The answers we sought
Snow was pacing in front of the school gates. She knew that Blade and Professor Avalon had made it safe to Red Fountain that night. Still, it had been nerve-wracking to watch. Faragonda had done her the favour of tracking Avalon with her mirror. And they had witnessed the escalations and how Blade had risen above it all. It had been scary for sure but what had stuck for her was the amazing feat of Blade's escape and rescue. They after all had only visual and not the audio. She was waiting for them to return in the morning straight after breakfast. Snow noticed the red Owl in the sky that halted near the lake side. "Fairy of Ice!" Snow transformed and flew towards it. She could spot the Professor's big golden wings from afar and Blade right next to him. They waved the Owl good bye and turned around to fly the rest of the way to Alfea themselves.
Blade spotted Snow who was dashing towards her, "Snow?"
The Professor flapped his wings slowly to adjust to Blade's flight speed. "I see we got a welcome party." He halted shortly. "Well then, I have stuff to do and am a little behind. I will leave you two to it. And Blade, remember you always can come to any of the staff to talk. Don't let things fester. You'll get there, we are all here to help you." He encouraged her once more.
"Blade!" Snow greeted her loudly and smashed into her for a hug. "You were so amazing! No wonder you finished off all those zombies. That sword block! And that spiralling back to back, how in Magix don't you get dizzy!?" She complimented her first as they were turning in circles mid-air. Out of the blue she boxed her on her shoulder, "Don't ever scare me like that, again… I was worried sick…"
"Sorry…" Blade was a bit confused as to why Snow knew so much. But above all she was sorry to have caused so much trouble.
Professor Avalon was about to continue his flight, "Oh, and Blade, if you run the route outside of the schedule I explained this morning, please, give me or Professor Palladium a head's up first and do it when the sun is up. Just to be save, Whisper Wolfs sleep during the day." He gave a slight bow and dashed away. 'Need to collect my Jian after I finished correcting those papers…' Blade had rescued him not the sword of course, so it was still lying around there somewhere.
"Outside of schedule?" Snow was a bit confused.
"Yeah… starting Monday I'll do that parkour every day from five to seven before breakfast and on the weekends, I can choose either Saturday or Sunday," Blade explained quickly, "But how did you know what happened?" She wasn't quite comfortable with that. "Did you hear what I said? You didn't spend the night out in the wild because of me or?" She asked worried.
"No, I wanted to come. But the Professor said I only slow him down… he was right, I am nowhere near your level or his. Walk?" Snow sat down with Blade in the forest as she agreed.
"My level? ..." Blade gave her a questionable look. 'I would have been dog food without him.'
Snow nodded, "Yeah, I watched from Faragonda's office. He sent me to inform her. We tuned in right when the wolfs came to pounce the Professor. How do you keep so cool in a fight?"
"Cool?" Blade had to snort. "I was the opposite of cool, Snow. I was panicking, pissed and out of my league - again." She answered dead earnest.
"Again?" Snow was now the confused one. "What do you mean again? And your movements were so clean, not that I am the best judge. But besides being pinned ones, I thought it looked pretty decent." Snow let her hand glide through the bushes along the path.
"Decent? I could barely hold my ground! Half of the time I was second-guessing everything. And to top it off, I distracted Avalon from finishing his protective spell… I just… I was so scared…. Snow, he could've died." Blade voice started to tremble.
"Could, not did!" Snow said firmly "Listen Blade, I may not have been there, but I've seen you. When Avalon went down, I was scared out of my mind. And I wasn't even there. Yet I was frozen in fear! But you? You didn't hesitate in the slightest. Hell, you carried this hunk of a man for quite some time back to safety even though you're magic grew weaker and weaker. I called that bravery and determination!"
Blade opened her mouth, a counter argument at the ready. But Snow had no intention of giving her space to talk.
"And I dare anyone to tell me otherwise!" Snow proclaimed.
Seeing Snow so compassionate, Blade couldn't help but smile, "Thanks Snow. I appreciate it." Snow tried to cheer her up and she also meant what she was saying. 'I'll seek comfort in my friends and family…' Blade recalled from the night.
"About those ice spells, do you remember the spells? Or how it looks? I could use some pointers…" Snow walked on with her.
"Guys, we're going to be late…" Tasu complained and glared at Rise.
Rise fluffed up her hair, "Hey, it's important to make a good impression. I had to check my hair besides you all needed to use the restroom." She sped walked with the rest of the Fairy class along the hallways of Hoggar as the girls called it. The real name of the school was Magic schools for forgers which was way too long. The school yet indeed was on Hoggar, so they simply called it Hoggar.
"I told you it looks just fine," Tessa rolled her eyes, "Let's just hope we find a seating area for us all. Most students are already in the assembly hall." They were on a class trip with all the other second and third year students from Alfea, because they were cleared to go on missions this semester. But it wasn't just them, Cloud tower and Red Fountain from Magix that had assembled in Hoggar. Basically, all big schools had sent their students to attend.
Blade looked around she noticed the uniforms of the Paladins from Linphea college and Malacoy Acadamy as well as Zaltora students. There were a lot of fairies around as well, Beta, Eraklyon Institute, Tir Na Nog there even was an area with raised shields to contain water for mermaids and men from Andros University and many more schools she had no clue even existed. "I didn't even know there were so many schools…"
"Great isn't it?" Amber smiled at her. "So many Wizards as well… Oskuria College…uh, wow even Dark Lake sent their dark magic Wizards students. And is that…" She frowned.
"Hoggarth College, the alchemists, isn't that where Wizgiz studied potion brewing?" Dahlia asked as she tried to find a spot for them all. The assembly hall was huge and ranged up several floors. The stances were full of students chatting and it was a packed house. "I doubt we can find a free spot for us all to sit together…"
"Oh there," Blade pointed up to Steela. While it was packed most still avoided to sit next to the Sorceresses from Cloud Tower. There actually were at least two or three seats empty before another student sat down in the same row. "Come on, let's go!" Blade transformed and dashed upwards.
"Blade wait… and off she goes…" Snow let her head sink.
"Oh, come now, we took those traitors down together. I doubt they'll play tricks on us. Well, hopefully," Nebula shrugged and followed Blade. After a bit of weighing their options the rest followed as well.
"Hey there, Steela, good to see you," Blade greeted her as she dropped out of her form and sat down next to her, "Oh and you of course too, Alyssa."
Alyssa glared across the seats, "Shoo, Fairy."
"Ahhh, don't be like that," Nebula giggled and sat down a row below. "We like you, too."
Steela stared at Blade next to her, "What do you want?"
