It was late noon, and the day’s sky had finally begun to darkle.
Precious hours robbed from twilight had made this the lengthiest day of spring yet, and those that followed would grow steadily longer still.
In times immemorial, man had waged war on the sun for such conspiracy: But Luxus had never seemed so powerful as he did now, reinforced by his scions, the false prophets of day.

The Dawn Star was sitting proudly upon the distant sierras, cresting the hoary peaks of the horizon, when the first of Noctua Company arrived.
Their orders had been clear: They were to make their way to the Darkling Domains, a land where the daylight skies were deep and purple, and the outsiders were regarded as eldritch.
Their goal was the small valley town of Vuoto, where they were to rendezvous at an unsuspecting café in the plaza and discuss their first venture together… a journey for knowledge, deep into The Nocturne.

Corvus Tenesilia found the café quite quaint, in its own way: The Dappled Haunt was, after all, very telling of Darkling architecture in general, a prison which had been vacated and remodelled following the installation of the Darkling Domain’s current, democratic government.
Once, political prisoners had been tortured here: now they made the best tea in Vuoto and served scones that were only a little stale.
It was made mostly from large slabs of grey stone and slate, but wooden beams supported much of the structure, all of which was standard for the kingdom.
He’d been seated at a table beneath a wooden gazebo out front, on which was a plaque which read “reserved.”

Corvus cocked his head as he read it. The Aurora Empire was most likely the most materially wealthy of all the kingdoms, so why was it they’d been given such a simple meeting space?
He placed two fingers to his temple, “What do you think, Li? A little cheap, isn’t it?”, his eyes darted to the shadow he threw across the table, having turned his back to the sun.
It was motionless, and deep like ink.
“You’re right,” Corvus nodded, “I suppose one doesn’t get rich without frugality, do they?”
A moment’s quiet.
“And it is a lovely café, I agree. Then again, we've always felt more at home in the Darkling Domains, haven’t we?”, he chuckled softly.
Then he lapsed into silence, and craned his head skywards.

His hair moved uncomfortably at the gesture, but he didn't seem to pay it much mind.
The sky was pregnant with a darkening boysenberry, and the first of its fledgling stars were beginning to twinkle distantly through the hastening eventide.
“I wonder what sort of people would want to block out the night, Li,” he murmured thoughtfully to himself, “I can’t imagine a world without those first dozen stars. Maybe I’m just a romantic.”
He met eyes with his unwavering shade.
“I’m sure they’ll be here soon.”

Neat.

The Darkling Domains gave Lumos a chill on his back. Eerie, and mysterious. Architecturally-wise, he liked the place. It differed completely from the extravagant and majestic buildings of the land he had known as a child. In comparison, it was utterly simplistic. But then again, it was something new.

He had never been there, and as far as he knew, neither had his father. Even though his profession meant a lot of traveling, he couldn't recall any stories about this unknown land, so he didn't know what to expect.

Although he fell in love with the architecture, he couldn't say the same about the region itself. It still was relatively early, but he could see the sky darkening already. And the fact that a dozen pair of eyes were looking at him as if he were some kind of strange specimen didn't help much either. He was a nervous, even shaking. He didn't blend in within the crowd, and this made him feel uncomfortable.

This isn't home for sure, he said to himself, as he saw the small café in which he would see his partners for the first time. It was cozy, the kind of establishment he enjoyed. It was in places like this where he had made his most close friends, where you could have some of the best discussions with some of the greatest minds he had encountered. Real, honest conversations with real, honest people.

When he saw the reserved spot already occupied by someone, he grinned. Great, now I don't have to wait!, but then realized, he had no idea of how was he supposed to approach him. He suddenly got nervous again, and started to walk a bit slower. By the time he got to the table, he sat carefully and, after awkwardly staring at the man in front of him for a few seconds, he finally said:
"Um... h-hello..."

