---

Stephanie was weirdly looking at the necklace, which was glowing in her hand. She returned the smile towards Asri. ”I wonder what this necklace does other than what it did do to me...” Stephanie thought to herself. She had a weird look on her face, which didn’t really help how she felt about her evil as fuck mother. However, she did like everyone supporting her in terms of the Sanctuary. It helped her relax, however, something caught her off guard when Tania said her name. She gasped a bit in shock, which made her shake that shock and just be happy she met the person who made her parents fume. ”You have a lovely name, Tania.” Stephanie said with a smile on her face.

She looked a bit confused at Mirithal, mostly because of the first question. ”Mirithal because I don’t have a closed mind alike my parents who hate every single person in the world. They don’t even allow other races into their mercenary band. Sarah is one of those people who taught me that, however.” Stephanie said, happily with a smile on her face. She couldn’t help but miss Sarah but she knows one specific thing her parents no question will kill her if she tries to return to Gondrevil. That thought right there scares her more than anything, all her nightmares will finally come true and doesn’t want that. However, she blinked a bit confusingly with what Mirithal had said. She never really truly learned what other races see, which is because Sarah didn’t know what the Vedish saw. The entirety of what was said by the two in particular made her a bit less confused. ”Oh, you see in colors don’t you Mirithal? I’m emotional since I primarily use water as my element. It doesn’t help that I had a coldhearted father and a lava-infused hatred of a mother.” Stephanie said with frustration in her voice at mentioning her parent’s magical affinities. It’s mostly because they were heartless towards her and didn’t allow her to do anything.

Stephanie smiled when R asked them to follow them throughout the Sanctuary’s Grounds. She was amazed at the first stop in the Sanctuary, which was the Mess hall. The size of the mess hall, which was definitely pretty big and heard specifically about the tree set meals throughout the day. She kindly smiled towards the three residents, which was in the Mess Hall. ”The Sanctuary is amazing, which is saying something.” Stephanie thought to herself, with a smile to what is going on. She held onto her necklace tightly only because of the fact she kinda wanted to know the other secrets it holds. All the necklace did was glow its strange unknown glow while in her hands but it had a slight tinge of multiple different colors it was glowing.

After, all was said and done, which was she couldn’t help but smile throughout the tour and at the end of the tour, which was probably their bedrooms. She couldn’t wait to see what her bedroom looks like in the Sanctuary, however a sudden pain in her head happened. It was mostly because of R’s magical ritual to the doors and it was definitely made her forget about the necklace and/or her parents for a moment. She definitely did feel discomfort from the constant headaches from the rituals in question. However, she heard the instructions from R and had a gentle smile on her face. ”I will enjoy the Sanctuary, R.” Stephanie said, with an excited tone in her voice. She did what R specifically instructed them to do, which was she walked to her door with her name on it. She placed her palm on the metal plate. She felt an odd feeling, which was intriguing to her but the discomfort she felt was replaced with curiosity of what was behind the doors. She opens the door, which she was utterly gasped in shock and amazement at what she saw. ”Oh my… It’s my dream home in the field of violas next to Gondrevil. But it is behind a door.” Stephanie said with awe in her voice and a bit of shock.

Stephanie, the only emotion came from her was complete and utter happiness and she started to cry tears of happiness of what she saw. The whole thing was more or less how she imagined it, in her head or in reality in the journal she usually keeps with her. The color of the tears in question were yellow and white if Mirithal was looking at her. ”I am utterly shocked… That means in the bedroom in the cottage, which allows me to house this abomination of a gift.” Stephanie thought to herself. Her thoughts were completely focused, on putting the Necklace down somewhere safe at least. She walks into her bedroom, so she could place the necklace in specific on its necklace stand. The entire thing was amazing and she giggles at the room since it looks beautiful. She quickly walked to the cottage proper and opened the purple door, which she went to her specific bedroom and sat the necklace on its specific holder. The calmness in the room was euphoric, however, she wanted to chat to the other residents.

She walked back to the outside of her room and shut the door back to her room. However, as she exited her room and noticed Asri not there. ”I wonder who was in the occupied arena room. But I was too much focused on listening to R about every single little thing about the tour I didn’t really ask. But I guess that’s where Asri went to.” Stephanie thought to herself. She had a gentle smile on her face but her stomach started to grumble and she sighed with a bit of regret. The one thing she forgot to do before she left Gondrevil was eat something but she was kinda in a hurry to leave her hometown. She will meet the training arena people later, which will give her time. However, she looked down and noticed the Firebrand and Icebrand swords still on her and sighed. ”Ugh… these weapons. The weapons of my parents...” Stephanie thought to herself with a sour thought in her head. The learning of what her mother did specifically to her with the Unity Necklace was pretty terrible nonetheless. Therefore, she walks to the Mess hall to get something to eat because she’s hungry and dislikes when her stomach growls. However, this is the first time she’s able to eat without worrying about her parents forcing her not to eat anything while training.