"Nothing. I don't need to want something to enjoy a chat with you, silly. You guys just have those free seats all around you and I hate to waste the space. Besides I'll see you all in Cloud Tower soon anyways. Better get used to it." Blade smirked challengingly.
"Great," Kitty commented from above, "I need a new punching back."
Sienna sat down and left a free seat for Tasu between her and the Sorceresses in the long green dress and the red strappings and the spider earing. It was Misery one of the Sorceresses Nebula and Blade had fought against for the grimoire. Tasu stared at Misery for a second there.
And Misery stared back a bit perplexed, about to say something.
Tasu sat down reluctantly, "Sienna can you believe that Professor Avalon is going to speak in front of so many students from all those kingdoms. Amazing, he really is acknowledged throughout Magix, isn't he?" She slightly turned away from Misery.
"Well, he is good in what he does…I am just glad that we gonna get some answers. Those red crystal really were a big problem during the hearing. What do you think…," Sienna chatted some more with her.
It had been three hours of different researchers and professors explaining and talking about black magic, the red crystals, all the occasions they had been found and what so far had succeeded in cleansing them as well as suggestions of spells the students should look into and study up on in their free time. Professor Avalon was currently spear heading the discussion together with Hagen from the Magic School for Forgers in Hoggar.
Hagen started off with, gladly, the quickest summary of all who had come before, "So, in unison with the findings of the other schools we have come to the following conclusion. The red crystals that have corrupted several life forms especially monsters were indeed once Red Jade." Hagen paused shortly. He couldn't help but explain a bit after he noticed still some confusion in the seating area. It had been rather big info dump of all sorts of things today and this was the last point on the agender. Hagen cleared his throat, "Again. There are three types of Jade which the Kingdoms have commonly in use and are of magical quality. Red, White and Green Jade. Green is used by law enforcement to prevent the usage of magic mostly known on Magix though the Fortress of Light, where magic users are sent to redeem themselves there or help to rehabilitate them. So, if you piss of your Professors long enough or try to rule a world that isn't yours. I am sure you will encounter the Green Jade eventually." He joked around a bit. "White Jade on the other hand is the rarest of these three, not that you can find any Jade type just lying around…" He stopped himself before he would start rambling on the different quality types and sacred places where they were mined. "White Jade is less known. It has the potential to absorb magic and nullify it. If used correctly it is a potent weapon against black magic corruption and mostly used to save people who got affected by black magic through accidents or in the fight against evil against their choice. Professor Avalon, next to me, is a member of the White Jade Order, which specialises in cleansing of black magic and analysing the many cause for black magic. He was the one to concluded that red crystals and the Red Jade are connected," Hagen stepped back from the Podium.
Professor Avalon took over, "Thank you, Hagen. Red Jade, as many of you know, is the most versatile. Skilled forgers can inscribe a purpose into these stones and it stores and enhances the previous defined quality. The probably most common use is in armament and weapons like in my Paladin Armour," He pointed at his wrist protectors he summoned. "…or the Sword of Oritel. You also can find them in jewellery like my pendant a lot of your school headmasters or Professors have it too. Of course, there is nothing wrong with the usage of Red Jade. After consulting with each other, we concluded that someone used the skills of inscribing a purpose into Red Jade to transform it into the red crystals. The exact process is not quite clear yet. Fact is, those red crystals are loaded with immense magical power, to be more concrete black magic. This is the reason why it looks more like coloured glass or crystals rather than the Red Jade we usual see, which is milkier in colouration. And since some of you have not seen Red Jade and how it works and how it looks when powered by the different magic types, we have a small demonstration. So, pay attention, please," The Professor took out some chunks of Red Jade of a box they had ready at a table.
Blade noticed that Councillor Gadiel, that strange guy, who always seemed in thought during the hearing in Alfea stood up as well. He had done nothing so far besides fiddling around with his gauntlet as if everything was a bore to him. Now was the first time she saw him properly awake and actively engaging in a discussion. He was a pale or rather literally white skinned man from Domino, a Vampire and therefore was a user of the dark arts. And as far as Blade had found out one of the most renowned smiths. Yet Gadiel used dark magic to craft his masterpieces not light magic like Hagen. He was basically his counterpart. 'So, he isn't just here so they have a Council member at this assembly? He freaks me out… on a whole different level than Votzaak.' Blade thought to herself and refocused on the explanation.
Professor Avalon picked up the first chunk of Red Jade. "These pieces were inscribed to simply store magic. If you infuse this Red Jade with light magic," He started to infuse magic into the stone, "You can see it refines its structure and colour. Yet it stays so to speak milky and isn't see through like the red crystals." The process was projected into the room so everyone could see it in detail. Avalon picked the next piece of jade up, "Councillor Gadiel…"
Councillor Gadiel smirked, "Yes, yes, let's get this over with. Now kiddies, watch closely, I'm not here for your entertainment after all," The man reached out with his hand and the stone flung into it. Blade had found out that Vampires had some basic PSI abilities but they weren't strong in them, probably the reason why that Councillor always was tweaking at his gauntlet. Gadiel flared up dark magic and opened his hand. The Red Jade was now a deep bloody red it was rather on the dark end of the colour spectrum. "Hm, these are of inferior quality. Hagen if your forge can't afford to spare proper materials for a demonstration, I gladly would have brought some of my own," He grinned at him challenging. "How boring… it's supposed to turn black…" He turned the Jade in disgust and disappointment between his fingers. And infused even more magic into the jade.
'Do those two have some beef? Or is this rivalry? I thought, Gadiel is a Councillor and Lord…That guy just insulted Hagen in front of everyone…' Blade like the rest of the students watched as the jade began to vibrate it turned a little bit darker. As without warning it shattered and turned to dust. 'Huh, what the…' A wave of confusion went through the rows.
"What happened?"
"He's kind of rude…"
"Ha, he broke it!"
Professor Avalon ignored the chatter on the ranks and simply cleared his throat loudly, "And as Councillor Gadiel just has demonstrated. Red Jade infused with dark magic turns the red darker not clearer. So, against prior believes, gossip and rumours, that the red crystals were created by dark Witch magic, this clearly isn't true. And what is also noteworthy for all of you is that Red Jade breaks down if you try to infuse light or dark magic beyond its capacity. So, for anyone thinking I'll need a Red Jade storing ring for magic, sadly I got to disappoint. The storing capacity isn't so great even with the purest kind. It works best as a conduit to amplify traits."
"Yet it is a different matter if you use black magic on it," Hagen took the word again.
