Achronum

Fire Emblem: The Slumbering Goddess

@Lauder What House are you thinking about?

Fire Emblem: The Slumbering Goddess

@Scribe of Thoth Dude, that's fine! A few of the others don't either but we can teach you what you need to know and the wiki is plenty helpful too! Join us!

Hero, Obby, and I can talk for years about this so explaining is really no problem

Fire Emblem: The Slumbering Goddess

@Hero Here is my CS for initial review. I took some liberty with where I put the height and eye color though so definitely let me know if I need to move it!

WIP Character Sheet

_{Height: 5'4" || Eye Color: Green}

_{We don't have all day!}

Name

Clarissa von Edmund

Age

18 _{Born the 21st day of the Great Tree Moon, 1477}

Country of Origin

Leicester Alliance

Social Standing

Noble: House Edmund

Crest

Crest of Maurice (Crest of the Beast)
_{Unbeknownst to her, Clarissa's Crest passively compels honesty from both those she speaks with and herself.}

Starting Class

Monk

Weapon of Choice

White Magic (Sword secondary)

Strengths

Faith and Authority

Weaknesses

Lance and Axe

Starting Spells

Heal

Personality

Bold and impulsive, Clarissa Edmund is an aggressively outspoken proponent of her beliefs. The first to disregard the pretense of deliberation, Clarissa refuses empty flattery and circular arguing in favor of constructive criticism advancing her agenda. Her stance on issues is rarely unknown and she operates without the veneer of secrecy her political peers are so well known for. It’s her opinion that transparency is the fundamental value of trust and that only those with ill intention gain anything from secrecy. As such, she throws herself entirely into whatever she considers worthwhile, sure in her steps and steadfast in her convictions, and rarely double guesses her decisions.

Unlike her mother who draws on the serenity of Seiros, Clarissa’s faith only fans the flames of her passion. She speaks glowingly of the establishment anytime the subject comes up, fully committed to the Church’s message of peace, forgiveness, and charity, and is quick to turn against those who speak ill of it. The Alliance’s neutrality with the Church has always bothered her—after all, Fodlan only stayed together thanks to the guidance of Archbishop Rhea—and she fully plans to support an expansion of the Church's influence in the Alliance.

History

The first born daughter of Beaufort and Odette Edmund, Clarissa Edmund seemed destined to be cut from the same cloth as her father: energetic, loud, and brash even as a baby. She spent her life proving everyone right. She spent her early years at her father’s knee, adopting his love for horseback riding, sailing, and swordplay during their outings and picking up the nuances of Edmund oration in the process. Each evening after lessons, the pair would slip away to Clarissa’s favorite spot in the family estate that overlooked the harbor and would talk about her studies and the world at large over a pot of mint tea.

Her mother however, maintained an incredibly strict lifestyle for Clarissa when she wasn’t with her father. Born with a minor Crest of the Beast, Odette wept when she learned Clarissa inherited a Major Crest. Marianne Edmund’s adoption tainted the family line with the cursed Crest and her influence still shaped how the family handled the Crest three hundred years later. Odette limited her interaction with anyone outside of the core staff and immediate family and immersed Clarissa in Church activity. She believed that only faith and piety could combat the Crest’s malignant effects. She kept the truth of the Crest away from Clarissa as long as she could and it worked for a while.

However, the birth of her younger brother afforded her an opportunity to escape her mother’s limitations. With Beaufort as her ally, Clarissa won independent outings to the Church for a weekly social gathering of children her age with the condition that a trusted family friend, Bishop Jehan, would act as her chaperone. The man had the patience of Saint Cethleann herself and handled her million questions with ease. Her social group consisted mostly of the children of wealthy merchants and she quickly established her reputation as a leader, taking responsibility for the group and their activities. She molded the group in the image of Odette’s charity work and focused primarily on assisting those without money by fixing garments and blankets for free. While she didn’t particularly care for the work, it was something she hadn’t been allowed to do before and she quite liked having friends.