Stephanie felt happier living in a place that is truly safe from her parents and loved every single bit of it. She walks back into the mess hall since she couldn’t help herself, which she saw the three people that R introduced to and waved at them again after the tour was done. The one thing she did was get something to eat and sit at one of the tables, since she was needing something to make her less hungry. Her emotions were a bit more under control because of this specific thing. She ate her food to more or less enjoying every portion of it since she never really got to enjoy anything because of how harsh her parents were. However, she was pretty much courtesy mostly because Sarah was the one, which taught her to eat properly. ”This is so wonderful. I do like the courtesy training I got from Sarah. Or I would probably be as bad as my parents in their table manners. But they didn’t really have any manners to begin with anyways.” Stephanie thought to herself. She couldn’t help but have a smile on her face because she wants to look on the brighter side of things than the terrible past. However, the past did have some important lessons from Sarah that was important.

---

Ar´oa had assumed that the continually morphing splendor of the creature, no, Mirithal, would be what his mind would center on for the duration of their introductions, but Stephanie had more shocking information for him. She had been completely unaware of her inner thoughts being violated and shared to those around her this whole time. He thought that she was surely aware of it and was wearing the amulet because it bestowed some other enchantments that had made it a worthwhile accessory, or even for ceremonial or cultural reasons. He recalled her words of contempt towards her mother, the woman who had gifted the amulet, and reasoned that it made sense in context.

The rest of The Sanctuary´s visitors had begun to engage in lively antics with one another, but what had stood out the most among their conversations was the bestowing of a new name to the tree creature. Giving each other temporary names was an ordinary facet of the anubis lifestyle, but it was clear from R´s words that there was more significance to it than privacy. Mirithal, as it was now called, spoke in a way that had reminded him strongly of some of the spirits he had crossed paths with in his lifetime. It made the fantastical beast more familiar to him in behavior than anyone else present, ironically enough.

What followed after their introductions was a tour around The Sanctuary´s facilities that concluded with a display of what would be their living quarters. Ar´oa had been surprised at the overwhelming abundance of everything around him to say the least. Food and equipment plentiful and offered to him with no drawbacks or requirements, as well as instructors qualified to guide one through them. He thought back to his ordinary life, one of fighting with disgusting beasts over scraps of food and raiding dangerous decrepit buildings for any technology to put to use. No longer would he have to survive in such hostile conditions. Ar´oa would thrive now.

The nausea that hit him as R prepared their rooms registered as a minor annoyance to him. Dealing with forces that could break your mind regularly tended to strengthen your insides after all. He was more curious with how his room would be set up over anything else, seeing as the Wasteland was no place for extravagant beds and wooden furniture. He had imagined it would be identical to the sorts of rooms described in storybooks, heavy and impossible to move around if you had to travel elsewhere. What he had seen had rendered that assumption completely incorrect, however.

It was an endless desert, one with calm winds and soft sands. In the distance lay a lone tent that beckoned to him with all of the embroideries and accents that would be typical for his caravan. Farther still was a pristine oasis adorned with exotic plant life. Both the tent and water were a beautiful shade of sapphire that contrasted with the sun-tinged surroundings and promised relief. He left quickly after. The magic used to render this "ideal bedroom" was interesting, but he had a lot of energy left and an insatiable drive to find out more about the castle. Before any serious exploring would get done though, he walked over to the mess hall to prepare. It seemed that regardless of being promised safety, the scavenger in him yearned to desperately eat now in case the opportunity was taken from him later on. That and, well, the anubis was hungry.

Entering the mess hall, Ar´oa saw a young human eating by herself, one that he recognized as Stephanie. He entered the kitchen and prepared a platter of cooked meats whose origins he did not identify nor care about. Eating the various monstrosities that plagued his homelands had conditioned him to have no qualms with scarfing down meat of all kinds. He was used to eating raw meat as well, but knew that other races disapproved of such practices.

He walked over to where Stephanie ate, a robed pillar of blue that moved elegantly across the mess hall in long strides.

"Do you mind if I eat alongside you?" he asked. While normally one to eat alone, he had several questions on his mind.

---

Stephanie continues to eat the food, which was extremely delicious and reminds her of Sarah’s cooking. However, she heard a familiar voice, which she moved her head and saw Ar’oa and smiled at him kindly. ”I don’t mind, Ar’oa.” Stephanie said kindly. She looks at Ar’oa’s plate and notices tons different kind of meats. It confused her somewhat but remembered what Sarah taught her that every single race eats differently from humans. However, she kept her smile on her face and looks at her plate and continued to eat her plate of food. She wondered what Ar’oa wanted to speak about since he did come up to her anyway.

