***NEED WORK

“…uh, hey, Zarda? What did I do with my book again?”

Zarda stopped and looked back at me with a strange look.
“How the hell am I supposed to know?” he said. “You had it.”
I snorted, a little irritated.
“Yea, I had it. Now I don’t. Which is why I am asking about it now.” I returned. “Wow, genius thinking, you!”
Zarda rolled his eyes at my sarcastic jab.
“Someone is cranky.” he muttered.
“I don’t like losing stuff!” I shot back defensively.

Sarvwen and Mivian, too, had stopped. They came back towards my way.
“When did you last have it?” Sarvwen asked.
“In the library, just before I went to Elder’s Hall.” I replied immediately. “I just don’t remember what I did with it.”
Mivian raised an eyebrow at me.
“What were you doing in the Library?” she asked.
I shrugged, more worried about my book.
“Hiding, as always. It just didn’t work out all too well today.” I said flatly.
When Mivian gave the questioning look, Zarda stepped in.
“Taeri found him.”

I think I saw Mivian’s face twitch.
“Huh,” she muttered. “That’s a damper on any day.”

A damper? Well considering how pushy, clingy and annoying she was, that was a huge understatement.
And how she had a nerve to trash Mivian like that…

I heard Mivian mused.
“Ah…hot burning anger; just the way it should be.” she sighed. “What, did I hit a nerve?”
I was in no mood to talk about it so I shoved my hands into my pants pocket and kept my mouth shut.
Zarda let out a sigh from beside me.
“Taeri…tried to force herself on him today.” he explained.
“Oh,” Mivian said, sounding cold. “That’s annoying.”
Zarda looked amused.
“What reason do you have to get annoyed here?” he asked.
Mivian clicked her tongue sharply.
“No special reason to it; anything that has to do with that slut annoys me. Hearing her name ticks me off.” she practically snarled.
I snorted, annoyed all over again.
“I second that notion.” I declared.

I stopped, suddenly; something Mivian had said earlier catching my attention.
“Wait, what do you mean, ‘the way it should be’?” I asked. “There’s actually a different form of anger?…and one you actually can’t stand?”
Mivian frowned, apparently caught off guard.
“Uh…what if there was?” she returned vaguely.
Zarda raised an eyebrow at her evasive response.
“That was neither a confirmation nor a denial.” he noted, a sneaky smile creeping over his face. “Zavius, what could be the meaning of this?”

I hummed thoughtfully, exaggerating a little by resting my chin on my knuckles.
“Let’s think…she had no issues using our anger as her battery pack when she went flambé at Varsalo.” I mused. “What was so different from our anger, and the one she can’t stand?”
Zarda, too, hummed thoughtfully, stroking an imaginary beard as if he was thinking.
“Let’s go and look as what we know, shall we?”
“We shall.” I said, forcing myself to keep a straight face.

Mivian’s expression was priceless, and Sarvwen looked very confused.
“What are you two going on about?” he asked.
“The first instance,” Zarda boomed, as if to be addressing a panel of jury. “Where we first witnessed the subject’s unique ability to take in the surrounding emotions and convert it to Energy…”
“Subject? What, am I on trial now?” Mivian growled, scowling.
“A certain witness of events states that you, Ms. Mivian, did not have any issue using the anger of the surrounding group for your intentions at the time.” I declared, mirroring Zarda’s lead. “Exhibit A--- as a direct result of your ability, an innocent bystander’s clothing was burned right off his very back!”

I saw Mivian’s mouth twitch. She leaned in towards me, her expression dangerously dark.
“You hold a grudge like an old lady.” she snarled.

“Yet the second set of events where anger was present and much targeted, the subject displayed a very different reaction to the emotion that is supposedly her forte.” Zarda carried on.
I stepped forward, ignoring Mivian’s stabbing glares.
“Yes, in fact, a witness have stated to see the subject ‘flinch and retreat’ from the source of anger.”

Sarvwen raised an eyebrow and glanced at Mivian.

“Did not!” Mivian shot out defensively.
“Did too!” I returned, just as defensive.
“Did not!”
“Did too!”

