Chapter 44 - First Draft

Chapter 44 - LOT

“Greetings, everyone! I am Captain Oran, and will be leading us on our hour and a half long journey today!” A gray-bearded, muscular man wearing a set of loose, green leather garments, with a saber at his side, spoke aloud, his boisterous voice catching everyone’s attention.

Jack had just finished boarding a large Flame Galleon that was preparing to set sail for the Forinth Stronghold. The ship itself was far larger than it appeared in the distance. It was easily a hundred meters in length, and a few dozen across. This one was a special one, built entirely out of some dark, metal alloy, and covered in mysterious carvings.

Jack could feel a sort of wavering feeling of Spirit, seemingly engraved into the hull of the ship. It was like the entire vessel was an Artifact of some sort, crafted in some unknown manner.

Overseer Byron had given him detailed instructions about where and when to go. He had also given Jack a small badge, representing his status as a leading recruit from the sixth district.

The process getting here had been surprisingly streamlined.

After having a hearty breakfast in his room, he had met up with Bale and Evan one last time, going over their plans.

From there, he had left the inn, and gone over towards the Magma Clan controlled half of the city. He had passed several large parades on the way, celebrating festivities as the end of the Recruitment Drive came about. They’d seen several groups of new recruits that had been accepted bragging around the city, showing off their new status, though they technically hadn’t been fully initiated.

The Magma Clan was one of the Great Clans, one of the most prestigious and powerful organizations in the world, a peak level power. Many people would try to join, even if only to be lower level officials.

Jack had ignored all of this, setting off on his own. He moved quickly, slowing time slightly to better avoid bumping into any of the crowds.

It wasn’t that he was uncomfortable with people. It was just that Jack enjoyed being on his own. His singleminded pursuit of strength to avenge his Clan overwhelmed most other things.

The Magma Clan controlled portion of the city had several interior walls, gating it off from the rest of the city. Most of the west side was, in fact, fully controlled. There was only a small area with a few docks that regular people could access without going through the Magma Clan controlled zone.

All Jack had to do was show the badge to the guards, and he was immediately allowed passage. They even sent a guard with him to help guide him towards the correct dock.

The Magma Clan controlled section of the city felt like any other section of the city, for the most part, except there were no festivities ongoing here. Rather, just ordinary members of the Magma Clan going about their business. Non-members were also allowed in the area, but their were certain restrictions and curfews.

Jack didn’t have a horse. Whenever he needed one, he would rent one out from the local horse and beast rider shops. He simply travelled by foot through the city, taking in the sights. The homes in the west side of the city were all built with dazzling whitestone roofs, and a myriad of stone or wooden walls. The roads were made of paved, black stone, smooth to allow easy access for any manner of walking or riding.

Some were small, simple huts, while others were large, grand palaces. He saw a multitude of shops, of every nature, from blacksmiths to butchers.

The people of the Magma Clan seemed the same as any other group of people.

For some reason, Jack had expected it to be different, somehow. More brutal or fierce. His mental image of the Magma Clan as an evil oppressor of the Space Clan faded somewhat in his mind.

He shrugged, taking in the enormous Flame Galleon he was standing on.

The enormous vessel had several hundred people standing on the deck, milling about, and even more down below. The boat was quite spacious, and from the little Jack had read up about these types of boats before coming, the sections below deck usually had many different rooms, some for storage while others for transporting people, like bedrooms.

Since their journey was a short one, Jack, and the other recruits, were staying on deck.

As he was in the midst of looking at some of the guards of the Magma Clan, wearing their stereotypical glistening red armor, he felt someone tap on his shoulder lightly.

“Hey! You’re one of the recruits that won their battle royale, right?”

Jack turned, and then blinked, slightly taken aback.

A girl with long, lustrous blonde hair and cool green eyes blinked back, repeating her question. She gave Jack a winning smile, complimenting her pretty face. She was one of the most attractive girls Jack had ever seen.

What had taken him aback, however, was the collection of freckles covering her cheeks and nose. It reminded him of Little Seven.

“Yeah. I was in the sixth district, under Overseer Byron. My opponents were too weak, so I ended up winning the round.” Jack responded, shrugging as if it didn’t matter. He had decided to adopt a slightly arrogant persona going into the tourney, feeling it would seem like a natural cover for a new recruit. He also truly felt like all his opponents were far too weak.

“Oh wow! I heard about you!” The girl clapped her hands together excitedly. She seemed to be around Jack’s age.

“I’m Jack, Jack Henson! A new recruit.” When Jack had originally registered his name with the Hunter Association, he hadn’t used his full name, just to be safe. Laujack Draeli Lo’Henson was also far too long of a name.

He stuck out his hand in an amiable fashion. Since she had come up to talk to him, he decided he might as well. It was an hour and a half long trip, and he was feeling a bit jittery.

