The Forgotten Zodiac

Mewt listened carefully, then turned to Syl. "When she says 'Language of the Forest' she means what the Viera speak, right?" When Syl nodded, he turned back to Leanne. "I can understand it, if you speak slowly. For diplomatic reasons, I did learn it; but I haven't heard it spoken since before my mother died." His last tutoring had been at Bervenia Palace, before the royal family had fled to Ambervale. That had been three years ago, but his understanding was probably good enough. "Do you read thoughts or feelings? Or both? What's it like?" The scholarly prince hadn't found something so interesting in ages, and he was trying hard not to view all the Herons as a magical anomaly he wanted to study. Not in a creepy, dissection sort of way. They were just so new.

Ulki looked at Syl and Mewt more interestedly at that piece of information. In Tellius, Laguz learned the Tellius language to communicate with Beorc; the Ancient language had fallen away. A Beorc prince having to learn the Ancient language was somewhat of a foreign concept. "What are these Viera you speak of?" he inquired.

Syl met Ulki's gaze and thought about how to answer the question. It was hard to sum up a race. "The Viera are a people of Ivalice. They live mainly and forests and speak the Language of the Forest. Their magical prowess is great, and they are the only ones able to summon elemental beings and bind them to their will. Their physical ability is more limited; they wield either the staves of mages or the rapiers of a fencer. From what I've learned, they are comprable to your Herons, but they are not pacifist. No wings either."

"<i>We Herons can read the hearts of others. We can sense your inner emotions, and, if we so desire, can read your mind and peer into your soul. Of course, if you do not wish us to do so, we cannot. Your will has as much bearing on what we see as our own abilities,</i>" Leanne explained in an even, measured tone, trying to speak slowly so that Mewt could follow and understand her words.

Soren and Bastian appeared interested in the concept of Viera, as well. "So, are they comprable to laguz in that they do not appear to look... for lack of a better term," Bastian hesitated here, glancing down to their laguz guests, "and I apologize, 'normal'?"

Mewt nodded encouragingly, managing to follow Leanne through her explanation. "If I didn't want you to, does it require concentrated effort or just a dwelling desire for privacy?" It didn't bother him particularly that the Herons could read him; he really didn't have anything to hide. His question was merely based on theory. "Do you read people all the time, instinctively; or do you do it on purpose?"

Syl shrugged, glancing at the Laguz to see what was so unusual about them. "In Ivalice, the hume race is the minority, in comparison to the the whole. The Viera are distinguished mostly by a light layer of fur, typically black or brown, but occasionally more on of a white. They're very slim and their ears are akin to that of a rabbit, long and thing." He paused, pulling at his gloves, then looked up at the two mages. "The only other race that didn't come through with us are the bangaa. The bangaa also have an alternate language; the use the language of magic in their religious ceremonies. Their visible distinctions are a scales covering their body and four ears, two on each side. Again, the ears are elongated. If you've seen the ears of a Nu Mou, Roderick for example, you can merely picture a scaled version. If you ever call one a lizard, be prepared to be beaten to a pulp. They believe themselves to be the children of Adrammalech, traditionally represented as a dragon. Salamander is an acceptable comparison, if necessary, but lizard... I wouldn't do that."

Soren nodded, glancing at Roderick as Syl indicated him. "So, you are 'Nu Mou'?" the mage queried, giving the creature an up-and-down look. "I can't say I've seen anything like you before," he remarked. "And I'd consider myself pretty well traveled, after the war."

Leanne smiled at Mewt. "<i>We generally read emotions of others instinctually. We can also... 'track' a distinct aura, if a person has some outstanding quality. Kieran, for example, projects a certain ardor, Queen Elincia and Lady Mist both have an inner and outer calm about them... Lord Soren and King Ike are a bit more chaotic than others, but the King less so than the Lord...</i>" she paused here, tilting her head as she gazed at Mewt. "<i>You possess much of the same gentleness of Queen Elincia and Lady Mist, as well as a... contrasting sense about you, that all of you possess... most likely because you do not hail from Tellius. As for thoughts, we have to peer inside you with a bit more effort. Usually, to hear the exact words in your head, eye contact is required. If you do not want us listening, we usually sense and respect that.</i>"

Roderick, who had come in with Montblanc shortly after the others had arrived, glanced up and gave Soren a surprisingly blank stare. "My race is indeed Nu Mou. I can't say I've seen anyone as like you before." His tone stayed completely level as he gazed at Soren, but the sensitive people in the room could tell what incredible distaste he had for the mage's comment.

