ã€ŠKuro Tsumiã€‹


 00: -Prologue-

    -Prologue-

    The forest was dark, leaves dripping wet from the recently broken storm. A group of eight Hunters ran along the stone road that cut through the trees, heavy cloaks fluttering slightly in the breeze they created. The road turned a corner, and a large gate, set within an even larger stone wall came into view. The man under the singular white cloak amongst a group of several black cloaks and two navy blue cloaks spoke, breaking the relative silence amongst the party.

    ¡°New guy, you¡¯re with me,¡± his gruff voice commanded as he gestured to the young boy in a navy blue coat next to him. The boy mumbled his agreement with a nod.

    ¡°The rest of you,¡± the man in white continued, ¡°split into your groups, and remember, two men to a gate. Do not let the target into the city.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The remainder of the group affirmed.

    As the group neared the large city gate, the members broke off from the group, keeping to the trees, but following the curvature of the wall. Two black cloaks ran to the right, and the other navy cloaked Hunter followed the other three to the left.

    The man in the white cloak turned to his much younger companion. ¡°We¡¯ll hide up in the trees,¡± he began, ¡°we don¡¯t know where they¡¯ll come from, but there¡¯s only four entrances into the city.¡± The young man nodded, and responded in a small, nervous sounding voice.

    The two jumped into the trees nearest the gate on either side of the road, using wind magic to boost their jumps, and there, they waited.

    -----

    A little under an hour later, and there was still no sight of their target, and no word from the other groups. A drop of rain fell on the young man¡¯s hood, followed by another, and within a few seconds it was pouring again.

    A long, drawn out groan came from under his navy hood, ¡°When¡¯re they gonna show up?¡±

    A heavy sigh came from the senior Hunter, ¡°I¡¯m right there with ya kid,¡± he responded in a similar tone of discontent.

    After a few more moments of silence, the senior Hunter spoke again. ¡°Let¡¯s review our information shall we?¡± The kid seemed to perk up at this question, ¡°Sure, never a bad idea.¡±

    ¡°Alright, who is our target tonight?¡±

    ¡°A Human man, suspected to be part of a group looking to start a war between Human and Demon, right?¡± The boy said after a moment of thought.

    ¡°Correct. How do we know he¡¯s going to be here tonight?¡±

    ¡°He publicly announced his threat to destroy this town anonymously, even saying when he¡¯d do it.¡±

    ¡°Very good, do we know how he plans to accomplish his goal?¡± This question stumped the young man. After a few minutes he replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know, do we?¡± The older hunter shook his head, ¡°Unfortunately, we have no idea what exactly he¡¯s planning to do, or what he¡¯s capable of. More or less, we¡¯re going in blind,¡± his voice layered with a sense of defeat. ¡°What are we going to--¡±

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    The boy was interrupted by a loud boom. The man held up a finger as he brought his hand to his ear. Sir, a young woman¡¯s voice rang through the man¡¯s head, we don¡¯t know how, but the target got in the city. ¡°Crap,¡± he responded, his voice echoing into the ether, ¡°Are we sure it¡¯s him?¡±

    Not positive sir, the woman began again, but I don¡¯t see who else it could be, that loud boom sounded too close to have been lightning.

    ¡°Very well,¡± he grumbled, then, after a pause, commanded ¡°Attention everyone! The target is thought to be inside the city! Everybody give chase, don¡¯t give him a chance to do anything!¡±

    After that, he turned his gaze back down to the boy, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get this bastard.¡± The two cloaked figures dropped down from the trees and immediately charged through the gate. The rain also seemed to pick up some more, lightning crackling high above them.

    From the gate you could see all the way to the exit on the other side of the city, where the other navy coat and their partner chased towards the center as well. The street was lined with houses and shops, occasionally breaking to reveal a smaller street branching off from the main road.

    Suddenly three figures entered the center plaza from the left, two figures in black cloaks and one in a regal-looking white robe. Red sparks flashed from every Hunters¡¯ hands, and suddenly various weapons appeared. The robed man pulled a sword from inside his robe. The two Hunters nearest to him began to attack, one wielding a scythe and the other a long sword that curved at the tip.

    The man effortlessly blocked both of their attacks. Instead of retaliating with his own swings, he stomped the ground with his left foot, and pillars of stone shot up from the plaza floor, slamming into the Hunters and sending them flying. The two Hunters across from the boy and the white cloaked man were both wielding spears, but before they could even attack the robed man he waved his free hand, shooting small bolts of lightning at them. The group from the right didn¡¯t even get to the plaza before a wall of stone appeared in front of them.

    The young boy and the older man both wielded scythes as they made their approach. The young man spun his scythe, the cutting edge moving upwards towards the enemy. Eager to prove his abilities, he augmented his swing with wind, blowing it forward faster than his small body could handle on its own. The man in the robe didn¡¯t even hesitate, he put his blade inside the small whirlwind the scythe was creating, fully, and effortlessly, stopping it. He then proceeded to punch the kid¡¯s face, knocking him to the ground.

    The man kicked him out of the way, the kid forced to watch as the menace approached the man in the white cloak. ¡°If you come peacefully, I will let you leave with your life,¡± the senior Hunter offered sincerely. The robed man merely spat in response, before charging him with his sword. Their weapons clashed several times, and they even threw out several spells in an earnest attempt to kill each other.

    After several traded blows, the Hunter made a shallow cut across the robed man¡¯s chest. ¡°PISS¡­ OFF!¡± the robed man screamed, blowing a gust of wind strong enough to throw the Hunter off the ground and backwards several feet, followed by a bolt of lightning.

    All the Hunters had been defeated. ¡°Finally,¡± the man cackled with laughter, celebrating his victory, ¡°The lot of you will die with this town.¡±

    He returned to the approximate center of town, and held out his hand above his head, palm stretched out. And in his palm, a ball of pure, white light shone in stark contrast with the night sky. The ball grew in size rapidly, within only a couple seconds, it had reached the man¡¯s elbow. ¡°My death will not be in vain¡­¡± he mumbled to himself as it began to swallow his head, wincing in pain as he closed his eyes..

    As the ball grew past his feet, there was a sudden burst of wind, followed by a strike of lightning near the young boy in navy. The boy stood up, and for him, time slowed down, the rain drops almost completely stopped. Red and blue light flashed in the palm of his hand, and was quickly replaced by a lare, elegant, white scythe. Without thinking, he charged at the robed man, and swung. Had someone else witnessed the event, it would have looked like the boy turned into a flash of light and split the robed man in half.

    -----

    After an hour or so had passed, the other Hunters began to regain consciousness. The white orb had almost completely dissipated. The man in the white cloak walked over to a small crater that had formed where the man had been standing. In this crater, he found two bodies. The young boy in navy, whose skin seemed to be singed red. And the robed man, whose body was cut in two and featured a similar, but more intense burnt look. Next to them was the scythe the boy had summoned.

    ¡°How in the world did he summon that¡­?¡± The senior Hunter questioned, mind still dazed from the earlier fight, ¡°Either way¡­ the chief ain¡¯t gonna be happy about this.¡±

 01: -Kuro-

    -Kuro-

    [A word from an ancient language,

    meaning ¡°to overcome¡±]

    I opened my eyes, quickly shutting them again after being met with harsh sunlight filtering through a nearby window. I slowly forced them open again and struggled to sit up in my bed, the blanket falling from my torso into my lap. My head felt hazy as I looked at my hand, which was wrapped up in white bandages. Upon further inspection, most of my body was similarly wrapped.

    As I tried to recall what had happened, I found I could not even remember my own name. In a panic, I looked around the room frantically, trying to find anything familiar to spark my memory. The room was a square with a light colored hardwood floor and similarly colored light beige walls. Along one wall there was a closet with sliding doors, and next to the closet, the wall opened up to what I assumed was the entrance to the room. The walls were bare, aside from the window next to my bed.

    Alas, I couldn¡¯t find anything before I heard a door open. From where the wall opened up a large man in a white cloak walked in, carrying a bouquet of flowers. ¡°K-Kuro,¡± he stammered, the bouquet falling from his arms onto the floor, some of the flowers scattering, ¡°You¡¯re awake¡­¡±

    ¡°Kuro¡­¡± I repeated, ¡°Is that my name?¡±

    The man just stared in silence for a minute, before kneeling down and picking up the flowers. ¡°I was hoping he¡¯d be wrong¡­¡± he said, breaking the silence. He stood back up and put the flowers inside a vase on a bedside table. ¡°Yes, your name is Kuro,¡± he continued, ¡°the chief warned me you might have lost your memories, but I didn¡¯t imagine it would be to this extent.¡±

    ¡°What happened to me?¡±

    ¡°You died,¡± he said flatly as though it was the most normal thing in the world, ¡°Let me start from the beginning.¡± He pulled a chair out of the closet and sat down next to the bed.

    He told me my full name was Kuro Tsumi, which comes from an ancient language no longer spoken. ¡°Kuro¡± was a word that meant to overcome, and ¡°Tsumi¡± meant death, to die, or the state of being dead. His name was Oroske, a combination of words that roughly translated to ocean water. His last name was also Tsumi, which he explained is because we both are part of the Tsumi Clan, and are therefore more or less family.

    The Tsumi Clan was composed entirely of half-demons, and was one of three such clans, the other two being the Ishen, and the Incol. Many of the Tsumi Clan members were part of a group called the Hunters, who were swords-for-hire for various types of work, and were officially recognized by the governments of both the human and demon realms.

    Each of the Clans also presided and protected over one of the Realms of Providence, the Ishen over the demon realm, the Incol over the human realm, and the Tsumi over the ethereal realm, commonly referred to as the spirit realm, or even the afterlife. By presiding over the ethereal realm, the Tsumi Clan are able to perform the miracle of resurrection, as long as the proper conditions are met.

    People brought back through resurrection are granted the title of Kuro, to show that they were able to overcome death. This apparently makes me unique, as it¡¯s usually not a person¡¯s name, but an additional title. Typically the only people who are allowed to be revived are Hunters and major political figures, or just people deemed important enough for the service. Though really, for the right price, anyone can have it done.

    Finally, he reached the event of my actual death. ¡°During your first official Hunt, mere weeks after being granted your cloak that marks you as a novice,¡± he began, ¡°You ended up killing our target, but at the same time, he killed you. Luckily, the damage he inflicted on you was reversible with magic and a blood transfusion. He wasn¡¯t so lucky, seeing as you split him in half.

    ¡°This was about two months ago,¡± he continued, ¡°we believe he used Holy magic, a special type of magic created in ancient times to combat Demons. It specifically targets Demon blood, setting the blood ablaze, burning it from within. It¡¯s extremely painful from what I¡¯ve heard. The revival specialists said your soul was also particularly difficult to find and bring back. Pair these circumstances together, and it took longer than normal to bring you back to life.¡±

    I listened to his explanation silently. Nothing he said triggered my memory to come back, not even a little. After another silent moment, I finally asked, ¡°Will you tell me about myself?¡± He gave me a small smile and patted my head and said ¡°Of course.¡±

    He told me that even amongst my fellow Hunters, I was particularly talented with Energy Manipulation and swordplay. This caused him to go on a short rant, explaining that there are two primary types of magic, Energy Manipulation, and Ether Magic. Energy Manipulation uses a special type of energy found all around us. He told me to focus my vision a bit more than normal. When I did, I saw small specks of what looked like red dust, floating in the air and sticking to the walls and ceiling. He must¡¯ve been able to tell I could see it, as he did something to bring that energy towards his hands. It flew into his right hand, his palm open, forming a ball in the air. He then brought his hand near his head, and swung it down to his side, the energy forming a line in the air. The energy suddenly snapped downwards, the line now going straight outwards from his hand. He closed his palm into not quite a fist, and the length of energy sparked brightly. In the place of the energy was a sword, summoned from seemingly nowhere.

    ¡°It has many other uses, which I¡¯ll tell you all about during your training, but this is an ability called Demon Sheath,¡± he explained, ¡°It allows you to store weapons within your soul, and withdraw them at any point. Very few, you and yours truly included, are born with a natural aptitude for this ability.¡±

    After he said that, he handed me the sword. When he held it, it seemed like it was a normal size, but was huge compared to my small frame. I had to carry it with both hands for it not to fall and hit the ground. He chuckled at the sight of me struggling to carry it. ¡°Now, you at least were a natural at this before,¡± he started again, ¡°so just use the energy in the air and store the sword within your soul.¡±

    I stared blankly at him for a short moment. I woke up like thirty minutes ago with no memory and he¡¯s asking me to perform some crazy magic trick? I shook my head, focusing on the task he¡¯s given me. With a bit of focus, and a little time, I figured out how to gather the energy to my hands, now I just had to figure out how to actually use it.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t do it now, that¡¯s fi-¡± he started to say before the energy sparked bright red once again. Suddenly, I wasn¡¯t carrying anything. I had unconsciously closed my eyes to focus better. Thinking he had just taken the sword, I opened my eyes, ready to ask why he stopped me, only to be met with his shocked face.

    ¡°Well I¡¯ll be damned, good job kid!¡± he exclaimed proudly.

    ¡°I¡­ I did it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you did! I¡¯m impressed,¡± he said, pausing briefly and scratching the back of his neck, ¡°I do need that sword back though, mind summoning it for me real quick?¡±

    I took a deep breath before calling the energy back to my hand. I recalled how he had drawn a line with the energy from above the opposite shoulder from the hand he held it in, and copied the motion. I brought my left hand above my right shoulder, and brought it down in a straight line across my chest, down to my hand¡¯s normal position. All the while, I kept the image of the sword clear in my mind, only thinking about wanting to summon it back.

    After a distance I felt was adequate, I ¡°grabbed¡± onto the energy. I commanded the energy to bring the sword back. Sure enough, I felt the energy pulse, and suddenly all the weight for the sword was returned. It almost fell to the ground because I wasn¡¯t quite prepared for it, but I caught the blade with my other hand quickly.

    Oroske took the blade from my hands in a careful and gentle manner. ¡°Excellent work Kuro!¡± he exclaimed, before returning it to his own Demon Sheath.

    ¡°Th-thanks¡­¡± I stammered, in a much smaller voice than I had intended. I hadn¡¯t even realized how exhausted I felt.

    Oroske scratched the back of his head, ¡°Sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have had you do so much so soon after waking up,¡± he apologized, ¡°You must be tired, I¡¯ll let you get some rest.¡± He bowed his head and turned towards the entrance he had come in through.

    After he opened the door, he peeked his head out from behind the corner and gave a cheesy grin, ¡°I¡¯ll be back tomorrow to help with your rehab!¡±

    And with that, he was gone.

    The sun had nearly set completely, the room was rather dark from the shadows of the neighboring buildings. I reached up and pulled one of the strings that controlled the blinds on the window, but pulled too far, simply closing them on the opposite side. I reached for the other string again, this time pulling it just far enough that I could comfortably look outside.

    In the glow of twilight, I could see the street down below, separating the building I was in from the ones across the street. The street was made from plain, grey cobblestone, and was lined with luscious grass between it and the buildings. The buildings themselves varied in style and size, some had nothing but wood panelling, some had cobblestone trim that matched the street. A couple of the buildings I could see had a brick trim instead, and one of them was even made entirely of bricks. At the edge of my view I could even see a tudor-style house.

    I wonder what other kinds there are, I thought as the last bit of sun fully sank behind the buildings across the street, enveloping the room and neighborhood in further darkness.

    I involuntarily yawned, reminding myself how tired I was. I closed the blinds and layed back in the bed, pulling the blanket close to my chin.

    After a small bit of tossing and turning, I finally got into a comfortable position and fell asleep.

    ---

    Oroske awoke me the next morning, after a dreamless night. He had abruptly walked into the room, carrying a bag and a small, sheathed sword. I blearily opened my eyes and saw him standing there. ¡°Oh good, that was enough to wake you up,¡± he began the conversation, ¡°You always were a light sleeper.¡±

    He walked over to the table at the foot of the bed, putting the bag down on top of it. Pulling a bottle full of water out, he continued speaking. ¡°Here¡¯s some water, figure you¡¯re probably pretty thirsty. Your old uniform is in the bag as well,¡± he held up the sword, to draw my attention to it, ¡°Get dressed, you can either keep the sword in its sheath, or put it in your Demon Sheath, up to you. I¡¯ll be waiting for you out in the hall, let me know if you need anything,¡± he said with a small smile before walking out of the room once again.

    I sat up in the bed, stretching my arms and legs. A small hop off the bed and I was standing. My light gray pajamas shifted slightly upon landing, they were a bit big on me. Inside the bag was a navy-blue cloak, a plain, black shirt, dark brown cargo pants, and similarly colored combat boots.

    The navy-blue cloak was made of a thick fabric, and was very soft on the outside. It had a simple white trim, accenting the blue. Between the outside and inside layers was a layer of chainmail, so the cloak wasn¡¯t just for looks but also offered protection from both the cold and physical harm. It was very heavy on my shoulders, not helped by the fact the cloak went down to just below my knees. It also featured a hood, with the same chainmail inside.

    On the shoulder of the cloak was a circle with a line going straight through the center, in the same white as the trim. I¡¯ll have to ask Oroske about that, I thought as I put on my boots. After getting both feet in, I wound up tying them without thinking, as though my body moved on its own. I had to take a couple steps to reach the sword, and noticed that the boots were very heavy, due to the steel reinforcements on the toes.

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    I took the sword out of its sheath right after picking it up, it¡¯s steel blade glistening in the light. I closed my eyes and recalled my instructions from the night before. I wasn¡¯t entirely sure what exactly I had done the previous night to make it disappear, so I was determined to go slower. I focused my eyes so I could see the energy once again, and called that energy to the palm of my left hand where I held the hilt of the blade. The command flashed in my mind, just long enough for me to catch it, before the blade vanished in a flash of red energy. So I commanded the energy to envelope the sword, then I gave the energy access to my soul, and commanded it to store the weapon there? I reflected upon the action, hoping to understand how it works at least a bit better.

    Ah, it¡¯s fine, I¡¯m sure Oroske can explain it to me if I ask him, I told myself as I turned to a small mirror on the bedside table, examining my appearance for a brief moment. I had somewhat long, brown hair, covering up my forehead. It had a slight curl to it that kept it out of my eyes. Which were a similar brown, with vertical, slitted pupils. My left ear had a very slight point to it, but the right was completely round. I gave my appearance a shrug, not really caring how I look, and turned to leave the room.

    Sure enough, Oroske was waiting for me right outside the door like he said he would. ¡°Took you long enough,¡± he sarcastically chuckled, ¡°You ready for your first day of rehab?¡±

    ¡°Rehab?¡± I questioned as he started walking down the hall.

    ¡°Yeah, we gotta get you trained back up so you can go back out in the field,¡± he said waving his hand as though it was obvious, when he stopped dead in his tracks. He turned to me in an over-dramatic fashion, ¡°You¡­ do want to go back out in the field right?¡±

    I looked at him blankly for a minute, before finally responding with ¡°I don¡¯t really even know what ¡®out in the field¡¯ means.¡± He stared at me, more blankly than I stared at him, with an exaggerated silence. After a moment, he finally collected himself. ¡°Of course,¡± he broke the silence, turning around, voice filled with confidence, ¡°how would you know, as you no longer have your memories.¡±

    ¡°Y-yeah¡­¡± I said in a small voice, that contrasted his very large one.

    ¡°Follow me, and I¡¯ll answer just about any questions you have, that one included,¡± he stated as he continued down the hall, turning right and going down a flight of stairs. After shaking my head, I ran after him, seeing him go out through a door immediately to the left of the stairs.

    Outside it was very warm, and the sun shined bright. It took my eyes a few seconds to adjust to the light. Once they did, I saw Oroske sitting down at a table, with enough food for two. He beckoned me over, ¡°Come, let us discuss over breakfast. It¡¯s never a good idea to exercise or train on an empty stomach.¡±

    After I sat at the table, Oroske took his cloak off, and fanned himself, ¡°Hoo boy, it¡¯s hot out today, huh?¡± he said, as he leaned into the table, ¡°So, you had questions, right? Well fire away, if I can answer them, I¡¯d be happy to.¡±

    As he finished speaking he took one of the biscuits off the tray and split it in two, spreading butter on the insides of both halves. I examined the spread in front of me, it was a small, but respectable selection, with biscuits, bacon, sausage, and some scrambled eggs. I took a little bit of everything for the time being, as I thought about the order of my questions.

    ¡°So are you my dad, or who is?¡± I asked the first question, one that had been on my mind since the night before. He shook his head before speaking, ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± he began, with a solemn pause before continuing, ¡°your dad, as well as your mom, were killed in action when you were only a few years old. Your mom was my sister, and I¡¯m the only other surviving family you had, so she left you in my care.¡± He paused once more as he took another bite of his food, a little bit of egg he had grabbed during his explanation. ¡°So while I did raise you more or less, I¡¯m not your dad. I am however, your mentor as a Hunter.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡± I said, a bit of sadness hanging on the words. I can¡¯t say I remember my parents, but it¡¯s sad to hear I¡¯ll never get to know them. I shook my head and moved on to my next question, ¡°What did you mean by going back in the field? Like, what do we do?¡±

    Oroske pondered his wording for a moment, ¡°Well I told you we¡¯re called Hunters, right?¡± I replied with a nod, and he continued, ¡°Well, in the traditional sense, that¡¯d mean we go out and hunt animals for food, right?¡± I nodded once again, ¡°For us however, animals are not our game. We hunt ghosts, Necromancers, criminals, and anyone we¡¯ve been paid to hunt.

    ¡°We in the Tsumi Clan are the ¡®protectors¡¯ of the Ethereal Realm. Our job, as assigned by the Guardians, is to send off spirits to their proper rest, and kill anyone who tries to upset that flow, such as the Necromancers I mentioned a moment ago. As long as we do that, we¡¯re allowed to live however we want. As such, we take on requests from various people to kill others. Contract killers, if you will.

    ¡°So, I guess I should ask, do you want to work to become a Hunter again?¡± He asked, taking a bite out of some bacon while waiting for my response.

    ¡°Sounds cool, so sure!¡± I respond enthusiastically. My mouth was full of biscuit though, so it came out more like ¡°Soumz cul, zo shur!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk with your mouth full,¡± Oroske scolded, but not before swallowing his food in example, ¡°And I¡¯m glad to hear that, once we finish we can begin your retraining. Any other questions?¡±

    ¡°Just one for now,¡± I started, my gaze locked on the symbol on his shoulder, ¡°What is the symbol on our jackets?¡±

    ¡°Oh this?¡± He grabbed onto his sleeve to show it to me a little better, instead of black on blue, his was red on white, ¡°It¡¯s the symbol of our Clan. Its true meaning is still being debated by actually smart people, but most agree on the name ¡®the Emblem of Balance.¡¯ In our Clan, it¡¯s meant to symbolize the balance between life and death, which we are responsible for upholding. Outside of our Clan, I have no idea.¡±

    ¡°Interesting,¡± I said before biting into some scrambled eggs. We finished our meal in relative silence after that.

    After we finished our meal, Oroske took me to the Hunter¡¯s headquarters to speak with the chief about beginning my re-training. Along the way I saw several different buildings with different styles and sizes, which Oroske explained to me as being a part of our culture, being a clan made up of people with several different ancestries, and to show how architecture has evolved over the past 500 years since the founding the Half-Demon clans. The different sizes more or less just show the different personalities of the clan members that live there.

    ¡°I kept my house on the smaller side compared to some other Hunters. Made a couple extra rooms in case I ever got married or had other people staying with me, but aside from that it¡¯s pretty small and cozy. Some Hunters, on the other hand, have grand hobbies and like to show off, but I¡¯ve honestly never understood.¡± Is what he said when I asked about his place. Which it¡¯s true, compared to most of the houses, especially near the center of the city, were huge in comparison. His house was also modest in its design, some houses had complex stone and brick work, but his house was just simple with wooden slats on the inside and outside.

    After a while, we turned to the right, which placed us on another long street with even more complex houses. At the end, we broke out into the central plaza, a large circular clearing with an ornate water fountain in the center. Lining the plaza were several shops, each with its own unique style and architecture. I walked with Oroske straight through, while looking into the shops to see what¡¯s going on in them. One that caught my eye was a large building, with large stone bricks making up the majority of the wall, that had several large forges, with muscular men and women moving stuff in them, and hammering blades and metal on anvils. Another one was a simple, dark wood building that had a few men in cloaks standing in front of a counter with a single lady talking to them.

    The headquarters on the other hand, was a very interesting combination of the two design mentalities. It was a large, mostly stone building, with wooden beams for support, evenly spaced with windows inbetween. The building had an alcove underneath the second floor, where the wall of the first floor went diagonally across from the square corner above it and was easily accessible from the central plaza of town.

    Where the outside was in the middle of plain and fancy, the inside was very fancy, yet minimalistic. The floor had very fancy and clean tile work, black lines accenting the light, tannish colored tiles leading up to the reception desk that was made of a similarly colored wood and had a very sleek design. Behind the desk was a fancy water feature, where water came down from the ceiling, splashing on some rocks making a waterfall, and forming a pond just above floor level, before going underneath the floor where it¡¯s still visible through glass panels.

    The lady sitting behind the desk was dressed in all white, including her shoes. Her hair was long and silver, tied into a neat mid-height ponytail. Her eyes were a mesmerizing silver as well, the darkest part of her appearance was surprisingly her skin, but even then she was pale. On the front left pocket of her button up shirt was a steel pin of the clan emblem, shining in the over-head light as she stood up to welcome us.

    ¡°Oroske, good to see you,¡± She said, her voice was quiet, barely louder than the water feature behind her, ¡°and you as well, Kuro.¡± She gave a very small, but kind smile. ¡°Good to see you too, Venn,¡± Oroske responded with a much larger, more stated smile, ¡°Kuro, this is Venn, she¡¯s been handling reception here for¡­ how long is it now?¡±

    ¡°3 years,¡± she spoke up, ¡°Ever since my mother retired.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! How is she, by the way?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s been doing well, her health has improved, but not nearly as much as her mood.¡±

    ¡°Glad to hear that. Anyway, we¡¯re here to get Kuro here cleared to begin his re-training.¡±

    ¡°Ah, very good, let me just call down Danfis.¡± She said as she reached to press a button on her desk.

    ¡°Danfis? Who¡¯s that?¡± I asked Oroske while she seemingly talked to herself. ¡°Danfis is the chief of our clan. My knowledge of the ancient language is rusty, but I believe it translates directly to chief or king. Something like that, anyway,¡± He answered with a chuckle, ¡°He¡¯s a pretty impressive person, with a lot of accomplishments under his belt.¡±

    ¡°Wow, I¡¯m excited to meet him, also, what is she doing?¡± I asked, watching her still talk to herself. ¡°Oh, that? She¡¯s using a magic communicator, so the person on the other side can hear her, and she can hear them, but we can only hear her. They were only recently made, maybe a year ago?¡±

    Before I could ask any further questions she pushed the button again and spoke directly to us, ¡°He said he¡¯ll be down in just a moment, has another conversation to finish up first. Feel free to sit down and relax while waiting.¡± So we went and sat down on some cushioned seats along the wall and waited. I hadn¡¯t realized until that moment how exhausted I felt, so the rest was welcome.

    After a few minutes, two people came down the hallway. One was a tall man dressed in a long, crimson red coat that was buttoned up all the way, with intricate black designs. The other one was a shorter man, dressed in a formal-looking black robe, with very simple, dark red accents. I couldn¡¯t make out what they were saying, but they were definitely still talking about something.

    Oroske stood up when they were almost out of the hallway, and I followed him. ¡°Ah, Oroske, it¡¯s good to see you,¡± The shorter man said before turning to the taller man, ¡°Guardians keep you, Rel, keep in contact on your mission.¡± From the side, I could see the shorter man¡¯s jet black hair was quite wavy, long, and tied in a low ponytail. ¡°Thank you, Danfis. And I will,¡± the man called Rel said with a small bow, ¡°Oroske, Kuro, good to see you in good health. See you around.¡±

    Oroske gave a small nod as Rel walked out of the building before turning back to Danfis. ¡°How¡¯s it going, chief?¡± Oroske asked with a smile on his face, stretching out his hand toward Danfis. Danfis took his hand and shook it, giving a small smile, ¡°Good, good. How about you?¡±

    ¡°Good, now that Kuro¡¯s awake again,¡± Oroske chuckled, ¡°Which has a lot to do with why we¡¯re here in the first place, and by a lot I mean everything.¡±

    ¡°I thought it might,¡± Danfis looked down at me, his gaze pierced right through me, I felt mystified by his crimson eyes, and his slitted pupils shrank, almost sharpened when eye contact was made, before softening again when he gave another small smile. ¡°How are you feeling, Kuro?¡± He asked me. It took me a second to register that he was talking to me, and I snapped out of my slight daze, ¡°Fine,¡± I stuttered, ¡°I suppose.¡±

    ¡°Glad to hear it, I¡¯m sure your body still has a bit of fatigue and weakness to it,¡± He continued, examining my small body closer by crouching down, ¡°Would you mind if I felt your arms to examine them?¡± I looked up to Oroske, who just nodded with a dumb smile on his face, and gave Danfis a small nod.

    He started with my left hand, lightly applying pressure on the fingers and palm, and moved up to my upper arm and did the same with my biceps. He did this on both sides, it was a bit uncomfortable, and felt weird, even painful a couple times. He definitely noticed when it hurt as I winced a little each time.

    After finishing up on the right side, he straightened his back out and stood straight, still looking at me. ¡°Thankfully, it seems most of the muscle mass is still there, but it¡¯s tender,¡± he reported, then turned to Oroske, ¡°He should be plenty good to begin retraining, but it¡¯ll still be a while before he can go out into the field.¡±

    ¡°Wonderful!¡± Oroske exclaimed, ¡°Thank you, Danfis, I¡¯ll get him started on physical training tomorrow, and teach him some of the basic knowledge tonight. How do you want to handle the testing?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll do it as normal, and have him spar another Hunter to showcase what he¡¯s learned, and quiz him on his knowledge after that.¡±

    Oroske nodded and voiced his agreement. ¡°Then, is there anything else I can do for you two today?¡± Danfis asked us. Oroske shook his head, ¡°Nothing for me, how about you, Kuro?¡±

    ¡°Do you know anything about when or how I can get my memories back?¡± I hesitated to ask.

    Danfis gave a small sigh, ¡°I wish I did. This happens occasionally with kuros, such as yourself. Everyone who goes through it gets their memories back in different ways, but so far we¡¯ve only had two cases in my time as danfis of the Tsumi Clan where they never got their memory back.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ Okay, thanks anyway,¡± I said, I was really hoping he¡¯d be able to provide me some direction.

    ¡°Don¡¯t give up hope though, it¡¯s more likely than not that you¡¯ll get it back eventually,¡± he said, ¡°I can¡¯t make any promises, but once you can go back into the field, I¡¯ll see what I can do about sending you to Al¡¯din, the place where you died. One common aspect of what brings back kuros¡¯ memory is going to the place they lost it.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± My voice had hope, and optimism again. ¡°Of course, anything I can do to help,¡± He gave another small smile while saying that.

    Oroske cleared his throat, ¡°Well, we should probably get going, and you¡¯re probably busy.¡±

    ¡°Always am, it seems,¡± Danfis laughed a little, ¡°Guardians keep you both, and Kuro, good luck with your rehabilitation.¡±

 02: -Hunter-

    -Hunter-

    [The Tsumi Clan¡¯s ¡°special task force,¡± that specializes

    in ¡°hunting¡± criminals, necromancers, and other targets]

    Oroske and I returned outside, the sun practically blinding me at first from its current position in the midday sky. ¡°Ah man, it¡¯s already this late?¡± Oroske spoke, guarding his eyes with his hands as he looked up at the sky, ¡°Well, let¡¯s get home, I¡¯ll make us something to eat.¡± We started walking back through the same way we came and when we got out of the central plaza, which was far more empty than it was in the morning, he began speaking again. ¡°May as well chat on our way, yeah? Any questions or things you¡¯re curious about?¡±

    One question quickly sprung to my mind, ¡°I noticed some people were wearing a few different colors for their shirts and jackets. Is there a reason for that?¡±

    ¡°Ahh that,¡± he seemed amused by the question, ¡°that¡¯s a good question! There is a reason actually. You may have noticed there are four colors, all of which correspond to the four ranks of Hunters. We call them the Cloak colors, though in the past few years the ¡®cloak¡¯ part has become less important, hence the shirts and jackets. Though in the past, they were thick and heavy, but would keep you protected in any weather.

    ¡°The one you¡¯re wearing is pretty traditional, and is the first rank,¡± he gestured to the cloak I was wearing, ¡°we call it the navy cloak, though the actual shade of blue doesn¡¯t really matter. It indicates the Hunter wearing it as an apprentice, or a novice. Navy cloak Hunters are still learning the ropes and must be accompanied by their mentor when going on Hunts.

    ¡°The next rank up, our intermediate Hunters, are the black cloaks. Their by far the most common rank to see, and really the experience levels vary greatly, from just barely graduated from being a navy cloak, all the way up to people who¡¯ve been around since I was a kid.

    ¡°My group is the white cloaks. Becoming a white cloak is a much longer process, and much more specific than becoming a black cloak. You have to train someone from before they¡¯re even a navy cloak, all the way up until they get their black cloak. On top of that, there¡¯s some extra testing and all that fun stuff.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯ve trained someone before me?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Oroske said, seemingly pondering the past for a minute, ¡°I believe you¡¯re the fourth person I¡¯ve trained.¡±

    ¡°How long ago was the first person you trained?¡±

    ¡°Ohh¡­ How old are you now?¡±

    ¡°Uhh,¡± I thought about it for a minute before realizing, ¡°I don¡¯t remember?¡±

    ¡°Right¡­ right. I think you¡¯re 14, so if I remember right¡­ 25-ish years? You¡¯d met them before you died, but they¡¯re not around much. I¡¯ll have to introduce you sometime. ¡°

    By this point we had been standing in front of his house for a few minutes. I was beginning to regret asking him.

    ¡°They¡¯re actually part of the last group, which is a little special. Rel, the tall guy you saw talking to Danfis earlier, is one of them. They¡¯re the red cloaks. They¡¯re a very tight-knit circle, with no specific entry criteria. The only way to get a red cloak is for Danfis himself to give you one, and it¡¯s a mark of you being in his inner circle, and one of his most trusted Hunters. Most of the time they are either helping him run the Clan, specifically the business side of things, or taking on special Hunts, many of which can take upwards of a year to complete, and all of which are top secret.¡±

    We finally moved into the house, escaping the heat and blinding sun. Once inside, I asked him to elaborate on the different designs and types of cloak that are available.

    ¡°Ah right,¡± he began, walking straight forward towards the kitchen, beckoning me to follow, ¡°The designers who make and design our cloaks will take just about any type of request. Out of those you¡¯ve met, Rel asked for his design to incorporate the meanings of his name, as well as his parents¡¯ names, and is quite fancy. Whereas you, Danfis, and I all kept our designs plain and simple.¡±

    He also explained that they¡¯re pretty strict about the accent colors, navy and black cloaks can only have white, while white and red cloaks can only have black. Supposedly, the only exception is Danfis, who can pick any combination of colors. ¡°The previous Danfis actually had a few different colors, with some very complex designs. You should ask the current one to show you his old cloak if you ever get the chance, it¡¯s really neat to see!¡± He added with a silly grin on his face, as he looked through the refrigerator.

    He pulled out some packaged meat, which he began slicing, only to stop after cutting off a few pieces. ¡°Any objections to sandwiches with some lunch meat?¡± he asked, turning to look at me. I shook my head, the meat smelled good so I was pretty sure I¡¯d like it.

    He nodded and went back to slicing, ¡°There are also some other varieties of cloaks, as you saw earlier. In the beginning, at least, you had no objections to just having the traditional style cloak, with the chainmail lining and everything. If you ever decide you want to get some of the more modern, comfortable styles, such as light jackets and all that, let me know and we can get some commissioned for you.¡±

    He grabbed some bread and made a couple sandwiches, then filled a couple cups with water before coming over to the table. He set one of each down in front of me, before sitting down himself. I hadn¡¯t sat down yet, and was just standing there so I followed his lead. We then ate in relative silence, a nice break from all the exposition. The sandwich was tasty, but a little plain, seeing as it was just some ham between bread.

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    We finished pretty quickly, which I predicted meant he¡¯d continue to talk my ear off. ¡°Ahh, that was a nice little top-off,¡± he said while rolling his neck in his hand, ¡°now then, enough about cloaks and the clan and stuff. Let¡¯s get started training you properly.¡±

    He stood up and stretched, before opening the sliding door that went outside to the back side of the house. ¡°Let¡¯s see,¡± he started, looking out into the backyard, ¡°let¡¯s start with some basic magic training. Oh, and feel free to leave your cloak inside, don¡¯t need it since we aren¡¯t doing anything business related.¡±

    I took off my cloak and followed him out, once again getting blinded by the sun as my eyes readjusted to the light. The backyard was spacious, and mostly dirt. Some weeds were left growing around the edges of the yard, but for the most part it seemed pretty well kept.

    Oroske was standing a little past the middle of the dirt patch, with a sword drawn that he promptly stuck in the ground. ¡°Welcome to Magic 101, today I¡¯ll teach you the basics of aether manipulation and how to cast spells,¡± he started, placing his hands on the pommel of the sword, one on top of the other.

    ¡°Magic is the term used for the manipulation of aether to achieve certain effects, such as¡­¡± he began explaining, lifting his top hand, and turning his palm upwards. Then suddenly, a flame erupted in his hand, ¡°creating a ball of flame, or...¡± He brought his other hand next to it, which water then seemed to flow out from his skin, and it doused the fire in the opposing hand, ¡°creating flows of water from seemingly nothing.¡±

    He shook his hand, as though dismissing the water, and placed them both back on the sword. ¡°There are many other forms and uses for magic, and is essentially the lifeblood of the modern world, being used for stuff like refrigerators, or aethermobiles. For us however, it is mainly used to assist us in combat. For example¡­¡±

    He lifted the sword out of the dirt, and passed his left hand over the blade, moving from the hilt to the tip. As he moved his hand, flames appeared around the blade. Despite the metal blade not being flammable, the flames continued to burn. He passed his hand through again in the opposite direction. This time, sparks of electricity bounced around the blade, mingling with the flame.

    Suddenly, a burst of wind came from his direction, strong enough to push me back a little. As suddenly as it came, it went back towards him. At his feet, a blue-ish green glow appeared and you could see the wind gathering at his feet. He suddenly jumped up into the sky, the wind blasting towards my face and all around where he was standing.

    I looked up to see him still rising. At the height of the jump, he seemed to float for a minute, when he threw the sword down at the ground with tremendous force. Upon impact, the electricity and fire burst around the sword, kicking up the dirt all around the yard.

    When he landed, the earth kicked up around him, forming a wall of solid earth, high enough that I couldn¡¯t see him. ¡°That¡¯s just a taste of what you can do!¡± I heard his voice shout from behind the wall, shortly before it crumbled away. He stepped out from the dust cloud he created, a smile plastered on his face.

    I was dumbfounded. I had no idea what to say. ¡°How¡­¡± I stammered out, ¡°Did you do any of that.¡±

    Oroske laughed, ¡°I¡¯m not the best teacher for magic, but I can teach you the basics, then from there we¡¯ll find someone to teach you more advanced stuff. Or you can learn some of it on your own.¡±

    By then the dust had mostly cleared up and he beckoned me towards him. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s begin!¡±

    I met him in the middle and he instructed me to lift my hands, palms facing towards the sky. ¡°Now, the first thing you¡¯ll need to know,¡± he began, ¡°is that unlike the red energy used in Energy Manipulation, the Aetherial Energy used in Magic is invisible to the naked eye.¡±

    So it¡¯s more of a feeling he added.

    I think I understood. ¡°Close your eyes, and feel the energy in the air, drawing it towards your hands.¡±

    Focus, he said once I had my eyes closed for a few seconds. ¡°The feeling you¡¯re looking for is like putting your hands into a bucket of warm water.¡±

    Sure enough, I felt the sensation he described. It must have shown on my face, because my next instructions came quickly. ¡°Now, bring the energy into your body, and give it a command.¡±

    Mimicking what he had shown me, I commanded it to burst into flames in the palm of my hand. I felt an intense heat in the palm of my hand, and heard Oroske cheering. I opened my eyes to see that I had succeeded, and had a small flame dancing on my palm. He instructed me on how to dismiss the flame, and sat down, telling me to do the same.

    ¡°I hope this isn¡¯t too boring for you, just learning about a bunch of facts about magic. But sadly, you need these fundamentals in order to advance your usage of magic.¡±

    He explained¡­ well, a lot.

    First, he explained the concept of the different Elements. Fire, flame, since apparently there¡¯s some difference between the two, water, ice, stone, life, wind, electric, and said there¡¯s a couple more, but they¡¯re pretty advanced.

    Then he explained the concept of Aspects. ¡°I¡¯m not really sure how to explain these honestly, they¡¯re pretty complicated,¡± he began. From what he told me, I was able to understand that Aspects cover any type of magic outside of the elements. An example he gave for them was the aspect of Jarou, which normally translates to stone. However, when referring to Aspects, it uses the full translation, ¡°strength of stone.¡± So the Aspect usually gets used to reinforce your physical strength and constitution, allowing you to hit harder, and take more hits. ¡°It¡¯s all very complicated how it works, and I¡¯ve never bothered studying the more advanced parts of magic,¡± he concluded.

    Finally he touched on Affinities. ¡°Basically, when your soul comes into existence,¡± which he dismissed as a whole other subject for another time, ¡°it is assigned it¡¯s Affinities. You have an Elemental Affinity, and Aspect Affinity.¡± All affinities really mean is the Elements and Aspects you have an affinity for are easier to use, and are usually much stronger than the other ones. Apparently in the past, before magic research had advanced, they were the only magic you could use.

    ¡°And that¡¯s pretty much the basics,¡± He said, looking towards the now setting sun. ¡°It¡¯s gotten pretty late, what say we go in for dinner?¡± I nodded and followed him inside. He cooked up some burgers, which we ate while discussing the plans for the next couple days.

    ¡°Tomorrow, we¡¯ll get more into the application of magic, and some physical combat training,¡± he stated plainly, ¡°Though really, that¡¯ll be pretty much the plan for the next few weeks so we can get you in shape to go out on Hunts.¡±

    I showed I was in agreement, and asked ¡°What happens after that?¡±

    ¡°Ah right, well you¡¯ll have an exam of sorts, in which you¡¯ll spar against a Hunter to show your skill with a sword and magic, and then take a test on your knowledge. Pass the exam, and we¡¯ll start going out on Hunts again, getting you field experience.¡±

    We finished up our food, and while he cleaned up the dishes he continued, ¡°I¡¯ll bring in some other Hunters to help with your training starting tomorrow. But for now, try to get some rest, we¡¯ll start early tomorrow.¡±

    I helped him clean up, and we went up stairs, splitting off at the door to my room. We bid each other ¡°good night¡± and I crawled into my bed. I hadn¡¯t done much in terms of physical activity, but I still felt exhausted. I fell into another dreamless sleep rather quickly.

 03: -Aether-

    -Aether-

    [The energy of the souls of the dead.

    Used to fuel magic casting.]

    The next few days consisted of a lot of physical and magical training. Today Oroske told me after breakfast that he thought I was ready for the next step in magic, which he was going to have another Hunter come to help teach me about. But until then, we simply continued sparring and training my fighting skills.

    I wasn¡¯t very confident with just my fists, which is what we started out with. I was pretty small for someone my age, and even smaller compared to Oroske. While I had the strength needed to fight and deal some damage, the only real advantage I had without a weapon was my agility. When Oroske didn¡¯t use magic, that gave me enough of an edge, but when he did, he could use magic to move around much faster than me.

    Swordplay wasn¡¯t much different, though I felt a lot more confident fighting with a weapon. My movements were much sharper, and being able to defend myself better was definitely a major upside. The blades we were using had an enchantment placed on it that allowed us to get hit by them without them actually cutting or damaging our bodies.

    Still hurt like hell though.

    Oroske had just knocked me to the ground, overpowering my block from above, when a voice I¡¯d never heard before called out from the house. ¡°Good to see you¡¯re still as unforgiving as ever, Oroske,¡± the voice belonged to a man, taller than Oroske but not as muscular. His dark blue hair was done up in a faux-hawk, and his eyes were a vibrant red, pupils slitted like mine and Oroske¡¯s.

    ¡°It¡¯s the best way to learn, if you ask me,¡± Oroske laughed in response, ¡°Thanks for coming Nadred, and you too Jarou.¡± Oroske tilted his body a little bit to look behind Nadred, and a boy poked his head out from behind him. He had crimson red hair, long enough in the front to cover an entire side of his face. His uncovered eye looked very similar to Nadred¡¯s.

    I pulled myself off the ground, sitting up and facing them properly as they came outside. In the light I could see more clearly that Nadred was wearing a black cloak, and Jarou a very blue cloak, much brighter in color than mine.

    Which I wasn¡¯t wearing at the moment, Oroske had told me I wouldn¡¯t need to wear it until I actually passed my test, and with the heat outside I gladly accepted.

    When my eyes met with Jarou, he suddenly looked very sad, almost on the verge of tears, ¡°A-Are you okay?¡± I asked, worried I had done something to make him upset. ¡°Is it true¡­?¡± He asked, to which I just tilted my head, asking ¡°Is what true?¡±

    ¡°Did you really lose your memory? Do you really not remember me?¡± I could tell he was having a hard time holding his emotions back.

    I could only apologize. From what I could remember, this was our first time meeting. He looked down at the ground, clearly depressed. Nadred came and patted his head, ¡°Just means you need to start over, right kid?¡± He comforted Jarou, before turning to me, ¡°Sorry about that, you two were pretty close before you died. He¡¯s been pretty torn up since hearing you lost your memory. We were hoping you¡¯d still be his friend.¡±

    For the past week since I woke up, I really only had gotten to know Oroske, and we¡¯d been so focused on my training that we hadn¡¯t really taken time to talk about my life before losing my memory. Friends, family, I didn¡¯t really know who any of them were outside of him. So, ¡°Of course! Just because I don¡¯t remember you, doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re not my friend,¡± I said with a cheesy grin. Jarou looked up from under Nadred¡¯s hand with a teary smile, and nodded.

    ¡°Did you wanna hang around to train Jarou?¡± Oroske asked, ¡°Maybe you can help teach Kuro, since I know magic is your specialty.¡±

    ¡°Sure! We¡¯ve been doing a lot of Hunting lately, haven¡¯t had a good chance to just practice,¡± He perked up almost immediately, the sad boy from a moment ago all but gone. ¡°Glad to have you,¡± I said, still sitting down, most of my energy recuperated.

    ¡°So Oroske,¡± Nadred started, ¡°What have you taught him so far?¡±

    ¡°Uhh¡­¡± Oroske hesitated, before responding with a nervous laugh, ¡°Just the basics.¡±

    ¡°Does that include incantations? Or did you skip that again?¡±

    ¡°I, uh, I skipped it.¡±

    Oroske seemed ashamed, and Nadred just sighed, ¡°What about finding his affinity and aspect?¡±

    ¡°I figured you¡¯d be better at helping him with that than I would.¡±

    ¡°Well you certainly aren¡¯t wrong about that,¡± Nadred finalized, sounding more annoyed than anything, ¡°Let¡¯s start with your elemental affinity then. We already know it, but it¡¯s an important step to discover it for yourself.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± I asked, standing up as he approached me, and grabbed both of my hands, holding them up at my chest level, not much higher than his waist.

    ¡°Finding your affinity for yourself makes you more aware of the difference, both in how it feels to use, as well as how much more output you can get with it. The latter point is as prevalent these days, but it still makes a difference.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°The way we teach and use magic has evolved over the years, especially in the last 10-15 years. Way back in the day, your affinity would be the only magic you could use. Back then, we didn¡¯t really know how to command the aether to ¡®burn¡¯ in whatever way we wanted. So the aether would burn according to the element of our soul.

    ¡°Then, after that we discovered how to use Alten,¡± he paused and glanced at Oroske, ¡°Or as Oroske probably called it, the ¡®ancient language,¡¯ to command the aether to bend to our will, albeit in a very limited way. And recently, our command over aether has gotten the gap between magic with and without the affinity boost to be much closer to the point where they¡¯re nigh indistinguishable.

    ¡°Now!¡± He suddenly exclaimed, ¡°Let¡¯s begin the actual lesson. I take it Oroske hasn¡¯t even taught you about Passthroughs, so I¡¯ll start there. Throughout your body there are points where aether can gather and be manipulated. These are called Passthroughs. The proper explanation for how magic works, is you gather aether around your Passthroughs, it goes through them like a gate, where they inherit either your affinity, or the command you are giving them, then they exit and manifest in whatever way you commanded.

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°So, to test your affinity, I want you to close your eyes, clear your head, and follow the same steps you took to cast magic normally, but with no commands. I want you to do this with both hands at once, and there is a reason for that, but I¡¯ll explain later.¡±

    I nodded, and followed his instructions. As I felt the aether build in my hands, I wanted to give it a command as I had been, but suppressed it. I pushed the aether through my hands, from the backs to the palms. Suddenly, from my left hand I felt a strong gust of wind shoot up to my face, and on the other I didn¡¯t feel much of anything. I opened my eyes to look at it, and I saw lightning crackling around my hand. Confused, I looked at Nadred.

    ¡°And that¡¯s why I wanted you to use both hands. Yet another thing that makes us Half-Demons special, is we have a chance to have two elemental affinities. This is due to our Second Souls having a different affinity, which then manifests in having two separate affinities. So in your dominant hand you had wind, or Sentem in Alten, and in your right hand you had electric, or Selr in Alten. Meaning your primary Affinity is wind, and your Second Soul¡¯s is electric.¡±

    ¡°Second Soul? What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Ah, right, well the full, proper explanation would take too long for today, so I¡¯ll give you the short version. The basic gist of it is that due to the way Half-Demons came into existence, you have half of another Half-Demon¡¯s soul inside you, and likewise half of yours is in them. Again, the full explanation is pretty long, and a lot of it is mostly theory. The important point is half of your soul is actually theirs, and half of theirs is actually yours.¡±

    Huh, I didn¡¯t really know what to make to make of that. ¡°Who¡¯s my Second Soul?¡±

    ¡°Oh, you haven¡¯t met them yet. As in, no one knows who they are. Back when the Half-Demon population was pretty small and in mostly one place it was pretty easy to find your Second Soul. Nowadays though, there¡¯re so many running around and all over the place it¡¯s pretty much impossible to guess where they are though. You¡¯ll probably meet them sometime, with how much we travel for Hunts.¡±

    ¡°How will I know it¡¯s them if I do meet them?¡±

    ¡°Hmmm,¡± Nadred took a second to think, ¡°It¡¯s difficult to explain, but there¡¯s a certain feeling you¡¯ll get when you see them. Basically, you¡¯ll know it when you see them. Second Souls have a very special connection, and it becomes stronger once they¡¯ve met.¡±

    And just when I thought we¡¯d move on with the actual lesson, he went on a tangent.

    ¡°Speaking of that connection, there¡¯s a deep history in how different Second Souls respond to meeting each other. These days there¡¯s two common ways people interpret the connection. One interpretation is the romantic route, like for example, I ended up marrying my Second Soul. On the other hand, you have the more familial interpretation. Like Oroske for example, he and his Second Soul were more like brother and sister.¡±

    It looked for a minute like he was gonna continue his tangent, but Oroske stopped him, ¡°That¡¯s all well and good, but can the full lecture wait for another time?¡±

    Nadred looked a little surprised, but just for a moment, ¡°Of course, of course. Sorry about that, let¡¯s get back on topic shall we?¡±

    Incantations, huh? I thought, the name alone gave me an idea of what it was. ¡°If you recall a short moment ago, I mentioned the words Sentem and Selr, or wind and electric in Alten. Alten, being the ¡®ancient language of gods,¡¯ itself just means god. It is the language the Aether is the most responsive to. As such, you can use Alten to verbally command it for your magic. Even just saying the incantation in your mind as you cast the spell works.

    ¡°Incantations provide extra strength and clarity to the magic you cast. Verbally saying the incantation will provide even more strength than just thinking it, but can give your opponent time to react and counter.¡±

    He then gave a list of more elements and their Alten counterparts. Apparently fire and flame are separated into fyrun and foluk respectively, and have different effects when used in magic. Jarou means stone, or alternatively strength, and orun is water.

    ¡°You can also append suffixes to the end of the incantation to give it a more specific command, for now we¡¯ll start you off with just ¡®tur.¡¯ Placing that after your base command will cause it to have more of a burst or blast type effect. So for example, try using the incantation ¡®fyrun¡¯tur¡¯ on the wood block over there,¡± he ordered, pointing over at a large wooden block Oroske had set up while he was talking. ¡°All you need to do is bring the aether to your passthroughs, then give the command.¡±

    I faced the wood, and stretched my arm towards it, palm open to the block. I followed the normal steps but rather than commanding it to burst into flames the way I¡¯d been doing it, as it was about to pass through I shouted the command, ¡°Fyrun¡¯tur!¡±

    Just as I did, a flame exploded at the woodblock, blasting the top of it off. It was much stronger than anything I¡¯d tried before.

    ¡°Very good,¡± Oroske applauded, ¡°And if you''re curious, this is the difference between fyrun and foluk.¡± He walked over to the block of wood, casually gave the command ¡°Foluk,¡± and the wood suddenly caught fire.

    ¡°Thank you, Oroske,¡± Nadred said, preparing to continue his lecture, ¡°As you can see, fyrun is a more explosive or combustible form, whereas foluk is more like if you just lit a fire through normal means. As such, fyrun is probably what you¡¯ll default to in combat if you wish to use a fire based spell, though foluk does have its uses.

    ¡°Next, I want you to see the difference in strength in using something like fyrun, in comparison to using sentem or selr,¡± he instructed as Oroske doused the flames using orun, ¡°Let¡¯s start with selr.¡±

    I nodded, and once again followed the same steps as last time, but changed the command to ¡°Selr¡¯tur.¡± A loud crack like thunder sounded as the wood piece exploded near the center, charred with the heat of electric shock. The explosion was much more visceral than with fyrun, and the top half flew pretty high, and the tearing pattern was much more sporadic. Parts of the wood were still glowing hot, almost catching fire, when I went to inspect the damage. Nadred was right, there was almost a difference of night and day between the two. Not only was it much stronger, but it followed my will far more closely.

    ¡°Impressive,¡± Nadred commented as Oroske brought out a new wood block, ¡°Now I want you to try sentem, though I want you to use a different suffix, ¡®ari.¡¯¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    ¡°In the interest of showing you the power of incantations, I will have you find out for yourself.¡±

    I was confused, and a little worried. With tur, I had a clear idea of what it was supposed to do, so I wasn¡¯t sure if this new suffix would work without me knowing what it means. I decided to try it anyway. Once more I followed the exact same steps, changing the command once again, shouting ¡°Sentem¡¯ari!¡±

    Blades of wind shot out, cleanly cutting through the wood with enough force to send the three chunks of wood flying backwards.

    ¡°Wonderful! So, what do you think ¡®ari¡¯ means?¡± Nadred quizzed.

    ¡°Does it mean something like cut?¡±

    ¡°Correct, though more properly it means slice. The full version of the word also means sword, ¡®relari.¡¯ All the suffixes you¡¯ll use are actually abbreviated versions of other words. Likewise, with most element names you can actually shorten them. So instead of having to say ¡®fyrun¡¯tur¡¯ everytime, you could instead say ¡®fyr¡¯tur¡¯ and it would work exactly the same way.¡±

    I nodded in understanding. It seemed magic and Alten was much deeper and more complicated than I initially thought.

    ¡°What about the aspect affinity thing you mentioned earlier?¡±

    ¡°Ah, right. That¡¯s a fair bit more complicated, and will have to be during another day, but rest assured I will teach you everything you need to know. For now though, I want to move on to a bit more advanced applications of elements, which I¡¯ll have Jarou help out with.¡± Nadred explained.

    Jarou perked up almost immediately, having just been spectating my lesson silently this whole time. ¡°Jarou is something of a prodigy when it comes to magic, almost as much as me when I was your guys¡¯ age,¡± Oroske chimed in, ¡°Nadred and Jarou together are the best people I know to teach about this kind of stuff.¡±

    Jarou got up and walked over to where we were all standing and Nadred began once more, ¡°Alright Jarou, let¡¯s show them what you¡¯re made of!¡±

 04: -Demon Sheath-

    -Demon Sheath-

    [An Energy Manipulation ability.

    Allows to user to store and retrieve weapons

    within their soul.]

    Jarou summoned a sword from his Demon Sheath per Nadred¡¯s instructions. He seemed to know what Nadred wanted to show me first, as he got to work almost immediately. ¡°Fyr¡¯fer,¡± he muttered as he passed his hand across the blade of the sword, and as he did, fire appeared around the blade, similar to what Oroske had demonstrated a few days ago. Am I finally going to learn how to do stuff like that? I thought to myself.

    ¡°The suffix ¡®fer¡¯ comes from ¡®enfer,¡¯ which means to coat, or to cover. Enfer is often used to refer to our cloaks as well, while the shortened ¡®fer¡¯ is used for enchanting, or covering things such as swords and other weapons. Though it also works for clothing,¡± Jarou explained as he swung the sword around, demonstrating how the fire persists on the blade and trails behind.

    He then demonstrated ¡°Jarou¡¯fer¡± on his clothes, which gained a stone-like covering around them. ¡°Alright, pull out your sword and swing at me as hard as you can,¡± he said very confidently. I shrugged and quickly pulled my sword from my Demon Sheath, and verified he wanted me to go through with it. He nodded and posed with his arms straight out, inviting me to take the shot.

    I went in full force with a horizontal strike. But much to my surprise, rather than sinking in slightly and forcing the target out of the way, I got a ton of feed-back through my arms as the sword was completely stopped at his cloak. The sword bounced off as though I hit a rock.

    ¡°Jarou, in case you didn¡¯t figure it out already, means stone,¡± he explained very matter-of-factly.

    ¡°Not just that though,¡± Nadred cut in, ¡°the more poetic translation of jarou means ¡®strength of stone,¡¯ as it means both of those. I¡¯ll keep the tangent short this time, but a person¡¯s name can directly affect their affinities. In Jarou¡¯s case, he¡¯s element is stone, but his aspect is strength.¡±

    Jarou nodded, ¡°If I had just used stone for the enchantment on my clothes, you would¡¯ve easily broken through, but since I added in my aspect of strength, it was able to hold together.

    ¡°This is part of what Nadred meant when he said ¡®advanced magic.¡¯ Simply limiting yourself to the exact meanings of your incantations isn¡¯t going to get you far, unless you have the endurance to cast extremely strong magic. So the incantation gives the spell its fundamental form, but beyond that you can add in extra commands to make it more specific, as you may have begun to notice.¡±

    I kinda understood what he meant, since the spells seemed to move to where I wanted to target specifically. But I nodded and continued to listen anyway.

    ¡°So for example, a trick I actually learned from you,¡± he continued, switching his sword for a scythe, running his hand along the blade, saying the incantation ¡°Sen¡¯tur¡¯fer. During the incantation, I gave it a command mentally for the sentem element to burst while swinging, like so.¡± He swung the scythe upward, the blade stabbing into the sky. As he began the swing, a burst of wind exploded, making it swing faster than it would¡¯ve normally, which he demonstrated afterward. ¡°It works with swords as well, and even your fists if you want.

    ¡°That¡¯s the general idea behind it, it would be a good idea to experiment more with it on your own and figure out what works best for you and find your own ¡®special moves¡¯ so to speak,¡± he finished explaining. Then Nadred stepped in, ¡°Exactly, it¡¯s almost time for lunch, right Oroske?¡±

    Oroske just nodded and headed inside, seeming to get what he was saying. ¡°To expand on how it works, all you really need to do is think about how you want the magic to be cast, and what you want it to do. If it has attributes that can be an incantation, include that to give it a strong foundation, if not then just focus on what you want the spell to do.

    ¡°There is one other thing you can do, once you get your spells down to the point that you can dish out the commands quickly and easily, you can begin to assign a name to it. For a very basic example,¡± He turned to where the wood blocks were earlier, pointed a finger towards the ground in that general area and said ¡°Time Bomb.¡± Roughly 5 seconds later, a large blast of fire exploded where he was pointing.

    ¡°The commands associated with that incantation are ¡®fyr¡¯tur,¡¯ ¡®in the spot I¡¯m pointing at,¡¯ ¡®gather energy and wait five seconds.¡¯ I made it a preset spell for the express purpose of teaching how they work. It will take time, but it can make every aspect of very complicated spells you cast often as strong as if they were regular incantations. And as time goes on, you¡¯ll find spells and command combinations you use frequently become easier and easier to use, and giving them special names will make them even easier, and in many cases stronger.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡± I said, even though I wasn¡¯t sure I completely understood what he was saying. I think I got most of it, but wasn¡¯t quite sure how exactly it all worked.

    Shortly after that lengthy explanation, Oroske called out from the back door, telling us lunch was ready. The three of us went inside and were greeted with the smell of fresh cooked beef. Oroske had made hamburgers, the beef patties set aside on a plate with all the toppings you may want. I skipped out on the toppings and just ate it plain, never really cared to try any of the toppings.

    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Once we were all sat down at the table and eating, Nadred broke the silence. ¡°So how much have you taught Kuro about the actual hunting process and the outside world?¡± His question was met with a moment of awkward silence before Oroske responded, ¡°Uh, not really?¡± Nadred just sighed before Oroske continued, ¡°I figured I¡¯d get him feeling confident with magic and sword fighting before we begin with all that.¡± ¡°Alright well, better late than never I suppose,¡± Nadred said with another sigh, reaching into a bag he had brought with him.

    He pulled out a rolled up piece of paper and rolled it out on the empty space on the table, between our plates. ¡°This is a map of Spire, which if Oroske hasn¡¯t even told you about, is the name of our world.¡± The map had two large landmasses with a large gap between them with four small circles, one near the South end, one in the middle, one slightly North of that, and finally one near the North end. Nadred pointed to the one in the middle and said, ¡°We are here, this little circle is our Clan¡¯s city, Tsumi¡¯din. Up here,¡± he moved his finger to the northern circle, ¡°Is the Ishen Clan¡¯s home, since there¡¯s already another city called Ish¡¯din, we just call it Ishen City to make it easy. Then down in the South is Incol¡¯din, which you may have guessed is the home of the Incol Clan. Then on the East side, this big area, is the Human Realm, and on the West is the Demon Realm.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the circle right above the Tsumi Clan?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Ah, very good question,¡± Nadred responded, ¡°There are a lot of theories for it, the most popular one is that it¡¯s what Spire was named after, you¡¯ll be able to see it when you leave the city for the first time, but it¡¯s a very large, almost tower-like mountain. All we know for sure is it¡¯s a very important place for our Clan, as it has a very strong connection to the Aetherial Realm. I¡¯m sure Jarou and I will probably be dragged along for your first outing, so I can tell you more about it then if you¡¯d like.¡±

    I nodded along and affirmed my interest in the subject.

    And so Nadred continued his lecture.

    ¡°The reason I¡¯m showing this map now, is that the simplest job we take on involves these Realms. In the year 1103, the Grand War between Humans and Demons met its conclusion. Five years later in 1108, the first Human-Demon Peace conference was held and they created what¡¯s called the Border Law. The law dictates that without a Half-Demon escort from one of the three clans, Humans are not allowed within the Demon Realm, and vice-versa with Demons going into the Human Realm. And now, over 500 years later, the law still stands. So, the most common, and simple job you¡¯ll take on is escorting people into the realm they aren¡¯t normally allowed in.

    ¡°The Half-Demons are there for primarily two purposes. First is to keep the peace and ensure the people they are escorting don¡¯t do anything illegal and are on good behavior. And second is acting as bodyguards. Usually the people you¡¯re escorting are merchants and people who aren¡¯t able to defend themselves particularly well, so whenever a wild beast or bandits or some other threat attack them, the Half-Demons protect them.

    ¡°Though for the most part, the other Clans take care of that as their roles are more protective and centered around policing their respective realms. That said, there is a city called Al¡¯din near us on the Demon side, which has the largest and most farms in Spire, so we escort traders from them a lot.¡±

    ¡°I see, what about the other jobs we do?¡± I questioned, Oroske had mentioned stuff about necromancers and criminals and stuff like that, but nothing in specific.

    Nadred nodded, seemingly gathering his thoughts, then continued, ¡°Yes, so while escorting is probably the most common job we do, our real specialty is our Hunts. Each Hunt has different specifics, objectives, and reasons. But for the most part, the process is that someone identifies a potential target for us, and submits a request. Once verified and approved it gets posted on the job board in the city plaza,

    and one of us Hunters accepts it.

    ¡°Sometimes, the request gets submitted and approved based on rumors with plenty of evidence, and it falls to the Hunter to actually identify the target on the job. Most of the time though, they just travel to the location, and either kill or capture the target depending on the specifics of the request.

    ¡°Hunters have a lot of autonomy and rights to make judgements on the fly. As such, sometimes you¡¯ll have a job where they request you capture the target, but something will happen and you¡¯ll instead have to kill them. In some rare cases, this can dock your reward, but most of the time the client is understanding and will pay the full amount anyway.¡± Nadred finished, a few minutes after everyone had finished eating. Of course, he was too busy talking to eat.

    When Oroske saw this he checked the time using the clock on the wall, and gave Nadred a chance to eat and spoke up, ¡°There are some other special jobs, but those are the most common. For the most part, the Hunt posting will have details about the target, and usually the targets are criminals, but occasionally we get just regular hits. We don¡¯t accept jobs like that without good reason usually though.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I see,¡± I murmured. I understood most of what they were saying, but I figured I¡¯d understand better once I went out into the field.

    Nadred finished his food and suggested we return outside to continue training. Oroske seconded it and we went outside once more.

    Once outdoors, they had me practicing and trying out the spells Jarou had demonstrated earlier. I struggled for a little bit with applying the enchantments thoroughly and evenly enough. With the sword and fyr¡¯fer, I moved too fast and the fire on the sword was very thin and not very potent. But with jarou¡¯fer I moved too slowly and it was very thick, making my clothes very heavy with the stone coating.

    I succeeded with sen¡¯tur¡¯fer however. Or rather, I almost did, the burst of wind ended up being much more powerful than expected and the sword went flying out of my hands, stabbing into the fence on the far side of the yard. Luckily no one was standing in the way.

    ---

    We continued practicing and training until I was able to do the spells properly and consistently. By the time I was getting them right every time, the sun was almost setting.

    ¡°I think you know the basics well enough,¡± Nadred sounded satisfied with my progress, ¡°Now it¡¯s just a matter of training and learning more about the actual jobs we do, and you should be able to pass your Navy Cloak test once again and actually get experience with Hunting!¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll head outside the city and get some field training. Possibly even some combat experience against beasts or something,¡± Oroske said with a smile, ¡°Would you two be interested in joining?¡± Nadred and Jarou both nodded.

    ¡°For now though, I think we should probably head home for the night,¡± Nadred said, looking at the now mostly set sun.

    The four of us went inside and Nadred and Jarou bid us farewell for the night. We ate a small dinner and reviewed the events of the day.

    It seemed my training was nearly complete, and I for one was getting really excited.

 05: -TsumiDin-

    -Tsumi¡¯Din-

    [The city the Tsumi Clan resides in.

    It is positioned in the center of

    the Realm Rift.]

    That night, I had a dream that was¡­ hard to describe. It was in a place I had never seen before, a small village in the middle of a forest. It started in a cold, stone building, with metal bars instead of glass in the windows. Suddenly there was a bang on the door. My memory has a gap here, the next thing I remember was being pulled by the wrist by a man in a dark cloak, with the hood covering his head so I couldn¡¯t discern any of his features. I could tell we were inside the forest, and looking behind me I saw a few of the buildings were on fire, and there were other people running, several of them dragging other kids around my age with them as well. I could tell people were shouting but I couldn¡¯t make out anything that was being said.

    And that¡¯s all I could remember, as I woke up moments after in something of a cold sweat. I figured the sun was only just starting to rise as my room was still very dim. I could hear Oroske moving around the house, and could smell breakfast being cooked. I briefly tried going back to sleep but couldn¡¯t manage to fall asleep again.

    I got up and dressed in the dark and went downstairs, greeting Oroske with a ¡°Mornin¡¯¡± and a yawn as I walked into the kitchen.

    ¡°You¡¯re up early,¡± he said from the stove, waving his hand without turning to look at me, ¡°sleep okay?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, for the most part,¡± I sleepily responded, ¡°had a really weird dream that woke me up and couldn¡¯t get back to sleep.¡±

    ¡°I see, what was the dream about?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not really sure¡­ I was in a dark building with bars on the windows, then I got pulled out and dragged through the surrounding forest as the village was on fire. And I woke up shortly after that.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± he said, seemingly pondering it for a minute as he brought the pan of scrambled eggs to the table, ¡°When we meet up with them later, you should talk to Nadred about it, as annoying as his tangents can be, he is very knowledgeable about these kinds of things.¡±

    Before sitting down, he went back and grabbed a plate that had some bacon and sausage. Once we were both sat down we began eating. ¡°So, you excited to see the outside world?¡± Oroske asked me through a mouthful of food.

    I nodded and swallowed my food before answering, ¡°I am! I¡¯m super curious to see the rift and stuff that Nadred pointed out on that map.¡±

    ¡°Good, good,¡± he said taking another bite of his food, ¡°Do you want to train while we wait for them or just relax?¡±

    I took a moment to consider it, we¡¯d been training so much lately and I was quite sore. With that in mind I declared I¡¯d prefer to relax. He agreed yet again with a mouthful of food.

    After we finished eating he had me help clean up the dishes, after which we just sat back down at the table. We sat in silence while waiting, Oroske pulled out a book, and I practiced an exercise Nadred taught me the previous night, flickering between different elements in small bursts. Apparently it helps your casting speed, and it also helps you get comfortable with the various elements. I kinda zoned out, watching the different elements flash sequentially in the palm of my hand.

    Not long after, I was brought out of my trance by a loud knocking on the front door. Oroske made a gesture that indicated he wanted me to answer it. I got up and opened the door, receiving a warm greeting from Nadred and Jarou. ¡°Good morning guys,¡± I said as I showed them inside. Oroske greeted them as they stepped into the kitchen and dining area.

    ¡°Glad to see you ate already,¡± Nadred said, ¡°We probably want to get out there before the morning rush.¡± Oroske agreed, grabbing his bookmark and closing the book. ¡°Well Nadred, Demon or Human?¡± He asked.

    ¡°Hmm,¡± he thought for a moment, ¡°Probably Human, there¡¯s a better chance of finding Sigils nearby.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Oroske checked his watch, ¡°Everyone good to leave?¡±

    I checked myself, thinking if there was anything I¡¯d need to bring. I stated my readiness, and we left.

    The route started out the same as when we went to meet Danfis, but changed at the first turn. Instead of turning right and going towards the plaza, we turned left and went towards what looked like it opened up into forest eventually.

    Where the walk to the plaza took probably fifteen to twenty minutes, the walk to our destination took nearly forty-five minutes.

    The path was littered with the same variety of building styles and even purposes. Many of the buildings were combinations between homes and stores, and there was a large variety of goods being sold.

    Eventually the path opened up into a small plaza. There were several carriages of various sizes. ¡°Those are Aeth¡¯Mobiles,¡± Nadred explained after I asked, ¡°They¡¯re special carriages that instead of being pulled by beasts, they¡¯re powered by magic. They¡¯re pretty new, they only really started being widely available about six or seven years ago.¡± When I asked how they worked, all I got was ¡°It¡¯s¡­ really complicated. I honestly don¡¯t even know the specifics. I just know it uses very complex advanced magic.¡± He told me if I want to, we can go look into the specifics later.

    ¡°The reason they¡¯re here,¡± Jarou picked up on the explanation, ¡°Is to give us rides to and from our Hunt destinations.¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± Oroske affirmed, ¡°The Tsumi Clan has special contracts with a few different companies and groups to chauffeur us wherever we need to go. Today however, we¡¯ll be making our outing on foot. Reason one; it¡¯s a good experience to experience the world on foot. And reason two; we¡¯re not going to any specific city, so there¡¯s no need to hitch a ride.¡±

    As Oroske finished his explanation, we could see beyond the surrounding buildings, and the Rift and the world beyond really started coming into sight.

    We walked mostly in silence as we approached the railing that bordered the plaza and Rift. My curiosity overtook my fear, and I walked up to the railing and looked down into the abyss. The railing was on the edge of a sheer cliff that went so far down you couldn¡¯t even see the bottom. The other side of the Rift had a similar cliff, but was still pretty far from where we stood.

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    I looked around the sights of the Human Realm, everything I could see from where I stood anyway. Most of what I could see was just forest. Almost dead ahead of the large, stone bridge that bridged the gap, I could see what looked like a castle way off in the distance, positioned high on a mountain. To the left, I could see the tips of towers poking above the trees in the distance.

    Nadred seemed to sense my interest in these two, because he told me about what they were, while pointing to them ¡°That castle you can kind of see straight ahead, is the old Royal Palace. Ever since the Last King died, it¡¯s mostly out of use, though every now and then it gets used for meetings and parties.

    ¡°And over there, those towers you can probably see a little bit of, is the School of Towers Academy. It¡¯s the most prestigious and advanced magic school and research center in Spire,¡± He explained, letting out a heavy sigh before continuing, ¡°Sadly, they are very strict about admission, and as of right now, Half-Demons are not allowed to attend.¡± He seemed very depressed about that fact, which Oroske explained as ¡°that nerd just wants access to all the research stuff they¡¯ve done there.¡±

    After the Nadred the Tour Guide finished his explanation, we began the trek across the bridge. Nadred said the bridge is only about a mile long, and it only took about fifteen minutes to walk to the other side. From there, we headed straight into the woods.

    A few minutes of walking between the trees, we came to a clearing. ¡°Alright, Oroske,¡± Nadred started, ¡°You¡¯re Kuro¡¯s mentor, think he can stand up to a Sigil?¡±

    Oroske nodded almost immediately, ¡°Oh yeah, unless we run into a really strong one he should be just fine. If I need to I¡¯ll intervene.¡±

    Nadred simply nodded and motioned for us to proceed.

    As we progressed deeper into the forest they struck up conversation, explaining what the ¡®Sigils¡¯ are. Yet another one of Nadred¡¯s long lectures, he began, ¡°Sigils are a special type of monster. The name is short for ¡®Sigil of the Soulless.¡¯ As the name might suggest, they are creatures that lack souls. They tend to be mindless and very violent, and as such they¡¯re a pretty big threat to commonfolk. The name ¡®Sigil of the Soulless¡¯ refers to a small emblem that appears on their body.¡± He turned to me and handed me a small sheet of paper with a design on it. It had the Emblem of Balance in the middle, with what looked like the top and bottom of an eye at the ends of the lines.

    ¡°As with many things of this nature, the reason the emblem shows up is unknown, but there are lots of theories. The one thing we have confirmed is their source. Have you heard of the Eight Calamities?¡±

    I shook my head, didn¡¯t even ring a bell.

    ¡°I see, well the short version is there are these eight beings side to rival the Guardians in power that will cause the end of the world, according to the Guardian Naen¡¯s prophecies anyway. I¡¯ll have to tell you the full version later, maybe on the way back. Anyway, supposedly one of the signs they are starting to awaken is the appearance of Sigils spawning from them. One of their dens is pretty close, which we¡¯re heading towards right now, and is one of three we¡¯ve discovered. When the Sigils started appearing, researchers were able to confirm they came out of the cave that leads into the den. I haven¡¯t actually see-¡±

    ¡°I sense Aether disturbance,¡± Oroske suddenly said, ¡°there¡¯s one close by.¡±

    ¡°How can you tell?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later, for now, draw your weapon and get ready for your first real fight.¡±

    I did as he said, pulling a sword out of my Demon Sheath like it was second nature. The other members of the party backed away, leaning up against trees like they were going to enjoy watching the events unfold. Suddenly a large gray and white creature stalked out of the trees. It was quite large, twice the size of Oroske I¡¯d say, but very lanky, and walked on all four legs. It was kind of like a huge bear but very skinny. On the beast¡¯s forehead was the emblem Nadred had shown me. Really, it was kinda horrifying to look at.

    It seemed like it saw me as it changed direction directly towards me. The Sigil let out a loud shriek and began charging toward me. I braced myself for combat, and let my instincts take over.

    The Sigil knocked down a tree that practically flew towards me. Had I not dodged it would¡¯ve definitely crushed me. But luckily, I quickly dashed out of the way and towards the creature that was still a couple dozen feet in front of me. As I got closer I remembered back to my magic training the day before, and applied the idea of sen¡¯tur¡¯fer to my feet in addition to my blade, and jumped up, with increased height thanks to the wind. As I lifted my arms to swing downward and unleash my first attack, I was suddenly slammed into by something from my right.

    As I fell I managed to angle my body in such a way I didn¡¯t slam into the ground on my side. Instead I basically landed on my feet and hands. Unfortunately I wasn¡¯t properly braced for it and after sliding half a foot I slipped and ended up on my face anyway.

    I quickly turned around to see what hit me and I saw a large chunk of earth that had been ripped from the ground, which I guess had been the result of magic. No one told me they could use magic! I thought, as I prepared my next assault. Now that I was aware of the beast¡¯s magical prowess, I felt much more prepared.

    I applied sen¡¯tur¡¯fer to my feet once again, but also used jarou¡¯tur¡¯fer on my clothes, thinking it would help soften the blow but also possibly blast back. After those preparations I charged again. Before jumping however, I instead slashed horizontally towards the Sigil¡¯s legs. The wind blades released from sen¡¯tur¡¯fer cut pretty deep into the front legs, causing the Sigil to falter. After seeing it fall a little I jumped up, re-applying the enchantment to my sword.

    Sure enough, when I prepared to slash, the Sigil looked up at me and another chunk of earth came crashing into me. The jarou¡¯tur¡¯fer I had applied previously softened the blow so it didn¡¯t hurt nearly as much, and also shattered the chunk with a loud bang. I still got knocked off course slightly though.

    In that moment I remembered the incident with my first attempt to use sen¡¯tur¡¯fer and how it knocked the sword out of my hands, and decided to try and use a similar level of power to redirect myself. I struggled to get my bearings mid air and slightly sideways, but I found the right direction I wanted to swing, to the right but also slightly behind my previous course, and towards the ground. That would counteract the misdirect from the earth slam, give me a bit of extra height, and slightly more forward momentum, was my mentality with it.

    For the most part, I was right. However, my grip on my sword faltered and I lost it. Flying through the air without a weapon, I was right in front of the Sigil, kind of doing a very slow backflip. My instincts kicked in and I summoned another weapon out of my Demon Sheath. It was a scythe, something I wasn¡¯t super familiar with fighting with since Oroske wanted to wait until I earned my navy cloak again. Luckily, it seemed like my muscle memory and instinct worked together, and I was able to flip myself in such a way I could land a strike perfectly in the center of the emblem. The blade of the scythe cut all the way through the skull, the point poking through underneath its jaw.

    I hung onto the handle of the scythe, as the body remained rigid and standing for a few moments. Just when I was thinking it wasn¡¯t going to fall, the Sigil¡¯s body suddenly collapsed, with me falling along with it. We crashed into the floor of the forest. Luckily I just landed on the dirt so it wasn¡¯t too hard of a fall.

    Oroske was the first to come into view, clapping with a proud smile on his face. Nadred and Jarou followed soon after. ¡°Congratulations Kuro!¡± Oroske exclaimed as he helped me up out of the dirt, ¡°What did you think of your first Sigil kill?¡±

    ¡°That was¡­ fun? In a weird way,¡± I said, I was sure there was a better way to explain how I felt, but as the adrenaline was wearing off I was becoming more aware of the pain. And it must have shown cause Nadred came over to support me a little.

    ¡°I understand what you mean,¡± Jarou said, a silly smile on his face, ¡°It¡¯s exciting to fight with your life, but also scary.¡±

    ¡°Exactly, you did great, Kuro,¡± Nadred affirmed.

    ¡°Well, shall we head back to that clearing from earlier to get some proper teaching in?¡± Oroske asked, patting the side of my clothes to knock off some of the dirt, which caused me to wince in pain a little, eliciting a small chuckle out of him.

    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s a lot you need to know that¡¯s best taught out here,¡± Nadred agreed, ¡°After that, you¡¯ll be pretty much ready for your test! May just need a bit more combat training.¡±

    Jarou went and picked up my sword, and pulled the scythe out of the Sigils head and returned them to me. I quickly put them back in my Demon Sheath, and we departed, Oroske walking next to me to make sure I didn¡¯t stumble and fall.

    ¡°Do we need to do anything about the body?¡± I asked, turning around to look at it once more. ¡°Nope,¡± Oroske said plainly, as I saw the body crumbling to ash and blowing away in the wind.

 06: -Sigil-

    -Sigil-

    [Beasts with no soul. Named after

    the Sigil of The Soulless, which is found

    on their bodies somewhere.]

    ¡°As you can see, they turn to ash and fade away,¡± Nadred said as we approached the clearing we paused in earlier. ¡°Like many things surrounding the Sigils, we don¡¯t know the actual cause or reason for it.¡± He sighed after saying that, then lamented ¡°For how much we¡¯ve learned there¡¯s still so much we don¡¯t know about our world. Maybe someday, we will find the answers.¡±

    I could see why it bothered him that there¡¯s so much we don¡¯t know. If I¡¯m honest, it bothered me a bit, but do we really need all the answers?

    My thoughts were interrupted when Oroske spoke, echoing my thoughts, ¡°Ah who cares? What really matters is they¡¯re dangerous, and our Clan are a small part of a large group who fight against them. The other Clans fight them as well, but there¡¯s lots of people who make their living hunting Sigils down and protecting people from them.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Nadred said with a shrug, ¡°But well put. That point doesn¡¯t bother me nearly as much as how the Sigils can live without a soul.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked, as we sat down in a small circle on the ground.

    ¡°Oh boy, here we go again,¡± Oroske groaned, earning him a stern look from Nadred.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try to keep it short, since the full explanation is¡­ really long. Basically, there is this series of books with¡­ mysterious origins to say the least, called the U-Series. No one knows where they came from or who wrote them, but the Guardians themselves have attested to them being an accurate record of the past. What¡¯s included in them anyway. I can¡¯t remember how many volumes there are in the series, but I do know all of them at least mention a series of events called the ¡®Advents.¡¯

    ¡°The really short version is, there were these seventeen godly beings called the Ars¡¯anum, who used their souls to give gifts to all of mortality. The most commonly mentioned is the Gift of the Soul, but there are several more. The gift that makes the Sigils so frustrating to understand is the Gift of Death. There are a lot of details that went into this gift, but essentially it says that there can be no life without a soul. As in, living bodies require souls to function at all.

    ¡°That said, Oroske has led me to a theory,¡± Nadred explained.

    ¡°Wait, how so?¡± I once again asked, unsure how Oroske would help create a theory for something like this.

    ¡°There¡¯s another side of Affinities I didn¡¯t mention yesterday. For both Elements and Aspects, you have an ¡®active¡¯ and a ¡®passive¡¯ effect. The ¡®active¡¯ for Elements is simply the amplification effect when casting spells, but the ¡®passive¡¯ changes for different people, and is typically very difficult to notice. For example, my Elemental Affinity is wind, and because of it there is a very slight breeze that surrounds me if I don¡¯t suppress it at all. It¡¯s usually next to impossible to notice, but it¡¯s definitely there.

    ¡°On the Aspect side however, Jarou¡¯s is easy to explain. His aspect is the other side of his name, strength. The ¡®active¡¯ side makes him able to augment his strength and defense, and that of the people around him. But for the ¡®passive,¡¯ he has a slight boost to his physical constitution at all times, including his strength. You¡¯re pretty muscular already Kuro, and if it wasn¡¯t for this passive effect, I¡¯d say you could easily beat Jarou in a fight. Because of it however, I¡¯d say he¡¯d either be pretty even with you, or maybe even slightly stronger.¡±

    I was nodding along to his explanation, long winded as it was, it was easy to understand.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe we touched upon Oroske¡¯s Affinities much, if at all. As you may have noticed, names tend to have an effect on Affinities. Oroske¡¯s parents, however, did not specify the meaning of the name when giving it to him. This caused his soul to take on two different routes for Element and Aspect. For his aspect, it would be more accurate to spell his name like this,¡± he paused and wrote ¡°Or¡¯os ke¡± on a paper he quickly pulled from his bag while speaking, ¡°as it would be a combination of Orun and and Teleos, which we usually use to mean bitter. Or¡¯os gets used a lot to refer primarily to the ocean, but is also used for saltwater in general. Hence, his Element is water.

    ¡°For Aspect, however, his soul treated it as though his name was written like this,¡± he once again took a moment and wrote ¡°O¡¯ros ke¡± beneath the first line, ¡°with the apostrophe after the first ¡®O.¡¯ The ¡®O¡¯ becomes kinda dubious here, and we¡¯re not really sure what it would mean since it doesn¡¯t apply to his aspect, but the ¡®ros¡¯ part comes from Veros, which means soul, or spirit.¡±

    ¡°Uh huh¡­¡± I murmured, still nodding along, I had a question but before I could ask he continued on, and answered it anyway.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I mentioned it, or if Oroske mentioned it, but the Aether we use is actually the souls of the dead. The passive part of his aspect, Veros, is that he is extra sensitive to the Aether in the air.¡±

    ¡°Which is why I was able to sense a disturbance in the Aether earlier,¡± Oroske cut in, ¡°Where Nadred¡¯s going with this is that Sigils for some reason cause intense amounts of disturbance like that. Figured I¡¯d save some time.¡±

    Nadred sighed again, and continued, ¡°Thank you Oroske, that¡¯s exactly what I was gonna say, and in fewer words. But essentially, the theory is that they somehow use the Aether to fuel their bodies. Essentially, they¡¯re ¡®soulless¡¯ because they don¡¯t have their own soul, but use the souls in the air in their place. This would also explain how they are able to use magic, as you experienced yourself earlier,¡± he finished, gesturing to my side, caked in dirt and still aching.

    ¡°What would them not having souls have to do with being able to use magic?¡± I asked, unsure of why that would matter.

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    ¡°The soul acts as an adapter for the Aether, along with the passthroughs. Without a soul, the Aether would simply flow right through without any change since the Soul isn¡¯t there to interface with it.¡±

    ¡°Still though, we¡¯re lucky that one was still pretty young,¡± Oroske suddenly spoke up, ¡°With it being able to use Gravia to that extent, and being as young as it was, it would¡¯ve become a really scary threat very quickly.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Jarou asked this time. ¡°Go ahead Nadred, I¡¯ll tend to Kuro while you explain,¡± Oroske said with a wave as he lifted up my shirt and began inspecting my side where I got hit. It stung when he touched it lightly, causing me to wince.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Nadred began, ¡°First off, you can tell how old a Sigil is not by how large they are in terms of base size, but instead more about how muscular they are. This one was very skinny, so it was quite young still. Gravia, or ¡®force¡¯ magic, is one of if not the hardest element to use.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t using Jarou?¡± I interrupted.

    ¡°Nope, lifting chunks of earth like that isn¡¯t something you would do with Jarou,¡± He explained, ¡°Due to the way Gravia works, many people think it means gravity, but it¡¯s less specific than that, and is just any type of push-pull force. And the level of strength the Sigil used was impressive, even for people who¡¯ve been practicing for ages. So if it was able to grow more and become stronger, it would¡¯ve been incredibly strong. Probably would¡¯ve taken a very large group in order to take it down.¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± Oroske said, his inspection of my injury complete, ¡°Well, thankfully you didn¡¯t get hurt too bad, Kuro. If you hadn¡¯t raised your arms above your head they may have broken, but since it¡¯s just your side you got off with some intense bruising but that¡¯s it.¡±

    I nodded, ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±

    ¡°Really though, you did a good job,¡± he continued, ¡°I was surprised you pulled out that scythe, I was gonna tell you about it after you passed your Navy Cloak exam, so it was shocking to see you pull it out and use it.¡±

    I summoned the scythe in question with a quick flick of my hand. Demon Sheath had become very easy to use and I could pull what I wanted out of it much faster than before. ¡°Yeah,¡± I started, ¡°I¡¯m not really sure how I did it, my instincts kicked in big time during the fight, and they just kinda guided me to the weapon after I dropped my sword.¡± The scythe was very simple in design, with a long, wooden handle that curved inward toward the blade, which was slightly shorter and was a plain, metal design, with the Emblem of Balance engraved near where it joins the handle.

    ¡°Upon passing the Navy Cloak exam, Hunters are given their first scythe. Hence why I was going to wait to tell you about it,¡± Oroske explained, ¡°The scythe is the iconic weapon of the Tsumi Clan, as it¡¯s said that the original founding members used them when they killed the corrupt monarchs and their supporters from their home.

    ¡°In fact, the Clan still has one of the scythes. Or rather, Danfis has one of the scythes. A beautiful, elegant scythe, ivory white all over,¡± he said, looking up as though he was picturing it with a smile. Turns out, while Oroske wasn¡¯t very smart when it came to magic and academics, he really knew his weapons and martial arts. Suddenly, that smile faded and he looked more serious, and looked me in the eye when he continued, ¡°Now that I¡¯m thinking about it¡­ you summoned it yourself once. The night that you died.¡±

    ¡°Wait, really?¡± I asked. I noticed Nadred had a slightly concerned look on his face as Oroske mentioned it.

    ¡°Yeah, we have no idea how, might¡¯ve been some crazy magic you pulled off instinctually. Of course, Danfis refuses to talk about it all,¡± he said with defeat in his voice. He shrugged and changed the topic, ¡°How do you feel Kuro? Would you feel up to some more fighting practice?¡±

    I touched my side with my hand, wincing at the pain, ¡°Uh, probably not today¡­¡±

    ¡°I see, that¡¯s okay,¡± Oroske said, ¡°Was gonna have you spar with Jarou if you were feeling up to it, but if you¡¯re not we can just have another small lecture, then head home for the night.¡± I nodded and we all sat down on the grass.

    ¡°Well, what should I teach about today?¡± Nadred asked. ¡°Hm,¡± Oroske hummed while thinking, ¡°I believe Kuro has all the knowledge he needs to pass the Navy test, so¡­ what do you think, Kuro?¡±

    ¡°Umm¡­¡± I thought for a bit, when I remembered him mentioning the founding members of the Clan, ¡°How about more about the founding of the Tsumi Clan?¡±

    Oroske seemed to perk up, and Nadred tilted his head and lifted his hand as though to say ¡°Go ahead.¡± As Oroske began his lesson, Nadred brought out some food from his bag and passed it around. Nothing fancy, just some sandwiches and water bottles.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Oroske started, clearing his throat, ¡°Long ago, before the Grand War, there was another realm called Terrai, well across the ocean from where we are. We¡¯re still learning more and more about its history, as most of it was lost to time until recently.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what happened to it?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Around the time the Old Demon Empire formed, a massive civil war broke out in the realm, and it basically collapsed on itself. It culminated in the leaders of five half-demon tribes killing the Terrai monarchy and all of their supporters, as well as the Gods of the realm.

    ¡°Terrai had five half-demon tribes, called the Ivory Plains, Crimson Hills, Azure Forest, Black Mountain, and the Green Caves. The leaders of these tribes are celebrated as the founding members of the Tsumi Clan. While they had different reasons and morality systems, the five tribes were commonly seen as barbarians and murderers. But in reality, they were similar to us, simply doing their job as sellswords for the most part.

    ¡°They used to be quite docile actually, and in good standing with the Terran Empire. Until one day, the new ruler was named, and they starting pushing discrimination against Half-Demons. There¡¯s a pretty big gap in what we know from then till the end of the Empire¡¯s days.

    ¡°But essentially, lots of war broke out all over the realm, and the leaders of these tribes for one reason or another decided to eliminate the royal family, and after that the two Gods that protected the realm. After which, the survivors made an exodus over to Alten, which is what the Human and Demon realms were called before they were split. At this point, the Grand War was only a couple years in, and the Demon Empire¡¯s grip on the realm was firm, and ever expanding.

    ¡°The Half-Demon tribes stayed behind in Terrai, as the realm began to die, eventually becoming known as it is now; the Ashen Realm. Then, a hundred years later, as the Grand War was approaching its climax, the Guardians brought them across the ocean, and enlisted their help in ending the war. The descendants of the five leaders that killed the royals were brought together to form a Clan of Half-Demons, along with the members of the Ivory Plains, Black Mountain, and Crimson Hills. That Clan became the Tsumi Clan. The Green Caves became the Ishen Clan, and Azure Forest the Incol. There was a fair amount of crossover between them, and stating which tribes became which Clans is just a matter of formality.

    ¡°And so, the last leader of the Ivory Plains became the first Danfis. There¡¯s a lot that¡¯s happened between now and then, but that¡¯s the story of our founding. The Guardians assigned the Clan¡¯s roles at that time as well,¡± Oroske finished.

    I definitely got the idea that there was a bit more to it, and I would¡¯ve liked if he talked more about the Grand War, but before I could say anything, Nadred spoke up. ¡°There¡¯s a bit more to it, but as far as strictly the forming of the Clan goes that¡¯s a pretty good summary. Everything else is stuff that was happening around the same time that had some effect on the whole situation,¡± he said, ¡°but sadly, that will have to wait for another day, as it¡¯s getting decently late.¡±

    Oroske looked up toward the sky, ¡°Ah, you¡¯re right. We should probably head back then,¡± he said while standing up, looking at me, ¡°Well Kuro, a little more combat and magic training, and I think you¡¯ll be all set for your exam. When we get back, I¡¯ll schedule it for two weeks from now, if that¡¯s okay.¡±

    I nodded enthusiastically, I was getting closer and closer to my Navy Cloak and being able to take on actual hunts. We gathered up everything we brought, and headed back to Tsumi¡¯Din.

 07: Navy Cloak

    -Navy Cloak-

    [The First Rank of the Tsumi Clan Hunters.

    Commonly referred to as the ¡°Novice¡± or ¡°Apprentice Cloak¡±]

    When we got back to town, we separated at the street Oroske¡¯s house was on. ¡°We¡¯ll be starting to do Hunts again tomorrow,¡± Nadred said, raising his hand in farewell, ¡°Perhaps we could bring you two along for one, but if you want me to come help with training and stuff let me know!¡±

    ¡°Thanks Nadred, for all the help,¡± Oroske said, returning his farewell wave, ¡°And I will probably take you up on the Hunt offer, gotta take Kuro out on a trial Hunt for his Navy Cloak as well.¡±

    ¡°Let me know when you want to do it,¡± Nadred said, ¡°See ya later! And good luck, Kuro!¡± As the duo walked away, Jarou turned around to wave, a big smile on his face, and echoed the good luck wish. I returned the wave with a small smile, when Oroske lightly slapped my shoulder. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get home and get some dinner,¡± he said.

    When we returned to the house, we went directly to the kitchen. ¡°Hmm,¡± Oroske hummed while thinking, ¡°what should we eat for dinner? I¡¯m thinking burgers.¡±

    ¡°Sure, sounds good to me,¡± I responded, ¡°Anything I can do to help?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t really need the help but I can teach you how to cook them,¡± he said, grabbing the meat out of the freezer, a couple seasoning bottles and the buns out of the cupboard above the stove. He grabbed a pan out of one of the lower cupboards and put it on the stove. Suddenly he took it off, ¡°Actually, this is a good opportunity.¡±

    He motioned for me to come closer, and pulled the front-right burner plate off of the stove, revealing an arrangement of small, red crystals. ¡°Nadred knows a lot more about it than I do, but I at least know the basics,¡± he said before pointing at the crystals, ¡°these crystals are the basis for one of the more advanced forms of magic,¡± he explained. ¡°I don¡¯t know the full technical explanation for it, but these crystals hold Aether, charged to the foluk element. When you turn these knobs¡­¡± he grabbed the dial on the far right, and the crystals began to glow, emitting small flames, ¡°they somehow activate the crystals and they begin a sustained flow of foluk,¡± he put the burner plate back on, getting it close before dropping it in place, ¡°which then heat up this metal plate, and in turn will heat up the pan you put on top of it. The Aeth¡¯Mobiles we saw out at the city entrance apparently run on a very complicated application of this same technique, with some other elements as well.¡± He then put the pan back on top as I voiced my understanding. I supposed I would have to ask Nadred about it sometime if I wanted to know more.

    Oroske then took one of the meat slabs out of the little packaging and put it on the pan. ¡°I like burgers because they taste good, and are super easy to cook yourself. There¡¯s a place in the City of Towers that Nadred, Kared, and I all really like. I don¡¯t know what it is about their burgers but they¡¯re far better than anything I can make here. If we ever get a chance I¡¯ll have to take you there,¡± he began his lesson, ¡°so first, you gotta have the stove on, and put the meat in the pan. I¡¯ll cook this first one, and you can cook the next. While it¡¯s cooking on the first side, I usually go ahead and put on my seasonings.¡± He grabbed the first bottle, which was just labelled as salt and shook on a small amount, then grabbed the second one, labelled Balance R, and featured the Emblem of Balance with some intricate and elegant designs around it. ¡°This is Balance R, as I¡¯m sure you can see, it¡¯s actually made here in Tsumi¡¯Din. Really adds to the savory flavor of the beef,¡± he said, reaching his fingers in and pinching out a small amount, sprinkling it over the meat. ¡°Then you just wait a little bit, once you see the edges of the top side getting red, you flip the meat,¡± he told me, grabbing a spatula from a drawer. He scooped up the meat and softly flipped it. ¡°Season this side as well for extra flavor,¡± he said while doing exactly that. ¡°Wait for the other side to cook, and that¡¯s basically it! Dress up your buns however you want, and if you like add some cheese, put the meat on and bam, you¡¯ve got yourself a delicacy,¡± he said with a smile as he watched it sizzle in the pan. ¡°In order to tell when it¡¯s cooked, you just gotta flip it again, and see how it looks,¡± he said, once again working while teaching, ¡°You also shouldn¡¯t keep it on a single side too long, otherwise it might burn, so you may need to flip it a few times.¡±

    While waiting for it to cook, he quickly dressed his buns with some sauce, a bit of lettuce and pickles. By the time he was done, the meat was ready to take off. He put the meat on the buns and set the plate aside for now.

    ¡°And now, it¡¯s your turn!¡± He exclaimed, as he pushed me in front of the stove.

    I was reciting the steps as I went, making sure I didn¡¯t forget anything. When it came to the seasonings, I accidentally put on way too much of the Balance R on the first side. Then I burnt the second side a little because I waited too long to flip it to check it. For my buns, I only had sauce last time, so I decided to try the things he put on this time. ¡°Well done,¡± Oroske said as I closed the buns together, ¡°both the meat, and your cooking it.¡± He chuckled a little as we walked to the table, sitting down at the same spots we usually sit.

    I was a little hesitant to take the first bite of mine, the smell of the pickles was quite unpleasant in my opinion. But I did take it. The lettuce added a satisfying crunch, but in terms of taste it was just watery and I didn¡¯t really like it. As for the pickles, the way they felt in my mouth as well as their taste was gross. After that, I opened up the bun and took the pickles off, though the taste remained throughout the rest of the burger. Oroske laughed when he saw me do that.

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    ¡°So,¡± Oroske began after he had finished his burger, though I was still eating mine, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure we¡¯re in the end stretch for you to be able to get your Navy Cloak. I can only really think of one major thing that still needs to be done before you take the test, and aside from that, just a little more training, physical, magic, and combat in all, and I think you¡¯re ready.¡±

    He seemed like he suddenly remembered something, and he got up and went into the front room. ¡°I forgot, Danfis wants me to actually go through and fill this out with you,¡± he said as he came back, a blue binder with the emblem of balance embossed in white on the spine in hand. He sat back down and opened it on the table, flipping the pages till he got to the back. When he did, he flipped the book around to me. The page had a moderate sized checklist on it. ¡°Go through that checklist and see if there¡¯s anything on there we haven¡¯t done yet,¡± he instructed.

    I began looking at the list, and noticed something was weird about it after the first item;

    ¡°Has successfully completed 30 official Hunts ____  ____¡±

    The two lines seemed to be spots for both mentor and apprentice to sign, but 30 Hunts was definitely more than what I¡¯d heard anything about. I turned it around to Oroske and asked him about it. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s weird, this is the Black Cloak checklist, don¡¯t know how that found its way in here,¡± he said, flipping through the rest of the pages again, ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like the Navy Cloak one¡¯s in here¡­ let me go check the other binder.¡±

    He left once again, coming back with a matching binder, but this time black instead of blue. He flipped through the pages again, finding the checklist near the back. He verified it was the right one this time, restating he has no idea how the two got switched, before passing it to me.

    Navy Cloak Checklist

    Has received physical training to the standards in this book ____ _____

    Has received magic training to the standards in this book ____ ____

    Has demonstrated competency in combat through sparring ____ ____

    Has completed at least one (1) ¡°Training Hunt¡± ____ ____

    Has received teaching about the different Cloak tiers ____ ____

    Has received teaching about the jobs and responsibilities of Hunters ____ ____

    Has demonstrated understanding of the jobs and responsibilities of Hunters ____ ____

    Mentor only:

    Has demonstrated overall competency and has received your approval that this Apprentice is ready to receive their Navy Cloak ____

    I finished reading through the list, and reported to Oroske, ¡°The only one I can see that we haven¡¯t done is the ¡®Training Hunt.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Perfect,¡± he said, getting up to grab a pen from one of the drawers in the kitchen, then handing it to me, ¡°Go ahead and write your name on the ones we¡¯ve done, specifically on the line to the right. When you¡¯re done, pass it to me and I¡¯ll pass them off as well.¡±

    I did as he said, marking everything except the Mentor only section and the one about the Training Hunt, and passed the book and pen to him. He began writing his name on the first line then suddenly stopped, and quickly reread the entire checklist. ¡°Hmmm, actually, I¡¯ll go ahead and sign them off anyway,¡± he said, seemingly talking to himself. He wrote his name on all the same lines pretty quickly, before explaining what he was talking about. ¡°I don¡¯t remember exactly what the standards are in this book, and I honestly can¡¯t be bothered to read through it all, but I think you¡¯ll be plenty strong by the time we schedule your test, and meet all the requirements.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, what even are these books?¡± I asked, I had a general idea but figured I¡¯d ask.

    ¡°These are the official training binders for Navy Cloaks and Black Cloaks,¡± he began his explanation, ¡°They have detailed road maps for getting new Hunters their cloaks quickly, but they¡¯re mostly for new mentors who haven¡¯t trained anyone yet. For some reason, Danfis recently started to want us to show him the completed checklists before we can even schedule the exams.

    ¡°I¡¯ve trained a few other people before you, so I¡¯m mostly familiar with the requirements for each cloak, so I¡¯d completely forgotten about it until tonight. I will probably need to actually read the Black Cloak checklist though¡­¡±

    ¡°How many people have you trained?¡± I questioned further, interested to learn a bit more about him.

    He took a moment to think, ¡°I think four? Before you, that is, so you¡¯d be number five. The first one was all the way from the start of training to Black Cloak, and is also an interesting story, but that¡¯s for another time. The second one I think was just from Navy to Black Cloak, then the other two were just up till they got their Navy Cloaks, since they already had mentors for Navy to Black,¡± he explained. He seemed to reminisce on the past for a minute, before snapping out of his trance.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re getting really close now. I think we¡¯ll do a little more training for the next few days, and I¡¯ll talk with Nadred about getting us going on a Training Hunt, and we¡¯ll plan to get your exam scheduled for, let¡¯s say¡­ 2 weeks from now? I think that should be plenty of time,¡± He said, pride in his voice, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    I nodded enthusiastically, ¡°Yeah! I think that¡¯ll be good.¡±

    ¡°Any questions or anything like that?¡±

    ¡°Hmm,¡± I thought for a moment, ¡°I¡¯m curious to see what a Training Hunt is, but other than that not really.¡±

    ¡°Ah, a good question,¡± he began his answer, ¡°all a Training Hunt really is, is just a Hunt that¡¯s setup by White Cloaks and sometimes Red Cloaks, meant to provide practice and training for different things. For the most part, they¡¯re pretty easy but if you ask for one, they can make them super hard. You¡¯ll probably end up doing a lot of them in your time as a Hunter.¡±

    ¡°So they¡¯re just practice Hunts basically?¡±

    ¡°Yep! Nothing too crazy. Your first one will basically just be a trial Hunt to teach you the basics of actual field work,¡± he finished his explanation, ¡°So, tonight, let¡¯s maybe do a little bit of training, then head to bed! Final steps towards your Navy Cloak start tomorrow!¡±

 08: -Training Hunt-

    -Training Hunt-

    [A sub-type of Hunt.

    Made to train new Hunters, and

    allow old hunters to practice during down time.]

    A few days passed. During that time, Oroske and I focused on training, both physical and magical. I had noticeably improved in my fighting technique. A couple weeks ago I could just barely defend against Oroske when we sparred, but now I was able to evade most of his attacks, and block most of the ones I couldn¡¯t. I had actually gotten close to getting a hit in,once. Unfortunately, however, he somehow managed to dodge at the last second. There was a strange burst of energy around him and he moved much faster than I¡¯d ever seen him move. Honestly his speed was impressive, considering how large he was, though I guess those muscles aren¡¯t for nothing.

    That was yesterday. A couple days before he reached out to Nadred to set up a Training Hunt for me, but he and Jarou were going out on a Hunt that day. They were supposed to return today, so while Oroske and I waited, we were out in the backyard, training as usual.

    We just finished our first round of the day, which ended up like most of them; me on my butt, and Oroske laughing at me heartily. He came over and helped me up, extending a hand then pulling me up. I patted the dirt off my butt as Oroske stretched. ¡°Ready to go again?¡± He asked, right arm crossed over his chest, getting pushed back by the other arm. I nodded, and readied for combat once again, slipping into my usual stance, holding my sword directly in front of me, ready to block or attack in any direction. ¡°Good, good,¡± he continued, finishing his stretches, ¡°Usual rules, anything goes. First to get a clean hit on the other wins.¡±

    He suddenly launched towards me, a burst of wind exploding from his feet. As he flew towards me, he summoned his weapon, this time a scythe. He always waited until he was coming towards me to summon, as he switched between sword and scythe frequently, making it more difficult to react. I saw him prepare his first swing, and waited until I saw him start to bring his arms forward. At the last minute, I stepped back, narrowly dodging the blade of the scythe, blocking with my sword just in case. The scythe slid across the blade of my sword, and narrowly missed the ground. This allowed Oroske to recover smoothly by doing almost a full front flip, bringing his scythe above his head after he landed, readying his second attack.

    ¡°Scythes are great weapons for the offensive fighter, as their odd shape makes them difficult to block effectively,¡± Oroske had once told me, and after the past few days of sparring, I understand more what he meant. In a fight like this one, my only real option is dodging until I find an opening to attack. I had tried fighting with a scythe, and while my muscles still retained their memory of how to fight with one, my mind struggled to understand how to use them effectively. The only times I managed to use them well was when I was filled with adrenaline and going off of pure instinct.

    That¡¯s when I had an idea. As he brought his scythe down, I moved my sword to my right hand and summoned my scythe in my left, and once again jumped back a little bit. Instead of letting his scythe complete its arc, I caught it by locking it with my scythe. I knew Oroske, even without magic, had the strength to break free easily regardless of what I did. I pulled my scythe back, as though I was trying to break his grip on the weapon. This was to bait a specific response from him, I wanted him to pull back as well. I had prepared sen¡¯tur at my feet in preparation for this response.

    When he pulled back, I made sure to hang on to my weapon, and used the momentum of being pulled in addition to the burst of sentem to fly towards him. I tried ramming my scythe into his chest, but he managed to deflect the blade downwards with the handle of his own scythe. So I let go of the scythe and made moves to strike with my sword.

    I thought for sure I had got him, when suddenly instead of the thud of my blade hitting his shoulder, I was met with the sound of metal hitting metal. I was surprised to see he managed to summon a sword and block in time. That surprise didn¡¯t have a lot of time to sink in, as the fight continued moving forward at breakneck pace. Combined with his absurd physical strength, and my body being very small and light, he was able to throw me upwards with just his sword against mine.

    As I was falling, considering my options, a voice rang out from the back door, ¡°Oroske! We¡¯re here!¡± I looked up to see Nadred standing in the doorframe, Jarou right behind him. This is my chance! Oroske was distracted by them, giving me a solid opening. I turned my body and readied my blade, and when I got close enough¡­

    Whack.

    I hit him square on the head, knocking him to the ground with me. I finally got a victory over him. ¡°I was wondering where Kuro was,¡± Nadred continued with a laugh, ¡°sorry we¡¯re late, we had to finalize some stuff with the Training Hunt Organizer.¡±

    ¡°Owww¡­,¡± Oroske groaned underneath me, as he started to get up, ¡°No worries here. And Kuro, not fair, I was distracted!¡± I fell off him as he stood up, and sat up. ¡°Oh it was completely fair!¡± I complained.

    ¡°I gotta agree with Kuro,¡± Nadred chuckled, ¡°Even with you being distracted, you usually wouldn¡¯t let your guard down like that.¡±

    ¡°Ugh, fiiine,¡± Oroske groaned again, reluctant to give me a win, ¡°that¡¯s one win for Kuro then. What¡¯s that make the record, like thirty-three to one?¡±

    ¡°Sounds about right,¡± I confirmed, ¡°Anyway, so the Training Hunt is ready?¡±

    ¡°Yep!¡± Nadred said, ¡°We have spots reserved for the four of us, but there are some open spots for others as well. We¡¯ll get details when it starts, which is in about an hour.¡±

    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°I assume everything is set up the usual way?¡± Oroske asked, brushing the dirt off his cloak.

    ¡°Yes sir,¡± Nadred affirmed as I picked up my weapons and stored them inside my Demon Sheath, ¡°Posted on the Hunt Board, with instructions to meet in training room two at HQ.¡±

    ¡°Cool, are we ready to just head out now then?¡± We all said yes, and left, heading towards the central plaza of Tsumi¡¯din.

    ---

    In the central plaza, along one of the sides of the headquarters building, was a large board with an awning. There was a large gathering of people, adorned in navy, black, and white cloaks. ¡°This is the Hunt Board,¡± Nadred explained as we approached the board, ¡°Other than a few exceptions, every Hunt you¡¯ll undertake will be posted here first.¡±

    The board was divided into 4 sections vertically. In the far left section were the Training Hunts, the middle and to the left section was listed as ¡°Low Difficulty/Investigations,¡± the next section was marked as ¡°Medium Difficulty,¡± and the last section was ¡°Large Group Hunts and White Cloak Only Hunts.¡±

    ¡°These categories are pretty self explanatory, but I¡¯ll go through them anyway.¡± Nadred started at the left, which only had two pieces of paper pinned on it, ¡°These are the Training Hunts, which is what we¡¯ll be doing today. There¡¯s usually at least one every day, but sometimes, like today, they post multiple. All depends on what they need that day. Like today, we have a first time Training Hunt, and a regular Training Hunt. But we will come back to this in a minute.¡±

    We moved on to the next section, plastered with papers. ¡°This is defined as the low difficulty and investigations board. ¡®Low Difficulty¡¯ is typically stuff like escort missions, Sigil hunting, and confirmed low-strength Restless hunts. ¡®Investigations¡¯ are becoming less common, but they still show up. They mostly entail going to a location, and investigating possible Restless cases, and in some cases, other possible Hunt targets.

    ¡°And this board is Medium Difficulty.¡± We moved on to the next section, which was so full, it was overlapping the other sections. ¡°Medium difficulty is a little difficult to explain, but in short it¡¯s confirmed medium-strength Restless and other targets, as well as combined investigation and follow through.¡±

    We moved to the last segment of the board, which had two separate groups, each with two or three sheets of paper. ¡°Large Group Hunts are exactly that, Hunts that require large groups of people. These Hunts are pretty rare, and are mostly big caravans of merchants needing escorts to sell their goods, but every now and then you get a super-strong target or a large group of targets that need taking care of. And White Cloak Only is also pretty self explanatory, basically they¡¯re just Hunts that you need to be a white or red cloak to undertake, typically due to very high difficulty, or they just require special attention.¡± He exhaled, as we moved back to the left side of the board, making our way through the crowd of Hunters.

    ¡°For now though,¡± Oroske said, ¡°All we care about today is this posting here.¡± He slapped the left paper on the Training Hunt section.

    First time Training Hunt for

    New Hunters!

    Meet in Training Room 2 in the East hall for debriefing.

    Starts at 1PM.

    ¡°Usually when accepting Hunts, you would take the paper off the board and go inside to the reception desk, and they¡¯ll give instructions from there. In this case though, it just has us go to a training room, with a start time listed,¡± Nadred explained, ushering the group towards the front doors of the HQ.

    The inside was as elegant and sleek as I remember. Venn popped her head up from her desk, it seemed like she was reading. ¡°Hey Venn, we¡¯re just here for the Training Hunt for Kuro,¡± Oroske said with a wave that Nadred and Jarou copied. I did as well, as Venn said ¡°Ah, okay! Do you know where to go?¡± Oroske nodded and we went down the hall to the left. ¡°Good luck!¡± She called from her desk, as we entered the second door on the left.

    Inside there were 5 people, three black cloaks, a navy cloak, and one with no cloak, similar to me. They were all sat down at a table near the opposite wall, chatting with one another. The one with no cloak, a young girl with long, blonde hair tied into twin-tails and bright red eyes with slitted pupils, looked up at me and smiled with a small wave. I returned the smile and wave, as my group moved to the table next to the door. The room was very plain, off-white walls on all sides, and a large whiteboard behind a stand on the East side, which all the chairs were facing. Four brown wooden tables, each with 5 matching chairs filled the rest of the space. The wall opposite the door did have a window, but the curtains were pulled shut. When I asked about how it was still bright inside, Oroske explained the light was from crystals in the ceiling, similar to how the stove at home worked.

    Just as one of the black cloaks from the other table was about to come over to talk to us, the door opened once again. A white cloak Hunter, male but with long, black hair entered. ¡°Good afternoon Hunters and Hunters-in-Training,¡± he said, he voice as deep as Oroske¡¯s, but much smoother sounding, ¡°My name is Pyrse, and I am the instructor for today¡¯s Training Hunt. Before we begin, why don¡¯t you all introduce yourselves? This is primarily a teamwork exercise, afterall. Hunter-in-Training by the door, you start, then go down one by one until we get to the other wall.¡±

    Oroske nudged me, indicating he was talking about me, ¡°Go on, stand up and introduce yourself.¡±

    I did as he said, ¡°Hello, my name is Kuro.¡±

    At Pyrse¡¯s nod, I sat back down and Oroske followed. ¡°I¡¯m Oroske, and I¡¯m Kuro¡¯s mentor. I look forward to working with you all,¡± he said, sounding much more proper than I was used to.

    Nadred and then Jarou followed suit, and the navy cloak at the other table stood up.

    ¡°My name is Fyr,¡± the young man stated, with little to no emotion in his voice. He couldn¡¯t have been much older than me and Jarou, and had blue hair, a fair few shades brighter than Nadred¡¯s, pointed ears poking through the bush that was his hair, and green eyes with round pupils.

