The Nation of Arcadia is in the middle of a grand change as the head of CMAS, Sydney Duvell, patiently awaits the return of Survey groups 1 and 2, 20-man teams both consisting of Registered Divers and high ranking CMAS mages, from the southern and eastern expeditions. Joshua Minet, current head of the Scattered Shades development group, has made a public statement about the current status of their prototype, the A/A/N, (Artificial Arcane Node). With the help of the CMAS' most esteemed arcane scientists, they were reportedly successful in perfecting the A/A/N's stability, despite the recent termination of Sulfrax Lauchlin's position as previous head and founder of project S-S. If the survey initiative proceeds well, expansion of Arcadia's borders is reported to begin within the next 3 months. The people of Arcadia and Teknoh are filled with hope and joy as news of this expansion continues to spread across the world, but despite the benevolence of this news, the entire story is most certainly not evident to the general populace.

The existence of survey group ALPHA, lead by Yvette Eridal, was not publicized despite what Yvette and her team were told during their debriefing at the CMAS headquarters in Arcadia. Survey group ALPHA was a 12 man team, with only one Z-ATV, an outdated all-terrain assault vehicle, and a mission to explore to the north. However, on the way through Xena Rock fields, the group was ambushed by a collection of Divers, lead by Luke Juuno himself, the founder of Diver's Paradise, an encampment far out in the Ulimani Crags. The two forces clashed, leading to the destruction of Survey Group ALPHA's Z-ATV, and the deaths of many divers. Before the battle could rage on too far however, the entire group was assaulted by a super-massive serpent, the Xena serpent, forcing them to join efforts in order to defeat the treacherous beast. Luke left in a hurry, leaving the group with no transportation, stranded in the middle of no man's land. The driver of the groups Z-ATV decided he would return to Arcadia on foot, leaving his group behind. He was killed shortly after by the beasts of the land however, meeting an untimely fate. Several hours later, the same group was assaulted by a pair of assassins, who were able to pick off a couple of the team's members with ease, using a rare, high-powered sniper rifle, and forcing the remaining survivors to take cover within their wrecked Z-ATV.

Back at Diver's Paradise, Luke and Jenso were met with an unfortunate event. Their hidden outpost had fallen under siege! What made matters worse, were the perpetrators behind the attack. They were all fully-uniformed CMAS soldiers, and numbered anywhere from 100 to 200 troops. Fortunately, with Luke's return, and the assistance of Alvios Maeti, Luke's right hand man, they were able to easily defeat the intruders, but not without substantial losses. After the attack, the Diver's supplies laid in shambles, two of the outposts underground support pillars were heavily damaged, and the entire area was at risk of a cave in. Luke, after discovering this, met with Alvios, Laura Juuno, and Tinon Frez, his commanding officers. During this meeting, Tinon urged that they disband the Paradise union of Divers, to which Laura agreed. Alvios and Luke however, did not want to entertain such insane thoughts. This brought Tinon into suspicion, as he'd sent Alvios on an errand not too long after Luke had left the paradise to sabotage Survey Group ALPHA. Luke spoke with Alvios in private. At this point, it was revealed that Yvette Eridal was an acting spy for Luke and the heads of Diver's paradise. Luke thought the inexperience of survey group ALPHA was suspicious, and asked his friend to check is Yvette was still in Xena plains, or alive at all. Unbeknownst to Luke however, Jenso had his own suspicions about Luke and the Divers, deciding to return to Xena plains himself before Alvios, and speak with Yvette about his suspicions.

Upon returning to Xena plains however, he found Yvette and her remaining team under attack, and took the opportunity to assault the snipers, and disarm them. He interrogated the snipers, learning that they were there on the order of an Arcadian official to 'clean up' the remains of survey group ALPHA. He did not however, kill or entrap them before going to speak with Yvette, forcing her and himself to cower within the wrecked Z-ATV even longer with the only other surviving member of her crew, Brian Tormal. Yvette spent what little energy she had left to conjure a weapon of mass destruction though, wiping out the snipers in one fell swoop, and saving their hides for good. After this, Jenso learned that Yvette was a spy for Luke. Not only this, but Luke had another spy within the CMAS, a high ranking officer much like Yvette, Haley Corisan, who just so happened to be leading the southern survey expedition as the head of Survey group 1. After hearing all of this, Jenso helped Yvette and Brian, escorting them back to the Paradise on foot, and leaving the wrecked ATV behind, along with the corpse of the defeated Xena Serpent.

Sulfrax Lauchlin, after his termination as head of project S-S at the command of Sydney Duvell, left Arcadia around the time that Survey group ALPHA was sent out on their expedition. He returned to his home in Hyznia to think over his termination. While here, he met with Diver, Rem Vano, on the castle city's ramparts. The two of them shared a discussion outside of Hyznia's barrier, but were assaulted by a pair of strange individuals with bright green eyes and devastating arcane prowess. The two summoned weapons out of thin air, and attacked Rem and Sulfrax with lethal intent. With Sulfrax's own power however, he disable them both, and killed one, leaving the taller of the two, a man named Ruso, alive, and frozen in ice. The fight had only taught them that these two men were Gaians, an unknown race of humanoids that could apparently commune with animals.

After this encounter, Sulfrax was called to speak with King Thrallmor, leader of Hyznia, and was pulled in by Hyznia's royal elite, the holy guard. He and Rem entered the castle with their escort, and learned many things. Luke Juuno was there, and claimed that the CMAS had made some serious moves towards the goals of not only exterminating any organization that the Diver's had, but also towards overtaking the government of Arcadia entirely. Luke explained the events he'd witnessed, and revealed his sources inside of Arcadia as Yvette Eridal and Haley Corisan. The king told Sulfrax about Luke's plan to uproot the five CMAS heads, and take out Sydney Duvell, once and for all. Luke stated that he needed Hyznia's forces to assist him as well. The king claimed that Sulfrax's ejection from Scattered Shades fell in line with Sydney's plan to have complete control over the CMAS, as Sulfrax was a powerful wildcard he could not afford to have so close to the project. Ultimately, Thrallmor decided to ally his kingdom with the Divers. Sulfrax declared that he was not under Thrallmor's command, and shared no allegiance with their alliance, but stated that they shared a common enemy, and took Rem Vano with him to Illon, to consult with Dictator Yvin, in an attempt to gain the assistance of, not only his army, but Illon's special strike force, the seven sins.

With Sulfrax on the move to strengthen any force against the CMAS, Luke in Hyznia, Jenso bringing Yvette back to the paradise, and Sydney pulling the strings behind his endless resources, there's no telling what all of this could mean for Thorisa, especially with the recent rumors of Divers going missing en'masse, and the appearance of Gaians on the continent...

