Lucus and Mada positioned themselves behind two large trees across from each other along the path. They both gripped their weapons and waited patiently for the unavoidable confrontation. In Mada's case, his weapon of choice was a set of gauntlets. He was a close-range fighter who felt more pleasure from beating his enemies in a hand-to-hand fight, so he didn't like to mettle with blades of any sort. Though this might seem like it would give his enemies an advantage in a battle, Mada's capabilities were enough to fill any handicap that there might be.
Even if Mada's abilities weren't enough, he also clung on to a white marble that he held in one hand, awaiting the moment that he would have to use this particular item. The marble was a unique item used to summon spirit animals and beasts of different kinds. This was called a 'familiar eye', each embedded with a different design depending on the creature it would conjure. These creatures are also known as familiars, able to grant their tamers immense power, as well as a powerful ally in battle.
"What type of beast is contained in that familiar eye?" Lucus asked while staring at the small orb, trying to make slight conversation.
Lucus tried hiding the uneasy feeling that came over him the best way that he could, but after feeling the energy that was coming towards them, Lucus felt that any human in their situation would panic at least a little bit. The energy levels that Lucus had sensed were enough to rival the head generals and this was not yet a level that he could reach. Mada focused on the cracking in Lucus's voice and speculated on what he thought Lucus's true feelings about their positions were. Lucus always was one to put on a tough guy persona, but at this moment he was terrified. If Mada had learned anything while being with the young man, it was that his intuition was to be trusted.
"I'm not really sure what you would call it, but it hasn't been recorded in any of our bestiaries. On top of that, I wasn't the one that had captured this one, Noir did. I was just the one who had made the contract since he couldn't." Mada answered holding the familiar eye between two fingers, up to the moonlight. "Check out this imprint."
Lucus wasn't surprised to see Mada preparing to toss him the familiar eye. One crucial role that Lucus was tasked with upon being promoted was studying all of the knowledge being shared between tribes, up until now. That included newly discovered spirit beasts, conflicts among tribes, geographical discoveries, and more. He thought this would be somewhat helpful to find out what type of creature it was. But was it safe at a time like this?
"Sir, I don't think we have time for this." Lucus said as he caught the small marble. "Don't you need this in case our guests are enemies."
"Don't worry, us tamer types usually keep more than one spirit beast to help us out." Mada said as he held up two other familiar eyes between his fingers.
Lucus nodded his head and spoke sarcastically. "If you say so."
As Lucus observed the marble, he could suddenly sense a strange energy emitting from the familiar eye. Lucus could tell from its aura that this was a high ranked spirit beast. The energy that was emitted from the familiar eye was wild and chaotic, forcing him to look away.
"Why couldn't Noir have kept this one for himself? I know someone like him could have figured out a perfect way to put it to use." Lucus said as he tossed the familiar eye back to Mada.
"That's simple, It's because he's not like us." Mada responded in a firm, but low tone. "While it is true that Amourian[1] people also contain traces of spiritual energy the same way we do. They can't manipulate it to the same degree as us.
"So, in other words Noir is useless as a tamer." Lucus stated with a puzzled expression.
"Well, I wouldn't say that." Mada interjected. "Noir can tame both spirit animals and spirit beasts, but only up to their blessed and cursed ranks."
"But that doesn't make any sense. Noir is really strong, like almost tied with the chief strong." Lucus spoke as he was surprised again by Mada's words. "He should at least be able to tame up till pure or calamity rank."
"Sometimes, there are some barriers that even the strongest can't break." Mada mumbled as he shrugged his shoulders and turned his gaze away from Lucus. "It's just how life is."
As if something wrong had been said, the pair had fallen into silence. Lucus sat quietly and thought to himself after the small but informative chat. He wondered how someone with so much potential like Noir couldn't tame this type of spirit beast. While it was understandable to him that Noir's body couldn't create enough spirit energy to influence the beast, there was more than one way to make a contract with a familiar.
"Just by his physical power alone, I would say it's more like he didn't want to." Lucus mumbled aloud trying to follow his train of thought.
Mada peered over at Lucus with a slight smirk on his face. Mada had also sat in silence, using his time a little bit more productively, he might say. Mada sat and focused on sensing all of the different auras within the forest. Hoping to zone in on Tayaire's spirit energy, while also keeping track of the other group's movements.
