I was sitting in my flat when Taury flapped and sat on top of my head.
“What
is it?”
“I’m
bored.”
“Why?
We got TV.”
“Yeah
but watching Lord of the Rings is nowhere near as fun as doing magic ourselves.”
“Le
gasp, blasphemy.”
She
rolled her eyes.
“We
are literally in a magical hotspot; you should utilize it.”
“Eh.”
“Just
do something.”
I
sighed before standing up.
“Fine,
we’ll go shopping, maybe I’ll find a pixie muffler.”
“Yay…
wait a second.”
I
walked out the door with her still on my head.
_
“Okay,
so, that’s the tomatoes, do we need anything else.”
“Who
are you talking to?”
I
jumped and spun.
“Oh,
Amy, you startled me, what are you doing here.”
“Shopping.
And you?”
“Same.”
“Who
were you talking to?”
“Oh,
I verbalize my thought process occasionally.”
“Ah,
that makes sense… what?”
I
was trying to process what I was seeing.
“I
honestly half expected you to have servants that shopped for you.”
“Heh,
yeah, my parents would prefer that, but since I like shopping on my own, they
send guards instead.”
I
looked around.
“That
would explain the four guys failing to be indiscreet.”
All
four coughed immediately, and Amy’s eyes widened.
“You
actually noticed them? Normally, I’d have to point them out.”
“Oh,
my gramps taught me how to detect those who want to hide, so I could never be
snuck up on. I was never good at it, but I understood the basics at least.”
One
of the guys walked up, moderate surprise on his face.
“More
than that, we are known as the shadows because no one can detect us.”
“Huh,
maybe I was better than I thought, I could never find Gramps or Saiyung.”
“Who’s
that?”
“Oh,
Saiyung is my Gramp’s ex. She’s a master martial artist. She also told me how
to evade detection, and how to lose it.”
I
slightly laughed, remembering the days that I spent searching for her, only to
find that she was right behind me the whole time.
“Wow,
you seem to be quite skilled.”
“Nope,
I’m just a novice, I could never even get close to beating gramps. Heck, he’d
always tell me I was the worst student he ever had.”
“He
sounds like a cruel man.”
“Cruel
but wise. He’s sorta like Yoda, he pretends to be incompetent but guides
perfectly, plus, he’s the strongest guy I’ve ever known.”
Another
guy walked up.
“Wow,
would I know him?”
“Probably,
he’s decently well known in the martial arts community.”
“Huh,
who is he?”
“John
Cambell.”
One
blinked.
“YOUR
GRANDFATHER IS JOHN CAMBELL?!!”
“Yep.”
Amy
looked confused.
“Is
he famous?”
“Is
he famous? He’s the greatest martial artist known to mankind. Grandmasters go
to him for lessons.”
I
smiled.
“Yeah,
he’s good.”
“No
wonder you could never get him, he’s a master of masters. I don’t think you’re
a novice, you’re just that compared to him.”
“Huh,
maybe. I don’t think so though.”
The
leader of the shadows looked at me like I was crazy.
“Anyways,
I gotta get more groceries, have a good day.”
I
walked off.
Taurael
asked.
“Why
didn’t you tell me your gramps was famous?”
“Slipped
the mind.”
She
looked annoyed.
“Really?”
“Yep.
When I think of Gramps, I don’t think ‘master martial artist,’ I think ‘Gramps,
the old guy.’”
“…
I guess that makes sense.”
“Would
you want salad?”
“Ick.”
“Why
ick?”
“I
don’t know how you humans can scarf down that stuff that emerges from the
dirt.”
“…
Are pixie’s carnivores?”
She
looked confused.
“Hm?”
“You
only eat meat.”
“Yep.”
“But
we had pizza last night.”
“And?”
“The
crust is made with wheat.”
She
was flabbergasted.
“…Really?”
“Yep.”
“Huh.”
“The
sauce was made with tomatoes, heck there were peppers on the pizza.”