The sun burned almost too bright high above the streets of Vuoto – something that had become increasingly normal for the small town, yet within the regions of the Darkling Domains it was a change that was too drastic for the inhabitants not to notice. It was a change that had touched everyone from the richest merchants to the lowest beggars on the street – even what appeared to be a teenage boy, begging for food on the street had felt the impact of the sudden change.
Scarlet felt the stress on her body from not having had any substance for nearly two days: she felt weak and tired – her muscles ached as she slowly made her way through the streets of Vuoto, hoping that she could find something to eat, either through a kind stranger or, if she had to; steal a loaf of bread.
She hadn’t stayed at this particular town for long – in fact it was only her third day as a citizen of this strange town. She had been on the road for many years now, never stayed in one place more than a few weeks and through her travels she had somehow made her way into the Darkling Domains. She had mostly survived since her escape from the facility by stealing and begging on the streets, though as the social environments had slowly changed with the changes in daylight, so had the kindness of the inhabitants of the realms: She had found herself forced to steal more often, and through the hardships of life she had become rather good at it after having discovered the benefits of her different skills – mainly that of her physical appearance and lightness of her body that made her easily blend in with the environment and stay unnoticed for most parts, though her remarkably red hair had caused her a few problems over the years.
This walk down her stream of memories had drawn her attention away from her goal: she was on the hunt for something to eat. She switched direction so that her path led her down one of the narrower streets of the town that would ultimately lead unto the main road. Having only spend a few days in this strange town, she still found it easy to memorize the different pathways that existed within the jurisdiction of the city – having even discovered a few good hideouts and shortcuts that could definitely come in handy in a future time of need.
It didn’t take her long to make her way into the main road that was bathed in the burning light from the sun and when she stepped out of the shadow-filled alleyway she immediately felt the strange heat fill the air she breathed – and she was definitely not alone: On both sides of the main road the merchants were lazily surviving the heat, hardly caring much for making a profit in this strange weather. A grin formed on her face as she panned her vision around the scenery in front of her: there was definitely some possibilities for success, she reckoned.

You know, if you wanted to you could get by so much easier if you would just accept me… The voice inside of her mind spoke slowly, the wicked smile in the tone made it visible for Scarlet to imagine.
“Shut it” she growled out loud, something that had become more or less like a habit of hers since she had ‘it’ implanted in her: somehow a vocal expression helped her better than to get into a mental argument with the parasite inside of her head. “I don’t want you here, I don’t care about anything you say,” she added in a lower tone. “Why can’t you just disappear and leave me alone?”
[color=ed145b][i] If only I could…[i][/color] the voice responded, this time in a much lower tone than before.
“Yea, well at least leave me alone…”
She didn’t give Regere another chance to reply as she launched herself from the alleyway, using her small and light body to quickly make her way towards one of the bigger merchant-stands in the street: a stand owned by a big middle-aged man whose big grey beard almost seemed to melt together with his long hair. He was dressed in fine white clothes that barely covered his large stomach and his naturally brown skin was covered in sweat, yet he didn’t smell like the rest: he was clearly a wealthy man – someone who wouldn’t miss a few gold coins from his large pockets. It didn’t take her long to make her way into the shadow of the building the merchant was standing next to. Luckily for her he was busy with a pair of customers and this gave her enough time to sneak up behind him and lifting a few coins from his deep pocket – sometimes having such a small physique did have its benefits, if she was to be completely honest.
Scarlet disappeared from the main road before anyone had taken notice of her, the thrill of the ‘hunt’ still pulsing through her veins as she turned down another corner into one of the smaller, yet still a busy roads in the town. As she turned around the corner the grin was back Scarlet’s face from earlier, the weight of the coins in her hand told her that she for once wouldn’t go hungry to bed.
However many hours had passed and Scarlet was still wondering around the town of Vuoto, her confident walk that she had adopted after her afternoon success had now decayed into that of a vulnerable and uncertain child. While she had indeed been successful in stealing a few coins from the merchant, she had been less successful in actually spending them – after all if you haven’t had the luck of having any money to spend, would you really know how to spend them? For Scarlet this was very much the case: whenever she had found an inn that served food she would instantly feel a sense of unease and nervousness when she was about to enter – would she seem odd? Would she stand out too much?
Scarlet let out a deep sigh, she really shouldn’t let this worry her as there was undouble nothing to fear. She stopped in her tracks before she shook her head and ran her right hand through her stunningly red hair. “Get yourself together, Scarlet” she mumbled to herself before she scanned her surroundings: it was the normal Darkling-architecture that to Scarlet held and eerie feeling to it, almost as if it was meant to keep people inside than to make them feel at home. What caught her eyes, however, was a building that didn’t really say much and had a sign that said ‘The Dappled Haunt’ right across the road from her. It didn’t look to be a luxurious place, but nor did it look like a bad place. It just looked… welcoming, somehow.
The doorbell sang its short song as Scarlet slowly opened the door and stepped into the warmth of the interior that held the smell of food, liquor and sweat. She slowly made her way through the somewhat crowded room, noting the various different individuals that each went about their business at the different tables, but she didn’t hold anyone’s gaze. Instead she tried to seem as small as possible as she made her way up towards the bar, trying to keep her thoughts in line and preparing herself mentally to what she should say when she arrived at the counter.

