A man in robes, holding a staff looked through a sterile glass window. His rough clothing was in contrast to the pristine tiled floors and sterile work environment around him. He spoke into his staff, no doubt projecting his voice into the viewing chamber. He tapped his staff against the class scolding those inside. Runes drew themselves against the glass and the mage nodded as something or someone inside the viewing chamber got the general spell formula. The mage's face went from a tired smile to simply tired when his face, and the room he resided in, flashed purple, red and black. Blood splattered against the wall as a black demonic claw scratched a section of the glass larger than his head. The mage sighed, and with his breath, the demon erupted into flesh, spewing black blood over red blood. The mage shook his head and moved to another viewing chamber watching another of his apprentices attempt the spell circle.
-Video footage of Necros training facility.
Though with its wooden walls and rustic shelves it looked nothing like a hospital, there was a caring warmth about the style of the room though, he'll give them that. It was in the polished... potions, for lack of a better word. They rested on the shelves along with other devices that, while Luck knew served some medical purpose, he couldn't truly fathom. They didn't look modern in the slightest. And perhaps that made sense.
He was comfortable, something he enjoyed, even in the silence of his sister across from him. They could spend hours without talking and still feel close, as he could with all of his family. This time though, Luck found it hard to be the rock his sister needed. He was never one for strong emotional support. That was a job his parents had signed up for.
"The healer took a long look at you and determined you needed no further treatment than that of time." Tate stated, her brunette hair fell to her shoulders in waves. Light brown eyes regarded him, all cool intelligence.
"And what a mess I was." He sniffed, his clothes went into his dimensional room with Evodim. The naturally regenerative properties of Evodim would take care of them.
"They threw those clothes on you as soon as you resembled something human." Tate said, a little too straight-faced.
Naturally, knowing her his whole life she was both one of the hardest and easiest people for him to read. He recalled how he must have looked, and how he had never told her his tools. His face went to immediate concern.
"Hey, Tate. I'm fine sis. Don't worry about it." He said softly, locking eyes with her.
She sighed, her voice smooth but lips quivering despite here attempts to coneal the involuntary muscle twitch. "You're my only family right now. I don't care about the business or my training. It's nothing without Mom, Dad, and you." She let out a long breath. "To see you like that Luck? I thought I'd be alone again, just this time it'd be colder than even the Frozen Zones."
"Hey, hey. I wouldn't leave you alone. We've got to find Mom or Dad before they do something stupid. I can't handle them both." He joked lightly.
Despite herself, she grinned. "You were just a twisted mess Luck. What was I supposed to expect?"
Feeling the mood lightened, Luck scoffed. "A few decimated limbs isn't enough to stop your older brother idiot." He jutted out his chin and puffed out his chest. He laughed inwardly, he was already feeling at his peak.
Spirit how long was the recovery? He addressed his S.I.
Approximately five hours. Displaying previous state. The smooth secular voice answered.
In Luck's vision, a diagram, much like an anatomical chart displayed. Parts were highlighted red, and further, some were bright red. These were his shoulders, torso, swatches of his chest and back. There was little green, if any at all. But then he realized that his limbs, that being his arms and legs, were completely blacked out, inoperable. If he had consciousness, or if Spirit allowed him to feel, he wouldn't have been able to move anything. He very well might've shut down completely.
Compared to his current state, everything was bright green. Such actions, like this done to impress the Coterie, he wouldn't ever have entertained if not for this cushion of healing to fall upon. His Troll's Blood was extremely powerful, flooding his blood with healing energies. And not only that, Exceptional Regeneration was actually directing that power, focusing and orchestrating it like some musical masterpiece.
It wasn't that he had allowed himself to be lax in avoiding danger. Rather it was that he expanded his parameter for danger, accepting the fact that his regeneration allowed him to do things and take risks where he otherwise wouldn't have. It was a practice the old Luck could appreciate, everything was an asset whether you viewed it that way or not.
"I'm glad you haven't changed in the weeks since everything." Tate said softly.
"Of course not." Luck smirked. "For that matter, neither has Ace, really." He said slyly. "Still the suave ladies man he's always been. I'm sure you'll be happy to see him."
"Damn it Luck." She reddened against her will. There was a time she would've been as red as a tomato, these days with Luck's jibing it was becoming closer to a light pink.
Still, Luck didn't really stop her from punching him. "Bastard." She laughed.
He could heal fairly fast anyway, and it was worth it after all.
That was an hour or two ago. He still had a soft smile at the memory, however recent. Tate was quick to leave after Jayeke appeared, looking at her apologetically as he gestured to Luck. He wore, unpredictably, very plain clothes. Gray and brown tones that didn't stand out at all in Ardun, aside from the fact they blended perfectly with both the scenery and the populace. They were immaculate, however, something like that wouldn't get past Luck's notice, and the man's hair was so as well. He was someone who looked like he was in complete control despite his rather plain appearance.
Now, he was looking at him apologetically. With good reason too. He had outright almost killed Luck.
Luck stared at him calmly, allowing him to begin on his own time.
He gave him a curt nod, before taking a seat that appeared as he sat down. It was a bit nicer than the ones provided. "Apologies Mage Lockyer." There was a pause that seemed uncomfortable for him. "I've never met someone with such mastery of Body magic." He said, slowly regarding Luck, but altogether comfortable in his assumption. His eyebrows scrunched up for a bit when he saw Luck whole and hale, surprise written all over his face.
