Fantasy I Was Supposed To Become a Hero but Got Stuck in a Deadend Job Instead

[TanteRegenbogen]

Kren pulled Yfirryn aside and said: "Why don't you come with me a little bit. I think Jayce may want to discuss something with her without others being around." "Oh... okay." Yfirryn said. Kren and Yfirryn then went to a different part of the garden.

"The first tyrants wasnt bad." Aenera said to Jax. Then whispering to them Aenera whispered: "She was my ancestor." Then increasing her volume again Aenera said: "The second and third tyrants were definitely cruel, but calling the first a tyrant seems like an overstatement. Benevolent dictator seems more accurate."

Aenera, able to read the atmosphere around Jayce, tells Jax: "I think Jayce is eager to ask something about me or discuss something personal. You can come along if Jayce is okay with it. It seems he has been looking for a chance for a bit now."

 

[JayOokami]

Jayce is a bit surprised , was he that obvious? After a second to compose himself he responds with, "I... guess it's not a big deal if you come too Jax. I just have a feeling that a very deep secret might be involved and would need to be kept no matter what." Jayce scratches the back of his head while looking at Aenera to gauge her reaction, "I had a question or two I wanted to ask Aenera about her past, as long as you're both ok with this I see no reason to stop you from coming along..." He knows that anyone traveling with Aenera would want to know the truth as much as he does, so he has no right to stop them. Jayce does have some concerns about this putting Jax in danger but that's a bridge to be crossed once it is reached.

 

[CasualTea]

By now, Hekate was far from the group in her own little solo bubble. She just aimlessly walked around the garden and appreciating its beauty while she was deep in thought. Soon enough, she just found a bench near a fountain and stared at the night sky as she leaned back a little.

 

[Xafin]

Jax looks surprised, and looks from Aenera to Jayce and back again. "Well, if she's okay with it, I'm okay with it. I don't know much about her past, myself, but I assume it's something... interesting, with all this secrecy?" They tilt their head to the side, smiling uncertainly. "Interesting is something I'm, well, interested in learning. But only if Aene's okay with it." They shove their hands in their front pockets, and starts to lead the two away from the guard, further into the gardens.

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

When Jayce mentioned that he wanted to talk about Aenera's past, Aenera's composure shifted from her drunken stupor to an almost sober seriousness. "I had expected this. You are lucky Kren did some convincing and I said I will be honest to you if you asked. Probably is difficult when a friend is keeping secrets, especially those of this kind. It might be in Jax's interest I tell them too what you want to know. Let's go to a part of the garden that I used to like to go to when I was a student." Aenera said.

She led the two to a more secluded part of the garden. There was a hedge they slipped past to get to an overgrown part of the garden that looked like it hadn't been tended to in a while. There was an old stone table with stone benches, almost like a picnic table. Near it was a defunct fountain the size of a bird bath. Aenera touched the fountain and channeled some mana into it and it began functioning again. "This was my secret place. Only me and Kren came here. There is only one other person I have ever seen here, but that person barely leaves the palace and probably has administrative duties nowadays." Aenera said and sat down on one of the benches.

"So what are you eager to ask me about? I will give you honest answers, no more lies or half truths. Is it about that tear in the sky near the building? About the murder? Or about why I got off without a prison sentence for basically an offense almost equal to regicide? Or is it not even about that? Maybe you are curious about the agony I went through when I got the forehead crystal." Aenera said as she crossed one leg over the other.

 

[JayOokami]

"I... honestly expected you to be this non-chalant when talking about this kind of thing." he can't help but chuckle, somewhat nervously. He takes a breathe, "I won't let the truth affect our friendship, but honestly I need to know about the murder. I would never blame someone for defending themselves... but from what I've heard about the incident..." He pauses for a moment, "it... wasn't actually self defense, was it? I thought about it and it doesn't add up to me. I don't know much about practicing magic and I get that a stressful situation could affect your level of control. But considering you were a prodigy and incredibly powerful, someone attacking you should not have required that level of force. Surely you had the ability to stop the attack or even just escape right?" Jayce takes a deep breath, "I had wanted ask this alone to spare the others if I was right." he glances at Jax and back at Aenera, "I want to hear it from you, was killing him intentional? Why?" His voice waivered occasionally while he spoke and he was clearly nervous