Mewt's face, unlike Marche's, showed no sign of his feelings on Roderick's comment. His smile remained unchanged as he continued his conversation with Leanne, though he did wonder if he should suddenly need to use the bathroom and desparately need the Nu Mou to escort him. "So, you do it all the time? Without stopping? And there's no energy loss?"

Syl, who kept him composure despite Soren's comment, also tried to move on with the conversation. "Roderick is a Nu Mou or fairly average size and build. Montblanc is a fairly typical Moogle build, though his wings are unusually capable." The moogle had two small wings on his back, shaped like those of a bat. Their total length was about that of twice the Moogle's shoulder span, though the wings were clearly incapable of flight. Power-flutters were all that were possible.

Soren merely quirked his brow, being used to being on the receiving end of scathing comments. Compared to what he'd been called before, Roderick's comment was nothing. The mage opened his mouth to retort, when Elincia decided to intervene. "Soren, did you not mention earlier that you were going to spar with Syl?"

Soren frowned slightly, not appreciating the interruption, but forgave such from the Queen. "Yes, if he felt up to it, I had planned to," he conceeded.

"<i>No, it does not cause any strain for us,</i>" Leanne said, glancing over to Reyson to see if he agreed. "<i>The only negative effects we feel are from chaotic energies, produced in times of war. If there is strife nearby, we can fall ill</i>," she said.

"I'm up to it." Syl interjected. He looked over at Mewt and merged with that conversation as well. "Mewt, shall we show them the balancing technique? There's practically no energy loss, so I can do it before or after." He glanced at Soren, then pushed the chair back and stood up. "Shall we?"

Marche watch Syl stand up, then asked a question for the rest of them. "You're doing this to demonstrate magic, right?" He glanced at Soren and laughed quietly. "He's a High Magic user; that's obvious. Why don't you make it more interesting. Have Soren pick a partner, and you and I can both fight. There's less dancing involved when you have four people." That last comment was a not-so-subtle dig at Syl's previous strategy and the unneccessary show it had involved.

Ike stood up and looked from Soren to Elincia. "I'd be willing. Assuming Soren doesn't want, say, Boyd as his partner. Shinon might be willing as well, if he's even awake yet." The king deliberately picked two people Soren disliked to push his friend toward the obvious choice. He'd thought Ike would pick him, but it didn't hurt to whine about it some. He looked back down at Elincia and dramatically blinked his big blue eyes. "Unless you had something for me to do, my lady."

Soren had turned to Ike and opened his mouth, the King's name about to come from it, when Ike so graciously volunteered. He smiled slightly, then nodded. "That would be preferable," he said, rolling his eyes at the notion that he fight alongside Boyd or Shinon. While each was skilled in his own regard, trust was always something to consider when fighting alongside someone. And Soren trusted no one more than Ike, not to mention they were experienced with the other's fighting style.

Elincia smiled gently at Ike. "I can't think of a thing," she said, standing up. "Except that you allow me to watch."

Mist stood up as well. "I want to come, too!" she said.

Leanne turned a pleading gaze to her brother, knowing that he would know her question before she could speak it.

Ike grinned and pulled Elincia out of the chair, pulling her into his arms. "Shall we?" Now that he was involved in the fight, he couldn't wait for the start. He spun around and kicked both their chairs back in. "I don't care who watches. Mist, you're welcome to come; and the rest of you are too."

Reyson met Leanne's gaze, and he remained stoic for several seconds. However, when Ike made his mass invitation, the Heron's resolve broke down. "<i>Leanne, would you like to watch? It should be instructive, and I'm sure Tibarn will be curious about the techniques of Ivalice.</i>" The truth, as Leanne would know, was nowhere near as proper as his statement implied. She'd finally managed to wear him down some; and, with the suitability of the company taken into consideration, it was hard to argue with.

Marche and Mewt both got out of their chairs. Mewt nodded at Syl, then glanced at Leanne. "I wonder if the Herons would be able to perceive that particular piece of magic. I guess we'll find out." The balancing magic consisted of pushing one mage's magic into the other mage. The second mage would then match the amount and a little more. The magic being transfered rose higher and higher until one of the mages couldn't match. At that point, 'blowout' occured, though what that was varied depending on the magic type of those involved.

Marche looked over Ike, analyzing the difficulty of fighting him. He hadn't expected Soren to pick the king when he'd made that offer, but it didn't really make a difference. The two Paladins had experience fighting together, and there were plenty of things Ike hadn't seen. He chose to carefully ignore the fact that that would work both ways. 

Soren glanced over at Ike, watching him kick in the chairs and pick up the Queen, snickering softly as he marvelled at the 'unkingly' behaviors of his best friend. Of course, no one within the innermost circles of Crimea really cared; with some of the other nobles, Ike might have to put on airs, but the only people in this room that Ike had to worry about offending were the Herons, and the Herons knew Ike well enough by now to not really mind, either.

