(Middie) Legacy of Mana (Devvx)

[Midnight]

Rolan's heart beat furiously in his chest and tears blurred his vision as he sprinted down the long hallways in the grand palace of the Archon, the thundering footsteps of armored soldiers roared behind him, shouting orders to capture or kill the young prince of Arcades. The prince ran through the gilded halls of the palace, occasionally tripping on the priceless ceremonial robes he wore.

Arcades, the grand mountain city of the Upperlands was burning. The army of Roth stormed above the palace and city, their soldiers slaying any resistance that they found, ignoring civilian targets altogether save for those who resisted. Fires spread through the city as the bombardments continued and the battle took it's effects on the old city.

Only hours before Rolan was celebrating the high holy day, Cadamus, with his people. Arcades stood out on the mountainside glistening with the lights of the festival, a jewel amongst the snowcapped mountains. Throughout the city music could be heard, the song of the spirit filled the air and every building was decorated with ribbons and banners. In the streets dancers twirled ribbons in an intricate dance of life. Cadamus was a day of feasting and drinking, music and dancing, a day of celebration and cheer. Rolan had stood on the balcony of the palace before an adoring crowd as his father, the Archon addressed the crowd on their holy day, leading the prayer to their sky god before His statue, praying for clear skies for their ships and a productive year. The Archon's only son stood beside his father, his blond hair fluttering in the ever present breeze, dressed in his finest silver robes and cloak, an incredibly elegant set of regalia, now ruined by the grasping hands of Roth soldiers.

When the Roth skyships appeared on the horizon, the Archadians were caught fully by suprise. The Roth ships were monstrosities of technology, giant iron machines that blocked out the sun like an evil storm on the horizon. Giant black shapes blotted out the sun and bore down upon the ancient mountain city and in mere moments the great city of Archades was beseiged. The Archadians barely had time to get their own ships into the air, but by then it was far too late. The Roth ships bombed stragetic targets, using their canons to tear apart hangars and docked ships bearing the Archadian flag. In moments Roth soldiers had infested the city and the palace. Archadian soldiers had little time to arm as the battle raged overhead, fighters and carriers exchanging volleys of fire. Transports arrived and dropped troops into any areas that they could via rappell. Red clad soldiers now mixed with the white and blue of Archadian armor.

Rolan's parents left him to fight alongside their soldiers. The queen was known and feared as an archer, a retired adventurer, the Archon himself was one of the last few Magi known to the world. Before they left his father had grasped him by the shoulders, bidding him goodbye and passing his instruction to him. "Rolan, so long as you live the spirit of our people may not be conquered. You must leave Arcades, go to the prayer room and press your hand to the wall of the ancients, I know you can make it out, you must live" Rolan could only watch as They were both slain in the battle for the palace. Rolan himself saw it happen, a man wearing terrifying black armor cutting his father down and then killing his mother as she rushed towards him in an attempt to avenge her husband. Rolan had entered the palace as quickly as he could, running through the grand hall and throne room on his way to the Hall of Prayer.

Rolan turned a corner, his eyes widening when he caught sight of four men standing before him, armored titans, one of them, a commander carrying a sword, the other three carrying polearms, with pistols at their sides. The men turned their heads towards the young prince, their commander pointing and yelling the moment they saw him. "There he is! Get him!"

The soldiers had caught up with him! Rolan took a step back, almost tripping as the soldiers began at a run towards him. They did not make it though, as two more men appeared from the side, these men wearing silver armor with blue detail, royal guard. The guard crashed into the four men before shouting for the horrified prince to flee "Run, prince!" For a moment Rolan stood unable to move, he forced himself to overcome his fear, turned and ran. Rolan's destination stood out within his mind, he was running out of breath and his body was beginning to turn on him, his lungs burning as he reached the prayer chamber in the castle.

Rolan reached what appeared to be a dead end within an arched chamber, stopping to catch his breath and wipe tears from his eyes, resisting a breakdown. The architecture of the palace changed suddenly, stainless marble pillars becoming steeper with a sheer wall at the end of the room. The wall was massive and solid, seemingly made out of a single gigantic stone. On the wall was a beautiful relief carved into the stones, decorated with beautiful beings, the High ones, an ancient civilization that had mastered magic and technology both, and the species who had granted humanity the knowledge and ability to use magic, knowledge now all but lost. Only the ruins of their grand citadels remained, No one knew what had happened to the mighty High Ones, all that was known is that they vanished, leaving behind their citadels and technology and fading into legend. The Festival of Cadamus was devoted partially to these ancient precursors.

