Preparation
Name: Amar Haldir
Tier: D
Body: A Rank
Mind: B Rank
Spirit: B Rank
Affinity: Life
Abilities:
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Flora Manipulation
Blessings:
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Natural Imbue
It has Jeremiah’s last name…
The Card kept bringing a smile to Amar’s eyes. She had never thought about it, but her true name had always been Amar Haldir, not Amar Ket. That had been her stepfather’s name, but no longer her’s.
The joy that brought was almost enough to make her overlook the other oddity on the Assessment Card. Her Blessing was listed as Natural Imbue, instead of the Bear Claw Blessing. Had she misunderstood her Blessing this whole time.
Now, Amar was alone in the barracks, but she had asked the Assessor, Kavin about it when she had received her Card. He had claimed that he personally had never seen the Blessing before, but the machine they used had a database that was compiled across the Austen Kingdom, so someone had documented it before.
Still, that didn’t assist Amar in discovering what the Blessing actually was. For that, she would need to experiment for herself, and she couldn’t do that inside. Rising to her feet, Amar walked out to the training yard.
Outside, Amar found Logan engaged in a silent conversation with Sophia and Lucius. The trio were gesturing with their hands in a way that reminded Amar of the hand sign she sometimes saw hunters and guards use back in Alteep Village. She wasn’t planning on disturbing them, but Logan called her over.
“Hey Amar, come over here.”
Being polite, Amar made her way over to her three Squadmates. They had their Assessment Cards out, and it seemed like they were comparing them in some fashion.
“Hey Amar, I’m having these two teach me Sign language, do you want to join in?”
She would have preferred to test what her Blessing actually did, but both Sophia and Lucius appeared to be happier than she had previously seen them, so she answered without thinking.
“Sure, I would love to.”
The two of them flashed her their rare smiles at that.
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Gregor was slightly nervous as he entered the command tent. Major Frear had an aura about her, that although it was an Ability like Gregor poses, was still very tangible. Her glare felt like it could reduce its target to a puddle.
“Captain Greatwood. I’ve been expecting you.”
That didn’t help matters, as Gregor found himself gulping instinctually. Forcing his nerves to the side, Gregor managed to sound normal as he responded.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“I’m here as requested, Major.”
“Yes, I have more details pertaining to the upcoming march. Come week’s end all troops stationed at Marineford will be heading North to Errstile Fort, holding the border against the recently fallen Grecia.”
“Our reports indicate that the state of Grecia is currently unknown, which is what is prompting this shift. However, I personally doubt Harth is content with just one conquest, so I would urge you to ramp up training as much as possible. I can all but see the inevitable conflict.”
“We have three days remaining before we head out. Make use of them, Captain.”
“Of course, Major, I’ll do my best to ensure they are ready.”
“Good. They won’t get the chance once we make it there, so the work has to be done ahead of time. You’re dismissed, Captain.”
Taking his leave, Gregor exited the tent through the flap that he walked in. Outside, the air was cool and crisp, with faint scents of the sea making their way inland. Making his way down the thoroughfare and back to the Greatwood Barracks, Gregor let his mind wander towards the Squadron’s reassignment.
His subordinates weren’t yet ready for mass-scale conflict. Although they had some idea of formations and tactics from Gregor’s training, they still didn’t have the trained reactions necessary to best an intelligent opponent in the thick of battle.
Gregor needed to get them running one on one immediately, and even that might not be enough with only three days remaining. His teeth grinding, Gregor tried to come up with an even more packed routine to keep his Squadron alive.
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Although Gregor’s previous training had been strenuous, by the end of the next day Logan was wishing to go back. Sitting on his cot in the barracks, his butt felt like it was about to peel off of his thighs, and everywhere Logan had sensation, ached.
Gregor had followed through on his promise of introducing one on one to the regimen, but had added a twist he had conveniently forgotten to mention previously. The new Captain would walk along the ongoing fights, occasionally engaging both parties and transitioning the fight from a one on one, into a two on one against Gregor.
His reasoning was that such quick developments would often take place on the battlefield, and becoming accustomed to the rapid changes in pace would elevate their fighting capability drastically.
Logan didn’t know about all that, and was left without the processing power to gauge its effectiveness. His brain felt like it had been run through a centrifuge and turned to slurry.
“Ueugghh…”, Logan groaned.
“Tell me about it.” Jerry said.
Even Lucius had tossed up the sign for ‘same’. If nothing else, it was clear the new training was kicking the Greatwood Squadrons asses. Hopefully, it was into shape.
“Well… if we aren’t doing anything else… could I maybe see your Assessment Card once more, Logan?” Jerry asked.
The question caught Logan off guard, but he trusted Jerry to a degree.
“Sure, here you go.”
Handing his Assessment Card over, Logan watched Jerry’s face take on another dimension. Interest shone brightly in his eyes as he examined it, before Jerry looked back to Logan.
“Do you have any idea what this means? To have an unknown Affinity, incredible. There may be a whole new path of Divinity we have yet to discover!” Jerry exclaimed.
“Ah, great…”
Logan didn’t know where he found the energy to get so excited, because Logan himself had run out long hours ago. However, he did have some idea as to his ‘unknown’ Affinity. The Void had at this point blended deeply into the back of Logan’s mind, and although Logan still felt unsure about tapping into his power, he was sure that was what the Assessment Card had picked up on.
If anything, Logan was more interested in his Life Affinity, seeing as that had completely blindsided him. However, looking back it made sense, as Logan had been able to learn Old Jeremiah’s Abilities without issue.
Still he had no idea what he should do with his Affinities, as Logan had just copied other people for all of his progress so far. If he wanted to continue to survive, he had a feeling that would have to change.
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Forcing himself to stay awake, Logan spent the night as he often did, training even more. Today however, he wasn’t following a routine, or doing simple stamina training. Today, Logan decided, it was time for him to figure out the limits of his Divinity.
Heading back out to the training yard, Logan landed on trying to figure out a little bit more about his Flora Manipulation Ability, what he had formerly been referring to as Root. Spinning up the pattern with his soul tentacles, Logan let himself bask in the sensations.
All around him, he could feel the plant-life, as if they were laying a hand on his shoulder. Their presence weighed lightly on his mind, illuminating his surroundings mentally as the carpet of greenery filled in. Growths and flora filled in the gaps of the earth, painting a beautiful, if vague, picture.
Slowly, Logan let out a breath, and tried to connect with it. Not just a singular plant, or one type of greenery, but all of it. An alien awareness started to fill his mind on the attempt, not hostile in any way, but uniquely foreign in its thought process compared to Logan.
Upon encountering it, Logan startled, almost losing control of the pattern of his soul, but he managed to hold on to the Ability. As he slowly integrated more and more with the other awareness, he realized that it wasn’t coming from any one thing, but the whole collection of living things around him.
The trees, shrubs, plants, and grass had all formed some sort of connection from deep below, and were linked intrinsically, as the roots and links beneath the loamy soil formed into a strange whole.
Logan found it breathtaking. Literally, as the strain from holding the Ability increased with every second, pressure compacting Logan’s chest. Right before he let go of the pattern however, he heard a faint laughter that sounded of chimes and a warm, glowing fire.