Soren then turned his gaze to Syl and Marche, trying to size up their opponents. He'd studied Syl's fighting style before, and knew that Marche used swords and, apparently, had 'ninja' training. Not that the mage really knew what all that entailed, but it was background knowledge, nonetheless.

Leanne smiled at her brother and followed the others out to the sparring field, wondering if Reyson or the hawks were going to accompany her as well. To her surprise, it was Kieran that was quickest to jump up, offering her his arm.

"May I escort you, my lady?"

She replied in the affirmative and took his arm with a smile. The red knight smiled and began to chat with her idly as they walked outdoors.

Lucia faced a similar, though slightly more disconcerting, situation. As they rose, both Bastian and Janaff offered her an arm, then, each seeing the other, frowned. Diplomats that they were, they said nothing, but there was an obvious tension between them. Soren, who'd been standing at the door to wait for Ike and Elincia to go before him, turned back into the room. Seeing the Hawk and the Count, he nearly forsook his stoic manner and chuckled. His inhibitions held him in check, though not enough to keep from offering Lucia an almost-sympathetic smile.

Lucia, without missing a beat, took both Bastian and Jannaff by the arm. She smiled back at Soren, before leading the two of them outside. "Bastian, you and Janaff are both recently traveled here from other countries. Why don't you discuss your various travels? He was just telling me how nice the weather was..." It was a stretch, but conversation topics were hard to come up with in that situation.

Those from Ivalice marched out of the room after Ike and Soren, leaving Gernave and Montblanc to continue their studies. Shortly afterward, the group was back on the training field. Marche and Syl took their places on the field across from Ike and Soren, looking ready. Syl tightened his gloves again and stretched his fingers. "Shall we?" Syl inquired.

Ike nodded, unsheathing Ragnell and holding it out. "I'm ready to go, if you are." When Marche nodded, the king lifted his sword out of the ground and swung it at Marche. Strategy had never been his strong point.

Marche leaned back, avoiding the sword. He pulled both his swords from their places and flipped back, swinging at Ike on his backswing. Within seconds, he and Ike were in a spining circle of blades deadly to all those around, if not those inside.

Syl faced Soren and analyzed him shortly. After a few seconds, he started an incantation. To the untrained ear, there would have been nothing helpful in hearing the words. To Soren, however, the words might have carried a resemblance to the defensive spell Syl had used against Kieran earlier. Likely, it was a magic defending spell the way the previous spell had been a physically defensive spell.

Soren was quick to recognise the defensive spell, and hurried to complete a spell of his own before Syl could finish. He extended his arm and leveled it at his target, murmuring the spell that came to him as easy as breathing. He knew he would have to cut  in with a simple fire spell - the incantations of fire were quickest, and strongest for the small amount of time they took from mouth to manifestation. While he was more familiar with the wind element, fire was more suited to work quickly.

"<i>Sun's heat and Goddess's wrath,

Burn your way across my path,

Direct your glare upon my foe,

With blazing, searing, scorching woe.</i>"

The incantation rolled quickly off the mage's tongue, and not a second later, bright runes swirled in the air around Soren, focused, and launched themselves at Syl in the form of fire.

Syl dove out of the way of the flames, narrowly avoiding lighting his hair on fire. He completed the spell anyway; but, unfortunately, it wasn't one meant for him. His natural magic resistance was higher than Marche's, and it made perfect sense to cover Marche first. He rolled over and jumped to his feet before Soren could get another spell off, but turned suddenly when he heard Ike yell.

Marche had blocked Ragnell with one sword and stepped past Ike, swinging one blade down on his way. Ike had had no time to move out of the way, and the blade had cut deep into the back of Ike's knee. The king had colllapsed, letting out a scream of pain as his legs collapsed underneath him.

Soren was quick to turn to Ike as he heard the king scream, ignoring Syl for a few long moments. It took him one second to close the gap necessary to get a healing spell to Ike, and it was already halfway out of his mouth by that time.

"Goddess' gentle spirit and radiant light, guide my arm..." he murmured, closing his eyes as he inhaled sharply, trying to recall the rest of the words. It wasn't often that he uttered spells like these, but it still only took him a moment to remember.

"Spirit of healing, remove all harm."

With the simple spell, blue light surrounded Ike's wound, closing it and sending a pulse of relief through the king's body. Soren then turned back to Syl, a new emotion flashing over his face. It wasn't quite rage, as it would have been had Ike been wounded by a real enemy and not just in a sparring match, but the mage did indeed look angry.

