Stronger magics

Darx awoke before the sun rose. Neku asleep on one side of him, Wendy on the other. He didn’t even remember going to bed. The last thing he remembered was Neku talking about. . . Well, Neku talking about something he didn’t want to think too much about right now.

There was so much going on. Stopping Kase was important, he needed to deal with him. But Neku was going to talk to Estella today and see what she could help him with regarding Amelia. Nothing Darx could do till then. There was whatever happened with the demons, with Namy and Usofra. They were gone though, looking into that themselves. Oliver lying to him. Darx pushed that one back. He would trust Oliver. Oliver deserved that much. He wasn’t going to put Oliver in the same category as Syvis for keeping one secret from him, even if it was about Amelia. Darx was choosing to believe that whatever his reason, it had to be a good one. Hopefully Estella would help them and he wouldn’t need to go back and try to **** Oliver to tell him what he knew.

Darx looked up at the ceiling, pushed those thoughts out of his head. He needed to focus on the other incredibly important thing going on. He needed to focus on the Dark Elves, on Syvis’ parents coming to Riledo to see him. They were coming to judge him, see if he was enough for them to join the fight. He needed to be ready. He needed to show them something special, something Zrephian, something powerful.

Darx looked to Wendy, resting peacefully beside him. Wendy was pretty, in a cute way. He liked her freckles and red hair, it fit her bubbly personality, even if she had been more subdued recently. Seeing Namy and Usofra had been a lot for her. The darkness inside him, the fact that he could steal other people's abilities, all of that had hit Wendy hard. But she was still here, lying next to him, supporting him. He couldn't help but smile at her, Wendy was a lot more impressive than he had thought when they were in the castle. Of course she was lying in his bed, snuggled into his side. It wasn't hard to think good things about a pretty girl when she is in that situation. But what was important right now is what she told him yesterday. The part about being a spellsword with multiple magics. According to the book Soraya gave him he was an Archon, a special class only Zrephians could become. He had combat skills to go with both air and water magic. He should be able to do Ice magic as well. If he could show those off with his combat skills, that should be enough to convince the Dark Elves that he was Zrephian.

The problem was Darx wasn’t good with his other magics. He could wield his water magic easily, he had it the longest and his ring let him cast it without needing a supply of water nearby or using the staff that Syvis gave him. Syvis had given him that water ring as well. Darx felt sad remembering those days, going to her greenhouse, working on his magic with her. She hadn’t just been the beautiful woman he fell for, she was also a hell of a teacher. If things hadn’t turned out the way they did, he could go to her, have her help him with air magic, learn to use ice magic. That really wasn’t an option now.

Darx decided to get up. He felt well rested and he wanted to do something. He didn’t want to sit around and think about it anymore. He slipped away from Wendy and tried to move over top of Neku, but she took a hold of him, pulled him down on top of her as she made an adorable sleepy sound. Darx was trapped. He didn’t want to wake Neku, so he carefully tried to lie down on the other side of her, toward the edge of the bed. Neku pressed into him, her chest, hip and legs rubbing against him as she pulled herself into him.

“Darx.” She said softly, her voice practically a moan. Darx blushed, he felt warm as his dick hardened in reaction. He eased himself down on the soft mattress, now he just needed to get out of Neku’s grip. At least, if he was going to get up he did. It was rather nice laying there, Neku’s body pressed into his. She moaned and kissed his chest. She had to be dreaming, and if she was dreaming about him. . .

Darx smiled and kissed Neku’s forehead. She stirred a bit. Darx got his arm under her, held her back, let their legs intertwine as he kissed her again. She rubbed against his chest as she snuggled into him, almost purring. Darx couldn’t help but smile. In public Neku was so fierce and cold, formal and indifferent with others. But alone with him, she was soft and feminine, it felt incredible.

“Good morning, Neku.” Darx said as he saw her eyes open. It took her a second to realize how they were lying, she looked up at him nervously.

“Good morning, Darx.” She responded, he could feel her stiffen slightly, like she wasn’t comfortable being like this, but she didn’t move, didn’t push away from him.

Darx took his finger, brushed a stray bunch of hair off her forehead. “Is it okay to get up yet?” He asked her with a smile.

“What?” Neku asked, before realizing how she was wrapped around him. “Oh, sorry.” She said as she released him.

