(With cheers back on the mind lets vibe!)

(Perspective of view: Third Person)

“The beginning of Gaia had led one of its first races to be but a tall tale unlike any other. A race named Vind, they had great control over the gale that ruled as one of the main elements of this world and were only thought to be myths until very recently. They held floating fortresses that were untouched by normal tainted human hands and could only be described as a sanctuary. However that changed when Carris brought down their divine structures, The Endless Sky. The Vinds were left no choice but to make newer, lesser temples into the sky that still retained beauty unmatched. And while most races would perceive them as bad omens, they brought naught but peace.” -Keepers of Sky

That is what the man named Yreol could remember about his race, told to him by the Keepers of Sky. Yet despite the legends of his people, he was a basic man.

“Yreol, what has got your head deep into thought?” The Vind took a glance upwards from his bedside and was treated to that lovely face he grew to enjoy over the past three weeks.

Sukari the Fischeran, a race known to be the guides for Vinds since the very first time they were recorded in Gaia and she was no different.

The happy Vind waved off her caution and smiled. “My head is clear, Sukari. I’m merely reminiscing on the tales I’ve been told. Are we good to set off for the guild war?” The lavender skinned man said, his natural gray hair was done in several strands that reached down to his shoulders.

His cyan companion’s eyes lit up at the readiness he showed. “We are more than good, your skills as a Sigil Knight should be more than enough and with an Illusionist such as myself backing you up there should be absolutely no problem here even as a duo.” Yreol reluctantly sighed in response to this, making Sukari shake her head in displeasure. “Also that Knight Lord armor we saved up for you is going to give you enough time to take any attack and activate those enchantments you cast on your blade. But now that you mention it, I feel as though something is missing from my pouch but that can’t be right.”

“There I go again, infecting her sense of thinking. I really should restrain myself when it comes to that.” The Vind internally told himself.

“You’re right, I’m panicking far more than I need to be. We have got this together, as you said. Friends such as us should always trust in each other.” His demeanor grew more confident and he gripped his silver longsword. “Let us set out, the clock nearly strikes two and not a second to spare.” He stood up and gleamed a bright smile.

His lady companion grinned and held onto her spell book with both arms, the blue robes she wore hung to her sides and its hood down for her hair to be left out. “That is the Yreol I have come to know. Never let anything stop you from achieving greatness, even me.”

(Perspective of view: Ryan Steele)

“Woah woah woah, what does this have to do with Equestria?” Rainbow Dash suddenly cut in as I sat criss crossed, interrupting my read aloud.

Twilight face palmed at her friend’s questionable knowledge of the subject at hand and genuinely? I was just mad my voice was interrupted, I do love the sound of perfection after all.

“Rainbow, this is one of the worlds that came into ours! How could that not be a part of Equestria?” The egg head settled for something marginally tamer than her original grant of pointing out her daftness.

William sighed and opened a palm in the blue Pegasus’ direction. “I very much must concur; Rainbow Dash you understand that to every good book about a legend, another is lost. You may know more about your original world’s legends than I do, however with No Regrets hosting what used to be a native… Well I am sure you can conclude the rest.”

The speedy Pegasus moaned with the agony of a thousand years of embarrassment. “Okay okay for Celestia’s sake I get it! You know at least Rarity was subtler about whenever I was being insensitive.”

“You were doing that on purpose? Why am I not surprised by this?” Rarity took a sombered sip of her apple cider and immediately refilled the glass.

“No use in letting them argue without gaining entertainment from it. At first it was funny but their wording suggests this is gonna be an every other day thing.” I silently think to myself.

I snap my fingers to get everyone’s attention, just as Rainbow Dash and Rarity were on the verge of probable name calling judging by how Fluttershy opted to hide behind her mane. “Alright I’ll nip this in the bud!” I barked out; yeah I was still pissed about only being able to use the Cinnabar in secret.

Everyone looked at me as if I was the one in the wrong, though in some ways I’d suppose that I was. It’s unfair to take out your anger on comrades like that.

