Tales of Cadence

[Zandra]

[Roadie]

New TOC x TOE skit, this time featuring Cymbeline and Oliver!

Aelph: MY LIFE IS COMPLETE!

As promised, here is the CRAPTASTIC Raven and Ilia oneshot. Usually I focus on Raven and tell things from his point of view (his thoughts, his opinions, etc) but this was written with a focus on Ilia instead. This also takes place before the main story—about four years prior—so Raven’s being referred to as Edward (which really confused me during the writing process). This was kind of hard to write without referring to Ilia-related spoilers, but I skipped over them anyway. :’) If something makes no sense, then it’s probably a very horribly veiled spoiler.

Feel free to shoot me when you’re done, it’s horrible. <3

Namesake – Raven and Ilia


For Ilia Ruden, most days in Itona began just as similarly as the last. Since the mages of the Austrorian court were few they spent little time performing assignments outside of the city, particularly during the kingdom’s calm spells. The elder mages—often the pureblood elves and older half-elves among the ranks—were given complex research tasks in the libraries and labs. Younger mages—usually the childish half-elves, including Ilia herself—completed most of the small, tedious jobs around the castle. These often-simple jobs usually ranged from running errands for the First Class mages to fetching things for the royal family themselves; performing them efficiently usually meant heightened responsibilities for the young and hopeful apprentices.

Ilia hated every single one of the odd jobs the elder mages gave her—despite her promotion from Third Class to Second Class, she was still given dull tasks instead of research assignments. She preferred to leave Itona, favoring travel beneath the open skies to being holed up in the cold stone castle, but assignments outside of the capital were few and far between.

One day, however, turned out slightly different than she was planning.

Ilia spent the better part of that morning trying to keep away from the bad-tempered elder mages—and the errands they would probably give her if she ran into them—by drifting through the spacious halls. She skirted through dark corridors, escaping the watchful gazes of human guards and unfamiliar members of the court. Her chores rarely brought her out of the mages’ quarters, so she didn’t recognize many of the people until she ran into Lukas, the king’s oldest son and a diligent but unusually warm soldier. Out of all the members of the royal family, she had worked with him the most and knew him fairly well. She was usually comfortable around him—his light attitude was always a breath of fresh air—but today the anxious spark in his eyes sent a shiver down her spine.

“Ilia! There you are,” he said thoughtfully, coming to a neat stop as he rounded a corner. Ilia skidded gracelessly to a halt—in her blind haste to get farther away from the mages’ quarters, she had almost run into him—and lowered herself into a clumsy curtsy. She forced a polite smile; Lukas’s kindness felt strange to her after dealing with the grouchy mages for a majority of the day.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” She hoped he couldn’t detect the lingering note of exasperation in her light tone.

“I need you to do me a favor. I’m supposed to be helping Edward—my younger brother—with his lessons.”

She nodded, feigning interest. Of course she knew Edward—the older mages usually spent the better part of their off-days gossiping about him. Ilia hadn’t met him formally before—she had only worked with the king, his wife, and Lukas—but from what she understood, he had a penchant for trouble and a notoriously loud mouth.

“He’s disappeared again, and I have no idea where he is. I already sent a few guards looking for him, but do you think you could keep your eyes open?” Lukas continued, folding his arms over his chest.

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

He flashed her a cordial smile before continuing down the hall. “Thank you!” he called over his shoulder, disappearing behind another corner.

Ilia waited for a moment, making sure he wasn’t going to come back. A sly smile crossed her lips; as long as she had an assignment from the royal family itself, the elder mages couldn’t make her run their stupid errands. She could pretend to look for young Edward, of course, but she had no intention of actually trying to find him.

Ilia wandered aimlessly through the castle, ignoring the harried guards that passed her by. She wondered why they hadn’t found Edward yet—how hard could it be to locate a supposedly obnoxious adolescent if so many people were searching? She shrugged to herself, roving down several halls before she found herself in the airy courtyard.

