Clang!
Their daggers met, Onyx's superior strength quickly granting him the upper hand. That advantage was done away with, Melina just as quick to shift her weight, the force behind his attack redirected, his dagger scrapping along hers. He brought it back before she could attempt to seize the offensive, metal clashing against metal once more.
With one precise slash, the target the area just above the handle of her dagger, he sent her arm flying back, winding back for stab. What might've been a moment of defenseless panic for others was anything but for Melina, her free hand shooting up as his stab neared, the back of it smacking into his wrist and diverting the stab off course, blade catching nothing but the edges of her clothes.
Her dagger made a quick come back another dull clang joining the sound of the shifting waves beside them.
Just as he'd expected, Melina made for quite the training partner.
Whether she had the advantage or was being pushed back, her apathetic tendencies ensured she maintained a calmness that even the most seasoned warriors would've been jealous of. It consequently made the unique fighting style of hers all the more effective.
Few could actively engage in head on battles with nothing but a dagger and thrive, the advantages it offered dwarfed by most other weapons. It took a cool head for the speed and precision such a weapon allowed to outshine the range and power it would often be faced with. And it took ice cold focus for one to rely on the narrow dodges and parries she made use of, whether it be through that dagger or her free hand.
There was just one problem though.
As she parried one of his slashes, the perfect chance to make a stab at him presented itself. Instead of taking it, she stepped in, a foot slipping behind his as she made a grab for his shoulder. He'd already tensed up, the sand beneath them shifting but his feet only digging deeper into it and rendering the attempted take down ineffective.
She'd already kicked herself off and away from him before he could retaliate.
While she might've been willing to take up her weapon against him, she wouldn't go as far as to make any moves with it that would actually bring him harm, content to remain on the defensive unless she saw a chance to subdue him.
A bit unsatisfying but he wasn't going to force her to do anything she didn't want to do. Honestly, it was expected.
If there was any one decision she'd resolved in, something she'd only doubled down on after briefly catching sight of Marika, it was accompanying and lending aid to him. If anything, with the appearance of the would be goddess, to Melina he might take precedent over her goal of reaching the Erdtree.
After all, if the fuel for that goal was a conversation with the person she believed held answers about her purpose, did that goal serve any purpose when Marika herself was, through a technicality he'd rather didn't exist, right in front of her.
Whether it was out of faith or uncertainty that she held to it for so long, he imagined it was only a matter of time until Melina did away with her steadfast restraint to ask something of Marika.
XOXO
Sellen dropped off the skull of the ancient dragon corpse within the ruins at the island's center, cupping her chin as she turned back to examine it and the equally ancient flaming chalice beside it.
There'd been a time when Dragon Communion, the act of consuming a dragon's heart to obtain some of their power, had been somewhat prevalent. After Godwyn the Golden's befriending of the ancient dragon Fortissax which paved the way for the Ancient Dragon Cult, so long as it was overseen by the Golden Order and the ancient dragons loyal to that partnership, it wasn't seen as heretical.
Despite the risks, many went as far as to call it an honor.
Exactly the sort of hypocrisy Raya Lucaria employed that sickened her. So long as someone with the appropriate position and influence sanctioned it, suddenly things could be labeled safe or forbidden no matter what risks were tied to them.
Some forms of magic, be it sorcery or otherwise, came with risks, that much she couldn't argue, but whatever lines were drawn to categorize them, good or evil, heretical or sacred, were almost always put in place according to someone else's agenda.
That she could not abide by.
Those revolting practices aside, she doubted most in this day and age would've been so quick to settle down next to such a thing, but her apprentice's unique choice in home was affording her a chance to examine a rare specimen.
Though she couldn't say if any of the ancient dragons indulged in it, Sellen had heard of lesser dragons with a natural attunement for glintstone and sorceries. Preliminary examinations of the corpse revealed nothing and with the tools currently at her disposal there wasn't much else she could do.
