Hi! Welcome to IntentO's bonus chapter #1. As I said before, it was not a part of the original Thursday campaign. My boyfriend and I made it up while we were having a telephone conversation.
Don't worry. Next Saturday you'll get your next two chapters, but as this is a special one, I wanted to give it alone (also, because if I didn't, chapter 5 would have been eternal).
So, what else can I say? Enjoy!
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Friendship Blooms
(Bonus Chapter #1)
It was getting late. The night had already fallen over the University as Sianodell and I headed toward my building. The others had left a few hours before and he had offered to keep me company so I would not have to walk all that way alone.
-Thank you...- I said, as a way to break the silence between us. -...For keeping me company, even when your room is not even in the same building as mine.
-You are welcome- he answered. –Anyway, it is part of what I learned as a samurai... It is not correct to leave a lady alone.
-Ok- I said. I really did not like that comment. He just meant it like he was just doing it because he had to, because I was kind of "his responsibility".
We kept walking silently for another couple of minutes. Then, he asked me:
-You know how to upkeep your sword?
-No...- I answered. That one was a very strange question.
-Maybe I can teach you that, too- he said. –It is something really important. Actually, every night I clean my sword with a special kind of oil... It also makes the unsheathing easier. I learnt that when I my master sent me to the East, there is where I became what I am now. Have you ever been there?
-No- I answered, a little embarrassed. –I lived my whole life in Ionescu. This is the first time I really get to leave.
-I see...- he said. –May I invite you to have a cup of coffee?
-Why not- I answered. –But I would prefer something lighter. I really do not like coffee. It is too strong for me.
-Really? I did not know we were that much alike. Actually, I prefer tea. Have you ever heard of the tea ceremonies?
-No.
-Well, people back where I used to live were very traditionalist. They had a special ceremony to serve tea. Many people were trained in that art.
We reached the small cafeteria that was a few blocks away from my building and asked for two teacups. Then, he began to speak again...
-Tell me about your childhood.
-My childhood? Well, I cannot say much. I have lived my whole life with my mother... you met her while we were in my house. I grew up in that pathetic little town where you found me, where people hated me for what I am and for what I represent to them.
-I know what it feels like- he said. –I never met my parents. I grew up working as a slave for a family who hated drows. That was when my master found me. He picked me up and taught me a lot of things. It is because of him that I have got to know the whole world...
-Tell me about your master- I told him.
-My master... Well, he is also a drow. He uses his hair short... I have never really seen him smile. His eyes are always filled with some sort of melancholy and darkness, so it is hard to know what he is thinking of...
-That is strange- I told him. –You can usually know very much about one person just by looking into that person's eyes.
-But he is different... That is why he always beats me when I fight against him.
-Then, he must be very powerful, for I have always thought you are the strongest one in our party.
-I already knew that.
-Stop being so modest- that comment had annoyed me a little bit. –Anyway, I would like to meet your master someday.
-Yes... maybe someday, but I do not know where he is now- he seemed to lose himself in his own thoughts for a moment. –But he is not that powerful... There are many people much more powerful than he is. Mr. Strauss, for example.
-The University's headmaster?- I asked, a little puzzled. He did not seem like someone who had so much power inside himself.
-That is right... There is not many people who know that because his appearance is not that of someone that powerful, but he really is. Actually, his bodyguards are just some resource he uses to keep the appearance of a normal person, because he does not need them.
-Really?
-That is right.
We kept silent for another short while. Maybe this was what I needed to find out what was that thing I hated about him... But what we had talked about so far made me fear I was beginning to change my mind about him...
-I did not believe I could have such a serious conversation with you- I told him. Why was I saying that? Was I supposed to say it? What was I doing?
-Why do you say so?- he said, looking at me with curiosity.
-Because you are a great immature!
-What makes you think I am immature?
-And you dare to ask? The way you treat the young girl...
-Achu? She deserves it- he answered with a mischievous smile. –I still do not know how she dares to call herself a samurai... She is bad mannered, she does not have honor, she is not even brave!
-Well, she must have something that gave her that title...
-I am not sure. Besides, you cannot tell me that it was not fun when I infected her with hives...or when my sword chased her around the University's gardens- I could not help to laugh. –See? You are laughing... You have a nice smile.
-Thanks. But... don't you think it is enough?
