The Misty Province (Leona)

As she told him that she would be ok but she was grateful for the offer Sol nodded. While he was learning to not hold regrets he was always more then willing to listen if someone needed to vent something out to him, as he finished his current cup of alcohol  the void dweller  refilled his cup and  listened as the Guild Master of Silver Wolf agreed that the stronger you got that more was always expected as well and it was stressful to say the least.”it is tough also when you gain such strength because you need to find a wise purpose for it as well” he added as he knew that if you held such power and did nothing it was in a way selfish but without a purpose then such power could also corrupt.

Thankfully Sol had gone thru so much in his career as a mage, he had descended into the darkness and had somehow managed to pull himself out of the shadows and into a neutral place, he was atoneing but he also was now at peace with the fact that his purpose was one of balance and he had accepted the monster inside him and it was not something he was ashamed of. And his training with Demi had opened his eyes to many things and also tempered his formerly fiery temper. Before this he had been the quickest to anger out of the Vice President but that was no longer the case. After another sip of Sake Sol got an idea and he glanced at Leona before he smiled a bit.”Hey Leona could you help me with something? My race has an ability that im still getting the hang off and I could use some practice. Its not a harmful ability  actually its rather useful” he asked.

If she agreed then Sol would do something he had yet to do before and that was create a telepathic connection with her  so they would not have to speak with their mouths but with their minds. It was a deeper and more personal way of communication for those not of the Void but Sol trusted Leona to be able to handle it. He would reach out telepathicly and gently  go thru her mental defenses and establish the connection, it was important that he get permission since without it he could not do such a thing since his skill was still very new.if she told him no then he would not even make the attempt to connect due to wanting to respect her privacy. If the connection was allowed to be made then he would speak in her mind softly. '‘a new trick I have learned in my training my race is Telepathic a Nifty trick yes?” he spoke to her mentally.

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Leona did not have much trouble finding a purpose for her power because she was always in demand for fighting supernatural creatures roaming the Cursed Lands, bandits or slavers in Desierto, or anywhere something needed to be fought. Still, Sol had a point. Some mages chose to use their power for their own ends and those ends were not always the right ones. Leona took a sip of the plum sake and let the matter go.

She was more intrigued by Sol's claim to have a special ability that was inherent to his race. He requested help in learning to use it and asserted that its use would not be harmful to her. Leona decided to let him give it a shot and use the special ability on her.

"Sure, Sol. What kinda ability is it?" Leona asked as she set aside the plum sake. She had been drinking it just a bit too much and was going to back away from it while she still could. She did not want to drink to intoxication because she would have to head back to Silver Wolf Guild Hall at some point.

Moments later she heard Sol's voice in her mind and understood what the ability was. It was a telepathic link like the one she used to communicate with her summons. That was the only time Leona had encountered that ability, but now another human was talking to her in the same manner and it was odd, to say the least.

"So you can use telepathy with anyone you want to?" Leona asked Sol. The blonde was not the sharpest tool in the shed and needed a bit of time to fully understand new things. Whether it was a natural tendency of hers or a slowness induced by the alcohol was up in the air. What was known was that Leona needed to think a little more before asking questions with obvious answers.

[Word Count: 324]
[Leona's Word Count: 8,166]

When Leona asked him what the ability was Sol smiled a bit before he gently held up a finger showing her to wait just a second before his voice would ring out in her mind easily as she then asked him if he could use telepathy with anyone he wanted to and he shook his head a bit and responded thru the connection’I cannot do it with just anyone right now, those of my race I can do it easier but for most mortals I have to gain permission since as far as void dwellers go I could still be considered a novice in the abilitys inherent to my race since I was created and not born one” he explained. It was rather tough at points since some abilitys he got the hang of quickly while others were hard for him to grasp. Thankfully he had good teachers to help him and they understood while Sol himself always pushed himself as hard as he could so he would get better. He had much to learn but the dark haired man was more then ready for the task. Seeing her slow down on the sake he smirked.”you doing ok Leona your cheeks look a little red” he teased.

