Ashley Falcon
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Chapter 163: Ohana means family. Family means no consequences for kicking you.
🕑 Added 2022-04-17 10:15:56 +0000 UTCHi Guys!
Familiar chapter number? Yes!
I re-wrote almost all of this chapter, so its practically a brand new one! You will still be getting chapter 164, but I had to re-write this one because there was a huge glaring plothole I'd written.
Also, I didn't like the way I'd written Gerial. It wasn't true to my vision of him and this book so I've edited that too.
Enjoy!
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I stood in silence, watching Fue’s Marked one closely. I'd accused her of murder, but she would only know that if she’d done it. Otherwise, I was accusing her of throwing me off a roof.
Either way, it was a heavy accusation. I wasn't sure how she was going to react.
"How long ago was this?” Her voice was calm.
I blinked in surprise. That wasn't the response I was expecting. Emotions crowded her features.
Surprise, confusion, curiosity, and interest.
She wasn't angry at all.
“A little over three years ago.” I kept my emotions out of my response.
She didn't budge or recoil and there was no sudden revelation or recognition. Instead, she took a moment to think and then shook her head.
"That wasn't me.” She stroked her chin. “I’ve never pushed someone off a roof. I thought it may have been one of my predecessors, but I was already Marked three years ago.”
The cogs in my head turned as I thought about her response.
She was right.
The timeline didn't match up no matter how I tried to fit it together. She raised a hand to get my attention.
"Imposters aren't uncommon.” She shot me a sympathetic smile. “I apologise that I can’t give you the answer you were looking for. I wish you the best of luck in finding the culprit.”
She lowered her hand and gathered her robes around her. With a quick twirl she turned towards the door. The entrance glowed gold in her presence as it had done for me, and the door swung open as she stepped towards it.
Beyond the doorway was darkness. The same lack of light that I had passed through to get into the room.
As she reached the precipice she stopped.
"Oh, I should let you know that this kind of conversation can't happen again." She looked back at me over her shoulder. “I didn’t mind it, but others will not be so level-headed when hearing an accusation made against me, whether it be true or false.”
With a wave goodbye she disappeared through the doorway and into the darkness beyond.
She didn't have to tell me that twice.
As the Marked of the most popular divine, the general population would take that kind of accusation as an affront against their divine. Not to mention the church of Fue itself.
That would turn ugly very quickly.
The moment she was out of sight. Gold flapped his wings and squawked into my ear.
He was confused.
"You weren't there for that.” I scratched his neck.
He squawked again.
Doubt.
Gold had been with me every day for most of my life, but that was only in this world. There was no way for him to know that I was talking about my time back on Earth.
Huh.
It had never occurred to me that he didn't know about my reincarnation. I always thought about how Amanda or the others might react, but never Gold.
Maybe if there was someone I should tell first it was the person I was with every day.
Starting slow by introducing him to reincarnation literature wouldn't hurt.
"I'll ask Amanda for a book for you to read soon.” I fed him a treat to distract him. “Well, I guess I'd be reading it to you.”
He flapped his wings and tilted his head in confusion but didn't ask any more questions. He trusted me to tell him when I was ready.
That didn't mean he wasn't curious. I saw him glancing at me from the corner of my eye.
"Andross?” A voice entered my ears.
“Gerial?” My eyes shot towards the bed.
My fellow Marked one was sitting up on the bed, looking around in confusion and placing his hand on the bubble that surrounded him.
“I'm in my room?” Gerial frowned. “Wait, didn't I get—”
His hand flew up to his head. He touched his forehead gingerly, making his way up to his hairline.
"I thought a sword sliced across my head.” He narrowed his eyes. “No. I know a sword cut my head. What’s going on?”
"You don't remember?" I asked carefully.
I wasn't sure how the healing spells worked. Or how much damage Gerial had taken during the fight.
As he heard my words Gerial winced, and his eyebrows furrowed.
"It's coming back to me.” He held a hand up. “Wait, sorry, I need to meditate.”
I nodded and took a seat next to the bed as he closed his eyes and took deep breaths. This would be confusing for him no matter what he remembered and getting his emotions and thoughts in order would help him more than I could.
After a few minutes he opened his eyes, a bead of sweat running down his forehead.
"Where is Alyssa?” Gerial looked down at his body. “She healed me, didn't she?”
"She did." The scene was still fresh in my mind.
The eight pillars of gold turning into the translucent mana of an element I’d never seen before. Curiosity welled up in my heart as I remembered it.
My emotions died down as I looked at Gerial.
He'd gone through a lot, and my concentration should be on him.
"What did her spell look like?” His voice was soft.
I gave him a brief and detailed description of the event. The mana, the world stopping around me, and then the spell activating.
Gerial’s fingers curled into fists, his knuckles whitening.
"Dammit.” He grimaced. “I told her not to use that spell.”
“Why?” I looked at him in alarm. “Did she hurt you?”
"No." He shook his head. “She hurt herself.”
He sighed and moved his blankets to the side. He was still wearing the garments he had worn when he was injured, and I could see gashes crisscrossing the fabric.