Mivian let out an outraged cry.
“Well, that statement is invalid and unreliable because your witness is a pissy old lady with a grudge!” she snarled.
“Is not!” I disputed.
“Is too!”
“Is not!”
“Is too!”

“The point being, the second event, when Sarvwen took out Varsalo, you didn’t seem to be taking the emotion of anger as well as you did when we were all pissed at him.” Zarda cut in, getting us back onto the topic of debate. “And we all saw how angry Sarvwen was.”

Sarvwen’s expression suddenly became alarmed.
“Did I hurt anybody?” he demanded, eyeing all of us with worry.
I snorted.
“Well, yea, you hurt somebody, but it wasn’t one of us, and it actually felt good for everyone…except Varsalo.” I said.
“We were just wondering why Mivian didn’t jump at the opportunity like she did before, and what she was seeing differently.” Zarda reassured.

We all turned to Mivian, who was looking at us with wide eyes. She did not look comfortable where she stood.
“What?” she demanded, backing up a step.
“So, are we right?” I questioned. “Something was different between us and Sarvwen, right?”
I saw Mivian press her lips together looking determined not to crack.
So I kept on pressing.
“Was it something we said?”
“No.”
“Something we did?”
“No.”
“Did we smell? Honestly, was it---”
“NO!”

Mivian threw her hands up, sounding aggravated…rightfully, I guess.

“It was purple, okay? His Energy suddenly turned fuckin’ purple!” she screeched out.

…Purple?

“Purple?” I echoed, confused. “What was purple?”
Mivian’s eyes were distant, her expression horrified as if she was remembering something traumatic.
“I told you, the Energy!” she snapped. “One look and I knew it was lethal!”

Sarvwen did a weird double-take at Mivian.
“Lethal?” he murmured incredulously, his voice hushed.

Zarda and I looked at each other, surprised.
“Tell us about it.” we said, in sync.

And Mivian went off, lost in her traumatic memory.
“It came out of nowhere! It was like a thick, poisonous miasma that just swallowed and devoured all that was in its murderous path!” she rambled, her hands shaking and flailing in the air like a lunatic. “It was deadly, chilling; I’d be stupid to use such evil Energy to fuel my fire!”

Sarvwen looked completely horrified, rendered completely speechless. I, on the other hand was trying hard not to laugh.
“Mivian, are you really talking about Sarvwen here? The white knight of Stranaglastre?” I chuckled.

I don’t think she heard me, because she just carried on rambling.

“Rage, disgust, wrath, spite and this…this overwhelming, blinding, suffocating…”

“…Yea?” I prompted, trying to draw the word out of her.

But Mivian scowled, almost looking sick to her stomach as she seemingly struggled to bring up the right word.
“An urge…” she said, sounding unsure.
“An urge?” I echoed, raising an eyebrow. “For what, exactly?”
“An urge to…shield something…no! Oh, I don’t know!” Mivian spat, aggravated. “All I know is the moment I felt this feeling, I really, really, really, really wanted to rip of Varsalo’s head and stomp on it in a fit of joy; even more than I usually want to, and it was this thick…mushy feeling…”

Purple, deadly and…mushy…
Nope, doesn’t ring any bells.

But then, Zarda hit me in the arm.
“Hey, Zav, let’s think back on the situation. What could have really set off Sarvwen?” he questioned.
I shrugged carelessly.
“Easy. The asshole. Every word that comes shooting out of his mouth pisses everyone off.” I said.
“But Sarvwen’s a guy that normally doesn’t get bothered by immaturity. He would stay cool no matter what others do to him.” my twin argued.
Well, that was a valid point. It didn’t seem to take much for Varsalo to set Sarvwen off.
I thought back to the event in Elder’s Hall.

…Ding. Light Bulb.

“But Varsalo unknowingly pressed the right button.” I said.
Zarda nodded in agreement.
“And that button can only be one thing; the one thing he was targeting---”

“Psh. That’s easy.” Mivian said, completely recovering from her ‘trauma’. “It’s Thya.”