The stone scales that gave the corpse its statue like appearance lived up to the stories and legends about them, none of her enhanced sorceries leaving a mark on the thing. It had been a remarkable beast that few could hope to survive an encounter with during its life. Which made it all the more curious that it ended up here.
Had it been gravely wounded and chose to spend its last moments at site where communion was once practiced? If so, one had to wonder would've been capable of doing such a thing, especially without leaving any visible wounds. Poison or toxins of some sort? It'd have to be extremely potent if so. There weren't many that fell into that category.
"Excuse me?"
Sellen turned, surprised to find Irina entering the ruins, a crudely fashioned cane guiding her steps.
"If you are in search of your father or my apprentice, I believe they're around the back of the ruins." Sellen said, returning to her examination of the dragon.
"I, well, I was actually looking for you ma'am."
Ma'am? It might've been fitting coming from Onyx but there wasn't much reason for anyone else to refer to her in such a way. "Sellen is fine. What do you need from me?" She asked without looking back.
Perhaps she should give up on piercing the dragon's hide and try to slice off one of its horns or claws? Surely some part of the creature's exterior must've weakened after being void of life for so long.
"I wanted to ask if you could teach me about magic."
"Sorcery." Sellen specified, glancing over shoulder. Irina had stopped at the center of the ruins, fingers toying around the handle of her cane. "If your hope is that you will find something for your sight, you would be better off asking Melina to share what she knows of incantations."
"That's not why I want to learn about it." Irina said quickly. "I was just curious."
"Really? That's all that led to your request?"
"I-I know it isn't much a reason, but I liked to believe its enough." Irina said, noticeably meeker. "Or at least that's what I'm learning from Onyx."
Of course her apprentice had everything to do with a blind woman coming to her in search of knowledge, not for some fabled cure but for the sake of curiosity alone. Whether it was learned or a part of her nature, Sellen could commend that approach to things.
That said-
Sellen fully turned, cupping her chin as she focused her full attention upon Irina. "To be quite blunt, I don't believe you have enough aptitude to ever move beyond the most basic sorceries. And that's giving you the benefit of the doubt. There is no guarantee you could manage a grasp on those."
Onyx had been an anomaly, completely void of any of the energy that all should have. Irina, on the other hand, perfectly fit all the hallmarks of a bluntstone. Not the sort Sellen had or would ever waste her time on without good reason.
"That said, I believe we can come to an agreement. I am curious, however, why come to me for this and not Onyx?"
Irina, whose shoulders had dropped, rose back up, hopefully but uncertain. "I didn't want to trouble him with it. He just got back and he's already doing so much."
"Yes, he is quite the busybody." Sellen said with a nod. Training, building, gathering materials, cooking. She'd noted his studiousness but that drive clearly extended to all parts of his life. "And I suppose to you, the woman who sleeps away most of the day isn't doing much of anything of importance and should have plenty of time on her hands."
"Wha-What? No! I didn't mean it like that. I-"
"I'm only teasing." Sellen said, stopping the flustered explanation before it could truly begin. Even a mundane bit of conversation felt more amusing than she remembered. "Onyx gifted a necklace to you, did he not?"
One of Irina's hands left her cane, resting around her neckline, no doubt where the necklace in questioned rested, hidden beneath her clothes. "Yes."
"And he explained its properties to you?"
"Only that it would help with any wounds I might suffer."
Sellen hummed. It sounded like Onyx hadn't given a proper demonstration of the fascinating thing's ability. "I have found that one should always be acquainted with what their tools allow. It is the only way to ensure effective use." Sellen said. "Would you like to experience what that necklace is capable of?"
Irina's brow furrowed. "Um, wouldn't that involve being injured?"
"Indeed. Worry not, it will only be a prick across one of your fingers. No more harmful than a paper cut." Sellen explained.
Irina's dress wrinkled beneath her grasp, the necklace clutched tighter. Sellen half expected a rejection. An illogical choice in her opinion but not without its merits in these circumstances. Onyx's word was a worthy thing to put trust in, however, if she were in Irina's position she'd still like to understand anything given to her.