The Archon had told Rolan to come to this place if there ever was an emergency. Rolan took a deep breath, approaching the wall and clearing his mind before pressing the palm of his hand into the the wall, focusing the energies inside his body as he had been instructed. A warm tingling filled his body as the wall reacted to his touch, a blue circle appearing around his head, a light shining from deep within the wall. A deep rumble came from inside the wall, a soothing, natural sound that echoed within the chamber so unlike the sound the steam machines that filled the city and powered airships produced as they worked. The light spread filling the room and the designs in the wall like water in a river, filling intricate designs on the wall. The design filled and spread, forming an arch on the wall as Rolan watched in awe as the magitech worked, a depression forming under the palm of his hand, becoming a hole and widening. Never in his life had he seen anything like this, only hearing about it in the storybooks he read as a child. There was no cranking of gears or grinding of metal on metal, just that low rumble as the opening expanded, widening into a door that lay open, the stone parting before him as if it had been sliced by a knife. Rolan entered the passageway, watching as the door flowed into it's shut position behind him, the brilliant blue light fading away into nothing, leaving the prince in long passageway lit by strange glowing crystals along the walls.

When Rolan reached the exit of the hidden passage he stopped, another wall like the one inside stood before him.

"I can't stand out" Rolan looked down at his extravagant clothing before steadying his trembling hands and tearing the fine robes from his body, throwing them to the ground. Rolan removed the expensive jewelery and the useless ceremonial sword he carried, adding them to the pile. Metal and silk clinked to on the marble tile of the ancient passage as the prince discarded his trappings, leaving himself only wearing a white tunic with long sleeves and a pair of elegant pants. The only jewelery the prince kept was an amulet that he tucked into the tunic,

Rolan searched the end of the passageway and opened it the same way that he did the passage's entrance. In the time that Rolan had passed through the palace, the air had become thick with smoke, the glow of torches and candles had been replaced with the savage light of the fires from Roth's bombardment, the sounds of music had been replaced with gunfire and clashing steel, airships of both kingdoms flying through the air exchanging fire, many airships leaving the port of the city in an attempt to flee the Empire's wrath. Rolan realized that those ships held his salvation.

The Prince had emerged nearby the area where the ships had docked, the passageway was there to ensure that the royal family would be able to escape. The open air area had many docks that jut out into the abyss of the sky, normally they would be bustling with parked airships, both Arcadian and guests. The area was a scene of chaos, Arcadian ships plummeted by, one taking one of the docks out with it as it fell, the fiery explosion knocking the prince off of his feet and setting the crates that lined the walls on fire. Rolan stood shakily, the explosion had knocked the wind out of him, but his mind remained clear. Rolan coughed and searched the docks for ships, spotting one that looked like it was preparing to leave.

"this will have to do" Rolan spoke to himself as he walked down the dock, examining the ship as he went and looking for a crew. The crew was absent, no one was around to hear his plea so he decided he could talk to them after they were away from the burning city. Rolan quickly stepped onto the vessel. He had never ridden on an airship before, but this was far better than burning to death or being buried in rubble. Rolan dropped into the hold of the ship, glancing left and right, looking for anybody who could help him. "Hello?"

 

[Devxx]

“Shit! Watch your back, we got a couple of them behind us.”

Bullets flew through the air as the trio dodged and weaved in an attempt to get as far away from the line of fire as possible. There were fires and bloodshed everywhere as the troops took down everything that stood in their path on their way to the castle. All around only the sounds of screams and gunfire filled the air while people ran for shelter from the invading army. It seemed like total chaos as the sky was darkened from the shadows of imposing ships and canon fire rained down from the sky knocking down buildings that had stood there for centuries and withstood the test of time only to be taken down on this sacred day. Such strange irony that on today of all days this once proud city would meet its doom. Hey, no one could say that fate didn’t fate a sense of humor even if it was a severely twisted one.

They actually assumed that this would have been one of their easier jobs over the past month. It was only a few hours ago that they had docked their airship and gone out to take in the festivities as well as deliver the promised package. It had taken over a week but they had managed to get their hands on a rare piece of magitech and were delivering it to one of the wealthier nobles in Arcades. It had been quite a bit of work getting the thing but their fees were high and the man was willing to pay a nice sum of gold to get his hands on it. That had only been a few hours ago and after getting their payment they had divided up to enjoy the celebration with no way of knowing just what was in store for them.

“Dammit, where did they all come from?” A young man with dark blue hair muttered angrily as he turned around and fired off his own shot taking down one of the invaders who was behind them. They had been trying to attract the least amount of attention possible but it didn’t seem like luck was on their side. All they needed to do now was get to the ship and get the hell out of here.

The woman in the lead quickly maneuvered out of the way as a piece of a now destroyed building fell down and crumbled onto the ground with a resounding thud. Her white blond hair flew behind her as the man and a woman with black hair followed quickly. They could see the docks now and it looked like only a handful of ships were left. The others had probably gone already or had been shot down and destroyed. Luckily it looked like the Hades’ Gale was still in working order and should have enough power to get them going.

