A Caster's Blade

Rei Li threw his head in Amethyst's direction upon hearing her words. His excitement tripled at the idea of actually obtaining something like this blade.

The merchant smiled, saying,

"It's the blade of a former caster. It was brought in from Togu just a day ago."

"Togu?" Rei Li asked.

"Did any other blades come in from Togu? Specifically, one with a golden hilt and violet tassel?" Amethyst cut in.

Her darkened expression had eased at the thought of getting her hands on the cursed sword. The whole journey was for that very reason, and if she didn't have to waste a week's travel to get it, it was even better.

Rei Li was also tuned in, albeit a bit distracted by the sword in his hand.

"The Violet Hand of Death…? Just why would a young woman want to touch such a filthy, cursed blade?"

Amethyst didn't answer, only staring in anticipation. Her hands clenched at her sides, her hazel eyes threatening to flicker that lilac shade in excitement. When he saw her swallow, the merchant averted his eyes.

"N-no, no, I don't deal in cursed weapons. I did hear that someone has it on the market, though. In Togu, like you said. But...they seem very picky about who they sell it to."

Amethyst nodded, looking down for a moment.

It's in my favor if they're picky. It'll likely still be there when we arrive.

She was a bit disappointed, but Rei Li had already moved on to the sword once more.

Wasting no more time, Amethyst pulled out the coin purse and placed two silver pieces on the merchant's table. He smiled,

"It's all yours."

Rei Li had been engrossed in the sword, so he hadn't noticed the exchange. But when he heard the merchant's words, he spun his head so fast he became dizzy. He saw the coins, then looked up at Amethyst who's back had turned. She'd already begun to walk away.

The merchant gave Rei Li the sheath, a deep blue with silver patterns, slightly curved to match the shape of the sword. He grabbed it from his hands, bowed in thanks, and ran to catch up with Amethyst.

"You, I thought, a poor worker blames his tools and all that! You really bought it for me? I thought-"

"You should have been a caster, Rei." She said, rather solemnly. The sudden jolt of hearing her say his first name, not Rei Li, not Reirei, but Rei, made him feel something was off. There was almost a melancholic tone in her voice.

"You can teach me." He said cheerfully, trying to ease the tension.

He saw that her fist was still clenched at her side, and the vein in her pale neck seemed to stick out. He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably as they walked forward.

"I don't practice the right path, and I'd never teach it to you."

Of course, he already knew that. He'd asked about a dozen times, but had been turned down each time.

He knew a little in regards to her past, and a little about the sword's involvement in it. But she never seemed to carry that tone. Whenever she'd turn him down, it was usually something like,

"Nice sigil! Teach me how to-"

"Go study and learn something more important."

And she usually held a joking tone when she'd said it. It was uncomfortable for him to see her expression change once more, darkened and gloomy. She walked a bit ahead of him, as if in a rush to get through the town.

"Maybe I'll change my name then, hide out for a while, and go enroll with an academy in Ke, haha." He awkwardly laughed. But Amethyst said,

"You should truly consider it. You have the potential, and you'll only lose it the older you get. That sword," she suddenly turned around, stopping him in his tracks. He stumbled back a bit.

"The way the caster's sword responded to you, the energy that came off of it… It saw you, and recognized you as a caster."

Rei Li looked down at the sword still in his hands. He unsheathed a few centimeters of it, and the light from before shined again. It seemed brighter this time, even blindingly white. He was taken aback after hearing her words. Of course he'd dreamed of it, but no one from the Third became a caster.

Only ones who had fallen or were criminals inhabited the Third. There were casters there, sure. But only because they had been before getting shipped out that way. There were no opportunities, and by decree of the emperor, they weren't allowed to leave and make those opportunities for themselves.

Even leaving on short trips was dangerous. It was the "pit", the "demon's den", no one's permitted to leave. Though some did, Amethyst and a few merchants, and Rei Li's family when they were alive, the risk was rather high, especially with the hunts occurring for the past six years.

So, in short, there were no academies to teach caster's in the lawless Third, and because of the Emperor "sealing it shut", no one could go out and join one elsewhere.

He closed the sheath and sighed, pulling out his old sword and handing it to Amethyst. He placed the new blade on his hip, but looked visibly dejected.

"I can't. This is as far as I've ever been."

"Why can't you? A law, a decree, a weak magical seal?" Amethyst asked, brow raised.

Rei Li looked up at her and opened his mouth, but she cut him off before any words came out.

"The hunts? The fear of death? ...I brought you out here with me so you could see that Nara is not as dangerous as you think. We're blurry faces that won't be remembered tomorrow. No one knows where we're from, nor our names.

And neither of us criminals, yet are serving someone else's sentence. Why should we let it stop us?"

Rei Li didn't look back up, eyes glued to the streets. It sounded nice, but whether or not it was possible for him was the bigger issue.

Amethyst sighed, walking again. Rei Li waited a few paces before trying to catch up.

Once side by side, neither looked at each other for quite a few minutes.

They made their way to a nice little restaurant, taking seats at a table near the door. At this point, the tension was too much, so Amethyst broke it. She'd looked up at him, and seen that his hair was tied crookedly. She said quietly,

"Reirei, your hair ribbon is on the side of your head."

He bolted upright, untying his chest-length, curly brown hair and running his fingers through it. Amethyst stifled a bit of laughter as he adjusted the white ribbon, tying it in a bow.

She watched his hands, and suddenly remembered her own.

She had bathed in the morning, and changed out the bandages on her palm. But they were quite dirty by the late afternoon. She pulled off the bandages, seeing that her palm had mostly healed, and tucked them away. She then washed her hands in the bowl of water provided.

'I wonder about that Masked Demon...'

She thought, remembering the delicate hands that wrapped her own with care. She stared at her hands as she'd done the night before, remembering the light, warm touch. A smile crept onto her face.

"Amethyst, what are you doing?" Rei Li asked.

She looked up, seeing his cocked brow and inquisitive look.

Her face went a light shade of pink as she put her hands into her lap. As she averted her gaze in embarrassment, a feeling she wasn't quite used to, she caught a glimpse of a mask.

As if on cue, in the distance through the shop window, the Masked Demon appeared in the trees just outside of Mono Valley.