Aeterna - IC

[bookdragon2000]

Regius south district-library

Yomi shifted his focus downwards, careful not to move his eyes or head. He had seen a lid on one of her cans turn slightly and then close again. He wouldn`t have noticed it except that he had been examining them and due to his light magic, had very good eyesight. He slowly manipulated the light entering his eyes until the gas entered his visible spectrum and kept a watch on the gas as it crept towards him, while saying:

"Sure, ask away, there is no one else here and there are plenty of books here, but first, would you please rein in that gas you just released?"

Yomi pointed at the air which was taken up by the gas, by this time only centimeters in front of his face. Then he stood up and calmly walked away deeper into the library to continue browsing for books, increasing the distance between him and the woman and the gas.

[wonderweiss]

He was being tortured on the inside. He wanted answers, and at this point, he was willing to do anything to get them.

Dammit! I... need to know what happened!

He grabbed the rod magnetically ad threw it again at another dummy in the stomach.

I can't remember! Why is this so hard?!

He proceeded to pierce more dummies.

Why can't I remember?! Maybe I can jolt my memory! Yes!

He then used a rod to shock himself.

Not good enough! This may hurt... but if I let this be... this might cost me my life! I must settle this!!!

He headed to a grassy part of the backyard, as the next thing he will try would damage the mat and concrete. He raised his hand to the sky. He summoned a bright bolt of thunder that came down unendlessly. It was so powerful even he couldn't stand the pain. This was torture.

ARG!!! I... NEED... TO... REMEMBER... REMEMBER WHAT?!?!?

He was in great pain, but he didn't stop.

[Major Mario]

Kalkun, Rockhill District - Inn

A wide smile graced the merchant's lips. He hunched over the medallion as he examined every single detail. It was certainly a piece of work, as Kris said, despite the fact it was molded in bronze. Every curve and bump was painstakingly detailed, probably by a master craftsman. No way was this mint or mass produced. Perhaps it was commissioned and meant to be delivered to the buyer, but it lost its way. Well, now it was here, and more importantly, it was in Eric's hands.

Such a medallion was worth more than 60 coins, absolutely. With a bit of polishing and touch-up work, running him up to 5 coins, the medallion would be worth around 110 coins if he flashed it around in the right places. Then again, having the thing would, as Kris said, open him up to more attacks by bandits and thieves, but that was only if they saw him with it first. With another sip of liquid courage, Eric nodded and gripped his new prize.

"The detail is remarkable... Alright, 100 coins and this trinket then." The man pocketed the medallion and grinned. "Always a pleasure doing business. If you need anything else, just ask. I'm sure I'll have what you need, or something similar."

[Katrix]

Regius South district - Library

Sidna was suprised when when the person noted the sleeping gas as if it was something obvious. ("He could see the gas like if it was nothing.
I'm pretty sure that he's a light mage. I guess I just have to find another way. I could use my new found potassium technique.")

Sidna took up a piece of potassium and levitated it behind her while hiding the sleeping gas away again. "You're afraid of the gas in the air. We're surrounded by gasses.
We breathe in gases. Gases that are highly flammable. Do you want to be encased in vacuum in stead?"

"So, tell me, how long have you lived in the forest? Have there ever been any girls in the forest? Tell me about yourself?"

[wonderweiss]

HM had now turned into an animal. He was threatening, even more than in battle. He... wasn't himself anymore. Or rather...

He was becoming himself again.

"Why is this happening!?!? I don't understand it!"

Suddenly, a flash came up in his mind...

He was in a white room. He was strapped down to a bed. He had something on his head.

The image disappeared.

What was that?!

Another flash came up.

He was in the same room, but this time there was a monitor, reading 'Memory Swipe, 28% complete.'

Memory swipe?! I had my memories taken!

Yet another flash came up.

This time, HM was off of the bed. The room turned red, and the monitor read 'ERROR.'

Without time to think, one last flash came about. This time, the room was still red, but all the scientists were dead, covered in blood.

What is this... I can't understand this!!!

"OTORIIIIII!!!!!"

Thunder then danced around the sky aimlessly. This... was far beyond what HM was capable of. HM then passed out, his cloak burnt.

---

Calidus Desert- Otori

---

All of a sudden, there were bright flashes in the sky. They were thunder bolts. Otori looked up at them.

