Yuno glanced off towards Nemo once he made his way to the stairs before taking in a deep breath. “Well, it seems we were in agreement then. Goodnight, Travis.” She stated before turning around and making her own way upstairs. Briefly straightening her arms out in front of her and then over her head as she walked to loosen and relax the. The day had been rather hectic at this point in time, and sleep seemed like the best course of action for her if she wasn’t getting anything further tonight. Yet, she had a feeling her sleep wouldn’t be very easy due to the anticipation and the fact the group she was now sharing the building with was full of rather interesting characters. Finding a room on the right she slipped quietly inside and turned on one of the lights to examine the room closer. Certainly, it was far better than most dorms at the academy so it was almost as if she were on vacation and not looking for the truth behind a possible quest. Spoils of good work perhaps? Though, she hasn’t gotten a chance to do too much as of yet which simply tried her patience when it comes to how long she is willing to spend without definitive proof. Yet, a part of her enjoyed the change from the day she had been having back at the Acadamia which was mostly stuck inside classes she had to cram for while working on that paper she disliked. Thinking this over she determined she definitely could stay calm about the events going on here as long as it would remain interesting, at least outside of the possible violence and weary eye she planned to keep towards Nemo.

Residing towards the window of the room Yuno took a brief portion of her time to examine the stars once again as she had been before. Of course they didn’t change to much in the distance between the Acadamia and this shelter Felix created. However, she wondered to herself how far this may take her if Felix was able to teleport that far and regularly in search of her, the other recruits, and next the Paragons. “…My mother would kill me in she found out about this-“ she commented aloud to herself before moving away from the window many minutes after she had started her night watch. Without clothes to change into she determined it would be beneficial to sleep in her undergarments tonight. Leaving her outfit folded neatly on whatever dresser may be available and slipping under the covers she noted how nice the beds ended up being. Sinking into the softness and resting her head now with her hair flowing instead of a ponytail she left out a long overdue sigh of relaxation and closed her eyes. Slowly drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

Artos chuckled softly as the temperature continued to drop around him to frighteningly low levels, his breathe now came in puffs but he was at least comfortable now. Thankfully the sphere of influence he had created was roughly an inch away from his own body, making sure nobody else would suffer like he did from unoptimized weather. Being from white-out homeland he was from it was unlikely he would get accustomed to the weather differences any time soon.

"I'm fine. Just.. heat and me don't get along."

His canteens slowly emptied the pure crystal blue water, it's rich mana infused touch flowed over him with a rejuvenating effect. The soft healing eased his sore body as Artos picked himself off the floor, for the second time today he added quietly, to stand tall and proud. Felix had returned and expressed his concerns too, to which a quick wave confirmed he was indeed still alive. Artos returned his attentions back to Travis and offered his hand out.

"Apologies. I am Artos Bane, of the north, I believe is how you all refer to it. To whom do I have the pleasure of introducing myself to?"

Artos could not hide his curiosity as he took in every aspect of the man. Pale skin, long leather coat with no visible weaponry, dressed warm but clearly not for practical reasons like back home. The mans attire spoke more of a scholar than a fighter. Most of the people who had retired since he had arrived had a similar feel. Even Felix, without his armor, seemed unprepared.. Maybe the rest of them were the same.

Jessie nodded and followed Felix through the portal. Once through, she glanced around at the new location.
A rather comfortable looking room, plenty of space. There were also two other people in the room, Jessie assumed that those two, Felix and herself, were not in fact, the entirety of their party.
"So uh, Felix? You came to pick me up with kinda only the bare minimum explanation. Wanna give me a more detailed rundown on where we are now, and what the plan is?"

Felix raised a slight eyebrow at the summoner's question.

"I told you about the paragon's didn't I? Well then you are on the same page as the other five in this building. As for where we are, we are in the Redwood forest in Northern California, USA. Technically, in terms of sleep times, this time zone is only five hours ahead of yours. It was about 8:00 PM in New Zealand, and it is midnight here. So you should be able to still sleep if you had a long eventful day." Felix explained, "As for our plan well, I am waiting until morning to disclose that information to everyone at the same time. Let's just say that, if you like Indiana Jones, you'll like what I have planned."

Felix looked around, "Well, I don't know about all of you but I am going to bed, we have a big day ahead of us. All of the guest rooms are up stars. Feel free to choose any of the unoccupied ones." And with that, Felix walked off towards the master bedroom which was just behind the study on the first floor.

It took a moment to Travis realize how pale, and blue, the man's skin was once he had gotten a closer look. It was almost as if the stranger himself was frozen in a well below sub-zero environment, but obviously the warmer and cozier surroundings betrayed that notion. Eventually, the pale blue-skinned figure, now appearing much more livelier than previously observed, explained that he was not very well versed with the heat, as evident by the cold atmosphere that surrounded him.

Felix returned finally, and with him yet another recruit for this fated adventure. Travis didn't pay too much mind at first to their new female counterpart at first as Felix queried about the man's condition. The stranger however waved off Felix's worries as a gesture to confirm he was well. "He's good," Travis replied.