Luck gave no tells, not reacting in the least. If the mage wanted to assume he was a practitioner of Body magic then so be it. Perhaps that was a feat of Body magic in itself. He had commanded the attention of entire rooms filled with crooks, politicians, murders and scum of the earth. A mage was no enormous leap in ability. A breathy exhale was enough for Jayeke to continue, scratching his head.
"Already in one piece too." Jayeke regarded him. "A powerful practitioner then. Endurance and stamina, precision, quick-thinking and wit. But, no strength added to your body, perhaps only stronger than the average human. I assume your study then went into speed and agility. With the level of speed you appeared at my throat, I can only imagine the devotion to your craft."
Inwardly, Luck had never heard of Body magic, although it was easy enough to guess. He instead felt smug, knowing he'd be able to appear faster anywhere someone of that speed possibly could. That was, until he realized the real extent of his Time magic, which amounted to three seconds. Maybe more given that he hadn't checked his capabilities in a while.
"My magic aside. How many were admitted into the Coterie this time around?" Luck's curiosity got the better of him. Jayeke had said many impressed him but he remembered Nayah explaining very little were ever approved to join. The group was very exclusive. "I'm to understand that the Coterie only allows a small number of new members every so often."
"Only three sufficiently impressive."
"Does the Coterie allow privacy of magic?" He wondered.
"All members are admitted based upon their skill and magical demonstrations. A warrior able to overcome a magical onslaught from a proctor would simply never be admitted on account of the lack of their own personal magic. No matter their other qualifications. The effects you produce and magic you implement must be registered to the Coterie."
Secrecy and privacy. They weren't something he was prepared to let go, especially in this new life. His mind went down different tracks, weighing the importance of the organization to finding his parents, to life afterward.
In the end, he realized his parents were a pair of badasses. So was he for that matter, he didn't particularly need their help.
"In fact, you've impressed me greatly. As such, you- "
"I decline." Luck yawned, not out of disrespect or for a show, but for actual, genuine, exhaustion.
Jayeke sputtered for a second. "Wh-what? Why?"
"The Coterie, for all its merits, has no place for someone like me. I would never fit."
"But the benefits are truly astronomical." He said, genuinely puzzled. "Reasonable funding for any magical research one could ever want to carry out. Peers that are as driven, if not more, to study their own particular field. Protection and insurance against your life, the Coterie protects its own. Monetary compensation for the advancement of magic. Endless libraries of knowledge. More, so much more, and yet you'd throw this all away?"
"I would." Luck sighed, holding up his necklace to look at the motes.
"Why?" Jayeke asked, a simple curiosity in his voice that perhaps was the drive that got him this far into his magic. "This is once in a lifetime. You've not only been tested and succeeded, but you've also been tested by me of all people. A Domain mage has the unique precision to carry out the exam to perfection... well nearly perfect. The fact you can claim you had me at forfeit, you could climb high with that under your belt."
"Because of this." Luck held up his necklace, twisting it around to show him the motes of light that danced East and South.
"A compass?" Jayeke asked, surprisingly close in his guess.
"A compass that points to family." Luck said, shining it with the thin blanket covering him. He met Jayeke's eyes slowly, a lethargic, melancholy tilt came in the form of a sigh. "We've all only just escaped from an organization from which we were at the peak. And let me tell you Jayeke, sometimes it isn't sunshine and white clouds past the peak of the mountain. We found thunder and lightning."
He held eye contact and Jayeke's eyes flicked downward. The man was young, Luck realized. Way older than Luck himself, but he considered himself an old soul who lived too much too fast. Most people in their third decade seemed young to him, naive.
Jayeke cleared his throat and stood up. "If that's the case, then you've got nothing to do regarding the Coterie. Simply don't show up, and your membership will be aborted." He paused. "There's a caravan, heading down Snake's Way. Adventurer's Guild is protecting it, perhaps you might be interested. I noticed some lights pointing South." He said, looking at the necklace.
"I'm aware." Luck nodded. "Thank you."
Jayeke got up awkwardly. "You are one of only a dozen I had ever approved. I've denied close to a couple thousand aspiring practitioners. Not once had they ever denied me. Not once had they ever had me at a checkmate. Not once had someone ever entertained the idea after learning the type of magic I practiced."
Luck smirked.
They talked idly for even idler minutes.
The chair Jayeke conjured only disappeared minutes after he himself did.
In the end, it wasn't a complete waste of time, contrary to what it may seem like. He had gotten out of it what he, at the very least, wanted to accomplish. He wanted to know his standing in magic relative to his peers. If not that, then his combat potential compared to others that were, arguably, well equipped for it. From what he gathered, his S.I. and quick thinking allowed to be much more conservative with his movements, less mana intensive, and, paired with his physical traits gave him an enormous cushion in combat that the others did not have. That wasn't to mention the fact he could pause time either.
All that did for him, however, was highlight the fact these people persevered in their studies without the tools he himself had access to. What kind of determination and drive did it require for such things? To persevere in Aerae, a dangerous world becoming only more dangerous, and to practice magic at the risk of bodily harm, only to test it further in the crucible which was the Coterie exams? Luck would be the last person to underestimate those mages.
It was a display of magic prowess at its heart, the exams. Such tests had the consequence of not only showcasing your talents to those testing you, but to those testing with you as well. He was particularly awestruck by the sheer amount of different magics he felt in the air, like flavors of mana, so very vague to him. Really, it was like a whisper of something he should be aware of but was simply... not. Such an indescribable feeling wasn't new to him when it came to mana.
Later, he would find the time to ask Ace how his own canvassing of the more physical combatants of this world were. Because for some reason, they both felt Erok and Maxworth were simply not normal enough to base their general assumption off of. Some part of him pegged them as experts in their trade.
