#this is a reboard of something i did years ago...

[paunchsalazar]

an animatic of a scene from Percy Jackson: The Battle of the Labyrinth - Escaping Daedalus’ Laboratory

[lindsaystravelblogs3]

Day 73 – Saturday, 5 August

The first official day of our cruise and we sailed to Limnos overnight to arrive early in the morning.

After breakfast, we had a short presentation about the first half of the cruise and the excursions available.  The woman who did the talk rattled rapidly through what we had already seen in the tour publicity and I doubt anyone got much out of it other than a couple of deadlines by which we had to book tours or cancel existing bookings.  We only booked for one more thing – a free sword-dance display in Korcula.

There was a lecture, the first of three related lectures, about the history of various dynasties and their related wars in the region.  I found the lecturer very hard to follow, with his very heavy French accent, his occasional lapses into French phrases, and constant use of ancient place names rather than more familiar current names.  (He had almost finished his lecture before I realised that his frequent use of ‘R-10’ was actually ‘Athens’.)  His slides were all in French, and his many maps far too small and detailed to understand anythig at all – and of course, he used the dreaded red laser pointer.  I spoke to him about that after the lecture, and he said he doesn’t like to use the laser and prefers to use his telescopic metal pointer.  He said he would use that instead in future lectures – but didn’t.

After lunch, we were taken ashore by tender (one of the lifeboats) where we boarded a bus to take us to the Poliochni Archaeological site where seven separate civilisations have been uncovered, each one on the site of the previous one, from very ancient times.  It took about an hour to reach the site and it was surprisingly hot standing in the sun after a couple of somewhat cooler days.  Our guide told us that the first layer predates the ancient Egyptians, so we are talking something like five thousand years at least.  I am not convinced of some of the information we were told, specifically related to the sophistication of the earliest inhabitants.  They discovered a larger than usual ‘room’ (still pretty small) and on that basis deduced that the town was run by a council of prominent citizens who met in this room to make laws and otherwise run the city.  How they could deduce all that by discovering an empty four-by-six metre room is beyond me, and I remain sceptical about many of the claims of our various guides.  Nonetheless, it was quite an impressive site, spoiled somewhat by the repairs done to make some areas appear more ordered.  For example, we saw modern mortar between the stones forming the walls in many places.  I don’t think we have seen that elsewhere – in general, if the wall has fallen down, it is left in that condition, rather than rebuilding it to make it more like it probably was in antiquity.  But maybe I am being picky and the site did look more like it probably was millennia ago.  There is evidence of a water supply and sewer system so maybe they had a level of sophistication way beyond what I imagined after all.

After quite a comprehensive tour of the site, we reboarded the bus to go to a winery where we had a tour of the winery and a sit-down light meal of local snacks and a wine tasting.  We sampled five different wines, none of which distinguished themselves to me or Heather.  I thought they were pretty ordinary, but we did see some of the prices and they probably indicated that they were not considered to be premium wines anyway.

Then it was back on the bus and off to the dock where the tender was waiting to take us back to the ship.  There were welcome cocktails and introductions to all the officers and key staff members on the stern deck, but we have endured that so many times on other trips that we hid out in the bar and enjoyed a private welcome cocktail instead. 

Dinner was a Gala Night when everyone gets togged up in their finest, particularly the women, and we would do our best to avoid that (even if we had any ‘finest’ which we don’t), so we ate our dinner on the stern deck – and continued to avoid the posh dining room for most of the cruise.

[crispyjenkins]

Can we get a fic where Jaster somehow gets sent to the future or something and him reacting to the clones? (Being pissed off that his ad would do something like this to these poor kids/ just reacting to them?)

(this one was so. fecking. hard. to write, i’ve been struggling with it for weeks, but i’m glad i did, because this is by far the best version i made of it. it’s interesting in how much my opinion of jango’s decision to be the template has changed since i first got this ask, and i was definitely coming at it with this post in mind for their characterisations here.

i love hondo. so you get hondo knowing jaster from pre-civil war days, and i don’t care if canon disagrees: hondo ohnaka has been terroising house mereel for three generations.

also i’ve already had a few people donate to my ko-fi and i’m completely floored by your kindness and generosity, and i sat down with this fill knowing i wanted to get it out as soon as possible. i sincerely love you all, i hope you’re all healthy and being as safe as possible.)

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  “Oh, Jango? We keep him here.” —Lama Su, AotC

-

  By some will of the Ka’ra, it’s Boba that finds him.

  The possibility of dying in his ad’s arms hadn’t exactly crossed Jaster’s mind until it happened, like a nightmare he had never even had. For the first time since the Fett farm burned, Jaster cursed the Ka’ra, and he curses them again when he wakes up not marching* to the stars, but standing knee-deep in the snows of Galidraan

  And the Ka’ra make sure he knows it’s Galidraan though he had never been there, just as he somehow knows Jango is long-since dead. That he is a dislocated bone in the universe, snapped out of time and place and thrown into a future where Jango’s face stares at him from a body that is not his.

  “Oh,” the teen with Jango’s nose says, the snow coming all the way up to their thighs, and they don't look dressed nearly warm enough for this biome. “Did Hondo send you?”

  Jaster blinks at them. “Did...? No, ad’ika, I have not spoken to Hondo in many years.” Maybe he shouldn’t be surprised Hondo is even still alive, Maker knows Jaster’s tried to kill him enough times himself, but if the number of years since his death on Korda Six is as many as he thinks it is, surely someone would have shot him by now.

  The teen doesn’t wear beskar’gam —it’s unlikely they’re even old enough to— but the style of the armor they do wear cannot be inspired by anything else, just reminiscent enough of evaar’gam that Jaster can’t help comparing every little detail about them with the faded image of Jango in his mind.

  “Then who the kriff are you?” They eye Jaster warily, left hand twitching towards the vibroblade at their hip.

  Promising to strangle every one of the Ka’ra when he can finally march away, and throwing the last of his caution down to the snow between them, Jaster simply says, “Jaster Mereel.”

  Impossibly, though maybe not entirely, not-Jango doesn’t laugh at him, or call him crazy, or even try to shoot him with the rifle slung over their shoulder. No, they straighten to their full height, and—

  And swear so colorfully in Huttese that Jaster knows this hell-child has absolutely been raised by Hondo Ohnaka.

-

  Boba takes him to the ruins of Kamino first, where the kriffing Sith Empire has destroyed another one of his people’s homes. 

  The growth labs were all blown into the ocean by imperial ilk soon after the formation of the empire, but the barracks and some of the training rooms still stand above the waves. In the ship he says belonged to Jango, Boba steers them to a dilapidated landing pad, controlling the Slave I (Maker, had Jaster really left Jango to that fate?) far too easily through the rubble for this to be his first time to return, and Jaster tries not to think about what that means.

  Walking the dark, grimy white halls, seeing the narrow bunks and bare req rooms, he then tries not to think about a child being raised in such a place, about hundreds of thousands of children being raised in such a place. How had Jango... chosen this for them?

  “I only have his stories,” Boba tells him quietly, when he shows Jaster the tiny apartment the Kaminoans had given them to “keep Jango close”. It’s bigger than most captain’s cabins, to be sure, but it is just as plain and white as the rest of the facility. “But he couldn’t even get one hundred Mandalorians to come and train the... clones.” He shuffles his feet uncomfortably as Jaster looks into the cupboard-sized kitchen and tries not to break down at the package of Mandalorian chiles rotted away on the counter. “Everyone else was New Mandalorian or Death Watch.”

  “And the rest... they fell at the Battle of Galidraan?”

“Buir always called it a massacre,” he looks away. “Only a handful of the Cuy’val Dar even considered themselves True Mandalorians, buir was there when the Jedi killed the rest.”

  Jaster inhales deeply, takes a few moments to steady himself, and is sickeningly, horrifyingly relieved. By the Maker, but knowing Jango had had no one left before his Kamino contract, that not even Skirata followed the codex anymore, that Jango had only taken the job after forcing Tyranus to give him an unaltered clone, makes Jaster guilty for having doubted his foundling. It doesn’t excuse anything, of course, but knowing Jango had done it all for aliit, well, it does make it easier to swallow.

  Boba leads him back out of the apartment, he had already stripped it of anything important years ago, and they don’t stick around after reboarding the Slave I. Only after they’re out of atmosphere with hyperspace coordinates for Tatooine in the astronav system does Boba join Jaster in the tiny galley with a bottle of tihaar that Jaster should probably reprimand him for, but won’t.

  “He tried to pretend he didn’t care, about the others,” Boba says and doesn’t even bother to find them glasses, “I think some days he even believed it.”

  “He always was stubborn as a rancor.”

  Boba takes a long pull from the bottle before passing it across the table. “Tyranus scared the shit out of me back then, he was too... put together, too fancy. Buir didn’t like him, I don’t know why he even did the tryout for him, the pay wasn’t even that great?”

  Rubbing his left eye until he sees stars, Jaster stares down into the bottle until he can come up with a way to explain core Mandalorian beliefs to a child that had barely a decade of living as one before that, too, had been taken from him. “If Jang’ika took that job intending to come out on the other side, I’ll kiss whatever Vizsla is left.”

  Boba’s mouth twists and he kicks his heels against the floor, not waiting for Jaster to hand it to him to grab the tihaar back. “Buir was an idiot,” he says, like the solve to a simple math problem, and Jaster can’t but agree.

  He sighs. “Unfortunately, he probably got that from somewhere.”

  “I mean, at least Montross didn’t live long enough to end up as the template? Kriffing fuck, can you imagine if the Jedi had had to work with that shabuir’s clones?”

  “Maybe the war would have ended sooner,” he muses and accepts the bottle, “surely this Emperor would have tired of his face much sooner than Jango’s.”

  “Or the Coruscant Guard would have shivved Palpatine in his sleep and tried to take over the Republic; what’s one betrayal of your leader to another?”

  “Then I’d like to think Jango would put him, them, in their place for a third time.”

  Snorting, Boba pushes to his feet to, presumably, check on the autopilot. “If buir would have even let it get that far, then I’ll kiss Vizsla.”

-

  “Old friend!” Hondo shouts as soon as he sees them, and Jaster winces, nursing his first hangover since his twenties.

  “Ohnaka,” he returns, and pretends he doesn’t notice the subtle way Boba brightens as Hondo comes to clap them both on the shoulders.

  The old pirate just chuckles and starts to steer them both back across the hangar bay to his latest junk ship. “I heard you died, Mand’alor,” he says casually, like the title isn’t cursed to the ka’ra and back, like it hadn’t been three decades since anyone had dared call someone from his house such a thing so sincerely.

  “I did.”

  “I found him on Galidraan,” Boba offers. “Is that why you told me to go?”

  Hondo scoffs, and Jaster would say he was flustered if he didn’t know him better. “No, I told you to go because Aurra had a job for you, that you seem to have forgotten about in your haste to bring my long lost best friend back to me.”

  Boba scowls. “Aurra wasn’t at the meeting place, laandur, it was a kriffing mynock chase and you know it.”

  Jaster side eyes his old “friend”, and wonders again about his preternatural... luck in all things pirate-related, despite being a boisterous mess of a man most of the time. If this Aurra had even been on the planet when Boba got there, Jaster will kiss Vizsla twice. 

