William Ascot

William had gone to the Administratve Building as well, and selected 'Dueling Traditions'; it would help if he got better at fighting despite not having a weapon. Then again, perhaps he should content himself with a Gram or Durandal for a time, weapons-wise? After all, it was Zane who decided to get Fae Metal from its source to duplicate Excalibur's creation as exactly as possible. Either way, Dueling Traditions should be his only class; that was the only thing that played to his strengths.

Then on impulse, he took the 'Extermination' Quest; he'll just get a few other Mages to back him up if he still didn't have a weapon by the time it was time to go.

@Ryteb Pymeroce@TheHangedMan@QueenNugget@Canidae@Aviaire@EpicKDP

---

Melody squealed with glee as the treant picked her up. She kicked her legs off the ground, and looked down at Poly, finally being able to see above other people's heads. This was a new feeling for her! "Thank you so much! You know, nobody every picks me up, it's so mean!" She said and before Violet grabbed her attention for but a moment, "There are so many things I wanna know! How often do you get mistaken for trees? How old are you? How old do you live to be? Oh did you-" Melody stopped for a brief moment to draw breath, quite literally running herself ragged, "Did you know Headmaster when he was a student?" She ceaselessly barraged the treants with questions.

Melody looked down at Polyanna with a giggle. "I'm sorry Polyanna, but how could you not be excited?" She chirped. It was a brand new school year after all, "Besides, I'm never calm." She did consider the option for new classes though. She'd love to actually learn a thing or two this semester, and there would always be time to run around the grounds. "Thanks for letting us know though! You're as sweet as your candy!" She punned, laughing after. She looked back at the treant, and gestured downwards, "I need to go back down, now please." She requested.

Liors Myrisal

---

At the administrative building, Liors studied the class list intently, before eventually selecting 'Magical Geographies'. It was the kind of thing she was interested in. She then turned to the field trips, they both seemed pretty interesting, but she'd have to wait and see what others were choosing, since she couldn't just go alone. She hadn't really gone on many before, since no one had asked her to. Perhaps she could this year, they were a lot of fun.

As for quests, they weren't her top priority at the moment. Still, she took a look at them. Liors could be pretty useful on these, due to her versatile magic, but again, she hadn't been on many. A man-hunt seemed fine enough, if not time consuming, depending on the target. A light shiver ran down her spine when she read the second quest. She issued a silent prayer that she would not have to do anything of the sort. If no one asked her, it would be fine.

She made a quick mental note to come back the next day to check the new classes. Perhaps she wouldn't get caught up in tree shenanigans again. It was, needless to say, not fun.

---

With a rush of wind, a grey blur sped through the Admin block, quickly signing up for Magical Geographies, Duelling Traditions, and the Extermination Quest. There was nothing really behind his choices except they seemed interesting.

Heading to an unused classroom, Zane began to set up the dinner for him and Nulong. A bit of temporary transformation runes and the room became a viking longhouse, perfect for a norse feast. In the center of the room, he set up a firepit and began to spitroast the meat he bought, adding spices to get a nice flavour to them.

---

Polyanna waited in her office for her scheduled appointment with La'Tavia and William. The pair had the honorable distinction of being the first students to be issued a detention for the school year. On the first day no less!

As the the appointed time drew nearer, La'Tavia had time to calm down and get herself together before facing her nemesis. Polyanna and La’Tavia did not have the best relationship but La’Tavia was always too scared to say what was in her mind. Today though, today was going to be different as she knocked on the door to the office. "It’s us."

William entered the room, his self-loathing blacker than usual. He had come to the conclusion that his' taking on the detention was just him pretending to be kind and selfless when he in fact was a selfish jerk out only for his own 'greatness'. Exactly what his family thought about him.

He waited for La'Tavia to knock on the door and Polyanna to open it. He'd enter after the former.

Polyanna stood up, aging quickly in that span of time. Going from a girl in her teens, to a woman in her late twenties, the hazel haired Head Enforcers' uniform grew alongside her, accommodating her rather filled out proportions.

"Hey there kids," she said, grinning down on the two "Hope you brought a change of clothes. You'll be helping me scratch a small itch, so you'll be getting sweaty."

That, by the way, was a very deliberate choice of wording, on her part.

William lifted up his right hand, which held a bag containing a change of clothes. He then asked, "We'll be cleaning gutters or sewers, or is this going to be a combat mission?"

Dropping the bag she had strung over her back, she looked at William and replied to his question. "This isn’t a mission. We are about to fight Polyanna so get ready."

William looked at La'Tavia and said, "But that's what I tried to go to the forest for! To get materials for a weapon that can help me fight Polyanna on an even level!"

She laughed a bit before continuing, "Even level? Do you even know where that level is?"

Polyanna raised a brow, looking at the two. Should she say something...? It felt like she ought to say something. She was kind of flattered that they were breaking the rules to get on her level, but she really shouldn't be inspiring rule breaking in the first place.

"Anyway, it really doesn’t matter what the level is," The fire starter punched her palm, causing flames to ignite and dissipate, "if we want to win, we need to start improving now."

William blinked, "My blood, when combined with the proper materials, allows me to duplicate the weapons of legend, up to Excalibur. The closer the forging process was to the original weapon's, the less of my blood - You're right. Problem is that I have no combat spells whatsoever."

He then placed his palm on the floor, trying to conjure up a vision of one of Polyanna's previous fights! Polyanna swiped her staff through the air. With a sound like shattered glass, Williams burgeoning spell broke apart.

"No casting in my office you," she said dryly just as La'Tavia asked: “Did you bring materials with you?”

"Sorry; forgot that we weren't in the arena yet," William said to Polyanna before he said to La'Tavia, "Actually... I have a steel ingot in my backpack," he tapped said backpack, "And some wood and leather. But those will only be enough to make a Gram, Durandal, or very weak Excalibur." A pause. "And I would not have brought those if I hadn't remembered you were a fire mage."

“Good.” Looking at the kid, she could see how much alike they were. Always thinking of the next way to get stronger. The next best thing. Yet she had it in her mind that the best way to get stronger was to refine the basics. “Use this as a chance to refine the basics of what you know. Don’t worry about the quantity, it’s the quality....or something like that....” At that point, her brain went silent. She was thinking way too hard for her usual self and it was getting uncomfortable for her mind.

