Mar, Althalus and a bit of Coco too!

Mar had listened to the boy’s words. From above, his voice screamed from inside the home and just past the still of his window at them, his face hovered far out of reach for anyone to reach him. Her lips visibly curled into a frown at his high spirited wrath. Not even Lyn, only three months, acted in such a matter as the human teen did. Currently it wasn’t hard to see this boy had emotional problems and needed help. His mind lost in some sense of madness she would never understand, a grateful thing for the Naga.
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Even in her absent mind, she had tried to avoid thinking about the scene or brushing too closely over the corpses around her. Death was never a comfort to Naga. Even though they were human, Mar’s inner nature half expected the corpses to sudden start to rise and try to kill them all. Impossible but it didn’t stop her paranoia from seeping into her. Part of the reason she let the others deal with the disturbed and misguided child, her thoughts on other more disturbing things, as Athalus’s voice broke into her ears.
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His breath brushed her ear, her body lowered, while her tail flinched yet didn’t lash out. Her brown eyes stared at Althalus, narrowing with acknowledgement for his presence. Also slight worry beneath the show of strength.
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“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about. Naturally Lyn would be my main concern, no matter where, because she is my daughter. My future. What you saw was only mother instinct and nothing more.”
~
"Yes, you do know what I'm talking about." Althalus chided gently with a small smile. "The others may not have noticed, but I lived with you for months before Lyn was born, and these months after. We both know that mother instinct doesn't override common sense when Lyn isn't even here. Especially in Naga. It's been happening more and more ever since Lyn was born and we both know it. Regardless, I take it that means there won't be any passionate kisses? Such a shame, I was looking forward to those type of displays of affection. It would have stopped other students in their tracks when they saw us doing that. Alas, it will never be it seems." He gave a dramatic sigh.
~
This entire time Althalus had had the crossbow cocked and ready. The death and devastation itself gave him no problem. It was just like a night in Port Slaughter when a holiday was on and everyone was celebrating by drinking heavily. But there was something wrong about it all, and that made him wary. He made sure to keep the crossbow pointed away from anyone in their little group, but it was ready to be brought down and shot in a moment's notice. He was tense, despite his teasing and carefree chatter. Something wasn't right.
~
Mar's frown deepened. Althalus, like a snake, had sensed a oozing wound of emotion and naturally attacked it. Her tail tightened but again, it didn't lash out. It didn't mean she wasn't tempted. Instead she continued her denial igoring his words, her head lifted to scan the surroundings and changed the topic quickly.
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"So much death and carnage... I wonder if they are still lurking about. If this was demons, they won't leave a single survivor. Only demonomancers usually survive an attack and from the damage done, this was beyond any I've seen. Save for Tyrael's ability." Mar said in a slight whisper.
~
Althalus chuckled, but didn't pursue the subject any further. He glanced around at the devastation as she spoke. "I don't think it was demons. At least, it wasn't wholly demons. There are too many bodies that are relatively untouched. And the soldiers," he gestured to the Yarosmerian bodies, "are relatively unmauled. They would have had the best chance of killing any demons, so it stands to reason that they would have gone down first. Horribly, with lots of pain. You saw the remains of the guards in the College, the frontliners. They were torn apart, and that was a fight the demons lost. And if they were still lurking about, I imagine they would have tried to kill us already, distracted as we are by nutzo over there." Althalus indicated the boy with his crossbow.
~
"I think it was our lovely little mages who did this. If you listen to his babble, he mentioned a fire breather, and a demon blood, and the everlasting hunger. Sounds like mages to me. I hate killing mages. They never go down without doing something to complicate things."
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"If that was true, the Naga wouldn't have survived in the Ravine. Not all demons act the same. A Ridge Hound, for example, becomes smarter when alone. It could wound a creature then wait for them to bleed to death or another creature to kill it, leaving behind a corpse. They are more reckless in packs which can number up to a hundred or more at a time." Mar had began to tell Althalus, namely as if he was a young and inexperienced Naga. It was then she blinked, realizing what had started. It was time to flip the subject and her attention leapt at his certianty this mages when there was hard to gather evidence to support it.
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"And how would you know this?"
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She turned to face him, her eyebrow raised and focused. Her arms had crossed over her front and settled there while her tail flickered behind, twitching in warning.
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Althalus raised both his eyebrows at Mar. That little tirade was something he hadn't expected. As he opened his mouth to point out the fact that Naga turn into unstoppable killing machines whenever they didn't get their brains killed, she trapped him with a her gaze and everything else that indicated he wasn't going to get out of this one easily. Althalus's teeth came shut with an audible click. The one thing he didn't want to get into with..well, anyone from the College, Mar had picked up on a slip. Mentally cursing he replied, the lie easily coming, "Well, it makes sense doesn't it? You've seen Uicle, and Tyrael and all the other teachers. Does killing them seem like an easy prospect to you?" He shifted uncomfortably and then froze, wincing. Naga understood body language very well, and Mar understood his down to the smallest twitch.
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This wasn't going to end well.
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"Althalus..." Mar gave a warning, her voice ended in a slight hiss. "That doesn't answer the question well enough. Only experience would make your claims correct, and from the sound of it, you might have something you and I need to talk about."
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She leaned into his personal space, her knuckles tightened and weapon readily at her side in moments. Mar looked as if she was about to assult Althalus in a way he would find rather...unpleasant.
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Clink.
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"I know I wouldn't go down without doing something to complicate someone's day. Would you two not do that, too?"
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Mere feet away from the couple, Coco leaned towards them. Leaves puffed out the moment she turned her back to the 'King'.
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Althalus opened his mouth to deny it further (uselessly, he knew), while getting ready to dodge anything that might be thrown at him, be it tail, slap, or scythe, when Coco spoke up. Softly, so softly that he could barely hear himself, he whispered "Thank you." to the Foreas. It only delayed the inevitable, but the inevitable could be avoided for a long time, he found. Seizing the opportunity, he spoke, "Before we continue and I explain why my certainty doesn't need experience, lets not distract our allies any more, shall we? We don't want to be surprised by mages powerful enough to destroy a small village by themselves." Mentally crossing his fingers, he glanced around the devastation again, pretending to look for hints of deception.
~
"Aw, bummer..." Coco mentioned, then listened for a second. "Althalus is right, though... Mages could come from anywhere!" She exclaimed. Turning away, she focused on the nearest body and poked it with the wooden end of her spear. "I'm not sure there's resurrection magic, though..." And Coco went on, checking the bodies for some sign of the mages.
~
Mar ignored Coco for a moment, her eyes shifted a bit to acknowledged her presence, then turned back to stare farther at Althalus. She hadn't realize her height had started to rise higher above him as her eyes fixed on his eyes, unwilling to let this go. However Mar didn't interrupt Coco while the fern's little leaves were puffed out and started to speak about what Althalus had said. For a bit, she listened to the coversation while Althalus weakly covered his lie which only irritated Mar farther. Her eyes seemed to spark with a slight fury uncharacteristic of her. Silently she waited until Coco had left before she leaned into Althalus's ear then whispered something into it.
~
"You and I will discuss this later... or you will never be welcomed back in the Den again." It was filled with vemon, though hidden behind was slight pain she tried to overcome with anger. After she let her words linger, Mar lifted upright then twisted about to view the current ongoings with the youth still locked in what she assumed was his home.

Grey Onyx

Grey listened to the childs mad rambling, his frown deepening. It wasn't that he expected Coco to have any sort of success, just that she had the best chance. He caught a look from Leith as they spoke of demons... "yes, my earlier assessment was likely incorrect. I can admit that. However, what Athalus said also makes sense, if it were just demons none of the bodies would be intact. And yes, there are smarter demons Mar, but if it that's what we were dealing with none of the corpses would be eviscerated likely. Ergo, This is Demonomancers, and possibly other mages." He said. He was much more confident in this. However, he wanted to explore the intact house, obviously it was worth investigating by sheer virtue of it being whole. However, the kid proved an obstacle. He moved to the others, first giving Coco a pat on the head. "Good job, Coco." He said softly, before turning to Athalus. He spoke low, so the kid wouldn't hear. "Obviously he's mad. He needs mental help, which we can't provide. or maybe he caused all this? Either way, he needs to be captured and brought back to the college for questioning..." He trailed off, as if about to explain something.

"I had a stupid idea. Similar to the things I've heard your half-elven friend has done... Anyway, I'm basically gonna break down the door and knock him out. Can you cover me in case of any funny business? Get him with the crossbow without killing him?" He asked. Surely, if the assassin knew just what to hit to kill someone, he'd know where not to hit...

'I'm BORED!"

The tiny snow elf fwumped back into her chair as the carriage continued it's boring journey, to the boring college, in the middle of boring nowhere! Of course Pyx wasn't going to complain too much. Someone would eventually have to let her out, then the fun can resume!

As the carriage continued it's journey, Pyx's wrists began to itch. The trickster began to fiddle with the heavy chains, eventually wondering what would happen if she forced a ball of air commonly used to propel herself into a lock. Laughing softly as she selected the shackle around her left ankle, because if she somehow blew her foot off; she wouldn't miss her left foot as much, right?

Focusing her magic into the lock, she created a small orb of air. To most, it would look as if she was staring into nothing. While Pyx could see the air dancing about her as if they were orbs of light. The first orb was not much bigger then an apple, Pyx compared the orb to the lock.

"Too big...that maaay not be a smart idea..."

To shrink the orb of air into a smaller more compact form took a great amount of concentration, for a few moments, the orb began to flicker. The same as trying to contain a whirlwind with a butterfly net. Due to a mixture of elfy luck, and Pyx's extraordinary ability to not blow herself up, she was successful in reducing the size of the orb to not much bigger then a grape, Pyx measured the mote of air to the lock. "That works!" Stuffing the orb into the lock, the metal contraption already began to shudder, trying to bottle the mini-mote of air seemed to be difficult already. Pyx closed her eyes, muttering a prayer to any god of luck that was paying attention and cared for the elf's left foot. With the final syllable, the mote detonated.

There was a hollow pop as the lock was forced open. Cheering, Pyx removed the shackle off her first limb. "Teach those stuffy elves to think they'd keep me from busting out! I only broke out of the first carriage because they thought I'd do it...yeesh!" Pyx continued to babble to whatever forces would listen. Her right leg was freed with a short pop in mere moments.

Next were her wrist shackles; Pyx absently chewed her lip as she began to tug at the chains holding her arms in place. She could use the grape sized motes to pop the air, but this carriage was her familie's. Maybe she should ensure a little more entertainment for the poor driver that has to take it back...

Giggling, Pyx created two larger motes of air. she placed them beside each of the heavy bolts that held her chains to the carriage. "This is going to be great, if I do this right I'll propel myself out of this stuffy carriage, and then I'll get myself to the College on my own! Pyx rubbed her hands in excitement at this challenge. Lowering her goggles, because "safety is important", or at least Pyx didn't want to blind herself again. Last time she tried this, she ended up being blinded by a salted caramel creation by her chef.

As Pyx readied the motes to detonate, she was startled by the sound of the door opening.

"Miss Pyx, we are at Twilight College. I hope you're not too offended by..." the driver's statement was interrupted by the snow elf's focus being shattered. Instead of propelling her out the window, she found herself being launched at the open door, crashing into the startled driver and past the front gates of Twilight College. The tiny elf got some rather impressive air time before crashing into several mages and at the feet of what can almost be considered someone of importance.

Nobody that grouchy could be not important, right?

"Hi, umm would you believe I had a really good idea that the driver of the carriage ruined for me? I'm a new student here, there's a complex elfy name that I really don't like pronouncing. So just call me Pyx!" She smiled nervously, as several of the mages who'd been so nice to break her fall began to get to their feet.

"Oh fudge..."

Massacred Village

As the group continued talking and essentially ignoring his ‘royal’ commands, the boy visibly frothed at the mouth, his mouth working rapidly but no sound coming out.. His eyes bulged and his face and neck turned a deep crimson red. Suddenly his head snapped to the side, looking towards something only he could see. “Be quiet Mama! I told you over and over again that this was for the greater good of the village, you should know this! Oh, don’t you give me that father. You were the one who originally gave me these values anyways! Sis stop crying, you were only going to get married off to someone you hated anyway!” He continued like this, arguing with his family members, while Althalus (who looked visibly shocked and shaken), glanced at Grey and then at the boy. “Y…yeah, yeah. I could probably hit him from here, but I can’t promise that he won’t bleed out before you get to him. Crossbow bolts have a nasty habit of ripping through the body of whoever they’re fired at.” He gave a smile, but it was clear that it was arbitrary at best and his mind was on something else entirely. Around that time, the boy’s attention snapped back to the group.

“So first you ignore my decrees, and now you plot to kill me and loot my kingdom! You’re just like the rest of them! Liars, murderers, and thieves! I couldn’t defend my kingdom then, but I can now!” He stood fully in front of the window, and it was clear immediately that he was caked with dried blood from the neck down, especially on his hands. It was also apparent that there was a wood axe in his hands. Oddly enough, there was a sparkling silver ring that was immaculately clean on the hand holding the axe. The boy made a sweeping gesture in front of him, with the axe, and spoke. For the first time his voice was stable and sounded almost sane, if it wasn’t for what he said. “Subjects! Loyal servants of my Kingdom! Rise! I command you to rise!” He swept forward in front of him again, and his eyes suddenly blazed with a purple light. Althalus blanched and took a step back. “Rise and KILL THEM ALL!” Their guide, who had up until this point been silent, suddenly started shouting, “He’s a Necromancer! Kill him! Fucking kill him!” Althalus didn’t move. He just stared at the purple light exuding from the boy’s eyes. Their guide yanked the crossbow out of his grasp and fired it at the window. It was too late, however, as the boy was already gone. The crossbow bolt merely shattered through the glass.