I straighten out my body and tone my voice down. “Unless you two want to cat fight I at least want to make decent progress on this book before we all inevitably forget about it. I at least try to enjoy my hobbies of reading and kicking ass. Though I do apologize for yelling so loudly, that was not my intention.”

Instead of accepting the apology, everyone only stared at me, Twilight and William in particular looking away from me in some sort of guilty expression whatever that meant for me.

What was even more of a surprise was that Fluttershy was the first to say something. “It’s fine, please just keep reading. I was enjoying it.” And what’s weird is that she appeared genuine. I had barely talked about myself in a positive manner and yet I already had her full attention by just reading a book.

Rainbow had a semi-reluctant look on her face. “Normally I don’t read all that often-”

“We can tell darling.” Rarity butted in.

“Ms. Rarity” William lightly chastised, only garnering a giggle from the offender.

The blue Pegasus shot her marshmallow of a friend a glare. “-That often” She fiercely repeated. “So I’m not prone to enjoying other’s stories. So even I have to admit when somepony has good storytelling skills. From one adventure aficionado to the next.”

For the briefest of moments I thought I’d say or do something but it felt as though some outside force was stopping me which only gave me the time to think about what my next action would be. Did it really matter though? This was a friend, I’m sure they wouldn’t be hung up about-.

No, that was the wrong way to think about things. Curse my relatively youthful immortal body. I’m starting to lose my touch here when it comes to understanding people!

“This must be Alter giving me the best course of action through self-indulgent inner monologuing… That was a mouthful to say even in my head. Maybe something changed her attitude over the time I’ve been out of commission? I could’ve sworn I had her figured out by what she was doing during that oh-so fateful night.”

“No problem?” It came out more as if it were a question than an answer. I tend to forget that people aren’t as self-centered as I am.

I formed a smile I didn’t know I had and purposely kept my eyes on the opened page of the book. “You aren’t so bad yourself, about a 5.5 outta 10 in terms of being a functioning creature.” My backhanded compliment instantly got me a hard glare being directed by none other than my younger sister that I could see from the corner of my eye.

And whether or not Rainbow Dash was giving me any telltale signs, I wasn’t about to tell from just the glance I got from peaking upwards. The mare only crossed her arms and cockily grinned, that could only mean the best from either worlds. Truly the female of any species is the scariest there is.

(Perspective of view: Third Person)

Yreol was off put by the last bit, they’d never run into any true troubles before and even after they got to know each other. And if he was to be known world-wide then it’d be with his closest and only friend. Nonetheless both friends exited from Wayside Inn, a very famous place for travelers who wanted to stay outside of Sentinel. Although that would be the place they were headed to as of now.

He couldn’t help but gaze around the scenery as he traversed the path with Sukari. Wayside Inn had been built on wonderful greenery that no doubt extended from the reaches of the outside of this place, the trip to Sentinel though? Sand, everywhere the slightly experienced knight looked there was sand covering some surface of grass that never seemed to wilt.

The sounds of his boots stomping against the grass soon became the sound of stone instead as they reached Cardinal Crossing, the bridge used as a gap to close in between the steady unconducted conclusion of sand, dirt, and the large lake that surrounds the place, to Sentinel.

Everyone at some point has dreamt of arriving here and doing some gran act that would result in notoriety or public positivity. Sukari and Yreol were no exceptions to this rule. So when they heard that they’d be participating in this year’s guild war for the specially catered prize that was always produced in each consecutive year, they jumped at the opportunity.

Only a few paces to a certainly life changing destination the two of them had very similar yet different things going on inside their minds.

The Fischeran held up her head, her somewhat brash posture stood out in comparison to what a normal mage would have. “Will he freeze up again as when I first found him? Are my illusions going to be good enough to back us up for any potential failures, wait am I seriously asking that…?”

“Do I really deserve to be Sukari’s sword?” Yreol internally questioned as his head was hung down. “Could it be a possibility that my instructor sought me as a fluke instead of a prodigy?” His face hardened at his own despair.

“Who am I kidding, I’ve got this no matter what!/Doesn’t matter, we’ll get through it together!”

