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The New Age (Azecreth and Princess)

Coming out of his offensive strike, Isaac was just in time to witness the final blows, as Mia doused it in water before Karina blasted it again, stronger this time, before finishing the thing off with her sword. The beast gurgled as it landed with a thud, heart pierced and the beast dying. Well then, that seemed to be that. Against the three of them, it hadn't had a chance. That much was obvious.

"That wasn't too hard," he noted to himself as he sheathed his sword, winding down from the fight. He was sure that the villagers would appreciate the thing being dead, and it felt good to help out with a problem such as this, just like the old times. Certainly they had all come off well, even if it wasn't the toughest fight he had been in before,

Such warm feelings though faded with a faint rumble, which quickly escalated upon the beasts death. The ground shook and tore, perhaps weakened and agitated by the psynergy that had been used so recklessly, or after tremors from the long ago awakening of Alchemy. "Watch out," he cried, as rocks fell and the mountain shook, just before a chasm tore itself open in the ground, and he suddenly found that there was no ground beneath his feet. It would have earned a complaint had he the time, but instead he was too busy bracing for the far.

With a thud he landed, the wind knocked out of him, and it took a few moments to recover before he could look around. "Not again," he muttered for real this time as he glanced around. Hopefully he was the only one down here.
 
Before Mia had a chance to react, she felt Karina push her away. A gust of strong wind blasted her a lot farther than she would have liked, though out of danger. She couldn't do anything about it until she hit the ground with a grunt, just in time to see a large remainder of the land beneath them collapse. "Isaac! Karina!" Mia cried out frantically as she scrambled to her feet. She couldn't get too close without risking falling in herself. She just stared at the giant sinkhole and then decided to go back inside of the cave to find them.

"Ugh..." Karina groaned as she came to. She hadn't fallen gracefully, that was for sure. Her whole body ached. That victory had been a short lived one, she hadn't even had time to celebrate! Most of all, she hadn't had time to take any proof with her that she killed the monster. She had to find the body somewhere...

She sat up and saw Isaac and sighed in relief. "Well, you're okay. I think Mia is too since I pushed her out of the way. But now she's alone, we should probably find her." Karina moved to stand, but she felt a sharp pain in her leg. Turning it, she saw a rather large and angry looking welt that covered most of her shin. It was swelling too. "Ow." She mumbled in disapproval.
 
Grunting, Isaac's gaze landed upon Karina as she stirred awake, revealing that the two of them were stuck together, though Mia was nowhere to be seen. Fortunately, she was probably safe if Karina was to be believed, which was a relief for Isaac at that point. The last thing he needed was for something to have happened to her after they had come so far together.

"That's good," he replied as he rose to his feet, stopping momentarily as a spell of dizziness washed over him, before he was able to solidly stand once more and make his way over to where Karina had landed, seeing the wound on her leg after she had. That didn't look good, though he was glad that he had a bit of experience when it came to this sort of thing.

Reaching into his pack, he crouched down as he pulled out a potion for her to use. Perhaps not the best, but until they met up with Mia again it would have to do. At the very least it should make her able to walk again, and that was what counted. "Here, drink this," he instructed as he handed it to her, staying next to her and ready to provide assistance if she needed it.
 
Karina was about to try to at least stand, but she stopped herself when Isaac approached her. She looked at the potion that he offered and then back to him. Was he really giving that to her? More than that...she needed to ignore that warm feeling she got when he was close. If she wasn't careful, she'd end up doing that thing she did with Mia. Especially right now, she felt...drained. Wait, didn't she do something new today? Wind came out of her hands this time when she pushed Mia...

"Thanks..." Karina told him as she accepted the bottle, making sure her hand did not touch his. She then opened it and drank it down, though she couldn't say she cared much for the taste. Immediately her leg felt better and she was able to stand with no issue. Looking around, she sighed. She had no idea where they had fallen. "Sorry, I had no idea this would happen. I'm sorry I got you into this and lost Mia.." She felt bad, especially because he was still being nice to her.
 
Isaac watched on carefully as Karina downed the potion, the brew doing it's work as the welt began to shrink and disappear, a result of the curative effects it had. He'd seen more impressive feats, to be sure, and had been saved by such feats, but for the situation at hand it would serve. It wasn't as if they needed to immediately be back at one hundred percent fighting capacity, not these days.