Extending his hand to to Travis, the man identified himself as Artos Bane of the North; at least that possibly explained the cold essence about him. Travis of course kindly met the gesture but only to find out that by shaking hands with Artros did he really understand how cold to the touch he truly was.

"Y-you may call be Travis McGrath, or just Travis," the Untalent hesitantly replied with a chuckle as he felt his own body heat literally being zapped away, "And damn, you are really cold - not to be rude. I must ask how you're beyond not bothered by this element."

Artos smiled politely and mistook Travis' shaking momentarily for being shy. It was only when he spoke up about it that he pulled back his hand and took a large step back, separating him and Travis from the cold zone he had created. A very small smirk slipped onto his face at the irony of the statement. Beyond not bothered.. by a little cold?

"Not rude at all. My homeland is one of constant snow and freezing climates. My village in particular is protected by a blizzard so cold it has taken to freezing protected men in moments. Observe."

Artos was unaccustomed to the etiquette of those not from his homeland and was thus unconcerned with property damage as he grabbed a random book off the shelf, quickly leafing through it to ensure it was not some sacred tome or magical guide book. The written word was understandable, thankfully, and the words all nonsense anyhow. Artos turned and held the book out for Travis to see, with the swordsmans hands on the spine and cover firmly. A focus of his mana brought the temperature in his sphere of control to well beyond freezing in mere moments, the sheer cold froze the book in moments, to which Artos merely flexed his hands and shattered it into shards.

"If you are unprepared for such weather, the youth of my homeland die. Only the strong can survive it." Artos gave a light chuckle, as if the concept of death by freezing was somehow not a horrific fate. "You asked how I am not bothered by it, but the same goes in reverse. This domiciles temperature was practically suffocating. How can you stand such oppressive heat? The answer seems to be that we are familiar to very different things.."

Artos again glanced at the mans attire, this time much more noticably examining the fellow.

"Apologies now if I sound rude, Travis McGrath, but I see no weapons on your person. Perhaps you employ the use of hidden weapons?"

@ShiningSector@Zelosse
Jessie looked over at the two other mages in the room.
"So, you guys get roped into the kooky quest too? Do you think its legit?"
She asked as she walked over to the two.
"I'm Jessie by the way. Jessie Link."

"Impressive" Travis commented as Artos demonstrated his prowess in ice-related magic by encasing a non-relevant textbook in a thick layer of frost before crushing frozen book into pieces.

Artos soon briefly explained the spartan-esque tradition of his homeland where only the strong and the more capable that can handle the terrible cold can survive. He soon gave a chuckle afterwards as if the cruel concept was mere child's play. However, Artos soon confronted Travis regarding the climate most humans were used to, almost complaining how hard it was to breath with so much unaccustomed heat ever permeating through the air but quickly concluded it was a matter of familiarity.

"That we can universally agree on for the time being." he acknowledged, not wanting to enter into a debate or much less a lecture.

Like Yuno before, Travis observed Artos scanning him as if to form an opinion. Did he really look all that unusual? Apparently so to everyone else; maybe it was the coat? After awhile, Artos curiously asked if he maintained any weapons of his own after finding none externally.

"Eh, Not really. Nothing pointy or shooty in the least..." Travis vaguely explained, "Fighting is generally something I tend to avoid at all times if I can help it. I'm a Scholar so much of what I try to do is not looking for trouble, though rather opposite."

Just as Travis finished his sentence did a softer voice made itself known. The voice belonged to Jessie Link as she introduced herself; she was the same woman Felix had recruited and brought back moments before. Breaking the interaction with Artos breifly, Travis turned in replay to face Jessie in reply.

"Indeed we have Miss Link. You may call me Travis," he greeted in a bow, "While I'm sure we all have our different opinions of Felix and his incredible quest, I do however find many reasons to believe him thus far."

The master bedroom was about the same as the other bedrooms upstairs, but slightly larger with much more books and writing space. Felix stripped down to his plaid cotton boxers, as he always did before bed, and slipped between the covers. It didn't take long for him to fall fast asleep, the day wore him out. He had used much more mana than he thought he'd have to use, and getting caught up in that explosion that ripped his manaegis off his body definitely took its toll.

---

Raiya was walking down a road in an empty city. Decrepit shells of once glorious building loomed on on each block. There was no one within the city, and from the looks of it, no one had been in this ghost town for quite some time. There was a thick curtain of clouds that blanketed the sky, casting a dull blue light upon all of the city. Raiya wasn't sure what she was doing walking these streets, but she didn't question it. She just continued walking.

Eventually her legs grew tired and so she decided to find a place to rest. The nearest building seemed as best a candidate for a place for a momentary respite as any. So she entered the dilapidated four story building to her right. As soon as she crossed the threshold of the building, she could hear small faint whispers. Raiya looked around but saw nothing. The building was completely ransacked. There was nothing inside but walls, ceiling, and patches of carpet on the concrete floor. But still she could here the faint whispers. Instead of lying on the floor and getting some rest, she ventured further in the building, climbing the stairs to the second floor.

