Intro

Season: Early autumn.
Current State of Pantheon: Unaware of the Haze's effects on the government.
Current State of the Four Countries: Pantheon is getting on bad trading terms with Solvet (East) and Ordan (North). Folxin (West) is attempting to regain control over riots and a civil war.
Current State of the Tarot: Scattered, but gathering. Distrust beginning to form between Major and Minor Arcana.

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The sun was burning bright in the autumn sky hanging above the glorious city of Damascus--the largest city in the Four Countries.The streets were filled to the brim with merchants, slaves, and citizens. The crowds would be nearly impossible to pass through without having to push your way through or to be on horseback. Even then there was no guarantee that you'd get to where you would need to go on time. In the midst of these crowds were both the Haze and the Tarot. Though neither of them were aware of the others' presence, it wouldn't be long before war between the two would break out. The tensions were high while the Haze searched high and low throughout the city in hopes of discovering the location of the Tarot themselves. The Tarot had stayed silent and undercover for many years, forming alliances with few other mage guilds that also stood against the Haze--alas, trustworthy guilds were becoming more difficult to find during this time.

The time before the Haze took total control of Damascus was coming soon, and the Tarot were running out of time. They didn't have all of the pieces to the puzzle, so hey lacked the power that was required to keep the Haze from total domination of the Four Countries, and then later--the world.

---

Atina sat upon a stool in the guild building, watching the others around her as they all drank away their troubles and cares as they returned from missions and meetings with their ally guilds. She couldn't help but pity them, because she had been requested to stay at the guild building and wait until she could sense the presence of another Tarot enter the city. Pulling her dark cloak around her shoulders and over her face, she looked like the embodiment of Death, frightening many of the others away from her. For quite some time now, she could sense that many were beginning to mistrust her, especially since she rarely left the guild anymore. She could see why they would think so, her eye patch over her right eye and her mysterious airs were enough to drive even the other higher ranked Arcana away. Many of those that were bonded with the Court Cards attempted to keep their own Suits away from her, because they were afraid that she may try to memorize their magic to benefit only herself. They are fools to think that I would benefit only myself. Then she inwardly sighed at the thought, because this meant that there may be some of the Haze's influence being dragged into the guild.

That was how the Haze always started-through deception and striking distrust among guilds and even the government, which had already fallen, but many were unaware of the changes quite yet. Then the Haze would slowly slip in through the cracks, creating a trench between those were were once like brothers. Distrust was their greatest power, and they definitely knew how to use it to the best of their advantage. As far as Atina was concerned, the Suits and the Courts were slowly being torn apart by deception. She knew that there were several of the Suit Tarot members that were most likely in association with the Haze, but she simply couldn't pinpoint which ones were the black sheep among the flock. They were clever, she'd give them that. And using the mysterious and silent High Priestess to cause distrust between the Major and Minor Arcana was a good crack to deepen and stretch.

She closed her eyes for a moment and subtly removed her eye patch before opening her eyes again. Her right eye, which was believed to be blind, glowed a vibrant ivy green beneath the hood as she saw through walls and people, viewing their auras and seeing the general amount of magic that lay inside of them. Many were mediocre, while others were rather powerful. Then she sent her Searching spell out into the city, hoping to catch the aura of someone who was of the Major Arcana, or who could potentially become one.

Damascus, here he was finally. Kryon has been traveling for over a week now on horseback to get here. He got a message one night that called the Tarot guild together in the capital of Pantheon. He immediately set off but he happened to be quite far at the moment, he hoped he wasn't too late for whatever they were called in for.

Kryon stepped through the city gates on the big black charger, whose fur weirdly contrasted with Kryon's shiny white armour. He took his winged helmet off to better look around, people were scurrying left and right on their business, many eyeing Kryon but not for more than half a second. The paladin stood out from the crowd like a ray of hope in a lost situation. He was first of all towering over everyone, with him being on the back of a big horse and the others on foot. The next most noticeable feature was his armour, crystalline white, decorated on the shoulders with curved feather-like guards. He also wore a long white cape, fastened around his neck with a golden brooch. His helmet, which he was now holding in his hands against his side, was visor less, with two rectangular slits to see through and two great golden wings protruding from the sides, reaching upwards. He wore a slightly golden coloured chain mail over his body, hidden by a white, smooth but sturdy tunic.
A huge Longsword rested across his back, partially hidden by a golden winged, white heater shield with a huge, golden, ornate cross on it. He also had a brown, leather belt on which he hanged his arming sword's sheath.

Kryon continued looking around, trying to remember where the guild house was by recalling distant memories from when he was accepted in the Tarot and was chose by Strength to be the its holder. He's never been back here ever since because he was travelling the Four Countries looking for people to help and defend from oppression and higher powers. Now he came to join forces with the rest of the Tarot for a reason still unknown to him.

"It must be something related to the recent conflict within the guild"
During his travels, he met numerous members of the guild and most of the ones he met in the past couple of months, had to say something negative about at least one of the Tarot guild's classes. Some even sent him away when Kryon told them that he was the Strength Tarot holder of the Major Arcana. He refused to take any sides however and will refrain from doing so in the future until he finds out more about the reasons of the hostilities.

"Hopefully everything will be cleared and settled soon. Before it gets any more serious. There are more important matters at hand than quarrels. The fights in Folxin have been getting more and more serious. I will head there once I'm done here and attempt to unite the country once again. We need them to help us fight off the Haze.
"Stop here, Loyalty" He told his horse, leaning closer to Loyalty's ear so he could hear better. He got off the horse an studied a building with his helmet still in his hands.
"Hmm… Yes, this must be it, the guild building. Now, lets go in and get this over with"

Atina glanced at the entrance of the building and saw the presence that could be nothing other than one of the Major Arcana. Despite her ability to trace magic and see who possessed it and who didn't, she was still unable to identify the person by name or even their gender. Just one more thing that I'm going to have to work on once I get the spell right. With this thought, she stood up and made her way through the guild's tavern, and to the front door. Opening it and seeing Kyron just making it to the entrance of the building, she leaned on the door frame.

