A Family Affair [Job / Solo / Plot]

A cold wind swept through the room as Reed awoke from his bed, clutching his shoulders as a chill enveloped his whole body. Despite it being summer, it was uncharacteristically cold that day. Reed was usually always one to be consumed by paranoia--always looking for “signs” of a bad day, but today didn’t feel as such. Of course, it could be distinct irony that the one day he did not feel concerned about planetary changes is the one day his paranoia would prove actually useful. Still, there was no danger afoot, so Reed took it as a silent victory for his state of mind. He got up from his bed and looked out the window. Crisp and chilled, yes, but the breeze was oddly refreshing...soothing. Almost as if it could put him at peace with everything in life. It had been a few weeks since he learned of his sister Coda’s mortality, and despite it causing a bit of a rift between his other sister, Lyra, there did not seem to be a lingering feeling of existential dread hanging off of Reed’s shoulders, slowly dragging him down into persistent pits of despair. Instead, he felt...inspired. Inspired enough, at least, to be the self-starter he always wanted to be and mend the broken relationship among the siblings. As children, they were close, inseparable even, but now they were more divided than ever. It was clear now that his parents were the true enemy, and if he were going to make them pay for ripping the children apart, he would try any means necessary to bring the trio back together again.

Being hit with another wave of inspiration, Reed dressed himself for the day and left his room, obviously finding no solution staring out his bedroom window. He walked wistfully through the halls toward his sister’s dorm, hoping to knock on her door and have her answer respectfully and with familial love, just as she always had.

“...Lyra? Lyra! It’s me...Reed, ah, your brother...I’d like to talk...I mean...I think we should ta--” Reed stammered, before Lyra’s door swung open to reveal none other than...Coda. A surprise for sure, Reed stepped back in mild bemusement. “C-Coda! You’re here!?” His mouth was agape with stupor as his sister stared at him with all the effort of a personified groan.

“Come in,” She said with a hint of curtness in her voice. Reed didn’t like this one bit, but at least for now he was in the same room as his sisters. “Sit down. We have a lot to talk about.” Reed listened to his sister, sitting down in Lyra’s room. The two sisters glared at him, sizing him up as if they were testing to see if they could trust him.

“Reed...we have...we have a lot to discuss…” A wave of dread overcame Reed as he looked frightfully at his sisters. He didn’t exactly expect kind words from his siblings. Still, he was hopeful. It was either a very serious matter or he was going to get the crap kicked out of him. “It’s concerning our parents…”

And there it was. The awful truth...
---

“Reed! Take the ones out back!” His sister shouted, brandishing her sword and charging the front of the house with her sister. Lyra masterfully whipped around beautiful spells of fire and ice toward the assailants, trading in her old wand for a fanciful harp-like staff. Curious--Reed never knew she had that in her possession. Though, after today’s events, anything was possible. Still, he listened to his sisters’ commands and headed around back. There were a plethora of enemies guarding the front which Coda and Lyra were more than capable of handling. This was his chance to do some good and finally get some answers as to what happened that night he left his parents’ mansion.

Reed approached the back of the mansion they were raiding--four magicians seemed to stand guard in front of the door. “Just what is so special about these children, anyhow? ...I should try and hit them all at once…” Reed planned his next mode of attack. Does he go guns blazing and risk exposure or getting hurt? Or does he try and pick them off from the shadows, hoping to avoid any damage. Hearing lots of action in the distance and not wanting to miss out on any of the fun, Reed decided he would do what he does best and go in arms-a-swingin’ with a no holds barred beatdown of some second-rate goons.

“En garde, sons of bitches! Intermezzo!” A brilliant flash of pale green light lit up in Reed’s hands as his wand took on the shape of a longbow. With impressive might and skill, he fired several arrows into two kidnappers, gunning them both down before they even had a chance to respond. Still, two kidnappers remained as Reed paced toward the entryway, dodging spell after enemy spell as he strafed toward the door. An enemy kidnapper fired a shot at Reed, feeling the icy spear nearly hit his body before fending it off with his borg, it shattering in the process. Not wanting to lose the upperhand, Reed dipped his violin staff into the ground, lifting it up to orchestrate the rukh around him in buzzing harmony.

“Now...you fall…Diminuendo!!” The blades of wind sang through the air as the kidnappers were felled as suddenly as they attacked Reed, knocked to the ground and unable to fight anymore. Reed took to the door to rescue the children, only to find they had all been cleared out.

“Lyra? Coda? Hello?” Nothing. Not a response. Reed left out of the front door to find swaths of criminals dead on the ground, their bodies cold from spell and death. Just what transpired here? Reed returned to town only to find that the mission had been completed in his name with no sign of Lyra or Coda.

Where did they travel to? Reed raced to his sister’s room to find no trace of her having returned. Overwrought with concern he traveled back to his room, only to find that a note had been slipped under his door. In it, it read Coda’s handwriting…

“Reed, it is with a heavy heart I write you this message: for so long now we’ve conspired, keeping you in the dark, because we had to do what must be done. What we told you earlier today was true: our true parents are not the Harpers like we always thought. They were never able to conceive children, so they stripped us from our homes, raised us as nobles, and murdered our true parents, leaving us orphaned and placed in the care of these awful people. We were never allowed to exist as ourselves because we never existed in the first place: nobody even knew our true heritage. Lyra and I have fled Magnostadt hoping to draw attention away from you so that you may live as you always wanted to...a magician. I have no place in a city of magic and Lyra has completed her education there...when the time is right, we will sent you a letter signaling you to our location.

Reed, we love you with all our heart: study hard, be safe, and never venture where it is to difficult to live...please just hold on a little longer until we find a safe place to meet again.

With love,

Your sisters.

Reed ripped the paper up and threw it to his side, collapsing to the floor. Tears ran down his cheek as he stared into the ground, devoid of feeling. Again, this feeling of abandonment, ….when will he see his family again? His only family, again.