The whispers were a bit stronger here, but still not enough to be intelligible. But Raiya could tell the whispers were coming from this floor. The floor was separated into a series of hallways and rooms, which were almost catacomb like. She continued further down a hallway and turned down a separate hallway, straining her ears to hear the whispers which were still slightly growing as she continued. The whispers were becoming coherent now... no coherent wasn't the word Raiya would have used to describe the whispers. The whispers were all jumbled, and... and they seemed to be all pleading. Raiya continued down the hallway until she reached the end of it, a door marking the end. She opened the door, and was overcome by the sound. They weren't whispers at all. It was a chorus, a chorus of agonized voices screaming in sheer terror, pleading for mercy.

But the worst part wasn't the sound in the room. The worst part was what the sound was coming from. There, standing in the room was a humanoid, lanky, long limbed, hairless, grey skinned, faceless creature. Faceless, that was, all except for the large maw with thousands of sharp teeth just above the thing's chin. Raiya gasped, and would have screamed if she had had the ability.

Raiya was frozen momentarily in a deep fear she had never before experienced. The creature didn't seem to notice her right away, even though it was facing the doorway. But as soon as the gasp escaped her lips, the creature began lumbering toward Raiya slowly. Raiya regained her movement, and attempted to fry the beast there it stood. She held her hands out in front of her to unleash a torrent of electrical blasts. She waited for the familiar pull of the power known as mana, but never felt it. Nothing came forth. She was left standing there with her arms extended as the creature inched closer towards her.

Raiya felt another pang of that deep fear, as panic began to set in. As the creature grew closer, the sounds emanating from it grew even louder than before. Screams of desperation. Pleas for mercy. Unintelligible gurgles that sounded as though they were coming from a slit throat. Raiya overcame her momentary panic and turned around and began to run.

The hallway seemed impossibly long. Had she really walked all that way? Although she was passing the doors on the side, at a rate of three doors every second, it didn't seem like she was making any progress. And... were the sounds getting louder? They were... which meant the creature was no longer lumbering slowly, it was in fact running slightly faster than she was. Raiya started to feel fatigued, and attempted to keep up the pace she was currently running, but her legs just wouldn't carry her. And that noise... it was almost deafening now, beating down upon her with physical sound waves she could feel; like being in a front row seat a rock concert, only the band on stage was a half-dead pile of mangled bodies.

This is impossible. My magic won't work, and my feet won't carry me as fast as I know I can go. And that sound, oh God that sound is unreal... That's it! This can't possibly be real. It's all a dream. I just have to wake up. I just have to wake up.

Raiya tried her best to wake herself up from this nightmare-scape that she was in, but it was too late. The creature was surely on top of her, and that was when she felt the pain of teeth cutting trough the flesh of her right shoulder, ripping her arm off. The pain was so real, and she cried out in agony. Screaming for mercy. Begging for a swift end. And that was when she had realized... she had become one of the voices in the chorus of the dead, screaming endlessly for all eternity.

Raiya's body jolted as she awoke from the feverish nightmare. Breathing heavily, as she laid on her back on the bed, staring up at the not-so-familiar ceiling that was her room in the cabin. The voices in the chorus of wretched agony were gone, but she could still hear them in her head. Raiya decided that she needed to wash her face and get a glass of water.

But when she attempted to sit up, she discovered she could move. Her legs, her arms, her body, all paralyzed. She began to panic once again, attempting to cry out for help, but her voice wouldn't work. She couldn't so much as move her head to the side, only her eyes. The covers on top of her became exceedingly heavy, they felt like they weighed tons, as if they would crush her right then and there. The panic continued to well up in her chest as tears flowed down the sides of her cheeks. And that was when she saw it. The eldritch abomination that had eaten her moments before was looming over her bed, it's mouth open. Saliva dripped from its mouth onto her cheek, and it burned with an agonizing red-hot pain. As soon as she realized the screaming chorus was not deafening her, the chorus sounded aloud again, this time so loud that Raiya felt like she was going to be torn apart by the sound itself. All the people pleading for their lives, some just pleading for it to be over. And one... one was her own voice, beseeching for mercy, begging to be brought to an end. That was when she realized she was the one screaming, as the screams were being torn from her own throat. Then the monster struck, and the tearing pain of the teeth sinking into her flesh jolted her awake once more.

This time Raiya was truly awake. She sat up, shaking. Wet hot tears streaming down her face. This is stupid. Nightmares have never scared me before. Stop crying you idiot. She told herself. She then punched herself in the face as a point to stop being a soft crybaby, and got up out of bed. The window still was darkened by night, and Raiya wondered what time it was but didn't think to check.
She walked over to the bathroom and washed her face, and examined herself in the mirror. Her grey left eye, and yellow right eye were both bloodshot from crying. As she rested her hands on the counter of the bathroom she looked down and saw her Irezumi arm tattoos: A yellow snake coiled up her right arm, and a black nara ink colored one wound up the other. The heads of the snakes started by her wrists where they couldn't be seen if she was wearing anything long-sleeve. They were bearing their fangs with the right one starting on top of her wrist, and the left on the opposite side below.

The Japanese styled snakes coiled up her arms and ended with the tails at the back of her shoulders just above a large back tattoo. The heads of the snakes started by her wrists where they couldn't be seen if she was wearing anything long-sleeve. The heads bore their fangs, with the right one starting on top of her wrist, and the left on the opposite side below.

