Joshua watched as the knight knelt in front of him. Smiling inwardly he motioned for the knight to rise. "I wasn't sure if the rumors about you were true. You must be extremely old, I can just feel the history oozing from you. And my god, the magical aura around you is intoxicating. So this is the power that is granted upon those who make deals with demons. I've never wanted to deal with demons myself. They cannot be trusted you are a prime example of a demon's gift and its curse. Do you know of beings called the old ones Arkan? I suspect not."

Joshua crossed his arms and watched the police cordon being moved back to allow several mages to approach them. Joshua could see the mages confidence as they walked towards them. Turning to Arkan he pointed at the mages. "You have here one sigilist and an adept, not sure what magical path he took but I imagine we will find out soon. I'll give you a little boost I want to see you in the thick of it. I didn't get a very good view from the ceiling of the bar."

The mages took positions to the left and right of Joshua. Without a word they launched their attack. The sigilist brought his palms up and waved at the air creating a shield of light that he pushed towards Joshua. At the same time the other adept took a deep breath and screamed at Joshua. A wave of sound that traveled straight towards Joshua. The sound deafened Joshua as he was caught by both the wave of light and the sound wave. He absorbed the magical energy inside of him. Turning on the spot he fired the energy straight into Arkan. If his theory was correct Arkan could use this energy.

Arkan rose slowly to his full height, standing above Joshua. As the man spoke he simply stood still and made no acknowledgement to the question he asked, though he was painfully aware of what he was saying. Perhaps a bit of something, his old self, had awoken when his name was uttered. It was not entirely unforeseeable, as he was being commanded by an intellect vastly superior to his own and if he wanted to be free again, he needed an assemblance of thought.

As Joshua pointed at the two mages coming at them, Arkan's gaze followed. He understood well enough that the man was telling him to kill them but only after he charged him up, which he found unnecessary, but welcome. He saw Joshua get attacked and somewhere in his mind he hoped he would die but this did not happen. The man absorbed their magical energies, just like he could and then fired at Arkan. He was already nourished but the more magic he contained the better.

He picked up his sword, turned to face the mages and began to walk towards them. As they volleyed magical attacks at him, he was hit time and time again to no effect but simply being physically annoying. The magic coursed through him and his walk became a run, then he vanished right as he was before them in a puff of dark shadow.

He appeared behind the adept, his cold presence flooded the man before he was cut down, Agony had sliced a large portion of his left shoulder in two. The look on the adepts face was pure horror as he grasped him and sucked the magic from his body.

The sigilist had ample time jump away from Arkan and had done so. From a distance he screamed again but Arkan simply dropped the husk of the adept and ran over to the sigilist. He swung at him but the sigilist was light on his feet and dodged with ease, pulling out a spectral sword of his own and jabbed at Arkan. The blade hit but shattered as it touched his armor and then Arkan used that moment of confusion to grab the man by the right arm, then stab him through his stomach. He fed off his energies too.

It was delicious.

Eyja felt herself falling. Then she hit something hard. It was cold and dark. Noises rang around her, most of which she couldn't place. A man was talking, metal brushed against metal. Then something clashed and everything was louder. What was happening? Where was she? Her body was splayed on the ground, red hair tangled. She felt so empty.

In her minds eye she saw her grimoure. It was tattered and torn at some places. Had she done this? No . . . definitely not. Slowly she tried to reach it but somehow couldn't. The noises grew louder. First she felt heavy, then, after a while, she felt pain. Something was very wrong within her but she couldn't place it.

Her head hurt.

She reacher for it and noticed her arm wouldn't move. When she forced it to it seemed heavy. Frustrated she tried opening her eyes and as she did everything was blurry. What was going on? Why were there so many flashlights? Sirens? Blinking Eyja slowly lifted her head. Dizziness made her pause her efforts. Gradually she managed to lift her upper body from the ground. Sitting there, dazed and confused, the witch took in the scene taking place, not yet comprehending what was happening.

Maru didn't often believe in heroics, she tended to stay away from large crowds, and ran off of a belief system that if she tempted fate by being brave then she'd be placed back in the wilderness and back on the food chain, she got well enough around by being unseen, unnoticed and out of the way, she'd been that way for so long, habit from being a former animal from the wood, she wasn't a carnivor though sometimes she liked the taste of chicken, she definitely wasn't a predator and most of all, she wasn't a hero.

