Gravity of the Situation

Robin stood from his invisible seat and began pacing. “We’re coming back to you and your new odd powers in a minute, but I’ll run down some basics of my powers. I’m sure you have some thoughts about what I can do from what you’ve seen,” Robin announced.

“I’m not gonna tell you all my abilities because I would like to be able to wow you at some point in the future, but I’ll tell you about the ones you’ve already seen and maybe a couple of others,” Robin explained. “First off, I’ll let you know, my magic is gravity based, It’s going to sound dumb but trying to use real-world physics to try to understand my magic makes it harder to use, so I can’t actually explain my abilities in a scientific way, I’m not even actually a hundred per cent what forces I’m putting on some of the magic I’m using.”

The sound of gravel under Robin’s foot vanished as he began to step on air, continuing his pacing only thirty or so centimetres above the ground.

“Might as well start with this one. {Gravity Step}, hmm, how best to explain this… So, I’m making a stepping stone out of the air itself using gravity, mass and density manipulation… I think. I can make two stepping stones about thirty-five centimetres wide and I can dismiss and summon a new one faster than I can run,” Robin elaborated before dropping the few centimetres back to the ground; the gravel crunched beneath his feet as he turned back to face the two sitting on the bench.

“So, let's talk about the magic I used the first time you saw me, and you better keep your mouth shut, I named it as a kid and just haven’t changed it… {Black Comet}, it’s the only magic I have specifically for self-defence. I basically mix a few of my powers in order to make a projectile. I can charge it up longer to make it stronger but there’s a limit because the longer I charge it, the less extra power is added.” Robin looked down at his hand which he formed into a fist before opening his hand again and shaking it off.

“The last thing I’ll tell you… hmm… Oh, might as well show this since it’s one that wouldn’t come up in a fight and is probably the most unique thing I have. First, I need both of you to close your eyes, and John, count to ten out loud for me before you both open your eyes again,” Robin instructed.

The two closed their eyes and John counted loud and clear. They heard Robin shift his weight a little but then he went silent. “Aaaand ten, ready or not, here we come,” John called jokingly.

John and Ellie both opened their eyes to find that Robin was no longer standing in front of them. The pair stood, looking left, right and then even into the sky, trying to spot where Robin may have gone.

John focused on his eyes, manifesting his draconic vision. Squinting hard as the light and colour overstimulated him, causing a migraine. “Fuck, I forgot about that…” he muttered.

After a couple of seconds, he opened his eyes; it ached but he fought through it as he looked around. First, he looked in the direction they came from and in the sky, then back over towards the archery range, where he spotted something odd.

It was quite obvious it was the shape of a person but it shimmered like heat waves. John turned fully towards the shape and began walking in that direction.

“Oh, come on, you can’t cheat me like that!” Robin complained. “You could have at least tried to look for me like a normal person.”

John laughed before reverting his eyes- Staring at the spot he knew Robin was in, he could just barely see the same shimmering effect, which reminded him of the Predators. “Yeah, but now you know I’ll always be able to see you. How the hell are you doing that though? You said you had gravity powers, didn’t you? Are you using gravity to bend light or something?”

Robin became visible once again and dropped back to the floor, causing the gravel to crunch under his feet. “Not sure, but it makes sense when you say it like that, I guess. Though I could also be making gravitational ripples or maybe I could be altering the mass of the air causing it to bend. Again, I can’t really explain it in a scientific way, it's just something that I feel and do. Either way, it’s perfect for using Gravity Step to get around without mundanes seeing me.”

“Wow, that’s actually pretty cool, so what else you got? I wanna see more,” John asked eagerly.

“Nope, that’s all you’re getting, for now. Anyway, I’m pretty sure there are other things you wanna question, right?” Robin asked, nodding in Ellie’s direction.

John narrowed his eyes and turned to look at Ellie. “Yeah, I guess we can come back to you again later. How about we revisit some of the things you said? Like that it felt familiar when you were sensing the wyrmlings' mana, what’s that about?”

Ellie’s face scrunched in a cute way as she thought. “I don’t know, it’s not easy to describe… Last night was definitely the first time it happened, but it wasn’t an alien feeling to me. Maybe being around you so much this week caused it? And maybe I’ve been slowly becoming able to sense your mana or something but hadn’t really taken notice of it? I don’t know.”

Robin stepped forward. “That sounds possible? But it does seem really fast… I’ve lived with my adoptive parents for essentially all my life and I have more than a couple magic items around the house but neither of them has manifested abilities.”

