[IC] Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

[Luna]

Colette

She nodded slowly when he introduced himself and bowed. "Nice to meet you I am Colette." she said politely and when he mentioned the stuff that the older vampire had given her she nodded. "Yes she did give me that stuff so I can control my blood lust" she said softly, almost quietly. She grew cautious when he mentioned her to follow him and she nodded slowly and began to follow him. "What is it you wanted to show me Mr. Marchosias" she asked curiously siding glancing the male she was following with a curious but guarded expression on her youthful face.

[Fallenreaper]

Khan

Khan had been eyeing the pair since they finally noticed each other. He had a unsettle feeling and when things started to escalate, his mind for a split second debated on sending Uicle’s little mental birds to aid should the worse happen. The only problem with his idea was that it looked as if he wouldn’t have much time. The two looked on the verge of attacking one another, rather it would be something which would drag the remaining student body among their clash and likely injure several students in the careless action. Not to mention the pair of them.

Of all days, why it have to be today when two Naga had to show up on their door step? The Esyire sighed, his gesture mixed in both annoyance and defeat. He should’ve realized today was bound to be interesting. He forced his body to relax yet one foot stepped in front of another, brought him slightly closer and inwardly made a note to talk to Tyrael. He aimed to request Tyrael to keep his guest from attacking others unless Lucilia or Uicle would have a better method to complete such a task. Still retaining a safe distant, he remained on high gaurd to interfere and separate the pair. His eyes lingered upon the pair, inwardly debated on best method that would both minimize the damage and restrain the two Naga. His mind set to call Zaad to his aid. Thankfully he didn’t need to. Val, the blunt and gruff Rune Master, had leapt feet first into the heated discussion before the two vipers like creatures could tangle. Immediately she scolded both then warned them she would put them both in their place if they continued.

It seemed to do the trick as the female, Mar if he remembered correctly, had slithered away.

Yet not without cause for Khan to become concern. He would’ve over looked the matter if all there had been mere hissing and displays. His ears caught Mar’s threat, a clear warning that she fully intended to carry it out regardless of the courtesy extended from the College, disregarded the Twilight college rules. Despite the accusations and verbal claims, he didn’t completely condone such behavior. At least Alaira had the common sense to vent on potted plants or other such inanimate objects, even if it had made a few gargoyles grumble in grudging protest and earned Rathel’s disapproval.

His eyes still watched the Naga leave but another voice, feminine and gentle, had spoken. This caused Khan to break his line of sight upon Mar’s retreating back to the owner, his head tilted down when he realized it came from below him. His wing stretched out and up, no longer obscured his sight as they fell on what seemed to be a she wolf. Made from a combination of ivory, stone and bright gems, his eyebrow rose in question to whom the golem belonged to. His first assumption was an intermediate student’s first attempt to create a higher level golem or maybe another of Uicle’s.

Not aimed to be rude any farther, the Head master replied. “I believe they are called Naga. Though currently it seems they are in a bit of argument and one that is not advised. If you’ll give me a moment to settle a matter, I’ll introduce myself and we’ll seek out you master. I’m sure he can’t be far.”

Though the event died down he couldn’t allow the Naga to wander off unwatched. Khan rose his hand up. In moments, a small metal bird fluttered to his hand and perched there lightly. One of Uicle’s many spies and sentries. The small creature bobbed its head, surprisingly gentle in its grip upon Esyire’s large fingers while the Head Master pulled it close and whispered instructions to report back to Uicle. It was a simple request, one he would entrust the man to fulfill: send a few spies to keep an eye on the female Naga and some Golems on standby should she become aggressive again. Inwardly Khan only hoped he was being over cautious.

Next, he focused upon his knowledge of the Inferno, noted it was highly likely a small swarm of bone imps would’ve been nested in the precise area at this current time of day within the Inferno, and quickly summoned a portal big enough for his hand. He it held there for a moment until something, toothy and hungry, bit down. Instantly his hand fisted about the unwise creature and jerked it into the physical realm, the small portal sealed once through. The bone imp squeaked in surprise to find its prey had trapped it. It was just over 2’ tall, with red orange skin and bony tips at its bat like wing end. Twin horn curved up from the top of its narrow head, sided by pointed ears and slightly elongated neck. It was far too thin to be considered well fed, its long tail held a scorpion like stinger that had started to stab into the Esyire’s fisted hand repeatedly until it drew a bit of blood. In a few hours the venom would've affected him, unless he attended to it soon, but first this creature had a message to deliver. One to the demonomancer Tyrael in regards to Mar. Once he bind the bone imp, Khan made his massage clear that if Tyrael’s guest attacked a student, she would be forcibly removed and it was his responsible to ensure she didn’t. With careless and rough discarded, he released the demon to flutter off to deliver the message. The Esyire wasn't sure if the creature would return alive once it managed its task.

He returned his focus back to the stone wolf, no farther distractions to deal with. This time he stepped about to face her, his figure fell to one knee and rested his injured hand against his leg. Still assuming the statue had been created by one of the College’s current students, he continued to look in the golem wolf’s diamond eyes. His mind ignored the slight throbbing started in his hand to address her. “Well, what might your name be and to which student do you belong to? I’m Khan Jevarath, the current Head Master if you’re still a young soul. Though you’re a little more elegant then most intermediate students have tried to create but I admit a fine job with the craftsmanship, possibly one of our craftsmen within the school or from your master’s homeland?”

[Konan375]

Leith Calder

Leith listened to Ssarak and laid back on his bed. He raised an eyebrow when the Esyire said that he was a mercenary for a time. [i[Well, he would definitely make an intimidating mercenary.[/i] He nodded when Ssarak finished his story.

"Yeah, it's pretty much the same for me, except I wasn't a mercenary or anything like that." Leith sat up and gestured to himself with a smile. "I don't exactly have the build for it. I came here to learn about hydromancy." And to see if I can find out what's making my head buzz, he added in his mind. "Anyway, I'm going to try and get some sleep before the Opening Ceremony." He laid down on the bed and closed his eyes.

As much as he wanted to, Leith was unable to fall asleep, and he knew that he wasn't going to get to sleep for a while, unfortunately. The buzzing in his head and the excitement of finally getting to the college was making his mind far too active for him to sleep. With a sigh, Leith got out of bed and went to the door. He looked back at Ssarak.

"So, trying to sleep didn't work that well. I'm going to go take a look around the college, maybe find something that could help me sleep." With that, he opened the door and left the room.

He walked around the college for a while and eventually ended up in the courtyard. When he got there, he saw Khan. Khan opened what looked like a hole in the air and pull a creature from it. After a few moments, Khan let the creature go, and turned to face a wolf. Interested, Leith made his way over to the Esyire and the wolf. When he got closer, he realized that the wolf was made of stone. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone in a grey cloak running up to the wolf and the headmaster.

Leith noticed another person standing a bit out of the way of everyone, just watching, and for some reason, when Leith stared at the man, the buzzing in his head got a bit louder.

[Lucius Cypher]

Tyrael Marchosias

"This." Tyrael placed his hand onto the large rectangle, and a large rune appeared. The metal wall began to shift and move, and eventually began to rise up into the wall. And on the otherside... Was what looked to be a tavern of sorts. There were many demons and humanoid looking beings walking about, drinking and chatting. Light came in from the ceiling, but it was not sunlight, but an artificial light made from Inferno Fire. A slight haze wafted in the air, scentless but would put those who breath it in a slight high. "Welcome to Underhaven. This is just the open area, but here is where my demons and Lucilia's vampires come to rest during the day and indulge their basic needs. She probably did not want to show this to you because she fears you will refuse to drink her Marrow Draught when we have a ready supply for real, fresh blood for you to consume. If you ever feel that you must feed, or simply need a place to relax away from prying eyes, feel free to come here. Allow me to introduce you to some people of importance."

Tyrael took Colette into Underhaven, first taking her to the bar. Standing there was a goatman. "Hello. Colette, allow me to introduce you to Barkeep. That is his given name. He is a demon who has spent much of his life learning the trade of barkeeping, though that's only one of his many skills. He's not the only one of his kind here, but the other goatmen do not have names. If you are looking for him, just call for Barkeep. A drink for our friend here Barkeep. Valenta's Red." The goatman silently nodded and mixed a drink for Colette as Tyrael went on to talk to her about the others. He pointed out one of the bouncers, a shirtless man with white hair. "He is Jader. A vampire who apparently owes Lucilia. Does not do much aside from keeping out riftraff and breaking up any fights that bothers the patrons. And he is very good at both. He also has some back up too, so do not think of trying to cause any trouble here. But if you feel that someone wishes to do you harm, but cannot ask me or any of the teachers to help you, do not be afraid to ask Jader." Barkeep slid Colette her Valenta's Red, a blood drink mixed with some sweet syrup and a splash of liquor. Around the same time, a dark demon walked up to the pianos and started tune it. "And he... Well, he does not have a name. Never gave us one and does not accept any we give him. We have come to call him Ryuchi. I do not know who gave him the name, but it seems to be the one most know the best. Does not respond to it however, so if you have any reason to talk to him, you will need to come to him in person. He plays music for the Underhaven, and sometimes I have him assist the Brahmasta in their performances."

As Tyrael was considering taking a break, he caught a Bone Imp just as it was about to crash into him. He knew it wasn't one of his, but if someone wanted to kill him they'd have sent something more deadly than this. Before Tyrael could snap the whelp in half, it gave him Khan's message. Tyrael signed before he crushed the demon in his hand, tossing it to Barkeep who nonchalantly dropped it's corpse into a bin with a hole leading to gods-know-where. "My work is never done..." He muttered under his breath. Tyrael picked up one of Barkeep's towers to wipe off the gore from his body before turning back to Colette. "Now than, anything you have to ask of me?"

[ArchangelUriel]

As she sat, Shala watched intently as the two showed intimidating displays of aggression, neither giving any ground for a second. The golem found such conflict amusing, not for the factor of violence, but because conflict changes everything, and it's inevitability, the change, always gave way to wisdom. The fact that they were creatures of another place and culture, with a conflict entirely foreign to her, made it all the more fascinating. She doubted it becoming more than an isolated incident, because not many would relate to such a squabble enough to become involved, but it piqued her interest.

A sigh brought her attention to the large man beside her. He might have been the most interesting of all of them. The way he watched like a sentry meant he had some kind of authority, perhaps the head of the establishment. He had the demeanor of such. The she-wolf cocked to the side as she observed him, just as he moved his wing to look at who'd made the comment. As he responded, the golem flicked her tail in excitement. Then the winged man proceeded to use some of his own magic as he effortlessly spawned some sort of twisted creature from a small portal. What magic is that? she couldn't help but wonder. It seemed rather similar to what Nhane had done with her, bringing her to this realm of life, yet very different. She had not been a monster upon waking as the life-given statue. Also another important detail was that she had no memory of how she came to be, a blank slate. The creature obviously had a naturally destructive disposition. As he let the thing go, he turned back to her, and she resumed the thumping of he tail against the air.

"My name is Shala," she dipped her head, "It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance Headmaster Khan Jevrath." She said, slightly satisfied she'd assumed correctly of his status. "I belong to my master, Nhane. You honor me with your compliments, Headmaster, but I was nothing more than the state of a royal pet."

---

The hooded elf moved quickly between groups of people, "Damned wolf," he breathed. Spotting her with a large winged man, he stopped a second, wondering if approaching would be the best idea. After all, he still had not the slightest idea what they did to vampires around here. He'd certainly not seen any yet; though giant snake people couldn't be more pleasant guests. Then there were all sorts of twisted forms that walked about as 'students'. Dangerous obviously wasn't a factor in student acceptance, and with that he decided he would risk it, walking toward the two.

"Shala," he barked as he neared, "If you can't listen, then we leave." He looked at her sternly, then to the man, keeping his head low. "I apologize if she's been a trouble. We'll be going now."

"Master, I do not think-"

"Now, Shala," he said as he began to turn away.

[Frettzo]

Val+Coco

So these were the news. Coco had managed to find the Rune Master, but just as she began moving towards the female dwarf, another thing caught her attention. Another half-snake person... But this one didn't actually smell like snake, or person. Sure, she could imagine its shape due to its noises, and it was like the half-snake woman called Mar, but its scent was so much different.

Instead of snake, it smelled like fish, as if it came from the sea, but that's just it, that's what confused her. Snakes didn't come from the sea, right? If so, then why did this snake person smell like he did? The two snake persons then moved towards each other, and began discussing over something she didn't fully understand. All the talk about Yarosmere, sea depths and Myrmidons was enough to spark her interest, and soon enough many, many questions started flooding into her mind. Some were simple, like what a fish-smelling snake person ate, all the way to how they had seeds if they were half snake.

But it wasn't the time to ask questions. When the two finally broke their argument, and the female dwarf was freed from them, she was reminded of her most important objective- Getting her artifact fixed.

