S: 7 "A mage is a mage."

Creaking and thuds resounded through the Blazing Chariot as it slowly docked into the busy port. One crewman upon the vessel was still reeling with emotional and mental exhaustion, the bright red clad warrior who now owned the ship looked upon Io with a slight stupor. The floating city stared right back at the ill prepared "Captain" Morrigan and just as she had not changed fully to her position, neither did the city change. She had come back as a different thing but felt no different. Her lack of concentration was shattered as a voice with a Montefreigne accent erupted behind her. "Captain? What is the plan now that we are in Io?" Orri had no idea what to say or what the procedure was, the girl stammered and gave half hearted answers to him and sent them off to shore leave. Anaxa, Calliope, and Edea stood next to her squinting and cringing at the pathetic display, "That was hard to watch buddy." Anaxa sympathized. "You'll get it soon enough," Calliope followed up with. There was really no training for this sort of job it seemed. The years she had spent on ships meant nothing because she never paid enough attention to what was going on. Her focus was fully locked onto improving and getting stronger for whoever may be around the corner. That feeling of exhilaration at getting stronger and wanting so much to test herself against strong people, tugged at her mind constantly since she could form memory. An overall joy would intoxicate her as she saw improvement over years of training, and then testing that improvement. As much as she loved fighting, she lacked a lust for blood that this entire country seemed so enamored with, something she has seen through Anaxa's thumos. Not lacking a sense of justice, Orri knew that people with malice and pure malevolence should not stick around on this land, but killing every opponent that you come across seemed extreme. If everyone you battle ends up dead who will you battle and spar with? Such a mentality would make Gaia an empty place and the land of the dead busy as well as hard to manage. A sympathetic thought crossed her brow as she looked upward. Her allies had that mentality of massacre and they seemed keen to educate the martial artist of how things are done, but it seems Orri is nothing more than a savage in these barbaric lands which hid behind refinement. Fancy robes, divine feasts, and elaborate poetry all putting a mask on blood lust and violent death. Due to Morrigan's own reference and upbringing few seemed to show this more than Merian mages...and perhaps Anaxa. This thought process plagued her as she sat upright on a lounging couch listening to the so called powerful leader of Io.
 
Just over an hour of being docked the team was approached by a decedent scent of honey and sesame. The smell distracted Orri and she became hungry as Anaxa attempted to help the new Captain with her new duties. From the aroma a small creature dripping with honey appeared in mid air and addressed the group, Zephyra and Edea had acquired an audience with the Lord of Io. The strange delicious looking creature let everyone know that within the hour the meeting will take place. The smell dissipated as Anaxa told Orri she needed to figure this out and what kind of ship she wanted to run. "You want to keep moral up, maybe take a pole and see what the crew wants." Her hoplite friend declared as Orri tried her best to stay chipper and understand. There must be someway to make this easier, someone who could just do this for her...she didn't want a job, she wanted to train and hone her skills. There was also the guilt of pretty much forcing all the hard tasks on to her best friend, Artemis. If she could get him better help maybe. She thought hard about why poles would help the crew, but would comply and buy some. There was a solution to this, something her mother had told her once, "ugh what was it?!" She breathed to herself. It was on the tip of her tongue. Simple Acronym? Simultaneous Acorn? Yet another thing she would have to add to the list of questions. She distracted herself with all this as they passed Amarabi's shop on the way to Lord Kester's palace and she bought a few large sticks for the pole thing Anaxa talked about.
 
The city had opened up and let all eyes that dared to gaze upon Lord Kester's mountain of a home. It was a vessel that should not be able to float upon the water, it towered above them as they approached. Story high Merian columns, intricate inlay and detail along every surface, and an imposing doorway which made Orri's neck hurt looking up. Walking through the huge portal their eyes were assaulted with exaggerated riches and gaudy decoration. Huge animal skins and heads staring down upon the guests passing by, rugs made of exotic colours, and walls adorned with treasures of great expense. Even Morrigan could tell that it was extravagant and possibly just for show, it was more than enough for just an entry hall. As they walked past these treasures and animals, Orri began sketching some of the more exotic ones so she could remember, maybe inspired for future creations in cloth.
 