"Don't worry about that," he told her as she apologized, rising to her feet at the same time. He could understand why she might blame herself, but he was hardly going to let her hold herself responsible for what had ultimately been the monsters doing, at least in his eyes. "This isn't the first time this sort of thing has happened to us."

That was true enough, but for now he turned to figuring out where they were. They had fallen into a sort of cavern, the hole they had made their entrance through up above them and out of reach. Around them crystals glowing, casting illumination around to allow them to see the cracked ground, and the tunnel entrances on either sides of the cave. It seemed they had fallen back into the mines, though he had the feeling that this particular area hadn't been maintained as well. Still, it was a good starting point. They just had to find Mia.

He looked back to Karina then, calm and collected as always. "Any idea which way to go?" She knew the mines, so she had a better chance of finding the quickest way out than he did.
 
"No, but...I think if we walk around a little I'll recognize something." Karina answered as she took the lead as she had done before. There was only one way out, it looked like they had fallen into some unfinished room. The workers probably didn't find anything worth mining from here. But still, she never remembered seeing such a room before. They usually never dug so high in the mountain, no wonder why they slipped through.

She could only be glad Isaac was so confident. She wondered why he hadn't been hurt as much by the fall, apparently he had experience with it. She, however, didn't and she was glad that he had come prepared so that she wouldn't have had to be carried out. She wasn't sure if she could stand being in his arms for five minutes. He was quite handsome after all, especially in his stoic attitude. He didn't seem like much of a talker, but that was okay. "Umm," She started as they walked down a single narrow passage. The further they got, the stranger the place looked. "So how did you find out that you were...different?"
 
"Alright," Isaac agreed as Karina noted that she might be able to figure out where they were if they walked around some. He could hardly object to that particular suggestion, especially with a lack of other options in the moment, and so he would stay by her side as the two of them exited the room, moving further into the mines.

Looking around, Isaac continued to survey their surroundings. The tunnels were crude, rough and hewn from rock as they were lit by glowing crystals studded at varying intervals to keep them from tripping and tumbling on the uneven floor. It really gave truth to the fact that this place had not been developed that much, by the indicator of how little work had been put into it. It descended downwards, taking them deeper beneath the ground, and still not giving any indication as to where it was in the mines.

He glanced over at her question, before giving a slight chuckle. "It's a long story," he replied calmly, since it was very true in the first place. "There was a scholar named Kraden in my village when I was growing up. He trained me and helped me develop my powers." He wasn't sure if he should relate his entire tale to her yet, or even simply the beginning of it. For now he would simply walk on, hoping that something would present itself.
 
"That's lucky," Karina began as they walked. There wasn't much else to do, honestly. "No one here knew anything about these strange powers. They thought it was best if people who had them simply ignored it. I was the only one who couldn't. I use it on accident, like when I used it on Mia. Whenever I touch someone like me...whenever I touch anything with psynergy, it's so easy to just play with something that isn't mine. To manipulate it...I do it subconsciously because I like the way it feels when it's around me. It's especially hard being around you," She sighed a bit, feeling a little vulnerable for revealing so much to him. However, seeing the way he and Mia fought, she trusted them.

"You feel different than everyone else. Even Mia. You have a comforting, earthy scent, but that's not just it. There is a second sensation to being around you. When I'm close to you, I feel like I'm basking in the sun. It fills me with warmth and...hope. I feel safe around you, Isaac. I'm not sure if other...adepts...can feel the things that I do. But that's just...what I experience." Karina admitted with a shrug. She hoped he didn't reject her, or find her strange or anything.
 
Isaac nodded in understanding, falling silent as Karina began her own explanation. He knew that he had been lucky to have such a teacher, and that many of the people he had run across were not so fortunate. It was just how the world was, and one of the reasons that he had embarked on this trip with Mia in the first place. If they could help some of those people who had nowhere to turn, that would just make things better overall.

"Hm?" He listened on more intently as she described what she felt when she was around him, the sense that she seemed to have about his psynergy. Initially uncertain at first, he quickly became convinced about what it was that she had felt about him. Slightly more concerning was how it made her feel, but he dismissed that for the moment.

Instead, he nodded in turn. "I understand. For some time now I've been....different. My psynergy has become altered, strange. That's part of why I'm going on this trip, to try and understand it." It was nice to have the confirmation from another viewpoint, and perhaps this would simply provide another explanation as they moved down the tunnels. he could hope, anyway.
 
