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In the many years that Cuyler had been traveling and coming to the Castle, he had seen a wide range of peculiar things. Such discovers that nothing should shock him anymore and yet, something always did. Cuyler threw up his arm to block his face from the exploding chair and when he dropped his arm back down without a scratch on it, he saw a very disturbed looking Prince Myrus. Blood was dripping from his nose, splattering his clothes and the ground below him but the rest of his appearance was just as alarming. There seemed to be a faint red glow to his hand as well.
Ignoring the short man’s comment, Cuyler stepped forward cautiously, as one would with a wounded animal and bent down. He fell into eye line with the man who looked very much the boy now and spoke as gently as he could.
”Prince Myrus, who is going to be killed?” he asked him. The man had begun to mutter to himself and seemed quite distressed. Earlier, it had been revealed that one of the late Wizard’s accomplices had tampered with the young Prince’s mind. This mental break Myrus seemed to be going through must be a result of the invasion of one’s mind and thoughts.
There was much to Magyk that Cuyler had yet to understand but this outburst of the Prince only reinforced his belief that the use of it needed to be better controlled.

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One by one Amarantha watched as the Witches unfroze and Fleur completed the Cradlesnatching. Amarantha took a step back, politely reevaluating. She had read up on the Port Witch Coven during her training and she understood the power that laid under this roof but Amarantha had a problem understanding her limitations. Her task was to return Luna safely to the Castle. She had yet to not complete a task.
The corner of her lip twitched up at the mention of Jadis’s comment but it rolled right off her shoulders as her attention was drawn to a Witch that was reciting a spell. With a flash, a snake dropped down into their midst and seemed to be trained solely onto Amarantha. Interesting. She shifted back a step again but it only pushed the snake to launch itself at her. The knife was already in her hand but she had to time it right. It came close to biting her, she felt the scales slid across her hand as she swiped down and the snake separated. It’s head fell to the floor before the body and Amarantha looked up at the Witch who cast the spell. She smiled and looked down, flipping the knife back and forth so it was a mere blur of silver and red each time it moved.
”Well it seems things are about to get a mite interesting, aren’t they,” her eyes flared as she spoke and connected them back to the Witche's. Amarantha was no fool, she was on her own here.
The fighting raged on in the background and though she hoped to have survivors, she was no sentimentalist and the Witch standing beside her had her own agenda that begged for fruition. Her options were thin. Talk her way past the Witch Mother to snatch Luna or, fight her way through it. She didn’t give it much thought, she didn’t have much time. Slipping the knife into her left sleeve, she streaked across the room and slammed into Nera. Her hand made contact with Nera’s head and slammed her into the wall in an effort to knock the petite Witch out. Amarantha felt the dead wait almost instantly and let Nera slid to the floor. Blood began to pool from her head where she landed; dead.
Amarantha turned, sliding the knife out of her sleeve and set the point to her left forefinger and the handle in her right hand. She twirled the knife around.
”I’m on a timeline, if you would be so kind to accommodate,” she said, looking to Jadis.
The young Hunter spared a glance at Fleur, giving the Witch a wink as the wicked smile she so often wore settled firmly on her lips.

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Luna could hear the fighting going on down on the first floor, it didn't sound good at all as she remained still as Fleur continued to do the CradleSnatching. Her eyes wondering over to the mysterious woman as she easily broke out of the rope that Fleur had bound her with, and pulled out what looked like a club. Then Amarantha as well as Jadis came in, hearing the woman say that she was sent by her sister to save her which she felt happy, but she didn't trust Jadis at all Luna couldn't do much as Fleur continued her work a bit more until it was finally completed. Luna watched Nera chant a spell as it instantly materialized and went to attack Amarantha, then the voice in her head started to speak once more. "You know she doesn't have any intention on bringing you back to your sister alive right?"

Luna's eyes turned towards Jadis as she spoke, if she could get to Valda within an hour it could be reversed but if she did agree with going with them Jadis would probably still see her as a threat and just kill her. Everyone seemed to be distracted, as she finally started to come to her senses now. She needed to get away as soon as possible, Luna flinched slightly when Amarantha killed the snake and then went on the offensive. She ended up killing Nera as she watched the Witch's body going limp and fell to the ground seeing the pull of blood pooling around her.

"Use the window to escape!" The voice suggested, everyone seemed to be distracted and it was probably the best way to get out of the Port Witch Coven House. Luna quickly made her way through the window, just as she made it out her foot slipped causing her to scream and barely caught herself. Luna looked down seeing the height was a lot higher than she thought it was and the fall could be fatal, she was doing her best to hold onto it for deer life before screaming again and lost her grip. Before falling she was caught breathing heavily as she looked around before looking up at the ginger who caught her. “Watcher there, Miss. Ya nearly got yourself kilt.” said the ginger, Luna closed her eyes as she started to calm down slightly. "Thank you.." Luna said softly as she got herself on the ground and dusted her dress off before looking up at the ginger and quickly grabbed her arm. "I need to get to the Castle, i'll pay you a lot if you can get me there quickly." Luna begged.

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Giving the supposed 'Queen' a hard look that could only be called aggravated, the newly christened Lord Laine let out a breathe of hot air in a irritated hiss. These trivial matters were holding them up, and he was not about to let them continue. Restraining his quickly rising temper, Richard longed for a stiff glass of bourbon. "While I am sure it is a honor. Might I note that it is also an honor to remain alive." The words were not said overly loud, but there was a edge to his voice.

It was Arya's suggestion that the knighting of their guide be put off, so they might be reunited with their child that held the man back from more words. It was a different lad with blood dripping from his nose whose scream had the deadly killer shoving Thalia behind his larger form while stepping in front of the woman and a long bladed knife in his hand. The blade drawn from a sheath that was lashed tight to his back, for Richard lived by the rule of always maintain a blade- or preferably several- upon your person at all times. "By all means, lead on." While his snake eyes focused on Myrus, his head and voice were meant for Lyra.

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Rhys cursed the ghost of his mentor along side the currenty ExtraOrdinary Wizards and those future and past! Muttering the reverse to free himself of the blasted charm that insane little woman had caught him in, Rhys had debating going for her. A interesting fight it would be, but the escape off the Cradle-Snatched convinced him otherwise. The Princess was more important here. A larger piece in the game against the Castle and the Wizards. With the sounds of the battle, he could only assume the Port Witches were in trouble. If securing the girl got him out of it? All the better.

So he had launched himself after her. Believing himself infallible as he sailed through the window. After all, how many times had he done this exact thing previously? Only then he had been leaving assassinated targets, burglarized homes, and lovers whose husbands had returned home. The latter and this situation had something in common at times, but the Rogue Wizard was not in the mood to be amused by the fact he was now stuck and hanging from the window. Really! One would thing Fleur would keep the place up! Spells to bounce had failed and climbing had failed. So he was stuck unless he wanted to crack his head on the pavement.

Oh, he was going to need to make someone scream for this. The man's current mood was possibly sour and enraged enough that he was a hanging beacon of misery and ill wishing to any who walked by.

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This Richard fellow seemed to have take a liking to Atkin, or at the very least seemed amused by him, which was definitely a step up from his apparent emotions towards everyone else. First he hissed at Valda's bodyguard (or knight now. Congrats on the promotion?). Who the fuck does that? There was a reason that hissing was something generally done only by snakes and cats. It wasn't threatening when a human literally hissed at another one, it just made them look like a weirdo who didn't know how to interact with other members of their species. Not to mention it seemed like the guy had a temper that made Atkin look like a cold faced stone in comparison. But that wasn't the really concerning part.

