We arrive at the door of the training hall
Walking in anyone would feel minuscule and small
This place is gargantuan
Anything you can think of
In this place you can
The dirty looks bearing down
As with every crowd there's always one clown
Stepping up to us, his confidence boasts
All in all he's a little too close
“So, you're the Seer.” He stares me down
His confidence not simply for show
His mana subdued
But overtly glows
Then again it might just be my eyes though
“Please step back.” My voice calm
“Or what?” He breathes “You gonna give the Chairman
a call?”
I can see the wheels in his head turning
He's thinking of just how to take me down
Of how to burn me
“Don't think we don't know,” He continues on “how you
got in here.
Casts a spell and incited fear.
You were raised by that Fae criminal after all.”
As he mentions Jack my emotions flare
Without lifting a finger I knock him through the air
“Oh, I'm sorry.” I smirk “I must've misheard you.
I thought you said you wanted to fall.”
“Why not settle this like men?” Leigh calls
“A friendly duel. Non-lethal of course.
What do you say Tom? Don't leave us bored.”
Stumbling to his feet “You might regret that.”
“Shut up and fight.” I say “You ignorant scum hat.”
The entire hall clears a space
I ready myself and look at his face
Anyone else would be uneasy
But he's surprisingly content
“Ready to go blind?” He smirks
If only I knew just what he meant
Slowly we start with hand to hand
In this, with my eyes,
I should be the stronger man
But keeping pace with me
He blocks every strike as he stands
That smirk on his face...
Is he reading my eyes?
Time to get some distance
I let lose a blast of mana
Forcing him back he says
“You're almost as strong as Hana.”
“Who?” I reply
“Honestly,” I continue “I couldn't care less.
Right now, you're the only one I wanna best.”
“Besting me would be quite a feat.”
He grins with a chuckle as from his hands
Smoke begins to bleed
Some type of spell
He's trying to give himself a handicap
Surprisingly it's working - Crap
“If it wasn't for your eyes, I'd have you easily beat.
What do you say we turn up the heat?”
Taking in every inch of the area,
I survey every person, every breath
And every last bit of subdued hysteria
The crowd's on edge
But it's not because of me
Who is this guy?
What advantage does he have
That I can't see?
As the smoke gets thicker
My eyes begin to burn
As more and more I wanna beat this guy
More than that, the need yearns
“You rely too much on your eyes.” He calls loud
“Just how would you fair if you lost that extraordinary
Could you honestly say you'd still be so cocky and
proud?”
The smoke becomes like fog, even my eyes can't pierce
it
Instantly, hugely dense mana begins to emit
As from within the smoke, he charges forward
In his hands he holds dual mana swords
Just barely, I dodge out of his striking range
He's taking this a bit far
But I refuse to cave
Blast after blast I visually throw my mana
Trying to think of a way to deal some damage
The smoke clears with every shot
But then quicky blinds me
He's really got me caught
As I catch a glimpse of him
It becomes ever clear
My only chance is to catch his arms
And lock him – That means absolutely no fear
Not that I have any
I'm looking to kill Death himself
So any fear I have can go to hell
Following the flow of the smoke as he moves
He should attack from right... here
The glowing blades coming fast for the strike
With my eyes
It can seem like I move faster than light
Being able to predict an attack from him is child's play
Twisting his arms they creak
Almost ready to break
“Yield.” I demand
“No chance.” He responds
Instantly the mana returns to his palms
His actions contradicting his words
As he grins “Here's a lesson you should learn.
Any type of magic, even one as strong as yours,
Is dictated by mana, and from mana is born
Thrusting his arm against my lock
He nails me in the chest
For a moment I'm fine
Then I feel the shock
Instantly, my vision becomes fuzzy
All the details and colors leaving my head buzzing
It feels like I'm going blind
As from beyond the smoke Leigh calls “That's time.
Who's the winner?”
With one swift move
He pins me with a finisher
“My name's Thomas Gold.”
He whispers in my ear
“I suggest you remember it.”
The intent clear
He means to show me who's the boss
With no choice, this is my loss
Trial 3: And then there were three
My head throbbing
My vision unclear
Is this what it means to see like everyone else here?
The smoke dissipating
Not how I thought it would end
I must look unsightly to my partner, my friend
I let her down
The duel now over
But Thomas doesn't release me
Submitting me to exposure
“This is what happens,” He says tightening his grip
“When you let heritage rule you.
When you rely on a special gift.”
“You've made your point.” Leigh growls
“Release him, now.”
“No.” His tone full of pride and glee
“Not until he apologizes to me.”
“Excuse me?” Leigh's temper thin as wire
“You heard me,” He gives an arrogant smile
Leigh's ready to explode in fire
“And I said release him.” The air around us heating up
It's clear that she's had enough
“You know princess,” He tightens even further
I groan at the pain
“No one here likes your attitude,
And no one respects your name.
