The Lances

Fayden stayed silent as the four of them walked to the Director's office, ignoring the conversation they were having in favor of his new discovery.

His theory of the culprit being someone from Noctis' race held more and more merit by the second.

Fayden almost bumped into Claire when they stopped, it seemed they had arrived. She knocked twice, getting an answer near instantly.

"Yes, come in."

As they opened the door, Fayden raised his eyebrow in surprise. He hadn't sensed the two beings inside, and the only people who could mask themselves from him were-

"The Lances…" Claire whispered, suddenly grabbing Arthur's shoulder and shaking him vigorously. "They're Lance Bairon and Lance Alea in the flesh!"

"These are students from the Disciplinary Committee, and the most promising Mages this generation has to offer." Cynthia introduced them, seemingly unaffected by Claire's outburst.

Bairon narrowed his eyes, "I can see that. Boy."

Fayden switched his gaze to the blond haired Lance.

"What kind of seal do you use that hides your mana from even a Lance's eyes?"

"Lance Bairon, that's-"

Fayden interrupted, "It's okay Alea. To answer your question, it's simple. It's called 'being a white core mage,' perhaps you have heard of it?"

To his credit Bairon didn't anger, "You lie. Reaching the white stage is impossible at such a young age, nevermind achieving it without the artifact."

Fayden smiled dangerously, letting his mana signature wash over them as they froze in shock, "Care to test that out, Lance?"

"Enough!" Cynthia yelled, "Lance Bairon, the boy speaks the truth. He is indeed a natural white core mage."

Bairon sighed, walking towards them. "Very well, I shall believe you."

As he left the room, Alea came to greet Fayden, "My Prince." She bowed down respectfully.

Fayden sighed, "How many times have I told you not to do that Alea?"

Alea chuckled softly, "It's good to see you are in good shape, especially after your sister's breakdown."

A grim expression overtook Fayden's face, but he swiftly wiped it away for a more friendly face.

"Tess had a breakdown?!" Arthur swivelled to face him.

Fayden looked into his eyes and shook his head; his eyes seemed to be saying 'I'll tell you later.'

"It's all good, things are relatively better now." he said.

"M-my dream is to one day become a Lance." Claire announced, her arm over her heart.

Alea smiled at her, "I'll be rooting for you."

Fayden sent her a glance before she left, signalling her to wait for him.

"Now, my secretary mentioned something urgent has transpired. Why don't you three take a seat and elaborate?" Director Goodsky gestured them towards the couch.

Arthur spoke up as he settled down on the couch, "Sure, but did something happen? I'm sure two of the most powerful mages in Dicathen won't just pop in to say hello."

Fayden remained quiet, he had a vague idea what it was about.

"Nothing to be concerned about yet." She waved the question away. "Lance Bairon was once a student at this academy, and his brother now attends it, so he just brought the news in person."

"Wow...I didn't think I'd ever meet them in person." Claire said, still star struck. Fayden idly wondered if she would faint if he told her that he adventured with a Lance for two years.

"I just wish they came bearing better news...but enough of that, please tell me what happened."

That all, but confirmed it for Fayden.

And so Arthur went over everything that happened, from him being confronted by Lucas, Charles and Marcois to being attacked by one. He mentioned how his mana fluctuated wildly as his strength increased tenfold.

"And you said that Marcois had bloody symbols engraved down his spine? I see..." Cynthia muttered to herself as she mused the possibilities.

Fayden narrowed his eyes, she knew something this time too.

She sighed, "As Claire said, Marcois isn't the first case and he certainly wont be the last."

"Do you have any idea what was wrong with Marcois?" Arthur asked.

'Something that temporarily boosts your power but permanently damages you.'

"Unfortunately neither the medics, nor the artificers know what exactly it is. We have reached out to the mage guilds to send some researchers to coordinate with Gideon and a few of our own staff on this matter. Hopefully we will find out more about it soon." She answered before turning to Claire.

"Claire, we'll continue to have the DC officers patrolling in between classes, and I'll get more staff to assist during the night as well."

"Understood." She nodded.

Cynthia turned towards Fayden, "You could help them during their patrols as well."

Fayden smirked, "Bold of you to assume I don't already do that."

Claire snapped her neck towards him, "You do?"

"Just because you don't see me doesn't mean I'm not there. That's like the entire point of me being a hidden member."

"Huh, and here I thought you were slacking off in your duties."

"I'm many things, but a slacker isn't one of them." Fayden retorted.

"Of course, Mr. Doesn't-attend-classes."

"That's another thing I wished to talk to you about." Cynthia spoke up, "Fayden, why are you skipping your classes?"

"Director, I've seen the course, there's nothing in it that I don't already know." Fayden reasoned. "My time is better spent training, or patrolling."

"Even then, you need to attend some classes."

Fayden sighed, "Fine, I suppose Team Fighting Mechanics wasn't all bad."

With their job done, the group began leaving, but Fayden stayed behind.

"Hmm?" Cynthia looked at him inquisitively.

Fayden rolled his eyes, "Please, I know you have something to say. Your face practically screams it."

Cynthia nodded grimly, "It's about Tessia, I'm sure you know why?"

"...I assume she told you what she saw?"

Cynthia nodded, "Yes, and she was quite terrified when recounting the details."

Fayden nodded in understanding, "Of course, she's only thirteen. That's not something a thirteen year old should see. Had I known it would've been that…horrifying, I wouldn't have attempted cleansing her will."