Councillor Gadiel pulled a crystal out of his cloak or rather a ball filled with black smoke or energy of some sort. It was turning wildly as if possessed. Black Magic, in its purest form. Everyone got real tense. All the laughter and giggling stopped instantaneously and parted way to awe, respect or fear. "Oh, what's wrong, kiddies? Never saw black magic before? Cute. Well, let this be a lesson for you. Not to fool around with forces of evil. Nothing good will ever come from it. Never." He was dead serious. He gazed at Avalon who had pulled out his White Jade rope-dart, "Don't you dare screw this up, Paladin." Gadiel wasn't thrilled about what was to come at all.
"Of course not," Professor Avalon answered him confidently and was at full alert. He nodded to Hagen.
"Well, then, stay seated. Don't panic and watch the show the Council has graciously planned for you. And above all… do NOT use magic," Hagen activated some runes on the floor and a protective shield rose from the ground and shielded the students. "And I think that goes without saying, black magic is not a toy. So, do not play around with fire. This is extremely dangerous and-"
"And if you do we'll hunt you to the ends of Magix and probably have to stick you in one of those fancy prison dimensions." Gadiel cut him off. He shooed Hagen to the edge of the stage. The other teachers and professors were tense and at the ready behind the barrier in case something went wrong. Gadiel let the crystal ball float in front of him. "Now, since certainly none of you have seen black magic being infused into Red Jade. Or seen black magic at all, well most of you at least. Here is a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch it in a fashion where the user won't try to kill you. I'll not repeat this nor will your Professors in your schools, so watch closely." He breathed out bracing himself. "This is black magic Councillor Votzaak has managed to contain at his last black wizard hunt just for you." He looked back at Professor Avalon to reassure himself that he was ready. He placed his hand carefully on the crystal ball and a bunch of runes and magic circles appeared on the ball and the floor surrounding him. He whispered a few words and the containment was released.
Blade like any other student, could feel her neck hair stand up and a cold shiver ran down her spine. Everyone felt that eerie sensation. It reminded her of Mister G when he was still corrupted and pictures of when she had grabbed the sword in the temple flashed up in Blade's mind and gave her goosebumps. She knew that feeling all too well. Tasu, Tessa, Birdy and Nebula had a similar reaction they were all at the ready despite the fact that they couldn't do anything even if they wanted to.
The black magic swirled around itself, like a tangled bunch of snakes. Carefully, the Vampire reached out to attract it. It was as if the black magic came alive, as if it sensed a more or less willing host to roost in. The black magic shot straight at his hand and impaled the Councillors skin. It drilled deep into his skin, blood dripped down. His hand cramped up, veins pulsated and blackened at first. The councillor screamed out loud in pain, while his hand trembled as he got corrupted. The students flinched. He wouldn't stop screaming.
"What is that Professor waiting for?!"
"Someone got to stop this…"
Some Fairies averted their eyes. It was too much to watch. The Witches and dark Wizards on the other hand stared at the spectacle intensely. But no matter what reaction everyone had, they were all holding their breath.
"Professor-" Hagen got a bit scared there himself. He watched something convulse and form under the skin of the arm.
Avalon didn't let the vampire out of his sight. He was deep reading his aura and at the ready to jump in and counter the black magic corrupting the Councillor, "All good." He answered shortly. He didn't want to distract himself. 'He is screaming extra loud today… Magic Council really wants to make a point, doesn't it?' He watched as the Councillors aura turned pitch black and the patterns began to shift from his normal pattern to a slight shadow of the dark phoenix glowing eyes. Avalon knew those all too well. Piercing glowing eyes of hate, chaos and destruction stared back at him. Professor Avalon breathed out as he began to infuse his rope-dart with cleansing magic.
Gadiel's fangs grew and he grinned devilishly. His arm ripped open. It sounded as if his bones cracked or something. A bone spike sprung out. Blood splattered all across the floor. The bones structure grew as the blood sticking to the bones spread thinly out and created some sort of membrane. Similar to that of bats a leathery wing grew as the blood transformed into skin. The wing was covered in slick webbing, it was a bloody mess. His left eye turned all black as every last drop of the black magic entered his body. Only now he began to counter the corruption, so it wouldn't spread and turn him into a harbinger of chaos. For a second there he stopped breathing. Silence – Everyone could feel as the Councillors dark magic fought back against the black one that was trying to take over. The magic forces came to a stand-off. He wasn't moving from his spot but his expression switched from insanity to a grimace of concentration and back. Then his head started to jerk.
'Damn it, is he losing his mind? I thought his PSI abilities should be enough to…'Hagen looked to Avalon. This wasn't quite going to plan, but the Professor wasn't reacting yet. Hagen's gaze wandered to the table and the Red Jade. Cautiously, he walked over and picked up the Red Jade, which Gadiel was supposed to pick up himself. He stepped towards Gadiel, he only went as close as he had to as he offered him the jade. "Councillor Gadiel plea-" The winged arm rushed out and snatched away the Jade. Hagen's heart stopped for a second there, he thought he would get his arm ripped off.
Gadiel stared at the Red Jade as if in trance and his movements became choppy. Like a beast he hissed and his nails turned into claws and scraped the surface of the Red Jade. His arm trembled. He raised the jade up high like a glorified precious trophy.
Professor Avalon began to let the rope-dart rotate at his side, loading it with more cleansing magic. It lit up pure white, the light travelled in a spiral along the string toward the dart. "Hagen step back. Councillor, the Jade, please." He reminded him calmly. 'Come on, hurry it up…did he overestimate himself? If he takes too long his whole system will...'
Gadiel breathed out and found his focus again. The Councillor forced out the black magic into the jade. The black magic that before had drilled into his arm now searched for a new host and ripped even more skin off as the smoky trail engulfed the red crystal until it covered it whole. An ominous red glow flashed up and the Jade got forcefully imbued with more and more black magic.
Blade started at the scene. Compared to how much magic Avalon or Gadiel had used before, this was a lot more, yet the size of the jade was the same. It also was more black magic pouring out than Gadiel had taken in. 'Can black magic corrupt one's system so quickly!?' Blade bit her lip. Only now she had an idea of how dangerous her actions on Phere-Moan had been. Through the black smoke red smoke rose and dissipated. The Councillor grunted in pain. It almost looked like he was sad to see it go? But maybe Blade was imagining things. He was grinding his teeth. 'Is he alright? Did I look like that?' Blade was at the edge of her seat. Her instinct told her to stop him or do something, anything.
"Councillor, enough." Even if this was Professor Avalon's last warning he was eerily calm. Then hurled the dart. He would not let Gadiel get the chance to use black magic on purpose. The dart wrapped around the winged arm and shocked him with a burst of cleansing magic.
