The Next Step

“Son of a-”

Cedric had just moved into a different fighting position, doing his best to ignore Victoria’s comments that were in no way helpful. Vandrad had been doing the same when the Seal released a pulse of magical power, knocking them back. The former Dread Master was in no way prepared for Victoria to be in front of him, doing his best to mount a defensive position but hoisted up and towards the Seal before she was tossing him at Vandrad. The future king pressed his back heel into the ground as he caught Cedric by the arm and swung him back around just in time for Cedric to summon his scythe and block the polearm that Victoria had brought down upon them. Her strength was still impressive enough that it knocked the two men a bit away, forcing them to once again recenter themselves.

Vandrad sneered. "Damnit, woman, that would have killed us if we weren’t prepared!” he snapped at her, clearly agitated by her goading. Truth was, he was dealing with several different emotional mountains all at once. Xavier was currently incarcerated upon the island, instantly transported to a cell near Mercury’s brother and left to his own devices at the moment. The matter of his trial and sentencing was going to be the first objective once Vandrad was officially named king, which was only days away at that point. His actions both on Rhaegar and Earthland had struck a profound chord in the would-be monarch and his thoughts on the matter seemed to enjoy rattling around when he generally didn’t want them. On the other hand, now that Mercury was pregnant, his inevitable role as a father was also beginning to sink in fully. While he usually would be thrilled by a training partner that could outright challenge his mortality, the idea of leaving Mercury without a husband and a child without a father was one he couldn’t fathom, not after he’d gone through the same thing.

Cedric sighed as he relaxed slightly, scratching the back of his head. “No, she’s right. This whole Xavier thing has me all out of sorts and I’m guessing you’re in the same place,” he said, glancing over at Vandrad and not needing a confirmation. He then turned his attention to Victoria. “Then perhaps we need a change of pace, something to force us not to let our thoughts wander. Maybe we see if we can force the Union like I told you about, Victoria.”

Vandrad narrowed his eyes as he looked over at Cedric. "You’ve mentioned that word before, Union. During our fight around Magnolia, you had said you had been sent to complete the Union in terms of the Ark.”

The former Dread Master nodded. “The way the Dread Masters believed the Union worked was that if one of us died, the other would inherit full control of the Ark. The Ark, you see, wasn’t meant to be split between two people; Marka crafted it for one person and one person only; himself and, by extension, me as his clone. Somehow you managed to genetically connect to it beyond all comprehension and when you first accessed Energy Monarch, you must have activated the Ark as well, to some extent. Hence why I suddenly woke up.”

"This is all exposition we have covered,” Vandrad stated, clearly not looking to revisit discussed topics.

“But when I was discussing Energy Monarch with Patricia, we spoke on the ‘splitting’ of the Ark and she theorized that it’s less a fracture and more of a joint measure. She compared it to an actual box; it isn’t two pieces being held by two people but rather one being held on either side of one. I suppose a better image would be a liquid tank with two different funnels. The problem is, I’ve had years to master my control of the Ark to get where I am now whilst you’ve only had it for a shorter amount of time. Your magical draw is going to be heavier to be able to utilize certain magics within, namely the Take-Overs.”

“But our beloved Patricia had a theory on that as well. Perhaps we can force a Union event without either one of us having to perish. That way we can force a single drawing point from the Ark that connects to outsources. I asked Victoria about it and she seemed to believe that not only was it possible but that she could help aid us in making it happen. It’s just… not going to be as exciting as her beating on us.”

Vandrad listened quietly as Cedric explained, arms crossed over his chest. He was aware of the liability he created when it came to them both using the Ark; it had been painfully obvious during their separated fights against Maker and Seberg. But everything he did in terms of training it didn’t seem to give the results that he wanted. He glanced at Victoria and then back at Cedric. "Fine,” he said gruffly. "So what do we need to do?”

