- Death and Lucifer -
Death came up to the group.
"Playing Hopu?" Death asked.
"Yes..." Lucifer grumbled. "We were at least. I was discussing the magic inconsistencies with Elijah. I told him how I thought it wa-"
"Luce!" Peter interrupted.
Lucifer looked at Peter and back to Death.
"Long story short Elijah was wondering about the restrictions of water and wind magic." Lucifer summarized.
Death's eyes shifted around a little before he spoke.
"Yeah, I know you can get obsessive about that. I think all those conversations you've had with the scientists in Hell flipped a switch in you."
Lucifer was curious about Death's uneasiness.
"Did Zach not take the information well?" Lucifer questioned.
"He took it well, too well even. I think he's desensitized to a lot of things." Death's eyes were to the floor.
Lucifer looked back at Peter.
"I promise I won't go on another rambling." He faced Death again. "You have a lot of knowledge about this world. I know you've always dodged the question for fear of me getting obsessive, but do you have any ideas about the inconsistencies?"
Death nearly flinched at the question. He was careful with his words. He knew Lucifer wouldn't just ignore his apprehension.
"I, I don't like thinking about that stuff Lucifer. It reminds me a lot about your father."
'Along with other very unpleasant memories.'
Lucifer's interest in Death's composure bordered on suspicion. He would have kept pressing for answers if not for the mention of his father.
'You wouldn't bring him up unless you were serious, I should just respect his wishes, for now.'
"Sorry. No one should be reminded of him." Lucifer apologized.
Death and Lucifer went off on their own to discuss what they would do after traveling through Verdyr. The elves didn't pose any problems so they both agreed to just go over plans again.
"Any changes for what we do when we get there?" Lucifer asked.
Death's mind seemed to be elsewhere. He only responded with a "Hmm".
"I really think we should just demand a meeting and figure out whether we leave this unknown alive or not," Lucifer suggested. "I know you don't usually like killing these new resistance leaders, but it could save more lives in the end."
Death's eyes looked through Lucifer. He was in his own head.
'Why didn't we do that sooner? I always thought it should be-'
Lucifer clapped his hands together. The loud pop shook Death from his thoughts.
"I think we should give them the chance to explain themselves. You're better at catching lies and malice, so I think you should go first when we get there."
Lucifer felt anxious seeing Death so out of it.
'You're unshakeable on the battlefield and yet here you seem like you're falling apart.'
"Okay." Lucifer slowed his tone down. "Ideally, we'd have Satan or Osiris to figure this kind of thing out, but I'll do my best." As he spoke, he tried reading Death. "Any changes you suggest for dealing with the two problem territories?"
Lucifer was referring to Baal's and Moloch's lands. The two were upper ranking gods that reveled in the suffering of lessers. They didn't hate humans especially, but the race was considered among the weakest, which put a large target on their back.
Death has wanted to exterminate them for a long time now. Unfortunately, the two's ranks, combined with the fact that they're allied and have armies made it too difficult for Death to handle. Death's rampage through Vázoluna had been seen as a signal that Baal and Moloch were next, however, their time never came.
"Those two are avoidable problems for now." Death responded.
"I still can't understand why the unknown would stay in such close proximity to them." Lucifer watched Death intently, his eyes starting to glow.
Death looked up at Lucifer.
"Drop the glow. I'm allowed the occasional melancholy." He sighed. "For as cancerous as those two are they don't leave their territory anymore, not after the incident with Satan. Most of the harm their existence inflicts comes from those under them."
Lucifer blinked and his eyes returned to normal.
'Fucking eyes. I've gotten lazy at controlling them.'
"Passage is a non-combat area. Doesn't stop the underlings from dragging unexpected victims to their territory though." Lucifer got an inquisitive look. "Speaking of, Mir-I mean Saint should be there."
The mention of Saint returned Death's expression to normal.
"Yeah, she should be." Death sat up and looked Lucifer in the eyes. "I wonder if she's okay? Mentally I mean, obviously I have no worries about her physical health."
Lucifer liked seeing Death back to normal.
"She is the reason we don't use "If it bleeds you can kill it." anymore."
The two shared a laugh. Lucifer realized that whatever was going on with Death wasn't going away easily. He decided that they had planned enough for now. He shifted the conversation to more casual topics.
For the first time in a while, they had a long conversation about mundane things. Foods they were excited to try in their territories, new books they were considering reading or having written. They talked until the sunrise, and both wished they weren't on a mission as they saw the sky light up.
- Elijah and Peter -
(After Lucifer left with Death)
"You know I actually find this magic theory stuff really interesting. It reminds me of science." Elijah was looking around at the others as they picked up the torches.
"It is important stuff I just think Luce loses himself in the conversation," Peter said. "He has knowledge far beyond any of us and forgets that we don't all know as much as he does. It's kind of like a scientist over-explainin' why it rains. It's valuable information until they get into particles and molecules."
"Are you referencing when Wayne explained the watershed effect?" Lao asked as he picked up the torches.
