Family Relic (Job, Solo, Private)

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

"Excuse me, you want me to do what?" A question that was asked of the two older men that were acting as representatives for the Magic Council. She had been called away from Pandora and back to Fiore for some urgent matter that could apparently not be discussed in a typical letter. Now there she was, in the city of Era, sitting in some fancy and luxurious room discussing what brought their attention to a simple mage and ace of Lamia Scale. "Apologies, but I do not see the reason why you contacted me for this." Samira gently placed the cup of tea she had been holding on the small table situated in front of her and leaned back in her chair, folding one leg over the other and placing her hands on either side of the arm rests.

The conversation had started like any other one could expect from those that considered themselves established members of society. Introductions with a dash of a little too much respect and kindness. Perhaps that is what a guild master or wizard saint would expect but not her. She was neither of those and from there she was well aware they wanted something of her and did not want to risk her refusing. A redundant method really. She did not care for such formalities when it came to herself. After that bit of nonsense they had moved on to the point of the matter. Just a tiny request that the green haired woman had come to think was a waste of time. What they had asked of her was to simply track down the location of some magical artifact that had been lost ages ago, or so the story went. It may as well have been a myth by that point with how little information they had on it. There were plenty of other mages more suited for such a task. Studying artifacts was more of a hobby of hers really. Rarely did she go hunting for them, and even then not many knew of that pastime of hers. That could not have been the reason they selected her out of all the mages in Fiore.

"I have heard that a new guild has recently been formed. One that specializes in magic and it's development. Is that not who you should turn to instead?" The two older gentlemen looked towards each other as if they were thinking over that little piece of information. Had they really not considered that? She arched a brow curiously as she stared and waited for a response. Preferably one that allowed her to leave without receiving a reputation for rudeness.

A few seconds of whispering amongst each other before they fixated their gazes once more on her. One raising his hand in a fist to cough into it nervously before speaking. "Yes, we are aware of the guild you have mentioned."

"I see. That is good to know. I had begun to suspect the council had signed the paperwork for their approval without looking at it. Now can you explain why I am here and not one of that guild's mages?"

"While contacting Silver Wolf would make sense in this case it is also fact that they are very new. They lack the resources that an older guild such as your own has. The Zuo’s Grand Library for instance. You are aware that it contains information and knowledge of all kinds from throughout the millennia and more?"

"I am aware. It is also not restricted to only members of Lamia Scale. I am acquainted with Leila Vergious, the guild master of Silver Wolf if my information is correct. If she had requested access to the library for herself or a member of her guild I would have done what was necessary to get the visit approved. Would you like to give another reason for this meeting?"

"Assuming you find the location there is a high probability that it will be guarded by ancient creatures the world has not seen in generations. We believe only Lamia Scale mages would be able to deal with them and make it out alive."

"Understandable and reasonable. The hunt for some magical item that is known only in myth and if clues are found they would ultimately lead to a dangerous area that no typical mage could hope to leave in one piece unless they were very powerful. Naturally the conclusion is to get in touch with a guild that has both of those issues covered rather easily. Is this correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, now we have discussed why you wanted someone from Lamia Scale. Now we need to get to the matter of you contacting me personally. Not only did you skip over the process of requesting a normal mage from my guild, you completely overlooked one of your wizard saints as well as the guild master. Why?" Again the two looked at each other, looking more concerned that time. They were trying their hardest to evade the answer each time she had asked a question. It should have been obvious what she was getting at with each one asked as she continued poking holes in their reasoning. Her  fingers of her right hand started to tap gently on the armrest of her chair and her eyes hardened as they narrowed. No longer did she look friendly and respectful. Quite the opposite really. Samira had become annoyed with the conversation entirely. The representatives trying to hide something from her only made it that much worse for them.

”I see you require more time to think this over. I will take my leave then.” Samira pushed herself off the cushion of her chair and without even a glance in their direction made her way towards the door. Her hand had grabbed the knob of the door, turning it and gently pulling to create the opening that would be her exit from the room. A step was made outside the room, and then another, but one of the men called to her and asked that she wait. The woman paused, not turning around to face the speaker but instead stared out into the empty hallway before her. Had they finally decided to get to the point and actually tell her everything they were trying to hide? Or would she be forced to listen to more reasonable sounding cover ups? She was the curious sort and so she waited. It had been her plan, after all. They needed to be forced to reveal everything. Her leaving had a high chance of gaining a reaction and proving to her that it was her they actually needed and/or wanted. Not some random mage of high rank or position. If the plan did not work and they had allowed her to leave, well, then there were no consequences as far as she was concerned aside from being mistaken with her theory.

“The reason you were contacted is because of the one who originally gave us this information. Souniro Nassar.”

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Hearing that name shattered Samira’s defenses and caught her off guard. It was only by luck that she was facing outside the room and the men could not see that they struck a weak point. To hear that name after so long… well it was very unexpected. There was a brief moment of sadness for her as she stood there silently, her eyes softening and looking down at the floor. It quickly came to an end and she forced herself to remain composed rather than allow past memories to overcome her.  ”My grandfather?” Samira’s verdant gaze raised as she turned her head to glance back at the ones that had dared mention him.

He had been dead for years. Over ten if she recalled the timeline of her life and age at the time. Supposedly he had died naturally back then, leaving her in the care of some relatives on her mother’s side. Just before that had happened he had warned her to never use her magic or call upon the four spirits she had already made contracts with. It made little sense then to her child self, and never in all those years that passed afterwards did she think anything was strange where his death was concerned. She had followed that warning like any good girl should. That began to change with recent events. Not counting the fact he was an unintentional link between herself and one of her best friends, he had also been linked with strange occurrence. The rest of her celestial keys had appeared mysteriously when she reached the age of an adult, associates of his had contacted her with excellent timing and with just the right piece of information she needed when trying to locate the once missing spirit, Anhur, and now he was coming up again for something else.

The last time she used the information her grandfather had it had led her to a strange place that she was sure had been used as some sort of trap. A laboratory of sorts that was cloning spirits, hers namely and those like them. She and her companions had made it out successfully with what they needed so it was no lie that the information was there, but there was still something off about how it all went down. Not to mention she highly disapproved of the existence of the experiments to begin with and was not at all sure if her grandfather had been involved with them. She hoped not. As for why he was coming up again, surely there wasn’t another sort of cloning crisis going on. Those horrible experiments had even leaked into other countries. The events that happened in Bosco where the scientists of that land tried to mimic those experiments without understanding them quickly flashed through her mind. Surely something of that scale did not happen again. If so, she would have to give the council credit for doing their research well enough to link the spooky forest laboratory and the Bosco failed experiment to him, and as another connection, herself.

One of the men motioned towards the chair she had been sitting in before attempting to leave. “Please, come back and have a seat. We will explain.” The other lifted a briefcase that had been beside his chair the entire time, setting it on his lap and opening it to reveal a stack of papers and some notebooks that he began to go through. ”Very well.” Samira had fully turned back around and made her way back to her seat. Patience was forced back upon herself if only to find out more about what this all had to do with the man that had passed on to the afterlife and left her with a mess and one too many mysteries to solve. ”You may continue, but please do not try and hide anything or go around the facts. I want you to get straight to the point with all of the details.”

“Right,” the man with the briefcase took out one of the notebooks and passed it over the table for Samira to take and read for herself. She leaned forward in her chair, gently grabbing hold of the collection of written knowledge and then proceeded to undo the strapping that held it closed and flipped the brown leather cover open. At first she had no idea what it was for the entire cover had been blank. From simple observation of the cover though she could tell it was old and well used. On the inside many of the pages were wrinkled and the color of them had yellowed over time. The handwriting was still legible, however. Very neat and precise and also very familiar to her from years past. There was no mistake. That journal had to belong to her grandfather at one point in time. Or the second most obvious conclusion was that it had been forged to perfection with magic. Samira would not allow herself to wander into that category of thought. Deep down she really did want to believe there was more information out there hidden away and waiting for her to find. Now she only needed to know why they had it.