    ¡°My name is Ranfa, Fyr¡¯s mentor and older sister.¡± The first black cloak stood up, her voice was quite deep and sultry. Her hair was black, and very long. Even tied up in a ponytail it still reached her waist. Her eyes were a very pretty green, but with slitted pupils.

    ¡°I¡¯m Orun, no apprentice, just here to kill time,¡± the middle black cloak said, without standing up. He was clearly very relaxed, his blonde hair was between the length of mine and Jarou¡¯s, and very messy and all over the place, though that seemed to be on purpose. His droopy eyes a dull shade of blue.

    The last black cloak stood up, lifting the energy from the previous three introductions from the floor to above the ceiling, ¡°My name is Xeron!¡± he exclaimed, ¡°Older brother to this nitwit,¡± he firmly placed his hand on Orun¡¯s head, ¡°and older brother and mentor to this cutie.¡± He much more softly patted the girl¡¯s head next to him. The similarities in the three¡¯s appearance made sense now that I knew they were family. Xeron had blond hair as well, and while it was about the same length as Orun¡¯s, it was much more well kept and was spiked up into a faux-hawk like Nadred¡¯s. His bright red eyes shined, as his slitted pupils expanded from his excitement.

    ¡°My name is Ari,¡± the Hunter-in-Training said timidly, clearly embarrassed by her brother¡¯s performance earlier. I hadn¡¯t noticed earlier how long her hair was until she stood up, but her twin-tails went down to just under her chest.

    ¡°Very good!¡± Pyrse exclaimed from the front as she sat back down, ¡°Now that introductions are out of the way, let us begin the debriefing!

 09: -Ari-

    -Ari-

    [An Alten word meaning

    ¡°To slice,¡± or, the shortened form of Relari,

    Meaning ¡°sword.¡±]

    ¡°As mentioned before, this is going to be a teamwork exercise,¡± Pyrse began his instruction, ¡°As usual with first-time Training Hunts, this will take you through the entire process of a Hunt; accepting the Hunt, investigating the target, deciding threat levels, and if determined necessary, taking down the target.¡± I had been kinda slouched down in my seat, which I corrected as he spoke. Hunts were a lot more complicated than I thought. I had the impression they were just ¡°go here, kill this thing or person.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t be involved in the Posting process until you become a White Cloak, most likely anyway,¡± Pyrse continued, grabbing a marker and turning to the white board and drawing a circle and writing ¡®Rumor Starts¡¯ in it, ¡°But it¡¯s important to know it nonetheless. I¡¯ll draw the entire process from the ¡®Rumor Starts¡¯ stage all the way to the ¡®Target Neutralized¡¯ stage on the whiteboard.

    ¡°¡®Rumor Starts¡¯ is typically the first step for Restless, Necromancer, and Criminal Hunts. As the name suggests, this step happens when the first pieces of evidence begin showing up, and rumors begin spreading about a potential target.¡± He drew a line leading to another circle, this time with ¡®Incident Reported¡¯ written in it. ¡°This next step is when either a civilian reports the rumor to an official, or an official takes notice of the evidence or rumors. If there is enough evidence, they¡¯ll begin the next step immediately, otherwise, they¡¯ll let the evidence and rumors pile up until there is.

    ¡°The ¡®Preliminary Investigation¡¯ step,¡± Pyrse didn¡¯t miss a beat as he drew, wrote, and spoke all at once, ¡°Is the local officials launching their official investigation. This investigation can lead to two options.¡± He had been drawing horizontally across the board until now, but this time he drew two lines, one across and one down. At the end of the line going down, he wrote ¡®Independent Solution,¡¯ and across he wrote ¡®Tsumi Clan Involvement.¡¯ ¡°Sometimes, the problem isn¡¯t actually something that they need us to take care of. In these cases, they can take care of it themselves, hence ¡®Independent Solution.¡¯ These cases typically consist of petty crime, or false alarms, or just situations where there isn¡¯t enough danger to get us involved. ¡®Tsumi Clan Involvement¡¯ means exactly that, they determine through their own investigation that they need to get us involved. And at that point, the next step begins; ¡®Request Submission and Review.¡¯¡±

    He drew yet another line and circle, writing in the next step as he went. ¡°At this point, it is still in the local officials¡¯ jurisdiction, but this is the last step where that is the case. The locals will submit a request, with all evidence, findings, situations, and rumors attached. Once received, the Posting Committee, half of which are White Cloak Hunters, the other half being hired-on officials at HQ, will review the information, and determine if the Clan should get involved or not. There are a lot of factors that go into that decision; estimated threat levels, volume of active Hunts, number of available Hunters, and the one that usually causes rejections: is it something they need us for.¡± Pyrse looked very annoyed when he got to that last point as he continued, his voice noticeably agitated, ¡°The sheer amount of requests we get where they definitely don¡¯t actually need us, and are just too lazy to fix it themselves¡­ It drives me crazy! Like honestly! You don¡¯t need Hunters to come all the way out to the Royal City just because you got robbed, that¡¯s a job for local officers and the Incol Clan!¡±

    It seemed like he realized he was ranting about it, because he stopped and took a deep breath, which when he exhaled, it sounded like a defeated sigh. Oroske explained after the meeting that Pyrse is a member of the Posting Committee.

    ¡°But I digress,¡± he continued, ¡°That step involves a second preliminary investigation from us, though we don¡¯t actually go out to the location and gather our own evidence and such. If the Committee decides it doesn¡¯t require our involvement, we bounce it back to the person who submitted it and give our formal rejection. If they decide it does, we move on to the next step.¡±

    He drew the next step, titled ¡®Determine Variables.¡¯

    ¡°This is the last step before the Hunt gets posted. Here, the Committee decides various things, such as what is the estimated difficulty level, how many Hunters should be assigned to it, is the investigation going to be a separate Hunt from actually resolving the issue, stuff like that.¡±

    After explaining that step, he drew the next few steps, ¡®Hunt Posted¡¯ branched into ¡®Investigation Hunt¡¯ and ¡®Neutralize Target.¡¯ The ¡®Investigation Hunt¡¯ had a line going into the ¡®Neutralize Target¡¯ as well. He then drew a line from both of those to one final step, ¡®Conclusion.¡¯

    ¡°I momentarily explained the next three steps, as it¡¯s what we¡¯ll be focusing on today, but to explain them a bit further,¡± he explained, pointing towards Hunt Posted on the whiteboard, ¡°Hunt Posted includes both the actual posting and accepting of the Hunt. Typically, the Hunters who are accepting the Hunt will write their names on the paper on the Hunt Board, then wait for the list to get filled. Sometimes you can skip that step, depending on the type and difficulty of the Hunt, but once the list has been filled, the group would take the paper to our lovely receptionist, Venn, or whoever is filling for her, and will officially be assigned to the Hunt, and receive any extra instruction or debriefing if needed.¡±

    He moved on, pointing towards ¡®Investigation Hunt,¡¯ ¡°These next two steps will sometimes be combined, like they are for today¡¯s Training Hunt. But when it comes to the official flowchart of steps, they¡¯re separate. So the Investigation Hunt must happen before the actual Neutralize Target step can happen, and typically the way it happens is the investigation team will return to HQ and report their findings, then the neutralization step will be posted as well. Sometimes, however, things are more dire and urgent than previously thought. Your mentor may have told you already, but Hunters are given the right to make decisions in the field, and that includes deciding the target needs to be neutralized immediately. Some Hunters abuse that power, which is unfortunate, but unavoidable. But to give more detail about the investigation step, the objective is simply to confirm the target¡¯s identity, location, and strength, and find any extra evidence and information possible.

    ¡°Then there¡¯s the Neutralize Target step. This one is very simple, simply go in, and take care of the problem. Whether that''s to kill someone or something, capture someone or something, or just generally take care of the problem.¡± He explained, before quickly moving to the next step.

    ¡°And finally, Conclusion. This step is a generalization of all the wrapping up. Any extra things needed to be done in the locale falls here, reporting completion, and finally the collection of payment,¡± as Pyrse finished, he took a deep breath before sharply exhaling, ¡°And that¡¯s it. That¡¯s the entire process, from initial rumors all the way to us getting paid.

    ¡°Any questions?¡± Pyrse¡¯s question was met with a somewhat awkward moment of silence. ¡°Fantastic, then let¡¯s begin the debriefing.¡± He grabbed a small stack of papers from a satchel before handing a copy to everyone, ¡°Go ahead and read through that, it¡¯s written up the same way actual Hunt postings are written, and includes all the known details.¡±

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    The paper read:

    -Restless Rumor in Tsumi¡¯din-

    Rumors of Restless activity in the South East Quadrant of Tsumi¡¯din have been reported by a few residents the past few days. Location of activity varies by report, there¡¯s a good chance of multiple Restless. Chance of a Necromancer has been determined to be low. The rumors indicate the Restless involved are moderately weak, but aggressive.

    Report to the contact in the Southeast section of the central plaza.

    After a few moments, allowing everybody to finish reading the passage, Pyrse spoke up once again, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s break this down. This is a very simple posting, as a lot of Investigation Hunts have, with only the essential information. To see if you understand the posting, let¡¯s quiz you on what everything means.¡± He pointed to Fyr, the other table¡¯s Navy Cloak, ¡°What kind of target are we after today?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Fyr started, standing up, ¡°Our suspected target is one or multiple Restless.¡±

    He sat back down and Pyrse fired the next question to me with a dramatic point, ¡°You, newbie, what is the estimated strength of the target?¡±

    I stood up, and mimicked Fyr, ¡°Yes, sir, the target is expected to be weak, but aggressive.¡±

    ¡°And you, Ari,¡± Pyrse had already moved onto the next person and question before I even sat down, ¡°Is there any chance of Necromancer involvement?¡±

    ¡°No, sir,¡± Ari said timidly, ¡°the report indicates the chance of a Necromancer to be low.¡±

    ¡°Very good, very good, and finally, you,¡± he continued without missing any beats, pointing at Jarou, ¡°Where are we to report to begin the Hunt properly?¡±

    ¡°Sir,¡± Jarou stood up in a very dignified and confident manner, ¡°we are to report to the Southeast section of the central plaza.¡±

    ¡°Good!¡± Pyrse said with a loud clap, ¡°Any questions?¡± He allowed a moment of silence for everyone to think, and continued after no one said anything. ¡°Fantastic, then with that the initial debriefing is done, and we can report to our contact. In actual Hunts, the contact would be waiting in an official building somewhere in the same city the target is in, unless there¡¯s a special case, in which it¡¯ll tell you where to go.¡±

    He motioned for everyone to get up and follow him. We walked outside the headquarters building, and crossed diagonally through the plaza, which was nowhere near as crowded as it was earlier, to the Southeast edge. We stopped in front of a building with a sign that read ¡°Lyen¡¯s Hunt Supply.¡± Once we were all standing next to the door, making sure not to block the path inside at Oroske¡¯s instruction, Pyrse stood in front of the group and cleared his throat. ¡°We were short people today, so I¡¯m also doubling as the contact for this Training Hunt. So, shall we begin?¡±

    We all nodded and Pyrse opened the floor to questions, instructing the mentors to demonstrate what questions to ask for things like this. Oroske spoke first, ¡°So, tell me some of the details of the rumors.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Pyrse began, ¡°The first rumor comes from an old lady on the corner of 15th South and 6th East streets. She said her garden on the Edge got ransacked, plants pulled up all over the place and flower pots smashed. At first it sounded like teenage hooligans getting up to no good, but similar stories with different motifs popped up in a few different locations.

    ¡°The second report came from a retired Hunter, who had spots of their yard dug up mysteriously. They have a locked fence, otherwise we would have thought it was a stray animal or something like that. Their house is the third house on the West side of 13th East, between 8th and 9th South, going South.

    ¡°And finally, the last report that was deemed to be part of the same series of events, various items, from both of those houses and a few others, all turned up in the same spot, thrown in a big pile. This pile was found in the park at the Edge, near both 15th streets.¡± Pyrse finished, exhaling sharply in a sigh.

    Xeron asked the next question, ¡°How long ago did all of this start? And how much time passed between each report?¡±

    Pyrse nodded, ¡°The first report came in yesterday, around mid-day, from the old lady, though she said that it had happened the previous night. She went out to water the plants in the afternoon, and when she went out to check on them before bed, the garden had been ransacked. The second report came a few hours later, and was suspected to have happened yesterday morning. And finally, the last report was made earlier today, when a Hunter spotted the pile in the park.¡±

    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± Nadred murmured, then spoke up more, ¡°You mentioned there are items from houses outside the two mentioned in the reports, would that mean there are other places the target may have ransacked?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what we believe to be the case. However, until they are reported, there isn¡¯t much we can do,¡± Pyrse explained. There was a somewhat awkward moment of silence as we all processed the information. After a minute or so, Pyrse broke the silence, ¡°If there¡¯s no more questions, I will leave you all to your preparations.¡± We all nodded as he walked away with a wave.

    ¡°So what do you all make of the rumors?¡± Oroske asked, signalling for the other mentors and Orun to give the apprentices a chance to speak first. Just as I was about to say something, Ari took the words right out of my mouth, ¡°It sounds like it could easily be some kid or animal causing trouble.¡±

    ¡°It does, however, that last report is pretty common Restless behaviour,¡± Jarou said, ¡°I can¡¯t think of a reason a kid would make a big pile of things they stole and have it in a park like that, while Restless commonly hoard items they liked in life, and pile them up.¡±

    I supposed now wasn¡¯t a good time to mention I wasn¡¯t even sure what a Restless was.

    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true,¡± Ari backed down timidly.

    Fyr suddenly spoke up, ¡°Ari brings up a good point, for all we know the two events are actually unrelated.¡± Oroske raised an eyebrow to this, looking amused as Fyr continued. ¡°That said, I think in a case like this, we should prepare for anything.¡±

    I decided to chime in finally, saying I agreed with Fyr and Ari both.

    ¡°Alright, well luckily for us, we¡¯re right by the best store for preparing to fight Restless,¡± Xeron said, ¡°Let¡¯s buy what we need, then what say we split our groups?¡±

    Ranfa had been silently nodding along the entire time, ¡°A good idea. From what I can tell, we have two groups already don¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, yeah. Why don¡¯t we switch it up?¡± Oroske suggested, ¡°For example, rather than it being me, Kuro, Jarou, and Nadred, my group would be Kuro, Xeron, and Ari. How does that sound?¡±

    ¡°Good idea,¡± Nadred said, ¡°It¡¯s important to know as many of your fellow Hunters as possible.¡±

    All of us apprentices agreed to it, and we went inside the store to prepare.

    Our mentors guided a section of the store that had a large bookshelf, filled with scrolls and tomes. Oroske grabbed nine scrolls from a compartment labeled ¡°Return to Dust,¡± and handed each of us one of them.

    ¡°These scrolls have the formula for the Return to Dust spell inscribed on them,¡± Nadred explained, ¡°it¡¯s a complicated spell, and the best tool to fight the Restless, as it sends them directly back to the Aetherial Realm. It does have other uses, but that¡¯s not relevant right now.¡±

    We all took our scrolls up to the counter, where a gentle looking lady, a little on the large side with smooth brown hair tied in a bun, and soft green eyes, probably around Oroske¡¯s age, was waiting for us. ¡°Lyen, it¡¯s good to see you,¡± Oroske greeted her.

    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you too, Oroske,¡± She returned the greeting. Her voice had a small hint of masculinity in it, but I figured it was probably my imagination or something. ¡°So nine Return to Dust scrolls? That¡¯s 10 Venn each, so a total of 90.¡±

    The mentors all pooled together a total of 9 silver coins. They had a large V with a line through the left side on one side of the coin, and the other had a smaller, matching V with a 10 underneath it. When I asked later, Oroske explained Venn is the money we use, and the name means silver. Apparently there¡¯s a gold coin type as well but it¡¯s very rare, so it rarely gets used.

    ¡°Good luck y¡¯all! Be safe out there,¡± Lyen bid us farewell after we paid.

    Once we were outside we split into our smaller groups. My group was as we decided on earlier, me, Oroske, Ari, and Xeron, but with the addition of Orun as well. Meaning the other group had Jarou, Nadred, Fyr, and Ranfa.

    ¡°My group will go meet with the old lady,¡± Oroske started, ¡°Once we¡¯ve finished talking with her, we¡¯ll meet up at the park. Whichever group gets there first, just stand by nearby until the other group arrives.¡±

    ¡°Got it!¡± The majority of the group exclaimed in unison, and we separated, heading to our respective goals.

 10: Return to Dust

    -Return to Dust-

    [A spell created by early Tsumi Clan members.

    Its common use is to send Restless to the

    Aetherial Realm, but is also used against Necromancers

    to retrieve their corrupted Dust.]

    I hadn¡¯t had much opportunity to explore the city yet, and I¡¯d always just followed Oroske around whenever we went somewhere. Today, however, he decided to have me lead the group. He explained that the streets were named in a specific way to make it easy to navigate the city. ¡°So this plaza is considered the center of the city, right?¡± He quizzed, getting a nod from Ari and I. ¡°Then with what I said earlier about the street names, how would you guess they work?¡± While I thought about it, it also dawned on me that Ari probably already knows all this, so this lesson is just for me. ¡°I¡¯m guessing that since the streets have numbers and directions, the number just goes up by one for every street you go in that direction?¡± I said I guessed, but I was actually very confident in my deduction.

    ¡°Correct,¡± Oroske said, ¡°So with that out of the way, lead us to our destination. We¡¯re supposed to meet the old lady who lives on the corner of 15th South and 6th East.¡±

    I had to ask which way each of the directions were, just to help get my bearings right, which Oroske pointed out all four cardinal directions. ¡°An easy way to remember which way is north, especially if you¡¯re on Center Street, is to look for that,¡± he explained, pointing at a mountain in the distance, ¡°that big mountain is due North of us. Sometimes you might struggle to see it over houses and stuff, but if you can see it, you¡¯ll know that you¡¯re looking North.¡± Somehow I had never noticed it, or maybe I did and was just never really conscious of it. I realized it must¡¯ve been the mountain in the Rift he and Nadred had told me about.

    My bearings set, I began to lead the group. We hugged the South edge of the plaza until we reached Center Street, which went all the way to both the North and South edges of the city.

    At first, I was counting in my head each street we passed. I realized after the second street that there were just signs on the intersections with the street names. I decided to still count the streets, while also checking the signs. This was my first time in this part of the city, as Oroske¡¯s house is in the North half. The feeling was much the same, with a large variety of styles. I asked Oroske about it once, why there were so many different styles, and he just said ¡°A large part of our Clan¡¯s culture is our refusal to be bound by a single, uniform lifestyle. This shows in many ways, different architecture styles, combat styles, fashion styles, and so on and so forth.¡± Despite the apparent chaos, none of the buildings ever seemed to fully clash with each other, and it brought a lot of individuality to the streets.

    Center Street seemed to still be mostly shops, and a couple inns here and there. ¡°The inns on Center Street are for extended stays,¡± Xeron was telling Ari, ¡°While the ones on Main Street are for those passing through, like the one our family owns. Some people will stay here for upwards of a year sometimes, usually representatives from various cities and such, so that they can participate in political meetings and the like.¡±

    ¡°Precisely,¡± Oroske chimed in, ¡°Though some people just like being here, but aren¡¯t eligible to buy a house, so instead they just stay at one of these inns as unofficial residents.¡±

    I had no idea there were people like that, then again, I had very little knowledge of the people outside of the Clan. ¡°What makes them ineligible to buy a house?¡± I asked.

    ¡°While Danfis isn¡¯t a huge fan of this tradition, and has been working on changing the rules around it,¡± Oroske began, ¡°you must be a member of the Tsumi Clan in order to purchase property here. Whether you were born into the Clan, were adopted into it, or married into it doesn¡¯t matter, but if you aren¡¯t recognized as a member you¡¯re out of luck.¡±

    ¡°Wait, Oroske, you know Danfis well enough to know about stuff like that?¡± Xeron asked with an overly shocked reaction.

    ¡°Ah, uh¡­¡± Oroske hesitated, ¡°Yeah, I do.¡±

    As Xeron expressed being impressed, we arrived at the 15th South, where I turned right, ¡°I had no idea. That seems like something only Red Cloaks would know.¡±

    ¡°Mmm,¡± Oroske affirmed, following me, ¡°Usually, yes. He and I have a lot of history, to say the least.¡±

    ¡°Wow, I¡¯d love to get to know Danfis more, honestly. He seems like a very interesting person.¡±

    As Oroske was about to respond, we came to the next intersection. I didn¡¯t pay attention to the sign, and got about half way across the street when he called out to me, ¡°Kuro, where are you going?¡±

    ¡°Huh? What do you mean?¡±

    He pointed at the sign directly above him, which said 1st West, ¡°We¡¯re supposed to go East, not West.¡±

    ¡°Oh, woops,¡± I muttered as I ran back to the group, ¡°Sorry, got turned around haha.¡± I returned to the front of the group, and led them in the correct direction. This would not be the last time I was bad with directions, I¡¯ll tell you now.

    Now that we were on the right track, Oroske picked their conversation back up, ¡°But yeah, Danfis is a good man. If you ever have a day off and have nothing else to do, I¡¯d definitely recommend offering to help him with stuff. He¡¯ll usually just have you fill out paperwork and the like, but he can get pretty talkative while he works.¡±

    ¡°Really? I had no idea I could do anything like that,¡± Xeron admitted.

    ¡°Oh yeah, a couple of the Red Cloaks actually got their start from doing stuff like that with him. With how busy he is, especially lately, he doesn¡¯t have time to vet out potential Reds like he used to.¡±

    ¡°Wow, I¡¯m impressed you know so much. Have you thought about trying to become a Red Cloak some day?¡±

    ¡°I, uh¡­¡± Oroske hesitated again, and I felt his gaze bore into my back, ¡°Even if I want to, I have a promise to fulfill first.¡± There was a strange, resolute seriousness in his voice. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what this promise was.

    Xeron was about to press further, but Oroske cut him off, ¡°Ah, we¡¯re here.¡±

    I had kind of zoned out for a second, so I was very glad Oroske spoke up before I completely passed it.

    It was a small, rustic house with a large front yard, the actual building stuck in the back corner of the lot. It was framed perfectly by the trees planted around the edges, and the yard had a large variety of plants and flowers surrounding a simple cobblestone path that led to the front door. They must have been watered recently, since even before we opened the gate and entered the yard, you could smell the moisture on the plants.

    Oroske had me still lead the way to the front door, and even had me knock and greet the old lady that answered. ¡°Oh hello, dears,¡± She greeted as she opened the inner door, leaving only the screen between us. Oroske gave me a pat on the back, as though to tell me to return the greeting. I panicked a little before stammering out a greeting, ¡°Uh, h-hi. We¡¯re here to ask about the Restless report you submitted?¡± I looked back at Oroske to see if I said the right thing, and he gave me a smile and a thumbs up.

    ¡°Oh wonderful!¡± She said as she opened up the screen door and stepped outside. ¡°What would you like to know?¡±

    Oroske and Xeron took the wheel from there. ¡°We would just like to verify the report, if that¡¯s okay,¡± Oroske started.

    ¡°We were told your garden had been ransacked, is that correct?¡± Xeron questioned.

    ¡°Correct,¡± she answered, ¡°Not my garden here though, I¡¯m responsible for a garden that¡¯s on the Edge. That¡¯s the one that got ransacked. It¡¯s just straight down 6th East here.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Oroske picked up the conversation next, ¡°Could you give us more details of how it was ransacked and around what time it happened?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± the old lady wandered over to her rocking chair on the porch and sat down, ¡°Two nights ago, everything was in place when I did my nightly rounds and went to sleep. But when I came back yesterday morning, several of the plants were dug up, dirt was flung over other plants, and a couple were even missing. After fretting about it for a few minutes, and looking for hints on who was responsible, I decided to leave the scene as I found it and reported it to the Hunter HQ. They said they¡¯d get a case rolling for it, and here we are I suppose.¡±

    ¡°I see, thank you for cooperating,¡± Oroske said with a very small bow, ¡°Has anything else happened since you made the report?¡±

    ¡°No, sir, other than the big pile in the park, but I believe someone else already reported that.¡±

    ¡°Correct. Thank you again, if anything else happens, please don¡¯t hesitate to let us know.¡± She nodded and bid us farewell, returning inside her house.

    We left her yard and began heading down 6th East. ¡°Alright, young¡¯uns,¡± Xeron started quizzing us, ¡°Any thoughts so far?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not really sure, it still sounds like it could¡¯ve been someone getting up to now good,¡± Ari spoke up after a moment of silence.

    ¡°I agree,¡± I said, ¡°I don¡¯t know enough about Restless to really say much, but it sounds like it could easily be either.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in agreement,¡± Orun spoke up finally, after silently following us everywhere, his boredom very apparent, ¡°I know better than most, Tsumi¡¯din doesn¡¯t really have a curfew, regardless of age. So it definitely could have been some kid getting up to no good.¡±

    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    ¡°Kind of you to offer something to the group, Orun,¡± Xeron said, giving Orun a noogie, ¡°But you¡¯re absolutely right. I think we¡¯ll have to actually see the scene to decide for sure if it was a Restless or not.¡±

    Oroske voiced his agreement as we arrived at the Edge. Which was exactly what it sounds like, the edge of the city, where the Rift begins. So here, at the intersection between 18th South and 6th East was a large garden. There were benches, picnic tables, and a gazebo with a beautiful view over the Rift. Well, as beautiful as a massive chasm could be anyway. The real beauty was across the rift in the forests of the Human Realm.

    Definitely not the garden though. I¡¯m sure it was beautiful before it got ransacked, but in its current state, over half of it was overturned.

    ¡°Well that¡¯s an unfortunate sight,¡± Oroske sighed, ¡°I had no idea it was this garden¡­ Ari, Kuro, do you two know how to check for aetherial disturbance from Restless?¡±

    Ari betrayed me by nodding, while I was left to shake my head no. She jumped on the opportunity to teach me before Oroske even had a chance to speak, ¡°Oh it¡¯s easy!¡± As she grabbed my hand to show me, Oroske breathed a sigh of relief, saying he has no idea how to teach it, since it comes naturally to him.

    She guided me to where some plants had been dug up. ¡°Restless leave some residual Aether when they do stuff. So, reach out your hand and open up your passthrough, and see if you feel more aether than normal.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure I quite understood her instructions, but I decided to give it a shot. I figured she probably meant opening my passthrough as being the same as the first steps to using magic. I allowed the aether to gather in my hand, and felt around the area for any spots with extra aether.

    After a minute or so of looking and not feeling anything different, I figured either there¡¯s nothing there, or maybe I¡¯m doing something wrong. ¡°Hey, Ari?¡± I asked, ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything different than normal. Am I doing something wrong?¡± She started looking in the area I had been looking around, moving her hand around the disturbed dirt. After quickly looking through the area, she responded, ¡°Nope, I¡¯m not feeling anything either.¡± She looked over at Xeron and Oroske who had been working in silence, ¡°You two find anything? Everything over here seems clean.¡±

    Xeron stood up and patted the dirt off his knees, ¡°Nothing. Either we¡¯re too late, or this wasn¡¯t a Restless that did this.¡±

    Oroske followed suit shortly after. ¡°Indeed, this doesn¡¯t seem like Restless activity. So, you two are the trainees, what do you think we should do?¡±

    ¡°Is there any other way of telling if it was a Restless or not?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Jarou mentioned the pile in the park being something Restless do sometimes, right?¡± Ari recalled, ¡°And that pile contained items that were messed with right? Maybe we should go check there next?¡±

    ¡°Excellent suggestion, Ari,¡± Oroske praised, ¡°Very well, let¡¯s call our investigation here complete for the time being.¡± He had this weird, smug look on his face like there was something he wasn¡¯t telling us, but we moved along anyway. Ari and I got up and brushed the dirt off our legs and hands.

    ¡°Ari, you lead this time. You know where to go, yeah?¡± Xeron asked, patting her shoulder. She nodded, ¡°The park at 15th and 15th, right? So I can just keep walking along this path here, right?¡±

    Once she got Xeron¡¯s approval, our group moved out. It was nice to be able to follow along, rather than lead. I hadn¡¯t noticed until then, but it had already gotten pretty late, and the sun was beginning to set, setting the sky on fire. This was the first time I got to see a sight like that from somewhere that wasn¡¯t the backyard or inside of Oroske¡¯s house. From where we were on the East side of the city, the sun was completely hidden by the houses, but you could still see the streaks of color in the sky above, painting the clouds. The atmosphere of walking with my comrades along the edge of the city, on a road lined with trees and gardens at this time of day brought me a strange sense of comfort and joy.

    We had walked in silence the entire way, only broken when we arrived, and heard Jarou greet us. ¡°Kuro, Oroske! Over here!¡± He was waving his hands in the air, beckoning us towards him. Even from the outer edge of the park where we were, you could see the large pile of junk in the middle of the grass.

    When we got closer it was easier to see what exactly had been thrown into it. You had chairs, a table, a couple of flower pots, but a lot of it was dirt, rocks, and plants. Which made sense, considering both reports were about stuff from gardens and the like.

    ¡°Have you already investigated it?¡± Oroske asked the other group. Ranfa nodded and stepped forward, ¡°We have yes. There is a small bit of residual disturbance on some of it, which matches up with what we discovered at our contact¡¯s residence as well.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Oroske sighed, ¡°We hadn¡¯t found any at our location, but if there¡¯s disturbance that matches between here and there, that¡¯s pretty solid evidence. Kuro,¡± he turned to me, ¡°draw your weapon, you get to do the honors.¡±

    ¡°Huh? What honors?¡± I said as I waved my hand to draw my weapon from my Demon Sheath.

    ¡°You get to piss off the ghost,¡± He said as he kinda pushed me towards the pile, ¡°Just stab the pile or pull something off, or something.¡±

    It finally clicked. Ah, Restless like restless spirit. Got it. I thought to myself as I hesitantly brought my sword to a large patch of dirt in the pile. Gulping down my sudden fear, I stabbed my sword into the dirt.

    ¡­

    Nothing happened.

    ¡°Try pulling one of those chairs off of it,¡± Ranfa suggested.

    When it fell to the ground, in addition to a light thud there was also what could only be described as a hissing sound. I looked in the direction the sound came from, only to see a ghostly white figure standing behind Jarou and Nadred. The panic must¡¯ve shown on my face, because they turned around shortly after. Jarou practically jumped when he saw it.

    Everyone drew their weapons as it hissed again. I was one of only three that didn¡¯t elect to use a scythe, along with Ari and Ranfa. Ari¡¯s weapon was similar to mine, just a simple hand-and-a-half sword, but Ranfa¡¯s was way cooler. It was a large greatsword with a fur covered handguard. I started to understand her aesthetic a bit more seeing that it matched her cloak, which had a furry lining.

    Why must you all always destroy what I hold dear?

    I was taken aback. All I heard was the hiss, but somehow, I could tell what it was thinking.

    ¡°So, what do we gotta do to make you pass on normally?¡± Oroske asked, slinging his scythe over his shoulder, ¡°Or are we gonna have to do this the hard way?¡± I wondered if he also understood it.

    Who cares? Just let me keep my treasures. The Restless hissed again.

    ¡°Treasures, huh?¡± He said, looking back at the pile. He gave a small, sad looking smile, ¡°Sounds like you lived a wholesome life if that stuff is what you find valuable. All the more reason you deserve to rest.¡± That last statement was filled with resolve.

    The Restless must have taken it as a sign of hostility, as it immediately began to attack. The more experienced members of the group jumped back, ¡°Alright you youngsters got this,¡± Nadred said, ¡°We¡¯ll step in if needed.¡±

    I had trailed the adults with my head, snapping back to face the Restless after he said that. I took a deep breath and recalled my combat training. Wait, I haven¡¯t learned anything about fighting Restless, I realized quickly. Eh, they look human enough, how different could they be from fighting a person?

    Turns out, very. I launched myself towards the restless, using wind magic to boost my speed. Just before I got into striking distance, suddenly a very powerful gust of wind stopped me mid air, before throwing me backwards. I managed to land on my feet somehow, and didn¡¯t get particularly hurt.

    ¡°Ari, together now!¡± Fyr called to the blonde girl next to him. The two took a much more grounded approach, with Fyr running at the target from behind, and Ari from the front. I saw Jarou running towards the target as well, from the side. When we made eye contact he nodded at me, then nodded to the target. I think I understood what he meant, and started to charge from the opposite direction, creating a four way pincer attack.

    Fyr grabbed his Return to Dust scroll from his pocket, and gestured to Jarou, Ari, and I to do the same. Shorty after the Restless hissed again, and attacked. Either it didn¡¯t realize it was the target of a pincer attack, or just decided to go for the person directly in front of it, but it quickly lunged at Ari, transforming its arm into a piercing spear. She dodged it at the last minute, having it just barely nick her cheek. She quickly closed the small gap between them and punched it in the stomach area with her free hand, which was clenching the Return to Dust spell. Along with the punch, it seemed she put some magic into it, as the Restless¡¯ body was sliced in half by the punch. It quickly started to rejoin with the bottom part of its body, but it seemed like it was stunned for a second.

    Fyr presented the Return to Dust spell, unrolling the scroll and placing the parchment on the blade of his scythe as he neared striking distance. After which, he swung his blade horizontally, aiming for its neck. The blade weightlessly cut through with no resistance, and the Restless went still.

    There was a brief moment where the only things happening were Jarou and I running towards the target still, before the body of the Restless lit up a bit, before dissipating into glowing dust. The dust slowly faded away, and there was still a little bit left by the time Jarou and I got close.

    ¡°Are you okay, Ari?¡± Fyr asked, bending down slightly to inspect her cut.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m okay,¡± She said, wincing a little at the pain as she wiped the blood off her face, ¡°Just a small cut, I¡¯ll be alright.¡± She smiled up at him.

    ¡°Well done you four,¡± Xeron congratulated as he approached, clapping.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Oroske followed up, ¡°Ari and Fyr, you two work really well together, I can tell you¡¯ve been involved in training together already. And of course, Kuro and Jarou also worked well with you, adapting to the pincer attack quickly. Consider me impressed!¡±

    ¡°Well put, Oroske. Though, if what you said earlier is true, we¡¯ve only taken care of part of the problem.¡± Nadred inputted.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ari asked.

    ¡°At the site we investigated, not only was there no evidence of a Restless, there was very obvious evidence of someone using a shovel or other tool to dig up the dirt. Meaning¡­?¡±

    ¡°There is someone else messing with stuff?¡± I offered.

    Oroske snapped his fingers and pointed at me, ¡°Bingo. Luckily, in this case we can merely include that in our report and that¡¯ll be that.¡±

    ¡°Oh good,¡± Orun sighed, ¡°I¡¯ve gotten tired walking around with you guys all day.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ all you did though,¡± Xeron prodded, ¡°But in all seriousness, good job you all. All that¡¯s left is to report to HQ and ¡®turn in¡¯ the Hunt.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t need to clean up or anything here?¡± I asked, worried about the pile and the ruined garden.

    ¡°Nah, as this is a Training Hunt it¡¯ll be handled like the aftermath of real Hunts, in which the officials involved with hiring us will take care of it,¡± Oroske explained as we began our journey back to the plaza, ¡°We¡¯re Hunters, not cleaners.¡±

    It was now fully nighttime, it was nearly 8:30PM when we returned to the HQ. Compared to the dark outdoors, inside the HQ was almost blindingly bright ¡°Ah, welcome back!¡± Venn greeted us with a cheerful smile, ¡°How did your Training Hunt go?¡±

    ¡°Pretty well, mind if I grab a report sheet?¡± Oroske responded.

    She filtered through a drawer on her side of the desk, and handed him a sheet of paper. ¡°Do you need a pen as well?¡± She asked, gesturing to the container with several of the writing utensils.

    Oroske thanked her and took her up on the offer, and we all went and sat down at one of the lounge tables, around the same area Oroske and I waited for Danfis when I first woke up. It was hard to believe how much time had passed since then, but even more so how little time had passed. Oroske silently filled out the paper, then had us all sign and write our names at the bottom to verify our participation. He then went and handed it back to Venn, making sure to return the pen as well.

    We all returned outside and bid each other farewell. ¡°We¡¯ll have a follow-up meeting tomorrow around 12PM, make sure you¡¯re all there,¡± Nadred said as the group split up.

    I was now one step closer to becoming a Navy Cloak Hunter again. All that was left was to take my exam, which I still needed to continue training for.

 11: Examination

    -Examination-

    [A process through which knowledge

    and/or ability in specific areas are tested]

    The day had finally come, the day of my exam. A couple weeks passed since the Training Hunt, and in total it had been a little over a month since I woke up. The follow up meeting was held the next day, and wasn¡¯t super interesting. We basically verified everything Oroske had written in the report, and got an investigation rolling to find who dug up that old lady¡¯s garden. That same day, Oroske and I scheduled my exam.

    Since then, we¡¯ve been training. A lot. He said that I was probably already good enough to pass then, but there¡¯s no harm in getting more practice.

    He also told me I should be thinking about what I want my cloak to look like, since I may have different tastes compared to before I died. I had tried on my old cloak a few times since then, and tried to figure out what I would like more. My old cloak was very simple in design. On the outside it was a simple, dark blue jacket with a simple white trim, and the Tsumi Clan emblem on the left shoulder. Inside though, it still had that heavy chainmail. While I wasn¡¯t a fan of how heavy it was with the chainmail, paired with the very thick fabric, I did like how safe I felt wearing it. I put probably too much thought into it, but I found one thing I¡¯d like to add to it, having seen it on many other Hunters¡¯ cloaks; some sort of symbol or design calling back to my name. I had no idea what that would be like, and I mean, some of those design¡¯s people had on their cloaks were very vague.

    We arrived at the HQ pretty early in the morning, a little after sunrise. Venn greeted us with her usual smile, and guided us upstairs through the hall to the right. I hadn¡¯t realized, but apparently the hallways on all three floors loop all the way around the building. The second floor had some rooms on the outside of the loop, a handful of offices and the like, but most of them were multi-purpose. Inside of the loop was a large room with padded floors and glass walls so you could see in easily. The glass walls actually extended up to the third floor, and there was no ceiling. ¡°At some point, fighting started becoming very vertical, and the roof was getting in the way, so we removed it,¡± Oroske explained with a chuckle. Venn guided us to one of the outer rooms, and said the content of my exam would be explained inside.

    Upon entering the room, I was greeted by a familiar face. ¡°Ah, Kuro, Oroske, good to see you,¡± Pyrse welcomed us as we came in, ¡°Please, take a seat.¡± He gestured to the other side of the desk he was sitting at. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you on the Exam Board, Pyrse,¡± Oroske said as we sat down.

    ¡°Well to be honest, neither did I,¡± Pyrse chuckled, ¡°One thing led to another, you know?¡± Oroske just nodded as Pyrse sifted through a stack of paper on his desk, pulling out a smaller stack that was paperclipped together.

    ¡°So, did you bring the Navy Cloak training checklist with you?¡±

    ¡°We did, yes,¡± Oroske had been carrying it in a small messenger bag, and pulled it out, placing the binder on the desk.

    ¡°Great, and is it all filled out as necessary?¡± Pyrse asked as he flipped to the checklist page to verify himself. He scanned through the checklist quickly before continuing, ¡°Perfect! Looks like everything is in order. So, we¡¯ll have you go through the written part of the test first, and then afterward will be the physical test. After all of that, you¡¯ll have an interview with Danfis, and we¡¯ll finalize your inauguration as a Hunter.¡±

    He returned the binder, and drew our focus to the papers he grabbed earlier, a packet that had my name written at the top of the front page. ¡°This packet is the written test, and has some guidelines for the physical portion for you to read through. Basically just telling you what we¡¯re looking for,¡± he explained as he handed me a pen, ¡°Oroske and I will be here in the room with you, but we¡¯ll stay silent as you take the test. You are free to begin whenever you please.¡±

    I decided to read through the guidelines for the physical portion first. They read as follows;

    Navy Cloak Physical Exam:

    The physical portion of the test will be done by means of a sparring match between the trainee and their mentor. We are specifically testing the trainee¡¯s understanding of how to fight, how to use magic, and how to apply magic to fighting. If the trainee passes as long as their combat ability is determined to be sufficient enough to take out low-ranking targets. The winner of the match will be determined by the Tsumi Clan Standard ruleset; one clean blow to the chest or head decides the victor. Winning or losing will not affect whether the trainee passes the exam or not.

    From the sounds of it, the test was just like the way Oroske had been training me.

    I continued reading on to the written exam. It¡¯s guidelines explained what I already knew, that it would test my knowledge on the Tsumi Clan, the Hunters, and what they do. In addition, it explained that there would be a few multiple choice questions, but most of the questions would be free response questions. Moving on to the test itself, well, it was exactly as described. I was able to answer most of the questions easily, the rest either required a bit of thought, or I ended up guessing the answers to them. Such as the question ¡°Why are Necromancers a priority target?¡± To which, after a good minute or so of thinking, I eventually concluded that it was probably due to them messing with our territory, and that raising the dead is our thing. The test took me about forty or so minutes to finish, and a lot of that time was thinking about how to phrase some of my answers. Thankfully, Oroske and Pyrse were very patient throughout.

    Once I had finished, I handed the papers over to Pyrse who set it off to the side. ¡°Very good, while you¡¯re doing the combat section I¡¯ll go over this and grade it,¡± he explained, guiding Oroske and I back out to the hall, ¡°You have a pretty unique opportunity, Kuro. Due to most of the Exam Board being preoccupied today, Danfis will be the observer for your match.¡±

    Oroske raised an eyebrow after hearing that, then patted me on the back, ¡°Do your best, kid. Danfis can be strict sometimes, so try to impress him, yeah?¡± I gave him an enthusiastic nod as we proceeded to the arena. Pyrse yelled ¡°Good luck!¡± as he went back into the office. We had to go a little ways down the hall before we arrived at one of the doors that led inside. It was a little difficult to differentiate between the walls and doors of the dojo, as both were almost completely glass.

    We knew before we walked in, but Danfis wasn¡¯t in there yet. There were two black lines near the center of the light beige floor, a couple feet apart. Oroske instructed me to sit on my knees at one of them, and he sat at the other, facing me. ¡°So, how¡¯re you feeling?¡± He asked me, leaning backwards, supporting himself with his hands behind him.

    ¡°Good, there were a couple questions I wasn¡¯t positive about during the written portion, but otherwise it was pretty easy.¡±

    ¡°Good, good. How about physically? Think you¡¯ll be able to win against me today?¡±

    ¡°I feel pretty much the same as always,¡± I said, thinking about the one time I¡¯ve won against him, ¡°I¡¯ve only gotten one win, and I don¡¯t think I would have that time if Nadred hadn¡¯t shown up to distract you.¡±

    Oroske laughed at that response, ¡°True, true. Though I shouldn¡¯t have let my guard down.¡± He tilted his body slightly to look behind me, ¡°Well, give it your all. Remember, you don¡¯t have to win, just show that you¡¯re capable of fighting.¡±

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    ¡°Exactly,¡± a familiar voice called from behind me. I turned around to see Danfis, his overall dark appearance contrasting with the bright lights and colors of the HQ¡¯s interior. ¡°I look forward to seeing how you do, I was impressed by your performance before you died. You may start whenever you like.¡± He folded his arms, accentuating the very large, flowy sleeves of his robe, and had a small smile on his face.

    I turned back to face Oroske who had a similar smirk on his face. We stood up at the same time, drawing our weapons. We both opted for swords at the start. He gestured to me, indicating I can make the first move.

    I took a second to consider what kind of strategy I would employ. I had to ensure Danfis saw not only my physical ability, but my magical prowess as well.

    I decided to start simple and work my way up.

    I quickly slashed horizontally with an assertive step forward. Immediately after Oroske blocked, I jumped backwards to dodge his follow-up that I anticipated he¡¯d respond with. I had gotten used to the defense game, reacting to his moves rather than making my own until I saw my openings. Usually Oroske would chase after something like that, but he stayed at his line, only adjusting his stance. I guess this is a test of my ability to fight after all, I thought to myself before making my next move.

    I used sen¡¯tur¡¯fer on my feet to launch myself forward, while also coating my blade with selr¡¯ari¡¯fer after I had jumped. I positioned myself so that it seemed like I was going to strike from my left, allowing him to block easily with his right. As soon as our blades were about to clash, I released the selr from my blade, commanding it to go around his block, in an attempt to stun him, even if just slightly. He succeeded in blocking, and I succeeded in stunning him a little, as I saw his body lock up slightly. I used his block as something of a spring board, launching myself with my sword above him, flipping to land behind him. Immediately after landing, I snapped backwards, slashing at his back. My stun didn¡¯t last long enough, however. Just as I was about to strike him, he managed to jump forward and dodge.

    I didn¡¯t expect that would be the end of the fight. I pushed forward, chasing after him in an attempt to minimize his recovery window, yet again augmenting my speed with wind magic. I got to him shortly after he landed and began to barrage him with sword blows. Even after all those weeks of training, I still wasn¡¯t able to surpass his speed. What a monster he was, insanely strong and insanely fast. He blocked all of my blows easily, and when I finally faltered just a little, he swung at me himself. Thankfully, I was able to block it just in time. The force of his attack launched me backwards quite a bit, falling towards the ground. Right before my back hit the ground, I was able to recover by placing my hands on the ground and spring boarding off of them. Flipping myself around in the air, I landed on my feet facing him. I had limited time to figure out my next move as he was already chasing me.

    I panicked slightly, when suddenly time seemed to slow down, which offered me time to think. There were two main things I needed to think about; how can I fend him off, potentially even win, and what else can I do to impress Danfis? The answers to both came to me at once.

    As Oroske got closer, and time returned to normal speed, I prepared to defend. I had no idea if it would work since the room we were in had wood floors, but I attempted a defensive spell using jarou¡¯tur. I kneeled down and placed my hands on the floor, commanding the aether flowing through me to burst in a stone wall. I had to time it just right so that it would catch him and send him upwards. I was a little surprised when I got it just right. His foot had just landed on the spot I was aiming for, and suddenly the aether gathered into stone, and launched up into a pillar. He had a shocked face as he lost his balance and was flung into the air. It lasted only a moment, however, before he switched back to the smile he usually had while fighting, and he regained control.

    As he was flying through the air, I sent bursts of sen¡¯ari towards him, in an attempt to weaken him. He blocked most of them, but one blade sliced into his shoulder, knocking him off balance as he fell towards the ground. I once again chased after, getting to him as he landed on his feet. I swung at him the same way I did earlier to bait his blocks, and as soon as I saw him prepare to block that first swing, I quickly switched from my sword to my scythe. I had to use Demon Sheath while I was running toward him, and couldn¡¯t actually activate the spell until I saw him commit to blocking.

    The pole of my scythe connected with his sword, just under the blade. I then flipped the scythe, using the curve of its blade to pinch Oroske¡¯s weapon, and swung hard. His sword flew out of his hand, leaving him defenseless. Before he could summon another weapon and defend, I swung my scythe in such a way the blade was right behind his neck. ¡°Alright, you win,¡± he said, raising his hands in defeat. In order for my victory to meet the actual rules of the match, I swung the scythe as though I was beheading him. Thankfully all of my weapons had the enchantment placed on them to make them safe, so I didn¡¯t actually chop his head off.

    ¡°Victor; Kuro!¡± Danfis declared from the edge of the room while applauding. We walked towards him, and he closed the distance as well. ¡°I¡¯m impressed, Kuro. Even when he holds back, Oroske is a tough opponent. I declare you have passed your exam, congratulations.¡±

    ¡°Wait, holding back?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Oh yeah, it¡¯s my personal rule that I don¡¯t use techniques I haven¡¯t taught you while we spar.¡± Oroske explained, ¡°That said, you used one of those techniques by yourself anyway, I was surprised.¡±

    ¡°Really? What technique?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later, when it comes time to actually teach you it.¡±

    Danfis chuckled before speaking, ¡°Well, all that¡¯s left is your interview. We¡¯ll hold it in my office.¡±

    He guided us out of the training room, and up to the third floor. He took us to a large set of double doors, on the corner where the city plaza was. The inside was almost like another hall, but much wider. The walls were lined with packed bookshelves, and in the middle of the room there was a long table with several chairs on each side. At the back of the room was a desk with a large chair, and a window looking out over the plaza.

    Danfis pulled two of the chairs from the large table up to the desk before sitting down in the big chair on the other side. He gestured to Oroske and I to sit down.

    ¡°This brings back memories,¡± He started after we sat down, ¡°It was only a few months ago we had your first interview. Pyrse handed me the results from your written test while you two were fighting, you did well enough to pass, only missing a few questions. All of which I¡¯m sure are due to Oroske not teaching those parts.¡± He gave Oroske a hard glare before continuing, causing Oroske to nervously laugh, ¡°But he¡¯s right, they¡¯re not that important.

    ¡°So, there are just a few questions I¡¯d like to ask you. First, why would you like to be a Hunter?¡± Danfis began the interview proper.

    I took a moment to think about it. It wasn¡¯t something I put much thought into until now, if I was honest. It just felt like the natural thing to do. After some thinking, I thought of one good reason, ¡°I feel like it¡¯s the best shot I¡¯ve got at getting my memory back. From what I¡¯ve been told, there¡¯s about fourteen years of my life just¡­ missing, from my memory, and I¡¯d really like to get it back.¡±

    Danfis nodded, ¡°A good, personal reason, very good. Next is a question of understanding and consent. This is a dangerous job, and your life is at risk during even the simplest Hunts. Do you understand and are you okay with the fact that at any minute you could die?¡±

    I barely had to think about this question. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve died once, what¡¯s dying again? Even with the risk of not being able to come back, if I have a chance of learning about my past, it¡¯ll be worth it.¡±

    ¡°Very good. And finally, will you take the Hunters¡¯ Oath? Do you promise to protect our realms, their people, and to uphold the balance between life and death?¡± He asked me, with a very serious look in his eyes.

    ¡°I do.¡±

    He smiled softly, ¡°Then congratulations, and welcome back to the Hunters.¡± He stood up and offered his hand out to me. I followed and shook his hand. ¡°Did you wish to change up your cloak at all?¡±

    ¡°I had a couple ideas,¡± I responded. It took me a bit of thought, but I did think of something I¡¯d like to add.

    ¡°Great, Venn can process the request. We host ceremonies every month for people getting new cloaks, which will be in about a week. For now, go take a break, you¡¯ve been hard at work the past couple months since you woke up, you deserve it.¡± Danfis explained, ¡°You¡¯re free to head home.¡±

    Oroske and I got up and started walking out of Danfis¡¯s office, when he suddenly spoke up again, ¡°Hang on, Oroske. Mind if I talk to you a bit?¡±

    ¡°Ah, of course,¡± Oroske said, then turned to me, ¡°You can go on ahead to home, or you can wait for me, whichever you want to do.¡± I nodded as he kinda pushed me out the door. I decided to just wait for him in the lobby, while I talked to Venn about the changes I wanted made to my cloak. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what Danfis and Oroske were talking about.

    After sitting down it finally hit me. I finally earned my Navy Cloak again. I wondered what kind of adventures would come next.

 12: Restless

    -Restless-

    [Shorthand for Restless Spirit, usually refers

    to ghosts and spirits haunting the waking world.

    They are one of the Tsumi Clan¡¯s primary targets.]

    ¡°Kuro!¡± My name was called by Danfis from the stage that had been erected in the central plaza. I had been instructed to stand at the side of the stage until my name was called. Ari had been called up just before me, so I was following her.

    On the stage, Danfis handed us each a blue bundle of cloth, and began his speech.

    ¡°Today, you two formally join the ranks of the Hunters. While you are only Navy Cloaks, and therefore novices, you still have an important place in this Clan. You are still young, and there is still much for you to learn. Much like my father before me, I believe you, the youth of Tsumi, are our future. I look forward to seeing all that you two achieve. Now, don your new cloaks, and make your family proud!¡±

    I watched Ari as she unfolded her cloak, and put it on dramatically, flipping it over her shoulders, flowing behind her before it fell to rest at her waist. She had opted for a cloak similar to Jarou¡¯s, where it looked more like a suit jacket. I followed suit, copying the motion in an attempt to look cool for the crowd.

    My cloak was functionally identical to how it had been in the past, but I did opt for a few changes. The first one was having the chainmail detachable, in favor of being able to lighten the load and have my cloak be more comfortable to wear. It also now went down to my knees, whereas before it went down to around my mid-thigh area.

    Before, the only design my cloak had was the Tsumi Clan emblem on the shoulder and a basic white trim along the bottom. It took Venn and I a lot of discussion, but we did find a way to make it a little more personal. To someone who¡¯d only seen my original cloak a few times they probably wouldn¡¯t notice it, but the keen eye would see the Clan emblem was now framed by another simple design.

    I really wanted to have my name present somewhere, somehow in the design, so I was a little disheartened when Venn told me the name Kuro didn¡¯t really have any sort of symbol or design associated with it. My mood brightened, however, when she said that meant I got to design it myself. So, during the week or so between my exam and the ceremony, I frequently went to HQ and chatted with her and the design team to figure something out. In the end, we decided on a simple bracket style around the Clan emblem. So you had the main emblem, then on opposing corners of the circle you had two lines that hugged the circle, and followed the center line outward, stretching out past where that line ended. It was a simple design, and quite abstract, but Venn assured me it was fine, saying ¡°With symbols like these, the looks and meaning don¡¯t have to match up exactly, and the one who creates them ultimately decides their meaning.¡±

    As my cloak fell to my legs, the backs of my knees got slapped by the heavy chainmail, breaking my balance slightly. The crowd laughed, seeing me almost fall down from my attempt to look cool. How embarrassing¡­

    With our cloaks donned, we turned around to face Danfis again, who had his usual soft smile. He summoned two scythes out of his Demon Sheath, and began speaking again, ¡°Scythes are the customary weapon of our people. Once, they were used to assist in farming and other agricultural endeavors. Since then, they have become symbols of death, from our use of them in combat. Wield these scythes with honor, as befits the Hunters of our Clan.¡± He handed us our new scythes, which we both quickly withdrew into our Demon Sheaths. He then shook our hands, offering another round of congratulations, and gestured for us to leave the stage. At the bottom of the stairs, our mentors awaited us.

    ¡°Congratulations, Ari!¡± Xeron greeted her with a hug, ¡°Now you can finally go on proper hunts with the others.¡± She nodded with a smile as they walked towards the crowd to watch the rest of the ceremony.

    ¡°Welcome back, Kuro,¡± Oroske said, a small, proud smile on his face, his hand held out as though offering a handshake. I returned the smile and went to grab his hand, but before I could he suddenly lunged forward and hugged me. ¡°Now we can start focusing on getting your memories back, and get you going on proper hunts again,¡± he said, revealing watery eyes as he pulled back from the hug, ¡°Now don¡¯t go dying on me again, you hear me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± I said with a chuckle.

    ¡°Shall we go watch the rest of the ceremony?¡±

    I agreed and we went and joined the crowd in front of the stage. I felt several eyes watching me, and I had more than a few people pat my shoulder and welcome me back, none of whom looked familiar. More people I forgot¡­ I thought to myself, regaining my motivation to get my memory back. I felt so bad seeing so many people who called me by name and addressed me with familiarity but I had no clue who they were.

    I decided to focus my attention on the ceremony, rather than dwell on that. It lasted about another thirty minutes, and consisted mostly of awarding Hunters with new cloaks. Six Hunters received their Black Cloaks, and three received white cloaks. ¡°A low Black Cloak count, with a high White Cloak count, I¡¯m a bit surprised,¡± Oroske muttered.

    ¡°What about Red Cloaks?¡± I asked him, interested in how often new Red Cloaks were awarded.

    ¡°Aside from when a new Danfis is appointed, even having a single Red Cloak is a lot,¡± he explained, ¡°A new Red Cloak gets appointed every other year, on average.¡±

    ¡°Why does having a new Danfis appointed affect having new Red Cloaks awarded?¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯ve explained before that Red Cloaks are like Danfis¡¯s inner circle, right? Well, when a new Danfis takes up the position, it¡¯s pretty common they¡¯ll name an entire new set of Red Cloaks, which is usually about eight or nine members. Sometimes, like with our current Danfis, they keep the old Reds, but oftentimes their time as Reds ends when the Danfis that appointed them passes on. So naturally, when a new Danfis gets named, that award ceremony has a large influx of Red Cloaks.¡±

    ¡°I see, that makes sense.¡±

    After the cloaks were all awarded, the ceremony transitioned to being more like a meeting, and Danfis talked a bit about recent happenings. I had no real idea what he was talking about, as most of it seemed to be major events from outside the Clan.

    ¡°And finally, it¡¯s that time again, the Human-Demon Peace Party will be held soon. I have some people in mind for each party already, and sign-ups will be posted in the next couple days. Mentors, this is a great opportunity if your Navy Cloak is interested in going on one, and that goes to any Black Cloaks that haven¡¯t gone either. That¡¯s all for today, thank you all for attending,¡± He finished with a bow, and walked off the stage.

    ¡°What¡¯s the Human-Demon Peace Party?¡± I asked Oroske as we headed over to the Hunt Board.

    ¡°Ah, that,¡± He started, ¡°Have you been told about the Grand War? I can¡¯t remember if we¡¯ve talked about it since you woke up.

    ¡°I believe so, I still don¡¯t know much about it though.¡±

    ¡°Gotcha, well, the short version is that it¡¯s probably the most bloody war in our history, waged between the Humans and Demons, for around 100 years or so. At that time, the Realm Rift hadn¡¯t been formed, and the Demon Empire controlled most of the continent, save for a few Human cities that managed to fend them off. It went back and forth and back and forth for several decades, until finally the Guardians stepped in. That was in 1103, over five hundred years ago. Five years later, in 1108, the first Human-Demon Peace Party was held, though at that time it was just called the Peace Conference. Since then, every four years, another one of these conferences is held, incorporating members from every race and major group. The first several were focused on figuring out how to have the Humans and Demons live peacefully with each other, and I guess it still is that way, but it¡¯s more focused on general peacekeeping. Neither side wants another war.

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    ¡°Danfis wants me to go this year, so I¡¯m gonna drag you along with me. So you¡¯ll get to see what it¡¯s like first-hand,¡± he finished his lengthy explanation as we approached the board, where Nadred and Jarou were waiting for us.

    We had met up with them the night before, and discussed plans for my first proper Hunt. ¡°So you said as long as it¡¯s in the City of Towers, we can pick any?¡± Nadred asked to verify.

    Oroske nodded, ¡°Yep, Danfis told me there¡¯s a fifth person that he wants us to meet up with there.¡±

    ¡°Gotcha, gotcha,¡± Nadred affirmed while poring over the postings. He suddenly perked up and grabbed one, ¡°How about this one? Strong restless activity, moderate chance of Necromancer, and an interesting story behind it to boot.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Do tell,¡± Oroske voiced his interest.

    ¡°Alright, from what it says here, sounds like the area surrounding the old city library has had a lot of strange occurrences happening lately; things going missing, buildings that have only been abandoned for a few weeks collapsing, extra-fast plant growth, and last but certainly not least: a strange, threatening aura that most people can¡¯t stand, leaving the area mostly uninvestigated.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, sounds promising,¡± Oroske pondered the information for a bit, ¡°I take it it¡¯s a full investigation Hunt?¡±

    ¡°Yep, ¡®investigate and eliminate the target,¡¯¡± Nadred recited, ¡°So, we wanna do this one?¡±

    ¡°Sure, how about you two? What do you think?¡± Oroske asked me and Jarou.

    We both agreed to it, voicing our interest happily. ¡°Very well, Kuro and I will go procure our supplies, if you and Jarou wouldn¡¯t mind getting us signed up properly. Venn is already aware of the fifth person who¡¯ll be joining, though I¡¯m sure you can guess who it is.¡± Oroske laid out the plan to Nadred, who nodded in agreement.

    We split up, Nadred and Jarou going inside the HQ building, or rather, getting in line to go inside, as there were many Hunters waiting to sign up for their respective Hunts. Meanwhile, Oroske and I ventured across the plaza to Lyen¡¯s shop.

    Inside, we went over to the wall where we purchased the Return to Dust scrolls during the Training Hunt. ¡°We probably want at least two Return to Dust for each of us, for a total of ten,¡± Oroske muttered to himself, looking over the selection while deep in thought, ¡°Maybe add a couple? Just in case? Eh, yeah I¡¯ll just grab twelve total. Any spells here sound interesting, Kuro?¡±

    I was a little caught off guard when he asked me, ¡°Uhh,¡± I started looking around the shelf frantically. To be honest, I had no idea what I was looking at, or for. There was almost an entire bookcase dedicated to just Return to Dust scrolls, but for the rest of the bookcases, there were smaller compartments, each with different spell scrolls, and quite a few books. ¡°What¡¯s the difference between a scroll and a book?¡± I really had no idea.

    ¡°Ah, tomes vs scrolls,¡± Oroske started, ¡°The way that scrolls are made they only last one use each. Nadred could explain it more thoroughly, but my understanding is that the parchment is infused with aether, and the designs drawn inside the scroll are essentially a recipe for the spell. Then when the scroll gets used, it burns up all that aether, which also results in the paper burning. Tomes, on the other hand, have several dozen pages, not always of the same spell, but you end up only using one page any time you use a spell from them. Most are designed in such a way that by the time you run out of pages, you should have a pretty good idea how to use the spell yourself. They¡¯re a very effective learning method for more complex spells.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± armed with my new knowledge, I began looking for any spell that interested me. Eventually, I found a set of scrolls and a couple of tomes for a spell called ¡®Lightning Blade.¡¯ I pointed to it, and Oroske grabbed a couple scrolls for it. ¡°An interesting choice. You probably don''t need a full tome to learn how this one works. Let¡¯s see¡­¡± He went back to muttering and thinking as he looked over the selection again. After a few minutes he stood up and shrugged, saying ¡°Eh, we have the essential spells at least. Now then, what other supplies might we need?¡± I figured he was talking to himself as he started walking around the store.

    I followed behind him as he looked at various items, eventually saying either ¡°Nah, we have plenty of these,¡± or ¡°We don¡¯t really need these.¡± We went throughout the entire store before he finally decided he was satisfied and we went up to the front counter.

    ¡°Hey guys, what¡¯re you buying today?¡± Lyen asked as she turned around, having just finished stocking the back shelf.

    ¡°Just some RTD scrolls and a couple Lightning Blade scrolls. Nothing crazy,¡± Oroske said while placing the scrolls on the counter.

    ¡°Gotcha gotcha,¡± Lyen counted out the scrolls, totalling up their price, ¡°Hunting more Restless, eh?¡±

    ¡°Yep, there¡¯s always some roaming around, right?¡±

    Lyen chuckled, ¡°I suppose so, huh. Oh yeah, congratulations on getting your Navy Cloak again, Kuro! Feels like yesterday you just got it for the first time.¡±

    ¡°Ah, uh, thank you,¡± I said, caught off guard that she was talking to me.

    She told Oroske the total price was going to be 160 Venn. He pulled out two small, golden coins instead of a bunch of silver ones. After receiving them, she handed him back a handful of silver Venn coins. Oroske would go on to explain later that it¡¯s because one of these small gold coins is worth one hundred of the silver. He also explained there are two sizes of silver coins, the smaller being worth only one, the larger being worth ten. Apparently in the old days, there was only the smaller size, but as they became more and more available, and prices got higher and higher, they needed to find a way to have the same value, but in a smaller size.

    We waved goodbye on our way out, which Lyen returned.

    ¡°Alright, they should be done by now¡­¡± Oroske muttered to himself, scanning the plaza for our comrades. Turns out they¡¯d find us first.

    ¡°Kuro, Oroske!¡± Jarou¡¯s voice rang out as he ran towards us, followed by a walking Nadred.

    ¡°Wonderful, we all set then?¡± Oroske asked.

    After receiving confirmation from our allies, we began heading down the East path of Main Street. We made plenty of small talk until we eventually reached the small plaza that led out to the bridge.

    Oroske flagged one of the several Aeth¡¯Mobiles, many of which had Hunters already piling into them. Nadred explained as he did, that you would usually hold your hand out, with as many fingers held up as you had members. So in this case, Oroske was holding up four fingers, which quickly got us a ride.

    We all piled into the small black vehicle, Oroske sitting up front, and Nadred and Jarou got the window seats in the back, while I was forced in the middle because, in Jarou¡¯s words, ¡°The shortest always takes the middle.¡±

    Oroske informed the driver our destination was the City of Towers, and told them the Black Tower Inn & Cafe is where he¡¯d prefer us to be taken. The vehicle started with a loud growling sound, and maintained a low purring sound while it ran. We had to wait for the people in front of us to move, but we were on our way soon after, crossing the bridge into the forest of the Human Realm.

    From my middle seat, I was able to get a pretty nice view straight ahead, and of the driver. He was a plain man, with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a simple yet very nice black suit with a blue tie. He had a pin on the lapel of his suit that featured the Tsumi Clan emblem, the circle framed in a downward triangle. Nadred would tell me on the drive to our destination that the pin was a symbol of people who work with the Clan, but aren¡¯t a member. He also explained that Clan members like Lyen were considered Support Cloaks, and were denoted by pins rather than cloaks, being a small, green shield with the Clan emblem. I would have to try to remember to look for it next time I saw her.

    The road in the forest was a much smoother, simple path with red lines drawn on the black pavement, contrasting with the somewhat bumpy brick paving featured on the bridge that led into Tsumi¡¯Din. Immediately after said bridge, the path diverged in three other directions, straight ahead, to the right, and the path we took to the left. Of the four other vehicles that were in front of us as we left, only one took the same path we did, two went down the center, and one went down the right. I knew there were other vehicles behind us, but I didn¡¯t pay attention to where they were going.

    We were surrounded by mostly nothing but trees for nearly forty minutes, with the occasional break where you could see the Realm Rift to the left, or some rocks to the right. There was one small section where you could vaguely make out a city, and had a good view of the old Royal Palace right above it. ¡°That¡¯s Royal City, the capital of the Human Realm,¡± Nadred explained when he saw me looking at it, squinting to try and see it more clearly, ¡°It¡¯s pretty far away, though with all the shenanigans that go on there, you¡¯ll no doubt go there for a Hunt someday.¡±

    ¡°Or the Human-Demon Peace Party,¡± Jarou cut in excitedly, ¡°Though I guess you might also end up going to Ish¡¯din first, huh?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Nadred said, ¡°Either way, still a very cool opportunity. You end up passing through many different cities on your journey there. I¡¯d definitely recommend trying to go both ways someday. By the way, Ish¡¯din is the Demon Realm¡¯s capital, in case you hadn¡¯t guessed.¡± He finished with a small chuckle.

    I had guessed that was the case, but knowing for sure is always nice, so that I¡¯m not relying purely on a guess.

    Shortly after that conversation, we turned around a curve, and the City of Towers was in plain view. It was a blindly bright sight, with all the white buildings. However, it was also incredible, the vast majority of the buildings were very tall towers, the smallest of which was taller than the tallest building in Tsumi¡¯Din. And at the very center were a cluster of several towers - all varying heights, connected by bridges at various levels - sat at the top of a hill.

    From there, it was only a few minutes before we entered the city. It felt as though a whole new world had opened up to me.

 13: City of Towers

    -City of Towers-

    [A Human Realm city, featuring primarily

    white buildings, the majority of which are towers.

    The prestigious School of Towers Academy is located here,

    and is considered the Capital of Magic.]

    It was a little before mid-day, but the City of Towers was blindingly bright. The buildings were mostly white, and most of them had several windows, so the light was reflecting brightly all over the place. Jarou was looking up and out of the window, and motioned for me to check it out too. I leaned over him and looked up through the window. From my position in the car, I couldn¡¯t even see the top of the buildings, save for one or two.

    The streets were filled with people walking around. In contrast to Tsumi¡¯din, where there were several Hunters walking around all hours of the day, the people in the City of Towers wore all kinds of outfits, with several different colors, rather than the few colors found on cloaks.

    I turned my attention from the sides of the streets to dead ahead, where there were several cars ahead of us, and more turning onto the street. Several of which were heading in the opposite direction, leaving the city. But the main thing that caught my attention was the large hill at the end of the street. I had to lean forward and down in order to see what was on top of it. On top were more towers, what a surprise. However, these towers were different. I could only see the bottoms of them, but I could tell that much. They just seemed¡­ grander, I think it is a good way to put it.

    My face must¡¯ve shown how entranced I was by them, because Oroske turned to me and explained that it¡¯s the School of Towers Academy.

    ¡°The school is placed at the center of the city,¡± he began, ¡°though I suppose it¡¯s more accurate to say the city is built around the school, as the school was built long before the city.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Nadred spoke up, prompting me to sit back up in my seat, ¡°According to records, the school operated for over 100 years before the city was officially founded. Any semblance of a city that existed back then were people that decided to build housing and shops near the school so they could be in close proximity to it year-round, both for students, their families, and administrative staff. Then after several years, it got large enough and had enough of a name that the Realm¡¯s leaders decided to officially recognize it as a city.

    ¡°Now, over a hundred years from it¡¯s proper founding, the City of Towers is one of the most populated cities in the world, and is considered the tech and magic capital of the world.¡± He finished his explanation as we neared the base of the hill, ¡°Looks like we¡¯re just about to our destination.¡±

    Shortly after saying that, the driver pulled the vehicle over to the right side of the road, ¡°Here we are, Black Tower Inn & Cafe. Your total is going to be 358V,¡± He said flatly, ¡°I trust you won''t need any help with anything else?¡±

    ¡°Nope, thanks for your service,¡± Oroske said as he handed the driver his fare, before exiting the vehicle. The driver bowed his head and waited as we all exited, driving away shortly after.

    Despite the name ¡°Black Tower Inn & Cafe,¡± there was no black to be seen on the building. At least, on the outside there wasn¡¯t. Inside however was a primarily black and brown interior. The floor had black and white tiles, matched elegantly with the sleek black walls, which had a brown marbled look to them. Dead ahead of the door was a simple desk, made of dark brown wood. Standing behind it was a young man with spiky, light-blue hair, wearing a neat black suit with a vibrant red tie to contrast. His eyes matched his hair with a piercing gaze, and had a very casual, unguarded smile.

    ¡°Welcome to the Black Tower Inn & Cafe,¡± He greeted us with a small bow, crossing an arm over his abdomen, ¡°How may I assist you, fine Hunters?¡±

    ¡°Are there any Hunter suites open?¡± Nadred asked.

    ¡°Yes, sir, there is one left, with a total of six beds. Will that be alright?¡±

    ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll be having one other join later so that¡¯s perfect.¡±

    ¡°Wonderful,¡± the clerk said as he opened up a drawer in the desk, fishing out a key, ¡°Your room is on the sixth floor, on the East side, very back of the hall with the rest of the Hunter suites.

    ¡°I take it you¡¯ve been here before but current guests get a discount at our in-house, award winning cafe,¡± he explained, gesturing to an adjacent room with several chairs and tables, ¡°And if you need anything from us, please don¡¯t hesitate to let us know!¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Oroske said to the man before turning to the rest of us, ¡°Shall we grab some food at the cafe before we head up to the room?¡±

    We all agreed and moved over to the next room. The decor in the cafe was similar to the lobby, but with dark oak planks making up the floor. It was elegant, yet very comfortable. The lighting was a little dimmer as well, setting up a very relaxed mood. As a group we wandered up to the counter, with a young girl standing behind it, but in front of the menu. She had short, silky white hair, cat-like ears poking through at the top, which confused me, I hadn¡¯t seen anything like that before. She didn¡¯t have regular ears on the sides of her head at all, which led me to believe those just were her ears. She had her back turned to us initially, turning around when Oroske greeted her, revealing kind, mesmerizing blue eyes. Despite her ears, her eyes had rounded pupils.

    ¡°Ah welcome, Hunters,¡± She returned the greeting, ¡°What can I get for you all today?¡±

    ¡°Any ideas what you want, Kuro?¡± Oroske asked me.

    I looked at the menu, unsure of what all my options were, ¡°No clue, honestly. What would you recommend?¡±

    He laughed a little then returned his attention to the lady behind the counter, ¡°We¡¯ll take two coffee biscuits, two large coffees, black, a water, and two of your hot sandwiches of the day.¡±

    ¡°Today¡¯s sandwich goes really well with the daily soup as well, would you care to try that at all?¡± She asked sincerely.

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Oroske thought about it for a minute, ¡°Sure, we¡¯ll take one bowl. And that¡¯ll be it for us two. Nadred, Jarou, order whatever you want, it¡¯s on me today.¡±

    ¡°Oh, well that¡¯s kind of you,¡± Nadred prodded Oroske with his elbow, ¡°I¡¯ll take you up on that. I¡¯m just gonna get the same thing, one coffee biscuit, one daily sandwich, and a bowl of the daily soup.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll get the same!¡± Jarou chimed in.

    ¡°Alright! Your total will be 1,830V,¡± she declared. Oroske pulled out the keys to our room and presented them to her. ¡°Oh I see, let me run that discount real quick¡­ Okay, your new total is 1,460V.¡±

    Oroske fished out a bunch of coins from his small bag, and placed them on the counter. The lady counted out the coins then said, ¡°Wonderful. Go ahead and have a seat, I¡¯ll call for you when your order is ready!¡±

    We went over and found a table next to a window that looked out into the street. As was the case when we entered the city, there were people all over the place walking around. Despite this, the cafe was mostly empty, only one other table had a single person at it, surrounded by a stack of thick, hardcover books, and several pieces of paper, which the man was poring over, occasionally writing something on one of them. ¡°Looks like a student, probably attending the School of Towers.¡± Nadred said. When I asked how he could tell, he said the white and red robe he was wearing was a traditional outfit for mage apprentices in the Human Realm.

    ¡°Interesting,¡± I muttered, then spoke up properly, ¡°Why didn¡¯t they give us a price for the room we¡¯re staying in?¡±

    ¡°Ah that, very astute of you to notice,¡± Nadred began his answer, ¡°Several years ago, a group of Hunters took on a high-profile target that had been targeting this institution. Actually, Oroske, you were there right?¡± He nodded and gestured for Nadred to continue the story. ¡°The short version is that after the target had been taken care of, the owner of the Inn & Cafe came to Tsumi¡¯din and made a deal with Danfis where he would set up a handful of rooms to be specially reserved for Hunters. These rooms would be free as well, and the only thing he asked for from us is that any requests he puts in gets special priority. As far as I¡¯m aware he hasn¡¯t put any in for a long time though.¡±

    ¡°Correct,¡± Oroske finally spoke up, ¡°A bit more context, we saved him and his daughter¡¯s lives. There is also the extra stipulation that as long as there are rooms available we use this place as our base in this specific city. Not that everyone follows that ¡®rule¡¯ of course.¡±

    Just as he finished that statement under his breath, the lady called out, ¡°Hunter group! Your order is ready.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my queue.¡± Oroske got up and walked over to the counter to pick up the food. As he did, a large group, dressed in the same or similar robes to the other student, piled in through the door. Some of the group looked only a little older than me, but others looked like they were closer to Nadred and Oroske¡¯s age, and the rest were somewhere in between.

    They were also loud. Like, really loud. They were all talking, and by that I mean they were practically shouting over one another, but I couldn¡¯t make out a single sentence from any of them. They all started clamoring over the poor lady as soon as Oroske had left the counter with the food tray. It looked like she called out to someone in a back room, quickly answered as a man with whiskers and long, brown hair tied into a bun ran out and helped take orders.

    ¡°Glad to see this place is still popular with students,¡± Nadred said with a chuckle as Oroske approached.

    ¡°Good for business, annoying for us,¡± Oroske said as he placed the tray down, eyeing what everyone got and making sure it matched up with where everyone was sitting, before finally sitting down himself.

    He handed me my soup, sandwich, a biscuit and a large cup with a liquid that was such a dark brown it almost looked black, as well as another cup with just water in it. He then gestured for me to dig in whenever I wanted, and began eating his own.

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    I decided to cautiously try a bite or sip of my different entrees.

    The soup was simple yet very savory, small chunks of meat added to the flavor nicely. The sandwich had thin slices of a few different kinds of meat, some melted cheese, and a small variety of sauces that complimented the meat well. I saw Oroske dip his in the soup, and I decided to try that myself as well. It was delicious, the soup really enhanced the flavor of the meats.

    Next up was the biscuit. It was bitter, yet sweet. Neither side of the flavor overpowered the other. I decided to try dipping that in my soup as well. It was good, but I think I preferred it just on its own.

    The coffee was nothing but bitter. I must have made a funny face when I took my first sip, not expecting the powerful bitter flavor, as Oroske laughed at me. ¡°Too bitter?¡± He asked, to which I responded, ¡°No it¡¯s good, I just wasn¡¯t expecting that flavor, or that strong of bitterness.¡±

    It seemed like it wasn¡¯t Jarou¡¯s first rodeo with a lot of these things, as he had very little reaction to any of it, other than occasionally just savoring the soup and sandwich.

    The rest of the meal was eaten in relative silence.

    As I finished up my food, I remembered I wanted to ask about the lady¡¯s cat ears.

    ¡°Oh that?¡± Nadred started quizzically, ¡°It¡¯s actually a bit more common than you¡¯d probably expect. She¡¯s what¡¯s called an Aeth¡¯en. They come about when pregnant mothers are exposed to excessive amounts of aether during their pregnancy. Are you familiar with Beastification?¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound familiar.¡±

    ¡°Figures, I know I didn¡¯t teach you and I¡¯m sure Oroske wouldn¡¯t,¡± he joked, eliciting a sigh from Oroske, ¡°Part of this is a warning for you, and all magic users for that matter. People are still doing lots of research into why this is, but upon using an excessive amount of magic, or rather, having an excessive amount of aether pass through you, the part of your body that is active, or having the aether pass through, will take on animal-like qualities. You¡¯ll know when you¡¯re about to hit the limit, as it¡¯ll feel like your body can¡¯t handle any more.

    ¡°It is a blessing and a curse if this happens to you though, as beasts, and therefore body parts that have undergone Beastification, have larger passthroughs and a higher capacity for aether. It¡¯s a curse though, because if you don¡¯t stop immediately after, and don¡¯t get it treated properly, you¡¯ll have permanently transformed that part of your body, losing any humanoid function it had. What kind of beast you acquire changes person to person as well. Some people get lucky and still have opposable fingers and thumbs, most do not however.

    ¡°And so, that brings us back to the Aeth¡¯en. By having a mother exposed to excessive amounts of Aether, they can cause Beastification to happen while the child is still in the womb. They typically only inherit a handful of features from the beasts however, and it¡¯s rare they impact their humanoid features. Like for example our kind lady behind the counter, she inherited the ears of a feline, and probably a couple other features, but she¡¯s still distinctly Human. Aeth¡¯en do have a bit of an unfair advantage, however. Due to having beast traits from birth, they also get the higher capacity for magic and aether. Not quite as much, and they can still go through Beastification in other parts of their bodies, but they do get a natural boost.¡±

    And thus ended Nadred¡¯s long lecture on the Aeth¡¯en. Apparently, one of the students from the large group had been listening in. Wide eyed he stared at Nadred. He couldn¡¯t have been much older than Jarou and I, and had deep blue eyes, contrasting long, vibrant red hair, tied in a high ponytail behind his head. ¡°You know a lot about Aeth¡¯en, huh? Where did you learn all of that?¡± He asked. That¡¯s when I noticed he had a distinct lack of human ears, rather, he had flaps like a dog¡¯s ears.

    ¡°I¡¯ve bought just about every publicly released book the School of Towers has released, on just about every subject,¡± Nadred said with a chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck.

    The boy''s eyes lit up, ¡°That¡¯s incredible! I¡¯ve only just started learning the history of the Aeth¡¯en, it¡¯s actually why I decided to go to the Academy.¡±

    ¡°Ah, that makes sense,¡± Nadred nodded with his eyes closed, ¡°The Academy has incredible amounts of knowledge and information.¡± He sighed, ¡°Oh, if only they accepted Half-Demons. I¡¯d love to attend properly and study all their exclusive information.¡±

    The boy nodded in solemn agreement, ¡°Rumors have it they¡¯re looking into accepting Demons and Half-Demons soon, but a lot of people doubt it.¡± Someone from the group of students shouted from the other side of the room, catching his attention. ¡°Ah, looks like I got to go. Maybe I¡¯ll see you all around!¡±

    As he ran back to his fellow students, Nadred commented, ¡°Nice young man.¡±

    Oroske clapped his hands and declared we should clean up our meal. Once we were finished, we decided to head up to our room.

    As we were passing through the lobby, however, Oroske stopped. ¡°Actually, Nadred, Jarou, you two go on ahead. I¡¯m gonna do a little rumor investigating with Kuro, show him how it goes,¡± he said as we all stopped and looked back at him.

    ¡°Oh, good idea,¡± Nadred affirmed as Oroske tossed him the keys, ¡°We¡¯ll see you guys in a little bit then.¡±

    We watched as the two went up the stairs in the hallway connected to the lobby. As they left eyesight, Oroske turned to me, ¡°So, first off, let''s ask the desk clerk if he¡¯s heard anything.¡±

    He patted my back, pushing me towards the desk. I turned to him, not really sure what he wanted me to do, and he just gestured that he wanted me to take the lead. I nervously approached the desk where the clerk was reading a book. He must¡¯ve seen me approach from the corner of his eye, as he looked up at me and asked what he could do to help me. ¡°W-We had some questions to ask you,¡± I stammered out, looking back at Oroske, not really sure what questions I needed to ask.

    ¡°Sure, what¡¯s up?¡± He asked casually.

    I hesitated for a moment, then Oroske took the lead. ¡°We were curious if you¡¯d heard any rumors involving a Restless at the old city library?¡±

    ¡°Ahh, yeah I¡¯ve heard some stuff, mostly in passing though. My older sister is obsessed with stuff like that,¡± the clerk laughed, ¡°I don¡¯t really know anything specific, but supposedly she heard from someone who heard from someone who saw a cloaked figure go inside the old library a couple days before the rumors really started. A lot of misfortune has befallen the people who¡¯ve gone near there since then as well, typical ghosts and curses. Pretty sure someone got attacked the other day by something the other day. That¡¯s pretty much all I know though. She¡¯s at school right now, but my sister will probably stop by here on her way home, could ring your room so you can talk to her if you¡¯d like.¡±

    ¡°That would be great,¡± Oroske said, hand on his chin like he was deep in thought, ¡°Thank you, this information will be very helpful.¡±

    ¡°Of course, glad to help out,¡± the clerk said, his tone equal parts casual and solemn, ¡°My boss isn¡¯t the only one with debts to the Hunters.¡± That last part was under his breath, I almost didn¡¯t hear him. He returned to reading his book. I was curious what he was reading, but the hardback cover was plain black, and if there was a title I couldn¡¯t see it.

    Oroske guided me away from the desk, then asked me what I made of the information as we walked.

    ¡°It reminds me a lot of the reports we got during the Training Hunt. But this one seems a lot more violent,¡± I commented, I wasn¡¯t really sure what else to think.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Oroske conceded, ¡°Not all Restless are violent, but most of them are. There is one piece of information that is most interesting, any guesses what it is?¡±

    I thought for a minute, going through everything that was said. ¡°The cloaked figure going to the library, I guess?¡±

    ¡°Bingo. Odds are that¡¯s our true target, a Necromancer,¡± He said as we began our ascent up the stairs.

    ¡°What exactly are Necromancers, anyway? Like, why are they such big targets for us?¡± I had meant to ask for a while, but never really had a good chance to.

    ¡°Necromancers are people who try to bring people back from the dead. This usually results in Restless showing up, due to them struggling to reunite body and soul. As for why they¡¯re such major targets for us, part of it has to do with them treading on our territory, part of it is due to our agreement with the Guardians, and the last part is easier to explain once you¡¯ve seen it for yourself. Which hopefully you¡¯ll see soon enough.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve gathered that they¡¯re important people, but who exactly are the Guardians?¡± Another question I should have asked a long time ago.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see, what¡¯s the best way to explain¡­¡± He began thinking, ¡°The simple explanation is that they¡¯re the current Gods. Or I suppose they¡¯re just the Gods of our world in general. They¡¯ve got a weird, complicated history that spans to before the creation of Spire. They were around at the very beginning, stayed around for a long time, suddenly disappeared for several hundred years, and reappearing in new bodies near the end of the Grand War. After working together to end the war and bring peace, they¡¯ve taken an active role in ruling this world. While both Realms have their own rulers, the Guardians rule over both Realms, keeping the peace to the best of their abilities. They¡¯re also the only people Danfis has to answer to, and the people who gave the Clan their power and position.¡±

    That last part had a hint of some very complex emotions, I couldn¡¯t quite separate all the parts of it.

    ¡°If you ask me, the less involved you are with the Guardians, the better off you are,¡± He continued, ¡°They may protect the world as a whole, but on the level of individuals they¡¯re nothing but trouble makers.¡±

    It seemed like he had personal experience, but I decided not to push him for details. Part of that was because we were finally on the sixth floor, and the other part was because it didn¡¯t seem like the time to ask him.

    We wandered on over to our room, and were greeted by Nadred and Jarou.

    The room had a simple layout, when you walked in you had the kitchen immediately to your right, which featured a bar accessible from the dining area, which was just ahead. The far side of the room was a living space, with comfy looking chairs and a large couch, and featured a large window that looked out over a park. The green from the plant life was a nice break from the white. Speaking of color, the room switched back from black and browns to mostly white and greys. Then on the left wall were three doors, all of which led to identical bedrooms, each with two beds, and a large, floor-to-ceiling window that had an incredible view of the School of Towers. Opposite the bedrooms was a single bathroom, with all the facilities you would need.

    After looking around Oroske and I reported our findings with the clerk, he gave me the lead, insisting it¡¯ll be a good experience for me to know how to give reports and gather information, and the sooner the better.

    After the report, we decided to bunker down for the night and prepare for tomorrow, as that¡¯s when the Hunt truly begins. We had dinner ordered from the cafe, conveniently brought up to our room, and passed the time making small talk. Oroske and I also did a bit of passive magic training, as well as some very light workouts. Then, an hour or so after it got dark, we decided to turn in for the night, as we would have a very early start the next day. Jarou and I took the room closest to the entrance, while Nadred and Oroske both took their own rooms.

    ---

    In the middle of the night, a few hours after we all fell asleep, I awoke to the sound of a door opening, followed by hushed talking. Curious, I slipped out of my bed and wandered out. Cautiously opening the door, my eyes strained as they adjusted to the light that was pouring in from the living area. Once my eyes adjusted, I was able to see Nadred sitting in a chair under a lamp, with a book closed around his thumb, supporting his jaw with his other hand as he leaned on the arms of the chair.

    In front of him was the source of the current hushed voice, with crimson red hair, long and tied in a mid-height ponytail, the excessive draping over their shoulders. They also had very tall, bunny-like ears. They were also just tall, very tall. They were dressed in a black tank-top, jeans, and combat boots. Their presence was very intimidating, I could sense they had immense power, and a commanding aura.

    Just as I decided to move closer, the far door opened up, the room Oroske claimed. He walked out, rubbing his eyes, stopping dead when he saw the person in front of Nadred. ¡°I was wondering who would be talking out here,¡± he commented, ¡°You¡¯re early, wasn¡¯t expecting you until tomorrow morning.¡±

    The person turned around, stopping her gaze on me for a second, then moving to Oroske, ¡°Yeah, yeah, I got here early and didn¡¯t want to have to find some place to stay until morning, and not like I could do any work this late anyway.¡± Her voice matched her mature face. ¡°And hello Oroske, and you too, Kuro. Though from what I¡¯ve heard you probably don¡¯t remember me.¡±

    I was shocked she knew who I was, and even more shocked that she acknowledged my presence like that.

    ¡°Sorry for waking you guys,¡± Nadred apologized as I moved into the room, ¡°We were just getting caught up. Kuro, this is-¡±

    ¡°Mom? What are you doing here?¡± Jarou asked, sounding like he was still half asleep, and very shocked. He drowsily walked over to the stranger and gave her a hug, which she returned.

    Nadred chuckled as he continued, ¡°As I was saying, this is my wife, Kared.¡±

    ¡°Nice to meet you again, Kuro,¡± She said as her purple eyes pierced into mine, her gaze gentle, yet undeniably intimidating.

 14: Fundamental Sin

    -Fundamental Sin-

    [Crimes, such as Necromancy, that are considered

    to be crimes against nature. These crimes can

    result in Soul Blackening.]

    Kared casually meandered over to the couch and took a seat, ¡°So, you¡¯re all awake now, sorry about that,¡± she said, not even a hint of regret in her voice. ¡°Indeed,¡± Nadred picked up the conversation, ¡°Since you¡¯re here early, and we¡¯re all awake, shall we discuss the plan for tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°A good idea,¡± Oroske began his response, ¡°My idea was Kared and I will go handle the more formal investigation, talking with city officials and all that. Meanwhile, the rest goes and does the practical investigation, probing the site of the rumors and seeing what you can find. Thoughts?¡±

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Nadred hummed as he thought, ¡°Normally I¡¯d ask why Kuro wouldn¡¯t be going with you, but I¡¯m guessing you have some stuff to talk to Kared about. That works for me. What do you two think?¡± He turned to Jarou, then to me, nodding his head.

    ¡°I kinda wish I could go with Kared,¡± Jarou voiced his opinion, ¡°but I¡¯m sure I¡¯d just get in the way of whatever they need to talk about.¡± It seemed like Nadred and Jarou understood Oroske¡¯s reason better than I did.

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯m alright with that,¡± I yawned unintentionally. I supposed I was much more tired than I thought.

    ¡°Great,¡± Nadred brought the conversation back to him, ¡°depending on when we all finish our respective tasks, we¡¯ll either take on the target tomorrow or the day after. For now, we should all try to get some rest.¡± He paused for a minute and looked seriously at Kared, ¡°Especially you, you workaholic.¡±

    She simply laughed and shrugged, conceding to his order, and followed him into his room.

    Oroske sleepily waved his hand and bid us good night as he went back to his room. Unsure of what else to do, Jarou and I returned to our room, where he promptly fell back asleep quickly. As for me, I struggled to fall asleep despite my exhaustion. After a good long while, I fell into a dreamless sleep.

    ---

    I awoke to knocking on the door, groggily sitting up in my bed. Jarou looked like he had already been awake for a little while as he got out of his bed and walked to answer the door, finding Oroske on the other side. ¡°Good morning,¡± Oroske greeted, ¡°We¡¯re going to have breakfast and discuss some stuff, so come out whenever you two are ready.¡± Jarou murmured a thank you, and closed the door. Turning around he made sure I heard what Oroske had just said.

    After I nodded, he began getting dressed properly, finishing his outfit off with flourishing his cloak as he put his arms through the sleeves.

    I stretched my arms over my head before getting out of bed and doing the same.

    Going outside the room, I was greeted by our senior Hunters, all dressed in their cloaks. I was surprised to see an extra spot of red color, Kared¡¯s cloak was a vibrant red, brighter than her hair. It was designed very similarly to Jarou¡¯s, the actual cloak part being a suit jacket. Unlike Jarou, however, she wore a darker red vest under it, with a black dress shirt underneath, a full three piece suit.

    ¡°Surprised to see I¡¯m a red cloak, Kuro?¡± She teased, apparently my shock was visible. ¡°A little, yeah,¡± I undermined how surprised I was. I had no real idea how to approach her, in any way. ¡°I mean, I was surprised to get invited to join the red cloaks,¡± she said as I sat down, ¡°I¡¯ve always been causing trouble for Danfis, so I was surprised he wanted me to join his inner circle.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you know why he wanted you to join,¡± Nadred teased, nudging her shoulder with his elbow.

    Around that time, Oroske had finished making breakfast and brought it to the dining table. A simple meal of scrambled eggs and toast. Apparently he had woken up long before anyone else and went shopping. As we ate, Oroske and Nadred filled Kared in on the rumors and information we currently have, capping off with what me and Oroske learned the previous night. ¡°So, it looks like the chance of a Necromancer being involved is much higher than previously expected,¡± She commented calmly, taking a moment to think, ¡°Very well, shouldn¡¯t be a problem regardless of how strong they are, we¡¯ve got far more strength than we could ever need for a mission like this. When do we want to head out?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no real rush,¡± Oroske said, gulping down another bite of food, ¡°The target probably won''t be active until the evening. That said, you and I should probably go a bit earlier, this city has so many people we need to talk to.¡± He sounded annoyed with that last statement, taking another aggressive bite out of his meal.

    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll head out after we¡¯re done eating,¡± Kared said, even though she was already finished, ¡°How about you Nadred, when will your group head out?¡± He took a moment to think, chewing on his food thoroughly, before swallowing and saying ¡°We¡¯ll probably leave around the same time, if not shortly after. We¡¯ll focus on learning more about rumors and the like as we progress towards the site of the rumors.¡± Kared simply nodded with her eyes closed.

    After Oroske finished eating his share, he stood up and pat Kared on the shoulder, indicating he was ready to leave. The two rinsed off their dishes quickly, then headed towards the door. Before leaving, Oroske turned around and said, ¡°Sorry you can¡¯t come along, Kuro, normally I¡¯d want you to experience this side of the investigation, but I¡¯ve got some top secret stuff to talk to Kared about.¡± I affirmed it was okay with a wave. I knew I¡¯d have another opportunity to see that side of things sometime.

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it be you that talks to Kared, Nadred?¡± I asked him.

    ¡°There¡¯s a couple reasons,¡± he started, ¡°First off is a matter of trust. The fact of the matter is the information Oroske needs to talk about is stuff typically only Red Cloaks would know about, and I haven¡¯t earned that level of trust with Danfis,¡± he muttered this next part quietly, ¡°nor would I want it.

    ¡°Second off is Oroske and Kared¡¯s relationship. I imagine Oroske would tell you someday anyway, but Kared was Oroske¡¯s first apprentice.¡± This shocked me, I had assumed Nadred was close in age to Oroske, and figured Kared would be the same. I figured I¡¯d ask after he finished speaking. ¡°As such, while Kared and I are both married and each other¡¯s Second Soul, those two have always had a special relationship with each other. That only deepened when Oroske got his first invitation to join the Red Cloaks, which surprisingly was when Kared was already a Red Cloak. I never really strived to earn that level of trust with Danfis, so any time they need to talk about Red Cloak business I have to be left out.¡± He seemed saddened by this, but he masked it well and quickly with an air of pride in his partner.

    ¡°So wait, how would Oroske train Kared, I thought all three of you were close in age?¡± I asked finally.

    ¡°Very astute of you to notice,¡± he chuckled, ¡°Yes, Oroske is a couple years older than Kared and I. And, being Second Souls, Kared and I are actually only a few hours apart in age, though she was born before midnight and I was born after, so it¡¯s counted as a day.¡± He seemed fake-annoyed by this, ¡°And despite Kared being born outside the Clan, we were all Navy Cloaks around the same time. Oroske of course was ahead of the curve, already a Navy Cloak by the time Kared joined up with the clan. He decided to train her in secret before she joined as well, just so that she¡¯d be able to defend herself better. I tagged along most of the time, helping in whatever way I could. When we were all found out, Danfis invited her to join the Clan properly. Then when she was getting ready to earn her Navy Cloak, she chose Oroske to continue being her mentor. And for some reason, Danfis allowed it. He trained her all the way up until she got her Black Cloak, which was only a month or so after he got his. Paired with his mentor¡¯s advanced way of doing things, this allowed him to become the youngest White Cloak in the Clan¡¯s history.

    ¡°An achievement only shadowed by Kared being the youngest Red Cloak. Granted, she¡¯s a special case in almost every sense,¡± he paused as he realized the time, and how he got carried away with another lecture, ¡°but that will have to be a story for another time. We should probably get going.¡±

    We hurriedly finished the small amount of our food that was left, and cleaned up the dishes with the same speed. We finished our preparations and rushed out the door. Once we were out on the street, Nadred abruptly stopped. ¡°I have no idea which library it is,¡± he admitted defeatedly, hanging his head toward the ground. ¡°Oh, are you three Hunters?¡± a young lady with curly, light-blue hair asked, as she almost walked past us. ¡°Oh, yes,¡± Nadred said, lifting his head up, ¡°How can we help you?¡±

    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°You said something about not knowing which library something is, maybe I could help you?¡± Her voice was calm, but her eyes glittered with excitement, and her body language indicated she was anything but calm. ¡°Uh, I wouldn¡¯t say no to directions, but I can¡¯t ha-¡± Nadred was suddenly cut off by her barging in, ¡°Are you here about the Restless sightings at the Old City Library?¡±

    ¡°Uhh, yes?¡± Nadred hesitantly answered.

    ¡°Yessss!¡± She exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement, before clearing her throat dramatically and calming down. ¡°It¡¯s in the Old City District, are you familiar with it?¡±

    ¡°Admittedly, I¡¯ve only really heard of it,¡± Nadred began his reply, ¡°due to its semi-abandoned nature there¡¯s rarely any reason for Hunters to venture over there, and I¡¯ve never been on one of the Hunts that go there.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that makes sense. Would you like me to guide you there?¡± It was clear she was trying to hide her excitement. Over what I wasn¡¯t sure. ¡°Sure, that would be helpful,¡± Nadred said, then adopted a stern tone, ¡°but once we¡¯re at the district, we part ways, understood?¡± She was reluctant but she agreed.

    She began leading us toward the hill in the center of the city, explaining the Old City District is up at the Northern end of town. As she led us, she and Nadred got deep in conversation about some advanced magic and academic stuff that I didn¡¯t really understand. It looked like Nadred was really enjoying having someone to talk to about this stuff that could actually keep up with him.

    As we circled the hill, the School of Towers loomed overhead. The towers throughout the entire city were impressive for sure, but the Academy¡¯s towers made them look small. According to Jarou, there were seventeen towers, all interconnected by bridges. ¡°Each tower supposedly represents different skill and knowledge levels,¡± he explained, ¡°with the higher number towers being comprised of only the most skilled magic users in the world. The number of people who actually attend the seventeenth tower is apparently really low, so they use it for dorm rooms, extra classrooms, and research facilities. This is just a rumor I heard last time I was here, but apparently if you get accepted into the seventeenth tower, you¡¯re allowed onto the roof of the tower. I bet the view is incredible from up there, being the center tower as well as the tallest.¡± He spoke with a sense of amazement I would¡¯ve expected from Nadred. We only had to walk a third of the circumference of the hill before we parted from it.

    It wasn¡¯t too much longer before we arrived at the edge of the district, where we were met with a large gate, set in a stone arch. It was in a noticeable state of disrepair compared to the rest of the city. Passing through, practically ignoring the warnings posted on the gate, it opened up into a large valley, with the seemingly abandoned ruins almost completely visible to us. In the center was a large, tiered tower. Seeing it made me realize the rest of the buildings were normal sized houses and structures.

    ¡°This place was abandoned a long time ago,¡± our guide began to explain, ¡°when the name City of Towers was officially decided on. Since then, it¡¯s become something of a slums district. For official reasons, it¡¯s fully abandoned, but in reality, there¡¯s tons of people squatting in the various buildings. Well, I know better than to stick around when Hunters told me to leave, best of luck to you all.¡± Despite her resolve present in her voice, I could tell she was reluctant to leave, turning around and waving goodbye. As she was about to close the gate behind her, she turned around and spoke once more. ¡°Oh, Nadred, if you ever wanna chat again, look me up! The name¡¯s Selr Sentem!¡± She wore a smile and shut the gate.

    Nadred stretched, rolling his head around on his neck before speaking, ¡°Now then, let¡¯s get to work shall we. I believe the library is that large building dead ahead. On the way there, keep an eye out for distorted Aether.¡± While those instructions might have sounded like we¡¯d cautiously make our way to the library, Nadred ran full speed ahead, practically leaving us in the dust.

    As we ran, I examined the surrounding buildings. Most were falling apart, some were completely destroyed already. Nearly all of them had plant life growing on them in some capacity. There was almost no sign of life, save for the occasional thing here and there, such as buckets of water or smoke coming out of a chimney, or a light being turned on. Whoever was living here could not have been very comfortable.

    As we neared the central tower, already looming overhead, despite still being well over a hundred feet away, Nadred suddenly stopped. ¡°That¡¯s definitely the place up ahead, the Aether is distorted all the way out here.¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± I asked as I approached him, out of breath from all the running.

    ¡°Could mean one of a few things,¡± he began, ¡°One, and this is the best case, whatever Restless are here have been wandering around the surrounding area a lot. Two, which is just as bad as three, depending on the way you look at it, there are a lot of Restless. Or three, the Restless present is powerful enough to have influence all the way out here.

    ¡°Our next step is looking for blackened Aether.¡± He finished explaining, he began moving toward the tower once again, much slower this time, before suddenly stopping and turning to me. ¡°Right, you don¡¯t know much about Necromancy yet, huh?¡±

    I simply shook my head, the only thing I really knew was that Necromancers were our enemy. ¡°Okay, if we find a good example, I¡¯ll have another lesson for you,¡± he spoke as he continued searching around, as Jarou did the same. I figured the process would be similar to finding the disturbed Aether like when searching for signs of a Restless, and soon enough I was proved correct.

    We were at the steps to the main entrance of the library when Nadred beckoned me over to look at something. There, on the decrepit hand rail, was a weird spot of darkness. It was almost fuzzy, and flickered like a flame, but was pitch black.. When I wasn¡¯t focusing on the surrounding Aether, I couldn¡¯t see it at all. ¡°This is blackened Aether,¡± Nadred began his lesson, ¡°It is the result of committing what are called Fundamental Sins. Necromancy is one of the most severe examples of these sins. The typical short explanation of Fundamental Sins is that they are any act that goes against the fundamental rules of nature. In this case, the cycle of life and death. Every now and then this cycle gets disrupted by natural causes, which leads to Restless showing up without the influence of a Necromancer. It¡¯s about a 50/50 split between cases as of right now.

    ¡°Getting back on the main topic,¡± he said, clearing his throat, ¡°When you commit a Fundamental Sin, your very soul becomes blackened. Normally souls and Aether are a wide spectrum of colors. If we were able to perceive the full spectrum of Aether as a whole, it would be a rainbow-like mess. The only two colors missing under natural circumstances are white and black. The same goes for our souls. So, when your soul becomes blackened, parts of the surrounding Aether go with it. The more and more of these Sins you commit, the darker your soul becomes, until eventually it becomes pitch black, at which point there becomes no salvation.

    ¡°Here, I want you to see for yourself why this blackened Aether is dangerous.¡± He manipulated the dark spot so it would rest in my hands, if it fell naturally. ¡°Now, be very, very careful, and let out a small amount of whatever magic you want. I¡¯d recommend fyrun since it¡¯s not one of your affinities, and it¡¯s easy to see visually.¡±

    I did as he instructed, focusing hard to ensure I let out only a small flicker of fire. When I did, however, it blasted into a large explosion, many times larger than what I had planned for. The shock from the explosion caused me to lose my balance, and I fell on my butt, landing on the stairs.

    ¡°See? This small, seemingly insignificant piece of blackened Aether was able to make a small spark into a large explosion. It can also distort your commands, depending on what you try. I¡¯ve seen a handful of people get hurt by their own spells when black Aether is present. Soul Blackening is similar to Beastification in a sense because of this, both in terms of benefit and detriment. Both allow the user to become more powerful, but if the effect isn¡¯t reversed quickly, and/or they push it too far, they have to deal with potentially dangerous, and very permanent side effects.¡±

    ¡°How would you use soul blackening to become more powerful?¡± I asked, ¡°Just by changing the Aether around you and using that?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve explained that part of magic to you,¡± Nadred paused, leaning on the hand rail, ¡°When you use magic, there are three major things that get used. First,¡± he raised his hand and pointed out his thumb, ¡°The surrounding Aether. Second,¡± He pointed his index finger out, ¡°The Aether pass-throughs in your body. And finally,¡± lifting his middle finger, ¡°a small amount of your soul burns with the Aether. It¡¯s a negligible amount, and it grows back quickly, but as you saw earlier, a small amount of blackened Aether is enough to amplify the effects of a spell by a large margin.¡± As he was finishing up his explanation, he looked up and past me, as though he saw something, before looking back and finishing the lesson.

    Sure enough, he did see something, as I suddenly felt a firm hand on my shoulder. I jumped with a yelp, and summoned a weapon from my Demon Sheath out of reflex, turning around to face the person who scared me. ¡°Hey Kuro,¡± Oroske laughed, amused by my shock. As I calmed down, taking a deep breath and storing my weapon away, he turned to Nadred, ¡°So, how are things looking?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s blackened Aether out here, meaning there¡¯s definitely a Necromancer involved.¡±

    ¡°Great,¡± Oroske sighed, ¡°Have we verified that this is their base of operations? And do we have a power estimate?¡±

    ¡°No and no, sadly,¡± Nadred said flatly, ¡°Considering the strength of the distorted Aether, I would imagine this is the base. As for how much power the Necromancer has, I have no idea.¡±

    ¡°Eh, we¡¯ll be fine,¡± Kared chimed in, ¡°After all, we have us three. I¡¯d love to see a Necromancer who can hold their own against even one of us.¡± She finished with a laugh.

    ¡°This is true,¡± Oroske conceded, ¡°I would like for our apprentice¡¯s to get some experience with fighting against Necromancers, but if they¡¯re too strong, one of us will have to step in.¡± He started walking in the direction we came earlier, hands on the back of his head, ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the hotel, and we can make plans there. We¡¯ve still got a few hours before it gets dark.¡±

    ¡°Oroske,¡± Kared started as she caught up, ¡°Your battle-addicted side is showing. That¡¯s when you want to attack, right?¡±

    ¡°You know me too well, of course that¡¯s when I want to attack.¡± He turned around to face us stragglers, ¡°Let¡¯s get back, we attack at midnight!¡±

 15: Strategy Meeting

    -Strategy Meeting-

    [An essential part of any Hunt, a meeting

    held multiple times as new information is

    found, discussing the plan going forward.]

    ¡°So, strategy,¡± Oroske started as soon as we walked into the hotel room, moving straight to the dining table to put the bags he was carrying. We had stopped at a restaurant on the way back to the room, and gotten it to go, with the plan being to eat while we discussed. ¡°I guess we should first review everything we¡¯ve learned and information we have. Kared, mind relaying what we learned from the city council?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± She took on a very serious and formal tone, ¡°We first heard the updated rumors. I¡¯ll skip over some of the less major stuff for now. The main thing is a rumor that someone saw someone, perhaps a Necromancer, enter into the Old City Library where our target Restless were residing. There are apparently four separate accounts of this, as they all differ slightly. The only consistent details were the person¡¯s appearance, and that they are only active at night. Further evidence towards a Necromancer¡¯s involvement was also reported. More specifically, multiple graves belonging to a specific family were dug up. The people whose graves were dug up died within the last three months. As mentioned before, there were a few other minor adjustments to the rumors, but nothing too major.¡±

    Sounds like it¡¯s just confirming what we already know. The stuff about the dug up graves was interesting though.

    ¡°I see,¡± Nadred said, thinking on the information, ¡°Considering the bodies belonged to a single family, do we have any leads on the Necromancer¡¯s identity?¡±

    ¡°We do,¡± Oroske confirmed, ¡°There is a student at the Academy, who while they are from a different family, reportedly had close ties to the family. We don¡¯t know for sure, but we believe he was in a close partnership with one of the members of the family.¡± Having concluded his confirmation, Oroske turned to me, ¡°I believe Jarou already has received training on stuff like this, but I want to hear your thoughts so far Kuro. Give us a run down of what was found at the site, and what you make of the information we¡¯ve given.¡±

    I gave an acknowledgment, and took a moment to gather my thoughts. So, we know for sure there¡¯s a Necromancer involved, because of the black Aether stuff, and we know for sure again because people have seen them. From what I understand, Necromancers bring people back from the dead. It sounds like maybe this family that had their graves dug up were important to the target, maybe he tried to revive them due to them being close to him? As I was thinking, another question popped into my mind, Don¡¯t we also bring people back from the dead? What¡¯s the difference between us and the Necromancer we¡¯re hunting? After formulating my thoughts, I relayed them to the group, including the questions regarding our Clan.

    Nadred gave an approving look, ¡°Very good, you¡¯ll have to be able to reach these kinds of conclusions often in our work, so it¡¯s good that you have a good mind for it.¡± He took a moment to compose himself to answer my questions. ¡°As for why we can bring people back from the dead but hunt down Necromancers, the answer is actually quite simple, if a bit controversial. Our mission, as given to us by the Guardians themselves, is publicly to hunt down Necromancers and the Restless, while also doing the intermediary duties the Half-Demon Clans are known for. However, the more formal wording for the mission is protecting the natural balance of life and death, and the protection of the Ethereal Realm. And in exchange for us upholding this mission, we have special rights to skirt this balance ourselves. When we get back, Oroske and I will show you how we manage this.

    ¡°There is another reason,¡± he continued with a pronounced ahem, ¡°that we fight Necromancers. It¡¯s not a commonly known fact, but the Tsumi Clan and the Guardians are the only ones with knowledge on the method to full, proper Necromancy. Many Necromancers have good intentions, and are dismayed to learn that the form of Necromancy that is available to them is an incomplete rejoining of body and soul. If we¡¯re lucky - or unlucky, depending on how you look at it - you¡¯ll get to see what I mean. But this incomplete form brings the subjects nothing but excruciating pain.¡± He leaned back in his chair, having finished his explanation.

    I understood most of what he was saying, and I supposed I would be able to fill in the blanks by seeing for myself. ¡°So the difference is we just have the protection of the Guardians to practice this proper Necromancy, and the people we Hunt don¡¯t?¡± Nadred nodded, ¡°That¡¯s the short of it, yes.¡±

    ¡°Now that you¡¯re done exposition dumping on the poor kid,¡± Kared spoke up, who looked somehow both relaxed and composed at the same time, ¡°Can we talk about our actual plan of attack?¡±

    ¡°A good idea,¡± Oroske conceded, and stood up, ¡°So, the basic plan I had in mind is that we would have Kuro and Jarou be our frontline fighters, with their first priority being taking on any Restless that are present. As for me and Kared, we¡¯ll be in charge of distracting the Necromancer. Nadred, I¡¯d like you to join the blue coats.¡± He paused and looked sternly at Kared, who just smiled with a hint of smugness, and said ¡°I want Kuro and Jarou to have experience directly fighting Necromancers. Please, do not kill the Necro immediately, got it?¡± She groaned and agreed. ¡°Good. Now, according to our contact, the library was likely chosen as the Necro¡¯s den because even today in its current state, the library is used to store a lot of old, morally ambiguous research. Necromancy included. The target is supposedly a student of the School of Towers, so they¡¯ll be very skilled with magic. As such, we all must be on guard when facing them.

    ¡°I propose we infiltrate the den through the upper floors. From the report the field team gave, there is likely a large number of Restless patrolling the building. As we near the bottom three floors,¡± Oroske rolled out a map of the building that showed a central room that spanned three floors, ¡°The target will likely already be aware of our presence. Kared and I will split off on the third floor, and enter this central chamber from opposite sides. Then, we jump down and distract the target. Meanwhile, you three will enter shortly after and begin removing Restless from the upper floors. Kared, Nadred, and I have RTD enchanted weapons, so the scrolls can all be used by Kuro and Jarou. Once the Restless have been eliminated, Kared and I will switch out for Kuro and Jarou. At that point, we will only interrupt the fight if it begins looking dangerous for them. How does that sound to everybody?¡± He rolled out the plans so concisely and quickly, it took a few seconds for everything to sink in despite how intently I listened.

    Kared quickly voiced her general approval, lamenting she won¡¯t get to go all out ¡°as usual.¡± Nadred took a moment, seemingly considering other options of approach. Eventually he agreed, as did Jarou. I still had yet to get proper experience, so I didn¡¯t even know what other plans we could possibly go with, so I of course agreed.

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    ¡°Good, good,¡± Oroske continued on, ¡°Next is timing. I know I said on our way back ¡®we attack at midnight,¡¯ but we actually have a few different things to consider. First,¡± he threw a handful of small strips of paper with a picture of a guy in a suit of armor in a small square on the side onto the table, ¡°the Tournament of Towers is this week. This is the biggest event for not only the Academy, but the entire city. And, coincidentally, our theorized target withdrew his registration for the Tournament a month ago. If I were to do something big that I wanted to go unnoticed, I¡¯d do it while everyone¡¯s attention is on the event. Tomorrow is the first day, the day it¡¯s the most packed, second only to the grand finals in three days, though that has its own time slot. It seems likely that if they¡¯re planning on doing something big, that¡¯s when they¡¯d do it.¡±

    ¡°How would anyone notice them doing Necromancy anyway?¡± I asked, to which Nadred responded, ¡°Necromancy requires a large amount of Aether to perform. Skilled mages would be able to sense a large influx of activity like that from across the city.¡± He thought for a moment, ¡°The Tournament is going to have a huge amount of Aetheric activity throughout the entire thing, so it stands reason to believe an additional burst of activity could easily go unnoticed.

    ¡°More importantly,¡± Nadred switched topics, adopting a very stern tone, betrayed by a hint of excitement, ¡°Oroske, why do we have tickets to the grand finals?¡±

    Oroske laughed before responding, ¡°It¡¯s extra payment, the Headmaster themselves have been handing them out to Hunters in the area recently. Said he would like us to attend if at all possible.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s odd,¡± Nadred commented, to which Oroske nodded in agreement, ¡°Seems out of character for them to not only invite us, but to practically request our presence there.¡±

    ¡°I have a theory why,¡± Kared commented. She refused to elaborate when asked for details, saying we would have to wait to see for ourselves if she¡¯s right.

    ¡°Fine, be that way,¡± Orosked said with a hmph, ¡°Moving on. If we want to attend, which I¡¯m sure at least Nadred does, that leaves us with two prime opportunities; tonight and tomorrow night. Tonight would allow us to catch them completely off guard, and throw an early wrench in any plans they may have. Meanwhile, tomorrow night may give us an opportunity to catch them in the act, and they¡¯ll be distracted by that. I personally don¡¯t mind either option, but if we went tomorrow that would give additional time for training and practice, as well as general prep time.¡±

    Everybody nodded in agreement. ¡°Let¡¯s do that then,¡± Kared said. We decided that for the night, we¡¯d focus on training and preparing for the coming day.

    Oroske led me outside to the park area behind the hotel. ¡°Alright, today¡¯s training is going to focus on using scrolls to use magic. It¡¯s important for tomorrow that you understand how they¡¯re used.¡± He instructed me to bring out one of the lightning blade scrolls I got from Lyen¡¯s shop. I unrolled the scroll, curious to see what was inside it. It was covered in large circles, inlaid with very intricate designs. I had no idea what I was looking at. I asked Oroske, and he had no idea either. ¡°I¡¯m not very familiar with the technical side of things like this, but I can tell you how to use it effectively. Of course, if you really want to know, I¡¯m sure Nadred could tell you. But let¡¯s get to using it. Before I tell you how though, I want you to use the Lightning Blade in our sparring match after, but I¡¯d also like for you to use it in the fight against the Necromancer. As such, when it activates, try not to get too surprised so you can keep it active.¡± I showed my understanding and he continued with his instruction. ¡°Using scrolls is surprisingly very easy. I may not know the specifics of the designs on the scroll, but I do know they handle the commands for the Aether to follow. So, to use it, all you need to do is hold it in your hand, and command Aether to flow into the scroll. And as long as you maintain that flow of Aether, the spell will stay in effect. So, with that in mind, channel Aether into the scroll, and maintain the flow. Once you¡¯ve done that, we can spar.¡±

    I nodded and held out my left hand, holding the scroll up. I closed my eyes and focused, pouring Aether through my hand and into the scroll. I felt a surge of energy and opened my eyes. In place of the scroll, a stream of lightning formed in my hands, extending outward into the shape of a sword. It crackled back and forth noisily as Oroske offered his congratulations. He summoned a sword from his Demon Sheath, and instructed me to lift the lightning sword up as though I was going to block. He then swung down vertically. I tightened my grip and flinched as his sword bounced off the lightning. I was shocked the sword didn¡¯t go straight through it.

