Winter is descending upon the fair city of Volstryggr and its people as evidenced by the first signs of snow falling smoothly from the gray skies. A harsh wind blows in from the north where the majestic Lake Aethera resides, putting an extra sharp sting to the current temperature. The bitter cold does little to stop the citizens from proceeding with their everyday lives. It is rather difficult, after all, to think about the weather when a vicious serial killer lurks in the shadows eagerly awaiting their next victim. A trail of victims longer than any in the history of the city, every missing person's report is met with the very real fear that they may be the next victim. He is only known by the moniker, "The Blood Angel", and despite the city's best efforts remains unidentified. Every murder appears to be random with no discernible pattern in place except for one. Each victim has their backs flayed open and pinned to a wall, often decorated in their own blood. No door in the city is left unlocked and few dare to venture out at night alone. The weary faces of the city's policing force is even more evidence of the noose this mysterious killer is slowing wrapping around the city's neck.

Today there are even more police patrols than normal with Sentinel Handlers even joining in the mix. The normal commotion and noise typical for a city of this size is the tad bit quieter to those who listen and the chilly air seems somehow heavier with the weight of an event not yet known. Besides this irregularity, today is simply another day in the lives of the average citizen. Those not accustomed to the winter cold, like Ice Giants, are dressed head to toe in warm, heavy clothes. Taverns are filled with frozen patrons looking for a warm place to get a hot meal and talk about current events. Forgetful shoppers rush through the marketplace to stockpile firewood for their fireplaces and food for their cupboards. Amidst this peaceful day, a dark and dangerous secret lies hidden from public knowledge. A thin sheet of frozen dark, red blood covers the stone path of a indiscriminate alley far away from the populated streets. The body is pinned against the stone brick of a house, his back tore open like so many others and displayed in the same fashion. However, he is not the only casualty this time. The implications of this second death have raised the stakes dramatically. It is not just the citizens that are in danger. Volstryggr itself is under threat. A single message scrawled in blood is visible above the mutilated corpse:

All available sentinel handlers and their sentinel partners had been ordered to gather in the main hall of the Volstryggr manor,
the home of the Volstryggr family since the city's founding. As they all began to file in, they would see the the current head
of the household and current Peace-keeper, Emile Volstryggr, standing on a wooden podium so that everyone could see him.
Besides a serious look in his vibrant, violet eyes, he wore a straight face owing to his professionalism. It was only his
personal bodyguard and closest friend, Jacoby, that knew the fury that burned inside the relatively young man. Emile, like his
ancestors before him, had been taught the family creed and deeply believed in it. However, his attention was often directed at the
'justice' part of peace. His current feelings teetered on the edge of justice and was leaning more towards vengeance. None of this
was shown in any way on his facial features. As the lasts souls filled in with the rest, he prepared to speak on what had got his
blood boiling below.



A sharp, brief cough echoed throughout the room amongst the numerous conversations being had, as a way to clear his throat and
initiate silence among them. Scanning the mix of personnel before him, he began "You all know me well enough to know that I don't
mince words. What I am about to say you might already know, but allow me to quell any rumors. Arhtur Gothard has been murdered
and his sentinel...incapacitated." Emile struggle to maintain the neutral expression on his ace against a torrent of emotions.
Arthur Gothard had been a Sentinel handler for many years and in fact trained many of the newer handlers in their duties. Arthur
had entered service when his father became peace-keeper and he had been like an uncle to Emile. A wave of whispered voices filled
the room along with a few sounds of crying. For some, Arthur had been a father-like figure especially to those who had been orphans
or became handlers at a young age. It was easy to say his death was a great loss for the entire city of Volstryggr.

Emile let that annoucement settle before continuing "The nature of his death leads us to believe it was the indiviual known as the
Blood Angel. His sentinel, Muramasa, was found at the crime scene damaged with a large cavity in its chest and its mana-core
missing." Visible shock was a common reaction among those present as well as anger not so well hidden. The idea that a Sentinel,
let alone his handler, could be taken down by one man was insane. However, that was the truth of the matter. Emile had grown up
with a glorified vision of sentinels and their handlers like so many others. The modern-day hero. Emile spoke once more, gripping
the sides of his podium "This makes the Blood Angel one of the most dangerous threat to the city in his history. We now believe
that their agenda goes far beyond simply killing for the enjoyment of it. Our current investigations have been inadequate and
that must change before this monster achieves whatever he intends to do." A bit of the fire in his chest released with the last
few words. They had to stop the Blood Angel whatever it took.