The discussion took some time to get through. Not that Samira minded at all. She had been the one to ask for all the details and with each piece of information they gave her more questions were added on. From what she understood of it, the journal had been left in their care for quite some time, since before her grandfather’s passing. The research had been put on hold, likely due to the finding of Samira’s celestial keys taking priority, but she kept that piece of information to herself. After his death they and some other associates had tried researching more of it but came up with dead ends without him to lend any assistance. They only knew of what the artifact supposedly did, and after many years the project and search for the item had started up again. All thanks to them assuming that since she was his granddaughter that she would be able to do what they could not. After all, he had been a well known explorer and researcher in his time. Surely such traits had been passed on to her. What interesting logic. She had been uninformed that such things had proven to be hereditary. Her inner sarcasm aside, they also put thought into the fact that she was also powerful enough to handle it based on the previous missions and deeds she had done and accomplished. Just some thought though. She had asked them if they would have overlooked her familial ties to her grandfather and his research if she had been weak and the answer was a blunt no. They still would have asked her even if she was considered the weakest mage in all of Fiore. Obviously stronger mages would have been sent as escort if that were the case, but it was still surprising that they would have requested she do more than find the item’s location even if she were inadequate for the task.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

”What reason would you have for sending my weaker self on a suicide mission if things were different?”

“When your grandfather left us with his research he also gave a warning. Only a person of the Nassar bloodline can open the door. All others will regret even trying.”

”I see. It is probably a mention of some sort of trap set by my ancestors. I know little about them honestly, but he probably came across that information in the artifact’s lore or from some family biography that I have no knowledge of. It is not in any of the books that I was able to claim before the rest were sold and traded away.”

“Beyond getting in we have no other information of what else you can expect, other than the obvious creatures and ghosts that tend to lurk near lost artifacts. If a trap that has been set that allows only a single bloodline to enter then I fear what may be acting as a guardian should anyone pass that.”

”Your fears are ill-placed. Should there be a guardian of some kind then I will take care of it. It would not be the first I have come across.”

“So we have your cooperation in this then?”

”I assume by cooperation you mean after I find the item and claim it I am to return it to you.” The nod confirmed her theory. ”I have no attachments to the artifact in question. All I ask is that you give me the details of your research after the fact for obvious reasons.”

“Of course.”

”Then I suppose I should get started.” The summoner once again left her seat and had begun to say her goodbye while walking away with the leather covered journal in hand when she was interrupted. Her steps paused and she turned around, curious as to what else they needed to say but did have a minor theory. Taking off with the journal without asking may have been rude, and honestly she had done so without much thought given to that consideration. As far as she was concerned it was hers now, and she required its contents to learn about what she was dealing with and for possible clues that they all had missed. Unfortunately, it was not about her sudden claim to the leather covered notebook. It was worse.

“This project had been kept secret for some time, but I am afraid the information had been leaked. There were copies of that journal made and kept in the research facilities while we held onto the original.”

”So you suspect someone else is also interested in this item? If the warning you were told by my grandfather is worth anything then they would not get very far. I do not consider this as a problem. Just increase whatever security there is for whenever I come back with the artifact.” Well that was easily handled. She resumed making her exit when something else said stopped her once more. “Unless they too are of the Nassar bloodline.” Samira froze, unable to properly process that for the few moments of silence that filled the room. There actually was substance and credibility with that statement. Not too long ago she had seen that her bloodline extended more than she knew about. Most of them summoners like herself. A short flashback to meeting the sister she did not even know she had until that day shot rapidly through her mind. She had been stronger, faster, and everything Samira was not. If not for that woman healing the injuries she was causing Samira would have been dead several times over during that fight. If that was what it could have been called. Really it was a more of an aggressive torture session. The only reason she was even still alive was because Apophis had taken over her body to deal with the problem. As much as she disliked that uncontrollable spirit he at least did not want her to die, not yet anyway. That part of his agenda would come at another point in time she gathered.

Samira turned back towards the pair of men with hardened and determined eyes. If any of them were there to get in her way it would not end the same way as last time. She was through with being a weak person who’s only purpose was to fill the role of target practice for the corrupt and insane. ”From what I have been told, they all turned their backs on our true heritage long ago. They are Nassar only by name. If any of them are there, they too will be considered handled.” Then she made her exit from that room, from that building, from that very city. A lot was now on her mind, not just because of the artifact but also because now she would likely have to deal with relatives and her sister once again. For what reason they wanted that particular artifact she didn’t know just yet. Anytime they had shown up it was for the celestial spirit cloning projects. The last time she saw Amirah though she had wanted the original, not a clone. Were they finally done with trying to re-create the spirits she had and others and were now going to try a different approach? Trying to take the powers of the originals directly? How bothersome. To make matters worse Samira always had help with dealing with them in the past. This time she was alone, and there was a feeling of dread creeping up on her as the minutes and hours passed.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

After that little meeting Samira had immediately made the journey to the Lamia Scale guild branch that was still located within Hargeon Town. The one on Pandora was considered the main branch, but so far the Zuo’s Grand Library had yet to be moved there. After so many trips back and forth between guild branches just because of that it dawned on her that she really should get to work on just making a copy of the place. Moving it entirely made sense too, but there were people in the guild that joined for its more knowledge aspect rather than the monster side of it. She herself had been one of them, and many of those people had stayed behind, preferring not to live on a country filled with monsters. Making a copy or moving it… both would take an age and a half.

’Out of everything today your complaint is traveling between guild halls to get to the library? Really?! Do the obvious and make a portal between them!’

”I have no experience with making portals and certainly no experience with making one that covers such a large distance. Janus would also not appreciate being given the order to have a permanent portal going so that method is also out. Perhaps I will speak with Gisen on the matter at a later point in time.” Samira spoke to the spirits that often made a place in her mind. Of course, not everyone knew that fact, and as she walked through the vast halls of the guild many people she passed by turned their gazes and stared awkwardly at her. That or skidaddled away as quickly as possible. A common scene that she barely even acknowledged by that point. They were allowed to assume that she was either crazy or had made an imaginary friend. Would it have made sense to keep her replies to the spirits mental instead of talking out loud? Yes, yes it would have. For a normal person.

Samira entered the library she had been in many times before. There were others there as well, all either completely silent as they searched the many shelves of the grand library or whispering softly within small groups seated at the tables and seats scattered around. The woman looked to the left, then her head shifted towards the right. Thereafter her gaze centered and a sweatdrop had formed at the side of her head. Just where was she supposed to start? And even if that question had an easy answer the place was huge. As much as she enjoyed studying she hardly had the time to get through all the books within the library. It would probably take a lifetime.

Samira let out a sigh as she theorized the current step of her given mission to take the most time and be more difficult than facing whatever was lurking in whatever set of ancient ruins the artifact was hiding in. At the same time it was also the most significant part. She couldn't find the magical item if she didn't have the proper location, after all. Still, she knew time was also significant and it could not be wasted spending ages in the library and using the vague clues in her grandfather's journal. Others may be on the trail and could very well find it before she did. The frown on her face shifted into a small smile. She knew what could make searching the library much quicker and hopefully easier. For her. May whatever god existed in Fiore help and give mercy to everyone else in the library.

"Oh, Samira, dear. You really don't intend..."
"I do."
"What?! This is a library! There are some personalities here that would make it extremely uncomfortable and distracting for your fellow guild mates."

"It will be fine so long as you all control yourselves. I think." Samira began to hesitate and rethink her plan as flashes of what may happen rushed through the forefront of her mind. "Eh. It is worth a try regardless, I suppose. Even with magic reading glasses I am only one pair of eyes. I require help." Those hesitant thoughts were pushed far back to the forgotten worry zone. "All right. You all know what to do. If you find anything relevant let me know." The summoner raised her arm and then quickly brought it back down in front of her as if she were starting a race. "Go!" Several flashes of multicolored lights flickered behind her as a portal opened up and nearly every single one of her spirits appeared from it, using their own power to cross and remain in the normal realm so as not to wear down their summoner with such a heavy use of magic. All of them spread out in different directions to search the library and to hopefully find something of worth throughout the vast collection of the grand library. Would letting so many spirits out at once to roam free and do as they pleased in an environment where people needed peace and quiet be a bad idea? Most likely. Heads turned her way, many of them having twitching brows and glares since they knew what was going to end up happening. The wiser ones got up and headed for the exit. The more unfortunate ones who were not even paying attention or had noticed the lightshow… well they would soon learn to never remain in the library when Samira needed it.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Book hunting with Serqet:

The unusually bubbly and hyperactive spirit was doing her very best to find any information she could find for her summoner. It didn't matter that she was in some boring library. In her mind it was like a scavenger hunt game. With a smile on her face she cheerfully scanned the shelves. Each one only getting a three second look before she went to another. "Hmm, maybe I should do what Samira did and ask for help." Serqet thought aloud to herself  while scratching her cheek in whatever thought process train she happened to be riding. Her wide grin returned as the most marvelous idea ever popped into her head. "I know! I should bring banana Joe out to help!" Banana Joe being the small monkey Serqet had "rescued" from the villainous creatures of Pandora during the guild mission to claim a portion of the country. Yes! Her small simian friend would surely be an important asset to her current task.

