Rising Kite - A story from the world of HWFWM

“Brook, dear daughter, have you by chance stumbled into Kite again recently?” Brook’s mother, Wistful Willow, asked innocently as they sat around the dinner table.

“What? Sis, you’ve met Kite?” Brooks' younger brother almost choked on his rice out of surprise. “When? Where?”

“No, mother, I have not. As I do believe I told you, he was to be away on a contract for at least five days.” Brook answered, eyes thinning in irritation as she regarded her mother. She had sensed Willow dancing around the subject the whole evening, even though Brook had already told her about their time together three days ago.

“Contracts? Wait, is Kite an adventurer?” Leaf continued, looking more amazed by the second.

“Then have you at least made any more preparations for when you are to meet this seventhday?” Willow continued, ignoring the questions of her youngest.

“What preparations, mother? We are going to have lunch and then go for a walk along the beaches to the south? It's hardly much to prepare for.”

“What? Are you and Kite dating again?”

“No need to take that tone. I am just looking out for you, dear.” her mother said, backing off from the topic once more as she noticed her daughter’s irritation. “Just remember that he is an adventurer now, surrounded by exceptional people. I wouldn’t want to see you sad if you missed your opportunity.”

Brook’s father, Solid Pine, had sat silent throughout the conversation and unanswered questions, but decided to act as he saw a look of defiance he recognized quite well in her daughter’s eyes. So far, it would only ever come out around her family, and he knew that only arguments and regret would follow.

“The dinner was lovely, dearest wife.” he said, suddenly rising. “Come, my love. Your grateful husband will assist you in cleaning up as thanks.” Pine all but carried his wife towards the kitchen, ignoring her whispered protests, but stopped just long enough to give his daughter a knowing nod. Her grateful smile would forever warm his heart.

As the door closed, Brook sighed and slumped slightly against the table. Confrontations were definitely not her forté, and even though it was just with a member of her closest family, she was still left quite emotionally drained.

“Sis?”

“Yes, Leaf?”

“Can someone please just tell me what is going on?”

“Kite, loosen your stance slightly. And remember the placement of your off-hand.” Phiona called from where she stood, a calm pillar among the chaos around her.

“Yes, teacher.” Kite managed to say, attempting to shift his stance accordingly even as he used staff and barrier to ward off the two cliff spinners which were harassing him. The arachnid monsters were about the size of a heidel and deviously quick even though they seemed to have a carapace made from stone. He did have to agree with Phiona that the contract should provide a good opportunity to practice footwork as the pack-hunting monsters were excellent at scuttling sideways, trying to flank him.

“Good use of your perception power.” Phiona commented as Kite whipped his staff up and behind his back without turning, deflecting a swipe from a sharp leg before adjusting to face both of his foes as best he could.

Their other companions were quite busy, although with different levels of composure. Rachel seemed to enjoy herself as she engaged a pair of her own. Not one but five serpentine bodies and heads were sprouting from her back to curve up above her head, a result of her hydra confluence. Each of them were lashing out to bite at an opponent or spat bolts of acid against them while Rachel herself fought unarmed, her hands occasionally turning into even more snapping heads of different kinds of serpents as part of her special attacks. She was clad in medium armor made from some kind of monster scale, her path aiming more at controlling the area around her as opposed to Phiona’s acrobatic fighting style, potent self-healing making her quite sturdy and hard to shift.

Meanwhile, Glint and Peony were managing a pair as well, working in tandem with their restraining powers. While the crafter had yet to reach somewhere even remotely close to her companions in terms of calm, Kite had to give her that she had improved a lot in just the past three days. Even though it wasn’t part of the contract with lord Indomitable, the Gellers had still started giving her pointers in the use of her powers.

Phiona herself had already dispatched the pair she had engaged through fierce strikes and spectacular acrobatics, and chose to remain idle for now and act as a reserve should the need arise, while giving Kite some real-time instruction.