It was strange, because she was one of the most mysterious and distant of the Tarot members, but she had a strange knack for getting along with the Strength Tarot. She had no idea why, but he was one of the few that she rather enjoyed the presence of. Maybe it was simply because she would never be able to learn any of his magic. His powers and spells were something that even the High Priestess would never be able to copy and manipulate. Spells that boosted physical performance and stamina were some of the magics that had always evaded her knowledge. In fine, she was rather glad that she couldn't. There were so many spells inside her head that most days she felt like it might explode. Most were rather common spells, but some were rare, and fewer still were ancient spells that she had learned from the tomes in the guild's library. Learning spells was simply second nature to the young woman, but then again, who wanted to know everything about everything? There would be no more excitement and accomplishment in her life if she were able to memorize every spell she came in contact with.

"My, my..." She said in her mystical voice, many of the guild members had agreed that if a cat could talk, it would have her voice. "You're all dressed up and ready for the ball, eh, Kyron?" A small smile formed on her lips as she readjusted her eye patch over her right eye. As far as he was concerned, it was blind. "One of the Minors can make sure that Loyalty is cared for. Why don't you come in for a drink and some food?"

Just as Kryon walked up to the entrance, the door opened. Atina, the High Priestess Tarot, was there, leaning against the door frame.
"My, my... You're all dressed up and ready for the ball, eh, Kryon?". Atina has been always nice to him, and was the one who first took him to the guild, years ago.
"Why don't you come in for a drink and some food?"
"Nice to see you Atina. Yes, a drink would be welcome.
They stepped inside and Kryon closed the door behind him.

"I'm not planning on staying too long. I'd like to leave as soon as circumstances allow it. I'm headed to Folxin, they need help there, the civil war has been getting worse.
Kryon liked the guild building, even though he liked the city less, it was very spacious compared to the number of people who actually stayed here. The stone was nice and cool compared to the warm, still air of the streets, and Kryon was very grateful for it. He was very hot under his armor but was too proud to show it, he got used to it anyways. He wouldn't take it off very often, only to sleep and when he was planning on staying someplace for multiple days.

"During my travels, I have heard a few things that worry me. There seems to be some hostility between the members of the guild. Some even had problems with the whole of the Major Arcana. I don't recall ever giving anyone within the guild a reason to do so. I assume that is why we were called here."
Kryon had the tendency of being overly formal, especially with ladies around, no matter for how long he knew them. However he really wasn't that much of a serious person. He was calm though, even during battles, always keeping everything under control. He was rarely seen running, he only did when he had to get in the way of someone who wanted to harm an innocent, with his shield in front of him.

Kryon took a seat and put his helmet on the table next to him. While taking Fate, his longsword, and Resilience, his shield, off of his back so he could lean back against the chair. He looked at Atina, at the eye-patch over one of her eyes. She never told him how it actually happened, but Kryon wanted to stay polite and didn't pressure her to do so after the first couple of times he asked. He was still quite curious to know though.

The sun was a flaming disk set high in the sky, it's warmth radiating off the desert floor and reflecting off the black stone hills that jutted with immensity on either side of the valley. Magnus was grumpy, though no one could Ssee his face -for he was wearing his helmet- a persistent scowl smeared itself over his face, the smell of dirty camels and equally dirty travelers -and a dirty himself- combined with the unrelenting heat permeating his armor produced an irritability so obvious that his posture alone made the travelers avoid him.
"shouldn't have left Bethlehem." he grumbled to himself under his breath,  Magnus reached down into his knap sack and produced a firm, gleaming red apple, he brought it to his mouth took a bite. But the bite was short lived, an arrow plucked the fruit from his lips and imbedded itself in a person adjacent to Magnus, everyone broke into panic. People were running in every direction, camels ripping loose from their masters and dispersing, through it all a steady volley of arrows from the hills above picked people off.
"f***", swore Magnus as he sprinted forward and executed a slide, rubbing against the blazing, hardened clay to halt behind the carcass of a camel, he reached for his sword when his hand came into contact with air where it's hilt should have been, "F**K!" he barked as he realized he had sold it to gain enough money to get with the caravan, cursing further internally he looked around to find something to do. He spotted a horse galloping from the rear, a brown mare with a darker brown mane, a look of sheer fright in it's eyes, an arrow embedded in it's flank rising and following with each step. Magnus ran towards it leaping and vaulting over bodies and dead camels, shredding his trousers on protruding arrows as he went, then he was close to the mare. In an instant time seemed to slow down, he reached forward and grabbed the rein and incredibly swung on it, pulling himself into the air to ark over the steed and land on the saddle, his feet getting into the stirrups lightening quick so he could urge the horse forward but before he could a pain lanced up his leg, the arrow that had lodged itself in the mares flank was protruding from his leg, the bloody fletching waving in the air as blood poured around it, pinning him to the mount.
"YAH!" he yelled in pain as he snapped the reins sending the horse barreling down the valley, haphazardly swerving around bodies, the sounds of arrows hitting the floor following them as they raced out of the valley, almost the same expression of fear and pain on their faces.
They had been riding flat out away from the valley for what must have seemed like an eternity but was only several minutes, they had put a decant amount of distance between them and the raiders before Magnus pulled at the reins and slowed the horse to a stop. He was pale, his leg and the horses flank drenched in his blood, he slowly pulled his leg from the arrow, the fletching disappearing inch by inch into his leg until it popped out the other side with a small gush of crimson blood. Magnus toppings off the horse and onto the hard desert ground, wracking his frame, he reached into his knapsack, his hands trembling and clutched his night shirt, he tore the sleeve off it and wrapped it around his leg. He lay there for a few moments with his eyes closed, recovering from the event when he heard the horse make a sound of agitation, he opened his eyes to see the arrow sticking out of the mares side, slowly he got up, his leg wobbling horribly, 'probably a broken bone' he thought to himself as he reached forward and clutched the saddle for support, he reached forward and gripped the bloody arrow shaft and started to pull it out slowly, the horse neighing and whinnying in pain as the arrow crept out, it suddenly gave way and the entire thing slipped out of it's flank. It almost seemed to sigh in relief at that point, as Magnus ripped more cloth off his night shirt and applied it to the horses wound. He leaned heavily on the horse and pulled his second and last apple from his bag and was about to take a bite when he noticed, she was very thin compared to other horses. His guilt set in as his stomach ached for the apple but his guilt was stronger. He came around to face the mare and brought the apple to it's muzzle and watched as it wolfed it down. He was hoping for there to be a peice left but there was none, he frowned and was about to mount the horse when it nuzzled his cheek. Instead of mounting he held onto the reins and walked, side by side bloodied and tired they walked into the desert towards Damascus.

