"Jayce, Valen wanted to let you know he will fight barehanded if you prefer that over a weapon. He also says for you not to be so nervous; you look like a frightened kitten." Jayce rolled his eyes and smiled a bit, 'This will be fun right? It's all worth it right?...' Jayce decided against using weapons since he was more confident in his skills without one. "Step into the square," Lord Valen commanded, Jayce readily obliged.
"How did you, *pant pant* do that...I didn't... even *pant* that was incredible!" Jayce was sitting on the floor partially hunched over, drenched in his own sweat, trying to catch his breath. True to Michael's word, Lord Valen didn't push Jayce to his absolute limit, but he still had a tough time lasting the few minutes he was able too. Jayce had a few bumps and raised marks on his arms that were dark red and some where somewhat purple colored from the power behind Lord Valen's strikes. 'If we...used weapons, I'd be a goner,' Jayce thought to himself as he calmed his breathing. "Now...on to business; follow me." Lord Valen said then he began walking off, Michael looked back towards Jayce and made a motion for him to hurry up. Jayce tried to be quick to his feet so he wouldn't get left behind, but ended up stumbling into the weapons rack, causing a few swords and small knives to fall off the shelves.
Jayce quickly put the weapons back, "Hey Michael...how...uh-is he really going to walk out without a shirt on?" Just before Michael could answer, the older man wearing all black stepped into the room holding a grey and black floor length robe with intricate blue designs around the hem lines, out towards Lord Valen. 'Well, now I feel stupid for asking,' Jayce waved his hand towards Michael as if saying "nevermind," and they continued walking. Lord Valen took the robe and put it on before opening the doors and heading to the main level of the temple. "I have prepared the second room in the left wing for you and your guests Lord Valen," the man bowed slightly and sent the three on their way. Within no time, they reached the designated room. Jayce and Michael followed Lord Valen into the room and took seats opposite of him.
The room wasn't too big or too small and had simple decorations on all four walls. There was one double window that had the thick, neutral colored, curtains drawn to allow sun light to fill the room. When looking out the window, a small pond could be seen a few feet, or less than 1 meter, away. There was a small waterfall on one side and some plants around the other side in order to make the pond seem as if it had occurred naturally. Colorful orange, white, yellow, and black coy fish swam from one side to another, slightly disturbing the waters surface as they did so. Jayce took the silence as his time to look at the room. They were seated at a simple, dark stained, wooden table with only four matching chairs. The cushions were a beige color with intricate gold string weaved in between forming different flower and leaf patterns.
The room had a bookshelf full of different color books, ranging from sizes and contents. There were a few small, grey, statues of different animals around the room, and there was minimal wall art that added just the right amount of color. 'Wow, everything feels so warm and...just so comfortable here. I'm really starting to like this place,' Jayce thought to himself as he sat down next to Michael. "I did not get a chance to tell Valen in detail about what you told me, so please start from your arrival at the island and continue to the present." Michael said, then he looked to Jayce and made a small nod of reassurance. 'Here we go again with his talking...I wish I could wait outside. Oh well, at least I am able to drink some of my favorite tea while I wait,' Michael was absorbed with the slightly sweet flavor if the tea. "Oh one more thing, be mindful of Valen's time. He is busy with his duties and does not have a tremendous amount of time to spare," Michael felt that if he did not warn Jayce, he may talk for hours. All the while, Lord Valen sat patiently, waiting for him to speak.
-Elsewhere in the temple- "Ari, were you able to find any information on this Jayce guy? He looks familiar, where did he even come from?," Naya asked. Ari, Cole, Naya, and Aster were sitting around a small table within one of the temple gardens. Aster successfully escaped The Lady of the Western Temple's, Julianna, advances and he and Cole met with Naya and Ari along the way. Since they had no other duties they decided to meet in the garden. "Who is the Jayce guy? All I've been hearing is Jayce this, Jayce that, well what about Madame Priestess? Or even-" "Hush Aster, Jayce worked at the main hospital on the island as a janitor. That is most likely why he is familiar to you Naya. He claims to have valuable information regarding Lady Wren and information about the island as a whole. He was born within the Tradelands and his sister married Sir Mirko from the Northern Territory. Both Jayce and his sister's, Zara, parents died when Zara was 13 and Jayce was 2." Ari interrupted Aster and listed the facts a Lunar Unit member was able to recover about Jayce and his history.
"Wait Ari, did you say Mirko? As in, the next in line to become the general of the Northern Military?" Everyone looked towards Cole with wide eyes, he normally speaks few words at a time, yet here he was, his deep voice radiating within the garden. Even the flowers near by seemed to perk up at the sound of his voice. "Yes, it is in fact, well was, that Mirko you spoke of. He, along with his wife Zara and their young child died approximately 2 years into the war." Everyone around the table fell silent, "...Gosh, that guy sure has been through a lot huh?" Naya said after a short pause and the others nodded. "Wait, so how does he have information about Madame Priestess and our homeland? He's about 20 something years right? It's not like he's been around that much longer than us." Aster asked and Ari nodded her head in response.
"He is 25 currently, he came from the Tradelands around the age of 11. He has had a series of odd jobs both within the Tradelands and here on the island. Since he was young not many people would officially hire him. He was a babysitter, cleaned yard, washed cars, seems like a little bit of everything he could find. These jobs and some man that is only referred to as "his brother" are how he gathered information. He was young and no one noticed he was around listening to them. He has filed complaints and turned in information through our appointed systems, so overall he seems to be well rounded and does not mean us harm. He has had some hard times and depending on what Lord Valen says after their meeting he may be a permanent figure around the temple."
Naya smiled widely at the thought of Jayce staying near the temple, 'If he stays here that would be so-' "We need to try and gather information on this "brother" character. I dont get a good feeling about this." Cole's cold tone broke Naya's happy thoughts. "I thought the same thing, do we know what he looks like Ari?" "...It looks like the information a Lunar member gathered did not produce any information other than the two having no blood relation. Best we can do is ask Jayce himself." Ari responded to Aster's question while looking through the file folder she had on the table. "I think that is enough for now. We should check in with Sir Shoyo then find Michael and figure out how the talk went with Lord Valen. Keep your eyes and ears open, Jayce seems willing to talk but don't push him. He and his "brother" seem to have quite the temper when his family or his past is brought to light by too many people. Also when others question their relationship."
Aster leaned forward to look at the contents Ari was looking through and cringed at the sight. He nodded and started walking off grabbing Naya's arm in the process. "We will find Sir Shoyo, you two handle Michael." Without leaving them a choice, Aster picked up his pace dragging a complaining Naya along with him out of the peaceful garden and into the temple.