Serqet created a small portal of purple sparkles and within a few seconds the best monkey in the world was in her hands. "Banana Joe!" The scorpion tailed spirit hugged her pet tightly, all the while the monkey flailing and screeching in protest. "Okay, we have to be serious!" She set banana Joe on the table and looked at him straight in the eyes. "Put on your serious face!" Serqet too had an expression of seriousness that was obviously forced and greatly exaggerated. Banana Joe stared blankly. Then made a monkey screech while flailing his arms and hopping up and down. "You're right, Banana Joe! We need to get to wor- hey! Come back!" Her arms reached out to grab the monkey as he jumped from the table but she had been too slow and caught only air. Her dark eyes blinked and watched him disappear behind a book case, her conclusion being that he was getting straight to work and the sounds of ripping paper, books falling, and people screaming were just a normal part of the process. "I never knew he was so enthusiastic with helping. Samira will be so proud of me!"

Library Search with Agni and Susano.

"I can't believe we are actually doing this." The wind swordsman spirit grabbed a book that looked useful from the shelf and started flipping through the pages, barely even reading them. "Shouldn’t there be some kind of system to this? We could be here for days!"

"No idea. Pretty sure we already have been here a few hours though." The fire spirit replied as he too took a book from the shelf. The aftermath of the action being the book bursting into flames the moment he touched it. "Dammit not again!"

"How many does that make now?"

"A hundred I think?"

Susano looked up at his companion in disbelief. Had it really been that many? Crap. All those missing books was going to be hard to explain, not to mention the piles of ashes on the ground. His head turned to see them all and he cringed inwardly. Then he closed the book he was holding. "You should probably stop trying to pick them up. Or go find some that are fire pro-"

"Oh hey! The restricted section!" Agni suddenly forgot about the latest addition to the ash pile collection as soon as he caught sight of the sign that told him to stay out but really meant come on over.

"Oi!" Susano dropped the book he had been holding and went after the fire spirit. "If anyone is checking those it isn't going to be you! I already have to claim responsibility on these normal books. You are not to touch-"

"Did you say something?" Agni turned around from the shelf, holding on to a book already and clearly had not been listening.

"For celestial's sake!" He facepalmed, and then he realized the book was not catching on fire from Agni's touch. "Oh it's not burning... Actually that kind of creeps me out. It should be. Put it back. These books are restricted for a reason."

"Well yeah, but what if what we need is in one of these?"

Susano sighed while rubbing the back of his neck. "I highly doubt the clues to a missing hunk of junk is going to be in books with a giant caution sign over them. These are probably more magical than informative."

"Well just in case I'll look. Maybe I'll find something neat in here."

"Agni! These books are not going to have dirty stories or pictures in them. Put. It. Back."

Agni continued to not listen to his fellow spirit whatsoever. He opened the book and a brilliant light shined upon the spirit who's two heads could only stare in wonder and amazement. Then Susano watched with a blank expression as Agni was pulled into the book, and watched again as said book blinked out of existence in a pretty sparkle effect. He looked almost worried for a moment as he stood there silently. Then he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sure he'll be fiinnee." A carefree wave and a turn later, the wind spirit was walking away from the restricted section. He whistled innocently as he made his exit and made sure to create a gust of wind to blow the ash piles into the air and towards the books themselves. The shelves were just really dusty. Yes. That was it. No burnt up books to blame him for here.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Borrowing Books with Kukulkan, Amaterasu, and Kali

Somehow this mix of female spirits had ended up in the same area of the library. It only made sense to work together in a group, right? Well, as far as Ama was concerned. The other two begrudgingly agreed. Kukulkan was in her human form searching through shelves, but as time went on she was beginning to wish she was in her true serpent form so she could blast all of those books to the next century. Meaningless things of information. Why couldn’t they just interrogate one of the bastards that already read everything? Kali, however, had a different mind set. Lowly book reading worms could not be trusted enough with such important information. She needed to read them herself for accuracy!

The four armed spirit had just got done with her section of shelves, being sure to slice each book apart with her scimitar so she knew she had already looked at it. However, during her search she happened upon an empty slot on the shelf. A book was missing. Selfish idiot. How dare they take a book from her section! This thievery could have happened well before she got there, but such logic and reasoning was not for her. The fact was, it was gone, and she could not mark it off her search until she looked at it! The white glowing eyes of hers scanned the nearby reading section until she picked a poor soul that was sitting at a table with a book open and heavily distracted by its contents. That was the one! How did she know? Instinct, of course! That and the binding matched many of the others that were in her section. Mostly instinct though if she were asked.

Her feet took her towards the book thief, her steps light and quick as she moved. ”You! Human pest! I require this book! Give it to me!” Her demand was firm, and no sane person should have refused to abide. Yet for some reason this human was. He didn’t move and just kept reading. Meanwhile the spirit was swarmed by a group of people that appeared in a puff of smoke, all of them with their index finger vertically above their mouth and saying “Shhhhh”. They then all disappeared as rapidly as they appeared in that same puff of smoke effect. “This is a library, you know,” the book thief said, still not looking at her.

The white glow of Kali’s eyes intensified and her scowl deepened. If the annoyance of those random shushing idiots was not enough for her mood to sour further than his statement was. A scimitar was stabbed into the table, and the man with the book jumped in his seat from the surprise of it. That… was not normal. His eyes drifted from the book, to the side, and then upwards to see the demonic looking woman standing there, her eyes now red. ”I said I require this book.” Her free hand grabbed onto his coat and pulled him out of the chair and the other hands pointed the blades of her weapons at him. The book thief trembled and shook in her grasp before yelping out a “here!” and throwing the book into the air. The poor soul then took off running, slipping from the arms of his coat and leaving it there for the demon to make use of. Kali stared at it for a moment before tossing it away and retrieving the book that had fallen onto the floor. ”This book is useless.” She muttered after a few page flips. It was then sliced in half to mark that it had been gone through. Surely someone else will tape it up later.

The easily angered spirit continued on to a new shelf but paused when she heard Kukulkan shouting. From the sounds of it someone had rudely swiped a book the disguised spirit had planned to go through. ”You little twerp! Give that back!” At the shouting the same randomly poofing shush gang appeared and did what they did best. “Shhhhh” ”What the hell? Do they just keep you guys in a closet until someone yells?” Before they could poof away Kuku sent them all to the other side of the library with a flick of wind that moved in the same manner her tail would have should she had been in her true form. Now it was back to the main focus. The one that had taken her book. She hissed at the round man threateningly. ”If I were in my true form I would have devoured you by now! Now. Give. Me. That. Book!”

”That is not how you make a demand.” Kali stated as she approached. ”You say that you will slice off their limbs if they continue to refuse. If they still refuse to know their place you then bring up… other parts that can be removed just as easily.” The spirit’s blades were already in hand and menacingly raised to help her fellow spirit out with the issue. The current book thief was not as easily scared as the last one. Perhaps one of the more stronger of the guild mages, or maybe just stupid. Could have been both. He took a fighting stance, prepared to defend himself against the spirits that threatened him so. Library books were serious business. “You two will not claim this book! It is mine, and I will make sure that it is kept away from monsters like you! I know your true form, feathered snake, and I know the other to be a demon in disguise. In the name of Lamia Scale, the monster hunting guild, I will slay you before you get your hands on our resources!” All done as the man made heroic poses.

Kukulkan and Kali stared at the man blankly. What the hell did they just witness? ”I am not sure if I am supposed to take this seriously…”

”I was unaware this form of mine was considered a disguise…”

Kuku then turned her head and fixated her pink gaze upon the other spirit. ”Kali, I think maybe we should just skip this one. I’ve had my fill of stupid for one day. I’m not really sure I could digest him properly even if I did eat him.”

”This one isn’t worth dirtying my blades with his blood either.”

The two then turned around and began to walk away, leaving the man dumbfounded. “He-HEY! You cannot just walk away from this battle!”

