Pialla could communicate with magic. While that meant nothing to anyone else on the boat, Danson couldn't stop his jaw from dropping. Where could he even begin to explain how monumental that was? Kiara was from a place where magic didn't exist, and though Keigo and Diana used types he couldn't, Pialla stood in a place where elves could never go. It wasn't like Danson spent years in dusty libraries researching the possibility, but he knew there was a title for someone like this. Pialla was a Magic Maestro; that was enough to diminish even Cucumber's name. He might be a deadly figure, but whole kingdoms would fight to get a Maestro under their command. Morduunal suddenly filled his mind, and he closed his mouth as he turned to Kiara. How were these two girls connected? Beyond simply saving her one day in the night, how had a thread of fate tied the two together. He smiled and watched the nervousness it built-in those scarlet eyes. Finding Kiara had tied him to this moment too, and he could almost see the tangled web himself.

“Hey!” Keigo suddenly barked. “We get that it means something to you, but we’re all in the dark here!”

Danson laughed, shaking his head. “Where do I even start?”

“How about the Dark Lands?” Alexia offered. He nodded; that was as good a place as any.

“Kiara, the place we met Morduunal is Darshaln, the Dark Lands. It was a major empire in the Eastern hemisphere, formally one that vied for the throne of the world. Part of what made that possible for them was how advanced their magic studies were. Even the Elven Kingdoms wouldn’t have arrogantly tried to go to war with them. One major reason why is because of a term that reached even our ears; Magic Maestro. The Darklanders wondered if there was a way to heighten ones ability to connect with magic. Not just casting spells or forming new means, but sharing your thoughts directly to the particles.” Danson paused abruptly, turning his eyes to Pialla. “Wait, do you know the name for Magic Particles?”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t.”

"Dang." He supposed she wasn't a Darklander then. It struck him that he didn't know where Pialla came from. Her name suggested somewhere in that region, but the need for specifics was heavier now. He shook his head; that could wait. "Being able to share your thoughts means a lot of things. For one, there's no school of magic you're limited to. For two, your spell crafting could be immaculate."

"I get it!" Kiara gasped. "It's like automatically knowing the perfect coding for any program you want to make." Danson didn't understand, but from the look in her eyes, he knew she was right. "Doesn't that mean Pialla is one of the most valuable people in the world though?"

Danson nodded. "Which spells trouble if Cucumber can take her away. The only reason Rial isn’t a complete warzone now is because of the skirmish in the south. If the army wasn’t still cleaning up, they would be in her home town. Sounds like your home had a private militia of guards too. Someone is going to check out why they were killed, and if they find out Pialla’s a Maestro…” Would even Bernard Cucumber be able to escape the people coming for her?

“So you get the urgency of why we want to fight tonight.” Marco said.

“I get why Pialla has two wilds guards too. Does all of your settlement know about this?” Diana asked.

Marco shook his head. “Only mom and us three.”

“And the person who sent Cucumber…” Danson swallowed hard. Who sent a dead man to take a Maestro from her home? Who was this person who had already broken the boundary between life and death?

“My home is across the lake.” Pialla spoke. “If we go there, I can explain the rest of the details.” It seemed she knew the weight of what she was as well.

Danson wondered if the girl could escape without their help, would they have ever met her? He couldn’t resist letting his eyes move to Kiara again...

‹⊛›

When the rune ship took its time, the trip across the lake took little more than half an hour. The rest of the trek passed in silence, mostly, considering the weight of Danson's words. Kiara, in particular, found them weighing on her mind, especially with the two glances the elf threw her way. His question came through without a murmur; why was this an encounter fated for her? She could at least say she knew what Morduunal meant at last. Pialla's life was an important one. Were it not for Kiara, the retrievers might have done their job. Could her friends have saved her from there? Kiara didn't know all the details of their abilities but wasn't confident based on what she had seen. There wasn't a doubt that the three were strong, but would strength have helped against the retrievers' tricks? Could they have even forced the group to split? Could they have done what Kiara did to end her fight? She didn't know enough to answer the questions and didn't get much more time to think as the boat reached the dock.

