Shadows and Sparks

The Trio heads to the closest Kingdom, which amazes them, as it was such a sight to take in. The city was alive--buzzing with neon lights, market chatter, and the hum of airships gliding between gothic towers and glass spires. Eagle City was nothing like the world Rikushi and Kite had once known, yet something about it felt familiar... like a song long forgotten, now heard faintly in the wind.

With Toku leading the way, awkwardly checking maps on his phone and getting lost every five minutes, the trio explored the city's vibrant chaos. Kite's eyes were wide with wonder at the holographic billboards and towering structures. Rikushi, ever the protector, stays close, watching the crowds with a silent tension. Magic might have become a safer essence in this world, but danger never truly disappeared.

As they weaved through crowded streets and back alleys, Rikushi felt it--a presence. No, two. Shadows trailing them. Always just out of sight but never too far behind.

The feeling didn't leave, even as they made their way back to Toku's house on the outskirts of the city. When the tension reached its peak, Rikushi halted. His hand instinctively reached for the hilt of a blade that no longer hung at his side.

"We're being followed," he said coldly.

Kite and Toku turned. Two hooded figures stepped from the shadows, their silhouettes lit by the flickering light of a streetlamp. For a brief moment, no one moved a muscle.

Then the taller of the two pushed back his hood.

"...Rikushi."

The mage froze. That voice.

"Blaidd?" he whispered, eyes wide with disbelief.

The second figure pulled her hood down slowly, revealing a girl with soft, downcast eyes and fur-covered ears--silent, cautious, and bruised by the world. Rikushi didn't recognize her, but the sorrow in her gaze said enough.

Ceri offered a polite nod, clinging slightly to Blaidd's coat.

"It's really you..." Rikushi stepped forward, his voice cracking with something between joy and disbelief. The mentor he thought was long-dead, happened to now stand before him, older, more worn, but unmistakably the same.

After a brief exchange of disbelief, hugs, and explanations, Blaidd led the group through winding alleys to a low, hidden structure tucked behind the ruins of an old chapel.

"This is home. For now."

Inside, the air was thick with incense and glowing glyphs. Arcane texts and tech gadgets cluttered the shelves in harmony. A strange, mellow laughter echoed from the back.

"Yo, company?" came a voice.

A tall, easy-going man strolled out, his dark cloak dragging behind him like a shadow that didn't quite obey the rules. "Name's Glonk. I don't bite... unless you're into that."

Toku blinked. "That was a joke, right?"

Glonk just smirked.

Before anyone could respond, a whirlwind of energy burst from a side room.

"CERIIII! Are these the people you were talking about?!"

A dark-blue-haired girl with eyes like starlight darted in, nearly tackling Ceri in a tight hug before bouncing over to Kite with a grin. "I'm Gem! I work with Ceri at the Candle Café, and oh my gosh, you are sooo pretty--wait, you're both pretty--wait, wait, are you from the Terra Vetus?!"

Gem was a storm of excitement, and none of them had the heart to stop her.

As the night went on, stories were shared. Of survival, of betrayal, of technology being the 'new thing', and a new era that quickly swept across the land. Old bonds were reforged. New ones began to form.

And though, none of them said it aloud, every one of them knew--this was no coincidence. Something bigger was stirring in the shadows of Nova Terra.

And this odd, unlikely group?

They were going to be right at the center of it and hopefully one day... at the top of it.