All around the group, the dead began stirring, picking themselves up and what weapons they could. Any piece of a corpse that could move, began heading towards the group. Perhaps most troubling was the experienced way the more conventional weapons were held. Anything that wasn’t already an effective weapon was abandoned for one that was, or made into one. There was a dull thunk from behind the door to the house. The three Yarosmerian soldiers picked themselves up and experimentally waved their blades, approaching the group. The corpse one Coco was currently poking suddenly grabbed her spear, her half eaten face glaring up at the Foreas. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, poking me like that?” She proceeded to try and yank the spear from Coco’s grasp. Their guide looked about. “Okay, bad news: We’re surrounded by a couple hundred, give or take, Undead who can’t be killed, who are also appear to be experienced soldiers. Bits and pieces of corpses that can move are also coming for us. The door to the only house is probably barred, with a madman and most likely more inside. Good news: if we kill the boy, all of the Undead will return to normal corpses.” Althalus shook himself, prying his eyes away from where the boy used to be. “Okay, so that means that you should probably start kicking in the door, guardsman. You know, before we’re all brutally ripped to shreds by undead villagers.” He slapped Grey on the shoulder.

The Yarosmerian soldier with the blade spoke, “No hard feelings, right? We can’t resist compulsion.” Then he swung his blade at Leith. The rest of the undead began attacking. Althalus dropped the crossbow, drawing a knife. “Kick down the door. Kick it down now.”

Roc Mission

At the sound of Arcadius’s voice, the Roc paused in the middle of her meal and twisted her head to glimpse the source. A lithe, bare skeleton had started to walk quietly toward the tree line. She flicked her head to the side in curiosity then slowly released what remained of her meal. Her golden eyes narrowed on the creature and deep inside her mind, she wondered if he was able to be devoured. Interested, the Roc chirped softly. Though what sounded soft to her had screeched across the scenery and made most creatures within the area flinch. She danced on her claw tips then darted her head out.

Her first strike wasn’t intended to grab the skeleton. Rather it would, if he didn’t dodge it, knock the bony fellow down into the dirt. Whether she managed to hit or not, the Roc readjusted her aim then flicked out again. This time her mouth was open and intended to snatch the skull into her beak.
Samson

The woods blurred all around him as he ran flat out. His hooves thundered upon the soft earth, his sharp toes clawed at the dirt tossing clots and pushed him farther along. His muscles glistened in sweat and power, each one budged with veins feeding his body in its plight. At first it was easy. The trees near the edge had started off widely apart for him to plow past without notice. His body seemed to pour more agility and speed then seemed possible for his thick, heavy built frame should’ve been able to muster.

Samson’s nostrils wisped thick heavy mist with each inhale and exhale, his barrel chest took in the air like needed nutrients then burned it just as fast. Slowly, he started to realize his error in darting into the woods. Unlike the other horse, whose frame was slightly smaller and better built to plow, Samson’s wasn’t. He had been a war horse in his young. Among those experiences, his flank held faded scars where a few minor battles had left their mark. Closer the trees became until a few scrapped against his flank making it waiver until the trees became too tight for him to race by. They appeared like cage bar from nature and his head jerked about, his hooves stuttered in their rhythm only to recover in a moment. His body had slowed slight in his turn. His trace whipped out far enough for Annabeth to skim it with her fingers before it evaded her grasp’s attempt should she’ve made one. In a few seconds he skirted about her position and darted back the way he came.

Again he smacked his shoulder into the nearest tree, his eyes covered at the side by blinds, which caused it to ooze slight with blood. It slickened down his flank and covered his skin, but his gallop never ceased in speed. Instead he only seemed to push himself harder. So lost in fear and unease, Samson didn’t see the small, blue object in his way: Aramir.

Aramir

Aramir, her back turned to the horses, didn’t notice they were escaping until she heard the galloping hooves and Annabeth nearly ran her over. What happened next was more instinctual than actual thought. Annabeth was a hunter of her hunting group, and it was typically death for hunters to go off by themselves. So Aramir immediately snatched up her bow and ran after the human, pausing only to string her bow as fast as possible. Aramir tried to keep up, she really did. But Annabeth both had the advantage of being faster, and having long legs. It took a minute, but eventually she lost sight of Annabeth, and had to stop, gasping for breath. As soon as she had regained her breath, the Snow Elf immediately began cursing as best she could. Auriel would have been surprised, and probably proud, to hear the things coming from Aramir’s mouth. Various anatomical parts of various gods were called upon (including, but not limited to: toes, beards, eyes, and belly buttons). She was by herself, in the middle of unfamiliar territory that belonged to a Roc, and she had no idea which way was back to camp. “Great. The only way this could be worse was if it was nighttime. “ Just in case, she glanced at the sky through the leaves, and breathed a sigh of relief. Nightime was a long way off.

The screech made Aramir aware of two things; One, that the Roc was close by. Two, Samson was coming back. Her head snapped up to look for the Roc, only to see that the horse was coming back…straight towards her. Behind it was the Roc, but Aramir had more pressing problems. “Oh no. Oh, no, no, no. Stop horse! Heel! Halt!” Samson ignored her. “Oh Gods!” Aramir turned and ran again. How was she supposed to know that the horse would have jumped over her? All she knew was that there was a charging, hoofed, angry looking horse that was over three times her size, coming at her. Aramir suddenly found a reserve of strength she didn’t know she had. But that didn’t stop the hoofbeats from steadily growing closer, making her look over her shoulder periodically, and follow these periodic looks with bursts of speed. Luckily for the Snow Elf, it solved her problem of finding her way back to camp. The horse drove her straight into the middle of it, in fact. As soon as she realized where she was Aramir made a request. “Someone catch this stupid Godsdamned animal!” With that she suddenly leapt to the right, and Samson charged on past her. Aramir lay on her back, panting for breath. “And that….is why….I don’t like horses. I say…we use that one….as bait…for the Roc…” She heaved herself up onto her elbows, her breathing a bit more under control now. “The Roc is about half a mile that way.” She gestured towards where the screech had come from and Annabeth had run with her head. For a moment she paused, and then let out an incoherent noise of alarm, leaping to her feet. “Come on, come on! We have to go kill the bird before Annabeth gets eaten!”

Meirin didn't remember much of what happened after she and Ssarak got out of the river. There was yelling, which she imagined would happen, though she herself was much too in pain to remember clearly. Alaira, despite how hasty she had been acting, was knocked out cold. For some reason this made Meirin angry. For someone who did so little aside from endanger everyone's lives, how was it that Alaira was out cold while Meirin herself still had enough energy to walk? If Alaira was awake (As far as Meirin knew) she would have given her a piece of her mind. But instead, Meirin simply kept silent and followed the wagon to the nearest village. It was a good thing it was uneventful after that, as Meirin was uncertain if she had the strength to put up any sort of a fight.

Eventually they reach the village of Wayward. Meirin remembered taking a few travelers here, and she remembered coming across the village when she left to the college. By this point Meirin had a slightly clearer head, but she could now feel the full pain from her arms. She couldn't even leave them hanging limp without a burning sensation in her shoulders. She feared that she might have torn them out of socket, and if that was the case, she would be ill-suited to continue the mission even if she could ignore the pain. As the caravan settled into the inn Ssarak came to ask about Meirin's health, and she was blunt. "It's so painful. I think I might have dislocated something when I tried holding up the bridge. I don't even know why I thought that was a good idea..." Meirin tried to move her arms, but just getting them past her waist proved to be a painful endeavor. She winced and looked at Ssarak. "I... There's a healer in this town. He could do something, but... I don't know how serious my injuries are. I think... Maybe.... I might have to go back to the college. If the healer can't fix my arms, I won't be any use to protect the caravan. I'm sure I can get the treatment I need at the college, but it would take me a while to get back to the college even if I went on my own." Meirin didn't want to jeopardize the mission by continuing with her injuries, but she had no idea if they could afford to heal her here. She doesn't expect the healer to treat her for free, especially if her wounds are as bad as she thinks they are.

Grey Onyx

Grey saw Athalus' reaction and sighed. "Look, I know it's hard, I don't like it either. But he could do something crazy, and we have heale-" Grey heard the kid shouting, and whipped around. The bastards eyes were glowing purple, the dead rose, and he disappeared... "Exactly like that!" He had trained every day in quickly readying his weapons, and it merely took him two seconds to have his axe drawn and shield raised. Now, a sitrep...

Hundreds of undead, and judging by the small body parts that were also slowly making their way towards them, "killing" them wouldn't work... They seemed to be somewhat skilled, even if their mangled bodies were clumsy.

Athalus, great at pinpoint eradication of singular targets, often away from real combat. Very unsuited to this present situation. Recommended action? Fight to the best of his ability, if unable to destroy them do his best to cripple more powerful undead, provide overwatch for weaker combatants.

Mar. Huntress, Naga form with high physical fitness makes a formidable foe. Scythe makes wide, sweeping attacks. The scythe may be impractical in most cases but high concentrations of soft walking corpses make easy reaping. Suited to this situation. However, her recent status makes her survival a priority. Recommended action? Front line, mass crowd control. However, be ready to withdraw if situation demands.

Coco. Plant, good personality.Inexperienced with fighting, is blind, and is physically weakest of bunch. Extremely unsuited to combat situations in general even though she received training from the half elf. Recommended action? Stay with group, possibly Athalus. Fight if necessary, but stay out of harms way.

Leith, Albino. Though likely relatively weak, possesses a demonic artifact with great power. Combat capabilities unknown, though likely low. Recommended action? Assist in protection of driver and Coco.

Grey. Big, strong, resilient. Master protector and combatant, sluggish. One handed weapon and shield, great for hacking limbs. Well-suited to combat situation and survival rate likely doubled for anyone assisted. However, Recommended action is unclear. The only way to stop the undead is to kill the child. There is a strong door blocking the way however, Grey is physically the most powerful and is therefore the one best suited to knocking the door down, but could also massively boost the rate of survival of the others...

Grey started barking orders, similar to what he had decided in his head. He hoped they would respect his tactical judgement, being a figure of authority with experience. "Athalus! I'm gonna break down the door! The second I call for you rush in and kill him!" He shouted, before turning and charging the door. His mighty impact didn't bring it down, but it did feel like he got somewhere. Taking his axe, he began to aggressively hack at the hinges. He needed to get this door down, and do it now...

Liam catches Samson

Was it even possible for the horses to escape in such a way? By biting the straps? Had he knows the straps tying them to the wagon were of such a low quality, he would have told the rest that the horses were trying to escape, but by the Gods, how was he supposed to know?

Minutes he spend planning how to track the horses. It would have taken days, if not for the moment in which Aramir burst from the treeline--Huge, heavy draft horse on her tail.

"What the-?!" Ears perking up and tail stiffening, Liam exclaimed in surprise. In no time, Samson, the horse, had gone into camp all crazy and in panic. Wasting no time, Liam climbed atop the wagon. Then in a smooth movement, he dropped onto Samson's back. A bright flare of pain rose up from his crotch, yet he dared ignore it as best as he could. For seconds, he only let out groans and grunts as he took a hold of Samson and made the animal stop bucking.

When Samson tired himself out and was calm enough to be still, Liam dropped from the back of the animal, face scrunched up to show his discomfort. He limped one step and fell onto his butt, both hands placed over his groin.

A long, low whine was all he let out as his tail thrashed wildly.

"M... My beautiful kits..." He whispered in a ragged tone.

Lyn

Ssarak carried her in his arm. Her small body, tired and exhausted slightly from expending too much magic, was rocked by the motion that she managed to sleep most the way there. It was a better alternative to ridding piggy back since his wings made it rather hard to wrap her legs about his torso, though she liked the way the sun glimmered though the gossamer wings and fought the impulse to touch them. Instead she tried to imagine how they would’ve felt. Among the things she had been able to gather, most had slipped her mind, including the rune Alaira had given her and the fact her own had seemed to flicker red.

However the caravanmaster’s comment hadn’t gone unheard. Though part of her wished she was able to make it vanished, including the nasty feeling she had churning in her stomach, because of his clear displeasure at her sudden appearance. Lyn hadn’t counted on being discovered until they had reached town. That way no one would’ve known she was there and Lucillia’s aid would’ve been kept secret, preventing her from being in trouble which caused a great anxiety in the child. It seemed the others silently agreed with the man.

Impulsively she squeezed her stuff animal for comfort, its arms wrapped about her protectively, while she had forgotten the rune she had stuffed in her belt pouch alongside her dagger.

Hours later evening drew in and they pulled up to the Inn. The horse snorted while the head man got off, his feet hit the dirt hard and started to make arrangements for the night. Since Lyn wasn’t a part of the plans, it was likely she would be bunking with someone or she slept in the barn with the animals. She had to admit the second thought wasn’t as appealing to her. In the background, heavier and louder voices shouted for attention with words about ‘Anti-demon’ weapons which had gained her curiosity. She couldn’t help but wonder if they were anything like Uncle Tyrael’s works back at home. The young girl didn’t have much time to wonder when her unofficial guardian’s words had caused her to jerk upwards, Mei just coming into view with a blunt answer. It was then something clicked inside her mind and made Lyn remember Alaira’s last words and the rune. Immediately she started to wiggle to reach her pouch, enough so that Ssarak had placed her down, her mind speaking in excited and positive emotions. Namely because she could help.

‘Wait, Aunt Alaira gave me something for Meirin. A rune…Here!’ Lyn smiled as the stone was revealed, her hand held out for the Esyire and dropped it into his. ‘I hope this one doesn’t turn red too.’

For a moment, she stood there while the older adults spoke. At least until something tugged at her interest when she caught the merchants trying one last time to hawk their wares then began to pack up. Her wonder grew and finally got the better of her as she turned in place, her eyes narrowed at the dagger displayed in the man’s hand. Something wasn’t right with it. That much she knew, her body already moved toward their set and seemed engrossed in finding out what bothered her about the weapons. Unless she was stopped, Lyn would find herself by where the men were packing up and readying to head off to Eania shortly.

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

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"Your health is paramount, of course. If we cannot bring you back to sufficient health, then we can find a way to..." Ssarak began, but was interrupted when he heard the familiar sound of Lyn's thoughts in his mind. He leaned down to her and accepted the rune she offered him. Once he realized what it was, he gave her a smile.

