that their travel here could be a while, even from an airplane."
"And why is that?"
Taylor felt like bonking Danny right on the head for asking that question. "Weren't you paying any attention?! The only airport here is far in the Junon sector, and we don't even know where that is."
"There is no need for panic," Kain reassured. "Let's say that it takes forever, which it shouldn't. We are a peaceful nation, and we would never let a couple of lost travelers such as yourselves stave or go without the daily necessities. For as long as you like, we can keep you healthy in Fronas using this medical facility. I know it seems like it really needs work done to it, but it will not be long now until the facility is upgraded."
Danny paused before his next question, thinking about how to politely tell the man how poor his own town seems to be. "Expecting some big relief funds?"
Taylor gave Danny that look again, amazed by how passively rude he was able to be, but Kain did not sound offended in his response. "You could say that. We have a new and big event called the arena, happening just north of here that we expect to attract heavy investment opportunities. The nearest town that way is Blue Port Town. And before you assume anything, it is not a port, just another small town, but twice the size of this one I dare say."
"I've got some maps," Bella hollered. She took her time getting back to the group, holding a stack of papers in her hands. Once she caught up with everyone, she handed Danny and Taylor each a sheet of tinted paper with printed mapping data on them. The sheets showed a visual of the entire Sprawn Valley region and with such excellent detail. "These are the visual maps of Sprawn Valley's most important locations and landmarks. You'll have to ask around each town you visit in order to learn any more about them." Bella didn't let any gasps escape her breath, assessing that she was in rather good physical shape.
image [https://www.worldanvil.com/uploads/images/82da09606f4802facba4975879a6b4aa.jpg]
Danny studied his map intensely, but gave up in just three seconds. He was more interested in stuff he did not already know now, or anything he could not just learn later. "I'm more interested in hearing more about Fronas Town. Is this all of it?"
"I'm afraid not young man," Kain declared. "And it's just called Fronas in context. As you can clearly see, our town is not heavily populated, which explains why there appear so few houses. There are only eleven total connected to Fronas, three of which are a little further into the forests that span around here."
"What else do you have?" Taylor questioned, still studying her map intensely.
For now, Bella took over the conversation, still able to keep up in synchronization to Kain. Perhaps they were really married. "Not much. The only shop of supplies we get are the ones from Blue Port Town. They have an official store selling all sorts of items. But we don't have a shop set up in Fronas. People have to walk to Blue Port in order to get the supplies."
"How long is that walk?"
Endorsing Taylor's curiosity, Bella answered, "About twenty minutes; forty for the trip there and back. It's quite the good workout for everyone since that is where they must get their supplies."
"No automobiles to help out?" Danny assumed. He had only seen one automobile up close once in his lifetime, luxury items in Kalamo, but managed to learn a bit more about them from reading and television in his spare time.
"Nope." Kain seemed unbothered by admitting how lower his civilization level was to most other countries. "Nobody in all of Sprawn Valley drives an automobile. We've never had a single car - not one. But we do get boat drivers and even a few pilots around."
"I get the feeling that is done on purpose," Danny pressured.
"You would be right to think so. We've never accepted automobiles into our society, and it does not appear that this is about to change. If you want to get around places, you have to walk like the rest of us. I've only rarely heard of people who ride horses. Bikes are actually more common than that. Of course, I've never seen a live horse, considering none live in Sprawn Valley to begin with. So bikes are really your best bet. You're only going to find a bike shop in Gross City for this region, which is a much longer walk from here."
"Back to Fronas," Kain picked up. "We are known for housing the Dakota training facility."
"Dakota Training Facility?" Taylor and Danny spoke the name of it together, both just as surprised to figure out that this place has training facilities... But for what? Kain sounded proud to announce the fact, as though the facility is what made the town more popular than it appeared to be.
Bella gave Kain a worrisome look mixed with anger. "You want to tell them about that now?"
Kain faced Bella dominantly with his claim. "They're going to learn about it by accident sooner or later. I would recommend they remain informed about the situation in Sprawn Valley before they get involved with it in the wrong way. It's something that will freak them out later unless they know about it firsthand."
Danny squinted his eyes at Kain, certain he was about to reveal something a bit shocking about his own country. A big part of him wanted to tell Kain to shut up about it right now, but Danny couldn't bring himself to deny his ears the truth. Was it something big? Why was it related to a training facility? What do people around here train to do? Did they land in the middle of some kind of war zone?
"What kind of training facility?" Taylor begged.
"First," Kain began. "You two need to understand the concept of our ways. Sprawn Valley does have one very large specialty. It's not a big secret, but it is our lifeblood around here. You must first become familiar with the concept of Leray magic."
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Chapter Theme Shift: Cranktown Night ~ Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity OST
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Danny nearly froze, and he softly repeated what he heard to avoid getting the name any more wrong. He must have misheard him. "Uh, Lee-ray magic?"
"Correct; Leray magic," Kain repeated. "It is a type of magical energy that flows everywhere in this country. And when I say magic, I really do mean magic."
Taylor was at a loss for words as much as Danny became, but his doubts had already overtaken the concept. His tense muscles quickly relaxed at a simple realization. "Uh, okay. Hey, listen. Can I speak to anybody else... with intelligence?" Danny paused before implying that Kain was smart, hoping not to offend him with his accidental sarcasm.
Kain laughed casually at Danny's response. "Hehe. I'm not surprised at that reaction young man. You don't believe in magic, do ya?"
He has to be joking right now, and if he was, this was the worst one he had ever heard of before. "I think anybody who does is just crazy or childish."
Taylor glanced at Danny, then back to Kain. She could not decide anymore what to think of this civilization. Was everybody here going to be like this? "What do you mean by magic?"