I saw Sarvwen’s eyes go wide as he wheeled around at Mivian. She just shrugged.
He turned to look at us, and we just returned him a pair of amused looks.
“Well, I’ll get defensive for any of my close friends,” he said, trying to sound casual.
“And how close are you to Thya, exactly?” I teased.
“No, it’s nothing like that! I have no special feelings for her in any way!” Sarvwen returned, very defensive.

Zarda turned to me, his arms crossed over his chest.
“Zav, you hear that? She’s nothing special to him.” he hissed loudly.
“Yea, but apparently, we’re less special and not as close because when we were getting abused, he didn’t come to our rescue.” I hissed back, just as audible.
“Guys, please!” Sarvwen said, laughing. “I mean, look at us! We can’t even get along fine. We can’t last five minutes in the same room without fighting!”

Zarda looked at me, and I looked at him.
We grinned.
“Foreplay.” we said.

Sarvwen’s faced dropped for five seconds before turning red.

Mivian stepped forward, taking a supportive hold on Sarvwen’s upper arm.
“Sarvwen, it’s not a huge hidden secret. The only one that hasn’t really noticed yet is…well, Thya, who is stubborn like that---” she cut off, a look of realization coming over her.
“Wait a minute, you mean to tell me that the whole purple raging miasma was triggered by your feelings for her?!”

Sarvwen’s face became even redder.

“Shut up! I don’t have any special feelings for her!” he shouted.

I laughed, shaking my head.
“Alright, Sarvwen.” I chuckled. “Well, I’m going to go look for my book in the Library so I’ll see you guys later.”
“Should I go with you?” Zarda asked.
I brushed off his offer by waving him away.
“Nah, this should be quick.” I said. “Go on ahead; I’ve killed enough of your time.”
Zarda allowed it, nodding.
“I’ll be at the training grounds if you need me.” he said.

I turned away in the opposite direction, towards the Atrium of the Central Towers.
“I’ll head over afterwards.” I called over my shoulder.

I gave the group one last wave before sticking my hands into Zarda’s jacket pocket and started to head back to the Library.

* * * * * * *

The Hall of Knowledge was still and quiet as always and I didn’t see one Immortal in plain sight. My footsteps felt oddly loud as I took random twists and turns through the labyrinth of fully stocked fifteen-foot tall bookshelves.

“Book, book, where is my book,” I muttered to myself.

I took another turn, trying unsuccessfully to retrace my steps.
I had my book when I was leaving, but not when we were meeting up with Druce. How the hell did I manage to lose something in this short amount of time?

I stopped for a few second to think. Maybe I should go back to my usual hiding spot, and start from there.

I felt myself go into auto-pilot as I turned the familiar corners, heading into a smaller, concealed and private study area, a place that had become one of my sanctuaries.

And up until recently, it had worked as an excellent hiding place.

I took one last turn--- and stopped, surprised.

The wide table where I usually settled myself was occupied with piles and piles of books, and a feminine figure buried behind them occupied one of the seats.
I slowly approached the table, peeked around the barricade of books and saw a head of long, light, chestnut colored hair. Just as I stepped forward, the girl looked up and stared at me with her wide light green eyes.
“Zavius!” she spoke out, just as surprised to see me.
“Thya, what are you doing here? And what’s with all these books?” I asked.
I pulled a book off one of the piles and looked at the cover.
“Rebirthing: Existence of Immortals and their Soul Memory,” I read out loud.
I picked up another book from the pile.
“Origins of Immortality… What is all this?” I asked, confused.

Thya looked back down at the book she was reading, all the sudden completely captivated by the text.

“Oh, you know, some personal research,” she said vaguely.
“On what?” I pressed, raising an eyebrow.
“On a topic I just have an interest in. Is that a problem?” she returned, her response a bit edgy. “And don’t mess up my piles; I just organized them into categories.”

Intrigued and still confused, I picked up another book on top of the next pile.
“Slayers Energy and Unique Abilities,” I read.
I turned to the third pile of books.
“History of Galiasis: The Four Gates Union…Thya, are you questioning your own existence?”