An impregnably darkened purple sky, characteristic of only one land, greeted Vuoto's visitors. Such immutable shade defined the Darkling Domains. Accordingly, the architecture was equally marked by gloom like nightshade; buildings were incredibly gray slabs for the most part. But that day, new feet walked the streets of Vuoto just as new wind blew through the town. A light gust heralded that day, and fittingly so.

A young man, filled with wanderlust and enchantment by the scene, paced quietly with a stiff and practiced gait to the innocuous affair of a café, where a shady fellow with shaggy hair sat with a lanky brunet. Ah, there they are. This young man who came was the Wind Caller, and his appearance did nothing to hide this fact, with hair that looked combed by gale, skin that appeared flushed and fair, and eyes that beheld a mighty storm, the blight of the gods. He could feel the winds pulse in his veins as his heartrate escalated with each step to the table.

Farrus, brushed his neat, medium-length gray hair to the side once more as he made his final approach. With decorum and reluctance, Farrus refused himself a seat until he could properly acquaint himself with the other two, so he stood by the table in the presence of the others and fixed himself with upright posture to speak.

Well, here goes nothing.

With more reluctance, he forced the words out of his mouth. Luckily, a facade of confident speech preceded him. He could shroud his real timidity in darkness with a natural voice, and like an aria, Farrus greeted the others at the table: "Good evening."

The spicy flavor filled her mouth as Scarlet emptied another spoonful of the bowl’s content. The taste was heavenly to Scarlet who hadn’t had anything hot nor newly prepared for days: her usual diet consisted of old bread and whatever else she could get her hands on from other people’s trash. For someone like her who had lived on the streets for most of her free life to be able to have a hot meal was almost worth crying over.
Oh come on, the now all too familiar voice in her head commented, it’s only a meal – don’t be such a child

“Shut it” Scarlet mumbled in between a bite of the white bread she had bought with the meal and another spoon of the dish, “for someone who has never even eaten you got nothing to say”

Oh but I have eaten, though that was so long ago that your feeble mind probably cannot comprehend it.

Scarlet replied with rolling her eyes, how could she reply to that? She could feel that Regere wasn’t joking which left her only with one thing to think about. How old are you actually? She wondered with a childish craving to know: she really didn’t know anything of this… parasite within her, however only silence answered her.

Scarlet groaned under her own breath, she hated not getting replies to her questions – it reminded her of her time in the ‘facility’. However, instead of brooding over it she emptied another spoonful in her mind and shifted her attention to the room: it was filled with various different types, some appeared to be merchant, other warriors, however what drew her attention was a new arrival a fair skinned guy with an eye-catching grey hair color that you definitely wouldn't see each day.
As he strode across the floor Scarlet’s eyes followed him: there was something about his strange hair color that drew her attention to him like a moth to a flame. Scarlet had seen a few odd things in her relatively short lifetime, but never one with such an interesting hair color – yet she was in for a treat: as he approached one of the tables it was surrounded by two other people, both who had a… ‘different’ appearance to them than the other guests at this inn.
As she took another bite of her lump of bread her eyes kept with this strange group, her mind was ablaze with questions: Who were they? Clearly they weren't regular merchants, but they didn't seem like warriors or peasants either. As her questions piled up she kept her attention on them, only shifting it for the occasional bite of her food.