Yreol sheepishly smiled at Sukari after accidentally saying his declaration of eternal teamwork aloud which coincidentally Sukari said something of a similar nature. “Are you nervous too?” He asked.

His partner nodded her head as she opened her red tome and flickered through the pages. One that was unassuming, having no special appearance on it and the same applied to its pages. “Mhm, who wouldn’t be? Something in my heart is telling me that we need to wake up from this foolish dream we are trying to live.” They were only a few steps away from Sentinel's entrance, encroaching on two armed guards. Yreol felt his heart drop, Sukari was going to give up on him just as he expected. “And another part is telling me that this is the first step to rediscovering a new edict catered to magic! The lost one dedicated to healing instead of harming.” Sukari ended her stride with a twirl until she was face to face with the sentries that stood guard.

“And I believe that these two are proof enough for our visit.” She held out a hand that was empty then moved her tome above the opened palm. The transition was seamless as two golden cards appeared in the previous unoccupied appendage.

One of the guards with the face covering on their helmet got a closer look of it. “A strange one aren’t you? Your people normally don’t have business inside the city. This all seems legitimate and I am not one to be as ignorant as to give you a hard time.” The unidentifiable guard hands the two cards back to Sukari, his metal gloves being careful not to damage the material. The other guard who, as Yreol could tell, was a Haseldan, this was definitely a normal occupation for them. But he was certainly suspicious of the strange duo. Fischeran and Vinds were certainly rare and nearly never came out their hiding areas or at least that is what the likes of him are probably told.

Yreol was no stranger to this sort of treatment, when you are new to the experience of the outside world you, it’s in basic human nature to be fearful of what you cannot understand. The second guard’s posture was a telltale sign that also applied to him as well. It was sloppy and his armor was clearly what a standard town guard wore despite the fact that Sentinel’s city guards could wear whatever they desired. And the spear, most would think of it as a good idea but any who want to attack someone in Sentinel definitely could close the gap of a spear against someone so green.

“So why am I unafraid of others different from me, what makes someone exceptional to others?” The Vind quizzed himself only to receive zero response.

The second, more inexperienced stepped out, his grip on the spear he held was too tight and heavy to be professional. “Sir, are you sure? You should not put it past them to be smuggling something through or even using Witchcraft to tilt this year’s guild wars into different favor.”

“Jones, why in the world would they come through the main gate if they could even have an inch of Witchcraft affinity inside them. That’s among one of the closest things to reality warping that exists.” The siege armored worthy guard’s piercing gaze shot to the one apparently named Jones. “That comment alone was dishonorable enough to Sentinel’s reputation.”

The Haseldan grit his teeth, his rage almost made it seem like he was ready to lunge at Yreol and Sukari, killing intent radiated off of him but restrained himself in front of his superior.

“Your services have been noticed, fine gentlemen, have a Gaia blessed day.” Sukari sarcastically said, mostly pointed towards the rudder guard of the two. “Come along dear Sigil Knight Yreol, we have war to prepare for.”

Said Sigil Knight in question wondered what she could have possibly met as they made their way inside the sandy city. A complete and utterly bustling place with several roads that intertwined more than a spider's web, people gathering outside all headed in similar directions towards a giant coliseum. Only a few outliers were to this, those being covered in shrouds. “Preparations were achieved well before this were they not?” He uneasily countered.

Sukari laughed and wrapped an arm around Yreol. “Baby steps my friend. This right now is where we get some supplies as if it were needed yesterday, because it’s time for us to walk.” After saying that she spent no hesitation walking, as she said she would.

Her companion rarely questioned her methods, even now he walked immediately after hearing the command for all but thirty seconds of aimless wandering in between the roads of crowds headed at a singularity he had to speak up. Yreol did not have the faintest idea of why he would be subjected to this seemingly random act. “Why are we even doing this? This is no better than circling a single point as if it were guard duty.”

Sukari did not even turn to face her friend's question. “There are many things you will come to understand while around me Yreol. New things we will uncover together. An illusionist such as myself cannot give that information out as of now, after all a magician never reveals their secret.”