Atina gazed at Kyron for a long moment before she noticed him glancing at her eye patch. She pretended as if she hadn't noticed where his gaze had gone, but she inadvertently reached up and tugged at it slightly, as if she were somewhat nervous about it. Then she sat down across from him once she retrieved two large ales, a loaf of bread, and a variety of spreads for the freshly baked goods. "As I'm sure you've heard, the Emperor and Empress are still missing after going to Foxlin to help bring down the Haze's control over their government." She traced the tip of her finger around the rim of the glass. "They've not sent word in nearly two months and many of the Minor Arcana are beginning to lose hope that they'll ever return. No one has heard of them, and none of our people in Foxlin have any new information about their whereabouts." She sighed a little before she sat back, her single green eye stare was rather piercing and unsettling to many. It seemed as if it saw all. "I can't trace them that far, so our best chance to find them would be to send me and a select few to retrieve them. The guild is falling apart around our ears as of late, and not because of the lack of leadership."

She nodded behind her and towards a couple of the Court members, a mixture of Swords, Cups, and Pentacles. "They've been infiltrated by the Haze. Someone in their ranks has begun to spread distrust to separate the Minor and the Major Arcana--and so far they are doing a damnably good job of it. Very few of them trust us Major Arcana, especially me. They know of my ability to trace magic and memorize it, so they've been extra careful while I'm around. I'm assuming that if I were to leave for a short time, I'd come back to find them wanting to burn me at the stake to get me out of the way. And they'd have enough of an influence to do it, too." She then leaned forward and whispered, "Whoever it is will stop at nothing in order to split the guild and give the Haze the advantage that they've been waiting for. We've just barely kept the Haze at bay for the past several months by placing some of the Court in the government. You and the others that have been recruited into the Major Arcana as of late are the few people that I can trust not to let me go up in flames." She never once allowed a single expression to show itself on her face, but in her voice, there was something that was tinged with fear.

During her warnings and admittance of fears, she had been unknowingly playing with the strap of her patch. Just then, it fell, revealing a green eye that was the color of an emerald, it even seemed to glow like one, too. But there was a long scar that slashed horizontally from one corner of her eye to the other. She covered her eye with a hand and put the patch over it once again. "S-sorry about that. When I get nervous, I tug too hard on the strings..." She then sighed, acting as if nothing had happened. While she had uncovered her eye, she had seen a shining spark in the distance, towards the desert. "I believe someone is coming for the Tarot guild..."

Kryon took all the information in, only slightly glancing at the Court members when Atina nodded towards them. It really wasn't that surprising. The Haze were doing a good job and the Tarot were slow to react.

"Its worse than I thought. I must stay with Atina and help gather the other few that can still be trusted."
Then Atina's eye-patch fell. Kryon was surprised to see an actual eye. There was a scar, but the eye seemed to be healthy. Kryon took a mental note to ask Atina about it, however now was not the time. He ignored Atina's apology and went back to think about the situation at hand. He did it more for her, she was already scared enough. He could hear it in her voice. She wasn't the kind who wore her heart on her sleeves. If she was scared, than it's serious, very serious.

"Atina, you won't burn before I do, I promise you that. But we must leave, and soon, right now if possible. Judging from what you said the guild is not safe anymore. We'll have to meet any others outside of town.

Kryon cut a bit from the bread and casually spread a bit of peach jam on it. He took a bite and thought while chewing. He didn't like where this was going. The Haze seemed to be everywhere. They must do something immediately, the Haze is just growing stronger in time. And they are getting weaker.
Trying to keep some influence in the government was a lost cause, but the people, they might not be. Villagers, townsmen, soldiers... they could decide who and what to fight for. Maybe they should try to convince them to join their cause. Governments are worth nothing if the people don't follow them.
"It might work."

"What do you suggest on doing though? You seem to know way more about the situation than I do. I trust your judgement and I will follow it. You can count on my swords and shield!

He took another bite of the bread and jam and looked at the corrupt Court Tarots again. He could easily take all of them out in no time at all.