---

---

Jenso made his way down the eastern entry ramp, supporting Yvette while she wrapped an arm around his back. Brian followed closely behind, trying his best not to trip over any of the grooves in the uneven rock that lead deep under the crags. "It's been a while," Yvette wheezed as the three of them made it out of the tunnel. She gasped as they overlooked the vast expanse of open space, ravaged by the CMAS' brutal attack earlier in the day. Divers were working together to put houses back together, and reorganize what remained of their scattered supplies. The roof of the underground encampment was cracked just above them, but it held firmly. Brian looked to his right, and then to his left, noticing the two broken pillars at the eastern corners of the cave. The right pillar was cracked severely, while The leftmost pillar had a giant chunk of its body missing, where Alvios had used his Ki to slice it out, in order to crush a large squadron of troops that entered through the east tunnel. The chunk of pillar itself was below them, thicker than the Xena Serpent that they had slayed in Xena rock fields, and resting on one of the ramps that lead down to the lower level, where buildings were scattered erratically across the rocky floor. "They did all this?" Yvette hissed angrily, pulling herself from Jenso's support and walking to the edge of the ledge that they were standing on. As she looked down, she noticed a large pile of CMAS corpses underneath her position. There were so many of them. On the other end of the paradise, near the western tunnel, she caught a glimpse of several bodies lined up neatly, with fabric covering their faces. Those must have been the Divers that the CMAS troops had killed. "Curse that Arch mage.."

"Where is Luke?" Brian asked Jenso, searching the hundreds of Divers for Luke's familiar bulky frame. Yvette looked up at the main tower where Luke, Alvios, Tinon, and Laura were usually located at. It was built into the northern wall of the paradise, half concealed by stone.

"Probably up there, with Alvios," Yvette interjected. Unfortunately for the three of them, Luke was actually not in the Paradise, nor was Alvios. Luke was still in Hyznia. And Alvios? Well, that much wasn't certain...

---

---

Sulfrax lead rem past the frozen Gaian, Ruso, towards Illuna forest on their journey to reach the Nation of Illon. Sulfrax knew that Illon's leader owed him a favor, the weight of which was far too heavy for him to turn down anything that the Arch-mage were to ask of him. Of course, the allegiance of his armies, and the services of Yvin's deadly sins were rather heavy requests, despite this. Were they going to be able to get his support? Only time would tell.

Ruso glared at Sulfrax as he passed with Rem and Senna. His eyes were filled with hatred, but he was overcome with the grief of losing his friend, Florence, the corpse of whom was still frozen in the ice next to him, without a head, thanks to Sulfrax.

The forest of Illuna was not a very treacherous environment compared to the rest of Thorisa, but it would have been wise for Sulfrax and Rem to tread lightly, regardless. Rem didn't have the whole story of what Sulfrax was planning, however. Would he share every last detail with his new would be protege? Or keep the silence strong?

---

Survey Group 1, lead by Haley Corisan, and Jonathan Yumi, had successfully left the southern gates of Arcadia, heading for the horizons of Thorisa on their diligent expedition to scout the lands. Their group consisted of 20 experienced officials, and Divers, including the likes of Quicksilver Zay, and the man simply known as Dan. They were split into two teams of 6, and one team of 8, each occupying the newest model of Z-ATV. The trucks were massive, spacious enough to comfortably seat 10 men and women, and were armed with a state of the art Arcane Dissonance Laser, which had the simple purpose of utterly destroying large scale creatures that may have posed a danger to their travels.

Z-ATV 1, leading the head of the small platoon, held Haley Corisan herself, Quicksilver Zay, and several other Divers within its confines. There were 5 well padded seats lining both walls of the Z-ATV's interior. Near the back of the vehicle, two large blast doors acted as exits and stairways, with the capability to swing down to allow easy access for anyone within. Further back sat a supply crate, full of weapons and rations. Above it, there was a single hatch, used for access to the top of the vehicle, with a ladder that unfolded from one edge of the squared metal plate. Haley sat at the front, with another official opposite to her, a man known as Jacob. He was her acting second in command, but sat silently without a single shred of personality seeping from his stoic demeanor. Such was the nature of most CMAS officials, broken peons that served as nothing more than soldiers. Haley glared at him every now and again, but the most he'd responded with was an attentive 'ma'am?' or a nod. She didn't even say anything back. No use talking to a brainwashed robot, after all. The atmosphere was pretty dull, despite the presence of so many Divers in the truck. Zay was half-asleep, and Dan was tinkering with his goggles, serving little to bright the mood.

Within an hour, they would be upon the Desert to the southeast. It was only a matter of time, but what awaited them in those sandy reaches was a mystery for everyone on board the Z-ATV troupe.

---

---

Survey group 2's expedition is well under-way, making its way to the east without a single issue thus far. This group is lead by Trevor Gorgai, a leading official within CMAS known for his brutal demeanor, and flawless abilities on the battlefield. His troupe rides in a single vehicle, the ZZ-ATV. It follows the basic Z-ATV design, scaled to massive proportions, and armed with three laser cannons, as opposed to the standard issue singular arm. The vehicle is titanic enough to hold 30 people comfortably, providing a large area for free movement, with shock absorbing technology to make walking within the behemoth an easy task. 30 padded chairs lined the edges of the large rectangular interior, and much like its smaller counterparts, its cockpit area is walled off from the rest of the vehicle by a large blast door. Within this vehicle, Trevor stood near the center of the room, pacing impatiently as his 'soldiers' sat and watched him, most tense with anxiety. This group had a unique passenger, however. A construct known as 'Buttercup', the only remaining golem that was left behind after the great war between Illon Arcadia. Buttercup was a Relic of a devilish experiment that the Illon scientists had worked on prior to the times of peace, where they would artificially infuse the arcane energy of dead or dying soldiers into a mass of metal, creating an obedient sentience with the fighting capability stronger than humans by a wide margin. The 8-foot tall metal monstrosity, although completely gentle and obedient in nature, was seen as an abomination. Trevor didn't care, though. Whatever its origins, it could fight. That's all that mattered to him.

Jenso took some deep breaths after the trip as he entered the cave yet again, and frowned as he overlooked the battlefield once more. Despite that most of the corpses had been cleaned up by now, it was still a terrible sight to behold. He was still recovering his energy from all the fighting that he'd been doing lately, but there were more pressing matters at hand now. As Yvette mentioned something about an arch mage, Jenso turned to her. "Arch mage..? Who are you talking about?" Jenso asked in a confused tone. As Brian came up to him and asked him where Luke was, he rose his shoulders. "I dunno...they're probably done interrogating Tinon by now. His attitude was really suspicious so they might have locked him up or something.." He muttered.

Jenso didn't know much about Tinon, so he was unsure wether or not he was a traitor. One thing was certain, though. If Alvios hadn't been here at the time, things would have turned out far worse for the Divers. He looked up at the tower. He intended to join Yvette and Brian when they would go to meet Luke, still unaware that he was no longer there. He wanted to learn more about what had been going on recently. He felt that there were still many things that he didn't know about yet, and he believed that Yvette and the 4 main divers still hadn't told him everything they knew about this entire situation between the CMAS and the divers. He wanted to put an end to all this fighting, but it would not be easy.

---

---

"Can it be fixed."

A frown. "This one does not know, I fear it would require resources we do not have."

Len's face remained impassive as the young Divers skewered. He easily singled out the hundreds of emotions that played out on her face; disbelief, anger, disgust, disappointment. All so apparent, all so easily predicted and accounted for. But Len felt nothing, in fact, he couldn't understand the reason for the Divers display of emotion. Was this not a time to rejoice? Did they not survive and fend off the invasion of thier enemies? Yet, tears began to fall from her eyes, uninvited, unwanted.

