LegoLad659
Fairy Queen
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<a href="<___base_url___>/threads/the-road-to-ikari.228047/" rel=""><img src="<___base_url___>/media/previous.10777/full?d=1463364424" class="ipsImage" alt="full?d=1463364424" /></a><a href="<___base_url___>/threads/the-road-to-ikari.228047/" rel=""> </a> Amarin sat down next to me as I stared blankly into the fire in front of me. He had just finished setting up camp, it looked like, but I had been too busy thinking to notice any of his progress. "Hey..." He said, seeing the look on my face "Are you okay?" I didn't reply. I hardly even realized he was talking to me for a few moments after he spoke. My mind was still swimming in its thoughts. Ever since we left Ikari, in fact. The flames reflected in my eyes as I remembered my burning village. As if he could read my mind, Amarin spoke up again "You miss home, don't you?" He asked. I nodded in response, afraid to say anything in fear that I couldn't hold back my emotions "Completely understandable. I know I would never feel the same if Holaria had been the one attacked." He told me, putting a hand on my shoulder "I may not know what it's like, but I can try my best to sympathize." "Thank you..." I replied, still staring at the fire. "What was it like? Scarfala, I mean." I took a moment to try and collect myself enough to describe it to him "It was wonderful... Nowhere near as grand as other places, I'm sure, but I guess... That's just part of its charm, really." I started, before beginning to explain to him what I could remember in detail. I was hoping talking to him about the good things would help me, but as time went on it became clear that was not the case. As I spoke, it became more difficult to speak, and I could feel the despair welling up from inside me again... Amarin held his hand up before I continued any further "That's enough." He told me "Perhaps now is not the time to discuss this... Maybe later, when the memory is not so fresh in your mind." I nodded in response "Yeah... Good idea..." I said. He put his hand on my shoulder again, and I looked up at him - The first time I had looked away from the fire pit since it was lit "I'm... Sorry if I'm a problem for you..." He looked down at me and smiled a little bit, shaking his head "You're no burden at all. You've just been through an experience to change your entire life. It's inevitable that you would have to take some time to adjust. Take as long as you need to. Even after we get to the Mage's Guild." "Y... Yeah..." I replied, nodding a little "Okay... Thank you... Really, I can't tell you how much this means to me..." His smile grew wider "I have some idea... You're welcome." He told me, before standing up, pulling me up with him "Now, the camp's all set up. We should get some sleep, or we'll be too tired to travel in the morning." I nodded in response "Right." I said as we walked into the tent "Good night." "Good night, Sky." "There, is that it?" I asked Amarin as I spotted something on the horizon. It was the tops of buildings, no doubt about that. "Indeed it is." He replied, much to my relief. My legs were extremely sore after a day and a half of almost non-stop walking. "Thank goodness..." I replied, very much glad "I don't know how much longer I can walk... Wasn't there a faster way to get here?" "Most of my money is stored in Holaria's banks, so I didn't have enough funds for a single horse, let alone mounts for two of us." Amarin explained "It <em>is</em> possible to travel faster using magic, but doing so either requires a lot of energy, or to travel through dark places..." "Dark places?" I asked, tilting my head "What do you mean by that?" "The forces of Darkness have, over the millenia of their existence, constructed a sort of dimension separate from ours. I do not know the exact details of what it's like, or how they constructed it in the first place, but the corridors in this dimension act as gateways to travel quickly from one location to another." "You don't know the exact details? How do you know about this place in the first place?" "I... Had an old rival who was corrupted by the Darkness. He was able to move back and forth between the dark world and our world at will. It allowed him to rapidly teleport from one location to another." "So the forces of Darkness can use this world to travel quickly around ours... Does this mean Monsters are able to do that too?" Amarin shook his head "Not from what I can tell. Only those with an affinity for the Darkness, or who have mastered its art, may use the dark world. That still accounts for a lot of Darkness-aligned Monsters, though. So I suppose, yes, you could say that some of them can." "Darkness-aligned Monsters?" "Every Monster has an element that they are attached to. Creatures such as Black Reavers and Shadows have a Darkness affinity. While Alraunes would have a Plant affinity, or Mermaids would have a Water affinity. The majority of Monsters have a tie to some kind of element that makes up our world - The ones that don't, we refer to as basic Monsters. They are usually the weakest." "Um... Okay..." "It's okay if you don't quite understand it." He assured me "You'll only have to learn these