At first she was surprised when she saw no nobles or other mages—some members of the court enjoyed spending several hours out in the warm sun, socializing or just walking in their free time. Ilia strolled off the main cobblestone path and into the obscured corners of the yard, shadowed by the huge, swaying trees overhead.

A loud, seemingly disembodied shuffle broke the calm silence. Ilia jumped and spun around, a spell already on the tip of her tongue as she drew her baton. A dark-haired boy—she realized that he couldn’t have been older than fourteen or fifteen—froze several feet away from her, his hands hovering over the sheathed sword at his waist. He suddenly relaxed when he saw her face, letting his hands drop to his sides.

“Oh, it’s just an apprentice mage,” he murmured, his voice a low whisper barely loud enough for her to hear.

Ilia drew in a quick breath. “What do you mean, ‘just an apprentice mage’? If I attacked you, I still could’ve really hurt you.” Although her arms were lax again, she still held the baton tightly in one hand.

He laughed harshly. “Somehow, I really doubt that.”

“I’m not an apprentice, you know! I’m a Second Class-“

He waved a hand. “Sure, whatever you say.”

‘Stupid nobles...’ Ilia thought, taking another deep breath to control her anger. He looked only slightly familiar; she hadn’t seen Edward personally in a long time—he was usually hidden away in his own quarters—and wondered if this boy with unruly hair was the king’s son. He was certainly irritating, just as the rumors had implied.

“What are you doing out here? Don’t you have chores to take care of?” he asked, folding his arms arrogantly over his chest.

“I’m...ah, looking for Lukas’s brother,” she replied quickly, using the first excuse that came to mind. ‘Well, it isn’t a complete lie...’

“You don’t have to look much farther, then,” he said, his hands moving to his waist. “Damn, why does he still treat me like a child...”

An unintentional gasp escaped Ilia’s lips, but she knew she shouldn’t have been surprised. “Ugh, you’re Edward, aren’t you?”

He winced at the sound of his own name. “Unfortunately.” His face seemed to have been set in a permanent scowl; his mouth was constantly turned downward in a nasty frown. Ilia felt the corner of her mouth twitch, fighting the need to return his fierce glare.

Edward wasted no words. “I want to be left alone. Go away.”

Ilia felt her fists clench at her sides; ruffling the boy’s feathers would do her no good with the elder mages or the king and Lukas himself, but she had trouble resisting the urge to turn around and slap him across the cheek. She smiled at the thought of knocking the haughty smirk off his face.

Edward arched an eyebrow. “What’re you smiling about? Stupid kid...”

Ilia took a deep breath. ‘Stay calm, stay calm...’

“Why’re you dressed in that uniform, anyway? The other apprentice mages don’t look like that. And that stupid wand...”

“It’s a baton,” she corrected tersely, “a magic catalyst.”

He only shrugged noncommittally, rolling his eyes. “Same difference.”

“Not really.”

The boy shot her a grimace before falling back to the ground, apparently bored. “Go away,” he repeated, his tone still frustratingly condescending.

“Your brother’s looking for you, y’know.”

“So? Forget him.”

“I think you should listen-“

“Oh, shut up. What do you know, anyway? You’re just some kid.”

Ilia felt her patience snap. She threw out her fist, aiming a hard and fast punch to his upper arm. “Stop being such an ungrateful little brat! Ugh, how do people even put up with you?!”

Edward paused, blinking awkwardly, clearly taken aback by her sudden hostility. He rubbed his shoulder, a red mark already forming on his pale skin.

Ilia realized her blunder several seconds too late and jumped back, rapidly waving her hands. “Oh! Ah, s-sorry! Uhm...“

He turned away. “Forget it.”

“...Huh?” Ilia stopped and tilted her head questioningly to the side. She had been expecting a full-blown explosion from the temperamental boy, but instead, he did nothing. She vaguely saw his arms tense and his hands tighten as he avoided her gaze.

‘Is he going to tell his father?’ Frightening scenarios raced through her mind—the report to the king, who would scold the elder mages for letting her come in contact with his young son, and then her inevitable eviction from the castle. She shivered violently, not from the cool breeze in the courtyard.