    Oroske then summoned his own lightning blade, and demonstrated that it also bounces off. ¡°Also, check this out.¡± He held his blade out and focused. Suddenly, the blue lightning turned red. ¡°With the right know-how, you can modify the color. This also works for other spells, and other elements even.¡± He demonstrated by creating a green flame in his left hand. He extinguished the flame with a quick wave of his hand before taking up a fighting stance. ¡°And now, we spar for a bit, using these lightning blades. Don¡¯t worry, until you up your magical output, it won¡¯t hurt me too bad.¡±

    I nodded in understanding, and skipped getting into a fighting stance, opting to instead rush him immediately. His face betrayed the shock I thought he¡¯d feel, showing me instead he was excited by my eagerness. I unleashed a flurry of strikes, relentless as he blocked all of them. After a few hits, he found an opening where I took slightly longer between strikes, and used that to go on the offensive. I focused entirely on blocking, hoping I¡¯d find an opening like the one he had.

    After what felt like an eternity, he finally slipped up just enough for me to go on the offensive again. I enjoyed fights like these, where my magic skills left much to be desired, I was beginning to feel confident in my sword skills. Now that I was more experienced, I was curious to see what sparring against Jarou, or even Nadred would be like. Especially seeing how Oroske was really the only person I¡¯d fought against. Suddenly, I was yanked from my thoughts by my opponent suddenly opting to sidestep one of my swings rather than block. I had just slashed downward, and he stepped to my left. So as to not allow him to capitalize on this, I quickly slashed after him, where he successfully blocked me again, before sidestepping to my left once more. As I went to follow after him, I noticed there was a large crowd of people dressed in the same uniform robes as the students from earlier, intently watching our battle. Among the group there were a couple older looking people that were dressed differently.

    Oroske successfully capitalized on my being distracted and swung at my back. The initial hit knocked me off balance, and the lightning shocked my body, stunning me. I fell to the ground with a disgraceful thump. As the spectating crowd applauded Oroske¡¯s victory, I cursed his cunning. Him dodging left shouldn¡¯t have been an issue, being my dominant side. But he must have known the crowd was there, and that they would distract me enough for him to get a decisive blow in.

    After a few seconds, the paralysis effect wore off, and Oroske helped me up. ¡°Well fought, Kuro,¡± he congratulated with a laugh, ¡°What lessons have you learned today?¡±

    ¡°Aside from how to use scrolls to cast magic, I learned I should pay more attention to my surroundings, and not get distracted during combat,¡± I said with a groan, attempting to rub my back in order to inspect where he had hit me.

    ¡°Good,¡± He said as he waved to the spectators, ¡°I¡¯m glad you understood the lesson. I didn¡¯t expect to give that lesson tonight, but I saw an opportunity and I figured I may as well take it. But for the full, wordy lesson; you must always pay attention to your surroundings during combat. You never know when an unknown factor will show up, and you must be able to handle it on the fly. For example, you could be fighting a Necromancer, and a passerby could wander by. If the Necromancer is despicable like many of them, they could choose to attack the innocent. And if you see them in time, you can protect them.¡±

    Oroske stretched his arms before continuing, ¡°Well, shall we continue training? I want you to be able to save the other scroll for tomorrow night, so probably revert to our usual menu.¡± He looked over at the students who had moved their attention more to the two older people. ¡°Let¡¯s see if we can give them a good show.¡± He finished nudging his head in their direction.

    I nodded enthusiastically, drawing my sword from my Demon Sheath. We proceeded to train until it got dark outside. I was nervous, but feeling more prepared to take on the Necromancer in the coming day.

 16: Acceleration

    -Acceleration-

    [A special Energy Manipulation technique.

    Dilates the user¡¯s sense of time, allowing for faster

    movement and event processing.]

    The next day started with breakfast, and was followed by more training and combat practice in the park. Nadred and Jarou joined us, and Kared spectated, saying she¡¯s ¡°interested in Jarou¡¯s progress since she was last home.¡± While they were near Oroske and I, our training was almost completely separated from each other. I mentioned that I¡¯d like to try sparring against Jarou sometime, which Oroske said he¡¯d see about getting a match set up.

    After Oroske and I finished our last match before we broke for lunch, Kared approached me, saying she wanted to talk to me and give me some advice. Apparently she did the same for Jarou before when they were taking a short break. ¡°So with the big battle tonight, I¡¯ve got two main pieces of advice,¡± she started, sitting down on a bench, gesturing for me to do the same. ¡°First is more a word of warning, something I¡¯ve seen go wrong from personal experience. Nadred and Oroske, and these days myself, are very skilled fighters. To the point where there are very few people who can hold their own against us. Nadred¡¯s a lot better about this, but Oroske and I tend to fight casually, and try to have fun with it. I know you died once already, though I don¡¯t really know the circumstances around it, but until you¡¯re a more skilled fighter, you should take combat seriously. Some advice I got from a former red cloak when I was younger; treat every battle like your life is on the line, because it is.¡± She waved her hand casually and clarified she¡¯s not trying to be rude or anything like that, just wants to make sure I¡¯m on the right path.

    Without getting much time to chew on the advice, she continued. ¡°And second, is some advice to give you a bit of an edge. For all I know you don¡¯t really need it, but after observing you for a bit I thought maybe it would be useful. You should try to learn, or at least practice, using magic in conjunction with swordplay. I noticed that the few times you would use magic in your matches against Oroske, you¡¯d stop using your sword and switch focus. Again, maybe it¡¯s something you already know to do, but it could really give you an edge in combat against non-Hunters.¡± She paused for a minute as another topic popped in her mind, ¡°Oh, and if you¡¯re worried at all about suddenly switching like that in the middle of a match against Oroske, don¡¯t be. He¡¯s an exceptional fighter, and in terms of a sparring partner, there¡¯s few that are better. He¡¯ll match whatever pace you set, and adjust quickly if you change it up. And who knows, maybe doing things like that will help you get some wins on him.¡± She finished with a small laugh.

    She got up from the bench and started walking towards Nadred and Jarou, before stopping and turning around halfway. ¡°I look forward to seeing how you perform in a real fight,¡± She said, making eye contact with a smile, before turning back around and waving, seemingly to both me and Nadred.

    Oroske approached, raising his hand in greeting. ¡°What did Kared want?¡±

    ¡°Oh, she just wanted to give me some advice.¡±

    ¡°I see, anything useful?¡± He sat next to me on the bench.

    ¡°I think so. They were more reminders of things I already knew, but still welcome advice.¡±

    He nodded, before patting me on the head. ¡°Well hey, you¡¯re doing great,¡± he said as he looked at the sky, ¡°It¡¯s just about lunchtime. Kared and I have some extra business to attend to, so you¡¯ll have to tag along with Nadred and Jarou. Sorry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. What kind of business do you need to do?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a continuation of our conversation from yesterday. Specially assigned work from Danfis himself. I wish I could tell you more, but I¡¯d hate to make him mad at me,¡± he said flatly, with no emotion to betray his actual thoughts. It was a tone he used rarely, and it piqued my curiosity on what he was actually thinking. Especially since he usually seemed so open about his feelings. He switched to his usual tone, and with a laugh he said ¡°I mainly feel bad you¡¯ll probably have to sit through another one of Nadred¡¯s lectures.¡±

    I laughed with him before responding, ¡°I enjoy them, even if only a little bit of what he says actually sticks with me.¡±

    ¡°Well that¡¯s good, guy¡¯s a fountain of knowledge. You should try to learn as much from him as possible.¡±

    As I voiced my understanding, Nadred himself came over to us. ¡°Hey, we¡¯re about to leave for lunch. Did Oroske already tell you he won¡¯t be joining us today?¡± I confirmed with a nod, ¡°Alright, good.¡± He turned to Oroske, ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll see you and Kared back at the hotel!

    ¡°Indeed, see you then,¡± Oroske said with a wave as we parted ways, Kared joining him near the entrance to the park. Nadred and I met up with Jarou, making small talk as we exited the park as well.

    We entered the main street through an alleyway formed by our hotel and the building next to it, and walked further into the city, towards the center. I felt much more aware of the scale of the city that day than I did the previous. The buildings all towered over us, casting shadows over the entire street in the just-before-noon sunlight, broken only by the occasional alley or street. Just as it was the previous two days, the city was bustling with people walking around, Aeth¡¯mobiles going up and down the main street, every now and then a few would turn off onto other streets. It was such a different experience from walking around Tsumi¡¯din, even the atmosphere was different. Back home, it felt like there were far more people relaxed as they went about their day, but here it seemed like most people were stressfully rushing around to get wherever they were going. Maybe it was because the City of Towers was so much larger, and they had larger distances to travel in the same amount of time?

    Nadred led us down a new street, a couple blocks away from the central ring. After passing a handful of buildings, he stopped and said, ¡°This is it, Tower Burger.¡± He gestured to a tower that had a big sign with Tower Burger written in big, bubbly letters just above the first floor. ¡°This is actually something of a chain, with a couple locations in the city,¡± he explained as we entered, ¡°and a few in other cities too. But, this one is the original, and my personal favorite.¡±

    The restaurant was packed with people for the lunch rush, with a long line just to order.

    As we approached the counter, he asked if there was anything I didn¡¯t want on my burger, to which I shook my head. He ordered three of the signature burgers and drinks for all of us. As the person taking his order was about to accept Nadred¡¯s coins, another man, short and stout with a full face of hair, interrupted. ¡°It¡¯s on the house,¡± he said with almost panic in his voice. Nadred looked at him quizzically, with his head tilted. ¡°I owe a bit of a debt to the Clan, don¡¯t worry about payment,¡± the man said. The person that took our order shrugged, handed us our drinks and informed us our food would be out shortly. We filled our drink cups at a sort of fountain with an assortment of flavors, Nadred and Jarou both recommended one that was a strange green liquid that tasted like melon. It was much sweeter than the coffee from the other day, and I quite enjoyed it. We sat down at a table near the middle of the room, as all the tables near the windows were taken.

    We sat in silence for a few minutes, when I decided to ask ¡°Nadred, can you tell me more about you, Oroske, and Kared?¡±

    Nadred had been staring over at the counter, rhythmically tapping on the table with his right hand. He turned to me, supporting his head on his hand, ¡°Sure, anything in particular you want to know?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m curious to hear what you were all like when you were younger.¡±

    It seemed as though Jarou was curious too, as he seemed a lot more attentive after I said that.

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    ¡°Hmm, alright, let¡¯s see¡­¡± He thought about what to say for a few moments. ¡°Oroske for one has always been the way he is, brash, competitive, and addicted to combat. For one reason or another, Danfis has always had a special interest in him, and has trusted him for a long time too. I¡¯d wager he hasn¡¯t told you, but Danfis has actually asked him to join the Red Cloaks on more than a few occasions. But Oroske being Oroske, he¡¯s always declined. I asked him about it once, said he made a promise that¡¯s far more important to him. Not sure what it is exactly.¡±

    He collected his thoughts once again before continuing. ¡°For me, even if I hadn¡¯t become a Hunter, I would have devoted myself to studies of the Arcane. My dad was a scholar himself, and I inherited all of his books and materials. Apparently, while he wasn¡¯t a student, he was directly employed by a higher-up at the School of Towers for several years before I was born. Oroske is the one who found out about my talent with magic and convinced me to become a Hunter in the first place. Found me a mentor and everything.¡± He finished with a chuckle, then continued without pause.

    ¡°And Kared, my Second Soul, and love of my life. I believe I¡¯ve mentioned she wasn¡¯t born in the Clan, but I didn¡¯t mention where she¡¯s from, did I?¡± I shook my head, ¡°Thought so. She¡¯s from a group that¡¯s related to the Clan, but split off from us a few centuries ago. They¡¯re called the Crimson Twilight. Many consider them to be the rulers of the underworld, so to speak, or at least they see them as criminals. Oroske and I met Kared when we were on a Hunt in the Ishen Realm. We came across her after she had been cast aside by the man who was raising her, apparently since she had failed in her task. I helped Oroske devise a plan to train her on our days off. After a while, we got caught, and Danfis invited her to join the Clan. The rest of that I believe I¡¯ve told you.¡±

    Our food arrived shortly before he finished and we were set to eat. Before we dug in, Nadred stopped us. ¡°I propose a challenge. If one of you can eat even half of your food before I finish mine, I¡¯ll give you some sort of reward.¡± I could see why it would be challenging, the burger seemed to reflect the city, in the sense that it was very tall. The name Tower Burger wasn¡¯t just because it was from this city, it seemed. Jarou and I both accepted the challenge, unaware of what Nadred was planning.

    He gave us his signal to go, and the three of us began digging into the oversized sandwiches. I lost some time and hesitated, unsure of where to start. Even if I hadn¡¯t hesitated, I don¡¯t think it would¡¯ve made a difference, as mere moments after I started, only a few bites in, Nadred declared his victory. I was shocked, I wasn¡¯t even close to half way, and Jarou was only a little further than I was. When I looked up at him and verified he ate his entire burger, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me as there seemed to be what looked like feathers made of light around him. I blinked and shook my head and they were gone.

    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s not fair!¡± Jarou suddenly exclaimed, eliciting a laugh from Nadred, ¡°You used acceleration!¡± Nadred admitted to his supposed cheat, explaining this was supposed to be a lesson for us, saying ¡°You should always expect your opponent to use every ability they have in their arsenal, and you should do so yourself.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s acceleration?¡± I hadn¡¯t even heard the term before.

    ¡°Ah, yes. That.¡± Nadred began his next lecture. ¡°Acceleration is a pretty advanced Energy Manipulation technique, similar to Demon Sheath. When you use it, your perception of time is altered, and your body¡¯s movement with it. Essentially, what¡¯s 1 second of time for you, is 2 seconds for me when I use Acceleration, and that means I¡¯m moving that much faster as well. A secondary effect, which I think you may have noticed, is that when you use it there is some change to the area around you. It becomes more drastic the ¡®faster¡¯ you go, and changes person to person. For example, when I go as fast as I did, which is about as fast as I can get currently, feathers of light begin appearing around me.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so I didn¡¯t just imagine those,¡± I said with apparent surprise, ¡°How do you do it?¡±

    ¡°How to explain it¡­¡± Nadred thought for a moment, scratching his head, ¡°You remember how to visualize and manipulate the energy used in Demon Sheath, correct? You start by bringing that energy into every part of your body, the more evenly spread the better. Then, you command it to accelerate the functions of every part of the body. There is a natural way to do it, but it¡¯s hard to force that to happen without putting yourself in extreme danger. That said, that¡¯s how I and Oroske learned it. In that case, the adrenaline from being in mortal peril kicks in, and your body instinctively uses the energy to accelerate what it needs to be faster.

    ¡°If you¡¯d like to start training your ability to use it, what I¡¯ve suggested Jarou do is to take it in steps. Begin by bringing the energy in, and trying to spread it out evenly. Once you feel like you¡¯ve got that step down, introduce the commands. Then once you begin feeling more comfortable with the sensation of accelerating, start moving and doing things while in that state. It takes a lot of concentration to keep it up and be able to move at the same time when you¡¯re starting out, so you¡¯ll have to practice it for a while.

    ¡°That said, this technique can be quite risky at times as it heightens every process your body does, so if you really mess up, it could get you hurt. And, due to that, and the immense amount of concentration it takes, it is extremely exhausting to use. I can only use it at the speed I went for about 30 seconds in actual time.¡± He finished lamentably, as he took a sip of his drink.

    ¡°How do you get faster?¡± Jarou asked as he wiped his mouth, having just finished his food.

    ¡°Once you¡¯ve got the endurance to last a while, you can start bringing in more and more energy into your body. That said, pacing yourself is the most important thing.¡± Nadred explained.

    He then confirmed everyone was done with their food, and satisfied their hunger. ¡°Well then, may as well head back to the hotel. You can practice the bringing in of energy, but I¡¯d wager Oroske would agree we should rest up until we depart for our mission. We¡¯ll want all the energy we can get.¡±

    Jarou and I nodded in agreement, and left the restaurant. On the way back, I asked him for a bit more info regarding Kared. ¡°Is she always out on long missions or something?¡± I asked, having learned from him that he only sees her once or twice a year these days.

    ¡°That, and she¡¯s still a member of the Crimson Twilight, and does similarly long jobs for them every now and then. But as a Red Cloak, she¡¯s trusted with very long, important jobs. I wish I could know more about what kinds of jobs they are, but sadly I¡¯m not allowed to know unless I become a Red Cloak myself.¡± He said with a sigh, and explained he¡¯d like to become one someday, but doesn¡¯t know how realistic that is.

    ¡°So she¡¯s one of Danfis¡¯s most trusted, but still a member of a different group? How does that work?¡±

    ¡°No clue, honestly. Nadred and Oroske occasionally joke about a ¡®real reason¡¯ she was made a Red Cloak, I think it might have something to do with that. But I don¡¯t know for sure.¡±

    As I acknowledged my vague understanding, we approached the hotel building, where Oroske and Kared were also just returning from the opposite direction. We greeted each other and entered.

    Back in our hotel room, we spent the rest of the day relaxing. Jarou and I did some passive magic training together, including practicing the first step of acceleration. Nadred read a book, Kared worked out and broke out a piece of paper and began writing on it, while Oroske took a nap on one of the chairs in the lounge area. A few hours after the sun had set, deep in the dark of night, Kared declared it was time to leave.

    We traveled swiftly and quietly through the night. All was quiet save for the distant sounds of the tournament. Magic being cast, winners and losers being announced, and fights commentated on. Occasionally we¡¯d see another person, or an Aeth¡¯Mobile driving by, but never long enough for them to interact with us.

    We reached our destination relatively quickly, standing a little ways away from the towering building.

    ¡°So, how do we want to enter? We talked about entering from above and working our way down, but how do we want to get up there?¡± Oroske asked, in a tone suggesting he already knew a good way to get up there and was quizzing Jarou and I.

    ¡°How about we use the shorter buildings nearby, and jump off of them, using magic to reach the higher levels of the building?¡± Jarou suggested after a moment of thinking.

    ¡°Sure, that¡¯ll work,¡± Oroske said with a nod.

    Oroske instructed me on how to use wind magic to boost my jumps, which would allow me to reach the top of the shorter buildings nearby. It was fairly simple, using sen¡¯tur on my feet as I jump, and direct the wind blast upward, so that it carries me up.

    We followed through with the plan, jumping up to the shorter of the two closest buildings. And from that roof, we aimed for the fifth floor, which was one from the top, and two higher than we were at. The building was structured in such a way that at the top and bottom of each floor, there was a protrusion, creating a ledge you could stand on. Oroske and Nadred went first, landing on their feet with ease. Kared overshot a little, and ended up having to brace herself against the far wall, sliding down to her feet. Jarou didn¡¯t have quite enough power in his jump and had to catch the ledge, pulling himself up with Nadred¡¯s help. I, on the other hand, almost didn¡¯t even make it, and Oroske had to catch me.

    After Oroske pulled me up, we found a nearby window, which we would use to enter the building. After ensuring everyone was prepared, Kared opened the window, and jumped in. My first encounter with a Necromancer was nearly at hand.

 17: Necromancer

    -Necromancer-

    [Magic users  who place a focus on

    resurrection magic, willing to commit a

    Fundamental Sin in order to bring people back to life.]

    Inside the tower, the air felt noticeably different. I had noticed the air got more tense gradually as we approached the building, but getting inside hit me with a wave of intensity I¡¯d never felt before. I could feel the corruption in the Aether without even trying. I looked around at my party members, to see if it was just me. Everyone showed some level of discomfort, aside from Kared, who stood there confidently and imposingly as usual. Of the party, Oroske seemed to be having the hardest time. He had his hand pressing against his head, as though he had an awful headache. After a moment he rolled his head on his neck and spoke, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do this. We¡¯ll stick to the plan we discussed. Kared, Kuro, and I will go left, and meet up with you two at the stairwell on the other side. Send all Restless to the Aetherial Realm where they belong. On the third floor where it opens up to the large atrium, Kared and I will descend to the bottom and distract the Necromancer, while the rest of you sweep the upper balconies for Restless. Once you finish, Kared and I will switch with Kuro and Jarou, and grant them an opportunity to do combat with the Necromancer.¡±

    Everyone nodded, and we broke. Kared and Oroske both summoned weapons from their Demon Sheaths, so I followed suit. They both used scythes, Oroske¡¯s was the same simple one I¡¯d seen him use a few times in sparring and such. Kared¡¯s on the other hand seemed much more personalized. The handle had a much more pronounced curve to it towards the bottom, and the blade had large serrations, and was crimson red in color. The two of them wielded them with a confidence I still lacked, even with a sword. With a scythe, though, my confidence was even lower, and as such I opted to stick to my sword.

    The hallway was a simple circle, with pretty barren features. The floor was a short-haired grey carpet that was softer than hardwood, if only barely. I wondered if they had always looked like this, but the walls were a soft, grey-green color, broken up by the occasional door or window, with wooden trusses extending to the ceiling framing each section of wall. While it was in relatively good shape, the fact the building was classified as ruins made itself apparent every now and then. Busted windows and doors, some wooden trusses were warped or broken, and even the occasional hole in the walls and floors.

    It wasn¡¯t long before we encountered our first Restless. A ghostly figure of a young man. It had a chain around it that wasn¡¯t present with the Restless I fought during my training hunt, that seemed to lead away, but faded out as it got further away. ¡°A summoned Restless, then, huh?¡± Oroske muttered as he launched himself forward, with an impressive amount of spin, and slashed through it with his scythe. The Restless crumbled, disintegrating into a fine dust, before disappearing completely. After landing, Oroske slid out of his spin, and continued running without pause. ¡°Kared and I will take care of the ones on higher floors, so save your scrolls for the lower floors, Kuro,¡± he instructed. I was a little disappointed, I quite would have liked some actual experience fighting alongside the two. Though, I had to admit, it was taking almost everything I had just to keep up with them.

    We saw one more Restless on that floor. Unlike the previous one, this one managed to get off a couple attacks before Kared eliminated it. It shot out several spikes of condensed Aether, barely visible to the naked eye. I instinctively avoided them, barely dodging the two or three that made it to me. Good thing too, as when the spikes hit the wall behind us, they not only pierced deep into them, but practically exploded, leaving behind holes much bigger than the spears themselves. I thought Kared was about to just run past and ignore it, but it seemed she shared our mutual mentor¡¯s knack for flair. She was mid-stride when she was side by side with it, carrying her scythe in a way that the blade went behind her back. She quickly rotated it, so the blade caught on the Restless¡¯s body, and used it to spin around the Restless. She let go when she was in front of it again, basically flying a short distance, before her feet seemed to catch on thin air, and she launched herself with a jump, and slashed past it, eliminating it easily.

    It seemed we took the longer of the two ways, as Nadred and Jarou were waiting for us at the stairwell. ¡°Took you long enough,¡± Nadred joked, as he grabbed onto the handrail for the stairs, and jumped down to the lower floor. One by one we followed suit. ¡°That¡¯s always so fun, we would never get to do that in other situations,¡± Jarou commented with a laugh, with nary a pause in his step.

    There were stairs that led further down there, but I suppose for the sake of clearing out as many Restless as possible, we split up once again. Same groups, same directions. The halls were nearly identical to the previous floor¡¯s, but in greater disrepair.

    We encountered three Restless on this floor, and once again Oroske and Kared took care of them.

    The first one was ingloriously eliminated by Kared, and the last two were in sight by then, staying near each other. Those two were taken out in a flashy team-attack between my senior Hunters, despite the fact I was sure either of them could easily eliminate them both on their own. Kared¡¯s attitude toward battle starkly contrasted the advice she gave me earlier in the day, she seemed to be enjoying herself and not taking it very seriously at all. The attack had Oroske launch Kared forward with a burst of very powerful sentem. Just before she went flying, the two linked the blades of their scythes, locking them in place. Oroske held on tightly as he got pulled along by Kared. Once she was near striking distance, she spun her scythe in her hands, flipping the blade and letting Oroske¡¯s loose. She gave herself some spin, I spied her using sentem to help with speed and force, and slashed through the Restless on the right. After being loosed, Oroske followed suit, spinning himself vertically, in contrast to Kared¡¯s horizontal spin, and cut the Restless in half from top to bottom. As with the previous one, despite exaggerated movements and ¡®charge up¡¯ times, I didn¡¯t even slow down and kept near perfect pace with them, and they kept running as soon as they landed.

    I was impressed, yet somewhat saddened by the apparent gap between me and them in skill. Not only did they eliminate the Restless quickly and efficiently, their teamwork was flawless. I felt as though I had to improve a lot, so that I can one day measure up to Oroske¡¯s past apprentices, and maybe someday I¡¯d be able to hold my own against him going all out.

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    Not long after, we ran into Nadred and Jarou once again next to the stairwell, arriving at the same time as us. Nadred had a bit of blood dripping from a cut on his cheek, and explained, ¡°One of them got me a little bit. Had four of them attack at once.¡±

    ¡°Ah well that¡¯s understandable,¡± Oroske said as he jumped over the railing to quickly reach the next floor, the rest of us following along.

    The stairs continued down from there, presumably all the way to the ground floor. At the landing for the stairs was another one of the identical hallways, and directly in front was a large set of double doors, made from heavy, dark wood. Oroske spared no time to admire the designs engraved on the door, and busted them open. He signaled for Jarou, Nadred, and I to stay behind, and for Kared to follow. He charged out, and jumped over the guardrail revealed behind the door, Kared jumping out right after him.

    We ran up to the guardrail soon enough to see them still airborne. We were in the large atrium we were shown on the map; 3 floors of bookshelves, with a narrow walkway separating the floors. The center was open on the upper floors, and the bottom was littered with tall, standalone bookshelves. There were also tables and chairs, but they¡¯d all been pushed off to the side and were in no state for you to sit and read. And in the center of the room, was a figure wearing the same robes the students we encountered earlier were wearing, standing in the center of a circle with very intricate designs, with two triangles overlapping each other to make a six-pointed star. The rest of the designs were very finely detailed, but I couldn¡¯t make out what any of them were. At each point of the star, there were small containers with various items in them, the only ones I could identify were crystals similar to the ones Oroske showed me in the stove at home.

    The figure, who I identified as our target, the Necromancer, looked up from what they were doing as Oroske and Kared descended towards him rapidly. They were posed to attack as soon as they reached striking distance, an advantageous opening move. However, they were quickly stopped by the Necromancer, who put up a large barrier before they could get even close to striking. Instead, they tried to cut through the barrier, which gave a large amount of resistance before finally shattering like glass. They then began chasing after the Necromancer, clearly holding back, trying not to kill him immediately.

    ¡°Look alive!¡± Nadred called to me and Jarou, who was spectating the battle below with me. I looked over to him, and saw a small group of three Restless approaching us quickly. ¡°Grab your scrolls! There¡¯s a few ways to use them; I recommend either channeling the ¡®ari¡¯ or ¡®fer¡¯ commands. If you use fer you may be able to eliminate multiple with a single scroll, as it lasts roughly 30 seconds.¡± He quickly instructed as we ran to engage our targets. He gave a signal which I interpreted to mean he would take the center Restless, Jarou the right, and I the left.

    I couldn¡¯t see much of how they fared, or the methods they employed for eliminating their respective Restless, but I pulled out my first scroll, and did as I was taught. I held the command ari in my mind, as I channeled Aether into the parchment. It didn¡¯t activate immediately, which I hadn¡¯t expected, and it granted the Restless an opportunity to attack. It swung at me with a narrow blade of concentrated Aether, similar to the spear I narrowly dodged earlier. The similarities don¡¯t end there, as I was able to duck under the swing, making it through without a scratch. ¡°Ari!¡± I yelled the command in order to give it more concrete form. The scroll glowed as it seemingly transformed into a small blade that ripped right through the Restless¡¯s body.

    As the figure dissipated into a fine mist, my companions made sure I was okay. I simply nodded, and we began moving again. We encountered two other groups of Restless on that floor, the first of which had two Restless, and the other had four. In the case of the group of four, Nadred simply took out two in a single, fluid motion with his scythe, while Jarou and I simply expended a scroll each.

    Between our encounters, I couldn¡¯t help but spectate Oroske and Kared¡¯s battle against the Necromancer. It was difficult to make out specifically what they were doing, but it seemed like the Necromancer was struggling to hold up against them. But I could tell even then the duo were holding back quite a bit.

    Having swept the third floor completely, it was time to descend to the next floor. Rather than directing us to the stairs, Nadred merely bid us to follow him. He grabbed onto the guardrail, and flipped himself under it, landing on the walkway for the floor below. Apparently there were Restless waiting there, since when I followed suit - after a moment to calm myself and prepare for the jump - I saw the tell-tale mist of Restless that had been hit with Return to Dust.

    After Jarou landed following my own arrival, we began our sweep of the second floor balcony. There were several more Restless on this floor, and in larger groups too. The largest of which, the second to last group we cleared, had seven Restless.

    While the west went down fairly easily, that group posed a bit of a challenge. Nadred handled three of them, and Jarou and I each took two. After Nadred took the vanguard and eliminated the first one, the rest went on an aggressive offense. The one immediately behind the one Nadred eliminated slashed out at him, narrowly missing his face. The one behind that however, thrust forward with a spear-like attack, and pierced into his shoulder. He barreled through, knocking the two of them back. Meanwhile, Jarou and I both opted to use fer instead of ari with our scrolls, coating our weapons with the spell. I didn¡¯t catch what Jarou did, but I know he made it through successfully without injury. I, on the other hand, was tripped by my second Restless right after I eliminated the first. Landing square on my back, the faceless figure towered over me. Without missing a beat it shot out a spear towards my face, which I narrowly dodged, nicking my ear. From the ground, I lifted my legs up, and kicked out to jump back to my feet. I slashed at the Restless, but alas, the effect of Return to Dust had expired, as the blade cut through, but did not cause it to shed blood nor cause the body to dissipate. It sent out another spear, which clipped my side and put a small hole in my cloak. I brought out another scroll, and commanded it with ari, once more destroying the spirit.

    After the floor was cleared, we jumped down once again, this time to the ground level. ¡°Alright boys, get in there and show that Necromancer what you¡¯re made of!¡± Nadred exclaimed as he pushed us onward, ¡°Kared, Oroske, time to switch out!¡±

    As we approached, our comrades retreated. The Necromancer cried out in a scream of rage. His appearance seemed different than when I had observed him from above. His hair seemed wilder, sticking up all over the place, and there was a dark, menacing aura surrounding him. I hadn¡¯t seen his eyes from above, but I could see now that there was no longer any white in his eyes, nor any color. Instead, his eyes seemed to be glossy black orbs.

    The final encounter of the night was at hand, and it would put mine and Jarou¡¯s combat abilities to the test.

 18: Kared

    -Kared-

    [An Alten word meaning ¡®flesh,¡¯

    or in some cases, ¡®life,¡¯ commonly used

    in healing magic.]

    As Jarou and I approached the Necromancer, they were very clearly angry at the switch in opponents. It seemed to me that they understood the implications of them leaving and switching out with younger Hunters.

    Now that I had a better view of the man, I could see he was wielding a long staff, adorned with elaborate engravings and gilding, with a large crystalline orb nestled at the top, the wood of body covering over it like tree branches. When he cast spells, the crystal seemed to glow. In his off hand, he had a dagger with a straight, narrow blade, and a handguard that formed forks around the blade.

    Truth be told, as much as I would have liked to have a proper strategy going into this fight, I think I speak for both Jarou and I when I say, I had no idea what I was doing, nor what to expect from this fight. From the start, based on the weapons my opponent used, I knew this fight would be vastly different from what I¡¯ve come to expect.

    The Necromancer¡¯s green eyes were shielded by disheveled brown hair as he watched Jarou and I took up our fighting stances, and he readied himself for combat.

    I thought to take the first charge, but Jarou beat me to it, launching himself forward with a powerful burst of sentem. He had chosen to brandish his scythe for this battle, and he spun through the air in a similar fashion to how I had seen Kared and Oroske do earlier. He took a swing at our target, aiming for his side. Just before making contact, however, the Necromancer created another barrier, similar to the one used to deflect our seniors¡¯ attacks earlier, but much smaller.

    I saw this as an opening for me to rush in, coming in and slashing diagonally from his right and up. Despite his offhand being on the opposite side, he was able to quickly maneuver the dagger and trapped my sword between its blade and handguard.

    While I struggled to free my sword, my eyes met his. They seemed to be filled with immense sadness, but an equal, if not greater, intense anger. ¡°Why did you have to come here,¡± he shouted, ¡°Why can¡¯t you just let me see them again?!¡± At that exact moment, I had no idea what he was talking about, though it would dawn on me soon enough that he was talking about the people he was trying to revive.

    Jarou used his dialogue with me as an opening, disengaging from the barrier the target created. He spun, using the momentum to move behind the target, then swung heavily at the Necromancer¡¯s head. The Necromancer narrowly dodged, ducking his head to the side, watching as the blade glided quickly above him.

    I used the distraction to finally free my blade, and went to strike. Unfortunately, the Necromancer was faster than me, and attacked with his staff, hitting me in the side with a loud cracking sound. As I staggered from the hit, he unleashed a powerful blast of fyrun, in addition to a massive flash of light that blinded me for a moment. He must have done something to protect himself from the light, as while I couldn¡¯t see, he continued to barrage me with attacks, which I attempted and failed to guard against. Once my vision returned to me, unclouded, I was able to block his attack. I caught the wood part of the staff, and I put my own weapon back into my Demon Sheath, freeing my hand which I used to catch his wrist, narrowly escaping the cutting edge of his dagger. Covered in bruises, shallow cuts, and burns, my breathing was heavy as I shouted Jarou¡¯s name.

    During the time that I was being attacked, we had moved quite a ways from the center, and Jarou had been charging up a powerful magical attack. He had his hands placed on the ground, aether pooling up so much you could almost see it. ¡°Jarou¡¯tur¡¯ari!¡± He shouted heartily, echoing loudly in the large atrium. A large pillar of stone burst out from the ground near his hands, speeding towards the Necromancer, rumbling and cracking loudly as various parts of it broke off to the sides, making it almost look like a large, stone pinecone.

    The Necromancer eyed the pillar nervously, trying to break his weapons free. After realizing I wouldn¡¯t let my grip off so easily, he kicked me full force in the gut. I was determined not to let go, swallowing down the bile the kick forced up. He kicked me again, and a third time, which finally loosened my hold on his wrist, freeing his dagger hand. He quickly shot his dagger over and stabbed my arm that was holding his staff. I let out a blood curdling scream from the pain and shock, and let go of his staff, allowing me to inspect the wound.

    The Necromancer quickly spun around with the staff, and said with an intense fury, ¡°Fyr¡¯tur!¡± Several consecutive blasts met Jarou¡¯s stone pillar just before it struck him, and chunks of stone went flying in every direction, before dissipating back into aether. He wasted no time, and roundhouse kicked me in the head as I was staring in shock at the knife in my arm, knocking me to the ground and the edge of consciousness.

    I could only watch from this point on. I felt someone start dragging my body away as the Necromancer approached Jarou. Sound was muffled in my ears, but I could see pretty well. Kared sat me up against a bookshelf, and inspected my arm. After a moment, she yanked out the dagger, and began using magic to close the wound, my flesh seemingly stretching over the hole, weaving in on itself to shut it. Luckily my senses were pretty dull, so I barely felt it. I didn¡¯t know at the time, but apparently the magic she was using shared her name, and meant flesh, and was commonly a healing focused aspect.

    After she¡¯d patched me up, my focus wandered over to Jarou¡¯s fight. He had earned a few cuts and bruises himself. The Necromancer, having lost his dagger to my arm, had summoned a blade made of light in its place. Jarou was defending himself well, but even in my hazy-minded state I could see he was panicked, barely holding his own. The Necromancer¡¯s strength and magical ability was impressive if nothing else, pushing Jarou back and not allowing him an opening. All of Jarou¡¯s attempts to attack with magic were deftly blocked, either by fyrun-based counterattacks, or that barrier the Necromancer used previously. Every pillar of stone, every blast of fyrun, sentem, selr, and so on. All of them blocked, seemingly with ease. Jarou even tried hitting with multiple attacks at once a few times, and still they were deflected.

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    After a while, strange white circles began appearing around the room, some at the Necromancer¡¯s feet, some at his hands, and even a few at his head level, and a couple even higher than that. All of them appeared after he walked past that spot. They were reminiscent of the large circle that he was standing in before we began our battle, with triangles and squares in the middle, lined with intricate designs. It became apparent that the Necromancer was planning something, and was being deliberate in the direction he pushed Jarou.

    After several of these circles had appeared, he forced Jarou into the center of all of them. Then, all at once, magic activated from them, shooting white hot beams of light into Jarou, piercing his body in several places. As Jarou¡¯s eyes clouded over from shock, and he fell to his knees, the Necromancer spoke. ¡°You¡¯re Clan¡¯s a bunch of hypocrites¡­ What''s wrong with me wanting to see my family again?!¡± He then delivered a powerful kick to Jarou¡¯s chest, knocking him to the ground and a fair distance away. ¡°I¡¯ll finish you off later,¡± he said, anger flowing through every word, ¡°But first I need to eliminate the rest.¡±

    By this point, my vision had become more unclouded, but in trade off I was feeling the pain from my wounds once again.

    Kared had been standing next to me, watching as the battle unfolded, when suddenly, a massive burst of energy flowed from her. I blearily looked up at her, and she had a powerful, crimson aura surrounding her. ¡°You may not want to watch this, Kuro,¡± she warned as she walked towards the Necromancer.

    ¡°Kared, wai-¡± Oroske started in an attempt to stop her, before realizing it was futile.

    ¡°I will not stand by any longer,¡± Kared snapped at Oroske, ¡°It¡¯s become clear to me this scum is much stronger than we expected.¡± I got the impression she wanted to say something else, but held her tongue.

    ¡°What, you think one of you is enough to beat me? After you struggled so much with two earlier?¡± The Necromancer barked, seeing that only Kared approached.

    ¡°You¡¯ve hurt my family, and insulted me,¡± Kared spat, ¡°I was going to give you a clean, painless death. But now, I¡¯ve decided that your last sight should be what true power looks like. And feels like, to boot.¡± She finished with a sinister sounding laugh.

    The aura surrounding her pulsed with energy. Another one of those circles, this time crimson, appeared underneath the Necromancer, and red vines wrapped around his body, holding him in place. I was seeing her right side profile, and her eyes glowed lavender, in contrast to their usual deep purple. Several of those circles appeared around her, starting at her feet and working up to her head, but rather than having simple triangles and squares, they contained octagrams, and intense, complex designs.

    Her lips began moving with immense speed, and an unintelligible string of commands poured from her. The circles began spinning slowly around her, and one by one as they reached her front, a small orb of red light shot out towards the Necromancer. Each one began to transform his body.

    The first one snapped his left arm, bending his forearm 90 degrees, and he let out a blood curdling scream. The second did the same for his right lower leg, dropping his body suddenly to the floor. Each of the first eight snapped various bones in this fashion, until his limbs were all bent in ways they never should be. By that point, the pain must have been so much that he couldn¡¯t even scream, as the only noise coming from him were sobs as he writhed on the floor in misery.

    Then, each one contorted his body in another way. Stretching limbs, bloating his body. At some point his cries became muffled, and I could only assume flesh had been pulled over his mouth. By the time the last of the circles had disappeared, he was an unrecognizable mound of distorted flesh, even tearing in a few places to expose organs and muscles, blood getting everywhere.

    Kared then summoned her large, crimson red scythe, stuck the end in the ground with the cutting edge facing the pile of miserable flesh, and disappeared in a flash of red lightning.

    The mound split, blood and innards spilling out, before fading into a black dust.

    As the mound disintegrated, Kared became visible once again. Her aura had dissipated, and she spun the scythe around, ending with it slung over her shoulder. She then turned around and began walking towards where Jarou lay unconscious, and began to inspect his wounds.

    Oroske came over to me, and offered to take me to the middle of the room, which I accepted. He helped me wrap my still very sensitive, and very in-pain harm around his neck, and lifted me up by my legs, giving me a piggy-back ride. We stopped by Kared and Jarou first.

    ¡°How is he?¡± Oroske asked.

    ¡°He¡¯ll live, thankfully,¡± Kared said with a sigh of relief, ¡°Though, I can only administer so much treatment myself. Despite my lineage, I¡¯m not very good with vaia. He¡¯ll have to refrain from strenuous activities until we can get the Clan healers to look at him.¡±

    I could see his shirt and cloak were stained red from his blood, and riddled with holes, but beyond those holes, his flesh was freshly closed. Almost looked like there never were any holes there in the first place.

    After verifying Jarou¡¯s safety, Oroske took me to the actual center of the room. ¡°All that¡¯s left is collecting the blackened aether,¡± he muttered as he set me down, but not before making sure I¡¯m okay to stand. I stumbled a little from the pain, but did my best to retain my composure.

    All over the floor, and floating in the air was the Necromancer¡¯s black dust. Oroske pulled out a small jar from his cloak and began his explanation. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re already familiar with soul blackening. This is the aftermath of having a blackened soul, and having Return to Dust used on you. Usually the dust dissipates back into aether, but when it¡¯s black like this, it sticks around, and can cause issues. And so, we collect it, and bring it back to the Clan. I¡¯ll make sure you can see for yourself when we get back, but Danfis has a way of dealing with it.

    ¡°And to collect it, all you need is to pour aether into one of these special jars,¡± He finished, handing me the jar, instructing me to open it.

    Upon closer inspection, I saw the lid, bottom, and sides had similar circles to the ones I had seen earlier subtly engraved in the glass. These ones had a pentagon as their main shape. I did as he instructed, and had the aether flow into the glass. Suddenly, all the dust in the air stopped moving, before being vacuumed into the jar. Then the dust on the floor formed a mini-tornado that made it all funnel into the container. Once all of it was in, Oroske urged me to close it quickly. Screwing the lid back into place, the circle on it glowed. ¡°Try opening it now,¡± Oroske said with a laugh. When I did, I found it was sealed tight, much tighter than what I had done. I couldn¡¯t even get it to budge.

    ¡°Alright, well done, Kuro,¡± Nadred said as he re-entered the room. I hadn¡¯t even noticed he left, but apparently he had gone to ensure the rest of the building was Restless-free. ¡°Is Jarou alright, Kared?¡± She simply nodded. ¡°Thank goodness,¡± he sighed, ¡°Shall we get out of here?¡±

    We all agreed, and with Jarou on Kared¡¯s back, and I on Oroske¡¯s, we left the old library. I¡¯m not sure what happened between then and us arriving back in our hotel, as I fell asleep, my body finally allowing me to rest after our long battle. And when I woke back up, I was sat down on the couch in the hotel room.

 19: Dream

    -Dream-

    [A series of thoughts and vivid images that occur when sleeping.

    In some cases, can be a method of viewing the future,

    or events that are occurring in other locations.

    The latter is a common happenstance for Half-Demons

    under certain criteria.]

    I woke up groggily, dull pain searing throughout my entire body. When I tried to move, I was pushed back down firmly. Through bleary eyes, I saw the long, red hair of Kared. ¡°Don¡¯t start moving around yet,¡± she ordered, ¡°Your wounds are still healing. Don¡¯t need you opening them again any time soon.¡± I gave a very small nod, barely noticeable, to tell her I understood.

    As I sat there, my vision slowly unclouded, but my pain was ever-present. I became aware of the couch I was sitting on, and that Jarou was sitting next to me. He was still out cold though. I¡¯m sure if my mind hadn¡¯t felt so foggy, I would have panicked at the sheer amount of blood that stained his cloak, and the number of cuts and holes that were present in it. Slowly moving my head and my eyes, trying to not move too much, and trying not to think about the pain, I inspected myself.

    I was certainly in better shape than Jarou was. My own cloak and shirt had several smaller cuts on it from when the Necromancer landed his various shallow cuts. Then my eyes drifted over to my blood-stained left arm. The memory of the dagger piercing through my entire arm flooded my mind without warning. A phantom pain and an immense headache seared through my body. Had I not been in so much pain, I may have screamed.

    After calming down, I warily inspected my arm where I had been stabbed. Slowly, and painfully, moving my right arm towards the left. Touching where the dagger cut through sent waves of dull pain throughout my body. But I could tell it had been healing, if slowly. All the blood on my cloak had dried, so my hand didn¡¯t get anything on it. Furthermore, peeling back the hole in the fabric revealed my arm itself was clean. I remembered that Kared had healed me, and even now you could see that my flesh didn¡¯t match up with the rest quite right. It looked as though my skin had been stretched and pulled over the wound, then smoothly reconnected with the skin on the other side.

    ¡°It¡¯ll heal back to normal with time,¡± She explained as she watched me gently inspect it, ¡°It wouldn¡¯t need to if I was better at healing. So, sorry about that.¡± I slowly shook my head. I wanted to say ¡°It¡¯s ok, don¡¯t worry about it,¡± but I couldn¡¯t get myself to speak. She simply offered me a small, apologetic smile from her seat across the small room.

    The rest of the fight played out in my head. Kared was so much stronger than me. Her method of fighting, her magical prowess, the sheer fact that she can heal in general. All of it was incredible to me. I closed my eyes and rested my head on the back of the couch. I still have so much further to go, I thought as my consciousness drifted back into the realm of sleep.

    ¡ª--

    I awoke abruptly to the sounds of something crashing in the distance. Panicked, I looked around my surroundings. I wasn¡¯t in the hotel room, but rather what seemed like a makeshift shack. I was laying in a ragged bed roll set on dirt, and there were several other people laying in similar bedding. From what I could tell they were all around the same age as me. I looked back down, and as long dark hair fell around my vision, I couldn¡¯t help but notice my chest stuck out more than I was used to. Before I had time to really process the hair and chest differences, my body stood up and got out of the bed roll, seemingly on its own.

    I - she? - walked over to the door of the shack, seemingly unbothered by how thin and small the poor excuse for a shirt she was wearing was, and that it was the only thing aside from undergarments she had on. As she reached for the door, she hesitated, as though she were scared of something. I couldn¡¯t help but notice how scarred and dirty her hand - no, her entire arm, and probably her entire body - was. She finally mustered up the courage and opened the door.

    Outside the shack looked like a campground, with another shack on the other side of the fire pit, and it looked like they were working on building a structure out of stone.

    Suddenly visions of the burning village I saw in a dream a while back flooded my mind. She must have seen them too, or perhaps she was thinking of something else, but either way she shook her head as though to clear her mind.

    There were two men, who¡¯s eyes she avoided so I didn¡¯t get to see their faces, who were rushing around in a panic.

    ¡°......?¡± she said¡­ something, but my hearing was muffled and I couldn¡¯t quite make it out.

    ¡°!!!!!¡± the one on the left seemed to shout at her angrily, before being calmed down by the one on the right. It seemed like the one on the right was distressed by the other being loud. Based on their hand gestures, it seemed like they were explaining something to her. They pointed at the shack as though to tell her to go back inside, and when she refused, the man on the left angrily walked over to her and slapped her, before picking her up. He then took her inside, practically threw her on top of her bed roll, and pulled something out of his coat pocket that I couldn¡¯t quite see. Suddenly the feeling of cold metal pressing against skin shot through my legs, and when she tried to kick out, she couldn¡¯t move them much if at all. The man then tied a rag around her mouth, and once again said something I couldn¡¯t hear.

    I could hear and feel her muffled sobs as she cried herself to sleep.

    ¡ª--

    When I awoke, my cheeks were stained by dried out tears. I pushed myself to sit up, finding someone had moved me to my bed. The light was on, and outside the sun was just beginning to set. In the other bed, Jarou was sitting on top of his bedding, legs crossed and eyes closed. He seemed relaxed yet focused.

    I brought my hand up to hold my head, which was pulsing with pain. Aside from that and a very faint, dull pain where I had been stabbed, I felt pretty good. I inspected my arm and various wounds, gently putting pressure on them to test their sensitivity. The majority of them didn¡¯t really hurt at all, but where I¡¯d been stabbed sent a shockwave of pain through my entire arm. It had started to look more normal again as well, but still looked a little strange.

    The sharp breath that I sucked in from the pain must have been louder than I thought, since Jarou snapped out of his meditation. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re awake, Kuro?¡± He asked as I pulled my arm away from the tender wound.

    ¡°Ah,¡± he startled me slightly, ¡°Uh, yeah, just woke up a moment ago,¡± I responded, ¡°Sorry if I disturbed you.¡±

    ¡°Oh no, you¡¯re fine,¡± he said waving his hand in dismissal, ¡°I was just trying to practice acceleration. Haven¡¯t made much progress though.¡± He finished with a laugh. He must have noticed I was disturbed, because he asked if I was doing okay. I was surprised by the question, but I told him about my disturbing dream, and said that¡¯s probably why.

    He took a moment and thought about it. ¡°I wonder,¡± he mumbled to himself while thinking, ¡°I think that might have something to do with your Second Soul. Nadred or Kared could probably tell you for sure. You should talk to them before we go to that tournament.¡±

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    I brought my legs out from under the blanket and slid them off the edge of the bed, which rested half a foot above the floor. I then took care to push myself off with only my not-been-stabbed hand, worried that if I used the other it would cause more pain. It was only after the pressure of standing was put on my legs that I became aware of how sore they were. I suppose that makes sense, I¡¯d been standing or running around pretty much the entire day, I thought to myself, as I slowly walked over to the door.

    Jarou also got out of bed, and got ahead of me, opening the door for me.

    ¡°Done already, Jarou?¡± Nadred¡¯s voice joked from the lounge area of the room.

    ¡°Yeah, but also,¡± Jarou responded in a similar tone, trailing off as I walked out of the room.

    ¡°Ohh, Kuro! Good morning,¡± Nadred greeted, ¡°Though it¡¯s more like evening now. I was beginning to wonder if you¡¯d wake up before the matches began tonight.¡±

    ¡°Good morning,¡± I responded smally, trying to ignore my headache.

    ¡°Oh yeah, what time do the matches start anyway?¡± Jarou asked.

    ¡°We¡¯ve still got a couple hours,¡± Kared responded from the kitchen section, ¡°Plenty of time to eat and talk about things.¡±

    I took a seat on the couch where I had woken up earlier. I hadn¡¯t really realized earlier, but it seemed I was out all night, woke up around midday, then fell back asleep until just before sunset. When I inquired about the whereabouts of my mentor, Nadred said Oroske was out getting some drinks, while Kared was preparing our meal for the night.

    ¡°You seem like you have something more important to ask me,¡± Nadred pressed. He was right, of course, but I wasn¡¯t sure how to phrase my question. So, I simply nodded while thinking about it. Eventually, I figured it would be easiest to just tell the story again and go from there.

    After recalling the dream, and the dream I had a few weeks before, Nadred adopted a more serious face. ¡°Interesting,¡± he said simply after a moment to collect his thoughts. ¡°You are familiar with Second Souls, yes?¡± After I nodded in affirmation, he began properly. ¡°It¡¯s not uncommon for Half-Demons, and for that matter anyone with a Second Soul, to occasionally get glimpses into the other¡¯s life. The most common way this happens is what happened to you. You see what they¡¯re living through while you are dreaming. In some cases, you see what¡¯s happening at that exact moment, other times you see things that happened to them in the recent past. So most likely, what you saw was something that happened to them within the last three or four nights.

    ¡°As for why you¡¯d see that event now, the two of you have recently had experiences that can reasonably be described as painful or traumatic. Half-Demons have a unique mechanism to help with pain and suffering like that, where the two halves will share the experience in some form. Probably the most common case is a dream like that, or feeling the pain they felt, without actually getting hurt yourself.¡±

    ¡°Misery loves company, as they say,¡± Kared chimed in from the kitchen. ¡°Sounds like she¡¯s in a bad trenui company, poor girl.¡±

    ¡°Trenui?¡± Jarou and I both asked.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the Alten word for slave,¡± she explained as she left the kitchen, ¡°Or close enough anyway. Most people don¡¯t like using the ¡®S¡¯ word for it though, so they¡¯re called trenui.

    ¡°Unfortunately, owning trenui still isn¡¯t illegal, as much as people would like for them to be. Too many people in power own them, and don¡¯t want to let go. Us Half-Demons have it the worst. If you¡¯re a Half and aren¡¯t a member of a Clan or the Twilight, odds are, you¡¯re a trenui.¡± She finished solemnly, sitting down next to Jarou on the couch.

    ¡°What did you mean by a bad company?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Since owning trenui isn¡¯t illegal, the Clans and local law enforcement normally won¡¯t do anything about people or companies that own them. And the Crimson Twilight wont do a thing unless they¡¯re getting paid, which only happens if a company pisses off somebody with proper connections.¡± She lifted a finger, ¡°But, going off of your story, it sounds as though the company that owns your Second Soul is on the run, for one reason or another. The Tsumi Clan and the Twilight don¡¯t have any active marks on any company at the moment, and are the only two groups you can flat out pay to hunt them down. The flashy burning down would fit the bill of either the Ishen or Incol Clans, and in some areas I could see law enforcement doing such a thing. If I had to guess, they either pissed off one of the Clans, or they pissed off another company. Or there¡¯s some other group in the Underground that¡¯s trying to hunt them down, but I haven¡¯t heard anything like that.¡± She finally finished her rambling explanation.

    I was left speechless for a moment, then finally recollected myself. ¡°You seem to know a lot about the trenui stuff,¡± I remarked.

    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Nadred laughed a little, ¡°Kared used to, unknowingly at the time, be part of the Crimson Twilight¡¯s crew for busting trenui companies. In fact, when we met she was in a particularly awful company, working to bust it open from the inside.¡±

    ¡°Ugh,¡± she groaned as she threw her head backward, ¡°Don¡¯t remind me. Those guys were the worst.¡±

    ¡°How do you bust a company from the inside if you don¡¯t know that¡¯s what you¡¯re doing?¡± Jarou asked.

    ¡°Well, she¡¯s a bit calmer now, but your mother used to be quite hot-headed,¡± Nadred jested, earning him an elbow from Kared from the seat next to him, ¡°She had already been trained in combat and magic and the like, so as soon as she¡¯d get mistreated, she¡¯d explode in a fit of rage and give her allies an opening.¡±

    ¡°Eventually they would have had to stop putting me in those positions,¡± Kared picked up, ¡°Much longer and I would have developed a reputation in the Underground. Thankfully, that was the last of those missions I had to do, since Nadred and Oroske brought me to the Clan shortly after that.¡±

    ¡°What kind of people are in the Crimson Twilight?¡± I asked.

    Kared thought about it for a moment, looking up with a hand on her chin. ¡°I think the best way to explain it shortly would be that the Crimson Twilight is like a more free, more brutal version of the Tsumi Clan. Which makes sense, seeing as the Twilight was founded by a group of people who left the Clan. Through their Tsumi Clan bloodline, they still have the Guardians¡¯ protection, even though they go against local and natural laws far more frequently. The Twilight operates entirely in the Underground, however, while the Tsumi Clan does both over the counter and Underground work.

    ¡°Lots of people see the Tsumi Clan as dangerous criminals, but the Twilight has a far worse reputation in that regard. Among the people who are aware of its existence, anyway.¡± She finished with that remark. And as she did, Oroske returned, opening and closing the door loudly, in addition to announcing his arrival.

    ¡°Ah, welcome back!¡± Kared exclaimed, half standing as she pushed herself up on the back of the couch to look toward him, ¡°How did it go?¡±

    ¡°Oh, pretty well. I got those spirits you recommended,¡± He replied, taking off his cloak and laying it over a chair. It was rare to see him without his cloak, fully exposing his muscular build through a rather tight, black t-shirt that contrasted his almost pure white coat. He then set down the bag he was carrying on the table, ¡°And for everyone else, I got a few different flavors of dark soda.¡±

    Kared got up and announced it¡¯s time to eat, adding a sarcastic ¡°finally¡± to the end. We all got up and sat at the table, and Kared brought over the delicious smelling food. It was a lighter colored meat, with a very spicy breading and sauce. It was unlike anything I¡¯d had up to that point.

    ¡°So, how are you two feeling?¡± Oroske asked Jarou and I after quickly devouring his share of the meal.

    ¡°I still feel sore all over,¡± Jarou started after swallowing down the bite he had just taken, ¡°And while I¡¯m not sure what, I can tell there¡¯s still something wrong with my internals.¡±

    Oroske simply hummed a response.

    ¡°My legs are sore from running around all day, but where I was stabbed only hurts if I put too much pressure on it. Other than that, I feel okay,¡± I answered.

    ¡°Good, good,¡± He said as he took a sip of the drink he bought for himself, Kared, and Nadred. It was an almost completely clear liquid, with a hint of blue in the color. ¡°You¡¯ll probably want to take it easy until we can have some of the Clan healers take a proper look at you.¡± He suddenly adopted a very stern tone, ¡°That means no training until we¡¯re back, and after that you¡¯ll do whatever they tell you. Understood?¡±

    Jarou and I both nodded.

    ¡°Good,¡± He said with his own nod, before looking at a clock on the wall. ¡°We should probably get going, don¡¯t want to miss the matches. We can talk about the Hunt and wrap-up stuff on the way there.¡±

    We all quickly finished the rest of our food, Kared and Oroske put their cloaks back on, we put on our various types of shoes, and left as the darkness of night enshrouded the city.

 20: School of Towers

    -School of Towers-

    [The number one institute for the study, teaching, and researching

    Of magic. It consists of seventeen towers, all of varying heights.

    Each tower has a number which dictates the level of magic being

    Studied and taught within. The higher the number, the taller the tower,

    And the more advanced the magic.]

    The tournament was being held in a stadium within the School of Towers, which was perched on top of the large hill at the center of the city, acting as the centerpiece. When Nadred suggested we take an Aeth''mobile up to the stadium, Oroske insisted it would be faster and easier to just walk there. The walking path next to the road turned to stairs at the base of the hill.

    While it was considered a hill, up close it was almost more like a small butte. The sides were so steep they were almost a cliff. So instead of climbing directly up the side, we had to take the same path vehicles did, which wound around the hill in a quarter-spiral. There were four of these quarter-spirals, one in each of the intercardinal directions. Climbing the steps took a while, but by my estimate, Oroske was right about it being faster than taking an Aeth''mobile up, as we passed several of them on our way up. They would be stopped for a couple minutes, then move up a couple spaces. Usually a few seconds after they moved up, we''d see another one go down the hill. At the top, we''d find the reason why, though I suppose in hindsight it was obvious; the vehicles would stop at the top to drop people off, then head back down.

    Here, at the Southwest entry point, there was a tower pretty close by. It was the shortest of the 7 or so in sight, by a fair margin too. Despite that, it was still taller than the vast majority of buildings at the base of the hill. The towers pierced the sky, lights on the outside illuminating the structures from bottom to top, and lights in windows gave insight to how many floors there were.

    ¡°Wow,¡± Nadred breathed as he looked the tower up and down in amazement, ¡°I never thought I¡¯d get this close to the Towers¡­ what I wouldn¡¯t give to explore the insides freely¡­¡± he said practically drooling, while making grabby hands towards the towers. Kared nudged him with her elbow, ¡°I know, I know, but that¡¯s not what we¡¯re here for today.¡± He looked sad and dejected, and followed her with an overdramatic reluctance. She wrapped an arm around his shoulder, and offered him comfort in the form of saying to him, ¡°Well look at it like this, you¡¯re about to witness one of the most important yearly events at the school. Imagine how much you can learn just from watching tonight.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ you¡¯re right.¡± He said, looking like his usual self again.

    What Kared said got me curious, ¡°What¡¯s so important about this tournament anyway?¡± I had gathered there would be very strong people fighting in it tonight, but that was about it.

    ¡°Oh, right, you and Jarou wouldn¡¯t know,¡± Nadred said, looking back towards us, explaining without dropping his pace. ¡°The School of Towers operates in a rather unorthodox method. When you join the school, you take a placement test, and they assign you to a tower based on your performance. Each tower has a number, and as the numbers get higher, so does your skill and knowledge level. From towers one through ten, you can advance simply by doing well in class and learning everything they have to teach you. From towers eleven through seventeen, they begin to focus more on researching and self-learning advanced topics, and in order to progress you must perform well on a yearly test. That test being the Tournament of Towers. And even in the lower towers, performing well during the Tournament is a good way to slingshot yourself up the ranks.¡±

    ¡°So people fight in the Tournament for more than just glory?¡± Jarou asked.

    ¡°Correct! Between testing to move up to higher towers, and testing their own limits, people can also fight to see what kinds of techniques their peers have developed.¡±

    ¡°Of course, that does mean that the champions are always residing in really high tower numbers,¡± Oroske but in, ¡°And the Tournament was originally just about seeing who¡¯s the strongest. To give some room to celebrate the lower level students, several winners are announced in different tiers.

    ¡°If memory serves, the first three are one tier, then four through six are another tier, seven and eight are one tier, and nine and ten are one tier, and since the number of students above that is so low, the last seven are considered one tier. In the top tier, the last standing in the bracket is the champion, and the rest are ranked by a panel of judges, and all of their ranks are made public.¡±

    ¡°I wonder where I¡¯d rank¡­¡± I thought outloud.

    ¡°In terms of towers,¡± Kared started, ¡°I can¡¯t say for certain, but I¡¯d guess you¡¯d probably be around tower two or three right now. One of the Twilight¡¯s contacts said they estimated I¡¯d be in tower thirteen, but could wipe the floor with everyone but the top five students.¡± As she finished, we approached the central tower, where the Tournament was being held.

    ¡°There are people stronger than you?¡± Jarou asked, a hint of worry in his voice, as we came to a stop behind the crowd that was waiting to enter, inching forward every minute or so. ¡°Not many, but yes,¡± Kared said with a defeated sigh, head facing towards the distant top of the skyscraping tower. She smiled and looked back down after a moment, ¡°I just see it as having room to improve. And I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll keep improving for years and years.¡±

    It was a touch worrying that while Kared was considered by many to be the Tsumi Clan¡¯s strongest Hunter, there were still people that were stronger than her.

    I had zeroed in on the conversation so much that I hadn¡¯t paid much attention to our surroundings as we walked. At some point we entered what looked like a small city, with a handful of shops and other small buildings lining the street around us. It felt as though my vision was funneled upwards to the tower looming above us. It was easily the tallest tower I had seen, and Nadred told me it was indeed the seventeenth, and tallest tower. It was also much wider than the tower I had inspected earlier. Nadred explained that as there are very few people who have been admitted as a student to the seventeenth tower, it instead is used for more general purposes. Such as the general studies and libraries, faculty offices, some students reside within the dorms, and the Tournament¡¯s stadium is also housed within the upper floors. The street opened up closer to the building, with a large plaza circling the tower. There were many stalls and small shops set up for the tournament, selling various kinds of food and trinkets. There were a lot more people lined up for those stalls than I expected.

    As we got close to the door, a sign came into view. It was a detailed list of the winners from the various tiers. The first two had different names, but the last two were taken up by a single name. Someone by the name Sarii Rel apparently won in two separate tiers. ¡°Oh, that Rel girl performed well again,¡± a man, who looked around Oroske¡¯s age, commented nearby, ¡°Here¡¯s hoping they don¡¯t cheat her out of her promotions again.¡± He finished before walking towards the stalls.

    A little further along was another sign, with a bold red headline saying ¡°Tier Five - The best of the best!¡± It had a listing of the first matchups, with the brackets each contestant was in, consisting of a total of ten fighters. In the first match, apparently Sarii Rel would be going up against someone named Arel Anur. The name must have caught Kared¡¯s attention, since I heard her whisper ¡°Anur, huh?¡±

    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    ¡°Do you know them, Kared?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Huh?¡± I caught her off guard, and she broke out of her thoughts, ¡°Oh, probably not. Anur is a pretty common last name. Just thinking about some people from my past.¡± She dismissed it with a small laugh.

    After that, it was only a short moment before we were finally let inside the massive wooden door. Oroske handed the attendant our tickets, and they looked at them carefully. ¡°Take the elevator or stairs on the right going down to the third sublevel. After exiting, your section will be directly ahead, on the D row, on the left side. Enjoy the show!¡± They explained cheerfully.

    The inside of the tower was lavishly decorated, and had a very regal design to it. Dark wood accented the gray and brown walls, creating elegant arches across the open hallway. Across the dark marble tiled floor was another circular wall with a single large door, creating a donut shaped hallway. I could see people coming in from two of the other entrances as well. We walked along the outer wall, which had several doors, and a set of elevators near the stairs. We entered the first elevator we came to, all of which were in large, glass tubes that you could watch through. Even the floor was glass. Oroske hit the button for the third basement floor, and it began moving downward. After a short distance, it stopped for a moment, before continuing along a diagonal path. Light poured in through the bottom of the elevator as the floor opened up, revealing a massive underground stadium. I feared we were going to be pushed out of the elevator and fall, but thankfully nothing like that happened. Once I managed to swallow my nerves and open my eyes, I inspected the stadium more intently. The circular sitting area was packed full of people, and had no major support beams in the middle, instead all of the ornate stone pillars were backed up against the far walls. In the middle of the ring of seats there was a large pit with a large cylinder in the middle, forming the platform for contestants to fight on.

    After a while, the elevator dipped behind the far wall, and began descending normally once again. We passed right by the top two floors, stopping at the third. According to the buttons in the elevator, there were two more sublevels, the last of which is inaccessible without a key.

    Stepping outside the elevator was like stepping into a small underground city. It was complete with small buildings that resembled houses and several small shops, selling similar items to the stalls outside the tower. The ¡®street¡¯ was packed with people, and chatter echoed throughout the stone hallway. Oroske forged a path for us, shouldering his way through the crowd. Some people saw us and hurriedly moved out of the way.

    Once we finally made it out into the arena, the people chatting near us suddenly stopped, and it felt as though they were staring at us as we walked down to our seats. After a moment of their silence, they began talking again in hushed tones.

    We finally reached our row, four rows away from the edge of the pit. Though, there was still another section beneath us as well, that got a little closer to the center platform.

    ¡°Oh? The Tsumi Clan is here too?¡± A young woman with dark black hair and piercing red eyes leaned forward and looked at us. She wore a deep blue trench coat, and was matched by another young woman and young man sitting next to her.

    ¡°So it would seem,¡± A gruff older man grunted. He had light brown hair and gray eyes, and wore a deep green jacket that looked like a uniform.

    ¡°The Incol and the Ishen, eh?¡± Oroske commented as he sat next to the gruff man, ¡°They must really want the Half-Demons to see something if we¡¯ve all been invited. Wonder what it is?¡±

    ¡°Nothing good, I¡¯m sure.¡± The older man responded, before extending a hand to Oroske and introducing himself, ¡°I¡¯m Sel¡¯un, third rank officer in the Ishen Clan¡¯s task force. And if I may be so presumptuous, I would guess you are Oroske of the Tsumi.¡±

    Oroske shook his hand, ¡°You¡¯re correct, it seems my reputation precedes me. White Cloak Hunter, Oroske, at your service. Who are our Incol friends?¡±

    The black haired girl pulled herself out of her conversation with her comrades, ¡°I¡¯m Wex, this is my older brother Uri, and younger sister Myr. Myr and I were recently promoted to be officiates, and Uri¡¯s been one for a few years. Still have a lot to learn though.¡± She then promptly continued her conversation with her siblings.

    ¡°Primary colors, huh?¡± Nadred chuckled, ¡°Admittedly, I don¡¯t know much about the other Clan¡¯s method of ranking, no less what kinds of duties you all undertake to boot.¡±

    ¡°I can say the same,¡± Sel¡¯un conceded, taking a sip from a mug he kept on his armrest, ¡°What say we exchange info? I can¡¯t imagine I¡¯ll get a better opportunity to learn about and understand my Half-Demon compatriots.¡±

    ¡°Right you are,¡± Oroske nodded, ¡°Very well, we¡¯ll go first. Some stuff will be omitted as a matter of Clan secrecy, but most stuff is harmless to our operations if you know about it.¡±

    Oroske spent the next several minutes explaining the Tsumi Clan¡¯s duties, and the way we identify our ranks through our cloak colors. Though, while he explained that the Red Cloaks are the highest rank, he left out how one attains such a rank.

    ¡°Oh, I see. I had always been curious about the colors,¡± Sel¡¯un commented, before clearing his throat. ¡°Well, as I said I would, allow me to explain Ishen''s methods. First is our ranking system. We have three primary levels, called classes, each with three ranks. You have our initiates, where everyone starts out as a rank one initiate. Then you have our standard class, called the soldiers, which makes up the bulk of our forces. Then at the top you have officers like myself. There is a fourth class, but it is reserved for our leader to promote hand picked individuals to it, and it¡¯s quite rare that he does.

    ¡°As for our duties, they start out quite similar to yours. Escorting clients from one realm into the other, and hunting down any Sigils we encounter. Beyond that however, our primary service is as bodyguards for various clients, and some cities hire us to assist with law enforcement. Which is actually what I was here to do originally, security detail for the Tournament. We handle a few other mercenary type jobs, much like you, but those have been few and far between the past couple years.¡±

    ¡°I see, I see,¡± Nadred said, soaking in every word, ¡°How about you, Incols?¡±

    Wex¡¯s ears twitched and she paused her conversation, leaning forward and facing us again, ¡°I¡¯ve been listening, so I may as well indulge you.¡± She took a moment to think. ¡°Our ranking system isn¡¯t quite as robust as the Ishen¡¯s, and has a pretty different structure. Our novice rank is like your Navy Cloaks, folks who are still just starting out, but know enough to go do field work. From there it splits into operatives and officiates. Officiates are technically higher ranked, and it takes a lot longer to become one compared to operatives, but you can go straight to being one from a novice if you have the right teacher. Above that we have executives, which are our highest ranking personnel.

    ¡°As for our duties, much like both of you we handle escort and sigil missions, but we almost exclusively do mercenary type work, I suppose you could say. Like with the Tsumi¡¯s Necromancer missions, we do thorough investigations on our various clients and targets, which is the job of the officiates. Unlike the Tsumi however, killing is an absolute last resort for us, which means we¡¯re the go to for bringing criminals to justice over-the-counter. Not to say you Tsumis don¡¯t have a place, of course. Some people deserve the crueler end you lot give.¡±

    She explained it all with an innocent seeming smile, even the slight jab at my Clan.

    Nadred simply nodded, ¡°I see, fascinating. I knew the Incol¡¯s work had an intensive investigation phase to it, but I had no idea about any of the rest. Thank you for the information.¡± He then turned to face the arena, as a loud, dull ring sounded overhead, like someone ringing a bell.

    ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, the Tier Five bracket is about to begin! Please take your seats, and enjoy the show,¡± A voice rang out loudly, reverberating against the stone, ¡°Our first match will see Sarii Rel, our young prodigy, snuffed from tower promotions two years in a row, face off against one of our reigning best, Arel Anur! Bad luck for her, let¡¯s see how long she can hold her own for!¡±

    As the names were announced, small bridges extended from the center platform. The contestants then walked out and took up their battle stances near the edges of the platform.

    Sarii Rel was a young girl, looked only slightly older than Jarou and I, with blonde hair tied into a ponytail, and blue eyes that sparkled in the light. Not that I could see them from where I was sitting.

    Arel Anur on the other hand was a man, younger than Nadred for sure, with flowing blue hair and matching eyes. He held himself confidently, and came off as almost cocky.

    A buzzer rang, and the match started.

 21: Sarii

    -Sarii-

    [An Alten word, meaning any of ¡°bring,¡± ¡°to bring,¡± and ¡°bringer.¡±]

    Sarii threw off her uniform robe, allowing it to fall in the pit next to the platform. Underneath, she was wearing a simple black tank top that fit her tightly, and black pants that were more spacious, but still made her legs look thin. She then drew a thin, long sword from its sheath, which hung from her waist.

    Arel pulled a simple longsword from his waist as well. He was wearing a variation of the uniform robe that seemed more geared towards combat, and instead of the white-focused color scheme, his was black with a golden trim. ¡°You know, Lady Rel,¡± he began speaking loudly with a smile on his face, ¡°If you¡¯d simply accept my family¡¯s offer, we could help you get the promotions you¡¯ve been fighting so hard for.¡±

    She rolled her neck, and flourished her weapon, falling into a combat ready stance, ¡°I¡¯ve already told you, both an hour ago and a year ago, I¡¯m not interested,¡± she spat. ¡°And even if my family was interested in the deal, I¡¯ve already decided to earn my way through. I will not allow myself to simply be carried to the top anymore.¡±

    ¡°Very well,¡± Arel shrugged, taking up a relaxed stance, ¡°Let¡¯s end this quickly then.¡± He beckoned her to approach with a lax hand wave.

    Sarii took in a sharp breath, and launched herself into the air, moving toward him with an explosion of fyrun. While in the air, she thrust her free hand toward him, and mouthed a two syllable phrase. From her outstretched hand, a beam of light shot towards Arel, creating a massive flash of extremely bright light around him. Looking at it was almost like looking directly at the sun, I could only imagine what it was like for Arel there.

    After the explosion of light went off, Sarii flipped herself in the air so her legs were pointing up, and her sword was pointing directly at Arel. She then created another explosion at her feet, and quickly flew towards her opponent. A split second after she dipped into the ball of light, a sharp noise rang out.

    A whirlwind of darkness cleared the light, revealing Sarii, whose sword was caught in a bubble around Arel, who still wore the same cocky smile. Sarii¡¯s feet landed on the bubble, and she pushed the sword further in. Suddenly, at the tip of her blade, another blast of fyrun went off, shattering the bubble from inside. It would have been a devastating blow to Arel, had he not created another bubble shield closer to his body.

    As the bubble shattered, Sarii jumped off, performing a backflip and landing on her feet. She didn¡¯t let up there, and quickly resumed her attacks, not giving Arel a single moment to recover and prepare. Though from what I could tell, he didn¡¯t need it, as he still looked confident and relaxed, despite the pressure.

    As quickly as Sarii approached, using another blast of fyrun to propel her forward, Arel took down his barrier, and created a transparent shield around his free hand using the same spell.

    I¡¯d end up asking between fights, and according to Oroske, the incantation is ¡°anur,¡± and means shield, or barrier, and was classified as a ¡°simple aspect.¡± Which is a type of spell that¡¯s not one of the elements, but is simple enough that it¡¯s very close, and can be someone¡¯s elemental affinity, albeit rarely, and is more often their aspect affinity.

    Sarii¡¯s next move was a simple series of very fast thrusts. Her speed was impressive, it almost looked like there were multiple blades thrusting at the same time at points. While I struggled to follow her movements, Arel seemed to be able to not only follow them, but even predict them, as he deftly dodged each and every stab with ease.

    He allowed her barrage to continue for a few seconds, before slamming her blade upward with his magic shield. She managed to hang on to her weapon, but was left open for Arel to counter attack. However, for some reason he didn¡¯t follow through, and instead let her recover.

    ¡°Come on, Sarii,¡± He jeered with a smug look on his face, ¡°Let¡¯s give these people a proper show. Make your next shot count, hit me with all you¡¯ve got.¡± He then leaped over her, with the help of a burst of wind, landing in the center of the arena, finally moving from his starting position near the edge of the circle. He turned to face her, and beckoned her once more.

    Having regained her composure, Sarii flicked her sword downward and heaved a heavy sigh. She turned around slowly and dramatically, clearly taking the advice of ¡°giving us a show.¡±

    ¡°I do wish you¡¯d take this fight more seriously,¡± She said, pointing her sword at him, earning her a sarcastic shrug from her opponent.

    She then threw her sword into the ground. She stuck her hands out, palms open and facing the pommel, and closed her eyes to focus. A small circle of light formed at the base of the weapon¡¯s handle, similar to the circles I had seen Kared and the Necromancer use. The circle quickly moved down the length of the sword, the five pointed star within rotating slowly. Upon reaching the tip of the thin blade, it disappeared. Just as it did, over a dozen circles like it began circling around her, at a slight angle. From those circles, copies of her main weapon emerged, made entirely of a golden light.

    After picking her weapon back up, another circle appeared, directly under Arel. I couldn¡¯t make out any details within the circle, as just as quickly as it appeared, a massive pillar of light burst forth from it, stretching all the way through the ceiling of the arena.

    The light swords shot out from their orbit around Sarii, and began to orbit around the pillar of light. Then one by one, they began shooting into light, quickly replaced by new copies, resulting in an endless barrage of light blades.

    After a few rounds of the blades shooting into the light, Sarii suddenly disappeared in a flash of the same light. A small line of light shot from where she had been standing into the pillar, which had begun to fade.

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    A loud ring, much like the one heard earlier when Arel blocked Sarii, rang out once again. This time however, no whirlwind of shadow followed to clear the light. Probably because it wasn¡¯t needed, the shockwave from Sarii¡¯s blade slamming Arel¡¯s shield was enough.

    With the light cleared, it was revealed that Arel had crouched down, and placed one hand on the ground. Surrounding his hand was a blue circle, and from the edges of that circle, a transparent barrier formed around him. He had a wild smile on his face that reminded me a lot of Oroske when he was fighting.

    Dissatisfied that she hadn¡¯t broken through Arel¡¯s shield, Sarii launched herself into the sky. High above, mere feet away from the ceiling, she created a platform of light for her to stand on.

    Arel maintained his shield, probably unsure of what Sarii would do next. At that moment, I expected her to just barrage the shield from above.

    Instead however, a small thread of light shot from her hand down to Arel. She flicked her hand up, and suddenly Arel was thrown up into the sky, brought just beneath her. Her weapon became enshrouded in fire, and she jumped off her platform. If not for her sword, she would have been diving headfirst toward Arel and his shield. Upon contact with his shield, the flame on Sarii¡¯s weapon shot forward, creating a large explosion. The explosion sent her upward, and Arel fell quickly to the ground. She hung up in the air, waiting for the moment Arel hit the ground with a loud thud, sending up a cloud of dust from the crushed stone from the platform.

    As soon as he did, the small thread appeared again, but instead of bringing Arel up, Sarii shot downward at incredible speed. In reality, she landed less than a second after he did.

    Or rather, she would have, but she was met with yet another shield. Instead of the sound we heard earlier, it sounded more like glass shattering. Upon closer inspection, it seemed like he brought up multiple layers of the shield. There were two layers remaining upon impact, but it seemed like Sarii still had some force as one of them shattered seconds later. It seemed however, it was not enough to break through the last layer.

    She seemed exhausted, as she fell to her hands and knees on the barrier. It almost looked like she was floating above Arel.

    The shield began to curl around her, and formed a bubble, trapping her within. Arel pushed it away from him, and stood up. ¡°That was much better,¡± he said with content in his voice, as the bubble tightened around Sarii, binding her body. ¡°Now, if you¡¯ll just surrender, we can end this without any injury. Or we can do it the hard way, your choice.¡± The shield binding her forced her to the ground in front of him, and he pointed his sword at her face as he spoke. He wore no expression, while Sarii was visibly uncomfortable and upset.

    ¡°Fine,¡± she said after a moment of silence. Her voice was filled with sadness and frustration, ¡°I concede, you win.¡± It sounded like she was trying her best not to break into tears.

    Arel raised his sword, pointing toward the sky, as though celebrating his victory.

    The same chime sound echoed throughout the arena, and a voice rang out ¡°And the winner is, Arel Anur! Sarii Rel put on a good show, I think it¡¯s likely she¡¯ll finally get her well deserved promotions, but we won¡¯t know until the end of the night! And for our next match we¡¯ll see-¡±

    My attention was taken away from the announcer by Oroske speaking up, ¡°An impressive fight, eh?¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Kared agreed with a nod, ¡°Though I must wonder if that girl is aware of just how much her opponent held back.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked, leaning forward so I could see her past Nadred and Jarou better.

    ¡°Based on his attitude towards the fight, as well as the fact he was purely defensive throughout the entire fight, one could assume he held back quite a bit,¡± she gave the first part of her explanation, ¡°In addition, at the end there he revealed he is capable of very high level magic. And while it¡¯s in his name, I doubt Anur is his affinity or his aspect. Meaning, if he were to use magic he has latent talent for, it should be much stronger, and at that level, nothing Sarii used would have even come close to his power output.¡±

    I just kinda looked at her dumbfounded. I understood what she was saying, but that she could say stuff like that confidently was just another reminder of how much there was left for me to learn.

    ¡°Still though,¡± Nadred spoke up, ¡°Anur huh? Think there¡¯s any relation there, Kared?¡±

    Kared pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance, ¡°Ugh, maybe? Hair and eye color match, and his physical and magical strength seem high enough to be. I wouldn¡¯t be too surprised, that woman would have kids with just about anyone if it meant having a strong child. Though if I¡¯m honest, it doesn¡¯t really matter to me.¡±

    ¡°Who are you talking about?¡± Jarou asked before I got the chance.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, just someone from my past, they¡¯re not important,¡± was the only response Kared gave. Nadred protested saying there¡¯s nothing wrong with him knowing, but she wouldn¡¯t budge. Whoever it was, I got the impression Kared had some sort of grudge against them.

    During our conversation, the next match had started. Unfortunately, I missed the names of both contestants. This would happen for pretty much every match until the end, though occasionally I¡¯d catch one of the names, and I still watched each fight with great interest. Something about each of the fights, however, just wasn¡¯t as interesting as that first battle. Perhaps because there wasn¡¯t really an underdog narrative to any of the fights?

    Between the fights, we¡¯d make small talk and comment about the fights. Through this pattern, the night flew by quickly, and the final match was soon upon us.

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen!¡± The announcer¡¯s voice rang out once again, ¡°The final battle of the night is upon us. Those in the know likely aren¡¯t surprised about the contestants, as they¡¯re commonly referred to as the school¡¯s strongest! We are of course talking about Arel Anur from Tower 15, and from Tower 16, the ever mysterious ¡®VX!¡¯ These two have been hard at work the past year researching new techniques and advancements in magic and technology, all of which culminates here and now! We¡¯re in for quite the treat, I think.¡±

    As the announcement finished, the contestants approached the stage as usual. Arel Anur needs no introduction, but VX does. VX was quite an eye-catching contestant, not only did they go by their initials instead of their actual name, they also hid their gender, and everything to do with their appearance. From what the announcers said in their earlier matches, VX supposedly is never found without their signature armor, a heavy looking outfit of dark plate mail, the various plates lined with a red trim. The helmet especially looked cool, as it was mostly a large black visor, with red horns or wings adorning the sides and going off the back.

    After hearing these two are commonly considered the strongest in the school, I decided to give my all to watch the fight.

    And once again, the buzzer rang, signaling the beginning of battle.

 22: Energy Manipulation

    -Energy Manipulation-

    [A technique exclusive to Demons and Half-Demons.

    It uses a different form of energy from regular magic, that is

    only visible to them. Techniques that use it include Demon Sheath and Acceleration.]

    From the start, the battle of Arel Anur vs. VX had a very different air than any previous fight. Before the two even drew their weapons or threw their first spell, you could practically feel the power emanating from them, creating an invisible, and incredible pressure throughout the arena. Arel¡¯s expression was a lot more serious than it was during his battle against Sarii. It dawned on me that he hadn¡¯t taken her seriously at all, and much like Oroske does when sparring with me, he held back a lot.

    Arel¡¯s first move was also quite different, and sparked the interest of myself and the group I sat with. Rather than pulling his sword from its sheath like he had earlier, he instead traced the length of his weapon, and with a flash of red energy, summoned it to his hand.

    ¡°A human that can use Demon Sheath,¡± Nadred commented, ¡°I¡¯m a bit impressed. I wonder what else they¡¯ll show us in this fight.¡± When I asked what he meant, he explained that the final fight of the tournament is typically a showcase of the most recent advancements the school has made in magic research, in addition to a show of how powerful their top students are.

    According to Oroske, ¡°Humans usually aren¡¯t able to use Demon Sheath, or any Energy Manipulation techniques like that, as they are completely incapable of seeing the energy used. However, with enough time, dedication, and determination, they can get a feel for how to use it without seeing it. They do have to be taught by someone who can see the energy, whether it be a Demon or Half-Demon.¡±

    VX mirrored Arel¡¯s actions, summoning forth a weapon that matched his armor; sharp lines that made a unique shape, a black, jagged blade with a blood-red cutting edge. He pointed the blade straight at Arel, and a salvo of flaming lights shot toward him, moving so fast I could barely track them. The shots exploded upon contact, creating tons of smoke and kicking up dust.

    As the smoke cleared and dust settled, Arel was revealed with his usual barrier of anur, escaping the blasts with not even a single scratch. He stood up straight, dropping his barrier, and flipped his sword into a reverse-grip hold. He held his left hand up to the gem that was used as the weapon¡¯s pommel, and began channeling Aether into it. A series of those complex circles appeared around the gem, creating an almost complete sphere around it. Several of them shot out, roughly half of them, and formed small rectangles on either side of the arena, each at slightly different angles, and progressing in height as they approached VX.

    Arel flipped his sword back around, and prepared for a dash. With a large burst of wind at his feet, he launched himself forward. Not towards VX, however, but instead he opted to run along the rectangles he had just created.

    VX swung his blade, once again releasing a barrage of small fireballs. Rather than target Arel, however, he targeted the platforms. He destroyed several on each side, seemingly choosing at random. This caused Arel to have to switch sides, or skip over platforms on his way towards VX, who, beyond destroying the platforms, allowed him to not only reach him, but get to the platforms behind him. From the rear platform, a thin white wire appeared, going from Arel to the floor on the opposite side of VX. He dashed along the line with impressive speed, swinging his weapon at VX. However, he landed on the opposite side without even making contact with VX, who had seemingly disappeared entirely as Arel swung through him. VX then reappeared behind Arel, who was looking at where they used to be.

    With Arel seeming like he wouldn¡¯t be able to get away or put up his defenses fast enough, VX swung their blade once more, releasing the same flares from earlier. What happened next happened so fast I couldn¡¯t actually see it, but I felt two shockwaves in quick succession. Once again the flares kicked up lots of dust, and when it cleared, instead of revealing Arel having just barely managed to block, it revealed nothing. Arel was nowhere to be seen.

    He reappeared on the opposite end of the arena, back where he originally started. He had an incredible amount of energy flowing through and around him, with a gray aura surrounding him. His eyes were closed, and there was such a potent lack of emotion in him, I could sense it from where I sat.

    For the first time, VX spoke, ¡°Very well, we¡¯ll finish this quickly then.¡± Their voice was both masculine and feminine, and sounded almost like multiple voices speaking at once. I hadn¡¯t heard anything like it before.

    ¡°Impossible,¡± Oroske said, almost angrily, ¡°How could Humans possibly learn to use Acceleration, especially to such a high degree?¡± He quickly performed Acceleration himself, causing another small shockwave next to me. All around him, small, blue lights began floating.

    Kared followed suit, and as they had during our fight with the Necromancer the night before, her eyes glowed a bright, lavender purple. I could tell Jarou wanted to do it as well, but Nadred stopped him, telling him he needed to rest his body, and get more practice. I wanted to as well, but hadn¡¯t even begun learning how to properly. Afterward, Nadred used Acceleration as well, gaining a simple white aura around him. The other Half-Demons in our row used it as well, and across the arena, I could see a few people who were using it as well.

    VX then Accelerated, a vicious aura surrounded them. Blue orbs, just large enough to be made out from a distance, orbited close around their sternum.

    From this point on, all I could see was flashes of blue and orange light occasionally clashing, with other colors occasionally flashing as they used offensive magic. After we returned to our hotel later that night, Oroske explained everything Jarou and I missed.

    From what Oroske told us, the fight was being fought in much the same way as earlier, even including Arel¡¯s trick with his platforms. However, they were attacking much faster, and using stronger spells. VX started bringing out these orange-gold colored chains, which had spikes at the end. From what Oroske could tell, they were made entirely of magic, though it was a type of magic he was wholly unfamiliar with. It was those chains that would end the Acceleration-based phase of this fight.

    From my perspective, it ended quite suddenly. Arel was caught mid-air with one of these chain¡¯s spikes lodged in his chest. It didn¡¯t look as though he was bleeding from it, so perhaps it was not actually a physical chain? Getting hit with it seemed to stop him in his tracks completely though, and he fell to the ground with a thunk. Once he was on the ground, VX came out of their Acceleration a lot more gently, slowing themself down slowly.

    As Arel tried to stand back up, the chains multiplied, and tied him down, locking themselves into the ground. The most he could manage was to get into a kneeling position. His breathing was heavy, and it was clear the end of the battle was coming soon.

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    ¡°Let¡¯s finish this,¡± VX said again, their strange sounding voice, or voices, echoing throughout the arena, as the crowd was silent. ¡°No hard feelings if you die, right Arel?¡±

    Arel simply nodded.

    VX raised their sword into the air, and a large, very complicated circle began to appear in the air. The central pattern, that the rest of the interior pattern followed along, seemed to be a twelve pointed star. And at the tip of each of those points, another, smaller circle appeared, each with a five pointed star within.

    ¡°Incredible, how can one person manage that much?¡± Kared commented a few seats down from me.

    As the circle completed, it¡¯s extremely complex design filling the space between the outer circles and the stars, ZX pointed their sword once again toward Arel. A single word rang out from their voices, ¡°Arciin.¡±

    The entire arena began rumbling as a massive ball of energy began to emerge from the circle. The entire arena seemed to get dimmer as well, as though the energy for the lights was being sapped by the ball.

    Arel was still chained down, seemingly resigned to allow whatever spell was coming his way to wipe him out. But then, he gathered up what strength he had, and thrust his sword into the ground, and began casting a spell. A massive white circle appeared under him, before disappearing. After it disappeared, several smaller, but still large circles appeared in front of him.

    At that moment, the ball suddenly erupted into a massive laser, covering the entire arena, and slamming into an invisible wall just before reaching the audience. And one by one, the familiar sound of shattering barriers rang out from inside the beam. Until finally, the beam dissipated, after a moment of silence.

    None of Arel¡¯s barriers remained, and his body lay flat on the ground, held down by the orange chains. Though he didn¡¯t move for several seconds, it seemed he held onto his consciousness by some miracle. He simply gave a thumbs up in VX¡¯s direction, before finally going unconscious.

    The bridges to the arena reappeared, and the announcer spoke, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen! Today we have a special guest to announce our victor! Introducing the Guardian of Prophecy, Naen!¡±

    A man with long, golden swept back hair and emerald eyes walked out, wearing a white trench coat and shoes, accented by gold trim and black gloves and shoes. The majority of the crowd was going wild. He looked like he was at most in his late 20¡¯s, not at all like I expected one of the Guardians to look. If I recalled my history lessons properly, he should have been well over 500 years old.

    When Naen reached the center of the arena, he dramatically bowed before speaking. ¡°This concludes this year¡¯s Tournament of Towers! Once again, VX reigns as the champion!¡± He grabbed VX¡¯s wrist and lifted it in the air, signifying victory. ¡°This year at the School of Towers Academy has been a special one, and I think every contestant has shown off everything they¡¯ve learned quite impressively. I hope you all enjoyed the show, and be safe on your travels home!¡±

    ¡°I think I know why we were invited here now, at least.¡± Oroske spoke, glaring down at Naen as he left the stage. A small medical team came in after he left to collect Arel, and VX left the arena silently. ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡± Oroske stood up, and gestured for everyone else to do the same.

    We had a much easier time coming in, since a large portion of the audience was already seated and there was a more steady stream of people going in. Now, however, there were a few thousand people all trying to leave at the same time. We slowly, but surely, made our way into the stairway, and out to the foyer area for the arena, moving only a few steps at a time. Eventually, we were able to get on an elevator, accompanied by the Half-Demons from the other Clans. The entire time, Oroske and Nadred had been making small talk with them, discussing various things from Clan specific events, and news from around the world in general.

    I half-heartedly listened until finally, the elevator dinged, and the door opened. We piled out, into the large circular room that made up the majority of the first floor. Waiting for us there was Naen.

    ¡°Ah, just the group I wanted to see,¡± He said, his arms outstretched as though to welcome us. ¡°How did you enjoy the show?¡± Oroske shouldered his way past Wex, without any sort of apology.

    ¡°It was impressive, to be sure,¡± he started gruffly, ¡°Are you the reason we were invited?¡±

    Naen chuckled and raised a finger and shook it slightly, ¡°Perceptive, you Tsumi¡¯s always have been. I am indeed.¡±

    ¡°Was it so we could see you¡¯ve somehow taught Humans to use Energy Manipulation?¡± Oroske asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s part of it, for sure.¡± Nadred began, ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not going to disclose how we managed it, but you can rest assured: there are only a small few who can as of yet. The Demons¡¯ trademark abilities shall remain theirs for the time being. Nay, while I wished for you to see that, I also wished to speak with you all myself. Things here are quite busy as of right now, but I have some information I would like you all to deliver to your Clans¡¯ leaders.¡± He conjured up three envelopes, and handed one to each of Wex, Oroske, and Sel¡¯un. ¡°I¡¯d ask you not to open it yourselves, and deliver them as is to your leaders. Their cooperation with the matter detailed within is very important to me, so please make sure it is delivered quickly.

    ¡°But for now, I must get back to work. Do take care on your way home.¡± Naen said with a wave of his hands, as he walked towards the central room in the large hallway.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± Wex complained, ¡°What a creep.¡± Her Incol comrades nodded in agreement. ¡°Well, it¡¯s been a pleasure meeting you all, perhaps we¡¯ll run into each other again sometime.¡±

    ¡°Likewise,¡± Oroske commented.

    Despite seemingly having said our goodbyes, the Incol group walked awkwardly with us until we got to the edge of the hill. Sel¡¯un parted ways inside the tower, exiting through the opposite entrance. We said our final goodbyes when we reached the bottom of the hill. They continued on, probably turning down a street down the ways a little. We pressed on the way we came back, eventually returning to our hotel.

    The tournament ran all the way until three hours past midnight, and the sun would rise in another five. Despite this, the streets were still packed with people and vehicles, and continued to be throughout the night.

    Back in the hotel, Jarou and I asked about how things went in the fight when they started using Acceleration. After explaining, Oroske sent us into our bedroom, while the adults would stay up longer chatting about various things, presumably with their ¡®adult drinks.¡¯

    However, Jarou and I weren¡¯t quite tired enough to sleep, seeing as we had both slept most of the day away. So, instead we chatted the night away. We sat in front of our window, looking at the School of Towers, and talked about the fights, and how much further we had to go. He helped me begin to learn Acceleration myself, at my request. I wanted to surprise Oroske by learning something on my own.

    Eventually, we began to feel tired. Just as the sun was beginning to rise, and the sky beyond the tower started getting brighter.

    ¡°Ahh,¡± Jarou sighed, falling back on his hands as he sat, leaning back quite far, ¡°I would love to go to the School someday¡­¡±

    I laughed, and agreed. ¡°Bet you I could beat you to the top,¡± I joked.

    ¡°Yeah, right,¡± he nudged me with his elbow, temporarily messing up his balance. ¡°Given the chance to go, I wonder if I¡¯d be able to leave the Clan.¡± He seemed to be thinking about it seriously.

    ¡°I would,¡± I encouraged him, ¡°You could tell Danfis something like ¡®it¡¯ll make me a stronger Hunter,¡¯ and I¡¯m sure he¡¯d let you go.¡± I was half joking, but I made myself curious if that would actually work.

    ¡°Yeah, probably,¡± he chuckled, ¡°Though, not like they¡¯re accepting Half-Demons right now anyway.¡±

    ¡°Sadly,¡± I said through a yawn, as the sun started peering through the towers, hitting my eyes directly. ¡°Should probably get some rest, gotta return to the Clan today, right?¡±

    ¡°Yep, we probably should,¡± Jarou forced himself to his feet, and helped me up. I promptly face planted on my bed, and quickly fell asleep without even getting under the covers.

 23: Dust

    -Dust-

    [In addition to it¡¯s typical meaning, Dust refers

    to the physical manifestation of souls, which looks like dust.

    It typically holds a light gray coloration, but under certain

    circumstances can change color.]

    A few hours later, I woke up to Oroske opening the door. He said something, which to my groggy, still waking up mind, sounded like gibberish, before closing the door again. ¡°Hu- what?¡± I wondered out loud. I looked over to Jarou¡¯s bed with half-closed eyes, and saw him straightening out his cloak.

    ¡°Good morning, Kuro,¡± he said, shaking his head slightly to move the part of his hair that rested in front of his left eye. ¡°Oroske was just letting us know we¡¯ll need to leave in about an hour or so.¡±

    I nodded, rubbing my eyes. I got off my bed and stretched. It was the kind of stretch that felt so good your body shakes a bit. Unlike Jarou, I both fell asleep in my cloak, and didn¡¯t bother to straighten it out at all, not minding the fact it looked messy and unkempt. Jarou and I left the room shortly after.

    ¡°Ah, there you two are,¡± Nadred greeted us, ¡°All set to return home?¡±

    I yawned as Jarou said ¡°We are.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Oroske spoke this time, ¡°We¡¯ve just finished finalizing our report. If you¡¯d like to look over it you can.¡± He slid a piece of paper towards the edge of the table he was sitting at. I figured I¡¯d probably have no input or anything, but I may as well see what all is written on it.

    It read as follows.

    Hunter¡¯s Report - 18th Sun of the 6th Moon, 1652

    Hunters Involved:

    Red Cloaks:

    Kared

    White Cloaks:

    Oroske

    Black Cloaks:

    Nadred

    Navy Cloaks:

    Jarou

    Kuro

    Hunt type: Short Investigation and Termination of Target

    Summary:

    Several reports from before the Hunt was posted all but confirmed a Necromancer had made a base out of the Old City Center in the City of Towers. Multiple Restless had been sighted, in an area otherwise usually devoid of Restless activity.

    Upon further investigation by Hunters, we learned there had also been a couple eye-witness sightings of a man going in and out of the building. Hunters Nadred, Jarou, and Kuro found blackened Aether on the premises, confirming the presence of a Necromancer.

    All Hunters participated in combat, and they successfully defeated all Restless and the Necromancer within the building. The Necromancer was stronger than expected, and the two Navy Cloaks were injured. Kuro suffered a stab wound on his arm, and Jarou was pierced by Holy magic in multiple spots. Kared was able to heal Kuro¡¯s wounds, but Jarou will require attention from Clan Healers.

    The Hunt was successful, and the Necromancer¡¯s Dust was collected.

    Everything seemed in order to me. I was expecting the report to be more complicated, but it all seemed simple enough to understand. After Jarou said he didn¡¯t see anything wrong or missing, Oroske spoke once more. ¡°Very well then, if there¡¯s nothing anyone needs to do before we leave, we can head back immediately.¡± He folded the paper with the report and put it inside one of his jacket pockets.

    With nobody objecting, he and Kared stood up from the table, and quickly scanned over the entire hotel room. Finding nothing wrong, Kared beckoned for us to follow her, and we left. She and Oroske dropped the keys off at the front desk, and we hailed an Aeth¡¯mobile to pick us up outside. The vehicle was similar to the one we arrived in, but with a white paint job. As it only had four free seats, we decided to split into two groups, with Nadred and Jarou leaving in the first car, while Kared, Oroske, and I would go in a separate vehicle.

    ¡°See you guys back home,¡± Nadred said as he was getting in the vehicle, ¡°We¡¯ll either be waiting near the drop-off point, or over at HQ.¡± Oroske simply nodded as Nadred closed the door. The three of us waved goodbye as the two departed.

    It took a surprisingly long time to get another Aeth¡¯mobile. Even then, it wasn¡¯t until the second one stopped for us that we got going, as the first one was big enough to fit a group of ten or so people. Why couldn¡¯t they have been the first ones to stop? I wondered to myself. Eventually, however, we got another small cab to stop. This one had a wildly different shape from the other ones I¡¯d seen. It was far curvier than the typical straight-edged models, and on top of that, it was a bright blue. Oroske commented on it as he got in the front seat. ¡°Ah yeah, I typically drive the Yun¡¯anum family around, this was a gift from Lady Yun¡¯anum herself. Given to celebrate my first year with them.¡± the driver explained.

    ¡°You¡¯re a long way from the Royal City, aren¡¯t you?¡± Kared asked from the backseat, her head resting on her hand, elbow propped up on the window sill.

    ¡°Ah, yes,¡± the driver said, maintaining her cheerful attitude, ¡°The family is here in town for a few weeks, and any time I¡¯m not with them I can spend driving other folk around. It¡¯s a rare opportunity for me to travel with Hunters and other people in general, since I¡¯m usually limited to just the Royal City.¡±

    Kared just nodded, not even taking her head off her hand. The driver departed, turning around at the nearest intersection. She and Oroske chatted about various things the entire way back, but I wasn¡¯t really paying any attention to their conversation. Instead, my mind wandered, thinking about the events of the past few days.

    Shortly after we entered the forest area near the Realm Rift, I turned to Kared. ¡°Hey, Kared?¡± I asked sheepishly.

    ¡°What¡¯s up, kid?¡± She rotated her head, still resting in her palm, to face me.

    ¡°What were those circles you and the people in the tournament created?¡±

    ¡°Oh, those?¡± She took her free hand and rubbed the bridge of her nose and eyes with the middle finger and thumb, taking a moment to think. ¡°They¡¯re¡­ complicated? They¡¯re referred to as magic circles. Think of it as a visual representation of incantations, and the commands you give your magic. They¡¯re generally only used for very complex spells, and are used to keep track of what commands and elements and all that you¡¯re using.¡±

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    ¡°I think I kinda get it,¡± I said, trying to absorb as much of the information as possible. ¡°Can you teach me how to use them?¡±

    ¡°Probably not,¡± she sighed, ¡°Frankly, I¡¯m not a very good teacher, and this is a concept I had drilled into me by a separate mentor from Oroske. I can, however, tell you all the information I have on them, if you¡¯d like.¡± I nodded my head enthusiastically. ¡°Very well, the circles are composed of three primary items. First is the element sigil. This one I understand the least, and don¡¯t know if I¡¯d be able to explain very well at all, but it determines what element is being used. Second is the command lines, or the ¡®inner shape¡¯ of the circle. In the case of the circles I use, the command lines form an eight pointed star. These lines determine the power and/or complexity of the spell. The more ¡®points¡¯ the shape has, the more powerful, or the more complex, the spell is. Until last night, the most I had heard of someone using in a single spell was ten, with three points on each of those. But, that was on a whole other level.¡± She seemed distracted by the thought of the previous night¡¯s battle, but reigned herself back in quickly. ¡°And, the third and final part, the commands. Each command line in the ¡®inner shape¡¯ fits a command, which can change up how the spell works drastically. These commands are what give the circle the most complex parts of their designs.

    ¡°And that¡¯s it, that¡¯s all I¡¯ve got for you right now,¡± She finished, finally taking her head off her hand, to roll her neck around. ¡°Sorry it isn¡¯t much, but maybe that¡¯ll be a good starting point for you.¡±

    ¡°Oh no, that¡¯s okay!¡± I shook my head, ¡°Thank you for telling me what you can.¡± In that moment, as I made eye contact with her, I could tell there were some significantly deeper thoughts going on in her mind. What those thoughts could entail, I had no idea.

    It wasn¡¯t long after her lesson ended that we emerged from the forest and could see the bridge leading into Tsumi¡¯din. And not long after that, we were at the drop-off area, and leaving the car. ¡°Thanks for the ride,¡± Oroske said, handing the driver payment, and a small piece of paper.

    ¡°Of course, thanks for the opportunity to get out of the city for a bit.¡± She responded, before driving off.

    Scanning the landing area, Jarou and Nadred were nowhere to be seen. Figuring they were already headed for HQ, we began walking there ourselves.

    ¡°What were you two talking about that whole time?¡± I asked Oroske, transparent as can be about the fact I wasn¡¯t paying attention at all.

    ¡°Oh, nothing too crazy,¡± he responded, ¡°As is typical with dealing with nobility, it was a lot of trying to get information out of them, without giving out too much information myself. I do have on good authority which of the Lords and Ladies are attending the Human-Demon Peace Party in Ish¡¯din, though. Should be an interesting conference this year.¡±

    Upon entering the central plaza, Nadred and Jarou found us. After exchanging greetings, we continued on to the HQ building. Once there, we turned in our report paper to Venn, and were able to get a meeting with Danfis. We did have to wait around for about an hour though. We passed the time just chatting about various things, and I shared my newfound knowledge on magic circles with Jarou.

    Eventually, Danfis came down and greeted us, before taking us up to his office. The office was dimly lit, much like the last time I had been in there. He sat down at his desk, while the five of us congregated in front of it. ¡°Welcome back, all of you,¡± he started, ¡°I was told you have some information to relay to me, outside of the mission report.¡±

    Oroske nodded and looked at the rest of the group. Nadred and Kared both gestured to him, in a way that said ¡°go ahead.¡±

    He nodded again, and pulled out the envelope from Naen. ¡°The Guardian, Naen, asked us personally to deliver this envelope to you. He gave similar envelopes to members of the other Half-Demon Clans, as well.¡±

    Danfis¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he wove his fingers together in front of his mouth, resting his elbows on the desk. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll read this in private,¡± he said, accepting the letter from Oroske¡¯s hands. ¡°And where did you see Guardian Naen?¡±

    ¡°That leads me to the next topic of interest,¡± Oroske continued, ¡°He managed to get us tickets to attend the tier five bracket of the Tournament of Towers.¡± Danfis raised an eyebrow, clearly interested. ¡°And in the final match of this tournament, we witnessed Human contestants not only use Demon Sheath, but they also managed to use Acceleration, and to a degree higher than anything I¡¯ve seen before.¡±

    Danfis thought for a moment, eyes closed, before speaking again. ¡°This spells trouble. If it was the two highest performing students, we should thankfully have a few years before it becomes a problem, if it does in the first place. But that does mean they have someone in the school capable of teaching Humans to use Energy Manipulation to a much higher degree than previously thought possible.

    ¡°Is that all?¡± He finished.

    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Oroske said, before pulling out the phial with the Necromancer¡¯s Dust inside it. ¡°Just need to turn this in, and we¡¯ll be on our way. I was hoping you¡¯d show Kuro and Jarou the cleansing process, though.¡±

    ¡°Ah yes, of course,¡± Danfis took the phial, taking off the lid with a satisfying pop. ¡°It¡¯s their first Necromancer Hunt, so I¡¯d be glad to.¡±

    Danfis poured the black dust onto his hand, and closed his eyes to focus. A shroud of black smoke covered the small mound, swirling in his hand for a few moments. It eventually cleared up to reveal the dust had been transformed into a very light gray. Not quite the pure white I had expected for some reason. He opened his eyes, and with a spark of fyrun, the dust burnt, and disappeared.

    ¡°This is a technique only the Danfis of the Tsumi Clan can perform. I would share the specifics, but unfortunately that must also stay with me and me alone. After the Dust is purified, burning it up in any manner of magic will return it to the Aetherial Realm, and into the pool of usable Aether.¡± He explained.

    ¡°Now, if there is nothing else I can do for you all, you may go,¡± He said with a wave of his hand, before gesturing to Oroske and Kared, ¡°Except you two, I need to speak with you a little longer.¡± The two of them simply nodded, and Kared leaned on the desk as Nadred escorted Jarou and I out of the room.

    ¡ª--

    ¡°Now that they¡¯re out of the way, I have a favor to ask of you two. Moreso Kared, but Oroske will be involved as well,¡± Danfis began, leaning back in his chair. He reached down to one of the drawers on the side, and pulled a small envelope out of it. ¡°The Human-Demon Peace Party begins soon, as I¡¯m sure you¡¯re both aware. This year, I want to push once more on the usual matter.¡± He slid the envelope to Kared. ¡°However, we¡¯re taking a much more¡­ let¡¯s say, aggressive, approach this time. All I need you to do is deliver this envelope to one of the Demon Parliament members, who I¡¯ll help you target soon, and give him a little nudge. I¡¯ll leave how aggressive the nudge is up to you, Kared.¡±

    ¡°Why me though?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Why else? You¡¯re a member of the Crimson Twilight, and well known in Ish¡¯din. A threat from you will not be taken lightly, regardless of the position the person is in.¡± Danfis said with a smile.

    Kared sighed, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do it. Does this count as my yearly Tsumi Clan mission?¡±

    Danfis chuckled, ¡°We shall see. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll have something to spark your interest sooner than later.¡±

    ¡°Alright, fine, whatever,¡± she said, making her being annoyed more than apparent.

    ¡°And me?¡± Oroske asked.

    ¡°You¡¯ll just assist her in any way she asks. Probably in the sense of providing protection for her during the operation. Though, I do have something else I need to speak with you about, once Kared leaves.¡± Danfis explained. ¡°Then there¡¯s the matter of the envelope. I¡¯m sure I already know what it¡¯s talking about, and I¡¯ll have an official meeting about it with the Red Cloaks in the next week or so.¡±

    ¡°Is it what I think it is?¡± Oroske asked.

    ¡°Probably. I believe it¡¯s Naen telling us that the Chosen of each Clan will be needed soon. I don¡¯t like it, but I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later.¡± He said with a sigh.

    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s what I was worried about,¡± Oroske said.

    ¡°Well, Kared, you¡¯re dismissed for now, we¡¯ll continue discussing the matter of your next assignment soon.¡±

    Kared bowed, and left the room, with a wave of her hand as she walked.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s up?¡± Oroske asked, as the door shut with a thud.

    ¡°How is Kuro? Have his memories returned at all?¡± Danfis inquired.

    ¡°He¡¯s doing well. He suffered a pretty major injury during the Hunt, but Kared was able to treat it. I forgot how quickly he learns and picks things up. As for his memory, unless he¡¯s hiding it for some reason, he still hasn¡¯t remembered anything.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Danfis thought for a moment. ¡°The path to Ish¡¯din takes you through Al¡¯din, where he died. Take him to where it happened, see if it helps jog his memory at all. Have you talked to him about how exactly he died?¡±

    ¡°No sir, I haven¡¯t. Shall I do that?¡±

    ¡°I think that would be best,¡± Danfis nodded, ¡°I think it¡¯s valuable for anyone in his situation to know how they died.¡±

    ¡°Very well, I shall do just that. Anything else?¡±

    ¡°That will be all, Oroske. Thank you for your continued hard work.¡±

    Oroske bowed, crossing an arm across his sternum, and left Danfis¡¯s office, returning home to his young apprentice.

 24: Human-Demon Peace Party

    -Human-Demon Peace Party-

    [A bi-annual conference held by the two Realms¡¯ governments.

    Representatives from both the Human Lords and the Demon Parliament

    travel to the opposite capitals and hold a conference in an effort

    to keep the peace between realms.]

    Two days after Oroske, Nadred, Kared, Jarou, and I returned from our Hunt in the City of Towers, a very large poster was put up on the Hunt Board. The poster detailed the upcoming Human-Demon Peace Party, which was starting in three days. It had a header that talked about the event, with two columns underneath. The column on the left had ¡°Human Team¡± boldly written at the top, and the right column had a matching ¡°Demon Team.¡± On the Demon Team side, Oroske, Kared, and my names were all written at the top, clearly printed out at the same time as the rest of the poster. Our names were the only names printed out in such a way on that side, and the Human Team had only one: Rel. Under those printed names, on both sides, were a small handful of handwritten names. ¡°You and Nadred aren¡¯t going?¡± I asked Jarou, who had been focusing on resting and recovering from his injuries.

    ¡°If I can, I¡¯d like to,¡± he responded, not moving his eyes off the board, covered by his hair from where I stood. ¡°Unfortunately I haven¡¯t been cleared to go out on Hunts again. The Clan healers said my recovery is going well, though! So maybe I¡¯ll be ok to go by then.¡±

    ¡°Hopefully, it would be weird to go without you,¡± I said. I realized that since meeting him after being revived, the longest I had gone without seeing or talking to him was just under a week.

    His injuries had been healing well, but he sustained a lot of internal damage, and we were told it would take some time for it to heal. The healers from the Clan explained that the attacks he was hit with were Holy magic. According to them and Nadred, Holy magic was devised by Humans in a time long before our world was born. It was created to combat the Demons, and it works by igniting their blood. As Half-Demons, it works on us the same way. This meant that most of the damage Holy magic caused was on the inside, and with blood veins being burnt, recovery took a lot of time, and there was only so much that magic could do to help. And so, he and Nadred were out of work until he was cleared by the healers to return to the field.

    Oroske and I, on the other hand, in addition to Kared, were appointed by Danfis personally to make the journey to Ish¡¯din, the Demon Realm¡¯s capitol city. Despite not being a Red Cloak, Oroske is apparently one of Danfis¡¯s most trusted. Danfis requested Oroske and Kared act together as the Clan¡¯s primary representatives in the Human-Demon Peace Party. As we had this special appointment, Oroske and I remained within Tsumi¡¯din, to avoid getting stuck out on a Hunt and subsequently missing the event.

    ¡°Still not cleared to go out, Jarou?¡± Oroske said as he approached us, with Nadred in tow. Jarou shook his head in response as Oroske examined the Hunt Board.

    ¡°Ah, Rel¡¯s going to the Royal City, eh? Guess none of us got to go to our preferred sides.¡± He commented, also mentioning his surprise at the people who signed up to go with us to Ish¡¯din. I did recognize the two names on our side, Ranfa and her apprentice, Fyr, and for Rel¡¯s side, he was the only one I recognized. I had only met the Red Cloak once, and it was a very brief meeting. I looked forward to meeting more members of the Clan. Ever since I had been revived, I hadn¡¯t had many opportunities to meet people, and just looking around the central plaza of Tsumi¡¯din at any time, on any day was enough for me to know the Clan was much bigger than I would have thought.

    ¡°What do you mean by your preferred sides?¡± I asked Oroske.

    ¡°Ah, for our own reasons, neither Kared nor I are terribly fond of Ish¡¯din,¡± He began explaining, ¡°And likewise, Rel isn¡¯t a fan of the Royal City. Though, I suppose it would be more accurate to say he isn¡¯t a fan of the Human Realm in general.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°Well, to put it simply, they aren¡¯t fans of him either. He¡¯s one of few members of the Clan whose reputation precedes them over there. And it¡¯s not exactly a positive reputation, either.¡± He told me if I wanted more details I¡¯d have to ask him myself sometime.

    As he finished his explanation, a timid voice spoke up behind us.

    ¡°Excuse me, can you move? Please?¡±

    I turned around and was met with two familiar faces, Ari, the girl who got her Navy Cloak the same day I did, and her mentor, Xeron. ¡°There ya go, Ari!¡± Her mentor cheered, ¡°See, it¡¯s not that bad. Could have been a bit firmer though.