"There you are!" Mada yelled excitedly as he located the aura of their chief.
Mada didn't mean to yell so loud, but he couldn't withhold his excitement. His yelling had caught Lucus off guard and startled him. Lucus had turned his head towards Mada with a trace of detest in his expression.
"What the hell is wrong with you." Lucus spoke in a low shout.
"My apologies Lucus, but I've just located the chief. Kind of got a little overwhelmed." Mada said with a slight chuckle, but he soon stopped as he noticed something interesting. "Hmmm, looks like he's not alone."
While tracking Tayaire's aura, Mada had sensed a large group of individuals in the same area. This had instantly caught Mada's attention. What he had sensed, he felt could only be sensed if one was involved in a tribal battle. There were multiple auras scattered around the field in the direction that Tayaire's aura was facing. While there were a few strong and bright auras, including Tayaire's. The other auras around the field were either dimming or fully black. Indicating that they were dying or they were already dead. Mada had wondered if this was what had made the other group stop progressing towards their location.
As Mada searched for Tayaire's aura signature he had also wandered his gaze towards the group of three people. For one moment Mada could clearly see that the group was moving in their direction, but for some reason all of that had changed. The three individuals had come to a complete stop, not moving an inch.
"They must have a pretty good tracker with them if they could sense all that." Mada said with amazement.
"What is it?" Lucus questioned as he began to stand, using his spear as a crutch.
"It doesn't look like our chief is in any danger for now, but we should head towards his location to regroup with him. As for our little guest, they had stopped progressing for now. I think that we should just ignore them and move towards the chief." Mada answered as he fumbled through his pouch. "Besides, if they are our enemies, we'll run back into them eventually. Most likely if we can track them, they can track us."
Mada had pulled out a small box of what seemed to be cigarettes and opened it. He had placed one of the cigarettes in his mouth and began to light it as he stood at his feet.
The small aura that had been trailing Mada and Lucus had come to a stop as well, only much closer than the group did. When the pair first noticed the small aura, they already could tell who it would be. Feeling that it was known between the two of them that the boy was hiding in the bushes behind them, Lucus spoke in a low whisper.
"Trayner, is that you?" Lucus questioned as he knelt down to pick up a small stone.
Trayner peered through the bushes at Lucus and Mada after hearing his own name being called. He was surprised at how easily he had been noticed by the others and became frustrated. Trayner was a skilled warrior for his age, being trained by Noir, Tayaire, and Rhya. But he had several flaws in a few departments. Trayner had problems with both, concealing his aura and sensing the auras of others.
Trayner was a ten-year-old boy with a short, nappy haircut that had the sides cut low to a buzz. He was the first son of the Zibiru Tribe's chief and a close student of Noir, who was the leader of the village's defense corps. Trayner studied low ranking spirit manipulation, Bojutsu, and martial arts under the tutelage of Rhya, while he did his academic studies under the care of Noir. Trayner was well versed in alternate ways of defending himself as well as battlefield strategies. Though He was the youngest in some of his classes, he had the mindset of someone much older, even surpassing most of the teenage villagers in both skill and academic knowledge.
"Is that you Trayner!?" Lucus questioned again in a low shout, as he threw the stone towards Trayner's location.
Hearing his name for a second time in a serious manner caused Trayner to pop his head out without hesitation. This caused the small stone that Lucus had thrown to make contact with the top of the boy's head.
"Ouch!" Trayner said in a shout as he began to rub the spot that the rock had hit.
"What the hell was that for?" Trayner questioned, staring at both men as anger swelled in his eyes.
"Well, if you would have listened to your father you wouldn't be getting hit with rocks!" Mada answered in a smug tone.
He was the only one to comment on the boy's question due to Lucus not being able to control his laughter. Mada felt that with him being so much older than the other two, he would never understand the pranks that they pulled on each other. Lucus and Trayner both grew up around each other, and with Lucus being seventeen and Trayner being ten, they both grew to see each other as a brother figure.
"He acts exactly like Noir. Thinks that he can come and go as he pleases." Lucus said in a childish tone, while raising a middle finger towards Trayner.
Mada had turned and hit Lucus on the top of his head with a closed fist.
"That's enough from you as well." Mada said firmly. "You two were truly made for each other."
