Starting Off... Not So Strong (Talia, Luka)

[Talia]

Standing up on a small hill overlooking the family farm, Talia sighed as she prepared to leave her home for what may very well be forever. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't utterly terrified of setting out on her own, but at the same time, she was excited. She could go know adventures like the heroes in all the stories she'd been told while growing up. Of course, maybe she could actually get somewhere in life if she knew how to fire off a lightning spell without having it partially or fully blowing up in her face, either metaphorically or literally.

Turning away from her home, she headed towards the road that led south of Remi. She hoped to take it until the point where it branched away to either Etruria or the rest of Ilia. Her intent was to head east, then if nothing seemed promising there, she would head south, away from the icy nightmare that was most of the Ilian wilderness. Sigh, guess I might as well pass the time doing something productive while I walk... Taking out her tome, Talia began flipping through the pages until she reached the steps for casting an extremely basic lightning bolt. Alrighty, I know I have that right... Hmm.. maybe my hand positioning is off... Or my stance maybe? Geez, if anyone ever thinks spellcasting is easy, I'll have a few choice words to say to correct them. Ugh, at this rate, I'll never be a competent mage... As she read and walked, Talia was completely oblivious to any other people that may have been walking along the road near her, much more focused on studying and improving her mistakes than checking for anyone around her.

[Luka]

Luka quietly shut the door behind him. The sun was barely rising and the small town was still tinted blue from the left over night. He didn't want to wake his mother, having said their goodbyes the previous night. He knew it'd be a while till he saw them again. He took a look at the various buildings, easily able to imagine the roads filled with people a noises. It was almost eerie with how still everything was. It was incredibly cold since the sun was only just rising. Luka shivered a bit and raised his cloak to cover his mouth just for some desperate warmth as he set off from his town. Luka walked with determination in every step, his destination was Delfia. Despite all his time with his nose in the books, to say he was incompetent with magic would be generous. He was determined to reach the magic academy and learn how to wield spells properly. Or at all really. He began his journey with eyes filled with resolve.

Which did not last half the day as Luka pathetically slumped against a tree that was slightly off the road. "Ugh...this is awful... I knew there would be a lot of walking but geez. I wish I had a horse." He whined as he slumped down. He took this time to retrieve his tome and give it a once over. He read the words a hundred times surely, but even then the spell casting just didn't seem to click with the boy. He gave a little sigh as he stood back up and returned to the road. Keeping his nose in the book and mumbling his thoughts to himself. "What is it I'm lacking...?" His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden crash as he collided with someone else on the road.

"Ack?! I'm sorry!" he bowed deeply before looking up at the stranger. Oh, a kid? Out here by herself? He took a careful but quick glance over the girl, noticing the tome. "Oh, are you a sorcerer?" What luck! Maybe she can teach me a few things! He held out his hand "Hello! I'm Luka from Remi." She looks young, but if she can teach me anything I'm not picky!

[Argus]

Argus was, by chance, further down the road they were heading on, currently wandering around, really looking for something to do. Bandits to fight, people to save, that kind of thing. Heck, he'd even be a bodyguard if he had to. He hadn't yet noticed them yet, as he had his helmet on, and couldn't see much. The helmet was lined with fur on the inside, as was the rest of his armor. All the better for Ilia's cold climate. At this very moment though, he was digging through his bags, looking for his map, and wondering when he should stop for lunch, or even if he should eat lunch or skip it in favor of getting to someplace faster... He decided to stop here and eat some of his salted meats, after all, he wasn't in a hurry. He didn't have a destination at the moment, heck, if someone asked, he'd probably go just about anywhere. Now that would be nice, Argus thought. Some actual adventure.

Argus was sat beneath a tree at this point, and was visible from the location of the two young, aspiring mages. His Lance was propped against the old tree's trunk, prominent, almost begging someone to ask him on a quest. He was already packed for one after all! He just needed an objective to complete, renown to gather, glory to earn, for himself, his father, his mother, and his mentor! Ah... His father... He used to be from Bern, and Argus was mocked because of it during the first few days of training, but eventually, the mockery ceased when his mentor started the REAL, grueling training regimen.

[Talia]

As Talia continued walking and reading her tome, she felt another person colliding with her, followed by a quick apology. Turning to see who the offender was, she noticed it was a boy (or at least she was pretty sure it was a boy) who stood barely taller than herself, and was maybe a couple years or so ahead of her in age, if she had to guess. Brushing her robes off and making sure her tome was still intact, Talia looked to the stranger, who had just introduced himself as Luka, who was apparently also from Remi. "Nice to meet you Luka! My name's Talia. I'm actually from Remi as well, but I don't think I've ever seen ya before, so I reckon you must've grown up in the city then?"