    ¡°Ah, Xeron, our bad, we¡¯ll get out of your way,¡± Oroske said, as he stepped back, pulling me back with him. ¡°Looking to sign up for the Peace Party?¡±

    ¡°Bingo,¡± Xeron said as he and Ari stepped up to the board, ¡°So Ari, which group do you want to join?¡± She looked up at the sign, flicking her eyes between the two columns, clearly putting serious thought into it, humming as she was thinking.

    ¡°The Human group has less people signed up, so I guess that one?¡± She finally said after almost a minute.

    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t wanna go in Kuro¡¯s group?¡± Xeron teased. I didn¡¯t really get why, but she seemed flustered. She shook her head and confirmed her choice. Xeron nodded and casually pulled a pen out of his Demon Sheath, and wrote their names on the board.

    ¡°At this rate, the board will be full by the end of the day,¡± Oroske chuckled, ¡°Usually it doesn¡¯t fill till the last day.¡±

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    ¡°Haha, yeah,¡± Xeron laughed, ¡°Well, we¡¯ve got prep work to do. See you guys around!¡± He guided Ari away, lifting his hand in farewell.

    After they left, Oroske spoke again, ¡°Well, I suppose we probably should start getting ready as well. Wanna grab some lunch before training?¡± The training part only involved me, but the question of lunch was directed at Nadred and Jarou as well. They accepted the offer, and Oroske led us to a shop just off the main street.

    After eating lunch, the four of us went back to mine and Oroske¡¯s home. There I spent the day training. I sparred with Oroske, and Nadred assisted me with magic training. The two also worked together to train Jarou and I in acceleration, using a method that didn¡¯t strain Jarou¡¯s body. By the end of the day I was starting to get the hang of it, and Jarou was starting to build up his endurance with it.

    The next two days were more of the same. Jarou lamented throughout both days how he wished he could do more than watch me spar and passively train his acceleration.

    On the third day, Nadred and Jarou didn¡¯t come over. We also ended our training around midday, as the human representatives for the Peace Party arrived. After receiving word that they had, we traveled to the central plaza. There, around a dozen people in large, white cloaks were standing around. At the front of the group, a young looking man was speaking to Danfis. Going off of looks, he seemed to be only a few years older than me.

    Oroske quickened his pace when he saw Danfis speaking to him, giving the two a silent greeting, so as not to interrupt.

    ¡°Ah, perfect,¡± Danfis said as we got close, ¡°Raen, this is Oroske, he¡¯ll be acting as our Clan¡¯s primary representative.¡±

    Raen turned to Oroske and I. He had a young looking face, framed by short, pinkish-red hair, and piercing blue eyes. ¡°A pleasure to meet you, Oroske. I am Raen Sen¡¯anum, seventh child of the Last King. I look forward to working with you.¡± He stretched out a hand, which Oroske took and shook.

    ¡°Likewise,¡± he said, before pushing me from behind him to infront of him, ¡°This is my apprentice, Kuro. He¡¯ll be coming along as well. I hope he can learn from you, in addition to the journey itself.¡±

    Raen offered his hand to me as well, which I timidly shook. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Kuro.¡±

    ¡°Nice to meet you too,¡± I responded.

    Danfis cleared his throat before speaking, ¡°We¡¯ll be holding the planning meeting at the HQ, in about an hour. Venn will be able to guide you to the conference room.¡± He turned to Raen, ¡°Come, I¡¯ll show you to your lodgings for the time being. We can discuss more on the way.¡±

    Raen waved his hand, gesturing for his group to follow. The group marched behind the two leaders, and disappeared into the HQ.

    ¡°Guess we¡¯ve got some time to kill,¡± Oroske said, thinking about what to do in the meantime.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I mumbled, ¡°I wonder what Jarou and Nadred are up to?¡±

    And as if I had summoned them, the two appeared, walking out of the HQ. Jarou saw us first, and gave a big wave. We met up halfway, just out from the center of the plaza.

    ¡°Hey guys, how¡¯s it going?¡± Nadred asked.

    ¡°Good, how about you two?¡± I responded.

    They both responded favorably. ¡°Just got some good news so that definitely helps,¡± Nadred followed up. Jarou raised his arm in the air as though declaring victory, ¡°I got cleared to go with the Peace Party!¡± He exclaimed. He also said they already signed up to go with us to Ish¡¯din.

    ¡°Oh awesome!¡± I celebrated with him.

    ¡°On the condition that he can¡¯t fight or do anything physically demanding. So as long as he just walks with us he¡¯ll be okay,¡± Nadred explained.

    ¡°Ah, gotcha,¡± Oroske nodded, ¡°Well, hopefully we¡¯ll have a nice, easy journey.¡±

    Following Nadred chuckling, we chatted for a while, and decided to go to lunch until the planning meeting started. After some indecision, Oroske made the executive decision to go where we went a few days prior. Apparently the owner and Oroske were long time friends.

    We ate our food, chatting about various things.

    We finished before long, and made our way to the HQ. Venn welcomed us, and guided us to a large conference room on the first floor, which was very similar to the debriefing room for the Training Hunt I did not too long ago. Instead of having rows of tables and chairs, there was one large table with several chairs around it. It was similar to Danfis¡¯s office on the second floor. On the table, a map of both realms was rolled out. Raen¡¯s group all sat down on one side of the table. Danfis instructed the four of us to sit with him and Kared on his side. When Ranfa and Fyr came in shortly after, he had them do the same.

    ¡°Good, now that we¡¯re all here,¡± Danfis started, standing up, ¡°Let¡¯s get started. I suggest taking the standard route, but if there are any additional stops you need to make along the way, this would be the time to say.¡± After giving people a moment to speak, and no one doing so, he continued. ¡°Then I shall explain the route. I know many of you are familiar with the route already, but we do have people who have never gone.

    ¡°As is tradition, the party will walk from here to Ish¡¯din over the course of a few days. You will start today, as soon as you are all ready to leave, and make your way to Al¡¯din,¡± He traced his finger along the path leading out of Tsumi¡¯din, quickly hitting the first town marker. ¡°There, as usual, the party will hold a conference to learn of events and issues going on within the city and the neighboring villages. You¡¯ll continue Westward from there,¡± he once again moved his finger along the map,¡± until you reach Fyrun. Host another forum there, and continue on, taking the Northern path out of town. At your discretion, you can choose to hold another forum at the village next to the bridge, or just pass through. Cross the bridge and go to Sanctis. There, you¡¯ll hold your final forum and gain entry to Ish¡¯din. The day after that, you¡¯ll be there, and from there you should be able to handle everything on your own. Each of the major cities is about half a day, and you¡¯ll probably spend half a day in each one. I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t need to, but I¡¯d advise not to travel at night. Any questions for me before I go?¡± He finally finished his explanation with a question. When no one had any, he spoke again, ¡°Very well. You all can coordinate and introduce yourselves to each other, and are free to depart when you are ready.¡±

    Danfis left the room, and we were left to our own devices. Raen stood up, and introduced himself first. ¡°Greetings everyone, I am Raen Sen¡¯anum, seventh Lord of the Human Realm. This will be my first Peace Party acting as Lord, as previously I was too young, and had someone fill the position for me. I look forward to traveling and working with you all, and hope I can learn from you all.¡± He gave a deep bow, crossing one arm over his stomach. The others from his group bowed in a similar manner. One by one, they introduced themselves, and we followed suit.

    We formed a plan to get to Ish¡¯din quickly, traveling in the mornings and hosting forums in the evening. Al¡¯din being as close as it is, we decided we¡¯d leave tonight, giving ourselves an hour to buy any supplies we may need for the journey.

    We went our separate ways to procure supplies. Oroske said he¡¯d handle the shopping, if I¡¯d run home and grab our bags.

    An hour later, we met up at the gates to the Ishen Realm, and began our journey.

 25: Aldin

    -Al¡¯din-

    [A Demon Realm city, closest to Tsumi¡¯din.

    The city is known for having the most farms in Spire, and

    Its name is a combination of Alyr and Endin, roughly meaning

    Farm and City respectively.]

    We all gathered at the landing area where Aeth¡¯mobiles were picking up Hunters. A few also dropped off a handful of visitors. When I asked Oroske, he told me none of them were part of the Peace Party, as the Demons¡¯ representatives were already at HQ. ¡°Will there be a large enough vehicle for all of us?¡± Jarou asked Nadred, both of whom were standing behind Oroske and I. ¡°There might be, but it doesn¡¯t matter. We¡¯re going to be walking all the way there.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right,¡± Jarou said, his voice filled with undisguised disappointment. ¡°Why do we have to, anyway? Surely we could get to Ish¡¯din by nightfall if we did.¡±

    Oroske turned around to respond, ¡°It¡¯s a long standing tradition,¡± he began his explanation. ¡°Aeth¡¯mobiles are still a new invention, our forefathers had no other option but to walk. And so we walk as well, to honor the tradition.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Besides, we¡¯ll be holding conferences in each of the major cities along the way. Getting to Ish¡¯din is only one part of the Peace Party¡¯s journey.¡± Raen chimed in, separating from his group to join the discussion, ¡°We also walk so we have time to better understand and get to know each other. These parties are the one time every four years we Humans get to converse with Half-Demons and Demons, in more than a business capacity, and really get to know our fellow residents of Spire.¡±

    ¡°Well said, Lord Raen,¡± Nadred commented, ¡°How are your team¡¯s preparations?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re all set to leave. How about yours?¡±

    ¡°Once Kared gets here we¡¯re ready.¡±

    ¡°That woman doesn¡¯t have a punctual bone in her body,¡± Oroske sighed, ¡°Never has.¡± Just as he finished with a chuckle, he got a hard blow to the head with the flat side of a red broadsword blade.

    ¡°When bad mouthing someone, it¡¯s wise to ensure they aren¡¯t around,¡± Kared¡¯s voice came from behind him. She promptly placed the sword back in her Demon Sheath, as Oroske blinked slowly, not eliciting any other sort of reaction.

    ¡°Looks like we can leave then,¡± Oroske said.

    ¡°You let your former apprentice bully you like that, Oroske?¡± Ranfa teased as she approached, Fyr following behind.

    ¡°Normally I¡¯d punish her, but we have company today,¡± Oroske said, raising a hand to dismiss the claim, ¡°Now then, shall we proceed?¡±

    After the large group unanimously agreed, we began trekking across the bridge, and into the Demon Realm. Oroske, Kared, and I were posted at the front of the pack with Raen and his right and left-hand men. His second in command was a huge, buff man who spoke with very few words. He wore a full suit of armor underneath his white cloak, a sword longer than I was tall swung from his waist. He said his name was Terib when I asked, but afforded me no other words. His third in command was a woman with pretty golden hair and emerald eyes. She wore a white button-up shirt that was tucked into black pants, and the same white cloak as the rest of her comrades. Her name was Vai¡¯ra Dyn¡¯ya, and she was much more open to conversation.

    Aeth¡¯mobiles traveling in both directions passed us several times as we crossed the bridge.

    ¡°Terib is actually his last name,¡± Vai¡¯ra was explaining as one passed us, ¡°He and I are both nobles, serving under Lord Raen. As the head of his family, he chooses to go by his last name unless around family and close friends.¡±

    ¡°What about you?¡± I inquired further.

    ¡°I¡¯m the oldest, so I¡¯ll become the family head, but for now my Mother serves as the head. She would usually be here in my place, but she fell ill a few days before we left.¡±

    ¡°I see. So Raen is a Lord?¡±

    She laughed, which embarrassed me, ¡°Sorry, I shouldn¡¯t laugh. Yes, he is one of the Eight Lords that currently rule the Human Realm, and is the head of the Seventh family. I take it you¡¯re not familiar with the history behind the Eight Lords?¡±

    I shook my head to confirm, and I heard Oroske curse as he realized that was something he missed in my re-education.

    ¡°Very well, I should be happy to teach you. Some twenty years ago, the Last King, Rel Aerdin IX declared from his death bed that he would not name a successor. Instead, he split his authority as king between his eight children, saying ¡®there shall never again be a single king to rule this land.¡¯ And once he died, his children were all named Lords and Ladies. His youngest three, Lord Raen and two of his sisters, were still children at the time, so they had trusted nobles fill their role until they were old enough to take on the seat. In Raen¡¯s case, Terib filled in for him. Up until last year, anyway.¡±

    As I soaked in the information, more questions came to mind. ¡°What¡¯s the normal role of nobles? And how did they become nobles?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Us nobles serve our Lord¡¯s family in any way they require. The Terib family, for instance, are primarily Lord Raen¡¯s advisors. My family serves as our Lord¡¯s representatives in the military. As for how to become a noble, there¡¯s a few ways. In the case of the Teribs, using them as a convenient example again, they were already considered nobles during the Last King¡¯s rule. So when the King passed, they stayed as nobles, and were assigned into the service of the Sen¡¯anum family. For my family, we were made nobles after Lord Raen¡¯s ascension, in recognition of our military presence and prowess, and to fill the role of military representatives.¡± She took a moment to think. ¡°Another example would be like the Rel family. Their family heads were set to become Rel Er¡¯anum¡¯s successor, back when he was to become the next king. They were meant to be a unifying marriage, between the Human Realm and one of the outlying kingdoms.¡±

    It was a lot to take in. I had no idea there were other kingdoms outside of the Human and Demon Realms. The Human Realm certainly had an interesting governing body. I was curious and excited to learn how the Demon Realm did things.

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    As she finished her explanation, we were finally across the bridge. We¡¯d only gone a short way, but I was feeling exhausted. The midday, summer sun beating down on us didn¡¯t help either. The road bent not far from the end of the bridge, heading South into thick forest. Unfortunately, the sun wasn¡¯t quite far enough to the East nor West to cover the entire path with shadow, but those on the Western half were relieved to get some shade. An Aeth¡¯mobile whizzed past us, coming from Tsumi¡¯din and heading to some unknown destination. Within less than a minute, they disappeared beyond the next bend, which would take us at least another thirty or so minutes to reach on foot. Many of our party, myself included, sighed at how long our journey was going to take.

    I was grateful for the opportunity to chat with Vai¡¯ra. Time seemed to pass quickly while I talked with her. When we weren¡¯t talking, I¡¯d listen to Oroske and Kared talk to Raen. They mostly spoke about the Tsumi Clan¡¯s operations. Oroske mentioned that Danfis apparently wanted to be more transparent about what we do. ¡°Perhaps in an effort to improve general opinion of us,¡± Oroske theorized. Raen seemed eager to learn as well, and made a promise to return the favor, and provide us with more knowledge and information.

    Vai¡¯ra taught me more about the Human Realm¡¯s history. She talked about the Humans¡¯ side of the Grand War, and how the Royal City was one of the last bastions for humans, as the demons almost conquered the entire continent. She said that there was a time they took over the city, and all the humans had left was a single fortress, located by the ocean to the Southwest. ¡°That fortress is now primarily used as a historical site,¡± she explained, ¡°Though sometimes the military uses it for practice and drills.¡±

    Overtime, the sun dipped further to the West, and the shadows elongated, eventually touching the trees on the other side of the road. The complete shade didn¡¯t last forever, unfortunately. As shortly after we turned around the next bend, we had to go back into the sunlight. It was much cooler during sunset, thankfully.

    I wanted to chat with Jarou, but he and Nadred were stuck in the middle of the pack. Supposedly it was set up that way per the escort requirements. There were eight humans between me and them, and an additional six between them and Ranfa and Fyr.

    The sun was dipping beyond the horizon, painting the sky red, when we finally arrived at Al¡¯din¡¯s gates. The tall, stone walls jutted out from the ground, the gray stone contrasted by the lush green trees. A feeling of familiarity tingled in the far reaches of my memory, but disappeared quickly.

    The walls formed a circle around the city, Oroske told me. ¡°At the North, South, and East entrances, there are very large farms, instead of forests,¡± he explained further.

    We entered the city as yet another Aeth¡¯mobile passed us, slowing down as it passed through the gates. Al¡¯din was the first time the road splits in different directions, when coming from Tsumi¡¯din. The main street was lined with houses and buildings, all the way to the opposite gate. In the center of the city was a roundabout, with a plaza in the center. Every few houses there would be a street big enough to walk through, but not to take an Aeth¡¯mobile. There was one street before the big roundabout that was big enough for the large vehicles. Unlike Tsumi¡¯din, the buildings along the road were of a unified style, mostly stone brick and wood.

    People were also out walking around, and I came to the realization I didn¡¯t really know the difference between human and demon. They all looked the same as everyone I¡¯d ever met. The same spectrum of skin and hair colors was present. ¡°Look more closely, specifically at their eyes and ears,¡± Oroske whispered to me when I asked him about the difference. Upon closer inspection, I realized they all had a few traits that no human I had met did have. Specifically, red eyes, slitted pupils, and pointed ears. When I asked if that was it, he confirmed with a simple nod. He went on to explain that Half-Demons like us can have any combination of human and demon traits. He used myself as an example, I had brown eyes with slitted pupils, and round ears.

    Once we had made it to the city center, we spoke with the mayor of the city. We organized the plans for a forum, and planned to begin in an hour. That gave us time to see the city, and the residents time to gather in the city plaza. The mayor offered us a meal, free of charge inside the city hall, which we gratefully accepted. We ate and conversed until it was time to begin the forum.

    The forum itself was held just outside the city hall. It lasted what felt like an eternity, but in reality was only an hour and a half. I was told our primary tasks as Hunters was to ensure no fighting broke out, from either side, and to listen attentively to the concerns and complaints of the locals. We would compile all of the topics discussed in order to determine what would be talked about during the conference in Ish¡¯din.

    None of the topics really drew my attention, aside from one that caused a bit of anger on both sides. We were worried a fight might break out, but thankfully no such thing happened. The locals vented frustrations and aggressively voiced concerns about a recent terror attack on the city, which happened a couple months before. As the citizens of Al¡¯din were clamoring about the event, Raen stepped to the podium. ¡°I understand your concerns about the attack,¡± he began loudly, ¡°Rest assured that we already planned to discuss this at the conference. This attack, and the recent attacks like it are unacceptable, and have been happening on both sides of the Rift. We have a thorough investigation already underway, and we are making significant strides in finding the responsible parties. If you have any information, please submit it to the mayor before the end of the night. Thank you.¡± Somehow, that managed to calm the crowd down, though tensions were still high.

    The rest of the forum passed without much issue, and the topics brought up were small complaints and improvement ideas that needed the approval of the Demon Parliament. Once it was over, we retired to our designated lodgings.

    Oroske and I had six people in our room, including Raen. I¡¯d never slept in a room with that many people, and with some of them loudly snoring it took me a good while to fall asleep, even as exhausted as I was. But eventually, I did fall into a dreamless sleep.

    ¡ª--

    Oroske woke me at the crack of dawn, before any of Raen¡¯s group had awoken. ¡°Come on, Kuro, there¡¯s something I want to show you, and something I want to talk to you about.¡± He said as he shook me.

    He led me out of the inn, and into the central plaza of the city. There, in the very center of the city, the ground material changed color and design slightly, and bore the Tsumi Clan¡¯s emblem. That feeling of familiarity tingled at the back of my mind once again as I looked around. Disappearing quickly as it had before.

    ¡°This is a memorial that was built recently,¡± he began explaining, ¡°the ground here used to match the rest of the city. Last night, you heard them talking about the attack that happened a couple months ago, right?¡± I nodded, and he continued. ¡°Well, that¡¯s when this happened. There was evidence of the fight left over for a couple weeks after, blocking traffic out of the South gate.¡± He paused and gave me a strange look. He took a deep breath and exhaled roughly. ¡°That was the night you died. I feel bad for not really telling you about how you died, but I wanted to do it properly.

    ¡°You, me, and six other Hunters were dispatched on an emergency mission, a mere week after you got your cloak. We received reports of a human that illegally crossed the Rift, and was targeting Al¡¯din. He slipped past us as we were guarding the city. We confronted him here, in the plaza. He knocked all of us out. He used a powerful, Holy aspected spell that destroyed all non-organic material it came in contact with, in addition to the normal effects of Holy magic. It baffles me, and everyone involved, to this day, how you managed it, but you somehow killed him after the spell had already touched the ground.

    ¡°However, as you went straight into the bubble of Holy magic, it immediately began burning your blood. As it covered your entire body, and as small as you are, it killed you almost immediately.¡±

    Something deep in my mind told me there was something he was leaving out, but I couldn¡¯t figure out what, if anything.

    ¡°I just wanted you to know that if you hadn¡¯t done that, this entire city would have been destroyed, and the eight of us would have died. You¡¯re a hero for that.¡± He said, putting a hand on my shoulder, unbridled pride showing in his smile as he looked at me.

    ¡°So, have any of your memories come back at all?¡± He asked me as we walked back to the inn.

    ¡°None yet,¡± I shook my head.

    He patted my back, ¡°Well that¡¯s alright. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll come back with time. I was hoping bringing you here might jog your memory, but if not, that¡¯s okay too.¡±

    We returned to the inn as everyone else was waking up and getting ready for the day. We made plans to purchase food and supplies, and prepare for the next leg of our journey, heading towards the city of Fyrun.

 26: Dervennya Desert

    -Der¡¯venn¡¯ya Desert-

    [A massive desert, covering the majority of the Southern

    End of the Demon Realm, named for its platinum-white sands.

    There are countless rumors about its history.]

    After finishing purchasing food and supplies, the party reconvened at the West gate of Al¡¯din. Having only risen about an hour and a half prior, the sun was still low, and the air was cool. A gentle breeze flowed through the city streets, which were starting to be filled with people. A handful of Aeth¡¯mobiles departed from the city towards Tsumi¡¯din, and several others departed out the other gates.

    I was sitting next to Jarou and Nadred on a bench next to the city¡¯s wall, making small talk while we waited for preparations to be finished. Oroske parted from Raen and Vai¡¯ra with a wave, and approached us.

    ¡°You three all set to go?¡± He asked, stopping a couple feet in front of us, hands on his hips, his usual smile plastered on his face.

    ¡°Yep, believe so,¡± Nadred said before standing up and stretching. Jarou and I simply nodded.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how you can be so energetic, Oroske,¡± Jarou yawned, ¡°Especially since Kuro told me you two were up before anyone else.¡±

    ¡°I enjoy waking up early,¡± Oroske replied with a shrug, before turning towards me. ¡°Kuro, I was thinking we¡¯d shuffle around our members today. Would you mind traveling with Nadred and Jarou, and being in the rear of the party today?¡±

    I gave a quick nod, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d be cool with that. Why, though?¡± In all honesty, I was looking for the opportunity to chat with them on the road.

    ¡°I think it¡¯d be good to mix things up a bit. Tomorrow I¡¯ll probably have you in the front or center with Ranfa and Fyr. And the day after we¡¯d probably switch things up even more.¡± He paused as Raen called his name. ¡°Well, we¡¯re probably leaving soon. I¡¯ll be in the middle of the group, if anything comes up.¡±

    We continued chatting, mostly about the previous day, until we got the signal from Kared that we were leaving. We fell into our spot at the very back of the party, keeping the same formation we had the previous day.

    Upon exiting the West gate, the sights immediately opened up to a large expanse of fields, with a tall hill looming straight ahead. The fields had a large variety of crops, and there were even a few sections with animals. Some fields already had people tending to them and working, and several people were exiting the city to begin their day¡¯s work.

    In the distance to the South, I could see the road go up a small hill, and it disappeared into a forest with dark, blue-green leaves. The color made me question if my eyes were playing tricks on me. That was as far as I could see from there, however, as the hill looped around and was part of the tall hill in front of us. It also extended Northward, obscuring our vision of everything over that way, and placing us in a small valley.

    We marched mostly in silence towards the hill. Jarou and I simply took in the sights. It felt much wider and more open than the small corner of the Human Realm I had seen, and being on foot allowed me more time to appreciate it than if I had simply rode an aeth¡¯mobile through it.

    The path gradually got steeper as we neared the foot of the hill, where it got significantly steeper. While it would only take aeth¡¯mobiles ten or so minutes to get from Al¡¯din to the base of the hill, it had taken us a couple hours. The sun was getting closer and closer to its peak, though it wouldn¡¯t reach it for another hour or two, and it had steadily become much hotter throughout the day.

    We stopped for a short break once we reached the hill, and Oroske had Ranfa coordinate between the three groups. She came to us last, lifting her hand in a casual greeting. ¡°Hello boys,¡± her deep voice called out, ¡°Oroske and Raen want us to push to the top of the hill,¡± she pointed uphill with her thumb, ¡°and we¡¯ll take a break for lunch once we¡¯re up there. That cool with you all?¡±

    After we nodded in confirmation, she turned to the humans in our care and got confirmation from them.

    ¡°Great, we¡¯ll start going again soon.¡± She turned and went back to Oroske and Raen with a wave.

    ¡°I¡¯ve known her for all these years and I still don¡¯t know how she wears that thick cloak, even during the summer,¡± Nadred sighed.

    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s gotta be cooking alive under there,¡± I responded. Her cloak not only had a thick wool lining, but it¡¯s very thick and heavy, as though it were designed for use exclusively during Winter.

    ¡°I wonder how she stays warm during the Winter,¡± Jarou thought out loud.

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t,¡± Nadred said, half in jest, ¡°I¡¯m convinced she just doesn¡¯t feel any sort of temperature.¡±

    As Nadred finished, the vanguard of the group began moving again. The hill wasn¡¯t that steep, but it was noticeably harder to climb than the road leading up to it. The trek was made quite a bit easier thanks to the road curving around the hill, allowing for us to take a less steep path. I was grateful for the easier climb it provided, but Nadred complained that while it¡¯s easier, it takes a lot longer than if we were to simply climb in a straight line.

    After thirty minutes or so, we were well above the Southern extension of the hill, and could see past it. There, next to the forest - which still appeared to be a blue-green to me - was a large expanse of blinding white land, stretching further than I could see. I had to squint as my eyes adjusted to the light.

    Jarou must have noticed, as he let out a chuckle then asked, ¡°This is your first time seeing the desert, huh?¡±

    As my eyes continued to adjust, I responded. ¡°That¡¯s a desert? Not just a giant blob of light?¡±

    Nadred laughed as well, ¡°Yes, sir. That there is the Der¡¯venn¡¯ya Desert.¡±

    My eyes finally finished adjusting, but even then I could barely figure out any details. The most I could discern was the road that cut through it, and what looked like stone pillars that dotted the landscape. I couldn¡¯t tell if my eyes were playing tricks on me again, or if the light bouncing off of the sand was so bright that it looked like that, but some points on the pillars appeared almost transparent.

    ¡°Der¡¯venn¡¯ya, huh?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Aye,¡± Nadred began one of his lectures as we continued up the hill, ¡°The Der¡¯venn¡¯ya Desert, sometimes also referred to as the White Desert, Platinum Desert, or sometimes the Silver Desert. Of the three, Platinum is the actual translation of the name. People with an elementary understanding of Alten see the ¡®venn¡¯ in the name, and translate only that part. The ¡®der¡¯¡¯ and ¡®¡¯ya¡¯ parts of the name are what make it platinum. ¡®Der¡¯¡¯ used as a prefix means large, or great, or a handful of other things depending on where it¡¯s being used. And ¡®¡¯ya¡¯ as a prefix can mean a large variety of things, but in this case, and for words like dyn¡¯ya, it means metal, or metallic.¡±

    ¡°So it translates to ¡®big silver metal¡¯?¡± I asked, quizzing myself to see if I¡¯m understanding his lesson correctly.

    ¡°Literally, yes. ¡®Great silver metal,¡¯ or ¡®great metallic silver,¡¯ or any variation of those would also work for literal translations.¡± He explained further, ¡°And you can see for yourself why it was named that, right?¡±

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    I nodded and said ¡°yes.¡± The name made sense, seeing as the sand was a bright white, and not quite silver in color.

    ¡°Good. The desert itself has quite an interesting history, or rather, a theorized history, if you¡¯d like to hear about that.¡±

    ¡°Really? I¡¯d love to learn more,¡± Jarou spoke up as the road¡¯s curve hid the desert from sight. ¡°All I¡¯ve really learned about it so far is that an important battle was fought there during the Grand War.¡±

    ¡°Not just any battle,¡± Nadred lifted his finger, ¡°The Der¡¯venn¡¯ya Desert was the site of the final, decisive battle of the War. You can¡¯t see it from here, the desert was the doorstep for the former capital of the Demon Empire. Once we reach the top, remind me to point out the capital¡¯s ruins.

    ¡°That¡¯s all we really know for sure about the desert, as there aren¡¯t many documents that confirm its history before then. The rest I¡¯m about to tell you is commonly accepted as fact, but is merely rumor and legend. According to legend, before the battle occurred, the desert was a lush forest with blue leaves. There are some historical records that back this, as old records from the Empire describe a massive Azureleaf Tree being in that area, poking up from a forest of similar trees.¡±

    ¡°What happened to the forest, then?¡± I asked, doubtful such a large forest could disappear just like that.

    ¡°The battle is recorded to be the most destructive battle ever fought, even if there¡¯s only an estimated five deaths,¡± he answered, ¡°Though, there¡¯s also estimated to have only been roughly twenty people participating. On the side of the Human Kingdom, you had the crown prince at the time, his strongest generals, and all eight Guardians backing him. And on the side of the Empire, the fourth and fifth emperors, or Shadows as they were called, and their toughest soldiers. And finally, you had the first Danfis of our Clan, fighting in the Guardians¡¯ service. Between the Danfis and the Guardians¡¯ firepower alone, it¡¯s not unbelievable that such destruction could happen.

    ¡°Another popular legend is that the old capital extended all the way across the desert, making some sort of mega-city, though that one holds a lot less merit.¡± Nadred spoke, hand on his chin as he thought of more legends about the area.

    ¡°What about the forest that¡¯s already down that way, near the Realm Rift?¡± After hearing about this blue-leaved forest, I wondered if my eyes weren¡¯t deceiving me, and the leaves really were that blue-green color.

    ¡°Oh, that? It¡¯s said to be the last remaining part of the great forest, though over the past five hundred years the leaves have become a lot greener.¡±

    As he finished speaking, we reached the top of the hill. We reached it faster than I had expected, or so I thought. Looking up at the sky, the sun was almost directly overhead, and was actually going a little past. I was once again grateful for the conversation to pass the time.

    As we all sat down on the tall grass on the roadside, Oroske slipped his supply bag off his shoulders. It landed on the ground with a thud, followed by some of the contents inside rattling and clattering. He pulled out a portable grill, and began preparing lunch for the party, taking ingredients and from Raen¡¯s supply bag.

    I hadn¡¯t realized until I sat down how sore my legs were. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever been on my feet for so long, I thought to myself. I saw Jarou lean back, propping himself up on his hands, and he closed his eyes. Curious, I copied him. A cool breeze liberated us from the heat. I was tempted to take off my cloak and let the wind run across my bare skin, but I wasn¡¯t sure if I was allowed to do that.

    Suddenly, I heard Oroske shout my name. My eyes flew open and I quickly looked towards him, and saw him beckoning me. I stood up and walked over, my legs still sore.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I asked as I approached.

    ¡°Look over there,¡± he brought me over to the South edge of the hill, and pointed down.

    I did as he asked, and saw a large Sigil roaming around, its grossly disproportionate body lumbering.

    ¡°What should we do?¡± He asked me.

    ¡°Should we take care of it before it becomes an issue?¡± I answered with a question of my own.

    ¡°Correct. Let¡¯s go then.¡±

    He drew a sword from his Demon Sheath and began running towards it, and I followed suit. Oroske signaled for me to take the first turn once we were close enough.

    We were still a little ways uphill from the Sigil when I jumped at it, augmenting my speed and the power of my jump with wind magic. I managed to jump a little higher than it was tall, and as I started falling I positioned my sword so it would pierce it as soon as it could.

    Upon impact, two things happened in quick succession. First, the sword pierced the Sigil¡¯s tough skin smoothly, causing its ashy blood to spurt out. Second, the Sigil released a blood-curdling howl, thrashing around in pain. Its movements quickly dislodged the sword and sent me flying, quickly falling to the ground. I twisted my body around in mid-air so I would land on my feet, but I forgot we were fighting on a hillside. I landed square on my heels, causing me to slip, falling on my back, and sliding down the hill just a bit.

    Groaning, I sat back up just in time to see Oroske launch his own attack. He didn¡¯t jump up like I did, he merely wrapped his sword in dense, high-pressure water magic, and slashed at the Sigil¡¯s legs with impressive speed. I had become accustomed to his speed, and had no difficulty following him. If he used Acceleration, though, the thought suddenly came to mind, I probably wouldn¡¯t stand a chance. His water magic extended the reach of his blade by a significant margin, and with it he was able to easily blow chunks of the Sigil¡¯s body off.

    I finally decided I couldn¡¯t just sit there, and got up to rejoin the battle. I figured that Oroske could keep its attention towards the ground, and so long as I went unnoticed I could deal some good damage to its upper half. I jumped back up, giving more focus to height when boosting myself, in order to properly analyze my target¡¯s body, and identify potential weak spots. I took note that the Sigils¡¯ namesake was nowhere to be found on its back and upper portions, and figured it was likely on its belly, or on the face where I couldn¡¯t see it. After looking over it, I decided I would target its neck. It seemed thinner than the rest of the body, and a quick decapitation would surely kill the monster.

    I gave myself another boost with wind magic, sending myself higher, and closer to my target. Once I was almost directly above the monster¡¯s neck, I charged and released a powerful slice of sentem. The wind blade broke its pale white skin, but didn¡¯t dig deeper than the first couple layers. I managed to send another sen¡¯ari before making contact with the body myself, which carved only a tiny bit more into the Sigil¡¯s flesh. As I made contact I made sure to pierce my sword into the pre-existing cut.

    Oroske was still going at it below, causing the beast to stagger and shake, making it very difficult to balance on its back. That¡¯s when I got an idea to help me stay on. I took my left hand off of my sword, hanging on with just my right, and summoned my scythe from my Demon Sheath. It took a lot of effort, but I managed to get into a half-standing position, and while fighting to retain my balance I thrust my scythe into the side of the neck, giving me two anchor spots to hold on to. I still had to manage my balance, but it was much easier. I took a moment and thought about my next move.

    Just as I made my decision, the Sigil suddenly collapsed forward with a pained howl. I looked down and saw Oroske breathing heavily next to the Sigil¡¯s left foreleg, which he had severed crudely. It looked like it had been blown off by means of an explosion. He looked up at me and shouted ¡°Finish it!¡±

    I nodded with a mischievous smile, and began my final attack. As the Sigil was stumbling, trying to recover from its crippling wound, I sent out the first part of my attack. I sent a massive shock of selr through my sword, and into its body, thoroughly stunning my opponent. I then started leaning off the right side of the monster¡¯s back, pulling my sword and scythe with me. I found my scythe caught in the tough flesh, and began the final step of the attack. While ensuring my opponent remained stunned by means of sending out the occasional waves of selr, I sent a mixture of foluk and fyrun into my scythe¡¯s blade, letting the magic run rampant within the Sigil¡¯s flesh. The fiery magic allowed my scythe to cut through the neck smoothly, and I continued sliding off the beast¡¯s back. I fell off, pulling my sword out of the flesh, while keeping my scythe in. As soon as I landed, I jumped across the underside of the neck, continuing to pull my scythe along. I swung with my scythe as it carried me higher up. The scythe blade came loose as I flew into the air, and the head of the Sigil fell to the ground, and I landed shortly after.

    ¡°Nicely done!¡± Oroske praised me. Behind him, at the top of the hill, our party was cheering us on. When we rejoined the party, both of us received several compliments on our performance, primarily from the Humans in our care. Raen and Terib took over the cooking after Oroske went to fight, and offered us our portion of the meal.

    ¡°Sigils have been appearing a lot more frequently in recent times,¡± Raen commented gravely between bites of his food.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Vai¡¯ra agreed, ¡°We¡¯re seeing an upward trend in sighting reports. It¡¯s quite worrying. I¡¯m glad we have the Clans to assist us in exterminating them.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re protecting our homes as well,¡± Kared said flatly, ¡°Besides, we help you just as much as you help us.¡±

    ¡°A good point,¡± Vai¡¯ra said, ¡°Still, I¡¯m grateful.¡±

    ¡°I just hope it¡¯s not a bad omen,¡± Nadred said after finishing his food, ¡°Last thing we need right now is the Calamities waking up.¡±

    Everyone agreed silently, and we all finished our food in relative silence. After finishing, we resumed our journey towards Fyrun.

 27: Fyrun

    -Fyrun-

    [The Alten word for ¡®fire,¡¯ Fyrun is also the name

    of a city in the Demon Realm, named after the nearby Lake Fyrun.

    It¡¯s also one of the most common names for people.]

    The rest of our travels to Fyrun were peaceful. The path continued along the top of the hill, as the ground leveled out towards the South, forming a much more gradual slope towards Der¡¯venn¡¯ya. To the North, on the other hand, it had a similarly steep slope to the one we had climbed earlier, running down towards a lake. The road hugged the Northern crest, proceeding West in a mostly straight line, curving wherever the hillside curved.

    Fyrun was downhill quite a ways, so we could see it as soon as the hill began its gradual descent. It was a smaller city than Al¡¯din, but still quite large. There also weren¡¯t walls, allowing people to come in from any direction. It also had several more roads leading out of it, most of them smaller paths that lead to outlying villages that occasionally dotted the landscape. The main road we were on occasionally split out towards these villages as well. Nadred explained to me that these small villages would likely have representatives in the nearest city, that way we didn¡¯t have to go visit every single village. Some were small enough they only had two or three buildings, and were mostly farmland. Most of them didn¡¯t even have official names.

    Fyrun was supposedly one of these villages in the past. It was founded as a rest stop for merchants traveling across the Realm. At the start it was just a small inn by the same name as the city, named for the lake its views beheld. After a time, a traveling merchant got injured on the road, and after being taken care of by the family that ran the inn, decided to open a permanent store next to it. She eventually married the son of the innkeepers, and the two are now considered the town¡¯s founders, as soon after more and more people began settling around there. As it stands now, Fyrun is one of the largest trade centers in the Demon Realm.

    Nadred had finished rambling about the city¡¯s history around the time we finally arrived, nearly an hour before sunset. He had moved onto talking about the lake at the bottom of the hill, which at this point had become significantly steeper, just shy of being a proper cliff. ¡°The name Lake Fyrun is sort of oxymoronic, don¡¯t you think?¡± He started with a question, involving a word I was unfamiliar with. Jarou had to lean over and whisper the meaning in my ear. ¡°A lake is water, but fyrun means fire, right?¡± After a nod of confirmation from Jarou and I, he continued. ¡°Well, the lake isn¡¯t entirely water. An estimated fifty percent of it is actually some other liquid that easily catches fire. Some several hundred years ago, a lightning bolt struck the lake, or near the lake, some accounts differ on the details. But either way, it caused a large fire, and the lake was burning as well. After several people witnessed this, the lake¡¯s former name slowly faded and was replaced by its new one.¡± He sighed, the type of sigh that comes from a scholar being denied knowledge, ¡°The lake¡¯s original name is lost to history now, I have yet to find any public record of it.¡±

    Our conversation came to an end when we were near the center of the city, the view of the lake blocked by several buildings. We had come to an abrupt stop, and Nadred bumped into one of our human companions while he was distracted, a large, muscular man who looked annoyed but tolerated it. We fanned out to look ahead at what stopped us, and found Raen and Oroske talking to an elderly woman. After a few minutes of them talking, the woman went inside a large building, and Oroske and Raen split up to brief the rest of the group.

    ¡°Alright guys,¡± Raen approached our group, ¡°We¡¯ve got an hour before people start gathering around for our conference. We¡¯ll be staying in the Fyrun Inn, and the conference will be held just outside it. You¡¯re free to wander the city, and do whatever you want until then. Just make sure you stay near our half-demon escorts.¡± He had mostly been talking to his followers, and then turned to us, ¡°Are you all ok with that?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Nadred spoke for all of us, then spoke directly to the humans that would be in our care, ¡°Anywhere you wanna go, we¡¯ll follow.¡±

    In truth, I would have liked to just rest, or possibly explore the city on my own.

    ¡°I vote we go check out our lodgings for the night first,¡± the big guy spoke up as I silently lamented my lack of freedom, ¡°What say you guys?¡± The rest of our charges agreed, and we followed them into the building the old lady from before walked into.

    The old woman was standing at the front desk, looking at a large paper, filled with writing and pictures on both sides. She looked up at us as the door shut with a thud. The large guy raised a hand and began to speak, but was cut off by the lady tossing a keyring at him. She pointed down the hall to our right with her thumb, and went back to reading her paper.

    The man looked back at the rest of our group and just shrugged, and led the way down the hall, looking at the keys. He stopped at the fourth door on the left side of the hall, looking up and down at the number on the door and the keys. He stuck one of the keys in the door, and it unlocked with a click.

    We followed him into the room, which contained a large conference table, and a handful of multi-level beds. The man walked to one of the beds and threw his supply bag on it, ¡°I¡¯ll take this bed, I suppose.¡± He then walked over to the table and took a seat, leaning back and closing his eyes. The rest of our party followed suit, claiming beds before sitting at the table. A couple of them just set their bags on the table. After our companions claimed their beds, Nadred, Jarou and I followed suit.

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    There was a long, awkward silence as we all sat around the table. Finally, the unofficial leader of the humans broke the silence. ¡°How about we get to know each other? We¡¯re gonna be traveling together for quite some time, after all. I¡¯ll go first,¡± he stood up, giving me a better look at him. As I mentioned before, he was large, and most of that size came from pure muscle mass. His eyes were a dull green, his matching hair was shaved into a buzzcut. Underneath the white cloak, which he¡¯d taken off since sitting down, he wore plates of armor over plain black clothes. ¡°My name is Krail, I¡¯m twenty-five years old, and have been serving in Captain Dyn¡¯ya¡¯s squad since I was sixteen. I am almost completely incompetent with magic, but my skill with a sword is almost unrivaled, and have more than enough physical strength to make up for my magical ability.¡±

    ¡°Well met, Krail,¡± Nadred said cheerfully, without moving, ¡°Is it alright if I go next? I¡¯m Nadred, the mentor of our red-haired friend here. I¡¯m not a particularly skilled fighter, but I do consider myself to be one of the Tsumi Clan¡¯s top scholars, and am very knowledgeable in several fields. I look forward to working and traveling with you all.¡±

    We proceeded to all take turns introducing ourselves. Arnala was a woman the same age as Krail, with deep blue eyes set in pale skin, framed by dark hair. Jyn was the oldest of the humans, aged thirty-two, had fiery red hair and light gray eyes that seemed to pierce my very soul, his skin was also the darkest in our entire party, including those not in the room with us. Leren was a similarly dark skinned woman, with thick, curly black hair and dark eyes. Pyr¡¯rel chose to copy her commanding officer and only give her last name, and had light blue hair and icy eyes, set in sunburnt skin. Lastly, we had Elrik, the younger brother of Vai¡¯ra, who had a very similar appearance.

    ¡°Oh, I think I remember you, Elrik,¡± Nadred said after he had sat back down, ¡°You fought with us to take down that one Sigil outside the Royal City, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right,¡± he responded matter-of-factly.

    ¡°Your skills were impressive, even back then. I had wanted to ask you where you learned to fight like that.¡±

    ¡°I was trained alongside my sister. Our parents were very strict teachers.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you join up in the military with her? I¡¯m sure you would have gone far.¡±

    Elrik gave him a cold, hard expression, and answered flatly, ¡°I have my reasons. I¡¯m more suited for mercenary work anyway.¡±

    Nadred simply raised a hand in a sort-of shrug as though to say ¡°fair enough.¡±

    We continued talking until it was time for the conference. I talked a little about my training and about how I died and lost my memory. We learned Arnala and Krail were childhood friends, and were planning on getting married. She also went to the military academy with Krail, but got injured during training and left to pursue less dangerous work. Jyn was apparently one of their teachers there, and he and Pyr¡¯rel were part of Terib¡¯s squadron. Any and all attempts at getting Elrik to talk about himself and his past failed.

    Before long, Kared came to gather us for the conference.

    That night¡¯s conference was more or less just a couple hours of the same thing as the one in Al¡¯din. This time, however, there was a lot of focus on the rise in Sigil sightings, and issues relating to them. Both our party and the citizens of Fyrun began to fear that the nearby Calamity would awaken soon. Raen and other members of the party took extensive notes on issues that should be brought up once we arrive in Ish¡¯din.

    I had retained very little of the information talked about in the meeting, as outside of the issues with Sigils, I understood very little of the issues the people were having. It seemed to drag on forever, and I almost fell asleep on my feet a couple times.

    After the conference, our party went to the quarters we had been in earlier, as it was the only one we had access to with a conference table large enough for everyone. We were meant to discuss whittling our list of complaints and issues down to the more major ones, but the table was filled almost exclusively with talk concerning the Sigils and Calamities.

    ¡°So I know you¡¯ve told me a bit about them,¡± I went to Oroske and Nadred with questions, ¡°But can you tell me more about the Calamities?¡±

    To my surprise, Oroske offered to teach me.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure exactly what you¡¯ve been told, so I¡¯ll start from the beginning, if that¡¯s okay.¡± He started, waiting for my go ahead, ¡°When the Guardians returned, having disappeared for several centuries, some five hundred years ago, the Guardian Naen declared a prophecy. This was shortly after the Grand War ended, and the Half-Demon Clans were formed. He told us that in the then-distant future, there would be eight great calamities, malicious, god-like beings, that would destroy the world. To combat them, he prophesied that the Clans would birth Chosen ones in the time the Calamities would awaken. These Chosen would be the key to destroying the Calamities, as they are born with incredible power and talent. Their birth would also act as a signal for the Guardians to prepare to fight them, as they are meant to be born as the Calamities are beginning to wake up.

    ¡°Sigils are born naturally over time, and have several different causes for their birth. However, natural born Sigils are uncommon, and in recent times there has been a drastic increase in sightings and incidents involving them, as I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware. It is common belief that these more common Sigils are somehow created by the Calamities, and due to their nature, and the nature of the Calamities, many believe the Calamities are, in fact, Sigils that have been allowed to nurture their power and strength for an incredible amount of time.

    ¡°So, with the rise of sightings, and this being all but confirmed, there is great reason to believe the Calamities are going to start waking up soon. Thankfully, we know where three of them are, and we have a few active leads on the other five. One is in the woods near Tsumi¡¯din, where you fought your first Sigil, another is near the Southeastern coast of the Human Realm, and the other is in a cave deep under Lake Fyrun. Which is why it¡¯s a pressing issue in this area, as the Sigils that are created by it appear near this city, and cause trouble for its residents.¡± He finally finished his rather lengthy explanation, stating that¡¯s the extent of his knowledge on the matter.

    The prospect of a Chosen One excited me, and I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if I could be the Tsumi Clan¡¯s Chosen. It would mean a fate of excitement and adventure, and I¡¯m sure great danger as well. It sounded enticing to me, and I even found myself hoping it would end up being me.

    Eventually, talk about the Sigils and related issues died down, and they finally narrowed down the list of topics to talk about from this city. Afterward, the groups split up once again, and we got ready to turn in for the night. The next day would see us doing a whole lot of walking. Again.

 28: Church of the Divine Flame

    -Church of the Divine Flame-

    [A post-Grand War era religion, worshiping the concept of Divine Flames.

    Its origins can be traced back to Lake Fyrun¡¯s namesake.]

    Much like the previous morning, I was woken up early by Oroske, and around the same time as well. He dragged me, still only half-awake, out into the city.

    ¡°I noticed your group didn¡¯t really go see the city at all,¡± he explained on the way out, ¡°So I figured I could show you around before everyone wakes up. Maybe get some training in as well.¡± I was still exhausted from the past couple days of constant walking, I had no idea how Oroske was in the mood to train, nor how he had the energy to do so. That said, I was interested in seeing more of the city. Being much smaller than Al¡¯din, I figured we could probably explore most of the interesting sights in a single day.

    He led me down the main road, occasionally checking down the side paths, as though looking for something. We walked in silence as I dragged my feet, still waking up. Finally, pretty close to the edge of the town, Oroske spoke up. ¡°Huh, coulda sworn it was closer to the inn, it¡¯s just over here.¡± He pointed down a path that led North, towards the lake, and once again resumed his usual stride.

    The path winded around and between buildings as it went down the hill, but from the start and from almost every angle, a church was in view. From the top of the hill it looked quite small, but finally standing in front of it, it towered over us. It was probably the tallest building in the city.

    We wandered inside the dilapidated church. Rows of dusty wooden pews formed two columns, giving the patrons of the church a not quite comfortable place to sit and see the front altar. The walls were adorned with stained glass and oil paintings, all of which depicted various flames in different scenarios. One of the windows depicted a scene I had heard about the day before. A strike of lightning hitting a body of water, and that water subsequently catching flame. The only other one I could piece together the story of was one that showed a dead person, who after being engulfed by flames, was resurrected.

    ¡°What is this place?¡± I wondered out loud.

    Oroske took a seat on one of the pews and gestured for me to sit as well. I was reluctant to sit on such a dusty surface, worrying about how dirty my cloak would get. ¡°This is the home of the Church of the Divine Flame, which until a couple hundred years ago was probably the most prominent religion in the region.¡±

    ¡°Religion?¡±

    ¡°Yep, religion. Most people these days don¡¯t really subscribe to any sort of religion, largely due to the Guardians¡¯ influence, as well as their promises for the future. But following the Grand War, religions that opposed the Guardians were being founded left and right. Even now, some people occasionally band together and form another one. This one was created shortly after the lake caught fire. According to the church¡¯s records and doctrine, the founder was presented a vision, and through that vision a prophecy was born. This prophecy went directly against the Guardian Naen¡¯s prophecy about the chosen members of the Clans.¡±

    He pointed at the central glass feature behind the altar. The top half depicted a tower being razed by flames, surrounded by a broken half-circle of light. The circle was made whole on the bottom half, forming a halo of golden light. The tower was also inverted, and given the appearance of being made whole again.

    ¡°The prophecy stated a divine flame, the one the church is named after, would sprout from this lake, and at the height of conflict, the flame would engulf the world. The flame would purify the world, and usher in another era of peace.¡±

    ¡°Combined with Naen¡¯s prophecy, another interpretation is offered,¡± a feminine voice echoed through the chamber, coming from the front door. Oroske and I turned around to see a young girl with deep blue hair and fiery red eyes leaning against the doorframe. ¡°Your prophecy about the Half-Demons birthing ¡®chosen ones¡¯ refers to defeating the Calamities, and thus saving the world from certain destruction. This church later began to believe that the same Divine Flame that would purify the world would be the force that destroys the Calamities. And, perhaps, that would be how the world becomes purified. After this new interpretation became a common belief amongst members of the church, Naen and the Guardians did everything they could to bury the belief, and tried to remove the church from our history. Apparently they don¡¯t like people challenging their authority and prophecies very much.¡±

    While finishing her speech, she began walking towards us, and stood next to our pew by the time she finished. Her gaze never left the large glass window. ¡°Of course, who knows why they acted the way they did, or even if that interpretation is correct.¡± She finished with a shrug, finally breaking her stare, and meeting my eyes with hers. Her eyes held an emotion I couldn¡¯t figure out. A mix between pain and passion, perhaps.

    ¡°Well, you certainly know more than most,¡± Oroske laughed. ¡°And whom might we have the pleasure of meeting?¡±

    She suddenly got flustered and lost her composure for a moment, regaining her confidence with a clear of her throat. ¡°My name is Sentem Ur¡¯anum. My family has been this chapel¡¯s caretakers for many generations.¡±

    ¡°Ur¡¯anum, eh?¡± Oroske muttered, staring at her hair, ¡°Well, no matter. I suppose it only makes sense that someone has been taking care of this place, it would have fallen apart ages ago if not.¡± There was a long pause as Oroske considered his next question. ¡°Does your family still worship here? Or just take care of it?¡±

    She nodded, ¡°My grandmother and I do, against my parents¡¯ wishes. My father is especially against the church, likely due to his affiliation with the Guardians. But growing up, my grandmother taught me about the church. I¡¯m not devout like she is, but it¡¯s nice to believe in something other than the Guardians¡¯ plans, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Oroske laughed heartily, ¡°It certainly is. I¡¯m sure we have different reasons, but I find it difficult to trust them sometimes.¡± Sentem agreed silently, and I got the feeling neither of them wanted to elaborate their reasons. Which annoyed me, and made me feel left out.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll let you two be,¡± Sentem cleared the silence, ¡°Just wanted to see who was paying a visit since I saw you two approach from my house.¡± She waved goodbye and walked out the door.

    Once she was gone, I asked Oroske, ¡°Why don¡¯t you trust the Guardians?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a lot that goes into why, but I¡¯ll tell you the key points,¡± he said, his tone suggesting he fully expected the question to come up. ¡°First off, they¡¯re generally kind of shady, don¡¯t you think? You¡¯ve met Naen once, what were your impressions of him?¡±

    ¡°He seemed friendly enough, but also confident and exacting. I didn¡¯t really see much of him, so it¡¯s hard to say.¡±

    ¡°Good observations for the short time you saw him. Though, his friendliness is almost entirely a front. The truth is, he¡¯s very cold, unless he sees usefulness in you. I¡¯ve witnessed first hand what happens when that usefulness runs out¡­¡± Oroske seemed to shudder at the memory. ¡°All of the Guardians are twisted in similar ways, at least, all the ones I¡¯ve met.

    ¡°The second point is one you probably won''t witness yourself for a long while, but there have been times where they¡¯ve gotten in the way of our work. A couple years ago, Rel, the red cloak, and I were working together in the Royal City, the Human Realm capital. It was a pretty high-profile job, one that required a lot of planning and groundwork. And it required that things went according to plan. The day of the plan¡¯s execution however, a couple Guardians showed up and prevented us from accomplishing our task. They completely halted, and even canceled our operation. One of them even almost killed Rel. I say almost, but they just straight up did. He had to get revived later on. Since then, Rel¡¯s personal relationship with the city¡¯s government, and by extension the realm¡¯s government, has been strained. I¡¯m sure they had good reason to get in the way, probably in the super-long term, but in the short term, there and then, it caused a whole lot of pain for a whole lot of people.¡±

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    Oroske¡¯s face remained still and emotionless, but I could see anger in his eyes and feel it emanating from him. ¡°They¡¯d really do that? Prevent us from doing our job?¡± I asked.

    ¡°They would. That¡¯s not the only time it¡¯s happened either.¡±

    ¡°But why?¡±

    ¡°Who knows, aside from maybe them. If you asked they¡¯d probably tell you something like ¡®it¡¯s for the good of the future.¡¯¡± There was a brief moment of silence before Oroske stood up and changed the subject, ¡°Well, there¡¯s still more of the city to see, if you¡¯d like to.¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡±

    We left the chapel and began wandering around the city. Mostly due to time, we didn¡¯t really stop at any points of interest, and more so just looked around. The city¡¯s layout was maze-like in comparison to Al¡¯din, Tsumi¡¯din, and the City of Towers. Those three cities all had very organized streets, but Fyrun¡¯s streets were all over the place. Different lengths and widths, which streets were main streets and which were side streets were difficult to predict at times. If Oroske wasn¡¯t there, I probably would have gotten lost really easily.

    We finally came back to the inn, probably two hours after we had left, and found Ranfa and Nadred waiting for us, with a few of our human companions tagging along. They were speaking to the Inn¡¯s proprietor.

    ¡°Oroske, we¡¯ve got bad news,¡± Ranfa greeted us grimly as we approached.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Oroske asked.

    ¡°Apparently the bridge across the canyon is out,¡± Ranfa explained, then gestured for the proprietress to explain.

    ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry,¡± the older lady began, ¡°We meant to tell you yesterday but had forgotten. The bridge that crosses the canyon to Sanctis was destroyed a few weeks ago. There¡¯s been a reconstruction effort going on since then, but we have not received word that it was finished in time. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to take another route.¡±

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Oroske thought to himself, chin in hand. ¡°Has Raen been informed?¡±

    ¡°Informed about what?¡± Raen asked as he walked out of the inn, adjusting his collar. Oroske relayed the information, and Raen copied the pose Oroske was in when he first came out. ¡°That is a problem. There is the possibility it¡¯s been repaired, and for some reason the information hasn¡¯t made its way here yet. I propose we make way for the bridge and inspect it ourselves. What say you, Oroske?¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s worth a shot. There¡¯s a small village there, correct? Perhaps while we¡¯re there we can hold a forum for the people who couldn¡¯t make it here.¡± Oroske¡¯s response came quickly.

    ¡°There is, yes,¡± Raen confirmed with a nod, ¡°I think that would be a good idea.¡± He turned to address the rest of the group, who were filing out of the inn, most of them half asleep. ¡°Alright, everybody, we¡¯ve got a couple hours before we need to leave. The bridge leading across the valley is likely still out of service. Regardless, we¡¯re gonna head there and hold a forum. If it¡¯s out, we¡¯ll be coming back here for the night, otherwise, we¡¯ll spend the night in Sanctis as per the original plan. So go buy all the supplies we¡¯ll need for the journey, and reconvene here in about two or so hours.¡± He made sure that would be ok with the innkeep, and we started splitting into groups.

    Oroske said he wanted to do some training with me, so I¡¯d be in the group with Raen and Kared again. Raen was eager to watch, saying it would be a good opportunity to see how we do our training. He chose a few of his guys to come with, Terib and Dyn¡¯ya, as well as Dyn¡¯ya¡¯s brother Elrik. The others that would be in our group this time were among the last for me to meet.

    Raen sent Terib and the others to go procure supplies with Kared as their escort, and the Dyn¡¯ya siblings would come watch my training.

    Oroske led us a fair way out, a good distance away from any buildings, in the direction of Lake Fyrun.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been doing well with magic and swordplay, Kuro,¡± Oroske started, pulling out a large sword from his Demon Sheath, plunging it into the ground and resting his hands on it. ¡°But we¡¯ve been neglecting your Energy Manipulation capabilities. You¡¯ve got a fair amount of talent with the sword, and you¡¯re very capable with magic, thanks to your versatile pass-throughs. But I would say your real strength lies in Energy Manipulation.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± I questioned him as our companions sat down on the grass. ¡°How else could I use Energy Manipulation beyond Demon Sheath and Acceleration?¡±

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s lots of ways. Most of them you¡¯ll find just by experimenting with the technique, but I can show you a couple to start off with.¡± He began his explanation. ¡°First off, try summoning a weapon from your Demon Sheath.¡±

    I did as he said. I¡¯d gotten really used to using Demon Sheath, and no longer needed to draw out the full length of my weapon, instead ¡®throwing¡¯ the energy out with a flick of my wrist. My mentor and his peers were still miles ahead of me however, it seemed like they didn¡¯t even need to move their hands at all to use it. As I sent the energy out, however, it felt like the commands weren¡¯t received, and I felt the energy jolt back against my palm. I looked down and sure enough my weapon wasn¡¯t there. I tried again, paying closer attention this time. Sure enough, I felt the same feedback, and my weapon didn¡¯t come, as though something was interfering. I focused my vision so that I could see the energy, and saw a solid sphere of it swirling around my hands. When I tried to summon my weapon a third time, it flashed briefly right as the feedback hit my hand.

    ¡°Do you understand it?¡± Oroske asked from where he stood, having not moved even slightly the entire time.

    ¡°Somehow you¡¯re able to block my Demon Sheath. That¡¯s really annoying.¡± I said, shaking my hand, trying to get the energy sphere to leave. I didn¡¯t have any luck, and it stayed stuck.

    ¡°Correct. You can use the energy to block other people¡¯s manipulation techniques. Against most Humans it¡¯s not particularly useful, but if you¡¯re up against a Demon or Half-Demon, or one of the few Humans who have learned to use Energy Manipulation, it¡¯s a good skill to have.¡± The lecture had begun in earnest. ¡°It¡¯s main downside is that you can only use it before they¡¯ve activated their technique. Well, that, and it requires a lot of concentration to keep it active. But that does mean the best time for it is before combat begins. It can throw your opponent off and grant you an easy opening to start with.¡±

    Oroske pulled his weapon out of the ground and sent it back in his sheath. ¡°While you can practice on yourself, I think it¡¯d be beneficial to get some practice on an actual target. I¡¯ll count down from ten before I pull out my weapon, see if you can successfully block it in that time.¡± He raised a hand above his head, and said he¡¯d summon it in that hand.

    He began counting almost immediately. I had to think quickly. I finally thought of the command that I felt would successfully block it when he reached three seconds. And sent out the command as though I were throwing a dart, aimed directly at his hand. I kept in mind what he said about concentration, and did my best to keep the command in mind. I saw the sphere appear around his hand right as he said ¡°one.¡± The sphere flashed briefly and he smiled.

    ¡°Good job, you managed to get it,¡± he applauded me, ¡°Just in the nick of time, too. Now, to show you the next thing.¡± He told me to make sure I¡¯m focusing so I can see the energy, and if I broke concentration on the command to re-apply it. I did break concentration in my joy that I got it in time, so I had to send it back over. He demonstrated the block still worked once, before taking his other hand to where the sphere was. The energy flashed, and the sphere suddenly shattered, once again sending the same feedback from earlier back to me. He then summoned his weapon once again.

    ¡°The lesson here,¡± he began again, sticking the sword back into the ground, ¡°is that blocks and other methods of interference can be blocked and broken themselves. In a battle between two people who use Energy Manipulation, you must be able to block any sort of interference that comes your way, while also being able to attempt to block your opponent¡¯s techniques.

    ¡°Of course, a battle where the combatants only use Energy Manipulation would generally only happen if they agree on that as a rule. In almost every combat situation, magic or swordplay will be the primary method of battle. Either way however, it¡¯s just as important to have a good grasp on offensive and defensive Energy Manipulation techniques, as it is to have the same for swordplay and magic techniques.¡±

    He decided to show me a few more techniques. By that I mean he used a few other techniques on me, and told me to try and figure them out for myself. Through this I learned it¡¯s entirely possible to use Energy Manipulation as a weapon, literally and figuratively. One technique he showed me was forming a sword out of the energy, which didn¡¯t cut, but was very effective at stunning. Another was using the energy to grab and move around objects and people, though that one was really hard to use properly.

    We continued training for a while longer, until Kared came to gather up the groups, the rest of our entourage in tow. We cleaned up, and began our journey towards the bridge.

 29: No-Name Village

    [Small villages, in both the Human and Demon Realms

    Commonly do not have officially recognized names.

    This can be for a variety of reasons, but it

    Prevents the village from becoming officially recognized.]

    Fyrun Inn¡¯s proprietress walked with us out to the edge of the city. As we walked Raen confirmed with her their plans, and that we¡¯ll be able to come back and stay the night if needed. I really dreaded the idea of walking all the way back here after already walking all the way to the bridge village.

    From the edge of the city, I could see the top of a pair of columns, which Oroske explained are part of the bridge, and are part of the structure that holds it up. The path continued downhill for a bit, going back up and over a steep hill.

    The trek there was long and not very interesting. Thankfully I had people to talk with to pass the time.

    ¡°So what¡¯s the name of this village we¡¯re going to?¡± I asked Kared and the Dyn¡¯ya siblings, seeing Oroske and Raen were deep in their own conversation.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have one,¡± Vai¡¯ra responded very matter-of-factly.

    ¡°Only because it has several,¡± Kared interjected, ¡°No proposed name has stuck, and even the people who live there can¡¯t agree on one. Because of that, the Parliament has yet to recognize it as an official settlement, among other reasons.¡±

    ¡°Really? Sounds weird to not have a name for your home town,¡± I said, trying to wrap my head around the idea.

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty common on both sides of the rift,¡± Elrik chimed in, ¡°I¡¯ve taken jobs in a lot of small villages with no name. Most of them are just because the people can¡¯t decide on a name, but a few are because the villagers don¡¯t want to name it, to help keep their location discreet.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Well, when you¡¯re doing something illegal, or something you otherwise don¡¯t want to be caught doing, it¡¯s only natural that you¡¯d want the location you are doing those things to be a secret.¡± He explained as though it were obvious, ¡°For example, while it isn¡¯t illegal, trenui merchants will move their ¡®stock¡¯ around, switching between a number of no-name villages. Groups that are well-known for treating trenui poorly will even build these villages after running from their enemies.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± Vai¡¯ra commented, annoyance apparent in her voice, ¡°Some of them are frustratingly good at throwing up a village in one day, then disappearing within an hour of us finding them.¡±

    ¡°You and your squad, or rather the whole military, spend way more effort on those guys than their worth. If you ask me, anyway.¡± Elrik said in a snarky tone with a shrug.

    ¡°Well it¡¯s a good thing I wasn¡¯t asking you,¡± she said, pushing him roughly.

    Kared chuckled a little as she watched the two get into an argument. Which probably would have become a full blown fight if we weren¡¯t trying to get to our destination as fast as possible. I asked what she was laughing at, to which she replied, ¡°Oh, nothing really. They just remind me of my siblings back home.¡±

    ¡°Wait, you have siblings?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± She exclaimed, then thought for a moment, ¡°Well, more or less anyway. I¡¯ve got a handful of half-brothers and half-sisters. On both my mother and father¡¯s side. My father had kids with at least four different women, two of them he courted at the same time. My mother¡­ She¡¯s¡­ A special case, let¡¯s say. I¡¯m the only kid she had with my father, but she¡¯s had children with several other men. From my knowledge, she only ever has one kid with a guy before she runs off, leaving the kid in the father¡¯s care.¡±

    ¡°That sounds awful.¡±

    ¡°Awful, that¡¯s a good word for it,¡± she laughed, ¡°In any case, from what few of her other children I¡¯ve met have said, all of her children hold heavy grudges against her.¡± She fell silent for a moment. ¡°Let¡¯s change subjects. I don¡¯t really like talking about my family affairs.¡±

    I could tell she was worried about saying too much, so I agreed. ¡°Well, what about my family? Did you know my parents at all?¡±

    ¡°Naturally, your mom was Oroske¡¯s sister, so I met her a few times. I¡¯d seen her husband once or twice, but never really got to meet him. I can¡¯t say I was very close to your mother either.¡± Kared was silent as she reminisced. ¡°She wasn¡¯t the greatest fighter, probably a little below Nadred¡¯s level, if not equal to him. But she was smart, incredibly so. She¡¯d definitely give Nadred a run for his money, even now. She was Danfis¡¯s go to for diplomatic missions for a good long while too. Of course-¡± She cut herself off, then cleared her throat, ¡°Nevermind, that¡¯s not important.¡±

    She examined me closely in silence. ¡°You definitely look like your dad, from the couple times I¡¯d seen him. Though, you get your hair from your mom I¡¯d say.¡± That made me smile for some reason. I suppose it was nice to hear about how I take after my parents.

    We walked in silence for a solid few minutes, while the other members of our group kept chatting.

    Eventually I broke the silence with another question, ¡°What are things like in the Crimson Twilight? Like, what do you do there?¡± I say the question broke the silence, but it seemed to create silence for the rest of our group. Their conversation almost immediately halted, and they even seemed to slow their pace so they could listen in on Kared¡¯s response.

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    She was hesitant to say anything, letting out a nervous chuckle. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t really say a whole lot right now about that¡­ But it¡¯s not too different from the Tsumi Clan, at least in concept. The Twilight takes on the same sort of jobs the clan does, the primary difference is the source of the jobs. The clan takes on official, ¡®public¡¯ contracts, sent to us by the relevant governments for whatever the job is. For example, our job in the City of Towers was sent in by the ¡®local¡¯ government, or the city¡¯s government. However, the Twilight rarely receives offers and requests from official sources. Instead, the vast majority of jobs they take on are called ¡®private¡¯ contracts. Generally speaking, these are jobs submitted by citizens that official sources decline to send to the clans. It can be pretty much any type of job, from escorting people to Restless and Necromancer Hunts, to the more discreet and secretive jobs the Tsumi do. Officials can decline for any reason, and it¡¯s not uncommon for certain job types to be deemed hoaxes or unimportant by the relevant authorities.

    ¡°As for life in the Twilight, it¡¯s not too different from the clan. A whole lot of people running around, hoping to get the jobs they want before they get scooped up by someone else. The main differences are in the culture. Especially with how the young are raised. In the clan, not everyone is a fighter, not everyone becomes a Hunter. But if someone is born in the Twilight, even if they don¡¯t become an active contractor, they still are taught to fight. And unless you get lucky, growing up there is tough. Many people can only just barely afford to cover their own living costs, no less a child who can¡¯t support the family.¡± I could tell Kared wanted to say something more, but was holding her tongue for some reason. She waved her hand as though to dismiss the topic, and said that if she were to keep talking she¡¯d end up saying too much.

    Vai¡¯ra and Raen seemed disappointed that she refused to keep talking, and Elrik just kept facing forward with a straight face during her talk. Oroske simply nodded in understanding of her situation.

    We continued walking in relative silence, and I was too distracted taking in the sights to pay attention to the conversations that were happening. Shortly after Kared ended the conversation, we crested the steep hill, which quickly began descending once more. From the top of the hill we could see a very small village, with no more than five buildings. Beyond the village, the two large pillars were matched on the other side of a large, deep canyon that I could not see the bottom of. Between the pairs of pillars was the beginnings of a bridge that seemed like it was destroyed from the center point.

    ¡°Odd, I would have thought repairs would have been further than that by now,¡± Oroske worried.

    ¡°It¡¯s possible something has been keeping them from performing the repairs,¡± Raen reasoned, ¡°We should probably figure out what¡¯s going on.¡±

    After the rest of the group agreed, we began moving again. The last leg of the journey was nice because it was downhill, but it was rather steep so we had to make sure we didn¡¯t go too quickly.

    Upon arriving in the village, we were greeted by sights of despondent villagers. Some sitting down on the ground, staring at the ground, some roaming aimlessly. The air was heavy with grief and despair. We made our way to the second largest building, which I thought was just a large store. Turns out I wasn¡¯t too far off, but it was actually a sheltered marketplace. Empty stalls formed a handful of aisles going down the length of the structure. The forefront stall was the only one inhabited, and even then it had a paltry selection of items. Come to think of it, I didn¡¯t see any farms or anything like that nearby, I realized.

    ¡°Ah, welcome,¡± a young, frightfully skinny man greeted us as he rose from behind the stall, a small crate in hand, ¡°You must be the Peace Party, yes? Did our message not make it to Fyrun?¡±

    ¡°No, it did,¡± Raen stated, ¡°We simply decided we should come see how things are for ourselves.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry you had to see us in this sorry state,¡± The man said as he set his crate down on the counter. ¡°Things have been going rather poorly for us since the bridge was destroyed. It is the cornerstone of our village¡¯s economy after all. With the bridge being out, we haven¡¯t been getting anyone passing through the village, and therefore nobody to make trades with, and no customers to sell to.¡±

    ¡°I see, that is troublesome. I take it that trading is how this village survives, typically?¡± Raen asked, to which the young man simply nodded.

    ¡°We saw on our way that the bridge¡¯s repairs looked like they hadn¡¯t really even started,¡± Oroske began as Raen thought to himself, ¡°What¡¯s been going on here?¡±

    ¡°Bandits and terrorists, that¡¯s what,¡± The man said, frustration more than apparent in his voice. ¡°At first, they¡¯d simply destroy whatever progress had been made, forcing us to wait for the next set of construction supplies before we could continue working. Even then we¡¯d have to wait for them to go back and bring the stuff we already should have had. But now I think they¡¯ve gotten even more aggressive. We haven¡¯t seen a shipment from Ish¡¯din in nearly two weeks. I worry that these bandits are attacking our suppliers on their way here.¡±

    ¡°That would do it,¡± Oroske said grimly, ¡°We¡¯ll get to the bottom of this, I promise.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, but we can¡¯t afford the Tsumi Clan¡¯s help,¡± the young man argued.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to. The matter of this bridge concerns more than just your village. It¡¯s an important part of Ishen¡¯s infrastructure. We¡¯ll bring up the issue at the conference, and I¡¯m certain we¡¯ll be able to work together with the Parliament to get this situation resolved soon.¡±

    The young man was brought to tears, and thanked us fervently. We asked if there were any other issues he knew of that needed to be brought up and he shook his head.

    We exited the building and decided to split up into our three groups again. My group decided we would go look at the bridge more closely, while the other two groups split up to speak to the villagers.

    When we got to the bridge it was easy to see exactly how much damage had been done. Roughly a third of the bridge was completely destroyed. Or so I thought, when Oroske stepped near the edge and looked straight down, into what was in my mind an abyss. ¡°Yep, that¡¯d be the best way to do it,¡± he said. Curious, I walked over and cautiously peered over. The height was dizzying and made me feel sick. But all the way down at the bottom was a river, with large pieces of stone jutting out of the water, which matched the appearance of the bridge¡¯s stone. Oroske had to pull me back, as I was swaying from dizziness.

    ¡°Looks like they detonated both sides at the same time. The central part of the bridge looks like it fell down pretty evenly. With how little construction equipment there is here, we definitely won¡¯t be able to cross it now, nor use it on our way back.¡± Oroske explained to Raen.

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t we use magic or something to get across?¡± I asked.

    ¡°In theory, sure. But to securely bridge that distance for a single person would require a tremendous amount of focus and power output. You¡¯d probably need two people, one for power, one for endurance to make it happen. And that¡¯s just for a single person, a group our size would be near impossible.¡± Kared explained.

    The bridge situation more clearly understood, we determined we would, in fact, need to take the long way around. We collected the rest of our party, and began the return trip to Fyrun. Our other groups briefed us on what they learned, which was unsurprisingly not a whole lot. Most of the people said all or most of their issues stem from the issue with the bridge.

 30: Oruou

    [The Demon Realm¡¯s fourth largest city, just barely

    Beat out by Al¡¯din. Its name combines Orun and Jarou, and refers

    To the natural dam on which the city sits.]

    Our journey back to Fyrun was peaceful, if unbearably hot. While noon is effectively mid-day, it still ends up being that a few hours after that is when the day is at its hottest. And that just happens to be when we left. So, aside from me wanting to whine and complain about the heat, but having to keep it in, ¡°lest we look unprofessional in front of Lord Raen,¡± as Oroske put it, it was a peaceful journey. I didn¡¯t engage in much conversation myself, but mostly listened to the others speak.

    I listened to Oroske tell Raen that the city our detour will take us through is just on the other side of this very dense, very tall forest. I also overheard the name of the city is Oru¡¯ou, which is a fun word to say. When asked why we couldn¡¯t simply travel through the forest and straight to Oru¡¯ou, Oroske explained that navigating the forest is a huge pain to navigate, due to its density. And while we couldn¡¯t see much of it from where we were, its terrain is rough and hilly. We would either arrive in Oru¡¯ou after all the inns close, or we¡¯d end up spending the night in the forest, which isn¡¯t a safe place to sleep. ¡°Especially as travelers in our situation.¡± He finished his explanation.

    No other conversations really stood out to me, and I scarcely remember any details about them. Regardless, the trip back to Fyrun felt significantly shorter than the trip to the bridge village.

    Sure enough, we got back pretty late, late into the sun setting, long shadows being cast by the Western mountains. The inn¡¯s proprietress met us at the town¡¯s entrance, and showed us to our rooms at the inn. We roomed with the groups we traveled with as usual. My group all just went to sleep without talking much, but I could hear Ranfa¡¯s group making quite the commotion in the room next to ours. I imagined Nadred and Jarou¡¯s group were probably chatting as well, but I couldn¡¯t hear them from across the hall. As much as I would have liked to chat with people more, my exhaustion won and I fell asleep very quickly.

    That night I dreamt of that girl, my ¡®Second Soul,¡¯ again. The dream was hazy at best, and I couldn¡¯t remember much. Aside from her running through a thick forest, the trees¡¯ roots snarled and came up out of the dirt all over. The dream was over quickly, and it faded from my memory even faster.

    For once, Oroske didn¡¯t wake me up super early. In fact, I was the last one of my group to wake up. Oroske, Raen, and Vai¡¯ra were already outside, chatting in the hallway.

    ¡°It¡¯ll take almost a full day to get there, will that work with the conference schedule?¡± I heard Oroske ask Raen as I exited into the hall.

    ¡°I believe it should, we usually give ourselves a two day buffer for cases like this. And so far we¡¯ve been following the schedule pretty closely, so we should be able to make it in time,¡± Raen responded, ¡°Just means we won¡¯t get a free day in Ish¡¯din, and we¡¯ll have to keep moving almost the entire time.¡± The very idea of not being able to take many breaks during our journey was enough to make me feel exhausted. ¡°We¡¯ll also need to leave very soon. We should probably just purchase whatever supplies we may need and get on the road.¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Vai¡¯ra concurred, ¡°The sooner we go the better, if you ask me.¡±

    Everyone agreed and we went to collect the rest of our party. We found Nadred and Jarou sitting on their beds, waiting for the Humans in our group to wake up, chatting quietly so as to not disturb their sleep. Vai¡¯ra decided that while it was a nice notion, it was probably too nice. She walked in the room loudly, walked up to the guy closest to the door, who was already stirred by her loud footsteps, and yanked the blanket off him. Thankfully he was still wearing some clothes and was well covered up under the blanket. His noises of surprise woke the others. ¡°Hurry up and get dressed, we need to leave as soon as possible,¡± Vai¡¯ra commanded.

    Raen and Terib reviewed the current stock of supplies while we waited for them to get ready. After much careful deliberation, taking into account the current time, the time it would take to get there, and other possible factors that may come into play later, they determined it would be rough, but we should be able to make it to Oru¡¯ou with the supplies we have.

    Once everyone was awake and ready to depart, Oroske briefed us on the road ahead. ¡°We¡¯ll leave through the South exit out of town and follow that road. It¡¯s mostly a straight shot going Southwest, and primarily downhill, thankfully. However, it¡¯s still very close to Fyrun here, and the route has been a hot-spot for Sigil and bandit encounters as of late. Sigils are one thing, we Tsumi can take care of them easily. Bandits are another, however, and if we encounter any things may get hairy, depending on their strength, numbers, and motivations. That said, hopefully we won¡¯t encounter either. We are in luck, as it seems like it¡¯s going to rain in this region today, so the heat isn¡¯t going to be as bad today as it has been.

    ¡°That¡¯s all,¡± he finished, then turned to Raen, ¡°Is there anything else we need to do or discuss before we leave?¡±

    Raen shook his head, ¡°Just that we¡¯ll be staying the night there in Oru¡¯ou, and if we take too long we may not be able to get an inn. So let¡¯s not dally, and get going.¡±

    The old lady that took care of us during our stay saw us off, along with a couple other members of the community. The Southwestern road leading out of the city was much rougher than the one that went to the bridge, and through the main part of town. In fact, while those were properly paved, this road was more like packed dirt. I imagined the journey from Fyrun to Oru¡¯ou wouldn¡¯t be particularly comfortable even in an Aeth¡¯mobile.

    It took nearly a mile before the slope went from a barely noticeable decline to a noticeable one, and at that same point it curved a bit more Westward. The terrain in general started going more downhill, and from the point where it curved, you could see Der¡¯venn¡¯ya, way off in the distance, over the treetops. Looking along the path we were following, it was a mostly straight shot with the occasional, very small, insignificant curves. The road was surrounded by dense forest, several types of trees making for an interesting spectrum of colors, from almost pure-white wood, to dark oak, to even pitch-black ebony. On occasion, the treeline would break, and a small path through the woods would appear. In a couple spots, paths appeared even where the treeline was solid, and weren¡¯t nearly as visible as the other spots. The trees next to these almost-invisible paths also bore strange markings cut into their wood. Finally, looking all the way down the path, you could see it curve slightly once more. It felt like that point was ages away.

    We had made it probably half way, mostly walking in silence, when suddenly loud crashing noises came from the forest. A small clump of trees next to the path suddenly burst across our vision, large pieces of wooden shrapnel going everywhere over the path. Following the trees, a large, light gray Sigil lumbered out into the open. Its body was horribly disfigured. The Sigils I¡¯d seen until now were disproportional and disfigured, but still recognizable as being some-what humanoid. This one however, had really mangled-looking limbs, was walking on all fours and just generally seemed like a beast. Its limbs actually had an extra pivot point, which contributed to its mangled-look. As it turned its head to face us, it revealed it had an unhinged jaw and three eyes.

    ¡°Great Guardians, that¡¯s an ugly beast,¡± Oroske cursed. He turned around and shouted, ¡°Nadred! You¡¯re up! Kuro,¡± He lowered his voice, ¡°Help him out. Good luck!¡± He pushed me out towards the monster as Nadred ran up to the front, weapon in hand.

    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    ¡°You ready?¡± Nadred asked me. After I nodded in response, he told me to take the lead.

    I sprinted full-speed at the beast, summoning my scythe, the blade trailing behind me in the air. I jumped up in the air, augmenting my height with wind magic, and focused so I could see the red energy. I threw it out like a rope, straining my focus to command it to wrap around the monster¡¯s front-left limb, and try and pull it up to knock the beast off balance. I succeeded, to some degree anyway. The limb was lifted a couple feet off the ground before my concentration broke, and with it the energy rope. Thankfully, that was enough to knock it off balance for a moment. By then I was pretty much right above it, and ready to attack. I flipped my scythe around, and with a burst of wind magic began my rapid descent, spinning around, the scythe blade spinning like a saw.

    I thought for sure I had enough power and speed to cut clean through the limb I had pulled, but my scythe was stopped not even half-way through the cut. It let out a terrible howl and threw me off. I had to hold onto my scythe with an iron grip so it wouldn¡¯t get left behind, or thrown off somewhere else. I clicked my tongue in frustration, and began my next attack.

    I decided I¡¯d attempt to use magic offensively for the first time in a while, as I usually used it to augment my physical abilities. I once again threw myself into the air with wind and carefully considered my options. Well, sentem and selr are both solid options as they¡¯re my affinities. I don¡¯t really have any grasp on aspects, so elemental attacks are my best bet, I thought. Let¡¯s try hitting it with a powerful lightning slash, probably the same spot I hit earlier.

    I focused on re-creating the spell from the lightning blade scrolls Oroske bought me for my previous Hunt. I didn¡¯t get it exactly right, but it was pretty close. The main thing I failed to recreate was the range-limiting part, which probably made the blade itself weaker. I managed to hit the exact spot I hit before, but once again the blade was stopped short. If the cut was any deeper, it wasn¡¯t noticeable. I tried driving the blade further but to no avail. While I still failed to cut the limb off, it seems the lightning was successful in spreading through the monster¡¯s body and stunned it. I figured the stun wouldn¡¯t last long though, so I had to take advantage of it quickly. I shot a powerful wind blade at the monster¡¯s face, after landing almost directly in front of it. The magic seemed to have no effect, however, as it seemed like the blade just bounced off of its tough flesh.

    That¡¯s when Nadred walked up to it, and said ¡°Stab its neck with your scythe, and I¡¯ll try to neutralize it with magic.¡±

    I did as he instructed, though it took me a couple swings before I got it to go into the flesh. It seemed as though it was very resistant to magic, and almost like it was armored. I dug the blade as deep as I could, but the flesh didn¡¯t even swallow half of it until I couldn¡¯t get it any deeper. ¡°Send selr through your scythe and keep it stunned, if you would,¡± Nadred ordered as it let out a nigh-deafening howl.

    I did as he asked. After it seemed to sit still, Nadred lifted his hand up to its face. A small blue-green circle with a triangle in it appeared in front of his palm, and he began saying something under his breath. Once he finished, the circle flashed, and from it erupted a blinding blue light. I felt the magic sending feedback through my scythe in the form of very intense vibrations. I lost focus of my stunning magic for half a second, which was enough time for the beast to break loose, letting out another shriek. My scythe was ripped from my hands as it reared its head.

    I looked over at Nadred, who was on one knee, clearly struggling to keep himself upright. I panicked and ran over to him, grabbing him and taking him away from the Sigil¡¯s retaliation. ¡°Damn it all,¡± he cursed, ¡°If only I had a little more strength.¡± I set him down to rest and turned to face the Sigil once more.

    Its tough skin was massively dented on its head, and looked like it was cracked open a bit. I figured that would probably be my best shot at beating it. I pulled my sword from my Demon Sheath, and once again charged at it.

    I augmented my speed with wind magic, and jumped at it, spinning in such a way that I could put all of my force and weight into my sword, hoping to drive it into the monster¡¯s forehead in one hit. Its skin might be resistant to magic, I realized as I was preparing to send more lightning through my sword. I might have better odds without it this time.

    My sword hit a little off the epicenter of Nadred¡¯s blast. Thankfully, it seemed the contact point was tenderized enough that the blade broke through. My sword stopped once the blade was roughly half-way in, and the Sigil retaliated in pain once again. I had to hang on for dear life, lest I get thrown off and lose my best chance at victory. I had no time to think, I just had to act. I decided to send fyrun into my blade instead, commanding the aether to explode near the tip. I sent as much aether and power into it as I could.

    The resulting blast exploded the head from within, leaving almost no trace that there even was a head attached to the beast¡¯s neck. All that remained intact was the unhinged jaw, which buried itself into the dirt road from the force of the blast. Unfortunately, the head was not the only thing that had been destroyed. From a little lower than where it had entered the head, my sword¡¯s blade was completely obliterated. Upon closer inspection, I found there were fragments of the blade all over the ground.

    I was thankful that this was a Sigil, and not some run-of-the-mill beast, otherwise I and the surrounding area would be caked in blood. Instead, I was caked in the dusty, ashy remains of the soulless monster.

    As the Sigil¡¯s body disintegration reached the neck, my scythe fell to the ground with a clang.

    ¡°Well done, Kuro, Nadred,¡± Oroske congratulated, ¡°I¡¯ll admit, I severely underestimated the Sigil¡¯s strength. It would have been much safer to have Kared or I fight it.¡±

    ¡°Indeed it would have,¡± Nadred said as he stumbled to his feet. ¡°But I¡¯m grateful for an opportunity to test myself.¡±

    Oroske laughed in response, ¡°Yes, I suppose you would like that.¡± He looked over at me, ¡°I¡¯m impressed by your quick thinking, Kuro. That¡¯s what really saved the day here. But really, you both did great. If you hadn¡¯t worked together, this probably would¡¯ve turned out much worse.¡±

    I thanked him for the praise. It felt wrong for him to praise me as highly as he did. And to imply that I did most of the work. I¡¯m a little surprised that Nadred got so exhausted so quickly, I thought, perhaps that spell was much more powerful than I thought.

    After Nadred regained some more of his energy, and I collected my scythe, we quickly began traveling again.

    ¡°Is Nadred okay?¡± I asked Oroske after we¡¯d been walking for almost an hour. I was worried about how exhausted he seemed after the fight.

    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯ll be okay.¡± He said flatly, ¡°He doesn¡¯t have a whole lot of endurance when it comes to using magic, much to his annoyance. He can let out a large burst all at once just fine, but it¡¯ll leave him out of commission for at least a couple hours. But even using small amounts of magic, he can only do so consecutively for a few minutes. A bit ironic that the guy who dedicates so much time to studying magic can¡¯t use it for very long.¡± He was silent for a minute, ¡°Oh, don¡¯t tell him I said that, he¡¯ll probably punch me.¡±

    I wanted to ask more questions, but I decided I¡¯d wait until we arrived at our destination. Which took a few more hours from then.

    After the slight curve, it met up with a more properly paved road, and from there it was a short distance to Oru¡¯ou.

    The city was located entirely on a rock that formed a natural dam in the river. There were small bridges on each side to close the gap between the island and the rest of the land. The river gushed underneath these bridges and around the rock loudly and made waterfalls as it went lower into the ravine.

    Suddenly, the name Oru¡¯ou, being composed of the words for water and stone, made more sense.

    Having arrived a little after sunset, we ended up having to hop between a few different inns before finding one with openings. We had wanted to find one near the West side exit, but ended up settling for one on the Northern edge of town. We all had to bunk in a single room, as that was all that was available. Many of us ended up sleeping on the floor. Thankfully the hotel staff provided extra pillows and blankets. I¡¯m pretty sure all of us fell asleep almost immediately after laying down. At least, I know I did.

 31: Sanctis

    [The walled city that acts as the gates to Ish¡¯din.

    Its name predates the Grand War, and its meaning is unknown,

    Though it is commonly thought to mean Sanctuary.]

    Oroske woke me up super early again, shaking my body and forcing me to reluctantly get out of bed. The room was very dim, and looking out the window I could see that the sun hadn¡¯t even properly risen yet. The pre-sunrise light had begun flooding the valley, slowly lighting it up. ¡°What are we doing today?¡± I asked Oroske, still half-asleep.

    ¡°We¡¯re departing from here early,¡± he said flatly as he swung his cloak and bag onto his shoulders. ¡°Everyone¡¯s already awake, most of the group is outside already. Decided I¡¯d let you and Nadred sleep a little longer after your tough battle yesterday. So get dressed quickly, the sooner we leave the better.¡±

    I sleepily lumbered around, picking up my cloak and shirt off the ground. As I put them on, I noticed Nadred writing in a book, his eyes betraying his desire to sleep. ¡°What are you writing?¡± I asked him as I slipped my arms through my jacket sleeves.

    ¡°Oh, this?¡± He looked up at me, ¡°It¡¯s just a journal. I don¡¯t write in it every day, but I try to do so on a somewhat regular basis.¡±

    ¡°What kind of stuff do you put in there?¡±

    ¡°Just the general things that have happened since the last time I wrote. I try to log anything new I¡¯ve learned and any new experiences I¡¯ve gained. This entry I¡¯m writing about everything from when we left Al¡¯din to now. I was just finishing up writing about our battle yesterday.¡± He fell silent as he looked back down at the page. He looked sad for a moment, but then looked back at me with a smile, ¡°You were very impressive yesterday. I¡¯m glad we were able to take out such a strong Sigil without any injuries. That¡¯s mostly thanks to your quick actions.¡± He looked back down, the same sad face appearing once again. ¡°Now if only I were just a bit stronger. Had Oroske or Kared been fighting with you, the fight could have ended much faster.¡±

    ¡°Stop beating yourself up about it, Nadred,¡± Oroske¡¯s voice sounded from the door, ¡°What you lack in physical and magical strength, you more than make up for with emotional and mental strength.¡± He walked over to Nadred and put his hand on his shoulder, ¡°I know we¡¯ve had this conversation at least a couple dozen times by now, but this stuff bears repeating.¡±

    Nadred smiled at the words of his friend, ¡°Thanks, Oroske. But, I still wish I was better in fights.¡± There was a small, slightly awkward pause before Nadred spoke again, ¡°Well, I¡¯m gonna finish writing this entry. Do you think I should work on a report for that Sigil? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever heard of that type before, it might be new.¡±

    ¡°I think that¡¯d be a good idea. It¡¯d be good information for the Clan to have regardless. But it¡¯ll have to wait, at least until we arrive in Sanctis. We really need to get stocked up on supplies and get out on the road, lest we arrive in Sanctis too late.¡± Oroske urged us to be quick, and went out to reconvene with the rest of the party.

    After slipping my shoes on, I told Nadred I¡¯d meet him out there, and went outside. The inn we stayed in was different from the others I¡¯d been in so far. Instead of hallways connecting to all the rooms, all of the rooms were connected by outdoor walkways. The building made a U shape, with the center being a courtyard type area, which is where my comrades were gathered. I remembered climbing stairs to get to our room, but I didn¡¯t realize we were on the fourth floor. I was already tired, and dreading just walking down the stairs to the ground level. I tried to keep my mind off the fact we have a very long walk to Sanctis ahead of us.

    I was rubbing my eyes as I joined the group, who were all chatting quite loudly about random stuff. I just stood around, resting my eyes as we waited for Nadred to show up. Thankfully, we weren¡¯t waiting very long and we were able to get moving quickly. We stopped at a small shop near the city¡¯s West gate to procure supplies. Mostly food and water, but Oroske bought everybody a drink called Selr¡¯tur Water. It had a very refreshing looking light blue color to it, but it smelled awful and tasted worse. He bought it because it was made to give people a lot of energy, and I gotta give it to the creator, it certainly woke me up. I wondered if the feeling of pure revulsion to the taste is part of the energizing process. As I was wondering which Guardian allowed the creation of such a concoction, I noticed the majority of the Humans in our care were actually enjoying the drink. I asked Raen, who I¡¯d come to find was the most approachable out of the group, despite being a Lord and the leader of their party, how they were able to enjoy it.

    ¡°Well, this is actually a rather popular drink in the Human Realm,¡± he started, ¡°It''s most certainly an acquired taste, I remember hating it as a kid. But as I got older and I started drinking it more, I started to enjoy it. I think that¡¯s probably the case for most of us.¡±

    ¡°Why did you start drinking it in the first place?¡± I asked as the group began walking out of the city.

    ¡°Terib, my right-hand man, gave me some of his when the drink first started becoming popular. It started being popular because people would give it to their unsuspecting friends to watch their reaction. He drank it, and it¡¯s more, shall we say, potent, predecessor long before then. Guys like him, and the military in general drink it a lot because they have a lot of days like the one we just had, and are having. Where you work really hard, don¡¯t sleep very much, then the next day work just as hard.¡±

    Now that we were outside of the city, and across the bridge, Oroske and Raen began dividing up the groups. We ended up deciding that we¡¯d keep things mostly the same from the previous day, but shake up where the Tsumi Clan mentors are. Nadred and Ranfa were brought up to the front group with me, Raen, Vai¡¯ra, and Terib. Oroske joined Fyr in the center group, and Kared was with Jarou in the back. I felt a little bad for Fyr, as he seemed more than a little intimidated by Oroske and Kared.

    Once we were all in position, Raen led the march away from Oru¡¯ou. The road here was a refreshing change of pace from yesterday¡¯s forest-lined dirt path. The path followed the river North, at a slight incline. To our left about a mile away were massive, towering cliffs. I had to almost strain my neck to see the top. I had seen the mountains in the distance as we walked before, but I never really realized how steep they were. I was assuming they were just very tall, probably somewhat steep hills, but in reality they were practically just sheer cliffs. At least, that¡¯s what I could see from where I was, maybe it was different on the various plateaus. Their orange-brown coloring was also a nice change from the greens of the forest and hills we¡¯d traversed over the past few days.

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    I suddenly recalled being able to see the Royal City of the Human Realm from Tsumi¡¯din, and realized I hadn¡¯t caught even a small glimpse of Ish¡¯din this entire time. Curious, and not wanting to interrupt Nadred and Raen¡¯s conversation, I asked Ranfa about it.

    ¡°Ish¡¯din is high and deep into the mountains,¡± She explained simply, ¡°It¡¯s not the kind of place that¡¯s very open. If you knew exactly where to look and you looked really hard, you could see small bits of the city¡¯s taller structures from near Al¡¯din. Beyond that, you won¡¯t really see much of it unless you¡¯re in the city. Which will only happen if you get permission while in Sanctis.¡±

    I asked her what she meant by that.

    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t know? In order for anybody, and I do mean anybody, to enter Ish¡¯din, they must pass through a security checkpoint in Sanctis first. They¡¯ve got really strict rules for who can and can¡¯t enter the city. For example, only Parliament approved merchant companies can go in and out of Ish¡¯din. Any other merchants will sell their goods to these companies so that they can be sold in the city. Even us Hunters, and the Ishen and Incol guys aren¡¯t always allowed in, surprisingly.¡±

    ¡°Wait, really? I¡¯m guessing we only get to go in when we¡¯re hired for a job?¡±

    ¡°Yep, more or less anyway,¡± she confirmed. She suddenly adopted a very angry look, ¡°The parliament will do everything they can to not work with the clans. Particularly us Tsumi.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡±

    ¡°Who knows,¡± she said with a shrug, ¡°about ten years ago the current ruler took the throne, and our relationship with the city hasn¡¯t been the same since.¡±

    Around an hour and a half after our discussion finished, the road began to curve away from the river, and start going towards the mountains. We decided to take a short break at that point. From where we sat, Nadred pointed out to Ranfa and I that if you went to the edge of the river and looked straight upstream, you could see the tips of the bridge spires.

    We unfortunately didn¡¯t sit around very long, as we needed to get to Sanctis a few hours before sunset, and we were only one third of the way there.

    We walked in silence for another hour or so, until Nadred whispered something to Raen, and approached Ranfa and I.

    ¡°Hey, I wanted to pick you two¡¯s brains for a second, do you mind?¡± He asked.

    ¡°Not really, could use a mental distraction from the heat and all this walking,¡± Ranfa responded first, ¡°Though do you have to word it like that?¡± That last bit elicited a small laugh from Nadred, who then looked to me for my answer.

    ¡°Sure, if you think I¡¯ll be helpful.¡±

    ¡°Great, Raen and I were just talking about the bridge situation, and I kinda wanted to see what you two think of the whole deal,¡± he explained.

    To be honest, I hadn¡¯t really thought much about it at this point. Thankfully I had some time to put my thoughts together since Ranfa answered first. ¡°I think it¡¯s pretty evident that some group has definite malicious intent behind it. Normally in a case like this I¡¯d immediately think some Human group is behind it. But the bridge is so deep into Demon territory, an attack on that scale would be difficult to pull off without someone getting caught. My best guess is it¡¯s a group of Demon bandits looking to divert traffic into the forest, where they can easily pick on people for money and goods.¡±

    I had to give it to her, she not only said what I was thinking, which was the bandit¡¯s from the forest angle, but her reasoning was much more sound than mine. ¡°I was thinking the same thing, though I hadn¡¯t taken into account the possibility of Humans being behind it,¡± I voiced.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fair,¡± Ranfa said, ¡°You probably don¡¯t know a whole lot about the on-going hatred from some members of each realm, huh?¡± I simply nodded to tell her she was right. I figured there was at least some aggression from the Humans against the Demons, going off of the story Oroske told me about how I died, since that involved a Human-led terror attack on Al¡¯din. I just hadn¡¯t realized that the hatred may be to a much larger extent than I imagined.

    ¡°Raen and I are more or less in agreement,¡± Nadred said, ¡°But some information he shared with Oroske last night, and with me today suggests it may have been both.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ranfa and I asked in unison.

    ¡°According to Raen, there are rumors of a group of Humans and Demons that are working together, possibly even with some Half-Demons. Rumor has it this group was behind the Al¡¯din attack a few months ago, and are now behind this. Of course, this is all just rumor and hearsay, so we don¡¯t actually know the truth just yet.¡± He explained, ¡°But if it¡¯s true, that means a group of Humans could have been assisted by un-affiliated Halves to get to the bridge, and Demons could have even helped supply the tools and weapons used. And, if there is infact a group working together, they could probably start making bigger and bigger moves.

    ¡°What do you think, Ranfa? Do you think there¡¯s a possibility of a group like that existing?¡± Nadred asked only her, I¡¯m guessing because I was too inexperienced to give a good answer. Which I would agree with, I have no idea whether or not there could be one.

    Ranfa thought for a moment, ¡°It¡¯s certainly possible. The only question to ask would be what¡¯s their endgame? What¡¯s their goal? Y¡¯know?¡±

    ¡°I agree. Raen theorizes they could be attempting to overthrow the Realms¡¯ governments, and take over. Another theory he posed is the possibility that they may just be trying to ignite another Grand War. Why they would want that is beyond me, but it wouldn¡¯t be the first time someone has tried it.¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re not wrong about that,¡± Ranfa conceded, ¡°Crazy to think that was almost fifteen years ago now.¡±

    Nadred laughed and agreed. I, on the other hand, had no idea what they were talking about. I mentally shrugged it off, figuring I could ask Nadred or Oroske about it later.

    ¡°Well, I just wanted to see if you thought it would be a credible theory,¡± Nadred said, ¡°Helps to have more minds on a problem, right? Anyway, Sanctis should be within sight soon. We¡¯ll probably arrive in another hour or two.¡± He sped up his walking pace and caught up with Raen, and began speaking to him again. Eavesdropping in on them revealed he was relaying the conversation he¡¯d just had with us to the young Lord.

    Within another twenty or so minutes, we crested the small incline we had been walking up almost the entire day. From the crest of the hill, it went back down a short way, and you could see the walled city, Sanctis, nestled into the mountains. We still had a bit of walking left to do, and I figured Nadred¡¯s estimate was dead on.

 32: The Walled City

    [A popular nick-name for Sanctis.

    It refers to the towering walls that surround the city on all sides

    And connect to the mountains.

    These walls were originally created to house the Empire¡¯s main garrison,

    And to act as the gates to Ish¡¯din.]

    The sun had set and the darkness of night had already begun enveloping the land by the time we arrived at Sanctis¡¯s walls. They were just as, if not taller than Al¡¯din¡¯s walls, and just as imposing. Where Al¡¯din had farms and forest surrounding its walls, Sanctis had a sparse selection of run-down structures and houses. The road had met up with the road from the bridge about a 30 minute walk from the gates. From there you could see across an almost barren plain to the road that went into the city¡¯s Northern gate. The plain was bare, save for a small handful of the same run-down buildings that hugged the city wall.

    The walls surrounding the city were very thick, and judging by the doors I saw just inside the gates, actually had an interior section. Nadred would later confirm my suspicion, and said that the walls were once used to store weapons, and housed the city guards¡¯ barracks. The interior also allowed access to the top of the wall, which was one of the guards¡¯ primary positions during the War. ¡°The city itself used to be the primary hub for the Demon Empire¡¯s military. During the War almost everyone that lived in Sanctis was part of the army. If memory serves correctly, it wasn¡¯t ever used as central command, but was frequently used for training new recruits and the like.¡± He explained.

    ¡°Where did they have their central command at?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about every location, but the main location, as well as the last location, was deep in the Der¡¯venn¡¯ya Desert. Of course, back then, it wasn¡¯t a desert. It was the old capitol for a while, when the Fifth Shadow was in power. The Empire¡¯s military headquarters, and all other important buildings, were nestled up close to the mountains, much like Sanctis here.

    ¡°Now, after the final battle, all that¡¯s left is sandy ruins,¡± Nadred sounded depressed as he finished.

    But that was all at the inn that night, and I¡¯m getting a little ahead of myself.

    The city within the walls was bright and bustling, even this late at night. Ropes with small banners crossed between buildings, and the streets were full of people. Everyone, us included of course, kept to the side of the road to allow any Aeth¡¯mobiles through. Much like Al¡¯din, Sanctis was not designed with the vehicles in mind, as there were fewer streets suited for them than Al¡¯din. Thinking back, Fyrun¡¯s roads weren¡¯t really made wide enough for them, it felt more like people just happened to build their houses and shops far away enough that streets got formed between them. I wasn¡¯t sure about Oru¡¯ou, as we didn¡¯t really get much time to look around and get a feel for the city while we were there. I looked forward to the prospect of one day working in these cities again and getting more time to explore on my own.

    We eventually made our way to the center of the city, where there was a grand fountain in the middle of a giant, three-way intersection. The road to our right led out the North gate, and the road to our left led towards Ish¡¯din. There were loads of Aeth¡¯mobiles parked around the edge of the circular intersection, none of them seemed to be on.

    Near the fountain stood a group of Humans in similar attire to the ones in our care. Standing with them were a pair of familiar looking blue trench coats, as well as a group wearing similar looking black coats. ¡°Oh, looks like the Incol are here too,¡± Ranfa said as we approached them. At this point our traveling groups got pretty jumbled up, as the Humans went to speak with their fellows, and we Hunters went to speak with the Incol.

    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s a familiar face,¡± a man with short black hair, and blue eyes said as we approached. ¡°There¡¯s a few, actually.¡± He said as he looked from Oroske to Kared, then to me.

    ¡°Oh you¡¯re right!¡± The young girl next to him exclaimed, looking at Oroske. Her hair matched colors with the man¡¯s, but her eyes were an emerald green. ¡°You¡¯re that Orosk guy right?¡± She asked.

    ¡°I am, yes,¡± Oroske said, ignoring the slight mis-pronunciation of his name. To be fair, the ¡®e¡¯ sound is very quiet. He¡¯d gotten annoyed with me once since I asked him about it. Apparently that subtle sound makes a big difference to him. ¡°You two are¡­ Uri and Myr, correct?¡± He asked as he looked them both up and down.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Uri, the man, confirmed, ¡°I don¡¯t believe we got to properly introduce ourselves.¡± He turned to the rest of our group, ¡°I¡¯m Uri, an officiate in the Incol clan. This is my youngest sister, Myr, who is also an officiate. The people in the black coats are our operatives.¡± One by one they introduced themselves, though I wasn¡¯t really paying attention so none of their names stuck in my mind very long.

    After the Incols finished their introductions, we followed suit, starting with Ranfa and ending with Kared.

    ¡°Surely not the Kared, right? From the Crimson Twilight?¡± Uri asked after her introduction.

    Kared looked annoyed, and scoffed, ¡°The one and only.¡±

    ¡°Wow, we get two of the Tsumi¡¯s most infamous Hunters at once, eh?¡± He followed up.

    ¡°Yep, suppose so,¡± Kared¡¯s eyebrow twitched with annoyance as she folded her arms. She made it very clear she wasn¡¯t exactly happy with her fame.

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you with another sister in the City of Towers?¡± Oroske asked, trying to change the subject quickly.

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    ¡°Oh, yeah. Wex went to the Royal City, acting as head officiate,¡± Uri said, his voice full of pride for his younger sibling.

    ¡°Head officiate?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yep, we typically send two officiates and fill the rest of the ranks with novices and operatives,¡± Uri explained, ¡°And of those two, one is designated as the lead, or ¡®head.¡¯ They directly represent and fill in for our chief. Sometimes, an executive will act as the head officiate. But I¡¯ve only seen it happen once, and it was a time when we had very serious business to discuss.¡±

    ¡°Makes sense,¡± Oroske said, ¡°We do much the same, except we¡¯re usually led by a Red Cloak. This time is an exception though, as I was put in charge.¡±

    ¡°Red is ranked higher, isn¡¯t it?¡± Myr asked.

    ¡°It is, rather than having our second-highest rank be the usual lead, we always have one of our top ranked Hunters lead the party. This time we made an exception and had me do it,¡± Oroske explained, ¡°Mostly because Kared didn¡¯t want to do it.¡± He nudged her with his elbow as he finished.

    ¡°So are you taking the lead for your group, Uri?¡± Nadred asked.

    ¡°Not this time, Myr is taking the lead, and I¡¯m supporting her. Because the Peace Party only happens every few years, we try to have new officiates take the lead early on so they feel more comfortable with it sooner.¡±

    At that point I started tuning out the discussions and diverted my attention to taking in the sights of Sanctis. The buildings surrounding the plaza were mostly shops and the like; it felt quite similar to the central plaza in Tsumi¡¯din. Unlike Tsumi¡¯din, however, the buildings were rather homogenous in their designs and architecture. Even size didn¡¯t vary that much. There were slightly more fancy looking buildings towards the West gate. Said buildings all housed government operations. Included among them were our lodgings for the night, and the building we¡¯d be holding our forum in.

    The West gate wasn¡¯t much of a ¡®gate¡¯ either, and was just another building we had to pass through. That would end up being our next stop, followed by the conference building the forum was to be held within.

    Our visit to the gate was brief, but heated. Mostly due to Kared¡¯s appearance within our ranks.

    ¡°All of you are set to go, with one exception. Kared Anur of the Crimson Twilight has outstanding warrants and a life-time ban from travel to Ish¡¯din,¡± the guard at the check-in counter said, glaring at our rabbit-eared friend. ¡°And I¡¯d know her anywhere, she¡¯s got a very distinct appearance, what with those ears, combined with her hair and eye colors.¡±

    ¡°Look, I¡¯m Kared Tsumi now. I am a Red Cloak Hunter, and one of Danfis Tsumi¡¯s most trusted. I forsook the Anur name years ago, and have been working with the clan for even longer.¡± She bit back, clearly trying to keep calm and not blow up on the guy.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why were you sighted in Oru¡¯ou, working with the Twilight, just over two months ago?¡± The guardsman asked sternly.

    Kared backed down a little, and Oroske took over. ¡°Regardless of her actions with the Twilight, she is a valued member of the Tsumi family now. We are aware that she still does work with them on occasion, but the simple truth is that we keep closer tabs on her than anyone. She will not be entering Ish¡¯din as the ruthless Crimson Killer, but as an ambassador of the Tsumi Clan.¡± He put an envelope on the table, and slid it to the guard. ¡°Thankfully, Danfis foresaw we may have issues with this. He prepared this letter of introduction for Kared. You may rest assured that Kared will be under careful observation for our entire visit to Ish¡¯din. You have my word as the one who will be supervising her.¡±

    Kared looked extremely pissed at the prospect of being babysat by Oroske for a few days. I watched as she took a deep breath and swallowed her anger and frustration, clearly trying to keep a professional front.

    The guard took his time reading the letter in the envelope, and eventually called down his superior to look at it. The lady he called over used some sort of magic on the signature at the bottom before declaring, ¡°It¡¯s legit. Give her a pass.¡± She then looked Kared dead in the eyes, ¡°Mess up this time, and not even the Guardians could get you into Ish¡¯din.¡±

    Once Kared received her pass to enter Ish¡¯din the next day, we departed to drop our stuff off at our lodgings for the night. The inn we were staying at was definitely fancier than the one in Fyrun, and leagues better than the one in Oru¡¯ou. However, something about the Fyrun Inn was more comfortable, it felt more like home.

    Once we¡¯d dropped our stuff off in our room and the Humans had gone out to the hall, Kared stopped Oroske.

    ¡°I need to let out some of this anger,¡± she said. Oroske just gave her a knowing nod, and put up multiple thick layers of anur, or barrier, magic. She then proceeded to punch with a loud yell, shattering every single layer in a single blow. ¡°How dare that scum call me by that name,¡± she cursed as Oroske put up another set of layers. She slowly continued to punch the mostly-invisible walls Oroske put up, and he continued putting them up after every blow. She was out of breath - something I thought was impossible until now - when she finally stopped. She took a deep breath, and regained her usual cool, confident composure.

    ¡°Everything okay in there?¡± Raen¡¯s voice asked through the door.

    Kared opened it and assured him everything was fine, then told Oroske and I to hurry up so we could get on our way to the forum.

    We had split up with the Incol when we went to the gatehouse, as they had gotten registered as visitors just before we met up with them at the fountain. According to Oroske, that means that they probably arrived in Sanctis maybe an hour before us, which meant we weren¡¯t the only Clan behind schedule.

    I thought maybe that would mean the Ishen were already in Ish¡¯din, but I suppose the usual plan involves staying in Sanctis for a couple nights, and they¡¯d been relaxing for the entire day. I was jealous they got so much time to recuperate after the long journey here.

    In the same fashion, they had arrived at the conference center nearly an hour before us and the Incol as well, who arrived a few minutes after we did.

    This forum felt a lot more professional and serious, as we actually had tables and chairs to sit on. There were five tables, one for each of the Human groups, one for the Half-Demons to share, and one for city officials. Each table had one voice-amplifying device, which was put in front of the primary representatives from each group. In the case of the Half-Demon Clans, the representatives from each Clan were sat at the table, and the device would be passed between them, while the rest of us stood around behind and acted as guards. One of the devices was also present for the audience to take turns using.

    According to Oroske, the main conference in Ish¡¯din would have us in similar roles and positions, but instead of a large audience we had the members of the Parliament.

    That night¡¯s forum wasn¡¯t terribly interesting, although there were a lot of talks regarding bandit attacks and raids on smaller villages. A lot of topics ended up looping right back around to the bridge that led to Fyrun being destroyed, and the issues that situation has been causing. As a collective whole, we resolved to do what we can to resolve the issue of the bridge as soon as possible.

    The forum ran very late into the night, and upon returning to our lodgings, I promptly fell asleep. At that point, nothing was keeping me awake any longer.

 33: The Road to Ishdin

    [The road leading from Sanctis to Ish¡¯din is famous for its brutal slope and length.]

    The next morning we had an early start, as the road to Ish''din was very long and difficult, according to Orokse, anyway. The veteran members of each of the Clans were chatting together in the lobby of the hotel. They were primarily talking about a pub in Ish''din that for the past ten or so Peace Parties it had been tradition for them to visit. I overheard Myr and a couple other members from the Ishen and Incol Clans chatting excitedly about it, as for many it would be their first time attending a Peace Party in Ish¡¯din. I, for one, had no idea about this pub and therefore didn¡¯t have any real excitement for it. In addition, I was still pretty sleepy, wishing I could just go back to sleep.

    Once everyone had gathered in the main hall, the mayor of Sanctis and his family welcomed us into a grand dining hall for breakfast. We all sat and ate at a very long table. Long enough that all of us - roughly sixty in number between three Half-Demon Clans and the three Human Lords and their escorts - were able to sit comfortably at the same time. We were seated according to our ranks within our respective groups. The three Lords sat near the head of the table, followed by the Clan representatives, then the Lords¡¯ commanders, and so on. This meant I was sitting next to Jarou, Fyr, and Myr, with Myr to my left towards the head of the table, and Jarou and Fyr directly across. There were a couple other people who were the blue cloak equivalent in their Clans, but they mostly kept to themselves and I didn¡¯t really get to know them at all.

    Breakfast itself was a hearty, multi-course meal served up as a buffet. We picked and chose what we wanted from the several options, laid out on plates spaced out so everyone had easy access to them. While Jarou and Myr both loaded themselves up with at least one of everything, Fyr and I were much more picky. I picked out a small handful of things I knew I¡¯d like, but as I didn¡¯t have much of an appetite I didn¡¯t grab a whole lot. Fyr on the other hand was being just flat-out picky. He only took two types of meat, and a big heap of them. When Jarou insisted he try some other foods and that he should have more balance in his meals, Fyr snapped at him saying ¡°That stuff looks gross, why would I want to eat that?¡± Of course, his mouth was full so it wasn¡¯t that clear.

    The table was full of chatter, my small group included, though most of it was just idle chit-chat. We exchanged stories with Myr about our trips to Sanctis. The Incol¡¯s route from the North was a lot more complex than ours, as there¡¯s a handful of cities they have to go out of their way to visit. However, the terrain is a lot more forgiving and is mostly flat, and the Northern edge of the Realm is humid and cooler than the middle and Southern regions are, even in the middle of summer. Their longer route also meant they had to leave a couple days earlier than we did, and they still ended up arriving at almost the same time as us. Though that¡¯s apparently pretty common for them, as the Incol have a tendency to stay in the city called the Port of Fyr¡¯ra for a day, sometimes two, helping out the townsfolk with small side jobs.

    Sadly, our breakfast didn¡¯t last forever, and we were getting ready to leave Sanctis before long. The Lords and the Clan representatives put in an order for any supplies and rations we might need for the trip to Ish¡¯din. Workers for the head family went out and procured said supplies and rations while we ate, so they were ready for us by the time we were setting out.

    We had to pass through the gatehouse once again, where we collected our signed passes into Ish¡¯din. We were told that once we got to Ish¡¯din, we need to give these to the guards at the gatehouse there, and they¡¯ll finalize our registration as visitors to Ish¡¯din. Apparently, once that happens, everyone will be free to roam the city as they please, meaning the Humans don¡¯t need us as escorts as long as they remain in the city. This prospect excited me, especially since we were gonna be in Ish¡¯din for several days. I¡¯d finally get to explore a city on my own. Though, I¡¯d probably still have Oroske, or Jarou, or someone with me.

    Once we were through the gatehouse, we just had our very long hike through the mountain pass ahead of us. The sun was still low in the sky, but high enough that it pierced straight into the canyon we were in. Once we left the shade of the city gates, we were out in the sunlight for the first long stretch.

