As Alex and Siran make their way to Pilloa, they talk in the car. Lots needed to be asked and much to learn due to their current turn of events.
"So why help me?" Alex asks. "I mean, why try to give me a way out and protect me of all people? Aren't you enemies with The Ly'Lum?"
"I helped you for a few good reasons" Siran says. "You've helped me, a stranger, when you didn't have to even acknowledge me at all. You're a kind person, and I'd hate to have to hurt you. And even though I'm an enemy of The Ly'Lum, I'm not an enemy of everyone in it. Not everyone in their military is all after the same goal. There are good people in it"
"Is that why you have your no kill rule?" Alex asks.
"There's that" Siran replies, "but also a few other reasons. Reasons like I just don't have a reason to kill them. Also practicing restraint is good for expanding your abilities with magic, as well as some people are better left to live with their defeat. Some people will let defeat ruin their lives, while others will see where they were wrong. Either way, not many of them are likely to face me again".
"And how about magic?" Alex asks. "Like your general knowledge upon magic? How much do you know?"
"Well" Siran says. "There's a lot to know and I've spent more time than anyone ever has practicing it"
"Does that mean that anyone can learn to cast spells without using charms if they learn enough?" Alex asks.
"No" Siran replies suddenly. "That's something else entirely. A story for another time. But while we have the time to learn, why don't we go over the types of magic and the basics? Which types of magics are you good with and which ones do you not know at all?"
"I'm not actually very good with magic in general actually" Alex says with a disappointed tone. "I'm mostly just able to cast simple elemental types of magic as ballistics. Other than that, I'm learning how to augment my body with buff magic by fusing elemental magic with things like my fists or any weapon I wield. I'm not good at it at all though"
"Well" Siran begins, "you know all the types of magic, right? There's elemental, which uses the caster's focus to manipulate your natural surroundings on an enormous scale. The more focus, the larger the scale of manipulation. Then there's digital magic. Mostly used for defense such as the digital shield and digital sound barrier. One of the harder types of magic to master because you manifest the magic itself into a physical form. It takes a lot of focus the first few times you start casting these spells but over time you get used to it and can cast it easily. Then there's illusion magic, pretty self explanatory really. You use your magic to manipulate light. It's a magic used to trick your eyes. It'll take plenty of focus to trick people efficiently. The better the illusion, the more focus required. Then there's buff and debuff which are also self explanatory. Buff magic augments your body and debuff nulls buffs that other people apply. Debuff, however became its own magic type because it also had a separate practical use. Debuff can also be used to detect wavelengths of magic, essentially allowing you to detect people by proximity. Then there's the way a user casts magic. To cast, you have to align your intentions, cognition, and focus to the same goal. Essentially, you have to come to terms with your persona entirely. Yourself that you show to others and yourself that you hide so that you can align your true focus and intentions to the same goal. Of course, you don't always have to do that, but it helps master the many types of magic if you do. So to summarize, elemental, digital, illusion, buff, debuff, intentions, cognition, and focus. Got it?"
"That's a lot to think about while somehow still remaining vague" Alex says. "Is that really all the types of magic?"
"Not all of them" Siran says. "There's still more but some of them are thought impossible and others are just rare entirely"
"Like what?" Alex asks.
"Well, there's also distortion magic" Siran replies, "but not very many people at all can use distortion magic. Then there's also other magics that many have attempted and none have succeeded. You could call them hypothetical magic since they haven't been performed. Magic like shapeshifting, or mind control"
"Kind of glad mind control hasn't been performed" Alex says. "That'd be a total shit show"
As the two grow close to Pilloa, Alex asks "So what is Pilloa like?"
"Dunno" Siran responds. "Never been there yet. But according to what I've heard, The Mahina Clan claimed Pilloa as their home and gained independence from The Ly'Lum military. The terms were, they'd still be a part of Omnia, your country, but their clan didn't have to work for the military anymore. Apparently they made their own nice little village and not many people at all go there"
"Sounds quiet" Alex says. "I love it!"
