In the dimly lit room of Wright's personal study, Nessa sat in the previously unoccupied and poorly managed corner and made it her own of sorts. The desk she sat behind was now dusted off, and the contents around it were well organized. Just as she was familiar with, Nessa had several books opened up in front of her with her tome in the middle of all of them.
While she calmly copied down spells and symbols into her tome, Wright passed her by with two cups of tea in hand. He lowered one of them off to Nessa's desk and continued on.
"Oh, thank you," She said in quiet gratitude. Nessa delicately put down her pen to flip through several days worth of copied spells and notes from training under Wright. As she looked them over, she reached for the cup of tea and took a sip. The taste of it was nothing she had had before, shocking her slightly. "I've never had tea this sweet before, it's really good."
"It's a surface blend I picked up from a merchant," Wright replied, leaning against one of the bookshelves, "A bit unfair to compare what you can grow with sunlight and rain to what can possibly survive in a dark cave miles underground, but such is life in Vy'es Dela'ramar." He concluded his butchering of the elvish language by taking a sip of his own tea.
Nessa hesitated in her response for a moment, looking for the right words. "Wright, are you by any chance surface born? You never really brought that up." She inquired.
"Not important," Wright on the other hand, responded hastily, as if anticipating the question or just perhaps just rehearsed to his answer, "I've seen the surface plenty of times regardless, and I can tell you it's not all literal sunshine and rainbows. It's got the same problems as we do here, if not a little more."
"Sorry sorry, I really didn't mean to pry or anything. Just curious was all," Nessa nervously apologized, turning her attention back to her tome.
"Don't worry about it," Wright nonchalantly replied as he put down his cup of tea and walked to the center of the study, "Anyways, let's see what you've got down so far, have you been able to cast Uunbruvln?" He spoke the foreign-tongued incantation with ease.
"Uunbruvln..." Nessa slowly whispered under her breath as she flipped through the pages of her tome. She slowly approached the center of the study towards Wright as she prepared to cast the magic he had requested. In one fluid motion, Nessa drew her hand from her heart to activate the aura ritual she learned a few days prior. With the ritual activated, she moved on to casting Uunbruvln. Her tome hovered in front of her as both of her hands reached towards the base of her opposite forearms. Nessa ran her fingers down her arms, allowing a crimson and violet blaze of magic to pulse out from the veins beneath her skin. Her tome gently floated down into her palms as her arms continued to flutter in a colored flame.
"Not bad." Wright examined Nessa's arms for any abnormalities in the spell she had just cast. "Uunbruvln is an important precaution necessary for regulated blood magic. It cuts out the requirement to have your blood flow open to the air, ultimately minimizing wasted mana and life. In short, your life force can be drawn out without cutting yourself open. Understand?"
Nessa nodded fervently while she kept her arms awkwardly apart.
"Good enough." Wright's fingers danced as they painted a sigil within the air. A ward formed at his palm and grew to cover the length of his arm. He held the ward out in front of him like a knight's shield between himself and Nessa. "Cast some of your more traditional spells with Uunbruvln in effect, you'll find yourself having an easier time casting as your life force naturally supports your mana pool without complication."
Nessa did as he instructed, fascinated at how Wright seemed to open up over his instruction. He seemed truly passionate about the subject, even if he was trying to hide that behind a cold exterior. She couldn't help but see the smile behind his eye, was it that of joy to express his knowledge? Or was he just happy to have someone to share in the taboo that was his mana affinity. Thinking over this, Nessa raised her hand out to Wright's ward with her off hand clutching onto her tome. Magic flowed up her forearm to her hand, charged by the life force running up from her skin, before leaving her palm in an explosive shot that crashed against the ward on its path, dissipating into sparkling dust.
Nessa repeated the process a few times over, making sure that she was absolutely accustomed. "Well? Is it working right?" She asked while Wright put down his ward, wandering off into the backroom.
"Working just as intended, you've got it down," Wright mumbled as he reentered, holding something close to chest behind view as he walked past Nessa, "Though I should warn you now, most blood magic only works on organic material. So in order to continue your training, you'll have to deal with this."
Wright revealed a chunk of centipede meat and hung it over onto a ceiling hook that his familiar brought down to him.
"Uhhh, are sure you should keep that in here, won't it get all...messy?" Nessa groaned at the sight in front of her. Though the exoskeleton was still intact on the piece of creature, it still put Nessa at unease to look at.
"Oh trust me, a few puddles of blood is no issue to clean up here," Wright replied as he stepped behind Nessa, "Now then, start with something simple. Cast Kruarvnk: it allows you to constrict the blood flow of your enemies, temporarily immobilizing them."