The newest Captain of the Hive fleet hailed from the Silver Sea Isles, and was raised by a woman of some nobility on the large continent of Tykera, so being thrown off when a person of high class always greeted their guests reclining was still such an odd sight for her. She was tutored in Tykerian etiquette, sitting with posture, knowing which of the six spoons to use and when, and greeting someone in a sitting or standing position. It wasn't fighting so young Morrigan would only retain half of it. Orri was one of the first non goblin crewmen to join the hive, but in that time they have met very few people of noble station. Seeing this muscular man lying on a soft personal couch, and the last day of mental frustration had Orri at quite the disadvantage. She had dressed for the meeting in her usual clothing and was ill prepared to lie on a piece of furniture. Looked upon with an upturned nose by the lord, she looked to Zephyra for a bit of quick help only to be met with the same look. "That's why we wear himation, and not dress like trolops Orri." Zephyra said as she looked at home in this lavish lie. The comfort she was hoping for was not present in her dear friends eyes, so Orri sat like a proper Tykerian lady and was still perceived as a savage and barbarian. She would have been more angry, but the lack of sympathy from Zephyra and the lord's words brought her back to a time with the Frigid Freezer and Captain Radish. The part of all this that confused her most was that she saw Meria as this fairly savage landscape with people of blood lust and rage, and here she was being maligned and talked down to over and over as some awful uncultured savage. Then again this feeling and thought process could also be because she was hurt that she was being treated this way by a small handful of people. A small handful was enough however for her to feel like it was coming from all angles. She was told to stay somewhat quiet for the meeting which she had little trouble in as she faintly fought back liquid emotion. Her mind set to the task of eating and going with the flow for now, she knew who she was and would simply either hone her skills or be content on eating the spread before them. Let the others do the talking.
 
The one who seemed most on Orri's side in this meeting with the lord was her fellow demi-human Edea. The musical wolf girl flowered up her words and sang Orri's praises as she went over the dramatic battle against Ifrit's Blade. She proclaimed boisterously and poetically described it to the lord, some parts Orri did not remember, maybe she was embellishing. They continued going back and forth, and Orri began to feel uneasy with this bastard of a "leader". He looked at her with strange hungry eyes, and she actually slid back on the chair toward Zephyra. She could not place the intent, or understand what he wanted but she knew it wasn't good. Edea attempted to distract that train of thought by offering Orri as a sparring partner for him, and suddenly the martial artist was back in and excited to place her feet into his smug face. For the first time in a while she wanted to fight someone to humble them just a little, "Ha spar?! I'm a mage! what would I want with a spar!?" He laughed as he said it. Of course he was a mage, the thought crept into her mind as her expression changed. Why do mages always seem to turn out this way? Were there mages who didn't? Orri's Mother was sure there wasn't. She recalled a few choice words mother always seemed to have when the subject was brought up. The voices of Edea and the lord faded to a muffled background noise while her mind went into a fake argument she would win with this smug lord.
 
Inside Morrigan's mind a sepia toned imagined world starts to form. Lord Kester laying on his couch took on an evil and cartoonish shilouette as Orri imagined him as some storybook villain, "Well that is what savages are for right?!" He laughed looking at the poor demi-human. She imagined him saying once again and her confident demeanor coming through strong. Her imagined form ,not to dissimilar to how she actually look, took a sip of her drink and scoffed. "Oh, does the savage have something to say?" He would retort and she would stand and look him dead in the eye, her voice echoing through the halls as if some fairy tale prince talking to the dragon he is about to battle "Yes, I laughed derisively at your nonsense. You say you culture is so superior? Yet the etiquette and refined society I learned would call this imitation of refinement savage! Especially a "leader" who needs to hold such control over his land with this anti fighting aura, I would say does not harness a lot of confidence and proves weakness of character. You must force people to abide by your rules. hmmph I suppose mother was right, A mage will always just be a mage." His imposing frame would deflate and admit defeat to this crimson hero, she would then turn her head away from him and walk confidently out. This day dream made her smile a little and was a little emblazoned to go for it, she looked at her friends and thought better of it. They seemed to want to play this a certain way. She noticed they were looking her way so she dug through her coat to hand the Ifrit's Blade flag to Edea to give to the assistant for proof of job done. He ran off to confirm their story as the crew continued dealing with the lord's presence and eating their full. Every few moments Orri would look to her side at Zephyra and just hoped this was just how these meetings were done. Confident in Zephyra she relented to letting her dear friend handle this, along with the crew's cheerleader Edea. However she was a captain now and apparently should know how these meetings should go, dammit she wished she remembered the name for whatever could solve this issue! Better yet, just as they can combine their magics and attacks, could there be a way to combine themselves and be an ultimate smart warrior?
 