The large back tattoo was Her entire back was covered in large nara black ink snake scales for a background. And a large tattoo of the giant 8 headed and tailed snake Yamata no Orochi, various flowers, and lightning bolts in the foreground.

She looked at herself and was disgusted that she would ever be brought to tears by a nightmare. She drank a bit of water before getting back in bed. But one thing was for sure, she wasn't getting any more sleep tonight.

---

Light broke through Felix's window, waking him up. He sat up and stretched at the good night's sleep. He got up and took a shower and got dressed in a teal polo shirt, and white cargo shorts.

Felix went out in the kitchen and was surprised to see he was the first one up, and it was almost... he checked his manadial... almost 9:00.

Felix decided to take this time to make breakfast. He busted out the best pans, and pulled out all the ingredients he needed to make the breakfast.

After all was said and done, the long table in the kitchen was set with various foods. In the middle was an egg skillet that had sauteed peppers, potatoes and sausage in it. On the right side as a plate of muffins, and on the left side was a plate of bacon. On the furthest right side was a plate of bagels with cream cheese, and on the furthest left side was some Belgium waffles with various syrups and butter. And at the edges of the table were various juices, milk, black tea, and coffee, and plates with utensils.

With all the wondrous smells coming off the spread, Felix could tell that it wouldn't take long for people to come down. And he was right. Raiya was the first to come down the stairs.

She glanced at the spread, and then glared at Felix, who gave her a smile, and then sat at the head of the table. Raiya got herself a little bit of everything on the plate, and poured herself some apple juice which she spiked with rum from a flask she had in her jacket.

"So-" Felix began.

"Don't talk to me." Raiya sneered. Her eyes had bags under them, so he could tell she didn't sleep well, which was odd because he knew she had been drinking quite a lot the night prior. He decided to leave it alone, and made himself a cup of coffee with vanilla creamer but no sugar. He sipped on the coffee until everyone else had gotten breakfast.

"Please don't call me Miss Link, it makes me feel old. Just call me Jessie."
A ping noise emitted from her pocket. She put her hand in it and pulled out a red slip of paper.
"Oh, my luggage is ready, I guess Ill chat with you guys later, the imps get a bit impatient if you keep them waiting. Sleep well boys."
Jessie walked off to go upstairs, and as she did the red slip in her hand began to glow. She dropped it on the ground and in a poof of smoke the luggage imp appeared. It scurried to follow her as she chose a room to claim. Once she had she close the door behind her after the imp had gone inside. It jumped up on the bed and took off its backpack, opening it as it set it down in front of itself. The imp put its arms into the bag and pulled out a large suitcase, a pile of books, and a large plush shark, about four and a half feet long. It shut the bag and slung it back onto his back. Jessie opened the suitcase and took a small pouch of coins out and handed it to the imp.
"Thanks for the help."
She said with a smile. The imp held the coin pouch close, gave a little salute, and then disappeared in a poof. Once the imp was gone, Jessie kicked off her shoes and changed from her jeans into pajama pants. She moved her suitcase onto the ground, and the books onto the nightstand. She laid down on the bed holding the plush shark.
"I dunno Mister Mephistopheles, I know Man of War gave the thumbs up, but I still don't fully trust this."
She said to the plush shark. She then grabbed the book on top of the pile, of books, opened it to a certain page. The page had an intricate summoning circle on it. She set the book open to that page on the nightstand and tapped the circle. It began to emit a dull glow in a single line across the circle's radius that slowly moved across the page. A timer summon, once the circle was fully lit, it would summon its specified creature, in this case, one that would wake her up. Seeing that it was active, Jessie closed her eyes and eventually slipped into sleep.

-----------[morning]-------------

Jessie woke up to a feeling of drumming on her forehead. She opened her eyes and looked upward to see a small winged pixie sitting on the pillow lightly hitting her head like a bongo drum. The pixie noticed that she was awake and fluttered into the air over to Jessie's suitcase and pulled out a hairbrush. Jessie sat up and the pixie flew over and landed on her shoulder and began brushing her hair. Jessie picked up the smell of food going through the house and remembered that she wasn't in her room at the manor. Some guy called Felix had recruited her for a quest of some kind. Her stomach growled loudly.
"Oh yeah, didn't get to have dinner last night."
Jessie stood up out of the bed and walked out of her room and followed her nose until she found the source of the food smell. As she got into the kitchen, the pixie on her shoulder finished with the side of Jessie's hair she was brushing and swapped to the other side. There were two people in the kitchen already. One was Felix, and the other was a woman who must have gone to bed already by the time Jessie had arrived the night before.
"Mornin yo, this all up for grabs?"
Jessie asked aloud in reference to the food.

Artos turned his attention to the one introducing herself as Jessie Link and merely nodded politely, not because he was rude or disinterested, but because he was completely unsure of what 'legit' meant. Was it code for something he was not aware of, some sort of hint to this Travis fellow about Felix perhaps. Artos' hand kept very close to his sword hilt for a brief moment but quickly forced the thought out before it could poison his judgement and ruin his masters plans. Besides, if anything could take care of itself it was Felix. Memories of the failed attempts to even damage him came to mind.

