...So She Gave Me Her Name

A sky of clouds slowly rolls in by the time we return to the clearing, real ones to accompany the metaphorical ones in my… Nah, that's too cheesy. But I do feel like shit.

The woman in purple has me set Lyra down on the bedroll. I do, and then back away in relinquishing of the duty to her. I mean, when it was me trying to help her, I just ended up getting her hurt.

"What is your relationship to this girl?" the woman asks as she bends down beside her.

"Total strangers," I reply. "She's from the same village as me. But I've never seen her in my life before yesterday."

"Is that so? The way you held her didn't give that impression to me."

"W-Well, that's just because…" I pause. "It's… It's just because…"

And… I've hit a snag. Lyra is a complete stranger. Don't even know if she's telling the truth about who she is. So… Why's she here…? Why'd I let her join? Just because she looks a little bit like the girl I love?

"…But, if you say she's a stranger, then I suppose I won't pry," the woman says, shrugging. "Here, give me a hand in holding her. I want to take a look at that burn of hers."

I reluctantly shuffle forwards. She puts her hands on Lyra where she wants me to hold, and I accept it from her as she moves hers free.

Lyra lays on her side with me keeping her up. The woman glances for just a few moments at the burn.

"Well, unfortunately it seems to be fairly severe. I can heal it, but there will be quite a bit of scarring."

"Heal…? You're not just gonna… put bandages on it?" I ask.

"I don't have any on me," she says, tilting her head. "But no, as a magician I have been trained in basic healing. I am fairly adept at healing surface wounds like these."

"Oh… so, magic, then…? Like what you did with the townspeople back there?"

"Indeed. But what I did back then was in the 'Illusion' family of magic. Healing falls within the 'Regenerative' family. Interesting, right?" she smiles kindly. "Now, hold tight as I administer it."

With that, the woman brings her hands down so they're hovering just over Lyra's burn. As she does, a green light envelops her palms, a light that seems almost heavy, and drips down onto the burn like dew off of a flower's leaves. As it drips, the skin underneath begins to shift ever so slightly. The bleeding and exposed areas gradually fade and are replaced with this layer of rough scar tissue that builds up and eventually comes to cover the entire wound. The woman continues for a few seconds more before finally pulling away with a sigh.

"There, that should do it," she says. "You can let her down now. It won't hurt her."

Again, I do as I'm told.

"…So aren't you gonna see what made her faint…?"

"Patience. Let me rest a moment," she replies. She sits back, and after a few seconds turns to me with a neutral look. "…In the meantime, why don't you tell me… how she really got that injury."

I'm caught a bit off guard by this.

"I… I don't know," I mutter.

"Allow me… to be honest for a moment," she says. "As someone acutely sensitive to the flow of mana, a great alarm came to me when I noticed a sudden void in it, as if for just a second all the mana surrounding the town were completely swallowed up. Now, you don't have to understand what that all means… but just know that I am certain you are at its center. To what extent, I'm not sure. But I know without a doubt."

There's a drumming in my chest. I realize it's my heart, beating faster than it ever has before. I begin to shake. I can't help it. I can't stand it. I reflexively tuck my chin into my chest.

"…P…Please help me…" I barely manage from between my teeth. "I d… I don't know what's happening to me…"

A moment of pause passes between us. I can no longer hold back the tears in my eyes as they begin to flow down my face.

Suddenly the woman lurches forward and swiftly brings me into an embrace. She protectively rests her cheek on the top of my head, and holds me softly with both arms.

I'm startled by this sudden gesture. The shock is enough to almost immediately halt my tears.

"Of course I can help you," she whispers reassuringly. "Just tell me what went wrong, and I'll do what I can."

I look up at her. She has on a placid smile. Not a hint of malice. Just… pure kindness.

After a moment, I slowly back away and defeatedly drop my hands into my lap. A moment after that, the woman moves back towards Lyra and begins to do something else with magic, where her hands glow blue while she hovers them over Lyra's head.