"Alright." Irina, defying that expectation, agreed, hand lowered.
Sellen stepped away from the ancient dragon corpse, one of the cleaned steel daggers she'd use to work on the marionettes retrieved from her waist as she closed in on Irina. Grasping the back of Irina's freely offered hand, Sellen in one quick pull, left a superficial cut across the tip of one of the fingers, Irina wincing.
Blood pooled out. Then stopped before it could truly build up into anything noteworthy. Sellen waited for a time before wiping the blood away.
The cut was gone, completely tended to.
She pulled her hands away, allowing Irina to feel her resown skin.
It was quite curious. They stood so close together, the jewel responsible only beneath a set of ordinary clothes, and yet Sellen picked up on nothing. If she hadn't seen the strange markings he'd inscribed upon that gem as well as the glow that came from it, she would have assumed the quickened healing was something innate to Irina.
Be it equipment, ancient treasures, or anything in between, no matter how weak or strong the effect, there was a certain presence that denoted them as special.
Whether it was his own energy or the things he created, it seemed her apprentice would always find a way to go against what should've been unshakable truths.
"I propose a trade." Sellen said. "I shall guide you through the basics of sorcery. In exchange, I would like time to study the necklace you've been gifted during those lessons."
"That's, well, I'm not sure. Onyx said that I should keep it hidden."
"A cautionary measure against any unsavory sorts, I'm sure." Sellen said, agreeing with the approach. No ordinary thieves would make it past the marionettes that acted as an around the clock guard for them but if something like that did come to pass, it was better that Irina not show off such a thing. The state of her sight already left her near defenseless. Whatever the nature of the necklace's healing properties, it would be rendered moot if it were stolen away.
"We will hold your lessons out of sight." One of the cabins or that workshop Onyx was working on would do. "That is, if you agree, of course."
Irina's hesitation gave way to a slow nod.
"Good. To start, you'll have to make your way through the same basic reading Onyx did." Sellen stopped there, Irina's lack of sight presenting a problem. She couldn't exactly busy herself studying that necklace if she had to read through all that text aloud, could she?
Luckily a solution popped into mind. A solution that happened to be walking by.
"Melina." Sellen called out.
Melina, who'd just been passing the ruins entrance, silently wandering the island as she always seemed to, joined them inside the crumbling walls, stopping beside Irina. Sand marked some of her dark reddish hair, but she didn't seem to notice.
"I'll be giving sorcery lessons to Irina here soon. Would you be willing to read to her the same material you did for Onyx?" Melina nodded, bits of sand shaking loose. "Perfect. The three of us shall begin meeting for the lessons tomorrow. Before or after dinner is what I would suggest. I'll leave the choice between the two to you, Irina."
Sellen hadn't expected Irina to come to her, but this would be convenient enough.
That necklace. The invigorating power that rested within her.
She could ask him about them directly. Onyx may not give the most informative answers, but he made no attempts to hide anything and with enough pressing she could get all the information she wanted.
But he was a mystery she wanted to solve on her own, developing answers that didn't rely on any preconceived notions. The more fundamental her understanding of such things, the better she should be able to understand what was going on with her power.
Through that effort, she may very well be able to recreated his strange energy for herself. If such a thing were to be combined fully with her sorceries, the results could be truly groundbreaking.
XOXO
(A/N: Onyx and Melina trading blows while Irina and Sellen make a trade of their own. I'm really not that creative when it comes to chapter titles.
Anyways, me and my friends have all decided to pick up an online programming course to do all at the same time. Not going to lie, always wanted to low-key make my own game so that's kind of taking my attention right now, so we're reentering my free write era. Not going to keep to schedule but as usual I'll still be writing despite that.
Also gives me a chance to try some things out since I'm not sticking to a schedule but that's neither here nor there. Just know I'll still be updating here between work and learning that stuff.)