So with no delay, she started after the dwarf, attempting to speak once she was right behind her, "BZZT - Master, I -BZZT- repaired, Xiah t -BZZT- please!" she said, then once she noticed the woman's difficulty at understanding her broken sentences, she began making symbols with her hands. The symbols shown to her by Xiah, her favorite Goddess (or at least her favorite voice in her head). As she understood, the symbols meant 'Rune Master'. Once finished making the symbols, she pointed the artifact hanging around her neck a few times.

Val's boot trampled off to the direction of her forge, each step seemed to show the huff the small Rune Master was in. She had runes, new and repaired, waiting on her and these reptiles had the nerve to fight right in front of her! The pair didn't have the common sense of river rocks in her opinion. Just hissing and and spitting, the two might as well been dancing for all the good it did them. Her ears caught a familar sound of buzzing a broken rune translator made. Val's attention ensnared, her walking came to a sudden halt before she turned on heel to face the strangest sight she had ever seen: A walking, half talking shrub!

Val took a minute to blink the shock from her eyes, for the first time in her life she was actually speechless. Shaking away the surpise when the shrubbery started to wave her leafy hands about in signs she started to note were a form of sign lanuage used underground, when sounds and high pitches made talking ill adviced or risk a cave in. One of the flaws about living underground sadly.

"Now hold it a minite! Give me a moment, yer cuttin' in and out. And yer signs ain't that good." Her eyes drifted down to her belt, her thick hand shifted into a pocket and several items seemed to shuffle about within it. After several seconds, Val smirked triumphly and withdrew a small stone. It had a gooved sign, meaning translate, cut into the stone itself as well as a vibrate purple ink marking Val's unique signature within her master piece.

"Try this and see how it does." The Dwarf said and looped the rune upon the Foreas's necklace used for the artifact.

Coco stood quietly as the woman gave her the rune and aided her in putting it on. She felt the rune with her fingers, then once she was satisfied and felt she knew enough about the rune's form and material, she let it go and let it rest around her neck. Then she stretched her fingers and attempted to speak...

"Coco," She began, her leaves puffing out slightly in excitement at not hearing the annoying buzzing sound, "Coco Bean is my name, I can scare Syphis thanks to Xiah." She said i na soft yet energetic voice, her leaves now fully puffed out before she jumped a little on the spot and gave the woman dwarf a quick hug.

"Thank you, Rune Master! You're the best!" She said, then released the embrace, hoping in some part to not have creeped or grossed her out. Most sentients that she had met and weren't part of the Foreas usually felt uncomfortable when in physical contact with them.

"How did you know, though? Do dwarves have psychic powers when it comes to fixing Speech Artifacts? Why didn't we try talking to Dwarves before? Do I have to talk to someone to point me in the right direction for Mageblood training? Is my sudden mageblood given to me by Xiah linked to appearance of the huge beasts that eat us whole in seconds?"

Val immediately decided she liked the small, feminine (guessing from the shape, appearance and slight light tone) talking shrub. The creature seemed to study the rune, rotating and feeling it in her hand, until she finally satisfied her curiosity before she set it back down. The rune was a mix of Chantment and Psychomancy, the prior created the voice used to translate while the later linked it with the creature’s mental procession making it able to filter many different languages from almost any species in Tiien into one universal one. No matter whom it attached to. Though with some objects, there wasn’t much activity going on up there anyway to be of any interest knowing. There it rested as the female then moved her fingers, the rune glowed slightly blue with each motion, scent and more to translate the language into a universal one understood by Val. Coco Bean the creature introduced herself, the dwarven woman cautiously eyed the Foreas when her leaves puffed up and wondered if she had upset the poor thing. The Naga were bad enough but she didn’t need a shrub ready to whack her about too today!

However the tone indicated otherwise causing Val to relax a bit. Her ears listened while Coco continued, going about something called a Syphis and Xiah, the later seemed to ring alarm bells in her head. Val had a rune, similar to the one a student gave to the Healer of late, so the Rune Master knew the little shrub hadn’t been lying about Xiah. The thing about Goddesses and Gods, even Ren, was they didn’t interfere without some grander idea in mind. Mostly not in a way that ended up well as in the current Necromancer teacher, Uicle, case. Still Val made mental note to talk to Khan later about it, her thoughts distracted when she was quickly wrapped in Coco’s leafy embraced and tightly hugged. Val again blinked and smiled.

“Ye just be callin’ me Val, everyone does et.” She said simply before Coco began shooting more questions again. Chuckling a bit, she shook her head and raised her hands to slow the little one down. “Aye, slow it down ‘ittle one. I’m only a Rune Master, no mageblood what so ever so I merely took a guess at what’cha needed. Nothing more, seems like I was right. Now, iffin’ ye be wantin’ mage trainnin’ then come wit’ me and we’ll git ye settled. I think Lucilia helps Khan wit’ the registry seein’ the Headmaster is busy.”

Val took note of the current stone wolf, rather odd since she hadn’t constructed it, but never the less gorgeous workmanship down on the statue. Kindly she warped her arm about the young shrub’s shoulders then began to lead her towards Lucilia’s office, where Val hoped the vampire might be right now, and continued the idle chatter. “So, never seen the likes of ye here before. What’cha race called?”

"My race?" Coco asked, letting Val lead her to wherever this Lucilia was. "I'm a Foreas. And in case you're wondering, no, I don't actually produce beans of any kind, and you can't make chocolate out of me." She explained in a soft voice.

"Who is this Lucilia? Is it a female? Why does it smell like bat right that way?" She asked, pointing roughly at the direction of Lucilia's office. For all she knew, bats were strange and funny at the same time, so she wanted to have the opportunity to pet one.

"Is there a bat around? Can we go pet it? Is it docile or is it the kind that eats your leaves?" She kept asking, starting to rub her fingers together in anticipation at the possibility of getting a pet bat. She had always wanted one! Well... Not always, but now that she was reminded of their scent, she could swear she liked bats.

"If it tries to eat my leaves I might accidentally shock the creature! I don't want to hurt a fluffly little bat, that would be bad, Val."

"Easy there, Coco, I cannea answer all yer questions if ye shootin' off like sparks from a Rune." Val chuckled, trying to slow the Foreas's fountian of questions while minding her path. The dwarf seemed to enjoy curious students and in some small way wished the Foreas had been a Rune student. Her arms held a firm grip but not enough to smash the tender leaves, her hair tied back in a messy way and keeping her distance from the retreating Naga female. Last thing the dwarf needed was to deal with another hissy fit.

At the mention of Lucilia, Val answered the best she could and in her normal, blunt way. "Yes, Lucilia is a female and well, I donnea smell anything out of the normal. It could because she's a vampire and can turn into bats? As for pettin' one, I thinkin' that's not for the best dearie. They tend to bite when a stranger tries to pet 'em 'cause they ain't use to ye."

Turning about and guided the pair to the castle part of the College, where the classrooms and offices were, Val attempted to piece what she knew about Coco's endless conversation. Namely what she mentioned about shock and things before they got derailed in the mess of questions. On a hunch she then added, "I take take it from yer shock remark, yer a Electromancer then?"

Coco was surprised by Val. How come she couldn't keep up with her questions? She didn't even ask that many things! 'I guess meat baggies can't listen as good as plants...' She thought, then listened as Val continued speaking.

"Bummer... I really wanted to pet a bat." She said, this time slower than before, forcing herself to keep things more manageable for Val to fully understand.

"Electromancer? Is that how it's called? I know I can shock things because I scared these huge creatures called Syphis with Mageblood. It was exhausting to scare them and hurt them like that!"

"Wait... A vampire? What is that? Is that something special? How can she turn into a bat? Could I turn into a bat like Lucilia? Is it a fruit bat or a blood bat? If it's a fruit bat, then it's very creepy." She mentioned with a shiver, having forgotten to force her questions down once more.

"Maybe after they git to know ye... I donnea think ye can pet Lucilia's bats. Electromancy is a magic that uses electrical currents and from the sounds of it, yep that's ye mageblood," Val said as she noted they had drawn nearer to the Herbamancy teacher's office. In a short time they would be there and hopefully most the Foreas's curiosity would've been staturated. Something Val actually doubted was possible."Likely vampire bats, ones that drink blood I would imagine. And vampire is a curse human that has to drink blood from others, fast and strong enough its best not to get on their bad side."

"Wow, that's awesome. Also, sorry if I speak too much, it's been a few months since I could speak without it all breaking apart." Coco said in a sheepish tone, shrugging. The rest of the way went fairly calm and quiet, Coco drawing herself to silence, forcefully. Val seemed to be getting tired of her voice, just by the ways her tones subtly changed.

Eventually they arrived at the office's door, and Coco turned towards Val, snapping her right hand's fingers to get a quick layout of her surroundings. "I thought you said something about having to do things in a Forge a few minutes ago? Well, I think I can handle a few cute bats on my own. Though be careful, I might find you and ask more questions!"

Val merely shook her head, "Cannea blame ye or mind it, I always like the chatter while I work in the Forge. Keeps me grounded though I might not reply quickly if at all. As for a few cute bats, it's likely to be a swarm ye get."

The dwarf's steps came closer as she stopped, her arms around Coco alway s prevented the Foreas from walking farther. The Rune Master seemed a bit depress, her tone clearly rather chest fallen at demparting her but swallowed the feelings down. "Tis here is Lucilia's office. Hopefully she's in thar. If nea, then come find me and ye'll get ye settled in n' look for her together. I best be gittin' to Xyden's room request before dark edges too close for me to be gittin' it done."

Waving a little to the small novice the Rune master waddled off to her forge before the Opening Feast. It would be a night to remember certainly.

Coco Bean

It had been minutes. After speaking with the Rune Master and having her help her with her speech problem and lead her to this Lucilia female, she felt like she was stepping into something she couldn't quite fathom. The memory of the Goddess' voice was still present in her mind, and she could not shake the words she told her. Sure, alone they did not mean much at all, but every time Coco spun the words around for any kind of deeper meaning or plan, she came up with a different explanation.

Why did this Goddess Xiah have to be so impatient? Why didn't she herself, Coco, ask questions when she could? She could have even asked for something cute, like a bat! But no... She was scared, terrified and shaken after the Syphis' attack. Her fellow Foreas were dead, killed by these... Creatures of heat.

She clapped her hands once and stood still for a few moments, relaxing enough to look her best. And when she felt her leaves follow her desires and lay down, she knocked on the door. Hopefully this Lucilia was present and could answer a couple of her questions. And even though the nice Rune Master Val told her not to expect to be able to pet a bat while near Lucilia, she still hoped she would be able to do it!

[Rtron]

Uicle

Uicle chuckled as the girl called him sir. He was many things, but sir wasn't one of them. Torturer, perhaps. Bastard was one he had been called several times. "Sir? I'm no Sir. Uicle will do just fine. As for exploration...I suppose they did. I'd best send a few Golems after them to make sure no one gets into trouble that will get them killed." He shifted his head to the shadows on a nearby wall and gave them life. Half a dozen or so Golems, their forms vaguely humanoid. They scattered, insubstantial and hugging the walls, one watching each of the students that disappeared. Uicle returned his gaze to Annabeth. "Seeing as this tour is going nowhere, or at least the few that remain following me are either doing it out of pity or because they've no where else to go, shall I give you your own Golem to help you avoid getting killed while you explore?" He wasn't sure, but it was doubtful the girl was actually interested in a tour that would serve her only slightly better than exploring the College on her own. Placing his staff on the ground so he could keep an eye on the other students, he leaned on it, waiting for her response. Or tried at least. His staff slipped from beneath him and he went crashing to the ground, muttering a curse.

Greg came trotting out of the Forge, his metal hide gleaming and a sizable piece of scrap metal in between his jaws. "What did I tell you about begging polishes and stealing scrap metal from the Forge workers?" Uicle scolded, picking himself up. The dog golem looked decidedly unashamed, settling down to gnaw on his prize. It produced an almost painful sound, and Uicle(now standing) flicked out his staff to rap the dog in the side. "Stop that." Reluctantly, Greg obeyed. A bird came and whispered in Uicle's ear once more. Uicle tilted his head, sifting to see what the bird saw. "Ah.." He said softly. Now it made sense. The Naga was getting hostile and making threats. Easily enough to preemptively stop.

With a mental command, a shadow golem began to follow Mar. It wasn't substantial enough to physically restrain the Naga, but it could distract and harass her long enough for a steel golem to arrive.

Althalus

Althalus tensed when the Ocean Naga drew his trident and set it on the ground. Something was about to go wrong. He could feel it. The strange creature's next words proved his feeling correct. Oh Gods.. He took a small step backwards. Naga fight well and die hard. Two(at least, he assumed the thing before him with the fins was a Naga. They looked similar enough.) fighting was likely going to get multiple people(himself included) killed. As Mar drew herself up to her full height and the other Naga hissed, he took a much larger step backward, a hand on the shoulder of the Foreas, pulling her backwards. He had seen how curiosity could get them killed. Done it a few times himself, in fact. "Let's not get between the two of them if things get violent, hmm?" He said to her, keeping his eyes on the two in front of him, while maintaining a grip on the Foreas's shoulder.