Darx kissed her forehead again. “I don’t mind. It’s rather nice.” Neku blushed, laid and watched him as Darx got up, grabbed a pair of pants and walked to the bathroom.

Darx washed his face, used the bathroom, put on his pants and by the time her went back into his bedroom Neku was up, she had a robe on.

“Are you heading out?” she asked.

“Yeah.” He replied. “I want to go work on my magic. I thought I’d use the practice rooms again.”

“Can I come with you?” Neku asked him.

“Sure, it won’t be exciting but you are always welcome.”

“I need to talk to Estella anyway.” She said.

Darx waited for Neku to get dressed and they headed out, leaving Wendy still asleep in the bed.

The morning air was cool, the city mostly dark as they set out for the Midnight Dawn guild house.

“Darx, about last night.” Neku started. “I didn’t mean to overwhelm you.”

“It’s okay Neku, it isn’t your fault.” He replied.

“It’s a lot, but it’s also important Darx.” She continued, her voice serious.

“I can’t even imagine it Neku. That many women, that many kids, how could I be a father to a hundred kids? It’s ridiculous.”

“You wouldn’t be raising them, Darx.”

Darx’s voice turned serious. “Then I’m not making them.”

“Darx. . .”

“No, Neku. I grew up without a father, because mine died. My mother did a great job, but I still felt it. I saw other families, I knew what I was missing.” Darx looked at her, his face set. “Doing that to my own children while I am still alive, just too busy making more kids to be a dad to any of them? I won’t do that.”

Neku looked at him, like she wanted to argue with him, but she didn't say anything. After a moment she sighed. “Okay, Darx.”

Neku relented but Darx could tell she wasn’t finished, she wasn’t convinced, just unwilling to fight him. Darx would settle for that now. He understood the power returning the line of Zrephian kings would mean for the kingdom, for the people. The security and peace it could bring. But he couldn’t stand the idea of having a hundred kids with no intent to be a father to any of them. That sounded awful.

“So, your magic.” Neku said, changing the subject. “What do you want to work on?”

“I want to improve my air magic, and see if I can do Ice magic.” He answered. “Be able to show the Dark Elves that I’m an Archon, show them I’m really Zrephian.”

Darx almost flinched as he realized what he just said. He knew it was true, but thinking about being a parent made him realize that his birth, his parentage, it shouldn’t be possible. Maybe that one theory, that two people with some Zrephian heritage could have a kid with the red eyes, maybe that was true. That would explain it. The other option, that his mother was lying to him, that his parents weren't really his parents. . . he wouldn’t think about that.

“You have a plan?” Neku asked. “For training your magic, I mean.” She added when she saw his confused look.

“No, not really.” He admitted. “I guess I’ll just try the stuff we did back when I was at the castle.”

“Who taught you to use water magic?” She asked.

“Syvis.”

“Oh.” Neku paused, then added. “Was she a good teacher?”

“Yes.” Darx said with a sigh. “She was great.”

“You could send for her, have her help you again.”

“Neku.” Darx said. No way would he ask her. She wouldn’t come. Not after yesterday.

“Darx, the Dark Elves are coming. That meeting is critical, for you and for the kingdom.” Neku argued. “Syvis knows her parents better than anyone here, she knows Dark Elf culture and politics. And she’s taught you magic before. She’s the obvious choice.”

“I can’t. I can’t ask her to do that.” Darx replied. "I don't know if I will even be alright being around her."

“You’re going to have to be okay with her, Darx. She’s going to be involved with the negotiations. It's better to struggle being around her now than to wait till it really matters.”

“You are right, Neku," Darx admitted. "but I can’t. I can’t ask her.”

“Then I’ll do it for you.” Neku’s voice showed her determination. She didn’t push earlier, she backed down then, why was she pushing this?

“She won’t come.” Darx answered. "Why would she? Like she said, there's nothing left for the two of us anymore."

Neku laughed. “Oh she’ll come.” She said confidently. Darx believed her. If Neku was determined, she’d find a way. The question was why was she so determined?

“Neku, I’d rather you didn’t.” Darx said.

Neku grabbed his hands, stopped their walk. Darx stood, looking at her, Neku looking at him with compassion, but also determination.

“You are stronger than you think, Darx.” She reached up, touched his cheek with a smile. “You can’t hide from her, you need to overcome the past.”

She was right, he’d need to face Syvis at some point. If they could interact as teacher and student, put their relationship behind them, it would be for the best.