From there Mirror town was only a mile away. A road paved in blue stones and lined with glass rails led them up a hill to where they could see the town sprawling below. In the distance, the ominous manor awaited, but between them and it sat streets of thin buildings standing three floors tall. Brick faces watched them as they followed Pialla to where the houses grew slightly wider. A bell dinged as she stepped past stone walls into a yard, and before she was halfway, its door came flying open.

A woman in a flowing yellow dress ran over, pulling the girl into a hug. With bronze skin and long dark hair, it was obvious who she was, even if her hazel eyes didn't match Pialla's stunning citrine. The woman had a few inches on the girl too but as she turned to the group, the family resemblance was clear. This was Pialla's mother, and her eyes were overflowing with tears of joy. She turned back to her daughter, placing both hands on her face.

“Thank the stars you aren’t hurt!” Hands dropped to Pialla’s shoulders next, then her arms, and finally pulled her into another hug.

The girl hugged her mother back. “I’m sorry I left you worrying!”

Her mother shook her head and held her in tender silence. The group preserved it as they waited for acknowledgment, and got it at last when a smile was cast down and the woman met their eyes.

“You must be the ones from Osaza's vision. I am Biavi Blulate, I welcome you all to join me inside." She stretched her arm toward the still-open door.

Shoes were left in an antechamber as they proceeded across shining silver floors, finding their way to a sitting room where two gown-garbed automatons waited against stone walls. Biavi turned to one with a request for tea and it hurried out of the room, leaving Kiara with her mouth agape. Before the surprise of that could fully settle, a wardrobe's doors suddenly flung open, and a girl with short green hair and pale skin came hopping out. She hurried over to pull Pialla into a hug and just as quickly sized up their guest. Noticeably, Marco shrunk away from her eyes, but she didn't let them linger as she took in the rest.

“These guys apart of the plan?” Her eyes hunted the boy down and he nodded with a grim frown.

“Maybe anyway, we haven't explained all the details first." He avoided eye contact, but the girl smiled, nodding enthusiastically as she fell onto a couch. This was the cue they needed to find a seat as well.

Danson took the reigns before banter could even arrive. "Those things aren't Ufanyn make, are they?" He gestured at the still waiting automaton. Biavi shook her head.

“No. They were empowered by me.”

The elf frowned. “And Pialla’s father is an Oracle, right?”

“Yes, he is.”

Keigo’s eyes moved to Danson. “On a scale of finding Kiara in a field and meeting Morduunal, where does this land?”

“Closer to Morduunal, though not that far.” Danson looked at Pialla, then back to her mother. “I could explain this, but maybe you two should.”

Biavi nodded. “We are from the Sunleaf isles.” She started, “For most of you that will mean nothing. I might as well have said I’m from the Blue Peaks or Orchid Triumvirate, but what the young elf here understands is that the Sunleaf isles is a special place. There’s a unique kind of Sorcery there that the natives practice. We call it Reverie, and like other forms of Sorcery, for its power it limits how we can interact with magic.”

“Reverie is different from other sorcery though.” Danson added. “Similar to how most people of the Sun Lands are, the Sunleaf people past down their magic through their bloodline.”

“Indeed. Though it’s not set in stone if only one parent uses Reverie, if both parents do then the child will be a sorcerer as well. As I am an Enchanter and my husband is an Oracle, Pialla too, is a Reverie user.”

“I’m an Enchanter as well.” Pialla said.

“So if I’m getting this right…” Diana looked at the girl. “She shouldn’t be able to use magic like us?” She waved her hand at their group and Biavi nodded. “Then how is she that Maestro thing that Danson talked about. We didn’t exactly study magic in the Green Lands, but I feel like if you’re limited in how you can use it, you shouldn’t be able to be a Maestro.”

“You’re right.” Danson replied. “It comes back to the magic particles. If you can’t access all of them, the type of magic you use will be limited. It’s why I can’t use Striker magic, for example. I can’t move the particles in the same way you can.”