"Thank you, Lyn. This will be very helpful." Ssarak said warmly before standing back up and looking to Meirin. "I know not from where she received it, but Lyn had a vitamancy rune. They are powerful tools, and this one seems to be ready to use. From what I remember about them, it might take a while to heal an injury like yours, but I will help you with it. It is usually easier for another to use it on you, instead of using it on yourself anyway. I just need to get Alaira help first. She seems to be suffering from blood sickness, and while time can heal that, I would rather be safe." Ssarak explained. He reached out and placed the rune into Meirin's hand, being careful not to do anything to harm her injured arms. "Here, take the rune. If you do not mind, I will be by your room shortly to help heal you. Oh, and could you look after Lyn in the meantime? We will need to find a solution to the situation with her soon enough."

Though he would have liked to help Meirin immediately, Ssarak was actually rather concerned about Alaira's state. As was all-too common with her, it seemed she had over-exerted herself on the bridge and was now paying the price. Generally, blood sickness was not lethal, but he wanted to make sure she was well taken care of, even if he was just going to end up scolding her later. Walking to the back of the wagon, he carefully picked her up in his arms and walked through town until he found his way to the physician's place of business. They would have to use their own gold to pay for the treament...or more accurately, Alaira's gold. Ssarak was willing to go to great lengths to ensure her safety, and even risk his own life if necessary, but he wasn't going to pay for it with his own gold. He wasn't that generous.The physician was a human male herbamancer, and given his role in the town, he did not have to ask what Ssarak wanted when he walked in with an unconscious woman in his arms. Instead, his first words were "What happened to her?"

"We were ambushed by bandits by the bridge on the road from the Twilight College. I do not believe she was injured by the bandits, but she is suffering from blood sickness. Is that something you can treat?" Ssarak asked.

The physician nodded affirmatively as he guided Ssarak into the room where he normally treated his patients. "Yes, I can use an ether for that. I can also watch after her until she recovers." He offered. "This will, of course, come at a cost, but I can assure you she will be well-cared for."

"That will not be a problem." Ssarak answered, placing her down on the physician's cot. He spent a few minutes negotiating on price. Even if it wasn't his money he was spending, he would at least try not to use all of her gold. Once that was settled, he made sure she had nothing valuable on her to be safe, then took his leave to return to the inn and help Meirin with her recovery.

Meirin simply nodded her head as Ssarak gave her the vitamancy rune. She had heard a little bit about runes, mostly that it's a type of ancient magic much like her Weaving. More common place however, and as far as she knows has much for functionality. Meirin gripped the rune in her hand tightly before tucking it into one of her pockets. She didn't know how to use it and didn't want to risk breaking it if it could really heal her arms. But at least now there was a solution. Before Ssarak left he also asked Meirin to watch over Lyn. "Of course. Take your time."

As Ssarak left, Meirin struggled to dig through her pockets to take out the small container of her medication. She was feeling very tired right now, but she still needed to be awake t take care of Lyn and to get her healing. The pain in her arms made it hard for her to hold her medicine steadily, but after she managed to get a few pills into her hand she popped them into her mouth and swallowed them whole. Once that was done she went to look for Lyn, who had wondered near another caravan. "Lyn!"

Meirin walked after Lyn, though she didn't really stop her. Although Meirin wanted Lyn to go back to the college, she couldn't really bring herself to be angry at Lyn. Sure this was a dangerous mission, and she did think that Lyn was being foolish for coming with them, but there was also the fact that if it weren't for Lyn Meirin might have been dead right now. She remembered how she saw Lyn use her magic, presumably herbmancy, to keep the ropes together long enough for Meirin to let go and save her. If Lyn was a bit older Meirin would have suggested that Lyn take Alaira's place. But Lyn was still a child, and despite how useful she's been so far, Meirin didn't want her to be in any danger. With any luck they could get Alaira to take Lyn back to the college, solving two problems at once.

"Lyn, honey, don't wander off from us." When Meirin caught up with Lyn she gently put her hand on Lyn's head. She wasn't sure what Lyn was thinking right now, but Meirin wanted to make sure that Lyn knew that Meirin wasn't angry at her. "Let's go wait at the inn okay?" But before Meirin could take Lyn away, she was approached by the merchants. They wanted to sell her "Anti-Demon" weapons. Meirin smiled at them politely but declined. "Thank you, but that won't be necessary. I'm quite capable of dealing with demons. Thank you for the offer. Now, come along Lyn."

Lyn

Lyn wandered over to the caravan. Bodies of men, mostly bearded and grimy, had started to pack away a good portion of their goods back into their wagons for the night’s travel. Other than the assigned sellers, the laborers looked to be of the ill sort and seemed to make her want to cringe back for some reason. Slowly she had come to a halt at the last stall. The one still needed to be cleared and packed away, her small hands pulled up on the table edge to peer over it. Her eyes caught the glimpse of assorted items from bladed weapons to amulets, even talismans to sweet the selling profit. On seeing them, Lyn’s eyes cringed into a wrinkled and unpleasant expression. Something was wrong with them.

She wasn’t sure, but something was definitely off with how they looked compared to the ones made by her Uncle Tyrael. Part of her itched to touch them and inside, she fought the impulse. After her mother’s gentle scolding about touching her Uncle’s prized processions, including the glare and rough warning, she had come to push the desire aside. Not that it was easy mind you. Her feet bounced in an attempt to ease the want as well as pull her mind from such imaginations. After a few good stares at the items, Lyn still wasn’t sure why they didn’t look right and considered to give up. Until her eyes brushed her dagger hilt. Of course, her dagger was made to stun demons enough for her escape them. A precaution both her father and mother seemed to approve of as she was taught to use it a few weeks ago. Gently, she reached over to pull it out. Immediately it gave a fierce impression with its hard, crude steel with a pattern of red amber like spirals laced into the metal. Those read patterns marked it a demon killer. The bells seemed to be pleased she had taken hold of it which sharpness could immobilize any demon too close for her liking. However she was still learning and lacked practice. So best she could do was wound them enough the blade could affect them before she scrambled away.

Lyn stood there tracing the lines when Mei came up. So lost in trying to figure out the reasons, she hadn’t noticed the woman pull up or the earlier yell until the soft touch followed by the sweet words caused her to look at Mei. She smiled until her whole face seemed swallowed up in the mood. It was a genuine like many of hers were and glowed with the fact she was happy to see the woman looked alright. Soon though her smile turned into a frown when Mei wanted to go back to the inn, unsure how to tell her what was bothering her. Inhaling a small breath, she reached a small arm over the stall’s table to point at a small trinket and with pleading eyes tried to get Mei to either purchase it or look at it.

However, if Mei again told her to come, Lyn would sigh then she would turn on her heel to walk beside the woman back into the inn.

Leith watched as the kid got angrier and angrier as the group ignored his order. If it weren't for the carnage around them, Leith would have thought the kid's anger amusing. Leith raised an eyebrow when the kid started shouting to someone in the house. Why was he at the window instead of his parents? Maybe they're injured, he thought to himself before the kid stepped into view. Or maybe he snapped The clean ring on the bloodied hand of the kid was what caught Leith's eye after he got over the shock of all the blood. The kid spoke again in a calmer voice.

And the dead rose.

It wasn't the mass of the dead that made Leith uneasy. It was the kid's eyes. The glowing eyes made him feel an unusual sense of dread and, oddly, anger. It didn't last long because the kid moved and a crossbow bolt appeared where he had been. Leith shook his head and realized that Grey was shouting orders. He nodded his head and turned to find Coco and their guide, but instead he ended up face to face with one of the Yarosmerian soldiers.

Leith took a step back and smiled as the man apologized before he attacked. Leith shot his arm out and caught the soldier's wrist with his right hand. "None at all." He gave a small tug and tore the soldier's arm off, throwing it into the crowd behind the man. As the soldier stared at his arm in disbelief, Leith grabbed ahold of the man's chest and threw him at the woman that had grabbed Coco's spear. "Shame..." Leith flinched and looked around. There was no one close to him so he shrugged.. He must have been hearing things. He drew his sword and got ready to fight. Grey had better get that door open quickly.

Collab between Louie and Lucius

Pitch strolled up the path, taking in the sweet smell of the forestry around him. He stopped for only a moment, watching as they waved slowly in the wind, as if they were all pieces of a grandfather clock, swaying back and forth. He turned away quickly, attempting not to get too sidetracked, and began to make his way back to his destination. Just above the horizon, he could see the very top of a huge building. The college. Excitement built up inside of him, bubbling up to the surface until he let out a little yelp of joy. He began to jog and, once, clicked his heels together in the air.

The sun was high, shining brightly upon Pitch's being. He could feel the warmth wrapping around him as if he were being shoved beneath what seemed like liquid sunlight. He did not particularly like this, though, as he quickly ducked into the trees that lined the path. The shade suited him far better. Not to mention his name, it was only fact that he enjoyed the dark better.

As Pitch arrived at the front gate, closed his eyes and thought of his reason for being here. Crazy as he might be, he had not forgotten what he had come for. Images of his lover flashed through his head. He could remember everything, everything they'd done together, and yet she was gone. Thoughts that had been cluttered in the back of his mind had started to make their way back to the front again as he pictured her in the Pit, tortured because of him.

His eyes flung wide open, horrified at what had just filled his head. Then, with barely any thought, flooded his own mind, replacing his love with himself. This felt much better, yes, much better. So much so, that he began to laugh, but not just some ordinary, funny laugh. No, this was an evil, maniacal laugh, one that could not be of anybody innocent. Oh, the people he'd killed, the thoughts he'd had, he continued to chuckle. After a moment, his eyes filled with tears of laughing so hard.

Pitch slowed his laughing only a bit before completely stopped in an abrupt attempt to focus on the task at hand. He stretched his long arms high in the air, and stalked up to the gate, his eyes glued to the building that lied behind it.

"Oi. Who are you?"

Tyrael spoke out to the strange man who was laughing manically just a short while ago. In his arms were a couple of spikes, and on those spikes were rows upon rows of demon heads, severed from their body and making low, weak moaning sounds from their pain. Tyrael had been ordered to remove the heads as they were "In bad taste", though it seemed to work well to ward off demons and orcs. But an order was an order, and besides, he had other uses for the demon souls.

"Hmph. A new student are you? Tell me your name and what your magic is."

Upon the realization of there being another person here, Pitch studied him a moment. His eyes wandered to the heads that the person was carrying. An evil smirk appeared on Pitch's face as they moaned. When the man asked his name and magic, Pitch quickly looked up, having difficulty pulling his eyes from the severed heads.

"L-" he paused a moment and corrected himself. "Pitch, Pitch Black. Necromancy."

Pitch had not used his own name for ages. It had just about flown out of his mouth without his control. He had been called Pitch ever since he can remember, he couldn't remember a time when he was called Louie. Pitch looked at the man intently, waiting for his response eagerly.

Tyrael gave "Pitch" and derisive snort before motioning Pitch to follow him. "Necromancer. Alright than, before your admittance to the college, you'll need to take an aptitude exam to ensure that you're worth the trouble. Normally we'd give you a more standardized test, however at this time we have to make due with what's on hand. So here's your job." Tyrael took Pitch to the field where he had skewered all the demon heads. Since he just started, there was still a veritable forest of at least ten thousand or so heads scattered about. Upon arriving, they all began to let out low painful moans. A few may have even mustered the energy to scream, though only in short bursts.

"I want you to take each and everyone one of these pikes and bring them to the forge within the college. The guards have seen you with me, and I will be sure to tell them that you are working with me. Now this is not a simple task of just picking up sticks, mortal. These demons may be decapitated, but their spirit still lingers on their remains, and they will attempt to corrupt and sway you into doing evil... Or rather, giving into your base desires. So your this is two parts to see if you can follow orders of doing a monotonous repetitive task for a long period of time, as well as to see if you can resist the insanity of doing so. Fail and you will die. Succeed and you can take the next part of your exam. Do you have any more questions before you get to work?"

Pitch listened carefully, staring out at the heads. He felt a bit different as he moved a bit closer, but attempted to seem unfazed. When he was asked if he had any questions, he nodded a bit to quickly.

"Yes, yes I do have a question!" he blurted, cracking his knuckles to take his mind off of the strange sensation he'd been feeling. He looked up to the man and gave a cough. "Where is this forge? Obviously it is inside of the college, but it would be helpful if I knew where to go." he asked, now making his way to the pikes.

He watched as the heads moaned and let out slight shrieks. He could feel the strange sensation more now, like it was inside of him. He tried his best to ignore this and grabbed a pike and yanked it out of the ground. The demonic head gave a feeble attempt at a shriek and began to moan.

Pitch smirked and moaned similarly, mocking the thing. He chuckled and twisted the pike, examining it. He strode back to the man, his eyes glued to the severed head. The smirk had not left his face, the joy of the head's pain distracted him.

Tyrael was only mildly interested in the mortal as he went to work, only speaking to him to answer his question and to tell him to hurry. "Follow the large amount of smoke, mortal. The Forge is always at work. And do not waste time gawking at the damned. You will have plenty of time doing that later. Much later." Tyrael left Pitch to gather the pikes as Tyrael headed back to the college to turn in his bunch. He alerted the guards to allow Pitch to pass, but only if he had a sufficient bundle of pikes and heads with him.

It took some time, but eventually Pitch managed to get all the heads back to the forge. Tyrael had stayed at the forge to deal with the heads and once Pitch returned with the last of them Tyrael showed him the second part of the test. "Demons, if you do not know, are creatures of the Inferno. Upon the death of their mortal bodies they shall return to the Inferno, but they do not remain their for long. So long as their mortal bodies remain in our world however, they cannot return to here. These pikes have been enchanted to "heal" the demons, but only so that their heads do not decay, and allow the demons to return to our world in full force. That, Mortal, is merely one way to ensure that demons do not enter our realm."

