Dante Fuuriah's Story

Flashback

Capella watched the two Humans before her as they bickered and bargained, her old amusement swiftly returning now that the threat to her pride was gone. Everything was alright again. There wasn't any danger. She wouldn't have to go back to those days of shame and fear again. She was alive, and she was Capella the Grey Sword. She wasn't a coward anymore.

Taking a deep breath, she gave a quiet chuckle as she did her best to drive the unwanted thoughts from her mind, focusing entirely on the situation before her. It wouldn't do any good to stop her scheming before her plans could come to fruition, least of all for such a silly reason as being preoccupied with days long past.

At last, the conversation came to a close, and the decision seemed to be made. So, she'd be carrying the boy after all? Well, now seemed like a perfectly good time for some double reverse psychology. Obviously, Khrae would be expecting her to make her move now, since it was the perfect chance for her to carry this Dante kid off. This meant that such an abduction would be strategically foolish. Besides, were she to leave so soon, she'd lose her chance of ingratiating herself with the Humans, thereby putting her into position to backstab them later and claim whatever power it was that had just destroyed Lethandrill for her own hoard. So, she'd kill two birds with one stone. By staying perfectly honest - something that, as a dragon, she rarely had incentive to do - and following through on her end of the bargain, she could hopefully eliminate any fears that she was trying to abduct Dante - while in fact positioning herself to do this very thing all the more easily later! And, even if Khrae suspected her, she wouldn't be giving him any way of proving his fears, because even if he did run into her hunters on the road below, she had already revealed her own identity as the infamous "Grey Sword" as a show of good will, which would show him that she meant no harm. So, even if she didn't make a net gain, she wouldn't incur a loss. But this didn't even take into account the gains she was assured of either way. The closer she could draw Dante to herself - a task which would be much easier than gaining the trust of his master, given the boy's hatchling-like nature - the easier it would be to claim him for her own later. In short, she was absolutely assured of at least some sort of gain no matter how things turned out. This course of action would bring her closer to either the power she wanted, and the treasure she desired, if not both. Just as planned.

"Very good!" Capella said innocently, giving a cheery smile. "In that case, I suppose we'll be off, then." With this, she casually strolled alongside the boy just as he came toward her. Sidestepping around behind him without giving him time to react, she spun about on the ball of her foot - or, rather, her rear talon - at the same time retracting her claws and sliding back the scales on her hands slightly, giving her the somewhat odd appearance of wearing fingerless vambraces as her surprisingly Human fingers - normally replaced by her draconic talons - poked through, and her unexpectedly soft, pale hands showed beneath her divided scales. Capella hid her grimace at having to do this, but, she supposed, it was a necessary shame. Handling the fragile Human with her claws would only harm him, and at this point, that was what she least wanted. Still, a Dragon's talons were one of its many prides, and having to dispose of them in favor of a more Human appendage violated her willful nature.

Her old grin renewed by the prospect of the boy's reaction, she didn't wait an instant, not wanting him to realize right away what was going on. Bracing herself against her firmly planted back foot ever so slightly, she hopped towards the boy while he was in the middle of stopping his own movements, taking him while he was least balanced. Giving her wings a slight flutter and spreading them wide, she at the same time wound her own arms beneath those of the Human boy, wrapping them tightly around his center in what was essentially an airborne tackle-hug. Not waiting for gravity to take hold and break the velocity of her small jump, she gave her wings a mighty beat the moment she had a hold on the boy, ignoring his slight cry of surprise as she rose sharply into the air, holding him close beneath her and sweeping her long, serpentine tail down, wrapping it around his legs so as not to have them dangling uncomfortably. He, being slightly taller than her, had his gaze roughly on a level with her own this way, and she could rest her own head on his shoulder from behind so as to see where she was going without even having to strain her neck around him. Of course, while his reaction would have undoubtedly been amusing had she "accidentally" pillowed his head against her chest - removing the scales covering it to do so, of course, obviously so as not to cut him and simply not realizing the embarrassment this would cause the poor boy in the process (Hah! Yeah, right.) - that would have made it somewhat harder to carry him comfortably, and his spiky hair, blowing in the wind, would have gotten in her face. So, she settled for what Humans called a "hug" and left it at that. The effects seemed none the less amusing for her sacrifice, in any case.

"Uh...! You... Me... You're..." The boy stammered, his gaze repeatedly flashing to and from the hands of the Dragoness wrapped around his chest, then to her face which peered over his shoulder only inches away from his own. Dante, as her new soon-to-be pet Human was called, was rapidly growing red in the face, much as the knight had when he had first seen her up close. It seemed that, even without stripping down her scales as she had done then, she was still sufficiently embarrassing when in close proximity to her target. He continued mumbling random words, stopping, reconsidering his choice, and then trying in vain to begin again, not seeming to be exactly sure where to begin as the two of them continued rising into the air. He twitched uncomfortably, but was restrained by her tail and arms as she only pulled him closer, all under the pretense of keeping him from falling, and making it appear as though she was blissfully unaware of his shame. She laughed innocently as, during one of his restless twitches, he hit his head harmlessly on one of her horns.

"Don't move around so much, boy. We're still taking off, and we wouldn't want you to fall, now would we?" Capella said, unable to fully hide the mirth in her voice. The boy's voice grew quieter as he tried to say something coherent, and, at long last actually succeeded. She wasn't sure if he had noticed that she was toying with him, but either way, it didn't matter. Hmm, he was growing quite hot, wasn't he? She could feel it, even in the cold breeze that flitted across the open skies. Perhaps she could use him as a personal heater as well as a treasure? It was certainly a possibility. Yes, yes, this boy's uses were certainly diverse and numerous!

"Ohh, isn't there a slightly more ...or... less awkward position?" Dante asked at last, glancing nervously at the Dragoness before averting his gaze, evidently made quite uncomfortable by the closeness of her face to his own.

"Would you prefer a Full Nelson?" She asked innocuously.

"E-er.... Never mind," Dante mumbled quietly. Yeah, that's what she thought. It would have been awkward to carry him in such a manner, anyway, so...

Capella's thoughts were abruptly cut off, however, as the easily distracted boy she carried seemed to find something to take his thoughts away from the embarrassing way in which he was being carried. Namely, he finally realized exactly where he was, and what he was doing, as the Dragoness made a single, swooping circle, then sped off in the direction of Skyfall, flapping her wings at a comfortable pace despite the fatigue slowly creeping into them. At first, she made broad, sweeping strokes to gain momentum, but these soon narrowed, becoming fast, fluttering motions that blurred one into another, until it seemed more like she was gliding than actually exerting her wings, thus allowing her to continuously and slowly gain velocity whilst also not rising higher than she wished to, and without tiring herself needlessly. It was efficient and swift, two merits Capella greatly appreciated.

The boy, however, seemed more preoccupied with the novelty of the whole situation than the technique involved. This was made evident by the fact that he somehow managed to slide his way out from between her firm arms, hanging head-downward from his legs which were still caught firmly in the coils of her tail, and flapping his arms incoherently while crying out joyously with delight. Capella laughed despite her annoyance at his escape, and her fear for his falling and harming himself. He was really just like a hatchling, flying for the first time even if it wasn't his own wings that carried him. For once, Capella decided willingly that perhaps it was better to let the Human have his way - she saw no harm in it, so long as she kept sufficiently vigilant lest he hurt himself - and so simply tightened her tail and held onto him, allowing him to swing back and forth and see the landscape passing below, none of which seemed to escape his youthfully eager attention. He called joyously up to her, telling her of all the amazing things he could see, everything from brooks babbling merrily through the forest to squirrels chattering excitedly to one another amidst the trees, even down to small, intriguingly shiny objects lying by the side of the road. Yes, he was most certainly like a hatchling, taking in the world and all its wonders after finally escaping his restricting shell. His innocent, carefree personality was one Capella greatly admired, never having seen a Human whose mindset was so similar to her own draconic standard. Seeing his raucous, happy antics, she became all the more convinced of his value, and all the more determined to add him to her hoard.

At last, the boy grew tired - well, either that, or the blood had finally begun rushing to his head - and, startling Capella greatly, instead began trying to climb his way back up her tail, wrenching the appendage rather awkwardly in the process. For once, it was the Dragoness who flushed several shades of deep red, giving a quiet gasp of surprise as the boy tugged yet again, attempting in vain to clamber back into a more comfortable position. A dragon's tail was perhaps just as sensitive as it was versatile and powerful, and, given her more Human build that other members of her species, this went double for Capella. The sensation was something between an electric shock and a sudden, giddy feeling, an experience that could not fully be defined in words. It was, however, more strange than it was enjoyable, and that, combined with the fact that it was a Human touching her in such a manner, was enough to embarrass even the Dragoness.

"H-hey, stop that!" She called down, her voice breaking slightly as Dante gave another innocent yank, renewing the bizarre feeling and causing her cheeks to deepen several shades in hue. The boy stopped, giving a confused glance up at the one carrying him. Innocently, as though not understanding the importance of heeding the Dragoness' order, he twisted himself over and gave an expression of perplexity.

"Why?" Dante asked curiously. Oh, right. Hatchling mentality. Capella realized he'd want an explanation, because individuals such as this wanted a reason for everything. Flustered by the bizarre situation, she replied without missing a beat, saying the first thing that came to mind.

"Because dragons explode if you tug their tails too much, so quit it," She said straight-facedly. The boy seemed surprised and fascinated by this comment, and began to ask why, in turn, this was the case, but the Dragoness swiftly interrupted him, not wanting to make a surprisingly humiliating situation even worse. "Because the bases of our tails are actually storage organs for our flames, so if you jostle them too much, the flames inside will lose control and be released all at once. That, in turn, is why dragons often suffer from very bad gas when we get indigestion, before you ask. Now here, I'm pulling you up, so hang on, and don't pull my tail!" She said quickly, doing just that. Winding her tail firmly around him, she got a firm hold, and then began to haul him quickly upward, swiftly grasping onto him with her arms and reassuming her old position directly above him. Although Capella was momentarily worried that he might happen to be a pyromaniac and try pulling her tail again to see if she'd blow up, she needn't have. These answers to the questions she hadn't given him time to ask thankfully seemed to satisfy him, and swiftly lost his attention as he once more found himself presented with a panoramic view of the vast landscape below. He started grinning from ear to ear, and swiftly released his hold on her tail, much to her relief.

"Wow, everything looks so awesome from up here!" He murmured, eyes moving slowly across the world far below as they glided silently over it. "Hmph. Who needs Khrae and his stupid meditation to fly, anyway? This is way more fun," He added, a hint of discontent creeping into his voice. The Dragoness smiled happily. Now was her chance to begin the first stages of her plan. Perfect. Even if this excitable Human boy had just demonstrated the worse part of curiosity, he still wasn't irredeemably tarnished in her opinion. Far from it, for when a dragon sets eyes on a treasure, it looks only at how bright and beautiful it is, and not at the many scratches or flaws it can see on the precious thing's surface. For this reason, some dragons' most prized possessions can sometimes be completely innocuous things most Humans wouldn't assign such a value to. And, in the case of Humans, someone that members of his own species viewed only as an excitable, manic nuisance could appear to be a prodigious specimen that did credit to his whole race. Such was the case with the boy, Dante, and the Dragoness who would claim him.

"Well," Capella began cheerily, a slight hint of melancholy creeping into her voice. "It's not often that you find a Human who actually appreciates the greatness of dragons. Most members of your race view us either as no better than common beasts, or, at best, as interesting magical pets. Since you enjoy it so much, I suppose it wouldn't be overly troublesome carrying you like this now and again, so long as you don't squirm about too much. You're rather light for a Human, so it isn't exactly difficult, in any case."

One instant cry of joy and thankfulness later, Capella smiled happily, and, striking up conversation once more, sped up, descending slightly now that the area the hunters would likely occupy had been safely bypassed, and to amuse both herself and her passenger by gliding low over the treetops. Yes, it was a great shame this boy hadn't been born as a dragon. It was a very great shame indeed.

.....

Skyfall

The trip had taken a comparatively short time, and had passed by so quickly that even the Dragoness was a little surprised. Long since used to the wonders of flight, long trips generally became tedious to her after a while, a fact of her existence which was partially the reason she had accosted Dante and his master to begin with. Yet, this time, it had been different. The Human had kept her occupied the whole way, entertained by the boy's innocent curiosity and amusing nature. For the first time in memory, she had conversed with a Human, and had actually enjoyed the experience, several times laughing along with the cheerful one she carried. They had played games - on the one hand with Capella showing off by striking a few small targets picked out beforehand with small scales fired as projectiles, all the while not ceasing her flight, and on the other with the boy introducing her to a very interesting Human game called I Spy, at which she found herself to be very skilled, her own superior eyesight allowing her to pick out objects from a distance quite beyond what the boy was capable of, and her crafty nature giving her the insight to guess all of the things the boy had seen - exchanged several small jokes, and had a competition to see who was the better prankster by telling tales of old exploits. Capella had won in this regard as well, trumping all of the boy's admittedly fairly impressive accomplishments with her own tale of the time she had gotten horribly drunk - long story short, enchanted wines and dragons in Human form don't mix well - and ended up covering a sheep in a coat of scales she had just shed, then using these scales to prod it and direct it into a Human village, where it had rampaged for almost a whole day, chasing down random pedestrians and spraying flames from its mouth as she had slowly converted the scales into dark fires. Not satisfied with this, she had recalled the creature, then taken it to the next village down and, covering herself fully in her scales, had charged atop the creature right down the main street of the town wielding a rusty frying pan and a live chicken, and attacking everyone who crossed her path indiscriminately. The "Sheep Incident" as she liked to call it, had brought confusion to an entire province as Humans wondered exactly what in the world had just happened as they fled in confusion from the dragon and her sheep, and even after she had recovered from the rather crippling hangover, she found the prank just as hilarious as when she had actually carried it out. At this point, the boy admitted his defeat, which was good, as even she had done nothing to top this practical joke.

After this amusing journey, they'd had some time left over before Khrae arrived, so they had moved on to the next order of business. Namely, buying the Dragoness her well-earned food. Not wanting to arouse suspicion, she had ordered Dante to go to several different butcher shops, ordering various large cuts of meat from each which she then would pick up in alleyways and concealed locations, devour, and then move on to the next site. Although, being a dragon, her appetite was very difficult to sate, she was finally just about satisfied around the time they ran out of coins with which to pay for more food.

One, two, three, four, five, and... Ooh, ouch, Capella thought casually as she munched on what was probably a leg of mutton. The warm, tender flesh sizzled and cooked on her breath - dark flames did wonders in small quantities - before it even entered her mouth, and tasted quite delicious. This was her last piece of meat, so she was eating a little more slowly than usual, taking the time to savor it as she watched from where she sat. Concealed within a tree in the courtyard where Dante and Khrae now waited, she occupied herself with counting the number of seconds the boy could go without his master hitting him. Although she couldn't see the purpose behind this whole "meditation" thing, evidently it was vitally important, and, what was more, Dante was apparently rather bad at it, an opinion which was confirmed as a dark haired woman emerged from the building, noticed them, and actually offered to help the boy, getting rather irritatingly close to him in the process. What exactly was she trying to pull, messing with the Dragoness' Human? She'd claimed him first, so what right did this fool have to just show up and start trying to provoke amusing reactions? She didn't appreciate a mere two-legs trying to copy her, even if imitation was the sincerest form of flattery. What, did this girl not notice the lingering dragon-scent on the boy's person? Obviously, she didn't know who she was dealing with if she was trying to claim a treasure before Capella the Grey Sword could. Perhaps she should educate this would-be thief then, before she got any ideas? Swinging her legs down from the branch she lay on, Capella landed softly in the grass directly behind Dante, a look of irritation, pride, and jealous dislike already playing on her features.

"Hey, wench. I got to this Human first, which means he's mine. Either wait your turn or go find someone else to amuse you," Capella said icily, giving a hostile glare over Dante's shoulder at the girl.

...