She was content with her life and limited interactions until her 11th year, after the disastrous mock battle between House Gloucester and House Ordelia. Her father explained why the House had lost their seat: The House was on its last legs and survived solely on the support from others in the Alliance. As unfortunate as it was, a House needed to be powerful in its own right to sit at the table. The unease at the decision still festered inside her and unable to find the words to express why, she lashed out at her family, at her father for a horrible decision and at her mother for her absurd restrictions.

A screaming match with her mother revealed the true nature of her Crest. Clarissa fled after that, running to the only place she considered safe anymore and broke down in tears in front of Jehan. It took several long, awkward, and emotional conversations with the Bishop but eventually she found what had been unsettling her about the issue. The curse her family supposedly bore was a punishment for those who had no hand, no voice, in the decision their ancestor made, just like Duke Ordiela’s family had no choice in his decision to murder a fellow Lord. Her questions bordered on heretical, demanding why the Goddess would punish innocents for the acts of others. The bishop came up with an elegant solution: a Major Crest manifesting in her must mean the Goddess has given her the chance to redeem her bloodline. Clarissa clung desperately to that and shortly before her 13th birthday, she stepped out of her turmoil a new person.

Gone was the girl who would quietly accept her fate. Instead, Clarissa Edmund walked out as the heiress apparent of the Margravate of Edmund and she made sure it was known. It caused friction with her mother but Clarissa swept past that with her new found confidence. She reclaimed her social group that had been abandoned at the revelation of her curse, grew it, and began doubling down on her lessons. She accompanied her father to the Roundtable and took notes and developed questions for them to discuss later at their nightly meetings. She even attended a recent Roundtable on her own when he fell ill; she established her reputation quickly when one of them tried to exploit her age and she flew into an impassioned speech on the importance of change and progress and warned against letting hard fought wisdom turn to stagnation. After that she knew her next course of action clearly: Leading the Leicester Alliance. Her father supported her aspirations and enrolled her in Garrag Mach’s Officers Academy with the goal to strengthen the support she’d need to make the claim.

Trivia

House Info

Since it’s invitation to join the Roundtable of the Alliance after House Daphnel’s tragic inner conflict depriving them of their historic strength, House Edmund capitalized on and expanded its fair and equal trade policies that cemented the region’s economic success and bolstered the House’s influential voice. The growth of these policies demanded a rigorous focus on industrial growth and the development of skilled artisans and as such, House Edmund’s armed forces are significantly smaller than most of the other Houses of the alliances. Their contributions to the Alliance revolve heavily around the House’s financial resources, including funding the maintenance and improvement of Fodlan’s Locket, and levying the economic well being of the maritime routes connecting the Alliance to the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. Their economic strength and stability are the result of an aggressive continuation of the fair trade policies they adapted early on in the Alliance’s days.Their policies focus on growing the means of production; ranging from incentivizing apprenticeships to both increase the labor pool and reduce poverty to subsidizing the cost to gather raw product.

Stemming from their economic progressivism (not to mention their lack of military might), the Margrave Edmund is always known as a skilled orator and the current one is no exception. Beaufort Edmund is a passionate voice at the Roundtables, often the first to push for the expansion of their own trade policies into other parts of the Alliance, and emphasizes the importance that the other Houses follow in House Edmund’s footsteps to expand the Alliance’s economic influence in the Empire. His passion for the well being of the citizens of the Alliance is apparent every time he brings a new social issue to the table, from the stagnation of the lower class to the archaic view that nobles are somehow purer or better than those who support them, and he is quick to rise against House Gloucester’s self absorbed, entitled, and snobbish beliefs.

His wife, Odette Edmund, is almost the complete opposite of her husband. She holds herself well and often comes off as aloof and cool but in reality is just introverted and quiet. Odette is a devoted member of the Eastern Church of Seiros, regularly using Edmund resources to promote its teachings through charity and community enhancement. The Church was an important ally to the House Edmund ever since the adoption of Marianne Edmund but Odette has greatly improved their relationship and the House is a regular contributor to the Eastern Church. The Margrave dotes on her whenever they are together and it isn’t uncommon to see them laughing quietly together as they walk the grounds of their home.

