[center][color=Gold][h1]M a n t r A[/h1][/color][/center]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/DDgpDqi.jpg?2[/img][/center]
[sub][hr][/sub][COLOR=Gold][indent][sub][B]Location:[/B] [COLOR=Gold][I]Canoga Park, California
[/I] - [I]Work Day[/I][/COLOR][/sub][sup][right][b]Issue #1.01:[/b] [COLOR=Gold][I]Being Eden Blake[/I][/COLOR][/right][/sup][/indent][/color][sub][hr][/sub]

[indent]How long had he been stuck in this woman's body?  A month or more?  But in reality it had been about three weeks.  This body was already messing with Lukasz's sense of time.

Why had Archimage decided his best bet was to send him into the body of this woman?  Lukasz was a solider, a fighter, a warrior who he had learned many forms of combat over his many lives lived, but in order to properly use such forms one needed a strong body.  Eden Blake was over thirty years old, a mother of two, and thankfully she at least seemed fit for a woman in her position but she was certainly no fighter.  No, Eden Blake was only an ordinary woman...but an ordinary woman with the potential for powerful magic.  Magic was great and all, but with all his previous bodies he had always been given a strong, physical body that could perform at a moment's notice and usually only required a little training to get into peak performance.  Of course it had always been the body of a [i]man[/i].

Eden Blake sighed as she looked in the mirror.  Lukasz had to admit she was beautiful, beautiful enough to stare at until he remembered that it was actually his body now, but heavens, had it been a shock when he first got a look at his new form.  His first instinct had been to cover up her naked breasts in alarm, a sense of shame had overwhelmed him, which he had never felt before as a man.  Lukasz had considered leaving on his quest as soon as he was properly dressed but soon realized that would be a faulty move, unlike his previous hosts he was weak and suddenly leaving as a woman would cause a much greater stir than any man doing the same.  Lukasz could not alert Boneyard to his new identity, as no doubt his agents would be on the lookout for the knights' new hosts.  No, for now his mission was to keep a low profile until he could find a lead, so it was absolutely essential for him to take on the role of Eden Blake.

If he was unable to locate and free Archimage however, there was a possibility he would be to live the rest of his days in Eden Blake's body.  That thought was absolutely terrifying to Lukasz, no, he would be sure to jump ship as soon as he rescued Archimage and have his master send him into a [i]man's[/i] body.  Having to deal with all this hair maintenance, make-up, and the devil's cruel joke of a shoe, the high-heel, was going to drive him insane if he was forced to wear them too often.  Thank God the kids had school to go to, but of course Eden Blake had work to do as well so that ended up only being a light reprieve.  He had been in much harder situations before for sure, but he had never had to deal with such, [i]alien[/i] situations before, now that he was a woman.

Eden Blake had at last finished getting prepared for the day.  It had taken a bit of time to piece everything together but through a rigorous examination of the house, her phone's text records, her morning alarm, and plenty of how-to videos on her smartphone to educate herself on everything she needed to know about things like make-up and bras in order to get a firm grasp of Eden Blake's life.  Lukasz had never learned so much, so fast before in all his lives.  He found it helpful to remind himself that this was his mission for now, as Eden brushed her long, black hair and applied just the right amount of mascara to look...more attractive?  A woman's world was certainly a strange one.

One of the last things given to him by Archimage, was passed on through one of his dying familiars, Katinya.  She gave him a small charm in the shape of a mask and a mantra to live by.  The mantra could be used as a way to channel and hone Eden's mystical talents, making it imperative that whenever she had the chance to grow her magical abilities, that she use the mantra to do it.

Eden looked at her smartphone for the time, 6:38 am.  It looked like Lukasz had managed to shave his [i]womanly[/i] prep time a little this morning which meant Eden had some time to train.  Eden walked over and clambered onto her bed.  She sat down, cross-legged and put her fingertips together in front of her in a meditative pose.  Eden took a few deep breaths and prepared herself.

[color=Gold]"Mantra."[/color]  

With that word her normal clothes changed into her sorcerer outfit, a strange, skimpy thing and a silver mask appeared on her face.  This mask had been the object that had been fought over in the battle that had ended Lukasz's life as a man.  Thankfully the mask had been recovered by Mantra at an auction house and with its help, Mantra had succeeded in escaping with it after fighting off some of Boneyard's lackeys.

[color=Gold]"Change...Growth...Power!"[/color]  

With the chat beginning, Mantra's body floated above the bed and she could feel the magical power building up inside of her.  Lukasz had started to get used to the sensation but without anyone to really guide him in the use of magic, the power could be built up forever yet he would still be an Amateur while using it.  Thankfully, the magic really did help Mantra in a fight and Lukasz's experience as a very long-lived soldier came in handy during combat, it was the only reason he was still alive after the battle at the Auction house.

Mantra had barely been training for a minute when there was a knock on her bedroom door.

"Mommy...can you make us breakfast this morning?  I miss having a hot breakfast, I don't really like cereal that much."  

Evie pleaded from behind the door with her young, troubled voice.  Lukasz was tempted to just tell her no, but Eden's motherly instincts kicked in at the sound of her daughter's voice.  For some reason it just felt wrong to say no, also it wouldn't do Lukasz any good to alienate Eden's kids more than he already had.

[color=Gold]"Don't worry Evie, your mother will get on it right away."[/color]  

With a sigh, Mantra gently fell back onto the bed and changed back into normal attire.  There would be no more early morning training today.  At least over Lukasz many years of life he had learned to cook, which was a must considering all the time on assignment he had been working alone on missions.  Though it probably didn't have much of a [i]woman's[/i] touch.

When was he going to find the time to actually get anything of [i]worth[/i] done!?  Lukasz thought as he trudged out to the kitchen to start cooking.  The kitchen was not a place he had ever expected he would need to spend a lot of time in, but here was Eden Blake, making breakfast for her family.  Why couldn't there have been a [i]man[/i] with a strong magical bloodline nearby?

The toaster smoked a little as if to mock Lukasz.  Eden glared back.  The toaster won.[/indent]