Sundrops Anew

The forest far outside of Corona was quiet. The occasional dandelion floated in the breeze, animals hopping or playing as they would, relatively undisturbed.

The world had been in trouble for some time, even beyond the missing princess. Primarily, this danger had been through the behaviors of various dark beings. Some were relatively simple, but others could either manipulate the air or impersonate flora before spinning into a whirlwind of power. There were also a slow incursion of those who should not have ever existed, though the number of those last ones were still relatively tame, seemingly waiting for someone in specific before moving in.

Sitting against a tree in a relatively clear area was a young man, one in his mid-twenties, who seemed to be quietly observing the area, but for one element: his eyes were covered by a blindfold, as if bandaged for some reason or another. He had a small metal baton of some sort by his side, and though he was seemingly staring out into the distance with apparently blind eyes, the baton had morphed its head to the shape of a small needlepoint, tracing a sequence of symbols in the ground that seemed to momentarily glow with each stroke of the makeshift stylus. Once they were completed, drawn up in various places around this entire location over time, he seemed to pause, the item's point disappearing, and turned his head this way and that.

Gregory Zivaku had his own reasons for being here. This was the land touched by the Sundrop Flower, and though it had been removed, the legend remained, and so there may have been some remnants of power for him to learn about, some means of using the healing powers of the sun for invention. There were rumors of it out in the forests or swamps, but he would not follow them too far if they had been incorporated by another.

The various warding sigils would protect the immediate area from incursion, but only if those dark beings were to arrive, and only for set amounts of damage each, akin to a limited-time minefield that would burn those of ill intent who came close without harming the forest itself. The burgeoning mystical power within him screamed for release as ever, but he had been self-trained well enough to avoid those calls to the best of his abilities though exercises like the one he had just undergone for nearly thirty minutes of relative quiet, at most using his arcane sight to look around the area through his blindfold. If someone were to arrive, he would likely see them unless they were to teleport into the area or come up behind him, and through his power, he would likely be able to discern their supernatural prowess and the elemental nature of its form.

He had been mostly alone since gaining a ship of his own in Radiant Garden, but others were always welcome.

Jessica stretched her arms as she walked out in the sun. It was her first real trip to another world, not counting the one that sent her into the Realm of Waking. Still after sitting in the Gummi Ship it was nice to get out into the sun again and walk around. When she first arrived as a Converger she went and spent several days learning from Merlin as her Gummi Ship was being created. As much as Jess loved to have spent the time learning about magic and being able to cast some spells herself, she wanted to also explore these worlds and learn magic from sources outside of the typical Final Fantasy worlds.

That is what led Jessica here. Though she didn't fully know much about the story of Tangled other than it being a retelling of Rapunzel and all she knew of that was the main character had such long hair. Still it seemed like a pretty magical world so as her first choice Jess decided to check it out. The other reason being she'd rather go to a much warmer world compared to the one of Frozen.

So for now the Fox Girl would just explore, unaware of where she was walking or who was nearby.

Due to his enhanced sight, Greg could see the newcomer from quite a distance. Of course, he didn't see her, specifically. Instead, he was able to discern her mana signature, its electrical current weaving into frost, all with an overlay of flame running amongst the entire sequence. It all shaped into the general appearance of a humanoid, though he could also see the ears and tail, enough to clearly show her to not be a world native.

Due to the fact that she was able to pass through the field of runes, it was also evident that she was not explicitly of the dark. However, rather than show his ability to see or give away too much, he just grinned a bit, wishing he could have had time to train his other senses, perhaps smell, to attune better to how the dark worked, but those were more the realm of his brother delving into the dark.

Instead, he listened, finally calling out to the newcomer once she was close enough that he would be likely to have heard her footsteps on the grass even if he were what passed for normal amongst others.

"Hello there. Are you searching for something? Someone?"

His voice was calm, as if he were not entirely surprised to see someone new. In truth, he was curious about the appearance, but to show that to be the case would be to show that he was not blind as he appeared.