It seemed like they had managed to escape their pursuers and the trio quickly hurried onto the ship as a man behind the wheel urged them to get moving while he started up the airship. The turbines on the side started spinning as the sails were blowing in the wind signaling that the skystone had started working. Thank god for small miracles.

Anyone with any real knowledge of the underground world would quickly recognize the Hades’ Gale and its crew. For the past five years this notorious band of pirates had been wreaking havoc on the Upperlands with little activities. The crew did everything ranging from stealing, hijacking to the random kidnappings here and there. Their posters were plastered in over twenty of the major cities and they had bounties on their heads well over 200,000 pieces of gold per crew member. If you asked anyone who had heard of them just what the crew of the Hades’ Gale looked like they would have described a group of at least thirty men all scruffy and dirty with bulging muscles and murderous glares. It really was amazing just what one’s imagination could come up with.

To start with there were only six of them and the last member had only been a recent edition in the past year. Mikki had joined the crew when they found her in one of the slave ships they had commandeered. She was still fairly young but she had been learning quickly and took to pirate life with a surprising amount of ease. Before Mikki came Sai, another more recent addition that had no problem letting his pistols do the talking for him. The man had a habit of shooting first and asking questions later but he had proved himself helpful in quite a few situations. Alex was their resident mechanic who kept the Gale in shape and could do amazing things with even the most outdated magitech. Anya was the loud woman that could happily drink any man under the table and still be sober enough to win a fight with her hands tied behind her back. Allistar was the second in command of this rag tag bunch and by far the most level headed of the crew. Yet they all answered to their captain, Talin, a young woman with piercing blue eyes and an unhealthy thirst for adventure.

“So what the hell was that all about?” Mikki asked as she jumped excitedly from foot to foot. At any other time Allistar would have yelled at her to stop swearing but as it stood he was far too busy trying to avoid being shot out of the sky to worry about that.

They all lurched forward as canon fire hit the side of the ship and damaged one of their turbines. It wasn’t enough to stop them but it would definitely need to be repaired as soon as they could. While the Hades’ Gale might not have been as well equipped as the Roth ships it had one of the fastest Skystones money could buy and Alex had tinkered with it enough to make this ship damn near uncatchable. They might not be able to shoot back at the imposing airships but they could sure as hell outrun them.

“It was an outright invasion. Roth was obviously waiting for the day when they would have their guard down and then they attacked. By my count the casualties will be in the thousands and with the force that they stormed the castle all the nobles are probably dead as well. It is the end of Archadia.” Alex was busily looking at the small green screen he had in his hands to even bother sounding sad about the fact. He was too worried over the damage the ship was taking to care about the lives of people he never knew. A small mechanical bird circled around him as the screen lit up with a blueprint of the ship. Both had been Alex’s inventions and he was proud of both of them.

“We got our money, that’s all that matters. With this we’ll be able to buy the final map and finally go after it.” Talin was watching the once beautiful city burn to the ground. Kingdoms were born and kingdoms fell, that was the way of the world. Besides, right now they had other things on their mind.

A noise coming from the hold alerted their attentions that something was wrong. Usually the only thing they kept down there were the various treasures they had collected over the years and none of them should have even made a peep. Talin and Allistar had their own cabins on the left side of the deck while the others shared two on the right side. The kitchen was also on the right side so there shouldn’t have been anything down there. This was worrisome.

Sai and Anya drew their pistols while Talin pulled out her sword ready to skewer whoever would be stupid enough to get on this ship. It was dangerous to stow away on any ship but getting onto a pirate ship meant certain death for anyone. Walking closely they opened the door to the hold and jumped down ready to attack the intruder.

A movement to the side alerted them of a presence and Allistar and Sai jumped right on the man. As the light filtered in Talin could see that the stow away looked more like a boy then a man really. He was wearing robes meaning he must have been part of the ceremony before it was interrupted. Probably a civilian who had been caught in the crossfire’s and was seeking a way out of danger. Poor bustard had jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. At least back in the city he might have had some chance of escaping but here he was trapped like a rat.

With her eyes narrowed into thin slits Talin held her sword out and pressed the tip right against his neck until a thin stream of blood started flowing down. “Kid, you picked the wrong ship to sneak onto.” Talin said menacingly as she applied a bit more pressure to the sword.

Mikki groaned on the side as she saw the blood drip down onto the floor. Dammit, she had just cleaned the hold a few weeks ago and now she was going to have to clean it all over again once they were done with the intruder. Cleaning blood out of wood was a massive pain in the ass and the girl wasn’t looking forward to it one bit.