Thya snatched the books out of my hands and returned them to their original piles.
“Do you mind? Researching here,” she growled irritably.
“What’s all the fuss?” I demanded. “And what’s so important that you need to read up on it?”
Thya slammed the thick book she was reading shut and dismissively pushed it aside before reaching for the next book.
“Nothing urgent; it’s just something that puzzles me.” she said.

I glanced at the title of the book she had just pushed away: Pure-blooded Race of Human History.

“Thya?”
“What?” she demanded, sounding very put out.
“Does any of this have anything to do with wherever Ravador took you after our Summons?” I asked.

Thya’s hand froze over the ivory pages. She didn’t even look up at me.
“Why do you ask that?” she asked, not answering me.
“Because that would make some sense, I guess.” I said. “Something happened, or you found out something.”
“I didn’t find anything.” she replied smoothly in her poker face.
“But you don’t research randomly just out of curiosity.”
Thya let out a short laugh.
“That’s so not true. I do too research things when I’m curious.” she said.
I raised an eyebrow at her. Not buying it.
“Yea, but to this extent?” I argued, waving my hand at the piles of books. “This is being curious? Even you wouldn’t exert this much effort on just curiosity.”

Thya stared at me long and hard, her mouth pressing into tat stubborn line of hers. But then, she sighed and closed her eyes, her expression defeat-written.

“Okay…okay,” she muttered. “But I can’t tell you anything; I was sworn to secrecy.”
Secrecy, huh? Well that sounds interesting.
“What for?” I asked.
Thya laughed quietly, shaking her head.
“If I told you, I would be telling you something.” she said lightly. “Though I don’t get why it’s such a huge secret, really. You guys will have to be informed of all this eventually.”
“You guys?” I echoed. “You mean our supposedly hand-selected team of newly gifted advancers?”
Thya looked up at me sternly and pointed with her index finger.
“Hey, look not at our Supreme Elder’s judgment with doubtful eyes.” she said warningly, jabbing her finger towards me. “He and his wisdom are never wrong, and he chose us to entrust with this huge secret.”

I grinned, unable to help myself as I leaned across the table towards her.
“So your secret is about the Electus mission.” I noted.

Thya blinked, staring blankly at me. Then a look of realization flashed in her stare.
“Oh…you are good, you sneaky deviant.” she spoke lowly, her eyes narrowing. “You completely threw me off of my plans to keep quiet.”
I laughed at her grudged look.
“Does that mean you’re going to tell me all about the secret?” I asked, sounding a bit hopeful.
Thya grinned back at me, looking mischievous.
“Ha, ha, ha…no” she said, giving me a final jab in the chest. She slumped back in her chair and opened another book from the pile to her left.

Hmph, what a stiff. She can’t just slip up like that and leave me empty-handed for my job-well-done.

“Well, is there anything you could tell me?” I asked, though I wasn’t expecting much.
So I was surprised when she peered up at me with an impish smirk and put her book down.
“Well, I suppose telling you what I’m researching wouldn’t be against the deal,” she mused innocently.
Instantly, I felt myself lighten up.
“Yea? So what can you tell me?” I pressed eagerly.
But Thya tsk-tsked at me, waving her index finger at me.
“On one condition: I’ll only answer questions you ask me.” she said.
“Fine,” I replied, brushing it off. “How big is this secret, anyway?”
Thya groaned, rolling her eyes.
“It’s huge! So enormous that all facts and knowledge of this secret is strictly exclusive to those that were directly involved.” she hissed. “That means to those outside of us, Sir Elder Ravador, Mjoré, and Druce, and the Electus teams involved, all that mission was, was a body Retrieval.”
I mused, thinking.
“Speaking of which, that vampyre; she really existed?”
“Of course she exists.” Thya said. “There really was a dead vampyre. A relatively younger one; only a few centries old by estimates but she was seemingly strong. She really did put up a fight when---”
Then she let out an outraged cry.
“Zavius!” she growled. “I’m giving you more than you deserve!”