things when you plan on fighting them." "Right..." I replied, nodding. We soon arrived at the city's gates and, after a quick check by the city guards to make sure we weren't criminals or anything, entered the city. Holaria was unlike any place I had seen before. The roads were paved with stone just like back at Scarfala, and most of the buildings had wooden trims and window frames, but that was more or less where the similarities ended. All of the buildings were made out of stone bricks, unlike the wooden houses back in Scarfala. The town guard looked much better equipped than our own, though some of them had a lot more attitude. The streets were bustling with more activity than I had ever seen on a Saturday afternoon during harvest season. And trust me, that was a <em>lot</em> of activity. The only time I could really, actually compare it to was whenever the King or Queen living near Scarfala was making their way through town. I could only imagine what royalty travelling through <em>here</em> must be like. There were lampposts along the streets, perpetually burning with fire (I assume that the fire was being sustained through magic of some kind; Maybe the wood they used was enchanted?) whereas in Scarfala, at night we only had the Moon's light to guide us. There were no candles or torches set out on the porch in a feeble attempt to bring more light to the area, though admittedly in the bright daylight it was impossible to tell how much better these lampposts did. The people themselves were generally better dressed as well. Nobody I saw was wearing simple dresses or patched clothing like everyone I knew back home. Their clothes were more comparable to my mom's, very elegant and clean. Maybe she picked up her clothing from here, during one of her visits? I did recall her leaving several times to get help from the Wizard towers that were spread across the land and, as I could see from here, there were even a couple of them in Holaria itself. The city was huge, much larger than I could've ever imagined a town to be. It had to be at least three times as big as Scarfala was, if not bigger. Surely not all of the city was like what I was seeing here, was it? And sitting in the center of the city was a castle, much more extravagant than the one near Scarfala. I could tell that even from this distance, with it being made not only with stone, but the stone had also been colored in various patterns to make the sight truly something to behold. "A bit much to take in all at once, isn't it?" Amarin asked, in a lighthearted tone. "Y-...Y-yeah..." I replied, my eyes still wide at everything around me. "The city is often quite overwhelming, for one who hasn't seen it before. Stay close to me and you'll be fine." He told me, taking my hand "Shall we head to the Mage's Guild?" He asked, and I nodded in response. He led me through the streets to the Guild. On the outside, it looked like a normal building, if a bit large, and it had a sign with a picture of a wand on it reading 'Mage's Guild'. On the inside were lanterns with similarly burning flames to the lamppost outside. In front of us was a desk on the other side of the entrance hall, and several doors leading to different areas. We walked up to the desk "Well, if it isn't Amarin." The clerk greeted us, smiling at him. She then looked down at me "And who's this?" "An orphan I picked up in Ikari." Amarin answered her. "I never thought of you as a foster parent before. Had a change of heart?" "Sky here is a special case... Her village was destroyed, and she doesn't know of any survivors other than herself." The clerk gasped "Oh my..." "I need to speak to the Guild Master as soon as he is available." "Of course, I'll let him know." She replied, writing something down before looking at me again "If there's anything we can get you, please don't be afraid to ask." I nodded in response "Thank you..." She nodded back, and stood up "I'll be right back. You two are free to wait in here or in the library, if you prefer." She said, before walking into one of the doors. "Are you doing alright?" Amarin asked me, kneeling down to eye level with me. I nodded in response "I'm okay..." I told him, but hesitated for a moment "...Actually, no, I shouldn't say that..." He led me over to a bench, where we sat down "Is it about your home?" "Yeah... Kinda... When all of this happened, at first I was hoping that it was all just a dream... It just didn't feel real - It all felt like a bad nightmare, and I held out hope that I would eventually wake up." "I'm afraid that is not the case..." "Yeah. Even when things got better for me, when you guys arrived, I still expected to wake up as soon as I fell asleep that day. It was only when I woke up yesterday morning that I realized it was all real... It actually happened, and I... I'll never get to see my home, my friends and family again..." I told him, as I felt my tears flow freely from my eyes again. He wrapped his arm around me "It's quite a shock, what happened... It's natural for someone as young as you to come up with a reason it might not be real." He replied, holding me close "The only thing we can do when events like that happen is to move forward." "But... How can I do that?" I