Maru paced up and down the ally nervously before peeking around the corner again "Dammit" turning on her hoof she resumed her tight fast walking in the ally way, she had headed for home after abandoning the Abandoned Bar, she wanted nothing to do with the magic suit guy, the floating sorcerer or the crazy suicidal witch girl, but here she was.

She'd made it all the way home before feeling guilty and cowardly, it didn't take her long to turn back around, but now she wasn't so sure as she watched the mages attack the sorcerer. Maru could see the witch girl waking up, Maru flattened her ears and with a loud snort she ran out of her hiding place and toward the downed witch, sliding to a stop she knelt beside the girl "Hey are you alright? I'm gonna get you away from these maniacs" slipping her arms underneath the girl Maru used her height to lift up the girl and pull her away from the fray, dragging her against the wall she sat the female down and once more knelt to look at her "are you okay?" she tilted her head to the side and squirmed out of nervousness.

Joshua watched in awe as the Knight to down the men. "I knew it. If what I read in the Order's Library was true than that means that the old ones must exist as well." Joshua paused for a moment. "Well. There's a possiblity it's true. Just imagine it Arkan. Beings so powerful even greater demons cower at the mention of them. From what i've heard of these creatures one look is enough to drive even the strong insane!"

Joshua calmed himself down as he looked around at his surroundings. Tutting he turned to Arkan.

"Arkan I can't have you hurting any mage that wishes to follow me into the new world. From what I understand of demonic magic it's farly simple to summon and banish demons. As it seems to me that magic is your main source of energy I'm certain I could rip that precious necklace from around your neck. I wonder how long you would last without it? Or maybe I could just bind you to a familiar. Understand this Arkan, you are extremely strong. But all strength comes at a price. You may think of yourself as an unstoppable force but you have little understanding of the magic that keeps your body ticking. Also you are aren't very fun to talk to. I assume witty banter is not part of your arsenal of weapons though."

Joshua he clapped his hands. "Now shall we get a move on?"

Saryx watched the whole scene between the dark knight and the witch, then to Joshua. This type of magic eluded her and she did not quite like it. She preferred simpler elemental magic. She was a bit nervous, but she knew she had to speak with the powerful mage. Sighing, Saryx stood up from her seat and walked over to the Joshua and Arkan, avoiding the others. "Do you mind if I follow you? I have no where else to be at the moment and your cause seems valiant."

Eyja was still dazed. She saw what was happening around her, yet somehow her brain refused to process the information. So when someone knelt before her and spoke she heard the words and the wonderful melodic voice and frowned as she realized she didn't know what had been said. Her ears were ringing in an odd way - surely the after effects of fainting.

Something warm took hold of her and she moved towards it until her head found a shoulder. Then the floor dipped away from under her and she was flying with the warmth. The witch tilted her head slightly. A girl was carrying her. She looked graceful and fragile at the same time. And still there was an unexplainable strength in her features and gaunt. The floor came back as she was put down. Something was supporting her back. The wall. And there were sirens and flashes of blue and red lights all about. Wait, were those police cars?

Eyja jolted back into reality with a fierce flinch. The Order! They had finally made it! The man . . . the man in the armor had embraced her and she had felt weaker. The girl in front of her asked her something and this time the meaning of her words registered in Eyjas brain. She tried to smile reassuringly. "Yes . . . I . . . I think I am . . . Thank you for saving me." She slightly lifted her body from the floor, using the wall as a support. "What's happening?" She spied past the girl and clasped both hands over her mouth as her eyes fell upon the lifeless bodies on the floor. Her world started turning and she pressed herself against the wall to not topple over, tearing her gaze from the horrid scene. That man! She had been in his clutches . . . and yet she lived whilst others . . . this was neither the time nor the place for these hypothetical ventures! In shock she looked at the girl who had saved her. "I'm sorry . . . Thank you . . . Your name?" The witch was trying to distract herself and staring at the lovely stranger before her kept her from looking back . . . at bodies . . . at people . . . splayed on the floor, motionless and still.

After killing the two mages, he sulked back to Joshua. His presence was no longer as cold and hostile, but still uncomfortable to say the least. Arkan understood what his new master had told him but gave no acknowledgement. He began to follow Joshua, sadly, it was his duty now.

The magic that now flowed through him was bountiful but there was something more, something he had not known for a long time. Before he had been put to sleep he had only killed a handful of mages, spread out over a long time period. It was enough to sustain him, as they were hard to come by even back then. This new thing that he was feeling was perhaps a small bit of emotion. Small memories played out in his mind, bits and fragments that were not his own. It felt... familiar, but as quickly as they had come, they were gone again.