Noting that both of his two foes seemed to prepare to strike at roughly the same time, Kite decided to make a more decisive move. Once more employing his all-round vision, he swept outward with both arms, his staff in the left and his blade appearing in the other. The staff struck with a chiming sound, delivering a powerful blow which left the spider staggering backwards. On his other side, hardened stone chitin met the reinforced sheath, ending at a standstill. A mental command locked the sheath in place, leaving Kite to draw the blade and deliver a sweeping slash trailing the tears of the void behind it before the other spider could recover and attack again.

The resonating force of the special attack carved through the tough exterior, allowing the rending force detonation of the blade to be brought to bear. Ichor burst out as the carapace burst from the inside, splattering Kite with parts of the foul fluids as the monster died. Even though part of his mind reeled from the unpleasant experience, he managed to keep steady as the other spider lunged again. But with only one opponent to keep track of, Kite could switch tactics, allowing the staff to vanish only to have it appear again, this time in a grip better equipped to meet the leaping monster.

His intent carried a thrust of the staff right into the monster’s abdomen, crunching slightly while being shifted off its intended trajectory. As the spiders manifested in numbers, this left them inherently weaker for their rank than a lonesome monster, and Kite went on the offensive, steadily pursuing the scuttling spider and harassing it with ranged strikes as it tried to create distance to pounce at him once more. It did not take long to create another opening for a similar slash which had ended the first arachnid monster.

“Again, good. Knowing when to utilize your strength for single-handed strikes is key for you who can bring other weapons to bear.” Phiona commented as he joined her in the relative calm between the other two struggles, “But you might still want to consider practicing precise strikes against joints against opponents which aren’t too large, rather than body blows. We will practice more tomorrow, keeping that in mind.”

“Thank you, teacher.” Kite said, nodding with a level of respect as was customary to one’s mentor. “Should I help Peony now?”

“Hmm, yes. Her role is mostly one of controller, and as she has almost exclusively ranked up through cores, the practical experience is only as good as what she can actually learn from it. As she seems to have matters well in hand, you might as well go in and clear up. Remember targeting the joints.”

“Understood, teacher.” Kite said, nodding once more before striding off to help Peony and Glint finish off their rather bedraggled monsters.

A few minutes later, Kite had just about recovered from the nausea caused by the ichor covering him going up in rainbow smoke, rejoining the other women. Peony was currently dividing up the looted coins and materials between them. While the two Gellers hadn’t demanded a share, neither Peony or Kite wanted to exclude them.

“I believe that I have another one for you as well, Peony.” Kite said, activating his looting power which was now quite fully charged. As the item formed, Kite reflected on how many pieces of equipment that this power had generated already, and that the pace had seemed to increase since he had begun to more regularly take on opponents of higher rank.

After the process was done, he handed Peony the shield which had manifested, seemingly made from the spider’s carapace with adornments of semi-precious gems.

The crafter hummed happily as she examined it, before nodding. “Some more aspects of durability and hardness, along with some mana-storing capacity, probably due to the gems. This should become good material for some kind of supportive accessory.” She made another note in a book she carried before stowing the shield in a dimensional bag.

“Nona, are you sure that I couldn’t-” Rachel began.

“No.”

“Hmpf. Still no fun.” Rachel said, pouting. The two had seen Kite’s power in action a few times now, and Rachel still had trouble getting over the fact that Kite could essentially manifest both monsters and treasure on top of actually getting the experience and progress from fighting those monsters. He was quite sure that the constant jokes of her claiming his hand in marriage was a joke. Probably.

“Ah, this is what adventuring life should be about.” Rachel said happily, leaning back where she lounged atop her familiar. The huge snake looked quite content, having rolled itself up to form a small hill with the head resting on top while her summoner reclined along one of the lower ringlets.

Kite couldn’t help but agree. The four of them were currently enjoying a dinner of grilled meat they had bought in the last village they had visited, and had made their camp up on one of the relatively few cliff spires which dotted the land. As Kite had traveled southward, he had noted that the monoliths had become fewer and farther between. This particular one had a flat top and gave them a perfect view of the setting sun in the west, dusk already having claimed the faint strip of ocean barely visible to the east.

“I… It’s nice, yes.” Peony agreed where she sat close to the heating lamp. She had been rather nervous the first time they had made their camp at such a height, but had started to trust herself to not accidentally fall. Or at least her companions to come to her rescue if she did.