-

Mando’a: Ka'ra — an ancient Mandalorian story, ruling council of fallen kings, “stars” ad — “child”, gender neutral 'ika — diminutive suffix, similar to the suffix “ita/o” in Spanish. generally used only by close family and friends beskar'gam — Armour made of beskar, “Mandalorian Iron” that was actually probably a steel alloy evaar'gam — lit. “youth armour”, fan name for the interim armour/garb Mandalorians would have worn before building their kit of beskar’gam buir — “parent”, gender neutral  Cuy'val Dar — “Those who no longer exist”, group of 75 Mando’ade and 25 others put together by Jango to train the clones aliit — “clan”, “family” tihaar — Mandalorian strong clear spirit made from fruit shabuir —  an extreme insult, mostly accepted in fandom to be an insult of an individual’s ability to parent (from buir), which is an intrinsic part of Mandalorian psyche and identity  laandur — used here as “weak”, “pathetic”, but is usually used as “delicate”, “fragile”

*in reference to the Mando’a word for the dead/deceased “taab'echaaj'la”, or “marched far away”, best explained in the Mando’a tribute to dead comrades, “not gone, merely marching far away”. 

[elisaphoenix13]

Look To The Stars

This takes place far on the future of the Supreme Family Chaos series!

She wanted to scream. To cry. But she couldn't find it in herself to do so. She had to watch her mother die in front of her and couldn't do a single thing about it. Stephen came through a portal mortally wounded with Athena and had just enough strength to tell her that she still had Quill and Hunter. He used a spell that would alert them to the situation and said his goodbyes to Valerie before breathing his last. Athena, Stephen's ever loyal wolf, had been connected to the sorcerer's lifeline and died with him with her head on his leg. It was almost poetic.

The rest of her family and the team had died a long time ago, and she was left alone in the tower that was far too quiet. She remembered a time when it was always chaotic and full of love, friends, and camaraderie. Now it was desolate and cold with no one to fill the silence. The Earth's Sorcerer Supreme finally fell to a greater being after decades of defending this reality and it was when Valerie truly hated the gift of longevity she was born with. Her parents were gone, her siblings, her aunts and uncles...all gone. She was alone and scared with no idea if her Uncle Quill got Stephen's message. So she did the only thing she could think of.

She stayed with her mother's body and cried into his shoulder even long after he had grown cold. Valerie didn't know how long she stayed like that. Time was inconsequential to her like it had been for Stephen for quite a while. Diana would have stepped up as the next Sorcerer Supreme but she had fallen in battle years ago. Everyone had been a fighter but Valerie and that's why she was still alive. She stayed out of harm's way.

"I don't know what to do Mama...I'm scared...so scared. I don't want to be alone."

She cried for days...and cried harder when a spell that Stephen had cast on himself and Athena finally activated and turned their bodies into a swarm of blue butterflies. One by one they disappeared to return to the magic in the world until finally none remained. Her mother was truly gone then...and was what got her to scream in despair. Days passed with seemingly endless tears and no hint of a celestial coming to get her, and she finally cried herself out at the end of the first week.

She felt nothing after that.

Valerie just went up to her room and laid down to wait for whatever happened first. Starvation... sickness...end of the world? She didn't care anymore. Valerie just curled up into a ball. She didn't have to wait long though. The next day, the eighth day, she heard voices in the tower since she had left her bedroom door open. Heavy footsteps raced up the stairs to her room and the next thing she knew, she was looking at green eyes full of worry and sympathy.

"Oh baby girl…" Quill whispers before getting up from his crouch and sitting on her bed to gather her into strong arms. Fresh tears of relief and sadness spilled from her eyes as the god held her close to familiar warmth. "Pack up her stuff. Clothes, necessities...whatever. Get it all and put it on the ship."

Valerie didn't pay any more attention after that. She was completely exhausted and finally had someone familiar taking care of her and let herself fall asleep with that knowledge.

=================

Quill sighs and rubs the back of his neck after he silently closes the door to the captain's quarters. Valerie would stay in there for now until they got back to the bigger ship that was home to the Ravagers he led, and there he would have to open up a room by his. One word and the crew wouldn't touch her but Quill would still want her nearby.

"Dad."

The celestial looks up at his son who had put the last box full of Valerie's belongings aside in a storage room. "You got everything?"

"I think so."

"Alright. Stay and keep an eye on her while I go...close up shop."

Hunter nods and Quill exits the ship to go back up to the penthouse and looks around once more. Just after grabbing Valerie's stuffed cow and teddy bear from the couch, a couple of things she never grew out of, he turned and stopped immediately. There in the corner by the elevator was the cloak of levitation floating listlessly...almost like it was depressed. Well, it did lose its most recent master.

"What do I do about you?" Quill asks it. "Do you want to stick with Val?" Levi perks up at his question and he smirks. "Alright. You can come. Friday...initiate Celestial Protocol after we leave."

"Yes, Mr. Quill." The AI responds softly.

Quill leaves the penthouse and takes the elevator back to the hangar and reboards the ship with Levi. The Celestial Protocol would shut down the tower completely and activate a defense barrier that only Hunter or Quill could deactivate in case they came back to Earth. It was one of the last protocols Tony made before he passed...before Scott was…

The god shakes the thought out of his head as he sits at the helm on the flight deck and takes off toward space. It only took about twenty minutes to leave the planet's atmosphere and dock the Milano on the home ship, and Hunter started taking Valerie's things to the room she would be staying in once Quill told him which one. For now, he would take her to his room until she was feeling better and starting to adjust. So he retrieves her from the bedroom on the Milano and takes her to the much bigger Captain's Quarters on the Ravager ship and gets her tucked in before sitting beside her on the bed.

Hunter joined them a couple of hours later and sat on Valerie's other side so that she was safely between the two of them.

"I'm going to have to talk to the crew." Quill finally says after about half an hour of watching TV in silence.

"You mean you're going to threaten them."

"Nah. They can be assholes but they know how to treat a girl. If I ask them to treat her like a princess, they will. No questions asked." Quill sighs and gets up. "Keep and eye on her while I go talk to them."

"Sure." Hunter nods and fixes the heavy blanket over his friend as his father leaves the room.

Quill gathered all the Ravagers and asked them to treat Valerie with respect, and he didn't get a single protest. In fact, they seemed determined to keep her safe which came as no surprise. He told them story after story about his life on Earth, and when he got the notification of Stephen's passing, he told them all about the girl. The god told them of her kindness and her timid nature, and that she was not a fighter. It would probably take time for her to warm up to them, especially after losing someone so dear to her, but they seemed to understand.

They actually went out of their way to make her feel at home when Valerie finally decided to explore the ship. They gave her directions to areas she might enjoy, and if she looked lost, they dropped everything and helped her find her way. They treated her like a princess and Quill never actually used that term. In a way, she was their princess. They taught her about space food and when she had a good idea of what everything was and how the kitchen in the mess hall worked, she even cooked for them.

Not only did it bring some life back into her eyes, but their usual cook was practically banned from the kitchen. Valerie had always been an amazing cook and it carried over to foreign space food. Even Quill was impressed. He and Hunter took her to planets they deemed safe, and she enjoyed looking at all the different types of wildlife and foliage. When she was on the ship, she enjoyed sitting with Flynn and Emir who were both still alive and kicking after so many years, thanks to Quill. She supposed Flynn still nibbled on Quill's fingers, and Emir got a few bites in whenever they rough houses.

Poor Emir though, he had the same sadness in his eyes that Quill had. Scott had been his human and the man was gone. The tiger took pride in protecting and comforting Scott when the god was away, and that behavior seemed to redirect itself to Flynn and then eventually Valerie. It wasn't uncommon for her to wake up and find both animals and Levi surrounding her in a warm and safe cocoon. Those were the days that made it feel like she was back at home sometimes.

Having Hunter around helped as well. They'd always been close and they were the same age so they had a lot more in common. He did his very best to make her feel at home too and usually his presence was more than enough. The two always had a special bond. One formed over years and years of growing up together. It was a shame Hailey didn't inherit Quill's celestial gene like Hunter did. They both missed her.

Valerie did feel better over time. Something she had plenty of. She never put herself in danger, and if she ever found herself in any, she was always herded away to safety whether it was by a Ravager, Quill, or even Hunter. If they were going to a dangerous planet for a job, she stayed on the main ship and usually Hunter stayed behind with her just to keep her company. There were times he went with his father to help though.

Now was one of the times Hunter stayed behind. They were sitting in the observation deck looking out the large domed window at the stars when Valerie sighed.

"You okay?" Hunter asks softly.

"It's... really beautiful out here but at the same time...it feels cold and lonely." Valerie says.

"I guess it would if you're stuck here." He replies. "It's why we try to take you with us on some planets. Even we can get tired of all of this."

"I guess I can kind of see why uncle Quill didn't want to bring your dad and Hailey out here."

"He didn't want to bring you either, but more than that, he didn't want to leave you alone."

Valerie lays her head on his shoulder. "I don't want to be alone. I hate it."

"You won't be." He wraps an arm around her. "Never again."

[copiouscouples]

I’ll Not Have What She’s Having

Chapter 4 from One Bride for One Brother: A Tale from the Stockholm Files

Loosely based on Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Follow on FF.net or AO3

“Don’t you look beautiful!” The Mikkian woman told Rey as she arranged her pink head tendrils and smoothed the wrinkles out of her lacy, white dress.

“Um,” Rey mumbled, knowing she should return the compliment but not finding her vocal cords strong enough to utter any words. She was still in a state of shock. A lot had happened in the past twelve hours. Mainly, that she’d made a hypocrite of herself. How silly to think she could say something as bold as I will never marry you. Yet here she was in the dressing room of a 24 hour wedding chapel in Coruscant standing next to another bride-to-be. And she’d never looked better she admitted as she eyed herself in the mirror. She was squeaky clean from her head to her feet. Even he dirt and grime underneath her pink toenail was gone.

Coruscant Wedding Bells Chapel was a full-service chapel for the more elite equipped with a spa, a hair salon, and a bridal shop. Her body had been scrubbed and plucked, her nails manicured, her hair curled and styled elegantly, and her frame shoved into the silkiest, softest material she’d ever felt against her skin. For the first time in her nineteen years, she experienced the miracle of well-made, fine apparel. She had curves!

Yet it didn’t matter how nice she looked because she was being sent to her death. She was marrying a barbarian who would make her life and everyone else’s around him miserable. But what choice did she have? Her hands were tied. If she wanted to ensure Finn’s safety, she had to follow through with Kylo’s plan.

“Oh, poor thing! You look pale as a ghost! Don’t be nervous. Tell me about your guy while we wait. That’ll take your mind off your nerves.”

My guy’s six foot three with dark brown hair, a ferocious temper, and homicidal tendencies who’s forcing me to marry him so my friend can live. Yeah, that wasn’t something she could share to a stranger she’d just met.

“Um….I….we…he…” Rey spluttered.

The Mikkian woman smiled and patted her hand. “How about I tell you how I met my Joplu instead? I came to Coruscant a little over a year ago. I’d had a falling out with my family. Let’s just say we couldn’t agree to disagree. When I got here, I was mighty lonesome. I only know a handful of languages and there seemed to be a zillion different species living here. Then, one day I was craving food from home and stumbled into the only Mikkian restaurant on the planet. That’s when I met Joplu. He was my warrior. My Jedi with shining lightsaber. Not really,” the woman said as an aside. “He’s just a chef and restaurant owner. But finding another Mikkian in this crazy city…I don’t know. It felt like coming home. He’s not as talkative as me, but he’s kind and I know he loves me. And I’m just so excited I’m about to burst! Oh, I’m Teblee by the way. What’s your name?”