"Kruarvnk...Kruarvnk…" Nessa searched through her tome for the spell. Being one of the few true blood affinity spells she had, it sent shivers down her spine as its page opened up in her tome. She peered up from the page and reached her hand forward, still hesitating due to the unsightly target before her.
"Take your time, blood magic has a weakness against the cold, so the warmer your target, the better. This is because blood magic feasts off and targets body heat first and foremost. So a carcass may be difficult to manipulate, but it will make your work in the future more efficient." Wright explained which only caused Nessa to freeze up even more.
Nessa closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She put aside her thoughts and just focused on what she had to do. Cast the spell. That command echoed in her mind. Even as she performed the motions, her target would only move briefly as she lost her grip. Just as the command repeated, so did her motions. She tried again. She repeated and repeated as the scarlet and violet flames dancing on her arms roared like wildfires with her continued attempts to cast the spell. She heard Wright say something, but it was blocked out by her own inner voice berating her to keep trying and keep repeating.
"Nessa! Stop!" Wright yelled, startling Nessa out of her trance as she snapped out of focus. A sudden rushing pain washed over her arm as she saw blood beneath the flame-like aura over her arms. The flames slowly extinguished as she was left with only her bleeding arm and the result of the spell. She looked up at the carcass, the fragments of its exoskeleton was dug deep into its flesh due to the overwhelming constriction Nessa brought upon it.
Nessa paused briefly, but eventually brought herself to speak, "I-I got it? Right?" She clutched at her bleeding arm and tried to force a smile but she quickly dropped it upon seeing Wright's glare.
"I told you to stop because you were pushing yourself too hard, but you weren't listening. Avoid that at all costs. If you can't cast the spell in this environment, I can't trust you to react properly when in conflict." Wright brushed his hand over Nessa's wound, performing the same magic he did to heal her when she first came to him.
"I'm sorry Wright, I just wasn't thinking. I promise it won't happen again—" Nessa was interrupted by the call of Wright's familiar as it dropped a golden gem in Wright's palm. He held it between his fingers as a series of runes shone in the air in front of him. Nessa was only able to briefly catch Hela's name flash amongst the symbols and words that were displayed by the gem.
"Alright alright," Wright said in a dismissive tone, "We're going to have an hour recess and discuss this later, I need to answer this." He concluded by walking deeper into the study, leaving Nessa alone in the main room.
A haunting familiar feeling clouded over Nessa's thoughts, a cruel reminder of what it felt like to constantly fall short. That feeling she thought she had discarded with how well life was going now. It still remained, only dormant until this point. Nessa tried to shake off the anxiety ridden thoughts troubling her. She could still make this right. But for the time being, all she could do was wait.
She tried to stay seated at her desk, but she soon decided she needed some semblance of fresh air, even if it was just the thin air of the cavern city. She left the study and wandered off to clear her mind among the winding halls of the Hidden Star guild.
With Nessa leaving the study, all that remained was Wright as he brought the golden gem into his private chamber. He arrived at a desk that effectively appeared unused by the blood mage save for a few documents lying about and a strange device. Wright placed the golden gem within the grasp of the device, allowing the mana within the gem to flow through it as it contracted into a cube. The light from the cube projected out at the wall in a golden shaded moving picture that slowly shifted to an understandable form.
"Wright? Wriiight? Can you hear me?" Hela's voice crackled into audibility as the projected image of her face and upper body appeared on the room's wall.
"I hear you, Captain." Wright sat himself atop the desk and shifted the projection widget to adjust it. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" He asked in a mockingly noble tone.
"Well, Clair and I are about halfway back to the surface. We wanted to make sure that everything is alright down there before we go any further." Hela beamed from behind the projection.
"No need to worry about that. I told you that I could handle whatever happens when you two were called on the mission," Wright reassured, "It's been extremely quiet with you two gone, no offense. The only thing I have going on really is this apprentice. She's been having trouble with magic, and so I've been helping her through the basics of blood magic."
"Wait, really?" Hela seemed shocked, and a bit concerned. "I thought you said you'd never teach it to anyone."
Wright's attention turned to one of the blank walls. "I did, but that apprentice you brought in about a month ago has a difficult time casting magic. I don't think she has what it takes to be a mage, but with all the effort she's putting, she's pushing herself into blood magic territory. Hela, I think I'd be doing more harm than good if I just let her wander aimlessly."