Jessica looked to the source of the voice calling out to her. Thanks to her fox ears she could easily tell where it came from. The man definitely stood out from what she was expecting from this world and the blindfold made her cautious. After all the media Jess has watched and played she knew that just because someone appeared to be blind did not mean that they were defenseless or weak in the slightest. But there was no reason for her to be rude if he is just a regular blind person.

"Oh neither actually. I'm just exploring the area." Jess replied as she walked a bit closer to the man. She wasn't too sure if he was a native to the world or not so she would have to limit what she said. At least with the man's blindness it meant she wouldn't have to explain why she has fox ears and a tail.

"I'm just a traveler. I heard that this area was supposed to be rather beautiful so I wanted to come see it for myself. I'm Jessica Mireu by the way." Jessica introduced herself. "What about you? This is a ways from the city."

"Gregory Zivaku," noted the apparently blind man. "A pleasure to meet you. I'm not from around here, truth be told. Given you're exploring the area outside of the city, which I take it few people opt to do in the kingdom, I would assume you're not exactly local either."

He stood, using the staff as a makeshift cane as he often would. Given her lack of immolation, it would appear she did not mean harm, so he felt it best to just be honest.

"I am a traveler of sorts, and found out about a flower here. One born of the sun's rays, and some rumors of one of the moon, though that one is seemingly less important to this place as of yet. I take to looking into mystical phenomena. I suppose you could call me an 'arcanologist' of sorts, though my focus is a bit beyond that."

(If you want, you can bring in Heartless. Or it can wait. Up to you how you want to go about this meeting.)

Jess gave Greg another look over. He said he was not from around the are and was a traveler, did that mean he was like her and traveled here from another world? It was also possible he is just a traveler in this world and she might give away something if she started to talk about different worlds. For now she would probe a bit to see if he was.

Once Greg started to talk about looking into mystical phenomena he managed to completely catch Jess' attention. She might have let him go on his own way while she went on her's until he mentioned that as it was the most important thing Jess was looking into right now. "Mystical phenomena? Like this flower you are looking for? Do you know what makes it so special? If it is truly born of the sun then it must have some unique properties to it. It's a shame that there doesn't seem to be around anymore. I would love to take the chance to study it." Jess said unable to control herself once she got started. Now that she had her interest in magic, nothing would be able to stop her from learning as much as she possibly can.

"I'm interested in pretty much anything mystical. I've just recently learned magic to defend myself but there is so many different styles and kinds of magic that I just couldn't stop there. I would love to learn anything you can tell me about this flower."

Greg smiled a bit at the enthusiasm. He was himself something of a scholar of the arcane, though mostly in terms of forging and the like. Still, it was good to know what materials could do. Considering her excitement, he waited until she had calmed down a bit before answering.

"From what I heard, it has healing properties of some sort. It seems that they only appear one at a time, but are of course known enough that I would have heard of it, despite being relatively new here. With a name after the sun, the kingdom clearly recognizes it. I am uncertain if it is still around, but perhaps if we were to find some semblance of it or its like, it would be interesting to say the least." He took a moment to let that take root. "I also find magic very interesting. Especially artifacts and enchantments. It has to do with my own personal work."

From there, he moved on to her own potential. "Using magic can be complex, I admit. For some it is like breathing air, for others it is thrust upon them, and for other still it takes study to master. What kinds of arcane powers do you happen to have, and through what medium, if you don't mind my asking? I could perhaps try to help give pointers, though my own experience is... different, to say the least."

Jess listened as Greg explained what he knew about the flower. A healing flower would be interesting to study but the fact that only one of them appears at a time would really limit what they could do with it, not that Jess expected that the two of them would find one. With something that rare it was likely it was already being jealously hoarded and kept close to whoever managed to find it. It was a shame but Jess hadn't come here to look for it so she didn't feel too disappointed.

