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 Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2019 3:32 pm
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Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2020 6:11 pm
Re-posted due to wanting date change. Moving forward to June 2020 (when enhancements were announced) Page Solo #2: 663 words
Sumner stared up at his ceiling. He was, to put it simply, bored. He had just gotten off of his job Life-guarding an indoor pool, showered, and had then gone home but… He just couldn’t find anything to do. Or to put it a better way, he didn’t have anything that he wanted to do at his apartment.
Sure, he had finally met another Neptune Knight, one more powerful than he was, which he was quite happy about, but other than their meeting… well he had gone back about his business, doing his normal civilian things and avoiding going out in the cold, weird rain that he had been subjected to on that night with random portal concrete holes that could drown you.
Not something he wanted to experience any time soon. Or ever again. And he wasn’t even the one who had fallen into it!
It had showed him though, that besides weird and dangerous monters along with these “Negaverse” Agents, there was something out there, more than could be explained just by knowing a magical war was happening. He didn’t know what the Negaverse was capable of, but he doubted that they were the ones to create the random hole. Wouldn’t there be some Negaverse energy around them then? Something that could be traced back to them?
There had been nothing from what he could tell. Sure, he hadn’t stayed very long to find out and by the next day the mysterious puzzle, he had used a stick to poke around the area that they had been in, seemed to have disappeared. There was just… nothing. Not traces of it ever having been there in the first place.
It was disturbing to say the least, but it meant that he had much, much more to learn when it came to all of this “magic” stuff and he hadn’t been taught nearly as much as he thought he should have.
There had been something else on his mind though. Something that he felt that he should go to at some point, but as of yet hadn’t had the courage to do so.
His Wonder.
He had heard about them, but he hadn’t actually ever been to one and to be frank, it made him nervous. What was he supposed to expect when he got there? He knew that it most likely wouldn’t have any sort of higher life forms, but did that mean it would only be death and decay? In complete ruins? Completely unrecognizable as a Wonder?
He still had to go though. And with his holiday break coming up, he decided that now would be the best time to do it. It couldn’t be too difficult, right?
He summoned his “weapon” and while strumming it, made sure to power up and say the words out loud that he had been hearing for a while rattling inside of his head:
I pledge my life and loyalty to Neptune, and to Sumner.
I humbly request your aid, so that in return I may give you mine.
He had closed his eyes while reciting it, but as soon as he finished, he heard loud sounds, as though there was tons of water falling around him and when he opened his eyes, he found this to be true. The sky above him was bright, but all around him was water falling into… well it was definitely a hole, but what was it? All he could tell right now was he was on some sort of platform.
There was… nothing else it seemed. The Neptune symbol was underneath his feet, he was on a large platform completely surrounded by falling water and… what was that over there? There was one part of the platform, water seemed to be coming out of it. He strapped his mini guitar to his back and moved forward to it.
He didn’t anticipate tripping, and worse, he was immediately swept into the water and propelled down from the platform! …
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Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2020 10:38 am
Page Solos #3-8: 2,742 words
He tumbled down the waterfall, almost getting water into his lungs as he tried to find a way to catch his breath and possibly get into some better position before he would hit… whatever the bottom was. He thought he had seen it in flashes but couldn’t be sure. While the platform that he had landed on looked like it was “daytime” according to whatever Neptune had as a time period. He only just got to the point where his feet was facing the bottom when he felt himself crash and be submerged and opening his eyes underwater could see that up was where the light was coming from and quickly swam towards it, gasping as he made it to the surface.
He quickly checked to make sure that nothing felt broken or that he was in deep pain, and it seemed that the waterfall was breaking the water enough at the bottom that falling into it did not break any bones. Still, he was pretty sure if his neck had hit the water the wrong way it would have been snapped.
He let out a sigh and looking around, could tell that there was some dilapidated steps opposite the waterfall and swam towards them, moving himself out when he got to the top of them and then laid down to take a quick rest and regain his senses after all of that, his feet still submerged in the water a bit.
Finally when his heart had calmed down and he knew he could look around without feeling like the air was being taken away from his lungs, he opened his eyes. He almost jumped when he realized just how far he had fallen, as he could just barely make out the top of the waterfall and supposedly the ledge that he had teleported onto after he had said… whatever those words were. Some kind of chant that brought him here? He wasn’t sure what to call them. He would just have to ask another Knight when he got back to Earth… however that was going to happen.