Sliding out of his bed, the sheets fell off of him. He was wearing a simple gown. He stretched, allowing the blood to flow to his somewhat numb body. The doctor, or medic, or healer, whichever was the correct term, truly never showed up. But he wasn't a fool. He heard enough from the rooms around him to understand where they were.
He wondered if the other patients had similar rooms. His eyes roamed the rustic shelves and the items upon them. Some medical seeming books and odd tools. Bottles of liquids and potions he assumed to have healing properties.
Information sprang forth, coating his vision in unobtrusive detail. Soft blue lines connect to tidbits of context detailing the many oddities in the room.
Fire's Douse, Bone Mender, Health Potion. Spirit listed, among others. There was actually a mildly interesting story as to why the Health Potion was named so simply. The others were self-explanatory and those that weren't Spirit clarified.
They were alchemical mixtures. The books were of the same practice too. Herbs in Ardun, Mixtures of Healing, and so on.
Luck wasn't averse to stealing, but this was a powerful organization, so he refrained, no matter how easy it would be for him. He chided himself lightly as he walked barefoot among what appeared to be some kind of healers wing of the guild building. His feet were barefoot, but the building was warm, as was the wooden floor.
He felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned and found the old lady who he vaguely remembered.
She began to speak but Luck beat her to it. "Guild Master Mavon." He smiled.
She regarded Luck slowly, a depth to her Luck didn't let slip by him. "You're in one piece then. We don't have many that can recover from something like that in the Guild." She said, resting lightly on a gnarled staff. "It isn't against the rules to be in both Guild and Coterie, you know." She said, an unsaid invitation in her voice.
"Oh? And what makes you think I'm in the Coterie?" Luck maintained eye contact. His eyebrow rose at the lady's choice of clothing. Simple robes unlike what he saw from most adventurers or old ladies in the city.
"You are." She frowned. "If you bested Jayeke, you are." She said with assurance.
"I'll have to decline." Luck held up a hand. "But I hear the Adventurer's Guild is leading a caravan down Snake's Way. Is it open for strangers to guard as well?"
"Your friend said the same." She huffed. Her lips pursed but her face was accepting. "Of course. That caravan is routine every month. But in this day and time, it's to be guarded heavily. There have been disturbances down south, and not only that, attacks have been less so."
"Would that not be beneficial? Fewer attacks from snakes seem like a boon."
"A bad omen, more like. The guards are doubled, but if you can pull your own weight, you'll find yourself a spot in the caravan." She smiled, tapping her staff on the floor. "I'm sure you won't have trouble finding yourself one. Given your capabilities, that is." Her eyes crinkled, she seemed to enjoy simple conversation. But underlying it perhaps was the smugness of someone who thought they knew something they didn't
"Sure. I have my own business down there. How will I find the caravan?" Luck said with curiousity, analyzing the Guild Master in his own time.
"Head south of the city. You shouldn't miss it along the walls. A caravan prepping in the morning won't go unnoticed." She said, her eyes regarding him again. "Well, then I must be off. Best of luck to you, stranger. I've business to attend to in the other wings." She began to walk. "If the Coterie-"
Luck let her take two steps before he said aloud. "And by the way, I denied admittance to the Coterie." He could practically feel her pause before he could hear her feet and cane once again moving.
And, passing the lobby, no one even looked at him twice, as different as he was whence he entered. He took one look at the inviting lobby, nodded and left.
Outside, it was dark. The stars shone like twinkling city lights, but their nature was altogether something else. They were everywhere, and it was as if the people of the city were immune to the sight. He walked among the crowd, aimlessly, noticing their eyes forward and down, never above. He moved about them with the idle practice of someone with years of moving through bustiling crowds under their belt.
But Luck saw past the horizons of the buildings, past the towering walls of Ardun, and to the heavens above.
"Funny how people take things for granted." He murmured to himself, flexing his limbs.
He wondered at his relative power compared to the layman. How fortunate was he, truly, to have a dimensional room he could retreat to? To regenerate? Or to have an S.I. in his head? For now, he simply didn't trust Ardun not to notice him entering his Grove. It was a nice place to rest and recuperate but for now he'd play it safe. He already had a few ideas on how to slip away.
But then a sky-blue golden streak interrupted his thoughts and reminded him he had somewhere to stay for the night. The little dragon perched on his shoulder, pushing on him as she rested on his head. "Alright, alright! Calm down Tric. I can see why Saga gets pissed at you."
Luck grinned, noticing the telltale familiar's sash tied around her as it was around Saga. The symbol for a companion.
She chriped and Luck concentrated, she was a beast of magic and nature after all. Follow me!
Lead the way, little dragon. Tric jerked from Luck's head, peering at him in surprise.
You can hear me! Wow! She exclaimed, somehow avoiding scraping Luck's scalp off with her claws. She jetted into the air, excitedly darting about. Sparks of electricity lit up the street momentarily and drew a few interested eyes.
"I can." Luck smirked. "Did Ace actually find an inn at this hour?" Luck pulled from his Grove, a citrusy fruit appearing in his hand and tossed it to the young lightning dragon.
He did! Oh my thank you so much! I love these fruits! She exclaimed diving and catching said fruit smoothly. She arced around and didn't turn back. Follow me, slowpoke!
Luck stood there blinking for a moment. Tric hadn't even slowed down! Or deigned to use a path along the streets! She disappeared over the buildings, a fleeting spark of electricity against the black night sky.
"Well. I haven't done some city running since Peace. Let's see if I still got it." And then he was running up against a nearby building. A few surprised denizens yelled at him, a notable one being the owner of the stall he used as a stepping stone to the lip of the nearest roof.
