Coming to Terms [Training/Solo]

Ariella grumbled softly to herself, trying to both talk herself into and out of going to visit her father. On the one hand, she needed information about contacts he might have, regarding Magnostadt and the possibility of them assisting Reim. On the other hand, he had tried to kill her. While she had grown up knowing he had a short temper and a shorter attention span, she had never realized how impulsive his actions were. It seemed that while Evelyn was not the most attentive or supportive mother, she had been a good wife and kept Adamus in line when his actions would otherwise have doomed him. She sighed to herself before raising a fist to knock at the door to his Inn room, the sound echoing hollowly through the hall. When her father opened the door, she felt an immediate wave of guilt wash through her. The man had not been taking care of himself, he was unshaven and his hair was a mess. The dark circles under his eyes were almost as bad as hers and she could tell he had been crying.

“Hey daddy.”

He looked like he wanted to say something, his mouth working but no sound coming out. With a soft sob, he wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her tightly to his chest. She returned the hug, just as much for her as for him, clinging to him tightly as she buried her face in his chest, the familiar scent of family making her feel more secure. She remembered when she had been much younger and she and her father had been close, sneaking out after her bed time to look at the stars as he told her the old legends of what the different formations were named for. It had always ended up with her mother finding them and sending her back to bed, but it did not stop them from sneaking out within a week to do it again.

She remembered how proud he had looked when he had presented her with her wand, the simple conduit formed out of wood with vines carved around it. She still had that very same wand, a tie to her childhood she had never released. He had been so excited when she had taken an affinity to lightning magic, the first of the Negri line and had spent hours teaching her about rukh, magoi and how to write out runes. It was not until she had gotten older that a distance had formed between them, the constant arguing with her mother putting him in the middle of their fights where he inevitably took Evelyn’s side. When Evelyn had first started showing disappointment in her magic studies, Adamus had look torn, but as time wore on, he started to show her the same disappointment and their weekly stargazing trips came to an end.

By the time she had started rebelling against them at every turn, she and her parents were barely on speaking terms and Adius began playing the part of mediator to keep any measure of peace in the house. But none of that mattered right now. She had been through hell and she just wanted her daddy to tell her everything would be okay, that he would scare away the monsters and she would never have to worry again. Even with as much growing up as she had done, she still had that childhood desire to go running to her father when something went awry, though to be fair, he had not been the first place she had tried to find her sanity.

They hugged for several more minutes before Adamus realized they were still standing in the doorway, their family moment open for anyone to see. He led her into his room and shut the door before offering her some tea. She nodded at the offer and took a seat while he prepared her a cup, his expression indicating he was lost in thought. She let him have his moment of peace to think, gripping the cup between her hands to take a sip.

“Ella… I… Oh gods, I am so sorry.”

At his words, she paused, setting down the cup and taking a deep breath before responding.

“I know you are. I… I won’t say I forgive, not just yet. But I am working on it. It might take me awhile, but I am working on it, I swear. My mind is just… so hurt right now. I know you love me, daddy, but I still need time to deal.”

He nodded in understanding, just glad she was speaking to him and not casting spells in his direction yet. Ari continued speaking, filling the room with the details of her capture and captivity, not sparing him any details as to what she had been exposed to. Part of her wanted to make him feel even more guilty, but mostly, she just wanted to get it off of her chest so when he comforted her, he knew why. Her voice was shaking by the end of the story and as soon as the tale stopped, he pulled her into another tight hug, like he was trying to literally squeeze the poison of Father and Lilly from her. When she had finally calmed down, she looked up at him again, her voice rough.

“I’m sorry about what happened to mother. I know it was no one’s fault, but she was your wife and my mother and we will both mourn her loss. I feel like you will mourn her more, and for that, I wish I had something to help you feel better. But, in my desire to prevent such an incident happening again, especially to me, I would like to train. If you don’t mind, that is. I need to learn to better harness my power. I know I hold more power than I used to, but I just don’t utilize it properly. So, would you mind having a friendly spar with your messed up daughter? Plus, I think it might help if I had a chance to rage out some of my feelings on one of the people that upset me.”

She gave him a teasing grin, but her tone was semi-serious. He grinned broadly and nodded, chuckling softly.

“I think I owe you more than a little bit of rage. I know first-hand that desire to go out and just destroy things and I would be happy to be that outlet for you. Where shall we go?”

