Luvi sat on her horse while riding off to the south in a group of soldiers. Their job was simply to patrol all towards the south, towards the edge of the empire’s border with Yaralon. It sounded exciting at first, but most of their time was filled with monotony. There were only so many bandits around, and the smart ones didn’t cause trouble when there was a clearly identifiable patrol within sight. She was supposed to get familiar with the routes so she spent some of her time looking at maps and checking them whenever they came across landmarks.
They rode along a long, somewhat straight road which allowed Luvi to take her mind off of controlling her horse and enjoy the peaceful rhythm that the horse’s movements produced. It was calming, enough to rid herself of her antsy mood that the boring day had caused. It also helped her push aside the constant bickering between the soldiers. Always complaining and talking about things she didn't care about. She missed the soldiers she'd gotten to know in the desert.
With her mind clear, she was able to think of productive things she could do in the meantime. Rupturing came to mind, though she still didn’t know what exactly her power was. All she knew was that she could create small, short lived windows that allowed her to see through things. It was a power she had only used a few times so far, as last time she’d caused herself to pass out.
This time, she had a plan in mind. She couldn’t remember exactly how many times she’d made a porthole, but she guessed it had to be around five. So, her goal was to do less than that, to be safe. With this in mind, she knew that she had to be careful about what she attempted to do. There was no point in wasting one of her precious few attempts.
Last edited by Illuvia on Sun Jul 21, 2024 12:26 am, edited 2 times in total. word count: 331
Goku rode alongside the group, feeling a sense of purpose as he had managed to secure some basic pay for his healing services. The road ahead stretched long and straight, with the monotony of the patrol weighing heavily on everyone. Goku slowed his horse and fell back to ride alongside a group of soldiers. He struck up a conversation with a few of them, asking about how they were handling the heat. One soldier wiped his brow and grumbled about the relentless sun, while another joked about feeling like they were roasting alive in their armor.
Spotting Luvi up ahead, he decided to ride up next to her and see how she was holding up. He urged his horse forward and soon matched her pace. "Hey, Luvi," he called out, his voice breaking through the ambient noise of hooves and distant chatter. "What's on your mind?" He noticed she seemed deep in thought, her gaze focused on the road ahead. The rhythm of their horses' strides provided a steady backdrop. He hoped engaging her in conversation might help lighten the mood during their monotonous patrol.
He still didn’t believe that she had a new magical ability. He thought it had been all in her head. Goku's skepticism lingered as he watched her, wondering if it was just stress or fatigue causing her to think she had some new power. Despite his doubts, he didn't want to dismiss her feelings outright. He had seen some crazy things revolving around wells these past few weeks.
Goku snapped Luvi out of her deep thought. She had to blink to focus herself and then looked at him. “Oh, hey, I’m just thinking about that power I thought I had. Now that you’re here, you can tell me if I’m crazy. Look at that bag over there…” She pointed to a saddlebag hanging from the horse in front of her.
Luvi mimed tearing a portal open and in unison a small hole started to open in the bag, revealing that it carried various camping tools such as stakes to hold down tents. The portal only stayed open for a few seconds before disappearing, but it had been long enough for Luvi to know that it had worked.
“I was doing that last time, but I passed out… In hindsight I think I probably overstepped. It was odd though – I’ve never passed out from overstepping using any other magic. Anyways, what do you think? It’s something right?”
She pointed at another bag, a dozen or so feet away then focused. She didn’t know how far away she could make portals, but she guessed that the portals didn’t necessarily need to be right next to her. She mimed tearing open a portal again, but nothing happened. She put more ether into the attempt and, sure enough, a small hole opened in another saddlebag.
“I think it’s neat, but I still don’t get the point. The well gave me the power to look into containers… how strange.”
“That’s something else,” he said, genuinely impressed as he watched the portal open and close. “You’re not crazy. This is definitely something. You’re making portals, I think.”
He glanced at the bag she had targeted, seeing the camping tools briefly revealed. “That could be really useful. Imagine being able to check what’s behind a door without opening it, or seeing if something dangerous is hidden inside.”