The thoughts in her head about what Sarah talked about mostly because she enjoyed their conversations. ”I wonder if Sarah knew about the necklace. She did look terrified every single time as if she knew what my parents were planning something terrible to Gondrevil.” Stephanie thought to herself, with a bit of a realization of how much she misses Sarah. However, she couldn’t take Sarah with her to this place mostly because she wanted to get someplace safe from her parents. The nightmares were always terrible, hopefully they would stop finally. She wanted to heal and stop the downward spiral she was in because her magic feels weaker for some odd reason as if something was draining it. ”I wonder…” Stephanie thought to herself, she looked at Ar’oa with a smile.

Stephanie was pretty much enjoying her meal, which she got out of the kitchen. She did get enough to make sure she wouldn’t be starving anymore. The bracelet, which her father gave her kinda made her worry about what her father did to it. It took her for a few moments to think on what magical craft would allow for enchantments and it hit her like a ton of bricks, magical engineering. ”Ar’oa do you know about Magical Engineering? Per chance.” Stephanie said with a bit of a curious yet nervous tone to her. She rolled up the sleeve that covered her beautiful pride bracelet and it had a beautiful decoration on it with gems and her birthstone on it and a flower engraved on it. It had ’My loving daughter Stephanie have pride in our great family,’ engraved on it as well. She didn’t really understand Magical Engineering as a craft since it was different from using water magic.

"Hahaha, freedom!~" The fairy laughed heartily as she fluttered out of R's hand, twirling in the air and giving the master of the sanctuary a playful wave. She fluttered over to Stephanie, having decided she should perhaps help this kiddo with her problems just a bit. Sometimes, all people really needed was a friend. She'd keep her eye on this one for just a bit.

"Ufu, my name's not the only lovely thing here." Tania teased with an impish chuckle, giving her a poke in the cheek, but before she could play a bit more R got straight to business. "I'd love to entertain you new guys, but I'll let R give you a tour first." And with that, the Aetheri zipped off, though she didn't stray too far, if the others paid attention they'd the Aetheri conveniently crossing paths with everyone whenever R decided to move to a different area. For the most part though, she merely watched, curious as to how each of them would react to the facilities.

First was the mess hall - it was where Tania spent most of her time. Big open place, and lots of room to move about. Some days this was where she regaled the residents with tales of her travels - either fictional, slightly, or completely made up on the spot. She wasn't lying when she said she was an entertainer. That's how she lived these years, traveling around, singing, putting on shows with her illusions and enthralling the people with tales of her old travels.

Next Moving on was the library. Her second most visited place. She literally got lost in here quite a bit. This place was massive. For a tiny and admittedly slightly air headed Aetheri like herself, she got turned around quite a bit at times. Some nights, if she couldn't sleep and the gentle light of the moon wasn't enough to placate her restlessness, she'd find herself here just reading.

After that it was the Hall of Worlds. A fun place, Tania had a lot of fun with. Being able to just travel so easily to different areas was simply fascinating. Made for some great pranks. She almost thought about slipping into the archery range. She could take a guess as to who was currently occupying it and she really wanted to mess with them...but alas, fresh blood tasted so much better, heh~

Growing bored, Tania zipped back through the halls back towards the mess hall before the tour was completely finished.

Hmm, maybe she'd go play with a certain Tree~

---

Mirithal just saw the Red Stephanie gave off at her words and it caused it to shrink back, its tiny fists balling as she laid them against her stomach. ”Hateful Crimson, and Seething Rouge. This one doesn’t know these words. But feels red.” She has to take a step back and shakes her head. ”No. This one is good. Needs to be green.” Stephanie’s talk seeming upset the fairy. But it went away when Steph spoke again about the elements, something Mirithal does know. She approached on the ground, her fists ungripping. ”Rising and falling with the tide. Burning bright and sputtering out. I know the whims of the five that . Everything is colors. Even smells. Even voices. The trees see the colors of the sun, how it is held and how it is released. This one feels them, and sometimes can’t help but share them. A reflection. Would like to know the blues of waters, the yellows of air, the reds of fire. It helps grow us all. In return, I can offer the greens of wood. Will be what the children call, fun.”

She tried to smile, but her fairy form didn’t have a mouth. Instead her petals just got a little pinker.

Before any more exchanges could be done, R called them to the tour. This caused the little fairy to scamper back to her husk, her form climbing its height before she disappeared behind the man sized mask. A moment or two later, the glory that was Mirithal began to move again. Its body unfurling and shaking off the dust and bits of dead twig that grew while it was statuesque. It moved slower, more methodically, following at the rear of the group on all fours.

First was the mess hall. A lot of soft barks here. Mirithal found it difficult to navigate the tables without pushing against them, nearly knocking over some benches while moving about the great hall. Its bulk caushing a bench to crash and echo through the room. The giant creature scrambled to move a dozen finger like branches to put it back. It had to shift its form uncomfortably to thin its balk, seemingly to walk on a tight rope. No doubt, it caused a scene to the occupants.

