Fantasy For my Family

[Twizinator]

His ears twitched at the crack of lightning. His nose caught the man's scent. Oliver's jaw dropped as Ryrax accomplished what he couldn't: he actually dodged Valk's attack.


As Valk flew at him Ryrax leapt straight up, narrowly avoiding the collision. With a smirk of success, Ryrax focused his remaining mana into his body. He would use no psychokinesis or ice artes externally: he would internalize everything to boost his abilities. His fists and forearms became coated in frost as he concentrated. Finally he flew after Valk, arms bent and elbows at his sides with fingers hooked like claws, as if he was ready to slash the man to bits with his nails...which he actually would be able to, assuming he could land a blow.

 

[Ixidor92]

Valk hissed through his teeth as he missed. Flying through mid-air did not give him the freedom to swerve through dodges and past guards that he normally would. Valk let out a pulse of electricity, pushing him faster into the opposing wall. He had mere seconds to act.


Bolt on the wall, clear the ice.


Land against the side, begin charging.


Look up at foe, less than a second.


Strike.


There was a massive explosion of mana, and Valk found himself skidding across the ice from the impact. His breath was coming ragged now, and his arm was shaking. Apparently thirty-fold was about all he could manage right now. Thirty punches thrown with such speed they all collided in the same spot before the man would have registered the impact. It should have felt like a sledgehammer.

 

[Twizinator]

Ryrax collapsed to the ground from the impact, apparently stunned. The judge approached to check his vitals and determine if he was able to continue, but as he neared the prone man, something immediately went wrong: Ryrax's aura exploded outward, multiple times stronger than it had been before. Now it was tinged with darkness...almost like a fell one. He slowly rose to his feet, and the reason for this became evident: when Valk launched his thirty-fold attack, he knocked Ryrax's eyepatch slightly askew. It was still partially covering his arcane right eye, but its power was no longer fully contained. Ryrax roared to the sky and dashed at Valk, his expression void of humanity. The Mad Wolf was leaking.


"Valk! Get out of the way!" Oliver shouted. With Ryrax in this state, even Valk's life was in danger. Oliver wanted to vault the wall and run to his brother's aid, but knew that the ice would make it impossible.

 

[Cyrionessa]

In an instant, light bindings grabbed the two, pulling them apart. Estelle stood, straining to hold them back from each other. "Stop this." Her eyes glowed with gold and the sun overhead seemed to suddenly get brighter as her power became stronger. "I will not stand for this." A small light ribbon quickly came up and covered Ryrax's eye. It also turned black with shadow as it absorbed some of the chaotic energy from him.


----


Cerys could smell the leak of energy from Ryrax a mile away. She was dashing at top speed towards the arena, not sure of what she was going to find. After last night, things were going to get complicated fast. Very fast. But right now, she knew that all that mattered was to make sure that nothing bad happened and Ryrax going Mad Wolf was a bad thing.

 

[Ixidor92]

Valk grit his teeth, faint lines of electricity still coursing over his form.


"Dammit. We're in the middle of something you--"


Everything stopped as a crushing pressure befell the arena. Three figures walked in between the two, seemingly the only ones unaffected. One, was the Trevastos head. Another was the Vejta head. And between them, was a man whose silver cloak and cowl completely shrouded his body. The Naejor head. Rrax found himself wrapped in the chains of the Vejta head before the three calmly separated ways. Valk found himself gripped firmly by the shoulder and steered away.


"Valk."


"Yes father."


"I will not tell you to back down from challenges offered, but you need to remember your place in the family."


--------------------------


The Naejor head walked up calmly to Estelle.


"You have done well, my daughter. Come, I fear your talents will be needed in much greater strength this year."

 

[Twizinator]

Oliver breathed a sigh of relief as the three family heads stopped the fight. He exited the stands and began searching for Pelan and the others to give them an earful of a lecture.


Ryrax, meanwhile, thrashed and roared like a rabid beast as he struggled both against the chains and to bring himself back under control.


"You need to be more careful, Ryrax," the Vejta head said calmly as he carried Ryrax like a backpack through the streets, apparently looking for someone. "A slip-up like that will not be pardoned so easily next time. Make sure there is no next time."


Ryrax didn't answer, unless roaring counted, though the Vejta head hadn't expected him to coherently speak. That arcane eye of his caused his mental stability to practically disappear. Normally Ryrax could remain more in control than this at first release, but this instance had taken the Mad Wolf by surprise, thus he hadn't been mentally prepared.


