The Magic of Hospitality (Solo, Mansion)

The Sun was rising in the east, it's rays of light reflecting off the ocean water. The sky was a mix of orange and blue, with the shining yellow orb illuminating from the center. The waves crashed against the beach of an island, sending water splashing up against the shore. On the shore was a port where ships could dock. It also had some landing zones to accommodate spacecraft, as well as structures to house them.

This was Arcanis Island, a private property that had been in the Valiare home for generations. It allowed for them to practice their magic in peace, without panicking normal people. It was now once again Holly’s main base of operations again, now that East City was completely decimated. It was meant to be a temporary situation. Although even with the magic and resources they had, it would take time to rebuild what was lost.

A few technicians were patrolling the docks, overseen by a mage from the branch family. He was hooded and cloaked, with only the lower line of his jaw visible. He appeared to be somewhere in his late thirties or young 40s, going by what could be seen.

The hooded figure watched as a space pod descended from the sky. He waved to the technicians, signaling that the craft was clear to land. He could sense Lumis inside of there, so he was going to let the craft in. There was also another, smaller signature inside the ship. Although if they were with Lumis, that meant that they were some type of guest.

The spacepod landed down in one of the landing zones, it's rockets disengaging once it had safely touched down. A few of the technicians ran over to it, making sure it was secure and that that it had no damage on it. The cloaked figure walked over to the front of the pod, waiting for it to open. The lid lifted, and Lumis stepped out of it. The cloaked figure knelt on one knee, bowing his head before the other Magi.

“Master Lumis, your arrival has been expected. I trust that the trip was a safe one?”







The trip itself had been rather uneventful surprisingly. Nothing else had gone wrong, despite the close call that both of them had gotten away from. After that, Shiori didn't say anything the whole trip. She just stared out the pod window, staring blankly at the dark vastness of space.

Lumis completely understood why she wasn't in a talkative mood. She had just lost everyone close to her not even a month after her home was destroyed. That would send anyone into a spiraling depression and make them more withdrawn. He wished that he could do more for her right now, but there was no helping her right now. Perhaps his sister could do something for her.

They passed by the last ship carrying refugees on the way back. Shiori had turned her head and watched it until it got out of her line of site. This small little pod was much faster than the carriers taking the humans back to Earth. They would arrive a few hours before they did.

When they'd landed, Lumis stepped out of the pod to find the hooded mage kneeling before him. He motioned with one hand for him to rise up.

“It went well enough for me, Argus. I managed to get the last group of refugees that Queen Holly requested. Although most of the others… are dead now.”

There was a pause as this information sank in. It seemed as though Holly had not yet informed Argus of what happened. In hindsight Lumis wasn't all that surprised. Holly probably wanted to break the news to them all herself. Still, he was a head branch family member informing the branch family of the current situation. Argus was understandably mortified.

“God almighty… I thought they were safe on Bris. Did the Saiyans catch up with you?”

Lumis shook his head, indicating that they were not involved in these particular events. Honestly Lumis wished it had been the Saiyans. It would have made all of this much simpler to explain.

“It seems that we cannot trust the Kold Demons either. We’re on our own now.”

“Bastards…”

Shiori tentatively peered out of the pod before stepping out. Argus noticed her fairly quickly. He thought about it for a moment before asking about it.

“Sir… is that one of the survivors?”

“Yes, and she has had a long journey. I’m going to take her to a guest room so she can rest for a little while. I want you to prepare for the arrival of the other refugees. They should be here within a few hours.”

“As you command, Master Lumis.” Argus bowed to Lumis briefly before giving out instructions to the technicians there. Lumis motioned for Shiori to get onto his back again. She hesitated for a moment before waking over and securing herself to him. She wasn't in the mood to go on what would probably be a very long walk.

Once he was sure she was secure, Lumis took off, headed towards the center of the island. The center of the island seemed to be on a large incline. It was either a large plateau or an exceptionally small island. When they got to the top, Shiori couldn't help but gasp. In the island center was a open space with many large buildings. One was clearly large enough to be a small mansion. There was also a tall tower that extended high into the air.




“Wow… you live here?!”

Lumis kept his eyes on his route, but smiled at the astonishment in her voice. She was displaying an emotion other than anger or depression.

“If you think that's impressive, then wait until you get to the parts that you can't see. All of this doesn't even include the underground facilities we have. This island has been in our family for generations, each new one adding on something new to the estate.”

