Lastra

Talon V'lyn : Laowlee

“Talon, I must repeat my objection to this…reckless course of action, and if I’m saying that then something must be wrong! The assassin guild needs you back in Skyfall. It’s bad enough that you ordered them to search for me, but what will happen if you don’t return? We know people are targeting you now. Without you there the guild is woefully exposed.”

Talon turned to look at his beloved before returning his steady gaze out to the distant shadow of the large city known properly as Laowlee. He was heading there because it hadn't been the mages that had stolen Jennifer from him, it had been the Nine that had done so. He wanted to know why exactly, rage boiling just underneath his stone like features.

“Everything you’ve worked for in the past few decades… Just so you know, they’ve already been forewarned. They expected to hear from those soldiers I killed.”

"Good, then that makes it all the more easier. I want to know why they targeted you. If they were trying to get to me they made a terrible mistake," Talon growled in response, his eyes narrowing as the continued down the road towards Laowlee, "To think that they've enough power to directly assault me..." His body shook slightly as he was doing his best to retain his anger, the bracer on his arm glowed even so. The silver light pulsed around his hand and forearm.

“This is your fault you know? A dozen other directions you could have walked in and you picked the one that bumped into Talon.”

Talon gave a sharp laugh at his lovers skill of passing blame, "It is hardly her fault, love. If anything she saved me a lot of time, as well as saved your life. You should thank her."

He reached out and took hold of Jennifer's hand and pulled her close to him as they approached the gates. Leaning down he whispered in her ear, "Work you magic, love. Show them how they underestimate you and I."

Armen Sorien : Skyfall

The building was dark as he entered it right behind Sebastian. The old assassin glanced around before turning to Armen and Fukayna, "You two go that way," he said pointing down one of the long halls that stretched for what seemed to be a mile, "I'll go upstairs with Khrae, the rest of you down the other hall."

Sebastian wasted no time then and took the tall man with long hair with him up the stairwell. Armen glanced over to Fukayna and nodded his head in the direction of the hall that they'd been ordered to go down. He led the way down the hall, lifting his blade up and keeping it in a defensive position. Slowly he moved down the hall, pushing opened doors to look inside each one only to find that so far each was empty.

As he pushed open another door and deemed it empty he turned back down the hall and then froze. There was a figure in the darkness a few doors down. It stood there in silence for a while and unmoving. Armen watched it carefully, tightening his hand over his sword. The figure moved then, slowly coming down the hall towards them and the elf moved himself in front of Fukayna.

"Armen Sorien, it is a pleasure to meet one such as yourself."

"You know my name, but I do not know yours."

The figure laughed, "Ah yes, you'll learn it in time. For right now lets talk about who you really are."

"I know who I am."

"Do you now? What a pity. Let me educate you then," The figure announced and then disappeared. Armen's breath sucked in sharply and he turned around to see if the man had gone behind them. The air was knocked from his lungs as something hit his chest and flung him back. He hit the floor hard and didn't have time to regain his bearings. The figure appeared over him and raised their hand. The power lifted him up off the ground and towards the hooded man.

"You're a rare one, little elf. There is power inside of you that you don't even know about. You can't even summon any magic because it's been locked away from you. Ever wonder why all of your brethren could wield their innate magic and you could not? It was subdued for your own good because you cannot handle it just yet. Of course it would be a problem if you were to gain that power," the man leaned in towards Armen's ear, "You might even surpass Talon and his lover Jennifer in all of their power."

Armen's eyes widened as the thought and his throat closed. Hardly able to draw breath at the notion that had just been told to him, he couldn't fight back as the man who held him in the magic, let him go. Armen dropped to the floor, his knees buckling as soon as his feet hit the ground. Only his sword tip driven into the floor kept him up right. The figure stepped away from him and flexed their hand.

"That's impossible... Lord V'lyn and Lady Jennifer are... they have the power of the old dragon gods. Nothing surpasses that! No one has more power than those two!"

"That is true that they are the two most powerful beings in this world right now. However, when the last war ended the magic that was strewn across the land affected many people, your kind included. You might be more powerful, I never said you would be," the man laughed lightly, "But enough about that. The problem still remains, and I'm going to get rid of that problem."

Armen's head snapped up to look at the man. He could feel the magic gathering in the air and he lunged forward, swiping at the man who attempted to attack him a second time. His blade just barely caught the fabric of the man's cloak and tore through it. Magic expelled from the intruders hand and smashed into the wall behind Armen as he ducked out of the way. He swung again and his blade hit metal as the man drew his own weapon. With their blades locked together, Armen pushed forward as hard as he could, putting every muscle into the motion.

"How... am I... a problem?!" he growled at the man.

"You'll learn that... if you live," the man retorted. He kicked upwards and caught Armen in his stomach, causing the elf to double over from the blow and lose his footing. Steel scrapped as the swords came undone from their previous positions. Another kick sent Armen tumbling sideways. Out of breath, he pushed himself upwards as quickly as he could, wincing as he went. Once on his feet he stumbled slightly and adjusted his hold on his weapon.

"I don't... plan on dying."

"Good to know. Give me the pleasure of your struggling," the cloaked man's hand raised and magic swirled around in his palm. Armen grit his teeth and lunged forward trying to get there before the man released the power.

Lain Gareev : Skyfall

He materialized out of the darkness, his power expelling from his body as he showed up in the courtyard just outside of the mansion that was home to the assassins. His lips were turned in a smile as he looked upon the group that was huddled outside. His gaze flicked from one person to the next. There were only a few of them there from what he could tell.

"My my, a pleasure to meet you all again. Did you enjoy your stay in Ro'ell? I hope so. Alas, I've no time to chit chat at the moment as I've got orders," Lain sighed heavily as if he were truly bothered by the fact he couldn't talk too much with them. His eyes landed on the boy who held a woman next to him. At least he thought it was a woman, hard to tell in the dark.

"Ah, the dragon-girl. I remember you. And the boy as well. Lets have a bit of fun, shall we?" Lain lifted his hand and magic showered the area. He wasn't trying to hit them really, mostly just toying with them as the rain of pure power fell over them. If his bolts of magic hit, great, if not, that was just as well. He didn't want to kill them right away anyway. It was far more fun to let them think they had the advantage when they actually did not.

---

---

Kaya had been wary of her now current traveling companions ever since the one known as Talon had laid down his weapons a few days earlier. She was normally a trusting woman but she was not foolish nor was she underexposed. After the clash with the woman mage, she was not so quick to simply look the other way. While it had been made plain that perhaps they shared a common goal, she was sure they did not exactly share the same mentality. Especially when it came to coping with the situation at hand. After the air had cleared and Talon had helped heal Jennifer, she had been extended a similar courtesy to help her recover. She had only taken a little, however--her spirits could help her with the rest.

She had not played any tunes since she re-began her journey with the other two, figuring it best to store her spiritual energy and regenerate it as quickly as she possibly could. They had been traveling in the direction of Laowlee and now could finally see the city on the horizon. There had been chatter coming from near her but she had not truly been paying attention--not until Jennifer suddenly whirled on her with a distasteful expression.

This is your fault you know? A dozen other directions you could have walked in and you picked the one that bumped into Talon.” Kaya raised her eyebrows very slowly--this woman seemed volatile, as if she were waiting to pick a fight with anyone stupid enough to be angered by her quips. This only elicited a laugh out of Talon who made no efforts to hide his amusement. He had chuckled to himself nearly every time before Jennifer glowered over at Kaya and now was no exception.

"It is hardly her fault, love. If anything she saved me a lot of time, as well as saved your life. You should thank her." The priestess nodded her head in thanks towards him but didn't say anything to either of them. There was little reason for it, anything she said would just work to incite some frustration out of the mage. She just sped up her walk a bit in front of them, not turning back as they progressed towards the city. A few of her wisps circled around her, the pooka sticking out its tongue at Jennifer as it huffed out and sat on Kaya's shoulder.

"She is such an ill-mannered woman--nothing like you, Mistress." It squeaked, crossing its little arms and giving an affirmative nod. Her smile was brief as she sighed, rubbing her eyes.

"She can be no more than what she is conditioned to be," She said lightly, murmuring under her breath so that the others wouldn't hear. She had known ahead of time that Talon and Jennifer wouldn't be able to see the little spirits that hovered near her most of the time and didn't want to appear as if she was losing her mind. She was a perfectly sane and rational woman... who just so happened to speak to spirits. Kaya shook her head delicately, looking up as she noticed they were standing a fair distance away from the gates.

She paused, allowing Talon and Jennifer to walk in front of her--the former pulling his partner against him. He whispered something in her ear, the tone of voice too low for her to hear it from where she stood. And she was perfectly fine with that, thank you very much. The mage had been bad-mouthing her for the last few days and Kaya had been unfortunate enough to overhear some of it. If she weren't made of stronger stuff, she was pretty sure she would've broken down crying or angrily confronted the mage. As it stood, she remained her distance away--watching and waiting for what the other two would do. As far as she was concerned, she was a guest and she wasn't going to intrude.

---

---

She held her breath faintly as she dismounted her horse, the familiar scenery of Skyfall greeting her eyes. But her mind was far from the place she was currently calling home, it was more focused on the figure that had just recently disappeared. The one who had called Armen's name. Sebastian seemed ill at ease, more so than usual as he barked at Stephano and Astrid to stay put. The young woman looked back at the two of them meaningfully before taking her halberd in her hands and following after them. The manor they were approaching felt cold, the air unsettling and making her feel slightly sick in the stomach. She brushed it off as best as she could--she refused to be the weak link in their team.

However, the dim lighting once again rendered her form of communication obsolete. Just as it had in the mage city, she had no way of conversing with the others. It was all she could do to make gestures to indicate she was following along without any trouble. As they approached a stairwell, Sebastian paused, looking up before glancing over at the hall.

You two go that way," He said as he referenced Armen and herself. "I'll go upstairs with Khrae, the rest of you down the other hall." And just like that, the group had effectively separated but she had been left with... She swallowed a bit and smiled weakly at Armen as he nodded at her. That soon faded as her fingers tensed around her halberd, holding it up in a more offensive position as they walked gradually down the hall. They took the doors on either side, the two of them opening them up slowly but finding no traces of anyone. They were reaching the end of the hall as Armen withdrew from yet another empty room when he suddenly tensed, looking over her shoulder.

Fukayna spun around, catching sight of a figure that was standing in a doorway not too far away. Armen immediately moved in front of her, holding his sword up defensively as the two of them regarded the figure. "Armen Sorien, it is a pleasure to meet one such as yourself." The figure's voice was quiet but... firm, confident. Whoever this was had power. Unable to speak herself, she could only silently glare at the figure (though she very much doubted it could see her doing such a thing).

"You know my name, but I do not know yours." Armen said in an equally quiet tone, as if conversing with an acquaintence--yet there was a tenseness to the whole thing that told otherwise.

A chilling laugh followed the comment as the figure straightened, taking a step towards them as it did so. "Ah yes, you'll learn it in time. For right now lets talk about who you really are."

Armen seemed unimpressed, flexing the weapon in his hands a bit. "I know who I am." Fukayna gave a nod of agreement, staring at the figure with narrowed eyes.

"Do you now? What a pity. Let me educate you then," And just like that, the figure was gone. The two of them looked around cautiously--he couldn't have gone far, no one would just... And then she was pushed back into the wall, the figure moving forwards so fast she could barely see the movement. Armen was hit in the chest, his breath hitching sharply as he faltered to the ground. The figure re-appeared, hand hovering over the elf as he was lifted into the air.

These tingles... magic. Fukayna bit her bottom lip, trying to adjust herself from the force of the push earlier. "You're a rare one, little elf. There is power inside of you that you don't even know about. You can't even summon any magic because it's been locked away from you. Ever wonder why all of your brethren could wield their innate magic and you could not? It was subdued for your own good because you cannot handle it just yet. Of course it would be a problem if you were to gain that power," The man leaned in closer to Armen, Fukayna giving a mute hiss in response. She could not hear what he said but didn't dare try to attack him at the moment. She could risk hitting Armen in that wager and she didn't want to take that chance.

Whatever he had said caused Armen to gasp and then the elf was released from the grip of magic. He used his sword to remain upright, nonplussed. "That's impossible... Lord V'lyn and Lady Jennifer are... they have the power of the old dragon gods. Nothing surpasses that! No one has more power than those two!" Fukayna's eyes widened under her bangs. What...? More power than... her two idols? She sucked in her breath, could it be?

The man laughed again, this time it sounded cruel... as if it were laughing just for the sake of it and not out of any true amusement. "That is true that they are the two most powerful beings in this world right now. However, when the last war ended the magic that was strewn across the land affected many people, your kind included. You might be more powerful, I never said you would be," Armen reacted to the words and lunged forwards, swinging his blade at the man. Fukayna went to call out to him--couldn't he see that the man was baiting him? This was clearly all a trap! But too late she realized he would never hear her warning. She tightened her hold on her weapon as she heard the clash of metal, the two weapons locked together before they separated again.

She had seen enough--she wasn't going to sit on the sidelines anymore. She couldn't hear what they exchanged next but she doubted it would matter. She saw Armen lunging forwards, as if trying to strike him. She felt those tingles again--magic, he was going to cast a spell. Armen wouldn't be able to... There was no time--she darted forwards, pushing him out of the way just as the man's spell came to tangibility. Using the tip of her halberd, she ground her teeth together, using her weapon to deflect the spell. The force of it pushed her body back a few feet but she held her ground. She was fortunate, her weapon was still the weapon of a mage, even if she didn't cast magic anymore.

The man didn't seem surprised though and wasted no time in readying another spell. But she was more ready this time and struck forwards with her weapon. She could only delay his casting in short bursts, he was so fast! It was almost as if he could read her movements before they landed and none of her attacks connected. Changing tactics, she suddenly took the weapon in both hands and raised it above her head, bringing it down to aim a vertical slice at their opponent. The man stopped her blow with his weapon, throwing her off. She was jilted off balance and stumbled back a few steps, glancing over at Armen.

They couldn't take him on one-on-one--maybe... She pointed at herself and then at him, making a plus sign with her fingers before gesturing over at the man. If she could ward off his magic spells, then perhaps Armen would be able to land some blows of his own in the interim. She signed as quickly as she could--the figure wouldn't be waiting around for them and she had a feeling he was meaning to finish them both off.

Talon brushed of her comment without pause, chuckling as he tended to do so at her wanton accusations. He leaned down to her ear and whispered the words she had thought he would never say. "Work you magic, love. Show them how they underestimate you and I."

Forgetting current implications, Jennifer licked her lips as a broad grin of anticipation grew on them. “This is a strange change of pace, you giving me permission to use my powers,” Jennifer commented coyly. Wrapping her arm around his neck, she turned her head slightly and drew him close enough to kiss. Leaning back, she gazed at Talon, her dark eyes alight with the exhilarating prospects of carnage.

“Not that I’ll complain. Just make sure lil’ miss piper doesn’t get in my way.”

The air hummed, coming to life on its own as Jennifer’s magic congregated. She pushed Talon back a few steps, suggesting the immediate area around her was treacherous. “I’ve never tried to destroy a city before! World fracture!” she yelled, extending her right arm in front of her and pointing it at the gate, “Knock knock!”

Reality screamed as two score catapults materialized from nothing in a grid pattern behind Jennifer, each one primed and loaded. Standing beyond the shadow of the front gates, Jennifer flicked her wrist. The siege machines creaked as twisted ropes sprang cut. Succumbing to tension, their baskets shot out, flinging a deadly barrage of boulders. They soared overhead, dotting the sky with their numbers before crashing into the walls surrounding the gate. Stone cracked, showering the walls in dust and rubble as boulder after boulder slammed against masonry, some rolling onto the ground, others imbedding themselves in granite. The walls issued a groan, protesting against the brutal assault. It threatened to give way but Jennifer had no intentions of showing restraint.

Abruptly, the bombardment stopped midway. Shaking her head, Jennifer frowned at the display, “No, no, no, I can do much better than that…”

Subject to the whims of her mind, the armada of catapults vanished into thin air without utterance. Jennifer plied her fingers, already preparing to mold her magic in new ways. “Maybe they didn’t hear us the first time!” she called, winking at Talon. Too preoccupied with her magic, she missed whatever expression he wore.

Lifting her right hand to the sky, Jennifer laughed as she spoke the next words, “World fracture!”

Swinging her arm forth, Jennifer looked like a general giving the order to fire, yet nothing appeared at first. Quite easy to mistake the following silence as failure, Jennifer held the position for a while longer, as if waiting for something to happen.

When it came, it came with a roar of thunder. Entering the planet’s atmosphere, the phenomenon screeched downwards, catching the attention of everyone. A fiery streak lined the path of its trajectory as the meteor spiraled down to Lastra.

“I’d suggest you all take cover!” Jennifer cackled.

No larger than a cottage, the comet smashed into the gates. Alongside broken fragments, it showered the plains with white light, temporarily blinding its witnesses. Though they could not see the moment of contact, they could certainly feel it through the violent tremor that shook the earth. The earthquake lasted for less than a minute as bits of wall, steel and meteorite rained across the ground. Splintered and strewn like tinder, mounds of dirt surrounded the disaster zone where the force had thrown them out. The hand of fire left its black mark on Laowlee, and where the gate once was, nothing remained standing.

“I said knock knock!” she announced, stepping over the wreckage. The mage planted her hands on her hips expectantly, almost demanding for some form of retaliation.

Lain Gareev

The air shimmered before him as he watched the boy go flying through the air. He grinned as he watched the youth land his fall fairly well. Lain leaned back and put one hand on his hip while the other hand reached up to his lips and he bit down on the skin. Only then did the dragon woman take any interest in him. Depositing the human some ways from the fight, the dragoness rushed forward at him, swiping her claws in an attempt to cut him up. Lain's grin grew ever more as he eyed her carefully. Slightly leaning back he watched her with a laugh on his lips.

His magic swirled around him and Lain shifted from where he'd been standing. It seemed this woman was rather intent on keeping the human out of the fight. He wondered what she would do should he take the human and threaten his life. Not that Lain would kill the boy, no he wasn't there to kill anyone. Just to keep them... occupied. His magic teleported him directly beside the youth with black hair and his arm wrapped around the boys throat. Pulling the boy close to his body, Lain shifted again with the boy in tow. He reappeared on the other side of the courtyard, smiling at the dragoness' back and waited for her to realize what had happened.

"Seem's you've got no control over your temper, little dragon," he called. Enrage her, get her riled up and then make her waste every ounce of energy she had. Lain laughed lightly as he held the boy tightly against him, a flash of silver in his hand against the moon light to let the dragoness know that he was holding a knife to the youths throat then.

"So, what do you plan to do now?" He asked slowly, leaning down next to the boys ear, "Move and I'll teleport you into the darkest void there is," Lain growled to the boy to ensure that he stayed still.

Armen Sorien and Fukayna

He was shoved aside suddenly as he'd been in the middle of lunging towards the cloaked man. Startled, Armen was thrown off balance and he hit the wall just as Fukayna took the blast of magic that he had not felt coming at him. She slid back a few feet before stopping and then came at the man right after. She deflected his second attack via magic and proceeded to use her halberd to try to land a few blows on the man. Unfortunately, she was deflected each time and Armen was finding it both amazing to watch her fight, yet frightening because he feared that she would be injured in the process.

As she lifted her weapon over her head, she attempted to strike the man in a crude fashion, only to be deflected by the cloaked man's sword being drawn. Fukayna looked over to him and Armen eyed her carefully, wondering what it was she wanted. He'd been too absorbed with watching the fight that he hadn't moved a muscle, seemingly frozen in place by fear and awe. Her fingers worked in the air, pointing to him and then making an X then to herself and finally to their opponent. The man laughed and Armen's attention was taken from the beautiful assassin.

"Interesting, she does not speak," he ground then raised his weapon again to attack her.

Armen lunged forward and intercepted the downward strike, blocking it with his own sword and glancing over to Fukayna, "Together," he answered her and pushed up and out with as much strength as he could muster against the mans sword. The blades slide across each other, scrapping loudly as they came apart. Armen followed the man as he took a few steps back to regain his footing. His blade slashed through the air, the tip just barely catching the man's robes and cutting through. A hiss of irritation filled the emptiness between them. Armen was sure then that with both of them attacking, they would have a chance of winning, if not at least driving the man to retreat. That would be enough.

Magic crackled and the man's blade lit up bright blue as it came back down towards Armen's side. Twisting around, he blocked the swing, his blade vibrating terribly as he took the hit. The magic along the weapon shot out at him and coursed down his arm, to his shoulder and numbed every muscle as it continued across his chest. Armen shouted in surprise as well as a bit of pain from the shock, but held his ground against the attack, enduring the magic as he hoped to keep the mans attention on him.

