“Impressive,” Seline said in a flat tone, carefully folding her arms over her chest. “Though I don’t see anything here that’s going to help me maintain protection of this city. Destroy it, maybe. But protect...”
“Now just hold on,” Argo said, raising a finger in the air to silence her complaints. “I’ve got just the thing right here in this chest. I’ve been holding it inside here for quite a while now, so it may be a little cranky when I let it out, but doooon’t worry. I think I’ve nearly established control of it.”
Seline furrowed her brow. “It?!”
Rather than respond, Argo merely removed the last of his powerful seals and flipped the latch open, allowing the lid of the chest to rise. Almost immediately, the vault was flooded with an immense spiritual pressure, one so strong that the flame adept’s knees began to buckle. Before Seline could manage to right herself, an intense swell of emotions quickly battered her senses. Pain, anger, hate, and a deep, deep sorrow all came crashing down on her, drowning out her own thoughts as if one of the gods had just died in her presence. Then, after a few more brutally intense seconds came the calm.
Slowly, Seline picked her head off the floor and returned her gaze back to the chest. However, nothing could have prepared her for what she was about to see. Translucent blue energy poured out of the strongbox, swirling around the room and engulfing it like a tempest before taking the shape of a massive, intangible serpent.
The creature towered over both Seline and Argo, its eyes bearing down on them like a pair of stormy jewels. Energy crackled off the spirit creature like bolts of electricity, causing the flame adept to flinch. Sensing her fear, the apparition leaned in closer, opening its giant translucent maw as if it were about to devour her in a single breath.
“Now...” Argo said, readjusting his tunic. “If we can chain this little guy’s spirit to yours then you’ll have no problem watching over the city.”
Seline’s jaw went slack as she tried to formulate a coherent string of words. “Chain.. my... spirit?! J-just what is this?”
Argo chuckled as an errant bolt of energy nearly incinerated him where he stood. “Why, can’t you tell? It’s the ancient spirit of a dead dragon.”
Seline’s eyes went wide and her spirit shuddered. “Oh... of course, it is.”
Chapter 5
Hard Lessons
Northern Shadowreach, Eon
The worldstar sat high above the skies of Shadowreach, shining down on its winding alleyways and causing the city’s many shadows to recede. It was a change from the usual darkness that loomed heavy around the city, but one welcomed by adepts looking for a slight reprieve from the constant strife... adepts like Roy and his band of Mavericks.
Nearly a month had passed in the city of rogue adepts, and other than a few daring contracts and the occasional dark alley ambush, the Sky Wolves had seen little in the way of conflict. Leila had taken a step back in her leadership role to focus on developing a greater control of her divine power (which required many hours spent in a dark room with a very ominous-looking book). Seline had also been absent, with most of her time spent in the clouds training under the elusive spirit magus, Argo Zael. That left Roy and the others to fend for themselves, and although they were enjoying their moment of peace, it was in an adept’s very nature to want to grow stronger. So, when they weren’t out completing contracts, the Sky Wolves did the one thing every powerful adept’s foundation was built on... they trained.
“Are you ready, Royboy?” Remley asked as he let his spirit aura flare. Translucent red flames swirled around the man’s body, causing his jet back hair to flow and his long red coat to rise as if the garment had come to life.
“I’m gonna knock that smile off your face,” Roy replied, drawing his own black-violet aura around him like a cloak.
The training exercise planned for today was a two on two skirmish, with Roy and his kindred, Kimoura squaring off against Remley and his newly formed pact brother, Varyon. The four had found a small clearing just beyond the city’s northern slums to let loose their spirits, and they’d even amassed a small audience. Standing at the outer edge of the clearing were Yoshiro, Seline’s lover and second in command, Ezry, and the ever animated felyne, Jakki.
“Alright, alright! Let’s see some bloodshed!” the cat-man yelled, raising a pair of paws into the air. Yoshiro promptly leaned to his right and whacked him on top of the head with his runic fishing rod, silencing the felyne save for a soft grumble.