The next was the library and Mirithal stepped away from the group to check the tomes and tomes of dried wood with paint on them. It poked at a book, trying to revive the dead wood, but death and the enchantments prevented it. ”Wwwwwoooood… Wwwwhhiiiieee? Mmmmanyee… Threeeeeeessss…” It struggled to say. If anything Mirithal looked a little less vibrant. It gave off the impression that it doesn’t understand what books were and why they were made out of paper. It had no use for recording information, so it couldn’t quite grasp it.

Finally was another hallway. The Hall of Worlds got the Mirithal into a bit more excitement. It tried to peer into each room, almost pushing its smaller companions out of the way to get a better look. It dropped nuts, seeds, fruit, and petals in its excitement but a stern look would send it back into line. Some of the rooms needed more trees though.

Then a place of learning. ”- I wish for the wisdom to und-“ a voice echoed in its head. It looked on this place as something it would frequent. Magic was needed. Knowledge and learning. It remembered its goal and here among other places would be the first step.

The labs received less enthusiasm but intense concentration as Mirithal found a ‘thing’ on the wall and just stared at it the entire time in the lab. It was trying to figure it out, and failed.

Finally, it was the room, their room. Its room. R suggest they touch the door and the room will personalize. This was of course, over the head of the monster but regardless it did as requested. Finally it was a place it could explore on its own.

---

It was the moment the giant door behind it closed that the Mirithal stopped. Something was wrong here. It slowed, its head wiggling back and forth as it looked at the trees, at the green grass. It heard the sound of life, the scramble of rabbits, cooing of doves, the buzzing of bees and dragon flies. It approached, it reached, they reacted, retreating from the new creature. Mirithal recoiled as if it touched fire. Something was wrong.

No color. Nothing. The animals were supposed to be green with flashes of other colors, but instead these things gave nothing. Senseless and pointless things meant to feel like it was populated with life, but that was all it was, feeling. Mirithal looked upon the phantoms with disgust, a rare color even for it.

It lashed out with thorns and vines, spearing the ghosts, impaling them, hoping to make them disappear. It was no good, it was as if the room felt Mirithals desires of a living forest. They just came back a few moments later. It moved on trying to ignore them
The trees, the grass, the reeds and brush. This was more to its liking. The way it delicately grew out of the pool of water and wrapped its way around the archways of an ancient hollow tower. It was a forced green, the trees and plants here did not talk. They didn’t know how. Infants forced to grow to the room’s whims. Mirithal did not mind them. It would care for them.

The tree in the center was most unusual. It shined and shimmered and was white as bone. Mirithal approached, its form pacing about its trunk to take in its features. This was something to catch the eye, the magic of Green… and brown? Earth Magic? It was all centered here into this tree. It cried a babes first tearful call into the world and the Mirithal went to it, wrapping its form around the trunk. It would protect it.

”Hush little one, please don’t cry.”
”-Pray for a new home. A new beginning.”
The voices were calm here as well.

The cold water. Mirithal stood in it. Cool and fresh. It was water, maybe the powers of the Sanctuary could redirect pipes and flush water into majority of the room. It was nice for Mirithal to get a drink, its fingers and toes coiling into the water, the dirt underneath. The soil felt hollow, tasteless. Akin to hard tack and flour biscuits. Mirithal’s Green Magic saturated into every act and every touch but even it had its limits. It supped at the floor but was disappointed. The ground would need tilling and seeding if it was to get anything resembling a decent meal.

It looked up, feeling the warmth of yellow upon its back. Atleast it found the sun. Atleast it shined here in the cold halls of stone. It felt the shine on its face and it exhaled, the twisting of branches in the wind, from its back unfurled bed sized leaves of green, making all of it the likeness of a green flower. It felt calm again. It still needed the nourishment of its roots. It would need to root, or scavenge, or hunt. What did Master R say, something to eat? Surely some rotting thing, or vegetables from another garden. It needed to feed itself, and seed the room. The Green will expand into the sanctuary from here. The stone needed life in its halls.
But it couldn’t leave the white tree or the children of the room. It’d have to step out, a little lesser. It had time now, minutes for its body to mold itself. From its exposed chest, it opened like a bursting rib cage and something stepped forth.

It stood like a man, six feet, but had the features of the beasts, but was inevitably made of bark. It wore leaves as a toga and balanced on its rooting feet with a thick stubby tail. It would have to do.

Mirithal emerged in the hallway and immediately took a left. He tried to head back towards the Mess Hall but ended up taking the wrong direction going towards places unknown. It would however, attempt to go up, see the other places of that the sun touches.

Tania found her target easily.