Her eyes then shifted back towards Polyanna, who seemed to be patiently waiting for the two to students to allow her to speak. “You ready to do this, old lady?”

"Pft, you kids really ought to learn some respect," the scolding was halfhearted, and Polyanna just kept smiling. La'Tavia might not have the warmest feelings for her, but she herself found her grit admirable - even if she was somewhat reckless.

"Good mindset, by the way. Refining your basics is a good path. Now, I've got a spot reserved for us in the training field." Stepping closer to the window of her office, Polyanna tapped it thrice in three different spots, before opening it.

"After me." And with that, she jumped right through it. On the other side, she landed right in the training field.

William followed her, fighting feelings of futility and despair as he pursued Polyanna, knowing full well that he was going to lose, that he'd prove himself nothing special, and that he was an unsuitable instrument for the 'Golden Ending', an unsuitable instrument for Humanity's advancing narrative.

La’Tavia jumped in last. Landing next to William, she fixed her gaze onto Polyanna. Her eyes burned with passion as she readied herself for battle. She ignited her entire body, engulfing herself into a raging flame, eyes white waiting to make her move.

"Nice to see you're all 'fired up'."

Polyanna twirled her staff, the white instrument of her magic sending vibrations into the air as it went. The area around Polyanna turned hazy, and she set her staff down. A lollipop materialized in her hand, and she promptly put the treat in her mouth.

"Now, we go for three rounds. Each round is five minutes. I've got no win conditions, so just give me the best you've got."

William looked at La'Tavia, set down his backpack and clothes pack, and took a steel ingot, leather strips, and a block of wood from the former, along with a hammer and two knives; a woodcarver's and a combat knife. "I am going to need you to provide a forge," the young man said to her.

“You’re looking at it.” She flared up more; offering her fire to her temporary companion.

William nodded, and slit his right wrist with the combat knife, soaking the steel ingot with his own blood, before the young man held out said ingot onto La'Tavia's fire.

"Normally, I'd attempt normal smithing," the young man said as the steel ingot began glowing with a golden light, "But right now, my blood and the magic of Stories will just have to compensate for my Un-Zane-ness."

He then began hammering the steel ingot into a blade, before whispering to himself, "Gram will be the best sword I can make; I hope Polyanna is no Odin."

“Odin or not, forge Gram better than it has ever been forged before.” Her voice was clear and stern. Her gaze still fixated on the instructor.

Polyanna gave the pair a cheery thumbs up. "Feel free to start at any time, by the way!"

William quenched the blade by slitting his left wrist and drenching the heated, forged metal with more of his own blood; it was clear that he was stretching the power of Story Magic to ward off the inevitable burns that his forging process would realistically bring. And by that, William's magic kept his hands from being burnt as he forged the blade, but that increased the amount of blood needed to forge Gram anew.

Taking the quenched blade, he splashed his still flowing blood on the leather and wood he also brought, and took the woodcarver's knife to carve a hilt. Another few minutes later, and with a golden glow, Gram was forged anew.

William then faced La'Tavia and said, "I'm ready now, and the sword is too."

I'll also be dramatically passing out once I lose too much blood, but that'd be a feature that makes me look good in this fight, not a bug.

“Took you long enough.” Now that the story boy was finished, it was now time to begin. She then took all of the flames that she was emitting and condensed them into a single point in the middle of her chest. The concentrated power of the flames then shot out like a laser beam towards Polyanna.

William lifted up his sword and slashed it downwards, unleashing a wave of pure force; nothing on the level of Excalibur's ability to manipulate light and heat, but surely enough to knock a person off their feet...

Polyanna vanished on the spot, the vacuum of wind left in her place imploding, before exploding violently. Nothing damaging, but definitely something that could get a person off balance. The candy mage herself appeared to their left, on the far side of the training field, waving at the two. "Almost got me there!"

William could not win a battle of attrition between him and Polyanna, even if he wasn't bleeding from both wrists. So he cut downward again, unleashing a wall of force that covered an entire side of the arena, hoping to catch his opponent as she ran.

“Get over here Will.” She beckoned to Will to come next to her. When he did, La’Tavia immediately used the opportunity to engulf the entire backside of the arena in flames, using the wall Will created as a cage. “As long as you’re next to me you won’t be burned." If she couldn’t catch her, she was going to smoke the woman out. There was one opening, and that would be the time to strike.

Will followed the instructions, saying, "Thanks, but I need you to cauterize my wrists; they're still bleeding out."

La’Tavia grabbed both Will’s wrists to close his wounds.

William hyperventilated in pain as the wounds were cauterized, presumably by the burning flames emanating from La'Tavia. He couldn't help but blurt out, "You know, you're quite a fine lady; once you're eighteen, call me."

La’Tavia looked at him briefly as how untimely his comment was. She was flattered but not overly impressed. Though he was man enough to attack Polyanna. Still she needed to stay sharp.

Polyanna nodded. Smart idea to limit her movement, though she was not so unaware that she'd run into a wall. Nodding to herself, Polyanna put another lollipop in her mouth, and cocked her fist back. Her punch crashed through the all like it was made of glass, and she sprinted towards the two staff at her side.

William wasn't blind; he knew that the lollipops weren't just a quirk - they somehow empowered Poly.

Detaching himself from La'Tavia's grip, the young man slashed again at Polyanna's shins, sending out a scything wave of force to try and get her to jump higher in the air; this was to buy time for La'Tavia to attack and force Poly to pull out another Lollipop.

Then he'd put his plan to action.

As Polyanna dashed forward, La’Tavia used the flames she set behind her to attack Polyanna, head on. The entirety of the flames came forward into a stream of fire hiding the two students from her direct line of sight.

'Excellent judgment,' thought Polyanna. 'Control could use a little work.' Polyanna hopped over Williams attempt, her stride practically not stopping.

Throwing her hand into the air, a thick cloud of sugar rained across the battlefield. A bit of the cloud pushed forward, smothering the flame and further muddying the vision of everyone in the field.

