Xander Quest

by Throwaway1971

All credit goes to the OG author Judge Mental on SB

298. The End (of the Eighth Year) Has Come! 6

When you were setting up for this party, you cribbed notes from how the Shuzens arranged things at Kahlua's birthday, and got further advice from Keoni, Ekewaka, and the other former natives of Bali Ha'i on how THEY used to throw parties.

Given the number of guests involved, buffet-style dining was definitely the way to go, and the end result is that you've got a dozen different tables arranged in two loose rows on opposites sides of the cleared area around the smoldering fire-pit, each one given some protection from the elements by its own free-standing section of thatch. You had a bit of luck in regards to the food, as some of the crops the people of Bali Ha'i used to tend had survived the departure of humans and near-humans from the island; while most of the wild-growing descendants of former gardens and fields were not ready for harvest, they gave you plenty of material to base conjurations upon. A bit of experimentation followed by intensive spellcasting was enough for you to provide Keoni with a suitable supply for feeding all your guests, and the tables now fairly groan under the results of his cooking.

The poultry was likewise obtained from the "free-range" descendants of the former islanders' chickens, though for the fish, the squid, and the other aquatic delicacies, you had to do some swimming. Ghosts and flowing water don't mix well.

Gained Conjuration Templates (Island Food)
Gained Swimming E (Plus) (Plus)

Your guests sort themselves out and begin cycling through the buffet, or engaging in conversation until there's a place available, as the mood - and their level of hunger - dictates.

You're not really surprised when most of your immediate peers basically swarm the buffet for something to eat. Altria, Sokka, and the younger Hayashi siblings briefly face off over the fish and chicken, before Sokka is distracted by something on the next table-

"Hey, they have seaweed bread! Katara, look!"

-Tatsuki chews, catlike, on a whole cooked fish while filling her plate, and Ayane somehow contrives to be the first person to walk away from the buffet with a full plate and a glass of fruit juice.

The young kunoichi was one of the people you were hoping to talk to, on account of her being one of your guests who's had the least amount of contact with any of the others - though the follow-up to your earlier sparring match is weighing in there as well. Looking around for the others, you see that Lady Takara has been dragged into the conversation between Kahine and Navi, with Lady Akemi hovering politely nearby; Amelia and Beryl are both at the buffet, the former calmly filling her plate around or through the antics of some of the other kids, while the latter seems to be trying to coax her sister into trying the fish.

Cecilia is probably objecting on the grounds of not wanting to eat something with a face attached.

With your other preferred conversational candidates otherwise occupied, you approach Ayane.

"Would you like some conversation over dinner?" you offer.

"I wouldn't mind," the lavender-haired girl replies. Glancing at your empty hands, she adds, "Not going to eat anything yourself?"

"As the host, I figured that I should let my guests go first," you answer.

Both of you promptly look down, as your stomach lodges a protest of this idea.

Ayane moves over to one of the dining tables, which are simple wooden things with long benches on each side - little more than two halves of a single log, sanded down to prevent splinters. She sits on one side,

---

You frown at the ever-unsatisfied beast that dwells in your midsection, and growl a warning to it to stop its nonsense. You'll feed it once everyone else has had a chance to fill their plates, and not before.

The rumbling of your belly ends with what almost sounds like a noise of faint distress.

...meh, probably just your imagination.

"Here."

You look up, and find Ayane holding out some of the food from her plate - specifically, a piece of that seaweed-bread stuff Sokka was so pleased to see, with a thin slice of chicken and some island vegetables on top.

Your stomach doesn't make an audible sound at this offer, but you feel it stirring all the same.

You set yourself down across the table from Ayane, which by default has your back to the bulk of the feast.
A wise move.
Then you frown as the atmosphere changes. For a brief instant, it was like some large predator was lurking behind you, watching your movements without any hostility, just a level of interest barely strong enough to register with your attention focused elsewhere. And then, when you sat down, that feeling suddenly vanished as though it never existed.

You wonder if you should turn around and try to spot the source of that momentary not-quite-menace.
It's likely better that you don't.
Something tells you it might better to let it go...

You give Ayane a chance to eat some of her dinner, before opening up the conversation by asking her what she thinks of the party so far.

Around bites, the kunoichi admits that the island is the most beautiful place she's ever been in person, and is a serious competitor even among pictures of places she's seen.

All about you, Bali Ha'i's aura briefly warms.

On the heels of that admission, Ayane notes that mingling with dozens of effective strangers (if not complete ones), many of whom are powerful and potentially dangerous, takes a bit of the shine out of things. She's not limiting that statement to the monsters and ghosts, either: she's aware of Altria and Ambrose's respective abilities from the World Tournament, and doubtlessly suspects that Arthur, Lucia, and Anna have similar skills; Beryl also counts as a possible danger of which Ayane is aware; and you're not going to rule out that she knows who Balthazar is.

He was invited to Kahlua's birthday, after all, and Ayane IS a ninja. You'd be surprised if her clan didn't get ahold of the guest list at some point.

Still, even with the pressure it brings, a chance to meet and talk to some of the people you've gathered here is not to be missed.

That's all very... professional, you suppose, if not quite what you were expecting to hear.

It's nice to know that Ayane likes Bali Ha'i, though.

You move on to a topic that's been nagging at you since your bout earlier in the afternoon: namely, explosives. What on Earth gave Ayane the idea to fight you by spamming bombs? Did she make all of them herself? And if not, where did she get them? How did she store that many? Those pouches she was carrying earlier didn't seem like they could hold THAT many of the fragile little things, while still keeping them intact, but they didn't register as obviously enchanted, either. Is it a ninja technique? And if so - this part you don't ask, merely wonder - how does it compare to your Hyrulean dimensional pocket?

Ayane grins, and replies that after fighting you and watching you fight at the World Tournament, she spent a lot of time talking with Master Genra about how to fight enemies capable of that kind of high-speed, high-mobility combat. The senior ninja didn't exactly tell her to blow everything up-

"The words he used were, 'battlefield control,'" Ayane says.

-but he did admit that it's hard to beat explosives for sudden, high-velocity, wide-area attacks and general territory denial.

Ayane also admits that she made the bombs herself, and that it took a while.

"They're finicky little things," she mutters, flexing her fingers as if in memory of something. "I can manage making one an hour, if I've got all the materials, but Master Genra only allows me so much free time every day. He also insists that I maintain my own stock for training, and I only get so much material to work with at a time. I used up WEEKS of work in that fight." Giving you a slightly sour look, she adds, "And then you didn't even have the decency to take a single direct hit."

---

While you don't like to take food from one of your guests, it'd be rude to refuse Ayane's generosity, and your stomach would likely make a nuisance of itself anyway.

Thanking her, you graciously accept the proffered half-sandwich, fold it on itself, and take a bite.

...hm. The chicken and vegetables are nothing new to your palate, in and of themselves, but whatever seasoning Keoni used adds elements of flavor you haven't experienced before. The seaweed bread, meanwhile, has a completely unfamiliar texture and a mysterious, mild, not unpleasant taste.

"Mmph," you mumble. "Ish good."

Having just popped a piece of the chicken into her mouth, Ayane replies in kind: "Hn."

You decide that you're going to listen to that little voice of wisdom in the back of your head, and not turn around.
You're welcome.

"Sorry, not sorry," you reply. "Dodging explosives of any kind is just too good a habit to have to NOT cultivate early."

Ayane fakes a glare, but then lets it fall with an admission that you're right.

"I need to work on that myself," she adds, grimacing in embarrassment at the memory of getting splattered by her own weapons.

From there, the conversation somehow gets onto the subject of certain Hyrulean plants. Ayane is surprised when you tell her of Bomb Flowers, but while she displays some interest in the topic, it strikes you as more professional than personal - especially once you describe just how large the seeds are, whether plucked fresh from the stem or after being processed into actual Bombs.

You can see how that might be an issue for a ninja, even with the advantage of supernaturally-expanded storage media. The paint-bombs she was making your life interesting with earlier were very small and could easily be hidden in the hand or a crowded room, they required minimal exertion to throw, and no additional tools were necessary to set them off.

In contrast, Hyrulean Bombs are big, obvious, and have occasionally-finicky fuses. They also probably pack more destructive force per Bomb than an entire pouch of Ayane's ninja explosives. That kind of power is advantageous when you need to shatter a wall, injure a giant monster that's similarly tough, or just clear a room in a hurry, but it's decidedly less helpful when all you're trying to do is distract, disorient, or disable your targets.

But while Bombs go over with more of a whimper rather than a bang, Deku Nuts seem to interest the young kunoichi very much.
The Shiekah are like that, too.
You can't imagine why.

You make a couple of mental notes under the header, "Potential Birthday Presents For Ayane," adding "Deku Nuts" and "improved supply of ninja bomb materials." You also mark them down as possible gifts for Kasumi, though you add a question mark to the latter, pending evidence that she's gotten into serious bomb-making like her friend.

By this point, the first wave of diners have made their way through the buffet and taken seats. You and Ayane are joined by Cordelia, who sits down next to the ninja girl, while most of the other kids are taking seats at other tables with their parents, apparently having decided to make this first dinner - or at least part of it - a family meal.

This spurs you to wave over Beryl and her sister and invite them to join your table. You're the only one sitting here who has at least one legal adult relative here as a chaperone; it might give the four girls something to talk about.

Besides, you wanted to speak with Beryl; if everyone else is taking the first course with their folks, this is a good time to do it.

As you consider what to talk with the teenaged sorceress about, you move on to discussing the Staggered Body Flicker technique you saw Ayane using. The kunoichi is a little cagey in her responses, citing a mix of clan secrets, not being allowed to teach on her own, and finally, not wanting to give up one of the few advantages she still has over you in a fight - even though at this point, it's more of an equalizer than a real edge.

She doesn't completely shut you down, and does drop a hint or two about how to modify a standard Body Flicker into this new form, but she also advises you to work on it with your master's help, rather than independently.

"If you make a mistake with Body Flicker variants, it's going to happen VERY fast," she says. "If you have a master present, you can at least limit the amount of harm you do to yourself."

It's not unreasonable advice.

Gained Staggered Flicker F (Plus) (Plus)

---

With the events of her spell-duel with Amy still fresh in your mind, it's perhaps no surprise that your first question to Beryl is about what's actually involved in that sort of formal challenge. You've never engaged in such a duel personally, and you have no recollection of Ganondorf doing so or standing witness to such a contest, though that may be because you never ran into a similar situation in this lifetime, before your decision to cease accessing the Thief-King's knowledge.

It's not that you're ignorant of what goes into a mage-duel - certain spells of witchcraft aside, most of what Amy did in that match was based on things she learned from you - but your knowledge is limited to the technical and practical elements of the duel itself. The customs surrounding the duel are another matter, and not just because you're on Earth instead of Hyrule.

After all, Briar aside, all of your Hyrulean tutors are dead, and have been for some time. Their information can't help but be a bit of date.

For her part, Beryl is not surprised that you're unfamiliar with magical dueling customs, even with your power.

She begins her explanation by reciting a fact that you've already learned: "Practicing magic doesn't come cheap. If you aren't born into a wealthy family, you need to find your resources another way, and one of the traditional means for that is to sell your services to a rich patron. For millennia, that meant working for nobility, if not royalty, and the more mundane dueling customs practiced in such circles influenced how court wizards and sorcerers resolved their own disputes."

That much tallies with your knowledge of Hyrulean mage-duels.

"Mundane dueling has mostly gone the way of recreational sport," Beryl continues, after eating some of the fish on her plate, "but formal magical duels in the name of honor and status are still practiced, especially among major magical organizations like the Mages' Association. It's partly because some of their most powerful and influential members are old enough to remember the days when honor-duels were prevalent, and enforce their views on everyone else; partly because the Association as a whole was set up along aristocratic lines from the start, and has preserved those customs into the modern era; and partly because, where mundane blades have lost out to guns, modern magic is just as dangerous as it ever was, and needs the extra regulation to avoid every petty argument ending up with your mansion on fire. But the Association is based in Europe, and doesn't have a strong presence in the U.S., much less as far west as California. And you" - she gives you a look - "made it pretty clear in our first meeting that you don't have that kind of background anyway."

You shrug. She's not wrong.

"Neither do we, Sis," Cecilia points out.

"No, but it'll be easier for me to deal with those people if I know how they think."

Beryl spends the next few minutes explaining some of the finer social points of magical dueling to you, using her match with Amy as an example. Given your limited mutual history and some of the people you've invited to this party, she emphasizes the differences between what would be acceptable at the World Tournament, and what would fly in a spell-duel at the Mages' Association.

The fundamental difference is this: where a martial artist wins a duel by defeating his opponent, a mage wins a duel by defeating his opponent's magic. The goal of such a match, in the eyes of the upper-crust magic-users who practice these customs, isn't to pin, knock-out, ring-out, or kill your opponent, but to demonstrate a superior understanding of, control over, and ability to apply magic.

From the sound of things, the bout between Amy and Beryl would have been deemed acceptable by a mage in terms of power and control displayed, but somewhat less so in application and understanding.

Not enough boasting about their spellcraft, apparently.

Gained European History F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Knowledge (Ancient Earth History) E
Gained Knowledge (Mages' Association) E (Plus)

There is one technically-oriented aspect of the duel that you are very curious about, and that's the matter of the astronomical symbols Beryl included in her spellcasting circle.

"Trade secret," she says, casting a sly look across the table at Ayane. "I don't want to give up my personal advantages, either."

Ayane nods her approval.

"What if we made it part of an exchange of techniques or spells?" you counter. "Or I could give you that introduction to my sorcery tutor you were curious about, now that I actually HAVE a tutor to introduce you to."

"If he's anything like Ambrose," Beryl says immediately, "then my answer is not only no, but hell no."

"Sis!" Cecilia gasps. "No swearing!"

The old wizard has continued to be himself, you see. Not that you were expecting anything different, but it's inconvenient.

...more so than usual, you mean.

You can and do assure Beryl that Batreaux is not like Ambrose, but you wonder if that will be enough. Looking around quickly, you find the ex-demon about halfway down the length of the buffet, engaged in an energetic conversation with Akkiko in which he makes broad, sweeping gestures with his hands, even as he fills his plate to the brink of overflowing.

---

In the end, it's the fact that Batreaux is in the middle of a conversation and getting his meal that decides you against calling him over just now. Instead, you point your sorcery tutor out to Beryl and offer to arrange a meeting between the two of them later, so she can take his measure.

Beryl studies the ex-demon closely for a moment, intently enough that you might think she was using Divination Magic to assess him, if your own senses weren't so keen and failing to pick up any such movement of mana on her part.

You can't be certain what it is that leads Beryl to finally give a slow nod of agreement to the proposal, but the fact that Batreaux has the faint yet still apparent presence of a celestial hanging about him can't have hurt any.

Him not being as colorfully dressed Ambrose may have also been a factor.

Maybe.

With Beryl having consented to meet with Batreaux at a later time, you move the conversation along. Originally, you were going to ask about some of the more interesting technical skills you've seen the older girl demonstrate - particularly regarding the different sources of magical power you've seen her draw upon - but since she IS going to talk with your tutor of DARKEST SORCERY in the not-too-distant future, you decide to hold off until then. Batreaux will doubtlessly have his own questions and input on the subject, so why waste Beryl's time by going over the topic twice?

Besides, this isn't really the time for an in-depth discussion of magical theory. Dinner has just gotten started, and you've got host duties to attend to, as well as a couple more guests to speak with directly. Plus whatever else comes up that you haven't planned for.

Speaking of unplanned events, when you conclude your conversation with Beryl and excuse yourself from that table with a mention of those host-ly responsibilities, you begin making your way over to the Reinhardts. It's not a direct path, by any means: several dozen dinner guests sit or stand between your starting point and the table Amelia and her mother have claimed for their own; and as you navigate the crowd, you get drawn into a number of brief conversations.

These are a mix of compliments on the food - which you accept graciously, giving all due credit to Shaman Keoni and the other former islanders for their advice and efforts - invitations to join them for a time - which you turn down as politely as you can - and Zelda's energetic proclamation that, "This is the best party EVER!"

She says this with five of Briar's smaller siblings sitting in her hair and on her shoulders. They giggle and cheer along with her announcement.

Next to her, a similarly-adorned Moblin gives you a beleaguered look that is as close to a cry for help as you've ever witnessed from him.

The Reinhardts aren't sitting entirely by themselves. In addition to the expected crowd of little fairies - who've gathered in their twos and threes and half-dozens around most of the girls - a few of Navi's older children have taken up seats on the opposite side of the table from the vampiric mother-daughter pair. There are four of them in total, ranging from toddler-sized to as big as Amelia, and if not for the folded-back wings hanging from their shoulders, you could almost take them for a bunch of ordinary kids.

...okay, ordinary Hylian kids. From the Lost Woods, to account for the Fae essence you can feel about them without even having to exert your senses.

Gained Fairy Sense D (Plus)

...so, not really ordinary at all.

Amelia is listening to one of the smallest fairies tell a story of some kind as you approach, while her mother converses with the oldest-looking - though still child-like - of Navi's kids. Something to do with Faerie politics, by the sound of it.

Given what happened earlier, you're not surprised.

---

You reach down to give Moblin a well-earned pat on the back. This not-so-inadvertently dislodges a number of the fairies, who aren't shy about voicing their thoughts in the matter:

"Watch out for the big giant hand!"

"Fly for your lives, augh!"

"Hey, I'm riding here!"

And so on.

Ignoring the comments from the peanut gallery, you say to Moblin, "Good boy. You feel up for a walk?"

If you didn't already know from past uses of the Spell to Speak With Animals that Moblin considers you his pack leader, the look on his face right now would be proof enough you'd just earned his undying loyalty.

Gained King of Beasts C (C (Plus) dogs, C (Plus) (Plus) Moblin)

The fairies, for their part, voice a collective, "Awww!" of complaint, but when Moblin stands up and gives himself a shake, most of them take the subtle hint to buzz off and find someone else to entertain themselves with for a while.

"Wheeee!"

MOST of them. One brave mite clings stubbornly to the fur between your dog's shoulders, and not only manages not to get flung into the air, but actually seems to enjoy the experience.

As Moblin follows you towards the Reinhardt's table, you glance down at the glowing person riding on his back, cheering in excitement.

Your approach is noticed, and leads into a brief round of secondary introductions - mostly on the part of the fairies, who give their names (from most mature to least) as Moonbeam, Juniper, Lark, and Pinwhistle.

In the spirit of things, Mrs. Reinhardt reveals her given name to be Annette, you introduce Moblin, and then the little fairies get in on it, naming themselves as Glimmer, Glitter, and Morning Glory. They follow this up by flying together in a swirling cloud and sending their personal auras into a rainbow shimmer, making it more or less impossible to tell which of them is which by purely visual means.

You promptly identify all three of them by reading their auras. It might not have worked if there'd been more of them flying around, or if they'd been more conservative with their energies, but with just three fairies who have all turned up their output in order to put on a show, you have no trouble.

They stare at you in amazement, and then turn to Briar.

"Oh, he's good," Glimmer says.

"You got a SMART one, Big Sis," Glitter agrees.

Briar puffs up. "Of course."

"Maybe a little too smart," Morning Glory says then. When her sisters look at her, she adds, "Well, he obviously hasn't needed Briar's help that much, if she's put on so much weight!"

"Why you little-!"

"Catch me if you can, Big Briar!"

And those four are off, Briar trying to strangle Morning Glory, and Glimmer and Glitter quickly getting in on the fun.

Ignoring the antics of the smallest Fae at the table, you ask Amelia what she's been up to since Kahlua's party that didn't make it into her letters, offering a few stories of your own in return.

As it happens, you already knew from the letters that, where the Shuzen girls are home-schooled by a series of tutors, Amelia instead attends a private school - one whose student body consists mainly of humans. Although Amelia has a physical edge over her classmates, they all come from well-off families and enjoy the benefits that go with that sort of upbringing, so she's got actual competition on the academic and social side of things. It helps that the school maintains strict standards, and is not shy about suspending or expelling students who don't make the grade.

On the face of it, one might take this as evidence that Amelia's "adventures" over the past year would have been largely a matter of fighting for the top grade, or waging social war against a schoolyard rival - and to be sure, there was some of that in her letters, and which she goes into more detail about now.

Then, after a questioning glance at her mother and a deep breath to gather her resolve, Amelia mentions the field trip that took place on the day of Dracula's resurrection.

Where you were only involved on the edges of that affair, Amelia and her classmates had the truly rotten luck to be visiting Notre Dame when part of Castle Dracula overlaid it, and hostile monsters started spawning all over the place.

On the positive side, Amelia made some new friends that day, and got to live the dream of students all over the world by beating the crap out of her evil history teacher, after he revealed himself as one of Dracula's mortal cultists. Evidently, he'd been the one who came up with the idea for the field trip to be held that day and sold it to the principal and the school board, all so that he could sacrifice his students and co-workers to his master to strengthen the Curse's hold on Paris.

The down side, and the reason why Amelia didn't write to you about this, is that a lot of people got hurt, and she lost some friends - and not because they died or were injured in spite of her best efforts, or at least, not only because of that.

Amelia showing herself to be able and willing to kill at the drop of a hat - or a head - spooked a lot of people she'd been on good terms with, and some of those genuinely close to her besides. That she had to exert her full strength during the fighting, and thus revealed her non-human heritage, did nothing to help matters.

Plus, as you once saw with Kahlua, young vampires don't always have the best self-control when exposed to fresh, flowing blood. And there was a lot more blood shed in Paris than there was when that goblin skeleton cut you.

This is... not the sort of thing you were expecting to hear about.

Then again, Amelia's grandfather is a Tepes. You probably should have expected her to have gotten caught up in the events of the eclipse somehow.

---

You think your dog can handle one fairy that's about a thousandth of his size, even if she does have magic on her side.

"Yeee-haaa!"

Besides, she's clearly having the time of her life right now. It would take a colder heart than yours to interrupt that.

Gained King of Fairies D (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)

You consider Amelia's words, picturing the event she described - however briefly it may have been in places - and try to come up with a response that won't sound patronizing or dishonest.

Finally, you have to shake your head.

"I honestly haven't experienced anything quite like that, myself," you admit. "The only times I've ever been in fights that serious, everybody else present already had at least some idea of what I am and what I could do. My friends" - you wave one hand at the crowd - "are either in the Moonlit World up to their necks, or else got clued in under controlled circumstances, and took the revelation really well." You pause, and add, "Although I think I came close to breaking Larry's brain, when I turned myself into a monkey to prove that I had magic."

Amelia does a double-take at that. Some of the fairies snicker.

You just nod. "That said, I have seen deadly combat, I have had to defend or back up my friends in such circumstances a few times, and while I wasn't directly involved in the fighting during the eclipse, I got a second-row seat to some of the fighting and the aftermath. So while it's fair to say that I don't, and can't, know exactly how you must have felt in Paris, I think I can understand at least a little of it. If I try to put myself in your shoes... well, no two ways about it: what happened sucks; and it sucks all the more that some of your friends rejected you for saving their lives and just being different."

Amelia's eyes grow a little more shadowed at that.

"But that doesn't take away from the fact that you DID save their lives, and probably their souls besides," you press on. "If they're the kind of people worth having as friends, they'll eventually get that and come around. And if they don't, it doesn't change that you did a good thing."

"And if they can't see or accept that much," Briar adds, "then good riddance."

"Yeah!" her three smaller siblings chorus.

Amelia huffs and looks away. "Now you sound like my grandfather."

"Wise and insightful?" you venture.

"Oooolllld," Amelia drawls, turning back to you with a wicked smirk.

Her mother starts laughing softly at this.

If there's a bit of a forced element to Amelia's expression or her mother's reaction, well, you ARE still very much an unknown to the two of them, especially Mrs. Reinhardt, who you'd only seen once at a distance before today.

Taking the not-too-subtle hint that Amelia has talked as much about the events in Paris as she's comfortable with, at least for the time being, you steer the conversation back on your original track of interest.

"Speaking of things I have in common with your grandfather," you say, "I had an idea before today that he was a swordsman, but I hadn't realized that applied to you, as well. Is that a family tradition, or just a personal interest that some of you happen to share?"

It turns out to be a bit of both, actually. Where the Shuzens have cultivated the skill of unarmed combat backed by their vampiric power, the Tepes side of Amelia's family tree favor the blade. You might have expected that, being vampires, they wouldn't find a sword quite as advantageous to wield as a human might. As strong as they are, vampires are apt to find mundane weapons more of a hindrance than a help in combat; unless it's a truly well-made blade indeed, a vampire swordsman would have to hold back a portion of his strength, lest he damage his own weapon beyond use with a single blow. Likewise, the benefits of adding a cutting edge or a thrusting point to one's arsenal don't mean as much to beings that can reinforce their hands to such a degree that a "knife hand" blow would shame any ordinary blade.

But the increased reach offered by a good, solid weapon is something that even a vampire might value, especially if he or she is the sort that doesn't care to dirty their hands against common foes, or favors a more "civilized" approach to combat than bare-handed brawling.

You catch a smug glance being sent in the direction of the Shuzens' collective auras at this point, and feel a slight upwelling of annoyance-tinged youki from thereabouts in response. Not enough to be the whole family, but too much for just one vampire to be the source.

There's another benefit to using swords as well, and that is how properly-treated steel can act as a channel and focus for youki, providing an entire new arsenal of potential techniques that would otherwise be exceptionally difficult or downright impossible to perform with fists and feet alone.

Amelia doesn't go into too much detail, having only mastered what she describes as "basic" skills herself: reinforcing a blade with youki to ensure it doesn't shatter; coating it with a layer of youki to add more damage to a strike, and make it hurt supernatural beings that would normally resist or ignore blows from mundane steel; and one or two other tricks that she opts to keep to herself. She does describe skills she's seen or heard of other vampire swordsmen using, such as draining blood or even pure life-force from those wounded by the blade, slashing the air to create flying blades of energy, or imbuing wounds with corrosive energy.

You muse that you definitely need to introduce Amelia to Altria.

As the chat about swords winds down, you look around for Lady Takara, who you were planning on speaking with. You find her and Lady Akemi sitting at a table with Elder Mitsuki and Uncle, which is perhaps two and a half foxes more than you'd like to have listening in on your conversation with the Nine-Tails.

...not that ANY of the foxes present were going to be out of earshot, you must admit.

As you glance around the rest of the dinner party, you find that the last of your guests have either finished getting their first course, or are in the middle of doing so. You could go and grab something to properly sate the beast in your belly.

---

Whether it's due to the troubling prospect of talking to three elder kitsune and the adopted daughter of one, or because your stomach compels you, you decide to focus on getting dinner for now, and talk to Lady Takara later.

Heading over to the buffet and fetching a plate and utensils, you take a minute to consider the spread before you. Over the days of preparing for the party, you had the opportunity to sample some of Keoni's cooking, and you don't hesitate to fill your plate with your favorites. Chicken, fish, and rice account for the majority, although in deference to your mother's presence and watchful eye, you include enough of the vegetables to pass muster.

Moblin ignores most of the food, but eyes the chicken with a hopeful expression.

Having made your bow to the maternal tyranny of healthy eating, you fill out the remainder of your plate with samples from a few dishes that you haven't tried before, but just look good.

More tempting offerings remain, but that's fine; there's always the next serving.

Pausing to fill a glass with tropical fruit juice, you turn your attention to finding a seat.

After how your chat with Amelia ended up focusing on swords, it's understandable that your attention would be drawn to Altria, but one look at the table where she's sitting fills your mind with doubt. It's not the presence of her parents and older sister that dissuades you, nor does the prospect of Ambrose's company turn you away.

The problem is all the fairies.

You saw Navi talking with Lady Takara earlier, but now she's taken a seat next to Ambrose, and appears to be bending the wizard's ear while he works his way through his meal. Six human-sized people is just about enough to fill one of these tables, and what space remains has been claimed by a mob of Briar's smaller siblings, who are all but swarming Altria and her sister.

Seriously, there must be something like twenty little fairies sitting on or hovering around Altria, who is resolutely ignoring them to focus on her meal. Anna has perhaps half that number of little dinner companions crowding her, but that's still two or three times as many as any of the other girls.

Taking into account what you know of Altria's nature, you expect it's only their mother's presence that's keeping the tiny sprites from doing anything more than giggle and glow.

Casting about for alternative seating arrangements, you briefly glance back at the table where Cordelia, Ayane, Beryl, and Cecilia are still sitting together. That's room enough and few enough fairies not to be a concern, but sitting there again might send an unintentional signal to some of your other guests.

Another option that comes to mind is to join Larry, who you spot sitting with his grandmother, Lu-sensei, and the Madisons. Amy only has a couple of fairies paying her attention, so there's sufficient space for one more human-sized guest at the table.

This seems preferable to you, and so you head their way.

---

Once upon a time, Moblin's puppy dog eyes were as effective as any other dog's, and their use would have encouraged you to give in and let him have a tasty treat.

That time was when Moblin was a puppy, and it's long since passed, leaving only a big ugly dog putting on a somewhat pathetic expression to try and mooch a snack, when he knows quite well he shouldn't do this sort of thing.

"Sorry, boy," you say. "No food from the table."

Moblin whines in disappointment, but stops begging.

"Mind if I join you for a bit?" you ask, as you near the table.

"Sure, go ahead," Larry answers, as he moves himself and his plate to give you a little more space on the bench and table.

Nodding your thanks, you sit down and start eating, opting to get the vegetables out of the way first so that you can properly savor the good parts. Moblin walks around to the other side of the table and sprawls out on the sand, resting his head on the bench between Amy and Catherine and giving them soulful looks that earn him a scratch behind the ear.

"So," you say, swallowing a mouthful of leafy greens, "how has everyone been enjoying the food so far?"

"It's been wonderful," Catherine Madison says. "It reminds me of when Amy's father and I went to Hawaii for our honeymoon."

"The fellow you have doing the cooking may be dead, but he knows his stuff," Lily Blaisdell adds, nodding towards Shaman Keoni, who's followed your lead and waited until all the guests were served before taking a plate for himself.

"Speaking of whom," Larry says, looking from the spectral shaman to the many other post-mortal individuals attending the dinner as guests or hired help, "how are all of these ghosts eating anything? Is it magic food, or what?"

"Eh, sort of." You explain about the Spell of Ghost Food you inadvertently created.

Catherine Madison seems impressed by your work, and also thoughtful. She mentions how certain rites she knows of call for offerings to the spirits of the departed, typically more costly and less pleasant than a well-cooked meal. In deference to the fact that you're all eating, she doesn't go into detail, but you know enough of Necromantic Magic to understand that animal sacrifice and other blood offerings are the more common forms such things can take. Catherine's never had to use spells like that, but she can see how it would be much more practical than having to buy a whole goat or something, should the need arise.

You consider the unspoken question. You hadn't previously included the Spell of Ghost Food in your ongoing lessons with Amy, as you didn't think she was ready to perform third-circle magic, but her successful casting of the Spell of the Lightning Bolt against Beryl earlier this afternoon has proven you wrong there. As such, there's really no reason NOT to add it to the lesson plan.

