《Master of None》 Prologue For eons there was nothing. The universe: a blank canvas. Until the Chyros(K-eye-rus) arose. They are powerful beings, each unique in their own way. Some bore faces similar to ours, some were monstrous, and others were pure elegance. Seeing the vast emptiness, the Chyros sought to create. They started by painting the void of space, then to light the darkness that consumed it, they forged the bright burning stars. They were thrilled with their creation but felt as if something was missing. Residents. The Chyros shaped the planets to house their newest creation: mortal life. Out of the twelve trillion attempts at life, only one planet successfully nurtured it.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The Chyros called this planet Earth for its beautiful resemblance to REDACTED After REDACTED years, humans started appearing across Earth. The Chyros were thrilled to finally have someone to share their world with. The Chyros guided the evolution of humans showing them the wonders Earth had to offer, even teaching them the ways of their magic in hopes that one day their creations could surpass them. Unfortunately for the Chyros, not all humans shared their love for creation. A group of humans grew to rival their power but with control as a priority. This group of humans attacked the Chyros, and their battle tarnished the planet, causing the six continents of Earth to each have a uniquely harsh elemental condition: heat that can melt steel, rain that falls like bullets, wind that fears no structure, REDACTED, lightning bolts that pierce mountains and a wasteland so barren not a blade of grass can grow. Each of these elemental factors is never-ending and as ruthless as the last This exchange that caused these scars on Earth is known as the War for Creation. By the end of the war, the group of humans had triumphed and had used their power to trap the Chyros in another realm where they remain today, all while the fate of those powerful humans remains unknown. Hundreds of years after the Chyros were forgotten, The United World Organization (UWO), the overseeing government that vowed to govern and protect the people of Earth, rediscovered the Chyros, and communicated with them, regaining some of their trust in humans. The Chyros were reluctant but they agreed to bless humans with magic in hopes of finding the person who would undo the chaos caused to both sides for the Chyros were still trapped. However, now because of the Chyros'' wavering trust in humans, they agreed to bless humans with magic only through special examinations called blessing ceremonies held by the UWO, where the Chyros can examine and decide their worth. People who are blessed with Magic in this current age are known as Mages. The power granted to a Mage is their own, and as long as they will it, that power won''t ever fail them. Shatter Two people are having a conversation at a table a young man and a woman. They are covered by the dimly lit room. The young man puts his hand on the table where his arm can be seen, he is wearing metallic black armor. "Follow along, I won''t repeat myself." "Yeah." The woman says observantly "The Earth is made up of continents called Territories. Within each territory is an elemental factor." "The Territory of The Eagle at first glance is barren, covered in rock. One could easily think that the factor for this region is Stone, but what causes the dry landscape is the erosion caused by the harsh winds that at their weakest, make most consider a category-five hurricane a good day. "The wind is forever, and because of it there needed to be a way of nullifying it so that people can survive." "Get on with it already." the woman sounds irritated by the young man''s redundancy. "Every district has one person dedicated to overseeing a large magical crystal that emits a barrier that protects the city from the outside elements. So if a barrier crystal were to ever be destroyed..." The young man awaits an answer The woman smiles a bit "The district would be overwhelmed by outside elements, causing everyone inside to die." "He couldn''t escape... it could work." Year 600/Time - 7 Am/Present day A woman is preparing food downstairs in a kitchen, with a young girl sitting at the table. "Corin they''ll be here any minute now and you haven''t even had breakfast!" An older boy''s voice is heard above the stairs. "I''ll be down in a second Mom." Within the Territory of the Eagle, is the region of the grizzly bear, and in this region are many types of districts. In a certain housing district where homes are cubical and stacked together, lives Corin Fortis, an 18-year-old boy who has black hair, white irises, skin that''s tanish white, and is about 5''11. He rushes to the stairs while putting his black long-sleeve shirt over his head causing him to tumble down. His little sister at the kitchen table laughs. "You need to be careful." His mom says sternly as she prepares the table with breakfast. Corin gets up from the floor disoriented and quickly grabs his shoes from the side of the stairs to put them on. Corin''s Dad is opening the door and leaving for work. "I''m off, I''ll be back before you''re home Corin. So good luck to you, and love you all." "Bye, love you" the others say out of sync Corin rushes to the breakfast table to eat. His mom sets his plate and then sits down to eat. Corin, his mom, and his sister eat for a few minutes. Formal trumpeting can be heard playing from the outside of the house. "They''re here!" Corin exclaims. There''s a knock at the door, and Corin rushes over. Before opening it he brushes himself off and looks into the mirror by the door to check his appearance. He opens the door and a young man in a formal white and blue garb, with white skin and blond fluffy hair is presented before him. The blonde man unrolls a piece of paper and reads sit aloud. "The United World Organization hereby welcomes you, Corin Fortis, to the Annual Blessing ceremony for you are now of age, and a secondary school graduate making you eligible for participation. If you are to decline you will be annually asked to participate until you do so. That being said, will you accept this year''s invitation?" Corin looks back at his mom who is standing up with his sister, and she smiles. Corin turns back. "Yes sir, absolutely." The blond man smiles. "Fantastic, this way please." The blonde man turns and awaits Corin to proceed. Corin Steps up to the door. Outside the cubicle home is a grey railing with stairs that allow for accessibility among the stories. Corin''s house is the fifth story up. His mom and sister walk up to the door and see him off. Corin Walks through the doorway Leaving the house he sees a large metallic blimp the color white with a royal blue design. The blimp shoots out a path that lands at the railing where Corin''s cubical stops so that he can enter the blimp Corin looks at it in awe He''s never seen such technology. He takes his first step onto the path He starts walking. As he steps, the path retracts behind. He enters the blimp. The sliding door of the blimp shuts behind him. The interior is white with matching benches that line across the wall, like a waiting room. There are also windows lining up the sides of the room so you may see outside. There are 8 other people there all keeping to themselves. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The Blonde Man heads into another room past the seating area. Corin finds an empty place to sit for the ride. A speaker in the corner of the room turns on The blonde man''s voice is heard from the speaker. "This was our last stop so be ready when we arrive, oh and for those of you to who I haven''t introduced myself my name is Jasper" The blimp begins to take off As they move in the direction of the ceremony Corin admires the interior. A few minutes pass and Corin starts to think to himself. Everyone is taking this so differently, some of these guys look nervous and a few are so calm. But I guess they aren''t wrong to feel the way they do. So many people go without magic in their day-to-day lives with about 1/3rd of the population having magic. So it wouldn''t be the end of the world if you failed The way most people function like my family is the use of magic stones, which are magic-induced crystals capable of exuding their magical element, kind of like a magical battery. We use these to power devices like the oven or the air conditioning, so we have to purchase them regularly. Unfortunately, no one in my family has been blessed with magic yet, but my idea is that with someone in the family who can use magic our livelihood would be so much easier. With the ability to wield magic, more and better job opportunities present themself which would help us out a lot. The speaker turns on "We are here!" Jasper says in a celebratory voice Corin sharpens up with a confused look. Looking at the surrounding area from the window, Corin notices that the vegetation and climate are much different from where he lives, there''s grass that flows with a calming breeze and sun that lights up the clear sky. He thinks to himself that no location around his house looks like this, so how did they get there that fast? The kids are then escorted out of the blimp one by one off the ramp. They touch ground and are presented with an elegant white marble staircase that leads up just as large a hill. Jasper tells them he will guide them to their destination. The participants start walking. Jasper speaks as they walk, following shortly behind. "As you all should know the Chyros do not live in our world anymore, so to allow them to judge you the UWO created a device that will let them see you, but not let you see them." "Say, do any of you know what the Chyros look like?" The participants start to throw out guesses. Some say they are untouchable giants, or that they are beautiful creatures. Corinnremaned silent Jasper chuckles "Your answers aren''t entirely wrong, they are many things, each vastly unique from the other." After a bit, they arrive at the ceremony stage. The stage is a giant circle made of white marble that has ten symbols carved in the center. But Corin isn''t sure what they are. Guards are surrounding the perimeter as well. Corin looks at the other participants and all of them are looking upwards. Corin looks where they''re looking and his mouth drops. Past the ceremony stage is the back of a massive white fortress that starts from the base of the hill and ends high into the sky. Jasper reaches the top of the stage. "It is custom to kneel upon entry here" The participants start to kneel, but Corin does it a little slower. "The building past the ceremony stage is the Fortress of Promise, an important UWO government building holding documents, records, and important members. Only those granted high honors may step foot inside." Jasper waits for a second after he finishes talking "Okay, you may rise." They all start to stand back up "Now everyone, step onto a circle platform. There should be one for each of you on the stage." Around the symbols at the center of the stage are circle platforms for the attendees Corin steps up to the middlemost platform Jasper walks up to everyone individually giving them each a gray crystal sphere. "This is the device I spoke of earlier, the one that allows the Chyros to see and judge you. The device will change color according to who is judging you currently. The sequence order is Red for Flame, Yellow for Thunder, Blue for Tidal, Brown for Stone, and Aqua for Gust. You get one chance for each of the five elements." "When the color sequence ends your crystal will either shatter, meaning you failed, or glow, matching the color to whom deems you worthy." "If it glows multiple colors you will choose a magic to inherit but we will only discuss that further if need be." "Now that the explanations are out of the way we shall begin, and we will be going from left to right". Corin thinks to himself as he watches. A girl, shorter than me, with pink hair. The Crystal glows Red Yellow Blue Brown Aqua the sequence then ends Hers glows red, and she smirks with confidence. A boy, muscular, brown hair The Crystal glows the sequence Shatters. A boy with, a droopy posture, and green hair. The Crystal glows the sequence It cracks and then shatters. A boy, bold, blond. The Crystal glows the sequence Shatters. My Turn. The Crystal glows Red Yellow Blue Brown Aqua Corin awaits his judgment brimming with hope The Crystal goes dark There''s a pause Corin''s hope turns to worry He feels the crystal vibrate a little No-no! Soft cracks start to form A look of despair coats Corin''s face The crystal shatters and shards fall from his hand to the ground. Corin clenches his fist, cutting himself on a crystal shard in his hand. The others continue as Corin stares into the distance. It''ll be ok, Nothing will change, people go all the time without magic... The last person is going A boy, with black hair, like me. The Crystal: Red Yellow Blue Brown Aqua The crystal shines Blue. Jasper walks up to the middle of the stage "Well, it''s already about 6pm and we got a lot more to do for those of you who passed!" Corin looks into the sky, it''s dark out already. How did it get so late... Jasper continues to wrap up formalities "This concludes our 83rd entry batch of the yearly ceremony." The Guards clap "For those of you who passed I need you to stay here, the rest of you will be returning home. Please do comply, it makes my job much easier." "Again stay there those who passed, someone will be here to take you to the next part of your ceremony. The rest of you may start following me now." Jasper starts to head downstairs The unworthy follow behind. When they reach the bottom of the stairs the blimp is gone and the entrance is well guarded. Everyone''s a little confused except Jasper. Jasper turns to them "It is already much too late and the blimp was just for show, he turns to a guard on his right "Open it". The guard on his right holds a purple