"You're very resilient. Almost too much so for your own good, elf. I think I would like to see that power of yours. I was planning to wait, but I don't think I can. Let us see what you're made of," the man said, his voice saying that he was grinning underneath the darkness of his hood. Stretching out his free hand he pressed it against Armen's chest and black tendrils of pure energy erupted from his hands to encircle the elf entirely, this was done so quickly that Armen hadn't had time to move away. The magic wound around him and in the next moment, the black magic dropped down into Armen's body, completely absorbed. The elf didn't feel anything as the power melted into him, but his eyes were wide in fear and shock as to what could possibly be happening.

It took a moment, but he started to feel something happening within his core. A sickening twist in his abdomen brought him to his knees, a gasp from his lips and his hands relinquishing their hold on his weapon. His body shuddered uncontrollably and he felt as if he had suddenly been filled with so much burning energy that he could explode. He rocked forward and backward, trying to rid himself of the terrible feeling, fear clawing at his heart as he didn't know what it was that ailed him.

"Wha-"

"Your power, elf. This is your power," the man in the cloak answered, kneeling down next to him and taking a fist full of hair to lift his head upwards, "The amount of magic throughout your body is magnificent, Armen Sorien. Hard to control isn't it?"

Armen's eyes narrowed as he growled in anger and the hand that held his head up snatched back suddenly, releasing the elf. The cloaked man shook his hand as if it had been burned and stumbled away from the elf that was on his knees. A short laugh escaped the enemy as he gripped his hand tightly, having dropped his sword as well. Turning his head towards Fukayna, the cloaked man lifted his hand and the air filled with magic. This time, Armen could feel the power rushing through the man's body before him, but there was little that he could do because he had no idea of what he could do or even how to do it.

"Fukayna! Move!" He yelled, just as the man unleashed his wave of power.

Fay X'san and Valentino DeAngelo

“Now love, where’d you say you left your weapons?” Valentino asked her. They were back in the room where she'd been attacked by the Nine and lost both her crossbow and dagger. She'd just reached the top stairwell where she'd been and her gaze found the hilt of her crossbow easily enough.

"My crossbow is here," she answered and walked over to retrieve the weapon, "My knife is somewhere down there," she motioned for the first floor. Making her way towards the stairs, the Navile woman started down to look for her knife.

“Why on earth were you here anyway? And didn’t you say you had some friends with you? Seems to me as though they’ve left you. What sort of friends does a Navile have? Good friends? Known them for a while? I must say, the reputation you’ve acquired isn’t a good one. Unfortunately... You do have my condolences about that; you seem like a wonderful girl, but even so.”

Her lips pulled into a delicate smile as she descended and made the landing on the bottom as the man spoke to her. He was wandering around the isles of bookshelves, mulling over the books with little to no interest at all. She waited until she was across the room before she answered him.

"We were here to get some answers, but I don't think we got any as we were attacked far to soon. I did have some... friends with me," Fay answered slowly, unsure if 'friend' was the right word in that situation. She barely knew any of the people she'd come with. Though the boy, Dante, had been rather intriguing to her. He was attractive and she wished to know so much more about him. Fay then found herself looking over at Valentino with a kind of dreamy allure, lost in thought about him suddenly and completely unsure as to how that had happened. Shaking her head slightly, she continued her search for her knife.

"They are people that were from Skyfall. They seem nice enough. I did not get to know them all very well. Though the one is the leader of the assassins, Talon V'lyn and his woman Jennifer Live. The others, I could tell you as much as I know if you would like me to," she offered, the words spilling from her lips almost too freely.

“I’m just curious, why would a Navile decide to show herself now? What business do you have? I thought you weren’t allowed from the forests, from your homes?” He asked as he wandered around and destroyed or mangled whatever he saw fit. This however didn't deter Fay in anyway and he seemed to be even more alluring while he was playing around with his magic.

"It took a while for me to be able to leave my forest, but we wish to have communication with the outside world. We want to be allowed to mingle with the people and we want to show that we are not the threat that people think we are. There are very few of us that are allowed to leave, in fact I'm the first in several years to leave the forests. I think I'm the only one as well."

“So, where would your friends have run off to? I’d be more than happy to escort you to them, if you’d like…” Valentino walked up to her and turned her around. Luckily Fay had found her knife among the rambling that she'd been spilling to the man. Her eyes were caught up in his and she found herself dreamily gazing at him.

"Please... I would enjoy that," she answered, a foolish smile upon her lips.

Khrae & Sebastian

A crash came from down the hallway and Sebastian immediately looked to where it had come from. One of the servants who worked in the mansion was tossed, flung aside even as the man had tried to fight against the intruder. Sebastian ground his teeth and pulled his sword up. Rushing down the hall he attacked the cloaked man. Steel ground against steel as the intruder brought up his own weapon to block the strike.

Reaching into his clothes, Sebastian withdrew a couple of throwing knives. Shoving off the man's sword, the old assassin took several steps backwards to gain some distance. He threw his knives then, the blades making a soft whistle as they covered the distance. One of the three made their mark, the other two being deflected. The intruder rushed forward then, his blade coming down on Sebastian hard.

The old assassin swiped his sword upwards to knock the mans aside and tried to sidestep. However, as he did so the intruder followed him and he felt a sharp stab into his side, just above his hip. Glancing down, Sebastian noted the dagger protruding form his side and grimaced. Holding the weapon, he moved himself backwards to gain more distance once again. From just down the hall towards Khrae, another door flew open and yet another cloaked figure came into the hall. This one turned to look at Sebastian and then to Khrae.

The old assassin glowered at both intruders and reached for another set of throwing knives. These he threw at the newcomer and then lunged forward at the first one who had stabbed him, though his weight was now mostly on his left side as he couldn't put too much on his right. Once again the blades locked together and Sebastian struggled to keep the weapon from cutting into his shoulder and chest.

--Khrae waited patiently, poised to strike, though at first it seemed his help wouldn't be necessary. In fact, the swordsman was somewhat surprised in the speed and agility the older assassin possessed, and he had to concede to the fact that, despite the cowardly brand that these people had acquired over the years, they held invaluable skills. Khrae himself wasn't one to judge of course, and though he knew it was hardly a fair fight when the assailant was striking from the shadows on the unsuspecting, he couldn't help but admire their stealth and patience, let alone the precision needed for their infamous missions. Of course in this scenario, to implement their usual ideals would be mostly ineffective, and so a more conventional method of combat was necessary. It seems Sebastian was perfectly tailored to this as well, effectively rushing his opponent, giving himself an opening and then sending a fast, close-ranged trio of knives soaring into the empty space between them. Probably displaying an equally impressive amount of skill was the cloaked man's ability to deflect two of the knives even with the close proximity, but Khrae expected as much. Perhaps if he'd move just a moment faster too, he could've stepped in to slash at the enemy's hand as it followed the assassin's sidestep, grasping firmly a dagger which, unfortunately had met its mark. He'd seen it, but he was still a meter too far to have been able to do anything.

It was just then too that another figure appeared, further down the hall. Sebastian used only a moment to glance to Khrae, who nodded, before scrambling another set of knives, then wasted no time in continuing his fight. The older swordsman stepped forward now, both hands wrapped firmly around the two hilts of his swords in a backwards grip. Sebastian could hopefully handle himself, and it seemed that this other intruder would be a good match up as well. Watching as the man straightened himself from having dodged the knives, Khrae gave him a rather blank stare, daring him to move first. To instigate combat was frowned upon, and never would his swords leave their scabbards unless to defend ones self, when simple negotiation wasn't enough. Luckily though, the other man begun first.

The attack was rather simple, the more popular way to engage oneself in battle, though hardly effective. In one fluid motion, Khrae drew both swords simultaneously, his arms crossing in front of him just above shoulder level, his blades forming an "X" to catch the downward strike. Giving just slightly to allow the energy to transfer through him without breaking the defense, the man stood with his knees bent just slightly, so that he was below his opponent's center of gravity. With a simple adjustment, and after the attack had lost all offensive power, Khrae pushed back, pulling his arms apart, both blades sliding across the enemy's own until the cross-pieces made contact, though he had brought his right sword down enough to make a difference in his next trick. Adding a last minute push, Khrae pulled his two blades clear of the enemy's, though with the cross-pieces pulling on either direction, and separated as they were, he managed to cause the man's to spin awkwardly to the right. His opponent wouldn't be tricked by this however, as he caught on and used the motion of his blade to spin, following the momentum as he dropped to a knee, coming around on the balls of his feet in a low-crouch with an even lower right-sweep of his blade. Khrae just managed to fall back onto his heel, evading barely the blade's deadly arc. Had the enemy not taken a step back to support the turn, he would've been close enough to sever the swordsman's leg. Khrae hadn't anticipated that.

With his right hand he spun the hilt of his sword around, preparing for a retaliative downward strike on the man from his now exposed kneeling position along the floor in front of him, but alas his enemy evaded, quickly pushing off to the side and rolling to the right. Again the man struck back, but this time Khrae was ready, already having used the his own attack's momentum to jump, flipping sideways over his enemy and allowing the blade to once more sweep through vacant air. The attack wasn't finished however, as now the cloaked man pivoted entirely around, standing, his left hand drawing his weapon back to complete the nearly 180 degree cut while his right came forward, magic crackling in his palm.

Khrae landed gracefully, quickly falling into a ready stance, left arm held forward at chest level, elbow at 90 degrees with his sword in a reverse-grip, the back nearly parallel to his forearm. His right arm was simply held out straight behind him, blade an extension of it as the point covered a mere inch off the floor. In truth Khrae felt like he was slipping, he'd left far too many openings in this battle, or perhaps his opponent was just that strong. Nevertheless, he promised to meditate on his failure later, as the enemy it seemed would not let him rest. Luckily enough, the fire attack was the wrong choice for his opponent.

While he was blown back, he was far from out, in fact nearly unscathed. It seemed as though whomever he was fighting was far too confident in their powers, and so his back was soon facing the swordsman as he went to assist his friend. Khrae simply stood, smoking from where he'd fallen onto the floor. Fire-retardant clothing was indeed useful, especially when he dealt entirely in that element.

--Sebastian swung low, his blade aiming at the man's legs, forcing the intruder to step away from him. With the distance between them increased, the elder assassin collected another set of knives and threw them. Two made their target, one deflected off the man's sword. Sebastian was running low on throwing knives, perhaps holding only six more equaling out to two more throws of three. He would have to end this fight fairly quickly. Even so, the intruder before him didn't seem to be affected in the least by the wounds he'd inflicted on the man.

If anything, the man seemed to be even more powerful than before and Sebastian wasn't getting any stronger. Blood trickled down his thigh as his other hand tightened around the blade in his side once more. The old assassin narrowed his eyes and grit his teeth. Who was this man that he fought? More importantly, why were they here... Anymore thoughts on the intruder were cut away as the cloaked man lunged at Sebastian. Behind him, the elder assassin felt the presence of the second intruder coming up behind him.

A low growl issued from his lips as he turned to look towards the one advancing on him. Narrowing his eyes, Sebastian had two choices, take the blow from the one in front of him and defend against the second, or vice versa. Either way, without Khrae he was going to be injured severely, or killed.

--Khrae struck fast, seeing Sebastian's predicament and charging the man directly in front of him. Of course he knew the enemy would turn around, but Khrae was counting on it. Only a few feet away the enemy, as expected, suddenly spun around, his blade coming out at shoulder level, only to slice through air. The man was momentarily bewildered at this, realizing only a second too late that his adversary had slipped onto the floor below him.

The older swordsman came up quickly, having slide between the man's wide-stance and using his blunted swords to catch his ankles. Leaping up onto the balls of his feet and balancing in a crouch, Khrae pulled his blades up, dragging the man's feet with them and causing him to collapse forward. Lowering his arms as he heard the loud thud, Khrea's blades touched down on the flooring of the mansion, then drew a circle around him as the man rotated, putting his back to Sebastian and facing his enemy who was trying to collect himself from the floor.

"Ideas?" Khrea said quietly, eying the man as he rubbed his jaw and spat on the floor, "I'd rather not scorch anything..."

--"Killing them would be nice," Sebastian responded as he felt Khrae's back against his. He'd noted the man's advance and had turned to face the first one he'd been fighting. Batting aside the blade that came at his chest in an attempt to kill him, Sebastian leaned against Khrae for support. The elder assassin was having a bit of difficulty standing on his leg.

The cloaked man lunged forward hoping to kill both of them by shoving his sword through Sebastian and then through the swordsman. Sebastian's sword knocked his aside and as he did that, he reached up remove one of his throwing knives that had struck the man. The knife was wrenched free and as the man stumbled backwards, slightly startled by the move, Sebastian threw the weapon a second time. The knife flipped through the air and hit the intruder again.

"Burn them if you have to," Sebastian grunted as he blocked another swing to his body. The blades clashed, sliding against each other until they locked at the guards on the hilts. Leaning forward, Sebastian sent a hard punch to the man's stomach, receiving one as well. He stumbled backwards into Khrae and he hoped that he hadn't thrown the man off to bad as he recovered as quickly as he could.

Regaining is footing, Sebastian shot a quick look behind him to the dark haired swordsman, "Do you have anything in mind? I would like to live till tomorrow."

--"Right," Khrae responded flatly, focusing again on the man before him. Behind him, he could feel Sebastian's back against his, and then heard the clash of steel again and felt the man shift as he deflected an attack. The swordsman was working through several scenarios, judging up the skills of these two while trying to weigh what skills he'd seen from the assassin and how they could be implemented.

Suddenly though the man struck, stepping forward to close the distance while coming in with a cut from the left. Khrae brought forward his left arm, a back-handed version of the same attack his opponent had thrown at him, only meant for a defensive purpose instead. The cloaked man's sword deflected easily upwards, sliding against the flat of the older swordsman's blade which continued its own travel until the man could not stretch his arm any farther to his right. Spinning his blade quickly, and with his right trailing, Khrae then rotated his weapon around and slashed out again. The cloaked figure had brought his weapon back down quickly, stiffening his arms and holding his blade out diagonally in front of him to deflect the slash, but not entirely ready for the fast thrust which followed. Stepping forward to increase the power, Khrea's right arm extended quickly as his left went far to his side. Unfortunately though, last minute the man had managed to save himself, turning his blade sideways and swinging up to the left, bringing Khrae's blade with it. With his direction suddenly changed again, the man allowed his right sword to travel up and back as his left foot moved ahead, his same-side arm and sword already coming in for another sweep which the cloaked man ducked below while using the motion motion of his previous block to spin entirely around, moving back several paces in the process until finally he came up again, left arm outstretched with his blade leveled at Khrae's chest.

Both men paused, looking each other over and taking only a second to recover themselves, respecting either one's abilities enough to allow the break. Khrae spun his weapons, opening his stance again as he turned entirely towards his adversary. Standing at a rest, Khrae allowed both his swords to fall to his sides, tips just barely off the floor before he brought them up again, widening the space between his arms and torso and bending is elbows, placing both blades in front of him, crossed over his chest. His enemy simply acknowledged the movements as a reset to end the draw, lowering his blade and pulling it back, holding it diagonally with both hands to his right hip, left side still facing his opponent. At least he was an honorable fighter, Khrae thought to himself.

Then the assassin's voice called out to him from behind. "Burn them if you have to," he had said. The man nodded, but before he could do anything he found himself pushed forward, his current stance not one to withstand Sebastian pushing against his back. Taking a quick step forward to catch himself, he kept his eyes on his opponent, who luckily remained unmoving.

"Do you have anything in mind? I would like to live till tomorrow."

"How fast can you duck and throw knives?" Khrae asked quietly. "Because now would be a great time to do that, and with luck, turn and catch this guy in front of me off guard with a little volley." The swordsman only wished that the assassin would understand, because just then he spun, putting a sudden surge of energy into his strike as he swept both his weapons around, at about shoulder-level height, striking out at the man in front of Sebastian. Even if the attacker wasn't close enough, he had his ace ready. So long as the assassin ducked and struck the one behind him, Khrae could hit the other. Unleashing the energy he'd collected, the swordsman's blades crackled loudly as they erupted with flames that shot out in a massive shock-wave-like inferno which tore down the hall and towards the second of the intruders. Duck, thought Khrae.

--"How fast can you duck and throw knives? Because now would be a great time to do that, and with luck, turn and catch this guy in front of me off guard with a little volley."

Khrae had caught himself well enough after Sebastian had been knocked backwards into him. Another slash to his chest and the elder assassin just barely moved it out of the way, catching the tip of the sword across his shoulder as it went.

"Fast enough," he answered and just as the words came out of his mouth, Khrae had already begun to move. Sebastian shifted his body to turn in the appropriate direction as to be out of the way of the older swordsman and positioned nicely to attack the man on the other side. Reaching into his clothing, Sebastian withdrew the last set of throwing knives he had as he ducked out of Khrae's way. Fire crackled over head, but the elder assassin didn't look to see what was going on.

Coming up on Khrae's other side, Sebastian threw his knives at the slightly startled intruder. The man obviously hadn't been betting on Khrae to do such a thing, nor had he thought that Sebastian would target him. The three knives sung as they shot through the air and landed with three soft thuds into the man's flesh. Sebastian stepped forward, straightening his body and taking the place where Khrae had been. He readied himself for the last bout of this fight, hoping that with in the next few minutes, they could drive the two cloaked men out of the mansion.

--The blazing inferno roared as the flames traveled down the hall, over the assassin and into the second intruder who had been caught almost entirely off-guard. Khrae heard the man scream and then lost him beneath his sudden tsunami of fire. He'd put enough force into the blast to at least incapacitate his enemy by means of slamming him hard enough into the wall at the end of the hall, but judging by their skills and reflexes so far, he wouldn't make any final determinations until afterwards.

The attack wasn't a prolonged, continuous stream of fire, but rather a short, fast eruption that expanded quickly. Swords were better for those kinds of attacks, especially when they consisted of more force than anything. Bare-handed he could maintain the fire for several minutes, but it lacked substantially in power. Nevertheless, either attack equaled the other eventually, and at this point, Khrae needed something hard-hitting and fast. It took several moments for everything to clear, and even then only the main body had dissipated, leaving smaller campfire-like patches burning along the floor and walls, licking at the still superheated air.

Through the clearing smoke, Khrae looked down the hall. Sure enough the man was still mobile, but his clothes were scorched, making him match most of their surroundings. The older swordsman straightened himself, lowering his weapons to a resting stance as he waited to see exactly what would happen. Behind him, he knew Sebastian's attacks had hit, because he heard the man drop to his knees, breathing ragged. Both had put up a good fight, Khrae had to admit, but that's all he would care to say.

It took a few seconds, but finally the man at the end of the hall stood. Khrae hadn't expected him to continue the fight, but he was ready nonetheless. When the man raised his hand and suddenly disappeared, apparently bringing his friend with him, the man let out a low sigh. Looking around, Khrae did a quick judgment of the immediate vicinity, though he could detect nobody else. That completed, he turned to Sebastian.

"I think we can consider this area secure, for now." He said simply. "Shall we continue, then? When this is all over, I can assure you that if you so desire, I can reimburse you for whatever damages I'm forced to impose. I do apologize by the way, I did so enjoy this interior."

Looking around thoughtfully, Khrae inspected the damage that the combat had caused, rather displeased and only somewhat disgusted. Violence was a useless tool, and always messed with the serenity and natural balance of things. How he despised having to resort to it, but now was hardly a time to concern himself with his own distastes. Returning to his usual stoic expression, he pushed away those emotions which would hinder him in any upcoming events. With that, he swung his two swords around, holding them backwards as he slide each into their respective scabbards. Nodding to Sebastian, he gave his head a tilt to the side before extending his arm out, motioning for him to lead.

"After you."

---

---

This wasn't fazing him--just how powerful was this man?

Fukayna had re-doubled her efforts the instant she had seen Armen's agreement to her proposal for battle strategy. And at first, she had thought they were making a difference. But whatever this man was, clearly he was not one that would be even remotely thrown off by two opponents. He seemed almost amused, like he was laughing at their efforts. She bit her bottom lip, frustrated that they couldn't do anything to scratch him. She felt weak, as if she couldn't... But she had battled with V'lyn, she had held her own, even for that short while. So why was this so difficult for her?