"I just picked up a few spells from learning from a master. I can use fire, ice and lightning to defend myself and that is it currently. Though I can use them without needing any kind of medium but other spells I tried didn't work so I've been looking to figure out what I can do since my teacher wanted me to figure it out on my own." Jess told him. She was thankful for what Merlin had taught her to defend herself but she wished he gave her more of a hint on what to look for.

"I just recently learned about magic and my ability to use it so any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Especially if you can help me learn what kind of medium would be best for me. Though now that I said it that might be hard since there isn't much to go on other than what I already said or that I got fox ears and a tail from what I am guessing was a kitsune considering her clothes looked Japanese." Jess rambled on a bit.

The man listened to Jess speak. She went over the three elements she used once more, which wasn't much of an aid in figuring it out. Unfortunately, without knowing what kinds of things she could do, it was difficult to figure out what kind of methods she would be best at utilizing.

Then she said it. A kitsune. Hopefully she was not mistaking it for a gumiho, which would have quite a different methodology (not to mention a different psychology and appetite, among other things), as for a variety of reasons he did not delve deeply into that particular mythos. However, a kitsune... He could work with that.

Fire, ice, and lightning were classic elemental choices, but odd ones for a species that may have had some use of onmyōdō, or in the very least ofuda, when contrasted against the likes of fire, water, earth, air, and metal. Perhaps the fire and lightning were primitive variations on fox-fire's light, electricity, and fire? Ice was still an odd outlier...

With a snap of his fingers, Greg came to a possible decision. "Ofuda. Paper talismans, if that is a better term. A possible use for your magic, perhaps a good channel for it. If the connection is indeed to a kitsune, having this type of style can help with any close-combat as well as longer range. Still, it would be best if you are fast in combat to get away from incoming strikes, and capable of drawing up your own spells through the medium. Within reason, it seems you would do well experimenting with them, as it is possible that you would come up with techniques others may not imagine. Do you need any use of written language to make your spells? Let alone any paper you would need for replacing it."

He did not explain how he knew all of these things. Truth be told, he wasn't entirely sure he could explain them himself. He just hoped he could get some things across before they were in danger, unless his defensive measures would hold.

Jess just stared at Greg as he started to off a suggestion of paper talismans. She kept staring as he finished the explanation for a short while before her hand quickly came up and hit herself in the forehead as she groaned.

"I can't believe I over looked starting at Japanese style of mediums. I'm a kitsune after all! I should of thought of that first thing!" Jess groaned to herself over her oversight. The fox girl was embarrassed that she never thought to try something like that in the beginning, her enthusiasm over learning and casting magic made her lose a bit of focus. Still despite how she felt about how she needed help to find a starting point she did greatly appreciate the help that Greg has given her.

"Thanks Greg I think that might be a great start for me." Jess finally said to her companion as she lowered her hand. "I learned a lot about using magic circles to cast spells and while I don't need them for my current offensive spells anymore I can go back to them for when I start trying to use the talismans. If I can work out just how to draw them on the paper I could use them as one off spells. As for the paper I'll have to figure that out myself but once again thank you Greg.. I really appreciate all your help."

Greg was about to answer in thanks, his mouth beginning to open, but heard a sound nearby, as if wind were swirling around a selection of small points. Instead, he closed his mouth again, seeing through his blindfold as a collection of small, humanoid figures, seemingly shadowy children, rose up from around them.

These Shadows had antennae on their purely black bodies, their eyes fully yellow. As they stood, more came slithering in the form of puddles of blackness before re-forming again on the edges of the clearing, causing a rustling nearby. By the time they had surrounded the area, they were numbered at ten.

The seemingly blind man rose to his feet, using his baton as a makeshift cane to do so, what was once a needlepoint having disappeared. "We are surrounded," he noted, his tone not quite entirely worried for himself, but still serious enough. "In my condition, I won't be able to protect you too easily." He did not make absolutely clear what his condition was, but it was easy to assume he meant his blindness.

Four of the group lunged, clawed hands outstretched as they suddenly came for the two, a duo to each of them...