Bella took over for Kain, deciphering the meaning of his claim. "Sprawn Valley is blessed every day with what is known as the Leray Veil Protection Zone. There is a force of magical energy that courses all around the entire continent of Sprawn Valley, and nowhere else. This protection zone of magic is responsible for the invocation of Leray magic, and the protection everybody here receives."
Danny remained silent. He could not believe his ears, and his tongue could not even condone chatter with this nonsense. Did the people here do drugs? If so, which plant was responsible for it?
Bella continued her explanations. "Describing what Leray magic is in general can be very difficult. The magical form of energy exists on a multidimensional separation link between this world and other metaphysical worlds that are in perfect parallel to this one with the difference of frequencies and energy related patterns to auras and astral forms. Because of the protection zone we have here, that infusion of magic gives people the power here to tap into that kind of potential, which includes the level of protection provided from instantaneous diffusion of the primary physical astra."
Danny's face had frozen with a funny looking expression, which he assumed Taylor shared at the same time. None of what she just said made any sense, and though it may have sounded somewhat decently scientific, that didn't mean it was truthful or provable assuming it was decipherable. Just what were Bella and Kain talking about?
Bella continued while summarizing the limits of the protection veil. "And it is that very specific type of magical veil that protects all of our inhabitants from the unusual deaths."
Once again, Taylor and Danny were in total sync with their surprise. "What?!"
"Even that has its own meaning," Bella continued. "The people who are in Sprawn Valley, whether they are official residents are not - are currently being affected by the flow of Leray magic, including you two as well. Every one or two years, a strong lasting field of Leray energy is sent pulsating in all directions, covering the entire valley with its blessing. And because of that, everybody in here is invulnerable to death."
"Yeah right," Danny impeded. "Immortality? There is no such thing."
"You are partially correct," Kain allowed. "You see, the protection zone that prevents people here from dying only does so with certain implications. That means that people are only protected from death when threatened by a severe injury, or damage, or by some crazy accident. We are not immortal to the other things in life, such as aging, or naturally caused diseases."
Bella picked up where Kain was going with this. "Even if someone living here eats unhealthily and raises their cholesterol too high, they are prone to death by having a heart attack, and no magic in the world can save them from that. But from physical injuries that would otherwise leave a person dead or severely injured, they are protected by the same magical veil that covers this continent."
Danny shook his head, not buying the story. He could tell that Kain and Bella picked up on that, but still they still continued the charade.
"Other than protection, the presence of the veil also allows anybody affected by it to use some of that energy, in the form of magical skills or spells. Leray magic can even be used in the form of attacks."
Finally fluent in the conversation, Taylor asked Bella more questions. "So you're saying, that a magical force in the country protects people from death, mostly, and allows anybody to use Leray magic as attack spells?"
Kain answered, "In a nut shell, yes."
Danny defused his suspicions quickly with Kain and Bella. "I have to call some major bull crap here. If magic really does exist in the way that you say it does, we would have seen it used before, right?"
Danny was looking at Taylor, expecting her to agree with him. Taylor took an extra moment to realize what Danny was looking at her for, and she responded appropriately. "Yeah, he's right. We should have at least heard of this before, or seen some of that magic back home."
"I wouldn't bet on it," Kain argued. "You see, the veil protection zone is also what supplies the people with the ability to invoke that magic in the first place, and the aura of that field only expands as far as our boarders. It barely shields this nation past the natural obstacles blocking entry and exit points. Anybody outside of Sprawn Valley will not be able to invoke Leray magic, and thus, are not protected from death in the same way that Leray magic grants us. It only affects anyone who is in Sprawn Valley, within the physical boundaries of our zone."
"I think we would have heard something about that," Taylor denied. "My parents told me lots of things about places, and Sprawn Valley was not one of them."
Kain was unbothered by her lack of faith in the Leray magical aura, appearing to be confident in his everlasting argument. "Most parents outside of the zone don't tell their children about such things. There are still a handful of people outside of Sprawn Valley who hate the very idea of this place because of the magic involved. So why bother the children with entities they don't think are natural?"
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"You've got that right," Danny snapped. "They probably thought you were nut cases too, and didn't want to bother us with your lies."
"Naturally," Kain continued without addressing Danny's comment. "Many people believe that the use of magic, even in the form that saves lives all the time is unorthodox and unnatural to the human body. Even with a better lifespan and incredible magic power, many dislike the very idea of Leray magic, and therefore dislike anything to do with Sprawn Valley. We are not a secret, but only half the world thinks we are popular."
"I don't see how you will win a popularity contest by pretending that you can use magic." Danny folded his arms at them, edging even more that they should be more truthful. "Of all the things, you two are wasting our time. If you believe in magic so much then go ahead and show me some proof. Go on! I want to see some interesting stuff happen right now, no tricks, no technology, straight up magical powers."
After what felt like a long pause of consideration and silence, Kain gave Bella an interesting look. "Shall we?"
Bella rolled her eyes at Kain, but not in disagreement. "If you must see that evidence, I suppose there is no harm in showing you just what Leray magic looks like when it is being used. Just aim it at the ground this time Kain. You two want to see some proof, well here it is. Pay attention."
Danny winced by the response. They're serious about this! Normally in this situation, somebody would simply give an excuse of why they can't show proof of something, or make the people wait longer and longer to think of a way out of their lie. But that's not what's happening here. Kain just agreed to show him magic right here and now. What about the other few people walking around? Won't they see...? Oh right, it's supposedly not a secret here.
Bella stood back a little from Kain, and Kain closed his eyes for a second, concentrating on something only he could so far detect. Danny and Taylor took two steps back as well, waiting for their demonstration of what could possibly be a simple magic trick. With a single doubt already in his mind, Danny immediately assumed it would be something lame. He'll probably shuffle a deck of cards without touching them, or levitate partially off the ground for half a second.
