"Good job Mari!"
Lloyd praised his pupil at the wonderful array of magic. Petals danced in the air as she lowered herself down from the firm hold of vines. The entire Axis was covered in pink vines with equally pinkish flowers.
"Cyndrogauhn" He said proudly, lifting up the pink flowers "Or more commonly known as Cicily's petals, named after the fairy who discovered them"
"You've really out did yourself today Mari" Lloyd praised, earning a grin from the girl "Not only did you learn to make your own plants, you have also created your first ever magical one. And the one you manage to create was not something that can easily be made"
Mari's grin grew even wider, accompanied by a blush on her cheek "I mean, I have the best teacher in the world, so of course I'd learn it quicker" Lloyd chuckled at that remark, his face smiling, hearing those words made him think of his own professor.
"Well, going back to the plant" Lloyd took the piece of flower and placed it on a bowl "The magical properties of this plant, when properly extracted can be used in various ways" Lloyd covered the bowl with the flower and heated it up "Now, the magical properties can be used by fairies directly from the flower, just by controlling it. But to others that are not fairies, they have to extract it"
As the bowl began to grow hot, the flower could be seen glowing pink. Lloyd hummed and lifted the glass lid and poured some powder on the flower. As soon as the powder made contact, it hardened itself around the flower until it covered it fully. Lloyd covered the bowl again and grabbed another container, he poured some water and set it aside.
"Now here's the fun part!"
Lloyd stopped heating the bowl and took off the lid, by now the flower was hard as stone. Flicking his wrist, the flower that was coated in the powder floated out of the bowl and into the water. The flower made contact with the water and the rock-hard powder covering it, dissolved immediately, leaving a glowing pink flower that seemed to be coated in a super thin sheet of transparent material.
Looking at it now, it looks like the flower has turned into glass. Lloyd picked up the now crystallized flower and placed it on a plate.
Instantly it shattered into dust, Lloyd picked up a strainer and strained the dust. He strained it until all that was left was a fine pink dust, carefully picking it up, Lloyd placed it in a container and closed the lid.
"There we have it, extracted cyndrogauhn dust" Lloyd said proudly "The dust itself is a very coveted item, with the ability to immobilize opponents with ease"
Lloyd pointed at the dust and looked towards Mari "The dust can make anyone who breathes it in, obey any order. The dust makes it so that it completely stops the thinking process of individuals, sending them in a hypnotized state. The effects of this can last for hours, days, and in more rarer cases its effects last permanently. The permanent effects are even used to completely alter a person's personality, memories and beliefs"
Mari stared in disbelief, she never knew something so powerful, and the most shocking part was that she made it! For some unknown reason, Mari's body felt excitement, maybe it was the thought of her growing other dangerous plants. There's even a plant whose thorns, if ever were to break your skin, could petrify you in stone!
Lloyd carefully watched his new students, proud of how strong she is becoming. However, something keeps bugging him, a thought that makes him feel dark.
Mari..... She's still new to magic, but is already controlling it pretty well. He wondered, if Mari were to become fully magical, and even other people around her, will they suffer the same fate as his world?
That thought sent a grim feeling through Lloyd, they mustn't end up like his world, they don't deserve it. Brushing the dark thought, he returned to watching Mari, she was now packing up her stuff, ready to go home.
"Well Lloyd, I'll see you in a couple of days! Tomorrow's the weekend and my parents are taking me to a trip outside the city"
Lloyd nodded at her, which she returned with a smile. Leaving the place she took one last glance at Lloyd.
"See you Lloyd!"
With those words she left the Axis, leaving Lloyd, all alone. He started cleaning the Axis and arranged all the books Mari read. Taking each book one by one, brought a chuckle to Lloyd.
Once he was finished Lloyd sat down on a chair, he couldn't help but think of Mari and how much she reminded him of himself, eager to learn and explore the magical world. However, this feeling was soon replaced with dread.
He sat down and the rubbed his temple, he started remembering it all, the war, the plague, and the screams. As he remembered, his dread grew into fear, fear that this world would become like his, if it ever were to learn of magic.
The man in white grumbled, he closed his eyes and decided to think of it later. Scanning around the Axis, he found himself quite annoyed at the sudden boredom. He sighed once again and stood up trying to find anything to keep him entertained.
______________________________________________
The next day was unworldly silent, as if the whole world was frozen in time. The seemingly infinite nothingness, was enough to make Lloyd cringe.
Standing up, finally feeling motivated he decides to explore his surroundings, and by that he means the city. He never explored much of it, just the time when he first arrived and when he was keeping an eye on Mari.
This time felt like the perfect opportunity.
With Mari gone and nothing else to do, he started packing up and getting ready to leave. He hesitated on using a map since he wanted to explore the city all on his own. Besides what he has observed and what Mari told him, he doesn't know anything about the city.
