Maxwell sat in the library going over his notes. A third of the table was strewn with papers and books that Maxwell had either written or read. Ink pots and quills were placed in sporadic spots, ether acting as paper weights, or waiting to be used. Three of his foci were also on the table, silently observing his progress. Max was currently pouring over his personal grimoire, trying to understand a new spell.

The theory was sound. It involved retrieving the residual energy of weakened enemies in order to restore his base mana pool. Given how wisps and psychic residue interacted with this world, it would certainly be a useful technique. The Fade, in this World of Oceans, liked to accumulate and augment sentient capability… Or at least that was his current theory.

A spirit Maxwell had met implied that this territory of the Fade was harsh environment to survive in. Let alone manifest. Any of the wisps or noticeable collections of psychic residue were either attracted to certain individuals, or consumed by the already established spirits in the Fade. And as those spirits were often far and few between, that energy was being utilized by mortals.

People's utilization of the Fade was subconscious, or so Maxwell believed. Not necessarily magic, but a natural inclination to augment the body, focused by the mind. How else would someone be able to swing a sword and reliably cut steel? Or mentally ignite their leg on fire? Not to mention the physical inflation and metabolic deflation of people after consuming a meal. That observation still made Maxwell's eye twitch.

The people of this world did not seem to have a indication of the Fade. Maxwell had already consulted the collection of books and folklore they had aboard. The use of dreams as a plot device was severely underutilize in this world's mythology. And nothing in his research mentioned a metaphysical green sea, sky, or fog either. Maxwell had already asked Robin, being an archeologist and historian, but nothing in her research suggested any civilization culturally utilized those motifs.

Perhaps when they reach Fishman Island, he will check out the local library.

…What would merfolk use as recording material anyway? Seaweed? Carvings? Oral tradition? The island was supposedly underwater after all.

Maxwell looked up in thought and scratched his beard, "Hm… Something to consider."

The mage leaned back in his chair and stretched. Maxwell had already been studying for a couple hours now and was ready to stop for the day. He organized his notes into a pile and placed them into a folder. He would make it into a journal later. For now he would collect the books he took out and return them to their proper places on the shelves.

Franky really had thought of everyone when he designed this ship. Everyone could use the facilities, but there were some areas more preoccupied by the crew then others.

The library was primarily Maxwell's, Robin's, and Nami's space upon the Thousand Sunny. Though nearly everyone had books in here, the three of them were the most studious among the crew. Thus the three of them took up more space. Maxwell would write his notes on magic, Robin would peruse the shelves looking for historical research or horror stories, and Nami would set their course and practice her cartography in here. The library was very much the Brains of the Sunny.

Franky and Usopp shared a workspace down in the bowels of the ship. Both of them loved to build and invent, so the two of them could often be found together doing their own projects.

Sanji's domain was in the kitchen. No question about it. He was the absolute master in that place, and wouldn't let anyone touch the food he was preparing, or open the fridge and pantry either. Not that is was a bad thing. If Luffy had free rein in the kitchen, they'd all be starving in less than a day.

Chopper had his own office, which the little guy was absolutely ecstatic about. The ship had a sickbay, and as the crew's doctor, it was Chopper's job to keep everyone in tip-top medical shape. Maxwell still came down for lessons every once in a while.

Oddly enough, the ship had a gym combined with the crow's nest. Zoro would be often up there, when he wasn't napping, drinking, or having dinner. Zoro took his training seriously, but some of those weights were obscenely heavy.

As for Luffy? His favourite spot was at the prow, sitting on Sunny's head. He was the captain, but he liked to have fun and often got the others involved with his shenanigans. Last tome Maxwell checked, Luffy and Usopp were fishing to fill the fish tank in the Aquarium Bar.

"[Hey!]" the intercom went off. It was Zoro's voice, "[Something's in the water!]"

Maxwell then heard footsteps coming down on the ladder. It was Nami, coming down from the bathhouse. "Hello Nami."

"Hey Max!" the red-head smiles back, "Shall we go take a look at what they found?"

"Sure," Maxwell picked up his foci and placed them all around his waist. A skull, his book, a sword hilt, and a mace. "Let's go!"

"Oh, finally!" the milky green and white skull lit up with purple eyes. "I thought we were going to be there all day!"

"You only say that because we weren't working on one of your necromantic spells," the sword hilt responded. Light shone and flickered with the pronunciation of the feminine Orlesian accent.

"Oh like you're any better," the skull retorted with it's Tevine accent, "I could practically hear your blood lust from my side of the island. Weren't Knight Enchanters supposed to be disciplined?"

"Oh here we go…" Maxwell muttered as his foci started arguing.

"Yes. And so far much better than you!" Mineive verbally jabs with a dry tone, "I swear every time I hear your feet land, the cobblestone seems to fall out from under you."

"At least I clean up after myself," Mordred responds, "Your vanity might as well another spirit in of itself. Tell me, when was the last time you stopped looking into the mirror?"