Oh, right, she was supposed to be hiding from the two-legs in this city, wasn't she? Now they'd probably panic and hunt her as an abomination. And Khrae probably wouldn't take kindly to her calling Dante "Her Human."

...

...Oops?

...

Well, they were trying to claim the treasure she wanted. It was totally called for! Necessary sacrifice, in her book.

(I had fun writing this, especially the last part. I wonder how Dante will react to Capella's possessiveness? XD This should be amusing, to say the least.)

Khrae

There was hardly anything unusual happening in the time that Dante spent sitting cross-legged on the ground. The routine was simple; pace, the boy peeks, Khrae administers the repercussion, the boy shuts his eyes again, and then the cycle begins again. The only variable was how long Dante could manage to stay at least looking like he was trying to concentrate, which still wasn't very long. Both mentor and student were well accustomed to this style of somewhat meditation, and after several years together, it almost seemed like neither of them really realized they were doing what they were, but of course that wasn't the case.

Khrae watched as the Naville woman made her way silently into the courtyard, her steps light as she approached the boy with a rather amused smile. Sitting down, she then merited just the smallest amount of admiration and surprise from the older swordsman as she folded her legs and mirrored the boy before her. Raising an eyebrow, Khrae nodded approvingly before his gaze fell back to his student, whom he knew was contemplating some sort of devious plot in his mind. Most of the time it included the Dante having figured out how long it took for his master to have paced entirely around him, thus allowing him to try to trip him, or make whatever strange face while his back was turned. It didn't work of course, or not anymore, but it was still always worth the entertainment.

Pacing to the boy's side and then simply waiting, Khrae sighed.


Dante

Dante was ready to pounce. In his mind he was counting seconds, listening intently for the swishing of the man's cloak as it passed in front of him, to his right, behind him, to his lef--... No, it stopped. Khrae was behind him. Damnit. Maybe wait longer? No, impossible... Wait. The boy tilted his head to one side as discretely as he could, trying to listen, because he could've sworn he just heard either Khrae somehow go from his back to front, or someone else had appeared. Does that mean perhaps Dante should be on his best behavior? Well of course not! Alright sure, his attempts so far at had all failed, futile, frivolous, blah blah, whatever Khrae wanted to call them, but now Dante was sure he had the perfect method of attack...

Khrae had actually taught him the move he was about to do, a quick maneuver that got you off the ground while sending your opponent down in your place. Though it only worked when they were behind you. Despite Dante always being late or hardly listening during the training sessions, some of the man's teachings did find their way into the boy's thick head. Luckily because of the overall integrity of his skull, which could probably spend hours being bashed against a wall without getting even a dent as the monks said, nothing really escaped either.

Opening his eyes, Dante was about to make his move when he faltered. It was the face of the young woman before him that caught him completely off guard, thin strands of hair falling just in her face, the rest framing it perfectly. He'd seen her before, but she hadn't been this close, and hadn't been watching him so intently. It was just that, that sent the boy sprawling backwards instead of coming up and around to his feet like he'd intended, while sending Khrae down in his place. Flapping his hands a moment to regain his balance, any concentration, if any, was completely tossed aside as he struggled to gather himself off the ground, trying to get back into his sitting position while not looking like too much of a fool.

"You're meditating isn't very good," she said softly, laughing, "Would you like me to show you?"

Dante was lost for words as his face grew red hot. What started out as an attempt to take down Khrae, ended up with him simply landing on his rear and looking like a total idiot in front of... Whomever this was. He didn't even know the woman, had only seen her once, and yet she was here, leaning towards him with such a warm, sweet smile and offering to help with his failing attempts at such a boring chore. That fact alone was one that perplexed the boy even more, as how could someone like this know anything of meditation, or even consider offering to show him how to do it correctly? Albeit there were some girls in the clan who enjoyed such a tedious task and were still rather attractive, but even so, they wouldn't even bother giving him a first glance, let alone actually approaching with such a close proximity and offering to show him how to properly meditate.

Blinking several times, Dante began mouthing random sounds as again he tried in vain to formulate proper speech patterns before he simply looked to Khrae. Had the boy been a little less flustered, perhaps he would've been annoyed that the man had been on his left instead of behind him, meaning that move he was about to do wouldn't have worked. Either way, however, Dante knew from the expression the man held, with the smallest of variations that he'd learned to pick up, that Khrae had been well aware of the woman's presence, and yet he did nothing.

"Er-I.. Ah.. Wh..?" was all the boy could manage before Capella took over. Why she was so annoyed, he wasn't sure. He may have been even more confused he had actually heard her words, but yet he was still occupied with the face before him. Looking to the three around him, he was stuck between the girl whose stunning eyes pried for their answer, his mentor who was of no help in the situation, and the Dragoness yelling about something. Dante simply shut his eyes, trying to process everything until finally Khrae intervened, dragging the boy to his feet and moving him off to the side.

"Stay," he said, before proceeding back to the two women.

Talon V'lyn

He moved out of the room swiftly and down the stairs. Talons sharp ears caught the sounds of someone banging around in one of the corridors. He felt his blood pressure rising and was thankful that Jennifer hadn't accompanied him out to get the two men waiting for an audience with him. Astrid wouldn't have lived to see another day should Jennifer hear her doing that one more time. Even so, he was certain the young assassin was bound to be nearly killed by the other assassins in place of Jennifer.

"ASTRID!!" The loud gruff yell could only have been one man and Talon soon caught sight of the elder assassin as he came storming down the hall in search of the red haired woman.

"Sebastian."

"My Lord," the assassin said hardly covering his angered tone, "Have you seen that red haired brat?"

"No. But when you find her, bring her to see me," Talon ordered. He held back his smile, keeping a stony face instead. At the back of his mind he was deviously thinking of what he was going to do to terrify the young red haired assassin. Many things came to mind, he even mulled over the thought of handing Astrid over to Jennifer to allow the mage some enjoyment in tormenting the younger woman.

"Lord V'lyn," Sebastian replied, bowing his head and then hurrying off in search of the girl. There weren't too many places that Astrid could hide, and there was also her dragon Stephano to think of as well. Bribe the dragon, find the girl. It wouldn't have been the first time of course.

Talon proceeded to exit the building and moved into the courtyard where he caught sight of the Navile woman and the two men who wanted his attention. However there was another woman, or rather, dragon like creature, that was baring her teeth at the half startled elf. The Navile stood up from her sitting position in front of a young boy and backed away cautiously. She put a smile on her lips and raised her hands.

"I meant no harm," she stammered softly, tilting her head off to the side.

Lord V'lyn moved purposefully into the area, gathering the attention of the tall man with long white robes and twin swords. He turned his steely grey eyes towards the strange woman as he stood there. From the lack of surprise and caution between the tall man in white and the much younger boy sitting on the ground, Talon figured that this woman was known somehow between them. Though, she did look vaguely familiar. Perhaps he'd seen her right before his loosing consciousness back in Lethandrill. Even so, he didn't like the fact that she was there and trying to pick a fight already with one of his guests.

"Enough," his commanding tone was backed by a bit of magic from the bracer on his arm. Dragon, half dragon or no, Talon was hardly intimidated by her presence. It took a lot to intimidate him these days, especially since the War. After getting his point across and making sure that all knew their place especially seeing as they were in his jurisdiction, he turned to the man in white.

"I assume you're the one calling for an audience with me? From the clan of the Phoenix? I am Lord V'lyn, if you'll come with me I'll see you now. I've got another to speak to as well, so I hope you don't mind sitting in to a long meeting," the assassin explained as he turned slightly lifting his arm to gesture towards the Guild. Talon led the two from the clan back into the house, but before entering he turned to the dragon woman.

"You would be wise to stay out here and out of sight. Cause any trouble... you'll have more than just me to deal with," he cautioned her firmly.

He closed the door gently and took the lead before the two men. Bringing them up the stairs for the final time, he reentered the room with Jennifer and the man with the stone gauntlet. Gesturing to the empty seats, Talon folded his arms across his broad chest as he leaned against the table in the front of the room. It was Jennifer's desk where she worked at, but he also used it at times too. Once they were all seated he spoke.

"We'll start with the clan of the Phoenix. State your names and business for being here."

Armen Sorien

His consciousness seeped back to him as he slowly woke from falling asleep. It had probably been a few hours and it was a small commotion that woke him. With a soft groan he slowly lifted himself forwards in the seat that he'd drifted to sleep in. Running his hand through his hair he looked about the dim room and spotted Fukayna sitting on her bed. Next to her was a dragon and a second later something or someone slipped underneath the bed. Armen was awake then, his eyebrow coming down in confusion as he looked up to the dragon and Fukayna.

"Um..." he started, unsure of what was going on or how to even begin. First off he hadn't even really meant to fall asleep in Fukayna's room, so that alone was awkward.

"I... Who was that just now?" He asked, deciding to keep it simple as he pointed towards the underneath of the bed.

Before he could answer, the door opened and a very angry looking elder man glared into the room as he filled the doorway. It must have been someone who lived in the large home, another assassin from the looks. His armor was much like the Lord V'lyn's, except it was black and with more buckles and attachments than Armen thought humanly possible.

"Astrid! I know you're in here you little..." The man growled as he stormed into the room. He glanced around and folded his arms over his chest. Turning to Fukayna he narrowed his eyes.

"Hand her over miss Fukayna. I've checked everywhere else, there's no place left but here. You can't fool me, Astrid. Lord V'lyn wants to see you... Now..."

Armen's face flushed as he felt the atmosphere in the room darken. He wasn't entirely sure what to do, so he was stuck sitting in the chair watching the drama unfold.

Ruins of Lethandrill : Torak

His finger thrummed against the arm of his throne. The silver tipped claws of his gauntlet scratching into the stone as he drummed them. His city was empty, void of any life and only smelt of death and dark magic. However, this didn't seem to phase him in the least as he sat there, deep in contemplation. Lord V'lyn had managed to take the elf that was a threat to his position, not only that but he'd been highly interested in Torak's gauntlet.

Slowly his fingers curled into a fist as he sat there. That damned assassin was after his power, just like everyone else. All of the Orders were after power that shouldn't be theirs. Especially the Order of Vyldi. They put up a front of locking down their mages, keeping them under hook and chain, but in reality they wanted all the power to themselves. They were putting everyone under their thumbs. Torak had always known the mages were just putting up a front, all so that they could bring themselves into higher power and rule over everyone else.

As if he'd let that happen. It was bad enough that the Order of Riena worked in the shadows and everyone knew that the assassins held the true power in Lastra. It didn't matter if the cities had Kings and Queens, it didn't matter that there were Orders in place to keep the balance of power. No, Lord V'lyn had already taken all that power, he'd tipped those scales long ago. He had too much power, in Torak's opinion. Now he wanted to take what little power Torak had gained away from him! The audacity.

"Fuming in darkness again I see."

Torak lifted his head to see who had spoken. The soft sounds of boots across his marble floor alerted him that the intruder was coming from the front entrance. How very bold. Lifting his clawed fingers he let his power rush out and the torches illuminated the throne room. Orange light flickered and danced, bringing to light the tall marble pillars that lined the room. Their polished surfaces reflected the flames and it made it seem like the room was on fire.

Standing in the middle of it was a hooded and cloaked figure, the only thing giving him away was a single symbol of silver etched on his chest. The symbol was that of a dragons claw curling around nine rings. Torak relaxed in the chair as he stared at the man whose face he'd never seen.

"J'haren. It's been a while. Couldn't get away from the Nine?"

Though Torak couldn't see the smile, he felt it. A slight chill crept up his spine as he glowered at the man before him. Slowly the Nine made his way up towards the throne where he stood at Torak's right side. J'haren folded his hands behind his back as he let out a soft sigh before speaking.

"We're very busy you see. The Order of Vyldi is fighting desperately with the Order of Riena on the matter of social display of power. Of course, I must agree with Lord V'lyn on the whole matter of showing magic to the public. Keep it hidden any longer and it'll be forgotten by those who are not gifted. That will ruin everything."

Torak gave a snort of irritation, "As if the Order of Vyldi will consent to that."

J'haren shrugged, "They won't have much a choice the way I see it. We all know how much power that assassin wields. The Nine are not much farther behind. We too agree with him and the more we pressure the mages, the more they will bend, until they break."

"They won't break soon enough."

"Perhaps not. But all it takes is a push," J'haren leaned down to whisper the last part to Torak. The elf slowly sat up as he turned his beady gaze upwards to look at the Nine. No matter where he stood or sat, no matter what light was in the room, he could never see under that dark cowl of the man who stood next to him. Torak frowned as he slowly put his arm back up on the throne chair and rested his chin in his hand.

"You're saying I should display some power? Huh, already done that."

"To V'lyn. Probably the worst person to reveal your power too. You're too hasty, Torak. That is where rulers fall. Patience is key."

"I've no patience left."

"Then you'll die," J'haren's sharp reply caused Torak to suck in a deep breath and look sharply up to him.

"You're an annoyance as always, J'haren."

"And yet, you still keep me around."

Torak rolled his eyes as he turned his gaze back to the front of the empty throne room. Silence issued between them and soon Torak was back to his brooding. J'haren never moved, and it was almost unnerving to sense the man's presence right next to him but not hear him at all. There wasn't even the sound of breathing filling the air, only Torak's steady thrum of fingers on the throne chair and his heavy breath in and out of his nose.

"The elf. What did you do with him?"

"I'd kept him in the dungeons, but V'lyn's bitch managed to break him out somehow."

"Careful there, Torak. I wouldn't advise invoking the Lady Jennifer's wrath. Of the two dangers, she's the worst. Though both of them hold the power of the Old God's, Lord V'lyn's body can't withstand the power. Thus he has to share it with her in order to continue living, dragons blood or not. Because she is a powerful mage, a prodigy even, she can handle both her own Godly power and his. With the dragon blood in her system as well, she is more than a match for you as you are now, Torak. Should that woman so wish, she could level all the cities in Lastra in a single day," J'haren turned ever so slightly to put his unseen gaze on Torak, "And she wouldn't even sweat while doing it."

Torak felt another chill spread across his body. His hand clenched into a fist once more as he sat there, glaring at the door and refusing to make eye contact with the Nine. That woman... was a serious problem to him.

"How do I get rid of her?"

"You don't."

Torak growled in frustration, "You're damned helpful."

"I'm speaking truthfully. Lady Jennifer isn't someone you just get rid of. Nor is she one whom you can use people as leverage against. She'd much rather kill you painfully than deal with you in the long term. No, she's much to smart for that, too dangerous to meddle with and far too cunning than a woman should be. I suggest leaving her alone as much as possible. That includes the Lord V'lyn. Harm him and you'll bring down her wrath. But, enough of those two powers. We'll deal with them when the time comes and when you're much stronger. Our problem still lies with the elf. Should anyone realize his true identity then the game is over. Should he realize his true identity, the same applies. Though I've received word from Ro'ell."

"About what?"

"Apparently Lady Jennifer is sending some of her assassins to speak to the Order regarding a few matters. I assume that our elf will be going there as well. If I were him, I'd be looking for some answers as to why I was thrown into a dungeon cell."

Torak's lips pulled into a smile, "Well then. Perhaps its about time that man felt the power of the Nine."

J'haren shifted his body ever so slightly, the same chill from before coursing through the stewards back told him that the Nine had a cold smile on his lips once more, "Perhaps."

Capella smirked, pleased that this mortal was actually showing some respect and backing down instead of challenging her. She was a proud dragon, and didn't like having her authority and power called into question. Unfortunately, it seemed not all the mortals in the area were so intelligent, for in the next instant, a man emerged and swiftly earned her ire. From the moment he appeared, loudly bellowing "Enough!" as though he had some right to command her to stand down from defending her new treasure-to-be. Introducing himself as Lord V'lyn, he swiftly called in Khrae and Dante, then proceeded to give her an infuriatingly smug grin. As if that wasn't enough, he actually had the gall to threaten her! Well, if he thought that she, Capella, would be intimidated by him, he was wrong. Dead wrong. Even if he was some kind of legend who wielded the powers of a Dragon God, he was still just a mere two-legs mortal, and she, as a rule, feared no such being. And, besides. She'd seen the state he had been in a half-dozen hours before. Even with the aid of the healing magic she was sure he had at his disposal, he still couldn't possibly be fully cured of his wounds. She could smell his life fluctuating, a sign that he was still recovering. And yet, in such a condition, he thought he could frighten her? HAH!