Jessie dismissed herself as quickly as she came, a veritable whirlwind of activity that one, leaving Travis and the cryomancer alone once more in the large unfamiliar housing. Artos crossed his arms and thought over how best he could be of help to Felix and the answer came to him when he realized what he himself brought to the group.

"People with power and questions often seek the answers held by Scholars. Such is just history. So long as we travel with Master Felix as companions, what say I offer you my protection so your attentions can better serve your further enlightenment?"

To his simple thinking it was almost an impossible to refuse request. Anyone with eyes could see that the pale skinned swordsman was seeking a fight, and following around someone who might nose too close to trouble was always bound to find one. A common partnership in the north and one he hoped the southern people adopted as well. What new foes and battles would he find in this mans quest to save the world from itself!

"Apologies, but I believe Miss Links sudden departure is a sign we too should find a place to call our own for the, what I assume, is night, around these parts. Please consider my offer tonight."
Artos performed a deep bow, one meant to show respect as an equal to an individual, and left the room unguided. Some wanderings later he found a small room in the basement that was already very cold and what seemed to be largely unused. A bit of channeling was all it took to make the room his own, bringing the temperature again well below freezing. Another trip from the basement had him returning with a large bucket of water, to which he promptly splashed on the wood ground, whereupon it froze into his desired effect. Unused to much comfort he created a simple slab of ice and draped a nearby cloth atop it, laying down and letting the cold familiarity of his home soothe him to sleep while the restorative effects of his magic brought him back to fighting fit ever so slowly.

Nemo opened the door to his room with a rather chipper look on his face. He jogged down the stairs while humming a tune to himself. He quickly entered the room with everyone else. "Good morning ladies and gentlemen." He greeted as he grabbed a plate and got to picking out what to eat. Nemo slid a serving of Belgian Waffles onto his plate and added a few different syrups on top. "What a lovely ensemble you have prepared for us Felix. How generous of you." He commented as he poured himself a cup of tea and set his plate and glass at the end of the table by Raiya. Given his reputation, Nemo was surprisingly pleasant acting most of the time.

Nemo spawned a small black case and set it down on the table as well. He flipped it open and picked out a small white pill from inside and placed it into his mouth in between his back teeth. He shifted around a little bit before immediately stopping when he broke the pill in between his teeth with a audible crack. He swallowed afterwards and let out a small shiver. He shut the case and then despawned it before coming back down to the real world, clearly thinking about something.

"Ah yes, that reminds me." He said as he spawned Raiya's knife from last night in his hand. Nemo abruptly sent it blade first down into the wood of the table right next to Raiya's hand a little too hard. He let go of it once it was firmly planted in and sat down in his seat. "That is a very nice knife." He complimented, seemingly oblivious to his rather aggressive way of giving it back to her.

"As you wish, Jessie."

Before they could potentially socialize, a rather familiar and curious noise rang from Jesse's pocket. How odd; the sound was like a 'ping', something Travis would expect from like a cash register during a transaction. The new recruit produced what looked like a a small red note. Jessie explained that this slip was to inform her her luggage had been prepared and...Did she say imps? Travis couldn't kindly question her as she made her way up the stars before wishing Travis and Artos well.

"Sleep well." Travis replied, with a friendly wave.

With their newest guest retiring upstairs, Travis returned his focus to Artos as they continued their conversation. However, Artos came up with a rather unexpected offer for the Untalent. The man from the frozen North had proposed himself to serve as a protector of some sorts. Travis was rather taken back by the gracious offer, not that he did not appreciate such willingness, but had never considered an escort before at all. Granted, Travis's was hardly a fighter himself and with only a minimum amount of mana at his own disposal, defending himself would prove difficult if not render a creative challenge.

Just as the offer came, so did Artos' farewell as he too sough to retire himself for the evening. With a bow, Artos departed to seek his own chamber, "I'll...Consider it, thank you. Be well."

All that was left in the lucrative lounge was Travis' own person. Silence soon seeped into the scene as Travis looked around, familiarizing himself with the place and accepting his new fated reality for what it was. The thought for him was still very overwhelming but he knew that he was now apart of something greater than he had ever anticipated. But with everyone gone, Travis too would need to seek his own chamber to slumber in; is real work would begin tomorrow.

"I suppose I should retire myself." Travis said to himself.

Travis eventually decided and found his own amongst the others claimed. The personal chamber was very spacious though he wondered if the other rooms were like this or it was just this one. One very comfortable bed was supported in the one corner of the room with a fancy nightstand to it's side. There were plenty of bookshelves scattered to different ends of the room filled with unknown material and content. Travis was hoping at least some of them were tomes to study. But was perhaps more eye catching was a single large desk opposite of the doorway. It was very well designed and seemed to have enough space to host his research belongings. It was perfect; while Felix said that anyone can claim their own room, Travis had believed this one was destined for him.

Establishing his presence and ownership over the room didn't take too long; much of his belongings and personable furniture was easily accessible from his strange bottomless trunk. All he had to do was mentally imagine the item in his possession and reach into the ebony abyss where his hand would meet the desired object. He had placed most of his charts and stand to the left of his newfound desk along the empty wall and included a foldable table there as well to support anything he needed atop it. Many of his tomes and research notes were stacked at both sides of the desk with much of his current material place conveniently on the fine escritoire for easy access. Travis then juggled the idea of a protective incantation of sorts withing the center space of the room for any experiments he may perform. With his latest and explosive test made formerly within his previously large dwelling, Travis sought the counter of not unintentionally destroying the mansion due to his own curiosity and research. He would rather be the undoing of himself than the entire operation at hand - he just got here too.