 

[CasualTea]

Hekate was just meditating on the seat she had found. She could not only see everything around her with her eyes closed, but she could also hear a bit sharper. She even started picking up Jayce's question about Aenera and that incident. It was going to be interesting to listen in on to hear his reaction, but she never thought he'd ask with Jax being there too. She always knew Jayce was going to ask this sort of thing since he's been pretty close with Kren for a bit now. Hearing the whole thing back at the house already gave her such ideas that the incident wasn't an accident and being consoled by Aenera outside the restaurant also confirmed her assumptions. Now that Jayce pointed out, it did seem like she could control it if she were a prodigy. But even prodigies can break in such situations, she would know something like this first hand. Just because you're specialized in something doesn't mean you could keep your cool when your life is at stake. But what would she know, she's just a girl who just had her parents killed and then her life endangered which made her fend for herself. She can already guess what Aenera is going to tell the boys, she was just in it for the effect of the cause now.

 

[Xafin]

Jax looks from Jayce to Aenera and back again. They are also nervous, since Jayce was talking about something one normally doesn't talk about, like their friend intentionally murdering someone. They quietly ask, "Aenera, was killing him intentional? I know that you are incredibly powerful. Also, I'm sorry to hear that the forehead crystal was agonizing. That is terrible and should never be forced on anyone." They reach out to squeeze her shoulder, smiling crookedly at her. "It's okay if your reasons are sound, I think. I mean, I wouldn't kill somebody in anything but in self defense, but if they were harming you or something..."

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

Jayce and Jax had asked what Aenera had expected. "You assumed correctly. It wasn't an accident. The short story is, I killed the great wizard on purpose out of revenge. And the king saw the opportunity to use me as a pawn to get rid of the wizards that threatened his power and bailed me out for it. To be honest, I don't really care much about the feuds of nobles. The long story is one of personal suffering and constant deceit. I recommend to sit down for this." She said.

"It started when I was six years old. People say I was scouted by the academy, but it is much darker than that. For generations, members of the academy have been testing the magical ability of my family to detect and neutralize potential future tyrants who could match the first. I was taken away from my family and put under strict supervision. I was taught in magic, but always kept on a leash by the great wizard and other high ranking wizards. They didn't let me have normal relationships and everytime I thought I had a friend, it turned out that they were just employed by the wizards to keep an eye on me. Finally, when I was 16, the wizards implanted the crystal into my forehead. It isn't just what you see on my forehead. It goes deep and touches the main mana vein in your head. They didnt make me unconscious when they implanted it. I was fully conscious and the pain is agonizing. The crystal is supposed to inhibit ones magical power. It is almost like a lobotomy for magic users. I still was able to use magic on a level comparable to the average mage though. But the crystal was the last straw that made me decide that I needed revenge." Aenera said.

After a brief breather, Aenera continued: "My first goal was to neutralize the effects of the crystal. I researched its properties and experimented, often under risk of my own health. Within two years I managed to not only negate the effects of the crystal, but reverse them making the crystal amplify my power. All was without detection by the wizards. At that time I was able to go outside and interact with others, because the wizards though me for harmless due to the crystal. So I eventually met Kren. Honestly, he was the first true friend I had. Before the crystal thing, I had thought I had a decent life but finding out the true reasons enraged me. Kren gave me some kind of security for once in my life. Even back then he was the lab supervisor and an alchemy professor. Due to him I majored in alchemy and conducted research to create a power that would enhance magical ability. However the product was addicting and has major side effects. Crystal magic was born. The wizards found out and tried to take credit for it until they got hooked themselves and the first deaths occurred from it. Imagine, someone would just take too much and vaporize in a blue flash."