“R-Rey.”

The door opened to the dressing room and a professionally dressed woman with an earpiece said to the room of five women, “Teblee? Rey? You two are up next. Please line up in the hallway.”

“Oh, that’s us! It’s very good to meet you Rey! I hope you and your groom will be just as happy as me and Joplu!”

Rey mindlessly followed the wedding coordinator down the hallway. She stopped where the woman indicated and watched as Teblee bounded down the aisle to meet her smiling groom, a green Mikkian with head tendrils that stopped just above his ears.

Her heart beat rapidly as she realized that in minutes it would be her standing up there with Kylo Ren. She wanted to run, to flee, but he had made it abundantly clear that there was no scenario in which she escaped that Finn survived. He would not be freed until they were legally married. She would have to find the strength within herself to do this. To say I do to that beast.

The officiant had barely uttered “You may now kiss your bride” before Teblee had jumped upon her new husband. Their lips and bodies practically merging into one person before her eyes. Rey blushed at the passion before her. She could not imagine feeling that way towards anyone and especially not Kylo Ren.

Coughing at the still smooching couple before him, the officiant crooked his finger at the wedding coordinator “I believe we’re ready for our next couple.”

The jubilant couple broke apart, laughing. Teblee waved at her, saying “Good luck! You’ll do fine!” before rushing out the door with her new husband.

At the end of the aisle, she watched as Kylo found his place next to the other man. A bouquet of fire lilies was placed in her hands and with a gentle shove she was set down the aisle to her doom.

Just get through this and Finn will live. Just get through this and Finn will live. She repeated to herself.

Looking at the man looming above her as she came to a stop at the end of the aisle, Rey felt tears prick her eyes. This wasn’t what she wanted. The unfairness and injustice hit her full force. But there was no way out. She was stuck.

Rey mentally steeled herself. She wouldn’t let this walking human atrocity see her cry. Yes, he was getting his way. She was marrying him wasn’t she? He’d won the battle, but he wouldn’t win the war.

The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur as they said their I dos. There was no passionate kiss a la Teblee and Joplu for them because Rey made sure to turn her cheek just in time. She tried not to think of how his plush lips felt against her skin.

Then, they were on their way back to the ship. She’d insisted on seeing Finn being set free before they left Coruscant.

As Finn stumbled out of the confining room he’d been trapped in for over a day, she rushed over to hug him and whispered, “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I’ll find a way to get back to the Resistance if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Rey,” Finn said, his voice a question. He looked confused and worried at the same time.

“That’s enough hugging,” Kylo interrupted, grabbing Finn and placing him in the hands of the stormtroopers who roughly carried him off the ship.

Rey watched as her friend was deposited on solid ground before the stormtroopers turned and reboarded. Within minutes, they were leaving Coruscant and Rey was alone with her new husband.

Once dressed and fully groomed, Kylo sat anxiously waiting for his turn to get married. There were a handful of other men in the dressing room along with him, all dressed to the nines, all displaying varying degrees of worry. Not him. He knew that Rey was the gal for him. She might not think they had a lot in common but they did. They both used the Force. They’d both experienced loneliness in their lives. They were both stubborn, he thought as a wry grin broke out onto his face. And what they didn’t have in common was to their advantage. She was weak where he was strong and vice versa. No, he wasn’t worried about his choice in mate, maybe mildly concerned she’d run away before their nuptials, but that’s why that treasonous ex-stromtrooper of a friend of hers was under lock and key until she was his Mrs.

Finally, it was his time to be wed. He took his place next to the officiant and watched breathlessly as Rey made her way to him. She looked radiant like a heavenly being in the white, silky gown that clung to her form. They’d curled her hair and he found he liked this new look on her. He thought she was beautiful no matter what she wore or how her hair was styled, but there was no doubt she looked a vision tonight.

For a moment, he thought he saw the shininess of tears in her eyes, but then the steeliness in her gaze returned and he thought he must have been mistaken. She may be unwilling to marry him now, but he’d spend the rest of his life proving she’d made the right decision.

The vows went by in a blur. He hardly recognized what he was saying.

Before he knew it, the officiant was saying “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss your bride.”

The moment he’d been waiting for. He’d be lying if he said he’d never thought of what it would be like to kiss her, to taste her sweet, berry lips. Bending his head, he dipped down to do just that when he was met with a hard smack of cheekbone instead. Undeterred, he pressed a light kiss on her smooth, delicate cheek.

They walked down the aisle to the exit and as soon as they hit the door and made their way outside, she turned and said, “I want to see Finn released.”

“Let’s have dinner first. There’s a good restaurant…”

“Now,” she commanded firmly. “You promised if I married you you’d set him free.”

He swallowed her words bitterly. This wasn’t exactly how he pictured the start of their marriage but maybe once they’d settled the Finn business they could get on with their lives.

They made their way back to the ship and he ordered the guards to set the prisoner free.

He did his best to hold his fury in check as he watched Rey willingly hug another human. And not just any human, a man. Did she love Finn? Jealousy rose in him and he moved to part the two.

“That’s enough hugging,” he retorted before handing the man over to the troopers to be escorted off the premises. He was looking forward to being alone with his bride and this man was killing the mood.

He watched as she made sure her friend made it safely off the ship. She waved from the window at him and continued to wave until they’d taken off and the other man was but a tiny speck in the distance.

“They’ve brought some food to our rooms. Let’s retire there to eat.” And do other things.

Rey obediently followed him to the quarters that were now theirs. When the door closed, she turned to him with a fear and nervousness in her eyes. In a braver voice than her eyes portrayed, she murmured, “I’ll live alongside you, but I won’t sleep alongside you.”

[circle-of-six-mages]

Prologue: 1000 Years Ago

The carriage bumped along, carrying six happily chatting girls and one miserable driver. It was no wonder that his mood was like this; it had been raining for over an hour now; since about five minutes after the girls reboarded the carriage.

They had been on a mission delivered straight from the High King of Rashiviio, and he was their transportation. When they climbed in the carriage, as if by magic, it began pouring.

He sighed and decided to take a nap. The horses knew their way back to Ranseed Palace. He could only sleep for a few minutes, but he couldn't stay awake, either; his eyes were drooping down.

He woke to startled whinnying. He noticed with dismay that it was no longer raining. He must've slept longer than he wanted to.

One of the horses whinnied again, snapping him out of his thoughts. He wasn't worried; they spooked at everything. A rabbit had probably ran across their path. He opened his eyes, preparing to calm the horses down.

And immediately let out the scream of a five-year-old girl.

Standing in front of him was a 10 foot tall A-Class Scorpion Type Demon.

“Hello.” The Demon said as if it were trying to appear amiable. However, evil leaked through its voice, and its true intentions were crystal clear to the driver.

They were in a clearing in the woods. He recognized this part of the woods; it was about a mile away from the bridge over the Great Divide, which separated the town where the High King’s palace stood and the Kingdom of Earth, from which all Earth Mages hailed.

“Mr. Driver?” Came another voice. They had probably sensed the Demon’s presence, and were trying to make sure he was alright.

He finally found his voice. “HELP!” He screamed. “PLEASE HELP ME!”

The Demon pouted. At least, that's what it looked like to the driver. It was really just a giant black blob in the shape of a scorpion.

“Here I was gonna tell you why I didn't kill you while you slept. You still wanna know?” It asked.

Inside the carriage, there was rustling. Probably the girls grabbing their swords and usual fighting staffs.

The driver could only stare at the Demon with an almost comically scared face and skin paler than that of a ghost. It was all he could do not to pee his pants.

The Demon cocked his head. “If you don't answer, I'm gonna kill you.” He said impatiently.

Then came a series of knocks on the wood behind him. He recognized it as Hemres Code, a phonetic code invented thousands of years ago that most humans still knew and used. He realized they were relying on him being one of the many who did.

Keep him distracted. They said. We’ve got a plan.

How am I supposed to do that?!

He took a deep breath. If these girls can face death fearlessly almost every day, I can distract it, right? It can't be that hard. I mean, this one seems to like talking.

He looked up at the Demon, “Sure. Why didn't you kill me?”

The Demon seemed to smile. “Well, first of all, may I say that you look adorable when you’re sleeping?! And second of all-” here, the Demon’s smile became malicious- “I never make my kill while their eyes are closed. If I do that, I can't watch the light leave their eyes! And that’s the best part about killing.” He looked at the driver. “Speaking of which-” he poised his tail to kill the driver-

And a blue blur whizzed by the tail, taking the tail with it. A blue-haired girl appeared about five feet away from the Demon, crouching, her sword poised at her side from the follow-through of her swing. The Demon’s tail thumped in the grass next to her.

Two crimson daggers flew out of the woods to the driver’s left, bouncing off of the Demon’s tough armor.

Seconds later, five mages jumped down in a circle around him, with the blue-haired girl completing it. Red, brown, purple, white, and black haired fluttered in the air as the girls landed and straightened.

The Demon seemed to smirk. “Nice try, for girls anyway. However, only Element Blades can pierce my armor. And you can only receive them from the Gods and Goddesses of your respective element.” He whirled around to face the girl with blue hair. “Which this one seems to have, meaning…

I have to kill you first.”

In response, the girls each drew a blade that matched their hair. The Demon stopped short. If he could have, he would've paled.

They all had Element Blades.

Element Blades were swords made purely from a Mage’s Element. One had to receive them from the patron God or Goddess of their Element. For example, a Fire Mage had to prove herself to the Fire Goddess, Meeria, in order to receive such a sword.

The girl with white hair smiled sunnily. “Yes, of course we do!” She frowned innocently. “You do know who we are, right?”

The Demon just about died of a heart attack. These were not just any Mages. These were not just a random group of six Mages. This was the group of six Mages. The Circle of Six Mages.

A quiet voice spoke behind him. “We have these, too.” It said. He whirled to ask what she meant and was met by a purple Element Dagger in his chest. He began to crumble and fade, turning into a pile of black rocks, at the top of which a glittering black stone rested, glittering in the setting sun.

The girl with black hair stepped forward and grabbed it. She smiled softly. “Another Onyx, almost as good as the one from that SSS class monstrosity.” She said, slipping it in her cloak pocket before drawing the hood.

The driver just sat, clutching the reins, appearing as though he were in a permanent state of shock. The horses had long since run off.

A very demonic screech sounded in the direction of the Divide. Then another, and another. Screeches came every few seconds.

The Circle looked at each other warily. It sounded like there were a lot of Demons.

The purple haired girl stepped up shyly. She waved her hand. “Here.” She said, and a ball of wind surrounded the carriage, picking up dust and leaves and other debris. “This'll take you home. You can use the reins to control it, just like the horses. Go ahead, we’ll be back at the palace soon, and stop by the stables to tell you we’re alright.”

Her voice was quiet, and very, very shy.

The driver merely nodded, and snapped the reins as if there really were horses in front of it. Soon he was riding away at top speed.

The girls gave each other a grim look, and took off through the woods. There couldn't be that many, or they would've been seen by people traveling by. It was a busy road, after all. Even if they'd hidden in the divide, they would've been seen by people crossing it barely a mile away.

The Mages raced through the woods, combing the area for any trace of demonic energy.

About ten minutes later, they came to the Divide. They looked around. Nothing.

We must've imagined it. Thought the blue-haired girl, tucking a shoulder length strand of hair behind her ear.

“There are no demons here, and it sounds like one is no more than fifty yards away.” The black-haired girl said, deep in thought.

