Shy? From Gael's point of view, a man with whitening hair and crystal formations coming out of his back acting shy looked very...odd. Almost as odd as the existence of a child who already has enough magical power to make himself one of the strongest magic users in Dansila at the moment. Then again, in this day and age, he shouldn't really be surprised at the youthfulness of the continent's strongest. Astopol had already lowered their age prequisite for their armies to thirteen, and Illiserev were having younger and younger servants rising up to high level positions through skill alone. An interesting, if not humbling thought.

The children, on the other hand, seemed to be rather pleased with how shy their new classmate was. A predatory instinct to bully the weak? Or was it the unexpected cuteness appeal of seeing an old person act like a shy little boy? Nevertheless, they approved of him, passing on comments about how cute he was, or how they should totally ask him tons of questions after that 'fat man' leaves. Smiling slightly and taking a look at the grandfather clock at the back of the classroom, Gael wiped his hands on his apron before calling out, talking to himself with the intent of the children being able to hear, [b]“Wow, this is pretty embarrassing, not even having kiddies with the courtesy of giving a united greeting...”[/b]

In response, the students gave a greeting so loud that everyone from that block could hear it.

[b]“HI ARAKI! LET'S HAVE A FUN SCHOOL LIFE!”[/b]
~
As the two left, Corinkarus got back to work once more. Taking up the stack of books he had brought in previously, the wizened man rang the bell, notifying the cafeteria staff that the meal was finished, even though there was still a sizable portion of the raw fish untouched. [b]“Tell Sujatha that she has my compliments, Butler, but my dinner company doesn't seem to have much of an appetite this evening. Apologies for leaving so much food untouched.”[/b]

The man, dressed more like that of a blacksmith than a butler, acknowledged the message as he came from within the doors of the cafeteria. Rolling over a cart meant for carrying finished dishes, the graying, middle-aged man glanced at the stack of books in Corkinarus's arms. [b]“Shall I send for some tea to your office, Dean Courtright?”[/b]

The wild-haired man considered the gravelly-toned proposition, before shaking his head, walking off. [b]“No thank you, Butler.”[/b]

There were many letters to be written that evening, and he was still feeling energetic enough to go on without his dozen-sugar tea.

One to a spy, one to a lady, and one to...
~
Luna Flina, the mistress of the Flina family was entertaining a rather interesting guest that evening. Interesting, not because his visit was a surprise, or because he was a particularly 'odd' being, but because of the nature of his existence. A man whom, until recently, had no information regarding his history. A man whom possessed an unnaturally high resistance to the special magics of the vampires. The man in red that had introduced himself brazenly to the Vermillion Court, demanding access to that of the Scarlet Court. A silver-haired enigma that soon demonstrated his ability to, albeit within limits, summon rift-beasts through a summoning ritual that was only faintly recognized by a handful of the Ancients amongst the vampires.

Luna had her theories behind who he was, but in the end, did not bother to ask of it. The Musphelheim demon was now in the grasp of the witches, and even though there was no news regarding any unnatural disasters within the miasma of Talze Utera, that in itself was worrying. What were the witches planning now? Are they finally planning to destroy that balance of power? Or was she reading it wrong all along, where it was a grasp for internal power by one of the four witchmothers? Worrying, and even more worrying was the fact that this nameless man chose only now to appear once more. No doubt that he was going to try something, but the question was...what?

He was standing on the sanguine carpet and she sat on her elevated throne, a high-backed chair with ornate designs carved out of it. It was a chair older than herself, passed down from generation to generation, the marble heirloom of the Flina dynasty. In that Gothic room, two spectral ghosts behind her as her intangible guards, the vampire watched as the man brought out two pairs of weapons, slowly, as to not alarm her soul-bound warriors. A pair of daggers and a pair of gauntlets, both of them made of the indestructible talentium that had evened out the power struggle so well.

The vampire's yellow eyes glanced over those pairs for a moment, before staring into the similar-colored eyes of the man in red, biding him to explain. She was the Crescent Aristocrat of Wandering, the master of Soul Magic, two centuries of experience in her. It was beneath her to ask a mere mortal, even one as unknown as this one.