As the sun went from half-visible to a mere thin line at the horizon, the group had moved on to pleasant topics and light conversations.

“-and so, I almost had to pin the young fool to a wall to make him face me and actually give me an answer, although it didn’t feel like that risky a move since it was quite clear from almost everything but his words that he did indeed like me.” Peony finished. Both Kite and Rachel had hung onto her every word as she had been urged to tell the story of how her and Sun had gotten together over a decade ago as young teenagers. Even Phiona’s neutral facade had been eroded down, although Kite thought that the smile on her lips was a bit complicated.

“Aaww, that’s so romantic.” Rachel said, wiggling in place. “I wish I could have a story like that!”

“Romantic?” Peony asked, a bit surprised. “Most I tell mostly roll their eyes and say that it’s a shame that I had to be so forward.”

“What? Nonsense! What is better than half-wrestling the person you want and telling them how you feel? All close, personal and direct.” the red-haired Geller said a bit dreamily.

“Have you had less fortune with said tactics then?” Kite asked, taking a sip from his cup of tea.

“Well, yes.” Rachel admitted, striking a theatrical pose of a lamenting maiden.

“Really? But how?” Peony asked. “From how beautiful you are, I would have imagined you fending off hordes of suitors.”

“Trust me, Peony, a cloud of poison gas works better against such hordes of unwanted attention. I have a discerning eye, and will bide my time.” Rachel said, wagging a finger at the crafter. “Besides, spending so much time next to Phiona and Cristoph did set quite the high bar.”

Only belatedly did Rachel realize that her cousin had stiffened at her mentioning of said Cristoph, and Kite could feel Phiona’s aura retract into a stiff shell.

“Oh, Nona, I’m so sorry-” Rachel began, but Phiona waved her off.

“Do not worry, cousin. It is a thing of the past.” she said, although her having fully retreated into professional neutrality indicated that to be at least partially false.

Awkward silence reigned, only the evening breeze being heard for a while, before Phiona stood. “I believe that I will retire for some evening meditation. Rachel, you might as well tell them the rest. I am sure that they are curious.”

“Teacher, we don’t have to-” Kite began, but was also cut off at Phiona shaking her head.

“It is what it is, and I believe that Rachel tells it better from her outside perspective. I wish you all a good night.” And with that, she walked off and into her tent, her aura all but vanishing behind the masking enchantment.

Two pairs of eyes turned to Rachel, who sighed. “Sorry, that was my mistake. It just slipped out, and I must admit that part of me thought she would have moved further past this. We have been away for almost half a year already, but I suppose that no amount of physical distance can help you outrun the past.”

“Rachel, I stand by my words. We don’t have to know.” Kite assured her, Peony nodding along.

“No, Nona said that it was alright. Part of it might be that it is probably common knowledge back home. And in part, I think she wants you to know, to prove to herself that she can bear others knowing of what she calls Phiona Geller’s greatest failure.”

Kite took in her words, then gave a nod. “Then, please tell us what you feel is appropriate.”

“Well, it all began back home. As you know, me and Nona both hail from the Geller family. But as the family is so huge and scattered, telling you from where might be a better indicator. We both grew up around the family's compound in Godenberg, in the southernmost parts of the Boreal league.”

“That is quite far away from here. More or less half a world.” Kite said, a bit in awe as he imagined the distance the two had traveled to get to Hua-Xi.”

“Yep, although we had enough funds to pay for some portals, so it wasn’t quite the adventure you might think.” Rachel replied, looking a bit chagrined. “Anyway, as we came of age and were forming our team, Nona had already met Cristoph. You should have seen them together, like out of a fairy tale. Him in his shining conjured armor being the anchor she revolved around in all her graceful skill. There were also me and Daniel, but he is of little consequence to this story.

Our time as adventurers began as most well-trained and sponsored teams do; a lot of contracts with higher-ranked supervision. Godenberg might not have quite the magical density down on the continent, like the area around Vitesse, but it was still leagues above this place. We even had to flee from a gold-ranked manifestation once.”