As if to answer her, another screech sounded, this one even closer. And suddenly, at the bottom of the canyon, a cat type demon shimmered into sight. It looked straight at them and yowled again.

The blue-haired girl’s face contorted in confusion.”But how did it conceal itself from us? I've never seen this!”

“If you can shut up from your no-knowledge-breakdown, four eyes, she has an idea.” Said the redhead, pointing to the girl with white hair. She was chewing on her lip thoughtfully.

The girl with blue hair glared at the redhead, shoved her glasses up her nose, and nodded for the white- haired girl to continue.

“Well,” she began, smiling, “back in the Kingdom of Light, we would use a type of barrier to keep the smaller villages that were more prone to attack hidden. It was a Dome-Type that kept everything under it invisible. The only catch was it didn't have any sort of repulsion, so if you stumbled under the Dome, you could see everything.”

The blue-haired girl, still looking a little wary, scrunched her eyebrows again. “Well, how do we hear that cat like it’s almost within arm’s reach? This canyon is over one thousand miles deep!”

The white-haired girl nodded. “My many-times great grandmother enchanted it, back during the reign of the Second High King. Basically, she made it so that sound in this area is all on a flat plain. Meaning, even though the demons are technically over a thousand miles away from us, on the magic plain, they're not even five feet away. That's also why we can see them so clearly from so far away. The King requested it as an early-warning system.”

The redhead sighed impatiently. “Great, that's great, we know why shit happens. Amazing. I don't care. Let's go kill it.”

“No!” The white-haired girl said. “There’s probably a reason the barrier was erected. We should scout it out from up here first.”

The girl with blue hair nodded,rubbing invisible dirt off of her glasses. “I agree. If someone was smart enough to erect the barrier-” she paused, breathed hot air on her glasses, and continued wiping and speaking- “they were trying to hide something.” She put her glasses back on. “We should find out what it is.”

The redhead looked like she wanted to jump down and clash head-on with the Cat Demon (which was giving itself a cat bath), but the girl with glasses merely glared at her and said sternly, “from up here.”

The redhead growled frustratedly, but the blue haired girl just rolled her eyes. “We need a plan.”

The whited haired girl, deep in thought again, said,”what if we picked them off from up here? The canyon is very deep; not even a SSS Class Demon could jump it. They'd have to climb, and we can kill them before they reach us.”

As she had talked, a smile had grown across the strategist's face. Pushing her glasses up her nose, she asked,”Can you do the invisibility dome spell?”

A smile equivalent to the strategist’s grew on her face. “Yup.”

“Let's do this then.”

And suddenly, all the Mage's eyes lit up, as if there had been some form of invisible communication. All of their eyes gleamed with determination as they began to execute their silently communicated plan.

The Water Mage raised her arms and drew one back, as if knocking an invisible arrow on an invisible bow. And then one shimmered into existence, quite literally because it was made of aquamarines that could've passed as water. The arrow she was knocking was made of wickedly pointed tip. She aimed it at the Cat Demon.

The Light  Mage drew her arm back, mimicking poising a spear for throwing. She opened her palm ard a light appeared over it, extending until it became one, made of a white, almost transparent quartz.

The Dark Mage held her arms by her side, extended about a foot. In each hand, spheres materialized which appeared to devour the very air around it. From that darkness, a boomerang formed in each hand, its wickedly sharp blade glinting in the sun.

The Wind Mage held her arms in an X in front of her. She opened her hands, and winds began gathering around her, beginning to glow violet. The winds died down, leaving her holding two amethyst chakrams, one in each hand.

The Earth Mage held her hand out in front of her, her fingers spread yet flat, but her index finger curled. A glowing boulder almost a foot wide fell out of nowhere. It landed in her palm and shattered so profoundly that all was left was dust and a dark brown slingshot in her palm, the ring around her finger, already loaded.

The Fire Mage, not seeming very happy about not being in blade-to-blade combat, held her arm behind her in a similar fashion to the Light Mage. Flames roared and sparked, but instead of a spear, she was left with a ruby-red atlatl.

This happened in perfect unison. Immediately after summoning her weapon, the Light Mage began glowing. A dome began to spring from her, resisting like an elastic band. Finally, it practically exploded, shooting out as far as they could see. What was left was an invisibility dome about ten feet high and ten feet in diameter. They could see through it as if nothing was there.

This all happened in less than ten seconds, for the girls knew they had to act quickly. And act quickly they did. As soon as the dome was in place, they simultaneously began their attack.

The Water Mage released her arrow, piercing the Cat Demon right in the butt, as it was chasing its tail. It gave a pained yowl and crumbled into a pile of red rocks, a ruby perching at the top. The blue haired girl pulled back the arrow string again, another arrow springing into existence with a small pop. She did this again and again, sometimes releasing the string so early that the arrows came into existence flying through the air as if they'd been on the bow since the beginning.

The Light Mage threw her spear. It crashed through five demons before burying itself halfway up the shaft on the opposite canyon wall. She drew her left hand back and threw nothing, but a spear sparked into existence about two feet from her. She repeated this process over and over, each spear killing five or six demons.

The Dark Mage threw one of the boomerangs. It spun, arcing around as it spun. It sliced through several Demons before disappearing completely. She set up to spin another, releasing one after the other.

The Wind Mage threw one of the chakrams like a frisbee, and one replaced it in her hand immediately. It cut through quite a few Demons before slicing through a canyon wall and disappearing. She threw the chakram in the other hand and continued this alternating pattern.

The Earth Mage spun the slingshot a couple times and released the rock. About three feet from the sling, it grew into a boulder almost five feet in diameter. It landed with a huge thunk and crushed a few Demons, tossing still others to the side.

The Fire Mage swung the atlatl with one hand like a whip. However, instead of a powerful string coming around, a dart whizzed from the long shaft. She raised and swung again and again, darts automatically reloading themselves.

As the projectiles began to exit the shield, most of them teleported to different parts of the canyon, so they rained down equally and randomly. This way, no Demon could follow the volleys and figure out where the Six were.

Stones of red, orange yellow, green, blue, violet, black and even brown crumbled from fallen Demons, perched with stones that matched the color of the stones: rubies, topazes, citrines, emeralds, sapphires, amethysts, onyxes, and pretty brown larkrakrovs. However, no white stones or gems appeared.

“You know, attacking from a place where no one can see you is rather rude. Shall we even go to the playing field a bit?”said an unfamiliar voice. Before the girls could even turn to see the speaker, they all had the sensation of being kicked in the stomach, but from behind, like something had gone through their spine to attack the lining of it. They all fell into the Divide.

The Wind Mage, thinking quickly, created an air bubble around the Six to slow their descent. Five minutes later, they landed softly and safely on the ground.

A huge black cloud appeared immediately in front of them, radiating huge amounts of demonic energy. The girls knew this amount of power could only mean one thing.

A SSSS Class Demon.

There had only been one other SSSS Class Demon in the Circle’s three hundred years. When it had appeared, it took the help of fourteen other Mages to defeat it. Even then, they'd lost six to the Demon.

The difference between a SSS Class and a SSSS Class Demon was incredible. SSS Class Demons had a blind spot and three Weak Points that could be targeted to kill it. This was always true, no matter what animal form it appeared in. As far as they knew, SSSS Class Demons had no blind spot and only one Weak Point. Its sense of smell was off the charts, and so was its magic sensitivity and resistance. It could conceal its magical and demonic presence in the snap of a finger.

And now one stood before them, ready to fight, appearing ominously in a swirling black cloud of smoke and dust.

They wondered what form it would take. Fox? Rabbit? Tiger? Maybe it would be able to shapeshift.

“I'm glad you didn't die of the fall.” Came the Demon’s voice. It chuckled. “That would be no fun.” It began laughing hysterically. “You may want to draw your weapons, ladies. I'll give you time.”

As much as they hated to listen to a Demon, they knew they had to draw their close-range weapons, and they would not get another chance later on.

The Water Mage held her hands by her left side, the left one clutching an invisible sheath and the right one wrapping around a nonexistent blade handle. Water came out of nowhere, swirling around her, then focusing on between her hands and forming a glowing blue dussack.  It stopped glowing and turned into a gleaming citrine blade. With a practiced hand, she drew it from its sheath so quickly her arm blurred. Water flew at a deadly speed in the direction her arm waved.

Simultaneously, the Fire Mage held her hands on her waist, her left hand on her right side and vice versa. Flames wrapped around her, turning into six flaming belts with handles. The flames cooled and died, leaving two triple bladed urumis. She expertly unwrapped the whip blades from her waist, leaving not even a single scratch despite their lethal sharpness. As they flew free from their belt disguise, flames swirled around the Mage.

Taking her cue from the Demon at the same time as the other two, the Earth Mage jumped, slamming her fists into the ground. It swallowed her hands up to her wrists. She lifted them from it ten seconds later, coated in a thick sort of glove made of glowing earth. The glow ceased and formed two cestuses made of gleaming amber. She punched them together, knuckle to knuckle, and stood ready to fight. As her knuckles connected, the earth around them rumbled and split in a few places.

Chewing her lip uncertainly but going along with it, the Wind Mage stood in an elegant pose, the kind one might see a Sky Dancer finish a dance in. In her hands the winds gathered, glowing violet and forming what looked like fans. The winds died and the glowing ceased, leaving her holding two tourmaline  tourmaline tessens. She flicked them and wind surged powerfully around her.

The Dark Mage raised her arms, reaching the peak at the same time as the Earth Mage began coming down from her jump. She clenched her fists and swiped them downward, taking all the light out of the path of invisible claw-like blades. When she stopped, she had tekko-kagi blades mounted on her hands.

The Light Mage, with a sunny smile, held her arms out straight and rigid, as if mimicking a gliding bird. Her hands closed in fists, and a bright light shone from inside them. The light grew and expanded, forming a sort of sword with thin rods coming up about halfway up her forearm. The light dimmed, leaving two diamond katars with gold handles and guards, finishing her summon after the Water Mage even though they'd started at the same time. Her smile grew impossibly wider as she slashed them while preparing her body to fight. The blades left a trail of blinding light, and it expanded until it reached the Demon’s bubble. It exploded violently.

To the Circle’s shock, a very human-looking man in a classy blue suit flew backwards out of the explosion.

The Demon was thrown back at least ten feet, but did a graceful backflip and landed in a crouch, his fingertips touching the ground. He was gone in a flash, leaving only a blurry black after-image. He laughed as he moved. “Shocked, girls? You should be.” He cackled like a malicious madman.

The Light Mage moved swiftly and gracefully, spinning and slashing her katar in her left hand and cutting his shoulder, before delivering a hard kick to his face. “It's not very nice to kick the very first Human Type Demon.”  He said poutily.

The Demon moved his body with the energy from the kick, attacking the Fire Mage next. “Yeah, well, it's not nice to throw people off cliffs, either.” She the Fire Mage responded, bracing herself for the attack.

However, before he could even close half the distance toward her, the ground rumbled. An enormous disc of earth fifty feet wide and only about three feet thick flew free from the ground so quickly that the Demon was thrown almost thirty feet into the air.

All of the Mages seemed to be prepared for this, however. Not only had they braced their bodies against the flying disc, but they all had earthen boots attaching them to it. As soon as the disc stopped flying, the boots disappeared.

The Earth Mage had created an arena suitable to their fighting range.

By now, the remaining Demons had noticed the fight and were gathering to watch.