With skill of word and flair, Edea convinced Lord Kester to hand over the half elf girl AND give the group a whole other ship. The Captain seemed ecstatic, but all Orri could think of was, "Oh great another ship?" It appeared she wanted a whole fleet of ships captained by her officers. It didn't matter, they had rescued the medge and brought her with them. They uprooted from the couches and headed toward the door, Orri being the first one back onto the plank streets of the floating city. The young half-elf followed behind them and introduced herself as Ifigenia. She seemed nice and confused on why these people wanted to take her along, but seemed alright with the arrangement. Orri was glad to release her from slavery, but completely forgot why they wanted her in the first place. The crew organized themselves and prepared for a long downtime, Orri looked foreword to training and refining a few of the basics. It had also been a little while since she spent time dedicated to painting and sewing. Her mind set on this path free from other thoughts, she was glowing with excited joy, while her sweet and faithful Artemis had some grand plans. A wide horizon of profit glittered in the budding merchants eye. He rallied the crew of the Blazing Chariot and set sail to a sea full of waiting buyers. The next weeks he tested the crew on the venture of becoming legitimate merchants, and they seemed to take to the vocation with some skills as Artemis lead them to some decent profit. A modest amount of Drachma for their first time out, the skilled canine separating the coins and trinkets for each officer and the "captain". He kept her bags of currency safe until she approached him for some so she could buy some supplies to sew some new clothes and relax with some new paints. He knew more than anyone that his sweet Orri used her crafts and training to unwind and keep focus. He gladly let her have a fair sum so she could brew her strange teas with those odd energy filled stones.
 
With the eyes of a judging parent this frugal puppy gave a look as if to say, "Do you really need to spend this?" to Orri, as she took the money from Artemis and purchased some chi stones. She took her time grinding them into a nice fine powder, thinking on nice memories of her parents teaching her the nice slow process of mysticism. This wonderfully out there process that can bypass magical circuits and place abilities right into your life energy itself. It had many steps that seemed superfluous but were pleasantly occupying none the less. Orri loved the nuance of it and how soothing the process was. It was told to her that everyone who masters the process has a slightly varied way of performing the rituals, she giggled to herself remembering how Mother learned of it's existence. A burly woman taught her the ways of it all. This burly lady was a friend of mother and seemed to derive pleasure from the intimate and elaborate process. The embarrassment on Mother's face was so funny as she reluctantly told the tale, emitting most of the detail. As that fond memory hovering pleasantly over her, Orri brewed the tea with the ground up stones, drew some pretty inlay on the floor for nothing other than fun, and slowly sipped the tea over the course of about five days. She felt it surge in her ki as the energy warming her insides and it attached to her very soul. She had found this particular formula at Amarabi's shop and thought it was amazing, it immediately spoke to her and reminded her of home right away. She sipped the tea and beamed with excitement when she could show her Auntie that after drinking good beer her wounds could close and heal themselves. She thought of the beer that was gifted to her at the pub with that sweet little ghost, and could not wait to try it out. Her Aunt Kasi loved beer and almost loved her sweet niece just as much as much, she would tease. She was the one to give Orri her first beer and claimed it was the perfect meal for the soul. Just as this energy tea warmed her, she remembered the cozy feeling of the beer in her stomach as both moms tried to explain that their daughter might be to young for this. Aunt Kasi smiled and would hear none of it declaring it was a family tradition and left it at that. They could not deny that it was a family tradition, and most members treated beer as if it were water. Orri found herself constantly ordering water and when receiving it had to remind herself that most people call it beer. With a smile of reminiscing she spent a few mornings drinking this energy tea and doing her daybreak training. The ground up stones and memories warmed her heart as she slowly got used to her new magical bed that quickened her sleep. The merchant had spent some decent amount of time trying his best to explain how the bed works. His mistake was bringing numbers into the explanation far to quickly. Marie broke it up looked Orri dead in the eye and simply said, "Just go sleep in it, and when you wake up it will still be that day." Right behind Orri was her specialized door, a door she always kept closed to be sure no one could see inside, but right above it was a number and a symbol for the chariot tarot. As Orri heard Marie's words the symbol light up bright right above her head and her eyes went wide with realization, "OH! Ok that sounds great!" Even the merchant could not hold back a small smirk as the excited warrior bounded to her room to test it out. It was a crazy feeling to get used to as she awoke just an hour later feeling completely refreshed in the same day. Now she could finish the days training with Anaxa!
 
