Manifest War: The Weapons Within

On the lower edge of Ragna City, located in eastern Volaire, sat a small cottage with very simple and humble details. Stepping up to the door of the quaint little home was Graymoor of Two. He pounded on the door with a hefty knock, announcing his arrival to whoever was inside. A few moments went by and the door opened, revealing a short old man, hunched over and steadying himself with his wooden cane.

“Ah, Graymoor my boy, good to see you. What brings you to my home today?” The old man asked with a tired smile.

“Good afternoon Mr. Sorale, hope all has been well. I’m here for some official business. I need to locate someone.” Graymoor replied with his typical deep voice.

The old man’s smile quickly turned to an annoyed frown and his demeanor completely changed.

“I’m sorry, but you know that I don’t use my abilities for personal gain anymore. It is far too dangerous and a blatant violation of people’s right to privacy. I cannot help you.”

Mr. Sorale stepped back inside and slowly closed the door. However, Graymoor quickly forced his hand on the door frame, easily keeping it open.

“This isn’t a personal request. Her Majesty has ordered it and so, it must be done.”

Mr. Sorale stopped and looked at Graymoor with slight concern on his face, eyes going wide.

“T-The Queen you said?”

“Yes, Queen Azhane Belouis. I can’t go into details but, we must find these individuals as soon as possible.”

Mr. Sorale briefly contemplated the request and eventually allowed Graymoor to enter his humble home. The old man didn’t say a word as he stepped aside, motioning for him to proceed. Graymoor lowered his head to walk through the small entryway, setting foot inside of the small house.

“Follow me….” Mr. Sorale whispered as he walked to a door at the back of his cottage.

They went through it and headed down a long, winding staircase that led to the basement. The room was fairly cramped with shelves of rolled up papers, map making utensils, and dusty books. However, at the center of the room stood a large, square table with nothing on it.

“Please don’t mind the mess too much. As you know, I’m a map maker not a janitor.” Mr. Sorale chuckled as he grabbed a rolled up sheet of white paper.

He hobbled over to the table and rolled out the paper, covering most of the rough wooden surface.

“Do you have any piece of DNA that came from whoever you’re looking for? Hair, nails, blood, things of that nature?” He asked, finishing his preparations.

Graymoor reached into his inner cloak pocket and pulled out a small piece of tattered, black fabric. On the fabric was a thin streak of blood. Zalthia had picked it up at the ambush scene and cut it evenly for all of the members of Six to have.

He handed it to him, and Mr. Sorale placed the cloth on the far-left corner of the paper. After doing so, he held out his hand and a golden colored fountain pen materialized.

Mr. Sorale drew a circle around the cloth and placed the pen down. Seconds later, the circle glowed brightly as the golden utensil lifted itself up, beginning to draw an immaculately detailed map of the person in question's location. Once the map was finished, the pen proceeded to draw out a relatively detailed portrait of the assailant as well.

It was a man that had spiky red hair and black clothing with many zippers. Graymoor’s eyebrows raised with great astonishment, impressed with this man’s ability.

“I’ll never not be fascinated by that Manifest of yours old man.” Graymoor quipped as he took a closer look at the map.

“Yeah, well, I think it’s terrifying. Would be better off without it if you ask me.” Mr. Sorale bitterly replied, not amused in the slightest by how effective his Manifest was.

He stepped up to the table and scanned the contents of the map as his pen stopped drawing, fading away in the process.

“Hmm... It seems the person you’re looking for is at the Upper Tree Lounge, about twenty miles south of here. Take the map with you, it will update should he leave that location.”

Mr. Sorale rolled up the paper and handed it to Graymoor.

“Thank you, Mr. Sorale. I will be sure to tell Her Majesty of your efforts. You shall be well compensated for this.” Graymoor said with a slight smile, appreciating the help.

Mr. Sorale nodded as he watched him take the map and head up the winding staircase.

The two mercenaries, Kat and Don, were enjoying their favorite drinks at the Upper Tree Lounge and looking out at the stunning night time view from their top floor booth. The sky was simply breathtaking, being lit up by an innumerable amount of stars and a large crescent moon. This open aired establishment had the perfect setup for such an unforgettable sight.

The Upper Tree Lounge was a fancy and expensive restaurant/tavern within a massive, carved out tree. The top floors were fashioned into various sized tree houses, sitting high atop the tree line. The lower half of the building was filled with shops and an inn, servicing thousands of traveling citizens a day. The building could be seen from many miles away as it towered over the surrounding landscape, giving the southwestern region of Volaire a major landmark.

The two misfits were cleanly dressed, a far cry from their original zipper filled choice of attire, and they clearly had no problem spending an exorbitant amount of money. They were here to celebrate the success of their previous job and nothing could take away from this moment.

“We made a killing on that last job. Who knew such a simple request could be so lucrative.” Kat said as she admired her new, expensive black dress.

Don nodded and smiled, picking up his glass and clicking it with hers.