 

[Midnight]

The prince had been searching around in the hold, trying his best to ignore the sounds of the battle around him and the nagging depression that tugged away at the pit in his stomach, his parents were both just murdered and the city he had watched from the palace windows was burning. Rolan stifled a sniffle and tried to keep his composure, the urge to just break down was great but he realized he had to be strong.. Many thoughts ran through his head, many worries that his life would still end despite the sacrifice of all those who had given their lives so he could escape, including his mother and father. Rolan wondered what would happen if he was captured by the Roth, would they pardon him or slay him on the spot? The young man wondered if the invaders were trying to exterminate the royal line. Rolan shuddered; he wondered if they would make sure he suffered or if it would painless.

The young prince shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts of his own demise from his mind. He looked around the hold of the ship, taking in what he could in the dim light of the room. With all his worries Rolan couldn't help but wonder who this ship belonged to. Inside the hold were many odd things, treasures and pieces of newer technology. Rolan gingerly reached out and touched one crystalline object, running his fingers along it, to his surprise it reacted to his own mana, picking up a faint glow, sparks of blue energy dancing in the center of it. The young prince smiled softly to himself, it was almost like in the story books, and perhaps this ship belonged to traders of artifacts or collectors? Rolan carefully watched the object, smiling to himself faintly; it was warm to the touch and glowed when he touched it. He drew his hand away from the device when he heard a noise, the ship was moving, and he could hear people talking.

The prince almost leapt from his skin when he heard something heavy land behind him, his eyes going wide before he spun to face the woman who had jumped down behind him. She had a sword in her hand and was pointing the thing at him! Rolan's body seized up, his hands instinctively rising to shield himself from an assault, but she was much too fast and the young man soon found the tip of her blade at his throat. His hands moved into a position of surrender, had the Roth followed him to this place? Rolan’s eyes squeezed shut and he swallowed hard. The sharp tip of the blade was cold against the tender flesh of the young prince's throat. He felt a sharp pinprick of pain and then the wet, warm sensation of his own blood flowing down his neck, a droplet of the blood dropping to the wooden floor of the hold. Rolan swallowed hard, listening to the voice of the woman holding the sword. Rolan guessed he wasn’t dead quite yet but what the woman said still scared him. He couldn’t understand what she meant, sneaking onto the ship, he was just seeking passage! Rolan took a breath and gathered the courage to regain his composure and defend him self.

Rolan regained his composure and slowly opened his eyes, first his right eye, an orb sporting a blue color, then his right, this one a verdant shade of green. Rolan's eyes were brightly colored, they glinted in the faint light and betrayed how afraid that the young man was at that moment despite possessing a hint of the prince’s strength. Rolan "I was not trying to sneak into the ship!" Rolan protested despite the sword to his neck, his voice clearly frightened despite his attempts to hide it. "The docks were falling apart around me, I was just searching for the crew when you found me." In the faint light of the ship’s hold the young prince’s features were still mostly obscured, he looked beaten up, but it was clear he was no peasant, his hands were soft and lacked the calluses of a worker and his form was thin, lacking much muscle.

Rolan picked out the shapes of the crew present in the ship’s hold, including the woman holding the sword, he stood no chance at an escape unless he could disable all of them, and even then the ship was in the air already, there was no way off. It was dark and he couldn't see crew members too well but he could pick out certain features of several of them. The prince’s hand ventured to his neck, wiping away a little bit of the blood from his tunic’s collar. He had seen his own blood before; he had always been an energetic child and got into his fare share of trouble around the palace but this was different. Rolan stood his ground, ignoring the sword at his throat to the best of his ability.

"There were men out there who are trying to kill me, I needed to find somewhere safe to avoid being killed. I apologize for trespassing onto your vessel but I had little choice in that matter." Rolan allowed his resolve to strengthen him, he had to stay alive, he knew that if he did die, he would have not been the only one who would die; the bloodline of the last Magi and the Archon would go with him. If the people who held him grew more aggressive he would try to protect himself as well as he could.

He didn’t get this far just to get killed for trespassing.
 

 

[Devxx]

This kid really was something else. Most people who had faced the sharp end of her sword ended up breaking down into tears and started begging for their lives while trying to barter for mercy. They had once had a mother offer up her children just so they would spare her life. In this line of work they had a habit of seeing the absolute worst in people before striking them down like the pathetic worms they really were. Talin learned a long time ago to expect that most people, at their core, were bad and deserved to be killed. It was what helped her get through the day and make sure the jobs that needed to get done were done. No one respected a soft pirate and in this line of work her infamy served her better then any bullet or blade ever would. She had wanted posters all over the globe spanning several different countries and continents all with rewards for her capture dead or alive. Funny part was, you really weren't considered a member of their crew until your face was on a poster and people were coming after you for the reward money alone. This kid, however, actually had the gall to talk back to her on her own ship even when they caught him red handed after sneaking on. Either he was really brave or really stupid. Right now she was thinking the later of the two.