asked, looking up at him "Everything I ever knew is gone, the only thing I have left is..." I trailed off, looking at the battered staff that Amarin was holding in his other hand. Amarin was silent for a moment "This may seem like it is out of nowhere at first, but... For events like these, some people tend to put the blame on themselves for everything that happens to them. As a result, they live miserable lives, often falling deep into despair. It is a horrible thing to happen, both for the person in question, and for anyone watching them go down this path." I looked at him curiously "Why are you telling me this...?" "Because I want you to know that what happened was not your fault. It was out of your control - Instigated by forces that were entirely unrelated to you, and nothing would have changed had you done anything differently. If you remember nothing else from meeting everyone these past few days, promise me that you at least won't forget that. I don't want to see another fall into despair..." I was silent for a moment, wondering what exactly he meant by telling me this. Nonetheless, I nodded "Okay. I promise." He smiled and nodded back, as the clerk came back into the room, followed by a grey-haired man wearing a white robe with a teal trim. Amarin cleared his throat and stood to attention, with me following suit, not wanting to be disrespectful. "So, Anna here tells me that you've brought a prospective student here, Amarin..." The man said, walking over to us. I couldn't figure out why, but something about the way he walked, the way he spoke, was intimidating to me. "Yes." Amarin confirmed, strangely unaffected by the feeling the man was giving me "She is from the village of Scarfala. It was attacked and burned down by monsters." "Burned down, you say? Yes, I had heard about that..." "You have?" I asked, avoiding eye contact with him "But it only happened a couple of days ago, how did you...?" "A young Kemono, I believe she was a friend to one of the regular Guild members there... She and a group of friends foresaw the attack moments before it happened, and her friend sent her here with a letter detailing what they had seen. She was picked due to her feline attributes - A rather common Kemono trait, but a useful one nonetheless. She was the fastest of the group, so she was entrusted with the task of bringing the news to our guild." "A Kemono..." I replied, thinking for a moment. That could be any one of several people I knew, and even more that I didn't, living in Scarfala. Kemonos, or better known by their full racial name of Kemonomimis, were Human-looking people with animal traits, such as cat or fox. Sometimes even more reptilian features such as lizards or, in extremely rare cases, dragons. Scarfala was fairly evenly mixed between Human and Kemono "I see... Is she still here?" The Guild Master shook his head "I'm afraid she left soon after she arrived yesterday afternoon. Soon before you yourselves arrived, we received news sent by a Paladin in Ikari about the result of the attack. I am terribly sorry..." I shook my head "It's okay, you didn't know... Everyone did the best they could." "Regardless, your village is now gone, and you need a new home. And from Amarin's advance letter has told me, you are an avid pursuer of the magical arts, are you not?" He asked, smiling a bit at me. His approval filled me with a bit of confidence, and he seemed a little less intimidating. "Yeah, I am. Well, I was going to be. My mom was part of Scarfala's Mage Guild, and I really liked magic, too. They wouldn't let me in until I was older, though, so I kept an eye out for any other opportunities that might come up." "Hmm, yes, it's true that most Guilds won't accept younger members... Some of them tend to cause trouble, with their magical powers still growing and all. I believe we can make an exception for you, however it will be much harder work. Are you sure you're up to the task?" I thought for a moment and nodded in response "Yeah... I'll be staying here for now anyway, I might as well try to learn what I can from you guys." He nodded back "Very well. I'll get the necessary paperwork done, and once that is finished you can consider yourself an official member of the Holaria Mage's Guild." "Thank you... For everything, I don't know how I can..." "It's no problem at all. You've been through a lot of hardship, it's the least we can do to make your following days filled with as little grief as possible." "Master Nellor, if I may interject..." Amarin started, continuing when he got a nod in response "Would it not be best if we at least allow Sky some time to grieve before we start inserting all of this change into her life? I'm sure this is all moving very quickly for her, and I'm not sure it is healthy for her, mentally, to get into another lifestyle without first getting used to the fact that her old one is gone permanently." He explained. That last word struck a chord, and I looked down. As much as it hurt for him to bring it up again, he was probably right. The Guild Master, whose name I had just learned was Nellor, nodded in agreement "Ah, yes, very true... Alright, you make an excellent point as always, Amarin." He said, before looking down at