With everything now set for now, Travis locked his chest and robed himself ready to sleep. But while he had established his presence, something Yuno said made him ponder about the current version of his current rune. Could it be improved? Could he possible alter the formula and wording to alter its effects? As he thought more about it, he remembered Artos' demonstration of his ice magic. Could he possibly use his real world knowledge to reverse-engineer that talent into another rune? The mere thought had Travis eagerly going. So much so, he jumped out of bed and pulled his note pad and pen from the desk brought it back to the berth.

"Let me see, what would be the proper translation for ice...?" He mused as he began writing the draft of the new rune, "Ah, Glacies..."

Yuno woke up to the smell of breakfast drifting its way across the house and eventually into her room through the small gap beneath the door. Being much more of a night person herself she initially tossed the covers over her head to block out the light which was in the room through the curtains. Luckily for her it would be even brighter through the glass this time of day if not for the tall redwoods which blocked portions of the rising sun. Another sound caught her attention though with the humming moving down the hall and moving across the front of her door on the outside. “Someone is cheery…” she stated to herself as she slowly sat with and let out a quiet yawn while her arms rose into the air with a stretch. Thankfully, it seems nothing happened within her room since she fell asleep the night before and she wouldn’t need to stay paranoid about traps in that regard, or of any of the others guests which all were very odd to say the least. For a moment she almost was tempted to simply fall back into the embrace of the mattress, but alas she knew she needed to get up if she wanted answers as well as to settle her slowly rising morning hunger as the aroma thickened.

Settling her feet onto the floor beside her and moving off of the pad she went to the dresser where she had neatly folded her clothes and redressed. Moving to whatever mirror may be available in these rooms from a stand to a full length one to run a comb through her hair she managed to scavenge out of what may have been pre-set in the guest rooms. Eventually looking at her hair for a second before deciding going with the ponytail she had the day before was likely the best bet to continue with for the day onward. Retying it and adjusting it once Yuno finally felt set to leave her quarters and make her way downstairs. Only to unfortunately arrive into the kitchen the moment Nemo decided to slam the knife down which made Yuno jump for a moment. “Subtle…” she muttered slightly with a sigh as he makes his comment and retreats back into his seat. Finding a spot towards the other side of the table away from the man who decided to damage the fine table Yuno took a seat and began collecting a small plate of food. “Good morning everyone.” She stated kindly while doing so before looking to Felix who seemed the most likely source of the meal. “Thank you for the meal, Felix. I didn’t expect to wake up to this.”

Chapter 1: Paragon of Espial

Felix was invested in his Manadial, the mana hologram projecting from his wristband was showing a type of news article called, "Obscure Daily", which was the leading news network on the mananet. The way the app worked on the Manadial, was when he selected the app from the round mana crystal, the crystal levitated from the inlay and morphed into a blue, tangible, slightly transparent, folded newspaper. Every so often, Felix would sip his coffee as he read the paper.

The front page headline was, "Most Flaunted Catholic Mana Researcher, Now Most Wanted Apostate!"

The article had a large picture of Felix in his Mage Robes, in a not so savory position. The picture was taken back at a Good Friday party three years ago. As with most Catholic parties, there was a lot of alcohol involved, and Felix may have imbibed a bit too much that night. The picture was of his drunken face as he attempted to leave the party, and was pushing through a crowd of magi. His red face and scowl looked like he was stern and angry, but in reality he was sick and was attempting to find the bathroom to retch in.

Felix marveled at the fact that the media always found the most compromising pictures to represent those painted as villains. I wonder how they even got this picture... Felix raised a bit of an eyebrow at the thought, but didn't put too much effort into it.

Then the red haired summoner made her way to the table. Felix noticed she had the same shirt on but pajama pants instead of jeans. He also noticed there was a pixie on her shoulder brushing her hair. He also raised an eye to this sight but quickly changed his expression to a smile.

"Ah, Jessie! Yes indeed. I have prepared this spread for everyone. There is more than enough to go around, so dig in. We have quite the day ahead of us. I'll wait until everyone is here to start the debriefing." Felix replied. Then Nemo came down a few minutes later, extending his gratitude for the meal. "You're more than welcome, eat as much as you'd like."

Felix sipped on his mug, and continued reading, but soon the coffee mug was empty. So he used a simple levitation spell to pour himself some more, and then he levitated the creamer as well pouring just enough. Levitating the cup back to his hands, he continued reading. On the next page was a news article about increased sightings and attacks from the Disciples of Salem.

That has to be because they are also looking for the Paragons as well... Felix thought back to his dream, and the many endings the world would have if his team did not succeed.

Then the white haired Yuno came down the steps to the kitchen as well. She thanked him and he gave her a smile.

"Not a problem at all. I know you all will have your work cut out for you today, so please eat your fill." Felix said enthusiastically.

