10-05-2017, 06:01 PM
Dane swept his hand across the table of Ishmir's former office, sweeping off all the contents and sitting on the hard wood. This put his head just above the eye level of his small audience.
"I'm going to do us all a favour and get the boring fluff out of the way, I suggest you three do the same." The trio looked at each other, but Dane continued unphased by their confusion, distrust, wariness, or whatever emotions and thoughts were going through their heads. "At least one of you three has magical ability. I don't know your reasons for hiding it, and quite frankly I don't care - I give my word that none of you will come to harm providing those with magic step forward." He relaxed, hoping to appear genuine despite his unorthodox attitude to these discussions.
Half-words and quiet mutterings reached Dane's ears before the male straightened his back, glaring at Dane. "Are you threatening us?"
Blinking, Dane realised how the man came to that conclusion. "No. I just won't protect you any more than everyone else if you don't do as I ask - and I certainly won't do anything afterwards. You help me save the town, you get lots of fun perks and rewards. You choose to selfishly sit on your arse, then I'm less likely to be able to protect the town fully and, in the event I do succeed, I leave as if I never met you." That was a lie. Dane planned to keep talking and shifting deals until he got a response he liked. He wasn't even sure he could give them anything afterwards. He just wanted to make his job easier.
Luckily, one came.
The twin with the longer hair stepped forward, pushing past her friends. She smirked, much to Dane's confusion. He expected her to be more tentative or fearful. "I can do magic. He's tried." She pointed to her male friend, before gesturing to her sister. "And she's devoid of almost all mana. I guess we'll have to let you into our little circle."
"Ivy!" Her sister yelped, voice cracking.
The male shrugged, shaking his head disapprovingly. "I guess there's not much I can do at this point." He looked towards Ivy. "You shouldn't have said that." Turning towards Dane, he glared, beginning to open his mouth, only to be cut off.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm untrustworthy or whatever." Dane waved his hand idly before glancing at Ivy. "First off, why were you hiding this? And secondly, describe your capabilities... Also," Dane gestured to the other two, "you two can go, or stay for moral support - or just because you don't trust me. I don't care."
Ivy cut off the responses her friends planned to make, opting to make herself the face of the group. "There were some nasty rumours about what the magical conscription team does with twins." Dane raised an eyebrow. "And I suppose you're aware of the stigma against mages around here?"
Dane nodded. "I haven't heard those rumours though. Where did they come from? And, anyway, I had a twin brother. Although he wasn't scouted out - they do probably know of my existence. Nothing bad happened to me."
"I overheard a few conversations between the recruiters." She paused. "I can be sneaky when I need to."
"Smart." Dane didn't press that matter further. "Anyway, to reiterate, your capabilities?"
She straightened her spine, stretching her hands upwards with interlocking fingers so that her palms flexed towards to roof of the tent. Her knuckles cracked, and then her wrists, followed by her back and eventually her neck (which she twisted). Her sister winced in disgust, and her other friend was trying to remain stalwart while obviously being uncomfortable. Dane didn't care, nor react. He waited for her verbal response.
Relaxing, she raised her head, speaking uniformly and listing an array of magic disciplines and topics off her fingers. Notably, all were either basic, or solely reliant on having a lot of mana. Simple projections of power, she could do. But anything fine, or even aimed, was unlikely. The only anomaly was her ability to use stealth magic. Which was strange, to say the least. He guessed there was an innate pathological path, which tended to be common enough in untrained high strength mages, but typically led to accidental usage or inefficiencies. The latter was more typical.
He hopped off the table, pivoted off his front foot, and threw a punch towards her face. It was a good swing. Subconsciously, Dane was almost sad that it would never connect.
She vanished and, a fraction of a second later, Dane's fist stopped a centimetre from where her face was.
Slap!
Dane's jaw snapped to the side from the unforeseen strike, the familiar burning of mana singed his cheek. He laughed. Ivy's friends stared in shock.
"Innate and impulsive magic it is then. Damn. You must be pretty good to keep this hidden, even in the outskirts."
Ivy reappeared a split second later, glaring. "You could have just asked."
"Where's the fun in that? Anyway, I wasn't actually going to hit you." Probably.
She glanced at the burn mark on his face while holding out an arm to stop her friends from doing anything. "Whatever. I guess we're even. Don't do that again."