“Arial Burnheart! An internal member of the Magma Clan.” She shook his hand, shaking with a surprisingly strong grip.Jack felt like her name was familiar, for some reason he couldn't quite pick out.

“How’d you hear about me?” He asked, curious. As he spoke, he glanced around, feeling as if someone was watching him.

There were several dozen new recruits on this Flame Galleon. Jack could see Bale and Evan among them. Off in the distance, Jack could see several other Flame Galleons leaving the dock and headed towards the distant Forinth Stronghold, some big and some small. He could even, faintly, make out a few flying type Spiritual Beasts high in the sky, transporting people. Beasts that were large enough to fly multiple people and tamable were not easy to find.

Besides the new recruits, there were several guards of the Magma Clan, several low level officials and clansmen, and a group of officials all wearing fancier sets of red armor than the regular guards.

Jack could make out Overseer Byron among this group.

He failed to discover what was causing the feeling.

“I asked the Overseers over there! This is the Galleon that is transporting all the new recruits that are participating in the Clan Tournament today!” She waved her hand imperiously at the group of Overseers.

“Of the 38 of you, only 2 of you seemed interesting! I tried talking to the other guy, but he just ignored me. He’s just like Kenneth, always ignoring me.” She pouted, motioning off to the side.

Jack glanced over, and saw a man a few years older than him dressed in all black. A tight black shirt, dark black pants, with a black facemark covering the bottom half of his face. Even his hair was black.

He didn’t see any visible weapons on the man, but sensed a slightly foreboding aura. None of the other new recruits stood anywhere near him.

“Oh, well, sorry you had to deal with that.” Jack shrugged. It’s not like he knew the other guy.

“It’s okay! That being said... I officially declare that we are friends now!” Arial gave Jack a winning smile again.In the background, the Flame Galleon they were on began to shift forward as it left the dock. It moved like how Jack thought a ship at sea would, leaning forward slightly and then backwards, as if it was riding waves.

Jack almost stumbled as he felt it move, trying to get an even footing. It was a very unusual feeling.

“That seems a bit abrupt, doesn't it? We’ve only known each other for something like 45 seconds.” He stared at her oddly. He had never met a girl that acted like this.

“That’s okay! Some people fall in love at first sight, right? Why can’t people fall in friendship at first sight!” She tossed her blonde hair back over her shoulder, the winning smile on her face never wavering.

“I… I don’t think it works that way…” Jack was at a loss for words.

“Of course it does! And since we are officially friends now, let’s have a friendly spar!”

..

Below the decks of the same Flame Galleon Jack was on, one could find an especially large room, filled with several tables and chairs. Charts, maps, and random logs of data covered each table, a plethora of information that ranged from details of the Magma Lake, to locations of monster spawns and rare materials, to trade routes and planned invasions. A rather haphazard collection of sensitive information.

In this room, several higher ranking officials of the Magma Clan could be seen, pouring over some of these maps and logs, talking about several different topics. In particular, a group of officials all wearing red leather sets of armor, emblazoned with the emblem of a burning heart, could be seen sitting at the grandest table, going over a set of logs relating to new recruits.

“Lord Ayalda, your daughter is causing trouble among the new recruits.” One of the officials walked up to this table, and spoke to the man at the head of the table.

The man, and clear leader in the room, had short blonde hair, and a lined, weathered face. He had a strong jaw and a nose that had been broken before, with piercing brown eyes. He seemed to be in his mid 50s.

“Isn’t she ever… the little minx…” The man sighed, rubbing his forehead. His words were filled with affection, however, softening the edge.

“What is it now?” He replied, turning to look at the official, a tall man wearing a set of simple brown robes.

“She has challenged one of the recruits to a spar. In particular, one of the recruits of note reported by the 5th District Overseer.” The official responded.

“What? Doesn’t she know the Clan Tournament starts in a few hours? I- No, nevermind, of course she does. She is my daughter, after all. The 5th District, eh? She must have challenged the recruit that may have studied under one of the Seventeen.” Lord Ayalda replied, looking towards the official expectantly.

“Yes, your lordship.” The tall official responded with a nod.

“Let them spar. Provide them with wooden swords, I’m sure we have a few lying around. See to it that the new recruit gets treated by one of the Light Clan healers before the Tournament, however, and fully. Also make sure he gets a reward for this, but do it after we dock.” He waved the official away, turning back towards the table in front of him.

“Now, back to where we were.” He said, looking down at the lists of new recruits.

“The allocation of forces to oversee the Samier Collective has run into issues due to interference by the Golden Flame Clan. Therefore, we will begin shifting new recruits there to gain experience and solidify their loyalty. I think we will begin with a shifted campaign here in the Asborn Mountains…”

The various men sitting around the table nodded and all began responding in turn, helping plan the futures of the new recruits of the Magma Clan, as well as working on a response to the Golden Flame Clan’s interference.

Up on deck, just a few minutes later, an unusual spar started to break out.