Ari returned the grin before telling him of one of her frequent training spots, leading him out of the inn and to a stable to rent two horses. It did not take long by horseback to arrive at the empty field with the lone tree standing in it. They both took a moment to meditate and center themselves from their emotional reunion before taking their places at opposite ends of the field. They started off small, tossing small spells back and forth that were harmless, just as a way to warm up. Once they were both in the right mind-set, they began increasing their efforts, gradually casting larger and larger spells at each other, Adamus throwing taunts at her to make her angry. As they continued trading spells, she got more and more upset, her spells becoming stronger with each cast. She was panting when he threw out more taunts and something inside of her snapped, shouting out her commands to the rukh, focusing all of her will into a single command, strike.

From seemingly nowhere, the rukh generated a devastating Lightning Strike that struck Adamus in a brilliant display, the bolt hitting his borg and creating a large field of electrical backlash. If not for his borg, he probably would have been killed, the strike powerful enough to make the hairs on her arm stand on end. She froze in place, her eyes wide in shock at how powerful the spell had been. Her father’s face mimicked hers, every cell of his body aware of how deadly the attack could have been, had the condensed magoi that formed his borg not absorbed the attack.

He held his hands up in surrender, his face breaking into a broad grin. It seemed his little girl had grown into quite a powerful mage and he was proud of how focused she had managed to cast the spell.

“I surrender, you got me! I’d wave a white flag, but my only white piece of clothing is now brown, Ella!”

Ariella broke into a fit of giggles and the words, all her anger dissipating as she recovered from the spell, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Okay, dad, I think we might be even. You were going to kill me, I just tried to kill you. I say we call this a truce.”

“Agreed, Ella. That was one hell of a spell. Remind me never to piss you off again.”

She snorted and collapsed into the tall grass, panting from the amount of magoi she had spent in that single spell. Being powerful was tough!

[1517/1500 Training]

Ability Trained:

She and Adamus relaxed in the tall grass as night fell, staring up at the stars in silence as they both recovered from the vigorous clashing of spells. When the moon rose high in the sky, she finally spoke, her voice soft.

“Hey dad?”

“Yes, Ella?”

“Do you think Magnostadt would be willing to help Reim out? I know they are not on the best of terms with each other, but… if Reim falls to Kou, Magnostadt will be surrounded. We wouldn’t survive an attack from both sides, we barely escaped with the city intact last time.”

Adamus hummed softly at the question, surprised Ella was asking something so closely tied to politics. She really was growing up, taking control of her life and taking an interest in the politics of a country.

“They might, depends on who approaches them and how they pitch the idea, I suppose. They would not just offer assistance without being asked, though. Our people are far too proud to offer help unless another country is practically groveling, you know that.”

Ari sighed and nodded, her mind shifting to the farm and the Grumptoes.

“Do you think they would listen if I asked? I have a lot in this country to protect. Azix… the kids… the farm. This is as much my home now as Magnostadt is and while I am not thinking of throwing my alliance to Reim, I do want to try and help if I can…”

Adamus hid his shock at her question, the idea of Ella willingly asking for anyone for help more than enough to drive him to silence, though her reasons made sense. She did have a lot to protect in this country, he had been to the farm when she had been poisoned and had seen how much work and effort she had put in for both the farm and all the families living there. She took her responsibilities seriously and it seemed she wanted to see her commitment here through if she could.

“I honestly do not know, Ella. Our name carries a lot of weight, but you made a name for yourself in the diplomatic circles in Magnostadt. Perhaps if you showed them you had grown up and that your request is sincere, they might listen. Why not just have Adius or myself ask?”

Ari shook her head with a stubborn look.

“No, I’m a big girl now, it is time I started acting like it. I can’t keep having people do things for me. Besides, I have a feeling I will need the experience in the future. Azix has big dreams and I intend to help him see those dreams through.”

Adamus arched a brow, turning to look at his daughter.

“Really now? And just how serious are you and this Azix fellow? I mean, sure he saved your life, but you are a very pretty girl. Any boy would be stupid not to try and save you. Like, do I need to worry about little magicians running around?”

Ari snorted and rolled her eyes.