The Vejta head finally saw his target, dashing in front of Cerys as she closed in, stopping her dead in her tracks. "I'll leave this animal in your care, Xevren," he said calmly, releasing Ryrax and immediately disappearing.


Ryrax rounded on Cerys, sniffing her intently. He growled and reared back as if wanting to strike, but his movements were sluggish as if his body and mind weren't acting together. His right hand slowly and shakily rose to his head and swiped down, summoning the eye-patch. Sanity rushed to Ryrax's left eye as he collapsed to all fours, gasping and coughing.

 

[Cyrionessa]

Estelle relaxed at the appearance of her father. "....a non-sanctioned fight...." She glared over at the judge. "....with an official judge....? What stupidity is this?" Estelle shook her head and turned to her father. "I agree, if such things as this are allowed to go on unchecked and unpunished, I will definitely be needed this year."


----


Cerys' eyes grew round that the Vejta head was leaving someone in her care, much less that the someone was a maddened Ryrax. When he collapsed in front of her, she sat down on her feet while allowing him to try to regain himself again. After a few moments, she put both hands on his shoulders and squeezed wordlessly. She knew full and well what was going on and she also knew that there were really no words that could be said right now to fit the situation.

 

[MControl]

Arriving at the arena, Jyterra spied a rather large and excited crowd, all abuzz about something. As he drew closer, he heard snippets of conversation about a... an unsanctioned fight? "Wow, glad i never have to fight the Mad Wolf," one man said to another, "Such power... Such terrible power" a woman repeated to herself, as if in shock. "Well, my timing is just as its always been. I arrive just after all the good stuff happened" Jyterra said, apathetically.

 

[Twizinator]

"That you did, Jyttera," Oliver said as he approached. He'd given up on reprimanding Pelan; if getting grabbed by the face and smashed into the ground didn't teach him not to get in over his head, nothing would. Besides, he was still unconscious. "It was quite the spectacle, though not the good kind." Oliver sighed, but then put on a cheerful face. "Hopefully the rest of the day will be more...normal. Though this IS the yearly tournament, so anything and everything can and will happen!" he laughed.


-----


Ryrax collected himself and groaned in frustration. "Careless..." he muttered to himself, apparently in self-disgust. He looked up and seemed minorly surprised to see Cerys holding his shoulders. "Cerys? Why did the Vejta head turn me over to you...?"


Ah, because I told him to! A woman's voice in Ryrax's head said teasingly.


Ryrax scowled. "What do you want?" he asked the air around him, apparently ignoring the fact that Cerys had no idea who he was addressing.


I want you to come and visit. Now. The voice commanded calmly but with finality that Ryrax couldn't go against, especially given who the voice belonged to. It's been weeks since your last visit and with this slip-up it's high time you stop by. Bring your girlfriend too, I'd love to meet her!


Ryrax actually flushed. "She isn't- well, kinda...I'm not s- ...THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" he shouted in embarrassment.


The voice laughed and Ryrax groaned in frustration again. "Come with me," Ryrax told Cerys, "There's someone I have to meet with. She want to meet you, too, for some reason." Without waiting for an answer (or properly explaining himself) Ryrax started for the Vejta area of the Neutral Grounds.

 

[Cyrionessa]

Cerys' eyes widened even further. She had questioned Ryrax's sanity before but this was a brand new level of crazy. But she followed him anyways, hurrying towards the Vejta area as well. People along the sides of the roads stared after them, probably wondering what the Mad Wolf and the Demon Cat were doing together.

 

[MControl]

"Ahh, Oliver, my friend, how good to see you on this morning" Jyterra greeted Oliver cheerfully. "Hopefully the events begin soon, i'm eager to see what wonders these people can produce in battle" he said enthusiastically

 

[Twizinator]

While there were plenty of whispers as the odd pair strolled along, Ryrax didn't acknowledge them at all. He led Cerys past the gathering hall they'd been in the past night and deep into the Vejta's area, heading towards the outer edge of their section of the Neutral Grounds. Ryrax stopped on a path that led to a fairly modest and inviting-looking home, two stories tall but not very large horizontally. Ryrax took a deep breath and stepped forward, but before he could reach the door it opened. Out walked a woman who gave off an aura of calm, grace, and motherly nature. Her straight brown hair flowed past her waist, almost reaching her knees. Her gentle gaze was made more soothing by her deep green eyes and kind, inviting smile. She was dressed plainly, and gave off the impression of a kindly mother. She was in her 30's age-wise, but she looked a bit younger than that.