me "Sky, was it? While I would love nothing more than to have another student in our Guild, I do believe it would be best to wait until you are actually ready to learn. Take as much time as you need to. When you believe you are ready, talk to Amarin. He will be your instructor." "M-... Me, sir?!" Amarin asked, his calm and stoic demeanor broken for just a moment "Ahem... Um, are... Are you sure about this?" "Of course. You've already learned all you can from us, and you were even promoted to Master rank a few weeks ago... I see no harm in you passing your knowledge down to young Sky here." "Th-... Thank you, sir!" Amarin replied, bowing to Nellor "I will teach her to the best of my ability!" "I expect nothing less from a mage of your caliber. You'll do just fine, don't worry about it." Nellor told him, laughing a bit in response "I'll go ahead and set up a room for you to stay in for the foreseeable future. I'm glad we can help you here, Sky." He said, smiling at me before turning around and walking away. "Thank you..." I said, mimicking Amarin's bow from earlier. "It'll take a little while for him to find a room for you to sleep in... In the meantime, would you like to see the rest of the city?" Amarin suggested, once Nellor had left "I'd like to run a few errands, anyway." "Sure." I said, smiling a bit. He nodded, and lead me out of the building "So, that was the Guild Master?" "Yes, he was. Guild Master Aaron Nellor. He was the top of his class when our last Guild Master passed away. Normally we follow the model of Royalty when it comes to succession; The eldest child of the Guild Master succeeds him when he dies. However, our last Guild Master didn't have any children, so the succession instead fell to the highest ranking member. I have to say, it's been a rather pleasant time serving under his leadership." "When did he take over?" "It was a long time ago, only about two years after I joined the Guild myself. I was twenty at the time." "How old are you now?" "Thirty-five." "Ah, so it's been fifteen years?" "Give or take a month or so, yeah, I guess it has... Wow. Time just flies right by, doesn't it?" "Yeah, it does..." I replied, thinking about how it felt like I hadn't had nearly enough time with my friends in Scarfala. We spent the rest of the day walking around Holaria, visiting several shops while Amarin picked up supplies for the Guild and himself. Food, materials, we even dropped off my mom's staff at the Guild itself to see if they could get it fixed. We even picked up a belt of potions from the local alchemist - Though she looked more like a traveling merchant than anything else. Either way, she seemed to know what she was talking about when it came to potions. Amarin picked up a few potions for himself, as well as a single potion for me in a pyramid-shaped flask. "What's this for?" I asked him, holding it up. "To help with your nightmares." Amarin replied. I blinked "My night- How do you know about those? I never told you about that..." "You talk in your sleep. A lot." "Oh... Sorry." He laughed a little bit "It's no problem. As much as you talk, you don't talk <em>nearly</em> as much as Brun does. He just does <em>not</em> stop." He joked. I giggled in response "Ah, okay. I guess I'm not sorry, then." He blinked "Er, now, wait a minute, I didn't say..." I kept giggling as I ran ahead, seeing the Guild in front of us. He arrived inside soon after me, and we were led to our rooms directly afterwards. My bedroom reminded me a little of the room I had woken up in in Ariador's place, after the Spider attack. Only it was about half as big, the stones were white, and there were various cabinets and closets to hold all kinds of things. I sat down on my new bed and looked at the potion in my hands. Amarin <em>was</em> right, I had started having nightmares about the attack on Scarfala the night before. Repeating the same images I had seen over and over, and I had even been spotted by a single remaining Slime that was in the village as well - The same one that me and Elise hid from in the cellar the day of the attack. The Slime would continue to haunt me for a long time to come... My thoughts drifted to Elise. What happened? Where did she go? Did she wander off when she woke up to find that I wasn't there? That tugged at my mind, did she leave because I wasn't there? Where was she right now? Was she even alive, like I was fortunate enough to be? I shook my head and, after a moment, pulled the cork out of the bottle in my hand. The potion may not be able to do much for my sadness in the waking world, but if the alchemist that we bought it from was to be believed, it should at least ease the pain in my dreams. With that in mind, I downed the deep purple liquid, set the now empty flask on the dresser next to my bed, and pulled myself under the covers. It was a while before I managed to actually fall asleep, but I eventually did, even if it was with further tear-stained eyes. <a href="<___base_url___>/threads/the-road-to-ikari.228047/" rel=""><img src="<___base_url___>/media/previous.10777/full?d=1463364424" class="ipsImage" alt="full?d=1463364424" /></a><a href="<___base_url___>/threads/the-road-to-ikari.228047/" rel=""> </a>