“Gold rank? Manifesting just like that?” Kite asked, unable to help himself from interrupting.”

“Mhmm. But they take quite some time to materialize, and as our escort had a portal power we never even got to see it. But I guess that is a lot closer than most of you in these parts of the world will come to a gold rank monster.”

“Thank Fortune for that.” Peony said, shuddering.

“As we found our rhythm, our group set a goal. To work our way down the continent towards Vitesse, and trying to reach bronze-rank before we reached the famed City of Flowers.”

“Was there anything special that made you go there, of all places?” Kite asked. He had read a little about Vitesse, understanding it to be a famed and very beautiful city, but little more.

“Wha- I-” Rachel began, seeming dumbfounded at his question. “It’s Vitesse! One of the adventuring capitals of the world. With some of the most famed families, guilds and organizations making their home there. Why wouldn’t we want to go to the land of possibilities?”

Kite nodded along to her protest, trying to imagine the things she proceeded to describe. It all sounded quite wonderful, he had to admit, but also grand on a scale he had trouble imagining. Bastion felt huge to him, and he knew that it objectively wasn’t a particularly huge city even in Hua-Xi.

“From your stories, I assume that you got there?” he ventured, Rachel nodding in confirmation.

“Yes, we did. Just after reaching bronze rank too. With our aims set on silver and becoming regarded as real adventurers, we thought that the city would be our ticket to such a life, especially since the Geller family has a strong presence there. In the beginning, things went according to plan. But…“ She sighed, before continuing. “Then things started going a bit wrong. First of all, we had trouble keeping up the pace, as there are simply so many teams of adventurers operating there. Even the Geller name didn’t let us overcome it entirely. And around Vitesse, you really have to be careful when venturing out, keeping at least a silver-ranker with you at all times. We were used to this already, but the oversight was a lot more strict as the potential dangers increased.

Things had been strained for a time, mostly Phiona constantly expressing her frustration with the pace. Me and Daniel weren’t as affected, both being more laid back and he could spend a lot of time working on his music. And that was when Cristoph fell in love.”

“From your tone, I assume that it was his love for Phiona that was renewed.” Kite guessed.

“Indeed not.” Rachel said sourly. “While Phiona’s frustration had grown and she dove into training and family politics, he had started to be approached by other guilds. While Cristoph wasn’t a Geller, he was associated with us and a talented defender. A prime target for those scouting talents to be. And unfortunately for us, mostly Phiona, his meetings with one of the members of the Destiny’s Crown guild led to a lot more than just him accepting a membership.

I don’t think that it became anything more than just affection before he broke it off with us, but it did not leave Phiona any less devastated. To her it was not just a broken heart, but a failure. Failing to notice, and failing to not be good enough for him to rebuff anyone looking to lure him away.”

“That’s… so sad.” Peony said, imagining something similar happening to her and Sun.

“As heartaches tend to be, yes.” Kite added, nodding in sympathy. “Did she make any overtures to mend what had been broken?”

“No, at least I do not think so. Nona is strong, but also quite proud. To her, Cristoph had made his decision. So she spent a few months throwing herself even more into training and finding a replacement for our team, but we never found one that fit. Her general attitude at the time wasn’t too pleasant either, so I can understand that many backed off even after being lured in by the opportunity of being part of a Geller-led team.”

“Was this what took you all the way over here?” Peony asked. “It is quite far, after all.”

“I do not think so.” Kite said, adding his thoughts. “So far, I have not heard you speak about your last team member, Daniel. Had he been with you, I am sure we would have met him already.”

“Yes. As I said, Daniel had other pursuits besides adventuring, and he became increasingly distant as Phiona became more harsh. Not enough to leave, but it was still noticeable. I at least had some time to talk with him before what came next.

Because Nona eventually snapped. I think that the family tried arranging other matches for her, but she was not in a place to accept such attempts. If it wasn’t for me being so close to her during our whole lives, I might have missed the signs that she was about to leave. But fortunately I made it just in time. You should have seen it; me running across the portal plaza and just making it into the same one as she had just passed through.” Rachel finished, smiling a bit wistfully.

“She must mean a lot to you, then, for you to just go like that.” Peony noted.