"Ryrax!" she said warmly, "It's been almost a month since you last visited! Come here!" she spread her arms wide, inviting the Mad Wolf over for a hug.


Ryrax rolled his eyes but stepped forward, apparently intending to be embraced even though he clearly had no intention of returning it. However, before he reached her she suddenly smacked him. Hard. In his moment of recoil, she pinched his ear, draggin him inside. "You filthy mutt! When's the last time you bathed?...It was last you visited, wasn't it? Get up stairs and clean yourself! Don't come down until you're squeaky clean, stupid boy!"


"Owowowowowowow~!" Ryrax yelped as she dragged him in the house, before she bodily threw him up the staircase. He begrudgingly disappeared into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.


Once Ryrax had gone from sight, the woman smiled again, sighing fondly. She stood in the doorway and addressed Cerys. "Sorry about that, where are my manners! Come in, come in!" She beckoned Cerys towards a table meant for four. A kettle of hot tea sat in the middle and three teacups were laid out. She sat at in one of the seats, waiting for Cerys to respond.


-----


"Haha! If you wish to see that, you should find yourself some duels!" Oliver boomed. "However, an outsider like yourself has no infamy, so it is unlikely that you'll receive many, if any, challenges. I recommend you go on the offensive and issue some challenges yourself!" Oliver advised. "Win yourself some battles and you'll gain renown in no time!"

 

[Ninja_Onions]

Gerza felt the mana explosion come from the Neutral Grounds minutes after it had happened. 'Ice and lightning artes...but something else as well?' He thought to himself, setting his book down. 'The ice was the instigator to which the lightning was put on the defensive, but whatever that burst was, it certainly was neither.' He rubbed his eyes. The caustic nature of the sun's vibrant red and excessive energy was causing him more grief than normal. The larger and more red the sun got, the more his mana flared and wanted to be spent, which containing hurt immensely. He hadn't wanted to leave the Naejor house today, for one part pain and two parts fear that something or someone would set him off. "I need to calm my mind." Gerza murmured to himself. "The tournament is happening in mere hours, and here I am stressing over a mana discharge?" He stepped out onto the balcony and flipped his hood up. "Fresh air always helped, but today the air smells like scourge. Whatever the reason, I'm sure it will unveil itself soon enough." He turned back into the house, gathered a satchel of books, and began to trod to the arenas to see what had happened.

 

[Cyrionessa]

Cerys' eyes blinked once, then twice. Did someone just tell Ryrax what to do? Did someone just smack Ryrax and drag him to the bathroom without retaliation? She doubted that even she could get away with that. Cerys studied the woman intently before sitting down across from her. "If you don't mind me asking, who the hell are you?"


----


Estelle felt Gerza's approach to the arena and disappeared before she could utter more harsh words. She approached Gerza, a worried look on her face. "What are you doing out, Gerza? I'm not going to have enough to keep the contestants and you alive if something happens." Gerza was even more frail than her, which was quite a feat in her opinion. She feared that the stress of the tournament would be too much for him.

 

[Ninja_Onions]

"I should hope something of the nature doesn't happen." Gerza chuckled, albeit a bit nervously at the mention that their had already been injuries. "I felt a massive spike in the mana around here, but something seemed off about it. That, and I thought the fresh air would help me clear my head. All the studies I've been doing on the Fell Ones, coupled with the tournament's preparation, have left my brain a bit cluttered." He smiled. "I will do my best to stay out of the way. Who knows what dastardly pebbles or god forbid stray furniture will stand in my way today." He chuckled lightly.

 

[Twizinator]

The woman laughed softly. "My name is Mythia. Sixteen years ago I took in Ryrax when the rest of his family had all been killed. He would call me his mother, but I don't feel qualified enough to accept that title," she said with a warm smile. Suddenly the teapot lifted into the air and poured tea for Cerys and herself as she continued. Clearly Mythia also possessed telekinetic powers. "I would be lying if I said that he didn't scare even me a first, but I gave him a chance and cared for him. As he realized I cared for his wellbeing, he opened up to me quite a bit. Get past that front of aggressiveness and you'll be surprised to find a warm, caring, and protective man."


She took a sip of tea. "Tell me, Cerys," The Mythia said, "I understand you two met just yesterday, but has Ryrax divulged his past to you?" She smiled sadly when Cerys said he hadn't. "I didn't think so. He refuses to speak of it. I refer to his past BEFORE I found him, to be clear." She sighed, but then her smile became happier. "I'm glad he met you though. I have no doubt that he'll open up to you more as time goes on." She paused, apparently hesitant to go on. After a few seconds she opted to speak, a bit quieter and totally serious. "This might not be my place to share this information, but...well, sometimes in his restless sleep, he would mutter the name 'Lily'. Whoever this woman is, she's clearly central to his childhood."