Len himself had taken up arms and defended this temporary home. He could still smell the fowl odors permeating the air, they of wreaked of ale, tobacco, and cheap perfume: a combination of stenches that meant his would-be assailants spent their debaucheries lives excessively indulging in immoral pleasures. In quick succession, two arrows ripped through the air and met their individual marks seconds later. He hand no choice but to kill the assailants. No deals were to be made and surrender wasn't an option. Therefore arrows were planted deep within their skulls, despite one using Len's companion as a shield and holding a blade to her throat. His precise aim and agility ensured that she was never in any danger. But before a third or a fourth arrow was given flight, his allies had ended the battle, in one fell swoop, cutting a stone pillar and crushing the enemies advance. Only those who made it through, truly suffered the might of Divers Paradise. That, he did not participate in.

No doubt it was a saddening revelation, but Len held no ties to the place, so he felt nothing as his comrades died, only pity. With a short, unwelcomed sigh, Len rose to his feet to meet the young Diver, griping her shoulder consolingly.

"Fear not my sister, I will not give up on your home. I promise you."

The young Diver nodded sadly, wiping away tears and facing the drown skinned ranger. "Thank you." she sniffed.

"You are welcome, now bring me stone, anything you can find." he commanded. Quickly, the Diver scurried off in search of pebbles and stone. Len let out a relieved breath, in truth, he didn't need her to gather stone, he had all the material he needed right here. He could fix the pillar immediately if he so pleased, but he found such mental games to be fascinating.

Pincy was in quite the bind. Most literally. His head was still fuzzy from the large rock that struck him in the head earlier, but he was able to decipher bits and pieces from the outlines forming in darkness of his mind. The lanky flayed-cloak mage sat in a carriage with a pair of nasty arcane-locks fastened tightly around his poor bony wrists. Unfortunately, not many places made things accounting for people of his unusual size, and Hyznia was no exception to tired traditions. The looming figure sat hunched almost all the way over to avoid breaking his neck against the top if the wheels ever hit a bump in the road. There were two others with him. He craning his neck so that he was able to look forward as he spoke out to one of the outlines behind the cloth covered frame in the front, the pale eyes within the faceless mask shining in the moonlight.

"Dearest, strangers, whom I presume are CMAS representatives..." finishing the statement with a light but strangely unsettling laugh, "I swear to you, I only happened... across the demonic ritual while out hunting Azure Fireflies for my morning herbal tea! See, the slimy residue of their grounded bodies helps with my headaches and helps moisturize my awfully wrinkled skin..." pausing suddenly, "Anyway, The cultists were all already dead when I got there. What you witnessed, me moving around the sacrificial offerings and fixing the magic circle..." laughing as he realized the words that came out of his mouth, "Well, those amateurs were doing it all completely wrong, I tell you! Where would my pride as a researcher of the supernatural, and as a respectable warlo... I mean, mage for that matter, if I didn't correct false information?" shaking his head, "Improper spell technique can lead to fatal injury, even death, as you clearly saw for yourselves. If they followed the appropriate procedure for summoning demonic entities, perhaps the damned thing wouldn't have turned upon them.. Those blokes didn't even draw the right amount of points for their pentagram, for gods sake! If anything, you should be after that foul monster instead of apprehending a simple, totally ordinary mage like me..."

The larger figure shifted, turning back with a growl to the masked-man, "Quiet, freak. I've enough of your prattling. Another word and I'll have you join those fanatics in hell."

A female voice quickly interjected, nudging the large shape with some sort of limb, he couldn't really tell, "Calm down will you? We're not here to hurt him. You've done enough of that already." speaking louder as though directing to Pincy now, "Listen, you're not under arrest. We of the CMAS are very aware of your... special talents, mister 'Pierrot', and are actually here to offer you a proposal."

The mask suddenly tilted to one side, "Pardon?"

...

~Lila Vyner~
Divers Paradise

Lila whistled quietly as she folded her arms across her chest, guns holstered at her side as she observed the so called Divers Paradise...or at least the remains of it. She leaves for a few months, and this place looked like more of a hellhole than it usually did. Looked like some sort of big fight happened, and she was glad she was late to the party. No way in hell did she want to get caught up in any of this bullshit unless she could help it. She didn't survive this long in No-Mans by getting caught up in needless fights, at least. She may be a 'diver', but she held no love for anyone here.

The hunter shook her head, walking away from the entrance to the place. She largely ignored those trying to rebuild their houses, a few people running across her path as they hurried off somewhere, likely in a hurry to fix something. Lila paid them no mind, she didn't come here for charity work. That said, it didn't look like she'd be getting what she did come here for. A brief reprieve from No-Man's land and its trials. As much as she liked not being in any large city like place such as this, even she needed a small vacation every now and then. Meaning alcohol, obviously. Mostly to stock up on some alcohol and bring some back to her own little slice of 'Paradise.'

That said, she couldn't help but to be curious. Information was always good to have, and knowing what was going on in the world gave one a keen advantage to not getting buried six feet under at times. Information on creatures, terrain, people, things like that. From what she picked up from the chatter of people as she passed, seemed like the CMAS finally found this place. She grunted beneath her mask. She always figured it'd be a matter of time until they did find it, and when they did she knew something like this was going to happen. She was surprised the place hadn't been completely razed. Luke and his little posse of divers must have more fight in 'em then she gave them credit for.

She had to briefly wonder if Mira was caught up in this? As much as she didn't like people, Mira was at least tolerable company. A bit one the...distant side sometimes, but not like she could exactly complain too much about that. That's exactly the reason why Lila liked her anyways. She didn't try to get up all in her business and Lila didn't get in hers, but at the same time she supposed they were what people could call 'friends'.

If she was around, Lila would find out soon enough probably. So for now she contented herself to see if she could find more information on just how badly this place was going to be fucked once the CMAS or anyone with a chip on their shoulder showed up again.

The tension after leaving Hyznia was heavy. Rem was aware they could be followed. CMAS coming to quash Sulfrax before he could make good on his plans. An unsatisfied king of mages spying on him, though unlikely. Even random encounters such as the Gaians looking for someone to murder. Rem Vano was quite familiar with this area, yet that did not stifle the growing threats of war and intrigue in the land.

Of the many things that had become curious of late the one that stood out the most was Sulfrax's arm. When Florence, the now safely dead Gaian, cut through the arch mage's attire it revealed the chaotically charged arm he hid beneath bandages. Rem had seen firsthand how powerful Sulfrax was but at what price?

Senna, Rem's faithful companion, prowled close behind him. She was far more wary, her head tilting back and forth at the slightest of disturbances in the forest. Rem finally spoke up. "Master Lauchlin, I want to know something about you." He felt a little guilty having to ask about a personal thing that the master seemed to guard but it was something he had never seen before. Rem above all was a researcher and an explorer, he had to know or his curiosity wouldn't be quenched. "What happened to your body? Your hands? I've never seen anything quite like it. Almost as if you can barely contain your power." The traveler looked inquisitively at Sulfrax, hoping he would get a real answer.