Both of them landed on the enormous porch. Some gardeners and attendants looked up, waving at him briefly before returning to her duties. Lumis turned as the front doors open. He didn't even have to knock or ring a bell.

standing on the other side was a girl wearing the most ridiculous outfit Shiori had ever seen in her life. She bowed her head to Lumis briefly, her hat staying attached to her head somehow.




“Welcome back to the Valiare estate, Master Lumis.”

Lumis let out a sign, shaking his head back and forth. Shiori looked over at him in bemusement. Just what what even was all of this? She stayed quiet as Lumis and this… strange looking person talked.

“Terra, how many times do I have to tell you that you don’t have to be so informal with me? We’re cousins, and up until recently I was a part of the branch family too. Can’t you talk to me the way you used to?”

Terra frowned at his annoyance. Honestly she really did want to be more casual with him like in the old days. But it was the one order that she could not follow. She was trained to follow tradition since a young age. She would not break the ancient laws of the Valiare family.

“You are a member of the main branch now, second only to Lady Holly. To talk the way I used to with you would be disrespectful to everyone in the main branch."

“Yet you keep referring to Holly by her family title instead of referring to her as Queen Holly. How is that respectful?”

Terra looked at Lumis with a raised eyebrow. Had his perception of things changed that much? Did he forget what family he was a part of? He was looking at things from an outside perspective.

“Holly’s family title is more significant then her title of Queen. Having control over the Valiare resources and it's mage is better than being the Queen of Earth. The majority of the population wouldn't be able to stand up to our might. Holly doesn't like fighting though. So she simply went with the most direct method of getting control over the Earth. Being a Valiare is the biggest honor you can have. Don't ever forget that, Master.”

Terra bowed her head at the end of it, signifying that she still understood her position. Terra would do anything that Lumis told her to do, unless it conflicted with an order that Holly gave. Yet that wasn’t going to stop Terra from giving Lumis her opinion on things. She wasn't the type of person to beat around the bush or use wordplay to make things less obvious like Holly tended to do.

It shut up Lumis completely. He was looking down at the ground with a rather embarrassed look on his face. Of course Holly’s title of head of the Valiare family was more valuable. How could he have thought otherwise?





Shiori meanwhile had been watching the exchange with a look of confusion. There was some kind of hierarchy between Lumis and the strangely dressed girl. Also Holly’s title of Queen wasn't as significant as the title of being head of the family? Just what was going on here? The girl turned her attention to Shiori, giving the young girl a friendly smile.

“You must be Shiori. I was informed of your arrival before you two arrived. I’m Terra Nai Valiare. It's a pleasure to meet you.”

The girl extended her hand. Shiori hesitated only for a moment before shaking it. These people were being nice to her, so it was only fair that she returned the courtesy.

“It's nice to meet you Terra. I love your outfit. I’ve lived up in a small village in the north all my life, so I’ve never seen anything like it before. It's very unique.”

Terra practically beamed at the young girl. She wasn't expecting compliments towards her style of clothing, but she was not complaining.

“Finally, someone with an appreciation for our traditional outfits. This was what the female Magi of the Valiare family wore a couple of centuries ago. It's just soaked in history and culture. See Lumis, I told you that this outfit still has an impact. It just took the right type of person to see it.”

“Yeah, I suppose you're right. That must be it.”

Lumis gave Shiori a knowing look for just a moment. He didn't think that Shiori actually meant it: she was just being very nice. Terra was so happy to receive that compliment though that she genuinely believed that Shiori meant what she said.

“Well Shiori, you’re our honored guest. As such, you will receive the full hospitality of the Valiare family. I know it won't make up for what you’ve lost, but I hope at the very least this will make things easier for you. You must be tired from your long trip. You’ll be guided to the guest room that you will be staying at.”

As on que, a robed figure walked into view. Shiori looked dejected when Terra brought up what happened on Bris. Despite that though, she looked them both straight in the eye and responded in kind.

“Thank you for everything Lumis, Terra. I am rather tired and would like to rest.”

“Please, you don't need to thank us. Go and get some rest. We’ll come and get you when dinner is ready.”

Shiori allowed herself to be led through the mansion. Eventually he led her to a bedroom that was massive. It could easily fit in w spacepods, even with all the furniture in it.

“If you need anything, just press the intercom button and speak into it. I hope you enjoy your stay here.”

The cloaked figure bowed, closing the door and leaving Shiori alone. She walked over to the king sized bed and climbed onto it. Now that she was alone, she lay face down, crying into the pillows. She let go of all the sadness she still felt inside of her. She would cry for nearly half an hour before falling asleep on top of the mattress.