It was how he moved when Myrus suddenly exploded. It was fluid, and Atkin could tell that he was no stranger to that dagger. You occasionally saw people like that around the ramblings, and they were the among the riskiest people to be around. If you got on their bad side, you could end up with a dagger through the heart before you realized it. The lady might be a giant flying lizard with time powers, but Atkin couldn't shake the feeling that Richard was by far the more dangerous of the two. He could only hope that Lyra wouldn't end up accidentally creating a bigger incident than the numerous ones that had occurred in the past four hours or so. Under other circumstances he'd offer some kind of warning to her, but he didn't really have any way of doing so that wouldn't get everyone's knickers in a tighter knot than they already were. Asides, she was a grown woman and supposedly some kind of warrior. She could take care of herself and should have been able to see the same thing he had.

Oh speaking of which, what the fuck had Myrus just done? He was still a beginner (well intermediate practitioner if you go by OOC skill names) at this whole Magyk business, but even he could see that what he had done wasn't Magyk. At least, it was no Magyk he had ever seen around the tower or poking around in places he shouldn't be. Maybe it was like what Rowland had said about whatever took Luna not being Magyk. But it was still wild.

"Not to state the obvious or nothin', but the prince should probably be taken to a Physician." Even taking the weird whatever it was he had just done out of account, the guy was freaking out and bleeding from the nose. Maybe it was just a nose bleed, but given he had just been mind scrambled and his hands were glowing red, there was a pretty good chance that there could have been something actually messed up with him physically in the brain area. Or at the very least, perhaps the Physician would be able to calm him enough that he'd be able to communicate properly.

The ExtraOrdinary Apprentice turned to make his way back to Arya's side when he started to feel a killer itch on his chest. Quickly, that irritation spread outward. Soon it covered his entire torso, but kept going, crawling down his arms and legs and up his neck. Finally after it seemed to cover ever centimeter of his skin, it stopped, and the lad was able to pry his hands away from himself. And when he did, he found something peculiar.

They were purple. Or more accurately covered entirely in purple velvet. Quickly he pulled up the sleeves of his dress cloak. Sure enough, more velvet. He pulled his collar forward and looked down into his robes for the final bit of confirmation. From head to toe, Atkin was plastered in the stuff. That funny little quirk about learning Magyk decided to crop up again: when it just decided to manifest without any input from him whatsoever. It had never been this bad; however, considering the rest of the day up to this point, why wouldn't he just become covered in fabric? He couldn't even bring himself to get mad and yell about it. All he could do was march over to his teacher's side and fume.

---

Why did Magyk have to be such a constant source of grief? One moment the woman was ready to spring into combat, the next she was unable to move, along with everyone else in the room. She recognized the charm, it was one that she'd seen employed in the past, but she forgot the exact name. Fast Freeze? Freeze Fast? It was all she could do to recall the exact word choice required to dispel it while all the witches (and Wizard) undid themselves and started going on their merry business. Luna had been Cradlesnatched (her master wouldn't like that), a snake had been summoned and the other Coven Mother boldly proclaimed her sentiment to make sure that the princess wouldn't be making it out if she could have her way. That definitely wouldn't be allowed.

The woman managed to unfreeze herself right when a new woman entered the scene. One who was very much not a witch, and in whom she saw a lot of things she recognized. This new entrant who had so effortlessly came into the scene and slain the serpent and her summoned snake was not a person. She was a tool, a weapon built to kill with ruthless efficiency. And she didn't loathe her apparent purpose, but rather seemed to enjoy it. What a fascinating creature. But she couldn't let that distract her from the situation at hand. They evidentally had the same purpose, which made them allies, even if she didn't know it. The woman resumed her fighting stance, club at the ready.

"Do not attack me," she spoke to Amarantha, doubting that she sounded in any way compelling, "I am here for the same reason as you. Get ready. They will probably target you now that you've taken out one of their top members." Speaking of which, she would likely be a high profile target as well, and it was in her best interest to ready herself as well. She quickly scrolled through her head, recalling various was of countering a Magykal attack aimed in one's own direction. She had no interest in being frozen again, or worse.

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"Relax a little bit Richard... It does not sound like they mean us, or the child, any harm. Do not worry, I have dealt with these people before, though I did appear in human form straight away during those visits... Remain calm, as long as we can get our child, then there will be no issue," she said to Richard, before she leaned over and whispered so only he could hear. "Though that Atkin boy could learn a few manners in my opinion."

Valda looked over at Lyra, nodding. She still wasn't too sure how this sort of thing worked, but it was probably a good thing that she dealt with it now, made her life easier overall so she didn't forget it. Lyra knew her way with a sword, and seemed to generally want to do good, so it made sense to just make her a knight and be done with it. From what she knew, she was practically one anyway, might as well give her the official title.

"Let's go get our child then," Thalia said, before she headed that way. She was distracted momentarily by what was happening with Myrus, and she raised an eyebrow. There was only one person that she had ever personally met with that power, and she'd met him a long time ago in passing. "Oh look at that Richard... Seems like despite how long it has been, there are still mutants in the world," she said calmly, before heading to the Palace.

Valda was staring at her brother. He had told her that someone wanted to kill her, though that was no surprise, but it was the fact that he had caused an explosion that drew her attention. "Myrus? Are you alright?" she asked softly, looking at him. The words of the dragon stuck out in her mind, making her wonder what she was talking about. The dragon had been around for years, and probably knew what she was talking about, but still. What on earth was a mutant?

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Sylvi was just finishing up a performance, her voice ringing out as she finished her song. She never was ever going to get over just how it felt to sing in front of a crowd, she loved every moment of it. Now that she was done, she decided to get herself a drink or something, make her life a little better, and her throat tended to get sore after a while, so she needed something.

She found herself, sitting not too far away from the man and the twins at the bar, she ordered a simple drink, and a moment later, she had it in her hand. She sipped at it, trying hard not to listen to the conversation that the man was having with the twins who were speaking some unknown language. Sylvi didn't know what to do, or say, especially since the man seemed to understand what the twins were saying, despite responding to them in an understandable language.

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Fleur was not one to be trifled with.

It took but a moment, but in her wariness, it led to disaster as one entered her home. She could have stopped it. She could have prevented it, but it was too late. The knife swung out, delicately, and Nera was no more. She didn't care about Luna now. She didn't care about her home. She had lost the one person in this world she truly loved beyond all measure.

There would be hell to pay!

Rhys had gone after the girl, for which Fleur promised to repay his kindness (or selfishness), but the man could not be trusted and, much to his credit, he held on to the window as if his life depended on it (and it did). Fleur glanced around her at the three women. The one in front of her with the grin like a fox. She was the thorn in her paw. And what did one normally do with thorns than to eliminate them? "Oh petal. Time is something you don't have much left of." Without warning, Fleur's eyes glowed purple as she summoned a force that shook the room they were in. She unleashed a primal yell as she swung the energy at Aramantha, causing the woman to be pushed backwards out the window, knocking Rhys off the still in the process.

Aramantha would fall to the ground with a thud. She would not be dead, but she would suffer a broken right arm and a broken left leg. It wasn't death, but it would do for now. Rhys would wall on the woman shortly after, worsening the injuries but leaving the man relatively unharmed.

Now for the matter with the other women. "I can sense my numbers and we are turning the course of battle. My quarry is not with you, so you may leave if you wish, but I cannot promise you will be safe if you stay." Fleur used what energy she had left to summon Luna back. An inkling feeling would hit Luna to return, but it would not be as strong as Fleur hoped. She was a bit tired now.

Fleur turned to where Nera fell, picking up the hairpin off the ground. How often had she seen the woman wear this and not think much of it? She had lost her only friend. Her love.