I raised my hand up defensively, shrugging.
“Hey, more info for me, the better.” I laughed. “Feel free to keep on going.”
Thya glared darkly at me, her eyes narrowing again. She flicked her wrist in a fluid motion towards me.
I felt an invisible force shove me back and I was flying. One blink of the eye and I found myself lifted a good number of feet effortlessly into the air.
“Question my research.” she said lowly. “And my research only.”
I felt my arms starting to go numb.
“Alright, alright!” I let out, giving in. “Research only!”

The tension suspending me suddenly disappeared, and I dropped like a rock.
I landed lightly on my feet with ease, barely making a sound.

“Damn, Thya,” I muttered, rubbing out my left shoulder to get the circulation going again. “Isn’t that a form of abuse of ability?”
Thya snapped her fingers, and the book on the table in front of her slapped close on its own.
“It’s always good to exercise your ability.” she sighed lightly, checking her nails. “You’re not suggesting a fragil and gentle lady to do some heavy lifting, are you?”
“Huh, I scoffed lightly, shaking my head. “Of course not, my fair lady; wouldn’t want to risk breaking your delicate fingernails with all that harsh labor.”
Thya flashed me one of her ‘dazzling’ smiles.
“Well, my telekinesis has to be handy somehow.” she said. “Now, you may ask questions, but only on my private research.”

I approached the table once again and drew out a chair directly across from Thya.
“Alright. First question: What are you researching?” I asked, anxiously eyeing the piles of books that were now towering over my head.
“As the titles you read suggests; the existence of Immortals, origins of Immortality, and the abilities of a Slayer.” she said as-matter-of-factly.
“But why? What for?” I pried.
Thya mused thoughtfully, carefully choosing her answers.
“Well…the ‘why’ would be because I am intrigued. By what, I am not at the liberty to say.” she replied. “And ‘what for’ would be for my curiosity and knowledge.”
“Ugh,” I muttered, scowling at the vague answers. “Then what is it that you want to know?”

Thya snapped her fingers, her expression suddenly bright.

“Now that is a great question.” she said approvingly. “Simply put, I am trying to learn more into how an Immortal can come to be.”
She reached over and pulled a book off the top of the nearest pile.
“I thought I should start by going back to the root of Immortality.” she explained, showing me the cover of the book.

It was the Origings of Immortality.

“And? Did it tell you anything outside of what we were taught already?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Thya sighed, and set the book down.
“Not so much, unfortunately. Just about how our souls were able to be reborn into Immortality completely intact, how our Soul Memories take affect on the whole process.” she murmured.
“So the book told you nothing.” I concluded, questioningly.
“Yes…and no.” she said.

When I gave her a look of confusion, she explained.

“This book clarified one vital thing in my research; all Light Immortals, Citizen or Slayer, absolutely has to have a Soul Memory. What puts an Immortal as one or the other is completely dependent on how deep and developed the essence of their memory is.”
“Simple and Complex Soul Memory.” I said. “We Slayers have the Complex Soul Memory.”
Thya nodded.
“Right. That is where our individual unique abilities are formed.” she added. “But that’s the thing.”
“The thing…” I echoed in confusion.

Thya got up from her chair and started to pace. Her expression was clouded in deep thought.

“Another part of my research is on the abilities, or formally called Gifts of a Slayer.” she explained.
She plucked another book off the table as she passed, this time from another pile.
“Now, History of Galiasis: The Four Gates Union actually shed more light about our unique abilities than I had expected.” she said. “Though, what was written were more stories than facts.”
“Stories? What kind of stories?” I asked.
Thya stopped pacing and turned back to me. Her eyes seemed to flash in excitment.
“Zavius, how much do you know about the Six Legends of Galiasis?” she asked.