The Demon the six were fighting had begun to fall from being thrown into the air. He twisted so he would fall in a more optimal position, but the Fire Mage sent a huge blast of flames toward him while the Water Mage sent a disc of ice flying at him to throw him off balance. At the same time, the Earth Mage had begun skating across the ground as if it were ice instead of stone. She leapt when she was under the Demon and used the Earth to give her leap a boost. In the air, she twisted, kicked him where the sun didn’t shine, punched his cheek, and smashed her feet into his stomach, slamming him into the ground.

He gritted his teeth and sent out a wave of demonic energy. It threw all of the Mages off balance. He rose to his feet, a little unsteadily. “You think you've won?” He chuckled darkly. “I haven't even drawn my weapon yet.”

His left arm clutched his bleeding left shoulder, the black stuff oozing from between his fingers. However, his right fingers extended, an elegant black rapier appearing about an inch away from his palm. It finished forming and began to fall. He clasped the handle quickly, and the previously missing blade guards appeared snugly on either side of his hand. He slashed it, and somehow this healed his wound. He grinned maniacally.

The Dark Mage glared at the Demon as she regained her senses. Stomping her foot to steady her balance, she sprang off the ground into a graceful flip. Her tekko-kagi claws raked the ground, a long, high pitched screech resounding because of it. Darkness and stone flew up from her slash, forming five black bubble-like objects. They hit the remaining disoriented Mages, and their eyes cleared and they regained their balance.

A flash went through all their eyes: an idea, a plan. The Fire Mage and the Wind Mage twisted and spun together, urumi and tessen swinging and flying in a graceful dance. Wind and fire erupted in their wake, the winds strengthening the blasts of flame and then surges slicing through them like they were nothing more than butter.

The Demon smirked and stood his ground, standing in a leisurely way, as if waiting on a street for a friend. With a single slash of his sword, the assault was gone.

And so were the girls.

He felt an unusual uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't even feel their presence, no magical trace despite their enormous mana capacity, nothing. Yet he somehow knew they were still there.

Suddenly, he couldn't move. His muscles froze in place, and no amount of struggling, magical or physical, could get him out of his predicament.

Suddenly, a huge column of fire erupted from the ground directly in front of him. Most of the mana was sucked out of the air, not quite that big a feat since there wasn't much mana in the Divide. He was surprised that hadn't happened earlier.

Then he remembered something. The Circle had trained to the point where they used almost no mana on every spell. Rumor had it that for the simplest of spells, they literally used none. So if they were using this much mana…

Terror struck him to his very core. They were using an extremely powerful spell.

And he could do nothing to stop or avoid it.

The Fire Mage stepped out of the flames, her hair flying wildly around her to the point where it looked like her whole head was on fire. She smirked as the mana in the air quickly recharged. “Not fun being the helpless one, is it, Demon?” As she spoke, the mana recharge finished, leaving more mana than had been there at first. The Fire Mage pointed the guard of her urumi at him. “Prepare to die.”

And then, without warning, a geyser came out of nowhere and shot skyward. It took about half of the mana with it. The Demon tried to figure out where it was coming from; the three-foot-thick stone was not big enough for that large a reservoir.

And then the Water Mage emerged, completely dry, yet meticulously wiping moisture off her glasses. “She has a point, for once.” She said, examining the lenses for any trace of fog or water. The Fire Mage shot her a dirty look. “We had a plan, and you fell for it.” The blue haired girl smirked and put her glasses back on, drawing her dussack. “Hook, line, and sinker.”

By now, the mana in the air had recharged, once again leaving more than was there before. The Demon continued struggling, trying to do something as slight as even twitching a finger.

A harsh wind ripped through the canyon, taking roughly a third of the mana with it. Even the Demon, glued to the ground, didn't know how he managed to remain on his feet.

The wind collected debris as it went to its place next to the water chute. At its base, it went up to the sky, sort of like a reverse funnel cloud. It then evened out so that the debris-laden wind column was perpendicular to the makeshift arena.  The three sky-high elemental columns formed a perfect half circle around the edge of the arena.

The Wind Mage stepped out of her wind funnel, looking like her hair had just been brushed and styled, not a single strand out of place. “What, no snarky remark?” She said quietly. Her confident face turned worried as she looked across the semi circle at the Water Mage. “Was that alright?” The blue-haired girl rolled her eyes and looked pointedly at the Demon.

The Demon’s frozen face must have looked confused and panicked, because the Wind Mage gave him a knowing smile. “It's a mana duplication spell. You'll understand why momentarily.” As she finished speaking, the mana finished regenerating, and true to her word, left more in the air once again.

And as soon as the mana finished generating, a wall of earth shot up from the arena, wiping out around a quarter of the mana. The Earth Mage stepped out as if she were walking through air instead of a solid stone wall. Her face revealed nothing, and she said nothing, but the Demon could hear her voice in his head all the same. He had a funny feeling he was communicating through the stone.

You will die, Demon. She said. And after that, so will every Demon in this godsforsaken canyon.

The eerie voice chilled him deeper than the fear running through his veins, and planted more fear there, if that was even possible. He frantically ran idea after idea through his head, trying to come up with a survival plan, but they all ended with him dying.

Plan A- burned to ashes by the Fire Mage. Nope.

Plan B- drowned by the Water Mage. Definitely not.

Plan C- cut to shreds by the Wind Mage’s air blades. He cringed internally. Ouch. No.

Plan D- suffocated at least 30 feet underground by the Earth Mage. He tried to move his hand to his throat. Again, no.

As he continued his frantic planning, a huge column of pure darkness shot to the sky. He couldn't even tell how much mana it used, or how much it brought back with it. The Demon was actually beginning to feel quite suffocated by the sheer amount of mana in the air. The girls, however, appeared unaffected.

The Dark Mage emerged from her void, her hair the only thing darker than the spell. She said nothing, though her dark and brooding eyes were the embodiment of the saying if looks could kill.

And finally, completing the circle, a ball of light floated up from the ground. It was no bigger than a foot in diameter, but it exploded so it was just as large as the others. It exploded like a bolt of lightning and travelled even faster. It sucked a little bit of the mana out of the air, just like the others, and once again brought back more. The Light Mage emerged, her smile somehow brighter than the mass of light behind her.

“Do you like it? It’s really pretty, right! It's our signature spell! The-” she was about to continue, but the Water Mage cut her off with a look. She pouted, and took a step back.

The Demon knew only what the others knew about the Circle- only rumors and hearsay. Unfortunately, that did not include their signature spell.

And suddenly, all the mana was sucked from the air, and all the Mages pointed their weapons at them. The sudden release of mana made him feel like he was floating.

The Mages released their spell suddenly and swiftly. The water wall fell and multiplied, and stayed on the arena as if it were a giant glass, filling it up a good ten feet. The other spells sliced through it as if it were merely air. The Water Mage took off her glasses, scowled at them, and used the surrounding water to wipe microscopic dirt off of them.

The fire wall broke up into thousands and thousands of fire sprites, targeting the Demon mercilessly. The water seemed to not affect them at all. As they did, the Fire Mage smiled almost sadistically.

The wind wall turned into countless blades of wind and sliced at the Demon, cutting through the Fire Sprites without harming them, then looping around to attack again. The Wind Mage stood with a worried look on her face.

Parts of the earthen wall crumbled away or fused to others to solidify them further. What was left was several hundred golems, stacked one on top of another. The leapt down onto the arena and made not even a splash in the water. They made their way to the Demon, and reached him surprisingly quickly. Along with the fire sprites, they began wailing on the Demon. The Earth Mage held her ground, her face telling nothing.

The dark wall overtook everything; there was so little light that even the Dark Mage had trouble seeing. She could only imagine how much trouble the Demon was having.

The light wall, literally a white block in the spell of darkness, began practically spitting out great balls of light like comets. Even in normal lighting, they were blinding. They were brighter than the Light Mage’s smile, brighter than the Fire Mage’s flames, even brighter than the third and brightest sun, Rhysha. It didn't help the Demon that they were in near total darkness, amplifying the comets’ light. The Light Mage stood in front of her wall, her comets whizzing by her on either side of her, causing a slight breeze that made her hair dance.

And then all at once, everything cleared. The water ran off the stone island in great torrents, drowning more than a few Demons. The golems collapsed into piles of rubble, which were absorbed into the ground. The fire sprites disappeared, as if they were mere fire that had run out of fuel. The wind blades slowed and dulled, becoming one with the light breeze. The comets stopped coming out of the light wall, and the wall exploded, sending light even further than the horizon.

Only the darkness remained, but all of the Mage's irises, which had previously matched their hair, had begun to absorb the little light around them, giving a black color. It looked quite eerie, but it allowed each of them to see in the black. Only the Dark Mage's eyes remained the same.

As the last of the dust and water cleared, they looked anxiously upon the spot where the Demon had stood, all wondering the same thing: had the spell worked?

They all had a horrible queasiness in the pit of their stomachs, the kind one gets when something bad is about to happen.

And when the area finally cleared, the girls nearly screamed in alarm.

Nothing was there.

No rocks, no gems, no nothing.

And then suddenly, a huge amount of mana disappeared from the air. It came back like mist, creeping and expanding. The stuff was black, though, and made of pure darkness. It expanded, filling the whole arena but nothing beyond.

As soon as it touched her, the Light Mage's knees buckled and she fell. The Dark Mage rushed over and put the former’s hand over her shoulder, standing so that the Dark Mage supported the Light Mage.

The Demon smirked. The Dark Mist was weakening her. And none of the Mages could see in it, only he could see perfectly well.

At their confused and frightened looks, he smirked, and that got a chuckle darker than the mist out of him when he thought of how they couldn't see it.

“Oh, my lost little lambs.” He began haughtily.

“We are no lambs, and you are no shepard, you mangy mutt.” The redhead snarled harshly.

After a glaring chuckle, he continued, walking at a leisurely pace toward the Light and Dark Mages. “You see, when you released that pitiful attempt to kill me, you used aaaaaaaaaaall the mana. That left nothing to bind me. And I escaped.

He was no more than three feet away from the pair when the Dark Mage released the Light Mage and made a mad dash for the Demon. The Light Mage swayed but remained standing.

The Demon, not expecting this, was caught off guard. She swiped at him once, twice, three times, but he managed to dodge all of them. Regaining his senses, he kicked her in the side and she flew through the air, landing in a crumpled heap.

The Demon felt something drip down his face. He put his hands to it and looked at them. Black blood gleamed in the light that the Light Mage always seemed to give off. He made a noise that sounded like a fifty foot wolf was growling. He decided to kill her first for marring his face.

However, before he could even whirl toward her, two feet landed squarely on his chest. He flailed his arms in surprise, accidentally tossing his sword. He landed with a thunk on the ground, and was very surprised to find the Light Mage straddling his rib cage, smiling in an almost crazed way that still managed to be sunny. She began a thrust with her katar at his face, going in for the kill.

Just in time, he reached out, and his sword slid to him as if both his hand and it were magnets. As soon as it touched his hand, he swung it, parrying the blow.

He shoved her off of him, and while she was off balance, made a swipe at her feet. However, she had already regained her footing. She dropped her katar and did a back handspring to avoid the low swipe. And, instead of just avoiding it, she grasped the Demon’s blade between her feet and used the momentum from her handspring to toss it out of the arena.

The Demons had remained watching even when the Dark Mist fell, hoping to catch a glimpse of the intense fight.

However, when the Light Mage tossed the Human Type’s sword, it sailed into the sea of onlookers and stabbed a Mouse Type in the eye. It gave a high pitched squeak and crumble into amber rocks, a topaz gleaming on top.