Favorite Food: Two-fish Sauté

Clarissa's Crest power doesn't force people to tell her things. It only keeps them, and her, from lying in a conversation. If a character doesn't want to talk about something, they don't have to or they can tell her that they don't want to talk about it if it does come up.

Testing well everything!

_{Height: 5'4" || Eye Color: Green}

Name

Clarissa von Edmund

Age

18 _{Born the 21st day of the Great Tree Moon, 1477}

Country of Origin

Leicester Alliance

Social Standing

Noble: House Edmund

Crest

Crest of Maurice (Crest of the Beast)

Starting Class

Monk

Weapon of Choice

White Magic (Sword secondary)

Strengths

Faith and Authority

Weaknesses

Lance and Axe

Personality

Bold and impulsive, Clarissa Edmund is an aggressively outspoken proponent of her beliefs. The first to disregard the pretense of deliberation, Clarissa refuses empty flattery and circular arguing in favor of constructive criticism advancing her agenda. Her stance on issues is rarely unknown and she operates without the veneer of secrecy her political peers are so well known for. It’s her opinion that transparency is the fundamental value of trust and that only those with ill intention gain anything from secrecy. As such, she throws herself entirely into whatever she considers worthwhile, sure in her steps and steadfast in her convictions, and rarely double guesses her decisions.

Unlike her mother who draws on the serenity of Seiros, Clarissa’s faith only fans the flames of her passion. She speaks glowingly of the establishment anytime the subject comes up, fully committed to the Church’s message of peace, forgiveness, and charity, and is quick to turn against those who speak ill of it. The Alliance’s neutrality with the Church has always bothered her—after all, Fodlan only stayed together thanks to the guidance of Archbishop Rhea—and she fully plans to support an expansion of the Church's influence in the Alliance.

History

The first born daughter of Beaufort and Odette Edmund, Clarissa Edmund seemed destined to be cut from the same cloth as her father: energetic, loud, and brash even as a baby. She spent her life proving everyone right. She spent her early years at her father’s knee, adopting his love for horseback riding, sailing, and swordplay during their outings and picking up the nuances of Edmund oration in the process. Each evening after lessons, the pair would slip away to Clarissa’s favorite spot in the family estate that overlooked the harbor and would talk about her studies and the world at large over a pot of mint tea.

Her mother however, maintained an incredibly strict lifestyle for Clarissa when she wasn’t with her father. Born with a minor Crest of the Beast, Odette wept when she learned Clarissa inherited a Major Crest. Marianne Edmund’s adoption tainted the family line with the cursed Crest and her influence still shaped how the family handled the Crest three hundred years later. Odette limited her interaction with anyone outside of the core staff and immediate family and immersed Clarissa in Church activity. She believed that only faith and piety could combat the Crest’s malignant effects. She kept the truth of the Crest away from Clarissa as long as she could and it worked for a while.

However, the birth of her younger brother afforded her an opportunity to escape her mother’s limitations. With Beaufort as her ally, Clarissa won independent outings to the Church for a weekly social gathering of children her age with the condition that a trusted family friend, Bishop Jehan, would act as her chaperone. The man had the patience of Saint Cethleann herself and handled her million questions with ease. Her social group consisted mostly of the children of wealthy merchants and she quickly established her reputation as a leader, taking responsibility for the group and their activities. She molded the group in the image of Odette’s charity work and focused primarily on assisting those without money by fixing garments and blankets for free. While she didn’t particularly care for the work, it was something she hadn’t been allowed to do before and she quite liked having friends.

She was content with her life and limited interactions until her 11th year, after the disastrous mock battle between House Gloucester and House Ordelia. Her father explained why the House had lost their seat: The House was on its last legs and survived solely on the support from others in the Alliance. As unfortunate as it was, a House needed to be powerful in its own right to sit at the table. The unease at the decision still festered inside her and unable to find the words to express why, she lashed out at her family, at her father for a horrible decision and at her mother for her absurd restrictions.