I blinked, surprised at the twist of topics.
“Uh, not much. Just that the Six Legends were selected to save the other worlds…or something along those lines.” I said dismissively. “It’s just an old legend.”
“Or is it?” Thya returned, smirking.
She glided back towards the table and set the book in front of me.
What this book had to say about the Divinus, or the Six Legends, actually kind of made sense.” she said. “It is said that in the Dividing War, the four remaining original Great Exemplars selected and cast six souls to the six other universes to protect and eventually take down the Dark Lord.”
“Yea, I know the gist of the tale,” I said. “According to the story, those six are the first and original group of Immortals to come to existence.”
Thya nodded.
“Right. And each had their own unique traits, strength and virtures.”
I hummed to myself, taking all of this in.
“Yea, that makes sense.” I noted. “But what does this have to do with our abilities?”
I saw Thya’s smile widen with excitement.
“According to this, the Six Legends all hold great powers, each a hundred times stronger than any Slayer of any rank or title.” she hissed, as if what she was telling me was the ultimate secret. “They each wield an ability and that’s where our unique abilities branch from.”
I frowned.
“How? That doesn’t make much sense.” I commented. “Even if these Legends, Divinus or whatever really did exist, we wouldn’t be connected to them at all.”
“Oh, but it does make sense.” Thya replied. “According to the Legend, to prove their loyalties to the Light and their Purpose, each Divinus offered something that was a part of them to the foundation of Galiasis.”
“Like gifts,” I stated, trying to follow.
“Exactly like gifts.” Thya said. “What each offered was a part of their ability they each wielded. So they directly helped the Four Guardians in building the Four Gates Union we know today.”

I thought hard, going over and over what I was just told.

“I still don’t quite follow.” I said.
Thya sighed, shaking her head tiredly.
“It basically means that we have our abilities because of the Six Legends’ blessings. We took in a part of them by discovering our unique abilities…or they changed us through their blessings…I don’t know. That part was sort of vague.” she said. “But if I was to give an example, I think I can say that I got my telekinesis from the blessing of the Second Legend, the Wielder of Control.”
“Legends…Wielders…” I echoed skeptically.
Thya slid the book across the table towards me.
“Just take it; I think it’ll be clearer if you read it for yourself.”

I took up the book off the table and stared at the title before setting it down again.

“I don’t know,” I said. “Sounds all made up to me.”
Thya pouted at me disapprovingly.
“Zavius, have an open mind.” She said. “You never know; it could all be true.”
“All you have told me was ‘according to this’ and ‘according to that.’ Not one thing can be said to be based on hard facts.” I argued. “How can you not expect me to be a skeptic?”

Thya’s expression became so dejected then that I immediately felt bad.

Suppressing a sigh, I picked the History of Galiasis up off the table.
“But reading through it isn’t going to kill me.” I grunted.
Thya’s face lit up once again.
“That would be great, Zavius! You know you may actually like what you read in there.” she gushed.
I sighed then, shaking my head.
“I don’t know; not my type of genre.” I said, waving the book in my hand. “You really do like fairy tales, don’t you, Thya?”
Thya just shrugged, crossing her arms.
“This and that are two different things.” she brushed off easily. “Just read it and tell me what you think.”

I sighed and glanced at the piles of books on the table once more.
Still, I wonder…

“Hey Thya?”
“Hmm?”
“Why get so deeply involved with all this research?” I asked.

Thya’s happy expression froze, and soon it was replaced by a troubled look.
“Zavius, can I ask one thing?” she murmured.
I frowned, puzzled at her reaction.
“Huh?”
“Can it…is it possible for---”
Thya stopped, and she closed her eyes.
I saw her hand tighten into a fist on her jacket sleeve.
“Thya? What---” I started, when she cut me off again.
“Is it possible for an Immortal, a very strong Immortal…to come into existence with no memory of their human life?”

I stopped, her abrupt question throwing me off. Thya was looking at me, her stare demanding an answer.
What had brought this up?

“Thya, you know the answer without having to ask; we were taught this numbers of times.” I spoke slowly, watching her reaction with care. “These memories are vital to our existence; they are the reason why we are alive now in this world.”
Thya started to argue almost immediately.
“I know, but what if there is a chance, like if one were to have some sort of amnesia---”
“An Immortal’s Soul Memory is their Life, their Light.” I cut in. “To come to exist with no memory of who you are and how you came to be inevitably leads to Chaos, and the soul will become a Fiend. But to lose all human memory you once had as an Immortal, that means that you had become a Fallen.”
Thya’s troubled expression gre deeper.
“But what if…” she said unsurely.
“Thya, you said it yourself. Your research completely backed this up.” I pointed out, trying to reason with her.