“Are you going to...uhm...say anything to anyone?” She fumbled uselessly for words, nervously biting the corner of her lip.

“No,” he replied flatly. “They’ll probably just tell me you were right.” There was a bitter edge to his voice, and Ilia wondered how many times he had been called an ungrateful brat before. She was surprised to feel an unexpected pang of pity for him.

“Why are you all alone out here?” she asked, sinking into the grass beside him. “Why don’t you go with your brother? He seems like a nice guy.”

“No, I don’t like him. He’s...demanding. I don’t like being around him.” He traced invisible lines in the dirt with his forefinger.

“Oh.” Ilia stopped herself from continuing, wondering if he even had any friends in the entire castle. ‘With an attitude like his, I’d be surprised if he had any friends at all...or if anyone could put up with him without going crazy.’

The two fell into an uneasy silence. The otherwise empty courtyard was calm and serene; the full trees seemed to dance with the wind, creating dappled shadows on the cool grass beneath their hands and feet. Ilia leaned back on her elbows, staring at the sunny, cloudless sky, suddenly wishing she was back out of the castle and on the move—she hadn’t been on an out-of-town assignment in months. The stony walls hemming the endless blue seemed unnatural and discomforting.

She vaguely heard the distinct ruffle of feathers and a loud caw. Ilia shifted her body and saw a big, coal-black bird land on the opposite side of the yard, bathing itself in the warm sunlight.

Edward’s cold eyes rested on the animal, staring at it wordlessly before finally speaking. “What kind of bird is it?” he asked, watching with mild interest as it hopped across the lawn, pecking at insects in the grass. “I’ve never seen one like that before.”

“That’s a raven,” Ilia replied distantly, resting her chin on her knees. “You see them out on the plains sometimes...”

He glanced at her, glowering. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing, really,” she replied sullenly. “I kind of envy them, you know? Ravens get to do whatever they want. I’m stuck here all the time with nothing to do until I get an assignment. I want to get out of the castle more—it can get boring here.”

Edward’s eyes widened slightly and he returned his gaze to the black bird. “Oh...yeah.”

Ilia raised an eyebrow as he continued. “I want to get out of here, too. I don’t like it. It’s really cramped.”

She smiled a bit; maybe they weren’t as different as she had originally thought. “I like ravens, anyway. They’re kind of pretty.”

“’Pretty’?” He sounded almost disgusted, but she could hear the teasing note in his tone. “I think it looks tough, not pretty.”

“Pretty, tough...the ravens are a bit of both, I guess. They’re lucky, too.”

“Yeah...lucky.”

The two watched the bird poke through the long, neat blades of grass before it cawed sharply again, spreading magnificent midnight wings as it jumped into the air. Ilia stared after it longingly when it took off, abandoning the confines of the courtyard

When she turned to speak to Edward again, she saw him watching the bird with a similar look of thoughtful yearning. “Raven, huh...” he murmured, his gaze remote. He sighed, placing his chin on the palm of his hand, pensive, as the raven became a pale dot against the brilliant blue sky.
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[Calyptos_Blade]

Yay! That was fun. >.>

You know, despite Ilia's impression of him, he was actually quite a bit nicer than he's been recently. >.> Must be his denying emo showing.
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Coming Soon to a Forum near you!
Voice of Caleb and Carin Walden in Tales of the One Heart
Caleb avatar by the wonderful yoru~no~angel; Logo/Sig by the Amazing chocobit

[Desmond the Patient]

So there WAS a reason behind his name, I though he choose it to look tough or something. (or his lack of imagination).

[KK Twain]

Even though Ilia was the one who gave him the idea for the alias, does Raven even remember her? Well, clearly they weren't that close.

It seems to be that the one shot would've been hard to tell in skit form. Maybe that's just me?

[Zandra]

I KNEW the reason he choose Raven as his alternative name was because of something in his past. So, he likes ravens because they look tough, and they get to go where ever they want to? Well, being royalty sounds like it would be boring...especially if you're not the oldest.

And while Edward has an attitude (better than calling him an ass), he's better than he was at the beginning of the story. I think the accident with the fire, and him running away from the castle made him more bitter towards the world.

