To Seeker: The Village Of Refuge
Fortune's Vitus, the biggest inn in Ganase, has had its fair share of visitors. Ranging from your run around the mill commoner to even nobility. But today, they are being paid a visit by a rather strangely dressed individual.
Whoever they were, they were hell-bent on concealing their identity. They wore a plain black hoodie and a black pair of trousers. The hood covered their head concealing their hair. They wore sunglasses to cover their eyes and, for good measure, took the liberty of wearing a face mask.
Slowly, they made their way to the counter. The slow pace was intentional as they were trying to avoid drawing attention to themselves even though their attire already spotlighted them.
At the time, Mr. Vito was tending to the counter even though he was the manager of that establishment. "What the hell are you wearing?" He sighed. It was clear, he wasn't in the mood for such nonsense. He then dragged the strangely dressed guess to the back of the inn.
"Sorry for dropping by unannounced, " they said as they took off the face mask they were wearing, "I wanted to tell you that my brother left this morning."
"Calida, if that's all you came to say, why the hell did you dress up like that?" He asked.
"Well," they replied, trailing off.
"Let me guess, you were trying to hide the blue tips of your hair. The glasses were for your blue eyes, right?"
"Yes," they replied, "I can't let anyone see me like this. I mean, they all know the tips of my hair as well as eyes to be red right?"
"But why the hell are you wearing your brother's clothes?"
"Because they are kind of baggy…..I figured that I might as well hide the fact that I am a girl."
He sighed in disappointment as he said, "You honestly thought those clothes would hide your feminine figure?"
As they were talking, a waiter was seated next to the door doing dishes. "Damn that's stupid," he said.
"That's why I didn't ask for your opinion; cousin." Calida replied. She could hear his muttering.
"You didn't have to," he added, "I would have said it either way."
"That's enough Wave," Mr. Vito said ending their bickering. "That aside, why didn't you go with him? In the end, you are going to have to go there and traveling can be hectic so; wouldn't it have been convenient if you left with him. You really don't have much time left."
She smiled as she said, "I will be fine. Time isn't even an issue. I mean, I could get there in a day if I wanted." Halting, she continued, "Also…."
"If you came here to have lunch again then go home," Wave added, interrupting her earlier statement.
"Quiet Wave," Mr. Vito said, "I thought I told you that that was enough." His eyes narrowed as his gaze was filled with unmistakable irritation.
She continued as she said, "Also_ I wanted to ask you something. How do you think my spiritual vibrations are right now?"
"You are having trouble keeping them stable because you let your familiar out, right?" He sighed," Don't worry, you are handling it well. Unless someone pays too much attention to you, they won't be able to notice the constant fluctuations."
"I am glad. It's really hard to keep my magic calm when I am not in magic release. I feel like if I relax for too long, my flame might come out," she said, "Hey Wave."
"What, "he replied.
"I did come to have lunch," she said as she flashed him a smug expression.
"Of course you did. No wonder you and your brother are twins. You are both the absolute worst. "
She walked towards him before adding, "Come on don't be like that. He is not bad at all."
"And again, you didn't bother defending yourself. "
After they had lunch, Calida set out for home. No sooner had she left than Wave said to Mr. Vito, "I don't think she only came here for lunch."
"Seems like that was the case." Considering the fact that he just left and she let out her familiar, I was expecting her to be more uptight. After all, that house will truly be empty now.
Four days had passed since Kano and Anemone had begun traveling. At this point in time, they were both getting sick of sleeping outdoors on account of the rainy season. For the past three days, it rained a total of six times. This only served to make their living conditions more difficult. The caves were damp and teeming with mosquitoes.
"Hey Anemone, can you shield me from the sun as well? It's scorching today." He said as he wiped his face. The hot sunny noon wasn't doing him any justice.
"I would rather not. Your sun issue doesn't involve me," she replied. Not bothered by the sun at all. She was shielded from the sun's rays by her blades which layered to form an umbrella that floated right above her. Not only did they provide her with shade but also a gentle cool breeze.