Atina nodded, "I'm glad that at least someone trusts me." She then sighed as she took a sip from the large glass, and a look of slight disgust passed over her face as she swallowed the ale. She had never been too fond of the strong drink, but then again, she was trying to appear casual with Kyron, as to not arouse any suspicions from the Court cards that had begun to watch them. When he spoke of leaving right then and there, she inwardly grew giddy at the thought of getting out of the guild for the first time in several months, but then again, she didn't know what may happen if the Haze infiltrator knew that she would be gone for a long period of time. If only I could get my hands on that cloning spell that I'd heard of... With this thought, she gazed into Kyron's eyes with her own and nodded, "Yes, we should leave as soon as we are able. Of course, I'm going to have to retrieve a small package from someone before we do leave."

She stood up and made a motion that she would be back in a few minutes. When she did return, she held a small box that she had attached to her belt. "You remember this box, don't you?" She asked quietly. Anyone who had been selected by the Tarot had seen that box at the beginning of their journey. Within the box held the mystical deck that could be a dangerous weapon. The deck inside of the box had a will of its own, for it had no direct master. Whenever one was selected for the Tarot guild, they would be asked to take off the top card, and that would be their place in the guild, whether it be Major or Minor Arcana. Most of the Minor Arcana had already been claimed and were left bereft of their power, as it went straight into the selected person. The only one with the ability to return the card's spirit and magic into the card itself was the one who'd been selected by the World. Alas, no one had been selected to hold that card in this lifetime, so there would be no way to strip anyone of their magic just yet. "The last thing I want for the infiltrator to get their hands on is this... which may be one of the few things that can bring us back to our former power."

Then she snapped her fingers and a travel pack had been teleported to the stables from her own room. She didn't want any of the Court cards realizing that she would be gone for the time being. As far as they were concerned, she would simply be heading out for a short mission or scouting session. "I suggest that we leave this evening, when the shadows can hide us from prying eyes."

Gloom. All there was, was darkness. It was night in the desert and it was cold, Magnus and the horse shambled through the almost pitch black abyss, slowly moving through the thick night air. Magnus exhaled with a shudder and his eyes popped open, he could see his breath, a ghostly white in the faint illumination of the stars and that is when the cold got to him. He started to shiver violently, clutching himself and the reins for warmth, the sweat that had drenched him in the day was cooling down to feel like fridged lakes in his armor. His leg was on fire, the wound from the arrow growing more intense with every passing moment, the undeniable urge to scratch it for front in his mind.
"infected." he hissed through clenched teeth as his shambles turned to a limp and as he leaned on the mare for more support, once he leaned he noticed something sticking out of the saddle bag, so in his curiosity he pulled it out, It was a dagger and a note. He pulled on the reins gently and the horse started to slow down to a stop, where it carefully moved down to rest on the floor, it's legs tucked beneath it's body like a hen. Magnus slowly slipped down to the floor and rested his back on the mare, his legs out stretched infront of him, one a tattered mess, the other a bandaged tattered mess. He sighed deeply and unrolled the note.
'Darius, I can't afford to keep Lelana, I just don't have the money, haven't fed her in days. I need you to get her over to the slaughter house in Damascus, I need the money more then she needs the food. John.', Magnus crinkled the note and leaned back against Lelana apparently. He felt light headed all of a sudden and the world started to spin, where there was shadows things seemed to creep out if them and they came towards him, human like in shape but featureless and black like the night sky one came to with in inches of his face, they could have been breathing the same air if it weren't for the fact he felt no breath on his face. It looked down at his chest then back up at him and kept looking for a moment, something about it was oddly comforting to Magnus, so he extended his hand to touch it. Instead of being touched it dived head first into his chest and Magnus started to convulse in pain, throwing himself around and screaming blood curdling screams, then he went silent, unconscious. 
He stood, his back to an immense a city,  his arms folded over a hilt of a sword that was planted in the ground. People started to march from the distance, naked and a voice called from the sky,
"to impart judgement unto man truth is needed and no man, woman or child will ever always impart unto you the truth, only the beasts of the sky, the sea and the earth will ever tell the truth, for I have created them as such."
"are you awake?" asked a voice from the darkness, suddenly everything came into focus. His body was rising and falling softly to the sound of horse clopping along, he opened his eyes and looked around, he was on the back of Lelana and infront of them was Damascus, "are you alright?". He looked around for the source of the voice, "um, hello?" he looked forward to see Lelana looking at him, "are you there?" the words came from her muzzle like silk, soft and light.
Magnus just stared blankly at her for a few seconds and passed out again.

"Yes, let's leave at sundown. I'll wait for you in "The Tired Traveler" inn, it's just around the next corner, to the right, you won't miss it."
Kyron took his mug of ale and gulped it all down in one go as he stood up. He buckled Fate and Resilience back on his back, looking just how he came in.

"Just make sure those clowns over there won't send anyone to follow you." Kyron said nodding towards the infiltrated Court members.
He picked up his helmet from the table and bowed towards Atina before walking out from where he came from.
He headed right for the stables to where Loyalty was and untied her, leading her out of the stables, along the road.
"Let's go visit a friend first ok Loyalty?"
Kyron climbed on the black Charger's back and patted his shoulder to tell her that she can go. In a couple of minutes, they arrived to another tavern, "The Smoky Ale". He jumped off Loyalty and left her outside.
Inside the tavern it was very dark, with just a couple of lanterns lighting the front room, which had only barred windows.
Everyone turned to Kyron when he entered, but he didn't look that interesting, so everyone turned back t their own business.

"Well well well. Who do I see here if not the ol' dumb swan-knight! I thought you'd be dead by now! Are you still jumpin' in front of swords and arrows?"
Said a slightly fat, bearded man sitting at one of the tables. The man stood up and hugged Kyron, patting him forcefully on the back.
"Hello Merek, nice to see you're fine too, how's your family? I heard you managed to set up quite a good business empire here"
Both men sat down at the table. Merek shouted over to the tavern keeper to bring two large mugs of ale and turned back to the paladin with a smile.