The two eventually arrive in Pilloa but couldn't find any sign of life yet. It was a lot quieter than they were both expecting. They get out of the car and begin to walk, looking for a village that they can rest in. After a long walk, they see a few buildings in the distance and run to them. When they get closer, they find that all these buildings are collapsed and in ruins. The two split up to find anyone who would be near. This isn't what they expected at all, and needed to know what happened here. Siran eventually comes across even more toppled buildings, but these ones looked like more of homes than shops and other things. The more he saw, the more anxiety built up. Eventually, he finds a building with three headstones at the base of the building. Each of them with withered flowers. Each of these headstones marked a grave.
"These flowers look like they were set here not too long ago" Siran says to himself. "They aren't very withered, so that must mean that someone is around". He begins searching in a new direction. He heads towards the thick woods outside of this destroyed town and begins his search from there. In order to find any sign of life quicker, Siran uses buff magic on both his nose and his ears to smell and listen better. But as he goes deeper in the forest, only one smell other than plant life reaches his nose. Blood, and the deeper he got, the stronger the stench became. Siran came to a stop when he heard a soft thud against some tree bark and went to investigate. When he came close to where the noise was heard, we was met with a blade held to his neck. Without flinching, Siran calmly looks over. There was a woman hiding there. Her clothes looked ragged and worn, but her hair looked at least a little clean. Dirt and mud was scattered over her feet and legs and dried blood on her dagger. She stood tall, with long silver hair, bright blue eyes and tan skin. While her beauty gives off the impression of softness, her stance she took with her blade gave the impression of war. But she eventually lowered her blade.
"I thought you were from the military" she said, "I'm sorry"
Siran didn't seem to flinch or even be bothered by her blade in the slightest. He just calmly turns to her and asks "what happened here?"
"Our village we had here was prospering and growing" the girl explained. "We thought everything was going well, but one day... The Ly'Lum.. they-" and the girl fell to her knees, leaned against the tree and began crying onto her knees and arms. "They no longer had a need for us anymore" the girl continues, "so they thought it'd be best if we were... eliminated"
As Siran got a better look at her, he could see she looked well trained and was incredibly fit. She had slightly long hair, with hair covering her left eye. But she was also cover in cuts, bruises and blood. Some of which, probably isn't her own blood. As she cried, Siran ripped pieces of his clothes off to form gauze and bandages, then began addressing the girl's wounds. The girl looked up in surprise. The look in her face showed that she never thought she'd be treated with this kindness so easily, especially from someone whom she had recently almost decapitated.
She watched as Siran bandaged her and when he finished, she was met with a warm smile from Siran. "My name is Siran" he says.
"Zia" the girl replies. "I am Zia Mahina"
Siran paused for a bit, almost as if her name surprised him. "Nice to meet you" Siran says. "We too aren't on good terms with The Ly'Lum military, so with us having a common enemy, I think we could work together"
"Sounds nice" Zia says, "but who's 'we' anyways?"
"Friend of mine" Siran says, "ex-military, also not on good terms with The Ly'Lum"
The two, Zia and Siran sit together against the tree, talking for a while. Siran doesn't give up on trying to find ways to put a smile on Zia's face. They talk for a couple of hours, getting to know each other. Trading stories and experiences. Zia was raised by a family who were raised and trained to only know combat. However, even they grew tired of constant war and wanted out. They rebelled against The Ly'Lum and eventually made their own village and had a family. Many generations later, Zia was born from that family, and trained to be able to protect herself. Almost every story Zia brought up brought a tear to her eye, and every time Siran saw her shed a tear, he would always try to cheer her back up. Eventually, Siran decided for himself that he wants her to be a part of the group with Alex and himself since she also has no where to go. Siran found himself someone that he wanted to protect more than anything.
"Are there any others in your clan around here?" Siran asks.
"Afraid not" Zia says softly. "Not that I've seen anyways"
"I'm sorry" Siran says softly. "But I promise I won't let them kill you. I'll protect if you if-"
"I don't want protection!" Zia interrupts. "I can kill these bastards myself! I don't need someone in the way"
Siran sits still, quietly, thinking for a moment. "Well" he says, "how about a compromise?"
"What kinda compromise?" Zia asks.
"Well, I'm not leaving you here alone to die, whether you like it or not. However, if you really feel compelled to fight back against The Ly'Lum, and don't want me in the way, I can offer you more power"
"More power how?" Zia asks, seeming interested.
"You any good with magic?" Siran asks.
"I'm terrific with magic!" Zia says.