Of course, for Polyanna herself, she could sense the two students - with the battlefield covered in sugar, practically nowhere was a blind spot for her.

"What the hell!!" La’Tavia was a bit shook and saddened at her current state. Being covered in sugar was not the ideal feeling she had in mind. Polyanna’s candy magic was unique yet it was so annoying. The lollipop mage was a force she could not help but admire.

With her flames put out, her plan to train her control with Fire went up in smoke. Or so she thought. Not only that, she couldn’t see anything. So, how will she get out of this situation? She could not see anything around her and her ability to sense Polyanna’s presence was limited. Her mind thought for a second before coming up with an idea. ‘I’ll use my magic to find her.’

The fire mage closed her eyes and surrounded herself with a thin layer of heat. She could feel the team run up and down her body, as if being wrapped around a blanket. Then she slowly tried to push the sensation outward, to feel William next to her. This was her attempt at seeing without seeing.

William, however, didn't see this, and settled for slashing his sword downward once more, releasing another wall of force meant to push the candy-cloud aside.

Polyanna's impression of La'Tavia shot up a few centimeters. That was some quick thinking on her part, adapting her own magic to use the way she was using hers. Still, it was rather rough around the edges and she was unsteady with it.

Gripping her hand, the sugar covering the duo suddenly attracted each other, drawing them towards one another. If the two of them collided, as planned, they would be stuck to one another rather fiercely.

As William tried to keep his footing, he yelled at La'Tavia, "Burn it off! Burn the sugar off!"

La’Tavia could feel her body start to move on it’s own. Just as she was about to get a glimpse of something great, her efforts were cut short. Though she wanted to train, this fight taught her that efficiency means quickness. Efficiency means adaptability. So while she was trying to learn new ways to use her magic, she also couldn’t afford to waste time taking things slow.

Immediately, La’Tavia’s eyes opened at the sounds of William’s voice and she reacted to his words promptly, she burst fire from her body and began to use the force to spin herself around, she then, her body was engulfed in flames, again trying to burn the sugar off of her.

As she spun, the pillar increased in size to reach William, she tried hard to ensure his body was not burned by the flames. No, she made sure his body did not get harmed by her power.

While the sugar on La'Tavia burnt to ashes, those on William reacted very differently. The sugar instead melted, becoming a viscous fluid that covered him, dripping underneath his clothes before Polyanna's will arrested them, encasing the boy in the sweet from the shoulder downwards. Immediately, she rushed towards La'Tavia, while her concentration was still on William, and from her hand, a chocolate bar the size of volleyball appeared. With great force, she threw the treat towards the red-head.

William, still holding Gram, tried to use a localized wave of force to free his sword arm from the encasing shell of sugar. If he succeeded, he'd be trying to knock the chocolate bar off-course with a smaller 'lunge' of kinetic energy.

The sugar broke off, but his attempt to knock off the chocolate bar turned into something else. Rather than change course, the brittle sweet broke apart and melted as it approached La'Tavia. The chocolate landed in puddles at her feet and Polyanna changed directions, going for William instead of her.

A pinstriped candy cane the size of a lamppost appeared in her hand and she swung it towards the boy with bad intentions.

The fire mage took the fire that was around William and moved it below her feet to blast herself into the air. Once there, La’Tavia would revert to her usual combat style. Only this time, she would try that heat sensing again.

“Coming at ya, Teach.”

She said as she moved the fire from her feet to her hands and blasted herself towards the lollipop queen.

Another swing of Gram, and a wall of force appeared at William's side, hopefully enough to blunt the candy cane's impact; blocking it completely was out of the question because of the energy he had spent. Polyanna hopped to the side, out of La'Tavia's way and waved at her with a smile as she headed for a straight on collision with William's wall.

William risked it all; pouring the last of his strength into his wall, risking unconsciousness to strengthen the barrier to the point where Poly would have to pour effort into shattering the wall lest she risk a concussion.

La’Tavia was concentrating on her near sense ability. Her range was limited and it was new to her. Why did she not think of this before? Who knows, but it’s never too late to try. However her concentration was on her sense and not what was directly in front of her. Polyanna moved out of the way of her dive. At the last moment, she used her flames and used it to change directions to avoid impact. However, the sudden change blasted her so far that she hit a tree and feel out of the fighting area.

Wincing, the candy mage looked at the place where La'Tavia had crashed, her back turned to William. "That was one hell of a crash. Hope she's okay, yeah?"

William blinked as he said, "Oh, no; what have I done."

His' strengthening the wall had caused this. Inhaling and exhaling, he said, "Let me go to her."

Still not looking at William, she replied: "Match isn't over, and she probably hasn't suffered anything serious. Nothing that can't be fixed, anyhow."

William nodded, and with one dip into his reserves of energy, pushed his strengthened wall at Polyanna, launching it at a high speed.

The chocolate that had melted near La'Tavia earlier suddenly sprung to life. They had been behind William's wall when it melted, and now re-hardened into spikes that shot towards Williams legs.

"ARGH!" William screamed and fell down on his knees, but did not dispel the wall even as his legs bled, spending more precious blood. He kept driving the wall towards Polyanna, finding one last pool of desperate strength.

“Ugh, that was crazy. I really need to get better at multitasking. I need to make this ability as automatic and subtle as breathing.” La’Tavia got up slowly after smacking the tree very hard. Her back aching, she could only move on fortitude alone. Through her many battles, she never gave up once in a fight. She either won or lost.

“Hey Poly!!” She yelled over towards the woman, “how do I get YOUR approval for graduation?”

As William pushed his wall towards Poly, he asked, "I must echo the question - How do I get Master rank?!"

Jumping over the wall and around William, the woman responded with an incredulous voice. "You're asking that now?"

Just as she was about to retaliate against William, a loud clanging sound echoed through the training field, signaling the end of the round. Huffing in mild satisfaction, Polyanna approached the duo.

"Good effort, the both of you, especially you La'Tavia. I noticed you tried adapting my move with the sugar with your flames. Now, I believe you were both asking me something?"

William nodded, "What are the exact procedures to get Master Rank? A test set by three Masters, right?"