The other Demons looked at the pile, took a step away from it, and continued watching the mist.

Back inside the arena, the Demon and the Light Mage fought intensely. Punches, kicks, swipes, and even slaps were exchanged. Once or twice the Demon reached for the Light Mage’s katar, but a huge flash of light followed by a resounding ZAP!! kept him from grasping the hilt.

Now. He thought. He drew a new rapier from thin air, swinging it as he drew it.

The Light Mage's head flew clean off her neck.

As it did, a huge explosion of light ensued, ridding the arena of the dark mist.

The other Mages had been holding hands and chanting, preparing a new assault as the Light and Dark Mages bought them time. The Dark Mage had just been pulling herself up, preparing to join the Light Mage. But as they watched the fight out the corners of their eyes,  looks of horror came upon their faces. Several seconds passed as the Mages stared in shock and the Demon kicked her head away, purely to anger the girls.

“NOOOOO!” One screamed, and glancing in that direction he discovered it was the Dark Mage.

Crying silently, each only shed one tear. A huge explosion sounded, and a huge Phoenix appeared.

Its huge body was red, but black markings made strange symbols all along its feathers. Its violet beak was the size of  small house, its wide, intelligent eyes the color of the Summer Ocean.

The Mages had disappeared. No, not disappeared. Thought the Demon.  They are the bird. This is gonna be too easy. He smirked as he thought the last part.

He knew that spell. Great as the bird was, it wasn't very easy to move. And its weak spot was the eye. If he stabbed that eye, it was goodbye Mage number two.

The violet beak opened, and a huge blast of fire and wind came out. He dodged and threw his sword like a javelin. It turned into one halfway there, but the bird dodged and fired again. The Demon merely gave a dark chuckle and deflected it with a shield.

With a wave of his hand, a dozen replicas of himself appeared around the arena. The spun and avoided fiery blasts until the bird could no longer tell them apart.

They all abruptly halted and threw an invisible javelin, which manifested just as their hands left it. The bird tried to dodge. It couldn't dodge all of them, though. One slashed its side, and another cut its head. It gave a screech of pain and anger, blurring the replicas until they dissolved. Its wounds healed, and it shot a boiling geyser of water at the real Demon.

The Demon took the blast. He seemed to melt, and the enormous bird stopped short. Its eyes were not the best, so the Mages decided to release the spell and check the rocks.

The Demon had been waiting for this. It wouldn’t be able to move in the middle of deactivation. The arena rained with the black blood of Demons, turning into various weapons; swords, daggers, javelins, every weapon imaginable. It injured the great bird with slashes that bled like rivers, and one weapon lodged firmly in its eye. It screamed in pain, and then dissolved. Four girls stood, panting. The Water Mage lay dead, a javelin protruding from her chest. Water gushed from her body, filling the bottom of the arena in the slippery stuff. It seemed to affect the Demon, but not the Mages. He did his best to ignore it.

Wasting no time, the Demon drew another blade and sped for the Fire Mage.

“YOU WILL PAY!” She screamed, raising her leg and attempting to bring her foot down on his head. With most fighters, strong emotions would make fighting sloppy. However, to most Fire Wielders, their element represented passion, and passion made them stronger. Her anger oozed out of her, her grief making her cry as she rushed the Demon.

She leapt, reaching her foot up. The Demon tried to cut her leg off or dodge, whichever came first, but neither worked. He crumpled as her foot came down with so much force it would have cracked any human’s skull.

The Wind Mage rushed him, and the Fire Mage got out of the way. She slashed at his torso, his legs, his face, everywhere with her razor sharp fans, trying to find his weak spot. The Dark Mage used a complex spell, even for the Circle, which took his sight away. She couldn’t do much else besides meditate sweatily on the ground, trying to keep her spell up. The Water Mage guarded her, nearly crying. Normally, this was the Light Mage’s job.

The Fire and Wind Mages went to switch out so the former could take a turn trying to find its weak point. The Demon, having pinpointed the Wind Mage, made a stab at her stomach, nearly slipping in the water. However, the Fire Mage was in her place by now, and she received the sword through the stomach instead. She crumpled, splashing in the water. Flames exploded from her body, burning the Demon before becoming a hovering disc over the arena, taking over the role of light source from the setting suns.

Suddenly, the Light Mage's eyes began  glowing. The Wind, Earth, and Dark  Mages looked at her decapitated head in wonder.

She had a prophesy to deliver.

The distraction nearly cost the Wind Mage her life. Huge spikes of pure darkness erupted from under her, and she jumped, the air supporting her as if she were walking on solid ground. The Earth Mage, sensing something on her turf and being within arm’s reach of the Dark Mage, the former grabbed the latter and leapt.

The Dark Mage made them each a hovering disc. They circled the Demon on there, floating safely above the spikes.

The Earth Mage catapulted a rock the size of a horse at the Demon. He merely held out his hand against it, and it exploded when it touched his palm. The Wind Mage was ready, right behind him, swinging her razor- sharp tourmaline fans at him. Although she didn’t hit him, wind came off the fans, blowing him back a bit.

The Dark Mage ran forward, kicking him in the side, and he flew in the direction of the Earth Mage. The plan was to have her incapacitate him, and they could behead him to at least down him for a while, on the off but substantial chance he would recover from it.  

He moved with the momentum of the kick, but disguised it as an uncontrollable beeline to the Earth Mage. She prepared moved her stance to one more more optimal to strike him down. In midair he spun, and too late, the Earth Mage realized that he had a blade- like strip of darkness extending from his arm. He slashed it, and it sliced her in half at the waist.

The Wind Mage watched her crumple onto the watery spikes in horror. As she touched the ground, an earthquake shook the arena. It shook off the spikes, and threw the Demon off balance. She could do nothing but stand in shock.

The Dark Mage, however, took advantage of his lack of balance. She shot at him on her disc, slashing at him. He managed to parry her claws with his sword, slightly off balance.She tried to get around him. Something in the way he always defended his back… she knew that if she struck it just right, it would be over.

He pushed her back and tried to make it over to the shell-shocked violet haired girl. He barely made it a foot before the black haired girl kicked him in the back. He flew forward several feet, but was otherwise unharmed. Not there.  She thought. If that was his Weak Spot, it would have frozen him in pain.

With a growl, he whirled on her. She sped back enough that she wouldn’t be a threat anymore, and he would continue to the now thawed Wind Mage, who was in on her plan.

She hung back for a minute, and when the Demon got close to the Wind Mage and tried to strike, she flung herself forward as the Wind Mage blew him back. The Dark Mage sped at his back on her disc, tekko kagi claws at the ready. He merely turned at a leisurely pace. She tried to stop, but it was too late. He swung what looked like a giant club at her head. It connected with a sickening crack. She fell immediately, no breath escaping her lips.

“Damn.” The Demon said as the spikes retracted. “I was hoping candy would come out.”

The Wind Mage continued their plan through her tears. The next part of the plan didn’t involve her. She could do this. She came at the Demon from above, slashing at his back with her tessens.

He predicted it from a mile away. He sent out tendrils of darkness that wrapped around the air bubble which encapsulated her. It passed the wall of wind, wrapping around her lithe body instead. He squeezed tighter, tighter, until her body could no longer take the pressure. He didn’t even look at her; it would just be gross.

He turned to leave, masking his presence as he prepared to overtake the capital city, when a giant blue bird landed.

In her subconscious state, the Light Mage recognised only the safe presence of the bird, which was the King’s familiar. She did not sense the Demon and therefore felt it safe to relinquish the prophecy.

“Guard this prophecy, oh trusted one.” She said in an old, wise voice that was not her own. “It is out world’s last hope.”

The demon froze in his tracks to listen.

“Find the spirits of Yin and Yang,

For only then can you hear the creature's song.

Raised in a village of black and white,

Both with desire to do what's right.

Then find the spirit of flame and fire,

And take down its blood- red empire.

In city that is always aflame,

Gain their help by knowing their name.

Glittering blue is what you must find,

This spirit is the last of its once-great kind.

In a long lost city under the waves,

The way to the surface it must pave.

Find the spirit of wind in a city high above the ground,

Where terror and confusion run unbound.

In a city that cannot be found by a hunt,

This disorder you must help to confront.

This spirit communicates only through stone,

Paying no heed to to grave nor bone.

The hideaway miles below the earth,

Was the only thing that saw her birth.

Fear the storms

Fear the sky

A long dormant power now is nigh.

Not even I yet know its goal,

Nor what role

This power shall play.”

And with that, the Light Mage's eyes died. The bird flew away just as the Demon whirled around to kill it, hoping no one would know the prophecy. But as he watched it fly away, he decided to let it. He even smirked.

He'd already won. He'd won for Rhieashinn.

And the Circle of Six Mages would never come again.

Hello, all! Yeah, It’s been a while :T Sorry

Anyway, I revised this again, and I have quite a few chapters sitting in my docs, so I think I’m gonna try my hand at weekly Saturday updates! 

If you have questions about the story, the characters, or the world, please send them to my main blog, @fabnamessuggestedbytumbler !

First- Prologue- You are here!

Last 

Next- Chapter One- Aplla Village

[fabnamessuggestedbytumbler]

Prologue: 1000 Years Ago

The carriage bumped along, carrying six happily chatting girls and one miserable driver. It was no wonder that his mood was like this; it had been raining for over an hour now. Since about five minutes after the girls reboarded the carriage.

They had been on a mission delivered straight from the High King of Rashiviio, and he was their transportation. When they climbed in the carriage, as if by magic, it began pouring.

He sighed and decided to take a nap. The horses knew their way back to Ranseed Palace. He could only sleep for five minutes, but he couldn't stay awake, either; his eyes were drooping down.

He woke to startled whinnying. He noticed with dismay that it was no longer raining. He must've slept longer than he wanted to.

One of the horses whinnied again, snapping him out of his thoughts. He wasn't worried. They spooked at everything. A rabbit had probably ran across their path. He opened his eyes, preparing to calm the horses down.

And immediately let out the scream of a five-year-old girl.

Standing in front of him was a 10ft tall A-Class Scorpion Type Demon.

“Mr. Driver? Are you alright?” Came a concerned voice from the carriage.

“Hello.” The Demon said as if it were trying to appear amiable. However, evil leaked through its voice, and its true intentions were crystal clear to the driver.

They were in a clearing in the woods. He recognized this part of the woods; it was about a mile away from the bridge over the Great Divide, which separated the town where the High King’s palace stood and the Kingdom of Earth, from which all Earth Mages hailed.

“Mr. Driver?” Came another voice. They had probably sensed the Demon’s presence, and were trying to make sure he was alright.

He finally found his voice. “HELP!” He screamed. “PLEASE HELP ME!”

The Demon pouted. At least, that's what it looked like to the driver. It was really just a giant black blob in the shape of a scorpion.

“Here I was gonna tell you why I didn't kill you while you slept. You still wanna know?” It asked.

Inside the carriage, there was rustling. Probably the girls grabbing their swords and usual fighting staffs.

The driver could only stare at the Demon with an almost comically scared face and skin paler than that of a ghost. It was all he could do not to pee his pants.

The Demon cocked his head. “If you don't answer, I'm gonna kill you.” He said impatiently.

Then came a series of knocks on the wood behind him. He recognized it as Hemres Code, a phonetic code invented thousands of years ago that most humans still knew and used. He realized they were relying on him being one of the many who did.