”Excuse me,” Amaterasu’s voice echoed as she appeared in a flash of light beside the man. Hearing the voice, the other two spirits also stopped and turned around, wondering why she was getting involved. ”My friends are actually mistaken on how to deal with this. I apologize.” The light spirit made a small apologetic bow before turning to the other two. ”This is how you request an item that has been taken from you.” Her brown eyes then focused on the man, who had taken a defensive stance originally when she appeared, but let his guard down the moment she apologized. ”Can I please have that book you are holding? Our summoner demands we go through every book in order to find information for a mission. Surely you understand this being a mage yourself.” The man still refused to hand it over. Ama sighed. Were libraries always like this? ”Very well.” In a quick motion that happened in a blink of an eye, she drew her sword with its sheath still on and aimed it right into his gut. His hold on the book loosened and she was sure to grab it as he went to holding his sides from the new pain he was feeling. Then she smacked him on the head with the book, rendering him unconscious. ”That is how you request an item that has been taken. First you ask nicely out of courtesy but mainly to distract them, perhaps even save them on the off chance they submit. If there is refusal you knock them out. They have no claim to it if they are not awake to do so.”

”Wonderful advice,” Kuku replied sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. ”By the way, why did you hit him twice? You could have done the knock out step in one.”

”His antics did not amuse me.”

”Good reason.”

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

The tales of nonsense continued as the rest of the spirits that had also been unleashed caused havoc throughout the library. Soon, the library staff had to step in, or try anyway. A girl by the name of Alison was in charge that day. The other two members of the library staff were elsewhere doing god knows what. The poor girl fidgeted as she walked to the summoner who was supposed to be controlling these spirits. Upon reaching the table where Samira sat, Alison reached up and fixed her glasses. “Uh-Um… Miss Samira?” The girl said nervously and honestly hoped she had gotten her attention but at the same time didn’t. Was she supposed to be demanding towards a guild Ace? Would that have been rude? WOULD SHE BE FIRED OVER IT?! Oh dear, why did she have to be the one on duty that day?

”What is it?” Samira inquired as she flipped through the book she was currently going through and then looking down at the journal to pinpoint certain references.

“Yo-your spirits… they are..”

”Oh, yes. Sorry about them possibly crowding the library. I needed their help to find me something.”

“You could have asked me?”

”I honestly have my doubts on any information being in here. It is very vague. It is also classified and personal. No offense.”

“I see… but still… regarding your spirits.”

”I will make up to whoever they are bothering at another time.”

“Eh heh heh.” Alison scratched her cheek. Bothering people was the least of her worries. There was outright destruction going on, and Samira seemed to not even realize it. Just how focused was she that she could tune all of it out so well? The girl was about to speak up once more when a new swirl energy particles appeared. She squeaked in alarm and took several steps back out of fear of whatever spirit had decided to join the party.

Luckily for the library employee, it was not a spirit that had come to join in on the fun. Vishnu was a rather calm spirit and upon complete formation he looked at the scene with a very neutral expression. Well, the scene before him was certainly a thing now, wasn’t it? “I believe this belongs to you.” He said to the nervous girl, his tranquil voice bringing peace of mind to even Alison. In one of his hands was a book, the very one that poofed out of existence with Agni some time ago. “O-Oh! Thank you!” The spirit gave a respectful nod and took a seat on the table. “You should get back to work.” Alison paused and become nervous once more. “I would but…” she pointed at just one of the scenes of chaos. “I will take care of it.” After an ecstatic thank you and bow of gratefulness, Alison scurried off to do her normal work. “Samira.”

”What is it, Vishnu?”

“Agni happened to port himself into a dimensional space I created as an experiment a long time ago. Were you aware of it?”

”No.” Her eyes still focused on the books on the table in front of her.

“Ah, well I retrieved him. He tells me you are looking for information on an old artifact.”

”That is the case, yes.”

“One that comes from your family line.”

”Also true.”

“Why did you not ask me?”

Samira‘s green eyes looked up from the page and over towards the spirit. ”What?” She didn’t even consider the possibility that he would have any information regarding the artifact. None of her other spirits did and they were around for as long as he was, at least she thought.

“About this artifact. Why did you not ask me? Even An Dagda and Zeus could have been of service in this. You forget that your spirits are just tied to you and those that held them in the past, which was just one other. The three of us, however, are tied to all of your bloodline. We know many things of history that your spirits would not.” Vishnu ignored the dumbfounded expression on Samira’s face and reached for the open journal that was laid out on the table. He pulled it over and flipped it around so he could better read it. “Ah, Shai’s Heart. An intriguing item indeed. It has quite the history.”

Samira twitched in her chair. ”So, you know of it?”

“And its last location. Although I do wonder if anyone of this age should be traversing within those ruins. I also do not even know if it still exists. It has been a very long time.”

The summoner faceplanted into her open book. What a waste of time when she could have had the answer in three seconds. No matter. At least there was something more concrete to go on now than some book or vague leads. “Oh, yes, before we go there is one other small matter you must attend to first.” Vishnu added in as Samira stood from her seat and grabbed a few of her belongings.

”And that would be?” A point of his finger was all she needed. Her body turned to look behind her, and her eyes widened at the mess that had been created. A gasp was even added in. What had her spirits done to the place?! Vishnu then watched as Samira fainted from the shock and fell to the floor. “I wonder if I should have first mentioned that I could fix everything within a few seconds… Hm. My mistake.”

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

A couple of days later Samira would be ready to leave. The delay came not because of the mess the library was in, or because the artifact was in some very out of the way unknown location. The reason she had to wait was due to the fact she required a ship to get there. The summoner was lacking one for herself, and currently the ones that belonged to a friend in the past were unavailable. One could say she could have rode on the back of Anhur’s flying form, or even Kukulkan to make the journey, but it was so far out and would greatly deplete their energy. As far as magical methods, not even the portals of Janus could be used to get there. Anytime he tried to create one that led to the ruins based off the information Vishnu had it would flicker and blink out of existence. Either something was preventing the connection from taking place, or they just didn’t exist anymore to begin with. From there Samira had looked to Bacchus, who’s chariot could take her to their part of the celestial realm where many portals that connected to regions of the entire world existed. Apparently the portal for that region of the world stopped working a very long time ago. All of her magical transportation strategies were out. Using a ship as a method of transportation was the last option. Thankfully one of the halls of Lamia Scale was located in the port town of Hargeon. Getting a ship was very simple and because of her position within the local guild she didn’t even have to pay full price. It was a shame she couldn’t get the ride for free, but well, payment was generally a required thing when heading into unknown and very likely dangerous territory. Technically the council was paying for it anyway.

Some time later the ship had set sail, it being the water traveling kind and not the ones of the air. Slower, but based on the advice of Vishnu it was wiser. An air ship could be attacked and he preferred being cautious given whatever history the place had. The trip along the ocean was rather uneventful. Nothing dangerous in the form of attacks and there were no storms either. The journey to a far away island that was not even marked on a map was surprisingly a successful one. The crew were a bit suspicious about the land even existing, but the existence of Pandora, a land full of monsters that was only found recently, was used against them. With the guidance of Vishnu, and even An Dagda from time to time, they neared their desired location.

“We should stop here,” Vishnu advised, taking the safety of the crew into consideration. “I do not know what walks that island these days, but even back in the time of that artifact it was dangerous. Having a ship remain idle near the land would not be wise.”

Samira stared off into the distance to see the island she was supposed to be venturing through. It was actually small in size when compared to others she had seen, and from what she could tell it was rather swamp-like. ”Very well. Anhur and I will continue from here.” Her hands left the railing she was leaning against to inform the captain of the ship of the updates, but a thought came into her mind and she went back to gazing at the island. ”I do not see any evidence that others were here before us. This is either a good sign, or a bad one.”

“You speak of the others of your heritage that you were warned about? Take the fact they are no where to be found a bad thing and that they met a grim fate. There is no possible way we would have reached this location first.”

“The temple is also underground if my noggin is working correctly,” An Dagda added as he too leaned on the railings and stared grimly up ahead.

“In any other aspect that would concern me, but since I actually know it is factual I can only agree. Within the swamp you should come across the top of the temple. It acts as its entrance and it will lead further into the waters of the swamp. Obviously I cannot say if the structure has held up and keeps the water out. Maybe that is another reason for their absence. It would be difficult to swim through it and find what we are looking for. Do you have a spirit that allows under water breathing?”

”No.”

“Then let us hope this theory is not correct.”

“Bah! To hell with these theories. Lets just get going already and see for ourselves.”