"Well yes, I can't complain. I got a new toddler recently, we called 'im Terrowin. Strong boy he is! Everything has been going great, I recently got word that a caravan was attacked in the desert, there seem to be no survivors sadly. I tend to forget how dangerous the life of a merchant actually is. If you wouldn't have been there that day, I'd have surely died, or sold as a slave to the Southern Kingdoms."
The tavern keeper arrived with the mugs and put them in front of the two men.

"How about you, what brought you back to Damascus? A nice lady heh?"
"Not exactly, I am still on business here, the Haze I told you about some time back, well they even got into the guild. I need your help, I trust you more than anyone in this town. I need you to take us out of here without anyone noticing, just far enough to be reasonably safe from unwanted eyes. I can pay…"
The smile on Merek's face faded, his lips tightened and his face showed determination.
"Kyron, you hurt me. I'd never accept money from you. I owe you everything. Yes, I can help you with it. Don't you worry my old friend, Merek has got it all under control. I'll go take you myself. This tavern is probably the safest place to pick you up. I'll meet you in a couple of hours, when its dark."
Merek and Kyron stood up.
"Thank you friend, I knew I could count on you"
"You'd do the same. But I want on thing in exchange, after this is over though, we will sit down right here and you tell me what you've been doing all this time. Then you will find a wife and who knows, maybe we can go a bit around the world as well. It would do me good!"
Merek slapped his stomach and laughed very heartily which just made Kyron laugh as well.

Both men walked out of the Tavern, where they shook hands and went their own ways. Kyron climbed back up on Loyalty and leaned close to his ear.
"I really hope that old man won't get into any trouble, lets go get him the gift"
With that Loyalty set off on the streets of Damascus, while the sun was starting to hide behind the buildings.

Magnus woke up for the second to the sound of steady clopping, slow and contolled across the hard cobble streets of Damascus. He lifted his head wearily and scanned his surroundings which were nothing but incoherent blurs, he took a few moments to blink and rub his eyes so he could see clearer. The man looked down at the commandeered horse and gave a mirthless chuckle.
"strange dream." he sighed finally and straightened, making himself look as if he'd been riding the horse and not being unconscious.
"Umm, it wasn't a dream." a whisper spoke from the darkness ahead.
Magnus sighed, "first I leave Bethlehem for a desert, then I get infected and now I am a freak that can talk to animals.", he slumped more visibly now he knew he was different, all of a sudden he wished he never left and was tempted to return home and become a supreme inquisitor but that was behind him now. They continued to clop around the back streets, an awkward silence clinging to them as they went.
"So... what's your name?" asked Lelana hesitantly, turning her head towards him but not looking him in the eye.
"Magnus," he replied awkwardly, disbelief still permeating his head "Lelana I presume?" he asked again to keep the conversation rolling. after a few minutes of small talk Magnus grew more relaxed to the fact he was an animal understanding freak, 'this can't be all bad.' he told himself in his mind reassuringly as their banter died down. They clopped down a slightly more well lit road, tidy shop fronts on each side all dark apart from two places, a herbalist and an inn, The Tired Traveller. Both at that point seemed excessivly attractive, one for his and Lelana's wounds and the other to sleep, a stable round the back for his mount, however he decided that the herbalist was the best choice. He  agreed with himself that dealing with their wounds were more important then petty sleep. 'not that much more important.'
He hitched Lelana on a convenient post and was about to go in when,
"where ya going?" she called out meekly, making him turn around, she was scuffing her hoof on the cobble, her eyes not meeting his.
"I'm going to go get us something for our wounds," he replied tentatively, slowly coming back to her and lifting her head to see him, "why?"
"just asking you know, I've lost one master and I don't feel like losing another so soon." she looked at him with worried eyes, they glinted in the lamp light of the herbalist. He felt a heavy pang in his heart, looking at the scared horse, she'd probably been through more in that one day then she'd been through het whole life.
'poor thing.'
"I'll be back soon, I promise." he smiled assuringly and walked through the door. after haggaling and a little bit of threatening he secured the needed medicine and strolled out of the store with a smile on his face, he waved the bottle at Lelana and he could have sworn she cracked a small smile. He removed the bandage from her flank and gently applied the soothing serum, rubbing it into her flank in circular strokes. By the time he was done, tiredness had set in and he was in need of a bath and a sleep so he crossed the road to the inn and entered to see if there was an available room.

Rafe was running, again. It must have been the fourth or fifth time this week he'd been caught, so, all in all, not a bad Tuesday. As he leaped over the space between rooftops, the guards, he assumed they were guards, they could very well be haze employed merchants, or mercenaries, whatever they were, they were following him, the entire idea seeming ridiculous, and yet it was happening. He jumped again, once again feeling his entire self become weightless for a brief millisecond, and the land lights lay on his well balanced toes. Damn Terrowin, being so cute and strong, why'd the little tyke have to have a birthday today? Oh well at least Rafe got his exercise. Skidding to a halt and looking over his shoulder at the guards the Fool saw that they were hot on heels, which was just how he liked it, there was generally less stopping time for them that way, he picked up running again, staying just outside the range of the weapons of his pursuers. He led them on a merry Dance throughout the city, exercising carefreely before realizing that he had been summoned to the castle, some meeting of the arcana as had all of the major arcana, he sure hoped nothing bad had happened. Though that would be a miracle if all were there without any sort of harm coming to them. But he figured that should anything he need to be concerned about happen, Atina would find him and tell him, probably.....