Armen held his ground as an attack was launched at him, Fukayna trying to use the gap of time to land a blow at the man. The low hiss of his voice came out as he dodged her blow almost seamlessly, the opponent's attentions focused so whole-heartedly on the elf. "You're very resilient. Almost too much so for your own good, elf. I think I would like to see that power of yours. I was planning to wait, but I don't think I can. Let us see what you're made of," She didn't like the sound of that one bit.

The man raised his hand, energy whirling around Armen's body before the boy could protest. He sputtered out half a word in surprise as he was bound tightly. Fukayna paused her attack in awe as she stared at him, the familiar tingles running through her body. But this was far different. So... so different from the feeling she had gotten around their enemy and even... even Miss Jennifer. The tingles were overwhelming and there was a vague buzzing in her mind as the hum of sheer power radiated from the elf.

The man seemed equally impressed as he almost purred when addressing Armen. "Your power, elf. This is your power. The amount of magic throughout your body is magnificent, Armen Sorien. Hard to control isn't it?" Then all of a sudden, those eyes were upon her--so quickly she couldn't have foreseen it. The man smirked, raising his hand and this time directing his attack at her. But her mind was blank, hazy from the power she had just felt from Armen. She could barely process his yell at her, telling her to move. Her legs didn't seem to want to respond--her body just felt so heavy.

The magic was released, cutting into her weapon. For the briefest moment, she felt nothing whatsoever. Her vision became a bit blurred and then her body began to process what was happening. Her weapon had only dulled the blast a portion, the rest of it searing through her body. And her mind unwillingly comprehended the agonizing pain as it hit her. She gasped and her voice hitched free, her screams no longer silent. Her voice rang out for what could've seemed like eternity but only a few seconds passed, then it was all over. Fukayna fell limply forward, already unconscious before she hit the ground; body twitching subconsciously from the attack.

---

---

Isaehn's brow furrowed as his frown deepened, the man clearly unamused by the turn of events. The scent of that man, that irritating man was in the air. Tch, annoying. He didn't want to deal with him, not today. He slid his eyes over to Zephyr, his dragon still in human form. The dragon raised his eyebrows slowly at his ward, shaking his head delicately. Isaehn sighed again, crossing his arms. Well, it didn't seem his dragon was going to be of much use to him in this event. He had no plans in interfering with Valentino's business. The first and last time he had bothered, he had walked in on a sight so disturbing, he winced every time he recalled it. Irritating.

Best not to dwell on such ridiculous matters anyway.

"Zephyr," The mage said abruptly. "I'm bored of this place." The dragon chuckled, shaking his head again as he regarded the man through silver eyes.

"You are bored of most things, youngling. This surely can't be anything new?" Isaehn ground his teeth briefly before settling his face back into its usualy, neutral demeanor. Things had been weighing more heavily on him as of late, things that shouldn't have been getting under his skin in ordinary situations. But all of the events had been compounding, especially... No, do not dwell. He rolled his eyes at Zephyr.

"That's not what I meant. You, out of everyone, should know I don't need the snarkiness." Zephyr looked away, inclining his head forwards in a slight apologetic bow.

"Of course not." Though Isaehn couldn't see it, he felt there was a touch of a smirk somewhere. Always so sarcastic, that one. "So what do you plan to do?" The mage paused, tapping his chin with his finger.

"I think we've waited around long enough. There are too many things that have gone awry and I'll not be kept in the dark and waiting. Come, we have a certain group to pay a visit to." Isaehn gestured to one of the staircases that led up to a balcony. Zephyr nodded, moving swiftly in front of the mage, the body that he had been given under the sways of magic beginning to distort and revert to its true form. As Isaehn approached the balcony, Zephyr was already waiting for him in his proper form, large, majestic, and powerful. Just the way he preferred.

The man jumped onto the dragon's snout, walking to his usual place just behind its head and giving his dragon a light tap on the side of its neck to indicate it was time to leave. It was about time he got answers.

---

The room was large and spherical in shape. It was more like a dome than anything else. There were three rows up over a pedastle at the bottom of the dome making anyone who walked into the center feel small and insignificant. It was how the High Nine preferred seeing their subjects, down below them. The room was empty, the solid onyx colored chairs all empty aside for four of them. Four men in long robes and hoods pulled up over their faces that matched the dark background sat silently in their chairs as they stared down upon the man who'd entered their domain not but a day ago requesting to see them.

With such short notice to go off of, not all of the High Nine could attend the meeting, and so only four were present out of the nine. Even so, their presence was something to consider. One leaned forward slightly, putting their hand under their invisible chin as they tilted their head to look down further.

"What brings you, Isaehn Raxieyl?" The voice was deep, marking this one as male.

The mage's lips were pursed as he breathed out slowly, forcing himself to keep a casual air. The high nine had a tendency to make anyone feel uneasy, even someone as controlled as Isaehn. "Curiosity," His voice did not portray the discomfort that he felt and carried an almost whimsical tone to it. "And sadly, I could not find anyone to sate it. Perhaps you can change that?" A familiar smirk worked its way onto his face. Yes, he could play this game.

The robed figures twisted around slowly to look at each other as the mage below had answered the first one's question. They didn't answer for a while as they seemed to be speaking to each other quietly, the soft hiss of their voices just barely brushing the air. After a moment, a second one leaned forward and addressed Isaehn.

"Curiosity isn't something that one should entertain," the second's voice was a little more high pitched, marking them as female.
"What is it you wish to know?" The first one asked.

Ah, such prudes. They had never deigned any sort of entertainment value. This was another reason why he disliked associating with them. But he had matters to clear up. Something he intended to have resolved by the end of this conversation. "I wish to have a musing of mine indulged. As I know you're aware not only from my report but from... others," He paused, raising an eyebrow before he continued. "There was an incident in Ro'ell a few days past that caused a certain amount of confusion. Some... rule breaking."

"There was a... divergence that caught my attention--naturally, I thought it would catch yours too." He did not let his smirk faltered as he regarded them. They could make him as uncomfortable as they wanted, he'd never bow to them.

"You're speaking on Lain Gareev, correct?" The female asked.

Isaehn nodded. So quick on the uptake. "Of course."

Again another bount of whispers between the group before there were any answers given to the mage. The female leaned forward again, her voice rising to address Isaehn directly, "Lain is known to... deviate from orders given to him. This matter that has been brought to us is not a first offense for him," the female paused for a moment, "The matter of his attacking the elf was not detailed in the orders given to him as he was simply to break the party up. The manner in which he did this was not specified, so of course Lain would use his own methods and how he saw it should be done.

"However, it is a concern of ours that he attacked the elf without warning. We're attempting to figure out where exactly those orders came from, if there was any at all to begin with. Lain may have acted out of his own will."

"The problem remains, though. Rest assured that we will get to the bottom of this and find out who ordered him to try to kill the elf. In the mean time, I am curious as to why you had ordered Lain to separate the group? It was detailed in your report, but I wish to hear it from you personally," the male jumped in.

Hm, insignificant details really had a way of coming back around, didn't they? Isaehn didn't bat an eyelash and smoothly responded. "Yes, it seemed necessary at the time. I had suspected there had been some outside interference but I had no way of truly proving it yet. Isolating situations seemed to be logical. Besides," His smirk grew by a fraction. "Surely it's smarter to take on smaller factions than a large group? It seemed like a waste of energy to do so otherwise."

"Wise," the male commented. The female however turned her head to regard her fellow collegue and the atmosphere seemed to turn cold as clearly, she did not agree. Regardless, she didn't comment as she returned her hooded face towards Isaehn.

"This incident has been taken into due consideration, Iseahn Raxieyl. We appreciate you're bringing it to use via your report. However, I cannot garauntee that you will know the full extent of Lain's actions. He is a Nine and therefore his actions and deeds will be judged by us and no one else. If we so see it fit, anything we find will most likely be kept within our order only. Is that understood?"

Isaehn held his tongue. It wouldn't be prudent to question them at this point. But he wasn't going to settle for this vague response either. For now, he nodded. "Understood," Isaehn wouldn't back down that easily but he knew when to pick his fights. Four of the high nine together? He had confidence in his abilities but not enough to take on so many. Just one would be a challenge.

"Shall I continue my updates then?" He said without forgetting to put an inflection of politeness and respect into his advice. Two things that brought a sour taste to his mouth.

"Please, continue," the male offered, leaning back in his seat and giving a wave of his hand that indicated the High Nine was less than interested in the goings on of the mages guild. However, as he leaned back all four froze simultaneously their heads lifted slightly to look beyond Isaehn. It was several moments of silence that filled the air and a very soft sound as if someone were knocking upon the door resounded throughout the room.

"It seems that we must cut this meeting short," the female stood slowly as she spoke, a sense of power growing around her, "We've a visitor in our city and it seems they've made quite a statement."

"That power..." a third voiced, also standing.

"As it would seem. I must say, this makes our job much easier," the first responded, standing as well, "Isaehn, could we ask you a favor?"

Isaehn raised his brows very slowly. Oh he liked favors. He liked them very much. Asking a man like Isaehn for a favor was a sure way of owing him a debt later on. And the mage never forgot when someone needed to pay their dues. "Oh, I'd only be too glad to be of service." He said, his smirk growing wider by the minute.

"I'm sure you know already who has decided to knock upon our gates," the woman said, her voice colder than it had been before, "Kindly meet them. Bring them here."

Armen Sorien

---

His heart clenched as he watched the power shoot down the hall at Fukayna and hit her full on. The woman hadn't moved when he'd yelled at her to. Something had kept her in one spot and she'd taken the powerful shot of magic nearly head on. Her staff seemed to be the only thing that kept the attack from being fatal. Armen's body shuddered in his shock and rage as he watched her fall over onto the floor in a convulsive manner. The elf's body seemed to gain a bit of movement on its own as the intruder had to shift his energy between holding Armen down and attacking Fukayna.

Armen's power expanded outwards immensely. He directed all of his focus onto the man before him and gave a shout of rage. His magic flooded outwards and struck the man. Armen watched as the enemy flew backwards and hit the wall hard. The power that he'd expelled cut into the cloth that covered the man's body and he could see trails of blood starting to stain the black cloth. Armen was shocked a moment after when the intruder started laughing.

"This... has been entertaining," raising his hand, his fingers snapped together and the darkness of the hallway seemed to congregate around him. In a matter of seconds the intruder was gone. Armen stared at the space where he'd been just a moment ago for a long while before he groaned and doubled over. The boiling of his magic was too much to handle and he toppled over onto the floor, unable to do anything else but rock back and forth as he tried to get control of himself once again.

---

---

Sebastian and Khrae

---

"I think we can consider this area secure, for now. Shall we continue, then? When this is all over, I can assure you that if you so desire, I can reimburse you for whatever damages I'm forced to impose. I do apologize by the way, I did so enjoy this interior."

Sebastian straightened after disposing of the intruder. He turned around to examine the damage done to the hall. Most of the carpentry was burned as were some of the furniture as well. With a sigh, he sheathed his sword and glanced over to Khrae who also put his weapons away. The man sure was a mystery as well as a powerful fighter. Sebastian hadn't seen anything quite like it before.

"After you." Khrae motioned for the old assassin to take the lead.

"Don't worry about the damage. We can easily repair it ourselves, what matters is getting the mansion back under our control," Sebastian answered as he started forward. He led the man further down into the hall with no one else seemingly there. As they reached the end of the hall, Sebastian turned around and glowered back down the hall in the darkness. It was then that he felt a rumble from the first floor and his eyes widened. Turning to look at Khrae for a single moment, he started back down the hall as quickly as he could with the dagger in his side inhibiting his movements.

"Tell me you feel that too..." Sebastian rushed down the stairwell and into the hallway of the main room before the front doors. Turning around he tried to find the source of the rumble, the feel of immense power. As he was about to start down one hall, another rumble struck the mansion and he whirled around, pivoting on his foot and wincing slightly from his wound. With a slight growl, he reached down and pulled the dagger free from his side. Blood poured freely then, but the pain of the steel inside his flesh was relieved.

Sebastian came upon an awful sight as he rounded the corner from where the magic had expelled from. At the very last second he spotted the congregation of shadows and he immediately thought that it was an assassin that was using the darkness, but when the shadows faded away, there was no figure to be seen anywhere. What foul magic was that? Sebastian's dark eyes narrowed but he didn't have time to ponder what was going on. Instead he rushed to the elf who had collapsed onto the floor, rocking back and forth. His body was the source of the pure energy he was feeling. Something had been done to him, and Sebastian found he could do nothing for the young man.

"Damn," he whispered, and then looked around. It was then he spotted Fukayna on the other side of the hall someways away, crumpled on the floor. His breath hissed into his lungs between clenched teeth. Had Jennifer been there to see what had happened to the girl... he feared nothing would have been left of the mansion. The mage had a tender spot for the young woman who was laying on the ground now. Sebastian stood up and rushed over to Fukayna. Kneeling next to her, he rolled her over and gently lifted her up into his arms.

"Fukayna," he called to her. She didn't look to be harmed too much, but the way she'd been laying it was obvious she'd been attacked by magic. What kind and how it affected her, he did not know. That much was scary all on it's own. He could only hope that she would pull through.

---

---

Lain Gareev

---

As he was holding the youth, he noted that a small dragon had come out of the shadows, away from it's companion. The beast growled at him, baring it's sharpened teeth as it threatened him coldly. Raising an eyebrow, Lain took a short breath to whistle lightly. So, the dragon kind could speak. That was new. The Nine gently moved backwards, pulling the boy with him. His grin was still very much apparent on his lips as he started backwards. It wasn't ever his intention to hurt any of them there, well perhaps a cut or two maybe, but nothing serious. He had only been ordered to distract them, and that's what he was doing.

"Return with me," the voice called to him. It was something only he could hear, a connection with those of his kind only. Turning slightly, his gaze flicked back to the mansion, a frown now upon his lips.

"Ruining my fun... And things were just getting interesting," Lain said. He glanced down at the boy for a moment before offering the group a bright smile, "Well, seems I'll have to call it for today," he called. With a hard shove, he released the youth and stepped backwards into the darkness. His magic swirled around him and he disappeared from the courtyard.

---

---

Talon V'lyn, Jennifer Live, Kaya

---

"Impressive," Talon whispered to himself as he watched his lover break down the large double doors that led into the city of Laowlee. He moved with her as she called out into the city in a playful manner. He was going to have to keep an eye on her, she was on her magic high once again, heightened because he was there encouraging her. Talon grinned to himself, he'd changed much with her around. Never had he asked her in the past to use her magic to her desire. With a shake of his head, he came up next to her and glanced around the ruined gates and wall.

There was no one there, something that he didn't care to see. Something was wrong with the situation and he didn't like it one bit. His hands slowly snaked across his body as he gripped his weaponry. They'd come there to figure out why they had kidnapped Jennifer to begin with, but the lack of guards and others was putting Talon on edge. His sharp gaze flicked around the street before them. Slowly he moved forwards, the shadows gripping him like hands as they twirled around his body. Reina was there with him. If the Goddess had shown herself once more, surely something was amiss.

"Be careful," he warned Jennifer, though he figured she needed no such warning. Even so, saying it gave him some level of comfort. As he stepped off the ruined gate and into the street, his gaze caught something moving in the distance. Slowly he found it to be a figure that was heading straight towards them. Narrowing his eyes he reached out a hand and stopped Jennifer from moving passed him. In his other hand, he drew his long knife and waited for the figure to reach them.

---

---

Torak

---

He was seated upon his throne in the only building that was left standing in Lethandrill. One hand rested against the arm of the throne with his head propped up in the palm. His eyes gazed at the double doors of the marble palace, all the while his thoughts on the power he wielded, and how even with that power he'd let Armen slip from his grasp and even attracted the attention of Lord V'lyn, possibly the worst person in all of Lastra to have the attention of. His teeth ground together as he sat there, writhing in his own anger and rage.

"Brooding, as always," the deep voice came from his right side, startling him. Torak jumped slightly and turned to look at the man standing next to him. His eyes narrowed even further in anger and his teeth bared at the man.

"Sneaky, as always, J'haren. What do you want now?"

The hooded man's face was never seen and the darkness under the cowl sent a slight chill up Torak's spine as he regarded the tall Nine standing next to him, "The pieces have been set."

After a moment, Torak smiled and turned to regard the doors of his palace once more. Leaning comfortably in his chair, his other hand tapped the end of the armrest on the throne, the claws of the gauntlet making soft clicking sounds as they hit the marble. How long had he waited for things to finally fall into place? Far too long.

"What do you plan to do now?" J'haren asked.

"I'll let them run around as if they've gained their freedom for now. The noose is slowly closing around them all. Things will move much faster now, and soon I'll get what I want."

"Yes. Very soon," the Nine commented, a slight difference to his tone than usual. It startled Torak and the elven steward glanced over to the man but was greeted by nothing. With a frown upon his lips he returned to his plotting and planning.

Stephano let out a low snarl as the threatening presence melted away, leaving the group alone once more. The dragon's mind raced as he tried to come up with reasons why this man would threaten them? Perhaps he had a hand in the misadventures of Ro'ell? Not that it mattered for the moment. The sandy brown creature quickly made his way towards his red headed companion, his lamp like eyes dancing around the surrounding area quickly. As he reached the assassin, he was pleasantly surprised at her regain of certain muscles to full capacity. Specifically her face muscles. The dragon wondered for a brief moment if that was a good thing or a terrible, terrible development. As the look being sent his way foretold a lot of chastising. Stephano sighed inwardly, already missing the blessed silence that was quickly dashed.

"Nice work, flabby, you chased him away and I didn't even get the chance to banter you for some of his kick ass magic."

"Nice to see you're somewhat back to normal. How are you feeling now?" The dragon asked, taking in her pale and slightly clammy skin. Great, an infection. Just what they needed. Astrid scoffed before clumsily crossing her arms. As she opened her mouth, the assassin gave her companion a glare, daring him to comment upon her impaired movement. Stephano lifted a eyebrow ridge. He may not be the brightest, but he wasn't suicidal.

"Well, bloody well annoyed to say the least. I've missed all the cool fighting and villainy because a flaming mage, a completely psychotic and batshit-out-of-her-damn-mind mage, might I add, decided that I was a test subject for a freaking spell! I hate mages and apparently, they hate me back. We have a mutual hate-hate relationship." The red head finished, enjoying the use of words again. Stephano lamented the silence once again as his companion decided that speaking a mile a minute was the best way to communicate. He let out a small puff of smoke as Astrid raved on.

"And then Sebastian tells us to stay put! We have NEVER stayed put. Ever! I mean, what was he thin-"

"Actually, I have no problem listening to the senior member of the group's decision and staying put. I quite enjoy it actually as when I listen, I don't get tarred with the same brush as other trouble making lunatic, such as you." Here, Astrid let out a indignant shout but her scaly companion ignored her with ease. "In fact, you have never stayed put. Although I feel that has less to do with you personally and more to do with your rampant antisocial personality disorder."

"You saying I'm crazy?!"

"No, of course not. I am merely bring to attention the fact that you have serious problems obeying anyone, authority figures especially." A loud huff made Astrid's idea of the whole thing clear.

"Are you going to psychoanalyse me all day or are we actually going to do something?"

"That depends. Do you have the full use of your legs at the moment?" Stephano asked, fully aware that his companion was currently unable to stand. In fact she had made a few aborted attempts within the last few minutes. The narrowed red orbs giving him a look that promised he would be dead and served with egg fried rice within the hour confirmed this train of thought.

"I freaking hate you, ya know that? Besides, you can act as my horse for a bit. Might as well burn a few carbohydrates or you'll be rolling back home." Astrid puffed out her cheeks comically, making her point crystal clear. The barbs fell from the assassin's tongue with a familiarity that managed to soothe both the young woman and dragon.

"You can be so tiresome, did you know that? I'm surprised you made it to this age without someone throwing you off a high building." Stephano grumbled, as he assisted the assassin onto his back. Her lower body was still basically immobilised completely. Although she wasn't too concerned. Her upper body had regained most of it's movement and she only needed her arms to use a bow. The red head sat almost regally upon her companion's back, eyes searching the surrounding area just as Stephano's had done before. She spotted Dante and prompted her dragon to make his way over to their ally. The dragon breezed over, using his wings to propel himself along.

"Hey, you alright?" The assassin asked, her red eyes filled with concern. The threatening presence hadn't been too careful before and any life threatening injuries was best to be taken care of now rather than later, as Stephano had reminded Astrid before many a time. Although most of the time, it was just Stephano being a total whiny baby but Dante didn't need to know that. Yet. After all, there was always plenty of time to make fun of Stephano.