The tall knight looked around, and his gaze fell upon the spot where he had almost consumed the girl. She was gone.

Joshua found himself in an abandoned warehouse owned by one of the mages Joshua knew. Looking around in the space he smiled. Focusing on the hand a piece of chalk appeared in it. He began drawing symbols around the ground. First a large circle fifteen meters in diameter, another circle inside this circle ten meters in diameter. On the edge of this symbol he began writing the actually symbols he would need to channel the skulls power through him. Once the symbols were finished he placed an even smaller symbol five meters away from the larger circle. This is where he would stand. Once it was all done the chalk disappeared and he surveyed his work. His hands glowed as he imbued the circles with magical energy, he couldn't have a these symbols erased not to mention it would allow the symbols to actually work.

Satisfied with his work he conjured a sofa for him to sit on and a smaller armchair for Arkan. "I don't suppose you're going to sit down but the chairs there for you if you want to sit."

Conjuring several more sofas for his guest to sit on he floated into the air. The warehouse was large but relatively empty with a only few broken crates and pallets that he would move later. Floating back down to the ground he activated the sigils for those that wanted to join him. The symbols would burn slightly and would tell the people who had them exactly where to go to get to his warehouse.

"Now Arkan we just wait. I don't suppose you want to swap some war stories while we wait?"

Jason Blackwater
Jason was walking down the street his dog like ears hidden under his beany hat. Recently it seemed some of the vampires had some sort of fascination with him as he has been attacked by them a few times too often. He managed to fend off his attackers with relative ease, but even still it worried him. He never understood how trouble seemed to get drawn to him.

As he was walking further towards the town to were all the shops and bars were he began to smell blood soon there were police sirens and total chaos around one building. The bar. He sighed heavily. “can I not go one day without being drawn to chaos.” He mutters to himself. Jason had heard Joshua’s speech, thanks to his dog like hearing. Power and money did not really interest him, he was a hell hound he only need those things in this world and even then if he wanted he could live without it.

He thought carefully to himself, considering this evil but powerful mage but for some reason cannot get an artefact on his own… what’s the catch? Maybe I should join with him only to steal it from right under his nose… he thought while standing there staring at the bar. As I watch the events unfold I make no move to investigate, deciding not to draw anymore unnecessary attention to himself.

Gregory walked home, his mind debating the actions that had taken place at the bar. It had all taken place in such a short time period that little of it would likely stick, but for now the images were fresh and his plan of action clear.

He soon found the small blue house where he lived, the white door and windows making a smile on the inanimate structure. That was funny to Gregory for some reason. The house certainly wasn't the place you'd imagine a demon to be living, yet here he was. He stepped up to the door and then inside.

The lights were off signaling the lack of parents in the house. They were likely out enjoying the evening. That congruence was probably for the better thought Gregory as he rustled around inside the home.

First he crafted paper and a pen, the shadows seeping out of the darker corners of the house and into the reality of tangibility. He wrote to his parents that he would not be returning for a while, and that museum stuff had come up, regardless of the fact that it hadn't. 'I'm so bad' he thought as he lied. 'wait this is nothing, i'm a hellish demon of nightmares'. "jeez I really do need this break i'm losing my edge, Humanity man. Now that's the real mystery." The demon sighed out loud. It would be good to focus on something other than people for a while.

Next he gathered the things he wanted to take with him, there wasn't much just some dollar bills and loose change.

Then as he walked back to the front door, his had began to burn. Usually Gregory hardly felt pain, there was no need when you aren't concerned about dieing. This however was much different, the magic behind it gave it more of a punch that immediately drew his attention. It pulled, in a way, towards the outside and away from the house. Already being ready Gregory was quick to heed its directions.

Again the streets seemed empty to him. This was his second time that day walking the same path and the lack of anything new had become boresome. People never did things fast enough for the demon but that was mostly due to the longativity of his timeline.

Soon enough he found himself at the entrance to a warehouse. It's contents included two sofas and several individuals, other wise it was bare. One of the people was clearly the strange magician, had he said his name before, Greg didn't really recall. None the less he stopped headlong into the room disregarding safty entirely.

"Hey guys, I'm not late am I. " he said in the most idiodic human sounding way. Reflectively he would see that this was a stupid idea in the first place, but honestly, that's life.