“Maybe it’s the amount of magic I’ve been around? Like, I was there when John first gained a bunch of skills. There was his Barrier and Cullis Gate abilities, then I was there when he Fus Ro Dah’d, uhm, I was there when he got his claws… Oh wait, I’ve also had his magic seeping out of the quartz I’ve had him fill so I can use it to infuse potions and stuff,” Ellie theorised.

“John making powers definitely would release extra energy into the area. I bet those spirits of yours hatching probably released a good amount of magic too…” Robin interjected.

John scratched the back of his neck. “Okay, so being around me and handling the quartz and those wyrmlings could have caused your abilities to manifest? Maybe we can ask someone that knows better than us about this stuff. You also didn’t explain how you trained the wyrmlings.”

“Oh, I definitely didn’t train them. They have been listening to me for the most part, but they’re essentially like little kids; luckily Ace and Bhumi act like older siblings and they have been helping to calm everyone down when I ask. They have gotten a little excitable a couple of times themselves though; like when I was in the orchard, they seemed really hyper and wanted to touch everything,” Ellie explained.

Robin smiled and fell backwards landing on air once again. “I’m curious about that ability of yours, what happens if you try to take my mana? Can you just take it without permission? Because if you can, that might be more OP than John’s powers. Like, if you can steal mana, without any kind of equipment, that’s kinda scary. Not only that but there are probably a lot of dangerous people who would be interested in you. So, how about you try taking my mana? I’ll put my guard up to see if you can take it forcefully.”

Robin didn’t seem to do anything other than shuffle in his invisible chair as if to get more comfortable and looked up at Ellie. Ellie’s face scrunched a little and she stepped closer to Robin, holding her hand out. A few seconds of concentration passed.

“No, it’s not working. But what if that’s just because I can’t use your mana?” Ellie asked.

Robin nodded. “Well, I definitely felt a pull, how about you try again and I’ll let it happen.”

Ellie nodded and reached out again. A broad smile formed on her face and she jumped up excitedly, but stopped as a slightly confused expression formed. “I took mana from you, and it felt like it was pulling on me, and as it travelled up my arm it felt like it was getting heavier and lighter all at the same time, but then it started to change as I brought it into myself. It split, I know part of it is definitely the same as the earth wyrmlings, but the other feels kind of empty.”

“Huh, that’s odd… Earth? And something empty? Maybe you converted it inadvertently?” Robin suggested.

“No, I don’t think so. I have to consciously do that, and that wouldn’t explain the other mana, because I’m not familiar with it,” Ellie explained, trying to think of a reason.

“Could Robin’s powers be a mixture of more than one element? You said one was definitely Earth, right? If he uses Gravity, maybe it split into Earth and something else? I don’t really know enough about elements to make a good guess but maybe it’s a mixture of Earth and Vox?” John theorised. “Let me use Aspect attunement and change to Vox.

“I don’t know if this is really going to change my actual mana or if it just changes the output or something,” John said as he focused on the spell. The mana vanished from his mp bar but unlike the times when he had his claws manifested, he couldn’t really feel a difference. “Okay, I think it’s done.”

Ellie looked at him. “Yeah it’s definitely done something. I don’t know how to explain it but your mana feels… I don’t know, it’s not like anything I’ve felt before, I can’t even say it feels like heat or static or cold or anything because none of that would be right… But it definitely doesn’t feel the same as the extra mana I have, bright maybe? Oh, I have an idea, do you think I could transfer a little over to you and see if your powers can tell us?”

John nodded, extending his hand to accept Ellie’s. He looked at his mana bar and saw three MP get added but there was no indication of what mana type it could have been. John’s reaction told Ellie everything she needed to know.

“Okay then, maybe we can test this out later on? John has a quest to collect us and bring us back to the front of the palace, maybe the barrier will actually start if we’re all together there,” Ellie said, taking a few steps in the direction of the tunnel, pulling John as she moved.

“What about my quest? I’ve got to clear up the courtyard,” Robin responded as he stood.

“Oh yeah, well, the thing is that I don’t think your quest is going to matter, just like mine didn’t. I think that John’s might actually trigger the barrier to start,” Ellie argued. “If John’s quest doesn’t do anything, we can always come back and the two of us will help you.”

Robin nodded. “Yeah, makes sense, plus it’s not like I really want to clean this place up.”

Robin dusted himself off before the three of them headed towards the tunnel.

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