A surge came off the pin and Fleur could hear the voice. A voice she was not expecting to hear again. “Fleur, my love, when you’re done here we need to speak. I have much to tell you. I have set things in motion that must be completed.” Fleur gripped the pin, fighting the urge to showcase the emotion she was feeling. "I will end this for you Nera. I will do whatever it is you ask."

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It was an odd name for a tavern, but Myth could hardly call something odd. In her travels she had seen an odd assortment of things. So it would be of no surprise to anyone that she felt at home here. She entered the building with gusto, taking in the sights and the smells (the latter of which made her want to vomit, so she started breathing in through her mouth). But, she was a performer. And performers often did not choose their stage. Rather, the stage chose them.

"Greetings friends! I hope you are ready for a fun time!" Myth often entered places and wanted to be seen and heard. She entered, sensing eyes on her and feeling nothing but warmth. She would perform soon. Either on stage or elsehwere, she had not decided yet.

That was until she saw the young man sitting at the bar. Two identical twins sat next to him. "Twins present problems attracting mates, but I think I got a leg up on these two" she said to no one in particular as she strode towards the bar. She heard the man speak about puppies, and chose then to enter herself into the conversation. "Puppies, you say? I love puppies! And a hundred and one of them? Do tell." It was then that Myth sat on the man's lap, feeling herself around him before turning to the tender. "Barkeep? Your finest mead, if you please. One for myself and this strapping gentleman here." She tirned to face the man she was sitting on with a sly wink and grin. The eyes said "Take me now", and her mouth would have done the same had she not been surrounded by other people.

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Lyra's lips thinned slightly when she realized that the knighting ceremony wasn't going to be postponed as she had suggested. She quickly hid her disapproval with a small, albeit strained, smile. Don't get me wrong, she was overjoyed to be bestowed the honor of being knighted. However, she just didn't feel that right now was the time or the place for this. After all, two powerful beings were here from God knows where to retrieve their child. It just seemed improper and inconsiderate to make them wait for something that was comparatively trivial. Not to mention the fact that she was a tad worried at how this would be received by the parents, particularly the gentleman who had already shown signs of having aggressive tendencies. She took a quick glance back in the direction of the parents, and at seeing the look of aggravation on the man's face, it only confirmed her suspicions. Her hands itched to reach for her sword just in case the man tried anything rash, but she didn't give in to that desire, instead keeping her hands laced in front of her.

She focused her attention back on Valda as she started the knighting ceremony. It was a rather informal ceremony but that mattered not as it was truly a honor either way. She tried to keep her façade composed and stoic, but despite her best efforts she could feel her emotions leaking through. She took a quick glance over at Cuyler. He of all people knew what this truly meant to her. It meant everything to her. "Thank you, Your Grace," she stated earnestly when the "ceremony" came to a quick close. She wiped away a stray tears before swiftly regaining her composure and turning her attention back to the parents of the dragon egg. "Now pl--" she began but was quickly interrupted by a loud scream.

She whorled around as her hand flew to the hilt of her sword. Her eyes widened as she took in the state of Prince Myrus, and a gasp escaped her lips as he seemed to cause an explosion. She staggered backwards a little bit as she quickly shielded her face with her arm as fragments of wood flew into the air. She slowly lowered her arm as things seemed to settle down. She now looked warily over at Myrus, and yet a part of her still wanted to go to him. She hated seeing him so scared, but at the same time, she knew that she had a duty to perform elsewhere. She looked sharply over at Puck, her eyes lighting up like an igniting fire. She didn't take kindly to his seeming lack of empathy for Myrus's plight. Her intense gaze remained on him for a second or two before she simmered down and turned her attention back to Lord Laine and Lady Maehers once again.

She noted the gentleman's protective stance and his unsheated blade, but she decided that it was best not to inquire of it. And as far as her reaction to the reference to some being known as a "mutant," she just arched a pale blonde brow but otherwise didn't ask. "Please, follow me, your child is safely in my quarters," she explained before gesturing for them to follow her. She took one more worried glance over at Myrus before she led the parents to the Servants' Quarters.

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Marya Magnisky looked at her legal guardian and just laughed. "Технички, ми нисмо криминалци док нас не ухвате," Marya pointed out with a giggle. She then raised an eyebrow at the blonde who went and sat in the man's lap, noticing how bold he was. Even the bartender raised an eyebrow, before he served the two of them their drinks. "Зар нисте мало старији за њу, тата?" Marya then added with a smirk.

"Потпуно се слажем с тим!" Medea said, starting to laugh at what her sister said. The man just rolled his eyes, "B-B-Behave you two!" he managed to say, shaking his head at them. Medea was still snickering slightly at the whole situation.

"Да ли бисте бар признали лепу девојку у крилу? Или сте наследили друштвене вештине вашег оца? Барем наши преци су знали како добити оно што желе," Marya teased, smirking as the bartender brought her a FizzFroot and she started to drink it. She knew there was a good chance that the Port Witch Coven was imploding at the moment and she figured Fleur, if she lived, would ask for an explanation. But in their defense, they did need to eat if they ran constantly. They'd pass out otherwise.

Medea kept cackling, and his face turned red. "Вероватно је наследио друштвене вјештине које би му биле потребне," she added gleefully. He just shook his head, rubbing his eyes with a free hand and setting his glasses down on the bar, he took a deep breath, before addressing Myth. "Uh, hi... My name is Bruce Banner..." he said, looking at her.

"Досадно ми је. Хоћеш да се зезаш са Поинтбреаком?" Marya asked, nodding over towards Sylvi. She figured Bruce could use some time along with his new friend. She couldn't wait to tell his siblings about this. Or even better - his parents.

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Myrus seemed to calm as Cuyler approached him. Although he was a prince and not a frightened animal, he responded in a similar way to Cuyler's calm body language. Myrus was trying his best to keep steady breaths as he wrung his hands, the mutterings stopping for the moment and he was able to speak clearly, for the most part. "V-Valda...Sh-she's going to kill Valda..." Myrus sobbed. "A-a-and L-Luna...A-and the...the ExtraOrdinary Wizard...A-and the Chief Hermetic Scribe...A-and the Wendron Witches...A-and me..."

Arya was watching Myrus, transfixed with what had happened. She hadn't seen such raw potential before - and it did not feel like Magyk to her. She would have Sensed it and beyond witchcraft, the Royal Family never showed any Magykal aptitude. It was something to do with their violet eyes, she was certain. They refused to tinge green. She was about to say something when out of the corner of her eye, Atkin was covered in purple velvet. She smiled slightly at the sight, though her smile faded when she considered it could have been a result of nerves.

"I think purple looks far better on me, don't you agree Atkin?" Arya said softly, before she cast a Reverse and set Atkin's clothing back to normal. She had walked over with Cuyler and Valda to see Myrus, doing a quick MindRead in an attempt to figure out what was wrong with him. However, her concentration was broken as she heard Thalia utter the word mutant. "Rowland, have you ever heard of such a thing?" she asked quietly.

Rowland pondered it for a moment, before he shook his head. "I recall reading it in one tome or another at the Manuscriptorium, yet its meaning escapes me..."

"Very well. All the more reason to go consult Uncle Marcellus - I mean, Mr. Dumont," Arya said, correcting herself. Her mother had been rather close friends with the Chief Hermetic Scribe and had introduced him to Arya at a young age. She hadn't been able to quite manage to say Marcellus when she was that little, so for a time, she called him Uncle Marcie. As often as Rowland came to visit her family during her one month a year of vacation time during her apprenticeship, Marcellus sometimes seemed to be a constant fixture. He was her mother's best friend, after all.

"...She called me a mutant..." Myrus whispered, having calmed down since Cuyler came over and talked to him. It seemed to have almost completely snapped him out of it, just having someone approach him gently. He looked at Valda with confusion, searching for answers in her face. "Valda...Am I going to die?" Myrus then asked quietly, his eyes watering. He was terrified and didn't understand what was happening to him.