As Luvi demonstrated again, targeting another bag further away, Goku added “It’s definitely neat. I guess the challenge is figuring out how to use it without overstepping. Passing out from using it too much is a problem, but maybe with practice, you can manage it better.”
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, considering the potential applications of her new ability. “Is there anything else you can do or are you limited to these small little windows?”
Goku pondered the peculiar nature of Luvi's new ability, his mind racing with possibilities. The well that gave her this power was a mountainstone and they were not known for anything resembling portal making. He had never heard of a mountainstone granting such a power, which only deepened the mystery.
How could a well imbue someone with the ability to create portals? It defied everything he knew about magic and the properties of different stones. Could there have been something else in that well, something hidden or misunderstood?
“I wonder if we could replicate what happened to you.” He added. “I would not mind gaining magical powers either and would be willing to sacrifice a few wells to try it out.”
“Portals?” Luvi asked. It made sense, now that she thought about it. But that would make her a rupture and unless someone had initiated her while she slept, she definitely wasn’t one of those.
“I guess they are portals,” she admitted, “but trust me, you don’t want weird magical things happening to you. This isn’t exactly fun for me,” she continued with a frown. “But if you wanted to try doing the same with the wells you have… I could smoosh them for you and we could try when we get back to the city.” She had left all her wells and ensorcelling equipment with Lumina who was supposed to be meeting them on another leg of their journey.
She thought for a few minutes, wondering how to test of these actually were portals. She then snapped her fingers. “If they are portals, then I should be able to put something through one, right?” She drew a kunai then held it steady as she tore open a portal in one of her own saddlebags. In the small window before the portal closed, she shoved the kunai into the porthole, but the kunai didn’t drop into the bag… it tore into it.
“See, if it were a portal then shouldn’t it have gone through without damaging the bag?” She feared trying again because she didn’t want to pass out, but she was pretty sure she had proven her point. Besides, if a well had initiated her into magic that would mean she would have to have a spark, right? And she didn’t feel a new presence inside her.
Goku considered Luvi's words, trying to piece together the nature of her strange new ability. "Maybe it's just because you only got this power recently," he mused aloud. "It might take a lot of time and practice before you can make real portals like the ones we usually think about. You know, the kind that lets things pass through. I don’t think most people know much about rupturing magic aside from that they can make portals. It may be tough to learn more without a proper teacher."
He glanced around, noticing a few soldiers starting to watch their exchange. Their curiosity was evident, though they tried to remain subtle about it. The sight made Goku more cautious. "Look, Luvi," he said, lowering his voice, "you shouldn't push yourself too much. We don't fully understand what this magic can do or its limits. If there's a fight, we need you at your best. We can't afford for you to pass out in the middle of it."
He looked at the soldiers again, their attention still on them. "They'll expect us to be capable and reliable," Goku said. "If they see you struggling or overexerting yourself, it might affect their confidence in our group."
They rode in silence for a few moments, the rhythmic clopping of the horses' hooves the only sound. Goku kept an eye on the surrounding terrain, always alert for any signs of danger. "So," he said after a while, "what do you think our next move should be once we finish this patrol? Any ideas for once we get around to Rharne?"
Luvi sighed, “you have a point. Alright, no more practice. Not for today, anyways.” That is what she said, but she got another idea just as she was about to put her kunai away.
“Actually, just one more thing,” she said, “and then I’m done, I promise.” She held the kunai and focused her ether into it, wondering if she was being stupid, then she tried to cut open a portal into her bag and then drop it in. She was attempting to make a Snapshot portal in her own roundabout way, though she didn’t know that was a technique or how it was supposed to be done. She hadn’t thrown the weapon so it didn’t cut a proper portal, and since it wasn’t moving fast enough, the portal didn’t stay open long enough for the weapon to pass through as it normally would.
Nevertheless, Luvi had learned one important thing – weapons could cut open portals. It felt useful to know, as she had relied on hand motions before which felt awkward. To her, swinging a blade was a much more natural feeling.