Mada had signaled for the group to gather around him as he knelt to the ground. He wanted to make sure that everyone understood and stuck to one plan. Mada couldn't chance anything happening while the group attempted to reach Tayaire's location. There would be obvious dangers to the group if they were to get separated and any loss would be devastating to say the least.
"So, I guess were really going to save the chief then?" Lucus asked in a somber tone.
When Mada and Lucus had first entered the forest, Lucus felt a slight unease within his gut. For some time now he couldn't pinpoint why he had this eerie feeling. At one point he thought that the feeling had to do with the fact that Trayner had run off while the group was performing patrols, but now he felt that it was for a much bigger reason.
"Are you sure that that's the wisest move?" Lucus asked hesitantly.
Lucus really wanted to go back to the village to regroup with Noir and the others. With a bigger group he felt that they would have no trouble getting rid of the enemies and they could minimize any issues that might arise.
"Lucus, I know that this is hard for you, especially with your type of trait. But I need you to hang in there for a little while longer." Mada spoke in an upbeat tone.
Lucus could tell that Mada had spoken these words to try to give him a small boost in confidence, but in the same instance that Mada was speaking, Lucus could feel this sensation worsening. Lucus knew that something would go wrong. While he didn't know what it was, he knew that it would all start once they looked for Tayaire.
"Ok then, let's just try to be careful at least." Lucus said as he put his head down.
"Thank you Lucus, And we will. Plus, we're not going to move in blindly." Mada had reached into his bag and pulled out all three of the familiar eyes that he had.
As Mada observed each marble thoughtfully, He finally selected upon one of them and put the rest back into his pouch. He had taken two final pulls from the cigarette that he was smoking, then tossed it into the wind.
"Everyone take a step back! This one has some fight in it." Mada said firmly as he squeezed the marble in his hand.
Lucus and Trayner had both taken a few steps away from where they were standing. While observing a summon wasn't anything too special, both young men found enjoyment in the process.
Mada had stood still with his eyes closed, focusing on channeling his spirit energy into the familiar eye. As he charged more energy into the small marble, several lines of teal colored energy surged down his arm toward the palm of his hand. The energy that Mada was releasing was bright and gave off a calm feeling.
"Woah, do you feel that?" Trayner asked Lucus while he was observing his own body.
"Yeah, that's the power of the general. No matter who it is, his power always seems to have that effect on people." Lucus said as he stared at Mada with adoration.
The power emitted from Mada caused the wind speed to accelerate around him, creating a human sized wind vortex. Watching this happen had caused Lucus and Trayner to take extra precautions and they both took several more steps back just to be safe. As the wind vortex grew and became more violent, Mada had tossed the familiar eye into the grass. Even though the familiar eye had left Mada's hands, the small marble continued to emit an immense amount of spiritual energy.
"Are you guys sure that performing a summoning was a smart thing to do?" Trayner asked as he stared at the marble.
"Honestly? I'm not so sure at the moment with everything that's going down and all, but it is better to get this step out of the way though." Mada answered with a slight grin plastered on his face.
The familiar eye began to shake violently as it floated from the ground, flashing a bright teal color. Each time the familiar eye shook itself, a small crack could be seen on its surface similar to a bird hatching from an egg. Between each crack a bright white light could be seen, making the familiar eye glow brighter with each crack and somewhat hard to see.
Trayner had covered his face after a bright ray of light made contact with his eyes.
"What the Hel…" Trayner had paused his sentence after turning back and seeing what he could only describe as adorable and weird.
The spirit animal that was summoned from the familiar eye was similar to a raccoon, the only differences were that it's fur was grey and dark blue in color, and the fact that it had small bat-like wings protruding from its back. This spirit animal was called a Torrcoon, and while it did have wings, due to its oversized body it couldn't fly. This was seen clearly by how the Torrcoon Struggled to flap its wings as it descended to the ground.
"And how the hell is this fat ass thing going to help us?" Trayner asked in confusion.
Lucus stared at the fat raccoon like animal with a hand to his chin and began to speak.
"So, a torrcoon huh? One of the guardians." Lucus said while thoroughly observing the torrcoon. "I'm sorry to be with Trayner on this one, but how is that going to help us exactly?"
[1] Amourian people are equal to American people in our world. Amourus would be the continent and equal to the Americas but as a whole, not split.