Roy stifled a chuckle before averting his gaze from the trio of bystanders and returning his focus to the battle ahead of him. At his side he felt the energy coming off Kimoura’s spirit aura, it’s light power resonating with the strength of his void. And in front of him, he could see the blazing auras and resolute gazes of his opponents. He could feel the anticipation of battle thrumming within his spirit. He could feel his muscles tense as they readied for war... and Hell, he couldn’t wait.
“Ready?” Ezry said as she stepped forward and raised her ghostly hand. “Now don’t go killing yourselves or Seline will have my head.”
“No promises,” Roy replied, causing Remley’s grin to return.
Ezry rolled her eyes before muttering “idiots”. Then she took another step and yelled “Three. Two. One... Duel!”
Roy was the first to strike, channeling void aura into his legs and launching himself across the clearing. Kimoura followed in his shadow, drawing spirit energy into her palms as she prepared a follow-up strike to his.
Remley merely shook his head, as if he were expecting such an attack. “Always the aggressor Royboy. When will you learn...”
****
Remley watched with amusement as his two students of the spiritual arts charged at him, techniques forming in the palms of their hands. It pleased his soul to see how far the pair had come, especially in such a short period of time. However, their lessons were far from through, and today they would learn about a particularly important one... Innovation.
Remley looked to his left where Varyon’s temporal aura swirled around his body, taking the form of a protective sphere. “Ready, Var-boy? Gosh, that doesn’t roll off the tongue nearly as well, does it...”
“Ready,” Varyon responded, his tone even and his gaze resolute.
“Then let’s show these kids how it’s done!”
The moment Roy stepped into range the two leapt into action, roiling to either side of the void adept and leaving a cluster of temporal bubbles in their wake. Roy tried to slow his approach, but his boots merely skidded across the dirt, causing him to slide right through the cluster of floating spheres.
“What the-“ were the only words Roy managed to choke out before the temporal bubbles burst on contact, releasing the stored flame energy that Remley had channeled into the technique.
//////////
Combo skill: Temporal minefield
//////////
A torrent of flame engulfed Roy as the last of the temporal mines exploded, snuffing out his void aura and effectively removing Roy from battle... or so Remley thought.
A breath later, Roy emerged from the swirling flames, his body in a protective shield of white light, one provided by Kimoura who still followed at his flank.
//////////
Light Skill: Light Shield
//////////
“Smart move,” Remley applauded, grinning as he fell back into battle stance. With access to Kimoura’s light aura, it’d be a struggle to take the pair down from afar. Perhaps then it was time to get down and dirty...
As Roy closed the distance, he swung at Rem with a heavy-handed fist. Remley ducked the blow, returning fire with an empowered boot to the midsection that sent the void adept skyward.
Immediately, Varyon stepped forward and unleashed a technique of his own, entrapping Roy in a sphere of translucent blue energy and freezing him in mid-air.
//////////
Temporal skill: Stasis lock
//////////
The technique wasn’t
designed to hold Roy for long, especially with his void aura’s natural ability to counter temporal skills. However, what it would do was keep the man busy just long enough for Remley and Varyon to make quick work of Kimoura. Was it a cheap move? Perhaps... but Remley had no intention of losing to his very skillful students.
With Roy suspended in the air, the pair charged at the remaining light adept, spirit energy building in the palms of their hands. Remley fully expected the woman to backpedal and find a more defensible position... Instead she surprised him by clenching her jaw, setting her stance and waving them on like the warrior that she was.
“Sorry about this, Moura,” Remley jested before launching his assault. He led with a flaming fist and followed with a high kick aimed at her head. Kimoura absorbed the blows with her forearm, using their momentum to roll away from her attacker and reset her stance. However, Varyon Risen was right there to meet the light adept, greeting her with a vicious chop to the neck.