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<a href="<___base_url___>/threads/the-road-to-ikari.228047/" rel=""><img src="<___base_url___>/media/previous.10777/full?d=1463364424" class="ipsImage" alt="full?d=1463364424" /></a><a href="<___base_url___>/threads/the-road-to-ikari.228047/" rel=""> </a> Amarin sat down next to me as I stared blankly into the fire in front of me. He had just finished setting up camp, it looked like, but I had been too busy thinking to notice any of his progress. "Hey..." He said, seeing the look on my face "Are you okay?" I didn't reply. I hardly even realized he was talking to me for a few moments after he spoke. My mind was still swimming in its thoughts. Ever since we left Ikari, in fact. The flames reflected in my eyes as I remembered my burning village. As if he could read my mind, Amarin spoke up again "You miss home, don't you?" He asked. I nodded in response, afraid to say anything in fear that I couldn't hold back my emotions "Completely understandable. I know I would never feel the same if Holaria had been the one attacked." He told me, putting a hand on my shoulder "I may not know what it's like, but I can try my best to sympathize." "Thank you..." I replied, still staring at the fire. "What was it like? Scarfala, I mean." I took a moment to try and collect myself enough to describe it to him "It was wonderful... Nowhere near as grand as other places, I'm sure, but I guess... That's just part of its charm, really." I started, before beginning to explain to him what I could remember in detail. I was hoping talking to him about the good things would help me, but as time went on it became clear that was not the case. As I spoke, it became more difficult to speak, and I could feel the despair welling up from inside me again... Amarin held his hand up before I continued any further "That's enough." He told me "Perhaps now is not the time to discuss this... Maybe later, when the memory is not so fresh in your mind." I nodded in response "Yeah... Good idea..." I said. He put his hand on my shoulder again, and I looked up at him - The first time I had looked away from the fire pit since it was lit "I'm... Sorry if I'm a problem for you..." He looked down at me and smiled a little bit, shaking his head "You're no burden at all. You've just been through an experience to change your entire life. It's inevitable that you would have to take some time to adjust. Take as long as you need to. Even after we get to the Mage's Guild." "Y... Yeah..." I replied, nodding a little "Okay... Thank you... Really, I can't tell you how much this means to me..." His smile grew wider "I have some idea... You're welcome." He told me, before standing up, pulling me up with him "Now, the camp's all set up. We should get some sleep, or we'll be too tired to travel in the morning." I nodded in response "Right." I said as we walked into the tent "Good night." "Good night, Sky." "There, is that it?" I asked Amarin as I spotted something on the horizon. It was the tops of buildings, no doubt about that. "Indeed it is." He replied, much to my relief. My legs were extremely sore after a day and a half of almost non-stop walking. "Thank goodness..." I replied, very much glad "I don't know how much longer I can walk... Wasn't there a faster way to get here?" "Most of my money is stored in Holaria's banks, so I didn't have enough funds for a single horse, let alone mounts for two of us." Amarin explained "It <em>is</em> possible to travel faster using magic, but doing so either requires a lot of energy, or to travel through dark places..." "Dark places?" I asked, tilting my head "What do you mean by that?" "The forces of Darkness have, over the millenia of their existence, constructed a sort of dimension separate from ours. I do not know the exact details of what it's like, or how they constructed it in the first place, but the corridors in this dimension act as gateways to travel quickly from one location to another." "You don't know the exact details? How do you know about this place in the first place?" "I... Had an old rival who was corrupted by the Darkness. He was able to move back and forth between the dark world and our world at will. It allowed him to rapidly teleport from one location to another." "So the forces of Darkness can use this world to travel quickly around ours... Does this mean Monsters are able to do that too?" Amarin shook his head "Not from what I can tell. Only those with an affinity for the Darkness, or who have mastered its art, may use the dark world. That still accounts for a lot of Darkness-aligned Monsters, though. So I suppose, yes, you could say that some of them can." "Darkness-aligned Monsters?" "Every Monster has an element that they are attached to. Creatures such as Black Reavers and Shadows have a Darkness affinity. While Alraunes would have a Plant affinity, or Mermaids would have a Water affinity. The majority of Monsters have a tie to some kind of element that makes up our world - The ones that don't, we refer to as basic Monsters. They are usually the weakest." "Um... Okay..." "It's okay if you don't quite understand it." He assured me "You'll only have to learn these things when you plan on fighting