[center][b][h3]Great City of Arborea[/h3][/b][/center] [hr] [center]On a sunny day, on a breezy plains, two children met.[/center] [center][b]***[/b][/center] “Cut it out, Master.” “Huh? Cut what out?” “You know what! That dopey half-lidded face. You put it on every single dawn. You know we’re meant to look tough!” Cura brought a green hand up to his face, feeling every contour before stretching the muscles in his face and adopting a neutral expression. He was every bit the average Sylph, with vivid green skin and shoulders and head covered in leaves. Somehow though, every time he wiped the dopey expressions off his face, one could feel the dignity and presence of a True Guardian oozing from him. “Jeez…” Sighed Phoria, closing her eyes and relaxing her shoulders a bit too much. “Hah! Now who’s slacking?” Cura quickly pointed out, prodding Phoria’s calf with the bottom of his vine-decorated bronze spear. She inhaled sharply and stood straight up again, but made sure to give Cura a sideways look. “Eeh… That’s a scary look you just gave me, Phoria.” Cura said with a slight shudder, then faced up front towards the vast fields, observing the humans file out of the Inner Tree in order to start their work days. It was a normal day, he thought. He took in a deep breath of the morning air, and tried to hide his pleasure at feeling the first rays of sunlight reach him. All of that was for Phoria’s sake though, since there was no rule that stated a Guardian had to be stoic at all times. Oh, the things a mentor had to do for his student… There was usually a lot of silence during their watches, Cura realized. Mostly, again, because of Phoria’s disposition… Ah, he did enjoy a few chats while working… Maybe after a few more weeks, Phoria would open up and relax some more… At least, Cura hoped so. His reverie was broken when he caught sight of a familiar face skipping past him. “Trying to hide beneath all those clothes, Tilla? Off to visit more faraway lands, are you?” He called after the figure, who swiftly turned around and waved at Cura, grinning widely. Her pale green face was obscured by her hood, but it was still perfectly visible to Cura’s seasoned eyes. “Uh, yeah! What else would I be doing, Curaaa?! I’ve had to go on so many more expeditions since you dropped out of our group!” She said with a chuckle at the end that Cura returned, still waving even as she turned back around and kept going on her way, her big backpack shuffling around and threatening to burst with every skip. Tilla was one of those Sylphi that looked delicate, but by the Sun, was she incredibly strong for her size and build… Out of the corner of his eye, Cura noticed the look that Phoria was giving him. It lasted for long enough that he sighed and turned towards her, wearing the ‘What now?’ face he had grown so used to nowadays. “U-Uh! So, that r-reminds me,” Phoria stuttered, looking away almost immediately and blushing. Her long dark green leaves twitched and rustled wildly until she finally snuck her gaze up to meet his once more. “So! You never talk about them, you know… Your old group? You talk about anything you can lay your golden eyes on, but not your group-” “Golden eyes? Why so specific, do you like them, Phoria?” “Eep!” Phoria yelped and covered her face with her free hand while she struggled to find what to do with the hand that was gripping her spear. “N-No! I mean… It’s not like I’ve t-taken the time to figure out their colour, staring at you when y-you aren’t looking, I just… Ugh! Y… You’re so... Wait, don’t change the subject!” Cura watched Phoria with a smirk for a moment, before sighing and returning to his Guarding position, all proper. “... Focus on the present, Phoria.” “Focus on the present, Phoria.” Phoria said at the same time as Cura, assuming her Guardian position as well with a disappointed sigh. Some time passed again, and the sun was now clearly over the horizon and shining down upon them. “... You really want to know, don’t you?” Phoria nodded quietly. “Huh. Did you choose me as your mentor only because of my past? “Well… In part! But it’s only because I really admired you! I would hear stories about the things you pulled off everytime I visited the Lake of Tears. Like that one time you outran the trolls of Vandengard! Or when you jumped from Pod to Pod during the great migration as you chased Galanthus!” With every single recounted feat, Phoria found herself raising her voice and looking up at Cura with stars in her eyes. The taller Sylphi sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day and ran his hands through his leaves. “Listen Phoria, the stories are told by bards who weren’t there, you know? Loonies who have given their sanity to the waves in the sky. You can’t trust them.” “But you [i]did[/i] do those things, didn’t you Master? You’re famous!” Cura pursed his lips and looked down at his right leg, feeling it twitch