 
Late nights full of energy and motivation she refined her techniques against the metal wall of her hoplite friend. Her determination at a new high now that she could train for another third of the day. With the days of their first day at port behind them Orri dove headfirst into this training with her friend, focusing heavy on breaching opponents with armor and her own constitution. She beamed with excitement every time she surprised Anaxa with a heavy hit or a strike that caused Anaxa to rethink a strategy. She spent these nights testing the basics of her home made style, and trying to cement it's forms, the idea of teaching it to her crew was still lingering in the back of her mind. "Don't you ever get tired?" Zephyra's voice broke though the air as Anaxa and Orri took a quick breather from a series of heavy blows. She sat comfortably sipping tea next to a sleeping Artemis watching her two warrior friends go blow for blow. "What do you mean?" Orri said not knowing what the witch was getting at. "How are you not tired? You go on and on training for hours, even days." The witch of candy elaborated. Morrigan took a moment to really let that question sink in, it had never truly occurred to her. She weaved and searched through her feelings and came up with the only answer that made sense to the energetic young warrior. It was what she loved to do, this was her life, her passion for as long as she can remember way back to the days of learning the sword with her mother and then learning hand to hand combat with her Uncle. Challenging her entire family at gatherings like a child showing their favorite toy to everyone they can, admittedly she was indulged a bit to much as a child, but she was sweet and her heart was always in the right place. What other answer could Morrigan give other than, "Well, it's fun. It's what I love to do...it's hard to get tired of doing your favorite thing right?" She said it with such a starry eyed dreamy smile that Zephyra seemed to believe it. Anaxa, Orri, and Zephyra spend many a night of this month long respite like this and Orri loved spending it with them. She even joined the group for a night on the town, Morrigan brought one of the bags Artemis made and joined them all carousing.
 