Asha spoke with Emperor Taj softly, before she ran after Lyra and the others who were going inside to secure the child. When they reached Lyra's room at the Servant Headquarters, the door was hot to the touch and swung open gently. Inside, surrounded by flames, was a happy gurgling baby dragon. It then seemed to sneeze and there was a poof and it looked like a human baby.

"...It's a shapeshifter..." Asha whispered with wonder.

"More a pyromaniac, if you ask me," Puck added, having apparently decided to tag along as well.

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As the fighting upstairs rages on, so does the bitter battle on the first floor. In medicine, the worst bacteria remains after treatment with antibiotics - the ones strong enough to remain and adapt, to survive despite the horrors. In a similar line of thought, so remained the one Port Witch on the first floor - Constance. She was the Magykal equivalent of antibiotic resistant bacteria, at least as far as the Wendron Witches and the Young Army were concerned.

"I don't think you were supposed to make it this far, girlie," Constance mused, concentrating as she opened a portal to the Other. A disgusting creature, made of bones and spirits and yet somehow appearing to be a cohesive organism, practically oozed forward. It devoured Little-Bell and another Wendron Witch whole, before swallowing up Boy 604. There was only one Wendron Witch left on the bottom floor and Constance stared at her, before the girl took off and ran outside, crashing into Boy 512. "And stay out," Constance added, before slamming the door and beginning to work on repairing the wards, despite limping.

Constance then looked around, seeing the Other oozing through bodies and the gigantic mess the battle had left. "And I thought my son was a slob," she muttered.

Back upstairs, Jadis felt the numbers of her Coven dwindle until there were only three of them left. She wagered a guess that one of them was Valda - and the other must have been some poor soul downstairs. Her eyes flickered over towards Amarantha, hearing her comment about being on a timeline, but she couldn't focus on that. Jadis had been so certain that she was going to emerge victorious on this day - that the Port Witch Coven would no longer be a stain upon the world. And instead, she had lost just about everything. She'd need to rebuild from scratch, CradleSnatch every girl on the streets she could find, convince Valda to let her steal away the Castle's children in order to return the Wendron Witches to their glory.

But Jadis' pride would not allow her to flee. With her coven in ruin, she had another option available to her. The Port Witch Coven would have taken their children to safety - she had not seen them here. If she could just kill Fleur and locate the safehouse, then those children would be hers. Any surviving Port Witches would pledge loyalty to her as the new Witch Mother. "It's time to fulfill the prophecy," Jadis whispered, looking at Fleur who was struck with grief. She didn't particularly care about Luna at that moment. Others seemed to have that handle.

"I will become the Witch Messiah," Jadis swore. There was a legend that one day, when the world was almost balanced between Lyte and Darke, witches from all around would respond to the call of a single figure. This individual was blessed with all gifts of Magyk, causing even wizards to quake with fear at their might.

"I sacrifice myself, heart and soul, to the Elder Gods - to the masters of Magyk - the mothers of witches and warlocks - the beginning and the end," Jadis recited. She had no skill in Darke Magyk but she knew the words of the prophecy - the words she needed to pledge in order to achieve the ultimate power. It was a Magyk beyond any other. "Chthon, take me as your host!" Jadis shouted.

Magyk began coursing through her veins and there was a glow in her eyes, one that would blind any who looked at her. Jadis smirked, about to take a step forward towards Fleur when she cried out in pain. Her body began to wither away, until she turned to dust in front of Fleur's eyes and crumbled into a small pile on the ground.

"...I always did say she was a rubbish witch," Nera's voice whispered in Fleur's ear. She had only Appeared to Fleur thus far. No one else in the room could see her.

Outside the house, the wild haired woman looked at Luna for a moment, sizing her up. She could tell by her garb that she was noble and Harlianne couldn't help but frown with distaste. She hated nobility as a rule. They never brought about anything but trouble. "How much gold we talkin', savvy?" the woman - Harlianne James - asked. She then glanced at the others who fell from the window, taking a step back as Amarantha and Rhys appeared. "These mates of yours or somethin', little miss?"

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Myrus’s words stopped many things in Cuyler. His thoughts, his breath, his heart. For a split second he thought of moving over to Arya and claiming he knew a safe place to hide, to tuck her away where nothing could touch her but Magyk followed Magyk. Odd as it was, she would probably be safer in the open. Cuyler shifted back and refocused on Myrus. He was terrified and Cuyler was sure the she he spoke of was the Witch that invaded his head.
Multiple things were going on in the courtyard and Cuyler had a habit of tracking each thing. So when he heard Queen Valada knight Lyra, he looked over to watch. Cuyler had never seen a Knighting performed, so he didn’t understand fully the unorthodox of the Knighting given to his friend. After it’s conclusion, Lyra worked to compose herself and glanced over at Cuyler. A small smile crested his lips when he saw the emotions flicker through her eyes. This is why Lyra had left, why she fought so hard to cement her life here. Congratulations would have to wait, as the Prince was still struggling and Lyra had a duty to now perform. Before they could exit the lawn though, the woman who was a dragon previously spoke up and mentioned a word Cuyler hadn’t heard in a long time.
With the threat of the woman-dragon gone, having followed Lyra into the castle, Thia came over. She nuzzled under Cuyler, taking up the small space between him and Myrus. She looked up at the Prince, licked his hand and laid down. To anyone it would look like the man’s dog came to take up residence at her owner’s feet to provide comfort but to Thia and Cuyler who knew her, it was far more than that. Thia watched everyone around her, her eyes and ears the only thing that shifted every once in awhile. Until night, Thia would remain close to the young Prince.
A mutant? Cuyler’s brow furrowed. He had heard that strange word before, on his travels. They had extraordinary abilities. Abilities that rivaled some Gods. Some even worshiped them as the Gods. The stories Cuyler had come across didn’t say that they were born with or were created to have power like the Gods but their abilities came from an external force or an intense internal force; such as, an emotional break. Cuyler briefly wondered if the Witch who invaded Myrus’s head knew that would occur to the Prince when she stepped into his mind.
With the little information Cuyler knew, he attempted to use it to comfort the Prince. His eyes looked up from Thia’s fur and at the Prince’s face again.
”Mutant isn’t something to fear Prince Myrus. People around the word revere them to be next to Gods. The tale I told you earlier,” Cuyler said, looking to Ayra. ”Those children could be considered mutants, although in The Land of Lost Nights they are not,” Cuyler said and looked back at Prince Myrus.
”We will figure this out.” He reached out then to rest a hand on the man’s shoulder. Even though there were several things occuring in The Castle at this moment, Cuyler was sure everyone would be working to get Myrus's situation figured out as well. For his safety as well as the peoples’.