You do, however, caution Mrs. Madison that you devised this spell as an act of sorcery, rather than according to the principles of witchcraft. Amy can definitely learn it as-is, but you're not so sure it will translate into a format her mother could make use of without considerable additional effort.

Catherine says that's just fine. "It'll give me something to work on, when I need a break from cleansing the house."

"How IS that going, anyway?" you venture.

Mrs. Madison makes a face. "Not as well as I would like," she admits. "I can clear out the day-to-day buildup of corruption easily enough, but keeping it out is proving to be an issue. And as for some of the more serious build-ups... you mentioned having to purify your uncle's taxidermy collection?"

Briar groans. "Please tell me you don't have a bunch of evil stuffed animals."

"...evil what, now?" one of her siblings asks.

As it happens, no, Mrs. Madison doesn't have any stuffed animals, evil or otherwise. But she does have some magical reagents and ritual implements made from animal materials, whose particular nature and uses made them something of magnets for the Hellmouth's taint. Now that she's fully aware of just how insidious the demonic energies infesting Sunnydale really are, she's been trying to isolate and cleanse those items, but the results of her efforts have been mixed.

You could lend a hand with that. Granted, after what happened last time you took on Hellmouth contamination, you'll need to find a new location to do the work - preferably not one near Sunnydale, just in case there's a repeat - but it shouldn't take more than a few hours all told.

That said, if you do take on the job, there's the question of payment. Do you want to work pro bono, for the sake of keeping a friend and her family clear of the touch of chaos and evil? Or would you rather charge for your semi-professional services?

And if you don't feel you have the time to handle this job, in addition to all your other outstanding tasks, there's always the option of outsourcing. You were about to suggest putting Catherine in touch with Ambrose on the matter of permanently purifying and warding her home; perhaps you could add a rider regarding cleaning up a few important possessions as well?

---

For a different person, or another service, you'd charge something for your services, even if it was just a vaguely-defined favor, to be repaid somewhere down the road. It's just good sense.

People tend to be cautious when they get something for what appears to be nothing, always looking for the angle, the hidden cost, or the incurred obligation, and such wariness only intensifies where magic and all of its metaphysical mysteries are involved. Ordinary people are often nervous around magic because they don't understand it, while magic-users fear such "free lunches" because they DO understand the complex balancing of forces and mystical obligations such things can incur.

Either way, attaching a price tag to your services provides a degree of reassurance to the client.

For the ordinary man, the monetary, barter, or favor-in-kind exchange puts him on familiar ground, and so takes the edge off his fear of the unknown. It doesn't quite reduce the entire transaction to the level of a trip to the market or something like that, but it does bring the exchange closer to that level of open, honest, and mundane dealing than some nerve-wracking trade in the shadows.

For the fellow practitioner, knowing the cost of a magical service ahead of time provides an idea of the scale of the forces involved in producing or providing it, and accordingly, what sort of debts might be incurred by accepting it. A fair price, paid in full, eliminates the client's mystical obligation to the service provider and their patrons as surely as it does the mundane. Unfair prices, whether too high or too low, warn of unseen costs, even if such come down to nothing more than the broker being greedy, soft-hearted, and/or an idiot.

In this particular case, however, you can and do waive any charges for your help, because you'll be benefiting from this deal as much as the Madisons will.

You don't want to see your friend and first student or her mother go crazy and evil, any more than they want to BE crazy and evil.

Plus, there's the matter of the Gratitude Crystallizer...

After checking with Catherine about her plans for the near future and just how urgent she feels it is to cleanse or dispose of her contaminated possessions, you consult your own schedule - and Briar - and set aside some time next Saturday to take care of the matter. It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours, and much of that will be spent traveling out of and back into Sunnydale.

With that settled, you swing the conversation back around to the matter of warding the Madison home, and ask Catherine if she'd like you to introduce her to the man who created the wards on your house, so that she can go over the matter with him and get further assistance, or at least an idea of what it would cost her.

She accepts that offer without hesitation.

Ambrose may be five kinds of frustrating, but he does REALLY good work.

Since you're on the subject of magic, you turn next to Amy's performance in her match with Beryl. You state open that you were surprised and impressed by your first student's ability to cast third-circle spells, and inquire when and how she managed to reach that particular threshold of magical ability. Your lessons alone couldn't have been responsible, which leads you to believe that it was her mother's lessons in witchcraft that made the difference.

As it happens, you're partly right. Amy does credit her lessons with Catherine for the knowledge she needed to make the jump to the third tier of magical ability, but she also adds that she'd never successfully cast the Spell of the Lightning Bolt before. In fact, she hadn't attempted to cast it at all before facing Beryl. Studied it, yes, but not put into practice.

"I wasn't going to start throwing lightning around in the house, or out in public," she says bluntly. "And your Mirror Hideaway is too small for magic like that."

You cannot help but agree with that statement on all counts. It's a toss-up as to whether blowing up your own house or casting magic too powerful for you to suppress in the open on the Hellmouth would be the dumber idea. Likewise, your extra-dimensional spellcasting chamber is only fifteen feet to a side; fireballs, lightning bolts, and other mid-level battle magics just fill up too much of that limited space for them to be practiced in there with anything resembling safety.

Not to mention that you're on the Plane of Mirrors. Certain spells would be all too likely to reflect off the walls...

Aside from her supplementary training in witchcraft, Amy claims that it was the use of the dueling circle that gave her the extra focus and confidence to pull off an untested spell. That checks out as well; such arrays don't make a caster any more powerful than they already are, but they can help one to control their existing power more precisely than most might otherwise find practical.

On a final note, Amy admits that she just really wanted to give Beryl a zap - and that, too, makes perfect sense for a young sorceress. Sorcerers are conduits for power, whether it's their own or their patrons', and every little shift in the nature of that conduit has the potential to affect how the magic flowing through them expresses itself. Emotion-based power surges are pretty common, particularly when tempers are running high.

You've experienced a few incidents like that yourself. It's only natural that Amy would eventually do the same.

By the end of your conversation with the Madisons, you've cleaned your plate. The food was very good, but you could easily put away a second course, so to speak. On the other hand, you do still have some topics you'd like to discuss with Lu-sensei, Larry, and Lily; perhaps you ought to finish that first, and worry about food later?

A quick look around shows that Lady Takara is rising from her seat, plate in hand for a second run at the buffet table. If you wanted to talk to her without too much obvious foxy eavesdropping, this could be your chance to get in a quick question or two, but if you get into an extended conversation with her, you might end up being drawn back to the table of kitsune elders (and adoptees).

---

You wanted to speak with the nine-tailed fox more than almost anyone else at this dinner, so now that an opportunity to do so has presented itself, why would you pass it up?

Since you've reached a natural break point in your chat with the Madisons, and have both an empty plate and an as-yet unsatisfied stomach to address, you excuse yourself and head for the buffet.

"Alex," Lady Takara greets you as you approach. While she beat you to the table by a few strides, she's taking her time making her selections from the buffet. You're a little surprised when, instead of going for the fish or the chicken, her first choice is to take up the carved spoon leaning against the fruit bowl and scoop out an assortment of berries.

Do normal foxes eat fruit, or is that a youkai kitsune thing? Might have to look that up.

"Lady Takara," you respond. "I hope the party has agreed with you so far."

"It has, so far," comes the answer. "And I think you'll be happy to know, I have not had to tease any of the other guests by making vaguely threatening remarks since that scene on the beach."

You frown slightly at that. On the face of it, yes, it's good news, but you can't help but wonder...

"Is that because you genuinely haven't felt like doing it," Briar questions, "or because everybody else has heard about what happened with the Hayashi girls by now, and is walking lightly around you?"

...well, that.

Takara grins. "That would be telling."

Naturally.

Shaking your head, you grab servings from a few of those dishes you felt like trying earlier.

"While we're on the topic of... personal entertainments," you say after a moment, "do you mind if I ask you what, in your opinion, was the funniest illusion you ever created?"

"I don't mind at all, dear."

There is a pause, during which none of the three of you say anything.
*Snicker.*
Then you sigh, as the punchline hits you. "I should have worded that differently, shouldn't I?"
Really? Just... really?
"I don't know about that," Lady Takara replies easily. "I found it perfectly amusing as-is."

Briar laughs.

"I'm sure you did," you say dryly. "Right. Well, then, take two: since you don't mind my asking, what was the funniest illusion you ever created?"

Takara gives a thoughtful hum and taps her lower lip as she considers your rephrased question. The affectation doesn't strike you as entirely theatrical, and you can imagine why; after a thousand years of life, the sheer amount of material Lady Takara has to sort through must be incredible.

"There was the incident with the dragon," she muses out loud, "but in all honestly, that one stopped being funny when the REAL dragon woke up. The story about my third consort is quite amusing, but I don't think 'funny' is the correct word for it, and you're too young to hear it anyway." Takara ponders a minute longer, and then asks, almost offhandedly, "Why the interest in FUNNY illusions, specifically?"

---

"I find being funny on demand hard," you reply.

Lady Takara blinks. "Eh?"

You try to explain yourself.

"In my modest experience, I've found that half the power of Illusion Magic, and maybe the more important half, comes from how well you play to the expectations of your audience. Like, it would be one thing for me to create the image of an angry dragon right here and now; people would freak out, but everyone would be wondering where the dragon came from, and how it got into the middle of the crowd without being noticed. On the other hand, if I created the illusion of a big jungle cat moving around nearby, and then brought it out from the treeline, people would be more likely to just accept what they were seeing."

The nine-tailed kitsune smiles, clearly far more amused by the notion that YOU are giving HER a talk about illusions than by your chosen examples, but she gestures for you to go on.

"Tying into that," you continue, "it's easy enough to create images that provoke basic emotional responses. Fear, safety, awe, and anger are all universal enough that standard temples will work on most intelligent beings. Show the image of a superior predator, and most beings will be scared; show them a rival or an enemy, and they'll get angry; that kind of thing. Being funny, though... that's kind of hit-or-miss, even between members of the same species and culture."

"And here you are, surrounded by members of species and cultures from around the world," she observes rhetorically.

"Yeah. I've used my magic to play a few jokes on or for mixed audiences in the past, but they haven't always gone over quite as well as I was hoping for them to."

"Your Halloween act seemed to do just fine with the other kids," Takara points out.

"Ah, but how many of them actually got the character reference, and how many of them thought I was just crazy in an entertaining way?"

Takara hesitates, before saying, "Considering that I didn't recognize the name 'Doom' myself, I can't say you don't have a point."

This topic of conversation leads to you doing that which you were initially reluctant to: namely, sitting with the three elder kitsune and Lady Akemi while you eat your second buffet course. As you dine, you listen to tales of the funniest illusions each of the others perpetrated in the past.

And yes, that includes Lady Akemi, who expresses a particular fondness for the time she made her father-in-law's most unpleasant retainer look like an ape for an entire day. The punchline is that he didn't even notice the apparent transformation, and none of the servants or lower-ranking residents of the castle (which was most of them) dared to speak of it. Only when the daimyo himself got over the shock enough to ask which of his men had dressed an animal up as one of his advisors, and where they'd found an ape so talented with an ink-brush, was the ruse revealed.

The actual kitsune nod their heads at this, acknowledging Akemi's work - Takara recalls the man in question, and how he went from being ever so politely unfriendly to her on her visits to turning pale and fleeing the very sight of her - before offering their own tales.

Elder Mitsuki states her favorite illusion, humorous or otherwise, was the time she swapped appearances with an annoying self-proclaimed romantic rival, and left the other vixen to deal with a highly persistent suitor Mitsuki had absolutely no interest in.

"They've been almost deliriously happily married ever since," the seven-tailed Hayashi states, "and they've left ME the heck alone."

"Much to her poor mother's frustration," Uncle Hayashi sighs.

For his part, the male elder's favorite funny illusion is a relatively recent one, which involved filling an entire neighborhood with "real life" Looney Tunes for a couple of hours.

"That was YOU?!" Mitsuki and Takara exclaim in unison, but in entirely different tones. The former is obviously angry, but the latter sounds delighted and intrigued.

As those two trade glances, a frowning Akemi turns to you and asks, "What is a Looney Tune?"

That's a whole OTHER discussion.

As for Lady Takara, she's finally settled on her favorite use of Illusion Magic for humorous purposes being the time she convinced a foolish samurai that he was wielding a magic sword.

"This was right after I'd grown my third tail out," Takara explains, with a wave at one of her fluffy appendages. "I'd intended to fill the insulting idiot's head with images only he could see, and then watch him get into trouble, but because I was still getting used to my increased power, I accidentally overloaded the illusion I wove around him. Instead of simply feeding his delusions, the spell did its best to manifest them in reality." She shakes her head. "As you said earlier, Alex, playing to expectations is important for illusionists, and when a man has complete and utter surety that his sword strikes with the speed and force of a thunderbolt, AND has an overpowered illusion backing that up..."

"Shenanigans ensue?" Briar ventures.

"To say the least. I spent six months following that lunatic around, keeping the illusion going and watching him get into one ridiculous incident after another, and in that time, he went from being a ronin in all but name to winning the hand of a high-ranking samurai's daughter. If he hadn't broken his sword defeating that oni, he might have kept going; as it is, the Legend of the Blue Thunder still managed to make it into some of the history books."

You're not sure if these tales will make you any better at spontaneous comedy than you already were, but at the very least, you picked up a few useful hints for Illusion Magic from listening to them.

---

"They're a collection of funny stories, told through a visual medium," you say, punctuating the statement with a nod in the direction of the only other male at the table. "I think Uncle could give you a more complete explanation, though; the original Looney Tunes were before my time."

Also, you're curious to hear how a Japanese monster around four times as old as the United States first became aware of an American animated series.

Uncle proceeds to explain how a visit to an American army base a few decades ago gave him a new appreciation for foreign comedy, modern media, and rabbits.

"Not that I was ever unfond of rabbits," he adds with a broad wink.

For some reason, Elder Mitsuki smacks him across the back of the head for that one. You're not sure why; as far as you're aware, foxes hunting rabbits is perfectly normal behavior all over the world.

Gained Japanese History F (Plus) (Plus)

Half an hour has passed before you judge that most of your guests - with obvious exceptions such as Altria, Sokka, and Bando - have eaten their fill of Shaman Keoni's excellent island cuisine, and that it is time for you to move on to the next of the evening's planned events.

It might be a little quick for things to be proceeding, but there's a non-zero chance that the combination of jet lag and food coma is going to start knocking out some of your guests if you delay much longer, especially among the American contingent. Though the sun has yet to set here on Bali Ha'i, it's still well on its way to the horizon, and you'd guess that it's somewhere around eleven o'clock back in California - and closer to two in the morning on the East Coast.

Passing your thrice-emptied plate off to one of the Unseen Servants you placed under Keoni's command for the duration of the party, you wait until the construct and its peers have collected everyone's finished meals-

There are brief protests from various quarters, some verbal, others wordlessly growled, and not all of them coming from Altria and Sokka.

-before resuming your spot on the stage.

"Now that we're all fed," you begin, before casting a glance at certain plate-retaining individuals and adding, "Most of us, anyway."

Sokka waves you off.

"I'd like to say a few words..."

You once again thank everyone for accepting the invitation to your ninth birthday, and then go on to explain how you regretted that you were not able to offer the same courtesy for everyone around your age over the course of the previous year, due to a mix of conflicting schedules, inconvenient time zones, and other factors - like not having met some of them yet, or simply not knowing them well enough for it to be allowed. You also apologized ahead of time for the likelihood that many of those issues would remain in effect for the coming year.

Then you explained your decision to work around that problem, by handing out gifts to your guests at your party. Not just as late - or early - birthday presents, but also as tokens of your gratitude for their friendship, their assistance in your initial entry and subsequent actions within the Moonlit World, and of course, their remarkable patience with your antics.

"Even if that patience was occasionally... tested," you add with particular glances at Ambrose and Akkiko.

The wizard just gives you a sour look, while the oni-blooded woman raises a bowl of sake in mock salute.

You finish by "borrowing" Keoni's phantom staff and pulling your gift-wrapped reverse birthday presents from your dimensional pocket one at a time, handing them off to the Unseen Servants for delivery to their intended recipients. You explain that all the items are of your own making, are warded against the possibility of casual detection, and should last indefinitely, so long as they aren't damaged. Where needed, they also include a brief description of their abilities, instructions on how to activate, deactivate, and use them, and recommended methods of maintenance.

The reactions are... interesting.

Delivered Amulet of Animal Speech to Kagome

Kagome studies her new amulet for a moment, visibly charmed by the cutesy cat's head shape you fashioned it in as a nod to the specific animal she wanted to speak to; it's when she reads the accompanying user's manual and finds out what it does that she punches the air with a cry of delight.

Delivered Amulet of Magic Fangs to Tatsuki

Tatsuki's reaction to the collection of polished carnivorous teeth on a cord involves less girlish glee and more gender-neutral appreciation for something that looks cool and fierce. Once she's read the instructions, her own sharper-than-human teeth flash in a grin; she slips the amulet on without hesitation, gets up from her seat, and starts punching the air to get a feel for how the item affects her unarmed fighting skill.

Delivered Amulet of Shadow-Stepping to Emiko

"Eeeeeeee-!"

Delivered Baconator Fork to Sokka

Sokka frowns in confusion at his present; you see his mouth form the words, "A fork...?" as he turns to the user's manual and begins to read.

Slowly, realization dawns, followed by suspicion, rejection, and the faintest trace of hope. Sokka stabs the fork at his not-yet-empty plate, spearing some of the greens that have mysteriously lingered until the end of the meal, and taking a tentative bite.

The Water Tribe boy freezes in mid-chew, eyes going wide with surprise. He withdraws the enchanted fork from his mouth and stares at its shining tines with a look of purest awe, verging on tears of joy.

Delivered Dragon's Breath Gauntlet to Altria

Altria and her family seem impressed by the craftsmanship of the Gauntlet, if the way they each take turns to pore over it is any indication. After reading the description of its intended purpose, Altria frowns thoughtfully and hands the armored glove and its instructions over to Ambrose for analysis.

The wizard reads, examines, and subsequently facepalms.

Delivered Gi of Resistance to Ichigo

Ichigo shoots you a long-suffering glare when he finishes reading the notes on his new Gi, but he follows that up with a sigh, a nod of admission that he COULD use the extra defense against bruising, and a final signal of gratitude.

Delivered Glasses of Magic Detection to Moka

Moka flips the slender-framed eyewear open, slides it on, and then asks her family how she looks.

Delivered Replenishing Quiver to Ichirou

The youngest of the Hakuba priests is visibly surprised that he's getting anything, being a good decade and more older than any of the other recipients. His confusion passes swiftly when he unwraps the package and realizes just what you've given him, at which point he can only chuckle and start explaining the nature of the gift to the ladies of the family.

Delivered Sewing Kit of Mending to Katara

Katara is visibly pleased from the moment she opens her gift. This only increases when she reads what the enchanted needles, thread, and other items will allow her to do.

Delivered Warrior-Princess Bracers to Kahlua

As for Kahlua, she doesn't hesitate to slip her new gear onto her forearms and show them off to her sisters. You took care with the design so that, despite being made of leather, steel, and non-precious stones, the Bracers could almost pass for jewelry: the leather is very fine, magically treated for a superior sheen; the highly-polished steel forms almost delicate patterns; and the pale red stones that are the center of each piece, while small, carry a faint inner glow from the magic they anchor.

That same light is reflected in a brief flash as Akua - at her oldest younger sister's invitation - takes a swing at Kahlua, triggering the defensive forcefield.

Kahlua's smile is even brighter.

Everyone who received a gift seems very pleased with it, but there are some not-unexpected looks of envy and disappointment from the kids who didn't get anything, as well as parental reactions ranging from "Huh, that's nice" to "He did what!?"

Akkiko probably puts it best when she shakes her head, fills her cup from that handy gourd, and then empties it in a single swift drink.

"And now," you say, "I'd like to hand the stage off to Ekewaka and his fellow singers, who've agreed to provide us with a traditional Bali Ha'ian musical performance."

As the ghostly chorus takes the stage, you step down.

---

As Ekewaka and his fellows begin to sing, you head towards the Kurosaki table. Out of everyone that you handed gifts out to, Ichigo came closest to being disappointed with his, and you think that perhaps you ought to follow up on that.

"Hey, Alex," Ichigo greets you quietly as you approach. "What's up?"

"I thought you might want an explanation for why I went with a magical karate outfit," you offer.

"I wouldn't mind one," the other boy admits. "I mean, don't get me wrong; I appreciate the gift. It's just... well, you know."

Yeah. However practical or well-made they may be, clothes do not usually score highly on the list of Presents I'd Most Like To Receive among guys your age. And compared to some of the other stuff you gave out, like Altria's wrist-mounted magical flamethrower, or - more pointedly - Tatsuki's necklace of magical butt-kicking, an enchanted gi may fall a little short in the awesome department.

You explain how, when you were designing the presents, you tried to address some apparent need or stated desire on the part of the intended recipients. Kagome's Amulet, for example, was inspired by that time you spoke to her cat, while Altria's Gauntlet is a workaround to her ongoing difficulties in getting a Sword Beam to form without blowing up in her face.

"Why did you give Sokka a fork, then?" Ichigo asks. He glances over at the other boy, who has filled his plate up at the buffet yet again, and is currently putting his new gift through its paces with great and obvious relish.

"That one is a bit of a joke on my part," you admit. "It makes whatever he eats with it taste like bacon."

Ichigo is not the only one at the table that stares at you for a moment before they turn to regard Sokka, who is munching his way through a fork-full of green stuff with an air of unsupressed triumph. His father and sister look on with contrasting expressions, Katara shaking her head in resignation and Hakoda seeming almost envious of his son.

"...you came up with a way to make someone eat their vegetables," Misaki says slowly, "by making them all taste like meat."

"Sokka really likes bacon," you declare, as if that explains everything.

Because really, it does.

"Okay," Ichigo says slowly, "I get why you gave him the fork. But why give me a magic gi?"

"Because you needed it," you say frankly. "Out of all the young martial artists here, you're the only one who's both human and isn't able to use ki or fake it with magic. That puts you at a serious disadvantage in our sparring matches. It's not just the loss of strength and speed; for lack of a better term, you're squishy."

Ichigo's expression silently protests your choice of words. Then, not so silently, he exclaims, "Hey!" and swats at Karin's hand, which just poked him in the side.

"Squishy," the dark-haired Kurosaki daughter whispers to her twin, sending both girls into a fit of giggles.

"When you're sparring against other humans, it's not really an issue," you go on. "We can just not use ki or magic to fight you. It's more difficult for the monster kids, though; they can't really turn off their strength, so there's always a chance that they might hurt you without meaning to." And considering that his best friend and most frequent sparring partner is Tatsuki, it's most likely to be her that slips up. Which would suck all around. "The Gi seemed like a good way to address that, without giving you a totally unfair advantage over the regular human kids you spar with."

It's still AN unfair advantage, of course, but it's one that's entirely defensive in nature, and not so potent that a skilled and determined fighter couldn't get around it. Especially not in training bouts, where full-force strikes aren't supposed to be used anyway.

Though if someone kicks Ichigo in the head or punches below the belt, his new outfit will help him fight off the resulting pain and nausea, too. A happy bonus, maybe?

---

Having cleared up the matter of Ichigo's gift, you inquire how the Kurosakis in general are enjoying the party so far.

"Do you mean how aside from the fact that I blacked out on arrival?" Isshin asks dryly. "Or was that included in the question?"

You consider it for a moment before shrugging. "Either/or, really."

"Well, if you leave that part out, it's been a pretty nice afternoon," Isshin admits. Without pause, he adds, "Of course, if you INCLUDE that part, then it definitely takes some of the shine off."

"Speak for yourself," Akkiko chuckles.

Isshin sends a wounded look her way, but the Arisawa matriarch merely smirks insufferably in reply.

You then ask if Ichigo and the adults have heard about Karin and Yuzu's fight to the finish with the youngest Hayashi twins. As it turns out, they hadn't been told of this, and while Ichigo and Isshin both start sputtering denials, Tatsuki - the only one who witnessed the entire match - begins recounting it in a hushed, gleeful voice.

It doesn't take her too long to finish, but by the end, Akkiko has saluted the twins with her cup, Masaki is looking quietly smug, Isshin is still going on about his "precious little princesses," and Ichigo honestly seems kind of envious.

Not so much that he's going to challenge Emiko, you think, but if there was a fox closer to his age present, you wouldn't bet against him making a challenge tomorrow.

As the Tale of the Terrible Twins winds down, you consider if there's anything else you want to discuss with the Kurosaki/Arisawa group right now. The only topic that really comes to mind is another inquiry as to the origin of Ichigo's Halloween costume, and that doesn't really feel appropriate for this time and place. Maybe later.

Making your excuses, you leave the Karakura contingent to enjoy the island chorus singing undisturbed, and move towards the Shuzen table.

"Alex!" Kahlua greets you with hushed exuberance. "I love your gift! They're practical AND pretty! And they'll go nicely with the Gauntlets."

"I'm glad you like them, Kahlua," you say earnestly. In a mildly teasing note, you add, "And making them match was the idea. Give it a few more years, and maybe I can get you a complete set of armor?"

"Oooh, that would be nice."

"Wouldn't you grow out of the armor before then, Kahlua?" Akua asks, frowning.

Kahlua waves that off. "I'm sure Alex could fix that if he had to."

"Magic items meant to be worn on the body can usually change their size for the convenience of new owners," you add. "But there are limits to how far that goes. If you had a pair of magic shoes that were normally size six, they might be able to shrink down to size three, or expand up to size nine; beyond that, you'd need to either get them adjusted, or get a new pair of shoes."

"So if Kahlua's armor or my glasses ever start to feel too small?" Moka inquires, glancing at you over the rims of the eyewear in question.

"Just let me know," you assure her, nodding.

Before you can say anything else, the littlest vampire at the table gives you a sour, sulky look. The presence of the two fairies riding on her shoulders just makes it more adorable.

"How come I didn't get a present?" Kokoa complains.

"Kokoa," Gyokuro chides her youngest.

---

Scaling up the gifts you've given Kahlua and Moka so far won't be a challenging task. It's not an entirely trivial one: you'll have to use up some of your remaining Hylian steel, in the form of the Guardian's Gauntlets, to properly re-size the Warrior-Princess Gauntlets; and altering the Warrior-Princess Bracers and the Glasses of Magic Detection, without breaking the link between the enchantments and their physical vessel, will require some careful work.

But you have all the required resources, and you could do the work in a matter of hours, for a meagre fraction of the funds that went into the completed items.

Seeing as how these items were given out as gifts, it only feels right for you to waive the monetary costs, and volunteer to re-fit them at no extra charge when the time comes.

"What about if they're damaged?" Kahlua ventures.

...good question. You have been making her armor, after all; Hylian steel or no, enchanted or otherwise, if the Warrior Princess Gauntlets and Bracers get used in their intended roles, they're going to be at risk of taking damage. And Moka's Glasses of Magic Detection ARE just eyeglasses; the magic may make them tougher than any mundane spectacles, but they're far from indestructible.

The humble Spell of Mending is sufficient to restore a damaged and inert magic item to functionality, provided the spell's caster can match the power invested in the item by its original maker. As you would be filling both roles, that's a non-issue. Even if the items were shattered into a hundred pices, you know the Greater Spell to Make Whole, and could return them to good working order as long as all the pieces were presented to you.

But is this a service you wish to provide for free, even if it is for gifts given to friends?

"I was going to ask Navi if she thought any of her kids might be interested in becoming your partner," you reply.

Kokoa's eyes go wide.

"What, really?" the yellow-glowing fairy on her left shoulder asks in surprise.

"Yes, really. I mean, it obviously wouldn't be happening right away," you clarify. "Even assuming one of you AND your mother agreed to the idea, and that Kokoa's family didn't object-"

Kokoa immediately turns to her mother, wordlessly beseeching her permission.

Over her youngest child's head, Gyokuro gives you SUCH a look.

"-she'd still have to learn enough magic to support her end of the bond, which could take years."

"Actually," the red-glowing fairy on Kokoa's other shoulder says, "you don't HAVE to be a magic-user to form a familiar bond. As long as both partners agree to it and there's a third party who knows what they're doing, you can form the basic bond just fine."

"Alex doesn't know what he's doing," Briar chimes in. "Not enough to compensate for one of the partners being a non-magic-using monster with her own source of power."

Now, you wouldn't say THAT. It'd take some research, but you have some ideas how it might be done...

"So ask Mom," the red fairy says. "She could do it easily."

...or you could skip the research and just ask the minor goddess in a position to give parental approval to the whole arrangement to take care of the magical heavy lifting.

"For a value of 'easy' that involves sending people on dangerous quests into the Silent Realm," Briar shoots back.

"Yeah!" her canary-hued sibling chimes in. "Remember what happened to Riverlily's partner?"

Wait, so you're not the only person that Navi's done that to?

"You can't blame Mom for that."

You're not sure if you feel better or worse about the whole Silent Realm excursion, now that you know it wasn't a one-time thing.

"I didn't say I blamed Mom, but you have to admit, it wouldn't have happened if she hadn't-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Briar interrupts. "Riverlily picked a partner? When was this?"

"Um, about four months ago?" the yellow fairy replies. "A girl named Dani. She's the adventurous sort, a real fan of the Hero; knows all the Legend, learned how to use a sword and shield, joined up with the Woodwatch, and was even talking about becoming an Emissary."

"That's rare," Briar admits. "I can see why Riverlily would have picked her."

"Yeah, they were all set to travel all over Hyrule together, like Mom and the Hero did," the yellow fairy grumbles. "Look how that turned out."

---

It's one thing to provide a one-time, cost-free service to re-size the gifts you've handed out, so that they can continue to be used responsibly for years or even decades to come. It's quite another to offer a guaranteed free lifetime repair service on top of that.

You can almost hear Gen protesting from a thousand miles away, not to encourage potential clients to undervalue your services and skills, or the worth of the gifts you've given them. It's bad business, and while it might seem like a friendly gesture on the surface, it wouldn't be doing your friends any favors in the long run. They should treat the things they value with respect rather.

"If they're damaged, I'll have to charge you for the repairs," you say. "Full price. So treat them well, okay?"

Kahlua nods at that, completely unruffled by your decision.

"I'll keep that in mind, then." And with that, she renews her smile. "Thank you again."

"Likewise," Moka chimes in.

As the sisters speak, you feel something in your dimensional pocket grow warm, and a moment later, there is a sense of something taking up space in your magical storage that was not there before.

Gained 2 Gratitude Crystals

You think you'd better ask what happened to this would-be young fairy partner, as it's relevant to Kokoa's desire to take on the role, and will doubtlessly influence her parents' decision in the matter.

Besides, you're morbidly curious to hear what another innocent, unsuspecting child experienced at Navi's hands.

"What happened?" you ask.

