Katsura, Masaki and Faramir were very proud of Ulfar and Tyra. It was as if Fyrkat was their own country. It was quite the scene. Katsura and Masaki cheered loudly as the crowd roared on homage to the newly crowned king. Hatsumomo looked around the area where they stood. The energy about was radiant. The spirits sang in joy and happiness. “This place, this land is truly in celebration with its future.” Hatsumomo said as she witnessed history in the making.
“No, this still seems like a dream.” She smiled happily to Katsura, whom she had been talking with for a good portion of the evening. “Maybe if you pinch me?” she asked with a grin.
Katsura chuckled loudly. Tyra could have very well had been his little sister. He patted her on the shoulder endearingly. “It’s reality my dear princess. A sweet and just reality indeed!” Katsura replied.
Masaki drank another glass of mead. He was trying to remain poised as a prince of Wa should but his pale face began to turn a bit red. Masaki stood up from his seat and approached Tyra, giving her a big hug. Katsura was shocked to see his husband behave so liberally. It was only in the most intimate of settings that Katsura witnessed Masaki give anyone including himself. “Congratulations Tyra!! I can’t wait to bring you home to Wa with us! My parents will love you.” Masaki said as he hugged Tyra tightly.
Katsura informed, “He usually doesn’t feel comfortable enough to hug most anyone outside of me. This is quite the honor. He really is happy for you Tyra.”
“So, Hatsumomo, Faramir. What do you think of the Fyrkat mages?” Ulfar asked curiously as he chewed absent mindedly on a slice of beef. “I suppose the magic’s that you all use must be very different to one another?”
Hatsumomo smiled at Faramir. She, so far, had not had many opportunities to speak with the mage. She replied to Ulfar, “I really find the mages here quite interesting. Their magic is quite different. I can feel that there is a direct link between their power and the spirits of the land itself.” Hatsumomo commented on the Mages of Fyrkat. “As for my magic, it is large spiritual based. My spells work in accordance with Amaterasu and the spirits around me.” Hatsumomo added. She was quite excited and impressed with Ulfar. He didn’t seem the type to largely take interest in magic but his curiosity of her and Faramir’s opinions moved Hatsumomo.
Faramir added as he smiled, “I agree regarding the mages here. I find them fascinating. Also the runes I’ve seen today are indeed special. They seem quite distant from the 27 true runes but they are actually descendant runes. They are quite a rare case indeed.” Faramir’s face brightened considerably. “I specialize in rune magic. However I and skilled in black, white and miracle magic as well.” Faramir was quite enjoying their conversation. He was glad to feel welcomed amongst the people of Fyrkat. He hoped that Tyra would as well forgive him for harming the leiknir soldiers on their first meeting.
Just then officials from the Fyrkat nation introduced the arrival of yet another guest. “King Ulfar and Princess Tyra. From the Lands of Mildorian’s Magician’s Tower is Lord Thorin Elendil!!” The announcer’s voice bellowed for all to hear.
Thorin Elendil, youngest son of Faramir, walked confidently into the hall scanning the crowd for his father. There he spotted him seated with the newly crowned King of Fyrkat himself. A proud smile beamed on Thorin’s face and he quickly approached them. Hatsumono could immediately feel the magical power emanating from Thorin. ‘He must be the bearer of a True Rune, like his father is.’ She thought to herself. Thorin knelt down on one knee and gave his respects to King Ulfar, “Greeting from the Magicuan’s Tower King Ulfar. My most heartfelt congratulations on your achievement today.”
Faramir turned cheerfully to the others and introduced Thorin. “King Ulfar, Princess Tyra, Prince Masaki, Lord Katsura, and Lady Himiko, allow me to introduce you to my youngest son Thorin.”
Katsura introduced himself, Himiko, and Masaki. “I’m and Shiraishi Katsura, and this is imperial Prince Masaki-Mizuno-Wa of the Wa Kingdom. This is Himiko Hatsumomo, the High Preistess of Wa. It’s a pleasure to meet you Thorin.” Masaki and Himiko bowed in greeting to the handsome son of the powerful Rune mage. They were surprised at the knowledge that Faramir had children of his own. Hatsumomo wonder why he had not mentioned them during the earlier conversation. Then she remembered that Faramir was never directly asked the question. To hatsumomo, Faramir was a very interesting man.
Faramir was so surprised to see his son here on the polar opposite end of the globe. “Thorin, My son. What brings you here? Give word please, tell me everything is alright.” Faramir said with a worried tone of voice.
Thorin gave Faramir a hug and upon their release of one another Thorin explained. “Well, I had completed the scheduled astrology reading a few days ago and there is a disturbing pattern. The globe runs the edge of hell in a short time period to come. There is a large gathering of the 108 stars of destiny in the South Atlantic and here. I wanted to warn you and to make sure that things were alright. We will be quite busy soon.” Thorin replied.
“I see…” Faramir replied with great concern. It seemed that while Fyrkat celebrated a wonderful victory the rest of the world was on the brink of war sharpening their swords. Faramir didn’t want to dampen the mood of this joyous celebration with talks of trouble. So he thought to divert to a more light hearted subject. “Lord Ulfar, you asked of magic earlier. I will have Thorin show you all something interesting.” Faramir said then turned to Thorin. “Why don’t you give Prince Masaki and Lady Tyra a magical aptitude test? I think it would be quite interesting.”
Thorin smiled angelically. He knew that his father was trying to refrain from dampening the mood of the celebration. Thorin could have kicked himself for not thinking of that first. If his father was goin through such trouble to keep these people happy, Thorin knew that Faramir cared for the people of Fyrkat. Thorin turned toward Masaki offering his hand to the prince. “Your highness, please allow me.” Thorin said and he gently took Masaki’s hand into his own.
Masaki was quite nervous. Thorin was indeed having an odd effect on the Wa prince. Masaki felt fluttery and excited. Katsura was the only person to make Masaki feel that way. Masaki’s face looked confused and flustered. Katsura immediately noticed the prince’s disposition and smirked. He could tell that Faramir’s son made his husband nervous but Katsura was nowhere near worried. It was clearer than the purest of waters that Masaki’s heart was with Katsura.
As Thorin held Masaki’s hand his smile grew. He looked up into the Prince’s eyes as said, “You are more of a fighter than a magician. But your magical aptitude is not bad. The general scale of measurement from the worst to the best is ; E meaning one has no chance as casting spells, D meaning one is barely able to perform a certain type of magic, C meaning utterly average, B meaning one is pretty good with magic, A meaning one is excellent in magical usage, and Finally S meaning one is exceptionally talented above most others. You your highness have the potential to be a B rank magician if you worked hard enough. But it also depends on the type of magic you’re attempting to learn as well.”
Masaki’s hand was released and Masaki bowed, “Thank you for the test. It was most interesting.” Masaki smiled.
Thorin turned toward Tyra, “How about you Princess Tyra? Would you like me to test your magical aptitude?” Thorin smiled angelically again. He was a jovial presence.