Much to his relief, the Dwarven Runemaster(He assumed, given her referencing to needing work on Runes,) interfered. Both Naga backed down, and the dwarf ran off, soon followed by the Foreas. Mar was already slithering away. Althalus glanced between her and Xyden, and decided she was the safer of the two. Besides, he had nothing better to do. Wandering the College didn't seem nearly as interesting as following the Naga. As he prepared to walk away, he noticed an albino man(who looked like a vampire but wasn't, given his standing in the sunlight.) staring at him. Althalus raised a hand in greeting, smiling slightly. Turning away and striding after Mar, in the time he took to catch up with her, he noticed a shadow with no cause dart past him and follow a prudent distance from the Naga. "My my. Someone doesn't trust the Naga after her death threat. Not that I blame them." Althalus muttered to himself.

He sped up, catching up with the Naga and reaching out a hand to touch her shoulder and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "That was an impressive display of righteous anger and pride, but you seem to have worried someone with connections to a shadow Golem. Don't turn around and look, but you appear to be being followed."

[Fallenreaper]

Khan

Khan smiled and bowed his own head in return to her politeness, introducing herself and continuing her rather elegant greeting. He noted the aura of smugness coming off her for some reason but he didn’t mind, finding little worry in a harmless thing. Shala seemed humble enough as she casted off his compliments with politeness he would’ve longed to see in a few of his less than savory students, Alaira and the female Naga for starters. At her comment about merely being a pet, he chuckled lightly with amusement.

“Everyone starts as something and regardless of the role; in this odd world it all places some needed piece. Even if we can’t always see it currently. “ Khan answered before jerking his head up to spot someone, dressed in a grey cloak with fur trimming along the edges, draw near. Feeling rather aware of his kneeing position, the Esyire lifted upwards in time to hear the man reprimand his stone wolf.

When the arguement had died, Khan immediately noted several things about the man. One he wore a cloak far too thick for even the ending summer months and seemed to shield his head from the sun’s dying light which even wouldn’t harm Lucilia or Colette very much. Next came the brief pinkish coloring of the man’s eyes. The most obvious sign of being a vampire and clearly a skittish one from his hastiness to be away, something Khan didn’t think was wise. Following his instinct the Headmaster called out.

“She wasn’t any trouble and it wasn’t my intention to offend you by speaking with her. I can tell you’re not a student, Nhane, isn’t it? Yet clearly from seeing Shala, I can tell you’re a Necromancer. Currently the Opening Feast will begin this evening and I believe you might benefit from meeting our resident Necromancy as well as our Herbamancy teacher, Lucilia. She’s a vampire like yourself and one of my trusted staff at Twilight College.” Khan waited a moment to gage the man’s reaction.

However he didn’t simple remain in place, his eyes noted another man who he mistaken to be another vampire only to note the pale blue eyes and the fact he wasn’t hiding his face. His face seemed to have a slightly uncomfortable expression, added to the baggy eyes and weary appearance from lacking sleep made the Headmaster a bit concern. Khan knew those signs well because he often suffered from them in the absence of others. Still within staying within eyesight of Nhane, Khan’s long strides cut the distance between the second man and himself in moments. Focusing on other’s pain was easier than dealing with his hand, the throbbing edged a little farther to his wrist as he continued to ignore it. The small holes that burrowed pass his tough scales increased their bleeding to start to stain the sleeve of his tunic red, slightly. He inwardly hoped it would end up dying down before he was forced to fix it, the healer Samuel’s last lecture and threats to become his babysitter- or worse, ask Lucilia to-hadn’t exactly encourage the Esyire to rush to visit the infirmary right away.

“If you’re in pain, I suggest seeing the Healer in the infirmary. Samuel might have something which might help…” Khan gently suggested to the man, placing a hand upon the shoulder. The Esyire's eyes looked to see if Nhane had still been walking away. Personally the Headmaster had hoped his mention of having a vampire teacher might provoke a need to stay or at least a curiosity.

[Konan375]

Leith Calder

Leith waved back at the man dressed in black and watched as he walked away. As the man got farther away, the buzzing in his Leith's head quieted to it's sleep-deprived buzzing. He frowned in confusion. Why did that man make his head buzz louder than usual. He might just have to go talk with the man and figure out what had caused that, but before he could continue his train of thought, he noticed the headmaster making his way towards him.

Smiling at Khan's question, Leith shook his head. "I'm not in any pain, thanks for the concern, though. I just have a bad case of insomnia. There's a," he paused. He couldn't exactly say that he was hearing a buzzing noise in his head, so he decided to changed his story a little bit. "Ringing in my ears that I've had for a long time. Sometimes it gets enough that I can't get to sleep. I'll take your advice, though, and go see Samuel. Do you think he would have something to help me sleep? Although, I think I can wait until after the Opening Feast, it sounds like it'll be quite interesting."

He ran a hand over his head as he looked around the courtyard. There were more people here than he would have seen in a month at Rehm's. It was quite the change in scenery, and Leith assumed that that change will be the first of many. This'll be an interesting experience

[Luna]

Colette

She spent her entire time as he took her around the underground tavern silent as she consumed the information he was giving her about the tavern and some of the people they were walking up to. She looked down at her drink and sniffed t taking in the blood mixed in sweet syrup scent before she took a sip. She looked around smelling the stock of blood but since she took the Marrow Draught Lucillia gave her she didn't react to it like she normally would. She sighed and looked at him. "How did this place come to be...." she asked politely looking up at Tyrael taking another sip of her Valenta Red. "I mean I heard places like these before, but I never really gone to one like this..." she trailed off before shaking her head, preventing herself from going back into the past.

[Fallenreaper]

Dinner: Opening Feast within Twilight College Dining Hall

In the passing hours into evening, students and staff had been busy readying for the event that had finally reached fruition at last: the Opening Feast. A time old ceremony that had begun since the College’s move from Aerta to present estate and one that suited to shed away the school’s unsavory history. It designed make new and old students feel comfortable, a casual but still elegant event within the hallowed castle walls. Likely it would fill the aged hallways with sounds of laughter and merriment from a rather pleasant time though not all students were required to be present, Khan had tried to encourage as many as he could to precipitate. Even if it was just for the magical demonstration each teacher had prepared.

In the Twilight College kitchen, bodies moved and busied themselves within the almost Inferno like atmosphere. The mouthwatering smells that permeated into the Dining Hall, creating causal and relaxing sense, came from the many dishes being prepared close by. While Tyrael aimed to provide most of the exotic meats, the staff had thoughtfully prepared complimentary sides. Less filling for full meals were a wide selections of soups, stews, fruits, vegetables and even bread variety to be served during the wait for the demonomacer’s main course. Each side dish’s origins ranged from the Ghannos to the Yarsomere, and even the Scorch Lands, to hopefully have something everyone would enjoy. No shortcuts or half efforts were accepted as this event was Twilight’s pride and joy. Several hours of hard work and endless activity later had produced the best, the final details now fussed over by the Head Chef’s bellowing reminders. His own hands busied with knife in hand and smoked eel being cut up into smaller chucks before distributed upon the waiting plate then shoved to a large table near the exit. Each finished dish was proudly displayed, ready and quickly snatched up by demon or golem to deposit it on a main area table in a fashion they chose best.

Just across from the Dining Hall entrance, the wall behind the table containing the Twilight’s current teachers was a rack system that held all the drinks for the evening. So many choices, it filled the wall behind the teacher’s table and promise everyone would’ve found a favorite. There was a variety of wines, ale, liquors, and even nonalcoholic cordials. Key favorites imported from Ghannos like strong Wood Elf Rose Wine to Yarsomere’s Dragon Spite Liquor, even a Scorch Land favorite called Ember served piping hot and burned on the way down with a sharp butter scotch taste. All these gathered to satisfy those of different tastes and pleasures, all thanks to Lucilia’s skill.

At the head table, Khan sat in his chair waiting for the students to begin to pour in. The first thing they would notice would be the room’s vast size, both in height and width, like some grand ballroom. Banners baring the College’s sigil were draped to cover walls made from tightly sealed stone akin to the rest of the Castle foundation. Already some of the first had started to arrive, faces ranged in excited to timid but all absorbed the sights and smells. Scattered throughout the room were numerous rounded tables that were elegantly carved and stood on claw ball footing, customized by Val to situation most the student body’s many races. From the tall Esyires to the smaller statured Snow Elves, there was rarely a race uncounted for that didn’t regularly cross Twilight College’s threshold. On closer inspection, most tables still remained in decent condition yet to the craftsman’s eye, it was clear many had been repaired countless times over the years.

Khan’s body leaned back, his eyes drifted to his goblet filled with rather powerful Dwarven ale. One that even after a few glasses would’ve knocked even a Dwarf on his ass. The strong scent had a heavy peppermint smell. It wafted and roughly demanded his attention; odd colored eyes lingered over the three vials lying next to the base. At some point he would have to pour one in as directed by Samuel, repeating the process with the next two in refills, throughout the night. However he couldn’t drink more than one glass of the Dwarven ale, even if it was best to eliminate the bitter and pungent taste the anti-venom had. Ember was his next choice and second best. The vail contents would ease and lessen the paralyzing effects that came from it. Personally Khan would’ve ridden it out rather than down the nasty stuff but he didn’t sense Sam would allow that. Not to forget the older man might’ve notified a few of the other teachers, including Uicle and Lucilia, to makes sure the Headmaster drank them. Not just stored them away to forget.

The thought made his eyes wondered over those seated next to him. He was in the center, his figure surrounded on either side by the attending teacher from each mageblood school. Save for one. Joseph Windsor had become ill thanks to a sickness that had plagued him for several days and instead of asking for the Noxomancer’s aid, he decided to allow Uicle to do a demo in his stead. The Snow elf had preferred to heal naturally rather to allow his body to grow immunity for the next time. It was pity but in the end Khan respected the Snow Elf’s decision. Again his attention returned to the three innocent looking vials, mentally debating on what to do. Consciously he flipped the napkin over them and hid them from sight, a faint hope he could get away with forgetting them during the Feast. Even if the numbness and tingling had reached his elbow by now.

[Sundered Echo]

Ponders took in the many sights and sounds of the great feast hall as he stood by one of the grand tables. He didn't need to eat, couldn't eat in fact, but the messenger who'd informed him of this event had said it was quite special, only happened once a year and well worth going to, and so he'd left his stack of books to attend. It seemed that the majority of the students of the college had also chosen to arrive, and many of them were already digging into the food stacked on the tables for them. The messenger had been right - this was worth going to. It was a prefect oppurtunity to learn more of the students. They weren't the main reason he was here, but new knowledge of any sort served to sustain him just as the food sustained the creatures of flesh around him. He'd spent so long watching and thinknig about slow and still environments that this bustle of activity was quite a refreshing change, even if he had trouble keeping up with it all.

Ponders was trying to watch each and every student all at once, and as he divided his focus, the many smaller stones that made up his form began to shift out of the humanoid shape they were usually in, revolving in slow circles around the larger central piece that was his sensory hub. Here a Snow elf trying to reach across the table, there a half snake half man sitting awkwardly picknig at the exotic food, and at yet another table a crimson haired elf tearing into a piece of meat as though she hadn't eaten in days. These were just a few of the things Ponders tried to watch, each case fascinating in itself and deserving of his full attention, but every one happening at once and thus dividing that attention.

A thought was taking shape as he watched the flesh creatures consume both other dead fleshlings and parts of plants. The thought formed into a question as he watched an Esyire tear a piece of meat with his sharp teeth before washing it down with a steaming drink. What was it like to taste? Taste was not one of his senses, the lack of both it and smell being made up for with his exceedinly good hearing and wide field of vision, but in this case he couldn't help but feel a sense of loss. He might hear and see better, but he wouldn't know of the variety the fleshlings could experience. Perhaps when one was no longer busy with its food he would have the oppurtunity to ask. Maybe he'd get to ask several of them if he was lucky. But not yet. Now was the time to watch, and there was so much to see!

[Toxic Diamond]

colab between Toxic and Ryonara
She was falling. Plummeting at a breakneck pace. The wind tore at her hair and stung her eyes, she let out a scream but none of the sound reached her ears as the wind tore it away. She tried to snap open her wings to catch the air, but there were no wings. She panicked. She flailed her arms and tried to think, tried to reason, but she was only overcome by pure terror. The feeling only increased as she saw the sparkling surface of a vast, unending ocean. No! It can't end like this! She closed her eyes just as the water rushed up to meet her.

Aruna's eyes snapped open as the stranger in the room threw their weapon. Her heart was still pounding in her chest. She quietly tightened her grip on her knife and prepared a plan as the stranger began murmuring to herself.

