The First Peak | Open

Shane looked up towards the peak of Avolire Mountain, right hand over his brows to shield his eyes from the glaring sun. The morning sun was refreshing, as the blonde mage worked out the soreness in muscles, stretching and preparing for the second half of the climb. The roar of the torrent of water rushing down Ivory Cascades reverberated in his ears, shutting off any other sounds in his immediate surroundings. Occasionally when he glanced over at the waterfall, Shane could see a head or two poking out of the curtain of water.

So, what those folks said were true. Merfolk huh?

Heaving his backpack once again on his shoulders, the superhero wannabe decided it was time to use some magic. Closing his eyes, Shane focused on tapping into his magic’s energy reservoir, slowly increasing the amount of energy he was taking in.

10%.

20%.

25%..

27%...

29%...

30%...

31%...

32%...

30%.

Shane opened his eyes, letting out a grunt and look of dissatisfaction on his face. He looked at the bulging veins on his arms as they slowly settled. It was simple for him to draw up the 30% instantly. However, he had been stuck on only being able to use 30% of magic’s capabilities for a few months, unable to progress.

Nothing to do but sigh in resignation for now, Shane flexed his arms and neck again before squatting slightly. Immediately after, Shane leapt off onto the mountain wall, fingers stabbing into the dirt and rocks for a hold. The second half of the climb was infinitely easier as the superhero wannabe propelled himself upwards continuously with his enhanced strength. He was going to reach the top any moment now.

At the base of the mountain by the path, Luna hammered down a sign post that read To potential recruits, please note that you do not have to scale the mountain to join the guild, the path is an acceptable option. Also we are not liable for any injuries if you so chose to climb." on her way to the guild hall. She was growing concerned with everyone thinking that was a mandatory requirement, and she hoped that this wouldn't scare away recruits.

She stretched her arms while the human form young mermaid beside her stared at the sign. Neptuna was clad in a white dress and beige sandals. "Mommy, what's this sign for?" Luna put the hammer in a satchel that she was carrying off her shoulder before leading the mermaid up the hill. "To let people know we don't expect anyone to climb the mountain unless they so choose."

She tapped the back of her neck with one hand while resting the other on Neptuna's shoulder as they walked up the path, and disappearing in a flash of multicolored light, before a subsequent flash appeared on top, in front of the front gates to the fortress. Luna almost snapped her fingers to open the golden gate, but she sensed something new. A life force radiating with energy was coming up the mountain. Luna never really understood why people would climb up the mountain needlessly, there was a path. "Is someone climbing?" The mermaid asked, the fairy nodded.

Luna was about to summon one of the beings she was bound with in a foreign realm, Chuck, to form a ladder. Luna could see that he was determined, and the power within him was curious,as seemed to cause the man to have multiple life force signatures. If something were to happen, Luna knew she could easily rescue him. She stepped back, awaiting his arrival. "That man, it's like he's an army... How curious, almost like Integration."

Neptuna looked up at Luna, confused by the comparison. "You mean he can merge with things too?" Luna shook her head. "Not that part. I'll explain later." Luna and Neptuna would walk away from the edge, to prevent themselves from being in his way once he climbed up.

A grin appeared on Shane’s face as he looked up, finally seeing an end to the mountain face that reached ever so sharply to the top. He finally nearing a ledge and from the speed he was rocketing up the side of the mountain, the superhero-in-training knew that this was probably the mountain peak. With a new rush of vigor, Shane pushed himself higher and faster, more recklessly now. His fingertips finally touched upon the edge of the ledge and with a deep breath, pushed down on his hands and blasted himself into the air.

“I AM HERE!” the blonde mage shouted loudly in exuberance. His eyes then caught sight of two girls, one with pink hair and another one much shorter. The girl with the pink hair had an expression he couldn't discern, while the shorter girl looked like any abrupt movement from Shane would frighten her. It seems that she had anticipated him too, as she had kept her distance from the ledge, for the very reason of not impeding Shane as he reached the top. The two girls had completely took all his attention, so much that Shane had completely ignore the huge castle cast out of pure gold and so bright that it could cause anybody’s eyes to tear up.

Adjusting his body’s angle, Shane allowed himself to drop on the ground heavily, cracking the ground slightly beneath his right foot before his left foot touched down, arms by his side to brace himself and keep his balance. The raw power coursing through his entire body was withdrawn, reverting him back to his normal strength within seconds.
Walking up to the pink-haired girl, Shane heartily thrust out his right hand for a handshake, the smile on his face ever present.

“Hi! I’m Shane Stern. I’m here to join Aurora! Nice to meet you!”