"We yeah but I’m not asking what the test is. I’m asking what do I need to get your approval. I have spent most of my time with you, Poly. You honestly care more about me than the other teachers do. They just look at me like I don’t belong.” She said gritting her teeth. She never really fit in anywhere. Always felt like an outcast so she always gravitated to others who were also outcasts. Probably why she could not stand people who act as if they are above others or those who just like to abuse people for their own enjoyment.

Still she knew she was into something. Something she needed in order to breakthrough to something. Once she was done speaking, she sat down to listen for her instructor’s reply. While she did that, she practiced expanding her Heat Sense’s territory.

William turned to La'Tavia at that, feeling ashamed for some reason.

With a sigh, Polyanna placed her hand on La'Tavia's shoulder. She didn't say anything immediately - much as she'd like to, she wasn't equipped to deal with emotional baggage like this. She was a fighter, through and through, and though that helped her enforce the rules, counselling was way out of her skillset.

Still, she could address the girls more immediate concerns.

"You know, most people don't ask for my approval for a reason - I'm a hard taskmaster, and my inclusion in your panel for your graduation will make things much harder than it could be."

Polyanna, after all, did not discriminate between students - whether she liked them or not, all would be subject to her rigorous standards if they saw fit to call upon her judgment.

"As for you, William, the Graduation, or Full Circle Exam, is a test you have to undertake in order to be recognized as a Master. It's held in the presence of seven Masters, one Grandmaster, and ol'Nick himself, they will provide judgment and overview of you as you complete seven assigned tasks."

Her gaze shifted to La'Tavia again. "Most students don't pass, and many simply drop out of the school entirely to make a name for themselves outside our walls - there's no shame in that either," she added quickly. Becoming a Master was a difficult task, after all, and while many a mage dreamed of becoming Grandmasters or Archemages - or more childishly, Archetypes - few were able to surmount the bottleneck known as Masterhood. It was not a title simply given, but a recognition of skill and power.

She broke her concentration to immediately retort to Polyanna, “If I wanted something easy, I wouldn’tve asked you. But I did for a reason.” La’Tavia stood up with a fiery look in her eyes. “I don’t ask for favors, I don’t ask for shortcuts. All I want is for you to be the Grandmaster present for my exam. AIIGHT?”

William, meanwhile, spoke to Polyanna, "I'll be honest, La'Tavia shows more determination than I do or I could."

“That annoys me to no end!!” La’Tavia snapped at William, “Why did you just stick to making That sword exactly how it was from the book? What is the point in limiting yourself so much?”

William blinked, "Because it literally is one of the limits to my sort of magic." He continued, "Basically, my Magic plays around with the stuff of stories; plot devices, plot components, tropes and cliches. And more importantly, it can only alter stories that already exist, like mine and yours' and Poly's."

“But is it?” La’Tavia asked inquisitively. “You can recreate Garm but you can’t make it out of a tougher material? Maybe a material that holds and elemental property. And who said you could not exceed the boundaries of your magic? Isn’t that why we come to this place? To do the impossible?”

William said, "Yes, yes, and the boundaries of my magic are also its skeleton; if it does not form or contribute to a Story, bad or good but hopefully good, then it collapses and becomes raw magical energy and not a spell; the magic falls apart the moment its skeleton is lost."

“Then put it back together.”

Hands akimbo, Polyanna watched the byplay between the two with a mix of amusement and exasperation.

"Anyway," she cut in, "if ever you want me to oversee your exam, feel free to ask, La'Tavia. That spirit of yours is admirable; I look forward to your exam."

Another gong rang out, signaling that their break time was over. The Candy Mage grinned and took a step back as she brandished her candy-cane staff.

"A'ight, looks like it's about time for round two. Get ready kids - it's only gonna get harder from here."

Roughly ten, grueling, minutes later, and their detention time elapsed. Polyanna was true to her word - with each round, she escalated the difficulty, not outright overpowering them but bogging them down and continually harassing them with creatively terrorizing sweets, and neutralizing their strengths again and again and again.

Frighteningly enough, by the end of it all, the Head Enforcer hadn't even broken a sweat - naturally, she finished their bout with a popsicle in her mouth as she looked down at her charges in her child form, thoroughly satisfied.

William, meanwhile, had fainted.

La’Tavia breathed heavily looking up at Polyanna. She sat down and let out a deep sigh as she gathered the strength to talk. “What should I do next?”

"Right now? Change your clothes. You did good, you two. Your detention has officially been served."

“No, not about right now. I meant, what am I missing to become a master? Is it power?”

Polyanna nodded. "Power, control, creativity - take your pick. If you really want my honest opinion, you're lacking in all areas." It was harsh, but it was also the truth. La'Tavia was not untalented, and she was not even unskilled, but she was aiming for an entirely different level of skill, and so it was only natural that she fell short.

“I guess I should start over in my journey?"

Polyanna snorted. "No need to start over. You're developing nicely already - just keep in mind where you're lacking, and work on what you need to."

William had stirred awake by then, but was closely listening without intruding; this was Polyanna and La'Tavia's story.

“Fine then. I’ll just change my approach." La’Tavia stands up and begins to pick up William who she thought was still passed out. “Thank you teach. I’ll be calling you later to take my exam. I’ll pass first try.” She said with a smile and new found energy. Power, control and creativity. All things she could work on.

Hoisting William on she shoulders, she gathered fire around her and blasted off. This time, she didn’t use a giant amount. Her fights with Polyanna showed her how much energy she was wasting and she refined her skills some. Plus, she was tired so she needed to manage her power. With a better handle on her magic, she flew in the direction of the dorms.

(Second Collab with EpicKDP)

As they flew to the dorms, William finally spoke, his voice just above a whisper, "La'Tavia, can we talk?"

“Bout time you woke up!!” La’Tavia replied in excitement.

The two were almost at the dorms. She spotted some benches near by and headed for them. Landing, she let William down and sat on the bench. Stretching her her body long the bench she sat on, she melted in exhaustion.

“What did you want to talk about?”