... only for a successive stream of three gouts of golden fire to explode from the ground around each of the assailants, the effect brilliant to the eyes and possibly startling for any who did not expect it, which amounted to all of the attackers and his companion. When a Shadow would pass one of the runic "mines" of holy fire, another would activate with extremely dangerous effect, though there was no remnant of the effect on the grass itself after it was gone. All these detonations seemed to be damaging were the Shadows themselves.

Unfortunately, Greg had hoped that the amount of power he had infused into each of the runes would be enough for an individual blast to take down each creature of darkness or at least severely damage it. However, while he was rather learned in the ways of blacksmithing and the use of his magic to a variety of effects, he still had not quite mastered exactly how much power to put into each rune for how much of an effect it would have, especially on short notice as was the case here. Thankfully, he had the benefit of quantity where quality was still lacking. And he still had more room with that type of power around here to boot, though he would only use it if necessary.

Rather than dwell on that limitation, the runesmith focused on the baton, which began to change shape, lengthening and morphing. By the end of its change, he was holding a four foot long hammer, the back looking akin to an axe rather than the spike of a warhammer. On the head of the hammer itself was some kind of runic sigil, one that seemed to glow faintly as he held it in one hand.

He may still have been blind, but that did not mean that he was unprepared.

(Up to you how long you want this to go. That's six left. The runic mines won't be used much, but feel free to have them erupt every so often in the fight if you want to. Think like the "defense system" at Radiant Garden, but with heavenly fire instead of digital constructs.)

Jess was surprised by the sight of the Heartless appearing. She knew that they would eventually show up but this is the first time she had ever seen any in person and would have to fight them. It was one thing to train and prepare to get into a fight some time in the future and another to actually fight. So Jess hesitated when they first appeared, and watched as the mines activated destroying the Heartless that went to attack the two of them. It wasn't until Greg's gained a large hammer that Jess finally shook off her stupor and prepared herself the best she could.

Of the six remaining Heartless, three of them focused on what they could perceive as the weaker target. The one in the front leaped at the fox girl only to get knocked back by a ball of fire. Jess glared as she formed another ball of fire in her hands. While she could cast her spells without needing any kind of medium they weren't yet strong enough for her to destroy a Shadow with one hit just yet. Jess flung the fire she hand in her hands at the Heartless she already hit only to miss. The second one she threw managed to hit its target and all that was left of it was a glowing Heart that also vanished.

The second Shadow seemed to be smarter than the first as when Jess tried to blast it with fire it flattened itself into the ground like its namesake. Jess grit her teeth as she kept an eye on it and the last Heartless that lunged at her. This time it was frozen with a blast of Jess' Blizzard spell. However the time it took for her to focus on it, the Shadow emerged and lunged at her. Jess turned around in time to see it and let out a rather undignified shriek as she jumped away from it.

As she got to her feet, Jess' hands crackled with electricity and she called down a Thunder hitting the two Shadows. The still frozen Shadow was destroyed but the other was merely stunned. In that state it was easy pickings for another Thunder.

Jess panted slightly as she looked back at the three remaining Heartless. She prepared herself for another spell but she didn't cast anything just yet. After all unlike Greg who had a weapon ready, these spells were all Jess had and if she used too many she would be defenseless.

(Three Heartless left. Up to you if you want to finish it)

The three remaining Shadows were still in the area. A few of the runes had detonated, allowing for some more damage, but more than anything, they were a defensive measure. As such, they more were in the vein of keeping the assailants away.

Greg swung his hammer head at one of the Heartless, but just as he was swinging down, it had sunk into the ground once more, the strike merely hitting the ground. As he raised the weapon once more, a small sigil shone for a moment on the point of impact before disappearing from most eyes. Rather than be frustrated, he turned, the back of the hammer striking into the next Heartless at its neck, axe blade enough to decapitate if the creatures would have allowed for such a thing. As it were, he just caused it to evaporate into smoke.

