Magishipping (Mana x Dartz)
(It's out of order, but I was informed of this ship by the lovely Aqua girl 007. Thanks! Also, I'm using a lot of ancient names for countries in this because I'm a huge history nerd, so here's a very small guide to what the names refer to: Kemet = Egypt. Hellas = Greece. Aram = Syria.)
So. This was the lauded kingdom of Kemet. Land of the Nile. Overflowing with abundance and richness.
Dartz didn't like it.
He pulled his cowl a little further over his face, hoping to shade the ungodly bright sun from his eyes – and hide his appearance from curious eyes. Although he had come in with the Hellen merchants who were just as pale as him and didn't get a second glance from the Kemet citizens, he didn't want to attract any more attention than necessary. His eyes would certainly unnerve most of the public. The last thing he needed was a repeat of the incident in Ur.
The bubbling murmur of the crowd washed over him like white noise. He ignored it, and the people that walked around him. Their souls were barely bright enough to be noticed in this cursed sun.
"Excuse me? Uh, hi! Sir?"
He swore under his breath as he ran a hand across his forehead. Sweat beaded across his face and he was boiling underneath the loose-fitting cloak. This blasted, horrible heat. Why would anyone in their right minds want to live in a place like this? Atlantis had been far more temperate and far more beautiful than this supposed "land of abundance." It was nothing but cursed wasteland and sand as far as the eye could see.
"Sir! Oof, sorry, I'm just trying to get through...sir! Hang on a moment!"
Dartz turned his eyes toward the looming shape of the palace ahead of him. He had heard rumors in Hellas and Aram of the great power of Kemet magicians. On the off chance that it was true, and these magicians had real power, he might finally be able to locate souls powerful enough to resurrect the Leviathan...
"Sir!"
Dartz jumped in spite of himself as someone popped into his vision, looking breathless and a little red in the face.
She was on the short side, although she certainly wasn't lacking in other areas. Her thick brown hair lay in messy clumps across her bare shoulders, her canvas and gold dress only dropping to her thighs. Dartz' nose wrinkled slightly. There was another thing he hated about Kemet. Both the men and women wore such improper clothing, showing so much skin it was embarrassing. Clothing like that would have never been suffered in Atlantis.
"Can I help you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the panting girl.
"Sorry," she said. "But you didn't hear me, and...whew, just a minute, gotta catch my breath..."
She took in a deep breath and let it out.
"I'm sorry," she said, bobbing her head in a brief bow. "But you dropped this, and it looks kind of important..."
She held out her hand, palm up. Dartz sucked in a breath.
A small, gleaming green Orichalcos stone lay quietly in her palm.
Dartz looked back at the girl with a renewed interest. It wasn't just anyone that could hold an Orichalcos stone without being instantly consumed by their own darkness. And here she was, plain as day, holding it out to him as though it were an ordinary piece of jade.
"You should be a little more careful," she said. "Not everybody's gonna just give you jewelry back, you know. Especially since you're a foreigner and everything...people around here sometimes try to take advantage of newcomers!"
He only barely acknowledged her words. He was more interested in what his green eye was suddenly seeing in her.
Behind those deep emerald eyes was power. True power, true magic. It crackled beneath her skin like a storm waiting to unleash its fury. Although in no way was it comparable to his own, it had such potential. A soul like this...this could be very, very useful.
He realized with a start that he was simply staring at her without speaking, and she was starting to look a little uncertain.
"Thank you, young lady," Dartz said smoothly.
He retrieved the stone from her hand, but did not return it to his pouch right away.
"You are very kind," he said, smiling at her.
The girl blushed slightly.
"Aw, no, that's just what a decent person should do," she said, rubbing the back of her head in a show of modesty – although it was quite obvious that she enjoyed the compliment. "My name is Mana."
"I am...Dareios," Dartz said, choosing a Hellen name at random. There was no reason to give her his real name. He found there could be great strength in anonymity.
Mana smiled brightly, clasping her hands behind her back and bouncing on her heels.
"I'm very pleased to meet you, Dareios! Are you from Hellas?"
"I'm from...a little farther than that," he said, with a careful smile. "I simply came in with the merchants."