As Talia conversed with Luka, her eyes were drawn a ways off to the side, where she saw an armored figure sitting beneath an old, gnarled tree, his lance propped up against the trunk. Pointing in that direction, Talia changed the subject quickly. "Hey, Luka, whaddaya reckon that man is doing over there? Ya think maybe he's hurt or something? I feel like we should at least go check on him..." Walking in the direction of the tree, regardless of whether Luka was following or not, Talia somewhat cautiously approached the armored man, staying a few feet away as she spoke. "H-Hey there, stranger! I, uh, noticed you were sitting here under this tree, but town isn't far away. Are ya hurt? We could probably help you get some help if ya need it."

[Luka]

"Yes I'm from the town uhu. Then you lived elsewhere?" Luka nodded along as Talia spoke. "Oh you lived on a farm? I think I might have passed it on my way actually!" He chuckled softly, though it was closer to a giggle. His eyes wandered down to the tome in her hands. "Oh you study magic as well? What kind do you practice?" He held up his own to show her. "I have some dark spells myself." His eyes followed Talia's as she suddenly stopped and pointed out the man not far off. "Hm..?" He tilted his head a bit as he carefully observed the man. "He doesn't look hurt but- Ah?" Though Talia was already making her way off the path and closer to the stranger. Luka noted the lance and thought to himself he's armed, his armor looks relatively decent also.Is he a knight? He glanced around to see if he could spot a horse near by, assuming knights usually had one.

He's not injured...and I don't think he's a knight. An adventurer? Luka began following after Talia, once he caught up he took a few more steps to be in between the two, just in case. "Hello there sir." He bowed politely. Luka assumed the way he was facing, the direction he was sitting in, he was heading away from Reimi and in the opposite direction. "Are you a traveler? I'm Luka, I'm traveling to Delfia myself. Ahh...?" It only now dawned him that he didn't know where Talia was off to, momentarily forgetting the man and turning to face the girl, already dropping his guard in front of a stranger as naive as the boy was. "Hey, Talia? Where are you traveling to by the way?"

[Argus]

Argus heard some young voices asking if he was hurt, as if HE would be hurt! Hah! He turned his head and noticed the two young children talking to him, and laughed. "No-no. I'm fine, thank you! And yes, I am travelling! Looking to become stronger, and see the world! Delfia eh? Hmm.... I have an idea... If you two would like... I could come along! After all, long journey are dangerous, and someone like me is good at fighting during danger!" He said, taking his spear and thrusting it into the air before lowing it and rubbing his head... "... Sorry about that, I... Kinda get excited when it comes to adventure. You know? The allure of seeing the world in all it's beauty and then looking off the mountainside and seeing up until the horizon itself..." He sighed, and looked up at the sky, promptly looking back down, mainly because he has just looked directly at the sun, and his eyes were on fire at this moment, or at least it felt like they were. They probably weren't actually on fire. "Anyway!!! I'm Argus, I'm from Carrhae. Where are you two from? Nearby I assume? You don't seem too dirty yet from travel... So probably a village then. I've been to a village before... It was nice enough... Smelled of dung though, but the people were nice enough. Inn was plenty cheap." He said, kind of going off on a tangent at this point, and... Perhaps getting a little too excited.

[Talia]

Talia considered the man's offer to accompany them, but given how dangerous the roads could be, especially lately, she didn't have to think long. "Well, I s'pose you have a point. I don't see why ya can't come with us! And I understand what ya mean when you talk about adventure and stuff. That's kinda why I'm leavin' myself. I wanna see more of the world, and maybe do some stuff that'll make my mama proud, while I'm at it."

When Luka asked where it was exactly that she was headed, Talia looked a bit puzzled at first. "Well, uh, I guess I'm not really going anywhere in particular. I'm just trying to see what I an of the world, but I wanna head to Sacae first, I know that. So I guess that means I won't be comin' with ya the while way to Delfia, but I can at least follow until the road branches further south."

When the armored man finally said his name, Talia responded in kind. "Nice to meet ya, Argus! My name's Talia, and I'm from a farm just outside Remi, which is just over that hill behind us. May not be the biggest city ever, but I'm sure you've still heard of it."