them." "Right..." I replied, nodding. We soon arrived at the city's gates and, after a quick check by the city guards to make sure we weren't criminals or anything, entered the city. Holaria was unlike any place I had seen before. The roads were paved with stone just like back at Scarfala, and most of the buildings had wooden trims and window frames, but that was more or less where the similarities ended. All of the buildings were made out of stone bricks, unlike the wooden houses back in Scarfala. The town guard looked much better equipped than our own, though some of them had a lot more attitude. The streets were bustling with more activity than I had ever seen on a Saturday afternoon during harvest season. And trust me, that was a <em>lot</em> of activity. The only time I could really, actually compare it to was whenever the King or Queen living near Scarfala was making their way through town. I could only imagine what royalty travelling through <em>here</em> must be like. There were lampposts along the streets, perpetually burning with fire (I assume that the fire was being sustained through magic of some kind; Maybe the wood they used was enchanted?) whereas in Scarfala, at night we only had the Moon's light to guide us. There were no candles or torches set out on the porch in a feeble attempt to bring more light to the area, though admittedly in the bright daylight it was impossible to tell how much better these lampposts did. The people themselves were generally better dressed as well. Nobody I saw was wearing simple dresses or patched clothing like everyone I knew back home. Their clothes were more comparable to my mom's, very elegant and clean. Maybe she picked up her clothing from here, during one of her visits? I did recall her leaving several times to get help from the Wizard towers that were spread across the land and, as I could see from here, there were even a couple of them in Holaria itself. The city was huge, much larger than I could've ever imagined a town to be. It had to be at least three times as big as Scarfala was, if not bigger. Surely not all of the city was like what I was seeing here, was it? And sitting in the center of the city was a castle, much more extravagant than the one near Scarfala. I could tell that even from this distance, with it being made not only with stone, but the stone had also been colored in various patterns to make the sight truly something to behold. "A bit much to take in all at once, isn't it?" Amarin asked, in a lighthearted tone. "Y-...Y-yeah..." I replied, my eyes still wide at everything around me. "The city is often quite overwhelming, for one who hasn't seen it before. Stay close to me and you'll be fine." He told me, taking my hand "Shall we head to the Mage's Guild?" He asked, and I nodded in response. He led me through the streets to the Guild. On the outside, it looked like a normal building, if a bit large, and it had a sign with a picture of a wand on it reading 'Mage's Guild'. On the inside were lanterns with similarly burning flames to the lamppost outside. In front of us was a desk on the other side of the entrance hall, and several doors leading to different areas. We walked up to the desk "Well, if it isn't Amarin." The clerk greeted us, smiling at him. She then looked down at me "And who's this?" "An orphan I picked up in Ikari." Amarin answered her. "I never thought of you as a foster parent before. Had a change of heart?" "Sky here is a special case... Her village was destroyed, and she doesn't know of any survivors other than herself." The clerk gasped "Oh my..." "I need to speak to the Guild Master as soon as he is available." "Of course, I'll let him know." She replied, writing something down before looking at me again "If there's anything we can get you, please don't be afraid to ask." I nodded in response "Thank you..." She nodded back, and stood up "I'll be right back. You two are free to wait in here or in the library, if you prefer." She said, before walking into one of the doors. "Are you doing alright?" Amarin asked me, kneeling down to eye level with me. I nodded in response "I'm okay..." I told him, but hesitated for a moment "...Actually, no, I shouldn't say that..." He led me over to a bench, where we sat down "Is it about your home?" "Yeah... Kinda... When all of this happened, at first I was hoping that it was all just a dream... It just didn't feel real - It all felt like a bad nightmare, and I held out hope that I would eventually wake up." "I'm afraid that is not the case..." "Yeah. Even when things got better for me, when you guys arrived, I still expected to wake up as soon as I fell asleep that day. It was only when I woke up yesterday morning that I realized it was all real... It actually happened, and I... I'll never get to see my home, my friends and family again..." I told him, as I felt my tears flow freely from my eyes again. He wrapped his arm around me "It's quite a shock, what happened... It's natural for someone as young as you to come up with a reason it might not be real." He replied, holding me close "The only thing we can do when events like that happen is to move forward." "But... How can I do that?" I asked, looking up at him "Everything I