"Spiders are what happened," the yellow fairy answers, in that ghoulishly gleeful tone you've heard other kids use when telling spooky stories. "They didn't USED to bother Dani, but she came out of Mom's trials covered in webbing and freaking out about it. Ever since, all it's taken is the sight or sound of a Skulltula to spook her."

"It kind of put a damper on that whole 'wanting to see all of Hyrule' thing," the red fairy sighs, "what with how common Skulltulas are. Riverlily's had to memorize which parts of the Lost Woods are infested with the ugly bugs, to keep Dani away from them."

...

...on the bright side, the girl - who sounds like she was a Kokiri - obviously survived her experience. That's always a plus. And she apparently earned the right to be this Riverlily's partner, besides. Bonus points, then.

That said... spiders? Really? And not even Gohma, which actively pursue and swarm their prey, and can grow as big as a house, but Skulltulas, which tend more towards the "solitary ambush predator" method of hunting, and cap out at around adult human size?

Given your own experiences in the matter of monstrous arachnids, you can't help but feel a little underwhelmed.

"What's a Skulltula?" Kokoa asks.

"Monster spiders with demonic ancestry," Briar replies. "Think of a typical web-spinning spider, make its body anywhere from as big as you are to as big as your father is, and then give it an abdomen that looks like a skull."

"Is it just natural patterns that kind of look like a skull?" Kokoa ventures with a scowl of clear distaste. "Or does it have a whole shell shaped like a skull, with the head and the legs coming out?"

"It can go either way," you admit. "From what I've read about Skulltulas, the stronger their demonic heritage, the more genuinely skull-like they appear to be."

Kokoa nods slowly. "And I'd have to fight some of these, to prove I could be a fairy's partner?"

"...that, I'm not so sure about," you reply thoughtfully. "Navi made me run the trials to prove I was worthy of being Briar's partner, and I don't remember seeing any kind of spider then, just a lot of ghosts and spirit animals."

Granted, you didn't exactly explore the entire Silent Realm while you were there, so it's certainly possible that there was a phantom spider of some sort creeping around somewhere out of your line of sight, and that of the Prying Eyes you dispatched to scout the demiplane.

"That was where you got the metal for Big Sister's gauntlets, right?" Kokoa asks. "By beating up some kind of giant?"

Akua's interest is visibly piqued by this, and more so by your nod of admission.

"They weren't really giants, though," you remind Kokoa. "Just ghosts possessing larger-than-life suits of armor and weapons."

"But you still beat them up," Kahlua notes.

"The two of them that I actually bothered to fight, yes."

---

Although you are curious about how Shuzen Akua is integrating with the rest of her father's family, that feels like a conversation better held in a less public venue. This is, after all, the first time Akua has met you, to say nothing of all the other people here; odds are she would prefer not to discuss such personal matters out in the open and surrounded by strangers.

If she approached you to talk, that would be another matter entirely, but she hasn't - at least, not yet.

From the considering glances Akua's violet eyes have been sending your way over the course of the afternoon and evening, you think you can safely say that you've caught her attention, if not her interest.

If she wants to talk, she knows where to find you.

Setting the matter of the eldest Shuzen daughter aside for the time being, you turn to the youngest, and thank her again for the Fairy House.

"Briar loves it-"

"Definitely," your partner agrees.

"You have a house, Sis?" the yellow fairy asks.

"-I know her friends have enjoyed visiting-"

"VERY definitely," Briar says with an emphatic nod.

"Why is this the first I'm hearing about this?" the red fairy inquires.

"-and Zelda loved it when we visited Briar in there."

Kokoa has been nodding and grinning this whole time, but this last statement catches her off-guard. "What do you mean, you visi- wait, are you saying you SHRANK down to fairy size?"

"He did WHAT?"

"I've done it a few times, now," you admit to the littlest vampire and her even tinier, much more surprised shoulder-fairies.

"...a tiny Alex...?" Kahlua muses, frowning as she tries to envision it.

"Not THAT tiny," Briar grumbles good naturedly. "He still ends up taller than me whenever he casts that spell."

At this, Akua finally addresses you directly. "You know a spell to shrink people down to the size of fairies?"

"Yes," you admit.

While she doesn't ask it about, you can see the impending question in Akua's expression: "Why?"

Not wanting to distract the Shuzens overmuch from the ongoing musical performance, you keep your remaining conversation brief. Fortunately, there's not much you truly want or need to ask, as with your ongoing visits to Castle Shuzen, you've been kept reasonably in the loop regarding what the vampires have been up to of late.

Akasha, Issa, and Gyokuro have all been dealing with the long-term fallout of Dracula's final resurrection and death, making numerous trips around the Orient and the occasional foray to more distant lands in the name of diplomacy, business, and one or two incidents of unmitigated violence. The details haven't been discussed openly, even with their daughters, but you are aware that Akasha went back to Romania for a week or so after New Year's, and that the "civil disorder" that's afflicted that country since the eclipse took a major downswing right around that time. The talking heads on TV attributed it to the government finally cracking down on the "radical fringe elements" left over from the "uprising."

As for the girls, it's mostly been life as normal: lessons; training; playing in the castle or on the grounds; a handful of visits to or from individuals in the same upper tiers of the Moonlit and Mundane Worlds; other visits from genuine friends, like Tatsuki; the odd day trip; and of course, your own comings and goings.

There's no need to recount any of that.

The only real gap in your information covers the last few weeks, when your focus on setting up for the party took center stage, and since Akua came to visit or live with her father's family at that time, it gets back into the territory of stuff that's better left for another time.

After a few pleasantries, your quietly excuse yourself and move towards the tables taken over by the Hayashi family.

As you approach, a dozen fox-ears briefly turn in your direction; most of their partners remain aimed at Ekewaka's performance, but in a few cases - namely, Emiko, Mio, and Miu - the other ears and the heads to which they're attached also turn about to face you.

Emiko smiles brightly, but the twins greet you with a double dose of dewy-eyed gazes and quivering lower lips, silently expressing the same wounded disappointment at their lack of party gifts that you saw in Kokoa's face - only about four times more potent.
D'awww. Look at the little blackmailers. Aren't they adorable?
Too bad for the twins, you are wise to the ways of little monsters both metaphorical and literal in nature. Though their Twin Kit Eyes Attack stings, you feel no guilt or shame at not having included them in your spate of gift-giving.

---

You adopt an abashed expression, look Akua square in her red eyes, and state, "Sometimes I just want to hug my fairy partner. Is that so wrong?"

She stares at you, uncomprehending. "...what."

Kahlua and Moka quickly turn their heads away from their eldest sister, struggling to keep their laughter from becoming too obvious, with only limited success.

Gained Comedy D (Plus) (Plus)

Kokoa looks at her sisters like they're all crazy, because why wouldn't you want to hug a fairy if you had the means?

"But seriously," you go on, "it's nothing special. The Spell to Reduce A Person's Size is a piece of first-circle magic. All I do is increase the scale of the effect... or reduce it," you add slowly, as you frown mildly in contemplation. "It depends on how you look at things."

"...I see," Akua replies.

You give the twins all the attention they are due, and immediately turn to Emiko and ask her how she likes her gift.

Her response consists of a muted "Squee!" and a sudden pounce-turned-hug, and has the added effect of causing that feeling of warmth to radiate through your dimensional pocket again.

Gained 1 Gratitude Crystal

For a moment, you just stand there, taken aback by this abrupt show of affection.

"Oooo," the twins chorus. "She REALLY likes him."

"Ah!" Emiko exclaims, stepping away from you as suddenly as she moved forward, face red and arms flailing. "Sorry, sorry! I-it was j-just a really nice gift, and I, uh, that is, I'm sorry I jum- I mean, that I hugged you without asking...!"

"Hush, Emi," the eldest Hayashi sister chides softly. "You're interrupting the music."

Emiko's eyes widen, and she glances around guiltily at the rest of the crowd, ears and tail drooping.

"Sorry," she murmurs, before covering her face with her hands and adding a mumbled, "Whyyy...?"

Having seen this sort of behavior before, you give the excitable young kitsune a chance to recover her emotional balance before speaking further. When Emiko lowers her hands from her face a minute later, you proceed as if her little outburst hadn't happened, letting her know that if she wants to test her new Amulet or her "ultimate technique," you'll be available for another sparring match on Sunday.

"Thank you, Alex," Emiko says with forced dignity. "I'd like that."

You proceed to ask Emiko how she's been getting along with the other guests, and learn that, the earlier meeting with Lady Takara aside, it has been a mostly positive experience so far.

"But then again," she adds, "it's only been a few hours, and I've spoken to maybe half a dozen people I'm not related to or didn't already know."

Fair enough.

You also broach the subject of future gifts, only for Emiko to start blushing and sputtering again.

"A-at least give me a ch-chance to get used to having this one first, o-okay?" she stammers.

Also fair.

"Wow," one of the dozen or so fairies sitting with the Hayashis observes. "She's jumpy, isn't she?"

Emiko glares at that particular fairy, but her obvious embarrassment saps the quality of her unspoken threat.

Well. It wasn't your intention to reduce Emiko to this state of distress when you came over here, but you've accomplished it all the same. Perhaps you should take pity on her, end the conversation, and excuse yourself before you inadvertently make things worse? Or would you prefer to continue as you began, regardless of the consequences?

You were going to ask Emiko about some of her techniques next.

---

Although you would like to talk to Emiko about the techniques she used in this afternoon's spar, her current distress pricks your sense of propriety and your natural tendency to look out for your friends in equal measure.

It's not becoming of a host to pressure a guest in such a state, nor do you consider it acceptable for a conversation between friends.

Besides, the sort of technical chat you have in mind would be more productive if Emiko were on a more even keel, emotionally speaking.

For these reasons, as well as the approaching finish of the twenty-minute opening performance by Ekewaka and the other islanders, you opt to end this conversation here and let Emiko recover her composure before taking mystical martial arts shop.

You also, somewhat reluctantly, take a pass on the idea of giving her a hug.

She's not really in the best state to appreciate such a gesture for what you'd intend it to be.

Going slowly, so as not to give Emiko the impression that she drove you off by freaking out, you conclude the conversation and withdraw to quietly enjoy the last few minutes of the chorus's singing and dancing. You'd heard them practicing a few times over the last several days, be it individually or in small groups, but a full rehearsal never manifested while you were around; and while you've had to relegate the singing to the background during your various conversations, now that you have a moment to yourself, you can enjoy the show for what it is.

As spirits, the islanders have been freed of a number of limitations enforced by a mortal existence, and while some of the "habits" built up by a lifetime of wearing a living body still show through in their performance - a respect for personal space and a tendency to stand on the surface of the stage rather than float above it, to name a couple - some of the advantages of their current existence have been embraced and incorporated into the act.

The nonexistent need for air would be key among those, as it's allowed them to sing with full voice all this time without missing a note, but you also see some of the "dancers" exploiting the properties of their spectral bodies to pull off aerial acrobatics that no normal human would be able to achieve unassisted.

Gained Music E

The performance comes to a thunderous end, dozens of phantom feet stomping down as one just as the voices, previously raised in a long, stirring cry, fall silent.

At that, your guests begin to applaud.

While this isn't the whole of the show you have planned, it's a good spot to take a break, allow anyone who's thinking of grabbing another drink or dessert to do so, and give those of your guests who just can't fight the magical jet lag any longer a chance to slip away and find their beds.

As it turns out, this is basically everyone from the States.

Balthazar is doing fine, no doubt sustained by his magic in some manner, but Mrs. Stutler is showing the signs of being awake at what is effectively 2:30 in the morning for her. Dave is all but asleep on his feet.

The Sunnydale contingent are doing a bit better, but it's past eleven o'clock back home, and with the exceptions of Lu-sensei and Mrs. Madison, your hometown friends and family don't have your endurance. Zelda puts up a protest about not being sleepy, which lasts until your Dad finally convinces her to let him pick her up, at which point she pretty much passes out in his arms. Everybody else, though, is pretty much content to call it a night.

Beryl looks like she could stay up a while yet - which is good, because you still have to introduce her to Batreaux - but the sight of Cecilia openly yawning triggers the sorceress's big sister instincts, and has her leading the younger girl back to their rooms.

You manage to speak with Beryl briefly before she departs, and confirm that she's still on for that meeting; she just wants to get Cecilia settled first.

With that tabled for the moment, you glance towards your other scheduled appointment - namely, Isshin.

The man notices your attention and makes a series of wordless gestures that communicate his still somewhat reluctant willingness to let you take a look at his soul, the admission that Masaki will probably insist on being there, and a helpless shrug in the direction of his kids, all of whom are wide awake.

It is only half-past four in the evening in Japan right now, after all.

You're not sure if you want Ichigo and his amazingly potent soul too close to the sort of scans you're intending to run on his father, and he and the twins seem interested in staying put to watch the next act anyway. But if both of their parents go with you, somebody's going to have to mind them; there's too many tricksters around here right now for you to feel comfortable with leaving a couple of innocent four year-olds unsupervised.

It's not that you don't trust your guests, it's just that there are some of them who you don't completely trust.

You'd like to have Briar on-hand to consult with, in case anything turns up while you're examining Isshin, so the next logical person to ask to keep an eye on Kurosaki kids would be Akkiko and Tatsuki.

---

It's not hard to arrange things to your satisfaction.

You have a quick, quiet word with Akkiko and Tatsuki, to confirm their agreement.

Having secured that, you glance at Isshin and Masaki, to be certain of their attention, and then make a quick circling gesture with one hand that takes in all three Kurosaki children, and is followed by a nod at the Arisawas.

The Kurosaki parents get your meaning at once, and clearly agree with your intention, as they set about separating themselves from their kids.

There are several quiet assurances, to the tune of, "Mommy will be back in a bit," "be good for Tatsuki," and "you're responsible for your sisters, and if anything happens to them, you'll be thrown off the islaaaah, not the ear, not the ear!"

While that's going on, you and Briar slip away ahead of the couple, heading further inland, where the trees will offer some privacy for the magic you're about to work. You don't doubt for a moment that most of the people seated or standing around the dining area are aware that whatever Isshin and Masaki are up to involves you somehow, but by moving separately, you can at least give the Kurosakis the illusion of privacy, which a significant percentage of your other guests will respect.

"Where are you going, Briar?" a little voice complains from the air.

"Yeah, the party's not over yet!" another answers, as its fairy owner buzzes into your line of sight.

Other guests, not so much.
On the bright side, Ambrose didn't follow you!
While Briar fends off the twenty-odd of her younger siblings who got curious about her early departure, you start looking for a suitable spot to cast the diagnostic spells you have in mind.

Sensing your desires, Bali Ha'i provides. Perhaps fifty strides past the treeline, far enough to be legitimately out of sight for even the keen eyes of the monsters and fairies back at the dining area, you round a particularly broad tree-trunk and find another circle of standing stones. It's smaller than the one on the beach, consisting of just four rocks very approximately placed at the cardinal points, all half-covered by moss and lichen, but there's enough space in between the "natural" barrier defined by the stones for a few adult-sized humans to stand without crowding each other.

It's a good spot for a ritual circle, and you get to work laying one down, weaving lines of pure mana along the ground.

Isshin and Masaki arrive about five minutes later, undoubtedly having been guided to you by Bali Ha'i. By this point, Briar has succeeded in convincing about a third of her siblings to fly off and find someone else to pester for a while; of the remainder, three or four are still complaining about her leaving the party, while the rest are now paying attention to the magic you're working.

"Good timing," you say to everyone, as you complete the ritual. The magic circle incorporates the standing stones into its makeup, curving lines and mystic symbols running along their irregularly-shaped faces to anchor your magic, and turn the mostly-figurative barrier represented by the rocks into a literal one. "If you'll step into the circle, Isshin, we can get started."

Isshin regards the glowing magical construct with the wary air of a man who's been exposed to similar things before, and been bitten by them. Then, letting out a single short breath, he visibly gathers his resolve.

"Do I have to take my clothes off, or anything?" he asks.

Most of the fairies giggle.

"Isshin," Masaki hisses.

"What? It's a legitimate question!"

"That depends," you reply, bringing the adults' attention back to you. "Are you wearing or carrying any sort of empowered item? Spiritual, magical, or otherwise?"

"No more so than anyone else who lives in Karakura," Isshin replies.

...that's actually a good point. The exceptional level of spiritual activity in that town would leave a mark even on inanimate objects, but especially those items that have close, regular contact with living beings. The normal routine of changing and washing clothes, as well as physical wear-and-tear and eventual disposal of old clothes, would keep that spiritual build-up from passing any dangerous thresholds, but there could still be enough of a charge on Isshin's outfit to interfere with your spells.

Once you get Isshin into the circle, what sort of magic will you be using? Divination Magic is a given, of course, but seeing as how you're about to examine a soul, a certain amount of Necromancy would be well-advised. You might also do well to include some Enchantment Magic to poke at Isshin's mind; he DID black out from whatever he experienced.

There's also the matter of just how powerful you mean for these scans to be. You'll be starting with low-intensity stuff, but there's a non-zero chance that casual spells won't turn up the source of the problem. The more powerful the magic you use, the more detailed the information you'll receive, at the cost of needing more time, more mana, and incurring a slightly greater risk of disturbing something sensitive.

All of this, of course, presumes Isshin and Masaki are comfortable with your choices. You'll be sure to explain what you mean to do, and the likely effects, before actually casting any other spells.

---

"You should probably take your shirt off for this, then," you tell Isshin. "I don't need to see your entire soul, but having a clear view of the core parts would be helpful."

Isshin nods, unbuttons the tropical-patterned blue shirt he changed into at some point after waking up from his sandy faceplant, and slides it off, handing the garment over to Masaki.

You note in passing that for a guy who's been pretty consistent about acting like a goofball in your presence, Isshin is rather surprisingly muscular. His preferred loud or baggy shirts normally hide it, but now that he's bare from the waist up, there's no hiding the obvious telltales: power; speed; endurance; Isshin has them all, and a few scars besides.

This isn't merely the build of a martial artist. This is the body of a warrior.

As Isshin removes his shirt, you lay out the procedure you'll be using for this examination.

Since you're investigating an issue with Isshin's soul, you intend to use a mix of Divination Magic and Necromancy. You'll be starting small, both to conserve power and to avoid needlessly irritating anything sensitive with your more powerful magic, but should the cause of Isshin's collapse prove sufficiently elusive, you are prepared to use your strongest spells to root it out.

"That is, provided you're both willing to let me go that far," you add, looking between the couple.

Practically in unison, Isshin and Masaki frown and trade glances. There's a visible difference in their otherwise identical reaction, and that's their expressions: where Isshin is openly, if quietly concerned about something, Masaki is more resolved.

"I think I'd rather not go that far," Isshin says slowly. "Not without a lot more information. It's not that I don't want to know why I passed out, but... there are a couple of sensitive issues associated with my soul that I'm just not going to risk."

...alright, then. You would have preferred otherwise, but it IS Isshin's choice.

You start out by casting the Spell of Status on Isshin, both to get an idea of his current condition, and also to alert you to any sudden changes in that condition arising from your examination.

With that safety net in place, you begin the actual exam with simple passive uses of your various forms of enhanced sight. Isshin registers as a more or less normal human being under all of them, devoid of all but residual traces of external exposure to magic, Fae energy, and spiritual power. Most of that will be a consequence of having traveled by magical means to attend a party whose guest list includes a lot of fairies; the last is perfectly normal for someone who lives in a place like Karakura.

Next, you move to active scans. Fae Sight and Mental Sight register nothing you hadn't already noticed, and Ki Sight turns up an aura suiting a not quite middle-aged man in excellent physical condition. Mage Sight and Spiritual Sight both come back suspiciously normal, something you were fully expecting based on past events; even the combination of the two and Ki Sight doesn't return anything out of the ordinary.

This just reinforces the fact that the man responsible for the seals on Isshin and Ichigo touched up his work after you almost casually spotted it back at the World Tournament, and then started a monthly regimen of spiritual check-ups and updates when you began visiting Karakura.

...that reminds you, you have an upcoming appointment to finally meet this Urahara Kisuke... but that's not currently important.

Perhaps because he doesn't have his son's powerful and still-growing soul pushing against the seals, Isshin's bindings remain invisible to you until you cast the Spell of Aura Sight, at which point a spiritual construct shimmers into visibility before your eyes.

That's not the only thing the spell lets you see, however.

Isshin's soul is not that of a living mortal. It carries the same essence of something more than human, more than a ghost, and yet less than truly divine that you first noticed in the person of that talking cat back in Karakura; an innate and abiding Neutrality that goes beyond the impact of personal choices and beliefs, and is instead a reflection of the same tier of spiritual existence occupied by celestials and infernals.

And there is something else attached to his soul besides that seal - two somethings, in fact, one of which is too internalized and covered by the seal for you to get a good look at it. The other one, however, is another spiritual construct, and it's quite easy to view, because it extends outwards from Isshin's soul...

...and straight into Masaki's.
Oh, ouch.
Unlike her husband, Masaki's soul is human - mostly. There's something in the nature of her spiritual being that you don't recall ever seeing in anyone else, although it has some striking similarities to what you've seen of Ichigo's soul. Masaki's soul doesn't have the excessive potency of her son's, but Ichigo's soul in turn doesn't have the sort of... definition that you can see in his mother's.
How is that woman not dead? How is she not WORSE than dead?
You think you might be looking at a case of raw potential versus trained ability, although there are still other things about Ichigo's soul that don't quite add up. If you wanted to be sure, you'd need to take a closer look at him than you've bothered to before, in order to get around the interference of his seal.
Somebody pulled off a minor miracle.
Aside from those curious not-quite-human impressions, Masaki's soul bears other marks - malicious ones, wounds that cut almost to the core of her very being, and are now filled with soulstuff clearly taken from Isshin. The damage is healed, now, or mostly so, leaving spiritual scars that make your own soul ache in sympathy just looking at them.

You can't help but recall your spiritual goring at the bristles of the Raging Boar, or the great mass of demonic corruption that the Hakuba priests literally carved out of your being.

"Okay," Briar says, the familiar bond letting her see what you're seeing. "What the hell?"

---

You take a deep breath and let it out slowly before speaking.

"Okay. I'm going to assume that you both already knew Masaki suffered some nasty spiritual injuries, and that Isshin's soulstuff was used to heal her."

"Safe assumption," Isshin agrees.

You look between the two. "Did you both also know that there's still an active link between you?"

"We did," Masaki replies.

"That's one of the things I didn't want to take chances with," Isshin adds.

Yeah, you had a feeling that might be the case. Another would be whatever it is that's bound up inside his soul and the seal. And now that you're looking, there seem to be more of those spiritual constructs leading away from Masaki - or maybe just past her? They're a little too close together to tell - and back towards the dining area.

Three of them, in fact.

...oh boy.

Rubbing your forehead at the headache-inducing implications of THAT, you turn back to Isshin. "Now, this next question is very important, so please listen closely."

Isshin obliges your request and leans forward slightly.

Bluntly, you ask him, "Are you related to any talking cats?"

...

Masaki covers a laugh as Isshin facepalms.

"Goddammit, Yoruichi," the man mutters, before lowering his hand with a sigh. "Technically, yes, I am."

Masaki stops laughing almost instantly, and does a double-take at her husband. "Wait, what?"

"I mean, we're not siblings, first cousins, or anything else that normal people would think of when they think about family," Isshin answers his wife. "But we both came from noble clans, remember? There's been more than one intermarriage over the years."

"I never really thought of that," Masaki admits.

"See what I mean?"

You clear your throat to get their attention. "So, since you are related to Yoruichi, can I assume that this is one time I don't have to take his advice about feigning ignorance of and avoiding beings with your particular soul-signature?"

"This time, yes," Isshin agrees, his expression turning somewhat grim. "But other than me, or anyone I or the cat personally introduce you to, I'd say that is REALLY good advice, and you should take it."

"Noted," you say with a nod. "Well, then. That leaves me with one question: do you want me to get some help to try and heal Mrs. Masaki's soul?"

There is a long moment in which the two of them stare at you in silence.

"What," Isshin finally says.

"Briar's mother is a Great Fairy," you remind them. Then, realizing that they might not understand what that means, you add, "They're incredible healers, even when it comes to soul-based injuries."

"And even if you'd rather not deal with one of the Fae," you continue, "which, honestly, I wouldn't blame you for-"

"Me neither," Briar agrees.

"-I know a Firebird who's capable of similar soul-healing magic. He's not as powerful as a Great Fairy, but I think he could still help."

It might take a number of visits over the course of a few months for Rho to do what Navi could achieve with just a single treatment, but that wouldn't necessarily be a downside. Navi's help would cost the Kurosakis SOMETHING, whether in material compensation or having to overcome one of her heroic tasks. Even if Rho decided to charge for his assistance, and the total cost ended up higher than what Navi wanted, a series of smaller, purely material payments over time would likely be less taxing on the family.

On the other hand, there's no question that a Great Fairy's healing skills trump those of a Firebird.

Regardless, it's pretty clear from the looks on Isshin and Masaki's faces that they're interested in pursuing this course of action.

VERY interested.

---

You don't think that bringing up the time Navi healed your soul is really appropriate for this situation. Quite frankly, the damage you suffered from your wrestling match with the Boar was nothing compared to whatever Masaki went through, making it a poor example of Navi's talent for healing.

More importantly, fixing that damage wasn't the main focus of the Great Fairy's efforts that day, and you don't see any benefit in bringing Ganondorf or his suppression into this discussion. Your issues with your past life aren't relevant to the Kurosakis' situation, and would just distract and potentially alarm them.

Isshin and Masaki are adults, and perfectly capable of making their own decisions.

However, in the interests of ensuring that they make an informed decision, you volunteer to summon Rho and have Briar fetch her mother, so that the two experts on spiritual healing can take a look at this situation for themselves, and decide if they'll be able to help, and what it will cost.

Your offer is met with agreement, and so you set about summoning the firebird, while Briar goes to find her mother. The fairies don't return until very near the end of your spellcasting, almost fifteen minutes later, and when they do arrive, Navi has a score of her youngest children hovering around her.

"Sorry about the delay," Briar apologizes, as she resumes her seat on your shoulder. "Mom was in the middle of talking with Kahine and Takara; I had to wait for an opening."

No harm done, you think - and pulse down the Familiar Bond - but don't say aloud, as you work through the last of the summoning.

With a flash of fiery light, Rho appears in the summoning circle you set up.

"Bless my feathers," he murmurs, looking around. "What a remarkable place this is - and a Great Fairy, as well? But where are my manners?" The firebird spreads his softly glowing wings out to the sides as he bows to Navi. "I am called Rho, bright lady, and I am at your service."

"Navi of the Lost Woods," the Great Fairy returns with an elegant nod. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Rho."

"The pleasure is mine," Rho assures her. Then he turns his attention back to you, looking very suspicious. "Now then, young sorcerer. Do I dare hope that you haven't managed to get yourself hurt again?"
Heh.
"I'm fine, thank you," you dryly assure the firebird. "Not a scratch since our last meeting. I actually called you here to have a look at the lady and the gentleman."

You make quick introductions between the Kurosakis and the glowing firebird, and then explain the situation.

Navi immediately casts a Spell of Divination that feels akin to your own Spell of Aura Sight, only more so, while Rho works a weaker but equivalent magic.

"Oh, merciful Nayru," Navi says with a wince.
I can't take credit for this one, dear.
"Ganon's bones and ashes!" the firebird curses.

Hey, you resemble that remark.

"Madam, please don't take this the wrong way, but how are you still alive?"
That's what I said!
After a long pause and a silent conversation with her husband, Masaki lets out a breath, and then tells the story of a Shinigami in over his head against a strange Hollow, a heroic young Quincy archer who saved the day-

"Oi, oi! I took an explosion for you, woman!"

-and a seemingly-mundane wound that had actually been poisoned, or more correctly, infected by the Hollow just before its destruction. Masaki also credits another young Quincy - her foster-brother, who was present when the infection grew to the point of incapacitating her - with getting her to Isshin and a certain mad genius in time for them to treat the infection.

"Treat it," Navi repeats, looking at the scars on Masaki's soul. "But not cure it."

"Respectfully, ma'am," Isshin interjects solemnly, "Kisuke's good, but he's not a god - and he still gave us a miracle that day. It didn't feel right to ask him for another one."

Navi meets Isshin's gaze for a moment, before nodding. "Fair enough." Then she smiles and claps her hands. "Fortunately, I am a bit less limited."

"Yeah!" a fairy cheers.

"Go, Mom!"

"Woo-hoo!"

"Why are we cheering!?"

"I don't know!"

Navi's smile slips, slightly.

The end result of the consultation is thus: while Rho believes that he could repair the damage to Masaki's soul, given several treatments spread out over the course of a month or so, he has no idea how his magic would interact with the spiritual constructs placed on and around her soul. He's never enountered the like before, and in light of their importance, he does not care for the idea of experimenting with them.

Isshin and Masaki are in complete agreement with the firebird on that point.

Navi, meanwhile, has a rather broader knowledge base to draw from. While spiritual constructs of this particular style are as new to her as they are to Rho, they're not entirely unique in her experience, and she thinks she could work around them just fine. To do so, however, she would also have to perform multiple relatively low-powered treatments over an extended period of time, rather than cleaning up all the damage to Masaki's soul in one shot.

As much as he'd like to see his wife healed of her old injuries, Isshin has some reservations about the idea of a Great Fairy walking around Karakura.

You mention that Akkiko told you any Hollow with half a brain would avoid picking a fight with a goddess.

"There are some dumb Hollows out there, kid," Isshin advises you. "And I was honestly more worried about the Shinigami anyway. They keep an eye on spiritual hot-spots like Karakura, and if an unbound goddess turned up on their scans, they'd HAVE to investigate."

That is a fair point, and Akkiko did also try to discourage you from getting mixed up with the Shinigami.

Then Masaki mentions that Urahara Kisuke has a spiritually-shielded location he uses for various projects, which might be convinced to loan you the use of for summoning purposes. You'd have to meet him in person and ask about that yourself, though.

Both Rho and Navi express their own interest in meeting this guy, if it can be arranged, and are willing to take the chance to broaden their respective knowledge of spiritual matters with an expert as part of their payment for whatever services they end up rendering.

Since there isn't going to be any miraculous soul-healing or further negotiations in that direction tonight, is there anything else you'd like to say or do before wrapping this meeting up?

---

You slip an important question into the discussion, asking if Isshin and Masaki are aware of the spiritual connection one or both of them have to their kids.

The answer is yes; this is another of the things that Isshin was concerned about keeping intact. As he explains, there's precedent for women who survive regular Hollow attacks to pass some of the resulting spiritual taint on to their children, who in turn will sometimes develop odd spiritual abilities. In and of itself, that's not exactly a bad thing, though it can be difficult for the people affected, depending on how much knowledge of the supernatural they have (or don't have). The real problem is that human souls marked in this manner are prone to Hollowing after death, and while a typical newborn Hollow is likely to go after family and friends, when there's this kind of preexisting spiritual sympathy between different members of the family, it's inevitable.

Well, that's not deeply disturbing. Not at all.