"Sounds to me like you've made a small mistake, 'Godslayer' V'lyn. Tsk, tsk. How naive. I hadn't expected someone as supposedly experienced as you to assume that a dragon would be cowed simply by your reputation." The Dragoness' voice was cheerful as ever, sickeningly sweet, even, and she smiled calmly, her tail swishing back and forth like a predator appraising a possible victim. Yet, despite these things, the same draconic rage as before was beginning to become evident, her eyes shifting slowly to the vertically slit pupils of a serpent. Abruptly, her gaze narrowed, and her smirk twisted into a cruel grin, her tail freezing rigidly behind her as her wings slowly spread. When she spoke, all the mirth was gone from her voice, replaced with a hostility to match the assassin's own. "Don't think for an instant that you can command me like one of your own race. Perhaps having a dragon as a slave bound to your will has given you a false impression of our race, but let me assure you that I'm no such spineless puppet. I fear no mortal, be it you or any other. As for your little pawns inside, don't think I'm one to be cowed by numbers, either. I've contended with one of your Human 'orders' for years now. Dealing with another doesn't scare me." As the Dragoness' killing intent became once more made manifest as a tangible pressure, and the air began to heat uncomfortably as flames flickered across her scales, for a moment it seemed like she would actually attack Talon on the spot, even in the middle of his own base, surrounded by his followers. Yet, in the next instant, her rage slowly dimmed as, exercising remarkable self-control for a dragon, she slowly sheathed her claws, folded her arms, and returned to her previous state of calm, yet tangible fury. "You're fortunate that I'm currently in an agreement with these two Humans. I am a proud dragon, but I understand the importance of good contracts. You're fortunate, V'lyn, that dealing with you now would compromise them. It seems my claws are dulled... for now. Nevertheless, let it be known that I, Capella, do not take kindly to being given orders by those I might just as easily kill as obey. Try threatening me again and it might just be the last mistake you make." Delivering this ultimatum, she turned back to the two Humans she had accompanied, and her eyes slowly reverted to their usual, more Human appearance.

"You kept your agreement with me, something not many Humans bother with. The virtue of an honest contract is not one that many of your race appreciate. In deference to this all-too-rare show of respect, I will wait for you outside so as not to disrupt the meeting you came all this way for, no matter how infuriating the one against whom I must stay my hand," The Dragoness said coolly, before slowly slinking her way back up into the tree in which she'd rested, a few bloodied bones from her rather absurdly large meal dropping from where she'd left them as she clambered back into her old position. "Go," Capella repeated. "I'll just be waiting here."

"Enough," came a voice from one side of the courtyard. Khrae turned just slightly to acknowledge the man whom he knew was lord V'lyn, the power and commanding tone he held seeming to be too boosted to be genuinely natural, but even so the man could guess exactly why it was necessary. "I assume you're the one calling for an audience with me? From the clan of the Phoenix? I am Lord V'lyn, if you'll come with me I'll see you now. I've got another to speak to as well, so I hope you don't mind sitting in to a long meeting," he finished. Khrae nodded politely and bowed his respects.

"I thank you for your time," he commented simply. Turning to Dante, he motioned for the boy to follow him as the assassin lead them up to the guild house. As he looked back however, he found Dante stuck in place. The poor boy could hardly process this new turn of events, being still preoccupied with looking back and for-... No, he was only looking at one of the two women.

"Dante!" Khrae said, snapping the boy from his trance. "Come!"

"Ah.. U-er. Yeah.." he stammered, scrambling to catch up to his mentor while keeping his head low to conceal his red cheeks.

Khrae waited just by the door as Lord V'lyn finished with his threatening of Capella to stay inconspicuous and out of trouble. Her response was less than civil, and not at all smart really, considering the circumstances of where they were, but even so, the man was aware of the pride she held already, being a dragon. Despite how rude the rebuttal may have been, if V'lyn was such the leader he claimed to be, not that Khrae questioned anything, he'd at least be able to accept what she said with some sort of dignity. Agree to disagree, sort of compromise, as he'd no doubt be able to at least consider where she was coming from with her defensive remark. But then again as she finished, stating that she would remain as told simply because the elder swordsman had kept his word, it seemed that would be enough to suffice.

"Go," she finished. "I'll just be waiting here."

Khrae simply nodded his thanks before V'lyn shut the door, then he turned to follow the man, dragging with him Dante, who insisted on trying to catch one last glance at the single occupant he cared to look for in the court yard.


Arriving in a large room, probably some sort of meeting hall or briefing area, possibly both, Khrae took in his surroundings with a single, insightful glance. The woman he recognized again as Jennifer, the one who'd caught her fallen assassin when he fell unconscious from horseback. He gave her a simple nod, bowing again to acknowledge a current superior before his gaze drifted to someone else. The other man was unfamiliar and seemed quite out of place. He didn't look like an assassin in his attire, but yet there was a certain energy about him that Khrae couldn't place. The odd stone gauntlet, laden with strange carvings that was secured on his forearm, up to his elbow, merited a slight pause too, but Khrae dismissed it as V'lyn spoke, motioning for himself and Dante to sit.

"We'll start with the clan of the Phoenix. State your names and business for being here."

Khrae nodded his thanks again, not feeling a need to take a seat as he looked to the two before him. Maintaining his cool, calm composure wasn't hard, not even under the cold stares of the two powerful assassins, and so the man simply began normally, speaking as if he'd known the two for years and even belonged within their midst.

"Again I thank you, Lord V'lyn, and Lady Jennifer, of course, for being able to see us. I realize the events of current have been rather hectic and time may be short, so I don't think you'd mind if I dispense pleasantries? I am Khrae Var, representative of the clan of the Phoenix, and this is Dante, my student. As you know now, we come from the Clan of the Phoenix, a rather old society, but fairly reclusive. Only recently did we decide to make our presence public, and have been accepted into the Order of Vyldi. We were then commissioned to proceed to all the other Orders to alert them likewise, however it seemed that while on our way to Lethenadrill, we had been diverted elsewhere. Seeing as how Skyfall was closest without backtracking to Ro'ell, I decided we make our way here. I'd like to offer any assistance that you may need as well, because I'd be lying to say that I am not myself curious as to what conspired within the now fallen city. Apparently it was rather substantial. Excuse my curiosity."

Nodding again, Khrae stepped back a pace to signal that he'd finished with his introduction. It was good timing too, as just then knocks sounded along the door. The man turned towards the sound, and then to his student. Dante seemed to be lost somewhere, staring at his hands folded in his lap, and Khrae couldn't say he wasn't happy with the silence, but even so, it was still unnatural. The man would sort out what was going on in the young boy's head once they were finished here.

Xandur laughed out loud when he heard Jennifer say she would have to throw another boulder at him. He could tell it was mostly in jest, though he felt that she would not hesitate to perform such an act if she felt it was necessary. He remembered very well her odd abilities in Lethandrill. He wasn't entirely sure what she did to Torak, but Xandur remembered how she generated a boulder from nothing and tossed it at him as if it was a child's ball. He had never seen an ability such as hers. He desperately wanted to inquire her further about it, but he understood he would half to explain himself to her and V'lyn why he broke into their Order and why he interfered in the duel with Torak.

Apparently Xandur had, once again, gone off into his own thoughts and had missed a rather odd series of events. Though he did remember something about going to the Order of Vyldi. Apparently young Fukayna had fainted and the young elf Armen was helping her to her room. V'lyn had emerged from wherever he had been prior to the meeting and had indirectly suggested that he wait here for another guest so it would easier on his psyche to take it all in one sitting instead of dragging out information.

Jennifer apparently was apparently a study in contradiction as she stated she shouldn't wait for him, yet sat down and waited for him. It was then Xandur realized that not one aspect of his body had moved.....again. When he became lost in thought, his body tended to freeze to a stillness like that of a statue. Another mystery that he cared little to solve. Xandur had decided that he stay still until V'lyn returned with his guest. Whoever this guest was, he seemed to have been invited.....unlike Xandur, who had broken in here like a common burglar. Well......maybe not common. Due to this fact, he decided to not make himself comfortable. He wasn't sure how offending a guild of assassins would go, but he was fairly that it could only be bad. So, he stayed standing and decided to stay near an exit, just in case things went south.

Minutes later, V'lyn returned with two men. Well, more like a man and a boy. The man was tall, erect, almost jaded in his expression. A man who seemed to have much discipline. He was armed with two blades of a curved style that he somehow felt he had seen them before. The boy seemed to be deep in thought and looked very introverted at the moment. He looked pensive....if not a little sad. He sat quietly in the seat next to older man. The man began to speak.

"Again I thank you, Lord V'lyn, and Lady Jennifer, of course, for being able to see us. I realize the events of current have been rather hectic and time may be short, so I don't think you'd mind if I dispense pleasantries? I am Khrae Var, representative of the clan of the Phoenix, and this is Dante, my student. As you know now, we come from the Clan of the Phoenix, a rather old society, but fairly reclusive. Only recently did we decide to make our presence public, and have been accepted into the Order of Vyldi. We were then commissioned to proceed to all the other Orders to alert them likewise, however it seemed that while on our way to Lethenadrill, we had been diverted elsewhere. Seeing as how Skyfall was closest without backtracking to Ro'ell, I decided we make our way here. I'd like to offer any assistance that you may need as well, because I'd be lying to say that I am not myself curious as to what conspired within the now fallen city. Apparently it was rather substantial. Excuse my curiosity."

Khrae and Dante, huh? And the Phoenix clan, somehow he felt that that name sounded familiar to him, but he felt he was nowhere to placing it. Yet, according to Khrae statement, their clan had just recently made their presence known. Maybe he had heard the name in passing in a tavern something. Still, their was something about the man that, well...stirred him. He wouldn't know what else to call it.

After that was done, it seemed V'lyn then looked to him. Jennifer seemed to do the same, they both seemed to be waiting for him to speak. It was then he decided to move. He began walking towards the table but stopped a good ways a way from it.

"I guess it's my turn now. Well, first off, you may call me Xandur. Though, in truth you may call me whatever you wish for you have free will and I have no reign upon you, though that is neither her nor there....nor anywhere in truth. " Xandur paused for a moment to think. He then shook his head and readdressed the party before him.

"In any case. I'm sure you wondering who I am and why I am here. Which are very fair questions that you deserve the answer to. I am afraid, however, that I must disappoint you. For, I do not know who I am. I know nothing of myself, not even my true name..." It was at this point where he removed his hood and showed them his strange hooked ears."..or even my own species. I am one who is lost, for which is the reason I call myself Xandur." He paused once again to collect himself.

"This now brings me to the reason I am here. You see, I have been wandering this world more either years, months or weeks. In all honesty, I cannot recall. I have spent this time trying to find clues to who and what I am. I have spoken with many people about both my ears and my arm, but none know hat either is or means. So, I am purposeless, as you saw I make my living as a beggar. I do this because once some saw my abilities, they tried to use me for their plan or design. But, I belong to no one and no one is my lord or King. Not the Nine, High or not, not Torak, not the mages and not you, Talon. These are not statements of pride, they are simply fact."

Xandur itched at his eye-patch for a moment, feeling irritation coming from it. Xndur then resumed his speech. "So, I wander form place to place, and no one pays a second glance to a beggar, so I may move freely and unhindered. So, that day in Lethandril, I overheard your conversation with Torak in his chambers. So when I saw you and Jennifer battle Torak, and once I saw the......darkness, madness, whatever you wish to name it, within him. I felt I had to act. Then after I had awoken from surviving Torak's attack, I decided the next best bet was to seek you out. So, I am here to help you and your companions to defeat Torak and bring justice and balance back to the land, or at least some variation upon that statement. In any case, if you wish to take anything away from what I just said, be it that i am here to help."

His smile then got warmer and his eye lit up slightly. "Whether you like it or not."

Muahahahahahaha!!!! *Draws sword and chops double post into itty bitty pieces*

Talon V'lyn

He listened intently to the man named Khrae as he explained their situation and why they'd come to Skyfall to seek an audience with Talon. His eyebrow lifted at the finish of his speech and he sighed heavily as he brought up his arm to his chin, fingers curled slightly as he rested there. It seemed that he was not the only one curious as to what transpired at Lethandrill, though for better or worse, this new group was going to get involved. Talon figured even if he denied the man's request they'd somehow be dragged into it anyways. Might as well grant it that way he knew what the two men were doing and where they were. Something he'd begun to be a bit of a pessimist about.

He didn't answer the man's thoughts though, instead he turned his attention to the other man standing at the back of the room and waited patiently for him to introduce himself and speak about why he was there. It took the other man a while, but soon his name was given and afterwards an explanation as to why he had jumped into the fight with Torak amongst other information. Xander seemed to be at a loss for really explaining himself, especially as to what and who he was. Even to Talon as he removed his helm and showed his strange ears, he was unsure as to what race this man was. In all of his years he'd never seen one quite like Xander.

"I wonder where I've heard that before," Talon muttered, his gaze shooting to Jennifer at Xander's last statement.

With another inward sigh Talon pushed himself off the desk he'd been leaning on and steadily moved towards the door where the knocking had issued after Khrae had finished his explanation. The only reason the assassin hadn't answered was because he was in the middle of listening to the two men. He pulled the door opened and witnessed both his assassin's as well as the young elf that they'd saved from Lethandrill. He nodded to them, but to Astrid he frowned deeply at her before turning sideways and allowing them inside.

"Take a seat," he ordered them all, his voice soft but firm. Once they were inside, he closed the door and walked back to the desk where he seated himself, one leg up off the ground, the other balancing himself whilst sitting there. Talon crossed his arms over his chest and looked about at the group in the small room. Finally his gaze settled on Jennifer for a long while as he thought things over. He knew that she hadn't wanted the strangers to know of their intentions to go to Ro'ell and get answers, but it seemed that there was no other way around it. With a shrug he finally turned back to them and started talking.

"It seems that keeping things under my own jurisdiction has become impossible," he started, "Torak has indeed invoked a lot of curiosity from all of us it seems. No matter what I say to you, I feel that you're all going to get involved one way or another," his eyes settled on Xander for a few seconds longer than the others, "I suppose having more than just my two assassin's dealing with this would be helpful. That'll include the Navile woman as well," his eyes dropped to the floor as his thoughts swiveled to the dragon woman who'd threatened him outside. His lips upturned wickedly as he eyes narrowed, a dangerous aura slowly welling up inside him, "And the insolent dragoness outside too, I suppose," he muttered.

"Khrae, it seems that the dragoness is somewhat attached to your student. She's your responsibility, I suggest making it clear to her that should she threaten me again she'll find living to see tomorrows dawn a difficult prospect. Dragon or not, unless she's one of the Old Dragon God's... she doesn't stand a chance," his eyes narrowed further, the silver bracer around his wrist pulsed lightly. Turning he looked to Jennifer, "Don't go picking a fight with her either. She's yet to actually attack me or someone else within the Order. But keeping a close eye on her would be wise," he finished quietly, "My guild is not going to become a battle field, not if I can help it."

Talon took a moment to visibly calm himself from that irritation before continuing, "Ro'ell is your destination. I'm sure Jennifer has already sent word ahead of you. You should be expected once you get there. You're to look into the whereabouts of Domieen's gauntlet, what kind of power its capable of and any other information you deem fitting to gather. That'll include anything about your own heritage," he spoke directly to Xander for that, "I'll be sending Sebastian as well. He's your leader, you'll do as he says. Especially you, Astrid. Once you've gotten everything you need, return here and report back to myself or Jennifer. One or both of us will be here. We'll figure things out from there. You leave as soon as you're all ready, meet at the entrance with Sebastian, he'll get everything else ready for you."

