Disclaimer: I do not own anything

A/N: Thanks for the comments and continued reading... that's all for my BS this time... let's get to it!

Here is the next chapter of The Discarded Hero!

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Saito and Siesta headed off on their journey to Germania. Saito was kind of glad Ara had moved to the tower they captured. It was 3 days closer to the lake then her father's home was. It was going to make this trip a lot shorter and he was also excited to see his friend.

Siesta got to observe, fight, and learn about all kinds of new monsters she never heard of before on their trip to Germania. She quickly discovered Saito was like an encyclopedia of monster knowledge.

He gave her pointers on monsters weak points, when the best time to attack is, and if certain monsters had tells when they were going to attack. It was great information for Siesta even if she just mostly watched Saito while he explained what to do. It was amazing to her that he could take on a monster who could injury her easily while explaining how to defeat it.

The first time Siesta killed a monster and loot popped out, she was over the moon with happiness. Of course Saito let her keep all the stuff she got when she killed something. He knew pretty soon everything they owned would be both of theirs but she looked incredibly happy at the moment and didn't want to ruin that.

When they got to the border of Tristania and Germania it was a little harder to get across then before. Since there was no formal alliance between the countries anymore they were extra cautious who they let through the border.

The guards at the fort remembered Saito from the kobold subjugation and they both got through with minimal hassle. Saito remembered to ask about the blue moon this time. He didn't want a repeat of last time and he certainly didn't want to put Siesta in that kind of danger.

Once they were on the Germanian side of the border it was pretty smooth sailing. Most of the country was relatively peaceful unless it was a blue moon. You needed to travel the mountains or the forests to run into monsters most of the time.

Saito told Siesta about the city of goods and his stay at the Dragon Inn. He promised Siesta they would stay there the next time they were in Germania but it was in the opposite direction they were headed.

After a few days of travel, which Siesta came to love more and more, they arrived at the former tower of Dark Lord Falcon and current tower of Ara... er... Dark Lady Ara I guess now?

Saito rides Dante up towards the side of the tower. He remembers seeing a stable last time he was here, it just wasn't in the best of conditions. He bet Ara probably fixed it up knowing Dante would be coming eventually. He wasn't sure how long she had been here but it couldn't have been too long. He wondered if she would have had time to deal with that yet.

When he came around the tower his questions were answered. Right in front of him, looking almost brand new, was the stables. Right above one stall that was much larger then the others was a name plate that said Dante. He could tell she made this one of the first things she repaired. 'Obviously she wanted Dante to visit as soon as he could.' Saito thinks to himself.

As they walked towards the tower Saito was wondering how he would get Ara's attention when he got to the front door. Last time he was here, he and Ara just kicked in the front door and stormed their way through. He was guessing that wouldn't be a good idea this time.

If he knocked there was probably no way she would hear unless she was pretty close to the door. They arrived at the door and Saito figured he would just knock like he was at a normal residence. Right as he was about to knock the door opened up.

"SAITO!" Ara yells giving him a quick hug

Saito was just standing there for a second, not really sure what do. The hug didn't really suprise him, Ara had hugged him before, what Ara was wearing did. Before he could say or do anything, Ara took a step back and looked to Saito's left.

"You must be Siesta, Saito's fiance. It is very nice to meet you! I'm Ara!" and she hugs Siesta. A lot tighter and a little longer then she did Saito.

Siesta quickly, and a little awkwardly, returns the hug from Ara. Saito and Siesta have both said nothing since Ara opened the door. All they could do was think at the moment and it wasn't going well for either of them.

Ara took them both in as well. Saito looked very good in the black dragon armor. Much better then just wearing some of it. Ara thought Siesta was very pretty and she even kind of looked similar to Saito. Their eyes, hair, and even complexion were very similar.

When Ara first opened the door Saito couldn't believe what he saw. He knew Ara was down right beautiful and had the body to match especially since he saw that Traditional Family Battlegear she was wearing in the tower. What she was wearing now caught him completely off guard.