Gained Necrology D (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Parazoology C (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)

"Linking my soul to Masaki's neutralized the original infection," Isshin sighs, "but it didn't destroy it, and when we realized Ichigo was coming, we figured it was better to be safe than sorry. And once we'd taken that precaution, it only made sense to do the same for the twins, so now they're all tied to the two of us."

Isshin illustrates this by changing where he's standing, relative to Masaki. The spiritual cords separate, revealing that there are six of them in total: three running directly from Isshin to the kids; and three more running from Masaki.

"None of them have ever shown signs of active spiritual abilities," Masaki says, "much less Hollow-like abilities. Even Ichigo has only ever seen ghosts, although I think Karin may be starting to as well."

"Would you like to have one of us look them over as well?" Navi offers, gesturing between herself and Rho.

"...let's wait until after you've talked with Kisuke about all of this," Masaki finally replies.

Navi nods.

"Well, then," you say, clapping your hands. "That was very informative, and also terrifying, but I still haven't figured out why Isshin blacked out when he landed on the beach."

"Back in the big circle?" the still-shirtless soul sighs.

"Back in the big circle," you confirm. "Please."

Since you have a couple of experts in healing magic at hand, you ask them if they have any idea what might have caused Isshin's little fainting spell. Rho admits he's drawing a blank, but Navi dons a thoughtful expression as she studies Isshin more closely than before. She inquires about the symptoms Isshin displayed, and you recount how his soul was vibrating around.

"He traveled here aboard the Death Coach?" the Great Fairy asks.

"Yes," you confirm.

"But he was still conscious until he tried to get out of it?"

"Yes," Masaki says, "although he was definitely off-balance after the 'landing.'"

"How do you mean?"

"His actual physical balance was bad, his movements were slow and shaky, and he seemed to be mentally disoriented on top of it."

"Like there was a disconnect between his mind and his body?"

"Actually, yes. Exactly like that."

"Did Jermafencer give him permission to disembark the Coach?" Navi asks intently. "Or did he just leap out as soon as you landed?"

Masaki thinks back, and admits it was the latter.

Navi nods, and turns to Isshin. "Good news, then. There's nothing wrong with you."

"Then why did I black out?" he asks.

"You're a higher-order spirit using a false human body to live in the Mortal Plane; you rode a psychopomp's coach through the Spirit Plane; and you tried to get off the coach while back in the living world, without its master's permission," the Great Fairy says slowly, as if talking to a dim-witted child. "Of COURSE your soul tried to jump out of your body. You broke the rules."

The word "idiot" is unspoken, but it hangs in the air all the same.

Isshin stares at Navi for a moment, and then smacks one hand against his forehead, hard enough to rock his head back.

"Sooo... he's alright?" you venture.

"As long as he apologizes to Jermafencer before getting back aboard the Death Coach, he'll be fine," Navi informs you. "Not setting foot on it ever again is also an option, but then he'd have a small debt toward the Knight of the Shadowed Mire hanging over him." She glances at Isshin. "Considering what I've heard about the spiritual environment where you live, I really wouldn't recommend that."

Isshin shudders once, before nodding in agreement. "I'll talk to the knight as soon as he gets back from storming the castle." He pauses, and turns to you. "He IS coming back here after that, right?"

"I believe that was the plan, yes," you admit.

Having "solved" the problem, you dismiss your analytical spells and the magic circle you set up. While Isshin pulls his shirt back on, you turn to Rho and ask him if he'd like to attend the party, as partial compensation for the inconvenience of the summoning.

He considers it, and when Navi mentions that there's a volcano spirit attending, swiftly agrees.

With that out of the way, you return to the party to look for Batreaux and Beryl. The ex-demon is currently talking with the three kitsune elders; from what you overhear, the topic of interest is Keatons, and how they compare (or don't) to kitsune. The young sorceress, on the other hand, is not in sight.

It's been over half an hour since you last talked with Beryl, and speaking as an older sibling yourself, you've never known Zelda to need that much time to go to sleep, when she was as visibly-weary as Cecilia was.

---

Tomorrow is set to be a busy day, and if you're going to face it in optimum condition, a full night's sleep to refill your depleted reserves - particularly your magic - is definitely in order.

Given that it's currently somewhere around seven o'clock, local time, and that you'll have to be up fairly early to attend to your duties as host, let alone make all the preparations you have in mind for the Trials, you don't really feel that you can afford to wait on Beryl to show herself.

As such, you head over to the table where Batreaux, the Hayashi elders, Lady Takara, and Lady Akemi have been talking about Hyrule's native fox-spirits. They notice your approach, and obligingly break off their conversation to welcome you back.

"How can we help you?" Lady Akemi inquires.

"Sorry to interrupt, but could I borrow Batreaux for a while?" you ask in return. "We have an appointment to keep."

"Oooohhhh!" Batreaux exclaims, raising his hands in mock-bewilderment. "I fear I completely lost track of the time! I swear, I would forget my HEAD if it was not attached!"

Uncle barks a laugh. "Just be grateful you aren't that knight!"

"Indeed! I would be a TERRIBLE dullahan! Always leaving my head floating helplessly in my wake!"

The two of them chortle in amusement, clearly having bonded at some point.

Is this a good thing, a bad thing, or just a thing?

Time will tell, you suppose.

Batreaux excuses himself and rises to follow you, as you head towards the Mansion that Beryl and her sister are sharing with Balthazar and the Stutlers.

You're not terribly surprised when you arrive to find the elder sorcerer and the teenaged sorceress engaged in conversation in the sitting area. What does take you slightly aback is that they're not discussing magical theory or anything of that nature, but rather, appear to be trading stories of a decidedly embarrassing variety.

"-both covered head to toe in thick, sticky, almost fluorescent green slime that smelled faintly of strawberries," Balthazar is saying, in tones of less-than-entirely-fond reminiscence.

"And that's when your teacher came in?" Beryl guesses.

"Even worse; that's when he and Veronica came in, and-" Balthazar pauses, having noticed your approach. "Ah, Alexander. And Batreaux, was it?"

"INDEED it is! And my apologies for the interruption, Mr. Blake; it was not our intent to intrude upon your conversation."

"No need to apologize," Balthazar assures him. "The young lady and I were just comparing stories of our experiences with a... very trying mutual acquaintance."

"Ambrose?" you venture.

"Ambrose," they reply in unison.

As one, you all shake your heads.

You know you could add a few anecdotes to the pile, but you hold your tongue. If you WERE going to have a griping session about Ambrose, you think you'd be obligated to include Altria, and probably the rest of her immediate family for good measure.

In any case, this isn't the time or place for such things. Not the least because saying the Devil's name too many times is likely to draw his attention.

You pause to glance over your shoulder.

"Problem, Alex?" Briar asks.

"Just making sure he didn't pop up while we were talking about him," you offer.

At this, Balthazar can only nod. "He does that, from time to time, but being in an adjacent planar space like this ought to interfere with that blasted clairvoyance... at least a little."

Better not to tempt Fate, you think, and say, to general agreement of four out of five people in the room.

Batreaux looks interested by the common reaction, and muses, "I really MUST make the time to talk with this man..."

What a terrible thought!

Well, you wanted to introduce your ex-demon sorcery tutor to Beryl, and you've picked up a plus one in the form of a Sorcerer of the Seven Hundred and Seventy-Seventh Degree.

---

Although you were only planning on having Batreaux and Beryl here, the presence of and potential for participation from a master sorcerer is a resource entirely too good to pass up. You invite Balthazar to join in on the impending conversation, provided of course that your other companions don't object.

As it happens, Batreaux does not. "I would be honored!"

Neither does Beryl.

Balthazar seriously considers your offer, as well as his own condition, and then nods slowly.

"I think I can fend off the Sandman for a while longer," he muses, leaning forward in his chair. "So. What is the topic on the table?"

"Well, first of all," you say, turning to Beryl, "since you didn't mind revealing your sister's name to everyone here, are you comfortable with sharing your own?"

Beryl gives you a dry look. "What makes you think that 'Beryl' isn't my real name? I am from southern California, the same as you."

...that's a fair point, you suppose. A girl named after a precious stone would fit right in with some of the girls at school, particularly the rich crowd that Cordelia reigns over.

"Call it a hunch," you reply smoothly. "It just seems a little convenient that you'd be born with that name and have the ability to conjure crystals."

"It would seem that way, wouldn't it?" she replies with an odd smile. "But as it happens, you're right. My given name is Amanda."

"From the Latin for 'lovable' or 'worthy of love,'" Balthazar notes offhandedly.

Beryl's smile turns a touch forced as she nods in acknowledgment of Mr. Blake's remark.

With that minor issue out of the way, you move on to the significant ones.

You set up this meeting because you were curious about the unusual inclusion of astronomical symbols in Beryl's magic circle, during her duel with Amy, and hoped to leverage the curiosity Beryl showed almost a year ago, when she expressed an interest in meeting your sorcery tutor, against her stated desire to keep her secrets... well, secret.

Although an exchange of specific techniques is the end goal that you have in mind, it's much too soon to propose anything in that direction. First, you have to establish where you're all standing in terms of common knowledge, a task that is traditionally not the easiest for a bunch of sorcerers.

The entities that empower typical sorcery have a vested interest in keeping their clients ignorant of how magic really works. After all, the less the lowly mortals understand of the hows and whys of what they're doing, the more reliant they are upon the guidance of their patrons, and the more often they must pay the prices demanded for that guidance. What knowledge of magic such a sorcerer truly knows, he has learned at great personal cost, be it in material wealth, time and effort, grim experience, or worse things; consequently, he is reluctant to share it, and will secure it against prying eyes by any methods available to him. Since these methods are almost always dependent upon the grace of the sorcerer's patron, who is equally-interested in holding that information secret...

Well. There are reasons why sorcerous grimoires have such a bad reputation.

Hyrulean Sorcery is a bit different. Because it involves calling upon the magic of one's own soul, rather than that of a higher or lower Power, a greater understanding of how the magic works is essential for even the most basic tasks. And while mortal bodies may be radically different - compare Hylian to Goron to Zora, just for a start - the souls of mortal races are much more similar than dissimilar to one another. Certainly, they're closer in nature than those of many sorcerous patrons, be they god, demon, Fae lord, or gibbering horror from beyond. As a result, what works for one Hyrulean sorcerer will work for another, with a minimal amount of fuss and bother.

What little you know about the tradition of Merlinean Sorcery practiced by Balthazar and Dave hints at a similar commonality, making the transmission of information between master and student more essential and more reliable.

You haven't had the chance to question Beryl in real detail about her magic before now, but that's why you're doing it now.

And as it turns out, Beryl has a very well-developed grasp of the basic principles of sorcery. Her method is neither Hyrulean nor Merlinean, but something she refers to as "Elysian."

"As in the Elysian Fields?" Balthazar asks intently.
For her sake, I would hope not. Brother Hades doesn't care for trespassers.
You recognize the reference, and explain to a curious Batreaux that it's part of the afterlife in one of Earth's ancient mythologies - the best part, reserved for people who lived upstanding lives.
Indeed, I do not.
Gained Hecate's Favor F (Plus)
Brother Hades? When did you get here?
"Not precisely," Beryl replies. "This tradition isn't Greek; it's quite a bit older. But the ancient Greeks may very well have taken inspiration from it."
Just now, Brother Pluto. Proserpina, Pomona, you're looking well. Ladies, I do not believe we've met; Hades, Lord of the Underworld, at your service.

---

Amanda, is it?

Well, you certainly feel better about this meeting, now that you know you're not the only person engaged in it whose name starts with a letter other than "B."

"So why 'Beryl?'" you inquire. "I mean, not 'why use a pseudonym at all?' I get that much, even if I haven't picked one myself; it's the same reason why I keep my head down in Sunnydale. Just... where'd you get the idea for that particular name? Was it the crystals, or something else?"

Beryl smirks. "It wasn't the crystals. If I could conjure actual beryl that easily, I'd have a lot more problems than I already do."

You frown. "How so? I'm not really that familiar with gemstones, and 'beryl' isn't one of the big names that comes to mind."

The sorceress appears mildly offended by your lack of knowledge, and gives you a quick introduction to her namesake. It refers to a specific mineral-

"Beryllium aluminium cyclosilicate," she rattles off, every syllable pronounced with clarity and certainty.

"You made that up," Briar accuses.

-that is colorless when pure, but can take on a range of hues determined by the impurities within the stone, including blue, green, yellow, red, and white. Beryl rattles off a list of names to describe the resulting gems, and while you don't recognize "morganite" and find "golden beryl" and "red beryl" to be less than helpful, "aquamarine" and "emerald" definitely catch your attention.

This is clearly a subject near and dear to Beryl's heart, because she goes on about it at some length. Only for about five minutes, mind you, but she packs no small number of words and even more passion into the topic.

Gained Gemology F (Plus) (Plus)

It takes a little doing, but you manage to steer Beryl's discourse towards the topic of general sorcery by venturing the question of what her trademark purple-black crystals are actually made of, and how she conjures them from nothing so casually.

You don't get an answer to that question right away, as it requires more than just your current passing familiarity with Beryl's magic system. But it does get your conversation back on topic.

"Where did it come from?" you ask.

"The tradition is supposed to have started in a kingdom called Elysium," Beryl replies. "I couldn't point it out to you on a map; I have a feeling that the landmass where it stood doesn't exist anymore. And as to its age..." She pauses, and sighs. "My teacher passed down an oral tradition, and if you take it at face value, Elysium was destroyed before the current universe existed."
Oh, bother. It's one of those?
"I take it this 'tradition' is something in the style of the epic of Ragnarok?" Balthazar muses, without missing a beat.
...why are you all looking over your shoulders like that?
Beryl just nods.
Just checking to make sure none of those mad Aesir were sneaking up on us.
You're not overly familiar with Ragnarok, beyond the whole "End of the (Norse) World" thing, but your thoughts were going in another direction - namely, you were wondering if Beryl's tradition didn't just come from another world.

You say as much, getting a startled look from the lady in question, and a more considering one from Balthazar.

"That might be a possibility," he agrees, gaze shifting from you to Briar and then Batreaux in turn. "There's certainly precedent for it, and not even just in this room. Plenty of sorcery traditions have been imported over the ages."

"And how many of those traditions called on Gaia?" Beryl questions stiffly.

You think Balthazar may have offended her a bit.

"Not a one that I can think of," the senior sorcerer admits easily. "On the other hand, there's plenty that THINK they're calling on Gaia, and are either being deceived by a lesser Power, or are tapping into ambient natural energy. The true Earth Mother doesn't exactly get involved with mortal affairs." He winces. "Which is something we all really should be grateful for."
We all really should.
You recall the description of the Earth as a metaphysical entity that Ambrose gave you, long months ago and thousands of miles away, when he was setting up the wards around your family home. How did he put it? Something to which even the gods were mayflies, and humans, mere bacteria?
I could take her.
Beryl, meanwhile, looks rather amused by Balthazar's discomfort, slight though it is. Instead of poking at him over this somewhat sensitive subject, she gets back to the discussion of basic magical theory you had going on.

Gained Arcanology B (Plus)

That lasts for most of an hour, and three of the other four participants are still going strong when you finally have to bow out in the name of getting a good night's sleep. Briar got left behind after the first quarter-hour or so, and goes with you, while Balthazar likewise takes the opportunity to excuse himself and go in search of his bed.

You're not upset about having to end your participation in the conversation, however. The whole point of this meeting was to get Batreaux and Beryl talking, which they are, and if you miss any important bits, your sorcery tutor can catch you up on them later.

Right now, sleep beckons.

Before that, however, you make one last appearance at the dining area, letting your still-wakeful guests know that you're turning in a bit early, and making that offer for magically-assisted sleep to anyone that thinks they might need it.

No one takes you up on that. The (mostly) human Japanese families still have hours to go before they need to sleep, the Shuzens wouldn't be troubled by a long night, and the Hayashis can manage their own sleep spells. The Drakes have only been up for a few hours as it is, and are planning to spend a good part of the night up before catching a nap. Your various extraplanar guests fall into one or both of the same categories as the Japanese monsters.

That leaves the four Water Tribesmen. While Elder Tiriaq is engaged in conversation with a mixed crowd of Hyruleans, fairies, monsters, and ghosts that looks like it's going to go on for some time yet, Hakoda states that he'd be in trouble with his wife if he let their kids stay up much longer.

Katara has no complaint with going to bed, but Sokka protests that he hasn't finished his dessert - which, you note, he is NOT eating with his new fork, though the Baconator is still close at hand.

Apparently, even the ultimate carnivore likes his sweets.

An utterly unsympathetic and vaguely disgusted Katara tells her brother that he's eaten more than enough for one night, and he has nobody but himself to blame, before Waterbending up a tentacular "chain" to secure her brother and drag him away from the dining area.

"Noooo!" Sokka wails, fingers leaving furrows in the sand. "My frozen tropical fruit juice! It was so tasty..."

"Come. On. Sokka!" Katara growls. As she passes you, she stops and smiles. "And Alex, thank you so much for the sewing kit. It's a wonderful gift."

Gained 1 Gratitude Crystal

"I'm glad you like it, Katara."

The Waterbender's smile takes on a shark-like glint as she turns to her brother. "Don't YOU have something to say to Alex, Sokka?"

Despite being enveloped in a coccoon of flowing water, Sokka somehow manages to flip over onto his back, leap onto his feet, and close the three feet of distance between the two of you in a single movement.

"THANK YOU SO MUCH, ALEX!" he exclaims, pumping your fist in the dampest and most enthusiastic handshake you have ever received. With his free hand, Sokka holds the Baconator to the sky-

Is... is it SPARKLING?

-and proclaims, "THIS IS THE GREATEST GIFT EVER!"

All you can muster in response is a dumbfounded, "You're... welcome?"

Gained 2 Gratitude Crystals

...

On that note, you're going to bed.

Before you crash for the night, you ask Briar to use up one of her fairy dust empowered healings, to help replenish your ki in preparation for tomorrow's main event.

Briar replies, "Hold that thought," and disappears for several minutes, leaving you standing there in your pajamas, perplexed.

At least until she returns, dragging one of her smaller siblings.

"Hi, hi, hi!" the green-glowing fairy exclaims. "My name's Clover! Little Big Sis Briar asked me to help you get a good night's sleep, so you'd be all rested up for the BIG FIGHT tomorrow!"

You blink slowly, and look to Briar for an explanation.

"If I healed you now, I'd only have the one heal left until around this time tomorrow," she explains. "And we ARE planning on running a gauntlet of some of the scarier things the Goddesses can come up with."

...fair.

You accept Clover's enthusiastic offer of assistance, and finally call it a night.

As your consciousness slips into sleep, you muse that tomorrow, you will officially turn nine.

Is there something special you'd like to do, to greet the first day of the next year of your life?

---

It is approximately ten minutes to six when the sun rises over the horizon the next morning. As the daystar climbs above the shining sea, it finds you already awake and sitting atop the outer wall of the Ring of Trials, above the central section of the seats.

You watch the dawn in silence, seeing and feeling the warmth of the ascending sun, hearing and smelling the waves, and thinking about a dozen things at once.

Things like how it's technically Sunday, the Second of April, here on Bali Ha'i, even though it's still just Saturday the First back in Sunnydale, or how, in another seven hours, you'll be fighting the Goddesses only know what sort of monsters in the Ring beneath and behind you.

You consider that you have a batch of Memorian ghosts to send back to their outpost, as well as another group to summon to attend the day's festivities, and whether or not you ought to wait a few hours for the current lot to show themselves. The soldiers were well-behaved at dinner, but there's no telling what they got up to after you went to bed, and you DID provide them with Necromantically-infused alcohol in their quarters.

You note absently that when you asked Beryl about the origins of her chosen pseudonym last night, and received a great deal of information about the mineral for your curiosity, she never actually answered the question. Does that mean anything, or was she so busy taking offense at your ignorance of one of her favorite topics that she honestly just forgot?

You wonder, briefly and with a shudder, what such a collection of pranksters as a whole clan of kitsune, a hundred-plus fairies, and Merle Ambrose could have gotten up to in your absence.

Mostly, though, you think about the fact that you are now (symbolically, if not literally) nine years old.

It feels like it's been forever since your last birthday, but here it is at last: the first day of the final year of the first decade of your life as Alexander Lavelle Harris. Everything after this is double-digits.

...well, give or take another ten days.

Gained Young D (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)

Compared against the length of Ganondorf's life, even just the fragments you can safely recall, it doesn't feel like much time at all. Yet by the same token, it's everything, for these nine years have been YOUR life. Not the Thief-King's, for all the influence that he's had on you, and certainly not the Curse's, though it remains a problem to be solved.

Just... yours.

At length, you emerge from your open-eyed meditation and readjust your sitting position, from the vaguely lotus-style cross-legged pose to a more upright, kneeling, seiza-style one.

You clap your hands before you, and direct your thoughts to the Golden Goddesses, thanking them for their guidance, their support, their protection... their patience... and for simply being there when you needed them.

As you speak the prayer, the back of your hand warms - as so the lines of the Triforce-emblem carved into the stone beneath you.
Happy birthday, Alexander.
With that sensation comes a flash of remembrance and insight, as things read from the holy books appear before your mind's eye. On this day, at this time and in this place, with the symbol of the Goddesses beneath you, a challenge of their making before you, and their attention upon you, it would be an excellent opportunity for you to swear an oath to your divine patrons. It could be anything: a course of action that you'll pursue and complete in the coming year; a resolution that you'll uphold in their names; or just a promise to put on a good show today.

Of course, there's absolutely nothing forcing you to make such a vow, either. There's no material or mystical gain to be had from such a thing, only the potential for the approval of the Goddesses - or the equal potential for their disapproval, should you fail to keep your given word.

Would you like to make an oath to the Golden Goddesses?

---

You think on what to say, and how to say it. Bold proclamations and flowery words quickly come to mind, only to be dismissed just as swiftly. Your plans for the future are considered, new ones drawn up, and all discarded as not feeling quite right for the moment.

In the end, you simply say, "I'll do my best to make you proud."

The mark on your hand and the emblem carved into the stone beneath you both pulse with light, warmth, and what feels like approval.
I already am.
For just a second, you can almost feel a reassuring hand on your shoulder.
D'awww! Come here, you big softy!
Then the energy and the impression fade away, leaving only the memory of their presence.
Gah! Get off of me, Farore!
But even that is enough to warm you, in a way the tropical sun never could.
Who's a big old gooey marshmallow inside that crusty molten exterior, huh?
Gained Oath to the Goddesses
You want to see "gooey"? Hold still!
Feeling reassured and renewed, you get on with your morning exercises.

There's no sense in getting out of practice, especially not today, of all days. If you're going to DO your best, you'll need to be AT your best, and that goes double for the upcoming Trials.

You're about ten minutes into your routine when your senses begin to tingle - specifically, your Fae Sense. As you move through the kata, you evaluate the presence, and determine that either you're about to get swarmed by a bunch of Briar's smaller brothers and sisters, or one of Navi's bigger kids is approaching.

The energy doesn't feel strong enough to be Robin or Summer, a fact that has you send up a quick prayer of thanks to the Goddesses, because you don't think you're quite up to a private talk with either of those two just yet. And when you work a foot sweep into your routine, it turns you around enough to get a look at the newcomer and confirm that it is one of the small group of mid-sized fairies.

He - and it is a he; even apparent youth and fairy glamour only go so far to confuse that issue - is carrying a small sword, which he nearly drops in surprise as you spin to face him.

"I wasn't spying!" the young(ish) fairy exclaims.

"Didn't say... you were," you reply, speaking in short bursts so as not to disrupt your breathing.

Lu-sensei has spent some time covering the subject of talking in combat, and boiled the dos and don'ts of it down into three lines of thought.

Some masters hold that talking in battle is a shamefully self-indulgent practice, made popular by the fictional works of men who'd never so much as thrown a punch in anger, much less experienced the pressure of having to fight for their lives. In a contest where every second, every breath, every twitch of a muscle can be the difference between living or dying, there is no time or energy to be wasted on speaking.

Others acknowledge that the first group have a point, and that the kind of drawn-out conversations you see in the entertainment media are certainly a bad influence on the current generation of martial artists. But despite that, these masters believe there is yet something to be said for the tactical value of a well-timed and well-chosen word. After all, many are the schools and styles that espouse the value of conversation before a fight, and praise the martial artist who can end a battle before it ever begins, using words alone. If you have such skill, denying yourself its use in combat is the same as denying any other technique; it is one less tool in your hand, one less weapon in your arsenal, and one more advantage lost.

And then, of course, there are those who go to the other extreme, and talk constantly as they fight. Sometimes, this is considered the mark of an inferior martial artist, one who must drown out his fears and self-doubts if he is to fight at all, but there are others who have truly weaponized the approach. Your teacher knows of one style where the practitioners chant certain religious verses in battle, using the rhythm of the words to help focus their minds and bodies as one. And again, there is the psychological advantage to consider, for there are many even in the martial arts community who can't take a person that never shuts up as a serious threat.

Combine all of that with your own ability to use Words of Power, and your teacher tends to agree that, in your case at least, being able to talk and fight at the same time is an advantage too useful to pass up.

With that in mind, do you want to say something to this fairy, whose name honestly escapes you at the moment?

---

The sight of a sword in the (relatively) young fairy's hands - still undrawn - gives you an idea, and as you complete your current form, you reach within your dimensional pocket to bring forth your own Blessed Blade - also sheathed, and held in as non-threatening a manner as you can manage.

You're head and shoulders taller than this guy, you have no idea exactly what Navi has told her other offspring about you, and he's already kind of nervous. Making an effort to avoid spooking him is likely merited.

"Would you be up for a spar?" you ask the fairy, gesturing at his weapon with your own.

The answer you receive is a stunned stare, followed by a slow, hopeful smile and a shy nod.

"If that's alright with you...?"

"I wouldn't have offered if it weren't."

You come down from the elevated platform-

-and join the fairy in the Ring of Trials. Of course, you're not about to spar with live steel against a fairy you've just met and don't know from Robin Goodfellow, but safing the blades is a simple matter of reverse-Augmentation Magic. Kind of like the Spell to Make a Magic Weapon, only backwards. Sorting it for both swords out only takes a few minutes, after which you and your opponent take your positions on opposite sides of the small arena.

Although the fairy is as small as a Kokiri and would be a natural fit for one of their weapons, he has chosen to pursue a different style of swordsmanship; the weapon he draws is much like your own, forged in the Hylian hand-and-a-half style, at a size suited to its diminutive wielder. There are some differences, however: where your Blessed Blade was a gift from the Goddesses, and bears their mark as a result, the young fairy's sword is undecorated; also, while your weapon is made of bright steel and has been well taken care of since it entered your keeping, it does not seem so bright as the fairy's sword.

Not that there's a huge amount of sunlight down in the arena proper for you to make that comparison. It IS just after dawn; the sun is not far above the horizon, and the bulk of the stands is between it and you. Still, the other boy's weapon is like a shard of silver in the shadows, whereas your own blade lacks that luster.

Some kind of Fae equivalent to steel, then? It wouldn't surprise you; for all their connections to the kingdom, there is still enough iron in Hylian steel to make most fairies just a bit nervous.

Briar mentioned that her oldest brother Robin was a blacksmith. You wonder if you're looking at one of his creations, or if the "fairy steel" sword has other origins.

Regardless, now is not the time to ask about it.

As the two of you warm up for the match, you consider your opponent's movements and what they say about his skill. That nervousness you saw before is rapidly fading away into a surety you've seen with Altria, her cousin, and their friend; the fairy's confidence is quieter and more self-contained than that of the outgoing and occasionally cocky young magic knights, but you don't think it's any less for all that. He handles his sword with speed, skill, and assurance, reinforcing that impression of someone who knows what they're about.

Skill aside, you have height, mass, and reach on Navi's son, but if you leave ki out of things, he's likely to be proportionately quicker by dint of being more compact. Your weapon is a little longer and broader than his, if not significantly so, and it's probably heavier to the same degree, if the way the fairy swings his blade around is any indication.

You spare a moment to be gratefully relived that this kid has black hair and wears a rich brown tunic rather than a green one. The last thing you want to see today is another echo of the Hero.

Now both prepared, you exchange salutes.

---

It's not that far down to the arena from the top of the stands, and the sandy surface would help absorb the force of your landing. You might be able to make the jump on physical ability alone, and with ki added in, it'd be no trouble.
Do it! Do it! Do it!
But you don't want to spend ki this morning if you can avoid it, and without that added edge, you're not entirely certain of your ability to leap down from your current platform in one piece. It'd be damn silly of you to go and get hurt before the Trials, just for the sake of showing off.
THANK you.
So you head for the stairs instead.

There is a brief temptation to take the stairs in some dramatic fashion, like running while balancing on the railing, springboarding off of the walls, or otherwise taking the path parkour-style at speed, but you quash that impulse as well.
Awww...
Your freerunning skills need considerably more work before you'd feel comfortable showing them off like that, and this isn't really the time for such things anyway.

Besides, there's something to be said for the dignified approach.
Indeed there is.
When you helped raise the Ring of Trials, stairs were included at three places: one at the end of each "arm" of the open, C-shaped arc of the Ring proper; and a larger stair at the "top" of the arc, which branches out past the first "floor" to continue up the sides of the small viewing platform. You take this latter approach, and emerge from the shadows to face your new challenger, in a manner akin to the gladiators of another age.

"You already knew this," you announce, "but I'm Alex Harris."

The young fairy boy smiles faintly as he nods his head in acknowledgment, and replies to the prompt by giving his own name: "I'm Mouse."

FAIRY SWORDSMAN-IN-TRAINING: MOUSE OF THE LOST WOODS

Circumstances being what they are, you're in favor of keeping this match to a straightforward test of skill. No magic, no ki, no empowerments by other exotic energies; just physical ability, training, and experience against the same.

Mouse agrees to this without hesitation.

Briar flies to a safe distance, looks the two of you over, and then yells, "Begin!"

And you do, slowly stepping to your right and shuffling slightly forward, while your opponent mirrors your movements, each searching for an opening. You spot one or two weaknesses in Mouse's guard, places where you could leverage your advantages of size and reach to good effect, but you hold off on attacking those just yet. You want to get an idea of how patient the young fairy is...

Seconds pass, two becoming five, five becoming ten, and ten gradually becoming thirty. A few passes are made in this time, thrusts and slashes that test reflexes, speed, and the outermost edges of style, but nothing truly significant occurs.

The tension between you increases.

And then Mouse makes his move, hurrying forward into the range of your blade.

CLANG!

Whiff!

CLANG!

Whoosh!

CLANG-SCREEEE!

*SMACK!*

The opening attack leads into an extended exchange of blows, during which you learn a few things:

One, Mouse is good. Not insurmountably so, like you might expect from a Fae who's spent an entire human lifetime studying the sword, but good enough to be on Altria's level all the same.