The string cut the wing like butter until it tightened around the arm. The Vampire hissed annoyed as the Professor tried to tug him away from the red Jade.
Avalon used all his strength as he infused magic into his muscles, because the Councillor indeed had been overwhelmed by the addictive rush that had flooded his system and resisted Avalon. Gadiel was flung away from the Red Jade which kept hovering in the air. 'Not good,' even now Avalon didn't see the aura pattern changing back to normal as the Councillor landed like a cat on his feet.
Gadiel eyed Avalon as his head kept jerking. That man dared to deny him, what he was longing for. What he needed! He made a quick step forward as he was ready to charge him like a beast, just to freeze in place again as he tempered his rampaging bloodlust and realised that what he hungered for was Avalon's blood. 'No, what was I thinking?! DAMN that black magic!'
'Sorry, Councillor, that's going to hurt.' Professor Avalon gave the rope a twist to create several loops that tightened around him and confined the Councillor, "Emendamus ater ars!" He cast and a very complicated rune circle appeared on the ground and flashed up so bright it blinded every student on the stances. Gadiel screamed in agony as he got trapped in a pillar of light. This time it wasn't just for show. Avalon knew that, the pain people felt when being cleansed was nothing to joke about at all. This was a weak corruption. Still he wouldn't hold back, for Gadiel's sake.
The students watched as the cut-up wing lit up and crumbled to ash. The blackened eye flickered back and forth between natural and corrupted. More students and even some of the other teachers felt sick just by looking at this display. Most were actually scared and had an urge to back away even if there was no space for it in the seating area.
Avalon held his breath as he powered up the rune circle even more and the outer line rotated counter-clockwise to the inner circle line. The pillar flashed up again with the next surge finally Avalon could see the aura change he wanted. The Phoenix eyes closed again and vanished. He rushed towards the Councillor and touched him on the shoulder. He had manged to force out and cleanse the black magic. "Sumnio Falax!" He used his mind spell to calm Gadiel's mind and rampaging bloodlust to help him stabilise his mental state. He waited a moment. The Councillor was staring up to him. Professor Avalon made sure he was master of his own mind again, before he released him from the binding white Jade string.
Councillor Gadiel dropped to his knees for a second as he had to cough and grasped for air. He felt as the Professor infused him with more cleansing magic to flush his system. Annoyed he stared at his arm which looked like he had held it into a lawn mower. He felt so sick, he wanted to puke, but he wouldn't give in not in front of all those gossip-prone students. He flared up some dark magic to give his body the strength to stand up and reset his alignment. Pissed, he glared at the Red jade, now nearly as see-through as glass. A vivid red crystal that dropped to the ground. It was done. The demonstration was a success. And the students scared shitless, just as had been planned. This would be a lesson they would not forget and most likely, hopefully, keep them from ever doing something stupid.
Gadiel was still shaken. Blood dripped from his wounds. He focused as his eyes lit up in red and all the blood that had splattered across floor floated towards him and re-entered his blood stream and the wounds closed up slowly until it looked brand new. With wobbly steps he made his way to his chair as Hagen let down the shields again after Avalon gave him the okay. Avalon was just a step behind the vampire intensely staring at him and not leaving his side as Gadiel sat back down and closed his eyes exhausted. Avalon wanted to make sure that there was no corruption lingering somewhere.
Hagen stepped forward, the hall as silent as a tomb. He picked the red crystal up, "As you can see. This is no joke." His hand got burned from just holding the crystal. He attached a paper seal to the red crystal and the corruption process that burned his hand stopped. He put the red abomination on the table, "This is not the exact same as the crystals that were secured on the battlefields as those of you with keen eyes should be able to spot." He took out a transparent box which contained another red crystal. It was the one Avalon had gotten from Faragonda. He placed the box on the table as well. Now every student could see the different Red Jade types and one of the teachers from the Dark Lake College had created a new Red Jade with dark magic to complete the set again. They activated a shield around the table so it functioned as a showcase. "And that is all you need to know to distinguish red jade from red crystals on your missions. You may come down and check them out from close up. If you encounter any of the black magic crystals, please be cautious. If you can, inform the authorities. If it's too dangerous, run; there is no shame in living to see another day. We don't want any student casualties, understand?" He said this firmly. "These stones are extremely dangerous and not for playing around or experimenting with, leave it up to people who were specifically trained for this." He paused as he gazed at Councillor Gadiel, who still was a bit woozy to put it kindly. Professor Avalon had proceeded to infuse more cleansing magic into special areas of his arm. "That is all for today, your schools will pass on any new information that comes to light. So, keep an eye out on your missions and don't jump the gun when you see Red Jade." He paused and relaxed visibly. "Well, you are welcome to stay and mingle or check out our forges until your departure. Don't touch anything without asking though. Thank you for your attention." The audience applauded hesitantly. They were all kind of staring back and forth between the Councillor and the Jade types. The students spread out as some went down to check out the stones and others were just happy to distract themselves with chatter and gossip. Others went exploring or left for their departure.
The Fairies class met up with the specialists. Birdy stomach growled, they had stood in line to gaze at the Red Jade for a good hour. "Can we please get something to eat?" She complained.
"We could go into the city. They organised shuttle busses," Dahlia suggested.
Michael nodded eagerly, "Yes please, I want to inspect the dome around the city. I heard they copied the Alfea dome but used techno magic to sustain it."
"Yeah, shield towers are a masterpiece of magic craftsmanship," Max from Team A added.
"I gladly buy a new dress and I promised my mother to bring her a souvenir," Rise was all up for it.
Blade checked the time on her bracelet, "Ah, sorry. I have the meeting with Hagen soon. But I can meet up with you afterwards."
"Right, you still didn't get the sword to work properly. Still looks like a crooked stick," Nebula laughed out loud.
"Crooked stick?" Memphis had snuck up on Nebula and whispered past her ear.
"AH!" Nebula jumped to the side crashing into Snow, who got caught by Julius.
Amber giggled, "Yeah, Blade's ancient sword still is broken. Faragonda arranged for a meeting with her long-time friend."
"Memphis?" Everyone could hear Kevin from the chaos squad shouting in the masses.
"Oh, shit…let's go, I heard they do some weapons tests, you like weapons test, right?" Memphis pulled Blade away with him. He wasn't keen on babysitting those idiots right now.
"Hey, but we…urgh," Sienna was a bit annoyed that they hadn't finished planning.