Vandrad could study when he wanted to, it was just one of his least favorite ways of improvement. His training for his magic had always been physically focused and introspection to how it was utilized afterward. Workouts and sparring had been the building blocks that had brought him to where he was and it had never failed him. But it was becoming clearer that gruff, brainless physical work wasn’t going to improve much more than what had already improved. His strength had nearly plateaued and it was clear there wasn’t much more room for vast gains of power. He despised that knowledge as much as he disliked the idea of having to take other avenues to improve but he simply refused to stop. It wasn’t in his nature to give up.

Victoria agreed with Cedric’s sentiments, explaining that she believed studious sessions would be more beneficial for Vandrad’s improvement in control rather than outright combat. She hopped on Cedric’s imagery, painting a painful picture of just how much better controlled Cedric was than the future king. He did his best not to outwardly scowl but he didn’t do a great job of it. The Seal suggested they take part in meditation, yet another method of training Vandrad didn’t enjoy. He was perfectly adept in partaking, he just preferred something more active. But he sat down nonetheless, crossing his legs and arms alike as he sat beside the former Dread Master. Victoria instructed Cedric to activate a Take Over and tasked Vandrad with studying it with his senses. At her request, both men closed their eyes and the former Dread Master took on the Caliban form, wrapping his tail around his waist as he pulled his energy in towards his body.

The future king was silent as he focused in on the magical aura flowing only meters beside him. The way the Ark flowed out of Cedric was… odd. In fact, it couldn’t really locate an origin point for the dreadether to be coming out of. It was almost like it was wholly part of Cedric, as if it was partly his lifeforce. Something Vandrad had never considered and perhaps the former Dread Master hadn’t either. He was a clone after all; maybe Marka had done some experimentation with his illogically created progeny. Vandrad scoffed in annoyance. “This isn’t working. I can’t follow the flow of his magic.”

“Just… concentrate,” Cedric told him.

“Do you think I’m not?” Vandrad snapped back.

The former Dread Master let out a sigh and shook his head. “Alright, just… give me your hand.”

“What?”

“Give me your hand.”

“No, what the hell are you going to do with it?” Vandrad asked.

“I’m going to try something. By the Gods, do you think I’m going to shove it on my crotch or something? Oh… wait, that’s probably something Mercury would do, isn’t it?” He didn’t need an answer, the look on Vandrad’s face was enough. “I’m just going to… hold your hand.”

“Tsk,” Vandrad grunted dismissively. But after a moment of internal wrestling, he finally relented, unfolding his arms and reaching over in Cedric’s direction. His hand was taken by the Dread Master, who squeezed it tight.

“Look at that, I got the future king to hold my hand,” Cedric teased. He quickly had to squeeze tighter to keep Vandrad from ripping his limb back. “I’m just teasing you, calm down. Alright now… feel the magic as it flows through his fingers. I’m cycling it through my hand,” he explained.

Vandrad bit back his annoyance enough to refocus. As much as he hated to admit it, he could feel the flow of Cedric’s magic now that they were connected. The way it flowed through his veins was… slow. Controlled like a guided river, carved by hand to regulate the force that came rushing through. There was no hiccup, no overwhelming rush or unleashing of pent up power.

Vandrad frowned. He flexed his back and also took on the Caliban form, his aura loud and bristling as it usually was. But as he focused inward and outward, the energy dispersal began to pull inwards towards his body. His extreme magic burn began to recede ever so slightly, as if the metaphorical faucet was gently being turned. And then, he and Cedric went completely in sync. Two matching forces, magical mirror images as their cycling fell in tune with one another. The most remarkable part of it was the sheer force that ebbed off of them. Magical strength beyond what they had before, their souls joined and increasing their presence exponentially. A force neither one of them had even touched upon in their individual journeys.

And then Vandrad lost his control. He released the Caliban form with a loud gasp, sweat rising to the surface on his forehead as his body went into an exhaustive state. He put his hands down to steady himself, eyes opening as he took large, gulping breaths. Beside him, Cedric also looked like he’d gone through a workout, though not nearly as burnt out. The future king looked at him. “What was that?” he asked, looking between Cedric and Victoria.

“That… was the Union. And damnit, if it wasn’t as powerful as I’d been told.”