“I can’t believe five Clans turned me down in one day.” I grab my mead and down it like it was water, “what is up with that anyway? ‘All Clans should have at least one Blue mage’ but nobody is actively hiring them.” I face plant on the table in front of my friends, drawing in my misery.

“There-there,” Conner said while rubbing my back, “I am sure something will work out soon for you.”

“I don’t know, Kupo,” Merece said, his face flushed from the amount of alcohol in that small body of his, “Blue mages tend to get the short end of the stick when it comes to joining Clans. Yeah, they are good, but with how much work it takes to get them spells, most Clans just don't bother with Blue mages in their ranks, Kupo.”

“Plus,” Irene said, the Viera leaning on her elbow, “you are also a novice when it comes to battle and guild work, and most importantly, no blue magicks you call your own. If you can’t offer up anything to a Clan when you first ask to join, they will turn you down.”

“Hey, I can offer stuff,” I said, “I can swing a sword, use magicks, I’m knowledgeable about monsters, ...do math.”

Irene shakes her head, “then why did you not apply as a soldier, black or white mage, or even as an accountant if those are your qualifications?”

I recoil from Irene’s words, “well um that is um.”

“Now now, Irene, no need to be harsh,” Conner turned to me, “Ivan is doing his best. I am sure he will find a Clan at some point.”

“Yeah,” I drink the last bit of my mead and get an idea, “oh, why not let me join Clan Macion? You guys did say you were looking for new members.” All three of them looked away from me, each one of them trying to avoid looking me in the eye. ”Oh come on, why not?”

“Well it's not up to us to decide, that is Regult’s job, but we can already tell he would turn you down, Kupo.” Merece said, “the only way he would allow you to join was if you knew how to heal.”

“Well, a White Wind spell would be what the Clan needs.”

“But you don’t have that spell yet and unless you can get in soon, we won’t hire you.”

“Well, I just need-”

“To even get that spell alone would be a hassle. You would need to hunt down the monster, bring along a beastmaster to control it, have it cast the spell on you, and escape. All that alone could take days to weeks to do, from getting the paperwork to getting it approved to go hunting. Face it, Kupo, as you are now, you can’t join any clan.”

As I stood up to clobber the Moogle, a grave voice said, “Hey now, I can speak for myself mind you.” we all turn to see Regult standing behind us, shaking his head, “you should no better than to put words in my mouth.”

All three members apologize.

The bangnaa turns to me and stretched out a clawed hand, “now, you should have some papers on you right, let me see it.”

I knew what he wanted and pulled my Clan application form out of my bag to hand to him. Regult reads over it. We were all silent. After a minute or two, Result turned to me, “alright your paperwork seems to be in order, let me eat first and I will have you swear to our Judge.”

“Really?”

The bangnaa nods.

I wrapped my arms around him, “oh thank you, sir. I promise I will do good for the Clan Macion.”

“Now just wait a minute, kupo,” Merece got onto the table, getting eye level of Regult, “why the sudden change in tone? You said before that our Clan didn’t need blue mages.”

Regult huffs, “what, I can change my mind about things.” he breaks free from my hug, “I did some research into it and it seems like Blue Magicks could help fill some holes in our arsenal if used properly. I was just going to have someone else become one, but Ivan here solves that issue for us.”

“But it will take time to get the magic right? Hunting down all those monsters will take time.”

“Not necessarily. Heard a rumor some time ago and I just got confirmation of its existence. Have any of you ever heard of the Blue Beast?”

We all look at each other. Irene was the first to speak up, “I have heard something like that before I joined the Clan, about a beast of blue fur that travels the world. Many Clans have tried to slay it, but I heard none ever succeed.”

“Aye, there a reason for that.” Regult sits at the table, “the Blue Beast is a behemoth.”

“That would explain it,” Connor said nodding along, “it would take an entire clan to handle one of them. But still, why would it give multiple Clans trouble.”

“Because this isn’t an ordinary behemoth. This one in particular cast blue magicks.”

“Well yeah,” I injected, “they can cast Mighty Guard which is a blue Magick, but so can other behemoths.”

“But that's not all he can cast, from what the rumors say, they cast all kinds of Blue magicks. Any blue magick you can think of, this behemoth has it. And, if they use them on a blue mage, they are completely transferable.”

Connor slams on the table, “hold on you are not thinking about hunting this beast right? Ivan would die!”

“Not really. From what I heard, the Blue Beast is now under the protection of Clan Natura, the monster preservation Clan. Not only that, but rumor has it that the Clan is also willing to let blue mages encounter the beast and learn its magicks, for a price.”

“So you are thinking about contacting Natura for a session?”

“Exactly, I just need to budget it, but by the end of the month, you should have some spells to call your own.”

“Thank you, sir,” I said giving a bow. ”I promise to give it my all.”

“You better, it's not cheap and I have every intention of working you to the bone to pay me back.”

### (one week later)

The summer sun beats down on us as we head to the meeting point. I tapped impatientaly the floor of the wagon. We have been on the road for a few days to meet up with the Natura Clan, but no one told me how dull this travel has been. I lean my head against the wall, feeling the vibration of the wagon entering my skull.

Connor lowers his book, “You alright, Ivan? You seemed bored.”

“I am. I didn’t expect it to be this boring while on the road. Aren’t we at the meeting point yet?”

“I guess it does get dull on the road, but you get used to it.”

Merece, who was driving the wagon with Regult, spoke up, “Clans have to travel to where the jobs are. If a few days on the road is enough to tire you out, you might not be good for the Clan, kupo.”