It had been awhile since Oswyn was in the Diver's Paradise. Unlike most Divers, he didn't really live there, rather he traveled the continent in search of different chemical compounds that he could use for his alchemy experiments. He only really came back to such a place to stock up on his 'common use' chemicals and other general supplies.

Before he had even arrived at the Paradise, he knew something wasn't right. The sound of tools banging and the faint smell of blood were hints that something had happened. He was right. The buildings that once stood in the place many would call home.. Was in shambles. Divers seemingly desperate in their efforts to rebuild what was destroyed. Oswyn wasn't sure what might have caused this, but he had a hunch that it might have been monsters or the CMAS. 'Sounds pretty synonymous to me.' He thought as he calmly walked passed the ruins.

It seemed that his hunch was correct. Some passerby's had said that The CMAS had found this settlement and burnt it to the ground. However, that was none of Oswyn's concern. What he was concerned about was the one possession he had in this Paradise. He crouched in front of a small boulder which seemed to have an usually thick amount of grass around it. He slowly shifted the rock away, revealing the aforementioned possession. A crate. A crate filled with alchemical ingredients, however such a stockpile would just look like a bunch of bottles of liquid to most. To Oswyn, this was his treasury.

He sifted through his bag, producing a strange looking apparatus. His portable alchemy table. Despite all that has happened to the Diver's Paradise, he couldn't let that get in the way of his 'work'. Yes.. Restocking is work. A chore. Oswyn dreamt of the day he'd invent an infinite flow of alchemical concoctions so he never needed to do this restocking ever again. But for now, he had to deal with what was in front of him.

@Rekaigan@Rune_Alchemist@LokiLeo789@Jensoman

---

Yvette narrowed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Sydney, of course," She whispered irritably. At the mention of Tinon, she groaned and began making her way down the ramp. "Stay here with Brian, or don't, I don't care. I'm going to see if Luke is lugging himself around this dusty cavern somewhere. If not, I'm sure Laura and Tinon will be able to shed more light on the situation," she announced, giving neither Brian, nor Jenso a chance to stop her. They were free to follow, but given her already sour mood, it was likely a horrendous idea. Brian poked Jenso's shoulder and then towards one of the pillars.

"Perhaps we can help with repairs," Brian sheepishly suggested. He was out of place here, wearing a CMAS uniform just like Yvette. They were both bound to get some funny looks. In fact, the moment that Brian shot a glance in the direction of Len and the other Divers working on the south eastern pillar, two men were immediately on guard, exchanging his harmless glance with a pair of deathly stares.

Yvette face similar issues as she made her way down the ramp, and into the lower recesses of the cavern, where all of the buildings were built, and the common areas sat, overlooked by both the eastern and western exit ramps that sat meters above them, as well as Luke's head office, so to speak. Several Divers stopped Yvette in her tracks, threatening her as she passed through. Despite her objections, and assurance that she meant no harm, they would not let her pass. If somebody didn't intervene soon, there was sure to be a commotion.

---

---

Tinon looked out his window at the masses that gathered below him, repairing the endless amount of damage that the CMAS mages had caused. Something was on his mind, and despite the gentle touch of his wife at his side, he was not comforted in the least.

"Really though," Tinon mumbled, thinking over Luke's decision to head for Hyznia castle. "That buffoon is going to get us all killed."

"He's smarter than you give him credit for. I'm sure that Sulfrax will hear him out. The two of them go way back, after all. Thrallmor shares an affinity with the Divers of Thorisa as well, it might not be as hopeless as you think it to be."

"But to assault Sydney and the CMAS head arch mages? The armies of Arcadia and Tek'noh's advanced weapons gravely outclass the inferior forces of Hyznia, and us Divers. It's a hopeless endeavor."

"You think too much," Laura hissed, pinching Tinon's collarbone, "That's why you've never gotten along with my brother. He always acts in the moment. He's the most genuine Diver I've ever known... The way you're speaking makes me think that you're a CMAS official, haha." Tinon Flinched at Laura's quip.

"Your words wound me. You know how I feel about the counsel."

"Yes. I know.."

---

---

Sydney Duvell sat high on his podium, with his four counsel heads seated symmetrically on four other podiums, scattered around the giant circular room. Lower, around the room's edge, hundreds of CMAS officials were seated for a discussion regarding the disappearance of Yvette Eridal, Brian Tormal, and several other officials. Sydney looked to his equals with no seams loose in his composure. His plans were under wraps, Councilwoman Marie, head of the CMAS' science division, made sure of it. Lumar Devonport of Hyznia, head of CMAS' military might, Hariot Crower of Teknoh, head of CMAS' Mechanical studies, and Pablo Gradius of Illon, head of CMAS' government relations, were completely ignorant of Sydney's transgressions, and if he played his cards right, it would be too late for any of them to react when he plan was set into full motion.

"I am to to understand, that the senate has some concerns for our missing official, Yvette Eridal," Sydney asked, his voice slow and soothing like it had always been. He was dressed in a gaudy purple robe that hid his average figure and distracted from his wrinkled skin and graying black hair. He always kept his hair tied back into a ponytail. It did make him appear more youthful, but only ever so slightly. "But I am here to assure you, that Yvette Eridal's disappearance is one of traitorous intent. Yvette consulted my follow head Mage, Marie, earlier in the week, prior to her disappearance, regarding her right to leave the borders of Arcadia. When she was denied this, Yvette reportedly stormed out of Marie's quarters, and revealed intentions to break our rules, and march into no-man's land with a group of her creation. This, to my knowledge, was Yvette's reaction to her application as a Survey Head being denied."

"A rather childish reaction," Marie started, "One which I regret, as I failed to convince her that her actions were foolish."

"As such," Sydney continued, "She has been deemed a criminal, and sentenced to immediate silencing upon her return to Arcadia, whenever that may be."

"Why in the world would Yvette, with such a golden record within the CMAS over the past 5 years, throw her title and reputation away like this?" One of the attendees shouted from the stands. "Although this senate agrees that she was not ready for leadership out in no-man's-land, we cannot believe that she would allow her ego to take hold of her like that! And what of the other missing mages? Do they share the same fate?"

"It is as you say," Sydney interjected, "This is extraordinarily out of character for miss Eridal, and we've deliberated this issue for quite some times. Your concerns have only further cemented our decision, despite your kind intentions. Miss Eridal is dangerous, and will not be given special treatment in lieu of her crime. Those who she dragged down with her, if they survive the unkind terrors of No-Man's-Land, will suffer the same fate." Silence filled the room. The five heads of CMAS nodded in unison. "Now then," Sydney quickly flipped through a stack of papers on his desk,

"Shall we discuss Sulfrax Lauchlin's recent trip to Hyznia?"

---

@RyuShura

---

Pincy found himself in CMAS's local branch within minutes of his abduction, trapped in a room positively loaded with CMAS officials. It was small, square, and resembled some sort of interrogation room. Though, to those who have had the unpleasant experience of seeing the inside of a silencing chamber might have made that comparison first. Pincy was sat at one end of a small wooden table that had a chair on either side, practically bolted to the floor. Several minutes of silence ensued, and the Mages that surrounded him responded to Pincy's musings with a hush or ignored him outright. The deeper he found himself within CMAS' grasp, the more difficult it became to prod at the officials around him.