Is Lukas really demanding? He seems nice to me. And worried about his younger brother.
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[squidmaster64]

Ahaha, Raven being tough... that's a good one. :')

(That last sentence wasn't really needed imo.)
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Primary Avatar Excellence Theorem: if one has an amazing icon, then it was made by Roadie.
(Clearly, my current is not amazing. :( )

[TKNO]

Yo! Sorry about replying so late, but I just got back from a trip to New York and I'm still kinda tired. But, that won't stop me from sharing my opinion!

On Latest Chapter:
-This may just be the blatent shipper in me, but does it seem that Ophelia and Stephen might be a plauseable shipping?


On Oneshot:

Awww, that was cool. I think I just grew some respect for Illia (stuff I didn't have before. It's not that I hated her, it's just that she didn't seem overly interesting. *Shot*)
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Through the cracks in the hourglass spill the days of our lives.

Titles: None so far!

[Roadie]

KK: They were never that close--the earlier chapters of the story imply that he knew her and she knew him, but they never interacted more than they had to. Funny you mention a skit about the name...I was planning on working on a follow-up skit.

Zan: Yeah, when I went back and re-read the first few chapters (for grammatical editing), I didn't realize how much of an ass he used to be. And Lukas's personality hasn't been fully shown yet--he's only made brief appearances in the story and the oneshot--so we'll probably be seeing more of him later.

Master: And thus the last sentence was deleted. <3

TKNO: Welcome back! And interesting take on a pairing... I actually like seeing readers' ideas for pairings, it gives me possible oneshot ideas.

To make up for the crappy oneshot, here's a skit. :') If you know what game I'm referencing, I love you.

Skit: Overactive Imagination

Felix: Oh, hey Stephen, do you have any...special bullets for your gun?

Stephen: Special? Well...some of my bullets have elemental charges, and some are a little more explosive than others...

Felix: No, I mean, can any of them summon things?

Stephen: Well, I can summon Evadne-

Felix: No, no! If you shoot a special bullet, can you summon a monster, or something?

Stephen: Eh, well, I never thought of making a bullet like that...honestly, I don't even know if it's possible.

Felix: Once, I saw this game where a guy shot himself in the head, and wham! He summoned a monster that helped him fight! It was so cool!

Stephen: Really? I wonder...hmm...

Felix: What're you looking for?

Stephen: Let's try an experiment! Let's see, if I load this bullet, and-

Felix: A-Ahh! You're really going to try it?!

Stephen: Well, I haven't tested this bullet, and I kind of made it with the intention of using Evadne's power to make it easier to summon her. I haven't had a chance to test it yet.

Felix: B-B-But what if-

Stephen: Don't worry! What could possibly go wrong?

Felix: Stephen, no-

(BANG)

Felix: (covers face) No! H-H-He shot himself!

Felix: ...

Felix: S-Stephen?

Stephen: Ha! Just kidding! See, the gun wasn't even loaded! Even I'm smart enough to know shooting yourself would kill you. You have quite the imagination, Felix.

Felix: I wasn't...asking you to actually...try it...

Stephen: Are you okay? You look a little pale.

Felix: I...ugh...
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[Calyptos_Blade]

That was Hilarious Midna! Grade A Stephen there, Grade A.
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Coming Soon to a Forum near you!
Voice of Caleb and Carin Walden in Tales of the One Heart
Caleb avatar by the wonderful yoru~no~angel; Logo/Sig by the Amazing chocobit

[Aircross]

[Desmond the Patient]

Poor Felix, at this rate he is going to suffer a heart attack, that Stephen is a realy dangerous guy (but a really funny one)
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Avatar by OCR-ED-209

[Kevvie]

Fufufu, I know the reference. I'm so speshul~

Awesome skit, Roadie. It was interesting to the the origins of Raven's name too. ;D

[TKNO]

Based off of that skit, I think I know what your latest obsession is, Roadie...
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Through the cracks in the hourglass spill the days of our lives.

Titles: None so far!

[Zandra]