Two, his style looks to have been built from the ground up to exploit all the advantages of his smaller size, while compensating for the according drawbacks. He's fast, agile, and has a defense focused on evasion and the rare "soft" deflection rather than direct parries. Offensively, he doesn't employ sweeping power blows that would risk leaving him open during recovery, or rapid barrages that might exhaust his stamina; instead, he gets inside your guard and goes for swift, singular strikes at vital points, trying to maximize the effect of every attack that lands while forcing you to more actively protect yourself, instead of attacking him.

Three, whatever that sword of his is made out of, it hits as hard as you'd expect from a steel weapon of the same size.

Gained Battle Awareness C (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Evasion B (Plus)

And finally... fighting this young fairy swordsman is almost nothing like fighting Link. Mouse has no shield, and even if he did, the way he keeps both hands on his sword means a shield would do him little good. He's smaller than most incarnations of Link you can recall Ganondorf facing, and he's not at nearly as much of a disadvantage - you're only head and shoulders taller than he is, not twice his height, several times his weight, and backed up with magically-enhanced parameters besides. There's no magic involved beyond those spells of safety - another divergence, in and of themselves - no sudden change of equipment, no cursed Light Arrows...

Perhaps most significantly, Mouse has wings.

You don't think Ganondorf EVER fought a swordsman with wings. If he did, you certainly don't remember it. Regardless, it changes the way Mouse moves compared to a normal humanoid, although not as much as you might have expected. Fairy wings may look like frail gossamer, but they're as much magic as they are matter - something that could be said of the Fae in general, really - which gives them a level of strength and resilience that doesn't quite match up with their delicate appearance.

At the very least, Mouse has no fear of damaging his wings by putting the weight of his body on them, a fact demonstrated by his ability to tuck and roll across the arena floor to dodge your blows without even a flicker of hesitation.

The first time Mouse does that, even you, a fairy's partner, are caught off-guard. Briar couldn't do something like that, but that's because she's so much smaller and magically-weaker than her brother, her wings just aren't as tough as his.

And while you're working that out, the little punk manages to punch through your guard and score a light blow to your chest, the first real hit of the match.

Despite losing "first blood," you find yourself grinning.

Because all in all?

This is a good fight.

From the small smile that's gradually formed on your opponent's lips as the spar carries on, he seems to feel the same way.

Do you want to try and talk with Mouse while you duel?

---

Judging that Briar's brother has probably heard ALL the cheese- and cat-related jokes in existence often enough to be thoroughly sick of them, you decide to withhold further comment on his mother's choice of names for her children.

Really, in the grand scheme of things, "Mouse" is just as good a name as "Alex"...

...

...okay, it's just as good a name as "Robin." You know, for a fairy.

...

You should probably drop this line of thought and move on.

You were just thinking about the place of talk in a fight, and since you're not using magic, you don't really have an urgent reason to use your mouth for anything more than breathing right now.

Besides, don't they say that actions speak louder than words?
...yeeees, but I don't think this is quite what that saying means...
Indeed they do! True warriors don't need words to understand one another! They can speak through their swords! And so you shall!
Um. When did he go full sword-crazy, again?
With one burning martial resolution comes another, the determination to continue this match until one side or the other falls! ...or at least, concedes with grace! Either way, it will be an honorable match! Skill against skill! Strength against strength! No shortcuts, no cheating!
Don't know, don't care.
May the best boy win!
That's the way, Alex!
As you step up your efforts, adding strength, speed, and purpose to your blows, your intentions do indeed seem to be conveyed to your opponent, for Mouse matches your fierce grin in kind and pushes himself to keep up, and keep ahead of your onslaught.

Whoosh!

Whiff!

CLANG!

Hiss!

CLANG!

Though it's far from the fastest or flashiest or most destructive fight you've ever had, this is one of the most intense purely physical sparring matches you can recall - certainly the most intense of those you've had with a fellow swordsman. This is a foe you can't just power away at - sorry, Din! - and expect to win; you have to conserve your strength, focus your effort, and bring your game to a new level!

The Ring, the hour, the island, the party; all else falls away, leaving only you, your foe, and your swords, almost singing as they flash through the shadows.

It. Is. Glorious!
Yes it is!
Gained Endurance B (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Strength Control C (Plus) (Plus)

You and Mouse go at it for what feels like hours, the sun gradually climbing above the walls of the arena until its light burns along the edges of your blades-

ZRACKOW!

-and then, with a flash and discharge of energy that's all the more dazzling for being entirely unexpected, the match comes to an abrupt end.

Your Blessed Blade goes flying out of your hand, to land point-first in the deeper sand near the base of the Ring's inner wall, where it stands at an angle, humming faintly as it vibrates.

Mouse's silver sword does the same thing, only in the opposite direction and with a different pitch.

Mutually empty-handed, the two of you are left staring at each other, the residual energy that hangs in the air between you, and the surprisingly still-dim arena around you.

That light you saw? It wasn't coming from the sun. Your weapons were actually glowing.

"...Briar?" you ask slowly, as a sense of fatigue suddenly hits you like a flung brick. Nothing critical, it's just that you feel like you ran a sprint on top of all that sword-fighting, and you're not quite sure WHY. "What just happened?"

"Well," your partner drawls, "from where I was flying, it looked like you two were getting so into that match that you accidentally charged up your swords. And when you brought your blades together that last time, they both went off."

...

Honestly, that would explain the ache in your fingers, as well as that slightly drained sensation. There's a certain kick to a Sword Beam, and if you're not prepared to deal with it, you can hurt yourself a bit. Having TWO Sword Beams go off at once, at point-blank range, with unprepared wielders... yeah, that would definitely explain this.

That said, charging up a Sword Beam on sheer fighting spirit, without even MEANING to? You didn't even realize that was possible!

From the way Mouse's expression shifts from confusion to self-assessment to shock, he's thinking along the same lines that you are.

"Maybe we'd... better stop here...?" the fairy swordsman ventures uncertainly.

"...ah... yeah, maybe," you admit.

Accidentally blowing up one of Navi's kids wouldn't go over well, even if he did the exact same thing to you in the process.

As you retrieve your weapon, undamaged from the event, you give your reserves a quick check. Nothing was lost from this match beyond simple stamina, which you can easily recover with a few minutes of rest.

You take a closer look at the sky, but the mass of the Ring defies your attempt to guess the time.

When you ask Briar, she says you were only sparring with Mouse for about five minutes.

It didn't feel like that.

Is there anything you'd like to ask Mouse, before you go to breakfast?

---

Having recovered your sword, you glance towards Mouse, who has retrieved his own blade and is carefully inspecting it for damage. He nods a moment later, satisfied with what he sees, and turns around.

Now that his attention is directed back at you, you raise your sword in a formal salute, and thank the fairy for the spar.

"Oh! Ah... you're welcome," he replies, quickly matching your gesture.

Sliding your weapon into its sheath, and then stowing it in your dimensional pocket, you inquire of Mouse if he'd be interested in future visits.

"For more sparring matches?" he asks.

"I wouldn't object to the chance to test my skills with a sword more often than I do," you admit.

Visiting the Drakes helps with that, but it's hardly the only thing you do there, and fighting Altria, Kenneth, and Lance repeatedly does run the risk of getting over-familiar with them and their styles. Adding another sparring partner is a good way to keep yourself from forming bad habits and keep your skills fresh.

"But that doesn't have to be the ONLY reason," you continue. "I mean, speaking as her partner, Briar could stand to spend more time with her family than she does-"

"Oh, you say that NOW," your partner mutters.

"-and I could certainly use another male friend in my life."

Mouse doesn't quite laugh at that. "Yes, uh... I noticed that there were... quite a lot of girls among the guests. You know, even before taking all my sisters into account." He clears his throat. "Still, this is... a bit of a sudden request."

"I know, and there's no deadline or anything," you assure him. "Enjoy the party, get to know the other guests a bit - if you DID agree to my offer, you'd be seeing some of them fairly often."

You don't have the space in your house or your Mirror Hideaway for a proper sword-spar. Bringing Mouse along to Lu-sensei's or the homes of some of your out-of-Sunnydale friends, on the other hand, would be entirely possible.

"I'll do that," Mouse tells you. "And thanks, for the match."

You nod. "Now, if you'll excuse me... I need to go tell my teacher that I did one more impossible thing before breakfast."

Your comment seems to befuddle Mouse, but he doesn't ask for clarification, instead just nodding and moving towards the center of the Ring, where he starts going through a few of his own forms as a cool-down.

For your part, you jog back to your Magnificent Mansion to hunt for Lu-sensei. A few quick words with the servants reveals that your teacher left the extra-dimensional area not long after you did, but not which way he went or what his purpose was. You're guessing his version of morning meditation and exercise, which means that, wherever he is, you should probably leave him be for now.

He'll show up for breakfast, anyway.

The servants also inform you that your parents and sister are still asleep, but that Ayane and Cordelia both got up and left: the former not long after you and your teacher; the latter only about ten minutes ago. No one's been by to ask for you.

Also, Moblin woke up and went for a walk on his own accord while you were out.

You take a couple of minutes in the Mansion's modestly sized but elegantly decorated bathroom to wipe off the dust and dried sweat you built up in the Ring, and then head for the dining area.

The torches and fire-pits that were burning brightly when you went to bed yesterday evening were extinguished at some point, and stand dark and charred. The tables of food are still present, whatever was left of the night's meal replaced with lighter, fresher fare.

As far as your guests go, not a one of the entire extended Japanese contingent is present. Seeing as how it's about four in the morning in Japan, that makes sense. The Stutlers are sitting with the Drakes, Dave staring in sleepy astonishment as Altria demolishes her breakfast, Anna looking on with amusement and annoyance, and Nancy and Lucia talking animatedly over their own meals. Balthazar and Ambrose are sitting at the next table over, accompanied by Lanora, Batreaux, and another of Briar's mid-sized older siblings; judging by the heightened level of mana surrounding that table, someone has been working magic.

Sokka, Katara, and Hakoda are at the buffet, Kahine is sitting with Navi, and a few more of the older fairies are scattered about. Most of the little ones do not seem to be present, however, and all your other guests are absent.

"Hey, Alex!" Sokka calls with a wave, somehow managing not to spill so much as a crumb from his overloaded plate. "They have actual Island Bacon this morning! You've gotta try it!"

Well, that (partially) settles the question of what you're having for breakfast, but where shall you sit?

---

You fall in line behind the Water Tribe family and start filling your plate, exchanging commentary with Sokka as you go. The bacon does look very good, and you help yourself to a generous portion. You balance that out with a good-sized serving of fruit and a stack of thin pancakes.

There is no maple syrup - alas, you have FAILED as a host! FAILED FOREVER! - but there is fresh butter, and Keoni directs your attention to some sort of squeezed citrus juice.

Once you have enough for a first course, you grab a glass of milk, look around, and start making your way over to the table where Navi and Kahine are sitting.

A Great Fairy, a volcano-spirit, and a reincarnated Demon King sit down at a table, togther... there's a joke in there, somewhere, but you're almost afraid to ask what the punchline could be.
Knowing you, we'll find out in a few minutes.
You shake that off.
Shhh! Don't ruin it!
"Good morning, ladies," you greet them on approach. "Would either of you mind if I joined you for breakfast? There are a few things I'd like to talk about..."

"Ap, ap, ap!" Kahine chides, as she all but drags you onto the bench next to her. "Eat first, then we talk."

When a volcano tells you to do something, even as cheerfully as this, you do it.

*Gobble.*
*Snarf.*
*Snap.*
*Glug, glug, glug.*

After polishing off half the bacon, about two-thirds of the pancakes - which Kahine shows you how to eat "island style," stealing one off your plate, loading it with fruit and butter, and then rolling it up and taking a bite from her crepe-like creation - and a similar amount of fruit and cool, refreshing milk, you feel that you've heeded Kahine's instructions enough to appease her.

You start the conversation by speaking with Navi about your spar with Mouse, complimenting her son's skills, and inquiring who taught him.

The Great Fairy gets a funny gleam in her eye at your question. "Well, Mouse has spent a lot of time practicing with the Kokiri, and gotten some practical combat experience just from living in the Lost Woods-"

No surprise, there, so why do you have this sinking feeling?

"-and his most consistent instructor was Robin. But as capable as he is in a fight, my tallest son is a smith at heart; he's better at forging most weapons than he is at using them, and that includes swords. Mouse's real teacher, the one who originally inspired him to take up the sword, and has pushed him to develop his skills the most? That would be Link."

...

"Of course it is," you mumble around a mouthful of bacon.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Navi chides, smiling as if she didn't know exactly what she just did.

This development doesn't ENTIRELY close down that topic, as you describe the spontaneous and unintentional clash of Sword Beams, and ask Navi if that sort of thing is normal for Hyrulean sword-styles.

"At a certain level of training and raw ability, yes," she admits. "It's not usually an issue for those just learning the technique, or those who've reached a certain level of mastery, but in-between, you have those like yourself and Mouse. Good enough to use the skill, yet still unfamiliar with all its little quirks and how to control them."

"So what do the Hyruleans do about it?"

She shrugs. "Make sure students of that level never spar without a master present; keep all the fights outdoors, away from crowds, and in areas you can afford to have take the hits; and always have a few Red Potions in stock, just in case."

...practical, if a bit inconvenient for you, since you don't have a master of the Sword Beam technique handy.

You suppose you'll just have to keep it in mind, and try not to get too into future sword-spars.

---

"You don't look convinced," Navi observes.

"Oh, I believe you," you assure the Great Fairy. "It's just that... you say that people just starting out learning the Sword Beam don't usually have problems the technique going off at random on them?"

"Yes...?"

"Well, I used the move where Altria got a good look at it a while back, and she's been practicing it ever since. But, uh, she keeps blowing herself up."

"...just to refresh my memory," Navi says, as she glances towards the Drake table, "but Altria is the regal little blonde girl with the dragon aura, correct?"

"That's her," Briar confirms.

"Yyyyeah," the Great Fairy drawls, in a manner that keenly reminds you of your partner, and drives home the relationship between them. "I can see why THAT one might be having problems with the skill." As she turns back to you, she dryly notes, "I'm sure I don't have to tell you that it's possible for someone to have too much power."
Don't be ridiculous, woman. You can NEVER have too much Power.
You look away from Navi, mumble something vaguely assenting, and shovel some of your remaining bacon into your mouth before she can ask for a more intelligible statement.
Ahem. Ganondorf?
Does she HAVE to bring that up in mixed company?
Oh, come off it, you two. His problem wasn't being too powerful.
Kahine, meanwhile, just chortles. "There is something to that," she admits. "Though speaking from personal experience, I always found it was less that I was too powerful, and more that everyone else was just too flammable!"
Right! That's exactly what I meant!
She says it as a joke, and may well even mean it as such.

"That's exactly the problem," Navi grumbles..

Feeling the urge to move on from that somewhat sensitive topic, you re-iterate your concern about Altria's difficulties with grasping the basics of the Sword Beam.

Navi says it shouldn't be an issue, as long as the girl practices the sort of safety methods she stated the Hyrulean swordmasters use for students in the "problematic" intermediate stage of mastering the technique.

"She IS being careful, right?" the Great Fairy checks.

Reasonably so, you think. Granted, she doesn't have a master of the Sword Beam on hand to oversee her training, but she's practicing outside, next to a lake that can soak up the kinetic and thermal consequences of her misfires without serious harm, and her family retains the services of a wizard who's on good terms with the local fairies.

At your mention of Ambrose, Navi chuckles softly. "I HAD noticed the wizard. I wonder..."

"Mom," Briar says in a Voice of Dawning Horror, "don't you DARE."

"I'm with Briar on this, Mother," the nearest of the larger fairies interjects with a shudder. "Please, don't."

"At least not where any of us have to see or hear it," her table-partner adds.

"Oh, for Farore's sake," Navi sighs. "Ruin all my fun, why don't you?"

Something about the latest line of conversation has you feeling decidedly uneasy, beyond just the notion of Navi collaborating with Ambrose. Deciding that you'd really rather not have that happen, you hurriedly proceed to your next question.

This one is aimed more at Kahine, since it has to do with the hot springs you heard existed on the slopes of her volcano. You're curious if that means she has a Water aspect, and if so, how she balances that with her essential Fire nature.

"Oh, the hot springs are not mine," Kahine tells you. "At least, no more than any child born of a mother's body is hers."

"Boy, girl, or elemental?" Navi inquires.

"The third," Kahine replies, snickering. To Navi, she says, "You understand how it is: the men didn't want another man spying on their women-folk in the bath; the women were just as jealous of their men; and so, while they believed there definitely WAS a spirit of the hot spring, they decided it must not be either. And so, my child is not."

The Great Fairy nods. "Humans, right?"

"I know!"

"Hey," you object, on behalf of your entire (current) species, and their cousins in other worlds.

The spirit and the fairy just laugh at you.

Grumbling to yourself, you press on with the subject of Elemental Harmony, and whether or not Kahine's child might be able to give you some insights into developing the skill.

Kahine considers that with a thoughtful frown. "I am unsure," she finally says. "My child is not really a spirit of Water AND Fire, but of 'Water touched by Fire.' It is similar, but not quite the same thing. Then too, they are also a spirit who has always been this way, and must go on always being this way to continue being who and what they are. You are mortal, and not so bound."

So, perhaps not the great insight you were hoping for. Despite that, meditating near and then in a volcanic hot spring that has its own elemental spirit would still be a good way to further your grasp of Environmental Adaptation. Navi agrees with that conclusion, and adds that interacting with a spirit of 'Water touched by Fire' would at least be a step in the right direction for dealing with a spirit of Water AND Fire.

You move on to your last question, which you lead up to by asking Navi how her kids, on the whole, have taken to Bali Ha'i.

"They've definitely enjoyed the change of scenery," she admits. "There's plenty to see and do in and around the Lost Woods, but most of them are old enough to have experienced all the fairy-safe attractions and either get a little bored with them, or fall into a routine. Shaking things up like this and meeting non-fairy people every once in a while is good for-" Navi pauses, blinks, and starts staring at something over your shoulder. "Oh, for Nayru's sake..."

You turn around to look at what she's seen, and spot a cloud of the smaller fairies, maybe twenty or so in total, flying towards the dining area at high speed. Right behind them is Ayane, wearing an unusually colorful outfit and a glare that verges on the homicidal - or fairy-cidal, if that's a word.

And by "unusual," you mean, "spattered with every color in the rainbow, and several that aren't."

"And then things like this happen," Navi sighs, "and I'm reminded of WHY I keep my little monsters away from the rest of you until AFTER they've developed some common sense."

---

"Yes." Navi answers your question in the same dry tone it was delivered.

Kahine had started chuckling at your words, the sound rather like a small, self-contained earthquake. When she registers Navi's response, the volcano spirit laughs openly, punctuating her outburst - dare you say, eruption? - of amusement by smacking the top of the table with one hand.

Shaking your head, you set down your utensils, wipe a bit of pancake topping from the edge of your mouth, and get up to intercept the incoming fairy-cloud and irate kunoichi.

"Uh-oh!" one of the fairies cries. "Look who's coming!"

"We're in trouble now!"

"Doomed!"

Their words in no way match the tone of their voices, gleeful and energetic as they are. It's pretty clear this bunch of fairies doesn't expect to face serious consequences for their actions - or perhaps that provoking such reactions was the whole point of glitter-bombing Ayane.

"Ayane," you greet her, as you pass under the cloud of winged lights.

"Alex," she returns through clenched teeth.

You gesture at her... excessive color. "Would you like me to cast a Spell of-"

"YES."

Okay, then.

Fortunately, it doesn't take anything more than the humble Spell of Prestidigitation to get the shattered rainbow of fairy glitter off of Ayane's person. You basically trail a glowing hand through the air a couple of inches from her body, and the sparkling dust just lifts off and floats towards the manifestation of the spell in delicate, smoky trails, before being scattered to the winds.

"Hey! He's wrecking our hard work!"

"We put a lot of effort into that!"

Ayane glares at that one.

"Back off, you little brats," Briar warns.

"Oh, look at Little Big Sis Briar, throwing her new weight around," one of the smaller fairies retorts. "'Look how big I am, and how I've got a partner who's all huge and magical! You have to do what I say, or I'll sic him on you!'" This is followed by a sound of mock-vomiting. "Blech! As if!"

"Why you little-"

"There's no need for that, Briar," you interject.

"...eh?" your partner queries.

"...eh?" her siblings chorus.

Ayane doesn't repeat the utterance, but does give you a sharp look.

Keeping one eye on your progress with dusting off the ninja-girl - and sparing her a quick, speaking glance to let you handle things - you turn your head to the cloud of hovering fairies, and smile. "Speaking as the host of this party, I've already decided on the proper punishment for these... troublemakers."

"...uh-oh," one of them says, with actual honesty.

"Oh yeah?" another challenges, fluttering into your face. "What are you gonna do, huh? In front of our Mom?"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah, do your worst!"

"Bring it on!"

"Doomed!"

Your smile does not waver. "My worst, is it? Do you REALLY want to see my worst?"

"YEAH!"

"We ain't afraid of you!"

"Uh, guys...?" that one nervous fairy tries to cut in. "I think we may have a problem..."

"Okay, then!" you proclaim, clapping your hands together to end the cleaning magic. "Navi, they're all yours."

There is a moment of silence as the lesser fairies hang in mid-air. Then, moving as one, the majority of the cloud turn to face in the same direction as their nervous sibling, who - either by dint of keen instinct, sharp senses, or just good judgment - had previously thought to keep an eye on his surroundings.

"Thank you, Alex," Navi says sweetly, having suppressed her presence and come up behind her little monsters while most of them had their attention on you. "And you have my apology for my children's misbehavior, Miss Ayane. I'll make sure that they understand their mistake; you have my word."

"...oh, Deku Nuts."

"Doomed!"

"I tried to warn you..."

Ayane regards Navi for a moment. Although the young kunoichi guards her emotions well, you get the impression that she doesn't quite know what to make of the Great Fairy. You have to admit, it's a fair reaction; Navi is as tall as the average adult human woman, which fits the "Mom with unruly brats" vibe she's giving off right now, but when you take the size of her KIDS into account, things get a bit weird.

That's not even getting into the wings or that quiet aura of divine power.

Whatever she's thinking, Ayane finally nods, and accepts Navi's apology.

"Come along, now, you lot," Navi says, looking over the flight. "We're going to have a little talk."

"Doomed!"

And with that, Navi leads her kids away from the dining area.

---

Although you do want to the talk with Kahine about the possibility of people once again taking up residence on Bali Ha'i, it's not exactly a screamingly urgent topic. It can certainly wait while you handle the fallout from this particular incident.

That said, you do send a look the volcano-spirit's way, gesturing silently at the disgruntled ninja-girl to your side and voicelessly apologizing for cutting out of the conversation you had going before Ayane and the fairies showed up.

Kahine just nods and waves her hand at you to get on with it.

Having confirmed that the powerful elemental doesn't feel slighted or ignored by your actions, you refocus your attention on Ayane and ask what happened.

It's occurred to you that if the fairies pulled their little prank in one of the Mansions, you'll need to look into upgrading the security for them - such as it is. Not the sort of thing you were planning to do this morning, but you can't just leave your guests open to being pranked like this, either.

Fortunately, that's not what happened. In terse sentences, Ayane explains that she found a nice, quiet place to do her morning meditation and exercises down the beach, past the dining area and in the direction of the lagoon. She doesn't specify where beyond that, and you don't press for details. The first of the fairies found her there-

"Before or after you finished meditating?" you ask.

"After," the kunoichi admits with annoyed relief.

Small blessings, then.

-and seemed content to just watch her practice, even if her unarmed fighting techniques were the only thing she was using. But then a lot more fairies suddenly showed up, yelling battle cries and firing spells in all directions-

"They were actually shouting the words, 'Battle cry,' weren't they?"

Ayane blinks. "How did you know?"

You and Briar trade glances, and sigh.

"Ambrose?" you venture, recalling the 'ambush' of little fairies the wizard arranged for your very first visit to the Drake Estate.

"Much as I'd like to blame him, I can't," Briar grudgingly admits. "They're just a bunch of idiots."

-and while Ayane didn't exactly object to an opportunity to get in some dodging practice even while in the middle of sparring - she IS a ninja, after all - she would have appreciated the fairies ASKING her about it first. And she especially would have appreciated it if they'd stopped at some point before she was basically painted head-to-toe. Which, of course, they didn't.

Ayane's good, but asking her to face twenty-to-one odds is a bit much. More so, when the methods she'd normally use to deter and discourage such unwanted "help" were off the table, by dint of being too likely to cause serious harm to beings as small as those fairies.

While Ayane talks, you escort her over to the buffet and let her grab breakfast, in the hope that it will help her feel better.

Something seems to, because by the time she's finished grumbling about Navi's brats - which is when you're both sitting at one of the unoccupied tables - she looks to have recovered her usual emotional equilibrium.

Feeling the danger has passed, you ask Ayane how she's finding everything so far - Fae annoyances aside.

She considers that question in silence for a time, and then, in between bites of breakfast, starts listing off points about your party.

You've invited on the order of a hundred people.

A number of the guests are Important People, Powerful Beings, Important AND Powerful, or have the potential to become so.

You've basically rented out an ENTIRE tropical paradise to host your birthday, with catering, entertainment, accomodations, and travel arrangements made on your own dollar. So to speak.

And you did ALL of this with magic.

"I don't have experience with parties like this," Ayane admits levelly. "It's very nice and all, but it's still a bit overwhelming."

Lu-sensei made his appearance midway through your conversation with Ayane. You know that, like her, he went off somewhere to greet the morning with his usual routine, but unlike her, he appears to have dodged any fairy attention.

---

Your response to Ayane's statement is a slow, slightly sheepish nod.

"Yeah," you admit, "about that..."

You spare a moment to look around at the dining area again, as if seeing it with new eyes. Between the conjured or just fresh and exotic materials, the summoned spirit presiding as your head chef, the spectral singers for entertainment, and the nature and origins of the guests themselves, it's the kind of scene that could only come about through the exercise of a considerable amount of power.

Whether said power took the form of personal magic, as was the case for you, or the material wealth and political connections to HIRE said magic, as would have been the case for most other people capable of putting a party like this together, is kind of not the point.

"If I'm being completely honest," you say slowly, "what happened is, I'm a nine year-old with magic, and I took all the responsibility for planning my own birthday party onto myself. That meant that when I had what seemed like a good idea, there wasn't anybody in a position to stop me from following through."

"What, not even Briar?" Ayane inquires lightly. Her tone is half-teasing, half-serious.

"Speaking in the established spirit of honesty," Briar says, "I was hoping that all the planning and preparation for this thing would keep him out of trouble for a while."

You do a double-take at your partner at this.

Ayane, on the other hand, nods thoughtfully. "Did it work?"

Briar sighs. "In the short term, kind of. We had an interesting encounter or two finding this place, and then there was meeting and negotiating with Big Kahine over there."

"And in the long term?"

"I think it's given him ideas," your partner groans.

Well, yes, it has. But do they really think you have no sense of self-restraint at all?

Ayane musters a wryly sympathetic smile. "Do your best, Briar."

...apparently so.

Seeing as how Ayane's mood has improved to the point where she feels comfortable poking fun at you, you figure you can wrap this conversation up. You don't do so immediately, but after a couple minutes more of comparatively idle chit-chat, you excuse yourself, head back over to Kahine's table for a second to fetch your plate, and then dash back to the buffet to grab a second helping of breakfast.

That done, you join your martial arts instructor at his table, where you spend a few minutes eating in mutual quiet.

"I take it you have something you wish to talk about?" Lu-sensei says, after he's about halfway through his meal.

You nod, swallow, and wipe your mouth, and then explain about the dual Sword Beam clash you and Mouse experienced while sparring.

Lu-sensei listens calmly as he continues to slowly, steadily clear his plate.

When you've finished explaining what Navi had to say on the topic, your master nods.

"I wasn't ever planning to let you use that technique in the dojo," he notes, "so that's no difficulty there. But we'll have to work out some sort of alternative arrangement; I'd be a poor master indeed if I encouraged you to neglect one of your skills... and I must admit, I am curious to see where you take this one in particular. I've seen plenty of ki techniques that infuse or enhance weapons over the years, even ones that involve projectiles, but this Sword Beam of yours is a bit different."

"How so?" Briar asks curiously.

"It's the ability to gather enough energy to produce a damaging strike, much less a ranged one, without actually dipping into your reserves, that's really interesting," Lu-sensei tells the fairy. "There are ki abilities that specialists and masters can hone to the point where they don't need to expend energy to produce a useful result; Alex's own Ki Sight and Ki Sense are good examples. But this one is free to use from the beginning, even for novices. That's honestly a remarkable achievement." He pauses to spear part of a thin pancake with his fork, adding, "I do wonder how these Hylians came up with it."

"I think it's one part environment, and one part equipment," Briar says after a moment.

"Oh?"

"Hyrule's a lot more magically-active than Earth is right now," the fairy explains. "It has been for all of Mom's lifetime, at least, and probably a lot longer than that, if the stories she tells about the Great Deku Tree are right. That makes supernatural skills like the Sword Beam easier to discover and use."

Your teacher accepts that with a nod. "And the equipment?"

"Hylian steel isn't like regular steel," Briar tells him. "I don't know if it's because the ores are mined in Hyrule, and benefit from the environmental influence, or if there's something the smiths do when they forge the stuff. For all I know, it's both. Either way, it's a little stronger and more magically-reactive than common steel."

"Which would have made the original discovery of the Sword Beam technique easier again," Lu-sensei concludes, taking her point.

As you plough through your second course of the morning, you check the time and consider your schedule. It's still shy of seven o'clock local time, and you're not going to start the morning's big events - the Great Island Boar Hunt on the one hand, and the Great Island Triathlon on the other - for another couple of hours. But you do have some Memorian ghosts to summon, and others to eventually send on their way; all things considered, you'd be rude not to call up Captain Marcus and his command staff in time for them to have their first actual meal in a millennium.

Still, you could probably spare a little more time to finish your own breakfast and the conversations over it...

---

As tempting as the idea of a third pass at the buffet is - mmmm, island bacon - you do have a group of Memorians to summon. Given Captain Marcus's almost tearful reaction to the spiritually-infused banana you gave him to demonstrate the Spell of Ghost Food, you think he and his men would REALLY appreciate the chance to sit down to breakfast, so it would be best to get on with calling them up.

Sending the first day's batch of Memorians back to the base can wait until they've made an appearance. It's just the act of ending your spell and the hold it's maintaining on them, so it won't cost you any actual mana.

You finish up your second course, clean up, and then make your apologies to your guests before heading back down the beach to the loosely-designated landing area.

As you set up the summoning circle, once again including the Memorian Sending Stone as a focus to bypass the wards on their outpost, you spare a moment to regret that you couldn't arrange for Jermafencer to pick up your spectral guests, as he did your Earthborn invitees. While it would have cost you a few more Rupees or some additional spellwork for the Death Coach, it would have saved you time and mana today.

On the other hand, given the ancient not-Romans' unpleasant history with the Fae, you doubt they would have gone for the idea of traveling with someone who is of Fae descent himself.