She tucked the kunai away after that and grinned at Goku. “All done. Now, to answer your question, I think we should go to the best tavern in town and get their best drink. I know my budget necessitates staying at a low end tavern but… we should at least enjoy our first night there. And then I want to see what kind of temples they have for Illaren. I’m sure they’ll be a sight to behold.”
Goku frowned as Luvi decided to practice once more but he nodded, accepting her decision. "Alright, just make sure you're serious about being done after this," he said, watching closely as she attempted another portal.
He couldn’t tell what she was doing so he stayed silent. “Those are fine ideas” He said when she responded. Goku was about to say more when the soldiers called out to someone on the road. There was some commotion ahead. The other soldiers were already dismounting and gathering around a broken-down wagon. "Looks like someone needs help," he said, pointing to the scene.
Goku hopped down too and saw that a wheel had come off, and the wagon's owner was struggling to lift it back into place. "I'll give you a hand," Goku offered. He didn't see the harm in doing a good deed.
Using his strength, and the help of the soldiers, Goku lifted the wagon while the others worked to fit the spare wheel on. He made sure to balance the weight evenly, gritting his teeth as he held the wagon steady. "Alright, get that wheel on quickly," he urged, his muscles straining with the effort. He realized he should have used his runes but he wanted to take his own advice and conserve energy.
The soldiers worked efficiently, securing the spare wheel in place. Once it was done, Goku gently lowered the wagon back down. The owner thanked him profusely, and Goku waved off the gratitude with a modest smile. "No problem at all. Glad we could help."
Luvi didn’t bother getting down to help because so many others were trying to help already. Too many chefs in the kitchen weren’t a good thing. Goku was plenty strong enough anyways when he had that much help.
“Have you lot seen anything strange?” Luvi asked with as much authority as she could put in her voice. She tried to sound commanding, like a soldier should when talking to people she wanted information out of. She came off as more rude than authoritative, however.
“Strange? How do you mean?”
“Strange. Bandits, unusual creatures, anything out of the ordinary? We’re on patrol and I’m bored,” Luvi explained.
“No, thank goodness. This trip has been perfect for us, aside from this repair mishap.” That was what the woman said before one of the horses got startled by the noise made during the repair, causing it to take off. Its restraints hadn’t been done properly and it easily broke free of them.
“You jinxed it,” Luvi joked before hopping off her horse and saying “I’ll go get it.”
Luvi started jogging after the horse, knowing that she would eventually catch up to it. If not then she would use runes. She would have ideally wanted to use her horse to chase it… but getting her horse to sprint when she wanted it to was always a pain.
Luvi picked up speed as she continued running, eventually breaking into an all out sprint. She liked the challenge of chasing down the horse that was so much faster than anything she could ever naturally achieve. She leapt over pits in the ground, finding even that enjoyable. It was exciting, like being in a fight.
Goku looked up when someone asked him what was wrong with Luvi and if she was crazy. He glanced at her and thought little of her decision to run after a horse.
"She did say she was bored," Goku responded with a shrug. "Just let her have her moment."
The soldiers continued to work on the wagon, but the commotion caused by the runaway horse had done more damage than anticipated. A few more boards had come loose, and one of the axles was looking precarious. One of the soldiers, noticing the increased damage, frowned and directed the others to carefully lift the wagon once more.
"Alright, let's take this slow and steady," he instructed. "We need to make sure everything's secure this time, or we'll be stuck here all day."
With a coordinated effort, the soldiers lifted the wagon while Goku and a couple of others worked on stabilizing the axle and reinforcing the loose boards. Sweat trickled down his forehead as he focused on the task at hand.
After what felt like an eternity but was likely only a half hour or less, the repairs were finally complete. The wagon now looked sturdy enough to withstand the remainder of the journey. Goku stood up, wiping his brow and giving the wheel a final, satisfied shake. He looked for Luvi to see if she had gotten the horse yet. He had warned her against wearing herself out and thought that maybe that was the reason why she had not used runes right off the bat.