He hauled himself up smoothly, coming into an easy crouch. The night air was fresh. It was such a small detail, in this world, it was likely an everpresent one. But that simple whiff of air was a stark reminder of where he was. Somewhere that wasn't the polluted city he had grown up in him.
He glanced about, sharp eyes surveying the nightly rooftops until he caught a spark of light.
He spoke to himself, calculating.
"Shouldn't be that hard to catch her right?" He smiled mirthfully, leaping across the first rooftop. He landed in a roll, silent and conservative of momentum. It was a leap he would never have pulled off before. But the movements were all too familiar, all too enlivening. He smiled again, looking back at the gap he crossed and the people below. "It shouldn't be too hard at all."
Then he was sprinting across rooftops, a pace he could hold indefinitely. Rebounding between buildings and balconies. Leaping gaps, running across walls. Catching the lips of buildings and hauling himself with a grip strength he had never had before.
The sky-blue streak he followed never got closer in the end. He smiled as he spoke out loud his thoughts. "Oh, but she did speed up." His words were lost among the wind.
There was a feeling that he had run further than Ace would've actually have canvassed. That Tric was flying in circles. But then, given how much fun he was having, Luck didn't really care.
Eventually, the distance closed. In fact, Tric was moving towards him.
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You last too long! She said, panting hard, sparkles of electricity nothing more than tingles of light. How can you run longer than I can fly? That's not fair!
Luck laughed as she perched on him. "I was wondering when you'd get tired. Don't worry, I doubt many could keep up with me as I am. Besides, you did good."
She only ruffled her wings, the short smell of ozone wafted up to Luck's nose, reminding him of Ace's magic. The inn is just down there. Everyone is there. I'll let Ace know you're here.
He walked to the edge of the building and found what was described.
An inn. One especially exorbitant. Polished, rustic wood panels in place of where most buildings had the same generic stone the whole city used. Lanterns hung by the front entrance, emitting warm light for all visitors, even at this time of night. Glass windows. That wasn't something Luck was used to seeing.
He made his way down and into the foyer without fanfare. There Ace, Tate, Nayah, Erok, and Maxworth were sitting.
"He will?" Nayah asked. "At this inn of all places?"
"That's what he said before I left. And he, if anything, is a man of his word." Ace shrugged, holding up his hand.
"Indeed this is one of the most well-reputed inns in the city. If comfort and lodging of the highest quality is what we seek then here is where we'll find it." Maxworth added, he was polishing his swords.
"You're sure he said that Ace?" Tate asked.
Luck had already opened the door and rounded the corner. "Said what?"
Ace gave him a swarmy grin. "Oh Lucky you're here! I was just telling everyone you offered to pay for rooms and board. You know, everything from baths to food to blankets to beds." He had a glint in his eye.
"Sure, why not." Luck smiled easily.
Ace sputtered for a bit, calling to Luck as he moved to the barkeep. "You sure? It's expensive!"
He waved the bearded cevao down. An odd look, given the crystal nature of his beard. "How much are the rooms for everyone?" He threw a hand back to gesture to the group.
The crystal man looked over Luck's shoulder. "Two gold aerans for the lot of them." He sniffed. "You might as well-"
"Done." Luck held out his hand, and with the flourish of a practiced master, flipped two gold aerans onto the bar counter.
"Pleasure then." He nodded. "Tell your friends to come up when they want their key and food. I'll know their faces, not hard to miss them either." He said, pointedly looking at the group.
Luck turned and Maxworth, Erok, and Nayah, were both staring at him. He knew gold aerans weren't exactly the smallest amount of currency to throw around.
"Druid-" Erok began, waking up from his slight drowsiness. Luck likened it something of a food coma from earlier.
"Don't mention it Erok. Maxworth, Nayah, the pleasure is mine after all our travels together. We wouldn't have gotten here without you three." He said genuinely. And then his mirthful expression turned only a tad sharp, a smirk on his lips. "And you Ace, thank you for letting them know I was paying. I wouldn't have wanted them to waste their money."
Ace floundered for a half a second, before he conceded and smiled dejectedly, giving Luck a sporty smile. "No worries Lucky. I'll pay you back for the room eventually." He waved, standing up. He was apparently moving for the barkeep, having heard of room and food.
"You didn't promise that did you?" Tate smiled, seeing everyone get up and make their way to the bartender.
"Nope, but it was my pleasure. Besides what's a few aerans between friends?" Luck shrugged, taking a heavy seat beside Tate. There were rather plush chairs around the entire foyer, the rest of the spaces were occupied with nice tables. He nudged her adding, "And family?
There was silence not unlike the hospital wing of the Adventurer's Guild earlier. Amiable, as it always was. The rest of the group were just talking and laughing, everyone had truly gotten closer. They were occupying a table, and while there were other residents they didn't seem to mind the atmosphere the group made.
"Lucky! Toss me the playing cards!"
Luck yelled back. "You better watch your fingers Ace. This one's a nice set." He threw the cards in their amber case and Ace caught them.
"Think I'll teach them poker." He called back. Luck saw him pulling out some aerans. He remembered someone mentioning bets in the sparring ring.
Tate chuckled beside him and Luck quickly followed. As they were winding down from their laughs Tate spoke.
"So regeneration? Grove? Familiar?" She said after a while, raising a telling eyebrow.
"Metal arm?" Luck responded smoothly, raising his eyebrow higher.