You complete the circle without issue, and commence with the first of the Planar Binding rituals. By your estimation, it will take seven separate castings of the spell, at varying levels of power, in order to bring forth Captain Marcus, his command staff, and their escort. Factor in some time for greetings and having Briar show the ghosts to the Mansion where they'll be staying, and you're probably looking at a good hour and a half of work.

Good thing you decided not to wait.

As you previously arranged, you start by summoning Marcus. In addition, since you don't want to waste time or mana casting more spells than are absolutely required to get the job done, you widen the magic's metaphorical net to include a couple of the lower-ranking soldiers as well.

Three translucent figures shimmer into view within your circle. One of them is wearing the same sort of simple tunic and leggings as the soldiers you summoned yesterday, but the second is more formally dressed, with some sort of mantle pulled over his own tunic. The new garment's spectral nature leeches away its color, but you think it was supposed to be red.

Marcus himself is dressed even more finely, in something akin to a Roman toga - again, a faded-out red, with a sash that might have sported golden thread in life.

No sooner have the ghosts fully materialized, than the most humbly-dressed of the trio seems to stagger in place.

"Steady, Septimus," the officer says at once, reaching out to put one hand on his subordinate's shoulder.

"The sea..." the ghost whispers, staring towards the shining star, now risen well above the distant line where the sea meets the sky. "I never thought to see it again. And the sun... it's so... warm..."
Take heart, soldier. Your long watch nears its end at last.
The officer has no response to that. Even Marcus spends a moment looking to the east, simply basking in the light of the dawn, before he turns to face you.

"I bid you greetings once more, young Alexander," the captain says. "And on behalf of myself and all my men, thank you again for your invitation."

"You're welcome, Captain."

Over the next hour, you summon Magus Hermanus, Priest Cato, and another sixteen soldiers, split about three to two between enlisted and officers. In a mirror of the previous day's summoning of spirits, Briar escorts each newly-arrived trio directly to their barracks - where, as she tells you, the group of common soldiers you summoned yesterday are starting to show themselves - while you follow along with the last pair, to ritually cast a Communal Spell of Tongues over the entire group of new arrivals and ease the communication issue.

With that done, you look around the front hall of the Mansion. Where the first group of ghosts went almost straight for drinking and singing yesterday, today they're more restrained. You're not sure if this is because of the hour, or because a sense of order and decorum is being enforced by the presence of so many officers, even when they're officially off-duty. Despite their more subdued behavior, the common soldiers are still quite energetically recommending food that the new arrivals have to try.

While you're here, is there anything you'd like to talk to one or more of the Memorians about?

---

As long as you're here, with all the Memorians, you figure you might as well make sure they're all up to speed on what you have planned for today.

The soldiers who were present for yesterday's festivities are alternately helpful and frustrating to your efforts in this regard, giving the food - and the drinks! - you've provided their stamp of approval, having reasonably good things to say about the evening's musical entertainment, and speaking in glowing terms of the ladies present.

Lady Akemi, in particular, seems to have developed something of a following amongst the soldiery.

You can't help what wonder what Lady Takara's thoughts on that are like.

With an effort, and no few ectoplasmic headslaps from the sergeants to their men, you're able to restore a degree of order and direction to the discussion.

It lasts right up until you mention that the first item on the docket after breakfast is to be a boar hunt.

The whole room is overtaken by a hush, as two-score pairs of spectral eyes focus on you.

"Did he say a hunt?"

"Boars?"

"That's what I heard."

"Gods, how long has it been...?"

"As long as it's been for everything else!"

"What I wouldn't give-"

"You mean, what we ALL wouldn't give!"

"Aye!"

"Aye!"

"Captain!" several voices cry out in unison.

"Settle down, lads," Marcus speaks over the commotion.

His words are not spoken as an order, but they're obeyed just as quickly as one.

Gained Commanding King F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)

In the renewed silence, you're treated to a truly bewildering sight: the entire batch of soldiers you summoned yesterday, sergeants included, are giving their commanding officer the sort of look you've seen Zelda give Mom when she's hoping for candy or an extra serving of ice cream.

Marcus, in turn, regards them with the same wryly amused expression you've seen on Mom's face in those very situations.

"Let me guess," he says, voice as dry as the dust of his long-decomposed body. "You want to stay for the hunt."

There is a round of eager nods, and one of the sergeants respectfully adds, "We could take the kills back to base with us when we leave, sir. Be a welcome boost to morale for the lads still there."

"...it would," Marcus agrees after a moment's thought. Then he turns to you. "What do you think, Alexander?"

It's no skin off your nose if the first day's ghostly guests remain to take part in the hunt. Yes, it'll mean a somewhat larger dent in the island's porcine population, but Kahine told you when you proposed this idea that the pigs' numbers were getting out of hand. Removing a few more bodies this one time isn't going to drive the pigs to extinction.

You're also not worried about the ghosts taking the meat back with them. The Spell of Planar Binding is designed to facilitate the transfer of goods and services between realms, so you wouldn't have to do any extra spellcasting to let the Memorians carry their kills to Faerie. The meat will need the Spell of Ghost Food cast upon it, of course, but you can handle that with a simple ritual, and no loss of mana.

The only potential downside to this for you is the matter of proper equipment. You didn't have quite this many potential hunters in mind when you were preparing the spears and protective gear that the islanders' ghosts and your Hyrulean tutors recommended. Granted, the Memorians are all dead and incorporeal, and so past caring about the risk of being gored or trampled by angry boars-

That thought is greeted with a rumble of protest from the great tusked beast in your soul.

"Okay," you concede in your own mind. "MOST boars."

-but there's appearances and tradition to think about here.

---

"My only concern is that I wasn't expecting to have quite this many guests when I was making preparations for the hunt," you tell Captain Marcus. "I'm running up against the limits of my personal resources as-is; if your men are going to take part in the hunt, they'll have to be responsible for getting their own equipment on short notice."

Marcus glances at the sergeant who made himself a spokesman for the squad. "Well, Decanus?"

"Not a problem, Captain! If these boneheads can't find a few straight sticks in a whole forest, I'll drag the whole sorry lot back to base myself."

Some of the troopers give their sergeant dour looks at that, spectral faces shifting into truly ghastly death-masks that would chill the heart of any man caught as the focus of their ire.

Being dead himself, and a sergeant besides, the man doesn't even notice.

Marcus, for his part, just nods. "Very well, then. I'll allow it."

There is a cheer from the men, who quickly excuse themselves and depart the Mansion to see what sort of equipment they can scrounge from Bali Ha'i.

You'll be curious to see how that turns out. Is the island going to help them out, or will it ignore them?

With that matter attended to for the time being, you invite Marcus, Hermanus, Cato, and the officers to join you and the rest of your guests for breakfast outside. They readily accept, and as you escort them out of the Mansion, you notice a certain tension go out of the enlisted men as they settle in around the dining table to enjoy the conjured feast that the servants are bringing out.

Marcus and his command staff carry themselves well during the introductions to the breakfast crowd, which by this point includes most of your remaining guests. There are a few bleary eyes among those more inconvenience by time zone differences than the others, but everyone seems to be more or less on the same clock now.

This includes the Reinhardts, from whom you learn that Lord Tepes and Jermafencer returned a couple of hours after you retired for the evening; they were a little more scuffed than when they departed, but basically uninjured and feeling quite pleased with themselves on the whole. Exactly what transpired on their trip into Faerie, you aren't told: Amelia was discouraged from eavesdropping on her elders when they discussed it; Adrian accepted a ride home from Jermafencer, on the condition that the knight join him for a drink to celebrate their mutual victory; and Annette doesn't disclose what her father told her, beyond saying that the self-styled Lord of the Withered Wood was sufficiently-chastised to suit Sir Jermafencer.

She does mention that the Fae Knight in question is not dead, which is mixed tidings. On the one hand, there's no worry about a blood feud. On the other, the guy's not dead, and could be plotting vengeance even as you speak - except that he's apparently in hot water (or should that be cold water, for a member of the Winter Court?) with the rest of his family, including his father, the ACTUAL Owner of the Fancy Title.

You make a mental note to ask Jermafencer about the whole business, the next time you call him up.

After breakfast, you make a general announcement about the day's events. You already told everyone that you'd be starting the Great Island Boar Hunt this morning, an hour or so after breakfast ends, and that an Island Triathlon would be running concurrently with that, for those not interested in helping control the local pig population. This announcement is to provide more details about the events, and you turn it over to Kahine, who is best-suited to explain the rules - such as they are.

The Great Island Boar Hunt will mostly be confined to the far side of Bali Ha'i, as that's where the pigs are most concentrated. Kahine tells the other guests up front that she, the island's spirit, and the other elementals that call Bali Ha'i aren't concerned about how many pigs they kill today; she repeats her prior statement to you about the animals being in need of a good culling, and encourages the more predatory individuals among your party to indulge themselves.

The assorted non-humans look very pleased to hear this, though there are a few exceptions: Katara just looks at her brother and father with resignation; Tatsuki seems puzzled by the whole business; and most of Navi's kids aren't even paying attention to the topic.

"Most" is not "all." Briar's Biggest Sister Summer is visibly excited, and you catch her discussing boar recipes with Shaman Keoni.

For those who've never hunted boar before, Kahine calls up a few of the islander ghosts to show off the broad-bladed spears and padded equipment you prepared, and demonstrate how everything is meant to be worn and used. She also describes how the hunt is performed, with a relatively large group of hunters causing a ruckus to drive the animals towards individuals waiting to intercept them. Neither task is exactly safe, as the boars are strong and surly, and most of the kids your age are not going to be taking part.

Gained Spear Training F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)

Hence the Triathlon. This event will be focused on the near side of the island, and consist of a swim across the lagoon, a canoe race up the river that feeds the lagoon, and finally, a run up the mountainside to Kahine's shrine. Unlike the Hunt, which is expected to continue off and on for the rest of the day, the Triathlon should be over in time for lunch.

Just to be clear, unless somebody gets VERY lucky and scores an early kill on the Hunt, you won't be having boar for lunch. It takes a while to clean the carcasses properly, much less cook them.

Dinner, on the other hand, IS intended to be centered around freshly-cooked island pork.

You know, unless your mighty hunters have a really poor showing.

---

Although you are tempted to try your hand at boar hunting, there are a number of factors that have you deciding against it.

For one thing, you're the one hosting this celebration. While that doesn't automatically preclude you from taking part in the entertainments, especially given your age, it does behoove you to be available if any of your guests have questions or concerns. Splitting up the festivities into events opposite sides of Bali Ha'i is going to make that difficult enough as it is; disappearing into boar territory on top of that would make it actively hazardous for some of your guests to try and seek you out, which simply won't do.

Another issue is your upcoming entry into the Ring of Trials. That has been intended as the main event of the party for months now, and after all the time and effort you've poured into preparing for it (and the party in general), you're not inclined to take chances with anything that might screw up your showing.

You've been putting a fair amount of work into avoiding any unnecessary expenditures of mana for the last day, and will be doing so for several hours yet to come. The frame of mind that's put you into is one that is disinclined to burn your OTHER energy reserves ahead of the Trials - mostly physical and ki, given the situation - and is not keen on courting potential physical injury, either.

Ki enhancements or no, this method of hunting boils down to, "put yourself in front of a large and very angry beast, impale it on a sharp and pointy stick when it charges you, and then don't die."

You've done things at least as scary, and you don't doubt that some of your guests would say the risk is half the fun, but you think your parents would have quite a different response.

At least where you're concerned; the way your Dad is talking with Arthur and Issa, while not-too-subtly eyeing the spear and padded armor being shown off by the Bali Ha'ian ghost singer, he seems to be giving serious thought to joining the Hunt himself.

The way Mom is eyeing HIM in turn, he may have to think twice about that.

Either way, you're going to be putting them through enough of an emotional wringer with the Trials. You don't see the need to compound that.

The Triathlon, meanwhile, just fails to grab your interest to the extent the Hunt did.

"Hey, Alex!" Sokka cries, as he appears next to you, having already acquired a spear and donned a suit of padded armor. You note in passing that the casual way he carries both speaks of prior practice with similar tools. "Are you ready for the Hunt?"

"I'm not going to be hunting today, Sokka."

...he looks like you just told him bacon was made of celery. Or tofu.

Sokka isn't the only one you end up having to explain your reasoning to, and your decision to bow out of both events has an impact on the proceedings. A lot of your friends are openly surprised by your choice, if not to the same extent that Sokka was and continues to be, and a couple of the younger crowd you'd expected would try to get in on the Hunt either don't make the attempt, or are less eager in their efforts to convince their parents and guardians to allow them to take part.

In the end, the only kids who will be attending the Great Island Boar Hunt are Sokka, Akua, and Moka. Kahlua looks torn between accompanying her sisters or staying with you, but after Emiko easily announces that she'll be sitting out the Hunt, the second-eldest Shuzen girl makes her choice in an instant. That's the most surprising choice among the kids in your age group; the only ones that even make you bat an eyelash are Altria and the two youngest Hayashi girls. The latter are evidently still too young to hunt wild boar, at least in such unfamiliar and spiritually-potent territory as Bali Ha'i, whereas Altria just seems more interested in the competitive aspect of the Triathlon.

As for the older kids and the adults, virtually all the Japanese monsters are going to be taking part in the Hunt, with only Gyokuro and Mrs. Hayashi bowing out to keep an eye on their respective daughters. Neither woman appears all that disappointed about this arrangement, actually, which has you wondering if perhaps they don't like to hunt this way, or just aren't fans of pork.

Batreaux, Madam Lanora, and Biggest Sister Summer are going to join the Hunt, and Akkiko decides to tag along after talking with your ex-demon tutor about it for a couple of minutes. Hakoda is taking Sokka with him (or vice-versa), but Elder Tiriaq waves off the offer to accompany them, saying he prefers to spend the time exploring Bali Ha'i and getting a better feel for its environment and the spirits that reside there.

His choice.

Among the human guests, you aren't at all surprised to see Arthur Drake going, and only slightly so when your father joins him. Balthazar's participation comes as something of a shock, particularly to Dave, but that's nothing compared to the reaction of the rest of your guests when the whole contingent of enlisted Memorians turns up, carrying loads of recently-harvested timber. Some of the branches have been cut into simple spears, while others are obvious intended to be used as stakes, and yet more - all very thin - haven't been altered at all as far as you can tell.

Marcus inspects the materials his men have gathered, using one of the crude spears as a focus for the Spell of Magic Weaponry, and causing it to sprout ghostly force-planes in the shape of a proper spearhead. Then, with a nod of satisfaction, he plants the butt of the spear in the sand, declares that ALL his men will be joining the Hunt, and invokes the blessings of Mars and Diana for a good hunt.
Ah, boys. I'd grant that prayer if I could.
This immediately sets off the island ghosts, who declare that THEY will all be going on the Hunt as well, and immediately turn to Kahine for HER blessing - which, laughingly, the volcano-spirit grants them.
Oh HO. So it's going to be like THAT, is it?
Naturally, this has your OTHER guests boasting about the pigs that THEY'RE going to catch, which somehow leads to Koron, Lanora, and Terok blessing the rest of the hunting party.
In that case, may the best hunting goddess win!
It's all good natured ribbing, but you can't help but feel a little bad for the pigs.
...is she allowed to do that?
Seriously, this is starting to look less like a Boar Hunt, and more like a Boar War.
For some of our ancient worshippers, calling upon us by the Old Ways, while acting in opposition to the outsider Goddesses?
Shaking your head at the antics of your guests, you go in search of Shaman Keoni, to see if he thinks he'll need more help preparing and cooking all the meat that's likely to come in as a result of this.

---

Once the basic preparations are done, the small army of mighty hunters head towards the jungle, joking and boasting with each other as they go.

Sokka pauses, looks back over his shoulder at you, and shakes his head in disbelief one last time. Then he hurries to catch up with his dad.

With the Great Island Boar Hunt underway, the majority of the remaining guests start making preparations for the Just-As-Great Island Triathlon. Those who will be participating head back to their rooms to change into their swimsuits and grab towels, running shoes, and some other articles of clothing, while the rest head for the lagoon, where the first phases of the race will be held, and the second begin.

In the days leading up to the party, you were assisted by the summoned ghosts of the islanders in preparing canoes and oars. You also conjured a bunch of emergency flotation vests, more as a reasonable precaution than because you think such equipment will be necessary; the river is neither wild nor all that deep, and the spirit of the island would certainly intercede if somebody got into trouble.

Still, the sight of the red vests seems to reassure the parents and other guardians who are with you.

The three Shuzens, in particular, are downright relieved, which makes sense when you stop and consider what their prior experiences with water must have been like.

Amelia and her mother, on the other hand, barely even blink at the sight of the gear. Odd.

It's quite a crowd that lines up on the near shore of the lagoon, where the starting line for the race has been laid out: a single row of alternating white and black boxes, created by a simple cantrip on your part and glowing slightly even in the clear, sunny morning. For safety reasons, for simple fun, and because it would have been a bit dull for the audience to get left behind after the second stage of the race started, you'd let it be known that team-ups were allowed; this has resulted in quite a few of the older crowd joining the starting line.

Tatsuki is with the Kurosakis, teaming up with Karin so that Isshin can be Yuzu's partner. Ichigo, naturally, is with his mother.

Gyokuro is partnered with Kokoa, mother and daughter alike fidgeting under the bright sun and glancing nervously at the clear waters of the lagoon, even with the protective spells you cast yesterday still going strong. Kahlua is less visibly nervous, though that may be because she's discussing strategy with Katara, who has agreed to be her partner.

The two youngest Hayashi sisters are arguing over who gets to race with their mother, and who has to run with Emiko; Cordelia called Lu-sensei as HER teammate, to Larry and Amy's mutual annoyance; and Altria found herself stuck with Ambrose.

You overheard the small blonde firmly telling the old wizard, "No cheating."

His response was, "No promises."

Then there's Ayane, who you half-expect to run the Triathlon herself, or to follow your lead and bow out of it. She surprises you by taking a third option and teaming up with the Postman, while Koron joins forces with one of Navi's older kids.

"Team Forest is go!"

The rest of the partnerships formed along family lines, leaving you, your mother, Zelda, Lady Akemi, Kahine, and Navi as the only ones not participating in the race. The smaller fairies technically aren't racing either, but a lot of them are clearly intent on following the racers directly. The less-energetic ones have clustered around their mother and the rest of the audience - mainly Zelda, which you suspect is why your sister isn't raising more of a fuss about not getting to run the race.

Once everyone is in place, you signal the start of the race with a flash-bang cantrip.

The first stage of the Triathlon goes... well, it goes. The Drakes and the Hayashi Clan are the first to make it across, with Emiko and her mother managing to keep up with the sheer speed displayed by Altria and her mother. Anna falls a bit behind, there, as do Mio and Miu, though it's clear the youngest foxes have had swimming lessons.

Ambrose shamelessly casts a spell that lets him walk on water, and strolls across to the far side, albeit at a pace that puts him only a bit ahead of the middle of the pack.

Lu-sensei one-ups that by not leaving the starting line at all until Cordelia has made it across the lagoon, at which point your master runs across the water - and not at Body Flicker speeds, but slow enough to be visible to the unaided eye - passing Ambrose and making a slightly rude gesture.

It's returned in kind.

Despite their tremendous physical advantage in almost any other environment, the vampires are among the last to finish the first leg of the Triathlon. They simply aren't used to being able to move in water without suffering pain and weakness, and it shows. The only exception to this is Kahlua, who is more or less dragged across the lagoon by her partner, Katara being perfectly at home in the water and able to use Waterbending for a little extra boost.

As each team finishes, they move straight to the canoes, dragging them to the water's edge, buckling on life-preserver vests, and then launching. In short order, there's a whole little fleet moving up the river, fairies riding along or flying overhead, cheering them all on.

Gained Piloting (Aquatic) F

Those of you left on the shore turn and follow Kahine to the "finish line," the combination of Bali Ha'i's helpful geography and the volcano-spirit's direct guidance allowing you to make the trek to and up the mountainside with uncanny speed - less than fifteen minutes, all told, not even a third of the time it took you to hike up on your first day.

Your mother is the only member of the reduced party to express any discomfort with how fast you make this trip, and even then, she's at least as much impressed as she is unsettled. Especially after you explain that you know a few spells that would let you make the journey in a similar amount of time, without even getting into teleportation.

You've only been outside the cave for a few minutes when the leading teams come into view.

Katara has mostly overcome her issues with maintaining humanoid feet, but you had wondered if she was comfortable enough with them to run a mountain path. Evidently not, or else Kahlua had similar concerns; either way, she's carrying the other girl on her back, basically unhindered by the added weight.

You're not sure if Altria and Lucia were inspired by Kahlua's example, if it was the other way around, or if they all came to similar conclusions separately, but they're also carrying their slower partners, and visibly glowing to make up for their lack of natural superhuman strength and speed.

Ambrose is laughing all the way, cheering Altria on.

Idly curious, you sidle over to the edge of the cliff and look down at the path leading up to Kahine's cave, to try and see what the other racers are doing.

...

There DO seem to be several decidedly top-heavy and excessively limbed figures making their way up the slope of the volcano. It's not every team, but at the very least, the Kurosaki twins and the youngest of the Hayashi sisters appear to have reached the limits of their endurance, while Gyokuro and Annette have shamelessly exploited their strength and speed to make up the time they lost in the first part of the race - and then some.

In the end, it comes down to a neck-and-neck sprint between Lucia and Kahlua. Altria gives it a good effort, but her passenger is the largest - both in absolute and relative terms - and while neither Kahlua nor Lucia are exactly tall people, Altria is still smaller than either of them, which compounds the issue of having a full-grown wizard on her back.

Maybe it's because she has the smallest passenger, compared to her size, or because she has much more training for and experience with moving at this kind of speed. Perhaps it's simply because she has the longest legs; regardless, Lucia crosses the finish line two whole strides ahead of Kahlua.

She and Anna are officially the winners of the Great Island Triathlon.

"So," Lucia asks breathlessly, "how will we be getting back down?"

After a quick conversation with Kahine, Ambrose volunteers to take care of that, pulling his staff out of nowhere, planting the butt against the rock of the mountain, and opening a glowing-edged "door" in the air. The dining area is visible on the other side of the portal, and Kahlua, Katara, and the Drake ladies hurry through, heading straight for the drinks.

As each team arrives in turn, they're ushered through the wizard's return route, bringing the event to a close.

Last to reach the finish line are Team Blaisdell, mostly on account of Lily. She's in great shape for a woman her age, but she IS in her sixties, and lacks any sort of supernatural power to compensate for her physical limitations. Larry, meanwhile, made his breakthrough in consciously-using ki a while ago, but is still very new to the skill and only capable of pushing so far - and not nearly so much that he could have carried his grandmother up the mountain path.

Larry takes the defeat in stride, admitting that Lily did warn him she was never one for speed. He doesn't really mind, though; he had a good time racing with her regardless of the outcome.

And hey, there's always next year, right?

From start to finish, the Great Island Triathlon lasted about ninety minutes, and appears to have been enjoyed by most of the competitors. There are some disappointed looks here and there - Kokoa in particular is visibly annoyed that none of her family won - but on the whole, this event looks to have been a success.

After cooling down, rehydrating, and spending some time chatting - Yuzu is gleefully telling a story about how Daddy capsized their canoe to anyone who'll listen, with Isshin laughing nervously and trying to brush off his wife's stern glare - most of the racers make their way back to their rooms to shower and change. A few others decide to make the most of the swimsuits they're already wearing, and spend the time before lunch at the beach proper.

Speaking of lunch, none of the mighty hunters make it back early enough with their kills for Shaman Keoni to prepare boar for this meal. Instead, they return as they left, marching as a huge group, arguing good naturedly about their successes.

And WHAT success. Whether due to the sheer number of hunters, the blessings of the various gods, or simple luck, they've come back covered in glory - which is say, they're carrying enough freshly-slain boars to feed everyone on the island, ghosts included, for the remainder of your party. Probably with leftovers.

The Memorians set aside the three largest carcasses they took, boars as long as Moblin and easily three times as massive, which Priest Cato will sacrifice to Mars and Diana for their favor in the day's hunt, and to the memory of Memoria. Another ten animals, only somewhat smaller, are borne back to the Faerie outpost by the returning troops, who thank you wholeheartedly for this excellent leave as you end the magic holding them here.

Gained 10 Gratitude Crystals

The Memorians have another dozen pigs between them, while the ghosts of the islanders caught seventeen. There's an argument going on about who won the "hunting contest," with the Memorian side claiming victory because they had the most kills, and the Bali Ha'ian side claiming that the kills have to be counted proportionately, due the soldiers' greater numbers.

Issa comes back with torn clothes, two large boars slung over his shoulders, and the widest grin you've ever seen on his face. Moka and Akua are more intact, and carrying a pig apiece, while Miss Akasha has no less than four bodies hanging on a long stake, which she carries balanced on her shoulder as she talks with Biggest Sister Summer.

The fairy girl, incidentally, is levitating four pigs as big as she is along behind her.
'atta girl.
Yikes.

Arthur Drake is dragging a couple pigs behind him on a litter, while your dad has one of his own. Hayashi Asamu and Miss Hanabi don't have any kills in sight, but both of them seem very self-satisfied - and when Emiko catches sight of her father and her aunt, she stares for a moment, before sticking her tongue out and gagging in disgust.

...did they...?

By far the most energetic of the returned hunters is Sokka, who proudly shows off the young boar he took, even though it's one of the smaller animals in the lot.

The Great Island Boar Hunt also appears to have been a success with those who took part in it.

It also leaves you with over sixty carcasses in need of dressing and preservation. The Memorians and the islanders are taking care of their own, Miss Akasha, Hakoda, and Summer say they can handle theirs - Akasha grabs the rest of the family to show them how it's done; Sokka starts to say something about getting Katara to do it, until he catches the look his sister AND their father are giving him; and Summer smiles at a few of her siblings until they sigh and get up to help out - and Shaman Keoni has grabbed a few to prepare for dinner, but that still leaves close to twenty pigs, and a bunch of hunters who aren't entirely sure what to do with them.

In hindsight, it's a good thing you upgraded the servants in the Mansions.

Gained Cooking E (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Survival F (Plus)

Lunch is dominated by an exchange of stories between victorious (and not-so-victorious) racers and triumphant hunters, with plenty of exaggerating on both sides.

Akua takes a positively ghoulish delight in describing the process of dressing a dead pig to anyone who'll listen, and ends up in a contest with Sokka to see who can spin the most disgusting take on the tale of pulling guts from a corpse.

Sokka wins, partly on account of this not being his first time butchering a kill, but mostly because he never stops eating the whole time.

At length, lunch ends, and you make the announcement for the next event of the day: The Ring of Trials.

You have an hour to prepare for the best (or worst) the Goddesses can throw at you. You are fed, physically and mentally rested, and not far off from your maximum magical power; in all other ways, you're at full strength.

---

With ritualistic solemnity, you take various pieces of equipment out of your dimensional pocket and lay them out on the ground before you. The Memorian Warmage Robe is first, followed by your Vambrace of Force Shielding, and then the Boots of Airwalking. Last is your Blessed Blade, still in its sheath.

You inspect each item carefully, finding nothing worse than some sand from yesterday's sparring matches still clinging to the Robes. Brushing that away is the act of a few seconds, after which your equipment check is basically finished, but for going through the motions with the remaining pieces of gear.

Once that's done, you take out the three Potions of Spring Dew you bought from Gen's a while back, briefly popping the stopper of each clay bottle to inspect the scent and aura of the contents. You didn't really think that the mixtures would have spoiled, what with the stasis-like effect your expanded pocket imposes on its contents, but as with your gear, better to be safe than sorry.

Gained Scenting D (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)

Potion quality verified, you re-seal each bottle and set them down on the grass besides the rest of your growing arsenal, then take out the two Green Mana Rupees you have on hand. Like the Potions, the aura of the magically-infused gems looks good.

Next, you review your spell repertoire. There isn't time for you to go over the ENTIRE mental library, so you focus mainly on Spells of Abjuration and Enchantment, refreshing your recollection so that you can counteract fear effects and other mental or emotion-based attacks you may face in the Ring.

With that concluded, you start to don all your equipment, reciting a prayer to the Goddesses as you do so. You do not ask for any blessings, instead reaffirming the vow you made this morning to make them proud - specifically, by pledging to put on a good show in their honor.

You make this promise to Farore as the Robes go on.

While donning your Shoes, you repeat the vow to Nayru.

And finally, as you latch the Vambrace and the sheath of your Blessed Blade in their proper places, you give your word to Din.

Almost as an afterthought, you return the Potions and Rupees to your pocket.

With that, all your preparations are made.

"Ready, partner?" you ask.

"Ready, partner," comes the reply.

As one, you and Briar turn and make for the Ring of Trials.

You're the last to arrive. Your guests haven't QUITE filled the stands, but they've made a good attempt at it; living and dead, human and monster, spirit and Fae, everyone you invited or summoned to your birthday party is present. The only ones NOT up in the seats are your four Hyrulean tutors, Lu-sensei, and your family, who are currently standing before the open mouth of the Ring, watching your approach.

As Zelda catches sight of your martially-mystical outfit, her eyes go wide, and she utters a single exclamation: "Cool!"

...

Well, there goes the air of solemnity you'd built up.

"I'm with her!" Koron declares, giving you a thumbs-up.

Terok and Lanora facepalm, while Batreaux throws back his head and roars with laughter.

And there goes the rest of it.

Not quite sighing, you turn to Lu-sensei. "Any last-minute advice, sir?"

"From what your other instructors tell me," your martial arts teacher says, "there is no real danger within these Trials. That said, should you feel overwhelmed, withdrawing between rounds is still an option. I suggest you remember that, if only for your parents' peace of mind."

You nod, and turn to your parents.

"Fighting giant monsters, Alex?" your Dad asks rhetorically, with a shake of his head. "Heck of a way to celebrate turning nine. Do I even want to know what you're planning for when you turn sixteen?"

---

You haven't exactly made plans anything like as far ahead as your sixteenth birthday. A year or so in advance, yes, and you have a to-do list that includes a couple of objectives you know will take multiple years to see to completion - decades, if you include those vague plans to introduce the faith of the Goddesses to Earth.

That said, when you look at how much your capabilities and resources have grown over the last couple of years, as well as the number of new contacts you've made and the existing relationships you've strengthened, with everything THEY bring to the table...

...well, you have to admit, if you keep growing at anything like your established rate, you're going to be capable of some truly ridiculous stuff seven years down the road.

And you don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to keeping things... hmmm... mundane?

All in all, when your Dad asks if he wants to know?

You have to admit: "Probably not."

At this, your old man nods. "Yeah, that's what I figured." He sighs. "I'm not going to lie, Alex; your Mom and I are not keen on the idea of you fighting a bunch of giant monsters, whatever the reason. But," he adds raises one hand to forestall protest or argument, "we've had a chance to talk with your teachers and some of the other adults about this, and we at least get that this is important to you. Maybe not why it's so important that it needed to be done today, instead of, say, five or ten years down the road..."