Mei gently placed her weapon back against the wall before she laid back on her bed. She closed her eyes half expecting to immediately fall asleep, however it didn't surprise her hen a few minutes passed without so much as vision. She tried to change her sleeping posture to get more comfortable, but the more she tried to sleep the more restless she got. "Aarg!" Mei spread her body out over the bed in a last ditch effort to sleep, but nothing came from it. "Sure. The one time I'd like to rest, my body won't allow it. Whatever..." Mei got back to her feet. She began to do some stretches and threw a few punches in the air. "Alright than, I'll just look around. Who knows, maybe I'll make some friends! Or maybe I'll find that elf from before. I could use a good fight. But first... What does this do?" Mei walked over to the button on the wall and pressed it.

Aruna relaxed her grip on the knife. While it was unclear if the girl was a threat, it was obvious that she had no idea Aruna was even in the room . Aruna decided that she would rather betray her presence than have someone potentially dangerous find her snooping. That tended to end bad "That button changes the room to fit the users liking." She uncoiled and sat up, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Her previous dream had left her heart pumping and her body wired with adrenaline. No matter what she did, she wasn't going to sleep now. "Also, I'm Aruna." She stretches and when she dies her still sore wings unfurl to their full extent, stretching just like the rest ofher. She ends the stretch and looks to see the girl's reaction.

"Uwa!?" Mei jumped when she heard a voice behind her. And this was before the room began to change. The first thing that happened as a wooden hitting post popped out of the ground between Mei and Aruna. Instinctively, Mei knocked it away with a single kick, breaking it in half. She jumped away from her side of the room as it began to transform. It didn't take long before it finished. It certainly had an oriental touch: the walls looked as though they were made of some sort of paper, with a soft light illuminating from them. However they where made entirely of stone, though they felt like paper on the touch. Her bed shifted as well to a more modest bed roll. Her floors changed from solid stone to wooden mats, solid enough to be difficult to damage but soft enough that it wouldn't hurt to walk on it barefoot. A rack for her weapons also appeared near where her bed once stood. Lastly, there was a table. But it wasn't a normal table. For one, it as only about two feet off the ground. However, covering the edges was a thick quilt, and on the underside of the table appeared to be a rune of sorts. "Oh! I never thought I'd see one of these here..."

After recovering from her initial surprise, Mei looked to Aruna. She recognized her as the dragon-girl from before, who flew in during the opening ceremony. The knowledge that Mei completely missed her when she came in was not lost on Mei, so she tried her best to ignore it. Meirin bowed her head to about waist length and kept it there. "Ah, hello. My name is Meirin Kurenai. B-but you can call me Mei! It's a pleasure to meet you, Aruna."

Aruna flinched a bit as Mei broke the hitting post. She almost reached for her knife, but she was didn't want to tell her potential enemy where her weapon was, so unless attacked directly she wouldn't reach for it. As the girl studied the changes to the room so too did Arua. It was very sensibly made, with a modest touch. She spied the weapon rack and used the number of pegs to tell her how many weapons the girl had in the room. After seeing the amount Aruna's tail itched to have her tail whip back on.

Then the girl, Mei, turned and bent at the waist to introduce herself. Aruna recognized this as a trick she often had used when she tried to flatter or ingratiate monsters or demons she knew she had no chance of besting in combat. The fact that this girl used it confused her slightly. This girl was obviously an accomplished warrior, yet she is bowing? Does she think I could overpower her? Then another thought occurred to her. Does she think I'm a demon?

"Umm... It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Mei."

An awkward silence followed. Normally there's more to say than just that, at least in Mei's experience. She figured that Aruna was just shy though, so she took it upon herself to begin the conversation. "You must have come a long way to immediately head strait to bed after the opening ceremony. I don't even think it's pass noon yet and you've already made yourself at home." Though Meirin herself had nearly fell asleep a few times here before, and she didn't even do much of anything to tire herself out. But moving on, Mei continued. "If you don't mind me asking, here do you hail from?" Aruna nodded to Mei as she spoke about coming a long way. When she asked where Aruna came from the halfling dropped her eyes and rubbed the back of her neck. She had trusted Ssarak with the information, but now she regretted it. She didn't intend to make the same mistake twice. She tried to give her best bashful look

"I, uh, I am from a small town by the scorchlands. O-on the human end of the border though. I had to fly here, I hope that there wasn't any problem with me leaving."

She was trying to seem as shy as she could, keeping the information off of her but it was Tearing her up that she had to act so.... Weak.

"Um, what about you? W-where do you hail from?"

Mei nodded her head as Aruna spoke little of herself. She was quite vague, but Mei didn't blame her: as far as she knew, they were both strangers. Or maybe leaving home was hard for her? Either way, Mei figured that she would open herself up as the two became better acquainted. When Aruna asked where Mei came from, she wasn't so fearful of telling her.

"I used to live in Djarkel. My home was a monastery in the mountains, just a little bit off a trade route. It... I cannot describe it perfectly with words. Djarkel seems like such a dark and dreary place, but at the monastery, it makes you forget where you are. It shows both the power of nature and the strength of men, as it was built to make sure it did not drastically change the nature of the place, and to do so it's founders built it where others would think impossible. It was a place of spiritual enlightenment and physical empowerment. We always offered a space for visitors and helped them get to town safely, because for all of it's scene peace, it was still Djarkel. We had to deal with bandits and raiders every so often... But we were not a people of peace. Sure, we did not go about robbing people either, but the artists at the monastery never showed weakness. I still remember seeing all those men hanging by the trees on the way up to the monastery..."

Mei was about to drone on about the monastery when she remembered that Aruna was still here. "Ah, forgive me, I was rambling. I loved my days at the monastery, but I'm at a part of my life where I need to learn the world outside of it. I would love to return there one day, but for now, this college will be my new home." Once she finished, Mei could feel a knot in her stomach. She was a bit hungry. If she remembered correctly, Khan said that the dinning hall would be open for those who feel peckish before dinner. A light lunch would be nice. "So, Aruna... Care to join me for the feast? We may be a bit early, but better than being late, no?"

Aruna listened intently about the monastery, it sounded like an amazing place. She could imagine being at peace in a place like that... But not yet, she had to finish what she had started. At that line of thought Aruna's thoughts turned morbid. Though she didn't realize it, her face reflected her mood.

Then Mei asked about food and before Aruna could fashion an appropriate answer her stomach growled.and she gave a small smile. "Um... I guess food wouldn't be that bad. Sure, let's go." So with that she went to the door of the dorm and opened it for the two of them to leave.

---

At the dining are Aruna and Mei found that, while they were early, there were still some students who had come in before them. It was there that they split paths. Mei left to go and speak with the other students, while Aruna found a seat in the corner of the room with the best view and clear line of sight with the doors. There the two girls were when the flood of students and teaches came into the dining hall.

[Frettzo]

Coco Bean+Lucilia

After the tour, Lucilia returned to her office. It was fun leading those students around on a merry chase, but now there was the matter of organizing their papers. Most of the students had hefty portfolios on them for record keeping, but there was also a notable handful without so much as a picture of them. Keeping records on the students were important for the sake of keeping track of them, not to mention making sure that the college didn't end up taking in an impostor of some sort. Not that it was an easy task, since Lucilia had to do it all alone for all the students. "Well now..." It was mostly her fault; she should have made a budget to hire assistants. Khan had his demons and Uicle had his golems, but Lucilia cut the budget for herself because she thought she could do it all alone. She could, not that she would want to. There was a little over a thousand students here at the college, more coming in and out at a moments notice. Not to mention the other hundred staffmembers she needed to keep track of, at least the living ones.

Lucilia was just about to get started when there was a knock on her door. Excited that there was something to distract her from her daunting task, with a wave of her hand she had the door open.

"Wooow..." A single soft voice was heard as the door opened, showing Coco's form admiring the way it was opened without anybody pulling it from the inside.

And then as she listened, she was able to locate the female she was looking for- Lucilia, the vampire. She did smell a bit like bat, but it was strange, because she also smelled human. Apparently half animal humans were a commo thing aroudn here, like the half-snake humans that were arguing earlier.

Remembering common manners, she bowed slightly before stepping inside and speaking.

"Hello, my name's Coco Bean, I'm a Foreas, and I can shock things. I was told by Val, the nice Rune Master, that I was an Electromancer, but that sounds waaaay too great. I think I'm more like one of those strange electric eels." She said, feeling the leaf shivers again due to her excitement, but forcing them back down.

"I was told you're a vampire and could turn into a bat. Can you speak to bats? Could I pet one right now? Are they the blood sucking bats, or the fruit eating bats?"

To Lucilia's surprise, a strange creature called a Foreas entered her office. She had read about them in passing, but this would be her first encounter. Sufficent to say, she did not imagine one to be so... Hyper. Still, this was not a bad thing. Lucilia listened to the Foreas, Coco Bean, speak a little about her (It? Coco appeared female) self. Apparently she was an Electromancer and wanted to know more about Lucilia. She imagined that that wasn't Coco's original purprose here, but she'd humor her for now.

"Yes, I am a Vampire. Lucilia Riovas. I can turn into a bat or into an entire swarm. I suppose my bats are a bit more... Unique than the ones you'd find in the wild. They're not too picky with what they eat. Here."

A small bat meld out of her hand, scratching it's head as if growing out of Lucilia was a natural thing to do. The bat flew over towards the Foreas, landing on her and inching across her body. Despite being a bat however, it was nothing like a real one, and the only similarities were in apperance. In truth the bat was a part of Lucilia, and shared her mind. Not that they were smart, but they had their uses.

b"I can speak to my bats, but I can't do the same for others. Now, Coco Bean, I don't suppose you came all the way here just to ask a little bit about me? Val did send you for some reason, didn't she?"

"Whoa! Val was not joking! You can actually turn into and make bats!" Coco said in surprise as the bat flew over to her. her body twitching and shivering in some places as the bat walked on them, as if Coco was laughing, yet no sound came out of her Artifact.

"It's cute, I like the bat. I think it deserves a name, maybe..." She began, lifting her hand and extending her index finger as the bat perched itself on it. "Climate? Clima? Clim?"

She quickly waved her arm, sending the bat flying back towards Lucilia. "Because it's warm and fluffly and makes me want to plant something."

On Lucilia's mention about her actual reason to be there, she thought for a short moment. Why was she there? She couldn't really bring up anything for a relatively long while, due to her focus on the bat. But after thinking really hard, she perked up along with her leaves.

"Admission! I was sent here to learn about my Mageblood, and I just wanted to know what I had to do to become a student. Do I have to take care of any offspring, water plants or bring you some knowledge?"

The bat came back to Lucilia, melding back into her skin. She didn't comment on the name, but made a mental note that should she ever have any reason to bring her bats out again around Coco, she might remember to name one of the Clima. But more importantly, the Foreas wanted to know about admission for the college. Lucilia sighed. More business.

"I see... If you don't mind, please wait a moment." Lucilia opened one box containing information about students. Unfortunately, it was not that well organized. Wasn't even inserted by alphabetical order. And this was just one box. But where others would need to take the time to read over each sheet of paper, Lucilia had an advantage most wouldn't know about: Word Searching.

All these pieces of paper were made of wood pulp from trees in her own grove, and she could feel the indention of each pen stroke with just a touch. Normally she wouldn't notice these things because it requires concentration, but since she needed to find anything pertaining to Coco, Lucilia began to focus hard. She skimed through all her files for words like "Coco" "Bean" and "Foreas". She took out the peices of paper that had those words, and by the time she was done she had only twelve. A quick read showed that none of them had anything to do with the guest in Lucilia's office, so she knew that this Coco Bean was a walk-on student.

After putting the papers away, Lucilia turned back towards the foreas. She has yet to see another Foreas at the college aside from educational text with illustrations of them. She wasn't even sure if they, being creatures made of what appeared to be wood, could even have blood at all. If they were cut, would they bleed red? She wouldn't test the theory, but it was something to think about. Still, the vampire couldn't ignore the fact that the Foreas was here, and whether she really had mage blood or not could at least be tested. "Well... There are a lot of papers that you need to help us fill out. Writing and such. I understand that if you don't know how, I can help you with that. I need to know some things about you like where you came from, who raised you, some things about your past. But these things take some time to put together, you know? And I'm very busy, as you may see." Lucilia laced her fingers across each other as she continued to stare at the Foreas.

"So to make sure that everything goes alright, you'll need to stay here at the college for a while, okay? Later, maybe tomorrow, you and I can meet each other again and you can tell me more about yourself. Does that sound good to you?"

Coco had to wait for minutes. Given the fact she could still think about the bat and its soft fur, staying silent was made hard, but she achieved it nonetheless. Lucilia looked through some thin objects. The ones made of meat often used these objects, and she had no idea why. But apparently they held information and knowledge, much like the Great Tree.

Eventually Lucilia spoke the requirements to be admitted, and Coco slowly tilted her head, growing increasingly worried due to the nature of the questions. The only true examples Coco was given were questions that she couldn't answer. She didn't know the exact location where she woke up from the pod. She wasn't really raised by anyone.

"Yes, you sound very busy." She said softly in reply to Lucilia's words, pointing two fingers towards her featureless face.

"I can do that! I can bring your bats something to eat. Do they like fruit? Apples smell good, so they should taste good to them, right?"