rhombus-shaped crystal, It''s a magic stone. The guard throws it on the ground and cracks it, opening a large purple ring vertically that has a purplish void in the center. Corin is confused by the purple magic What kind of magic is that? It doesn''t fit in the five magic elements. Jasper points at the purple void "Stepping through here will send you back to where you came from before we picked you up, now please step through one at a time." No one goes through, but then Jasper sticks his hand and takes it out. "Look it''s completely safe." Corin puts together that the purple magic probably was how the blimp traveled so fast Everyone looks at each other, then one by one the unworthy step through. Corin''s turn to go through, he''s hesitant but he does as he''s told. Coein steps through, he''s outside in front of his housing unit. "They could''ve at least got me to the rail, now I gotta walk up five flights of stairs." Corin sadness has started to fade away, he starts to think that maybe he overreacted and the life he lives is enough. But as he thinks this he feels a sudden rumbling in the ground. Corin looks around to find the source. He looks up. The worst has happened. The barrier that keeps out the Wind is breached. There''s a massive hole in the top. The wind is overpowering the barrier causing it to deteriorate rapidly Corin starts to feel the unrelenting force of the wind push against him. Corin fills with worry I got to get to my family! But as Corin thinks this, swarms of creatures made of a black essence that can only be physically described as Tar. Start to crawl their way down from other housing units. Corin panics What are those?! They had started to flood the district, destroying, eating, and ripping everyone and everything in sight. Corin sees that most of the housing units around him are destroyed, windows stained with blood. He looks back at his home The condition was as he remembers it They haven''t made it to mine yet, there''s still time! He''s noticed by a pack of creatures. He darts for the staircase. They follow in pursuit. He makes it to floor two. He runs faster but they match his speed, some even crawling vertically along the homes while some stop and enter windows and attack families. He reaches the stairs and runs up. He''s on floor three, but he''s clawed on the ankle and trips. He gets surrounded and held down by multiple creatures. They swarm him. The creatures start clawing and biting at him and he screams in pain pleading for help. "PLEASE SOMEBODY!!!" Suddenly the creatures ignite into flames, and as they scream they''re gone to ash. Corin''s bleeding all over from scratch and bite marks He''s confused about what just happened but thinks he''s in the clear. Corin attempts to stand. As he tries to get up he collapses, having sustained mortal wounds along his body, and he is losing more blood than his body can handle. He hasn''t come to terms with dying yet. He gets up and continues to make his way up limping and injured. I can make it... He reaches floor four. Two more creatures leap at him from the wall on his side. They''re electrocuted and turn to ash. He turns but nothing''s there. Corin''s body is shaking with pain He keeps limping with haste. More crawl up from the side of the building. The creatures start flooding in at him one by one from behind and his side. He''s lugging himself up the last flight not attentive to the imminent death that follows. The creatures pounce, pouring down onto Corin like heavy rainfall. But... As the horde of creatures get near Corin, they are struck randomly by a projectile made up of elemental magic. (Flame, Gust, Stone, Thunder, Tide) Corn hears the monsters behind him but his only focus is just to make it to his door. Corin reaches his door, thinking that his family could already be dead, but he knows that he shouldn''t dare believe in such a thing. Blood drips from his hand on the floor as he reaches for it. He grabs the doorknob. He prepares for the worst. He starts opening the door The building shakes. Hinges start coming off It begins to collapse. Corin''s hand slips from the knob He falls over the railing. Corin is now plummeting. Knowing that he won''t survive the fall, he''s wondering what his family is doing in their last moments. Thunk Corin hits the floor and starts fading in and out of consciousness. He passes out. After some time passes he wakes up slowly thinking about how long he was knocked out. Checking his body he realizes that it''s not hurt as much as he thought it would be from the fall. Actually... He''s in perfect health. No longer has even a single cut in him. He looks around. Nothing''s happening, nothing''s moving. The tar creatures are suspended mid-fall. The collapsing buildings are still. Even the wind has halted. What''s going on? A loud noise comes from nearby. He looks but nothing''s there. Corin starts to feel a warmth surround him. Wanting answers he gets up and starts to wander. The warmth has grown into an irritating heat. He hears another sound again but cannot tell where it''s coming from. A large tree shaking catches his eye and he walks towards it. The heat has grown to a burning fire. A noise can be heard as he gets closer. Corin''s sweating a bit. As Corin approaches the tree he slows down and looks at it cautiously. Something large comes out from behind. Hiding all but its neck and head in the shadows of the night is a monstrous red dragon-like creature. Its eyes are yellow, with brown horns that grow away from its face. Embedded on top of the dragon''s head rests a red crystal sphere. The dragon stares at the collapsing housing, squinting its eyes as if it''s looking for something. The burning fire returns to a comforting warmth. Corin looks at it curiously for a moment. The dragon turns to Corin and they make eye contact. Corin jumps back a bit. The dragon returns to looking at the housing The dragon does a double take gazing back at Corin again as if it is surprised, then quickly looks into the shadows that cover it. "Have we decided?" It says in a monstrous voice. Corin is shocked that it can talk. There is a silence as the dragon stares into the shadow. More voices can be heard coming from the shadow in response to the dragon, all saying "He''ll do" out of sync. Corin is in a state of shock, looking at the dragon. What the hell? The dragon smiles as he looks back at Corin. Corin turns to run away but as he does a purple ring forms below where he stands faster than he can react. He falls through the ring. Three Hundred Million Somewhere in the Territory of Eagle lies a Stone temple, hidden away by the rest of society. Because of their seclusion, the residents have to create their own barrier to protect against the harsh winds. This temple is home to only two people, an elderly man named Chrongrey and his adopted pupil, a seventeen-year-old girl named Ida Velox. Chrongrey is white, 5ft 10in, wears circular glasses, has a long white beard, and a tall pointy greyish blue cap with a matching robe. He always carries a wooden walking stick with a turquoise orb on top. Ida''s skin is tannish brown, she''s 5''8, has short messy black hair, brown eyes, a beauty mark on the left side of her face, and is wearing an oversized teal football jersey, jean shorts, and knee-high white socks. Chrongrey is in his study sitting down and looking into an older book. BAM Ida slams the door open Chrongrey quickly slides the book back under his desk. Ida has an eager look on her face "Old Man!" she yells Chrongrey jumps out of his seat "What is it?" Ida gets quiet and twiddles her fingers. "There''s nothing to eat..." Chrongrey rolls his eyes and smiles as he gets up from his desk "Well then, we''ll just have to go to the market then won''t we?" "Just let me go see how long the barrier has before I have to charge it again." "Aye!" Ida says as she says salutes then runs off. "What is wrong with that girl..." Chrongrey says shaking his head and smiling. Chrongrey leaves his room and walks over to a door, upon opening it a spiral stairwell is made visible. At the bottom of the well is a darker room filled with books in every corner and in the center floats a seven-foot rhombus-shaped crystal that spins slowly. Chrongrey puts a hand on the crystal''s surface and it glows faintly. "As I thought, time for another charge." Chrongrey takes his hand off, grabs both hands onto his staff, and slams it onto the ground. His eyes, along with the sphere on top of his cane, glow turquoise and energy falls from the sphere like water and runs toward the Crystal. As the crystal consumes the river of energy it glows brighter. Chrongrey stops, his eyes dim and so does his orb. His body starts to shake in fatigue. "That should be enough" He starts slowly walking in the other direction "I really got to make Ida start doing this, alas she hasn''t the control over her magic." Ida can be heard yelling from the ground level "Gramps are we Going?!!!" Rushing an old man... Chrongrey thinks shaking his head. He then taps his staff on the ground and appears before Ida. "So Impatient." He says as he hits her on the head with his staff. Chrongrey then opens the door for Ida awaiting her exit. She walks out rubbing her head and he follows and closes the door behind him. Outside the tower is a small barrier with barely any room to walk around. Chrongrey looks at the powerful wind fight against it. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Ida looks at the wind too "That wind huh... never gives." Chrongrey chuckles then grabs a purple crystal from his robe pocket He throws it down onto the floor and a purple portal opens up vertically. They both walkthrough Year 600/7-am/Day of Corin''s Blessing Ceremony A Market District is a place for any form of farmer, miner, jeweler, smith, craftsman, collector, or whomever to meet trade, and or sell to. These places span for miles with different types of kiosks each more colorful than the last. Ida looks around curiously. "Have we been here before?" Chrongrey looks around admiring the environment. "No, we haven''t, I''m glad you noticed. I chose a Market district of the Grizzly region." Ida smiles. "It''s a nice change of scenery!" Chrongrey turns to her. "Couldn''t agree more" "Ok, are you ready?" He says tossing her a bag of coins Ida catches it "There should be around 3 thousand Tel in there." He puts on some small reading glasses and Ida grabs some large circular goggles from her back pocket and puts them on over her eyes. Ida gets into a running stance and puts a thumbs up. Chrongrey pulls out an old stopwatch and a list. Chongrey squints at it. "We need a month''s supply of Spacial Magic stones" He starts the timer. Ida''s eyes light up turquoise. She takes off moving faster than the eye can see When she runs a turquoise blur follows. She comes back with some purple magic stones and sets them by him. She takes off again bringing more back. Chrongrey continues to talk as she runs. "We need the following ingredient to last a month as well: Corn, Potatoes, Chicken-" Ida runs back and forth bringing the things back as he says them. Chrongrey: "- Onion, bell pepper, any form of chocolaty sweets, oh and I almost forgot we need more Tide and Thunder Magic stone!" She comes back with the last of the items Her turquoise-colored eyes fade away as she collapses to the floor panting. He stops the timer and then looks at her "You successfully did the list and you did it in 12 seconds, you held your magic for the whole time I''m proud, and it looks like you''re getting faster. I''d say you''re almost at Mach One." She gets back up very slowly, legs shaking "That does not get easier." "It will, in time. You just have to keep practicing." He says grabbing one of the chocolates Ida brought back. He puts it in his mouth but quickly spits it out. Ida looks at him concerned. "What''s wrong?!" He wipes his mouth after spitting out the chocolate "This is dark chocolate, I''m deducting points." Ida throws her hands up like she''s innocent "I couldn''t find anything else I swear!" Chrongrey chuckles "Well, I''ll let it slide for now..." A large royal blimp can be seen overhead and catches Ida''s eye. "Whoa... what is that!" Chrongrey looks up at it. "It''s that time of year again?" "What do you mean?" Ida says looking at him Chrongrey raises his hand to his chin. "I guess I''ve never had to tell you. Once a year the UWO does a ceremony that helps people without magic get magic from Mighty beings known as the Chyros." Ida points upward with a realization." "Oh, I know those guys they were in one of your super old books." Chrongrey looks at her sternly "What did I say about reading those." Ida looks down, hands behind her back, and kicks a rock "don''t..." Chrongrey looks back at the blimp as it enters a large purple ring "That''s right." "I have a question I''ve been meaning to ask you..." She says as she watches picking her head back up Chrongrey looks at her awaiting the question "Why don''t you have other pupils of time magic, and just me?" Chrongrey looks into the distance "Unfortunately that is a conversation you aren''t ready for yet..." "You''re always hiding stuff!" She says crossing her arms Chrongrey pats her on the head "Ida look... There are things about this world that you couldn''t even fathom, things that if I were to tell you about right now, you would call me a liar." "I promise when the time comes, you will find out everything you need to know." Ida nods in contempt Chrongrey goes and picks up most of the groceries leaving Ida to carry the rest "Ok, are you ready to head back? I''ll make us up some pie." She looks around to make sure she has her belongings then goes and grabs the remaining items. "Yea!" She says with excitement. Chrongrey chuckles and throws down a purple crystal opening a portal He lets Ida step through first then he follows with the portal closing behind them. 6:10pm - During the attack in Grizzly Ida is at their kitchen table with a napkin around her neck and a fork and knife in hand