The night devolved into a recounting of his adventures and a telling of Tate's. The Forest of the Drowned, The Pools, Diversi, Dersoc, the slaves he found there, the teleportation, shadow speak, Peace, the Arena Fields, The Update, Hydr Dunes, Guard, the Frozen Zones, Noshm, and finally Ardun.
They gathered Luck actually arrived before Tate, though her sense of time in the mountains was heavily skewed. He explained his Grove and the money he made off it. His familiar, Saga. Some of the Quests he had done, or received.
"What about your impartation?" She eventually asked.
"What about it?" Luck dodged.
"What'd you get? Come on, you know what I meant." She probed.
Luck agreed to tell her on the condition she revealed what she got first. She reluctantly agreed. Luck was actually very interested in this omnitanium she possessed now, its possibilities seemed endless. Eventually though, she was caught up on his story too.
"You're kidding." She said deadpan. "Jerxos didn't even give me anything near as useful as that! I just got this piece of metal." She said, ripples running down her metal encased arm.
"I don't know, sis. You never know how useful something's going to be." Luck said slowly, regarding the thing on her arm. "If you can make a gun like you said, I'd say you've already gotten most people beat." Now that he thought of it, she was probably the gunshot he heard up in front of Noshm's mountain before the group fell through one of the trap doors.
She sighed. "Still, it's not as awe-inspiring as magic."
"I feel like you're taking this for granted." Luck laughed.
"Well, you give people power and there are always people bound to get jealous." She replied. They were slipping into the types of conversations they often had. It was as comforting as the plush chairs. He just wished his dad and mom were here.
"True, but power isn't everything. It's how you use it too. We know that, don't we?" Luck said. "Besides, I've got an exceedingly steep, near vertical, learning curve. I just happened to start a foot off the ground."
"Still." She pouted.
"Well, at least technically you're rich." Luck gave her a prodding smile. "If something's that expensive sis there's a reason for it. The properties you describe themselves are something of interest. My S.I. can barely analyze the thing this close."
Spirit was spouting diagrams and data off the rippling metal, intriguing stuff really. It was light and hard physically. But magically, the metal was near sentient magic, according to Tate. It's physical and magical structure by all accounts should prevent that, and yet it was. An anomaly. And she had on her, by her own words, an obscene amount.
"Eh, what's money if I can't spend it?" She frowned, eventually sighing. "Thanks again Luck, for getting us this second chance."
"Look, you can all thank me at the same time. It'll be easier that way don't you think?" Luck chuckled. "Hopefully, we find one of them tomorrow." He said.
Tate was about to answer before a rumbling voice exclaimed. "I win! Two pairs!" It was Erok, and his enthusiasm was not lost on Ace's grinning face.
Maxworth looked to the middle of table to match his cards but ultimately laid them down neatly. Apparently, he had nothing notable. Nayah's face was scrunched up as she checked as well, then double checked, but came back with nothing. Ace needn't even have looked at the cards, but the ex-mercenary was giving Erok a soft applause.
Tate nudged Luck who found himself amused at the sight. "I'm probably going to head to my room then."
"By all means." Luck gestured. "I guess I'll try my luck at a few hands of poker."
Tate squinted at Luck, before moving to the bartender for her key and food if she wanted it. "Have fun." She waved.
Luck approached the table and sat down by Ace.
"So he finally joins us." Ace stretched then yawned. "What were you two talking about?"
"Oh nothing Ace, she wouldn't stop talking about how handsome you are." Luck said mildly. Ace played it off well but Luck caught his reaction. A slight jerk of the shoulders, a calming exhale. All covered expertly with a rubbing hand on his jaw.
He yawned again. He smirked, Luck didn't notice any chips on the table. "How about we play for real? Two silver big blinds, one silver for little blinds. Everyone got at least that much?"
Ace's eyes sharpened, but then dulled as he scratched his head.
"I am intrigued." Maxworth nodded, placing a sack of coins on the table. "It is a game of risk and calculation is it not?"
"As am I." Erok rumbled, dumping a handful of coins on the table.
"Well if everyone else is..." Nayah said reluctantly.
"Uhh, I don't think I have the money to." Ace said apologetically, smiling all the while. He leaned forward on his elbow, ready to spectate.
"You're lucky I paid for your room then." Luck laughed, nudging his friend.
"Well- " He began, before a small sack of coins landed in front of him.
It was Maxworth. "I am deeply intrigued with these cards Luck. Perhaps I could commision my own set? They seem a terrific way to pass the time." He said. "For now, we can all play. And Ace you may pay me back if it suits you, if not it's no matter to me."
There was silence for a while as Ace picked up the sack of coins before smiling. "Thanks."
Erok shifted to look at Maxworth. He then looked to the rest of the table. "Well, you heard him!" He chortled.
Luck shrugged and dealt the table.
They burned the last few hours of the night like that.
When he finally got up to his room, he hadn't actually played well. Ace together with the uncertainty of new players was enough to corner him, and Maxworth was no slouch himself. The only players who had any real loss were Ace and Erok, but Luck thought Ace played the way he did on account that the money he played with was Maxworth's anyways.
The stairs creaked in a sturdy way as Luck felt sleep calling on him. He had gotten his key from the bartender, who seemed to be both owner and worker of the inn. He was a night owl too, as Luck hadn't even seen the crystal man yawn, not that cevao even did. He had no idea.
He opened the door and found a rather furbished room. A skin of some fluffy animal covered most of the floor and acted as a rug. His shoes came off and he had to admire the feel of the fur. Perhaps his connection with nature should've protested at the decoration but he was always a realist, things like this happened, whether he liked it or not. He actually didn't care much, as much as his Trait was a part of him, he was still the same Luck Lockyer that could appreciate an aesthetic.