"At least let's take a break. We will keep going after a while."
"Will you quit your whimpering, we are getting close to a town. We will rest there." I really don't want to sleep outdoors again today.
"Yeah….you said that yesterday too. I-.." As he spoke, she suddenly interrupted him. "Who's there?" She shouted. Her words were accompanied by one of her blades which left the bunch and flew towards the trees. It sliced through the grass before returning to her.
She closed her eyes as she thought, Wind art: Remnant Chaos. Kano was startled by her actions. To him, it appeared as if she just directed her blades towards the grass before calling it back. But from her earlier words, he could tell that she was aiming for something. He began looking around in an attempt to find the target of that attack.
When he looked back to the path where they were coming from, he was dazed by what he saw coming their way. It was a flaming lion.
It had a mane made of flame. Orange flames that ran down its spine to the tip of its tail. It had blue glowing eyes. It was slowly making its way to them.
Kano patted her on her shoulder as he asked, "Is that what you are looking for?" Pointing in the direction of the beast. As it got closer, he could feel the heat it was releasing.
She opened her eyes as she thought, That's some magic. They watched it as it got closer to them. Frightful that if they turned their backs to it, it would surely strike. Its flaming mane was being blown by the wind as a crackling sound could be heard.
She began releasing a green aura as her blades separated, scattering themselves around her. A violent gust of wind began blowing from her body as she said, "It's just a lion." That thing is really big.
He added, "That thing is massive. It trumps us in size by far. It's like ten meters tall."
Sweat ran down her face as she said, "I am starting to think this is bad luck," her heart was pounding in her chest. A bright orange mane. There is no doubt about it, that's a Panthera Leo Krugeri bystier.
Out of all the magic beasts that formed from lions, the Panthera Leo Krugeri magic beast was the most feared. It was easily considered the most powerful magic beast on account of its massive structure and overall hunting prowess. The others just couldn't compare. Though this was merely a bystier, an undeveloped magic beast, with the amount of magic it possessed, it was obviously going to cause trouble.
I couldn't have guessed that we would meet one even if we stayed away from the denser parts of the forest. This is bad. She thought.
Kano tried to relax though his heart too was pounding. He could feel the massive amount of heat it was producing brush down his skin. He clenched his fists as he knew his place. He realized just how useless he would be should the fight begin because he couldn't use magic. Not anymore.
He stared at her as he saw a light grin come to her face, it became obvious that she had something in mind. Maybe she would be able to deal with it herself, he wondered
"I see now….you are not special." So that's it, your magic is terrifying but you can't use it.
Kano heard her muttering as he felt a wave of relief come rushing down on him. It looked as if she wouldn't need any help after all.
She propelled one of her blades past it as she shouted, "Run!" She then took off running. Heading straight ahead. Kano too joined in as he had no idea what was happening, where did her earlier confidence go.
The lion began chasing after them. As it ran, its pace was rather slow. It stumbled with each step as it tried to keep pace.
So I was right. It might be powerful but it's too unstable. She began laughing as they ran. "Try and keep pace." She added.
Kano, who was struggling to keep pace with her, wondered whether or not something was wrong with her. She did realize that they were being chased down by a ten meter tall magic beast. Though it was just a bystier, not yet a magic beast, it was still a lot of trouble.
One more advancement until I can understand prime visualization. She thought as they ran. Thanks to the jolts I felt when I went to Kano's place, I began wondering why I couldn't determine the exact source.
It was obvious. Until now, I only focused on my sight range, not my sight itself. I thought of how fights with too many ability uses and varying fighting styles can be hard to overcome.
The sheer chaos formed when too many arts are in use makes it hard to keep up. That's why I designed Remnant Chaos. To let me know everything happening around me all at once. As long as it is from the living, I had to know. That way, I would know what to do.
The lion roared as it shot two small fireballs from its mane. Two of her blades released gusts of wind which scattered them.