A screaming match with her mother revealed the true nature of her Crest. Clarissa fled after that, running to the only place she considered safe anymore and broke down in tears in front of Jehan. It took several long, awkward, and emotional conversations with the Bishop but eventually she found what had been unsettling her about the issue. The curse her family supposedly bore was a punishment for those who had no hand, no voice, in the decision their ancestor made, just like Duke Ordiela’s family had no choice in his decision to murder a fellow Lord. Her questions bordered on heretical, demanding why the Goddess would punish innocents for the acts of others. The bishop came up with an elegant solution: a Major Crest manifesting in her must mean the Goddess has given her the chance to redeem her bloodline. Clarissa clung desperately to that and shortly before her 13th birthday, she stepped out of her turmoil a new person.

Gone was the girl who would quietly accept her fate. Instead, Clarissa Edmund walked out as the heiress apparent of the Margravate of Edmund and she made sure it was known. It caused friction with her mother but Clarissa swept past that with her new found confidence. She reclaimed her social group that had been abandoned at the revelation of her curse, grew it, and began doubling down on her lessons. She accompanied her father to the Roundtable and took notes and developed questions for them to discuss later at their nightly meetings. She even attended a recent Roundtable on her own when he fell ill; she established her reputation quickly when one of them tried to exploit her age and she flew into an impassioned speech on the importance of change and progress and warned against letting hard fought wisdom turn to stagnation. After that she knew her next course of action clearly: Leading the Leicester Alliance. Her father supported her aspirations and enrolled her in Garrag Mach’s Officers Academy with the goal to strengthen the support she’d need to make the claim.

Trivia

House Info

Since it’s invitation to join the Roundtable of the Alliance after House Daphnel’s tragic inner conflict depriving them of their historic strength, House Edmund capitalized on and expanded its fair and equal trade policies that cemented the region’s economic success and bolstered the House’s influential voice. The growth of these policies demanded a rigorous focus on industrial growth and the development of skilled artisans and as such, House Edmund’s armed forces are significantly smaller than most of the other Houses of the alliances. Their contributions to the Alliance revolve heavily around the House’s financial resources, including funding the maintenance and improvement of Fodlan’s Locket, and levying the economic well being of the maritime routes connecting the Alliance to the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. Their economic strength and stability are the result of an aggressive continuation of the fair trade policies they adapted early on in the Alliance’s days.Their policies focus on growing the means of production; ranging from incentivizing apprenticeships to both increase the labor pool and reduce poverty to subsidizing the cost to gather raw product.

Stemming from their economic progressivism (not to mention their lack of military might), the Margrave Edmund is always known as a skilled orator and the current one is no exception. Beaufort Edmund is a passionate voice at the Roundtables, often the first to push for the expansion of their own trade policies into other parts of the Alliance, and emphasizes the importance that the other Houses follow in House Edmund’s footsteps to expand the Alliance’s economic influence in the Empire. His passion for the well being of the citizens of the Alliance is apparent every time he brings a new social issue to the table, from the stagnation of the lower class to the archaic view that nobles are somehow purer or better than those who support them, and he is quick to rise against House Gloucester’s self absorbed, entitled, and snobbish beliefs.

His wife, Odette Edmund, is almost the complete opposite of her husband. She holds herself well and often comes off as aloof and cool but in reality is just introverted and quiet. Odette is a devoted member of the Eastern Church of Seiros, regularly using Edmund resources to promote its teachings through charity and community enhancement. The Church was an important ally to the House Edmund ever since the adoption of Marianne Edmund but Odette has greatly improved their relationship and the House is a regular contributor to the Eastern Church. The Margrave dotes on her whenever they are together and it isn’t uncommon to see them laughing quietly together as they walk the grounds of their home.