“Bold words coming from you,” Regult said, “when you first joined the Clan, it took forever to get anywhere since you tire way too easily.”

“Hey, that because I am a Moogle in a clan of giants, I have to run to keep up with you, kupo. At least we have a vehicle now so we can travel easier.”

“And we need it too, going out this far. This area is completely devoid of civilization, while a perfect place to protect monsters it's a hassle to travel through.” I see Regult lean forward a bit from his seat, “looks like that's our man.”

I go over to the driver's seat and lookout. Ahead of us is a Nu Mou, dressed in the robes of a beastmaster. We pull beside the Nu Mou, who gives a slight bow, “welcome, I take it you are Clan Macion?”

“We are,” Regult said, stepping off the wagon, “and you must be our contact from Clan Natura.”

“Yes, I am Hiyaku, a beastmaster of the Clan that has been assigned to watch over Telaras.”

“Telaras?” I ask, stepping off the wagon. “I thought this was the area for the Blue Beast?”

“Yes, Telaras is the name of the behemoth you seek. If we have referred to him as the Blue Beast, Clans would have been coming over to hunt him down in the name of glory. That is why we use his name when doing this kind of thing.”

Something didn’t add up to me, “but wait, if you are trying to keep him a secret, why rent him out like this like a Chocobo?”

Hiyaku grabbed one of his drooping ears and started to mess with it, “It does seem a bit confusing, but the idea did not come from the Clan, but Telaras. As I was told, when he approached the Clan for protection, he offered it up as a deal in return for territory. While Natura is the Clan working for monster preservation, we need money to run smoothly. When Telaras proposed his offer, we accepted it wholesale.”

Regult nodded his head, “I can see that but still, your Clan charges way too much for it. If we hadn’t finished all those big jobs, the price alone would have bankrupted my Clan.” 

I turned to Regult, “wait, why wasn’t I told that? You said it was expensive but not that it would bankrupt the Clan.”

“Because you would have made a big fuss if I told you. If we hadn’t done the jobs, we could have only bought one magick, but now you get five. With that many, you will be a real boon for the Clan.”

“But spending that much on a newbie is-”

“It's fine, I would have spent that money on Clan stuff anyway, so it's a business expense.” Regult pulls out a pouch and tosses it at Hiyaku, “here you go, the full price for getting five spells and not a Gil less.”

The Nu Mou catches it and weighs it in his hand then peeks inside it, “yes it should be enough for the spells. So now I will take your Blue mage to see Telaras. However, I will only take the Blue mage alone. If we come with a large group, he might think you have come to slay him. We would also have to go on foot.” Hiyaku turns to me, “now let us be on our way, the rest of you can stay here while we see Teleras. It shouldn’t take long and we should be back before the sun is down.”

As we turn to leave, Regult shouts out, “wait a minute, Ivan.” we pause and turn to him, the Bangnaa pulled something out of his pocket, “take this Judge card with you just in case. If anything happens, the Judge should be able to offer some protection.”

I take the card and left with the Hiyaku. As we walk through the forest, everything we walked past, the No Mou made notes of it. After a while, we ended up at a cave entrance. “Here is where he sleeps,” Hiyaku said, “I will call him out, wait by the tree until you are called.”

I nod my head.

Hiyaku approaches the mouth of the cave, “Telaras,” he called out, “another one of blue fur has come to seek your knowledge. Please come out.”

A roar erupted from the cave. By instinct, I hid behind the tree, shaking. Even if you could consider it ‘tame’, it is still a behemoth, a ferocious monster that could kill anything in its path, even seasoned Clans struggle with behemoths.

Hiyaku, however, didn’t seem phased, “now don’t give me that, it was your idea. Now it is your time to hold up your end of the bargain.”

A soft whine comes out as I see Hiyaku back up. In a moment a large blue behemoth stepped out of the cave, his eyes looked on the Nu Mou. it lowered its massive head to Hiyaku, a loud rumbling could be heard from it.

Hiyaku reached out and pet the behemoth, “good, good. Now I am sorry to interrupt your nap, but I promise to be quick.” He turns to me at my hiding spot and beckons me forward.

I come out of my hiding spot and cautiously approached the duo. My heart was beating fast and my hands felt clammy. I wanted to run, but I came here for Blue magicks and I will not leave until I get them.

The behemoth casual approached me. I stiffen my posture as he sniffs me. He let out a low rumble from his throat.

“I see, “ Hiyaku said, “Telaras is curious why you don’t smell like blood. All the others that came before you had a hint of blood on him.”

“I uh see um.” I tried to speak but no word came out.

Hiyaku claps his hands, “now now, don’t get too close to him, you forget how scary you are up close.”

Telaras huffs as he moves away from me.

Once the massive behemoth gave me space, Hiyaku spoke, “now then, you know how to get Blue Magicks right?”

“Yeah,” I answered.

“That's good, some come here not knowing that. Here is how these sessions work, you call out what magic you are here to learn, Teleras would then use it on you. If he does anything that harms you in any way, we pause the session and get you healed. You understand?”

“Yes, I figured that was how this works so I brought items just in case.” I pull out the Judge card I was given, “is it alright to set this before we begin?”

“You may.”

I raise the Judge card, “oh mighty Judge, watch over this field of combat.”

The card glows as a figure clad in armor appeared before us, “Battleers hear my decree, for in this battle, None should use Fire. Follow the Law and a boon shall be given to you.” The Judge slowly fades away so that they might not disrupt the battle that is about to happen.

Hiyaku nods his head, “it seems that you are ready, now then, let the session begin.”

The Blue Beast lets out a mighty roar as we begin.