"... HM..."

He rushed to the source as fast as he could. He wouldn't be able to reach civilization until morning if he walked nonstop.

[Kristia]

Kalkun, Rockhill District - Inn

The huntress accepted Reynard´s ores and said her goodbyes by going to the blacksmith, she noticed that the bard finished her music and was preparing to go for some rest. Kris indeed enjoyed the music so she called a waiter "PLease give the bard this as a token of gratitude for her work" she said handling the waiter some coins and then leaving the inn

Walking to the forge, the huntress started throwing the ebony ore to the air and catching it while whistling calmly, ("Been a while since I saw one of these rocks, with them I will upgrade the quality of my bow and sword and their durability will last quite a lot of time") she smirked as soon as she got close to the smelting structure and putting both ores into the intense heat

In a matter of minutes the black puddle appeared and went through the little canal cascading into the molds forming two ebony refined pieces. Moving to the next part and grabbing both a hammer and pincers, the huntress heated a piece to the point of molding it, then she placed her bow on the anvil and calmly yet fast to keep the heat, she molded the ore onto the weapon making it stronger and more durable with it, finally taking a sort of crest from her backpack, Kris pressed it on the bow marking a raven circle on the weapon.

Finishing with both the bow and the sword, Kris tested them with some wooden dummies that easily were sliced with the ebony sword and had their heads and hearts pierced by the arrows. "Perfect, now it is time for some rest" the huntress said to herself going back the inn and heading upstairs to her room, soon she was out of her boots and lied on the cozy bed, falling into the world of dreams, yet ready to wake up just in case of anything.

[bookdragon2000]

Regius south district-library-1:30AM

Yomi glanced up from a book he was examining in mild surprise, this woman was extremely direct and must be used to direct answers, well she wasn`t going to get them. Yomi reached over his shoulder into his pack, saying:

" Of course there were girls in the forest , you were one of them. The second question is none of your business, and-" his eyes heated up to a bright red as he spoke,"I DO NOT APPRECIATE BEING THREATENED"

Matomo threw both grass balls directly into her face, the combined effect, one that caused a long lasting flash and one that created a false image, created a blinding ball of light to appear right in front of her face, not unlike a miniature sun.

Matomo knew that her threats were not empty and decided on a more subtle course of action. He turned himself invisible and left while sidna was distracted. Stopping only to use the huthvirn to slit a few of her canisters open, causing chemicals to spill out. Then he ran before she could react.

Regius west district-market-1:35AM

Matomo wandered through the market, reading while walking. He was reading a book about speed magic, it was one of those books he had managed to obtain from the library before he was rudely interrupted. He had recently finished the book about wind magic and knew that if he were to encounter her again, he would be at a severe disadvantage. She dealt with physical aggressive elements, while he dealt with passive and defensive non-matter. The only reason he escaped was that he had surprised her. If he had to fight another person again, he needed to prepare,

"And one way to do that would be to find a good position"

Matomi smiled as he came to the wall separating the city from the salt flats.

"Now, the advantage lies with me."

(addition)
salt flats
Matomo walked deeper into the salt flats, past salt canyons, ravines hills and other geological formations. Until he reached an area where the salt seemed clearer and reflected more of the moonlight. He paused and set down, putting down his pack and then placing the grimoire face down into the salt, and prepared to cast it out.

He had found that he could collect visuals of his surrounding area through his magic, then he had been in the forest and had to use the air as a medium, but due to the particles in the air, the maximum range before everything became unclear was a bit beyond human eyesight, but due to his magic matomo had better than normal eyesight and could see further, thus he had had no cause to use this much in the forest. But here he predicted that it would be much more effective with the salt as the medium, images would be easier to retrieve as they got trapped in the salt before they were reflected back.

He cast out the 'net' as far as he could and was immediately almost knocked flat by the sensory overload, there were just too many images for his mind to process. This was working far better than expected, it was TOO good. Matomo hurriedly reduced the range to twice as far as he could see. This was just manageable and when he had gotten used to the sensory input, closed his eyes and move around using the new sense, he could sense that there wasn't much life in the salt flats, after all, there was just salt everywhere. Except closer to the city, where there were salt miners, but those he dismissed, he already knew about them, he had to go by them after all.