-Enough?- he looked at me as if I had said something wrong. –I think it will be her the one to tell me when it is enough. Besides, I am only trying to teach her some things... and I am being good to her. I could treat her worst; I could even kill her if I wanted to.
-But to kill her you should have to get through me first.
-Interesting...-he said with a smile. –You have a great sense of justice. That is good- he changed the subject once more. –You know? I have always thought you were special, you have many interesting features. Actually, most people around us are really intriguing persons... Like your friend Árama- he said. –There are a lot of strange stories about her in the underground and, with that look she's got now, she looks like a movie star from the twentieth century- once again, I could not help to laugh. –I am telling the truth! Black hair, black clothes, sunglasses, dark skin... she looks like a shadow! I would not doubt that she scares you when she wakes up every morning... It might be like waking up beside an undead, or a shadow.
-Not that much- I replied. –I am her roommate and I have never seen her like that... It is because she worries a lot about her appearance... –he laughed. –I mean it! You should see her: Whenever there is a special occasion, she has to go shopping and she never leaves a shop without a bag.
-Yes, I think I have heard something about people like her... I think they are called compulsive buyers. I wonder where she learned that, if she is a druid.
-I do not know. Maybe she watched the people that passed by...
We both laughed. I could not believe what I was thinking but... maybe he was not that bad. Maybe he was still a little arrogant, but he did not seem as repulsive as he was when I first met him.
-I really never thought I could have this much fun with you- I admitted (definitely, I was talking too much that day).
-Hey! Why?
-I never liked you- I answered. –I always thought you were up to something.
-I know... Everybody thinks that about me before they get to know me well... It is because I am a drow. You know we are not very appreciated. But, what would I be up to?
-I do not know... so many secrets... Sometimes I thought that the girls were right and I thought so much kindness and chivalry towards me was something really strange.
-Well, that had a reason- he answered. –I was really up to something: I wanted to have a date with you and... now we are here so... wish granted.
There was a terrible minute of uncomfortable silence after he said that. What was I supposed to answer to that? What did I have to say? He really left me speechless.
-Actually, I would like to know what is her relationship with that vampire- he said turning the conversation over to where it had been before: Árama.
- I do not know. But, that thing bit me!- I said. –That is the only time I had seen my dark blood being good for something... If it had not being for it, I would be dead by now.
-That explains the scarf you have tied around your neck- he said, removing the scarf a little bit, uncovering the pair of holes on my neck. –That is the kind of wound that takes a long time to heal.
-I know- I answered. I really did not like to talk about that. –I would also like to know what is her relationship with my family.
-Your family?- he asked, impressed.
-Well, after the battle we had on December the 23rd, Aust appeared and, among the things he said, he called her "my godchild".
-He is your... father, right?- he asked. He really seemed a little uncomfortable to ask that.
-Unfortunately...
-I was really impressed to see a common elf manage necromancy like he did- he admitted.
-That is because he is not a common elf- I answered. I felt a little annoyed... My father was really not my favorite conversation topic.
-I see... That explains it.
-I do not like to talk about him- I said, trying to leave the topic aside as fast as possible. –I am not very proud of my dark ancestry.
-Why not?- Great! Now I would have to keep on...
-Don't you think it is enough that because of him I have to bear this curse?
-Which curse?
-The Necromancer Touch- I answered, that conversation was really starting to annoy me. –And he still dares to say that it is a gift!
-I do not believe it is a curse, either- he said.
-You think it is not a curse?- I asked, giving him a hard, piercing look. –I have to bear this thing that I cannot control and that can come out any time with all its strength! It is because of this thing that I cannot become a firecaster like my mother!- I tried to calm myself down. –Besides, he said it himself when she decided to leave him: that if she dared to leave him, the creature inside her would be cursed.
-I see... But I still do not believe it is a curse- he kept on. –The way I see it, the Necromancer Touch is a gift... You just have to learn how to control it. The small necromancy I have learned to handle has been a great virtue that has taken me part of my life to control- then; he asked me something that still keeps me thinking. –Are you sure that that is the curse you bear?
-What else could it be?
-I do not know...
-You know?- I asked him. I was not angry anymore, now I felt kind of weary. –Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if things had been different.
-Which way?
-I do not know. Just... different.