Talin could faintly make out his features and he looked pretty roughed up probably from having to escape on such short notice and trying to run away from the attackers. Still, those robes seemed to be made of a richer material then any commoner could afford and his skin was too pale and clean for someone who toiled out in the sun or worked in the mines. From the look of it he might have been one of the nobles but she couldn't be sure with such little light. "Hate to break it to you kid but those men out there are the least of your problems right now. As it stands, you snuck onto my ship which makes you a stow away." Talin said with a smirk as she still held the blade against his throat. It would be easy enough to slide his neck right now and end all of this without much fuss. They were high enough that they could easily throw the body overboard and even if he was a noble people would just blame it on the invading Roth army.

"What kind of idiot tries to avoid dying by sneaking onto a Pirate Ship!" Mikki asked with an exasperated sigh as she looked over at the man like he was a complete simpleton. From the markings on their ship anyone in their line of work would have easily been able to tell that this was a pirate ship but it wasn't like they could expect that kind of insight from an outsider. Sai let out a low chuckle as his fingers inched towards his pistols. He had gotten tired of simply delivering goods and was ready for some bloodshed. Hey, they couldn't have any old nobody come onto their ship without having to pay the price. What would all the other pirates think to hear that they had gone soft?

Talin was ready to kill him now but before she could move she felt a nudge at her side. Turning her head her eyes locked with Allistar as he nodded his head towards the left where they had a pile of magitech. On top of that pile was a glowing crystalline object that they had picked up from a job earlier that month. It was called a Luminem and when activated it could release small glowing orbs to help light the way in the darkness. The magitech wasn't very impressive but it was incredibly useful and damned hard to find for some reason. They had been having a horrible time trying to get it to work lately considering they didn't have a reliable source of mana that was needed to activate it. Yet for some reason it was glowing now and the only person who could have done that was this boy in front of her. "Did you do that?" Allistar asked as he pointed towards the Luminem. The only way to light it was to feed it mana directly and the only humans who could do that were magi. If this boy had that kind of power then they'd really have to rethink killing him.

"That's it! Everybody up on the deck so I can decide what to do with you." Talin said angrily as she pulled her sword away from his neck. Grudgingly, Sai grabbed hold of the boy's arms and started dragging him up the ladder and onto the deck. Once they were all out in the sun Talin could finally get a good look at this boy. Her hunch was right that the robes were too fine to belong to any peasant and his body didn't have the scars of physical labor. He seemed pretty scrawny and if she had to venture a guess she'd say that he spent more time in the library then out on the field. Yet he had the most peculiar set of eyes that seemed to stall her for a moment. The orbs were beautiful but they were two different colors and seemed to shine with a light that she hadn't seen in anyone else. This boy had to be more then just a mere noble.

"I'll give you a chance to save your life. Tell me exactly who or what you are and maybe I won't throw you overboard." She still wasn't completely sure on her course of action and it was up to the boy to make her mind. If he really was a magi then the gods must be smiling down on them because that was exactly what they needed to reach their ultimate treasure. If he wasn't though, then she really didn't have a problem killing him on the spot.

 

[Midnight]

Though Rolan knew little about the outside world, he knew better than to beg for his life, he was too proud for such things, if he would die he would die a prince.

Rolan gaped when one of the crewmembers mentioned that the ship he had walked onto was a pirate ship. For a moment his eyes opened a little wider, breaking his otherwise unphased look. "You are pirates?!" The prince sounded honestly surprised, he had always believed pirates flew around in fancy ships and hunted for treasure on swashbuckling adventures like in his stories! He hadn't even seen a black flag on the ship. Rolan was a little shocked by the pirate revelation; perhaps they would try to kill him after all. How was he supposed to know that it was a pirate ship? Another voice cut through the darkness, this one belonging to a male and asking if he had activated the device that lay below him. He had activated it, obviously. Rolan didn't have time to actually answer as the man who had been fingering his guns grabbed him by the arm with the woman who was holding the sword holding by the other arm, the two dragged him up the ladder onto the deck.

Once released Rolan brushed himself off, backing away from the pirates, escape was now impossible unless he could somehow learn a spell to fly on the way to the ground so far below. The prince stood up slowly and looked closely over the members of the crew who had taken him up there. He was suprised that they claimed to be pirates, they didn't look like pirates... He frowned, he couldn’t act against them without being killed, he understood that at least. The young man’s eyes narrowed a little bit as he examined the crew. The woman who had been holding a sword to his throat moments earlier claimed that he would live if he told him who he was. Rolan believed her, and opened his mouth to speak.

“I am a scholar, I was being chased by Roth Soldiers and I tried to take cover on this ship.”. Rolan technically didn't lie, he was a scholar, he just happened to be a prince. Rolan figured that wasn’t enough to get away from these people alive. “I did activate that device though, and I can do more.” He didn’t sound desperate; he wasn’t pleading for his life, just stating a fact. However he knew that just saying that would keep him safe, he had to demonstrate this.