"What your father is getting at," your mother interjects, "is that we're not going to try and stop you. We just wanted to make sure that you weren't doing this just because you were trying to impress anybody. Especially not us."

That much, you can confidently say, is not the case.

Granted, there is a certain element of showing off in this event, especially since you went and invited all your friends and a lot of your acquaintances besides, but the whole reason you're doing the Trials in the first place is to convince Elder Terok that you're worth tutoring. It's a test of character and ability, not showing off for its own sake.

You thank your parents for their acceptance in this matter, assure them you'll come back in one piece no matter what happens - because you will - and then give them each a hug.

Then you turn to Zelda. "How about you, squirt? Any last-minute words for your big brother?"

"Hum," Zelda hums, as she presses a finger to her chin in thought. Then she lowers her hand, nodding. "Yeah. Win!"

Heh.

"I'll do that," you assure your little sister, ruffling her hair for good measure.

"Hey! Cut it out!"

Your family withdraws to the seating area, taking up places of honor at the base of the mini-tower that crowns the arena. As family of the challenger, that's where they're supposed to be.

Lu-sensei nods, claps you on the shoulder, and heads off to his own seat.

"I wish you good fortune in this endeavor, Alexander," Batreaux says, in an uncharacteristically subdued tone. "Remember your magic, use it wisely, and I have no doubt you will do well."

You thank your instructor in DARKEST SORCERY for his support.

"You are welcome." Then he smirks, and seems to LOOM MENACINGLY above you as he adds, "Of course, should you give a POOR showing, you can look forward to a MOST TERRIFYING REFRESHER COURSE! MWAHAHAHA!"

Chortling darkly, Batreaux removes himself to his seat.

This leaves you with the priests. Elder Terok has his walking stick, as usual, but the other two are both carrying ritualistic-looking staves: Lanora's seems to have been carved from shards of bone taken from a great fish; and Koron's is made of wood, with enough leaves hanging off it that it almost looks like it could still be alive.

"Are you prepared?" Madam Lanora asks simply.

You are, and state as much, with Briar echoing you.

"Then let us begin." She and her cohorts turn to face the crowd - Koron flashes you a victory sign before doing so - and the Zoran priestess raises one gracefully-scaled hand for attention and silence.

As bidden, the crowd soon falls quiet.

"We are gathered here this day to witness an ordeal by combat," Elder Terok intones, his rough voice clear and strong. "Alexander Harris of Sunnydale and his partner, Briar of the same, will now enter the Ring of Trials, to test their Power, their Wisdom, and their Courage. As Priest of Din, I vouch that this arena and the challenges within it have been chosen and sanctified by the Goddess of Power, and that Her eyes are upon these Trials. Let none interfere!"

When he slams his walking stick against the sands of the beach, there is a sound like a massive drumbeat. Red-hued magic spreads out from the point of impact, running across the walls and floor of the arena and the structure of the Ring around it, highlighting many of the characters carved into the stone surfaces.

"As Priestess of Nayru," Madam Lanora recites, "I vouch that this arena and the challenges within it have been chosen and sanctified by the Goddess of Wisdom, and that Her eyes are upon these Trials. Let none interfere!"

She brings down her fishbone staff, and there is a second pulse of magic, this time in blue.

"As Priest of Farore," Koron declares, in a voice far older and more serious than his childlike appearance, "I vouch that this arena and the challenges within it have been chosen and sanctified by the Goddess of Courage, and that Her eyes are upon these Trials. Let none interfere!"

A third strike sends green magic rushing through the Ring, and for a moment, all three auras glow in harmony.

Then the Triforce symbol in the center of the arena sings in response, its golden radiance spreading out as the separate colors of the Golden Goddesses blend into one.

"Alexander, Briar," Lanora says, "you may enter the Ring. And may the Goddesses be with you."

Letting out a breath, you keep your head high and march into the arena.

When you step onto the Triforce emblem, the world blurs around you, as the magic bound in the Ring of Trials comes fully to life.

One moment, you're standing on sand, surrounded by the mass of the arena, with the eyes of dozens upon you.

The next, you're still standing on sand, but with a natural wall of rough stone behind you and a similarly unworked, yet almost perfectly circular pool of water before you, its surface broken by a few tiny islets. The sky above you has gone from the mid-day brightness of a tropical island to the warm darkness of a tropical midnight, the blackness of space broken only by the stars and a partial moon.

Something about the scene strikes you as naggingly familiar.

And when your senses register the presence of a strong, unnatural energy lurking within the pool, you realize why.

Thus, when the giant squid with the glowing blue eyes and body-markings rises explosively from the water, it finds you already airborne, the Shoes of Air-Walking keeping you dry and out of reach of the monster's long, whipping tentacles.

MALICIOUS CEPHALOPOD: ARROGANTE

Briar takes one look at her long-dead enemy and starts cackling.

"Vengeance!" she cries.

You can't help a laugh of your own.

After all, this is a fight you've already won.

You were able to defeat Arrogante a year ago, when you had far less power in every respect and not even a proper weapon to your name, only crudely-conjured iron spears. Now, you are faster, stronger, and more skilled, better in every physical and mystical respect, you have the Blessed Blade besides, and you know how the guardian squid fights.

Even making a point to be mindful of Arrogante's electrical shocks, it takes you less than two minutes to slice away the tentacles, put out the monster's eyes, and drive your blade home through its beak.

Briar doesn't stop laughing the entire time.

When Arrogante goes up in a skull-shaped burst of smoke, there is a brief pause, and then the world shifts around you again, that sheltered cove on the Hawaiian beach being replaced by the mouth of a volcano - and the giant squid, in turn, by a large, fire-breathing, stone-armored lizard.

VOLCANIC FURY: SEARFANG

As the not-quite dragon roars in challenge, you heft your Blessed Blade and consider your response. The last time you fought this thing... well, YOU didn't exactly fight it. That was mostly Bando, who you'd summoned for backup.

It strikes you that it would be appropriate to summon the Celestial Goron again, but at the same time, you kind of want to see how well you can handle Searfang on your own.

---

There's a very real temptation to let history repeat itself, but in the end, you decide that it would be more appropriate for you to fight and defeat Searfang yourself, as a demonstration of how your abilities have improved over the months since you and Bando tag-teamed the beast.

"Sorry, Bando," you say aloud, as you evade Searfang's opening charge by dashing to one side, and then stepping off the ground with your Boots of Air Walking. "This time, I'm going to handle him myself."

There is a dimensional boundary between you and the seats of the Arena, but you half-imagine you can hear the big Celestial Goron cheering you on anyway.

Your first order of business is to get to a safe distance from Searfang's natural weapons and flaming halitosis. The former only requires you to get about five feet off the ground, at which point the magma-lizard can't extend his stubby neck far enough to bite or gore you, and is just too heavy to rear up on his hind legs.

To his credit, Searfang's next move is to spit fire up at you, and avoiding that requires some fancy mid-air footwork, as your Boots can only take you upward so fast. What flame does threaten to get too close for comfort even then, you manage to intercept with help from your Vambrace of Force Shielding, the reflex to trigger a Body Flicker going strong the entire time, but never quite triggered.

Gained Shield Training E (Plus) (Plus)

Once you get to an elevation of twenty feet or so, you're basically untouchable to your opponent.

At that point, you start charging up your Sword Beam.

Although Searfang is a large enough target that you're confident in your ability to hit him with a Sword Beam at this modest distance, you're not so certain that you'll be able to hit him PRECISELY. The Volcanic Fury has demonstrated a certain level of agility despite its ungainly bulk and posture, and he doesn't need to dodge your attack entirely, just take it on his rocky armor instead of somewhere more vulnerable.

So you wait, walking a slow circle in the air above the monster while holding the accumulated energy for your attack.

And then, when Searfang gets frustrated and roars at you, you let fly.

For the briefest instant, you see Searfang's eyes bulge with shock as the Sword Beam flies straight down his throat.

Then there's an explosion, and the molten monster falls over sideways, stunned by the attack from within, exposing its vulnerable gut.

You know that even if you turned your Boots off right now, the enchantments on them would cause you to drift to the ground rather than fall, so that trick of dive-bombing an enemy with your sword drawn which you've used in the past is not available to you just now. You're also reluctant to start burning ki or mana quite this soon, so instead of trying to close the gap, you charge up another Sword Beam, and take the shot at Searfang's belly.

Gained Sneak Attack E (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)

The monster HOWLS and thrashes wildly at the impact, which carves a glowing furrow across its thick gut. The toughness and elasticity of Searfang's flesh prevent your attack from piercing its internals, and it scrambles back onto its feet a few seconds later, seemingly none the worse for wear, but there is a wariness to its movements now that wasn't present before.

Also, it's radiating steam from the glowing veins that riddle its flanks and back.

You charge a second Sword Beam and wait, but after a full minute passes without Searfang doing more than growl and stalk the volcanic ground below, you figure it's not going to be so cooperative about showing a weak spot. So you take your time and try to line up the shot on one of his eyes.

Gained Dexterity D (Plus)

The result is not a direct hit, taking Searfang across the armor-plated brow rather than hitting the eye itself, but it's sufficient to break the beast's composure and prompt a roar - more of surprise than pain, you think - as its head whips about, eyes reflexively shut to protect them.

When Searfang opens its eyes again, it roars at you - and you immediately send the Sword Beam you charged up when its eyes were shut down the reptile's blast furnace of a throat.

The scream as he falls over this time is definitely a pained one.

Once again, you charge up and fire off a Sword Beam, leaving another glowing red gash across the muscled hide of its stomach, but still, you don't hit quite hard enough to break through. And this time, when Searfang rolls over and back onto its feet, the beast is hunched down to the ground, head bowed and determinedly NOT roaring.

"I think he's gotten wise to the Sword Beam trick, Alex," Briar comments.

"Guess so," you agree, as you reach for your mana.

The last time you fought Searfang, you more or less ended the fight by impaling the beast from below with a couple of giant stone spears, leaving it stunned and immobile, completely open to Bando's follow-up rolling attack.

This time, seeing as how you're out of reach of the earth, you decide to try the spell of Ice Elementalism that inspired that tactic, and cast the Spell of Ice Spears.

Gained Ice Elementalism E (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)

Searfang SHRIEKS in agony as three jagged pillars of ice erupt from the ground beneath it. Two of the giant icicles punch into and through its abused stomach, while the third one comes close to spearing its tail. And then, as the magically-created ice comes into contact with Searfang's hot, rocky hide and molten blood, steam surges through the wounds.

The heat is nothing to the monster, but the clouds of water suddenly expanding INSIDE its body?

That's another story.

The glittering pillars of ice creak, hiss, and finally shatter as Searfang goes berserk, every limb flailing wildly.

You recognize the death-throes, and keep your distance until the monster goes still and dark, and then bursts into black smoke.

Once again, the world around you blurs, as the Ring of Trials selects a new battlefield, and when the disorientation passes, you once again find yourself in familiar surroundings.

You stand within a stone chamber some eighty-five feet across, covered by a domed ceiling that reaches a height of perhaps twenty feet at its greatest elevation. A walkway runs the circumference of the dome, but the greater area is given over to the broad, pit-like area beneath, twenty feet deep and with a flagstone floor. There is enough light for you to see by, if not particularly well; visibility is further restricted by the veritable forest of steel spikes sticking out from the floor all over the place, marking maze-like corridors.

And at the very heart of the maze, directly before you, stands a rectangular mirror some four feet wide and eight feet high, dark glass set in a black metal frame.

"Hey, Briar?"

"Yeah, Alex?"

"Do you think the Goddesses stole this one from your mother, or did she steal it from them first?"

"Good question."

As the mirror begins to glow, you wonder if the Goddesses are seriously going to make you face Mirror Alex (aka Xander Harris) again, or if you're about to get that confrontation with the evil, Ganondorfy Mirror You who you went all Army of Darkness on the first time.

You can't imagine they'd take that kind of risk, but then again, none of these mosnters are supposed to be real, right?

Then again, even if it IS Xander who's about to show up, do you really want the audience to see him?

---

While it might be smart to break the Mirror before it can spawn any questionably-aligned replicas of you, you decide instead to let the magical item finish what it's doing without interruption.

With all due respect to Ashley J. Williams, you'd rather not fight an army of tiny evil twins again if you don't have to.

And so you take a ready stance before the Mirror, sword raised, translucent force-shield up, and ki and mana cycling and ready to be unleashed in whatever form is most appropriate to whatever comes out of the dark glass.

Just like you did the last time you faced this particular test.

And, just like that time, what emerges is an alternate version of you.

SELF-REFLECTION: XANDER HARRIS

He's a little taller than he was the last time you saw him, most of a year ago, and a little more filled-out, but the extent of his growth isn't anything like your own has been. That said, Xander carries himself differently this time; where he previously moved like a regular kid with no self-defense training whatsoever, there's a credible defensiveness in his stance now. Nothing you couldn't break through in an instant, and calling the accompanying increase to his ki "modest" is being generous, but for an ordinary person who's had less than a full year of training, and may or may not have been effectively self-taught? It's not bad.

Magically, he still reads as completely ordinary, aside from that unfortunate Hellmouth reek.

In the moment that you're taking in Xander's appearance, and wondering WHY the Goddesses have brought him here - seriously, the priests told you there'd only be artificial monsters in here, so what is an actual PERSON doing here? - he's doing the same with you.

And then he sighs. "This again? Really?"

"Nice to see you, too," you reply, before lowering your guard enough to gesture with your sword-hand for him to come your way. "Now get over here where I can cover you, before our evil triplet jumps out of that thing again."

Xander flinches - away from the Mirror, thankfully - and then hurries over to stand behind your shield-arm.

"Sorry," he mutters, as he passes you. "Kind of forgot about Ugly Us."

"You forgot? Seriously?"

"It's been a busy year for me, okay?" he says defensively. "I blame you for that, by the way; you and your little supernatural study package."

"How's that been working out for you?" you ask, honestly curious.

"I'm doing better in school," Xander replies tersely. "Up to a pretty steady B average, played for the soccer team last fall - we finished fifth overall - and I even found a guy who teaches self-defense. None of your flashy kung fu moves or anything, just how not to get hurt by someone twice your size with a knife or something."

Sounds like he hasn't met his world's Lu Tze, then. Assuming there even is one in Sunnydale to meet, or at all; it IS an alternate timeline, after all.

And then, before either of you can say or do anything more, the Mirror glows anew, and a figure appears within it.

...

Okay, good news, mixed news, bad news, and odd news.

Good news: It's not Ganondorf. The independently-moving reflection does have Gerudo features, but they're at the same faint level your own currently are, little more than hints at Mirror-Ganondorf's full-blooded appearance.

Also, his skin, hair, and clothes are all washed-out hues of black, dark grey, and off-white - kind of like Dark Link, just without the hat and the bloody red eyes.

Mixed news: The reflection is armed with a sword. And JUST a sword. There's no bracer on its off-arm, enchanted or otherwise, it's not wearing an armored robe, and its shoes register as entirely mundane to your Mage Sight.

In short, it's a dark version of you, as you appeared back when Navi flung you into the Silent Realm.

Bad news: It's still your evil twin.

He's even got a fairy.

A dark red fairy.

...wearing a tiny little devil suit.

...and... dancing.

"I blame you for this, Alex," Briar notes calmly.

DARK REFLECTIONS: EVIL ALEX AND EVIL BRIAR

And as for the odd news?

There's an Evil Xander as well, coming out right behind the first figure.

"Oh, great," Xander mutters, as he catches sight of his... other... evil twin. Triplet. Quadruplet? "Even more Evil Mes. Seriously, what did I ever do to deserve this?"

Ha. There's one question you never have to ask.

When in doubt, you can always just blame Ganondorf.

As you ready yourself to charge your dark doppelganger before he can start casting spells, you spare a moment to wonder about Xander. The last time the two of you went into battle together, you summoned a shotgun for him to use, and also granted him the temporary ability to use it with skill.

Should you do that again, in the face of these less-numerous but larger and more directly dangerous threats? If not, is there some other spell you'd like to cast instead? And for that matter, what about Briar? She's got an evil twin as well; she could use the help.

There's also the option of not casting magic and closing with Evil You as quickly as possible, to keep him from making optimum use of his own magical abilities - which he surely has - but that will leave Xander and Briar to deal with their respective look-alikes without your support for however long it takes to finish your target.

---

Without question, the biggest and most immediate threat to Xander, Briar, and yourself is that Evil Alex will cast a spell. You were capable of performing fourth- and fifth-tier magic in multiple schools the last time you faced this Mirror, and from what you can sense of your evil twin's aura, he's got that same level of power and skill.

You may be the stronger and more experienced sorcerer, but this does not make the sheer number of options your lookalike has at his disposal any less terrifying. He could try to catch you all in a blast utilizing any of half a dozen different Elements, use Augmentation Magic to buff up his entire party, cast a Spell of Summoning to field monstrous reinforcements, try to cripple YOUR party with a Necromantic curse... the list is not endless, but it is large and varied nonetheless.

And if Evil Alex shares your tactical sense - and you have to assume that he does, he's too dangerous for anything less - he WILL use the option he considers most effective for his side, and most debilitating for yours.

The only way to prevent that is to stop him from casting any spells at all.

And the fastest, most certain way to do that is for you to close and engage him melee as quickly as possible.

And so you do, vanishing into a Body Flicker.

Just as Evil Alex does exactly the same thing.

Din above, are you ever GLAD you've practiced this ability so much. Not only does it give you superior acceleration and awareness of your movements, it lets you sacrifice a measure of pure speed for greater maneuverability. Moreover, the gap between your skills is such that even with this self-imposed handicap, you're STILL markedly faster than your foe.

Not so much faster that he's blind to your movements, especially not with how wide his eyes go in response, but enough that it's all he can do to start moving his Un-Blessed Blade into a guard position to intercept your sword.

*CLANG!*

By canceling his Body Flicker and redirecting his ki into a desperate, speed-focused Enhancement, he actually manages to block the hit.

Some of it, anyway.

But the difference in force between your blows drives the trailing edge of his sword straight back against - and INTO - his chest and shoulder. Evil Alex has just enough time to open his mouth in shock and pain before the momentum of your blow is fully transferred, at which point the sheer POWER of your ki-accelerated charge blows him out of the air and into an ass-over-teakettle tumble across the floor, back the way he came.

Your dark doppelganger fetches up HARD, his back against the Mirror, choked breath and spittle all but exploding from his gaping mouth as the full force of the impact registers.

Surprisingly enough, the glass doesn't break.

This sudden and BRUTAL violence visibly startles Evil Briar and Evil Xander, both of whom flinch as far away from you as the confines of this "corridor" of upraised spike-walls will allow them.

Behind you, you hear Xander saying words that you just KNOW have your mother frowning at you.

"YEEEEAAAAHHHH!"

Your Briar, on the other hand, doesn't miss a beat. Limned in her own aura of unleashed energy, the little fairy shoots past you like a glowing tracer, closing straight in on her stunned counterpart.

Evil Briar lets out a yelp and tries to dodge, but your partner is drawing upon the fact that she IS a partnered fairy, with a kid who has energy to spare and no qualms at all about sharing it with her. That, plus the knowledge of shaping ki she's acquired - be it from watching you train, absorbed through the familiar bond, or gained in training - lets Briar enhance her own abilities to the point where a being based on her as of last year has no chance whatsoever of getting away.

Tiny aerial violence ensues, no less savage for the smaller scale of the two participants.

Evil Xander flinches away from THAT, too, and then glances in alarm at his counterpart.

"Hey," Xander says, "don't look at me like that. I'm perfectly fine with you running back into the magic mirror-"

Evil Xander immediately turns and flees, leaping over YOUR doppelganger as he jumps back into the enchanted object from whence he came.

"-like that. Nice talking with you, Evil Me."

One opponent defeated - for a given value of the word - you begin walking forward, blade and ki at the ready.

"HI-YAH!"

Evil Briar crashes hard into the side of one of the standing spikes, and hangs there for a moment.

"N-no fair," the little red devil whimpers, as she starts sliding towards the floor. "I'm s'posed to be th' evil one..."

And then she blows up in a tiny puff of dark magic.

Briar raises her fists into the air with a yell of triumph. "Farore, that felt good!"

Two down.

Evil Alex is still sitting on the floor before the Mirror, weapon stained with black blood laying to one side as he presses his right hand to his injured left shoulder. The wound isn't especially deep, but it's enough that a visible stain is spreading across the dark material of his shirt.

If you hadn't already had such an overwhelming advantage against him, such an injury would surely give it to you.

---

The greyed-out appearance of your dark twin, so similar to Dark Link and the Shadow-selves you've conjured from the Mirror of Shadows, as well as the way you've seen other beings brought forth by THIS Mirror burst into dark smoke, are proof enough to your mind that what you're dealing with here is not some living counterpart of yourself plucked from another reality, like Xander is.

No matter what form it has taken, it's a monster, in the Hyrulean sense of the term, and leaving monsters of that kind alive is something that has seldom ended well.

...and yet, your right hand and the sword it grasps remain where they are.

YOU know that the entity laying before you is a construct of magic - of dark magic, even - rather than a living person.

But how many of the people in your audience know that? How many realize that you have merely damaged a made thing, and not done genuine injury to a boy around your own age?

How many of them DO know or suspect the truth, and would still be disturbed to see you casually cutting down something wearing your face?

...

Yeah.

Your friends don't need to see that.

Your family DEFINITELY doesn't need to see that.

And so, even though Evil Alex is down and defenseless - perhaps even BECAUSE he is - you don't finish him off.

He looks up at you, and grins, as if sensing your decision. Your restraint.

He takes a breath-

*POW!*

-and your left hand, shield momentarily deactivated, lashes out to smack him across the head, bouncing the back of his skull off the dark glass behind it.

The aura of dark magic that had been hanging about Evil Alex this entire time, and which began to shift with focused intent as he breathed, winks out along with his consciousness.

Just because you're not going to kill your downed enemy doesn't mean you're about to give a powerful sorcerer a chance to cast a spell.

"Huh," Xander comments, as you shake the soreness out of your fingers. "I thought for sure you were going to stab him."

"I have to defeat the challenges," you tell him, quoting the priests as you glance over your shoulder at the other boy. Then you point down at Evil Alex. "He looks pretty defeated to me. How about you?"

Xander makes as if to study your evil twin - and then he blinks, frowns, and does so for real, as something catches his eye.

"Uh... Other Me," Xander says slowly, as his gaze trails from Evil Alex to you. "Bad on me for just now noticing this, after everything your brain-book had to say about paying attention, but... why do you have Spock ears?"

"They are not Spock ears," you reply defensively.

"They so are."

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"It's just the fairy influence-"

"Oh, like THAT's any better!"

"Excuse me?" Briar cuts in, as she gets into Xander's face. "You have something against fairies, Mirror Boy?"

"Ah!" The way Xander flinches back from Briar is a near-perfect echo of his dark counterpart's reaction to seeing her beat the snot out of HER evil twin. "No, nothing! Not at all! Why would I have anything against fairies, even if the brain-book says 'Grimm, not Disney' and I looked those up and they're REALLY horrible and please don't hurt me, Miss Kung Fu Fairy Person."

There is a pause.

"Alright, then," Briar replies. "I won't. But I'm watching you, boy."

"Yes'm."

Briar nods, hangs there in front of Xander a moment longer, and then flies over to you and your other, unconscious counterpart.

"So, what are we supposed to do with this guy, anyway? Safe bet that as long as he's here, the Trial is still on."

"Good question," you tell your partner, while looking up at the Mirror. "Is there a reverse button on this thing, or a command word?"

Perhaps it's divine timing, or just the fact that Evil Alex has been laying motionless against the Mirror for a while, but this is when the magic of the glass stirs to activity once again. Your evil twin doesn't discorporate like Evil Briar did, but he is drawn back into the glowing face of the Mirror, where he gradually fades into the distance.

The Mirror keeps glowing after that.

"I, uh, guess that's my cue to leave, too," Xander says, as he comes up behind you.

---

You raise a hand, halting Xander's approach to the Mirror.

"I'd like to say a few quick things before you go, if that's okay?"

He nods. "Sure, man."

"Okay, first of all, happy birthday."

Xander blinks, and then chuckles. "Uh, yeah. Happy birthday to you, too, I guess. Sorry that I didn't get you a present or anything, I just REALLY wasn't expecting this, you know?"

"I know exactly what you mean," you assure him. "But on that subject, would you like me to add to the information I gave you last time?"

That offer is greeted with a long moment of near-silence, as Xander closes his eyes, frowns in deep thought, and mutters to himself.

Finally, he opens his eyes with a sigh. "Yeah, I probably should take that offer while it's on the table. Just, try not to include so much stuff that'll give me nightmares this time, okay?"

"...I'll do my best, but... well, demons, man."

Xander nods and waves for you to get on with it.

You close your eyes and concentrate as you gather your mana.

Months ago, you cast an empowered variant of the Spell to Share Memories on Xander, giving him about a hundred hours' worth of information to help him survive on the Hellmouth. You couldn't go into a great amount of detail on the various topics, but it was an investment worth making all the same, and one that has clearly seen some dividends for your alternate timeline counterpart.

Having that much information shoved into his brain gave Xander a bit of a headache at the time, and you're not surprised to hear that he was having bad dreams as a result of it - and not just because some of the content involved demons. For all the similarities between you, he's still a different person; having a big chunk of raw data entered directly into his mind would have been a shock, and the nightmares would have been part of how his consciousness went about assimilating that knowledge.

With that in mind, how complete do you want to make this download? The more powerful you make the spell, the more information you can give Xander and the better he'll be able to look after himself, but the greater the risk of there being... side-effects.

Xander IS only nine years old, after all. Adding the equivalent of two weeks' worth of training and study to his memories won't significantly alter his personality, but adding months might do it - and years definitely would.

Aside from the data-download, you're seriously tempted to offer Xander ownership of the omamori you got from the Hakuba Shrine for good luck in your studies. Said charm was, incidentally, replaced at New Year's, as is customary for such things, the idea being to avoid carrying "bad luck" from the old year into the new one.

It is perhaps inappropriate to give someone a charm you've personally used for several months, instead of buying a new one, but given the sudden and unexpected encounter, you think the priests and the kami will understand.

"And here," you say, producing the Hakuba Charm from your pocket and handing it over to Xander. "Something a little more material."

Squinting slightly against the headache of the new information you loaded him up with, Xander studies the talisman. "Um..."

"It's a charm for good luck in your studies," you tell him. Evidently, that knowledge either didn't make the transition, or just hasn't unpacked itself yet.

Either way, Xander smiles and tucks the charm into his pocket. "Thanks, man."

Lost Hakuba Charm

"You're welcome. Just be sure to get rid of it after New Year. It's bad luck, otherwise."

He nods seriously.

With that, there's only one thing left to do.

Switching your sword to your off-hand, you raise your right hand to Xander, fingers clenched and knuckles forward.

Catching your drift, he returns the gesture, and the two of you bump fists.

"See you next year, maybe?" you offer.

"No offense, but I really hope not."

Eh, no offense taken. Having been yanked across dimensions by an unfathomable higher power yourself once, you get where he's coming from.

With that last gesture, Xander turns and makes for the Mirror, stepping over the frame and into and through the glowing glass.

And as he begins to fade into the distance, the world blurs around you once more.

You find yourself in another great chamber of worked stone. The architecture is not Hyrulean, but Memorian - and there's a large hole in the floor.

"Ah, crap," Briar groans, even as a chorus of chittering chelicerae and rustling leg-hairs begins to escape from the pit.

"Definitely getting a 'greatest hits' feel out of the Trials so far," you note absently, as you switch your Blessed Blade back to your good hand.

"Yeah, and if the pattern holds, guess who's up next?" Briar asks rhetorically.

You had considered that, and you WERE trying not to think too hard about fighting Dark Link again, but Briar just had to-

No, focus.

Giant Demonic Doom Spiders now, and the Hero's Evil Shadow later.

Let's see... the last time you fought these Gohma, there was a lot of spellcasting and tactical repositioning involved. The latter is not as much of an option this time, as a glance over your shoulder and then around the room shows that there are no exits - save through the broken floor, which will take you straight down the approaching Gohma's throats.

As for the spells you used: Cloudkill didn't work on these demonspawn, but a holy water mist did; Black Tentacles only sufficed as restraints; and you ended up Fireballing the swarm of little ones, before Big Momma Gohma made her appearance and expressed her displeasure with your general existence. That led to using Boneshatter to try and break her armor, with only mild effectiveness; a second Fireball to clear out a second incoming swarm and cook the parent a bit; a Curse that... really didn't go at ALL like you'd expected or intended it to; and finally a Holy Smite to clean up the mess.

And THEN you finished Gohma off by stabbing her in the eye.

Considering that you have five more Trials to go through after this, you don't really want to spend that much mana exterminating these arachnids, but the idea of dropping a cloud of holy water mist down that broken shaft is looking mighty tempting...

Are there any special additions you wish to make to the overall plan of engagement?

---

Given your own concerns about losing your identity in a flood of memories gained from a different incarnation of yourself, it is understandable that you'd prefer to avoid the risk of doing something similar to Xander. Your hand may also be guided by a desire not to leave another kid having to deal with the issue of talking like an old man before he's even hit double-digits.

So, you keep the amount of information you pass to Xander to a minimum, the amount that he's already demonstrated he can handle with only fleeting issues.

And then you spend a little more mana, and add a function that you think should "unpack" the data gradually over time, integrating it into Xander's mind more naturally and less-stressfully than your prior attempt.

In light of your counterpart's lack of magical aptitude, you figure you can skip adding anything more than some of the basics of basics you didn't get a chance to "tell" him the last time - Things To Do When You're A Normal Person Facing Down Unfriendly Magic, as it were. More information on demons, more notes about physical training and unaugmented martial arts... you're tempted to add something about ki, but Lu-sensei has - perhaps deliberately - not enlightened you to the fine details involved in awakening a person's ki, and you haven't intuited enough of the facts to be comfortable with telling Xander how it's done.

Truth be told, you're not convinced Xander COULD awaken his ki on his own, at least not any time soon. It took you months under Lu-sensei's tutelage to get to that point, and you... well, you're you. Xander is Xander, and wouldn't have a master to guide his efforts, just the equivalent of some notes on the process.

All in all, it's probably best to let that go.

After a great deal of hesitation, you decide to add a mental note that Catherine Madison may be a witch, and if so, may not be using wards and aura-cleansing rituals effective enough to keep herself safe from corruption on the Hellmouth.

You emphasize the uncertainty of your information, and the need for it to be verified in Xander's world before he acts upon it.

Then, having reached the limits of the spell's capacity, you reach out, tap Xander on the forehead, and complete the casting.

---

The idea of sending a cloud of sanctified mist down the mouth of that chasm is a tempting one, but even as you begin using your enchanted Boots to climb into the air and get the necessary vantage point, you realize that you'd made a mistake.