He moved himself into a seating position and after looking at the waterfall turned himself around and couldn’t help but gasp. He… couldn’t really tell what he was looking at, but it seemed to some sort of gathering place from what he could tell. There appeared to be a large whale like structure in the middle, seemingly opening it’s mouth to some inside space, though it looked like it was starting to collapse as one side of its face appeared to be rubble and it was missing it’s dorsal fin and half of it’s tail.
There appeared to be quite a few tunnels as well as walkways littered around with what appeared to be shiny stones. Most of it looked quite weather-beaten and he could tell that it wasn’t going to be easy to explore the place. There were other various waterfalls around the entire structure leading to different levels and this appeared to be the main way to transport oneself around the entire Wonder. How that was possible was another matter, and Sumner only hoped he would either find the answer or be able to get back to Earth if he didn’t.
He slowly moved himself to a standing position, making sure to check himself again in case he had missed something due to adrenaline and then his mini guitar. It appeared to be wet, but considering what it was made out of it didn’t appear as though it were damaged. And besides, if it was a Neptune weapon, shouldn’t it be able to stand saltwater from it’s own planet?
Well, all he could do now was explore. Luckily, he appeared to be in the very entrance of the entire Wonder, most likely the way that the knights or those that lived here teleported to when they came here. Otherwise it appeared that if they were needing transport to other places, they would have to make it past the barrier around the entire Wonder. He would have to see if that would be possible later, but for now he continued on.
In the middle could be seen a large statue of what appeared to, what he assumed, be the ruler of Neptune, whatever Queen or Princess they were. He forgot to ask what sort of governing structure there was on these planets, but he was pretty sure that most of them had Princes and Princesses because apparently Kings and Queens weren’t a thing or it was like Barbie movies where being a princess equaled good and queen means you were a bad guy.
He could tell there was darkness behind the statue and moving around it realized that there seemed to be some sort of pathway leading underground. For a moment he couldn’t see any light, but as he got closer there appeared to be stones that glowed, making up for whatever light there may have been. They appeared to be an emergency use however as he could see that there were some lighting structures along the walls, so most likely these were used when the power was off, and they needed something to see. Unfortunately, he didn’t know what exactly powered the Wonder and as it appeared to be abandoned and half-crumbling mess making him wonder if he would be able to get out of it alive.
Still, he decided to go inside, and after a minute or so of walking found himself inside of a chamber with a pool and what appeared to be some sort of connection to the outside ocean underground, but all of the coral reef was white. Bleached. Dead. It saddened him. He had been told that all life had been wiped out, but it was still sad to see even plant life hadn’t made it either. If plant life was there, it usually meant others would eventually evolve and keep it under control, but who knew how long that would take.
Still, there appeared to be a structure in the middle of it and as he approached it glowed, as though it were tempting him to touch it. And well, it was his Wonder right? It shouldn’t be able to kill him… he was pretty sure.
Still, he decided to lay his hand on it and when he did so a calming melody played for just a moment, letting a few notes out, before something else popped out of the structure, what appeared to be some sort of glowing parchment. Since he had survived this far, he decided that taking it and opening it would be okay. As he removed the parchment and tried to read it he realized that he couldn’t read any of what it said. That didn’t stop whatever magic was on it from happening though and eventually it swirled around him, lighting him up in a blue glow for just a moment before disappearing.
He stood still for a moment, trying to see if anything had happened, the ceiling collapsing, etc. but there was silence… at least until he heard a voice behind him.
“Well well, looks like you found-“ but before they could finish Sumner had jumped at hearing the voice and managed to hit his arm on the structure, bruising it quite a bit.
He cursed in his head, trying to ignore the pain. The figure, with their mouth open for a bit, couldn’t help but grin and walked/floated over to him, only getting close enough to take a look, but not be in Sumner’s personal bubble. “Apologies, I didn’t think I would surprise you like that.” Sumner was about to apologize for being scared when he actually saw “who” was talking to them.
They appeared to be some sort of spectral being, red hair that was long and tied together with what appeared to be some sort of jewelry and an outfit that made them look as though they could easily swim through the water. Sumner for his part, after realizing his mouth was open, decided to close it and see if the “being” would say anything else before they killed him. He was pretty sure that they were here for that. Why else would he be talking to some sort of ghostly figure?
