Hi'Wor didn't notice the Kul Tribesmen enter his tent. He was concentrating on to his opponent, a Lok'Sha much larger than him, with ever last shred of consciousness. For a member of the Wor, the Chieftain's son was on the smaller side. Compared to every other man and woman in the room, he was in fact an imp by contrast. But his size had not been a disadvantage against his opponent who'd had nearly two feet on him. Hi'Wor shifted his weight from side to side, weaving through his opponent's strikes and grapples, while landing various combinations of his own. A high right. Hi'Wor ducked it and struck the attacker's stomach three times. They responded by grabbing his shoulders and immediately tearing him off the ground, but it wasn't as it seemed. He jumped into the attempted grappled and grabbed onto the man's inner arms, while lifting himself up and stomping against his stomach with both feet. When Hi'Wor's opponent leaned forward, he'd let himself fall back, using the momentum to toss him clear across the arena.

"Move!" the younger Lok'Sha roared, "You sluggish!" The opponent scrambled to rise to his feet, but was quickly pinned by the full weight of his superior's smaller body. Hi'Wor wrapped the larger man's neck with his bicep and began to squeeze. His grip got tighter and tighter. A struggle ensued. The two thrashed about as the larger man found some footing, and Hi'Wor moved around his body carefully as to avoid being tossed, while maintaining his grip. The headlock quickly served its purpose, and in only a few more moments, their struggle came to a pause. Ju'Kul patted Za'Kul on the back and stepped forwards. Hi'Wor had choked his opponent out.

After the unconscious warrior was dragged away by a couple of the large bystanders, Hi'Wor finally took notice of the two dark skins that had stepped foot in his tent. He recognized one of them immediately, Ju'Kul, Ha'Kul's lapdog. He didn't remember the Chieftain's son, though. They might have met at some point in the past, but like most in the Wor clan, he couldn't be bothered to remember every last Dark skin that mucks through their caverns.

"Ju'Kul, here to bargain?" Hi'Wor shouted whilst making his way across the tent.

"Yes-" As soon as Ju'Kul spoke, Hi'Wor took a long step forward and punched him right in the gut. Earlier, Ju'Kul had barely flinched when taking a hit from one of the larger guards at the Wor Tribe's entrance. This time, his feet shook and his muscles trembled. Ju'Kul stood his ground, but only barely.

"Nothing to bargain about!" Hi'Wor shouted, "Conditions are known! Don't come back without ten men!" He glanced at Za'Kul and then back at the larger warrior. "One not enough! Bring larger Lok'Sha. Ten men! Ten!"

Ilruvae grimaced, managing to stay on his feet once helped up, noticing the Captains odd feel and noting it for later, filing it away likely as a form of Soul magic. He barely even noticed being called his proper name, What with it not being his highest priority and all. “yes, I can walk. Can’t promise my arms in the best condition, but my legs are mostly fine.”

Without any further orders beyond the general ones, Pyra gave the Captain a quick nod and tossed himself down the hatch, holding onto one end with a hand to slow his fall to a more reasonable rate, but still landing with a grunt, eying the scene around the caravan. Simply put, it was a mess. To keep himself occupied from the pain his arm was in, he began encasing some of the objects in shells of his magic, shifting and adjusting them to fit together where broken, and putting in piles what doesn’t fit anywhere, both to help with cleaning and for the above reason. No time to worry about his arm, there’s work to be done.

As Flin fug his way through the barrels and boxes, Noru's arm reached out and grabbed onto his. Fortunately for him, Pyra arrived a few moments later and actively released him from the debris that pinned him in place, allowing the man to stand up firmly. A feint glow around Noru's face faded away as he was freed, and he stared at Flin for a moment, breathing heavily.

Outside the cart, Zay moved carefully towards the edge of its roof. The smoke was quickly dissipating, allowing Captain Copp to see far enough to scan the treeline. But in the darkness of the shadow that overlooked them, he didn't see much. Another arrow sang through the air, and struck the center of his chest with an audibly ting, before snapping into pieces. Zay had an idea of where the arrow came from now. Even if he couldn't pinpoint the archer's exact location, it wouldn't matter.

Neale hurried to Lyullia's side and lifted her off the ground. "Noru, was it? Were the medical supplies damaged?" Noru took a moment to respond. All of the barrels had been jostled, and Pyra had likely put them back out of order. On top of that, he was dazed. "Lieutenant??"