Rolan's stance shifted, he straightened, his eyebrows furrowing with concentration as he held both hands out, touching his fingers together as he had practiced so many times with his father on those days when the man had time to spend with his only son. Rolan took a deep breath and focused inward, drawing on the mana inside his body and focusing it into the palms of his hands, shaping it into a small sphere in the center of his palms. taking a deep breath and focusing his mana into the palms of his hands, concentrating his energies into the centers of his palms. Rolan let out his breath, breathing an ancient word that he had recited many times. No sooner had he spoke the word a small spark appeared in his hands, growing into a small flame. The flame started small but grew steadily, spinning in the hollow between his palms. Rolan was not a master mage, not even close, during the battle he had seen his father conjuring lightning from thin air and hurling frozen shards of ice with no difficulty. The Archon had always encouraged his son to practice with magic, and Rolan enjoyed his magic practice, even if there were odd side effects when he overdid himself. The prince focused more and slowly began separating his fingers, revealing the flame that he had created with his mana. Rolan let the heat from his creation rush over him, only a few seconds had passed since he had begun the spell, but he now held a sizable fireball in his hands, Using magic felt good, the mana rushing through his body felt wonderful. Rolan slowly opened his eyes, the off-colored eyes flashing briefly, mana glistening from within. Rolan separated his hands, separating the flame into two, one in each hand, which he held out towards the pirates in upturned hands.

Rolan looked up at the woman who had held the sword to his neck earlier, the flames in his hands burned brightly and clearly, fed and sustained by the young prince's mana, the beginnings of a fire-based spell.

“Satisfied?” The prince asked, the flames still burning in his hands, he was still ready to defend himself in case they attacked.

 

[Devxx]

A scholar was what he said he was and Talin believed him. He didn't have the body structure to show a lifetime of hard labor and neither did he poses the instincts that a soldier would have after being in battle. The boy looked like he spent a lot more time in the library then anywhere else and she doubted he could even handle a sword if given half a chance. The Roth soldiers had attacked without warning and he had probably been caught in the crossfires of it all and sought shelter in the only place that he could find. Unfortunately for him that place also happened to be her ship.

Stepping back they all watched in fascination as the small sphere began forming in the center of his palms before it started sparking and glowing into a ball of flames. He had mumbled something under his breath that she could only guess was a spell in a strange language that she had never heard before. Next to her she heard Mikki take a deep breath as the flame grew larger still as he moved his hands and separated the flame revealing the glowing orbs that were brimming with power. Even from her distance she could feel the heat radiating out of them and knew that it wasn't a simple illusion. That was the real deal which meant that he was a real magi. Dear gods, could they actually be so lucky to have a real magi land right in front of their feet? They had spent the past year looking for one and thought they had found one some months ago but he turned out to be nothing more then a con man who was handy with illusions and magitech. That man met a very unfortunate end when she made him walk the plank while they were in mid flight but this one seemed real. The thought of having a real magi right in front of her made the woman's heart beat a little faster as her mind raced through all the possibilities. They might finally be able to do it now! They might finally be able to get their treasure.

Feeling a small tug on her sleeve she turned and saw Allistar gesturing for her to follow him away from the group so they could talk privately. "He seems to be real. Could we really be that blessed?" The man asked in hushed tones as they conversed away from the others. Talin was still skeptical about the whole thing but it seemed to be true. This would change their entire course of action now that they had a magi in their grasps. With this little fire show he was putting on right now and the mana he had fed to the magitech before this man was exactly what they needed. "It seems as if fortune has decided to shine down on us." Her tone was even, not betraying the excitement she felt brewing deep inside of her. This treasure had been her life's work and with the final piece of the map and the magi in front of them it seemed like it would finally be coming to fruition. An unimaginable power right in front of their finger tips, just waiting to be taken.

"No way! That's amazing." Mikki said excitedly as she walked closer to him to get a better look at the flames. The girl was still young and she often let her excitement get the best of her. Even though the others were much calmer in their approach it was obvious to see the excitement in their faces. This stowaway had no idea just what he had stumbled upon.

"Amazingly stupid maybe. What kind of idiot decides to play with live flames on a ship primarily made of wood? I'm satisfied, now stop that." Talin barked at him as she and Allistar walked back towards the group. He might be a scholar but he still looked young and stupid to her. There was a big difference between reading about the world and actually going out and seeing it for yourself. Whoever he was, it didn't seem as if common sense would be his strongest attribute. Oh well, that just meant it would be easier to use him to their advantage.

"You have safe passage aboard my ship stowaway. Since it seems as if your old home is now nothing more then ashes you are free to join us for the time being." Of course she neglected to mention just how safe he would be or how long that immunity would last. After reaching the treasure Talin had every intention of dispatching this new addition as quickly as she possibly could.