"They got me good.” Gerial poked at the holes, his hands trembling. “Well, that was terrifying.”
I reached out for his arm and gave him a comforting pat. I'd been through this kind of issue before. The physical wounds had healed, but the knowledge of one's own vulnerability and mortality stayed after the attack.
Underneath my fingers I could feel his skin shaking.
“I'm sorry you have to see me like this.” Gerial’s head dropped. “I'm supposed to be the big brother here.”
His tone was low, and his eyes downcast.
My heart went out to him. He’d been attacked and he was thinking of others.
“You just got attacked.” My voice was soft. “After waking up to that I should be the last thing on your mind.”
“This isn't the first time, and it isn't the last.” He sat back and sighed. "I didn't want you to find out this fast. But almost dying isn't a strange sensation for me. Or for any Marked one.”
His words sparked a memory.
Mr Black, my C-class teacher, had once told me the average age of the past Marked ones. It was well below the cut off line of twenty-five years.
Most Marked ones didn't live until their ascension.
“I know.” I shook my head. “That doesn't mean you can't focus on yourself. It doesn't matter how often you go through this. Everyone needs rest and relaxation. And I'll be right here helping you.”
I sat back in the chair.
Gold squawked and hopped off my shoulder, kicking at the bed sheets with his talons.
“Hey there.” Gerial smiled.
He scooped Gold up in his hands and brought him up to his shoulder. Gold nestled comfortingly against his cheek and Gerial sighed.
“Yeah, I need rest.” He cupped a hand to his forehead. “I can still feel the steel against my skin. It hurt so much.”
He shuddered.
Both of us had gone through the pain of our Mark’s activating, and we had unlocked pain tolerance because of it.
That didn't make it much easier for us.
Gerial lowered his hand and frowned. I could see unease and pain conflicting with confusion as he remembered what had happened to him.
“You don't have to remember it. Not yet.” I spoke. “You can memorise it later, when you've had time to process what's happened.”
"I know." He nodded. "But there was something that confused me while I was there. It was only for an instant, but—
The last thing I remember seeing was a guy our age. He was dragging me into something. It was dark. Then— then I woke up here.” Gerial's voice was soft. “Who was that?”
"What do you mean?" I stared at him.
I remembered what Fue’s Marked one had said. Gerial had disappeared, and she’d recognised the spell of another Marked one.
I’d thought that she had mistaken [celestial convergence] for another spell. If the church of Artus had initiated the attack, then the confusion was justified.
Maybe I'd been wrong.
“Fue’s M— I mean, Alyssa, said that you were taken into a spell by Artus’ Marked one." I narrowed my eyes. "Do you remember activating [celestial convergence]?”
"I did?” Gerial’s eyes focused on the air in front of him.
He was looking at his system.
"I don't remember calling for you, but I've unlocked the skill.” He frowned. “It's coming back to me piece by piece. I remember time passing after I was hurt. It was at most a few minutes. Or maybe hours?”
That didn't sound good. I thought he'd gone straight from the battle to me. If that wasn't the case, then an important question had to be asked.
“Where did they take you?” I narrowed my eyes.
“I don't remember.” He took a deep breath. “I'll try to, but I think I was already too injured to see what was around me.”
With the injuries I’d seen on him I wasn't surprised. Adding the pain of [celestial convergence] would have only added to the confusion.
The fact that he could remember anything at all after he had been attacked was a surprise.
“What do we know so far?” Gerial looked up at me. “Have the attackers been identified?”
“Yeah. They have.” I explained what I'd seen happen.
From Roxxy’s house to the church. I emphasised the rock that had come through the portal with him. It bore the symbol of his attackers and I suspected that it had been left behind with him as a taunt.
Artus.
Officially, there were seven divines, but only six churches. Artus didn't have a church, and society wasn’t allowed to create one.
"My attackers could be anyone then.” Gerial frowned. “But the fact that they got so close to us shows organisation, and planning.”
“What do they want?” I asked.
I realised I didn't know enough about the divines to guess at their follower’s motivations.
That was a huge gap in my knowledge. Especially if these people were enemies.
"They were trying to do what Artus’ followers always do. Cause chaos and destroy history.” Gerial pursed his lips. “They probably think that killing me will make the church panic.”
I knew what he was talking about.
Each divine had a different impact on the world when they arrived. Aside from the Marked ones, these events were the only physical proof that they existed.
Artus had descended first, one thousand years ago. Upon his arrival the world had gone mad, societies were overthrown and the history of the world prior to that time was sought out and destroyed.
The world existed prior to a thousand years, but nobody knew what it had been like.
“They weren't trying to kill you, remember?” I responded. “They were aiming for Alyssa.”
"I don't remember that." He rubbed his neck. "It's still coming back to me in bits and pieces, but it's painful.”
Gold brushed his wings against Gerial comfortingly and chirped.
"It’ll come back to you, but only with rest and meditation.” I sat back. “Don't push your body too far. Trust me, that never goes well.”
My lips curled downwards.