chanting "Pie! PIE! PIEEEE! Chrongrey throws a plate at her but she ducks and it hits the wall behind her shattering She gets back up slowly Chrongrey comes to the table with a steaming pie "I thought you would never hush up! I said it was ready multiple times!" Ida chuckles. "Sorry..." As they prepare to eat a knock can be heard on the door Chrongrey quickly turns to the door "What in the gods?!" Ida jumps up and gets into a fighting stance activating her magic The door explodes open and a man in a high-tech black metallic armor walks through. He looks around the interior as he enters, and settles his eyes on Chrongrey "You know, For a man of your accumulated age, you would think someone would have any information about you." His voice sounds malicious, as well as robotic from his armor. He examines Chrongret and Ida "See your only mistake was your little scourges. See, the girl leaves behind time magic residue whenever you go out, due to her lack of control. So I''ve yet to catch you in the act, but luckily I found something I can''t normally find when I''m hunting you, the location of your portal, I can''t ever find it in time, but I found the space magic residue and was able to trace the opposite ends location-." He turns to Ida "- to here." Ida looks worried thinking it''s her fault that this happened. Chrongrey slams his staff on the ground and his eyes light up Large Turquoise chains appear out of the air and wrap around the armored man while tightening, he''s no longer moving. Ida looks to Chrongrey "Whoa how did you-" Chrongrey taps his staff on the floor And they are now down on the Lower level of the tower. "How did you?..." Ida says with her head spinning. Chrongrey rushes over to the Rhombus Crystal that creates the barrier. He puts his hand on the crystal and then it passes through. Ida watches Chrongrey pulls out a scroll that is locked with turquoise-colored chains. Ida is shocked "How much are you gonna hide from me!" Chrongrey turns around looking at her "There isn''t time! My magic won''t hold him long, I can already feel him escaping, Ida take this." He hands her the scroll and calms his voice down. "Remember how I told you earlier today that everything will happen when the time is right, well it looks like Time is ready for you." Ida has a weary look on her face, she doesn''t like where this is headed. "What do you mean?" Chrongrey smiles "Protect that scroll, shall you use it and it will show you the way to fixing everything!" Ida''s voice is teary "I- I don''t understand why everything is happening so fast?! What''s there to fix?! What''s gonna happen? A voice can be heard from the upper floors "Where is the symphony?! I know you have it!" Chrongrey looks upward He already broke free, there''s no choice I''ll have to portal her out of here. But where do I send her... where will I know she is safe... Chrongrey closes his eyes and has a vision. He opens his eyes and smiles. So You''ve finally chosen someone after all this time... If you decided to trust Him, Then so shall I. Chrongrey grabs a Spacial Magic stone from his pocket "Take care of yourself kiddo. I know you''ll make the right decisions." Chrongrey throws a magic stone behind Ida and it opens a portal. The Man in Black finds them and sees the scroll in Ida''s hands. Chrongrey swings his staff into the barrier crystal causing it to shatter The man in black looks at Chrongrey. "YOU OLD FOOL!" he shouts He rushes over to Ida,and his right arm molds into a blade. But before he can attack, Chrongrey pushes Ida through the portal. She slips through the portal, the scroll in one hand and the other reaching out to Chrongrey, tears run down her cheeks, thinking this is her fault that she may never see him again. The portal closes. The man in black looks over to Chrongrey "Do you think an environmental factor can kill Me, Chronos!" Chrongrey''s face gets serious "Not quite, but you shouldn''t have the slightest knowledge of that." The winds surround the tower crushing it beneath the pressure. The City of Lights 6:20 pm Present day Through two purple rings that open high in the sky, fall Corin and Ida. Corin looks down to see a large pond surrounded by a massive urban area that lights the night sky with a vibrant yellow sheen. He starts to scream as he plummets, but he hears the quiet cries of another. He stops to listen and then looks over to the source, it''s Ida. "Hey!! Why are we falling?!" he shouts Ida turns in surprise to hear a voice, she wipes her tears away and then looks down "Ahhh why are we falling?!" Corin points at her "I asked you First!" Ida points back "I asked you second!" Corin looks back down, and notices they are approaching the floor rapidly "Are We Gonna Die?!" Ida looks down "We''re gonna Die!!!" she says looking back at him. Ida has a moment of contemplation Wait... I can slow myself down with magic! She looks over to Corin I don''t sense any magical ability, I''ll have to save him. Ida moves herself closer to Corin grabbing his arm and he looks at her in confusion. Ida activates her magic and they both start to faintly glow turquoise. "We''re slowing down but it''s still gonna hurt!" She says as she braces herself by wrapping her arms around Corin, and he puts his arms up awkwardly, unsure what to do. There''s a splash of shallow water followed by a thud After a bit, Ida slowly Gets up holding her side in pain "Are you ok? It looks like the bottom is made of stone or something." The ground under the water is a refined white marble. Corin stays laid down in the water. "No... I think I''m gonna lay here for a bit." She chuckles a bit and then sits next to him. "So what happened to you?" he says turning to her "I think, I lost everything..." She says looking down at him. "Me too..." Corin says as he stares deeply into the sky, watching the heavy wind pound at the barrier of wherever they are. Ida gets up and holds her hand out to Corin suggesting to leave the water. He grabs her and and they start to walk toward the closest ledge. "So how did you save us from dying a bit ago?" Corin asks as he walks next to her. "It''s Time Magic, the magic that controls the speed of something," Ida says. Corin turns to her with a confused expression. "I''ve never heard of time Magic" Ida crosses her arms. "I don''t blame you, the man who taught it to me was stubborn in taking on students" "You can''t be taught magic." Corin stops to say Ida stops to respond "I don''t know what to tell you but I was taught it." Corin shrugs and they continue to walk for a bit. "Hey so-" as Corin was about to ask a question, a powerful stream of water shoots out from below Corin, carrying him into the air. Ida Chuckles while watching him "IT LOOKS LIKE WE ARE IN A GIANT FOUNTAIN!" She yells so that Corin can hear her from way up. The water stops and Corin crashes back down into the fountain groaning in pain. "My butt..." Ida laughs her way over to him and offers another hand up. "What were you gonna ask me?" "Do you any idea what you''re doing next? Cause honestly I have no idea." Corin asks Ida as he grabs her hand. "Uhh yea I..." she says as she starts to search her person with haste. "Where''s the scroll? Have you seen a scroll? It''s got like blue chains on it?!" she says, now with panic. Corin looks at her confusedStolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "I don''t think I have?" She starts to run around and search the water. "Look around, it has to be here!" She reaches into her pocket to grab something. "I lost my goggles too? It''s fine I don''t need them." Corin watches as Ida activates her magic and starts speeding through the fountain that shoots water up as she passes by. Corin is amazed by her magic and watches her run for a second or two then he looks around the water to search for it, then sees his reflection in the water as he looks down. "WHAT?!!" Ida runs around until she sees the scroll being shot into the air by a fountain. "Yes, it''s here!!" Can''t seem to find my goggles though. The fountain stops and the scroll falls, she caches it and then makes her way back to Corin. She returns to see he''s holding his hair with his hands kneeling into the water like he''s looking at something. Ida approaches him deactivating her magic "What''s wrong?" Corin turns back to her "Why is my Hair White?!" Corin who normally had black hair has undergone a transformation, his hair has turned white. Ida points at his hair "You didn''t do that yourself?" Corin Is unable to stop touching his hair out of panic. "No, I Didn''t do this myself! My hair is supposed to be black!" Ida shows him the scroll "It suits you, you''ll live. Anyways I found the scroll." The compliment distracts Corin from his hair and he looks at the scroll. "What is it?" Ida shrugs her shoulders "Honestly I have no clue. All I know is that it is supposed to be te key to fixing everything, or something like that." Corin''s eyes light up "Fixing everything?" Ida puts the scroll in her back pocket "Supposedly. But the man who gave this to me wouldn''t make something like this up." Corin thinks I would have no way of getting back to Grizzly as of now, she''s probably my best bet. "So it''s locked with chains?" He says looking back at her. Ida nods her head. "It is, I don''t know what I''m going to do as of right now though." "Why don''t we, work together?" Corin suggests "I don''t have magic, but I can be use full in other ways." "Maybe." Ida says looking at him cautiously. "Why do you want to." "My home was attacked, I promise you all I want is to see my family." Ida looks at him up and down. I don''t think he''s lying... "Okay. I think I''ll take you up on that offer." She says sticking her hand out. "I''m Ida." Corin smiles, glad that she''s willing to trust him, and shakes her hand, "I''m Corin." Water bursts out next to them. "Let''s get out of here, for real this time" Ida suggests. After running out of the water they see a giant sign lit with bright yellow lights saying: Welcome to Fantastic Las Luces, the entertainment district of the Bighorn sheep region. Past the sign is the beautifully lit city with extremely large and luxurious buildings. Corin looks at the sign "BigHorn Sheep?! That''s a bit far..." Ida takes her jersey off, she has a black under top on "Yeah, I think we are in an elite-class entertainment district. Give me your clothes" Corin quickly covers his eyes. "I''m not doing that?!" Ida looks at him dumbfounded. "Oh grow up, I have underclothes on. Gimme your clothes so I can dry them with my magic" She demonstrates by activating her magic and spinning her shirt rapidly making water shoot off in every direction She puts her shirt on and sticks her hand out, demanding Corin''s clothes He starts to take his shirt and pants off "Don''t look! Ida laughs a bit while turning in the other direction "I promise you I''m not looking." He hands her the clothes, Ida dries them and hands them back to Corin and he reclothes himself. "Thanks." Ida turns back to him "Yep." They start to look around the streets of the city, no one''s here. Ida has a confused look on her face "You would think there would be a lot of rich people here right?" Corin nods. "Yeah... Maybe it''ll be easier to do what we need to do. He stops for a second and thinks. "Which is... What is it that we are trying to do?" Ida pulls the scroll out again "I don''t actually have a plan yet." She says embarrassed "See I think these chains here are made with time magic. But I don''t know how to unlock it, so we''ll need to get someone to undo it. Corin nods as he looks over to a quiet humming that can be heard from their left of the road. It gets louder anx bright lights appear, eventually showing a red convertible with its headlights on. As it speeds past them, a well-suited guy driving with a beautifully dressed girl in the passenger seat can be heard talking. The girl turns the radio on as she talks. "We can''t be late, Rafferty is supposed to appear." That''s all that Corin and Ida could hear before the car was gone Corin looks off into the street where the car left. "Wherever they''re going is probably where Everyone''s at." Ida nods "This Rafferty guy seems pretty important, maybe he can help us out." Corin starts walking in the direction of where the car went "It''s worth a shot." Ida follows behind as they now walk deeper into the city Currently time: 7 pm A flip phone is buzzing in the pocket of a man in an all-black suit, with a red tie and black gloves. He is white and has slicked-back dark red hair with a black streak. He takes the phone out and answers the call, putting it to his ear. "Yeah, What''s up." A man with a familiar voice can be heard "Rafferty, the Symphony is in Luces, I can''t make it myself I''ve been... Injured." Rafferty smiles. "Leave it to me." He hangs up. Corin and Ida look in awe at the massive building in front of them. It has red and yellow lights on all sides and glass doors with a giant glowing red sign saying: Raffery''s Rolls. Corin looks at the sign "This Rafferty guy must be rich" Ida nods in agreement. "Let''s see if we can get him to help us out." They walk up to the entrance and are greeted by the bouncer who is dressed in a black suit. "Rafferty Roll''s is an exclusive Casino for those of Class, and there is a dress code that you do not meet." Corin and Ida look down at their clothes. Corin looks at Ida "We''re gonna have to get new clothes." Ida winks at him as she starts walking to the bouncer. Corin has a worried look on his face What is she about to do? Ida walks past the guard He turns around to her "Hey you can''t go in the-" Ida activates her magic and taps him on the shoulder causing him to move and speak extremely slowly. Ida looks back at Corin, her eyes glowing "We gotta hurry he won''t be slowed down long." Ida runs into the casino and Corin follows. They enter, and it''s far more elegant on the inside. There''s music playing, people are everywhere, all dressed with wealth. There are many expensive-looking chandeliers, the floor is