Caldivere’s Finest

“Ugh…I’m gonna kill you for that, you hag…!” The maroon-haired boy groaned as he rose to his feet to see the phantoms of a flame fading into the wind.

“What the…?!?”

He turned to see Agon, softly coughing, while rubbing his hand over his chest.

“You…!” The boy sprang to his feet and lunged at him, gripping his shirt. “What were you THINKING?!? The Mourning Star is no joke! You can’t just walk up to that thing and…and…” he paused and looked around to see that the Mourning Star was no longer in sight. “Just what exactly did you do...?”

Agon looked down at his chest. He had so much time now; although borrowed, it filled him with a surreal, twisted feeling of security. He snapped out of his internal thoughts to look at the boy’s puzzled face.

“Uh…I used my…my ability.” It was odd for him to say, but it was the truth. It finally sank into his mind that Agon was no mere human anymore. From devouring an entire den of water to breathing fire to purge a withered and ghastly woman, he had powers. Thrust upon him against his will, maybe, but powers that proved to serve him well, no less.

“Ain’t no way…”

“Uh…are you okay? Um…”

“Mars.”

“Y-you okay, Mars?”

“Not too happy about getting beaten by the Mourning Star, I'll tell you that. I thought I was stronger than this…next time I see her I'll...”

“I-Is the Mourning Star…an actual woman? Like…human…?”

“Huh?!? The Mourning Star is a spirit that comes to avenge the souls of dead creatures-DID YOU SERIOUSLY NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU WERE FIGHTING JUST NOW?!?”

“A-ah…um…”

Mars used his right hand to apply pressure to his bleeding side. “Ngh…Listen, I need to get back home before I bleed out and look even more pathetic; I used up way too much energy back there. You’re a bit of an oddball, but you saved my hide. So, how bout I get you something to eat? My treat.”

“I appreciate it, but I don’t have any money.”

“Why are you saying it like that?”

“L-like what?”

“It’s MAUNEH, not MUNEE.” He mocked.

“That must be Velicima’s currency. Is it really pronounced that way…?”

“Look, don’t worry about it, I’ll cover you. It’s literally the least I can do. So, whaddya say?”

This all felt too familiar. Helping some stranger fight or fend off a mysterious beast in a strange area, the similarities of circumstances were oddly comical to Agon. That feeling quickly subsided, however, and was soon replaced with a tremendous guilt. A minute passed, and his mark surged with Olagna’s fury. He grabbed his chest and began to cough uncontrollably.

“Hey, you alright, guy?” Mars asked with confusion. Agon nearly fell to his knees; not by Olagna’s mark alone, but as Dinorah’s face, her deep green pleading eyes, stared into his soul. To not only desert her in her time of need, but also to betray her by killing the Elbrus rather than helping it, made him feel like a monster; worse than any of the ones he killed. He immediately wiped a tear away and fixed his face as best he could.

“Ah…y-yeah, just uh…really smoky over here, I think. I could use something to eat, though.”

“Alright, then. Follow me.”

"Where?"

"To Caldivere, duh." Mars motioned with his hand as he took one step with his right side. His left foot, still cased in darkness and shackled with chains and gravestones, barely moved. He grunted and dragged the giant weighted boot and glove along the dirt, huffing and grunting along the way. Agon watched in silence.

“Ugh…right…Okay, so you’re probably wondering what this is all about…” Mars gestured to the left side of his body.

“Um…yes…?” Agon faltered

“Well, basically-”

“It’s his magic. ”

A voice interjected from behind them. They turned around to see three individuals proudly walking closer, wearing various types of extravagant clothing and partial armor. They all looked to be about seventeen or eighteen. One of them in particular was a tall male with long and luscious blonde hair that had two to three braids on each side pinned behind his ears, with a large half-braid right in the center running into a rough ponytail. His eyes were a brilliant gold to match, with a light stubble to bring everything together. Mars had a look of dread upon his face.

“Strauss…” He muttered.

The boy smiled as Mars squeaked his name out.

“Mars, what are you doing out here? Just because you’re not a part of our party anymore doesn’t mean you’re off the hook.” Strauss asserted.