“I’ve kept us alive thus far when you forgot to properly dispose of the leftover food and the Flesh Hounds came for us. In the end you’ll have to trust my judgment, as you always have.” The Fischeran pulled up her robe’s cowl and kept her head up. “Face it, I know everything there is to know and I’m teaching you the ropes. If I were you? I’d be glad to have someone like me on their team. I also know that I’m glad to have-” She points a finger directly atop Yreol’s nose in a spontaneous moment, a small rosy blush appears through his purple skin. “-you. You’re my one and only Yreol.”

To hear that he of all people is someone’s “one and only” can’t help but make someone feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. “This is another reason to trudge further.” He thought. “To stay as her number one.” That settled it for him, if she wanted the two of them to wander then he would do so-

“You two doing some… Late shopping?”

Yreol nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden voice that came out of nowhere. In a trained motion he drew his sword and pointed it at whatever adversary was behind them. And to say the least he was confused at the sight.

A person of indescribable gender was what he was met with, their face is a complete blur. It was static, distorted like a camera that took a picture near a strong magnetic material. And the voice! That voice can only be described as a muted person, neither male nor female.

“Who are you?” Sukari instantly questioned, some hostility overlapping with the majority of curiosity.

The strange being performed a small curtsy and presented themselves in a carefree tone “Most call me Odysseus, nice to meet the two of you in person. Especially you Sukari, considering your past and all.”

Cautiously, the Sigil Knight lowered his blade, he wouldn’t want to be charged with threatening civilians after all.

A reactional glare shoots out to Odysseus, a primal and automatic-like in wholeness. The young Illusionist knew something was amidst as soon as the crowds started thinning into an eventual nothing around the same time this thing showed up.

“Yreol let’s go now.” His partner was ready to bolt, informally commanding her friend to do the very same.

When Yreol was about to respond for Sukari’s demand the cloaked figure gave a welcoming chuckle.

“No need, I am not one to reveal secrets unless wholly necessary. I only wish to help you dear travelers.” Odysseus told them once more. “What’s more, I was previously planning to sell this item for a reasonable price but you two may have this for free.” The strange entity dug within a small pouch beside them, not even big enough to hold more than a fistfull of coins. Despite this the item they pulled out of said bag was all the more worth it.

“You… You’re giving us bombs?” Sukari watched the thing swat a wave of magic to the bundle of strangely crafted septagon shaped explosives, hovering them into her hands who carefully held onto them.

The Sigil Knight in training weakly turnt his head in confusion. “T-thank you?” He whispered out.

Odysseus shook their head. “You’re very welcome and these are not just any plain-old bombs, what do you take me for missy? No, these here are in a different league than some simplistic sticks of dynamite.” They took a gray finger and pointed out the lack of fuse on the weirdly shaped bombs. “What your friend is holding onto are pure contact explosives, able to explode once thrown with sufficient force. And the secondary effect is the explosion itself, depending on how much raw mana you force into it the explosion could potentially destroy a decent chunk of land, on par with a nicely charged fireball.”

A red glint could have been seen from Sukari’s glare if one paid close enough attention before she dashed up to Odysseus in a trained fashion that Yreol had only witnessed so few times before. She was always full of surprises.

“Cut the bullshit, what’s your endgame here?” She sharply interrogated. “The moment you say anything funny I’ll have you looking worse than an undead shrieker.”

Yreol was finally about to overturn on his own breaking point. “S-Sukari you can’t simply threaten them, there’s a process to this and the way-”

“Actually Yreol I think it would be best for the two of us to discuss matters in private. After all, I do not know your friend’s definition of “funny” and I’d best not slip up around you.” Odysseus soundly advised although Yreol had no idea what any of this could have possibly been about.

“They’re right… I’ll be back Yreol but in sight, if anything happens then get behind me. For now you need to stay inside of this.” Sukari whispered a small incantation and a large translucent shield appeared all around Yreol. This was his second time seeing it in person as well. The (Globus) spell that could basically set certain criteria for who could and couldn’t pass through it, most notably those in the evil category but sometimes it was more than that.