It was dark already, Kyron was late, preparing Merek's gift took longer than he expected. He hoped Atina wasn't going to worry, she was probably already in the Inn. Loyalty was trotting down the streets with Kyron on his back. The roads were more or less deserted, but noise and light was coming out of The Tired Traveler. There was a mare on the road, opposite to the Inn.

"That probably isn't Atina's horse, it's too thin, in a very bad shape. Doesn't look like a horse which has been treated in stables recently."
That only meant that Atina was still not at the Inn. Doesn't really matter, it's not so late and she might just be waiting for a good opportunity to escape unnoticed. Kyron got off of the back of Loyalty, still looking at the mare. There was a wound on the side of the horse which looked pretty bad.

"Let's go do her a favor Loyalty"
Kyron walked across the road, looking around, making sure there was no one on the streets. He raised an arm close to the horse's wound, without touching it though. A dim light appeared from his palm and quickly faded away. The wound on the horse was gone. The mare was sleeping and didn't even notice what happened. Kyron walked back across the road to Loyalty, took a bag from the saddle and patted the black horse.

"Keep an eye on her for me ok?" Said Kyron, nodding at the sleeping mare.
He walked into the inn, at the tables there were all kinds of people, most of them stayed just for the night but others came here regularly and Kyron knew them, more or less. Every time he stayed in Damascus, he took lodging at this Inn. He walked over to the innkeeper who greeted him.
"Kyron! Nice to see ya again, welcome back to Damascus! I assume you want a room for the night."
"Not this time Tybalt, I'm in a hurry tonight. But I do need one for a couple of hours, do you think you can give me something?"
Tybalt thought for a moment, then spoke again.
"Well of course. Here's room 5. Your usual one."
"That will do. Thank you. One more thing though, if anyone asks, I was never here. It's very important. But if a woman with an eye-patch walks in, tell her I'll be right back."
Tybalt started laughing after Kyron's last sentence.
"Well you sure are of the weird kind my friend, a woman with an eye-patch! Hah! I'll do as you asked though. You are one of us Kyron, not like those pretentious nobles who think they're be'er than everyone else. Do you remember the ones you threw out back in the day? Hah! That was the most pleasing thing I've ever seen! They haven't been back here ever since."

---

Kyron smiled at the memory. The son of some important knight walked in with his friend, also of noble birth, and some guards. They demanded that Tybalt's two oldest daughters be taken up in to two separate rooms, with a barrel of ale each, all for free. Kyron remembered them saying something along the lines of "It is an honor for them to spend a night with people like us". Tybalt didn't thin about it twice and refused immediately. One of the "kids" drew a sword while the other formed a fist with his hand and punched at the Innkeeper. Kyron was luckily in the Inn at the time and was immediately there to stop the fist from ever reaching its target.
"Why don't you pick a fight with a knight."
The young noble's face became red from anger and stumbled back, screaming hysterically.
"Guards! Kill him! KILL THEM BOTH!"
Kyron took a defensive stance in front of the counter, as two of the six guards came at him swords drawn. He didn't even bother to draw his own sword, there wasn't enough space for it anyways really. Instead he used his armored fists to punch one of them hard in the face, and twist the sword from the other one's hands. The others who happened to be at the Inn at the time, seemed to think this was going to be great fun and immediately jumped on the remaining 4 guards, smashing bottles on their heads and hitting them with what they had, including chairs and tables. The guards were quickly thrown out of the Inn, accompanied by very loud laughter and a lot of ale. The two young knights-to-be were also thrown out, but first they were first taken to the toilets, which was basically a pit and a wooden thing to sit on. A couple of men took them by the feet and dipped them into the stinking brown mass. The nobles were screaming insults and threats with red, well brown, faces while everyone else was laughing. Kyron was laughing as well while Tybalt was staring with a huge smile on his face. Some of the people at the Inn were hurt and bleeding but didn't care as teaching a lesson to those assholes was worth more than a couple of cuts. Tybalt gave free ale to everyone that night, and Kyron was praised and considered a friend ever since.

---

Kyron leaned on the counter while Tybalt gave him a mug of ale, he drank it slowly, taking his time.
"I'll go check the place out, I'll be right back Tybalt"
He put down the half full mug and left for the stables.
"I have to make sure the area is clear before Merek arrives."
But the stables seemed to be already occupied.

The inn could only be described in a word. Quaint. It permeated with comforting warmth that was much more welcome then the cold desert night. Magnus scanned the foyer with tired eyes, set ups of chairs and tables were occupied by all manner of people, drinking and eating and laughing and just pure enjoying themselves. He sighed, memories of the monastery coming back, the joyful laughter the smells of assorted beverages. He approached the inn keeper, limping badly, the pain in his leg growing more exsessive with each step.
"excuse me, sir?" he called out at the man behind the counter, "I'd like a room and lodging for my horse if you don't mind.", Magnus watched through blood shot eyes as the inn keeper approached, seeming to take a lifetime but was only a few moments. 
"that'd 1 gold for the 'orse and 1 for ya" he said cheerily as Magnus reached his hand into his pocket. Dread washed over Magnus, he could only feel one coin in his pocket, with heavy reluctance he dropped the coin on the counter.
"just the stable in that case." he whispered defeatedly, has just staring blankly at the coin as it mocked him. 
The inn keeper watched awkwardly as Magnus turned around and made his way back to the front door, limping deeply in an effort to avoid pain, "you can lodge in the stable if you like," he called to the slumped traveler "maybe I can arrange a meal.", Magnus was overwhelmed with joy.
"thank you, sir! Thank you!" he creid out in happiness, a goofy smile plastered on his face he stepped out of the inn "today might just be my day." he said hopefully, then he tripper. A loud crunch followed and he swore as he reached into his bag and scratched himself on a peice of glass, he brought his finger to his nose and sniffed, the wafting odour if the medicine came from it. He sighed and went to the stable round back the inn, clutching Lelana's reins, pulling her gently as he went, the steady clopping of her hooves on the stone making him feel a bit better. He unsaddled her and walked her into her pen.
"is this for me? I've never had one before!" she exclaimed looking around the pen, staring at the roof in wonderment.
"you've never had a pen before?" he chucked light heartedly, he sat down on a hay bail and hugged himself, it was cold outside compared to the inn, the wind bringing the fridged feeling from the deserts surrounding the city.
"never had a roof." she whispered, her eyes dropping to the floor, Magnus' heart wailed in pain at her words, he got off the hay bail and crossed the pen towards her, standing infront of her he could see the embarrassment in her eyes, the way she looked at the floor and nothing else, for the second time that night Lelana had melted his heart. He wrapped his arms around her head and nuzzled it, pulling her down to the ground where she could rest, she returned the nuzzling, her long matted mane brushing against his face. He stopped, someone was watching.
"who's there?!"