The third one came up behind, preparing to strike with a dive, claws first. Unable to turn the Seraph in time, he flexed his free hand, a gauntlet on it expanding and straightening into the form of a shield upon him that deflected the blow to the side. Taking the opportunity, he bashed the head of his hammer into its back, sending out a shockwave of golden fire that sent the Shadow flying, another one destroyed.

The runesmith winced as claws raked across his back, evidently the last of the Shadows. Not waiting for the pain to rise, he twisted and slammed the brick-like hammer head into its chest, dissipating it as well, and settling the area.

There were a few brief moments of silence as he waited to be sure if anyone else was coming in. Once he was certain they were, at least for the moment, safe, he collapsed his shield back to his arm, resting the hammer on its pommel by his side. He had been damaged, but it was nothing too serious. He could heal well enough.

"Are you alright, miss?" Greg asked, sure she would likely have questions about one thing or another.

With the final Heartless destroyed, Jess collapsed to her knees, the adrenaline leaving her. It was her first battle and despite the fact that the enemies weren't too strong and she had a powerful and skilled ally helping her, Jess couldn't help but feel relieved now that it was over. She knew that fighting was something she was going to have to get used to, not only because of the Heartless but other many dangers that existed on the many worlds that she wanted to go and visit.

Jess took several deep breathes to calm herself as she looked over at Greg. The man was as skilled as she had expected him to be despite being blind. It was thanks to his help that she had managed to avoid getting overwhelmed or panicking.

When he asked if she was alright, Jess nodded despite the fact she wasn't sure if he would be able to see it. "Y-Yeah I'm fine, just...I never been in a real fight before." Jess slowly stood up, her legs shaking a little before she was able to compose herself.

"So what were those explosions that were able to destroy those Heartless? And how were you able to fight them? I mean I knew you were no ordinary person since you came all the way out here and your blind. And your weapons they aren't normal either so how do they work?" Jess started now that she was focused on something other than the fight, let her mouth go, starting to pour out all the questions she had from watching Greg.

Greg allowed her to ask her questions. Once she was done letting them basically fall out of her mouth one after another, he finally spoke up, his words calm. "Well, best to hit those in order."

First, he knelt down, touching a rune he had left. Rather than detonate, it simply glowed, the golden fire flickering slightly as it became more visible before he released his hold, letting it pull back again. "Holy fire, sacred flames, what have you. I imbue it into runes like that one for detonation. This entire clearing is filled with them." He was well aware that admitting to making a minefield was not the most encouraging of statements, so he followed it up. "Don't worry; I set them so that they would only attack those with ill intent, those who would aim to harm me or those with me. By being able to walk across them without triggering them, you proved trustworthy."

That said, he stood up and twisted the weapon in his hand, allowing it to morph into a small rod. "I call it 'Seraph'. Built it myself. I can turn it into any number of tools, including an array of weapons, though it does have its limitations." He put it away at that. "As for the last..."

He grinned a bit, knowing he was about to confuse her a great deal, but finding it to be one of the few things he was willing to have fun with regarding messing with people. "I told you that I had a condition. Who ever said I was blind?"

Jess listened as Greg gave an answer to all of her questions.

The idea that was had initially walked through a minefield was somewhat disconcerting but those feelings quickly vanished as she took in everything he said. The sacred or holy fire was interesting but Jess was unsure of what he meant by scared or holy. What really took hold of Jess' interest was the fact that the runes could tell the intent of the person near them. She wanted to ask Greg how he was able to do that but she stopped herself. As incredible as all the information she has gotten from Greg so far, there was so much she wanted to discover on her own so she just filed that under things to study in the future.

Greg's weapon was less interesting to her though the ability for it to shift into different forms could be something she could look into in the future.

When he answered her last question, Jess blinked several times before throwing her head back and laughing. "Okay, okay you totally got me there." Jess said still laughing a bit due to her own assumption. "Guess I am still making assumptions based on my old world compared to all this new stuff. But I totally knew you could kick ass even when I thought you were blind."