“We are not quite sure how serious we are. We like each other… a lot. Neither of us have the desire to see other people. Aside from that, we are letting it grow on its own, without trying to label it yet. We just… are. And no, we have enough to deal with, without worrying about children of our own. Besides, we have the Grumptoes that depend on us, and their families. No need for kids. Looks like you won’t ever be a grandpa!”

Her eyes widened and she bit down on her tongue, having no desire to accidentally out her brother. Luckily, Adamus seemed to ignore the comment, only sighing in relief that he would not have to worry about talking to Azix about honoring his daughter’s virtue, assuming she still had a virtue to honor. He honestly did not want to think on that and returned the topic to Magnostadt.

“If you go in and show that you are serious and that it is in their best interest to help out, they should listen. It is no lie that if Reim were to fall, Magnostadt would probably be next. We are still weak from the last battle with Kou, it is too soon to take on forces from two fronts. The Academy is slowly recovering, but I make no promises that they will agree to what you propose. All you can do is try, I suppose.”

Ari gave a hum of agreement before focusing back on the stars. She told her father about the dungeon she had been in and what she had seen there, the creatures and the changing landscapes. She told him about the Djinn and the trials she had to go through. She then moved on to tell him about Azix’ dungeon experience, and shared with him that at least some of that dungeon’s power was available to her through Azix, which he found fascinating. She was only sad that Adius was not here as well, he would be tickled pink to hear all of this information and would no doubt be trying to scribble down notes by starlight.

They slept under the stars, stretched out in the tall grass, only to awaken in the morning covered in dew drops. Ari chuckled and gave a groan as she tried to comb through her hair with her fingers. She worked on starting a fire to dry off by, Adamus groaning awake in the process.

“I am getting too old to be falling asleep in anything but a bed, Ella. Here, let me do that. You should learn heat magic at some point, it makes this so much easier.”

She snickered as he thrust his wand into the pile of branches she had gathered from under the tree, the limbs crackling as the fire fed on the bark.

“But dad, if I learned heat magic, I might make you look bad!”

He laughed at the comment, shaking his head at her cocky tone.

“Do I need to show you your old man still has some tricks up his sleeve?”

“Bring it, old fart!”

They finished drying off before taking their places at opposite ends of the field and began casting spells back and forth. After talking about Azix’ dungeon, she thought about the smaller spells she had crafted to align with the elements of his metal vessel. She thought about a more powerful spell as she cast life and lightning spells at her father while deflecting the fiery streams of flame he returned. She yelled out to him that she wanted to try something new and he patiently waited while she sorted out the runes in her head before issuing the commands to the rukh. The pendant Azix had given her warmed as she fed it rukh, the magical symbol glowing as a small ball of rukh flew towards Adamus. He moved out of the way as it flew by him, the ball of magoi continuing its path until it struck something. Behind Adamus about ten meters had been a bear and the ball of magoi struck it, making it give a roar of pain.

Ari ran over, wanting to see the effects and Adamus joined her. She found herself turning away as the bear’s skin and muscle began to putrefy and Adamus graced the suffering creature with a quick death to stop its suffering. The flesh of the bear continued to melt even after it gave a dying roar and Ari gagged at the stench, moving away from the effects of Melting Cimej. While the spell was powerful, she was honestly terrified at the idea of ever using it on someone. Just the idea of the suffering she would be exposing them to make her want to puke.

“Well, that was… disgusting, but effective. Be careful with that magic, Ella, it looks pretty vicious.”

Ari nodded in agreement, shuddering as she returned to the fire that was crackling peacefully. Death was never particularly pleasant but that was downright horrific. She vowed not to use the spell again unless it was absolutely necessary and prayed she would never need to rely on it. Adamus soon joined her by the fire and they continued to discuss the matter of her trying to sway Magnostadt to help Reim. Both of them had noticed an increasing number of Kou troops in Remano and while Reim and Magnostadt where not on friendly terms, they were both of the mind that to allow Kou to get its hooks in any deeper could be disastrous for the rest of the countries. With such a large force to integrate into their own, no other country would stand a chance at keeping Kou from taking over.

They continued to talk as they put out the fire and cleaned up, packing what they had brought with them and loading the horses down. As the sun began to set, they made their way back to Remano, Ari’s mind clearer than it had been in ages. Maybe all she had needed was a good outlet for her anger, perhaps it was the talk. Whatever it was, she almost felt like she would be able to have a peaceful sleep tonight.

[1543/1500 Training]

Ability Trained:

[exit]