Talon stood up off the desk, his signal that they were all free to leave. Once they'd gone he turned to Jennifer as it was only her and him left in the room. He offered her a smile as he moved and leaned down to kiss her forehead, "I suppose now would be a good time to go get some rest hu? Preferably before you decide it's a good idea to tie me down, yes?" He rested his head against hers and let out a deep sigh. He was utterly tired, "I'll retire to our room if you could let Sebastian know of his orders?"

Fay X'san

The loud call from the Lord V'lyn startled her, but she was happy for his intervention as well as the taller man's course of action as well. She'd never seen such a creature before as the one that stood before her. The shorter woman was covered in scales in various places of her body and she looked almost like a cute child who was having a temper tantrum, except her fit was a bit more scary than most. Fay stood up from her place on the ground and watched the dragon-like creature curiously. As Talon was leaving with the two men, the dragon cursed at the man and Fay's eyes widened.

The assassin didn't reply to the woman and Fay felt it was probably a good thing seeing as they were in his territory. Her eyes jumped between the dragon girl and the Lord V'lyn. When they were alone, Fay put a finger to her lower lip and leaned forward as she gazed at the girl before her.

"You know... I don't think its wise to threaten a man of his standing... especially since we're in his home you know..." Fay's cheeks flushed slightly as she realized that the girl before her was absolutely adorable. Her earlier startlement faded away as she smiled fondly at the dragon-like human and she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around the woman, "Oh! You're so cute!" Fay cuddled the dragon creature close to her her hands fondly running through her blue hair as she cooed to the girl, "I've never seen anything like you before, you're so adorable! What's your name? I'm Fay. Oh! Cute!"

Her back straightened at the sight of Talon as the assassin opened the doorway silently. There was a soft clatter of footsteps as the two men she’d rebuffed earlier filed in closely behind Talon, their entrance heralded by a slight draft of icy wind which made her shift uncomfortably. Expressing some simple courtesy, Talon waved for both of his guests to take seats as he shut the door, securing their privacy. Jennifer smiled mirthlessly as she kept her supple arms close to her chest, reflecting the posture her assassin adopted. She made one subtle passing as the eldest individual, the man she assumed was Khrae Var, nodded respectfully to her.

“Sorry for the delay Mr Var,” said Jennifer, her tone serious enough to leave one questioning whether she being sarcastic or not.

Where Khrae's subordinate dolefully sat down, Khrae and Talon feigned to accept comfort, both men, like Xandur, apparently preferring the awkward position of remaining upright. Jennifer was hardly one to object and a wave of her index finger like a wand. Magic effortlessly dragged Khrae’s unoccupied seat towards her until it stopped dead just at the perfect distance for her to rest her feet upon.

“Hope you don’t mind me using this if you’re not,” she said sweetly, kicking her boots up. Her dark eyes twinkled with mischievousness delight. Jennifer listened and watched the man intently as he started to speak, Khrae’s confidence echoing his posture of a stiff dignitary. In a way, Khrae reminded her of Talon. Uncompromising, duty bound, regal. His stern expression seemed permanently etched into his face from a lifetime of repetition. The contrast was all the more profound as she studied his companion. Aside from the ink jet hair which cascaded down Khrae’s back, Dante also lacked a noticeable foundation of discipline. He sat there fiddling uncertainly, a mere boy compared to the figures represented in the room, consumed by his own musings.

Jennifer’s attention returned to Talon as Khrae offered his assistance, her earlier nonchalance dropping completely. She gave the assassin an expectant look, imploring him to end this farce. Abruptly, fists rasped against the wooden door, briefly interrupting the flow of the meeting. After a minor pause, Xandur chose his time to speak then, drawing their attention. Her ebony eyes narrowed as Xandur recounted his ambiguous past. Jennifer was having trouble determining if the man was being genuine, or if he was just an excellent actor. Xandur's explanation, or more precisely, lack of thereof how he escaped Torak's magic nuke only increased the number of questions. She became increasingly skeptical towards the conclusion of his story, eventually muttering a curse under her breath, “Oh good an amnesiac, an infant and a she-man. Because clearly that’s the perfect counter to the gauntlet, why didn’t we just do that forty years ago?”

Talon moved to the source of the knocking and beckoned for Fukayna and Astrid to enter. Accompanying them was the elf prisoner, but it was the appearance of Astrid which piqued the mage's amusement. Astrid's crimson hair was lightly ruffled despite recent efforts to conceal it, suggesting the youthful vagabond had spent sometime since Jennifer last saw her cooped up in a tiny compartment. Probably the result of another prank. Jennifer was sure she would hear all of the details from another of Sebastian's complaints later. Jennifer had cause for a small sigh of relief. Thankfully, it seemed that Fay had not accompanied the quartet, meaning she'd be spared from the Navile's naivety for a while longer. Fukayna was leader of the little entourage, the chocolate assassin looking a little worse for wear. Jennifer remembered the odd reaction the younger woman exhibited earlier in the day and mentally filed a reminder to question her about it later.

With everyone gathered, Talon’s steely eyes crossed to Jennifer readily, betraying his intentions. Unable to give voice to her protest, Jennifer managed only to roll her eyes, deflating her chest with a slight huff of disbelief. Her frustration at constantly being ignored was beginning to scrap at her already dubious composure. Talon knew her stance was opposed to this, yet he continued in his blind judgment to trust these individuals. Just what was he thinking? Eyebrows falling into a frown, her stare evolved into something smouldering as he cautioned her about the dragoness. What the hell happened in the brief time she allowed him to retrieve Khrae and Dante?! Jennifer disregarded the cold feeling of dread that coloured the conference since its inception. The prospect of dealing with Domieen’s gauntlet again wasn’t enticing for anyone, but her primary concern at that moment was Talon. As soon as the meeting dispersed, she made to yell at him and stood up, fists clenched and wrinkles on her forehead deepening with annoyance.

"I suppose now would be a good time to go get some rest hu? Preferably before you decide it's a good idea to tie me down, yes?" said Talon, stealing the initiative by nestling his head beside hers. An long-winded breath escaped past his pink lips and she lost the heart to reprimand him, swallowing down the harsh words instead. "I'll retire to our room if you could let Sebastian know of his orders?"

“Don’t give me any ideas. Can I at least trust you not to get caught up in any more Armageddons before reaching our bedroom?” she laughed before clearing her throat, “Leave everything to me.”

Without further word, the mage pulled away and turned on her heel briskly, dismissing herself through the arch doorway.

Fukayna could hear voices from the other side of the door, though it muffled quite a bit of the sound and she could only make out definite male voices from inside the room. She raised her hand to knock again but found there was no need to, for V'lyn himself opened the door, those wise eyes passing over the small group before nodding. There was a deepened frown as he looked at Astrid, but this did not come to Fukayna's surprise--the girl did cause an ample amount of trouble. He motioned for the four of them to enter, gesturing to the seats that seemed to have already been laid out for them.

She tensed a bit as she saw that the strangers were once again in the room, taking more immediate notice of the older man whom she had glanced at in the courtyard. She gazed at him steadily this time, finding it a bit easier now that the intensity of his stare wasn't on her. He certainly had longer hair for a man, though it was a nice blend with those eyes of his... Dashing, even, definitely the eyes of someone who was wise. At his side was a boy that looked a bit younger than she, though his expression was dazed at best and he did not seem to be apt for paying attention. Her eyes were then drawn to the man she had seen in the briefing hall, the one who had introduced himself as Xandur. She did not feel as uncomfortable as she ordinarily would have around strangers, perhaps because Miss Jennifer was in the room and she also had the scaly wonder not feet from her person.

"Take a seat." His voice was not weak-sounding, at least it was good to know he had made a recovery. The last time Fukayna had seen V'lyn was when he was in critical condition, having been caught by the beautiful Miss Jennifer that now occupied a section of the room. The younger girl smiled at the woman briefly before sitting down. She had taken quite the liking to the mage and although the elder did seem frightening at times, there was a privately gentle aura that she possessed that Fukayna enjoyed. V'lyn sat down, speaking in even tones to the group once everyone had settled.

"It seems that keeping things under my own jurisdiction has become impossible. Torak has indeed invoked a lot of curiosity from all of us it seems. No matter what I say to you, I feel that you're all going to get involved one way or another. I suppose having more than just my two assassin's dealing with this would be helpful. That'll include the Navile woman as well... And the insolent dragoness outside too, I suppose," Fukayna paused. Dragoness? There was a dragoness here, in Skyfall? Why had she not met this lovely creature yet? A blush settled on her cheeks as she tried to imagine what this dragoness looked like. Ohhhh, perhaps she was as cute as Stephano? Or perhaps she had adorable, pouty cheeks that puffed up when she got upset... Or perhaps... She shook her head, silver locks tumbling about over her shoulders as she did so. Now wasn't exactly the time to be entertaining such thoughts, especially with the situation the way it was. She focused on V'lyn once more, the blush fading off her cheeks as she listened to his serious tones.

"Ro'ell is your destination. I'm sure Jennifer has already sent word ahead of you. You should be expected once you get there. You're to look into the whereabouts of Domieen's gauntlet, what kind of power its capable of and any other information you deem fitting to gather. I'll be sending Sebastian as well. He's your leader, you'll do as he says. Especially you, Astrid. Once you've gotten everything you need, return here and report back to myself or Jennifer. One or both of us will be here. We'll figure things out from there. You leave as soon as you're all ready, meet at the entrance with Sebastian, he'll get everything else ready for you." Fukayna's complexion once again paled but she couldn't do anything about the orders they had been given. At least not without arousing any suspicion. Hanging her head in defeat, the girl nodded and departed from her seat after V'lyn signaled that they were dismissed.

As she left, she clutched at her furs, debating what to do with herself. In all the activity when leaving, Astrid had disappeared, taking Stephano with her. Fukayna didn't doubt the fiery red-head would pop up some time later but at the moment, she was left to herself. The walk to her room did not take very long at all, the only thing she need retrieve was her halberd, which was leaning against the wall as always. She took the familiar weight within her hands and turned it over, shifting it to her preferred left hand before leaving her room. Her eyebrows furrowed beneath her bangs as now she was once again left with her thoughts; walking towards the entrance as an unsettling feeling clawed at her stomach. Ro'ell... she had not been there in quite some time, but the very idea of returning... Her stomach lurched and she held it, shivering in place. She forced her eyes closed in an attempt to calm herself, trying to take deep breaths.

Returning to that place... to the Order of Vyldi. It meant she would see him again. Part of her yearned for it, the chance to speak with him once more, to receive one of his rare, complimentary smiles. But the vast majority of her dreaded the journey. Fukayna did not know why he had not hunted her down yet or what games he was playing--the man always had a penchant for them. Whatever the case was, she was more than certain she would have to face him once more when they got to Ro'ell. And all the effort she had put in to keeping her secret would be undone in that instant. She trembled at the idea. She did not want to lose her friends whom she had just so recently made... But what respect would they have for someone who had not even told them to full truth in the first place?

A stream of yells snapped Fukayna out of her fear as her ears picked up the sounds of a rather frustrated female nearby. "...I really will kill you! I'm not 'cute,' 'adorable,' or any similarly condescending adjective your puny mortal mind might possibly come up with! So stop that! Stop looking at me like that! In fact, stop looking at me altogether! Stop acting like I'm a child, and above all else, STOP TREATING ME LIKE SOME KIND OF PET!" Fukayna blinked and frowned. Huh? What was all that about?

Deciding it best to find an excuse to distract her mind (else she'd fall into an absolute state of panic), she walked through the hall, approaching the courtyard she had passed earlier. Standing in the center was the woman that could be none other than the Navile, a faded blush on her cheeks and slightly widened eyes. And next to her looking absolutely infuriated... could... could it be? No, there could be no mistaking it! The delicate yet strong curve of those wings, the sleekness of the talons, the vibrance of the hair, the entrancing scales of the tail... This had to be the dragoness she had heard V'lyn speak of! Fukayna gasped, albeit silently, as she processed this. The girl was much more magnificent than she could've ever even imagined! Though more human-like than Stephano, that did not take away from the grace of the dragoness' appearance.

Fukayna paused, wondering if it would be a good idea to approach the two. The dragoness did not look pleased in the slightest but all that anger seemed to be directed at the Navile. She hesitated for a few moments. Perhaps it would be best to wait, she did not feel like getting in the middle of a spat. Though in all her intrigue, the silver-tressed girl did not take into account that she was standing in rather plain sight and appeared to be frozen on the spot.

Khrae listened intently to the other man give a rather ambiguous explanation as to whom he was, why he was here and whatever else pertained to the current situation. The man was fairly intrigued at this other person, how someone which such an apparent case of amnesia was navigating the world with a good amount of insight that most others would've overlooked. His guile in using a beggar as his cover was ingenious, at least as far as being able to move freely. Some people, Khrae thought, should simply be lucky that ingenuity and intelligence didn't depend entirely on memory.

Turning back towards Lord V'lyn now, the swordsman looked to the door as he opened it, allowing the entrance of several people whom he wasn't surprised to see yet again. Astrid and her scaly companion were quite the pair, a good contrast to the silence and seemingly shy silver-haired girl that followed after the two. The boy he only just recognized from the brief encounter outside Lethandrill, but nevertheless, it was obvious how time and rest had served him. With acknowledgement given to the newcomers, the man returned his attention to Lord V'lyn. His seat had been commandeered of course by Jennifer, but he knew it wouldn't matter too much. Rarely did he use a chair anyway, but he remained standing simply because he felt that sitting on the floor wouldn't be the best of choices for a representative.

"Khrae, it seems that the dragoness is somewhat attached to your student. She's your responsibility, I suggest making it clear to her that should she threaten me again she'll find living to see tomorrows dawn a difficult prospect. Dragon or not, unless she's one of the Old Dragon God's... she doesn't stand a chance."

Khrae nodded respectfully to the assassin. "You have my word that she will remain in her place," the man said simply. He understood his task fully, though he did detest having to watch now both Dante and Capella. The boy alone was a handful at times, she was probably double, and then combining the two... The man remained stoic on the outside yet inwardly sighed. No matter how much he disliked the idea however, he allowed himself to be dragged into the deal, and so he would uphold his end to the best of his capabilities. Despite having no prior connections to her, nor anything else except an oral agreement, Khrae would still make sure that because keeping the Dragoness under control was now his burden to bare, punishment should be received by him should he fail.

"Ro'ell is your destination. I'm sure Jennifer has already sent word ahead of you. You should be expected once you get there. You're to look into the whereabouts of Domieen's gauntlet, what kind of power its capable of and any other information you deem fitting to gather. That'll include anything about your own heritage. I'll be sending Sebastian as well. He's your leader, you'll do as he says. Especially you, Astrid. Once you've gotten everything you need, return here and report back to myself or Jennifer. One or both of us will be here. We'll figure things out from there. You leave as soon as you're all ready, meet at the entrance with Sebastian, he'll get everything else ready for you."

Turning on his heels, the man allowed Lord V'lyn to finish before exiting. Dante was several steps behind, and as they made their way down one of the staircases within the guild house, and before they arrived at the doors which lead out into the courtyard, the man allowed himself a pause to drag the boy aside. He took a moment to observe him before he spoke, searching his eyes which seemed to drift down towards the floor. Either he wasn't listening, or he was simply being difficult.

"Dante," he said, his eyes penetrating into his student's. "Care to tell me what's silenced you?"

Dante looked up, actually having not been paying attention to the first words of his mentor. In fact, he barely registered that he'd been intercepted and removed from where he was just walking. "A-H..Huh?" he said, shaking his head now and looking at the man. "What?"

Khrae sighed, patting the boy on his shoulder. "Distracted more so than usual I see. Hmm?"

"Ah..n-no. I'm fine," Dante responded simply, a bit of his liveliness returning with the statement as he offered a smile.

Khrae nodded, accepting the answer for now. Later he may work through the boy's mind a little more, but for now there were more pressing matters; also known as, he could hear Capella's angry rant from within the building.