“ if I can ask Leona who taught you swordsmanship its very good” he complimented as he wondered who had taught her such skills or if she had learned them herself thru battle after battle. Either way the slayer would be impressed since she clashed with him  very well and had not shyed away from trying to  catch him off guard with her blade despite him having greater reach. In the back of his mind Sol had to admit that this was very nice since when he had been in Basilisk Fang they never did anything like this. Allies didn’t linger in hot springs or converse like this it was cold and  almost business like all the time. It really did make the slayer happy he had left and found a better life.

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Leona's blushing was apparent to anyone who could see. She made no attempt to hide it because she had seldom been complimented by anyone, let alone a male outside of her family. She was not sure how to respond to this unusual situation and had to think it over. Her attention was diverted by the fact that Sol said that he was created a "Void Dweller" instead of being born as one... whatever that meant. Leona did not fully understand the various races of Earthland: she would need to do some research on the topic one day.

The blonde focused on a topic that she knew more about, that topic being swordsmanship. She could easily answer the question of where she learned how to fight with swords. Leona chose to voice her answer because she was not entirely sure how to communicate telepathically with a human.

"I learned to handle a sword in Desierto, where swordsmanship's a survival skill because of all the bandits and slavers running around. My older brother Leonidas taught me most of what I know. We don't use two-handed swords very often because they take a lot of metal to make, so I don't have much experience with one." Leona answered his question. Knowing how to use a sword was not just a form of exercise; it was a survival skill. Outlaws could attack at any moment and knowing how to wield a sword could mean the difference between life and death.

Leona's village did not have access to enough metal to make a lot of two-handed weapons; one-handed weapons were quicker and cheaper to make. Besides, a two-handed sword did not mesh well with Wind Strike Magic anyhow. While it had the advantage of reach and power, a two-handed sword did not allow her to effectively use Wind Strike Magic because she needed a free hand to cast all of its spells, including her signature Wind Blast. Her magic was more than powerful enough to make up for using a faster but weaker one-handed sword.

[Word Count: 351]
[Leona's Word Count: 8,517]

Sol smiled softly at her blush since he was pleased he could get such a reaction from her.the woman beside him was very beautiful and  he couldn’t help but flirt with her a bit. When it came to the subject of swordplay the wizard saint explained she was taught her skills in Desierto and it was a survival skill since  the land was over run with slavers and bandits so without proper skill one was at the mercy of such foes, Leona also mentioned that it was her brother Leonidas that had taught her the skills that she had now and that   her village didn’t make two handed blades due to lack of materials. At that Sol nodded since he could understand the trouble of trying to make such weapons with limited metal.” I can train you in wielding two handed blades Im well versed in both though I will admit like you im better  with a one handed blade then a two handed one” he admitted since he had skill in multiple weapons. He was also rather skilled with guns and bows and chains as well but  one handed swords were his best weapons.

“Ill have to visit Desierto I haven’t been out there yet,  whats it like Leona” he asked wondering  just what the nation looked like. He had not been out to that part of earthland though he had been out to deserts before and while they were rather barren he also saw beauty in the simple landscape.he also enjoyed the nights in the desert as well finding the clear and starry sky to be something that he would never forget  since somehow  the desert region seemed to always  offer the best view.”At least I wont have to worry about dieing from the heat or dehydration if I visit” he chuckled as he took a sip of sake.

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Leona raised an eyebrow. Sol knew how to dual-wield swords and effectively use the style for actual combat? Leona did not know many people who could do such a thing. Her village used and taught a one-handed sword style that was basic and lacked raw power but meshed well with Wind Strike Magic. Perhaps it was too reliant on being able to use magic to compensate for the lack of power behind each swing, but the sword style had served Leona well so far in her journey.