Their dance continued for several seconds with Kimoura’s Valkyrie steel wing body absorbing physical punishment for either side. That is, until Roy broke free of his prison, sending icy spires and lines of void energy cascading across the field.
“Yes! Kill, kill!” Jakki yelled from the sidelines, growing a bit too invested in the friendly skirmish.
Back on the battlefield, Remley readied himself as Roy re-entered the fray, absorbing an icy punch on his forearms that sent him sliding back on his heels. The flame adept tried to ready a counter, but the effects of Roy’s icy power were surprisingly stronger since last they fought, leaving his muscles cold and unresponsive.
In a mere blink, the void adept was on him again, slamming a fist into a stomach strong enough to lift him off the ground. As Remley ascended Roy leapt above him, slamming a ball of black-violet energy into his back and sending him crashing back into the earth.
//////////
Void skill: Dark Spyral
//////////
A ring of dust rose from the ground as Remley’s body came to a rest, his spirit aching from the pain inflicted by his much-improved student. On one hand, he felt a swell of pride growing in him as he watched Roy descend, the man’s aura surging around him to a power level that likely surpassed his own. On the other hand, he felt a bit of shame stinging at his soul. Had he really allowed himself to be outmatched by his pupil, a man who’d only been on this realm mere months?! Had Remley Bonaduce, heir to the steel brotherhood begun to grow soft?
Perhaps, but what he lacked in raw strength he more than made up for in sheer cunning.
Remley watched intently as Roy descended on his location, ice forming over his opponent’s knuckles as he took aim with another devastating blow. Then as the void adept closed in, he made his move.
Aura flowed into Remley’s legs as he propelled himself to the right, narrowly dodging the man’s strike before launching a blast of spirit energy from his palm. Unfortunately, Roy’s fist connected with the ground a mere second earlier, causing a spire of ice to rise from the dirt and protect him from harm.
Dammit, Remley thought as the blast of energy dissipated against the spire’s hard surface. If this had been a life or death battle, he could’ve unsheathed his blade and charged forward, slicing through the spire and taking the void adept’s head in the process. However, this was a skirmish without weapons and the man opposite him was no enemy… so raw spirit energy would have to do.
//////////
Fire Skill: Fireball
//////////
As Roy emerged from behind the spire, Remley unleashed a hellacious blast of fire energy, targeting the void adept with a massive ball of flame. Roy immediately countered, forging his own dense ball of void energy and firing it directly into the heart of Remley’s technique.
A brilliant explosion of light engulfed the area as the opposing forces clashed, sending bolts of red and black-violet energy spiking in all directions. However, when the light faded and the blast of energy simmered, those watching were left gazing at a rather unlikely sight.
Roy Skyworth stood over his flame-wielding mentor, his arms reinforced with divine energy and his eyes flickering with icy blue light. With the added boost from his divine power and the extensive training he’d undergone since acquiring it, Roy had finally managed to overcome Remley in a test of raw strength.
With a grin, Roy stepped forward and placed an open palm over Remley’s chest, allowing his hand to glow with azure light as he readied another blast. “Checkmate.”
“Indeed,” Remley replied, matching the void adept with a grin of his own. Slowly he raised a hand and pointed over his opponent’s shoulder, drawing his gaze across the clearing to the other pair of adepts engaged in battle. He could see the light fade from Roy’s eyes as he caught sight of Kimoura trapped beneath the cold grip of Varyon Risen, a translucent spirit blast trained directly on her head.
Using the momentary distraction, Remley rolled to his side and kicked out, sweeping the legs out from beneath Roy and dropping him to the ground beside him. Immediately the pair rose to their knees and raised their right palms, readying a blast of spirit energy and aiming it at one another at near point-blank range.
“Well played Royboy, but you’ve lost...” Rem declared a smug grin forming on his angular face. “You and I are deadlocked and your companion over there appears to be compromised. You have no choice but to forfeit.”