The silver-haired assassin had been standing near the doors, and it wasn't until the man had exited the building did he understood exactly why she was the way she was. Obviously she was in some sort of state shock or awe at Capella, and Khrae assumed it was because of the fury directed towards the Naville girl. Shaking his head, Dante was as clueless as ever in the situation as the man strode forward, away from the boy and placing himself between the two women.

“Capella,” he said sharply. Again he maintained a level of authority, and neutrality, though he remained wary about using such commanding tones near a dragon, knowing that to try to be a superior wasn’t smart. Nevertheless, as his gaze shifted between the two, he knew at least for his entrance it was necessary. Besides, wrath directed towards him would probably be better than if it were towards the girl. “What’s wrong?”

Astrid made her way out of the meeting room, whilst inwardly jumping for joy.

She didn't get shouted at.

Sebastian didn't brutally murder her.

Talon didn;t give Sebastian permission to murder her.

All in all, a good result for all. The assassin tried to smooth down her rebelious hair, ignoring the sniggering dragon on her shoulder.

"I will seriously hurt you, Stephano, if you don't shut the fuck up."

"Oh, I feel so threatened."

The young woman felt as if she should chuck the dragon off her shoulder, just out of spite before a little bolt of thought hit her.

Sebastian was going to be her boss. Oh hell no. He hated her. Right now, he did anyway. She never got that. Astrid was only doing what she thought was right. She was good at distractions and with lots of new people round, the recruits needed distractions. Sebastian was just touchy sometimes. It really wasn't anything to do with Astrid or her actions.

Really.

So as the assassin knew the older man would be at the meeting room soon, she took off quickly towards her little flat so she could pack the little she needed. Spare clothes, couple of knives, Stephano's food and blanket, her spare arrow heads and her other bow. She didn't like using the spare bow; it didn;t have the same feel as her regular one. Her bow felt like an extention of herself. But she couldn't very well leave with one bow. What if, god forbid, it broke? She'd be screwed. Astrid quickly turned the corner and found herself plough straight into someone. The young woman caught herself and looked up to see a familiar face.

"Aw, shit. Not you." It was the recruit from earlier, the one she had hit with the pots. And he did not look too happy to see her. The young woman plastered a smile onto her face and tried to side step around the tall man.

"Sorry, coming through! Super important order business!" She pushed past but was caught by a hard grip on her arm. The recruit pulled her back in front of him and cornered her. Astrid didn't worry as he leaned in with a not so happy expression on his face. She had dealt with those kinds of people before. She did worry, however, as a cough tickled her throat and tried to make itself known.

"So, you think it's funny to run away from me?"

"Well, it depends. You look like you'd run like a fricking rag doll with those long arms so yeah! It would be kinda funny." The young woman replied, her cheery voice hindered by the roughness of her throat. She tried to clear her throat quietly but felt Stephano's attention peak.

Uh oh.

Astrid's mind was shaken from that line of thought by a harsh push to her chest. She couldn't help but gasp as the air from her lungs was forcibly removed.

"The hell was that for?!"

"No one makes fun of me. No one." Astrid opened her mouth to answer back when a harsh growl cut in. Her red eyes followed the noise until she found her little dragon standing up and looking pissed. His gold eyes gleamed furiously at the recruit. Stephano had been rather quiet and docile so far, letting Astrid control the situation. He must have thought it had gotten a little out of hand for his tastes.

"Leave." The dragon growled in a tone that sounded almost unearthly, not like his normal warm voice. This was the voice of a dragon, a pissed off dragon. Astrid couldn't help but shiver and be glad that that voice was not directed at her. She looked up at the pale looking recruit.

"You better do what he says. He's hungry and recruits are his favourite." The young assassin teased, her bright eyes glimmering in amusement. Ah, recruit baiting. So much fun, it really was a great past time. The young man paled further as the dragon breathed out sharply, a few flames flickering around his mouth. The recruit turned on his heel and took off, leaving Astrid and Stephano in the empty hall alone. Astrid sighed. He would bet her finely crafted bow that he was going to tell Sebastian, who in turn would tell Talon and Jennifer. Great. Just what she needed.

Despite this, a little angry presence on her shoulder forced her to focus and make something up.

Quickly.

"Hey, Stephano! That was weird, huh? Well, we better be-" The assassin was cut off by a lamplike glare turning her way. Normally if Stephano glared at her, she'd glare right on back and threaten to put him in tomorrow's dinner. But this was no normal Stephano glare. This was the glare of death.

Well, hell.

"Why didn't you tell me." A statement, not a question. Astrid tried to avoid the seriousness and carried on walking down the corridor.

"Tell ya what?"

"You know. You know what I mean." The anger drained out of the little dragon and was replaced with a tiredness that made him seem so much older, ancient.

"So, I've got a little cough. I'll be fine, you worry too much. Besides, we are going to Ro'ell. Which is very not fun."

"Ah, yes. I had forgotten about your adversion to mages." Stephano replied to the unspoken question.

Can we change the subject please?

He knew that being sick scared the young assassin just as much as it did him.

"Adversion? More like I best not get in there way again unless I want to pop up in another dimension."

"Technically, you'd already be in an another dimension. There would just be two of you there and none of you here. Which wouldn't be that much of a loss really..." Stephano trailed off, smirking as his assassin pulled her face into an indignant frown.

"Shut it or I will give you to that Capella as a chew toy."

"I think that would insult her again."

"Pride schmide, I want a chew toy dragon."

"I appreciate that. Really. I do." This banter of insults carried on its back and forth until the duo had collected their belongings and were making their way to the enterence to meet "King Grumpy" himself when Astrid's interest was diverted. Two people looked like they were fighting. Or rather, one dragon lady looked as if she was shouting at the person in front of her. Astrid watched as that Khrae guy they had met earlier moved forward to intervene. She scoffed. Really, didn't he know anything? You didn't break up fights, you stood on the sidelines and placed bets! Stephano spotted Fukayna looking frozen in place and winced in pity. Yeah, he never liked being frozen like that either.

He didn't have much time to muse on this as his companion did what she did well. A bit too well, if you asked him.

She caught people's attention and made fun.

"Caaaaaaat fiiiiiight." She drawled, leaning against the courtyard wall, knives resting in the gaps between her fingers like talons. She had figured out how to use them like that a few years earlier and took great joy in doing so. It always got a funny look from the recruits anyway. She slid the knives away seamlessly and gave a Cheshire Cat grin as she slowly moved over beside Fukayna. With her grin still gleaming, she spoke loudly to Fukayna, sure that eveyone could hear her.

"So, I'm putting 10 on the Grey Sword, you in or what?" She turned to Capella, giving her a wink and a friendly smile hoping her anger had somewhat disapated from earlier.

Stephano let out a heavy sigh.

Oh Riena, let someone put me out of my misery before this raging lunatic gets us both killed.

Fay X'san

Her eyes widened as the girl wriggled out of her grasp and began yelling at her. She didn't feel frightened if anything, the girl's explosion was even more adorable and Fay's light blush deepened. She raised her fingers to her lips as she watched the dragonlike woman with awe. She was absolutely adorable. Oh, if only Fay could take this child into her care, she would pamper the girl, love her to death and do anything she wanted, give her anything she wanted.

Fay straightened herself and stood, her eyes still locked on the girls infuriated features. A smile began brewing on her lips as she gazed at the woman, "Oh, so adorable. Cuter when you're angry. Oh, I think I'm in love with you, such beauty and elegance... cuter than anything I've ever seen," Fay continued, turning her head sideways and resting it in the palm of her hand as she gazed dreamily at the dragon.

“Capella, what’s wrong?” The voice startled her as she hadn't noticed the man coming back out from the building. Apparently their meeting was over and she had missed it all. Not that she was particularly interested, Fay knew they were going to Ro'ell. When was all that she was worried about. She turned her eyes to the taller man and smiled gently.

"It is my fault... I provoked her. But isn't she adorable? I've never seen something quite like her before. She's absolutely beautiful," Fay tried to explain, but the ever darkening expression on the dragon like girls face wasn't fading away. From the doorway of the building, another voice rang out, calling across the courtyard.

"So, I'm putting 10 on the Grey Sword, you in or what?" A woman with brilliant red hair and a dragon draped over her shoulder was grinning at the woman whose name was Fukayna if Fay remembered correctly. The Navile raised an eyebrow as she looked at the red haired girl then back at Capella. She was confused, but didn't mention anything else. Her eyes turned back to the red haired girl just as an elder looking man walked out and landed his closed fist on the top of her head whilst giving her a sour look.

"If you're quite done, Astrid," he stated simply and crossed his arms, "We leave for Ro'ell now. I've got your horses and other provisions ready. Come quickly, all of you. There's no time to waste, and Lady Jennifer hates to be kept waiting than what is necessary," with that the old man turned on his heel, took the red haired girls arm in hand and tugged her with him. Fay watched the exchange curiously. So, this Astrid was probably someone they all knew there, which made her an assassin. She was quite young, like Fukayna.

Her interests shifting quickly, she easily forgot about Capella and walked after the man who'd called to them. She moved into the large room that seemed to be the gathering place of all of the assassins and other people that she'd remembered seeing in the meeting before hand. The man named Xander with his stone arm was quite interesting to her, she wondered what his heritage was and what his business was with the Lord V'lyn. Then there was the elf named Armen who was there as well looking much better than he had the first time she'd seen him.

Fukayna, Astrid, Capella and the other two men were there as well. Fay felt a bit crowded as she stood there, not used to so many people in a group. Were they all really going to Ro'ell? What purpose was it to send so many? Or maybe some were going because they wanted to and it had nothing to do with V'lyn's orders? Perhaps it was something else, and those that were going had more to do with the terrible actions in Lethandrill than she thought. Either way, it was a full group and it was going to be very interesting.

"To those that don't know, I'm Sebastian. I'm what you would call a Captain among the assassins and I'm your guide to Ro'ell. The Order of Vyldi is expecting us, so there should be no problems. I'm not your babysitter and I'm not your friend," Sebastian stated coldly and Fay felt a chill over her skin, "We're there to do business and nothing more. Now if you're all ready, we're leaving," he turned and opened the front doors wide. The old assassin mounted his horse and turned the beast to head towards Skyfall's gates. Fay did the same, mounting a gray mere and followed suit. It was going to be a long ride, she might as well make the best of it.

Three Days Later

Armen Soren

He'd gotten used to the people around him in the three days it took to reach Ro'ell. Many of them were friendly, some were a bit colder than the others though. He found that Capella enjoyed moving about them without her scale coverings and distracting the young boy named Dante. His mentor, Khrae was much more versed at keeping his concentration that his pupil and Armen found that intriguing especially since he himself found it hard to concentrate around Capella when she was in one of those moods.

Astrid and her dragon Stephano were entertaining to listen to, though at times he felt he could throw just about anything at the red haired girl who'd done her fair share of romping about the campsite and making a racket at inconvenient times. The Navile woman, Fay was a mystery. She was beautiful though and seemed to be like a little child as she rode with them. Everything was amazing to her, or beautiful. Capella seemed to keep a distance from her though and often Armen had seen Fay's face flush red as she set eyes on the little dragon woman.

Apparently the Navile thought that Capella was 'adorable' and should be coddled at just about any opportunity. Armen was surprised that Capella hadn't set the woman on fire yet for the many times that Fay had caught her up in her arms and cooed at her with such loving fondness. Perhaps Capella wasn't as cold hearted as she made herself out to be, especially since she'd made so many threats to Fay during such cuddling opportunities.

Fukayna was another mystery that intrigued him. She was ever silent, but she often spoke to him via her writing. He learned that she was a recent recruit for the assassin's guild and had gone through a kind of sparring test with Lord V'lyn in order to go with him and Jennifer to the city of Lethandrill. To have been able to win in such a match, Armen was sure she was very proficient with her weapon, not to mention very beautiful. He often found himself watching her as they rode and the moment she turned her head to look to him, he'd look away quickly at something else. The elf hadn't seen her eyes ever since meeting her, and he pondered almost constantly at what color they were. Eyes were so beautiful, they spoke louder than any words or anything else. They were like looking straight into a persons thoughts. At least, that's how he thought of it.

Finally, there was Xander. The silent enigma of a man who seemed to be lost just about as much as Armen felt. Probably more so. The stone gauntlet was intriguing, and the elf wondered what it was exactly. Along with the staff as well that Xander carried. The man didn't look the part of a beggar as he so claimed to be. He was lithe in build, well muscled and looked as if he'd seen his fair share of fighting. Armen didn't doubt his abilities either.

That concluded the group that he found himself with as they rode into the city of Ro'ell. The power there radiated through the air, thick and almost too heavy. Perhaps it was just him, but he noted that even Fay looked a little bit affected by it as well. He was attuned to magic after all, and so was the Navile woman. Though, he hadn't really developed his yet, so he relied more on swords to get through a fight. He wasn't sure about Fay though, but stories told that many of the Navile didn't know how to wield their power. It was an almost frightening concept.

Armen followed their guide, Sebastian of the Order of Reina and Lord V'lyn's right hand man. They moved through the streets of Ro'ell with relative ease and soon they were upon the orders main building itself. Five spires rose up from the large complex. One in each corner and the fifth, and largest, rose in the middle. Armen wasn't sure what each spire was for, but he'd heard rumors that different factions of the order resided in each spire and there were different departments that were assigned separate tasks as well. He was sure he'd find out soon enough once they entered at least about a little of the Order of Vyldi.

Sebastian led the way into the building and was met by several robed men. They were armed and so Armen figured they were guards of some sort. They asked Sebastian several questions which the assassin answered quickly and effectively. They were told to wait in the lobby part of the citadel, the buildings fifth spire. Armen stood near the staircase that wound ever upwards, his eyes scanning the many books on the shelf before him. He wondered who it was they were going to meet, and what kind of answers he could get to his many questions.

Fukayna Muidrehd

There had not been much time to think, between the interruption of the fight between the navile and the dragoness by the tall swordsman--and the sudden weight around her shoulders as the fiery headed Astrid smirked at the activity. Fukayna wrinkled her nose, frowning over at her sister assassin, already becoming accustomed to the fact that this girl had the rare ability to appear anywhere at any time. Questioning this concrete fact would be like trying to question the laws of physics. You couldn't fight against gravity, after all. An off-handed comment by Astrid, something pertaining to bets, only seemed to rile the dragoness more, who raised her voice to outrageous volumes as she screamed at the tall man.

The winged girl was nothing like Stephano, who seemed calm albeit sarcastic at times, particularly when his rider was around. She scratched at the back of her head, wondering if she should perhaps deign to depart from the conversation (which admittedly seemed to be spinning out of control). She was saved from the awkward decision when the older assassin she had met earlier, Sebastian, hit Astrid upside the head. The girl gave a surprised yelp as she was hit, oh, she was capable of feeling pain? Odd, Fukayna hadn't thought she was, considering the fiery woman had run into a wall with a bucket on her head--according to a story she had heard anyway.

"If you're quite done, Astrid, we leave for Ro'ell now. I've got your horses and other provisions ready. Come quickly, all of you. There's no time to waste, and Lady Jennifer hates to be kept waiting than what is necessary." With the curt words, he proceeded to drag the zealous assassin off, who went screaming and protesting the whole way. Fukayna blushed a portion, not having ever heard such colorful language used in quite a manner. Casting one more look at the trio, she shrugged, figuring it was best to just listen to Sebastian. They'd all regroup later anyway and perhaps she'd have a chance to speak to the dragoness all about how she kept her wings to beautiful.

She turned on her heel, adjusting her halberd in her hand before progressing towards the gates of the entrance. As she neared, she noticed Astrid trying to explain to Sebastian that they were clearly friends and that the bet had all been a joke. Oh dear.... Fukayna sighed and approached the duo, noting that Armen was already there. She smiled at him kindly, his manner a breath of fresh air after all the activity of the day. Astrid had a bit too much energy for her and the others, well, she had no idea how to interpret them. She silently walked over to him, standing a little nervously next to the elf. He was taller than she, much like many she had come in contact with, but his presence was comforting.