"No need to fear traveler, I'm just checking out the stables"
Kyron walked closer to the stranger, he was on the ground, the mare from the streets next to him, also on the ground.
"That mare seems to be in a pretty bad shape, horses tend to sleep while standing up, they only lie down when they're really tired. She also had a pretty nasty wound. May I ask how she got it?"

Kyron examined the traveler himself more closely, he really wasn't in any good shape either and the smell of medicine lightly lingered in the air. It was hard to really see his features due to the darkness but his clothes seemed to be mainly black, or brown, Kyron couldn't tell.
"I have a proposition for you, I really need you to be gone from this stable."
Kyron suddenly noticed how menacing that sounded and quickly added.
"I will pay a room for the night for you, I can't say more."

Kyron didn't see any reason for the traveler to refuse a room. He had a weird feeling though, like he actually knew this traveler, but Kyron was sure he never saw him before, and that the traveler never saw Kyron either. It is hard to forget a man with such a unique and shiny armor as the paladin's.
"I can also treat that wound of yours if you like."

Atina had made sure that all of the main offices, libraries, and studies were locked away--only to be opened by herself, the Empress, or the Emperor. She didn't want the Haze breaking into their information without breaking their necks in the process. The spell that she placed on the doors, windows, even the secret doors between the rooms would kill anyone who happened to break the seal. I don't care how many of us die in the process of keeping that information safe... She thought in her dark mood as she slowly made her way to her small room on the fourth floor, which would have housed all of the Major Arcana, if any of the others had stayed before leaving and never returning. It was a lonely walk to the end of the hall, and her room was as silent as death itself. She packed everything that she could use for the journey and even some extra things that may prove useful, even a couple of ancient spell books that were written in ancient languages. If anything, she could perhaps find someone able to decipher the strange words.

Then she made sure to lock her door and teleported to the stables, where she was greeted by several of the Minor Arcana. "Where do you think you're going, Priestess?" The King of Pentacles asked in his rough tone.

She stared at him with her single ivy colored eye before she pretended as if she hadn't heard him. She began to saddle a horse and just as she was climbing onto it, the man grabbed her by her cloak and threw her onto the ground. The air had been knocked from her lungs and he and a few of his Court members stared down at her. She could feel them beginning to build up their own magic,drawing it into themselves so that they could use it. She wanted to call out, but the King kicked her in the ribs, cracking at least two of them before going for the brown box that held the ancient Tarot cards. Curling herself around it like it were a child, they began to kick and and try to pry it from her hands. She didn't call out, nor did she attempt to fight back until they believed that she had passed out. As the King reached down to swipe it away from her unconscious hands, there was a flare of magic that sent all of them flying into the stable walls and hay.

Staggering onto her feet, she wiped the blood from her swollen lip and grimaced with pain as she felt her patched eye had been kicked to a swollen, bloody mess. She reached out her hand and made a symbol in the air that glowed a bright green before burning out. It was a memory spell that would make them think that there had simply been some trouble with a horse and it had gotten away. Then she made more bright green symbols in the air that would erase her from the memory of anyone who had ever laid eyes on her within the Tarot guild, excluding the Major Arcana. They would never know what she had done or would ever remember that she was their High Priestess. Despite herself, tears formed in her eyes as she slowly climbed onto the stallion that would be her mount for this journey.

Riding down the empty streets, her cloak keeping her from being sighted as a woman with an eye patch, she made her way to the inn. Once she had reached the stables, she heard voices inside speaking--one of them Kyron's. Damn it all... I don't want him to see me like this... I don't want him to know what I had to do to get out of there... Once the stallion had entered the stables, she felt her head begin to spin, dark spots danced before her eyes. No... hold it together, Atina... don't be weak... But the moment that the horse came to a stop by the help of the stable boy, she slipped off the horse and landed on the ground with a small thud and a grunt.

The boy quickly moved her horse into a stall before rushing over to help her up. She coughed up a bit of blood as she stood up, looking over to Kyron and the other newcomer, who was just as beat up as she. With a rush of lightheaded disbelief, she reached p and tore her eye patch from her face, revealing the iris that glowed like an emerald. The other man glowed like a firefly in complete darkness, not even outshone by Kyron's own glow. She started walking over, holding the box out to the other man, ignoring Kyron, and said, "Open this box... and pick up the top card..."