Still, learning a few new tricks might be useful in the long run. She was not sure if she should invest too much time and effort into learning to dual-wield swords because effectively using the style in combat required a lot of focus and coordination. If she could learn the style it would be another ace in the hole that she could use when needed. It could provide an enemy with an unpleasant surprise by lulling them into a false sense of security before she showed them what she could really do.

"Dual-wielding, huh? I may have to learn that some time." Leona said to Sol with interest on her voice. She then turned to the topic of Desierto. Sol had claimed that he had never been there before... as a native of Desierto, Leona felt obligated to warn him about some of the region's numerous hazards.

"Desierto's not a place that's for the faint of heart. Most of it's bandit and slaver territory and they're not shy about attacking travelers that they think are easy targets. There is the rule of law, but it's limited to desert villages and the Tri-Council cities. Once you leave those safe spots you take your life into your own hands." Leona warned Sol in all sincerity. She knew that firsthand when she was exiled from Nebdoui over two years ago. She had to brave the open desert to get to Berreb and from there take a caravan to the Tri-Council city. Leona was very fortunate that outlaws had attacked her neither time... had they attacked her at her weakest she might not have lived long enough to reach this point. Now she was a Wizard Saint and in the running for consideration as one of the strongest mages alive... behind Samira Nassar, of course.

[Word Count: 402]
[Leona's Word Count: 8,919]

“its not easy but it is useful in certain situations I found wielding a sword and a chain to be very effective at times” he explain since he  had wielded weapons like that when he had still been a dark mage. It had been common for him to catch an opponent in his magical chain he once had before either strangeling them or once he caught them to impale them with his blade. It was then that Leona started to explain to him that Desierto was not for the faint of heart and that many bandits and slavers would attack travelers for profit since they were easy targets and that other then a few spots you were on your own.”I see Ill be careful whenever I am there  though bandits and slavers should be the only things I really need to be concerned about.”he said since he knew that his body was different.” I don’t have to concern myself with the desert heat or the risk of dehydration. I cant be killed by such things. I have been thrown down to the bottom of a lake Leona and I found out I don’t need to breath  I can stay underwater all day if I wanted to which was so bizarre considering I was afraid of drowning until recently” he explained.

Sol glanced up and saw that the sky was darkening, it seemed that they had burned quite a bit of time from their meal and spar.” Seems we burned quite a bit of the day away with out fighting” he  commented as he stretched a bit.”Ill have to come visit your guild sometime perhaps we can have another spar and everyone can watch. A fight between two strong mages is always good entertainment and motivation to work harder” he suggested, he had not been to the Silver Wolf guild but he had been meaning to at some point in the future.

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Leona listened patiently as Sol described his ability to shrug off heat and dehydration since neither of those dangers could affect him. Those were good abilities for anyone traveling through the desert to have because heat and dehydration were two of the most common causes of death in the desert. They often went hand-in-hand; being too hot could stimulate dehydration and dehydration only made matters worse for an affected individual who could not lower their body temperature. Leona had seen the end results of dehydration-induced death more times than she could count... she had lost track of how many desiccated corpses she had found on her travels through the desert.

That was why Leona made it a point to carry water everywhere she went, even if it was a city where water was readily available from any faucet or corner convenience store. Carrying the weight on her back could be a burden that made travel more difficult than it had to be, but it paid for itself during lengthy treks far away from civilization like her solo missions to Desierto. Carrying water paid the biggest dividends during trips to Desierto. Leona was not dependent on finding an oasis or a friendly merchant willing to sell water, which could go for exorbitant sums of Jewels.

"So you want to visit Silver Wolf Guild Hall some time?" Leona repeated Sol's question.

"Maybe we can make that happen. What time do you want to visit?" Leona asked him. Since she was visiting his personal home and personal territory, she felt obliged to at least try to make his request to visit Silver Wolf Guild Hall a reality. Making the visit happen would take a bit of time and effort, but she did not foresee too many difficulties preventing Sol from paying a friendly visit.

