A Fateful Encounter (SyrToxic and Legacy)

Marick wiped the sweat from his brow. That last job had worn him out and, now that his teammates for the job had gone their separate ways, he too was looking forward to returning to his home...or rather, to The Snuggly Duckling to get royally hammered. He needed it after all that. However, as he took a few steps away from the trees he could hear a sound of something coming from behind him. He tensed up as he turned to face it, but there was nothing there. Yet the unearthly sound continued; a sound as if someone was slowly ripping fabric, but getting closer and closer. Much as he was unsure of what was occurring, Marick's curiosity was simply too overpowering, and he found himself walking back into the forest to investigate.

As he traversed between the winding paths and towering trees he could hear the sound getting closer and closer. He came to a halt after a few minutes, and judged the sound to be coming from a clearing he'd passed earlier in the day, one that had been empty at the time. Without a second to think, he bolted in direction of the sound, his right hand remaining reasonably close to his deck of cards in case he may need to defend himself. Upon arrival at the clearing however, he merely stood stunned to silence at what was happening before his very eyes...

Marick stood deathly still for a few moments, still taking in what he'd just witnessed. He'd heard about there being worlds like this one, about a world called Edolas and that it was possible to go there through the use of specific magic in very remote areas. But this was something else entirely and he wasn't a hundred percent sure how to react to it. When the seemingly younger man spoke into the air Marick quickly snapped back and stepped forward, although he still wasn't sure what to do or say. "That...was impressive. If you don't mind my asking though...who are you, and how did you appear here?" he called out, his right hand still hovering over his deck of cards. He couldn't be sure if this person was a threat or not after all. After a few moments longer he realised just how abrasive he may have appeared, so he smiled a little before introducing himself in the hopes of showing the new arrival that he was no threat - unless the man proved to be aggressive of course. "My name is Marick Lowell, a wizard residing in this country. I was performing a job here and overheard a noise so I came to investigate and saw...well...that. It's like nothing I have ever seen..."

Hidate...he's not of this world then after all, as expected. Marick thought to himself, taking a few steps closer to the otherworlder. He listened to what Hidate had to say, mostly that he was here to explore, learn, grow and then, assumingly, return to his own world. All in all the young man's description of his task was a little vague, giving Marick very little to go with in terms of helping him. Nonetheless he would do whatever he could. "I don't know what knowledge you're after, but you're not going to find it here in the forest that's for certain...come with me. We'll get out of here and head to a village nearby. Talk over a drink or something and see if I can help you out." he said calmly, turning away to exit the forest, but glancing back to ensure Hidate was following.

"I understand that you won't trust me, but believe me when I say I'm your safest bet compared to some of the creatures within this forest. I've spent my whole day fighting the buggers."

Marick was surprised as Hidate questioned what he'd said. "You really aren't from this world are you?" he replied with a laugh as he began slowing down to allow Hidate to keep up with him. "Being honest, there are people in this world that shouldn't be trusted. People who, given half the chance, would happily stab you in the back for their own personal gain without a second thought...these people are generally few and far between, but it's usually best to be careful nonetheless." he replied, before realising he probably wasn't really helping his own image much.

"But I wouldn't worry. You've appeared in the right place with the right kind of person around...I'll help you out while you find your feet here in Fiore. Then you can make your own opinion of me and decide whether you trust me or not." he continued. They were nearing the edge of the forest now, as the trees began to get skinnier and the path seemed to progressively open up into the light that was now visible from where the two men were walking.

So Hidate wasn't going to trust him yet...ah well. Marick took the otherworlder's words with a pinch of salt in the knowledge that he probably wasn't 100% aware of what he just said. He'd learn about this world and the way it worked in time. As the two finally left the forest Marick inhaled a deep breath. While the Spooky Forest was filled with nature, the air couldn't compare to the air outside of it.