Tyrael yanked a head off a pike before putting it onto what looked to be a large anvil, with a intricate rune on top. Tyrael's hands began to glow with magic power, one hand to create motions to focus his magic, and another holding a crystaloid. Tyrael was silent as he began to channel the demon's live energy into the crystaloid, which didn't take too long. Soon the head began to decay quickly in a matter fo seconds, before turning into dust. However, the crystaloid in Tyrael's hand began to glow faintly.

"What you just saw was a Binding ritual. In Demonmancy, Binding is the method in which a Demonmancer would take a soul of a demon to attach it to a being or object, in order to use it's powers for later, as well as keeping it tethered to the mortal world. Binding is not limited to only Demonmancers, however. Necromancers can do a similar, if not the same, technique with the souls of the dead. This is part two of your test, mortal." Tyrael tossed the crystaloid over to Pitch before putting a head onto the anvil.

"You have proven so far that you have the discipline to not be tempted by demons and the ability to follow orders. Now let us see if you have the skills to put that dicipline to use. Under my tutelage, I want you to bind what is left of the demons souls into that Crystaloid. Unlike me this may take you some time, as you must be able to focus on their soul and transfer it into the crystaloid. It sounds simple enough, but failure would result in the demon escaping it's mortal body, or more likely, your own soul being put into the Crystaloid. I can prevent the demons from escaping, but if you end up trapping your own soul into a Crystaloid I will not save you. Now begin." The demon's severed head looked at Pitch pleadingly, knowing that the it's fate inside a Crystaloid would be a damning one. If it had the breatht to speak it would have begged Pitch to kill it now. But all it could do was look at him, hoping that Pitch would understand the wretched soul.

Pitch watched the head for a moment, taking in it's suffering. He nodded to Tyrael, focusing on the head. He copied exactly what Tyrael did, though nothing happened. He frowned, shaking his hands out and limbering up. Taking a few deep breaths, he stretched every possible limb out that he could and focused once more. He put his hands out, copying once more. He noticed his hands felt a bit different, but he noticed nothing but that.

He coughed, and paused a moment, thinking. He was focusing, and everything that Tyrael did. He couldn't help but think back to what his love might think of him right now, failing miserably at what seemed like a simply task. At least to a professional it was simple. Pitch was fired up now, and felt like his love was right there beside him, encouraging him.

He put his hands out again, imitating Tyrael. He focused as much as he possibly could, watching the severed head's pitiful expression. He saw his hands glow faintly, them flickered away. Pitch let out an odd sort of groan, and shook his hands again.

"Mind uh, doin' it one more time?" he asked, his voice shaky.

Tyrael signed and shook his head. "You will not learn by simply watching. You learn by trying, and failing, many many times until you start failing less. But I will help." Tyrael stood up and grasped another crystal. He held the crystaloid tightly while motion with his hand.

"Watch my hand. The movement is subtle, but with purpose. When Binding a soul, your grip must be firm, but you do not want to crush the soul of the demon. You suffocate it, but let it gasp. This ebb and flow between grasping for life and imminate death is what binds the demon to your will. You cannot simply let it free, but neither can you merely slay it. That is what the motions are for." Tyrael's hand was rigid and firm, but with some visualization it does appear as though he had his hand around someone's neck. It was ease and tighten at frequent intervals, simulating the effect of strangling something with just his hand.

"Now look at the demon. See how feeble it is to you. This makes it easier for you to grasp it's essence, to enforce your will onto it. Focus your magics within you to create a spectral hand of sorts, and have it grasp the demon's very soul. Choke it, torque it, but let it live. Like a fish fresh from the river, let it squirm and struggle until it can do so no longer." The demon could only look at Pitch, but as Tyrael began to bid it, so did the head show the effects. It started to grasp for air much more frantically than before, to the point that it's eyes began to bulge and it's mouth motioned words, but as Tyrael would have demostrated, the demon would have no breath to speak.

"Finally, keep a firm grip on the Crystaloid. Crystaloids are merely one of the more convient means of containing the souls of demons. Anything with sufficent enchantments would do. But focus on the demon soul and the Crystaloid. Now that you have grasp the demon's very essence in your hand, you must transfer it's soul into the stone. And your body is the means in which this happens. Just as you must do with the demon's soul, you must also keep a firm grip on the crystaloid, but you must be careful not to crush it with you power. Each time you tighten the demon's soul, keep your grip on the crystal rigid but also loose, to allow the life energy to flow between your hands and into the new catalsys. You must repeat this process many times to siphon the magical energy of the demon into the crystaloid. When you are finished, you will notice that the hand that would hold the demon soul feels empty. Look at what remains of the demon. It has become an empty shell."

True enough the demon's head no longer looked like it was alive, or at as dead as a severed head is suppose to be. Like the one before it it quickly began to rot away into nothingness, as all demon corpses would do. Tyrael tossed his crystal into a container next to Pitch. He pulled another head off a stick and onto the anvil. "I do not expect you to do it as fast as I did. As I have told you, you will fail many times. But as you fail and see your shortcomings, you will realize that they are avoidable. You see your mistakes and you learn to move past them. And you will continue to do so until you can follow the path to success without even realizing the steps you have taken. A song in your heart also helps."

Tyrael walked away from Pitch for a moment and came back with a fiddle. "What you need is a sense of rythme. You struggle due to inexperience. You need to be paced. Too fast, and you will be sloppy. Too slow, and you will be inefficent. You need not only focus, but flow. So sing along as you work. When you can sing perfectly without me, you will see that this will become easier." As Tyrael let Pitch get back to work he turned his fiddle and began to play a song. Perhaps due to the magical enchantments on the fiddle or maybe just because the forge was a strange place, additional musical accompaniment began to play as Tyrael sang.

Pitch watched admiringly as the life left the demonic head and dissintigrated by Tyrael's hand. It was helpful, very much so, to watch him do it again. Pitch thought he had a much better idea of how to do it. He listened to the song Tyrael sang, nodding his head only slightly to the beat of the song.

Pitch moved closer to the head, which was staring him right in the eyes. He watched as the helpless little face pleaded with it's eyes, seemingly begging for freedom. Pitch shook his head not in pity, but in amusement. Pitch began to recite the lyrics of Tyrael's song, hoping that he was not lying about it helping.

"When the Devil is too busy...." Pitch help his hand firmly around a crystal, being careful not to squeeze too much or too little. He looked at the demon's face, consentrating on it's helplessness. He continued to sing, holding the crystal in one hand, his other held out just the same. but without a crystal.

"Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need." Pitch could tell that the demon's expression had changed. It let out a gasp. One, only one, but it was something. Pitch did exactly what he was told. His right hand firmly gripping the crystal, his left open and rigid. The demon gave another gasp, but that was it. It almost had a releived look on it's face. Pitch knew he had failed, but he was closer to succesfully doing it. He frowned, though, disappointed.

He set the crystal back on the table and crossed his arms. He hoped that this was not something he would need soon, but then decided that if it was he would do it anyway

"Shall I try again?" he asked confidently in an attempt to not let the disappointment get to him.

Tyrael quickly captured the demon as it escaped, the only time he paused playing his fiddle. Once the demon was sealed into another Crystaloid Tyrael resumed his song and nodded towards Pitch to continue as he did. With many failures, Pitch was slowly starting to get into the groove of things, notably he was able to sing the lyrics of the song without Tyrael having to lead, allowing him to focus on the fiddle and dealing with released demons, the latter which was starting to become less frequent. Pitch was still very slow, and during their time working he only managed to seal about twenty or so of the one hundred demons he was made to bind, but all things considered it was a rousing success. The fact that Pitch was still alive told Tyrael this student had the concentration to pay attention, so he'll be a good student. Whether or not he'll be a master mage, well, that'll be Uicle's problem.

Eventually Tyrael stood up after Pitch ahd sealed his last demon. "That is enough. You need practice. A lot of practice. And you have come to the right place. Follow me." Tyrael put away his fiddle and led Pitch out of the forge. They stepped outside and began to walk through the college towards the teachers offices. "I am taking you to see Lucilia. She will set you up with a room and other... Paperwork. She teaches Herbamancy." After entering the teacher's building Tyrael led Pitch through the maze of hallways and stairs until they found Lucilia's office. Tyrael knocked and awaited for a responds.

"It's open! Come in."

Opening the door Lucilia was in the process of making recreational drugs to sell to the students later. She looked up at Tyrael with narrowed eyes, but soften her expression when she saw Pitch. "A new student? I wasn't expecting a new applicant... Well, come in, come in! Let me clean up here in just a bit." Lucili carefully moved her drug lab off to a corner of her office near a open window to let the fumes out. She left the room to change into something that didn't reek of the narcotics she had been brewing up, though what she came back wearing looked exactly the same as before. Once she had finished changing she took a seat at her desk and pulled out a thick portfolio. Tyrael nodded at Pitch and left him and Lucilia alone. After he closed the door behind him, a strange noise occured, and Tyrael was gone.

"I am Lucilia Riovas, Professor of Herbamancy and other ventures. To whom do I owe the pleasure of meeting?"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Pitch Black." he said, glad that he didn't nearly say his real name again. He scanned the room, his eyes wandering all over the place. He could smell the fumes a bit, even as they were draining out of the room. He couldn't help but inhale the scent, it was unlike anything he'd smelled before. But, of course, he knew that it was bad for his health, so only a quick sniff had to do.

"May I ask what that was?" he asked, nodding to the room in which she moved the lab.

He could see just out the window from where he was, and he could see the very tips of the trees. He was just there, not that long ago. It was odd, thinking that he was actually somewhere in which he could learn more of magic. He could remember his way here, it consisted of many long, winding roads, deep forests, and a few incidents between himself and another traveler.

"Oh, that? It goes by many names. Cloud Dust, Moon Sugar, Meth, White Rocks. Do not worry, perfectly harmless. Um... Once I'm finished. I will have some for purchase later today. It's a pleasure to meet your, sir Pitch Black." Lucilia handed Pitch the portfolio containing the documents he would need to read and sign. SHe also took out a few pamphlets and brochures for Pitch to read over about other things of interest about the college. "Inside this journal contains information the college must have before we formally accept you into our institution. It mainly pertains to your health and past affiliations, such as histories of conflict or possible criminal records. While the college accepts all those from all walks of life, we do not provide safe haven from those who would use us to escape justice, but we also wish to help our students and members of the college to work past any of their trauma or phobias. Be as honest as you can, as this information is entirely confidential; only you, myself, and the headmaster would ever lay eyes on these papers. In addition, we also have various extracuricular activities and classes you are free to participate, should you have the time."

Sliding back to her seat, Lucilia pondered what else she needed to say before chiming back. "You do not need to fill al this out at once of course, but the sooner the better, yes? Now, is there any questions you have before I show you where you will be staying at?"

Pitch scanned the covers of the pamphlets quickly before looking up. He thought for a moment, making sure he asked his questions now so he would not feel like an idiot later. He knew there'd be a point that he would have to give personal information in which he did not wish to give, but he did not know how, or when, it would be required.

"What is it, exactly, that I'd be learning here? Obviously magic but..." his voice trailed off. He began to turn, stepping toward the door. "We can go now." he said, regretting he had asked that question. He'd find out in due time, and a little surprise never hurt anybody now did it?

collab between lucius and mee!

For some, Twilight College held answers to their fate, destiny, to gain a greater hold over the magic that flows their their veins. For one blood stained Priestess, she was hoping to at least keep whatever monster inside her in check.

As the sun beat down upon Pylia, she drew her white hood over her head. Since she gave a little leeway to what monster lay within. She felt the sun seemed to be brighter, almost on the edge of painful. Pushing the images of the sharp edged image of herself to the back of her mind, she proceeded to the gates.

A few mages seemed to look cautiously towards the priestess, she wore the robes of her order. She was an awfully long way from home, and Hope's temple had a history of sometimes being viewed as zealots. Her robes had seen better days to begin with, during her journey towards Twilight, she had aided those in need of her healing talents. Often choosing not to take any tribute asides some simple food and water for her trip.

"They don't trust you, outsider..."

Pylia was nearly startled out of her skin by the spidery whispers of the woman. "I will earn their trust...I can make a difference here!" She heard the cold chuckling of the woman before all went silent again.

Pylia sighed as she proceeded into the College. Several students parted around the priestess as she entered the gates. So far, Pylia's hopes of remaining invisible while trying to understand her affliction, were off to a rather horrible beginning.

A portal ripped open in the courtyard. Tyrael stepped out and shut the portal behind him and let out a deep sigh. Slowly but surely he was getting his legion back, but how quickly can he do it at this rate? It took him years to get to where he was before, and now he felt like he was expected to do the same in a tenth of the time. Granted, it was a self-imposed time limit. No one asked him to raise a legion of demons for the college. Most don't want demons around, and he wanted to be useful. Shaking these thoughts off Tyrael began to head to his forge when he noticed a new face.

She wore white robes and a matching veil, which Tyrael recognized that it came from a church in Eania. If he also remembered correctly, he may have went to the same place of worship in order to recruit new mages to the college. The details were fuzzy since this may have happened ten or so years ago. But he remembered the clothing. Tyrael was considering letting someone else deal with the new comer, but he figured he would do it himself. He had a rare moment where he was ahead of scedual, so he may as well put it to good use.

The demonic orc walked over to the white robed figure and called out to her. "You there. In the white robes. Who are you and what is your business here?"

Pylia nearly froze in her tracks at she was addressed. She'd been so used to blending in at Hope, and outside, she was only sought out for her healing talents. The voice that called to her was from a massive orc.

She'd seen them in the past, or more exaclty their handiwork. Savage, brutal creatures capable of incredible brutality. Pylia suddenly wished she retained the dagger a hunter she tended to had offered her. The priestess nervously backed away from the orc. Her voice was barely above a whisper as she tried to speak.

"I...my name is Pylia, I've come to learn...I am...was a priestess of Hope. I have been given the gift of vitalimancy. I wish to learn..." As Pylia spoke, the scratching returned. Did the other half know something she didn't? Pylia wished she could communicate with the other half more effectively then her harsh whispers in the back of her mind. Something about this orc caused the other half to be on guard. Did he see something inside her? Pylia cautiously drew back a little farther from the orc.