    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    The path itself wasn¡¯t super interesting, just a long, steep hill, with the same orange-brown stone forming tall walls around us. The first time I¡¯d been up close to the stone it was a refreshing change in the color palette, but after an hour or two of walking with that being the only color in sight, it got old rather quickly.

    After a couple hours, just before mid-day, we finally got to the first major change in direction. Where until that point, the road had just slightly wavered around occasionally, here it actually turned almost ninety degrees to the North, and we were offered some shade by the cliffs. Though, now that the sun had risen quite a bit higher, it didn¡¯t last very long.

    From here the path winded a lot more through the mountain, and in several spots you could see out from the mountain pass. We stopped for lunch at one of these points, which we were told by Oroske and some others who were experienced with the trip that it¡¯s pretty much the half-way point.

    The view from this spot was incredible, since it was slightly out of the canyon, and more just on a flat spot on the mountain side. You could see almost the entire Demon Realm from there. It was on the Southern part of the hill, so a lot of the Northern regions were blocked off from sight. But you could see Tsumi¡¯din, and follow the road we followed all the way to the base of the mountain. It was a bit difficult to make things out that far away, but I could even see a very blurry City of Towers, and a couple other spots over in the Human Realm that looked like they could be towns and cities. It also put into perspective how massive the Realm Rift really was. The Clan¡¯s cities were a mere fraction of its width, but its length made them look like tiny specks. The Rift also extended far beyond the landmass, creating a chasm as far as the eye could see into the ocean. It also helped get a sense of scale for the size of the Realms, as it seemed they had more land in the North-South axis than the East-West.

    We kept our lunch break brief, in hopes of making it to Ish¡¯din before the sun fully set behind the mountain, and nighttime officially began. The sun was already well past the midpoint in the sky, so pretty soon it would begin dipping behind the mountain and offer us shade for the remainder of our journey. That did also mean it would be much harder to see the road, however. Thankfully we¡¯d know pretty much right away if we got off track, as either the pavement would end, or you¡¯d run face-first into a wall.

    After about another hour or so of walking, we began to see small holes and slits in the mountain side, and the occasional bit of structure being added to the canyon walls. According to Oroske, the city technically extends all the way out here, and the holes we were seeing were actually windows. These underground buildings were used during wartime to protect the city from invasion, and are connected to the city through underground tunnels. Historically, they have also been used for general housing - in a time where living in Ish¡¯din was more accessible - as well as shops and storerooms. These days they were mostly empty, and anyone staying in them or using them went undocumented.

    As we got closer to the main city, they began appearing less like random holes in the wall and more like proper buildings and structures. They¡¯d get to the point of it looking like the mountain grew around buildings, though it¡¯d make more sense that they cut into the mountain and then put the buildings inside it.

    Finally, a couple hours after the sun was fully hidden from view, and night had begun to fall on the Realms, we reached the gates of Ish¡¯din. We showed our passes to the guards stationed at the main gates. They then gave us directions to the gatehouse, and told us that we need to go there first and foremost.

    It was a short trek, turning right towards the North, and hugging the wall that housed the gate until we came to a small, ancient looking, wooden door. Raen took the lead and knocked on the door after clearing his throat. A large, gruff looking man answered, looking annoyed as though we were interrupting something important. Sure enough, after bringing us inside, it seemed he and his fellow guards were playing some sort of game, with cards and game pieces laid out on a table. There was also a large amount of Venn scattered around the floor, and I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it was part of the game somehow.

    He opened up all of our letters and set them on a separate table after verifying the signatures on them. He then came up and stamped our hands one by one with an intricate symbol I¡¯d never seen before.

    ¡°You¡¯re all set,¡± he said, his voice much more gentle than his appearance, ¡°I¡¯ll get the paperwork finalized and turned in first thing tomorrow morning. If anyone gives you any trouble you just tell them ol¡¯ Kai is taking care of it.¡± He shooed us out of the guard house rather quickly. His voice really was the only part of him that was gentle. ¡°Enjoy your stay in Ish¡¯din,¡± he said with a small smile.

 34: Eternal Sun

    [The name of a popular bar in Ish¡¯din, which is tradition for

    The Human-Demon Peace Party to visit at least once per conference.

    It is named after Ish¡¯din itself, which was once called the City of the Eternal Sun.]

    Despite it now being night, Ish¡¯din was brightly lit and the streets were still full of people. If you ignored the sky, you¡¯d think it was the middle of the day. But the dark night sky loomed above, signaling the end of another day. The city was also very large, it seemed just as big as the City of Towers, if not bigger. Dead ahead of the gate, up a large staircase was the royal palace. It was a massive, imposing building, even from a distance as great as we were at. Large pillars adorned the front of the building, seemingly holding up the mountain that curved outwards above the palace. Nadred would explain later that the palace was originally a temple, until it was converted into the Palace of Demons. The conversion was estimated to have happened roughly one hundred years before the Grand War began; though records of such details were lost over time.

    My desire to run around and explore the city was only held down by my immense desire to lay down and rest my legs after the long journey up here. It seemed most of the party shared that same desire, as the Lord whose group was escorted by the Ishen Clan decided to lead the way to our lodgings. I would learn that night her name was Ibiryn Shen¡¯anum, and the Lord with the Incol¡¯s name was Uin Kats¡¯anum.

    Our lodgings ended up being at the base of the staircase that the palace stood at the top of, which meant it was a good hour long trek just to get over there. Looking up the staircase from the base made it and the palace seem even larger and grander than what we could see from the city entrance. Our lodgings were egregiously fancy, each group was separated into their own rooms. So the human Lords and their fellows each got their own executive suite, that they were all able to fit in, each in their own bed. Each Clan also had their own room, which while there were still a lot of us, there were far more humans than half-demons.

    After we checked in and dropped our stuff off, Lord -Lady?- Shen¡¯anum stood atop a small pedestal and cheered, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s party! The bar is this way!¡± She cheerfully led the way through the streets of Ish¡¯din, confidently navigating us in a circle before Lord Kats¡¯anum stopped her and asked ¡°What are we doing? Eternal Sun is right next to the hotel, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± She said, ¡°I just figured you lot hadn¡¯t walked enough yet.¡± That yielded some loud groans from all parties involved. Oroske explained that this, too, is part of tradition.

    We went into the bar, which sure enough, was just down and across the street. While in the Human Realm, you had to be over twenty years old to consume any sort of alcohol, the Demon Realm had no such rule, or so Oroske told me. I was however, limited in the amount I could take in, to a single, not very strong drink. ¡°Save the big drinks for when you¡¯re a bit older,¡± Ranfa told Fyr, Jarou, and I, ¡°As you are now, you wouldn¡¯t be able to handle much more than this. And if you did, you¡¯d hate yourself in the morning. I ended up only taking a sip of Oroske¡¯s drink, since I was probably gonna get the same thing, but passed up any more. I didn¡¯t understand how anyone could enjoy something that tasted as awful as that. Instead, I just had sweet, fruity drinks with no alcohol.

    We were there for pretty much the entire night, leaving once the sun was already on its way into the sky. Some people drank until they passed out, a handful of people returned to the hotel early, but most people just got a little buzzed and chatted the night away.

    Personally, I ended up roaming a bunch of different tables and chatting with people, even breaking away from Oroske at some point. Most of the time I just listened to what they had to say, and asked questions to keep the conversation going.

    At first though, I was just sitting with my Clan, and asked Nadred about the name of the pub. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s a bit of interesting history there.¡± He started with a hiccup, having already finished his first mug of ale of the night. ¡°When Ish¡¯din first became a city, it was known for always being lit up, even at night. The culture you see here, where the city is constantly ¡®awake,¡¯ people always moving around, working, and living, is as old as the city itself. Regardless of the time of day, the city always looks like it¡¯s the middle of the day. That even goes for the underground sections too. The development of magic techniques being used for the sake of lighting was greatly pushed by the people of the city, and the local government to boot. As such, it was given the moniker, ¡®City of the Eternal Sun.¡¯¡± He finished his lecture just in time for his drink to be refilled. ¡°So, since this building has always been a bar, they decided to name it ¡®the Eternal Sun,¡¯ to call back to the city¡¯s old nickname.¡± Kared finished for him.

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    Eventually Oroske and I would move tables and listen into conversations at various places. We talked with the Ishen and the Incol, separated as well as joined. We mostly discussed the journey to Ish¡¯din and those more in the know about recent world events talked about those for a good while.

    Somehow, after hopping a couple other tables and groups, I found myself separated from Oroske, and sitting with none other than the three Lords. Or I guess two Lords and one Lady, I still wasn¡¯t sure about the distinction there. Myr was also there, as well as a couple people from the Ishen and some of the humans I hadn¡¯t really met. My attention almost entirely went to the Lords, however.

    I had pieced together that their last names all had a common meaning, as they all ended with ¡®anum,¡¯ but I could only really guess its meaning. So, I asked them about it. ¡°¡®Anum¡¯ is the short, suffix-form of ¡®nanum,¡¯ which means child.¡± Lord Kats¡¯anum explained, ¡°And the first part of the name is a number.¡± He taught me how to count to ten in Alten; eru, yun, ten, shen, riel, katse, senna, onne, lehon, and finally verr.

    ¡°So that would make you the¡­ sixth child? Did I get that right?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yep,¡± he said, ¡°I¡¯m just a year and a half older than Raen.¡±

    ¡°Wow, how much younger is Lord Onne¡¯anum? And did I say that right?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just Onn¡¯anum, and she¡¯s two years younger than Raen. And Miss Shen¡¯anum here is five years older than me. Between us, we have our brother Lord Reil¡¯anum who is four years older than me.¡±

    After they answered my questions, I sat back as the Lords talked with themselves and the others at the table. Topics varied greatly, from various individuals'' pasts, current events, and the conference.

    Eventually I¡¯d get up and move to another table again, bouncing around place to place listening in on various conversations but not really engaging in any myself.

    None stood out, until around sunrise, when miraculously our Clan was all at a single table again. Nadred had passed out a couple hours before, and was using Kared¡¯s lap as a pillow. Suddenly the door opened, and new people came in for the first time in several hours. A familiar, gruff looking Demon walked in while yawning and stretching. After seeing us, he came straight for us, and I recognized him as Kai from the guardhouse earlier.

    ¡°Well, well. I was wondering if you all would still be here.¡± Even though I was expecting it, the difference between his appearance and voice still surprised me.

    ¡°Good evening Kai,¡± Oroske greeted sleepily, ¡°Or I guess good morning, at this point, huh?¡±

    Kai laughed heartily while his fellow guards went up to the bar to order drinks, ¡°How are things Oroske? It¡¯s good to see you again.¡±

    ¡°Good to see you, too, Kai. Things are well, I''ve been keeping busy with my new apprentice.¡± He gestured to me before continuing. ¡°I was surprised to see you working as a regular old guard.¡±

    ¡°Hah, yeah. You piss off the wrong person one too many times and you get a leash put on you. I think I¡¯m more surprised you managed to get Kared into the city through legitimate means.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we couldn¡¯t have done it without Danfis¡¯s help, that¡¯s for sure. He wrote a good letter of introduction for her.¡±

    ¡°Man, the power and influence that man holds is terrifying sometimes.¡±

    ¡°There are other ways into the city?¡± I asked as he sat down, gesturing to the barkeep for a couple drinks.

    ¡°Naturally. What¡¯s classified as the ¡®city of Ish¡¯din¡¯ extends far, far beyond just the buildings here in this little valley. I¡¯m sure you saw the buildings nestled into the mountainside on your way up, yes? Well, there¡¯s several layers of that same thing. Some reports say they go down lower than the base of the mountain. With the right knowledge, tools, and connections, it is entirely possible to get into Ish¡¯din without ever going into Sanctis.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± Kared piped up, ¡°Though you¡¯d have trouble getting out into the main city if you did that. The Underground, as it¡¯s called, only has a few entrances from this part of town. And most of them are very well-guarded.¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Kai started reminiscing about how he had met Oroske and Kared once while he was patrolling the upper levels of the Underground, some fifteen years ago. They skirted details about what the two were doing down there, but apparently Kai ended up working with them a lot during that time. They also dodged my questions about the kind of stuff that¡¯s down there, and just kept it at ¡°you probably don¡¯t wanna go down there anytime soon.¡± Though saying that only made my curiosity worse.

    Beyond that, they kept their conversation pretty brief, as we had to go get some sleep soon, and Kai had his duties as a guard.

    Shortly after Kai and his fellow guards left, we departed for our hotel room. I was grateful, as during their conversation I started practically falling asleep at the table. Jarou had even fallen asleep shortly after they arrived. Kared had to carry Nadred up on her back, something she seemed fairly used to doing. Anyone who was still at the pub when we left either came out with us, or shortly after.

    As soon as I got into our room, I fell onto the bed and fell asleep, not bothering to take off my cloak or get under the sheets.

 35: Ishdin

    -Ish''din-

    [The capital of the Demon Realm.

    Formerly a holy site, the city was built after people

    Made their holy pilgrimage and decided they wanted to stay.]

    I awoke in the early afternoon, an hour or so after Oroske, Nadred, and Kared had woken up. Then Jarou woke up shortly after me. Ranfa and Fyr apparently woke up and left before Oroske woke up somehow. ¡°You¡¯re both free to roam the city as you please for the day, just make sure you¡¯re back here before midnight,¡± Oroske said, pausing his conversation with Kared and Nadred as Jarou and I walked in, ¡°The conference begins tomorrow morning. We¡¯re just discussing the conference and all the topics we¡¯ll be covering during it, and making a plan for our approach on things. After we discuss with the Lords and the other Clan reps, we¡¯ll probably hit the town ourselves. Stay out of trouble, and remember you¡¯re being monitored.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean we¡¯re being monitored?¡± Jarou asked.

    Oroske lifted his hand and showed the stamp on his hand. ¡°These are made with magic, and report your locations to the city¡¯s officials. If anything happens and you¡¯re there when it happens, they¡¯ll know.¡±

    Suddenly everybody being free to roam as they wanted made a lot more sense. I was not a fan of having my location be known at all times, but I supposed it was a small cost to not have to be tethered to other people all day.

    Oroske gave Jarou and I some venn to spend on food and stuff, and the two of us left together. It was only a little past midday, and while the sky was nice and bright, the city itself felt almost exactly the same as it had during the night. The only major difference was that there were some shadows being cast by buildings in the sunlight, and the small dim spots between lights were gone. The streets were just as busy as well.

    ¡°I guess they weren¡¯t kidding,¡± Jarou muttered, ¡°It really is always daytime here.¡±

    ¡°Looks like it.¡± I breathed.

    We walked around pretty much aimlessly, just taking in the sights. Ish¡¯din was pretty similar to Sanctis in terms of the style of buildings. Though it felt a lot less military-based. The majority of the buildings only featured small bits of wood for accenting and extra support, and the main building material present was the same stone the mountain was made of.

    I would later learn that the stone was primarily sourced from digging the Underground, and that for the city¡¯s first hundred years or so, Ish¡¯din¡¯s primary trade was the stone. However, once a city called Quarry was founded in the Human Realm, Ish¡¯din lost a lot of that market.

    Every now and then, full wooden buildings, and buildings made of other materials would dot the space between the stone buildings. While many buildings had a good amount of height to them, the tallest buildings - save for the palace - were dwarfed by the City of Tower¡¯s average buildings.

    The city¡¯s layout was a bit maze-like, save for the main street that led from the gate to the palace. Sometimes we¡¯d even hit a flat out dead-end. Whether that would be running into the natural walls of the city, or just having the path blocked by a building.

    After a while we started looking for a good place to eat. Almost every other building offered food, even if it wasn¡¯t the store¡¯s main trade. And all of them smelled incredible. Except for one, which was primarily a potions and alchemy shop. The food on display smelled and looked like death. I won''t deny my curiosity almost got the best of me, but the smell was enough to drive me and Jarou away from outside. I don¡¯t know if I could¡¯ve withstood being right next to it.

    Eventually we realized we were just making it harder to decide where to eat. So we stopped, reviewed all the places that sounded good and realized even between them it was a tough choice.

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    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just keep walking until we find another place and just go there?¡± Jarou suggested. I had no complaints, so we did that.

    We ended up walking for a while, in what ended up being a U-shaped loop of entirely residential buildings. Not long after we finally got out of that section, we found our first food place. It was the alchemy shop again. We looked at each other and silently agreed to go until we found a different one.

    We ended up finally eating at a place that offered a ¡°traditional Ish¡¯din dish,¡± which Jarou and I both decided to order. While it smelled great, it was quite disgusting looking. It was essentially just slop with chunks of meat, served in a big bowl. It would have looked more appetizing if the slop, or I suppose broth, part of it wasn¡¯t a deep purple color.

    ¡°Is it¡­ supposed to look like that?¡± I asked our waitress.

    ¡°Yep! It¡¯s not very pleasant to look at, but I can vouch for its taste being incredible.¡± She said happily, ¡°The purple coloring, as well as the primary flavoring, comes from a plant found on the mountainside, high above Ishen. It¡¯s an herb primarily used in healing tonics, as it strangely has naturally infused vaia magic.¡± As she spoke, I realized we were in for an explanation on par with Nadred¡¯s best lectures. Not that I minded. ¡°When the empress regained power over the Realm, after the Grand War, her son, the prince, fell ill. He was a horribly picky eater, and wouldn¡¯t consume the bitter plant, even though it would help him feel better. The empress called in the most skilled alchemists and culinarians the world over to create a dish, which incorporated the herb, that her son would eat. One of the cooks found a way to alter the taste of the herb, transforming it from an unpleasant, bitter taste, to a sweet, slightly spicy taste. All without losing the healing potential of the herb. Her son ate it happily, and recovered quickly. Since then, the dish has been made into a staple here in Ish¡¯din, and it¡¯s the only place you can reliably find it in its true form.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Jarou and I both muttered as we anxiously picked up our eating utensils. She said she hopes we enjoy it, and left us to eat. I forced a scoop into my mouth. I was shocked at how good it tasted. As the waitress said, it was a sweet and spicy flavor, which paired very well with the chunks of light meat.

    Once we had taken that first bite, we quickly finished our meal, and got back to exploring the city. The meal had definitely helped rejuvenate us. Not long after we left, we ran into Oroske and Nadred, and told them of our adventure so far. We spent the day walking together, exploring and chatting about random stuff.

    Kared, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found. We¡¯d later find out she made an excursion into the Underground, to meet up with some members of the Crimson Twilight.

    She¡¯d later regale us with the story, ¡°There are a handful of spots where you can enter the Underground, and almost all of them are heavily guarded and monitored. However, there are a couple spots scattered around the city that are not. The hard part is blocking the location tracking from the stamps, and how and when you do it. The stamps themselves are actually a hybrid between magic and energy manipulation. The magic is an advanced application of an already advanced magic called ¡®Gate Compass,¡¯ and it essentially is what obtains your location data. Then, an extremely complex web of energy manipulation commands transmits that data to a facility within the palace.

    ¡°Therefore, you have a few decent options to stop the tracking. First is to block the flow of World Energy, which is the energy used in manipulation. However, this method fully cuts off the location tracking. Which would just raise a red flag, since you¡¯ll effectively just disappear from the system. They can then use the last reported location to quickly track you down.

    ¡°So instead, it¡¯s better to alter the Gate Compass to read in a different location. All forms of ¡®Gate¡¯ magic are quite difficult to use reliably on the fly. So instead, I used energy manipulation to copy and redirect Nadred¡¯s location to my own. It¡¯s a complicated process, but if ever the occasion arises that one of you needs to do something similar, I can teach you.

    ¡°Anyway, after all those shenanigans, I just had to sneak over to an un-guarded entrance to the Underground. It¡¯s important not to get spotted by any guards, since there¡¯s a good chance they¡¯ll spot the energy manipulation techniques and stop you on your way. Once Underground, it¡¯s just a matter of navigating the mazes to wherever you¡¯re trying to go.

    ¡°As for why I needed to go down there, I was asking the members of the Twilight to back us up on the plan Danfis asked Oroske and I to take care of. As well as taking care of some - let¡¯s just say - personal business.¡± She finished her story. It was the most I¡¯d ever heard her talk in a single sitting. Probably more than I¡¯d heard her talk than every time I¡¯ve heard her talk combined.

    As we had discussed earlier in the day, we made sure to be back to our lodgings by midnight. We ate dinner with all the members of the Peace Party that were present, a grandiose dinner on par with the breakfast we had in Sanctis the day before. From what Oroske and Kared told me, we already had a solid game plan for how the conference was going to go on our end, and that Oroske is the one who will be doing the talking for our Clan.

 36: Peace Party Conference

    [The Peace Party Conferences are held to discuss various

    Topics and hold votes for what is believed should be done about issues

    Across the world of Spire. They span four days, each day devoted to

    Different regions and areas.]

    After finishing our dinner and a good night¡¯s rest, the sun arose on the first day of the Peace Party Conference. We awoke a little after sunrise, though it can be hard to tell when sunrise is here in Ish¡¯din. We all met at the base of the stairs that lead to the palace, every member of the party dressed in their uniforms and fancy dress clothes. For a moment, I thought Lord Kats¡¯anum was missing. Until I realized they were now dressed in a fanciful dress, instead of the suit they¡¯d been wearing the day before. I thought it was odd, but shrugged it off. After all, who was I to judge a full blown Lord?

    Once the full party was gathered, we were organized into our formal formation by Lady Shen¡¯anum. The Lords and Clan representatives stood at the front of their respective groups. The Humans would stand directly behind their Lord, in a two person wide line, with the Half-Demons standing split up along the side of the line. We then ascended with the Ishen group first, the Incol second, and us Tsumi following in the rear.

    I was grateful we had a couple days to rest and recuperate. If we had to do this climb right after the climb from Sanctis to Ish¡¯din, I probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to make it. The stairs were steep and long. I was also keenly aware of the eyes watching us climb. Oroske instructed us to keep our eyes forward and climb in silence, but I could feel the stares of the crowd watching us at the foot of the stairs.

    After what felt like an eternity of stair climbing, we finally reached the top. The Ishen and Incol had moved over to the side, and we came up and stood in the middle. Supposedly, the Ishen were placed to the left and the Incol to the right to mirror the Clans¡¯ geographical position. Which would leave us in the middle.

    The pillars that adorned the front of the palace, and held up the upper section of the mountain, were much larger up close than I thought they would be. They stood at least eight stories high, and were several feet thick. There was also a large open space with a handful more pillars. It was decorated with some tables and chairs, and lit up by magic sources placed on the pillars.

    We were greeted by five members of the Demon Parliament, the same five that would be participating in the conferences, about half way from the pillars to the palace¡¯s main gate. They silently greeted us, and walked in front of the group, guiding us into the palace. There was slight tension in the silence as we walked, but I didn¡¯t sense any hostility.

    The palace gate was huge, and looked much newer than the palace itself. It spanned at least two story¡¯s worth of height, and was wide enough for our three groups to walk side-by-side. I would learn from Oroske later that the gate was put in within the last hundred years, around the same time that entry into Ish¡¯din became so strictly regulated. Before that, the palace was always open to visitors, though there were naturally some spots you couldn¡¯t get into without an escort.

    The interior of the palace featured a lot of orange and brown tones. Pristine tile floors with intricate patterns, tall walls and vaulted ceilings. The air was still, and no noise made it in from the outside. As we walked in silence, only our footsteps echoed through the main hall. Which with a group as large as ours, was still a fair amount of noise.

    Dead ahead, a large, ornate staircase led up to a large door. Behind said door was the main audience chamber, with a large, overly fancy throne sitting near the back wall. A long table was set out with ten chairs along the sides. Eleven, if you counted the throne.

    A young man, who couldn¡¯t have been more than three years older than me, sat on the throne, one leg over the other and his head resting on a closed fist. He was dressed very formally, and despite his age had a presence that commanded respect. Standing next to the throne were four well-dressed individuals. A man, seemingly nearing his fifties, two pretty women that looked to be in their mid-twenties, and a large man whose age was hard to determine, but if I were to hazard a guess I¡¯d say his late twenties, early thirties.

    The Lords stepped forward and kneeled in respect. Oroske and the other Clan representatives followed suit, and gestured for us to do the same.

    Lady Shen¡¯anum pierced the silence with a firm declaration, ¡°Prince Ars¡¯erib, and members of the Demon Parliament, we thank you for allowing us into your home, and allowing us to uphold this sacred tradition. I, the head of the Fourth Household of Aerdin, Ibiryn Shen¡¯anum, will be acting as our party¡¯s leader and primary representative for the duration of our conference.¡±

    The prince stood up from his chair, and spoke loudly, ¡°Welcome, Lords Shen¡¯anum, Kats¡¯anum, Sen¡¯anum. We are honored to be graced by your presence. I also welcome the representatives and members of the Half-Demon Clans, and thank them for bringing the Lords here safely. You may stand. The Lords and Clan representatives may take a seat at the table.¡±

    Kared guided everyone else where to stand along the walls of the room as the leaders all sat down. Due to the difference in numbers, there would be a handful of humans between each half-demon. Jarou ended up on the other side of the room from me, as the three Clans¡¯ members were also shuffled around.

    ¡°Now then,¡± The older Demon spoke once everyone was in their spots, ¡°Let all present act as witnesses to the first day of the one-hundred-thirty-seventh Human-Demon Peace Party Conference.¡±

    I had received instruction beforehand that I¡¯ll mostly have to hold still and be silent during the conference, so I was left simply to observe my surroundings as well as the conference itself.

    The start of the conference allowed me to glean some information about the Demon Parliament, as well as Prince Ars¡¯erib. Kared and Nadred filled the gaps in my basic knowledge of them during a break.

    Prince Ars¡¯erib, as I had guessed, wasn¡¯t much older than me, being only sixteen. He had wavy, golden hair that he had tied into a pony-tail, and intimidating red-gold eyes. His outfit was certainly befitting of a prince, a mostly black ensemble with accents that matched his eyes well. From what Nadred and Kared told me, his mother disappeared, and his father was murdered several years ago, and since has been taught how to rule by Regent Der¡¯rel.

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    Regent Der¡¯rel was the older man present. Despite his age, he was in remarkably good shape, I¡¯d wager he could match Oroske in a contest of pure physical strength. He had long, grayed hair, which matched his rather ashy skin. His eyes were the only source of color I could find on him, and even then they were a soft, faded burgundy. He acted as the Realm¡¯s ruler until the prince would reach adulthood, at which point he would resume his old job as chief royal advisor.

    The only other person I was able to examine very well was sitting next to him. A young lady I couldn¡¯t imagine was very old, and I¡¯d simply guessed she¡¯d be in her mid-twenties. She wore a mask and a hooded robe, very effectively preventing me from getting a good look at any of her features. I¡¯d learn later on that her family name was Shadowchild, and she was the youngest member of the parliament.

    The other two members of the Parliament that were present had their backs to me, so I wasn¡¯t able to discern much of their appearance. I knew that the man had greenish-hair, and the woman had silver hair, similar to Venn¡¯s. The rest I¡¯d have to learn later. The man was called Sir Erun, and the woman Lady Meia, except by the prince, who called her ¡°Seiu.¡± I would later learn that it means ¡®teacher,¡¯ and that she¡¯s the Prince¡¯s instructor for all things academics, combat, and magic.

    I had generally spaced out the actual conference, but I knew they were talking about the issues that had been brought up during our forums in the Realm¡¯s various cities. I learned that the city known as the Port of Pyr¡¯ra has been having a lot of issues with crime lately. They spoke about the issues the Southern cities have been facing, primarily that this year they¡¯ve had a much worse drought than normal. Oru¡¯ou has had a lot of shady dealings occurring lately as well, and the bandits in that area have been more active as of late.

    After lengthy discussions, most of which I was tuned out of, they brought my attention back when they started talking about the bridge over the ¡®elrik ke fyrun.¡¯ I was able to piece together that they meant the bridge that led from Fyrun to Sanctis.

    ¡°We are aware of this issue,¡± Regent Der¡¯rel spoke in a heavy, deep tone, ¡°This issue doesn¡¯t just affect the local region, nor just the entire Realm¡¯s commerce. Even here in Ish¡¯din we are feeling the effects of the bridge¡¯s destruction. We¡¯ve received reports that this incident is also causing issues in the Human Realm. We have ordered three separate shipments from various companies in Quarry, and not a single one has arrived.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s especially concerning, considering I myself signed off on those deliveries,¡± the Ishen Clan¡¯s representative said, ¡°My involvement ended there, however. My understanding is that the materials were handed directly to the companies¡¯ demon branches, and in the cases where the company didn¡¯t have another branch, it was handed off directly to the buyer. None of my Clan¡¯s people were involved in the trade beyond signing for it to cross the Rift.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s odd,¡± the Regent said, his hand on his chin as he processed the information, ¡°I, myself, placed the orders. And I ensured the companies we bought from had personnel on this side of the border. Yet, you say there were some where the shipments were picked up directly from the buyers?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct. Our Clan can supply our copies of the paperwork if you¡¯d like.¡±

    ¡°That would be helpful. Then there¡¯s the matter of numbers. I only ordered three shipments, but you spoke as if there were more than that. How many shipments did you sign for?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember the exact number, but I want to say seven or eight. Do you think perhaps someone is commandeering the shipments, in addition to ordering their own? What purpose would they have for that?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the possibility I¡¯m considering, yes. I don¡¯t like it, but it¡¯s possible that someone, or some group of people, are using the stone for their own construction project. However, between the three orders there was supposed to be enough stone to complete the bridge¡¯s reconstruction. I do find it hard to believe someone would have a use for that much stone, and harder still to believe they would be able to hide it. Needless to say, this certainly warrants much deeper investigation than we¡¯ve performed at this point.¡±

    ¡°There is also the issue of why the bridge was destroyed, and who is responsible for it,¡± Oroske spoke up. ¡°I would like to know how the investigation on that front has fared.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Meia responded, ¡°Mind if I take it from here? This is related to my work, after all.¡± The Regent merely nodded in response, and she continued. ¡°To put it simply, we have leads, but nothing concrete. With the rise of bandit activity in the Oru¡¯ou and Fyrun regions, we have reason to believe it may have been one of those groups. However, even outlaws rely on this bridge, and often use it to their advantage, so it¡¯s hard to believe they did it on a whim. Then there¡¯s the matter of the method used. It seems the explosions used to destroy the bridge were created using explosive powder, rather than magic. On one hand, magic on that scale would have left behind some residual aether. On the other, there¡¯s the distinct smell of gunpowder, as well as burn marks on the stone that wouldn¡¯t be present if the explosion was powered by aether.

    ¡°My investigation team and I have a handful of working theories at this point, that address primarily the intention, rather than the method. First, the woods leading from Fyrun to Oru¡¯ou are known for bandits residing within. It¡¯s not inconceivable that one of these groups managed to get their hands on the necessary resources to blow it up, with the intention of re-routing traffic to their zones. This seems to be the most likely option, but it still doesn¡¯t narrow down which of the bandit groups it is, as the woods are home to nearly half a dozen.

    ¡°Our second theory is one that¡¯s been going around for the past year or so. In the last year, there has been a definite rise in terrorist attacks and other events that are easy to see as provocation. Only a couple months before the bridge was destroyed, an attacker nearly succeeded in destroying Al¡¯din. They would have been successful if not for the Tsumi. These events are not exclusive to the Demon Realm, and the Humans have seen their fair share of similar things lately. Considering the seemingly organized nature of these attacks, and the manner in which they have prevented the bridge¡¯s reconstruction, I think it¡¯s about time both sides start thinking about the possibility of a third faction rising up.

    ¡°This theory not only explains the timing of all of these attacks, but also how each one of them have aimed to cripple some part of the world¡¯s economy, as well as how they were able to fund them. Regardless of your sources, the materials and know-how to be able to destroy a massive bridge, or even an entire city, can¡¯t be cheap.

    ¡°The third theory is that some other group for some reason decided they wanted to destroy the bridge and ruin our economy. There are a lot of possibilities, and the most concerning part is that we don¡¯t really have enough evidence to say which is most likely.¡±

    ¡°I myself have heard that second theory going around, and us Lords have discussed it at length in the past,¡± Raen spoke next, ¡°The theory seems to be gaining traction by the day. I think it may be beneficial for both sides to more seriously consider it, and begin a proper investigation. I would like to propose that we do just that, and in a few months time meet again to discuss our findings.¡±

    ¡°That seems like a good plan to me,¡± Meia responded. ¡°All in favor of tentatively implementing this idea, raise your hand.¡±

    Everyone sitting at the table raised their hands silently. Those of us along the wall were instructed that we were not a part of the decision making process, so we kept silent and still.

    Shortly after the vote we took a short break. I was very grateful for the chance to sit down. Standing in one spot without moving really made my feet and legs sore, especially for four hours like we had just done.

    After the break, the talks continued for another four or so hours, though I didn¡¯t really pay attention to the discussion, and just kinda zoned until we were done for the day.

 37: Debt

    [Owing something to someone else.

    Some people take debts owed to them far more seriously than others.]

    That night, a few hours after we returned from the conference, Kared and Oroske slipped out of our hotel room. Before they departed, Kared set some very complex energy manipulation commands on hers, Oroske¡¯s, and Nadred¡¯s stamps, which I presumed was the location-spoofing thing she told us about the previous day. It took her a few minutes, and her full concentration to set each one.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever asked, but where did you even learn how to do this?¡± Oroske asked.

    ¡°With how much sneaking around the Twilight has to do here, it was only natural they would teach me,¡± Kared responded. ¡°One of the nobles who created the tracking system told us about its inner workings, and our scientists worked on a method to counteract it.¡±

    ¡°I take it that it wasn''t just out of the good of their heart?¡± Oroske joked, though he did want to hear her answer.

    ¡°Hah, of course not,¡± she said, talking flatly as she had during the rest of the story. ¡°If I recall, he wanted special treatment from us. And for a boon as great as the ability to wander Ish¡¯din freely, I¡¯m sure the leaders agreed.¡±

    After they had left the lodgings, the two had to find a way into the palace. Kared explained the route Oroske would take on the way to the lobby, and explained she would find her own way. Once outside, they split up. ¡°Remember, it is of the utmost importance that you act as though nothing is up the whole way there. If you¡¯re stopped by anyone, just say you¡¯re getting food. As long as you¡¯re confident, you shouldn¡¯t be stopped,¡± Kared instructed quietly as they parted.

    Though they went in separate directions, the end goal was the same. It would have been easy enough to waltz into the palace if the main gate wasn¡¯t present. Instead, they would have to enter the Underground through one of the unprotected entrances, and navigate the subterranean mazes until they find themselves in the palace.

    Since Oroske didn¡¯t have as much experience navigating the Underground as her, Kared made sure to give him the simpler, and therefore closer route. One of the obstacles to overcome when entering through the unguarded entrances was knowing which ones would be open, and when. Knowing where the entrances are was one thing, knowing that was another. Each time an entrance was used, it would close while another opens. The Crimson Twilight set these entrances up like this to help ensure they are not discovered. As such, of the nine entrances, only two would be open at once. Using her knowledge of the city and the way things and people move about in it, she was able to deduce which ones would be the most likely to be open. Oroske was given two sure-fire options, and instructions to try one before the other. Kared understood the cycle of which doors open and when, so she would head to what would have been Oroske¡¯s third option.

    Oroske did end up having to take his second option, a fake wall tucked away behind a small shop in the city¡¯s Northwest corner. Had someone seen him enter, it would have looked like he simply walked through the stone wall and disappeared. Beyond the wall was a dimly lit corridor, lined by stone brick walls. Navigating the maze was difficult, as if you didn¡¯t have a good sense of direction and any sort of map, it was difficult to tell where you were.

    Oroske took a moment and recalled Kared¡¯s instructions. She never was the best at explaining things, but he figured he should be fine. He had to find a way down one layer, then work his way to the Southwest until he found an underground stream. Once there he could follow that upstream until he arrived at what seemed like the source. After getting turned around a couple times, he eventually made it there, only to find Kared waiting for him.

    As she had far more experience with navigating the depths she had an easy time finding her way there. So despite the fact the entrance she ended up taking was near the main entrance to the city, she was able to make her way over to the palace very quickly. She changed out of her Hunter uniform and put on a more plain looking red coat.

    The source of the stream was extra water from the palace¡¯s cistern, which was the next location the duo would visit. The cistern spanned almost every floor of the palace, and sourced its water from a natural spring above the city, deep in the mountains. On occasion, maintenance would have to be performed in the cistern, on every level. As such, Kared and Oroske were able to climb the maintenance ladders up to the floor second from the top. It was a long climb, and the two took a short break to rest and discuss the rest of the plan.

    ¡°Erun¡¯s suite is on this floor, according to my intel,¡± Kared explained after they had sat down against the wall, ¡°I¡¯ll handle all the talking, so you just stay out of sight and keep watch. That sound good?¡±

    ¡°Fine by me,¡± Oroske said with a shrug, ¡°I take it your ¡®intel¡¯ is from the Crimson Twilight?¡±

    ¡°Yes. The Erun family is deep in debt to them, so naturally they keep close tabs on them. When I visited the Twilight yesterday, I was confirming the information and asking some questions. I got permission to count this as paying a portion of his debt off, as long as he follows through.¡±

    ¡°I see, that¡¯s pretty useful. What other questions did you ask?¡±

    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    ¡°That business with Kuro¡¯s Second Soul was on my mind, so I asked them about any trenui trader groups getting up to no good. They said there are a few groups, two in the Demon Realm, one in the Human, that have been pretty high-profile targets for law enforcement lately. Unfortunately I don''t have much more to go off of than that. The rest of the questions I asked were about some personal business.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you cared that much about Kuro and his Second, that was nice of you to ask about it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s less that I care about him and his Second, more that I can¡¯t sit idly and let trenui be treated like that. You know how I feel about that kind of stuff.¡±

    ¡°Ah, yeah that makes more sense. Anyway, I¡¯m ready to go if you are.¡±

    Kared nodded and stood up, stretching her arms above her head. Oroske followed suit, save for the stretching part. Upon exiting the cistern, the two walked in silence, Kared leading the way to the Erun family suite. Their path took them from the inner depths of the palace to the front, where the walls opened up into arches, giving way to a beautiful view of the city and the realms of Spire. Clumps of small dots of light could be seen, indicating where the various cities were. They didn¡¯t take any time to take in the sites and simply continued their journey, turning South and following the hall.

    Near where the hallway met back up with the mountain, and the arches stopped, they stopped at a small hallway with a door at the end. Small windows looked from the walls near the door out towards the arches.

    Kared looked to Oroske, who simply nodded before propping himself up against the wall, just out of sight of the door. She then walked up to the door and gave a series of heavy knocks. Confused, muffled voices could be heard from inside. Sir Erun opened the door, confused at first. His confusion quickly turned to terror as he realized who was standing at his door. While large in width, he was small in stature, compared to Kared at least.

    ¡°Wh-why are you here?! How are you here?!¡± He stammered out angrily.

    ¡°The Crimson Twilight knows their way around this city better than anyone,¡± She said in a flat, serious voice, ¡°You owe them a great debt, do you not?¡±

    ¡°Wh-what¡¯s it to you? You¡¯re with those Tsumi now, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Who said I can¡¯t be with both? But that¡¯s not the point. The point is, I¡¯ve come in their stead to ask a favor.¡± She pulled an envelope, given to her by Danfis, out of her jacket. ¡°The Tsumi are going to be asking for some things during tomorrow¡¯s conference. All you have to do is push in favor of them.¡±

    ¡°Why would the Crimson Twilight want me to side with the Tsumi?¡±

    ¡°Simple, the things they want will benefit us as well.¡±

    ¡°And what of my debt? Will this clear it?¡±

    ¡°Oh, no, not entirely. It will be a good step towards clearing it, but your family¡¯s debt is simply far deeper than this is worth. That said, if you don¡¯t do it,¡± she paused and summoned forth a sword from her Demon Sheath, then leaned in and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m sure you know what happens next.¡±

    Erun¡¯s fear level sky-rocketed, and he agreed nervously. ¡°Please, just don¡¯t hurt my family,¡± he begged.

    She gave a creepy smile, and said, ¡°No promises.¡± She then turned around and walked away, grabbing Oroske as she turned the corner.

    ¡°Is it true that the Crimson Twilight will benefit from this as well?¡± He asked after they had made it back to the cistern.

    ¡°More or less,¡± she sighed, ¡°Having a larger swathe of neutral territory would certainly be good for business. They¡¯d probably end up at least trying to set up some sort of office location in or near Tsumi¡¯din. They wouldn¡¯t have agreed to let it count towards that family¡¯s debt if it wasn¡¯t at least partially beneficial to them.¡±

    ¡°I see, that makes sense.¡± There was a long pause as they climbed back down the ladder. ¡°Would you actually hurt his family?¡±

    ¡°If someone does, it wouldn¡¯t be me personally. But even then, I think the odds are in their favor. The Twilight usually doesn¡¯t actually hurt the people that are in debt to them. After all, you can¡¯t collect on debt from people who are dead.¡±

    By the time she stopped talking, they had already made it back to the Underground¡¯s maze. She gave him instructions on how to get back to the surface, and they split up once again.

    While they were out and about, those of us that stayed back went out for dinner and discussed today¡¯s conference, as well as discussed our plans for the next day. The second day of conferences would be focused on requests and issues the clans are facing, as well as more minor issues and requests from all parties.

    The Ishen reported they had nothing in mind to bring up here, but they had several issues that were going to be brought up to the Lords in the Human Realm.

    The Incol on the other hand did have requests for both sides. ¡°As we often act as a neutral law enforcement party,¡± Uri began explaining, ¡°We want to petition to install permanent outposts in some of the more major cities. In the Human Realm we¡¯re looking to get a facility in the City of Towers, Quarry, and the Royal City currently. Here in the Demon Realm, we want one in Al¡¯din, Sanctis, and Pyr¡¯ra. We¡¯d ask for one in Ish¡¯din, but I think we can all agree that would be extremely unlikely.¡±

    ¡°We have a handful of requests ourselves,¡± Nadred chimed in, ¡°Though I myself don¡¯t know of them. The only two people here who do know are out doing their own thing right now.¡±

    Our discussion derailed shortly after that, devolving into mostly idle chatter about various topics. Not knowing much about the world, I opted to simply sit and listen to people, eager to learn of their experiences. We ended up talking pretty late into the night, with Oroske and Kared getting back to our lodgings before us.

    As these events took place, Lady Meia gathered her investigation team, an elite squadron that specialized in stealth and the gathering of information, and briefed them on the situation with the bridge and bandits around the Realm. She sent them out to discover what they can regarding the recent events. They dispersed immediately, practically disappearing into thin air, and quickly and quietly got to work.

 38: Neutral Territory

    [The Half-Demon Clans¡¯ cities and home bases are considered to be neutral territory.

    Historically there have been other locations also considered to be,

    But there aren¡¯t any at the moment.

    Though some consider Ish¡¯din and the Royal City to be, under certain circumstances.]

    The next day saw us climbing the stairs again in the morning, albeit without the heavy-handed, ceremonious tone. We entered the same room we had been in nearly all day the previous day, and took up the same positions we held. Today, Lady Meia stood and called the meeting to its start.

    ¡°Today, we, the members of the Demon Realm¡¯s Parliament, will listen to issues and requests from the Half-Demon Clans. This is your sole opportunity to sell us on your ideas and earn our cooperation and support.¡± She explained, then gestured to her left towards the Ishen¡¯s representative. ¡°We will begin with the Ishen Clan.¡±

    She took her seat, as the young woman representing the Ishen stood up, clearing her throat. It took me until the previous night to learn her name and gain any sort of information on her. She was eighteen, just barely two years into what most consider adulthood. She had light blue hair and glowing red eyes, and while she was four years older than me, she was the same height as me. Which was a weird feeling, as almost everyone I knew was noticeably taller than me, if only barely. Her name was Gai, and she wore the same uniform as Sel¡¯un.

    ¡°Very well,¡± she started, ¡°We don¡¯t really have anything new to request, and merely echo the same requests we¡¯ve had for the past two meetings. We ask for easier access to Ish¡¯din, and an increase to our pay when performing jobs for the government, local and realm-wide.¡± I noticed Regent Der¡¯rel looked annoyed at the requests, and he looked as though he was about to start talking. Gai must have realized as well, since she cut him off. ¡°I understand your reasons for why Ish¡¯din¡¯s security is so tight. Especially with the rise of criminal and terrorist activity as of late. However, as we have petitioned time and time again, the Ishen Clan are the primary protectors of this realm, outside of the Imperial Army, that is. We believe that if our people had easier access to Ish¡¯din, we would be able to more readily protect the city, and more readily assist with matters here. Just last year, Ish¡¯din suffered an attack from a yet-unknown source. Had we been able to enter the city more freely, instead of being required to go through the slow, frankly antiquated, screening process in Sanctis, we could have not only protected those who got hurt, but discovered who the attackers were.¡±

    ¡°I can agree with that,¡± Meia spoke up, raising a hand timidly, ¡°Even with my elite team doing everything they can to find the attackers, they¡¯ve always returned empty handed. Nearly two hundred, between citizens and military personnel, were injured that night. But if the Ishen were able to respond and arrive even just an hour sooner, that number would have been significantly lower. As such, I believe the idea has merit and vote in favor of at least scheduling more in-depth discussions. My apologies for interrupting, you may continue.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your support,¡± Gai said with a polite bow, hand on chest, ¡°As for increasing our payment rates for government jobs, this comes from a noticeable trend, especially within the last few years. I¡¯m sure those present now and back then would remember that we made this same request and had it approved during the previous conference. But just as we had a few years ago, the margin between payment from government jobs and independent contracting jobs has grown significantly. As have prices for goods and services the world over. Each year without at least a minor increase in pay, it gets more difficult for us to live. And as such, it becomes harder to justify the ratio of government-to-independent jobs we¡¯ve maintained for so long. Put simply, the Ishen Clan would be able to prosper much more if we accepted only independent jobs. As such, we wish to petition not only to increase the amount we are paid by local and realm governments, but to hold meetings twice a year to discuss any changes in our rates.¡±

    ¡°You make a compelling case,¡± Der¡¯rel grunted as he raised his hand. ¡°I am willing to discuss this further with your Clan¡¯s leader, as the support we receive from your family is extremely valuable to us, especially lately.¡± His voice did not conceal his true feelings, that he was upset this request was coming in. ¡°Any other requests?¡±

    ¡°That is everything I was sent here with,¡± Gai said as she sat down, arms folded.

    ¡°Very well.¡± Der¡¯rel stood up, ¡°Then allow us in the Parliament to discuss and vote on these matters.¡± He stood back down, and the members of the Parliament discussed in hushed tones.

    I¡¯m sure those sitting near them could hear a lot of the conversation, but I couldn¡¯t hear anything from where I stood. I could only observe the faces of the members I could see, being Sirs Der¡¯rel and Erun. Erun seemed to be very upset about a lot of the things that were being said, and I could tell he was definitely against at least one of the topics.

    After several minutes of their chattering, they regained their composure and faced the rest of the table. Der¡¯rel stood once more. ¡°We have concluded our talks, and will now vote on the two proposals. Those in favor will raise their hands, those not in favor will not. First is the topic of easier entry into Ish¡¯din. If this topic passes, it will not mean the Ishen get their wish immediately, but that we will discuss further with the Clan¡¯s head. All in favor, vote now.¡±

    I was surprised to see Der¡¯rel¡¯s hand was up. Ladies Meia and Shadowchild, as well as Prince Ars¡¯erib also raised theirs. Erun was the only one who did not, keeping his arms folded tightly, clearly upset about something.

    ¡°It has passed. Next, we shall vote on the topic of increasing payment for the Ishen. This topic will likely also affect the other two Clans. Much like the previous topic, this passing does not mean it will immediately go into effect, but instead opens the door for us to talk about details with Clan leaders.¡±

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    The Regent surprised me again, keeping his hand raised. Lady Shadowchild and the Prince raised theirs as well. Meia on the other hand was hesitant, clearly contemplating her thoughts. Eventually she raised her hand, and the vote passed once more. Though it had passed before she had, as Shadowchild and the Prince made it into majority vote. Erun was unsurprisingly unflinching in his resolve against the idea. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder why he was so against it.

    ¡°Next, we will hear from the Tsumi Clan.¡± Meia announced after the vote had passed.

    Oroske cleared his throat and stood up, ¡°Our request is a simple one. Much like the Ishen¡¯s requests, it is one we have made before. We wish to expand our territory into the Human and Demon Realms. This would naturally mean that what is considered neutral territory for both realms will also expand.¡± All five members of the Parliament already looked apprehensive about the idea. ¡°This idea has benefits for all parties involved. First, for us,¡± he raised a finger, ¡°We are a rapidly growing family. While we unite under the banner of Tsumi, there is a growing number of us who no longer use the name. Having our city be limited to the pillar in the Rift means we have a very finite size our city can grow to. We estimate that within two years, if not only one, we will outgrow the rock we call home.

    ¡°Second,¡± he raised another finger, ¡°Is for you, and the Lords of the Human Realm. You would have easier access to our Clan, and would be involved in designing the new infrastructure of the city. Meaning if you so desired, you could build your own lodging and businesses. This has been prohibited in Tsumi¡¯din as we do not have the space to accommodate businesses and homes for anyone outside of our Clan.¡±

    ¡°In what way would we have easier access to the Clan?¡± The Prince questioned.

    ¡°Firstly, if you were to open up some sort of branch office there, you could take good advantage of the recent advancements in communication magic and submit requests and jobs for us more easily and readily, rather than relying on the old, faulty communication methods we¡¯ve used for so long. Second, we predict that within a year or two, Gate magic will have advanced enough for it to be reliable enough to use. As of now, we do not have the land nor the means to house any sort of transportation magic of that sort. With the land we¡¯d be given in each realm, we would be able to accommodate the magic, and house it in structures that would be owned and monitored by each realms¡¯ government.¡±

    The Parliament as a whole began thinking about and discussing the idea in hushed tones. I caught Erun looking nervously at Kared, who was standing next to the door. Arms folded, and leaning against the wall, she gave him a rather intense glare. Erun seemed to panic a bit.

    ¡°How much land are you asking for from each side?¡± The Prince asked once again after a moment of their hushed chatter.

    ¡°The same as during the last conference, a semi-circle with a one mile radius, starting from the current entrance bridge. We may one day ask to expand it further, but that remains to be seen.¡±

    ¡°And what will you do if we say no?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll figure something out. Whether that¡¯s finding places for our members to live in other cities, rebuilding our city to accommodate the increasing population, or taking the land by force.¡± Oroske sounded scarily serious during that last part, and I got the feeling that might be the first option we try.

    The Parliament stared him down seriously, giving heavy consideration to his words.

    ¡°Very well,¡± Der¡¯rel said, pulling his head off of his hands and leaning back into his seat, ¡°This is an issue I expect will impact the other Clans as well. After all, if we granted this for the Tsumi, there would likely be pressure, and an expectation, to give the same treatment to the others. We will discuss amongst ourselves and hold a vote. As with previous topics, this will not guarantee your request will be fulfilled, but we will discuss more with the Clans¡¯ leaders.¡±

    The Parliament discussion was still in hushed tones, though this time loud enough that I could make out the occasional word. Sir Erun looked as though he was trying hard to convince the rest about something. He seemed flustered anytime a question was shot at him about it.

    After several minutes of heated but quiet conversation, they settled down, and held their vote. Everyone but the Regent raised their hands in favor almost immediately, though he would eventually hesitantly join.

    The atmosphere in the room changed drastically, as though the people around us became very excited. I caught a small glimpse of Oroske smiling before returning to his neutral face. Despite the change in energy, everyone remained silent.

    ¡°If the Tsumi don¡¯t have any more requests, we will now hear from the Incol.¡± Regent Der¡¯rel stated.

    Myr nervously stood up, and exchanged a glance with her brother, who just nodded at her. She cleared her throat, and began. ¡°We in the Incol Clan also only have a single request, we would like to set up facilities for our members to operate out of in some of the more major cities in each Realm. To start off, we would like to set up a base in Al¡¯din, the Port of Pyr¡¯ra, and Sanctis. As these three are major cities, and the cities we do the most of our work in, we would like to be able to set up a ¡®home away from home¡¯ for our operators. Through setting up these outposts, we would be able to more readily assist in each of the cities, as well as travel to the neighboring cities with ease. We would have our personnel cycle between which outpost they are working at on a weekly basis to start off. We are of course asking for a similar deal from the Lords of the Human Realm.¡±

    ¡°Certainly an idea with merits,¡± the Prince said, earning a nod of agreement from the Regent. ¡°Should this idea pass, I think it would be wise to meet with the leaders of all three Clans about it, as this is something that would benefit all parties.¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Regent Der¡¯rel called their discussion to begin once more. The talks were kept short, and ended in a vote, unanimously in favor of the proposition.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Myr said as she sat back down.

    ¡°Now that the requests are finished,¡± Der¡¯rel stood and spoke once again, ¡°All ideas proposed have passed. The Prince and I will draft up an official letter to the Eight Lords and the Clan leaders for our guests to take back with them to their homes. The letter will be a request from each party to schedule a time for all of us to meet in person and discuss these matters more in depth.¡±

    The various representatives all voiced their understanding, and the meeting was called to a close for the day. As we walked out, I saw many people stretching their legs and arms. Almost immediately after the audience chamber doors closed, chatter broke out amongst all of our group. I couldn¡¯t help but look around and down hallways. I was itching to explore the palace, and was sad I probably wouldn¡¯t get the opportunity any time soon.

    Most of our party returned to our lodgings immediately, but my clan and I went out to get food. After eating, we returned, and spent the rest of the night at the hotel.

 39: Ibiryn

    [An Alten word, meaning to contain, or hold.

    It¡¯s also the name of the Last King¡¯s fourth child.]

    The third day of the conference came and went without any issue. The day¡¯s talks focused on things going on in the Human Realm. Unsurprisingly, the issues they faced there were pretty similar to things here in the Demon Realm; a lot of Sigil appearances, and heightened aggression from bandits were the two main things mentioned. A decision was made for both governments to meet with the Guardians about the Sigil issue, and the decision to investigate further into the increase of bandit activity and terror attacks was reaffirmed. Aside from that, not much happened out of the ordinary.

    Then on the fourth day, we met once more. Oroske told us as we were getting dressed for the day that this would be the final day of meetings, and we¡¯d begin our return journey the day after next.

    This day promised to be largely a repeat of the past few days, focusing on ¡°topics of high importance from both Realms.¡± Which I figured would mean more talking about bandits, Sigils, and terrorist attacks. I wasn¡¯t far off, though they also had more open forum discussion regarding the requests we half-demons made on the second day. It seemed the Parliament was interested in the present Lords¡¯ opinions on the matters. Most issues were received positively, though the issue of expanding the clans¡¯ neutral territory seemed to have mixed reception.

    While the matter of the Sigils and Calamities were being discussed once more, the doors to the chamber were suddenly forced open. A group of three women and two men, all completely covered in matching black clothing, even hiding their faces, barged in, and quickly kneeled, one fist to the floor and the other on their chest. ¡°Our apologies for interrupting!¡± The woman in the center shouted, ¡°We¡¯ve just received an urgent report for Madam Meia. We¡¯ve discovered and captured a small group of bandits we believe to be involved with the bridge incident. They are detained elsewhere in the palace for interrogation.¡±

    Meia stood up and spoke, ¡°Well done.¡± She looked to her companions in the Parliament, ¡°Would you mind if we took a short break? I would like to be present for the interrogation.¡± While she was looking at the Parliament, it seemed the question was directed at everyone at the table.

    Regent Der¡¯rel looked at her intensely before waving his hand in dismissal. Meia bowed slightly in gratitude and took her leave. We left the chamber, and took a break to relax in the palace foyer. After a few minutes, I realized Kared was missing from our group, and Nadred and Oroske were talking quietly to each other. I discreetly focused my vision so I could clearly see the lines of energy manipulation, and discovered a line leading off of Nadred¡¯s stamped hand, leading into the hallway where Meia and her group went.

    After about an hour, Kared returned silently, as though she¡¯d never left. Not even ten minutes later, Meia returned as well, heading straight into the conference room. We followed suit, and returned to our positions.

    ¡°It seems we have some new information regarding our bandit issues,¡± Meia said once everyone had sat down, though she remained standing, ¡°I don¡¯t know the full details, but it would seem that someone, or some group of people, are going out of their way to fund and supply various bandit groups across the Realm. I believe it¡¯s likely the same thing is happening across the Rift, and it¡¯s likely being done by the same people.¡±

    ¡°Do we have any sort of name for these people? Any suspicions who they may be?¡± Der¡¯rel asked the question everyone at the table seemed to want to ask.

    ¡°Nothing concrete. The bandits we have in captivity seem to be lower in their hierarchy, and don¡¯t have many details. However, one of them claimed to have seen the person who delivered the funds and supplies to their camp. He described the person to have been dressed in an ¡®ornate¡¯ black cloak, covering their hair with a hood and their face with a mask. The bandit did get a look at the person¡¯s eyes, and we can confidently say they aren¡¯t human, at least. We also don¡¯t know their gender for sure, as their body¡¯s structure was well-concealed by the cloak.¡± Meia reported.

    ¡°It is relieving to know that there is an enemy of sorts,¡± Prince Ars¡¯erib voiced, eliciting murmurs of agreement from the table. ¡°However, it is troubling that whoever it is has access to a large amount of venn, as well as supplies that are hard to come by.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll bet it¡¯s that damn Crimson Twilight looking to stir up trouble,¡± the Regent growled, shooting a sharp glare at Kared.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t fit their methods,¡± Oroske interjected, ¡°If it were them, you would know that it¡¯s them. And they wouldn¡¯t resort to relying on bandits and the like. They prefer to do the dirty work themselves.¡± The Regent seemed to back down a bit, though it was clear he still held his suspicion.

    ¡°Either way, there¡¯s not a lot that we can do right now.¡± The Prince lamented.

    ¡°Could you keep them in containment until later tomorrow?¡± Oroske asked, ¡°If so, I wouldn¡¯t mind questioning them myself. I believe we could work out an emergency request contract, and we can take a closer look for ourselves on our way back to Tsumi¡¯din.¡±

    ¡°Are you really in a position to pull something like that off?¡± The Prince asked.

    ¡°Absolutely. Right now I am representing Danfis himself, a role he does not allow people to take without an extreme amount of trust. So long as Raen and his crew are alright with a detour on our way home.¡±

    The Prince looked to Meia, who nodded, ¡°We can arrange that. We can discuss details once the meeting is over.¡±

    ¡°Is there anything else that needs to be discussed?¡± Der¡¯rel asked, wanting to get the discussion back on track.

    ¡°How are things looking with trenui ownership laws?¡± Oroske asked boldly. It was clearly a topic many people were sensitive to.

    ¡°Ah yes, that¡¯s right,¡± Der¡¯rel sighed, ¡°We¡¯ve actually been having some issues. Approval rates of the current laws in Ish¡¯din are still sitting high at eighty-two percent in favor. However, across the Realm as a whole, it¡¯s down from thirty percent in favor to eighteen percent, and showing signs of decreasing. Furthermore, looking deeper into the analytics, roughly ninety percent of those in favor own or are friends with people who own trenui. We have been considering reform in the laws, but have not made any decisions yet.¡±

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been seeing a similar trend in our Realm as well,¡± Lady Shen¡¯anum spoke next, ¡°Historically our people have generally been less approving of trenui ownership than here in the Demon Realm. We have recently introduced slight reform in the laws to try and get the trenui better treatment, and that seems to have increased approval a small bit, but we don¡¯t have any numbers at the moment.¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Raen agreed, ¡°There have been talks about abolishment, however as I¡¯m sure the Parliament can sympathize, we¡¯re worried that doing so would lose us the support of various nobles and other trenui owners.¡±

    ¡°I suggest we add that to the list of topics to bring up in our meeting with the Guardians,¡± Ars¡¯erib declared. General noises of agreement filled the room.

    ¡°Thank you, this issue means a lot to us,¡± Oroske voiced his appreciation with a respectful bow.

    With the trenui discussion quickly resolved, Der¡¯rel asked if there was anything left to discuss. After a moment of silence, he declared the meeting over. ¡°This ends the final day of this year''s Human-Demon Peace Party. We humbly thank our guests, the Half-Demon Clans and the Lords of the Incol Realm, and their escorts, for making the long journey here. We will send for communication in three weeks time, regarding our future meetings with each other and our gracious Guardians.¡± His voice echoed in the room loudly as he and the rest of the parliament stood up. They all bowed respectfully, hands at their sides, in gratitude.

    While we hadn¡¯t done the ceremonious walk up the stairs since the first day, we did so going back down. I thought it was a little weird, especially since this time there wasn¡¯t really anybody watching the steps. Oroske defended it when I brought it up, saying it¡¯s an ancient tradition, and it¡¯s a matter of formality. Supposedly, before Ish¡¯din¡¯s security became so tight, the Clans and Lords would spend each night in the palace¡¯s guest rooms. So instead of walking up the stairs every morning, they would only walk them twice; on the morning of the first day, and the evening of the last.

    Once our groups had all reached the bottom, and fanned out at the base of the stairs like we had on the first day, we turned around and faced the Parliament once more. From the great distance the steps created, it was hard to see them. Each group bowed to each other one last time before the Parliament returned to the palace interior.

    The full party of humans and half-demons ended up going to the Eternal Sun again to celebrate. I was tired from standing all day, so I ended up returning to the hotel after only an hour. To my surprise, Jarou and Nadred came with me. We ended up chatting for a bit about some of the topics that were discussed over the past couple days before turning in for the night.

    In the morning, Oroske gathered me and Kared to go back up to the palace to speak with the bandits they had captured. As we were leaving, we were stopped by Raen, who petitioned for us to let him accompany us. ¡°The information you gain may be helpful for us as well,¡± he explained, ¡°And I¡¯d like to witness this aspect of your Clan¡¯s work as well. I foresee us working together more closely and more frequently in the near future, and I wish to see as much of your operations as possible.¡±

    Oroske sighed, ¡°Alright, I guess you can come. Let¡¯s just get going. Sooner we get up there, the sooner we¡¯re done.¡±

    We had traveled nearly half-way up the stairs to the palace when Raen broke the silence again. ¡°So, Kared, you snuck off and witnessed at least part of the interrogation yesterday, correct?¡±

    She seemed caught off guard by the question, but kept her composure, ¡°So what if I did?¡±

    ¡°I just wanted to ask for your thoughts before we get there.¡±

    ¡°If I had any, it¡¯s that Madam Meia is softer with her interrogations than I expected. The people in captivity were pretty bruised and beaten up, but they were like that before she showed up. They seemed strangely willing to talk to her. Perhaps she used some form of aspected magic. As for the information gained, she told us almost everything that was said by the bandits. I¡¯m sure the omitted information will come up again, though.¡±

    ¡°I see. Meia is an interesting woman, that much I can say for certain. She¡¯s someone I wouldn¡¯t want to be enemies with.¡±

    ¡°I can agree with that.¡± Kared said.

    The rest of our walk was silent. We were greeted by Meia at the palace gates, who then escorted us through its halls. It was refreshing to see a new part of the palace, though the design and architecture was very similar to the parts I had seen. From the small bit of it I saw, the palace itself had a rather simple layout. From the entrance, hallways split off in both directions - we went down the hall to the right, and I assume it¡¯s the same on the other side - and from there, there would be three rooms before another hall intersected with the one we were in. This pattern repeated three times until we had reached the corner of the palace, which naturally meant a lot of walking. Walking that would be done in silence, broken only by our footsteps on the stone tiles echoing throughout the hall.

    Once at the corner, we ascended a spiral staircase, and continued in the direction we had come from, before entering into the third door. I was expecting to see the captive bandits waiting for us, in a jail-like room. Instead, the room we entered was nicely furnished with three couches, forming an incomplete square around a rectangular table. ¡°Take a seat and wait here while I bring the prisoners here.¡± Meia instructed before leaving, closing and locking the door behind her. Both sides of the lock could only be operated with a key. I got the feeling she didn¡¯t trust us with the ability to wander the palace halls. I wonder if that¡¯s because of Kared, I thought to myself.

    While we were instructed to sit, I decided to wander the room and look around. It was a cozy room, the only real detriment I could find was that there weren¡¯t any windows. I suppose we are underground, a window wouldn¡¯t do a whole lot of good, I realized. There was a table and chair at the back end of the room, with pens and blank sheets of paper. Above the desk was a detailed painting of Ish¡¯din, as viewed from above. The perspective was higher than the top of the stairs we had climbed earlier, so I wondered if there were other spots with views like that. There were paintings on the other walls, save for the wall with the door. One was a painting of the view we had seen on our way from Sanctis to Ish¡¯din.

    The other was a detailed, but highly stylized map of the Realms. I thought nothing of it upon my initial glance, until I realized the Rift was missing and did a double take. Sure enough, not only was the Rift missing, but so was Tsumi¡¯din and the other Clans. In the area the City of Towers was at the time, there was instead what looked like a temple. None of the cities were labeled, so I had no way of knowing what it was supposed to be. I recalled Nadred¡¯s lecture about how the Der¡¯venn¡¯ya Desert was originally a large forest, and went to check it. In its place was indeed a forest. There were three icons, which seemed to indicate cities, in the forest. One to the West, around where I was pretty sure a city still was, another closer to the center, and one up against the Ishen Mountains. I guessed that the one up against the mountains was one of the old Empire¡¯s capitals that I had heard about.

    Before I could examine the map much further, the door unlocked and swung open. Meia walked in, followed by two of the people who interrupted yesterday¡¯s meeting, and three bandits, dressed in what may as well have been rags.

    The one at the front suddenly moved to the front, and while looking directly at Oroske, proclaimed, ¡°It¡¯s you! Why are you here?!¡±

 40: Interrogation

    [The act of getting information out of a person or group,

    Typically involves violence, but not always.]

    ¡°Why are you here?!¡± The bandit shouted as he stumbled forward to the front of the group, directing his question at Oroske. He was a young man, no older than twenty, with ratty blue hair.

    Oroske looked the bandit up and down and thought to himself for a moment, before finally asking, ¡°Do I know you?¡±

    The bandit looked depressed by the question, but shook his head, ¡°I guess I shouldn¡¯t expect you to remember. It was a few years ago. You came to my village and ¡®took care of¡¯ a bunch of bandits that were harassing us.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Oroske paused, ¡°Gonna be honest, I don¡¯t know for sure I remember you specifically. Around that time I was beating up a bunch of different groups, so they all blended together in my mind. Regardless, you say I saved your people from bandits, yet here you are as a bandit yourself?¡±

    The man looked down in shame, ¡°I didn¡¯t really have a choice. A year later, my current camp came to my home village and preached about their campaign to gain ¡®true freedom.¡¯ We were free to choose if we went with them or not. We were promised the freedom to live free of laws and that we wouldn¡¯t be harming people. Our village elders accepted, and the village became our new camp. Up until recently, that was the truth. Then that woman showed up, and made offers we couldn¡¯t refuse.¡±

    ¡°Woman? You mean the person funding and supplying your camp?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve never heard her name, but the chief sometimes refers to her as the ¡®Demon Lord.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Demon Lord, huh? Not the best taste, but at least it¡¯s concise. What were these offers made?¡±

    ¡°The first ones, you already know about: money and supplies. We¡¯re being given a consistent stream of venn that¡¯s more than enough for us to keep our entire camp fed and happy. And on top of the supplies needed to perform the jobs she asks of us, she¡¯s supplying us with clothing, raw materials, weapons, and any other supplies we may ask for.

    ¡°But the big one, the main reason we went along with her: she said that if we follow her and her companions, we would be given all the freedom we could ever ask for.¡±

    ¡°I see, I see.¡± Oroske said while thinking to himself. He turned to Meia, ¡°Any new information yet?¡±

    Meia shook her head, ¡°That they are calling themselves ¡®Demon Lord¡¯ is news to me, but otherwise nothing.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you pretty much everything I know. Most of it I only know from eavesdropping, whether intentional or by coincidence.¡±

    ¡°Gotcha.¡± Oroske leaned forward and got serious. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what, I can cut you a deal. If you tell us where your camp is, we can help you cut ties with this ¡®Demon Lord.¡¯ It sounds like you don¡¯t want to hurt people, and if your camp was founded with that as a core principle, I¡¯m inclined to believe most of your people don¡¯t want to either. We¡¯d simply go in, beat people up, and interrogate your chief directly.¡±

    ¡°Will you kill anyone?¡±

    ¡°Not intentionally. We¡¯ll do our best to only temporarily incapacitate, but I cannot promise everyone will come out of it alive.¡±

    The man thought to himself for a moment, then looked to his companions. ¡°What do you guys think?¡±

    The first to answer was a slightly younger looking man with very short blonde hair, boldly saying, ¡°I don¡¯t know about you two, but I don¡¯t like the direction things are going at home. I say we should take the offer.¡±

    The younger girl, who was either my age or a little younger - maybe a little older, and just looks young - remained silent and just looked scared. I felt a little bad, I got the feeling she was just dragged into this mess.

    ¡°I feel the same,¡± the man said after a moment, ¡°We¡¯ll take it. What do we get in return?¡±

    Oroske leaned onto the back of the couch with a smile. ¡°Good choice. Not only will we gain the information we need to deal with this ¡®Demon Lord,¡¯ we will work to help you and yours reintegrate into regular society. We will do everything we can to assist in ensuring you retain your freedoms. All parties will probably have to be happy with some level of compromise.

    ¡°But I can promise you that your village will be granted ample opportunity to earn an honest living. Does that sound like a good enough offer?¡±

    The oldest of the bandits took a moment to think before speaking, ¡°I¡¯d hate to make any sort of promises on behalf of our chief, but I think they¡¯ll understand.¡± He bowed his head, ¡°Please, help put my people back on the right path.¡±

    ¡°With pleasure. All I need from you now is the location of the camp.¡±

    At his request, the woman accompanying Meia procured him a map of the Realm. Her two companions were eerie to witness. Dressed entirely in black, with everything but their figure hidden. No skin color, eye color, or hair color were visible. On top of that, aside from the one that spoke when they came into the conference chamber, I never heard any of them speak.

    The man inspected the map closely, taking time to figure out the scaling of the map and where exactly along the road the camp was located. Eventually he asked ¡°Would they be able to take this map with them? I think it¡¯ll be easier if I write some directions and notes for them.¡± Meia approved and gave him a pen. He began drawing on the map, in the forest near Oru¡¯ou. Once finished, he handed the map to Oroske, who inspected the notes closely.

    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Not as detailed as I¡¯d like, but it¡¯ll do.¡± He sounded satisfied.

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to get things exact when the landmarks I usually look for aren¡¯t on the map,¡± the bandit explained.

    ¡°I get it. In truth this map is probably better than I could have made,¡± he said so earnestly. ¡°I appreciate your cooperation with this matter. I¡¯ll ensure you and yours are treated well, and are able to return home soon. And when you do return, it¡¯ll be a home to be proud of.¡± Oroske then turned to Meia, ¡°Get these kids some proper clothes and food. If you insist on it, I¡¯ll pay for it all myself. We are to leave Ish¡¯din tomorrow morning. I¡¯ll discuss the plans of attack with the other Clans and Lords. Will that be alright with you?¡±

    ¡°That will be fine.¡± Meia responded flatly.

    ¡°How are you feeling about things, Raen?¡±

    ¡°The fact there is even a singular person trying to adopt the moniker of ¡®Demon Lord¡¯ is a tad worrying. This matter could very well be much larger than we thought,¡± Raen said, ¡°As such, I am more than willing to take this detour on our way back home. I¡¯m sure my men will follow along with it as well. It¡¯s the other Lords and Clans I¡¯m worried about, I fear it may just be our two groups.¡±

    Oroske and Kared seemed to be in agreement with his conclusion. With plans arranged, we left the palace. The bandits were kept in that room by Meia and her crew, and we were uninvolved with anything else that happened to them.

    ¡°I will say, my initial impressions of your family have been proven wrong again and again,¡± Raen said as we exited the building. ¡°I had assumed you would have violently interrogated them to get as much information as possible.¡±

    Oroske laughed, and Kared responded ¡°Depending on the situation and person in question, it very well could have gotten violent.¡±

    The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, ending as usual with us back at the hotel.

    ¡ª

    Or rather, it should have been uneventful. A few hours after we had gone to bed, when everyone was deep asleep, I was suddenly woken up by a loud bang, followed by searing pain in my stomach. It took me a moment to regain my bearings, and once I had I realized I was brought into a different room. The lights were all turned off, and I was only able to see because of the moonlight pouring in through the window. I put my hand to my stomach to inspect the pain, and was horrified to feel a hole in my shirt, with blood oozing out of my body from the same spot. I felt dizzy. Someone, who I assumed was the one who gave me the wound, walked in front of the window. Seeing their silhouette, a tall figure with long, rabbit-like ears, terrified me. My fears were confirmed when I heard her voice.

    ¡°Sorry, Kuro. It¡¯s nothing personal, just doing my job.¡± Kared¡¯s voice was quiet and ice-cold. The small, cylindrical weapon in her hand disappeared and was quickly replaced by a long, slightly curved sword.

    I summoned my own sword, and prepared to defend myself. I was nearly too slow, only just making it to block her first blow, which involved her launching herself at me with incredible speed. While I would say I managed to block it, I still got nicked in my right shoulder as I only really blocked my left side and chest.

    She absolutely had the strength advantage, and her weapon was significantly longer than my own. The warning she gave me in the City of Towers echoed in my mind. If I don¡¯t fight seriously, I¡¯ll definitely die here. Hell, I might die even if I fight at full strength.

    I had been passively training myself to use acceleration whenever I had the opportunity, and had used it a couple times in sparring matches, so that was my first thought. As soon as Kared bounced off from my block, I Accelerated to my limit. Admittedly, it wasn¡¯t very much, but I needed any edge I could, and as much time I could get to think. Why is she attacking me? She said it was for ¡®her job,¡¯ but I doubt Danfis would have her kill another member of the Clan. So it has to be from the Crimson Twilight, right? My mind ran at an incredible speed, but I couldn¡¯t come up with a good answer.

    I took a step forward to begin my counterattack. I sent concentrated selr into my sword¡¯s blade, and augmented the speed of the slash further with a blast of sentem. She blocked my strike with little to no effort, holding her sword from above my head, blade traveling down vertically.. I had commanded the selr on my weapon to follow through with the swing after being blocked, but it either didn¡¯t faze her, or she was able to neutralize it somehow. In the span of that split second she had reacted, and matched my level of acceleration.

    She carried her sword upward, transitioning from blocking to parrying my strike. The length of her blade allowed for the tip to cut into my chest, and the blade got a good distance into my right arm. I tried to recover as quickly as I could from the parry, but before I could regain my footing, she delivered a sharp punch to my ribs, right where she¡¯d cut a moment before. It felt like she broke them.

    I fell to my knees, putting my right hand on my chest in a feeble, futile attempt to stop the pain. ¡°This ends now.¡± Kared kicked my face, causing me to fall on my back. She flipped her sword around so she held it in a back-hand grip. The door to the room swung open as she plunged the blade into my stomach, as my vision blurred.

    I heard Oroske yelling, but couldn¡¯t make out what he was saying. Then I blacked out.

    ¡ª

    When I came to, I had been moved onto a bed, and the lights were on. My head was pounding and my chest, arms, and face were incredibly sore. I felt like I was on the verge of passing out again. I heard Oroske and Kared talking. It took a second for any of the conversation to actually register in my mind.

    ¡°...-ilight. It was part of the conditions for our deal with that fat nobleman. All they wanted me to do was identify and kill the Tsumi¡¯s Chosen One.¡± Kared¡¯s statements were the first I could make out.

    ¡°And why would they want you to do that?¡± Oroske questioned angrily.

    Kared hesitated, ¡°You¡¯ll know when it¡¯s time to know. Just know it¡¯s likely not what you think.¡±

    While I couldn¡¯t see, I could hear Oroske¡¯s annoyance in the sounds he made and his voice. ¡°Well, fine. Either way, you know as well as I do it can¡¯t be Kuro. Not only do we know who it actually is, we know it quite literally can not be him.¡±

    ¡°But-¡±

    ¡°No ¡®buts.¡¯ Just because you can¡¯t bring yourself to kill Jarou doesn¡¯t give you any sort of excuse to kill someone else.¡±

    ¡°I was careful! I made sure we would be able to revive him!¡± Kared sounded like she was angered by Oroske¡¯s accusation.

    ¡°Yeah, and you¡¯re lucky I was here. Otherwise you would have been stuck hauling his body, on foot, all the way back to Tsumi¡¯din.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t make out anymore of the conversation, and blacked out again shortly after.

 41: Veros

    [An Alten word that references the concept of souls and spirits.]

    I woke up again around midday, my body still sore from where Kared had cut me. My mind felt foggy as I tried to recall the events of the previous night. I remembered her attacking me, and me losing the fight. Ah, I probably died. After I realized, I looked around the room I was in. It was one of the hotel¡¯s smaller suites, and looked pretty much identical to the room we were staying in, just with two beds instead of six. So I¡¯m still in Ish¡¯din. If I died, how was I revived without being brought back to Tsumi¡¯din? The thought brought back the memory of the short moment I was conscious, when Oroske and Kared were arguing. I remembered the conversation a bit backwards, starting with Oroske mentioning that if he wasn¡¯t there, Kared would have had to carry me all the way back home. From there, I remembered them talking about her mission. The memories didn¡¯t really answer any of my questions, and in fact asked more. I was able to answer one question by inspecting my wounds, being greeted by the familiar sight of flesh being pulled and stretched to close the cuts.

    As I was deep in thought, the door swung open loudly. Oroske walked in, followed by Kared. The two were bickering once more, though it seemed it was about something else. ¡°Oh, good. You¡¯re awake,¡± Oroske said, putting a firm end to their conversation. ¡°We¡¯ll be leaving in a couple hours, and we¡¯re having a meeting with Meia, the Lords, and the other Clans at the foot of the stairs in about half an hour.¡±

    He got straight to business as he usually does. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get ready to leave. May I ask what happened last night?¡±

    Oroske nodded, then looked at Kared, who rolled her eyes with a sigh and left the room, closing the door behind her. I got the feeling she was just waiting outside. Oroske then looked at me, folding his arms. ¡°Well, ask away.¡±

    I told him everything I could remember before I asked my questions. ¡°How was I able to be revived? I take it that Kared healed my wounds, but I mean beyond that.¡±

    ¡°A fair question. I suppose I haven¡¯t told you the full extent of my own abilities, have I?¡± He was right from what I could remember. ¡°First, I¡¯ll tell you the difference between traditional Necromancy and what exactly it is that the Tsumi Clan does. The fact of the matter is that the two are fairly similar, and that the primary difference is how the soul is reunited with the body.

    ¡°Necromancy as it is used by the general public, ¡®general¡¯ of course being relative, essentially forces the soul to bond with the body. In this way the body becomes a puppet controlled by the soul, and is ¡®alive¡¯ in a sense, but still dead in most other senses.

    ¡°However, the Tsumi Clan are privy to the technique for ¡®true¡¯ necromancy. The soul brought back must match the body it¡¯s being offered, and it must bond on its own. Furthermore, souls will only naturally bond to bodies that are ¡®living.¡¯ This is why the rule exists that the body must be in a state where it can recover enough to sustain life. The typical process goes as follows: the body is healed, the body is made into a living yet soulless vessel, the body¡¯s original soul is fished out of the Aetherial Realm, and finally it is reunited with the vessel. If the soul accepts, resurrection is successful. Otherwise, the soul will return to dust, and must be sent back into the aether manually.¡±

    ¡°So how do your abilities come into this?¡±

    ¡°To put it simply, my elemental affinity is orun, but my aspect is veros, or ¡®souls.¡¯ The step in which the soul is fished out of the aether is incredibly complex and usually requires three or four people who have dedicated several years of study to the inner workings of aether and souls. Aspects can have a large amount of variety in how they manifest, and for me I¡¯m far more sensitive to aether, just in general. It is not only easier for me to feel and manipulate aether, but I can delve more deeply into the details about the aether around me. More importantly, I am able to ¡®see¡¯ souls, and I¡¯m able to manipulate souls to a certain extent, even if they are still bound to a living body. In this case, I was able to ¡®trap¡¯ your soul before it could fully dissipate into aether, saving a large amount of time, and allowing us an easy resurrection.¡±

    It was a lot of information to take in, and it took me a while to digest it all and determine what was and wasn¡¯t important at the moment. ¡°I think I get it.¡± I thought outloud after organizing the information in my head. It certainly helped explain how he¡¯s able to hold the title as being one of the Clan¡¯s strongest, and why he was sensitive to the distortion caused by Sigils. But once again, I¡¯m left with more questions than answers. ¡°Next, I wanted to ask about your and Kared¡¯s conversation regarding the Clan¡¯s Chosen One.¡±

    ¡°I see, what do you want to know specifically?¡±

    ¡°Everything I can know. Who the Chosen is, how do you know who they are, and why can''t I be it?¡± The last part especially bothered me. I didn¡¯t really expect to be the Chosen in the first place, but hearing that there isn¡¯t even the possibility of it being me made me sad.

    ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll answer in order. Jarou is our Clan¡¯s Chosen One. We know that it¡¯s him due not only to his impressive magical and physical capabilities and potential, but also one of the signs the Clan leaders were told to look for: a slight gilding around the edges of their soul. In other words, his soul has small bits of a golden color, mixed in with the yellow that is his soul¡¯s main color. And finally, while some who are out of the loop may suspect it to be you, due to your impressive potential, as you heard, it¡¯s impossible for it to have been. I am not allowed to go too much into details, but it primarily has to do with your lineage. It is simply not my place to tell you further, and I have been told not to.¡±

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    ¡°Who would I need to talk to then?¡±

    ¡°I also can¡¯t tell you that. The obvious answer would be your parents, but they are unfortunately not around anymore.¡±

    I felt like he wanted to tell me, and was just forcing himself to hold his tongue.

    ¡°So I don¡¯t have this ¡®gilding¡¯ in my soul? What does that even mean?¡±

    ¡°Correct. If the Guardians told the Danfis and other Clan leaders about the meaning behind the gilding, it has been left a mystery to the rest of us. All I can say for sure is that exceedingly few are born with it, but it seems to relate directly with the person¡¯s potential.¡±

    I rubbed my forehead. All this information was starting to give me a headache.

    ¡°Any more questions?¡± Oroske asked.

    ¡°Tons, but I think they can wait for now. I¡¯ve had enough information overload for one morning.¡± This conversation reminded me how little I truly know about the world. However, it also strengthened my resolve to learn more and more. I hoped one day, I would be able to hold a conversation about these kinds of topics without needing anything to be explained.

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Oroske laughed, as he turned around, heading to the door. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to get ready. See you outside in a few minutes.¡± He turned his head toward me before leaving, ¡°Oh, and don¡¯t tell Jarou about the whole Chosen One thing. It¡¯s best he doesn¡¯t know about it until the time is right. That way he can live a normal life while he has the chance.¡± He opened the door and shut it as he left.

    There wasn¡¯t much to do to get ready. My cloak had been brought from our primary suite into this one, along with my boots and socks. Once I put those on, I did some stretching, testing the limits of my movement based on pain. To my surprise, I was able to move around like normal without any additional pain. I was of course still very sore where I had been wounded, but aside from that I felt pretty normal.

    I looked in the mirror present in the bathroom, and tried and failed to flatten down my very messy, all over the place hair. I gave up after only a minute or two, deciding it wasn¡¯t worth the hassle at this point.

    When I left the room, I was surprised to see Kared waiting in the hall still. She was holding the sword I used during our battle. ¡°Here, figured I¡¯d hold on to it for you,¡± She said as she handed it to me. She patted me on the shoulder, then turned away and walked down the hall. I followed her silently, keeping a good distance, as it was the quickest way to the lobby. I would have liked an apology for her murder, but I didn¡¯t hold my breath.

    Outside, almost everyone was standing around waiting near the stairs. Oroske waved us over to where he was standing, next to Raen, Meia, and the rest of our clanmates. ¡°We¡¯re about to start, just waiting for a couple stragglers from Kats¡¯anum¡¯s group and the Ishen,¡± he explained.

    They finally showed up after nearly ten minutes. A couple of them must have had a bit too much to drink since they were stumbling a lot as they walked. Meia guided Oroske and Raen up a few of the steps so they could be more easily seen and heard by the crowd.

    ¡°Yesterday, Oroske Tsumi and Lord Raen Sen¡¯anum were able to extract more information out of the bandits in our custody,¡± Meia began the unofficial meeting, ¡°They have already agreed to assist with the issue on their way back to their homes, and would like to make a proposition to all of you. Go ahead, Oroske.¡± She finished, raising her hand to pass the conversation to him.

    Oroske cleared his throat. ¡°Thank you. With the cooperation of these bandits, we were able to ascertain the location of their camp, and they made a map to help us find it as well. We also learned that their benefactor is calling themselves a Demon Lord. Lord Sen¡¯anum has already agreed to a detour along our route to Tsumi¡¯din to stop by and ¡®take care of¡¯ these bandits, so to speak. We made a deal to not kill unless necessary, and want to go less to bring them to justice, but instead to learn what we can about this Demon Lord.¡±

    ¡°We wished to ask the other Lords and Clans for their assistance,¡± Raen spoke next, looking towards his sisters, ¡°It would mean a couple day detour for the Incol, as we will leave from Sanctis to Oru¡¯ou. The bandit¡¯s camp is somewhere in the woods near there. If either party does not want to participate, they are not required to. If they do, however, they will be compensated with pay from the Lords and Parliament both.¡±

    ¡°With all due respect, I can hardly afford such a detour.¡± Lady Shen¡¯anum responded, ¡°I¡¯d say you can¡¯t really either, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to convince you not to do it.¡±

    ¡°I also definitely can¡¯t.¡± Kats¡¯anum agreed, ¡°It may be a single or two day detour for you, but it will add on a significant amount of time for me and the Incol. Especially when you consider how the route directly to the Incol¡¯s home is much faster than our route here.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Raen said with a shrug, ¡°Please let our siblings know why I¡¯m running late for our banquet. I suppose there¡¯s no real point, but I¡¯d like to hear the Ishen and Incol representatives¡¯ thoughts.¡±

    ¡°Uin is right,¡± Myr said, ¡°It would be a very long detour for us. On top of having responsibilities we must attend to in certain timeframes, it¡¯s likely this detour would result in no real profit for us. It seems highly likely the compensation we would receive would only allow us to break even on the added costs, and we¡¯d lose out on profit we could make in that same amount of time.¡± Uri looked proud of his younger sister.

    Gai stepped forward to offer her Clan¡¯s response, ¡°I believe that while we would indeed lose out on profits, any information gained from this outing would be undeniable and first-hand. Considering this Demon Lord¡¯s involvement with our business, I believe it would be good to go. It is also a considerably shorter detour for us than it is for the Incol, and saves us from trekking through the Der¡¯venn¡¯ya.¡± She paused for a minute then shrugged, ¡°But if our Lady Shen¡¯anum doesn¡¯t want to, then we won¡¯t go.¡±

    ¡°Just us it is then,¡± Oroske said with a smile, ¡°Fine by me. Means more action for us.¡±

    ¡°All settled then?¡± Meia asked to confirm. Oroske and Raen nodded. ¡°Very well, have Danfis send us the bill, we¡¯ll bring payment when we hold our meeting in the near future.¡±

    ¡°Will do.¡± Oroske turned back to the crowd, ¡°Alright! We head out in an hour. May we all travel safely.¡±

 42: Return Trip

    [Generally speaking, the Peace Party¡¯s return trip is much faster and more relaxing than the initial trip. Every now and then, things happen along the way and detours are taken that make things take longer.]

    After that, we shopped for supplies, had lunch, and departed from Ish¡¯din. The down-hill trek was much easier than the climb up, but the sheer length still made for an exhausting journey. We spent that night in Sanctis, in the same place we had stayed previously. The following morning, we separated from the Incol, bidding them farewell and safe journey. The Ishen had waited until then to get their supplies, as they favored a specific shop over any in Ish¡¯din. We did some short sight-seeing while waiting, finally departing for Oru¡¯ou once they finished. We had decided to travel to that point together, so that in the event that something happens we can work together.

    Thankfully we were able to arrive in Oru¡¯ou without any difficulty, though on the downside it was a long, boring journey. Clouds had appeared in the Eastern skies, which Nadred said may travel over here giving us some nice rain on the way home. We were able to spend the night in much better lodgings than our previous trip through the city.

    The Ishen and Shen¡¯anum¡¯s group departed early in the day, just before sunrise. ¡°We¡¯ve got a lot of ground to cover, and the Der¡¯venn¡¯ya is one of the most dangerous places to be during the night,¡± Lady Ibiryn explained.

    Oroske told Raen it would be best if we left around mid-day. ¡°The woods will be incredibly dangerous after nightfall,¡± he began his explanation, ¡°But the bandits won¡¯t be expecting any visitors that late, giving us the element of surprise to our list of advantages.¡± When Raen asked what he proposes we do after combatting the bandits, he simply shrugged, saying ¡°We¡¯ll cross that bridge when we get there. Maybe they¡¯ll let us stay the night.¡±

    I hadn¡¯t thought much of it during our travels, but talk of areas being dangerous at night explained why we only traveled during the day.

    We spent a few hours looking around the city. Oru¡¯ou was a very pretty city for the most part, but some of the city¡¯s poorer sections were shady and depressing to be in. It had an interesting hierarchy, the very center and the very edges of the city - particularly the North and South edges, which directly faced the river - were the richest sections, and as you moved to the in-between sections you¡¯d see a lot less prosperity. The majority of the city was built out of gray stone, typically cut into bricks of various sizes. Oroske explained that the stone was almost entirely sourced from the Human Realm, in the city of Quarry. Poorer sections of the city saw a lot more wood being used, with the slums being almost entirely made of wood.

    Shortly before our target departure time, we ate lunch at a rather up-scale restaurant, which sat on the Southern edge of the city. We had our orders taken indoors, then guided to our seats on a balcony, which reached out over the river. Our large party took up well over half of the seats available. Hearing the water rushing below, I went to look over the river. I leaned over the railing, seeing we were a dizzying height above the water. Jarou had also looked over, and looked almost sick from the height. Looking to the sides, we also had a good view of the Western waterfall, but couldn¡¯t really see the Eastern one at all. Looking straight out was a lovely sight, with the river continuing down hill, through a narrow canyon that cut through the otherwise plain landscape. Eventually it turned in towards the mountains and disappeared from sight.

    After nearly forty minutes of waiting, our food finally arrived. The meal was delicious, but I still wasn¡¯t sure if it was worth the price or the time it took to be prepared. After a relatively quick meal, it was finally time to continue our journey. Oroske and Raen looked over the map and ensured they knew what we were looking for in the woods. According to the notes, our first landmark was to be nearly an hour of walking into the forest. There was supposed to be a set of three rocks on our right. Directly across the path from the center, and largest, rock was a pattern of four ebony wood trees on either side of a single white azureleaf tree, which had a small symbol cut into it near where the branches began.

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    My memory of the woods from our initial trip wasn¡¯t great, as I wasn¡¯t really paying attention. But I figured with a description like that, we should have a pretty easy time finding our route. Turns out, there were at least half a dozen areas that met nearly every bit of that criteria. Each and every one of them had only one or two details wrong. In one case, the middle rock was the smallest, but everything else matched. Another time, everything matched but the rocks were on our left. Not once, but twice, everything was right except for the tree pattern; one had four white azureleafs surrounding an ebony, the other had alternating ebony and oak trees surrounding it. ¡°Someone must have gone through a lot of trouble to make this as difficult as possible,¡± Oroske commented with a sigh after the fourth incorrect spot.

    Nearly two hours after entering the forest, we finally found one that matched up with our instructions exactly. ¡°Next up, ¡®walk into the woods, directly to the right of the white azureleaf tree.¡± Oroske read off of the map, ¡°¡®Walk straight through the narrow gap in the trees until you come across another white azureleaf with an arrow pointing left carved into the wood. Go one third around the tree to the right, so that your path changes by a forty-five degree angle.¡±

    ¡°I understand wanting secrecy and privacy, but did they really need this to be so complicated?¡± Raen voiced his frustration, ¡°Alright everyone, single file line. Make sure you don¡¯t lose sight of the person in front of you. Order doesn¡¯t matter since it¡¯s not like a patrol is going to see us. However, Oroske, Kared, I¡¯d like you two in the front. I¡¯ll be third in line.¡±

    ¡°What about us, my Lord?¡± Terib asked, concerned for his master¡¯s safety.

    ¡°You and Vai¡¯ra will be right behind me,¡± he ordered, ¡°And in the event something happens, Oroske and Kared are here. That said, it¡¯s not as though I can¡¯t handle myself in combat. Afterall, you¡¯re the one who trained me.¡±

    Terib simply nodded, looking reassured.

    After affirming everyone was ready, Oroske led the way into the dense forest. There really wasn¡¯t much room for walking, and what room there was, was rough and uneven. On top of that, it was difficult to see, with the thick layer of tree branches above us blocking out the light almost completely. I was walking right behind Nadred, who used rel magic and gave us a light source. It was difficult to keep walking in a straight line, as we had to occasionally skirt around a large tree that covered part of the path. Any time that happened we had to be careful to make sure we re-oriented ourselves properly. The uneven terrain made for a much more taxing journey than even the dirt road from earlier, and my feet and legs were in incredible amounts of pain after only thirty minutes.

    After what felt like an eternity, the line stopped moving. Word traveled down quickly that we¡¯d made it to the first landmark, followed shortly after with further instructions to continue following the person in front of you closely. We continued walking, the silence only broken by footsteps snapping twigs, and the gentle flow of wind through the thick canopy. At the tree, I simply followed Nadred¡¯s footsteps to make sure I wouldn¡¯t get disoriented.

    Eventually, after even more walking, we came to a dirt covered cliff face, and changed trajectory once again. It was even more difficult to navigate walking along the cliff face than when there were just trees. Many of the trees were very close to the cliff, to the point we had to squeeze past them. Some trees even grew out from the cliff face, and we either had to duck under them or climb over them in many cases.

    After a while, the line stopped again for a few moments, before continuing, signaling another change in direction. This would be the last time, and it saw us returning into the thick woods. It was also the shortest of the directions, and ended with us coming out of the forest into a clean clearing, littered with tents and make-shift wooden buildings.

    Oroske ordered everybody to stay behind him as he went ahead to investigate. He only made it a few steps forward when he was ambushed from the back. His assailant had jumped from the trees behind us, and was very clearly out for blood. He swung his sword powerfully at Oroske while mid air. Oroske simply turned around, and caught the blade with a single, bare hand. He held it in the same position he caught it in, causing the ambusher to hang in the air by its handle.

    ¡°Yo,¡± Oroske said, greeting with his free hand, ¡°We¡¯re just here to talk.¡±

 43: Ambush

    [A surprise attack, used by people in hiding to gain the upperhand in combat.]

    ¡°Here to talk? What a joke,¡± the ambusher, a short, muscular lady, shouted angrily while still dangling from her sword. She wore a tattered, burgundy coat, similar in design to many of the Clan¡¯s cloaks, which nicely complimented her messy, mossy-green hair. ¡°The only reason a bunch of Hunters and government cronies would show up is to kill us all!¡±

    She let go of her sword, summing another one from her Demon Sheath immediately after landing. The first weapon was a simple short sword, but her second one featured a unique design. Its blade was cobalt blue, and the blade had two large curves, making it into an ¡®S¡¯ shape. Both edges were sharp, but one was smooth while the other had large serrations. At the top of the ¡®S,¡¯ in line with the hilt, it tapered into a sharp tip, doubling back on itself like a fishhook.

    Oroske couldn¡¯t simply block, he had to also parry the weapon away from him, as his blocks, regardless of where they landed, would slide to a position where he would still get stabbed or cut. By pushing it away he protected himself, in addition to creating openings for him to attack. The woman attacking was quick to recover each time, using the weapon¡¯s unique shape to slide it out of the parry. Each opening only lasted a split second before her next attack.

    The two danced around the clearing, a flurry of sparks and a cacophony of swords clashing following them. Her attacks were lightning fast, and Oroske wasn¡¯t given much opportunity to attack, and I wagered he was hoping to outlast her stamina.

    The noise the two created drew the attention of other bandits, several of which charged at as on sight. While all of them were demons, some had weapons in regular sheathes on their belts. After quickly analyzing their strength, Kared summoned her red scythe, and boldly claimed she could take four of them on at once, and charged at them, trying to corral her targets.

    Nadred, Terib, and Vai¡¯ra all stepped forward around the same time, each bringing out their own weapon. Nadred¡¯s weapon of choice was one I hadn¡¯t seen him use until now; a great sword with a very wide blade, rectangular in shape. It seemed great for cutting, and breaking through tough armor, but there was no tip for stabbing whatsoever. The blade was black, with a red line making a nice accent down the center. Each of them met with a single opponent. That left four more. Ranfa came and patted me and Jarou on the back, ¡°It¡¯s go time, boys. Just remember, we¡¯re to incapacitate, not kill.¡± She stepped forward, summoning a long, thin sword with a green blade, ¡°It¡¯s no big deal if any of them do die though.¡± She ran off to meet her opponent, with Fyr following right behind her.

    That left Jarou and I. We exchanged a look, he nodded and I shrugged. We chased after them, hoping to quickly separate the enemy forces. The opponent I ended up facing was a woman that seemed to be only a year or two older than me. She had wispy, platinum blonde hair, and wore a cloth band that covered her eyes. I was impressed she was a combatant, with her vision being blocked like that.

    I had to consider my approach carefully. Up till this point the only people I had fought were Oroske, Nadred, Kared, and the Necromancy from the City of Towers. The first two cases were sparring matches for training purposes, and we had clear rules that decided when the match was over so that both sides would be able to walk away alive and generally unharmed. Against Kared I was so severely outclassed I wasn¡¯t even able to get up to full strength to defend myself, no less attack. The Necromancer I foolishly went in the same way I¡¯d approach Oroske or Nadred, not really trying my absolute hardest to win, which ended up with me losing. I wasn¡¯t able to tell how strong opponents were just by looking at them like Oroske and Kared could, but underestimating their strength could result in my downfall. Similarly, overestimating them might mean I go too far and kill them. Perhaps I use magic to restrain them? What element would I use for that, jarou? Maybe pyrse? My mind raced as I approached her, summoning my sword. I¡¯ll start off at a medium level, I decided, I just need to react quickly, and adapt to her power level. Focus on defense, until I come up with a way to end it quickly.

    I made the first move, swinging at her head from above. She had clearly noticed me, but had neither a weapon on her belt or in her hand. Just before making contact, it felt like I hit a solid stone wall. She had daintily raised her right hand, extending her first two fingers. A sword made of rel, pyrse, and sentem all swirling together had appeared to block my strike. She waved her hand and the sword swung to parry my strike. Her lips crept into a small smile. Yet, she still didn¡¯t move to attack.

    I decided to probe her defenses, to see what she¡¯s capable of. I recreated the Lightning Blade spell I had learned, but instead shot the concentrated selr towards her like a spear. She was able to disperse the attack easily. She simply raised her left hand, and it seemed like the bolt just disintegrated upon contact. I spotted traces of the same three elements her sword was made out of, which still lingered in the air next to her. Her ability to use three separate elements that effectively impressed me. I struggled to stabley use two elements at once, but here this girl was outclassing me in that aspect.

    Getting the hang of creating lightning blades, I decided to send out three more at once, arcing their trajectories to hopefully give her some difficulty with blocking. She¡¯s plenty powerful, I had realized, I¡¯ll just try to finish this quickly. Just after the bolts were sent out, I focused and accelerated to my stable limit. It wasn¡¯t much, but I hoped it would give me an edge. I ran at her full speed, arriving just after the bolts of selr. I swung as she blocked the first two bolts with her left hand, and she used her right hand to guide her sword to block my swing. She seemed shocked at my speed, and had prioritized blocking me over the third bolt, which hit her square in the side. The impact of selr singed her clothing, and the electric shock seemed to stun her for a moment.

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    I used the stun as an opening to strike, pulling my sword off of hers and swinging horizontally at the same spot the bolt hit. My sword barely made contact with her skin before the stun wore off, and she guided her magic sword to slam into my sword. The parry caused me to lose my grip on the weapon and it went flying. She used the opening to punch me, since by the time she could hit me with her blade I would have recovered. Her fist hit me square in the cheek, and was covered by her favorite elements. The wind cut my face, the ice dug into the cuts, freezing the blood and causing extra pain. I wasn¡¯t sure of the purpose of the light, however. She was also able to land another punch, this time to my stomach, before I was able to recover and start countering.

    I grabbed her wrist as she began pulling away from the punch. I turned around and hurled her body over my own, slamming her back onto the dirt. I gave the slam extra impact by continuing my acceleration and boosting her up and down with sen¡¯tur.

    That seemed to bring her close to the edge of consciousness, all I had to do was give her an extra push. I figured it would be enough to incapacitate her, but not wound her too severely, so I crouched down, and gave a hearty revenge punch to her stomach. And that did the trick.

    Looking around, I saw Jarou and Ranfa had finished their fights, and Fyr was deadlocked with his opponent. I witnessed Kared put down the last of her opponents with a swift punch to the throat. She then threw his unconscious body on top of her other targets and sat on the pile they made. It looked like Terib and Dyn¡¯ya finished their fights pretty quickly, and were tending to their opponents'' wounds.

    Meanwhile, Oroske was still defending from the onslaught of the woman with the unique looking sword. It seemed like she had slowed down, however, and was beginning to lose energy.

    The two were pretty close by when she finally stopped, breathing heavily. ¡°Why?!¡± She shouted, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you taking this seriously?!¡±

    ¡°I already told you why,¡± Oroske said flatly, ¡°We¡¯re not here to fight.¡±

    ¡°Then what do you call that?!¡± She yelled, pointing at the various instances of her comrades being unconscious or otherwise incapacitated.

    ¡°Look more closely. None of them are dead.¡±

    It only took a moment for her to realize he was right. ¡°Wha¡­ why?¡± She fell to her knees, dumbfounded.

    Oroske walked over to her, and extended a hand, ¡°Again, we just want to talk. We¡¯re here to help, more than anything.¡±

    She looked up at him, too skeptical to take his hand, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll explain in a bit. I¡¯d like to speak with your chief or leader or whoever. Just hear me out, okay?¡±

    She was silent for a minute, staring him down, before grabbing his hand and pulling herself up. ¡°Fine, you win. We can talk in my house.¡±

    She led the way to one of the four proper houses in the village. The rest of the buildings were more like huts or shacks, with even a handful of tents here and there. The house she led us to was the nicest in the village, but it was still very small compared to any house I¡¯d been in. There wasn¡¯t enough room for everybody, so Oroske and Raen picked a handful of people to accompany them inside, while the rest stood outside. Oroske picked Nadred, Kared, and me, while Raen picked his right hand man Terib and left hand woman Vai¡¯ra, as well as Vai¡¯ra¡¯s brother, Elrik, and Leren.

    The table in the main room of the house only had seating for four, taken by the chief, our leaders, and Kared. The chief, the woman Oroske fought, introduced herself properly. ¡°My name is Kalen Faris, after the passing of my mother two years ago, I was made chief of this little village.¡±

    ¡°Well met, Kalen,¡± Oroske said, respectfully bowing his head, ¡°I am Oroske Tsumi.¡± He gestured to each member of our group while naming us.

    ¡°Wait, Oroske Tsumi? I think I remember that name.¡±

    ¡°Your mother was the previous chief, yes? If you came from the same village as the men who met with us in Ish¡¯din, you probably heard of me from her. I did some work there a few years ago.¡±

    ¡°That must be it. And then we have the Crimson Fucker herself, Kared here too? Just how much trouble are we in?¡± She seemed worried at the realization she was dealing with a delegation consisting of a Human Lord, a representative of Danfis Tsumi, and one of the most infamous members of the Crimson Twilight.

    ¡°Well,¡± Raen started, ¡°Putting it simply, a lot. But we¡¯re not here to punish you and your people. Instead, we wish to offer a better route for you to take going forward.¡±

    ¡°Anything any government can offer isn¡¯t going to be free, especially for bandits like us.¡±

    ¡°Correct,¡± Kared said, leaning back in her chair, arms folded. ¡°The cost will be simple to provide, at least. All we want is information.¡±

    ¡°Information? On what?¡±

    ¡°Not really what, but who.¡± Oroske said, ¡°We need information on your current benefactor. The one who calls themselves a ¡®Demon Lord.¡¯¡±

    Just as Kalen¡¯s eyes widened at the request, the door slammed open. In walked a tall person dressed in a black cloak, adorned with golden accents along the edges and embossed designs all around. The cloak disguised their body, and a mask concealed their face. It was clear before they even spoke: this was the ¡®Demon Lord¡¯ in question. Their presence was intimidating, much like Kared¡¯s. Her voice was smooth and low, ¡°You called?¡±

 44: Bandits

    [Groups of people, generally nomadic in nature, that decide to live beyond the law.

    They often get food and money through illegal means, typically by robbing

    Traveling merchants and pillaging small, defenseless villages.

    Some groups get up to much bigger trouble, such as destroying important thoroughfares.]

    The Demon Lord stepped into the house, gently closing the door behind her. ¡°Pardon the intrusion. Mind including me in this meeting? I¡¯d love to hear what kind of offer the government has in mind.¡±

    Oroske looked to Kared, gesturing his head to the side for her to stand up. ¡°Sure, so long as you don¡¯t pick any fights and let us talk.¡± He agreed as Kared stood up, giving up her seat at the table. The Demon Lord took off her coat, revealing her slender, well-toned figure. Even under the coat she was covering up her entire body with a tight, black bodysuit. The material it was made out of seemed light and breathable, a must in the current weather, and I could sense large amounts of aether coursing through its fibers. Her mask was revealed to be a detachable visor for her helmet, neither of which she took off. ¡°Won¡¯t you show us who we¡¯re dealing with?¡±

    ¡°Not today, I¡¯m afraid,¡± She said coyly, ¡°I¡¯m embarrassed by my appearance. Besides that, regardless of anything that happens today, having the details of my identity revealed would be¡­ problematic.¡±

    ¡°Fine then,¡± Oroske sighed, ¡°Suit yourself. Now, let us begin.¡±

    ¡°First off,¡± Raen took the lead, ¡°We¡¯d like to give our offer. Sell out the Demon Lord, who we weren¡¯t expecting to be sitting with us today, and we will help put you and your people on the right path. We have spoken with the Demon Parliament, and they agreed to allow Oroske and I to determine details. Oroske?¡±

    ¡°The men we talked to in Ish¡¯din told us that this village was formed on the same fundamental ideals as most off-grid villages; freedom and self-sustenance. From what it sounds like, those men, and presumably many others in the village, are not keen on the bandit lifestyle. The one who gave us the information on how to find the village explicitly said he did not like it. Therefore, in exchange for information, we will rid you of this bad influence, and assist you in becoming a self-governing village. For starters, we can help the residents that don¡¯t mind find proper employment to help get you on your feet. We can also supply you with seeds that will do well in this environment, as well as farming and cultivating equipment so you can have a self-sufficient food source. Based on my observations outside, come pyr¡¯ra, a great many of your villagers will need to seek shelter in other people¡¯s abodes. We can also get you assistance in procuring materials and help with construction labor so that everyone will have secure, warm shelter for the cold season.

    ¡°And as mentioned before, all we want in payment for this, is information. We would also like to ask for your assistance in this matter going forward as well, but it is not necessary for payment.¡±

    ¡°A reasonable offer,¡± Kalen muttered as she thought to herself. After taking a couple of minutes to think, she spoke again, ¡°And you promise we will be free to be a self-governing people? With no worries about paying tax to the realm¡¯s government, or abiding by their rules? We can simply keep to ourselves?¡±

    Oroske nodded, ¡°With the exception of people working jobs in other cities, which would likely be sourced by the government and therefore any income tax would apply, yes. So long as you aren¡¯t being a nuisance to the general public, you¡¯ll be free.¡±

    Kalen folded her arms, sitting back as she thought to herself again.

    ¡°The Demon Lords¡¯ offer was that after their plans succeed, we would have full, true freedom. We wouldn¡¯t have any sort of interference with their new government, and we would be truly free to do what we wish. They also offered the entire village to be under our control,¡± she said after another handful of minutes.

    ¡°And?¡± Kared spoke up from her spot, leaning against the wall, ¡°What kind of credentials do they have? How do you know they aren¡¯t just going to stab you in the back?¡±

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    ¡°How do I know that about you lot?¡± Kalen shot back angrily, slamming her hands onto the table and standing up. ¡°My family has been backstabbed and betrayed by governments more times than I can count. How do I know it¡¯s not just going to happen again?¡±

    ¡°Because in this case,¡± Oroske kept a calm tone, ¡°You aren¡¯t being backed by the government. Your primary backer is the Tsumi Clan. All three Half-Demon Clans have been known in several cases to fight back against the governments of the world and win. If they were giving you trouble, we would be there to help you.¡±

    Kalen backed down, and went back to thinking after sitting down. After weighing the options presented to her thoroughly, she finally came to her decision. ¡°Fine then, I¡¯ll tell you what I know. The promise of freedom and land is nice, but you¡¯re right; we don¡¯t want to be bandits. I¡¯ll tell you what I know.¡± She began by telling us that there are a total of three people that call themselves ¡®Demon Lords,¡¯ and of them the one with us is the youngest by two years. They operate under a man who calls himself the ¡®Sixth Shadow,¡¯ and each have their own subordinates that they order around. Kalen was told their goal is to reform society and overthrow both realms¡¯ governments, before forming their own government that would unify the two realms. Their offer for freedom was on the condition that until the revolution started properly, they did as the Demon Lords asked. They were also offered financial support and combat supplies for their endeavors. She didn¡¯t know any specifics, but she did know there are members of their group doing similar operations in the Human Realm. She knew that was how they were able to get their hands on information and supplies they could have only gotten from the Human Realm. She again didn¡¯t know details, but knew that they had powerful connections on both sides of the rift, and had an impressive information network.

    Once she had finished divulging the information she had, the table fell silent as the leaders digested the information. I recognized the title ¡®Sixth Shadow¡¯ as being a reference to the old Demon Empire¡¯s leaders.

    After a while, the Demon Lord stood up and said, ¡°Well, Kalen¡¯s made her decision. It seems I am no longer needed here.¡± She turned around as she opened the door, donning her coat, ¡°And don¡¯t worry, Kalen. If anything bad happens to you and yours, it won¡¯t be because of us. Take care.¡±

    At that point, the sun had already begun setting. ¡°She must be confident if she¡¯s traveling at this time,¡± Oroske commented. ¡°Would it be okay if we spent the night here? It¡¯ll be getting dangerous to travel in a couple hours, and I¡¯m not sure the Fyrun inn would take us in as late as we would be arriving.¡±

    ¡°That should be fine. Let me go out and inform the other villagers of my decision before you go out there, though.¡± Kalen got up and went outside, saying she¡¯d be back in just a minute.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised that Demon Lord didn¡¯t pick a fight,¡± Raen said, ¡°I thought for sure she¡¯d be more aggressive towards us.¡±

    ¡°Agreed,¡± Kared said, taking her seat at the table back. ¡°She probably knew if she fought Oroske or me she would lose, and badly. Hell, from my impression, even you or Kuro would¡¯ve been a good match for her.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not that weak!¡± I felt like I had to defend myself, especially after the other night.

    ¡°I¡¯m not saying you are, I¡¯m saying that for someone who claims they¡¯re going to overthrow the governments, she is pretty weak. Not to mention, her potential is much smaller than yours.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°From what I can tell, the strongest she¡¯ll ever be is far weaker than the strongest you¡¯ll ever be.¡±

    ¡°You can tell something like that?¡±

    ¡°I can certainly guess. There are certain qualities and things you can pick up on that will tell you about a person¡¯s potential. It¡¯s very complicated and difficult to explain. Eventually, you¡¯ll more likely than not learn how to tell for yourself. It¡¯s less a matter of ¡®if¡¯ and more a matter of ¡®when.¡¯¡±

    ¡°What about how strong a person is currently?¡±

    ¡°Again, there are things you can pick up on passively. If you are sensitive enough to aether, like Oroske is, you can get a pretty good read on how strong a person is.¡±

    I had more questions along that same line of thinking, but before I could ask any more, Kalen walked back into the house.

    ¡°Alright, the villagers understand my decisions and the reasons for it,¡± she said, ¡°They shouldn¡¯t give you any more issues while you¡¯re here. I¡¯ve asked them to bring out some of our extra tents for you all to sleep in tonight.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Kalen,¡± Raen said, with Oroske echoing him shortly after.

    We went outside and held a short meeting with the other members of the group who weren¡¯t present. Raen and Oroske debriefed them on everything that was talked about. Afterwards, we received the extra tents and some thin, frankly ratty blankets from the villagers, and set out to assemble them so we could get some rest.

 45: Demon Lord

    [A title claimed by the leadership of a rebellious group, their true identities are yet unknown.]

    I slept horribly that night, largely due to the ground being rough and uneven. It was made up slightly by us being allowed to sleep in until almost two hours after sunrise. Oroske explained to us the previous night that we were doing it that way because it wouldn¡¯t really matter at the end of the day. ¡°We¡¯d have to leave long before sunrise if we wanted to make it from Fyrun to Al¡¯din in a single day and get back on track,¡± he had said, ¡°And I don¡¯t want to put everyone through nearly twenty hours of straight walking in a single day, nor do I want to have to navigate this forest while it¡¯s dark out.¡± So we stayed here for a while longer.

    My tent had Jarou and I, accompanied by Jyn and Leren, as well as two others I hadn¡¯t been properly introduced to until our tent assignments had been made. The two girls were sisters, though they had very different occupations. One was a bounty hunter, and the other worked as a guard under Terib¡¯s family. The younger one, the bounty hunter, had pitch black, frizzy hair that she didn¡¯t even attempt to style, and was named Yulra Zenshi. Her sister, Gai Zenshi, was only two years older, and had the same amber eyes and dark hair, but her¡¯s was well kept and straight.

    ¡°What do your names mean?¡± I asked before we had gone to bed. I had heard ¡®Gai¡¯ before, but not ¡®Yulra,¡¯ and I was keen on learning more Alten.

    ¡°You don¡¯t even know the words for sun and moon?¡± Gai was shocked. ¡°They¡¯re pretty common names, especially Gai. Parents apparently love to name their kid after the sun.¡± She explained after I defended myself, asking how I was supposed to know.

    ¡°So Gai is sun, Yulra is moon?¡± I asked to confirm, to which both of them nodded, ¡°Alright, what about Zenshi?¡±

    The two of them looked at each other and shrugged. Yulra responded, ¡°No clue. Mom never told us, if she even knows.¡±

    ¡°It is supposed to be a really old family name, though.¡± Gai said, ¡°I¡¯m sure there¡¯s someone out there who knows. Just never really cared to find out, y¡¯know?¡±

    I just shrugged. I was always under the impression the meaning of names was important and something people usually found out about. Though perhaps some people, such as Nadred and Oroske, just thought it was cool to know what your name meant.

    I ended up being the last one in the tent to wake up. Jarou, Leren, Jyn, and Gai were all already outside chatting with the rest of the group, while Yulra had stayed behind. She was reading a small book that would almost fit in my pockets, and fanning herself with her free hand. ¡°What¡¯re you reading?¡± I asked as I sat up.