---

Raiya didn't even flinch as the knife came down. She was much too angry, tired, and rattled to care. She was, though, a little irritated that she had left her knife out in the haste of her anger after she stormed out the night prior. Raiya griped the knife, and spun it, as she opened her leather coat and sheathed the knife in the empty leather scabbard pocket.

The knife looks much better pushed through the flesh of my enemies. You wouldn't happen to be one of my enemies, would you?" Raiya said with little enthusiasm. Normally she would be one for banter, but today, she was much too drained to put effort into anything.

Nemo cut into his waffles with a fork and knife, letting out a small grin at Raiya's response. "Do enemies eat waffles together? As good as that sounds, I think it might be a bit too unsightly for everybody else during breakfast. Maybe later." He explained as he raised the fork up to his mouth and took a bite.

Nemo looked over to Felix in time to catch his picture in the paper. However he said nothing about it, instead opting for a topic that interested him more. "That's a nice manadial Felix. You know, I have amassed quite the collection myself." Nemo still wore his all gold one with a white dial. Visible on his left wrist without his coat on. He didn't seem to have a problem bringing his guns to the table either. Both of them still in their holsters, one at his right hip and the other in his left shoulder holster.

"Beautiful"
Jessie said looking back down at the food. She took a plate and piled a pair of waffles and a good bit of bacon. She then grabbed two mugs, the biggest one she could fine, and the smallest one she could find. The large one she filled to the brim with coffee, leaving it black, and the small one she filled halfway with milk and put a straw into it. She set the mug of milk down on the table, and the fairy who had finished brushing her hair landed on the table and stood by the mug of milk slowly drinking it through the straw.
Jessie scarfed down the food she had taken rather quickly not bothering to pause and chat, and as soon as her mug of coffee was finished she filled it right back up. Jessie pushed her empty plate to the side.
"Salise, could you go and grab my tome for me?"
Jessie asked the fairy. The fairy nodded and hovered off to Jessie's room. While she was gone, Jessie refilled her coffee mug again. Salise flew back into the kitchen, carrying the book that was larger than she was. Salise handed the tome to Jessie and Jessie gave a thankful smile to her.
"Thanks, you can head home now if you'd like."
Salise shook her head and set herself back down on Jessie's shoulder, crossing her arms.
"Oh come on, I've been alone in rooms with less trustworthy looking people. You don't have to be so defensive."
Salise gave Jessie an unimpressed look. Jessie looked away slightly embarrassed.
"Okay, that was one time. And how was I supposed to know..... Ugh, Im not having this conversation with you right now. Stay if you want, but please don't be insulting towards our host."
Salise leaned against Jessie's neck, keeping her eyes on the other people in the room.
"Sorry about that everyone, Salise is kinda overprotective of me."
Salise gave off a little huff.
"I'm sure she'll warm up eventually."

Travis awoke the next morning face down on his new desk. Stinging from fatigue, his eyes twitched as they slowly opened. He groaned and breathed heavily through his nostrils while stretching back in his seat, finally yawning when leaning as far back as he could. Staring back at the desk's surface, he could see plenty of work and study had been performed at a very late schedule, likely very early in the morning. Travis could vaguely remember taking his notepad to jot down a few words and translated symbols and somehow, he still didn't know how, that turned into full-fledged project. With another groan, he pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed away and rheum that may have collected before snatching some of the graphs and detailed diagrams to at least see what he had been working on.

As he figured what is was, it was his late-night idea of another experimental rune, influenced by Artos' superb skill in ice magic. Much of the rune's structure of still incomplete but the base however contained the foundation of how the spell would engage. It was very much like his own backdraft rune; influence by scientific know-how and natural physics. This piece of work, what he guessed going by the proposed drawing, would discharge a thick surge of cryogentic fumes, likely to freeze anything almost instantaneously. Notably less explosive than his earlier work but nonetheless still, dangerously, effective. Oxygen appeared to be a main component but so did water too.

He caught a few side notes identifying the possible use of minor water magic in order to achieve the desired effects if dispersed H2O particles could not be produced through the spell. Interestingly enough, there was a side note on the side notes - he must have been very tired at the point to pull something like that - mentioning the possible use of wind magic with his backdraft rune in order to change its effects. To what end though, it did not detail.

"Coffee." Travis said allowed to himself in a demanding and unamused tone, "I need coffee."

---

Eventually, Travis made his way downstairs fully dressed and having already showered. Turning to through the lounge and then the kitchen, Travis could see most of everyone sitting at a large table, hosting a wide variety of breakfast assortments atop its surface. The bagels and cream cheese looked particularly appetizing and it pleased him to know there was joe and plenty of it.

"Morn'n partners," Travis declared with one of his father's enthusiastic Southern accented greetings.

It may have not been noticeable at a distance, but once he took his seat, the two small black circles under his eyes were evident enough to illustrate how well he had slept. Despite this, he did his best to maintain a cheery attitude over the clear fatigueness befallen him. Travis produced one of his own and rather large mug and placed it on table before pouring the contents of the coffee pot into it.

Just as he mixed in some creamer and surgar, Travis couldn't help but notice Felix's manadial holographically displaying what appeared to be a local news article though he personally could not make out the headlines from where he sat, "Any funnies?" he asked jokingly.

