Chapter 78 - Alina's Scheme
[Jon's POV]
"Who dares trespass the sacred grounds of Clan Moonblade?"
Seriously!
"Hey Jull, who are those Moonblades?"
"No idea!"
I was taken aback by that loud voice. It was a bit familiar but I didn't really remember whose voice it is. It was of a young man and carried a hint of being irradiated.
Looking around, I saw someone walking through the ruins around the stairway that I was walking down. Once our eyes met we recognized each other immediately even though we were cowering our faces.
"Oh! It's Icebrain!"
"You..."
The one I saw was Icebrain, one of those shinobi in white with the red-eyed girl, he is the one who raised a short sword at me.
"What are you doing here? This is the sacred grounds of our clan!" He was talking to me in irritation.
That so!
"Clan Moonblade! Did I hear correctly?"
"Yes!"
"Sorry, I didn't see any sign or marking saying this is your clan's ground. And if that's the case then why is it not guarded?"
"This..."
He clearly has no idea!
"What's wrong, Skywalker?"
Sky.. what now?
The one who said that was someone who just popped into the scene. It is the red-eyed girl.
"My lady, these two are trespassing the sacred grounds!"
Do you realize that you look like a kindergarten kid who is complaining to his teacher about another kid?
Sigh!
"I am not sure what is going on here but I had completely no idea this was some clan's sacred grounds!"
The girl looked at me and nodded, how understanding!
"I am sure the grounds are normally unguarded but we left few banners here and there to mark the area!" Skywalker remembered something and said. He is clearly displeased with me.
"I indeed saw some old banners but they really looked too old to be used for any purpose!" I said, "And with all due respect, I have never heard of your clan before. That aside, these grounds used to be Dragon Lairs, and four years from now, they will return to their rightful owners. Just don't bother!"
"Is that so?" The red-eyed said while frowning, "Then let me ask you a question, did you lay a hand on anything in these grounds?"
What a question!
"I didn't steal anything and I didn't go near the burial urns!"
This was the truth!
"Hmmm! You said the truth, but you didn't answer the question!" She was covering her face but I think she was grinning.
"I may have picked a flower from there."
She frowned again after I said that.
Interesting!
"So that's how it works! You are a Mystic." I arrived at a conclusion.
This girl has a natural gift in Mysticism, she can detect lies.
Ah! People with inborn talent is Mysticism, how vexing!
Based on her eye color that is different from the rest of her clansmen, she is clearly something special among them, not just in status but in talent too.
Furthermore, I learned she is from a clan called Moomblade, I guess I know about her as much as she knows about me now... probably!
The girl looked at me with her enchanting eyes as if she was amused by what she heard.
"How dare you talk like this? You will pay for disrespecting Lady Crimson Moon!"
Contrary to all of our expectations, the fellow called Skywalker drew his blade and rushed at me, even the girl who apparently is called 'Crimson Moon' was surprised and tried to stop him.
He was clearly intending to start a fight with me from the very beginning. And on top of all that, he has already said the magic word!
Even if you are a Daedric Prince, don't you ever dare me!
"Dare is my surn..." I was going to say the famous quote I say every time someone dares me but I was interrupted by Jull's action.
She unsheathed her short sword and rushed to clash with Skywalker.
***
That Skywalker was clearly well trained. His level was equal to Argir in both terms of speed and power. However, what surprised me the most was his use of martial arts.
In this world, martial arts are rare and from what I researched, they are only used by those who can harness their 'Aura'.
The moves he showed are really interesting. Still, nothing to impress me.
Jullanar is both faster and stronger than him, and the techniques that I taught her are superior to his moves.
He used also one short blade at first but when he got pressed by Jull, he took out another blade. Eventually, both of them started using the twin-blade style.
His weapon techniques, on the other hand, is better than Jull's, it appeared as if it was hammered into him since young age.
I was getting fed up with the meaningless fight so I decided to stop them with magic but I felt a strong gaze on me.
That Crimson Moon was staring at me as if she will move as soon as I move, I guess this is going to drag out for a big fight now.
I used the 'Flames' spell, the most basic Novice level flame spell just to see what this girl is made of but the result was not clear.
She used Frost magic and we got entangled in our own magic duel, I didn't go hard on her from the start but she started pushing fiercely.
This level of pushing fiercely meant nothing to me, I was just trying to see the limit of a Hidden Clan youngster.
If I have to assess her level based on the College's ranking, then she can be considered a 'Destruction Scholar' rank.
"You are good, Conjurer!" She said, "Let's get serious!"
Until now, we were using only one hand and the spell clash area looked as if we were equal. Only because I wanted to.
But this girl now added her free hand and dual cast the spell at me. The duel was turning to her favor and my spell was being pushed back. Only because I wanted to.
"Use your other hand!" She wanted me to face her seriously but I only found that cute. I couldn't help but smile.
I adjusted the Magicka output and stopped her push with only one hand cast. She looked a bit confused but in her mind, she clearly was justifying it to herself.
I guess I should end this.
I pushed her back with a strong channeling that made her open her beautiful red eyes wide open. She thought she can push me based on her natural talent in magic but I crushed her expectation.
A few seconds later she was at her limit and her spell was a finger's length of getting completely suppressed. Just to not harm her, I canceled her magic and mine at the same time yet it still pushed her back a bit.
I almost saw a beautiful face under the veil she covered her face with but too bad she was far.