Kain extended his arm at a negative 25-degree angle, barely aiming at the grass in the close distance. He then opened his hand all the way at the same time, and began controlling his energy. It took a moment, but in just another second before their very eyes, an incredible ring made out of bright neon colors appeared out of nowhere, wrapping around Kain's wrist slowly but surely. The strange ring took on the form of a holographic transparent disk based on having a two dimensional form with multiple radii, and it formed from phase into a more solidified section of pure light. The ring seemed tangible now, as if anyone could touch it. Then it began to glow brightly while spinning slowly in place, as additional patterns and symbols formed within the section of the disk. Basically, Kain had a red colored disk around his wrist, with an open hole down the center preventing that ring from actually touching his body, but it still hovered and levitated in place while rotating too in its brilliant light. Now there were unusual patterns such as holographic drawings forming within the ring section, symbols all encased in smaller circles on the flat part that did show. It seemed like some kind of holographic device he was controlling, and the spinning got a little faster in response to the wait time.
There was more. A soft yet noticeable noise of low frequencies getting slightly higher in the form of a whooshing wind similarity followed that same ring, getting slightly louder and higher with time. Still with the same stance and focus, Kain waited while charging his energy into the strange glowing ring. In just a few more seconds, a strange low pitch noise emitted from that ring, causing an additional glow to form at the edge of Kain's hand. Just before unleashing his trick, he yelled, "Fire Bolt!"
With a quick flash of light, a bright ball of fire about the size of Kain's entire face in the shape of a sphere shot out of the end of the ring. The incredible hot bolt of fire then flew as a projectile, straight in the same direction that Kain was aiming his hand towards. In just another split second, the same fireball sparked when it hit the ground he aimed it at, causing it to compress and then explode on impact. A burst of hot yellow dust followed the explosion that was not very large in size or power, but it was still just as remarkable. As if to further prove to Danny once and for all that the fire itself wasn't a lie, the heat from the previous existing bolt managed to ignite a tiny fire in the blades of grass which somehow extinguished itself in short of a few seconds, the smoke and radiant heat making it all the way back to his widened eyes.
Taylor watched the entire thing, speechless as Kain's spell shot a real fireball out of his hand and into the ground. The strange ring around his hand slowly became transparent until it disappeared completely. Kain retracted his arm back to his side, opening his eyes and waiting for their reaction. "Wha- How?"
Danny's jaw dropped as well, unable to comprehend that Kain had actually used magic to shoot a ball of fire from his hand. "What was that?" Though he still considered the remote possibility that such magic was just a show-and-tell kind of trick, that it was still faked. It had to be. Magical powers aren't real! Danny came to an alternative possible conclusion already that he might just be dreaming. Despite all that has already happened, and despite how real this world feels, this simply can't be. But then what the hell was that thing Kain just drew?
"That was so cool! What was that?! Do it again!" Taylor had finally made up her mind, jumping for joy in excitement of the one used ability from Kain. She had absolutely no idea what just happened, but now she was beginning to trust that something magical was really happening here. "How did you do that? What was that cool ring thing?"
Danny sighed silently by how quickly Taylor was drawn to the beautiful effects of Kain's Leray magic thing he just did. It seemed a bit typical for Taylor to immediately be so understanding unlike himself in light of such excitement, acting a bit childlike if he dared to conclude. Then again, is Taylor really that gullible from one explanation and demonstration? This could yet still be a dream after all...
Bella decided to explain the effects of Leray magic including the terminology used in it. "That ring you saw before you is called a Glyphring. Glyphrings are those spinning rings that help us create a short-term link between the dimensions involved in pure Leray energy and the physical world. Through the use of glyphrings, people can invoke powerful magical attacks and spells that allow specific powers, and Glyphrings can appear in an infinite form of symbols and power types. What you just saw was a basic level fire type glyphring, used to invoke lower level fire abilities. As several kinds of elements exist, this is just the tip of the iceberg."
Kain continued with his own separate explanation. "And that is just using the glyphrings. Magical auras can also serve a purpose in support spells and magic without the use of the glyphrings, by storing energy into yourself and releasing that same energy."
Danny was still in shock. Now Taylor had already been won over by the demonstration, and he had no way to disprove any of this anymore. "This can't be happening. That could have been faked you know."
Bella smiled, knowing her own cue to try again. "Perhaps a different demonstration may help loosen up your suspicions."
"Yes please, do it again!" Taylor pleaded. Danny had not seen her this excited since her eleventh birthday, when she received some expensive jewelry from her family. Why was she suddenly so packed into this? It could just be a highly sophisticated light show.
Bella pushed Kain aside gently, and prepared her own attack spell. She began by charging up the Leray energy around her, and thankfully, Kain was there to explain the entire process.
"To use spells, one must have a lot of training and experience. Right now, Bella is storing Leray energy, which can be done anywhere so long as you are in Sprawn Valley. Once her energy is charged, she will begin to release that energy into the creation of a glyphring. Once that glyphring forms the connection between Leray energy and physical space, she can then invoke any kind of related spell she wants to. Shouting out the names of the spells is not a requirement, but it does help us focus at the right timing."
Bella finally managed to create another glyphring around her wrist, aiming her arm at the same spot where Kain had previously aimed at. The ring that formed around her wrist this time was slightly different in color - jade blue to be more exact, and the symbols forming at the edges of the ring were also much different in shape and design patterns. The glyphring started spinning faster and faster, until a bright surge of light formed right at the palm of Bella's open hand. At the same time she was releasing her energy, Bella opened her eyes and prepared to release her attack spell. This time, Danny and Taylor noticed something highly unusual that they did not notice before. Bella's eyes were suddenly glowing almost as brightly as the magical light forming around her hand. With the bright color of cyan blue shinning from her eyes in the most unusual form they had ever seen, Bella finally released her version of an attack spell. "Lightning Strike!"