You didn't use holy water mist to attack the Gohma parent, but as a means of clearing its spawn and their literally evil webbing out of the tunnels below. And because it wasn't - and still isn't - a piece of magic you'd converted into a proper battle-spell, it took - and still would take - several minutes to cast.

You don't have several minutes.

There are chitinous, bristly hair covered legs creeping out of the pit even now, and their bodies are right behind them.

But that's okay. There was another idea you had in mind besides the purifying mist, and this one WILL work.

Letting your partner know to stay close, you gather your mana and cast the Spell of the Flaming Aura, spending some extra energy to extend the effect to Briar as well. As the magic settles in, you spare a moment to relish the feeling of heat and energy that courses through your body; your hands, the only part of your body left exposed by your Warmage's Robe, turn slightly red as you become more a creature of fire.

As soon as that spell is complete, you begin casting another, all the while climbing higher and higher off the ground, as if mounting an invisible staircase.

Below you, the Gohma have begun to spill out onto the worked stone floor. The ones that came out of their hole facing in the wrong direction to see you radiate an unmistakable aura of confusion, as they begin turning back and forth, their huge singular eyes roving this way and that for signs of their quarry. That puzzlement is short-lived, however; the rest of the swarm are glaring up at you even now, some of them trundling towards the nearest part of the wall to pursue you, others waving their limbs and hissing menacingly.

You're high enough by now that you can see the huge mass of their parent climbing up the wall of the chasm below - and it can clearly see you in return, as its massive eye narrows, and the air reverberates with a deep, rumbling hiss.

ARMORED ARACHNID: GOHMA

"In the name of Din!" you proclaim, raising your hands and the baseball-sized mass of violet flame swirling between and around them above your head. "LET THERE BE FIRE!"

And then you bring your hands down.

The flame leaps from your fingertips to the stone.

*FWOOM!*

"HOLY DIN ON DEATH MOUNTAIN!" Briar swears.

With a roar like nothing in your memories, lived or inherited, the ENTIRE FLOOR is COVERED with purple fire.

Not CONSUMED by fire, mind you; supernatural though it is, this cousin of the classic Fireball spell isn't so powerful that it can ignite bedrock. No, instead, the floor, the space within ten feet of it, and that entire shaft down to a depth of thirty feet - which SHOULD be right to the bottom, if this place is at all accurate to what you remember - is simply filled with holy violet fire.

That, and screaming demonic spiders.

While the smaller of the Gohma-spawn were consumed almost immediately by the Spell to Burn Corruption, the skull-clouds of their demise vanishing into the SEA of fire below, their larger counterparts are hardy enough to survive the impromptu Hellscape a bit longer. These go berserk with pain and terror, scrambling in every direction to try and escape, but there's no help or hope for them. Even the ones that had already made for the walls are too far to escape before the violet flames broil them alive within their exoskeletal shells. You see thrashing legs and shifting shadows wheeling about blindly for several seconds, before they and their shrieking are swallowed up by the blaze.

By the thunderous pounding below, the parent is still alive. You can't SEE it through the mass of dancing flame, not even as a shadow, and you have to wonder again how just accurate this recreation of the Memorian base is. If it's just a thirty-foot pit down there, the Gohma has nowhere to flee, but if the tunnels you cleared in reality are ALSO replicated, it would be able to flee - you can't extend a spell like this into a place you can't SEE.

Just to be sure, you let the fire burn on, and on, and on.

Gained Fire Affinity D (Plus)

And then, with the fire still roaring strong, the world around you shifts once more.

From standing in mid-air, you go instantly to standing on a stone floor - and THAT'S not disorienting at all, no sir - in a dimly-lit chamber with rough stone walls, a low ceiling of the same, and a tunnel directly across from you that leads into pitch darkness.

You hear footsteps approaching.

You know who's coming.

You have only seconds to prepare.

---

Letting out a breath to try and relieve some of the mounting tension you feel, you take a ready stance, activating the Vambrace of Force Shielding on your left arm and holding your Blessed Blade down and away from your body.

Internally, you clear your mind and reach for your ki and magic.

As you grasp the components of your Power, your opponent steps into the lighted area of the tunnel.

Hair, skin, and clothes are layers of grey upon darker grey, lined here and there with white and black.

Two eyes that gleam red, not with hostility or madness, but the focus of a pure predator.

A shield on one arm, mirroring your own, and a long sword in the other hand.

Symbols of the Triforce shine with their own golden light.

SHADOW OF COURAGE: DARK LINK

As your opponent enters the room, you raise your weapon in salute.

Dark Link responds in kind.

And then, your Power ERUPTS, filling the room with a light akin to a small sun.

And the duel begins.

*ZoomswishCLANGwhooshCLANGHISSthudclanggruntCLANGCLANGCLANG!*

When you last faced Dark Link, you were seriously outmatched in physical terms. He's the doppelganger of a mostly-grown and significantly experienced legendary Hero, armed with an assortment of ability-boosting magic items, and the shadowy copy of a divinely-wrought weapon; you were less fortunate in most regards, making up the difference with the potency of your magic.

You learned a lot in that fight, and you kept on learning over the months that followed it. You're most of a year older now, and have trained extensively for all of that time, bringing most of your physical abilities up from where they were - some more than others, you must admit - and increasing your martial skills by a similar degree. On top of that, you're using your Power not as a finishing move or a series of specialized anti-demonic Curse attacks, but to magnify ALL those hard-earned abilities to their upper limits.

And with each pass, each exchange and evasion and countering of blows, it shows.

Strength.

Speed.

Reflexes.

Senses.

In virtually every field where Dark Link was once able to match you seemingly effortlessly, he now has to WORK for it.

Gained Agility C (Plus)
Gained Armor Proficiency D (Plus)
Gained Fighter's Rep D (Plus)
Gained King of Men B
Gained Mighty Blow E (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Staggered Flicker F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Weapon Defense C (Plus)

The main exception is swordsmanship. There, the Hero's Shadow is still unquestionably your better - yours, and everyone else you've ever fought blade-to-blade. It's that incredible sword-skill, more than anything else, which allows the Shadow of Courage to compensate for your increased physical and martial prowess.

But even the greatest sword can't help you when a bomb goes off in your face.

Guided by that simple theory, you focus your Power, and explode.

Gained Power Burst E (Plus)

Dark Link yells in surprise and pain as the golden blast wave blows him backwards, into a wall that you have to admit you don't quite remember moving so close to. The noise the Shadow lets out on impact is more a grunt than another cry of injury, but that's fine.

The look on his face more than makes up for that.

...and the barrier to movement created by the wall is very nice, too.

You charge forward, pressing the attack.

Dark Link has no room to manuever, and is forced to use his shield more and more as he tries to get out of this proverbial corner you've backed him into. The dark steel keeps your blade from cutting him, but the force of your Power-backed blows must be rattling his arm something fierce; if you keep this up, you may just break his guard.

On the other hand, endurance and willpower - or sheer stubborn crazy, take your pick - are among Link's better qualities. It could take you quite some time to force the opening you desire, and the longer you keep smashing at him like this, the more chances he has to do... something. In particular, you're worried that he'll cast a spell, or put down his sword for a second and pull something out of his bag of tricks.

---

Somewhere between one swing and the next, an idea hits you.

You're not alone in this fight.

You have a partner, and while Briar is no PHYSICAL threat to Dark Link, she has magic - specifically, magic attuned to the forces of nature, such as is practiced by the druids who honor Farore.

And you're fighting inside a cave of unworked stone.

More than that, you have Dark Link with his back literally to the wall, a wall composed entirely of natural rock.

Even as your body presses the attack on your opponent, your mind reaches for the familiar bond, seeking to convey your idea to Briar without alerting Dark Link to what you have planned.

The communication allowed by the familiar bond is primarily empathic in nature. There are spells that can build upon that to grant clearer forms of communication, but you can't currently cast any of them, due to the limitations of using Maximum Power. On top of that, the magical interference produced by your seething aura of unleashed Power is undoubtedly interfering with the familiar bond.

What you TRY to say is: "Briar, please cast the Spell to Soften Earth and Stone on the wall behind Dark Link so I can shove him into it and trap him."

What Briar actually HEARS is most likely something like: "Briar! Wall! Soften! Trap!"

There is a span of a few seconds where you aren't sure if she heard you through the noise of your Power, or if she heard but couldn't understand your excited projections.

But then, the wall behind Dark Link starts to visibly sag. The area of effect is not as large as what a typical human druid could manage with that spell, much less what you'd be capable of if you put your best effort into it, but it's big enough that you can see it around Dark Link's shield. Most of his upper body will fit in there, if you do this right.

Once again, you gather your Power, recognizing that you're going to have to hit Dark Link HARD if you want to force him INSIDE of the wall behind him - soft clay is still clay, not mud.

Once again, your Power EXPLODES from you.

Once again, Dark Link is driven backwards with a sound of pain, though this time, perhaps because his shield is better placed to take the brunt of the blast, it's a grunt rather than a yell.

Regardless of that, the wall still gives when his body slams into it, softened stone squeezed out and around by the force of the impact; you see some of the dark clay almost erupting out above and around the Shadow's shoulders, half-looking like it will fly away from the rest of the wall completely, before its own weight causes it to flop down like limp fingers.

It's not nearly enough to restrain your opponent - but it doesn't have to be.

As the shockwave of your Power clears from the air, a little glowing fairy zips forward to touch the wall above the Hero's Shadow.

Briar lets out a yell as her magic spikes.

And even as Dark Link tries to pull himself out of his new soft-edged hole in the wall, the edges of it come to life and curl around him, like a bunch of little Wallmasters.

That's... that's the Spell to Shape Stone.

When did Briar-?

You set your surprise aside and focus. Magically-animated or not, that's still just clay. It still won't hold something as strong as Dark Link for long. All it can do is reduce his mobility for a few scant seconds.

Reaching forward with your shield-hand, you grab the top edge of Dark Link's cold black shield and wrench it to one side.

It doesn't go far, but even that new gap is enough for you to see that the moving clay has wrapped around the Shadow of Courage's upper arms, piling upon itself as deeply as possible in an attempt to pin them and him for as long as can be managed.

He's already tearing his way free, the softened stone no match for the sheer brute strength afforded him by the replica Power Gloves he wears.

But he's not free yet, and from the defiant, chagrined glare the Shadow shoots you, he knows as well as you do what comes next.

---

Your sword comes up, its bright blade wreathed in dancing golden flames-

Dark Link raises his chin and holds your gaze in a final act of defiance.

-and the edge of the weapon comes to a stop next to his throat, just close enough for Dark Link to feel the flickering Power against the skin of his neck.

"Yield," you demand.

The Shadow of Courage did not flinch before this, but now he blinks, cracking the resolute mask he was holding his expression in.

"What," Briar says flatly, from her place on the cavern wall.

Dark Link carefully inclines his head in her direction, mutely indicating his agreement with your partner's outburst.

"Non-lethal victories count, or just knocking out my evil twin a couple Trials back wouldn't have worked," you state, simultaneously reminding Briar of that win and explaining yourself to your current opponent. "And I think I've freaked out my family and some of my friends enough by making them watch me run a gauntlet of giant monsters, without forcing them to watch me stab a restrained enemy on top of that."

Dark Link looks thoughtful at that.

"Oh, yeah," Briar says, the sound of a wince in her voice as she floats away from the wall. "Definitely don't need Zelda seeing something like that."

The Shadow's eyes widen in surprise, and he makes an inquisitive sound.

"His little sister," Briar explains.

The shade's sword-hand shifts its grip around his darkened copy of the Master Sword, fingers extending to form a flat plane. The "grip" the wall has on his upper arms isn't so total that he's unable to move his hand up and down, indicating different heights with a curious expression.

"She's about four," you explain, holding out your shield-hand at Zelda's approximate height. "She likes wrestling and stories about heroes who beat up monsters-"

Dark Link grins, and his grip shifts again so that he's giving a thumbs-up.

"-but she's still way too young to see people stabbing other people. Or... things that look like people."

Red eyes narrow at you.

"Hey, I'm trying not to be insulting, but you have to admit..." You gesture wordlessly at him, from unnatural skin to near-black wardrobe to bloody eyes.

The Shadow sighs and nods, before flinching away from the kiss of cold steel on his neck.

"Sorry," you apologize, adjusting the position of your weapon slightly. "Anyway, for the sake of my not having to look like a bad guy in front of my little sister, I'll ask again: do you yield?"

Dark Link considers it, humming in thought.

Then he drops his sword and shield.

The clang when the armaments hit the floor seems unusually loud.

"...thanks, man," you say honestly, as you withdraw your Blessed Blade and deactivate Maximum Power.

Then you frown, noting that the plane of your Force Shield is still covered by a web of tiny lightning-like streamers of Power, crackling as they crawl along the conjured surface.

Dark Link and Briar join you in eyeing the unexpected reaction.

"...is it supposed to do that?" Briar asks warily.

"I don't know," you admit.

The Shadow groans and hangs his head.

"You remember asking that question a lot, huh?" Briar guesses.

He just nods.

"How'd it end?"

The Shadow's answer is a soft, wordless laugh. It is not a happy sound.

---

You turn your back to Briar and Dark Link and take a few steps away from them, keeping your curiously energized shield aimed firmly away from anyone or anything. As you move, you activate your Ki Sight and Mage Sight, to try and make sense of what's going on.

Your Power burns brightly in your overlapping forms of enhanced vision, making it relatively easy to see how it's infused itself into the matrix of the activated force-shield. The Vambrace itself has also been touched by the golden energy, but it's much less affected by whatever is going on. You're not sure if that's because the enchantments that make the Vambrace more than a piece of armor are worked into the material, allowing it to serve as a shield against Maximum Power's known deleterious effect on active spells, or if there's something else going on.

It does seem likely, though, especially after you make a quick check of your other magic items. Sword, boots, and robe have all been exposed to Maximum Power just as much as your shield, but none of them are displaying that kind of charged reaction. If anything, they're even less affected than the Vambrace - the only one of the four items that both projects an effect external to itself, and was being used during the duel.

Then you put your Blessed Blade back into your dimensional pocket, move your freed-up hand to your Vambrace, and start unbuckling the straps holding it in place - but carefully keeping that hand on the armor, to prevent it from sliding off your forearm.

"Alex?" Briar asks. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to test something. I just want to be able to take the Vambrace off in a hurry, in case I suddenly need to."

There is a two-part sigh from behind you.

"This is going to end in an explosion," Briar groans. "I just know it."

Dark Link makes a wordless sound of sympathy.

Ignoring the comments from the peanut gallery, you take a stance, aim your powered-up shield at the empty air in the middle of the room, and push forward, as if you were shield-bashing something standing in front of you.

The Force Shield reacts appropriately to the motion of your arm and the Vambrace (loosely) attached to it, moving forward in a short, sharp surge. Aside from the brief trails of golden light gleaming against the otherwise dim light of the cave, nothing out of the ordinary occurs.

After a few follow-up tests confirm that just lashing out at empty space isn't going to prompt a reaction, you activate your Boots of Air Walking and "step" a few inches off the ground, then drop to a crouch and carefully bring the bottom edge of your projected shield down on the stone floor of the chamber.

The instant it touches the rock, your Power discharges into the ground with a short, sharp crack, spreading out from the point of contact in all directions. The golden web covers an area no more than three feet across, doesn't linger for more than a second - kind of a long time, considering the resemblance to lightning - and doesn't explode or otherwise damage the stone.

It also causes your Force Shield to wink out.

You're able to reactivate it normally, but the whole incident is still a bit concerning. You already knew that Maximum Power didn't play well with active spells upon your person, and now you have proof that it doesn't interact with the effects of certain magic items any better.

You might have to look into getting an actual physical shield in the future, if you mean to fight with Maximum Power more often, or in similarly serious situations.

There is a silver lining, though, in that a good half a minute of exposure to Maximum Power didn't damage any of the magic items you were using, or the enchantments worked into them. Even your Vambrace is working fine, now that it's shed the built-up Power.

With your experiments complete, you tighten your Vambrace once again - and then, smirking, turn to Briar.

"And nothing blew up."

"You got lucky," your partner retorts.

Gained Science E (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)

Dark Link, meanwhile, just pulls himself free of the wall and brushes the bits of clinging stone from his upper arms. As the debris falls to the floor with a hiss of dust and dull thuds of larger bits of clay, the Shadow of Courage bends down to retrieve his gear, which he holds with a relaxed, non-threatening air.

Guessing what comes next, you draw your own sword once again, and return the salute that your defeated opponent offers.

Then Dark Link disappears, and the world blurs once more.

When things settle down, you find yourself standing in darkness, broken only by the pale light of Briar's aura. The air is cool, dry, and musty, and floor beneath you is worked stone, but that's about all you're able to discern by mundane means - the ceiling is too high for Briar's personal radiance to reach, and whatever walls or pillars are holding it up are similarly too far to the sides.

The lack of light poses no obstacle to your Mage Sight, however, which registers enchantments all around you. The floor is heavily warded, as are several pillars close enough for your augmented vision to detect, and the Triforce emblems and Hylian runic script are quite clear.

You're just about to cast a Spell of Light when you feel the magic of the chamber react to your presence, and you see and sense two bursts of Elemental Fire at the far end of the room, as two torches hanging from the walls are lit. These are followed by two more, and then another pair, and then more, the ignitions coming faster and faster until the sound of the torches bursting into flames is almost a continuous roar of flame.

The revealed room is easily as large as the domed arena where you met Xander and faced your evil twins, though the chamber is rectangular rather than rounded, and there is no maze of upthrust spikes. Two rows of columns rise to the vaulted ceiling, each three or four feet thick and spaced about ten feet apart - and at the far end of the space defined by the columns is your opponent.

Taller than any mortal man, fully armed and armored, the great knight stands ready for battle, a shield bearing the Royal Crest on his right arm, a long, slender sword in his left, and a single-spiked helmet covering his head.

KNIGHT OF THE SHADOWED MIRE: JERMAFENCER

"Hail, young Alexander!" he greets you with a flourish of his weapon. "Art thou prepared?"

"...what," Briar says flatly.

---

You cannot express your confusion at seeing Jermafencer taking part in the Trials any better than your partner already did, so you just go ahead and ask him what he's doing here.

"Testing you, of course!" he replies cheerfully.

Cheeky little...

"What I meant is, am I looking at the REAL Sir Jermafencer, flesh and blood and spirit, or am I facing a conjured duplicate or summoned incarnation of the true knight? Because when I asked the priests about how the Trials works, they told me I wouldn't be fighting anything that was actually alive, and yet some of my bouts have given a very different impression."

"Indeed," the knight replies gravely, with a nod of his helmed head. "And if I may say so, I thought you handled facing your darker incarnation quite reasonably, under the circumstances. You are also the first person I am aware of to overcome one such as Dark Link without actually slaying him; that was well done."

"I did sort of stab him to discorporation the first time we met," you reply.

"Even so." There is a short pause before Jermafencer continues. "As to your other question, no, I am not truly physically present. This body is merely a shadow of my true self, brought forth by the Goddesses for the purpose of administering this Trial. I will remember what transpires here, but no harm shall come to me, not even the shock of a death-blow, should you manage to land one."

The knight's tone as he declares that last bit is interesting. At no point does he sound like he's lost confidence in his own abilities, yet at the same time, he is in no way dismissive of the possibility that you might strike him down.

"But enough lighthearted banter," Jermafencer declares then, as he shifts into a ready stance. "We stand before the eyes of the Goddesses, in the Ring of Trials! NOW, WE FIGHT LIKE MEN!"

It's a good thing your reflexes are as keen as they are, even without ki enhancement, because Jermafencer is FAST for such a big guy.

Gained Reflexes B (Plus)

He also hits every bit as hard as you were expecting - which is to say, he's up there with Dark Link for sheer striking force. The fact that his blade is designed for thrusts just magnifies the danger there, letting the knight concentrate his strength into one spot.

Gained Sword Training A

If you didn't have a shield made out of pure force, you think you'd be in serious trouble trying to block those attacks.

Gained Shield Training E (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)

As it is, the first one just blows you backwards, out of the knight's immediate reach - and straight into the optimum range of his next weapon.

You saw Jermafencer's floating helmet spitting bolts of magical fire at the goblins that attacked the Reinhardt residence last night, so you're not completely taken aback when the knight himself proves able to do something similar.

That said, you were expecting a bolt of shimmering, sorcerous energy, not a great swirling gout of flame like the breath of a small dragon!

Ki Enhanced speed and agility carry you out of the path of that attack-

!

-and then you are forced into a Body Flicker as Sir Knight lets fly with the Sword Beam he charged up while you were otherwise occupied!

Gained Sword Beam D (Plus) (Plus)

The bolt slams into the wall behind you and dissipates with a flash of light, leaving not so much as a scratch.

At least now, you know some of what the wards on this room do - and thanks to your speed, you're finally able to go on the offensive.

You circle the big knight at speed, emerging from your Body Flicker behind him, sword already striking-

"HAAAA!"

-and then he SPINS in place, kicking up a veritable whirlwind of physical force and mystical energy.

Gained Cleave E (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Spin Attack F (Plus)

Your blade clangs loudly, but briefly, as you desperately parry the move, before you are once again sent flying off your feet by the sheer force of the blow.

"You're not the first to try to hit me in my blind spot, lad!" Jermafencer calls out, as he once again charges up his weapon.

Fancy that, you muse, before focusing on what your next move should be.

It's not just your relative lack of physical power that's the issue, here. Jermafencer is simply so much heavier than you are, and better at leveraging it in his blows, that you can't compensate with Ki Enhanced strength alone. Adding Ki Step might help offset that, and then again, it might not.

Quite aside from that, now that you've had a chance to face Jermafencer's sword technique directly, you have a better idea of where he ranks compared to Dark Link. He is perhaps not AS good as the Shadow of the Hero, but the difference between them is academic for your purposes; they're both WELL above your skills.

Going back into Maximum Power is looking terribly tempting right now...

On the other hand, do you really want to FIGHT LIKE MEN, if it leaves the advantage in your opponent's court?

---

While there is some appeal to the prospect of facing Jermafencer in a more or less pure martial contest, strength and skill and a certain amount of ki enhancement against the same, you just got very convincing evidence of why that would ultimately turn out badly for you.

Maybe some other time.

You know, when you're all grown up, and won't be thrown around the arena every time you try to block one of your opponent's strikes.

No, if you're going to make a proper fight of this, you'll need to pull out a little magic. Preferably something that makes you less prone to getting knocked about so casually.

You think you have an idea, but you're going to need a little space and time to put it into effect - and so, even as you gather your mana, you trigger a lower-end Body Flicker, just enough speed to put you as far away from Jermafencer as possible, and also out of his line of sight.

You don't quite end up in one of the corners of the room, but you're not far off from it, and you've got at least two of those pillars between you and Jermafencer.

As you shape the spell you have in mind, you hear a roar of displaced air from nearer to the center of the room. It's followed by a moment of silence, and then cautious footsteps that lead AWAY from your position, to judge by the echoes.

Grinning at this fortunate break, you finish casting the Spell of the Elemental Body.

Your bones turn to stone, the flesh around them to packed clay, and the skin atop that to a fine layer of earth. Your eyes become glowing gems, your hair turns into a tuft of dark grass, and your clothes and equipment are subsumed into your body, leaving behind interesting surface patterns.

The extra energy you devoted to the spell in an attempt to increase your weight without impairing your speed and flexibility has resulted in you taking on a form somewhat larger than your natural human guise, and with more of your mass given over to stone than you suspect is entirely normal. However, a quick kata, performed as quietly as you can manage, confirms that you've lost no mobility in the bargain.

The very next thing you do is press down against the floor with the amorphous limb that used to be your right leg, testing to see if this assumed form's ability to pass through earth and stone is at all inconvenienced by the magical wards covering the chamber.

When your "foot" sinks into the stone as easily as if it were water, you spare a brief smile, baring teeth of quartz.

Then you sink into the stone floor until you are complete submerged and begin moving towards Jermafencer, following the vibrations of his steel boots upon the stone floor. Lightly-armored the knight may be compared to some, but he's still wearing dozens of pounds of metal; moving quietly with such gear would be a fine trick indeed, without magical assistance, and Jermafencer seems to lack either the skill or the sorcery for that task.

This makes it almost childishly easy for you to get right below the knight, and pace him as he searches for you above.

As you do so, you gather your energies. Your ki feels a bit different in this state, heavier and more sluggish than usual, at least until you get it moving. Your mana, meanwhile, is unchanged, and you bring the two together once again.

From the sudden lack of movement above you, Jermafencer sensed the explosion of Maximum Power activating, but it does him little good as you erupt from the floor under his very feet - in a spray of glowing golden sand?

"GERUDOMAN!?" the knight roars in confusion, as he loses his footing and topples over backwards with a crash.

Ignoring those oddities for the moment, you press your attack, taking full advantage of your current form's enhanced awareness of the ground and everything standing on it to read Jermafencer's moves and counter them as he makes them. It turns out that the knight is not untrained at grappling and wrestling, but it's definitely not his forte, and the combination of surprise, your increased mass, and your greatly augmented physical abilities has him at a serious disadvantage.

Since you're getting jarred and... whatever the earth elemental equivalent of "bruised" is... by Jermafencer's attempts to free himself from your grip, you go ahead and pour additional Power into reinforcing your body.

It takes the edge off, anyway.

Gained Power Armor F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)

All the while, your altered body continues to... shed... a flurry of glittering sand particles, which flow and fly all over the place. They're no hindrance to you whatsoever, but from the way Jermafencer curses, swats at the cloud, literally spits, and then spits FIRE to try and clear the air, they're definitely causing him problems.

---

You will not insult your opponent's honor by suggesting that he surrender this match over so trivial a matter as mere physical discomfort!

No, you will EARN your victory - by slamming him against the floor until he gives!

There are no ropes or convenient elevated surfaces for you to climb onto and then leap off of for extra power, but to be honest, the idea of breaking contact with the ground is rather unsettling anyway, and in a manner that has nothing to do with giving a dangerous opponent a few seconds to maneuver unimpeded.

Instead, with a roar that's more for emotional impact than born out of physical exertion, you lift Jermafencer's upper body off the ground and onto your shoulder, and then, still roaring, smash him back down against the stone floor.

There is a flare of Power at the moment of impact, glowing sand exploding in every direction-

Gained Power Slam F (Plus)

-and Jermafencer's head pops off his shoulders like a cork from a champagne bottle, shooting through the air in a broad arc.

For just a moment, you have to stop and take in the scene: you, with a huge but headless body in your massive, distorted hands; the body in question, stunned by its injury but still with plenty of fight left in it; and of course, the head, flying across the room, still spitting sand from its mouth.

As his second head sort of rises from his torso into its proper place, Jermafencer wryly comments, "And now you know why I don't go in for wrestling, as a rule."

"Must be a headache," you concede in a voice like grinding stones, as you gather your strength.

"Oh, you cheeky little-!"

SLAM!

Perhaps it's because you only wrenched his upper body hard against the ground this time; it could be that he was better-braced for the shock of impact; or maybe this head is just better attached than the last one. Whatever the reason, Jermafencer's second head doesn't fall off with just the one blow.

And before you can give it another go, his disembodied head comes flying your way, spitting one of those small, focused orbs of sorcerous flame you saw it using in the battle on the Reinhardts' front lawn. Either Jermafencer has no fear of being injured by his own attacks, or he feels that hitting you and/or disrupting your focus on this grapple will be worth whatever damage he takes.

You yank the knight's upper body into the path of the projectile, trying to use him as a living shield against his own attack.

Considering that his torso is almost as large as your whole body, it works out fairly well. The shimmering red bolt slams into the knight's armored back with a flash and a hiss, the latter of which is echoed by Jermafencer himself.

Option three, which you hadn't considered before, is that maybe his severed head just isn't very bright.

And then you slam Jermafencer down for a third time-

SLAM!

-which is enough to knock his second cranium loose, but not quite sever it entirely.

At this point, the knight foregoes trying to avert another slam or escape your hold, and instead wraps both of his long arms around your body and squeezes. Despite the natural toughness and limited malleability of your current form, the considerable boost to endurance you enjoy from Maximum Power, and the added (if meager) boost of your Power Armor, you can feel things creaking unpleasantly.

In response to this assault, you go for the full lift-and-slam combination again, this time adding to it by falling atop your opponent as he hits the ground.

SLAM!

Once more, a helmet-covered head is knocked off, this time to go clattering along the floor until it fetches up against one of the pillars.

The momentary shock of being beheaded, again, loosens Jermafencer's steel-armed bear hug, giving you a chance to wrench free. You take it, but are prevented from further capitalizing on the knight's disorientation by his first floating head, which has circled around to a new angle and fired another of those burning spitballs at you. Even as you dodge the projectile, you take note of how much harder it is for the form of an earth elemental to perceive something flying around in the air, completely out of contact with the ground. The hovering helmet isn't even generating a downdraft that your current body's innate vibration sense might have some faint hope of registering.

If that helmet moved faster, or your combat and magical senses weren't as sharp as they are, you might not have noticed that attack in time to avoid it.

Gained Battle Awareness C (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Crowd Control D (Plus) (Plus)

And now there are two of them for you to worry about, Jermafencer's second head having - shakily - taken to the air. At the same time, his third head has grown into place, and this time, it's not wearing a helmet at all.

The face before you bears much of the cold, unearthly beauty of the Winter Fae. His skin is exceptionally - dare you say, "ghostly?" - pale, and there is quite a lot of it to be seen, as the knight has not a single hair on his head, from chin to crown. His eyes - just about jammed shut against the onslaught of the swirling sand - are an incredibly dark shade of blue, almost black, beneath the sort of stern brow naturally given to scowling.

His ears could be Hylian or Fae. Past a certain point, there's no way of telling the difference.

That's about all you have time to take in before Jermafencer takes a deep breath, as an aura of Elemental Fire builds within him.

What a shame for him, that you still have the Spell of the Flaming Aura running, even if two uses of Maximum Power have significantly shaved down its duration.

Easily able to take the hit, and entirely unwilling to risk losing the hold you've established on your opponent, you tighten your grip on Jermafencer and just let the blast come.

With the sand in his eyes, Jermafencer's aim is a little off; the gout of flame ends up centered on your right shoulder rather than your head or torso, which are the usual advised targets for most ranged attacks. Still, it's a fair hit, and if you were just an earth elemental infused with Power, it would have hurt you. Your spell-granted immunity to flame makes it a non-issue.

The same cannot be said for Jermafencer himself, who lets out a hiss of pain as tongues of flame spill downward along your bulky frame, following and devouring the oxygen in the air between the two of you, and distributing heat in all directions - including back at their creator. His armor doesn't suddenly melt or glow or anything so extreme, but all the same, that can't have been comfortable. Despite that, the knight doesn't halt his attack until the flame has run out on its own.

At that point, he looks frustrated, and more than a bit concerned.

You're not surprised. True, you now have two free-floating ranged attackers whose locations you have a less than clear picture of to worry about, while your main target has reached the point where he's willing to take hits in order to hit you in turn.

But while it a danger to be wary of, that kind of desperation is also a sign that victory is close at hand.