From The Ashes They Rise

[sartorous]

A swan-like bird with crimson and gold plumage beat its wings up and down, using the wind to keep itself airborne as it made its way toward a manor on a hill. The house looked old and run down with shingles falling off of the roof and paint pealing off the sides; the fence was even rotting. The phoenix flew straight down through one of the gaping holes in the roof and landed on a rafter in the attic. A horned owl with grey and brown feathers of varying shades sat perched on the windowsill at the other end of the attic. It twitched its head to look up at the crimson and golden bird before its feathers began to slowly retract along with its beak; its eyes changed from the large orbs of an owl to the small ovals of a human's. Less than a minute later, a man clad in elegant black clothing stood in front of the window, looking upon the phoenix with eyes that held more knowledge than his years should allow. He held his arm out upward, and the phoenix fluttered down to land on his master's arm. The man slowly stroked the bird's feathers, feeling the warmth radiating from the fire bird.

With the phoenix still on his arm, Lazarus stepped down the stairs from the attic and into a fully furnished and dimly lit hallway. Portraits of ancient owners hung on the walls, snoring the night away in their frames. The lamps gave off an eerie blue light, distorting his shadow as he walked briskly past them. At the end of the hall, he walked down another set of stairs and entered another hall filled with portraits and doors leading into other rooms. He stopped at a door on the left and pushed it open to reveal a library with shelves so full of books that it looked as if pillars of books reached up to the high ceiling above. Lazarus walked into the library and sat down before the beautifully carved fireplace. Roderick flew form his arm to a nearby perch and nestled down with his head under his wing. With a flick of his ash wood wand, the Dark Lord set a fire crackling in the fireplace. A soft orange light was cast over the dim library, lengthening shadows from the chairs and other furniture.

Lazarus linked his fingers together and rested his elbows on the arms of his chair while staring into the fire. His mind wandered, souring to the heights of heaven and swimming to the depths of the ocean. He allowed it to wander for a while before snapping himself back to the present to set his gaze on a grandfather clock half hidden in shadow. The clock struck the eleventh hour with a deep chime, and at that exact moment several cracking noises, like that of an engine backfiring only a bit softer, were heard from upstairs in the attic followed by footsteps down the stairs. Lazarus stood and made his way back into the hall only to walk a few doors down and enter a room decorated with maps, newspapers clippings, and other intel gathered over the Knights' long war campaign, but now they were control, rather Lazarus was in control. He sat down at the head of the table as his followers began to enter the war room. He waited for them to seat themselves before addressing them.

"Welcome to my humble abode. I trust this evening finds you all well?"

[Rumiko]

Hawkmoon

Mel was hard at work strengthening the wards and guards of Hawksdown
She was especially taking pains to fine tune the Anti-Disapparition Jinxs & Anti-Apparition Jinxs that had been set around Leath sliabh gealach (Half moon mountain)
Only those with magical talent could see Leath ghealach other wise it appeared as an uninviting bog. The enchantment laid there by Fyn Hawkmoon was an old and powerful weaving of arcane forces that her family held was surpassing those of Hogwarts.
Mel had as a child learned the many secrets of the family and it's history
She'd learned how her great, great, great, great Grand mother had lulled a Banshee to sleep with a magical harp with still sat in her great room.
How over a thousand years ago her Ancestor Finn had tricked Leanan Sidhe (deadly fae muse) into granting he and his descendants the gift of music.
Even now it was said at the heart of their mountain the aes sídhe made their home.
It was why around the base of the mountain a ring of Hawthorne stood and was cared for by her family less the good folk be angered an seek their vengeance.
In her grand home Melody held safe two youngsters that's only crime llay in their birth.
As she did her work Mel sang to appease the aes sídhe and hopefully alert them to her need

Magic, Magic, Magic
If you use your imagination
Magic, Magic, real Magic
Is the doorway to the mind

Magic, Magic, Magic
oh it takes a bit of concentration
Magic, Magic, real Magic
of a very special kind

Here is how to cast a spell
*to know what is to be
*Throw a coin in a wishing well
*and see what you can see

Or look inside of a crystal ball
with the art of divination
Listen to your inner voice
you will find the information

[demspec]

Business as usual.