Just after shouting the name of her attack spell, a bright beam of scattering electrical bolts formed in a straight line, in the same direction Bella was aiming her hand towards. This time, the electricity was bright and visible, appearing to be a very long lasting and flexible lightning bolt, connected to the ground target and Bella's hand. The bolt also managed to last for an entire time of three seconds, showing off the incredible colors of the blue electricity and the arcs coming from the narrow beam. Danny was also focusing on Bella's eye color, which still had been glowing brightly blue. That was something he had never expected to see in all of his life. At long last, the lightning bolt that connected from Bella's hand to the ground she aimed it at stopped, and the glyphring faded almost as instantly. Bella retracted her arm, and at the exact same time she had finished using her power, her glowing eyes returned to their original state of color and darkness.
Danny had nothing to say this time. His mouth was frozen shut, and he was thinking in a loop, trying to figure out what just happened.
"Now, I could sit here and do this all day," Kain confessed. "But I cannot continue, or else I will deplete all of my MP energy."
"MP energy?" Danny was still in a trance, but he was not stopping himself from learning even more.
Taylor looked like she was ready to bounce up and down all the way to the sky. For whatever reason, she was overly excited by this. Perhaps too many books of fairy tales? That was Danny's first external thought for her.
Bella answered the next question with another long speech. "MP energy; stands for Magical Potential. Leray energy is automatically absorbed by anyone in the radius of its effective protection zone, but just how much energy that is can be defined in a point of conservation capacity."
Taylor had calmed down, tilting her head at the sudden increase of heavy vocabulary. With a blank face, Danny was staring at them as well, just as clueless. He seemed a little more annoyed and tensed up, perhaps still unable to buy into all of this.
Bella quickly corrected her mistake. "Uh, here's what I mean. Everybody can use Leray energy, but that energy has to be stored up a bit first. There is a certain capacity that everybody can hold individually, known as Magical Essence, and it is never the same amount per person. It can even change over time. MP represents the capacity in relationship with a person's essence that remains for them in short term. Charging MP energy means using what is already stored from ME reserves to use a spell."
Kain continued Bella's explanation on the spot. "For example, I may have exactly six hundred magical power points in capacity. Every time I use an ability however, I expend some of that stored energy until it regenerates later. But you and your friend Taylor probably have about fifty magical points stored up and unused."
Danny did not even know what to ask anymore. So he let them both continue, as did Taylor.
"We can define our own capacity in the form of levels as a percentage of our MP capacity as it remains. Meaning, I can check at any time just how much I have left."
"What happens if that level is completely depleted?" Taylor questioned.
Bella answered, "Once one gets used to being infused with stored Leray magic, their total parameters get adjusted, physically speaking. You both are used to getting your energy from a good night's sleep until you tire yourselves out eventually. But now that you've been in Sprawn Valley long enough, that MP energy that you have stored up is now a fraction of your own energy. Exhaust all of it using magic or whatever else, and you will find yourselves out of breath, tired, and perhaps even dizzy from fatigue."
"However," Kain interjected. "That tiredness thing only happens more often if your HP levels are also low as well. And I must point out that having zero MP energy reserves can become dangerous."
"Why is that?" Taylor asked.
Danny's head was spinning already, confused about what all of this was about, but he tried to keep up with it.
Bella answered the question that Kain was supposed to. "In order for the protection zone to actually protect you passively, your MP capacity must at least be higher than one percent of the max capacity. If you end up exhausting every ounce of Leray energy you have stored, then in the moment of which you have completely drained yourselves, you are no longer subject to such protection from injury or death, until that energy regenerates just slightly. That is because protection like that actually requires just a tiny amount of stored energy to work as such. Everybody here is technically expending a tiny bit of magical points passively over a period of time to remain protected, but passive regeneration happens at a much faster rate as this rule goes unnoticed in fights."
"That is why battles can sometimes be dangerous," Kain continued. "If a person is in a fight, and they end up losing all of their MP and HP at the same time, a real injury can occur where it would not otherwise, rare as it might be."
"Battle?" Taylor repeated.
"HP?" Danny followed. Even if this was somehow a sham, there was too much creativity poured into their explanations. At the very least, they certainly believed in this themselves.
"Looks like we're still getting ahead of ourselves," Kain apologized. "I suppose the first thing to point out is that the magic Bella and I have demonstrated to you may look and sound dangerous, but it really is not harmful."
I'm supposed to just take your word for it? How would you know what's dangerous and what isn't? That fire thing looked like it could have killed anybody it hit outright! Danny was still just about in the same mood as before regarding the concept and situation, but he didn't let on to Kain about it.
Kain continued his obligated response. "Just like there are MP levels in everyone, there are also HP levels. HP stands for health points, literally the capacity of one's physical health and remaining power based on their connective life essence energy. But in the Leray world, aside from having MP energy, your HP levels act as your real stamina. You must not think of that as a level of your actual physical health. In the Leray protection zone, your HP becomes your stamina. Damage is converted into pain and a loss of bodily energy."
Bella continued the dialogue from Kain. "In the protection zone, a rather fatal injury that would normally cause death would be converted into something just short of a scratch. People heal faster than they normally would. And when someone takes fatal damage here, thanks to the Leray magic and protective zone, real physical damage is thus converted into something more manageable, such as the intense loss of stamina and energy in the form of HP. A person's HP levels drops in response to damage, either from an accident, or from an attack such as the abilities we have just demonstrated to you. Should a person's health point levels drop all the way down while in Sprawn Valley, death will not follow."