Ara was wearing a very tight blood red dress, it had very intricate black and silver embroidery that followed the curves of her body so perfect he thought they had to do it while she was wearing it. Her shoulders were completely exposed and there was only a small piece of fabric at the top of each arm holding the dress up. It came down to just above her knees and it was tight. Did he mention how tight this dress was? Before he could start gushing rivers of blood from his nose, he saw Siesta's hand move very quickly up towards her face.

Siesta had a few thoughts running through her mind when she saw Ara. 'ummm... WOW she's beautiful!' then it was 'He spent a few days alone with her then came home and asked me to marry him. He really loves me more then anything.' her next thought was 'this is either going to make what I want to tell him much easier or harder maybe I could use this to see how he reacts to little things?'

After she was done sorting those thoughts out though, she was just staring at Ara and she felt something running out of her nose. She put her hand up and realized her nose was bleeding.

"Oh I'm sorry Siesta did I hug you too hard. I don't really have any friends and I was excited to meet someone other then Saito I might be able to get along with." Ara says to her.

Saito pulls out a handkerchief from one of his pouches and puts it up to Siesta's nose. He looks a little concerned that something might be wrong. Siesta is happy for his confusion this time.

"I'm ok Saito thank you, sorry Ara I think you just caught me by surprise. I wasn't expecting such an excited hello. From what Saito told me you were pretty shy." Siesta finally says to her

"Welllll... normally I am but Saito was my first real friend and knowing the kind of person he is you must be awesome too and I wanted to make a good impression so you might also be my friend and I'm sorry I'm just rambling on and on aren't I?" Ara says now somewhat shy and embarassed.

"It's ok Ara" says Saito "I was surprised by how excited you were too but it is definitely great to see you again. About me being your only friend. We were at Lagdorian Lake a couple days ago and ran into Kirche. She said she knew you and seemed to imply you two were friends."

"Oh you know Kirche? Well, I wouldn't say we are exactly friends. It's not like we hung out or anything like friends normally do but our families have similar standing in Germania so I see her occasionally. She was never mean or rude to me like most people were. She was usually nice to me. It's probably just black sheep getting along. She is outgoing even by Germanian standards and her family wasn't too happy with the reputation she got here so they sent her to Tristania for school. That's why she goes to school in Tristania instead of here in Germania like I did." Ara tells Saito

After everyone recovers from the initial surprise, Ara asks them to come in. She wants to show Saito something she found exploring the place more thoroughly.

"There was a couple places we missed when we cleared this place. After I found the map of the place, they were easy to find but I want to show you this first, IT'S SO AWESOME!" she gets very excited at the end.

They walk across the first floor to were the stairs extend up the tower. Saito is dreading walking up these again. He remembers how many there are.

"And here we are." Ara points behind the bottom of the stairs. She walks over and puts her hand on the wall. She motions Saito and Siesta to walk closer, then says a few words.

"Living area." Ara says

All three of them are wrapped in a bright light. When everyone is able to focus again they seem to be in a sitting area. A place you would normally receive guests if you were a noble.

"Holy crap Ara, did that just take us to the top level instantly?" Saito asks, very thankful he didn't have to climb all those stairs.

"Yes it did!" Ara exclaims "I found it when I moved in. It made carrying everything pretty easy hehe. Apparently if you have the deed on you, it just shows up when you get close. I can add people to use it also. I already put in you two's information just need you to follow me so it can scan your hands." Ara finishes telling them.

"Wow this place is amazing. Didn't this used to belong to some really evil necromancer? How did you make it so nice, so fast?" Siesta asks her

"Well honestly, the place was pretty nice to begin with. It was just over run with undead and lingering dark magic. Saito and I cleared out the undead and got rid of most of the dark magic when we came through here. I only had to dispel a couple more areas and fix the stables truthfully." Ara explains to her

"Oh! You brought Dante right! Can we go see him after your scan?" Ara asks Saito

"Yes we can, we can go now if you like? We can do the scan later." Saito says

"We are already here and this way you and Siesta can come and go as you please." Ara says

After she takes them to what looks like a study, they place their hands on a slab of stone and a wave of light scans their hands. After that, she shows them to their room. It's on the same floor just the opposite side of the living area from Ara's room.

