Not So Saintly (TRUTH, Plot Thread 2.6)

[Fillion "Fateseeker" Avalure]

As Fillion's attack struck Andy, the boy was rendered immobile with a flash of bright light and a chilling case of ice that covered most of his upper torso. Grinning at his handiwork he turned his attention to the next in the lot, a young blond maiden that seemed to have been startled by the magical vision bellowing above him.

The girl's statement intrigued him. She plans to fight Duo? The Duo? He sniffed in a large refreshing breath of the Alberisato air, and fantasized of the adventure that would come from such a task. I see, wise fate, what you've brought me here for. Thank you. With a hop down from the still mound of plant life, Fillion sauntered over to Jasmine, a look of restrained glee hidden behind his cocksure expression.

"My dear, tis a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I, am Fillion Avalure." With a flourishing gesture of his hands and a wave of his arm, he gave a small bow towards the girl, only to return up with a glistening trail of translucent energy that followed his hands. "Master of the Unseen, and yet it's humble servant. It would appear that the fates have united us together this day to test each other, and see whom finds who, how do you say, lacking?"

As he chatted, the trail at last caught up to his hands, covering them in a gloss of fluctuating mana. He held his arms back and outwards, posed dramatically and awaiting Jasmine's reaction. "Your move, my dear. Tis only fair a maiden has the first shot."

[Andy Jammer]

Andy yelled out as the spell hit, completely frozen from waist up he black out for the moment, as though he fell into this deep state of consciousness he was not done and out yet. The sigil that was burned into his palm faintly pulsed within the ice, energy burned from it and the energy began to work on the icy cage around his upper body, like a wave of heat slowly cracking up and out.

That voice... Andy thought in his deep sleep. Who was that...what's even going on!?

[glitters]

Jasmine glared at Fillion through teary eyes. As charmingly as he presented himself she was still heavily put off by the fact she wasn't being taken seriously, in several ways as it appeared to be. The first being her stating she wasn't fighting anyone and here he was ignoring it anyway, and then to invite her to attack first as though she needed some handicap was a bit of an offense as well. It was something she could already hear her grandmother cackling in her ear "who cares, if he's that stupid make it count when you kick his ass".

She took awhile to respond, her voice slowly rising from a whisper to a mumbling of what probably sounded a lot like gibberish.

"...lebet tifon," was the only part of her spell that was clearly heard, her hands folding out towards Fillion and a metre-thick, golden bright line burned into the ground. A wall from it shot upwards into the sky and threatened to smash into the face that floated overhead, and with a loud 'boom' it gave a rough shove a couple of feet towards Fillion and the group, separating both parties again while Jasmine threw her hands back down to her sides.

"I said no!" she shouted, pointing up at her wall, "you want your asinine, abhorrent test? There it is! It's disgusting that you'd all rather waste precious time doing this."

She turned on her heel, marching her way back to her own group and busied herself instead with the bleeding men, lending minor healing spells so as not to distract her wall until she could remedy their injuries with actual potions.

"I'll be right there, Andy," she called, "I'm sorry."

[Fillion "Fateseeker" Avalure]

Fillion's eyes sprang wide open with the sight of Jasmine's spell. At first suspecting an attack his hands lunged forward, fingers splayed as the mana around them crackled to his will. Yet, tension softened as the enormous wall only stood guard for the girl. Fillion approached, his head jerking about as if following a fly that buzzed about the perimeter of the wall before coming to a standstill directly in front of him.

"So that's 'ow she wants it? Well..." His tone rose in volume as he called out over the wall. "It looks like this girl's magic is too good for me, I suppose I have to give up guys! Sorry giant 'ead-thing!" Unable to resist grinning coyly he placed his hand upon the wall. His fingers dug into the magical craft, slowly slipping his one hand into it with an attempt to rend the wall open.

"Aww, come on now. This things tough, I give 'er that." Grunting and pulling against the magical construct to no avail, Fillion sunk his other hand into the wall, and as if making a circuit the reaction was immediate. He felt all of the energy he'd accumulated sucked out of him as the wall consumed it. Like little capillaries the almost invisible mana Fillion expelled coursed throughout the entire wall, and as soon as it had reached the very edges they all shone brightly before bursting along with the entire barrier itself. "Hmm, so much for sneaking up on 'er."