Scrawled formulae in an untamed hand, smudged not in lieu of work ethic but in lieu of patience: archaic symbols and eldritch numbers, magic operationalised into a series of winding sums like the machinations of an unhinged spider.
Corvus had lost himself in these, putting ink pen to napkin paper, when Lumos took his respective seat at their table of would-be crusaders. And he did not stir until addressed. He didn’t even realise Farrus had arrived.
"Um... h-hello..."
“Good evening.”
His inking hand seized suddenly, and his honey eyes wandered upwards slowly, cautiously. His hair shifted back ever so subtly, too, drawing away from potential threats.
Then his mannerisms changed, totally: his countenance became softer and he beamed warmly as he dropped his pen aside. His shadow, which had been laid carelessly across the table, retreated to his flank.
“Ah, good afternoon! I’m so sorry, how impolite of me! I was just absentmindedly scribbling something I’d been working on and…" he trailed off, and for a moment his expression became vacant, “… lost myself…”
He stared at Lumos in perfect, thoughtful coldness for a few instants, and then resumed smiling.
“My deepest apologies. My name is Corvus Tenesilia, I’ll be our outfits Umbramancer: perhaps not even the only one!”
He extended one hand across the table, and the other to his right: his skin was olive and warmly toned, but still just vaguely cool to the touch, “A pleasure to make your acquaintance! Who, and what, might you two be?”

Lumos Fawcett, at your service.

Lumos had been practicing what he would say a few hours before arriving to the said location, but panic overcame him. When Corvus addressed him, instead of repeating the line he had methodically learned at a normal speed, he ended up mumbling quickly, "LumosFawcettatyourservice.". You could see the blood traveling through his veins towards his cheeks.

And then he realized they weren't the only ones sitting at the table. As Lumos shook Corvus' hand at an awkwardly quick rate and saw his other arm extend to the man sitting beside him, he actually jumped a little bit, successfully hitting his knee on the table. "Ouch! Sonofa...", he said as he rubbed his leg in an attempt to make it hurt less.
Well, there's no way this could get worse. Might as well play it cool. He thought.

"I'm awfully sorry. Nice meeting both of you." he said, more comfortably now, as he stretched his arm to properly greet Farrus. "Lumos Fawcett. They call me the Optomancer, because I can make pretty lights!" He pulled a small prismatic lens, and started to create a light show, as promised. He had in mind the countless times he had performed his trick before, and the also countless times he was told it would be more fit for a child's birthday than a formal meeting, but he still didn't care. He was proud of his "pretty lights".

"The pleasure is mine, sir." Farrus politely replied as he shook Corvus's hand, their eyes meeting. Even as the youngest of the three shook that hand, he studied his fellow gentlemen with a masked distrust, a distrust tempered by years of witnessing the folly of men and the depravity of people and a distrust yet that was normal among men of reasonable wit. Venten knew the other two meant well by their demeanor, but one could never help but register the minutiae of others to spy some ugly trait that he was only privy to. A safety measure, not a form of spite.

A bump of the table interrupted Farrus's inner dialogue, and he immediately looked at the source with a briefly startled gawk that passed into a face of understanding. Venten, however, didn't say anything.

Lumos's hand also extended Farrus's way, and the gray-haired accordingly shook it. "Nay, no offense taken. It is nice meeting you, as well." he absolved Lumos of whatever mistake it was that impelled the older man to the apology. And then the display of lights, a curiosity in a formal meeting but nonetheless childishly enchanting. Farrus watched with delight. "How pretty! My name is Farrus Luminus Venten. I am an elementalist of the air. If it concerns the 9 winds, it concerns me as well."

Scarlet had long since finished the food she had, for once, acquired legally: the only thing left now was the small piece of bread she was slowly nibbling at without much thought of what she was doing. No, instead of focusing on her food as she would usually do, her focus was solely on the table across from her where the three men appeared to be greeting each other. She had been following their every move with her eyes since she had noticed them among the otherwise rather bland environment surrounding her in this tavern.
To be honest she wasn’t quite sure as to why they garnered such high interest for her, they just seemed… odd: like they didn’t actually know each other and that this was their first time they had ever met - which only fuelled her interest as to what sort of people they were.

Just go over there, I am sure they got a coin or two - they look like they can spare a few. The voice in her head commented with a tone that barely scratched interest.

“Shut it” Scarlet commented for a second time that day, though this time it was a mere mumble instead of a growl. While the small group did appear to be more financially endowed than her, it wasn’t that part that had caught her interest. They seemed to be different than the other parties around them, somehow the aura that the little group radiated something she couldn't quite put her finger on: somehow she just knew that she should follow them

Perhaps that is what people call ‘destiny’? she pondered for herself as she took another bite of the bread she had toyed with in her hands, either that, or I can just help them lose a bit of the cash in their pockets, she added with a mischievous smile painted on her thin face.
Nonetheless she wasn’t going to let them out of her sight.