He fell face first onto the plush bed, a dimensional portal immediately opening up and swallowing him whole. When he rolled over, he was in a tastefully scarce bedroom, just enough, not too little, not too garish.
"Ah, welcome back Master Luck." Evodim faded into hearing with impeccable genteel. "Please, rest. Once you awake, I believe it is time to address the changes to your dimensional room."
Luck awoke before he even knew he was asleep. A sudden flutter of amber eyes, a deep inhale, and he was up and rested. A soft-firm nest of bedding, his perfect preference. Firm pillows, and sunlight flickering into his room from outside the wooden cabin.
He changed into breathable clothes, taken straight from a closet seemingly more impressive than before. He passed the bar, running his hand along the polished wood, the sweet smoky scent coming to his nose. Against his better judgment, he succumbed to his taste buds and poured himself a green drink. The taste of green apple, an almost lemon sourness contradicted by the inherent bitterness of alcohol.
"Perfection." He gave a content exhale. He looked to the small passageway beside the bar, a patch of grass that was currently occupied by two familiar white bunnies. The ones from Leah's temple. "Hope you two have been well. The Goddess of Fortune would kill me otherwise." He remembered her green eyes briefly before moving on.
"Alright Saga, come on out. You're helping me with my magic. We've got the better part of the day." Luck called, cracking his knuckles. He could already feel his Grove reacting to his presence.
He felt Saga seconds before he even saw the amber glow of his eyes right before he emerged. It would be my pleasure. I have had a good rest, but I have grown bored. And I have had too much time to think. Too much.
Luck nodded, knowing the shar was going through his own battle with his newfound intelligence. There was an understanding to his voice as he spoke. "Then nothing like mindless combat to get your mind off of... well itself, no?"
Saga growled in what Luck understood was a chuckle. Indeed, Amber Eyes. What shall we be doing?
"Well, I just need you to attack me." Luck smiled. "Relentless, nonstop. Don't give me a moment to breathe, or a break to rest."
Saga growled in understanding as his eyes flashed. He noticed Saga's legs tensing, his shoulders hunched as if he was stalking. All the minor changes he had always noticed in his companion when in battle.
Luck frowned, before his eyes widened.
Saga bared his fangs, shooting at Luck like a missile. He dove behind the furniture of the room, kicking Saga a good distance away from him.
"Not yet!" Luck yelled. "You're ripping all the furnit- " Luck bent backward way farther than he should've as claws cleaved the air.
It will regenerate, Amber Eyes. You asked for relentless!
Saga growled again, a terrible intelligence that unsettled Luck. Then somehow Saga was in front of him, maw agape to catch the side of his torso, claws extended and paws outstretched to pin his arms.
You guard is low-
Like the shot of a bullet, time froze. For two seconds. Saga blasted forward, Luck not wasting a moment and running for the window.
Amber Eyes!
He heard scrabbling and hissing, even as a pillar of earth shattered the glass to his cabin, allowing to dive through and out of the way of Saga.
Then for an eerie moment, he heard nothing. He turned on a dime, bracing for Saga's advance.
Only, Saga was gone. "Creepy as fuck, holy shit." He breathed.
Unfortunately, this training wasn't for attacking or defending. Meaning he wasn't about to attack Saga with pillars of earth or spikes of the sort. Nor was he going to draw upon the aspects of his Grove to help augment his body. He was going to train those magics, but not in a typical way. And let it be said he wasn't going to track Saga through his link either.
"Hopefully he plays fair too." He chuckled, covered in dust. "Bastard. Didn't expect him to go right for the jugular, right then and there." He dusted himself off, he didn't even have time to put shoes on.
With that, Luck dashed off into the forest. If Saga was as smart as he thought, he wouldn't be safer in any particular way, rather they'd be adapting to the actions of each other like a game of chess.
"Although, I did only tell Saga to attack me. So I wonder- " A rustle in the trees. Something hard impacted his back.
He fell forcefully into the ground, but just as quick, it swallowed him. He traveled underground, burrowing through the earth and emerged a good distance away. He grimaced at the dirt caking the deep clawed grooves upon his back.
Saga prowled, glancing at Luck with bared teeth before he leaped into the nearest trunk, climbing up to the canopy and disappearing.
Show me your claws, Amber Eyes! A little bit of viciousness in his eyes.
Another rustle. "Fucker." Luck breathed.
He spun around only to find a rock falling from the tree, something that shouldn't have been up there in the first place. At the same time, his calf exploded in fiery pain.
Luck slammed an elbow into Saga's forehead, feeling the impact travel up his arm solidly. The shar had emerged from the ground! Could he have gotten that through the familiar bond? "Goddammit!" He yelled.
You are not the only who has grown Amber Eyes. Saga intoned, de-latching from Luck's calf.
Luck slapped himself and began running. Blood coursed down his leg, but he would be fine in moments. He grit his teeth.
Then he began to practice what he set out here to practice in the first place.
On the run, he kept an eye out for Saga, every oddity in the setting, every sound or rustling leaf, every beam of sunlight misplaced or gone, every tree tall or short. Little animals rushed by, no reason for their passing aside from simple coincidence. A lesser man might've thought they ran from Saga, but Luck knew better. Small animals like those would never even have picked up on the shar.
The forest became him. He breathed it in and it breathed him. He didn't count this as cheating. He wasn't using anything special. He was simply breathing in the air in the way a hiker might've. Only, to him, it was so much more. This was his Grove, his home. Of course, he didn't pull on that connection at all, he didn't feel it, he only enjoyed its presence.