Mercury snorted, "Off she goes, I would say we meet up in the plaza in the city?" He turned into the direction Memphis had vanished with Blade.
"And where are you going?" Lion asked confused.
"I want to check out the weapons testing as well," Mercury answered.
Seth nodded, "Me too, they are testing new space weapons at least that's what I heard." He decided to go with Mercury.
"See you later, then," Tasu said as the group split up.
"Hey, not so fast, Memphis," Blade got pushed through the crowd.
Memphis didn't stop until they reached the elevator and moved down to the right floor. "If I go any slower Chaos squad will find me. They always do somehow. This is my one day I don't have to babysit them…"
Blade puffed, "I thought you are training them. Shouldn't they improve?" Blade leaned against a wall near the testing area. It was two rooms. One where the blacksmiths were inside, readying the weapons for testing and one longer hall with a glass front for the spectators. On the end of the hall there were specialist space suits hung up.
"Improve? At best you can aim their chaos to suit you," Memphis chuckled.
"That bad, ey?" Blade shook her head in disbelief.
"There you are!" Seth and Mercury had found them again. The first shot got fired. And hit the suit. It got absorbed. "Wow, they are not playing around."
"Yeah, that's normal. You need to see if it holds up. Even if those suits are really expensive," Blade watched the next shot. They hit nearly the exact same spot. And this time a scorch mark was left. She whistled impressed.
"They improved the fire power," Mercury commented.
Memphis agreed, "Yeah, I overheard they created a new rune system for the weapons casing."
"Where do you always get those infos, dude," Seth was baffled.
Blade watched as they moved to shoot the second weapon, but the aim was off and instead of hitting the suit it hit the wing from the armoured backpack used to control the space flight. The energy blast got deflected straight at them and every body flinched and watched as the forgers jumped out of the way. Some students couldn't help but giggle ones it was clear no one had gotten hurt. "Wow, those energy wings are sturdy…" Blade was surprised they didn't break. She had never tested those in the Lunasteel company.
"Of course, they are," Mercury laughed, "If you get hit by a spell or micro asteroid you don't want to be a sitting duck."
"Understandable…" Blade nodded. "Have you used these?"
"I had one on for a mission or two," Memphis mentioned with a mischievous smirk.
"Mission, ey?" Seth smirked back at him.
They continued to watch the weapons testing. Blade felt her bracelet vibrating for the second time, "Ah, crap, gotta go… what a shame…" She looked at the Owl cannon they were setting up at the moment. "Aaah, oh well, you can tell me everything later!" She dashed away quickly.
"And she's gone…" Mercury sighed as he lost her out of sight in the crowd.
Blade walked along the hallway, there were even less students on this level since there were no classes right now. "Room fity-seven… fifty-eight…Ah there," she halted in front of two big doors. 'Is this the right place?' She knocked and pushed. Indeed, the doors opened up. She entered a room filled with a furnace, anvil, rune and crystal workbench a bunch of blacksmith tools and a rack full of materials. As well as a small area with a dummy. She was the first one here although cutting it close. She checked out the rack. Of course, she found Lunasteel from Basil's company on it as well as energy crystals for specialist's weapons. 'Uhh, those are high end quality…' She stopped herself from touching them.
"Found something of interest?" A slightly gravelly voice resounded in the room.
Blade turned around, "Just admiring the inventory. I didn't touch anything."
Hagen chuckled once, "Well, I expect Basil's niece to know what she is doing and not break or taint materials."
Blade nodded, Basil had told her that Hagen was one of the people who knew of their family bond. Since he was a long-time costumer and trustworthy business partner of his. "Still, rules are rules."
"Well then, show me that sword hilt of yours," Hagen stepped over to the dummy.
"I can't form a sword-blade," she replied as she pulled the ancient hilt out of her belt pocket.
Hagen nodded, "I heard. Still, show me. You have enough magic left, right?"
Blade nodded, "Yes haven't used much besides on my parkour this morning."
"Great, then first do on of those weapon spells, I heard so much about, without a hilt. Next with your custom hilt from Basil and last with the ancient hilt," Hagen requested. He noticed that Blade was a bit overwhelmed by his request. "Is that-"
The door opened without warning. "Why didn't you tell me sooner that she brought that sword from Phere-Moan with her?" Councillor Gadiel stepped into the room. He would not let this chance slip by to see such a rarity live and in action.
Avalon sighed and nodded to greet the two. He was sticking to Gadiel like clue to make sure he really was fine. There still was a slim chance that some black magic could remerge.
"Councillor Gadiel," Blade was a bit confused at first. She gazed at the vampire. He looked fine. Still her flashbacks had rattled her a bit. "Are you feeling better again?" She asked concerned.
"Of course, I'm fine. You students, act as if I attracted a deadly illness," Gadiel wasn't a fan of being pitied by a second-grade Fairy or any other student that had passed him by in the school halls.
Blade uttered whisperingly, "Sorry for asking… just wanted to know if you feel like yourself again…" She was concerned that he still might be corrupted. Or rather the demonstration had spooked her. She wondered if she herself could possibly still be corrupted, no one had made a cleansing ritual with her. Of course, she had to elaborate to Faragonda, what had happened in the temple, but her explanation was more along the lines of touching the sword and gaining the Shadion form. That had sufficed for the headmistress. Yes, the dark Fairy form had been officially named Shadion, because the Magic Council had rejected to call it something silly like Zombix. Besides they wanted to avoid using the -ix ending, because they had next to no information about that form and what would become of it. 'What if I still…if that Fairy form…' Blade shook her head and tried to push away the thought. Shanna had told her after all that she was master of her own mind and body when she was in Shadion.
Gadiel raised an eyebrow. "And why wouldn't I be myself again? Professor Avalon checked me out. Of course, everything is fine." He simply stated and rolled his eyes. That didn't calm her down though. 'Wait, she's not concerned about me…she's insecure about herself…don't tell me - That scaring worked better than expected…it did trigger something, didn't it? Should have known from the start. She did face a black magic curse after all. Let's find out why.'
Blade looked at the Councillor. He was so confident. She stared at the hilt in her hand. She really didn't know anything about black magic, not really, seeing it from the outside was different, different from the text books descriptions and her personal experience. Reluctantly she asked as she looked up from the hilt, "And how do you know it doesn't come back?"
'Ooh? She's direct, he. So that's what's bothering her…' Gadiel looked at the young inexperienced Fairy. "Once an artefact is cleansed, it doesn't just become corrupted again for no reason. Neither does a person." He crossed his arms and stepped further into the room so Avalon could close the door behind them.
"But-" Blade found the courage to ask him straight out, "But how do you know you are yourself again?"