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Amarantha continued to twirl her knife even as the Witch across from her conjured up a wave of Darke Magyk to her. When Fleur’s eyes began to glow purple Amarantha shifted, clutching her knife in her hand and made a ready stance but what came next wouldn’t help her. She was hit squarely in the stomach and sent flying through the window. Amarantha didn’t make a single noise as she was flung and hit the ground with a hollow thud and a crack. She dropped her knife from the impact and wasn't able to reach for it. She sucked in a breath and lifted her head to see the snap in her leg. She was about to examine the rest of her when the Wizard from before landed on top of her. At this she cried, for the break in her leg worsened; however, the break in her arm remained the same. There was a dull pain there as she felt nothing but her leg was on fire.
Amarantha returned her attention to the man on top of her, she sucked in a breath and glared at him.
”Would you kindly, get, off!” she roared at the man and knocked her elbow into his face. It had absolutely no effect on the devilishly handsome gent straddling her, which only infuriated her further. The pain wasn’t bothering her, it was the embarrassment of the situation, for Princess Luna was standing next to them and now the famous Deputy Hunter had to ask for assistance. She tilted her head back and gave three short whistles. Boy 512 came sprinting around the corner and quickly saw the situation at hand. His Deputy sprawled on the ground, being pinned by a giant of a man compared to her. He hurried to her side and grabbed the man’s shirt collar. By the gentleman’s size, you would think one would brace himself to lift such a weight up and off but Boy 512 was clearly not on the same island as the rest of them for when he went to lift Rhys off, he lost his footing and both men fell onto the Deputy Hunter.
Amarantha roared with pain as the impact hit her broken leg again. She saw red behind her eyes as she looked over at Boy 512.
”It seems you no longer have use for your fingers or the balance of your toes. When I get out of this I will help to relieve you of them.” It wasn’t an empty threat and if he didn’t do something to help her immediately, he would lose more than that.
Amarantha looked up at the man on top of her and tilted her head slightly, giving off less of the predator and more of the prey.
”You however, seem quite good with your hands. I could use the assistance with him if I can provide any interest,” Amarantha spoke. Her voice no longer held the venom and frost she spoke with earlier but had a honey sweet and fresh summer wind tilt to it.

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Luna looked up at the window where she had just jumped out of, and the Wizard attempted to come after her it was a bit comical when she watched him dangle just by his underwear. But she knew that he would probably go after her if he had his way, then a few seconds later there was a surge of Magyk coming from the room she was in. Then a figure was blown out of the window along with the wizard, Luna turned away when she heard the thud. She looked out seeing Amarantha on the ground, and a member of the Young Army coming over to aide her only to fall on top of Rhys and Amarantha.

Luna could hear a scream as a single Wendron Witch came running out of the front entrance of the Coven, then her attention turned towards the wildhaired woman asking if they were friends of hers. Luna turned to the dog pile on Amarantha as she thought for awhile, she didnt trust anyone at the moment. But Luna remembered the woman say that she had came after her on the orders of Valda, then she could feel the pull from Fleur as well, taking a few steps closer towards the front door, when Harlianne asked how muck money. Luna shook her head for a moment, still feeling the slight tug. "The woman I think so, the other guy? I dont know.." Luna said softly as she turned to look at the woman. "Whatever money you need, I just need to get there in an hours time." Luna said towards Harlianne.

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Richard reined in his temper at Thalia's directive. He knew the woman could easily take care of herself, but she was the mother of his child and so it fell to him to protect her. Even if she didn't need it. Though the Adder gave a slight chuckle as Thalia commented about the boy who had been the first to greet them. "Shall I teach him a few before we leave, My Lady Dragoness." A deft hand sliding the knife back into the sheath, as he pecked Thalia on one of her hands. Nothing more than a flirtatious agreement. For now at least, or so would be the thought read in the Shifter's eyes. Looking back at Myrus, he nodded slowly with a slight smirk. His uptake being slower due to his nerves about the egg hatching. Understandable for a first time father. "A interesting turn of events, but we do have more pressing matters."

And pressing matters they did have! The room was in flames, and those that had joined them looked on in statement at the baby dragon/human in the center who was looking very amused at the state of things. "She's definitely ours." The humor was thick in Richard's voice but a part of his mind was focused on Asha and Puck. The former being a curiosity who he was wary of, but not overly concerned about her casting harm about the offspring. Puck however... He was a threat, so Richard politely ignored his comment though he did not let his guard down. Though he would give the tiny man credit for the fact their daughter did have a particular glee for fire setting.

Striding into the room, the Adder shrugged out of his suit jacket. Wrapping about the baby as he picked the girl-child up. It had been too long since he had been around youngsters. A softness entering the killer's eyes as he stared down at the girl. "Now aren't you a charmer. Almost enough that I'd let you burn down the entire castle if you wished. Almost." The assassin crooned, his fingers gently exploring the tiny face and hands. His snake-esque eyes peering at the girl and memorizing every detail as he carried her back to Thalia. Ignoring the flames that licked at the room. Thalia would find an arm wrapping about her shoulders, as she was pulled tight against Richard's side. The man reluctant to relinquish the child, even to the mother. "Though that almost won't last for long." He'd fold under this girl-child quickly. Richard already sensed his doom in the wings. A doom that his sister had not prepared him for.

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Rhys felt himself slid free of the perch he had been hanging from like a reckless youth. Which he most certainly was not! Twisting about in the air in an attempt to ease his fall, he found himself with nothing more than bruises. Something the charming man could live with, just as he could live with the beautiful woman beneath him. He had seen her above in the Port Witches' and she had seemed deadly. Her words to the lad who darted to aid his leader only confirming it. A wicked gleam entered the green eyes as the boy tried to lift him only to fall.

That opening was all Rhys needed to act. As much as he desired to snatch the Witches' prize. This girl interest him. She proved herself a leader, and thus it stood to reason she had some skill. Recalling a similar youth being called to the platform in the chaos of the coronation- not that he was paying overly much attention- Rhys decided to take her as a project. "Tucked beneath time for sleep. In frozen state shall not awake." Looking pleased as the boy fell into a slumber. Easier it would be to kill him, and then snatch the girl who now was bound away. It seemed numbers more than just he would be needed for his ambitious goal and the Port Witches were a bit scant on that now a days. Sans the children of course, but what help could they really be?

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While it was a relief that he didn't have to spend any more time covered in velvet, his newly returned appearance was the last thing on his mind at the moment. There was a lot of shit to take in at once and nobody seemed to have a solid view of the big picture. But there was one thing that fixated in the boy's head. He was going to punch whoever was behind this in the face.

There was no way that entirely unrelated parties kidnapped Luna, reinstated the Queste, and were plotting to kill all the most important figures in the Castle. This was all plotted by one person or one group of people. He had no idea what their greater motives were for this or what they planned to do after tearing everything down, but he didn't really give two shits. They were evil, and couldn't be allowed to just run around doing whatever they thought, thinking they could get away with every heinous action their ego told them they could do. Not to mention that they'd pissed him off in at least 3 different ways, and they deserved a good fist to the face. Probably a right cunt to be around in general.

As far as the whole "Mutant" term thrown around, he was pretty sure they were an old gang of witches from generations ago. They should all be dead these days, and what Myrus had done was not Magyk, even witch magyk. So he didn't know why Thalia thought that the prince had suddenly become a witch. Maybe the term meant something else from where she was from. Apparently where Cuyler was from they were worshiped as gods, but also apparently they also believed fairy tales as fact, so he didn't put much stock into anything he had said to Myrus.

"Can we take Myrus to a Physician or return to the Tower? We aren't getting anything done just standing around here on the lawn. Maybe the Pyramid Library has something on mutants." Not to mention that every moment spent standing around contemplating the situation was another moment that the bastard behind the events of the day could get farther along in their schemes. To top it all off, standing around was boring as sin and just made him want to storm off on his own to try figuring out what's really going on.

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Well there went her warning to the new woman about Magyk attacks. It seemed like that window was seeing more use as an exit today than the door. But more importantly, her target had left through that window, and the sooner she could track her down and secure her, the better. It certainly wouldn't be in her best interest to hang around to witness a battle between Coven Mothers.

Except, there wasn't a battle. The Wendron Mother tried invoking some eldritch prophecy, which would normally be a bunch of mumbo jumbo. But what happened next. That image branded itself in her mind, and she doubted that she'd ever completely forget. The sight of somebody just dissolving away shook her to her very core, and in fear, her body reacted. She threw her hands up to the last remaining person in the room, Fleur. There was a surge from deep within her chest, a power she had grown familiar with, but dreaded its appearance. But something went awry. She had acted in such a panic that Fleur was completely unaffected. Instead, the body of the other witch convulsed once, but remained still.