Dante & Friends

All in all Dante wasn’t having a good day. Albeit, he just struck up a relationship, he thinks, without even having to try anything, but besides that, nothing was going right. So far he’d dropped his sword as due to being unexpectedly airlifted by his Dragoness girlfriend, chastised by her for losing her sword, and then just as he was formulating a plan for showing off the melee skills that he only possessed in his mind, the mage had swooped in and put a blade to his neck. That sort of kills the morale…

So Dante was left, standing stock-still, not wanting to move due to the sharp and very shiny edge pressed against his skin. He’d thought about calling for Khrae, but he knew that the man would only save him to kill him. Besides, he was sure he could handle this… Probably.. Maybe. He definitely wasn’t going to die. He had to figure this out, because when he went to rescue Fay whom they had left behind, he’d need to bring the heroic tale of how he single-handedly saved Skyfall and his new friends. Yes, he couldn’t fail. But… How could he get out of this predicament? Maybe he’d learned something from Khrae… probably not, but maybe… Hmm.

Even as he thought about it, the not-very fat dragon of the redheaded assassin made his appearance. After a short little speech, the Dragon readied itself, and suddenly Dante was worried that he’d be used as a shield. That would be very unfortunate, and not at all fun. Fighting looked so much more cool and fun when he wasn’t in this situation… He was sure that if he were winning, he’d enjoy it a lot more. Or is it fun to lose and be that cool guy that pulls an ace and saves everyone? Dante wasn’t sure, but right now, it wasn’t very fun.

"Ruining my fun... And things were just getting interesting," the mage spoke suddenly. Dante looked over his shoulder a moment to the man, unsure of who he’d just spoken to. He didn’t seem to be talking to anyone. Just as Dante was trying to decipher what the man’s words meant though, the mage had looked down to him, smiled, and excused himself from the battle. A minute later Dante found himself being pushed forward, away from his captor. Quickly, as he was released, he spun, throwing out a random chop that probably wouldn’t have done anything even if it had hit the man. He then took up a heroic pose as the mage disappeared.

“Yeah, runaway!” he said triumphantly. “You will always remember this as the day you almost caught Dante Fuuriah!” ( Totally necessary :D) What that, Dante made a shooing motion, then put his hands on his hips, investigating the situation and nodding as if satisfied of a job well done. “Now, let us continue inside and rid this place of any more pesky mages, shall we?!” With a wave of his hand, he motioned using his other towards the guild house.

“Er, actually, wait a minute.”

Quickly Dante rushed across the court yard to gather his sword.


Khrae & Sebastian

Khrae nodded as the man gave acknowledgement to his apologies about the furnishings he’d just burnt. Continuing down the hall, there seemed to be no other intruders, but suddenly a large rumbling caught their attention. Khrae looked to Sebastian who returned his gaze, both men mutually agreeing as to the next course of action as they bolted back towards the source.
"Tell me you feel that too..." Sebastian said as they worked their way back down the stairwell to the main floor. Khrae nodded, noting also the dagger which still held firm in the assassin’s leg. He gave the man credit and a moment of admiration for his endurance and loyalty, but then dispelled the thoughts as frivolous compared to the commotion happening up ahead. Navigating the mansion quickly, they were just about to turn down another hall when the building shook again. It was now that the assassin seemed to grow tired of the pain in his leg, and finally removed the blade, allowing the blood to flow.

The older swordsman took careful note of that possible hindrance as a factor in any upcoming battles, then continued as Sebastian rushed on. The sight they found themselves facing upon turning the next corner, however, was fairly disheartening.

Khrae’s eyes shifted immediately to the mass of shadows hording themselves around a man, then watched as they dissipated, leaving no one left. He made a quick assumption that it was a mage using some form of their cherished and cowardly escape spells, then dismissed the threat as it was no longer present. The man stopped now, allowing himself to take in the scene.

Sebastian had just ran to assist the elf who seemed lost to the world, curled up around himself and rocking back and forth. Khrae looked to the assassin for any sort of sign as to what had just happened, then followed the man’s eyes to the girl opposite the boy, further down the hall. Remaining silent, the swordsman watched as the older man abandoned the elf for his fellow assassin. Both looked to be in a terrible state of disarray, obviously sustaining a terribly mentally and physically exhausting battle. Why hadn’t they sensed, or at the very least heard it before? Whoever their opponent was, they certainly did a toll on these two, and being so young, Khrae was worried for the integrity of their beings. Frowning, the swordsman approached the boy and knelt beside him. He was in no way a mage, nor did he have any way of dealing with the aftershock of such high-powered spells. His knowledge was vast, but he still found himself unsure of the situation.

Brushing back the hair of the young man, Khrae put his palm over his forehead. He didn’t want to try anything for risk that it could make things worse, but at the same time didn’t want whatever effects the boy was enduring to continue. Perhaps he could attempt something… It wasn’t terribly risky, but he still wasn’t sure what it would do.

“Damn..” Khrae mumbled, sounding more like he were talking to himself. “Let me try…” Closing his eyes, Khrae concentrated, not even bothering to finish his sentence, forcing all other thoughts from his mind, then, barely audible, he began whispering. The words were ancient, extremely archaic prayers to an old god of fire and ancestry. The method was the same that clansmen used to imbue themselves with a momentary surge of devastating power, but also, Khrae hoped, a power that could also be used for other means. He’d read it was possible, but had never had means to try it until now. It seemed most of the damages sustained by the boy were all mental, rather than physical, and Khrae while an ailment to the body was one thing, the corruption of one’s mind was worse. The swordsman was not going to let a young life be tainted so easily, to the point where they’ve broken down entirely and put into a state such as this pitiful scene he was witnessing.

Gathering his strength, Khrae hoped he’d be doing more good than harm as he allowed the energy to pour into the boy. He could feel it pulsating through his arm, transferring into the boy through his spread palm. Careful not to allow too much to flow into him at once, Khrae, who hadn’t even broken a sweat during combat, was now perspiring. It took a few moments, but finally even Khrae couldn’t take the power he felt flowing through him. He abruptly ceased the flow, opening his eyes slowly as he looked at the figure before him. It was spiritual energy, so he hoped it could cleanse the boy’s mind of whatever the mage had done, or at least stop it from getting worse. After a second or two, once the energy was completely dispelled, Khrae picked up the elf. Turning to Sebastian, he nodded for him to go on. The task and strain of what he’d done, Khrae knew, takes varying amounts of time off all that a person can live. Though right now, the life of a young man was much more important than his own. Even if he did want to try to care, he was suddenly much too tired to put effort into it.

“I hope that helped,” Khrae said softly, smiling rather weakly to the assassin. “Let’s get these two somewhere safer…”

---

Sebastian, Armen Sorien, Khrae Var, and Fukayna Muidrehd

---

Sebastian knelt next to Fukayna, her unconscious form giving him serious cause to worry. He was no mage, and there was no way to tell what was wrong with her. What was worse was the fact that the elf was also in bad shape, his facial features of pure pain and fear were something to contend with. Whomever they'd fought, they had been powerful. To take out his most promising assassin, and a youthful elf. Did the older of their group even stand a chance? What about himself? Wounded as he was, he sure was growing old.

Leaning over he pulled the woman into his grip, an arm under her knees, the other wrapped around her shoulders. She was light as a feather as he stood with her in his arms. Turning, he witnessed the man from the phoenix clan leaning over Armen. His hand was on the elf's forehead and he seemed to be deep in concentration. What was more was the fact that he looked strained. The fight earlier and the display of power he'd shown hadn't even seemed to do a thing to the man's endurance. Whatever he was doing right then must have been even more powerful.

"What company we keep, my Lord," Sebastian whispered to himself, his thoughts going immediately to Lord V'lyn. He watched intently as Armen's face twisted into that of utter discomfort and pain, his body shuddering under whatever it was that Khrae was doing. When Khrae pulled away, the elf collapsed, sweating and seemingly in less distress than before. Sebastian was curious as to what the man had done, but he was more happy to see that the elf was a little bit better. Khrae moved and lifted Armen into his grip easily as well and turned to Sebastian.

“I hope that helped. Let’s get these two somewhere safer…”

"It seems that the mansion is safe once again, we should take them upstairs," Sebastian said and moved towards the stair case. There was the large room that was usually the medical office where the assassins would go for injuries and the like. It was there that Sebastian led them. Upon opening the door, he found it empty and felt a bit of anger wash through him. Not only had the assassin's who had stayed behind been killed, but it seemed that his staff for medical was also. Grinding his teeth, he walked over to an empty bed and laid Fukayna upon the sheets.

"I'll go get the others and we'll deal with the dead while these two sleep. I'll bring Astrid here too, she'll need to rest as well," Turning, Sebastian faced Khrae, "Thank you for all of your help, but if you're tired you should rest as well," the old assassin said, wording his sentence carefully for he did not want to insult the man in anyway. He had noted the tired look earlier when he'd lifted the elf. The last thing Sebastian needed was for the seasoned warrior to also collapse from fatigue.

With a slight nod of his head, the old assassin moved towards the door and made his way down the stairs and outside. There he found Dante on his way to retrieve his sword and pivot back around to charge towards the mansion. The old assassin put one hand on his hip, leaning on the good leg and glowered at the boy.

"It seems that you lot have had your own share of fighting, that or you're disobeying my order," Sebastian stated coldly. Without waiting for an answer, he turned to the others, "Come inside now. Stephano, take Astrid to the medical room, the rest of you will help me with clearing out our fallen brothers and sisters. After that, we'll discuss what we'll do next," he turned on his heel and limped back into the mansion to get started.

---

Talon V'lyn, Jennifer Live, and Kaya Xenlyiun

---

At first, Talon's chest clenched as he watched Jennifer take several hits. He almost ignited his own power to wash over her own and destroy everything before him. However, her cackling laughter told him that what he saw was not reality. Sometimes he really hated her illusions, they were so real they even fooled him. His lips turned into a frown as he watched her, lifting an umbrella over his head as her rain fell and scorched everything before them. Perhaps he'd allowed her to be too forward with her power.

Reaching out, he touched her shoulder. He didn't say anything, his gaze would say it all and she would know what he wanted just by looking at him. They'd been together long enough that most times, he didn't need to say a single word for her to understand his meaning. He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly at her, his lips still turned into a frown. He remained that way for a few moments until her rain stopped. Then he flicked his gaze over to who was approaching them. The person seemed unaffected by Jennifer's attack, and in response a gush of wind came at them, throwing debris all over as well.

Talon's teeth ground together as he made out the dragon behind it's owner. Then his eyebrow raised as his gaze finally sharpened and took in the man who met them. Lowering his head slightly, his blue-gray gaze turned to molten steel and he took his hand from Jennifer's shoulder to close it into a tight fist. The silver bracer on his wrist started to glow as well.

"Isaehn. I thought you were in Ro'ell," Talon growled, his voice holding a hint of accusation to it, "Perhaps you could explain to me why Jennifer was taken from me so suddenly? Or is it that the Order of Vyldi wishes for total annihilation?"

Suffice to say, by the time the main part of the group had returned to the courtyard, although Dante had recovered his blade, and although the threat that had faced the group had vanished, one member of the party was far from satisfied. Yet again, Capella found herself being toyed with, her own person mocked and her most precious treasure threatened so shamelessly, by a mere Human magician who didn't even have the courage to face her in direct combat. It made her sick, and, more than that, it infuriated her. The dark flames that had burned blackly around her arm slowly coalesced around her fist as it clenched, her knuckles cracking beneath their scaly coating as her claws scraped audibly across her armored palms, extending on draconic instinct to their full length even as her hands clenched themselves tightly based on more Human mannerisms, two conflicting displays of the vehemence of the serpent girl's rage that, although painful to behold, nevertheless seemed to have gone completely unnoticed by Capella herself as she whirled about, her golden eyes returning to their draconic appearance as the slits in both pupils grew frightfully large, her maddened gaze sweeping across the courtyard in an instant, scouring every shadow, every inch of ground for any trace of her target. In that instant, she wanted nothing more than to tear her cowardly enemy limb from limb, to disembowel him and strangle him with his own innards in retribution both for the humiliation he had inflicted upon her, and for his cowardly human arrogance in simply running away before she could do so.

"How... dare... that... brazen... mongrel...!" The Dragoness snarled through clenched teeth, spitting each and every word as though the syllables themselves were a loathsome poison. Yet, even the angry serpent knew well enough that her anger served no purpose if the one at which it was directed could not be repaid in full for his insults, least of all when her Hoard had just been nearly snatched from her. Rounding upon the boy as he recovered his blade, the Dragonness crossed the distance between them almost instantly.

"Bo- Dante," She began, hastily correcting herself as, in the heat of the moment, she nearly forgot the contract she herself had proposed - that she would henceforth address Dante by his name rather than simply as "boy." Nevertheless, shaking off this error, she continued quickly, a tone of surprising concern and urgency entering her voice, considering the all-consuming rage that she had shown just a moment earlier. "Did he do anything to you? Are you alright?" She asked quickly. To the boy's probable surprise, and further to the detriment of the mood he was trying to cultivate, the Dragoness did not wait for his response and instead, the scales on her hands vanishing for a moment, she swiftly grasped Dante by the shoulder, turning him fully to face her, at the same time gently taking hold of his chin - or at least, as gently as a dragon distressed for the safety of her most precious belonging could do anything - and raising it as she swiftly bent slightly, lowering her head as though to inspect his throat. It might only become clear to the boy what exactly she was trying to do when she began to sniff audibly, her eyes searching for any cuts or breaks in his skin. If that cowardly mage had cut her Hoard, after all, he would most certainly have to pay.

Drawing back a moment later, however, the Dragoness took a deep breath, calming herself as best she could. She had not smelled any blood, nor had she seen any significant wounds, which meant that, for the time being at least, Dante was safe and unharmed. Fortunate, but nonetheless frustrating, given the cavalier attitude he seemed to be taking to nearly having his throat slit. But, his failure to appreciate the precarious nature of his own position, Capella supposed, was also one of the things that made him such refreshing company, as this naive sort of self-confidence and perpetual optimism was doubtless one of the reasons why he found it so simple to speak to the Dragoness as he might address a member of his own species, instead of as an animal like so many other Humans had made the mistake of doing before him.

That didn't mean that she couldn't be annoyed, as his protector, at his seeming disregard for his own safety, however. And, moreover, with the frequency that he seemed to get into life threatening situations like this, Capella couldn't help but worry. But, for now, there was nothing to be done but to protect him from whatever else might be lurking in the area, even if the one she wanted most sorely to kill had already fled.

"Good. You seem to be unharmed," The Dragoness observed, rising and releasing her charge. "Be more careful next time, however. Now that you're my Hoard, I won't stand for you getting yourself hurt or killed, alright?" Despite herself, Capella couldn't help but emphasize the last of these sentences, noticing that Khrae had just returned to the courtyard, and would doubtless be in earshot. After all, the very first contract she'd made with Dante was to unite in the hopes of finally managing to break the stuck up gentleman's ever-present composure, and she intended to follow through on that promise, just as she intended to follow through on her intents to claim the boy as her own possession...

Jennifer Live

The mage’s chest heaved to display her excitement, even as Talon reached forwards to gently restrain her. How could simple touch suppress such wanton violence? For any observer, the gesture seemed futile. Yet in an impressive showcase of partnership, the rain slowed to a stop. Disappearing as abruptly as they appeared, the dark clouds parted like curtains to reveal sunny rays and blue skies. A few bleached bones enhanced the rubble strewn destruction that had been wrought in a matter of minutes. Nothing within the vicinity was unaffected, even the stone bore signs of accelerated dissolution from acid rain.

“They’re lucky that you’re here,” Jennifer huffed, offering him a queer look over her shoulder. She lowered their protective umbrella, squashing the top spring beneath her thumb and folding the canvas before tossing it listlessly. The umbrella disintegrated the moment it left her fingers, losing the materiality her physical contact offered. Her attention went to the large flapping shadow ahead of them the same time as Talon’s did.

“Isaehn…” she murmured. An angry spark of red magic crackled around her neck as she recognizing the Ro’ell mage’s smug expression. Jennifer didn’t communicate with many mages these days, not since cutting her ties with Ro’ell. The few mages she had kept in contact with, or were brave enough to converse with her, tended to be ambassadors or emissaries. Even so, it was hard to forget someone like Isaehn. She’d ordered Fukayna and the others to meet with Isaehn earlier, assuming he’d be a reliable source of information. Now, she was beginning to doubt that decision. His presence in Laowlee couldn’t have been mere coincidence.

"Isaehn. I thought you were in Ro'ell. Perhaps you could explain to me why Jennifer was taken from me so suddenly? Or is it that the Order of Vyldi wishes for total annihilation?" Talon asked, echoing her thoughts.

"I get around, what can I say? As for your concerns regarding Jennifer... Your worry for your woman is understandable but your accusations misplaced. What role would I have in her being separated from you, Talon V'lyn?" Isaehn replied calmly, shifting his gaze briefly between them. Above and below him now, it wasn’t hard to notice he was avoiding addressing her directly, a fact which gave cause to a small smile of triumph. The Ro’ell mage was as wily as she remembered him, and if her presence alone could make him crawl in his skin, all the better.

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be here, asking questions. Now would I, Isaehn?" Talon said simply.

"I assure you I had no part in... whatever debacle your woman mage might've found herself in. But from the looks of it, she has arrived unscathed. And with a friend as well." Isaehn insisted on his innocence. The mage noted the attendance of Kaya, who had so far chosen to remain silent throughout the proceedings. Noticing she’d survived also, Jennifer stuck her tongue out at the self-contained spirit seer to ensure her that her feelings of loathing had not diminished.

Their back and forth interrogation continued without mercy. The most surprising thing for Jennifer was Talon’s diplomatic manner. She was certain he’d realized that getting straight answers out of Isaehn through questioning wasn’t going to work. Was he planning something? Or waiting on her? Surely he wasn’t entertaining the thought of blindly following the mage? Jennifer’s dark eyes narrowed as Isaehn touched the neck of his dragon and smoothly slid to the ground.

"Well, I would have been in Skyfall if someone hadn't decided that it would be a good idea to tempt me. That aside, I'd like to ask some questions of the High Nine seeing as they seem to have their noses in just about everyone business."

Implying that there’s only one of them. Jennifer thought with a roll of her eyes.

"I see no reason why I cannot grant your wish for counsel. After all, that is what a good host does, correct? Makes sure the wishes of his guests do not go unanswered." Isaehn bowed non-to-graciously. "Shall we?"

"Lead the way."

“What a second rate villain. I wish he’d stop acting like he knows nothing and at least treat us with some respect,” Jennifer scoffed, “I’m pretty sure we all know where this leads.”

Despite her protests, Jennifer’s illusionary doppelganger set off to follow Isaehn obediently, walking in tow with Talon. She’d observe the procession for now and wait for the right moment to act. Neither The Nine nor Talon was likely to play it completely straight, but she was confident she could overpower them should worse come to worse. Nonetheless, best to prepare for the worst scenario. Jennifer’s nose could always smell trouble from a mile away, and at that moment, meeting The Nine smelt like a worse idea than unwashed Armen.

Armen Sorien

His eyes opened slowly, a dull headache pounding at the back of his skull. He couldn't really remember what happened, the only thing that was just slightly coherent was that Fukayna had been injured. He pushed himself up, groaning as he went. Leaning on one hand, Armen pressed the palm of his hand against his forehead between his eyes. The headache had moved. He felt so tired, his body aching all over as if he'd just been fighting for days on end without any rest. The elf looked around to find that he'd been brought into a small room. There was only one bed in the room, and it was dark. No one else seemed to be there with him. The only person on his mind right then was Fukayna and upon not finding her near by, he felt panic rising in the back of his throat.

Sliding off the bed, Armen got to his feet. The headache increased and his eyes squinted shut, teeth grinding as he tried to ignore it. He made it to the door by leaning against the wall and using it as well as a chair and dresser to get there. Once he was in the hallway he started towards another door, hoping that he would find her. He pushed it open, but no one was inside. So he turned around and went down the opposite direction and tried the door on the other side of his room.

Opening it, he found Fukayna upon the bed with Sebastian sitting next to her. Khrae was there as well. As for the others, he did not know where they were but he could hear voices throughout the mansion so he figured they were around. Stumbling inside the room, Sebastian stood quickly, worry etched on his face.

"Armen! You shouldn't be up!"

"Fukayna..."

"Sleeping. Hey," Sebastian called as Armen lost his balance and fell forward. The old assassin caught the elf before he could hit the floor.

"Fukayna..."