Favorite Food: Two-fish Sauté

Of Blood and Magic

_{December 7th, 6:05am - The Sinnenodel Dorm}

“Of course I’m the right choice.” Varis scoffed with a dismissive gesture. “Unlike the Noila who doesn’t bother attending his own classes, I actually work on policy. Regurgitating the same information over and over for centuries only leads to the proliferation of the same stagnant ideas and asinine posturing all our less elders insist on. And for what? Nothing more than crippling future possibilities.” Varis rolled his eyes at the thought and sipped at the blood again. He’d have the boy contact the household at the end of this. Count Eve clearly needed this information last night. How could someone with such grand ambition fail to study such an integral part of their society? Even if he was disinclined to maintain the status quo, the past illuminated mistakes they were likely to repeat again and again. Speaking of which…

“Enough about me though. This is meant to be for you, Count Eve.” Varis sat forward as he continued. “But while we’re on the topic of the Treaty and policy, our last conversation revealed that you held quite a lofty goal. It is a heavy burden you seek and I do not doubt you have a few goals in mind on achieving it. So what would you have cross the Council table if you win your bid for your House’s seat at the Council?”

---

Maddie stayed quiet at Lilie’s correction. Well, that was certainly problematic. For a water mage, she was certainly bad at keeping herself out of hot water. She made another note to avoid discussing vampires and their position as mages with her. It would probably result in an uncomfortable conversation and Maddie would prefer to keep their friendship as intact as possible despite their differences. In all honesty, Salem, Max, and Lilie were all problems she’d have to discuss with Amaris. She’d been hoping not to have anything to return to the Countess with but they kept dropping red flags in her lap like it was a full time job. This was going to be a difficult social group to survive, wasn’t it?

“Well as startling as it was, the magic was impressive at least. Summoning is one of the arcane majors that need to be declared before the end of the first semester apparently. There are a bunch of prerequisite courses that you have to take before they let you actually start it.” Maddie commented. “I can’t imagine that kind of pressure. Most of us have just found out about our magic in the first place and then you have to go and take a ton of extra classes not even a year later? That just sounds like a lot of unnecessary stress.”

“Though speaking of stress, I did hear something interesting the other day. Apparently there have been a rash of pranks on vampires on campus. Supposedly, they all treat their mages… poorly and some people say they’ve always been active on campus but because none of it actually threatens the vampires’ lives, the Princess won’t do anything to stop them.” Maddie put out there. “I haven’t seen any of it myself but I overheard a few mages complaining about property damage when sprinkles and things have gone off around the same time as the pranks supposedly happened.”

Fire Emblem: The Slumbering Goddess

@Obscene Symphony this spot is mine!!

Also, hype!!!

The Gifted - Concluded

James Kingston

---

Location: Outside
Skills: Healing Factor (Transmittable)

---

---

James could barely stand the anticipation as Luna started to phase the metal out of Echo. He’d never seen someone phase something before but it was interesting, horrible circumstances be damned. Watching her slide the metal out like James wasn’t even there was a weird experience but before he knew it, it was his turn. All he could do was hope Echo’s confidence in him wasn’t entirely misplaced. Hopefully, he could live up to his promise.

James placed his hands on Echo and breathed in and out, letting himself fall into the familiar feeling of syncing up. He was almost surprised by how much fight there was left in Echo. His heart still beat strong, lungs worked properly, and he could feel everything in himself so poignantly, no encroaching numbness that scared him. Except there was an unfamiliar sensation in his back and then nothing past that. It was another type of unsettling, one that felt just as permanent as the chilling void of death, but at least it wasn’t death. He felt bone and muscle and flesh stitch slowly back together, struggling to fit back exactly like it was. James found himself trying to hold his breath as he waited and focused on everything settling right. It was far more exhausting than anything else he’d healed before. Even Luna had been arguaby easier, the actually wounds little more than ruptured flesh, not a fucking spine.