"Wow, you travel?" Mana said.
"A little."
"Amazing! I've always wanted to see some of the places the merchants talk about! Have you been a lot of places? What's Hellas really like?"
She was a very talkative girl. That could be useful.
"Oops, sorry, there I go again," she said, blushing. "Sorry. My master always says that I need to learn when to slow myself down."
Dartz chuckled softly. Half of it was to put the girl at ease, as he was still intrigued by her power and wanted to make sure she stuck around for a while. Half of it was because she was legitimately entertaining.
"You needn't apologize. A healthy curiosity is rather refreshing."
Mana ducked her head shyly.
"It must be so amazing, to see all those new places," she said. "Sometimes I wish I could travel."
"Does anything stop you?"
"Huh? Oh, not really. Well, except I don't wanna leave my friends. And I'm learning to become a really great magician, so I have to stay and learn as much as I can!"
She looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Maybe someday I'll learn a teleport spell," she said. "Then I can travel and come home all in the same day!"
"That would be the best situation, wouldn't it?" Dartz said, smiling.
But his mind caught on to her previous statement: "I'm learning to become a really great magician."
Her power was certainly real. So if someone was teaching her to hone and control that great potential power of hers, then it was a certainty that the rumors of true magic in Kemet had not been exaggerated. There were others here, at least one that was strong and wise enough to take on a student.
"So you are an apprentice magician?" he said.
Mana beamed.
"Uh-huh! My master, Mahad, is the greatest magician in the whole kingdom! Maybe even in the whole world! And my best friend, Atem – he's a really super great magician already! He's a master of Shadow Magic! We practice together all the time!"
Mahad and Atem. Dartz filed the names away in his mind.
"I have never seen true magic before," he said, trying to sound a bit wistful. "Often I follow the rumors of magic. But, I have been often disappointed."
"Oh, it's true magic here, you can count on that!" Mana said, eyes shining. "Oh! You should meet my friends! They would be so excited!"
"I would love to," Dartz said. "But, perhaps another time. I must find some lodgings for the night."
"Oh, right," Mana said, glancing at the sun moving down on the horizon. "Well, I'll help you find a good place! I know which ones try to overcharge the foreigners, so I can tell you which ones to stay away from."
"I am much appreciative," Dartz said, inclining his head.
"And tomorrow I'll introduce you to my friends, and we can show you that magic is totally real!"
Dartz smiled. He held out the Orichalcos stone to her. She blinked at it.
"I would like you to have this," he said. "I was told that it is a magic stone. Perhaps a magician will have more use for it than I."
Mana's eyes widened.
"Oh, I couldn't..."
"Please, take it. You have been a welcome conversationalist."
Mana blushed.
"Well, thank you," she said, accepting the small stone.
Usually, when he offered an Orichalcos stone to a person, it would at first try to reject the bearer. Only with determination and persistence could one retrieve the stone through its magical storm before it sucked their soul away.
There wasn't even a peep of magic from the stone when it dropped into Mana's palm. She held it up to the setting sun, eyes sparkling as the green light filtered through across her face like a prism.
Dartz didn't know what to make of it. Could it be that the stone accepted her so easily? Was it possible? Even he had been tested by the Leviathan's power.
Or was it...that the magic simply wanted nothing to do with this girl? How little he knew about this "Shadow Magic"! He must learn more, and quickly.
"Oh, sorry! Got distracted!" Mana said, lowering the stone. "Thank you very much, Dareios. I'll take good care of this."
She hid the stone in a pouch on her belt, then clapped her hands.
"Right! I was going to help you find a inn! Follow me!"
She scampered away, and Dartz had to jump to keep up.
This magician girl...was turning out to be far more interesting than he had expected...
A/N: And then I would assume that Aknamkanon dies during the night, Atem is crowned king the next morning, Bakura attacks that afternoon, and thus Mana is too busy/distracted to find Dartz again, and Dartz doesn't get to meet Atem until he sees him galloping past after Bakura. I actually quite enjoyed writing this one. Dartz being disgusted with Egypt was really fun to write. XD Next is Mageshipping (Ryo Bakura x Mahad).