"I don't know," Noru coughed, "There are more important things to worry about right now."

"You are designated at a medic, aren't you? There's nothing else for you to worry about! You're hardly suited for combat!" A few taps against the wood outside caught Neale's attention. He spun around the the entrance way where Daelin was poking his head out.

Marilyn was nowhere to be seen, and there was no blood anywhere in the pilots area. But from both sides, two figures jumped up to clean out the insides of Centaurus. Both immediately noticed Daelin and bared their sharpened claws, lurching towards him from both sides.

In the same moment, Zay rose his hand towards the treeline and began to focus his mana. But before he could cast any manner of spell, something landed on him and pinned the man to the ground while grating steel against the tops of his shoulders. The entire caravan shook slightly against the weight of three Myti landing on its roof.

Flin nodded at Noru. "Right...good to see that you're alive." He stated. He turned to Neale. "Noru's right. Whoever's ambushing us won't-" He added, cutting himself off as the caravan shook slightly. Something was definitely going on on the roof. Were the attackers upon them already, or was it a result of Zay attacking? At any rate, he headed over to the ladder. But before he could reach it, the two Myti entered from the front and he jumped further back.

He aimed one of his hands towards the attacking Myti. A sound blast erupted violently from his raised hand, carrying along a series of painful high pitched noises, aimed at the 2 attackers. The sounds from the blast were high enough so only Myti would be able to hear, with the intent to confuse and startle them to give Daelin a bigger chance to avoid their attacks and for his crewmates to have an easier time to strike the Myti.

Daelin bolted back through the doorway to avoid the two assassins and pulled his ax out. He held it at the ready with both hands and stood just on the other side of the doorway to the cockpit. If the would-be assassins wanted to come in they'd have to funnel through. "I hope we have a plan to get out of here!" Daelin shouted to the occupants, Zay in particular. "If they have another explosion like that I don't think the caravan will hold out through a direct hit!" He was ready to swing at whichever assailant entered first.

Pyra glared at the two Myti that entered the cart from the pilots area, instinctively flexing both fists, and then giving a wince as he exercised something broken. Nonetheless, it was time for these intruders to go. He reached over with his arm into his opposite pocket, not the best way to grab things but the only real way, what with the arm he usually uses being... lacking in some areas.

He grabs the second rock he keeps in there and focuses, angrily launching it towards the figure he could vaguely see out there, using, of course, his magical strength over his physical strength.

As Daelin backed away from his attackers, it became clear that they weren't eager to follow him into the confined interior of Centaurus. With their numbers and advantage, it would be easy to pick off Captain Copp's crew one by one, once he was disposed off. They backed away from the door as a stone zoomed past them, and both reached into their cloaks. One of them managed to blindly toss a small black orb into the Caravan, past Daelin's feet and into the corner of the common area, moments before Flin's sound buzzed across the exterior of the cart. Both of the Myti reacted immediately, shielding themselves behind the cavern walls with their backs to the cart as the sound assaulted their senses. It was just loud enough that even those on top of the cart were affected. Neale turned towards the orb for a moment, positioning himself between it and Lyullia.

"Attention!" He announced, still unable to harness his mana effectively.

Sasha had pinned Zay to the ground moments earlier, and kept him in place with her metallic gauntlets slowly digging past his metal coating. "Not much longer," Sasha hissed, lowering her mouth to Zay's ear. He lurched his head backwards and struck her nose, forcing her back only slightly as he pushed himself up. But the woman growled and shoved him back against the roof of the caravan. "Filthy hyumah, I'll make sure you regret that." The Myti at her side flinched at the sound that Flin produced from inside of the cart, but ignored it, and slowly positioned their weapons along various parts of Zay's body. The dagger-wielding woman placed the tips of her knives against Zay's calves, hitting a newly formed layer of metal, while the woman with the short sword hovered her weapon above his lower back, and slowly began to grate its serrated edges against his magical armor. "You'll run out of mana long before we run out of stamina, runt. Make it easier for both of us, won't you?"

"Fat chance furball," Zay groaned.

Pyra wonders why the Myti suddenly left the Caravan for the time, not particularly liking it, they might be planning something... He still stumbled into a wall and giving a hiss as he lands on his broken arm, looking over at an orb he saw one of the Myti throw just a couple seconds ago. He turns towards the orb, holding himself up with his good hand, and see if he can pick up the orb with his magic if at all possible and get it out of the Caravan. Either way, a steady stream of quiet curses was leaving his mouth at leaning on his broken arm like an idiot just a second ago.