"<i>Fierce wind, mad wind, howling, sweeping over the mountains,

Sharp wind, keen wind, blowing from the seas,

Pour forth thy vials like streams from airy fountains,

Empty thy quiver-ful! Pass by!

Lay thy deathly hand upon my enemy,

Flood from the skies!</i>"

From the sideline, Bastian, not unhelpfully, called a warning to Syl as he recognized the Tornado spell, but by the time it reached Syl's ears, a torrent of wind was whipping around him.

Bastian's warning, though helpful, did not come in time. Syl had already started on a second spell, different from the one he had placed on Marche. Now, he rushed to complete it before Soren's spell, which he had understood, changed to a more dangerous effect. Syl's current spell was the first they had seen with both words and hand-motions. The Defense spell was Paladin technique, but it moved significantly faster when words were included instead of just hand signs.

His spell finished just as Soren's did, and there was a very brief second where it was mage versus mage. The two spells locked into place against each other, reaching a stalemate before one of them, Syl's, shattered. The wind slammed in against him and he flew back, landing heavily on the ground. Most of the force of the spell had been removed, but it still had much force.

The mage pulled himself to his feet, two spells flying from his hands and his mouth respectively. Verbally, he was recreating the spell defending Marche from any magical attack. Physically, the Paladin was enacting the Holy Blade technique he'd used on Kieran.

((One more post from you, to time-skip and set the stage for the stalemate, and then I'll enact the stalemate?))

Soren, recognizing the Holy Blade Technique from Kieran's fight (though not knowing it by name) reading himself, trying to figure out what he could do to fight around such a strong defensive spell. He reached into his cloak and grabbed the haft of his dagger, waiting for Syl to make the next move.

Meanwhile, Elincia and Mist cheered Ike and Soren on, while Leanne clapped for both Syl and the Crimean King and retainer. As the fight wore on, it became apparent that both sides were evenly matched.

It was near half an hour later when Syl managed to reach Soren. The wind mage had kept him at bay with attacks, forcing him to choose either between defending himself or attacking. Since his offensive magic was close range, this had been problematic. The Paladin had finally managed it by using Saint's Cross, which caused a large explosion, and manuevering himself close to Soren in the ensuing dust cloud. He swung his sword at the mage, pulling his blow so that it would stop at his opponent's shoulder. Before he could announce his victory, Ike's voice cut through the settling cloud.

"Dead! Marche's out." The explosion had worked both ways. Syl had defeated Soren, but it had given Ike the opportunity to defeat Marche. The match was a tie.

Soren immediately desisted when Syl's blade reached his neck, frowning slightly as he gave the Paladin a nod. Carefully turning so as not to actually cut himself on Syl's blade, he looked over at Ike and Marche, finding the two in the exact same position as he and Syl, with Ike having the upper hand. Soren smiled slightly at the King, then ducked out from underneath the sharp edge of Syl's sword.

Mist cheered for her brother, while Leanne cheered for Syl. Elincia, seeing that the fight was over, went over to Ike and gently took hold of his arm. "Great job," she said quietly.

((Now the balancing exercise, once this quiets down. The Herons and mages will perceive this, to fighters it will be boring until Syl loses. Then we time-skip a week and I inquire: Alexander and Ritz or the bar scene? The bar scene makes more sense if Alexander and Ritz come first, I think.))

Ike removed Ragnall from Marche's neck and sheathed it, turning back and walking toward side of the field. He frowned at her as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "You're walking. Didn't we discuss this? Or have you suddenly decided you don't want me carrying you any more?" He teased.

Marche and Syl walked over from the training field as well, emptying the training field. Syl moved over to Leanne, since he didn't see any invitation to talk to anyone else. "<i>An interesting enough fight, my lady?</i>"

((All right, Alexander and Ritz first, then.))

Elincia only offered Ike a smile. "I do not wish to be a burden," she said quietly, leaning against him a bit. She sighed, trying to think of something to do, when Mist offered an idea. "Elincia, would you like to train with me? I still need some help getting used to riding, and you're a pretty good teacher," she said.

Elincia looked to Ike, half-asking his permission with her gaze, then turnedback to Mist. "I would be most willing, yes," she said. "I will have to go saddle up my pegasus, but that should not take too long. You will have to do the same for your horse, yes?" she asked. Mist nodded.

"I'll go get my Florete. Should I grab Amiti from your room, or are you just going to use a trainer?" Mist asked. When Elincia replied that she was just going to use a slim sword from storage, Mist ran off, to retrieve her own weapon.

Leanne nodded to Syl, smiling as he elected to come over and speak with her. "<i>It was amazing. I've never seen the like before</i>," she said.