He grabbed some nuts and while eating them, once again opened the book on speed magic and by creating artificial light again, continued reading.

[Tewi_Inaba]

Rockhill District: Kalkun - Inn

Seki paused for a moment, debating in her mind exactly what that meant. (Ran away, hunted could have killed, shockwave, lightning?, still being hunted, got away… She’ll come back!)

“GOODY GOODY GOODY GOODY GOODY!!!!!!”

Seki cried out with joy as she flicked the man’s sword with her wrist and caused it to move far enough to one side for her to safely move towards Jason. All she did was jump on him and give him an overlythiht hug, as she picked one leg up and bent her knee so that her foot was directly behind her.

“he..hehehahahhahahaha”

She laughed sadisticly, iimagining all the things she would do to that girl once she found her again. She released Jason and moved in a confusing pattern where she bent backwards like a snake until her head was touching the ground and then lifted the lower half of her body so she was standing on her head. In her next movment she did just the opposite of before and brought her l down in front of her so that they were touching the ground and then sh finally stood again. It was a more creapy and snake like versoin of a back hand spring, only without the hands.

“If I stay with you, the people who gave up and ran away from me will surely present themselves again Think about it.. there body cut into so many tiny pieces as there flesh burns into ash before our very eyes. I won’t let them run away not this time he…hehehehehehe….. Hell fire glorious hellfire EVERYWHERE!!!! I….” She paused for a short moment and looked back at Jason. “Roooookyyyyy!” She called him as she reached out again in an effort to grab his cheek. “You’re my bestest friend and iiiiii love you!”

She left after that in a few quick movements as she vanished into the Inn’s bathhouse. She could move shockingly fast fr someone who didn’t know speed magic, but she was still nowhere near as fast as Jason. She poped her head out the door once again only for a moment to say “My name is Seki by the way.”

Jason would have a choice between running from the girl to avoid her, trying to fight her, or letting her tag along as she intended. Taking everything into consideration it was no secret she was dangerous, however she did seem sincere when she called Jason her friend so it was less likely that she would try to kill him. Not to mention Seki’s track record against Tyruss’s empire was flawless apart from the few who managed to get away. Having someone like her around might prove to be very useful. And anything was better than being hunted alone. The only question was what would Jason decide?

[S121]

Rockhill District: Kalkun - Inn

On the outside, Jason was calm, as if her actions didn't phase him.

On the inside, it was a different matter.

(What the F*CK was that? What the f*ck have I gotten myself into? Yep, she's the bad psycho killer kind of crazy............. What do I do? Do I let her tag along? She doesn't seem to want to hurt or kill me, but is she going to be a liability?....... She would be a good teammate to have around if things go south... Geez, I'm playing with fire on this one.), Jason thought to himself, trying to come up with a choice.

"My name is Jason. I suppose we start in the morning then. I'll be in the tavern, eating. I've got to heal all this.", Jason said to Seki in a somewhat tired tone as he pointed at all the various scratches, cuts, and bruises.

(I hope you know what you're doing Jason...)

Jason walked out of the bathhouse area and into the tavern section of the inn.

There were various people in the room, either playing drinking games, telling stories, or acting stupid drunk. The sounds of life seemed to literally brighten up the room, or at least it seemed that way to Jason. Jason sat down on one of the bar stools and looked at the innkeeper. Jason was inexperienced with the process of ordering food, but he tried anyway.

"Uhh, is it okay if I order something?", Jason awkwardly said.

[Katrix]

Regius South district - Libary

As Sidna was waiting for her answer, the boy threw something in her eyes. When she could see again the boy was gone.
He had however cut a hole in some of her leather pouches too. She gathered up the materials that had fallen too the floor.
It was nothing too much. Only copper, sand, epsom salt and a few others.

("Maybe I should get some more sturdy containers for these materials too?
The other ones are made of stronger metals to stop the material from coming out in the case of gases and stop reactions in the case of reactive materials.
More on that later. Now I have to asure that he never gets into the city again.")

She wrote a quick report on the boy and went to Regius Central to hand it in.