The figure grinned in an amused way. “You must be my descendant. I am ‘Kaerius’.” He said, shrugging his shoulders. “You must be the new Knight in charge of this place. The new “Sumner”. What’s your actual name though?”
Sumner didn’t feel so intimidated by the spirit, but still felt that the whole thing was weird. “Uh… Duncan. Seibert.” Finally finding some of his usual courage back he stood up, trying to look at least a little unphased talking to a ghost before asking, “Kaerius? So you’re my ancestor?” The ghost nodded, before floating/walking around Sumner and seeing the mini guitar on his back and smiling, not that Sumner could see it. “That instrument that you have has been passed down for many generations. It does not appear to have gotten any stronger though. That isn’t too surprising, after all, you’re the first Knight, or Page, to step foot on here since life was extinguished a thousand years ago.” He said moving back in front of Sumner.
Sumner couldn’t help but feel some despair at the mention of life being extinguished. He knew that it had happened, but it still felt like a punch to the gut to really hear it from someone else. “Yeah… I guess so.” He looked at the ghost. “Did you die at the same time?” Kaerius shook his head. “No, I died before then and helped to train the other Knights who lived at this Wonder. None of them were named Sumner though, that appears to be a recent thing if what I have heard from other ancestral spirits has told me. The rules of the Homeworlds were the unique ones, but they had many Knights who lived at the various Wonders. Now though, we only have a few.” He had looked a bit sullen but suddenly smiled, even if it was small. “But you’re here, which means that even if it fully never gets back to where it was, Sumner is now no longer languishing under the passage of time and it can be fixed up, at least a little.”
He took a look around before letting out a breath. “This place looked quite amazing during it’s peak. We were known for crafting materials mostly. Often times we would be able to venture out or have materials come to us which we would sell to other Wonders on the planet.” He gestured to the console. “That however, was meant for something else. You couldn’t read the scroll, correct?” Sumner nodded. “Unfortunately, I no longer can either. I’m not sure if it’s been the amount of time or some dark magic that keeps me from reading, but I can no longer read any of the words here. I do not have very many memories eithers, so I couldn’t tell you anything too specific. But I do know that the scroll that you picked up was meant for Knights of this Wonder, so do not worry about having used it.”
It caused a bit of the tension to leave Sumner’s shoulders. He hadn’t wanted to take anything that he wasn’t supposed to. Though he was pretty sure that no one would have minded at this point. He was the only one here and he was now the… whatever of it. Knight in charge? He didn’t know, but he was now the only living one here. He still couldn’t help feeling a bit of guilt taking something that didn’t feel like it belonged to him. “Usually, Knights would have to go through a ceremony to be able to receive what you did, but considering that no one can conduct it, the nature of the ceremony is lost, and you’re the only one here… it probably assumed that you were ready for it.” Kaerius said, chuckling a bit.
“Follow me and I’ll show you what it does. It will let you leave this place as well.” He said, moving past Sumner and through the hallway that he had just come through. Sumner, deciding it was best to follow someone who had lived here before and knew much more about all of this than he did, moved and eventually found himself back “outside” again, though he still felt a bit trapped due to the wall of waterfalls that surrounded the entirety of the Wonder.
Kaerius had floated away back to the waterfall that Sumner had fallen down from and eventually stopped at it’s base. Sumner caught up with him and took a look towards the top again. “What you have received-“ Kaerius started, causing Sumner to look at him, “allows you to swim up waterfalls. And enchantment if you will. Though I believe for everyone else it’s called an “enhancement”.” Kaerius seemed to scoff at the other name. “This was the way that the Knights of this Wonder moved about and got out of here. It was a very secluded place and while we did trade with other areas, we were very protective of our own. There were many who tried to sail down here who didn’t make it.” He said moving to an edge and pointing. Sumner again followed and looking at the area where he had been directed to, he could barely make out a ship that had been split into multiple pieces and was now on the seafloor underneath the Wonder.
