The hot shower was like a dip in heaven, a feeling Jak had long forgotten during his lengthy travels. Though having bathed regularly, the vast majority of his cleansing came from streams, waterfalls, ponds, oceans, and various other bodies of water scattered across the various worlds.
It wasn't often that the redhead would come across a hot soak apart from the occasional natural geyser or hot spring.
As the soothing heat poured over his skin, the young man could feel the tension in his muscles melt away, rejuvenating his tired being down to the core. All his previous interactions and bits of unspoken stress seemed to dissolve and flow down the same drain the bathwater was moving. While the emotional strains remained, Jak reveled in the feeling of being born again in the physical sense as he stepped out of the shower.
Donning a new set of clothes, a simple white shirt with red markings in the front, black pants, and his black cape from yesterday, Jak walked out of the shower area.
The bathhouse was located at the very back of the mansion, near the barracks where Jak and Mako slept when they were growing up. Though having not set foot in the area within the last three years, the redhead was still quite familiar with the layout as he made his way towards his old room.
Dusty.
That's the first thought Jak had when he first entered the hallway leading towards his room.
Everything about Hadoks Manor was well maintained and upkept no matter where Jak had wandered to. Even the rugged areas such as the Old Stomping Grounds and the small scale city in the front of the mansion seemed to be cleaned regularly. Jaks old area however looked completely untouched, as if those in charge refused to touch anywhere near it. Dirt lined the hallway floors and dust covered the plaque sealed onto the top of the rooms heavy oak door. When the youth wiped a hand across its surface, thick particles fell off whilst others lingered in the air.
Large golden letters peered back as the young Rookie brushed off the plaque.
JAK YANDA.
Directly under it, just beneath the golden name, etched into the door, scrawled in a messy array of letters, was the word LIVES.
"Heh." The corners of Jaks mouth turned upwards. "Stupid Hadok."
Pushing the door aside, the youth made his way into the room.
Almost immediately, Jak was assaulted with an unreal cloud of thick dust. Waving his hand, he waited for the dirt to fully settle before continuing on into the room.
It was just how he had left it three years ago.
A lone bed rested in the very front center of the room, headboard fastened to the wall, blanket thrown messily over its surface. The small nightstand next to it held a few pictures on its top and the longer dresser contained various trinkets and baubles Jak had collected over the years. Near the foot of the room sat a hefty chest where the redhead would always keep his spare change earned from all the odd jobs from childhood.
"This is the place you'll be living for the coming future. You can call it home. So treat it as such."
A young Jak looked around the room, crimson orbs giving the barren landscape a quick once over. Taking a few steps into the limited space, the redhead turned back to look at Mako, of whom had been the one to introduce him around the premises.
"It's kinda small isn't it?"
"You grew up in the forest right? Can't get more spacey than that." Mako followed the redhead into the room, walking past him to stand in the middle. "Maybe don't think of the room as your home then. Think of it as an extension of yourself."
"An extension?" Jak asked, confused.
"That's what Hadok told me," Mako responded with a shrug. "This room may seem empty now but you can customize it to your liking and fill it with stuff that you find important. Whatever you fill it with and HOW it's filled supposedly tells a lot about who you are and your personality."
"And if who I am changes?"
"I don't know. I'm not an expert." Mako stuck out his tongue. "We can worry about it later. Training starts in an hour and we don't wanna be late."
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Jak walked towards the exit of the room, Mako close at his heels. "What happens if we're late?"
"Let's not find out."
"An extension of who I am," Jak muttered, recalling the very day he moved into Hadoks Manor. "Tells others about my personality."
It was hard to say what emotion Jak was currently feeling, the waves of repressed memories and times long forgotten continuing to flood to the forefront of his mind. Though he had already expected the flurry of emotional activity when he had opted to return to his home, he hadn't expected the emotions to be so powerful and ever so numbing. Having kept all of his feelings under wraps for all the time away, he was unsure how to handle them now that they were being unfurled. Cry? Laugh? Break down? Foreign concepts that only gave more reasons for Jak to once again shove the feelings back into the bottle he always kept them in.
Only this time he slammed the cap on even tighter, letting nothing leak out.
Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak.
The young Rookie made his way over to the bedside nightstand, the one that held the pictures.
On the first one was a picture of Jak, Hadok, and Mako. The picture had been taken just after the two bright haired children had achieved the status of Elemental Rookies. Hadok, being the complete sap he was, had wanted to make the occasion into their memories and thus stated they needed to take a picture together. For the picture, they all wore similar but different colored uniform that showed off their own base elements. Mako wore a white Hanfu with a giant blue azure wolf circling around the torso before resting on the left chest, Hadok wore a green one with a large brown dragon snaking from the right arm onto his lower torso. Jak wore an all black Hanfu with white markings, a distinct lack of color that contrasted his abnormally bright red hair.
The three of them on that photo appeared rather goofy since none of them could sit still for their life. Pushing and shoving each other playfully, the image was taken just as Jak and Mako began tagteaming Hadok into submission, Jak latching onto the man's head while the older gentleman grabbed Mako by the scruff.
The jar quivered a little as he set the photo back onto the table.
Just before he could turn away, the nearest photo caught his eye, prompting him to turn his attention back towards the nightstand.