“Wow,
I never realized that… is cheese made of some sorta plant too?”
“Nope,
that’s cow’s milk.”
“Okay…
wait… humans harvest cow’s milk?”
“Yeah?”
She
raised a brow.
“…
That’s weird.”
“…
I guess, but cheese tastes good so I ain’t complaining.”
“Does
the milk also taste good?”
“Yep.”
She
narrowed her eyes at me.
“…
pervert.”
“How…
no… *sigh* I don’t think you quite understand. Cows are animals, the female
cows produce both milk and beef. We harvest said milk and beef for various,
usually nutritional, uses.”
She
thought for a moment.
“…
hmm… I guess that makes sense… you’re still a pervert.”
“No,
I’m… *sigh*… Let’s just finish shopping…”
I
looked at her before murmuring.
“I’m
not even the one that gathers it.”
_
Okay
that was the groceries, now to see if there was anything I wanted at other
stores.
I
stepped into a doll store and saw various things.
Taury
looked around confused.
“Why
are we here?”
“You
can’t just wear that armor all the time, I’m getting you new clothes.”
The
shopowner saw me.
“Hello
there, kid, anything you want?”
“Hm,
got any just clothes?”
“Sure,
in this section. You and your little friend there can find what you need.”
“Thanks.”
…
Wait
a minute.
“You
can see her?”
“Oh,
was I supposed to pretend I couldn’t, darn I always get that wrong. Now that I
think about it, you are the one, aren’t you?”
“The
one?”
“Indeed,
the unsung one.”
I
looked confused.
“The
unsung one?”
“I
shouldn’t say more, events can shift if they are explained.”
“Okay…
um what’s your name?”
“Pearl.”
“What
kind of fey are you?”
“I
am no fey.”
“Oh,
so you have a relic.”
“Yep.”
“Alright,
well, Wings, let’s check out the stuff.”
We
walked up to the case.
“Oh,
what about this one?”
She
was looking at a barbie bikini.
“Oh
heck no.”
“Come
on, I need swim gear in case we ever go to the beach, so why not- … Oh, are you
embarrassed~?”
“N-no.”
“My,
I’m flattered that you are concerned for my decency~ but yeah, I’m getting
that. Well, what else should we get?”
“How
about a t-shirt?”
“Oh,
or~”
“…
Ok, at this point, you are just messing with me!”
It
was a half-cut shirt.
“No,
we are getting decent clothes.”
“You’re
the only one that can see me.”
“Literally
about half the people we’ve met have been able to see you.”
“Urm…
well…”
“Yeah
no, get the bikini if you want, but for regular wear, you are wearing decent
stuff.”
“Fine…”
“Not
used to seeing someone boss around a pixie.”
We
turned to see a tall man, he had a heavy disguise, but Pixie seemingly
recognized him.
“Sir
Roman? What are you doing here?”
“Hello,
Wings, I was interested in meeting Morgan’s latest pet. She never interacts
with humans since… him.”
“Who?”
“None
of your business, human. Anyways, buy your pixie clothes and follow me.”
“Okay?”
We
bought the clothes from Pearl who seemed terrified of the disguised atronach,
it made sense to be scared of a council member, but I was kind of confused with
how she knew who he was.
We
left the building and followed Roman into an alley.
“Well,
human, what is your name?”
“William.”
He
nodded.
“Alright,
do you know why a demon strong enough to break one of Morgan’s rules was after
you?”
“No,
I didn’t even believe the stories until that one was sitting in my chair.”
He
seemed thoughtful.
“Hm…
it seems Morgan was right.”
“Hm?”
Then
his eyes flicked around me, then instead of explaining, he simply made me have
more questions.
“She
did have to put a lot of power into you, but it doesn’t seem like it’s
sustaining you… no matter.”
“Wait,
what do you mean it isn’t sustaining me?”
“That
is none of your business.”
I
was getting annoyed.