Flin glared at the assasins as they backed away, and Daelin took position to stop them from coming in. He glanced at the orb that was thrown in, backing away from it as Pyra attempted to throw it out of the caravan. He nodded at Daelin. "They're buying time, perhaps to prepare another explosion. Dealin's right, we need to act quickly." Flin spoke, his voice isolated so only his crew members could hear. He looked up at the ceiling. "I heard a loud thump. Probably more Myti up there, trying to overwhelm Zay." He stated. He made sure to move in a wide arc around the orb that Neale pointed out and Pyra sent flying, not quite wanting to be caught in an explosion of some kind.

After that, he began to climb the ladder quickly. He felt safer to do so, with Daelin blocking the entrance. "I ain't gonna let it happen. Sorry, but try to keep them off me, Daelin." He added, while continueing his climb.

Daelin watched the orb roll into the chamber and panicked a little on the inside. If that was a bomb they were in some serious trouble. It rolled into Pyra's range and the eldi took interest and acted immediately. The orb matter somewhat handled he turned to the doorway and nodded to Flin as the musician made his move.

The myti outside seemed to have been effectively disrupted by Flin's sound attack. Daelin's thoughts went to what to do next. He glanced around the room for the crossbow he had lost hold of during the explosion. It was nowhere obvious, perhaps hidden under the slew of other fallen crap that had tumbled at the onset of this assault. He grimaced, still not daring to move from his position guarding the door. He couldn't allow himself to drift too far from it or otherwise the others would be in serious danger. If he couldn't find his crossbow then what else could he get? Daelin sidestepped to the wall alongside the door so he was no longer directly in the sight of assassins. He noticed a crate marked in Marrenfall merchant symbols spilled along the wall. The top had come loose, hanging part of the way open on its hinges. He lifted it with his off hand as he kept his axe up, watching the entrance. There were various survival supplies but one thing caught his eye. A big spray can with a picture of a Grim crying as its logo had rolled out. He squatted to pick it up, vigilantly watching for the assassins. In all capital letters it read, 'Migli's Mighty Monster Mace!', Daelin squinted at it and shrugged, tucking it into his belt. Better than nothing. He would be thankful to its creator if he actually knew how to read the title. He turned his attention wholly to the doorway.

The orb was enveloped in Pyra's magic a few moments after it landed, pulling it off of the ground and into the air. Neale watched as it happened, narrowly avoided the little black trinket as the careened through the Caravan, past Daelin, and towards the door. Just as it passed the frame however, its casing was breached from within by a web of yellow cracks that covered its entire circumference. Not a moment later, it exploded into a brilliant flash of light, flooding the caravan and temporarily blinding any who were unfortunate enough to be looking in the direction of the blast. The two Myti outside didn't enter straight away, though. Although it was only partial exposure, both assassins were staring at the flash bang point blank as it passed through the doorway and exploded, not only blinding their already sensitive eyes, but disorienting both of them for a few seconds.

"Misfire!!!" One of them cried out, loudly enough for all of their allies to hear. Her voice was a panicked shriek, and immediately drew the attention of the archers in the treeline. They saw the situation as it played out, and were just far enough away to neglect the bright flash.

Neale was fortunate enough to have his back turned when the bomb went off, and turned to see the its aftermath. Sparkles of powder and mana were surrounding the doorway, but didn't obscure vision by much at all.

From on top of the cart, Sasha ignored her ally's cry for aid, and pushed her gauntlets even harder into Zay's shoulders.

"I'll give you one last chance to surrender," Zay groaned. The angry expression on Sasha's face was blown away by a fit of uncontrollable snickering. It was too funny, how could she not burst into laughter? This man was a complete fool!

"Sisters, did you hear that?" She sputtered through a few laughs, "He's offering us a chance to surrender! What a chivalrous gentleman!" The cloaked figures that assisted in pinning down Zay exchanged a look and smiled at one another.

"That offer expires in 30 seconds, ladies."

"Shut up," Sasha growled. "You'll be long dead before 30 seconds even passes!" As Sasha finished her sentence, she felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen and her grip loosened.