Confronted with the failure of he desperation attack, being left alone with a coven mother and her quarry having left the house, the woman's next course of action was clear. She sprinted from her spot and dove right out of the window. She hit the ground more smoothly than anybody else had in recent memory, rolling up to her feet. The Young Army woman was in a rather compromising position by the man who had tried to knock her club out of her hand magykally (a situation she would rectify in the near future if time allowed), but everyone seemed no worse for wear. Perhaps she would be able to retrieve Luna from the Coven house without having to kill anyone after all.

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"She is a shape shifter like me, between dragon and human, I wasn't always a dragon you know," Thalia said in response to Asha's comment, a little bit half-heartedly. She smiled at the baby, and was not surprised at all when Richard walked over and picked the child up. "Hopefully she doesn't burn this place to the ground, it would be too much of a hassle to try and make sure everything didn't end horribly for us," she said with a small laugh.

The baby was cute, and she rolled her eyes slightly when Richard pulled her close to him, but she said nothing. It wouldn't surprise her if he did do a lot of what the kid said, and she was going to probably laugh a lot about everything. "I do apologize for the bit of a mess the child caused, after all, she is just a baby," Thalia said, turning to look at Lyra.

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Valda was confused by Thalia's words before she had left, and from the sounds of it, she wasn't the only one. Everyone seemed to wonder what it was that she was talking about. She turned to look at her brother, noticing the fear in his eyes and voice, and she tried to give him a reassuring smile. "It will be alright Myrus, do not worry, we'll figure this out," she said softly, before she turned her attention to the others again.

"The dragon seems to know what it is, so perhaps before we do anything, we ask her to see what she can tell us, if she is willing to that is. Perhaps now that she's with her child, she might be willing to tell us," Valda suggested, and it made sense in her mind. The woman had caused the alarm, and made people question everything, so why not just go directly to the source? Thalia likely had been around for thousands of years, so obviously she'd know something.

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Sylvi glanced over at Bruce and Myth, rolling her eyes slightly, wondering just how it was that someone like her existed in the world. The man was uncomfortable in the situation, at least it looked like that to her, so why didn't she just leave him alone. She heard the twins talking to him in some weird language, and he seemed to be able to understand him perfectly fine, which made her wonder a little bit about him, but she was not generally the type to walk up and ask something about a person she didn't even know. Unlike the other person there clearly.

She noticed that one of the twins seemed to nod in her direction, and she found it to be quite odd. After all, she did not know them, and had never met them before in her life, but yet they seemed to be talking about her. Sylvi was curious, wondering what exactly it was that made them look at her, when she hadn't said or done anything, unlike the woman who just sat in the guy's lap. Talk about not exactly being subtle about things in anyway.

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As Lyra came to a stop in front of her door, she reached out to grab the doorknob, only to recoil as she felt the heat of it on her hand. Confusion filled her before quickly being replaced with alarm as the slight, yet nonetheless distinct, scent of smoke came to her nose. She quickly opened the door, wincing slightly but not caring if she burnt herself in the process. All she could think about was that poor, defenseless egg in a burning room, but as the door swung open gently, it would quickly become clear that things were not as they seemed. She gasped as her eyes landed on a real live baby dragon, in her room, and it was having a grand ol' time too. Her eyes widened in wonder, at the moment not really processing the fact that her room was literally on fire. Because, come on, there was a freaking adorable baby dragon right in front of her!!! She could barely believe her eyes, and as if the cuteness wasn't already enough, the dragon sneezed and instantly transformed into a human baby. Before she could contain herself, a girlish squeal that was rather unbecoming of a knight left her lips.

She bit her lip, glancing back at the others. When her gaze landed on Asha, having not realized she had followed along, a blush quickly came to her features. She gave her a small, slightly awkward, smile before looking away. She cleared her throat and tried to regain her composure once more. However, she found it a tad difficult at the sight of the father clutching his newly born, or hatched rather, baby in his arms. She felt her heart melt a bit at the sight. However, at Thalia's words, she was finally pulled out of her trance enough to finally realize that her room WAS ON FIRE. She quickly rushed forward and grabbed the nearest blanket before trying to smother out the fire. She glanced back over at Thalia, giving her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it. Like you said, she's just a child. Things can be replaced, but what you have is more precious than anything. I'm glad I was able to reunite her with you," she replied earnestly.

Meanwhile, a certain someone chose this inopportune moment to Appear to Myrus. "Oh, you won't die, yet," a voice whispered in his ear. "Now, why would this woman you speak of kill your dear sister Valda--" His voice soon turned into maniacal laughter. "No no no, she would just use Concilium on you again and have you kill Valda. It's a genius plan, really. If it weren't for the fact that I want to see her head on a pike, I would even kiss her for it. And then I would snap her neck."

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"Witch Messiah? Huh. I like the sound of that."

Fleur brushed bits of the woman off of her as she vanished into the air. The other woman with her, who Fleur actually forgot about, jumped out the window. So far, that window was becoming quite the exit way. Perhaps she should see about installing something for easier access? But that was for another time because as she turned and heard the voice, she could not believe it.

Or rather, she could as she was accustomed to such things, but Nera was there, standing in front of her. She was dead, Fleur was certain, but Nera stood there. Fleur looked at her hand, where she still clutched the hairpin of her fallen love. "Yeah, she was not worth the trouble. I can sense our numbers and it seems we have won, at least for now. I don't expect the Wendron Witches to lick their wounds for long, but I am content that Bernice is handling the children well. If anyone dares trifle with her, or Constance for that matter, they will suffer a far greater wrath than I could ever muster."

Fleur looked out the window to the sky now, debating the next course of action now that she had her companion with her, if even for this moment. "I've long since felt Malekith leave and the fact these witches came shortly afterwards can only confirm he did not hold out. I expected as much. And now you are gone. I will fulfill my promise I stated. I will see our plans through. And I can start, by reclaiming our prize."

With that, Fleur sent out another missive to Luna through CradleSnatching, this time, Luna will feel a strong pull and an urge to listen and obey. "Not so fast, love. You are not through aiding your Witch Mother. Come, we must get together and rebuild."

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Myth cared not for the talk or the looks she had recieved. She was in a handsome man's lap, and that was all that mattered. At least in this instance. Bruce seemed taken aback by all of this and she could only stifle in her enjoyment of it for so long. "Bruch eh? Such a strong, masculine name that just oozes power and...girth. She shuffled herself in his lap, being careful not to hurt the beast, but more to tease.

"No need to be nervous, Bruce. I am a decent person. Name is Myth, by the way. I am a traveling Bard and Adventuress seeking fortune and fame, among other things," she added with a sly wink. She took a sip of her drink before continuing. "Want me to play you something? Or sing? Or anything else that tickles your fancy?"

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"Ох, Бруце, ох, како је прекрасно име! Име које може најбољег хиљаду империја! Ох, узми ме сада слатког принца!" Marya mocked with a laugh, having moved away from Bruce and his new girlfriend with her sister. Her eyes kept flickering over towards Sylvi as she contemplated just what she wanted to do to her. She doubted her adoptive father knew anything about how to care for a woman - or even interact with one, despite the fact that he grew up with three sisters - each one more irritating than the last, in Marya's opinion.

There was a flash of silver and suddenly, Sylvi would find that her bag was gone. Marya dumped out its contents on the table with her sister, looking at the songs with interest. "Uh..." Bruce said, his face turning red, before he noticed what the twins were doing. "Hey, stop it you two, or I will make you." he threatened in their direction, before he looked at Myth again. "Uh... Sorry about that..."