Birds tweeted and calls from deeper in the Grove matched each other. Bugs buzzed about, the trees were gossiping, the bushes talked, even the worms below added their own voices.
His feet were bare, he hadn't the time to put on shoes. So he when he felt the grass and the dirt and the earth below him, he felt it.
In minutes, Luck felt truly aware.
He didn't sense Saga, but his neck prickled and he turned abruptly to find the shar mid-leap, surprised Luck had noticed. Ferocity, encompassed in a single image. Sharpened eyes that pierced with lethality, he wasn't holding anything back.
And at that moment, with Saga full pounce, Luck tugged on time, tugged on Saga.
There was a moment, but it faded.
Saga ripped into Luck's chest full speed, like a cannonball to a ship. Luck grunted loudly. Instinct and survival mechanisms kicked in immediately, his whole situation crystalizing in the moment. He wasn't merciful to Saga's face as they barrelled over each other. Elbows to the neck, thumbs to the eyes, while his arms barred the shar's teeth from him. His legs got themselves under Saga, and was enough to splay the cat's claws to the sides.
"Fuck! Damn it, Saga." Luck grunted with effort. "How'd you get so much better at this!" He yelled, pushing on the shar's face.
Hmph, annoying methods Amber Eyes! Saga squinted, keeping Luck's thumbs away from his eyes, growling and trying to snap at him.
He kicked Saga's chest hard and felt something crack as he took a deep slash across the neck and shoulder. Saga bellowed, roaring. He released Luck and stalked backward.
You are faster than before. Saga conceded.
Abruptly the shar simply seemed to walk into the ground, the earth itself swallowing his dark matte green fur. There was barely a ripple in the earth, and Luck immediately sensed the ground. Like roots, his vision extended near instantly to the earth below. Something was already shooting up from below.
Luck propelled himself to the side, a powerful jutting of earth throwing him out of the way. Saga exploded in a shower of stone and debris, mere feet from where Luck stood before. He tried to shield his eyes, but Saga was already darting for him.
He smiled though. And Saga's focus followed the crinkles of his smile, a gleam in his eye.
Why smile Amber Eyes? But Luck could sense Saga grinning too. They at least had something in common.
Luck's grin came from a thought to moments before. He had tugged on time, on Saga. For a brief moment, yes, but it was a major breakthrough. There had only ever been a single thing he could do with Time magic, with time. That was, pause it. But there was something else he had just touched on.
He widened his eyes in surprise, jerking left as Saga overpowered Luck's own Earth magic with his, stopping pillars of rising Earth from even forming. Saga clawed the air, whistling between his paw as Luck dodged under the leaping shar.
He realized he was moving faster than he ever had, an effect of the Familiar Bond no doubt. His mind worked on a level that rivaled the hardwired reactive instincts of an apex predator. Balance and agility, allowing him to dodge and weave and react to the signals his mind sent his body faster than ever.
It was only a few minutes of this fight but Saga's determination and confidence waned.
How? The word echoed into Luck's mind. Where does your speed come from? The two-legged are never as fast.
The shar panted lightly, his head cocking to the side in a starking reminder of his animalistic nature. A predator denied his food. A predator confused at a deviation from the natural order.
Luck slipped his hands in his pockets and shrugged, a smirk in his eyes if one didn't recognize it on his lips. He looked the part of his days back in the city. Here, in his grove of all places. A sly criminal that knew something you didn't, a taunt not immediately apparent on his face, but blatant in his actions. The slight smirk, the casual posture, the lax insouciant attitude.
An explosive cloud of dirt and soil. A half second of growling. The ambient sounds of the immediate forest died down at the commotion. To say Saga was fast would do him no justice. His acceleration was near instant, dangerous.
But combined with Luck's lifelong experience, training, and his enhanced reflexes and a quicker mind. He simply stepped to the side, placing a hand on Saga's hide and pushing the shar off course. The rush of wind whipped his hair back and Luck whistled lowly. He felt a force on him from the air alone. Luck was probably the best person born and raised in the city to pull something like that off.
His heart raced despite his outward demeanor. It just wasn't his way to show outward excitement, and perhaps it was just a consequence of his upbringing to hide his emotions. But there were few people who could spot his forward stance. His natural smirk, wider than normal, nearly approaching a grin. The irregularity in his controlled breathing, the gleam in his already shining eyes.
Of course, Luck knew himself better than anyone. Even those tells would've been concealed had he been somewhere public. But still.
He felt alive breathing in the forest air. The breeze blew across his skin like the feeling of velvet. He drank the air like a drunkard drinks whiskey.
Saga began to read Luck's movements, a demonstration of the shar's true intelligence. But Luck's hand would always find its way on his hide, and Saga would find himself being pushed away, moving too fast to turn back so suddenly. Short advances were only danced away from, and prodding with Earth magic was only stomped by Luck's own.
He could see Saga's confusion. Luck felt himself on the verge of a breakthrough. He could never relax with Saga, never. The shar was too intelligent, too advanced in his instincts and mind to ignore. And Luck smirked at his confusion still. He was reading Luck's dodging patterns, simple steps inward and outward of both Saga's reach and course. Luck never changed it, but even as Saga caught the pattern Luck only sped up.
He layed a hand on Saga again, the shar having turned more sharply than ever before, nearly catching Luck's swift form.
The shar blinked his amber eyes, eyeing Luck. What is this Amber Eyes? How do you move so fast? You have never moved like that in the past.