“Excuse
me, if it pertains to me and, if I may, the magic that was shoved in my
body, I think it is my business.”
Taury
began to shake.
“William,
calm down.”
“I
agree with the pixie. Remember your place human.”
I
was ticked off.
“Nah,
because I’ll tell you what, you are ticking me off. You know that Morgan has ulterior
motives when it comes to me as well as anyone else.”
He
seemed to grow taller.
“Don’t
test me human, you know not who you address.”
“Of
course, I do, Roman, the fire atronach in the council.”
He
had a flicker of surprise.
“How
could you have known that?”
“I
was the guy who shouted at the twit who was insulting his own sister.”
His
eyes widened, and he looked at me in genuine surprise.
“You
were the mist? Interesting, you are right. It seems Morgan is keeping quite a
bit from us.”
Then
his eye flicked with anger, so I raised my hands.
“And
before you begin with the threats, Morgan already handled the drill pertaining
to the pixie guy and Wings’s names.”
“I
see, but you still shouldn’t bother yourself with items that are the council’s
concerns.”
“It’s
still my concern because, you know, it’s my body!”
“Silence,
human, you are annoying me.”
“Why
did you even bring me here if you didn’t want to tell me anything?”
“Because
I wanted information from you, but you have none.”
“Oh,
I get it, you want information. Well, yippee kai ye you got what you wanted,
apparently Morgan didn’t do anything to resurrect me and her magic is doing who
knows what.”
“Silence,
Human.”
“Come
on, the least you could do is explai-“
“I
SAID SILENCE!”
He
went to punch me, his fist igniting. Then, in a snap moment.
“SUGGEST!!!”
He
froze, before going limp and swaying.
I
was in shock, so were Taurael and Grace.
…
Wait, Grace?
I
spun quickly, and she muttered.
“What…
what have you done?”
“Hey,
he was about to attack me.”
Grace
suddenly got angry. Then she began to stomp off.
“That’s
it, I’m going to the council, they will execute you for-“
“Suggest!”
She
also started swaying.
“You
two, listen to me.”
““Yes.””
“I
am not your enemy.”
Grace
twitched, but Roman accepted it easily.
“You
are impressed by me being able to stop Roman’s attack, thus you have more
respect for me.”
It
went down without a fight. It seems that atronachs respect power.
“You
gain more trust for me.”
For
Roman, it was like a hot iron was thrown on my skull, but Grace accepted it
easily.
“You
feel as though…”
I
thought for a moment, Grace may accept being open with me, but Roman didn’t
trust me enough.
“I
can be counted on, due to my surprising prowess.”
That
elicited a struggle, but it was accepted.
“And
Grace, you will not remember me using my power on Roman, is that understood.”
“Yes.”
“Release.”
Both
of them snapped back to normal.
“Sir
Roman? What are you doing to William?”
“Sorry,
I allowed my emotions to get the better of me… I’m sorry, Wings, if I scared
you. I should go back, you seem pretty reliable, William, good job on actually
deflecting my attack. I’ll look forward on conversing with you more. And Grace,
me and William were just finishing up a conversation.”
Grace
glared at him.
“Hmph,
yeah, don’t try to attack him.”
“Whatever.”
Roman
left. Grace quickly turned to me with concern in her eyes.
“Are
you okay?”
“Yes…
thanks for the concern.”
“Geez,
he scared Wings so badly. She’s still frozen.”
Sure
enough, it was like Taurael was paralysed.
“Yeah,
we should get going now.”
She
looked in the direction Roman went, pure hate emanating from her eyes.
“Agreed,
be careful, I don’t like that Roman is taking an interest in you. That means
that others will do the same.”
“Um,
thanks for the tip.”
I
walked back to my flat. Taurael was silent the whole time.
I
sat down and sighed. Then Taurael spoke.
“Do
you have any idea what you’ve just done?”
“Yeah…”
“Do
you know what any council member would do if they found out?”
“Yes.”
“Then
why?”