"Now here comes the part about the murder. The wizards blamed me for the deaths and I was called into the great wizards office to be reprimanded and punished. Kren was asked to come along because he was seen as having neglected his duties since he was lab supervisor. I already let Kren know to stand back a bit and that I will not take the abuse by the great wizard. As soon as the door closed, I cast a barrier barring the door from being opened from the outside. Then I used a gravity spell on the great wizard, pinning him to the ground. I chewed that bastard out and listed all the horrible things he did to me. Kren as innocent as he was tried to convince me to spare the great wizard and just let him be. I told Kren that only two of us will leave the room alive no matter what happens. I then used a spell to lift the great wizard and let him suffer before I imploded him with chronos magic. His remains are still in the pocket dimension." Aenera said.

"You see, even when Kren is afraid I'd do something to him if he spilt the beans, he is too precious to me for me to be mad at him. He was my first real friend and my first love. Anyways, the rest of the story is that I had a show process where I was supposed to be behind bars for the rest of my life for creating crystal magic and killed the great wizard, but the king commuted it to 10 years probation and a 10 year ban from the capital to at least make it look like I still get some form of punishment. He probably still would seek cooperation, but it will cost him." Aenera said.

She then approached Jayce and Jax and put her arms around their shoulders. "Just look at it like this: With me around you are pretty safe. No one honestly wants to mess with the descendant of a tyrant and someone who defeated a great wizard. Judge me however you want. The past is in the past and I cant change it. I made be able to control time and space to an extent but time travel is a whole nother level. Plus dont be afraid of me now. Most people with this amount of mana would have tried subjugating the nation by now. But wheres the fun of ruling everything when you could be on a road trip with your best buddies?" Aenera said with a smile. The alcohol sort of made Aenera tell the story pretty nonchalantly, almost in a creepy way.

"Any questions?" Aenera asked.

 

[JayOokami]

Jayce listens to the story, silently. He appears uneasy during the description of the murder. What she endured was horrifying to say the least. He is in a stunned silence for several minutes while he thinks, "Aenera... I'm sorry you had to endure something so awful. I couldn't imagine the suffering you must have went through." He says and takes a step closer, having been a short distance away, "I still think the way you killed him was over the top but I can't blame you for the act." he glances over at Jax a moment wondering what they might think then back to Aenera, "it's still likely someone will act against you though, right? theoretically someone as powerful as you could be seen as a threat even if you're currently not doing much of anything to draw attention." Jayce takes a deep breath, "I can't speak for the others of course, but I'll be by your side if anything happens, with what little I can offer anyway. can you at least promise that if it's absolutely necessary to end a life you won't make it so....extreme?" The last question came with a slight grimace as he watched her, waiting for a response.

 

[CasualTea]

Hekate listened to the story, not really surprised by it since she had her assumptions. Well, maybe a little surprised about the fact that she still has the wizard's remains in a pocket dimension, which she wonders when she'll end up dumping it out somewhere. Maybe even burning it all would work too. But how many years and it's still there? She supposed nothing would happen if there's no way for it to decompose, right? She wonders if she should ask Aenera about it. She decided to leave it at that and mind her surroundings once more. She was able to do it for this long due to meditation, unlike back at the house which was more on demand. She just wondered how long she can keep this up for, so she supposed she'd test those limits...

 

[Xafin]

Jax sighs heavily, after several moments of shocked silence. Their face, which was before showing an expression of incredulity, softens to one of almost pity. "I'm sorry that you went through all of that, Aenera. It wasn't fair to do that to someone so young, though it wouldn't be fair regardless of your age. The machinations of nobles have always been mysterious and deadly, but to have you trapped in the middle of that? I understand killing the guy, but like Jayce said, it was pretty... extreme." They take a deep breath before continuing, looking to Aenera with sad eyes. "In case of trouble... Well, you have my axe, so to speak."

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

"Extreme you say? For a chronos magic user killing him that way would be one of the quicker ways or do you expect me to flatten him like a pancake in an instant, increase his gravity enough for him to suffocate or put him into an eternal stasis like my ancestor did to those soldiers? I don't even know if I would have had the mana to put him into a neverending stasis. Alone finding way to undo what my ancestor did is a challenge." Aenera said. "My options were limited and probably still are limited. If I had godlike amounts of mana or skill, it would probably even be possible to undo the murder of the great wizard. I can create pocket dimensions and slow time, but getting past that may be difficult. Even if I could undo the murder, I wouldn't though. He would still be the same asshole as before."