"She's alright, just sleeping. Damn elf," Sebastian growled in irritation as he held almost the whole weight of the elf, "Come on, sit here and stop moving around. Everyone will be getting together soon here. We'll be discussing what to do next. Our top priority is finding Lord V'lyn and Lady Jennifer. Once everyone is here, we'll begin."

Armen nodded his head slowly, his weary gaze was locked on Fukayna. Sebastian had seated him near her and so he leaned forward and took her hand in his, holding it tightly. If he had the power to heal her, to wake her, he definitely would without thinking twice. However, he feared the power that the cloaked man had woken up in him, and the last thing he wanted to do was undo whatever had helped him to fight off the enormous amounts of magic that had flooded him. Even so, he could still feel it writhing inside him, giving him the body ache and the terrible headache.

"Who was it that helped calm my power? I wish to thank them," Armen asked Sebastian. The old assassin shifted and jerked his head over to Khrae. The elf turned to the man with a surprised look that didn't last very long. He dipped his head down for a moment before lifting it to look at the man, "Thank you. You did not have to do anything."

Fay X'san

"Valentino, we'll be at Skyfall soon," Fay said over her shoulder. Her lips pulled into an intoxicated smile as she laid eyes upon the man behind her. Her horse had been at the gates of Ro'ell the entire time and since it was only one mount, Valentino had to ride with her. Not that she had any complaints about it. Still, it was strange that she was infatuated with this man. There were rare times that she felt some kind of magic pulling at her, forcing her to act a certain way. However, as soon as it came it vanished completely and it seemed like it was only just her imagination.

"I don't think I thanked you properly for saving me. And helping to get my weapons back," she lifted her dark eyes, lashes fanned out over them in a sultry kind of look, "Thank you, Valentino."

Khrae

Khrae looked up from where he was leaning against the wall as Armen entered. Raising an eyebrow at the young man, the older swordsman watched with stoically as he attempted to make his way to the girl, though it seemed he wasn’t entirely in full possession of his motor skills. Whether that was still caused by the magic which had plagued him so, or simply because his body was still adjusting from shock in combat, Khrea didn’t know. Nevertheless, he admired the elf’s tenacity and loyalty.

Closing his eyes and leaning his head back now, Khrae heaved a quiet sigh, allowing himself to relax if only for a moment. The man still had plenty to worry about, and later he’d make sure to allow time for meditation. As it was, it seemed his charge had been claimed by the Dragoness, Capella. It took nearly all of the man’s will power to not cut short their little endeavor then and there when he heard the news, and to not simply hand Dante over to one of the clan elders. As it was, the man still wasn’t sure if he’d chosen the right course by allowing the charade to continue, but to take Dante away from Capella now could be fairly disastrous in more ways than one.

Khrae of course respected the Dragoness enough to acknowledge her simple words, and while he himself didn’t take to heart their meaning as she did, he still wouldn’t invoke any anger from her. Dante, who obviously knew nothing of what was happening on account of calling Capella his girlfriend, shouldn’t be caught between whatever trouble would surely arise. The boy had a knack for getting himself into these situations, but never ones that measured up to this caliber. As it was, Khrae could at least have some peace of mind in knowing that, without him around, Dante would still be kept in good condition; however kept out of trouble was something else entirely. Khrae didn’t have an answer, but he made note to meditate on the subject later.

"Thank you. You did not have to do anything."

Without moving, Khrae opened his eyes and looked down to Armen. Offering a tired smile, the man nodded to the young elf. “Think nothing of it,” he answered simply, closing his eyes and resting his head on the wall again. “I merely did what was necessary, just as you would have.” That said, Khrae decided to stand now, feeling as though he needed to move in order to find something soft to collapse on, as well as to give Armen a little more privacy with the girl. Sebastian was watching over a fellow guild member while Khrae was an outsider. No matter how close they may or may not have become, the man still felt it right to make himself scarce for now, at least until needed. It suited him more anyway.


Donning his heavy, fire-patterned cloak, Khrae moved silently to the door, but stopped just before exiting. “You did a good job, whatever you did,” Khrae stated without turning around, “Fukayna is lucky to have such a great friend as yourself. Natural talent can only go so far compared to a good dose of determination.”

With that Khrae made his leave, though called back one last time. “I shall be in the courtyard if you require assistance with anything, Sebastian!”

A quiet serenity was what Khrae required right now. He’d deal with Dante and that entire debacle later, after he meditated.


Valentino

Valentino detested horses. In fact, Valentino detested most things that weren’t human, and even then he wasn’t particularly fond of them. As it was, he’d barely heard Fay’s announcement of their progress, having been too busy trying to forget that he was on such a foul beast, and that each of its clippity-cloppity steps caused the worse case of motion sickness he’d ever experienced. With his arms wrapped tight around Fay’s waist, and with himself constantly swaying back and forth in such a dizzying rhythmic matter, the mage could barely maintain the veil he’d cast earlier, one that suggested that his grip was merely a loving hold.

It was about now that he’d wished he’d taken up other means of study in the fields of magic. Besides his illusions, he had only a small arsenal of other combat based styles, having adopted them after one mage had decided that their magic was stronger than his, thwarting his little games. Teleportation it seemed would be even more necessary, but that was a level all its own. While Valentino was powerful, all that power went to the task of enchanting, containing and then taking even more sources of power.

“I don’t think I thanked you properly for saving me. And helping me get my weapons back,” Fay continued. “Thank you, Valentino.”

Did Valentino really have to talk? Ugh. The mage put on a smile, even though she couldn’t see him behind her. He hoped he could continue this illusion enough that his voice didn’t mirror how awful he felt. “It was my pleasure, Fay. Ag—a mis-mistress in need is what all men live foo—rr.. Bleh… Ugh…”

Valentino wasn’t enjoying himself at all. He absolutely couldn’t stand the beast, and he definitely wouldn’t make a habit of using them as means of transportation on a daily basis. It was right about now that he was thankful he rarely had to travel, and when he did, he would never complain about walking anymore.

“Dear lord,” Valentino said, “Oh, stop this infernal thing for the love of the order of Vyldi!”

Did the horse understand him? That would be terribly bad if it did, because it was at just that moment when it whinnied, shook its mane, and then snorted. Valentino in response screamed and flipped backwards, falling several feet to the hard ground. Perhaps it wasn’t entirely that he disliked animals, but rather was afraid of them.

Landing with a rather solid thud on his back, and flopping awkwardly onto his side, the man finally lost his whatever contents were in his stomach, though to be honest, he didn’t remember eating this morning. Rolling over onto his back, he heaved a deep sigh with a mixture of relief, aggravation and perpetuating dizziness. The only good thing the man could manage to think about right now was that he was off the horse, and that the ground didn’t move. “Son of a… Damn that creature and all like it! Ugh…” Bringing both hands to his face and covering his eyes, he sighed again. “Fay, I suggest we rest here! There’s a lovely field over…” Without looking up or getting off the ground, the man threw one arm to his side in order to point at the pasture which lined both sides of the road. “There.”

Luscious, green, full of flowers and, most importantly, not moving. Valentino was finally content lying in the dirt along the road, and he would’ve stayed there forever in order to avoid not having to mount that beast again, if it hadn’t been for the toad lying directly next to his face when he finally turned his head.

His scream was less than manly, to say the least. Jumping to his feet, the man dismissed everything else as he dusted batted at himself and the air, now screaming random profanities, mixed into other incoherent sounds of annoyance and bewilderment. “God damn… Away, foul … Thing!” Taking a foot, the man kicked delicately at the toad, though it didn’t move. “Go on,” he said, waving his hands at it after having moved to a safe distance of two meters. “shoo! Sickly wart infested bastard!”

Again it didn’t move.

Valentino stepped a wide arc around the creature, then pointed at it, sending a miniature blast of electricity streaking towards it. Only the sight of the creature, roasted and with its guts spilled out, freaked the man even more, invoking another fit of yelling and arm flailing.


Dante

Dante poked Capella curiously, like a child testing to see if what they were looking at was worth playing with. “Hey,” he said devilishly, “want to play a game?” With a grin like a Cheshire cat, he nodded out the window towards Khrae sitting cross legged in the courtyard, eyes closed, entirely oblivious to the world. Taking a finger and putting it to his mouth to signal silence, Dante leapt less than gracefully out the little window. It was the ground floor, so he merely had to clear a foot or two in order to be outside. Unfortunately it seemed that not even that was within his capabilities.

With his foot catching the bottom of the window, Dante found himself falling face first into the thick shrugs which lined the exterior walls of the mansion, and that decorated the perimeter of the courtyard. Rolling spastically and jumping to his feet, he took up a simple melee stance, looking as if that was exactly what he planned to do. Shifting his head back and forth overdramatically like someone searching for another opponent, he smiled as he looked to Khrae, who remained unmoving. Chuckling silently to himself, he nodded to Capella now as he crept forward, his footsteps not at all silent along the stone, towards his master.

Picking up a stick from the shrub he’d massacred upon his entrance, Dante inched ever closer, extending his arm as far as he could with the object until he was within range. It was obnoxious, like a toddler deliberately trying to coax on another into a game of tag, the way Dante moved. Looking back at Capella now and giving a thumbs up with his free hand, he turned back to the older swordsman and took the last step forward that would allow him to reach his mentor’s overly long hair.

Opening his eyes abruptly and standing, Khrae pivoted on the spot, spinning into a standing position while grabbing the stick and flicking it expertly towards Dante. Dante screamed and ran childishly, leaping back through the window, with enough clearance this time, before disappearing down the hall. Khrae simply shook his head as he sat down once again.

After having run a safe distance across the mansion, Dante stopped, snickering to himself. He’d nearly gotten a heart attack from Khrae’s sudden movements, yet at the same time knew it was coming. It was always fun to see just how far he could push the man, and even cooler the way Khrae could do things with such precision. Dante would one day reach that level and beyond, but only after he was sure that it wouldn’t turn him into a sour-puss too. Taking a moment to calm himself, Dante looked around, frowning. He needed something else to do…

Locating Capella again, he grabbed her, dragging her towards a corner.

“Shh,” he said quickly, before she could respond to any of his actions. “Mercenary Capella, you’re being hired to conduct operations with myself on a hostage rescue mission. Do you accept?!” Looking around, Dante acted as if his games were entirely serious, and that they were in danger of being overheard, requiring urgency. “Should you choose to accept, you shall come with me back to Ro’ell in order to reclaim subject F, captured by mages… What say you?”

Talon V'lyn

The assassin followed swiftly behind Isaehn as the mage led them to where they were supposed to meet the high nine. Next to him, he had his arm Jennifer, keeping her close to him. He'd lost her once already he wasn't about to have it happen again and if anyone tried there'd be hell to pay. His eyes looked around suspeciously as they walked, he didn't like the way he felt right then.

"Isaehn, it shouldn't be much further... should it." Talon asked, a hint of malice in his voice.

Already with the treatening tones. Isaehn looked over his shoulder with a low whistle, innocently shrugging his shoulders. "Not at all, V'lyn, relax." He laughed quietly. "I'll get you there soon enough."

"Ah," Talon responded lightly. A tower slowly slid into view and Talon figured that was where the High Nine were. He followed after the mage as they gained on the lonely tower. A few minutes later and the doors were opening to them, allowing them entrance. Talon allowed for Jennifer to enter first while he came in behind her.

They were immediately within the center of the dome like structure, the tiered balcony above them making it feel as if they were being looked down upon. An eyebrow raised on the assassin's face as he took in the very small handful of High Nine present. They were cloaked, hoods pulled up to conceal their faces as they sat there in the gloom. Fire light along the walls flickered, casting shadows around the room.

Lord V'lyn gave a slight huff as he eyed the group. He really disliked how they sat there, thinking they were more powerful than everyone else. One of the High Nine stood slowly, the robes that curved along their body marked her as female and her voice gave her away as well.

"Lord V'lyn, a pleasure."

"Not so much."

He could almost feel her frown on her face as she leaned forward slightly to regard them, "What brings you to our city... uninvited?"

"I think you already know that, High Nine. Seems like someone wanted my attention. Well, you've got it now."

"Are you threatening us, V'lyn?" Another of the High Nine cut in, the woman raising her hand sharply, but she was far too late.

"Take it as you wish. But, I was the one threatened first."

"Well, Lord V'lyn. There are many things that we wish to know. I suppose it's no coincidence that you're here now, and with your mage lover. In fact," the woman leaned forward even more, "Why don't we start with her hm?"

"What does that mean?" Talon growled back, his body dropping immediately into a defensive stance and moving himself in front of Jennifer.

"Welcome to your trial. Or rather, the trial of Lord Talon V'lyn and Jennifer Live."

Jennifer Live

"Isaehn, it shouldn't be much further... should it?" Talon growled out, quickly becoming impatient of Isaehn’s leisurely pace. In his infinite wisdom, the assassin decided to question the wily mage once more, hoping perhaps they’d be told something informative. It wasn’t the first time he’d voiced displeasure during their relatively short journey across the city, and Jennifer suspected it wouldn’t be the last either. Isaehn’s response was predictable as usual, a vague shrug followed by a suitably vague reply. Most normal people would’ve already pulled their hair out by then, but Jennifer just found it amusing. The intermediary tended to be like that, his casual, yet scheming personality wouldn’t allow for anything less.

"Not at all, V'lyn, relax. I'll get you there soon enough."

How patronizing, she thought.

She followed them all the way, sauntering between buildings and taking the occasional time out to enjoy the fantastic view of the sun now offered by the ruined gates. Of course, there were traps to be wary off also, so she attempted to act as appropriately cautious as an all-powerful mage could – meaning not at all. The most noteworthy characteristic, or perhaps lack of, was the absence of people. Nothing, not even a speck of grime contaminated the vacant streets, all but confirming that something was amiss in the great city.

Almost immediately on cue, their destination exposed itself before them, rising over the gabled rooftops below. "Ah," Talon said as a tower arose within sights. Jennifer spotted it at the same time also, a glorified spire of bricks in the distance. The exterior design was perfectly symmetrical, disgustingly so in her opinion. So like the Ro’ell of old. A row of twisted columns decorated the tip of the structure at regular intervals, framing an abundance of open alcoves. This pattern was repeated as the building’s footprint expanded towards ground level and eventually opened up to a courtroom of sorts.

“These people can’t get enough of their rules and order,” she half-mumbled to herself. Give people enough time and they all develop in the same way she guessed.

It wasn’t hard to anticipate what would be greeting them as they passed the entrance, and thus, weave her magic ahead of them such that her clone’s integration was seamless. Her illusionary replica moved besides Talon as they absorbed their surroundings, their attentions drawn to the balcony which housed the High Nine. Inside, a number of cloaked figures waited, watching them with impudence.

"Lord V'lyn, a pleasure," stated one of the female members, not even caring to introduce herself. "What brings you to our city...uninvited?"

Jennifer rolled her eyes as she stepped aside to venture up the closest staircase. “Why does everyone act like they don’t know what’s going on? Stop wasting our time,” she groaned, blowing a stray band of hair away from her face. For the time being she was satisfied to comb the gallery of potential threats. Absentmindedly, she also noticed that Kaya had calmly taken a seat in the public gallery. The reclusive elf had said very little since their arrival at Laowlee, leading her to once again question why Talon decided to bring her along. It’s not like she served a purpose beyond being that shoulder angel Jennifer never had.

"I think you already know that, High Nine. Seems like someone wanted my attention. Well, you've got it now," Talon said, coming to a similar conclusion.

"Are you threatening us, V'lyn?" asked another council member, a tinge of blatant animosity revealed in his tone. The first woman to speak lifted her hand to silence him, as if the gesture would do any good.

"Take it as you wish. But, I was the one threatened first."

"Well, Lord V'lyn. There are many things that we wish to know. I suppose it's no coincidence that you're here now, and with your mage lover. In fact, why don't we start with her hm?" said the woman, finally cutting straight to the matter of importance. Jennifer never quite understood their need for all the pointless preamble, she could only assume they shared her natural flare for dramatics.

"What does that mean?" Talon retorted, immediately moving forwards to shield her doppelganger.

"Welcome to your trial. Or rather, the trial of Lord Talon V'lyn and Jennifer Live."

It was hard to restrain her laughter, and neither was it particularly suitable given the situation, but she did so anyway because her real form was technically invisible to everyone for the time being. “Our trial? Who died and made you kings?” chuckled her duplicate. She signaled Talon to relax by placing her hand on his shoulder and then gazed to directly address the woman. “A trial for what exactly?”

Talon V'lyn & Jennifer Live

“A trial for what exactly?”

Even if her hand was on his shoulder, he couldn't relax. Always, always, they were after her. Something was dragged up in her past that they tried to use against her. In doing so, they were attacking him as well. What was with people and their power struggle? Was it not ever enough? His hand curled into a fist as he struggled to maintain his outward appearance of semi-calm.

The female High Nine who had been standing, leaned forward as the question was asked by Jennifer. Talon could almost feel the sneering smile beneath the dark cowl of the hood that covered her face. The woman placed her hands on the banister before her as she began to speak.

"Perhaps a list will help to jog your memory, Jennifer Live. Lets start with the most minor and lead up to the finale, shall we?" The woman's head turned off to the side. Next to her another of the High Nine stood and pulled out a piece of paper that they unrolled. The deeper voice rang out in the room as he announced what was written on the paper.

" 'Obnoxious and unruly conduct; using illusionary magic to disguise herself; intentional deception on many cases; using magic in public and disturbing the peace; blackmailing numerous organisations; destruction of Laowlee's gates; assaulting numerous officials whilst aiding Lord V'lyn; loitering around using illusionary magic even at this moment; and finally killing the soldiers that had been escorting her to Laowlee.' "

"Well, there you have it, Lady Jennifer, wife of the Lord V'lyn head of the assassin's cult. Since this is a fair trial, let's hear what you have to say for yourself?"

Talon ground his teeth together, "I hardly see this as a fair trial."

"You, Lord V'lyn, will be next, so I suggest you hold that tongue of yours."

"I don't have time for this!" He snapped, "I don't suppose you know of the destruction of Lethandrill do you? Or that the steward of that city has the gauntlet of Barthomel in his possession? I knew that I disliked you all for a reason. You always have something other than the important things to deal with."

"Why were you in Lethandrill, Lord V'lyn? I find it a huge coincidence that the city just happened to be destroyed with that unruly mage woman of yours at your side. That gauntlet has no power, we made sure of that. We also made sure that the Steward there was understanding of the fact that the item was to remain locked in it's chest at the farthest reaches of the treasury."

"Fine job of doing that," the assassin snarled in return, "Believe what you want. But I was there because the gauntlet wasn't were it was supposed to be. That man is drunk on power and he destroyed his own damned city!"

"Enough!" The woman shouted, her voice reverberating through the room, "Unfortunately even you lack evidence of that, V'lyn. To add to your growing list of atrocities, you've got nearly as good a rap-sheet as your mage woman, if not worse. Shall I list it out for you?"

Talon didn't say anything, only narrowed his now molten steel gaze, his head lowering slightly and the bangs of his hair falling down to give shadow to his gaze. The woman didn't seem affected by his threatening presence and continued onward with her so called 'trial'.

" 'Threatening and blackmailing the higher orders; intentional deception on many cases; using magic in public; the destruction of Lethandrill; the destruction of Laowlee's gates; the deaths of several council men in three of the Orders in Lastra several years ago; the death of Lord Astrad of Ro'ell several years ago; the death of Vicount Friez of Letolill several years ago; the death of Lady Sheir of Letolill several years ago; the death of Lord Ive and all of his family including the maids and servants of Laowlee several years ago..." the woman paused to take a breath, "Shall I continue Lord V'lyn? Just because you're the leader of the assassin's guild does not give you immunity to such vile actions. I don't care if another Order gave you orders to do such things. That doesn't give you the power or the authority to go about the land and do as you please. Now, with that out of the way, I think it's time we start discussing your future plans in our cells."

Armen Sorien

His heart seemed to settle as he noted that Fukayna was moving and her lips mouthed to him words that he seriously needed to hear. So she was alright after all, though he was pretty sure she wasn't feeling all that great. Even so, she had strength enough to communicate with him, that had to be something right?

"I'm glad," he told her softly, a smile on his lips, "I was so worried..."

"Now that she's awake, we can get stuff done," Sebastian said, his gruff voice filling the room as he lounged in the chair on the other side of the bed. The old man had his arms crossed over his chest, the leg that had been injured was wrapped tightly and he was nursing it gently by keeping weight off it.

"Sebastian... she just woke up."

"I didn't say I was gonna make her do anything, elf. I told you earlier we would discuss what to do next and I can't wait around any longer for the others. So her being awake helps. She's a part of the assassin's guild so it's important for her to hear."