[Word Count: 305]
[Leona's Word Count: 9,224]

It still surprised Sol just how much his body hand changed since his transformation, he had learned that he didn’t have to worry about drowning but there was so much more to it. He had learned also that his body could regenerate wounds and even reattach severed limbs with little difficulty, it was something that the deathless was grateful for though he knew not to be arrogant about this since it could be used against him and deep down he knew that in truth this was not completely a blessing. But he had made his choice and he was determined to see it thru to the end no matter what. He had accepted the training from Demi and he was becoming more and peace with what he was, he was admitting more easily that he was a Monster and he always had been but that didn’t mean that he was a bloodthirsty beast. In truth the world needed monsters like himself to bring balance. He was starting to understand that light and dark needed to be balanced and by finding balance and peace in himself he would become better and stronger then he had been when he had been lost in the dark or foolishing thinking he could restrain the beast within.

As his guest questioned him wanting to visit the Silver Wolf Guild Hall Sol gave a small nod and smile.”Yes I would like that. I would like to get to know your guild members and build strong bonds like we are right now, And Ill admit I would like to spend more time with you Leona your strong and we have much in common” he complimented though his face gaining a blush at the end. He knew it was good to meet more mages and the more allies he had the better, it also didn’t hurt to want to spend more time with the guild mistress since she had a lot in common with the deathless and he was becoming very interested in her. When asked when he would like to come and visit the regent of Myazhe thought for a moment as he took a sip of sake.”hmm perhaps in a few weeks that way I can make sure some affairs are in order with the company while I am not on the continent does that work Leona?” he asked, he would take a few vacation days for it so he could enjoy himself and he might pick up a few nice things as well while on the main land.

He hoped that the spar the could have at the guild hall would make for good entertainment since how often did you get to see two such mages fighting so passionately and with such power. To any who loved battle it would truly be a sight to behold and one to never forget. The idea of such a fight actually made the Deathless become nostalgic as he recalled the prior fights he had been in up to this point, while some of them were horrible and back when he was a mad dog of Basilisk Fang the more recent ones had been fulfilling as well. and now that he was balanced he was sure that he could appreciate them even more now and in the future.


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"A few weeks from now should work. I'll try and get things in order on my end. A guild doesn't run itself." Leona said to Sol. She did not foresee anything on her end which would prevent Sol from paying a visit. However, she would have to do a lot of paperwork between now and then so that she did not spend the entire visit holed up in the Guild Mistress' office trying to balance the budget or ordering food for the guild kitchen. As far as building bonds with guild members went, Leona had a long way to go in achieving that goal. The guild had just accepted a crop of new members and she still had to learn all of their names and faces.

Leona had been building bonds with the long-time members like Leila, Yuvon, Mizumi, Haley, and Kitalpha, but she needed to expand her reach to the new members as well. She had inducted Rinni Faithe, Eros Erebus, Lorelei Laguna, Rowan Protegan, Reyla Sithras, Ruso Liberty, and a few others and needed to reach out to them to make them feel like they were welcome in Silver Wolf. Leona had been busy with various jobs for the guild to bring in money and keep it in the public eye. Leona had gotten so busy with work that she had likely missed opportunities to engage guild members. She hoped that it was not too late to turn things around and try to build meaningful relationships with guild members.

"I found the sparring match to be interesting. Interesting and engaging." Leona finally said to Sol, addressing how she felt during the sparring match. He had pushed her to the limit and then some, but she was no punching bag. She gave him almost as good as she got. It was safe to say that the blonde had learned a few things about fighting during their sparring match.

[Word Count: 322]
[Leona's Word Count: 9,546]

Sol chuckled a bit as Leona told him that a few weeks should be fine for him to visit but did mention that a guild didn’t run itself. ” I know the feeling all to well, even with a department doing paperwork I partake in paperwork myself as well as other tasks for the company but I enjoy it since it’s a nice change of pace and it keeps me busy” he explained. The Deathless also had to admit it was better then the last line of work he had done since the last guild he had been in was a dark guild and his work was less then clean. Sol wondered if perhaps he should let Leona know about his past she seemed to not judge him but he was worried he might scare her off since his actions were less then pleasant. He had slain thousands and he had enjoyed it. He still did enjoy killing and he knew that would never change since it was a part of who he was and who he had grown into. Thinking back the Deathless knew that Mt Hakobe his former home was a mountain of death and he had always been protective of it since when he was a dragon he considered it his territory though not anymore.