Keep him distracted. They said. We’ve got a plan.

The driver’s first thought was how am I supposed to do that?!

Then he kept thinking. These girls stare death in the face on an almost daily basis. If they can do that, I can distract it, right? It can't be that hard. I mean, this one seems to like talking.

He looked up at the Demon and said, “Sure. Why didn't you kill me?”

The Demon seemed to smile. “Well, first of all, may I say that you look adorable when you’re sleeping?! And second of all-” here, the Demon’s smile became malicious- “I never make my kill while their eyes are closed. If I do that, I can't watch the light leave their eyes! And that’s the best part about killing.” He looked at the driver. “Speaking of which-” he poised his tail to kill the driver-

And a blue blur whizzed by the tail, taking the tail with it. A blue-haired girl appeared about five feet away from the Demon, crouching, her sword poised at her side from the follow-through of her swing. The Demon’s tail thumped in the grass next to her.

Two crimson daggers flew out of the woods to the driver’s left, bouncing off of the Demon’s tough armor.

Seconds later, five mages jumped down in a circle around him, with the blue-haired girl completing it. Red, brown, purple, white, and black haired fluttered in the air as the girls landed and straightened.

The Demon seemed to smirk. “Nice try, for girls anyway. However, only Element Blades can pierce my armor. And you can only receive them from the Gods and Goddesses of your respective element.” He whirled around to face the girl with blue hair. “Which this one seems to have, meaning…

I have to kill you first.”

In response, the girls each drew a blade that matched their hair. The Demon stopped short. If he could have, he would've paled.

They all had Element Blades.

Element Blades were swords made purely from a Mage’s Element. One had to receive them from the patron God or Goddess of their Element. For example, a Fire Mage had to prove herself to the Fire Goddess, Meeria, in order to receive such a sword.

The girl with white hair smiled sunnily. “Yes, of course we do!” She frowned innocently. “You do know who we are, right?”

The Demon just about died of a heart attack. These were not just any Mages. These were not just a random group of six Mages. This was the group of six Mages. The Circle of Six Mages.

A quiet voice spoke behind him. “We have these, too.” It said. He whirled to ask what she meant and was met by a purple Element Dagger in his chest. He began to crumble and fade, turning into a pile of black rocks, at the top of which a glittering black stone rested, glittering in the setting sun.

The girl with black hair stepped forward and grabbed it. She smiled softly. “Another Onyx, almost as good as the one from that SSS class monstrosity.” She said, slipping it in her cloak pocket before drawing the hood.

The driver just sat, clutching the reins, appearing as though he were in a permanent state of shock. The horses had long since run off.

A very demonic screech sounded in the direction of the Divide. Then another, and another. Screeches came every few seconds.

The Circle looked at each other warily. It sounded like there were a lot of Demons.

The purple haired girl stepped up shyly. She waved her hand. “Here.” She said, and a ball of wind surrounded the carriage, picking up dust and leaves and other debris. “This'll take you home. You can use the reins to control it, just like the horses. Go ahead, we’ll be back at the palace soon, and stop by the stables to tell you we’re alright.”

Her voice was quiet, and very, very shy.

The driver merely nodded, and snapped the reins as if there really were horses in front of it. Soon he was riding away at top speed.

The girls gave each other a grim look, and took off through the woods. There couldn't be that many, or they would've been seen by people traveling by. It was a busy road, after all. Even if they'd hidden in the divide, they would've been seen by people crossing it barely a mile away.

The Mages raced through the woods, combing the area for any trace of demonic energy.

About ten minutes later, they came to the Divide. They looked around. Nothing.

We must've imagined it. Thought the blue-haired girl, tucking a shoulder length strand of hair behind her ear.

“There are no demons here, and it sounds like one is no more than fifty yards away.” The black-haired girl said, deep in thought.

As if to answer her, another screech sounded, this one even closer. And suddenly, at the bottom of the canyon, a cat type demon shimmered into sight. It looked straight at them and yowled again.

The blue-haired girl’s face contorted in confusion.”But how did it conceal itself from us? I've never seen this!”

“If you can shut up from your no-knowledge-breakdown, four eyes, she has an idea.” Said the redhead, pointing to the girl with white hair. She was chewing on her lip thoughtfully.

The girl with blue hair glared at the redhead, shoved her glasses up her nose, and nodded for the white- haired girl to continue.

“Well,” she began, smiling, “back in the Kingdom of Light, we would use a type of barrier to keep the smaller villages that were more prone to attack hidden. It was a Dome-Type that kept everything under it invisible. The only catch was it didn't have any sort of repulsion, so if you stumbled under the Dome, you could see everything.”

The blue-haired girl, still looking a little wary, scrunched her eyebrows again. “Well, how do we hear that cat like it’s almost within arm’s reach? This canyon is over one thousand miles deep!”

The white-haired girl nodded. “My many-times great grandmother enchanted it, back during the reign of the Second High King. Basically, she made it so that sound in this area is all on a flat plain. Meaning, even though the demons are technically over a thousand miles away from us, on the magic plain, they're not even five feet away. That's also why we can see them so clearly from so far away. The King requested it as an early-warning system.”

The redhead sighed impatiently. “Great, that's great, we know why shit happens. Amazing. I don't care. Let's go kill it.”

“No!” The white-haired girl said. “There’s probably a reason the barrier was erected. We should scout it out from up here first.”

The girl with blue hair nodded,rubbing invisible dirt off of her glasses. “I agree. If someone was smart enough to erect the barrier-” she paused, breathed hot air on her glasses, and continued wiping and speaking- “they were trying to hide something.” She put her glasses back on. “We should find out what it is.”

The redhead looked like she wanted to jump down and clash head-on with the Cat Demon (which was giving itself a cat bath), but the girl with glasses merely glared at her and said sternly, “from up here.”

The redhead growled frustratedly, but the blue haired girl just rolled her eyes. “We need a plan.”

The whited haired girl, deep in thought again, said,”what if we picked them off from up here? The canyon is very deep; not even a SSS Class Demon could jump it. They'd have to climb, and we can kill them before they reach us.”

As she had talked, a smile had grown across the strategist's face. Pushing her glasses up her nose, she asked,”Can you do the invisibility dome spell?”

A smile equivalent to the strategist’s grew on her face. “Yup.”

“Let's do this then.”

And suddenly, all the Mage's eyes lit up, as if there had been some form of invisible communication. All of their eyes gleamed with determination as they began to execute their silently communicated plan.

The Water Mage raised her arms and drew one back, as if knocking an invisible arrow on an invisible bow. And then one shimmered into existence, quite literally because it was made of aquamarines that could've passed as water. The arrow she was knocking was made of wickedly pointed tip. She aimed it at the Cat Demon.

The Light  Mage drew her arm back, mimicking poising a spear for throwing. She opened her palm ard a light appeared over it, extending until it became one, made of a white, almost transparent quartz.

The Dark Mage held her arms by her side, extended about a foot. She opened her palms, and to small spheres devoid of light appeared, forming and reshaping until they made an onyx dual kusarigama, the chain pooling on the ground in front of her. She gripped the handles tightly.

The Wind Mage held her arms in an X in front of her. She opened her hands, and winds began gathering around her, beginning to glow violet. The winds died down, leaving her holding two amethyst chakrams, one in each hand.

The Earth Mage held her hand out in front of her, her fingers spread yet flat, but her index finger curled. A glowing boulder almost a foot wide fell out of nowhere. It landed in her palm and shattered so profoundly that all was left was dust and a dark brown slingshot in her palm, the ring around her finger, already loaded.

The Fire Mage, not seeming very happy about not being in blade-to-blade combat, held her arm behind her in a similar fashion to the Light Mage. Flames roared and sparked, but instead of a spear, she was left with a ruby-red atlatl.

This happened in perfect unison. Immediately after summoning her weapon, the Light Mage began glowing. A dome began to spring from her, resisting like an elastic band. Finally, it practically exploded, shooting out as far as they could see. What was left was an invisibility dome about ten feet high and ten feet in diameter. They could see through it as if nothing was there.

This all happened in less than ten seconds, for the girls knew they had to act quickly. And act quickly they did. As soon as the dome was in place, they simultaneously began their attack.

The Water Mage released her arrow, piercing the Cat Demon right in the butt, as it was chasing its tail. It gave a pained yowl and crumbled into a pile of red rocks, a ruby perching at the top. The blue haired girl pulled back the arrow string again, another arrow springing into existence with a small pop. She did this again and again, sometimes releasing the string so early that the arrows came into existence flying through the air as if they'd been on the bow since the beginning.

The Light Mage threw her spear. It crashed through five demons before burying itself halfway up the shaft on the opposite canyon wall. She drew her left hand back and threw nothing, but a spear sparked into existence about two feet from her. She repeated this process over and over, each spear killing five or six demons.

The Dark Mage threw one of the kusarigamas. The chain, which originally was only about five feet long, grew and stretched and then flew in a wide arc, taking out a couple of confused Demons. When it came back around, the Dark Mage caught it and threw the other.

The Wind Mage threw one of the chakrams like a frisbee, and one replaced it in her hand immediately. It cut through quite a few Demons before slicing through a canyon wall and disappearing. She threw the chakram in the other hand and continued this alternating pattern.

The Earth Mage spun the slingshot a couple times and released the rock. About three feet from the sling, it grew into a boulder almost five feet in diameter. It landed with a huge thunk and crushed a few Demons, tossing still others to the side.

The Fire Mage swung the atlatl with one hand like a whip. However, instead of a powerful string coming around, a dart whizzed from the long shaft. She raised and swung again and again, darts automatically reloading themselves.

As the projectiles began to exit the shield, most of them teleported to different parts of the canyon, so they rained down equally and randomly. This way, no Demon could follow the volleys and figure out where the Six were.

Stones of red, orange yellow, green, blue, violet, black and even brown crumbled from fallen Demons, perched with stones that matched the color of the stones: rubies, topazes, citrines, emeralds, sapphires, amethysts, onyxes, and pretty brown larkrakrovs. However, no white stones or gems appeared.

“You know, attacking from a place where no one can see you is rather rude. Shall we even go to the playing field a bit?”said an unfamiliar voice. Before the girls could even turn to see the speaker, they all had the sensation of being kicked in the stomach, but from behind, like something had gone through their spine to attack the lining of it. They all fell into the Divide.

The Wind Mage, thinking quickly, created an air bubble around the Six to slow their descent. Five minutes later, they landed softly and safely on the ground.

[memorylang]

Peace Corps Week in Europe | #33 | March 2020

At last came the fateful day I wished wouldn’t come so soon. My newfound Peace Corps friends and I left Mongolia. 

Concluding Peace Corps Week 2020, which began the day I boarded that Peace Corps vehicle to leave my city of service, I take you along our misadventures crossing Eurasia and the Atlantic from Mongolia to America. Many goodbyes and hellos follow in this penultimate part of these evacuation stories from my life with Mongolia. 

Departing Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Wednesday morning, March 4, standing and staring out the window of our hotel’s continental breakfast room, wearing my traditional Mongolian clothes, I felt like an elderly man moments away from losing a home he’s known for generations. 

20 hours later, my departing group and those who came to see us off gathered together in hotel lobbies. We 49 left for the airport. I felt moved by an experience there. Then I reached our gate. 

I reunited with the rest of our crew in the waiting area. 

I saw the friendly sights of my senior sitemate and cohort friends, like the one I saw Monday and my Episcopalian buddy. I asked one to watch my belongings for a moment, then I returned just in time for boarding. 