Danny's eyes opened wide. The explanation about the HP energy as stamina, and the fatal injuries becoming a loss in HP converted to a loss in life essence energy... Even the bit where injuries heal in minutes, it was all strikingly familiar. The memory played over once more in his head, when Taylor fell off that cliff, and then the back of her skull healed itself before his very eyes. It wasn't really that instant, but the time frame was still far from normal. Taylor was fine shortly after, with no lingering damage. The scar was gone, her consciousness brought back to her. "That's it!" Danny shouted excitingly.
Taylor and the others stared at him with confusion, but he managed to explain himself afterwards.
"Taylor's injury! That fall!"
Kain winced in response to the sudden news. "Taylor was injured?! When was this?"
"It was back when we were trying to scale that large wall," Danny admitted. "We were trying to climb to get to this forest, and Taylor fell all the way down. I thought she had died, but she only went unconscious."
Bella covered her cheeks in the surprising news. "Oh my."
Danny was not done with his rather quick explanation. After what he just pieced together, he had to let it all out. "Then I carried her here, and then her scar healed, on the back of her head! It was there and then it was gone, and now Taylor is fine! Are you saying that Leray magic did that?!" His voice had intensified with a new level of understanding; it was so aggravating to him just a minute ago, but this explains exactly the only way Taylor's wound could have healed. Still, this could have all been a dream explaining one thing after another, but the odds seemed somewhat less likely than before. And if these two clowns were faking their magic, why weren't they around before their arrival to Fronas?
Bella was restraining her response, surprised by Danny's sudden shift in his emotion. "Well, yes. That had to be the case. Taylor's fall to the ground must have caused all of her health points to drop all the way down to zero. Once that happens in Sprawn Valley, the stamina within a person is completely and instantaneously drained, leaving them unconscious but still alive. And if the back of her head managed to have a scar big enough to bruise, then the Leray magic must have reduced some of the physical damage, which later allowed Taylor to heal. Leray magic can heal physical damage much faster than normal, compared to injuries occurring and healing in the outside world, but it can still take a while here depending on the extent of the real time damage."
"So Taylor was saved because of Leray magic?" Danny no longer looked at Kain or Bella. His eyes were aimed at the ground, in deep thought. This behavior now had Taylor worried about what was going through his head.
"It's a very lucky thing for you two that Taylor decided to have her injury in Sprawn Valley." Bella had obtained the full attention of Taylor and Danny again. "Had she fallen off a wall that high outside of the Leray Veil protection zone, your friend would not have been as fortunate."
"Unbelievable." Taylor felt her breath escape her mouth cold. Danny really was telling the truth all along, about how quickly she healed from an otherwise fatal death.
"The zone is barely effective at all at the edge of the borders, completely useless once you get to the Atlantic Ocean," Kain intervened. "If a person loses all of their HP outside of Sprawn Valley, it means permanent death, because HP in the outside world is a person's physical health in every which way. But in this world, HP simply means the amount of stamina we have. Losing it here simply causes you to pass out unconscious, which is rather safe for the body in all case scenarios considering the cause. Even if someone here faints and is left unattended, the veil of protection will provide them plenty of recovery time to find any food and water should they need it."
"That's incredible!" Danny had finally stopped mocking the abilities of Leray magic, perhaps convinced by the evidence proved by Taylor's fast healing abilities that otherwise make no sense whatsoever. "That's just... Taylor was saved by magic!"
"Of course," Kain cautioned. "In the outside world, nobody can actually measure their HP levels like we can, and there is no such thing as MP energy outside of Sprawn Valley. Normally, Taylor would not have even sustained any injuries, but the veil is only partially effective right at its borders. Plus, falling from great heights is not exactly injury proof even with the full effects of the veil, so I’ve heard."
"Measure?" Taylor pondered. "How can you measure anything like that?"
Kain prepared his next demonstration. "Because of the presence of Leray magic, we have found a way to measure our own stats as they are by using less than one single point of MP energy. MP energy is the exact same thing as Leray magic, built up in our bodies, but it is measured in how much capacity we hold, and how much remains. By expending no more than one single point of this magic, just about anyone can project this..."
Kain held out his hands, which immediately began glowing a cyan blue color, but that glow only lasted for a split second. Then, something was appearing out of phase in midair, right in front of Kain. It was some kind of message, more like a decoration created out of magic. It was also holographic and made out of pure light. The shape and pattern formed a large rectangle, slowly floating up a little bit above Kain's head. Then the empty box become full of smaller shapes and symbols that eventually turned into an English form of writing and digital text. Just like that, Kain had summoned a real life status box above his head, filling up with readable data made out of neon lights that were not even physical. Kain quickly waved his hand right through the phased box, and was unable to actually touch the thing. It was like a real holo-projection. Kain's hand moved right through the thing, even though the text and the design of the box remained the same. With little delay, the box was now reporting Kain's full name and status in the writing.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/QCsQT7TL/S1-Kain-N-001.png]
Kain's stats were displayed beautifully in a neon colored box that reported his data while floating above his head. The box full of information did not fade away just yet either. He was somehow keeping it there. "Formed by a little bit of magic and practice, this bar I have pulled from phase uses that Leray magic to present what is known as an energy scan. Its official name is an energy scope. Leray magic can be used to determine how much energy and health any person has. This of course only works inside of Sprawn Valley, but this status bar is very useful especially in Leray battles."
"That's so cool!" Taylor progressed.
Danny watched the box just float there in front of Kain's head. It was truly impressive, but Danny was also curious about the other detail. "Leray battles?"
This time, Bella was ready to answer the question. Kain took it upon himself to intentionally make the status bar disappear completely. It faded into nothingness just like that, gone from everyone's eyes. The transparency did not go from zero to invisible as instantly, but it still happened so fast. "A Leray battle is a very popular practice here in Sprawn Valley. Not everybody participates in such things, but people who like Leray magic often train themselves how to get better and better at invoking some powerful attack abilities. They then find other people with the same passion, and fight each other using their very own unique creative skills to see which one is the better opponent."