It wasn't long before the others showed up as well, the navile girl being the last one to complete their entourage. Upon seeing this, Sebastian cleared his throat, addressing everyone. "To those that don't know, I'm Sebastian. I'm what you would call a Captain among the assassins and I'm your guide to Ro'ell. The Order of Vyldi is expecting us, so there should be no problems. I'm not your babysitter and I'm not your friend. We're there to do business and nothing more. Now if you're all ready, we're leaving," Huh? Leaving? But what about Miss...? The man was already mounting his horse and riding the beast out of the gates, leaving everyone else to follow suit.

Fukayna faltered a bit--horses, again? Oh, how terrible she was at riding the things... Fortunately, she'd gotten a bit smoother with getting on the animal this time around and did so without any assistance. She felt pretty proud of herself... up until she tumbled forwards in her saddle when the horse began to gallop. How utterly embarrassing. Her cheeks were coated with crimson for the beginning of the trip, the silver-haired woman hoping privately that no one was laughing at her.

As they rode, she found company in the form of Armen, who had chosen to have his horse trot next to hers. The pace was slow enough for her to manage scribbling on her pad, answered many of his questions. Many of which simply asking after how she had been chosen to go to Lethandrill in the first place and how the Order of Riena functioned. She answered every inquiry quite willingly, charmed that he found her interesting enough to speak to for such a length of time. She was in the midst of writing a response when another horse's trot made her look up. It was Astrid, the girl waggling her eyebrows at her; pointing first to Armen, then at Fukayna, and then grinning as widely as the cheshire cat. It took Fukayna only a few moments to process what the woman was implying and her blush heightened to turn her whole entire face red. Astrid cackled and continued to trot in front of them, slowly though as the woman continued to insinuate things.

Now thoroughly ruffled, her writing faltered and she looked down at her horse, unable to meet Armen's gaze. The rest of the journey passed by in subsequent silence, for any conversation beyond the one they had was interrupted by Astrid. (Somehow, the woman had taught her horse to trot backwards as well...?) Mortified and progressively growing more and more flustered, Fukayna began to get anxious for them to reach their destination, if only to avoid Astrid's odd gestures and ideas. H-Honestly, it wasn't like that.

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Isaehn Raxieyl

Isaehn stood out on the balcony, gazing at the sky with a rather devious expression, mind racing as he pondered over the possible outcome of the meeting. He had purposely left his door unlocked once he had heard the scrambling in the hallways, anticipating that the group from the Order of Riena had arrived. His suspicions were confirmed as there was a quick knock on his doorway followed by a pause, and then the hesitant turn of the knob as his door was slowly opened. The man turned slightly, eyes falling on the guard who seemingly wilted under the gaze.

"S-Sir, they've arrived.... We, er, told them to wait in the lobby of the citadel but..." Isaehn had never been one for banter and put his hands into his pockets, raising an eyebrow. The partial disappearance of his smirk told the guard that the mage was less than pleased with the hesitation, the sentry rushing over his words. "T-That is to... to say um... there is... well, there are two really that are a cause for--that is, um..." Isaehn rolled his eyes and gave a flick of his wrist, speaking with a bored and flat tone.

"What use are you if you cannot even tell me of the proceedings in the lobby? Leave my presence, you may decrease my brain cell count the more you spout your nonsense." The guard was too nervous to look offended as he practically slammed the door behind him in his effort to get out of the presence of the reaper. The man yawned, unsurprised and rather used to this behavior. He looked back over his shoulder, shrugging a little and extending his hand outwards behind him. "Come, Zephyr, this is an important meeting and it would be a shame for you to miss it." The dragon in question had been laying some meters outside the balcony, casually awaiting the orders from his rider as to whether or not he was dismissed. The dragon raised it's head and stretched it's long neck so that it's snout brushed against Isaehn's outstretched fingers.

The mage muttered in a low tone under his breath, invoking his manipulation magic. The familiar, glowing circles of texts and symbols surrounded his hands as he cast the spell upon his dragon. With one final utterance, Zephyr closed his eyes as the magic overtook his large body, transforming the large creature into one that was not nearly comparable in size. Isaehn smirked at his handiwork as he nodded his approval, his dragon now in the form of a human male. Zephyr regarded his rider quietly, using a newly formed finger to scratch at the faded scar on his chin.

"That special of an occasion, I take it?" The masculine voice was soft-spoken, carrying with it faint scatterings of amusement. Isaehn pushed his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose and yawned, choosing to ignore his dragon's comment and striding out of his room. He didn't have to bother checking to see if Zephyr was following---though silent, his companion would never leave his side unless otherwise ordered. The mage walked through the halls, taking note of the activity of the guards, who seemed besides themselves over some commotion in the citadel. It didn't interest him enough, however, and he merely kept up his pace as he crossed down the pathway leading directly to the lobby.

He took a deep breath, settling his features into something more friendly as he opened the large doors, the slow, creaking noise enough to get anyone's attention. The first thing that caught his eyes, however, was the bobbing figure of a red-headed girl was was sniffing a vase. A very priceless vase. She pushed it casually with one of her fingers, nudging it slightly and allowing it to topple. The shattering crash did not make Isaehn wince, however, he did narrow his eyes at the girl in a very discontent glare. If he had to guess, that clutz was none other than Astrid, the notorious troublemaker of Riena. He drew his attentions away from her, privately registering each guest of the order as he gazed at them. He noted the Navile, now there was a target of intrigue, her bloodline always managed to produce entertaining results.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zephyr tense slightly and followed the dragon's eyesight to the figure of a girl with wings, one whom could resemble a dragon if not for her human shape. He did not linger his sights on her for long, moving his eyes to the older man near the bookshelf who must've been Sebastian, the right-hand man of V'lyn. Ah, so he was the one heading this operation, not the infamous Jennifer. There was an elven boy who seemed to be looking at him inquisitively, wide eyes curiously peering at the mage. Hm, so nosy. He continued along, flicking his gaze over the two swordsman to the man oddly in beggar's clothing. Quite the colorful bunch, quite quite.

His smile widened as at last he looked at the girl he had been most curious to see, whose shoulders shot up to her ears the instant their gazes met. Fukayna fumbled with the weapon in her hands and looked down at her feet, meekly shaking her head. He could not help but let an amused light fall into his eyes. By the way the others weren't openly staring at her, she clearly had not informed them of her origins in Vyldi. Oh, this was going to be delicious fun indeed. He strode till he was just feet from the group, speaking in velvet tones.

"Welcome to the Order of Vyldi--I trust your journey was not too strenuous?" A gruff nod from Sebastian confirmed this statement and Isaehn continued. "My name is Isaehn Raxieyl and you may address my companion as Zephyr. I am sure you've all got your own sets of questions and all will be answered to the best of my ability in due course. No doubt the most pressing of these issues is Domieen's Gauntlet, I wager." He was merely being polite, Isaehn already knew full well that this was the main reason why the order had requested his presence. "I will speak with Sebastian first, the rest of you may busy yourselves among the literature until our return. It would be best for you to ready your questions so this visit goes smoothly. Zephyr, do entertain our guests in case they get bored. And..." He trailed off, now looking directly at Fukayna. The girl shifted, breath hitching as he did so. Isaehn walked over to her, casually putting a finger beneath her chin and tilting her head upwards.

"It's lovely to see you again, Fukayna dear." He retracted his touch, gesturing to Sebastian to follow him into the study. He chuckled under his breath, knowing his words were sure to incite some interesting reactions from the guests. The older assassin walked a few paces behind them as the two entered the study, the mage shutting the door quietly behind him. His smirk never left his lips as he crossed over to the desk, sitting down in the chair and giving a flick of his wrist at the seat on the other side to let Sebastian know he could sit down.

"As requested, I preformed research on Domieen's Gauntlet. From the texts I have read, this piece of equipment holds the old god's power," Isaehn stated carefully, looking at Sebastian evenly over the rim of his glasses. "And as you can guess from your ward, V'lyn, it grants its wearer quite a bit of power. But I'm sure you already knew this," He added with a chuckle. "So tell me, what did you wish to inquire after?"

Armen Sorien

The voice startled him as he looked up from the shelving to see a youthful looking man walking down the stairs. With the man was another and Armen got the feeling that the being walking beside the mage wasn't human at all. He arched an eyebrow as he gazed at the man steadily, inspecting him as he moved down into the midst of the group. It seemed that the mage wasn't too inclined to be inspected as Armen was doing and he felt a bit flustered that he'd done it. It was an old habit, coming from his years spent in the guard at Lethandrill. He inspected nearly everyone that had gone through the gates like that.

"My name is Isaehn Raxieyl and you may address my companion as Zephyr. I am sure you've all got your own sets of questions and all will be answered to the best of my ability in due course. No doubt the most pressing of these issues is Domieen's Gauntlet, I wager. I will speak with Sebastian first, the rest of you may busy yourselves among the literature until our return. It would be best for you to ready your questions so this visit goes smoothly. Zephyr, do entertain our guests in case they get bored. And..." the man who called himself Isaehn moved towards Fukayna and Armen felt a stir in the center of his chest. An uneasy feeling filled him as he watched Isaehn push his finger under the girls chin and look at her directly.

"It's lovely to see you again, Fukayna dear."

The elf found it hard to settle his sudden anger at the man. He closed his fist tightly to help ease the boiling rage and moved closer to Fukayna as Isaehn moved away with a slight chuckle. Armen turned his gaze down to the girl, eyebrow arched in curiosity though his unsettle anger was far more pressing than any curiosity that befell him. He waited for the assassin guide and the mage to leave the room before he turned to Fukayna and took her shoulder gently in his grip. He offered her a smile, trying to ease the tensions a bit.

"Would you like to come with me while I look around? I have a few things I'd like to research while we're here," he offered hoping to get her mind off of what had just transpired. Armen was sure she wasn't feeling too comfortable and he didn't want to ask any questions that would make it worse. Not to mention he was sure the others weren't quite as sensitive to the situation and would most likely prod the poor woman for information. He offered his hand to her and once she'd answered he led the way to the opposite side of the building and began perusing through the books. He wanted to know what it was that Torak was so afraid of and why the Steward had locked him up in the dungeons.

Fay X'san

The man named Isaehn came and went quickly, only wishing to speak with Sebastian rather than the rest of them. She guessed that was to be expected seeing as technically it was the Order of Riena who'd set up the meeting with the Order of Vyldi. Though, Fay was a bit let down in the fact that they had been left out of the meeting. That information seemed to be rather important if they were going to do anything about Torak.

Even so, she put a slender finger to her lips and tapped them in thought. Fay had picked up on his lingering gaze when he'd spotted her. There had been a look in his eye that she wasn't too sure she liked all that much. The Navile woman shrugged it off though and instead took Isaehn up on his offer of looking through the books that were all over the tower. There was a balcony upstairs as well that held shelves upon shelves of books.

Fay started up the stairs and worked her way through the shelving, her fingers trailing along new and old books. Dust collected on the documents near the back and the more she weaved through the shelving the more interesting books she found. Some were even on the Navile, whole books documenting the arrival of her species and details on their whereabouts. However, no matter how many books she skimmed through she didn't find much on what the Navile were so feared for. Not even so much as their magic.

With a sigh she tossed down the twentieth book that she'd picked up and leaned back, loosening the tight muscles around her lower spine. When she straightened she felt a presence behind her and her eyes widened, heart picking up in pace. It was a strange feeling that was behind her, a seductive pulling that was almost out of control. So much so, that it was unnerving. The pull was on her power that lay nestled deep inside her, only coming out at times she didn't want it to, or when she absolutely needed it to survive.

Whirling around, Fay drew her long knife and crossbow, aiming the weapon at whomever stood behind her. The man was leaning against the shelving, his leather clothing tight across his body. He was inspecting his hand as he stood there with one arm crossed over his chest. His black hair had an un-kept look to it, very appealing to say the least, but had it not been for his chilling smile and the strange pull on her power, Fay would have been swayed by his mere appearance.

"So, you're the Navile that I felt walk in here. Very pretty. But, alas," he sighed heavily as if he were seriously disappointed about something, "I've got orders, and orders are always followed in my book," he grinned at her. Before she could fire the crossbow he'd moved so quickly that she hardly saw him. His hand wrapped around her wrist holding the crossbow and twisted. Fay opened her mouth in pain and shock, but didn't scream. The weapon fell from her numbed fingers and clattered to the floor, the trigger jarring enough to actually fire the crossbolt.

Her magic kicked in and retaliated against the man, trying to pry him from her with a simple shot to his chest. The man took the hit, stumbled backwards with her in tow and coughed slightly. He winced as he grinned at her, looking directly into her dark gaze, "That one hurt a bit," he commented. Something happened right after that Fay couldn't comprehend. Her magic turned on her and she found it near impossible to control. She dropped her knife which hit the floor and tumbled down to the floor below as she was next to the balcony then.

Her fingers curled into a fist next to her chest and she found it hard to breathe as she glared at the man. He tilted his head sideways as he watched her, still holding her other wrist tightly. He chuckled at her and pulled her closer to him, "Well, that little experiment is confirmed. I can feel my own power starting to get a little... crazy. Time to go now though," he said and Fay was wrapped in immense pressure. Her world darkened and she felt fear gripping her chest tightly.

When her sight returned and the pressure was gone, she was no longer in the tower she'd started in. In fact, she had no clue where she was but her magic was making it hard to concentrate. The Navile dropped to the hard stone floor and squirmed as she tried to keep her power from exploding. Though it was all for nothing because in the end, it shattered from her body and shook the room she was in. Fay fell still finally and coughed heavily, tasting hot iron in her mouth.

"Shit..." she muttered as the room before her spun and she found she couldn't move a single muscle in her body. Her breathing was short and the sound of it filled her ears as the stone room she was in darkened completely.

Lain Gareev & Company

Capella, Dante, and Khrae

"They'll be a problem, especially that dragon..." Lain muttered to himself as he leaned over the balcony just enough to see everyone but far enough away so that no one saw him. The darkness of the upper portion was enough to cover him and his little bit of magic helped as well. He'd have to send the dragon woman and her two human companions elsewhere if he wanted to finish what he was sent to do. The first part of his mission having been completed he could hardly wait to report back. Lain pushed aside his impatience and stretched out his hand just enough in the direction of the three in his sight and summoned his power.

They would feel pressure right before they were sent elsewhere. Lain grinned as he watched the air around them shimmer as if a heatwave had just struck that area. In a matter of seconds he'd sent the three of them to the darkest area of the western most spire in Ro'ell. Lain's smile grew as he thought about where he'd sent them. It would be some time before they made their way back and if he remembered correctly, the Order of Vyldi were very particular about their secrets and other things. Intruders in a specified area would be rewarded with several safe guards set up by the powerful mages.

Xandur, Astrid, and Stephano

As Lain's gaze moved swiftly around the area, he quickly picked out the next set of opponents that would be problems to him. There was a man with an interesting aura around him and the Nine felt it strange to see him there in the Order of Vyldi. Such a rag tag bunch of people that had gathered... of course many of them were very powerful and should they have found him he would have been in trouble. His fingers turned quickly from his last target and he decided on a whim to send this one to where he'd sent the Navile woman.

Another specimen wouldn't hurt, right? The air around the man that looked like a beggar shimmered. Of course, Lain wouldn't put him directly with the Navile woman, that would make things much too easy. No, he would put the stranger with a stone like arm into a room directly across from the girl. His smile widened as the man disappeared from sight. Lain quickly turned to the last of his possible problems and directed his power on them.

The red haired girl and her dragon were easy to transport and he sent them to the northern most tower in Ro'ell. Oh, the chaos... he could already hear the complaints of the Order of Vyldi as he leaned over the balcony in sheer ecstasy at what he'd accomplished. Now, for his final part. The elf who was too damned nosy for his own good. He threw himself over the railing and landed into the first floor of the large library. Standing up he turned and his eyes caught sight of the elf who had finally realized that something was terribly wrong.