“She does.” Rachel agreed. “Nona is basically a sister to me. A sister who was about to make a stupid decision. So I thought that she should at least have company during said decision. After a few portal hops and a lot of arguments later, we eventually ended up here of all places. In what most, no offense, would call a backwater part of the world. Where silver rankers are local heroes, people of power, and bronze-rankers like us can take on whatever we choose without supervision. Quite far away from Vitesse in almost every way.”

“Do you know how long you will stay?” Kite asked, before quickly adding; “Not that I am complaining of your presence.”

“Well, at least for about another half a year, thanks to a certain someone.” Rachel answered while giving him a wink. “And after that, I honestly don’t know. I don’t think Nona does either. But we don’t have to, at the moment. There is plenty of work here to be done, and it gives her both time and space to find her balance. I think training you helps a bit too. Building something or someone up can be quite satisfying even if you yourself feel lost and without a stable foundation.”

“Then, thank you for telling us.” Kite said, inclining his head. “I hope that teacher will find what she wants in time. I would not claim to know her very well, but even in her strictly professional dealings I believe that I see a kindness and rationality in her. Compared to the harshness you described, it feels like she has already taken quite a few steps further in returning to her path.”

“In that, I do agree. And should someone be listening in- “Rachel said, voice slightly louder as she looked towards Phiona’s tent, “- then I hope that whoever they are might take that to heart.”

There was no answer or other indication from the tent that her words had an effect, but Rachel still looked smug as she turned back to her companions.

“Well, now you know. As you may have deduced, it remains a somewhat sensitive topic, but I have little doubt that the two of you will handle it responsibly. And I do believe that it is time to retire for all of us. There is still plenty of work ahead of us tomorrow. I can’t wait to hunt down those crown catchers. From what is described from the index, I would imagine that two of them manifesting at the same time is quite rare.”

With that, Rachel too left for her tent as her familiar Missus shrank down before she dissolved and was absorbed into her summoner’s body. Peony soon said her good nights as well, giving Glint a fond stroking along her fins before entering her tent.

This left Kite and his carp looking out over the night sky, him being left in a thoughtful mood as he pondered the complications of relationships and their impact on the lives of not just the parties involved but most of those around them as well. Ripples creating ripples, sometimes even reaching across the world.

Still, it wasn't long until the lone light of the heating lamp was extinguished, leaving the clifftop lit only by the pale light of the moons.

“I am sorry, young master, but it would seem like this board has been cleared out as well.” an attendant guard explained, bowing low to his young charge.

“Another one? It would seem that someone else is clearing out all the notices in this area. While it is unfortunate, it at least means that more are doing their duty. Set our next portal destination southward instead, as the western regions seem to be well taken care of already.” said Relentless Storms hiding Beautiful Vistas, young master of the Relentless family. He spoke with a pleasant smile and easy confidence as he regarded the surrounding wilderness while resting a hand on one of the three heads of his cerberus familiar Wimmy. The head which was currently receiving scritches had its tongue lolling happily out of its mouth while the other two watched enviously.

“As you wish, young master.” the guard bowed his head before going off to make arrangements.

Vista looked at his familiar a bit thoughtfully while changing the head he was currently giving attention to. “Well, Wimmy, it is good to see that the outer reaches of our territory are getting their due attention.” He got a growling bark combined with a slight whine as a response.

“Oh, don’t worry. I know that my father has been pushing us as of late. Even if I do not know his reasons behind it, I do know that there should be plenty of monsters for us to sweep through down south. And just you wait until the monster surge. They will tell of our rise for generations to come.”

“-and this should conclude our dividing up the contract rewards for our little outing.” Phiona Geller said to her companions as she had finished giving out the differently sized shares for the different contracts. Even though Peony’s share was the smallest, as she was joining more like an auxiliary, the woman still looked quite pleased at the clinking pouch. Or maybe it was just relief and joy at having returned to Bastion intact.

“Then I propose a toast!” Rachel said, raising her glass of the local sap-wine. “To adventuring, and seeing Kite being chased by monsters.”