-I know what you mean- he said, I could sense some melancholy on his voice. –Sometimes, I used to ask myself what would have happened if I had got the chance to meet my parents... if I had a genesis. But that is past. Things did not happen that way and they will never change. Everything I can do is keep moving forward and prepare so I can become stronger and more sensible- his expression changed suddenly: he began to recover his smile. –Besides, if that had happened, maybe I would have never met my master... I really admire him really much. It is thanks to him that I have become what I am today... When he found me I did not even had a name... Sianodell is a name he made up for me.
-You know what it means?
-Jewel of the moon- he answered. –He told me that he gave me that name because, when he found me, my eyes shone like a pair of jewels under the full moon's light... –he really seemed proud of the man that had found him. –Maybe I am free now (I have been free for many years now), but once in a while I do little jobs for him, while I have some fun getting information in the underground.
-That is why you know so much!
-You would be welcome there, too- he said. –A drow always is... Of course, you should have really good information to sell.
-But I have not.
-Actually- he said, as if he had remembered something really important. –I found something really interesting about your mother and the Fire Circle.
-Really?
-Let me see... Siren Litvkah, right?
-Yes.
-According to what I have heard, the Fire Circle used to belong to one of the axis of the first wars that happened after the fusion. Among its members, there were many powerful firecasters (it was even said that their leader trained in the Elemental Plane of Fire), but its organization would soon come down when someone murdered its leader.
-Was it a traitor or someone from outside the group?
-Someone from outside the group, according to what I heard. After the fusion and the kingdom, the Circle became one more of the government's organizations. It is said that, among its members, one of the most prodigious was a young elf named Siren Litvkah, who got expelled under unknown reasons.
-I had never heard that story before- I said. It was really interesting to get to know all those things. –My mother does not talk much about when she belonged to the Circle. Ah... just for you to know: he was the reason why she got expelled and why they will never accept me to join them: They know everything about me, about my ancestry, about my curse...
-I do not know- he said. –Maybe it is better this way.
-I do not know... Now I have many doubts about it, about... why did he pick precisely her? Why not anyone else?
-That I cannot tell... Men in his family have a very odd taste when they pick their loved ones- he stood quiet for a while, as if he was thinking about something. –Hell's Black Fire- he said at last.
-What are you talking about?
-Hell's Black Fire and Heaven's White Fire: the most powerful fires that can be casted- he explained. –It is said that they are so powerful that even death fears Hell's Black Fire.
-But... why would he want to obtain that fire?
-You know what they say about those who possess the Necromancer Touch: They are able to play with death, but death plays with them, too... Maybe his interest headed that way. Besides, what could be a better price for such a prodigious firecaster like your mother than to get to cast one of the most powerful fires in the Universe...
-Are you suggesting that my mother joined my father because she wanted to? That she was really looking for that power he gave her?- I asked angrily.
-I do not know- he answered. -... Maybe not. I was just stating my theory.
-Well, then try not to make it sound that way!
-Ok, I am sorry. Besides, about your curse... I still think it does not go the way you think. Maybe his curse was just something he said because he was mad at her or it is something totally different from what you believe. Sometimes what you see as a terrible curse may turn out to be a great gift and your greatest virtue may become a curse- he kept silent for a small while. –About the Fire Circle... I still think that maybe it is better this way. That people is very boring and arrogant. You would not fit in among them.
-Don't you think I can be arrogant?
-Besides, you are better that way- he said, not paying attention to what I had said. –Now the Fire Circle is a government organization, which means that you would have to registrate and be at the government's service and, though it sounds like something good, it is not... That is the good thing about this University: People with special powers can control and use them without the needing of registration. Actually, do you remember the people we saw at the gardens this afternoon? The tall, bearded man who was fighting against a young, good-looking man?
-Yes.
-That tall, bearded man is the Social Sciences Faculty Dean... He is an earthcaster. A very powerful one, actually... The young, good-looking man he fought against was a celestial... Actually, no one else knows this, but Ian Strauss is a celestial, too.
-Really?- I asked, impressed.
-Of course! Have you not noticed that he has a certain beauty that is not very common in human beings?- he asked with a smile. -By the way... I have heard that there is being a really strange migration of celestials toward the Material Plane. I am going to ask that young man to see what he can tell me about it.
Celestials migrating toward the Material Plane? That was really something strange! There had to be a powerful reason for that migration, and I feared it was nothing good...
-Remember the video we found during our last mission?- I nodded. –I did not understand much of what it said, but I got that there is this thing called the Spark that let people move through the different planes... The people that worked in that place were trying to carry out experiments on that subject, mixing their knowledge about Physics with a little bit of magic, but they did not get much.