Once the tour of that floor is complete, they take Ara to see Dante. Everyone is getting along pretty good, even Dante seems to be in a good mood today.

After Ara spends some time with Dante, Saito asks her if she has some time to talk so he can tell her why they came early. They make their way back up to the living area to talk, Siesta used her hand to get them there. She thought it was the coolest thing she had ever seen. She had a feeling she was going to like adventuring.

"So Ara, the reason we have come here is too see if you were interested in some training and maybe helping me out with a magic item problem I'm sure to be having in the future." Saito says to her

"Training huh?" Ara is kind of bummed "I thought you had some free time and we could go to one of those places we found on that map."

Saito can see she is disappointed. He has a feeling she won't be so disappointed when she hears who the trainer is and what she wants with Ara.

Saito then explains to Ara just who wants to train her, what she wants to teach her, and the title the water spirit wishes to bestow upon her if she can complete the training.

It didn't take long for Ara's disappointed face to turn to one of complete joy. Saito could tell she was already going to say yes before he even got through telling her everything.

"That sounds great Saito! I know I can pass the water spirits training. I've been looking for a good challenge since you beat my Nightmare Golem and we took this tower!" Ara says to him

"That is fantastic Ara. We were kind of hoping to spend the night here and leave tomorrow morning if that is alright with you. Siesta and I would love to sleep in a real bed, even if it is just for one night." Saito says

"Sounds good Saito. Would you two care to join me for dinner? We don't have much here yet but enough for me to make us something." Ara says to them

"If you show me where the kitchen is I can make dinner for us Ara." Siesta says to her

"It would be rather rude of me to ask you to cook dinner right after arriving Siesta." Ara tells her

"I don't mind, I rather like cooking honestly. We can also chat some more on the way there. I'll even give you some tips if you like Ara." Siesta tells her

"Alright Siesta I see there is no talking you out of this and I would love to learn some things. I have never had to cook for myself so my dinner is usually pretty simple. Well, it has been for the last couple days since I moved here and I would love to talk with you some more." Ara replies

"Alright Saito, you go put our things in our room and get comfortable. Leave the cooking up to us." Siesta says to him with a smile on her face

Ara and Siesta head off to the kitchen while Saito drops their things in their bedroom. He take off his armor, puts Derf in the rack on the wall and decides to test out the bed, it looks awfully comfortable.

Before he knows it, he is already taking a nap. He didn't expect the bed to be so comfortable. It might have been because he has been sleeping on the ground most of the time the last month or so.

After a relaxing nap, Saito is woken up by Siesta for dinner. They share a nice meal together and get to know each other a little more. They all go feed Dante after they are done with their meal and start helping Ara prepare to leave tomorrow. Ara tells Saito there is much more to explore in the tower but says it's nothing too important and will show them next time they are here.

Morning comes and everyone is excited to continue on to the next leg of their journey. Ara looks excited enough for all three of them. Saito understands her feelings, it was amazing being taught by the water spirit. He had a feeling Ara was going to feel even better then he did with what the water spirit wanted to train her to become.

After a few days of travel, were the three new companions learned how to best utilize each others abilities, they started to get in a pretty good battle groove.

Saito was the front liner for them with Ara behind him and Siesta behind her. Ara was serving as secondary damage dealer and support for Saito. Siesta was doing a great job making sure everyone was healed up and making sure nothing snuck up behind them. It was a flow that worked really well for them and they got pretty confident in their reliance on one another very quickly.