After ten minutes of nothing, the door that Pincy was pushed through swung back open, and a woman made her way towards the opposite side of the table. She sized up Pincy as she passed him by, before sitting in the other chair. She was a stout woman, with rigid facial features, including a longer than usual set of cheekbones, a petite mouth, and small, unforgiving eyes. She wore the conventional CMAS uniform, a black and blue vest with black dress pants and the CMAS crest placed over the center of one's breast, and it fit her rather well, conforming to her conservative figure. Her silver blonde hair was tucked into a tiny CMAS beret, a hat that signified rather dignified standing within the officials, much like that hat that Yvette Eridal lost in Xena plains.

"Ehem," The woman cleared her throat, and placed her hands on the table in front of Pincy, "I will be asking questions. You will be answering them. There will be no idle chatter, and you will not speak out of turn. Understood?" She glared at Pincy with a pair of piercing pink eyes. This lady meant business, but Pincy wasn't exactly sound of mind. How might he react?

---

@SilverDawn

---

The crevices and outcroppings that surrounded Zentai were one of the few safest areas throughout all of No-Man's-Land. Hyznia made sure of it, long before the creation of the Force field generators that kept the largest nations safe. The local mages hunted every last flying beast to extinction in the early ages, including the menacing Dragon that rested near the top of Zentai's central peak long ago. A perfect haven for Divers that weren't living in the Paradise, or found themselves far away from any sort of home. And perfect for Elisa Wilmeg, by extension.

It offered a safe place for her to experiment in peace and quiet. It was secretive, safe from repeated attacks, and the giant mushrooms that grew at the base of Zentai were edible, and hearty at that. Elisa found herself perfectly positioned underneath a generous collection of the aforementioned toadstools, near an outcropping of rocks and trees that branched off of the base of one of the mountains, into a small cavernous area, safe from any curious eyes that weren't willing to climb the mountainside. A very fortunate twist of the land for Elisa, especially considering that many travelers used the path that lead along the southwestern edge of the Zentai triangle to move between Illon, and the westernmost Nations on a regular basis. The local land-beasts also prowled just beyond the nearby path, but never strode anywhere near the mountains, except on very rare occasions. Fortunately, Elisa was more than capable of handling herself. She was a Diver after all.

@LokiLeo789 @tex



Jenso frowned as Yvette walked off. She seemed quite irritated, and Jenso decided to let her be for now. "Sydney, huh...So he's the one who organised this attack? Not the entire CMAS council? That's good to know.." Jenso muttered. It may have been common knowledge to Yvette, Luke and the other Divers, but nobody had informed him who was truly behind it yet. He knew how immensely powerful arch mages were,however. He'd heard plenty of stories about Sydney's great skills and power when he still lived within Arcadia years ago, before he became a Diver. Despite knowing that not the entire council was responsible, taking down an Arch mage would still prove to be a difficult task, let alone being able to even reach him. He wasn't afraid to try, however, but he would certainly need a lot of people to back him up.

He turned to Brian whom suggested that they should aid with the repairs. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.." He responded, looking over to the south eastern pillar that Brian was also looking at. He took note of the two men that were glaring at him and stepped in front of Brian. He wanted to make sure no harm came to him. "You should probably find something to cover up your uniform, though..running around looking like a CMAS official in here is really dangerous. Stay close behind me, I'll make sure nobody touches you." Jenso said his companion, and began to head towards the south eastern pillar.

He stopped in front of Len and the other Divers in a calm manner, smiling slightly. "Hey, is there anything me and my friend here can do to help?" He asked in a friendly tone, scanning the ground quickly to see if there were any sort of tools lying around. He kept most of his focus on the two men who glared at Brian earlier though. "Don't worry, he's not working for CMAS...he's on our side, despite how he looks." He told them reassuringly, keeping a close eye on any sudden movements the two men might make. He wanted to avoid a pointless argument if he could.

---

---

Len turned to face the owner of the voice, his eyes quickly scanning and judging its owner. He sensed a certain easiness about the boy, a calm that seemed to follow him around like a lost puppy. It was a forced stillness, despite the boys judging words. Just through his speech Len could read him like an open book. He so easily judged his comrades to be rash and without sense, criminals and hooligans with flaring tempers, but he took no offence. He could sense the boy's protectiveness over his companion dressed in enemy fatigues.

Len shook his head despondently, giving the newcomer his answer."This one lacks nothing but unease. Nonetheless, patience is our friend in this game. Sit and rest, all will come to pass soon." he mused, gesturing for the duo to sit next to him.

@Jensoman@tex

~Lila Vyner~
Divers Paradise

@tex

Lila made her way into the lower caverns. Someone down here would probably be able to fill her in on what exactly just happened so she could get a move on and decide if she should get the hell out of dodge before the CMAS steamrolled over them. At least she'd probably have an easier time than with everyone else further up. She expected most of the divers would be organizing some sort of defensive effort if they were smart, and she was wholly unimpressed when they looked like they were harassing someone that was dressed in a CMAS uniform.

Lila was skeptical of her claims of not being with the CMAS. There were a handful of reasons someone was wearing a CMAS uniform, only a handful of them were any good. However, if she wasn't and she was wearing one maybe it was one of the few times it might be somewhat acceptable to wear one. Which also meant she might be able to give her some info about what happened since she missed the festivities. Which meant she'd have to get her out of trouble from these morons.

Ugh, goddamn it. This was likely gonna end a bit badly but she wanted information more than she wanted to avoid a small conflict.

"Alright," She spoke up so that the Divers that were giving Yvette a hard time would hear her, though she remained a few feet away from them. "How about you fellas shove off? Since ya don't seem to have half a brain between all of ya, and ya can't tell she's not part of the CMAS." She gave them a sharp glare, hands already poised to draw one of her pistols should they not.

@Rune_Alchemist@tex

The air escaped her lips in the form of a sigh as Mira let the memories of the events that had occurred since the CMAS had put the home of the Divers under siege. She had been ‘lucky’ enough to be stationed at the Paradise as the agents of CMAS had begun their attack one the place so many Divers call their home and as such, she had participated in the horrors that had been the defense of Diver’s Paradise.
Even for someone who had been raised for the purpose of the fight it had been a horrible experience with an immeasurable number of casualties on both sides. Whether it was raw skill or pure luck Mira had survived the horrors largely untouched with only small wounds to tell the tales of her fight, all of which were rapidly healing as she lied there in the rocky ledge high above the bodies of the battle below.
This was also what was on Mira’s mind as she lay high above the aftermath of the chaos below. She lied there on the rough stone in a ledge above the ground below, staring at her right fingers with the peeping scorching sun as the backdrop as it shone through the cracks in the ceiling that had been left as a scar on the ceiling of their home. Her right leg slightly bent, while her left leg was extended fully and her left arm bent behind her head, using her hand as a pillow. She lazily inspected her right hand that had, for once, been left gloveless and appeared to be perfectly healthy to most - but Mira knew the dangers, especially after a battle where she had relied so heavily on The Curse...

“Mmm…” she mumbled out loud to herself, “doesn’t appear to show any sign deconstruction...”