Sumner pulled himself back and looked at his ancestor. “It was a way to protect ourselves. Of course, we could still be attacked from the sky, but we had ways to defend ourselves from that as well. But no one was allowed to come in here without the help of a Sumner knight.” He looked at Sumner again. “However, just because you are the knight of Sumner does not mean it can’t be taken away. Please keep this in mind.” Sumner could only nod.
Kaerius then smiled again. “All right, it’s now time to test what you have received. You should be able to swim up this waterfall. Do not worry about inhaling water. It gives your face a bit of a shield so you shouldn’t be able to swallow or inhale anything, unless you’re trying to which I would recommend not doing.” He gave Sumner a little push into the pool. “You’ll need to get to the middle part of the waterfall. You will then feel a force that seems to push you upwards. Don’t fight it, just move your legs so that it will push you up further. Only use your arms if you want to move around for some reason, but you shouldn’t have to.”
Kaerius moved back. “I’ll be watching. Wave down to me once you have successfully made your way up! I suggest you go back to your world after this. It’s a lot to take in at once!”
Sumner took one last look at the ghost and nodded. “I will see you soon!” He said before he swam to the middle of the waterfall, and like Kaerius said, he felt a force that was so powerful he had a hard time even moving one of his arms, let alone both. But he decided to kick as the ancestor had instructed, and suddenly he could tell that he was moving up the waterfall. It only took a few moments, and as soon as Sumner had gotten used to the sensation, he was suddenly shot up into the air and only had a moment to realize what was happening before he was falling again, only this time making it into the pool at the top of the platform. He took a moment to breath, making sure he wouldn’t be falling out or anything, before making it out and moving over to the edge and sending a wave to Kaerius like the other had instructed. And deciding to take the other’s advice, took out his mini guitar and soon found his way home again. He powered down and after taking a moment to make his brain realize that he was no longer at his Wonder, decided that he would take the rest of the day to rest and do nothing in particular, before deciding what he wanted to do the next time he went to his Wonder.
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2022 5:13 pm
Squire Solos #1-4: 2,7065 words
I pledge my life and loyalty to Neptune, and to Sumner.
I humbly request your aid, so that in return I may give you mine.
It had just been his luck the that didn’t need to go to his job for a week. Renovations plus hazardous material falling into it had led to the pool being closed for the entire week. A perfect time to go back to his Wonder. A pang of guilt was felt. Was there an expected number of times that a Squire needed to back? He knew he could now go back every two weeks instead of three, but was he expected to? Would something happen if he didn’t?
Perhaps he should have asked others these questions instead of thinking about them as he got ready to go back. He had gotten an enhancement from there, which appeared to only work for his Wonder, but he had yet to get his ring, something that seemed quite silly for a Squire. He should have had it much sooner. Kaerius would be there at least. Perhaps he could get some guidance from the ancestor.
He was near the reservoir once again as he summoned his now-harp and strummed it a few times before he said his pledge. Before he opened his eyes, he could hear the water falling around him and knew that he was at the Wonder once again. He jumped into the falls, much more certain that he wouldn’t die from hitting the water below and neatly plunged into the water before coming up for air and swimming to the edge and pulling himself out. Nothing appeared to have changed to the Wonder since he had been here last. Unsurprising since this was only his second visit. Nothing would improve without him being there. Still, it felt a little like a second home, even if it was uninhabitable.
He thought he saw something glowing and looked to the side where Kaerius appeared to be floating, a look of impatience and annoyance on their face. “I was starting to think you wouldn’t be back.” He said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Sumner blushed in embarrassment. “I… wasn’t able to make it until now. A lot has happened that I needed to process.” Sumner said truthfully, even if the processing had only been recent. “But I do want to come here more often than I have been. I know this place isn’t going to get anywhere without me and that’s not fair.” He said with the conviction to Kaerius. The spirit looked to him before nodding. “All right. Mind telling me what has happened? That may make you feel better.” He said as he started to follow Sumner away from the waterfall so they could talk more clearly.
Sumner stopped when he could finally hear himself again and sighed. “There’s some… aliens or other world beings who recently came to Earth. Turns out they were working for the Negaverse. Not sure what they are doing exactly, but I can imagine that it’s something that gives chaos an advantage. I’m… not sure what we can do on our side to keep up.” He wished he had paid more attention to the aftermath of the whole thing but being taken up to the moon and beeped at by the code and everything… it was too much to take in all at once. And now he was sure that there was something else going on behind all of it. What it was, he had no idea and unless the Negaverse screamed it from the rooftop he doubted they would until word got around.