Artos' breathe came in steady a rhythm as he laid on the ice block he had made use of as a bed in Felix's basement, refusing the leisure comforts of the bed for fear of it dulling the winters edge. The other reason was that he was not entirely happy sharing a room close to the other denizens of the house, knowing full well they would not take kindly to how he slept. His dreams haunted him with the dull moan of the winter winds of home, mocking his desire to travel, mocking his weakness for failing to defeat the outcast and joining his little quest. Sleep had been difficult, it was true, but his dreams only made the young man more eager for the fight.

"How small, my world was." He lamented to the ceiling.

Rising from the slab of ice was easy enough as he swung both legs over the side and rose, stretching his back with a CRACK, one accompanied many more times as he worked the stiffness from his joints. Still fully armored, both weapons close by, Artos had not been able to relax and unwind in the unfamiliar dwelling. Thankfully the air of his claimed spot was still cold, not to the point he was comfortable with, but enough to get him used to warmer conditions even if it wasn't by much. Heavy footfalls above was his sign that the others were finally awake as well.

From the basement he emerged, the area of absolute zero followed him as he crossed the room to where everyone was eating, the tantalizing smell of foreign foods tingled his nose with delight and made his mouth water but forced him to stop dead in his tracks. The ice around his feet he had not noticed made him realize that if he went any further these people might be enjoying an unpleasant sensation and a suddenly very cold breakfast treat. Artos cleared his throat and called from across the room.

"Master Felix, good morning."

He bowed low to his superior as his cold aura became focused on a small area around himself, hoping that any damage he had caused would be easily fixed. After his bow, he took an available seat away from the others as best he could. No sense ruining the meal by accident. For food, it was hard to choose which to try first. Everything on the table smelled incredible but Artos refused to enjoy it, choosing instead to have a glass of tea which went from steaming hot to cold in moments, along with some bread and cheese. Simple fare he was familiar with, though the cheese was much more vibrant than what he was used to.

"Everything is so strange here." He mused quietly as he took a bite of the bread, determined not to let his feelings about his home mix up his new found experiences.

Felix looked at his silver and black manadial, and shrugged.

"It's nothing special really. Just standard issue to arch-magi. I am glad you brought that up though. You reminded me of something very important." Felix said. Note to self, once everyone is here, issue manadials. Felix thought.

Felix turned a holopage, there was a sympathy piece about Piccola Village. Speaking about all the souls lost during that tragic event, with small hints and nudges that the work was done by Felix.

I can't imagine what the news will look like when they find that small town in Idaho that Thadeus wiped off the map yesterday. I am sure it will be smearing me with that too. Felix sighed.

Then Travis strolled in, and looked almost as bad as Raiya did.

I tried to emphasize how important sleep was last night, did no one listen to me?

Travis then asked about the funnies in the paper to which Felix responded with, "Yeah, there's this really funny strip where Felix the Cat gets accused of slaughtering thousands by wiping them off the face of the Earth. Cracked me right up." Felix said sarcastically, then sighed once more.

Then the frozen warrior appeared, and called him master again.

"Hey... didn't I tell you to not call me master? It's Felix, or Professor Glasius, or Arch-Magi Felix, or even Blondie. Just please don't call me master." Felix pleaded, but assumed it would fall on deaf ears.

"Well, now that everyone is here, lets go over our first order of business, I want to be completely transparent with you." Felix pulled out the parchment list of names, "You are all here because your name was on the parchment. However, not every name that is on the parchment is here..." Felix paused to allow everyone to absorb the gravity of what he just said and what he was about to say. "Yesterday, while I was in Idaho searching for a John Barrows one of my former colleagues Thadeus, the very man that started the mission to bring about the Paragons for the Catholic Arcanocracy, appeared. He used a modified version of a stasis spell to freeze all inside the town except for me, him and his men. You should be familiar with stasis field spells. It's what allows us Talents to fight each other without revealing magic to the Untalents. Well this spell was modified so that only those wearing a special runic bangle could move freely within it. The runic bangles were from Mamertine prison, I had to equip one after I broke Nemo free from Mamertine. But I digress, after everyone was frozen, Thadeus spoke with me briefly, distracting me while his henchmen cast a spell that razed the down we were in to complete ruin. Everyone died except for me. And I was fortunate enough to have not died myself. The reason why I am mentioning this is for the sake of full disclosure. One of the list names, John Barrows, is dead. Dead before he even could become a part of the team. I am not sure what this means, but I know that it has revealed a fact. A fact that the list names are not safe. That just because your name is on the list doesn't mean you will for sure live. A fact that this is incredibly dangerous for all of us." Felix paused once more.

"So I will allow you all, with this new information, to make a more informed decision. Do you still wish to be a part of the Guardians of Paragon?" Felix asked.

---

Raiya tuned in and out of Felix's monologue, but caught the last end of it.

So this list... one of the names from it has died? This is interesting. I wonder if this changes anyone's mind? At least there will be some action around here. Raiya thought as she sipped her spiked juice.

"My answer doesn't matter, because I don't actually have a choise. But hey, at least things won't be dull and boring."