She closed her eyes, sighing once again, this time the sigh was heavy with relief: it was usually her fingers and hands that got hit first by the side-effect of her abilities, so she always made sure to relax after a battle in order to inspect her body and reach a stable mental state. After the events of the last day she had definitely needed to do so: she had killed so many CMAS-agents that she had lost count halfway through the battle, utilizing the powers of The Void to keep herself alive and destroy those that tried to take her life. She had felt like she hadn’t had much choice: it was either her or them, and frankly she preferred to stay alive a little longer. If she was lucky none of the survivors had seen enough of her acts to come to the conclusion that Mira herself had feared ever since she joined this… ‘Guild of Divers’ two years ago.

Tilting her head as she opened her amber-colored eyes she looked at the situation beneath her:the other Divers had begun to clean up and resume their daily routines despite the chaos that the battle had left behind. This was another reason why Mira had withdrawn to this ledge high above the chaos below: she despised human contact, and as it appeared right now she wouldn’t have been able to escape it as she would likely have been forced to join the rest of the Divers in rebuilding their home.

It was as she lazily ran her sight over the situation below that her eyes caught a familiar silhouette - that of one of the few people she could perhaps call her ‘friends’: Lila. If she was honest she had wondered where Lila had been - and perhaps even feared that one of the few individuals she would call a friend had died in the horrors of the battle, but it would appear that Lila was completely unscathed, almost as if she had only just arrived at the Paradise.

Then a rare event happened: a thin smile spread across Mira’s face. Perhaps she could for once provide Lila with information about the happenings of No Man’s Land this time? Oh the mere thought sent a rare chill down her spine of raw excitement and for the moment she let go of her cold persona that she usually kept as a shield around her to keep people away, and was ready to momentarily break out of her shell and return to her old self - the self she had portrayed when she was still of royal descent. But before Mira could do anything but observe as the silhouette moved along the path below before moments later disappearing into one of the caverns.

Pulling on her right glove once again and pulling her gasmask down she let out a final sigh before she dropped off the ledge that she had been relaxing upon and descended towards to hard cold ground below - but before she had fallen even a tenth of the way to her inevitable doom as a gooey splat against the hard ground below she disappeared into thin air.

She appeared seconds later at the opening of the cavern in which Lila had entered and began to slowly make her way further into the inwards of the Paradise, reverting back to her usual self and keeping her distance from those around her - not that it was difficult: those that knew of her kept their distance as well. Mira did have a reputation after all…

As she came closer to Lila it became clear to Mira that something wasn’t right. The signs were all there of an upcoming brawl: the ignited feelings after the battle, the mental stress - oh and a person dressed in a CMAS-uniform.

"How about you fellas shove off? Since ya don't seem to have half a brain between all of ya, and ya can't tell she's not part of the CMAS."

Mira heard Lila speak in a sharp tone, which only served to ignite Mira’s own interest in the situation even more - an interest that quickly grew to such large proportions that she simply couldn’t keep to her usual self.
It only took a small amount of effort to close the gap from where she had been listening, to where the group of Drivers was located: a few quick strides placed her right beside Lila, her hands positioned on the holsters of her two guns at her waist and her gas mask and hood covering her entire face. Overall she hoped she looked quite fearsome.
“Well, well, well” she spoke in a calm and cold matter, “Haven’t we experienced enough fighting and bloodshed for quite a while already? Or do you people want to go another round?”

Mira drew her gaze over each of the Diver’s present, keeping her gaze cold and unwavering - and if she didn’t have the mask on those around her would be able to see a cold wicked grin spreading across her face as her hands closed around the handles of her two pistols.

Hopefully these fools aren’t stupid enough to call my bluff she thought as she stood beside Lila and gazed at the other Diver’s surrounding Yvette: she wasn’t completely sure what was going on - but it didn’t matter much to her: she would stand beside any of those she saw as her friends, no matter what the situation might be. After all, she only had a handful of them left.

@LokiLeo789@Jensoman

---

Brian rose his hands in objection as the Divers exchanged words in front of him, afraid to offer any real input himself. The entire situation sent chills up and down his spine. All he wanted was for everyone to calm down. The men with Len looked to him and scoffed. Without any delay, they backed away and took a seat by the base of the pillar, where their lunch rested haphazardly on the tip of a boulder. Brian breathed out and chuckled nervously, nodding to Len in appreciation, and patting Jenso's back lightly.

"It's warranted, I'm sorry," Brian started, unbuttoning his blue jacket to reveal his white under-clothes. It was standard issue for CMAS officials to wear a white tunic beneath their uniform, but most wouldn't recognize them without the signature blue overcoat, or the CMAS crest that rested near the chest area upon it. Brian threw the coat off to to the side, nowhere in particular, and shrugged. "It's getting warm in here, anyways. Yvette might be facing more resistance than I am, though."


@Rekaigan@Rune_Alchemist@Empath

---

Yvette cringed as the Divers surrounded her with doubtful glares. Her blue overcoat attracted the eyes of every Diver in her line of sight, or so it would seem. And not one of them would allow her a chance to explain herself. "I guarantee you-"

"That you've got guts? We got that much, toting around a uniform like that. You think that you're funny?" A diver interrupted, poking her right shoulder aggressively. Yvette swatted his hand away and spun to face him with a refined posture. "They all walk like that," he started up again, "Like they're better than us!"

"I assure you," Yvette started. But before she could continue, somebody interjected and pushed her way into the crowd. Finally, somebody who could use their brain. Yvette smirked and nodded. "It's as she says," She said softly, unbuttoning her coat to reveal the tunic underneath. The Divers exchanged doubtful glances. When Mira appeared on the scene, and further defended Yvette, the crowd quickly lost their urge to bully the woman around. There was no point inciting any sort of conflict within their own ranks, after all. Most divers were smart enough to know that. One after another, they spread out to continue restoring their home, without a word. Stubborn bunch, those Divers. Then again, if they weren't so stubborn, they might've not survived long enough to find the paradise in the first place. Yvette turned to Mira and Lila, clearing her throat into her fist as she did so. "Thank you," She said, pulling her standard issue coat off in a hurry, and tossing it aside. Yvette's figure was muscular, appearing even heftier than Lila despite being roughly the same height. The woman's presence was one of refined overbearing might, as one would expect from a commanding official within the CMAS ranks. She bowed, stood up straight, and ran a hand through her short, red hair. "The crowd here is terribly on edge. I'm to believe it's warranted, however. My people- Rather, Sydney's people, have taken quite a toll on your home."


@Rekaigan

---

The western platform that overlooked all of Diver's paradise, much like its twin entrance way to the east. Bodies upon bodies of Divers were lined upon along its edges, with their faces covered by linen cloths. There were too many to name, a great deal of whom had limited reputations within No-man's-land. It made it difficult to identify the bodies, but the surrounding Divers did their best. Life in No-man's-land made it almost certain that, if you had any family in Thorisa, they would never know the date of your death. Without much delay, less than 24 hours after the CMAS' attack, several Divers poured in from the western entrance, carrying two bodies down the ramp in groups of four. "Where's Luke!?" one of them shouted, "Tinon? Luke? Any of them!" Their voices rang out loudly, but not loudly enough to reach across the entire paradise. They were however, loud enough to reach those along the western entrance, as well as many who were positioned just below, including Oswyn Ainsworth, just moments after he'd collected his hidden supplies.