If Remnant Chaos allows me to overcome chaos in battle by making everything around me known to me that just meant I had to go beyond that sight.
That just meant I had to know what was the nature of their vibrations. Their attribute and possible unique ability and its mechanics. Just a small peek into their soul. That's what I aim to achieve with this new sight. Prime Visualization: Wind art; Fragmented scrutiny. With it, I can analyze a person's unique ability and element from their spiritual vibrations alone. The only problem is, this places a worse strain on my mind than Remnant Chaos.
They ran as though their lives depended on it because they did. The beast persisted as it chased them. As it was moving, reddish flames descended from the sky and covered its path. It attempted to walk through them before it got scorched. They burned far hotter than they appeared to. It grunted as it fled amongst the trees.
Kano, who was looking back, wondered where the flames came from. By all appearances, it seemed as if they were there to lend aid.
Miraculously, or by the rush of adrenaline, they ran all the way to the nearest village. It was the village known as Seekers. One of the only two isolated villages whose location was nowhere close to any of the five Provinces of Conflagraflaria. They weren't even located close to the villages which surrounded said provinces. They were in the forest itself.
They planned on taking Refuge in that village for two days just to escape the great outdoors before continuing with their trip.
They made their way to the entrance, which was the southern gate. There, they saw an empty booth, presumably where the security guard was supposed to be.
No security, Anemone thought, No that shouldn't be possible. Considering where this town is located, this seems unreasonable.
As they were about to enter the village, their bodies suddenly felt heavy. It was as though they were being weighed down by a weight they couldn't hope to bear.
"I can't move," Kano murmured. What the hell? I am about to get crushed.
"I can't either," she muttered before she glanced at her blades. They were completely unaffected. Wind art: Remnant Chaos. Her eyes rolled to her right as she looked at the top of the booth. "Hey…on the booth. What is this about?"
"Oh ... .so you can see me. I thought I was pretty concealed up here," he replied as he sat up. He wore a silver helmet to conceal his face. He wore a black jacket and white shirt. On his shoulder was an emblem. A black pentagon outlined in white. At its center was a flaming eagle shackled by chains. Under its talons, a bow crossed with a hoe, overlapping with the Pentagon's white outline. That was, Conflagraflaria's emblem. Which only implied one thing, he was a member of the knight force. On his face, the only feature that was visible were his yellow glowing eyes as he looked down on them.
"Yeah….like can you release this pressure for a second," Kano added.
"No can do_ I am on my lunch break right now. As you can't enter the village without my permission, you have to stay like that for a while."
I can't move, I feel like if I do, my body will be crushed, he said as he felt the weight increase.
Anemone called five of her blades towards her. They reverted to bracelet pieces as they circle from under her arm to her wrist. She too felt her weight increase as for a second, she thought gravity was to blame.
She stared at Kano as she saw the black shade in his eyes darken. The weight they felt increased but Anemone kept staying at Kano while maintaining the focus of her Remnant Chaos on the man. Huh, she thought.
She began releasing gusts of wind from her body as her clothes blew from them. The necklace which was tucked under her shirt was forced out by the wind. She felt the weight they felt increase.. The remaining fifteen blades returned to her, forming her bracelets.
Kano was struggling to stay still as the shade in his eyes darkened even more. "What are you doing Anemone ... .You are just making this worse."
She smiled as she said, "Sorry, But_ I am about to make this a lot worse." The output of her wind increased as they felt heavier. Her eyes still focused on Kano while her Remnant Chaos on the man. So that's how it is….I can't feel any change in his spiritual vibrations. So whatever we are feeling, it's not from him. I have to say, I started wondering what was really happening when my blades flew under my arm and still weren't affected. If it was gravity, They would have been pulled down.
"What's wrong with you?" The man said as he jumped from the top of the booth. "Are you trying to get yourselves killed? I will keep raising the weight the more you try to escape. Can't you just wait until my lunch break is over."