"Great!" Siran replies. "Then I can give you more magic.
"You can do that?" Zia asks, very confused. "I've never heard of something like that, I think".
"I can cast spells without needing a charm" Siran says. "Also, between you and me, I have basically infinite magic, so I don't have to stop casting halfway through the day. But don't tell ANYONE, it'll be our little secret. I can share that source of magic with a few people, and you can be the first, since you seem so hellbent on defeating The Ly'Lum"
"But why help me?" Zia asks.
"Because" Siran explains, "we both have a score to settle with the same
guys, and you seem more hellbent than me on their destruction. Don't get me wrong though, it's not that I want to see someone destroy them, or use people to do my bidding. It's that I want to see people rise against a power that has once terrorized them. But more than all, I feel obligated to protect those kinds of people"
"Why would you feel obligated like that?" Zia asks, skeptically.
"Old habits die hard, I guess" Siran responds. "But in this case, it's easier to have people protect themselves rather than be protected"
"Alright" Zia agrees. "I'll do it"
"On one condition" Siran says.
"What?" Zia asks.
"Stay with us" Siran says. "There's no where for you to go, so it'd be better that way"
"Deal" Zia replies hastily. "But only because of one thing".
"What's that?" Siran asked.
"You remind me of the story of the man who fought Naris" Zia says. "When I was a kid, I was always told about that hero who took down Naris, and you kind of remind me of him. I always admired those stories".
"Those are just stories" Siran says with a short laugh.
Siran gives a warm smile and holds out his hand. A smokey black ball of magic forms above the palm of his hand as he hold his hand out to Zia. Zia looks down, at first nervously then looks back up at Siran who simply looks her in the eye and nods gently. She nods back in trust and grabs hold of his hand. A black smoke surrounds Zia for a short second, then immediately disappears. She looks at her hands, in disbelief.
"I don't feel any different" Zia says.
"Of course not" Siran replies. "I'm simply giving you some of my source of magic, I'm not brainwashing you. Magic replenishes itself, but mine replenishes almost instantly so you should feel the same as before, but with virtually limitless casting ability"
Right around then Alex comes running through the forest, and Siran grabs him and pulls him behind the tree.
"Siran!" Alex exclaims. "Bad news, soldiers on their way here! Right now!"
"Perfect timing" Siran says as he looks over at Zia, "you get to be the first to test it out"
"Who's this?" Alex asks.
"I'll introduce you later" Siran says. "We've got company"
"How do you want to do it this time, magic man?" Alex asks in a sarcastic tone.
"Actually" Siran says, "she's got this"
Zia brushes off her shoulders and walks out from behind the tree. Three soldiers stop and point guns at her but are immediately swept off their feet from a sudden strong gust of wind. The soldiers look up at Zia, who's holding several charms in her hands, wearing a great big smile. Suddenly, the ground beneath the soldiers shoots up, fast like a piston, shooting the soldiers several feet off the ground. Before the soldiers could even begin falling back down, Zia kicks the one on the right. She kicks him in the side, sending him flying into the next guy, who then went flying into the next guy, sending all three of them flying into a tree, knocking them all unconscious. Zia hides her charms in her sleeves, then looks at her hand in disbelief of what she pulled off. "Can't believe it" Zia says to herself. "A massive wind spell, earth spell, and speed boost buff that quick and I don't even feel a little drained! Guess he wasn't lying"
"Having fun?" Siran asks.
"No, I'm having a parade" Zia responds sarcastically.
"What?" Siran asks.
"Ask stupid questions; get stupid answers, Syr" Zia says.
"Syr?" Siran asks.
"Congrats, Siran" Alex says as he harshly pats Siran on the shoulder, "you've earned your first nickname"
"Nickname huh?" Siran asks himself. "I like it!"
The three agree to find a new place where they can stay. However, before moving back to the car, Zia goes to visit her family memebers' graves once more. Alex went ahead to the car, saying "I'm not good with emotional crap, you can go without me. I don't like things being all touchy feely". Siran stands next to Zia in front of the headstones in silence. After a long wait of silence, Siran gently puts his hand on Zia's back, gently patting it. Zia looks up, unclenches her fist and looks at Siran.
"Lets go" Zia says softly. "We can only go one way from here and that's forward. It's what they would have wanted me to do".