After a few moments he turned to face Hidate again, smiling as he did so. "Welcome to Fiore, kid. Much as I'd like to show you every inch of it, that'd take more time than humanly possible. So instead I'm gonna take you to a place I go to quite often. There's a village near here so we'll head there and get some rest...well, I'll rest. You can sit and take things in." he joked, waiting for Hidate to be stood alongside him.

Marick stood momentarily stunned by what Hidate had just said. "121?!" he choked. He quickly regained his composure though; this man came from another world, so clearly things were considerably different there. "...well you're looking good for your age. You don't look a day over 18" he continued, a surprised laugh leaving his lips as he spoke. He'd certainly not thought that the man had been all that old, let alone older than about 99% of the population of Earthland.

The duo finally made their way into the village nearby, with Marick now taking the lead and heading towards a small cottage just inside. He immediately went to the bar and ordered two pints of their finest beer and a pasty - it had been a long day and he couldn't wait any longer before eating - before seating himself at a table in the corner. He assumed Hidate had kept up, but he was certain the otherworlder would find him easily enough anyway. In all honesty, Marick's mind was so focussed on food and beer that he didn't pay much attention as to if Hidate was right behind him or not. "So this world you came from...what's it like? Because I'm guessing it's very different from this world."

Infantile? Well I suppose compared to Hidate and his people, the people of Earthland probably do seem that way. "Infantile perhaps...but we enjoy our short lives regardless." Marick replied with a chuckle, before downing about a third of his glass of beer in one gulp. He sighed in refreshment as it went down, clearly content with being sat here and relaxing. "But you never told me. What is your world like? What are the people like? From the way you look at this world, it must be considerably different that is for sure."

As he awaited Hidate's replied Marick removed his coat and placed his deck holder onto the table in front of him, clearly trying to make himself more comfortable. He opened the deck holder and took a card out, rolling it between his knuckles as he waited for the hooded man's reply. It was strange how two completely different people could meet under such strange circumstances, and yet Marick had found himself embracing it almost like it happened on a regular basis. Perhaps it was merely his master's teachings that there were many others in the world that made him so relaxed about such a situation? There was no way to know. One thing was for certain though; this beer wasn't nearly as good as at the Snuggly Duckling.

Without light or darkness...outside of Time or Space...he sounds almost like a prophet. Marick thought to himself, although he continued to listen. Apparently this youthful-looking man was a time-keeper..."A Time Keeper you say...this may sound daft, but what does that entail?"

Marick took another sip of his beer as he contemplated how to answer Hidate's question. It wasn't a great world that was for sure. But nor was it a particularly horrible one. It was just Earthland really. Nonetheless he felt he should at least elaborate on this. "Well the world we live in is split almost in 4 in terms of general populous, with many other sub-terms weaved into that. We have Legal Wizards in guilds such as Fairy Tail and Blue Pegasus. The try to abide by the law as best as they can although some wizards have been known to be a little...destructive. Then there's Dark Wizards. They're not the kinda people you'd want to be around generally, or at least not if you value your life. Then there's people like me; guildless or 'mercenaries' as some of us are called. Living life in the middle, simply trying to make a living or pushing towards our dreams separate of any affiliation. Some are rougher around the edges than others, but we're generally decent folk. Finally you have the people. Basically those without magical capabilities who live their lives virtually free of magic unless they live in a city that has a magic guild within it. They're very much like us 'Mercs' but without the magic.

The world itself is split into numerous countries and continents, each with it's own different climate and culture. While it may be sunny here, if you head to Iceberg you'd be hit by blizzards. In Desierto you'd meet people in rough clothing to protect them from sandstorms while in Minstrel they'd be wearing elaborate clothing and dancing through the streets. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are no real words to describe our world apart from unpredictable."