layered with a red carpet over white tile flooring. There are slots lined up all around the store, to the left of the entrance is a stage preparing for a show. Further to the back are card game tables and an elevator that leads to the upper floors. Corin sees an employee section by the stage "Back there!" he says pointing. They run inside And shut the door finding clothing that is both appropriate for the setting and stylish just hanging on a rack Ida looks through the clothes "These are costumes for the stage, we should take some, we''d blend in better." Corin nods in agreement After spending some time changing clothes, they come out. Corin is wearing a black dress shirt, a white tie, white pants and black dress shoes Ida is wearing a sparkly turquoise dress with white heels, white dress gloves, a white handbag, and a white pin in her hair that pulls it back into a bun. Corin has a smile on his face "Do we look good or what!" Ida does a spin in her dress. "I know right?! I can''t believe they have these just lying around for performers! Wait, we can''t lose focus, we need to find out about Rafferty." "Yeah," Corin says in agreement "What if we ask around, see how long it''ll take till he gets here?" "Ok, sounds good," Ida says while taking off. Ida activates her magic running around the casino and asking different people questions until she returns to Corin She trips and lands on her face. "Owww, I''m not used to heels." Corin helps her up "What did they say?" "He won''t be here for another hour. What are we supposed to do in the meantime?" she says looking around. Corin puts his hand in his pocket and pulls out some bronze and silver coins then counts them. "I have like 800 Tel, we could..." Ida looks over at his hand "I mean, might as well." They start walking, looking around for a game to play and Corin sees a blackjack table. "Look, there''s a blackjack ta-" They are suddenly bumped into by a blonde man in a blue suit. "My apologies." he says as he walks off." The ignore it and continue walking. As they approach the table Corin reaches into his pocket to pull his change out. "It''s not here!" he says in panic Ida looks at him in confusion "What are you talking about." Corin searches his pockets "My Tel is gone, I think that guy pickpocketed me." Ida has a realization and looks down into her handbag it''s open and the scroll is gone. Ida starts to panic "CORIN HE TOOK THE SCROLL!" They both turn where the man is headed but he is nowhere to be seen. "I''m gonna look for him you do the same." Ida activates her magic and starts to run around the casino''s first floor as fast as she can, trying to move past the crowds of people playing their games. Corin heads to the exit to see if he left. I can''t find him anywhere! Ida thinks as she runs around looking for him. She runs to the entrance where Corin is, and out of the glass doors, she sees for only a split second a red dragon looking back at her. She jumps back in fear What the hell?! I think I''m going crazy. She quickly gathers herself and runs outside to sees Corin looking around. "Do you see him?" "No" Corin responds Click Click Wrist restraints were placed on Corin and Ida from behind by two UWO patrol officers, they are wearing white policing attire, with a royal blue stripe over the left side of their chests. They look back in confusion "What''s going on?!" Corin said "Yea?!" Ida says backing him up The officer who cuffed Corin looks at Ida. "For the use of Magic against another person, breaking into The Rafferry casino, stealing clothing from said casino" he looks back at Corin. "-and being an affiliate ofthe person who did those things, you two are under arrest." The officers, Ida and Corin look back at the bouncer who is still slowed down by time magic trying to finish his sentence. Ida chuckles. Man with a Plan 8 pm |UWO Patrol Officer station| Corin and Ida are sitting on the floor of a jail cell, as an officer sits at his desk writing the report on them. Ida walks up to the bars and starts to shake them "Hey old guy, why don''t you just let us out of here-uhhhh." The officer at his desk looks at Ida, scoffs, and continues to write. Ida goes back to sit with Corin on the floor "Can''t believe that guy took the scroll." Ida falls to the floor, looking up at the ceiling "I don''t know what we''re gonna do." The phone rings at the officer''s desk, he picks it up and starts to listen as someone speaks. Corin and Ida look at the officer. Intrigued, they go over to the bars to try to listen in on his conversation. A lady''s voice can be heard over the phone "I''m sending two officers, Iss and Nagas, you will confirm their identities and hand over the mage and her associate to them." "That won''t be necessary mam, I-" the officer says right before he''s cut off. "You don''t know what you are dealing with, trust me and follow orders." the lady says The phone hangs up, and the officer puts it back down. Corin and Ida run back to their spot so it doesn''t look like they are snooping in on his conversation. A knock is heard in another room The officer raises his eyebrow. "Already?." After he leaves the room to confirm the noise, a metallic clanking sound is heard above Corin and Ida. A vent drops to the floor, and Ida and Corin look at it curiously. From the vent drops a white, blonde man in a blue suit, with green eyes who looks no older than twenty. Ida immediately recognizes him as the one who stole from them. "You stole my scroll! Give it back!" The blonde man reaches into his back pocket and pulls out the scroll, then throws it to Ida "When I was at the casino I was there to pocket some rich idiots, but then I was given the opportunity of a lifetime, the Rafferty Rolls vault." He says with enthusiasm. Corin and Ida tilt their heads, not understanding what he means. The blonde man continues. "A girl who assaulted a man with magic and a boy accompanying her were arrested right outside the building, causing everyone, security included to watch as a thug such as yourself was caught. All I had to do was just disable the magic stone power system, but unluckily for me a strong source of magic caused me to be caught by a sensor," he says pointing to the scroll. Ida looks at him upset and arms crossed.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! "You stole it that''s your fault!" The blonde man chuckles a bit "I could unlock it for you if you were to help me that is." Ida and Corin Jump up and rush to the bars "What is it." Footsteps and conversation can be heard from another room, it''s the patrol officer returning with the officers sent to take Corin and Ida away. The blond man holds the cell key up so Corin and Ida can see it "What''ll it be?" Corin and Ida look at each other indecisively The officer enters the room, the cell doors are open. "Oh no." the patrol officer says. Two people follow from behind him a man in an all-black biker suit and helmet (Iss), and a girl in a matching green and black suit (Nagas). They turn to the officer and the woman in green speaks. "Where are they, your report said girl with magic that slowed down-" She senses something and looks up at the vent. Iss looks up at it as well. He smacks his hand onto his helmet in annoyance and starts walking away. The officer looks confused as he watches Nagas follow behind Iss waving goodbye. "Never mind it''s not your fault, continue your duties, and thank you for your service." They leave the building and get onto their matching motorcycles. Nagas puts her wrist to her head and speaks into a device wrapped around it. "I have a status report for Aurora." A woman''s voice responds "I''ll transfer you." A buzzing sound is made then a click "What is it." "I saw Tide magic residue," Nagas says sounding defeated. Aurora responds "Are you sure it wasn''t the boy''s?" Nagas shakes her head "He was reported magicless, it''s definitely Loc." Something shattering can be heard over the device "Him? He has been causing this department hell for months I-!" there''s a silence for a second. "I''m on my way, in the meantime track them, figure out why they are together, and don''t let him find out, he''ll run away if he knows you''re following." The device hangs up Iss and Nagas start their Motorcycles and drive off. On the rooftop of a building near the UWO patrol station are Corin, Ida, and their mystery guy. Ida and Corin look at him in judgment "So what do you want from us uhh-" Ida says staring him down with little to no contempt. The blonde man bows in a gentlemanly manor. "That''s right you don''t know my name, it''s Loc Marion, and I already know your names, I saw them on that guy''s report." "So what''s the game plan." Corin says with a rushed attitude." Loc smiles and puts his hands up in a calming gesture. "I get it you want the scroll unlocked, it must be important. So for that to happen you are going to help me get into, steal from, and then get back out of the Rafferty Casino vault." Ida smacks her hand on her face "ughhh I knew that''s what you were gonna say." Loc walks to the edge of the building "Are you guys ready?" Corin is confused "We''re going now?" Ida follows behind Loc "Faster we do it the faster we get the scroll" Loc laughs "That''s the spirit." He then jumps from one roof to the next. Ida follows and Corin trails behind reluctantly. As they travel for a bit, Corin notices that every time Loc jumps theres a splash of water. Corin runs faster passing Ida and catches up to Loc. "You move pretty well for someone who doesn''t have magic." Loc says Corin smiles, liking the compliment. "I used to run from time to time, but anyway I wanted to ask you about your magic." Ida catches up to them using her time magic. "Me too!" As they run Loc''s eyes light up Blue, he puts his hand out and water droplets start to fall on the floor, turning into two-foot spherical monsters with sharp teeth, stubby arms, and legs, with blank eyes. Ida and Corin are in awe. Corin picks up the little creature and plays with it while Ida asks how Loc did that and if she can too. Loc stops quickly then the other two do as well. "Woah woah woah. There''s no way you don''t know about magic strategy when you have magic." Ida tilts her head, unsure what he means. Loc is surprised "Wow, ok I didn''t think we''d need this conversation, let''s sit it''s a long one." They all sit down and Loc starts to explain "So we have the five elemental magics right." Corin and Ida nod. "Ok so each magic has an advantage and disadvantage, let me show you." He pulls out a pocket knife and starts to carve an image into the ground "Look." ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Tide -> Flame -> Gust -> Stone -> Thunder -> ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª "Does that make sense?" He says looking at them both They nod then Ida asks a question "So what does that have to do with what I asked "In getting to that he says." He draws another image below it ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Tide -> Flame -> Gust -> Stone -> Thunder -> Summon<-Attack<-Control<-Create<-Enhance ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª He points to what he says as he talks. "Each element has a specialty to which they are best but are not limited, in my case Tide Magic excels at summoning magic but is not so good at any other, it''s possible just difficult. The reverse in strengths and weaknesses that the elements have also causes a balance through the five elements making all of them able to defeat one another. Corin and Ida quickly raise their hands Loc points at Corin "You raised your hand first, what''s your question." Ida frowns "When I met Ida I was confused as to what time magic even is and how it fits with the five elements." "Time Magic? I''ve never heard of that either, so I don''t have an answer to it." He points to Ida "Your turn." Ida gets excited "Ok, so what specialty do you think time magic has?!" Loc nods "Umm... try explaining your powers to me." Ida taps her head while thinking. "I can make someone or somwthing faster or slower." "I''d say control enhancement magic." Loc says looking at the carved words. "Why not control?" Corin asks "I probably should''ve explained the difference between the strategies. Attack style is best at dealing damage, suumming is best at summoning creatures that are made of your element, control is best at controlling the environment around you, enhancement changes your own strengths, and creation allows you to create inanimate objects." Ida gets up "So I can do it? Why didn''t you just say that to begin with." She didn''t here a thing I said Loc says disappointed. Corin shakes his head as he gets up "No, he just said it''s difficult to do." Ida puts her hand on Corin''s shoulder "Yeah, but I''m amazing." Corin laughs and walks off in the direction they were originally headed. Ida follows with a concerned attitude "Im not joking, I really am awesome!" Loc smiles as he watches Corin and Ida playfully talk then follows behind. Red Loc, Ida, and Corin are standing on a roof looking down at the Rafferty Rolls Casino. A crowd is forming at the entrance as a black and red limousine pulls up. They all cheer as a young, handsome-looking white man with slicked-back dark red hair with a black streak, wearing an all-black suit steps out. -"OMG ITS HIM" -"He''s here at the casino" -"He''s so cute!" Corin looks down, leaning over the ledge "That guy looks important." "That''s Rafferty, the owner. He runs the city." Loc says as he waves his hands around in a gesture. Ida looks over to Loc "So are you gonna tell us how we are doing this?" Loc looks over the ledge and watches as Rafferty shakes hands and takes pictures with the crowd "You''re going to use Rafferty as a distraction for me to get to the vault." Ida and Corin turn to him concerned "What do you mean by that?!" Ida says Loc points back over to Rafferty "Look how obnoxious he is, he is literary throwing money!" As he says this aids and Corin turns to see Rafferty toss money into the air for the