The rest of the summoned party, and those that were contained within her mindspace watching, agreed. The forms of both An Dagda and Vishnu dispersed into their usual colored magic particles and Samira was left standing there alone. With her mind she called for Anhur, the lion spirit that was hanging around elsewhere on the ship. Oddly enough he did not give many complaints, but did inform her that he would not be following her inside the ruins. That much was understandable considering all the dirty swamp water that was around and she had other plans for him anyway. He was to be left outside to keep watch and alert her through their telepathic connection if anyone or anything else decided to join the party. Once she had informed the ship crew on the situation and asking them to wait as long as they could she departed on her new flying feline transport. Honestly she probably could have told them to leave entirely. The way there was ineffective through magical means, but the way back to Fiore or even Pandora should not have been. Still, there was the chance she’d be left unable to do so if there was a fight of any kind. Anything could happen, so she decided to keep her escape options open by having the ship remain where it was.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

Anhur flew across the ocean waters, reaching the island with ease. A landing on the coast was not made and he instead kept going, flying over the trees, vines, and water that made up most of the island. When Samira inquired why he had done so he made the comment that he preferred scouting from above first.

“I thought the reason for not using an airship was because of the concern of an attack if we were to fly over?“

“Your memory for details is impeccable. Unmatched by anyone else I have ever met.“

Samira scowled at that. “Stop trying to improve your sarcasm. I think I preferred you when you were blunt and said what you meant.“

“Hmmm. Maybe next time. You are correct though. I have taken it upon myself to ignore that concern. I sense no danger of attack from up here, and my eyes see nothing.“

The summoner looked down as they flew just as he did. From the glimpses of land that she could see between trees there was not any sign of life beyond that of the plants. There may have been creatures hiding within the trees, true, but there were no signs of actual people or structures that they may have built. Aside from one, of course. That one being the temple itself. Anhur had even better eyesight, one that was amplified by magical items that were left behind for him long ago by his original. If he couldn’t see anything then chances were there was nothing to be seen at all. Just a chance though. The probability of a peaceful success was never in their favor for long.

The two passed over a large circular clearing between the trees. They acted as a sort of border for the body of swamp water that was between them. Right at the center of that large swamp lake was the top of the underground temple she had been told about. It was old and unkempt. That much could be seen even from a distance. Moss and vines had grown and spread all over it, and the smell of the swamp grew stronger the closer they got to the temple. There wasn’t even a single bridge that connected it to the land that seemed so far away. The only conclusion that could be made was that at one point that part of it had sunk into the water, that or something broke it. Samira was ever grateful that she had Anhur and would not have to go swimming in that those waters to reach it.

Anhur descended slowly and circled the pyramid shaped structure until he reached a side that had stairs leading further up. Following them was a flat base where he could land easily and allow the summoner to hop off. Samira immediately went towards the squared opening that led into the temple itself, the only way in that was visible. She put her hand on the side of it and stepped inside while also leaning further in. All she could see was a small set of stone stairs that led to a walkway that turned around the corner. A small lacrima light was placed on the wall, a temporary one that was already flickering in and out from running out of power. Clearly that sort of magic technology had not been placed there by whatever near ancient natives made the temple. It was a sign that her distant relatives really were ahead. Well, assuming they did not send someone else in their stead. So far Samira had not encountered a trap of any kind that would determine between those of her bloodline and those that were not though. Maybe that part was a lie created way back when just to deter and scare people away.

”You should hurry,” Anhur remarked, having turned back into his normal form and was staring up at the sky. ”Is there a reason beyond the obvious that I should rush this?” Samira inquired as she stepped back and turned towards him. ”I could sense it in the air before we reached this island. There is a storm coming. I am not sure how close it is. That is why I suggest you hurry.”

”I see. I will be as fast as I can with this, but you should know how these things go. It is never simple.”

”It could have been.”

Samira’s soft stare hardened into a glare. She knew what he was getting at with that statement. If that woman that had labeled herself as a sister some time ago had been dealt with the way he saw was appropriate then the current problem she would now be would not even exist. True in a sense. The one called Amirah had been allowed to escape, but not of any choice of her own. There were many factors that were in play back then. Not that she would have chosen Anhur’s route to begin with. ”You forget even you had trouble that day. Maybe if you had been at my side then we would be handling this differently. Also do not forget this is an ancient temple. It is bound to have a guard or two.”

The lion spirit ignored the first of her reply. There was some anger from her words, but not enough for him to act on them. He had been there at that time, but he had allowed himself to get distracted by another spirit that was not acting as herself. That had left Samira alone and in turn caused a chain of events he did not enjoy thinking back on. ”An exaggeration of the times to ward off thieves and pillagers.”

”I will not argue. I assume you still intend to remain here and keep a look out?”

”That was the plan,” he bluntly stated as he summoned his weapon, a spear, into his clawed hand in a bright flash of magic. He then took a stand where the stairs met the platform of the entrance and looked out beyond across the water and into the land that surrounded the lake of stagnant water. Samira gave a nod, deciding not to say anything more about his sarcasm and smart remarks, and turned back towards the squared shape hole in the otherwise closed off structure. A soft warm gust blew from inside the temple, but perhaps that was just her imagination. The soft deep echo she could hear could have also been rationalized as the temple’s foundation sinking or wearing away. Yes, all part of her imagination she told herself as she stepped inside. Some could consider herself a powerful mage in her own right. Samira was one of the stronger members of her guild, after all. However, she was only human and had fears like anyone else. Strange for once it was not the doll fear coming up once again. It was the fear of dark tunnels instead. The flickering lacrima light was far from comforting. Its light was very dim and upon turning the corner any amount of safety from the dark it provided vanished. Another one was up ahead, dimly lighting another set of stairs. Its power was also wavering. Another turn, another set of stairs, a repetitive pattern until she reached what had been brought up before: her path blocked by water.

”I can aid with this,” He Bo said, his words playing within her mind as clearly as they would have been should he had been right next to her and speaking them for her ears to hear.

”Do I really want to ask how?” The spirit was water in a sense. He could get through just fine. She needed to be able to breath and there was just no telling how far it went or how deep… or what was even lurking within it. Add in that the water was dark and murky without any sort of lacrima light glow and that was a hell no from her.

”If your curiosity overwhelms you then you may want to ask. I find that it would be much more easier if I just acted without consent. I am sure you will forgive this transgression in time.” A portal then opened up beside Samira and from it the bright sparkling water that the spirit was made up of flowed from it. Moving gracefully in the air, the water formed around Samira and encased her in a water bubble. As unfortunate as it was, there was no air within, which was what he feared his summoner’s wrath for. The bubble was one hundred percent water. The bubble and the rest of his watery form entered the swamp water blockade and he rapidly coursed through the dark depths of it. Down the set of stairs that were now underwater and through the long hallway that was completely submerged. Some stone rubble and stone décor provided as some obstacles that he had to move around or over, but there was one thing he and the summoner passed that did not get recognized or the attention it deserved. There was just no time to thoroughly observe given the time limit and his very quick pace. A long tail of something was also lurking around in the water. It had remained motionless as they passed by and even some time after. It was not until they reached the other side of the hallway and were back above the water once more did the tail move, sending a powerful motion force through the water that He Bo would have felt if he had not already left. The creature the tail belonged to retracted the appendage through a different and smaller hallway off to the side where the now alert creature it belonged to had been lurking.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

The rippling water that was now behind Samira had gone unnoticed. She wasn’t angry at He Bo for taking the initiative. Really it was the best course of action unless she wanted to turn back around. Samira came out of the bubble completely dry, the water that had absorbed into her clothes and hair returning back to the spirit. He was thanked and he returned back to the realm from whence he came. Hopefully he would not be needed until she needed to make an exit. A thought she dreaded, but it was what it was. Samira continued on her way through the temple. More lacrima lights were scattered around, them too flickering in and out like the ones before. Because of the possibility of them going out soon, Samira decided to just take care of the light issue herself. Amaterasu’s power was summoned and fused with her own and the light that normally surrounded the spirit’s body now surrounded her own. Sagittarius was also summoned but in weapon form. Far too often she had gotten into fights without being armed. The last battle with her sister had been one of them. Funny how it was that she was more concerned with relatives rather than any creature that may be wandering around.