Lucilia smiled at Coco's eagerness, as well as her own failed preception check. Sometimes speech occurs faster than thoughts. As for Coco's offering of food, Lucilia polietly declined. "There is no need for that. But thank you for the offer. Now, before I send you off, I suppose I should at least find you a place to lodge for a while." Lucilia stepped out of her chair and over to her door. "Is there anything you need to feel comfortable here? I would offer you a room, but I'm not entirely sure how... You like to live."

Suddenly Lucilia was taken by an overwhelming urge to observe the life and action of Coco. As an herbamancer, a creature like Coco was surely something that would interest her. And she was suddenly drawing up blanks on what Foreas was like. As a professor of Herbamancy, she should not let this traversity go on longer than now. "What I meant to say was, is there anything I can do for you right now?"

Lucilia's offer of lodging immediately sparked up interest in Coco's mind.

"I want to sleep in a garden! With many many flowers and a few bushes." She said, stepping out of the office, clapping her hands twice to clear up her surroundings.

"I like the scent of flowers. I also like the pollen and the bees. Bees are nice." She mentioned, waiting for Lucilia.

"A Garden?"[ It was a strange offer, but at the same time, it might make sense for a Foreas. Being plant people, perhaps they like being in an open area with lost of vegetation. Lucilia could always give her a space in the Alchemical Garden, but decided against it. There were too many precious things there to let someone live there. Lucilia racked her mind with what to do, and came to a conclusion. It would take some time, but she was certain she could pull it off before tomorrow. But she'd need to start right now.

"Alright, I think I know of a place. But Coco, I should let you know that I'll need some time to prepare it for you. It should be ready for you by, say... After today's feast? After the feast, come and find me and I'll take you to your garden. Does that sound good?"

"That seems awesome, thank you Lucilia the Vampire Female. I'll see you after the Feast! And remember, many flowers and bees! Bees know to hit my ticklish spots, and they're nice to have around!" She affirmed, starting to walk down the hallway, waving goodbye back at Lucilia before disappearing on a turn.

Coco Bean

This College would be her end. Ever since she had put a step inside it, she had been the most excited in her life. The new scents, textures and sounds all got her mind working at nearly a hundred percent all of the time, and now, hours after her arrival, she was getting even more excited. There was a Feast to attend to- Some kind of tradition of the College, where most consumed things to live. Food and drink. Naturally, she would not be able to eat or drink any of what was served, but attending it was a surefire way to learn new things!

As she stepped into the huge Dining Hall, she could feel stares on herself. Though she couldn't really know who had been looking at her, she knew that she had garnered some attention... Probably it was the fact she was, well... The only Foreas there, along with the first Foreas they had ever seen. But that was understandable. She could feel a wave of heat rush over her body as she shivered in sheer excitement, standing still for a couple minutes as she listened to all the sounds and took in all the scents she could.

"Here we go." She whispered to herself, now focused on finding something really interesting to go touch and smell- And that's when she saw it.

A group of big floating stones! Now that was something she had to go feel!

And so she walked over to the floating stones, her leaves puffing out slowly before she laid her hand on one of them and gently rubbed it, trying to feel its texture the best she could.

"This stone is so weird! It feels so different..." She said to herself, placing both hands now on the stone and grabbing it to study it closer.

[EliteCommander]

After his new roommate left, Ssarak remained in his room for a while longer. Now that his room was in order, he had little to do other than sit and think. The overall feeling of the room reminded him of his home, which inevitably brought his thoughts onto the topic of his past. His axe and armor were reminders of his father, but he had nothing left of anyone else. Not his mother, his wife, his children, nothing. They lived on only in his memories, which would have to be enough, he supposed. His marriage had been arranged from birth, but his wife was a good person, and he had loved his children with all his heart. The loss of them and the rest of his family had sapped all meaning from his life and replaced it with regret. He tried constantly to move past that event and on with his life, but every time he was left alone with his thoughts, it seemed, they emerged once more.

Ssarak brought himself out of his ruminations when he realized the opening feast was close at hand. He was ready to attend, though his mood had been soured somewhat by his own thoughts. He needed something to keep his mind occupied when he was alone, a project of some sort. Walking over to the rune, he touched it once more, summoning forth a large block of wood almost as tall as himself. The dark black material came from the only type of tree that could actually grow somewhere in the Scorched lands. He knew what he intended to make from it, though for now, he was eager to get to the feast.

Using the gargoyles to give him directions, Ssarak made his way to the dining hall, and was immediately overwhelmed by everything he experienced. It was a massive room that was packed with the largest crowd he had ever seen. Scents of all types flooded the room, from food and drink to the students themselves, though they all blended together to the point that they were almost indistinguishable. Merely glancing at the feast revealed an expansive variety of items, most of which would likely be entirely new to him. His mood quickly elevated in the presence of such splendor, and he eagerly anticipated the displays of magic they had been told about before.

As he walked around the room, Ssarak managed to spot one of the two familiar faces he knew of at the college: Aruna. He still felt a bit embarrassed over what happened, but he felt it would be good to apologize and clear up any misunderstandings. He approached the Half-Esyire and bowed slightly. “Greetings, Aruna. I…would like to apologize for what happened before. My new roommate explained what happened, and where the misunderstanding arose. Evidently, human culture treats men and women differently, a concept of which I was unaware. I do not know if you heard in my rushed stammering before, but in my village, men and women alike would often share common housing, so I was unaware of the…implications of my request.” He said in a polite tone.

[Toxic Diamond]

Aruna had sat watching the rapidly growing crowd for threats and sipping her soup. The smells and aromas of the food, all of it exotic, all seemed to shove around and demand for her attention, each one seeming to be more delicious than the last. In the end she settled for soup. It was something she a often in her life of solitude, considering It's simplicity. It was amazing soup to be sure, but still a familiarity amongst the chaos.

She found the range and variety of the students as wide and as amazing as the food. There were all races, colors heights, and widths. Hell, she had even seen a rock creature come in, she was still eyeing it warily. Aruna had decided to pass the time trying to figure out how she would defeat some of the students in combat. It was a wonderful mental exercise that kept her on her toes.
Human, moderately armed, armored except for helmet, obvious training: Rear approach, check shoulder to prevent turning, hands to chin and base of skull, neck-snap. Alternate: Check and grab shoulder, arm around throat, grip jaw, single-arm neck-snap.

Then she noticed Ssarak and her blood heated. She couldn't help it, but a small blush also rose to her cheeks. She looked away from him and tried her mock fighting on someone else to try and ignore him
Elf, lightly armed, heavily armored, no helmet, tall, very good training: Side approach, low kick to knee, grab arm and pull into broken-leg lock as elf leg stiffens in pain response, finger-stab under jaw or eye, grab under jawline, neck-snap. Alternate: Front approach, paired punches to vulnerable plates just below neck, drop-elbow to collarbone, tail sweep while coming up to stab in the ribs.

Ssarak noticed her and headed in her direction. She actively avoided looking at him, but couldn't help note his position. She hoped he wasn't coming to talk to her.
Human, lightly armed, lightly armored, seemingly proficient at magic, possibly a master, average height: Front approach, throat-punch to collapse airway, arm control lock to delay magical response, hip throw, grip chin and scalp, neck-snap.

He was definitely headed in her direction looking directly at her. She sighed, it was a bad impression to leave, fighting at a prestigious event like this, but if he came over, she might just do it anyway.
Black Esyire, heavily armed, heavily armored, tall, expert if not master with weapons: Top approach, double-strike to eye ridge, slide down between blinded target's rising arms, precision strike to throat, secondary strike to counter physical response, quad-kick to bend target, grip each side of skull, running-spinning-leaping-neck-snap.
Alternate: Run.

He arrived at her table and she tensed, but when he explained everything to her quickly, she stopped to think. It was something she hadn't considered, that he'd honestly been confused. She wasn't sure she believed it. Either way, she wanted him close to her, so either he could explain, or she could kill him if he made a fool of her a second time.
She nodded to him, then motioned to the chai next to her.
" Apology excepted. Take a seat. But, believe me when I tell you that I will be watching you, and if you try anything."
Her slitted pupils narrowed as she looked at him with fury.
"You will regret it."

[Konan375]

Leith Calder

Leith felt alert. Even the buzzing in his head sounded more upbeat instead of the low, droning buzz. After talking with Khan, he went to infirmary to seek out Samuel and see if he had anything for his insomnia. As he was there, Leith asked if here was anything he could have that could get rid of his weariness for the feast. The healer did have something, but he was reluctant to give it to someone who hadn't been asleep for three days. He finally gave it to Leith on the condition that he would take the potion that would help him sleep when the Opening Feast was over.

Once he had taken the potion that would help him stay alert, Leith decided to go take a look around the school, now that he could stay awake better than before. There had been a few time where he got the feeling that he was being followed, but when he checked the area around him, there was nothing there. When Leith was satisfied in his exploration, he realized that it was almost time for the Opening Feast, so he went back to his room and got ready. He took off his cloak and put on a dark-green long-sleeved shirt. When he was ready, he made his way down to the dining hall.

Now Leith was sitting at one of the tables in the back, just trying to take everything in. There were just so many people there. He noticed Mei, but he decided not to go talk to her as it looked like she was talking to some people. He noticed Ssarak standing beside a table that a girl was sitting at. He rubbed his eyes for a second when he saw that she had wings. Maybe he was hallucinating due to his lack of sleep, but when he looked at her again, she still had wings. Huh, that's weird, he thought to himself. Their eyes met briefly, and Leith gave a small wave to her. He continued looking around the room as he thought about what he should do next.

[EliteCommander]

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

"Do not worry, I intend to be as cautious as possible from this point forward to avoid any other misunderstandings. Perhaps you could explain some of the finer points of Human culture, if you would like to help with that endeavor. And...thank you. I do not think I need to say how embarrassing that entire situation was for me, and no doubt you as well. Give me a moment to collect my meal and I will be glad to take that seat." Ssarak responded, bowing once more before stepping away to grab a plate.

Ssarak moved quickly around the room, searching for interesting foods to try. He saw a few dishes with ingredients from the Scorched Lands, but as he was already well-familiar with their tastes, he passed them up in favor other dishes he had not seen before. Even so, he tended to stick with cuts of meat, or at least meat based dishes, as it was rather difficult for him to eat fruits and vegetables with teeth that were designed for cutting and tearing. Most of the cuts of meat looked pretty much the same as those from creatures in the Scorched Lands, but it was easy to tell by their scents if they were from different creatures. Grabbing one of the largest plates available, he filled about half of it with three large cuts of meat from three separate animals, then moved on to the selections of seafood. Since leaving his homeland, Ssarak had become somewhat obsessed with the water and the creatures that resided in it. His homeland did not have bodies of water large enough, or stable enough to support any sort of underwater ecology, and he found that aquatic creatures had entirely different tastes and textures from anything that lived on land. When he first arrived in Human lands, he was surprised and excited to find that they had lakes and rivers in which one could actually swim. He nearly drowned the first time he stepped into the water, but he had since learned to swim decently well.

Once Ssarak had his food, he walked over to another table to grab a drink. Just as before, there were a plethora of options, but he finally decided on a bottle of Ember, something to add just a touch of his homeland to his overall experience. He quickly returned to Aruna and took the seat she had offered, though he did not begin eating immediately, instead deciding to observe the others around him first to make sure there were no Human traditions he needed to be following in regards to beginning his meal.

"This feast is certainly spectacular, like nothing I have seen before. I look forward to the magic demonstrations, especially that of the psychomancy instructor. I am eager to see what I might be capable of in the future." Ssarak commented.

[Rtron]

Althalus/Mar collab

Mar was still striving to calm herself when her coils shifted along the stone walkways through the courtyard, mindfully avoided the growing activity and other creatures within. Her knuckles were already tighten white about her weapon, held close yet in an ill position to defend herself should any attack had occurred that moment. It was hard to calm the building frustration. From the series of late events, her banishment to the male's demands to stand for judgment yet again by the council of Matriarch had seemed to rub at her unknown thinning patience. The hardest hit was when he demanded she returned home. A fact that had, unknowingly, been slapped in her face by the bizarre creature claiming to be a Naga.

That thought lingered. It was the one place she couldn't return to again and one that was far more familiar to her then the College. Mar inhaled to shake the memories away before the sounds of foot steps had her head whipped to the side, her eyes flashed with alarm and scythe rose defensively at the touch. In an impulse she had been about to slice him across the gut only to cease her motion. Just as quickly as it came up, the weapon lowered at the shady male's voice reached into her ear. Her posture immediately relaxed once with a slight shiver at the warm breath grazing her cheek.

At hearing the fact she was being followed, Mar's body tensed, fighting the urge to look about and face her attacker. This Shadow Golem. Deep inside, something told her she didn't want to face it even if she had seen it. "Why the friendly warning, human?"

Althalus saw the scythe begin to move, but before he could react, she relaxed, only shivering slightly beneath his hand. Certainly, she was quick to react to unexpected things. Something to be appreciated in that. Now if only she hadn't been trying to spill my guts all over the floor. Althalus thought wryly, removing his hand from her shoulder. Seeing as the shadow golem was still around, he kept close enough to whisper, however.