William propped himself up on the bench and said, "Well, to make a long story short, I come from a family of Magi, Magi who record and guide the story of Humanity towards some imaginary Golden Ending." He frowned. "I fancied myself the Hero-Sage who would bring that ending about, and became an arrogant ass trying to do so. But now... I doubt whether sich a Golden Ending exists after all, that Humanity - No, Sapientkind's - story will ever end.

"Because stories are made up of cycles of conflict, cycles that never end, and part of me believes that my family has been lying to Humanity to keep them happy and calm even as their nature keeps driving them to both heroism and depravity."

“Story......Ending?” Words which usually had straight forward meanings now threw La’Tavia for a loop. The way he described everything was like he was some king of ‘super being’ who had some kind of dumb duty.

“What do you mean ‘End the story?’ What story are you trying to end?”

"My family says that Humanity can be guided into an eternal paradise of happiness, a golden heaven of ecstasy and bliss," William said. "I had a vision of it, either at birth or as a toddler; my memories are uncertain. Point is, I think I've been living a lie for all my life, and so is my family."

La’Tavia’s head popped up quickly as the words passed into her ears. “THANK GOD!! What kind of asshole tries to decide everyone else’a fate?”

William looked at her, "Me. And if I stop trying to do so, I lose my Magic. All of it."

La’Tavia sat all the way up. And placed both her hands onto the part of the bench that was exposed between her legs. The red haired girl the turned her head towards William with a look of disbelief.

“What are you talking about? Explain it now! How does your magic work again? The long story, this time.”

William says, "My magic is _Story Magic_. You see, there are stories all around us. That latest tragedy where a bus tipped over a ravine? A story. An underdog candidate winning an election? A story. Or, more understandably, Wars, Romances, Crime, those are all stories. Any event, if they fit into patterns like 'A leads to B', is a story. And stories are made up of various parts.

"For example, have you watched Lord of the Rings? In that story, the Kingdom of Gondor is besieged by a large army of Orcs and Evil Monsters, while the good guys muster an army - _Two_ armies, in fact - to save it. But they don't come up with that army or those armies out of wholecloth; the armies have to come from somewhere, the beings who make up said armies have to decide to go, and finally, the armies have to reach the battlefield in time.

"The Ascot Family Power can interfere with any stage of that. They can make it so that the place the armies come from are struck by a sudden blizzard, send omens to make the people in said armies decide not to go, or just delay the armies so that they don't get there in time. Note - We're on the side of the heroes, the side of the good guys. Most of the time."

“Okaaaay,” La’Tavia said while trying to take everything in, “so what does that have to do with losing your powers?”

"Because the powers only work when you are trying to influence someone else's fate. When you are trying to change or edit what has already been written," William said. "For example, you want to save The Little Match Girl. But you can't just give her fire or food because that won't make a good Story. Instead, to save her with Story Magic, you have to make it interesting."

A pause. "And by interesting, you get Santa Claus to swoop in in his sleigh and marry her to The Little Mermaid. Or give The Little Match Girl super powers. Or just have a kind rich man decide to take pity on her and adopt her by getting said rich man's carriage wheels stuck together right in front of her."

“From what it sounds like, your magic is really scary.” La’Tavia sat back as she looked to the sky beginning to change to night.

“It’s like it was created to do something really bad and it’s waiting for the right dummy to make it happen.”

William nodded. "Yes. That's why I'm afraid of it and afraid that my family is deceived or decieving others. Note that aside from duplicating weapons of legend, my other powers are fairly weak. The first allows one to touch a person or object and show everyone images of things that have happened to them or it, the third distorts fate and probability to allow allies to arrive just in time to save you, and the fourth allows you to come to the aid of your allies at the right time if they call on you using that same distortion."

“That’s pretty O. P. Ha ha ha....” La’Tavia laughed at how absured his powers were. Everything had such an extreme consequence no matter how you looked at it. However, such an ability is still too wishy-washy. Everything has a drawback. The scale of doing something has to have some kind of bad reaction somewhere. At least her mind thought that.

“So what are you trying to say? Are you asking for some kind of help? Or just wanted to share something with me?”

William said, "I think you already gave me what I needed; another person's perspective. And a reminder that I can't just do what I want with other people's fates."

“Definitely, people might do horrible things but many more do good things, at the same time. People change their own fate EVERY SINGLE DAY.”

La’Tavia then pointed her right index finger at Williams heart.

“This might seem sappy but you need to decide what you want to do with your power. The thing about magic is.....once you know how to manipulate mana, what you can do is expanded upon, exponentially. Besides, I think your magic has roots in things that you might be able to learn something.......”. Her mind went blank from all the talking. He head was hurting from the thinking and she just wanted to go to bed.

“Let’s get to our rooms. Mind walking a lady to her dorm? I kind of don’t want to be alone with my thoughts just yet.”

William gets up, "I will be glad to do so, milady."

A smile, "By the way, contact me when you reach your eighteenth birthday; we can head out for dinner then."

“Oh no.....” she said playfully, “he became some charming knight in armor. Ha!” It was amusing seeing him use that kind of language. She could not take his seriously.

“You know, I will drain your pockets for everything it’s worth right?”

"It's all right; it's not like I have many friends to spend my coin on," William's faint smile continued as he walked with La'Tavia towards the dorms.

“Uh huh, then you can be my underlying.” La’Tavia stopped walking and got in front of William.

“That does it. You are hear-by inducted into the group known as Outcast. Everything you do is for the betterment off the people. We help and we beat people down who hurt others. Anything done out of the ordinary will be punished by me and I’m sure you know how I operate.

William had no reason to refuse but he couldn’t refuse anyway.

William's smile grew wider.

“Good. Now that that’s settled, my next command is simple.” She stood up dignified as her face become stern. “Study your magic and master it. Don’t let it rule you, you rule it.”

William nodded, tempted to cry tears of joy but refraining from doing so.

His expression was off. Was he about to cry? “The hell’s wrong with you?”

"I... I've never been treated this kindly before. Not even by my family - Granted, it was because I was acting like I was the best thing since sliced bread, but still," William was honest.

“You never acted like that for the short time I’ve been around you. “ she felt a bit awkward ad hoped he was not catching feelings. She then began walking again back to the dorm

Another set of nods, as William turned silent; they had almost reached the dorms anyway.