    ¡°It¡¯s a fantasy book,¡± She said after she sighed, looking up at me with a mildly annoyed expression, ¡°The author survived a trip to the Ashen Realm, and used his experiences there to write it. It takes place in a world without magic, without gods, all that stuff. It¡¯s fascinating to see what they think a world like that would be like.¡±

    ¡°Sounds interesting,¡± I said while stretching, having stood up while she spoke. ¡°Haven¡¯t really had a chance to read any books, but maybe I¡¯ll check it out sometime.¡± I donned my cloak, ¡°The Ashen Realm, huh? That¡¯s where the Half-Demon tribes came from, right? Terrai, I think it was called.¡±

    ¡°The very one. I¡¯m surprised you know the Ashen Realm¡¯s old name, but not what Gai and Yulra mean.¡±

    ¡°My knowledge is pretty scattered. Blame my teacher,¡± I chuckled and shrugged, ¡°Still, I didn¡¯t know you could actually travel to the Ashen Realm. That¡¯s pretty cool, I¡¯d be interested to see what things are like there.¡±

    ¡°Good luck getting there,¡± she said bluntly, ¡°The Guardians themselves control who gets to travel there. Or at least, they do for official trips. Occasionally, gutsy people will make the journey undocumented, which means preparing a travel vessel on their own, and sailing there without any sort of guide or protection. The Guardians are reluctant to let people go out there, and usually the only people that get to go are seasoned researchers and historians, accompanied by veteran soldiers.¡±

    I was going to say something else, when suddenly a commotion started outside. We heard a bunch of people chattering excitedly, and running past the tent. We followed them out, pushing our way to the front of the crowd. We saw Oroske facing towards the Demon Lord, who seemed like she just returned.

    ¡°I was hoping you¡¯d entertain me, Tsumi.¡± She said, brandishing a long sword with a jagged, black blade. ¡°I¡¯d like to make a deal. Your kind are eager to make deals, right?¡±

    Oroske stood his ground, arms folded. ¡°I¡¯ll hear you out, but no promises.¡±

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    ¡°I beat you, I get my place in this village back, and you leave.¡±

    He laughed, ¡°Fine, fine. And when I win, you and yours will leave this village alone for the rest of your lives.¡±

    She grinned devilishly and launched herself at him with impressive speed. I was able to tell she¡¯d immediately started using Acceleration, and at a much higher level than I was capable of reaching. That didn¡¯t stop me from using it myself so I could see the fight even a little more clearly. Oroske activated his Acceleration to match her speed just before she reached him, still having not budged or even unfolded his arms. When the tip of her blade was mere inches from his body, he quickly and effortlessly stepped to the side. Because she was mid-air, she was unable to react and change course to catch him.

    I realized Oroske must have accelerated further than the Demon Lord, as even after she landed, he easily sidestepped and dodged each and every one of her swings. Finally, after what would have seemed to any other spectator as only about six or seven seconds, but to the two of them seemed more like thirty or fourty, and to me seemed like about fifteen, there was a short break in the vicious string of attacks. Oroske had jumped back a fair ways and put some distance between them.

    After quickly catching her breath, the Demon Lord went on the offensive again. Where her previous barrage was devoid of magic based attacks, this one was almost exclusively magic attacks. My focus on my Acceleration lasted long enough for me to see that Oroske was defending with little waves of orun and jarou magic. But I didn¡¯t need Acceleration to see that he was still standing still, and barely moving his arms to defend. He continued to effortlessly block all of her attacks for a couple minutes from an un-accelerated perspective, which meant that from his perspective it would have been several minutes. I was amazed he was able to retain his focus for that long.

    Suddenly the impossible to follow barrage of magic attacks stopped, with a rock of jarou flying from Oroske, hitting the Demon Lord square in the forehead with a loud crack. It broke her poise and she fell back a single step. Her focus broke and her Acceleration fell off, the only energy I sensed from her was just sheer rage. She stepped forward with the foot that moved backwards previously. ¡°Why won¡¯t you take this seriously?!¡± She screamed the familiar phrase.

    ¡°You really want me to?¡± Oroske projected his voice loudly. She was silent, but still clearly angry. He took that silence as a yes. He extended a hand out and closed his eyes. The air pressure around us suddenly changed, becoming much lighter. I could tell the pressure change was largely due to him bringing in an immense amount of aether. Water began to rise at his feet, circling around his body and arm. He slowly opened his eyes, and whispered the word ¡°Serpent.¡± The water around him jumped off of his body behind him, and formed into a massive, snake-like body. After the water collected into the main body, the snake was massive. Once all of the water was there, it lunged forward, crashing into the Demon Lord. It hit her at a diagonal angle, from in front and above, and threw her body to the ground with incredible force. She was then subjected to the pressure of the water falling on her directly for nearly a full minute. By the end of it, due to the diagonal angle, she had also been dragged a few feet through the dirt, creating a sizable crater.

    He clapped his hands together and began walking towards her. ¡°That shouldn¡¯t have killed you, but it should have shown you how big the difference between us is.¡± She began to push herself up, struggling as her arms shook under her own weight. ¡°I¡¯m impressed you¡¯re conscious. I¡¯ll give you that,¡± he said when he reached her, still on her butt, leaning on her hands. He lifted her up by her cloak, and looked into her mask, cracked from the stone and water he¡¯d thrown at her. He was able to get a small glimpse of her face, and gave a small smile. He didn¡¯t use any magic to throw her over his shoulder, letting her fall flat on her back. He turned around to face her, standing just above her head. ¡°Do you yield?¡±

    ¡°I do,¡± she struggled to even get the words out.

    ¡°Good. Now get the hell out of here, and pray I never see you again.¡± His voice was cold and merciless.

    She struggled to her feet, and limped into the forest.

    Once she was out of sight, Oroske turned back around, and was back to his usual self. ¡°Alright crew, we leave in an hour. Start getting ready.¡±

    ¡°That was awesome!¡± I said as he approached, ¡°Will I get to the point where I can do things like that?¡±

    ¡°Probably,¡± He said, ¡°I imagine you¡¯ll probably even go further than I can. Sorry, I need to sit down for a moment.¡± He walked over to one of the more structurally sound buildings, sitting on the ground and leaning against it.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re that exhausted from just that,¡± Kared said when she walked over.

    ¡°It¡¯s only because I didn¡¯t get much sleep last night.¡± He defended himself, ¡°I¡¯ll be alright, just need a moment to rest.¡±

    ¡°You got a look at her face, didn¡¯t you?¡± She asked, ¡°Any leads on her actual identity?¡±

    ¡°None. I only really saw one of her eyes, and a little bit of her skin. Her skin is on the darker side, and her eyes are a very plain red. I couldn¡¯t see anything really special about her.¡±

    ¡°Interesting. Well, we already have a fair amount of information on her and her group. That should be more than enough to really get the ball rolling on a proper investigation.¡±

    There wasn¡¯t a whole lot to do for the hour between then and when we left, so I mostly killed time talking with a couple of locals. Yulra, Jyn, and I ended up listening to an older woman¡¯s tale of her and her late wife during their prime, and the adventures they went on. It ended up being cut short by Oroske coming to collect us, informing us that it was time to leave. The lady told us to come back sometime to hear the rest of the story.

    Kalen saw us off, and told us a quicker way in and out of the forest, drawing on the map we¡¯d received in Ish¡¯din. From there, we journeyed to Fyrun without any issue. Which made for a boring trip that felt like it dragged on forever.

 46: Bonfire

    [A very large fire. Commonly lit up during celebrations to provide warmth and atmosphere.]

    The next day we made it to Al¡¯din, and that left us on the last leg of our journey. The stretch from Al¡¯din to Tsumi¡¯din was by far the shortest leg of our journey, but we still decided to leave fairly early in the day. On our way out, we ran into a couple of Hunters who were taking on a job in the area.  After the past couple weeks of walking everywhere, I was very envious to see them ride into town in an Aeth¡¯mobile.

    It was a pair of black cloaks I hadn¡¯t met before, but Ranfa and Fyr seemed to be good friends with them, since they ended up chatting for well over half an hour. We took the time to get a bit of extra rest, and Oroske and Raen began finalizing the reports they would submit to Danfis and the other Lords, in addition to the report of our findings in the bandit village. Once they had finished, or checked the time and realized how long it had been, Oroske went over and dragged Ranfa back to the rest of the group by her hood. She reluctantly waved farewell to her friends who just laughed at the sight.

    The road between us and our destination was very busy that morning, with several Aeth¡¯mobiles of varying sizes racing past us as we slowly trekked back home. At one point there were a handful of very large vehicles, hauling large crates as well as people. The vehicles did create a nice gust of wind as they passed by us, giving us an all too brief reprieve from the intense heat.

    Finally, after a few hours, we reached the bridge across the Rift. As we crossed it, the plaza where the Aeth¡¯mobiles usually park gradually filled with people. By the time we reached the other side, it was fairly packed, well over a couple hundred people, Hunters and normal civilians alike, gathered to welcome us back. They gave us a path to walk through, but that didn¡¯t stop them from asking all kinds of questions, nearly all of which were ignored or given quick answers. Standing a dozen or so feet behind the main crowd was Danfis, with Rel and his entourage that went to the Human Realm, as well as the Parliament member and their crew.

    Oroske, Raen, and Kared all stepped forward and bowed, with the rest of us following their example. ¡°We have returned, Danfis,¡± Oroske said without moving from his position.

    ¡°Welcome back,¡± Danfis said, ¡°I am glad to see you are all safe. Come, stand up straight, all of you. Oroske, Raen, there is much to discuss, if you¡¯d follow me back to headquarters.¡± He then addressed the rest of us, though primarily the humans in our care, ¡°Thank you all for your efforts, and for making this journey. The party leaders will come to discuss things with me, but the rest of you are free to spend your time however you please. There will be a bonfire and party in the central plaza tonight, and I encourage you all to attend. That will be all.¡±

    Oroske left with Danfis before I could ask him what I should do in the meantime. Nadred and Jarou ended up inviting me to come over for lunch and hang out for a bit.

    ¡°Demon Lords?¡± Danfis laughed, ¡°They¡¯ve got serious guts if they¡¯re calling themselves that.¡±

    ¡°Do you know anything about them, Danfis?¡± Oroske asked, his report complete.

    ¡°This particular group? No.¡± Danfis returned to a more serious tone, ¡°That said, it¡¯s not like this is the first time the title has been used. The most notable people that were called such were involved with the Guardians, the Demon Empire, or in a surprising - or unsurprising depending on who you ask - number of cases, both. Naturally the people who held these titles were notable amongst their groups.¡±

    ¡°Do you think the Guardians have anything to do with this group?¡± Raen asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s no secret that the Guardians have a history of causing trouble, but they almost always have a reason. Whether that reason is good or bad is up to the individual, of course. In this case, however, they not only don¡¯t have a reason, they in fact have reason not to cause trouble.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± The Demon Parliament¡¯s visiting member asked, a young woman with fiery red hair and eyes to match.

    ¡°The Guardians are starting to make their move. They¡¯re preparing to form the Honor Guard.¡± Oroske responded for Danfis, who nodded in affirmation.

    ¡°You mean like, the chosen ones and all that?¡± She was shocked.

    ¡°The very same. Naen himself came by just before you all arrived, asking if I had any leads regarding the Tsumi¡¯s chosen.¡± Danfis said.

    ¡°Well, do you?¡±

    ¡°We have a few promising leads, and we¡¯re beginning to look into them further. At Naen¡¯s request, of course.¡± He lied, he knew full well who the chosen was. However, he held a large amount of distrust in the two major political figures in the room. He doubted either of them would keep silent if they knew.

    The meeting continued on for a couple of hours. They discussed the rest of everything that happened at the meetings as well as during their respective journeys, as well as dates for the next meetings regarding everything that was passed off by the two Realm governments.

    While they chatted behind closed doors, Nadred, Jarou, Kared and I decided to walk around town. All over, but especially on the main streets and around the plaza, people were preparing for the party that was to be held that night. Storefronts and the sides of the streets were practically packed with people. Many stores were putting out signs that declared they were having major discounts all throughout the night. ¡°Everyone must be excited for the bonfire tonight,¡± I thought out loud.

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    ¡°Yep!¡± Nadred affirmed, ¡°Even on years when the Peace Party isn¡¯t held we have a big party with a bonfire and such at about this time of year. It¡¯s both to celebrate the peace party, but also celebrate our Clan¡¯s history. Exact dates are next to impossible to pin down, due to a lack of good record keeping practices, but we know the Clans were formed around this time, all those years ago.¡±

    ¡°Really? I had no idea.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s largely me and my comrades¡¯ fault,¡± we were stopped near the South entrance to the plaza by a familiar face, ¡°Between dealing with the end of the Grand War, the founding of the Clans, and everything else, we weren¡¯t keeping track of the exact days things happened.¡± Naen said. ¡°Pardon the late greeting. Good evening everyone, how was your journey?¡±

    ¡°Ah, Guardian Naen,¡± Nadred spoke before anyone else could, ¡°It¡¯s good to see you. Our journey was long and exhausting, but thankfully passed without any major incident. To what do we owe the pleasure of this encounter?¡± I could tell Kared wanted to say something, but Nadred was working to keep her quiet.

    ¡°Oh, it was mostly just chance,¡± the Guardian said, ¡°But since I have some free time, I was hoping to speak with some of the youth of the Tsumi, if that¡¯s alright. I have a feeling they¡¯ll have important roles to play in the future of our world.¡± That last statement had some unsettling weight to it.

    Nadred was hesitant, but eventually, he cautiously agreed to it.

    Naen voiced his thanks and came up to Jarou and I. The tall man had to crouch quite a bit to match eye level with Jarou, though he was still taller than me. He spoke to Jarou first, ¡°I just wanted to ask, what kind of goals and plans do you have for the future?¡±

    Jarou looked nervous, and after thinking for a while he finally responded, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I guess I want to become a Red Cloak, like my mom is. I haven¡¯t given it much thought, to be honest.¡±

    Naen laughed a little, ¡°Fair enough. You¡¯re still young, so you¡¯ve got a lot of time to figure it out.¡± He then turned to me, and asked the same question.

    I had to think about it for a while. Eventually, I came up with an answer I liked. ¡°I want to learn everything I can about the world, and to become strong enough I never have to worry about dying, or letting down my friends and teammates.¡±

    ¡°Oh-ho. An impressive goal. I hope you succeed in a way that satisfies you.¡± He stood up straight. ¡°Well, that¡¯s all I really wanted to ask. Thank you for entertaining me.¡± He said with a slight bow.

    ¡°Are you sticking around for the festival tonight?¡± Nadred asked before Naen started walking away.

    ¡°Unfortunately I won''t be. I have some free time during the day today, but come sunset I have places to be. With that, I¡¯ll be getting out of your way. Enjoy the festivities.¡± He looked at Jarou and I again, ¡°I hope we¡¯ll meet again sometime.¡± He gave a little wave, and walked down the street, away from the plaza.

    Once he¡¯d disappeared from sight, Nadred let out a heavy sigh. ¡°It¡¯s weird seeing him here on a day like today. I wonder what he¡¯s here for. I doubt it¡¯s just to talk with kids.¡±

    ¡°Probably had to talk to Danfis about something,¡± Kared said. ¡°That said, I still want to rip him a new one, I hate that bastard.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you didn¡¯t. Probably would not have ended well for any of us.¡±

    ¡°Tch, fair enough.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you guys and Oroske like him and the other Guardians?¡± I asked. It¡¯s a question that had been on my mind for a while, but never asked.

    ¡°We¡¯ve had more than our fair share of run-ins with them,¡± Nadred explained, ¡°They have a tendency to get in the way when we¡¯re working. We¡¯ve had Hunts get completely derailed because of them. And they always, always, have some ulterior motive. Even the question he asked you two I¡¯m sure he has some other reason for asking it.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± I really wanted to ask deeper, and maybe hear a story of a specific example.

    Jarou ended up asking in my place, and after deliberating on which story to tell, Nadred told the story of one of their Hunts in Market City, an important trade hub in the Human Realm. His story-telling kept us entertained until the bonfire was about to start.

    Just as the sun began to set, we gathered in the plaza, where a large pile of wood was set up. The same wooden stage used during the cloak ceremonies had been brought out again, and Danfis was standing on it.

    ¡°Ahem,¡± he cleared his throat, ¡°Today, our representatives in the Human-Demon Peace Party returned. Tonight, we celebrate their return, in addition to the founding and history of our Clan. I am proud to have served in the seat of Danfis these past thirty or so years. Our family, and our Hunters, have played an important role these past five-hundred years. We¡¯ve helped keep the peace between the two Realms, and maintained the natural order of life and death. Each and every one of you has played a role in that. And for that I¡¯m grateful. Now then, enough formalities. I hope you all enjoy yourselves tonight. Let the festivities begin!¡± He raised a hand, and with a snap of his fingers, the wood pile exploded into flames.

    The crowd erupted into chatter. Danfis waved and walked off the stage as everyone began partying.

    Later in the night, when things kinda died down, and people had started going home, Danfis approached Oroske and Kared.

    ¡°So, I hear you briefly killed Kuro,¡± Danfis confronted Kared, ¡°May I ask why?¡±

    Kared sighed, but also looked a little ashamed, ¡°In exchange for the favor you wanted me to do, they wanted me to get results for a mission they asked me to do years ago; kill the Tsumi¡¯s Chosen. Not wanting to actually kill them, I opted for the next best thing.¡±

    Danfis pinched the bridge of his nose, ¡°Fair enough, I suppose. I would have liked you to not do that, regardless of anything. But if that was the cost of getting the Twilight to help us out, then it¡¯s fine.¡± He paused. ¡°That said. I can¡¯t let you killing another Hunter go unpunished. We¡¯ll work out the details of your punishment later. But for now, I want you to stay here in Tsumi¡¯din.¡±

    ¡°But-¡±

    ¡°No, no buts.¡±

    Kared rolled her eyes, ¡°Fiiine,¡± she groaned.

    Eventually, Oroske and Kared joined the rest of us near the fire. By then, Jarou had fallen asleep on Nadred¡¯s lap, whose legs were falling asleep quickly. We chatted for a while, and eventually I fell asleep on the stone myself. ¡°Poor kids, probably still exhausted from the journey.¡± Oroske said.

    ¡°Probably,¡± Nadred agreed, ¡°It is a very long trip. I¡¯m impressed they were able to make it without much difficulty. The two of them will likely go far as Hunters.¡±

 47: Assassination

    -Assassination-

    [The act of killing someone on someone¡¯s behalf, usually for money.

    Often times Tsumi Clan Hunters are commissioned to

    kill people for various reasons, often political or corporate rivals.]

    Kuro and Oroske had planned to take a couple days off from Hunts after returning from their most recent expedition; taking care of some particularly tough Sigils in the outskirts of Market City. A few months had passed since the Peace Party, and they had been working nearly non-stop, taking on Hunt after Hunt. Kuro stretched his arms above his head as they walked from the roundabout their chauffeur dropped them off at, enjoying the sight of the setting sun. ¡°They paid really well considering how quickly we finished,¡± Kuro commented as his arms fell down to his sides.

    ¡°That they did,¡± Oroske agreed as he sifted through the bag, dividing the Venn evenly between the two Hunters. Now that Kuro was starting to really carry his own weight during their Hunts, Oroske started giving him his own cut of the pay. Not that he planned on buying anything specific, only really spending it on food on the odd moment the restaurant doesn¡¯t give it to them for free. He¡¯d gotten quite a bit saved up by now through this method. Maybe I¡¯ll buy a new weapon or something, the thought had crossed his mind more than a few times recently. He¡¯d become very comfortable using his sword and his scythe, and was itching to try something new. With how often they¡¯ve been coming back and going back out shortly after, however, he hadn¡¯t had the chance to really shop for one.

    Before anything else, they had to stop at HQ to turn in their report. Upon walking in, Venn looked up from the reception desk and gave her usual greeting. ¡°You two finished quickly,¡± she said with a kind smile, ¡°You¡¯re not pushing yourselves too hard, are you?¡± True, they¡¯d just barely accepted this Hunt that same morning.

    ¡°Nah, we¡¯re alright. It was a pretty straightforward job, and between the two of us those Sigils didn¡¯t stand a chance.¡± Oroske said with a small laugh as he checked over the paperwork. That was also true. In fact, they would have been back a couple hours earlier, had their employers not insisted on them staying for an early dinner.

    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± She accepted the paper and checked over the report herself. ¡°By the way,¡± she spoke again as she signed the paper, ¡°Danfis wanted to see the two of you. Should I let him know you¡¯re here?¡±

    ¡°Oh does he?¡± Oroske said flatly, ¡°You good to meet with him now or do we wanna come back later?¡± He asked Kuro.

    ¡°Since we¡¯re here, may as well. I wouldn¡¯t want to go home then come all the way back,¡± Kuro reasoned.

    Oroske agreed, and Venn contacted Danfis. After the two men were informed it would be a couple minutes before he came down, they sat down in the waiting area. ¡°What do you think he wants us for?¡± Kuro asked, worried it would entail more work taking over their days off.

    ¡°Hard to say.¡± Oroske crossed his arms and leaned back on the plush chair. ¡°If I had to guess, I¡¯d say he either wants to check in on your progress, or he has a special job for us.¡±

    ¡°Would he really give me a special mission since I¡¯m still just a navy cloak?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s more likely than you think. It¡¯s not necessarily common, but it does happen.¡±

    Kuro leaned back, and closed his eyes. May as well rest while I can then, he thought. Just as he was drifting off to sleep, Venn called the duo up to her desk and informed them that he¡¯s ready for them to come up.

    ¡°Thank you, Venn,¡± Oroske said as he led the way to Danfis¡¯s office. As they approached, they saw three red cloaks, Rel and two others Kuro hadn¡¯t met, walking out of the office, chatting quietly. Rel gave the white and navy cloak a friendly wave as they walked down the hall in the opposite direction.

    The lights in the office were very dim, as they usually were. Four of the chairs around the conference table had been disturbed from their usual position, with two facing each other directly. Danfis sat at his desk in front of the curtained window, talking with the red cloaked Hunter standing next to him. Kuro didn¡¯t recognize her, she had short, straight blonde hair, her matching golden eyes peeking out from long bangs. Her cloak reminded him of the Incol officer¡¯s coats, a trench coat with a high collar that disappeared under her hair, devoid of any special designs save for black stitches and a pin on her collar that marked her as a Hunter. She cast a quick glance as the two entered the room, before returning her gaze to her leader.

    They finished their quiet chatter as Kuro and Oroske stood at the other end of the desk. As the red cloak stepped back to leave, Danfis spoke, ¡°You can stay, Lorn. Their task also has to do with our friends, the Demon Lords.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± she said with a small bow. Up close Kuro was able to see better how young she looked, and her voice only lent to the image of her being quite young.

    Danfis turned to the two hunters, ¡°I know you were planning on taking some time off, but we received a job request,¡± he made eye contact with Oroske, ¡°They asked for you by name, Oroske.¡± He slid an envelope to the white cloak.

    Oroske picked it up and inspected the emblem on the front. ¡°Ensaru, huh.¡± He mumbled as he opened the envelope and took out the letter contained within. It read: ¡°My dear friend Oroske, I¡¯m writing to you in hopes of hiring on your services as a Hunter. As I¡¯m sure you remember from our time together all those years ago, there is a bit of a feud between my company and another major company here in Quarry; the Grand Stone Guild. This feud is reaching a boiling point, and I intend to put an end to it. I would greatly like and appreciate your help in this endeavor. Should you agree, I will send my assistants to pick you up and bring you here to the J¡¯alyr the moment I receive correspondence from you. Sincerely, your friend, Director Ensaru of the J¡¯alyr ke Ensaru.¡±

    Oroske let out a heavy sigh upon finishing it. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t really say no. I owe him too much.¡± He looked up at Danfis, glancing at Lorn, ¡°I take it there¡¯s more to this than just this job request.¡±

    ¡°Correct,¡± Danfis nodded. ¡°We¡¯ve received word from the Guardians regarding the investigation of the Demon Lords, and more specifically, their Human counterparts.¡± This piqued Kuro¡¯s interest, and he started paying attention more keenly. ¡°We have Hunters in various cities investigating their own leads, and now we have leads in Quarry. Specifically, there is some suspicion the two companies mentioned in your letter are involved with them. There¡¯s strong evidence that they¡¯re getting themselves involved with the city¡¯s government and potentially more than one company. We¡¯ve been asked by the Guardians to send a few Hunters to investigate these leads and see what information we can find.¡±

    Oroske sighed and scratched the back of his head, ¡°Well, I can¡¯t turn down a request from Ensaru, and turning down a request from the Guardians is just asking for trouble¡­¡± He looked to Kuro, seeking his input. He¡¯d been slowly giving Kuro a lot more freedom to do what he wants; letting him make calls during Hunts, picking what Hunts the two took on, who went with them if they needed additional hands. Pretty soon Kuro would be ready to move on and get his black cloak.

    ¡°I¡¯m alright with taking our break a few days later than originally planned,¡± Kuro said, picking up on the hint from Oroske, ¡°Besides, one of our recent clients talked a lot about Quarry, I¡¯m interested to see it for myself.¡± Ever since his time with the Peace Party, Kuro had been more proactive in seeking out new experiences. He¡¯d now been to almost every major city in the Human Realm, Quarry being one of three he hadn¡¯t been to.

    ¡°Well, as long as you¡¯re okay with it,¡± Oroske said, ¡°After this though, we definitely should take a break. We shouldn¡¯t overwork ourselves.¡± The mentor was impressed with how much stamina his apprentice had. He turned to Danfis, ¡°We¡¯ll take the job. I imagine the acceptance letter will arrive sometime tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯d like I can reach out today,¡± Danfis responded, barely moving a muscle, ¡°Which reminds me, I have some new tools for you to bring with you on this job.¡± He opened a drawer on the far side of his desk and pulled out a pendant in the shape of the Clan¡¯s emblem. He held it in his palm, with the chain dangling between his fingers. ¡°Recent advances in Gate and similar magic have allowed us to make these communicators more easily. I can have a custom one made for Kuro before you leave.¡±

    ¡°These were exclusive to Red Cloaks before, weren¡¯t they?¡± Oroske asked, taking the pendant from Danfis, inspecting it closely.

    ¡°Correct. The Red Cloaks were given them first as an identifier, and as a communicator second. Due to the secretive nature of their work, our Reds are usually working in plain clothes. These pendants work as proof of their status as Hunters.¡±

    ¡°So why give us each one? Even if they are cheaper and easier to make now.¡±

    ¡°The investigation into the Demon Lords and their counterparts is one we¡¯re doing publicly, and with how long our Hunters are out in the field, we decided it would be beneficial to have an easier method of contact than sending letters that can be delayed by up to a day, or worse, lost. As such, all personnel assigned to this investigation are given one.

    ¡°However for you two, there is a second part to it. We¡¯ve received a second job offer from one Yenva Muwal, current head of the Grand Stone Guild. Her request was a lot more straight-forward; the assassination of your client, Director Ensaru. With every angle considered, I want to send the two of you to operate undercover. You¡¯ll want to make sure you¡¯re wearing plainclothes by the time you arrive in Quarry, if not before leaving Tsumi¡¯din.¡±

    ¡°A navy cloak going on an undercover mission, how times have changed,¡± Oroske chuckled. ¡°So who¡¯s taking the other job?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already been accepted, and the two that took it asked to remain anonymous for the time being. They¡¯ll likely also be operating undercover, though I imagine you¡¯ll be able to spot just about any of our Hunters regardless.¡± Danfis explained.

    ¡°I see. And you¡¯re probably right about that.¡± Though on the other hand, almost any Hunter worth their salt would recognize Oroske, as well.

    After discussing the Hunting duo¡¯s plan, they were dismissed. They decided to leave the next day, early in the afternoon. This gave them some time to wind down and do some shopping.

    Both apprentice and mentor owned a fair amount of casual wear that had long gone unused, but Oroske still insisted on getting at least some new clothes for Kuro. ¡°The clothes you have are fine, but perhaps a little too casual, you know?¡± He explained his reasoning, ¡°And you¡¯ll look like you have no sense of style.¡±

    I mean, I don¡¯t. But I guess that¡¯s not the point, Kuro thought. ¡°So when are we going to do our shopping?¡±

    ¡°Tomorrow morning, I¡¯m going to see about enlisting the help of someone,¡± Oroske said. After a silent moment, he spoke again, ¡°Come to think of it, you wanted to purchase a new weapon, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah. I wanted to ask you for recommendations on the weapon type and where I should buy it. I was thinking about maybe a spear, or something like that.¡±

    ¡°A spear, huh? A unique weapon type as far as Hunters are concerned.¡± Oroske took a moment, examining Kuro while thinking. ¡°I think it would suit you nicely. I wonder if we could convince our chauffeur to make a stop in Market City. It¡¯s a pretty significant detour, but that¡¯s where my go-to shop for weapons is. Worst case, we can buy one for you to use for the time being here.¡±

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    At this point in the conversation, the two had arrived back at their home. Kuro assisted Oroske with preparing their evening meal. After eating, the two split up. After their trip with the Human-Demon Peace Party, and at his request, Danfis supplied Kuro with various study materials. The subjects varied from history, for both realms as well as the three Half-Demon Clans, to Aetherology and advanced magic concepts.

    So while Oroske went out to ¡°recruit help for tomorrow,¡± as he said, Kuro elected to study. He was keenly interested in all of the subjects he had requested books on, but he¡¯d been rather focused on the advanced magic concepts he received from Nadred.

    Lately he¡¯d only been able to do any studying late at night, cooped up in his room. Tonight, however, he was able to do some studying outside, and therefore was able to put what he¡¯d been learning into practice. He opened his recent focus, flipping quickly between the various bookmarks he¡¯d placed, looking for a specific page. Finally, he found one with the title ¡°Gravia - Intermediate Applications of Force-aspected Magic.¡± Gravia, commonly thought to be ¡°gravity¡± magic, was in and of itself a relatively advanced subject, and is one of only three subjects that start with ¡°beginner¡± concepts within the book - the rest start at advanced.

    Kuro had spent a fair amount of time in the nights prior going through the beginner concepts, and bookmarked the intermediate applications for a night just like this one. I suppose I should start off with trying it out in its basic form, he thought to himself. He looked out to the dirt portion of the yard, scanning for a suitable test subject. Finally, he found a fairly sized stone. He moved it into the middle of the dirt, and took a few steps back. He raised his arm, palm facing the stone, and began focusing aether into his hand.

    Kuro had always been talented with magic, less so than martial arts and energy manipulation, but talented enough that he was able to control aether and cast simple spells without too much thought. In the textbook he¡¯d been studying, there was a thick chapter about general advice. He hadn¡¯t read through all of it, but one of the pieces of advice was, when learning and practicing, to take your time and carefully visualize what you want your magic to do.

    Best to keep it simple for now, he thought. He imagined the rock being picked up, and hovering in the air. Keeping that image in mind, he recalled some of the basic concepts of gravia. One key concept was the idea of ¡°anchor points,¡± an idea that works with most elements. He visualized the rock being pushed up from a spot directly under it, that spot acting as the ¡°starting¡± anchor point, and the rock being the ¡°target¡± point.

    His thoughts sorted and visualized, Kuro commanded, ¡°Gravia!¡± A deep purple flashed underneath the stone, and it suddenly went flying into the air, much higher than he meant to send it. The increased height broke the caster¡¯s focus, and he strained to see the rock as it flew through the dusk sky. Yeesh, that¡¯s a lot higher than I meant to send it. Once the stone fell back into the yard, Kuro braced himself for the impact to send up a lot of dirt and produce a loud thud.

    To his surprise however, it suddenly stopped just short of hitting the ground, for just a second before slumping onto the dirt. ¡°Huh?¡± Kuro was audibly and visibly confused, and approached the stone to inspect, ¡°My focus broke earlier, and I didn¡¯t cast it again, so it couldn¡¯t have been me.¡±

    ¡°Correct,¡± a voice affirmed from the back door. Kuro looked back, and to his surprise saw Nadred and Jarou standing there.

    ¡°You¡¯re back! I wasn¡¯t expecting you two to get back so soon.¡±

    The other mentor-apprentice duo had taken on a joint investigation between the three Clans at the Port of Fyr¡¯ra. A recent string of crimes broke out there, which was suspected to be connected to the Demon Lords. Because of that suspicion they had members from all 3 Half-Demon Clans participate in the investigation.

    ¡°How did the investigation go?¡± Kuro was eager to hear if there had been any developments in the search for the Lords.

    Nadred sat down on the edge of the porch, ¡°Overall, pretty well. The Incols got there early and had already put together an impressive portfolio of evidence by the time we had arrived. Unfortunately it ended up being a small gang of young adults trying to bring back their grandparent¡¯s old crime syndicate, and they had no information about the Demon Lords. It seems their instigators were a band of trenui merchants, who the Ishen are now looking into more deeply. From what Gai told us they believe it may be the same one they¡¯ve been tracking lately. No solid evidence of them acting illegally, but maybe they¡¯ll find something soon.¡±

    ¡°I wonder what the odds are that that¡¯s the band your Second Soul is in,¡± Jarou said.

    ¡°Probably not very likely,¡± Nadred said as he leaned back, propping himself up on his arms, ¡°From what Kuro¡¯s told us it seems like a small group that¡¯s already on the run. If not from the law, then something else.¡±

    The thought of his Second Soul still excited Kuro. He hoped he¡¯d get to meet her sooner than later. But the reality was that he had no solid leads. It¡¯d been several weeks since he last dreamed of her.

    ¡°I¡¯m impressed you¡¯re trying to learn to use Gravia so early, Kuro,¡± Nadred changed the subject. ¡°Though it seems to me your aether pass-throughs may not be well suited to it. At least, for the application you were attempting.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Kuro asked. He¡¯d read about pass-throughs in one of the textbooks he was borrowing, but it only really covered how to keep them healthy and use them properly.

    ¡°Generally speaking there are two kinds of pass-throughs, called ¡®narrow¡¯ and ¡®wide.¡¯ You and Oroske both have ¡®wide¡¯ pass-throughs. You¡¯re capable of outputting large amounts of aether very quickly, and therefore have very strong magic output. I, on the other hand, have ¡®narrow¡¯ pass-throughs. The level of power I can output all at once is smaller, but I¡¯m able to maintain a more steady flow. Then you have people like Jarou and Kared, who have very flexible pass-throughs. These aren¡¯t necessarily rare, but they aren¡¯t nearly as common as the other two types. They are capable of both high-quantity bursts, and low-quantity streams, however they aren¡¯t particularly proficient in either.

    ¡°All of that said, it is possible for people with narrow pass-throughs to do high-quantity bursts, and essentially gain flexibility with them. It¡¯s similarly possible for people with wide pass-throughs to learn to be flexible with theirs as well, much like you¡¯re trying to do. While there is a physical aspect to it, in the end pass-through ¡®width¡¯ is also determined by your natural disposition. If I were to focus and put forth the effort, I could manage a high-quantity burst close in size to what you manage, but the mental and physical strain to do so is very draining.¡±

    ¡°So how would I manage to make my output smaller and more steady?¡±

    ¡°Different techniques work for different people. A common method is to start from the very beginning of the magic casting process, and visualize every step of the process vividly. From your pass-throughs opening, the aether flowing through it, and finally exiting with the effects of your command. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve read about visualization in the same text book you¡¯ve been learning about Gravia, yes?¡± Kuro nodded. ¡°Vividly visualizing the effects of your magic is a very good starting point for visualization, but when it comes to going against your physical and mental disposition, it¡¯s a good idea to start even earlier in the process.¡±

    Kuro absorbed his words and advice and considered them seriously. It seemed like a bit of an abstract concept to visualize, but he figured he could give it a try. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give it a shot next time.¡± He was silently grateful Nadred was around to help him with magic. Oroske was a great teacher when it came to swordplay and combat, since those were things you learn best by watching and doing. Any magic concept more complex than the basic commands were difficult for him to teach, though he had no problem putting them into practice himself. Or at least, that¡¯s how it seemed to Kuro.

    ¡°Good, good,¡± Nadred said, before changing the subject once again. ¡°Is Oroske not around? I wanted to chat with him for a bit.¡±

    Kuro shook his head, ¡°No, not sure where he is. He said he was going to enlist some help for our shopping trip tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°I see, I may have an idea where he is then.¡± Nadred sat down on the porch, ¡°Mind if we hang out for a bit while waiting for him to get back?¡±

    ¡°Not at all.¡±

    Kuro decided to take a break from his training and visit with his friends. The three discussed their recent jobs, and the job he and Oroske were going on tomorrow.

    ¡°Ensaru, huh? That¡¯s a name I haven¡¯t heard in a while,¡± Nadred commented.

    ¡°You know him?¡± Kuro asked.

    ¡°Oh, yeah. I¡¯m not as close with him as Oroske, nor do I feel like I have any sort of debt with him. I am grateful to him for taking care of Oroske back then, though.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®taking care of Oroske?¡¯¡±

    Nadred exhaled heavily, ¡°Well, it¡¯s not really a story for me to tell. The basic gist of it is that a long time ago, Oroske left the Clan. During that time, he met Ensaru, who took care of him for the time he was away. He also taught Oroske a lot, basically acting as a second mentor for him. If you want to know more I¡¯d suggest asking Oroske, though I think you may have better chances asking Ensaru himself. Oroske isn¡¯t known for talking about himself.¡±

    The trio chatted idly for a time, waiting for Oroske to get back. Once he returned, he and Nadred went inside to talk, leaving the two apprentices to their own devices outside.

    ¡°Wanna spar?¡± Jarou broke the silence after a few minutes, ¡°It¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve had the opportunity.¡±

    ¡°Sure, you¡¯re on.¡± Kuro was sure Jarou had the same thought, I wonder who¡¯s stronger now? Their last battle was a few weeks ago, which Jarou won after a very long stalemate, winning only after Kuro had exhausted his pass-throughs and whiffed his decisive attack.

    Lately, however, Kuro had been focusing more on a physical-heavy fighting style, relying more on energy manipulation and Acceleration to boost his abilities rather than magic.

    The two stepped into the yard, and selected their weapons from their Demon Sheathes. Jarou chose a sword with a long, thick blade. Kuro brought out his recent go-to; a similarly long weapon, but with a thin, slightly curved blade. He thought briefly about using a scythe, which he enjoyed using for the simple fact that a lot of people don¡¯t know how to defend against it effectively. But he ultimately decided against it as that advantage was non-existent against his current opponent.

    After indicating with a nod that both were ready, both immediately went into an accelerated state. Jarou launched himself at Kuro, who defaulted to focus on defense. Despite his weapon¡¯s weight, Jarou swung his sword easily and quickly, his red hair a blur in Kuro¡¯s vision. Kuro patiently defended, observing his opponent, carefully noting the way he moved and what applications of magic he was using. He was surprised that Jarou didn¡¯t come out swinging with magic immediately. After the third or so blow he blocked, he felt the ground shift below him. There it is, he thought. This was a trick Jarou had only just begun experimenting with the last time they fought; using his affinity for the earthen element to subtly change the battleground and throw off his opponent¡¯s balance.

    Kuro faltered, as under one foot the ground was lowered, and raised under the other. Jarou¡¯s sword was swiftly approaching him, at a very unfavorable angle for parrying. Not having much other choice, Kuro quickly blasted wind on his right side and a little in front, between him and Jarou¡¯s weapon. This didn¡¯t do much to slow Jarou¡¯s attack, but it accelerated the speed at which Kuro fell. It also caused his body to spin slightly, moving him away from Jarou¡¯s attack, and putting him in a better position to block. He was able to parry the attack, and carried his momentum, landing on his right hand and knee. He quickly rebounded, putting some distance between him and his opponent and getting back on his feet.

    Jarou didn¡¯t give him much time to recover, and was already launching himself at him again. After another exchange of several blows and blocks, and Kuro paying more attention to the shifting environment, he felt like he¡¯d gotten a feel for where his opening to counterattack was. Jarou had been doing almost exclusively vertical strikes, more specifically top to bottom, occasionally shifting angle depending on Kuro¡¯s position, but never more than 20 degrees in either direction. Kuro was going to use this to get an opening. He positioned himself to Jarou¡¯s right, and feinted a strike. Jarou recognized that Kuro had found his opening, and swung his sword, using magic to cover it in stone and increase its weight. Kuro prepared to move, using wind in the same way he did before, in conjunction with manipulating energy towards his legs to get a boost in strength.

    When the wind hit him however, his feet stayed in place, while his body was pushed closer to Jarou¡¯s weapon. Jarou had encased his feet in stone, preventing his counter strike. His body in an awkward angle, and unable to defend with his weapon, Kuro decided it was game over, and used Anur to defend his expected point of impact. Jarou meant to control the weight and power of his swing, but failed. His stone-covered sword smashed right into Kuro¡¯s side, and threw him to the great, breaking his feet out of their stone holds.

    ¡°Oh shit, you alright?¡± Jarou asked in a panic.

    Kuro pushed himself off the ground with a groan, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m alright,¡± he muttered as he stood up. ¡°I was able to block the attack a little bit with anur. Those were some neat tricks. Small and simple, but certainly effective.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Jarou laughed, ¡°You did well yourself, you would have won if I didn¡¯t realize you were going for a feint.¡±

    As Kuro brushed the dirt off his chest, Oroske and Nadred came back outside. ¡°Oh, you two went at it?¡± Oroske asked as he stepped off the porch and into the yard.

    Jarou nodded and recounted the fight for the two mentors.

    ¡°Well, I certainly would have enjoyed watching that fight. Shame we didn¡¯t get the opportunity to,¡± Oroske laughed, patting Kuro on the back.

    ¡°What were you two talking about?¡± Kuro asked.

    ¡°Oh, I just wanted to know how Kared is doing. She¡¯s currently doing something for the Crimson Twilight, so the only way for me to get updates on her is through Nadred here.¡± Oroske explained.

    Kuro got the same feeling he always gets when Oroske talks to someone behind closed doors, There¡¯s something he¡¯s leaving out. I wonder what it is? He mentally shrugged it off and decided not to worry about it.

    Nadred and Jarou said their goodbyes for the night and left for home shortly after. Kuro and Oroske decided to call it a night themselves, heading to bed earlier than they normally do to make sure they have energy for the coming day.

 48: Quarry

    -Quarry-

    [A Human Realm city, named for its purpose as the primary stone quarry

    In Spire. It¡¯s a massive pit composed of six distinct layers, with massive arches holding up

    Various platforms containing office buildings, homes, and research centers.

    The city has evolved from its founding and is now a major center of the world¡¯s economy, and many people come to the city in hopes of making it big.]

    Ari stepped out of the Aeth¡¯mobile, stretching her arms above her head, looking up towards the sunny, cloudless sky. A gentle breeze filtered through her blonde hair and dark blue blazer. ¡°Feels good to finally get out of the car,¡± she said as she switched to stretching her legs, dipping deep into sideways lunges.

    ¡°Agreed,¡± Xeron said flatly, as he approached the guard rail, luggage in tow. ¡°All my years as a Hunter, and somehow I¡¯ve never been here.¡±

    Ari joined him, and gasped as she looked down. ¡°So this is Quarry? The view is great from up here!¡± Beyond the guard rail the ground gave way to a massive circular hole in the ground, a few miles in diameter, and several hundred feet deep. The hole seemed to get a bit wider, tapering to its smallest size at the top. From the top, you could see a handful of distinct layers, each crowded with buildings of various sizes and shapes. All were constructed from the same gray stone, but the way the stone was cut could differ wildly. From her understanding, most of those structures are houses and communal living complexes, but quite a few of them belonged to various companies. I wonder if we can see our employer¡¯s company from here? She wondered.

    ¡°Indeed, far better in person than in pictures.¡± Xeron said before turning and walking along the path, leading the way towards one of the few surface structures. ¡°Come on, the boss is probably waiting for us already.¡±

    ¡°I wonder what she¡¯s like,¡± Ari thought out loud, ¡°I bet she¡¯s kinda ugly, but nice.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s no way to speak of our employer,¡± Xeron scolded. Ari smirked, knowing that deep below his serious facade, Xeron at least chuckled at the remark.

    The building the two entered was a large, cylindrical structure made almost entirely of gray stone, with long, glassless windows cut out at even intervals. Despite having only one serviceable floor, the building was quite tall. The interior featured impressive vaulted ceilings, with intricate carvings lining the upper portions of the walls. Ari stood with her arms folded and studied them for a moment while Xeron checked in at the front desk. The carvings evoked images of the city¡¯s culture, and its longstanding focus on industry. Despite being carved by hand, they were incredibly detailed and masterfully done. She was impressed with the building as a whole, as she couldn¡¯t even see where pieces of stone were joined together. It created the illusion that the entire building was just one massive stone, and it was chiseled down to its current shape.

    The rest of the interior was neat and tidy, featuring polished stone tiles for the floor and tables. The only items not made from stone seemed to be chairs and the various office supplies used by the reception desk. I knew stone was their primary export, Ari thought to herself, but I didn¡¯t think they liked it this much. At the edge of the lobby was a large set of sliding double doors, which she guessed was the elevator leading into the city.

    Xeron beckoned her towards the chairs in front of the doors, and sat down. Ari elected to stay standing, still restless after sitting for the entire trip.

    The two waited in silence, the idle chatter from the others in the room filling the void. After several minutes, some loud, high pitched squealing sounded from behind the doors, followed by them slowly opening, loudly grinding against the surrounding stone. Behind the doors was a large elevator platform, with a handful of benches and seats, as well as rails to hold on to.

    The platform was sparsely populated. One bench had three girls, a few years older than Ari, all huddled close together, looking at something in the middle girl¡¯s hands. Another had a man, probably close to Xeron¡¯s age, laying with his head on the lap of a girl around the same age. Near the dead center of the platform, holding onto a pole, was a woman, Ari estimated in her late forties, dressed neatly in a suit.

    The woman made eye contact with Ari within seconds of becoming visible, and walked over to her briskly. She was a fair bit taller than Ari, but still shorter than Xeron. Her dark brown hair was cut short, a couple inches above her shoulders, and her green eyes were stern.

    ¡°You two must be the Tsumis.¡± She maintained intense eye contact with Ari, and stuck out an arm for a handshake. ¡°I¡¯m Yenva Muwal, your employer for the next little while.¡±

    Ari shook her hand, ¡°Ari Tsumi, pleasure to be of service.¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m Xeron, Ari¡¯s mentor.¡± Xeron said as he stood up, followed by another handshake with Yenva.

    ¡°A pleasure,¡± Yenva said flatly, before turning back towards the elevator. ¡°Come, we will discuss your job in my office.¡± She returned to the same central pole she stood at earlier, with Ari and Xeron electing to sit in the nearest seats.

    ¡°The platform will begin descending in three minutes,¡± a woman¡¯s voice sounded over an intercom, ¡°Please make sure all passengers are completely and securely on the platform, and out of the door¡¯s closing path.¡±

    ¡°So, how far down are we going?¡± Xeron asked.

    ¡°The Grand Stone Guild is headquartered on Layer Six, the very bottom.¡± Yenva replied very matter-of-factly.

    ¡°So all the way, got it. How long is the trip down?¡±

    She didn¡¯t respond. Xeron shrugged after a while, figuring it¡¯ll be a quiet ride down.

    After a couple more intercom announcements, the platform finally began its descent. Within a few seconds, the elevator was below the ground. While it had a roof, it had no walls, which allowed for a very scenic view once it opened up. Ari fought the temptation to go up to the glass wall and get a better look, deciding to stay put. Opting instead to follow Xeron¡¯s example of silently looking out from her seat.

    After a few minutes, the platform made its first stop, announced on the intercom as Layer One. A large group of people, diverse in style of dress and heritage, boarded the elevator. Many seemed like straight-edge business men, wearing very formal looking attire, not far off from what she¡¯d seen from the Human officials during the Peace Party a few months prior. Once everyone had boarded and was settled in, and another intercom announcement was made, they descended further.

    The stop at Layer Two saw a handful people get off, exchanged for almost the same number of new people getting on. The station had a large group of people waiting there, but none of them got on. Probably waiting to go up, Ari guessed. With how long the stops were taking and how long it took between stops, she figured it would be a while before they arrived at their stop. She slouched in her seat, and pulled a small notebook out of an interior pocket on her jacket.

    The notebook was a gift from her other brother, Orun. While he gave the impression of being very lazy and laid-back, Orun actually took his studies of magic rather seriously. The parts he found interesting, anyway. The notes contained within were all over the place, no real organization present whatsoever, and it jumped between topics frequently. After the fifth topic jump, Ari decided to use colored slips of paper to mark where different topics were talked about, with each major topic being assigned a color. Only half way through, the book was slowly gaining a rainbow between its pages.

    The section she flipped to was the most common color, a deep indigo. This color signified any section with information regarding Aspects. With such a broad topic, there were often other topics brought up as well, namely various elements and their effects, and how they pair with the aspect currently being talked about. This section talked about Xeron¡¯s aspect, the concept of ¡°piercing.¡± It was similar to Ari¡¯s aspect of ¡°slicing¡± in that the most commonly thought of applications for this concept were for combat. Of course, this was Orun¡¯s book, and this section was detailing non-combat uses for such a broad aspect, such as digging and mining.

    Ari let out a chuckle seeing that example, given she was in a city where digging and mining was the main thing to do. Reading on, she was surprised to see him mention Quarry directly, and that the city was responsible for sparking his interest in this particular aspect.

    ¡°I had the pleasure of speaking with various people working in the mines,¡± the notes read, ¡°one of the higher ups I talked to at Ensaru¡¯s farm told me they don¡¯t use xeron to dig at all. It made sense once they explained that it¡¯s very good at making a hole, but not particularly good at producing chunks of stone that could be used for bricks and construction. Apparently they use it a lot when digging out new layers of the city though, as well as for interiors of buildings. She said it takes a lot of skill and precision to use it effectively, and it was only after a lot of trial and error that they were able to dig out layer six: the first layer with all of its buildings cut out of the stone, rather than built after the hole was dug.

    ¡°When I asked if they imbue the aspect with any elements, she said it largely depends on what¡¯s being done. The example she gave me was using fyr¡¯tur or other explosive commands to create cavities in the stone, or just to break it up more finely than xeron itself would provide. I¡¯ve thought of some other possibilities, but I don¡¯t really have the skill or place to test them. Maybe I¡¯ll drag Xeron into helping me try it out. That may not go so well though, he doesn¡¯t really like being precise with his magic. One day I hope to come back to Quarry, it seems there is much more for me to learn here.¡±

    That last comment made Ari wonder. Orun spent a lot of time at home, only ever taking Hunts if they came to him, or if there was one that interested him. Reading through his old notebook felt like she was reading about a completely different person. She looked to Xeron, who had his eyes closed and arms folded, and wondered if he knew anything about it.

    I¡¯ll ask him about it later, she decided.

    She continued reading, and before she knew it the intercom announced they had arrived at layer six. She looked up from her book to see the large stone doors slide open over the heads of the large crowd that had formed on the platform. Nearly everybody on the platform started moving to exit, though a small group stayed on, conversing with each other. Ari stood up after Xeron, who was hasting to follow Yenva. She cut her way through the crowd skillfully, weaving through the slow moving people quickly and smoothly.

    Ari didn¡¯t have time to observe the landing building, and they made it outside quickly. Only then did Yenva slow down a bit. Ari looked up in amazement. She saw the impressive architecture that made the layers possible; large arches holding the ground above, expertly engraved with ornate designs on all sides, including the bottom. Some buildings on the layer above were integrated into pillars that rose from layer six, a few of those pillars rose up as high as layer three. With how many layers there were between her and the surface, it was difficult to see the sky, though she could see small slivers through the weaving structures. Despite this complex web, a surprising amount of natural light found its way down to the bottom layer.

    ¡°Finally,¡± Yenva sighed,¡°I can¡¯t stand large crowds like that.¡± She cleared her throat and regained her earlier composure. ¡°The Guild headquarters are only a short walk from here, you can see the building from here.¡± When facing away from the lift, the direction she was pointing was forty-five degrees to the left. There, a large building with large glass windows framed by the same gray stone the rest of the city was made from, rose above its neighbors. It was easily five stories tall, and had an impressive width and depth.

    What do you even do with that much space? Ari thought to herself. She¡¯d learn soon enough, she supposed. She was no stranger to large buildings, and the amount of things that could be going on inside of them. But unlike the Old Palace in the Royal City, this was a building owned by one company, while being large enough it could house every Hunter in the Clan.

    Yenva guided them down some stairs, taking them lower into the depths, and to what was considered the ground-level of layer six. Each layer had two large bridges that intersected in their center, supported by a massive pillar that extended through all of them. Ari wasn¡¯t sure about the other layers, but down here it had statues carefully carved into it, one facing in each direction of the bridge. Facing them was a statue made in Yenva¡¯s likeness, though Ari couldn¡¯t see the other three statues clearly enough to make out their features. She wouldn¡¯t be able to tell from this distance, but if viewed up close one could tell these statues were carved by hand, without the assistance of magic.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    The group took a winding path, going in between buildings and through alleyways. One turn left, followed quickly by another to the right. This continued for several minutes, and Yenva didn¡¯t slow down even slightly at any point. Eventually, they came to a large street, which seemed to be the main street of this quadrant of the layer. It stretched all the way to the bridges¡¯ intersection, far to their right as they faced the street. To their left, was the large building seen before.

    Up close it was truly an impressive sight. Ari had to crane her neck backwards to see the top. It would have stretched out of sight to the sides if not for that height, disappearing behind the smaller buildings crowding near it. Most of them seemed like houses, and nice ones at that. If not for them being dwarfed by the headquarters building, they¡¯d seem huge too.

    Between the group and the building was a courtyard, separated from the street by large stone pillars holding up a platform that ran along the perimeter of the rectangular plaza. The pillars only rose up a single story of the building, so despite their size they still looked small.

    Yenva brought them to the front of the building, and of the several sets of glass double doors, she opened the middle one, inviting the Hunters inside. ¡°Welcome to the Great Stone Guild.¡± She said as the doors swung themselves shut behind her.

    The interior surprisingly wasn¡¯t just stone. The floor was a smooth, polished white marble, with a regal looking red rug thrown over it, carving out walking paths through the lavish lobby. In front of the doors was a long reception desk, made out of a dark wood, and divided into several sections. Each section had two slightly higher sides, sandwiching a lower section in the middle, drawing the attention to the receptionist seated there. While the receptionists were sitting, the desk was at a comfortable height for most adults to stand at it. The workers were on a raised platform behind the desk, Ari realized. Most of the stalls did have raised seats for shorter folk to sit on, or just for longer visits to the desk. To either side of the long desk, there were several sitting areas, all of which were outfitted with writing utensils, and reading material, most of which was filled with recent news from all over the world, and would be replaced anytime new editions came out.

    Yenva strolled up to the receptionist directly in front of them. A young man, he couldn¡¯t be more than a year or two older than Ari, he had pitch-black hair and piercing blue eyes. ¡°Ah, Miss Muwal, you¡¯ve returned,¡± he welcomed her, ¡°Are these the guests you mentioned will be staying with us for a time?¡±

    ¡°Yes, they are.¡± Her voice was flat, the only emotion was a nigh-undetectable hint of annoyance, ¡°Would you mind calling Recen for me? Have her meet us in meeting room 36-A.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Miss Muwal. I¡¯ll get in touch with her right away.¡± He started fiddling with something on his desk, a device Ari recognized from the Tsumi Clan headquarters. She was reminded of the pendant sitting in her coat pocket, tucked away safely.

    Yenva was quick to leave, the boy hadn¡¯t even begun speaking through the communicator yet. Xeron was right behind her, and Ari scrambled to catch up, lost in thought as they started leaving.

    They circled around the receptionist desk, which was open at the back, a single step bridged the floor and the platform, which wrapped along its entire length. There they approached a set of elevators. Yenva pressed a handful of buttons quickly, blocking which buttons she pressed from sight. Shortly after, the doors slid open with a ding. The group walked in, and Yenva hit a button with a three on it. The doors closed, and after a quick few seconds they opened again on a different floor.

    She turned left out of the elevator, into a hallway very similar to the lobby below. She led the group down the hall, and around a corner, before opening a door on the left. Inside was a standard meeting room, a large table surrounded by some two dozen chairs. The far wall was a floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall window, split in the middle, with one half on a rail which it can slide along, opening out to a balcony overlooking a courtyard. Each room had a similar balcony, separated by walls. Before Ari could inspect the courtyard further, Yenva pulled some thick blinds to cover the view, making the room slightly darker, now lit only by crystals imbued with rel.

    Yenva took a seat at the head of the room, and gestured for the Hunters to sit as well. Xeron sat down a few spots away from her, and Ari directly across from him. They sat in silence for several minutes, until the door opened and a woman walked in, carrying a portfolio full of papers. She had long brown hair, put into a single long braid that went over her shoulder and down past her chest, and dark, green eyes poorly hidden behind spectacles. She wore a suit, similar to Yenva¡¯s, but was perhaps a touch small in the arms, as Ari could see the outline of muscle under the cloth. She nodded to Yenva before walking over to her, taking her place standing behind her.

    ¡°This is my older sister, and key assistant, Recen.¡± Yenva introduced the newcomer with a raise of her hand.

    Recen bowed, ¡°A pleasure to meet you, Hunters. I hope our partnership will be a fruitful one.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s get straight to-¡± Yenva started, before being cut off by Xeron.

    ¡°If I may, there is something to discuss before the details of our contract with you, if that¡¯s alright.¡± He said, tone cold and professional.

    ¡°Very well, out with it.¡± Yenva was clearly annoyed.

    Xeron leaned forward, supporting himself on the table with his elbows, hands clasped in front of him. ¡°In addition to the work you hired us for, we have another directive, straight from the Guardians. Due to our family¡¯s agreement with them, this directive takes priority.¡±

    Yenva raised an eyebrow, her annoyance seemingly growing, ¡°And what directive is that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you have heard the rumors about a major rebel group forming recently.¡±

    ¡°The one with the Demon Lords? Yes, I¡¯m familiar.¡±

    Xeron nodded, ¡°There¡¯s reason to believe these so-called ¡®Lords¡¯ have a counterpart acting in the Human Realm, and a fair amount of evidence that at least one of these counterparts are operating here in Quarry.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯ve been sent to interrogate me, don¡¯t bother,¡± Yenva scoffed, leaning back in her chair. ¡°I¡¯ve already been asked if I know anything about them by several others.¡±

    Xeron smiled patiently, ¡°I¡¯m aware, I read the transcript of Hunter Rel¡¯s various interviews, yours included. We¡¯re here to investigate other groups and companies throughout the city, and see what we can find. Those interviews were already a few weeks ago, it¡¯s possible things have changed, or even that things were overlooked initially.¡±

    ¡°Will those investigations involve our company in any capacity?¡± Recen spoke, her voice blank of emotions. She had a prominent air of professionalism that her superior lacked.

    ¡°Well of course,¡± Xeron said in a matter-of-fact way, ¡°With your company¡¯s prominence in the world¡¯s economy, in addition to the sheer size of the company, we need to conduct a very thorough investigation here.¡± A small flash of annoyance crossed Recen¡¯s face. ¡°It¡¯s not as though we¡¯ll be interrogating every employee. Any and all leads we can get, no matter how big or small, are incredibly valuable in this investigation.¡±

    ¡°Very well,¡± Yenva said with a sigh, ¡°We¡¯ll cooperate. As per the agreement outlined in our initial request, we¡¯ll provide you with lodging. I¡¯ll show you to my place later, I have a few guest rooms in need of use.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Miss Muwal,¡± Xeron said with a slight bow of his head.

    ¡°Still,¡± Yenva leaned forward, resting her head in a hand, elbow on the table, ¡°I find it hard to believe anyone in Quarry, even our dear friend Ensaru, would work with a traitorous group like that.¡± Recen agreed with a nod, before clearing her throat. ¡°Oh yes,¡± Yenva continued, ¡°Our work for you. The previously mentioned ¡®dear friend Ensaru¡¯ needs to go. I have hired you to take care of him. He¡¯s ever been a lapdog of the Guardians, and a thorn in my side. The Guild is, as you mentioned earlier, a very big company. We¡¯ll be approaching the maximum amount we can dig on Layer Six sooner than most companies, and as such need Layer Seven to be approved as soon as possible. Doubly so if we can get the contract to work on the excavation. Director Ensaru of the J¡¯alyr ke Ensaru is the only person in the city with as much hold on the courts as us, and he¡¯s been persistently blocking the motion to begin excavating Layer Seven for the last two years. We do have the Guardians to worry about as well, but I believe with Ensaru out of the way, we¡¯d be able to convince them a lot easier.

    ¡°Well, reasons aside. I would prefer if you were to assassinate him, but I suppose I would settle for just removing his influence in this city. I don¡¯t care how you achieve it, I¡¯ll pay you in full if he¡¯s removed from the picture.¡±

    ¡°What can you tell us of the target? How¡¯s his security detail, what about his personal fighting capabilities?¡± Xeron inquired.

    ¡°I can¡¯t speak for his security, but I do know he¡¯s a skilled fighter. From our past¡­ dealings, let¡¯s say, I¡¯m aware he is attuned to the jarou element, but is plenty skilled with other elements. Aside from that, he¡¯s fond of polearms, namely halberds. This information is a few years old at this point, so maybe things have changed. I also don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen him go all-out before.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Xeron nodded, before turning to Ari, ¡°Got all that? Mind writing it all down?¡±

    Ari nodded, ¡°Will do.¡± She reached into the inner pocket of her jacket, questing for a pen and her notepad, and began writing. Ari was aware most Hunters didn¡¯t care to be as methodical as Xeron. He tended to write down notes and always tried to learn everything he could about his opponents before having to face them. Other Hunters, like the infamous Red Cloak, Kared, were the exact opposite. She preferred to learn about her targets as they fought, or if she was in a rush, kill them before they could even make their first move. Of course, she was able to do such things because of her ridiculous strength. Most Hunters pale in comparison to her. Ari was never sure how she felt about that discrepancy.

    She¡¯d only ever really met and talked to Kared once. She¡¯d asked the older Hunter how she became so strong, and if she had any tips on getting stronger herself. Kared had shrugged, and said the only thing she could think of is dedicating yourself to the most intense training you can handle, and to do so for several hours every day for a few years. ¡°At least, that¡¯s what I did when I was your age,¡± she¡¯d said with a second shrug.

    Ari sighed, shaking her head as though to shake off the thoughts. She¡¯d finished writing down everything from before, as well as everything they said while she was writing. She now had some very unorganized notes about Ensaru, including information about himself and his fighting abilities, the location of his home and his workplace, any notable members of his entourage, and a little tidbit Recen mentioned about how he always had ¡°a finger on the pulse of the city.¡± The lean assistant had explained that he always seemed to know what was going on in all parts of Quarry at all times.

    The meeting adjourned shortly after, Yenva escorted the Hunters out of the building the way they came in. ¡°As mentioned, I¡¯ll have the two of you stay at my place. Follow me.¡± The woman walked off briskly, in the opposite direction they¡¯d come from. After winding through several more gray alleyways and crossing several small roads, they came to a large house near the outer wall of the city, almost exactly in the middle between the two raised central roadways. Ari was surprised the house was as small as it was, considering the owner of said house.

    ¡°Well, here we are,¡± their employer said, opening the door and letting them inside.

    The interior was surprisingly plain. Dark wood floors, a staircase in front of the door leading upstairs, a sitting room to their left, an office to their right, and a kitchen straight ahead, with a window looking out at the house behind hers, and the stone wall at the edge of the city behind that. ¡°Your rooms are upstairs.¡± She led them up the stairs, showing them the bathroom immediately left of the landing, before offering up the two rooms along the back. ¡°My room is at the end of the hall, and my study is the door just before it on the left. If there¡¯s anything I can do for you, you can usually find me in one or the other, or at the office building.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your hospitality, Miss Muwal,¡± Xeron said, Ari quickly echoing his thanks after.

    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll let the two of you get settled,¡± She said before turning and walking towards her study.

    ¡°Alright Ari, I¡¯ll give you first choice,¡± Xeron said, pointing his thumb to the rooms. Upon inspection, they were pretty much identical. The rooms featured beige walls, in contrast to the light gray carpet, adorned with various paintings, neatly aligned along the far wall from the door. Both rooms had small desks with chairs, and beds large enough for two people. The only differences were that the rooms were mirrored, and one had dark gray bedding, and one had black. Ari chose the one with dark gray, the one closer to the stairs and bathroom.

    The decision having been made, the two convened in Ari¡¯s room, the door shut and locked behind them. Ari sat on the bed, and Xeron at the desk. ¡°Well, shall we make our report for the day? There¡¯s still a fair bit of time in the day, but I don¡¯t think we¡¯d get far with any investigations right now.¡± Xeron suggested.

    Ari nodded, and excitedly pulled her pendant out from her undershirt. It was a small metal object in the shape of the clan emblem, with intricate carvings on the sides. ¡°How do I make it work?¡±

    ¡°I believe you just supply it with a bit of aether.¡±

    She did, and the device lit up, a light blue copy of the clan emblem hovering just over the metal. ¡°Tsumi Headquarters, this is Venn. How can I help you, Ari?¡±

    ¡°Hi Venn! This is so cool!¡±

    ¡°It is, isn''t it?¡± Venn¡¯s voice sounded from the device, a chuckle escaping the typically overly professional woman.

    Ari cleared her throat, ¡°I¡¯m here to make my daily report to Danfis, Xeron is here as well.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Danfis is currently away, I can receive the report on his behalf. Start whenever you¡¯re ready.¡± Venn said.

    The two Hunters spent some time recounting the day¡¯s events to the young receptionist, making sure to include as much detail as possible regarding their discussion with Yenva.

    ¡°Thank you for your report, and all your hard work.¡± Venn said after the report was finished. ¡°Is there anything else I can do for you two?¡±

    ¡°No, that should be it. Thanks Venn.¡± Xeron said.

    ¡°Yeah, thanks Venn!¡± Ari was a lot more enthusiastic, before the device went dark again. Despite their age difference, Ari considered Venn a close friend. The receptionist was always kind to her when she visited the headquarters as a child.

    Their report made, the two split up to acquaint themselves with their lodgings, and make themselves comfortable, and to prepare for the next day¡¯s investigating.

 49: Jalyr

    -J¡¯alyr-

    [An improper conjunction of the Alten words Jarou and Alyr.

    Literally translating to Stone Farm, the common translation is Mine, specifically one that mines for the stone and not ores.]

    Oroske had woken Kuro early the next day, as he said he would. After rising from his bed slowly, his body sore from his duel the previous night, Kuro sleepily put on his clothes. He was still sliding his arms through his jacket sleeves as he lumbered down the stairs. As he emerged from the upper section of the house, the muffled voices he¡¯d been hearing became more clear. Oroske and their visitor were chatting in the dining room.

    Kuro was rubbing an eye as he walked in, surprise stopping his motion. Ranfa, of all people, was sitting at the table with Oroske. She wore the same outfit she¡¯d worn during the Peace Party, her black cloak trimmed with white fur, and matching black utility trousers. She raised a hand in greeting and gave a friendly smile. ¡°Heya, Kuro!¡±

    ¡°Hi, Ranfa. I¡¯m surprised to see you here,¡± Kuro replied, walking over and pulling out a chair and sitting down.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know? I¡¯m the foremost authority on fashion in the Clan.¡± Ranfa laughed, ¡°I kid, of course. But I do know a thing or two about coordinating outfits. I¡¯ll help you pick out a few outfits for your special little mission,¡± she took a moment to consider, inspecting his hair, ¡°and maybe see about getting you a new hairstyle.¡±

    Kuro frowned. He¡¯d never really considered styling his hair, he typically just let it do whatever it wanted. It was very convenient, and it saved him a lot of time in the morning.

    ¡°You said your escorts are supposed to arrive around mid-day, right Oroske?¡±

    ¡°Correct. We¡¯d best get going if we want to finish in time.¡± He responded, standing and moving towards the home¡¯s front room.

    ¡°You already received a reply from them?¡± Kuro asked as he got up to follow. With the pace they¡¯d been working lately, he was used to not getting a chance to eat before work.

    ¡°Yes, Ensaru has a communicator that works with the ones we have. I sent a programming glyph with my acceptance letter. We spoke a little bit last night.¡±

    ¡°Those communicator pendants are so convenient,¡± Ranfa said from behind Kuro, trailing behind, ¡°I¡¯m hoping I can get one for me and Fyr soon. I have a feeling within the next year, pretty much everyone will have one.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re probably right, unfortunately.¡± Oroske said that last word quietly, but loud enough she could hear it. Why would that be a bad thing? Kuro wondered. The ability to communicate with anyone from any distance sounded like nothing if not convenient. He shrugged off the thought, and followed his seniors out onto the street.

    ¡°How much time do we have?¡± Ranfa asked as she took up the leading position.

    ¡°About three hours,¡± Oroske said, stretching his arms above his head, ¡°I wanted to give us plenty of time.¡± He turned back to Kuro, ¡°We¡¯ll have to pick up your spear here, Director Ensaru is anxious to receive us. We can hit up that store in Market City I told you about on our way home.¡±

    Kuro nodded in response, Oroske smiled and gave his own nod.

    ¡°Well I think for starters, we should get your hair trimmed,¡± Ranfa said loudly, not turning to face Kuro. ¡°Nothing crazy, just evening out the ends and cleaning it up. My stylist is fast, and it should only take her a few minutes.¡± She led the group through to the central plaza, then down the Southern streets, winding through some alleys. Eventually she came to a section where the street opened up a little bit, with wooden tables and chairs set out in front of various shops. There were a handful of people sitting outside, some with food. None wore Hunter cloaks. A couple eating breakfast saw the group and waved to Ranfa. She raised a hand in greeting, and without pausing she led them into one of the shops to the right of the group.

    ¡°Is Lili here?¡± Ranfa asked as the door shut behind them. It was a quaint place, but brightly lit by rel crystals. Despite the white light, the front lobby still felt dark, with blackened stone floors and walls, and ebony wood used for the furniture.

    A young boy poked the top half of his head over the counter, just high enough to peek at the visitors. His head went back under with an audible sigh. ¡°Weren¡¯t you here only a week ago, Ranfa? I can¡¯t imagine you¡¯re here for a retouch, Lili doesn¡¯t make mistakes.¡± As he spoke, he appeared again, walking with arms full around the counter, boxes stacked above his head. Ranfa walked over and took some of the load off the top. The boy clicked his tongue in annoyance, but didn¡¯t object to the help. He had light blue eyes, pairing well with cyan hair, which was cut short on the sides, the top and back pulled back into a small tail at the crown of his head. He wore a light gray tunic with intricate designs, the Tsumi Clan Emblem nowhere to be found. Under it he wore black utilitarian pants with several small pockets with various tools at the knees, and black boots.

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m here to have that young man over there get his hair cut and styled.¡± Ranfa explained, helping put down the various boxes onto the front counter. Kuro could see now that they contained hair care products.

    The young man eyed Kuro up and down. He was much shorter than Kuro, the top of his head only reaching the bottom of Kuro¡¯s chest, impressive considering how small Kuro himself was. ¡°Very well, Lili will see what she can do. Come over, let¡¯s get started.¡± Kuro was guided over to a seat in front of a mirror lined with several rel crystals. The bright lights hurt his eyes when contrasting with the dark building materials.

    ¡°Thank you, Lili!¡± Ranfa called, ¡°I¡¯ll leave him in your hands. Just a trim and styling is all we need today.¡±

    ¡°Lili will make quick work of this,¡± the boy said as he stepped up onto a stepstool, scissors in hand.

    Wait. This was Lili? She had such boyish features, and looked far too young to be Ranfa¡¯s primary stylist. Kuro flustered slightly at the realization.

    ¡°You thought Lili was not Lili, didn¡¯t you? Probably thought Lili was a boy too,¡± She said, measuring out lengths of her subject¡¯s hair with her fingers

    Kuro blushed and lowered his head in response. She grabbed the sides of his head and forced his head up.

    ¡°Sit still, don¡¯t move your head unless Lili tells you to.¡± She commanded. Her voice was boyish too, but hearing it more he could tell it did belong to a woman. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lili gets that all the time. It is frustrating, but Lili¡¯s style choices and unfortunate stature are mostly to blame. Lili will still treat you well regardless.¡± She started snipping his hair, small lengths falling to the ground.

    ¡°Tell Lili before it¡¯s too late, do you have any styling preferences?¡±

    ¡°Not really, I¡¯ve never considered it before. I¡¯d like it to be something I can do quickly and easily, though.¡±

    Lili hummed in appreciation, ¡°Lili can do that.¡±

    A few minutes, and a lot of snips and hair tugs later, she declared him finished. She¡¯d swept the front of Kuro¡¯s hair from one side to the other, creating a part at the transition from top to side of his head. His hair mostly went up, but there was some that came down from his hairline as well. The waviness of his hair made it separate near the end of the sweep, forming into distinct points.

    Lili huffed with pride, walking in a circle around Kuro, inspecting her work. ¡°That¡¯s probably the best Lili can do for today. When your hair gets a fair bit longer, come back to Lili, she has many ideas for what to do with you.¡±

    ¡°I think I will, thank you Lili.¡± Kuro said, standing up. She led him out to the lobby, where Oroske was leaning against a wall, looking out the window. Ranfa could be seen chatting with the couple she¡¯d greeted earlier.

    ¡°All done? That was faster than I expected.¡± Oroske said, pushing himself off the wall. ¡°How much do we owe you?¡±

    ¡°There wasn¡¯t much for Lili to do, really. You are friends of Ranfa, yes? Lili will charge nothing for today. But she will expect you to return sometime.¡± She said that last part with a mischievous laugh.

    ¡°That is very kind of you. Thank you for your help today.¡± Oroske said, slightly bowing his head. Kuro echoed his gratitude, and gave the same respectful bow. Lili gave a friendly wave as they left her shop. What a strange little lady. Kuro liked her, he decided.

    ¡°Oh, done already?¡± Ranfa asked from her table, inspecting Kuro¡¯s new haircut, before giving a quick nod. ¡°Yep, that looks much better. Next up is clothes. Come along, boys.¡± She waved her hand for them to follow.

    She led them through yet more alleys, eventually coming out near the Southern edge of the city, and then towards the Eastern entrance to the city. On the corner of the street where the bridge met the city, she took them into a very upclass clothing store.

    ¡°Here we are, Rel¡¯yr¡¯s Trend, my go to for clothes. Rel¡¯yr is also who I go through for tailoring my cloak, she¡¯s a very good friend.¡± Ranfa sauntered up to a counter near the entrance.

    ¡°Oh, Ranfa. Your order is still being worked on. Is there something else I can help you with today?¡± The woman at the counter said. She had short-cut black hair, barely long enough to go below her chin.

    ¡°Hey Eyu, Relly around? Looking to outfit my young friend here with some new clothes.¡± She gestured towards Kuro.

    Eyu briefly inspected Kuro, and made a face that seemed to say ¡°yeah, he could use some good advice.¡± Finally, she said, ¡°She is, she should be in her workshop upstairs. Let me go grab her for you.¡±

    After several minutes of waiting, Eyu returned, a light brown haired woman in tow. Eyu took up her position behind the counter as Rel¡¯yr approached Ranfa, giving her a hug. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you Ranfa,¡± she said as she pulled away. She was young, very young, no more than two or three years older than Kuro. She turned to Kuro, her vibrant green eyes locking onto his. ¡°Is he my subject for today?¡±

    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s him.¡± Ranfa said, turning to Kuro. ¡°Kuro, this is Rel¡¯yr, she¡¯ll get you taken care of.¡± She turned back to her friend, patting her on the back, ¡°He¡¯s all yours. We¡¯ll be waiting here. We do have a time limit by the way, about two hours.¡±

    With that, Rel¡¯yr excitedly grabbed Kuro by the arm and dragged him away. Her store was much higher class than Lili¡¯s. Bright lights illuminated white floors and glass display cases, and countless rows of hangers. From what Kuro glimpsed of their walk to the young men¡¯s section, this store had clothes for people of all ages and identities.

    Nearly two hours, and several outfits tried on later, Rel¡¯yr and Kuro returned to the front desk. They¡¯d picked out three outfits for him today, one of which he was still wearing. He had on a long, white collared coat that reached half-way between his waist and knees, over a plain black shirt, and black utility pants, similar to the ones Lili was wearing, capped off with his normal boots. Additionally, his other purchases included a shorter black jacket with short sleeves, and a nice black blazer with white details, two button up shirts, both gray, and two more pairs of black pants.

    ¡°All done!¡± Rel¡¯yr proclaimed proudly, presenting the newly cleaned up Kuro. ¡°I thought a neutral color palette would do him a lot of good, and I must say, I¡¯m very happy with the result.¡±

    Ranfa gave Kuro a once-over before speaking, ¡°Yep. You look a lot better, Kuro.¡±

    He shuffled his feet, a little uncomfortable. Not that the clothes were uncomfortable, he just wasn¡¯t used to getting comments about his appearance.

    Rel¡¯yr touched his shoulder, grabbing his attention. ¡°You should definitely come back sometime. I have some ideas for outfits for you, I just don¡¯t have them in stock currently. I¡¯d also like to see about improving your uniform jacket, I have some ideas I¡¯d like to try out on you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a good enough test subject for you?¡± Ranfa complained in a joking manner, ¡°I see how it is.¡±

    ¡°The ideas I wanna try with him wouldn¡¯t work well for you. That and I recall you being very particular about certain things, and those things would need to change.¡±

    Ranfa just laughed, ¡°Well, how much do I owe you for his stuff today?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡± the younger woman took a moment to think. ¡°If it were anyone but you I¡¯d charge at least 120 Venn for each item, but since it is you, I¡¯ll give you half off that rate. So all in all,¡± she did some math in her head, ¡°your total is 540 Venn.¡± Kuro¡¯s jaw dropped. That much, just for clothes? And that¡¯s half off? Sure, they were very nice clothes, but that¡¯s still a crazy amount. He could get multiple weeks worth of Hunt supplies and food with that money.

    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°I knew I could count on you for a good deal, Relly!¡± Ranfa said, hugging the younger woman, before fishing out her coin pouch from an interior pocket on her jacket.

    ¡°And I thought I asked you not to call me that anymore,¡± Rel¡¯yr groaned, ¡°I¡¯m almost an adult, I¡¯m getting too old for such childish nicknames.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense, you¡¯re never too old for nicknames,¡± Ranfa said happily, counting coins as she dug them from her pouch, placing each one on the counter next to them with a satisfying click. Rel¡¯yr just sighed, and began taking the coins one at a time, making sure the amount was correct.

    ¡°Excellent, all accounted for.¡± She said as she counted the last coin, dropping it into a small box behind the counter. ¡°Is there anything else I can help you with?¡± She directed the question to Kuro.

    ¡°No, that should be everything. Thank you for your help today, Rel¡¯yr.¡± He responded, finishing with a small respectful bow. The young shopkeeper returned the gesture. She gave a farewell, and went off to assist other customers.

    ¡°Thank you for your help today, Ranfa.¡± Oroske thanked the Hunter as they exited the building, giving her a bow like the one Kuro gave Rel¡¯yr. Kuro echoed the thanks and mimicked the motion.

    ¡°You¡¯re very welcome!¡± Ranfa said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m always happy to help out with things like this.¡±

    ¡°Do you want me to pay you back for the clothes?¡± Kuro asked, ¡°They cost quite a lot, I feel bad having you foot the bill.¡±

    ¡°Nah, no need. I¡¯ll just have you owe me a favor in the future, how about that?¡±

    Kuro shrugged, ¡°Works for me, though I have no idea what I could help you with.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d be surprised,¡± Ranfa laughed again, ¡°Well, if there¡¯s nothing else you need me for, I do have some other things I need to do today.¡±

    ¡°Of course, we should also wrap up our errands soon. Thank you again,¡± Oroske said, lifting a hand in farewell. Ranfa returned the motion, and began walking back to the central plaza. ¡°Alright, one last stop. Thankfully it¡¯s close by. Follow me.¡± Oroske motioned for Kuro to follow. Kuro hefted the bags with his new, and old, clothes onto his shoulder and walked after his mentor.

    The two rounded the entrance plaza, circling around towards the North. Not far from the plaza, on a corner leading into an alley, was a weapon shop. Down the alley behind the shop came the sounds of metal hitting metal. Kuro guessed it was probably the blacksmith for this weapon shop. ¡°Here we are,¡± Oroske said as he walked up to the door, ¡°It¡¯s not my first choice overall, but Dera and his apprentice¡¯s are probably the best smiths we have in Tsumi¡¯din. Better yet, they keep a stock of basic weapons available, so we don¡¯t need to do any ordering ahead or anything like that.¡± He finished as the two began browsing weapons.

    Oroske wasn¡¯t lying when he said they kept basic weapons in stock, nothing really caught his eye as seeming unique. They had mostly swords of different sizes and shapes, including the three Tribal Styles, a concept Kuro had only been introduced to recently.

    The five Tribes that would become the three Clans each had a ¡®signature weapon¡¯ type, three of which were swords. The Ivory had thin, single edged and slightly curved swords with small handguards, the hilts wrapped in a unique double helix pattern. The Ebony had very wide, very long swords with flat tips, with large defense-focused handguards that came around one side of the hilt, which was traditionally a solid metal piece with a shaped grip, but for mass-produced models it was usually wood and just had a generally rippled shape. The Emerald had wider blades than the Ivory, that were flat on the dull side, until near the tip where they curved inward, then back out again with the tip, looping around and forming an almost hook shape.

    The other two Tribe¡¯s weapons were polearms, which were also present in the shop, just in a different section. The Azure used glaives, often featuring a blue ribbon, or sometimes a different colored ribbon, with markings denoting the user¡¯s heritage within the tribe. In stores like this one, that ribbon is not included and would need to be added by whoever used it. Finally, the Crimson used the Tsumi Clan¡¯s modern trademark weapon: the scythe. These weapons in both ancient times and modern days featured large amounts of customizations to the wielder''s tastes. In this store though, the scythes on sale only featured small adjustments to make them more suitable for combat.

    Eventually the two Hunters made their way to the polearm section. There Kuro was faced with a decision: should he get a spear like originally planned, or should he grab an Azure Forest style glaive? He weighed the pros and cons in his mind for a few minutes, trying out both weapons¡¯ weight and balance. The shop was cramped so he couldn¡¯t really try swinging them around at all. Eventually he chose the spear. He felt like the glaive would be fun, but perhaps too similar to weapons he¡¯s already used to since it does have a decent sized cutting edge. The spear however presents a unique challenge in that its cutting edges were very small, and the weapon isn¡¯t really good for cutting in the first place.

    After making his selection - there weren¡¯t many options, and they were all nearly identical - Kuro walked up to the counter, where he and Oroske were greeted by Dera. He was a very large, muscular man, with dark skin, a bald head, and piercing bright red eyes. ¡°I thought you¡¯d forgotten about me, Oroske,¡± He said, his voice was coarse and deep, and almost devoid of emotion.

    ¡°Nonsense, old friend,¡± Oroske said with a friendly smile, ¡°I may frequent stores in other cities more often, but that¡¯s nothing to say of the quality of your work. Not to mention, their affordability.¡±

    ¡°Still quite the sweet talker I see. No matter, what can I do for you today?¡±

    ¡°My young apprentice here is your customer today, actually.¡± Oroske patted Kuro on the back, pushing him toward the counter, spear in hand.

    Kuro cleared his throat before speaking, ¡°I¡¯d like to purchase this spear, please.¡±

    The large shopkeeper looked Kuro up and down, sizing him up, comparing him to the spear in his hand. ¡°Are you sure you want that one? Looks like it might be a bit big for you.¡± It was nearly a foot taller than Kuro, its size probably would¡¯ve been better for someone Oroske¡¯s size.

    Kuro frowned and nodded, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure.¡± It was hardly the first weapon he¡¯d wielded that was a few sizes too large for him. His own scythe was more unwieldy than this spear in terms of size, and he was performing just fine with it.

    The shopkeeper gave him a small, almost unnoticeable smile, ¡°Well, I guess I shouldn¡¯t be surprised. Oroske¡¯s kids always seem to gravitate to strange choices like this.¡± He gestured for Kuro to hand him the spear, who obliged. He checked over the spear, making sure there were no issues, and judging the price. ¡°Did you want to add in any extras? A sharpening stone or anything like that?¡±

    ¡°No thanks, I should have everything else I need,¡± Kuro responded.

    ¡°Great, that¡¯ll cost you 200 Venn, please.¡±

    Kuro dug in his pocket for his coin bag, eventually pulling it out. He began counting out the money.

    ¡°Making them be responsible for themselves while they¡¯re young, eh? I respect that.¡± Dera said to Oroske as the young Hunter counted.

    ¡°Nah, this was his own choice. He¡¯s a smart kid, he should go far.¡± Kuro smiled at the compliment, continuing to count out his coins.

    Once he finished, Dera scooped the coins off the counter and placed them into a drawer behind the counter. He then handed the spear back to Kuro. ¡°Thank you for your patronage. I hope we can do business again.¡±

    Kuro accepted the spear with a respectful bow of the head, ¡°I hope so too, thank you.¡± The sale completed, Kuro dismissed the spear into his Demon Sheath with a flash of red light.

    ¡°Well, our ride should be here soon, if they aren¡¯t already, so we should get going.¡± Oroske said as they returned to the outdoors, not missing a beat as he turned back towards the Eastern entrance plaza. Kuro nodded to himself and followed in silence.

    The Eastern plaza was relatively empty, with only a few vehicles waiting in the roundabout. Now that it was midday, the majority of rides out of the city had already departed, and most of the vehicles present now were either to drop people off, or would be waiting here for some time.

    Standing in front of a clean, white Aeth¡¯mobile, was a young woman with short blonde hair, coming just below her chin, dressed in a black button up shirt and pants, a blood red tie checkered with darker shades of red. She looked up from examining her nails at the approaching Hunters, shortly after they rounded the corner into the plaza proper. Making eye contact with her, Kuro was surprised to find she was a Demon, or perhaps a Half-Demon. Her eyes were a vibrant red, matching her tie, and her slit pupils were very narrow in the midday light. Her stern expression turned to a faint smile as she turned her gaze toward Oroske, and she gave a small, friendly wave with the hand she was inspecting just before.

    ¡°Kuro, meet Jisei, one of the Director¡¯s assistants.¡± Oroske gestured toward her as they approached. ¡°And Jisei, meet Kuro, my current apprentice.¡±

    Jisei gave a friendly bow, ¡°It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Kuro.¡±

    He was surprised at her formality, but quickly composed himself and returned the gesture. ¡°Likewise, Jisei.¡±

    ¡°Is Guir with you?¡± Oroske asked.

    ¡°She is, she went into town to pick up some lunch for us. I told her to grab you both something as well,¡± Jisei explained, maintaining her casual, yet professional tone. After clearing her throat, she continued, ¡°It is good to see you again, Master Oroske. It has been too long.¡±

    ¡°Likewise, Jisei. And please, no need for any formalities, title included.¡±

    The young woman seemed to shift uncomfortably at the thought, but nodded her head. ¡°Of course. If you¡¯d like, you can wait in the vehicle.¡±

    Oroske looked to Kuro, seeking his opinion. ¡°How long is the trip to Quarry?¡± Kuro asked.

    ¡°Roughly an hour and a half,¡± Jisei answered.

    Kuro thought for a moment before declining the offer. ¡°If we¡¯re gonna be stuck in there that long, I think I¡¯d rather get as much fresh air as possible before then.¡± Oroske laughed, but agreed.

    They weren¡¯t waiting for long before Guir, a similarly aged girl, with similar facial features and outfit to Jisei showed up. Her eyes, as well as her tie, were a light blue, similar in tone to the afternoon sky, and her hair was the same color as Jisei¡¯s, but went halfway down her back in a single, thick braid. She carried with her a large sack, filled with various foods. She gently let it fall to the ground as she neared Oroske, and reached out and hugged him.

    ¡°Oroske! It¡¯s so good to see you, it¡¯s been too long.¡± She said through a smile, her voice muffled slightly as she pressed her face into his chest. Up close, Kuro could see she was also slightly taller than Jisei.

    Oroske patted her head with a chuckle, ¡°Guir, you¡¯ve gotten taller again! It¡¯s good to see you as well.¡± Guir looked up at him from her embrace, chin poking into his chest. She separated from him when Jisei came over, clearing her throat, and gesturing toward Kuro with one hand.

    ¡°Kuro, this is my younger sister, Guir.¡± She made the introduction for her. ¡°She can be a bit much sometimes, please have patience with her.¡±

    Guir pouted, ¡°Oh come now, Jisei, I¡¯m not that bad.¡± Jisei simply gave the same small smile she showed earlier.

    ¡°Alright kids, now¡¯s not the time,¡± Oroske said loudly, picking up the bag of food, ¡°We should probably get going, don¡¯t want to keep the Director waiting, do we?¡±

    Both girls just nodded, then approached the vehicle. Jisei opened the back door for the Hunters, and gestured for them to seat themselves inside. Once they were seated, she and Guir got into the front seats, with Jisei in the driver seat.

    Once they were across the bridge and officially in the Human Realm, Guir opened up her sack of food and started passing items around to everyone. Kuro accepted gratefully as Jisei turned them Southbound at the first major intersection.

    The ride wasn¡¯t particularly interesting until they got out of tree cover and closer to the city. Guir mentioned they were getting close, so Kuro leaned from his seat to look out the front window. It was a dry, barren expanse of land, interrupted by a handful of small buildings. Kuro could almost make out the hole that the bulk of the city reportedly sat in. It didn¡¯t seem very impressive from that distance.

    Up close, however, he realized the true scope of the city. The hole was nearly twice as wide as Tsumi¡¯din¡¯s plateau, and it had four quite large buildings that housed the elevators in the cardinal directions. After exiting the Aeth¡¯mobile, Kuro walked with Oroske to the guard rail, where they could look over the city. He nervously looked over the railing, gaping at the sheer size and depth of the hole. The distance to even the first layer was dizzying, and Kuro had to pull back before he could get a very good look.

    The group didn¡¯t speak much as the assistant girls led the Hunter boys down to the fourth layer. Kuro was constantly amazed at the size and quality of the structures, and the contraptions that allowed their quick descent. He spent most of the ride down next to the window looking out over the city, taking in the sights as they descended.

    Exiting the lift onto the bridges of the fourth layer increased the awe he felt a hundred fold. Between the third layer bridge being so high above, the massive central pillar with its intricate carvings of legendary beasts, the impressive architecture that allowed the layers to stay standing, and the sheer size of the layer, there was so much to take in and all of it impressed Kuro greatly. The women escorted them down some stairs near the lift, and along a wall-side walkway. There were buildings in the walls as well as in the hole itself, reaching deep and scaling upward. The highest were nearly halfway to the bottom of the third layer. Near the midpoint between the North bridge, where they began, and the West bridge was their destination: a large office complex, which stood next to a tightly secured fenced off section, seemingly protecting a large hole that continued deeper into the walls of Quarry. There were signs declaring it property of the J¡¯alyr ke Ensaru, and warning not to trespass.

    The office building itself was impressive in size, but not much else, it was made of precisely cut stone blocks and featured numerous windows, though it only stood at three stories high. The inside of the building had a utilitarian flare to it - that is to say, it had next to no flare to it. The entrance hall¡¯s walls were adorned with permits, awards, and certificates, as well as a handful of portraits. Most were small, but one was quite large, showing a man, late in his years, with short gray hair and a full beard. ¡°Is that Director Ensaru?¡± Kuro asked as they passed it.

    ¡°It is the founder of the J¡¯alyr,¡± an unfamiliar voice said from down the hall, ¡°My predecessor by two generations.¡± Kuro looked toward the new voice¡¯s direction, and saw a man who, while similar, was distinctly different. He was younger, though not by much. His gray hair was long, well kept and tied just behind his neck, and his narrow face only had small bits of stubble. He had piercing, light blue-gray eyes that seemed to see through Kuro¡¯s very essence. He also wore a suit, very similar to the ones the girls were wearing. ¡°So in a sense, yes. But, I am the current Director Ensaru.¡±

    Oroske kneeled on one knee, ¡°Director Ensaru, it is a pleasure to see you again.¡± Kuro panicked and performed the same motion.

    The old man laughed heartily, ¡°Oh come now, old friend. There¡¯s no need for that level of formality. You too, young Kuro.¡± After Oroske was standing, Ensaru embraced him in a hug, ¡°It is good to see you too, son.¡±

    Oroske returned the hug, but pulled away before long. ¡°Come, we have much to discuss.¡± Ensaru agreed and led the group to a lift, which they took to the top floor of the building, and from there into a meeting room.

    ¡°I see,¡± Ensaru said, taking a moment to digest. Oroske had spent the better part of an hour explaining to Ensaru the task assigned to them by the Guardians. ¡°Indeed, I have heard rumors of this group. I am, of course, willing to cooperate and assist in any way I can. In truth, this works out with my true intentions for you both.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Kuro asked.

    ¡°Well, as I¡¯m sure Oroske is aware, despite our years-long feud, I¡¯ve always considered Yenva to be a friend. Having you two assassinate her is a last-ditch effort in my eyes.¡± He began his explanation, ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯d love to see me dead, given my recent campaign blocking her petition to begin the Layer Seven dig. Truth is, I wanted to use Oroske¡¯s skills as a detective to see if there¡¯s another way out that doesn¡¯t involve one or both of us dying. I do, of course, have some leads for you to check out.¡±

    ¡°Makes sense,¡± Oroske said with a small sigh of relief, ¡°I was wondering if you were thinking something like that.¡±

    ¡°So here¡¯s the official request,¡± Ensaru stood and made his declaration, ¡°Hunters of the Tsumi, I¡¯d like your assistance in protecting me from any assassins Yenva may send, and in discovering if there is a way to rekindle friendship between our two organizations.¡±

    Oroske looked to Kuro, gesturing with his head to have him speak. Kuro stood up as well, and walked to stand in front of the Director. ¡°We accept this mission,¡± He said, hand stretched out to his new employer. Ensaru grasped it, and they shook on the deal.

 50: City Council

    -City Council-

    [A group of elected individuals and representatives from other major parties that meets regularly to discuss matters that impact the entire city.]

    The lift came to a halt with a little bounce, arriving at the First Layer. Ensaru had suggested the Hunters begin by sitting in on some city meetings, and see if they can get some interviews with the higher-ups on the city council. And so it was that Kuro and Oroske had come up to the first layer.

    They spent the rest of the previous day acquainting themselves with the J¡¯alyr¡¯s operation complex, before Jisei and Guir escorted them to Ensaru¡¯s home, where they were given one of the several guest rooms. His house was nearly as large as the office building was, and featured a very open floor plan. After unpacking, they decided to get some rest and relaxation in, in preparation for their task.

    The First Layer felt strange after having spent half the day deep underground. The central pillar still rose up quite high, and was turned into a building with a viewing platform at the top. Aside from that, and the numerous tall buildings - most on this layer were at least four stories tall - the sky was pretty open, and Kuro relished the clear weather, and the warm sunlight. Now that they were in Tsu¡¯ra, the air was quickly becoming colder each day. Thankfully, it was still fairly warm, and Kuro was comfortable with or without a jacket. He¡¯d gratefully taken the opportunity to go without one, wearing one of his gray button up shirts and black pants.

    It was easy to find their destination, being a large building set up on the central plaza, between the North and East bridges. It had distinct features from its neighboring structures: it was not constructed from stone, instead being made from clay with metallic frames for structural support. It featured no windows on the front or sides, but the rear was made almost entirely from glass, giving an impressive view over the Northeast quadrant of the first two layers. The interior was dated, but well maintained. The floors were made from hardwood, and lush blue and gold rugs bearing the city¡¯s crest were placed in sitting areas and along walkways. There were several small meeting rooms and offices, and Kuro guessed the upper two floors had similar functions. The rear half of the first floor was dedicated as one, very large meeting room. Less a conference room, more like an audience chamber, it featured several rows of seats for audience members, facing a two-layered stand pressed up against the back windows.

    The top layer had five seats, the center being the largest and most ornate by far. These were occupied by three women and two men, all of which were old, in their sixties at least, by Kuro¡¯s estimation. They wore ornate clothing, with gold and silver accents. Though their colors matched, the styles were all different. One of the women wore a robe, similar to Danfis¡¯s cloak, another a sleek and professional dress, the last wore a black button up, tucked into a white skirt, both of which were under a long white coat with fur dark lining the collar. The two old men were much more conservative with their outfits, one in a smart looking suit, the other wore an outfit similar to Kuro¡¯s, but his shirt was blue and he had a golden tie with the city crest near its tip. Kuro guessed they were the highest authorities in the city.

    The lower layer had over a dozen seats, though only six were filled at that time. Everyone sat there dressed formally, and he got the impression they were all businessmen and women.

    His suspicions were confirmed by Oroske, who had apparently come to one of these meetings with Ensaru a long time ago. ¡°The top five are the actual city council members. That woman in the white coat in the middle is the mayor. The lower seats are reserved for representatives from the major companies in the city.¡± He frowned as he looked them over. ¡°Looks like Yenva isn¡¯t here this time around. I was hoping she would be so you could familiarize yourself with how she looks.¡± The two Hunters took seats near the entrance of the room, and simply listened in on the meeting.

    The meeting was dreadfully dull, Kuro thought. He had to fight to stay awake at times. The majority of the meeting was taken up by people from smaller businesses coming to petition for licenses to either sell certain items, mine in certain places, conduct specific types of research, or in one case, begin manufacturing parts for Aeth¡¯mobiles. The meeting spiced up a little bit when one of the large company representatives brought up the Seventh Layer, which sparked an argument about why they should or shouldn¡¯t begin digging the new layer. Eventually the mayor silenced the room with a loud bang, caused by using a small spark of fyrun magic in a specially made box in front of her seat.

    ¡°Enough. We on the council have been very clear: we will not approve the Seventh Layer Dig until we have approval of the Guardians. The next person to bring this up at a meeting will be thrown outside without warning.¡± Her statement provoked a lot of hurried, frantic talking in the crowd. She silenced the room with the same method as earlier. ¡°I understand the need for the Seventh Layer. I understand it better than most, I think. Rest assured we are actively petitioning the Guardians, and have been for months. With things as hectic as they are all across the two Realms, it is understandable they are busy. I ask you all to be patient with us as well as our Gods.¡± The response to this statement seemed a little more respectful, though Kuro still heard grumbles of discontent from near him.

    The meeting ended not long after that, many of the attendees were clearly upset they didn¡¯t get their way. Oroske motioned for Kuro to follow, and they walked over to where the mayor and other council members were talking with one of the company reps.

    ¡°Can we help you?¡± The mayor asked, a quizzical expression on her face. Kuro had forgotten they weren¡¯t in uniform for a second and was slightly shocked by their reception.

    Oroske pulled out his communication pendant to use as identification, ¡°We are Hunters with the Tsumi Clan,¡± he began his introduction. The company representative paled slightly, but the mayor and other council members retained stern expressions. ¡°I¡¯m Oroske, and he¡¯s my apprentice, Kuro. We were hoping we could interview you in private.¡±

    ¡°What about?¡± One of the two men on the council asked, the one in the suit who, up close Kuro could see, was clearly much older than the other.

    ¡°I¡¯d prefer to bring up the topic without others, for your own sakes.¡± Oroske said flatly, eyeing the representative.

    ¡°Oh, out with it already,¡± the woman in the slim dress complained, ¡°We don¡¯t have all day.¡±

    ¡°Very well,¡± Oroske sighed, ¡°It¡¯s about the Demon Lords, and any possible involvement this city¡¯s council has had with them.¡± The council members all stiffened at the implied accusation, and the company man ran off. Oroske smirked slightly at the reactions. Kuro hadn¡¯t seen this side of Oroske before. He was shocked at how brazenly he was antagonizing them.

    ¡°Fine, meet us in conference room 3, on the second floor at the back.¡± The mayor said with a glare, ¡°We will be up there shortly, but there are matters we must take care of first.¡±

    ¡°Of course. We will be waiting.¡± Oroske said, remaining upright. Kuro was surprised once again to see how little respect he was showing the elderly group. Oroske motioned for Kuro to follow once again.

    ¡°I was surprised how direct you were with them,¡± Kuro mentioned as they climbed.

    ¡°Well, they asked for it.¡± Oroske grunted, ¡°Besides, did you see that reaction? It definitely seems like they know something. Now we just need to find out what.¡± Kuro nodded appreciatively.

    They found the target meeting room quickly, being one of only two on this floor, both of which were at the rear of the building. After entering, they circled around to the window side, and each selected a chair at random. There they waited in silence, save for Oroske rapping his fingers rhythmically on the conference table.

    Nearly an hour passed before the doors opened, and the council members walked in. The mayor sat in a seat at the approximate middle between the two hunters, lowering herself with a sigh. The other four picked chairs immediately next to her. ¡°Alright, we¡¯re here. The floor is yours.¡± She said, gesturing with her hand towards Oroske.

    ¡°Thank you for your time,¡± Oroske said, straightening his sitting posture. ¡°As mentioned before, we are here investigating the Demon Lords and their Human counterparts. This investigation is not only Clan business, but also a mandate by the Guardians.¡± All five members of the council became much more attentive at that statement. ¡°In the spirit of honesty, we don¡¯t actually have any reason to suspect the city council specifically. That said, there was the issue a few months ago during the Peace Party. I believe we¡¯ve done some preliminary inspections already, but we never found anything concrete.We fully intend to get to the bottom of that issue. Beyond that, intel indicates there is at least one company that has strong ties to the Demon Lords.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to open the floor to you all, if you have any information you¡¯d like to share now. In addition, we¡¯d like to schedule one-on-one interviews with each of you. The floor is yours if you have anything to share.¡± Oroske set his forearms on the table, hands clasped together as he spoke.

    There was a prolonged, awkward silence after he finished. After several minutes, the man on the left, well, Kuro¡¯s left - the one wearing the suit - cleared his throat and spoke. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest and say that I don¡¯t have any information to share right this moment. That said, I do have something I wouldn¡¯t mind sharing in private. Nothing indicting for my fellows on the council, more just personal, and unrelated to my duties on the council.¡±

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    The woman sitting next to him echoed the sentiment. Afterward, the room was silent for several awkward minutes again.

    ¡°Very well,¡± Oroske said, leaning back in his chair. ¡°If none of you have anything you¡¯d like to share now we won¡¯t waste anymore of your time.¡± He stood up, and Kuro followed. ¡°We¡¯ll reach out soon to schedule some one-on-one meetings.¡±

    The mayor folded her arms, meeting Oroske¡¯s eyes with a stern look. ¡°I¡¯m sorry we didn¡¯t have any information to share. If anything comes up, you¡¯ll be among the first to know. Where can we find you?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re staying at Director Ensaru of the J¡¯alyr ke Ensaru¡¯s home. Any inquiries or information can be sent there, he¡¯ll be able to contact us if we are not present. Thank you for your cooperation.¡± Oroske said as he rounded the table, stopping in front of the mayor, who had rotated her chair to face him as he walked. He offered a hand, and she accepted, shaking his hand in respect. Oroske gave a slight bow, ¡°We¡¯ll be off now. I hope we can speak again soon.¡± He looked at the other council members, ¡°That goes for all of you.¡± He motioned for Kuro to follow as he walked to the door. Kuro gave the council a respectful bow before following his mentor. Oroske poked his head back in, ¡°Oh, and it probably goes without saying, but please keep this visit under wraps. We are undercover for a reason.¡±

    ¡°Well, that was a good use of our time,¡± Kuro said as they exited the building. ¡°At least two of them were forthcoming that they have some information, I don¡¯t see why they couldn¡¯t have just told us then and there, though.¡±

    ¡°Each member of the council are, or at least were, merchants. They¡¯ll treat anything and everything they have as a commodity to be hoarded, even from their allies.¡± Oroske explained as they walked back toward the lift. ¡°It seems the world outside the Guardians and the Clans are unsure how to respond and feel about these Demon Lords. I feel confident that at least one member of that council sees them as potential customers, or perhaps business partners.¡±

    Oroske stopped about half-way to the lift, and motioned to some stone benches before going over and taking a seat. Kuro followed, confused. He wasn¡¯t even remotely tired, and Oroske had a lot more stamina than he did, so why were they taking a break? Oroske continued talking before he could ask.

    ¡°The public thinks the Guardians see the Demon Lords as a threat to their power and authority. In reality, I¡¯m sure Naen, at least, sees them as no more than a nuisance.¡± Oroske leaned back, relaxing - or, trying to appear relaxed. ¡°A lot of people, especially in this city, are¡­ discontent, with the Guardians. I would not be surprised to hear people in positions of power, such as a city council, would look to make allies of these new influences.¡± Oroske looked at Kuro, making eye contact before gesturing with his head towards the crowd. It took Kuro a few seconds to see what he was looking at, but eventually picked out the same man that spoke first, patiently making his way through the busy street. He had on the same suit from earlier, but now had a bag slung across one shoulder.

    Eventually, he made it to the bench the Hunters were sitting on. Oroske met his eyes with a smile. The old man sighed, ¡°You knew I¡¯d come looking for you, didn¡¯t you?¡± Oroske just nodded. ¡°Very well. I don¡¯t have much to share right now, but I do know a couple members of the council are up to something. I have one of those communicator devices at home, and I¡¯d like to give you my programming glyph so I can contact you more easily as my own investigation continues. I¡¯m not sure how helpful it¡¯ll be, but I¡¯d like to get this city back on track.¡± He dug around in his satchel as he spoke, eventually pulling out a piece of paper with very complex designs drawn in purple ink on one side.

    Oroske accepted the sheet, inspecting it. He spoke without looking up, ¡°And here I thought you didn¡¯t have anything to indict your fellows. What do you think the odds are that the Demon Lords are involved?¡±

    ¡°Frankly, I¡¯m not sure. I¡¯ve only recently begun looking into this matter.¡±

    Oroske finally looked up, a small, friendly smile on his face, ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll contact you tonight, probably in a couple hours. I know it¡¯s a bit late, but I believe I never caught your name.¡±

    ¡°I believe you¡¯re correct. It¡¯s Nyb, sir. Nyb Eralis.¡± He said, giving a slightly deeper bow, the kind one gave when introducing themselves for the first time. Kuro was surprised, he thought the old man would be upset they didn¡¯t know his name beforehand. I like this man, Kuro decided, He¡¯s humble, despite his station. During the last few months he¡¯d met countless people in similar positions who were pompous and full of themselves.

    ¡°Very well, Mister Eralis.¡± Oroske said, standing and offering another handshake, ¡°I look forward to our fruitful cooperation.¡± Nyb accepted the gesture, and reciprocated the sentiment. The old man gave a respectful bow, and disappeared into the crowd again.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get back to Ensaru¡¯s place.¡± Oroske said, waving for Kuro to follow as he turned once the old man was out of sight.

    ¡°Are we not going to wait for anyone else to talk to us?¡± Kuro asked, jogging a little to catch up.

    Oroske shook his head. ¡°I doubt they¡¯ll come for us here. I only stopped because I sensed we were being followed, and I guessed it was him. He seemed interested in talking to us, so he seemed like a likely candidate.¡±

    Kuro nodded, keeping pace with his mentor. It made sense. If it was someone looking to pick a fight or just spy on them, it would be a brief encounter. Kuro hadn¡¯t encountered many people outside of the Clan who could give either of them a fair fight.

    The two Hunters traveled in relative silence back to their accommodations for this job. Once there, they were met by the mayor, leaning on the property¡¯s front gate. ¡°Mayor Leiku, to what do we owe the pleasure?¡± Oroske said, greeting her with a shallow bow, barely more than a nod of the head.

    ¡°I wanted to schedule that one-on-one interview you mentioned. I have some information you may find¡­ useful.¡± She said, pushing herself off the wall, proffering a small blue envelope with the city¡¯s seal on it. ¡°It isn¡¯t much but this is the information I was able to compile on short notice. I ask that you read it before our meeting to get you up to speed.¡±

    ¡°Very well,¡± Oroske grabbed the envelope and inspected it, ¡°And what day are we to meet and discuss?¡±

    ¡°Three days from now, an hour after midday. We can meet here. Does that work for you?¡± She asked, arms folded.

    ¡°Certainly. We are quite flexible.¡±

    ¡°Excellent, I will see you then. I must be off, I¡¯m late to my next appointment.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your cooperation, I look forward to our next meeting.¡± Oroske said as Leiku departed, walking quickly, towards the center of the layer. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get inside. It¡¯s a bit early, but we can make our report to Danfis once we¡¯re in our room.¡±

    Once in the room - a large room with two double-sized beds, a large desk, and a floor-to-ceiling window looking towards the center of the layer - Oroske walked over to his luggage, pulling a small wooden box out of it. ¡°I had meant to give this to you earlier, but it slipped my mind.¡± He handed it to Kuro, who opened it rather unceremoniously, sitting on his bed.

    Inside was a small pendant attached to a chain. His pendant. He had no idea it was already finished. If it was in Oroske¡¯s luggage, that meant it was finished before they even left Tsumi¡¯din. He lifted the pendant, inspecting it. From afar it was difficult to notice the very intricate carvings that covered the face of both the circle and center pillar. They were written in a language he didn¡¯t recognize, though he guessed it was likely Alten. Oroske confirmed his suspicions, and pointed out the matching engraving on the two sides of the circle. It was only five characters long, with a space between the first two and latter three.

    ¡°That¡¯s your first piece of identification,¡± Oroske explained, ¡°Not everyone can read it, but it¡¯s your name as it would be written in Alten. As for your second piece of identification, go ahead and give it a bit of Aether, but don¡¯t think of someone to contact.¡±

    Kuro followed the instructions. The various engravings began to glow with a soft blue light, and a pair of lines, forming like brackets around opposing corners of the pendant, following the curve of the circle before going out straight, a little beyond the center pillar. Each part following the circle only covered a quarter of the circle. It was the same design that was on his cloak. He smiled slightly. A variant on the Clan¡¯s emblem that was unique to him.

    ¡°And now, to actually contact someone, just think about the Clan Headquarters, or Danfis, either should work. HQ is hard programmed in, and it should be the only contact you have.¡± Kuro did as told, and the blue overlay pattern transformed, the lines of his variant extending to trace the other two quarters of the emblem.

    ¡°Kuro, this is Danfis. I trust all is well? Is Oroske with you?¡± Danfis¡¯s voice transmitted through the pattern. Kuro was shocked. Given how busy their leader always seemed to be, he had expected it to forward him to Venn or something.

    ¡°Uh, yes! All is well. Oroske is here as well.¡± Kuro said, shaking himself into focus.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that. I take it you have a report for me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Kuro looked to Oroske, who simply nodded, gesturing for Kuro to deliver it. Kuro related the events of the day.

    ¡°I see. So nothing concrete yet. Very well, thank you. Keep up the good work.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you gave Kuro¡¯s pendant your direct contact,¡± Oroske said, a smile on his face.

    ¡°Yes, I have. I wasn¡¯t sure if I was going to, but I see great potential in our young Hunter, and I like the idea of being able to keep tabs personally. Besides, he¡¯s your apprentice.¡± Danfis offered no further explanations, and Kuro got the feeling he wouldn¡¯t elaborate any further if pushed. ¡°Is there anything else you need?¡± Danfis asked.

    ¡°No, sir.¡± Kuro responded in unison with Oroske.

    ¡°Excellent. Get some rest, I imagine your work in Quarry will be long. I will expect another report tomorrow sometime.¡± Danfis said, with some extra background noise that sounded like a door being opened and seats being dragged across the floor coming through.

    ¡°Thank you, sir. Have a good night.¡± Kuro said as the blue light flickered, returning to his own emblem variant. He stopped channeling the aether, letting the light dim completely. Kuro stretched, falling back onto his bed, the pendant still clutched in his hand. The night was still young, but Kuro was exhausted. They did a lot of walking, and stuffy meetings always made him tired. He¡¯d get up in a few minutes so they could get dinner, but for the moment he simply relaxed.

 51: Tradition

    -Tradition-

    [An established pattern of thought, belief, or actions, often inherited from predecessors.]

    Ari and Xeron had a tradition. Anytime the pair went somewhere new together for work, they spent at least one day exploring the city, and going shopping. Mostly window shopping, of course, as neither had the money to buy everything they wanted. Even if they did, carrying it all would have been incredibly difficult, if not impossible. And so it was, they were to spend their second day in Quarry shopping.

    Xeron hated it, and Ari knew it. It was one of the reasons she was so adamant about it. She loved her brother, but it was just so fun to tease him and make him do things he doesn¡¯t want to do. Besides, this tradition would end sooner or later, either she¡¯d become a Black Cloak, or they¡¯d visit every major city in the two realms.

    They¡¯d flipped a coin to decide if they started at the top of the city, or the bottom, and the bottom won. They¡¯d wandered around for almost an hour before realizing the only shops present on Layer Six were restaurants and grocery stores. They were littered around the city, and any location in the city was no more than a fifteen minute walk from at least two restaurants and a reasonably sized grocer. The food variety present here was nothing to write home about, though they did have more options than you¡¯d have in Tsumi¡¯din. Compared to places like Market City - of course a place with that name would have a seemingly infinite number of options - and the Port of Pyr¡¯ra, Quarry seemed quite reserved with their food choices. Ari had expected there to be more variety on other layers, and while this was true, there still wasn¡¯t that many options. She felt like she had in the Royal City: there were options, sure, but nowhere near the amount she¡¯d expect from a city with such an impressive reputation.

    Eventually they made their way up and out of the bottom layer. The rest of the layers still featured large amounts of food and general grocers, but they began to see other types of shops as well. Layer Five featured some very low key clothing shops, with some rather unique fashions available. One caught her attention in particular, which had a variety of casual clothing, made with a lot of loose fitting, straight cut cloth. Ari brought out her notebook and sketched the styles she liked, something she frequently did. She wanted to find a style she really liked to use for her Cloak. She wished she could simply go without the uniform, like the Red Cloaks often did. She¡¯d much rather wear whatever she wanted, especially without the strict color restrictions. Best she could do, she figured, was to adapt new styles into her uniform.

    Most of the other layers were more of the same, and they followed the same routine. Layer Two was the first break they had, since Xeron found a weapons store that caught his eye. They spent a long while in there, with him picking up and ¡°testing¡± a large variety of weapons. Eventually he left without buying anything, explaining to Ari that none of them ¡°met his standards.¡± She thought that was silly, since many of them seemed to be better than the weapons she usually saw him use.

    Finally after several hours of wandering around, they arrived at the First Layer. Surprisingly, this layer was much like the Sixth: mostly restaurants. Instead of grocery stores, however, there were a very large number of hotels. Most of them were on either the outer edge of the city, or near the center, though there were quite a few smaller scale, cheaper looking ones spread throughout the layer.

    Aside from those, there were a large number of storefronts and showrooms for various mining and stone cutting companies, and a number of checkpoint warehouses for shipping companies.

    After wandering around for a bit they decided to find something to eat. A task that was much harder than initially expected, as the vast majority of restaurants on this layer required reservations, many of which needed to be made a day, if not more, in advance. They did find one that didn¡¯t - and still looked to have an acceptable quality - after an hour or so of searching. Enough time that they could have easily gone to another Layer and been done eating by the time they sat down to order.