"Ah..." Zay quickly freed his hands from underneath him in the moment and pushed himself off the ground, and threw all three of the Myti off of his body with a heavy twist, before quickly rising to his feet and running to the opposite end of the Caravan. Sasha and her accomplices tumbled away and rose to their feet just above the pilot's area, next to the hatch leading downstairs sat wide open. Through the bandit leader's purple ensemble, there was a silver spine nearly 2 inches thick protruding from just above her right kidney. Zay stared at it and relaxed his posture. "I was aiming for the heart... But I guess that works too." Without any delay, both of the Myti that were uninjured dashed across the cart and attacked Zay head-on. The dual wielder struck low, aiming to cut straight through his thighs without putting herself in danger, and the sword wielder stabbed towards his chest. But while standing straight with nothing to impeded his focus, Zay quickly morphed the metal around his body to catch their weapons on contact. "Whoops," He whispered, aiming a heavy punch to the side of the sword wielder's shoulder. But to her own misfortune, she was too quick.

The woman tried to duck under his surprise attack, but merely shifted the point of impact. Zay's fist crashed against the side of her head, immediately cracking her skull wide open and sending the cat woman flopping to the ground like a rag doll, with a trail of blood following closely behind the newly formed cut in her head. Zay hesitated for a moment before addressing the other attacker, swinging his foot towards her chest moments after his first attack struck home. But the other Myti released her daggers and jumped backward before his kick could connect, regrouping with her injured director while her weapons were crushed by the receding metal that coated Zay's body.

Sasha stared at the ally that Zay had just killed, and stumbled backwards slightly with bulging eyes. Then she looked at Zay, who was just standing there with a smirk, and a quivering jaw. He looked awfully arrogant, but truthfully, he was trying his absolute best to keep himself from throwing up. Sasha's rage died down almost as quickly as it'd bubbled up after seeing one of her companions slain. Zay's smirk faltered. She was looking at him now, eye to eye, with a blood curdling smile.

"You seem... Happy?" Zay croaked.

"You're trembling!" Sasha laughed, while effortlessly pulling the spike from her torso with one hand, and covering the wound with her other. "Trembling like a little kit."

Zay squinted through the nausea that rose. This woman had noticed every last motion his body made. She figured him out almost instantly. The way he delayed his attacks, how he'd aimed for her ally's shoulder, his trembling jaw...

She sniffed out the fear in Centaurus' Captain long before the man realized it himself.



Towering high above the cliff-side Nation of Kel, the ever-stalwart Eldan Tower watched over the Endless Sea while overlooking its people with an architectural splendor that rivaled even the Ivory Pillar of Arcadia. Despite the comparison though, it was a peculiar structure by Human standards in every facet. There were no walls or pillars to speak of. Rather, the tower supported its thirty floors with a series of magical artifacts, something that only the Eldi could accomplish on such a grand scale. Large spheres with intricate details were positioned at the north, south, east, and west ends of each level, with nothing but air between them and the floors they held in place. Every disc of flooring - Varying in thickness and material - rotated slowly along the First ascent, encompassing the first ten floors of the tower. The second and third Ascents were visible from any point in the Nation, contrasting their rotating base by standing sturdy and still. Against the sunlight, it was a foreboding landmark that cast a dark shadow across the center of Kel with the start of each and every evening that persisted through the nights. For most, it was a beautiful phenomena to behold. But for those who lived in the Shaded Districts, the Eldan tower might've been a cursed reminder of their upbringing in the unforgiving culture of Kel.

High Chancellor Vella Mil was stuck in her study that evening. Looking out at the Endless Sea was her only escape from the responsibilities that piled in front of her on a daily basis. Despite being the highest ranking and most respected official in all of Kel, life was less than satisfactory. But it wasn't just because of the responsibilities she'd dealt with. It was due to the responsibilities that she had no control over.

Vella was essentially the Nation's Queen, depending on who you asked, but her authority only went so far in the democratic model that governed over Kel. She was in charge of directing a myriad of things: Expedition Teams, Kel's new adaptation of the Caravan System that dominated the south; Financing military means; playing a part in the direction of war; and immigration management, to name a few. But her most prominent issues with the city were things entirely out of reach.

The Underworld, a system of caverns and beach-side cities that made up the literal underbelly of Kel were host to unforgivable taboo, and criminal organizations that interacted with the city above them regularly with little recompense. She wanted it cleaned out. Senator Ilia Ero did not.