"Добро, убојство," Marya muttered. "Сумња да ваша девојка жели да види како позовете црну рупу изнад главе. Оставља косу." She then snickered, but she wasn't making a move to return the items that she had stolen with her sister. Instead, she kept on sifting through them, figuring stop it meant no more - he didn't tell them to return the papers, anyways.

He let out a sigh, "Give her back her things, now Marya, Medea!" he snapped at them, he was known to have a little bit of a temper, and they were started to practically yank it to the forefront. He took a deep breath, managing to calm down. "Those two are so hard to keep up with," he whispered to Myth.

"Без обзира, њене песме су ипак глупе. Сва најбоља музика је направљена прије еона. Видео сам барови једном да извршим убиство извођења слатких снова. Само добра музика коју сам икада чуо." There was another flash of silver and Sylvi's things would be returned to her, and if Sylvi turned to look, the twins were now looking around with boredom.

"Be nice Marya..." he said.

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The sun has not yet begun to set for the Castle, but the temperature has been steadily dropping. Ceremonials robes and outfits will not be enough to keep out the chill much longer. During the Coronation, the sun was high in the sky and the temperature was at its highest. Snow had begun to fall steadily again, contrasting brilliantly against Arya's dark hair and the temperature had plummeted to a chilly 20 degrees Fahrenheit (or approximately minus seven degrees Celsius, for those using the far superior metric system).

Arya had started to shiver, pulling her coat around her. The chill felt like it was eating into her bones and she whispered a Charm under her breath, a bluebell flame appeared in her hand. It didn't burn her but it helped to give a tingling sensation to her cold fingers. Atkin would also begin to shiver. Perhaps Wizard Tower had softened him slightly - either that or his robes were beginning to fail to protect him from the elements. (Everyone else outside on the Palace Lawn would be feeling fine).

Myrus wasn't shivering from the cold and while for some, this would be seen as a good sign, any well versed in Physik would recognize the danger. His attire was hardly keeping him warm but more importantly, he was soft. He was a fourteen year old child, raised in the Palace. He never had to want for much, and while the loss of both his parents was a hardship, it hadn't given him the resiliency he needed to withstand the cold. He wasn't shivering because his body's heat regulation systems had shut down. His mind was in a full out panic after Nera's assault and his fingers were still tingling, with the strange mutant power that had been awakened in him.

He turned his head slowly in the direction of the voice that he had heard. It was the wicked man from before and Myrus bit the inside of his lip. His lips were a light blue shade as he stared at the ghost, something inside of him snapping. "G-go away you undead b-b-bastard," Myrus mumbled. He had never sworn before in his life.

"I have read every book in the Pyramid Library - at least, all of the ones that have not been Concealed," Arya told Atkin. "But if anyone has information on mutants in the Castle, beyond the dragonness or Cuyler, it would be Uncle Marcellus." She then paused, shifting the bluebell flame she held to her other hand, in an attempt to spread the warmth. "Yet Queen Valda is right - perhaps the dragonness would not mind explaining. However, Atkin, I do agree....We need to get Myrus to a Physician."

Myrus looked down at Thia, tempted to reach out and pet her yet simultaneously afraid that she would explode if he touched her. He didn't understand anything Cuyler had mentioned - gods? He had been raised like most in the Castle with a fairly agnostic belief set. Perhaps there were beings out there - perhaps not. They celebrated the Summer Solstice largely because it was the day no trees of the Forest could cast shadows on the Castle - and the Winter Solstice as the ending of a year.

"There should be a Physician on call for the Royal Family," Arya explained. And as if on cue, Myrus collapsed to the ground, out cold.

"I will go fetch them," Emperor Taj volunteered. He sprinted into the Palace and a few minutes later, he returned with a wild looking Physik woman. Her white robes swept the ground as she came out, with her hair a dangerous mess. She saw Myrus on the ground and she shrieked, running over to him.

"Becky with the good hair?" Rowland muttered under his breath. They had gone to the Purple School together at the Ramblings. Of course, now wasn't the time for chitchat as Becky crouched down next to Myrus and Arya cast a quick spell, Myrus floating up horizontally as if on a stretcher. "Oh, my poor boy, what have they done to you..." Becky murmured.

Meanwhile, back inside of Lyra's quarters, the little baby - intended to be named Zekarra by her parents - stared back at Richard, giggling. She then went achoo and a small ball of flame came out of her nostrils and hit Richard, setting his hair on fire. Baby Zekarra laughed at the sight of her father with a handsome fiery hairdo, before there was a poof and she shifted back into the happy gurgling dragon. She wanted her mother, however, and she sent a bit more fire at Richard, breaking his grip and then half flew/half fell into Thalia's arms. She shifted back into a baby and clapped her hands happily, looking up at Thalia.

Lyra would manage to smother the flames, though a great deal of her things had been burned and would need some repair. Asha couldn't help but ooh and aww at the adorable baby. Even Puck, a generally unpleasant and manipulative person, couldn't help but grin at seeing the adorable bundle of joy. (And this was a man who quite literally stole babies away from their families and forced them into enslaved service).

"Your baby is so cute!" Asha gushed.

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"Pfft, men," Harlianne scoffed, shaking her head at the serious of ridiculous acts that unfolded. She had seen plenty of crazy things in her lifetime, but one thing always remained constant - men were idiots. And as much as she disliked royals, she did love getting paid. "Right then, luv, if I'm takin' ya to the Castle, best be on our way then, init?" Harlianne said, before she eyed the Port barge. It'd be faster to just steal it, rather than rigging up her own ship which would take a while and her crew was off lunching.

Unfortunately, Luna has about the same constitution as her brother. Harlianne was motioning for the girl to follow, just debating as to whether or not to shoot the prick that was on top of the poor falling woman, when she noticed Luna tip forward and slump unconscious. It was just as cold at the Port as it was at the Castle, yet it felt much harsher due to the sharp winds that had begun to pick up. They'd be experiencing a blizzard soon enough. "Wotcherself, girl," Harlianne chided, before she pulled two pistols and held them out at the ready, looking at everyone assembled. "Anyone who ain't here to help the little miss get to the Palace, bugger off. Or eat lead."

Back inside of the house, Nera's ghostly form continued to Appear to Fleur and Fleur alone. There was much that she had to explain to her - but there was one task that she had to ask, before anything else. "There are many things about me that you do not know," Nera began. She then reached out, putting her hand on Fleur's and Fleur would feel a chill. "For ages, my family has protected and guarded the artifact in your hand...If you use it properly, you can command time itself. You could even reverse death..."

Nera's voice drifted off as Constance entered the room. "Wendron Bitches are gone - mostly dead, one was a coward and ran," she informed Fleur. "We can stay at my son's house while we're cleaning the mess and rebuilding here," she then offered. Her son, Antonije, was actually the older brother of the twins, Marya and Medea. None of them were her biological children. She had adopted Antonije after their parents died and she had always meant to take in the girls, but it never worked out.

"I doubt the Wendron's have a leg left to stand on. They're finished. It's our time."

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Luna watched as yet another person jumped out of the window that she had used just a few moments before, but the woman landed rather gracefully than she did. Luna started to shiver and rubbed her arms together, the temperature had started to drop and she now started to regret not wearing something warmer. Then Luna started to hear Fleur's command to her through CradleSnatching, as she started to take a few steps forward. But the cold started to get to her, as she felt her legs giving out and Luna fell to the ground feeling the cold wind against her as Luna's vision ended up going dark completely.

Then memories started to go through her mind, they constantly jumped to various ones while she grew up in the Castle, until she focused somewhat. Luna was young around five or six at the time, she was a child after spending most of her day horseback riding and made her way to the throne room. Luna stopped just as she heard a messenger rat giving a message to her mother the Queen, she leaned herself up against the side of the wall as she listened in. "We found the body, your majesty....He's been Consumed. Then the memory quickly faded just as it had happened.