“Well this is my stop. Thanks for everything. Just don’t disobey my orders!”

William waved bye, before going back to his shared room/dorm.

---

Xinhua waited in front of her room, clock ticking nearer to the appointed time of her 'date' - Xinhua gave a short, amused chuckle. Contrary to popular opinion, which stated that Xinhua shot down all men she did not see as worthy, she actually accepted offers like this quite readily.

Romance was not a field she was comfortable with, but she was not so insecure as to withhold her affection for another. Yes, her standards were high, but she did not expect anyone to meet them all. The priestess had some room for allowance, and those that did not meet them were rebuffed, but not so in a way to shatter their egos.

Still, one's reputation is crafted by one's personal high and personal lows, and Xinhua, when it came to dealing with her myriad of suitors, had many lows indeed; those that could not take a hint, low-lives of the most pathetic stripe, and pigs that thought of nothing but carnal pleasure. Many a man (and woman) had to be stopped the hard way, and such methods tended to be loud and attention grabbing.

Xinhua was not expecting much out of Zane, no, but he prayed the fool was not expecting too much out of himself either.

Zane arrived quickly having dressed up in a formal kimono. They looked similar enough to robes to get past the morons obsessed with the past while being breathable and easy to move in. This one in particular was black with golden accents, having a pattern of nordic runes based on resistance to lightning. It paid to be prepared for the option of inevitable death in the case of a failed date.

"A presentable attire," Xinhua's remark was nothing but passive, not particularly critical sounding, though her expression was approving. The corners of her mouth twitched upwards as she took notice of the patterns being presented on Zane's clothing. "Not too confident you will impress me, Zane?"

Zane gave a wry grin at her calling him out on his defences. "It pays to be prepared, milady." he replied, "After all, many of my fellow students can attest to the pain of displeasing a goddess such as yourself."

In theory, he could survive getting hit by her physical attacks if he boosted his durability, the trouble was that he'd run out of mana before her stamina ran out. It was a sad thing to admit that he'd finish before the woman, but honestly what do you expect when facing a dragon?

Xinhua laughed and presented her hand to the enchanter. "Keep that tongue silver, and perhaps you may yet strike gold." Though she didn't think that he would earn her ire by that degree, it was telling of his personality that he would so brazenly show his preparations for her wrath.

"Well then milady, shall this silver tongued rogue show you to where we shall be having our evening meal?" Zane joked, extended his hand for her to take it to make leading easier.

The priestess took his hand. "Lead the way then."

Zane led her through the halls, offering a few amusing anecdotes of some of his less risque escapades that had occurred in some of the classes, sprinkled in with some questions about her. After about five minutes of small talk, they reached the classroom turned longhouse.

"I figured you've probably eaten the best china has to offer, so I decides on something a bit more traditional and western." he explained, moving over to the firepit and spearing the meat, "I come from a line of blacksmiths who follow the old ways, from before the bloody prick Jehova became 'God'." He turned the spit, adding various spices, "Anyway as it's currently Ostara, I figured we could pay homage to the gods of fertility with a feast."

"So far so good," thought Xinhua. Still, flair like this was nothing she had not seen so far, though admittedly the flavor of it was new.

Xinhua also found herself a mite entertained by his recollections, brief though they were. He was as much a jester as she thought he was.

"Quite nice," she remarked. "Though I do hope that was not an attempt at a pick up line - a man paying homage to a god of fertility with a woman present, why, it does imply certain things."

There was no heat in her voice, and her mood was clearly at ease.

"Yeah, I wouldn't annoy them by implying that. People forget that Kronos was a god of farming." Zane replied, giving a smirk, "Anyway, it's a relatively simple ritual, we offer a portion of our feast to the gods as tribute. Back in the day it'd be for a bountiful yield in the Autumn. Are there similar traditions where you live?"

Honestly it was nice to talk about the old ways with someone other than Viola. While the diminutive summoner was a wealth of information on the old rituals, her disdain for gods, and humans, made it a bit of an awkward conversation.

She frowned, her voice not quite lowering, but lacking its forceful quality. "Though it saddens me to say, we have no such traditions, where I had lived."

There was the barest hint of melancholy in her voice, but the Dragon Priestess was much too disciplined to let such an emotion dwell, and her lips soon quirked up into a smile once more.

"But let me hear of your home. What traditions do you observe?"

Zane thought for a moment, before beginning. "Well, there is obviously the Midsummer and Midwinter feasts, celebrating the solstice. Then theres Samhain which is much more interesting. It's the day when the living and dead are closest, so we set the table for family members who have passed on and dine in the dark." He suppressed a small chortle at a memory, "My Master managed to stab himself when he attended the first time. We also put a horseshoe over our door every full moon, as that is when the fae are free to roam. They cannot enter a dwelling girded with iron." He stopped to add some vegetables to a soup broth. "So what about you. You must have some interesting traditions coming from a land unchained from the monotheistic hypocrites?"

Giving a rueful shake of her head, Xinhua's tone turned disdainful. "Traditions, where I come from, are all but gone. Would you believe I was not raised in the magical world?" Not a fact that she shared frequently, but not many people bothered asking, really. It was not a fact that she was ashamed of - it merely was what it was. "Most traditions that I have come to learn where late in life, away from my birthplace."

"I'm sorry." Zane spoke, his voice leaden with emotion. For one like him who delighted in magic, being raised without knowledge of their world was torture. Deciding to push away from the topic, he figured she could use a good laugh. "Hey, did you know Thor once had to dress up as a woman because a giant stole his hammer? No joke, the god had to trick them into thinking he was Freya. Not sure whether it says more about his masculinity or the giants stupidity that it worked."

She had to admit, she was rather shocked with how affected Zane seemed to be about that small bit of her past; she'd have thought it more acting on his part, but he felt genuine, here. She saw his attempt to lighten the mood, and she took it, more for his sake than her own. "Or perhaps, it might say something about Freyas' femininity, that it worked?" Xinhua was not one to slander gods, out of respect - but these were not her gods, and they were not here, at the moment.