    It was a smaller place, with a rather nondescript exterior. The interior was interesting, when considering the trends within Quarry. Anywhere else, the wooden floorboards, covered by colorful rugs with intricately woven patterns, and walls tastefully decorated with paintings and photos would have been ordinary. Here, it was a novelty. Almost every store and restaurant they¡¯d been to would have rugs, but placed over stone rather than wood, and wall decorations were sparse, more commonly painted directly onto the surface rather than framed and hung.

    The food was good, but certainly not worth its price. Especially since this was a store that did not give freebies to Hunters, not even a discount. There were more and more businesses every day that didn¡¯t give any perks to the Hunters, nor any other Half-Demon Clan. Xeron cursed them for it, but it made sense to Ari. The reputation of Half-Demons, the Tsumi especially, had been falling quickly lately. This business with the Demon Lords has indirectly been causing problems. The Clans¡¯ investigations have been putting them in an antagonistic light lately, especially for business owners, whose operations have been interrupted time and time again. Not to mention the fact that after months of these investigations, they¡¯d gotten extremely little information.

    Xeron paid after they finished their food, and the two began meandering back down to Layer Six. They spent the rest of the night down there, studying the city¡¯s layout, and looking for points of interest they may want to investigate. By the time they came back from a late dinner, they had a comprehensive plan for their investigations.

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    This plan began the next day, which they spent interviewing many different shipping companies. They¡¯d been able to get a pretty comprehensive debrief of what companies and individuals had been inspected and interviewed when they¡¯d contacted HQ for their nightly report. This narrowed down their search a fair amount, the vast majority of the large companies had been investigated already, with a variety of positions in each company having been interviewed. That said, there were so many small companies that in terms of sheer numbers, the Tsumi hadn¡¯t inspected even half of the registered companies.

    They¡¯d decided the night before that they¡¯d focus on these smaller companies, and more specifically on the ground level workers. They made a list of groups with warehouses outside the city and on Layer One. From this culled list, they chose a handful at random, planning to break for lunch before picking another batch.

    A plan in place, the two Hunters began their trek up to the ground level and out of the city. They¡¯d taken the Southernmost elevator, since that would be closest to the shipping district. A long lift ride later, they were greeted by a sight littered with storehouses of all sizes. It was popular to store items that would be out for delivery soon on the surface, so companies of all sizes built storage up here.

    The first of the operations they picked was at the far South end of the district. It wasn¡¯t far, but the journey was made unnecessarily long by roads being interrupted and diverted by warehouses being placed in a chaotic manner. Once they arrived, they were greeted by a storage unit that would be better described as a shed, or even a shack, rather than a warehouse. It had a small storage area barely large enough to fit two Aeth¡¯mobiles, and a very small office space with a single desk and three chairs. The notes provided by Recen¡¯s secretary - a kind man who was getting up there in age, and lived in the Muwals¡¯ home - said this was owned and operated by a single man. He had no long-standing contracts, and specialized more in small-scale urgent deliveries. Ari and Xeron agreed they weren¡¯t likely to find anything regarding the Demon Lords here, but it was on the list.

    Through the window they could see the man, focused on some papers haphazardly spread out on his desk. Xeron knocked, and his head snapped up, looking at them through the window. Ari gave a friendly smile and waved. He made eye contact with her before gesturing with one hand, indicating he needed a minute and he¡¯d be right with them.

    Before long, he gathered up his papers, stored them in a drawer that he locked, and he answered the door. ¡°What can I do for you two kind Hunters?¡± He wasn¡¯t elderly, but he was definitely not young either. He was mostly bald, hair only grew on the sides of his head, the top shone in the sunlight. He clearly hadn¡¯t cut it in a while, and it was in knots as it fell half-way down his neck. Despite his hair and face appearing quite rough, he wore a nice, light blue button up, tucked into black pants.

    ¡°We are in town investigating a group calling themselves the Demon Lords,¡± Xeron began explaining, the old man raising an eyebrow at the name, ¡°As well as their potential Human counterparts. I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯d have heard about a bit of a fiasco involving them and some shipping companies from here in Quarry a few months ago. Would you be willing to answer some questions?¡±

    The man rubbed his neck under his hair, ¡°I need to be leaving for a job within the hour, but I suppose I could chat for a little while.¡± He turned around and gestured for them to follow. He sat down at his desk, and the Hunters followed.

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask first, what were those papers you were looking at earlier?¡± Xeron said as he lowered into the seat, not wanting to waste any time.

    ¡°Maps, mostly,¡± He said, ¡°That and the list of things I¡¯m bringing for this job.¡±

    Xeron cocked an eyebrow at that, ¡°A map? What for?¡±

    ¡°Well, one is for routing me from here to the Royal City, and others are more detailed maps of the city. I like having my route in mind as I¡¯m traveling, and my employer has me take their shipments to different places all the time so I need to know where I¡¯m going.¡±

    ¡°Do you mind me asking who your employer is?¡± Ari asked.

    ¡°Not at all, they¡¯re a minor noble family in Lord Reil¡¯anum¡¯s employ. They see to many miscellaneous projects around the Realm, mostly maintaining buildings and other important structures.¡±

    ¡°And what is it you supply to them?¡± Xeron took the next question.

    ¡°They usually get their actual construction materials from other, more prominent delivery companies,¡± the man explained, ¡°So I¡¯m usually delivering smaller odds and ends. Brick mortar, paint brushes, the occasional rug or glass panes, stuff that¡¯s not so heavy you need special vehicles.¡±

    ¡°I see, and they¡¯re your regular employer.¡±

    ¡°Yes, and they¡¯re quite reputable. They always pay generously and up front. They often send me notices when projects I¡¯ve delivered for are completed, and I enjoy going and seeing the completed projects.¡±

    Xeron nodded, thinking to himself. After a moment, he continued the questioning, ¡°Have any of your other delivery contracts seemed odd? Maybe they had you go somewhere weird, or the people receiving the delivery were off in some way?¡±

    The man shook his head, ¡°I¡¯ll be honest, I haven¡¯t had anyone else contract me other than this noble family in well over a year. The only even kind of strange delivery I¡¯ve had for them had me stop and drop off a custom made weapon to an outpost south of Market City. And that was for their son who was there for military training.¡±

    The interview continued for a little bit longer, but ultimately it ended with no leads. They made a few more stops, and none of them offered any leads either. And neither did the groups they were able to interview after lunch. They eventually returned home, just over a dozen interviews conducted over the course of fifteen hours, and no leads or solid information.

    Ari sighed, falling backwards onto her bed, her report to Danfis complete. Xeron sat down, any hint of annoyance masked by his stern calmness. ¡°Hopefully tomorrow will have more solid results,¡± She said, stretching her arms out over her head.

    Xeron nodded, before letting out a yawn. They¡¯d done a lot of walking today, and were both very tired. Ari, tired, not wanting to move around much, struggled out of her cloak without getting up. Finally free of the coat, she wormed her way under the blankets, and quickly fell asleep.

 52: Director

    -Director-

    [A high-up position, in charge of directing those beneath them to accomplish their goals.]

    On Kuro and Oroske¡¯s fourth day in Quarry - their third day having been largely uneventful, full of dead ends and some grocery shopping - started quietly. The two had woken early, but apparently Ensaru got up even earlier, he was already out of the house by then. They were in the middle of breakfast when Oroske pulled his pendant out from under his shirt, glowing and pulsing slightly. That must be what it looks like when someone is trying to make contact, Kuro realized.

    It glowed more brightly and the same emblem variant appeared as on their second night in town. Danfis was calling directly, it seemed. His voice carried through after a second, ¡°Oroske, Kuro, good morning,¡± he said.

    ¡°Good morning,¡± Oroske said in a questioning tone, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°There have been some developments,¡± Danfis began, ¡°I¡¯d like you, Oroske, to come back to Tsumi¡¯din to be briefed on the new information. You will be back in Quarry by the end of the day. I¡¯m also going to reach out to the other team and have one of them come, though probably at a different time.¡±

    Oroske leaned back in his wooden chair, thinking for a moment. ¡°Very well, are you okay if I leave you here, Kuro?¡± The apprentice gave a quick, single nod. ¡°Alright, should I have Kuro do any investigating while I¡¯m gone? Or should he just be on standby for now?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see why we couldn¡¯t have him out in the field on his own, so long as you think he¡¯s capable enough on his own.¡±

    Oroske looked to Kuro, who shrugged. ¡°Eh, I¡¯ll leave it up to him then. I should be able to get back to Tsumi¡¯din within the next couple hours.¡±

    ¡°See you soon, then. Best of luck, Kuro, and safe travels, Oroske.¡± Danfis said just before the light flickered to standby mode.

    Oroske sighed, rubbing the spots between his nose and eyes. Finally he stood and spoke, ¡°¡±Well, as I said, I¡¯ll leave it up to you on what you do. You remember the places we discussed yesterday?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± Kuro said, still sitting, mouth full of food.

    ¡°Good. If you do go out to investigate, hit them up first. I think you¡¯re good enough at this point that you can go on your own. I should be back before it gets dark out.¡±

    Kuro swallowed, then spoke, ¡°Sounds good. Be safe.¡±

    Oroske smiled, ¡°You too.¡±

    Oroske went up to their room to grab something, then left. This was a first for Kuro. He¡¯d worked solo before, sure. But Oroske was always nearby, observing him. It always felt like his mentor was a safety net for him to fall back on. And now that net was removed. This both excited him, and made him incredibly nervous.

    He ate in silence, acutely aware of Ensaru¡¯s little entourage of housestaff bustling about the place, and considered what he wanted to do with his day. It¡¯d been months since he had a day to himself. Ultimately, he settled on training. For now, at least.

    After he finished his food, he caught one of the staff and asked where he could find an open area to train in. They pointed him to the back of the house, a small yard with neatly trimmed grass. There were some planters at the edges, with flowers past their prime, many already starting to wilt for the cold season. A small handful still had bright, vibrant colors, but even those looked like they were on their way out. He stepped into the middle of the yard, and took a moment to consider what exactly he wanted to work on.

    It hit him quickly, and it seemed the obvious choice in hindsight.

    He traced a quick line, and with a red flash, the spear he bought the other day appeared in his hand. He hadn¡¯t had a chance to really try it out, seeing as they were non-stop moving from place to place, and constantly around other people.

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    He spun the spear around, trying out various flourishes he¡¯d seen other spear users use. He was used to spinning a scythe, and the difference in weight distribution threw him off. His movements were clumsy and very rough. After dropping the spear in a failed maneuver for the fourth time, he picked it up, and decided to try some basic movements for actual combat. This spear was, after all, designed for poking, not swinging.

    He switched periodically between two handing it and one handing it, learning what kind of range and power he could get out of the weapon.

    He was considering ways to change up the straight-forward nature of the spear, and make using it in combat more interesting and varied, when the door to the house opened. ¡°Eriln said I would find you out here,¡± Ensaru¡¯s voice said from the door. ¡°She told me Oroske left. What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Kuro turned around in a snap, dismissing his spear back into his Demon Sheath. ¡°Oh, Director Ensaru,¡± He gave a belated greeting as he walked over to the older man. ¡°Oroske was called back to Tsumi¡¯din by Danfis. He should be back tonight, he said before dark.¡± He looked behind him at the yard, where the grass was visibly disturbed by his practicing. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind me using the yard to practice.¡±

    Ensaru smiled, ¡°Not at all. It¡¯s been too long since this yard was used for something other than hosting tea parties. Oroske used to train out here often. It¡¯s good to see it be used for that purpose again.¡±

    ¡°Oroske used to train here?¡± Kuro asked, then remembered that his mentor had stayed here in the past for some time.

    Ensaru nodded, ¡°Yes. Many years ago, now. Has he told you the story at all?¡± Kuro shook his head. ¡°Well, I doubt he¡¯d mind much. I can¡¯t tell all the details, there are things from around that time I don¡¯t know myself.

    ¡°This was back when he was freshly graduated from your Clan¡¯s apprenticeship program, or so he says. Something had shaken him, and his faith in his family, to his core. I don¡¯t know what exactly it would have been, he¡¯s never told me, but I think he was forced to do something he didn¡¯t want to do. I¡¯d worked with him once before, with his mentor, and his first apprentice - I still don¡¯t get how that works.

    ¡°He showed up at my door one day, disheveled, covered in dirt, hair and face a complete mess, and asked if he could stay here for a while. I was, and still am, very grateful for the help he and his companions provided me before, so I accepted. A ¡®while¡¯ turned out to be nearly a year. During that time, I trained him in various things. I taught him new fighting techniques, new varieties of magic, even a bit of business management and bookkeeping.¡±

    This caught Kuro¡¯s attention. He was always interested in seeing new ways of fighting, and was keen to learn as much as he could about magic. The mention of business and accounting went in one ear and out the other. ¡°What kinds of fighting and magic techniques did you teach him?¡± Kuro asked.

    Ensaru sat down on the porch, bare feet sinking into the grass. Kuro followed suit, sitting cross-legged on the ground. ¡°Well, for fighting, there wasn¡¯t much I taught him, to be truthful. It was less about the actual physical element of fighting, and more about the mental aspect. I taught him how to get into his opponent¡¯s head, figure out how they¡¯ll respond to certain stimuli, understand their fighting style, and most importantly, their reason for fighting in the first place.

    ¡°Magic, on the other hand, there was much more to teach. It was impressive how effective he was in combat with such an elementary understanding of the mechanics of magic, and with no knowledge on the mind games people tend to play when fighting. His raw strength and talent overwhelmed most of his opponents. He even gave me a bit of a hard time the first time we sparred. I started from scratch with him, starting with the absolute basics of magic theory and aetherology, and once that was done I began instructing him in advanced applications as well as the more difficult and advanced elements and aspects.¡±

    ¡°Where did you learn all these things?¡± Kuro interjected, before adding, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind my asking.¡±

    ¡°Not at all,¡± Ensaru assured him, ¡°My teacher was an instructor at the School of Towers, and at the time he was one of the best mages in the school, if not the world. I myself did not attend the academy, but instead was under his tutelage after he retired. He taught me a lot, and if I¡¯m honest I just copied his teaching style when it was time to teach Oroske.¡±

    Kuro nodded, then gestured for him to continue his story.

    ¡°My last lessons for him were probably the hardest, but I think they¡¯re the ones he needed most back then.¡± Ensaru looked up to a sky clouded by several stone bridges, ¡°I had to teach him to move on, and accept loss. I feel like I should reiterate, I don¡¯t know what exactly happened, all I know for sure is that shortly before coming to me, many members of his family died. And so, it fell to me to help him move on from that loss. It was hard, especially for him. I haven¡¯t asked how he¡¯s doing in that regard in some years.¡±

    ¡°It sounds like you have some experience yourself,¡± Kuro said after a moment of quiet, tracing Ensaru¡¯s vision.

    ¡°Naturally,¡± the older man said, a small, almost sad smile on his face, ¡°When you get as old as I am, you¡¯re bound to have experienced all kinds of loss and grief. If I¡¯m honest, I almost feel desensitized to it at this point.¡±

    There was a moment of quiet, as though paying respect to those departed.

    ¡°What kinds of advanced magic did you teach Oroske?¡± Kuro broke the silence.

    Ensaru looked back down. ¡°Oh this and that. Most of his studies involved his own Aspect.¡± Ensaru stood up, and gestured for Kuro to follow him inside. ¡°Veros. The Aspect of the Soul.¡±

 53: Veros

    -Veros-

    [The Alten word for ¡°Soul.¡±

    Conversationally it can be used to mean both a person¡¯s literal soul, as well as the spirit, or nature, of something.]

    Ensaru led Kuro to a room on the second floor of his home. It was a library of sorts, with thick tomes and scroll cases crowding shelves along every wall. With no window, the room was lit by a large Rel crystal hanging from the ceiling. The light it cast was a close approximation to natural light, but had a soft blue cast.

    ¡°Oroske asked me to teach him more about his Aspect after learning about my own mentor.¡± Ensaru began his lesson. ¡°My mentor was known as a master of the Aspect, indeed even known as the best there was. He was an instructor at the School of Towers for a time, as I believe I mentioned earlier, but he was also a researcher, as most teachers there are. Not only was Veros his own Aspect, he had near unlimited access to any and all research materials held by the school on the subject. From my understanding, even now, nearly half of the records on the matter are credited to him and his research.

    ¡°Naturally, he wanted to pass this information on down to me, his only true successor. Once Oroske caught wind of this, he pleaded for me to teach him more about it, as the Clan could only teach him so much. His emotions may have gotten the better of him, for it was at this time he let slip one detail about his circumstances for running away. He believed that if he had been more skilled with Veros, he could have saved his mother and his siblings. Their deaths were something I helped him come to terms with, but it wasn¡¯t until this point I knew who it was he had lost. And so, we began.

    ¡°I taught him everything I knew, even the things I couldn¡¯t do myself. I taught him to create bounding fields, how to ¡®hit¡¯ someone¡¯s soul, even how to ¡®view¡¯ a person¡¯s soul. Bounding fields seemed to be the main thing he was after. According to my teacher, it¡¯s theoretically possible for anyone to create them with enough practice and focus, but the only recorded instances of them were created by people who had an affinity for the aspect. With them, one can hold a soul in place before it departs completely, and even help maintain its bond with the body and mind. I think he believes, or at least believed, that if he had the ability to make these bounding fields, he could have ensured the revival of his family. I don¡¯t know enough about the details of the Tsumi¡¯s revival techniques, but I personally doubt this theory. Not that I¡¯d ever tell him that.¡±

    As he spoke, he¡¯d led Kuro to a round wooden table, which was surrounded by wooden chairs with plush, dark blue cushions, a few shades darker than Kuro¡¯s cloak. They had floral designs that almost seemed arcane in nature embroidered into the fabric. He sat down, and gestured for Kuro to follow as he finished his short speech.

    Kuro chewed on the information he¡¯d been given so far, inspecting the books on the table. Ensaru picked up one, which had characters Kuro didn¡¯t recognize. He thought they looked like the characters on his communication pendant, but he wasn¡¯t sure.

    He got the impression that the ¡°bounding field¡± is something Oroske used after he lost against Kared in Ish¡¯din to keep his soul nearby. He didn¡¯t know for sure, of course. He did have questions regarding the other two specific things mentioned.

    ¡°What does ¡®hitting¡¯ someone¡¯s soul entail?¡± He asked, leaning back in his chair, hands resting in his lap.

    ¡°The combat application of Veros magic,¡± Ensaru leaned back, setting the book down on his legs, ¡°How effective this application is depends heavily on the caster. Most commonly, it is used to disorient a person by vibrating the soul, causing a sort of de-synchronization between it and the mind and body. If you¡¯d like I can demonstrate, though I¡¯d warn you it¡¯s a very uncomfortable feeling.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll pass,¡± Kuro said quickly.

    Ensaru laughed, ¡°A good choice.¡±

    ¡°How about viewing a soul? What does that mean?¡±

    Ensaru smiled, putting the book back on the table before standing up. ¡°This is one that¡¯s easiest to explain when you see it. Would you like me to demonstrate it using your soul? This one doesn¡¯t hurt, though some people reportedly feel a sort of instinctual discomfort when seeing it.¡±

    Kuro stood as well, ¡°Go for it, I¡¯m curious enough.¡±

    Ensaru stood next to Kuro, before placing a palm on Kuro¡¯s chest. ¡°Breath in, then exhale all of your breath.¡± Kuro did as told, and Ensaru began channeling aether into Kuro¡¯s chest. Once Kuro¡¯s breath was completely out, Ensaru pulled his hand away, a small line of blue light stretching between them. The line pulled away from the chest, forming a ball in Ensaru¡¯s palm. The older man closed his eyes, focusing.

    The ball began to disperse slightly, becoming like a cloud of dust. It also transitioned from a soft blue glow, to a mix of dark and light motes of aether. The light and dark were nearly equal, though there was more light than dark. There was also a small gap, that was more of a feeling than something you could see, separating one half from the other, though not separating the light and dark. There were also some additional objects seemingly floating around, though Kuro wasn¡¯t sure what they were.

    Ensaru opened his eyes as the manifestation finished forming, and met Kuro¡¯s eyes. A kind smile spread across his face before he spoke. ¡°Half-demon souls are always interesting to look at. What do you think? I¡¯m always interested to hear what people inexperienced with soul-reading think they see.¡±

    After Kuro was silent for a moment, Ensaru motioned, encouraging him to speak. ¡°Well,¡± he finally began, ¡°I¡¯ve heard our souls have a dark or light aspect associated with them, which changes based on the individual. In this cloud I see there¡¯s a near equal amount of what I¡¯m guessing is a representation of this, with slightly more light than dark. I see this strange ¡®gap,¡¯ I guess, where the cloud seems disconnected from itself. The light of the soul is smooth everywhere except there, where the swirling pattern in the cloud shifts suddenly. I also see a few things that almost look like tangible objects, though I¡¯m not sure what they are.¡±

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    When his explanation finished, Ensaru was quick to give his own observations. ¡°Very good, you saw and understood all of the basic information. For many it¡¯s obvious what these things are, but there are some I¡¯ve encountered who can¡¯t even identify the light/dark relationship.¡±

    ¡°I was under the impression that you were one or the other, is that not correct?¡± Kuro interjected.

    ¡°The light and dark of a soul are a spectrum of sorts. In theory, it¡¯s impossible to be entirely one or the other, though I have seen a handful of individuals with such strong leanings that the other side is barely visible. A case like yours is just as rare, or perhaps even more rare than that. Typically, a person¡¯s leaning is very clear. The average ratio of light to dark is usually two-thirds in favor of their leaning, and one third towards the opposite. You on the other hand, are startlingly close to equal. The leaning is still apparent, however. In my limited experience of viewing Half-demon souls, I find they tend to have a more balanced soul, though even they have much clearer leanings than you.¡±

    ¡°Is it possible for someone to have a perfectly balanced soul? With equal parts light and dark?¡± Kuro asked, his interest in the subject growing with each word from Ensaru¡¯s lecture.

    Ensaru pondered for a second before answering, ¡°In theory, yes. The likelihood of this occurring naturally is extremely slim, if at all possible. There were theories in work that asked if it was possible to force a soul to adopt this perfect balance, though experimentation was prohibited by the Guardians. I had asked my mentor about this once, and their thoughts on the matter. From what they told me, it seems the most likely way to achieve it would involve taking living souls, cutting them up, and combining them with other souls. I¡¯m sure you can see the issue with this idea.¡±

    Kuro nodded, intrigued that such a thing would be possible. ¡°That¡¯s all I had to ask about the light and dark stuff. Could you continue?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d be happy to.¡± Ensaru pointed towards the ¡°gap.¡± ¡°This is a result of your nature as a Half-demon. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard how Half-demons came to be? Or at least, the legend about it?¡± Kuro shook his head. ¡°Well, another thing Oroske neglected to teach you then. Well, long story short, there were two beings, a human and a demon known as True Dark and True Light respectively. The Guardians deemed them a threat to Spire, and through means we aren¡¯t completely familiar with, split their souls, and mixed the halves together, forming the first Half-demons. For some reason, after this, Half-demons began being born naturally. It¡¯s theorized that the reason the cut still shows up when manifesting a soul like this is because the World Soul mimics the process of splicing the souls when they are born. This also explains why Half-demons have Second Souls. Anyway, the point is, this gap is essentially a scar from when you and your Second Soul were split and rejoined.¡±

    I think I understood some of that, Kuro thought to himself, stopping himself from interrupting for more information. He knew he¡¯d keep them here forever if he was allowed to ask every question in his mind.

    ¡°Up next, we can identify your elemental affinity and aspect. This requires you to look closely, but you can often see traces of your element floating around. How the element manifests can differ. For example, I see in one half what seems like patterns of lightning, forming in the gaps between the dust particles of your soul. This indicates an affinity for selr. However, in the other half of your soul, I see small motes of a greenish light, zipping around. This indicates an affinity for sentem. Am I right that you have a dual affinity for these two?¡±

    Kuro nodded, impressed. After they were pointed out he could see them, if only vaguely. ¡°What about my aspect affinity? Is that something you can see?¡±

    Ensaru shook his head, ¡°Normally, yes. I do not see yours, which I¡¯m guessing is because you yourself do not know what it is?¡±

    ¡°I do not. I was hoping you could see it and tell me what it is,¡± Kuro said, scratching the back of his head with a laugh.

    ¡°I see. Yes, unfortunately I can not. We¡¯re not sure why, but a person¡¯s awareness of their affinities is a prerequisite for them to appear in manifestations of their soul.¡±

    Ensaru stepped closer to Kuro, and moved one of the objects up to Kuro¡¯s eye level with one hand. Up close, it looked like a cube of a gray, almost metallic material. He felt as though he could see tiny engravings on all sides, though he couldn¡¯t make them out. ¡°This here is an interesting sight to see in someone as young as you. This appears to be a ¡®lock.¡¯ These often form naturally, as a result of some form of trauma or another. More interestingly, they can be placed by someone with the right abilities. Usually, these locks are temporary, and fade with time. If placed by someone else, they usually are unlocked through meeting certain conditions, or with a ¡®key.¡¯

    ¡°Speaking of,¡± Ensaru raised the other object, which looked like a small floating symbol of white light. It reminded Kuro of the emblem of balance, if it was broken at the top, not quite completing the circle. ¡°This is especially interesting. This is a ¡®key,¡¯ and unlike locks, these do not form naturally, and must be deliberately placed by someone. That someone can be the person who holds it, or someone else. I¡¯ve never seen this symbol before, though it seems like it probably has origins similar to the Tsumi¡¯s emblem. As for what this key is for¡­ I have no idea.¡±

    Kuro put a hand on his chin, absorbing the information, considering the information. ¡°What kinds of uses do locks have?¡±

    ¡°Well, I suppose the most common use is to lock certain magical abilities. I can see on your face you''re about to ask, so let me explain. You would do this to effectively boost your strength. By limiting your options, you increase the power you can output with the options you have left. There are many ways to go about this, and in most cases, it¡¯s fairly easy to reverse. The process of placing these restrictions isn¡¯t terribly difficult in practice, though many struggle to learn it.

    ¡°As for other uses for these locks, I¡¯d say the next most common is-¡±

    Ensaru was suddenly cut off by the door to the study slamming open. Oroske stood in the doorframe, a serious look on his face. Kuro could sense they had some sort of non-verbal communication as Ensaru sighed.

    ¡°I need to speak with Kuro in private, I¡¯ll catch you up to speed later, Ensaru.¡± Oroske said, turning from the room, motioning for his apprentice to follow.

    Ensaru shrugged, ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll have to save these lectures for another time. Don¡¯t keep him waiting.¡± He finished with a pat on the back, pushing Kuro towards the door.

 54: Grand Stone Guild

    -Grand Stone Guild-

    [One of the largest companies found within the city of Quarry.

    Unlike companies like J¡¯alyr ke Ensaru, Grand Stone does not have a specialty.

    They do everything from mining, to advanced Aetherologic research.]

    For their fifth day in Quarry, Ari and Xeron planned to spend their time interviewing various departments of Yenva¡¯s Grand Stone Guild. They woke early, shortly before the sun would rise on the surface. To no surprise to either of them, neither Yenva or Recen were anywhere to be seen. It had been a couple of days since they saw either of the Muwals, which would be concerning if there wasn¡¯t clear evidence of them coming and going: the pile of trash from several nights¡¯ worth of take-out food growing every day, Yenva switching out which pair of shoes she wore each day, and their personal quarters becoming more chaotic and messy almost constantly.

    Ari had felt weird the first time she¡¯d spied on her employer¡¯s personal quarters, but by this point she was getting used to it. She preferred she did it instead of Xeron. She was not fond of the idea of the big brute shuffling through Yenva and Recen¡¯s personal effects, not to mention their intimates. She was always careful to leave things at least close to where she found it. With how disorganized the sisters were at home she wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they didn¡¯t notice something being misplaced, or perhaps missing entirely. She would never admit it out loud, but she had been tempted to make a few items ¡®disappear.¡¯

    Four days of checking their quarters, as well as Yenva¡¯s personal study, and still no dirt on either of them. Figures, Ari thought to herself, I wouldn¡¯t keep or bring anything incriminating home with me, especially with Hunters investigating me, no less staying at my house. She¡¯d finished her morning checks around the time Xeron finished making them some breakfast. A common meal for them, a single egg each - Xeron¡¯s was cooked into a small omelet, she liked hers scrambled - and some bread. They were allowed to help themselves out to whatever Yenva had in the house, but Xeron insisted they don¡¯t get comfortable living beyond what they can normally afford.

    Ari understood the concept, but that didn¡¯t stop her from feeling annoyed by it. Here they had access to have an entire day¡¯s worth of food three times every day, and not run out for weeks. It steeled her resolve, she would become a successful enough Hunter to not live in poverty, and bring her family out of their debts.

    One step at a time.

    After breakfast, they donned their Cloaks, and left for the day.

    The walk to the Guild was a short one, and thankfully didn¡¯t require them to take any lifts. Once inside, they went directly to the information desks.

    ¡°Ah, you two are the Guildmaster¡¯s guests, yes?¡± The same young man from their first day in town greeted them. ¡°What can I do for you two today?¡±

    Xeron patted Ari forward, indicating she should be the one to speak. She was becoming more comfortable with it, but it still took her a moment to work past her anxieties to speak. ¡°We need directions to your research departments, as well as all of your shipping warehouses.¡± They¡¯d agreed to start with these, as they¡¯d probably take the longest, and be the most effective.

    ¡°I can do that. Give me one second, I¡¯ll fetch you a couple maps.¡± The young man stood up and walked deeper into the platform. He appeared a few minutes later with two maps in hand. He placed one on the table and rolled it out, it was a detailed map of the building. ¡°The second floor is where you¡¯ll want to go first, the research department takes up nearly the entire floor.¡± He pointed to a few rooms near the elevators, ¡°Stop by these rooms first, this is where the department heads¡¯ offices are. They can show you around.¡± He brought out the second map, which turned out to be a map of Layer Six, with two circles, blue and red. He pointed to the red one first, ¡°This is our dedicated laboratory, if you can¡¯t find what you¡¯re looking for here on the second floor, I¡¯d suggest heading here. This is where the bulk of the research is actually performed, where the offices here are for smaller experiments, and mostly data analysis and report generating.

    ¡°Over here,¡± He continued without even pausing for breath, pointing to the blue circle, ¡°Is our warehouse complex. There¡¯s a handful of facilities here, with a variety of purposes. The big one at the far North of the complex is where we stage for deliveries, so if you¡¯re specifically looking for shipping that would be the place to go.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Ari replied, scooping the maps off the table. She was glad for her recent growth spurt. It would have been silly to see the small girl she was before reaching up to reach the top of the table. ¡°That¡¯s very helpful.¡±

    ¡°Glad to be of service,¡± the young man said, giving a small bow of the head. ¡°If you need anything else, don¡¯t hesitate to return here, there¡¯s almost always someone willing to help.¡±

    Ari gave him a smile before walking off, leading the way towards the elevators. Slowly but surely, she was getting accustomed to being the one leading discussions and movements. Xeron projected she should be able to get her Black Cloak within the few months at their current pace. They were steadily checking more and more off the training checklist. Her brother insisted she would be able to get it right now if they didn¡¯t have to worry about all the arbitrary requirements Danfis insists are important. She doubted it, she felt like she didn¡¯t quite have the confidence to take on a job like this one on her own yet.

    Once on the second floor, they only really needed to go down the hall a short way to get to their target offices. Ari knocked on the closest one, and a feminine voice called out ¡°Just a minute!¡± Out of curiosity, Ari put her ear to the door, and heard nothing but the frantic shuffling of papers. When she heard footsteps approaching the door, she reset her position, standing straight with her hands clasped at her waist in front of her, a notebook in hand.

    A woman, probably close to Xeron in age, with deep blue hair and stunning green eyes opened the door. She was dressed in a blue suit coat, a few shades lighter than her hair, over a frilly white blouse and black pencil skirt. She had glasses, and they were crooked. Looking closer at her outfit there were various other signs that suggested she wasn¡¯t as well put together as she might seem at first.

    She looked at Xeron first, then after a moment looked down at Ari. She had a look that seemed equal parts confused and relieved. ¡°Oh, I thought you were Recen, or one of her lackeys coming to get my report,¡± She said. After an awkward moment, she stepped to the side and spoke again, ¡°Please, come in. What can I help you two with?¡±

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Ari observed the office. Much like the person using it, it seemed very clean, orderly, and organized at first glance. Looking closer, however, revealed many details that suggested otherwise. Stacks of paper on the desk that weren¡¯t neatly aligned, filing cabinets with drawers that weren¡¯t fully closed, stains on the wood and chairs, likely from spilled drinks. There was a trash can under the table filled with disposable cups. One had missed and was on the floor. In addition to that, there were scraps left over from various meals.

    That combined with the tired appearance of the denizen of the office, suggested she had been working here extensively, likely for several days without going home.

    ¡°Please, have a seat,¡± she said after a moment of Ari and Xeron looking around.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Ari said, sitting down, and motioning for Xeron to follow. He did not. He opted to stand behind Ari and fold his arms to look imposing. After the woman sat down, Ari began their conversation in earnest. ¡°We are Hunters with the Tsumi Clan. We have been tasked by the Guardians to investigate the various companies and organizations here in Quarry. The Grand Stone Guild being the large and influential group that it is, we¡¯ve come here first. To be more specific, we are searching for leads and information about the terrorist group that destroyed the bridge near Fyrun, and rerouted deliveries of repair materials.¡±

    ¡°Well in that case, you¡¯d probably want to speak with our shipping and handling departments, no?¡± The woman asked, leaning back in her seat, seeming more confused by the moment.

    ¡°We will be speaking with them as well, though I believe they¡¯ve already been investigated.¡± Ari explained, ¡°Our focus has shifted to trying to find people who are working with them still. We¡¯d like to pinpoint their identities if possible, but at this point we¡¯ll take any lead we can get our hands on. We¡¯re also trying to figure out what they¡¯re planning next, so any leads on that front are greatly appreciated.¡±

    The woman nodded, and agreed to help in whatever way she could.

    ¡°Great, thank you. For starters, I¡¯d like to ask what you and your company have been researching recently? Especially anything that seems like strange requests, and who they would have come from.¡±

    She took a moment to think before speaking. ¡°Nothing particularly out of the ordinary. I do know the primary lab recently received a shipment of interesting crystals, but I won¡¯t know anything about their actual research until the initial results come to my desk. Aside from that, we are always researching new innovations to produce high quality stone and to reduce costs, and we¡¯ve been delving more into Aeth¡¯mobile and other relevant technology. Guildmaster Muwal has given us a mission to create new tools for mining and transporting goods using the technology. That¡¯s what I personally have been working on over the last few weeks, drafting designs and coming up with efficiency and cost figures. The GM has some very strict requirements set for these devices. I think the only thing strange about them is we¡¯re tailoring them for use outside of Quarry, but there have been rumors for years about us relocating out of the city. Especially lately, since we¡¯ve been struggling to get approval for the Layer Seven dig.

    ¡°Which reminds me, I do know GM Muwal and her assistant signed off on an investigation into the Guardians¡¯ reasons for not wanting us to go too deep, though I have no idea how that has been proceeding. That¡¯s an entirely different thing, not really related to the Guild specifically.¡± She finally finished, or at least took a breather after rambling. Ari was surprised such a timid woman could speak so quickly. She continued before Ari could get a word in, ¡°I¡¯m sorry I don¡¯t know more specific details. I really have been absorbed in my project for the last few weeks, I haven¡¯t spoken to anyone not working on it in a while.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s quite alright,¡± Ari assured her with a soft smile, ¡°Do you have any suggestions for where we might go and who we might talk to next?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s the analyst department down the hall, though you probably won''t get much from them - they just process the raw data from experiments, and make graphs. I did that job for years, so I know firsthand how out of the loop they are about what¡¯s actually going on. I would probably recommend the head scientist at the Primary Lab, his name is Jiol. Normally he can be hard to get a hold of, but with your credentials he should come without much complaint.¡±

    Ari leaned back in her seat, rubbing her chin with her thumb as she processed the information received so far. She didn¡¯t feel like she had any reason to doubt this woman. The investigation on the Guardians sparked her interest, but it was clear she wouldn¡¯t get any more information here. ¡°Xeron, do you have any questions you want to ask?¡± She asked.

    ¡°I do not,¡± He said, ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll get any solid leads here.¡±

    ¡°I agree.¡± Ari made eye contact with the woman sitting across from her, who looked like she wanted to look away. ¡°Thank you for your help, and willingness to cooperate. Best of luck with your projects.¡± Ari stood up and began walking to the door before she could respond.

    After the door clicked shut behind her, she thought she heard a sigh, probably of relief, followed by definitely hearing a thump. She thought about checking on the exhausted girl, but decided against it. They didn¡¯t have all day to spend on questioning a single person, no less worrying about their health.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go check out the analysis department, I doubt we¡¯re going to find anything there, but it¡¯s probably worth checking while we¡¯re still here.¡± She said, already walking down the hall. She knew she didn¡¯t need to say it, Xeron was probably thinking the same thing. Still, it felt good to take command so firmly.

    Several hours later, and multiple labs and research departments visited, Ari and Xeron were no closer to the answers they were searching for. Ari flopped on her bed, groaning in frustration. ¡°This investigation is going nowhere. I¡¯m not convinced anyone in this city is dealing with these mystery Demon Lords.¡± She complained.

    ¡°I¡¯m with you there.¡± Xeron agreed, taking a seat at the desk in the room. A few silent minutes later, he spoke again, ¡°We know they supposedly have Human counterparts acting in this Realm, right? What if the reason we haven¡¯t been able to find any leads is because we¡¯re asking the wrong questions?¡±

    Ari sat up slowly, holding herself up with her arms. ¡°We still don¡¯t know anything about their identity, which is part of why we¡¯re here, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Xeron rubbed his chin, thinking. He sighed after a while. ¡°You¡¯re right. Come on, let¡¯s make our report to HQ.¡± He pulled his pendant out and made the call.

    A moment later, a voice came through. Not Venn¡¯s, however. Instead, Danfis himself spoke. ¡°Xeron, Ari, good evening. How is your investigation going?¡±

    ¡°Not terribly well, sir,¡± Xeron answered. Ari felt a small tinge of annoyance. She¡¯d been the one to make the reports every night until now, and she was enjoying being in the position. She shook her head, trying to clear the feelings. She had, after all, been on point all day, which was a first. ¡°We investigated Grand Stone and its research and shipping departments today, and got nothing. The only thing of interest seems unrelated, but there were multiple confirmations that Yenva Muwal has hired some private investigators looking into the Guardians, more specifically the reason they don¡¯t want them digging too deep.¡±

    ¡°That is interesting, but I think you¡¯re right, it¡¯s likely unrelated.¡± Danfis replied.

    ¡°I¡¯m wondering if perhaps we are asking the wrong questions. Do we have any updates from other investigations? Has anyone found any information about the human counterparts to these Demon Lords?¡±

    ¡°Actually, yes. I was going to tell you after your report. I¡¯d like both of you to return to Tsumi¡¯din tomorrow morning to receive a full brief on our new information. Could you be here by midday?¡±

    ¡°Definitely. Thank you, Danfis.¡±

    ¡°Anything else to report?¡±

    ¡°Nothing tonight,¡± Xeron said, a relieved expression on his face. ¡°We¡¯ll see you tomorrow, then.¡±

    ¡°Excellent. See you both tomorrow. Good work, get some rest.¡± Danfis said before cutting off communication.

 55: Mienr

    -Mienr-

    [An Alten word, commonly translated as Consul, if not Ambassador. The word refers to a governmental position where the person lives and serves in a city away from the center of their power.]

    ¡°So, what¡¯s going on?¡± Kuro asked as Oroske brought them back to their room.

    Oroske pulled out the desk chair and sat down, and motioned for Kuro to sit as well. ¡°So, first order of business,¡± he started once Kuro was sitting on his bed, ¡°Danfis called me back primarily to deliver new information regarding our investigation. The Hunters we had stationed in Gold Port, with help from some members of the Incol, have made a very major breakthrough.

    ¡°We now have a solid name for the group we are targeting. They call themselves the New Spire Empire. I had a chance to read the report myself, and it looks like they were able to interrogate one of their members directly. They called themselves a ¡®Mienr,¡¯ and revealed they make up what they refer to as the Empire¡¯s Consulate.¡±

    Kuro¡¯s mind raced to process this new information, and thankfully Oroske gave him a moment to think about it. It felt suspicious how freely they gave this information away, especially when considering the fact they¡¯ve been drawing up nothing but blanks on them for months now. Were the Hunters in Gold Port just lucky? Or was this a deliberate move on their part? Is this true, or is this some copycat group trying to get a piece of the Demon Lord¡¯s fame?

    Kuro voiced these concerns, and Oroske answered them all with one statement: ¡°Frankly, we can¡¯t be sure.¡± He sighed before speaking more, ¡°I have the same concerns. If this was a deliberate move on their part, they may be planning something big in the near future. For now, it¡¯s the only solid lead we have, and we don¡¯t have any reason to doubt it. Danfis mentioned that reports from Yul¡¯en looked like they had a promising lead, and we may get more information soon.¡±

    Kuro folded his arms and thought more about it. Eventually he accepted that he couldn¡¯t come up with any answers, and that he¡¯d simply have to wait. ¡°So was that all Danfis had to say?¡±

    ¡°Regarding our current assignment, yes. He did have some additional reports to hand off to me, mainly regarding Kared¡¯s status.¡± Oroske explained, leaning back in his chair, and folding his arms. ¡°There was one other important thing, and while it¡¯s not related to our current work, it does involve you, somewhat.¡±

    Kuro straightened his back, a questioning look on his face.

    ¡°The Guardians have identified Jarou as our Clan¡¯s Chosen, and made their initial contact with him.¡±

    Kuro felt his skin go cold. They¡¯d talked about this in the months between now and the Peace Party. The consensus between Nadred and Oroske is that they had no idea when the Guardians would find out, nor what they would do once they had. ¡°So, what happened? How did they find out?¡± He asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the details, but it seems there were other signs to look for that we weren¡¯t told about. Nadred reports that the Guardian that found him, Vyn, took him away with a promise we¡¯d see him again soon enough. We have no idea what they plan to do with him, or for how long he¡¯ll be in their custody. We can only hope it won¡¯t be long.¡±

    Kuro deflated, his mind once again running at full speed, processing. He¡¯ll be okay, right? He reasoned with himself, The Guardians wouldn¡¯t do anything to harm him, he¡¯s important to saving the world or something, right?

    ¡°I wanted to tell you now, to keep you in the loop,¡± Oroske continued, though Kuro was only half paying attention, ¡°I¡¯m sorry we don¡¯t know more, but Danfis agreed to keep us in the loop on further developments.¡± Kuro nodded idly. Oroske stood, and pulled Kuro up out of his trance, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go update Ensaru.¡±

    They found Ensaru in the room they left him in, sitting at the table reading the book he was holding earlier. He closed it, then seemed to deliberately conceal the cover of the book. Could Oroske read the text? What reason would he have to hide the contents of the book from Oroske? Kuro shook the thoughts out of his head, deciding they weren¡¯t important to consider right now.

    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Oroske sat down across the table from their employer, and quickly caught him up to speed regarding the Mienr and their so-called Empire. To Kuro¡¯s surprise, Oroske asked for Ensaru¡¯s thoughts on the matter.

    Ensaru leaned back, bringing the book into his lap. ¡°Well, their naming choices can give us some insight into their plans and intentions,¡± He started, touching on an idea he and Oroske hadn¡¯t talked about, ¡°Firstly, the title ¡®Mienr¡¯ is Alten, and the most common translation would be Consul, seeing as their similar in role. This implies they are below the Demon Lords in terms of their hierarchy. There are a few instances of the title ¡®Lord¡¯ being applied to demons, and in such cases they were used for people in similar positions of power to our current human Lords, if not slightly below. If I had to guess, based on these titles, they intend to have their demon officers either above, or directly equal to, their human counterparts. As far as inter-realm organizations go, this is a very safe play.

    ¡°Next, the name ¡®New Spire Empire.¡¯ This one is troubling, declaring that as their name is almost as good as declaring war against both Realm governments. Worse yet, declaring war against the Guardians themselves. Official records even go as far as saying they call their leader the Sixth Shadow, right? I¡¯d say it¡¯s very likely they aim to overthrow the current governing bodies, and perhaps even the Guardians, and seize control of Alten as a whole, similar to what the old Demon Empire did in the past.

    ¡°I think we have reason to believe they have different motives, however. Historic records indicate that the Demon Empire wanted to wipe out all humans and half-demons, though they also say the same in reverse. If they are committed to having humans hold the title of Mienr, I think it is likely they wish to have the two on equal footing.

    ¡°I do also agree that this information coming to light so quickly is concerning. The timing feels too deliberate. I think it¡¯s likely they may be planning to make a move, and soon. We¡¯ll probably just have to wait and see, though.¡±

    Kuro, still standing, had a hand on his chin, thinking. Ensaru had good insight regarding the Empire¡¯s naming scheme, and Kuro agreed with his inferences. It was not very comforting, however, that he also agreed that it seemed like the Empire would make a move soon. What will they do, though? This question, among others, bounced around in his mind. Eventually he decided he wouldn¡¯t be able to come up with answers, and that Ensaru was right, they¡¯d simply have to wait.

    ¡°Thank you for your input, Ensaru.¡± Oroske spoke, leaned back with his arms crossed - he¡¯d assumed that position not long after Ensaru began speaking. ¡°I am hopeful that this new information will make gathering information easier. I¡¯d like to take some time to compile a record of the information we have so far. What will you do, Kuro?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll probably continue training, if that¡¯s okay. I can review the compiled information and see if there¡¯s anything else we might want to add later.¡± Kuro said, the idea of getting out of these stuffy rooms and swinging a weapon around exciting him.

    ¡°Very well,¡± Oroske stood up, ¡°We¡¯ll catch up later then. If you¡¯ll excuse us, Ensaru.¡± He gave a small bow, then walked out the door, Kuro not far behind.

    Later that night, Oroske and Ensaru met in the study in private.

    ¡°Your timing is expert as always, Oroske. You didn¡¯t have to wait outside for as long as you did earlier, you could have interrupted me several minutes earlier.¡± Ensaru teased, a jovial smile on his face as he poured a glass of something strong.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to interrupt, unless you were about to touch on something you shouldn¡¯t.¡± Oroske said, accepting the glass, swirling the dark blue liquid, silently wishing Ensaru had added ice to the cup.

    Ensaru poured himself a glass, and took a drawn out sip before speaking again, ¡°The boy deserves to know, Oroske.¡±

    Oroske set his cup down on the center study table, and sat down. ¡°That isn¡¯t your place to decide. It¡¯s not my decision either.¡±

    ¡°Then who¡¯s is it? Who else other than the boy¡¯s mentor? The man who raised him?¡± Ensaru sat down as well, leaning forward, propping his head up with one hand, drink in the other.

    ¡°It¡¯s not mine.¡± Oroske said, trying to keep his voice calm. ¡°I made my promises long ago, and I will not, can not, betray them. No matter how much I agree with you.¡±

    Ensaru just sighed, taking another sip of his drink, letting out a pleasured exhale after gulping.

    ¡°What about that ¡®key¡¯ you mentioned earlier? Any ideas what that is?¡± Oroske said, after downing his drink.

    Ensaru blinked at him in surprise. ¡°I was going to ask you. I have no idea.¡±

    Oroske fell back in his seat, starting to feel the warmth from the drink, exhaling both in frustration, and relaxation. ¡°Well, perhaps we¡¯ll have to solve that mystery another day. I should probably get back to Kuro, we need to make our report for the night.¡±

    ¡°Very well,¡± Ensaru swirled his cup, staring blankly at it for a second. He made eye contact with Oroske as he stood, stretching his arms over his head. ¡°Please consider what I said earlier. I truly think it would be for the best if he learned now, rather than later.¡±

    ¡°Oh I¡¯ll be thinking about it. But no matter what I think it doesn¡¯t change the fact I can not make that decision.¡±

 56: Sub-Terrain Treaty

    -Sub-Terrain Treaty-

    [An agreement created by the Guardians that they require any individual or company that intends to dig or mine underground more than a few feet to sign. It explicitly forbids creating mining within a mile of the Realm Rift and creating tunnels to said Rift. It also restricts digging past certain depths, requiring a Guardian to sign their approval every hundred feet or so. This treaty was drafted by the Guardians of Technology and Night, and approved by the Guardian of Life.]

    After another couple days of chasing dead ends, Ari and Xeron were starting to get frustrated. The new information Danfis supplied them was interesting, but it hadn¡¯t made their investigation any easier. A few of their interviewees had concerned responses about this ¡®New Spire Empire¡¯ or whatever they were calling themselves, but it was clear they hadn¡¯t ever heard of them or the mienr. They were going over a list of people to visit and interview while lounging in Yenva¡¯s sitting room, when their employer entered.

    She was carrying a sealed envelope, with a hand-drawn emblem of balance on the front. ¡°This was stuck in the front door,¡± she explained, her voice flat and dull as ever, ¡°I imagine it¡¯s for you.¡± She handed it to Ari, who was the closest. Ari accepted it, a quizzical expression on her face, while barely moving from her spot. ¡°I¡¯ll be out late again tonight. Best of luck with your investigation.¡±

    Ari turned the envelope over in her hand a few times. There was no addressee indicated, nor any sender. The only clue to who it was for was the crudely drawn symbol on the front and back. Ari used a precise slice of wind magic to cut the adhesive, and pulled out the letter within.

    ¡°To the Hunters in Yenva¡¯s employ. I know you¡¯ve been trying to dig up suspicious events and activities in the various companies in our city. Since you¡¯re also working for Yenva, I think this information will be even more interesting to you. I have news from a reliable source that the J¡¯alyr ke Ensaru has a tunnel that extends out to the Realm Rift. In case you somehow don¡¯t know, this is a direct violation of the Guardian-enforced Sub-Terrain Treaty. You can investigate it on your own time, but I¡¯d recommend doing so sooner than later. This violation is probably not relevant to your boss¡¯s feud with Ensaru, but it does seem relevant to the questions you¡¯ve been asking lately.¡±

    There was no signature. Ari turned the letter over as well, making sure there was no more writing on the back. The handwriting was clear and very nondescript, which seemed deliberate. Not that Ari and Xeron would take the note to handwriting experts to find out who wrote the note, they didn¡¯t have that kind of time. Not to mention any connection to any such expert. She handed the note to Xeron, and asked what he thought after he read it.

    ¡°I have heard of the Sub-Terrain Treaty, Orun told me about it.¡± He stood up, ¡°If this is true, it¡¯s the most solid lead we¡¯ve gotten all week. And it would be condemning for our future target at that. Maybe we could even get a bonus from the Guardians. I say we should go check it out right now.¡±

    ¡°I agree,¡± Ari stood up and stretched, ¡°Not like we have any appointments or anything anyway. Do you know the way to the J¡¯alyr?¡±

    ¡°Not off the top of my head, but I¡¯m pretty sure I saw signs pointing to it on the fourth layer. It shouldn¡¯t be too hard to find.¡± Xeron was double checking he had everything he¡¯d need while he spoke. Seeming satisfied, he walked to the front door. It was weird to see him so eager to get to work. Ari figured the fatigue of constant dead ends was getting to him.

    It took them a lot longer to find the J¡¯alyr ke Ensaru than they thought it would. As Xeron said, there were signs pointing toward it on the main roads of layer four, and even some of the more minor roads. But they stopped showing up before long, and they had to figure out its precise location the hard way.

    Once there, they realized they¡¯d actually only come to the office building. It was a much smaller, more quaint building than Grand Stone¡¯s office. It had a bit of a run-down feeling to it. It was nothing like what Ari had expected from the Guild¡¯s largest competitor.

    Xeron groaned next to her, ¡°I¡¯m going to go ask for directions,¡± he pointed toward a security guard standing next to the main entrance, - a single door with a reinforced glass window, a paper sign taped to the glass. Ari nodded as he walked over.

    ¡°He said we can just follow this road directly toward the wall,¡± Xeron said, pointing down the road they¡¯d come down. ¡°Once we get to the end of the road, we turn left. It¡¯ll be a big building, lots of wire fences and big machines outside. He said there should also be a small sign at the main gate, though it¡¯s been vandalized and stolen in the past, so he¡¯s not sure it¡¯ll actually be there.¡±

    ¡°Great, let¡¯s get going.¡±

    Another several minutes of walking, and they eventually arrived at their actual destination. If the office building had a run-down feel, this building was straight up decrepit. There were broken windows on the lower floors, and the building seemed about ready to fall apart. Is this really the company Yenva is worried about? Ari asked herself. The security guard from earlier was also right, there was a small sign that had been painted over with a vulgar phrase.

    They were stopped by security almost immediately after crossing the fenceline. ¡°What can I do for you, Hunters?¡± The female guard asked. Ari thought she was cute, the large scar down one side of her face and all. She seemed pretty young, but still very experienced.

    Ari stepped forward to speak, ¡°We received an anonymous tip about a violation of the Sub-Terrain Treaty in these mines, and we came to confirm it for ourselves.¡±

    The cute guard seemed taken aback, ¡°That would be a very major issue. I haven¡¯t heard anything, but I suppose I could escort you through the mines until you¡¯re satisfied. It could be a difficult search, though. These mines are huge.¡±

    ¡°That would be great. If possible, we¡¯d also like to ask around, and talk to the staff, maybe see if we can get some more information.¡±

    ¡°Of course, right this way then. I¡¯ll need to stop at the security office to let my brother know it¡¯s his turn to keep watch over the entrance.¡± She heel-turned and walked toward the front doors of the large facility. The doors opened automatically when she got close enough, sliding with a quiet creak. Ari and Xeron followed, keeping their eyes open and their strides confident.

    This may be an enemy base after our investigation of the Mienr is over, Ari told herself, But right now it¡¯s simply a place to investigate.

    Their guide, who introduced herself as Vel, stopped at a windowless office which was the third door on their left from the entrance. She had the Hunters wait outside. They weren¡¯t waiting long, she was only in there for a minute or so.

    Vel guided them to the back of the building, which opened up to a large, fenced-off yard where employees were gearing up to head into the mines. There were also people coming out of the mine, who all seemed exhausted. ¡°Here¡¯s our prep yard,¡± she declared, turning to face the hunters, ¡°I¡¯ll just follow you around, keeping an eye on you, so feel free to talk to anyone or everyone. Once you¡¯re ready we can head into the mine and find the tunnel. If you can, see if anyone knows where it¡¯s at.¡±

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Xeron and Ari nodded in unison, and began walking around the yard. They¡¯d decided to talk to the workers coming out of the mine first, figuring they¡¯d be leaving before long. Only a few were willing to talk, and answered most of their questions pretty openly. Unfortunately, none knew anything about the tunnel.

    Afterward, they spent the next hour and a half interviewing the miners, and apparently engineers, that were preparing to start their work. Here there were a surprising amount of people who had heard rumors, but didn¡¯t know where exactly it was. One stated it would be down on the lowest level of the mine if it did exist, since they don¡¯t really dig on the upper floors anymore.

    Satisfied with the number interviewed - albeit, dissatisfied with the lack of actually useful information obtained - Ari had Vel take them into the tunnels. Ari wasn¡¯t sure what she expected, but she was surprised to see the tunnels had a complex trolley system, powered by Grand Stone Guild branded Aeth¡¯mobile engines. ¡°These tunnels are quite extensive, and ever growing,¡± Vel began her explanation, ¡°We partnered with the Guild to help with their experiments on extra-efficient engine designs, and light-weight rails. I was hired only a little before the switch was made, but I¡¯ve heard stories about how unreliable our old systems were.¡± The tracks merged from the shipping yard in front of the tunnel entrance, which allowed for them to easily split the workers and the stone coming out of the mine.

    They ended up having to wait for a few trips to be made as they prioritized getting the workers in first, before finally boarding on a half-full trolley. The carts had a surprising amount of power, getting up to a pretty high speed quicker than any Aeth¡¯mobile Ari had been in. She very quickly lost her sense of direction, as the cart bounded past corner after corner, jerking her all over the cart. Xeron had his eyes shut and kept a death-grip on the sides of the cart, and she could tell her brother was doing his best not to throw up his breakfast.

    After several minutes of this, the cart straightened out for a bit and went down a shallow slope quite a long distance. It still moved fast, but it was much more peaceful without the constant turning and whipping around. Shortly after it straightened out, one of the male workers, who Ari identified as an engineer by his blue full-body uniform - the miners wore similar, but black - scooted over next to her.

    ¡°I heard you were asking about that rumored tunnel to the Rift?¡± He asked in a hushed voice, without turning to her.

    ¡°And if I am?¡± She asked, her voice purposefully louder. She didn¡¯t like people trying to keep things like this under wraps.

    ¡°Then that¡¯s a good thing, none of us want to be in trouble for this tunnel, you see. I don¡¯t know who was involved in it, but I¡¯ve seen it myself. I could guide you there if you¡¯d like.¡±

    She stared at him, but he kept his gaze firmly away from her¡¯s. ¡°Well that would be great, we¡¯d appreciate that a lot.¡± She waved to Vel, getting her attention, who then cautiously moved over next to Ari. ¡°This gentleman says he knows where the tunnel is, he states he¡¯s seen it but has no idea who was involved with digging it.¡±

    ¡°Excellent.¡± Vel said, turning to the man and commanding his gaze, ¡°You can guide us there? I won¡¯t bother asking why you never reported it or anything.¡±

    He nodded, shying away. ¡°You may have guessed, but we¡¯ll have to travel to the Eastern Complex. It won''t take long to get there, but we will need to switch transports. The tunnel system it¡¯s a part of is still pretty new, and as such tracks haven¡¯t been laid there yet, so we¡¯ll have to walk a few miles.¡±

    Walking sounded great to Ari at this point. These hard metal carts weren¡¯t very comfortable, even when stationary, and she yearned to give her legs a proper stretch.

    A few moments later, the cart pulled into a hub area of sorts. Ari hadn¡¯t seen anything like it, there were over a dozen different tracks coming into this area, and multiple spots to turn carts whatever way they needed to be facing positioned around the outer edge. While the machinery and equipment were impressive, there was no architecture to speak of whatsoever. The hub was essentially a large cavern with tracks, carts, other machines Ari couldn¡¯t identify, and two distinct districts of tents. One seemed to be where people slept, with small closed off tents. The other seemed to be their equipment depot, with several open-sided tents all clumped together making what seemed like a make-shift market. Ari recognized some of the carts and workers over there as some of the people she¡¯d spoken with earlier, who seemed to be hauling in food stuffs and other supplies.

    Vel and their mystery guide didn¡¯t give her much time to observe her environment, and no time at all to ask questions. She tried to push those questions out of her mind, and focus on the task at hand, following close behind Xeron. The cart their guide had them board seemed a bit more worn out, and the engine was much louder. It was clearly the same design though, so Ari inferred this one must see a lot more use. The engine¡¯s noise made it practically impossible to hold a conversation, so she sat in silence, positioned in a way she hoped would minimize her getting jostled around.

    She guessed by their guide¡¯s words earlier they were heading in an Eastward direction, but she couldn¡¯t be sure. Compasses weren¡¯t standard issue for the Hunters, as most of their work happens in places with clear landmarks to help determine direction. Had she known she¡¯d be going deep underground- well, she¡¯d known that, but known they¡¯d be going into some of the tunnels, she¡¯d have thought about bringing one with her.

    After what felt like close to a half hour, they arrived at another hub-type area. This one had the same stuff as the first hub they passed, just on a much smaller scale. Where the other hub had a dozen tunnels leading in and out, this one had four including the one they entered through. Of them, only one other had tracks, which connected directly to the tunnel they just came through.

    Their guide wordlessly - still deliberately avoiding Vel¡¯s eyes - guided them toward the tunnel to their left after they disembarked from the trolley. The tunnel was only lit by a flashlight Vel brought, and a sustained orb of rel that Ari created. It felt like it went on forever, the same gray-brown stone walls stretching into infinity. They occasionally passed by intersecting tunnels, marked by white, or sometimes red or blue, chalk. The marks were all different, if slightly. Still, the guide seemed to understand what they meant, as he¡¯d glance up at them and mutter something to himself when walking by.

    Eventually, he stopped at one, which was marked by chalk of all three colors, in different shapes. ¡°This is it,¡± He said, voice echoing in the endless stone halls, without so much as a glance at the people he was guiding.

    The trip from the tunnel entrance to the tunnel ¡°exit¡± was much shorter than Ari expected. It really was there, a large opening straight into the Realm Rift. Ari cautiously peeked over the edge, looking down into the depths, before turning her head up to the sky. The surface was so far away. The Rift that looked like a massive scar in the land, miles wide, looked like a tiny cut in the darkness from down here.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be damned.¡± Xeron breathed. ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t expect it to be real. Thank you¡­ what¡¯s your name?¡± He asked the guide.

    ¡°Oh that¡¯s not-¡± He started before Xeron cut him off.

    ¡°You deserve credit for helping with this investigation. I can¡¯t give you credit if I don¡¯t know your name.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d still rather not say. I didn¡¯t do this for ¡®credit¡¯ or ¡®recognition.¡¯¡±

    Xeron grunted, ¡°Suit yourself. Vel, Ari, let¡¯s get this reported to Ensaru.¡±

    A long journey back to the fourth layer, and a shorter journey to Ensaru¡¯s offices later, Ari, Vel, and Xeron prepared to confront Ensaru. Vel proved a very useful contact to have around, as she was able to easily get clear answers for where to go. Apparently he was in an important meeting. ¡°I do ask that you simply pull him away from the meeting, rather than take any drastic measures or make dramatic statements immediately.¡± Vel requested honestly as she put her hand on the doorknob to the meeting room.

    Xeron gave a non-committal agreement, and Vel knocked on the door before opening it.

    Ari stepped in ahead of Xeron, who let her. She was really liking him giving her the front position for these encounters lately. He probably likes it too, she thought to herself, He and Orun are a lot more alike than either would let on. ¡°Director Ensaru of the J¡¯alyr ke Ensaru, we have a pressing matter we need to discuss with you immediately.¡± She said confidently, projecting her voice to the crowd while locking eyes with her target. After speaking she saw a couple of familiar faces, who seemed as shocked to see her as she did them. Oroske, and his amnesiac prodigy boy, Kuro. Oh. Great.

 57: Realm Rift

    -Realm Rift-

    [A massive chasm separating the Incol and Ishen Realms. The Half-Demon Clans¡¯ homes reside on large pillars in the middle of the chasm as well. There is a fourth pillar, said to be the entrance to the Aetherial Realm. Travel to and from this fourth pillar is heavily regulated, and very few Mortals ever get to visit it.]

    ¡°So. What is this all about?¡± Ensaru said, his voice clearly angry at Ari and Xeron¡¯s interruption, as the door to the meeting room shut with a loud thud. Oroske and Kuro had followed them out, seemingly acting as bodyguards. Do they know we¡¯re in Quarry to kill this man in the first place? Yenva mentioned the possibility of him hiring protection, I don¡¯t know why I didn¡¯t think of him hiring Hunters. Ari asked herself. Oroske seemed calm, and looked cool leaning against the wall with his arms folded. Kuro seemed awkward in comparison, simply standing around, but at least he seemed composed.

    ¡°We received an anonymous tip,¡± Ari stepped forward to explain, ¡°That there is a tunnel in your mine that is a direct violation of the Sub-Terrain Treaty: a tunnel to the Realm Rift.¡± Ensaru paled. Ari continued before he could speak, ¡°With the assistance of this security guard, Vel, we were able to navigate through the mines and locate this tunnel. Its existence has already been confirmed, and it¡¯s undoubtedly part of your company¡¯s mining operation. We would like to ask you some questions regarding this.¡±

    Ensaru took a deep breath with his eyes closed, clearly trying to hide some level of frustration. He exhaled before speaking, ¡°Very well. I¡¯d be happy to cooperate. Before that though, would you mind waiting a few minutes for me to wrap up this meeting I¡¯m in? It¡¯s fairly important, and I¡¯d hate to keep my colleagues waiting. It should only take a few minutes.¡±

    ¡°Very well,¡± Xeron sighed, ¡°Do what you must. We¡¯ll be waiting out here.¡±

    Ensaru and his Hunter guards retreated into the meeting room, the door shutting with a much quieter thud this time. Ari caught the sound of a lock turning, something they maybe should have considered the first time. She turned to Xeron, ¡°Did you know those two would be here?¡± She asked.

    ¡°I had no idea,¡± he clenched his fist, ¡°But now I¡¯m more motivated than ever to uphold our deal with Yenva.¡± Well, that was understandable. Ari didn¡¯t have the history with Oroske that her brother did, but even she found him and Kuro to be frustrating to be around. The way they always seemed to get preferential treatment from Danfis and the others at HQ, especially the Red Cloaks. Beyond that, it was aggravating to see how strong they were in comparison to her and her brothers. There was this natural gap between them, and it often seemed insurmountable.

    Still, she wouldn¡¯t let that stop her from trying her best.

    They didn¡¯t have to wait long before Ensaru and the Hunter duo came back out. True to his word, that director was. Ari appreciated that. Far too many people would say things like ¡°just a minute¡± or even ¡°just a few minutes¡± and she¡¯d end up waiting for them for half an hour, if not longer. ¡°My apologies for the wait, Hunters,¡± Ensaru said with a small bow. ¡°What questions can I answer for you?¡±

    ¡°For starters,¡± Ari said, grabbing her notebook and pen, ¡°Were you aware of this tunnel¡¯s existence before we brought it up?¡±

    ¡°I was not.¡± Straight to the point, she liked that in a person, even when it meant she had to do more work to get the answers she wanted.

    ¡°Did you order the dig that led to the tunnel¡¯s existence? Or otherwise approved it?¡±

    ¡°I am typically not involved with the day-to-day operations of the J¡¯alyr. Approvals for new tunnels are handled by my staff on site, and I¡¯m entirely hands off on what tunnels they decide to dig.¡± More forthcoming this time.

    ¡°What digs do you authorize? And what operations are you directly involved with?¡±

    ¡°I personally only handle large scale digs, which are usually not a source of product for us, and rather a commission taken on to clear space for new construction. In the case of the J¡¯alyr itself, I get final say on where we position new operation bases, and that¡¯s about it. Even though I have a semi-automated process for that, I still go over the paperwork manually and ensure it meets my typical standards. As for my typical daily work, I personally read and review all research documents created by my staff, and handle the business side of things, which involves a lot of paperwork and money handling. I also frequently assist with getting deliveries of products scheduled for our clients.¡±

    ¡°I see, that is helpful for understanding your position. My last question for now then. Do you approve of this tunnel¡¯s existence now that you are aware of it?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not. The Sub-Terrain Treaty is a covenant between those that sign it and the Guardians. It is a mutually beneficial contract. To find that one or more of my employees would work in direct violation of this contract sickens me.¡±

    Ari observed him as he spoke, meeting his eyes, watching for signs he may be lying. She couldn¡¯t find any. She could tell he genuinely meant what he said.

    ¡°In fact,¡± Ensaru spoke again before she could, ¡°If it isn¡¯t too much trouble, I¡¯d like to ask you to bring me to this tunnel, so that I can see it for myself. I¡¯d also like to have this information to begin an internal investigation.¡± He turned to Oroske and Kuro. ¡°I¡¯ll go with them on my own, you boys hold down the fort here. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be just fine. I¡¯ll be sure to share if my investigation leads to any information about the Mienr or their Empire.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Ensaru,¡± Oroske said, ¡°Be safe out there.¡± He met Ari¡¯s gaze, then Xeron¡¯s. ¡°Keep him safe for us, will you?¡±

    Ari gave a small shrug, ¡°Sure, we¡¯ll do our best,¡± she said before turning around to lead Xeron and Ensaru back to the J¡¯alyr.

    It was a long trek back. They made a small disruption when Ensaru arrived at the prep yard and commandeered a trolley to take them into the mine. While it caused a bit of an upset, it was clear the majority of the workers respected Ensaru enough to let him do what he wanted.

    They eventually arrived at the tunnel, Ari had counted the tunnels on their trip out to help remember exactly where it is without a guide. They¡¯d brought along Vel, though that was more because she wanted to come along than anything.

    ¡°Well, damn.¡± Ensaru said bluntly as he inspected the hole, making the same checks Ari had made earlier. He made a rel orb and sent it to light up the other side of the chasm, revealing an undisturbed wall of stone on the other side. He sent it a fair distance in all directions, ensuring there were no other tunnels dug into the other side anywhere near. He even checked the side they were on, holding himself to the wall with one form of magic or another as he poked his head out to watch it. Once he was done, he moved back inwards a fair bit before facing Ari and Xeron. ¡°If it was a small hole, I maybe could have written it off as a mistake, or a miscalculation with direction and distance. But this hole is a full-size tunnel, which makes it fairly damning evidence that it was intentional.¡±

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°I agree,¡± Xeron said, crossing his arms and meeting the older man¡¯s eyes. ¡°Any ideas who would have done this in your company?¡±

    ¡°None that come to mind immediately,¡± Ensaru said. ¡°There is another possibility, even if it¡¯s a small one, that some vagrant miner is operating down here and dug it, while not being an employee of the J¡¯alyr. I don¡¯t like that possibility any more than I like the idea of one of my own doing this.¡± He thought for a moment, hand on his chin, before speaking again. ¡°I know I said it earlier, but I would really like to launch a full internal investigation into this matter. Would it be alright if I got back to you with my findings in a few days?¡±

    ¡°That should be fine,¡± Ari said with a small shrug. What was a few more days of delaying their attempt to kill this man? If his investigation brought up any new information as well, they may get a bonus from the Guardians. Danfis implied that the people who captured the snitch got a hefty bag of extra Venn for the accomplishment. ¡°What do you plan on doing about the tunnel in the meantime?¡±

    Ensaru smiled, ¡°We¡¯ll need to go a fair bit deeper before I can do anything.¡±

    The Hunters followed him back the way they¡¯d come a fair distance. Finally, he stopped and placed a hand on the wall.

    ¡°You¡¯ll want to be behind me.¡± He said, with that same smile on his face.

    Ari and Xeron did as he said. Once they were safely behind him, he began to channel aether into the stone. Except, it looked¡­ odd. Aether usually had a blue-ish hue to it when it was being channeled, but in that moment it shone with a golden light. In fact, Ensaru himself seemed to have a small golden aura around him as he channeled it. Ari had never seen anything like it, and documented the experience in her notebook.

    After channeling for nearly a minute, the stone in the walls began to shake, and they could hear loud thuds approaching from down the tunnel. Within a few seconds, the cause came into view. The tunnel was collapsing in on itself, seemingly returning to the way it was before it was dug. It stopped a few feet in front of Ensaru.

    ¡°You closed it off with jarou?¡± Ari asked, ¡°Won¡¯t it just dissipate into aether again in a few minutes? Maybe a couple hours, if you¡¯re really strong with the element.¡±

    ¡°You know your stuff, young Hunter,¡± Ensaru said, his voice ragged with exhaustion. ¡°Touch that wall, and channel unaspected aether into it. If you do this with stone created through usual jarou magic, you will be able to sense its aetheric makeup.¡±

    Ari did as he said, aware that what he said is true. It was a lesson Orun taught her when she was a kid, and it¡¯s one of the basics of aetheric forensics. To her amazement, she couldn¡¯t sense anything. It was like she was channeling aether into natural stone.

    ¡°How did you do that? This goes against everything I¡¯ve learned about aetherology and magic.¡± She demanded.

    Ensaru laughed wryly, ¡°That¡¯s a secret, young miss. I trust you can find the answers if you search long enough.¡±

    Xeron checked himself, and was visibly off-put by the truth of the situation. By the time he¡¯d shaken himself from his thoughts, Ensaru was already a dozen paces down the tunnel, heading back to the surface.

    Before long, they were finally back on the surface, and at Ensaru¡¯s office building. Kuro and Oroske met them out front.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s the news?¡± Oroske asked, pushing himself off the wall.

    ¡°The report was accurate, there was a tunnel reaching out to the Realm Rift.¡± Ensaru said, coming to a stop in front of the other Hunter duo. ¡°I collapsed the tunnel. I already mentioned it to Ari and Xeron here, but I intend on launching a full-scale investigation to find out who was involved and who was responsible for the creation of this tunnel. I assure both you and them, the culprits will be found and punished accordingly.¡±

    ¡°Good to hear.¡± Oroske nodded. ¡°Well, shall we get back to work, now that your distraction is over?¡±

    Before Ensaru could answer, Xeron spoke, ¡°Actually, I was hoping we could talk, Oroske. All four of us, maybe over dinner?¡± Ah, right. It was hard to tell sometimes since it was naturally fairly dark this deep in Quarry, but it was getting pretty late. Ari and Xeron had spent a lot of time going in and out of that mineshaft.

    Oroske looked at Xeron with a shocked expression, but quickly caught himself and switched to his usual smiling expression. ¡°Sure, we can do that. Is that alright with you, boss?¡±

    Ensaru waved his hand in dismissal, ¡°Go for it. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be much help with our newest problem, so I¡¯ll cut you two loose for the next couple days.¡± He turned and met Ari¡¯s eyes, ¡°I should have a full report for you by then. Can you wait that long?¡±

    ¡°Sure, no problem,¡± she responded, ¡°Thank you for your willingness to cooperate.¡± With that, Ensaru waved his hand, this time in farewell, and entered his offices.

    Without any pleasantries, Xeron gestured for the group to follow and led them away. They ended up finding a quiet Ish¡¯din-style restaurant there on the fourth layer, surprisingly run by actual Demons. Despite having a couple dozen booths to sit in, only a couple were occupied.

    Their server was a Half-Demon, and wore a black chain bracelet, adorned with a silver tag with the Venn ¡®V¡¯ engraved on it. A slave, poor girl, Ari realized. She had deep blue eyes, but with the narrow, slit pupils that were a trademark of Demons. Despite her status as trenui, she was well dressed in a dark blue serving girl¡¯s outfit, complete with alternating black and white frills, and her blonde hair was kept clean and well groomed. That was nice to see, at least. She didn¡¯t speak much, and was very polite and concise when taking the table¡¯s orders.

    Their orders thusly placed, Xeron began the conversation. ¡°So. I¡¯m sure you two are also investigating the New Spire Empire, but since you¡¯re working closely with Ensaru, I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re also here to kill Yenva Muwal?¡±

    ¡°Straight to business, I see,¡± Oroske said, lounging in his seat, one arm spread across the top of the bench he and Kuro were sitting on. ¡°I¡¯ve always liked that about you. You¡¯re correct on both accounts. Though, our orders aren¡¯t explicitly to kill Ms. Muwal, just to do something about their little feud.¡±

    Xeron folded his arms, and a small smirk appeared on his face, ¡°Well then. I look forward to eventually engaging one or both of you in combat.¡±

    This left an awkward tension at the table, one that made Ari very uncomfortable. She couldn¡¯t bear it after a minute, so she broke the silence. ¡°Well, since we¡¯re also both investigating these Mienr people, why don¡¯t we share information? That way we don¡¯t waste time looking in places the other group already looked.¡±

    ¡°I agree,¡± Kuro spoke. It was the first time Ari had heard him talk all day. ¡°Besides, maybe putting our information together can lead to new discoveries?¡±

    ¡°Well put, Kuro,¡± Oroske praised him. ¡°I¡¯m all for it, Xeron?¡±

    Ari¡¯s brother simply sighed in resignation, ¡°You¡¯ve got a point, unfortunately. Very well, let¡¯s discuss.¡±

    Their food arrived not long after, and most of their discussion was had between bites of their meals. Ari had mixed feelings upon finding that Kuro and Oroske had been having similar luck to her and Xeron. They ended off their conversation about the potential of moles working for the Mienr in the various companies in Quarry. The existence of this Realm Rift tunnel certainly pointed towards that being a very real possibility.

    The group split up outside the restaurant, but not before Oroske said, ¡°I am also looking forward to our future battle. May the best Hunter win.¡±

 58: Muwal

    -Muwal-

    [An ancient Terrai¡¯en word, meaning ¡°Blood.¡±

    It is one of very few Terrai¡¯en words still in use after the Ashfall War.]

    Ensaru¡¯s investigation proceeded very slowly. Two days had passed, and neither Kuro nor Oroske had heard a peep from the man. He also hadn¡¯t been back to his home since Ari and Xeron visited and made their accusations. Kuro still didn¡¯t know how he felt about those two, both generally speaking, and that they were to be his opponents in the second part of his time here. He hadn¡¯t seen much of Ari or her mentor since the days before he reclaimed his navy cloak. It seemed they were out just as often as him and Oroske, and the two pairs always came and went at different times.

    He¡¯d overheard Venn and others at the HQ gossiping about Ari and how quickly she¡¯s progressing as a Hunter. She was smart, and often took the lead on her and Xeron¡¯s Hunts. Rumors said she was a capable fighter, too, though Kuro would have to fight her himself to know for sure.

    Xeron interested him, too. He had a handful of notable achievements under his belt, and multiple commendations from other Hunters, and even one from Danfis himself. Kuro had never seen him fight, and had no clue what his fighting style was like. All Kuro really knew about the man is that he apparently had some weird hatred for him and Oroske. He had no idea why, especially since Oroske doesn¡¯t seem to mind him very much.

    Well, maybe Kuro would find out some day. Maybe he wouldn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t know, and he didn¡¯t mind that.

    He pushed the thoughts out of his head as the lift arrived at the second layer. Today he and Oroske had no plans. Well, they did have plans to meet with one of the city council members that had approached them yesterday, concerning the rumors that erupted from the J¡¯alyr the other day. Oroske had guessed they canceled because they were able to get an appointment with Ensaru himself, and Kuro agreed that it seemed likely. Nyb Eralis, the man who¡¯d approached them that day they¡¯d gone to the city council, still hadn¡¯t contacted them at all. Kuro guessed he was simply busy, and Oroske had never mentioned the man again either.

    So, with their plans canceled, and with it being nearly mid day, Kuro and Oroske were in search of good food. They¡¯d gone to the J¡¯alyr yesterday to see if they could confirm anything about the tunnel for themselves, and had overheard a group of workers talking about which layer had the best food. It seemed the group eventually reached the consensus that layer two did. So here they were.

    Along the main bridges alone they had countless choices, with seemingly endless variety. They¡¯d walked the entire Northern stretch of bridge, arriving in the center. Each had noted a few places they thought sounded good or interesting, and sat down on a bench, backs resting against the central pillar of the massive city, to discuss and deliberate.

    Before they could begin though, a well dressed pair approached them. A man and a woman, both with dark brown hair, neither much older than twenty years old. The man, who would introduce himself as Yil, was the older of the two, and had vibrant green eyes. While the younger woman, Cera, had dull, bored-looking blue eyes.

    ¡°You two are Oroske and Kuro, correct?¡± Yil had asked, prior to any sort of introduction.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Oroske responded sternly, ¡°And you two are?¡±

    ¡°I am Yil Muwal, and this is my younger sister, Cera Muwal.¡±

    Muwal? Wasn¡¯t that Yenva¡¯s-

    ¡°You two are Yenva¡¯s kids?¡± Oroske spoke Kuro¡¯s thoughts before he could think them. His voice sounded harder this time.

    ¡°Correct,¡± Yil said, ¡°I was hoping we could chat. Maybe over some lunch?¡±

    Kuro was surprised to hear that be said so casually, considering the person they were talking to. He knew who they were, and therefore probably knew what they were in town for as well. Judging by his moment of silence, Oroske was surprised as well.

    After nearly a full minute of dumbfounded silence, Oroske stood up and spoke. ¡°Alright, sure. Any suggestions? We were just trying to figure out where we wanted to eat.¡±

    Yil smiled softly, ¡°Cera, there was a place you wanted to try, right?¡±

    The girl nodded, ¡°It¡¯s a bit of a walk, since it¡¯s on the First Layer. My friends have been raving about it recently. Come, I¡¯ll lead the way.¡± She spoke in a cheerful, kind way.

    They went to the same lift Oroske and Kuro had just taken. Cera wasn¡¯t kidding, it was a long walk. After arriving on the first layer, after a particularly crowded lift ride, they had to walk back near the center of the city again. From the center, they took one of the smaller, residential bridges - smaller being relative to the main thoroughfare bridges, they were still large enough for people to walk around and fit houses on both sides - and wandered through a maze of streets. Cera had to stop and look around occasionally, as though she weren¡¯t quite sure where she was going. It seemed like she had a solid enough idea where to go though, since it didn¡¯t seem like they ever went through an area twice.

    Eventually, they arrived at a narrow bridge, just wide enough for three people to walk side by side, reaching out to a small pillar ¡®island¡¯ with a single building on it. Kuro was grateful for the rails on the bridge, it seemed a long way down to the second layer. I¡¯m sure if I timed some magic right, I could survive a drop like that. Maybe I¡¯ll give it a shot sometime, He thought to himself as they crossed.

    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    The building was a small cafe, with a surprising lack of people for how popular Cera had made it sound. Perhaps it just wasn¡¯t peak hours. They were cheerfully greeted by a black haired woman, who they¡¯d later discover was the owner of the cafe. She was dressed in a stylish, monochrome outfit, which complemented their dark eyes and pale skin.

    They were quickly sat down at a window booth, which gave them a wide open view of the second layer below, and handed menus to look at and order off of. There was an awkward tension to the silence as the four looked at their menus. Kuro¡¯s attention was caught by an ¡°owner¡¯s special¡± section at the bottom of the back. It included a toasted sandwich with meat types he¡¯d never tried, and a drink he¡¯d never heard of. When he first reawakened, he was hesitant to try anything that seemed unfamiliar to him, but he¡¯d been opening up a lot to new things. He, Oroske, and Cera all ordered the same thing, while Yil just got a black coffee and a slice of cake.

    ¡°So. Xeron tells us you¡¯re in town to kill our mother?¡± Yil eventually broke the silence shortly after their food arrived. Kuro sniffed at his drink, which was hot enough the cup itself was hot. It smelled good, he could tell there was coffee in it, but there was something sweet in it as well. He decided to let it cool a bit before he drank any, the last time he had a hot drink his tongue felt burnt for days.

    Oroske took a prolonged sip of his drink, letting out a satisfied breath as he set it down. ¡°Technically, yes.¡± He began his explanation as he leaned forward, arms folded on the table, ¡°But also technically, our contract doesn¡¯t necessarily state we need to kill her. Just do something about her feud with our employer. To be frank, I¡¯m not a fan of killing if I don¡¯t need to. If there¡¯s another way to solve the issue, I¡¯d like to take that route.¡±

    ¡°What can we do to help?¡± Cera asked between mouthfuls of her food, making cute, satisfied noises as she enjoyed it.

    Kuro decided to try his sandwich then as well. It was really tasty. Three separate types of meat, and a handful of toppings worked together very well with the toasted bread to create a pleasant texture. The flavor was more sweet than savory, which surprised him.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to know more about Yenva. Her goals, her motivations, and her rivalry with Ensaru. That may clue us into potential alternatives.¡± Oroske said.

    Yil took a long drink before speaking. ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll start with her and Ensaru¡¯s rivalry. You may already know this, but the two were actually quite good friends in the past. Back then, mother was much happier in general, and was always surrounded by friends. It started when she got recruited by Grand Stone¡¯s marketing department. Before this, she¡¯d been doing well for herself in an old sister company of the J¡¯alyr. Shortly after she got it in her head that she had to compete with Ensaru, and declared herself his rival. I don¡¯t think he understood what he was getting himself into by playing along initially.

    ¡°At that point, she became increasingly distant. Within a couple years she¡¯d spent more and more time at work, and gotten multiple promotions. She¡¯d already spent more time at work than at home, leaving early in the morning and coming back late into the night, so it didn¡¯t change much once she got her new house down near the Guild¡¯s offices. At that point, Cera had only been in school for a year. With our dad having died a few years after she was born, I ended up having to take care of her and myself.¡± Yil tightened his grip, his face becoming more angry than solemn, ¡°She ditched us, sending us just enough money to get by. At least she made sure we¡¯d be able to survive, I guess. She¡¯d come to visit and check on us every couple weeks, then once a month once I turned seventeen. It¡¯s been even less frequent recently, neither of us have seen her in nearly six months.

    ¡°If there¡¯s any praise I can give her, it¡¯s that she¡¯s dedicated to what she wants. It wasn¡¯t just us she began to neglect. Old friends and coworkers would occasionally stop by, wanting to check on her because they hadn¡¯t heard from her in ages. Once she became the head of the Guild, all of this just got worse and worse. Her desire to outdo Ensaru and his operation drove her to sacrifice nearly all of her friendships.¡±

    Oroske finished his food a few moments before Yil finished speaking, and was able to get into asking questions quickly as a result. ¡°Do you think there¡¯s any external influence, spurring her on to make these sacrifices?¡±

    ¡°The only person that comes to mind would be Aunt Recen. She¡¯s the only person from mother¡¯s old life she still talks to regularly. Recen also had a part in bringing her over to Grand Stone. She¡¯s always pushed mother to excel in whatever she does.¡± Cera cut in before taking a swig of her drink.

    ¡°I agree,¡± Yil said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard rumors of this ¡®New Spire Empire,¡¯ and as hungry for power and money as she is, I find it hard to believe mother would go along with something like that. She likes things done through official means. Aunt Recen on the other hand¡­ Well I¡¯ll be honest, I don¡¯t know her very well, but from what I do know of her, I wouldn¡¯t be too surprised. I do worry that if things go too far, mother may make a choice she won¡¯t be able to take back.¡±

    ¡°I also worry that even if you don¡¯t, someone else will come along to assassinate her. Our family can¡¯t use magic at all, so she¡¯d be practically defenseless.¡± Cera said casually while leaning back in her seat, her drink cupped in both hands at her chest.

    She¡¯d really admit something like that so easily? Kuro asked himself. It almost feels suspicious, and yet I don¡¯t feel like she¡¯s lying. ¡°You can¡¯t use magic? Like at all?¡± He asked after taking a sip of the drink finally, now that it was plenty cooled down. It was great. Much like the sandwich, it was not quite the flavor he expected. The coffee taste was certainly present, but it was very evenly balanced with a creamy taste that was rather sweet.

    ¡°Correct,¡± Yil said. His expression told Kuro he was displeased with Cera telling the Hunters. ¡°Our distant ancestors from Terrai entered a contract with some deity, and the bloodline became cursed. Since then, no Muwal can use any aether-based magic.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Kuro said, taking another sip of the drink.

    Most of the food had been finished at the table, aside from Yil¡¯s cake, which he got a to-go box for.

    ¡°Thank you for taking the time to chat with us. I hope we can speak again soon.¡± Yil said as they crossed the bridge back to the rest of the city.

    ¡°Of course. Thank you for the information. You have my word that if we can avoid killing Yenva, we will.¡± Oroske said, waving in farewell as they split up.

    Yil and Cera thanked the Hunters again, and walked off.

    What a strange encounter. They didn¡¯t exactly ask us for anything, they really just wanted to talk to us. Kuro thought. He¡¯d thought they¡¯d come pleading for him and Oroske to spare Yenva, but really it seemed they just wanted to talk.

 59: Eran

    -Eran-

    [The Alten word for ¡°Thousand.¡±

    A surprisingly common name.]

    ¡°Let¡¯s split up tomorrow. We can go around and follow up with some of the places we¡¯d gone that said they¡¯d keep an eye out and do internal investigations for us.¡± That was Oroske¡¯s suggestion last night, given after their lunch with the Muwal siblings. Oroske took the lower three layers, and Kuro took the upper three. Kuro had just returned to the second layer from the third. One of the stops he made earlier in the day asked him to come back later in the day. It was early night in Quarry, the sun having just disappeared behind the Western edge of the city. There would still be a few hours of daylight in the rest of the world.

    Being in this hole for as long as they¡¯d been was starting to drive Kuro crazy. He longed for fresh air and open fields. He¡¯d even take the dense forest they¡¯d passed through while traveling with the Peace Party over the same gray walls in all directions. More than anything the lack of direct sunlight on the lower layers was making him feel a bit down.

    He strolled leisurely from the lift towards the center of town, grateful he wore his white coat for the day. Tsu¡¯ra was pretty much in full swing, and once the sun went away, Quarry got pretty cold pretty quick. He hated thinking about what it would be like during Pyr¡¯ra. He had no conscious memories of the season, but it seemed his body remembered, feeling a dreading chill at the idea of the cold weather. The office he sought out came into view quickly, near the half-way point on the bridge.

    It was a small place, the accounting department for a company whose primary headquarters were along the far edge of the city, on the fourth layer. He hoped Oroske didn¡¯t have as much annoyance with them as he did. But, the person in charge of auditing their old records for anything suspicious wasn¡¯t there the first time he swung by today, so there wasn¡¯t much he could do about it. He knocked on the door of the small two story rectangle of a building, and immediately heard someone get up abruptly, knocking something to the floor that landed with a sound like glass breaking. ¡°Oh, give me patience, Life Mother¡­¡± he heard a feminine voice grumble as they approached the door. The door opened to reveal a face he¡¯d seen the first time he and Oroske stopped by, a short Aethen girl with droopy fox-like ears and peach colored hair. She looked at him with tired blue eyes, ¡°Ah, you. I was told you¡¯d be coming by. Come in,¡± she said, yawning as she turned to walk into another room. ¡°Let me clean this up really fast, and I¡¯ll show you what I¡¯ve found.¡±

    Kuro peeked into the room and saw her soaking up some dark liquid into a cloth rag, fragments of a cup scattered on the floor. The desk it seemed to have fallen off of was covered in several piles of paper, many of which were well over a foot tall. The girl swept up the glass fragments and disposed of them, then gestured to a chair next to another desk, ¡°Pull up a seat. Would you like anything to drink?¡± She asked. He declined, pulling the chair out and sitting down.

    After cleaning her hands, she sat down and introduced herself properly, ¡°I¡¯m Eran - I know, funny right? An accountant with a number for a name,¡± She sighed, leaning forward to grab a small stack of papers off her desk, ¡°Anyway, I wasn¡¯t able to find much. These are the only transactions from the last two years that drew up any red flags. Discluding transactions from companies I could verify exist, or at least used to-¡± she took off three quarters of the stack, setting them on the desk, then presenting the remaining stack ¡°-this is all that¡¯s left.¡±

    Kuro took the small pile. There were maybe a dozen sheets, with 3 three items per side. It included both incoming and outgoing money, and a small memo on what the transactions were for, separate from the client name.

    ¡°Many of those I believe were personal deals of the company owner, done on the business account,¡± She explained, ¡°But I haven¡¯t been able to get a hold of him to confirm. If you look at the last sheet, there¡¯s a couple of very odd ones. I¡¯ve sent a request for elaboration on them, but again, I haven¡¯t been able to reach the company owner. They have his signature on them, so he should definitely know about them.¡±

    Kuro skimmed through all the sheets, barely anything interesting about them. Then, there, on the last sheet. Two transactions on the front side that listed ¡°The Royal Council¡± as the client. Large sums of money, and no memo attached whatsoever. There was a third on the back of the sheet, too. They were all dated within the same month, the second of the year 1650.

    ¡°That is very strange, and seems suspicious too,¡± Kuro said, ¡°The name ¡®Royal Council¡¯ definitely sounds like something these New Spire Empire people would use, but we haven¡¯t heard anything like that yet. The closest would be the Consulate. You haven¡¯t been able to find any information about them in your own search?¡±

    Eran shook her head, ¡°Nothing. The name isn¡¯t registered in any official directory made in the last ten years. If such a group exists, they are either not a registered business, or usually operate under another name.¡±

    Kuro handed the sheets back, ¡°Would you mind keeping us posted if you hear anything about these transactions? The rest in that stack are concerning too, but they at least seem pretty legitimate.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯d be happy to,¡± She said with a yawn, ¡°I¡¯m going to kick you out for now though, if you don¡¯t mind. Now that this audit is complete, I need to catch up on some sleep.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s perfectly understandable. Thank you for your help.¡± Kuro stood, and reached out to shake her hand. She did so daintily, bowing her head slightly. He returned the gesture, one of thanks to a colleague.

    He let himself out of the office building. His stomach growled audibly as the door shut behind him, and he decided to look for something to eat. He and Oroske had agreed they¡¯d probably eat separately. He recalled one of the places he was going to suggest the day before, until Yil and Cera interrupted and picked a place for them. Of course, he was on the wrong main bridge for it, so he began walking toward the crossroads again.

    He took his time eating, and got roped into a conversation with the owner about some recent happenings in the Human Realm. He refrained from telling the owner that he himself was involved with a couple of them, namely the Sigil attacks that happened at various villages and towns. Before he knew it, a couple hours had passed.

    The sun was long gone by the time he left, and Kuro figured that night was beginning on the surface as well. He began his journey back, not before stretching, feeling satisfied at the day¡¯s work, and the food he¡¯d just eaten. Sure, the only thing of interest was a single company having a small set of old, strange transactions, but he enjoyed the feeling of being in charge of himself. No Oroske telling him exactly how to do everything. Though, he probably did it the same way Oroske would have told him anyway.

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    A few minutes of walking away from the shop he¡¯d eaten at, a voice called to him from an alley between some office buildings. The voice led him behind the buildings. ¡°Thank you for coming over here, young man,¡± It was a woman¡¯s voice, belonging to a tall woman with dark hair. She was dressed in an elaborate black coat that covered her down to her ankles. Small, white dress shoes peeked out from beneath the coat.

    ¡°What can I help you with?¡± Kuro asked, ¡°Are you hurt? Or lost?¡±

    Suddenly a red streak dropped from her hand, before forming into a blade. It carried the smell of freshly spilt blood. What kind of magic is that? Kuro asked himself, pulling himself into a stance, readying to defend himself as she pointed it to him. The blade seemed mostly hard, but small drops fell from it. Is that a sword made of blood? I¡¯ve never heard of anything like that.

    ¡°You and your large partner should stop your investigation. Leave the city, and act like you never found anything,¡± She said. Her face was obscured by a mask that left only her mouth visible. It bore a symbol reminiscent of the Sigil of the Soulless.

    ¡°And what is it you think we¡¯re investigating?¡± He asked, a stream of energy waiting for a command, prepared to bring a weapon out of his Demon Sheath in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°What else, but the New Spire Empire?¡±

    ¡°And what are you going to do if we don¡¯t leave?¡±

    As if in response, she suddenly flashed forward. Not the product of acceleration, there was no flash of energy being manipulated, no sign of acceleration being used either. Kuro barely had time to dodge a stab at his right shoulder. It still grazed him, but better to have a small cut than to get a whole sword in his chest or shoulder.

    Kuro rebounded, putting some distance between himself and his attacker. The attack shook his focus, and he wasn¡¯t able to use his prepared energy manipulation. He put a hand to his shoulder, which burned with an unexpected amount of pain for such a small knick. It was then that he realized his entire right arm was numb. He couldn¡¯t feel it, nor move it whatsoever.

    ¡°This is your last warning. Leave this city, forget what you saw.¡± She lifted the sword to him again, ¡°I can¡¯t have you interfering with my plans for Yenva and this city. That wound will heal in a few days and you¡¯ll have your arm back. The Mienr won¡¯t be so merciful, and neither will I if I catch you snooping around again.¡±

    She ran off after saying that, disappearing into the night, her black coat and dark features aiding in her flight.

    Kuro simply stood there, dumbfounded for several minutes, trying - and failing - to process what just happened. Eventually he began to make his way toward the nearest lift, and towards his current home.

    He arrived without much difficulty, shock still dampening his other emotions. Oroske had beaten him there, by nearly an hour. He and Ensaru were chatting in the kitchen of the Director¡¯s home.

    ¡°Ah, there you are,¡± Oroske said, a joyful expression on his face, which quickly turned to a mix of concern and quizzical, ¡°What happened to you?¡±

    Kuro briefly explained, and didn¡¯t fail to notice Ensaru perking up at the mention of the sword made from blood.

    ¡°Your arm is paralyzed from where she hit you, you said? And you¡¯re certain this sword was made from blood?¡± Ensaru asked him, an intrigued, and perhaps amused tone to his voice. Kuro nodded to confirm. ¡°Well, that makes figuring out the culprit very easy. She mentioned Yenva by name in your report, which means there¡¯s only one other person, probably in the whole of Spire, that it could have been.

    ¡°Explain,¡± Oroske practically demanded.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t blame you for being unfamiliar, it¡¯s not a particularly well known piece of trivia. How familiar are you with the Muwal name? And more specifically, its meaning?¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t Alten, right? So I have no idea.¡±

    ¡°Muwal is an ancient Terrai¡¯en word meaning ¡®blood.¡¯ It is of particular interest, because it isn¡¯t part of the main Terrai¡¯en language, but instead from an island dialect, specifically the island the Crimson Hills and Ivory Plains were on.¡± It was at this point in the conversation Kuro realized that Oroske had a tendency to surround himself with scholarly individuals like Nadred, who like to ramble about their knowledge. ¡°There¡¯s a bit of an interesting legend passed down in the Muwal family, Yenva told me about it when we still worked together. Supposedly, the family got the name when their progenitor made a hasty contract with some form of ¡®Primordial God.¡¯ There¡¯s no texts I¡¯ve found to support the existence of this entity, but the legend says the God¡¯s own name was Muwal. The contract cursed them to never be able to use regular magic again, but in return, they would gain access to the God¡¯s special ¡®bloodcurse¡¯ magic. The progenitor didn¡¯t know it would curse his bloodline as well, and once he learned that, he changed his family name to the name of the God.¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s a Muwal family curse, then it would have to be Recen, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Kuro asked, ¡°Why would she tell me all of that then?¡±

    ¡°She probably either has confidence she could beat you and Oroske if it came down to it,¡± Ensaru explained, leaning on the counter next to him, ¡°Or, she simply doesn¡¯t know who the two of you are. I think it¡¯s entirely possible she doesn¡¯t know the two of you are Hunters. Either way, it seems she¡¯s incriminated herself, an interesting move all things considered.¡±

    ¡°I wonder,¡± Oroske said, breaking a moment of silence, ¡°Is it possible she didn¡¯t incriminate herself? By all means, it sounds like she did. But what if she simply knows about the Mienr and how dangerous and powerful they are, without necessarily working with them?¡±

    Kuro nodded, a hand to his chin, ¡°That does seem possible. But wouldn¡¯t that mean she¡¯s met them in the past? Maybe she used to work with them, or something.¡±

    ¡°I think we may need to dig a bit deeper on this matter, find something more solid. Even if it¡¯s one simple piece.¡± Oroske agreed.

    ¡°You mentioned she wore a mask, with an emblem similar to the Sigil of the Soulless, correct?¡± Ensaru asked. Kuro confirmed, and he continued, ¡°That sounds familiar. I¡¯ll do some digging on my end, maybe call up a connection I have at the School of Towers. If I¡¯m right about it, we may be able to track where she got it from.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Ensaru,¡± Oroske said, then motioned for Kuro to follow him, ¡°We should probably start turning in for the night. Danfis will be interested to hear this as well.¡±

    ¡°That is very interesting indeed,¡± Danfis said, the Hunters¡¯ report concluded. ¡°My father told me once about a rumor of such abilities. I¡¯ve never encountered them myself, and this is the first time I¡¯ve heard a firsthand account of them. Furthermore, it certainly does sound like she at least has worked with the Mienr. I¡¯d like you to look into the matter some more before taking any action, but I¡¯ll trust the two of you and your judgment.¡±

    ¡°I am concerned,¡± Oroske said, ¡°That our initial worries were correct. If Recen Muwal was acting on the orders of the Mienr, this would be the second time that the New Spire Empire has made a move to be known in a very short time.¡±

    ¡°Third, actually,¡± Danfis said with a sigh, ¡°We received word earlier today of a somewhat similar incident in Yul¡¯en. I agree, though, that this is a concerning sign. It seems they¡¯re gathering attention, making themselves known to the public intentionally. Be on your guard, both of you. I¡¯d wager they¡¯re planning to make a move, and sooner than later if I had to guess.¡±

    The communication ended shortly after, leaving Kuro and Oroske with troubling thoughts as they prepared to sleep.

 60: Dances Odds and Ends

    -Dance¡¯s Odds and Ends-

    [A nomadic antique shop that changes location at least once a year. There is a main branch in Market City, but it is only open the first week of each month when Dance, the owner, returns home. While most locations Dance chooses are in the Human Realm, rumors report she¡¯s opened locations in the Demon Realm before.]

    It had been a few days, and neither Ari nor Xeron had heard from Ensaru again. Ari, for one, was beginning to get impatient. The fact their investigations into the Mienr and the New Spire Empire were going so poorly was not helping her mood.

    She''d also been trying to do some aetherology research - which was not her strong suit, it''s probably the thing she struggled with the most. The books involved were just so boring, and she felt she learned best by actually doing things herself, rather than simply reading about it. Xeron had brought up the day after something she thought was strange, and perhaps even suspicious: That golden aether that Ensaru had channeled. Alas, in the four tomes she''d read, she hadn''t found anything about it. Perhaps there were records of golden aether in other places, such as the illustrious School of Towers, but the books she read were devoid of it. She had found some interesting accounts of oddly colored aether, but they were all darker, seemingly corrupted shades of regular aether colors. She desperately wanted to ask Orun about it, he was much more knowledgeable about these things than anyone else she was close to.

    And so, Recen approaching the Hunter pair with a side job was a welcome distraction. She paid them fairly generously for a job that would take them only a few hours. It was a simple task, there was a store on the surface near the edge of city limits, that had something she needed them to pick up for her.

    Of course, things were never as simple as they sounded. They¡¯d encountered a few different snaps on their way up to the surface.

    Recen had recommended they take the Western lift to the surface, but they were only able to make it to the third layer before it stopped, and some mechanical issues prevented it from moving again. It remained out of service for nearly the entire day. They decided to gamble and take the Northern lift. On the way there, however, they were stopped by two young kids, a brother and sister, who asked for their help finding their parents. It didn¡¯t take long to find them, as Ari recognized the name of the store the kids said their parents were at. However, the parents were quite talkative, much to Ari¡¯s dismay. They thanked them with a small tip, a handful of Venn each, and explained how they always told their kids to look for people in coats with their emblem on it if they were in trouble. Apparently some Hunters had escorted the father to Ish¡¯din a few years back, and were impressed at how kind and charitable said Hunters were during the trip.

    Well, Ari thought to herself, Some Hunters are like that. Most are just in it for the money. She understood those types well, she felt. After all, the generous pay Yenva was offering was a large part of why she suggested she and Xeron take on her Hunt. The other part was that she was curious what an assassination mission would actually entail. She hadn¡¯t expected to be roped into all of these extra-curricular tasks. It was clear Yenva was getting impatient, and she¡¯d likely push them to act sooner, rather than later. Xeron assured her most assassination missions are quick, usually one or two nights of working before the job is completed, and payment is delivered.

    Then there were the special missions the Red Cloaks went on, especially folks like Rel and Kared. Those two were gone for several months at a time working on a single job. Ari had no real idea what went on during those missions to make them take so long, but she had heard rumors that many of them involved either killing or getting their targets arrested for very serious crimes. She¡¯d love to go on one, someday, and see for herself what it was like. First, however, she¡¯d need to become a Black Cloak, and more likely than not, a White Cloak. Then she¡¯d have to work hard to gain Danfis¡¯s trust and be given a Red Cloak. She fantasized about the idea a lot.

    After finally making it to the surface, Ari and her brother needed to locate the shop in question. They began by heading over to where the Western lift would have taken them, then from there the continued straight West until the buildings began to thin out. Ari didn¡¯t mind being underground, but she couldn¡¯t deny that the fresh, cool Tsu¡¯ra air felt incredibly refreshing.

    All they had to go off of to find the building was a rough description of where it was, and the name of the shop. Recen told them there was a sign on the front door with the name on it, and that it ¡°shouldn¡¯t be hard to find.¡± They¡¯d only spent thirty minutes searching before Ari began to doubt that statement.

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    They did find it eventually, a small shop by the name of ¡°Dance¡¯s Odds and Ends.¡± Dance, they found out shortly after entering, was a human girl, who looked to be a teenager, no older than Ari was. She was dressed in a dusty brown apron over a gray blouse and black utility pants, her black hair tied in a tight bun. She fit in nicely with the dusty wooden furniture, and the various antiques that covered the countertops and shelves. ¡°Ah, the Hunters. You must be here in Recen¡¯s place, correct?¡± The shopkeeper asked. Her general tone of voice suggested she was far older than Ari had guessed, and contrasted starkly with her youthful appearance.

    Ari stepped forward and confirmed, before Dance led them into a room at the back. The room was lined with shelves along the walls, and several in the central space as well, all of which were filled with strange artifacts. Ari stopped by an ancient looking tome, and inspected the plaque describing the spell inside. The spell supposedly used a small amount of your own blood as an additional fuel, and required a foluk-aspected crystal, and a sentem-aspected crystal. In result, you got a very powerful spell that sucked everything and everone nearby to a single point, and set them ablaze. A warning was inscribed at the bottom of the plaque: ¡°Warning: This spell affects the user as well, and has a rather painful additional material cost.¡± Why on Spire would someone use a spell like that? Ari asked herself, moving onto another plaque nearby.

    She read several plaques, for various spell tomes, scrolls, and even enchanted artifacts with interesting effects. They ranged anywhere from highly beneficial to the user, to highly detrimental to the target, and like that first spell, highly detrimental to both, as well as their surroundings. One of the bracelets caught her eye, as it supposedly enhanced all spells with an ¡°ari¡± command. She briefly considered buying it before seeing the exorbitant price tag of over three hundred thousand Venn.

    Dance disappeared behind a counter, and reappeared a few moments later, a black suitcase in hand. It seemed heavy by the way she practically dragged it on the floor. She eventually heaved it onto the counter. ¡°Here it is, this is what she asked for,¡± Dance said, sitting on a stool that was high enough to put her at eye level with Xeron. She had to jump a bit to get onto the seat.

    ¡°Recen didn¡¯t send us with any payment,¡± Xeron began explaining.

    ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry about that, the money part is already taken care of.¡± Dance waved a hand in dismissal. ¡°Ol¡¯ Muwal will be able to open it, she should be familiar with the lock on top already.¡±

    Ari stepped up and looked at the top of the box, which had a white, arcane-looking symbol embossed on top. It featured several geometric shapes intermingling with one another, as well as writing in Alten cut into the white leather. Ari had no knowledge of how to actually read Alten, but she recognized the shape of some characters from when Orun gave her a lengthy lecture on the language and its importance for magic.

    ¡°What exactly is this place?¡± Ari asked, as Xeron dragged the case off of the counter, stumbling slightly before rebalancing himself.

    ¡°Recen really told you nothing about where she was sending you?¡± Dance asked, an almost mocking tone to her voice, ¡°You Hunters really will do just about anything for the right price, huh? Anyway, ¡®Dance¡¯s Odds and Ends¡¯ is my antique store, and while it¡¯s just a front for my real business back here, I do have a lot of passion for collecting, selling, and trading antiques. But my real money maker is the selling and trading of various artifacts. Spells that probably shouldn¡¯t be used, rings and necklaces that will grant you boons, in exchange for a small curse. Stuff like that.¡±

    ¡°Interesting,¡± Xeron commented, ¡°You say it¡¯s where you earn most of your money? What kind of customers do you usually get?¡±

    ¡°All sorts, really. I have a very strict ¡®don¡¯t ask, don¡¯t tell¡¯ policy. I respect my customers¡¯ privacy, and as such don¡¯t ask what they¡¯re going to use the item for, and don¡¯t give out any of their names.¡±

    ¡°I see, that¡¯s respectable, I suppose. Do you provide any other services? Such as, say, information brokering?¡± Xeron asked further.

    ¡°Depends who''s askin¡¯.¡± Dance gave a wry smile.

    Xeron simply nodded politely, and Ari copied the gesture, before following her brother out of the store.

    ¡°What a strange store,¡± Ari mumbled once they¡¯d made some distance from the store.

    ¡°I agree,¡± Xeron said with a nod, switching the box from one hand to the other, ¡°I¡¯ve heard rumors of such places, I never expected I¡¯d actually go inside one. There were some interesting sounding things in there, though.¡±

    ¡°True. If they weren¡¯t so expensive, I would have considered buying something.¡± They walked in silence for a bit, before Ari changed the subject. ¡°Any idea what¡¯s in the box? Is it very heavy?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a little heavy, but the real issue is that it¡¯s so unbalanced. As for what¡¯s inside, I have no idea. It must be packed pretty tightly, it doesn¡¯t jostle around at all while walking. Not to mention the store we just picked it up from. It could be almost anything.¡± Xeron had a ponderous expression when he finished, a rare sight on someone like him.

 61: Terminate

    -Terminate-

    [To put an end to something.]

    The next day started out slow. Recen had accepted the package without much fanfare, and dropped their payment in their palms with even less. She disappeared into her chambers in the Muwal estate after that, and they hadn''t heard from her since.

    The Hunter siblings, feeling discouraged by their lack of significant discoveries, took this slow morning to get some rest and relaxation in, and discuss how they wanna go about their assassination of Director Ensaru. ¡°Since Oroske and Kuro are in his employ, it¡¯s definitely not going to be easy,¡± Xeron had begun the talks, ¡°Worst case, we have to fight both of them at once, but I expect regardless we¡¯ll have to face off against one of them.¡±

    ¡°Do you think they¡¯re here to assassinate Yenva?¡± Ari asked. She figured that was likely the case, but she wanted to hear a second opinion.

    ¡°Most definitely. If not, they¡¯re likely in his employ as bodyguards. Knowing Oroske, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he intends to let us attack first, then go after Yenva in a so-called ¡®self-defense¡¯ move.¡±

    Ari hummed to herself in thought, leaning back on the plush sofa. The Muwal siblings were always out of the house all day, so they¡¯d taken to using their sitting room as their planning and meeting spot. ¡°You know Oroske better than I do. What do you think the odds are that will be their angle regardless? Like, they wait for us to strike before launching their attack.¡±

    Xeron rubbed his chin, scratching his bristly stubble. He usually kept it clean shaved, but he¡¯d not shaved since a couple days prior. Ari recognized that as a sign he was stressed about something. ¡°He¡¯s quite the strategist, I¡¯d definitely say it¡¯s likely. If I were a betting man, he¡¯d likely leave one of them with Ensaru for defense, while the other goes on the attack. As for which of the pair does what, I really could see it going either way.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡±

    ¡°Kuro is definitely weaker than Oroske. He has potential, for sure, but I¡¯m confident I would win in a fight. You and him are probably about equal, if I had to guess. If Kuro defends, and I go on the offensive, I¡¯ll win and secure victory. If he defends and you go, it¡¯s a coin flip for both sides. Meanwhile, Oroske is strong enough he could probably beat both of us working together, so putting him on defense makes a lot of sense. But the same could be said for him attacking, he¡¯d be in and out before we could blink.¡± Xeron was clearly troubled by either possibility, speaking with his hand on his chin.

    ¡°It sounds like we have a nearly impossible task ahead of us. I propose we don¡¯t worry about which of them is attacking and defending, and focus on assigning our own roles. If I can avoid a confrontation with Oroske through stealth, then we don¡¯t have to worry about how strong he is. I can¡¯t imagine he¡¯d kill one of his own, even if they killed his current employer.¡± Ari offered the best suggestion she could think of. Xeron winced slightly at her last statement.

    ¡°That is a good idea. You are better at sneaking around than I am, so I¡¯m willing to agree to the idea. I can also get to work setting up defenses.¡± Xeron seemed much more confident now that he had a solid plan.

    They discussed their next steps for a few minutes. They wanted to see if they could collect intel on Ensaru¡¯s itinerary, as well as the layout of both his home and office building, so that Ari could plan her infiltration route.

    Their scheming was cut short, however, by a sudden knock at the estate¡¯s front door. There, a young man in a red uniform coat was waiting, a letter in his hand. ¡°Ari and Xeron Tsumi? I have a letter coming from the J¡¯alyr ke Ensaru, I was asked to deliver it to you right away.¡± Ari took the letter, and the man immediately began jogging away, presumably to wherever his next stop was.

    She opened it up, and revealed a letter with a very short, handwritten message. It read, ¡°Dear Hunters of the Tsumi, Ari and Xeron. My investigation has concluded, and I would like to give you my report on the investigation. Please meet me at the J¡¯alyr ke Ensaru at your earliest convenience. The staff in the reception area are expecting you. Signed, Director Ensaru, of the J¡¯alyr ke Ensaru.¡±

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    ¡°Finally, he¡¯s done,¡± Ari said, a sigh of relief escaping her mouth. ¡°Come on, let''s get ready and get over there.¡±

    Xeron only really needed to get his shoes on, but Ari had to run up to the room they¡¯d been sleeping in to grab her coat. She also did a quick check that she had everything she needed. Her notebook, a couple pens, her pendant. Good, everything was there.

    It was an uneventful trip to the J¡¯alyr¡¯s offices, with no distractions. In fact, the streets felt strangely emptier than normal, considering it was near lunch time. The lift only had a handful of other people, when usually it was quite packed. Ari took note of this, but didn¡¯t concern herself with thinking about it too much.

    Upon walking into the quaint office building, they were given a warm welcome by the receptionist, as the letter said they would be. The receptionist, a middle aged woman whose hair had started to gray, a stark contrast to the deep purple of the rest of her hair, stood and guided them to a small office on the second floor, where Ensaru and his hired help awaited them.

    He had them sit down on wooden chairs with firm cushions. Xeron immediately leaned forward, propping himself up on his arms, elbows on the polished oak table. Ari simply sat up straight, trying to mind her posture and look professional.

    ¡°Excellent, now that everyone is here, I will begin my report.¡± Oroske and Kuro sat down, leaving Ensaru the only one in the room standing. Ensaru straightened out his posture as well. ¡°My investigation into my staff is complete. We believe we were able to identify every employee that was involved in the digging of the tunnel to the Realm Rift, which is a breach of the Sub-Terrain Treaty. As of yesterday, all individuals have been terminated from the company, with a strike on their record that will appear in background checks, making it very difficult for them to get new jobs at other companies, at least here in Quarry.

    ¡°Ten people were discovered to have had involvement with this project, and as previously mentioned all of them have been fired. This includes two foremen, who oversaw and directed the dig, one of my senior officers who approved the project, and seven miners who actually performed the digging.

    ¡°In addition to the corrective action taken within the company, I personally have contacted the Guardians, in specific, I spoke to Vyn and Vaia, and delivered to them a handwritten letter of apology.¡± Ensaru pulled out three sealed envelopes, setting them on the table, before sliding one to each pair of Hunters. The seal was made of wax, and was imprinted with the Alten character representing the sound ¡®J.¡¯ ¡°I included one of these for them as well. It is a document affirming that I, and the J¡¯alyr ke Ensaru under my direction, will always strive to uphold the Sub-Terrain Treaty. This is mostly a formality, but I would like there to be copies of it in the hands of relevant officials. I will of course keep a copy myself, and I intend to have it displayed within a common area of the J¡¯alyr office building. I will likely make another copy and have it displayed at the mining site as well.

    ¡°I will not make excuses for the oversights that led to this happening, but I vow to watch the actions of my employees more closely so that it will never happen again.