All spirits lived in the Fade. But as the Fade was a universal subconscious of mind, thought, dreams, and magic, Maxwell's mind had developed a manifestation surrounding his mind. Maxwell's mindscape was like that akin to a cobbled ruin. A ruined courtyard on a floating island inside the Fade, and each demon had taken up residence on that island.

Better than floating in a eldritch green void for eternity.

"If the two of you were so bored. Perhaps you could have resumed talks with Sunny." A third voice came out of the grimoire at Maxwell's hip. An inhuman and pupil-less eye appearing on the cover. This was Salem.

Maxwell could practically hear Mordred's grimace, "Yes, well, you try talking to a fully grown chimera with the mind of a teething kitten."

The three of them together were Maxwell's demon familiars. Spirits born of his mind, from an incident a while back. They were his teachers, his confidants, and his protectors from the dangers of the Fade. Maxwell had created anchors for them, in order to communicate outside of dreams. But the anchors also doubled as his foci, in order to cast spells. Spellcasting was possible without them, or his staff, but the spells wouldn't be as powerful.

Sunny, the chimera Mordred was referring too, was the klabauterman of the Thousand Sunny. Or at least it would become the Sunny's klabauterman. The spirit was still in it's early stages of development, not yet ready to manifest outside the Fade. But it already some startling developments already. It took the form of a beast, a maned lion with sheep horns and chicken wings on it's back. It recognized Maxwell, Mordred, Mineive, and Salem as part of the crew, but it was already developing bad habits from everyone aboard.

They've already had to pull Mordred out of Sunny's maw a couple times already. Air was hilarious!

"We can talk with Sunny later," Maxwell put an end to the conversation. "For now, let's take a look at what the others pulled out of the ocean."

Nami and Maxwell walked outside to where everyone had gathered on the main deck. They were surrounding a barrel with a banner atop its lid. On the banner, it read "Sea God's Houzen."

Maxwell wasn't familiar with the word, and he had been brushing up on his kanji. "Odd…"

Luffy was already feeling up the barrel, "Could it be!? Something dropped by a treasure ship!?"

"Treasure!?" Usopp and Chopper said excitedly.

"Doesn't look like it," Nami replied. "It's probably alcohol or reserves."

"How can you tell without looking!?" Luffy demanded. She wasn't even standing close to the barrel!

Nami leaned forward on the rail, "It says 'Sea God's Houzen' on it right? It's a Drifting Barrel. Someone was praying for a safe voyage, so they made an offering to a sea god. 'Houzen' means 'to the gods."

"What~? Then picking it up was pointless," Usopp pouted.

"Hey. If it's alcohol, let's drink it!" Zoro suggested. He was getting up from sitting on the bench on the mast.

Usopp quickly gets in front of him, "Idiot! You'll be cursed!"

"It's alright if we pray before we drink it, right?" Nami suggests.

"I don't know…" Maxwell crosses his arms. He personally only believed in the Maker and the teachings of Andraste, but stealing the offerings of another god didn't exactly sound like a good idea.

…Then again, most of the gods he knew of were either dead or gone. Who knew what would happen?

Zoro only huffed, "I don't pray to no gods."

"I hear alcohol massaged by the waves is especially delicious." Nami had closed her eyes, already imagining the taste.

Maxwell looks at her strangely, "…You are just asking for trouble aren't you?"

Nami shrugs, "What? It can't be that bad."

"Alright! We should taste it!" Franky cheers, "We'll make a toast later! Come on!" Usopp and Franky start to unravel the ropes.

The crew starts to get excited. Luffy and Chopper were thinking of what could be inside. Sanji was curious as to the mystery of the barrel. And even Robin looked intrigued, "We'll still have an empty barrel once we've drank it. Putting a new offering in and sending it off is the costumers thing to do."

Luffy puts his hands in the air and clasps them together, "Hey God! I'm going to borrow your snacks! Thanks!" Luffy was already smiling, thinking about food.

Zoro raised an eyebrow, "Didn't a certain someone send 'God' flying back in Skypiea?"

"Alright! Rope's off!" Usopp proclaimed.

"Great! Let's eat!" Luffy starts to open the lid. However, just as the top comes off, something shoots out of the barrel. It was fast, and loud, making Luffy fall back startled.

"Something went flying!" Usopp yelled. Whatever it was stopped whistling, once it reached a certain height, and it exploded into a giant red light.

Everyone looked up. The light was huge, radiant, like a newborn sun. Red light, with a white cornea, bathed the Thousand Sunny as if the world was just made of red and shadows. It was bright, but harmless enough. However, Maxwell couldn't help but have a feeling of dread as he felt a pit form in his stomach.

And that light was only just the beginning…

Dragon Age x One Piece

Sorceric7

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One Magi: Y.E.F.B.T.L.

YOUR EVERY FEAR BROUGHT TO LIFE


Author's Note: Alright! I'm committing to it! We're at Book 3! I have no idea what the update schedule is going to be like, so until I find a suitable rhythm, you're all going to have to hang tight. It's going to be a bumpy ride. Stay tuned!