"Whoa!" Danny liked the sound of that, fighting magic with magic directly just for fun. No matter how fake or unrealistic this was, pitting one person against another both outfitted with experience and magical powers is like something you would see in a comic book, though in this format of the real world, much more intense. "Sounds intense."
"Well that is what we are popular for," Kain spoke. "At least, for those who do not see Leray magic as a big bad and evil force. People battle others all of the time, getting stronger every day."
Taylor challenged, "Does fighting like that actually make one stronger with Leray magic?"
"You bet it does," Bella encouraged. "Continuously using Leray magic in battles increases the connective force you have with Leray energy at all times, plus all of the experiences you gain from battling. With a lot of practice, Leray wielders as they are commonly called, learn to develop new skills and magical powers with increased strength, support, and effectiveness. When used over and over again, a magical spell becomes a little bit stronger each time. And when you really practice a lot, your overall MP and HP capacity rises dramatically."
Danny and Taylor were both impressed with the explanation, their mouths barely open, hanging on every word.
Bella continued the lesson uninterrupted. "That is why everybody's MP and HP capacity are different, they can constantly change, more so from experience. The citizens that do not participate in battles don't know how to invoke spells like we do, but they still have just enough MP capacity to protect themselves from injuries automatically. And of course, beating someone up only depletes their HP, not their MP. Therefore, everybody is essentially safe here."
"Are you saying that you two are Leray fighters, or wielders?" Danny had a totally renewed respect for both Kain and Bella for their powers and abilities. Even if everybody here could use magic, it was becoming obvious that practice is first required, or so it sounded. It is still possible that this could be some kind of trick, that Kain could be using powerful and invisible technology to only make it seem real, but now it was less likely to be the case. If it were, there wouldn't be any detectable motive. And if this is a dream, it's actually a rather cool one to think about should virtually anybody be able to use powerful magic.
"Well, no." Kain cleared his throat in the expression. He was not taking credit for Danny's claim. "We are Leray agents. Though we know a small variety of attack spells and support spells, we don't actually go around battling people. Leray agents are almost like the police force of any given town. We make sure newcomers like you do not cause any trouble, even if that trouble happens to be trouble for yourselves. Additionally, we take care of a lot of the official town's business."
Bella took over explaining her own role. "And just like there are Leray agents, there are also Leray wielders. Wielders are also known as the fighting force of our people. Wielders are the ones who conduct Leray battles with other Leray wielders just for fun, and there are even Leray trainers from which to learn such magic."
"Trainers?" Taylor was still in awe by the incredible demonstrations they have both made, but she knew there must be more cool stuff about this.
"Leray trainers, also called Leray teachers," Bella implied, "are the same people who teach youngsters how to use Leray magic in battles. It is like a school just for learning everything there is to know about Leray magic. The Dakota training facility in our town, the one you asked about earlier, that would be one of the schools we have here."
"You have a school just for learning Leray spells?" Taylor quizzed.
Bella answered, "That and more." She unfolded her arms, satisfied with every bit of details she could possibly provide. After her change in stance, Danny suddenly noticed how darker it had gotten outside. This conversation must have been lengthy, because a full sunset was already in effect behind them.
Danny seemed like he wanted to say something, but he didn't know where to even begin. Kain appeared to have one more detail to imply. "Of course, nobody here has to worry about a Leray wielder challenging a random person to a Leray battle. Only those with official Leray licenses are allowed to invoke Leray magic at all, for any reason. That is our national law around here."
"How does one even get a Leray license?" Taylor tested.
Kain answered willingly, "One must successfully graduate from any approved training facility that they have applied for. By passing a grueling series of tests and learning techniques, a Leray teacher will show you how to invoke magical powers responsibly. Once you graduate from that facility at least at a basic learning level, a Leray license will be offered to you."
"Hold on a sec," Danny interrupted. He addressed Taylor by facing her in his stance. "Don't get any ideas about all of this Taylor. I can hardly believe that this magic exists in the first place, but trying to learn how to use it isn't something we should concern ourselves with. I still think it is dangerous no matter how you look at it. It did save your life, and the abilities available per person are probably cool, but we aren't here to learn how to use magic like that."
"I didn't say I was interested." Taylor practically yelled at Danny for coming down on her with such a harsh conclusion, and she was just figuring out now that he had a disposition towards the concept itself. It does seem dangerous in foresight, and perhaps that is the only reason why he was getting upset about it... Or maybe he was still focused on how to get off this island.
After Taylor's question was answered, a long silence followed within everyone. The noise level from the random people walking around had amplified into focus, but Bella decided to try and break up the awkward silence. "Well, it does seem to be getting late."
"I have to admit," Taylor yawned. "I am still a little tired from before."
Kain reasoned, "I can only guess, since neither of you know how to use an energy scope. But it would appear to me that Taylor's previous injury has still left her HP levels not fully recovered."
"Do people get tired only because of their HP levels?" Danny asked.
"Well, yes and no," Bella began. "It is true that exhaustion follows with the loss in MP, much more with the loss in HP. But aside from all that, anybody including Leray fighters gets tired and fatigued just like normal, even though that sort of exhaustion happens here at a much slower pace. Anyone who is assimilated with Leray magic will get tired at a slower rate, hungry at a slower rate. Even pain from any kind of damage that will follow is cut in half as far as what our pain receptors can pick up. But even with no stat changes, moving around, running and jumping, the normal stuff can still make you need to catch your breath."
"Then why am I still tired?" Danny could feel his eyes getting heavy quickly. He knew he should be exhausted still from yesterday's events, but according to what Bella was just explaining, that should not be so.