"Yeah." Peter gathered multiple torches. "I understood it, and then he started goin' into all that advanced stuff. I was barely literate when I was reborn, so ya can imagine how little I knew about science."
"Enough about theory and science. I think it'd be a better use of your time if we continued what we were talkin' about before."
Elijah grabbed one of the torches, noting how heavy it felt.
'How can he? Magic, idiot, magic.' Elijah thought.
The group loaded the torches back into the supply cart. Peter turned around and clapped his hands together. "Right, let's continue."
The group sat in a circle with Peter across from Elijah.
"Alright, first up." Peter turned to Heinrich who was sitting next to him. "Explain your magic."
Heinrich glared briefly before sighing. He knew what Peter was doing.
"As I said before, there are two general specializations of earth magic. Offense, and defense. I know how basic that sounds, but the specifics don't really add much more. Either you shoot stone at your enemies, or you wait and act as a reactive shield."
Elijah, for all his prior issues with Heinrich's past, made sure to listen.
"The offensive side has artillery, trappers, golems, and some forms of close-range fighters. I obviously stick with defense. My mana reserves aren't deep enough for offense."
Peter put his arm around Heinrich's shoulders.
"I keep tellin' him to practice more in Hell. He's older than Yvere yet he has a smaller mana pool."
Sabu cleared his throat, signaling Peter to let go of Heinrich.
"In fairness to Heinrich, constant mana depletion is a sickening feeling." Sabu defended Heinrich.
Peter released Heinrich.
'Not as sickening as watching others die.' Peter smiled in contrast to his thoughts.
"Well, regardless." Peter sighed. "That offense-defense stuff applies to all magic. Lao is an offensive healer, where Yvere is defensive."
"How can someone be defensive with lightning magic?" Elijah asked.
Peter pointed and said "Good question!"
"Anti-projectile. Lightning magic is fast, not as fast as the real thing obviously, but faster than most other magics. A good defensive lightning mage can shut down most projectiles. The other aspects are a bit more complicated so I won't get into those."
Elijah took in as much information as he could. While he didn't want to continue this line of work he did want as many tools as he could get.
"Before you and Lucifer played catch-"
"Hopu." Peter corrected.
"Sure." Elijah continued. "Before you did you were telling me about runts in bloodline magic. I asked if someone could have a weaker affinity and you said they couldn't. You also brought up the vampire King for some reason."
Peter made a nervous look at Yvere.
"Ya want to explain it? I feel bad for bein' the one to bring it up."
Yvere got up and grabbed the guide from the supply cart. She opened it up to a page titled "Bloodlines at Their Strongest and Weakest."
"So as you're now aware bloodline magic can fluctuate in strength being-to-being. Some lycans might be bigger, stronger wolves, while some might be the size of a slightly bigger, uh, what's a medium-sized breed of dog in the human world?"
"Lab, I guess?" Elijah answered. Yvere continued.
"So there are lycans in wolf-form not much bigger than that. Their kind tends to be the easiest example to understand." She paused for a moment. "The vampire King has what my kind call "Wasteful fangs".
Yvere opened her mouth and her two canines became long sharp fangs.
"When we bite down we take a general one-to-one amount of mana. The King's fangs give him a fraction of what he takes." She returned her teeth to their original state.
"There are other variations such as having dull fangs, or ones that are actually shorter than one's base teeth. These "runts" often look different as well."
"Lucius really is an inspiration among the vampires," Peter added.
"This doesn't apply to affinities though?" Elijah asked again.
Yvere turned to a page titled "Even Humans Can Be Gods" and handed it to Peter.
"The only limitation is time." Peter started. "My affinity is no weaker than Luce's. Talent and mana reserves are different being-to-being, but time can equalize things." Peter's expression got serious.
"Let's say ya were as old as Zeus. Ya could be just as strong, in theory. Don't know why affinities behave differently, but I do know I'm grateful for it."
Elijah looked at Lao.
"What about martial magic?"
'He's bouncin' around each subject just like Luce. These new reborn are always so hyper when it comes to magic.' Peter thought.
Lao looked surprised to be asked. Peter sighed and turned the guide to a page titled "Martial magic" and handed it to Lao.
"You control your mana flow and use that to propel your body to greater physical heights. It takes centuries of training to reach a baseline proficiency."
'Centuries? Did he misspeak?' Elijah's face gave his thoughts away.
"You heard me right, centuries." Lao grinned. "I had the good fortune of training with two of the best users of it in the world. Despite my age, I can still manage some use of the magic."
Peter picked the guide out of Lao's hands and closed it.
"I think it would be best if we got ya some proper trainin' for now instead of spendin' the whole night talkin' about every magic."
"You want me to get Lucifer?" Elijah asked.
Peter looked over at Death and Lucifer.
"No, we should leave him be. I and this guide are qualified enough to teach ya how to do a basic attack without losin' a hand."
Elijah rubbed his wrist. He didn't like the idea of training without Lucifer's guidance. He thought about it for a few seconds and realized he might actually prefer it.