It felt amazing to Siesta to be adventuring and taking on monsters. It kind of suprised the former maid. Monsters used to terrify her no matter what kind they were. The only adventure she used to have was the books she used to read when she had down time as a maid, and those books were a different kind of adventure then this. Being able to be on her own adventure seemed to really bring her to life, something Saito and Ara both noticed.

They finally arrived at Lagdorian Lake with some already good training under their belt. They arrived in the early evening and were beginning to set up camp when they were suprised by a visitor.

"Water spirit? I thought you only came out at night and when called? What are you doing here before sundown on your own?" Saito asks the spirit

"Well that is usually just when I'll give advice or help to those I find worthy, but this one! This one I had to see as soon as possible. I could sense the Dark Arts in you as soon as you approach young one. Tell me, what is your name?" the spirit asks Ara

"I am Ara Von Dunkler Engel of Germania. It is a pleasure to make your acquiatance mighty water spirit." Ara replies

"Oh, this one is very polite for a necromancer. I have a feeling we will get a long very well Ara. Now, I usually only train at night but I would like to get started now if that is alright with you Ara. I'm sure the Gandalfr can manage to set up a camp with his lovely bride to be without needing your assistance." says the spirit.

"Go ahead Ara, Siesta and I can set up camp. You get started with the water spirit and we will be right here if you need anything." Saito tells Ara

The water spirit tells Ara to meet her on the other side of the lake and disappears. Ara thanks Siesta and Saito and heads over to the other side of the lake.

The training with the water spirit is intense for Ara. She expected it to be a challenge but she was actually having a little hard of a time. She could pick up the water magic and cast it as a Dark Arts spell with relative ease. She had plenty of practice doing that with other spells like barrier and lightning bolt.

What she was having serious trouble with was the uttercold training the water spirit was having her do. Trying to combine water and negative energy was not that difficult but fusing it to one substance was proving to be almost too much for her to handle.

The water spirit assured her she was doing great and that no one had ever even come close to this level of her training before. She also reminded her that she didn't need to learn everything in one night. She sent Ara back to the camp to get some rest and told her they would pick it back up in the afternoon tomorrow.

The spirit wanted Ara to bring Saito and Siesta for the training in the afternoon tomorrow. She could sense the water KI in Siesta like she could in Saito but it was stronger in Siesta and she wanted to see what she could do with it.

The next afternoon everyone showed up to train with the spirit. It was tough, intense training. Surprisingly, the least exhausted one of the three was Siesta. She was just focusing on her KI and using healing abilities but she still drained he KI almost completely but didn't seem too tired from it.

Saito finally learned the water/dark KI attack the spirit promised to teach him. He knew it was incredibly powerful and also incredibly dangerous. Being able to freeze the blood of people to kill them didn't sit well with Saito, but he knew for where they were going, it would either be him or them.

He had no intention of leaving Siesta alone, letting anyone else guard the princess, or leaving his new friend. He was going to do whatever was necessary to return to the people he cared about.

Once the combined training was over, everyone ate dinner together and Saito and Siesta returned to the camp to let Ara train with the spirit. They were suprised to learn that the spirit believed Ara's training would be over by tomorrow evening.

Saito certainly thought it would take more then 3 days of training to become what the water spirit wanted out of Ara. The spirit simply told him "someone either has it, or they don't" she acted like that explained everything to him.

On the third day of training the water spirit really went to another level. After hours and hours of training Ara is sitting on the ground, breathing heavily, soaked in water and freezing, wondering what she got herself into.

"Congratulations young one, you are the first to ever complete my training and pass my test. As such, I bestow upon you a gift. It is both a title and an ability."

The water spirit moves over to Ara and places her had on Ara's head. Ara suddenly feels her exhaustion fade away, her soaked body dry, and her cold limbs warm up.

"Now, arise and be born anew as Ara Lady of the Uttercold." the spirit says with pride.