The Shade districts were overrun with criminals from the Underworld, but what most plagued the cities in Kel's shadow, was poverty and joblessness. The surrounding districts that were free of the Eldan Tower's shadow only contributed to this, funneling the economy into a whirlpool that benefited only the most respected houses in Kel. She wanted to narrow the cultural divide significantly. Senator Pyra Nabrillia did not.

And even outside of the Underworld, within the very foundations of Kel's democracy, magical studies that fell far outside moral righteousness persisted right under Vella's nose in the Second Ascent. She wanted to publicize these misdeeds and scrupulous bastardizations of magical study. Chancellor Marvis Astorian did not.

There was much more on her mind outside of Kel's local issues though, especially in regards to the long standing alliance between all Eldi Capitols, the Diamond Vigil. Levrial, homeland of Eldi's matriarchs, had not made contact with Kel in over a month. It was customary for all four of the Eldi capitols to report to one another bi weekly, at least. The lack of an officially tested Global Caravan System already made it difficult to maintain that schedule, but for contacts to be cut for so long was unheard of. Worst of all, it seemed that the other sister Nation had been experiencing the exact same silence. Any attempts to contact Levrial directly had ended in failure, as well. So many expeditions had failed to return from the Mother land, that it was enough to incite Nation-wide panic if the news got out. Thankfully Senator Ilia's connections were adequate enough to keep this information hidden. Vella wasn't sure if that was a positive factor, but speaking out against any of her fellow officials might have lead to an unfortunate accident, similar to the fate that had befallen Kel's previous high Chancellor, Mayrto Lyea. Vella wasn't brave enough, nor did she possess the power or connections, to make any changes as she was now. That tower could have been a dungeon, and she wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. Laying strewn out across her red velvet sofa in her official robes, she glared at the endless waters with a desire to free herself from the constrains of this dreaded place.

'It wouldn't be too selfish of me, would it?'



Two men stood idly by outside of a water-side shack, leaning against either side of the entrance to Finnick's Curious Trinkets and Antiquities. The shack was suspended over rising tides, with a small wooden ramp leading up to its entrance. The men that stood guard were Finnick's thugs, Othozar Belwitch and his brother, Ophon Belwitch. They were there most days, standing guard to assure that nobody thought it wise to steal from old man Finnick with their weapons in the open and their cigarettes lit almost day-round. The Eldi dealer was already 190, after all! A lot of people would think it easy to steal from some hunched-over geezer, wouldn't they? Well, not with the Belwitch brothers around. They were some of the best mercenaries that money could buy, even if they preferred to be referred to as the help.

Ophon shoved a finger into his nose and took a puff from his cigarette as some Eldi scoundrels left Finnick's shop with pockets full of gold and various bobbles. "Told you he wouldn't buy those worthless runes," he wheezed through a blanket of smoke. The customer looked back at him with a scowl, but Opon just smiled, revealing two rows of sharpened teeth. His velvet blue eyes were fearsome, the type you'd see on a murderer or a torturous bastard. Combined with his imposing posture, Ophon was enough to scare away most wise-ass crooks all on his own. The customer's eyes drifted across his leather armor towards the long, uncustomary blade at his waste. He peered down at it as well, and then back to the customer. "What, want a closer look?" He grunted. The Eldi clearly didn't, snapping his entire body away from Ophon and darting towards the maw of a nearby cavern. Ophon scoffed and took another drag from his cigarette. "Boring day,He rasped, while combing back a brown Mohawk with his free hand, and flicking a booger into the sand.

"That's usually the case," Othozar said clearly, putting out his own cigarette against the edge of Finnick's little shack. He was the smaller of the two brothers, albeit only slightly so. Unlike Ophon, his ensemble looked a little more well kept. For one, his hair was not shaved into such a stupidly belligerent style, and hung neatly above his eyebrows. the only thing that scarred his otherwise average appearance, was a scar running just underneath his right eye towards the bridge of his nose. Though he didn't have the same threatening attitude that his brother did, what he did possess was fairly rare among Eldi. He looked at Ophon with his differently colored eyes, Blue and Red, sighing. "I can't say I'm any less thrilled than you are." Ophon rolled his eyes.

"At least the money's good."

"Good enough..."

Inside his little shack, Bobo Finnick was tinkering with one of the runes he'd just bought from the customer who'd entered earlier. The entire place was a disorganized mess. Literal piles of junk were scattered from one end of the room to the other. The only way through Finnick's veritable junk yard was along a few paths there were crudely dug out between the piles. The contents of the piles varied in value, from worthless to excessively rare. Finnick didn't care too much about what went where, but he did keep a fine selection of his most... Difficult to acquire items behind his little shelf in the back room.