"Yes, she's been emotionally scarred from that incident. I heard how she reacted to you after it, and-"

Fayden interrupted her, "I shouldn't take what she said to heart right? It's harder than it sounds Cynthia, but I am trying."

"That's all I wanted to hear." Cynthia sighed in relief.

Fayden became silent, his lips pressed to a thin line.

"Was there anything else?"

Fayden looked up, staring at her with a grim look on his face, "You know something about these incidents don't you?"

Cynthia remained silent, yet she could not mask the surprise from her eyes.

"I noticed something Cynthia, a foreign magic within you."

The elderly woman froze, her jaw hanging in shock. Was he one of their spies?

"It's a binding spell isn't it? It's the reason you can't say something. I know you have the continent's best interests in heart Cynthia, I've learned that much about you in these few weeks." Fayden saw it in her face, the shock that flashed across. He had his answer.

He stood up, "Good day, Cynthia."

.

.

.

A blade of thorns and roses, and one of translucent teal, that was the first thing Fayden saw as he honed in on Alea's location.

The second thing he saw was Bairon rebuking Lucas, not fifteen metres away.

He withheld a sigh as he walked up behind the Elven lance, a blade of wind in his hand.

Alea tensed when she felt a blade poke at her back.

"Alea, I would prefer it if you didn't decapitate my oldest friend." Fayden deadpanned at her.

She chuckled, "I wasn't going to harm him, just scare him a little."

"Looks like Aya's eccentricity is rubbing off on you." He said dryly, dispersing his weapon.

"Perhaps."

"I think there has been a misunderstanding." Arthur said, storing his sword inside his ring, "I don't harbour any ill intent towards Lance Bairon, in fact it was my first time meeting him today."

"Even if you were repressing your presence, I can tell, you know." Alea leaned forward. "Of course you wouldn't be able to touch him, even as a dual elemental mage."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that one Alea." Fayden smirked. "You see, Arthur here actually put up quite the fight against me."

Alea raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Is that true?"

"You still beat me rather easily." Arthur commented, "I know I'm stronger than most kids my age, but I'm not as strong as a Lance."

"Arthur, you're only fifteen. The fact that you can hold your own against a white core mage itself is astounding." Alea placed an arm on his shoulder. "Don't sell yourself short, be proud of how far you've come in how short a time."

Arthur didn't know what to say, so he merely thanked her.

"Onto more important matters," Fayden butted in, "I've heard about the Lance's mission from gramps."

Alea glanced at Arthur, asking a silent question.

"It's fine, I was planning on telling him anyway." Fayden said, "I heavily advise against going alone, even if you have a battalion of mages."

"Why? The Lances are-" Alea was interrupted before she could finish.

"Not the strongest beings on this planet." Fayden finished.

"But the only beings who are above us are the deities." Alea protested.

"Wait, deities exist in- in our world?" Arthur caught himself before he could say something he'd regret.

Fayden nodded, "Yes, and I suspect one of them is behind the mutated beasts."

"And what makes you think that boy?"

Arthur jumped as he heard Bairon behind him.

"Ok first of all, I'm 18, legally an adult, so stop calling me boy." He glared at the Lance.

"I'll call you whatever I wish."

"Fine then, Sparky." Fayden spat out, he did not like this Lance.

Turning to Alea, he continued, "Remember how I went missing for a couple months as a kid?"

She nodded, "The whole kingdom was in an uproar."

"Thing is, I made contact with a deity back then."

"And why should we believe that?" Bairon demanded, not believing his words one bit.

"Just ask Virion. Anyways, recently I came in contact with a beast will from a mutated beast. And guess what? It was tainted with something that very closely resembled that deity." Fayden stopped for a quick breath. "The Lances are our strongest force, if even one of you die, it'll be a heavy blow to the continent."

Arthur remained silent as the three White core mages conversed, he was confused. He had too little information to actually comprehend Fayden's words.

"So you're saying," Bairon finally spoke up, "that a god is the reason behind these corrupted beasts?"

Fayden shrugged. "It wasn't a very strong fragment, it could very well be a half breed."

"This is troubling." Alea muttered.

Bairon shook his head, "It doesn't matter, there's too many dungeons to take care of and only six of us. Even if we consider your proposal, you would need to convince the Council."

Fayden sighed, "Fine, but at the very least."

Bairon tensed when he saw silver runes flash under Fayden's eyes and a black glow encompass his arm.

Soon the runes faded away, and the glow left his arm. When he opened his hand, there were six diamond shaped crystals on his palm, each a shade of black so dark it seemed to dim the area around it.

He handed them to Alea, "Take these, and give them to the other Lances. They're homing beacons, they'll notify me of your location when they break. If something happens, just smash it and I'll be there as soon as I can."

Bairon spoke, "If something did happen, by the time you reach us it'll be too late."

Fayden grinned, the runes appearing once more under his eyes as he disappeared in a black flash.

"Trust me when I say I have my ways."

Bairon spun around, a spear of thunder manifested in his arms.

"How did you-?"

"Teleportation spell, I'll let you guess what my range is." Fayden said coyly.

Alea's eyes widened "Impossible, to teleport without a gate…"

"Yeah I tend to get that a lot."

Bairon grit his teeth, vowing never to use the accursed thing, "Is that all?"

"Yes."

Nodding tensely, he walked away.

Alea sighed, "Thanks for this Fayden, I'll make sure the others get these."

Fayden sighed, "I've told you to just call me Fay."

Alea smiled, "I'll try to remember that."