    ¡°Finally, there is one last thing I¡¯d like to make mention of. We did final exit interviews for all employees involved. In them, one of the foremen confessed that he had been contacted by someone calling themselves a ¡®royal consul.¡¯ I did some research to double check, and I could not find this title being recognized anywhere. I, as well as my investigative team, suspect this may be related to the Mienr. We¡¯re going to continue investigating their communications, and we¡¯ll keep an eye out for anyone using similar titles. Of course, you will be among the first to hear if anything is discovered through these investigations.¡±

    Ensaru finally finished, and the four Hunters took a moment to digest the report. Ensaru stayed standing, simply observing them. ¡°That was a very well thought out report,¡± Xeron broke the silence, ¡°And I¡¯m grateful for the straightforward delivery. I am glad to hear you took this event seriously, and that changes will be made in the future to prevent further incidents.¡±

    General agreement arose from the other Hunters. ¡°Is there anything else you¡¯d like us to know?¡± Ari prodded.

    ¡°Nothing. Though if you wouldn¡¯t mind, I do have a request for you before you leave. I would like to arrange a meeting to discuss these events with Yenva, you are under her employ currently, correct?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct.¡± Ari said. No point in hiding it, he clearly knew already if he sent a courier straight to her house for them.

    ¡°Would you be willing to arrange that meeting for me? As I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware, the two of us are not exactly on speaking terms.¡± Ari found it strange how sincere he sounded about the request.

    ¡°Very well,¡± she said, ¡°We¡¯ll see what we can do. No promises, though.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Ensaru said, accompanied by a small appreciative bow.

    He walked them out of the office building, and saw them off. Ari found it oddly disconcerting how friendly and professional he could be. It mostly just affirmed her confusion that Yenva thought of this man as a threat to her company and ambitions. Still, she was glad to hear that perhaps he had finally found a lead that could lead to the Mienr. Danfis would likely be getting two very similar reports on his desk about this meeting.

 62: Determination

    -Determination-

    [The resolve to continue on your course.]

    The next two days passed quickly, and without much happening. Yenva was surprisingly very willing to attend the meeting. Ari and Xeron asked her about it the morning after the previous meeting. It was the first time in several days they¡¯d actually seen their employer, and the first time in more that they saw her at her own house.

    Ensaru met the party at the doors to his office building. Oroske and Kuro were nowhere to be seen, a pleasant surprise. Ari guessed they didn¡¯t want to make themselves known to Yenva. A smart move, all things considered. Still, she couldn¡¯t help but wonder what the two of them were up to. Surely nothing good, she figured.

    Ensaru led them to the same meeting room they¡¯d used the other day, taking his place standing at the head of the table. Ari was surprised he didn¡¯t have at least some form of protection. Perhaps he simply trusted the Hunters and Yenva wouldn¡¯t make any bold moves today. ¡°Thank you for coming, Yenva.¡± He spoke as his visitors took their seats, ¡°Ari, Xeron, it¡¯s good to see you two again. Yenva, I asked you to come today so you could hear about the recent incident and ensuing internal investigation that occurred here in the J¡¯alyr these past weeks.

    ¡°I expect you¡¯ve heard rumors, despite my best efforts to keep news of the incident quiet, of my company breaching the Treaty by digging a tunnel out to the Realm Rift.¡± Yenva nodded, though Ensaru didn¡¯t pause for a response. ¡°Unfortunately, these rumors are true. We¡¯ve concluded our internal investigation, and have terminated all employees involved in this project. I have also resolved to become more involved in the approval process for new digs to prevent this from occurring again. The tunnel has been sealed as well.¡±

    Yenva sighed, leaning back with her arms crossed. ¡°While I appreciate your transparency and honesty regarding the situation,¡± she said, ¡°Why exactly did you ask me to come here? Surely that can¡¯t be it.¡±

    ¡°Correct,¡± Ensaru continued, ¡°This next part is where things get interesting for us both. I have reason to believe that some external party is trying to fan the flames of our little feud. I also believe that your sister, Recen, is involved with this party. I trust you¡¯ve heard reports of the New Spire Empire and the Mienr?¡±

    Yenva stood up, anger plain on her face, yet her voice remained cool and collected, ¡°You mean to accuse Recen of working with these people? On what grounds?¡±

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    ¡°In addition to the recent internal investigation, I¡¯ve hired external investigators to look into the Guild, among several other companies within Quarry. These investigations are what have led me to believe someone is trying to get us to escalate our feud, and it would seem it¡¯s worked so far. My first solid lead into the group responsible came during the internal investigation, when one of the members involved with the tunnel dig mentioned a group that called themselves the ¡®Royal Consul.¡¯ I¡¯m not sure how well versed you are in Alten, specifically when it comes to titles, but that sounds an awful lot like what a group of ¡®mienr¡¯ would call themselves to a layman. But the thing that made me positive it¡¯s them, is that my external investigators heard from Recen herself that she is working with the Mienr.¡±

    ¡°What foolishness, these investigators could have easily falsified that information. I demand to meet these people.¡± Hands on the table, Yenva¡¯s control on her tone was faltering.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t agree to that, as our contract obliges me to keep their identity a secret.¡±

    Yenva¡¯s hands curled into fists as she stewed on the accusation. After a moment, she took a deep breath and straightened out her posture. ¡°I still don¡¯t believe it myself. That said, even if it is true, blood relation besides, Recen is my right hand, my most trusted assistant and advisor. If she really is working with the Mienr, I¡¯m sure she has good reason, and the best interests in the Guild in mind. As such, I will stand by her for now. I will, of course, do my own investigation into the matter.¡± She looked at the Hunters, who had been silent during the entire exchange. Ari looked to Xeron, confirming she saw the same thing in both their faces: stone cold poker faces. ¡°Come on you two, I don¡¯t believe there¡¯s anything else for us here today.¡±

    Yenva didn¡¯t make any mention of having Ari and Xeron handling her new investigation. In fact, she separated from them shortly after arriving on Layer Six, letting them free for the rest of the day, presumably while she went to the office.

    ¡°So, what do you think?¡± Xeron said, settling into a chair in the Muwal household sitting room.

    ¡°It¡¯s troubling to think that Recen might be working with the Mienr. More so that Yenva is choosing to side with her for now.¡± Ari lied down on the couch, propping her head up on her hand. ¡°Still, I must admit I admire her tenacity, and her commitment to her work. It¡¯s clear to me that she truly puts her all into it. I imagine that if Recen is collaborating with the New Empire, as long as she says it¡¯s for the good of the company, Yenva will go along with it. How about you?¡±

    ¡°I agree. Just to confirm, do you want to follow through with our contract with her?¡±

    ¡°I do. Ensaru seems like a kind man, but the job is the job, right? Yenva would get a major roadblock out of her way, and we¡¯ll likely get paid well.¡±

    Xeron chuckled, ¡°We¡¯re in agreement. Ensaru reminds me of Oroske, so I have no objections to seeing him killed.¡±

 63: Strategy

    -Strategy-

    [A plan, often of attack, detailing what a group of people need to do to accomplish a shared goal.]

    Kuro and Oroske had been watching the J¡¯alyr from afar - on a bridge on the layer above. Seeing Ari and Xeron leave was their signal that it was almost time to return. Oroske pushed himself off of the rail they were leaning on. ¡°Well, shall we head back?¡± He asked, turning to Kuro.

    ¡°Guess so,¡± Kuro said, stretching as he walked after his mentor. ¡°How do you think it went?¡±

    ¡°Given how short it seems the meeting was? Poorly.¡±

    The two walked in silence for a few minutes, until Kuro spoke again. ¡°Do you think it¡¯d be possible to survive jumping down to the next layer?¡±

    Oroske looked back at Kuro, not slowing his pace at all, a small smile on his face, ¡°I¡¯d say so. I could definitely survive. It might be more of a gamble for you, but I¡¯d say the odds are in your favor. You have an affinity for sentem, which is probably the best and safest option to catch yourself with. That or gravia, but the latter is much harder to control. You¡¯d have to have good timing and aim with either. Thinking you want to try it?¡±

    ¡°At some point, sure. I¡¯ll pass for right now, though,¡± Kuro said, a similar smile on his face.

    It didn¡¯t take long for them to get back to the J¡¯alyr headquarters - they¡¯d caught the lift at a good time - and Ensaru was outside waiting for them. ¡°I¡¯ve called Jisei and Guir already, we need to discuss our next move.¡± He had forgone any greeting, and was already halfway through the door by the time he finished speaking.

    Once they were in the usual meeting room, Jisei and Guir giving friendly greetings, Ensaru put up a barrier, quickly saying some words that Kuro wasn¡¯t able to catch. ¡°No one will be able to hear us. I trust my staff, but I want to be sure,¡± the director explained.

    ¡°So, I take it the meeting went poorly?¡± Oroske asked, leaning against the wall.

    ¡°Correct,¡± Ensaru looked stressed, leaning on the table as he spoke, ¡°I delivered the accusation that Recen has been working with the Mienr. Yenva took it in stride, saying that even if Recen is working with them, she will side with her sister.

    ¡°I believe this little feud has reached its boiling point. I had hoped I could make her see that someone is trying to pit us against each other, but alas, it seems I¡¯ve only made her more angry.¡± He looked to Jisei and Guir first. ¡°You two, prepare defenses for both the headquarters and the J¡¯alyr itself. Open up the rear chamber on the top floor, that is where I will receive our guests.¡±

    He turned to the Hunters. ¡°If you two would like to do any more investigating into Grand Stone, I suggest you do it tonight, the sooner the better. It would be wise for you two to decide on your combat plan.¡±

    Oroske took a step forward, ¡°Just to confirm, you are telling us to go on the offensive?¡± Ensaru made eye contact, and nodded. ¡°I suggest we watch to see how they move, and respond in kind. We attack when they attack. What do you think?¡± He indicated he was asking both Ensaru and Kuro.

    ¡°I agree, that seems logical to me,¡± Kuro said firmly.

    ¡°As do I. I trust your judgment, both of you.¡± Ensaru said, ¡°I¡¯ll let you two figure out the details. For now, I must plan for our actions here.¡± He turned to his assistants, who had already been discussing plans, looking at maps and blueprints. Kuro had no idea where they got them from, perhaps they brought them in with them.

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    Oroske beckoned Kuro to join him at the far end of the table to discuss their strategy. ¡°So,¡± Oroske began, taking a seat, ¡°I want to hear your thoughts first. How do you think we should proceed?¡±

    Kuro thought about it for a moment. He agreed that they should let Ari and Xeron make the first move, and simply respond in turn. He had no idea how strong either of his opponents were, and how he would match up against them. He¡¯d never been in a serious fight against another Hunter, only bandits, a necromancer or two, and Sigils and other wild beasts, so he had no idea what to expect. After some further consideration, he spoke. ¡°I think we should have you on standby near Ensaru, playing defense. They¡¯ll probably be defending Yenva at whatever location she¡¯s at, probably the Guild headquarters. I¡¯d like to try playing offense, if that¡¯s okay. So I¡¯ll go somewhere I can monitor them from afar, waiting for one or both of them to leave on their attack.¡±

    Oroske smiled, ¡°I agree, having you go on the offensive will be a good experience for you. Having me defend Ensaru of all people might be overkill, but I¡¯d rather you get the combat experience for sure. We¡¯ll start this plan tomorrow. I do have an errand I¡¯d like to run in the morning, so if you see them moving, contact me through your pendant.¡±

    Kuro nodded, ¡°Sounds like a plan. I¡¯ll probably contact you regardless once I see them move. What errand do you need to run?¡±

    Oroske was hesitant to answer. ¡°Both sides of this battle have children to worry about. I¡¯d like to ensure they¡¯re both prepared for the worst.¡±

    That sounded like something Kuro would like to be a part of, but he understood the importance of his own role. Still, he¡¯d not seen much of how Hunters deal with the families of their targets - all of the people he¡¯d been involved with killing were pretty far removed from their relatives by the time he got to them. He¡¯d get another chance, he¡¯d probably have to in order to get his black cloak.

    ¡°How do you think I¡¯ll fare against Ari and Xeron? Think I could beat them?¡± Kuro asked, voicing a different concern.

    ¡°Ari I think you could defeat pretty easily,¡± Oroske started, then paused to consider. ¡°Xeron, though. I¡¯ll be honest, he¡¯s pretty strong, especially when he¡¯s passionate about what he¡¯s fighting for. I think you could beat him, but it¡¯ll be a difficult battle for you. Not only does he clearly beat you in size and physical strength, he has loads of experience.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean about ¡®when he¡¯s passionate?¡¯¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t go into details right now, but I expect he feels like he can identify with Yenva, and therefore will feel passionate about defending her. From what I can see, the two have more in common than you¡¯d expect.¡±

    Kuro rubbed his chin with his left hand, considering. His right arm was slowly regaining feeling, but he wasn¡¯t confident it would be back completely in time for his fight. He had spent his free time practicing using various weapons with one hand, especially the spear. He usually switched between a one-hand and two-hand grip with his sword, so he didn¡¯t need too much practice there. He was thankful it was his non-dominant hand that was paralyzed. The scythe was definitely a no-go though, he couldn¡¯t properly swing it the way he wanted to with only one hand. It¡¯ll be tough, he thought to himself, but I¡¯m sure neither of them would kill me, not in a way I couldn¡¯t be revived at least.

    The thought of killing reminded him, ¡°Oh yeah, what do you think about Yenva? Do you think I should just immediately go in for the kill?¡±

    Oroske made eye contact, a small smile on his face, ¡°That, my boy, is for you to decide. Think about it carefully so you don¡¯t regret your decision. People like Ensaru and Yenva do not have the same privilege we do to simply return from death.¡± He placed a hand on Kuro¡¯s shoulder, awkwardly leaning across the table to do so. ¡°I trust your judgment, Kuro, and will back you up regardless of what you choose to do. That said, if you end up needing to kill Ari or Xeron, just try to make it so they can come back. That means no dismemberment, and try to make the killing blow clean so it¡¯s easy to heal. Of course, don¡¯t kill them at all if you can, Danfis would be upset even if they can be revived.¡±

    Kuro nodded, a smile appearing on his own face. ¡°Anything else we need to decide on?¡± He asked.

    Oroske shook his head, ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be. Take tonight to prepare. Tonight will be the last night we report to Danfis until we return. We¡¯ll tell him about what we know regarding Recen and the Mienr, and our current action plan.¡±

    The two looked to Ensaru, who was still deep in conversation with his assistants, planning. Oroske called to him to let him know the two were done and about to leave. Ensaru gave them a wave, his gaze never leaving the paper he was looking at.

 64: Pemir

    -Pemir-

    [An Alten name that used to be common amongst nobles, it currently is most commonly used to refer to a type of somber music. Its specific meaning is difficult to pin down, but most agree it evokes feelings of reverence.]

    Kuro left before Oroske, heading to the fifth layer, looking for places where he could easily spot Ari and Xeron. He¡¯d hoped to find a clear view of the Grand Stone Guild¡¯s headquarters. That left Oroske to help Ensaru make his preparations. He hadn¡¯t left Ensaru¡¯s home quite yet, and was making some preparations to the owner¡¯s specifications - on the off chance Ari or Xeron came there. Mostly setting up protections for sensitive documents and the structure of the house.

    His work at the J¡¯alyr itself was very similar, but much more intensive. Not only were the protections he set up much more complex and difficult to put together, he needed to make a lot more of them. It was a fairly simple spell Ensaru taught him, utilizing Enfer and Anur primarily, forming specific shapes with additional commands to set up passwords to open the seals. Each one he set up here in the offices had a second layer, and a second password.

    After he finished setting those up, he assisted in creating the evacuation plan for the rest of the staff. Oroske didn¡¯t want anyone out of the loop, and wanted to ensure that communications were kept active so everyone could get out. Too many times he hadn¡¯t taken enough precautions, and innocents ended up getting involved. The people working here don¡¯t deserve to die in the name of Ensaru and Yenva¡¯s silly feud. Frankly, Oroske struggled to understand why Ensaru went along with it in the first place. He didn¡¯t always understand the inner workings of these businesses, nor the people at their heads.

    He finished with his part an hour before midday. Good pace, all things considered. He half expected he¡¯d be late for his next appointment. He bid farewell to Ensaru, and began his journey upward. The agreed upon location was on the Second Layer, in roughly an hour. He strolled about casually, allowing himself to take in the sights of Quarry. This city always brought fond memories, and¡­ not so fond memories.

    He shook his head clear of the negative memories, instead remembering the wonder and amazement he felt the first time he¡¯d come here. Oroske always enjoyed looking at the different architecture found across Spire. It¡¯s why he always looked forward to every new city he visited as an apprentice. Out of all the cities he¡¯d been to, Quarry was second only to the Royal City. The City of Towers was impressive, sure, but it didn¡¯t have the legacy, the history, that the Royal City did. Countless battles had been fought where that city stands, and many buildings still bore the scars of the Grand War. The Lords¡¯ manors, for example, all showed signs of being rebuilt multiple times, with different colored layers of brick and stone showing each new iteration.

    But Quarry was something else entirely. The engineering required to ensure the previous layers would still stand, while still allowing space for houses and buildings on the new layer, was incredible. Not to mention the different styles of construction for all of the buildings. Buildings on the same layer generally had the same feeling, color palette, and most often the same method of construction. Each layer was also different. A typical building on the third layer that blends in with its neighbors would stick out like a sore thumb on the fourth layer.

    Oroske took in these sights, admiring the arches and pillars covering the underground landscape. He found himself at the lift before long, catching it just as it came up from the lower layer. There, he met the first of the people he was meeting with. Pemir Ensaru, the director¡¯s adopted daughter. She was a pretty lady, a year older than Oroske. He always suspected she found him attractive by the way they interacted in their youth. Unfortunately, he¡¯d always had other priorities. Dating and getting married just didn¡¯t seem to be in the cards for him, especially after his Second Soul got married.

    She and Ensaru had a very different relationship and the director did with his assistants. Jisei and Guir tended to see Ensaru as a father figure, but being as pragmatic as always, Ensaru never claimed to see them as anything but his most loyal assistants. He had considered officially adopting them at one point, but more for the potential legal benefits the three of them would receive from it. Despite not being terribly involved with the operation of the J¡¯alyr, Pemir was still the heir, and should Ensaru retire or meet an untimely end, she would be put into his position. She accepted that would be her fate, and had been doing her best in recent years to settle down and marry someone who would be more interested in running the business. Of course, if it came to it, Oroske expected she¡¯d take on the role herself - she was, afterall, raised to take over eventually.

    ¡°Oroske,¡± She said, keeping a professional tone as they boarded the lift, ¡°It is good to see you, it has been too long.¡± She offered her hand as they came to a stop, and Oroske shook it. Her ginger hair was naturally straight, but she had it loosely curled, framing a dark face with hard yellow eyes. She wore a black suit with a golden tie, the unofficial uniform of the J¡¯alyr¡¯s legal department.

    ¡°Agreed, Pemir. Far too long.¡± They stood in silence for a moment. ¡°Are you anxious about today¡¯s meeting?¡±

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    ¡°Not at all. I¡¯ve not met our friends, but I have reason to believe they are kind, amicable people.¡±

    Oroske smiled and nodded, and they remained silent for the remainder of the trip.

    They eventually arrived at their destination: an upclass restaurant just off of the main road. Yil and Cera were there waiting for them, seated at an outdoor table. Cera waved them over with a friendly smile.

    ¡°Thank you for coming, Pemir,¡± Yil greeted them as they sat, ¡°And thank you, Oroske for arranging this meeting.¡±

    ¡°I thought you wanted this meeting, Oroske?¡± Pemir asked.

    ¡°I did. Yil simply asked me to arrange it before I could ask him myself about it.¡± Oroske explained.

    ¡°No matter,¡± Yil took control of the conversation, handing out menus for them to look at while discussing. He was awkwardly silent for a moment. ¡°Oroske, you¡¯re probably better at these kinds of topics, and I imagine you wanted to say the same thing as me.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Oroske leaned back, folding his arms, a serious expression on his face. ¡°I will be honest with the three of you. The fight between your parents has reached a boiling point, and a battle is about to break out. I cannot say how this battle will turn out, and it is entirely possible that either of you may suddenly be without your parent. I wanted to tell you all that you should start considering your futures with this in mind. Think about what you¡¯d like to do going forward, especially the two of you heirs.¡± Oroske exhaled, his expression softening slightly. ¡°I also hope that your families are able to get along in the future. There is no reason you need to continue the previous generation¡¯s silly feud.¡±

    The three stewed in silence, only broken by the waiter taking their orders.

    Yil finally spoke again, ¡°I must say, I agree. I¡¯ve met Ensaru but once, and the people of the J¡¯alyr were all very kind to me. I have no reason to hate them.

    ¡°That said, I may be the heir of the Muwal family, but I¡¯m pretty much entirely removed from the Guild, and I would not likely inherit anything but financial stake in the company. The Guild is heavily merit based. My mother only became their leader after several years of dedicating herself to the company, and fighting her way up the ladder. That said, as much as it would upset Aunt Recen, should the worst happen, I will likely pull our family¡¯s funding and financial support from the Guild. I would likely divert the funds towards smaller, research-oriented companies, in hopes of helping secure us a better future overall.¡±

    ¡°Well said,¡± Pemir said, ¡°My own inheritance situation is different, but I would also like to change things with the J¡¯alyr. I also agree, I would like our families to have better relations in the future. Watching my father fight Yenva for so long has tired me of their conflict.¡±

    The group continued to chat. Oroske was happy to see the conversation move to happier topics, each side earnestly interested in getting to know the other. He didn¡¯t speak much for the rest of the meeting, simply acting almost as a chaperone.

    Kuro found the vantage point he wanted faster than he expected. It was perfect, he could not only see directly into the Guild¡¯s front courtyard, he was positive he could make the jump down there to begin his confrontation easily. The height still daunted him, and frankly he was terrified that he¡¯d mistime his wind magic and end up splattered on the floor. He chose not to think about that possibility.

    He¡¯d moved away from the spot, going to a street vendor he¡¯d seen while walking around, picking up a kebab with various grilled meats. He was snacking on them, sitting on a rail where he could see the street in front of the Guild, when a person approached him. They wore a black robe that covered their entire body, with the hood up and their face shrouded. Kuro raised an eyebrow as the person looked up at him. He couldn¡¯t tell the person¡¯s gender, even seeing the outline of their face. Kuro met the figure¡¯s topaz eyes, which seemed kindly and tired, yet betrayed an immense depth to the person¡¯s soul.

    ¡°Ah, here¡¯s an interesting specimen,¡± they spoke. Even their voice sounded like it could belong to either a man or a woman. Kuro was beginning to wonder if they were either. ¡°It seems to me you have a lot you do not know, even about yourself. Am I correct?¡±

    Kuro swallowed the bite he¡¯d taken just before they showed up, shrugging with one arm. His other arm was still numb. ¡°Sure, I lost my memory several months ago. It doesn¡¯t bother me much, though.¡±

    Their topaz eyes narrowed, and Kuro could have sworn a light blue ring appeared around the edge of Their pupils. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you like to know who you were before? Wouldn¡¯t you like to know what fate has in store for you?¡±

    Kuro didn¡¯t need to think about his answer, it welled up inside him quickly as the person spoke. ¡°Well, of course I do. I don¡¯t even know where to begin looking. Nothing we¡¯ve tried has sparked any of my memories to come back yet.¡±

    The person smiled softly, ¡°You¡¯re already on the right path. Continue on your current path, and all of the answers will come eventually.¡±

    ¡°Who are you, anyway?¡± Kuro asked, the first of several questions he would like to ask this mystery figure.

    ¡°Perhaps that too, shall be answered in time.¡± The figure¡¯s eyes returned to normal, and they began to walk away.

    ¡°Hey, wait,¡± Kuro jumped down from his seat on the railing, trying to follow the person. Despite seeming fairly old, they were quick, disappearing into the crowd with ease. ¡°What was up with them? Some people really are strange.¡± He leaned up against the railing, taking another bite of his food.

    He barely swallowed that piece when another figure approached him. While they also were wearing a black coat, this figure was at least familiar.

    ¡°Yo, Kuro.¡± Xeron stood in front of him, ¡°I was hoping we could talk.¡±

 65: UriAri

    -Uri¡¯Ari-

    [An Alten conjunction of the words Uri, meaning blue, and Aris, meaning to cut, or slice. Aris is in an improper noun form, commonly in names or casual conversation.]

    Xeron led Kuro to a nearby restaurant. The owner showed them to a private room, a perk of Xeron¡¯s Hunter status. It was a nice place, marble floors, dark wood tables and chairs, and plenty of windows with stunning views of the lower layer. It felt styled after a castle or fortress, with its large stone brick walls and pillars, it even had small battlements on the roof.

    Their server took their order before leaving, closing the door behind them. The private room was essentially a small booth, with a bench wrapping around the wall, split in the middle where the door was. The wall across from the door was one large window, looking out over the main street of the next layer down. The bench had plush, red cushioning on the seat and backrest.

    There was a tense silence for several minutes, until a knock sounded on the door. Xeron answered, stepping out before coming back in with his and Kuro¡¯s food and drinks. He set the tray on the table as he sat down, before silently taking a few bites of his food. After the first bite, Kuro followed suit.

    When he was about half way through his food, Xeron took a break to speak. ¡°I wanted to tell you, since I saw you prowling around. We¡¯re planning to launch our attack tomorrow, around midday.¡±

    Kuro almost choked on his food, fumbling his swallow. He¡¯s telling me so easily? He swallowed, and looked Xeron in the eyes, trying to discern if he was lying. Well, it¡¯s a poor attempt to trick me if that¡¯s his goal. I¡¯ll still be on the lookout up here.

    There was yet more silence, as Xeron picked his food back up and continued eating. He didn¡¯t speak again until he was done, leaving the two with the silent tension. ¡°I can relate to Yenva, to be honest,¡± He said after taking a sip of his dark, red-colored drink. ¡°I understand her, and her side of this whole argument. Most of all, I can relate to her feelings towards Ensaru.

    ¡°See, Yenva¡¯s family was well enough off to live in luxury, but Recen was raised to be the family heir, and Yenva was allowed to live a much more relaxed life. Recen was talented, incredibly so. But, she made a bad deal, and the family lost a lot of money. She wasn¡¯t disowned entirely, but she was no longer recognized as the heir. Their parents died not long after, leaving Yenva with what little money the family had left, and no talent for work. She got a job with the Guild, and from there, clawed her way to the top. Learning as she went, making countless mistakes.

    ¡°Ensaru, on the other hand, is not only incredibly talented, he was born to inherit the J¡¯alyr. I don¡¯t know the exact event that caused her to begin hating him, but I can imagine Ensaru felt it wasn¡¯t a big deal. For Yenva, however, it was world-ending.¡±

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    ¡°Why are you telling me all of this?¡± Kuro interjected, swallowing the last bit of his own food.

    ¡°Because how Yenva feels about Ensaru, I feel about Oroske.¡± There was a moment of quiet, but Xeron spoke again before Kuro could ask what he meant. ¡°Years before you were born, I had a different mentor that was training me to earn my blue cloak. He was like a brother to me, as well as like a brother to Oroske.

    ¡°His name was Uri¡¯Ari. Despite having no close ties to us, he helped my family a lot. More often than not, he was the reason we had food to eat every night, and he even took me in under his wing. After his passing, my parents decided to name Ari after him.

    ¡°Frankly, I was often jealous of Oroske. The two always seemed so close. Oroske seems to have that effect on people, he was always surrounded by people who seemed to love him. Ari was still a baby when my parents died, and since then I¡¯ve been the main person bringing in money for our family. I¡¯d asked Oroske for help once, shortly after earning my black cloak.¡± Xeron had a pained expression on his face as he recalled the story, ¡°He wouldn¡¯t even give me the time of day. Here was a man so loved, so strong, and trusted, and able to live in a big house with plenty of food. All because he was born under different circumstances to me and my family. And he wouldn¡¯t even look my way.¡±

    Kuro was dumbfounded. He had no idea what to say, or even how to feel. It was difficult to imagine Oroske as anything but the kind, if stern, mentor he¡¯d been with every day since he woke up.

    Xeron laughed solemnly to himself, ¡°These past ten or so years, I¡¯ve always seen him as my rival. Someone to surpass, to out do.¡± He leaned back, looking up to the ceiling, head resting on the back of the bench. ¡°I know that¡¯s silly. There¡¯s a world of difference between us, it¡¯s no wonder he likely would never think of me the same way.¡± He sighed, bringing his head back down after a moment. ¡°Sorry to talk your ear off, Kuro. I wanted to let you know where I stand with this whole thing, even with the recent accusation that Recen is working with the Mienr.¡±

    Xeron stood up, downed the rest of his drink quickly, and walked to the door. ¡°Oh, one last thing,¡± he said before opening it, and making eye contact with Kuro, ¡°I do hope you and Orosk won¡¯t hold back at all. Ari and I will be going all out, and I¡¯d hate to find out you two didn¡¯t return the favor. Don¡¯t forget, tomorrow at noon.¡± He walked out, closing the door behind him.

    Kuro was left alone in the room. He picked up his drink - a glass of some sort of berry juice, he didn¡¯t know what kind - and sipped on it as he thought to himself. I suppose I can see where he¡¯s coming from. I¡¯d probably side with Yenva in that case, too. Thoughts of Jarou, and their relationship came to mind as well. He¡¯d never really thought about it, but he guessed he kind of saw Jarou as a rival. Someone he wanted to be better than, but also someone he cared about.

    He finished his drink, and left the store. He tried to pay them, but they insisted that Xeron¡¯s status as a Hunter meant he didn¡¯t need to worry about it. He walked around for a few hours, thinking about his upcoming battle, or battles, tomorrow. He wished to see the sky, and to lay down in a patch of soft grass. He didn¡¯t want to make the trip up to the surface just for that, though. He returned to Ensaru¡¯s home fairly late, Oroske had already finished eating dinner when he greeted Kuro at the door. Kuro passed on Xeron¡¯s declaration, before heading up to their quarters to get some rest. He kept the rest of the conversation to himself, however.

 66: Xeron

    <b>-Xeron-</b>

    <i>[An Alten word, meaning ¡®pierce,¡¯ or ¡®to pierce.¡¯ Often used to refer to piercings, as well.]</i>

    Ari left right on time, with the clock moving to the fifteen mark at the same time Kuro spotted her dashing across the courtyard, far below on the floor of the lower layer. Xeron had been just out of view, and immediately after he stepped out of hiding, he looked directly at Kuro. Kuro smiled slightly, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

    He threw himself up over the railing, quickly dropping to the distant floor below. <i>Alright, I¡¯ve got one shot at this.</i> He thought to himself as he plummeted. He maintained his posture, feet towards the ground. He hadn¡¯t thought much about how he actually wanted to execute his landing, he figured he¡¯d be able to wing it. When Kuro was roughly half-way down, he began channeling aether, converting it into a wind element in the palm of his left hand. He still hadn¡¯t regained full feeling or control of his right arm, though it was getting there. He was confident he didn¡¯t need it.

    When he was roughly twenty feet away from the ground, he twisted his body so that his left palm was facing the ground. <i>¡®Tur!</i> He exclaimed in his head, delivering the command to the sizable ball of wind magic in his hand. He¡¯d visualized it blasting straight from his hand, and blowing back up toward him. He¡¯d continued channeling aether, fueling his spell as it slowed him down, wind buffeting the surrounding impact area. His palm came inches from the ground as he came to a halt, before being lifted up slightly. He used this upward movement to flip himself forward, landing on his feet. The wind stopped as he landed, and a flash of red light burst from his hand as he pulled his sword - a simple broadsword, cutting edge on both sides - from his Demon Sheath. He pointed it to Xeron, his first opponent of the day.

    Xeron responded in kind, summoning a glaive with a bright blue blade, a white streamer tied to where it joined the pole. <i>This should be an interesting fight,</i> Kuro thought to himself. He¡¯d never had much chance to fight against weapons that weren¡¯t swords or scythes.

    He had a lot of time to consider his approach to this battle. He had trouble sleeping the night before, and got up earlier than normal. Xeron had the height advantage, and physical strength advantage. He was more than a foot taller than Kuro, and while he wasn¡¯t as thickly built as Oroske, he was quite muscular. After much consideration, Kuro decided the best approach would be to be aggressive, and aim to end the fight quickly. As a Hunter himself, he understood that they had a tendency to slowly increment the amount of strength and effort they output. Most fights end up being the Hunter testing the strength and endurance of their opponent, since they know they¡¯ll likely outlast them. Therefore, it would likely catch Xeron off guard if Kuro immediately went full force.

    So he did. Kuro Accelerated, and launched forward, a blast of wind giving him an extra boost, his sword arm falling behind him as he moved, prepared to strike.

    <i>Tick</i>.

    Kuro closed the gap in less than a second in real time, though for him it was a little more than a second. His right foot was forward, firmly planted, and he used the momentum from his initial movement to swing his left arm in an upward arc towards Xeron¡¯s right arm, which held his glaive.

    Xeron must have caught on, and Accelerated himself to match with ease. He moved to the side, his body gradually moving faster as his Acceleration kicked in. Kuro wide open, Xeron punched him in the ribs with enough force to knock him back a couple feet.

    <i>Tock.</i>

    Kuro regained his footing quickly, recovering in time to partially block an overhead blow from Xeron, and safely stepping out of the way.

    Xeron was moving faster, and likely had a deeper Acceleration than Kuro, he realized. It couldn¡¯t be helped, Xeron had significantly more time to practice with it, and Kuro was already at the limit for what he could maintain for long periods of time. It wasn¡¯t so fast that Kuro couldn¡¯t react, and for that reason, he was confident he could manage.

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    Kuro could not put much force into his block as he ineffectively attempted to parry. He covered his feet with selr magic, and attempted to sweep Xeron¡¯s feet out from under him quickly. The older Hunter reacted quickly to the movement, plunging the tip of his glaive into the ground in the same motion he swung with, and jumped up, holding himself aloft as Kuro¡¯s foot swiped at empty air.

    <i>Tick.</i>

    Kuro utilized the momentum from his leg sweep to spin around, attempting another swing at Xeron¡¯s arms. This made his opponent throw himself higher in the air.

    The two cast similar spells simultaneously. Kuro took advantage of his enemy¡¯s airborne status, where he couldn¡¯t dodge, to send a slash of selr, primed to burst upon collision with the target, straight at Xeron¡¯s chest.

    Xeron muttered, his speech sped up by his Acceleration so much that Kuro could barely make out the words, ¡°Rel¡¯ron.¡± A narrow beam of light shot out from in front of his mouth, and pierced Kuro in the same shoulder Recen had hit him in. Initially, it didn¡¯t hurt much, but he quickly felt a burning sensation within. Had that hit sped up the process of ridding him of his paralysis? Kuro rolled the hit shoulder as Xeron fell to the ground, stunned by the intense shock Kuro¡¯s magic delivered. He still couldn¡¯t really move the arm at all, only the shoulder. That was still more progress than he¡¯d had in the days since he was ambushed.

    He couldn¡¯t let himself be idle too long, lest Xeron get back up. He readied his blade and used sentem to leap above his elder. Kuro couldn¡¯t simply <i>kill</i> Xeron, he kept that in mind as his mind raced to determine his approach and actions. He cast two spells in quick succession, another selr¡¯tur, and a maintained downdraft of sentem, as he landed, standing above the black cloak, feet at their sides. He brought his sword to the side of Xeron¡¯s neck, a motion that Hunters often used in training and sparring to silently say ¡°I won.¡±

    <i>Tock.</i>

    Xeron didn¡¯t like that, however. He pushed past the selr shocking him, and the wind being knocked out of him by the constant wind hitting his entire body, pressing down on his chest and filling his throat, and grabbed the blade of Kuro¡¯s sword with his left hand. Xeron¡¯s right arm moved as though he was going to summon another weapon from his Demon Sheath.

    Kuro gave himself an additional burst of Acceleration, which he calculated - and hoped - would be enough to give him an edge. He let go of his sword, and quickly formed a Lightning Blade in his hand, and drove it into Xeron¡¯s chest. <i>He should be strong enough to survive this,</i> Kuro thought to himself, <i>But it should do him in for this battle.</i>

    The sustained current of electricity made Xeron¡¯s body lock up, and he dropped Kuro¡¯s sword. His right hand flashed red in Kuro¡¯s peripheral vision as a sword appeared. His hand twitched, attempting to grip the weapon. After both arms stopped struggling, Kuro dismissed his maintained selr-sword.

    <i>Tick.</i>

    ¡°Damn,¡± Xeron said, the small red glow of Acceleration disappearing from his skin. Kuro undid his as well, still standing over the man¡¯s torso. ¡°Oroske taught you well. I underestimated you.¡± He was struggling to talk, and Kuro was worried he¡¯d really hurt him. Xeron weakly lifted a hand towards Kuro, ¡°You won, I¡¯ll let you go. Help me up first.¡± Kuro pulled him up to a sitting position, and backed up slightly to give him room.

    Xeron had a forlorn expression. ¡°I told you before that Oroske¡¯s relationship with Uin¡¯Ari was a point of jealousy for me, right?¡± Kuro nodded. ¡°Well, there¡¯s more to the story, more reason I hate your mentor. To this day I don¡¯t know why, but Oroske is the one who killed him, along with the rest of the people in their ¡®family.¡¯ Oroske is the only one who¡¯s still alive.

    ¡°They were a group of misfit kids whose parents either all died, disappeared, or simply didn¡¯t love them and gave them up. Danfis took them all in, practically raised them all. While few, if not none, were related by blood, they all considered each other to be family. One day, Oroske killed the majority of them. No one knows why, and he and Danfis refuse to speak of the event.¡±

    Kuro was shocked. ¡°Wh-why are you telling me this?¡±

    ¡°I thought that you should know,¡± Xeron said with a tired shrug, ¡°The Tsumi, especially the elite within the Clan, have a darker side to them than even the public sees. Perhaps¡­ I just wanted someone to know why I hate Oroske so much. It¡¯s for the best that you came instead of him, I may have escalated the fight to the death. You should go, do what you came to do.¡±

    Kuro nodded, ¡°Well, thanks for telling me, I guess.¡± He turned to face the building as Xeron pushed himself off the ground. He didn¡¯t give the man another glance as he sprinted full force towards the building.

    Once inside, he pointed his sword at a receptionist, not taking any time to appreciate the building¡¯s immaculate interior. ¡°Where is the office of Yenva Muwal?¡±

    The receptionist, a young man, stuttered as he spoke, giving directions to her office on the top floor, at the back of the building facing in towards the courtyard. Kuro gave him a small nod, and resumed his full-speed sprint.

    He made his way to the office, busting the door down. Yenva was in a meeting with a lot of important-looking people. Executives within the company, he guessed. She stood up, demanding he explain why he¡¯s there. Kuro could tell she thought she knew why, and looked like she was bracing herself for a fight.

    He pointed his sword not at her, but at Recen. ¡°For no reason other than to kill Recen Muwal.¡±

 67: Ari

    <b>-Ari-</b>

    <i>[A shortened form of the Alten world Aris, meaning ¡®to cut.¡¯ Ari is often used as a suffix in magic to create a slashing or slicing spell. In conversation, Ari is often used as an improper version of the noun form Arim, meaning ¡®cut.¡¯]</i>

    It was an easy, but long, run for Ari to arrive at the J¡¯alyr Headquarters. She thankfully caught a good cycle with the lift, and had no obstacles or interruptions. Until she met Oroske in the small plaza in front of the office building.

    He was relaxing on a bench, and raised a single hand in casual greeting. ¡°Hey, Ari. Here for Ensaru?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Got a problem with that?¡± She bit. She knew he¡¯d try to fight her. And she knew to expect Oroske, instead of Kuro. Xeron found the boy prowling around the day before, and concluded he would likely be the one to go on the offensive. She felt like she could take on Kuro and probably win, but Oroske¡­ Oroske was another story entirely. She doubted he would <i>kill</i> her, but based on some stories Xeron and Orun told her, she couldn¡¯t be entirely sure.

    She clenched her jaw as he stood up, rolling his shoulder and stretching. ¡°Not really, but it <i>is</i> my job to defend him.¡± He said. His calmness was chilling, he didn¡¯t seem to care whatsoever that the two were about to duke it out. His posture and body language was overly relaxed as he summoned his weapon. He chose a simple shortsword to start out with. Ari was familiar with how Hunters typically approached combat, and it seemed Oroske was content to take that approach himself.

    Despite having plenty of time to formulate a plan of attack, Ari didn¡¯t have one. No ideas she came up with seemed particularly good. She never was good about planning out her fights, instead preferring to fly by the seat of her pants and improvising. It had worked out well for her, so far anyway.

    She summoned her own weapon, a modest hand-and-a-half sword. Ari knew that Oroske specialized in greatswords and scythes, while she specialized in swords of various sizes and shapes. She was <i>awful</i> with polearms, and didn¡¯t have the strength to proficiently use greatswords like Oroske did.

    Her opponent was tall, and had a very muscular build. Not as tall as her brother and mentor, but much bigger in other areas. She¡¯d seen him swing around his greatsword one handed as easily as she¡¯d swing around the shortsword he held now.

    The only advantage she could even imagine she had was that her small size allowed her to be agile and move around easily. Truly, a fight against Kuro would have been much more fair.

    She sunk into a stance, and began slowly closing the distance between her and her prey, sword held in both hands next to her head, tip pointing out in a way that would allow her to strike or defend easily. Oroske simply sat there, watching her, spinning his sword in his hand idly at his side. It was frustrating, but she swallowed her annoyance and remained patient.

    Once she deemed she was close enough, she made her first strike. Keeping things simple, she stepped forward with a small Acceleration, and made a downward strike. He¡¯d easily dodged that with a small step back, seeming to match her level of Acceleration with ease. Or rather, it seemed to her on closer inspection, he was at that small level from the moment she¡¯d arrived.

    <i>Tick.</i>

    He didn¡¯t retaliate. Ari had allowed him to step into a role of pure defense by being the first to attack. She didn¡¯t mind, as that meant she controlled the tempo of the battle.

    She fluidly moved her sword around as she stepped forward again, striking powerfully at his side with a horizontal swing from her left. She expected him to block with his sword, but instead, a small wall of water deflected the blade. He¡¯d made the first move to escalate the difficulty level of the fight.

    Ari remained patient, focusing on her footwork and positioning as she continued to attempt to strike him. On every other blow, she¡¯d increment her Acceleration slightly, allowing her to seem like she was increasing her pace without actually doing so. A battle against the so-called ¡°strongest Hunter¡± wasn¡¯t going to be won with her going full force from the get-go. She needed to remain patient, and play her hand well if she wanted to even land a hit on the man.

    <i>Tock.</i>

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    After a handful of swings, she played the first of these ¡®cards.¡¯ She began to add in an unaspected ¡®ari¡¯ to her swings, delayed ever so slightly to create the effect that she¡¯s swinging twice in one movement. This managed to catch him off guard, as when she broke through his water shield with the first swing, suddenly a second, nearly invisible, slice came through. He was able to dodge just in time, and it barely nicked the cloth on his coat. Had he not dodged, it would have hit him square in the right shoulder, and been a tough blow for this early in their fight. For the first time since he first spotted her, his expression changed: his lips formed a small, almost imperceptible, smile.

    She continued trying out this gambit for another moment before adding in an element to the swings. The choice was obvious to her as it was her own affinity, fyrun. She added it not only to the ari-magic fueled slice, but to her regular sword swing as well. Fyrun and orun magic had an interesting interaction when the two collided the way they were now. Most people thought of the ¡®fyrun¡¯ element as being fire, and ¡®foluk¡¯ being flame. This misconception was deepened by the fact that the most common suffix to give ¡®fyrun¡¯ was ¡®¡®tur,¡¯ to give it a nice blasting quality. While it¡¯s not inaccurate to call it fire, fyrun¡¯s primary difference to foluk is that it is inherently more of a burst of fire, rather than a persistent flame. The way Orun had taught her to think of it was that in its smallest, most natural form, fyrun is more like sparks, and when you use it as a magic element, the reaction is as though you¡¯d just struck flint with steel, and created the small blast of heat that creates those sparks. So, while the common expectation would be that this fire magic would be neutralized by the water magic, orun, the actual result is more like a superheating of the water, turning it into steam. With its natural blast-like properties as well, it was very effective at breaking through Oroske¡¯s water shields, evaporating most of it, and splashing and throwing the rest out of the way.

    The first time this new combination hit, Oroske¡¯s smile widened to a full grin. It seemed he was finding this battle enjoyable. That filled Ari with pride. That someone of Oroske¡¯s position and reputation found a battle against her interesting in the least was something that she¡¯d brag about for years to come.

    She quickly hit her cap for Acceleration increments, and began to increment her actual speed and effort. At the same time, she began introducing more slices of ari magic. The second slash she introduced was loaded in front of her actual sword, allowing her to either break through the orun barrier earlier, or get in a slash before the barrier could be formed. She also started to moderately change the angle of her ari slices to be more direct toward his body.

    <i>Tick.</i>

    The next she introduced, a handful of this triple-slash combination, was the first she¡¯d introduced that was entirely separated from the others, rising towards him when the primary slash was falling, and vice versa, coming in from the left when she swung from the right. The first one came very close to hitting him, with him barely dodging out of the way in time to get away with his pant leg being cut.

    <i>Tock</i>.

    From here, she¡¯d raise the intensity much more quickly. He was caught in her rhythm, and she still had one major card to play. Before that though, she¡¯d introduced more simultaneous slashes, coming in from different angles.

    <i>Tick.</i>

    Soon, he was having to block five separate cuts at the same time. Then each of those five were doubled, so he¡¯d have to block them twice each. He had fallen into the rhythm, and got a feel for her attack pattern. Neither showed the other any signs of fatigue. It was quite taxing for Ari to manage so many slashes being created at once, not to mention affixing each one with a fyrun element, and changing up their start locations each time. She pressed on anyway, it wasn¡¯t so exhausting she couldn¡¯t do it for long periods of time. She hadn¡¯t even hit her maximum yet. She¡¯d gone on doing this for over an hour, with seven simultaneous slashes, all with delayed second hits.

    <i>Tock.</i>

    Once she was positive her opponent was caught up in the rhythm enough, she prepared her final trick. It was a dirty one, but one that had won her many fights in the past. One final slash, that started behind her opponent, and had a different delay timing than the rest of the slashes. In her brief experimenting, she found it most effective when it was completely incongruous with the rhythm of her other attacks. Once she had the commands prepared, and the spacing figured out, she unleashed it.

    In the blink of an eye, just after she heard the fyr¡¯ari connect, and felt the heat rush towards her instead of away like the rest of her blows had, her arm was suddenly stopped by a hand. The slashes of ari magic, not actually tied to the actual swinging of her sword, hit a solid wall of orun, which dissipated to reveal nothing but a large cloud of steam.

    She looked up behind her, and saw Oroske, holding her back with a bloodied arm. He gave her a kind smile. ¡°You¡¯ve become an impressive fighter, Ari. You should be proud of yourself. Had that been anyone else, you likely would have killed them with that move.¡± He dismissed his sword into his Demon Sheath, and raised his now free hand, ¡°I declare you the winner of this battle. Congratulations, you deserve it.¡±

    ¡°I- What?¡± Ari stammered, stunned by how fast he was able to move, and his declaration.

    ¡°You landed a blow on me. A good enough blow to draw blood, at that. There aren¡¯t many who can claim that, you know.¡± He let go of her hand, and began walking to the J¡¯alyr¡¯s front door. ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll take you to Ensaru.¡±

    After a stunned moment, she ran after him. ¡°Are you sure about that? He¡¯s your employer, and I¡¯m here to <i>kill </i>him.¡±

    ¡°Of course I¡¯m sure,¡± he said, his grin having never left his face, ¡°I think you won fair and square, and deserve the chance to do your job.¡±

 68: Recen

    <b>-Recen-</b>

    <i>[An ancient Terrai¡¯en word, the meaning has been lost. Records indicate there was a major city with the name.]</i>

    Recen straightened out, glaring at Kuro. ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± She demanded. ¡°You¡¯re here to kill <i>me?</i> Who even are you?¡±

    Kuro fished his pendant out from under his shirt, and held it out on display to the crowd of shareholders and business partners. ¡°My name is Kuro Tsumi. You made a mistake revealing your hand to me, Recen. As you have admitted to me yourself that you are working with the Mienr of the New Spire Empire, by authority given to the Tsumi Clan by the Guardians, I have come to kill you.¡±

    That was all he needed to say. Recen launched herself at him, drawing a blade made from her special blood magic. He deflected her first swing with ease, confirming that the bloodblade is solid enough to be blocked with a regular sword. He set himself up to be able to dodge it had it <i>not</i> been, but he was relieved that traditional blocking worked.

    Unlike his battle with Xeron, Kuro had an actual, well thought-out plan for this battle. Here, he found himself in phase one, where he got to focus almost exclusively on defense, while guiding Recen out of the building. He wanted to give her the impression he was on his back foot, and that she had the upper hand. A classic Hunter¡¯s approach to combat. Kuro also wanted to see just how far Recen could go by only using her cursed blood magic, so he¡¯d also be attempting to bait her into pushing herself more and more as the fight went on.

    The two combatants burst out of the meeting room and into the hallway. Kuro had done some brief planning of his route on his way up here. He¡¯d identified a series of windows on the front of the building that were on every floor, and he planned to lead her there and jump out.

    Kuro sidestepped another lunge, and used that movement to turn down the hall. Recen brought out a second bloodblade as she turned to chase. <i>That¡¯ll make things more interesting</i>, he thought to himself, <i>Good thing I expected something like this.</i>

    She swung at him again, and he clumsily blocked the lower two of the blades, while stepping deftly to avoid the other blade. They exchanged blows like these several times until they neared the corner. He was starting to understand her rhythm and getting a feel for the blocking and dodging required of him, barely sidestepping many of her swings. He was mid turn when he fortunately caught a glimpse of a gambit she was attempting. He saw a small drop of blood separate from her hand, before disappearing behind her. It took a long arc around, and he determined it was on track to hit him in the shoulder. He¡¯d thought about using his right arm to wield a second sword himself, but while his feeling was mostly back up to his elbow, he still couldn¡¯t form a fist.

    Acknowledging that he¡¯d be hit by it even if he managed to dodge both swords, Kuro knew he had to break out what he¡¯d practised with Oroske extensively the night before. It would be nice once he¡¯d played the card, it meant he¡¯d be able to stop dodging. He gave himself a small Acceleration to assist him with the timing. He let it get within a few inches of hitting him as he casually dodged. <i>Anur,</i> he gave the mental command, and a small, nearly transparent white square appeared directly in front of the projectile¡¯s path, blocking it.

    It was Ensaru¡¯s idea for him to practice with anur. It was surprisingly easy to pick up, but getting it to appear exactly where he wanted was difficult to master. Oroske was at a point where he could, at a near-subconscious level, get a very small shield up at the last possible moment, just big enough to block whatever attack was coming.

    Kuro wasn¡¯t nearly at that level, to block this small drop of blood he ended up using a six-by-six inch square, and the drop hit near the bottom left. He¡¯d still need to practice more, this would be a good opportunity.

    Kuro had to step up his Acceleration quite a bit to be able to keep up with the onslaught. Recen, as a Human, could not use Acceleration, and Kuro was impressed at her natural speed. He wondered at the possibility that her adrenaline rush gave her a natural bit of Acceleration, it was one of the only ways he could fathom her being able to keep up so easily.

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    As they continued down the hallway, Recen kept upping the intensity, and eventually Kuro was managing her two bloodblades, and her volleys of four projectiles, which she intentionally shot out with no sense of rhythm. That meant he had to stay focused, and could only react to them. He thought about swinging back at her, giving her the illusion that he was doing more than simply leading her away. He decided to stick to his defense-only approach for now, he would have his chance to fight.

    As they approached the window, he could tell she was frustrated at his lack of return offense. He smiled slightly as he blocked another two bullets, parrying a swing and casually sidestepping the other sword. Vestiges of natural light - that¡¯s all you truly got on the bottom layer of Quarry - came into view, pooling in through the window. He was close. He took a few more steps backwards toward the glass, and readied a healthy-sized fireball created with a mental fyr¡¯tur command. He launched it with his right hand, which gave a pins-and-needles sensation as the numbness began to fade. He¡¯d still not be able to grip a weapon in it, or use it for any sort of dexterous movement. Using it as the start point for this spell was more a tactic to get into Recen¡¯s head than anything.

    The glass shattered a few feet away behind him, and as he blocked the next two bullets, he dodged both swings at once, jumping out the window. He backflipped in the air before glancing to make sure Recen followed him. She wore her annoyance on her face as she prepared to jump out herself. He turned his attention to the quickly approaching ground, and prepared a small burst of sentem to catch him and smooth his landing. How would Recen approach her landing?

    He landed, quickly bending one leg and catching himself on his left hand to disperse the force even more. He looked up in time to see that Recen had created a sort of rail that she slid down out of her blood magic, which allowed her to descend quickly but without necessarily falling. She angled the end of it upwards, giving her lift off just before she hit the ground, and launched herself at Kuro. She swung both swords at him from above, and he had to use his still mostly paralyzed arm to assist in holding his blade to block.

    ¡°If you surrender,¡± Kuro said to her as she held herself up, trying to push his limits on how long he could hold the guard. He saw two more bullets launch as he spoke, ¡°And if you talk, and give me the information I want, I will let you live. You don¡¯t have to die here.¡±

    ¡°Like hell I¡¯d sell out the Mienr!¡± She yelled at him, seeing her blood bullets get blocked yet again as they approached his back. She pushed off, doing an admittedly impressive acrobatic maneuver before landing a few feet away.

    ¡°Very well, no mercy then.¡± Kuro said with a shrug. Finally, he could switch to an offensive approach. He wanted to end the fight quickly, like he had with Xeron. He¡¯d have an easier time of it, as he¡¯d gotten quite familiar with Recen¡¯s capabilities and the way she moves in a fight.

    Kuro didn¡¯t need his Acceleration, and he felt his mind getting tired from maintaining it, so he dropped it. He covered his sword in selr, and with a boost of Sentem launched himself at her. She was already making her approach to continue her onslaught as well, and Kuro read her movements, determining how he¡¯d close the gap. She was going for another vertical swing, bringing both swords from the ground up. He got in close before she could make much progress on the swing, as she¡¯d have expected him to be further away, and delivered a punch straight to her ribs. She staggered, her movement interrupted, and Kuro delivered a quick uppercut, cutting off her left arm at the shoulder. A fair move, he thought, taking away her non-dominant arm the way she¡¯d done to him.

    She screamed as she pulled away, clutching at her shoulder. She must have used her special magic, as the blood stopped flowing quickly.

    ¡°Last chance,¡± he said, bringing the tip of his sword to her neck, ¡°Surrender, and sell out your friends.¡±

    ¡°Never,¡± she said, out of breath. Behind her, Yenva and a few of the Guild¡¯s board members exited the building.

    Kuro sighed, pulling his sword back slightly as he stepped forward, and bringing it in for a better angle. He flared his Acceleration briefly, swinging as fast as he could in that state to ensure she couldn¡¯t possibly get away. His sword cut cleanly through her neck, and the speed of the cut sent her head into the air a fair height. He undid his Acceleration, and dismissed his blade.

    Recen¡¯s face still had the same expression on it, anger mixed with disgust and pain, as it landed on the ground, blood oozing from both ends of the cut as the body also crumpled to the ground. Her sister and coworkers looked on in horror.

    Kuro retained a stoic expression, trying to seem confident in his decision, and cold in his emotions. Inside, however, he was conflicted on if he¡¯d made the right choice.

 69: Ensaru

    <b>-Ensaru-</b>

    <i>[An Alten word, meaning ¡°world¡± or ¡°planet.¡±]</i>

    Ari had a feeling Oroske wouldn¡¯t answer any more questions she asked, and so the two walked through the halls of the office building in silence. It was eerie seeing the place be practically abandoned. Not a single worker in sight. It was wise, she supposed, to evacuate all innocents so that they don¡¯t get caught in the crossfire.

    She hadn¡¯t previously taken a proper look around, and she was surprised that she found she quite liked the place. It wasn¡¯t nearly as grand as Grand Stone¡¯s HQ, but it was a comfortable office space. The walls and lights were a nice, warm color, as opposed to the Guild¡¯s cold white lights, on an even colder black and white color scheme. There was also significantly less wasted space. If you weren¡¯t in a walkway, you were in either a cubicle, an office, or a meeting room.

    She didn¡¯t know if she¡¯d like <i>working</i> there, but it had a certain charm to it that she appreciated. It felt more homely than corporate.

    She was distracting herself, she realized as they rounded the stairs to the third floor, which seemed a copy of the two floors below it. Ari had no idea what to expect for her encounter with Ensaru, and she was beginning to suspect she and Xeron had miscalculated by sending her.

    Her employer, Yenva, likely wouldn¡¯t be able to put up much of a fight if Kuro got past Xeron. If she knows any magic whatsoever, odds are it was utilitarian in nature: spells to assist in her work, rather than fight. Even if she were highly proficient with a weapon, that¡¯s not enough in the modern world where every combat encounter, both sides use at least a little magic. She¡¯d be as defenseless as a child.

    She and Xeron would have expected the same for Ensaru, especially with how old he was. It was common knowledge that Aetheric strength weakened as you got to about fifty or sixty years old, and that weakening could be quite drastic.

    Yet here was Oroske, confidently and calmly, <i>leading</i> the person that would kill his employer without a second thought, directly to their office.

    Something was up, and she had no idea what to expect.

    After a few minutes of thinking and walking, Ari still had no idea what Oroske¡¯s game was, and they arrived at a large door on the top floor, near the back of the building. Oroske knocked in a familiar rhythm - Xeron often knocked the same way - and the door swung open inwards. There, the director himself sat on a desk, lit from behind by the vestiges of light travelling in through the window. His two assistants were on standby next to him. Something was <i>wrong</i> here. All four people had this unnerving calmness to them.

    ¡°I thought you might let yourself lose, Oroske,¡± the older looking of the two assistants said in a flat voice.

    He just shrugged, ¡°She got a good hit on me, I was impressed.¡± His bleeding had stopped a while ago, which confirmed her suspicions that her attack didn¡¯t cut very deeply. ¡°Come on you two, let¡¯s leave them to their fight.¡± He gestured for the assistants to follow him. He pulled the door behind him, and just before shutting it fully he paused. ¡°Oh, and Ensaru. <i>Please</i> try not to kill her, okay? She shows promise, and I¡¯d hate to have her blood on my hands.¡±

    ¡°I will do my best,¡± Ensaru said, waving his hand to gesture to him to leave. The door shut with a click behind Ari.

    She immediately summoned a sword from her Demon Sheath, and Ensaru stood up. He reached behind him and grabbed a sword of his own, already out of its sheath. It was an elegant weapon, a silver-colored rapier with an impressively ornate handguard. He stuck the tip in the ground and met her eyes.

    ¡°Shall we get started?¡± He asked, his voice smooth for one so old.

    She prepared herself to launch at him. It had been a while since she fought in such a small and cluttered space, but she found she was good at these kinds of scenarios. Just in case, she planned to end the fight quickly, and would go all-out from the get-go.

    Just as she pushed off, however, Ensaru suddenly appeared much further away from her, the space in the room extending and distorting. The colors shifted, starting from the space between them, from the browns and reds of the room, to a sky-blue expanse that surrounded them completely. It truly felt like she was in the sky, complete with clouds. But there was no ground below her, just more blue skies. Yet, she found she¡¯d never left the ground. Taking a cautious step backwards, she found it more firm than the wooden flooring of the office, more like stone.

    ¡°What¡­ What is this?¡± she asked out loud, looking around, trying to stop herself from panicking. She was failing. ¡°Where are we?!¡± She shouted, pointing her sword at Ensaru who now stood roughly forty feet away.

    He gave a sly smile as he explained, ¡°We are in a Reality Bubble. It¡¯s¡­ Well it¡¯s a very complex subject, and I imagine the Guardians would be more upset that I explained it than they already would be that I used it.¡± Stone pillars started to appear, rising from the emptiness below and stopping at varying heights above them. One picked Ari up and boosted her up to be slightly above most of them. ¡°Think of it as set dressing, something I¡¯m doing to make our fight a little more interesting,¡± He said as he came back into view, riding on his own pillar, the tip of his sword pressed into the stone..

    There were several pillars, each several feet from each other, and they¡¯d have to jump to travel between them. Each one was roughly three feet wide, meaning they¡¯d be able to stand on the same pillar, but it wouldn¡¯t be a comfortable fit.

    The Director bowed, one hand on the pommel of his sword, the other on his chest, ¡°Let us begin.¡±

    Ari didn¡¯t hesitate, moving at the same time as him, hopping from platform to platform, doing her best not to think too hard about how high they were - and what would happen if she fell. She would stick to her plan and go all out, rather than ramping up to her peak. Once they were only a couple pillars apart, she burst into her Acceleration, at the fastest she could manage consistently, and began preparing the same onslaught of spells she¡¯d used against Oroske, minus the fyrun attribute. She¡¯d want to test the waters at least a little bit before deciding which element, or elements, to use.

    <i>Tick</i>.

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    She launched at him, her speed the same to herself, but drastically faster to Ensaru. His speed was much slower to her, as well, which made reading his movements much easier. With her delayed ari spells at the ready and in position around him, she felt she had him pinned. She would swing horizontally at his neck, aiming to decapitate, meanwhile she had four separate instances of her Delayed Slashes positioned in a circle around him, aimed in different orientations to account for how he might respond, if by some miracle he was able to.

    She slashed while still mid-air. He was still slower than her, but he locked eyes with her and leaned backwards to dodge the attack, his neck barely clearing the blade. She¡¯d timed her Delayed Slashes to hit just after her main attack would have, so if that was all he¡¯d do to dodge she should-

    He vanished.

    The Delayed Slashes passed straight through where he stood, and one that she¡¯d aimed upwards behind him grazed her cheek.

    She landed, but didn¡¯t undo her Acceleration, and quickly looked around for her opponent. He was behind her, two platforms behind where she¡¯d jumped at him from.

    ¡°Impressive,¡± he said, the same smile still on his face. ¡°You¡¯re still so young, and yet you can Accelerate to this speed already. Not to mention that application of ari magic! Oroske wasn¡¯t lying when he said you have potential.¡±

    He had a strange, red-gold glow around him. He was Accelerating. <i>But,</i> Ari thought to herself, <i>He¡¯s Human. Energy Manipulation is a Demon ability, that should be impossible.</i> She¡¯d heard rumors of Humans who had somehow learned how to use Demon Sheath, another Energy Manipulation ability, but she¡¯d never <i>believed</i> those rumors. <i>Just who </i>is<i> this guy?</i>

    <i>Tock.</i>

    She swung her sword in a vertical swing, a sort of kinetic focus for three slashes of magic she¡¯d sent out at the same time, infused with fyrun. Ensaru dodged the three easily, jumping to another platform. He landed as the three slashes collided and exploded. Chunks of the stone pillar were missing. They hadn¡¯t broken off the pillar and fallen, however. It seemed more like the explosion had completely erased them. That confirmed for Ari that the pillars are formed of aether, which meant they must be getting sustained by Ensaru. Just how powerful could this man be, she wondered.

    Ari couldn¡¯t afford to stand around and think, so she launched herself once more at her opponent. She coated her sword in fyrun, and prepared several more Delayed Slashes, including a few that would swing out from her actual sword, and a couple pointed in such a way to attempt to catch him if he moved again. She was aiming a thrust for his chest this time, but still looked at the neck as though that were her target.

    After she¡¯d jumped, she was still a few feet away when suddenly another stone pillar slammed into her from her left side. It hit her hard, and it hit her fast, and it sent her flying through the air, away from Ensaru. Another pillar rose, forming a wall that she was thrown against. The momentum from her flight kept her pinned there for a short second, and after she fell she landed with a <i>thud</i> on another platform of stone. She groaned in pain, dropping her sword on the ground and grabbing at her left arm. She was almost positive it had broken between the shoulder and elbow, if her forearm wasn¡¯t also broken. The wall slam probably cracked a rib or two, as well.

    <i>Tick.</i>

    Her Acceleration was fluctuating as she grabbed her sword again and stood. She wouldn¡¯t go down that easily. This battle was to the death, as far as she was concerned.

    Ensaru was walking towards her with a casual stride. This revealed just how unstable her Acceleration was, as he¡¯d occasionally fastforward for a few steps. Her mind felt cloudy, it was difficult to even maintain the manipulation of energy to fuel it. She took a deep breath, and stabilized the speed. Slower than she¡¯d started, and that meant she was at a severe disadvantage for the rest of combat.

    Ensaru still had his small smile, as he got closer. It was at this point Ari realized he¡¯d formed solid ground between the pillars, allowing him to walk easily to her. He seemed to realize she¡¯d slowed down her Acceleration, and he modulated his own to match.

    ¡°You¡¯re still standing,¡± he said, his expression never changing, ¡°I am truly impressed. Unfortunately, I think this is where I must end it.¡±

    Ari went to swing at him again, and fired off a few instances of ari at him. Something stopped her at her wrist, and he blocked all three slashes with a wall of stone he¡¯d brought up quickly. She looked at her arm, and saw the wall behind her had grown an arm, and was holding onto her tightly. The ground grew in a similar way, holding her by her ankles, leaving only her most likely broken left arm free.

    The stone wall lowered as quickly as it was raised, and Ensaru stepped up to her. ¡°This may hurt a little bit,¡± He said, his voice cold, ¡°But I fear any other approach to stopping you will end up with you sustaining a long term injury, or perhaps even dying.¡±

    <i>Tock.</i>

    He pointed a finger at her chest, close but not quite touching. He whispered something she didn¡¯t catch, and a small blue spark travelled from his finger to her body. She felt a sudden jolt underneath her skin. No, underneath her whole self, as though her soul itself was delivered an immense electric shock. Her Acceleration dropped completely, and she couldn¡¯t even sense the aether around her anymore. Her body went limp, though she was still vaguely conscious. She fought to keep her eyes open, but after a few short moments, she passed out.

    Ari awoke some time later, laying down on a wooden desk. Her jacket had been taken off, and was hanging on a wall. She sat up, her body screaming out in pain. She simply bore it. She recognized the room as the office she¡¯d found Ensaru in.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Oroske said with a small wave, ¡°Good morning. Ensaru will be back shortly. He said you put up a good fight. That¡¯s high praise, coming from him. Trust me.¡±

    ¡°Just¡­ Who is he?¡± Ari said between labored breaths.

    ¡°That¡¯s not my secret to tell,¡± Oroske said with a shrug, ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m not sure I know the truth myself.¡±

    So many questions raced in her head, she couldn¡¯t decide what to ask first.

    Thankfully, the door opened moments later, and Ensaru walked in.

    ¡°Oh good, you¡¯re alive.¡± He said dryly. ¡°I was a little worried I went too far. Oroske was right, though, you are much tougher than you seem.¡±

    ¡°Why did you spare me?¡±

    Ensaru looked confused, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I? Oroske specifically asked me not to, and I agree wholeheartedly with his analysis that you have <i>great</i> potential. It pains me to see such potential wasted.

    ¡°That, and, I wanted to speak of my side of this conflict with Yenva,¡± He said, pausing to take a seat. Ari slowly moved so she was sitting on the desk, facing him. He sighed, ¡°It really is such a foolish feud. As I¡¯ve explained to Oroske and Kuro, I don¡¯t necessarily want Yenva dead. But when my spies told me she¡¯d submitted a request to the Hunters for me to be assassinated, I decided I must at least play along. After all, there are incredibly few people left on Spire who could possibly defeat me at this point. One of whom is a close friend.¡± He gestured to Oroske, who smiled and waved. ¡°So I figured I would be safe. I¡¯ve gone along with this feud for so long because I saw it helping her achieve her goals. While it was never made formal, I often thought of her as my pupil. But this has gone on long enough, perhaps too long. So, I sent for Oroske to help me. Either she would perish at his hands, or she would get intimidated and allow for us to reconcile our differences.

    ¡°My J¡¯alyr is not performing as well as it once had, and I¡¯ve had hopes of forming an alliance of sorts with Grand Stone. Yenva has made that difficult, as I¡¯m sure you can imagine. I know not how Kuro has fared with his battles, but I have hopes that this incident will resolve in my favor.¡±

    Ari nodded, considering. It made enough sense. Still, there was much in his words to worry her. Oroske was strong enough to defeat this monster? She wondered how strong he was, really.

    ¡°How long was I out for, by the way?¡± She asked, the realization that she had no idea what time it was.

    ¡°Only an hour or so,¡± Oroske said, standing up. ¡°We bound up your left arm, do you feel like you can walk?¡± She nodded. ¡°Great, I¡¯d like to see how things are going at Grand Stone. Care to come along, either of you?¡±

    Both agreed, and Oroske helped Ari stand, supporting her until she settled on her weight and was confident she could walk on her own. Ensaru apologized for her injuries as they walked out of the room.

 70: Family

    <b>-Family-</b>

    <i>[A group of people related to each other, whether by blood, law, or simply shared values and love for eachother.]</i>

    <b>Twenty-four Years Ago</b>

    Oroske was leaning with his back against the railing, the only thing keeping him from falling into the Rift. He was on the job, so he wore his blue coat, a sign of his ¡®apprentice¡¯ rank. He was ready to move on, but for some reason hesitated to take his Black Cloak certification exam. Despite his status as an apprentice, he was allowed to take on jobs without his mentor. An exception to the rules. He always seemed to be an exception. He noticed it, just as he noticed his peers talking about it, complaining.

    Well, it was no fault of his.

    As he stared at the sky, the Ring of Stars shining brightly above, he clung to a faint, dying hope that his intel would be wrong, and that he wouldn¡¯t have to go through with the job assigned to him tonight. Yet a part of him hoped it was right, and he could have vengeance for his siblings. His heart and mind were both conflicted. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his nerves.

    He opened them slowly as he heard booted footsteps approaching. He sighed as he looked at the only other person on the bridge - a boy barely two years older than himself.

    ¡°Uri, please,¡± Oroske pleaded softly, ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this. I¡¯m sure if you explain yourself, Danfis will forgive you.¡±

    The boy stopped a few feet away. He was wearing a plain white button-up shirt, tucked neatly into his black pants. He had a black jacket folded over one arm, which surprised Oroske. He thought Uri¡¯Ari would have left his cloak behind. Maybe there was some hope.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do that, Oroske.¡± He said calmly, ¡°I know he sent you here to kill me, to ensure I don¡¯t make it out. I know he¡¯s had you do it to others, too.¡±

    ¡°Only because-¡±

    ¡°Shut up, already. What I did is unforgivable in his eyes. If I went back, he¡¯d just kill me himself.¡± Uri¡¯Ari summoned a glaive from his Demon Sheath. ¡°I won¡¯t let you stand in my way, Oroske. I¡¯ve already killed two of our ¡®siblings,¡¯ what¡¯s one more?¡±

    Oroske took a step back, not in fear, but to brace himself for combat.

    Hearing his brother openly admit to his murders made him wince, but in reality Oroske had killed more of them. None of them were siblings by blood, save for the twins. Instead, they were all orphans who Danfis adopted, and raised as his own. This initiative started before Oroske was born, and even before Danfis took up his current name and title. Danfis did it in waves, and many of the first group of children he raised now served as his Red Cloaks. Their family was once quite large, and now only a handful remained.

    Oroske shook his head, attempting to dismiss those painful thoughts. He wasn¡¯t entirely successful. He knew Danfis didn¡¯t blame him entirely for the accident that killed many of them, and he <i>had</i> since learned to control the abilities that caused it. The guilt still weighed heavy on his shoulders.

    He was forcefully drawn from his thoughts as he narrowly dodged a flash of blue light, as Uri¡¯Ari performed a lightning-fast uppercut with his glaive, the weapon¡¯s white tassel streaming behind, pulled taught by his inertia. It was a beautiful weapon. Danfis had gifted the blue-bladed weapon to Uri¡¯Ari when he earned his black cloak - a sort of graduation gift. Since then, Oroske hadn¡¯t seen him fight without it.

    The two were quite similar physically, roughly the same height and build. Even their appearances were similar, though Uri¡¯Ari had red eyes in stark contrast to Oroske¡¯s green. Their similarities stopped there. Uri¡¯Ari always had a certain grace to him that Oroske simply couldn¡¯t match, present even in the way he walked. His fighting was quick and brutal, yet very methodical. Uri¡¯Ari was probably the only Hunter who didn¡¯t care to drag out a fight, instead trying to end all of his encounters quickly and with minimal movement.

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    In that, the two were complete opposites. Oroske could be brutal, but he always relished in the challenge of an encounter. He liked the slow drawing out of his enemies¡¯ potential, and especially enjoyed seeing them run out of steam and get exhausted. He had decided that would be how he handles this battle while waiting for his opponent to arrive. He would simply defend, and ensure he remains between Uri¡¯Ari and the Human Realm behind him. He coated a fist in orun, a raging pool of water swirling around his hand, and swung a punch towards Uri¡¯Ari¡¯s face.

    His opponent jumped backwards, as he¡¯d hoped. ¡°Why did you kill them? Surely you had a reason.¡± Oroske asked.

    ¡°Gold has a plan,¡± Uri¡¯Ari stated plainly as he stepped in, swinging at Oroske again, ¡°I don¡¯t know the full details, but he has promised me a place in the world he will create.¡± He paused, bringing his weapon around for another attack after Oroske deftly dodged again. ¡°Gold <i>knows</i> things, Oroske, and I intend to squeeze out every secret I can.¡±

    ¡°Then what?¡± Oroske asked, punching Uri¡¯Ari¡¯s weapon head-on, the swirling water violently deflecting the horizontal slash upward, knocking Uri¡¯Ari completely off balance. ¡°Come crawling back to the Clan? What do you hope to accomplish after you get these secrets?¡±

    Uri¡¯Ari used the momentum of his weapon being reflected to assist in backpedalling a small distance, before spinning the glaive around and stepping in, thrusting the weapon towards Oroske¡¯s chest. ¡°I¡¯ll figure that out once I get there, I suppose.¡± He had a wild look in his eyes as he said that.

    The two clashed like this for several minutes. Oroske took small steps, giving as little ground as possible with each blow. They¡¯d made it significantly closer to the landmass of the Human Realm before Oroske decided he was cutting it close.

    He¡¯d ask one last question before ending it, a personal curiosity. ¡°Why those two specifically?¡±

    ¡°Ma¡¯al dying is an important event for Gold¡¯s plans, apparently. He wouldn¡¯t tell me why,¡± Uri¡¯Ari explained casually, ¡°Henmur was because of a personal grudge. Gold told me to kill Ma¡¯al and at least one other within our circle, so he was an easy pick.¡±

    ¡°An easy pick?¡± The idea that he saw one of his family as an ¡®easy pick¡¯ for who to kill angered Oroske greatly. Uri¡¯Ari was in between his attacks at that moment, and Oroske decided now would be as good a time as any to end it. He flashed his Acceleration, a technique that only a few Hunters really knew about and fewer could use effectively. This let him step into range faster than Uri¡¯Ari could swing, and he delivered a fierce punch directly to his opponent¡¯s face.

    The swirling orun around Oroske¡¯s fist caused Uri¡¯Ari to fly backwards in a corkscrew, landing on his front side a good ten feet away. Oroske took a few heavy breaths as he approached, and Uri¡¯Ari began trying to stand.

    ¡°I wish I didn¡¯t have to do this,¡± he said to the man, who was currently on his knees, clutching his face with one hand. He grabbed Uri¡¯Ari by his collar, yanking him upwards, before spinning him around. Still holding him by his shirt collar, he delivered another punch, this time to the stomach. Uri¡¯Ari¡¯s hand fell from his face, revealing the cut up mess his earlier punch caused.

    Now for the part he really didn¡¯t like. Oroske transformed the swirling orun around his right into blades that followed along each of his fingers, extending an inch or so beyond the tips. He then thrust that hand into Uri¡¯Ari¡¯s chest, effortlessly sinking his fingers a couple inches into the man¡¯s skin. Not quite at his heart, he began to channel veros - the aspect of souls. What he was about to do, he¡¯d once done on accident to several of his close friends. He still hadn¡¯t forgiven himself. This would be the first time he¡¯d do it intentionally. With his soul magic, he reached for Uri¡¯Ari¡¯s soul, wrapping invisible tendrils of aether around it.

    Then he squeezed, ramping up the intensity of his grip until-

    <i>Pop</i>.

    Like a balloon, filled with too much air, Uri¡¯Ari¡¯s soul <i>popped.</i> In Oroske¡¯s perspective, it was over almost immediately, but Uri¡¯Ari would feel something much worse. It starts with a small tear forming in the ¡®bubble¡¯ that holds your soul together, and as the aether that makes up ¡®you¡¯ rushes out, the tear increases, causing an intense burning feeling deeper than your flesh and bone. Beyond that, it also messes with your mind and body¡¯s connection to your soul - an extremely painful experience, as you become an abomination in the eyes of Natural Law.

    Uri¡¯Ari still stood after the experience, all light gone out from his eyes. Technically, he was still alive, though he¡¯d only last a few seconds without his soul to sustain him. Oroske would put him out of his misery, and so summoned a weapon: an ivory executioner¡¯s blade, in the style of the Ebony Mountain¡¯s signature weapon. A gift from Danfis, given for the express purpose of acting as his executioner. An unsavory job, one Oroske no longer felt any joy doing.

    He swung the blade around effortlessly, despite its immense size. He locked onto his target, and closed his eyes before swinging horizontally at Uri¡¯Ari¡¯s neck. He found it easier if he didn¡¯t have to watch the people he once called friend die. He still heard the blade cut through the flesh, a noise he¡¯d become too familiar with.

    After waiting a minute, Oroske opened his eyes, finding no trace of his old friend, save for his clothes and weapon, and a pile of dust. He collected the clothing and glaive, before heading back into town to report to Danfis.

 71: Yenva

    <b>-Yenva-</b>

    <i>[A Terrai¡¯en word, meaning ¡°Emerald.¡±]</i>

    After finishing off Recen, and after Yenva witnessed the final beheading, Kuro had taken up a post near the edge of the courtyard, where Xeron had pulled himself over before allowing himself to fall unconscious. Kuro stood, arms folded, watching as Yenva mourned her sister, surrounded by an indifferent council of business partners and associates, who chattered nervously.

    He¡¯d only been waiting a few minutes when he saw Oroske, followed by Ensaru and a visibly injured Ari, enter the stone clearing. Oroske first saw Yenva and the late Recen, before looking over and making eye contact with Kuro, who raised a hand in greeting. The group came to him first. Ari looked incredibly shocked at the sight of Xeron, unconscious on the floor.

    ¡°So, how did your end go?¡± Kuro asked Oroske as they got closer.

    ¡°Pretty well, Ari put up a better fight than I¡¯d have expected, but she was still no match for Ensaru,¡± Oroske said. Kuro raised an eyebrow at the mention of Ensaru fighting, but Oroske continued before he could ask about it, ¡°How about you? Did you encounter much trouble?¡±

    ¡°Not too much, Xeron put up a good fight, but I think my strategy ended up being a big part of why I won. I¡¯m disappointed Recen was as weak as she was. After the way she ambushed me the other night, I expected more from her.¡±

    ¡°Were you able to get any information out of her before killing her?¡± Oroske folded his arms, ¡°And that besides, why did you end up deviating from the plan?¡±

    Kuro shook his head. ¡°She refused to give up any information even after I disabled her, I figured she wasn¡¯t likely to give any at all. As for why she¡¯s dead and not Yenva, I decided I wanted to get back at her for surprising me. And, I guess, I don¡¯t really think Yenva¡¯s done anything to deserve being killed.¡± He said that last part with a shrug. It was the truth, he didn¡¯t really have a reason <i>not</i> to kill her. He just also didn¡¯t have reason <i>to</i> kill her. Other than money, at least.

    Oroske simply sighed. Ensaru wordlessly left the group, walking over to Yenva. Kuro looked to Ari, seeing her feel conflicted on where she should be. It seemed she decided to stick by Xeron for now, she¡¯d have to check in with her employer another time. Kuro, for one, wanted to hear the conversation between the two company heads. He guessed Oroske felt the same, as the two walked closer together, stopping just close enough to be in earshot.

    ¡°I am sorry for your loss, Yenva,¡± Ensaru said softly as he crouched down, and Kuro was surprised to hear sincerity in the man¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Like hell you are.¡± Yenva snapped, ¡°It¡¯s your fault she¡¯s dead, you¡¯re the one who put out the hit on her.¡± Even from a distance, Kuro could see an intense rage in her eyes as she looked up at him.

    ¡°I assure you, that isn¡¯t the case. I had hired the boy to kill <i>you</i>, not her. I had nothing against Recen, the boy¡¯s actions were his own.¡± Ensaru paused for a moment, before extending a hand to the woman. ¡°Let us put an end to this feud, Yenva. I don¡¯t know about you, but I for one tire of it. Let us work together, as we used to.¡±

    He waited a couple minutes, before reluctantly retracting his hand and standing. ¡°Please think about it, at least.¡± He walked away, remaining silent and stoic as he disappeared from sight. Yenva remained on the floor, clearly still in shock.

    ¡°Let¡¯s give her a few minutes to process before we talk to her,¡± Oroske whispered to Kuro, before walking over to Xeron and Ari.

    Xeron was starting to come to when they arrived, and within a minute he was sitting up groggily. He saw his sister first, ¡°Ari? Did you win?¡± She shook her head, and recounted her battle against Oroske and Ensaru. Kuro listened especially intently to the Ensaru portion of the story, curious to see how powerful the old man really was. The idea of this ¡°reality bubble¡± Ari mentioned really piqued his interest. That seemed a very powerful ability to have, especially in the way that he was able to control it. He decided he would have to ask Ensaru if he could learn how to use it when they returned to the J¡¯alyr.

    After she finished her story, Xeron finally looked around his surroundings, taking note of Oroske and Kuro¡¯s presence for the first time. He also saw Yenva, still mourning next to her sister¡¯s corpse. He looked at Kuro with a question clear on his face. ¡°You killed Recen instead? Why?¡±

    Kuro gave the same response he did earlier, shrug and everything. Everyone¡¯s surprise at his actions only served to deepen his doubt regarding whether he did the right thing or not. Well, he would live with his actions regardless.

    ¡°Well, that besides, I must say I¡¯m impressed,¡± Xeron continued, ¡°You¡¯re a lot stronger than I gave you credit for.¡± He paused, and his next words carried with them an intense mixture of emotion, ¡°Oroske must be a really good mentor. He¡¯s turned you into a very skilled fighter in such a short time.¡±

    Kuro nodded, ¡°I don¡¯t think I could ask for better. Don¡¯t sell yourself short, either. It was mostly luck that allowed me to win.¡±

    Xeron chuckled, he clearly didn¡¯t buy Kuro¡¯s claim that he won by luck. Kuro mentally shrugged it off, and sat down on the ground, letting himself relax for a few moments.

    His relaxation only lasted a few minutes before Oroske motioned for him to follow. It seemed Yenva had been moved inside the office building, and Oroske wanted to talk to her.

    Upon entering, they spoke to the same person Kuro had interrogated when he first arrived. Oroske handled the conversation, asking after Yenva¡¯s location. The man said he¡¯d track her down, and that she may need a few minutes before she¡¯s ready for any meetings. So they were made to sit down in the lobby to wait. Kuro hadn¡¯t had time to appreciate the building¡¯s interior earlier. He was a tad preoccupied trying to track someone down and kill them. It was neat, orderly, and almost <i>too</i> clean. He preferred the homely feeling of the J¡¯alyr¡¯s offices for sure. This place reminded him too much of the lobby of the Hunter¡¯s HQ in Tsumi¡¯din.

    Thankfully they didn¡¯t end up waiting for very long, as the young man from earlier came up to them only ten or fifteen minutes later. ¡°Master Muwal is ready for you,¡± He said, pointedly only speaking and looking at Oroske, though he¡¯d occasionally give a weary glance at Kuro. ¡°If you would follow me, please.¡±

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    He led them to a small office on the second floor, with a window overlooking the facility¡¯s inner courtyard. There a visibly very shaken Yenva sat, holding her head in her hands, a folder filled with papers between her elbows and chest.. She was accompanied by two bodyguards, a man and a woman, both quite intimidating in stature, wearing slick, black suits.

    ¡°Well? What do you want?¡± Yenva asked, not looking up from her hands, ¡°Have you just come to rub it in? Was killing my sister not <i>enough</i> for you?¡±

    ¡°I wanted to offer my condolences,¡± Oroske stated as he sat down.

    ¡°Condolences?¡± She spat, ¡°<i>Your colleague</i> is the one who killed her, and you want to offer <i>condolences?</i> Don¡¯t make me laugh.¡±

    ¡°This is something I take quite seriously, I¡¯ll have you know. It¡¯s something I do for all families affected by my work.¡± He said flatly, leaning back in his seat. Kuro simply stood awkwardly near the door, not wanting to speak. He knew Oroske wasn¡¯t lying, he¡¯d sat in on a couple of these conversations now. One for a young child who was lost because they didn¡¯t arrive on scene fast enough, another for a man who fought alongside them but didn¡¯t survive. ¡°Even if I myself am not the one who killed her, Recen¡¯s blood is at least partially on my hands.¡± He paused for a long moment. ¡°Unlike many of my fellow Hunters, I take no pleasure or pride in the work of killing people. That said, I stand by and support my apprentice¡¯s decision. Given all the evidence we have, I would have done similar in his shoes. The only difference is you would likely be dead as well.¡±

    Another long pause. ¡°I also wanted to ask after your internal investigation, regarding Recen¡¯s involvement with the Mienr and New Spire Empire.¡±

    ¡°See for yourself,¡± she muttered as she grabbed the folder next to her arms and tossed it to him, some of the papers spilling out as it landed and slid across the smooth table.

    Kuro couldn¡¯t see the papers well from where he stood, and was not keen on moving from his spot by the door, so he let Oroske read through them.

    Oroske didn¡¯t even make it through half of the folder before sighing and setting them down. ¡°She must have been in deeper than expected, that explains the loyalty she showed to them at the end.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe she hid this from me for so long,¡± Yenva said, sounding as though she was choking back tears, ¡°I can¡¯t believe I didn¡¯t find this evidence before. These records have been in this building the entire time, that folder came straight from her drawer in my office. We only found them this morning, maybe two hours before her killer arrived.¡±

    ¡°Do you mind if I take these records to present to our boss? They may also be escalated to the Guardians.¡±

    ¡°Go ahead, we already made copies for ourselves as well.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, for your time, and your cooperation.¡± Oroske stood, scooping the papers up, straightening them against the table before sticking them back in the folder. He took a deep breath before speaking again, ¡°I truly am sorry for your loss. May the future be brighter for you and yours.¡±

    He motioned to Kuro, who opened the door and walked out, ahead of his mentor. Kuro thought he could hear Yenva start crying as they left.

    They arrived in Tsumi¡¯din late that night. Ensaru still gave them a portion of the promised paycheck, but as the contract wasn¡¯t entirely fulfilled he couldn¡¯t give them all of it. He did treat them to a veritable feast that night before sending them off. It had been a long time since Kuro had a meal that large.

    Kuro was exhausted by the time they stumbled into the Hunter headquarters. It had been a <i>long</i> day, and despite his best efforts he couldn¡¯t seem to rest at all during the ride home. Thankfully, they were almost done. Double thankfully, Danfis was waiting in the lobby for them, standing next to the reception desk, chatting with Venn.

    ¡°Oh, welcome home you two! I hope your travels were smooth.¡± The young woman greeted them with her usual warm smile, interrupting Danfis.

    Danfis turned around, and gave the two Hunters a small smile. ¡°Come, let us talk in my office. We¡¯ll have to continue tomorrow, Venn.¡± She gave him a nod as he began walking, leading the way. The route to Danfis¡¯s office was familiar to Kuro now, he¡¯d been up there quite a lot with Oroske.

    ¡°Interesting,¡± Danfis said, setting down the last of the reports included in Recen¡¯s folder. ¡°If we are to believe <i>everything</i> in this folder is tied to the New Spire Empire, they¡¯ve been working in the background a lot longer than we expected. These logs date back nearly six years. I¡¯ll have Venn make copies of these, and deliver the originals to the Guardians at our next meeting in a few days.

    ¡°I have a feeling we¡¯re much later into the New Empire¡¯s timeline than we think. We¡¯ll need to be ready for anything, anytime. Good work, both of you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Oroske and Kuro said in unison.

    ¡°Oroske, how would you say Kuro fared in this mission?¡±

    ¡°I think he did very well. He¡¯s proving to be a very capable fighter, he was able to best Xeron in one-on-one, all-out combat without any guidance. He¡¯s also more decisive than other apprentices I¡¯ve trained in the past, the decision to antagonize Recen, and subsequently to kill her, was his own. I would likely have made the same decision, even if our execution would be different.¡±

    ¡°Excellent.¡± Danfis said, writing down some notes, ¡°I¡¯m happy with the progress you¡¯re making, Kuro. At the pace you¡¯re going at, you¡¯ll likely be ready for your Black Cloak certification exam within the next six or so months. That¡¯s excellent pace for any Blue Cloak. Considering your untimely death and resurrection earlier this year, you¡¯re doing very well.¡±

    Kuro was stunned. He hadn¡¯t expected to ever get outright compliments from Danfis. He wasn¡¯t sure how to feel, but happiness and pride in himself ended up being what he felt the most. After an awkward moment, he finally stammered out ¡°Th-thank you, sir! I will continue to work hard.¡±

    ¡°This was the first time you¡¯ve killed a <i>person</i>, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

    ¡°How do you feel about it?¡±

    Kuro took a moment to think. He hadn¡¯t really thought about it, honestly. It was part of his job. Should he have felt any particular way about it? He wouldn¡¯t say he <i>enjoyed</i> it, but it¡¯s not like he felt repulsed by the idea or anything. Eventually he shrugged, ¡°Pretty normal. It¡¯s part of what we do, right?¡± After a silent moment, he added quietly, ¡°Should I feel something different?¡±

    Danfis chuckled and gave a small smile, ¡°No, that¡¯s a pretty normal response for us Hunters. I try to ask all Hunters after their first time. As you said, it¡¯s something we do, it¡¯s part of our job. It¡¯s not as common as it used to be, but it¡¯s something you¡¯ll be hired to do. I have to make sure it¡¯s something you¡¯ll be okay to do if asked. I think it¡¯s good you didn¡¯t say you enjoyed it, we have enough bloodthirsty Hunters as is.

    ¡°In addition to providing these documents to the Guardians, I¡¯m also going to see about getting you paid for eliminating someone connected to the New Empire. They¡¯re the ones who requested we investigate them, and I¡¯d like to see my people paid for the results they provide.¡±

    ¡°I appreciate that, sir. Not getting the full paycheck from Director Ensaru isn¡¯t going to hurt us too bad, I think, but I definitely won''t complain about getting paid by the Guardians.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll see it done, if they¡¯ll allow it. You two must be tired, is there anything else you need, or would like to report?¡±

    Oroske shook his head, then looked to Kuro, who thought for a moment. ¡°Nothing related to the job, but what¡¯s the latest from Jarou?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I thought you might ask. Unfortunately, I haven¡¯t had a report from him in some time. Last I heard from him, he had been taken to the Royal City, and that they were leading him through some pretty intensive combat training, along with the other Clans¡¯ Chosen. He seemed hopeful that they¡¯d let him return home soon, but we will have to wait and see.¡±

    ¡°I see, thank you.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I know the two of you are close. I will keep you posted if I hear anything.¡±

    Kuro thanked him again, and the two Hunters bid their leader farewell and good night.

    Kuro, still incredibly tired and exhausted from the day, immediately went to his bed after arriving home, and quickly fell asleep.

 Intermission 1: A Conversation Between Gods

    <b>-Intermission: A Conversation Between Gods-</b>

    ¡°Ah, Naen. It¡¯s been a while. How are things?¡±

    ¡°They are well, for the most part. My plans are proceeding smoothly. We have located the last of the Half-Demons¡¯ Chosen, and he began his training recently. Soon, we¡¯ll be looking to choose our Champions, and finding the rest of the Honor Guard.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    ¡°You will not reconsider my offer? To have you join as a member?¡±

    ¡°I will not.¡±

    ¡°Very well, if you insist¡­ Vyn reported to me a strange anomaly that occurred in the stone around the Core. Am I correct in guessing that it was you?¡±

    ¡°You are, my apologies. Some of my subordinates broke some rules, and I had to fix the mistake. That seemed the best method.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s well within your domain to do such things. A fore-warning would have been welcome, but I can understand given the circumstances.¡±

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°Well, I appreciate your understanding.¡±

    ¡°Moving on from that topic, some rumors indicate the Eighth may be in your city. Have you seen them? Or seen signs of their influence?¡±

    ¡°I have not. They still avoid you and the other Guardians?¡±

    ¡°More or less. Our last contact was nearly three years ago now. They said they were going to, quote, ¡®plant some seeds.¡¯ I believe that means they¡¯re searching for their Champion.¡±

    ¡°You never have told me the Eighth¡¯s name, nor their actual abilities. Care to divulge?¡±

    ¡°Frankly, I don¡¯t really understand them. I¡¯m not convinced any of the names they¡¯ve given is their True Name, either. Most of us in our various lives have had names at least similar in meaning or sound, but theirs has always changed drastically. Their powers are also quite confounding, they are consistent and inconsistent at the same time.¡±

    ¡°I see, that is interesting. It doesn¡¯t help that they somehow avoid History¡¯s eyes, there isn¡¯t really that much recorded about them. I¡¯ve read what volumes the School has on your previous lives, and compared to you and Vaia, I could only find passing references to them.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s quite frustrating. Even on our first journey, they frankly weren¡¯t around much. And when they were, they didn¡¯t open up about themselves. They adapted to us, which made us an effective team, but none of us could hope to adapt to them.¡±

    ¡°...Ah, my apologies. I must end our chat early, it seems my presence is required elsewhere. I hope our next meeting won''t have to wait as long as this one did.¡±

    ¡°Very well. Be safe, old friend. And if you change your mind, there will always be a spot open for you in the Honor Guard.¡±

 72: Royal City

    <b>-Royal City-</b>

    <i>[The capital city of the Human Realm, situated in the foothills of the Inkol Mountains.]</i>

    ¡°I¡¯ve got good news,¡± Oroske said as he walked into the kitchen and dining area of the house, where Kuro was sitting at the table reading over his most recent assignment from Nadred. It was a complex book detailing the development of scrolls and grimoires; how to make them, and how they work. Nadred didn¡¯t want Kuro to be able to put this information into practice, instead he simply wanted Kuro to have a better understanding of one of the more useful tools in the magic world. That said, the information really wasn¡¯t sticking, and Kuro had developed a bit of a headache trying to process the information. He welcomed the distraction Oroske brought. ¡°Danfis has lined up a Hunt for yours and Jarou¡¯s Black Cloak Exam.¡±

    He set down a small file on the table, which Kuro opened and began perusing. He liked this new format Venn and the folks at Headquarters have been trying out recently, they simply hand you a folder with all the relevant information they have. He figured it helped out with the organization on their end as well. The file in front of him detailed a request to track down and defeat a Necromancer in the Royal City. A ¡®Page 1 of 3¡¯ at the bottom indicated there should be more information, but instead there was a note telling him to check in with Rel when they get to the City.

    ¡°I have to get the rest of the information on site? Don¡¯t we already have it?¡± Kuro asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If this Hunt wasn¡¯t doubling as your Exam, you would have the rest of the intel, but part of the exam is to test your investigative skills. Given the information we have, that you do not, this Hunt seemed a very good fit for the test.¡± Oroske explained.

    Kuro set the file down with a sigh, then stretched his arms above his head, fingers interlocked. ¡°Alright, when do we leave?¡±

    ¡°<i>You and Jarou</i>, should look to leave around mid-day, so you can get there in the evening.¡± The way he emphasized that first part suggested Oroske and Nadred wouldn¡¯t be with them.

    ¡°You and Nadred aren¡¯t coming?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be observing from a distance, making sure if things go poorly we can step in, and see how your investigative progress goes,¡± Oroske said, gesturing with his hands, ¡°That said, we¡¯ll be travelling separately, and you probably won¡¯t see us at all for the duration of the Hunt. The goal is to ensure you¡¯re competent enough to do these kinds of jobs on your own, after all.¡±

    ¡°I guess that makes sense. It¡¯ll be weird not having you around.¡±

    Oroske smiled, ¡°I¡¯m confident the two of you will do great. And since you¡¯ve already passed the written test, once you get back you¡¯ll be able to get your Black Cloak at the next award ceremony.¡±

    Kuro returned the smile. At long last, it was time to prove himself capable of going out on his own. Jarou was ready a few months ago, but had insisted he wanted to take on the Hunt part of the exam alongside Kuro.

    ¡°Well, now that you¡¯ve accepted, I¡¯ll leave you to it. Make sure you inform HQ before you leave. Your test starts now, best of luck.¡± Oroske patted Kuro on the shoulder, before exiting the kitchen and heading upstairs.

    Suddenly, Kuro didn¡¯t know how to proceed. He¡¯d always had his mentor to help guide him towards the next step, this was the first time he was <i>truly</i> free to make decisions on his own. He took a deep breath, calming himself, and decided his first step would be getting in touch with Jarou. The two would be taking on this job together, afterall. He fished his pendant out from under his shirt, and gave it the mental command to connect to Jarou¡¯s own pendant. The cool metal glowed blue for a moment, and once Jarou had answered the call, the light created a spiked, swirling pattern that matched the one on Jarou¡¯s cloak.

    ¡°Kuro? What¡¯s up?¡± Jarou¡¯s voice came from the pendant. A little over a year later, this technology still bewildered him.

    ¡°Hey, Jarou. Has Nadred talked to you about the good news yet?¡±

    ¡°Huh? No? What news?¡± Jarou¡¯s confusion was apparent, even without seeing his face.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to spoil the surprise,¡± Kuro said with a small smile.

    ¡°Okay then, I guess I¡¯ll wait. Dad left only a little bit ago, and didn¡¯t say when he¡¯d be home. Do you want me to call you back when he¡¯s back?¡±

    ¡°Sure, that works. Talk to you later, then.¡±

    Jarou said his own farewell, and the pattern dissipated into floating moats of glowing aether, reforming to the Tsumi Clan¡¯s emblem after a short moment. Kuro stopped channeling aether into the device, and the symbol disappeared.

    It was still fairly early in the day, and Kuro had no idea how long he¡¯d have to wait for Jarou to get back to him. He didn¡¯t really feel like digging into the textbook again, so he decided he would get some exercise and practice in.

    Kuro went outside, and decided to get some practice with gravia by holding a large stone almost as big as he was three feet in the air, straining to keep it stable in the air. It was a method Nadred had suggested when Kuro said he was interested in learning the aspect. He¡¯d come a long way since the first time he¡¯d tried using it, and smaller objects he was now able to control with relative ease. He¡¯d seen one of the Hunters - he didn¡¯t catch her name - who joined him and Oroske on a Sigil Hunt use gravia to not only carry multiple weapons in the air, but to spin the weapons around and attack with them. Once he could hold this boulder in the air steadily, he decided he¡¯d learn how to do that next. He¡¯d had it in the air for nearly fifteen minutes when his pendant began pulsing against his chest.

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    His focus broken, the rock fell to the ground with a thud that shook the ground. He lifted the pendant to look at it, and saw Jarou¡¯s emblem pulsing slowly. He channeled aether to accept the call, and greeted his friend.

    ¡°So, dad tells me we¡¯re going to the Royal City for our exam. Was that the big surprise you were calling about earlier?¡± Jarou asked.

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    ¡°Cool.¡± There was a pause, ¡°I don¡¯t know where he went, but he said the test has already started. We should probably meet up somewhere so we can get to work.¡±

    ¡°Agreed. Meet in front of HQ in thirty minutes?¡±

    ¡°Better make it an hour,¡± Jarou said, ¡°I need to clean up this mess I made, and probably shower, before I leave.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like fun. Alright then, see you in an hour!¡±

    ¡°See you soon.¡± The symbol disappeared once again.

    Kuro let the pendant fall back down to his chest, and he began lifting the rock once more.

    Jarou was waiting for Kuro when he arrived, stretching idly as he stood next to the entrance of the headquarters. He¡¯d grown taller than Kuro, and by quite a bit - Kuro now had to tilt his head up slightly to make proper eye contact. He was getting close to Nadred¡¯s height, and they all suspected he¡¯d continue to grow to Kared¡¯s height, or close to it.

    Kuro raised a hand in greeting as he approached. ¡°Hope you didn¡¯t have to wait too long, sorry I¡¯m a bit late.¡± He¡¯d lost track of time during his rock-floating meditation, a surprisingly easy thing to do when your thoughts are completely occupied by maintaining a delicate balance like that.

    ¡°Not at all, I only arrived a few minutes ago,¡± Jarou said, ¡°Well, shall we go in and formally accept the Hunt? Probably shouldn¡¯t waste time if possible.¡±

    Kuro nodded in agreement and the two walked in. They¡¯d come near the end of the morning rush, so there was a line, but at least it wasn¡¯t so long it went out the door. The last several Hunts he and Oroske went on they¡¯d gotten here just in time to have to wait nearly an hour before reaching the front desk.

    ¡°This will be your first time going to Royal City, right?¡± Jarou asked.

    Kuro was grateful to have a conversation to distract him from the wait. ¡°It is, what¡¯s it like there?¡±

    ¡°It feels a lot like City of Towers, to be honest. Just not so <i>tall.</i> I still haven¡¯t been able to explore it on my own, each time I¡¯ve been there it was because the Guardians summoned me.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense.¡± Kuro paused for a short moment, ¡°I¡¯ve never asked, what kind of stuff do they even have you do when they summon you?¡±

    ¡°Mostly sit in on a meeting where it¡¯s just the seven of them talking. They also do examinations, seeing how our training is going and how strong we are.¡±

    ¡°Wait, seven? Shouldn¡¯t there be eight?¡± The line moved forward as Kuro asked.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you know? I thought it was common knowledge that no-one knows the whereabouts of the Eighth Guardian. Even his name is unknown.¡±

    That bothered Kuro greatly. They¡¯re called the ¡°Eight Guardians¡± and yet it sounds like they don¡¯t even know if the last one exists. ¡°How do we know there¡¯s eight of them in the first place, then?¡±

    ¡°Records of their re-appearance near the end of the Grand War, mostly. That and the testimony of the other seven. They all describe the eighth as being a very odd person, but they insist that they¡¯re not only alive, but around here somewhere. Naen and Vaia let it slip that they may have an actual lead on his location, but won¡¯t say anything else, other than ¡®they¡¯ll show up when they¡¯re needed.¡¯¡± He made air quotes with his fingers as he said that last part. The line moved forward again.

    Kuro shook his head, muttering ¡°How strange,¡± which caused Jarou to give a small shrug. ¡°Does anything else exciting happen there?¡±

    ¡°Another point of intrigue is that they all speak of the group growing larger. They won''t say how they plan to expand the group, but from the way they talk about it, it sounds like they have big plans.¡±

    ¡°So the three of you Chosen Ones aren¡¯t enough?¡±

    Again, Jarou just shrugged. Kuro wished he could get into one of these meetings one day. At least he had a man on the inside who was willing to tell him what¡¯s going on, he¡¯d settle for that. For now, at least.

    It only took a few more minutes for their turn to arrive. Jarou and Kuro placed the folders their mentors gave them on the table. ¡°We¡¯d like to accept this Hunt.¡± Jarou beat Kuro to it.

    Venn gave them a kind smile, ¡°You two are finally taking your Black Cloak exam, right? I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll both do great.¡± She double checked the information on the front page in both folders, before stamping them with violet ink. ¡°Report to Red Cloak Rel when you arrive in Royal City. Our base of operations in the city is near the Western gate, you can¡¯t miss it. He¡¯ll brief you on the information we have and get you set up in the city.¡± She smiled a bit wider before adding, ¡°Tell him I say hello, please.¡±

    ¡°We will. Thanks, Venn.¡± Jarou had the same smile while he spoke, and Kuro couldn¡¯t help but smile a little as well.

    ¡°So, do we have any errands we need to run before we leave?¡± Kuro asked as they stepped out into the sunlight.

    Jarou stopped walking, and pulled out a little bag he kept inside his jacket, peeking into its various pockets. ¡°I¡¯ve got enough money to last about a week, and some emergency food. I think I have Return to Dust memorized, though I do have a few folded up scrolls for it just in case. I guess I should go grab my travel pack from home, but it should still be packed up, I think. How about you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to do the same, and probably grab my wallet. I shouldn¡¯t have anything I need to buy before we can leave, though.¡±

    ¡°Great, whoever gets to the landing first can figure out the transportation. Sound good?¡±

    Kuro nodded, ¡°Sounds good. See you there.¡±

    ¡°See you soon,¡± he said with a wave before parting.

    It was a quick trip in and out of the house. Helped largely in part that Oroske was nowhere to be found - and to a lesser but still notable extent that he knew where the things he needed were and didn''t have to look for them. His travel bag, a large, crimson red duffle filled with clothes and a handful of textbooks he liked to study while travelling, was at the foot of his bed. His wallet was inside the pocket of the pants he¡¯d worn the previous day. If they¡¯d started talking, Kuro would probably end up being here for another hour. Just in case he was home, and just holed up in his study or bedroom, Kuro called out a farewell before leaving the house.

    Kuro was not at all surprised to find Jarou waiting for him next to an aeth¡¯mobile, the storage compartment and passenger doors already open. Despite living farther away, he and Nadred somehow always managed to get to the landing first.

    ¡°All set?¡± Jarou asked as Kuro closed the lid of the trunk, his travel bag safely stored away. He nodded in response, and Jarou gestured for him to enter the vehicle first.

    After Jarou got in and was situated, they departed. The trip to the Royal City was a long one, taking nearly nine hours. The route was straightforward enough, taking them along a scenic path that passed by several small villages, and straight through the heart of Market City. It was a scenic journey, with a nice view of the plains that made up the central part of the Human Realm. They¡¯d taken short breaks in a handful of villages so they could use the restroom, and a longer one in Market City so the driver could replenish the aether stores of the vehicle.

    The sun had just barely set behind the distant mountains of Ishen by the time they arrived at the city¡¯s West gate, called the ¡°Pilgrim¡¯s Gate,¡± and it was quickly becoming dark outside.

 73: Pilgrims Gate

    <b>-Pilgrim¡¯s Gate-</b>

    <i>[The gate on the West side of Royal City. It retains its name from ancient days, when the journey from where modern day Royal City lies over to Ish¡¯din was an important religious rite, often performed when an individual became of age, and at other significant junctures in a person¡¯s life. This gate may not stand at the exact spot these pilgrimages began, as the original gate was destroyed near the end of the Grand War.]</i>

    The Pilgrim¡¯s Gate had a truly impressive stature. Two wooden blocks, each four feet thick and well over twenty feet tall, reinforced with steel beams on both sides that had white crystals embedded in them. Kuro guessed they provided some form of protective magic, but he was woefully unaware of the mechanics of things like that, so he couldn¡¯t be sure. He was glad the gates were open when they arrived, he figured it would take a lot of time and effort to open them. He and Jarou, departed from their transport and luggage in hand, were able to walk through the city gates casually, with no additional checks being performed on them as they entered.

    Such a stark difference from the treatment outsiders still received at Ish¡¯din. Thinking of the opposing capital, he looked out across the valley. Orange-pink sky lined the distant Ishen mountains, the distance making them look like a small hill in comparison to their true, majestic heights, the peaks only just peeking over the forest near the Rift. It was getting hard to see, as the sky was quickly turning dark.

    Jarou patted him on the arm, snapping Kuro out of his small trance, before gesturing for him to follow.

    This street was lined with tall buildings, most three stories, and none more than four, that seemed to serve a variety of purposes. The first building Kuro noticed, the first on the left as they came in, was the city guards¡¯ garrison. It was an old building that had been rebuilt and renovated many times over the years, as made evident by the different colors of bricks marking each time the wall had been rebuilt. The street also had not one, but two blacksmiths, a bakery, and some other stores Kuro didn¡¯t look at long enough to figure out what they were for. Most of the buildings were, to his surprise, houses. The streets had a fair amount of people on them, considering the hour, but he guessed that this street would be filled with people during the day time. No wonder Aeth¡¯mobiles had to drop off their passengers and find parking outside of the city walls, you¡¯d never be able to fit one in here without trampling a dozen or so people.

    The ninth building in, tucked snuggly between a clothing store and one of the two smithies, was the Tsumi Clan embassy. It was easy to find, as on its fourth floor, a sign with the Clan¡¯s emblem hung outside, easy to see from anywhere on the street. The side facing the gate didn¡¯t have a rel crystal to light it up - that or it wasn¡¯t working - so it was a little difficult to see at night. Thankfully not impossible, as street lights hanging on the walls of various buildings cast enough light towards it for it to be visible. Jarou also knew where he was going, so Kuro was sure they would¡¯ve arrived there safely regardless.

    The wooden door, which had no window and desperately needed a good sanding, was unlocked, and Kuro walked in reverently after Jarou. The door shut behind them with a healthy thud. The entryway was a narrow hallway, barely wider than the door, with a door on either side. Where the hallway opened up, Kuro could see the legs of chairs and a warm light coming from either side.

    A familiar face appeared, its associated body leaning over the back of the chair it was sitting on. ¡°Jarou, Kuro! You guys made it,¡± Rel said with a smile, then beckoned them over enthusiastically. He¡¯d never seen the man seem so happy. As they approached, he took a hearty swig from a mug, and the reason for his unusual enthusiasm became clear.

    Kuro had never understood the appeal of alcohol. Oroske had apparently been a big drinker in his early adulthood, but had sworn off it after some event happened when Kuro was young. According to Oroske, if he had his memories from before his death the previous year, he would probably remember the event. Kuro didn¡¯t think often about his missing memories. They just didn¡¯t seem all that important, and Oroske had stopped trying to jog his memory a few months ago. He wondered sometimes if they held something important, but, well. He wouldn¡¯t know, would he? He was able to function without them, and Oroske and Nadred were always commenting on how much more of a person he seemed than when he first woke up.

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    ¡°Welcome to Royal City, boys,¡± Rel said, setting his mug down. He wasn¡¯t wearing his cloak, another rare sight from the typically upright Red Cloak. ¡°This is your first time here, right Kuro?¡±

    ¡°Uh, yes, sir.¡± Kuro responded, still in shock from seeing a whole new side to Rel. He had only met Rel a handful of times, but everytime he seemed so serious, and even a bit gloomy. That seemed to match other peoples¡¯ perception of the man. He had a reputation for being a stern mentor and ruthless Hunter.

    ¡°It¡¯s a great city, the first time you come here,¡± Rel said, covering his mouth with the hand not on his mug as he let out a small burp. ¡°Once you¡¯ve been stationed here for a year straight, you get kinda tired of it though.¡±

    ¡°I can imagine, not being able to travel anywhere for so long would make me go crazy.¡± Kuro said with a smile. He¡¯d really come to love seeing all the different places the Alten continent had to offer him.

    ¡°Aye,¡± Rel agreed, lifting his drink for another gulp or three. ¡°Hopefully this new empire business will settle down, and I can go somewhere else for a bit.¡±

    ¡°Doubt it,¡± one of the other Hunters at the table - a Black Cloak, whom Kuro had seen a few times but had never properly met - said with a laugh. ¡°Danfis appointed you as our Ambassador for this city, didn¡¯t he?¡±

    Rel groaned, ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll change his mind if I ask him enough times.¡±

    ¡°And if he doesn¡¯t?¡± Another, a White Cloak that Kuro <i>had </i>met - her name escaped him in the moment - said with a mischievous grin.

    ¡°Well, maybe I¡¯ll get myself into a bit of trouble, and he¡¯ll <i>have</i> to bring me back,¡± Rel said, his face as determined as he could make it seem. He couldn¡¯t hold it for long as he and the other two began laughing. Once the laughter died down, he stood up, ¡°Sorry, Vel, Teril, I¡¯m going to have to sit out for a few rounds. Gotta get these kids debriefed on their mission.¡±

    Vel, that was her name. She spoke, gathering up some cards that were on the table, shuffling them together, ¡°No problem, see you in a few.¡±

    Rel motioned for Kuro and Jarou to follow him, as he led them to one of the two rooms in the entrance hallway. It turned out to be a simple meeting room, and Kuro guessed the opposite room would be the same. He instructed the Blue Cloaks to take a seat, and remained standing at the head of the conference table, as the two picked from the dozen or so chairs at random.

    ¡°So, you two are finally becoming Black Cloaks, eh?¡± He asked.

    ¡°Only if we pass this exam,¡± Jarou said with a smile. Neither he nor Kuro had any doubts they¡¯d pass with ease, but both their mentor¡¯s always taught them to never speak like they knew the outcome before it happened.

    Rel laughed, ¡°Well, I¡¯m confident you two are going to do great. Without further ado, let¡¯s get into the details of your Hunt. As I¡¯m sure you know, as this doubles as your Black Cloak Exam, the amount of information we¡¯ll be giving you is limited.¡± He pulled something out of his pocket, a paper with only a few words written on it. ¡°This Hunt¡¯s request was put in by the collective of the Eight Lords. A Necromancer has made clear to all eight of them that one of them is being targeted, and that they will attack on the night of the Twenty-Eighth of the Eleventh Moon, which is only three days from now. Your mission is to investigate and uncover which Lord is being targeted, and defend them when the attack comes.¡±

    There was a prolonged silence, before Rel spoke again. ¡°That is all. It is quite late now, so I wouldn¡¯t recommend trying to start your investigation tonight. There are rooms on the third and fourth floor that you can use. Each door has a reversible plaque indicating if a room is in use, make sure you flip that over when you make your selection. Best of luck, boys, and have a good night.¡± He walked out of the room before the junior Hunters could say anything.

    ¡°Three days to find out who¡¯s being targeted, and a single attack to defend against,¡± Jarou summarized, ¡°Seems easy enough. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°I agree, it seems fairly easy,¡± Kuro said, ¡°We¡¯ll have to talk to most, if not all, of the Lords. That might be a little intimidating. Hopefully they make our jobs easy.¡±

    Jarou chuckled, ¡°Agreed. Well, shall we go pick out our rooms?¡±

    Kuro nodded, and the two went up to the third floor. They were surprised to find all but one room taken on this floor. Peeking inside, they saw there were two beds and plenty of space for them to spread out for the duration of their stay. They shared a look, followed by a nod, and Jarou flipped the sign to the ¡°in use¡± side.

    It was a cozy space, hardwood floors with a rug between the beds, which were against opposing walls. There was a window above the two desks, though there wasn¡¯t much to see besides the wall of the building next door. Kuro threw his travel pack onto the bed on the right side of the room. Jarou placed his more gently on the floor next to the other bed.

    Sitting on the bed, Kuro suddenly became very aware of how tired he was. He always found it frustrating how tiring sitting in an Aeth¡¯mobile for several hours was. It¡¯s not like he was really <i>doing</i> anything, why should he be so exhausted? He took off his cloak, and changed into more comfortable clothes, bidding Jarou a good night before crawling under the sheets. The bed wasn¡¯t the least comfortable thing he¡¯d ever slept on, but it was as stiff as a rock. He struggled to get comfortable for a few minutes, and once he finally did, he fell asleep quickly.