Light slowly licked at some of the furnishings of the small room as the last of three men came and sat at the table. He set his candle down at the center by the other two and leaned back. His small grey eye darted back and forth to the other two men waiting for one of them to speak. They all knew the situation at hand, and they all knew it was up to them to solve it.

"What is the current energy level Horas?" One man finally said. He was a short man, with a pudgy belly match by what should have been cheery green eyes and a short gray beard. Now though his eyes dimmed with worry and his beard had grown past its normal length.

"Low. And growing lower by the day I'm afraid." Hoarce replied. He was thin, although an average height. In the chaos he seemed to have grown thinner. His brown eyes darted around the room nervously.

"Can we do anything?" The original man asked. He rested his arms on the table. Once a fine sorcerer, the had lost that ability when he was caught of guard by gryphon. In the fight he lost one of his eyes and the will to cast any more spells. A silence filled the room as the men thought about the question.

"I've got it!" The pudgy man, Stephen, finally exclaimed.

"Go on." Horace said.

"We all have young sorcerers we know of or are under us right?" Stephen said. The others nodded. "What if we get a small team of them together to find the problem?"

"I would rather we fix it." The one eyed man, Justus said flatly.

"Well, we are too old too." Hoarce objected. "I for one think it's a good idea."

"Fine." Justus said standing. "I will gather my apprentices and meet you back at the hall." He grabbed his candle and left.

---

Cara walked behind her teacher to the hall. Unlike the other students with her she was quiet. Yes, she knew the city was dying, and it wasn't that she didn't care, she just didn't feel like a hero. She followed Hoarce to the hall and up the steps. The door opened for the apprentices as they entered. In the hall one master, who she assumed was Stephen stood with his apprentices around him. He was clearly lecturing to them about something. What though she couldn't hear. Cara looked up at Hoarce as they walked to the other side of the hall. He had them all sit, then walked over to Stephen. They whispered back and forth, then her master came walking back. He seemed nervous and tense..then again he was always nervous and tense. She, who was still standing, leaned against the wall as her master came over. She listened as he explained that they were waiting on one more group. It wasn't that it totally mattered to her. Again, she wasn't a hero...why should she help?

Devon walked behind his master Justus, and the other three apprentices follow suit. He looks around though his mask, the mask he uses to hide his..... unusual markings. He was found alone, just a homeless child, waiting outside the school steps almost ten years ago. His face was tattooed with strange ruins, but the most striking thing of all was that his shadow didn't match his movements. It seemed that whoever marked him used it to give him a living shadow, though he doesn't know why. Nor does he care, for that matter. Just another thing that makes him strange. Another thing that makes him a freak.

He looks around, his dark eyes flicking from person to person, and the few that meet his gaze flinch seeing him. Or maybe it's the eerie gaze of the dark puppet that is his shadow that scares them. He sighs, and his master taps him on the shoulder. "Control your puppet." He blinks, and pulls the shadow back to it's proper place. "Apologies Master." He looks around, seeing that everyone else has taken a step or two away from him.

Cara was trying to listen while Master Horace explained the mission. A few would be selected...she hoped she wasn't one of them. Her mind was fully snapped out of his talk though when a person's shadow jumped out at her. She stepped back and sneered as a trickle of white light danced around her hand.

"You wouldn't..." She muttered. A ball of white light slowly began to grow in her hand.

"Cara!" Horace snapped. Her attention turned to her master as he quickly walked up.

"My apologies." He said to another one of the masters. The one eyed man nodded.

"And mine." He said gruffly. He continued walking. Cara stepped back from her master.

"He tried to attack me." She indicated to the boy with the shadow as he walked by.

"It is a puppet Cara...and clearly one that still needs to be controlled." Her master replied.

He looks down at his feet in shame, and points at his feet. The shadow puppet flows down to his shoes, and seethes there like a black furnace. He appears to be enshrouded in a dark mantel, the glowing eyes of the living darkness narrowing with hatred at the gathering power in Cara's hand. He snaps his fingers, and the darkness coils around him like a cloak. She hears a hiss in her head, like nails on a chalkboard, grating in her brain.

He grabs at his lapel, like he's clasping the latch of a cloak or cape, and the darkness goes still. He lets out a heavy breath. "I'm sorry.....he was just defensive." He bows deeply at the waist. I'll need to feed him soon...

The ball of electric energy sputtered in Cara's hand, as a loud screeching noise filled her head. Cara stepped up from the wall, but it was hard to focus. The energy pulsed up her arm and up to her head removing the noise. Cara glared at the boy who would dare attack her like that. A shadow retreated back to him.

"I'm sorry.....he was just defensive." He bows deeply at the waist.

"He?" Cara quipped raising an eyebrow. She watched as the last traces of the shadow disappeared, two eyes glowing up at her. She recalled her electric burst. "Oh..."

A puppet...I get it. She thought.

"No problem. We all have ability issues." She said flipping a lock of white hair over her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder at her master. He was engaged talking to a couple of students.

"I'm Cara." She said looking back at him. "What's your name? I see your Justus apprentice."

He nods softly at her statement that everyone has ability problems. His gaze flicks over to Justus and Horace, them says, "I'm Devon. Nice to meet you Cara. Sorry about....him. He doesn't like people." He sighs, brushing his lapel. A quiet purr emanates from the darkness. "His name is Obsidian, and he is not a people person. He likes to be left alone, but I have to go with my master everywhere, because otherwise who knows what mischief he'd do."

Cara nodded, but before she could answer her master spoke. "Everyone settle down and sit down." Horace said. Cara frowned and mouthing an apology to Devon. She leaned against the wall and slowly sank to the floor. Great, now we get to see what's going on. She thought. Horace proceeded to explain that the power was draining from the cities core. What Cara knew to be a giant jewel locked up underneath the city hall somewhere, but she wasn't sure. Horce went on to explain that they were to pick the best of their apprentices to help them fix the problem. Cara looked up at the ceiling, as long as it wasn't her she would be fine.

"Just don't pick me..." She muttered. She wasn't a hero and she wasn't about to be one either. To her dismay though Horace approached her.

"Cara." He said. She looked up at him. "I have chosen you." She sighed.

"Yes master." She replied.

Justus looks at him. "I have chosen Devon." There's a collective murmur from the other apprentices, but he silences them with a gaze of steel. "I have many reasons for my selection, none of which concern you. Is that understood?" They go silent, and he turns back to the other teachers. Devon looks up in.... annoyance? Suprise? It's unclear, as they can only see his posture, due to his mask.

Cara reluctantly followed Horace to where the other two masters were gathered with their apprentices. She had been a little surprised when Justus had chosen Devon, especially after his entry, but she was somewhat happy to see an acquaintance...if she could label their short encounter as such. She stopped behind her master, he turned and pulled her closer, she inwardly cringed, being chosen for something she did not want was hard enough, but being close to other people made it worse.

She looked around at the other apprentices. Devon she knew wielded a shadow puppet of sorts. A terror in his pocket that he could control whenever. The other though was new to her. A short boy, with an unkept mess of brown hair, and brown eyes to match. She didn't know anything about him other than his name was Peter, and he was Stephen's apprentice. As far as she was aware he could be his nephew, but she wasn't about to argue either.

Devon looks around, and his shadow mirrors him, glowing eyes flicking to each member of the new team. There's a very quiet, raspy hiss of a voice. *"What do you want from us?"* Devon looks at Obsidian, suprised. "You talked. What's wrong?" *"I have no time for their games and meetings. You of all people should understand that."*