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The Hidden Magic [OPEN]

Started by yams88888, January 27, 2018, 07:08:24 AM

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yams88888

Jala was pacing nervously in her hall, her steps reverbrating through her humble cottage. She had just finished translating her manuscripts that she found in Thanatos, which had confirmed what she already suspected. They spoke of a primal magic locked within most humans, one which requires little honing, and could easily do as much harm as it could good. She wondered if the Thanati knew anything, but she highly doubted it. She lay down on her sleeping mat, twiddling her thumbs nervously. She looked out, she could see the first lights of dawn beginning to creep up. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Suddenly, she heard a knock at her door.

Jiaolong

"Yurel, no one's gonna be up this early. It's practically morning already, why don't we just rest outside somewhere?"

Yurel sighed, turning to her brother. She looked up to meet his eyes, giving him a sarcastic look. "We both haven't slept in a long time, and you have a cold. And let me remind you that it wasn't me who lost our money."

Yulsin averted his eyes, visibly embarrassed. He knew it was his fault they couldn't stay at an inn. He was about to speak when he suddenly started coughing. His already pale skin had paled some more, and he was beginning to look like a ghost.

Yurel's eyes softened. "You seem to be getting worse," she muttered, her red eyes filled with concern. The woman knocked on the door once more, hoping to get a response. If nothing happened this time, she would leave.

yams88888

Jala got up from her sleeping mat. She rumbled through the hall, pulling her robe over her head. "Hello?" She looked on the two weary travellers. "
Come in," she beckoned inviting the travellers into her warm cottage.
"What seems to be the problem," she asked the traveller with pale, nearly transclucent skin.

Jiaolong

Yulsin barged past the cottage's owner and sat down in a corner, placing his sword and pack down in a more comfortable position on the floor.

Yurel rolled her eyes. "Ah, sorry about my brother. He's very sick, and we just needed a place to rest for a while," she explained. "Yulsin! Get up, you can't just sit wherever you please." Yulsin continued sitting slumped in the corner, having finally fallen asleep on something other than the cold outside ground.

Yurel sighed. "Well, my name is Yurel. My brother over there is Yulsin. In exchange for your hospitality...we could offer you a few of our services..." she said, red eyes glinting.

yams88888

Jala glanced between the two, slowly processing this. Finally, she could ask others to help with the expedition.
"Well, I can do more than let him rest here," she said, "I could heal him. But," she said pausing, a shadow of a smirk appearing on her face, "In return, you must help me. First I'll heal your brother, then I'll explain. Deal?" She held out her hand, a questioning look on her face.

Jiaolong

Yurel paused before she shook the woman's outstretched hand. She usually liked to hear what the job would be before accepting...but the woman said she would heal Yulsin, so she would have to accept. Yurel nodded, giving Jala's hand a firm shake. "Deal."

yams88888

Jala got up and went to her medicine cabinet and got out a handful of herbs, including lavender, sage, and basil. She brewed it over a boiling pot, while chanting some words in an unknown language. Jala poured the brew into a clay mug and gave it to the man to drink. His breathing had gotten better already, and the color was beginning to return to his face.
"He'll need about a few more days to recover. In the meantime, let me tell you what the job is. I need someone to help me with my studies. I've recently been researching primal magic found in all humans. Something that I think can turn all the tables over all species. I-" Jala immediately fell on the floor, writhing and convulsing.

Jiaolong

Yulsin sniffed the medicinal concoction and took a small sip. He held the steaming mug close to his chest, grateful for something so warm. "Thank-" he was cut off by A sudden thud. Yulsin looked up from the cup to Jala, who had just fallen on the ground and was convulsing terribly.

"What the hell?" Yurel exclaimed, dropping her spear and bags on the floor before grabbing onto one of Jala's writhing arms. "Yulsin! Help me pin her down! Otherwise she'll hurt herself!"

Yulsin scrambled to get up, almost knocking over his drink in the process. He ran to his sister's side and grabbed onto Jala's other arm, trying to avoid getting jostled by her constant movements. "What's wrong with her?" He asked.

yams88888

Jala continued writhing, and let out a high-pitched scream. As suddenly as it started, it stopped. Jala sat up, breathing heavily as she wiped the sweat off her brow. "I'm so sorry you had to see that," she muttered, though more to herself than to Yulsin and Yurel. She got herself up onto a chair, and her breathing slowed, as the two travelers stared at her in silence.

Jiaolong

Yulsin tilted his head, a worried expression on his face. "...Are you sure you need help with you studies? I think you need more help with your...condition."