Moving towards Jasmine he gave a half hearted shrug before pointing to her. "Sorry lass, can't-" He meant to go on further when suddenly a powerful shudder of sound and power burst from the point where he'd broken the wall initially. Clearly not yet finished its meddling the veins of mana appeared once more, growing outwards with hundreds more divisions till it looked like a ghostly web that popped and fizzed with electrical current. Hmm, well that ought to keep it just me and her I guess... "As I was saying lass, this ain't for you to be taking lightly. We've got our roles to play in this, and if you ain't gonna be taking it seriously, well...you're only gonna get more people 'urt."

Without word or thought Fillion snapped his fingers, causing sparks to ignite before a chain of miniature explosions cascaded towards Jasmine.

[glitters]

Jasmine shook her head as she heard her wall being beaten into again, quickly trying to patch up what she could before she got back to her feet to face Fillion. She heavily regretted not tending to Andy right away (she'd been unaware of this sigil on him burning through the ice casing) and she silently cursed the rest of their team for doing nothing to help with any of this.

"My role isn't to play your stupid, childish games! My role is to tend to these innocent, injured people--" Jasmine saw the sparks in Fillion's hands and growled, throwing her hand back as the explosions came towards her. In a swift, slapping motion a flat, blue, transparent circular shape burst from her hand forward. Fillion's explosions bounced off, launching themselves back towards him while her other hand began preparing another spell through simple hand movements, something a little larger and scarier if needed.

"Don't you lecture me on who's taking what seriously, you foolish man! If you were taking any of this seriously, you'd stop as I said and realize that instead of preventing casualties us fighting over who's supposedly strong enough to fight Duo alone is a stupid idea! Do you always blindly follow orders like this?!" she only took long enough to give the floating head another sickening glare as she spat at it again, too, "you're a stupid man!"

Was it the fact that not a single person in this new group that showed up was civilized, or even had the care to listen to the girl or was it the fact that her own allies were useless and essentially abandoned her and Andy here that pissed her off so much? Jasmine couldn't tell, but she stood firm in her words. She wasn't fighting this dumbass.

She wasn't fighting any of them. If she had to, she'd spend the next six years standing right here deflecting every single thing they threw at her.

[Fillion "Fateseeker" Avalure]

Hmm, defence defence defence, that all the girl got? Well, maybe that's all we need. Ruminating upon her words, Fillion did not flee from his rebounded spell, but instead advanced upon it. With an instinctual movement he embraced the primal force between his hands, struggling against it's programming till at last with a forceful grunt his palms seemed to bind the magic within.

"Stupid uh? Per'aps lass. I never been much ova man for books or learning. Then again, that's why I don't rely on me brain to account for me actions." Fillion looked away from Jasmine for a moment as curiosity took over him. He drew towards his clasped hands, wincing for a moment as he let himself have a peek to what laid inside. He let out something that was either a breath of relief or a gasp of wonderment, maybe both with the way his feelings churned within him. Pulling back and lifting his hands apart a kaleidoscope of colour and light filled the gap between his palms. He jaw hung as he watched with interest, looking into the seemingly chaotic storm the way a jeweller marvels over a diamond.

"I'll give you this girl, the way you work mana at your age, it be a thing of beauty." He broke the silence at last, though not his gaze upon the craftsmanship. "A bit too tight, too stuffy, but then that is sort of the trademark of your kind, ain't it?" At last looking back up at Jasmine he dusted his hands together, and in a moment the pattern vanished, leaving only a faint hue of colour in the air before it left altogether. "Well I think we got our answer, 'ow about you oh big-'eaded one? Girl's made ova tough sort of stuff bya looks ovit."