"I… don't know what happened," I mutter. "I rushed into the place someone said could help Lyra. But the guy inside… as soon as he saw my teeth, he… started shouting."

"And… how did that make you feel?"

"Angry!" I burst. "Really… goddamn… angry…"

The woman turns and patiently watches me.

"And what happened… after you started to get angry?"

I freeze. I subconsciously sink into my shoulders.

"…My skin started to glow red. Like there was a fire burning just underneath it," I mutter. "…The people who look like me that you've met… Can they do that…?"

She's hesitant to respond at first.

"N-No, I… daresay such a thing might be particular to you," she replies. "But you've… a distinctly small mana supply, so I don't believe it costs mana to perform… Perhaps the mana wasn't absorbed, but instead… repelled…?"

"I… don't know what any of that is," I mutter.

"Oh, don't mind me, just thinking out loud," she says.

"Oh," I mutter. "Well… anyways… what happened to Lyra? Is she alright…?"

"The girl?" The woman pauses and briefly glances down at her. When she looks back up, she has on another kind smile. "She should be fine. Just exhausted, and a little dehydrated. Some rest and plenty of water and she'll be well again very soon."

"All that, and she's just tired…?" I sigh, leaning back.

"Yes, well… We'll let her… what was her name? Lyra? We'll let her rest for a while," the woman says. "In the meantime, why don't you and I try to figure out what is happening with your body. Shall we?"

"O-Oh… sure…" I nod.

"Wonderful," she smiles. "Now, will you lend me your hand for a moment?"

I do, extending it out to her. She cups it with one hand and puts her other on top. A blue light envelops her hand, just like what she did with Lyra.

"Now tell me… has this ever happened before?" she asks.

"Never. But I… guess I never got that angry before, so who knows if I could've all along."

"I see," she says. "And… did it hurt? Or did it perhaps feel uncomfortable?"

"No it felt…" I pause. "Well…. now that you mention it… It felt kinda nice. The anger wasn't great, but whatever was going on under my skin…"

"…Insulation, perhaps…?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, well I was just thinking that it could be some sort of protection mechanism, drawn out by extreme bursts of emotion."

"That… doesn't sound too far off," I mutter. "Is… Is it safe…? Like… if I fired it off on my own, do you think I could use it for stuff?"

"Well, I'm not sure. Relying on anger isn't typically something I would recommend," she says.

"But… what if it comes around naturally?"

"Extreme anger in any regard is not healthy. But… if you do find yourself feeling as such…" She pauses. "N-No, until I am able to further study the effects, you should avoid it at all costs. Do as best you can to not escalate your anger."

"Oh… S… Sure," I nod. I pause for a second. "…Hey, miss… Come to think of it, you never told me your name."

"Did I not…?" she says. "Well, neither have you, might I point out."

"Oh, yeah… guess not…" I mutter. "I'm… I'm Marco. That's Lyra."

"Marco, that is? A lovely name," the woman smiles. "…You may call me L—"

But she stops herself as her eyes widen. She clamps down a bit harder on my hand. The woman doesn't say anything at first, but there's this look of bewilderment on her face.

"H-Hey, uh… what's up…?" I ask. "Is there something wrong with me…?"

"…I-I am… sensing a strong connection with…" But she trails off.

"With… what…?" I say. "Don't leave me out of this, it's my own damn body! The hell's wrong with me?"

She lets go of my hand and rests hers in her lap. She's quiet for a few moments more.

"…Tell me, child… Where are you and your companion headed?" she asks without turning to face me. "The capital, perhaps?"

"…Y-Yeah, but our main goal is… was… to make it to Mares," I say. "H-Hey, now tell me what you—"

The woman's attention is abruptly brought elsewhere, in the direction towards the village. On-guard, she stands up.

Moments later, I hear a rustling in the brush approaching us. I look up and immediately spring to my feet as several of the same townspeople from before come into view. The woman stands between me and them. They approach much less fearfully as before. In fact, they seem kinda cocky. The bastards.

"Told you them outcasts would still be sneakin' around," comes one, a disheveled middle aged man holding a pitchfork, to one of the others. "Firebrand tried to gut my pa in his clinic when it came burstin' in this morning."