Tyrael narrowed his eyes at this "Pylia". She said she was a Vitamancer, and yet... He knew there was more to it than that. But than again, perhaps that was merely his paranoia from the past two months. He's been looking for anyone who could potentially betray the college or be a spy, knowingly or otherwise. And he had his sucpicions of this "Priestess". However, as much as he wanted to, he couldn't simply interogate her. But just about everyone was busy. Khan was fighting fires with the various factions trying to get his attention or put blame on the college, Uicle has to cover security until Tyrael can rebuild his forces, and he doesn't really know or care about what Lucilia has been up to recently. He'll have to screen this person himself. But how...

"So you are a new student than. I see. Alright than, I am Tyrael. follow me." Tyrael would have to postpone the spear heads to later today. Tyrael led the girl towards the college, but deep underneath the into the catacombs. For the most part it was rarely visited, which was notable with all the cobwebs and dust. However he had reason to beleive that something has been taking up residence in the catacombs that doesn't belong. He wanted to see how the new blood would handle the situation, and if she turns out to be a spy, than Tyrael can quietly eliminate her without arousing suspicion.

"We first test our students to measure their effiency with their magics. There is a more standardized test, however no one at the moment is avalible to give it aside from me. And I this is how I do my test. You will assist me in finding a creature within these catacombs that does not belong. The only thing that should be down here are rats and corpses. Keep your eyes sharp and do not stray too far from me." Grabbing a dusty torch, Tyrael used his magic to set a flame on it to illuminate the otherwise pitch black catacombs. He created another torch and handed it off to Pylia.

Pylia looked nervously towards the darkness, as she allowed her eyes to adjust to her new environment. She was unsure of the objective described to her by the orc, her magic was primarily based in healing. Identification of the living, injuries, the ebb and flow of life was her understanding.

As Pylia accepted the torch, she nodded quietly. Keeping her reservations about whatever lay in wait within the shadows caused her some apprehension. She wasn't a fighter by any stretch of the imagination. If whatever down here was hostile, how would she protect herself? The other seemed to be more comfortable within the shadows. Hopefully that meant she'd have a fighting chance with this test.

Pylia recalled her lessons based around healing, to find the lifeblood within the subject. The strongest points to the weakest, which needed to be mended by her. Possibly, this meant she could reach out into the shadows and find what Tyreal wanted her to find?

As Pylia began to focus, her first idea was to find what could be healed to what could not be healed. As Tyreal explained, there were rats, the dead and what she was supposed to find. As they began to walk through the catacombs, Pylia felt the first subject come close, it was small, round, and warm, scurrying to and fro looking for it's meal. A rat was not her target, moving on, Pylia stepped past and sensed something larger, and cold. It was not a rat, someone who'd passed, possibly a previous student? "This is not a path to think upon, focus on what doesn't belong. You've seen rats, you've seen the dead, what doesn't feel the same as those? That's what we seek!! Let me help you." Pylia felt herself relinquish a tiny bit of control as she began to understand what the other had explained. She needed to reach out for the other, the torch began to flicker as Pylia began to see things that the other allowed. Warm and round, grey and large, round, large, they seemed to surround before one shape seemed to jut out from the others. Almost like a tiny star in the night sky.

"Follow me," Pylia spoke quietly as she lead Tyreal along the pathways stretching through the college. She hoped whatever influence the other granted was apparently only to her. Finally, they found a small room where the star was located. Pylia turned towards Tyreal, "I believe what we're searching for is here."

To say that Tyrael was curios was a bit of an understatement. He had figured this girl would have been too weak willed to follow him into the catacombs. He didn't even expect her to be all that useful. But barely a few minutes into the search and the girl was already producing results. Before Tyrael could pick up a trail she was already sensing something he didn't. She told him to follow, which he did dully. This level of competency made him even more paranoid that she was an agent of Kudd. He noticed her eyes flash a strange color, which only added more fuel to the fire. He clentched his fist, but than let it go.

"Calm yourself. Bait the prey. Do not take the shot until you can ensure it is trapped." Tyrael let out a deep breath and continued to follow Pylia until they reached a seperate corridor in the catacombs. It was a fairly spacious room where they would embalm corpses. Tyrael quickly picked up small signs of activity, such as the various tools being moved around and what looked to be chewed up bandages. More notably, blood. Dried, caked blood, about two days old, give or take. Something or someone was injured here. Tyrael tasted the blood powered and knew it was not a mortal, nor a rat. His eyes darted around and found the source of the blood.

He was fairly dissapointed.

"Hmm... I had thought it would be something more... Fearsome." Tyrael picked up a small creature to show in the torch light. "A Lucent Kuga. A baby one at that. Does not seem to be one of ours, and it is injured... Here." Tyrael placed the small creature in front of Pylia. "Part two of the test. Let us see how you handle this."

The Lucent Kuga barely seemed alive. There was a large cut on its wing webbing, and a few bites from rats who thought the creature would be an easy meal. The fact that it lived this long was a testimant of it's endurance, however it was dying nontheless. It could not even open its eyes and was breathing very lightly.

Pylia knelt before the injured creature. It wasn't something she had ever seen in the past It was barely holding onto life. As Pylia approached the creature, she felt her other half weigh this creature's measure. As if it determined life or death.

"This creature is not worthy of our magic, let the void take it..." Pylia pushed those thoughts to the side, she rested a slender hand upon the creatures frame. It tried to make a break for it, the tiny creature could barely raise itself up.

Pylia spoke softly as she began a healing spell, the room was illuminated in a soft white glow. "Do not panic little one, I am not here to hurt you..." She first worked upon the bites over the body, her magic illuminating each wound. She began by sealing them first, before knitting the flesh together.

After tending to the worst wounds of the baby Kuga, the fever was next. Pylia rested her hand upon the creature's head. She smiled as she channeled a weaker version of her healing spell through the tiny creature's body. She'd treated several children afflicted by a plague when she first started discovering her magic. While focusing her magic upon a single point allows her to heal wounds, but channelling through the entire being allows for her to heal the body of toxins and disease.

As she channeled her healing magic, the soft light illuminated Pylia's shadow. A form much different from the reserved priestess on the surface. Disregarding the signs, Pylia continued to heal the fragile creature. As the fever broke, Pylia began to wobble, she may have pushed herself a little too hard. Smiling as the creature stirred, she patted it gently on the head.

"Your wings will be next little star, just let me catch my breath." Turning towards Tyreal, Pylia tried to muster what little strength she had left after her healing magics took their toll, "How was that?"

Tyrael simply looked at Pylia. It was not a look of disdain. More like... Uncertaincy. Surely any of Kudd's agents could be healers... But how much longer does Tyrael need to convince himself that this Pylia was really an agent of Kudd? She was about to drop on her feet from just healing a baby Kuga. Surely an agent of Kudd would be more capable than this. His paranoia made it hard for Tyrael to really apprciate what Pylia had done, so he simply waved his hand in front of himself. "Good enough. You will need to learn a lot more. Now let us head back to the surface to get your paper work."

Tyrael left the small room and began to head back upstairs towards the college staff offices. The little Kuga, though still weak, was able to open it's eyes now and looked at Pylia expectantly, as though Pylia was it's mother and the small creature thought it was feeding time. It's small frame hid it's gaunt figure, as it has not eaten well in it's short life. The baby kuga flapped it's arms, too young to know that it's notknow that it's not old enough to fly, and unaware of the severity of it's wounded wing. It began to growl playfully to get Pylia's attention.

Pylia watched as Tyreal gave her what could be an almost-approval of her talents when it came to treating the Kuga. She laughed softly as the creature hopped back and forth before toppling back over. Unfortunately it's wing didn't allow it the proper mobility a creature like that was used to. Pylia looked towards Tyreal for what to do with the little guy, it was cute. Pylia ruffled the tuft of fur behind it's ear as she almost wondered if there was another to take care of the creature.

None were found, "alone here too?" She asked quietly, the creature looked curiously towards it's new mother. Scooping the creature up in her arms, Pylia hurried to catch up to Tyreal. "We'll find you something to eat when we get outside, for now hope at least being warm is enough." Thinking of what to call the wayward Kuga, only one name seemed to call out for her.

"So, how about Star for a name? Since you worked so hard for me to see you in the dark." Pylia smiled softly as the creature trilled in what could be assumed was it's approval. As she followed Tyreal, she remained quiet as they proceeded to leave the catacomb. Pylia noted that unlike the first time she was passing through the darkened tunnels, she seemed to be able to view the dark with little to no difficulties. This time around, she was surrounded by the inky shadows. The scratching voice in the back of her mind had gone silent, assumedly due to exhaustion. "Thank for you this opportunity," Pylia spoke softly.

The two eventually left the college underground and arrived to the teacher's offices. Tyrael arrived to a familiar door, but before he opened it he turned around to spoke to Pylia. He was a bit surprised to see the kuga with her, but than again she would seem to be the type to have pets. He had no issue with this, though he expected Pylia to be able to care for the creature, exspecially once it gets older. "This office belongs to Lucilia Riovas, Herbmancy teacher as well as the college's secetary of sorts. She will be the one who you would need to speak to about your admission for the college, as well as your classes, sceduals, and whatever else." Tyrael was about to leave but remembered there was one more important thing he had to tell her.

"Also, as you may or may not know, there is a rise in demonic acvitiy around the world. As you may have seen on your way into the college, we brook very little tolerance towards our enemies, no matter who they are. If you happen to know anything about potential hard that could come to the college, we expect that you will tell us immediately. Any threat, be it personal or large scale, must be reported as soon as possible for everyones safety. Report it to any of the college staff, or better yet report directly to me. Now than, is there anything you have to ask of me before I hand you off to Lucilia?"

Pylia was astounded at the size of the buildings found within the College. Her past often had her working in simple stone temples, or whatever villiage that was kind enough to grant her sanctuary in exchange for her healing magics. This was different, there was art, lush tapestries, and the scent of food that had both priestess and kuga's mouth watering. Pylia didn't lose step as she entered the admissions office.

As Tyreal spoke about dangers to the College, she could feel the other half beginning to stir at mention of "threats". Pylia was tempted to ask for his aid, maybe learn of what the other half could be. However, Star was proof of how this man would treat his lessers, and Pylia not up for finding out how she'd be treated if she suddenly became a threat.

"I am fine, I apologize I rarely have seen combat or know of many threats. I simply tend to the wounded afterwards." Pylia hoped that whatever lurked in the darkness, was smart enough to keep itself quiet at the moment before a man who could very easily dispatch the both of them. "Thank you for allowing me to keep my new friend." She smiled cheerfully, dismissing the potential threat the orc may have just made. Pylia learned from a young age that to see the goodness in the world, you were best to show it yourself. Hopefully this rule applied to Tyreal!

Tyrael was geninuely surprised. Why was Pylia thanking him? He had been rather threatening and was only one vague indication of being outright hostile. His paranoia continued to tell him that Pylia was an enemy, but a more... Sensible part of him was telling him to stop. He wanted to protect the college, but with the way his mind was working right now, it seemed like he was more interested in finding enemies than defending his people. There was a moment of silence between the two before he opened his mouth again. "... It is no problem. Be sure to take care of him. Kugas do not stay that size for long. In about five years or so it will be the size of a draft horse. Depending on how well it eats, within ten it may be larger than a drake. Now than..."

Tyrael knocked on the door and waited for a responds. A femenine voice called out. "You can open the door." Tyrael did so and entered with Pylia. Sitting at her desk filling out inventory sheets was the white-haired vampire. Though she was a little over 200 years old, she looked like a young narsean human, aside from the white hair and red eyes. When Lucilia looked up she put her eyes on Pylia first, and she had a smile on her face. "Ah, another new student? Welcome, welcome. I hope that you have found the college to be hospitible for you. I am Lucilia Riovas, Professor of Herbmancy and owner of the Scarlet Traveler. Thank you for showing her in, Professor. Is there anything else you need from her?" Lucilia shot a glace at Tyrael that implied what she was asking was retorical. Tyrael would have traded verbal jabs with her, but he still had some business to attend. "No. I will be heading back to the forge if I am needed."

Tyrael left without another word, leaving Pylia and Lucilia alone together. Once the door was shut behind him Lucilia was quick yo take out a folder containing a small booklet worth of documents. "Please excuse his... Behavior. I'm not sure if he has told you or not, but the college is going through some hard times right now. We're all rather pressed for time, and not everyone can cool their heads. But enough of that! Ahem, welcome to the College of Twilight! Here we traing and provide knowledge for anyone who is willing to come through our doors, as well as provide various services and supplies. I am going to guess that you are a student! To whom do I own the pleasure of meeting?"

Pylia had watched quietly as Tyreal and Lucilia had exchanged pleasantries. At least what could be considered pleasantries. While Pylia stayed at the Temple of Hope, that display was common between the soldiers and the priests who tended to their injured. It was a civility, no more, no less.

This woman seemed warmer then Tyreal, definitely less inclined to threaten outright at least. Pylia smiled as she gave a polite nod, "My name is Pylia Keltafer, First sister, ah, I apologize, former first sister of Hope Temple. It's a pleasure to meet you, I've heard wonderful things about this College and hoped that there was a place for me to further my grasp on my mageblood." Pylia hoped Lucilia wouldn't catch her honesty about the departure from Hope Temple, they may have been a remote sect, and it would be awhile before annyone would learn of her departure from their order. However, Tyreal seemed to dislike her, it was best to start on an honest note with those she met at this College.

"Also this little Kuga here is Star, a product of Tyreal's test for me in the Catacombs." She smiled as the creature gave a rather enthusiastic trill in response.