“Okay.” Darx said. “I’ll try.”

Neku smiled at him, then nudged him with her elbow. “Besides, if she steps out of line, I’ll kick her ass.”

Darx couldn’t help but smile back.

They arrived at Midnight Dawn, Darx headed to his room there. It looked the same as the last time he had been there, but it felt different, very different. He looked over his things, the few books he had collected, a few trinkets from different missions he had been on. The letters he had received in the six months before he came to Riledo.

Without thinking about it he picked up the stack of letters from Amelia, started reading the first one.

Hello Darx,

I wish you were here with me. It's only been a few days, but I miss you already.

Damn.

It took him immediately back to the way things had been, to the days before she left for Riledo, before Kase came to Merton.

He read further, Oliver jumping up and down when he found out Amelia was a B-rank cleric. Then the ending:

PS: Don’t forget out promise.

How could he forget. They were going to go on adventures together, support each other. Instead. . .

Darx wiped away the tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes, pushed those thoughts away. He picked up the second letter. Read about her at the castle, planning to join the Dark Dragons, meeting Queen Zara and Princess Kathleen. She thought they were gorgeous. Amelia saying she missed him, that she couldn’t wait to see him again. He put that letter down, picked up the third. He knew what was coming, but he needed to read it.

A cold tone informing him that she had joined Oblivion, that she had things she needed to tell him. A surprisingly short letter.

I hope you are well.

The closing line wasn’t Amelia, she had never talked to him with such distance. It was obvious that Kase did whatever he did to her between those letters. Maybe when they were leaving the castle? He had been hurt when he read those letters before, when she stopped writing after the cold, distant one. Hurt even worse when he met her in Riledo and she told him to leave her alone. Now it made him angry. It made him angry at Kase but also angry at himself for not seeing it sooner. Angry that his friend suffered and he did nothing.

“I’ll find you, Amelia.” Darx promised out loud. “No matter what.”

It hit him that he was standing in his room, wasting time while Neku had gone to arrange for Syvis to meet him in the training rooms. Darx grabbed the staff Syvis had given him the first week he was training in the castle and quickly headed to the lower levels of the guild, down to the training room.

One reason Darx hadn’t used his air magic much was because he dual-wielded swords. That meant he couldn’t carry a magic focus. His ring let him use water magic without a focus, but he didn’t have anything to focus his air magic through, and without a focus, even low-level magic was difficult.

Once he arrived at the training rooms Darx immediately started to work on his air magic. He was easily able to summon the small orb of wind while wielding the staff. He could control it, fling it the same as his [Water Ball] spell. It didn’t seem to have much impact though. He called up a water ball, through his ring, and it was both easier and felt stronger.

“Hmmm.” Darx scowled. Had he chosen a crappy element when he chose air? It didn't seem very strong. It should give him access to Ice magic, though, and he was excited for that. Water magic had a lot of potential, but the idea of being able to throw an ice spear instead of his [Water Lance] seemed like an upgrade.

That gave Darx a thought, and he used the staff to summon another orb of air, tried shaping it into a spear. It didn’t work. The air was willing to swirl in a ball, but when he tried to shape it the air escaped, slipping his control and blowing away.

“What was that?” A voice asked, Darx turned to see Syvis standing in the doorway, She was looking intently at him. The same way she used to look at him, way back when she taught him at the castle.

“I was trying to use my air magic.” Darx admitted.

“What were you trying to do with it?” She asked him, folding her arms in front of her. Syvis again had a high-necked dress on, but this one wasn’t long like the one she wore yesterday. It was short like most of her other dresses, today she had leggings on covering her legs. Darx **** his eyes back up to her face. Damn she was beautiful, her eyes passionate and focused, her lips soft and full.

“I, I was trying,” Darx floundered a bit with his words. “I wanted to cast an attack spell.”

“You can’t attack with air the same way you would attack with water, Darx.” Syvis scolded him. “Think of how the wind works and then make it work for you.”

What she said made sense. One of the most common air spells was [Gust], and it was just a big burst of wind. Darx thought about pushing the wind, making it blow for him and then tried it.

The resulting [Gust] felt quite strong, it blew against the wall and around the room, blowing his hair into his face.

“That was actually quite good, Darx.” Syvis said with a smile, the kind of smile he had worked so hard to earn in the early days of training. “Try something for me, try directing the air at the ground, and keep pushing.”