The man just kept up his grin. "No harm done. This is to protect my senses. If anything, they're sharper than most. Still, I do find it amusing to have people get the wrong impression, so if it comes up, I do recommend not letting others know I can see until I make it clear. That is, if you see others along the way."

He noticed a bit of an unusual glow in his own senses, and looked in the direction that it indicated, one many others would not have perceived. "I think that I found a source for research. It does not appear to be sun based, but still could bear to be visited. We can talk as we walk." He continued off into the forest, accompanied by her. Thankfully no other Heartless were attacking at present.

"You did quite well to start with. Did anyone train you in any way? Perhaps that kitsune you mentioned."

(Up to you how long you want the conversation to go. You can let me know when you think they should arrive at the location.)

Jess nodded, still smiling a bit from Greg's little trick. She did wonder how much sharper his senses were that he would cover his eyes, since some of her own senses are now sharper than it was back when she was a human. She also won't say a word to anyone about the truth about it, since she sees no real reason to. Considering how quickly Greg told the truth to her, in the end it was all just a little harmless fun for Greg so there was no reason for her to go around blabbing it to anyone she meets.

When Greg noticed something and started to walk towards it, Jess quickly followed after him.

"Thank you." Jess answered. "I was taught my most basic spells by a wizard named Merlin in the world of Radiant Garden. I don't know if you know of either of them but that was where I first found myself on another world as well as the fact I got a fox tail and ears. Merlin taught me the Fire, Blizzard and Thunder spells I have. He wanted me to have a way to defend myself. I think he was originally just going to teach me Fire but when I was able to learn it so quickly he taught me the other two spells. And while I was there, one of his allies, Cid, was able to create for me a ship that lets me travel between worlds."

Greg nodded as they walked. "I have been there, and spoken with him. I admit we didn't talk for long, due to him being busy packing his things to head toward Twilight Town, but he did seem to know a lot about magic. Good to know you are such a quick learner."

During the walk, he took note of their surroundings. Luckily, nothing else seemed to be coming their way, save for the occasional small animal that crossed their path. Still, the source of the signal he was sensing was a ways away, so they had some more time. He did notice her own curiosity about him, so decided to come to a middle ground of sorts.

"How about this? I can ask you a question to try to help out, and once you answer, you can ask me anything about myself. Admittedly I won't have answers about everything, but I assume between what you have seen so far, you probably do have questions. I'll go first, if that's alright with you."

As they approached closer, on their way ahead, he glanced in her direction for a moment before looking forward once more to be sure they did not run into anything too dangerous. "Which world was it where you found this kitsune? I may not have been to it, but perhaps I could learn more to help further."

(Up to you when they find their target location or get close enough for her to see some dark shapes in the distance to signify it.)

"Sure that sounds good." Jess said as she walked along with Greg. A game of twenty questions would not only be something to pass the time as they walked but gave a chance to learn more not only about Greg but many other things she could think of.

"I never really found her and not on any world. Back home I found a magic circle online and it turned out to be real and sucked me into some portal. I was floating in this void but I could see these ghostly figures all around me. I couldn't really make any of them out as they were too far. The only one I could see clear was the kitsune. I reached out and touched her but after that everything went dark until I found myself in Radiant Garden." Jess answered.

"And my question for you...what world are you from? I've learned about a whole lot of worlds while I was with Merlin but honestly you don't seem to really fit with any of them." It was a simple question but Greg didn't really seem to fit with any of the worlds she knew from Kingdom Hearts. There had to be countless worlds out there so she wanted to know what kind of worlds existed.

Greg nodded as he listened, keeping an eye out. Nothing was really coming their way anymore, and they had a bit of a way to go until they could reach their target. Judging from how she spoke about things like pieces being "online" or her lack of much experience in fighting or magic, he assumed that Jessica came from "outside" the worlds as he knew them. Normally he would be confused, but the knowledge gained during his formation allowed him to accommodate quite easily to that information. It made a lot of sense, after all.