crowd. "He will have every guard around him, and so if you guys can just distract him and the guards for just long enough so that I can get past the security devices we should be good." Corin looks around at the Casino and everyone starts to enter "But how are we supposed to do that now that we''ve been kicked out once." Loc walks behind Corin and Ida who are standing next to the ledge "Maybe cause a little trouble, we''ll call it Plan T." As loc says this he pushes Corin and Ida off the 40 foot ledge. Corin screams and Ida looks up at Loc shaking her fist and screaming: "I''ll GET YOU FOR THIS!" Loc walks away waving and loudly saying "Good luck" Ida quickly moves over to Corin "Again with the falling." He says with an annoyed tone Ida chuckles and holds onto his shoulder then activates her magic to slow them down. This time they land on their feet Corin looks over at Ida "Why couldn''t you do that last time." "I''ve never slowed down before, only sped up so it was a gamble," Ida says as they start making their way to the casino. Suddenly they bump into something- someone Rafferty stands before them looking at Ida He''s a bit taller than them up close "Time magic, how exotic." Ida starts thinking how lucky they are to have him this far out of the building so now Loc can get to the vault. Corin looks concerned. I didn''t even see or hear him come toward us. Rafferty puts his hand out "Hand over the symphony and I''ll think about letting you walk away." Ida sharpens up How does he know about that?! Wait he called it the symphony like that man, they must be working together." "I don''t have anything like that." She puts a hand behind her back making a thumbs down so Corin can see. Corin looks at her hand This guy is no good, I knew it. Rafferty grins and puts his hand on her shoulder "Don''t lie to me." He says as his eyes start to glow scarlet. Ida pushes his arm off and starts to back up a bit, getting into a fighting stance and activating her magic. Rafferty looks over into her eyes. "That turquoise color, there''s no mistake, you wield time magic and you have the Symphony!" Rafferty has a circle divided into 8ths appear above his head and there''s a little hand on it like a clock. It starts to spin and lands on 3x. Afterward, Rafferty blitzes toward Ida and gut-punches her, causing her to lose her breath and fall over. Corin runs over and punches Rafferty across the face, but it''s in vain for Rafferty stands there unaffected looking down at Corin. "And this is all you have? What can you do that she can''t?!" Rafferty says as he starts laughing Corin takes a step back fighting ready, but is a little shaky in worry that he won''t win. Ida tries to get back up but she''s her breath hasn''t returned to her and she wheezes. Corin punches Rafferry in the liver area but again Rafferty remains unfazed, then counters Corin''s attack with a swift kick to the head (Above Corin''s head appear the words Critical 1.2x in scarlet),Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. causing Corin to go flying back to where Ida is. Corin is dazed but still tries to recover but as he tries to Rafferty hits him again with a left hook which makes him fall back over to the street floor. Without Rafferty realizing it, Ida jumps over to him trying to kick him in the head, but over Rafferty''s head appears the words: (Bonus: Evasion) in scarlet which leads to Rafferty ducking below Ida''s kick from behind. Ida goes flying into a wall crashing into it. Rafferty walks casually over to Ida and then leans over her to look for the symphony. "A pity, you would think a time magic mage would be a challenge in the slightest." Quickly, Corin grabs Rafferty by the leg to try to stop him but it''s no use as Rafferty turns and stomps Corin in the back. "You don''t learn!" Rafferty now annoyed by Corin''s determination, starts to stomp Corin into the ground while he screams in agony. Ida yells at Rafferty begging him to stop but he doesn''t listen. Corin''s eyes go blank, he''s bleeding out the mouth with no strength to try and get back up. As Corin watches the world around him go dark, he notices things start to slow down. Nothing is moving, Ida is on the floor reaching for him as Rafferty stands above him preparing for another stomp. Corin with what energy he has left thinks about how what''s happening is similar to when he met that dragon and then starts to fall unconscious. With the flicker of his eyelids, he sees once again the red dragon, this time his body is hidden in the shadows of a building cast by moonlight. "You again?" He says in almost a whisper. The dragon looks over to Ida "This Girl is Quite the asset you picked up Boy." Corin starts to regain consciousness "No doubt she is the result of the old man. He must have seen that I picked you and sent her your way. I do hope he''s ok." Corin looking up at the dragon speaks faintly with what strength he has. "What are you talking about." he then coughs up blood The dragon looks at the spilled blood "It''s nothing... Right now you should be focusing on proving yourself." It says with a grin. Corin puts his head back down on the floor below him, covering his head in a puddle of blood. "You''re delusional, I can''t even stay awake." The dragon raises its voice. "You have been Blessed Corin Fortis, you just aren''t aware." The dragon says holding his head up high. Corin looks back in surprise his voice more clear than before. "What are you talking about?" The Dragon smiles down at him "Your flames crave fuel, give it to them!" Then backs into the shadow and time starts to resume, everything accelerates to its original speed. Following this Ida regains the energy to activate her magic. Allowing her to speed over and tackle Rafferty off of Corin who lies there barely conscious. Rafferty looks up at Ida who has him pinned down "You will pay!" Rafferty grabs her by the wrist and throws her off of him The words above Rafferty appear (Strength: 1.5x) Corin, covered in blood, struggles to get back up. Flames... fuel them. As Corin starts to try and get back up he starts to yell using all his energy just to try and stand. As he yells his scream becomes demented and his white hair starts to cackle like a fire. Rafferty sees this and runs over to stop it. But as Rafferty got close, an explosion of flame pushed him back. Through the settled flame rises Corin, his hair and eye red like fire. His strength has replenished a bit but he is still much fatigued. Corin looks around, he can see the magic residue of Rafferty and Ida, and he can also see how much they are both emitting. Rafferty is oozing with a Scarlet hue, while Ida''s turquoise aura grows feint. Corin runs over to Ida and helps her up. "Are you ok?" He says to Ida who''s breathing heavily. Ida nods then looks up at him. "Are you ok?! Why is your hair red?! Wait your eyes are red? Do you have magic?" Corin looks at his hands which are exuding a flame-like aura. "I think so, I can see your magic." Ida looks over to Rafferty who starts getting back up. "Corin I think I know how his magic works, the wheel decides his speed, right now he''s three times as fast as he normally is, and if we attack him or he attacks us, he has a chance of getting a boost to help him. It''s like a luck magic." Corin looks at her smacking his face. "Another stupid magic that no new ever heard of." She smacks him in the head Rafferty gets a Lucky bonus above his head Audio Perception and grins "Yes, it is luck magic, and you got it to a T, almost. I can spin a wheel to decide a factor of myself to try and increase, while throughout combat I get lucky bonuses that aid me, the longer the fight the greater the boosts can get. The wheel above Rafferty''s head starts to spin again and lands on 4x. Ida looks over to then nods toward the Casino. Corin sees and nods his head as Rafferty approaches them. Let''s see, if I remember, flame magic specializes in attack magic, so maybe a fireball? Corin puts his hand out as if he were to shoot something from it, but nothing happens. Rafferty uses this chance to attack Corin but Ida speeds them up to move them out of the way just fast enough so that Rafferty barely misses. Ida looks at Corin "What are you doing." Corin looks at her a little worried "I''m trying to figure this out but I need time." Ida looks at him and rubs her eye. "Yeah ok, I can do that." She sighs. Ida starts moving over to Rafferty who is standing confidently. He''s fast as he is now, but lets we if he can match my fastest. "For the next 12 seconds, your ass is mine." Ida declares as she points at Rafferty" She turns her head to Corin. "That''s how much time you got to figure it out, you got it." She looks back at Rafferty and gets into a running stance. Rafferty within a second appears before her and throws a punch but Ida vanishes as he does. From every direction of Rafferty, he is being punched by a turquoise blur. 1, 2, He tries to move but he can''t without being hit His magic activates as a defense mechanism, Bonus: Resistance 1.3x, speed 5x, speed 6x. Even as he gains speed it doesn''t work Ida moves too fast 6, 7, Corin feels a presence in his head, it''s the Dragon "The Magic in your body courses through you the same as your blood, image the fire rushing from your heart outward." The presence disappears." 11, 12, Ida starts to slow down rapidly and makes her way to Corin, legs shaking, and sits next to him. "I''ll sit here and speed you up so you can somewhat match his speed, it''s up to you." Corin looks at Rafferty who is standing there motionless, looking up into the sky, beaten up and tattered. His magic starts to rapidly increase to its max and he begins to move toward Corin. "IF SHE WAS ANY BETTER I''D BE DEAD!" He says laughing Above his head, many boosts start to appear Bonus: Resistance 10x Max, Speed 10x Max, Strength 10x Max. Corin starts to imagine his flames traveling from his heart out to his hand, and as he does a ball of flame moves at rapid speed just past Rafferty "Fire Magic, let''s see what you got," Rafferty says. Ida applies her magic to Corin, making his legs have a turquoise hue. Rafferty attacks and Corin manages to dodge thanks to the extra speed, but even the slightest movements at this level cause extreme pain to Corin''s legs. Ida yells at him "THE MAGIC I CAN GIVE YOU IS DEPENDENT ON YOUR PHYSICAL STAMINA!" Corin nods and dodges another of Rafferty''s attacks, this time when he moves out of the way Rafferty''s punch causes a wall behind Corin to crumble from wind pressure. Corin Charges a fireball in counterattack, it''s about as heavy as an average bowling ball, but Corin throws it like a baseball. It hits Rafferty center in the chest, but its effect is minimal. Rafferty then shrugs off the pain and continues to throw attacks at Corin as he dodges. Ida watches the two go at it, Corin and Rafferty move at extreme speeds, bouncing between lampposts and cars as everything is destroyed in their wake. Corin starts getting the hang of launching attacks and starts doing it at faster speeds, yet its effectiveness against Rafferty is minimal but there. If only I could just get more time to try and charge an attack, but he won''t let me catch my breath. Corin then looks at the Casino with an idea in mind. He looks over to Ida and dodges Rafferty''s attacks as he makes his way back to her. Corin picks up Ida and starts running in the direction of the Casino Ida grabs his shirt "What are you doing? We supposed to keep him away from there, Loc is- I get it, I''m going to increase the speed, don''t let go of me!" Corin starts to accelerate, causing Rafferty to follow a little slow behind. "GET BACK HERE!" Rafferty yells as he follows suit. Corin breaks through the glass front door and starts running to the back as the entire of Las Luces who is enjoying the Casino watches Rafferty follow. Some people start screaming and others start running. Corin charges a ball of fire in each hand and shoots one at Rafferty making him stumble and blows up a wall with the other that leads to the back, there are lasers and guards. Rafferty can be heard yelling from afar for the guards to stop them. The guards approach Ida and Corin but they run past them, as does Rafferty who calls them useless on his way through. A steel wall is at the other end of the hall, Corin charges another attack with each hand again and blows the next wall open as well as throwing one at Rafferty. Rafferty is hit again and stops moving, looking irritated beyond all hell. On the other side is Loc who is trying to enter a code by a large Vault door. He turns to see Corin and Ida behind him. "What are you-?!" Stops and moves out of the way so Loc can see Rafferty who is staring them down He chuckles a bit "Not the distraction in mind." Corin puts Ida in Loc''s arms and tries to convey his idea quickly so they don''t get caught "Make him fast, I''ll ride on his shoulders and charge an attack." Loc looks at Corin confused, but Corin doesn''t care and jumps on Loc''s back who is also carrying Ida. They look at Rafferty who grabs a black Metallic star-shaped device and puts it in his chest, then a black Tar liquid starts forming around his body, turning into black armor. It''s similar but not the same, the man who attacked my home had all black armor, he is red and black. I knew they were working together. Ida charges Loc up with time magic "Start running!" Corin blows another hole through a wall that leads outside and points to it telling LoC to go through it. Loc runs while carrying Ida in his arms and Corin on his shoulders as Corin charges up a larger attack. On the Shoulders of Rafferty''s armor are jet engines that turn on, allowing him to keep up with Loc. In the night of the city crowds of people from the Casino who are now outside watch as Loc runs down the street as Rafferty starts catching up. Loc sees this and creates water imps to throw at Rafferty which causes him to fly around uncontrollably and crash into buildings. After shaking the imps, machine guns are