"You can feel such things," He explained shortly but got interrupted by her again.
"Feel?" Blade tilted her head that sounded a bit wishy washy.
Gadiel stared at her and ignored her rudeness, 'She really is concerned something lingers, isn't she?' Gadiel closed his eyes, "Yes, black magic corruption is tricky. Black magic users don't really notice the damage they do anymore at some point. They become a shell of themselves. But with temporary confrontations, it's a different story." He took the time to walk her through his experience to give her a reference, "For me, today, it simply hurt – a lot. I felt despair, wanted to give up. And as black magic flooded my system somehow anything felt possible. It's a rush, intoxicating really. An addictive sensation of power and then reality knocks at your door. When you are ready to hurt your friends and allies, it's those curial moments that mirror yourself." He looked to Avalon then back to Blade. "You realise that, just to gain more power, to reach your goal, you would sacrifice anything or anyone. That's the moment there you either falter and plunge into an abyss of never-ending blackness you can't escape from alone or you reach out towards the light and reject that power." He had Blade's full attention, but she still seemed a bit confused. "All in all, you get obsessed with your weakness, what is haunting you deep down or you let go."
"Obsessed…" Blade got stuck on that word and got worried.
'Ha, there it is, teenagers,' the Vampire squinted his eyes, "So, tell me, Blade Ashfallow, are you obsessed?"
Professor Avalon was a bit surprised that the Councillor asked Blade that question so directly. He swapped his aura reading to Blade. This was an interesting question indeed.
"No, of cou-" Blade stopped mid-sentence. She wasn't sure. "Well, I… I don't know… I do want to catch all those co-conspirators that are also to blame for Jewels death. Those outside of Desertia... They should rot in jail…" She tensed up. Just thinking about that there were traitors somewhere living a good live, still pissed her off so much.
Gadiel nodded, "I got a list of names worth your time, made by the Magic Council itself." He could see a spark flare up in her eyes. "You want it?"
"You don't have a-" Blade stopped.
"Of course, I got one, we don't just sit on our asses all day long," He summoned a scroll and waved with it, "I never joke about Council affairs." He held it towards her.
Blade's fingers twitched. 'This has to be a trick. But if he isn't…' She really was struggling with herself. She knew she should refuse, but she really wanted that list. 'It's not like I gonna kill them or anything…' She glared at the Councillor as she balled her hands. 'No, I shouldn't.' Nonetheless a second later she found herself reaching for the scroll before she even realised it.
Gadiel as all the others were a bit surprised to see her go for it. It was affront, and very bold. 'Ha, no noble would have dared to go for it, being a commoner is a blessing in that regard.' Councillor Gadiel pulled his arm back before Blade could grab the scroll as if he played keep away, "You just want justice, correct? Simply…" He wandered to the rack of materials and gazed at the things inside as he noticed the pricy unrefined crystals that were highly combustible. "Just shoot at those." He stated dead earnest as he challenged her. He had adjusted his plan to help Blade realise the truth.
Hagen was about to curse, "Gadiel you…!"
Blade simultaneously declined, "What? No! Are you insane?!" Blade was bewildered by the condition and automatically got into a defensive stance. "They'll explode and hurt anyone in the room!" She got angry and flustered of course there was a catch. 'Stupid, me.'
"Ha," the vampire laughed so hard. "See, nothing to worry about," He smiled satisfied. "Oh, and just to be clear here, if you had considered that offer for even a second. I personally would have dragged you out of here in chains." He said darkly. "If you were truly obsessed and corrupted by black magic you would have done anything, I asked of you. You most certainly wouldn't have thought of the wellbeing of others."
Hagen breathed out relieved. "Next time try to blow up your own forge…"
Professor Avalon had been ready to stop her and relaxed and stepped away from behind Blade. He wouldn't take any chances.
Irritated Blade looked behind her as she noticed something moving, 'When did he…?' She was a bit overwhelmed by the situation.
"Now that we have solved that problem. Can we please get back on topic," Hagen breathed out slightly annoyed with Gadiel trying to blow up his forge by another, he wouldn't put it passed him. But he was happy to see Blade relax visibly again.
Blade breathed out, "Yes, right… eh…Fairy edge…" Blade babbled without using any magic at all. Everyone hid a chuckle. 'Crap… concentrate. Wait do I go light or dark magic…ehhh…' Blade put the ancient sword hilt on the work bench and focused. "Fairy edge!" She created a light magic sword and placed it on the table. "Fairy ridge!" She waited shortly and followed up with the dark magic version which took her longer to create as she was not yet used to it as much. Then she pulled out a training hilt and built only another light Fairy magic sword. Those training hilts didn't work with dark Fairy magic since they were built to hold light magic. Blade wasn't keen on showing her progress with that ancient hilt. She really took her time with it. Yet no matter even with her intense concentration, it still ended up with a crooked branch all warped and twisted. "Oh, this stupid…." Blade cursed as she swayed and got woozy.
Hagen stepped towards Blade to place his hand on her shoulder, "Whoa, slow down, you good?" He asked a bit concerned.
Professor Avalon was still busy with reading Gadiel's aura and had let the forger deal with it, 'We gotta train her stamina in creating weapons as well, another thing to add to the list.'
The councillor picked up the dark magic sword to inspect it, "Sloppy. You truly do need a bit more Mana." He checked the balance which was fine, not perfect but decent. "Hmm balanced…" He tried to bend it, it was a bit wobbly. "This will bend, deform and break because it's too weak in a prolonged fight." He stepped towards the dummy and slashed at it. "Sharp, no chips, it cuts. Still I wouldn't dare sell a sword that wouldn't last a campaign."
Blade frowned, "Well, its not made out of metal or has a constant energy flow… why should it last a campaign?"
"Oh Blade, it doesn't matter from what you decided to build a sword. It has to do the same job. Yes, you need different skillsets, but the swords should have the same traits. If you want your weapons to last and not waste your magic for nothing. Especially if you face off against enemies with armour or natural defences." Hagen took up the light Fairy sword. "Look here, same spell, same concentration and skill level. Yet the one with the hilt is better, because it is more durable has less impurities and is better balanced." He slashed at the dummy the cuts of the hilted sword were much cleaner and deeper. Hagen moved on to the anvil picking up the one without a hilt, "Here let me show you what I mean." He picked up a hammer placed the sword on the anvil and held it in a tight grip. Some runes on the hammer lid up and he hammered it down. The sword without a hilt shattered to pieces and the magic dissipated. Then he took the one with the hilt and that one cracked under the pressure into big pieces. "Gadiel?" He requested the dark magic sword. He hammered down on it and it broke into a million tiny pieces.