“Please whatever is going on, be safe Sukari and if you aren’t back in ten minutes I will come looking.” Yreol promised her who only nodded in agreement.

The person and entity both decided it would be best to go back to the farthest corner of this road’s block to converse, leaving Yreol holding five strangely made bombs in his hands.

“How did they know each other?” That was the single most rampant question twisting inside his head but he knew this wasn’t the case. Sukari didn’t actually clue in on personally knowing who this Odysseus character was so then the better question should be ‘how does he know her?’ and that’s when Yreol came to a loss how was he supposed to piece this together when they met out of the blue not-so long ago?

“You caught yourself in such a doozy, mind if I give you a helping hand?” That one simple sentence sparked their friendship that begun two months ago. Life could never have been the same. He was foolish to think that a Vind such as himself could take on some rogue golems made by a prodigy practitioner mage even if they were young. It had to have been fate that Sukari came to save him right before the final blow was struck to himself.

Yreol shook his head, disappointed that he’d even think of doubting his… Very best friend. “Even when she was about to die, even when she was presented with the opportunity to learn more from Master Illusionists, even when presented with the opportunity to join the most prestigious guild known to mankind, she still chose me… Still chose to protect me even when I am barely educated on the world. Dammit Yreol, if Sukari heard these thoughts then she would be disgusted by you.” The man brought out his blade in order, composing himself for his friend’s arrival.

He would become the one to protect her from Howlers and Gorpigs alike, rogue mages, Rocs, Harpies, Gryphons, Elementals, Demons, and even Dragons. That is the only way he knows how to repay such a great debt that he owes his ‘partner in crime’ as she’d say.

A voice concludes Yreol’s resolution as he pulls himself together. “It is fine, you can put the weapon down. I am sure that Odysseus fellow will no longer be bothering either of us for moons to come. We can keep the explosives too, they will serve more as boons to utilize in the upcoming guild war.”

“Good Solan you scared the heavens out of me because of that performance!” Yreol shouted at Sukari as she walked behind him, soon the spell that was raised as protection, dissipated into thin air.

The ever cautious Fischeran sighed. “Yreol I owe you an apology. I lost my cool in the first few moments of meeting Odysseus, I was afraid that decision making of the past would come to bite us in the future and that stopped me from making a choice.” Sukari intricately put it.

“Sukari, why?” Yreol moved over, his greaves that covered his hands touched his friend’s cheek who only leaned into his embrace. “The reason we do this together is so that we can cover for each other’s mistakes. Otherwise why do we risk it all? I know it sounds silly but I believe by Solan’s grace we’ve come to meet each other so that we could make ourselves known across Gaia. And if ifwe never achieve that goal then know I’ll always be right by your side because your gratitude is the only thing I’ll ever need to hold onto.”

No words were exchanged, and Yreol did not question why Sukari suddenly leaned further to wrap her arms around him, quietly sniffling. They held each other for what felt like an eternity’s eternity, as with all good things however the hug was eventually broken up. Yreol only saw his partner wipe at her eyes until she smiled again.

“Yreol you always have a way to speak to me whenever I am at my most vulnerable even when the only thing you want to see is my smile. It amazes me because of how oblivious you can be sometimes.” Sukari stared up at the sky, and widened her eyes. “Dammit, I’ve made us late! C’mon Yreol we have no time to lose!”

The Sigil Knight was used to this, breaking out in a dead sprint. Whenever the two of them were together they’d always go off script. As always it feels amazing to feel the cold breeze wrap around their faces, as if still little children playing amongst each other, the two ran and ran. Leaping, ducking, and dodging surprised onlookers who were finally at the line for this medium sized stadium that would host this year’s Guild War. The two slammed their Guild Badges down on the receptionist’s desk and sprint by without a care in the world, entering towards a better future.

Author's Note

'Function Description: Reading'

'Reading certain books as a (Player) can help yield certain results such as status increases, learning new skills, getting new mantras, or activate certain events that would otherwise remain hidden or obstructed from them by normal means, something so minimalistic can always gather higher results even during times of danger.'