The Aetheri had made a brief stop by the mess hall with the remaining time to snag another apple, before zipping back to the rooms and waiting for the Veidish to exit its gifted room. She was curious as to what it looked like, but she'd hold off on that for now. No, she'd give the Veidish a first hand look at her own room after playing with it a little bit. What exited its room, was not the tiny fairy, but some sort of wooden man looking creature.

Huh, so it could...alter its shape, somewhat? Curious.

Tania slowly followed behind the Veidish. She'd just need to help it get a little lost first...though it didn't seem like it'd need help with that at all. It didn't seem to have a goal? It certainly wasn't seemingly headed anywhere in particular. Tania smirked. Well well well, this would be easy.

"Hey, tree man!" Tania took a seat on the Veidish' shoulders. "You look lost. What a shame."

---

Mirithal stopped when he felt a little weight on its shoulder, but mostly it stopped because of the familiar voice. It turned its head, features somewhat goatlike, even punctuated by the branch like horns that adorned his head. Lucky he didn't clock her when he turned to look in her direction. Little black dress and little blue wings. "I am Mirithal." His voice was undeniably a mans voice now. Deep in baritone, a fatherly voice that seemed slow and collected. "Hello Tania." The greeting was devoid of true emotion and seemed merely a parroting of how soft barks works.

He widened his stance, raised his arms slightly and he peered down to look at his new form. "Do I look lost?" How does one 'look' lost? Maybe he got this form wrong. He wondered if he should go back and try again. Regardless he addressed her again, taking a moment to think. "I am lost. This one needs food. The ground is dry and tasteless here. Looking for the mess hall. Or a garden. Or more life so I can plant myself. We can search together." He said before stepping forward again, enlisting her help without her input, merely going forward down the hall.

For the rigidity of his movements and his odd unbalanced strides, it was a smooth ride for the passanger.

@Rune_Alchemist

"Garden, huh." Tania mused. Well now, this was going to be fun. Hmhm, if he was looking for a garden, she knew exactly where it was. She spent quite a bit of time there as well. She loved being indoors as much as the next guy, but she really did miss the forests back home most of the time. As annoying as the other Aetheri were, anyways, but she didn't have to put up with them any more.

"Hmm, I miiiight know where it is~" Tania smirked, moving off of the tree's shoulder and hovering in front of him. "And I could show you...but where would the fun in that be?" Tania giggled impishly. "Nothing in life is free, friend. So play with me a bit, and I'll take you to the gardens." The Aetheri was already hovering some distance away, motioning for the tree to follow.

Of course, he could choose not too. Might be for the best, that.

Tania's claim and floating infront of him caused his head to tilt a little bit. "Play? Small soft barks trade information for playing?" The 'tail' Mirithal had as part of his form wagged a little bit and his hands twitched almost like that prancing it did when it was a giant monster tree like a dog waiting to go for a walk. The face remained expressionless but body language, Mirithal gave alot away.

"Spending time with you Tania isn't work. I would like that." From the horn, a bud would sprout and begin to grow into a ripening apple. Indeed, alot of little things, tiny berries, moss, even a grape seemed to be growing from his form with the excitement of his first meaningful social interaction with another of the race that didn't involve weapons, or atleast he hoped it wasnt. For now, Tania's glow of yellow set the Veidish at ease.

Its dark eyes looked away from Tania with the slightest upturn of his head. Very calmly. "I don't know what soft barks play. The sproutlings had a few games. Maybe chasing beasts. Or grow something new. Or pollinating. Or sculpting and pruning. Or throw the rock. Or knock down the stone. Or find the roots. Or-" Mirithal suddenly stopped talking, simply standing there motionless and expressionless for a little bit as his body seemed to stop growing its little bits of life. "This one is sorry. Sometimes I get excited."

Oh wasn't this thing adorable. The Aetheri giggled brightly as the tree responded. So eager!

"Allllright then, tree. The game is simple!~" Tania put some distance between her and the tree. With a wave of her hand, something suddenly happened. The space in front of Tania, was suddenly replaced with what appeared to be a wall. A wall identical to the rest of the hallway. If Mirithal attempted to touch or otherwise pass through, he'd find it incredibly difficult most likely. While the illusion was an illusion, it would take an incredibly willful mind to resist its effects, or a small mishap. For all purposes, the wall that now separated them, was real.

But perhaps Mirithal's childlike mind would not be so fooled by Tania's illusions.

"A game of tag, see? You find and catch me, and I'll lead you straight to the gardens!" She laughed lightly. This was gonna be so easy. Of course, she wasn't utterly mean. She had a plan that would hopefully help him in the long run, totally.

---

"When you speak of magical engineering, are you referring to the understanding of components behind magical artifacts and equipment?" he asked, puzzled. "A talent of mine is the detection of and successful interaction with curses, though if you are referring to enchantments I may still be of help."

