Everyone slept like a log that night, fully exhausted by the late night exercises. By morning, everyone had instead been left with the unresolved questions that were only now finally getting to unfurl within everyone's minds.
"Holy F~~k, where did Zyuixqs get that talent with tech from? Did you two see him there? F~~k!" "Uh, I missed something, didn't I?" Thanrie was only now letting the shock of events wash over her, having already recovered from all of the injuries she had been suffering overnight, due to proper healing. Mhyl meanwhile had been lost to the waking world before Zyuixqs had held his display of technical prowess, so knew nothing about it. The other two had noticed that they had a friendly pilot on the field, but hadn't actually been told who it was. They hadn't even seen when Zyuixqs had left the field either.
"Was that Zyuixqs then? He was the one inside that thing?" "Yeah, I know, it's insane. I thought it was crazy when Lwyn was trying to use a bow, someone needs to take that guy's spear away and replace it with.. I don't know, something more his style. Even one of those power armor suits would work a million times better. F~~K..." Qheria considered the answer Thanrie provided for her. Rhyde had even said it was a flaw of the Marauders to not recognize the ability of their enemy, and it seemed this was even further correct when some of the marauders were given a chance to actually make use of it. So far, the four of them were the only ones to use technology directly, especially in combat. Ehryinae had limited access, mostly to funnel her own gift. Maybe things would have to change.
As the four of them headed to breakfast, it seems their own abilities were being reevaluated. Ehryinae had been impressed with the magnificent display of the gift last night. What was the most surprising for her perspective was the concepts of its thematic usage, which were completely foreign to her. Her views of the gift were restricted to something more akin to the fantasy elements Celese had been more known for, but the four girls were using something totally unlike anything ever heard of. Lwyn's tiny mushroom cloud was the first wonder she had marvelled upon, herself not actually thinking it was anything but huge. Thanrie stopping time though caught her eyes later on, something that looked relative to known world principles, but something absolutely insane even in that regard. Qheria's prismatic conduit had itself been remarkable and in its own way very nightmarish. Mhyl's laser storm however looked like the world was ending.
Mhyl was actually still upset that her single attack had taken her out, even just before their greatest foe had attacked. Her stamina had betrayed her once again. There wasn't anyone else who saw it this way, however. The storm she had unleashed was held akin to an act of the divines, as if she had brought forth a god-like power to smite her enemies. Of course something like that would have been too much for a ... mortal? Just how insanely powerful was this elven saviour? Qheria herself has considered that an electrical storm, using their enemies as lightning rods, could have instantly won the entire last phase of the battle.. and she could tell Mhyl would be capable of such a feat.
Lwyn pondered Mhyls battle prowess. She might not have been able to do much for a while, but this changed everything. She was like some kind of battle mage, someone who would set lose with cataclysmic spells that end battles in an instant. She didn't have many other ways to fight, but in the games she played on Earth, those mages never needed anything more either. The fact that Mhyl had so little stamina was the only reason any of the other three would need to fight at all, as far as she was concerned. To her, Mhyl was their personal super-weapon.
Thanrie, however, was still more intent on finding Zyuixqs. She had done well, that was good, it was expected of her, and it happened. She was still a bit surprised at what the four of them had accomplished, but that was nothing compared to this sudden shift demonstrated by Zyuixqs. The guy, who was typically useless, had just jumped into her yet hardest challenge yet, taken out a foe even her brother had no chance with, saving her in the process, and kept going like it was normal to take out even more. Sure, most of it was the potential of the tools given to him, but that was stuff he should have had no way to understand, no way to use at all. She wanted answers.
"It was a whole lunar cycle, and someone needed to learn how to make things move when we brought the facility to the fortress. Everyone else had something they already had to worry about, I just made this mine. After all, look what yourself and the others was able to do in just a lunar cycle, you weren't even able to use your gift before you left, as far as I know. Now you make your brother's gift seem but a dull dagger to your own keen claymore." Zyuixqs startled Thanrie in this insight. It wasn't even like they had started on the gift right away, she had actually learned far faster than that. Maybe she was being unreasonable after all.
Her brother showed up at this point, but kept his distance. He had seen enough of his sister in action yesterday to know that he also needed to rethink things about her. She remembered her own actions injuring him. Talking with Zyuixqs at the time, she reflected upon her own changes. Zyuixqs himself had changed over time in this too, not being as afraid of her, but defiantly not willing to underestimate her. Back when she had punched him, it was in a similar situation as with her brother, but not even for the same reasons. She thought about it, and although her struggles with her gift had been a great weight upon her thoughts, her mind was not the raging torrent it once was.