Realizing just in that moment that Luka had asked something about her being a spellcaster just a bit ago, Talia said quickly, "Oh, Luka, I just remembered, you were askin' me if I was some kinda.. sorcerer or somethin'? Well, I'm far from that, I'll tell ya that much. I can barely cast spells without half of em blowing up in my face... usually literally. If that wasn't hint enough, I'm wanting to be a right and proper mage someday!"

[Luka]

Luka winced slightly. This man was...loud. Not that it was a bad thing or anything, Luka's father was a loud man as well. Luka nodded as he spoke to show he was paying attention. "Oh I see, you're a adventurer hu?" Luke eyed Talia as she responded. "Oh, you as well?" Luka brought his hand to his chin, covering his mouth as he lost himself in thought while the other two spoke. So she won't be with me all the way. Then I'll need to learn what I can before we separate. His eyes went to Argus next. Luka did think having someone well equipped and more experience did put him at ease since he himself was such a poor fighter. Though there's no guarantee he'll come with me all the way also. Luka nodded to himself. He'd have to not rely on them less that hinder him down the line.



"Yes sir, you're welcome to travel with us as long as you wish." Luka smiled at the man and nodded. "If you're ready to depart then might I suggest we be on our way Sir Argus?" Luka asked, assuming the meet and greet was over with. Luka waited for the other two to prepare and then resumed on the road. Turning his head slightly to eye Talia as she answered him from before. "H-hu? Blow up...in your face?" Luka tilted his head in slight disbelief, and a tinge of disappointment. Could she be as clueless as me? Darn... He gave the girl a smile and chuckled lightly. Oh well. I'll just have to learn else where, no matter. Luka steeled his resolve and turned to look forward. Once he got to the mage academy someone would teach him, that's what he believed. He then tripped on a rock shortly after. "Ack! I-I'm ok, just a tumble...e..eheh" he quickly climbed back to his feet and brushed himself off, laughing off the small tumble as his clumsy nature started to show.

[Argus]

"Wonderful!" Argus said with a wide smile. "I've been looking to go somewhere, and now I have somewhere to go! Well. I do assume you two DO know the way there... Correct? I mean... I do have maps if we need them, but I'd prefer not to rely upon those too much.... Ah who cares, we have a journey to go on! Sights to see,people to meet, and adventures to be had!" Argus said as he jumped to his feet, rather surprising considering what he was wearing, before thrusting his spear into the air. "Truly, today shall be a day that goes... Down... In... I... I was yelling again wasn't I?" Argus asked, rather emberassed. "S-sorry... I... I get excited with stuff like this quite often." Argus rubbed his head. "My mentor said it was either my greatest flaw or my greatest asset. Depended upon how he was feeling that day I guess." Argus laughed a little, and smiled at them. "And who cares if you can't cast yet! Just get rid of the yet and boom! The sentence is far more happy!...." There was a silence for a few seconds. "What I'm trying to say is, keep trying! You'll do great so long as it's your best!" Argus gave them both a smile, and a hearty laugh. It was... Kind of weird? Either way, he was obviously rather pumped for this. And that was a good thing one could suppose. At least, in terms of morale. Argus still smiled at them.

[Talia]

Talia had to give Argus one thing. He was certainly very.. eccentric. Yes, that was probably the closest word she'd be able to come up with to properly describe the way in which the armored man got excited at the mere prospect of going on an "adventure", one which may or may not just end up being days of walking down the road, with nothing of note occurring. Still, it would probably be nice to have someone with that go-getter kind of attitude. Looking over at the smiling man, Talia spoke up, a bit timidly due to his previous shouting, "Well, guess you sorta got a point there, what with that thing ya jus' said 'bout not givin' up. Thanks, I'll try an' remember that in the future."

As Talia finished her statement, she felt an ice cold breeze blow by, and she raised her dark brown scarf up over her lower face to protect her mouth and nose, her eyes squinting against the buffeting wind. That's the bad part 'bout livin' in Ilia.. Not too many deadly animals livin' up here, least compared to Sacae or Bern or somethin', but the weather'll leave ya quakin' in yer boots...After a moment, when the wind died down slightly, she spoke up. "I reckon we should probly keep movin'. Standin' around in the cold, even durin' daylight, ain't a good idea. We can still talk while we move, but what matters is that we move. It'll help us stay warm if nothin' else." As Talia relayed her idea, she began taking a few steps down the road, turning around to make sure that her two were following her.