Even by simply hearing him speak it was possible to tell that he was an anubis. "A talent of mine" rather than "my talent" which could imply worthlessness or specialization or "one of my talents" which could imply arrogance or ignorance. His culture was one of careful words, and even if no one would jump to logical conclusions through flawed statements he continued to speak in this calculated manner all the same.

He delicately cut a small chunk of meat using silverware much too small for his enormous hands and ate it in a clean swallowing motion as soon as it made contact with his mouth. Cheeks were for the other races.

"The reason why I had wanted to speak with you was in fact an apology of a similar subject." He ate another small morsel of food, carefully and quickly. The other races preferred to eat this way over tearing through their meals, so he would do the same.

"I had assumed you were aware of your amulet´s effects and did not mention them." he said, a cold and polite tone rested atop glimmers of curiosity. He had seen wilder artifacts in his homelands, but was not disappointed by the craftsmanship the human race had to offer. Regardless, it was clear that she had disliked it. He felt it necessary to explain not having detected anything with his artifacts. It would have been rude to do so considering they had just met, of course, but he thought it was best to be clear.

Stephanie´s second artifact had been a bracelet adorned with several gemstones and what looked to be an extensive amount of engraving. Ar´oa´s simpler robes were indicative of his more subdued interest in jewelry, yet still carried various engravings themselves and swayed on a body whose blood was entirely anubis. So he gazed at it, interested.

---

Stephanie felt like the question that Ar’oa asked made her question, the knowledge she learned about Magical Engineering from Sarah. ”Yeah but I only know as much as I was told by Sarah. It was basically how she creates her magical water lamps, which never spill the water and calm me down.” Stephanie said, with a bit of an understanding of what he was asking. However, what he said next kinda made her a bit more curious about ’curses.’ She couldn’t help but smile at Ar’oa. ”Curses? What kind of curses, unless that’s too much of a personal question? I am sorry if I pushed my boundaries.” Stephanie said, with a smile on her face. Her tone was definitely curious and couldn’t help but learn what type of curses.

She continued to eat with her big tray of food because, which it was delicious and remembers her time living in Sarah’s mansion. However, it felt like it was exactly as if she was sitting besides Sarah. The pain of leaving Sarah behind made her a bit sad but she knew Sarah can protect herself, but she didn’t cry. She left her thoughts when Ar’oa spoke up about apologizing because of something. However, it hit her when he said amulet, which meant the necklace. ”Ar’oa… I should be sorry for not realizing it sooner that my mother was controlling me at all times. Even without being around me...” Stephanie said with a smile on her face. The tone in her voice was closer to how she first approached the Sanctuary but it had a different twist to it as if she was frustrated at she didn’t see it. She sighs a bit, because she has no idea what magical engineering enchantments are on the Necklace or the Bracelet. The first thing she done was take off her pride bracelet and puts it between Ar’oa and her plate of food. ”I do remember one thing from Sarah, which all Magical Engineers need to take a closer look at said magical engineered object you want to know, with what it does. I guess that’s true with curses too?” Stephanie asked curiously since she doesn’t really know. Her smile on her face was sweet and couldn’t help but stare at the bracelet with a bit of weariness, which was different to the look she gave the Necklace.

Stephanie couldn’t help but start thinking about what enchantments could be on the Bracelet compared to the Necklace. ”Uhh, I hate to imagine what my father would have put on my bracelet… But my mother was more physically cruel to me...” Stephanie thought to herself, with a blank stare. However, she didn’t know what it does until she learns of what it is, however, it made her think what else Ar’oa gleamed from the Necklace but that can wait. Her entire mind put a note to make sure to ask him later about what else the Necklace holds. She went back to eating waiting for Ar’oa to check out the Bracelet since it’s no longer on her wrist. The bracelet was shimmering a non-ominous colored aura, which made Stephanie notice it. ”Wait… what? Why is it shimmering with green and white auras?” Stephanie asked confused. The look on her face is a bit oddly confused and this is the first time she saw this aura.

Vilkas followed the group along the tour, noting places of interest and things he wanted to see. It reminded him of Dromon's cave, with the subtle traces of residual magic. Even though he couldn't see the magic without arcane vision, he'd always been attuned to it. From in had said this was the first sign that the Old Way had chosen him. Walking the halls he placed a hand along the walls, feeling, the subtle nearly undetectable hum of ancient magic. It felt almost as old as the Cave he spent a decade in. The Castle couldn't compare to this and Descartes kept the entire thing afloat with his magic and the anomaly, which he had come to realize was Dromon's first attempt at Runeword magic.

If the rooms, he noticed there was no smithy, he was a bit saddened but figured not a lot of people would be interested in the same things as him. He had come to enjoy the harsh blaze of the gorge and creating unique enchantments. He made a mental note to ask R later. When they came to their rooms he placed his hand on the door with his name.