Ben just finished supper and was sitting at the table. When he looked up at the clock he saw it was almost eight o’clock. The whole day his store was just visited by two customers, so it had been a long day. He looked down next to him at Hunter. With a smile he said, “let’s get in town”. He stood up and took his coat and cap. Along with those he took his Wenge wood wand and a bottle of strong truth serum, you never know when you need it. He walked down the stairs into his shop and trough there he went outside. He locked the door and walked down the street. The wind was cold and the dark street was abandoned. As they walked Hunter started growling and he looked around. He saw someone walking down an alley, but he pushed Hunter. “Not today, I’m not in the mood for trouble.” Hunter stopped as they continued their walk.

They entered the leaky cauldron as he walked up to the bar. “G’evening, one firewiskey.” He took the glass and put the money on the bar. He walked away and sat down in the corner. He looked trough the bar but saw no suspicious faces. It would be a very quiet evening, no reason to go hunting tonight. He lighted a cigarette while thinking about what he was going to do. Right from the start he considered it his job to do the dirty work for the knight. He petted Hunter while he was thinking about going for a hunt tomorrow. He usually just walked trough the city searching for suspicious people. If he didn’t trust it, he just investigated it. He rather took them one on one by surprise, then when they took him in a coordinated attack. But not tonight he had a free night and he wasn’t going to get any trouble. He just watched the people in the bar, like always. Just him and Hunter, that was all he needed.

[MrsBrisbee]

Hope never met the bar tenders eyes as the glass was set beside her, never made any indication of thanks, never looking up from the counter, the dark hood of the cloak she was wearing did a decent job of hiding the most noticible features. Without lifting her head she pulled the glass near and took a sip, listening all the while to the conversations around her. She couldn't explain what she was doing here, this was possibly one of the most dangerous places for her to be. One of the many places where she was no longer welcome, where she could never show her face again, should anybody recognize her. The Leaky Cauldron, full of so many memories, enough to bring tears to her eyes should she linger too long on any one of them. She was always so careful, she kept to the outer provinces mostly, no crowds of people or possibility of being found by unwanted visitors. Even so, the darkness was growing to the point where there really was no such thing as a 'safe place' anymore. The only one thing she could do to ensure he safety anymore was to swear her alleigience to the Dark One, but she'd rather face death than betray her own loyalty in such a way.

She considered leaving the Leaky Cauldron, to pass through the wall concealing Diagon Alley, another area that she knew it was better to steer clear. The streets were likely to be lined with the Dark Forces, under he watchful eye of those who would give her in before listen to a word she had to say. Still, the pain of giving every ounce of her childhood away for her own safety was beginning to eat away at her. She couldn't continue running forever, no home, no friends... no life. She might as well have died the same day as her parents for all the good she was doing now. Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't been paying as close attention as she probably should have, instead of keeping her head low, she found herself scanning the room curiously, it wasn't until she felt a presence uncomfortably close that she was pulled back into the reality of her situation. He hadn't sat right beside her, but two seats down, close enough for her to feel fully aware of him. Her eyes lingered on the man for a moment before roaming down towards the canine at his feet. "G'evening, one firewiskey' the man requested, while Hope turned away, abruptly. She couldn't feel comfortable while she was sitting here and she knew that, she was going to have to move on before something happened, even so, now that she was here, now that she could see how things were changing, the more she wanted to stay, the more she wanted to fight, but how? She would have to figure that out another time, for now she felt it best to leave as she dug for the small coin bag at her hip, pulling out several coins and placing them on the counter.