Customers were making their way through the store while Finnick hammered away at the little rock, keeping to himself with a pair of enchanted glasses firmly held around his bald head with a worn leather strap. Taking one look at him immediately explained the need for the Belwitch brothers. Finnick wasn't just an old man.

He was practically a midget.

“Damn it all!” Pyra hissed out through his teeth as the orb went through, unfortunately having been looking at it to hold his concentration, trying to blink to get his vision back. His head spun from the combination of wounds and disorientation, although thankfully, or perhaps cruelly, he managed to not drop into the darkness of unconsciousness.

He forces himself towards where the flashbang exploded, his ears ringing, but more importantly, he had heard the Myti yelling out, gripping the doorway tightly as he saw the outline of a figure in the doorway, immediately assuming it was a Myti, based on a couple of factors, mainly proximity. He was very glad he had a nap earlier, his magical strength being refreshed enough to try and grab onto the head of one of the Myti using said magic, and whipping it towards the metal wall of the Caravan. knocked out or killed, he didn’t particularly care at the moment, using his annoyance, or more accurately rage, to fuel his will towards fighting back.

Daelin stumbled back, getting a face full of flashbang. He held his ax between him and what he perceived was the doorway while squinting madly and rubbing his eyes with his left hand. "Holy hell!" He shouted in alarm. At least it wasn't an explosive object.

______________________________________________________________________



An eldan lady clad in a purple gown that faded to white along the bottom stepped gingerly around the office, examining each little artifact and contraption that the manor's owner had accumulated. His collection was interesting but they had no real use other than looking fancy. She paused at a particular ornament. An orb fit together like a puzzle. As she drew close enough near to touch, it reacted in a display of blue energy softly humming as the pieces came apart and flew around in circular patterns around its base.

"All these baubles. Your collection is admirable, cousin. It's been at least a year since I've been over here. It's almost like nothing has changed." She took a seat on the edge of the table the artifact displayed itself around. "So many things and yet the events of late have neither grown worse nor improved." She pulled the strands of black hair from covering her youthful face. "So little ambition is unbecoming of you. Put in such a great position and all you do is collect nick-knacks and admire stale politics." She gave him a tired smile that her eyes didn't reflect. She didn't really mean it. "I have a proposition for you, Marvis."

______________________________________________________________________



A particularly tall eld limped into the cavern. His movements suggested he favored his right leg over the left. The long coat he wore fluttered as the draft from the sea swept into the cavern. His worn boots splashed against small pools of water that had gathered from the tides. The eld had been to Finnick's before. This visit didn't seem much different from the usual. Often appearing with coin to take some rare, potentially dangerous item before disappearing for another month.

The eld nodded to his kin, the brothers that stood at the door way. He gave them a grunt of recognition, his red eyes watching them ever-warily as he waited for their approval to enter and take care of his business.

Fortunately for Flin, his vision was focused on the ladder that he was climbing despite being surprised by the light that he spotted from the corner of his eye. Regardless, he kept going upwards. He poked his head out of the hatch briefly before pulling it back down. The brief glance allowed him to see Zay's situation, and he managed to hear part of it. He seemed to be doing alright, which he assumed by seeing the one defeated Myti. But he seemed frightened. Zay could hear Flin's voice within his ear, isolated from the Myti. "Don't panic, captain. You're doing well." He spoke reassuringly. "Don't let her get into your head." He added.

Flin hoped that Zay was still focused enough to fight. "Anyway, captain, sound wave incoming..." He spoke. He stood firmly on the ladder, resting his back against it. He rose his hands. He launched another high pitched sound wave at the two Myti that had their backs faced towards him with his left hand, and launched an Arcane shard with his right hand, which was aimed for the back of one of the Myti's necks, while they'd hopefully be disoriented. "...Now!" He informed Zay, hoping the distraction would allow him to act.

Pyra's assault was as successful as it could have been. The Myti, in its disorientation, couldn't react fast enough as it felt its head yanked towards the wall next to it. Normally, disrupting a telekinetic attack from another mage was as simple as expelling mana from the point of impact. But with its head already in the clouds, the Myti was pulled into a loud thump. It stumbled for a moment, moving towards its ally unknowingly, who was still too disoriented to notice. It fell down to its knees shortly after, ultimately losing consciousness at the foot of the doorway. The archers in the tree took note of Flin as he climbed by unseen, silently waiting for a moment to strike.