They had both claimed that she didn't understand guys. With Ihzy, it just seemed like her brother was not appreciating what she was capable of, and was excluding her. It was mostly how he said it that had bothered her, like she couldn't take care of herself, even after all her effort. He hadn't given her a chance to show what she was capable of, even though she was trying so hard. She actually didn't learn about the true nature of the argument for a long time afterwards, and even that just lend credit to the impression she was left with. But as to the exact comment, the similarity with Zyuixqs, she realized that the principle was the only problem. Just like her fears of creepy shadows was a Celesi thing, the fact that her memories belonged to a guy wasn't even a concept of who she was herself. That's how she felt at least. They were of two different worlds, two different lives, and although the memories had changed her dramatically, Zyuixqs himself proved that she might not actually be the best at understanding guys after all.
She contemplated the concept and the split, the division and separation of lives and memories that haunted her and the other three girls. Qheria.. Thanrie wasn't perfectly certain, but she had a very strong feeling that Qheria had also came to terms with her own identity, that the guy in their memories was just the guy of their memories, that both of them were someone else, and it was simply that easy. They had both in fact moved on, the whole point wasn't even a discussion anymore. Their two elves had a similar conflict, and she considered how that had turned out.
Mhyl still had a poor stamina, and was working hard simply to better herself, not exactly because of any human alternate life. She could tell, the thing everyone else was marvelling about, it was her elven nature being left to shine. Mhyl was working on her elven weaknesses while leading with her elven strengths. It didn't even feel like she was questioning being completely an elf, not anymore. She had striven and risen well beyond that, leaving any consideration of humanity behind. In the process, she had also demonstrated just how similar elves and humans could actually be, and her being natural at fitting in with all the humans lent weight to that idea. All of their conflicts just felt smaller as a result.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Lwyn.. she was someone Thanrie had to really appreciate for how far she had came. More than only accepting she was a half-elf, she had also accepted that there was nothing wrong with being a half-elf. She had taken her fate by the horns and turned it right around. This was something you could tell shone brightly over her by this point, her own self-respect. She still wasn't sure how it happened, but she had a feeling she had somehow helped in the process. In truth, maybe they had all been priceless support for each other during this entire struggle, such support being the credit for how they had gotten so far with everything they had.
Marvelling and swooning over how things have improved was a thing, but maybe it was time to move beyond that. Just as their reactions to things that had gone wrong, even when things instead had gone so right, it was better to move forward than to dwell on the results. Their lives had improved, their gifts had improved, that was great.. but they still needed to keep going. This was no reason to stop learning, to stop improving, but it was reason to be allowed to keep going, to be respected for their current abilities. Zyuixqs himself deserved the exact same, his newfound talents needed to be nurtured, not idly admired.
Without even a word, Thanrie departed from breakfast, heading towards the smith. She wanted that recovered suit of armor worked on, personalized for Zyuixqs.. made to work for him. After all his hard work, he would deserve nothing less. Watching her leave, the other three decided to wrap things up themselves. As Mhyl set to go, she found Chyurae had approached her, shyly and silently asking for some of her time as he took her hand. Mhyl set off with him, to talk about her own language skills, and to pass off a few useful beginner tips. It wouldn't be much, but maybe one day it might inspire Chyurae to learn more for himself.
Qheria found herself quickly facing her mother. "I want you to know that I'm very proud of you for everything you've managed to accomplish, and I'm sorry for never giving you the opportunity to discover it for yourself sooner. I know, with your memories, you already aren't the same girl you used to be, but even then I'll never know the kind of girl you then could have been. I didn't ever give you the chance. Instead, it seems you've grown on your own into someone of your own legend, the gift I earned for our blood was only enriched by your own accomplishments. If there is anything I could do to help you going forward, please let me know." Xyithy's sombre mood went silent at this point, giving her daughter a chance to speak.
Qheria was left to pause, never having had such a conversation with her mother before. It seems even her own accomplishments had broken through even her mother's stubbornness. It was a golden opportunity to have an open and calm conversation, just mother and daughter, something that had been denied of her. Getting to share her thoughts and feelings of her experiences so far, the common understanding could help them a lot to move forwards. Qheria left with her mother to hold such a conversation, Rhyde nearby grinning at Qheria's accomplishment. He wasn't sure himself how well his own ability to hold an argument with such an experienced lady would go at this point.