ever so slightly under his mostly decorative bone armour, then he looked at Phoria, dead serious, and said, “I did. But the stories aren’t like the real thing. You know my Trait, right?” “Obviously! Lightning Legs, the ability to channel unstable mana through your legs and turn it into explosive movements almost faster than the eye can follow!” Phoria said, hopping close to Cure in her excitement and forgetting about her post. “Heh… To think my student would be a fan… But you’re right, with the only mistake being that it wasn’t just unstable mana, it was also harmful mana. The reason I made my Explorer debut so late was because I had to study for far longer than my peers in order to properly counteract the damage my Trait did to my legs every time I used it.” “But it worked out in the end, didn’t it? You were one of the best, Master.” Phoria asked, her excitement waning as it was replaced by worry. “I was, wasn’t I? But I eventually overused my Trait in a quest that involved the whole group and ended up permanently damaging my right leg. Even now it twitches involuntarily. Sometimes it tickles or hurts… But anyway, the end result is that I couldn’t control the Mana that flowed into my right leg as well as I used to… So eventually I left the group after I caused the others problems over the following few quests due to my bad leg...” Cura said, trailing off. “Well, um, at least you can pass your dreams onto your children now, huh? Like a human would, hahaha… Ha…?” Phoria laughed with uncertainty. “Heh. Being an Explorer doesn’t leave much time for romance, Phoria.” Came Cura’s quiet response as his free hand trailed down to his right leg. “... I’m sorry, Master, I just… I was just-” “Curious, right? It’s okay, anyone would be. It doesn’t really bother me, not having a partner.” Phoria huffed and slid up close to him, leaving her spear leaning against the wall as she gently held his hand between both of hers, looking up at him with a newfound fire in her eyes. “I-I wasn’t talking about that! But, um, I thought all this time that you for sure had a partner, Master…” She muttered, her blush returning little by little as she began fluttering her eyes up at him. “Uh… Phoria, we’re on duty.” “So if it does bother you, um… M-Maybe you and I, we… We could be, you know… Maybe you’d like it if uh… If I was your partner...?” Phoria asked, suddenly pressing herself against Cura and giving him ‘The Eyes’. “Huh…?” Cura stared at Phoria, trying his hardest to find the one hint that revealed this as an elaborate joke. He tried even as she reached behind him and began to slip her hand under his leather trousers. “... HUH?!” [hider=Summary] Here we explore what a shift is usually like for Sylphi Guardians stationed at the entrance to the Great Tree. There is some banter, some boredom, some hints to the superior Guardian’s past, then a full on explanation of his past and how his own Trait became his downfall, and finally we end it with the sad Guardian’s companion finding out he’s single and making the moves on him rather aggressively. P good. [/hider] [hider=Might Summary] Tree of Genesis 5MP - 5DP Paying for notable advances made during the timeskip. 2DP to grant Sylphi and those that have some blood relation to them a racial ability called “Traits”. Essentially, those with Sylphi Blood are born with a natural talent towards a very specific kind of mana manipulation, which they can choose to pursue or let go as they so wish. Should they pursue their talent they are likely to become some of the best at what they do. It normally takes a person with a Trait 5 years of consistent training to learn how to deal with their quirk at a proficient level through the mitigation of side effects and the refinement of their abilities, and a further 5-10 years on top of that to reach master level and unlock the full potential of their Trait. 1MP to teach the Arborean civilization how to make rudimentary spell-shooting equipment, named ‘Buzzers’. These Buzzers allow people that aren’t versed in magic to take advantage of spells by buying sets of cartridges and activator buttons from their local Buzzer Workshop. Buzzers are rather expensive due to the incredible level of expertise involved in making one and its ammunition, so generally you will only see famous figures, well-off merchants and military officers with them. Essentially, Buzzers are a barrel made of magical wood with a plug on one side that has a button designed to activate a specific spell. Load the barrel by popping a cartridge of ground up ingredients for the desired spell into it, press the button and BAM, you have just shot a spell. Depending on the expertise of the one who made the Buzzer, it may last for years or for merely a handful of firings. Of course, the better made ones are more expensive up-front. 4 MP - 3 DP remaining. ⅗ toward Adaptation Port. 1/5 Towards Carving port. [/hider]