By this time, Noru seemed to show little in terms of aiding his allies. He'd blocked his eyes to prevent blindness earlier, but couldn't do much on his own. At least, it seemed that way. He glanced at Lyullia, and then glared at Neal, who still stood guard with her in his hands. "Don't move her head too much," Noru hissed, turning towards the storage area. Neale looked at the medic and scoffed.

"Yes sir," He mocked. Taking orders wasn't exactly a commonality for the man, nor did he enjoy doing as he was told. But if it got that stubborn prep-Knight to do his job, then it couldn't be helped.

Back on top of the cart, Zay noticed Flin almost immediately, glancing at him for a split second as he emerged moments after Sasha spoke. The Myti woman took a step forward and exhaled a single breath of laughter. Zay's eyes narrowed and he took a sharp step back. That's when he heard Flin's voice. Unfortunately, it surprised him. The technique was completely different than hearing somebody communicate through telepathy, and far more useful as well. But it sounded like he was right next to him. Zay's guard dropped for a split second, which Sasha took full advantage of. Not before Flin's shards were fired though.

But despite his attempted sneak attack, Flin's inexperience with Myti had left him unprepared for what happened next. The woman next to Sasha turned her head slightly as Flin gathered Mana for his attack, and smiled under her cowl. Zay's eyes widened and he took a step forward, ignoring Sasha's approach.

"Kid!" Zay called out.

_{"Got him."}

As Flin emerged to fire his spell, Sasha ducked underneath it in preparation, and the other Myti spun around, swatting the arcane bolt out of the air while an aura of dark blue mana encompassed her hand like a rounded glove, destroying the spell. Before Flin could notice, an arrow was already whizzing through the air towards his upper body, aimed to make contact just after he fired his spell. Zay ran forward, but Sasha intercepted his path and caught both his hands before he could aim any spells. The Captain was taken aback. How the hell was this small Myti matching his strength? She glared at him with her mouth half-open, and slowly grew even stronger, to the point where she could easily push him back.



Marvis was never fond of Kanna.

The way she walked around his showcase was insulting. Every last trait of her personality was insulting. Her very existence was an insult to the family name, as far as he was concerned. Spoiled to the core, a rotten example of what money and power could do to one's pride if not brought up in proper stride. Marvis was nothing like that, and he didn't like having to share the same roof as her or her parents, even for a moment.

She moved gracefully, but prodded at his collection with her words and hands without any restraint. Presumptuously, she would speak to him as if he'd accomplished nothing, and had no value despite anything he'd done in the past. Earning a place of power among the officials was no easy task! Years of blood sweat and tears, with no support from his family, or even the parties that agreed with his principals. And for what? Harlots like her to look down on him? What had she done? She was just another nameless scholar in the clockwork! Marvis grit his teeth as she began to toy with one of his arcane contraptions, but couldn't bring himself to say a word. Despite all his misgivings regarding lady Kanna's presence in his glorious home, he was never one to interject with anyone who moved against him. Although he would never admit it to himself, Kanna was right to criticize his stagnation. Marvis was a coward, and nothing more.

"When one approaches another in such a manner, with such unruly accusations, it does little to add an agreeable air to their propositions, Kanna," Marvis announced irritably while he moved towards the machine that Kanna had awoken, "It is never wise to disturb a hornet's nest." He fiddled with the mechanism until it went dormant once again, and shot his Cousin a haughty glare. "I didn't get to where I am today by agitating those who I seek to cooperate with."



It wasn't often that Ophon would find an Eldi taller than he was. It was unsettling, to say the least. Vetch towered over him like a lumbering scarecrow, as if somebody had cast a spell to raise him from the dead. Othozar pointed his thumb into Finnick's shack and nodded to the man regardless, while his brother took in another lung full of smoke and exhaled it through his nose.

"You know the drill gimpy," Ophon grunted, "No trouble, else-wise-"

"Shut up Ophon," Othozar cut in, stressing the interior of the shack with his thumb. "Go on in, Vetch."

Pyra gave a weary grin as he saw the figure fall, his vision recovering enough to see the other Myti still standing. Time to change that. Although he wasn’t in the best shape mentally, he was still rather intent on making these Myti regret attack the Caravan, starting with this one.