Lain frowned as he realized he'd missed someone. That someone was being pushed behind the tall elf almost as if he were going to protect her. Long silver hair fluttered around her face and lithe frame as she was held behind the man. Armen Sorien glared at the Nine that put his hand on his hip and smiled at them.

"Too damned nosy for your own good I see, Armen Sorien."

"And you are?"

"Lain Gareev. Not that my name matters much," Lain replied, his grin widening as he flicked his gaze between the two.

"What happened to everyone else?"

"Nothing that concerns you right now. I think you should be more worried about what I'm going to do to you now."

The elf's eyes widened visibly and he looked slightly intimidated, but maybe that was because he was weaponless. Lain disliked fighting against someone who was weaponless, but he had his orders and he couldn't ignore them. He turned on power and rushed forward, his speed causing him to close the distance between them in a blink of an eye. Armen stumbled backwards as Lain came right upon him. The man made the smart move of shoving the girl away from him as Lain tackled him to the ground.

Raising his hand, he powered his fist and the increased speed slammed into Armen's chest, no doubt breaking a bone or two. The elf gasped in pain and blood sprayed forth from his mouth. Lain took a fist full of the elf's leather shirt and pulled him forward even as the man was limp in his grip.

"I don't much like making a racket so lets make this quick shall we?" Lain ignored the woman, figuring she wasn't worth his attention and powered his body for another attack.

Sebastian and Isaehn

"So tell me, what did you wish to inquire after?" The mage asked as Sebastian took a seat. The old assassin glowered at the mage, not entirely enthusiastic about this one. He didn't like the feel of the room, the feel of the other man who stood at Isaehn's shoulder. Nothing felt right so it was no pardon for him to be a bit uneasy. Sebastian positioned himself just right to if he needed, he would be able to get back to his feet and fight if needed.

"Lord V'lyn wants to know about the gauntlets power," Sebastian started, putting emphasis on 'Lord' as Isaehn had only used the assassin's last name, "When he saw it in Lethandrill there was something strange about it. That gauntlet shouldn't have the power it has right now. Where would it get something like that? In my opinion, most importantly, why does the Steward Torak have it on his hand as of right now?"

The assassin skipped all pleasantries and went straight to business. The sooner he got things over with, the better. Every minute he sat there, the more uneasy he got.

"My name is Isaehn Raxieyl and you may address my companion as Zephyr. I am sure you've all got your own sets of questions and all will be answered to the best of my ability in due course. No doubt the most pressing of these issues is Domieen's Gauntlet, I wager. I will speak with Sebastian first, the rest of you may busy yourselves among the literature until our return. It would be best for you to ready your questions so this visit goes smoothly. Zephyr, do entertain our guests in case they get bored."

Khrae looked up as two men entered the room, one of which quickly took charge. His introduction was short and to the point, though rather blunt, and then he was gone again with Sebastian in-toe. The older swordsman merely watched the pair disappear with the older assassin before redirecting his attention else where, towards the vast expanses of the library around him. Despite having spent hours upon hours upon days simply reading as a child and up to his age now, he was never one to not take advantage of learning more if he possibly could, and he knew he could. Ancestors were only useful for so much information, and that was something that was always changing and adapting with new times, and while Khrae valued what he'd gathered from meditation, he knew sometimes he shouldn't rely on them entirely. Thus the man found himself navigating the shelves, eyes scanning for anything of even the slightest intrigue and yet still somehow managing to maintain lock on Dante. The boy seemed to be more absorbed in being as discreet as he could about turning books upside down in their places, or simply making it so they faced entirely around, leaving one only open to see their pages on the shelf instead of the spine.

Shaking his head and folding the book in his hands shut with a soft thud, Khrae looked to his student whom had just finished with rearranging the meticulously organized books into a manner that more suited his rather childish manner. In this case, apparently draconic history and herbal alchemy were of the same genre and thus should be next to one another.

Sighing, the man knew at least this meant that Dante was once more back to his old self. During their traveling is when Khrae had confronted the boy further, only to find that it was as he suspected which occupied and clouded his young mind. Seeing though as Dante would never confess to something so embarrassing as being attracted to the woman, and because all clan members were linked spiritually, Khrae found it easy enough to infiltrate the boy's mind through meditation and ascertain exactly what was hindering him. A conversation which bordered somewhat on 'the talk' was the following exchange, and after reassuring guidance from his master is when the boy seemed to ease a bit, if only enough to stop staring at the girl while they were riding to their destination.

Games back and and Dante returned to his normal demeanor however meant that Khrae's duties were to once more be upheld, and thus with silent steps he appeared by the boy, his sudden and sharp tone catching him entirely off guard.

"Dante! Just what do you think you're doing with these books?" The man nodded to the stack the boy held, or at least what remained from after he'd jumped and lost about a quarter of his initial load.

"Oh, ah. K-Khrae," the boy dropped the books and used his foot to nudge them beneath a nearby chair, as if that would hide evidence against his crimes. "Er-r.." he scratched the back of his head and looked around. "Well, these books looked... uhm.. old.. sooo I was gooing to... clean... them... Uh, yeah..."

"You were replacing them on the shelf and then just dropped them. Any mending you intended to administer was just literally thrown onto the ground and dispensed of."

"Right... Well.. you se-"

Khrae had sensed it. Imminent danger. Where it came from, what it was exactly he wasn't sure, but immediately he was turned entirely around, Dante forced behind him while he faced whatever it was that came for them. His left hand clasped tightly around the hilt of the sword on the opposite side of his person while his right hand took steady hold of the boy. It happened too quickly though, and even if the spell couldn't been slowed, Khrae had no defenses against any kind of magic, nor was he even a user of it despite what the Order of Vyldi said. His power came from a purer energy, but that was hardly important.

Empty. Well, not entirely. One wooden door outlined in steel and rivets was positioned to his left while there were a few tables elsewhere, pushed up against the far walls. They were barren, though not dust covered. Rather useless, but very well. The air seemed heavier, either a clue or simply some sort of odd effect attributed to magic having just been used, and as Khrae looked around, the fact that Capella had been relocated with himself and Dante as well triggered several more questions, but he didn't voice them. Standing now from the stance he'd taken previously, the man glanced around warily.

"Er.. Khrae," Dante said, stepping forward. "What just happened?"

Khrae had no answer, but remained silent. They were here under jurisdiction of the Order of Reina for this mission, and he himself along with Dante were part of the Order of Vyldi. Whoever had just committed this act was either drowning in audacity, or someone of great power. At least politically speaking. Though then again, this meant either he or Dante had done something wrong and perhaps this was the Order of Vyldi detaining them, because they said they would be watching, or this same fate was enacted on the other members of the party as well, thus meaning that someone else entirely was the culprit, and the information they were seeking was something someone didn't want anyone to know of. Of course the Order of Vyldi's mages probably would've just dragged he and Dante back into the meeting room, so he dismissed that idea for now. The next question was figuring out where they were and how they'd get back to where they needed to be.

Unfortunately for him though, Dante had thought of that before he did, and so the boy had moved to investigate the door. Wherever they were was probably still in Ro'ell, because not many other places have traps setup that included enchanted door handles.

The shift from the room to a brighter, even more empty place was sudden and unexpected as the boy's fingers made contact with the bewitched metal. Though this time it seemed to only affect Dante.

A cool mist flooded the area, and a brilliant light which seemed to come from everywhere overwhelmed the expanses of the fog, making everything seem to glow. Whether or not he'd of noticed that however, was irrelevant, because the spell dug straight into his subconscious and fabricated the single most powerful thought which occupied his mind. Something that would keep him trapped within the clutches of the illusion-type magic, usually a fear to drive him insane, or a happy memory to ensure he'd never escape.

What the boy was looking at as the fog gave way in front of him seemed to materialize bit by bit. Creeping forward, the air tugged at him, dragged him towards the figure of the woman, her elegant, sleek black hair let down, collapsing around and framing the delicate features of her face, her perfect complexion and flawless, soft skin. The tips of her ears protruded just slightly from the gentle rolls of her silky hair which halted, curled around and caressed the base of her neck and shoulders. Her usual leather attire seemed tighter, seemed less, lacking entirely except for the straps which clung greedily to her perfect shape, the lithe form which taunted him through thick clouds of white. Dante simply watched, completely entranced at the figure whose deep eyes sparkled at him, whose warm smile invited him.. He reached forward to hold her, to find out what she felt like in his arms, what she felt like should she wear his embrace...

Khrae simply slapped him.

"Whatever you're intending I do suggest you cease," he said dryly, . He knew exactly what was happening, and he didn't even need to try to imagine what the boy was thinking and see due to the potent magic, because frankly it was probably the same thing he'd found when he had first entered his head. The hard back-hand however seemed to do the trick in stopping the boy's advance as Dante sat up abruptly, shaking his head, his features shifted back to their normal, oblivious state of confusion. The boy rubbed the red mark on his cheek tenderly, entirely flustered and lost as to what had just happened.

"W-Wha.. The hell?" he stammered, standing quickly, trying to hide that anything had happened. He wasn't sure exactly what he was doing on the outside, but he knew what he'd been seeing in his head. At least he understood enough to realize he'd just been captured within the grasp of some sort of spell, again.

"Don't touch the doorknob." Khrae replied, stepping forward past the boy and towards the heavy wooden object which stood in their way.

"Yeah, right.." Dante said sheepishly, looking to Capella to see if perhaps she'd witnessed anything. He knew she probably did, and so he turned to hide his red cheeks, hoping only that whatever had happened wasn't anything too embarrassing. It was bad enough having Khrae walk into his mind and then give him the talk... now.. Well.. Dante decided it was best to just pretend nothing happened, and so he looked to the man who now stood with his eyes closed, arm outstretched towards the obstruction, palm flat and hovering just over it.

Khrae didn't want to use it again, but he didn't trust touching the door physically, not when he knew the wood itself could very well be enchanted too. Thus, he simply took in a calm, slow, deep breath before releasing it, detaching himself and allowing the embodiment of the ancestors, using their power. Directing the sudden surge through his shoulder, down his arm and out his palm, he opened his eyes just after the door gave way, cracking and exploding outwards under his palm, splintering away and continuing out into whatever was behind it in chunks of varying sizes of wood.

That complete, the man let out a sigh as the power drained from him before continuing out the now open doorway, the metal frame which had covered its edges being the only thing left.

Of course though there were guards on the other side. There's always guards. Lovely.

The Dragoness' eyes snapped wide open. She'd been sitting in the corner of the library, doing little in particular. Actually, it had taken her quite some effort to resist the urge to either fly out the nearest window, or torch the entire place to the ground. Possibly both. Mages were one of the types of Humans she loathed above all else, and mage guilds were possibly her least favorite place next to a cage. She'd had far too many run-ins with similar establishments and their high-and-mighty members to trust the place around them or the people in it. And so, it came as very little surprise to her when she perceived a spell being cast with herself as the target. She supposed she could have tried to move herself out of the way or otherwise protect herself, but, she realized, that was not an option. The same power, whatever it was, was about to take affect on both Khrae, and, more importantly, Dante.

Who is it who dares raise their hand against Capella and her hoard? She thought, but alas, there was no one to challenge with these words, nor was there any time in which to do so. Bracing herself for the inevitable, she instead was abruptly moved from one location to another.

When she came to herself a moment later, her surroundings had abruptly changed. A blank, dark room, devoid of any furnishings save some unused tables near the corners, its air heavy with magic, was what now met Capella's eyes. She narrowed her amber eyes, glancing warily about herself and quickly moving closer to Dante, who was, thankfully, still in her presence. Khrae was there as well, and seemed to have noticed what she had perceived - some kind of enchantment on the doorknob - but her hoard wasn't so aware of his surroundings, it seemed. Touching the knob, he slowly turned around as the room filled with a radiant mist, and then, to the Dragoness' perplexity, he began to walk towards her as though bewitched, spreading his arms as though to embrace her. The spell... it must have been some kind of an illusion of somebody he cared for greatly. Well, although it was rather amusing seeing him act this way, Capella was torn between this feeling of enjoyment and an emotion of simmering, irritable rage. Whatever Dante was seeing couldn't have been an image of her. Even when she'd tempted him upon first meeting her, the most he'd done was try to impress her, then drop any sort of advance entirely. Yet now, he was seeing someone who could inspire such a reaction...? Capella was a jealous dragon, and realizing that she was second best to an inferior creature in the mind of the boy she wanted to claim for her own was enough to fill her with anger. Who was it who had done this? Under whose enchantment did the boy's mind wander? It must have been a member of their group, doubtless someone they'd been traveling with. Hmm... Could it be the white-haired girl? No, doubtful. She and Dante had hardly interacted, and Capella had kept a close eye on the boy. It couldn't have been that red-headed idiot, either. Then, the only person that left was-

The Dragoness scowled. That damned Naville, she thought. So, not only does she want to insult my pride, but now she's trying to take my treasure?! Insolence. Unforgivable, humiliating insolence! I'll beat her within an inch of her life and see how fun she thinks it is to try and disgrace me then! But... Damnit! I can't. I entered into a contract with these two, and were I to do that, whatever she's done to Dante will only make him hate me for it. Upon my honor and my advantage, I can't even lay a finger on her...! Damnit, damnit, damnit, DAMNIT! That cunning, conniving witch! She knows I can't touch her, and so she's just rubbing that in my face? I... I'll end her! The first chance I get, I'll kill her for this! I don't care how long I have to wait or how far I have to go, I'll end that worthless elf's life! And yet, promise that to herself though she might, Capella began to realize something. This situation... nothing about it was normal at all. Granted, if she were to betray the group by slaying one of its members, she'd lose her best shot at the power she so craved, but it wasn't that she was worried about. Rather, she was more worried about what the strange Human boy standing in front of her thought of her actions. She was worried that she'd lose the chance to claim him and his company. Why was that? She was lonely, to be sure, but risking so much, swallowing her pride and letting her dignity be torn apart before her eyes, being bound in a contract of equals to Humans... Why was she doing so much, just for the sake of one mere Human? The way things were now, she was beginning to act much more like a member of the species she detested than she cared to admit. She was so powerless like this, so weak, it was shameful to her, and yet, she couldn't shake the feeling of needing... something! She didn't know, but there was something she was missing despite all of her draconic glory. She had to find it, and this boy, in some way or another, might just have been the key to what she was looking for. She didn't know what it was, but she couldn't risk losing his favor until she did.

But... in that case, what was she supposed to do? He was already under the enchantment of her enemy. Even if she claimed him as part of her hoard, what was stopping him from simply walking out? If she tried to detain him by force, or to destroy the witch who had so ensnared him, he would just hate her for it. Not only would she be alone again, but the one person who had accepted her without question would have joined the ranks of her many enemies. She'd been called a monster and treated like one for long enough to be used to it, but the prospect of Dante looking at her with that same, condescending hatred in his eyes and saying those words... It was enough to make even her, the mighty and powerful serpent of a great and renowned tribe, feel afraid and insecure, as though she was just some meek Human girl.

A loud explosion snapped her back to reality, and she realized that not only had Dante recovered from his trance, but Khrae had blown open the door. Several shouts from beyond the breached portal tipped Capella off to the fact that there were evidently guards to be dealt with. Smirking wickedly, she extended her claws, her scales creeping across her skin and beginning to burn with a searing black light. Her eyes slit vertically, and gleamed with a sickly golden hue.

"Dante," She hissed quietly, a mirthless, cruel grin emerging across her features. "Please stay back. If they try to harm you, I'd really rather not you sully your eyes by watching what happens to them." With these words, she stepped in front of him, and out from beyond the door as the guards assembled in the room beyond. But Capella was hardly even interested in them, rather, she was busy suppressing the urge to lose herself in a fit of carnage she knew she'd regret later. For it wasn't just her hatred of the Naville driving her to wrath now, but rather, this place seemed all too familiar. Oh, how she hated mages and their laboratories.