While he still thought about his past very often Sol and learned to put it behind him and to not regret it, he couldn’t let himself hold onto it since if he did it would unbalance him and he didn’t want that. Yes he had been evil and bloodthirsty and he still held that bloodthirst but he had learned from his mistakes and he wouldn’t let such a thing happen again and he wouldn’t let his temper take control of him again. The Deathless had to admit his life had been up and down and all over the place but he honestly would not have changed much if only that he should have went to Tolgalen first instead of being on that cursed mountain for how many years. The slayer just let the thought go since it wouldn’t do him any good to think back on his mistakes since it did not help him now. All he could do was learn from them and move on. The Slayers thoughts went to the newer members that had just recently entered the company Aemon and Katherine if he remember right, they had escaped the now destroyed Basilisk Fang and now were settling into the company to try and reenter society and have clean records. The Deathless was sincere in his desire to help them but he understood the suspicion of them from the other higher ups due to formerly being dark mages like he had been.

“im glad I found the spar enjoyable as well, I must admit I was surprised you managed to knock me on my back since that rarely happens, I would like to spar more with you in the future”he suggested with a smile. She had managed to surprise him multiple times and he found it refreshing to fight someone without the use of magic. While he was no longer as physically strong as he was when he was a dragon he had gained plenty of advantages from his change to make up for it along with his own magic prowess becoming even stronger then before. While he was still adjusting to it the Deathless found that he didn’t mind what had happened to him, glancing up at the sky Sol made a note that the sky was starting to darken showing daylight was fading fast and it made the vice president turn his gaze to Leona.”It seems nights already upon us. I must admit I had so much fun I didn’t even notice” he said with a soft smile on his face. He enjoyed having visitors to his land since it was always a nice change of pace and so far this one had been his favorite. Leona could give him a real fight and he had no doubt their next spar would be even better since they would mix their magic in with their fighting to raise the challenge.


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Judging from what Sol said about his responsibilities as a high-ranking member of West Fiore Trading Company, it seemed that Leona was far from the only fighter who was having to adapt to learning how to be an administrator. It was more than a little tedious and boring, but logistics had to be handled to keep the lights on at the guild hall and the blonde would have to grow into that responsibility. The senior guild staff was helping Leona settle into the role of administrator by teaching her how to file paperwork, balance a budget, and other tasks necessary for a Guild Mistress to learn in order to keep the Magic Council happy and the guild supplied with everything it needed. Progress was slower than she would have liked, but Leona was slowly learning how to become a fairly competent, if not excellent, administrator.

Sophia Jarnefeldt would be greatly amused to see Leona behind a desk and filing paperwork. Leona had never wanted to be what the people in Fiore called a "cubicle rat", but she had to become one because being the leader of a guild was about more than taking jobs, traveling to the far reaches of Earthland, and beating up outlaws. It was OK because the blonde wanted to learn how to do something other than fight. Language courses and administration classes were but two of the ways that she was attempting to diversify her rather sparse skillset.

Leona's attention was returned to the subject of the sparring match, which Sol admitted that he enjoyed. Leona had fun with it too. It was the first time since the Fairy Festival duel with Aven Alveron and the slender Crimson Sash members in the ruins where Sand-Splitter was housed that someone had given her a good fight. It was also the first time that she had fought someone with formal training in weaponry and martial arts and it had exposed a lot of weaknesses in Leona's fighting ability.