He concentrated energy in his hand, firing it at the Myti’s knee, and shortly after it would have struck, Did the same trick he did to the other Myti, grabbing its head and slamming it into the Caravan. Regardless of whether that works or not, he shifts out of the doorway to catch a quick breath.

Ja’Kul curled over from Hi’Wor’s punch. Bargaining with Hi’Wor was not going to work, but for the sake of respectability, Za’Kul would do as Ja’Kul instructed. One chance at reason is all Hi’Wor would get. The likelihood his plea would penetrate Hi’Wor’s venbu-thick skull was almost nihil and Za’Kul knew he was foolish for trying, but he had to at least try--if only for his father’s sake.

“Hi’Wor. We bargain. Not need war. Kul not slave, but Kul will agree to other terms.”

Za’Kul knew the risks of war, and if he could not convince Hi’Wor otherwise, war is what it would come down to--and he had no clue how his people would win if they had to take up arms against the War’Boa.

Daelin had started to regain some of his vision. Ears still ringing, he drew his grapple-gun with his left hand. The grapple configuration was currently equipped with a spike -- for trees. He took aim at the myti through blurry eyes that was still standing outside. He narrowed his eyes until he could get a little better of a picture and aimed for the assailant's thigh. The air compressing mechanism went off with an audible pop as Daelin launched the grappling spike.

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Kanna frowned. "And that is why you are no closer to the seat of high chancellor." She hopped down from the case and walked toward the middle of the room, leaving her back to him. "I came here fully intending on kicking the hornets nest... The hornets will lay quivering on the ground in shock." She chuckled at herself, a sound that had no real mirth. "Let me try to get back on the right foot. I apologize for insulting you. What you do you are amazing at." She complimented. There was a genuine feel to it, a soothing feeling washed over Marvis that he had no real control over. "The people of Kel aren't satisfied with how things are currently run. There's a great disparage between poor and rich that only expands. Change is coming whether you like it or not. Right now you are a in a position to gain from the change. Whether or not you'll accept it will be up to you." She turned back to him slowly. "You dug your way to this point by your work. You have no heavy ties to the other major political factions. This means that the people can look to you when those groups fail them. I wouldn't have come here if there were no benefit to you. At least trust me on this." She asked.

There was a slight pressure put on Marvis' mind. Something that felt like it was coming from him, a desire to agree, to give Kanna her chance.

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Vetch grunted in response. He nodded to Othozar and muttered in a deep voice as he stepped past the two into the shop. "No trouble."

The gaunt eld approached Finnick directly. He looked over the diminutive owner's shoulder at the work he was busied with. "Finnick." He stated. There was a pause as he waited for Finnick's attention. "I'm here for the powder." Vetch announced.

Flin gave Zay a shocked look in response to his shout, but his body responded immediately. None of the two Myti were anywhere near him, but Zay screamed haphazardly, which likely meant that more Myti had to be attacking him from up close, in some fashion. Either way, standing still was the worst option right now. He slid down the ladder immediately, by placing his hands and feet on it's sides.

Despite the quick response, the arrow still zipped through his right shoulder, blood shedding from it as it went through. Fortunately, it was a shallow wound. He grit his teeth in frustration, noting the arrow that bounced against the metal wall of the caravan and fell down. 'Damn, that was close. On top of that, my sound magic didn't work?' He thought. If it wasn't for Zay's call-out, he would have certainly been dead. But now, he was aware of the archer.

He stopped at about the middle of the ladder, at least having somewhat of an idea of where the arrow came from. He looked down at the Myti beneath him, and Mid-blue coloured Arcane began to form around his body which began to expand. He aimed the palm of his right hand at her, and acted as if he was about to attack her. But his real focus was on expanding the arcane around him. He was perfectly still. 'Here you go, Myti. A nice target for you to shoot at.' He thought, referring to the archer who'd taken a shot at him before.

Despite the head injury, Lyullia eventually awakens again. Though, not without any side-effects.

Dazed, she looks around the caravan. She doesn't quite realise what is happening, but judging by the sounds of fighting it wasn't good. It takes her another while to realise that someone's actually carrying her, likely protecting her from harm. The person wasn't familiar by name, but Lyullia at the very least remembered that it was the injured person they had encountered earlier in the day.

"What... happened?" Lyullia manages to ask despite the head injury.