created in the sides of his arms and he starts shooting at Loc and as he misses, the road is torn up. Corin has a massive ball of flame in his hand the size of a beach ball. Loc looks up "Is it ready?!" Corin moves his head where Loc can see. "Ten more seconds." Rafferty''s voice is disoriented by the suit, making it sound mechanical "GIVE ME THE SYMPHONY!" Rafferty speeds up at max velocity and catches up to them, Ida sees this, knowing Corin still needs time. They don''t see him, if I yell to let them know it''ll be too late. She reaches her hand out, and a small turquoise chain shoots out, wrapping around Rafferty''s leg slowing him down. "Yes!" she said pumping her fist. Corin now holding a fireball the size of the front of a car notifies Loc to turn around, which he does. Corin sees the chain leading to Rafferty from Ida, and understands what she did, he looks back at Rafferty and throws the powerful ball of fire magic. And for the slightest moment for some reason, all three of them feel a slight vibration. The ball of Flame then hits Rafferty dead on causing an explosion that takes up a 100m radius. The Beginning After seeing a large explosion near the Rafferty Rolls Casino, Iss and Nagas start their motorcycles and rush to the scene. As they arrive, first responders have already cleared the area. They get off their bikes and show their badges to the first UWO officer they can find. "What happened here?" Nagas says in question. The Officer looks over to the large crater left in the ground. "We have a couple of witness testimonies but it''s absurd, no one''s story is the same as the last. The most common one is that a man in black and red armor was flying through the sky chasing three kids, and he was yelling something about a symphony." Rafferty is being carried off in a stretcher, his armor has disappeared. Iss points to Rafferty, and what happened to him. The officer looks over to Rafferry "We think he was caught in the crossfire, the witnesses say that he was trying to stop the commotion that was happening outside his Casino and got attacked by a kid who was using fire magic. A pinkish-purple portal appears next to the officer and he steps away from it in caution. From the portal steps out a pale 5''10 woman who has a white Chin-length bob with bangs that has a pinkish purple streak, black pants, a black shirt, and a brown trenchcoat. Her eyes glow the same color as the portal, and they fade to black as she deactivates her magic. Iss and Nagas salute as they both say "Detective Aurora." "Rafferty is a big name around here, but that doesn''t make him innocent. I want you two on the lookout for the time mage, Loc, and the third one-" Aurora looks around the crater and sees time magic residue, tide magic residue, and flame Magic residue. "I didn''t see I flame mage on the report?" Nagas looks over to the crater and sees the flame Magic residue. "We didn''t know, this is a new development." Aurora looks around some more. She then sees a trail of water magic that leads behind a building. She points at it discreetly so only Nagas and Iss see. Iss, Nagas, and Aurora follow the trail to find that it stops at a sewer grate Aurora looks at it with disgust. "Go down there, flush them out. I''ll be waiting." Iss and Nagas look at each other in hesitancy. Then they open the grate and jump down. Down in the maze that is the sewer system of Las Luces are Corin who is being carried by multiple water imps, and Loc who is carrying Ida in his arms.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. As they walk Corin starts to wake up. Corin: [Where am I? Was that a dream?] He looks around at the groggy concrete dripping with water. Loc turns to see the now awake Corin and they stop, Ida waves at him from Loc''s arms. "What happened?" Corin says as he gets up from the bed of water imps. Loc recalls the imps "What do you remember?" Corin rubs his head "Well Rafferty was chasing us and we ran from him as I was charging up an attack, then there was an explosion... how are we not dead?" Loc smiles proudly. "Well at the last second, I summoned as many water imps as I could and formed a barrier around us." Ida gets down from Loc''s arms, and he looks at her in confusion. "That was alright, but did you see it I used creation-type magic, I made like a chain out of time Magic and it slowed him down." "You can walk?! I was carrying you the whole time!" Loc says upset Ida smiles "Oh yea, Thanks by the way!" Corin is standing with his arms crossed wondering something. "Ida I thought you had to be touching someone to speed them up or slow them down, but you were able to speed me up while you were sitting down." Ida thinks for a second "Oh yeah, ok so this is kind of hard to explain. Normally if someone has magic I just have to touch them once and then I''ll be able to affect them from any distance. But since you didn''t have magic I had to be physically touching you until you started using magic. The reason I''m so excited about the creation-type magic I used is because now rather than having to physically touch someone all I have to do is use the time chains and that will slow them down." "But you''re so fast no one could dodge you so why would you need the chains?" Corin says still confused "Because I can only speed myself up that fast for a few seconds then I have no way of defending myself once I get too tired!" "Ohhhh," Corin says finally understanding. Loc sharpens up and looks around Someone¡¯s following us, probably saw a trail of tidal magic from the imps. He then summons more imps and sends them in different directions "No using magic from this point forward until we get out. We''re being followed," he says with a lowered voice. Corin and Ida look around and nod "Where... are we going?" Corin asks as they continue to walk Loc pulls out Ida''s scroll from his pocket "Hey, how did you- it''s unlocked!!!" Ida says in surprise as she sees the chains are no longer there. Loc shushes her but for not. Ida snatches it from his hands and opens it as she walks "What the hell is this?!" Shut up! Loc whispers loudly. Corin looks over her shoulder to see the contents of the scroll. Its a sheet music but where there should be notes there''s nothing. All it is are the treble clef and the staff. Ida continues looking at the scroll in doubt "This is not right, it''s supposed to fix everything, but there''s nothing here!" "Maybe we just can''t read it." Corin suggests trying to calm Ida down." Loc knows what Corin''s doing and tries to play along "Look this is our exit, when we get out maybe I''ll help you guys look around Luces for more information." Ida rolls the scroll up and puts it in her back pocket. "Yeah... let''s try that." Loc has led them to another sewer grate that they climb out of. Upon climbing out they are met with a busy section of Las Luces where people sell their services. As they look around for a while they get odd looks from the public. "I don''t like how this looks," Loc says, his voice returning to normal volume. "Yeah, I think one of my ribs is broken, I am not in a condition to fight," Corin says while holding his side. "Let''s just keep walking," Ida suggests As they continue to walk Loc realizes something. "Hey wait. You didn''t have magic like two hours ago, where did that come from." He says pointing at Corin. Corin scratches his head. "You wouldn''t believe me if I told you!" Ida starts playing with his hair "Oh yeah, It was crazy, your hair like turned red, I''ve never seen that before." "Tell us. I''m curious." Loc says Corin shoos Ida off. "The night I got sent her there was a Red dragon and I saw it again but this time it told me I was blessed with magic and to fuel my flames." Ida looks at him with concern "I saw a red dragon when we were at the Casino I saw him for like half a second looking back at me! I thought I was crazy!" Corin looks back at her "You saw him too?! He did mention something about you but I can''t remember, something about an old man?" Ida''s eyes shoot open Old man... it definitely means Chrongrey. "What did it say!" She says to Corin as she grabs him by the shoulders Corin thinks for a few seconds "Sorry, I was dying so it''s kind of hard to remember. The dragon said like: I hope he''s ok." Ida backs off and starts to think, putting her hand to her mouth in pondering. If the dragon is wondering If Chrongrey is ok, does that mean they know each other? And if that''s the case does that mean this was planned? "Ida," Loc says waving his hand in her face. She jumps up in reaction "Corin I think something is going on that we don''t know. I think your dragon is connected to the old man who raised me." "That is a possibility," Corin says Loc looks at them "The people around here haven''t stopped staring at us, you think that''s I problem cause I do." Ida and Corin look at the crowd of citizens around the market who stare at them. Two Plus One Makes… "What''s their deal?" Ida says pointing at the lively customers. "I don''t know, ask them," Corin says rubbing his eyes as he grows tired. He then starts to stumble but he catches himself. Loc notices Corin getting fatigued We really should find somewhere to sleep, no doubt the UWO is looking for us after that explosion. And I don''t know how much longer Corin has before he passes out again. As Loc thinks to himself Ida yells at the crowd of people. "HEY WHY ARE YOU GUYS STARING?!" The crowd grows tense and looks around at each other and whispers. Loc is dumbfounded, but a member of the crowd goes up to them hands Ida a sheet of paper, and runs off. She looks down in curiosity as Corin and Loc look over her shoulders. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª |UWO Urgent News| Three thugs attack Rafferty, the richest, and humblest man on this side of the Eagle Territory. A picture of Loc followed by a silhouette of a girl and a boy are shown. The assailants are as follows: Loc Marion - The Master of Heists Corin Fortis - Henchman Ida Velox - Dangerous Time mage ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Ida smirks trying to hold in her laugh. Corin is wide awake and rips the paper from her hand. "Henchman?!"Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Loc starts to look as people are lifting cameras and snapping pictures of them "WE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Loc bolts out of the area. Ida and Corin see the pictures being taken and take off with Loc. Where are we going?!¡± Corin asks Loc. Loc has a determined look on his face "They know what you two look like now, and now we''ve been associated as a group by the UWO. I have an idea but you might not like it. Corin starts to slow down. The other two slow down as they notice. Pain rips through his body, he screams in agony as he then coughs up blood, and falls to his hands. "Your body is not good to move right now, not only did you take on serious damage but you also used too much magic without prior practice. You were basically running on pure adrenaline up till now. Ida picks Corin up on piggyback and activates her magic so she isn''t slowed down by his weight and they begin to move quickly to their destination. On the other side of Luces are Iss and Nagas who crawl their way out of a manhole. "Why are you playing around in the sewers, we got a report of them in the service district." someone says to them. They look up to see Aurora who has a portal ready behind her. Loc and Ida, who is still carrying the unconscious Corin, have arrived at their destination, a trailer park. "Why are we here?" Ida asks Loc walks into the park and Ida follows. Eventually, they make their way to a black RV and Loc unlocks it. Ida looks concerned "An RV that''s your idea..." Loc wags his finger and smiles "No my dear friend, this here is a Class A motorhome, beauty incarnate, equipped with only the best magic crystal engine for energy consumption, and the inside, oh the inside!¡± He opens the door holding it for Ida as she walks in with Corin. She looks around in awe. Loc walks in closing the door and laughs smugly. "I know, I know it''s amazing right?" Loc walks around as he describes the interior, starting with the living area that''s entered as you walk in. "Just look at this amazing setup, an exquisitely beautiful black leather couch that can fit up to 5 people that also unfolds into a bed. Oh, you can just set him down there." Ida then lets Corin down and lays him across the couch "As you can see a lovely glass coffee table that sets the mood for a nice TV dinner. But wait Loc where''s the TV you may ask, well right across from the couch. It''s a fifty-inch, 4k, HD, LED machine! Over to your left, you can see the kitchen and dining area, where I have a white marble countertop with black overhead cabinets. Oh and-" "I GET IT!" Ida yells then points to Corin who lies on the couch in need of medical attention. Loc frowns "The bathrooms are in the back, that''s where I keep an emergency kit," he says sadly as walks over to the driver''s seat that''s to the right of the living area and then starts the RV. Ida goes to the back and looks for the kit but sees something that piques her interest. It''s a larger magical crystal like the one back at her home. "Why do you have a Barrier crystal in here?" Loc yells from the front "You can''t be serious, all vehicles are equipped with a barrier crystal. A bigger body needs a bigger crystal which causes a stronger magic barrier. You need these to drive from district to district. "I''ve never driven before so I wouldn''t know. She says as she returns from the back with the med kit and then sits on the couch next to Corin. "So what''s the idea? Cause me and Corin have a whole noble quest thing to go on." "I was thinking I''d tag along, I''m already far too roped in with you two," Loc says. Ida shrugs Corin trying to wake him up. "Hey... Corin, Loc''s gonna tag along with us. He opens his eyes a little. "Good," he says then returns to sleep. Loc starts driving "I''m gonna drive us to a safer area, then we can talk