ever knew is gone, the only thing I have left is..." I trailed off, looking at the battered staff that Amarin was holding in his other hand. Amarin was silent for a moment "This may seem like it is out of nowhere at first, but... For events like these, some people tend to put the blame on themselves for everything that happens to them. As a result, they live miserable lives, often falling deep into despair. It is a horrible thing to happen, both for the person in question, and for anyone watching them go down this path." I looked at him curiously "Why are you telling me this...?" "Because I want you to know that what happened was not your fault. It was out of your control - Instigated by forces that were entirely unrelated to you, and nothing would have changed had you done anything differently. If you remember nothing else from meeting everyone these past few days, promise me that you at least won't forget that. I don't want to see another fall into despair..." I was silent for a moment, wondering what exactly he meant by telling me this. Nonetheless, I nodded "Okay. I promise." He smiled and nodded back, as the clerk came back into the room, followed by a grey-haired man wearing a white robe with a teal trim. Amarin cleared his throat and stood to attention, with me following suit, not wanting to be disrespectful. "So, Anna here tells me that you've brought a prospective student here, Amarin..." The man said, walking over to us. I couldn't figure out why, but something about the way he walked, the way he spoke, was intimidating to me. "Yes." Amarin confirmed, strangely unaffected by the feeling the man was giving me "She is from the village of Scarfala. It was attacked and burned down by monsters." "Burned down, you say? Yes, I had heard about that..." "You have?" I asked, avoiding eye contact with him "But it only happened a couple of days ago, how did you...?" "A young Kemono, I believe she was a friend to one of the regular Guild members there... She and a group of friends foresaw the attack moments before it happened, and her friend sent her here with a letter detailing what they had seen. She was picked due to her feline attributes - A rather common Kemono trait, but a useful one nonetheless. She was the fastest of the group, so she was entrusted with the task of bringing the news to our guild." "A Kemono..." I replied, thinking for a moment. That could be any one of several people I knew, and even more that I didn't, living in Scarfala. Kemonos, or better known by their full racial name of Kemonomimis, were Human-looking people with animal traits, such as cat or fox. Sometimes even more reptilian features such as lizards or, in extremely rare cases, dragons. Scarfala was fairly evenly mixed between Human and Kemono "I see... Is she still here?" The Guild Master shook his head "I'm afraid she left soon after she arrived yesterday afternoon. Soon before you yourselves arrived, we received news sent by a Paladin in Ikari about the result of the attack. I am terribly sorry..." I shook my head "It's okay, you didn't know... Everyone did the best they could." "Regardless, your village is now gone, and you need a new home. And from Amarin's advance letter has told me, you are an avid pursuer of the magical arts, are you not?" He asked, smiling a bit at me. His approval filled me with a bit of confidence, and he seemed a little less intimidating. "Yeah, I am. Well, I was going to be. My mom was part of Scarfala's Mage Guild, and I really liked magic, too. They wouldn't let me in until I was older, though, so I kept an eye out for any other opportunities that might come up." "Hmm, yes, it's true that most Guilds won't accept younger members... Some of them tend to cause trouble, with their magical powers still growing and all. I believe we can make an exception for you, however it will be much harder work. Are you sure you're up to the task?" I thought for a moment and nodded in response "Yeah... I'll be staying here for now anyway, I might as well try to learn what I can from you guys." He nodded back "Very well. I'll get the necessary paperwork done, and once that is finished you can consider yourself an official member of the Holaria Mage's Guild." "Thank you... For everything, I don't know how I can..." "It's no problem at all. You've been through a lot of hardship, it's the least we can do to make your following days filled with as little grief as possible." "Master Nellor, if I may interject..." Amarin started, continuing when he got a nod in response "Would it not be best if we at least allow Sky some time to grieve before we start inserting all of this change into her life? I'm sure this is all moving very quickly for her, and I'm not sure it is healthy for her, mentally, to get into another lifestyle without first getting used to the fact that her old one is gone permanently." He explained. That last word struck a chord, and I looked down. As much as it hurt for him to bring it up again, he was probably right. The Guild Master, whose name I had just learned was Nellor, nodded in agreement "Ah, yes, very true... Alright, you make an excellent point as always, Amarin." He said, before looking down at me "Sky, was it? While I would love