[BiHeathen]

Logan trekked through the forest, looking over his shoulder from time to time as paranoia began to creep through his body. He never did like walking in wooded areas alone. It was just a phobia of his. He knew that he needed to hurry and get somewhere where the Dark Forces haven't taken over. Being one of the top journalist of the Daily Prophet, even putting Rita Skeeter out of business, he was on the radar of these Dark Forces. Logan's position as head journalist was always controversial in the wizarding world for the fact he was a muggle-born wizard and that he was so young. No one really cared that he was homosexual. It had only taken him a couple of years to send that slime Rita packing for her unethical ways of getting information. Logan was one for cold hard facts that were gotten the right way. He was truly a force to be reckoned with which is why he was wanted dead, on top of the fact he was what they called a 'filthy mudblood'. Logan was the one that wrote the article that let the magical community know that another Dark Lord had risen. The way he got resources and information was just uncanny. He was smart and a true Ravenclaw. Now the Daily Prophet is abandoned and Logan is running for his life.

His owl, Luna in the meantime was circling above him to keep a look out on things. Logan wore a simple t-shirt with an unbuttoned flannel over it, some jeans, and some sneakers. It was more casual than his usual button up dress shirt, bow tie, trousers, and some nice shoes that he wore to work. He knew he would be doing a lot of walking and running, so he needed to dress the part. On his right side there was a black shoulder bag that held important documents and papers that he knew he would need later. Also books, water, and other things. His features were his best part. He was deemed attractive by mostly all the people he met. They would call him pretty more than handsome because he wasn't the rugged type of man. His features were soft. Logan stepped on a tree branch and halted, looking above at Luna who was still flying above him. Just then, the owl let out a screech that stopped Logan in his tracks. It was quiet in the forest. Too quiet. "Hello?" He heard his voice echo all around. "Is anyone there?" Logan wiped the sweat from his forehead. Not a moment too soon a blast of green light shot out of the forest and barely missed Logan, causing a nearby tree to topple over. Logan yelled out a yelp and flew to the ground. A man in black peered out of the trees with an evil look on his face, holding a wand at his side. They caught up to him. Panting for breath, Logan took out his Ebony and Holly wand from his pocket and had it out and ready. "This is your end you filthy little mudblood!" The man shot the killing curse at him once more, but was quickly dodged by Logan. "Stupefy!" Logan yelled as the stunning spell hit the man dead on. Not trying to linger around, Logan whistled for Luna. The owl perched on his arm and Logan quickly apparated from the forest. He never liked to Apparate because it was the one thing he wasn't good at. Logan then appeared outside in front of the Leaky Cauldron, landing firmly on his butt. Luna flew off of his arm and landing on a nearby railing. He gave a pout, brushing the dirt from his arms. "I can never catch a break..."

[SomeoneSomewere]

The man wandered the street quietly, the hood of his cloak pulled up over his head. Due to being out and about around Dark Forces, he was being extra careful. He was a well know face for the followers of Lazuras. He escaped from their clutches not long ago, but couldn't stand being trapped in one place hiding. And for that very reason, he was heading towards the Leaky Cauldron. He took the nessassary precautions, changing his appearance was the main one, the second was try to not act like a worried, shifty guy. He currently had light dirty blonde hair in his normal style and calm blue eyes. There was a slight scruff on his face from not shaving, but otherwise he had changed the subtle things that identify a person. The shape of his nose was broader, his chin softer, ears slightly further back then his normal ones. He had just reached his destination when something unexpected happened.

A man with a hurried appearance appeared in front of him. He apparated no doubt. He stumbled back to avoid the man, tripped over the curb, landing on his butt and elbows, hood off of his head. He glared at the person, ignoring the owl as it flew off to land on a rail. He carefully rose to his feet, trying to preserve what dignity he had left and brushed off his cloak. He grumbled under his breath nearly silently," Annoying." He had kept his wand safe when he fell, and still had it in his hand, no doubt causing a mad appearance to come over him, when he wasn't. He was simply feeling frustrated. He ran his fingers through his extremely light brown hair, shaking his head slightly.He then decided to speak, his voice slightly lower then his actual one, careful not to let his real voice slip in, in case the person he was speaking to knew his voice," Hey, watch where you apparate, you almost landed on me."