“I…
wasn’t thinking… it just happened, like my mind instinctually reached for it as
the prime defense.”
“Be
more careful… if something were to happen… I don’t know what I’d do.”
“Alright…”
“Why
did you antagonize him?”
“My
emotions boiled over. I’m just… so irritated.”
“Why?”
“Morgana
acted like she did a huge favor and saved my life, but apparently she didn’t do
that, so her magic is here for who knows what and Roman was acting like I had
no business discussing what was done with my own body.”
“I…
that would be irritating.”
“Worst
of all, he acted like I was useless because I didn’t know anything. Do… do fey
see humans as lesser?”
Taurael
sighed.
“There…
are a lot of people on both sides that think that the other race is lesser.
Fey, who think that human’s lack of magical aptitude makes them mere animals,
and humans who see fey as murderous insects.”
“I
see… How is this kept hidden from the public?”
“As
far as I know, in most realms, human died out in some way or another, so the
fey here see this as sort of a last bastion of humanity, so they keep
themselves hidden, of course, some figure it out.”
“How
did humans die out?”
“Demons…
and the council.”
“What?”
“The
demons… are pretty self-explanatory, humans are their primary food source, and
they love to overhunt.”
“And
the council?”
“Roman
and Morgan are very old. Roman singlehandedly annihilated his realm before
discovering the beyond.”
“Why
would he…”
“By
what he says, he didn’t know any better. As far as he knew, they were all
playing with him. Upon the realization that they were terrified and trying to
survive his onslaught, he fell into a deep depression. As of now, he’s the only
known living thing from that realm.”
“So…
he was forced to mature quickly.”
“Yes,
and he’d gained a general disdain for most people.”
“I
can see that. What of Morgan?”
“You
know how druids used to sacrifice here?”
“Yep,
I read that in an article.”
“Morgan
was the deity they sacrificed to. She would eat them, no matter what it was.
Even… humans. She is a force of nature, in fact, my brother used to call her,
the sleeping maw of the earth, because of her sheer power.”
I
was pale by this point, but she continued.
“Messing
with any of the council is dumb, but those two is a veritable death sentence.
Morgan seems so sweet, but she can swiftly shift into a monster of unimaginable
nightmares, and Roman can be polite and cordial, but he can swiftly get enraged
and kill in an instant.”
“But
I managed to use suggest.”
“That’s
because your reflexes are insane.”
“They
are?”
“Yes,
your response was instantaneous, if he wasn’t so fast, I’d bet you could’ve
dodged.”
“Wow,
could I actually be strong?”
“Yes,
the shadow dude said it too, but once again, let’s focus on finding an easier
to explain magic.”
“What
if I could summon fire?”
“What
makes you go there?”
“Well,
that is a standard fantasy magic.”
“*Sigh*
Well, might as well try every- WOAH!”
I
called upon fire and it poured over me. I was freaking out before realizing two
things. I wasn’t burning, and the fire wasn’t spreading.
“What
the heck?”
“T-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-“
“Taury,
speak clearly, please.”
“That’s
fire body, an extremely powerful fire spell, you need immense magical energy to
bring it up, and you are sustaining it like it’s nothing.”
“Woah…
how do I turn it off?”
“Um…
think wet thoughts.”
I
thought of a waterfall, then the fire faded.
“Thanks…
I’mma try earth.”
“Why?”
“Because
lava.”
Upon
my brilliant explanation, she sighed deeply.
“Fine,
just don’t burn down the house.”
I
breathed in, then I decided to mimic To*h, she learned from bad*ger moles, so I
could learn it too.
I
felt a trail, so I reached out, grabbing it. I tugged it and pulled it around
me.
Taurael
gasped.
I
opened my eyes, causing the rocks flying around me to fall down.
“What
happened?”
“You…
you casted Earth Armor, if you kept focusing, you could have done it. You
should focus better in the future.”
I
simply glared at her. She began sweating.
“What?”
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