"The Leray energy around here must still be trying to assimilate with you Danny," Kain assumed. "For any newcomers to this place, it can take a little bit of time for them to completely become connected to the Leray energy in our atmosphere. I would have to assume that it happened faster for Taylor because of her increased need for it following that injury she took. First come tomorrow, you will all wake up hungry for breakfast, but then realize you've skipped lunch without realizing it, and you will probably be able to stay up for an entire night or two, so be careful with how you sleep the next day."
Danny lifted his face instantly, remembering an important task. "Kain, I need to use a communication device."
"I have a phone that connects to a local satellite."
Perfect! "That will work."
"Come with me to our house. Sometimes we use it to house additional guests, but I have a phone set up there." Kain was nice enough to show Danny and Taylor around to his house for the phone, and Bella had no objections thus far.
"Thank you," Danny replied.
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Chapter Theme Shift: Chandelier Night ~ Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity OST
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It took several minutes for Kain to help Danny set up the phone. Though it was not hooked into a telephone line, it was stilled wired into the wall, and hooked up to a sizable machine on the floor. The big box was probably the entire computer makeup for the semi-cellular device. After setting up the connection with the satellite, Kain finally gave Danny the go ahead to make an international call.
"It should work now. Just dial the number you would normally key in for your guardian. Let him know all that has happened."
"Right." Danny picked up the telephone from the line it was hooked into, and turned it over to reveal the buttons. Only containing numbers zero to nine with a star and a pound, Danny could only use it for calling, which was as advanced as the technology was going to get so far. He dialed in the number for Uncle Nyar in New York, praying he was still going to be awake and home to get the call.
Danny stood up with the device to his ear, noticing that Kain and Taylor were both hovering from a distance, chatting about something every so often.
With a combination of pressed numbers of 954-82-720-8484, the phone began dialing the number over the satellite. Danny remained patient, as it took a rather long time for anybody on the other line to pick up. He heard the familiar sound of a clack when one picks up the phone on the other line, and he greeted his uncle. "Is this Uncle Nyar?"
"My name is Nyar, but why uncle? Wait. Danny?!"
"That's right," Danny claimed. Finally, he got in touch with the man who was supposed to take care of them in New York. "Taylor is with me too, but... We've run into a small problem."
"How small?"
"Well, it's kind of big small. We won't be arriving at the port in New York."
"Did you get called back?"
"Actually..." Danny knew it was more bizarre than getting called back. "We kind of ended up getting stranded on a place called Sprawn Valley." With mentioning that name, Danny had to wait at least six entire seconds of silence before Nyar replied. Perhaps he didn't understand where they were, or maybe he'd never heard of the place before. Getting stranded seemed kind of vague too the way he put it.
"... Am I talking to the right kids?"
Come on old man! "Nyar? Taylor and I fell off the damn cruise. We got stranded here. And we are many miles away from the airport in Junon."
"Well holly mother of shit! You're really stranded there huh? Is Taylor with you?"
"Yes," Danny replied. "We're all safe, thankfully. But..." Danny hoped Nyar wouldn't say anything too rash, since the speaker on the phone was loud enough for people around him to hear.
"Sprawn Valley... Humph! I guess you know by now what that entails."
Danny pressured, "Wait a sec... You knew?!" It can't be. Not just Taylor's parents, but his own blood line as well? People knew about Sprawn Valley with Leray magic and never told them?! How many people around the world are kept from this information?
"Well of course I knew. Lots of people know. But the decision to keep you kids in the dark? That's on your mothers and fathers. I had no say in that fight... But I suppose now the cat is out of the bag."
"But..." Danny stumbled forward, uncertain of what to say. He still didn't want to believe such a farfetched idea like this one. "This can't be real. There's no such thing as magic, Nyar."
"Oh, but there is. At least in Sprawn Valley there is... Now listen. You might be frightened by this sudden occurrence of magical powers and all of their fancy skills and their traditions, and you have reason to be. They'll make magic appear to be this cool miracle force of nature, but don't buy into any of it, okay. I can guarantee you that Leray magic is a real occurrence in that nation, but that doesn't make any of it safe to get involved with."
"Uh-so you think its bad news too huh?" Danny squinted his eyes in response, wondering just how long this insane dream could drag on. The sensation in his gut telling him to keep away from the magic concept had now been reinforced by those words. Taylor behind him had to have heard it even without speakerphone functionality.
"Ain't nothing good ever come out of that mumbo-jumbo. Look. I'll arrange for your parents to come and get you directly. I don't have the money it would take to fly to Sprawn Valley and back myself. Don't forget that I spent all I could on that expensive cruise."
Danny sighed from that lost cause. "Sorry Nyar."
"It's okay, just hang in there. I have no idea how long this is going to take us. You and Taylor need to rest up and make way to that airport. But do so slowly. Nothing good will come of rushing things. It could take two to four weeks before anyone can come to get you."
"Two to four weeks?!" Danny did not mean to holler that loudly, indicating to everyone around him how trapped they were. With that much time, he and Taylor might as well just live here. "How do we last for that much time? We don't have any supplies!"
"Relax son. The people there may be twisted and weird, but from what I hear, there is a lot of free food simply offered to outsiders even in the condition you are in. Just stay put for now, and only make your way to that airport if you think you can trek it there."
"Will do Nyar. I guess we'll just have to make the most of it."
"Well don't get too crazy. If you get involved with that Leray magical stuff, you will regret it much later. Oh, and you probably know this by now. If you plan on getting hurt, don't get sick there. You're protected from dying now, but only in certain ways. Heh! I can't believe I'm even saying such nonsense, but it's true. If you get sick there, no doctor can do anything for you."
"Okay. We'll fend for ourselves until then Nyar."
"Good. I know this is unusual, but you and Taylor both are old enough now to look after yourselves in your situation. You're smart, and that's what's important."