The summoner could hear the echoes and sounds of them, but every time she turned a corner or entered a new passage nothing would be there. Well nothing living anyway. The temple was littered with skeletons of those that died long ago, and there were even corpses of strange beasts lying around. Recently killed from what she could tell when she got closer and knelt down to observe them. Clean cuts and even wounds that were concluded to have been made magically. If a beast had done that then it wasn’t one that was like the corpses lying around. It had to be those of her bloodline, all summoners and all very capable of handling them. Eventually Samira had come across a few of the walking monstrosities that were still alive, but all were very easily handled and were not much of a threat considering the level of power the two summons she was using was. The signs that the other humans within the temple with her were still there had disappeared as well. Not even a single lacrima light. Perhaps she had made a turn they had not. A little detail that became irrelevant as her current chosen passageway led directly to a lit room in the distance. She was catching up even with her detour, although whether they had gone the right way or not was also a factor. There was no map of the place, at least none in her hands or knowledge. The artifact could have been anywhere. Vishnu, An Dagda, and Zeus may have known the location of the island itself, but as far as traversing through the temple they were useless. Too much time had passed from what she had been told and there were one too many temples in the world. A spirit was so not going to keep track and have maps kept in their memory for that long. A pity there was no spirit god of maps in her arsenal.

Samira cautiously approached the end of the passageway, raising the bow that was now the form of Sagittarius and prepared to attack if necessary. A single step was made as she looked to the right, another step as she looked to the left. The lacrima lights within the massive circular room were spread out, lighting up the entirety of it. Their power was not flickering in and out, a possible sign that they had been placed recently. Other belongings were also in the center of a room. A designated camp and meeting point perhaps while everyone spread to search the rest of the underground temple. Still, even if it looked as if she were alone there was a feeling that she wasn’t. A presence. Not from some eerie being or lurking monster, but of energy that was very familiar. The summoner stopped her steps the moment she reached the center of the room, tilting her head slightly as she tried to focus in on where that energy was coming from. Finally, she had it.

Samira turned around as she picked up a huge increase in magical energy. The familiar metal claws came at her, bouncing off her defense barrier as they made impact. The woman they were attached to glared daggers that were just as sharp as her spirit weapon. “I see you have increased your defenses, my sister,” she spoke, her violet colored eyes now softening to show her amusement as she jumped back to gain distance. Her surprise attack was unsuccessful so a new plan had to be formed. “But of course, I guess you do have your keys this time.” A statement that was followed with a mocking chuckle as she ran those claws through her green hair and flipped it over her shoulder. Yes, that was a big difference between now and back then, wasn’t it? The Lamia Scale summoner would not be so easy to mess with as before.

All Samira could do at that moment was stare. During their last fight she hardly even had time to take in the details of the appearance of the one that kept calling her sister. They did look eerily similar. The main difference was the different colored eyes and the other woman’s hair being a lighter and brighter shade of green than her own. Similar traits, but that could have just been something in the Nassar line in general. Not so much an actual sibling mark. ”We did not get a chance for proper introductions before. Mostly your fault I will point out.” Samira kept her focus on the woman that chuckled again, holding onto the bow of Sagittarius even tighter than before and prepared to make a move if she did. There were no other magical signatures that she could sense either. A façade. It had to be. No way was that woman alone. Even the spirit of Anubis had to be lingering somewhere.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

“Oh, yes, my dear little sister. I did get a little carried away with my fun the last time we met, didn’t I?” The woman then began to pace around Samira as she walked, acting as if the conversation was just a casual one and not the aftermath of an unsuccessful attack or the beginning of a fight that was quickly approaching. “I am Amirah, the clichéd long lost elder sister, at least to you. In reality you are the one that was lost and forgotten about. That does tend to happen when you show no signs of magic. You were considered to have been useless and so you were left out of our family’s goals and secrets. Meanwhile I was the one that was considered a prodigy with my levels of magic. Even now my power and skill outmatches yours if they were to be measured side by side. But there was just one thing I could not do… and for some strange reason you all of a sudden became magical and took what was meant to be mine. That was not supposed to happen.”

”You are referring to my keys again, are you not? I was under the impression they were very unresponsive to anyone else that tried to use them. If you were such a prodigy I would also assume you were the first to try and activate them? Clearly you failed in this long before they became mine. They were never meant to be yours, and you should know of this by now.”

Amirah stopped her pacing and faced Samira once more, raising her hand and firing the metal fragments that made up her spirit’s claws at the other. Samira responded by raising one of the hands that held onto the bow in front of her and using her own magical energy to create another absorption shield of celestial energy. The metal fragments collided with the shield and fell to the stone floor before poofing out of existence in particles. “You are easily angered. I suggest getting over this. Attacking me in this manner will not work this time.”

“Oh, sister, I am only teasing. If I wanted a serious battle right now I would have already started more than simple knife tricks.” A slight cover up for the fact that she was angry and had acted on impulse. Her pacing around Samira continued. “Now I know why I am in this ruined place, but what are you doing here? Did those fools realize I took that research and sent you here to play hero for them? Have you decided to play dog for the council now that your dear friends are out of the picture? They demand you fetch and you do so without question? You really do enjoy degrading our line, don‘t you?”

”And what of you?” Samira asked, refusing to even acknowledge those statements for what they were. ”What brings you here in the first place? You all have been obsessed with cloning my spirits for so long, and your last attempt to steal even one of them ended in failure. Did you find a new goal that I could summarize as more nonsense?

“Oh? You put the pieces of those experiments together, did you?” The woman paused her steps and blinked her eyes in mild surprise. She had thought there were no leads to indicate who was behind those cloning failures. “No matter,” Amirah began to say as she waved her hand to push that matter aside. “I am here for the same reason you are. Shai’s Heart. Weird name choice since it isn’t even a heart at all, but it’d be much less interesting if it was called Magical Item 201,340, I gather.”

”What do you intend to do with it?

Amirah could only sigh and shake her head. “Did you really come all the way here without even knowing what it does? Our ancestors must be crying in their graves right about now from this news.”

”That does not answer my question.”

“To change fate.” She placed a hand on her hip and tilted her head, observing Samira thoughtfully. “I hate you. More than you will ever know. Because of this I never considered another solution to my problem.” Amirah stepped closer and held her hand out expectantly for Samira to take. “Care to join me, sister? Come with me and you will learn all there is to know about our little family. All I ask for is the power of your keys. It’s a fair exchange. You get your answers there, and I get what I want without this dreadful artifact hunt.”

”No, thank you,” Samira replied coldly and without any hesitation. Even if she considered such a thing it would probably be an opportunity to stab her in the back. Nothing was known about Amirah other than the fact she was jealous to the point of being completely nuts. What she wanted with the keys was also very unknown. She would not be so gullible as to accept the offer. Besides, she had a job to do so the artifact hunt was still going to get done. Although, what was meant about changing fate? There was some recollection that Shai was a concept of fate as well as a supposed god. At least in myth and legend. Whether one existed or not she couldn’t say, and not even her spirits were aware of a copy. All things considered the magic item probably had some tale that revolved around the fate of others. Lovely. Of course there would be some power hunger psycho woman going after it. If she were a spiteful person she would probably also be cursing her grandfather’s name for leaving that sort of research with the council as well. She was very much like him though. Recover potentially harmful items that could twist reality or more in the name of research and discovering more with no thought to possible consequences. There was absolutely no thought in her mind on what they could end up doing with it.

Amirah smirked devilishly with the refusal. The hand that was held out materialized the metal dagger-like claws once more, turning the spirit of Da Ji into a weapon once more. “I was hoping you would say that.” Amirah’s magic energy slowly leaked out into the form of an aura, turning a light black with shades of purple mixed in. Another spirit’s power was being used in much the same way that Samira was using Amaterasu’s currently. The aura though… it gave an unpleasant feeling and yet it seemed so familiar. So similar to… Samira’s eyes narrowed for a moment and then widened slightly as she recalled why the feeling was so like another. It was the same as the chaos serpent spirit that she had yet to fully control. Amirah had a spirit of that nature too, did she? Discordia, or at least that was the name given to her from her spirits that could read her thoughts. There was no time for further thoughts or questions. A battle had started and Samira had to jump to defending herself. The one thing no one in that room had considered was the noise the fight would create. Or of the crazy amounts of magic being disturbing to those creatures that wandered the temple. One creature in particular had already been drawn to the magic as it was and was making its way there.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

The enemy summoner released a beam of purple colored energy that sparkled brightly even though it was a form of dark magic. As it headed towards her, Samira created another spirit barrier around herself that absorbed the attack, but it was a simple distraction that was meant to be blocked. Near instantly Amirah had appeared right in front of her to make use of the fact the barrier was now down for that short moment. The claw weapons slashed out and then stabbed forward. The intention had been to severely injure the Lamia Scale mage, but instead she was met with an explosion of pale colored celestial energy. Samira did have more tricks now that she had Sagittarius and even then Amirah had never seen her old ones.