"Told ya, it's shit," the Councillor commented unimpressed. "What do you visualise, Blade?" Then it came to forging the vampire kind of dropped all of his etiquette and was very blunt with his opinion and questions.
"I, well… the form. What it has to be at the end. The more complicated it gets the more it is like layering the weapon bit by bit. I don't know if that makes sense…" Blade tried her best to explain.
"So, you basically are cold forging," Hagen thought about it.
"Indeed, you should read up on materials and their composition and qualities as well as their abilities." Gadiel added, "The better you know what you want and need. Plus, a source to focus to remind you, the easier it should be to build not just the weapon you want, but also the weapon you need. Quite frankly you are casting way below your potential. If you could reach a level where you can build any weapon on the battlefield tailored to your enemy. You would be the most versatile front-liner ever."
Blade liked the sound of that and yet she knew this would become a great undertaking. "That would be awesome…" she muttered.
"Well then let's test your…stick," Hagen picked up the ancient hilt with the magic sad excuse of a weapon active. He hammered down on that one as well. To all of their surprise it broke in equally big pieces as the sword with Basil's hilt.
"Oh, how interesting…" Gadiel picked up the hilt. He inspected the runes inscribed on the hilt and checked out the casing. "Got a-"
"Here," Hagen passed on the right tool. "Don't-"
"Yeah, yeah." The vampire answered him. It took the two a couple of minutes and they had opened the casing.
Blade stepped closer. So, did Avalon, who was intrigued as well. In the sword's hilt there were two crystals imbedded. "Why are there two crystals? You only need one for a weapon," Blade was confused, she had never seen or heard of that.
"Ha, marvellous," Hagen was fascinated by the old craftsmanship. He quickly opened up Basil's hilt and laid it next to the old one. "Typical for those times… this weapon has two energy crystals. The upper one is for your light or dark magic, Blade."
"Light or dark?" Blade wasn't sure she heard him correctly.
"Yes, back in the day there were no schools, so people didn't refine crystals like today. They are alignment-fluid so to speak. Every person used a different ratio so the weapons were built for a wider user range and less fixed on an alignment." Gadiel explained passionately. "Sadly, we lost that art over time. So, this is a rare find. Specially to have an energy crystal in nearly prime condition. He pointed at the lower crystal, "That one is an element crystal. Chameleon ore to be exact. You still can find these today. A new one wouldn't hurt."
"Chameleon ore?" Blade never had heard of that either.
"It's an ore that adapts to the elements around it. To put it simply, you can infuse any element into this ore. Or leave it out of the conjuring and just use the alignment crystal." Hagen explained further. "This rune circle is for controlling the element crystal." He pointed it out on the hilt. "It's currently set on lightning. The weapon looks like a stick because it tried to incorporate the second crystal energy but there was nothing to draw from. So, the process malfunctioned. Here let me set it up." Hagen fiddled around and gave the hilt back. "Try again now."
Blade concentrated, "Switch blade!" She conjured a light Fairy dagger. She had swapped to a smaller weapon so she wouldn't simply run out of magic too soon. To her astonishment the two forgers were right. A very nice, but simple knife got created. It just looked like her normal daggers.
"Well let's see," Hagen turned the knife in his hands it definitely looked better. He laid it on the anvil and this time Gadiel smashed down on it. The knife split into two.
"Now, that you at least can use in the kitchen," Gadiel gave a backhanded-compliment to Blade.
Avalon still was concentrated on Gadiel's aura reading but with the passing time he relaxed a little bit more, "So, how does it look like with an element?" This was really interesting to him as a paladin using an ice weapon.
"Ah, well Professor," Hagen started. "You first need to activate the element rune," He turned a small ring on the hilt right before the pommel. It glowed up. "That is the symbol for ice magic," He grinned and handed the sword hilt over to Avalon.
Avalon channelled some ice magic into the hilt which got absorbed. "Alright, there you go, Blade." He passed it on to Blade.
She was a bit nervous, "Here goes nothing…Switch blade!" Blade cast. An icy blue blade appeared. She knew that look from his Jian. "Wow, cool…" Blade was amazed that it wasn't hard at all to make it work. Yet she quickly noticed that the knife-edge froze everything it touched, it was uncontrolled.
"Blade, for paladin weapons you need to focus and keep the element in check or you will freeze off your own fingers," Gadiel warned her. "For special attacks like an element sickle even more so. Come on, let's test its durability." They smashed the hammer down on it and it actually held it looked a bit bent but it didn't break. "Ha, look at that."
"Go, throw it at the dummy," Hagen suggested. He was a bit proud of her.
Blade enthusiastically took the knife by its tip and prepared to throw it, she still somewhat froze her fingertips but it had to do for now. It didn't hurt or anything. She hurled the dagger at the dummy. It got stuck and froze the surrounding area like the morning dew in the winter. "Hmmm… that doesn't look too powerful, though."
Professor Avalon grinned, "That's because you're not used to ice magic." He pulled out the knife and imbued it with more ice magic again. He took aim, his fingers didn't get frozen at all. The knife soared through the air and hit the dummy. An explosion of ice spikes grew out of the cut.
Hagen whistled enthralled, "Impressive, Professor. We should test the other elements to make sure the runes are intact. Wait, I got some elemental powder lying around here somewhere." Hagen went on a little hunt. "Oh, and don't forget to build it with dark magic as well."
"Sure!" Blade was on fire. What followed was a bunch of testing out the elements with dark and light magic combinations. Flaming daggers, lightning, water. Blade was eager to see them all work. It was captivating. Gadiel's words really had the cogs in her head turning. There truly were a lot of things she could do with this hilt and she wanted to test them all! After her eighth dagger Blade felt as her magic was dropping lower. "Charmix! Switch blade!" She was excited and really wanted to finish testing the wind element before taking a break. The dagger was super-fast. "Amazing," Blade swiped of the sweat from her forehead. She handed over the hilt to Hagen, 'I'm at my limit… I think…'
"Uuuh, let's do…hmmm… earth next," Gadiel suggested as he found the elemental powder. They all were like little kids with their new toy.
"No, let's fix the lightning rune for light magic and the water rune for dark magic first. Not that we destabilise the rune construction…" Hagen added.
"Okay, I just take a breather," Blade notified them. And stepped back. She really felt a bit light headed.