Darx focused. He wanted to do well. He wanted to be powerful. He needed to be a powerful mage if he was going to impress the Dark Elves, but right now that was a distant second place to impressing Syvis. He wanted to show her his strength, his talent, he wanted to impress her. Damn, why did he still feel like that?

When he threw the air at the ground he felt himself lift off the ground. Darx ducked his head reflexively before crashing into the ceiling. It broke his concentration and he fell, but not very far. The stone floor had come up to meet him only a few feet below the ceiling. He looked and saw Syvis holding her book, lowering the stone back into the ground, into the floor. As Syvis’ [stone wall] spell ended the floor returned to being a single solid stone surface.

“Well, Darx.” Syvis stated. “You definitely have good affinity for Air magic. That was [Gale], a stronger version of the [Gust] spell. It doesn’t look like you have any trouble with air magic, you just haven’t practiced it.”

“Well, I have been fighting with two swords instead of using the staff, so I couldn’t use air magic, just water magic through my ring.” Darx replied.

“Try it.” Syvis stated.

“Try what?”

“Try casting [Gale] without the staff.” She answered. “While I’m not entirely sure how your powers work, Darx, you are a spellsword and should be able to cast without holding your focus.”

That’s right, Darx thought to himself. Leona was a spellsword and she cast her magic while fighting with a sword and shield.

Darx set the staff down, stepped away from it and tried casting [Gale] at the wall. It worked but the spell was significantly weaker and felt like it took more out of him. He told Syvis what he felt.

“Interesting.” Syvis’ gaze drifted to the side as she thought. Darx found himself staring at her, just like he used to when she was his trainer at the castle. “Try casting some water spells,” She said when she spoke again. “but first take your ring off, and use both your swords.”

Darx did as she instructed, he summoned his [Water Barrier], several orbs of water circled him rapidly. Again it felt like he had used a significant amount of mana, far more than when he had the ring on.

Syvis took out a book from a bag she had carried in, flipped through it to a page a good ways in.

“Okay, let’s try a spellsword specific air spell.” She said, bringing the book to him. She stood next to him, her shoulder just slightly behind his, her arm brushing his, her breasts nearly touching him, her face not far from his own. . .

“See, you focus the air through the sword as you slash with it, creating these thin blades of air that can cut your target.”

Darx **** himself to listen, to ignore the feeling of being next to her. Stepping away from Syvis he tried to do what the book showed. He focused his air magic like he had when he cast [Gale], tried pushing that into his swords. When he felt like the magic was working he swung, directing the magic at the wall in front of him. It felt like it kind of worked. Darx could feel the wind coming out of his swords, but it didn’t form the blades of air the book described.

Syvis gave Darx more suggestions, how to focus the magic through the sword, envisioning the spell he wanted to produce. Shaping the spell with his mind through the sword. It was difficult for Darx. He had an easy time shaping spells through his ring, but through his sword was different, and it took him switching back to one sword and his staff and swinging them together before he produced a blade of air that hit the stone walls with ****.

Darx was surprised to see that he hadn’t created one blade, but two. One from his staff, which he expected, but another came from his sword. He looked to Syvis, who noticed as well.

“Your [Dual Wield] seems to affect your spellsword magic, Darx.” She said, her eyebrows raised in curiosity.

“You didn’t expect that?” He asked.

“I’ve never dealt with a spellsword with [Dual Wield] before, Darx.”

Darx used his [Air Blade] several more times. He didn’t even have to try harder to get two wind blades, they just came out of each weapon as he swung them. It wasn’t long before he didn't have to focus his thoughts, he could just cast it. The blades felt powerful as they struck the reinforced stone walls of the practice room. Darx couldn't help but smile, he really liked his new spell [Air Blade].

They had been working for several hours and Darx was running low on mana when Wendy and Neku came to the training room.

“Hey Darx.” Wendy said, watching Syvis as she entered. “Neku told me you would be down here. Are you hungry?” As Wendy talked, Neku’s eyes darted between Darx and Syvis. It was obvious they were here to check up on him, make sure he was okay being around Syvis. It was nice to know they were concerned, even if he felt he had been handling it fine.

Darx was hungry too, but Wendy being here reminded him of the other idea he had for a way to impress the Dark Elves. One that would involve a bit of trickery, if it even worked.