“And similarly, Pialla shouldn’t be able to either.” Biavi said. “However, my daughter did something no Enchanter has done before her. It was tried in the earliest days of the Reverie, and presumed to be impossible.”

Even Kiara knew where this was going. “She enchanted herself?”

“Yes.” Pialla answered. “I enchanted myself with the ability to understand magic.”

Keigo raised his hand. “What does it even mean to be an enchanter?”

“I know that one!” Diana raised hers. “Enchanters create a continuous magical effect. If I asked one of them to, they could make it so my shoes let me walk on air, or give me a bracelet that let’s me stretch my arms really far.”

“Why does it sound like you're making a request?" Keigo turned to her.

She put her hand on his face. “Unlike magic weapons, enchanted items don’t need an installation gem to work. It means their enchantment can’t be changed without breaking, but it also means they can be more specific!” She looked at Pialla. “But I always heard that Enchanters can’t Enchant people.”

The green-haired girl raised her hand. “Hi! Maple here! That's where I come in." She sat in a purple dress, half-lidded eyes lingering on Danson even now. "It happened when I was still working on the basics of witchcraft. Pialla asked me to help her with something and…"

“It worked.” Biavi sighed. “It was an extremely dangerous thing to do, but Maple created an effigy of Pialla’s soul, and she in turn enchanted it. It was the sort of reckless thing that only two children would dare. It’s no small wonder it didn’t backfire.”

“Until now.” Danson said. “I can see how it’d be easy to hide something like that. You could just claim any magic Pialla performed was the work of an enchantment. Considering those automaton, you’re pretty skilled too. If I didn’t know any better I’d think they were the work of Ufanyn life magic.”

As he said this, the tea server returned to the room, putting cups in front of each of them. Carefully it checked if they wanted honey, sugar, or neither and served each on a saucer. Danson sipped his and nodded as if the taste further confirmed his words.

“Pialla might have been able to go her whole life in secret. What went wrong?”

“It was while Osaza and I worked a job in the East Wing. We were working in tandem with a Bifold by the name of Nina Blue.”

Danson stopped mid-sip, his eyes going to Kiara. He smirked, and she frowned. “Kiara you keep coming in contact with some big names.”

“Who is Nina Blue?”

“Are. Nina and Blue were people I encountered about six years ago. They were amazing Soul mages, and maybe completely insane. They seemed to be working on some sort of spell, and wanted volunteers, promising it’d make them significantly stronger.”

“Well!” Ellio exclaimed. “You’ll be happy to hear that they are still amazing Soul mages. And they want Pialla to further their abilities.”

Eyes went from him to her.

“A little boy had gotten injured and I thought to heal him so he could get home. I didn’t think anyone was around, but Nina Blue spotted me. I couldn’t pretend like I had an item at that point. They saw my soul and the enchantment upon it, and immediately went to my parents.”

“They made it perfectly clear that they knew Pialla had the potential to be a Maestro and tried to strike a deal with us. If she served as their assistant, they’d make sure no one ever found out.”

“But,” Danson gritted his teeth. “Whatever achievements they made with Soul magic would turn eyes upon them. Even six years ago, they hadn’t kept themselves entirely hidden. Who knows what enemies they had then, and might even have now.”

“And of course, with sending Cucumber to wipe this town's guards out, they only have more now." Keigo crossed his arms. "But why send him? I'm guessing you guys said no and Nina Blue didn't take it all that well."

"Cucumber was likely sent to prove a point. Pialla's life will change every time a person finds out what she can do. This time it’s them, but who knows who it’ll be next time.”

The room went silent save for the sound of drinking tea and bated breath. If Pialla’s secrecy had not shown them before, this was not a simple situation. Kiara thought about the conversations they had about her magic. If Pialla could help her use it even a little better, how much could she help people who knew what they were doing? It wasn't just Danson's words that alarmed the girl, but what he said about making others more powerful. Who were Nina and Blue, and how far would they go? A dead hero this time, but what would come next? When would Pialla get to rest her head?

“There’s a plan, right?” She broke the silence. Marco nodded.