Mythia sighed and decided to change the subject to something more lighthearted. She leaned forward with an elbow on the table and put on a playful smirk that revealed who Ryrax had learned the expression from. "It feels like just yesterday he was this wild little boy, barely up to my bellybutton...they sure grow up fast. He's a devilishly handsome young man, isn't he?" she asked Cerys, staring at her waiting for the reply.

 

[Cyrionessa]

"Gerza...." Estelle put a hand on his shoulder with a saddened smile. She knew how limited he was because of his frail condition and how much that held him back. "You will be staying by my side today. Perhaps you can help me out with the wounded as this display of barbarism takes place." Her eyes hardened quickly. This tournament was something she hated above all.


----


Cerys turned pink. "Y-yes he is...." She shook her head quickly to rid herself of the errant thoughts that hit her. "But, to answer your question...." Her face turned a bit more serious. "No, he has not told me about his past. I'm not going to pry into his past unless he wishes for me to know and if he does not wish for me to know then that's that."

 

[Twizinator]

Mythia giggled teasingly but nodded approvingly at Cerys' answer. "I am glad to hear that you have such a mature mindset, Cerys. If you are as special as I think you are, I doubt you'll have to wait too long before finding out something about that guy. Like I said, he's surprisingly vulnerable and warm under that defensive and frozen façade." She made an expression as if she'd just remembered something important. "Oh, right. About his e-"


"Dammit woman!" Ryrax interrupted as he suddenly appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, accenting his frustration by pounding his fist on the wall. He was dripping water, his soaked hair, normally swept back, was hanging in his face, and he had a towel around his waist. He didn't seem to care that Cerys was there or that he'd just interrupted conversation. "Where the hell are my clothes?!"


Mythia was momentarily irritated but changed her expression to a smirk. "They were nearly as filthy as the mutt they were covering. I'm cleaning them as we speak." She gestured out the window where Ryrax's longcoat and pants could be seen, being scrubbed in mid air by a floating tub of water and washboard. "Besides, I told you before, I always have an outfit for you. It's in your room. Like always," she said. Ryrax rolled his eyes and disappeared from the doorway. Mythia pinched the bridge of her nose in her annoyance before resuming the conversation as if a barely-clothed sopping-wet man had not just made a surprise appearance at tea time. "As I was saying, his eye, his right eye...if he ever shows signs of losing control, come to me immediately. He knows his limits, but...I worry that he'll ignore them someday."

 

[MControl]

"Well, in that case," he said, while turning, as he randomly selected someone from the crowd. "You sir," he shouted out, towards a rather large, muscle-bound man, "I challenge you... to a duel!" The man, looking more an expression of anger formed of a muscle, turned towards Jyterra, and said, in a deep baritone, "Alright. JUDGE!" A rather mousy individual scurried into view, and the muscle explained, "I have accepted a challenge. We need a ring suitable for a duel."


"A challenge? From who?" As the overly-muscled individual pointed out Jyterra, the judge looked at him, and shook his head with a sigh. "Alright then, follow me."


----


Having been led to an arena, Jyterra faced the walking muscle, about ten feet apart from one another. "This is a One-on-One duel," announced the judge, voice bellowing in a manner one would not expect from such a small individual, "Between the challenger, Jyttera, of the House Astora, and the challenged, Themos, of House Trevastos." After a short pause, he shouts, "BEGIN!"


As the words left the mouth of the judge, the muscle, now identified as Themos, dashed forward with speed uncanny for someone of such stature. Jyterra, reacting just barely in time, was dodging swing after swing of devastating punches. Breaking away, he managed to draw his sword, and swung the blade towards the charging giant. Despite seeing the man charge headfirst into the summoned fireball cast from his sword, Jyterra kept on the move, as Themos shrugged off the flames with aught but singed eyebrows. A moment passes, as each duelist contemplates what they've seen. Themos, with a speed that belied his large nature, and Jyterra, with potential for swordplay and fire magics. The chaos quickly resumes, as Themos leaps into the air, slamming his fists into the ground. The impact, had Jyterra still been standing there, would've ended the fight then and there. However, Just before Themos landed, Jyterra seemed to disappear in a flash of flame, and flickers of fire could be seen to streak across the giants body in lines, as if following lighting fast sword strikes. As Jyterra once more stilled, standing behind his opponent, gray flames could be seen covering Themos' body as he collapsed, the mana he utilized to continue fighting being burned as he channeled it in a heatless flame.