Just like the last photo, there were three people in the frame. Only this time, Jak was in the center and the other two weren't Hadok and Mako. A young looking individual with vivid orange hair paired with a bright smile and an equally youthful man with pitch black hair. Both of them wore black and red outfits known as Kimonos, the top part being a solid red with a symbol of a black Sparrow covered in orange flames, the pants being a solid black with small intricate designs. Jak wore a similar outfit, with the same symbols but his was all black, again making his red hair stand out.
Staring at it for a while, Jak traced his hand over the pictures surface, lingering over the two smiling individuals. After some moments, he placed it back onto the table, facedown.
His jar cracked ever so slightly.
Sitting down on the bed, Jak placed his arms on his knees and let out a breath as he waited, trying to stow the rumbling of emotions that his own metaphorical glass jar was struggling to hold.
He didn't have to wait long.
Mako made his way through the still open door, rolling a large whiteboard in behind him, dry erase marker clutched in hand. It was confusing enough that Jak completely forgot his emotions as his focus switched over to the blue haired individual as he set everything up.
"The heck are you doing?" Jak asked as Mako uncapped the marker. "What's the board for?"
"I forgot to place the Information Orb on the charging crystal last night so we're doing this old school." Mako twirled the marker in betwixt his fingers before sprawling some words onto the boards. "We're catching you up on the state of the world's. Assuming you're getting back into adventuring and making a Guild, you'll need to know this."
"I'm not making a Guild," Jak stated matter-of-factly.
"Regardless, I think you'll still want to know this," Mako rebuttalled, waving aside Jaks claim. "There are essential things to know if you don't wanna make enemies."
Jak thought about it for a second. "Fine. Proceed."
Mako nodded as he tapped the markers tip onto the first thing he had written, the word WORLDS.
"As you know, or should remember, there are a total of 3,482 worlds that are currently connected to our world, the world of Ornera, via the Rifts," Mako quickly drew that same number onto the board. "The number hasn't changed ever since the gods were sealed away a millenia ago, or so the legend says. Our world is the hub center of all the world's and the only way to get to and from other ones is by traversing into our world first. Obviously you already know all of this, but it's just a quick refresher before we dive into other matters."
"Let's skip the basics." Jak leaned forward a bit. "Get into the grit of what I need to know."
"If you insist." Mako quickly drew down a total of eight names. "I'll make it simple for you. You know of the Eight Kings right?"
"The mages who hold the most world's in a generation, usually considered the strongest in their era."
"Precisely. Can't hold a worlds allegiance if there's no strength behind it nor a strong backing." Mako jotted down some numbers beneath each and every name. "These are the number of worlds that each King currently holds, the number of worlds that follow them. The numbers themselves don't particularly matter but rather those that hold them."
Jak frowned, confused by Mako's wording.
"Each King has different rules and different ways of ruling," Mako explained after seeing Jaks disoriented expression. "Knowing which world is safe to travel to and what worlds to avoid is the premise of why I wanted you to catch up on things, especially since a lot of things have changed since you've been gone, for adventurers and non-adventurers alike."
"Because....."
"The world's are under fire since the beginning of a new Guild Wars."
A heavy silence fell over the room as what Mako said fully sunk in, Jak mulling over what the Guild Wars meant for the inhabitants of each world. Every year, new adventuring guilds would be made and would seek to quickly rise the ranks, gathering worlds under their belts by subjugating, enslaving, or convincing the residents of that world to follow them. Due to the influx of those seeking to dominate the inhabitants, the WGC put a ban on Guild Wars in its entirety, to keep the peace betwixt Ornera and the other worlds. Problem was, the ban kept getting lifted every few years or so, throwing the entire universe into an all out war as each adventurer fought for dominance. Those that possessed the most world's were known as Kings and it was something everyone strove for.
Everyone except the one who inhabited the world themselves.
"With the start of another Guild War, the Kings are on edge, either fearing for their spot or fearing for the safety of the people who follow them." Mako continued to draw on the whiteboard, illustrating his point. "Ergo, each King has taken steps to ensure no violence is spread to their lands and heavy penalties are handed out should people ignore or directly violate their requirements."
"So the premise here is that you want me to know which places to avoid and what rules I need to follow."
"Bingo." Mako gave Jak a solid thumbs up. "Most of the information regarding politics, economics, and so on are things you can learn yourself if need be. I only wanted you to be on top of the important stuff that could very well get you arrested by the WGC or apprehended and punished by the top Guilds. Once the Information Orb is fully charged, you'll be able to peruse it and go over the files regarding the Kings and the world's they possess. If possible, it'd be best to steer clear of those worlds altogether."
"Pretty sure that's impossible." Jak glanced over the things Mako had written down. "We'll need to confront the Kings sooner or later. They probably have the world's we need to go to."
"True but we can deal with that when it comes down to it. For now, let's finish up."
"Is there anything else?" Jak queried, leaning back on the bed. "I don't think we have the time to go over EVERYTHING."
"You're right," Mako said as he erased the board. "But there is one more thing I need to mention."
"That being..."
"I've been looking into some things and I believe this affects both of us, even if it's just a hunch." Mako quickly scribbled 12 different names onto the white board and then crossed off a total of five different names, including the name Jak Yanda. "It involves the allocation and execution of the Elemental Rookies, including what happened to you three years ago."