As we readied, one of my fellow Volunteers, my kind sitemate, asked if I'm ready to go home. "No," I abruptly told her. 

But as we began walking toward our plane to board, I felt some excitement. Next stops, Moscow and Berlin. It'd be a long Thursday. 

Settling In

I saw an open window row across my aisle, so I slid over. I later heard people weren’t supposed  to change seats, but eh, no one said it to me. Nearby were both my cohort friend who visited me Monday afternoon and the senior cohort member who trained me my first weeks in Mongolia. 

As we readied for takeoff, I saw out my left window workers in the cold with this huge hose blasting green chemicals on the wing. I’d never seen anything like it. But I also saw billowing what seemed mist, so I got the gist they were defrosting the wing. I think I vaguely recalled from middle school aviation classes that ice increases drag. 

This seemed just like Mongolia that we’d need to defrost our wings for take-off. By take-off, our wing was still that weird light green...

Powerless

On the plane, my thoughts returned to a friend I helped before coming to our gate.

I remember her saying something as I left her group moments earlier, but I didn’t catch it. I still wanted to offer my support if she needed, though. Messaging her she’s welcome to chat if she wants, I noticed she tried to video call me after we boarded. Shortly after, a flight attendant asked me to power off my phone. I wasn't sure what to make of our missed communication. 

I remembered earlier she said something like she’s been so angry and rude, and yet I didn’t mind. I was thinking, "I care about you," wishing I could lift her pain from her, like Simon and the Cross. But I couldn't. How could I help my friend who’d done so much for me? Again Lenten thoughts made me think to God’s Cross. 

The hardest part for me was seeing my positive friend disheartened. I recalled how my friends, too, compared me to the sun. I wondered if my friends had felt as I did then, when my friends worried about me when I struggled through darkness. Friends in my undergrad years came through, so I guess I wanted to pay it forward. Compassion feels key. 

But I’d noticed other Peace Corps friends around my friend’s end of the plane when I boarded. So I accepted as long as she had people to support her, she’d be alright. 

Having done what I could, I focused on rest, now that my Wednesday’s all-nighter was through. 

Moscow Mayhem

Hours after, we neared Moscow. Whatever green on our wings was gone. I rested little. 

From the sky, visible buildings below reminded me of my city in Mongolia, just with tremendous more development. As we descended, our airport’s outskirts reminded me of Detroit’s view, too, but with more pines. I wasn’t sure what to make of comparing Russia’s capital to Detroit... 

Over the intercom, I heard a third language after Mongolian and English. I initially assumed it was Russian. But after listening more carefully, it sounded like German. Our flight was merely passing through Moscow, with Berlin its final destination. So German made sense. 

Also, while our plane taxied, I realized, I really can read Cyrillic! That felt cool.

But, dang, Moscow was rough. 

We disembarked, followed long lines and went through with an immigration woman. All on our flight could only file through two immigration windows. Security spoke Russian and insisted nonverbally, too, we move incredibly fast through. But then we all clumped in this huge, warm mass of people in a chamber, waiting to get through security to get back on our flight. Some of us commented among ourselves we’d be faster if they didn’t have us do this in the first place. 

I’d left Mongolia wearing that crazy six layers but took off and held two from the sheer heat in here. Around me felt weird, too, not seeing people wear face masks. All wore masks in Asia. But Peace Corps advised us to hide ours to minimize attention after leaving Mongolia. 

Nonetheless, I made the best of our wait. I wound up in line beside one of my cohort’s Volunteers who came from Kansas City. We hadn’t spoken much during our service, but I valued our talks. I admired her quiet wisdom. Sometimes, especially in our cohort’s first week last June, I feared I came off too enthusiastic, which might be off-putting. But I feel types of people show me insights I don’t often find alone. I enjoyed our talk. 

All reboarded by what would be considered nearly 1 a.m. in U.S. Pacific Time, half an hour late because of security. 

As we returned to our seats, I recalled the warning from the Mongolian Christian I met at my Last Supper in my city of service. She said Moscow’s airport was terrible. I got what she meant, about how staff spoke no English, and we got poor service. Well, I hoped the rest of Europe wouldn’t be bad. 

I tried to rest more, knowing I’d many more farewells. 

Berlin Bittersweet Goodbyes

As we entered the German capital’s airspace, I loved seeing such traditional European architecture. Clouds added additional depth to my field of vision. I even saw a cool needle-looking building. (Do all super cities have needle buildings?) 

We 49 in our Peace Corps squad hit the ground running in Berlin, with just under a couple hours to find our gates to Frankfurt and Amsterdam. More than about 30 were on to Frankfurt, leaving sooner, while my Amsterdam crew located our gate with little hassle. 

So, my Amsterdam folks and I had a spare hour. 

I walked with my senior sitemate and his friend, as we greeted every so often one of our friends passing on the opposite direction, to reach Frankfurt’s gate. We said last goodbyes of varying lengths, sharing camaraderie. 

My senior cohort friends went to buy snacks, so I had downtime again. I spotted two more of my friends just beginning to wait in Frankfurt’s line. They weren’t to move ahead too soon, I felt impelled to see them off. 

My friend I mentioned before seemed far happier now, seemingly back to the self I knew. She remembered I said days ago, I wanted to take a goodbye photo. My other friend, the Episcopalian buddy, commented it’s an honor when I want a photo with someone. 

Maybe I didn’t show it, but I felt a little bashful from the comment. I just love remembering when I meet, see and part from wonderful people. Maybe the honor goes both ways. 

The rest of my Berlin time, I joined my first-week roommate alongside one of my summer training clustermates. They sipped German beers while we chatted about our cohort’s murky future. My first-week roommate and I’d fly together into NYC, so he said I’d meet his parents. Neat! 

An American in Europe

Boarding the Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) flight to Amsterdam went rougher than expected. 

Berlin’s airport transportation security felt displeased with my not knowing European security protocols. I qualified that it was my first time through Europe, but she wasn’t having it. Even the man coming behind me through security felt miffed. I tried not to take them personally. I figured this must be a cultural difference from America, where TSA verbally repeats everything to fliers. 

KLM staff hurried me aboard the plane. As I passed down the aisle, my assortment of bags, haphazardly carabinered together, careened a bit. I felt shocked how Europeans visibly looked violated and perturbed when I accidentally bumped them. This felt way different from Mongolia, where people usually squeezed together in public places. I totally underestimated personal space changes. 

I also considered the speed of business. Leaving Amsterdam, I felt Europeans I encountered expected me rushing way more than Asians did. The Europeans also weren't as forgiving for cultural ignorance. Still, they seemed more inclined to give reasons for their intentions. The flight crew asked passengers to sit but added so they could announce the cabin clear for take-off. 

"Thank you for your attention,” I heard after an announcement. I always found it weird to hear Mongolian students conclude close presentations with that phrase. I realized it’s European. 

My New British Friend

To my great relief, I sat beside an extremely understanding man on my flight. 

He started by helping my frazzled self get situated. Then we chatted the whole flight. I explained I’m American, going through a Peace Corps Mongolia evacuation. He said he’s from the UK, but he’d worked in Berlin, the States, and Hong Kong. He understood feeling confused with new cultures. He was a facade engineer, specializing in glass for high-rise designs. 

I asked my new friend what he thought of the States’ culture. Pleasantly, he described how he felt people in England didn't seem as concerned with ancestry the way Americans are. Americans he knew could name from which countries their ancestors came, when and from where. We discussed how this may relate to American identity formation, with its diversity. 

Our conversation cooled me down from the spike in stress leaving Berlin. Onward to our final European stop—and more farewells. 

After we reached Amsterdam’s airport, when I looked for a water fountain, my new friend reminded me we were in Europe. I laughed at my forgetfulness. Europe doesn’t have free public water the way America has. 

Amsterdam, the Netherlands

We rushed through Amsterdam’s airport to reach our scattered next flights. More Peace Corps goodbyes began after immigration. 

About half our group, maybe a dozen or so, split off for the gate to Atlanta. Sadly, this included my senior sitemate, who would return to Kansas City. I’d miss his cool collectedness about everything. The last three of our Peace Corps Mongolia group would be me, my friend and his friend, making our way to New York. As we hurried to our gate, a few more from the senior cohort accompanied us till they peeled off to theirs. 

And generally, our gate felt more pleasant. A kind Dutch flight attendant jollily asked our senior cohort friend about a buildable Mongolian chess set he carried. Apparently the attendant had seen a traveler with one before. I mused, how cool this Netherlands airport sees such international goods and people. 

I hoped I was done with security things. But two out of us three won the "random" extra check. The kind flight attendant gave a considerate laugh and assured us he doubted they were random. He gets them all the time. Dutch security swabbing my things felt like Chinese security with a different flavor. 

But overall, I adjusted quickly back to much of western culture. 

New Amsterdam, America 

When I heard over the intercom about our departure, I heard our flight as though from Amsterdam to "New Amsterdam." Our transatlantic journey would take us through time. 

Later on the flight, I felt I ate the best airline meal from the best airline inflight service I’d ever had. Seriously. Royal Dutch Airlines was by far among the finest I’d flown with. 

Regarding politeness, I felt European to American norms and expectations are as Taiwanese to Mainland Chinese. People in Europe and Taiwan seemed to expect more politeness, for they gave more. I also thought flight attendants were either great actors or good at what they do. They seemed to genuinely want me to enjoy my meal. 

Reverse Culture Shock in New York City 

As we descended after sunset Thursday, March 5 into NYC. My heart rate sped up seeing so many cars still on the highways. So many cars, such wide streets.  

After baggage claim, my cohort friend and I said our penultimate goodbye, to our senior cohort friend. Then my guy and I began wheeling out our luggage. 

A security person questioned us about where we came from, which spooked me a bit. But my friend took it well and suggested to me the guy probably just felt curious. 

Though last May, our cohort of more than 40 Americans flew out from JFK International to embark on our Peace Corps service, today just two of us arrived back here specifically. 

My friend’s kind parents greeted us at once and brought us to their car to give me a lift to my hotel. I had that weird feeling like college graduation, getting to meet my friend’s parents. Great people. But wow, I guess when I’m adulting I don’t think I’d ever meet my pals’ folks. 

Outside must have been around 9 p.m., but fatigue from crossing the Atlantic and Eurasia made that Thursday, March 5 feel later. Our group of now four chatted a bit about reverse culture shock. I commented on seeing around me these huge airport parking lots, big diverse automobiles, elevated highways and wide pothole-less roads. My friend’s folks even had this cool electronic toll collector—E-ZPass? Even thinking about toll roads felt Sci-Fi to me. As much as I tend to lament the States’ infrastructure compared to China’s, America still has so much infrastructure. 

In a short while, we reached my hotel. We hauled my luggage from the SUV’s trunk. I really appreciated the folks’ kindness. Gosh, and I’d miss my friend. Amazing to think we were assigned each other’s roommates when we first reached Mongolia, and here we were, the last Peace Corps Mongolia Volunteers we’d see for a while. 

Final Steps

And so, the week after I found out I’d leave my city in Mongolia, I’d already be back among family. In Mongolia, it’d be Saturday, March 7 by the hour of my return to Vegas. Peace Corps Week 2020 thus began the day I left my Mongolian city and ended the day I reached my American home of record. 

In the upcoming evacuation finale, I’ll share with you the moving experience I had flying across the States in my final flight home. Along the way I bring together my favorite theme of all: identity. 

You can read more from me here at DanielLang.me :)