[b]“My fair lady Luna Flina, Fourth Elder of the Scarlet Court,”[/b] he began, a smooth tone betraying nothing of his intentions,[b] “I have visited you tonight to present to you two pairs of weapons that shall grant you and your race the ability to repel, no, vanquish the potential threat that is the Musphelheim demon.”[/b]

[b]“And to that end,”[/b] she interrupted, uninterested in any roundabout reasoning and trusting her own intuition,[b] “You wish to have funding, as well as access to any catalysts or tools you may need in my domain, in order to do whatever you must do to those two weapons. Surely, you do not expect me to believe that Uncolored talentium would be the key to defeating the Musphelheim demon.”[/b]

The man in red bowed his head, a sign that showed agreement, not submission before explaining, [b]“Indeed, my lady, after the failed attempt at Bakery Town, I have followed the 'subject' that stole the prize, leading to my current hypothesis. If talentium was the 'soul' of the rift-beasts, then splitting it apart should have a similar effect to splitting the soul into two pieces.”

“This explanation of yours has yet to benefit me, mortal.”

“I apologize for the delays, my lady,”[/b] he smiled, [b]“But if my hypothesis is proven to be correct, and my 'resummoning' brings out an unwhole being, it should provide you with an...elixir. Useless for immortals like yourself, but if used on one of your servants...”[/b]

The vampire's eyes flashed dangerously, her canines extending slightly in a show of displeasure. [b]“Do not try my patience. How does this benefit me?”[/b]

The man paused for a moment, freezing. The tension in the room became tangible for one moment, before it dissipated as Luna retracted her fangs, waving at him to continue. He released the breath he was holding in, before finally cutting to the chase. [b]“Luna Flina, as the Fourth Elder, you have been known to value 'balance' over anything else. The creation of these elixirs should theoretically grant an immeasurable amount of magical power to a mortal being. If you were to give it to one of the few werewolves that had pledged their allegiance to you, their strength should be sufficient in vanquishing the Musphelheim demon. If you were to give that elixir to a mage with a profound hate for society as a whole, they should be able to cause enough havoc in the three countries to significantly damage all their defenses, if only on a numerical level.”[/b]

She considered his proposition for a moment, before finally speaking, her toneless voice veiling her interest, [b]“And the creation of these 'elixirs' would have something to do with those pairs of talentium, the splitting of a soul, I presume, as well as the usage of a summoning ritual very similar to that impractical summoning spell of East's. Of course, the nature of such a spell would require many catalysts, sacrifices, and other specialized tools, which is why you ask help from my household.”[/b]

The man did no reply in words, simply nodding his head with a small smile.

[b]“Then you shall receive the help you desire, mortal, under two conditions. No word of this agreement shall leave this room, and you must be accompanied by one guard at all times, to ensure that you're actually doing as you've said. Failure to obey these conditions will be punished by death. Do you understand?”[/b]

He smiled once more, sweeping his hand to the side and bowing. [b]“Of course, my lady.”[/b]

But, what was his benefit in all of this? Though Luna questioned it, she said nothing of it. The vampire simply waved the man off. One of her many scepters phased through the wall at her silent command, prepared to lead him to the summoning halls of the Palace of the Pale Judge. His motives were of no concern to her. Even if he was malignant, she was immortal.
~
In a Dansilan tavern that had been frequented quite a lot those few days, a young man searching for a friend of his was distracted from such a duty by a job from his aunt. Though the details were intriguing, and the importance was great, he could only sigh at this, before trudging along back to the field work that he always did.

And, before anyone realized it, two days had passed.

For the man in red, his theories were finally to be tested.

For the man who sought, he only found mystery.

For the man on a mission, his leads were finally getting somewhere.

And for one white-haired man, for the first time in a long time, he took a step on an island that was not shrouded in darkness.

On that bright morning in the Archipelago of Illiserev, Aiv Recourt, hidden in a spellbound cloak crafted by the Witchmother of the East, arrived at the sandy island of Frelia.