Kaerius listened to what Sumner was saying and was quiet for a few moments after Sumner was done. “Unfortunately, I don’t know what aliens you may be speaking of, but I believe that it’s best to work on what you can do. And right now, that is repairing this Wonder and finding your ring.” Sumner looked at him and then nodded. “You’re right. There’s no use standing here just thinking about it. And I was thinking about the ring when I came here. It should be somewhere, right?” Kaerius nodded in affirmation.
“Yes… I’m not sure where it is so I can’t help you with finding it, though I’m sure you’ll be able to find it without much trouble.” He said with a small smile. He wasn’t making fun of Sumner he wanted to support the young Knight as much as possible.
Sumner looked around and flinched when he saw the crumbling scenery. He only hoped that he would be able to find the ring in a not-life-threatening spot, otherwise this was going to be much harder than he thought. “Well, I found that scroll near the statue last time. Might as well look there and see if it leads me anywhere else.” He said to Kaerius though more as though he was thinking out loud. Kaerius realized that this was for Sumner to figure out on his own and whisked himself away for the time being.
Sumner followed the route he had gone before and looked around the statue again to see if it held any clues. After extensive searching he realized that there wasn’t anything there. From what he could make of the place, it seemed to be more the magical section. He wasn’t sure if that meant the ring wouldn’t be here, but he had a feeling that they weren’t given out so easily. So, they probably wouldn’t be in any of the common areas. After going back up to the top and around the statue he decided to check to see if the hopefully not deadly, whale-like structure would hold anything within it.
It took him a bit to figure out how to get to it. It appeared there were no straightforward staircases to it and instead multiple ones that led to the various levels of the Wonder and even to the water below. He had to come in from the side but when he managed to make it, he could see that it had appeared to be some sort of living quarter. When he first walked in, he could see that it very clearly belonged to someone, as though they used it as an office. A bit further inside and past a crumbling wall there appeared to be a flat and broken bed covered in artistic designs. When he looked beyond the bed, he could see the edge of the Wonder though he didn’t hear the waterfalls. It appeared that the acoustics prevented the sound from reaching this point which made it quite peaceful. For a few moments he just looked at them, looking at the rays of light reflected off the surface of the water and wondering what was behind the waves.
He would probably never know, something that gave him some sadness, but he imagined that it had been a lot like Earth’s seas. Filled with creatures and plants and other sorts of living things. And other Wonders. For a moment he thought about Pendour’s Wonder and mused about what direction it may have been in. Maybe one day they would find a way to move from Wonder to Wonder so that they could help their fellow Neptune Knights out.
But he couldn’t do anything about that today. Heck, he would need to work more on his own Wonder first before any such thing could be done. He moved back towards the opening of the whale and could see that there was some art all around the walls and the ground any really any place that wasn’t made of water.
Maybe… he followed the art. It twisted around but he could see images in it. He would have to take longer to figure out exactly what they were supposed to be, but he could tell that some of them had beautiful jewels. Truly, this must have been a masterpiece back in the day, he wished he could have seen it in his prime. What he was really looking for however was any signs of what appeared to be a ring.
He continued to follow it, looking around seeing if there were any clues when he happened upon a particular spot. Of course, it was above what used to be the bed. From what he could tell, there was perhaps a piece of jewelry that was bestowed upon the Knight of the Wonder and it could be found in… The waterfall?
He had to look at it for a few minutes just to confirm that it was there. It was crazy but… it seemed to be the place. He made his way back outside to the waterfall entrance and looked around the water. The sun had shifted and was now shining into the water. It was bright and he wished he had some sunglasses from the sun’s reflection but there seemed to be something in there…
He took a breath and dove in and opened his eyes. Either it was because of him being a Knight or this water was particularly clean, but he had no problem keeping his eyes open. A few seconds of searching and he could see something in the back of the pool. He quickly swam open and could see it was a jewel that was on the wall. He pulled on it, and it popped open, a tiny chest that matched his uniform’s colors floated up. He grabbed it and swam back to the surface, only taking a breath when he knew that his head was fully out of the water.