As expected, she was annoyed. If his judgements were correct, that was a good thing. He could use that to make her more competitive, reinforce her motives, and ultimately maximise her magical potential. Fear and anger were all well and good, but a strong mental drive for something was much better when it came to innate strength. Dane's brother found that out the hard way.
"And what if I do?"
"Your face will somehow end up looking even worse, if that's even possible."
"Try me. Hit me again, kiddo." Dane grinned slightly, but remained relaxed, making no attempt to ready his guard to block and dodge. "Go on. I dare you."
Ivy grimaced, having to actually rely on her own focus to use magic. A few seconds later, she disappeared. Dane stood perfectly still for three more seconds, counting them in his head; nothing happened over this time besides Ivy's companions stepping back. At the end of the time, he bent his knees slightly, as if to duck, then jumped to the side. He spun in the air, outstretching and moving his further leg towards his previous position, using a faint green glimmer as a guideline.
He wasn't wearing hard boots, nor did the action have much force behind it, but it did connect solidly with Ivy's head, immediately ending her spell. "Magic isn't everything kiddo. You're too predictable."
She rubbed the top of her head, adjusting her hair slightly in the process. "That was just luck. There's no way you could have known where I was."
"Trade secret. I'll tell you if we win."
"Win?"
"Let's define it as saving the town. The fortifications are up and the men are rested. We've got two to ten hours until the action starts. So, I suggest we get started on a game plan with you three."
"I'm sticking with her." The male interrupted.
"Sure, whatever dude." Dane shrugged. "Your choice. I would propose you two either stick with me, or take to the top of the building." He looked at Ivy's sister. "You should probably stick to the cellar. You'll be safe, and your sister will be fine. If anyone dies, it'll be my men."
Some further arguments were had, and the final arrangement actually had Ivy and her friend by the doorway - with her sister only offering token resistance to being separated. The duo by the door were apparently orphans, although, even knowing this, Dane found it strange that no one criticised them seeing combat - he'd handed the male weapons (although the man probably didn't know how to use them). Dane figured everyone was just mindlessly accepting his decisions at this point, which he found annoying as he actually had alibies, explanations, or arguments to use for basically everything anyone could say.
It wasn't much longer until the sun set, and by that point, Dane called in everyone but the few scouts around the town border and the top of the hill. They had pyres to light, and demons were known to sometimes give off a faint red glow, so he wasn't worried about being surprised. At this point, it was just a waiting game.
"I'm going to do us all a favour and get the boring fluff out of the way, I suggest you three do the same." The trio looked at each other, but Dane continued unphased by their confusion, distrust, wariness, or whatever emotions and thoughts were going through their heads. "At least one of you three has magical ability. I don't know your reasons for hiding it, and quite frankly I don't care - I give my word that none of you will come to harm providing those with magic step forward." He relaxed, hoping to appear genuine despite his unorthodox attitude to these discussions.
Half-words and quiet mutterings reached Dane's ears before the male straightened his back, glaring at Dane. "Are you threatening us?"
Blinking, Dane realised how the man came to that conclusion. "No. I just won't protect you any more than everyone else if you don't do as I ask - and I certainly won't do anything afterwards. You help me save the town, you get lots of fun perks and rewards. You choose to selfishly sit on your arse, then I'm less likely to be able to protect the town fully and, in the event I do succeed, I leave as if I never met you." That was a lie. Dane planned to keep talking and shifting deals until he got a response he liked. He wasn't even sure he could give them anything afterwards. He just wanted to make his job easier.
Luckily, one came.
The twin with the longer hair stepped forward, pushing past her friends. She smirked, much to Dane's confusion. He expected her to be more tentative or fearful. "I can do magic. He's tried." She pointed to her male friend, before gesturing to her sister. "And she's devoid of almost all mana. I guess we'll have to let you into our little circle."
"Ivy!" Her sister yelped, voice cracking.
The male shrugged, shaking his head disapprovingly. "I guess there's not much I can do at this point." He looked towards Ivy. "You shouldn't have said that." Turning towards Dane, he glared, beginning to open his mouth, only to be cut off.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm untrustworthy or whatever." Dane waved his hand idly before glancing at Ivy. "First off, why were you hiding this? And secondly, describe your capabilities... Also," Dane gestured to the other two, "you two can go, or stay for moral support - or just because you don't trust me. I don't care."
Ivy cut off the responses her friends planned to make, opting to make herself the face of the group. "There were some nasty rumours about what the magical conscription team does with twins." Dane raised an eyebrow. "And I suppose you're aware of the stigma against mages around here?"
