Leona quickly covered Joseph as the scene unfolded, only relaxing when the pretty girl and the large men were far gone into the darkness. She noticed a few interesting-looking individuals follow not far behind. She turned to Joseph and knelt beside him. "Go home. Go straight to your mother. Don't leave her sight until morning. If things settle down, I'll be back soon, okay? I swear." She added the last bit when she saw his disappointed frown. She smiled and ruffled his hair, then ran off in the direction that some of the others had gone. I hope I can keep my promise, she thought.

Leona stayed close to the shadows, moving at a fast but steady pace. She saw that one or two people ahead of her had the exact same idea. Not too far ahead, the men and the cute girl where standing, facing a red-headed boy and a boy with blue hair, along with some of the other interesting people she saw follow in earlier. They seemed to be confused. She stopped in the shade of a tall building and took out her bow, picking an arrow and getting ready to draw it back. She stood in a defensive position, eager to attack if need be.

Edelweiss flinched and woke up, people around her were confused and frantic. What had happened while she was asleep? Where was the woman who was to be wed? Goliath... Where was Goliath? The petite girl got out of her seat and lightly jogged, she could see a few dark suited men in the distance, followed along by a group of people. Her lance and shield... The girl clawed at her back to get her retractable weaponry, which the guards surprisingly allowed-She looked harmless enough-.
Her curiosity led her to the church, others were there as well. Why exactly did she follow along? Curiosity alone couldn't have been it...

The girl realized that she had left Goliath and that she was rather far away from him. She muttered a small sorry, her attention soon focusing onto what was in front of her.

Goliath sat upon a rooftop watching everything that had went down. He didn't go train because he would have left Edelweiss if he did. He saw men in black approach the stage and take the girl that sang. He saw the two men light a stage a blaze and run. He noticed every detail of the mana ring that had appeared on an unknown fellow. Goliath began leaping from rooftop to rooftop to stay ahead of the people that had taken Elizabeth. When he saw them head into the church he smirked. "Finally, a reason to desecrate a holy place." He said as he saw other figures run into the church. He dropped down and entered the church. "Edelweiss..you can never get far from me. I saw the whole thing." Goliath held his spear casually. "Bringing weapons into a church. That's what priests and innocent bystanders like to see these days."

The priests...no, the Council themselves, stood in front of all the strangers. "Ah, welcome my children...I am Pope Leo the VI. This was a misunderstanding, I'm sure you have noticed. Please sit...we can explain the situation." This man seemed to be in his mid-50's, but acted as if he was a young adult. Either way, he had a spark in his eyes, and his voice was soothing nonetheless.

Anthony
Anthony growled at this act, but kept his anger down. He knew if he had struck back against the Council in any way, he would be hunted by the entire city and labeled as a 'heretic'. He sat, crossing his legs and spreading his arms out on the church benches, listening to what these men had to say in order to justify their kidnapping. Even if it was a just reason, he still had a furious heart.

"Hm...?" Edelweiss looked up at Goliath who had mysteriously decided to show up, which he had done so before, so the girl was used to it. "I apologize..." She murmured, which was the only thing she could currently say at the moment.

"... I am Pope Leo the VI. A voice cooed. It appeared as though the whole council had decided to show up as well. What a delightful party.

Her lance and shield retracted and was slung around her back. The small girl sat politely on one of the benches, her focus on the Pope. She was curious as to what they had to say, and how they were going to explain themselves for their actions causing this situation to unfold. Edelweiss's hands rested on her lap, with her thumbs twiddling with one another.
Her eyes glanced at Goliath, a slight mumble escaped her lips, "What are you waiting for? Sit?" She then turned her attention back to the pope.

"I am Pope Leo the VI," the man at the head of the figures in black spoke soothingly. Lyarea stared at him, and quickly counted the surrounding figures. Eight in total...wasn't that the entire Council of the Church of Mére?

"Please sit...we can explain the situation," he said. He looked to be in his fifties at the very least, but the gleam in his eyes was that of a man half his age. It was almost like he enjoyed this.

Brash, a few of the voices echoed her as she moved to one of the first few pews and sat down. Anthony and a few others had done the same; he, in particular, remained tense while he was sitting. Understandable, as it was his sister they'd kidnapped—

Lyarea blinked. They were the Council, the leaders of the church. If they needed Elizabeth for something, all they had to do was ask. Why go to such lengths? Why snatch her off the stage of a play in front of the entire town?

Why explain anything to us?

She tilted her head, staring at the Pope intently. Kidnap Elizabeth in a showy and dramatic way, and see who was brave or foolish enough to come running...

But the torches? a voice asked.

Your vision remains woefully inadequate, a few others said. It was no accident.

Putting lives at risk for a distraction? Lyarea's eyes narrowed. Whatever his explanation was, it had better be good.