"Ah, a sister from Hope Temple? It has been sometime since we have... Wait... Tyrael tested you?" Lucilia's confusion slowly melted into slight irratation, but she quicklyregained her composure. She should not have been so surprised that Tyrael would have attempted to haze the new student, and she made a mental note to ensure that he would be too saddled with work to bother anyone else. "Excuse me, I was just... Surprised to hear that he had tested you. Pray tell, what exactly did he make you do?" Lucilia was concerned that Tyrael may have exposed Pylia to something she was not suppose to see, or endager her in a way that would be... Counter productive for the college.

At the nature of Miss Lucilia's question, Pylia felt that Tyreal may have been less kind in his testing then most of the other teachers of this College would have been. "Yes Miss Lucilia, he'd requested I locate an unknown creature in the catacombs amongst the rodents and the ... Deceased using Vitalimancy to sense what was down there. Upon finding Star, he then asked me to tend to it's wounds. I was able to treat the bites and the fever, I regret his wing will take a little longer for me to fully mend due to the nature of the thin webbing."" Pylia scritched the creature under what resembled it's chin. "It did not look like it would fare well in the catacombs so I brought it with me. I hope that is allright?"

Lucilia let out a breath of releif. She had thought Tyrael might have done something to try to harm Pylia. Granted, the catacombs aren't exactly their biggest main attraction, but the dead rest peacefully there. And last she check, Uicle hasn't had anyone from his class or at least those who should be in his class to disturb their remains. Lucilia figured that Tyrael was merely attempting to send a message to Pylia about what he would do to her if she somehow proved to be a threat to the college. Whether that message was sent or not was what concerned Lucilia.

"That is fine Pylia. An excellent job in fact. You have yet to begin your classes and already you are proving to be a very promising student! The college would welcome you as our newest addition to our students and apprentices." Lucilia returned with her warm and business like composure, handing Pylia the folder containing various papers which Pylia woiuld need to sign and look over.

"Inside this portfolio are some documents I'd like you to look over. It mainly pertains to your health and past affiliations, such as histories of conflict or possible criminal records. While the college accepts all those from all walks of life, we do not provide safe haven from those who would use us to escape justice, but we also wish to help our students and members of the college to work past any of their trauma or phobias. Be as honest as you can, as this information is entirely confidential; only you, myself, and the headmaster would ever lay eyes on these papers. In addition, we also have various extracuricular activities and classes you are free to participate, should you have the time."

Looking at Pylia's little "Star", Lucilia also took out a slip of paper. She quickly wrote various directions in superb penmenship and handed it to the girl. "And for your little friend there, find the teacher who goes by the name Satori. She handles most of the domesticated creatures of the college, from pets to livestock as well as beast burden and war. I'm not quite sure what your friend is, however I would suggest that you take him to Satori so that she may help you take proper care for him. Now, is there anything else you have to ask from me or about the college?"

Pylia took the papers from Lucilia, carefully leafing through the documents. The mention of being honest about her past caused Pylia to nervously bite her lip. She read Lucilia as being warm, and kind, but admitting that there is something lurking inside her that allowed her to slaughter several bandits without any reservations wasn't exactly the same as admitting she was afraid of the dark.

"Thank you Miss Lucilia, I would simply request that if any from Hope's temple come here, please keep my presence here a secret. Before I left, they carted me around as if I was some relic. Healing and promoting their church, I simply chose to heal because I could help...nothing more nothing less. I chose to depart of my own accord." Pylia admitted as a half truth. "Later if I could speak with you about other matters, I would appreciate it. Nothing of a threat against this College. I just need some time to adjust is all..." Pylia tried to smile warmly, but her eyes gave off a more sobre light.

As she accepted the note for help in the care of Star. Pylia seemed to perk up, "Thank you Miss Lucilia, I expended a bit of my magic to bring Star back from the edge. I am sure a good meal would be the next step for a good recovery." As Pylia looked towards Star, she felt part of her humanity latch onto Star. As if it gave the Other a reason to stay quiet. Hopefully now that she wasn't in danger, it could allow that half to stay put. "I do not have any other questions at this time. This is still quite an adjustment for me..."

Lucilia nodded her head and stood up. "Of course Pylia. If you ever need someone to talk to, despite my scedual, I can always make time for others. Take as much time as you need to get comfortable here at the college, and feel free to make any request from us for whatever reason you feel nessisary." Lucilia extended her hand out to Pylia and had a light smile on her face. "It has been a pleasure to meet you, miss Pylia. Now than, allow me to show you were you will be staying at during your time here at the college."

Pylia felt her sense of uneasiness falling away as Lucilia seemed unaffected by the statement of Pylia's unrest about the other. Getting to her feet, Pylia quickly brushed her robes out, smoothing the many creases in her robes that had seen many many better days. "If there's any robes here that I could purchase, that would be favorable as well. Not only these bloodied, muddied and a little cut up, I would appreciate something without a sign of the Holy order." Pylia smiled meekly to Lucilia as they left the office to proceed to Pylia's new room.

Khan, Uicle, and Pyx: Back at the College around Noontime

Khan had taken his medicine, but the bitterness didn't vanish with the tea's flavor as he swallowed his potion down. He shuddered and with his larger frame, he knew he looked rather humorous if anyone passed by. After the harshness had faded some, his eyes floated to a paper in his grip while he overlooked the supply list. It took a moment but finally he registered the request's original owner, Uicle, for materials which would be used for classes. Something seemed rather off with it. Unknown to the teacher, a student anyonomously had added extra to the list and more joking items to the list making it seem more like a witch's brew then supplies. He sighed in annoyance then spoke to Rathel.

'Rathel.'

'Yes?' Answered the plant like demon, his figure out of sight but well within range should Khan need him. 'What is it Khan? Another task? Did you take your medicine like Lucilia told you first?'

A pause stretched for a bit followed by Khan's admitance to caving into the vampire's demands, his hand placed the paper down as it began to slide away. In a few moments it was gone from sight...likely off to seek the very vandal and make a bit of mischief.

'Yes, now can you tell me where Uicle's at?'

'He's currently in the courtyard, near the college entrance, repairing a Golem. One of the gargoyle who have been rather...ill tempered of late.'

'Alright, I can use the walk anyway.' Khan finished, his hand reached for his cane and shifted out of his chair. His weigh leaned heavily to one side when he moved around the desk, his steps slow and steadily, and made his way to the door. His hand reached out to grasp it then paused at Rathel's voice re-entering into his head.

'Khan?'

'Yes, Rathel?'

'Keep in mind who you are.'

Khan smiled, his hand stirred to life again, the door opened while he started to the courtyard. Each flower he passed turned in his direction and seemed to watch him closely through Rathel's influence. Most others would've had their neck hair stand on end but Khan knew his demon's intentions were strictly for his wellbeing. Sunlight glaring from above hit him hard enough to make the Esyire squint, his hand held up to shield his eyes scanning for Uicle. It only took a bit for him to see Uicle hunched over to mend a Golem, its wing seemed to have broken off at the wing joint while the animated object seemed to whine. Shortly Khan made his way to Uicle.

Uicle looked like a mess. His armor was rent and torn, crushed in several places, and his head was scrunched into his chest as if someone had hammered it down. His leg was pointed straight up, bending backwards at the knee. If he had been human, he would have been dead. Or at least, screaming in agony. As it was, he was merely annoyed. He was also grumbling to his golem. "This is what you get for trying to scare a student who was taunting you. You fly through the wall, break off a wing, and then crash into me. Granted, the only real damage you did was smash my head in with your body, but still! Look at the wall!" There was indeed a gargoyle sized hole in the wall ahead of them. "But he was-" The golem began to whine, only to be cut off by Uicle "I don't care! Tell me, and then you'll get back at them. With far less damage to school property!"

Glancing behind him at the sound of the cane, Uicle stood up. Or tried to at least, his bad leg causing him to crash to the floor, much to the gargoyle's snickering amusment. Smacking the golem on the head, to little effect, Uicle bent his leg back into place and stood. "Can I help you, Khan?"

"Ummm, it seems something's a miss. When did your curse kick back in?" Khan asked, his eyes looked hard. Confusion was heavy in his observing expression. Then realizing his original reason, shifted the topic quickly. "Oh, yes, it seems someone has written a few extra items on your list. Currently it looked like a witch's brew more then your list from last year which, since I can't exactly spend all day in my office, I decided to seek you and get the facts."

Khan shifted slightly when he had watched Uicle readjust his leg. His own twinged rather painfully as he held fast in place, his eye shifted a moment to the gargoyle who trotted off then returned to Uicle. "Also, any suggestions for how to get a bitter taste from one's mouth? Lucilia's medicine overwhemed my tea this time and now it's all I can taste."

"Well, I'll explain later, but if you hear screaming from Lucilia's office, don't bother interfering." Uicle said darkly, glancing towards the vampire's office. There would be a few explanations needed, and soon. "As for the paper, I know which one of them did it. If you hear screaming from a student's room, don't worry, I'm not hurting him. Just teaching him the value of not touching other people's things." He chuckled, already making plans and orders. "Oh? Bad taste? Burn it out. Drink Dragon Spite. At least one fla-" Suddenly, a blue blur slammed into Uicle's torso, knocking his barely held together body apart. His staff fell to the ground and skittered away, while the rest of him scattered in all directions.

From the isolation that was now his existence, Uicle was bewildered. What just happened? That better have been an attack or...oh no. His bewilderment turned to weariness when he saw one of his Golems walking towards the staff. One step and I'll cease to exist. Fair enough Aarem, one of your more creative plots, I'll give you that.Still, if someone could move the staff without touching it, that'd be great...

Being airborn was something Pyx had become familiar with. It was all a matter of aim, and power. However, when startled, and not really going in the direction you intended can have some disasterous results.

Crashing into the armoured mage, sending him in various directions like when she landed in the royal confectioner's butterworm cake was a little alarming to Pyx. The next shock for the poor elf was staring straight up at an Esyire, who she assumed was friends with the suit of armor she just blew up.

""Hi, umm would you believe I had a really good idea that the driver of the carriage ruined for me? I'm a new student here, there's a complex elfy name that I really don't like pronouncing. So just call me Pyx!" She smiled nervously, as several of the mages who'd been so nice to break her fall began to get to their feet."

To the shock of the Snow Elf, the staff began to glow, while a massive monstah thing began to amble towards it. Her shiny sense tingling, Pyx decided that the staff would make a great trophy. Dashing towards the shiny stick, Pyx was consumed by the idea of making this her first official prize of the College!

Khan blinked, one moment he was talking to Uicle then next the armor had shattered and his staff was sent flying from his grip. It was rather sudden and unexpected as his head tilted down. Lower it went until he viewed the cause of the commotion, a small snow elf who seemed to have come flying out of her carriage. A small smirk graced the Esyire's muzzle. For a moment, his mind was filled with an image of his brother, a mischief maker himself, which only made the headmaster glow deeper in his heart. Even with a side of hurt and remorse.

He watched the new student pick herself up, introducing herself while she dusted off. He softened his expression to hear her slightly unnerved while she turned, spying Uicle's staff out of the way and dashed for it. Khan's eyes widened in alarm, his arm whipped out and easily snatched her shirt collar. Sadly he had moved too quickly which caused his other hand to loosen, his cane fell from his grip to clatter to the ground. He flinched yet managed to remain upright, his leg shot with fresh pain at having additional weigh added to it. Namely before it was ready.

It won't hold long but at least he had stopped her. He fought the pain in his mind, pushing it aside when he spoke. "I'd advised against that. I much rather not have our Necromancer and Hydromancer teacher end up taking over your body, young Pyx."

Pyx sometimes relied on pure instinct, especially when her shiny sense was in effect. Of course being hoised into the air by what-she-assumed was not only an Esyire, but a teacher at the College warning her about the suit of armor she blew up taking ove her body. "But..but I have cookies stashed. He can't have em...fine, I won't touch the shiny staff!" As Pyx made her peace with the shiny object not becoming her first trophy of the school, she noticed the member of the College was in pain. Pyx may be annoying, she may be a sugar fueled elf of wind and excitement, but she tried her best to be nice most of the time too! Well there was this one time, that she may have accidently sent an air orb under a stuffy courtiers dress...that may have not been nice. The Esyire who stopped her from being borrowed was nice though! He needed help!

His stick was on the ground! This wasn't a time for shinies though... "Thanks fer the warning," upon her promise to not go for the staff, she found her feet on solid ground. Pxy had his stick in her hands and held it up towards her hopeful new friend. "Sorry for blowing up the teacher, at least he wasn't responsible for my mageblood?" Pyx grinned nervously, hoping at least this stick wouldn't snatch her body, and more importantly, her cookies!!

Khan was grateful to hear the protest, though a slight bit of guilt wafted in his heart from it. He hadn't meant to upset her, but rather protect her and keep Uicle's sin level at a low. Slowly he placed her down once she had vowed to leave the staff alone, his body lowered inch by inch to the ground onto his good knee while he inhaled deeply. Ironically, all he could think about was Lucilia's voice scolding him for being so reckless. It was slightly amusing if he wasn't in so much torment from his fade injuries.

After a moment, he twisted his head to see the small snow elf had grabbed his cane and held it out to him. He nodded his thanks and took it gently. "Thank you, I appreciate it and it was an accident so easily forgiven. Though I believe I owe you something shiny. Or would something from the kitchens work? I can't imagine you've had much to eat during your ride, have you? I hear Mandi makes wonderful candied chestnuts. Very sweet and one of my favorites."

He managed to rise upright again, then edged toward where Uicle's staff had fallen. "First thing first, let's get Uicle, my friend, to safety. Then we'll get to know each other on our way to the kitchens. It's been some time since I've enjoyed a chat over something sweet."

Before Pyx could stop him, Khan willing bent down and picked up the staff before the Golem's foot came crashing down upon it. It was likely a fast possession as he felt his body quickly seized though the exchange was equally unique in Uicle's case. Namely since it wasn't just one soul but a total of six within Khan, the five demons attached to his more domain one thanks to his runes, which would end up fighting for control from Uicle. Namely because unlike Khan, the teacher hadn't the proper runes to prevent such a hostile reaction and completely win.