The Lamia Scale summoner re-appeared a bit away from Amirah and had already fired off a magic arrow. It was parried easily, the metal claw spirit weapon she used slicing right through it as if it were nothing more than a flay. The energy that made it split and dispersed. The battle between of them continued longer with Samira using the powers and tricks of both Amaterasu and Sagittarius, while Amirah had used Da Ji and Discordia.

During the fight more spirits had gotten involved. Skadi the goddess spirit of winter had been summoned on Samira’s behalf, and Amirah responded by calling on Sol, the goddess spirit of the sun. Then Amirah went further, summoning the spirit of Artemis to have her own archer. Samira called on Kali, and then Susano. Amirah called on Tsukuyomi, who really the spirits in Samira’s arsenal were not aware even existed. The summoners were at max power and had as many summons on the field as they were able to manage without collapsing. Skadi versus the sun goddess that had cut her off from aiding Samira, the mobile Kali that was against the just as mobile Artemis with her fluid movements and tricks with a bow that surpassed even Samira’s, and Susano was instantly forced to fight the moon god spirit the moment he appeared. A fight that made him cringe just by seeing the opponent.

The fights played off, and the spirits somehow still managed to get openings to defend their summoners despite their own opponents. Samira had the upper advantage, however. Her link with her spirits was much stronger than that of Amirah’s. Another spell had been used the moment she thought of it. A celestial energy aura formed around her, and then even her spirits had that same aura. An aura so strong that it did not fade even as they moved. It left a trail that was quite harmful for those that were not a part of their little team should they walk upon it. They could feel their power increasing from it and it showed in their abilities. The advantage would not last for long. “Amirah!” Samira could hear during the fight. More magical energies were also being sensed from all over the room. In the blink of an eye what was not originally there now was. The room was filled with more people, all summoners that were already summoning spirits to aid her sister. It was a bit… well it exceeded what was necessary, Samira thought. Had they just been hiding the entire time by some sort of magic? A spirit's ability perhaps? They grouped up and looked at one another.

”I was trying to hold back so I wouldn’t end up leveling the place,” Susano stated as he rubbed the back of his neck and looked at their current predicament. They were surrounded.

”Is good challenge.” Skadi stated as she reformed her ice spear and called upon the misty winter wolves that she controlled.

”Try not to slaughter anyone, Kali,” Samira added in softly yet demanding. The other two spirits would normally just incapacitate their enemy. Kali was a different story and always enjoyed making messes. Samira did not want that unless it had to be done. Very doubtful this was one of those times. Their power was not as significant as Amirah’s. They would go down easily. Her body began to change as soon as she said her words, turning blue and transparent with bright white mini orbs that formed and indicated certain points of her body, much like a constellation. A thing bright line connected them all as well. It was a spell of Sagittarius, a powerful one, and would hit many of the new summoners that had decided to join the party.

”No promises.“ Kali replied, growing more furious by the minute. The fact the other summoner required such a handicap was preposterous.

From there, the battle began once more. One summoner and her spirits versus many of her same kind. It was more difficult than any of them cared to admit. Lots of Samira’s energy was being used to keep the spirits in the mortal realm and that was not going into just how much was being used for each ability of her spirit weapon and “dress.” Many times already she had to find a quick moment to heal herself as well before responding to another attack either defensively or offensively. It was exhausting. But then, she was either a very lucky girl or very unlucky depending on how one looked at it. No longer would the battle between multiple summoners be a threat.

The battle came to a sudden halt as a screeching roar thundered through the ruins and into the room the summoners were in. Some turned their heads in the direction of the sound. Others turned to look at each other, the feeling of fear creeping up their spines. Even Samira and Amirah stopped to look. Something about that sound was not right and was enough for even them to put the fight on hold.

"I just remembered something about being loud inside normally dead quiet temples." Said Susano as he stepped to Samira's side.

"What is that?"

The question did not need a true answer from him. The ground began to quake and the walls cracked and crumbled. Shouts were heard to get back. Others scrambled away while demanding to know what was going on. Then the wall exploded inward, the old stone breaking from the strength of the large monster creature that now stood in the room. It was unlike anything Samira had come across before, but then, she didn't have a huge track record for monster elimination of that sort, and her knowledge of them and the species only went so far. Everyone had paused on it's arrival and even the creature itself looked around at all the spirits and humans that were gathered around it. Then it's jaws opened slightly to reveal it's sharp rows of predatory teeth, but that was not the real concern of Samira and her spirits. Rather the many snake-like moving tongues the creature possessed was their focus as they slid out and wriggled around. Or were they tentacles? It was confusing. They looked like some sort of tentacles but they were coming from the creature’s mouth.

Despite just being in a fight and now was standing right in front of a large unknown creature Samira still somehow managed to forget how significant those details were. Her thought process immediately shifted to a more scientific and inquisitive one. From her pocket she pulled out that lovely piece of magic technology known to many as an iLac. Her spirits looked at her awkwardly, and even some of the summoners had questioning looks on their faces. Samira raised it as she stared at the screen. The camera had been activated. As she pressed a button on the screen a clicking sound emitted from the device as a snapshot was taken. A small light had even blinked in and out existence during the action. The monster did not seem to like that sudden change. It roared ferociously as a response.

”DID YOU HAVE TO TAKE A PICTURE?!”

”Yes. It will make an excellent addition to the guild’s knowledge base.”

”…”
”…”
”…”

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

The tongues went for the nearest summoner, a man that was easily caught as they wrapped around him and began to drag him towards the creature as an appetizer. The process happened very quickly. Too quick for anyone to even react properly until it was too late. He was gone. The others reacted. Samira was now forgotten in light of the new threat they faced. With all of their power and spirits they attacked the creature to no avail. Nothing seemed to harm it and it only reacted with more violent motions. Humans became meals and their connected spirits became particles shortly after. The creature moved further inside and around the room, beginning to block passageways as the length of it's body was revealed. Many of those that tried escaping were crushed beneath it's limbs or met the same fate of becoming a snack like the others. "As I was saying before, you don't make noises inside an ancient temple because of things like that ugly bastard." Susano answered while giving a quick point in the direction of the massive creature and then grabbing on to Samira's shoulder. "Time to ditch this family reunion!" He shoved the summoner ahead of him.

Amirah turned her head away from the monster and saw that Samira and company were taking off. "Tsukuyomi, stop them!" The spirit did as commanded. In a flash of pale moonlight the spirit vanished from his position and appeared in front of what was meant to be Samira. Susano was already a step ahead and made it a point to be in that spot instead. "This include ditching you." He stated with his blade parrying the one Tsukuyoni held. "Maybe we'll have a grand get together and talk about our originals sometime." A gust of violent wind from the swordsman was enough to send the other spirit away for now. With the bought time he grabbed Samira's arm and quickly moved towards an exit.

The passage Susano had been dragging Samira too ended up being blocked as well. No longer were the other summoners and spirits useful distractions. It had sensed her magical energy and became more focused on her. Skadi had leapt towards it, as did her frosty mist wolves as it leaned forward and drew closer. The attack lasted but a short moment. It paused as it was struck and then roared at the spirit. Kali too had joined in and it turned towards her just as soon as it dealt with the winter spirit by bringing it's massive tail around and smacking her. As for Kali, the tentacle tongues latched onto her and pulled her in. She disappeared in a puff of particles as she reached it's open jaws, deciding it was better for herself to leave Samira to deal with things rather than enter that filthy mouth.

Samira had not been wasting time watching the failure if the attacks though. As tough as those two spirits were their power was obviously no match for the monster. Sagittarius, however, well he was very powerful. The bow she held was him and his power. With the iLac put away, both hands were now on the bow as she raised it and aimed towards the monster. Her breath was held as it fixated it's focus on her and began to move forward again. Samira remain relaxed, focused, and as she did she felt the power of the spirit also increase. The bow glowed softly, and that glow intensified as a magical arrow began to form. She released it, and an explosion of magical energy went flying through the air and towards the foe at an incredible speed. The brilliant beam of celestial fire made impact, knocking the creature into the passageway. It's body collided with the edges of the opening, the stone structure crumbling and breaking it apart from the force of impact. Surely that did some amount of damage that no one else had been able to do.