At her words, he gave a soft chuckle at the emphasis. Not his brightest move, all things considered. Death may have been avoided because of his armor, but it wasn't guaranteed, especially with her tail and speed. His mask was still on his hip. "My name is Althalus," He reminded her with a slight smile, "and why not? You've done nothing to give me reason to not help you, and I saw no reason to withhold the information. As for the 'friendlieness', well, ', well, a golem can still hear and report back to whomever sent it. We wouldn't want to let whoever is watching you know that you know, would we? They might change it for something we didn't notice. And then where would you be?"

Mar's suspicious grew from the male's words, her eyes glared and narrowed on the golden eyes. He mentioned not giving him a reason not to but never told her what he gained from it. It was uncharacteristic of most humans not to seek a selfish means to benefit themselves and she found it rattling to know his. "I've not given you a reason to aid me either. Humans aren't best known for their charity after all as Naga aren't known for being trusting. "

After a moment of silence, Mar then added. "Then how do you, Althalus," she said the name with some stress at not returning to say male, "Lose said shadow? I much rather not have company for much longer."

Althalus raised both eyebrows in a questioning look as she glared at him. The look quickly went away at her next words. "True, most of the humans I knew were self-serving bastards. Some willing to break even the most sacred of laws to satisfy their own desires." An emotion flashed in Althalus's eyes, breaking the usual amusement in them. Hate, or anger, perhaps. It was gone as quickly as it came and he idly rubbed the scar on his throat before continuing.

"Regardless, I'm not seeking to gain something from you, otherwise I would have already demanded it. I helped because I could, nothing more nothing less. Unless, of course, you just have to give me a return favor. Then I can't very well refuse, can I?" He smiled at her, showing he was just teasing.

Mar had noted the anger but before she draw her own conclusions to the causes, the male's teasing happened. It was a common trait she was beginning to find more bothersome as more and more often it displayed, mainly with him and in times of complete seriousness. She found it served little point and merely a waste of time as with most human habits. After a moment of silence, Mar then added. "Then how do you, Althalus," she said the name with some stress instead of male, "Lose said shadow? I much rather not have company for much longer."

At her final question, he considered the problem. "Well, if it was just a singular golem, I would suggest you outrun it. Hard, but possible. But if it isn't, the mage who created it could easily find you with another. You could create a rune to repel shadow golems, or golems in general. Alternatively, you could get your own shadow golem to kill the one following you. So, none of the ways to get rid of your little follower are quick, nor especially easy." He gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "Such is the price of getting rid of the shadow."

The Naga let out a slight sigh upon hearing the facts and less then pleasant options, her heas stilled turned at him. None of the choices were possible currently. She didn't seem capable of creating this Rune to banish Golems or could create a shadow Golem of her own, her magic namely affected the body from what Tyrael, formally Karnage, had explained to her during their trip to the College. She nearly snorted at Althalus's shrug at the current predictiment which did nothing to aid her desire.

"Typical." She started showing her slight low view of the man's lacking help. "Little help as neither I can do or care to attempt since I lack the means to accomplish. So I'll just have to tolerate it then..."

Mar cleared looked rather sour at the unsavory decision but there appeared no alternative she could try.

Althalus shrugged again, still smiling slightly. "I gave you what ideas I could. You can't expect me to make water from a pile of sand. And, if I remember correctly, that fiery dwarf woman was your rune master. A creative and believable lie would have her making the rune you require. In my line of work, a believable lie is quite useful. I could convince her to make the rune and put it in your room but that might require..drastic measures, to put it lightly. Namely, I'd likely have to become your roommate. Something you, and most Naga's really, would find displeasing."

His smile grew bigger and he added, "Along with me being human, and all humans being dastardly bastards, who knows what I would try to do. Murder, thievery, the list goes on." It was clear from his tone he was teasing her again, apparently finding something amusing in her reaction.

For a hard and long moment, Mar considered tossing her tail right across the uppity male's head then merely slither off. Leaving the man with the biggest headache, if not a partly crushed skull, in her wake. However just when her tail tensed to reach, a shadow shifted causing her force herself relax and merely glare at the man. It was too bad her looks hadn't the power to kill in an instant or the male would've blinded and likely crippled for life right then and there. The Naga gritted her teeth a bit at his ever widening smile before she took a deep breath then asked.

"Why would you want to do that? Risk bunking with a Naga, underground and in likely complete darkness?" Her points were made to hopefully discourage him, namely with the hidden threat and dangers from sharing a room with her. Naturally the large dorm rooms wouldn't do for her and special requires had to be made, namely near a heavy heat source like the forges.

Althalus saw the tail tensing out of the corner of his eye and tensed himself, ready to do some fancy footwork(which meant leap ungracefully out of the way of anything trying to cause him pain or death). But, she seemed to remember that she was being watched and relaxed. Reluctantly. As she spoke, he stood back up. No need to whisper any more, the shadow Golem wouldn't gain anything from there words. With a gesture that spoke of long practice and habit, he drew a coin from his pocket and began flipping it between his fingers.

"Darkness? Darkness is an old friend. We've known each other for many a year now. As for the other two, well, it would certainly be interesting. And if there's any danger, well..." He gave a chuckle. "Life's a bit boring with no danger, isn't it? Of course, this is all up to you and it's quite clear which answer you're going to give me. Unless you're far better at acting than I thought."

Mar's unarmed hand whipped out with surprising speed, clasped over his fingers to prevent his coin's unsettling motions. She wanted his full attention if he could managed it at least. Toying with a silly, aged coin wasn't going to help with that while she noted he began to move away. In a softer voice, dropped just below audible, she leaned into Althalus's ear to speak. "If I wanted to hurt you, I won't use my unarmed hand. Since you know the answer and I can't fathom your reasons, I've little choice don't I?"

Slowly she pulled back to let the words mull in the male's head. Her hand pulled away, bit by bit, and noted the shadow had shifted suddenly. It's form halfway pulled from the wall until it realized she hadn't aimed to hurt the man. Then it just as quickly melted back into the background, once more merely a shadow without an owner but still watching her. Sadly this didn't make her comfortable at all. It was bad enough she was fixed in a place she didn't know very well, the fact things that should've moved could possibly pose to be an enemy didn't sit in her mind well. Her coils shifted farther underneath her to push her laxed height a little higher then Althalus.

Althalus had underestimated her speed, and paid for it. By the time he had realized her hand was moving and began to move out of range, it was too late. Her hand clapsed over his fingers, stopping the almost unconscious act of moving the coin. As she leaned in, it was Althalus's turn to shiver at the warm breath and the undeniable truth that, if she had wanted to kill him, he would have been dead. As she pulled away, taking his coin with her, he saw her eyes flick away from his face to somewhere behind them. The Shadow Golem, presumably.

Now, he had to figure out exactly what in the name of the Gods she had meant. His assumption had been that she would refuse the very idea of it and that would be the end of that. They would go their separate ways, and only occasionally see each other in the halls of the College. Well, now I'm paying for that little assumption, aren't I? He thought, smirking slightly to himself. To buy a bit more time to try and figure things out, he said "You're fast. Faster than I expected, certainly. That come with being a Naga, or training?"

Mar's eyebrow raised at his odd question and fact he seemed to dwell on it rather to note they were being watched as well as not tending to his offer. Was he no longer willing to be helpful now or merely toying with her, Mar questioned mentally. She had made it rather clear both in body movements and listening to his offers to be rid of this shadow stalking her, not liking the fact she was being in a manner like hunting. She merely shook her head then made the shortest answer possible. "Huntress..."

With that brief time boost he came to the conclusion she wanted him to make good on the only half-serious suggestion, giving only a nod to her response. He had no idea what a Huntress meant to Naga's but it was only a delaying tactic anyways. His conclusion was probably wrong, but he could also come up with reasons as to why any other conclusion was wrong as well. Thus, he replied, just as quietly, "Would you like me to arrive with or without the suggested rune? It's doubtful the golem would be able to see in complete darkness, shadow though it may be. Hearing is another matter entirely."

"I prefer not to have feel edgy in my current, brief nest. It's not idea to rattle a Naga any farther then she's been already..." Mar almost hissed her point then added, her eyes narrowed closely on his face. Mostly to determine if he was lying about his capabilities but to also slightly memorize his features. Again, she found herself slightly disappointed he was human. He would've been a rather appealing Naga, her eyes quickly broke away to shoo the thoughts to the back of her mind. "Now the question is if you were lying about your end of the deal or should I assume your mouth is your own asset that's of use?"

As she practically almost hissed at him, Althalus raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Alright, I get it." Angry Naga were never a nice thing to have around, and she had already proven that she was fast enough to cause him a severe degree of harm should she want to. Something he wished to avoid as much as possible. As she narrowed her eyes at him only to break eye contact quickly, he smiled again, slightly perplexed. He was sure he didn't have that intense of a gaze. Before he could ask why, however, she spoke. "I'm not lying. I'll get you your Rune, and then accept all the dangers that come with our little bargain." A bargain he had only made half seriously. A bargain that he hadn't been prepared for her to accept. A bargain that got him stuck with a beautiful Naga(human wise at least. The snake part he couldn't be a good judge of) that had already shown that she was easily irritable.

He chuckled, quietly. Well, I had been looking for something interesting, hadn't I? He still needed to be lead to her room however, so that when he got the rune he would be able to find it easily enough. "Seeing as I've no idea where your room is, and I have to find it to uphold my end of the deal, shall we go to it?"

Mar heard his comments though it she still didn’t completely understand what amusement he saw in the current situation. Humans, especially males, were rather foolish creatures to be sure. The only positive thing was that he seemed to at least understand her meaning. It meant she wouldn’t need to repeat herself and end up using her tail, when away from the shadows golem, to hammer some sense into the biped’s thick skull. That alone had some merit though not much, her head returned to the conversation as mention of her room came up.

She sighed and explained, “Sadly my room is still under construction at least according to the Geomancy teacher. It won’t be ready until later tonight and likely after the Feast, making it impossible to show you were it is. A simple solution is to this is to meet you at the Open Feast’s entrance then tell you then…if you have the Rune. Not to mention, it might not be best to accompany you for it might arouse suspicious…unless you like your task made more difficult?”

Mar’s eyebrow raised in question, waiting for his answer.

Althalus raised an eyebrow in return to hers. "And the Geomancer didn't tell you where your room was going to be located?" That was odd..to say the least. Why not tell someone where their room was going to be located, so they could find it without you having to guide the to it when it was finished? Regardless, the Naga was continuing. "Alright then. I'll talk to the Rune Master, get the Rune, and then meet you in front of the Feast's entrance. Simplicity in it's purest form. And I'm begining to think that you doubt my ability to hold up my end of the bargain. I can't imagine where that idea came from." He grinned at her, enjoying himself. It wasn't everday one got to tease a Naga after all.

"As for difficult tasks..I do enjoy a challenge, but there is such a thing as a stupid risk. The golem would follow you and then whoever sent it would be tipped off to what's going on. And then they would send something else. And that would defeat the purpose of this whole excercise, wouldn't it?"

"Likely they are still figuring out the best place to construct it and tell me when it's nearer to the Feast." Mar answered bluntly answering Althalus's earlier comment. Her eyes rolled at his teasing when he finally noted her lack of faith in his skills at last. Mar found it harder and harder not to just slap him with her tail, her arms crossed over instead to ease the building desire. She certainly didn't want to attrach any more unwatned attention, at least more then she had.

"Worse comes to worse, I'll have to..." Mar seemed to struggle with the word for a moment, until at last it came tumbled out. In a low, venomous breath. "...pretend to enjoy your company..."

Her jaw gritted at the idea yet it was the only one that would allow her an excuse to be in his company without arousing too much suspicion as well as to meet again at the Feast. One hand raised to slowly rub her temple at what she just implied and immediatly felt the need to take it back, her pride seemed sicked by the words that now soiled the air.

"Preferably if you've got a better idea...Althalus... I suggest you put it out here." Her tone again sounded less then faithful in his ability, possibly closer to sarcasm, as she could get for a Naga.

At her explanation, Althalus shrugged. "Fair enough." As long as it wasn't a trap of some kind(like the one he was getting himself in with this deal), he didn't care how the room was located, as long as it was located. Having a Rune created for a room that didn't exist would certainly be..bothersome, to put it mildly. His grin only grew wider as she rolled her eyes. He was amused with the whole situation at large, to be perfectly honest.

As she struggled with a word, Althalus waited slightly concerned as to what that word would be. When it finally came out, he hid his responding smile behind his hand, masking it as rubbing his face in contemplation. He couldn't hide the glint of amusement in his eyes, thought that could be written off as having always been there. Such a small thing to have difficulty with. He thought, before responding.

"Well, worse shouldn't come to worse, unless you have so little faith in my abilities that you have to come along and make sure I don't fail. That, of course, is entirely up to you. We can part ways now, and meet up at the entrance to the Feast, or you can brush up on your acting." He managed to keep a straight face, to his credit.