"Thank you spirit, I humbly accept your gift and will make you proud!" Ara exclaims

"You may call me Dalila, Ara. You have earned it, as well as my respect. You and the Gandalfr will be able to accomplish many things with your combined power. Follow your heart and it will guide you. Farewell for now and go celebrate with your friends." Dalila tells her. Then disappears into the lake.

"I will... and thank you Dalila." Ara says as the spirit disappears. She heads back over to the camp her, Siesta, and Saito have been using for the last couple of days and they all celebrate her successful completion of training.

The next morning they are getting ready to head out and Ara isn't quite sure what is next so she asks Saito and Siesta.

"So, what do we do now that training is over? Do you think we could go to one of those spots on the map?" she asks. She really wants to try out her new abilities and wants another adventure.

"I'm sorry Ara we don't have the free time for that right now. We need to head to the Tristania Magic Academy and meet the princess. She is there having her soldiers train and wants me to teach the musketeer's personally. I'm sure you could come along if you like. I just figured you would want to go back home since you just moved and it probably won't be very fun. It's not like adventuring there is very little excitement in training, well unless you are training with an immortal spirit that is." Saito laughs at the end of his statement

"Well, I'm really bored at the tower and I wanted to spend some more time with you and Siesta. I finally got friends and only get to spend a few days with them when I see them." she says kind of sheepishly. Saito is wondering why she is blushing but before he can ask Ara speaks up again

"Plus, Siesta is my first girlfrien-... errr... I mean friend that is a girl and I wanted to get to know her more if that is alright." Ara says

Saito is a little amused and confused by Ara. He finds it amusing that since that excited hello Ara is still kind of shy and awkward. He is really confused why she is blushing and got flustered when she said Siesta was her girlfriend. 'Isn't that what women call their friends?' he thinks to himself.

Before Saito can give Ara an answer, Siesta speaks up.

"It would be great to have you along Ara. I miss having a girl to talk to and it would be nice to get to know each other some more." Siesta replies

"Well I guess that is settled without me having any input." Saito laughs

"SAITO!" both girls yell at him at the same time then both start laughing at their timing.

'Yeah I think this is going to be fun...' they both think.

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At the Tristania Magic Academy...

The royal carriage rolled through the main gate of the academy without the usualy fanfare. The headmaster knew the princess was coming but she insisted that there would be no welcoming party. To make sure the sly old man couldn't plan one, she decided to arrive at 11:00 p.m. All the students would be asleep and so should the staff. They would all simply wake up to her there.

She was looking forward to being at the academy. After the discovery of Reconquista, she felt like the walls of the palace were watching her. She also had Agnes go over every inch of her room and meeting room to make sure no one could, or was, watching.

She really needed to make some time to talk with Louise. She hadn't seen her friend in quite some time because of everything that has been happening. She was glad she made some new friends but she did miss her old friend terribly. They may have been angry at each other for a little while but they were too good of friends to let that come between them.

As the carriage comes to a stop Henrietta gets off followed by her two new friends. Tiffania and Mathilda step down from the carriage to enter the academy. Tiffania is a little overwhelmed by the size of the school. Mathilda is thinking back on the last time she was here. It was oddly comforting for her to be here. She wondered if that was just because Tiffa was here with her and she made a new friend in Henrietta. She was starting to really enjoy her life and it showed on her face.

"Welcome to the academy your highness. We have your room set up for you if you wish to sleep now." Agnes says to the princess

"Agnes it is 11 and there is no one around but us. Will you please just call me Henrietta at times like this and drop the formal stuff. I'm tired and wish to sleep so yes please. That carriage ride is always tiring." Henrietta says she doesn't think that "mom" will ever call her Henrietta but it sure is fun to try.

"If you will follow me H-H-Hen..." Agnes shakes her head "your highness I will show all three of you to your rooms." Agnes replies

Henrietta just shakes her head while Tiffa and Mathilda laugh at Agnes' attempt at saying Henrietta. They all follow her to the guest quarters for royal visitors. All three are staying here with Henrietta. Tiffa is actually royalty being the daughter of the Archduke and they both insisted Mathilda stay with them.