"Go to hell," I mutter.

The woman holds out a hand to silence me. She then turns her full attention back to them.

"Good morning, gentlemen," she says. "No need for anything drastic. After all, no harm was done on either end. We will just be on our way."

"The witch that's been nosin' around is here too," comes another, ignoring her and pointing with a crooked spear.

"I can see that, I ain't blind," the first retorts. "Bad luck, that one. Glad we ran her outta town when we did."

The woman shifts in her stance and folds her arms.

"I'm not sure what you expect out of this standoff, but if you've nothing to say to me then I would appreciate you leave us to our business," she says.

The first man finally turns to face her directly. He sticks the base of the pitchfork in the ground.

"Oh, I've plenty," the man replies. "But to a witch, I'll say just this: Hand over the Firebrand. Do that, and we won't have to hurt you."

Hearing this kinda shocks me. Maybe they want to kill me. They probably think I'm some kinda exotic monster. Well… maybe I am, but that's beside the point. What really matters is that my legs feel like boulders, pinning me in place. I wanna lash out at those guys. But I'm terrified. That fear stays my quivering hand.

The woman glances back towards me, briefly scanning me with her eyes before turning to face the men once more.

"I'm intrigued as to why you want him, but I won't humor you by asking it myself," she then says. "In any case, I'm fairly adept at weeding out the malicious sort from the rest. So please do nothing more to provoke me and let us be on our way."

"I ain't asking again," says the man, holding out his hands.

"And I have already asked thrice," the woman replies. "Nor will I."

The man gives a smirk back at the few other villagers and begins to take a step forward. But before his foot can even touch the ground, a massive earthen spike shoots out of the ground in front of him causing him to fall backwards in surprise. After a moment, it crumbles back into dirt. But at the moment, it seemed like it would've killed him if he got hit by it.

Regaining himself, the man curses to himself and slowly takes a stand.

"You bi—"

"Alteration magic lies in the order of creation magics," the woman says. "As such, and this is more of a personal belief, it should never be used to directly harm another. The only way you will be injured… is if you step forward instead of back the way you came."

The man stands in a daze at first. I expect him to turn tail and run. Guess he's too stupid… Because he doesn't run. Or at least, that's what I thought.

After a moment, he puts on another smirk and takes a teasing step forward. Another spire shoots upwards, but like the other it doesn't hit him. He laughs out loud. The man dances forward. A few more spires shoot out, but they all don't hit him. After a few moments, the spires stop altogether.

"Haha— I see you now," the man grins. "Rather… I see through your bluff. Don't have it in you to hurt people, that it?"

I cautiously look to the woman. Her back is turned to me, but I can almost sense a sort of frustration coming from her.

"…Fine. Then enough of you," she mutters. The woman outstretches her arms, and a greenish light begins to glow from both of her hands. She glances to the villagers with a heavy look.

The ground beneath my feet begins to rumble. I plant my feet more firmly to prevent myself from falling over.

The quaking is intense for me, but for the villagers it's even more so, causing them to trip and stumble on nothing at all. But that's hardly the end to it. Because suddenly, these colossal slabs of stone sprout up from the ground in the space between the villagers and us. More and more appear, erecting themselves in a straight line that keeps going down further and further, seemingly for miles in either direction. They tower high over us, a massive barricade blocking out all the villagers on the other side. And the woman… It's like she hardly broke a sweat.

The woman sighs. The rumbling has subsided, but she still won't face me.

"…I'm doing the best I can," she whispers. I'm not sure if she meant it for me or not.

Her face softens somewhat. She slowly turns to me. By the time she does, she's got on another kind smile. We can hear the villagers shouting on the other side, but they definitely can't get us now.

"…My travels take me to the capital of this nation. And then like you, I am to make my way east," she says. "…If I may be so bold, might I accompany you both on your journey to Mares?"

"Wh—"

"Lasula, by the way," she smiles. "My name, that is. You may call me Lasula."