Kyron didn't waste any time. He rushed over to Atina and kneeled beside her. She was in a horrible state, blood flowing from her face, dirt all over her clothes.
"How stupid I was to leave her alone surrounded by enemies. She is a strong mage but there were too many of them there!"
Then Atina took off her eye-patch revealing a glowing green eye. The High Priestess took a brown box which Kyron knew very well. She held it out to the stranger and told him to take a card.

"A chosen of the Major Arcana? Now it explains why I felt a strange Aura."
"Do as she said. Draw a card. You have been chosen."

Kyron looked back at Atina, his palms started glowing again as his hands hovered over Atina's wounds.
"What have they done to you... we must leave quickly. I organised everything. A friend will be coming to get us soon. Just hold on."
Even though Kyron couldn't heal broken ribs, he could alleviate pain and stop bleedings. He could heal bruses and cuts though.

Kyron stood up, the sight of Atina in this state shook him. A strong sense of pure determination washed over him. He wanted to go out there and avenge Atina.

"Its not the right time now. We need to get out of the city.

Kyron looked at the stable boy and started giving out orders to everyone. That's what Kyron always did when there was some pressure. It seemed people obeyed better when they were scared or confused.

"Boy, bring me some water, then you must leave. Tell Tybalt that things changed and I don't need the room anymore. He'll understand. You have not seen anything that just happened here, you understand?
The boy nodded and ran off. Kyron's voice could be a bit too menacing in times like this as his anger infiltrated into his voice.

"You, draw a card, quick. You're coming with us. Take your horse as well if you want. She might be too weak though."

The sound of hooves an wooden wheels approached as the commotion continued. The carriage stopped and Merek jumped down.
"By my fat stomach! What happened here!?"

"Just in time old friend. It was the Haze. We must leave very fast. The woman and the boy here are coming with me, as well as three horses."

Kyron took Atina and gently put her on the seat of the carriage.
He turned to the new Taror member with a serious look.

"Get in! It's your destiny."

"No need to fear traveller I'm just checking out the stables." said the stranger as he approached, Magnus inched back, keeping the mare behind him, his hand tense on the dagger from her saddle bags, "That mare seems to be in a pretty bad shape, horses tend to sleep while standing up, they only lie down when they're really tired. She also had a pretty nasty wound. May I ask how she got it?", the stranger was getting on Magnus' nerves, all he wanted to do was comfort Lelana and have a semi-restful sleep.
"caravan was attacked, we got hit by an arrow. Ran almost all the way here." he said to the armored lump infront of him, Magnus glared cautiously at him. The strange night seemed to ignore him.
"I have a proposition for you, I really need you to be gone from this stable. I will pay a room for you for the night, I can't say anymore." the stranger looked down at Magnus with a pleased look I'm his eyes, as if Magnus would submit.
"I payed for this pen, I don't take charity, bugger off." he said simply laying his head on the mare and shutting his eyes to try and get some sleep.

In his attempt to sleep the world beyond his closed eyes seemed to get noisier, The sound of another horse galloping down the drive into the stable area, "What now?!" he yelled annoyed at all the disturbances. A cloaked figure on horse back came storming in, not looking all to well, swaying strangely almost as if dazed, the figure fell from the stallion it was riding with a resounding  thump, from the groan it made Magnus gathered that it was a woman, and a beat up one at that. Before he could get up to help her, the armored lump and the stable boy rushed to her side hefting her up to a sitting position, where the lump was tending her wounds, Magnis couldn't see how because the lump was in the way.
The woman was groaning hysterically, "pick a card, pick a card." she repeated as the armored behemoth tossed a box to him, ordering him to pick a card.
"I believe this is an inappropriate time to play card games." he called out to the other man, as he lifted the box from the floor and propped it on a hay bail.
"maybe you should," Lelana suggested softly, resting her head on his shoulder to watch the scene unfold infront of them, "it might be important.", Magnus rose silently from the floor as the knight fussed over the robed women.
"let's go." he said simply, going for the saddle that rested on the floor in the corner.
"why do you not pick a card first? It is not going to hurt," she said looking at him quirkily, tilting her head to the side inquisitively, then she started going on how about paper can't hurt you because it had no teeth. Between her nonsense and the hubbub going on infront of the pen he felt his nerves wearing thin. "just trust me, like you trusted me to get us out of that valley.", Magnus snapped.
"will you just shut up!" he barked at her, throwing the saddle onto the floor, "I don't want to pick a damn card! And I didn't trust you, I had no choice. If there were a stronger horse I'd chosen that one but no, you were the only one!" he yelled at her, fuming in anger, his face contorted in a raging scowl.
She stared at him for a few moments, shocked, wide eyed. Then she started to cry, which inturn broke his heart but before he could apologize she got off and galloped down the entrance and out onto the road. 
"if you guys hadn't showed up this would have never happened!" he yelled at the in spite as he ran after Lelana. She was far ahead, he could her the distant clops on the other end of the road.

In all that mess, Kyron only realized the traveler was gone when he was running on the streets.

"Hey! Where are you going!? Merek, I'll be right back, keep an eye on her for me. If theres trouble, just shout and I'll come running."
With that Kyron put two of his fingeres in his mouth and let out a loud whistle. Loyalty came galopping and Kyron jumped on his back and set out to chase the fugitive. He stopped after a bit and realized he had no idea where the man went.
"Goddamnit, which way?"
Kyron stopped Loyalty and swore loudly, deciding that he and Atina can't risk staying here any longer. He went back to the stables, tied Atina's horse to the back of the carriage and climbed into the carriage opposite of the lieing Atina. Loyalty would follow.

"Kyron, you sure do frequent strange people. That man from before was shouting at his horse just now"
"Let's just go Merek, we wasted too much time already."