For disclaimer: I don't own anything.
For readers: Hehe, my favorite two characters from FE rekka no ken. Canas and Erk. If you are wondering about how Erk gets to use Forblaze, he actually doesn't, he kind of gets there but he's magic has limits and doesn't. So don't say I made Erk look to good.
Bull in a Library
Canas, Erk, and Helen's Story
It was broad day, the weather was fine, and the sea was calm. Three magicians walked through the crowded streets of the harbor, trying to reach the library. "Come on lady Helen, we don't want to lose you in the crowd." Erk tugged the tactician's arm towards the way he was headed. Behind her followed Canas, a druid who the descendant of the hermit. "Oh, but pull me too fast. I might trip over someone. And please be at ease when you talk to me." Helen said as she chased the young sage who couldn't wait to get to the library. From behind, the druid pursued as fast as his feet carried him. "Wait up for me you two!"
They finally made it to the harbor's biggest library. "How….do….you Canas said, taking a deep breath after each word. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I forgot about you. Here, have a drink." Helen said and gave the druid her share of water. "Sorry, but I do forget. What are we here to research again?" Canas asked, his repiration returned to normal pace. "Some legendary magic tombs we got after our last battle. Two from Athos; Forblaze and aureola. And an Excalibur, a Gespenste, and a Luce. And we got them right here in our bag." Erk said as he patted his bag full of tombs. As Erk reached for the door a girl bumped into him, causing him to fall on his rear end. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" Erk said to the girl. She had short purple hair and dressed like a mage. She gave him a sharp look and rushed into the library. "Some manners she has." Erk muttered. "Erk, are you alright?" Helen said, helping him get back to his feet. "No need to stay out here when there are readings to be done." Canas said and entered the building. "I guess he's right. Let's go Helen." Said Erk, and the two followed the druid into the library.
"Any luck Helen?" Erk asked from the other side of the shelf. "Nothing." The tactician replied. "And you?" Erk said to Canas. "Nothing that we are looking for." Canas answered. "Can we ask the librarian now, Erk?" Helen asked. "Alright, but this will be the only time we do." Erk replied. Erk had a thing for asking directions or for help. He didn't like asking for help with his studies unless it was his teacher, lord Pent.
The tactician walked over to the librarian who was fix some books left on a shelf. "Um, excuse me, can you tell me where I can find books about Ancient Magic Tombs?" Helen asked politely to the librarian. The kind librarian led the tactician towards a section in the library with old dusty scrolls and the two scholars followed. "Here are everything in this library about Tombs and Weapons. I hope that helped." The librarian gave Helen a smile and walked away. The former mage smiled back and went back to her searching. Erk and Canas joined in and looked for books about their ancient Tombs. "So Erk, this wasn't so bad. I hope this-""Found it! Right here." Erk interrupted Helen's playful lecture on how Erk should learn to ask for help.
The three stared at the page for sometime until Erk suddenly said, "This can't be right!" Canas and Helen nodded. "Yes, Erk has a point. It says here that our Excalibur has been on this continent all it's life and still in the castle of Jehanna. Where ever that is." Canas said. "And here, it says there is only one copy of this tomb in the world. But rest of the description fits. How it is castes, how the magic is shaped, formed, then attacks." Canas finished, then a girl with purple hair, dressed in a magician's clothes appeared from the section behind where the three scholars were reading. "Will you three keep it down in the library? Me and my friend can't concentrate. But what can I expect from a low leveled trio of mages." The girl said. She just hit Erk's sensitive spot; no one made a fool out of him except lord Pent. "Low leveled! I'll show you whose low leveled!" Erk said. His tone was ice cold, his magic was focused, and he reached out for his Fimbulvetr which the tactician swiftly took it way from the sage's reach. The purple haired girl knew exactly how to react. She went back to where she was studying and got her tomb, following her was a young clergy with orange hair. "Lute, what are you doing? Come-. Oh, hello there." The bishop greeted but Erk replied it with a sharp glare. "Do you know her?" Erk asked, pointing at Lute. "Um, kind of. She's my friend and-." "Good, take her and get out of my sight." Erk cut the young bishop off.