Forming ones muscles, turning the entire body into a fighting machine, and compensating for unfortunate curses took up a large portion of Morrigan's free time. A practice that she did not mind in the least, in fact she reveled in it and found it fun. Sweeping the entirety of the ship's deck perfecting her martial art, just like her paintings and clothing she saw it as an art you could always improve in. The Blazing Edgeless Blade Style, the prospect of it's potential going forever into the horizon filled her with joy thinking she will be mastering it for her entire life. She put so much of herself into it, after Uncle Chuchu started her on the path years ago she was determined to improve it, make it her own, and return to him with passionate challenge in her eyes. She imagined his and her parents faces as she affectionately challenged them all to test out how far she had come. This passion consumed a great deal of her time, BUT her uncle's words forever present in her thoughts, "Train well, eat well, rest well, live well." So the night every one declared they were going carousing she thought she might join in, hang out with her dear friends. The times Orri has gone carousing she could count on one hand....well she could count....she has not gone true carousing before. Zephyra was living the high life and invited the group with her. She brought them to a place that was decorated in such a splendor, with a lot of people apparently simp posing. Morrigan set out to dress a little finer with just a touch of Merian flair, sewing up a dress that imitated a himation but captured her style with a fair share of grace. Needless to say it showed a large amount of leg, Orri thought she needed at all times to be able to kick well above her horns at a moments notice. Each garment she crafted always had her fighting style in mind, as well as being able to dance and speed whenever necessary. Her style was based heavily on leg movement and kicks, so showing off her work was a slight thought forever present as she sewed. Meeting up before leaving, Orri was dazzled with joy as Anaxa approached them wearing the elaborate dress she had crafted for the hoplite. She had spent a few hours on it and wanted to make sure Anaxa would like it, she had begun a long process of making all of her new family very nice and unique clothing, she wanted to make sure that they would all match their owners. As the seamstress of the garment she immediately noticed something was faintly off, a seam in the wrong place, a thread unlike her own form of stitching, maybe the colour was just so slightly off she could not put her finger on it. Well she could, but they had to start making their way to the venue. They were lead to a special room which was a wonder to behold, as if they were under the seas themselves surrounded by stunningly sculpted shells and coral. Morrigan's artistic mind reeled at the gorgeous reliefs of delicately detailed shells and contoured figures throughout the space. Negative and positive space used to every advantage as the room enclosed it's shape around them, stunning. She mumbled as such as she traversed the room to admire such artistry. Another patron or two noticed her well trained eye and bought her a drink or two, which she accepted with a smile and drank quickly. That spurred her on to enjoy herself, joining with Anaxa as the two began to let loose. Orri forgot about the bag of drachma she had brought while people found her and Anaxa amusing, buying them a drink here and there. Becoming merry and joyous she let go of the stress from becoming captain and the uneasy frustration from the meeting with the lord, Orri let herself go and have fun. Drunk off relief of shedding those feelings rather than alcohol she began laughing and socializing. Rest and live well echoed in her actions as she laughed with her friends.
 
One of which she finally found out was still wearing her armor!! Anaxa had enchanted her armor to look like clothing and made it look as close to the dress Orri made as possible. "I KNEW IT!" She spoke to herself in her mind as she attempted to sew a heart in the garment as a joke, discovering the needle would bend against the "fabric." Orri was so excited that Anaxa would wear it, after spending so much time putting her love sweat and tears into it. She wondered if Anaxa would wear it ever because she never removed her armor. Orri's disappointment did not last to long as she could see that Anaxa liked it enough to appear to be wearing it. You can take the hoplite out of the armor, but you can't take the armor out of the hoplite, she mused in her head not knowing at all how that saying goes. After this jappery a small commotion was happening near her other companions, the lightning twins and the candy witch. Smiling in slightly inebriated bliss she noticed Alceaus her fellow master of the fist arrived and attempted to hide himself amongst Zephyra, Calliope, and Edea. It seemed he was keen to hide his presence from his eccentric tormentor. Orri did not see it as torment, she was excited the day they met the man and saw a fellow warrior. She asked him at every turn to spar to hone their styles. Alceaus seemed to have a very refined and structured style of combat, and Orri loved pitting her structured, yet chaotic whirlwind style against it. She had thought he liked the challenge she presented. It would seem he never saw it this way and grew irritated by her endless want to train, he also found her chaotic style infuriating, it just erupted and worked for what seemed like no reason. Orri assumed she was making a friend in her fellow martial artist, and snuck behind the couch the group was sitting on. She was filled with youthful energy and spirits and slowly began stacking oyster shells upon his head. The weeks still lay before them, and Orri imagined the time by becoming better friends with her fellow unarmed fighter. Alceaus put a valiant effort into just ignoring it and hoping she would go away, he received his wish when the group egged Orri on to sing them a song from her old vessel. The song she mumbled in her drunken stupor. She was all to eager after Anaxa knocked over her oyster tower for the fifth time.
 