"It is for this purpose I am assigning each sentinel handler to a team. I hope that by working closely together you will shed some
light on this wave of darkness." His composure had been regained "Each team will be assigned a section of the city to patrol and
monitor. You will have full authority to investigate any clues that might lead us to the killer and before I go any further let
me introduce our special guest." He looked backwards to what appeared to be a human figure. The reality was far different as the
figure stepped next to the podium "This is Vilkas from the realm of Dragons. It is my hope that his wisdom and experience will
help us in our investigations." Dragons were one of the rarest sights to see on the main continent as they hardly ever left their
large island off the western coast. While the actual island is called the Shattered Lands, it is more commonly called the Realm
of Dragons as a note to their pseudo-nation status.

Emile began to divide the almost one-hundred sentinel-handlers into smaller teams. The last ones he had reserved for his own
personal investigations as both his partners and protection detail. Naturally Jacoby was included in this team, but he had a few
names in mind to assist him. After the last team had been called, he dismissed them to their sectors and gathered those remaining.
These individuals, along with Vilkas, would form his team that would be the spearhead of this new initiative to capture this
dangerous criminal. Emile had left his podium and stood in front of those he had chosen. There may have been more senior,
experienced handlers he could have picked from but they were here because of what they had to offer. Emile was confident in his
choices "Those of you left standing here have been specially selected to assist me in my own investigations. Joining us will be Mr.
Vilkas whose expertise will surely help us find this psychopath." He asserted strongly.

There was a couple leads he wished to investigate immediately. One was the missing mana-core in which a specialist was already in
the process of tracking down using its unique magical signature. The second was to seek assistance from none other than the queen of the underworld herself...Elizabeth St. Claire. It was not long after the founding of the city that the infamous vampire made her home here. One might wonder why she was never brought in and that was because Elizabeth kept a tight leash on her subjects. It was also because she had never been caught with any crime and was often cooperative with manners like this.

From his spot on the podium, red flickering could be seen from the humanoid who stepped forward. His sheer presence was rather focused, and he scanned the crowd with his eyes, mentally filing away each one. He was very tall, though his aura seemed to make him even larger, as the air around his eyes seemed to vibrate with a silent rage. Arthur was a dear friend to the dragon and he was very interested in seeing Blood Angel brought in. While crime wasn't a concern among Dragons, as there wasn't any motivation, they only crime Vilkas remembered hearing about was the fighting that usually happened at gatherings.

Vilkas weathered the looks the Sentinels and Handlers gave him. Most of the older ones had heard of the Dragon, especially when he had arrived. Very few had met him, as when he traveled through the city he wore a hood to keep his identity hidden. "It will be an honor to bring in this murderer." His voice was measured, oddly calm and smooth despite the way he seemed to radiate pure hatred in every word. He stepped down with Emile as he introduced him to the team he would be working with.

"Greetings." He gave a subtle nod of his head. "Vilkas Excellion is my human name. I look forward to working with the Peacekeepers again."

Timothy wasn't entirely sure what exactly he was doing here. He'd been minding his own business for the most part, doing his duty as a sentinel handler, when he'd gotten called in to be a part of this special team. Of course he'd been fixing to find the blood angel, same as most of the handlers he knew. That was their job, after all. Some handlers didn't think too much of a lone killer running loose, but Timothy thought differently. Volstyggr was large and their forces were small, but they had the Sentinels. A serial killer shouldn't have been let loose for long. As the body count climbed higher and higher, Timothy felt that the angel would inevitably take someone important. He had been proven right, but in the worst way possible.

Timothy looked around the room. He had been a handler for not that long, but he knew everyone in it, with the exception of Vilkas the dragon man. Timothy himself didn't feel that he was particularly exceptional. Although, he supposed that no one he knew had his particular skillset with his particular set of circumstances. Nevertheless, he felt like there were people who would gladly pay for his position in this team. While Timothy lamented the death of Arthur Gothard, he wasn't particularly keen on avenging it. They had barely been aqcuantances, after all. And while he did want to bring the blood angel in, he wasn't doing it out of a sense of justice. The angel was killing people, and Timothy would rather he didn't.

It wasn't as if he minded the assignment; if the boss said he was on the team, he was on the team. He would give everything he had to bring in the blood angel, and he didn't mind putting his life on the line. So then, there was nothing to do but introduce himself.
"Right, hello Vilkas." Timothy said, mimicing the dragon man's nod. "I'm Timothy."
With that, the young man waited for the rest of the group to make their greetings.