Æmire stood listening to Pope Leo The VI. "Ah, welcome my children...I am Pope Leo the VI. This was a misunderstanding, I'm sure you have noticed. Please sit...we can explain the situation." The Pope has spoken to the group. Æmire looked around him to the now formed group that was created by the incident, and surprisingly only one was human. "Sheesh... Humans sure don't care about these incidents..." He said to himself as he walked in and sat down. Is this a set up? Did he knew that we would all reach here or is this destiny? Æmire had pondered while the rest sat down. Æmire looked at the Pope and was the first to speak. "I understand you as the pope of this council have the audacity to preform such actions, but I must give an input and a question... One is that The Fire you created was quickly put out by me to prevent causalities and property damage, and a question I have is did you know that creating such a scene could cause this group of strangers to appear here today?" he had said and asked to the Pope. He was really trying to be reasonable, so that he could earn a chance into The Council. He had a more important question after everyone else has their few words.

Goliath listened to the Pope and then heard Edelweiss. He looked at her with a cold look. A look that she had not seen since Goliath tried to kill her. This showed Edelweiss what mood he was in. "I have no intentions of sitting." Goliath said in a cold tone. Goliath turned back to face the pope. "I don't really carry of your excuses. You kidnapped a girl and vandalized the play. Not to mention the fire that could have hurt plenty of innocent lives. That fact that you think there is a single excuse for your actions is pathetic." Goliath had no anger in his tone. It was cold and menacing. Goliath had a tight grip around his spear. He knew that the paladin who worked for the council would most likely be the first to come between him and the council. "Hearing your excuse is going to give me only the more reason to hate the council."

Lyarea turned her head slightly as a man in blue spoke up. It looked like he'd come to the same conclusions she had. He'd also put out the fire, to her relief. Apparently the Council members had planned for that too.

"I have no intentions of sitting," a cold voice rang out. With a glance at the aisles, she realised it was the living sword. "You kidnapped a girl and vandalized the play," he continued. "Not to mention the fire that could have hurt plenty of innocent lives. The fact that you think there is a single excuse for your actions is pathetic."

She was surprised. Whether the voices' description of him was metaphorical or not, she had not expected him to be bound by morals.

"I agree," she spoke after him as clearly as she could. Two years of wandering had reduced her Vradi accent to nigh-unnoticeable faintness. "If you meant to gather us here for your own purposes, you should not have chosen such loathsome means. You may have made enemies out of potential allies."

"Goliath..." Edelweiss mumbled slightly. She stood up from her seat and stood beside her mentor, her hands gripping on the sleeves on his armor, she hid behind him as he yelled at the council. The small girl was easily hidden by his large frame. She feared him when he was angered, so it'd be best if she said nothing to anger him even further, though it appeared as though others joined in his pursuits, which was slightly surprising.

The petite giant peered around Goliath's back to stare at the council, then at everyone around them. Why had they been gathered here? They barely knew each other and most appeared to be very outgoing. She closed her eyes for a moment as if she were falling asleep where she stood, but the girl was merely thinking of possible outcomes to the scenario.

Voices were raised and anger expressed, this could turn into an interesting night afterall.
The street was empty and inside things were happening so Qiang quietly entered the church, he stood in easy reach of the door, ready to leave if needs be.

The Pope began to laugh extremely loud. It was a thunderous noise, as if it would have began to shake the Church itself. "Now, now, my children, this is a good thing! Elizabeth would not have gotten here so easily if her brother had known my true intentions in doing so! You see, she is to be chosen as the new Muse to sing to the dragon." Nearing the ending of the sentence, his voice became dark and serious.

Anthony
Anthony, listening to the words, was fine at the beginning. However, as soon as he heard that she was chosen, he launched himself towards the Pope with his blade drawn. At that moment, the Mercenaries were back and began to guard the Pope. Anthony snarled, gripping his blade while he glared at the large man, standing behind the elite fighters. "Now, now, Anthony, that is no way to react to such a thing! You should be joyful to know that she is given such a grand role...and besides...you wouldn't pull a blade on an innocent, old, Pope, would you?" He smiled again. Anthony sighed out, giving in. Sheathing his sword, he sat down next to Elizabeth, staring at the Pope.

Elizabeth
She watched in horror at her brothers actions. She was just about to stand up quickly to grab her brothers arm, when he suddenly gave in. He usually would never act in such a manner...she was confused at her picking as well. A sudden shock of excitement and panic waved over her. When Anthony sat down next to her, she held his hand to reassure him, smiling. "It'll be okay, Anthony...we'll get through this together." He only smiled back at her...but she could tell it was a fake smile.

Æmire smiled when he heard Elizabeth would be elected, until Anthony drawn his sword out at the Pope. Æmire stood up to try and calm him down but the pope calmed him down quick. Æmire glared at Anthony. "How dare you attempt violence in not only a sacred building, but after a declaration of your sister's accomplishment... Majority of you humans have always shown violence in the most crude way in unexpected and unorthodox places... I pray The Goddess heals your ego and your brute ways... As for you Pope..." He finished ranting at Anthony, then calmly spoke to the pope. " I have heard that a fellow member of your council, more specifically one of our own Izzeterine's, have died an unexpected cause and I was hoping if maybe I could take his place in The Council! And maybe you might have a clue on how he died?" Æmire had asked The Pope, hoping for his welcoming answer. He then looked at Elizabeth. "By the way, I congratulate you being our new Muse..." He said smiling.