Even your own mother can't stand you,
Ever compared to the brother who abandoned you.”
Leigh's about to lose it
Dude, shut up while you can
“Your flame isn't even blue.
What, are you gonna cry?
Poor Leigh, boohoo.”
Instantly, her familiar
Explodes from within
Not the cute little fox
But a flaming beast to burn away sin
Sparks and embers begin to fly
As fire begins to bleed
Roaring high
“Just gonna hide behind your familiar?” He taunts
As Leigh charges forward and lands a punch
Socking Thomas right in his smug face
Knocking him off me
As I scramble up in place
Suddenly, wind like a vacuum
It extinguishes the flames
“Masterson! Vashti!” Jewl barks our names
As he walks forward
“There are to be absolutely no co-worker brawls.
Besides, it looks like he bested you both
And is still standing tall.
If you wish to continue
We'll put an official duel on the books.
But to do so without authorization,
You'll both be on the hook.
This assembly has been postponed.”
He finishes addressing the crowd
“To your quarters all of you, now!”
As Leigh and I begin walking away
“Not you two.” Jewl's tone calls
“Thomas as well! You better listen to what I have to
say!”
As the guy who just handed me my butt
Approaches with a grin on his face
“Lose the smirk.” Jewl sighs
“You're all being assigned to an S rank mission
As a three man team.”
Before we continue here's some knowledge,
So listen
O.D.'s missions are ranked hardest to easiest
S-A-B-C-D
Anything that's a potential global catastrophe
Is S – You see?
Let's resume
“What?!” I bark “No way in hell!”
“It's Death related.” Jewl responds
“And you obviously need the help.”
Groaning and grumbling, I mutter under my breath
Expressing my displeasure, still fuzzy in my head
What the hell did he do?
I suddenly lose my balance
Catching myself
Jewl chuckles “Don't tell me you lost your talent.”
I look at him stern
“No sir.” I say rubbing my eyes
“Just didn't eat breakfast.”
If he finds out I can't see
I'll be kicked from the mission
“Continue sir, I'm here to listen.”
“Right.” He begins, looking at me suspicious
Leigh puts her hand on my shoulder
I shrug it off trying to be ambitious
I can sense her concern even without my eyes
All I can do right now is fake it and lie
“Well, here goes.” Jewl presses on
“The recovery of stolen objects, that's the job,
As well as the prevention of any further thefts.
And I expect you all to do your best.”
“Stolen objects sir?” Thomas groans
“Isn't that a bit beneath my skill set?”
Jewl's face gets serious
“These aren't just any ordinary objects.
Someone is targeting the Seven Sins of the mystic races.
Guardian treasures, hidden in their home places.
They contain extraordinary magical power.
If the pattern persists, you have less than twenty-four
hours
Until the next one is stolen.”
“What does this have to do with Death?” I ask
“The man impersonating Jameson,” Jewl's face begins to
twitch
“Has been seen at the crime scenes.
Good money says he's not there sight seeing.
Do you catch my drift?”
“You think they're planning something.” I state
Jewl gives me a look
“They have to be.”
That alone is good enough for me
“Nate,” Leigh chimes in “Your vision.”
“Right.” I concur “They definitely are.”
“As usual,” Jewl smiles “you're ahead by far.
All three of you are to investigate it
And prevent whatever's coming.
Now, if you'll excuse me,” Jewl's face goes sour
“I've got an upset tummy.”
Swiftly, he starts walking away
“Oh,” He presses “This pairing isn't a suggestion.
So try to play nice.”
Rushing away he mumbles
“Note to self, lay off the cheese and rice.”
“Let's report to Jerome.” Leigh says “He'll tell us where to start.
But before that, what's going on with you?”
“Nothing.” I snap
“Well,” Thomas smirks “that's not entirely true.
I weakened the flow of your mana.
Quite the curve isn't it?”
“Put it back.” Leigh growls
“No.” He says straight
“This scumhat needs to learn his eyes aren't everything.
I should know.
Being from the Mana Clan, handicaps sting.”
“Fine, we'll just tell the Chairman.” Leigh begins
heading to the door
Grabbing her arm, “Don't you dare.” I growl
“I'm not writhing on the floor.
I'll be fine.
Besides if you report it, they'll take me off the mission.
I will see this through,
With or without my vision.”
“Bravo.” Thomas applauds
“Leigh, you being alarmed, there's absolutely no cause.
I didn't block his mana or get rid of it.
He can still use magic
And frankly I'd rather him not quit.
His sight'll return in time,
Just give it a few days.
And when it does I wanna hear what he says.
Now then, let's get this thing started.”
Thomas heads to the terminal
Leaving me half-hearted
I can't tell if he's got it in for me or not
It kinda feels like he's got a plan
But what?
Thinking of that vision
It said I'd go blind – Is this what it meant?