Terra watched the white haired girl be lead off. When she was out of sight, she turned to Lumis, a frown on her lips.

“She seems like a very nice girl. It's awful what she's been through. She might have to endure more pain in the future. Are we really going to give her the option of volunteering for Project S.A.I.N.T?”

Lumis frowned, giving her a solemn nod. This was the state of desperation they were in. They wouldn't turn away anyone at this point.

“We are. But I’m going to make sure she makes the decision with a clear head. Right now she is still mourning the loss of her loved ones. That way if she is to volunteer, it won't be a spur of the moment emotional decision. Once she enrolls in it, there's no turning back.”

Terra nodded. That made sense to her. Lumis fid have enough of a heart not to take advantage of someone at their lowest point. Both of them walked deeper into the mansion. Terra took the opportunity to inform him about a upcoming event.

“The family meeting will be in two hours. I trust that you're well aware of it, since we all received the call telepathically. This one is going to be a big one.”

“Indeed. Holly has quite a bit of critical decisions to make. I’m going to rest a bit before it begins. You go and make sure the preparations are complete.”

“As you wish, Master Lumis.”

Terra walked off, preparing for what was likely going to be the most important meeting she had been a part of. There was so much on the line at this point. How Holly proceeded would likely impact the future of Earth for generations to come.






“What do you mean can’t sense the strong powers anymore?! You raised the standard on how we telepathically communicate, and yet the strong beings are alluding us?!”

Holly closed her eyes. She knew that he was glaring at her even though she couldn't see anything at the moment. The main Valiare family members were in their usually meeting site, which was a large room with a 30 foot table in the center of it. Far off to the side were raised platforms that towered over them like gigantic walls.

Lumis was sitting on her right while Terra was sitting a couple of chairs down on the left. She wasn't the head of the branch family, so she couldn’t sit at Holly’s direct left. No, that honor belonged to Gaias unfortunately. Holly spoke to him in a calm tone, despite the hostility in his tone.

“I shall repeat myself slowly so that you don't miss it this time. I can't find any of the major powers anywhere with my sensing abilities. They’ve completely vanished.”

A murmur rippled through the hooded figures gathered there. This had already been a rather unusual meeting. Normally they would talk about their finances and various enterprises on Earth. With the planet in the state that it was, the discussions instead were focused on repair efforts and what to do regarding the refugees.

Yet It was this part of the meeting though that Holly had not been looking forward to. She inevitably had to being up her contingency plans for dealing with the situation. Project S.A.I.N.T was the ideal long term solution. Unfortunately for the short term, she had little to no options available. Argus stroked his chin as he pondered what this could mean.

“Could they all just be suppressing their energy? Your sensing abilities are unrivaled. So if you can't find them then that means they must be making an effort to stay hidden.”

“All at the same time, all across the galaxy? No, there's something going on. Holly would have been able to find them otherwise. I searched for them too and came up with nothing.”

Lumis backed up Holly’s claim, and it seemed to be true. Aside from the Vampire, she could not sense the massive powers she had been able to sense up until recently. Gaias scowled behind his hood, glaring at both Holly and Lumis.

“More excuses! You two are dragging the Valiare family into the ground! If my brother were alive, then be would be ashamed at how his children have handled our affairs!”

A flash of anger appeared in Terra’s eyes for just a moment. However it left as quickly as it had come. Holly opened her eyes, gazing at Gaias cooly. Her tone was as flat as a drawing when she addressed the fellow mage.

“Even if my parents were still alive, we would still be in this situation. The Earth is on the brink of disaster, whether we like it or not. I’ll devote time to addressing your concerns over how I’ve been running things once all of this is over. The next thing that comes out of your mouth will not question my decision making.”

She stated it like it was a fact. That Gaias would without any doubt stop complaining against her and her brother. And stop he did. He continued glaring at her, but he didn't say another word. Holly turned her attention away from him and addressed the rest of the Magi in the room.

“We’ll continue helping the refugees settle in, regardless of what might be going on put there. I will inform the people of Earth of the events that happened on Bris when the time is right. I want you all to commit to the roles we discussed at this meeting. This meeting is adjourned. Lumis, Terra, I want to speak to you two alone.”

The other Magi stood up and with the exception of Gaias, bowed before filing out of the room. After a good couple of hours, the meeting was over. The doors closed behind the Magi, and Holly talked to her two closest allies behind closed doors.

---

Turning the thread in for power level.

Bonuses: HWC

Mansion: 50% Increase to PL gains