Everyone was exhausted from the planning and travel and just wanted to fall right asleep. Tiffa was excited Mathilda was going to take her for a tour tomorrow to get to know the school. Mathilda hoped Tiffa liked it here. She was still shy around strangers but she finally made some friends who knew the real her. She saw how happy Tiffa was to finally have some real friends and wanted that to continue for as long as possible.

Henrietta was not looking forward to tomorrow. Everyday was never ending planning after planning after planning. She needed to break it up somehow or it would drive her mad. She also knew that within the next couple days, an ambassador of sorts, was coming from Romania. All of that, along with getting everyone trained for what was coming, was going to be tiring.

The next morning after everyone got a good nights rest, they all headed off for what they had planned on the first day. A lot of the students were very suprised the princess was there in the morning. They didn't hear anything about her coming. Some of the students didn't like the new changes she made but they would never say that or show it on their faces. Others were excited at what she was doing, but that was far fewer students and two of them were from other countries.

Tiffa was having a great time on the tour with Mathilda. She got to see some of the classrooms, meet the kitchen staff, and they even had lunch in the courtyard. It was nice eating outside like this, it made her feel more at home. She also noticed some of the students were staring at her when she was walking around but then Mathilda would give them a look and they would disappear. It was weird and made her nervous.

Henrietta got up and talked with the headmaster about how long she would be here. After she was done, she met up with Agnes and finalized a training schedule for the musketeers and mages.

She knew from his message that Saito would be back in a couple of days and would start training the musketeers himself then. She was looking forward to him returning. He always made her feel any place was safe when he was there.

Right as she started to smile at the prospect of seeing Saito again a knock came to her door.

"Your highness it is Agnes, the representative from Romania is here to see you." she says through the door

Henrietta isn't really looking forward to this. She hopes the pope didn't send anyone too ridiculous. Some of the cardinals can be very difficult to deal with.

"Very well, send them in." Henrietta says.

When the door opens in walks Julio Chesaré. Henrietta has met Julio a number of times. Being the adopted son of the pope has its advantages for the young man. Henrietta knew there was another angle to that story. The pope was a ruthless man no matter what he portrayed to the public. Henrietta knew there had to be another reason he would adopt him, she just didn't know the reason.

"Good morning your majesty." Julio says with a charming smile and a bow.

"Good morning Julio. I am a little suprised the pope sent you as a representative. He usually sends a cardinal for something like this." Henrietta replies to his attempt at charm.

She admits, it probably works on just about every woman he meets. He is a good looking young man and the son of the pope. If she didn't know what kind of person he was she might feel the same as they do.

"I am simply here to show our support to Tristania in case the war in Albion spill over to your lands. As you know, we cannot spare any troops or ships, but we would like to show we stand with you." Julio tells her

"That kind of surprises me Julio. They are supposedly waging a holy war. Wouldn't you usually be on the side of those who follow Brimir?" the princess asks him

"They are simply twisting the founders words. If they were followers of Brimir, they wouldn't be killing their own citizens." Julio states

"I am guessing the reason he sent you then is to enroll here and keep an eye on things for him?" Henrietta asks

"Yes, you are very perceptive your majesty. I am here to enroll today and I also look forward to meeting your Blade Master. I hear he is quite the swordsman." Julio says.

"I normally let you handle things your way Julio but I'm going to give you some advice. Do not approach Saito like you normally do to size up a potential ally. If you challenge him to a duel, he will destroy you. Just remember I told you that." she says to him. Now that she warned him it didn't matter if Saito put him in the infirmary.

"I'll take that under advisement your majesty." Julio says with a smirk. 'She must be trying to intimidate me with her new toy. Nobles will make up any excuse when beaten. I bet all those stories are exaggerated.' Julio thinks to himself

After that Julio takes his leave to go enroll at the school. Henrietta is glad to have the man out of her room and hopes he takes his normal route when Saito arrives. It will be funny to watch him manhandled like a child.