nothing more than to have another student in our Guild, I do believe it would be best to wait until you are actually ready to learn. Take as much time as you need to. When you believe you are ready, talk to Amarin. He will be your instructor." "M-... Me, sir?!" Amarin asked, his calm and stoic demeanor broken for just a moment "Ahem... Um, are... Are you sure about this?" "Of course. You've already learned all you can from us, and you were even promoted to Master rank a few weeks ago... I see no harm in you passing your knowledge down to young Sky here." "Th-... Thank you, sir!" Amarin replied, bowing to Nellor "I will teach her to the best of my ability!" "I expect nothing less from a mage of your caliber. You'll do just fine, don't worry about it." Nellor told him, laughing a bit in response "I'll go ahead and set up a room for you to stay in for the foreseeable future. I'm glad we can help you here, Sky." He said, smiling at me before turning around and walking away. "Thank you..." I said, mimicking Amarin's bow from earlier. "It'll take a little while for him to find a room for you to sleep in... In the meantime, would you like to see the rest of the city?" Amarin suggested, once Nellor had left "I'd like to run a few errands, anyway." "Sure." I said, smiling a bit. He nodded, and lead me out of the building "So, that was the Guild Master?" "Yes, he was. Guild Master Aaron Nellor. He was the top of his class when our last Guild Master passed away. Normally we follow the model of Royalty when it comes to succession; The eldest child of the Guild Master succeeds him when he dies. However, our last Guild Master didn't have any children, so the succession instead fell to the highest ranking member. I have to say, it's been a rather pleasant time serving under his leadership." "When did he take over?" "It was a long time ago, only about two years after I joined the Guild myself. I was twenty at the time." "How old are you now?" "Thirty-five." "Ah, so it's been fifteen years?" "Give or take a month or so, yeah, I guess it has... Wow. Time just flies right by, doesn't it?" "Yeah, it does..." I replied, thinking about how it felt like I hadn't had nearly enough time with my friends in Scarfala. We spent the rest of the day walking around Holaria, visiting several shops while Amarin picked up supplies for the Guild and himself. Food, materials, we even dropped off my mom's staff at the Guild itself to see if they could get it fixed. We even picked up a belt of potions from the local alchemist - Though she looked more like a traveling merchant than anything else. Either way, she seemed to know what she was talking about when it came to potions. Amarin picked up a few potions for himself, as well as a single potion for me in a pyramid-shaped flask. "What's this for?" I asked him, holding it up. "To help with your nightmares." Amarin replied. I blinked "My night- How do you know about those? I never told you about that..." "You talk in your sleep. A lot." "Oh... Sorry." He laughed a little bit "It's no problem. As much as you talk, you don't talk <em>nearly</em> as much as Brun does. He just does <em>not</em> stop." He joked. I giggled in response "Ah, okay. I guess I'm not sorry, then." He blinked "Er, now, wait a minute, I didn't say..." I kept giggling as I ran ahead, seeing the Guild in front of us. He arrived inside soon after me, and we were led to our rooms directly afterwards. My bedroom reminded me a little of the room I had woken up in in Ariador's place, after the Spider attack. Only it was about half as big, the stones were white, and there were various cabinets and closets to hold all kinds of things. I sat down on my new bed and looked at the potion in my hands. Amarin <em>was</em> right, I had started having nightmares about the attack on Scarfala the night before. Repeating the same images I had seen over and over, and I had even been spotted by a single remaining Slime that was in the village as well - The same one that me and Elise hid from in the cellar the day of the attack. The Slime would continue to haunt me for a long time to come... My thoughts drifted to Elise. What happened? Where did she go? Did she wander off when she woke up to find that I wasn't there? That tugged at my mind, did she leave because I wasn't there? Where was she right now? Was she even alive, like I was fortunate enough to be? I shook my head and, after a moment, pulled the cork out of the bottle in my hand. The potion may not be able to do much for my sadness in the waking world, but if the alchemist that we bought it from was to be believed, it should at least ease the pain in my dreams. With that in mind, I downed the deep purple liquid, set the now empty flask on the dresser next to my bed, and pulled myself under the covers. It was a while before I managed to actually fall asleep, but I eventually did, even if it was with further tear-stained eyes. <a href="<___base_url___>/threads/the-road-to-ikari.228047/" rel=""><img src="<___base_url___>/media/previous.10777/full?d=1463364424" class="ipsImage" alt="full?d=1463364424" /></a><a href="<___base_url___>/threads/the-road-to-ikari.228047/" rel=""> </a>
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