Yurel nodded, but she was more interested in what Jala has said before her sudden convulsions. "What were you saying about a primal magic found within all humans? I thought many humans didn't have magic." She snorted. "The Connloathians would have a fit if they knew."

yams88888

Jala took a breath.
"Imagine, Yurel, that you're in battle. You're fighting for your life, and you see your brother fall beside you. You feel a surge of emotions. Those emotions could easily be channeled into magic, or at least that's what the manuscripts say. In terms of how powerful this magic is, or how humans could use it, the manuscripts are vague. We need to get to the bottom of this before Connlaoth breaks out in war. We'll need to go to Thanatos."
Jala stopped, staring at the siblings. She couldn't bear the thought of what catastrophe would happen in Connlaoth if she didn't try to find answers.

Jiaolong

"Thanatos...alright. You helped my brother, and I don't go back on my word." Yurel ran a finger through one of her locks of hair. "What do you think you'll find in Thanatos?"

Yulsin picked up the mug of medicine and took another sip, sitting down once again beside the wall. "If it's something all humans have, then I'm surprised no one's found out until now. Unless, the humans with magic have already unlocked it?"

yams88888

Jala got up, staring at the siblings. "The Thanati have always been experts in primal magic. Maybe if they had known that humans in the mainland possessed it, they probably would have prevented those humans from unlocking their magic. We need to begin preparing for the journey there, and if there's any trouble, I'll need your help." Jala finished, getting up and grabbing her robes she used to harvest her garden. She went into the washroom, pulling them over her head. "Jala Hawthorne," she said to herself, "What a mess you've gotten yourself into."

Jiaolong

Yurel simply nodded at Jala, watching her leave the room.

"Well, Yulsin, it looks like we're going to Thanatos."

Yulsin set his mug down, having finally finished the medicinal concoction. He felt better already, but the thought of going to Thanatos made him wrinkle his nose. "I don't like that place...it's so gloomy. But a job's a job." He unsheathed his sword and took out a cloth, cleaning the blade of any evidence of battle.

yams88888

The rest of the day was spent with Jala harvesting all her crop, making swaths of preserves, and accidentally breaking a jar in the process. When night fell, she sent Yurel and Yulsin to sleep in the spare room, while she prepared the carriage she'd use for the mare.  She went back into the cottage holding a candle, flickering, where shadows were dancing on the humble walls. She stared at them, entranced, before snapping back to reality. She saw a figure in the darkness, staring at her with crimson eyes.

Jiaolong

Yulsin had left his sister in the spare room to go to the bathroom. Upon his return, he noticed Jala staring at something in the shadows. Yulsin tensed; he sensed something sinister lurking there. He wasn't sure what to do, but something told him the woman herself was more than she seemed.

He finally decided to break the silence. "You're tampering with some dangerous stuff, you know. Primal magic isn't the nicest, and we don't know what could happen if word gets out." He decided not to mention the bad feeling he got coming from the darkness.

yams88888

Jala replied, "I know what I must do. If this gets out, war may break out worse than before, but it may also be prevented. I'm willing to take the risk." Jala set the candle down on the table, before slumping down on a chair, and rubbing her eyes in exhaustion.

She stared out at the shadows again, reminded of her upbringing. She sighed deeply, looking at Yulsin. "You need to rest, we'll be setting out tomorrow. Please, you still haven't healed completely."

Jiaolong

"It's alright," Yulsin said. "My kind heal quickly anyway." He suddenly looked a little flustered that he had said that out loud, but he figured Jala was dealing with things more dangerous than demons. She probably wouldn't mind, right?

He quickly composed himself. "Your medicine works very well. It'd be very valuable in lots of places where magic isn't so prevalent," he commented. This was a land of mages, but other parts of the world still looked at magic with wonder.

yams88888

Jala looked at Yulsin in an odd manner when he said "my king", but thought nothing of it. She assumed he meant where he came from. "What you say is true," replied Jala, "But I would rather stay here, if I had the choice." She suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion sweep over her. "Goodnight Yulsin," she said, walking to her room with her candle. Jala fell into a deep, restful sleep, the first one she had in a long time.

Jiaolong

"Goodnight."

Yurel awoke to the sun shining on to her face. Always an early riser, she quickly got up and readied the last of her clothes and equipment. She nudged Yulsin, who was still sleeping peacefully. "Hey, wake up," she muttered.

After a bit of pushing and shoving, her brother was awake but groggy beyond belief. He most definitely was not a morning person. Yulsin ran a comb through his long hair while Yurel pulled on her boots. Soon enough, the twins were ready to go.

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