"I see." Karina wondered what exactly could alter something like that. "Very strange. I mean, I don't really understand psynergy or anything...I won't even pretend to. But maybe, I could help you? The way you're helping me. I'm not sure what I could do, but I'm very good at reading people's psynergy because of...the thing I do. I'm sure the village will be overjoyed with us getting rid of the monster, but...I don't think there is anything here for me." Karina admitted with a sad smile. Even if they liked her again, even if she learned how to control what she did to other adepts, would she be happy? She missed her father, she didn't even know if he was still alive.

But she didn't have enough strength to set out on her own, nor did she have any companions to help her make the journey. Isaac and Mia had only been around for a day but they had treated her far nicer than anyone had here. She'd be sad to see them go. Her eyes looked back ahead, and she realized that they had reached a dead end. There were no other corridors or tunnels, either. She grimaced and then looked back. Had they missed another path somewhere? But there was something strange about the rock that ended the path. There were no moonstones engraved in it, and it was lighter than the rest of the walls. Was something blocking their way?
 
"Maybe," Isaac replied with a slight smile as Karina offered her help. "I'll think on it." Thus far it hadn't proven to be too problematic, but having the option certainly never hurt either. He would keep it in mind for now. But he wasn't going to agree to anything like that while they were still walking along and looking for a way out. He knew to be more cautious than that.

Soon enough though they arrived at a dead end, a boulder in the way from them proceeding. He took a moment to look around, before quickly spotting the obstruction in the way. Well then, this was only a tad problematic. "I'll handle it," he told her before stepping forward, marshaling his will before lashing out with Force psynergy to push the rock out of the way and clear a path. Once it was gone he would proceed through the hole he had made. Hopefully this got them a bit closer to where they needed to go.
 
Every time she saw him do more stuff, she just became more amazed. Although she really didn't get the answer she was expecting from him when she offered to help. Maybe they weren't really friends at all...they had only met for a day. She was just being silly now. Holding on to people who were strangers, even if they were kind strangers.

The chamber that was on the other side of the wall, she recognized it. Especially since there were carts and tracks here. Finally, she could follow the tracks out. But what about Mia? No, they had to find her before they left. She probably went back the way they came, so she'd just have to figure out how to get to there from here. "I know where we are now." She told him before she started walking again. After a moment, she sighed. "Oh, and you can just forget what I said...I know that we just met and everything. Sorry."
 
Isaac stopped for a moment, turning back to look at Karina as she revealed that she did know this place. "That's good," he agreed in turn. At least they knew their way out now. But who knew where Mia was now? They could hardly go back to the village without finding her. So he made no complaint as she began to lead them on into the mines, to go find his companion.

"It's fine," he added as she apologized, shaking his head to indicate his own feelings on the matter. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to help someone out if you have the ability. I just don't need the help right now." Perhaps in the future, but as things stood he was keeping a handle on it. A chuckle escaped then as he ducked for a brief area of low ceiling as they walked on. "Besides, I'm certainly not innocent of that sort of thing either." And wasn't that an understatement?
 
"What sort of thing?" Karina asked as she did her best to recollect her memories on the layout of the mines. She could only hope that Mia hadn't gotten lost trying to find her way back down there, but perhaps she would be able to sense her if they got close enough to her. A few twists and turns and they were back where they had started, the torch she had used to get through the smaller tunnel still laying on it's side by the entrance.

She'd leave it there in case Mia found the exit before they found her. Either way she continued on, ignoring the slight growl of her stomach. How long had they been down here, anyway? She just wanted to find Mia and leave.
 
"Handling problems that shouldn't otherwise be your business, solving problems for other people, things like that," Isaac explained with a nonchalant shrug. He wasn't intending to offend, but merely to provide some explanation for what he had meant. It would save from a whole lot of other problems in the future or simply the immediate term. He didn't need her with any mistaken impressions after all, especially down here.

That said, he was quick to notice as they found the entrance to the mines, the waiting torch there that let them know this was where they had come from. "Well, that's one thing done," he noted as he glanced down at it before continuing on after Karina. Now they just had to find Mia in this place. Hopefully she hadn't wandered too far, or otherwise gotten in trouble. there was no need to make this more complicated than was necessary. But knowing their luck, that was probably what had happened.
 