Lyarea gasped as Anthony drew his sword and moved towards the Pope, and at the resulting standoff. He seemed more upset at this news than their faked abduction of his sister. She couldn't think why. She knew little of Mére and the religion surrounding her, but she'd thought Übel had been defeated and imprisoned. The training of all priestesses in singing and their selection was just a ritual, signifying only the skill of the priestess. Wasn't it?

"Don't be so hasty," she said to the man in blue as he rebuked Anthony. "He believed his sister was in danger only a while ago. Wouldn't you do the same in his place?" She turned to the Pope. "This is all very well for them, but why involve us?"

Leona stayed stationed just outside the church doors, watching in disbelief at the events that unfolded. In a bought of self-control, she put her bow down and waited. She couldn't help but to feel sympathetic for the strangers; especially the girl that had been singing earlier. Her red-headed brother (possibly her partner or cousin?) reminded her all too much of her own big brothers. She knew that her brothers would react exactly the same way if she had been put in any sort of danger.

Assuming that the whole dragon ordeal was dangerous to begin with. Naturally, dragons equaled omens or fire or death, and by the grave looks on some of the strangers' faces, that's exactly what was going to happen. She hoped she wouldn't have to be dragged into anything having to do with humans and dragons, in that case. She contemplated backing away from the church and returning to the town's center, but her curiosity kept her glued to her spot.

Æmire looked at Lyarea. "I'm sorry, but I don't think you understand... We Izzeterines aren't as violent as the majority of humans... we have always been peaceful... our only war until recently was with the Archdragon you call Ubel. We have been having conflicts with humans lately because originally we embraced them, but they slowly pushed nature aside for they have become so absorbed in their own creations that they no longer appreciate nature, hell... they even made an artificial form of Magick that they call alchemy. When we tried to bring them back to the natural side they rebutted with violence and now my race faces extinction... The Mage King you all saw in the play, That was The First Izzeterine to learn how to harness Mana which comes from nature and used it for good, but the warrior was a human hence why he wanted the throne... The Mage King was probably killed off who knows... Which brings to me a final question for the pope that i hope he also answers with the rest..." He finally ended his speech then looked at the pope. "I would also like to take the place of my brethren and hope that we can sustain some peace between our races, we need all the peace we can get before The Archdragon awakens in case something happens to the muse... herhm i mean now Elizabeth..." Æmire asked the pope finally calming down.

Goliath hears about Elizabeth's new 'position' and smirked. He looked at the paladin as he drew his sword. "Well now that's quite the surprise." He said in a cold and calm voice. He the turned back to the pope. He immediately turned to Emire to her the man bragging about his race. Talking about how they aren't violent and never start anything like that. Goliath already wanted to snap the mans neck. It would be easy. Goliath thought to himself. He knew that now wasn't the time and the Izzeterine had already proven that he is to pathetic to die by his spear. The man had bragged about his race twice already and it was getting ridiculous. Goliath turned to the pope. "Even if the girl is given this task. It still did not give you any right to set the play a blaze and put the lives of innocent people on the line. The fact that you keep ignoring and avoiding it just shows that you have no regard for the actions. What you did out there is punishable."

Nature, a voice hissed as the man in blue spoke. More joined in as he went on, all of them sounding disgusted or amused.

—presumptuous fool, all must return to the darkness before; that is truly nature—

—he would roll over and show his belly to anyone like a dog?—

—let us speak to him, chrysalis— High and cruel laughter followed.

Lyarea ignored them, only raising her eyebrow in response. She had heard the magical races were arrogant, but she had never seen this until now. Conversely, the other man was surprisingly moral, if his concern about lives was any indication.

Swords are made for combat, not the slaughter of innocents.

An interesting thought, but something the man in blue had said caught her attention. He has magic?

They can call themselves whatever they please, but the Izzeterine has the gift. You did not ask, chrysalis.

Fine, she thought. What about everyone else in this church?

The reply came nearly immediately. The Pope and his cronies are human, as are the bride and her brother. The person at the doors... A burst of discussion too fast for her to hear, with a snatch of what might have been a poem in a language she didn't know. ...is human. The girl behind the sword—

They fell silent. Lyarea glanced over: she saw nothing behind him, so it must have been the white-haired girl. She seemed normal, if too petite for the enormous lance and shield she carried.

Then the voices started laughing. Not the cruel amusement from earlier; this was genuine. None of them seemed to want to tell her why yet. After a few seconds she turned back to the Pope, wondering what they found so funny.

"Even if the girl is given this task. It still did not give you any right to set the play a blaze and put the lives of innocent people on the line. The fact that you keep ignoring and avoiding it just shows that you have no regard for the actions. What you did out there is punishable."

Qiang slammed the butt of his'self his spear' on the hard stone floor of the church to draw the people's attention.
"Let us stop babbling, why do the young argue so much about semantics? We are here, what do you want Pope."