"I'm just going to step away from you in case of sudden smiting." Zane laughed, only half jokingly. Goddesses tended to be a smidge more vengeful than gods. Just look at Hera. "Hmm... the meat seems to be cooked mostly through, so want to grab a plate?

As he said that he lifted off the skewer and with practiced ease began slicing up the meat into strips. Smells of beef, pork, and venison wafted out as he separated it into strips. He placed it on the table next to bread and some salad. "Sorry about the lack of potatoes or rice, they didn't come into Europe until Christianity turned this into Easter."

Chuckling, she turned her attention to the food, as requested. "While the lack of rice is displeasing, it will be good change of pace for me," she said. "If we do this again, perhaps I can show you cuisine from my homeland in turn?" Stepping up to the food, her head tilted for a moment, before turning to Zane with a quizzical expression on her face. "So how does one eat this?"

"Well, classically one ate with their hands and a knife. But that is far too barbaric so we shall make do with a more modern invention." Zane hands her a fork. "Not quite as sophisticated as chopsticks, but eh, it's what we use in the west." He gave a cheeky grin at the lady, knowing full well she knew what a fork was.

Xinhua did not snort, definitely not. "One day you western barbarians will learn. For now, I will have to debase myself to such simple tools." Taking the fork from his hand, Xinhua went through her meal. The food on her plate disappeared quickly, but the woman kept her same poise and grace, even as the food was practically vacuumed into her mouth.

"Hmm, acceptable. May I have another?"

"Of course, milady." Zane replied with an exaggerated bow, "Clearly battle is not the only thing you have an appetite for."

And so it progressed, with Zane continuing to cook portions and Xinhua devouring them with both speed and finesse. Truly it was a wonder that someone could eat that fast while not a drop of food made it onto her clothing or the table.

Xinhua, for her part, seemed to have no issue with the food presented before her. It was only when she felt eating anymore would be base gluttony on her part that she stopped. "My compliments to the chef," she said, giving an approving nod. "I must say, for someone that first struck me as a mischievous jester, you have proven surprisingly gentlemanly." In fact, while perhaps not the most eventful - or even exciting - date she's had, it was by far the most relaxing. Perhaps it was because Zane acted like he had nothing to prove to her, which in itself was a surprise.

"The Fool can play many roles, it's why it is both the first and last of the Greater Arcana." Zane laughed, before leaning in and whispering conspititirially, "Though it is probably down to the fact my father would kill me if he found out I didn't treat the women I go on dates with right. My mother would probably do worse." He shuddered slightly at that though. Whichever idiot claimed druids were peace loving had never met a real gaelic druid.

Xinhua's eyes lit up at the mention of his family. "Do tell?" she asked, urging him to continue.

"Well, my mother hails from Ireland's druid enclaves. Druids are actually similar to you in the fact they are both magi and priests, channelling the powers of their gods for magic. My mother's patron was Lugh, the god of the sun. Let's just say she is a very proud Destruction Aeon and move on."

"And what of your father?"

"An enchanter. Not one of those pansy ones who just take a made item and shove a few spells on them. He weaves magic into the item as it is forged."

"You have a high opinion of your parents," she noted. "They must have taught you much."

"They taught me the wonders of magic." Zane smiled fondly, "How about you, anything interesting about your parents?"

She shook her head with a laugh. "Nothing interesting, not even mundanely. My parents were, what was the term used now? 'Muggles'? And not very impressive ones, at that. Less than impressive, actually - they were scum."

Her words were cutting, but her tone was casual, as though this was an old topic that no longer concerned her. Her eyes did not say differently - they were as undisturbed as ever.

"You are blessed Zane, never forget that."

Zane didn't know how to respond to that. Pity wasn't something she would need nor want, her pride would make that hurt her. Instead, he merely gave his cheeky grin.

"Of course I must be blessed, to be on a date with such an angel."

Xinhua snorted. "I am unsuited to such flattery. If you must compliment me, simply call me by what I am - a Dragon, most noble and powerful." Without lacking in bravado, the Priestess stood up, a hand over her chest as sparks flew in her eyes - literally.

Grinning, she continued: "With that being said, you have exceeded my expectations Zane. Tonight was more relaxing than expected," a mischievous glint shone in her eyes, "however, it would be a shame to end our date and waste all the effort you spent on your wardrobe, now would it not?

Zane responded to that glint with a twinkle. "Oh, my dear dragon? What do you have in mind?"

"Tell me, have you heard of the legend of Sun Wukong?"

"We aren't going to steal magic peaches are we?"

Letting out a delighted laugh, Xinhua shook her head. The atmosphere suddenly darkened, and the sound of rumbling could be heard overhead.

"Oh no, but how do you feel about riding a storm cloud?"

"Sounds like a fun time." Zane laughed, "Thought I thought I was supposed to get you wet, not the other way around."

"You have yet to climb a waterfall high enough to manage that feat, jester," she said with a roll of her eyes. "But, if you want to make an effort, perhaps you can start now?"

She approached a window and thrust it open. Outside, it looked a storm was gathering as dark rumbled overhead - however, it seemed this storm was localized entirely above the building they were staying in.

"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus indeed..." Zane said, silently vowing to not get on her badside.

With a smirk, Nulong hopped out of the window, only to be struck by a bolt of lightning. Rather than being burnt to a crisp, the womans' form cackled with energy coursing through her veins, and a mist formed underneath her, eventually forming into a dark grey cloud.

She sat on top of the cloud, which was lighting up every few seconds as flashes of lightning bounced around inside of it. Grinning, Xinhua extended her hand out to Zane.

Zane grabbed her hand, feeling like they were about to rip off the scene from Aladdin. Though if she tried to get him to sing he'd take his chances with gravity. It wasn't that he was against singing in general, but musicals irked him somewhat fiercely.

Once Zane was on the cloud, the first thing he would probably notice was that it was as if he were on top of a particularly soft couch - the second was that his runes would be working into overdrive to keep him from being electrocuted.

"How is it?" she asked, a corner of her lips tugging upwards with mild amusement.

"Enlightning." Zane joked, his teeth chattering slightly at the electricity passing through him, "Maybe you could open a taxi ride for drunk students."

Laughing, she looked upwards then back at Zane. "Do you think you can handle more?"