"I am Talin, the captain of this ship. That is Allistar, Alex, Anya, Sai and Mikki and this is the Hades' Gale. We are some of the most feared pirates that travel the sky and it seems like you're going to be joining our little group." At the mention of their names all the other crew members nodded in acknowledgment. Mikki was still jumping around excitedly and Alex looked as if he wanted to pick the stranger's mind and learn all about him that he could. At least now their mechanic would have someone as intellectually stimulated as himself to talk to. Talin had been getting tired of him prattling on about things that she could barely understand.

"So what is your name?"

 

[Midnight]

Rolan couldn't help but smirk when he saw the crew's reaction to his magic, the prince liked seeing people in awe, and considering there were few to no other magi out there he did expect this kind of reaction, feeding the spoiled prince inside him. The male frowned when the piratess returned, scolding him for playing around with live flames on a wooden ship...

"Fine." Rolan's eyes narrowed a little. He hadn't actually thought about that. "I do have them under control you know" He bluffed, deciding it would actually be a good idea to get rid of the flames. The male straightened and flicked his hands, the flames in his hands flaring out and vanishing with a small flash of light. The fire conjuration spell was one of the first Rolan ever learned, but it seemed enough to convince these people to spare him for the time being. Of course, Rolan had no idea why they were sparing him; perhaps they were just impressed by his power? Rolan lowered his arms to the side and straightened himself.

The Prince flared up briefly when the woman mentioned that his home was nothing but ashes, his hairs standing back on end as he resisted the urge to yell at the woman. "It is not... Arcadia will rise again, a simple invasion will not destroy it forever" Rolan sounded clearly prickled. They didn't know that the bloodline of the Last Archon still thrived, so his claim would be dismissed as idealistic pratter. The Prince’s eyes moved over each individual crew member as they were introduced, so far the pirate’s leader and the young one, Mikki stuck out the most. Rolan looked over the remaining members of the crew, he hadn’t ever dreamed he would be on a pirate ship not to mention standing in front of a small assembly of them.

Rolan hesitated when the captain of the ship asked him name. Was it safe to let them know? Rolan figured that it was and nodded. "My name is Rolan" He had never heard himself being announced by "Rolan" Only "His High Majesty Crown Prince" Perhaps they wouldn't recognize his name? If they did the young prince was still prepared to defend himself from them. "I guess my family name is unimportant as I have no more family" That was true, he had no family, no throne, and not a single copper piece to his name. Rolan sighed and nodded, making his mind. "Very well, I guess I shall join you for the time"

He really didn't intend to stay contrary to the Pirate's plans. Rolan did figure that for the time these pirates would be able to protect him. Rolan was worried, he knew almost nothing about the outside world, only what he had seen from his window in the palace, the occasional commoner stopping to view the great palace before the prince was pulled away by a guard. Rolan lowered his hands to his sides, relaxing, though he was still worried, he held the pirates to their word, being far too trusting. The young man felt a little more free to move since guns were no longer being pointed at him, he knew nothing about the pirates plan, not even anticipating the idea that she would plan to betray him.

"So where are we heading?" Clearly away from Arcadia... Rolan was nervous, he had never been outside the palace and now he was leaving his homeland, possibly forever. Rolan had seen maps of the mountainous upperlands that Arcadia was settled in, over the vast Sea of Clouds to farther regions of the world, he knew little of the lower lands that Roth came from though, his people or father never talked about it.

 

[Devxx]

“Excuse me if I don’t put all my trust into a magi I just met to not burn down my damn ship.” Talin fired back as she crossed her arms over her chest and began wondering if this was actually going to be worth it. This boy was going to get on her nerves very quickly if her persisted with this attitude and she’d have to restrain herself from throwing him overboard. Yet the idea of treasure beyond their wildest dreams was too appealing to let it slip through her fingers. Let the stowaway run his mouth for now but when they neared the end of their journey she’d enjoy running him through with her sword.

Talin couldn’t help but scoff a bit as he insisted that the fallen land would rise again. They were under the Roth army and all the royals had probably been killed after the initial surge. That little speck of land was as good as gone and would become nothing more then a memory after it became just another territory in Roth’s vast kingdom. This Rolan, as he called himself, would learn quit a few harsh lessons about the world while he was aboard her ship. It didn’t seem like he had ever done a day of hard labor in his life and looked far too delicate to actually be much use in battle despite his little fire trick. They really would have to do something about his appearance considering he looked more like a girl then a feared pirate. Those robes would absolutely have to go for one thing.

