Isles of Exodia: Curse Struck

Chapter 1: To Raiz

---Arteo---

It'd been about a month since we'd left Exodia, setting off to the island of Raiz. From what Zenith had told me, Raiz had once been an island within the Exodian Region. However, after several conflicts the people used their power to move far away, now residing in the sea between Exodia it's neighboring nation of Se'bec. Because of that, along with the various incantations cast upon the ocean to ward off intruders, it caused the trip to take much longer. Luckily Anne was able to easily navigate there, although the times she'd manually tilt the boat to maneuver with just her raw strength truly terrified me.

During the trip I'd passed the time by training with Anne. She was much stronger than Nirva, and was very adept at numerous forms of combat. While I'd been pummeled and beaten by her countless times, I did learn enough that I no longer had to rely on my autonomous reflexes. She also forced me to do strength training, citing that magic was worthless if your body wasn't strong. Thanks to her I had a lot more control over my Deliverance, now able to use most abilities with minimal drain to my aether supply. I'd bulked up a bit, though this resulted in my coat becoming rather tight. Still, I continued wearing it, as it brought me the comfort of home.

Other than training I passed the time reading from the book Elsie had given me. While it had started as a book on Lordship, since then it had strangely evolved into something more. It was written as some kind of journal, chronicling a man's discoveries during his travels. He seemed to be some kind of scholar, though he never wrote his name. However the book seemed to respond to my requests. Many of the pages that had once been empty were filling themselves based on my desires, while others just told of various random facts told by the author. I found this fascinating, however strangely enough the book showed me nothing on Curse-Striker, despite my asking. I'd been reluctant to even think of that monster, opting not to even use those flames in my training. It...terrified me to think about what it did to me. What I became when I used that cursed power. I vowed not to wield them again, never allowing myself to succumb to the hunger.

On a rather sunny day I sat on the edge of the ship, reading quietly to myself atop some barrels. Anne's crew was working hard around me, completing any task my sister told them to without question. Truly their loyalty was admirable, and they seemed to respect her a great deal. However today they were acting rather strange. They completed their work rather quickly, rushing off towards the main deck. Succumbing to my curiosity I put my book back in my coat, following after them.

As I walked to the deck I found the crew had gathered to watch a sparring match between Reese and Hunter. Hunter looked about the same, though his green hair had grown a bit, but remained windblown and brushed back. At the moment he had ditched his vest, showing the lines of his muscles beneath his tight white shirt. Standing in front of him was Reese, whose bright red hair had grown longer and wavier since our travels began. Still it was styled to look rather refined and dignified, definitely resulting from Anne's pampering. He wore a baggy black tunic over a white long sleeve shirt, dark gray pants, and light brown boots. At his side hung a shiny new sword Anne had given him, complete with a golden guard and red ruby at the end of the grip.

I made my way down to them, finding Anne, Zenith, and Thea all standing off to the side. Thea was clinging to Zenith tightly, a look of pure bliss on her face. Zenith simply smiled, stroking her head with a content look. Beside them Anne was staring at Reese with stars in her eyes. "Go get em Reesie! If you win I'll give you a reward." Reese glanced over at her, blushing bright red. while Hunter put his hands on his hips, raising an eyebrow. "Seriously Captain?" Reese then noticed me, his face lighting up. "Lord Arteo, have you come to watch?" "Watch what?" Anne smiled at me, "Reesie's gonna duel Hunter. He wants to show off." Reese's cheeks puffed out as he blushed, quickly running up to us. "N-no! That's not true my Lord. I simply wanted to test the fruits of my training!" Like me, Reese had continued his training with a sword under Hunter. While he was supposed to join me and Anne, it became clear quickly Anne used 'training' as an excuse to snuggle with Reese more, thus passing the task begrudgingly to her right hand man.