Hela hesitated after his response, but eventually spoke up. "I think you're doing the right thing here. Just promise me that you're going to be careful? You and I both know the dangers of blood magic if it is misused." With that one comment, Wright winced and turned his gaze down to the floor. "So for Nessa's benefit, be careful."
"I've been taking every precaution there is. Things I didn't even learn when I was young. I wholly promise that nothing ill will come out of this arrangement." Wright rested his face in his hand, grateful that the projected image was only one way so that Hela couldn't see his downtrodden reaction. "Thank you for checking in, Hela. I do need to get some of this work done though. Good luck on your mission."
"Of course, Wright. Stay safe!" Hela bid her farewells as Wright drew the golden gem out from the projector, breaking the connection. Wright set it down on the desk and looked on at the empty wall, nearly motionless.
Nessa's footsteps rang through the quiet halls as she left the study, eventually drowned out by roaring commotion as she delved further into the more populated sections of the guild. Fellow adventurers stood at every corner, and yet Nessa felt so distant from them. In a way she had trouble calling herself an adventurer with how often she struggled over the simplest of things.
"Morning, Nessa," Fausm spoke, snapping her out from her thoughts. He approached from the crowd and walked alongside Nessa. "Finished your training with Wright already?"
"Oh, good morning Fausm," Nessa responded with a forced smile, "And not exactly, just taking a short break before starting the next lesson is all."
"I see." Fausm's voice croaked softer than usual. "And everything's been working out fine?"
Nessa hesitated for a moment, worried that Fausm might have looked right through her once again. "Of course, of course. There's some setbacks from time to time, but nothing serious." She raised her hand up to adjust her hair. As she did, her uniform's sleeve fell partially to reveal the bloodied bandages at her wrist. Upon noticing, Nessa concealed it quickly once again.
Fausm sighed briefly. He slowed to a stop, causing Nessa to stop and look up at him. "Listen, I don't know much about magic, let alone the blood magic that Wright is known for. But I know Wright. He's surrounded by rumors and stories, but I know he's a good man. I trust he's not going to mislead you with this whole blood magic thing." Fausm paused briefly. "However, your brother, he didn't want me to tell you this. He's worried about how much you're hurting yourself. Two days back he told me this, so I thought it's best you know how he's feeling."
Nessa's eyes turned down and away from Fausm's gaze. "Mair's worried about me?" She repeated this new knowledge to herself and ran her fingers down to her arm. "I should've known. Fausm, do you have any idea what I should do? I don't want to give up on my training, but if my brother is feeling like this, I don't…" Nessa trailed off.
"I'm not saying you should stop or give up at all. I think you two should talk this out, it'll help you both out rather than bottling it up," Fausm responded. He paused as he looked behind Nessa, causing her to turn around and see what caught his attention.
Nessa turned and noticed no one behind her. After a few moments, her vision turned downwards and she noticed Ilz waiting patiently behind her. She saw that his attention was turned to the far larger reptir behind her and that he almost appeared to stand behind Nessa as some sort of defense.
"O-Oh! Hello Nessa, I didn't mean to interrupt. I just thought I'd speak to you since I returned from my expedition, and it seems you are back as well. We could catch up and perhaps discuss our findings and research and such." Ilz spoke rapidly, even more so than usual. While Nessa couldn't exactly read into the intricate body language of reptirs, she could tell that Ilz was uncomfortable for some reason.
Nessa hesitated to respond and instead looked back at Fausm. He hadn't said a word but his gaze was fixed on the other, far smaller reptir before him. Her ignorance over reptir communication was quite a problem at this point. In Nessa's mind, she had no idea whether she should reply and risk interruption of their own communication.
After what felt like a few minutes of silence to Nessa, Fausm finally kneeled down and offered his hand out to Ilz. "Fausm, pleasure to meet you."
Ilz's dropped his nervous posture as he accepted Fausm's handshake. "The pleasure is all mine sir, my name is Ilz."
"I'll leave you two be then." Fausm stood back up and addressed Nessa. "Just keep what I said in mind is all I ask." He started to leave before Nessa could appropriately respond, leaving her alone with Ilz.
"What exactly was that all about?" Nessa asked Ilz, now that Fausm was out to his own devices.
"My apologies for that exchange. It can be difficult to discern which reptirs still hold belief in the barbaric class systems that many of our home tribes still employ. As such, I feared I would be treated poorly, but it seems your ally is far more civilized than expected," Ilz explained with his quick speaking pattern.
"I see then," Nessa responded, not all too understanding of the situation, "Well anyways, so we're both back from our missions, huh? Were you able to find anything about the star crystals?"