Uicle didn't intentionally do it. One moment he was contemplating the irony of being killed by his own Golem, the next his staff was being picked up. It was an instinctive reaction to finally having a body again. His soul rushed into Khan's body and settled in. Or, tried to at least. The other five souls in Khan's body had a...disagreement with Uicle just suddenly moving in. They tried to fight. Uicle had to overpower them, before they overpowered him. It wasn't easy, but he had resisted the God of Evil for...he didn't actually know how long. What seemed like centuries. Regardless, he kept them from winning, and then proceeded to look around. Both at the physical world, and Khan's mind. You know, it's been too long since I've been able to feel...anything. Is that pain in your leg? I've nearly forgotten it...before we go anywhere, my dear stupid headmaster, I need to do one thing that I've missed while being a suit of armor... Uicle made Khan scratch his nose. That's a novelty that I will forever miss! You can't scratch armor. It just makes a loud noise, doesn't do anything, and makes people look at you weird. Oh, also, may I suggest that you clean up your mind a bit? It's starting to look like mine. You know, guilt, slight depression...hmm is that temptation? Tsk, tsk, that Aramir is far to young for you.

'Uicle.... She's merely good company. It's not like you've been able to join me for tea after all, and Lucilia's too busy for such tasks.' Khan spoke in a light hearted, amused tone. If he was able, his eyebrow would've rosen and a playful smirk would've been pasted on his muzzle.

Uicle was perhaps having a tad too much fun being in the mind of Khan. The fact that he knows it doesn't change anything, of course. I can have tea. You'll just have to clean the mess up later. Also, 'good company' is what is said about whores too. I suspect Aramir is more classy than that, but hey, if you're-

'Uicle... If you're going to be prying in my head, my memories, at least be civil to the students.' Khan's tone made it very clear he had hit a nerve, one which was mostly hard to reach.

Fine. No more slandering the Snow Elf's good name. Though, you do know, if I wasn't civil, Alaira would have been killed months ago.

'And I've yet to show mine. Unless you rather I give you the same kindness as I do Kudd? Khan threatened as suddenly Rathel's voice surfaced, his concern filled the inside of both minds.

'Khan... calm down. Uicle's just over energic because you took up the staff, I'm sure he's not meant any harm with his comments. Certainly not on the same level as Kudd did with his recent attack, or his little-

Khan's ward suddenly came slamming down, cutting off Rathel's voice before it could finish. Silence was all that was hear from the demon as it was uncharacteristic of Khan to show such aggression toward Rathel, the mildest and most trusted of the other souls within him.

Now Uicle was concerned. Gone was the teasing tone. Khan...there's something you're not telling us, isn't there? Something to do with Kudd. What happened?

'Nothing... it's nothing to be concern about.' Khan answered trying to ease the mess he had created, his mind readied a ward to slam down and shut off Uicle for a moment. You realize we've left the student currently buffled as to what happened? Not the time to deal with this.'

We're not done here. I don't need to remind you of what happened when I gave into the temptation of offered power, do I? He left it off at that, however, turning Khan's head to look at Pyx. "Well, come on then. We need to deliver you the sweets Khan promised you. And then I need to decide if I should steal your cookies in repayment for destroying my body." Uicle had Khan hand the staff to the Golem who had nearly stepped on it, transitioning from one body to another with relative ease. In a new, towering body, Uicle glanced down at the two of them. "Also, a word to the wise, Headmaster. Have a Golem pick up the staff next time. Not that I didn't enjoy the visit. As for you, mrs. Fly through the air and Destroy Things, what should be a good recompse for destroying me?"

Pyx was puzzled at the interaction between Khan and the staff of the man she "accidently" crashed into. Well accidently crashed into after bouncing off the other students is the more proper term. She was about as magically attuned as a ground squirrel, but even she knew there was a pretty interesting intereraction with that staff. Although her sense of sort-of-self preservation, and maybe a spark of that god that was interested in saving her left foot advised her she shouldn't ever touch that staff if she could help it!

As the staff was passed to a large metal monstah from the Dragon who promised her sugar, the creature addressed her directly. Although the title of "Fly though the air and destroys things" sounded kind of like a great title to hold. Probably meant that she'd be expected to crash into more things, and if it was as solid as the suit of armor guy she landed on. It may be a problem...

"Ummm...not rilly sure what would be a good way to say sorry fer makin' you explode." Pyx stammered as she looked about for possible shiny offerings to the grouchy exploded guy. She recalled the mention of candied chesnuts, but those were tasty...and did the grouchy exploded guy even have a mouth? Hmm probably not...

"Would a good recom..recompen...that thing be to promise to not crash into you again without due warning first?" Pyx grinned nervously as she looked towards the chesnut-offering dragon for a hopeful "get out of your first incident free" card. "If that doesn't work, umm I may have some snacks I guess I could share...the great elfy rumor is Pyx is sorta fueled by sugar. So I always try to have some on me!" Pyx boasted, about as earnestly as a recently airborn elf with head trama could possibly boast!

Khan chuckled, though his mood was slightly jaded due to Uicle's words, his eyes once more his own while he turned back to the smaller elf. He had a blackened feeling things might end up becoming rather terrible and Kudd's little item might end up vanishing. He inhaled while he summoned Zaad's mind to his, giving the demon an order and one which needed him to be rather quiet about.

'Zaad?'

The sandy tone and words easily surfaced. 'Yeah, boss?

'Retrieve that vial and hide it somewhere.'

For once, Zaad gave a silent answer, worry settled into Khan's mind that for once his demon was going to decide against helping the demonomancer. Finally after a few moments had passed, Zaad's voice broke the anxiety.

'Yes...though I don't like this one bit Boss...'

With that, Zaad was off.

"Indeed, Uicle, I'll remember that. If you remember right, your Golem was about to shatter it." Khan said in a firm tone. It was after his ears noted Pyx's stammering and added in a slightly more pleasant voice then his inner thoughts. "Maybe we should considered getting her head checked by Sam as well. And Uicle go easy on her. It was an accident I'm sure, besides, I doubt much could harm you in the armor which hadn't already today..."

"Oh yes, due warning before you go crashing into me, how considerate." Uicle spoke in a sarcastic, if amused, tone. "And sharing snacks with me, to keep up with an elfy rumor. My, my, you are a nice little ball of trouble aren't you?" He glanced at Khan as soon as the Esyire spoke. "You could have kicked it out of the way, dragged it with your cane, any number of things really. But regardless, I went easy on Alaira and look how she turned up. The only thing keeping her from breaking, well, anything she can get her hands on, is Lyn. But, I suppose, if you insist. No using Golems to forcibly ensure that she doesn't cause massive mischief. Alright, we'll go to the kitchen, get her the candy you promised, and if she hasn't fallen over before then, get her to the healer." Just about then, a Gargoyle flying through the air suddenly clipped a pillar, spinning out of control and crashing into Uicle's back. It didn't really affect the teacher, being in a solid steel body. "Hah! Not so easy to torment now, am I you bastard!" Uicle crowed.

As if in response, a large chunk of the ceiling came loose.

Khan reacted quickly. His arm came out and took hold of Pyx's collar, a feat rather hard with their vast size differences, as he jerked her back towards his side. His wing flipped about to shield them both against the incoming consequences of Uicle's boost. Khan staggered to remain upright and eyed the ceiling crack and crumble, the piece much larger to make up for the insult. It came down in great force, denting the head then becoming dust which scattered enough to surround the trio. When it had cleared, Khan had only one thing to say.

"Uicle, I think you pissed him off with that comment."

Pyx barely had a moment to breathe after the promise of chesnuts, before seeing the winged creature caused the ceiling to crack. The tiny elf tried to come up with an escape route, a way to use her air mageblood to hopefully fling herself out of harms way. Unfortunately in the face of actual danger, the elf felt her mind go blank.

Thankfully not everyone was in that situation, Pyx felt something quickly hoist her up before being sheltered by her new friend's wing. The sound of the rocks crashing against Khan's wings forced Pyx's sugar-fueled brain to start firing again. As the noise began to fade, Pyx nervously pushed the leather wing to the side to survey the mess. The cloud of dust and debris caused Pyx to lower her trusty goggles to properly see though the mixture of broken ceiling and broken armored guy.

"Achoo!" Pyx gave a terrific sneeze, or what could be a terrific sneeze for an elf. A cute sneeze for anything above four feet. As a perk, being an aeromancer caused the sneeze to quickly clear the air of dust at least! As Pyx looked towards Khan, she took a small bundle out of one of her many pockets. "Umm, okie, maybe you can share some of my cookies too...thanks fer savin' me!"

Uicle only had time to wearily go, "You might want to step aside.." Before it came crashing down on his head, with enough force to scrunch his head nearly into his torso. At Khan's remark, he snorted. "He's always pissed off. It's like a job requirement. Though I must say, as far as retaliation goes, I'm surprised. The ceiling chunk seems a bit small...going soft on me are w-" Crack Another, larger piece came from the cieling again and crashed against Uicle once more, sending him to the ground this time. "There. That's what I expected!" Came the muffled voice of Uicle as he touched the chunk and gave it life. It dutifully lifted itself off it's master, only to be shut down by Uicle a moment later, hitting the ground with a thud as it returned to an inanimate object.

Uicle picked himself up, and glanced at Khan. "Well, come on. We need to get going before the entire school falls on me. Us."

"Indeed. Remind me, if I see Lyn around to send her your way. For some odd reason she's like a lucky charm with many as it is." Khan said, his tail pulled about to touch young Pyx's shoulder and encourage her to keep close. He gently took a cookie. "Thank you, Pyx, and you might want to consider what you want to drink with your chestnuts."

Pyx, Uicle, and Khan moved quickly toward the kitchen. Along the way, both Pyx and Khan ensured to keep a slight distance between Uicle and them. Namely because of the poor Steel Golem's misfortune along the way, from pieces of roof crumbling on top of him to hitting every single up jutted stone in the floor, there was little that hadn't caused the poor teacher grief. There was even a mishap with the suits of armor. One's weapon had came loose and whack, it came down upon the Golem's shoulder, slicing deep enough to stick fast and be unmovable. Khan tried not to allow his snickers to grow too loud. Though he knew Uicle likely could spot him 'coughing' each time one of Aarem's rather vile treatment had turned into something rather funny. By the time they had reached the kitchen, there was more dents then the Headmaster could count and Uicle reminded him of a pincushion, namely focused in the rear.

Khan went to talk to Mandi, retrieving a large plate of crystalized coated nuts, a mug of Dragon Spit, and a smaller mug with some strawberry fizz. Gently he placed them on the table while he pulled himself a seat. His cane placed to the side and his hand gestured for Pyx to pick and start eating first.

Unlike Khan's ability to be subtle about his snickering for Uicles misfortune. Once Pyx realized that Uicle was unhurt, but inconvenienced by the various pitfalls that struck him, the elf was nearly in tears by the time they arrived at the kitchen. As the tray of food arrived, Pyx realized something. Since she was technically chained down in the carriage, she hadn't eaten in what seemed like an eternity! As Uicle snagged himself on one of the chains Khan was so nice to remove. Since Pyx really didn't want to risk blowing her right foot off, in case the god that protected her left foot didn't care for the right..."Thanks fer removin' those other chains. I'm pretty good at bustin' locks, but sometimes the door and anythin' else that locks attached to as well!"

Of course it was more a few hours, but when you have a tiny stomache and fueled by sugar and curiousity, it was still hours!! Happily grabbing the strawberry fizz and some of the sugared treats. "Thank youf!" Pyx muttered between bites of the treat and drinking her fizz. They forgot to leave me food before sendin' me off! You know how borin' it got in there? Like three royal parties, two galas and at least one high elf weddin' all rolled into one!!"

Uicle glared suspiciously at Khan (at least gave the best impression he was. The Golem didn't have any facial features.), and simply sighed at Pyx. Both he mentally consiged to the worst nonlethal revenge he could figure out. As soon as everything stopped going wrong in every possible way for him that is. For example, a butcher knife blade came free from the hilt as he walked in, and embedded itself in his forehead. Without a word, he yanked it out of his head and handed it back to the chef. For several moments, while Khan and Pyx got their food and afterwards, nothing happened. That made Uicle suspicious. Aarem just didn't let up without a strong parting shot. Soon, his suspicions were confirmed as an assistant carrying chestnuts glazed in somekind of sticky substance slipped in front of him, and lost his grip on the bowl. The most of the chestnuts landed on the floor, but a good amount got stuck on Uicle's groin area. The bowl itself bounced off of Uicle and ricocheted towards Khan's head.

"Oh. Haha. Very funny. You've been waiting for that one, haven't you?" Uicle spoke dryly, then subtly used his Hydromancy to switch the liquids in Khan's and Pyx's drinks while they both were presumably distracted.

Pyx found the constant instances of horrible luck for Uicle a sound of amusement. Unfortunately for her, an attention span was rarely one of Pyx's strong suits. Her sugar sweet drink being turned into the less sweet drink of Khan's.

It was subtle at first, a slight tingling on her lips as she continued to munch on the treats at the table. Within seconds Pyx realized that something was very very wrong, she tried to ask Khan for some water, her voice was nothing more then a shrill squeak! She tried to wave her hands towards the others, hoping someone would pay attention to her. Khan was nursing a headache and Uicle...well did he actually have eyes, could he look at her

"Oh raspberries!" Pxy squeaked as she hopped off the chair. In a slightly drunk panic, considering her size and the amount she just drank was a little off balanced, crashed into a table leg as she tried to make a dash for the water. As she toppled over, she pointed towards a rather large bottle of water and hoped someone would take pity on the poor elf to either put her out of her misery, or give her the bottle!!

Khan had been rubbing his head, a throbbing feeling reached into his mind and stilled there from where the bowl had smacked into him. Naturally he had pulled his eyes from the table to cradle his horn and rub it some. It helped, but only some. Suddenly he heard a protesting squeak as she bounced off the chair then made a dash for a nearby water bottle, a clay one, sitting on the highest counter. Khan looked rather bewildered until he bent to sniff his own mug. Strawberries, a heavy and sweet scent, wafted up causing him to look Uicle.