“Yeah. I just wish that damn Scarlet Reaper didn’t show up to ruin the fun. I really wanted to put that stupid kid in her place.” He replied annoyingly, sipping his glass.

“It is what it is. I’m just glad we got out of there with our lives. Now, let’s just enjoy the night, partner.”

Kat chuckled as she wiped the red lipstick off of her glass. After a few conversations, Don looked around the room and leaned in closer so his voice couldn't be heard.

“Hey, do you think Murdoc has any more retrieval jobs down in the depths? If we get paid like this again, we could probably get out of this business and open up that shop like we talked about.” He asked curiously. However, the moment he ended his comment, Kat’s eyes went wide with fear.

“SHHHH!! Hey, don’t speak that person’s name when we’re up above. Are you crazy!?” She barked, looking highly annoyed and concerned.

“Ah right. Sorry.”

He glanced around cautiously to make sure they weren't being watched.

“But… Yeah, it would be nice. I’d say with one more job like this we could do it. Going independent was probably the best decision we’ve made, otherwise this opportunity wouldn’t have shown itself.”

Don agreed with her and they finished their drinks, enjoying each other's company for a bit longer. The duo finally left the lounge and headed out onto the wooded path, their bellies full with food and wine. Thirty minutes or so went by and they began to realize that something was off.

“Are you noticing what I’m noticing? We’ve walked past this same tree about six times now.” Don complained, not understanding what was hindering their progress.

“Yeah, it’s like we’re walking in circles.” Kat replied, looking around at their surroundings frantically.

Suddenly, amidst their confusion, a hooded man dropped from the sky and landed behind them. The mercenaries quickly turned around and pulled out their Manifests, ready to eliminate this new foe.

“Who are you and why are you here?!” Kat yelled out, demanding answers.

The man responded by drawing his sword, a long silver blade with glowing, light blue accents along the edge. The eyes of the man glowed blue through the darkness of his hood and he slowly stepped toward them menacingly. Just as Kat and Don prepared for combat, the man faded away and vanished.

“Huh? Where’d he go??” Don asked, his eyes searching the area at a rapid pace.

Suddenly, Kat was slashed right across her back by an invisible blade. She screamed out in pain as the cold steel cut her dress, gashing deeply.

Before Don could even react, he was punched in the jaw with incredible force, sending him flying into a tree. The two slowly got to their feet and still couldn’t see who was assaulting them. Kat turned her attention over to Don and whispered to him.

“Duck down low. I’ll level this whole area.”

He nodded and crouched as Kat spun her Manifest around, sending a massive wind burst outward. The force of the blow knocked down all the trees in their immediate area, clearing everything away.

Kat loudly laughed, thinking that she had won and eliminated the threat. However, just as she averted her gaze towards Don, Kat realized something strange. All the trees were still intact and Don was standing up next to her.

“What?!” She yelled out, looking absolutely perplexed.

“I just leveled this whole area. Why is everything back to normal?”

Don cocked his head to the side with a bewildered expression as well, but for a completely different reason.

“Huh? What do you mean? You literally just now stood up from his last attack. Nothing’s been leveled at all.” He replied, not understanding what she was talking about.

A short distance away from them was Graymoor, holding his silver blade and watching with great amusement.

“As much as I enjoy watching these idiots lose their minds. I should end this quickly and head back.” He said, looking down at his Manifest, Illusion Hand.

Even though Graymoor had been here the whole time, the two assailants thought they were fighting some invisible force. They were completely unable to see past his illusions and perception altering abilities. With an Affinity to Mind, manipulating someone’s psyche was incredibly easy for Graymoor.

Graymoor quickly dashed towards them again and chopped Kat on the back of her neck with great force, knocking the mercenary out cold.

“Kat!! Ugh, show yourself you coward!!” Don exclaimed with anger, firing off random shots from his Manifest.

Seconds later he was punched in the face multiple times, bruising his cheek considerably.

Don stumbled back in great pain, looking around and trying his best to pinpoint Graymoor’s location. He was then hit incredibly hard in the stomach with the hilt of Graymoor’s sword. All the air exited Don as he fell to the ground unconscious, soundly defeated.

Graymoor quickly put Strand blocking cuffs on them so they were unable to use their abilities or summon a Manifest. Just as he finished chaining them up, he sensed a presence behind him. He quickly turned around and saw Asiah of Three sitting on top of her creature Manifest, Vera.

“Awww, it seems as though you beat me to it.” She quipped, petting Vera’s soft, white head.

“It’s not a competition Asiah. I simply did what I was asked.” Graymoor calmly replied, now ready to leave this area.

“Yeah, yeah… Well, guess I’ll see you back at the castle. I’d offer you a ride, but I’m afraid your luggage will be a bit too.. Heavy...”

Asiah chuckled lightly as she glanced over at the two unconscious people chained up on the cold ground.

Before he could reply, Vera suddenly roared loudly and leapt into the sky, silhouetted by the moon as they got further away. Graymoor sighed and gripped the shackles tightly, dragging the duo through the grass toward his horse. He loaded them up and headed back to Ariana City.