"Got it," Danny determined. What a relief. At least now he had a goal.
"Good. Now, I'll make some calls on my end, but it is already two thirty A.M. back in Kalamo. So that could take some time as well. You two take care and rest up. And I meant what I said about Leray magic. It's not some fantastic force worth learning. Don't get involved!" His last words were yelled with such passion, it outright freaked Danny out momentarily, but he soon recovered just enough to hang up the phone in good faith.
"Will do... Good night Nyar."
Danny heard the clunk sound of Nyar hanging up the phone on his end. At that moment, Danny placed his phone back on the hook, and the others drew themselves much closer to him for the update.
"What did he say?" Taylor pleaded. "Are they coming to get us?"
Danny responded, "Seems that only our parents will have to come here. I'm not sure how they will pay for it themselves, but anyway, it will take them from two to four weeks."
"Oh no!" Taylor cried.
"Calm down!" Kain had interrupted the both of them to get his own word out. "It's alright if you are broke on cash and food supplies. I would like to make you an offer."
"Um, an offer?" Danny questioned.
"That's right. It's time once again for our routine resupply of food and supplies. And as you may recall, the Blue Port store is the only nearest store we have for that."
"You want us to shop for you?" Taylor assumed.
"No," Kain denied. "Sending two new unknowns into unknown territory to do something they are not familiar with is a disaster waiting to happen. I want you to give the shopping list and manifest to Lisa. She is one of the teachers over at the Dakota training facility. Of course, now it is not open, so this task will have to be completed tomorrow. In return, we will bring you breakfast from the same medical facility, only this time it will be fresh baked sweet rolls. After that, we will also supply you with two small backpacks to carry more stuff around, pre-supplied with two weeks' worth of MREs. Think you can handle that?"
What's the motive here? Danny pondered whether this was one of those good deeds Nyar just spoke of. All he had to do was a simple chore, right?
"Yes sir," Taylor agreed. Danny gave her a look for being such as spaz about it, but shook it off anyway.
"I will tell Francine to prepare your rooms for another night stay. And next morning, Lisa will be on call at Dakota, so the task will be easy enough."
"Danny?"
Danny eyed Taylor with much attention. He had not heard her speak directly to him with much focus in a while. "Yes Taylor?"
"Let's go sleep this off again. We should feel better in the morning, okay?"
"Yeah." He replied with little emotion available left in him. Most of his brainpower was devoted to thinking on everything he had just learned today about how crazy this nation really is. Even Nyar was confirming the existence of Leray magic and partial immortality, so it couldn't be magic just for show.
Danny and Taylor slowly made their way out of Kain's personal house back to the Fronas medical facility. It took much time for them to talk to Francine and get settled into their own rooms. Set up just like last time, Danny and Taylor both went to their own separate places. This time, the new doors made of saw wood were attached and functional, but after getting settled with the lights out, both of them had so much more to think about.
Danny felt restless in his own exhaustion after all he had to hear about today. Everything about the Leray magic sunk in deep. It explains everything that happened back there when he and Taylor fell off of that wall and healed so quickly. Even his legs were perfectly fine. To think that a magical force of energy protected them, saved Taylor's life, and now controls fractions of their own life energy.
And that was just the tip of the sand. Those spells Kain and Bella used in front of them; Glyphrings! Glyphrings formed a connection between Leray energy and the real world? Or something about dimensions connecting? Danny could not remember exactly what it meant, but he did not miss the fire ball and the lightning bolt fly out of each their own hands. Additionally Bella's eyes lit up with a powerful blue glow when she was using that energy. Was that just her own thing, or was it a natural response to a person storing all of that magic energy? What do Leray battles look like?
There were of course many other things to consider, such as the type of atmosphere in other places within Sprawn Valley. With so many towns, cities, and islands inside of a country where magic is everyone's life, how many more cool secrets were there to all of this? Danny figured that even he could be able to use Leray magic for cool stuff, Taylor too if she wanted to. Everybody does not even get killed here. They only die of old age or illnesses. Anything else just puts them to sleep instead of causing harm...
Danny immediately remembered what Nyar said. He had a strong disposition towards Leray magic in general. Even Kain and Bella admitted that about half the entire world felt that way. But why? Danny thought at first that Leray magic could be dangerous, even in a Leray battle, but that protective field saved Taylor's life. Leray magic protected her from that fall, and healed her flesh wound. Why would something that saves lives be so hated by the world?
He remembered his earlier thoughts about Taylor, who woke up with little memory of the event. The way he ended up lashing out at her for healing so instantly. She must have been just as freaked out without showing it. Who knew that a magical aura was responsible for superhuman abilities?
Taylor was in her own trance of deep thoughts. Though she was tired, her mind was racing all over. How could this happen? I fell to my death, and my health was converted to stamina damage? It made little sense to Taylor even after the long explanation from those two robed crazies. How could health damage turn into energy damage? Did I really survive because of magic?
But there were other things on her mind too. Taylor remembered waking up in front of Danny, who was very upset by the force affecting her he did not understand. Taylor did not understand either, but something kept her alive past the normal limits, so it had to be the magic.
The electric bolt of energy Bella shot out of her hand, and the flaming fireball that exploded from Kain's glyphring was beyond awesome. Taylor tried to imagine just how many more incredible abilities and magical powers existed out there. What if she could learn some herself?
In all thought, this information was kept from her. Mom? Dad? Why did you lie to me? Why would you cover this up, regardless of the dangers? Taylor felt herself become a little more enraged at the thought, and clenched up in response. If I see them again, I'm going to have a lot of things to say to them. Those liars!
Danny finally felt lightheaded, losing track of the counted time that had passed him by. It was defiantly dark outside now, past nighttime. With much less thought, he allowed himself to fall under into the sleep that he craved earlier.