He swam over to the shore and pulled himself out of the water, taking time to sit next to the waterfall and opened the chest. There in the middle of a deep blue plush jewel pillow was a ring. Sumner grinned. This had to be it! He carefully removed the ring and put it on his right ring finger. It seemed to shine in the light, and he could tell that it was his. At least for now. He wasn’t sure how ownership of the ring worked, if it could be taken away, but it would eventually go on to the next Knight of the Wonder perhaps.
Kaerius appeared next to him. “I had no doubt that you could find it and I’m glad you did.” Sumner looked to the other and nodded. “It just didn’t feel right to be without it.” He said, making sure that the ring didn’t move around on his finger. “It’s at it’s full potential currently, but with time, patience, and hard work you should be able to upgrade the ring I believe.” Kaerius said, thinking about it. “Unfortunately like with most of these, I’ll have to see if I can remember how to do it. It should be quite simple, at least for the first upgrade… Give me some time and the next time you visit Sumner I should be able to tell you how.”
Sumner nodded at the ghost. “Thank you, I appreciate it, even if I have been a bit neglectful of this place. He said, looking around once again at the dilapidated Wonder. Kaerius sighed. “I don’t believe it will ever be fully functional again unless you come here many more times, as often as possible. But even if you fix it up a tiny bit, that’s more progress than has happened in the last thousand years.” He said with a chuckle.
Sumner felt a bit better but still felt the guilt of only having visited this place once before. “I’ll make sure to come back here more often, I promise. I’m not sure how often that will be, but hopefully at least once a month.” He replied while getting up and looking around the Wonder once again. “I need to come up with a plan. I’m not sure how to get this place looking even slightly presentable again, but I do have some connections on Earth that may be able to help.” He said looking at Kaerius once again. “Thank you for the encouragement.”
And with that Sumner dived back into the pool, putting the chest back into its spot and then rode up the waterfall before leaving as he had arrived. When he got back to his apartment he sighed. He had accomplished something at least. He didn’t know how much that would mean, but it was better than nothing.
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Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2023 5:56 pm
Squire Solos #5-7: 1,603 words
The water came up to him, almost too quickly, as Sumner finished his dive into the water at the base of the entrance for his Wonder. He quickly swam towards the top and made his way out of the water, swimming to the other side, feeling the water slide off of his uniform and it drying extremely quickly as soon as he was out of it. He took a look around, the sun setting lazily at the top, and while he was unable to see the sun itself currently, the colors in the sky that reflected off of the water gave it a nice, ombre burst of colors. Soon it would be dark, and the stars would come out and he could look at them, different from Earth but also the same, just in a new light.
He walked over over to one of the mostly in-tact benches that were closer to the entrance, he supposed so that the Knights that lived here could listen to the waterfall while taking in the sight of the Wonder and dropped the case that he brought with him.
And then he looked up at the sky, the first stars beginning to make their appearance.
Why was he here? To be honest, he had no idea.
He just… felt like coming here again. There didn’t appear to be any major reason for it. Sure, they had that large battle with those aliens and now there appeared to be different aliens coming to Earth from Homeworlds that were different even from those that had attacked them.
He had gone to different Wonders as well. As interesting as they were, he had only been there for a short time and hadn’t been able to fully tour them as he wanted to. He had met others. Knights, Senshi, etc.
But there was nothing that had specifically compelled him to come at this time, to his Wonder, other than perhaps a twinge of guilt that he hadn’t been going as often as he should have. Especially during the winter months when his job moved to the indoors.
He leaned back and just stared up at the sky, no specific thought going through his head. No questions. Just… enjoying the atmosphere. The different sounds that this Wonder brought. The change compared to Earth. For a few moments he stayed like this. Only looking, his mind blank as he just enjoyed being here.
However, that couldn’t last forever and his mind started to wander towards thoughts which eventually led to questions which eventually made its way to goals and things he wanted to say but he couldn’t. What was it that he was feeling? Was it a sense of belonging or just needing a change of scenery? Did he want to eventually make this a Wonder that he could live on as opposed to having to go back to Earth all of the time? Which would be hard unless he inherited a house or something that couldn’t easily be taken away home-wise.