Gerial was taking this well, all things considered. An assassination attempt that had left me that injured would have broken the old me and turned me into a crying and sobbing wreck of a man.
With all the pain he’d gone through Gerial was already speed running through his life experiences. He had more composure than an adult would, and his spirit was hardened and strong.
"We've both been through a lot.” Gerial responded. “I'd say we both need more rest. Don't forget it was me by your bedside only a few months ago.”
He was right.
I still hadn’t recovered from Oubliez’s attack. None of the people affected had. I was reminded of it every time I took out the monster’s symbol to work on.
The only thing that kept me going back to it was the fact that I was slowly discovering what magic it contained.
Soon, I'd try making an array out of the symbol.
"The church will find who organised this.” Gerial was certain. “And I'm safe.”
I smiled. He was still trying to comfort me, even as I was comforting him.
The information he’d given me about being dragged away from the fight was vital. Fue’s Marked would have told the church of the Crijik already, but I'd confirm that with them after.
A finger appeared in my vision, and I recoiled as it flicked my forehead.
“You're thinking too much.” Gerial chuckled. “What happened to relaxing?”
"Oh, we’re relaxing, are we?” I tried to flick him back.
He dodged.
His words caused my tension to drain. The attack had happened, but it was over now, and the church was investigating it.
What Gerial needed was a friend by his side and a distraction.
I could provide that distraction.
“You didn't tell me you were getting married to Alyssa.” My lips curled into a smile.
Gerial froze.
His fingers tapped rapidly against the bedsheets, and I saw his cheeks turning red.
"Who told you that?” He asked.
"She did." I tilted my head curiously. "Although I'm not sure how that works."
Gerial’s blush deepened. The shade of his cheeks reminded me of Amanda.
“We’re the same age so we made a pact. Back when we were younger.” He covered his face with his hands.
I raised an eyebrow at him.
“Two Marked ones of the same age agreeing to marry each other. It's auspicious.” He stammered. "The churches agree.”
“I believe you, pal.” I nodded my head.
It was moments like this that made me smile and remember that Gerial being old of body didn't mean he wasn't young of mind.
I was glad that he was still a kid in at least one area of his life.
Gerial leaned toward me with a grin on his face. “Get to know Alyssa, and then let me know in a few years if you'll be my best man.”
"You're still too young to be getting married.” I nudged his shoulder gently. “Just remember to only get married after you're eighteen.”
Gerial paused, looking at me curiously. Gold also tilted his head and clacked his beak at me in confusion.
The two of them made an intimidating duo when they were staring at me together.
“What a strange number. That’s over half my lifetime.” Gerial stroked his chin. “But honestly, it's never going to happen. Marked ones can’t really have the fulfilling family life most people do, so we skip it. The pact Alyssa and I made is a joke between friends.”
I paused.
It had slipped into conversation from time to time, but I'd never considered how the age limit imposed on Marked ones affected their relationships.
Even if he did get married, there would be less than half his lifetime left to enjoy it.
“You know, I think we could both use a break for a bit. I've been meaning to take a step back from training." I rubbed my neck. “I just haven't been able to fit it in.”
My week was packed from Fue to Crijik.
School took up the most time. Then arena practice with Amanda. Skill practice with William was followed by attunement practice with both Roxxy and Amanda.
There were also the various tests I took. Hours of meditation performed in front of church investigators and displays of my divine mana in different situations.
Symbol inscription and regent creation practice was the cherry on top.
All of that meant that I couldn't relax for too long. In fact, my main relaxation time came from sleeping.
"That's a solid plan.” Gerial smiled. "You'll always be training if you don't make a change. When was the last time you met up with any of our friends for fun?”
"Training is fun." I replied.
The moment the words were out of my mouth I knew how wrong they were.
Training was important, but it wasn't the basis of a solid friendship by itself. I hadn't gone out for ice cream or anything similar since Gesti Sky.
Maybe I'd been letting the pressure get to me again without realising.
"Okay, you have a point.” I admitted. "What do you have in mind?”
Gerial tapped his chin pensively and then a grin spread over his lips.
"You can still get rest and relaxation while training. I can too, to be honest. Because you're right, I should sit back and process some of this stuff for a while.” His eyebrows furrowed. “I need some time to do that.”
He raised his hand and I saw it shaking. He was acting strong, but it took more than a few minutes of conversation to heal from mental wounds.
Gerial needed more time to rest, and the church would want him staying inside for safety reasons.
Fue’s Marked one said the attackers had been killed, but there may be other conspirators that hadn't been identified yet,
"I'll start making some plans.” I thought about my schedule. “I'm seeing Amanda tomorrow. I'll see what she's interested in.”
We sat back and fell into a comfortable silence.
There were a lot of things I had to take care of, but that could wait.
“The rest of my day is free. Tomorrow morning too. And I'm not leaving your side until you're sick of me.” I leaned forward
Gold chirped in agreement.
Gerial groaned, but he didn't hide the smile widening on his face.
“Thanks.” Gerial’s voice was soft.
“Family takes care of each other.
My lips parted into a smile.
“Of course I'd help my brother.”