[Fillion "Fateseeker" Avalure]

As the brief skirmish between the two mages took place, some of the inhabitants of the living mounds of plant life took to the front lines as several tested their weapons against the mana web that barred them off from Fillion and the strange set of invaders. Most dared to not press further after one of the younger boys had his spear set aflame upon trying to cut through the electrified webbing, leaving them to only gawk at the spectacle before them and wonder what would happen next. Others stood in awe of the projected head even as the seconds after its appearance stretched on into minutes. Many of the people clearly looked up to the head as a saviour, whether or not they knew the history linked to the face.

Yet for all those that looked up to the massive head of Kain, his great and otherworldly eyes did not once cast down to recognize them. Instead he watched Fillion and Jasmine's interactions with silent contemplation. Jasmine's constant protests seemed to put a deeper crease in his brow, but whether this was because of disdain for thinking her weak or intrigue could not be determined by any below.

"...I have seen enough." Kain's voice boomed out after a long and deliberate pause. "Stay your weapons my kinsmen, these men and women shall indeed aid our cause. Clerics, dismount and aid the wounded Ignisians. Do all you can." A hushed and hesitant mood filled many of the caravan dwellers, most unsure of what was going on, much less why they were helping the very people suspected of belonging to Duo's army. Sensing their anxiety the visage of Kain's head roared, "Now!" as he swung with an exaggerated motion to meet his gaze with all of the caravans. "Fillion, let down your magic. The rest of you are to be taken to the fourth caravan, I command it and by the gods so shall it be!" His voice held the last syllable as the magical apparition slowly faded, and as it slowly disappeared in both size and scope so too did the voice.

"Well then, glad that's all o'er and done with." Fillion cracked his knuckles as he strolled back towards the wall he'd inadvertently created. "Now, where did I...? Ah, there we are!" Twitching his fingers just inches from the tangled veins of mana before him he exclaimed before he dug his hands into the mass and pulled apart a single connection. The point of his interference sparked with a last spasm of energy before it eroded, dispersing the rest of the wall in just moments.

"So then, that outta the way, no 'ard feelings lass?" Fillion tilted his neck back to cast a sideways smile towards Jasmine. "Be looking forward to working with you." His eyes wandering slightly off from the golden-haired maiden he slapped his forehead when he saw Andy still encased in the spell he'd thrown out earlier. "Shit! Ahh, haha sorry kid. Don't worry, I'll 'ave you free in a snap of my fingers. Well, something like that anyways." Scuttling over to Andy he gave the boy a thorough up and down, examining the icy bracing that held him.

Well then, I'll be... Fillion backed off as he scratched his chin, pausing for just a second before flashing Andy a stupid grin. "Looks like you don't be needing my help now, do you?"

[Jasmine Loque]

Jasmine felt a strong wave of relief wash over her for the moment that the face in the sky decided that their fight was over. The soldiers were getting the help they needed and it felt that, for once, someone was finally listening to her.

She gave Fillion a highly suspicious raise of an eyebrow and shirked away from him as he spoke to her again, the notion that he'd even try to just shrug this off as some minor incident sickening her more than he may have known.

"My name is Jasmine Loque," she answered, as cool as she could with a hard stare so as not to come off as rude (hopefully) but she hoped to let him know she was highly unimpressed. To her, this had all been highly unnecessary.

"Who is that?" she immediately went on, pointing up at the empty sky, "he seems to be the leader of your group."

[Fillion "Fateseeker" Avalure]

Andy's eyes fluttered around, fixing themselves at last on the source of the voice directly before him. His muscles tensed on instinct, pushing against the frozen mass that bound him. "What di-where's Jasmine?!" His gaze filled by a stubbled middle-age man that he didn't know, he stretched his neck out, desperately trying to find where his friend had gone.

"'ey now lad, don't get your knickers in a twist. She be fine." Fillion said with a grin and a pat on Andy's shoulder. "Come on now, we ain't got all day. The leader be wanting to speak with us." Moving away from the fiery headed fighter Fillion made his way back to the caravan and to Jasmine. Determined not to let something as simple as a little sparring match get in the way of their new-found partnership, Fillion tried engaging her. "Tis a lovely name Jasmine. I dare say your family name hits a chord in my mind. Can't place it though."