The exuberant behavior of the man seemed to match his energy as he jumped above the cliff. Luna was amazed by the stamina of the blond man, but his shouting and sudden appearance startled the blond scared the mermaid as she shrieked and hid behind her adopted mother. She was a frail creature, Luna patted the mermaid, trying to reassure her that there was nothing to fear from the man. Luna sighed as she predicted the pattern, not liking the fact that the man's landing was cracking the ground. She knew she had to find an earth mage eventually to strengthen the mountain path up to the fortress.

She accepted the handshake as she introduced herself to Shane, glad to meet the newest addition to the Aurora guild. However the decline of energy seemed to bother Luna as the power of him was curious, but Luna figured she would learn about him in time.  "Hello, I am Lunaris Mira, Master of the Aurora Guild, pleasure to meet you, call me Luna though. This little cutie behind me is my daughter, Neptuna. She's a bit, shy around you humans." Neptuna poked her head out from behind Luna, as she nervously spoke out. "Hel... hello."

After Luna let go of he man, she snapped her fingers, before the large solid gold gates opened, and the doors to the foyer behind the small courtyard as well. Luna started to walk into the fortress, gesturing for the man to follow. "Come on in. Welcome to the guild."

Shane traced the guild master’s sight to the ground beneath his feet and he followed it with his own gaze. His big smile turned sheepish, as he saw the cracks webbing out around him. They were on a mountain top and if everyone had landed in the same fashion as him, it wouldn’t be long before the plateau collapsed, bringing the golden fortress along with it. To Shane, the golden castle that served as the headquarters of Aurora was a glimmering work of marvel but calling it a castle was too romantic for his tastes. To him, it was a fortress. An impregnable fortress atop an awe-inspiring landscape.

The superhero in training got a little guilty when Lunaris explained Neptuna’s behavior. He noticed the shriek and her bolting behind her mother to hide from him, only showing her head as he spoke with her mother. Before they proceeded to enter the guild headquarters, Shane grinned and the blonde mage bent down so that their faces were almost level.

“Hello, I’m Shane. Sorry for frightening you, Neptuna.”

Luna was glad that the new recruit had the heart to apologize, but she kept in mind humans who show their power first made Neptuna uneasy. She held the small mermaid's hand as Neptuna slowly stopped cowering behind her fairy adopted mother to look at the man as she accepted his apology. "It's... it's fine." Luna smiled gently to the girl as she led the group inside, trying to keep Neptuna from panicking. "It's fine, you don't have to speak if you don't want to."

Luna led the other two into the golden fortress, the elegant golden walls and marble floors of the foyer would leave one breathless but but after a few weeks, Luna had gotten used to it. "We've barely explored less than a tenth of the castle. From what we gathered, this fortress could sustain a full small kingdom. " Luna walked through the decorated halls, and ended up by two large wide open doors leading to the mess hall. It was a large hall filled with two rows of long oak tables horizontally, going from the front to near the back of the room, where there was an elevated stage. Against the right side was a bar with a door behind the counter, and one a short distance too the side, both leading to the kitchen. "This is the mess hall, besides one of the various lounges, library, or job board room, this is where you'd find a lot of members."

Luna then gestured to a door down the hall, explaining the purpose. "But first things first, this was just a stop on the way. The most important room for you to know, is this way." Luna walked down to that door, and opened it. It revealed a medium sized room that was barren with the exception of a golden framed bulletin board against the back wall, taking up the whole length, filled with various postings with cash rewards, the job wall. Along the right side was a medium sized desk that had a box with a slit on the top. Beside the box, and chained to the desk was a golden pen. There was a safe built into the golden wall beside the desk.

"This is the job board room, when you take a job, sign your name on the back of the notice and put it in the box." Luna approached the safe, and tapped the dial and it moved automatically to unlock itself. Inside the safe, was a stack of paper, and the magic stamper for the guild tattoos. Luna took out a sheet of paper that had the guild crest at the top, and a lot of blank spaces to be filed in. She put one down on the table before she pulled out the stamper. "Please fill that out later, preferred the same time as or before you take a job. Just put it in the bin, basic information plus an optional next kin section."

Luna held the large silver stamper as she she fiddled with a dial at the base, changing the color of the stamper as Luna prepped it. "As you probably know, guild members are required to have the emblem somewhere on their physical form. Where am I putting this and what color?"

If the outside had been blindingly glorious, the inside was out of this world. Shane had his breath taken out of him the moment he walked into Avolire Castle, barely able to believe his eyes. He had seen his fair share of guild headquarters. Imposing and large buildings that played on the defining characteristics of each guild, some friendly, some threatening. Each of them had been as magnificent as they could be, but Avolire Castle. The castle was something else entirely. Out of this world even.

Shane walked closely behind Luna as they toured the castle, or rather a tenth of it. A question came to mind immediately the moment she had said it. However, Shane decided not to interrupt her and just followed her, taking note of everything she had said. Every step he took into the castle mesmerized him, his understanding of the word luxurious continuously being broken and redefined.