The elf held his tongue though he didn't really like the assassin's tone all that much. His hand curled around hers and he looked down at her with a slight frown on his lips. Sebastian sighed heavily.

"It's alright, elf. The important thing right now is we need to find Talon and Jennifer. Nothing good can be going on if he's been away this long. I don't like how this feels."

"We can't just up and leave, though, Sebastian. Fukayna just woke up, I'm sure she's still in pain and in no condition to do anything-"

"I didn't say I would make her do anything-"

Armen continued, raising his voice slightly, "And Astrid is still bed ridden as well. As it stands right now we don't have much going for us. Seeing as there aren't a lot of assassins here and there weren't that many casualties too, I'm assuming that Lord V'lyn had sent most of the order out for something. I'm sure if we wait, we'll hear something soon from one of them."

Sebastian watched the youth for a long while before he heaved a heavier sigh than the one before. His head fell forward and he tapped his fingers against his arm. After a moment, he finally looked up slightly to gaze at Armen thoughtfully, "Fine. I see your point. We'll stay here for the time being. Soon as we hear from an assassin... well, we'll go from there I suppose."

Armen released his pent up breath and smiled in return to the old assassin, "Thank you."

Sebastian rolled his eyes and grunted. Standing he hobbled over to the doorway, stiff from having sat down so long, "No need..." he muttered and left the room.

The elf turned and watched the woman lying on the bed for a moment before he turned away slightly, a bit of a faint blush upon his face, "Is there anything you need?"

Fay X'san

Confusion assaulted her as Valentino fell off the horse suddenly as the creature simply snorted and shook. She pulled the reigns to stop the horse and turn it so that she could face the flailing man who was now on the ground. The elven woman couldn't even bring herself to speak as she watched him half in amusement and the other half in confusion.

What was wrong with him? It was just a horse, but it seemed that he'd gotten sick from it. Perhaps it was the jostling. Not everyone got used to riding a horse, she had seen her fair share of that with her own people. Technically the Navile weren't a people meant to be upon beasts for transportation. They had their magic after all. Fay was pretty sure that most elves were not all that accustomed to horses... but then she'd never been out of her forest to have any evidence of this.

She couldn't help a slight laugh at his flailing as he upstarted again, this time it was over a toad in the road. The adorable thing (adorable to her anyway) just sat there staring at the poor man who was cursing at it. After a moment, Valentino finally smote the creature and upon seeing what it turned into afterwards, he was even more upset again.

Fay hoisted herself smoothly off the horse and walked over to him calmly. He'd said something about resting in the green fields next to them. Reaching out she took his hands in her own and started to move them off the road where the roasted toad was at and the horse had wandered to eat some of the grass. Her smile was wide as she watched him.

"My apologies, if I'd know that you were uncomfortable with the horse, I would have used my magic to get us there faster," she told him smoothly. Though at the back of her mind she didn't have the slightest clue as to how she would do such a thing. It just felt like the right thing to say to him at the moment, or maybe it was because she was seemingly infatuated with him. It was definitely a little bit unnerving at times to feel so... out of control for some reason.

"I think it's a great idea we should rest here," she cooed, no it's not... we should be hurrying back to Skyfall an inner part of her mind spoke clearly and harshly. Yes, there was definitely something wrong with this picture, but she just couldn't bring herself to figure it out. Nor did she really want to. Or was it the other way around? It was beginning to get confusing.

Fay settled herself on the ground and patted the spot next to her, inviting the man to join her. She would leave the confusing stuff for later. Right then she wanted to relax and enjoy the man's company. No matter how much the other half of her screamed that it was wrong, that something was terribly off about him, she ignored it completely. A fools smile still crossed her lips as she sat there.

Watching as her finally consensual possession went about his little game, the Dragoness couldn't help but chuckle at what she saw, perching on the edge of a nearby windowsill and observing Dante's actions with a triple sense of curiosity, amusement, and somewhat poignant nostalgia. His actions, comical in their rather over the top appearance, seemed to Capella like an all-too-plain parallel to the attitude of a hatchling Dragon, trying at the same time to emulate the dignity of its peers whilst acting upon the playful and whimsical feelings that governed a young drake's mind. Yes, that carefree, boisterous, clumsy, and yet somehow proud and noble existence... it was one she herself must have held, a long, long time ago. Yet, if she had once lived in such a manner, Capella could not hope to obtain the slightest recollection of that past life. The memories that existed within her mind contained no such record of hatching and living as a Dragon - or even, in fact, being born and growing up amidst Humans. Loathsome though that thought might have been, it still would have been preferable to the incessant hell that she did recall, as much as it hurt her pride as a Dragon to admit that. After all, to even acknowledge that state of ultimate brokenness, of disgusting, helpless servility as her own history was a far greater insult to what dignity she could yet muster than even what should have been her single greatest shame, looking at things from the perspective of a Dragon.

It's strange, though. Surely I didn't just start existing one day in my current state, so why is it that my memory fails me so? Part of me is... Human. When was it born? From whence did it come? How did it come to be a part of me? And as for the rest of me, how did an Elder Grey Dragon like myself come to be a Human? How did I even survive as a Dragon at all? My entire tribe is dead, so how exactly do I still exist in any form, let alone in this one? It makes no sense, that a Dragon who should be dead somehow came instead to be fused with such a loathsome creature as a Human, let alone one with no memories of her past life. I don't understand. I just don't understand it! I am myself. That's all I can know for sure.

Capella sighed, glancing away from the courtyard as her hoard ran from his mentor, alternatively giggling childishly and shouting in surprise and feigned fear, like a Drake challenging its father in jest, then running away, another image that should have been nostalgic to her, but instead brought to mind only confusion and regret. She didn't want to think about that, and so instead turned her attention to her current situation. By simply focusing on the present, the Dragoness had found long ago that she could momentarily escape the past, even if she couldn't erase it. On the other hand, this diversion did little to assuage her wounded pride, thanks to the fresh insult that had only just been dealt her. Indeed, their current situation was rather unpleasant to think about, as well, with the individuals the Humans here were searching for being nowhere to be found, and themselves faced with powerful and troublesome adversaries. But, abruptly, these thoughts were suddenly pushed aside in favor of a new and surprising revelation. Capella's amber eyes widened slightly in surprise and confusion, for she suddenly realized something she hadn't noticed before. Ever since the day where she had stumbled upon the boy, Dante, and his mentor on the forest path to Lethandrill, her world had begun to grow larger. For as long as she could remember, the Dragoness had lived alone, yet on that day, she'd made a contract with two Humans on a whim, and they had become her allies. Those allies then made their own alliance, and Capella's world had grown even larger as more and more people had entered it. She couldn't say exactly when it had happened, but to her surprise, the Dragoness realized that she had surrounded herself with mortals, becoming a part of a circle of allies the likes of which she'd never even thought of before. And, moreover, although some of them were greatly insulting and annoying to her, like the Naville witch who had coddled her and tried to steal her hoard, and others didn't trust her, like the swordsman Khrae, she realized that, for the time being, they felt the same about her: that she was an unexpected, but welcome ally. Capella wasn't sure how to think about that. All of the Humans she had known had thought of her as an abomination that didn't have any place in this world. And yet these mortals... they had welcomed her? At first, she hadn't actually realized it. But, although she still didn't want to admit it to anyone, Capella couldn't help but acknowledge the fact that these were, without a doubt, her allies.

Hmph. I must be getting sof- Just then, however, the Dragoness' train of thought was interrupted by a hand suddenly placing itself on her wrist, tugging at it. Glancing down, she noticed Dante standing next to her, and it became almost immediately apparent that the boy wanted something. Not one to deny an audience with her own hoard, Capella gave a silent nod in response to his gesticulations, and hopped down from the windowsill. It was fortunate for her that she had responded so promptly, for in the next instant, Dante gave a sudden pull on her arm that actually managed to nearly take her balance, causing her to stumble hastily after him, cocking her head curiously at the apparent urgency of the matter at hand.

That is, until he actually explained things to her. Then curiosity gave way to frustration, irritation, and a feeling of slight insult. Although Dante evidently thought he was being mysterious about this whole important mission business, it wasn't at all difficult to see through his rather obvious choice of code words.

You're kidding me. Is he serious?! I do him the honor of making him my hoard, and not twenty minutes later, he's asking me to go help that witch?! Don't tell me he's still pining after her. Does he really think that he can serve two masters without slighting either? Dante... you... idiot! The Dragoness thought angrily, clenching a scaled fist in irritation at the naive boy's indecisive attitude. However, to her surprise, Capella found that the foremost emotion she felt at this indirect offense to her pride wasn't anger, it was... disappointment? Maybe she had expected more of him, she supposed. For him to try exploit her contract with him to go and run off with that Naville, Capella couldn't help but feel not only betrayed herself, but also in her expectations of the boy.

But, on the other hand, as much as she hated to admit it, she had made a contract with these Humans. Even her. It was now her duty to assist and protect them, and the Naville was certainly likely to be in danger. Besides, she had a feeling that the boy would try to go and rescue her even if she refused to help him, and that would only put him in danger. Furthermore, if she herself was present, she might hopefully be able to keep Dante in line. He was her treasure, and she needed to make sure that both Dante and the Naville witch understood that fact. So, sighing, Capella felt her shoulders slump slightly as her fist slowly unfolded and she gave a slight nod.

"You really are hopeless, even for a Human," The Dragoness sighed, shaking her head slightly and giving a wry smile. Although her words were rather condescending, her tone was more one of teasing than outright insult. The air of resignation in her voice, nevertheless, showed that she wasn't happy with this course of action, even if she was willing to aid Dante in its execution. "Still, I suppose it's my job to help you with this. I take it that we leave immediately before the stuck up one decides to see what mischief you're getting into?"

Jennifer Live

"Well, there you have it, Lady Jennifer, wife of the Lord V'lyn head of the assassin's cult. Since this is a fair trial, let's hear what you have to say for yourself?" the first woman spoke at the conclusion of her list. Damned politicians always loved their lists. Their statements caused the real Jennifer to pause by the stairwell as she briefly pondered the reason why she was being allowed to roam freely if they were aware of it.

“Ugh, Talon~” her clone protested, harassing the assassin’s sleeve like a spoilt six year old child, “We don’t have time for this – What with a lunatic waving his magic gauntlet around Reev knows where – Why don’t we just kill them and leave?”

There was more to the statement that Jennifer wasn’t willing to let the council on, a deep rooted paranoia. She preferred to call it caution. Jennifer’s terrible habit was she never really trusted anyone to complete a job done better than she could, even within the secular assassin organization. It goes without saying that the High Nine certainly couldn’t be trusted, nor any of their agents like Isaehn. If she had the time and opportunity, she would’ve dug further into the High Nine’s information bases. They should’ve been more prepared. Now at this crucial period however, the one time she needed to be exploring and securing the area, she was regulated to safeguarding Talon.

"I hardly see this as a fair trial," Talon accused, shaking off her objections. She always loathed that necessity of his too, giving others the benefit of the doubt. The man’s compassion had been the source of their problems on more than one occasion and she always felt like reprimanding him for it afterwards.

"You, Lord V'lyn, will be next, so I suggest you hold that tongue of yours," snapped the woman, evidently keen to press her point forwards.

Talon would have none of that. Quite the contrary, if her intention was to intimidate him, she failed entirely as the color flared on his features. "I don't have time for this! I don't suppose you know of the destruction of Lethandrill do you? Or that the steward of that city has the gauntlet of Barthomel in his possession? I knew that I disliked you all for a reason. You always have something other than the important things to deal with," he retorted just as quickly.

Her reply to them was, as anticipated, evasive. That’s what they were good at, shifting the blame. Jennifer half watched the progression of their conversation, continuing to scour the area for traps, until the woman’s voice boomed in a desperate cry for attention. The shout was hardly required, it wasn’t like there was an overabundance of people within the room, and that became painfully evident when her words echoed over them, carried by the spiraling interior of the tower.

Talon stood stock still, though it was clear the assassin was only remaining visibly so for the sake of courtesy. So focused was his attention that you could’ve almost called it an angry glare. Jennifer wouldn’t have been surprised had the woman had abruptly burst into flames. If the woman was concerned, she hid it well as she recommenced their discussion, drawling through another agonizing list of accusations. Her clone’s shoulders sagged as she sighed into the distance, her attention wandering elsewhere in her boredom. There were some nice vases displayed upon marble plinths along the side of the room, perhaps she’d steal some on the way out.

"Shall I continue Lord V'lyn? Just because you're the leader of the assassin's guild does not give you immunity to such vile actions. I don't care if another Order gave you orders to do such things. That doesn't give you the power or the authority to go about the land and do as you please. Now, with that out of the way, I think it's time we start discussing your future plans in our cells."

Cells? They were threatening her with iron bars and reinforced concrete walls? Jennifer thought incredulously. She’d fought no less than two ancient dragons, summoned a meteor, slaughtered hundreds without batting an eyelid and they wanted to separate her from Talon? Well fine, Jennifer could play their game also.

They could hear another sound coming from across the room, a noise which was quickly recognized as laughter. Drawing attention to her, a second Jennifer appeared next to one of the vacant seats lining the judge’s panel. “These are some nice seats you have here,” she purred, caressing her fingers over the soft velvet. Stretching obscenely, she shuffled her boots over the floor so she could plop her shapely ass on it.

“You’re getting rather ahead of yourself though ma’am. Are you not even going to give us a chance to defend ourselves? I thought that was a part of being ‘fair’ in these trials,” Jennifer’s first clone said, the one next to Talon, as she performed a gesture of air quotation marks. “Nothing you’ve said so far qualifies as hard evidence. You haven’t even presented a single piece of evidence against us. Sending us to jail now would be a gross violation of your constitution.”

“More to the point. I’d like to see you try restraining us,” the second one dared, “What exactly makes you think that I’ll come quietly?”

A lethal smile settled onto her face and her eyes seemed to glimmer as both copies regarded the High Nine, mirroring the same expression. One way or another, she was going to find out what the High Nine were planning, and she had zero qualms about employing brute force. This was who she was, snarky, defiant, and in the end, she usually got what she wanted.

Talon V'lyn

“More to the point. I’d like to see you try restraining us. What exactly makes you think that I’ll come quietly?”

Talon was hardly fazed by the fact that his lover had dispatched yet another doppleganger to taunt the High Nine. She was of a brilliant mind, and that much he could count on. It took everything he had not to smirk at them, or laugh out loud. She sure had a way with words. When they were finished here and once again back at Skyfall... he was going to have her.

He slipped his arm around Jennifer's illusion's waist, pulling her close to him. The assassin's gaze didn't leave the startled group of High Nine that were staring at the second apparition. He could feel their shock, could tell that they were now uneasy about whom they were dealing with. The only one that didn't seem too far affected was the woman, giving Talon a bad feeling about her.

"You wanted proof? Well, here's one on Jennifer's account, Lord V'lyn."

"Then why aren't you stopping her?" He asked out loud as he leaned down closer to the illusion and whispered in her ear, "Found anything yet?"

"Because there's nothing to find. Sorry to disappoint," the woman said off handidly, "As for your evidence, we have plenty of that as well. You think you clean up well enough, but I assure you, it's quite the contrary," the woman pulled from her pocket a few items which she layed upon the banister in front of her. Talon eyed the gleaming objects for a moment before it became apparant as to what they were.

They were rings.

Rings of the lords and ladies that he'd taken care of in the many years that he'd been the head of the assassin order. His lips pulled into a frown, but it wasn't a frown of being caught 'red handed'. Lifting an eyebrow he lifted his molten silver gaze to her hooded face, "So? A couple of rings gives you the 'evidence' you want?"

The woman's hand curled into a fist as she stood there, clearly his response wasn't the one she was looking for. He grinned at her then, unable to help it this time.

"Well, as fun as this has been, we'll be leaving now. As my beautiful mage stated earlier, we don't have time for this," he said and turned on his heel. The air crackled around him and he registered it as magic. Though he knew that the illusion next to him would hardly be harmed or hurt Jennifer's real body, he still threw her to the side on pure reaction. A black cage dropped down around him, just large enough to hold his size. Talon had raised his hands to cover his head as it dropped around him and when he looked about, he glowered in anger.

Whirling around he lunged forward, grabbing the bars of the cage in anger, the silver of his bracer beginning to glow brightly. The moment he touched the bars, though, the magic surrounding it burst at him. The assassin gave a cry of pain, his body rebounded from it and hit the back of the cage only to have the same thing happen. He dropped to one knee, growling in anger and wincing slightly. The silver bracer ignited, white tendrils of magic curling upwards like flames wreathed his arm.

"Now that was a very big mistake," he hissed between his teeth. The woman pulled away from the banister, her head turning between him and the Jennifer in the seat not to far away. With a sound like a snort of annoyance, the High Nine snapped her fingers together and her body vanished.

Talon already had his doubts about the woman, and with that he was even more convinced. Not a whole lot of magic hurt him all that much these days. The cage around him was definitely of some sort of darker magic that had been banished a long time ago. He snatched his hand outwards and gripped the bar, ignorning the pain that pulsed through him the moment he touched it. The white glow curled around the pitch black bars and began cracking through the magic that caged him.

"Jennifer," he called, knowing she would hear him no matter where she was, "Kill her."

The others of the High Nine stared in shock at the display of magic that the woman had just done. They were immobile, in shock no doubt about the unfolding situation. Talon ignored them. The woman was his main concern, there was something off about her. Though, at the moment he really didn't care about finding that out, hence his order to Jennifer.

His magic pulsed, grinding against the woman's as he fought to break free from the cage. What kind of dark magic was this? Something about it was slightly familiar, though he couldn't put his finger on it right then. He ground his teeth, he was going to have to unleash more magic from the bracer if he wanted to break the cage. How annoying, that damned woman was going to pay dearly for weaving such a trap.

His hand tightened around the bar of the cage, the pain grew in intensity causing his frame to shudder slightly and bend over. The white glow grew as well, engulfing his shoulder as well as it spread out over the bars. He could feel the bar beginning to crack underneath his grip and a few seconds later the entire thing shattered around him completely. Talon went to stand, only to fall forward on all fours, a deep cough forcing its way through. Flecks of blood coated the floor beneath him.

When he was done, he wiped his lips with the back of his hand and glowered up at the seats before him, "If you wish to live you better stay right there and do nothing to interfere," he ordered, absolutely livid.

Armen Sorien

She rested against him and he kept his arm wrapped around her. Armen was more than happy to see that she had recovered. Fukayna had been the center of his thoughts the moment he'd regained consciousness. He'd been fearful that the woman had been killed from the attack. She seemed fine though, tired of course, but otherwise just fine. The elf released a soft sigh and leaned forward slightly to ease his position. His fingers began stroking her silky hair, pulling the locks of white through his fingers. It was so soft.

Fukayna was very small next to him, he felt he could engulf her entirely. He rested his arm across her shoulder, allowing her to lean against him. It was a strange filling that filled his chest, made his heart beat a little faster, and caused the normally pale skin on his face to heat and turn a slight red color. Armen would have loved to stay there forever, lost in her warmth.

However, after a long while of just listening to her breath against him, he felt a sharp pull in his chest. He ignored it at first, not wanting to alarm Fukayna. The pulling grew increasingly and soon he was unable to keep it a secret anymore. Lightly pushing her off him, he turned away and clenched at his chest, eyes shut tightly as he ground his teeth. It was the pain of the magic from before, but there was something else mixed in.

A faint presence began to push against his conscious, the pressure giving him a headache. Slowly he fell forward until he was on the floor. Half curled in a ball, his chest heaved, breath hitched in his throat and coming out in heavy pants. He didn't like the presence at the back of his mind, but the more he pushed it away, the more it came back until finally it broke through. Armen gasped, his eyes flying opened but not seeing what he was facing.

I've been waiting a long time for you, the deep rumbling voice echoed through his mind.

"What the... who... what do you..." Armen couldn't really get his thoughts together, nor could he finish what it was he wanted to say.

Who am I? I'm called Ivorine. I'm a dragon, and I'm calling out to you because you're mine and I am yours. What I want is to help you. I cannot allow my rider to die, that is the way of a dragon. Or rather, the way most were when we had human companions. We are a dying race, you see.

"...what?" he panted, more questions flooding his mind but washed away with the growing pain of the power that had been stirred up by the stranger the day before.

You must hurry, in that condition you won't last long.

"Where..."

The mountains behind your city. I'm only able to reach you because I've gone to the very edge of where I'm being held in chains. It's taken all I can to reach you now, I've been trying to for days. Perhaps it is your magic that is helping, who knows. But right now you need to come to me. I can help you. Be wary of those cloaked in black, my little elf.