-Do you think someone may try and manage it?
-Yes, maybe. But it takes a lot of power to move through the different planes. I have only heard of a few people who can manage it. I think the University is going to try to follow those studies and carry them on...
-And... speaking about the University... I never got to know what you are going to study.
-I do not know.
-Wait a minute- I said, a little puzzled. –You have already registered and you do not know what you are in?
-I got in the first thing I found- he answered. –I really did not care. I would have loved to study Magic, like you do... But I cannot.
-Why not?
-You cannot teach an old dog new tricks- he said. –I have already learned all the magic I could learn... Even if I tried to, I cannot learn any more magic.
-You just gave up like that?- I asked. –I mean, do not get me wrong, but I know it is going to be very hard for me to become a great firecaster and I am not going to let anyone or anything stop me in my way to get what I want.
-Obstinacy can be good sometimes...
-Yes- I replied. –Specially when you have a teacher like the one I met during the Vocational Fair and the registration day... The one who was standing behind at the Magic stand.
-You mean Professor Drake- he said. –I have heard of him.
-I do not know his name. All I know is that ever since I reached this place, he keeps looking at me in this terrible way and treats me as if I was the worst scum he had ever seen. I think he is going to try to make my life miserable throughout this year... But I am not going to let him ruin my dream of becoming a firecaster.
-I heard that he used to belong to the Fire Circle, too... but he got expelled under unknown circumstances.
-Expelled?- I asked, a little bit shocked. –Are you sure about it? I mean... when I met him, he seemed pretty sure when he said that he had decided to leave the Fire Circle...
-I do not know... I am just telling you what I heard. If you do not believe me, you can write to your mother and ask her about him... But I think your letter will be reaching her in a month, because of the distance between that little town where you used to live and this island... Did they even had a post office in that place?
-But my mother does not live in Ionescu anymore- I told him. –She got a job in the city and moved there... Actually, I went to visit her for New Year.
-I see... I am glad for her- he said. Then, he turned his eyes to the necklace that hung around my neck. –May I take a look at the necklace you are wearing?- he asked. –I have noticed you always wear it.
-Of course- I said, as I showed him the trinket. –My mother gave it to me when I left Ionescu. She said that it would let her know how I am doing.
-Then that is why I felt some kind of magical aura around it- he said. –Did you know this symbol may be good and bad at the same time?
-No- I answered. –When my mother gave it to me all she said was that it would let her know how and where I am, that the only problem is that he can also find me with it, but that it is better if both of them know where I am than if none of them knows how I am doing.
-Interesting way of thinking- he said. –What I mean is that it is good and bad at the same time because, if you look at it this way- he hid the black triangle from view. –It is a heart: symbol of love... but if you look at it this way- he showed me the trinket upside down. –It is a pentagram: symbol that humans used to consider as evil...- he looked at the clock that stood in the opposite wall of the room. –It is getting late. I think we should better go now.
I took my moneybag out, to pay for what I had taken, but he stopped me...
-Do not worry about it. I will pay for us both.
We began to walk in complete silence, as if we had said everything we wanted to say and we had no more to talk about... Silence can be pretty uncomfortable sometimes.
-By the way, my birthday is two weeks from today- I said. –I should want to celebrate it and I want all of you to be there.
-I will keep it in mind- he said, I could tell a little bit of melancholy in his voice. –I would like to know my birth date...
I felt bad for him. Living that lonely: without a family, without a name... without a past.
-I have an idea!- I said. –Why don't we celebrate it together?
-Sounds nice- he answered. –Besides, it was around that time that my master found me... I have always taken that date as my birthday...
-And so we can say we are birthday twins- we had finally reached the building. –By the way, I want to thank you once more for keeping me company.
-You are welcome- he said. –Good night, miss.
-Good night.
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Wow! Long chapter, isn't it? I thought my bonus chapters were going to be shorter than normal chapters, but this one got a little big too long...
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it.
This chap goes for those who were expecting something to happen between Gea and Sianodell, though it was not much... But you have got some interesting information that may fill some holes in the story, or will help you understand what is about to happen.
If anyone from my party reads this: it is confidential information. The only characters that know about what we talked about are Sianodell and I. So sorry.
Well, you know what to do to make me happy! (review, review, review)... And wait for chapters 6 & 7 next week.
Ruby.