Pushing open the door he stopped and stared. A massive landscape, covered in clouds and the moon overhead. The place appeared to be weathered by time yet on the main platform a solid bed, dresser, wardrobe and mirror stood. A small bathing pool stood in the back, leading to a falls that seemed to have no end. When the sun would rise in this place, there was a large area for running himself with a nice perch got for a dragon. The area seemed surreal to Vilkas. He dropped his pack next to the bed and put a foot in the water. It was nice and hot, the stone around it brimming with warmth. He found a pair of boots sitting in the wardrobe and he took them along with a tunic, putting them on. "Much better...

Leaving the room he heads to the mess hall. He hadn't eaten in quite a while and so was pretty famished. He arrived just as the anubis mentioned the small human girl's neclace. Ar´oa and Stephanie he recalled. He got food and walked over. "Would it be alright if I sat with you?"

"This one is Mirithal." He said again, believing that Tania had forgotten it. A common mistake. It was good to remind itself. A new name takes a while to stick.

Before it eyes Mirithal saw that it was replaced with stone blocks that encompassed the rest of the hallways. It made no noticably expression but the moss of green gave way to prickling thorns of alarm. It wasn't expecting this, and it did kind of feel slightly threatened by the sudden change in its environment. He was a creature of the present and instinct. Much like most of nature itself.

She then gave him instructions. "Like chase the beast. No. Come find me." The sproutlings liked to hide in the brush and bid others to try to find it. They were so clever. Mirithal made sure to sculpt them like the soft barks. To find ways to see the world, change it, and find joy within it. Find and catch.

It realized something. It could still hear her, even though there was a wall in the way. Her words came clear. It wasn't like the voices in his head, no it was his ears. Mirithal looked at the wall. Find and catch. She hides behind a wall. Stone gives way to roots. It must be a weak wall to let her little voice through. His hand extends, his fingers breaking off into dozens of roots. They gripped and pierced at the wall, the walls around it, trying to embed within the cracks. It just a few seconds it looked like a latice works, burrowing, squeezing.

What it felt was confusing, confusing enough to give Mirithal pause as it attempted to deciper what this wall was. It resisted, yet didn't. Mirithal knew it could get through any wall eventually. But it was still odd. Eventually it just decided the direct approach. Its other arm seemed to bulge as wood knot upon wood knot molded onto his hand, and before long it looked like a gnarled club on the end of his arm. He reared back and put his weight into a strick. The roots would make the cracks, the smash should go through.

Knock down the wall.

Tania's mischievous smile immediately faded, turning into one of nervous disbelief as the tree wasn't fooled by her illusions whatsoever. On some level, she expected it. It was like a child - simple minded, but children often had the most perceptive, and simple minds were always some of the hardest ones to trick. They simply took what was presented to them, and if something seemed impossible then it was.

But perhaps that was just her understanding of it.

"Iontach!" Tania couldn't help but to giggle as the tree's club swung right through the wall as though it was nothing more than a figment of a dream. A fabricated reality. "Wonderful! Excellent! Now then, try and catch me, child of the forests!~" Giggling all the way, the Aetheri waved at the Viedish, before bolting down the hallway. She had no doubt the tree man would follow, but she was intent on not making this so easy on either of them. Lets see if he could get lucky, or if he had some other way of noticing the truths from the falsities.

Upon reaching an area where the hallway split into two different paths, Tania did something one might have expected. One false image of herself down one, while she bolted down the other.

And unlike the wall, Mirithal came crashing down. Putting all of his weight into the blow, he threw himself off balance and actually stumbled to the floor. He didn't seem hurt, nor phased by it, but lying face down on the stone floor for a few seconds, Mirithal was confused by what just happened. Its 'brain' ticking away as it attempted to figure out what Tania had done. make a wall appear and disappear. Neat trick. He wondered if he could do that.

The Aetheri seemed thrilled and made her leave as Mirithal snapped back into it. "Found you Tania. Now this one will catch you." He sprung to his feet in a mass of roots and vines before making long rigid strides as he made his way towards her. His form wasn't built for speed so Tania was much faster than he. No better than a non physical human, but Mirithal did not seem to need to breath and it was unclear if he would get tired.

Tania seemed to go down two ways at an intersection. Another power. Tania was gifted. Mirithal reached the intersection and thought to reach out, try to chase both but knew he wouldnt be able to snag her with his attention switched. He picked one, his limbs extending right. His roots, the vines and branches grew with unnatural speed, much much faster than his feet, and this was more or less completely encompassing the cooridor. Wooden stick like fingers would entrap Tania.

If he made the right decision, if he picked wrong, Tania would only get further and further ahead.