"...Winner is Jyterra, of House Astora!" the judge declared.

 

[Cyrionessa]

"I've seen him without the eye patch on." Cerys recalled watching from a distance when the last raid had happened only days ago. "I understand your concern." Cerys laughed inwardly as she thought about Ryrax's irritation. He seemed to not understand how to deal with a woman, much less a strong-willed woman like Mythia.


----


"Right then." Estelle clapped her hands together and started walking towards the infirmary area. "Come, Gerza." She wanted to inspect the facilities and make sure that all the materials she had requested were there.

 

[Twizinator]

"Concern of what?" Ryrax interjected as he strolled into the kitchen in plain shorts and a t-shirt. He took a seat at the table and started drinking his cup of tea.


"Concern for your well-being," Mythia responded seriously, looking at Ryrax with an expression of a mother telling her child not to play in the street. "Your carelessness could be the death of us. Keep a better lid on that thing, would you?" she said, pointing at his right eye.


Ryrax had an expression of irritation but averted his eyes, a bit ashamed of himself. "Yeah, yeah...it's not like I meant to use it. But I agree...it was careless," he sighed. "I have no intention of using it for anything other than fighting powerful Fell Ones. In other words, it won't be making another appearance in this tournament if I can help it."


Mythia was still stern for a moment but her expression softened into a motherly smile. "Glad to hear it. Now enough seriousness!" A plate of amazing-looking banana nut muffins drifted from the countertop and onto the table. "Eat up! I baked them earlier today."


Ryrax snatched two, one in each hand, and took a bite out of one. "Amazing..." he muttered as he chewed. "You're still the best cook I know, and those folks in the Vejta know their food."


Mythia just laughed appreciatively. "Please, have as many as you like!" she said to Cerys. "It's rare that Ryrax brings a girl home...well, he's never done it before!" she laughed again. Ryrax nearly choked on his muffins.

 

[Ninja_Onions]

"But...but..." He stammered. 'There was no compromising with her. Hopefully I can sit there and observe rather than get into the nitty gritty stuff. My magic is no good at healing or aid anyway..." He sighed, trodding slowly behind her. 'Hopefully, I'll be able to figure out where that mana burst came from at the same time...'

 

[Cyrionessa]

Cerys cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Well, I guess I'm one of the special ones......" She hazarded a glance at Ryrax when he seemed to choke on his food. He seemed to get so uncomfortable around this woman and her words. Cerys was forcing herself to not feel embarrassed herself because of the woman's blunt words.


----


When Estelle entered the infirmary area, she saw Themos of Trevastos stretched out on one of the beds. ".....and so it begins...." Estelle immediately went into a no-nonsense mode as she approached the bedside. "Mana burns. Lovely." She glanced at Gerza. "Grab a set of those bandages over there. I need to treat them with aura but first I'll have to accelerate the re-growth of healthy skin." She instantly set to work, golden light shooting from her hands over the man's burns.

 

[Ninja_Onions]

Gerza searched the shelves in the direction Estelle pointed and located the gauze quickly. He moved back over to the bed and handed it to her. 'These are peculiar burns, like they were cut into his body rather than shot at it. Not the same type of mana from earlier, but still very interesting.' He swallowed hard. 'More importantly, a grim reminder as to why I don't and can't fight in the tournament,' He shook his head at the thoughts and sat back down on a stool, wishing that he had brought a lighter read than the books he had in his rucksack.

 

[Twizinator]

Ryrax took a swig of tea and shot a glare at Mythia, who was unphased. She raised an eyebrow at Cerys's comment. "One of the special ones? You are THE special one, if what I think he thinks of you is true. Isn't she, Ryrax?" she suddenly rounded on the man.


Ryrax froze for a moment. Inexplicably, he blushed. "...Yeah..." he muttered, avoiding meeting her gaze.


Apparently Mythia hadn't expected that, because her taunting grin fell as she blinked in surprise. "Wha...really?" She turned to Cerys, looking at her as if nearly awestruck. "...Wow. I'm impressed, Cerys," she said, and smiled warmly at her. She leaned in and cupped her hand to whisper to Cerys. "I thought he'd upturn the table and go on a tirade at me, but he really is fond of you. I beg pardon for my teasing. I rarely see him so I rarely get the chance, and...well, I'm the only one who can get away with taking him off his high horse alive."


Ryrax was fidgeting with his teacup, staring fixedly out the window.