Leona often relied on her ability to "tank" damage to counterattack after the opponent had lost momentum. She also relied on her speed to get the first punch and then back away in bursts of aggression. Furthermore, she was trained to use a one-handed sword and magic in conjunction with her speed to compensate for the lack of striking power a one-handed sword had.

That was all well and good when she was fighting outlaws who relied more on intimidation than actual fighting skill, but her approach tended to come up short against people who had formal training. Sol knew what she was trying to do and defended against most of her attacks without having to put too much effort into it. He also had a height and reach advantage, the second advantage doing a lot to mitigate Leona's speed advantage by letting him hit her before she could close in and press an attack. His reach also gave him an advantage since he used a two-handed sword that could let him strike long before she could get in range to use her Silver Longsword. Sol knew what he was doing and held his own, even knocking her Silver Longsword from her hands after a duel of moderate length.

"I had fun with the sparring match too. I'd like to spar again at some point in the future as well." Leona said to Sol, just now noticing that nightfall had arrived after he had mentioned it.

[Word Count: 585]
[Leona's Word Count: 10,131]

Taking a sip of his Sake Sol  idly wondered what his Birth Family would think of him now with his  own province to take care of, being of Midi descent he knew that he had to learn many rules and traditions  when he chose to live here but he had no issue with that, he did have to wonder what they would do considering they had severed ties with him once they had found out about his association with a dark guild but the moment he had left that behind  they seemed to be wanting to mend things with him. Sol however was not a guillible fool and knew something had to be up but he would deal with them at a later date. He glanced over at Leona and wondered if she intended to head back to the main land or if she would want to rest here before heading back due the to amount of time that had passed. “I would like to spar again in the future as well next time we can add magic into the mix as well. if just sword fighting and hand to hand is a work out I can only imagen how adding magic will make it that much better.” He said with smile.

Of course Sol knew that battling her with his magic would be risky as well since his toxins were very dangerous and he would have to make sure to have his antidotes ready for afterwards. The Reaper knew that one strike from him would cause issues and repeated attacks had the potential to reduce someone to a sniveling mess but it always depended on his opponent. It was something to plan and be ready for when they did clash again. Sol never aimed to inflect personal harm on his sparring partners he always tried to make sure he had remedys and antidotes for any occasion and always had them ready incase of an accidental poisoning on the battlefield.


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total wc - 11,356

With the coming of nightfall Leona had to consider her options. She had two viable options to choose from. She could either call upon the charity of her host or she could call on a summon and fly back home to Silver Wolf Guild Hall. Leona was not sure which option of the two was better.

Leona was sure that Sol would give her lodging if she requested it. She would be spared a lengthy trip at night when bandits were running about in even larger numbers than they were doing the day. Leona could handle them with ease, but after the sparring with Sol she might be a little slower than she needed to be, a shortcoming which could prove costly at a bad time.

Leona needed to be back at the Guild Hall because with the slow but steady growth of the guild they needed the Guild Mistress to help run things. It would also make her look bad if she kept skipping out when there were important guild responsibilities to fulfill. Since Silver Wolf was the youngest guild in the alliance and she was the newest Guild Mistress in the alliance, Leona needed to keep the guild's image up by showing responsibility in fulfilling her duties as Guild Mistress.

Still, the blonde hesitated. She was not sure which course of action to take. Should she leave now and return to her guild hall or should she trust her guild to run without her always leaning over their shoulder? Leona was conflicted.

She did not want to admit that to Sol because she had built up a fairly good image with him and she did not want to ruin it by looking to be irresponsible. Perhaps she should start making her way back to the Guild Hall. The staff were still sorting out the library and they might need some help. Uncertainty clouded Leona's mind.

"Yeah. Next time we definitely need to use magic." Leona readily agreed with Sol. She was kind of glad that it was not added this time because going into a spar with magic after taking a beating from Sol would have been quite difficult. Still, she would have engaged in it if he had wanted to. As it stood, there would be another day and another opportunity to use magic in a sparring match.

[Word Count: 393]
[Leona's Word Count: 10,524]