Dane nodded. "I haven't heard those rumours though. Where did they come from? And, anyway, I had a twin brother. Although he wasn't scouted out - they do probably know of my existence. Nothing bad happened to me."
"I overheard a few conversations between the recruiters." She paused. "I can be sneaky when I need to."
"Smart." Dane didn't press that matter further. "Anyway, to reiterate, your capabilities?"
She straightened her spine, stretching her hands upwards with interlocking fingers so that her palms flexed towards to roof of the tent. Her knuckles cracked, and then her wrists, followed by her back and eventually her neck (which she twisted). Her sister winced in disgust, and her other friend was trying to remain stalwart while obviously being uncomfortable. Dane didn't care, nor react. He waited for her verbal response.
Relaxing, she raised her head, speaking uniformly and listing an array of magic disciplines and topics off her fingers. Notably, all were either basic, or solely reliant on having a lot of mana. Simple projections of power, she could do. But anything fine, or even aimed, was unlikely. The only anomaly was her ability to use stealth magic. Which was strange, to say the least. He guessed there was an innate pathological path, which tended to be common enough in untrained high strength mages, but typically led to accidental usage or inefficiencies. The latter was more typical.
He hopped off the table, pivoted off his front foot, and threw a punch towards her face. It was a good swing. Subconsciously, Dane was almost sad that it would never connect.
She vanished and, a fraction of a second later, Dane's fist stopped a centimetre from where her face was.
Slap!
Dane's jaw snapped to the side from the unforeseen strike, the familiar burning of mana singed his cheek. He laughed. Ivy's friends stared in shock.
"Innate and impulsive magic it is then. Damn. You must be pretty good to keep this hidden, even in the outskirts."
Ivy reappeared a split second later, glaring. "You could have just asked."
"Where's the fun in that? Anyway, I wasn't actually going to hit you." Probably.
She glanced at the burn mark on his face while holding out an arm to stop her friends from doing anything. "Whatever. I guess we're even. Don't do that again."
As expected, she was annoyed. If his judgements were correct, that was a good thing. He could use that to make her more competitive, reinforce her motives, and ultimately maximise her magical potential. Fear and anger were all well and good, but a strong mental drive for something was much better when it came to innate strength. Dane's brother found that out the hard way.
"And what if I do?"
"Your face will somehow end up looking even worse, if that's even possible."
"Try me. Hit me again, kiddo." Dane grinned slightly, but remained relaxed, making no attempt to ready his guard to block and dodge. "Go on. I dare you."
Ivy grimaced, having to actually rely on her own focus to use magic. A few seconds later, she disappeared. Dane stood perfectly still for three more seconds, counting them in his head; nothing happened over this time besides Ivy's companions stepping back. At the end of the time, he bent his knees slightly, as if to duck, then jumped to the side. He spun in the air, outstretching and moving his further leg towards his previous position, using a faint green glimmer as a guideline.
He wasn't wearing hard boots, nor did the action have much force behind it, but it did connect solidly with Ivy's head, immediately ending her spell. "Magic isn't everything kiddo. You're too predictable."
She rubbed the top of her head, adjusting her hair slightly in the process. "That was just luck. There's no way you could have known where I was."
"Trade secret. I'll tell you if we win."
"Win?"
"Let's define it as saving the town. The fortifications are up and the men are rested. We've got two to ten hours until the action starts. So, I suggest we get started on a game plan with you three."
"I'm sticking with her." The male interrupted.
"Sure, whatever dude." Dane shrugged. "Your choice. I would propose you two either stick with me, or take to the top of the building." He looked at Ivy's sister. "You should probably stick to the cellar. You'll be safe, and your sister will be fine. If anyone dies, it'll be my men."
Some further arguments were had, and the final arrangement actually had Ivy and her friend by the doorway - with her sister only offering token resistance to being separated. The duo by the door were apparently orphans, although, even knowing this, Dane found it strange that no one criticised them seeing combat - he'd handed the male weapons (although the man probably didn't know how to use them). Dane figured everyone was just mindlessly accepting his decisions at this point, which he found annoying as he actually had alibies, explanations, or arguments to use for basically everything anyone could say.
It wasn't much longer until the sun set, and by that point, Dane called in everyone but the few scouts around the town border and the top of the hill. They had pyres to light, and demons were known to sometimes give off a faint red glow, so he wasn't worried about being surprised. At this point, it was just a waiting game.