destinations in the morning." He turns to Ida but she''s already asleep and Corin is mummified in bandages. On The Road 11 am/Las Luces/A Motel parking lot. Ida starts to wake up slowly to the sound of a muffled scream. She looks around confused then turns to Coirn who is suffocating under his bandages. Suddenly his bandages ignite into flames and he emerges with his magic activated. "YOU TERRIBLE AT BANDAGING!" he yells as he rises. Ida looks offended "Hey, it''s not my fault you''re so reckless! A thank you would''ve been nice." "Thanks" he murmurs. A cloud of smoke starts to fill the RV causing Ida and Corin to start coughing "What is that?!" Ida says fanning away the smoke. She looks behind Corin where there''s a fire started on the couch. "Corin you started a fire!" Corin jumps and they start running in a panic "Open the door!"Corin yells. As Ida runs to the door, Loc opens it with a brown grocery bag. "I was gone thirty minutes?!" Loc yells in utter concern. Corin and Ida run past him and wait outside as Loc runs in and starts opening all the windows. He then activates his magic to summon water imps who start jumping at the fire and putting it out. After a bit, the smoke clears. "What happened?!" Loc says standing in front of Corin and Ida who are pointing at each other. He shakes his head and walks back inside "I- you two are lucky nothing was broken. Come in and clean the ash off everything while I make breakfast." Corin and Ida''s stomachs rumble. "I actually haven''t eaten in like a day," Ida says looking at Corin "I know same, haven''t caught a break yet." They walk in and Loc leaves a broom and other cleaning supplies for them to use. After some time passes Corin and Ida manage to make the place spotless and Loc has prepared a hot breakfast for them. "I''m surprised, you guys aren''t half bad." Corin and Ida walk silently over to the black wooden table to eat where Loc places plates for them. They stare with stars in their eyes at the meal he made. "A traditional pancake breakfast, with potato, bacon, and egg tacos." As Loc says this they have already cleared their plates. "More." They both say "What the hell? I haven''t even sat down yet!" Corin and Ida slide their plates toward him signaling to get more He puts his plate on the table and walks back to the stove where he has more food. He brings the plates back and gives them to them, stacked with food. "This is all we have left so enjoy it." He sits down to eat, as he looks up from taking his first bite Ida and Corin have a cleared plate looking back at him. He is astonished "Did you two breathe?!" Well, I only bought enough for what I thought was good for three people but clearly, I was wrong." "We''ll just have to wait till lunch." He says as he continues to eat. "What are you making?" Ida asks Corin nods as if her question is a good one. "Oh no don''t go thinking I''m the cook here." He says staving his fork into his pancake. "You two were tired so I thought I would be generous, we''re gonna rotate meals." He then reaches for under the table and picks up a large book then slides it to them." -Hungry man''s guide to being full.- "A cookbook?!" Corin and Ida yell "Oh yeah. So you two better learn up, ''cause I''ll cook for today. But next time I think we''ll flip a coin and then go off that pattern." "Thanks for breakfast..." they both say as they tilt their heads back like children then walk over to the couch. Loc continues to talk in between taking bites "So I was thinking we should go to The Plantas Territory, ''cause that''s where the celebration of life is." They both look at him in confusion "What does that have to do with what we''re doing?" Ida says "It''s simple! We have a weird piece of sheet music to find out how to decipher, so who better than pop star Talia Vain during the celebration of life!" "NO WAY!" Ida scream jumping up and down "I know! It''s perfect!" Loc says cheerfully "Uhh... Who?" Corin asks. Loc and Ida look at him like he''s stupid If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. "There''s no way you''ve never heard of Talia Vain!" Ida says looking down at him on the couch "Nope." He responds without care "How she''s like the best musician of our time," Loc says almost about to fall out of his chair. "Can''t be if I''ve never heard of her," Corin says crossing his arms. Ida and Loc''s jaws drop "I- I can''t even with you! I''m gonna pretend you didn''t say that." Ida says turning away. Loc shakes his head in surprise. "Well, anyways the celebration of life where she''ll be performing takes place one week from now. In the Plantas Territory." "Plantas? That''s the southwest territory right?" "Yeah the one directly south of us," Ida says looking at the TV trying to find an ON button. "So how will we travel between territories?" Corin asks "We could use a Spacial magic stone," Ida says turning to them. "No that wouldn''t work as well as you think," Loc says as he finally finishes his plate. He gets up and grabs the plates they left. "See Spacial magic stones are set to a frequency that only let them work within the bought territory. Also not just anyone can use them, you have to be able to have an extreme level of magical control just to make it where you''re tryna go." "Oh. So what''s the plan?" Corin asks. Loc starts washing the plates. "So we''re currently in the big horn sheep region and we need to go further south. The only way we will be able to get into Bezas, the city where the Celebration of Life is being held, is if we ferry to it, and to get a ferry we have to go to the region of Armadillo, a two-day drive." "How are we gonna drive through the wind outside of the districts?" Corin asks Loc points back into the area where Ida was when she saw the Barrier crystal. "Vehicles have barrier crystals, how do you two not know this, I just told Ida yesterday." "Well, my family couldn''t afford a car," Corin says, but he isn''t sad about that. "Yeah, I never needed one growing up so we never had one either," Ida says as she looks around for a remote. "I see. Guess I''m driving for a bit." Loc says. Then he grabs something from the counter next to him and tosses it to Ida. She catches it, it''s the remote." She smiles and runs over to the couch and sits next to Corin. "Oh one last thing, I brought enough Till to get us the food for the trip and a supply of fuel that''ll last us a bit. I have more but I''m running out, so we will have to wait for the next town over to get spare clothes and more food, extra fuel, and so on." Loc says "Why not right now?" Ida asks as she flips channels. Loc goes over to her and snatches the remote, flipping the Channel to local news. "This is why," he says. There is a report with now all three of their faces displayed, again saying Loc Marion - Master of Heists Corin Fortis - Grunt Ida Velox - Dangerous Time Mage "There are helicopters and all, looking around the city in search of them." The reporter says ash displays overheads from helicopters "It''s grunt now..." Corin says upset Loc starts to make his way to the driver''s seat "You see why we gotta head out as soon as possible?" Ida continues flipping the channels. "Yeah, it makes sense." The RV starts and they start driving off. After a few minutes of silence and driving, Loc gets their attention. "Look the dome Border is visible from here." About half a mile in front of the RV is the barrier protecting Las Luces from the harsh winds of eagle but in between both the RV and the barrier is something else... Aurora sits outside of a coffee shop next to the road that Corin, Ida, and Loc travel and seances their presence. "Are those idiots using magic? Makes my job easier." It''s Ida, she''s inside the RV using her magic to try and beat a game on the TV. "It looks like they are trying to leave after causing such a mess, how have Iss and Nagas not caught them yet? Whatever it''s probably for the best, don''t want to get any local officers hurt." Her eyes glow and she sticks her hand out next to her waist by her chair and a portal opens up. She grabs a metallic red device from her pocket and tosses it into the portal then puts her wrist near her face. "Iss, Nagas, new plan." CLUNK "What was that? Did you hit something?" Ida says looking around. "No, I don''t think so?" Loc says looking back in the rear view. "Oh well, look we''re about to exit, you guys need to brace yourselves, sometimes it gets bumpy" Corin and Ida Brace themselves to what they can. As they drive through the protective barrier and new smaller barrier forms over the RV "That''s pretty cool," Corin says looking out at it from a window. Ida runs toward him to look outside. "Look the wind is carrying a huge boulder." She says pointing at a massive rolling hunk of stone. The outside of the district is covered with light brown, dry land. There are cracks in the ground everywhere, and from a short distance, you can see the terrifying winds. "Ok so from here on out it''s just driving, our first stop will be at Dort, that''s a little pit stop town we can refuel at. It''s about 8 hours away." "I say we switch every two hours so we can get some solid rest in," Ida suggests "We established that boy me and you can''t drive," Corin says looking at her. "Gotta learn somehow.." she says Loc shakes his head What have I gotten myself into... A phone buzzes in the pocket of Rafferty who is strapped to a hospital bed. He pulls out his flip phone and answers it A familiar voice is heard "Did you do it?" Rafferty rolls his eyes "No... there''s new information, she''s not traveling alone, there''s a boy with her using flame Magic, but it''s different than normal I- I''m unsure how to explain it. There''s also a tide mage but he''s just a common crook." "Interesting..." the voice says as it hangs up. 4 hours have now passed while Corin, Ida, and Loc have been traveling on the road. Ida is currently driving, Corin is asleep on the couch and Loc is playing himself in chess." Ida: "Hey how did you unlock the scroll? I never asked." He turns to her. "The same way you created those chains." "Huh?" She says confused. "It''s a bit hard to explain, Corin should also be awake for this." He says as he throws a rook at him. Corin wakes up. "What happened." "Listen here it''s pretty cool. So the way I unlocked the scroll is with creation magic. Since you two don''t have elements that specialize in creation magic you wouldn''t get what I mean. Creation magic is the physical manifestation of yourself in weapon form." He then conjures a three-foot key with a skull in the middle made of water. Ida and Corin look at it in awe. "This here is my skeleton key it can change to any shape and unlock or lock anything." "That''s not a weapon though?" Corin says looking at the key. Loc inspects it. "I see what you mean, but it''s not a traditional weapon. I can use it to lock a soul to my summoning magic, allowing me to summon it at will." He says as he summons a little water imp. "So how would someone normally summon a creature?" Ida asks. "They would have to make a soul contract with a creature. Also, it doesn''t work on whatever race the user is." "How will I know if I can use summoning magic though?" Corin ask "You''ll know," Loc says as he makes his key disappear. "That''s vague as hell. Hey, why did the wind stop?" Ida says from the front "The wind what?!" Loc says He gets up and immediately races to the front "Stop the RV!" He yells at Ida She slams the brakes "What''s going on?!" Loc looks out in front "That''s not good." "What''s going on?" Corin asks as he walks up to the front. "Be ready to fight," Loc says pointing to a boulder that sits in front of them "That''s a golem. Their magic presence is so large they can nullify the environmental effect around them, their heads are what''s used to create magical barrier crystals." Corin and Ida both look out at it confused The boulder starts to roll A Brown Rhombus crystal appears and floats above it Then more stones start to roll towards it like it''s putting itself together It towers over the RV at the size of old oak and looks down at them. "It senses magic, Get out! Don''t let it destroy the RV!" They rush out of the RV one by one and scatter trying to draw its attention away so they don''t get stranded with a destroyed RV. Corin yells from across the battlefield "WHAT DO WE DO?!" Loc shouts back "WE HAVE TO DESTROY THE CRYSTAL AND WE WILL HAVE 15 SECONDS TO RETURN TO THE RV BEFORE THE GOLEM BARRIER BREAKS!" Ida looks over at the golem. "ON IT!" Ida rushes toward the golem and then activates her magic to accelerate herself. Corin activates his fire magic causing his eyes and hair to burn red. Loc does the same, his eyes glow a deep blue color. The golem sees Ida and tries to swat at her but it is too slow, she then runs up the side of the golem and grabs onto its crystal head which is triple her body size. "I DON''T KNOW WHAT I''M DOING!!" Corin starts to charge his attack like he did the last time against Rafferty Loc creates large spheres of water and throws them at the golem. The water that splashes on the golem starts separating into water imps that crawl around and gnaw at it like ticks on a dog. Ida starts to focus her magic on her hands, trying to recreate the time chain she used previously. After a few seconds of struggle, she manages to produce a thin time chain that she uses to wrap around the head of the golem. It is now slowed down and being attacked from every angle by water imps. With this chance, Corin goes for the finishing blow As he launches his attack the time chains snap and the golem ducks out of the way. It broke free! They all think in unison "HEY WE''RE GONNA HAVE TO SLOW IT DOWN LIMB BY LIMB," Loc yells Corin is a bit confused but Ida gets the Idea She runs toward its right arm and wraps it in time chains. Loc runs over to the golem and starts to scale it. He quickly reaches the arm and summons water imps that start to detach it from the body "Oh, I get it!" Corin says as he starts to charge up another attack The golem''s arm