“We know what type of magic is behind Cucumber’s resurrection thanks to Osaza. It’s a Soul Binding Hex, and thanks to Maple, we know how to break it.”

“Fire!" Maple exclaimed. Kiara's heart skipped a beat. Marco continued, but she could feel a shift in the air among the people in the know. At last it answered why she and Pialla were tied together.

“And she’s going to work on her own spell here, making Nina Blue forget about Pialla.”

“Sounds great!” Keigo nodded. “And with two wilds tribesmen and a conjurer, the forces he brought aren’t going to be a problem. We could attack right now and be done with this."

“Except for one thing.” Marco reached into his shirt. He pulled out a bottle of sand, and Biavi put a bowl on the coffee table.

As he poured the sand it began to shift, taking the forms of four figures standing at a distance. One, a young woman with knives in sheaths all over her body. Another a young man with long rabbit-like ears sticking up from the sides of his head. The third was little more than a child, and the last was a woman with long hair, holding a heart in her hand.

“These four were called monuments in Osaza’s vision. Marianne, No-Name, Arseal, and Cosette.” He pointed them out in order.

“No-name?” Keigo raised an eyebrow.

Diana nodded. “Probably a hitman from the Green Lands. There’s a group that kill Myrin parents and take their children. You earn your name on completion of your first job.”

“Would Nina Blue have gone to them, or Cucumber himself?"

“I think it’s more likely that Cucumber saved him. That sounds like something he would have done at least.”

“Well regardless of how they joined forces, our best means of attack will be to separate them from the group. Maple has a spell for that.” Marco pointed at the witch.

“It's called Duelist Demand, I can work that one out a lot quicker than the memory spell for Nina Blue. The rules though are that two people enter a one on one fight. They'll remain compelled until the battle is finished through incapacitation. The bad news is that I can only compel four of them and Cucumber is one.”

“Well, Myrin can’t use magic so No-Name probably has a magic item, but what about the other three?” Keigo asked.

“What you see in the sand are depictions based on Osaza’s words. Marianne cuts with blades borne on her arms. Cosette controls the heart with her very hands. We took this to mean that the first one uses Cutter magic, and the second is a Hemomancer.”

They looked at the bowl of sand again. As Keigo suggested, there was nothing for No-Name to indicate he used any sort of magic, however, they could see nothing for Arseal either. Marco followed their eyes but shook his head.

“He's a magic user, but Osaza couldn't see what type."

Eyes went to Danson next.

“I don’t know what that could mean, but even if he’s a kid I’ll fight him. I have the best chance of figuring out what he can do, and my magic is versatile enough to meet it.”

“I insist you exclude Cosette from the Duelist Demand. Hemomancy is dangerous, and my conjuration don’t have blood. It’s better to leave her to me.” Alexia patted her purse.

“I’ll take on No-Name then.” Keigo replied.

“Which leaves Marianne to me.” Diana smirked.

“Great! Then that just leaves Cucumber. Hey Biavi, could you make me an enchant that makes my venom ignite?” Ellio turned a big grin on her.

“I can but you know that will burn you too, right?”

“Yep! But I was already prepared for that. Pialla just make sure you patch me up if I survive!”

“You don't have to do anything that'll hurt you." Kiara shook her head. "If fire is what we need, I have plenty here." She ignited her finger, and as its scarlet glow fell upon their faces, the eyes of the trio lit up.

“Right! Your group is from the other vision Osaza did. The fallen scarlet star. The elf with the heart of winter. The girl who walks on air, and the boy from the forest of treasures!" Ellio clapped, and while no one questioned their image, a strange look did come to Keigo’s eyes. He said nothing, however, and the moment marched on. “I’d feel bad leaving you to fight Cucumber alone though. Hey Maple, would the stealth ring let me slip past the Duelist Demand?”

“I wouldn’t even know how to stop it!”

“Then the plan is set!”

“Sounds like it!”

Marco sighed at the two, putting effort into focusing on Kiara’s group. “Then all we can do for now is wait things out. You four should rest. Tonight we fight for our Magic Maestro…”