---

Stephanie was a bit confused on the fact her bracelet was still glowing, in a non-ominous colored aura. However, something caused her to stop having a weird stare at the bracelet, which was a voice behind her and Ar’oa. It definitely sounded familiar, which it was Vilkas. She looks at him and smiles at him. ”I don’t mind if you sit down, Vilkas.” Stephanie said, with a smile. She goes back to her food, which she continues to eat and enjoy. It makes her look at the Bracelet specifically with an odd look on her face. ”I hope Ar’oa can help me with my inquiry since I do love the Bracelet more than that ‘evil’ thing that I put on its holder in my bedroom. I kinda want to destroy it but... Sarah usually told me not to destroy something that you deem evil or you won't be no better than the people who you think are evil. She's always right...” Stephanie thought to herself.

She couldn’t help to start think about things her mother and father specifically said that often caused her to be annoyed at them. There was many bad things said, which should stay unsaid since they weren’t nice to any of the races that weren’t human. It didn’t help that even her parents didn’t like many humans that weren’t in their mercenary band either. ”Uuhh, I hate this all my thoughts about what I specifically learned from my parents… are racist slurs, being forced to do things I didn’t want to do. Like the two weapons I am wielding, which was forced onto me.” Stephanie thought to herself, with a look of frustration. It was mostly at the fact her parents weren’t fit to be anything but the worst people to raise a child with. She gives out a sigh of utter disappointment of the experiment that she was put through. ”Uhh sorry… I should probably stop thinking about the people who put me through hell.” Stephanie said. Her tone in her voice was grateful to be in the Sanctuary and no longer near those two acidic people in her life.

Stephanie thought of other things, which were much more happier and not as depressing. That made her have a happier mood in general, which allowed her to smile brightly. ”R’s Sanctuary is very nice and different to my hometown of Gondrevil.” Stephanie thought to herself, with a smile on her face. She couldn’t help to count all the times Sarah helped her out verse her parents. It was a bit much to count since Sarah helped more in learning, which are things to say to people that deserve respect. If you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say it at all. ”Dang, I have no idea how to ask this question to Vilkas. But I guess I could wait I suppose.” Stephanie thought to herself. She had a smile on her face, however.

Tania was feeling pretty confident. He was simple minded, to be certain, but there was no way he'd get that lucky. Or maybe he would. Even if he did, she had a few more tricks up her sleeve. Unfortunately for him, however, his luck was not fortunate. The roots twisted and grew down the hallway, circling around the false projection - or rather, the false projection moved right through his roots as his roots had the wall earlier.

Tania had seemingly escaped, and Mirithal was alone. A little further down the hallway Tania was laughing lightly to herself, having successfully evaded capture for now. Well, lets see how smart this tree really was. Tania's feet hit the floor, growing temporarily to the size of a small human. Her inhuman features were quickly hidden behind a veil of illusions. By all accounts, she looked completely human. A flimsy disguise, but one she could still have fun with.

She just needed to learn a bit more alteration magic and then she could completely blend in.

But for now, the Aetheri waited for Mirithal to make his next move.

He was sure he had touched Tania. So sure, and yet, she went through his grasp laughing.

He recoiled. It was like the birds in his ---- Mirithal's brows actually raised a little. He figured it out. He'd no time to sense it, the rush he was in but this Tania didnt give off the green. It was a trick. Tania could make tricks. She probably made the wall. Who knew what else she could.

His fingers went back to normal and he looked the other way. He had to keep his feeling open. Feel everything. "You're not going to win Tania." He meant it to sound playful, but failed miserably, and sounded almost threateningly. Beside himself, it was fun figuring things out.

He then ran down the opposite hallway. Passing intersection and crossway. She could have gone anywhere. He had to try something. It wasnt the outside. The trees and plants couldnt whisper. This was cold unfeeling stone. Still, he made sure to scrap his roots on the walls, finding where the fakes might be. That would be where Tania would be.

He nearly ran into a child, a girl, He stopped on a dime, his feet digging its roots into the floor. He stood towering over her, a head tilted. She was not fake. She had green about her. He needed to make sure she didn't turn purple. He could talk this time which was nice. He held up his hands, little flower polips forming in his hands... "Hello small soft bark. This one is not scary. This one is Mirithal. I am looking for my friend. She is smaller than you. Has wings like a butterfly. Did you see her?"

"Ah..." Momentarily surprised by Mirithals swift approach, Tania made a small noise of surprise. Good! He didn't recognize her. Now she just had to keep up the facade until he realized she was in fact, Tania. If he did at all, heh. She didn't care either way, she'd get giggles regardless. For now though, play the fool and no one would be the wiser.

"A pretty flower...for me?" Tania grinned, smelling the flowers presented to her. "Aw, thank you treeman. Since you introduced yourself, its proper I do the same. I am simply known as Tea." She twirled, spinning on one of her heels as she took a few steps away from Mirithal. "A friend? How cruel. Leaving such a pretty tree all by themselves...I may have seen a little Aetheri pass in quite the hurry. Shall we look for her together? I'm not doing anything important right now."