“Mercy, mistress Geller, it was but one time!” Kite retorted, still lifting his glass with a smile. “How were we to know that the wood elementals were four times the reported number?”

“Mistress? Are you calling me old now?!”

“Oh no, you misunderstand. It is merely a testament to your vast experience.”

Peony grinned at the pair’s banter and Phiona was quite obviously amused as well.

“If it’s any consolation, Kite, we did get a lot of looted resources from them.” Peony said, pushing a stray strand of magenta hair from her face.

“And it was good practice in judgment, as running was the right call. It may not be general adventurer tactics that I am to train you in, but a good teacher won’t let her field remain too narrow.” the blonde Geller added sagely.

“Teacher is ever a fountain of wisdom.” Kite responded, giving a mock bow.

“What? No ‘mistress’ to her? She’s even a few months older than me!” Rachel protested, although quieting down a bit after receiving some displeased looks from the other patrons.

The small group were seated in the dining area of Stormbringer’s Perch, the inn in which Phiona and Rachel were staying, having celebrated their payout and enjoyed restaurant-class food after their time on the road. As the trip had gone according to Phiona’s calculations, they had arrived back at the city on their fifth day.

“So, Kite, have you figured out what you’ll have Peony make for you with the materials you’ve made? I must say that I am very curious as to how it all works.” Rachel asked, leaning towards them over the table.

“We were going to go over it tomorrow, if any or both of you would like to join us.” Peony offered, having grown quite comfortable around the two Gellers by now.

Rachel turned a pleading gaze to Phiona who chuckled and nodded. “It would be interesting to see you work, Peony. Your way of crafting sounds rather different than most I have met or heard of.”

“Then you are both welcome to my home to see it.” Peony said, looking happy.

“And I will be bringing a surprise with me, to celebrate the start of our fruitful cooperation.” Kite added, giving Peony a conspiratorial wink.

“Wha- A surprise? What is it?” was the rather satisfying answer he got as his companion suddenly looked quite excited.

“As I said, it is a surprise. And will stay that way until tomorrow.” Kite said, standing firm against Peony’s pleading expression.

“Fine then, keep your secrets.” She muttered in mock consternation before rising. “Nevertheless, I must return home soon. I am sure that my family will have lots of questions regarding my trip, and it will be good to see them again.”

After her departure, it wasn’t long until the rest of them retired as well. One change was that, as of this evening, Kite stayed at the inn as well. Their payoff from the outing and contracts had given quite the infusion of resources and money, and treating himself to staying at an inn rather than the dormitory was an expense that was suddenly quite manageable. He did remain a bit frugal still, opting for a small room on one of the lowest floors rather than the suite like the two Gellers.

That night, Kite fell asleep dreaming of camaraderie and enchantments, his mind abuzz with the impressions of the week and the ideas of tomorrow.

“So, they have returned? And turned in contracts?” Stoic Boar asked his retainer as she once more bowed before him in the late evening. He talked while getting dressed for a small soirée where he had been fortunate to be included in the entourage of their family’s patrons.

“Yes, young master. While I did not approach, they seemed in good spirits. And the two Gellers remained in their company upon their return.”

“Hmm, I must admit that the Gellers were a surprise. Why would such a prestigious family have interests in such a small city as ours? Is it just a personal project for one of the two, or is there a greater opportunity to be had here? A portent of greater interests to come?” he mused out loud while adjusting the sleeves of his fine robes one last time. “Fortune favors the bold, as they say. Please instruct our people to request a meeting with these lady Gellers. I might even get the chance to swoop in and reappropriate Peony’s opportunity and gain valuable new contacts in one move. And at worst, our request is rebuffed which will leave us pursuing other avenues.”

“As you wish, young master. Would you like to send word to your father as well?”

“No, not for now. I will wait until I can lay proper results at his feet.” Boar said, turning to the door. “You may leave for now. We will soon call upon you again.” he finished, dismissing the woman and striding towards the main hall where his escort waited, feeling rather satisfied with himself and his decisiveness.

“Soon, Peony, quite soon this whole drawn-out affair will finally be over.” he thought as he left for a grander setting. Stoic Boar was nothing if not persistent.