Leaping from where she was she let out her serene voice, years and years of lessons left her with a skill that came in handy to soothe and serenade her friends. Especially friends who seemed to appreciate it and she loved the fact that they enjoyed it. As her voice rang out some other patrons came to view her performance and deep within her mind she thanked her mom. Orri's mom, a kind and gentle woman had the voice of absolute beauty. A voice of such strength and radiance that it could even bend reality, heal wounds, and sooth just about any creature. A much more calm and softer version of Steel Stinger's lead woman Edea. Growing up young Orri would bask in it and be completely enamored by the songs her mom taught her. In fact it was one of the few things to tear her away from training, like some siren call to bring her in or calm her down. Even miles away, in the fields where Orri would train, the haunting beauty of her mom's voice would still reach her and she would sprint home, mainly because this usually meant a meal was ready. Knowing full well she would never come close to that level of skill, she still begged her mom to help train her voice to sing with such beauty. Orri delved head long into this training, as she did with any type of training. Her mom enjoyed these sessions so much, seeing such promise in her daughter, so much in fact that she contemplated teaching her a few real bard tricks. Heavily guarded magical secrets from the beauty of song. Even her Mom's sister, who would visit from time to time, saw the same promise in her little niece. A somewhat cocky woman who could bear a little heavy on the nerves, but she doted on her niece as well as having a variety of redeeming qualities. A quality that her aunt and Morrigan's other Mother share is the never ending want to drive each other crazy. This, as it so commonly did, caused Orri's mother to butt heads with her wife's sister, once again. Morrigan's mother and aunt would bicker from time to time, which lead to...well some choice moments in Orri's life. Besides such events being a little turbulent, her chipper demeaner kept those lessons with mom fondly in her heart. Every time she got to sing was a joy for her and reminded her of her mom's bright smile listening to her daughter.
 
Her song bounced off the walls and slowly came to a soft end with a small soft round of cheers and applause, perhaps there were more kind Merians than she thought. Edea and Zephyra gave her a smile as she finished her song, the latter taking a sip of her drink letting off an air of thought. In their collective spirit influenced minds her sweet elf friend made an attempt to comfort Orri about her decision to stay on the Hive. Caring very much for her well being Orri tried to understand and knew Zephyra meant no harm. As much as Orri loved spending time with her, she won't be THAT far and it was nice of Zephyra to address it. There was so much good in the high elf witch, Morrigan could see it in the elf's energy. The other thing she could see was a hesitation in Zephyra's heart. It was odd to the martial artist that the witch seemed to want to hide the fact that she could make odd potions and poisons. The varied amount of book studies that Orri did not know she made up for in seeing and reading people themselves, to some degree. There are quite a few blind spots in that spectrum. Nonetheless she could read energy and their hearts to some degree, and she knew Zephyra was kind and did care a fair amount. The fact that she made some dangerous things did not matter in the least to Morrigan, but it seemed Zephyra wanted to keep it close for now at least. Morrigan had a few things she wanted to keep close so how could she judge her dear friend. "Would you blame the guy who made the sword that killed a queen in battle?" She mused one night dozing off next to Artemis. The sweet canine lifted his head to the sky pondering such a surprisingly deep thought from his sweet master. Staring into the sky he turned back to Orri licks her forehead and softly replies, "bark...woof." Morrigan took her gaze away from her favorite celestial sphere and leaned into Artemis, "RIGHT?! That's what I think as well." A smile could faintly be seen on the pooch's face, he enjoyed these quiet nights with Morrigan staring into the sky. It was like the old days of traveling across the islands of the Silver Seas when he was a pup. This time was needed, especially with his new duties of running a budding merchant vessel. Endless dreams and future plans whirling inside his mind as he would join with Captain Sqeenifer and become filthy rich."I think I'll try to make Alceaus feel more welcome with us, he still seems ill at ease sometimes." Morrigan interjected with a random thought. Artemis' brow leaned outward in sympathy as he rested his muzzle on her chest, not having the heart to tell her that it's usually because Orri is near him.