"Well far be it for a gentleman to bow out before the lady is satisfied."

"You may regret your words jester!" With a jovial, wild cry, the cloud shot upwards at a frightening speed, joining the large clump of darkness above. There, the lightning was as a trees to a forest - the night sky lit up with a rumble of thunder and lightning.

Meanwhile, Xinhua and Zane bolted through that same sky at the same breakneck speed, with the priestess clearly enjoying the thrill, despite (or perhaps because of) errant bolts of lightning striking her majestic figure. The two had ridden for roughly five minutes, before Xinhua felt it was time to return.

After their trek through lightning covered skies, the cloud circled back towards the classroom they had occupied. Xinhua hopped off their ride, clearly exhilarated and with a smile from ear to ear, without so much as a hair out of place.

"Thank you, Zane. Tonight was a good night."

"Any time, my dear dragoness. If you ever need to forget the drudgery of the world give me a call. For now, I have counter-revenge to plan, adieu!" Zane said, ninja vanishing in a small explosion.

Xinhua chuckled. "Very well jester," she said as he left. "Until next time."

A good night indeed.

---

Meruin nodded. It looked like her venture here was over for the moment, which was all the better for her really - it honestly felt as though she were simply strung along for the ride by La'Tavia.

With that being said, the diminutive mage made for her the train station - hopefully the better classes and field trips weren't filled yet. Plus, she'd need some supplies for later, so she ought to visit the shopping district as well.

Back with Viola and Melody, the sole remaining treant "hmm'ed" as he sought to answer Viola.

"Those are a great many questions, little flower. But I will try my best to answer them."

The great oak made to sit down - a messy feat for a creature with no joints - and "hmm'ed" again.

"Perhaps, I may start with this forest," he began. "The forest is an old one, and it was also where many of us treants sprouted, when we were mere saplings."

"I assumed as much." Viola replied. "This forest reminds me of home, almost." She chuckled lightly, still licking the lollipop. "My forest was much...darker, though. Somber. Melancholic? But your forest seems so much more lively. Tsk, if only I wasn't a novice..."

"Hum, well, this forest of ours is quite lively, but with liveliness comes risk," cautioned the old tree. "While I don't quite understand all this 'novice' business, a little flower like you would be naught but nourishment for the forest."

"Still, there was a time when anyone could come and walk through our forest - many of them children, though not all of them suffered the same fate." The tree hummed again. "That adventurous time is gone, another consequence, I suppose, of the Archemages' rules. Many hold that such rules hold no place for our forest, but us treants have no care for such arguments, so long as our Flower is safe."

Melody looked between the Treant and Viola. "I might be able to get you into the forest!" she piped up, as she landed softly on the ground, "I'm a JourneyWoman, so they'll let me in if I need to." She started to say, before standing up, "I'l love to go in the forest, it looks pretty, and I can't practice my magic out in the open anyway."

"Haaa, as much as I adore your enthusiasm dear Melody, I doubt they'd let me into the forest., even if I am used to frolicking through the woods." Viola sighed. More curiously though was talk of this flower the Treant mentioned. Now that was a juicy bit of information she could perhaps use. "...flower, my dear Treant?" Viola glanced up at the hulking tree curiously.

"Hrm, oh yes, our Flower." The treants voice had taken an gentle, almost reverent tone. "Treants do not have flowers, you see? They do not grow on us, like leaves and branches - but rarely, or perhaps only once? for I have not heard of another - one among our kind grows flowers."

The treant paused, contemplating its next words with great care, not for the sake of caution, but so that it could properly convey the magnitude of its emotion.

"It is a . . . wondrous thing. Forgive this, hrm, hasty statement, but you humans do not know beauty, until you have seen a treant that bears flowers. For many who gaze upon her, it is love at first sight - not love like a human, but love like a treant, and for those unlike a treant, it is a terrible thing indeed."

Melody positively grinned as the Treant said this. "I wanna see, I wanna see. Where is she?" She asked. It was everything she had to not run off into the woods and start looking for her immediately. She wanted to see something so pretty soooo badly.

"Don't know beauty? And here you have my adorable self perched on your shoulder. I am hurt." Viola replied with an impish giggle. "But no...I understand, my dear Treant. I grew up surrounded by a dark, wonderful forest whose smell of dark mist and pine needles I do so miss. Humans oft in this day and age do not understand the beauty of nature...pity, really." Viola said with a sigh, "Humans do need to live much slower, but alas with such short lifespans most can't afford it..." Smirking lightly, Viola Looked towards Melody.

"Perhaps if this kind Treant wasn't bound by his contract he would show us...alas, such contracts are all binding and irreversible unless both parties agree."

The treant hummed, a slow, postulating rumble. "I would love for you to meet our flower - she is of a curious nature, and would dearly love to talk with more humans." Looking at Violet, the treant lifted her from her perch on his shoulder, to face her at eye level. "Once you've been given permission to stroll through our forest, let us see her together, eh?"

"It is a deal then, my friendly little tree." Viola smiled. "But I do believe I should do that human thing and hurry along now. Perhaps we could discuss more later? I do so would love to hear more of your histories."

With a rumbling sound of assent, the treant put her down and stood up. "It was good to meet you, little violet. Now hurry on along. The treants will be here as always. It was a pleasure to meet you as well." It said, waving to Melody. It climbed over the wall, joining the rest of its brethren in their vigil.

---

A figure in grey flitted through the school, using the shadows as cover. Amateurs wore black, probably because of the myths about ninjas, but in truth black drew attention, like a weight on a sheet. Grey was dull, which meant people overlooked it. There were two reason why Zane was dressed in this attire. Firstly, he was avoiding La'Tavia, preferably until graduation, but he'd settle for a week or so. The second reason was because he was going to set up a prank for the Void Magi.

In the classroom that would house their lesson, Zane began to inscribe a massive array onto the floor. The door had a Notice-Me-Not ward attached so no one would think to enter until he was done. The array on the floor was designed to force anyone with Void Magic to act hyper happy and cheerful whenever they were wearing black. Honestly there was no real reason for him to do this other than the fact it might catch Freya. Also having all Void magi act like Melody is a really hilarious image.