What I do now, I do for the good of the company.

this post isn't meant to call anyone out or make anyone feel bad, it's just meant to be informative. I've seen this around enough and I would appreciate it stopping

as a guy who's into guys, I find it incredibly demeaning to see people like me equated with yaoi, which is m/m content that's written to appeal mostly to women and often does a great job of fetishizing it in the process. so please understand why I'm not comfortable with that and other people likely aren't either

❝ that’s right...  er, please, just call me Lyon.  you don’t even have to use my title… ❞

                           he can tell the other mage is already judging him – as he rightfully deserves, but does he know?  can he tell?  how much do the others know about Lyon?  he can’t tell, he can only worry, like usual.

❝ it’s…  nice to meet you.  i’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage… ❞

Soren couldn’t tell if this man was being humble, or if it somehow embarrassed him to be called that.

“Alright... Lyon.” He hadn’t known the man’s name, really. Even Soren himself could understand bringing only the most capable fighters to a battle, and in this case he hadn’t been one of those selected. Therefore, he’d had little reason to seek out any information on Lyon beforehand.

Admittedly, it might have been somewhat out of spite that his input wasn’t asked for in that battle, but that was neither here nor there.

Lute turned at being addressed, sizing up the man who spoke to her. What a curious mark on his forehead - that was what immediately caught her attention. Shortly followed by his question. 

“No, it is not.” 

Perhaps if it had been any other tome, she would have left it at that. But this was not any other tome. It was one of her own personal design. So, perhaps it was only natural that one would be unsure what kind of magic it was. It wouldn’t hurt to elaborate on her creation, would it?

“It is anima - more specifically, lightning. That said, it does incorporate some of the theory of light magic, to an extent. But for sake of classification, it is anima.”

“Oh.” She didn’t seem bothered by the question, or by his lack of an introduction. Soren could appreciate that.

“I’m not familiar with the tomes here, or from... Well, you’re certainly not from the ‘world of radiance’ or whatever they’ve taken to calling Tellius here,” he began, starting into an explanation only to distract himself with a tangential topic. “But this place has been rather confusing to my understanding of magic -- thunder and light magic? I didn’t think the two compatible.”

She clearly had some knowledge of magic to even be able to say such a thing, and now Soren was curious. He had to know whatever she did about how it worked.

“…That’s…very straightforward, but you’re not wrong,” Ike replied, his eyes darting to look at Soren before shifting back to the fight before them.

King Ashnard had a penchant for pitting strong warriors against each other, or other bloody combatants in the arena. Sometimes, it was men gathered from all around Tellius – some hoping to win a place in the King’s army – while others were simply taken for the entertainment they could provide. The battles always varied in some way, from day to day and week to week. The King would even use captured subhumans in the arena; those fights were always brutal, and you couldn’t always tell the screams of pain apart between man and beast.

“One will be gone, but the other could win himself a high position…”

Had that been too blunt of a statement? Soren forgot to watch his words sometimes around Ike. To anyone else in Nevassa’s castle he preferred to be quiet and reclusive, never voicing his own opinions for fear that they might reach the ear of the king. But Ike hadn’t asked for his thoughts, so Soren decided that maybe he should choose what he said a bit more carefully.

“Sorry,” he started, eyes still on the fight as they had been before. Then, “I suppose it’s entertainment.” Soren himself didn’t take much pleasure in these events, but he couldn’t say whether it was the crowds or the actual gory aftermath. Either way, he’d learned to watch until the end. Someone might notice if he didn’t.

But... earning a high position... Soren turned abruptly to look at Ike. “Would you ever do it? Fight down there. For Ashnard.”

He hadn’t expected any of this to go the way it did, much less for the mercenaries to find themselves very suddenly on the same side as Daein’s oh-so-stubborn commander. “The Maiden of Dawn”, they called her, and supposedly she had some magic ability unlike any other.

Soren could guess why, just being in her presence like this.

“I suppose, now that all lingering animosity has to be washed away, we’re to be allies,” he began, making no move or gesture of greeting. From what he’d heard both this woman and her subordinates hadn’t started as any form of nobility; it was unlikely she’d be bothered by him skipping honorifics and formality.