Mar merely hissed at his comment, viewed to be brash and insulting. She snapped softly. "I only hope you're as good as your claims or else this whole thing would've been a waste. Last thing I enjoy is wasting energy and breathe on something pointless. Words are easily created but actions are worth more and much harder. Until I see results, this is the best you get...male."

Leaving him with those words, her body jerked around to leave. Her figure soon left the man standing there alone as she vanished from sight until the Feast, her stalker's black shape skirted after her across the walls and floor.

Uicle

As the Headmaster hid the vials beneath a napkin, Uicle chuckled. He was sitting next to the Esyire, swirling a glass of Yarosmerian Dragon Spite. He couldn't drink it of course, but the smell brought back pleasant memories of a time before he sold his soul to the God of Evil. He kept his gaze on the students pouring into the Dining Hall, but spoke to Khan. "You know, I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one who would find it vastly amusing to see the Headmaster not only scolded by an old man for not taking his medicine, but having the old man force it down his throat as well. It'll certainly make it a memorable Opening Feast, don't you think?" This was spoken in a conversational tone, as more and more students poured in and the sounds of conversation slowly filled the hall with a dull roar. "Alternatively of course, you could just take the medicine now. But that would be the boring route. The first one would be so much more entertaining, even if it damaged your pride, dignity, and authority beyond repair." Placing down his glass of Dragon Spite, the Necromancer reached down and patted Greg on the head, the Golem dog still gnawing on his scrap metal prize, albeit much more quietly.

Glancing around, he added in a dark tone, "If Alaira breaks anything or starts any fights here, she's going to clean and repair the entire damn Hall."

[Freeshooter92]

Alaira/Aramir collab

Alaira did feel a bit happier that Aramir decided to take her up on her offer. She had an... effect on most people. "Just as well, those damn Gargoyles are usually assholes." She said. They walked for a time, Alaira pointing out places of interest, usually along with a story of some kind or some other comment. "The dining hall's just down that hallway, you can't miss it. Remember that guy from earlier, tall dark and armored? He sat in a chair in there once and the damn thing exploded into splinters. Of course, I laughed so he made me clean it up... I tell ya, it's not just bad luck, something up there is pissed." "Most of the dorms are around here. Try not to be on the first floor, the Golems patrol there and those things are pretty damn loud." "Apparently, most alchemical concoctions explode if you drop em. and they're expensive. Avoid Lucillia." After a while, they passed through a particularly long and featureless corridor. Since there wasn't anything to say, she figured she might try this small talk thing out. "So, what brings you here anyway? what can you do?" She asked the girl, the enormous difference in size meaning she basically had to look downward.

---

Aramir merely smiled as Alaira commented on the personalities of the gargoyles. The forest elf was certainly..abrasive, but there was a certain quality about her that made the Snow Elf like her. Maybe it was the fact that Alaira was the one who helped her after her panicked dash, or maybe it was something else. Regardless, as the two elves wandered the halls, Alaira pointing out and commenting on the various things. Aramir didn't respond just smiled and listened, chuckling gently every so often. The first floor was the loudest hmm? Better make a point to get a dorm there... She mentally noted, before being brought back to the current conversation by Alaira's questions. She hesitated, the silence stretching out as she debated how much to tell the other Elf.

She's only known Alaira for a few minutes, and didn't feel like bringing up the past and the pity that came with it. What she could do, however, was far simpler to explain. "I'm here simply because I've no where else to go...as for what I can do...well, I can create a blue spark for a short amount of time. So, I can start a fire easily enough. Other than that..well, that's why I'm here at the College, isn't it? To learn how to control my magic." And to forget the past.. She added silently. Brightening from the slight souring her past had brought up, she craned her neck up to Alaira. "What brings you here, besides learning your mageblood that is...what is your mageblood anyways?"

---

"Heh, watch this." Alaira said in response to Aramir's question. To Aramir's great relief, Alaira was not nearly adept enough at social interactions to pick up on her worries, so she had chosen to demonstrate her power rather than ask her what was really wrong. She took a moment to prepare and pointed her lance at a nearby stone wall. With a thunderous noise, a lightning bolt issued forth, scorching the stonework black. The force of the bolt had pushed Alaira back a bit, who was doubled over, gasping for air. "How... *Huff* was that?... I'm here because..." The Berserker braced herself against the wall as she caught her breath. After half a minute, she was at least rested enough to speak again. "I'm here because I want to learn how to do that more than once, so I don't go starting more fights I can't win..." She said. Unfortunately for Alaira, it was far more difficult for her to hide her feelings.

---

Aramir's puzzlement at what Alaira was actually doing with her staff quickly changed when the lightning bolt issued from it, causing the Snow Elf eyes to visibly start in surprise. Not so much from the noise, as from the unexpectedness of a lightning bolt shooting from the staff. Her own experience with magic was minimal, at best. She stared, wide-eyed, at the scorched stonework for a few moments while Alaira regained her energy from the display. As she stared, a metal bird flew by, chirping irritably at Alaira as it did so. Aramir came back to her senses as Alaira explained what she was doing here, picking up easily on the tone of voice. She stared up at the forest elf(her neck now only aching dully, apparently resigned to it's fate.), concerned. Quietly, she asked, "What happened?" If she couldn't put her own problems to rest, she could at least try and help others do it. Which would be funny, in a grim way. The one who had her own problems that refused to die and kept her up all the time, until her body finally shut down against her will, was helping others recover from their problems. It was almost enough to make Aramir chuckle.

---

To her credit, Alaira had finally managed to notice how Aramir was practically forced to look directly up to speak to her. So, the Berserker sat against the wall, which brought her to about eye-level with the snow elf. She was doing her best to ignore the construct that flew by. Yeah, yeah, whatever. It's not like I broke anything. She thought. Alaira was taken a bit by surprise when Aramir asked her question. How did people keep doing that? She certainly wasn't a psychomancer... Alaira appeared deep in thought for a moment, before her trademark smirk returned. "What didn't happen?" She said softly, gazing off into nowhere. "For as long as I've known, I've been rushing right into fights, not a care in the world..." She absentmindedly brought her hand up to the deep scars on her cheek. "Everytime I lost, I'd limp away going 'when I get just a little stronger I'll be back!' but a week and a day ago I fought this Drake. Ever seen a drake?" She said, finally making eye contact again. "it's like a wingless dragon. So it kicks my ass, and I just barely manage to make it out of the cave and run off in some random direction. a few hours later, I collapse in front of this place. Don't ask me how I got here, I can't remember..." She took a moment to put her arms behind her head. "And you know, I learned something. You can't get any stronger by yourself. So that's why I'm still here, instead of out there."

---

Aramir gave a small sigh of relief as she could finally look straight at Alaira rather than straight up. Her neck was certainly grateful, the dull aching almost stopping completely. She listened quietly as Alaira began to explain, only shaking her head in a mute negative when asked if she's ever seen a drake. Dragons definitely wouldn't like the Frozen Plains, and she somehow doubted that drakes would live there. It was too cold for anything but the most stubborn or the strongest to survive in. She still wasn't sure which her race, the Snow Elves, was. Personally, she was leaning towards the most stubborn. A memory stirred, of happier times in her tribe, at the Forest Elf's final words. One of the tenants of her tribe. It came back slowly, but Aramir remembered it all. Softly, she recited, "The strength of the Tribe comes from the Individual. The strength of the Individual comes from the Tribe." It was one of the few memories she had left that wasn't tainted by the night of bloodshed and betrayal, along with her memory of receiving her tattoos. . That night could take many things from her, but there were some things it would never take.

---

Alaira heard the snow elf's words, but chose not to comment. Alaira herself hated talking about the past, and had chosen to leave out just why she needed to get stronger. She was no hypocrite, she understood the value of privacy. "Anyway, we should probably get going, wouldn't want to miss dinner, would we?" With taht, she got up to continue their quest, motioning for Aramir to follow. After a while, she spoke again. "Hey, if you don't mind me asking, how'd you get here?" She said. Noticing that maybe a little more context to the question would be appreciated, she added "I mean, the frosted plains are pretty far north, and I remember there being too many roads that lead here. Luck? Or can you fight?" Well, the conversation was bound to reach the topic of violence at some point.

---

Aramir nodded in agreement, smiling slightly. Her neck would certainly begin complaining as the Forest Elf rose, but at least they were moving again. Both away from a delicate subject, and closer to the prospect of dinner. When you've spent a long year scavenging in a strange, unfamiliar land and only occasionally being helped out by natives, anything promising to be a feast would set your mouth watering at the merest suggestion. Fortunately, Aramir was well-mannered enough to keep herself from drooling in public. In private was another matter entirely. After a few minutes of walking(silence still being blissfully beat back by the music that seemed to be all around them), Alaira spoke again, asking how she had arrived to the College. It was several more minutes before Aramir responded. How was easy enough. Why was a lot harder, and something she didn't want to explain for a while yet. Never, preferably.

"It's not that I'm lucky," She gestured to the sewn up portions of her vest, the side where the dagger had been plunged and the back where a sword had slashed at her, as way of explanation. "and I wouldn't say it was because I can fight my way out of any situation. I come from the Frozen Plains, as you well know. It's a harsh, merciless place, where only the extremely stubborn or the strong survive. We lost people yearly, sometimes monthly, in my Tribe. The old, the young, the sick. When I left the lands I traveled to, while having their own dangers, seemed rather...relaxed, compared to the dangers of the Plains. So, rather than luck or extreme skill at fighting, it's because I'm a survivor. You have to be, coming from the Plains." She had, rather pointedly, left why she left out of her explanation.

"While I'm on the subject of the Plains, I believe it's time I explained why I freaked out back in the courtyard." She hesitated, embarrassment coloring her cheeks. After all, who had ever heard of someone being afraid or silence? "The Plains are trapped in an eternal blizzard. The wind is constantly howling, ice is cracking, snow drifts building and toppling. Noise is everywhere, and I grew up in the chaos of that. I was taught, from a young age, that the only time that there would be silence or anything close to silence was when I was dead or dying. So..." She hesitated again. Finally, she just blurted it out. "I'm terrified of silence. Anything quiet, or too close to it, and I get more and more uncomfortable till I panic..like in the courtyard.

---

"Yeah, you'd have to be a tough bastard to live up there year-round." Alaira replied. While she had never been there for an extended period of time, she had been up there once or twice in her travels. It was not a happy place, that's for damn sure. At hearing about the comparitively lesser dangers of other places, she couldn't help but speak up. "Oh, there are worse places than the frozen plains. Ever heard of the scorchlands? Horrible place. Everythings on fire, volcanoes, and the worst part? Just being there makes you sick!" She said. She did not have a good time in the Scorch lands, that's for damn sure. The memories weren't traumatic or anything, but it certainly was not a good time. "No joke! I was camping out in these ruins for a week and I'd never felt so, err, weak in my life. I was lucky a passing trade caravan managed to find me..." She said, her voice trailing off, in more of an 'end of the story' way than anything.

"Silence? Never thought someone could be scared of that!" Alaira said, laughing. Not a malicious laugh, but laughing nonetheless. She noticed that she was probably not doing wonders for the girl there, and actually tried to fix things. "Hey, don't worry. We're all scared of stupid crap. Take me for example..." The berserker just kind of trailed off. She couldn't really find the words to explain her fear, and at the same time her pride worked against her as well. It was a moment before she spoke again. "Caves. Underground, really tiny rooms, I can't stand it. It feels like the walls will come down and grind me to paste..." She had a hard time saying it, as if the mere thought of those things was too much for her. She quickly shook herself out of it, however. "And I was never to fond of quiet either. That is, unless I'm trying to sleep! I swear, that damn necromancer is making sure those golems go stomping around near my room."

---

Aramir nodded. It was a harsh land, but it was still home. Or had been, until it had been soaked in the blood of her tribe tearing itself apart. Home died the same time her tribe did. Now...now she was here. Learning how to control a Mageblood she wasn't even fully aware she had. As Alaira went off into a minor story of the Scorched lands, Aramir listened, smiling slightly. "I'll be sure to keep away from there. I don't do good in heat. Being sickened by the land itself as well...yeah. I'll stay to the lands I know." Truth be told, she was worried what would happen when true summer hit these lands. Summer in the plains was most days were barely above zero degrees, and nights were only barely below zero degrees. Here, she was told, it got quite uncomfortable if you weren't used to the land's weather or weather like it. But, this was a mage College. She certainly wasn't going to die of overheating..she hoped.

As Alaira began to laugh, Aramir felt her cheeks coloring again. Well, she had expected it, but she had also owed the Forest Elf an explanation as to why she had freaked out earlier. Then, Alaira began to explain her own fear, perhaps in an attempt to make up for laughing at her. Aramir listened, before offering a small comment. "We'll get over it. Or, at the very least, learn how to control them so they don't control us." The last comment was puzzling though. "Necromancer? You mean Uicle?" That was the only teacher's name she knew...