At that point, Lute snapped also. "Don't talk to my friend like that you elementary magician!" Lute yelled at Erk. "Hey Lute, calm down-""I'll do as I please with out some stuck up kid telling me what to do or not!" Erk yelled back and interrupted the bishop again. "Erk, keep your voice down. We're still in a library." Canas said but Erk didn't here him. "Oh yeah? If I'm just a little kid, why don't you challenge me in a duel? Or are you too afraid to lose to a prodigy like myself?" Lute challenged the mage. "Those were the word I've been waiting for. You're on!" Erk said and grabbed a Fimbulvetr tomb from Helen and walked out of the library. Following him was Lute, with an Elfire tomb in her hand.
The tactician quickly ran up to her friend and tried to persuade him. "Erk, please don't do this. You have nothing to prove to this two." "That girl just defiled lord Pent's name. I'll not just sit and watch it happen. Not after what he has done for me." Erk said, and it sounded like the end of his decision. "Ready to lose?" Lute said. Erk cleared his mind of all other outer things and started chanting his magic. The two purple haired mages were evenly matched. Lute's casting was much quicker but Erk conjured his Fimbulvetre just in time to block the Elfire and send his whirlwind straight at Lute. Lute moved quickly and dodged Erk's attack at a nick of time. "Not bad for a foreigner." Lute said. "I was about to say the same thing, islander." Erk quickly replied to Lute's remark. "Allow me to show you the full potential of a Prodigy." Lute said and started to chant her magic and Erk followed. "Excalibur!" Both of the mages executed at the same time. At the sound of their cry, the wind shifted. The wind started to shape into a curved blade. It shined green from its edges. And the two blade like magic lounged toward each other, canceling themselves out to mere breeze. The two mages were out of options. Their best magic has been equally matched. Lute waited for Erk to make the next move, and she would follow.
"This girl is good. Other magic won't work on her if Excalibur hasn't. Unless…." Erk thought. He took out a bright red tomb from his bag and focused all his magic. "Hopefully this magic will work." Erk continued to extract his magic. Lute watched in confusion for this boy from some other continent was using a magic she have never seen before. "Forblaze!" Erk yelled. Both Canas and Helen were surprised at Erk's choice of magic. "Erk stop!" the druid said, trying to stop the sage from severely harming Lute. The attempt was useless, it was too late. The atmosphere around them turned hot and dry. The dust started to rise up. The floor under Lute began to grow immensely hot; it was time for Forblaze's climax. The tactician and the druid had only little time if they wanted to save the mage girl. Helen quickly took out a barrier staff and coated Canas in a magic shield. Canas ran towards Lute with a tomb in his hand and stood infront of Lute and began to chant. "Gespenst!" the Druid yelled. The sky turned dark and the air became thick. At normal casting of this magic, there should've been an offensive part to this but Canas's magic was dispelled by Erk's Forblaze. The air started to soften and the clouds moved away. Forblaze and Gespenst cushioned each other. The sky cleared and the quarrel was stopped, kind of.
"Whew. I thought I wouldn't make it in time." Canas said, collapsing to his knees. Erk staggered toward Canas and collapsed also on his arms. But it wasn't a fall of exhaustion, it looked like pain. "Oh, you can't be serious. Not again." Canas muttered and got back on his feet. He ran towards the fallen sage and chanted a magic transfer. "Erk, I must tell, stop pushing your limits like that. You probably got magic transferred from every mages in our army." Canas said to Erk and glanced at the tactician. "Especially a lot from her and lord Pent." Erk gave off a grin and finally stood back on his feet.
On the other side, Lute sat on her knees, staring blankly into the streets. "Such power…not even I was able to defeat him. But the others were equally good. Maybe I'm not a-""Hey Lute! Are you alright?" Artur called from behind and cut off Lute's thought. Lute turn and faced her friend. She finally opened her mouth and said, "Artur? Did you see those three? They were…amazing. Maybe even better than me." "Lute I-"Artur tried to comfort his friend but the sage had more to say. "Maybe they are better than me. Maybe I'm not a prodigy. I should ask for their assistance in my studies, so one day I can beat them." Lute said and looked up. The sage, the druid, and the tactician have disappeared from their spot.
In the end, there were no winner or loser, but Erk and Lute learned something that day. Something that will guide them throughout their lives. And the other three, they've learned not to get on the sages' nerves.
Moral of the Chapter: Don't mess with nerds.