Yuxzn took the opportunity to step from Rhyde's shadows and ask for Lwyn's opinion. "So, in matters of defense, if we're going to be faced with such threats in the future.. do you have any ideas in how to best approach things?" Yuxzn shocked Lwyn, herself being asked by him for a plan of strategy. They had always considered Yuxzn an icon of strategy, this alone then put Lwyn into a position of apparent high regards. She could feel the blood rush to her head. But he had a good point, their enemy was starting to outclass what most of them were even capable of. The four of them, plus Zyuixqs for a bit, were the only ones capable of standing up to their enemy in the end. Yuxzn was counting on her knowledge, because he still couldn't fully account for their complete potential.
Sxeiva stepped in before Lwyn could reply. "Pondering defense could be smart, but there shouldn't be much hurry. What we saw last night was Khaexyn's desperation, he threw everything he had at us at once. Having shut down it all as we did, he will be left at a loss for how to proceed. By now, he will be fuming in his own helplessness in his office, pleading for another solution. It will be several days before he will have composed himself enough to discover a better solution. By then, it will probably be too late for him. Regardless, you will still need to be ready for his rage and anguish that will certainly come eventually." Sxeiva walked off when she finished, her own thoughts otherwise occupied. Lwyn wondered what was keeping her so busy.
Yuxzn watched Sxeiva depart, still not completely certain what abilities their wisest council had to offer. "Your mother is quite the mystery here, she always seems to know more than would make sense. Of course, she should have her own gift at hand for her own needs, though I don't happen to recall the last time she had used it." As Yuxzn pondered the matter aloud, Lwyn took the opportunity to consider the same thoughts. She had a decent idea how her mother was figuring out things she shouldn't know, but it was true.. through all of their lessons, not once had her mother even shown them a demonstration of the gift. Even Ehryinae's lessons had involved some basic demonstrations, but her mother had skipped on that. In any situation of danger, she had kept withdrawn, not showing anyone her gift either. It left Lwyn with more questions than answers as she shrugged.
Their previous subject however was still a good point of interest. Sxeiva had even established that they would need to have a defense ready, they just didn't need to have it right away. A long term plan, then, for whatever new idea her father could cook up. She headed off with Yuxzn to ponder various ideas of defense, things that might be able to help them, even though they made no real progress.
By lunch, all of them had received word of a guest arriving at their doorstep. Unexpectedly, the individual in question hailed from the Rebellion, a factor of everything they hadn't been dealing with for quite a while now. The messenger spoke of how word of their recent accomplishments had spread rapidly, both the assault on the fortress and their victory in defense of a siege against what should have been insurmountable odds. The messenger did not hail from the Marauders, but from the main division of the Rebellion itself. "Most of all, our esteemed leader has learned that this is from the same group that his son has taken to, and has earned his way within. There has been growing concern about the implications of exiling such an individual of both high standing and demonstrated ability, and talks have been proceeding to have the exile of all involved to be annulled. To that purpose and end, your council is appreciated at the rebellions main headquarters, and you will be admitted as guests of the rebellion for that purpose." The messenger's message even took Rhyde by surprise.
Rhyde pondered the destination, a subject most people would not have knowledge of. "That would involve making our way to the far side of the lake. This could be a very dangerous expedition, I'm sure you are aware. Our base is fully mobile, but that would just bring the same wrath from last night to bear upon the rebellion itself. This could be very difficult to arrange." Rhyde pondered the situation carefully. He wasn't exactly thrilled how things had turned around suddenly, feeling potentially used in the process, but it wasn't itself bad that people were starting to wake up. The dangers however were still great.
Sxeiva however again showed up with unexpected insight, knowing exactly where and when she had to be. "With Khaexyn feeling so desperate, going so close to him would be perilous. After several days have passed, however, his desperation will turn to a rage of conquest, and by then few people anywhere will be safe anymore. If we take three days to prepare, even by relaxing, and then set off, we will arrive at precisely when we are meant to." Sxeiva sounded slightly sombre as she spoke, a sense of resolution undermining her voice somehow.
Rhyde accepted this idea, especially considering the part about conquest. Sxieva could probably be trusted to be right in assuming how Khaexyn thought, that he wasn't doubting, but then that also implied that things were going to begin very soon. Though all of his efforts, Khaexyn had only demonstrated preparations for war, never actually making a move. This news however made it sound like things would be dramatically escalating soon enough. The moment of truth would be soon to arrive.
If this was true, there was a lot of work to be done, a lot of things to prepare for, and yet very little they could prepare specifically. Instead, it almost felt like everything was coming together by it's own accord, guided by an unseen hand.