---

"Aye, Uicle." Alaira said. Uicle was more or less elected to be the one responsible for her since she arrived, as nobody else much wanted to do it. This can also be interpreted as horrible luck, or unbeknownst to her at least, divine meddling. Therefore, whenever she broke something or she done goofed, it was Uicle's responsibility to fix it. This usually soured the Necromancers mood considerably, and perhaps in petty vengeance seeing as he can't actually harm her until she does something malevolent, he's made sure to make his Golems extra annoying. Or perhaps it was because she spilled that bucket of paint on the dog-type one a few days ago...

"Yeah, he's the guy that makes all the golems around here. I remember he tried to scare me with these knives. See, he'd gotten himself stabbed in a bunch of places, but I doubt he expected me to laugh and walk off." At Aramir's no doubt horrified expression, she added "Hey, people tend to bleed when they get stabbed. Though I didn't mention that did I?" Whether Alaira intentionally left out that crucial bit or not is anyone's guess. "Turns out, he's just possessing his own suit of armor. Somehow. I didn't pay much attention. All I know, is don't touch the staff he's carrying. Ever."

---

Aramir's calm expression as she listened to Alaira explain who Uicle was, turned to one of minor horror as Alaira explained how she had just laughed and walked off after seeing someone stabbed. There was callous and then there was malevolent. That little stunt ended up far on the latter's side. Just as Aramir was going to ask the Wood Elf how she could just walk off and laugh after someone was stabbed, Alaira explained further. Apparently, Uicle wasn't actually inhabiting his armor. It was his soul..somehow, some way. Then again, it kind of make sense. He is a Necromancy teacher after all, so what's to say he didn't use his own mageblood to bind himself to the armor? Aramir thought, considering. That of course, is impossible, but Aramir's knowledge of magebloods is small and based heavily upon rumor. So one couldn't really blame her for having a misconception like that.

Rubbing her throbbing neck, she asked, "Why? Why don't you touch his staff?" It seemed like a very odd rule, that no one touch his staff. And it didn't appear to have any purpose that she had noted as Alaira was helping her up and leading her away. It was just...there. Odd. Very, very odd.

---

"Well, I tried to take it," Alaira started. She saw the snow elf's expression once again and quickly added "What? I was just trying to get a closer look at the engravings... Anyway, So I try to touch it, and I feel his palm slam into my stomach and knock me over." She wouldn't admit it, but she doubted she'd seen many people move that quickly. "So here I am, ass on the ground, and I'm just in shock. Mostly because I didn't think he even could knock me down without magic. And then he just says, without even screaming, 'Don't. Touch. The Staff.' and storms off." She shuddered a bit at the memory. She'd never seen such simmering fury. Sure, she'd been angry, angrier than goddamn volcanoes. But Alaira's fury was loud and aggressive. Uicle? every word dripped with a quiet menace she'd never known. And it was all made worse by the slight ringing his hollow armor made when sound traveled through it. "I know I screw with him a lot, but don't push him too far. Theres something wrong about him." The berserker said solemnly.

It was then that something caught Alaira's eye, and she was a bit surprised she didn't notice earlier. "Hey, is that a bow? Heh, it is! mind if I take a look at it?" Alaira asked, extending her hand.

---

Aramir's face showed her exasperation as Alaira explained that she had tried to take Uicle's staff from him. She was certainly an odd character, but she hadn't displayed any truly malicious traits. That was something, the Snow Elf supposed. As Alaira continued with her explanation a slight smile made it's way across her face. So the Elf warrioress had made a mistake, underestimating the teacher. It was amusing, in a way. But the smile immediately dropped when the other Elf shuddered, apparently scared by that side of Uicle. All Aramir could do was nod and say, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Not that she planned on antagonizing or generally causing arguments or fights in the school. She had had enough of that to last her a lifetime, thank you very much. Enough blood to last her a lifetime too...and violence...

Aramir's mood grew somber and depressed again as her thoughts went along the familiar path of the night of hell a year ago. It only brightened when Alaira asked about her bow. Now that, that was a fond memory! Aramir brought her bow out, a bright smile on her face. "Oh, this? I made it when I first got my hunter's tattoos. Hasn't let me down since." There was unmistakable pride in her voice, pride and love. It was her bow and it hadn't let her down, even when everything else was burning down around her. She handed it over, giggling slightly. "It looks more like a toy a child would make in your hands!"

---

Alaira had definitely noticed Aramir's enthusiasm. Apparently, she made this bow herself. She turned it in her hands a few times, before she attempted to string it. Damn, this thing was ridiculous! It took a bit more effort than she thought it would for it's size. It really was quite small, and probably wasn't very powerful. At least, that's what you'd think if you weren't a Bowyer. The thing was quite strange looking when unstrung, as it turned completely away from the firer in almost an O shape. When strung however, the thing looked more like a Recurve bow. This, was a Reflex bow. Alaira had only seen a few in her lifetime, and had never tried her hand at making one before, mostly since the act of creating these was no small feat. The design allowed it to fire at the same strength as a longbow three times it's size! The thing was also constructed very well, the love and care Aramir must have poured into this thing was obvious.

"Wow..." she said to herself quietly as she inspected it. While this was certainly no masterwork, it was a good damn bow. Mostly she was surprised at how much she clearly cared for it. Most people view weapons as tools, or toys for some. But they were more than that. A good smith pours his soul into everything he makes, and makes it his own. Aramir had done the same thing. This bow was hers, and hers alone. Alaira caught what Aramir said about it, and almost giggled. "Aye. But it's just as strong as one my size, huh?"

---

Hearing Alaira's quiet exclamation, Aramir beamed. She didn't know why or what had the Forest Elf so impressed, but it had something to do with her bow and that was enough. It really was in remarkably good condition, considering the long trek she had taken it through. She had cleaned and polished it as best she was able every night since leaving her tribe. What had simply began as a soothing, repetitive motion to keep hysteria at bay soon became a nightly habit. The wood gleamed in the torchlight, showing clear signs of having been lovingly cared for. She had found that the repetition of the act helped keep back the hysteria and waking nightmares brought on by the fact that her tribe was nothing more than corpses in the snow, and she had not only watched it happen, but been apart of it. Friend had turned into enemies, and family had died before her eyes. It had been a scarring experience, to put it mildly.

At Alaira's words, she smiled wider. "I wouldn't know about your bows, but there was this human who challenged me to a marksman contest a few months ago. Thought it would be easy cash, to beat such a small bow. He hadn't planned on me having been a hunter in the Frozen Plains most of my life, and had thought that my bow wouldn't do well, based on it's size. My bow proved equal to his, and it came down to personal skill. A lifetime of hunting paid off that day. Shooting against a still target on a windless day proved much easier than my usual targets. " She was clearly very pleased with herself, that she had shown a human the error of just assuming something was weak based on it's size alone. "It took me nearly a week and a half to get it right, then another three days making sure it would stand up against the elements of the Plains. I'm still fairly amazed my arms still worked after I got my tattoos." She touched the tattoos on her arms almost subconsciously, remembering the pain of getting them. "Regardless, it is my preferred weapon, the bow that is." Aramir's eyes shifted to Alaira's lance. "I take it yours is the lance?"

---

Ah. here we go... As soon as Aramir mentioned the challenger, Alaira knew exactly what kind of guy she was talking about. Considering her current stature, one might assume she'd always been that way. True, she'd always been tall, but there was a time when she didn't look anywhere near as strong, and people would constantly underestimate her, though she supposed not to the extent Aramir must deal with it. Alaira couldn't imagine being in situations like that constantly. "Well, I suppose you handled it better than I would. I would have broke his bow in half and fed it to him." She said, laughing a bit. She noticed her say something about those tattoos on her arm, but she assumed it was a cultural thing, so she didn't ask. It wasn't much longer 'till the girl asked about her lance.

"Heh, I guess it is my favorite. Still, I can use damn near any weapon, provided it isn't something freaky like a multi-flail." It was true, Alaira was skilled with all but the most exotic of weaponry. Being a Forest Elf, she had a lot of time to practice. That being said, she did seem to have a natural affinity for weaponry. But she was fond of the Lance above all others. "It's kinda like those arrows of your's. When I hit something, all the power of it's forced on the point here, so it punches through easier than something you hack and slash with." She said, moving the lance upwards for emphasis. "But this thing here... It's a piece of shit." She said. "It dulls quick, warps too easy, the haft isn't that straight, and it's damn heavy. But you know what? This thing's gotten me through more jams than I can even count." She was probably right, math was never her strong suit. "If my piece of shit lance can do so much, think how much you can do with this thing here." Alaira said as she unstrung the bow and handed it back.

---

Aramir laughed gently. "I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to do that. The bow was as tall as I was, and I'm obviously not the strongest of people." That, and she could barely tolerate arguing. Unprovoked violence(which, in her mind, means someone is threatening you or someone else unjustly)? She would probably go into a coma before that happened. Not that she would mention it to Alaira. Just by that statement alone, she could tell that the Forest Elf wouldn't be able to understand. "Freaky like a...you know what? I don't want to know." Snow Elves weren't known for their strength, and having a large hunk of steel on your back just weighed you down in the Frozen Plains. So, until now, Aramir had never seen any of the heavier weapons and armor.

As Alaira went on her little speech about her 'piece of shit' Lance, Aramir could hear the fondness in her voice. "Piece of shit your lance may be, it appears to be servicing you admirably. Why fix what's working?" As she took the bow back, and the Wood Elf spoke of what she could do with her hunting bow, Aramir's smile faltered, slightly. "I haven't really been in any form of combat..aside from..never mind. ." She said, grasping for something to change the subject. For someone who wanted to forget her past, she seemed to be reminded of it at every turn. "Is there a place where I can make more arrows when I lose them?" Along the way to the College she had seen more wood than she had ever seen in her life. Trees, houses, tools. It was everywhere. Surely there would be enough left over for her to make arrows out of?

---

"Multi-flail. It's like a stick with several Iron balls attached by several chains." Alaira said. She knew Aramir must not particularly care but... Sometimes it was hard not to say something. Then Aramir spoke again, this time of Alaira's lance. "Because one day, it isn't gonna work. A good weapon is no substitute for skill, but if you go around using inferior equipment for too long, no amount of skill can help you." She said. That one was a favorite line from her old master, the one that taught her to focus her rage and use it as a weapon. Alaira was a little surprised at Aramir. The girl had said she'd never really seen combat before, and Alaira couldn't even imagine a world without fighting. Wouldn't that be dull?

Of course, Aramir's tone was lost on her. "Never? Gods, that must be dull. There's nothin' better than a good fight!" Alaira said, but before she could continue, Aramir spoke. Apparently, she was asking where she could get more arrows. "Well, most of the ignorant jackasses would tell ya to head to the forge. Of course, that's stupid. They think that 'oh, if it's a hurty-thing you go to the forge!' well, we make arrowheads in the forge sure, but if you need arrows head to the courtyard, where ya were a bit ago." She paused a bit, before realizing that she probably needed more to go on. "There's a white canvas tent tucked away in the corner. A Fletcher by the name of Brandis lives there. And no, I don't know why he lives in the tent. Something about the stars or something. But I say it's too damn cold out there."

---

Aramir merely nodded, as far as the flail was concerned. It certainly wasn't something she planned on using or seeing up close any time soon. Never, preferably. The thing sounded like it could shatter what fragile bones she had. In multiple places. Something that was certain to be a nasty experience, an experience few would recover from in full health, if they recover from it at all. As Alaira went on about her lance, the Snow Elf tilted her head, listening. It made sense. After all, poorly maintained equipment had been the death of many a fool on the Frozen Plains, even if that fool had been living there for most of their life. "I can see your point." Was all she said in reply. Though, the question she was wondering was: if Alaira knew she needed to fix her lance, why didn't she just fix it here at the College? Or before hand for that matter. Both seemed relatively easy to do, given the abundance of supplies here that were rare commodities in the Plains. But, what did she know? This wasn't her land, and it obviously played by a different set of rules than her own.

At Alaira's words about fighting, Aramir gave a pained smile. "To you perhaps. To me, my life is quite exciting enough with out anymore combat in it." She couldn't blame the Forest Elf for the remark, she had no idea of the past. Still didn't stop it from hurting or bringing up bad memories. She turned her attention to the fletcher before things could go from bad to worse. "I don't mind the cold. Especially here. This land seems to be trapped in an eternal warmth, compared to the cold of the Plains."

---

"Eternal warmth? Heh, you're a long way from home, that's for sure." Alaira said. Well, at least the girl seemed alright. Seemed a bit squeemish as far as she could tell, but she was alright. "Wait, you said any more?" Alaira said. She actually managed to catch something for once. Course, if she demanded information that would be pretty hypocritical. "Ah, don't worry, you don't have to tell me anything. Gods no I wouldn't if I were you. Anyhow, looks like we're here." Alaira said at reaching the dining hall. Of course with that detour they were late but whatever, there was plenty of seating. "Well, I'll see ya later. Make sure you don't get stepped on, alright?" Alaira said as she pushed the door open.

[Current Alaira post to be added]