The intensity of the wind she was producing grew as the necklace Kano was wearing began releasing a green aura. Not until now, it wasn't even brightly glowing. It was glowing a bright green the whole time but not to the intensity that it was visible past his hoodie. She kept her eyes squarely locked onto his.
"What are you trying to do…pushing your body into a state of overdrive like that. You do realize that you will only trigger a state of Counter Inversive Strike. "
Come on Kano, give me a sign. She thought. She began feeling pain in her muscles as it became clear that she was pushing her body past its limit. Feint though it was, she saw a black aura being released from his darkened eyes. Thanks. Now, Prime Visualization: Wind art; Fragmented scrutiny. It makes sense now.
She saw an outline of spiritual vibrations form around them. It was coming from behind them though she couldn't see the source.
"I think I have figured out what's behind our not moving. Your ability is unfair. But that just meant I am its natural enemy. Because I have a sensory nature, is that right?"
The man began grinning.
"What are you saying? " Kano asked.
"The thing behind us…..that's your real ability. Am I right?"
"What thing," the former asked.
"You are sharp," the man said, "Does that mean you can see it?"
"I don't, not yet anyway. I will soon though."
"Simply knowing it's there is enough. It has been a while since I encountered someone with sensory talent on par with yours." It has been thirteen years since someone actually noticed it. "Your mind is sharp. As a simple gift for it to feed on, I kept you stuck by paralyzing your spirits. All the weight you felt was from something grabbing your souls. If I wished for it, I would have crashed them easily. At any point in time even now." The weight they felt disappeared as Kano said, "The hell! So something was touching our souls the whole time."
"Seems like it," she said as she thought. Kano's spiritual vibrations are amazing. Even without active thought, they knew that something was there. His darkening eyes proved that.
"That's dangerous…..why would they let him work at the gate," kano added.
The man sighed as he said, "My lunch break is even over. You can go ahead and show me your travel passes."
"Travel passes," Kano asked, "Did you know about this Anemone?"
"Nope, I had no clue. I thought all we had to do was follow the map."
"You seriously came here without travel passes. Listen, travel passes are essential to enter a village you are not resident in. You can't just waltz anywhere you want and that especially applies here."
"Is there a way we can buy some," Kano asked.
"Travel passes. No, there is none. You have to apply before it can even be created. If you don't have the passes then just turn back."
Kano grinned as an idea came to mind. "What if we gave you something to get in? I mean like something for lunch."
"Are you trying to bribe me?" The former asked.
"The power is in interpretation. I never said that. If that's how you see it then that's how it will be."
"You do realize that I am a government official and I can arrest you right now." Hardly had he concluded that statement when he noticed the necklace that she was wearing. I see now.
"Just give me ten silver coins and you can go through. "
They conceited to his request as they realized there was no other way forward. As soon as Anemone gave him the coins, he allowed them to enter.
While they were walking, they suddenly felt heavy before feeling normal again. This forced them to look back. "What is it," they both said.
"I almost forgot to mention. No matter what village or town you go to, just flash them that necklace and you will be allowed entry. You are knight force candidates right? That kind of position comes with its own privileges. "
"Wait, so there was no point for the bribe." Kano added.
"There was a point ... .you disturbed my lunch."
Anemone was annoyed by the nerve of this man. He should have just said that from the very beginning. "I am going to pay you back." She declared before Kano grabbed her hand. "It's fine, let's just go."
After a while, she finally calmed down and decided to release her magic release state. No sooner had she done that than she fell to her knees. She was hyperventilating as she felt as though her body was heavy. I didn't notice that I have already gotten this tired.
They took a break as they went and sat close to a store. "Anemone, earlier why did you try resisting against that man. Wouldn't it have been easier if we just stayed still."
She sighed as she replied, "I am not sure. I thought that if I just stayed still I would be fine. But_ I got the feeling that I just had to challenge him. That I need to be able to beat him. Honestly, it was stupid but it seemed so important to me at that moment."