One of the two bodies being carried down the ramp was still pulsating with life. The other? Dead as a doorknob. Several divers poured around the injured Divers and began asking questions regarding what had happened. Others made their way up the exit ramps to find out what the issue was in and of itself. Two men helped the second group carry the dead Diver away, while the first group placed their friend against the ground.

"What's wrong with his eyes?" one man shouted, looking down at the man. His eyes were wide opened, and his skin was pale. Where his pupils should have been, there was whiteness, overtaking any vision he might've had left, and leaving him blind. The Diver couldn't move at all, nor could he speak.

---

---

The path that sprawled further south from where Elisa was set up found new travelers stomping their way along its stretch from the north. Three men in dark blue robes, two of whom had their faces obscured by hoods, made their way south. The man who's face was revealed carried a pack that shook and clinked as if it were full of glass, or metal. He showed no expression, and carried fourth without delay, headed for the south as he passed Elisa's hiding place.

Edge of Illuna Forest

Hanging out of a tree was the worst ways to wake up, but waking up in general was a pain in the ass. Looking up, or is it down?, Heedy Haw Haw grumbles. He begins to rifle through his gear. Everything seems to be in order! Fantastic! Where is his flask...Flask flask flask AHAH! FLASK!

Taking a greedy drink, he looks over at the branch. Foot's stuck. At least...fucktons off the ground. Right. Taking aim with his cannon, he pulls the trigger and...nothing. Oh yeah pour first shoot later. Ahem. Heedy Haw Haw pulls off one of the drinks from his tin cap and angles himself, pouring a shot from his already Arcane Cinnamon Fireball Whiskey. He takes aim again, and THOOM!. An impressive fireball lights out of his S.O.B. and connects neatly with the edge of the branch near the base of the tree. Breaking free, he falls down and lands roughly on his back. Didn't seem too bad. But hey, nice and toasty, the tree's on fire. Nothing to worry about. Brushing himself off, adjusting his hat, and noting he had five shots left, he adjusts his S.O.B. again to where he's ready to shoot as he walks! And...off he walks. With a tree on fire behind him. Oh well.

BEAUTIFUL morning however. Is it morning? Fuck it, another drink. Heedy Haw Haw continues to walk down the path. Not even giving a remote care about the potential forest fire he goes about. Perhaps he should get to work on that concoction. Naw. No idea where he is. Again. Wasn't he supposed to be finding something or someone to test his S.O.B. on? The tree was a nice target but basic heavy fire fireballs were not exactly the most ideal tests. Perhaps today would be a good day to try a shot of jagermeister with the S.O.B.

@tex @LokiLeo789



Jenso blinked at Len a few times, and just stared at him for a moment in complete silence. "...Works for me!" He eventually replied to him, and turned to Brian. "Don't apologise, it's not your fault at all! I'm glad I can help you, dude. Don't worry, I've got your back." Jenso said with a smile, and sat down next to Len. He stared at the broken pillar for a while, as his stomach began to grumble. "Oh man, maybe I should eat too!" He said, and removed his backpack from his back. He placed it on the ground in front of him, and pulled a sandwich out. He began to eat. 'Hopefully Yvette will be okay too..' He thought.

The most recent events had left him rather exhausted, but he didn't want Brian to know. He wanted him to feel safe, despite how difficult that might be considering he was now in the midst of a massive group of Divers. As Jenso rested on the ground and ate, he felt his energy return to him. He turned to Len. "Uh...so how exactly will patience fix the pillar?" Jenso asked in a curious tone, unsure of what the man or any of the nearby Divers intended to do. "Oh, I'm Jenso by the way!" He said. Len didn't seem like the hostile type, so Jenso didn't feel like he needed to keep his guard up as much.

~Lila Vyner~
Divers Paradise

@Empath@tex

---

"Feh, maybe they're not as stupid as they looked." Lila mused to herself as the group began to disperse and looked over to Mira. "And look who we have here. I was half expectin' ya to be offed by the CMAS jackholes after I walked in here." Not exactly a...nice greeting for a 'friend' but that was about all Lila could muster. Mira was alive and well, so that was all that really mattered for her. Instead, she turned her attention back to Yvette, giving her a critical look as she continued. "Speakin' of CMAS jackasses, maybe ya should have ditched that before waltzing in here like an idiot and paintin' a nice big 'ole target on yer back." She took a few steps towards Yvette and looked around the area, likely seeing if there was anyone hiding around the area that might have wanted to start something else.

She didn't have anything else to add though, no more insults or snark to throw at either Mira or Yvette. Instead, she turned and face the both of them. "So, what sorta trouble has this little Paradise of yours got itself into while I was out? I swear, I leave for a month or to two and this places falls apart."

@Rune_Alchemist@tex

---

Mira let out a sigh of relief as the mob decided to disperse. While she wasn't one to shy away from confrontations she really did prefer them to be less public and only targeted towards her - she was more of a loner these days, after all. As such she didn’t focus on anyone in particular as they left on their way.
As the center of all this attention began to speak up and thank Lila and herself, Mira couldn't help but feel herself withdraw into her usual self: she hadn’t been really close to anyone for the last few years and as such the minute details of interaction had begun to be alien to her. Somehow she felt happy that she wore her usual clothing, hidden away from clear sight by a cloak and a mask. This feeling was only intensified as the woman in front of her commented on the Divers that had just confronted her:

"The crowd here is terribly on edge. I'm to believe it's warranted, however. My people- Rather, Sydney's people, have taken quite a toll on your home."

Mira felt herself freeze up. In front of her stood a person that had ties to the upper echelons of CMAS - no wonder the other Divers had acted so violent. She felt herself take a small step back unconsciously, who knew what his person knew?

Perhaps she even knows about me? Mira thought to herself, she never knew who had ties to her past and she had always feared that someone would realize who she was, knew of her past or that of her family's? From her brief intelligence gatherings she had learned that her family was still actively pursuing her, spreading the word throughout Thorisa... Thoughts like these spun around her head and were only interrupted by Lila’s usual charms.

A thin smile erupted onto her face. “Ah, well you know...” Mira commented weakly before her tone returned to her usual pitch. “I couldn’t just leave you alone, who else would bugger you about the stories of No Man’s Land and be recipient of your charming words?”
She winked at Lila before turning her attention towards Yvette. “Indeed, that wasn’t too clever” Mira commented. “Just who are you exactly? And why would you dress in a CMAS uniform so soon after they had just ravaged our home?”
She couldn’t get herself to feel at ease around this woman for some reason, it was most likely just pure anxiety stemming from her old fears, but she had become a distrusting person as of late, so she had gotten used to being critical of anyone she didn’t know.