Thya got really quiet, her eyes lost in deep thought.
“But I don’t believe…” she mumbled, and shut her eyes once again.
Then she sighed.
“You must be right.” she muttered, not sounding convinced at all.

I studied her, watching her expression carefully.
Something about this nagged me in the wierdest way…
“Thya…”

“I heard that Varsalo got sent to the Infirmary.” Thya said, grinning all the sudden.
I blinked, again taking a moment to adjust to the quick change in topic.
“Uh…oh yea. He threw up in the Elder’s Hall.” I said.
Thya gasped, her expression wide-eyed in part horror, and part awe.
“Oh my…Deus! He threw up?” she demanded in a hushed tone of shock.
She threw herself down back into her seat ad leaned eagerly across the table, giving me one hundred-percent of her attention.
“I mean, ugh! Disgusting! How appalling ; to vomit in the Elder’s Hall!” she gushed excitedly. “Tell me everything! What in the name of Divine did you do?”

I frowned at her.
“Woah, hey; slow down for a second. I didn’t do anything to him. It was all Sarvwen.” I said defensively.
“Ha!” Thya shot out, shaking her head. “Nice one, Zavius. No really, what happened?”
“Thya, I’m not kidding. Sarvwen was the one who reduced Varsalo to a slurring pile of waste.” I said levelly.
Thya stopped, looking at me funny.
“Sarvwen.” she said, as if to confirm.
“Yea, Sarvwen.” I repeated.
“The too-goodie Sarvwen?”
I rolled my eyes at Thya’s stubborn disbelief.
“Yea. The only Sarvwen we know.” I said.
“No, you’re lying.” she said.
I looked at her dead in the eye for emphasis.
“Thya, if I was to lie, wouldn’t you think I’ll make up a better lie that is more convincing?” I reasoned.

Thya stared at me, and I stared at her.
Slowly, a look of shock creeped over her face as the full gravity of the situation sank in. She let out a loud gasp.
“Deus!” she yelled out, her voice coming out in muliple layers.

I flinched at her loud tone and immediately started to swat at her.
“Shut up! Keep your voice down!” I hissed, cringing behind the towering piles of books. “What if Riza found us?”
Thya’s eyes were wide as she clapped both hands over her mouth.
“Dammit, Thya.” I was hissing when two arms shot forward and grabbed me by my jacket collar.

“You are going to tell me everything; every little detail.” Thya was hissing-yelling, shaking me as she practically towed my body across the table towards her. “Leave a single thing out and die!”

My hands caught Thya’s on my jacket, trying to pry her fingers off.
“Shh! Okay! Alright, I’ll tell you!” I gasped. “Just easy on the brute force!”
Thya’s grip disappeared, and I slid back into my chair.
“Damn, I thought you don’t do heavy lifting.” I muttered.
“Talk.” Thya ordered, her expression scary and excited.
“Okay, okay,” I said, holding my hands up defensively.
“You just missed it; right after you left with Ravador, Varsalo started to nag Sarvwen about him not fitting into the group and how he was a Healer, and how useless Healers are on the battlefield---”
I could see Thya’s face growing steadily darker that I felt where I sat was a very dangerous place to be.
“And, uh, basically…he said that he was nothing special---”

Two fists came down on the table with such force that the books on the table actually jumped a good foot off the surface.
“Bastard! Who does he think he is?” Thya snarled vehemently, her eyes practically a blaze. “Sarvwen’s one of the most promising young Slayers of his generation and he is said he is useless? Does he think he can place himself higher than Sarvwen? HA! That smallfry can’t even level shoulders with him and his ability, nevermind surpassing it!”

The piles of books visibly started to shake, some even lifting off their piles and floated unstably in air.
Yup, my life was in danger right now.

Thya was still raging.
“It’s no wonder why Sarvwen snapped! Good for him for shutting him up!”
“Well, wait a minute, that’s not what set him off.” I said, cutting in.
Thya’s eyes flashed dangerously.
“What, there’s more?” she growled.
“Just hear me out, Thya.” I said hastily. “What really pissed Sarvwen off wasn’t anything Varsalo said about him.”