Khan sighed. It was really his own fault, his body slowly edged from the table and started to reach for the water bottle the fallen elf had jabbed viciously at. The headmaster had easily put two and two together, his hand inched toward the item.

Uicle gave an innocent shrug of his shoulders, the damaged steel producing a tortured sound as it grated against each other. "What? It's not my fault she got excited with laughing about my bad luck, and accidentally drank yours." Some times there were perks to not having any facial features. He had the best straight face in the College. As Pyx danced about, jabbing at the water, he snickered, idly having giving it life and moving it just out of Khan's reach everytime the Esyire got close to it. "Hmm. One of my students must have been practicing with this, and decided to play a practical joke. It seems to have worked too well, wouldn't you agree Pyx?"

Pyx was capable of assorted bird-lke chirps as she prayed to the god of "preserving her left foot from being blown off" that someone would grant her the wonders of water before she burst into flames. If she wasn't still sweating what would only be assumed liquid fire, she would find a snow elf suffering from being roasted amusing for a moment. Although at this point she debated one of her air orbs towards the bottle and hoping for the best could be a hopeful option. "Maybe did...water pleeeze!" She pleaded to anything that would listen and give her water!

Khan's fingers had just closed about the water when sudden, the bottle lifted again. It danced out of his reach and teased him, ever playful and Khan could almost hear the amusement in Uicle's voice. Sitll, the Eysire was desparate to gain the upper hand. Sadly he merely looked like an oversized child trying to snatch a toy from a bully's hand only to have it taken away far too soon.

"Uicle, damn it." Snarled Khan, his last lounge had met with the same success as his last. In addition he felt on one knee when he tried to snatch it, grunting, then tried to rise again.

Suddenly a vine lassoed the water bottle, tiny little tendrils wrapped themselves about its smooth clay surface and slowly jerked down to pour into a mug. Then another vine snatched it up then set it within the elf's reach. In moments Rathel edged his way into the kitchen looked rather blank to the scene which was frozen before him. He turned to Uicle, his eyes fixed and seemed to scold the teacher sitting and mirthfully enjoying the chaos.

"Really, Uicle. I'm disappointed in you. This would be something I'd expected from a student, not a teacher. Namely one of your age." Rathel spoke in a harsh manner then turned to Khan with equal treatment. "Also Khan, it doesn't help you were snickering while Uicle's curse was in effect. I would've thought a headmaster would need to be more understanding and refrain from enjoying others misfortune."

Anyone witnessing the scene would've found it rather funny a demon like Rathel, a creature of pain and sin, was scolding two for acting like...well, little demons.

Uicle shrugged. "What? There is no-" He turned his head to look at Pyx, and then corrected himself. "Very little, harm in it. Besides, if we can't have a little fun we'd end up like Tyrael. You know, the man who still has a forest of Demon heads outside the College. Do you comprehend the amount of complaints I alone got? Me. The one cursed for life. That's bad. Then again, it also kept some students here, rather than alienating them their first day here. So, perhaps his methods are a tad crude. But not that bad."

Rathel sighed then calmly approached the Golem the teacher now possessed. His alien like eyes studied Uicle with what seemed like something far beyond a measurement of years, or time itself. "Then be so kind as to know when to stop and try to leave the students out as a the butt of the joke.n The Archmage's choice was in the student's best interest and your actions reflect on his judgement, Uicle. At least Khan is big enough to hold his own."

His head turned, but the tendrils clicked and slithered in rapid pace as a sign of worry when he caught Khan's eyes. Likely only Khan and Uicle would realize how little the demon really believed his own words when it came to key subjects. Namely Kudd. "Now, would you kindly refrain from poisoning the student with Dragon Spit? It's rather harsh stuff for a snow elf, let alone an Esyire."

As Rathel continued, Uicle's memory was twitched. It was reminiscent of someone long dead and gone, whose scolding was over far more serious things but nonetheless, it brought was very smiliar. The teacher shifted uncomfortably, before muttering, "Fine." He would have left then, but staying put seemed like it would give Aarem less of a chance to continue tormenting him. As if to remind him that it wouldn't work, an egg crashed against his face.

Pyx guzzled down the water as if it was the last drops she'd ever see again. As she gasped to recover some sense of feeling in her mouth, she tried to look hurt as hurt as possible at Uicle. "That was mean!!" she stuck her tongue out at the suit of armor.

Of course now that Uicle had started the first prank, this unleashed a whole new level of entertainment for Pyx. The snow elf grinned mischieviously as her elfish intellect began to plot her revenge for the spicy drink. "If dis is initiation, that sucked!" She quickly snatched the strawberry fizz again, examining it carefully before deciding maybe she didn't want to drink that stuff ever ever again.

“It’s not,” Khan admitted while he once more sat down, his eyes watched the elf examine the fizz then debate on drinking. His hand reached for another chestnut and popped it into his mouth. The nut was coated in a light, very sweet honey with minced dried fruit like raisins, apple, and cranberries were baked until the honey crystalized. It literally melted into his mouth until the Headmaster gave a satisfied sound at the taste then started to chew. For a moment, he enjoyed the peace simply being among the students had brought. Small pieces of peace and forgetting the temptations of Kudd and the world’s conflicts with Eania and Djarkel. The only bad part was how little he had gotten to enjoy them. Most students overlooked he wasn’t just the headmaster, but also held their wellbeing in high regards and even with his high rank, he was also a student once. Sometimes he wished he could’ve gone back to those days.

A slight wishing expression had washed over Khan’s face, twisted in to a slight depressed vision until Rathel’s voice broke it.

’Khan? Something wrong?’

Meanwhile, he also addressed Pyx’s comment while his voice held some mild amusement in his sigh. “Ms. Pyx, Please don’t encourage him or I’m afraid I’m going to avoid getting involved, leaving you two to determine the winner.”

Lyn gave Meirin a happy smile, which warmed her heart a little. Despite the near-death accident, somehow being with Lyn made things a bit less stressful. But Lyn didn't follow Meirin immediately, instead seeming interested in some of the merchant's wares. If it was the weapon that Lyn was interested in, Meirin still was not going to buy it. First of all, Lyn should not be with the group if they would face demons, even if one of her caretakers was the demonmancy teacher. Secondly, Meirin had no money to purchase anything. She had spent most of her money on her equipment before the mission, and what she had was just pocket change, not enough to buy an enchanted item. But as Lyn continued to look at the wares, Meirin noticed that it wasn't the weapons that Lyn was interested in, but a decorative brooch of some sort. It was pretty, but Meirin had very little interest in items of vanity like that. Besides that, it was also likely to be expansive due to it's craftsmanship and the gemstone. Meirin picked up the little knickknack and called for the merchant. "How much for this?"

Meirin wasn't much of a barterer, but she was able to trade one of her Lungchuan tamo for the little piece of jewelry that Lyn had her eyes on. However, Meirin did not give it to Lyn. Even though Meirin didn't really care much about wearing jewelry, she wore the trinket around her neck on a little bronze chain given to her by the merchants. "Come along now Lyn. Let's get you inside before it gets too dark and maybe have something to eat too, okay?" The amulet reflected the moonlight through it's gem like the surface of calm water. Meirin would gently take Lyn's hand and tried to walk her to the inn. Her arms, though mostly healed thanks to the rune, was still sore and Meirin didn't want to strain them having to pull Lyn along. "Would you like some soup Lyn? I smell something really good, and I bet it's a chicken soup... With barley." Meirin took a few more sniffs in the air, and aside from the smell of booze and animals, the delicious scent of some chicken-based soup wafted through the air.

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

It had been quite a long time since Ssarak had been in an inn. It was before he joined the college, when he was still finding work as a mercenary in human towns and cities. He got just as many looks from the patrons now as he did then, though thinking about it, he could hardly blame them. After all, an eight-foot tall Esyire, armed and fully armored apart from the helmet in his bag was not a normal sight. Luckily, those same traits made it unlikely that anyone would confront him as long as he kept to himself. The pleasant scents of seasoned meats and soups in the air tugged at his mind and reminded him of his hunger, but Meirin's well-being was on his mind at the moment.

Given that Meirin was an armed individual with a Human-Naga hybrid in tow, Ssarak had no trouble finding her among the patrons. The chairs at each of the tables were clearly not designed for someone of his stature, so he simply walked up to Meirin's table and stood beside her, looking down upon her and Lyn. "I took Alaira to the local physician. He agrees that she has blood sickness, and he seemed familiar with the condition. He agreed to a reasonable price to care for her for the night; I believe she will recover by morning. After that...I believe we will need to exchange some words. For now, though, I am ready to help with the rune. I recall the basics of how to use one, though it may take a few hours to complete the healing, given the apparent extent of your injuries. Shall we use one of our rooms?" He asked.

Arkaeis Zraimat


Having traveled all the way from his home on Midnight Island and across the length of Eania on his way to his destination in the last few months, Arkaeis began to find himself growing used to the once new world around him. His eyes no longer lit up with fascination when he saw a new species of plant or animal, not in the same way at least. He was simply itching to get his hands on a book, specifically one detailing the intricacies of Chantment. Luckily he'd past through A thinner portion of Darnan forest just a day or so ago and had almost arrived.

In fact the College was in the distance and a small smile was forming on his face as he noted this. Just this morning he had crossed the river which passed through the Lake of Cheer. The place was not all that unique...or cheerful, though he had been pleased with the freshwater supply, his canteen had been running low. It really didn't matter much, he could have tricked a group of peasants into helping him, or threatened them. Whatever was most effective and appropriate really.

Nonetheless there had been no need as but several minutes away was his destination, the great Twilight College, the most esteemed school of magic in all of Tiien...or so he'd heard. Walking down the hill that he'd briefly looked down at the College from, Arkaeis retrieved a small red fruit from his pack. It was long and cylindrical with deep grooves and an oddly angular design to it. Apparently it looked a lot like what the humans called peppers something he was not familiar with at all. Afterall a pepper was apparently some kind of vegetable, whereas what he held was certainly a fruit.

Crushing it slightly in his hand and then extending a claw to poke a hole in the top, Arkaeis brought the plant to his mouth and lifted his head, drinking the juice and pulp inside. It was slightly sour, but also had a certain sweet tang to it. He loved them, and this was one of the few remaining specimen he had brought with him. It was sad, but nonetheless he would live. Luckily, many of the animals that lived in his homeland also dwelled on the mainland. It was a useful coincidence, if it was a coincidence at all.

Unsheathing his a claw once more, Arkaeis drew straight lines across the four sides of the fruit so that they connected with the small hole he'd poked just moments ago. The fruit easily fell open and he scrapped off the inner flesh with ease, devouring it quickly afterwards. Sadly, the Rahsae fruit was only a snack, his actual meal would have to happen later. Thus he stored the fruit's remains for later, knowing that it possessed a double lining, between which was a dangerous poison. He could use it for hunting later, he had a stockpile of such now that he'd eaten so many of Rahsae. With his stomach sated for the moment, the Reven turned his mind to other matters.

He wondered if any of the teachers would be interesting, and if any of his fellow students would hold any unique promise of their own. It was not so much their magic he was wondering about, but rather their usefulness to him in addition to whether or not any of them had unique outlooks which might interest him. So far he'd been rather unimpressed by the foreigners he'd come across. They all seemed rather dull in his opinion, or perhaps he was just too used to the sharp minds and quick wits of his people. Sighing, the Reven's hand drifted to the Traveler's blade, disguised as a walking stick, which at the moment was fastened upon his back. Pulling it from its harness, he looked it over, the elegant ironwood seamlessly concealing the object's true nature--it made him smile. Pleased by the wondrous craftsmanship of the weapon and tool, his fingers curled around the sheath, just below the false branches of its hilt, as he used it as a walking stick. The more others saw him use it in this manner, the less likely they were to suspect anything till he was forced to draw the blade.

All the better, he thought as he sped up his pace, cloak hiding his nonhuman traits rather well. He had been masquerading as a human for quite awhile now, and while it had not been an entirely flawless performance due to his lack of certain information, it had still managed to fool the majority of people he'd come across. It pleased him that his acting was skillful enough to fool so many, it was a testament to the skills he'd learned as a member of the Zraimat family and he knew that had his kin heard the tale, it would have done them proud.

His feet stepping suddenly onto stone, the Reven grimaced at the cold feel of the rock before exhaling sharply and shrugging the sensation off. Gradually it faded from his awareness, no longer relevant, though it was making his feet slightly colder. Looking forwards once again, Arkaeis noted his progress and smiled, he was practically at the College's doorstep, and soon he'd begin his studies. He had every intention to surpass anyone's expectations of him, and it was likely that he would. However, here he knew that his true heritage would not be a secret for long. He hardly cared, though he knew it would either draw undue attention, or make him a social pariah, neither of which he preferred really. Then again, both held each their own uses and if he was forced into either situation he would make the best of it.

So, with that thought in mind, Arkaeis walked towards the gate, noting the guards. He had thought the College open to all, but he did not mind if they felt the need to screen their future students first. He knew it would go smoothly, afterall, he was an ambassador, or at least that was the mainland's equivalent of his family's purpose. Thus he approached them and spoke, his voice clear and charming, "I wish to continue through here to the College, would you be so kind as to allow my entry?" While he held the Traveler's blade--still sheathed--as a walking stick, Arkaeis' tone, mannerisms, and body language revealed no hostility whatsoever. He seemed nothing, but a pleasant, and innocent, student wishing entry. While this was essentially the case, the man was far more than just that.

He was a Reven, and a Zraimat at that, thus making him an esteemed member of the Rheven-ari and one of the few to leave their home in at least a decade--he'd checked the records.

He wondered how the guards would've reacted had they known and understood such implications. While he entertained the idea, he did not bring it to reality, for it did not belong there. Not yet anyways...perhaps another day.

Yes, for he'd have plenty of time to test this College's inhabitants...plenty of time indeed.