Ilz adjusted his nearly oversized hat as a grimace spread across his scaly face. "Unfortunately, nothing of real note has come of our team's expeditions. We show up at scenes all too late with nothing, without being able to see how exactly those star crystals go dim and dark."
"That does sound like it's a hassle," Nessa said as she gravitated towards one of the pillars in the vast guild hall, leaning against it for support, "You're still going to be keeping at it though, right?"
"Well… I for one would like to, but my teammates are hesitant to continue due to how little leeway we've made." Ilz fished through his pack and brought out his small journal. He flipped through the pages until he reached a map of the nearby area around the city of Eil'Drawwt. "We came to the conclusion that the connecting caverns between The North and West Solferre Tunnels are next to be affected by this phenomena given the current patterns. However, our team and some guild officials agreed that if nothing is found, that we'd put the investigation on an indefinite hold."
Nessa sank to the ground, bringing her knees to her chest as she remained leaning against the pillar. "What a pain. I can imagine it must be pretty difficult on you, but thanks for checking in with me about this. Even if it isn't exactly good news." Nessa sighed and looked around the guild hall at the other adventurers, watching them all convene with each other. "Hey Ilz, when do you plan on going to the tunnels?"
Ilz closed his journal and put it away. "Two days time is when we planned to move out, why do you ask?"
"My team is currently on standby and have little to do. How about my team helps out? We can cover more ground that way, I'm sure if we work together that we can find something." Nessa eagerly offered.
"Truly?" Ilz lit up with joy, his scaled tail waving in response. "Your assistance would be very much appreciated. After hearing word of how your first real mission went, I believe you'd be of great help."
"Hm? Are there rumors going around about that quest?" Nessa inquired. She hadn't kept up with Rex or the others since leaving Viiest, leaving her with no clue of what he might be up to.
"I suppose much of what I've heard could be rumors, but much of what I've come to hear is that you came to the rescue of Team Veinos. Their leader has been speaking highly of your team." Ilz responded.
Nessa couldn't help but smile from what she heard. "I didn't expect him to be so forthright on singing my praises." Nessa attempted to keep up the fib that Rex had been spreading around. "Has he really been going around telling people all that?"
"While Veinos's leader certainly is a man of gossip and rumor, I dare say it was only partially due to him I heard of your deeds," Ilz proceeded to explain, "In truth, that was one part of a greater rumor spreading throughout the guild."
Nessa's smile faded as she fell into confusion. "What kind of rumor?"
Ilz hesitated for a moment and looked around. "Perhaps it'd be best were I to show you an example. Here, follow me." The small reptir rushed off to lead Nessa off deeper into the guild, to which she followed as directed.
Nessa and Ilz made their way to the lower sections of the guild. The usual bustle and commotion slowed to the point where only the occasional few guards crossed their paths as they ventured deeper in.
"Ilz, you mind explaining things just a little bit before we arrive?" Nessa impatiently requested as she followed the scurrying reptir.
"I suppose, since we're almost there anyways," Ilz responded as he peered down the corner of another hallway on their path, "I'm sure you recall the thief you were tasked to capture, right?"
"Vaguely," Nessa replied, "The guild told us that they haven't yet found out where to send him in order to properly incarcerate him, something like that."
"Exactly! Not only are there no records on him whatsoever, no hometown, no family, no past, but his strange behavior has been the talk of the entire guild recently," Ilz explained before finally slowing down and peeking over the final corner. He remained silent and waved Nessa over to take a look.
Nessa hesitated to comply, but her curiosity got the better of her. Carefully, she peeked over and absorbed the scene before her. A line of unlocked and unused cells lined the walls of a dead-end hallway, and yet only one cell was locked and occupied. There wasn't a guard in sight, but a faint light flickered out from the occupied cell. It was the light of a candle tended to by a single prisoner.
"What is this place?" Nessa asked Ilz, keeping an eye on the cell. The contents were still barely out of her vision due to the angle at which she viewed it from.
"One of the many temporary holding cells that Hidden Star uses to house captured outlaws. Rumor has it that this nameless thief has been able to break out several times now, but he'll always return without fuss," Ilz explained it as if it was some sort of scary story, but Nessa could tell he believed the rumors as truth, "It even looks like the guild won't even bother watching over his cell knowing what he's capable of."
Nessa didn't respond and instead took a few steps closer to the cell.
"N-Nessa! Are you crazy, don't go closer!" llz yelped in a panicked whisper.
"Just stay there then, I'll be right back," Nessa reassuringly replied, continuing to approach the thief's cell.