It took a little while to find Mia, but eventually the did. She had waited in the room where there was more than one passage, not remembering which way to go. "Oh, I'm so glad you guys are okay!" Mia quickly moved to join them. "I was hoping you would come this way, and I didn't want to get lost. Do either one of you need healing? Karina?" She asked.

"No, Isaac gave me a potion. It still hurts a little but I'm fine!" Karina stated with a big smile. "Let's get out of here, okay?" She was ready to just go to bed. But the worst part was, she didn't bring anything back that would be evidence that they had truly slain the monster. Hopefully they would find a corpse eventually, but she'd worry about that later. She just wanted to go home.
 
It took some time, but eventually their worries were assuaged as they found Mia, waiting for them at a room with a major intersection of tunnels. It was a logical place to do so, and if Isaac wee to be honest he was glad that they hadn't had to fight any other giant monsters to get to her, or upon reuniting. After their journey he had come to expect certain things, and this time he as glad to be mistaken.

"I'm fine as well," he added with a slight grin. "I've gotten used to falling, sadly." Learning how to nail a landing had been one of those skills he didn't think he would need to learn, that had become important eventually. But now that they were back together, they could get on to other business.

At Karina's suggestion, he nodded, aware that something wasn't entirely right, but not sure what that was. Well, he was sure that he would figure it out sooner or later even without a mind reader. For now he merely nodded. "If that's what you want to do. We're just here to help you out after all." If she wanted to head back then he would go, or otherwise he would help with whatever other task needed to be done.
 
"I don't blame her, how did you find your way out of that hole?" Mia asked as Karina started guiding them back.

"It wasn't hard...Isaac just broke through a wall." Karina answered.

"..Sounds like you, Isaac. Now that we're done with this, when did you want to start learning how to use your psynergy, Karina? It looks like the only thing you truly have a problem with is controlling when you drain it. Your other moves, the lightning and the wind..they were perfect!" Mia praised as she followed.

"Ah, yeah...the whirlwind...I didn't actually know how to do that until I pushed you." Karina laughed a bit.
 
"I'll take that as a compliment," Isaac noted with a chuckle as the both of them commented on his method of problem solving. It had worked after all, and it wasn't as if they had had any other options at that point. And even if it hadn't been intended as such, it was still a light hearted insult in the end. So he would simply roll with it and make no big deal of it.

Following along, he was surprised to hear that Karina had apparently managed to instinctively use a new ability, without any training or preparation. That was certainly interesting, and it spoke to what sort of depths the girl might yet tap. He was interested to see how it would turn out.

"That's good to know," he agreed with a nod. "At least we won't have to worry about surprises." One might hope anyway. He supposed it remained to be seen, to some extent. It would be a quick trip out of the mines as far as he was concerned, unless they got attacked along the way. "Still, control is a good place to start."
 
Mia was quite surprised by that answer and tilted her head questioningly. She was really talented. Normally they learned techniques after many battles and much practicing. Sometimes they learned new techniques by carrying around Djinn. But it took a lot more than just defeating a single foe, unless..she really had been training as much as she told them she had. "Well, that's one way to learn something. But Karin, after seeing your abilities I'm positive you're a Jupiter adept." Mia explained as they walked through the tunnels.

"I'm a what?" Karina asked with a puzzled expression.

"You're a Jupiter adept! Meaning your wind element comes from the Jupiter lighthouse. We know two of them, and both of them can read minds. Have you ever gained that ability?" Mia found it strange if she didn't, she thought all Jupiter adepts could read minds naturally.

"Read minds?" Karina seemed confused, which obviously meant she didn't know how. "No...best I can do is feel someone's psynergy. It tells me what kind of person they are, and what emotions they are experiencing. I have to be...absorbing their psynergy to do that."
 
Isaac could only nod in agreement with Mia's assessment, letting her take over the explanation for the most part as he considered the matter at hand. He knew the limits of how this sort of thing could happen, and he could only assume that it was because of the fight that this ability had been able to manifest, when otherwise it might have stayed submerged in spite of whatever training that she had done. Or so he assumed anyway. The two of them had never had the time for such casual training while they were on the road.

A hum escaped then as Karina revealed that she wasn't able to read minds, only to sense their emotions and such, and only while absorbing their psynergy. On the one hand that was strange, since his previous experience had indicated that she should be able to. On the other hand, things probably would have been a lot worse for her if she couldn't, without control of it.