A quick hum moved Elisa around a rather empty area. Her "workshop" — one of many — was a generous outcrop. She could stay there for weeks on end, surviving on mushrooms, dew, and rainwater. Though, the longest period that she had gone in one of these natural workshops was 2 days, 7 hours, 39 minutes, and 3 seconds, as the taste of mushroom was less than pleasant. Beasts were naturally repelled, as one had to out of their way to enter the area, which let Elisa have some piece of mind. But, despite this so-called "piece of mind" seemed to have vanished. She was frantically pacing around the area due to her most recent experiment.

Every so often, she would look at her collection of flipped hour glasses placed along the wall. The first was a minute, the next was two minutes, the next three, and so on and so forth. It was quite amazing how many hour glasses she had. It was at this point that the eighth hourglass' sand moved to the bottom. A moment of hope shined in Elisa's eyes. She froze for a moment. Could this be it? Could this be the breakthrough that she was working for?

A faint green light began to emanate from the Earth. Elisa stopped and looked very carefully. The light began to shine out of the cracks of the ground. It took a moment for Elisa to realize what was happening. The ground began to split. Elisa, in a quick panic, screeched out in panic. She looked around. Spotting a nearby alcove that separated the dirt and stone, she quickly dove into it. The light began to fade away. However, Elisa, as she had seen this routine before, held her head as she kept low. Her giant robot arms, of course, covered her body and separated her from the earth.

The outcrop exploded in a giant blast. It was decimated; Elisa was (mostly) fine, but the same couldn't be said about her workshop — and especially her hourglass collection. Luckily, the explosion was mostly upwards. This blessing, as Elisa thought, was also a curse. According to the world's natural physics, whatever goes up...

Elisa quickly lifted the Panzerfaust to protect herself. Shards of sharp rock rained down from the sky. Elisa just sat there, stone rain smashing down upon the metal fists. "Well then," Elisa said, her voice still spunky despite her failure, "Looks like I need to get a new workshop. And also maybe stop experimenting with batteries."

Just as Oswyn had started to mix his potions, there was a whole bunch of people shouting about whatever people in fear shouted about. Dead people? 'Oh no! Where's Timmy?!' He mocked inwardly. The deceased were none of his business, however when someone was shouting about someone's condition, he couldn't help but sigh.

There was one thing that his father had instilled in him as a child. "Alchemists are also like doctors, so try help people when you can." or at least it went something like that. Maybe it sounded more intelligent at the time, who knows, who cares.

Oswyn quickly finished up the concoction he was working on, before putting everything away again. Even stowing his stash back under the rock. He sighed as he got up and walked over to the Diver who was laying pale on the grass. He looked at the other man who was shouting earlier. "Move. I'm a 'doctor'." He said bluntly, his own clouded eyes locking firmly with the other man. His gaze moved to the incapacitated individual as he squatted next to him.

Fortunately, his father had actually given him some semblance of medical training. The alchemist checked the man's pulse and opened the man's shirt to find any visible wounds. The man's heart rate was low and fortunately, he didn't have much in terms of injury other than a few small cuts. Oswyn was pretty quick to give up on figuring out what was wrong with the guy, so he opted for a 'fix all or end all' solution.

Oswyn slipped one of the bottles from his belt, which was an especially tiny bottle compared to his other ones. He swirled the purple liquid around a little before taking the stopper out, 'This shit is so hard to make..', he thought with a frown on his face. He opened the man's mouth, carefully pouring a few drops down his throat. The 'doctor' got up quickly, stepping back as he closed the bottle again.

The man suddenly started screaming in anguish, his body starting to spasm uncontrollably as purple sparks jumped around the top of his skin. "W-w-what did you do to him?!" The able-bodied man shouted.
"Oh. Well, he'll be okay. His body is just repairing itself using his arcane circuits.." He explained in a nonchalant tone.
"In failing that, it'll try use his Ki. Which I don't think is likely. At worst, he'll be like this for about.. say two days and then die? At best, he should stop convulsing.. now.", as luck would have it, the man stopped convulsing, the colour returning to his skin and one of his eyes. The man gasped, his body covered in sweat, however he was still unconscious.

@Rekaigan@Rune_Alchemist@Empath

---

Yvette narrowed her eyes at Lila, but could not deny her own mistake. The stress must have gotten to her. It was such a simple detail to overlook, and it was foolish to assume that the patrons of the paradise would be able to put two and two together. She sighed and looked to Mira, who also questioned her thought process, while exchanging words with her apparent friend. Yvette cleared her throat and nodded curtly.

"Forgive my blunder, my recent trails have put a damper on my logistics. I am Yvette Eridal, a CMAS official. Or I should say, ex-official. I'm sure to have been stripped of my rank and smeared by the head counsel, at this point," Yvette explained briefly. She glanced at the two girls again and then towards Luke's head office of sorts that sat against the northern wall of his paradise. "I am here to speak with Luke. My insight on recent events is limited as well, though I could infer by the... Bodies, that the paradise had fallen under siege prior to my arrival, under the command of Sydney Duvell. Why or how, that's beyond my understanding, which is why I'm off to speak with the Diver heads," Yvette turned away from the girls for a moment and pointed herself in the direction of the Head Diver's quarters, "Posthaste." She turned back to the girls and nodded once again. Her expression retained its serious demeanor, devoid of a smile, and ever-guided by her desire for information. She glanced at Mira for a second longer before nodding once more to the both of them. "Might I ask your names before I take my leave, ladies?"


@Rekaigan

---

The surrounding Divers stepped back in amazement, but couldn't believe their eyes. There weren't many Divers well versed in healing magic, let alone alchemy. It was strange to see somebody dealing with the man's issue with such success. Perhaps even strange enough to rouse suspicion, if this were Arcadia, anyways. One of the women who carried the deathly man rushed over to Oswyn and knelt by the unconscious Diver's side. She turned back to the supposed savior with anxiety welling up in her eyes.

"Will he really be ok?" She asked, desperately clinging to the unconscious man's hand, "That other man, he was attacked around the same time, and died only a few minutes ago, how can you be so sure?" Two of the other divers nodded to one another and began making their way down the ramp. The woman looked back at them and grit her teeth, but knew it was for the best.

"We're going to tell Luke about this!" they shouted, waving their friends off. All the while, the unconscious man's body was trying it best to keep itself tied to the world of the living. Unbeknownst to those without Ki detection, his soul had been drained nearly to the point of vanishing. If it weren't of Oswyn's charity, he would have been dead in just a few more minutes.

---

---

The colossal explosion shook the earth for quite a ways, but the visuals were far more telling than the subtle vibrations that stretched for at least a kilometer. For the curiously passerby, and most certainly the trio of cloaked men, it was a literal magnet for attention. As the dust and smoke erupted beyond the concealment of Zentai's outcropping, The head of the cloaked brigade spun towards it in an instant. Their progress stopped, and within moments, all three of the men were on their way towards Elisa's hiding spot- What was left of it, anyways.

It didn't take them long to reach the cracked stones and gnarled dirt. The two concealed man proceeded past their supposed leader, who looked at the destruction through a pair of smokey white eyes. His skin was pale, and his hair was white, almost like his very soul had been forcefully ripped from his body. Despite his watchful gaze however, he could not yet detect Elise through the cascade of smoke and dust. He'd heard the sound of stone against metal, however. Something unnatural was hiding in their. Something man made. And where there were man-made mechanisms, humans soon followed.