Now she needs to get everything ready and talk to her troops. It is going to be a busy month. She hopes they have longer but they must be ready as soon as possible.

Henrietta noticed Agnes training harder then ever after she had her talk with Saito. She didn't see her use any of the abilities Saito used but she was doing training Henrietta never thought she would see Agnes do. She was meditating, Agnes of all people.

Henrietta knew that had to do with something Saito said but she couldn't believe anyone could get that girl to meditate. Although it was pretty apparent she was having trouble with that part of her training.

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Back at the Vallière estate in Tristania...

*SLAM* *SLAM* *SLAM*

'God damn that commoner! thinks the Duke 'my royal guards have been replaced because of that piece of shit, there is no longer a proper court, the royal family is acting like smitten school girls, I'm going to make that commoner pay somehow! They said I couldn't take action against him but if some very upset former nobles happen to ask where he was and I happened to know, they didn't say I couldn't tell them where he was. They said they just wanted to talk to him.' the Duke grins mischeviously.

"You will get what's coming to you commoner! Go and get my daughter Louise and bring her to me. I need to talk to her." the Duke says to the butler.

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Back in Tarbes...

After leaving Tiffania and Mathilda at the palace when they decided to go with the princess to the academy, Jacob arrived back at his home.

He was greeted by the whole village who had been told ahead of time about Jacob being the new Duke by the princess.

It was a great sight to Jacob. He knew he had to work extra hard to meet everyone expectation but he knew they would all be there to help him. He wished Saito and Siesta were here to celebrate too but he knew they both had things to do as well. When they returned from their journey, they would have a proper celebration.

After Jacob thanked everyone for coming and showing their support, he gave a short speech to the villagers about what he wanted for them in the future. He told them about the new laws the Queen and Princess enacted and hoped everyone would strive for a better future.

After the short celebration died down, Jacob when to the fort to assess the damage. He hadn't been inside since that night. He knew the damage wasn't too severe but there would be plenty of things to fix or replace.

As he looked the place over, he got a renewed step to him. He was going to make this the best area in the whole world to live, he was determined to.

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And there is chapter 8 for you... hope you guys liked it... I didn't know what to do with the character sheets so I just put them at the end of the chapter... you can check them out if you want to know any of Ara or Saito's stats, abilities, spells, or equipment... see you next chapter!

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CHARACTER SHEETS BELOW

ARA'S CURRENT POWER

Level 22 (15 Dread Necromancer/7 True Necromancer), Health 160, Atk Pwr 52, Defense 25, Speed 10, Intelligence 62, Magic Points 320

EQUIPMENT

Black Scale Robes - Main defensive item - highly resistant to slashing and piercing weapons - resistant to acid - increases dark arts casting potential

Bone Wand - Wand made from the femur of a Unicorn - Ara doesn't need a wand to cast magic but using this wand decreases the MP needed to cast a spell by 25%

Shadow Doppleganger (Bob the Blob) - lesser demon that can transform depending on what creature it kills (currently a shadow wolf)

Traditional Family Battlegear - black leotard with silver details that outline her figure - Has no other purpose then to give Saito a nosebleed

CLASS ABILITIES

Lady of the Uttercold - Ability/Title given to Ara by the water spirit - any offensive cold/water spell cast by Ara will do half cold/water damage, half negative energy

Charnel Touch - Touch atk that infuses the being touched with negative energy - damage (or healing if it's undead) depends on MP spent

Mental Bastion - Strong affinity with the Dark Arts makes her immune to all mental domination unless taken completely by suprise

Advanced Learning - every 4 levels she can learn an extra spell - spell has to either be a necromancy spell or negative energy spell (can be saved for later use)

Command Undead - At any one time, Ara may command any number of undead whose total levels do not exceed her level x 4 (undead created through the class ability create undead and create greater undead do not count towards this number of levels)