"She might be suppressing the ability," Isaac noted aloud as they walked along, looking over to Karina. "With how your powers have manifested, your mind could be keeping you from doing it for your own well being." Well, that was one thought, anyway. There was only one way to know for sure.
 
"That's possible. There's also the fact that...you were different after the rocks fell, right?" Mia asked, wondering if inexperience was the culprit. Karina was silent for a moment before she sighed.

"No, I've always been different," She admitted as she kept her eyes ahead, one foot in front of the other. She didn't know why she was telling them this, no one else but her parents knew, after all. "But I wasn't allowed to be. My father forbade it. He took me to this village here...to avoid meeting other people who were like me. But once the rocks started falling, and other people began to change...that was when I could no longer run from who I really was. Who my mother was..."

Mia blinked at that confession. She had just assumed that...Karina was one of the newer adepts. But that sort of explained things...if she had been born an adept instead of made into one, that was why she could perform such amazing feets. It made sense, and it was even more proof that she was something special. She wasn't sure if she should press for more information, especially when she spoke so sadly about her parents. Who was her mother and father? Why did her father insist on her not exploring something so wondrous?

Either way, she put her hand on Karina's shoulder. "Do you still not want to be different?"

Karina wasn't really sure how to answer that. No...she did but she didn't want to. "...No. I don't want to be. But I know that I am, and I know that I can't keep running from this forever."
 
Isaac would admit that he was somewhat surprised to hear that bit of information. Perhaps it was merely because of what they had been dealing with, but he had assumed that she was a new Adept, and hadn't been one for her entire life. It had almost been forgotten, with the whole new bunch that had shown up in the return of alchemy. it was unfair of him, and he would have to make up for it in the future.

At the same time, he couldn't help but notice what Mia had noticed as well. What had happened to her parents, why was she working alone in that inn? He had a feeling it was related to the mines, but didn't want to push on it when she might not be comfortable with it.

"Don't worry," he said moving alongside her even though he didn't engage in such shows of support as Mia did. "A lot of things are changing in the world. People like us...Weyard is going to have to learn how to deal with it, and sooner rather than later." Because they definitely weren't going away any time soon, that was fur sure.

Walking on, he was certain of that, even as he carried on with the conversation. "So, where are you from originally then? If you don't mind telling me." He was merely curious, and it would serve as idle chit chat until they got out of the mines. By that token he was willing to accept it.
 
"I don't really remember," Karina answered as they reached the end of the pathway where the torches were. She picked one up and lit it, since the Moonstones also ended there and they would need light to see the rest of the way. "Not the name of the village, anyway. I was six when we left and came here. I just remember it was a very vibrant place. Bigger than this village." She sighed. How could she miss a place that she barely even remembered?

"I see...Karina, Isaac is right. This world is changing, like Isaac said. Maybe your father thought that ignoring your powers was best for you then, but it's different now. I don't want to tell you want to do, but...I can tell that you'd be capable of very great things if you embrace what you are. An adept. There is nothing wrong with us." Mia told her as she continued to stay close.

"There might not be anything wrong with you two, but there is something wrong with me, and since running away anymore is no longer an option, I have to face that. My father told me if I used my powers, they'd grow so much that I wouldn't be able to control it. Even though I listened, he was right. I can't control it. So, I want to learn as much as I can to be able to. Whatever you two can teach me." Karina replied.
 
"Hm, my apologies for asking," Isaac replied as Karina revealed that she didn't actually remember. He wouldn't fault her for that, since he had assumed that it might be a possibility. And he supposed that it didn't really matter anyway. He had just been curious about it. Certainly it was unlikely to affect the present, though the details of it were interesting. BUt now that he knew, he would leave it be.

He frowned then as Karina explained their problem, as she picked up a torch and led them along without the Moonstones to assist them. It was nice to have Mia back him up, since she knew as much about this as he did and could probably be more persuasive, only for Karina to provide more intriguing information about her father, abilities, and the path that had led to this point.

There was a slight smile on his part then, old memories flooding back. "Well, if you don't mind me channeling my inner Garret, I'm sure he'd say something about proving your father wrong, at least in terms of controlling your abilities. We'll help you however we can." They had said so before, and Isaac was sure that they would keep doing so. It was just a matter of getting started, really.
 
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