is now detached and falls to the ground with a boom that echoes throughout the barrier. The golden gets enraged and grabs Ida with its other arm. Then chucks her to the other side of the barrier. Corin and Loc watch her as she screams "I''LL BE FINE JUST KILL THE DAMN THING!" Lock starts making his way to the other arm and summons water imps that start attacking it. The golem swats at the imps but they keep respawning. Corin uses this chance to launch his attack on the golem''s head. A large pillar of flame is unleashed from Corin and pierces through the Golem''s head. Corin starts to wobble around "I don''t think- I''ve... Fully recovered..." he bends over and tries to catch his breath, and his magic deactivates. Ida is seen driving behind Corin in the RV "GET IN! HURRY!" Ida sticks her hand out for Corin and pulls him inside. Loc runs towards the RV And the RV passes him But Corin and Ida grabbed Loc''s shirt collar and pulled him inside. The Golem''s barrier starts to collapse "Close one!" Loc says as he heads over to the driver''s seat "Yeah, hey can you drive, I''m done." "It''s probably for the best, I didn''t know we were in golem territory." He goes over to the driver''s seat, takes Ida''s shoe off the pedal that she was using to drive the RV when she pulled them in and throws it back to her. He sits down and starts to steer the RV back on Course "Honestly we handled that way better than I thought we could," Loc says as he looks out to the road. "We''re the dream team of course we didn''t die," Corin says with a smile. "Ok don''t jynx us, we''re almost to our first stop, the small town Dort." Justice Iss and Nagas are standing on the roof of a rickety building in a desolate town. Iss''s watch buzzes and Aurora''s voice can be heard "Iss, They are arriving at Dort in 5 minutes, is Nagas with you?." "We''re here don''t worry about it." He says looking down at the dry ground below. "Good," Aurora says as she disconnects. Corin Ida and Loc are now approaching the small town. "Look there''s the barrier!" Ida says pointing at a large transparent dome while sitting in the passenger seat. "I wonder if there are any nice places to eat." Corin says lying down on the couch. "Yeah, I need something edible after that so-called meal Ida made," Loc says with a smirk. Ida slaps him in the back of the head as they pass through the barrier Now Entering Dort* a run-down sign reads as they drive by The ground in Dort is the same as outside the barrier, there are no streets or sidewalks, just dirt surrounded by run-down false-front commercial architecture. "Do people even live here?" Ida says looking at the ghost town. Loc turns his head to her. "It doesn''t matter we aren''t here long, the first thing we gotta do is change clothes, and keep ourselves from being immediately recognized." "Plus you two smell," he says fanning the air in front of his face. They drive around till they find a store that sells clothes called Rags to Rags. "Ok you two can get down I''ll park the RV," Loc says to them looking back. "I was kinda hoping for riches to riches," Corin says pouting "Me too..." agrees Ida They walk in and Loc follows behind, and after a while, they each come out in their newly bought clothes. Loc is wearing a blue western shirt with a white pattern, blue jeans, a brown belt with a silver buckle, a brown cowboy hat, and brown boots that have spurs. Ida is wearing a black pair of cowboy shoes, a black pinched front hat, a white western shirt with a black pattern, cow print cowboy pants, and a black belt with a gold buckle. And Corin is in an all-black version of Loc''s cowboy outfit but with no hat. "We can''t all be cowboys?!" Ida shouts "Ida you change," Corin says pointing at her "What, me?" she says pointing at herself "Yeah, you''re a girl, you can''t be a cowboy," Loc says standing smugly. Corin nods in agreement. "I''ll show you!" Ida says as she creates a longer time chain and starts whipping at Loc barely missing him every time "What are you doing!" Loc says jumping back Ida whips at him and the whip crackles l "stop it''s not funny please!" he says jumping around She continues relentlessly - Whch On the roof of a building across the street are ISS and Nagas "Eyes are on the target," Nagas says standing tall "These are the guys who assaulted that snotty rich guy?" Iss says as he looks down at Ida whipping at Loc. "Don''t underestimate them. Aurora is the same..." Nagas says covering her device to ensure Aurora does not hear the comment. "Yeah," Iss says with a nod. Suddenly his right hand starts to freeze over as a bicycle shard appears in his hand He aims at Ida who is being held back by Corin because she keeps whipping at Loc. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. He shakes his head. "Fools," he says as he throws the ice shard that moves rapidly through the air. Loc and Corin sense the magic and turn to the flying shard. "GET DOWN!" Loc yells as he summons water imps to block the ice. Corin pushes Ida down as he ducks. The ice crystal is blocked by the water Imps but they quickly freeze over and shatter. Loc looks over where the ice shard came from but no one''s there. Corin and Ida get back up "What happened?" Ida asks Loc continues to look at the roof of the building "Someone tried to attack us, they used ice magic." "Ice magic?" She says in confusion. "Yeah, it''s a mutated magic," Loc says looking back at them Corin and Ida look at each other and then look back at Loc. "What¡¯s mutated magic," they say in sync. Loc smacks his face and starts walking to the RV "Let''s just get back into the RV where it''s safe." They return to the RV where Corin and Ida sit on the couch and Loc is sitting across from them at the coffee table. "Ok, so there''s the five Elemental magics, Flame, Thunder, Gust, Tide, and Stone." Within those Elements are Mutations. For example, if someone passes their blessing ceremony and gets accepted by the Chryos of Tide Magic, there is a chance it will mutate into Ice Magic or another form of Water Magic. Hence Mutation Magic." Ida raises her hand and Loc points to her "You, with the time magic." Ida puts her hand down. "So was Rafferty''s magic a mutation magic or a weird one like mine." "I''m gonna go with a weird one for now, but that''s all there is to it, it''s just as it''s named a mutation. "That''s pretty simple, you could''ve told us that sooner though," Corin says as he gets up and walks to the fridge. "It''s common knowledge! You two are just dumb! Whatever we can''t do this right now, especially since we just got attacked like that." Loc explains as he once again makes his way to the driver''s seat. "From here on out it''s a straight shot to the Armadillo region, once we get there we will have to keep driving to get to the city of Berna at the coast so we can get a Ferry." "What about stopping eating somewhere, we can''t keep cooking like this forever," Corin says opening the trash, revealing Ida''s burnt attempt at lunch. "It''s not that easy!" Ida yells to Corin "It is that easy!" Loc says yelling back at her "We can''t stop when we''re being targeted like this. We''ll have to lose them first." Loc starts the RV and they take off driving through the town. Nagas'' wrist communicator buzzes. "Are they in Custody?" Aurora asks "Not yet Ma''am," Nagas responds Iss leans over to the communicator "Don''t worry it''ll get done, we were just sizing them up, they''ll be stopped at the border." Aurora hangs up without responding. As the trio approaches the opposite side of Dort Ida notices something. "Look the barrier is... uhhh is there normally government detail working Barriers?" Loc and Corin look to see two motorcycles, one black, the other green, with blue and white lights flashing. A girl in a green biker suit and a man in an all-black biker suit stands in the middle of the road that leads out of town. "Let''s just play this cool. Go to the back you two" Loc suggests calmly. Corin and Ida move toward the back The RV slows down as it approaches the two officers he comes to a stop "What seems to be the problem officers?" Loc says with a smile. Nagas shows her silver badge with the words -UWO Bounty Hunter- on it "UWO Bounty Hunters Division, you, Ida Velox, and Corin Fortis are under arrest for the assault of Rafferty-" Loc floors the gas and passes through the barrier. "It''s always more fun when they run," Iss says getting onto his bike. They both start their motorcycles and follow in pursuit The motorcycles have built-in barrier crystals on the sides that create a small barrier around them. Both parties are now outside the town in the harsh winds "Nice playing it cool!" Ida yells at Loc as she looks back at the hunters from a side window. Nagas takes her hands off the bike and starts to wave them like she''s conducting. Suddenly the ground starts to uplift in front of Iss''s bike like a ramp. Iss accelerates up the ramp and lands on the top of the RV. THUNK THUNK THUNK Corin and Ida look up as they hear the footsteps, and then a spear of ice comes through the roof and appears right next to Ida "Ahhh! There¡¯s one on the roof! Corin, go get him!¡± she says pointing at the door. "Why me?!" he says confused "Because I don''t want to?! How is that not clear?¡± Ida says as she opens the door for him. "I''ll get the girl, the guy up top is all you." ¡°I don''t think I want to¡­¡± he says crossing his arms. Then another Ice shard pierces through the roof next to Corin¡¯s head Corin screams "Ok-Ok I''m going!" Corin goes to the door that Ida is holding open, he swings out and grabs the side to start climbing. Ida jumps out of the RV activating her magic. As she lands she starts running at the same rate as the RV and the Motorcycle so that she stays inside the Barriers. Corin reaches the top and pulls himself up. Iss sees him and then coats his hands in ice He walks over to Corin "Can we just talk this out" Iss punches Corin in the chest sending him flying off the RV, but he''s caught by water imps that were hiding on the side of the RV That hurt, the ice is so packed. Glad these guys helped me up I would been torn to shreds from that wind. He thinks looking out of the barrier to the raging winds The imps pull him back onto the RV where he''s met with Iss again. Corin activates his magic, his eyes and hair turning red. Corin shoots a fire blast at him but he dodges it. Iss swiftly makes his way to Corin and throws a right hook, hitting him in the face. Corin takes the hit but quickly tries to counter with another projectile of flame. "Magic is wasted on criminals like you," Iss says as he dodges the ball of fire once more. How am I supposed to hurt him, I can''t fight like this, he''s too close, and the other two are busy. He thinks as he looks down at Ida who is attacking Nagas while she drives. So maybe I have to change it up... He taunts Iss with a challenge Nagas doesn''t like that, he puts all his might into this next hit and throws his right arm at Corin''s head But Corin evades it by ducking and charging a ball of fire in his hand. While holding the ball in his hand he squeezes it tightly and his hand is engulfed by the flame as he holds onto it. Corin launches his fist at Iss¡¯s helmet and connects, but Ids quickly counters by creating and swinging a two-handed longsword made of Ice. The swing barely misses Corin, but because it missed Corin uses the chance to attack, landing a much more devastating punch to his helmet. The fire from Corin¡¯s fist shoots out in a pillar of flame engulfing Iss. Iss is pushed to the back end of the RV by the flames but catches himself by creating spikes of ice through his boots that tear the roof. Iss looks back at Corin, his helmet has shattered revealing his face, he''s about above Corin¡¯s age, white, the magic turned his eyes light blue, and his hair is blonde. "Damn you!" he says gritting his teeth. Corin isn''t even paying attention, he is looking down at his hands which are slightly burned. Now that I have fire magic I got a slight resistance to the heat caused by them. So by creating a ball of flame and wrapping my hand around it completely, my hand catches fire. And once I land a hard enough hit the ball of flame explodes in a direction of my choosing. Corin starts to charge fire in his hands again Iss runs at Corin with his sword in hand, swinging it overhead but Corin moves to the right and connects a punch to Iss¡¯s rib. The fire burns Iss¡¯s side causing him to scream in pain but he withstands and cools himself off with a cost of ice. His physical strength is lacking, but his magic makes up for it. If he thinks he can beat me he''s wrong. Iss thinks as he prepares for another attack As Corin and Iss fight on the roof, to the right of the RV is Nagas who is standing on her bike, and Ida who is running backward facing her. ¡°Is that all you got!¡± Ida yells in taunt. Nagas doesn''t react, rather she raises her hands and a boulder lifts out of the ground on each side of her. Ida summons a long but thin chain of time Magic in each hand Nagas puts her hands forward and the rocks plummet toward Ida, but she counters them by smashing them mid-air with her chains. Nagas does the same again but this time as Ida goes to block she''s tripped by an uplifted part of the ground that Nagas made. As Ida falls to the ground she uses one of her chains to wrap around the side view mirror of the RV. Loc sees Ida being dragged by the RV and yells to Corin ¡°Hold on to something!¡± Corin ducks and grabs onto one of the holes that Iss made in the roof, and Loc halts the RV causing Iss to go flying off. As Nagas sees Iss flying out of the barrier, she sits back on her bike to go after him. ¡°Get in!¡± Loc yells sticking his head out the window. Before Corin climbs down he sees Iss¡¯s motorcycle on the roof and has an idea. He calls Ida to the roof and tells Loc to start driving and that they''ll be down In a second. So Loc drives off before the UWO officers can recover, while Corin and Ida start tying down the Motorcycle to the roof.