"Alright, Blade, no hurry." Avalon nodded. "Quick question, what about different elements that aren't included yet… can they be added?" Avalon watched the two forgers fiddling around and still was deep reading Gadiel's aura on the side. As he tried to plan what he should add to Blade's training regimen. The three men all stepped to the work bench besides Blade, who leaned against the opposite wall and sat down to meditate as her Charmix vanished.
Time flew buy, Palladium walked down the hallway towards the forge. 'For Avalon to be this late of all people… we wanted to go for lunch before we have to escort all our students back.' He opened the door. Avalon, Gadiel and Hagen were eagerly discussing and basically nerding out about what elements would be great to be added and where. As well as what element should be trained first. Of course, they had noticed Palladium enter.
"Hey there, Palladium." Avalon greeted his college without turning around as they were in the middle of their discussion. "Could we add sound-based magic? I think it would be a great help if she could use all the elements from her class mates," Avalon asked passionately.
"Sound-based…hmmm…. We could add a second rune ring…" Gadiel answered.
"But where? Those rune lines can't be interrupted… Maybe if we reroute this one over there…." Hagen suggested.
"No, you need that one for dark magic… we could bridge it, no…" Gadiel disapproved.
Palladium shook his head, 'Kids and their toys… wait, why isn't Blade with them?' Palladium gazed at the wall. Blade sat slumped against it. 'Ah, she's sleeping again. No wonder they probably let her make endless amounts of weapons…' Palladium stepped closer towards her. He stopped, 'Wait…no, she ain't sleeping… what the?!' Since Avalon was so relaxed he had thought nothing of it. But at second glance it was obvious that Blade wasn't simply sleeping. She was drained. Her magic was low, a bit too low for comfort. 'Really… I get it, she probably just wanted to try everything… but besides their excitement… why in Magix did Avalon not stop her?! She just had her system busted…he knows she always goes too far.' It wasn't anything alarming, but worrying. 'Damn it, what the heck were they thinking, letting her use so much in a short time,' Palladium stepped towards Blade to check her vitals. Her pulse was slowed.
Blade squinted her eyes first and opened them to look at who was at her side. Besides her fifteen-minute break she still felt woozy. She had miscalculated with her Charmix. She had gained enough of a mana boost but had forgotten about the stamina drain that always followed afterwards. 'Professor Palladium?'
"You used too much, didn't you?" He muttered.
Blade wanted to answer him but her throat was sore. Her lips were dry and were stuck together. 'Ooooh my head…'
Palladium sighed, "My word…just hold a second I'll share…" He stopped.
Blade shook her head shortly. 'The healer was right, I shouldn't rely on that.' She had been more cautious these past days and listened more closely to what her body warning sign were. She sat up a bit and her tummy gave a quiet rumble.
Palladium got more and more pissed at the three men rambling in the background, 'She is dehydrated and low on energy. Those geek heads, urgh - how could they have let this happened?' He looked over his shoulder and back to Blade. She was ravished. They were so emerged in their discussion and his friend was so distracted that they hadn't even noticed. Palladium ground his teeth, 'Unbelievable…' He was mad. "Avalon…" He addressed him calmly as he tempered his displeasure.
"Yes, just a minute. I haven't forgotten lunch," Avalon answered shortly before refocusing on the discussion.
"I can order some food," Hagen suggested.
"That be great," Gadiel liked that idea. "Oh, I got it now, we can route the rune lines through here!" He was proud of his solution.
"Yes, that would solve every problem, not bad for a dark forger," Hagen teased the vampire.
Palladium gave them a death stare that stayed unanswered, 'That's it, she needs a good meal. I won't delay my lunch any longer,' Palladium couldn't believe the three. They were ignoring him and even worse they were overlooking Blade's condition for a stupid old weapon hilt of all things. "Come on, we get you some food, can you walk?" He asked her softly.
Blade nodded and pulled herself up. Food was great idea.
Palladium smiled kindly and took the lead. He stepped onward to leave with her. Avalon and the forgers still hadn't reacted what so ever. They were intensely staring at the rune lines, trying to solve the next puzzle in front of them.
Blade felt abruptly woozy again as her head started to spin, not because she was too weak or anything. She simply had stood up too fast, 'Crap!' She reached out. She wanted hold on to Palladium's back as he was the only thing she had in range to gain some support from. But her Professor had stepped onward. So, her hand found no hold. Instead she lost her balanced, stumbled and crashed into Palladium and pushed him.
"Woah!" Palladium squeaked surprised as he got bumped from behind and half crashed into Avalon as he fell passed him.
Avalon, Gadiel and Hagen got ripped out of their thoughts and had a little jump-scare there. "Wow, watch it." Quickly, Avalon had caught him and held him like a lead dancer in a drop stance. "Come now, you can't be that hungry." He joked slightly.
"You alright?" Councillor Gadiel asked. 'What could he possibly have fallen over the room is empty…' He spotted Blade, she didn't look so minty fresh.
Hagen was laughing. That save looked hilarious. "What are you doing? Watch your step, and don't break my stuff." He chuckled some more, just to shut up. He didn't get the reaction he had expected from Palladium. Not at all. He wasn't laughing one bit. 'Why is Mister Alfean sunshine so gloomy…oh…'
"…" Palladium was giving them all a dark, rebuking stare of doom. He had it. Not only had he waited for over an hour to get lunch since Avalon had postponed it several times because of Gadiel and his whims to run around in Hoggar like a kid on a fair. No, they had forgotten Blade. Palladium side glanced to Blade a bit worried. But she was fine. She had caught herself on all fours. She just was a bit pale, her circulation was a tad shaken, nothing more.
Avalon's gaze followed that of Palladium's and he noticed Blade, who wasn't meditating at the wall anymore. "Blade? When did you…what?" Avalon pulled Palladium up straight. He was so confused. He was ready to go and check her out, but bumped into Palladium's arm.
Palladium held him back forcefully, "Don't bother now…" He hissed and stepped towards Blade.
"Blade, you alright?" Hagen asked nervously and laid his blacksmith tool down. He hadn't given her a second thought. She simply had wanted a break.
Gadiel breathed out relieved. He couldn't sense anything wrong with her system like at the hearing, 'Thank the great Dragon...'
Palladium wasn't interested in their excuses or delayed concern. He simply picked Blade up with a side glance of death to all three. He slung Blade's arm around his shoulders and walked wordlessly out of the room with her and used some wind magic to slam the door shut behind him.
The guys flinched simply because it was so loud. The three looked at each other. Gadiel sighed, "We owe him a casket of honey whine now…just to get back into his good graces again…"
"Not sure one is enough," Hagen puffed. He like the rest was as tense as stone golem.
Avalon closed his eyes wearily, 'Ah, fuck.'