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The Prince seemed to register what Cuyler had said but didn’t entirely comprehend it. A wind came over the ramparts, signalling the drop in temperature and bringing snow with it but other then it causing the hair of Cuyler’s furs to move he didn’t take much notice; until Prince Myrus collapsed. Thia shifted and nuzzled the Prince, whimpering as she attempted to wake and comfort him. A crazed looking woman came out then and Cuyler raised his eyebrow. Thia gave a warning growl but then Myrus was lifted into the air, alarming Cuyler into standing and took a step back. Cuyler was used to Magyk being heard about, not seen. You had belief where he came from and with belief came proof. Thia shifted as well, rising to her feet and backed up against her owner, not so much afraid but by way to protect him. Cuyler patted the top of her head, to get her to relax.
Now that Cuyler was standing, away from the lingering warmth of the ground he realized the dropping temperature and looked up at the sky. The snow came down slowly but the flakes were an indication of what was to come. Cuyler had spent many days at sea and having grown up in one of the coldest climates, he knew what a coming snow storm looked like.
”We all best get inside.” Cuyler turned around and saw a shivering Ayra and he gave a slight nod.
”Quickly now, we can finish discussing this inside before the snow hits.” The last thing they needed was one of their only defences getting sick.

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A familiar tingle went through Amarantha as the magic took hold. She looked over at Boy 512, her head being the only thing that could move now. The spell the Wizard casted seemed to have put the boy to sleep but only paralyzed Amarantha. She was about to comment when something occurred to the other side of her. Princess Luna had collapsed to the ground. The sudden howling of winds made it easy for Amaratha to guess that the cold was the culprit. The cold however, was not bothering Amarantha. The Wizard who had fallen on top of her remained straddling her and at the present moment, she was grateful. Leather didn’t have the greatest resistance to the cold and she half expected to be back in her tent by now, warming up.
”Get her back to the Castle immediately. Cut down anyone who tries to stop you. Tell them the Deputy Hunter sent you if you must,” Amarantha said to the unique woman holding out a pair of pistols. She wouldn’t be able to assist now and by the look in the Wizard’s eye, she would be tied up for quite some time. Perhaps this could work to Amarantha’s advantage.
”Unless…” Amarantha turned to look up into the eyes of the Wizard and regarded him closely. ”If you release me I could arrange a meeting with Gwydon Puck, having an ally in the Young Army could provide usefulness if you desire a greater prize.” Amarantha was hoping to entice the man, at least plant the first seed into wiggling her way into his mind. Amarantha had a unique ability to get into a person’s head and create all sorts of tales to change their belief in something. She was not using that ability now but was in hopes of gaining some trust and knowledge about the handsome Wizard. The enemy of my enemy is my friend after all.

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Richard gave a colorful swear as the girl sneezed, his hair burning as the babe seemed to sneeze fire. A second small blast made Richard hiss as the fire warmed his skin past the point of comfort. "Don't set your father on fire. You're mother's impervious, I am not." The man scolded the girl, amusement in his British accent. Giving Thalia a reproving look, the man fell to the ground. A large king cobra rising up to catch the suit jacket before it hit the floor. The man/snake's hood flaring as he draped the coat over the tip of his tail, trying to spare it from dust and soot.

Twisting, the cobra twined about Thalia, peering down at the tiny baby dragon. His tongue flickering out. Lyra's words were a comfort, one that softened Richard's mood towards the newly made knight. Mentally he cursed the fact that he had been forced to shift, but he was reluctant to have his hair burned off by his infant daughter. He would have rather kept this in his back pocket, but he had more than one trick for such reasons. Settling to change back when he wasn't about to become a flaming father again, the cobra gave a odd stuttering hiss. His laughter, of a sorts. Richard always considered himself hot, but literally flaming wasn't his style.

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The cutting chill cut into Rhys as the man considered his options. Time was drawing to a close and there was a choice. To snatch Luna or the woman beneath him? The woman was a better option as he doubted the protector who had declared that people were to 'bugger off' would be easy to take down and with the way his luck was running... Lead wasn't something he needed in his diet. Rhys shook his head as the woman began speaking, demanding rather, that the pistol slinging woman should escort the princess to the castle. "By all means see the Princess is returned to her proper place. I have no quarrel with the Royal Family." The 'prick' didn't smile for that would be far too much. "This one, however, has a debt to pay." The man cast a stern look at the woman beneath him.

Turning his gaze down at the little woman as she spoke a perhaps making a deal with some 'Puck' character. Rhys stood, picking her up and maneuvering to carry her bridal style. "I am curious of this deal, buy neither of us are ready to be speaking in this bitter chill and I wouldn't be much of a gentleman if I let you freeze." Keeping her head away from his face and neck, the man stalked in an random direction. [color=Gold]"Concealed and warm within my arms. Safe I'll keep you from all harm, but take your sight and rend you blind. Hearing, scent to darkness bind. Confound, confuse, til I release you." The man whispered the spell, focusing all his thoughts upon it. In the ideal sense it would conceal Amarantha and keep her warm. The draw back to the woman would be that she would lose her senses. Something Rhys was going to do anyways. Dangerous as she was, it was best to render her at a disadvantage. His long legs took him away from the Coven's home. Fleur would be needing a lot of buttering after this, but he would deal with that when it came. He needed this little killer first. Which is why he was taking a round about way to his home. As to confuse her, ideally.

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Thalia giggled slightly when the girl sneezed, setting Richard's hair on fire. It wasn't her fault that her father wasn't fireproof, it was just the way things were. The little girl was definitely adorable, she had to agree with the others on that one, and she laughed when it was clear that the girl wanted to be with her mother instead. Thalia caught the child, making sure she didn't fall too far when she went to her arms, and she was smiling at the girl. "My, aren't you a troublemaker," she said with a laugh.

She looked over when Richard changed into a snake, and just rolled her eyes slightly. It wasn't like she could blame him for shifting into reptile form, this way at least the girl couldn't burn his hair off anymore. The whole thought of Richard's hair still on fire and burning up completely still made her want to laugh. When she heard what Lyra had said about her room, Thalia just nodded in response, before she looked back at her child, smiling.

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Valda listened to what Arya had to say, and just nodded her head, saying nothing for a moment. There were many different sources of information, and different ways to gather the info they specifically needed, so it made sense for there to be two different ideas of what to do. They needed to figure out what was wrong with Myrus, and hopefully to get Luna back from the Port Witches. She wanted her family back in the Palace where they belonged, and she wanted everything to be at least somewhat normal, before this crazy day happened.

When Myrus collapsed, she panicked slightly, unsure of what to say, or do, but she was glad when Emperor Taj went and got the Physician for him, it made things a little easier. She was worried about her little brother, and everything that had happened that day was driving her crazy somewhat, but she couldn't do anything about it. The best she could hope for would be asking Thalia what she meant, and seeing if the dragon could help Myrus in some way.

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Sylvi had gotten herself a drink, when almost out of no where she found herself without her bag. It took a moment for her to see where it had disappeared to, but she found it in the hands of the silver haired girl, the one she didn't know or recognize who spoke the strange language. She heard the man snap at her, making some comment, and after a few moments, she was glad to have her bag back with her, and not in some stranger's hands. The man seemed like their father, but he looked nothing like the twins, so it made things a little confusing.

The instant she had her bag back, she started going through her bag, making sure that everything was still there. After a few moments, she let out a small sigh of relief, as nothing appeared to be missing. The two looked really bored though, and it made her wonder why they were even in the tavern in the first place if they found it so boring, but she was nice enough not to say anything about it, but she partially wanted to mention that they shouldn't steal from others, but she bit back her tongue.