It wasn’t until they walked into the Job Board room, that Shane finally got his bearings straight again. The blonde grinned, watching the numerous jobs on the board, catering to all ranks of mages in Aurora. He would be returning here very soon without doubt. His attention was pulled back to the guild master when she took out a piece of paper and put in on the table for him to fill it out.

The stamper was taken next, in the shape of a unicorn’s head. For the guild emblem. Shane took off his white shirt, exposing his upper body and then moved sideways so that his left side was facing her.

“Left shoulder. Color… Emerald then,” Shane started and then continued after a short hesitation, finger pointing to his left shoulder. Once it was done, the blonde mage put on his white t-shirt.

“So… Just a tenth of this place? What about the remaining parts? Too big, too dangerous or too holy to be explored at all?” Shane asked. He was intrigued by how there could be such a huge part unexplored. “Are we allowed to do our own exploration?”

“Any rules that I need to know of?”

Luna fiddled with the dial as the color of the bottom turned emerald. Luna noticed as the man took his shirt off. She approached the man's body and pressed the stamper against his flesh, it heated up for a second before the emerald mark got imprinted on the man. "There we go, magically imprinted, doesn't come off even if you lose the skin, it will reappear when regenerated. Only I or the magic council have the authority to remove it."

In regards to the question about the castle, Luna herself knew very little. "Well, the castle is perplexing, it was acquired a few weeks ago by Rin Mayou and Theo Silverblood, my predecessors and the founding Guild Masters." Luna puled out her iLac and showed Shane pictures of various maps drawn about the castle, mostly the mapped out floors"
Well, it's more of we've been exploring while taking on jobs. As a guild member, you can choose to live in the castle, there are rooms around the second and third floor but men get the west side. All the vacant rooms are unlocked, they are pretty basic, with a bed, nightstand, table, and chair. There'll be a golden key on the desk, magically binding the room to your guild mark. Can only be bonded once."

Luna put the stamper away back back in the safe, walking away snapping her fingers, the safe closed and locked itself. "Also keep in mind, this castle is full of magic. It is, at times, seemingly self aware. You can explore if you want, but general rule is make note of what you find. Especially if it's dangerous." As the topic shifted to the rules of the guild hall, Luna's demeanor on the outside remained the same, but truth be told she did not like being an authoritarian figure in the slightest, but rules had to be followed.

Luna stepped aside, with a slight gesture Neptuna stepped to the side. Luna's calm eyes turned sharp for a second as she flexed her magic energy causing a light translucent pink aura around her, making a clear rise that Shane could sense. She was dead serious for the brief speech. "I don't like pulling or throwing around my rank as Guild Master, so listen up. We only have a few rules, break them and you answer to me. Do not harm another guild member without valid reason. Do not harm any innocent civilians. Never under any circumstance show the guild seal imprinter to anyone not of the guild unless their joining. Do not try to kill the unicorn guardian Murphy. Do not take on any dark jobs. Lastly, as a member of the Legalized Aurora Guild, you must uphold the respect, dignity, and integrity of the guild wherever you go. if I ever catch you taking a dark job or breaking any rule brutally, there is no place on earth that will save you from me."

Luna's glare held true until she stopped flaring her magic energy and she dropped the seriousness and returned to her calm demeanor with a smile. "So just be a good boy and everything will be fine. Welcome to the guild!" Neptuna returned to her adopted mother's side now that she was done breaking the rules in. "So Shane, is there anything else you wanted to know?"

Shane touched his left shoulder absentmindedly as he listened to the explanation on the guild mark. The pressure from the sudden surge of magical energy in the room threw off the alarm in Shane’s head. The air in the room had suddenly plunged, and for a second, a slight tinge of fear ran through the blonde mage’s entire body. They were as far away from each other as the earth was from the heavens, power-wise. Hell would befall anyone who thought of trifling with the pink-headed guild mistress before him.

The sides of Shane’s mouth twitched upwards, and he smiled again. He had surprised himself. Luna’s sudden display of power had caused him to drop his smile. The rules were very clearly understood. Not that there was any intention in breaking them anyway. Shane knew himself very well, and knew even better what he was striving to achieve. The fire burning within him ignited even further, knowing that he still had a long way to go.

Another even more surprising thing was Shane’s involuntary activation of All Might, thankfully at his maximum limit of 30%. His body had retaliated when Luna showed off her magical strength, his self-defense mechanism kicking in for a fight if the situation turned ugly. The blonde mage quickly called it off, watching as the white steam disperse.

“I’m sorry. I… didn’t do it on purpose,” Shane said with a helpless expression, as he gave Luna his attention. “I don’t have anything more to ask. It’s almost dinner time now, and I guess I should freshen up first. Thanks for the whole tour, guild master.”

Shane picked up the backpack from the ground, left there when he had taken off his shirt to get the guild emblem. He put it on his right shoulder and exited the room, making his way towards the west wing of the castle.