“I-I just heard this guy struggling against a Mourning Star, and thought maybe I could lend a hand-” Just as he spoke, the left side of his mouth glowed with the same dark energy surrounding his left arm and leg. His tongue dropped out of his mouth and became coated in the same strange casing as his arm and foot, with a skull marked on top. His head hung to the left. “Aggggh!”

“Ah, it seems your magic says otherwise,” Strauss said dejectedly.

"...His magic...?" Agon muttered. Strauss turned to him.

“Ah! I’m sorry, but maybe you could fill us in?”

“M-me?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind.” Strauss flashed a wide and toothy grin at him that was so dazzling, it almost drowned out Mars’s struggling to keep his body from toppling over from all the weight. Another minute passed, and Agon clutched and rubbed at his chest, which briefly made Strauss look at him with question.

“Ahem…s-sorry…something in my throat.” He lied. “I came across the…Mourning Star, and I saw Mars struggling to fight it.”

“I was NOT struggling!” Mars snapped.

“I-I uh…just used my ability to help him out.”

Strauss looked upon Agon with amusement.

“What’s your name?”

“A-Agon Cora.”

“Oh! Full name, eh? How formal.” Strauss chuckled. Agon was so used to saying his full name out of habit. “Well, alright. Nice to meet you, Agon Cora! My name is Strauss Riccos, leader of Verdict, Caldivere’s strongest team of warriors!” Strauss gestured to his other two members, a boy and a girl, who puffed out their chests respectfully. That charismatic introduction was too hard not to be impressed by.

“Uh…nice to meet you, too.” For some reason, his body felt frail just gazing upon them; he couldn’t stop shaking.

“So, where do you come from? You have a kind of rustic look about you…”

“Uh, I’m from Pier.”

“Huh, Pier?” Strauss reviewed his answer in his mind. “Ah! We’ve been there before!”

“Y-YOU HAVE?!?” Agon's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets.

The girl walked up behind him and smacked the back of his head. She had long curly almond colored hair with contrasting black eyebrows. “Idiot, you’re thinking of an ACTUAL pier. We’ve never been to a place NAMED pier.”

“Ouch! C-Carine!” Strauss yelped as she shook her head in disapproval.

“You can’t be our team leader if you don’t even know where you’ve travelled!” she lectured.

“Ough...Safe…!” Agon sighed in relief.

“Ah, don’t mind her. Anyways, Agon. What brings you all the way to Caldivere?”

“Well, I’m actually just coming from Ruchs. I was...running an errand.”

“Ruchs, huh? Now that you mention it, this does look like their clothing style.” Carine said, walking up to Agon and grabbing at the sleeve of his tunic.

“U-uh yeah. And then I heard a scream and found the Mourning Star. I-i’ve never seen anything like that before…”

“Ah, your first encounter! And you defeated it? You must be pretty strong, Agon! I’m impressed!”

“T-thanks, but I'm not really-.”

“I-I…guh…helped too, y’know?!?” Mars shouted, his left side toppled over onto the ground now. Agon and the others looked at him blankly.

“Mars. You’re coming back with us.” Strauss commanded. Mars had no response. All he could do was struggle under his own weight. “Carine.”

“I’m on it.” She answered. She reached into a side bag and pulled out a handful of sand, tossing it into the air. She then closed her eyes and breathed deeply. A sharp note passed through her lips; the grains of sand responded to the frequency of the note and began to change their shape. They morphed and expanded into a polygonal cage that fell right on top of Mars; the empty areas within the cage connected to create a force field sealing him inside. Carine held another note, this time a bit lower in pitch, and a thin stream of sand seeped from the cage and floated towards her hand. She gripped it and began to pull Mars along without breaking a sweat. The other male team member followed after her. Agon started walking towards the cage, reaching a hand out to him.

“W-wait, where are you taking-” Strauss interjected with a stern tone, putting a hand out to block Agon.

“Mars Caloon, former member of Verdict. Sentenced to probation and constant monitoring for endangering his team and the people of Caldivere.”

“...Mars…?” Agon mumbled as he watched him get carried away by Carine. Strauss then looked at him and warmed his face and voice almost immediately.

“Agon, how about I get you something to eat? My treat.”