[Tewi_Inaba]

Rockhill District: Kalkun - Inn

After speaking with Jason, Seki vanished back behind the door going into the bathhouse to bathe. In the water she found a nearby stone she could wash her clothes on which was very helpful since she didn’t have but the one pare. She got a few odd looks from the other girls in the bathing area with her but none of them said anything luckily for both Seki and Jason there didn’t seem to be any wanted posters of either of them in the area if such posters even existed. Once she was done cleaning she dried off and “borrowed” someone’s pajamas. She found a place outside where she started a small fire where she hang her clothes to dry for the night. They might be a little damp in the morning but they would still be alright to wear. She took her sac of food and her bag of coins to her with a random room that was empty. She barricaded the door and window before lying down on the bed. It was only a matter of seconds before she fell asleep.

[Major Mario]

Rockhill District: Kalkun - Inn

Eric enjoyed visiting taverns and the like, and not just because he was old enough to savor their vices. There was life here and enough stories to fill a dozen books. Bards plied their trades and gave hope to the weary travelers and townspeople, the innkeepers took care of their patrons, and the atmosphere was nice and comfortable. It was enough to make anyone forget their troubles for awhile. The merchant savored the last drops of whiskey from his glass before pushing it forward to be taken care of. Best not to get drunk in an unknown area, though.

He wiped his mouth and counted his coin from Kris. His initial observations were correct: she was no bandit but a ranger, even if she denied it. Rangers were handy with a bow and sword and had an almost disturbing desire to help just about anyone, not that Eric thought any less of her for it. She was pretty, yes, and a bit weathered from travel. No doubt about it, the woman had been through some things but did not showcase her scars like other warriors and soldiers. Pride, perhaps...

It wasn't until the arrival of a new patron did Eric look up from his business.

"If you're going to order food, let me know how it tastes," he mumbled. He changed his tone when he looked at the new patron, noticing his grizzled appearance. It almost looked like he got in a fight with a bear and lost. "Hmph... You look like you got in a fight with a maniac. There's whiskey here too for that."

[S121]

Rockhill District: Kalkun - Inn

Jason looked up at the bartender and spoke.

"No. I fell from the sky and didn't slow down fast enough. This is the result.", Jason said in a slightly dismissive tone.

Jason then looked at the various drinks on the back of the wall. Jason didn't know anything about alcoholic drinks, but he did know that they were flammable. Jason then began to think up of the various things he could use the alcohol for. He could use it to fuel a flamethrower. He could use it to sterilize various things. Heck, if he needed to, he could simply turn it into a Molotov Cocktail, or break it against somebody and get Seki to light them on fire.

(Hmm. I could probably make something out of that... If not, then I suppose I could drink it when I'm not being chased.), Jason thought to himself as he wore an expression that told the outside world around him that the gears in his head were turning.

"I'll take two Whiskeys and a meal.", Jason said.

[Major Mario]

Rockhill District: Kalkun - Inn

Eric, the traveling merchant, chuckled at the words the man used. It wasn't often that someone used sarcasm to blow off a question of well-being. Usually it was a grumble or a simple response. The merchant was prepared to tend to his own business again when he realized that this particular person... was the poor sap who was passed out on the road leading up to this town. What a delight that he was up and about. Or, perhaps what a grand opportunity it was...

"Hey, you're that guy... I found you on the road leading up to here, but a ranger came up and took you to this inn. Good to see you're still in one piece."

[Kilelicus]

Residuum Steppes - 1:30 AM

It had been awhile now since Phenom had that little run-in with the light mage he tried to rob. He deduced that he couldn't have been a Regiusian soldier as he was far too young. It was good that he had food on him, though. Without that extra energy, Phenom wouldn't have been able to press on like he was, and a Regiusian sent to take a body count could have easily spotted and killed him. Maybe he was sleep in a bushy area tonight instead.

He couldn't stop thinking about Spera, however. Why lay siege to Spera and kill all of those innocent people when they could just have infiltrated the town and found him themselves. Did they believe there was more to Phenom's Rebels than just him? Did they want to punish the people for assisting a rebel? Or was there something else there? Something more mysterious?

"Nah, that's just stupid... But what really bugs me is that Regiusian general... he didn't seem to even feel the shrapnel in his body. Could it be that he doesn't feel pain? That wouldn't bode well for me..."

(note: I'd write more right now, but I'm kind of in a hurry. I'll post more later.)