"NO!" Skywalker panicked during his duel with Jull and pushed her away, he then ran towards me to stop me from harming his clan's young lady.
I didn't want to deal with using magic so I received him with a kick, then disarmed him, added some punches and kicks, and he was ready to be served... on the ground.
"We submit!" The girl said, "We will not fight you!"
I looked at the boy on the ground and said, "Because of your impulsive actions you brought hardships to your lady and may have brought her harm, I hope this serves as a lesson!"
I tried to say something nice just to look righteous. These kids are from a Hidden Clan and I am not sure if they will leave me be if I acted with haughtiness now.
"No, this is my fault!" Crimson Moon said, "I had to stop him when I had the chance, not to join him. I got excited, I truly apologize."
"Really no need, I understand!"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Ehem! By all means."
"Your talent in the magic casting is clearly very superior, I was wondering, are you a Conjurer or a Pyromancer (Fire Mage)?"
"Me? I am a Mystic."
The girl was shocked once again, she stared into space and started thinking.
"What about the fighting techniques you used just now?"
"That's my own style."
"....." She turned speechless.
Meanwhile, Skywalker got up from the ground and looked at me.
"What can I call you with?"
This Skywalker was asking like this for my name, fine!
"You can call me Darth Vader!"
I said barely suppressing my laughter.
"Darth Vader, next time, I am not losing!" He declared as if he was supposed to be an equal from the start!
"Whatever you want!"
"Sir Darth, You can call me Crimson Moon of the Moonblade Clan. I have witnessed your skill and recognized it. Would you accept my offer to join Clan Moonblade?" Crimson Moon spoke as if she was offering me a piece of heaven.
"My lady, you can't be serious! We don't even know his background." (Skywalker)
"I will leave that for the elders to decide!" (Crimson Moon)
"But my lady, this matter will get worse if som..." (Skywalker)
"That's my final say." (Crimson Moon)
"Ehem! Excuse me but I am not interested?" (Me)
"WHAT! How dare you refuse an offer from the lady?" (Skywalker)
"I advise you against using the word 'Dare' with him. It triggers him to do the complete opposite." (Jull)
"Humph! Fine, I dare you to join my clan!" (Crimson Moon)
"Not interested!" (Me)
"Hooman is only mine, nya!" (Nefertiti)
"That's right, tell them, Nefertiti!" (Me)
"Wah! So cute!" (Crimson Moon)
"No touching!" (Me)
"Please!" (Crimson Moon)
"Nope." (Me)
"Pretty please!" (Crimson Moon)
"Nope." (Me)
"How dare you refuse my lady's request." (Skywalker)
'Does this guy even learn?' (Me) (Crimson Moon) (Jull)
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[Alina's POV]
After a while of argument, I managed to pat that cat, she was so fluffy.
Nothing fluffy grows in Skyrim but that was the fluffiest cat I have ever seen.
Not long after, Darth Vader and his companion hit the road and left. I was greatly depressed after he refused my offer. Someone with this talent can bring change to the clan and may cause us to thrive further.
I am sure that he is someone from the College of Winterhold. His magic skill gives off his rank as a 'Wizard'. He clearly is a famous figure there.
Even the girl with him was talented and had a sharp atmosphere around her.
The didn't use 'Aura' in the fight but neither did we, it appeared that we are nearly the same age but they could exert out more ability than us.
The magic of Darth was simply strong. Stronger than me by levels. I was being blocked as if I was facing a mountain.
Moreover, his barehanded skill was superior to the clan's common techniques and equal to the secret arts. Lucky for him, the Skywalker with me is not very perceptive, but I could see the power and potential in it.
He didn't lie to me about his specialty as a Mystic but there was clearly more to it. He also didn't lie about his fighting techniques. His name, however, was a complete hoax, even I didn't need using my eyes to tell.
He is a walking pile of interest! I can't get him out of my head now.
"Next time... Next time... I am not losing to him!" Skywalker Svakin was excited too.
"I am not sure how your Icebrain and hothead cooperate with each other in such harmony!"
This guy was so simple.
Svakin is a childhood friend of mine and he rose to the rank of Skywalker lately.
"Ehem! Excuse me lady Alina, but how will we report this to the Elders?"
"Report? Are you mad? I forbid you from uttering a single word about what happened here." I said hastily.
"Eh? Why is that? I don't think any problem shall arise if we reported anything!"
Of course, there will be problems! How can I tell him this?
"How do you think the Elders will react when they find out I was defeated by a young man like him?"
"I don't understand, it all went well... wait! You can't be speaking of... that!"
"Of course, he defeated me in my strong point with complete ease. This is my chance!"
"No no no Alina... I mean my lady, this can't happen. It may affect our relationship with the Firemanes."
"Humph! Listen here! My future will be decided by me, not whatever clan or whatever elder. I said that before and I declared my decision in front of the whole clan and they agreed, technically they were forced to agree but they still agreed. Of course, I won't drag myself into a situation I can't deal with, so we are going to investigate him thoroughly. From now we should get ready. I am joining the College of Winterhold."
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-Bounce-
â–ªPremonition
"My ear is ringing." (Me)
"Which ear?" (Jull)
"The left." (Me)
"Someone is planning trouble for you." (Jull)
"What about the right?" (Me)
"Someone is feeling good about you." (Jull)
"What happens if it is the two at the same time?" (Me)
"Then you are being dragged in a scheme by someone who likes you." (Jull)