On to her question, then. The man thought on how to answer that, scratching his chin. "Well... the answer to that question is a bit more complicated than you'd think. Technically, I'm from the world of Aselia, but I also am technically from a vast assortment of worlds. It is... a bit difficult to explain. It relates to my powers and my senses. But if you want the short answer, Aselia."

The blindfolded smith thought on what to ask her next. "What is your world like? No need to act as though I do not know you come from a place where you wouldn't need to know combat or magic, if the latter even exists out there beyond these worlds."

Greg's response didn't really answer many questions for Jess as she had never heard of Aselia, not to mention she was unsure what he meant by being from a vast assortment of worlds. It would be something she would have to look into in the future.

Jess laughed slightly at Greg's question to her as she tried to figure out how to reply. "Wow I'm really not sure how to describe it. You are right about it though. Where I'm from it's pretty peaceful and there is no magic in it. Everything we have is from technology. I was just a student back home though never really sure what I wanted to study. Magic and the occult interested me even though for all everyone knew it wasn't real. Having real magic to learn, it's the first time I've really been interested in learning something. Oh man I can't wait till I show Will..."

When Jess said the name, the smile she had faded as she looked down. While she had been so interested in learning magic that she was able to put off thinking about her boyfriend. She wished that he too could find his way here.

"W-Well any way how many worlds have you been to? I got an idea of a lot of them from what Merlin but there are probably an infinite number of them out there so any really interesting ones you can tell me about?"

Greg thought on what he was being told about her world. No magic, but higher focus on technology. Interesting, and something to keep in mind just in case. However, he knew it was unlikely he would visit them directly. Still good to know a different kind of perspective on reality.

The smith noticed her smile more from a slight alteration in her magic signature more than from her face. Given his odd senses, he was more used to judging things based on that than on facial expression alone. He figured that this "Will" she spoke of was someone close to her, but did not ask about him. He figured that he would perhaps find that person later on, or perhaps not. Either way, it was not his business to pry.

"Well, many of the worlds I have gone to have varied names, from those of the nine realms to any number of others. I rarely stayed in one place for long. Radiant Garden is the first I went to with a name of its own so far."

Finally, they approached the source of the magical signature. It was a collection of large, jagged, rocky spikes, seemingly formed of the mineral opal. Focusing on it to judge what exactly it was, he put a hand to his side to keep Jessica back, sighing in disappointment. "I should have seen it sooner. These aren't made from the healing flower. There is some kind of connection to a power within, but without study, it's hard to see if getting any closer is safe. I will need to look further into legends and history of the flower and this world."

He looked over at his fellow scholar. "Do you know anything about these rocks, or should we return here another time?"

Greg's answer to the question didn't really help Jess' thoughts move away from her boyfriend but what did get her attention were the strange black rocks that the two of them found. Now Jess wasn't a geologist of anything so she didn't know the first thing about rocks or minerals but even she knew that there was something very strange about the rocks in front of her and Greg.

"No I've never seen anything like it before in my life. They seem...unnatural for the area." Jess responded as she took a closer look at the rocks. Unfortunately Jess is not able to figure anything more about them even with her closer look. She could feel something from the rocks but her inexperience regarding magic made it difficult for her to put it into words. "I'm not sure they are dangerous or anything but you would likely be the better person to tell if it is or not."

"I guess we would have to go and take a look at this another time. We could just be overreacting to them or not but right now they just look like rocks to me."

Greg watched the rocks, carefully stepping a bit closer. As he did, he watched the rocks, looking in on the magical signatures coming from them. As he approached, while outwardly staying the same, he could see some kind of power roiling beneath the surface, invisible to any but those with a particular ability to see magical auras.

Deciding against further study for the time being, he stepped back. "It seems to be some kind of defense mechanism, or otherwise hostile toward those who are trying to get closer. Until we can look into where it all comes from, it's safe to assume that even if this has a connection to the healing flower, it is much more overtly dangerous." With that, he looked to Jessica. "Do you have a way you would like to go in order to leave, or do you have anything else that you would like to study or ask?"