Negative Energy Burst - 2/day - 20' Burst of negative energy that harms living beings and heals undead (caster is unaffected by burst)

Create Undead (Line level power) - 4/Day - Ghouls, Ghasts, Mummies, Spectres - immediately under the control of its creator - does not count towards total level of undead that can be commanded - requires material component (Onyx gem)

Zone of Desecration - 10' radius / TN level - Ally undead in area gain bonuses to HP, ATK, Speed and defense

SPELLS KNOWN

Cause Fear - make target cower/run away in fear

Summon Undead - Summons a number of undead to fight for you - lasts 10 minutes per caster level - more MP spent equals more powerful undead summoned

Speak with the Dead - allows caster to speak with the ghost of someone who has died in the last 1 year/caster level - can ask ghost 20 questions that it will answer to the best of its ability

Dark Barrier - Creates a barrier of negative energy and earth to block incoming attacks

Black Lightning - Offensive Dark Arts/Wind spell - considered triangle level atk magic - 60' Line of black lightning

Mind Crush - lets caster take control over somethings mind - the higher the intelligence of the target the harder it is to control

Dispel the Dark Arts - Dark Arts spell that allows the caster to completely dispel the remaining magic from a Dark Arts caster's traps/magic circles/etc

Guidance of Joy - Return magic - Ara uses it to quickly leave explored areas - requires a carved plank only the elves produce

Purify Dark Water - Dark Arts/Water magic used to absorb the negative energy out of Dark Water

Mind Blank - Square level mental barrier magic that can prevent 1 target per day from mental domination

Dark Wave - Offensive Dark Arts/Water magic - creates a wave of water imbued with negative energy that drains the life out of any living creature it touches

Circle of Death - Square level Dark Arts spell Ara found in Dark Lord Falcon's tower - 20' radius area of atk magic centered on target - if target(s) fail to resist instant death - if target(s) resists they take negative energy damage

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SAITO'S CURRENT POWER

Level 29 (27 Knight/2 Knight Protector), Health 259, Atk Pwr 83, Defense 45, Speed 30, Intelligence 21, KI Points 175

EQUIPMENT

Derflinger - Main weapon - sentinet sword made specifically for the Gandalfr - can absorb, deflect, store and cut through magic depending on the strength of the one wielding it

Blacktail - .45 caliber handgun from Saito's original world - Heavily modified for maximum lethality

Dante - Hell Stallion Warhorse - Saito gained his companion as a reward from the necromancer Ara of Germania

Magic Pouches - Saito has 12 of them enchanted to carry much more weight then any pouch can - currently has 8 completely full pouches

POWERS

Rock Splitting Wave - Earth Ki attack - Increases range of melee weapon - More power equals greater range

Cyclone Slash - Wind Ki attack - Creates a cyclone of wind that cuts and lifts enemies into the air - low powered attacks sends enemies flying, high powered attacks send wind blades to cut enemies

Sonic Wave - Wind Ki attack - Creates a wave of wind, low powered attacks result in temporary blindness (about 3 seconds), high powered attacks result in longer blindness (about 6 seconds) and a knockdown effect

Judgement Strike - Earth Ki attack - used to extend the range of a spear, Saito can use it to pierce with a sword

Blade of Chrono - Earth Ki attack - causes pillars of earth to erupt in front of user - the more ki used the wider the area of effect

Power Shot - Fire Ki attack - used to charge a ranged weapon with ki to deal more damage

Freezing the Lifeblood - Water/Dark Arts Ki atk - can only be used if Derf is infused with negative energy or it's used as a combo atk with a Dark Mage - freeze the blood in the body of any living creature caught in the area - the more KI used the larger the area

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SPELL LIKE ABILITIES

Aqua Heal - 5/day - water healing spell - powerful healing spell that will heal almost any wound

Panacea - 2/day - water restoration spell - spell that can restore almost any abnormal status condition