Suddenly, a grin stretched across Roy Skyworth’s face. “Maybe you need to get your eyes checked, Rem... ‘cause I’d say this is a draw.”
Slowly Remley’s gaze shifted from Roy’s right hand to his left. It seemed that during their scuffle the void adept had carefully placed his opposite hand on the ground, creating a trail of icy blue energy that snaked across the earth, pooling directly beneath Remley’s form.
“Well I’ll be damned, Royboy,” Rem said, shaking his head in disbelief. The flame adept had been so intent on teaching his pupil a lesson, that it was almost hard to believe that he’d just been schooled himself.
You old fool... you really have gone soft, haven’t you? Remley thought to himself, reminiscing about the strength and fury usually associated with members of the Bonaduce clan and with the steel brotherhood guild. Perhaps it was time to find that again... perhaps that was today’s real lesson.
“You want to go again?” Roy asked, drawing Remley out of his thoughts.
The flame adept’s grin merely widened. “You bet Bahamut’s bare ass I do.”
****
A bit later after the four had exhausted their spirit energy, the group sat in a loose circle around a spirit-forged fire as the light of the worldstar waned.
“That was amazing!” Jakki howled, dancing close enough to the blaze that his fur nearly lit aflame. “It was just like when I lived in the sewers and the Rokari used to practice their mating rituals. They would rip each other limb from limb trying to get to the female with the biggest-“
“Enough, cat,” Yoshiro interjected, squeezing his fishing rod a bit tighter as he threatened to thwap the Felyne on its head.
Jakki merely raised his paws into the air and shot the old adept a disgruntled look. “What? I didn’t even get to the best part. Ya know, when the males got excited enough, they would fling their saliva around like valonian ghouls. Then afterward, my old master would make me go back in and scoop the stuff up into jars... strongest disinfectant in all of Eon, yeah.”
The group collectively cringed… that is all of them except Kimoura. Rather than jeer away, the woman reached over, picked up the felyne and placed him in her lap, running her fingers through his thick orange fur.
Roy watched as the woman continued to groom Jakki’s mane, drawing a genuine smile onto the face of the tiny cat-man. He found it remarkable how easily she developed a connection with the creature. It was as if she could see how misunderstood the little beast was... perhaps it was because she often felt that way herself.
Before Roy could say anything, Remley rose to his feet and reached
his hand into the flames, retrieving the carcass of the spirit beast that had been slowly cooking away at the pit’s center. He then began to tear away the thing’s meaty ribs and hand one to each member of the party that was present. “
Ya know, perhaps the little furball was right. That was amazing. In fact, it’s clear that we all possess some exceptional talents... and that is why I propose a toast!” Rem gleefully hoisted a rib bone into the air. “To training harder and growing strong enough that we may one day rival the power of the gods!”
“To kicking ass and taking names!” Roy added, causing Remley’s smile to widen.
“To finding out about my past,” Varyon said, the third to raise a rib bone into the sky.
“To building unbreakable bonds,” Kimoura added, her freckled cheeks beginning to redden.
“To getting back the money you all owe me,” Yoshiro blurted out, a piece of rib meat now dangling from between his lips.
“And to using our newfound power to cause widespread mayhem before conquering the now broken world with our iron fists!” Jakki declared, drawing looks of surprise from the rest of the group. “That is what you people do, right?”
Kimoura merely giggled before hugging the little felyne just a bit tighter... clearly, there was still a lot to be learned about living on the surface.
****
Hours after the worldstar had set and their fire had waned, the Sky Wolves found themselves back within the protective walls of Seline’s tower. Despite an excellent day of training, Roy was pleased to find sanctuary in his soft linen sheets, to finally rest and re-charge his now weary spirit.
As he began to drift, the void adept couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of optimism. He was going stronger... in fact, they all were. To him, it seemed like things were finally coming together, that he and his companions had finally hit their stride in this world of chaos...
The Adept Archives: Volumes 1-3 Page 45