He could barely tap into the feeling. It wasn't as similar to Earth, this new feeling. It was more accurate to say it could be somehow likened to Nature magic if he had the right words. It was a connection to happenings. Something Luck could barely, barely fathom. In moments, like the time before lightning strikes, or the punchline of a joke, or the pull of a trigger, Luck understood. In moments like those, time froze. And Luck could always tap into that feeling. But this was... different than those times.
Sadder, in a way, if Luck was being poetic.
It was the stretching of time. Terrible moments that lasted longer. Not many could've blamed him for the time his family was murdered coming to the surface. He shook himself off those thoughts but nonetheless kept them close. It was lethargic memory, a sluggish underactive state he had to take a step back to truly understand. It was the moment he stared into his parents' reflective pool of blood.
I'm not moving fast Saga. Luck said, simply jogging over to the shar. Saga's eyes widened slowly, his eyes comically slow to follow Luck's blurring form. "You're moving slow." He imagined his voice might've seemed rapid to the shar, accelerated and fast.
And as if for the first time, the shar, having heard Luck actually speak, cocked his head. He looked around, finally spotting a bird, but Luck found the shar couldn't track it as it flitted into the trees. He turned back to Luck, his mental connection not at all deterred by the time-slowing effect upon him. You've learned something new then.
Something I've been meaning to try. Luck snapped, dispelling the shar. He had something on the verge of a headache. "The inkling of the idea happened upon me as I was walking the streets of Ardun. Even selling foods from the Grove in one of the merchant stalls contributed somewhat. Long hours and whatnot."
Saga laid down where he stood, huffing. How does it work compared to pausing time altogether?
Luck recalled weeks past when he had explained his magic to Saga. It took nearly another week for Saga to comprehend the subject of time itself, but soon enough Saga wrapped his mind around it. From there, the shar was already thinking of ways to utilize it, although most were based around violence and hunting.
"Let's find out shall we?" Luck gestured, curious. His natural regeneration seemed to stave off the symptoms of mana fatigue
Saga stood wordlessly, it was a brief respite but the shar's breath was back.
And so they began. Hours passed and Luck sparred with Saga. They sparred for long hours as he tested different ways of acting upon the new feeling. Tugging harder was about the extent Luck could muster. Saga slowed that much more and he considered that at least a success.
At one point, some passing animals came upon them and they ceased their sparring. Small birds flittered down to Luck's shoulders, and as they made contact he pulled on the time around them, if he could even describe the feeling as such. Again, it was like another limb being used, except in this case that limb couldn't even be comprehended nor had Luck or anyone else even entertained the idea of something like it existing. All the same, Luck pulled, somehow.
The birds chirped slower. They flew away more like butterflies than the rapid fluttering of wings and feather one would expect from a bird. He could feel the pull on that layer of potential on him, his mana he knew. It was significant, and only for those two birds, but as he waited and felt his mana he realized it was pulling faster as they flew away.
"You took more to slow than the birds." Luck said, watching them fly into the boughs above. Sunlight poured down like rain as the shar approached, sticking to the light shade cast by the branches above. Barely a rustling of grass.
Naturally. Saga huffed, nudging Luck's hip. He rested in the light shade, content among the forest floor.
"I can sustain the effect on someone or something at a cost. My mana drains depending on the size and how slow I'm holding them to. And distance, now that I've just discovered it. I haven't tried slowing multiple somethings at once, nor have I even entertained the idea of how much focus and concentration that might take from me."
How about your metal brain? It cannot help?
"Maybe one day." Luck shrugged, walking over and laying against Saga. "I need to master it myself before Spirit can reliably reproduce the effect." He threw an elbow onto Saga's back and sighed into the breeze.
Your hands on me. When you pushed me. Saga thought curiously. Did you need to touch me for the magic to work?
Luck thought on that one, looking at a squirrel that chittered by them. As if noticing his gaze, the little creature bounded over. Luck concentrated on it for a quick second. "No, it doesn't seem like it." The squirrel came upon Luck in slow motion. The second it got onto his hand it nearly froze with how slow it moved. "But it does it make it easier on me."
"Stopping time completely takes more out of me than this." Luck pondered aloud. "In terms of mana cost and efficiency, this might help me more than stopping time if I make it count and use it correctly. "
Perhaps, but a decisive blow anytime during our bout would have ended it all. An easy enough obstacle to overcome being able to stop time. Saga noted.
"Also true." Luck hummed.
The rest of the time passed rather swiftly. An animal howling in the daytime reminded Luck he had yet to truly explore his Grove, other than having felt his way through the denizens. Perhaps when times slowed down he could visit in truth.
It almost seemed too short a time before Luck was stepping out from his dimensional room. But before he could step out, a chime sounded and Evodim's voice came unhurried. "There are still changes to discuss regarding my growth Master Luck. To note, however, they are not time constricted and can be addressed another day."
Luck took out his stopwatch, the one he won at the Arena Fields. "It's already that time Evodim. Next time I come back I'll be getting much more done. And I'll be in the residence for a length much longer than now."
"Of course, Master Luck. Until next time. I will busy myself with regenerating these ruined furnitures." Though he wasn't physical Luck could almost make out a glare being sent Saga's way, who rested on his green patch of grass.
"Look after the place for me." Luck waved, stepping out.
In the morning, everyone gathered into the foyer without fanfare. Luck was one of the first, having arrived earlier than even Ace and Tate, which was to say, very early. He greeted them both with a yawn, which they contracted like a disease.
In the night, he had actually unashamedly, taken rest in his dimensional room, allowing himself triple the rest. The time dilation, outside to inside was 1:3, that being three hours for every hour outside.
He chuckled inwardly, having got himself something like a full day of rest.