"Hey! Hey get back here!" Andy shouted out, straining against the spell, only to feel the sensation of cool ice water sliding down his arms and chest. While not aware of it, the sigil on his hand had already melted much of the ice around his shoulders, and was continuing to do so at an accelerated rate now that he'd awakened. The sound of cracking ice erupted with a final push, leaving two halves of the binding to shatter upon hitting the floor. "Who the hell are you? Who's this leader?" His words were soaked in irritation.

Fillion gave a lazy shrug as he guided the two youngsters past the soldiers and over the mounds of living plant matter. "Beats me. Says he be some saviour of the people or some such thing. Calls himself Kain."

"Kain?" Andy stalled in place, his face frozen in disbelief.

"Oh, so you know 'im? Good, maybe that'll save us some time." Fillion trudged over the terrain with a hastened pace, the mystery only causing his anticipation to grow. Ignoring the looks of fear and hatred cast by some of the caravan's inhabitants his mind was filled only with the fantasies of adventure to come.

"Hold on one second." Andy caught up to Fillion and put himself between the man and his path. "This is crazy. Kain's dead, or at least he ain't here. Jasmine, this is a trap. Don't tell me you trust these people?"

Find the first traitorous Saint. Trish's message reverberated in his mind. Casting his suspicious eyes from Fillion to the place where the man was looking, Andy wondered if the answer to his riddle hadn't just fell into his lap. Even if it had, was it worth walking right into the enemy base? He looked to Jasmine, hoping to find some words of wisdom from her to help him decide.

[guest]

'Kain...' Jasmine tossed the name around in her head for a bit trying to remember where she'd heard it from before. It took her a moment before she recalled the incident in the Tower of Salvation, and the mystery behind the Saints...or was that a mess?

"Kain was a self-proclaimed saviour, really," she spoke quietly, letting her hands fall limp to her sides as she looked from Andy to Fillion, "he lead a group that sought revenge on the people of Allorum for abandoning them in a time they themselves needed aid. It got complicated trying to distinguish who was a friend and foe for both sides, a lot of that group broke up when they realized their way of thinking was wrong..."

She stared at Andy for most of the recapping with tired eyes. She shrugged her shoulders.

"At least, that was how I remember it. Kain certainly was no hero, and I fail to see why he would be in charge of a group of travellers out to fight Duo."

It wasn't a direct answer to whether or not she trusted Fillion or the people he travelled with, though her suspicions were held high enough through her tone and slow speech.

[Fillion "Fateseeker" Avalure]

Fillion threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh at Jasmine's words. Andy clicked his tongue in annoyance. Sensing he wasn't exactly helping things the chaos mage calmed himself enough to explain between recovering breaths.

"Aye, sorry lass, but that's rich. We, or rather they ain't here to fight Duo. They be here to run from him. This Kain fella be gathering up refugees and claiming to take them away somewhere outside his rule. I'm only here with 'em because, well, I suppose because I had to meet you folks." Slipping around Andy with a dopey friendly grin he resumed leading them towards their goal.

"So, you kids really gonna take on ole Duo, huh? I gotta say, I've done some pretty wild things in my time, but this one's gonna take the cake. I can't wait to swap stories with you both! Ah, here we are." Stopping just short of the tallest mound of roots and leaves the plant life seemed to detect their presence, pulling back to reveal a cramped dark tunnel that travelled towards the centre of the mound. Like a kid in a playground Fillion dove in without a moment's hesitation, quickly being consumed by the shadows and thick brush till only a melodious whistle could be heard of him.

Andy remained with crossed arms and a frown worn plainly on his face. He almost refused to believe that someone as...bumbling as Fillion could be leading them towards a trap, but no matter how much he wanted to turn back Trish's words would not leave him. He scratched at the runic marking on his hand, wondering if the answer to it and it's connection to Duo was really so close. After what felt like an eternity of mulling over his decisions Andy reached behind him and unsheathed his sword. The act alone was enough to startle most of the nearby refugees away. "I guess we don't have much of a choice. Just stay close to me Jasmine. If that weirdo tries throwing anymore magic at me I'm gonna clobber him." Mumbling a last couple unpleasant words Andy moved into the jungled pathway.