As Nessa got closer, she could catch glimpses of the interior of the cell, filled with trinkets and collectibles that were strewn about the floor and the walls as decorations to the otherwise dreary hold. Soon enough, she found herself standing directly across from the cell, staring down the back of the demiserpus thief as he threw a ball of yarn toward the ceiling repeatedly.
The thief paused, noticing the footsteps finally stopped. He slowly turned his head and looked directly into Nessa's eyes. He flashed a devious grin. A smile of expectations met, of fate dealing its hand.
"About time." The thief spoke softly, a smile still painted on his face as his snake eyes peered through Nessa's soul. He stood up from the creaky bed in his cell and walked up to the bars to stand across from Nessa.
"Is it true?" Nessa tried to cut straight to the point, as to avoid speaking with the strange individual for too long, "That you've been wandering out of your cell?"
"No hellos, greetings, or good mornings? I expected you to be more pleasant, Nessa my dear. I suppose this is some sort of interrogation isn't it?" The thief rattled on. He impatiently gripped the bars of the cell and swayed from side to side, dancing to silence.
"I'm not here to interrogate or punish you. I just want to know why you allow yourself to be captured if you can easily escape? I can't help but feel responsible for any mischief you're causing." Nessa replied, remaining calm despite the thief's demeanor.
"How noble, taking responsibility for some trickster you captured. You really want to be some helpful hero for all, don't you? No, not for all, maybe just for you." The thief laughed and receded to the back of the cell, leaning against the wall carelessly. "To prove you can be something? Prove it to yourself, to those who you want to hold faith in you. Is that why you try so hard?" His words slowly became nothing more than a whisper as his eyes drifted past Nessa.
Nessa struggled to find a response. It seemed to her that the thief had all but lost his mind, yet in a way it seemed like he was trying to piece her together. Instinctively, she took a step back, afraid to know why this outlaw had such an obsession with her.
"Well." The thief's hand brushed over a clock he had taken and hung up within his cell. "It's about time you return to Wright now, isn't it? Don't let me keep you." He concluded as he sat back down to his bed.
"How did you—" Nessa looked over to the clock and noticed the hour recess was nearly up. "Damn it." She ran off back to the end of the hallway.
"What happened?" Ilz tried to stop Nessa but she continued at her rushed pace.
"Sorry Ilz, I gotta go!" Nessa explained herself as best she could while making her way back to Wright's study.
After trying to find her way around the guild, Nessa finally made it back to the study. Where Wright was there to greet her upon her entrance.
"You're late."
Something struck differently to Nessa when Wright spoke. His tone was different in some way, but she couldn't grasp why or how, and didn't have the time to wonder.
"I'm sorry, I just lost track of time and-"
"I really don't mind or care," Wright interrupted, "You can explain yourself after you can properly cast this spell." He stood waiting in the same spot as earlier, waiting for Nessa to approach and make a second attempt.
Nessa complied and nervously returned to her place beside Wright and prepared her tome for casting. A constricting anxiety began to rush through Nessa. Her heart beat faster as her blood streamed through her body faster. All the steps to cast the spell played out as she fell into a dissociative state. Everything that troubled her all piled up in quick succession. She feared worrying her brother, and felt paralyzed at the mere thought of the thief that sought to look right through her. The echoes of everyone's voices in her head, warning her, spurring her on, and trying to drag her down. While her mind laid adrift and unable to stop herself, her body took over to cast the spell she struggled with. Whatever it took, whatever sacrifice had to be made. Nessa tried to stop herself. She desperately didn't want to mess up again, and yet she couldn't do anything.
A cold grip strangled at Nessa's forearm that helped snap her back into focus. She looked up to see Wright holding her casting arm, his magic slowed her raging blood as he walked up to the upper balcony in silence.
"I'm sorry, I—"
"Enough!" Wright interrupted her for the final time, "I was wrong. You're not fit for blood magic. I made an error of judgement and I'm correcting it. Good luck on your future endeavors, Nessa."
"What!?" Nessa struggled to understand as Wright ascended the stairs to the balcony. "I can improve I swear. I'll practice on my own time and I'll get it right. Just please don't give up on me!"
"I said that's enough." Wright refused to look down at her. "Blood magic is far beyond your level of expertise, and you're only going to kill yourself trying to improve. So for your sake. Don't." Without another word, he disappeared into the unlit shadows of the upper balcony. The door leading out of the study swung open on a whim.
Lost and without direction, Nessa forced herself to walk through the door. The path to realizing her future closed off to her, and she was left alone.