“We should head towards port in Lancing. The engines have taken quite a bit of damage after our little escape and I’ll need more supplies to repair them.” Alex said as he continued to toy with the little tablet in his hands. It showed the entire ship’s schematics as well as what had taken the most damage and needed to be repaired. The right engine was showing up red on his screen meaning that it would need immediate attention if they didn’t want to drop out of the sky and fall to their deaths. “Fine, put all power into the reserve engines and have the turbines working at full. We’ll make port at Lancing so Alex can fix the ship and we can unload some of the cargo at Houllins.” With that the crew quickly got busy doing as their captain commanded as Alex rerouted the power on the ship and Anya took over the wheel and turned it so they were now heading south-east towards Lancing.

“As for you…” Talin said as she turned her attention back to Rolan. Her eyes scanned him up and down with obvious disapproval before she shook her head in minor disgust. “If you are going to become part of my ship I won’t have you prancing around in a dress. The boys should have some clothes that should be about your size.” She motioned for him to follow her and Allistar as they made their way towards the cabins. Opening the door on the left was where the boys resided and had obviously not cleaned up in quite some time. The cabin had two bunk bed making them four beds in total. Talin had her own cabin as well as Allistar so this one was shared by Sai and Alex. It was obvious to see which side belonged to whom considering Sai’s side was littered with weapons and maps while Alex had a more neat organization with all sorts of magitech he was working on.

Walking over to the closets the pair began pulling out clothes wondering what they could find that could make Rolan a bit more intimidating then what he was wearing now. Finally, they managed to find a pair of black trousers that should fit him well as well as a dark navy button up shirt and a black vest to go over it. They were nowhere near as fancy as his robes but at least they wouldn’t draw the attention of pickpockets and thieves. “Here, try these on for size.” Allistar said with a gentle smile as he handed the clothes over to the boy. Allistar had taken the maternal role on the ship and as first mate he saw it as his duty to make sure that the rest of the crew were relatively happy. Now that Rolan was part of the crew his maternal instincts kicked in and he tried to treat the boy with a gentler manner then Talin had. Reaching into the back of the closet also pulled out a bright violet bandanna with strange designs printed on it in a golden color.

Allistar caught sight of the bandanna in her hands and couldn’t help but quirk his eyebrow at what she could possibly want with that. The purple and gold bandanna was the insignia of the prostitute rings that were located at any major port. Talin was actually smiling as she handed him the bandanna and gave Allistar a small wink. “Don’t forget to tie this around your wrist. It tells would-be thieves and scum that you belong to a crew and are not to be messed with.” Talin explained in a completely straight face as she lied through her teeth. Let it not be said that the captain didn’t have a sense of humor.

 

[Midnight]

Rolan's eyes moved from crew member to crew member as they talked about where the ship was going, he had read about Lancing, seen it on maps, though he knew little else about it. Rolan's eyes moved back to the captain, noticing the expression on her face he frowned and shifted his weight to the other foot, his stance changing to his irritated one.

Rolan's eyes narrowed more when she spoke about his clothing, the elaborate ceremonial attire was out of place, despite the fact that it was nowhere as elaborate as the outer robes that he wore on the ceremony day. The boy was tempted to state loudly that it was not a dress, but with a sigh the boy resigned and followed the two pirates inside the ship into a room.

Rolan's eyes scanned about the room looking at the messier side, then the cleaner side, noticing the difference between the two, and noticing all the Magitech that lie on the ground, immediately his curiosity was piqued. He kept silent however and payed attention to the pirate and the captain, giving the male a small smile when gently handed some clothing, but scowling again when the captain handed him a blue bandanna, promising that it would protect him from pickpockets and thieves. 'like I have anything to steal...' that wasn't entirely true, he still had his amulet, which was priceless. Rolan gave her a suspicious but shrugged, the piratess fooling the young prince rather easily.

Rolan stepped away to wherever was suitable before Rolan undressing and put on the clothes provided. He tried on the clothing, finding the fabric incredibly rough compared to the fine highland silk that he had worn previously, and after scratching at his arm a couple times he tore a strip from his old rather battered tunic and used to tie his hair into a ponytail. The Roth were probably on the look for a blonde boy about his age... but Rolan rarely went around like such, it was Arcadian tradition after all. After he was finished, he took a look at the blue bandana and with another shrug tied it around his wrist, having a little difficulty but managed to get it to wrap around his arm like a wristband.

Rolan stepped out into view, wearing the outfit that was provided for him, smiling sheepishly. "This look good?" If he were in his palace now he would probably be dragged back to his room, it certainly wasn't how a Prince should dress, and he was glad for that. Rolan looked almost nothing like he did before, especially with his hair tied. The boy still had absolutely no clue about the bandanna now tied about his forearm, what it meant, so he was satisfied with the outfit. Boy would he be not be happy, though only time would tell how he find out the true purpose of that bandanna.

Rolan still had questions about the Magitech lying around and he was still curious about what role he would have on the ship. "So whats in lancing?" he asked, he wouldn't be able to buy anything there, unless he had money.