Various arcane glyphs, notes, and charts adorned the walls of the rather dimly lit chamber, showing that, although it had evidently been converted into a cell block, it had never quite lost its old purpose. Cages were piled high in the corners of the room, several containing rare and unusual creatures to be cut apart or otherwise experimented upon. A nauseating nostalgia permeated the room, and Capella wanted nothing more than to burn it down then and there.

"H-halt! What are you doing here!? This section is forbidden!" One of the guards shouted. Capella sneered and gave her reply.

"Depends on where here is. I'm afraid I really don't know. Would you be so kind as to tell me, or would you prefer if I asked more forcefully?" She idly uncrossed her arms, gesturing offhandedly with her claws and making them painfully visible. The guard blanched, and gave an audible gulp, but no reply.

"I asked you where I am," She said again, more pointedly this time. "Tell me. Now."

Zephyr had not wasted any time in carrying out his rider's orders. He had been around the youngling long enough to understand when Isaehn was concerned, for he had felt the fluttering of the anxiety in his stomach. Yes, just as he was sure the mage had felt. Though the man would not admit it, he had been worried for Fukayna. The thought made Zephyr smile just slightly. His rider was an interesting one. The smile faded to his usual blank expression as he made his way through the corridors, taking quick strides with his long legs. While musings on his master's way of thinking were vaguely interesting, they were not his primary focus now.

The male paused, tilting his chin upwards as his nostrils flared, sniffing for any traces of magic left behind. There was a dispersed trail spanning throughout the entirety of the Order. From the different traces of mana lingering about, it was clear to Zephyr that the previous residents of the lobby--those involved with the Order of Riena--had been sent to different locations within the confines of the facility. He was already more than aware of the dangers this posed, having been in the company of Isaehn for quite awhile to see how things functioned.

He sensed a stronger scent, one whom he instantly recognized. Ah yes, that woman--she was similar to his kin but not quite. He narrowed his eyes, the existence of the dragoness in the human body was in itself an oddity and disturbing at that. But he would have later to ponder, right now, hers was the strongest mana trail to follow. He slid his hands into his pockets, much like his rider was prone to do, as he walked through the hallways. There were very few mages around and all were too frightened to look him in the eyes. This fact would have made him sorrowful many many years ago but now, it was merely a numb fact of life.

As he rounded the corner, he saw the entrance to the western spire, guarded, as he expected. Taking a deep breath, he blew out gently from between his lips. Though not nearly as effective as his wings would've been, he was able to use enough of his inner dragon essence (despite it having been slightly tampered with by Isaehn's data manipulation magic) to create a controlled gust of wind. The torrent twisted through the air, knocking against both guards who couldn't have seen this attack coming. Both were instantly knocked unconscious, making Zephyr frown a bit. He hadn't thought he had used that much power, but then again, humans could be incredibly frail at times.

Shrugging, he lightly stepped over the two bodies, whispering an apology as he did so. He did not enjoy harming others, quite the opposite from the one he deemed as his master. He progressed a bit farther up the spiral staircase (what was it with mages and their infatuation with staircases?), his body tense as he heard a loud boom, followed by scattered voices.

"...are you doing here!? This section is forbidden!" The frantic protests of a guard stationed up above, no doubt. There was what sounded to be mirthless laughter and a feminine voice spoke up.

"Depends on where here is. I'm afraid I really don't know. Would you be so kind as to tell me, or would you prefer if I asked more forcefully?" A pause, though Zephyr understood the lethal threat behind her words. "I asked you where I am. Tell me. Now." He sighed, brushing the strands of black hair out of his eyes--something he never had to do as a dragon. However, from her words, it would be best not to bide his time any longer. Narrowing his eyes, he pushed open the door leading into the long hallway, eyes immediately falling upon the girl with the turquoise hair. The guard jumped, turning to see Zephyr standing behind him.

"H-How'd you get here?!" He exclaimed. There were too many noises--too many to alert the other guards stationed. The male did not pause, stepping forwards and wrapping his arm around the man's neck in a sleeper hold. The guard struggled, certainly, flailing his arms around but Zephyr did not let up until the guard fizzled from conscious and hung limp in his arms. He dropped the man carefully on to the ground and straightened. The dragoness did not look pleased, in fact, borderline infuriated. The male cracked the slightest of smiles, answering the question from earlier.

"The western spire, dragoness. A more forbidden part of the Order--which is why I am here. To escort you back." The smile faded, he was never overly good at pleasantries and disliked speaking for longer than necessary. There were two other males, one naive and young looking with messy, black hair. The wide eyes and dazed look in them portrayed a sense of innocence. The man next to him was much older and much stronger too, by the feel of his aura. Zephyr looked between the trio, thinking quickly to himself. The others had surely been taken away but for now, he would have to worry about these three. The western spire was where the Order kept it's most elite texts, among it's darker secrets. Even Isaehn was very cautious to mention just what was in this section of Ro'ell, skating around the issue the one time Zephyr had deigned to ask.

He was sure the female would be a bit too emotionally volatile to listen to sound reasoning so he instead turned his attentions to the older male. Before he could speak, however, there was a yell from down the corridor as four more guards caught sight of the group and began to run towards them. Zephyr narrowed his eyes, once more blowing out from between his lips. This torrent of wind was more forceful than his last, hitting the guard in the front, who bounded against the wall and fell onto the floor. The gust hit the next two, who collided with one another before falling backwards on to the fourth. It was relatively quick work, to be honest, just as the male preferred. Clearing his throat, he once again continued.

"As I was going to say, it is imperative we leave now." He said quietly before gesturing to the staircase he had just taken. He was overly casual with how easily he had taken out the guards, the men not even having posed a threat to him whatsoever. Years of experience did that. The guards he had knocked out should've still been unconscious but that did not mean they should linger.

Sebastian & Company

Sebastian rushed into the room accompanied by the mages assistant or whoever the hell it was. The old assassin didn't care all that much, but the commotion that had occurred outside the room was enough to unsettle him. Already his nerves were frayed just being in the company of a shady person such as Isaehn. He wondered to himself constantly why it was that Jennifer had contacted this one when there were surely others to be chosen from.

As he entered the scene he was met with a bloodied and unconscious elf and Fukayna being held close to Isaehn. He couldn't tell if she was conscious or not, but she didn't seem to be harmed. With that settled he immediately went to Armen's side and dropped down next to him. Isaehn ordered his mage companion to find the others.

"I thought that this place was secure," Sebastian growled at the mage as he gently lifted elf's body and rested the young man against his chest. The assassin turned his cool gaze towards Isaehn.

"You'd better hope to Vyldi that whatever happened to the others and to this elf doesn't come back and point to you. Should we find that this was a scheme of yours..." Sebastian left the threat hanging in the air. The man could imagine for himself what Lord V'lyn would do to him should they find out it was indeed Isaehn's plans. He tightened his hold on the elf as he turned his eyes to look at the youth carefully. He'd taken quite the beating and blood covered his lips and face as well as his shirt, the white colored cloth was stained crimson almost entirely as the cloth soaked up his blood.

"You can start by healing him," Sebastian ordered, nodding his head to Armen. A little while later and the companion that Isaehn had sent out came back with three of the original group in tow. Dante, Khrae and Capella followed behind the strangely quite man. A few seconds later and there was a loud sound on the other side of the room as another door burst open and a streak of molted brown crashed into Sebastian's back head on.

"Stephano!?" Sebastian yelped in surprise as he whirled around to look at the dragon. Something was wrong, especially if the dragon was without his companion. Slowly, Sebastian released Armen's unconscious form and laid him down on the floor. He turned his gaze to the three that had returned.

"Stay here and keep watch. Heal the elf, mage," the old assassin growled the last part to Isaehn and then turned to Stephano, "Lead the way little one, take me to Astrid. God's only knows what trouble she's in now," he muttered the last part to himself and followed after the quick dragon.

Talon V'lyn

The horse raced down the dirt road as fast as possible, Talon leaning into the beast to lessen the air resistance as they galloped headlong across the flat landscape. In the distance the earth rose up telling of hills that began before entering the realm of Ro'ell. It had been several days since the briefing with the new recruits. Even after the events at Lethandrill, having unleashed all the power in the bracer, the magic was beginning to build to a painful point.

He'd thought about releasing the magic in spurts along the way to Ro'ell, but what would he release it on? The earth itself? Explosions of magic were sure to draw attention to himself and that was the last thing he wanted if he was going to find Jennifer. The darkness was only penetrated by the moonlight that hovered over him. It had been three nights since Sebastian had left for Ro'ell with the large company from Skyfall. He was sure that as he was riding for Ro'ell, his subordinate was meeting with the mage that Jennifer had contacted.

There was no point in trying to get into contact with Sebastian once he reached Ro'ell for he was sure that they would all be headed back to Skyfall once the meeting was over. If they weren't leaving by morning, then something would have gone wrong and Talon would have need of contacting Sebastian. He had a dreadful feeling in his stomach though as he rode, and it wasn't the overpowering pressure from his bracer.

However, it didn't help in the least though. A cough welled up in his chest and he released it without thinking. Warm, thick, liquid spilled from his lips and splattered the saddle as well as the poor beast that carried him. The assassin tightened his grip on the reigns as the bracers magic retaliated against him. Thin white crackling energy raced up and down his arm, almost removing him from the horse that took him to the city of mages.

He fought against the raging power, the only downfall to his holding the bracer of a dragon god of old. Mostly it was because he was a mere human. Should he have been born to the mages or the elves before coming across such an item, he wouldn't have had any problems wielding the item, just like Jennifer. However, that wasn't the case and he needed the mage to take the extra power from him so that the bracer didn't, in the end, kill him.

Releasing the reigns with one hand he reached up and wiped away the blood from his mouth and ground his teeth. He was determined to get to Ro'ell in once piece. The assassin wasn't going to let the bracer's magic kill him so easily. It was far too soon for that. There was still too much left to do. He flicked his wrist and snapped the reigns spurring the horse onwards, hoping that he could reach the city and find Jennifer as soon as possible.

Dante

"Dante," The boy looked up suddenly as Capella spoke, himself still quite flustered as to what had just happened. "Please stay back. If they try to harm you, I'd really rather not you sully your eyes by watching what happens to them." Dante nodded, not entirely realizing her statement but more so simply acknowledging that she'd made one. He then watched as she moved in front of him and out the door, into the room beyond where Khrae and apparently several others were facing off. Shaking his head and stepping forward, he tried to occupy himself with following the others to investigate what was outside, hoping perhaps that the conversation which was being exchanged would be enough to distract him from the images that kept playing through his mind.

Outside one of the guards was yelling, demanding an answer as to why these three strangers had just appeared in what seemed to be a laboratory. Dante's eyes moved back and forth across the walls, emblazoned with odd symbols, pieces of parchments with the same strange scribblings, charts and graphs, all seeming to glow in the dim torchlight. The words, which is what he assumed they were, simply confused him, so instead his attention drifted to the cages, jars and other such containment units, each holding within it some sort of interesting specimen, a few of whom seemed to be outrageously deformed.

"I asked you where I am," Capella's voice rang out again, sounding less than pleased. "Tell me. Now."

Dante looked from the backs of the Dragoness, to his mentor, not sure of the situation. Khrae had done nothing so far, but he knew the man would be formulating plans in his head and have them ready to execute flawlessly. While the boy so hated the man's stuck-up ways, his lack of humor and infatuation with the tedious 'exercise,' as he called it, of meditation, he still relied heavily on the man and trusted him in these situations. Though this time it seemed that whatever Khrae may have been planning as an escape, either combat or negotiation, it wasn't necessary.

"The western spire, dragoness. A more forbidden part of the Order--which is why I am here. To escort you back." The man from earlier stepped forward, over the body of the guard he's just taken down, the one which had been keeping the group from progressing. Dante cocked his head to one side, amazed at the ease in which he'd just seen the guard collapse, albeit some struggling. Khrae focused mostly on meditation before any swordplay or melee combat practice, claiming that he'd need to learn to clear his mind before he even thinks of engaging an enemy physically so as to avoid missing the small details which would kill him in combat, but then again that's around the time when Dante zones. Of what the Khrae did teach him, it hadn't included the simple yet seemingly effective manner in which the man had incapacitated the guard. Dante wanted to do that.

He couldn't remember at all what the man's name was, he couldn't even remember the name of the one whom had introduced him, the one they'd come to see, but that hardly mattered. Dante continued watching in awe as four more guards advanced, having noticed what was happening. This unnamed savior turned and seemed to simply breath in their direction, the force coming out as a torrent of wind which send all men sprawling backwards into a heap of men and armor. How he did it, the boy was unsure. He saw no sudden surge of power that rippled through the man, no glowing of eyes, and best of all, no repercussions that involved extreme fatigue. In fact it seemed like it had taken nothing at all, that alone meaning that what power the man wielded was greater than Khrae's. Dante must find out who this man was. If there was some other combat style, some other way to unlock his powers or gain even better ones without having to meditate and go through Khrae's stunningly boring processes, he'd love to find them.


Khrae

Khrae had placed a gentle hand on Capella to try to calm her, easily sensing her building rage. The fact that she'd presented her claws could've been potentially hazardous too, because if he could avoid combat he would, and he didn't want the guard to immediately assume foe. As he was about to speak however, another man appeared, the one from earlier, Zephyr. Khrae remained unmoved as he quickly and effectively removed the guard from the equation, and answered the Dragoness' question, though it seemed just as he was going to be addressed, the man had to stop and deal with the four others which had decided to make their move. That finally completed is when the man finished what he was saying.

"As I was going to say, it is imperative we leave now."

Khrae nodded in his agreement. "We thank you for the assistance." He would've elaborated on how they ended up there and everything else in the situation which didn't seem to add up, but he knew of the probable time restrictions and overall necessity to be somewhere safer before discussions. The man's own words simply consented more to that notion, so without a further word he glanced back to Dante only once, then proceeded after Zephyr.


Arriving back where they'd began, Khrae took stock of the situation. It seemed everyone else was gone, as expected, save for the Elf and silver-haired assassin. Sebastian and Isaehn were of course there, and they seemed to be in a much better state than the other two, each holding one in their laps. The Elf whom, when Khrae had first seen him, looked as if he'd just escaped imprisonment with regular beatings, appeared just as he did that day, minus the malnutrition. The young woman in the mage's lap seemed fine, conscious but seemingly scared enough to where she refused to move, and Khrae couldn't help but be curious as to if they had encountered the assailant. If that were the case, obviously they'd fended him off, and in Khrae's mind he was running through scenarios of how the battle could have occurred, intrigued at the state of both. Either the Elf was defending the girl, or she was more powerful than she seemed. If the latter was the case though, whatever power she possessed was something she probably wasn't used to using, or she was simply shocked at what it caused.

"The heck happened here?" asked Dante suddenly, walking forward and looking to both figures.

"Silence," Khrae said quickly. He looked to Sebastian, their leader on this mission for an answer, though just a moment later his eyes merely witnessed the man get hit from behind by a blur of dull brown. The form of Stephano materialized after the initial impact, causing the older swordsman to raise an eyebrow. Astrid seemed fairly attached to the dragon, harmless bickering aside, and with the current events, he could only assume what the presence of one of the pair without the other could mean. Obviously Sebastian sensed it too.

"Stay here and keep watch. Heal the elf, mage," said the elder assassin quickly, setting aside the Elf and directing the last statement to the mage. Khrae's gaze shifted from one to the other before moving forward.

"If you'd like, I may be of use. To offer my assistance is only necessary." Despite only knowing these people for the few days when they'd met and then when they were on the road together, Khrae could not simply let danger to them go unnoticed. His own morals demanded he at least try to assist, and at the very least he could try to get retribution for whatever havoc Dante may cause later. Unwavering, the man awaited an answer. Through his peripheral vision though, he could see his student kneeling over Armen. Whatever he intended to do, if anything, he only hoped it was useful. Make his ancestors proud for a cha--...

Khrae sighed inwardly. No, Dante, nudging him with your foot does nothing to help.