Thya blinked, suddenly calm again. The bookes suspended in the air fell right back into its piles as if nothing had happened.
“Then what was it? What else could it possibly be?” she demanded.

I let out the breath I realized I was holding and relaxed.
“Well…to tell you the truth, Varsalo did target Sarvwen. But verbally, he started with you.”
I cringed, waiting for the books to go flying again. When nothing happened, I peeked over at Thya.
Thya was looking at me in clear confusion.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
I sighed, somehow very worn-out and tired all of the sudden.
“Right after you left, Varsalo started to say how lucky it must be to be Sir Elder’s favorite…and he was referring to you.” I said. “In fact, most of what he had to say was about you, none of them nice.”

A startled look shined through the confusion and Thya’s eyes went wide.
“Do you still want to know what happened between the two?” I asked.
Thya seemed to pause a bit before she answered.
“Word for word.” she said.

So I told her, starting right from the beginning where Varsalo called her Ravador’s pet, a coward, a leech and how Mivian reacted to Sarvwen’s rage. I kept going, completely absorbed by the story telling.

“He ws just asking for it; after he challenged you he said something about you seducing your enemies to submission and BAM! The next second he was on the ground, writhing in pain.”

Thya didn’t say anything, completely caught up in the story recap. So I continued.

“I didn’t even see it coming. One blink of an eye and Sarvwen was gone, and Varsalo was one the ground. And well, I got to say, Sarvwen was scary, but almost too cool. It was impressive.”
Thya looked at me, snapping out of her daze.
“How so?” she asked.
I considered, scratching the back of my head as I thought about where to begin.
“Uh…well, he really did delivered the whole package. He got seven hit on him just in the front, and he really did keep his cool after he got his hits.” I said. “Sarvwen really stuck he neck out to defend you. Even a guy like me can’t deny that he was real smooth.”
“Defended?” Thya repeated. Sarvwen defended me?”
I frowned, not understanding where the confusion was.
“Of course he was defending you.” I said. “If I remember clearly, which I do, he said this to Varsalo: ‘If you can’t even take me on, Thya’s no match for you. She’s not the cheap, weak, brainless whore you seemed to have thought her to be.’”
Thya regained her alertness in the same second.
“He said that?” she breathed.
“Oh yea; I swear on my Slayer’s Honor.” I said. “Oh, and he did his twisting-the-argument comback thing he does so well, and defended his position as a Healer too. ‘I may just be an amateur Healer, but it doesn’t mean I’m useless in combat. If anything it makes me stronger. If I know how to fix a body, I sure as hell know how to break one.’ Damn, too cool, it makes me a little jealous.”
Then, I frowned.
“Hey, are you okay?” I asked. “Your face is red; you’re not sick, are you?”
Thya stiffened and she turned away quickly.
“Oh shut up.” she muttered, flustered.

That was all she said.
I sighed and got up from the table.
“Well, that’s all I got to tell you.” I said, stretching.
“You’re leaving?” Thya asked.
“Yea, Zarda’s waiting and I still need to find my book I lost. It’s why I came here in the first place.” I said.
Thya blinked at me, a sudden look of realization coming over her.
“Oh, that’s right.” she muttered.

She reached over to the chair next to her and lifted up a book.
It was the Immortal Perception and Discovered Senses.
“I found it here when I first got in.” she said. “I thought I’d hold onto it until I saw you next.”

I took the book from her, breathing out in relief.
“You’re a life saver.” I said gratefully.
I picked up the History of Galiasis and tucked the two books under my arm.
“I’ll get back to you with a thorough review.” I said, patting the book’s thick binding.
Thya smiled.
“Looking forward to it, Double-Trouble Two.” she said.

I gave her one last wave before I turned to leave.

“Oh hey, Zavius?”

I stopped and looked over my shoulder.
Thya was watching me, her expression a bit careful.
“Your own ability is somewhere inside of you. I’m sure of it.” she said encouragingly.

I forced a smile and lifted a hand in acknowledgement before turning back to leave the Hall of Knowledge.