As the deep voice continued in it's speech, the pressure in his mind slowly faded and the voice became far off sounding as well. Then it all faded away, all except the pain of his overflowing magic that he struggled to contain. What exactly just happened he wasn't sure. However, if there was a slim chance at fixing what was done to him, he'd take it. It didn't matter if it was some strange dragon who offered it to him.

Lain Gareev

The sound of heavy chains shifting filled the dark cavern where Lain was at. Out of curiosity-- or poor judgment depending on how you looked at it-- he'd followed J'haren into the caves when they'd left the headquarters of the Nine. As of late, his superior was doing some very strange things and Lain was intent on finding out what it was. Of course, he was still curious as to why he'd been ordered by J'haren to kill the elf several days ago. However, nothing had cropped up to answer that question.

So he had started his own snooping around. There wasn't much to find though, J'haren was good at hiding his tracks, even to the High Nine. Lain wasn't all that trusting of the High Nine either, so he'd not gone to them in many weeks with his questions. He figured they would either avoid the topic entirely, or turn it around on him and he would be the one in trouble.

As he crept through the cave, going even further into the darkness he could hear something very large shifting at it's end. Chains dragged along an uneven floor and soon after, the sound of breathing filled the air. J'haren's voice echoed out too soon after and Lain froze where he was, half fearful that the Nine had figured out he'd been followed. The Nine was pretty positive he'd hid his presence well enough, though.

"Still trying, hu?" J'haren's voice curdled the air with it's acidy tone. Lain shivered slightly, he'd never heard that tone before.

"Foolish human," the deeper voice was thick in an accent of a kind that the Nine did not recognize at all. It also sounded as if the common language was not one that it used often, if at all.

"The elf is dealt with, long gone and dead. There's nothing left for you here."

The strange voice echoed out with a rumbling laugh that shook the cave and the tunnel where Lain stood, "Your chains and magic will not hold me for long," scratching alerted Lain that the creature within had dragged it's claws along the ground almost as if it were threatening J'haren, "You can be certain of that."

"Perhaps, but I'm certain that it will be far too late once that happens," J'haren returned and the sound of his footsteps growing closer made Lain move.

The Nine quickly exited the cave before his superior could and he disappeared quickly via magic. He did not return to the home of the Nine, though. He had a bit to think about before returning there and he was also fairly sure that going there right then would be dangerous for his health. Lain tapped his finger against his lip. The only place with enough knowledge to even get him a bit started on his search was Ro'ell.

Time to visit the mages.

Khrae

Khrae sat motionless in the courtyard, contemplating what he'd just experienced. The answers he received through his meditation were usually fairly cryptic and ambiguous, but this... With a heavy sigh, the man closed his eyes again, allowing his mind to clear once more. He wouldn't continue his meditation, but instead he decided that he'd focus on trying to make sense of--

'You must hurry, in that condition you won't last long.'

Yes, that.

.. Wait.

Khrae opened his eyes again, looking around in a bewilderment. No, it couldn't be... But, yes. There it was again, that voice. Had he really just heard that voice again? It was ancient, dark and powerful, but most importantly, it was still talking.

...Why was it still talking?

Perhaps then it was someone else... Someone who was speaking, but they had managed to break through the man's concentration, their words thus becoming distorted... But the courtyard was empty. It had been so ever since Dante had attempted one of his usual tricks, and the man was certain that this couldn't be just another of the boy's games. Besides, the man's concentration wasn't something easily broken. For whatever reason he'd received this particular message, and normally that wouldn't be strange in the least, as he usually openly accepted whatever answers he was granted, but then normally they didn't follow him out of his meditated state. Albeit the words were fainter now, but he still heard them nonetheless.

'Be wary of those cloaked in black, my little elf.'

Elf?

"Khrae!"

Sebastian had burst out of the double doors, his gaze looking wildly around for the man. The room where the elf was with the assassin Fukayna was right above them, the window shook violently before shattering and letting loose a loud 'boom'. It lasted only for a second, but the pressure that flooded the courtyard held the same feel as the magic that had exploded in the mansion just the other day. Sebastian ducked on impulse before looking up over to the window.

"The elf! Can you do anything?"

Khrae stood quickly, pushing a hand through his hair to straighten it from the sudden explosion of energy as he looked up to the window overhead. While the voice he'd just heard wasn't at all familiar, that surge of power was something he was acquainted with, even if only for a few brief moments. It was the same energy that had crippled Armen the previous day, and Khrae can't say that he was particularly happy to have to deal with it again. With a quick nod to Sebastian, the swordsman wasted no time in bolting towards the now opened doors, allowing the older assassin to lead the way up to the young elf's room.

Wait.. Elf? Armen.. Was it just a coincidence, or... No.

Not important. Khrae dismissed the thoughts for now, feeling that it would be better to interpret these occurrences later, when he could focus better. More pressing was the matter of the state that he found Armen in as he burst into the room. Indeed he was bursting with the same power as previously, and again he appeared to be experiencing the same horrific effects. Moving quickly, the swordsman knelt on the floor next to the young elf, putting a hand against his forehead, giving him a quick look over, and lightly placing two fingers on his neck to check his heart rate. He seemed to be okay, other than the probably excruciatingly uncomfortable feeling that must accompany having a great source of power forcing itself from ones body like an overstressed meat bag.

The fact that an elf had an untapped innate magic was nothing new or particularly shocking, but what worried Khrae was the volatile state it seemed to rest in, and then the potency it possessed when released. Whether or not the power was stronger than last time, Khrae couldn't tell right off-hand, but the man set to work anyway in trying to contain it. It was all he could do for now, and he only wished that it wasn't having any unfavorable side-effects. A powerful mage would probably know what to do better than himself, but it had worked once before and it was all he could offer until he found a way to safely channel the power out in a less explosive manner.

Tracing two fingers up from Armen's neck onto his forehead, Khrae closed his eyes, now searching for where the power was strongest within its vessel. Gently the man placed his other hand just over the young elf's chest, then closed his eyes, beginning his prayers.

Several moments later and Khrae was almost literally blown back away from Armen. While he did manage to put enough energy into the young elf to hopefully clear or suppress his power, the man's own had seemed to escape him, exploding back in his face as if hitting suddenly a brick wall. Normally the Khrae wouldn't have allowed that much to seep in, and if it did, he'd of kept control of it, but he'd allowed himself to slip, momentarily distracted by something which gave him great reason to worry.

Coughing and sputtering, Khrae moved slowly, his entire body suddenly aching not only from accepting all that power, but from having it suddenly reverse back on himself. Rolling onto his side, the man propped himself up on one elbow, trying to support himself as he stood up off the floor, all the while attempting to regain control of his body, suddenly shaking. His chest was tight, as were all his muscles, and the man spent a good amount of time simply leaning against the wall, blinking and coughing until he simply couldn't anymore. Resignedly, he simply allowed himself to press his back against the door frame, then slide down exhaustively.

Looking back up to Sebastian, he offered a weak smile and shrug, then found himself grasping at his stomach as it felt like a hot blade were suddenly piercing his abdomen.

"Ahh, Damnit.." Khrae gasped through clenched teeth. Several seconds and it passed, and the man allowed himself to go limp as he looked to Armen. Still more or less panting, the Khrae blinked again, nodding. "Heh...Agh.. Hopefu-Hopefully that'll hold..." Once the man was in control of himself again, he'd discuss with Sebastian what he had just experienced. It was definitely no coincidence, and that was definitely one of the cloaked figure's voices.

Damned mages, Khrae huffed.

"Damn," the old assassin huffed as he leaned heavily against the doorway near Khrae, "I'm getting to old for this..." Sebastian sighed, "Mages hu? Don't like the sound of this. It would be better if Jennifer or Lord V'lyn were here. In any case, looks like the elf is better. At least for the moment. What about you? That was quite a hit there."

Khrae sighed, shaking his head and waving a dismissive hand. His breathing was becoming easier, and at least he didn't feel like his heart was trying to rip itself from his chest. "Fine," he commented simply, "Just... Got away from me.."

With another huff, the man pressed up against the wall, forcing himself to stand. "We should get Armen to a place where he can rest..." Khrae said tiredly, "Then we should really discuss something concerning..." The man looked to Fukayna, then back to Sebastian, hoping that perhaps he could convey the importance without having to say anything that could possibly worry the poor girl. Until some sense was made of all this, it was no use causing unnecessary trouble. Plus, Khrae wasn't even sure what it concerned... Perhaps Sebastian could help him decipher what had just happened, but the man wasn't about to make any assumptions pertaining to any coincidences that may or may not be just that.

Moving towards the young elf, Khrae knelt to gather him, but just before the man had a chance to do anything, a thought suddenly struck him. One that, by decree of the clan, required more attention than anything else the man had to worry about. "Have you seen Dante?" Khrae inquired suddenly.

"Dante? The little runt that's always causing trouble? No, haven't seen him," Sebastian answered, an eyebrow lifting slightly, "I thought the little trouble maker was with you..." the old assassin muttered.

Pushing off the doorway, he motioned for Khrae to follow him with Armen in tow, "You can put him back in the room he was in earlier to rest, then we can talk in the hall if you wish."

Khrae moved sluggishly, if a bit lethargically, nodding as he picked up Armen and moved from Fukayna’s room, following the old assassin. His meditation had only just settled his mind and body, returning him to a refreshed and rejuvenated state, but it seemed that fate refused to allow him any time to lounge in such comforts. Even before he’d completed his meditation, someone or something insisted on gathering his attention, and not seconds afterwards, he was forced to resort to his clans Sacred Powers once again. Of course that’s not to say that the man wouldn’t waste any time in doing it again, but the physical toll was extremely strenuous, and already the man felt as though he’d aged several more years.

The man was still in his youth, however, especially when compared to some Clan Elders, but already his joints ached, his back and neck felt stiff, and his muscles burned. He knew that there were always some unfavorable side-effects, and the man could suffer through the momentary discomfort usually without batting an eye. What he didn’t look forward to were the complications that would arise later in life, most pressing of said issues being a shortened time one had in this world. Khrae wasn’t at all afraid of death seeing as he was vastly, if not entirely, a spiritual man, but the clan was dedicated to perfecting the mind to such a caliber and degree that could only be attained from the longest, purest life. Such a long, fulfilling life could only be obtained through the strictest of guidelines in every way each clansman conducted themselves.

Reading supplied the clansman with the knowledge to produce a mind sharper than any blade. Training induced discipline as each man and woman honed their abilities. Everything a clansman did was dedicated to progressing forward, with nary a move put towards counter-productivity. No action, spoken or otherwise, could ever be taken back, no mistake was affordable. The precision of the body, a blunt tool to be guided by the mind was trained to move expertly, each and every movement adequately assessed before enacted. The highest of the clansman seemed to always float, rather than walk. Carried with a certain grace, even the art of taking a step was perfected so that the hindering pauses and unnecessary undulation of the body as weight was transferred from one foot to the other was surpassed. No time was wasted, and speed, as well as every other factor, was constant. Finally, meditation synchronized everything, and even the action of remaining still in an ever changing world was turned into a constant and steady advance ahead.

Combined, a clansman was then granted access to divine enlightenment and further development under careful tutelage from the ancestors, granting abilities obtained by only the most dedicated. Such a gift was truly just that, and a carefully guarded one, not to be employed for selfish reasons, but in order to better the clan as a whole. Skilled in the complete and utter control of this power, the Clan Elders wielded it with enough efficiency as to destroy, to heal, to move, and to think. Spiritual energy. It was much more natural and refined than the raw magic these mages wielded…

Khrae contemplated this all the while he walked, knowing well that, while he was strong, he still had a great distance to travel in order to even think of matching the level of the Clan Elders. His path was then detoured even more with the acceptance of the task of guiding the free-spirited Dante, but he trusted that the Ancestors plans would surely pay off in the long run. With that thought in mind, and after having put Armen safely back in his room, the man met Sebastian in the hall.

Looking at the older assassin, Khrae sighed, sincerely unsure of where to even begin. The explanation of such a thing as what he’d happened to stumble upon was beyond him, but nevertheless, the man took a shot.

“First of, let me start by saying I’m still working on attempt to decipher what any of this means. To put it into words seems nearly implausible, so I’d like to try something. It must be witnessed and experienced first-hand.” Deciding that this was the best course of action, Khrae nodded, though it was more to encourage himself than Sebastian. The assassin was obviously a well-learned man, and so the swordsman had no doubt that he would have no trouble in conveying to him the bewildering greatness of what he’d intercepted. He still had yet to solidify in his mind that it involved Armen, but that was simply because the man never made assumptions without good reason. Of course it wasn’t that he didn’t have a good reason to assume so, but he also had a moment to stop and fully comprehend the situation, as well as employ a third-party.

“Now then,” Khrae continued casually, “have you ever meditated?”


Dante

Under normal circumstances, Dante would’ve been too naïve to notice the look Capella seemed to adopt when he mentioned the details of his plan to her. Under normal circumstances, Dante would’ve been completely oblivious to a look of betrayal, seeing as how, being the embodiment of innocence and so care-free, such a term was a lost art. That’s not to say that he didn’t have the ability to comprehend when someone wasn’t being entirely honest, nor to understand why someone would be angry, but more so he simply always got too distracted by all the other joys of life that so easily outweighed the little things. When he did something wrong, if it was accident, he obviously never meant for it, and unless outright told, never picked up on it; if on purpose, it was usually in good-humor, never malicious intent.

Of course, seeing as this was indeed normal circumstances, Dante remained completely turned off from Capella’s displeased look, only acknowledging her, albeit resigned sounding, acquiescence. With an overjoyed smile, Dante allowed only a moment for himself to be lost in an overwhelming sense of joy, grasping tight the Dragoness and embracing her in a bear hug. A moment later though, he returned to his feigned seriousness, though the playful undertone was blatantly obvious.

Crouching again, with his arms spread to either side as if ready to accept an attack or flee at a moment’s notice, Dante’s head swung back and forth before he began moving not at all silently towards the Guildhouse’s exit.

“Day one,” Dante began speaking quietly, in-between his unnecessary jumps across the hall to hide in doorways, mimicing stealth, “we’ve begun our campaign to capture subject F. Dante, witty, cunning, clever and… uhm. Smart guy… Heh. Has enlisted the help of Capella, the … something or other… capr.. capreshe? Caprishush? Dragonness….”

Running loudly across the hall once more, Dante glanced back at Capella, nodding and giving a thumbs up before spinning around the corner, adopting a fighting stance in order to combat the vacancy he found himself staring at. “The way is clear for now… Enemies lurk. Khrae, the evil, grumpy troll is around… somewhere… With any luck, we can escape his dreaded castle and return to the task at hand!”

Jumping forward, Dante landed awkwardly on his side and rolled comically a few feet, before army crawling and finally dashing to the mansion entrance. Pressing his back against the wall again, he peered through the door to the outside world.

“No guards or sentries… Why say you, Capella?!” Looking back to the Dragoness, Dante waited for her response before continuing outside, wasting no time in karate chopping a random bush and then drawing his sword and hacking away at a stump, shouting out random battle cries before running across the grass, as if being chased by enemy soldiers. His games caused him to momentarily forget that he’d left his sword impaled into the truncated piece of wood.

Rushing back, Dante spent another second or two attempting to pull his blade free, landing on his back as it finally came loose. Standing and attempting to cover the embarrassment, Dante swung the blade around and pointed down the road they had come from the previous day. “Come, Capella!” he called probably too loudly, “Our mission awaits!”


Valentino

Valentino inspected the spot Fay had chosen for him carefully. No bugs, toads, horses… Just dirt. Dirty dirt. Blech. Inwardly wincing and rolling his eyes, the man hated for his beautifully flawless white attire to be stained, and so he held up a graceful finger as an idea occurred to him. It was just enough to distract him from his previous uproar, as well as help impress the beautiful new target he’d acquired.

“One moment, darling” he offered charismatically. Turning, the man walked several paces before coming to a stop. With a blue glow emenating from his fingertip, he drew a square in the air, then began filling in details containing a large circle with several smaller ones inside it, decorated with odd runes. It was a less conventional means of magic, but definitely a more enticing one. It was mysterious and interesting to watch, and usually came with just as good results as if he were to cast a simple spell without the showmanship. Conjuration of a rock entity or whatever else was difficult, but the picnic which appeared was honestly a low-level trick. Easy mastery and it came in handy more times than most cared to acknowledge. Especially during the lonely nights when Valentino was too lazy to actually cook something.

What was laid out after a short chant was simple yet romantic. Atop a plain purple blanket embroider whimsically in gold hearts and vines sat several modest platters of cheese, meats, and some fruits. A small candle sat in the center, burning a strange pink, rather than yellow. Easy, and in truth, the only thing that Valentino could produce. But his inability to do anything other than illusions, short of this and a few other miscellaneous spells, was irrelevant. Honestly this wasn’t entirely a spell, but more of a summoning. Encrypted in a tome amongst several other locked away treasures, Valentino had sealed this spell away, enjoying his ability to use it whenever he wished, without ever running short of supply.

“I know how much you must want to be continuing on, but it’s no use traveling on an empty stomach. Why don’t you tell me a little more about yourself and these friends while we immerse ourselves in a snack? Hmm?”

With a wink, Valentino took Fays hand to help her up and relocate her to the purple fabric laid out over the grass. With a gentle kiss on the back of her hand, he gestured for her to sit.

“A little conversation never hurt,” Valentino said casually, taking a seat next to his newfound treasure. “And I’d love to hear about these people you were traveling with. They sound like an interesting group, despite leaving you behind.”

---

---

Well this was...

.... interesting.

Interesting was the word she'd give this whole debacle without being incredibly insulting. Kaya had refused to move from her seat once this trial began. She did not want to be banded with the others. She believed in saving all souls, in attempted purification. But some souls were beyond saving. Such was the case with the lively Jennifer who seemed intent on angering those that opposed her. The man Talon was not much better, though more diplomatic, he was still just as hostile as the mage.

Her hands clenched into fists as the man casually turned on his heel as if about to leave the courtroom when a cage fell over him. The man growled, gnashing his teeth in a threatening manner. And then he gave an order no man ever has the right to give. She could not condone this. Perhaps she couldn't have stopped him in the past--he was the head of an assassin's guild after all.

Now she understood where she had known his name from--why this mage had seemed familiar. Even for one sheltered such as she... these two were known widely for their deeds, especially the woman. Her lip curled in disgust. How could they think they had a right to rid others of life, the greatest gift of all? The man struggled against the bars, his gaze whiplashing to the seats.

"If you wish to live you better stay right there and do nothing to interfere," What did that mean? Was that directed at her? Had he sensed her annoyance? Kaya stood slowly, glowing eyes narrowing as she gazed at the pair. There was no way she could just--

She was halted in her motions by a hand on her shoulder and turned to observe the man with the glasses from earlier. He had been so silent... she had barely even paid him any heed since they entered the room. He shook his head, a faint smile on his lips.

"Let them handle it. I have another plan in mind for you." She moved out of his grip, staring at him pensively.

"You are the one that brought them here. Why should I listen to you?" She questioned, brushing some hair out of her line of vision. The man's smile only widened.

"Because you will not want to be here once that mage woman gets going. Do you honestly think you want to be a part of the carnage?" Kaya did not trust him but the man did have a point. If she were a witness to the scene, they may attribute her to having ties to these two assassins. And the priestess did not want that. She had only come looking for answers as to why Lethandrill was destroyed and she had found them. The mage woman was responsible for the death of her kin.

She nodded, allowing him to place his hand on her arm and lead her away from the seats. He was bringing her closer to the wall but did not seem to be heading directly for the exit. She shot a look back up at the group of hooded figures, noticing that there was still one of them staring at the pair. Hm. This wasn't going to be a simple task to get out of here, now was it?

"What do they really want with them? Are their crimes truly as grievous as all that?" She asked. Even if she did not like the mage woman or her mate... she did not directly agree with the council either. The man just shrugged,inclining his head towards her.

"For the most part, yes. Those two are criminals," His smile turned a touch malicious as it widened to a smirk. "But in some circles, so am I and most certainly, so are the high nine. As for the destruction of Lethandrill, however..." He trailed off, appearing thoughtful. "Let us just say that things aren't always so black and white."

"So you're saying the mage didn't destroy the city?" She asked.

"Believe what you like, I am only an observer." Did no one know how to answer directly? Kaya was worn out simply from asking questions. She looked back over at the events unfolding in the courtroom, now a safe distance away thanks to this man. Whatever was happening... it was bigger than she had anticipated.