Did he want something specific from this Wonder? Should he explore more? It was nice just to enjoy the area, even if it wasn’t a whole Homeworld. There would have been no way to bring one of those back in his lifetime, but perhaps a Wonder? Did he want to make it into something specific? Would he try and find information about what it had been before? He didn’t know enough about the Wonder to try. He could go and find information for it, but seeing what he did on the Wonder so far, he questioned whether there would be anything left due to the amount of water in the air. Perhaps there was a more permanent structure that would be able to answer some of his questions.
He would need to find it, and perhaps on his next trip he could do so, but for now the thought of discovering anything on the Wonder didn’t appeal to him. Or at least he didn’t believe that there would be anything to discover. But, he took a pause as he got up and stretched, putting his harp on his back in it’s place where it hung on his uniform, he could still go around and wander. After all, he hadn’t yet explored all of his Wonder. Thank goodness it wasn’t a Homeworld, he would feel bad if he couldn’t actually see all of it. Imagine being in charge of a whole WORLD and yet you can’t see all of it unless you could fly or something. It was just… sad in his opinion. He thought it was better to have Knights because at least others could help with it and explore the rest of it as well if needed. Or at least the main points.
He knew he had seen where the scroll was to swim up waterfalls, and the upper training area. There was another part towards the back that he hadn’t yet looked at and decided that he would start to search for… well anything there. The one thing he wanted to do was learn how to use his magic not just on others, but on himself as well. It had been quite the detriment not to be able to use it except for on others. And there had been consequences. That fight with the Corrupt being one of them. That was… horrible to say the least. Explosions and only being able to run just to get away from any damage that may again happen. That Corrupt could have easily killed him, but they… didn’t.
As if they had been toying with him. It made him angry to say the least. And he hadn’t been able to do anything about it. If he had been able to use his magic on himself then he could have lessened the damage. Then even if he had been hit multiple times, it wouldn’t have hit as hard and he could have gone after the Corrupt Senshi.
It was disheartening, but it was something he had to deal with unless he could find something to fix it. Which is why as he moved up one of the side waterfalls he was looking around at the walls to see if they would show him anything new. They had already shown the training that the Knights of Sumner had partaken in before, but that couldn’t be it, could it?
As he moved closer to the back he noticed that he was being led to what could be described as a “room”, though it was more of a partially enclosed space. There seemed to be a curtain, much like the cloth on his uniform, covering the front space, but the “walls” were made of water and as he moved the curtain aside, it was surprisingly quiet. He would have thought that being surrounded by water like this would have been louder, but perhaps it was due to some magic that it was deafened.
He looked around to see if he could find anything. The space was quite large, but nothing was showing within the water and it wasn’t until he saw the floor glowing that he realized that there were images on the floor. It showed a Sumner Knight, this time holding a harp. In the various images it showed that the harp could be played with both hands, but then there was also a way to keep it continuing to play with only one hand, leaving the other free.
Sumner couldn’t help but chuckle. “Seems this place knows what I need more than I do.” He said as he continued to study the images. Unfortunately for him it didn’t show exactly how to unlock the ability to use it one-handed, but it couldn’t be that hard, right? He was a Squire already. He hoped, at least, that he wouldn’t have to become a Knight to unlock this power just to be able to give himself a boost.
He quietly moved his harp from his back, putting it in front of him. Holding it close to his chest, he closed his eyes, concentrating, and started to play. Just a small melody and not putting any magic into it. He just wanted to calm himself a bit. As he continued he then started concentrating on pouring magic into his harp and he could feel his magic working on himself, but of course he was using two hands.
He only had a limited amount of magic to practice with and he didn’t want to use all of it and fail. He let out a sigh. “You can do it. You are Sumner. You have earned your magic. If anyone needs it you do.” He said, still concentrating on putting in magic. It was then that he pulled one hand away, still focusing. The melody was still playing and he opened his eyes that he hadn’t realized he had closed. The harp! It was playing by itself and was still using his magic! He couldn’t help but start to cry at the realization. It may have just not been obvious to him, but he was glad that he learned that he could do it and then was able to. He wiped his tears away, the melody falling away as the rest of his magic was spent, the rest of it being used for practice.
He felt himself sniffle a little. They were happy tears. He knew that he could use his magic on himself. Now he would have a fighting chance. He could help himself AND others. His magic wasn’t useless.
He had a new sense of hope.
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