Opening up his closet, he grabbed articles of clothing Mari gave him to blend in with the crowd. With this he wore a plain white shirt and some jeans. After looking at himself in the mirror, he decided to pair his outfit with a hat, some glasses, and his sling bag with some of his supplies.
Looking back again, he still felt something was missing. After carefully inspecting the outfit, his eyes lit up and his mouth opened with an "AHA!"
He waved his fingers, and a white glow emitted from them. Slowly forming into waves of white energy. He dragged his finger, leaving a white streak in the air, in which it slowly disappeared. Smiling at this he tapped the front of his shirt and started swirling his fingers, he then moved it up into an arch above his head until lowering it down while turning his body.
The white streak from his finger created a beautiful swirl and arch surrounding Lloyd, the white color transitioning into gold. Once it shone a bright glow it transformed into dust and fell gently on Lloyd's shirt, some dropped and disappeared while others stuck to it forming an image.
Once that was done, Lloyd smirked at his creation, the now plain white t-shirt had an "L" written on it in shining gold, while on the back had the sigil of his country. Three pairs of wings, with a sword and shield, and dark yellow roses growing on the blade.
He spun in all angles, making sure to see himself fully. Once he was satisfied, he went outside his room, climbed up the stairs, and exited through the wall.
Once outside, he made his way to what Mari refers to as the center of the city. He watched in awe at the buildings around him, although there were cities much more astounding then this, the fact it was created by HUMANS! and without MAGIC!? was something to marvel at.
He continued on his walk, his eyes continuously showing a hint of amazement, in which would signal locals that he was a tourist. He made his way through a busy street, passing the alley he first came out of. He marked that place and put it in the journal he was carrying.
Alley at P. Burmann Street.
He passed the alley and arrived at a line of electronics of shops which caught the eye of Lloyd. When he first heard of the idea of technology it truly shocked him, he believed it to be a magic all on its own. Browsing through the various displays, he saw many gadgets and devices including the "phones" that Mari told her about. From what he could gather, they were truly convenient. He should by some next time.
Electronics Shops at Ashton Avenue.
He then finally made it to what he believes to be heart of the city. All the roads that lead to it open up to a giant open space surrounded by buildings in the south, market and industrial places in the west, a forest at the north, and park at the east. It truly felt as if it connected through all of the city, like everything met at this singular point. Looking around he found the hotel he slept at when he arrived here, the cafe Mari was working at and the public library. He truly felt at awe at this place and so decided to mark this in his notebook as well.
Cassandra square:
The hotel
Cafe
Park
Public library
After journalling it and taking some few sketches, Lloyd arrived at the center and came face to face with a giant statue. It was situated exactly at the middle, it was a girl who had her head high as if overseeing the entire place. She was wearing a dress, her one arm raised in front of her with the index finger out and the other holding a book.
Lloyd looked at the direction the finger was pointing to and saw the public library, Lloyd felt it had some significance and he couldn't help but get excited about this city's history. He walked around the statue and saw a plate right under her feet, with writing etched on it.
"Cassandra, daughter of the founder. With her lies the answers and the truth"
Lloyd read through the writing, looking back up he thought the "answers" was referring to the public library, with books having the answers to your question.
After having his fill with the bustling place, Lloyd once again craved for a more slow-pace and quiet area. He headed east and went to the park, he was greeted by a sign with a flower on it.
"Welcome to Vivianne's Garden"
Passing through the arch he was now greeted by a calming and tranquil atmosphere. People eating, family's having picnics, and children playing. The whole scenery brought unexpected memories to Lloyd, which made him unknowingly shed a tear.
Keeping himself from going full on sobbing, he walked through the park to a much more livelier section, posters and pictures pasted everywhere. He saw an ad for a farm, a theater house, and a public museum. Clearly intrigued, he wrote all of the places down in hopes to visit them today.
Vivianne's Garden (City Park)
Hayden Family Farm
Desmond Theater House
The Public City Museum
After that, he went to a more secluded part of the park where it was quiet. He could tell that it wasn't used often since the greenery wasn't as neatly cleaned like the other sections of the park. However, the ambiance reminded him of the Elf's forests in the north, quiet but full of life. He walked through the slightly taller grass, until arriving at an old worn-down lamp post.
Taking a rough sketch of it, he noticed it looked nothing like the other newer-looking lamp posts in the city. It looked older, probably an earlier design that was later swapped out with the new ones. He sat at the foot of the lamp post and closed his eyes.
Feeling the wind brush his hair, his mouth arched into a smile. His body relaxed, and his breathing began slowing down.
He felt at peace, his mind rid of the problems and thoughts.
He was slowly falling asleep when all of a sudden something made him open his eyes. His body grew tense, and his eyes scoured throughout the place.
'What was that?'
The entire atmosphere remained to be the same, but for Lloyd something was different.
Magic.
It was faint, but he could feel it. The feeling was not danger, it was pain....it was FEAR!