---

---

Fukayna shifted--something was missing... Her eyes flitted underneath her eyelids as she opened them slowly, intaking her breath as she felt her body shift. Everything still ached--though that much was to be expected... She had let herself drift off for a few moments there. Armen's grip had been comforting enough so she had felt secure enough to try resting again. But now that was missing... why?

She spotted him, the boy knelt on the ground and shivering slightly. She hesitantly went to reach over, to place her hand on his shoulder, but withdrew as she felt it. That same sensation from earlier, back at the mansion. He was exuding that magical feel again--more powerful than she had even felt from... dare she say it, Miss Jennifer. She was hesitant to even compare him to such a great mage but there was no denying this incredible feeling.

The ground vibrated as a tremor passed through the room, emanating from the elf. She had to call for help--she had to get Sebastian, even Khrae!

As if answering her silent wishes, the pair burst through the doors just seconds after she conjured these thoughts. Khrae was quickest on the uptake and immediately knelt down next to Armen, skimming his fingers up to the boy's forehead. She could feel the older man doing... something. Perhaps it was a suppression technique? Either way, it only seemed to work for a moment for not a minute later, the swordsman was blown backwards from Armen and he hit the far wall.

She started, half-getting up from her perch but her body forced her to resume sitting. Sudden movements did not do her well. Sebastian walked over to Khrae and she narrowed her eyes underneath her bangs as they discussed something under their breaths. The look they gave her... clearly it was about Armen. Or maybe even about V'lyn or Miss Jennifer. She wanted to protest, to demand they tell her, but she was in no state to.

The older assassin and the mentor both hoisted Armen up, each carrying a portion of his weight from the room. Where were they taking him? Logically, he would need a bed to rest so... perhaps back to his room? What were they trying to hide from her? What did they not want her to know? Or maybe they thought she would be worried...

No! She had a right to know. She was one of the assassin's guild now. She was a part of the family. She ground her teeth together and forced herself to straighten, ignoring the pain that shot through her legs. She wasn't about to sit idly by and be left in the dark about everything.

Fukayna walked over to her chair, grabbing her furs and wrapping them about her once more. She glanced briefly at her shoes but didn't bother with them--there was no point. She stumbled over to the doorway, clasping the handle to keep herself upright. She was just able to catch a glance of the two men rounding the corner. Yes, she knew where that led. They were going to Armen's room.

She leaned against the wall weakly, trembling as she followed them at a safe distance. She was sure that with as weak as she was, her presence would barely register if at all. She paused as she caught the sound of Khrae's voice in the hallway, smooth as always.

“... still working on attempt to decipher what any of this means. To put it into words seems nearly implausible, so I’d like to try something. It must be witnessed and experienced first-hand.” She bit her lip, trying to lean closer to hear better. “Now then, have you ever meditated?” Disappointment settled in her stomach. Nothing good ever came of eavesdropping and she was being proved right.

Still she... she had to do something, right? She was different from Sebastian and Khrae. She had been a mage of Ro'ell... maybe if she was just able to observe Armen better....

But first, she had to find a way around the pair to get to his room. She sighed deeply, rubbing her temples. She would do this, somehow.

Jennifer Live

Jennifer’s clone stumbled sideways from the force of his push, managing to stagger just far enough to avoid the indomitable black cage prepared for them. The impact cracked the ground with a calamitous wham, scattering broken chips of marble across the floor. “Talon!” she screamed, picking herself off the deck. In her moment of panic, she lost the concentration to keep her illusion tangible and the doppelganger that’d been besides Talon all this time faded away like a dream.

In fact, so too did the one who’d so casually claimed one of the vacant seats above. Jennifer released a low growl as she appeared alongside another banister, her right arm outstretched towards the doorway. Her expression was furious as she passed a deadly glance over the flustered council members. To her surprise, they seemed as genuinely shocked by the sudden events as she was. Something was definitely wrong, but she was far more irritated at the fact that she’d missed such an obvious trap. The cage looked like it was made of obsidian, a substance renowned for its magic resistance. It was so effective that at the peak of its prosperity Laowlee used to be entirely constructed of obsidian, having formerly been inhabited by the non-magical races of Lastra. Unfortunately it wasn’t dragon proof.

The High Nine had showed their hand, and it was time to show theirs. "Jennifer, kill her."

Glad to see her lover unscathed, a grin curled over her red lips, seemingly emphasized by her pale complexion as Talon gave the signal. That was twice in one day that he’d given her permission to cause destruction, not that she needed it in situations like these. “Gladly, world fracture!”

Wooden planks and nails materialized over the central space before hammering into the doorway, barring any chance to escape. She’d deal with the woman first, trusting Talon to handle the cage. Their trickster had vanished with a click of her fingers, implying that magic had been employed somewhere along the line. So much for restricting magic. Jennifer was persistent however. If illusions were used then their assailant would still be close. Jennifer eyes combed over the interior, searching for any signs of movement. Gently, she began weaving illusions of her own, replacing herself with another doppelganger to step away from the railings.

It figured that the woman would show up the moment her assassin lover was in danger. No matter, she would make her way out of there with time to spare. Or rather... would have if that mage woman hadn't barred the door. Grinding her teeth, the High Nine whirled around, using the shadows. There really wasn't too far she could go. The only other places being beneath the tower and the rooms behind the one that she had held the audience in.

The tunnels beneath seemed far more inviting than being found in a room though. Another light snap of her fingers and she vanished from her spot near the door, reappearing in the dim gloom of the underground tunnels. They led into the city, the farthest corners. No one knew about them, only a few of the High Nine did.

She stormed down the hall at a brisk pace, intent on getting as far away as possible. A confrontation with the mage Jennifer was the last thing she wanted. Especially since her lover had just let her off her leash. Not that the woman ever had a tight leash to begin with. Even so, the woman only ever listed to that man and it was dreadfully troublesome. Damn... she should have killed the both of them when she had a chance. Now she had to deal with an enraged assassin and his pet.

Fortunately Jennifer couldn’t read minds, nor was she omnipotent; otherwise the tower would’ve likely ceased to exist from her careless comment. She was a fraction too late to react to the woman as the high nine’s fingers clicked and she vanished into thin air, disappearing to Reev knows where. Clearly the woman had planned numerous escape routes in advance, leading Jennifer to ponder what else they’d arranged.

“How meticulous,” she sniffed, tearing her deadly gaze back to the council. There was a tinge of annoyance as the mage readdressed the members still anxiously seated. “Eeny meeny miny mo.”

Singling out the man who’d been so promptly cut off by his colleague earlier, Jennifer leapt over the balcony to journey mid-air to his position, bringing with her what could only be described as a palpable air of dread. She floated effortlessly, naturally even, taking easy strides as though walking on an invisible bridge before sliding her legs over the barrier directly in front of him. Preceding her entry was a grid of iron bars which snapped into place behind the shrouded individual, essentially trapping him. Jennifer lifted one leg over the other as she seated herself over the rim.

“Oh my mister, that was such an impressive magic trick,” she ventured with false innocence, casually leaning back with both arms braced upon the edge, “You’ll show me how you did it, won't you?”

Sebastian, Armen and Khrae

“Now then, have you ever meditated?”

Sebastian had followed Khrae into the next room where he placed the unconscious elf upon the bed. The old assassin could only hope that the boy would be fine this time. His lips pulled into a frown as he looked at the elf's silent features. Armen had been in so much pain just moments before, it was almost a false calm that had settled over him right then.

Turning back to Khrae as the swordsman asked him the question, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall next to the door, "If you consider sword training a type of meditation, sure. If all I need is to concentrate on nothing, then I should be fine," the old man answered gruffly.

He wondered what it was that Khrae wanted to show him. There was a little bit of worry as well. What could have possibly unsettled the man before him? Granite, he didn't know Khrae all that well, but enough to realize that something was definitely off about the situation. Once again, his eyes laid upon the elf. He was almost a hundred percent sure that whatever it was that had Khrae on edge... it had something to do with Armen. Whether that was bad or good... well that remained to be seen.

Fay X'san

“I know how much you must want to be continuing on, but it’s no use traveling on an empty stomach. Why don’t you tell me a little more about yourself and these friends while we immerse ourselves in a snack? Hmm?”

Valentino took her hand and lifted her up to her feet. She grinned foolishly at him as he led her to the blanket and sat her upon it after kissing the back of her hand. His lips, as they pressed against her skin, left a slight burning and tingling feeling that coursed from her hand up her arm.

“A little conversation never hurt. And I’d love to hear about these people you were traveling with. They sound like an interesting group, despite leaving you behind.”

Fay giggled lightly as her eyes laid upon the banquet that he'd summoned up. She was far too giddy for her own good, and yet again that feeling that something was off pulsed at the back of her mind. The Navile woman shook her head slightly, black hair that had fallen out of it's clip crisscrossed over her shoulders as she did so. Leaning back on one arm, she took a deep breath before speaking.

"Well, I don't know any of them very well. The man who's in charge of the entire group is called Talon V'lyn, but most everyone calls him Lord V'lyn. Probably because he's the leader of the assassin's order. Then there's his wife, Jennifer Live. She's a lovely woman but she's kind of mean. She doesn't like anyone other than Talon. Makes me wonder what background she comes from to have such vile notions towards everyone else.

"Then there's a couple of younger assassins, their called Fukayna and Astrid. Astrid is a bit of a trouble maker, especially with her dragon around. Fukayna doesn't speak at all, which is rather strange. But she seems sweet all the same. Then there's the elf. His name is Armen. Such a strange individual. He was injured last I saw him and Lord V'lyn and Jennifer took him back to Skyfall to nurse him back to health. It's almost like he doesn't know himself really, so I'm unsure about him. He seems honorable though.

"Then there's a pair from the phoenix tribe. I've never heard of them before, but they seem to be very powerful. Well, the one at least does. His name is Khrae and he's pretty quiet most times. A very serious man. He looks rather young, but I get the feeling he's much older than that, kind of like myself. Then there's Dante. He's quite handsome as well. He's a bit on the playful side, doesn't take things very seriously, but... I think... I think I..." Fay stumbled in her random string of sentences. Why was she even telling him that anyway? She couldn't really remember, but the moment she mentioned Dante, she started thinking about the youth fondly. Her eyebrows came down in confusion as she sat there, trying to regain her thoughts.

"I think I... might like him?" she ended in a question. Maybe she did like him, maybe she liked him much more than she originally thought. He was attractive, he was adorable almost all the time and she felt a certain attraction to him. Then of course there was that dragon woman who was attached to him too. Capella. Fay's lips pulled into a frown.

"But... there's this woman. Her name is Capella. Well, she's not really a woman, a dragon in a girls body. I'm not sure about her story, but she's claimed the boy as her treasure. As much as I do love Dante, I know that he's clueless to what's going on around him, especially with that dragon. If only I could get on good terms with her, maybe then we could all reach an understanding. It's not like I would force the boy into something he doesn't want, unlike her. She's taking advantage of the fact that he doesn't quite get what's going on," Fay sighed heavily.

She looked over to Valentino and smiled wearily, "But enough of my babbling, really it's not very polite, now is it? I do apologize. Let's eat and get back as quickly as we can, shall we?"

Talon V'lyn

“How meticulous. Eeny meeny miny mo.”

Talon watched as Jennifer waltzed over to the men up in their seats. She promptly sat herself down, putting one leg over the other as she singled out one of the men up there. She leaned forward, and Talon was sure that her usual grin was upon her lips even though he couldn't see it.

“Oh my mister, that was such an impressive magic trick. You’ll show me how you did it, won't you?” She asked, her voice velvety as she spoke. That was probably when she was at her most dangerous. The woman's smile was just a cover for her true intentions. Even having known her for many years, it still sent chills down his spine when he thought about everything that his lover was capable of.

The man must have caught on because his voice was far from solid, "I-I-I didn't... that was... A-All her doing! I s-s-swear! She... she must h-h-have gone to the... catacombs.... b-beneath us. Beneath us!" He nearly shouted the last part as if he expected Jennifer to lash out at him at any moment. Which was possible, no one ever knew what she would do next, not even Talon some times.

Talon turned to the woman who had come with them, his lips pulled into a frown still, "Why don't you do something useful and stay here to watch them. No one leaves, understand?"

Getting to his feet slowly, he looked up to Jennifer, "Come, we'll both get her. Now that I think of it, we should ask questions first before we kill her," he stretched out his hand to his lover. The bracer on his hand glowed softly. He was weak, but he still had power enough to deal with one measly woman.

Khrae, Sebastian & Fukayna

"If you consider sword training a type of meditation, sure. If all I need is to concentrate on nothing, then I should be fine.”

Khrae nodded, but then thought for a moment as to what it was he intended to do. Nothing. There was nothing he could do other than explain to the best of his abilities what had happened, but now that he actually stopped, calmed himself and considered what he’d just said, he realized he might have insinuated something beyond what he was capable of. Shaking his head a moment as if the action could reorganize the suddenly cluttered mess of thoughts whirring through his mind, the man clarified.

“Oh, no,” he began, “you won’t need to do any meditating. So long as you understand the premise of what the activity was built upon.” Khrae stopped, trying to judge whether or not Sebastian followed so far, and then to contemplate exactly how to properly articulate his thoughts. Finally having formulated a plan of engagement for the touchy subject, the man wasted no time in diving straight in. He hated beating around the bush, especially on matters such as this. Trivial facts and round-about answers were tedious, and most of the time demanded even more thought to process, let alone fabricate.

“Through a meditation, one achieves a sound mind and body. They become one, harmonize, and it is through that harmony and clarity that some say they can be granted a foresight into many things.. Simple things like life choices, answers to what may be bothering them…” Pausing, the man was a realist, and although he grew up with this life style and didn’t doubt it one bit, he still knew of the skepticism that many held towards the subject. Sebastian seemed fairly open-minded, however, and so Khrae continued. “Some of the great elders can use this heightened state to do spectacular things. Many have documented experiences where they’ve had glimpses into the future and, more astonishingly, into the subconscious of another person altogether. Thoughts, memories, regrets, fears, you name it… All there..”

With a questioning look the swordsman pausing briefly, waiting for some sort of response to tell him that the assassin understood where he was possibly going. It wasn’t that what he said was at all confusing, Khrae always spoke so that he addressed the topic as straightforward and simple as he could and always endeavored to fill in important background information for use as reference to the bigger picture, but rather, it was the fact that many people would check out around this time, finding the notion of such talk blasphemous. Sebastian seemed to keep up, so Khrae continued.

“That being said, I had been meditating in the courtyard earlier when I stumbled upon a most curious… something. A conversation of sorts, but it was one-sided. Not like only one person was talking, I’m assuming that there was another participant, but I never caught any responses of that particular person.” Khrae paused, glancing once to Armen. “What was very much… unsettling… was simply the half of the conversation I seemed to have been stuck with. The voice was ancient and belonged to no person. It was powerful and held within it wisdom and energy beyond any I’ve encountered. ”

Khrae stopped again, deciding that the most effective approach was an outright statement of his hypothesis. If he was wrong, so be it, but he sincerely doubted he could be; all evidence pointed to such a conclusion. “I intercepted only pieces, but I believe Armen may have found his link. I believe he’s found himself a Dragon.”

After a short time to allow the weight of his words, Khrae spoke again, still maintaining the same stoic yet whole-hearted tone, as if he was screaming on the inside the urgency, however his training refused to allow such manners of conduct. “It was about that time when our little elf went cataclysmic again,” Khrae continued, “And when I had attempted to avert the power, it was like looking through a spyglass. What I saw.. It was one of those cloaked men, however he was behind bars. Moreover, he was on the opposite side of the bars behind which hold what I believe was trying to make the connection with Armen… That conversation sounded like it was being spoken underwater, undecipherable, but the image was clear as day.”

Shifting his eyes to one side, Khrae couldn’t see beyond the corner, but he knew she was there nonetheless. He assumed that Sebastian was aware of their eavesdropper’s presence too, so he merely nodded to his left, allowing for the older assassin to deal with those under his jurisdiction. Khrae had no more to say, so at this point he was content to remain quiet until questioned further.


Valentino & Fay

Valentino listened intently to the girl speak, at first maintaining a genuine look of curiosity seeing as he needed to know who he had to contend with for his prize, but eventually having to resort to his magic in order to perpetuate his appearance of intrigue. The man had no idea the girl was aligned with such powerful comrades, certainly it made no sense considering past references for Navile. Talon V’lyn; he was a foul man who commanded swarms of shadow-walkers. Assassins were one of the lowest forms of people in Valentino’s not-too-modest opinion. The man had to conceal first a look of sheer distaste, however that expression barely had enough time to fully crease the man’s lips before turning into that of fear and unbelief. He’d known it was coming, and yet he didn’t expect it.

Jennifer Live…

She may as well be the queen of mages. If there was anyone out there who played worse mine-games than himself, anyone even more insidious, devious and all-around insane and chaos-inducing, it was her. Valentino had to suppress entirely his urge to shutter and recoil at the name, because Jennifer’s reputation put himself to shame. Her magic surpassed most anyone’s in all possible ways, and she of all people would know who he was as well, and just his own presence, he was sure, she would be able to see directly through his ploy and break any and all hopes he had of capturing his prey. There was no way he could continue his endeavor with such a force to be reckoned with stymieing him. Worse yet, even if Valentino did have the courage to steal away the girl and combat Jennifer, aside from being obliterated, he’d be obliterated after having been pinned to a tree by a series of throwing knives. Talon would be backing his lovely devil a hundred and ten percent…

Valentino was lost in thought for much of the remainder of the time that Fay was talking. Only one other piece of information caught the man’s attention again and momentarily pulled him from his momentary block.

Then there's Dante. He's quite handsome as well. He's a bit on the playful side, doesn't take things very seriously, but... I think... I think I... might like him?"

Once more, Valentino received a full-on slap in the face. Broadsided entirely, the man knew he’d have to work for this particular prize, but he never thought he’d have to hurdle so many obstacles. His magic was wearing, he hadn’t recharged and so he couldn’t maintain the same powerful doses he always did. To get to his prize, he’d have to work her away from the bonds she’d already made. Talon and Jennifer were the biggest stumbling blocks, but then there was this boy… Phoenix tribe? What in the hell was a Phoenix tribe? Valentino knew of the mythical bird, but he knew they didn’t exist as well. Unless these people were some strange hybrid human-bird that doesn’t die; Valentino was scaring himself now. That would be terrible. This boy, whoever he was who had captured the attention of his beloved energy source must be something indeed, especially if he’d caught the eyes of…

"But... there's this woman. Her name is Capella. Well, she's not really a woman, a dragon in a girls body.”

…

…

…What?

W-was that even possible?

Valentino simply took on a look of being completely dumbfounded. But then again, just a moment ago he was imagining a man with fiery feathered wings and a beak… But that was simply his imagination… Fay had to be pulling his leg now, his magic must really be wearing. Even full he was no match for what awaited him, but running on reserves… Valentino was stuck now, unsure of how he could possibly continue on with his nefarious plots.

"But enough of my babbling, really it's not very polite, now is it? I do apologize. Let's eat and get back as quickly as we can, shall we?"

The man blinked several times, his mouth opening and closing like a fish without water. “Uh-er.. E-h…heh… S..” Valentino rubbed the back of his head, overwhelmed suddenly. Talon, an entire guild of assassins and Jennifer… Some flaming man-bird that doesn’t die, and a dragon girl? Valentino almost felt as if he himself were under another powerful mages’ spell. This girl was beyond words, and her story was even more farfetched than that. Either someone was messing with him, or he was being punished by a greater power he never acknowledged.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, and then standing quickly, Valentino tried hard to maintain his smile, but just couldn’t manage. “Yes, well. Uh, actually, well whaddya know! Look at that, I have to go. I-er… Well, I mean…. Oh, casserole! Yes, oven… Spells and such. Uhm, are you sure you wouldn’t want to come back home with myself?” Smiling, Valentino thought only after he spoke. What if they came looking for her? Damnit. He’d have to find a better way to engage this particular battle. First and foremost, however, he needed to leave before he came into contact with Talon or Jennifer and get up to full strength. Perhaps he could distract her long enough to take the girl and run? He’d do it now if he had the strength…

“Damnit,” Valentino huffed. “S-sorry.. I,” Valentino finally just threw his hands up and began backing up in the other direction. “I gotta go!” he said, then turned and made a fast escape. He would return, he would make sure of that, but once he had bettered his odds. Leaving with a parting gift, the man hoped that his mark in the girl’s mind would be enough to keep her somewhat under his trace, if not make it at least easier for him to reclaim her when the time came.