Samira lowered the bow and waited for a sign that told her otherwise. Then a roar echoed and the other end of the beast that was still in the large room shook violently. "It did not work," she stated to herself, now even hearing the stomping footsteps of the creature's return. "Damn what is that thing made out of?" Susano commented in a combination of awe and annoyance. "There are times when power, be it magical, physical, or even mental will not be enough. When a foe is clearly stronger you must know when to run." Sagittarius added in, his voice echoing from the bow she held. The centaur spirit was implying she needed to run away rather than fight. It wasn't something she really wanted to do. When was that last time that strategy was used? She clenched her teeth together in annoyance. Ending the monster was what she should be doing, but then, that wasn't the task given to her technically. The artifact in the temple was what was important, not the death of the creature, if that was even possible. Susano grabbed Samira and shoved her towards another passage. "The horse is right. Better get moving."

"I am not a horse."

"Is this really the time to argue?"

The temple ground then began to shake again and a rumbling sound could be heard as parts of the ceiling and walls began to crumble piece by piece. "Oh, terrific." The wind swordsman took a moment to fix his hat while he waited for the monster to reach him. He could serve as a distraction but not by much. Not that it mattered though. The room was crumbling as an effect from the battle. The entire temple could give way at any moment. His summoner had better find that artifact and get out of there quick. Once the monstrosity had reached the room once more Susano let out a whistle. "You are one ugly beast." He reached for his sword and became the temporary distraction he intended in being. It would have been easier tossing a few of those other summoners at it, but well, that was just rude. That and most of them had already taken off, Amirah included.

Samira ran for the passageway that was still clear. Leaving Susano was not too much of a concern. He could handle himself and it was not as if he would die. Rather it became an awkward moment for himself, Samira, and the rest of the spirits when he appeared back in her mindspace about ten seconds later. 'So just some words of wisdom. Don't call invincible monsters ugly. They tend to get really ticked.' The woman would have facepalmed if she wasn't busy running for her life, which lasted much longer than she would have liked. The exit she took vanished as the room caved in and crumbled apart. That did not stop the monster though. A few pieces of rubble was not enough defeat its strength. It forced its way through, making even more noise and breaking apart even more walls of the temple. Samira did not dare take the time to look back and kept running.

It followed her no matter what turns she took. Things got even worse when Vishnu, An Dagda, and Zeus made comments about that area of the temple looking familiar. 'I recall this. The artifact should be found easily if you make a right here.' Samira followed the instructions with the monster still on her tail, the tentacle-like tongues snapping closer towards her feet. That route led to a dead end and she skidded to a stop as she reached the wall. 'Oh. I was off it seems.'

'Bah! You should have listened to me. Go back and make that left!'

"You make it sound simple."

Really it was. The opportunity was there for her to try another one of her new spells. She turned around just as the tongues lashed out again. Samira moved to the side and harshly collided with the nearby wall. An aching pain that she would have to get over quickly. Raising a hand in front of herself, a surge of energy surged from her and towards the creature. It quickly paused it's movements but not by choice. The spell was one that could banish those partially away from the normal realm. The beast was stuck for the moment and the now transparent body of it was a further indication that it had worked. Somewhat. After a few seconds the monster was moving, although in short intervals that did not do much. Yet. The spell was not as effective on it as she would have liked but it still bought some time for her to run past it and try the other direction her spirits suggested. There was no dead end per say that time. More like a locked door. "This is getting ridiculous." Samira stated as she looked at the door and then turned back when she heard the roar of the monster behind her. The temple shook again from it's rapid and powerful movements.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

"What are you standing around for? You can go right through that door!"

Samira continued staring at the door even as the stomps of the creature came closer. "I do not want to." She knew what the spirit was referring to. If she used her magic in such a way she could transfer a part of herself into the celestial realm. A sort of in-between state like she had done to the monster before, only her version allowed movement. It also allowed her to go through obstacles such as the locked stone door that stood in her way. "I do not even know if it is clear on the other side. I could get stuck." A concern and experience that she did not want to find more about. It was best to keep it in her imagination than to live it.

"Most of the temple still stands. I do not think the room beyond that door has suffered the fate as the last one. You should be fine."

"Your lack of memory from a moment before does not add any credibility to your theory."

"True."

"With all of this talking you could have solved the lock puzzle or broken it."

"Also true."

Samira rolled her eyes but knew they were right. There was too much stalling and now there was no choice. She used that ability and her body shifted and became transparent. The monster rushed into the room, jaws wide open as it lunged forward and snapped them closed. Too late. The summoner had already gone through the still locked door. A roar was released from the unsatisfied creature, and the temple shook as it pounded against the door. Then a pained screech that Samira could hear from her side of the door.

"It cannot enter here." Words of relief. She had caught a break. The heavy footsteps could be heard as the creature left. "It will be waiting for me on the way out. Is there another exit?"

"The other exit may still be accessible. Although it may not be needed. The creature will go after the others it ignored. You may be able to sneak around it if you are careful."

"Perhaps." Using them all as a sort of bait could have been frowned upon, but then, they all had attacked her. It wasn't as if she had commanded the creature to hunt them. She was just taking advantage of the distraction they were for it. "It would probably still sense me though and ignore them like before. The woman turned away from the door she had passed and glanced around the room she was now in. No lacrima lights had been placed since none of those other relatives of hers had apparently entered just yet. However, the room was still lit by a warm golden glow. Not a terribly bright one, but it was enough for her to see the entirety of the room. The far back wall was made of cube shaped containers. Many of the slots were empty, but some had objects within them.

Samira stepped forward, her older spirits claiming that the artifact she had been looking for should have been somewhere on the wall. The moment her foot hit the floor beams of light shot through the walls at her sides. They were not harmful in any way. The way they moved around made her think it was some sort of magical scan. She stayed still, and it was then that she noticed the piles of ash on the ground. Piles that had small bits of armor and accessories within them. So a trap was set for all but her bloodline after all. Assuming they got passed the monster anyway. She had asked why the monsters were attacking her if they were to guard the temple in the first place. The answer was the bloodline trap was set long before the temple was abandoned to ward off thieves. The monsters were set to guard the artifacts after it was abandoned. Not even a Nassar was meant to come back to the temple.

There were no puzzles or tricks to claiming the artifact. Samira just scanned each containment cube until the three spirits that knew of it pointed it out. A small object that looked like a triangular rubik's cube, only metal and a sort of bronze color. Now it was time to make her exit. It required her to leave the safety of the room but the monster itself was no where to be found. From there she followed the directions of the spirits through the darker hallways that had yet to be traveled. They got her lost, naturally, but in time she could feel the air from the outside word. A cool breeze with precipitation in it as she got closer. The storm that had been spoken of before had arrived. A mental message had been sent to Anhur of the fact she would not be leaving the temple through the main entrance and exit. The other spirits tried to guide him as much as they could on the location of the other exit, but the island had changed much throughout the times and landmarks that were there before no longer existed or changed drastically.

Samira stepped out of the ruins after destroying the rubble that blocked the way by using more powers of her spirits. The moment she had done so the familiar screeching roar of the monster could be heard, but not from behind her. It was now outside the temple. From the sounds of it, the creature was chasing something down. The thought to get a move on before it noticed her reached her mind. She began to leave the temple grounds, but as she did she was quickly tackled to the ground by a force she had not sensed or seen. Amirah had been the culprit of such an action, and as they both fell to the ground the other summoner demanded the artifact. The artifact that Samira had dropped and was now tumbling along the ground and towards the swampy water of another river. Amirah left Samira there and ran for the item to claim it as her own. She was then intercepted by Anhur, who despite the rain that was falling even heavier than before had flown in and snagged the artifact for himself. Amirah was then encased and trapped in a light prism to buy some time for Samira to get up from the wet ground and make her way over to him so they could leave.

The large monster finally caught up with them all, breaking the trees and letting itself be known by roaring fiercely before sending those weird tentacles towards them all. Anhur swiped at them with the fire claws he had while in that form, causing them to burn and retract. Samira hopped onto his back and he quickly took off. The prism trap vanished on the request of the summoner that rode the lion. Leaving Amirah in it would only make it to where she could not fight back and die. She wasn't so heartless. Leaving her there was fine, but leaving her trapped was not. The moment the light prism vanished so did Amirah with the help of her own spirits. There was no point even for her to fight a beast that could not die due to some mysterious means. Samira knew they would likely meet again in the future, and as such was positive the other woman had a way off the island. Perhaps she could enjoy some time of peace before another fight with her.

The spirit and summoner had made it back to the ship that was waiting for them. The storm clouds above were rolling in more-so than before but it proved to not be too much of an issue. Getting back home was the next step in the plan and so the ship turned around and had begun the journey. It proved to be just as uneventful as it was getting to the island. As Samira stared at the artifact she had claimed, she made a mental note to add the adventure to her journal, marking the mission as a success.