"Anyways, the past is in the past and people know what they are in for if they get in my way. People avoid attacking you more if they believe you accidentally overused power than if you purposely did it, because they believe that if you were serious, you could do even more damage. Plus from childhood, people said I was potentially the fourth tyrant. I'd only become that if I was forced to. I'd rather live a life of adventure with friends than be a major villain. I value you as friends and you have my protection and if hanging out with me gets too dangerous for you, I'd recommend you keep your distance and I'd try my best to protect you."

Aenera then looked up at the tear in the sky. "I need to deal with that somehow without drawing too much attention before we leave the city. Someone my fall through it or come out of it." Aenera said.

 

[JayOokami]

"I don't blame you for killing him. I'd also never expect you to revive him, even if you had the power to." Jayce smiles, "I have no plans of leaving you. Sure our friendship was really sudden and fast moving, but you and the others really are my first real friends and I won't just leave. And as for trying to undo what your ancestor did, if we keep traveling we'll find something for sure." Jayce looks up a tear, "how long would you need to close it?" He looks back at Aenera, "I'm sure me and someone else can cause a ruckus to distract people. Though we'll have to book it out of town if we go that route." He smirks, "it could be a fun way to end our time here." He laughs.

 

[CasualTea]

Hekate finally ended her meditation before she began walking around to observe the garden with her own eyes. She adjusted her jacket and made sure her hand-cannon was still secured in its place so it wouldn't fall out. It was such a peaceful atmosphere but wondered how the students were like nowadays. Perhaps she shouldn't concern herself with others' business. She looked up at the tear in the sky and couldn't help but wonder what was on the other side. Maybe it just leads to one of Aenera's pocket dimension or just out into an empty space. She'd like to take a look but that'd be dangerous if she just went to look directly. She could try to use her powers to pear in but it's pretty far up even for meditation. She just shrugged and went about her business and started fiddling with her commu.

 

[Xafin]

"I'm pretty good at making a distraction, but that also might lead to getting arrested if we don't move fast enough." They laugh quietly, before sobering. "I don't blame you for killing him either, and I don't think people should be revived after dying, anyhow. It's a weird thing to do, right?" Jax shifts from one foot to the other, shoving their hands in their pockets and staring at the ground. "I don't think you have the capability to be a true villain, anyhow. You're too kind a person to do truly corrupt things."

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

"I think you'd be more useful in getting me out of here if I'd close that tear, because I swear I have no recollection of causing it and it is way bigger than the one at the house. If I were to close it, the amount of magic used will be noticeable even by the most inexperienced of magic users. It would probably drain me enough so I wont be able to escape on my own energy." Aenera said to Jayce and Jax.

When Jax meant that they didn't think Aenera had the capability to be a true villain, Aenera said: "Good and evil depends on how you look at it. One persons good is another persons evil. But there are some who harm only for the fun of it. I personally wouldn't harm anyone for the fun of it. However, if the reasons are right, me, even maybe you would used violence. I am already a villain for many mages. But anyways, should we head to the house and get some sleep, see the city and then maybe take care of the tear tomorrow evening or should we do it this evening and leave this evening?"

 

[JayOokami]

"We'd still need a distraction. We can discuss that when we are all together but we shouldn't include Kren. He is a professor after all. As long as we are careful it shouldn't be difficult to escape." Jayce says as he thinks. He can make plans but he usually favors the simplest solution, which is not always the right one. He looks around this area of garden, "should we look around a bit more before we head back?"

 

[CasualTea]

Hekate was still fiddling with her commu while walking around the garden. She looked away from her commu to appreciate the garden's beauty, but she was still looking back at her commu for anything new with the organization. She also wondered if there was a guild in Quarrytown that gave out jobs or commissions. She would take some jobs from there to get some pay. Perhaps a hunting mission? Well, what sort of adventuring would there be anyway? It'd be interesting to see though.