"A Time Keeper you say...this may sound daft, but what does that entail?" Hidate leaned back in his chair, yet still keeping good posture. "A Time Keeper does as the name implies, he keeps Time. He watches for any problems that may occur and fixes them immediately and monitors Time to keep it from being subverted or abused. Being the Time Keeper allows him to see everything that was, is, or could be, and is outside the linear perception of time. Time, contrary to what one subject to it might think, is not a one way flowing river, as depicted by many of your scholars. It is more like a ball. Everything, everywhere in Time is happening all together, and is always happening. I'm sorry if this sounds confusing. Candidates to be the next Time Keeper are trained for nearly a hundred years on this concept. I should hardly believe someone newly subjected to it to understand." Hidate pulled out his pocket watch and checked it. If one were to see this watch, they would be horribly confused as it did not look as a normal pocket watch should look. This pocket watch had a large outer ring with a multitude of hands, rather than the usual three for the hour, minutes, and seconds; And had more than twelve "hours" going around the outer ring. With various other small rings in side, each with another multitude of hands. He then proceeded to put it back in his pocket, and looked back at Marick.

(OOC: Just post a reply to this so we can end my talk about Hidate's world, and I'll quote your explanation on Earth Land afterwards. We seem to be having two different conversations going at the same time, so let's even it back out :D )

"A Time Keeper does as the name implies, he keeps Time. He watches for any problems that may occur and fixes them immediately and monitors Time to keep it from being subverted or abused. Being the Time Keeper allows him to see everything that was, is, or could be, and is outside the linear perception of time. Time, contrary to what one subject to it might think, is not a one way flowing river, as depicted by many of your scholars. It is more like a ball. Everything, everywhere in Time is happening all together, and is always happening. I'm sorry if this sounds confusing. Candidates to be the next Time Keeper are trained for nearly a hundred years on this concept. I should hardly believe someone newly subjected to it to understand."

For a moment Marick simply stared dumbfounded. Most of it sounded simple enough, but the idea of time being like a ball was something he'd not considered. Furthermore, 100 years of learning? Ouch. Nonetheless he nodded to show he at least understood what Hidate was saying for the most part. The next time he opened his mouth however was to say something unrelated to any the current conversation. "Are you gonna drink that?" he said, pointing to the beer sat in front of Hidate. He hadn't touched a drop yet.

As Hidate spat the drink back out Marick burst into laughter, something that prompted a couple of other people to chuckle as well. He soon re-composed himself though as he realised he was probably being quite rude. "I'm sorry, I guess I didn't think. You've probably never had alcohol before have you?" he said with a chuckle, obviously holding back the laughter as best as he could. He fiddled with his coat pocket for a moment and pulled out a small bag which he handed to Hidate. "Here, go to the bar and order yourself an Orange Juice or something. It'll clear the taste from your mouth and would probably be more to your taste."

He felt bad for laughing, particularly at someone he'd only just met. But it had certainly raised his spirits up a little. He's got a lot to learn about this world...I'm probably not the best teacher but I'm sure he'll judge that for himself at some point.

Marick leant back on his chair as he acted as if he was considering Hidate's offer, request, whatever it was to be called in this instance. Naturally he'd already decided to help Hidate get to grips with this world anyway, so for the Time Keeper to say about it himself pretty much made the whole idea a certainty. "Alright. I'll try my best to help you get to grips with Earthland. I don't know everything but hey, what's the fun in teaching if I can't learn a little bit myself right?" he replied with a grin before offering his hand over to Hidate. "We'll start doing jobs and such tomorrow, as soon as you're ready."

Marick took his beer and leaned back again, smiling at Hidate. "Jobs are what we need to make money around here. Tomorrow we get ourselves a passport." he replied, before downing the rest of his drink. "And then, we see every square inch of Earthland while we work. Two birds, one stone." he finished with a wink, before walking back to the bar to grab another beer. He glanced back at Hidate with a chuckle. Clueless to the world, emanating a lot of magical power, clearly intelligent and paired up with Marick. This guy had no idea what mayhem he was getting himself into!

-End.