 

[Xafin]

"I've used plenty of violence in my life." Jax replies, twisting their hands together nervously in front of them. "I would never fault you for using violence, especially if it was a necessity." They pause, and then change the subject. "I think we should probably go sleep soon."

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

"Yeah, I think we should wait to take care of the tear until either tomorrow or the day after. I sort of have an important appointment tomorrow at 11 in the council chambers and closing the tear wouldn't just be tiring for me, but also gain the attention of basically everyone in the city. It is just so big that you cannot take care of it discreetly. It would be so much magic that it would send shivers down the spine of every mana sensitive in the region and probably make magical devices like commus go haywire for a couple minutes. So let's just grab Hekate, Yfirrin and Kren and head home to sleep." Aenera said as she began to leave the secret spot.

She pulled out her commu and wrote to Kren: "The truth is out. We will meet at the entrance and then go home." Kren received the message and led Yfirryn out of the garden to the gate. Soon after Aenera joined up. Now just was for Hekate. Aenera wrote to her on her commu. "When you are ready we will leave. We are at the gate."

 

[JayOokami]

"If we wait until the day after you can have your meeting and we can have one more day here before we have to flee. we can also decide on a proper strategy." Jayce then thinks for a moment, "are you going to the meeting alone? is that even safe? I know you're powerful but they could set up any kind of trap, right?" Jayce is sure he's overreacting but it wouldn't hurt to at least ask.

 

[CasualTea]

Hekate soon got a text on her commu and read it briefly. She immediately started heading towards the gate to join up with the others. She didn't hear the conversation about the tear and the meeting so whatever the group was talking about, she'd have no knowledge on it. If anything, she did find some jobs from the guild in Quarrytown which also carried over to some other areas. Extermination quests, bounties, exploration, expedition... Even the odd jobs of delivery, bodyguard and other jobs that looked pretty risky. One of those 'jobs'. She didn't find any hitman types of jobs but she supposed it fell under the category of extermination and bounties, but those were put on beasts rather than people. Bodyguard jobs seems like a sort of escort job but it didn't pay very highly. Seems more like a guardian for someone in their outing. Not really much of the type she was thinking of. No matter, she can just do some of the other jobs or do those. Money was money and she needed it since she wasn't getting hits that were available.

 

[Xafin]

Jax shrugs and follows Aenera out of the secret spot, glancing around and checking the perimeter as they go. They are kind of paranoid that someone was listening to the conversation as they had it, and checking around will alleviate their anxiety somewhat. "A plan would be nice." They say in a distracted tone of voice, still looking around.

 

[TanteRegenbogen]

When Jayce voiced his concerns about going to the council chambers alone and that it could be a trap, Aenera shrugged it off and said: "Even if I didn't have allies in high places, setting up a trap for me would be cute at best, but they know who they are dealing with and fear what I could do. It gives me security and leverage. Plus I have an offer the king probably wont turn down since for him a cooperation that is potentially a win-win is a better choice than wasting manpower and resources to bring someone down who didn't intend to harm anyone anyways."

Kren then said to Aenera: "Sooo. Did you have a nice walk and talk?" Aenera glanced over to him: "We did. We have plans for tomorrow. But I will first have to go to the council chambers." "Did he request your attendance?" Kren asked. Aenera chuckled and said: "No. I requested an audience, but he wanted to meet in the council chambers instead of the palace. It seems like he could be at odds with the council and wants to use me as leverage after I made my demands and have come to an agreement with him. I honestly am wondering if the same corrupt assholes are in the council as ten years ago." "Many of them are. But there are some new ones, many just as corrupt as the old ones." Kren replied.

"Hey gang! How would you like a tour of the council building and palace tomorrow morning? That way, we can meet up quicker after my appointment. If anyone asks, I will just say you are my entourage and Hekate might as well count as a bodyguard. Hahaha." Aenera said to the others.

(Should we time skip next round?)