By the time everything seemingly clicked back into place and James was released, he felt himself trembling and he let himself collapse onto the ground next to Echo. He sat there, catching his breath and wiping away the sweat on his forehead. “Next time, can you just ask the villain to please stab you in the side or something? So much easier to heal.” James joked weakly as he slowly caught his breath. “Actually, just tell them to stab me. I’m fucking bullet proof now apparently. Bet a magnetic shiv won’t do much either.”

Of Blood and Magic

_{December 7th, 5:55am - The Sinnenodel Dorm}

Varis sipped at the blood, humming at the splash of tart and sweet that washed over him. It wasn't his preferences, especially after savoring the taste of the Eve's abomination, but he couldn't say it was unpleasant. The reminder of the girl playing with fire in his home made it a touch less enjoyable but it wasn't the worst thing he'd tasted. Considering his mage's attitude problems, that honor would probably be reserved for Eris' bottle.

"You sent Ismene? I hope her learnings are going to find themselves in my mailbox at some point." Varis sipped through the Marivaldi's chatter. While he could appreciate her enthusiasm for the subject, it seemed like such a waste to give her the privilege of knowledge. As narrow minded as she was, he couldn't possibly imagine she'd retain much of it for long. "My experience in Eris' social circles suggest his colleagues have baser priorities than those of us with loftier lineages. I rarely found anyone else worthy of a conversation, much less expressing interest in academic pursuits. Eris' interest in esoteric material only serves to highlight I was right in thinking he was a step above the rest."

"As far as we are aware, you are correct, Count Benjamin. Landar Starag was instrumental while forming the Treaty. A man who so despised our kind, was particularly equipped to exterminate us, who rallied against us with every fiber of his being, was the only one who could convince an entire people to put aside their differences and accept their rightful place in history. Without him, none of us would be sitting here in this room discussing it. But he wasn't the only mortal to work on the Treaty. He was just their chosen leader." Varis explained at Ben's commentary, unconsciously relaxing into the chair, losing the sharpness he usually wore as he slipped into a subject he was passionate about. “Landar arrived with his own guard and retenue and frequently consulted them during the development of our society. The mother of conjuration and the iron fisted author of the guardianship clause was one such person but other than that, we have absolutely nothing. Of course her techniques are well recorded and maintained, practiced and refined, and her mind was obviously a gift beyond her natural talents but what else? Who was she? Where did she come from? How did she develop such advanced techniques in such a short time? Why did she just vanish?” Varis gestured animatedly as he spoke, far more energetic than he had been before. The words just stumbled out of him as his usual control failed him and his attention was fully focused on the mystery that was Morgan le Fey.

“We have pages and pages and pages of personal accounts from Landar Starag, both from before and after the Treaty, we have years of recollection from other eyewitnesses ranging from the Queen and Ryner to common vampires who fought against him, we have paintings of him next to Geoffry, art and literature dedicated to his struggles submitting to those he loathed for the better of his people. His is a common name on vampire, mage, and mortal tongue alike and yet nothing remains of her. No journals. No letters. No friends, family, or even a vampire with a wisp of knowledge on their lips beyond her name, her arcane contributions, and her skill with a pen.” Varis suddenly stopped speaking despite his mouth still moving. It took him a moment to realize he hadn’t drawn a breath so he paused, took a breath, and cleared his throat before launching back into his conversation like he hadn’t ever stopped. “And how is that possible? How does a high profile mage like that all but vanish? How do our elders not remember much about her? How is every shred of evidence plucked from history like a feather from a bird? I’ve scoured books from the royal library to my Lady’s personal collection as soon as I got my hands on my position and I haven’t read even a footnote to suggest she was anything other than a talented mage with no existence outside the time with the treaty and her contributions to magic. There are theories of course. I personally put faith in the idea that after the war was won, she decided she wanted to back out of the Treaty she helped pen and earned herself being stripped of historical relevance for anything but her contributions to society the society she came to hate. To the victor goes the spoils and the right to control the narrative is the greatest one.”

While he was explaining his interest in the subject, he noticed that Eris suddenly took an interest in the boy. A half a second later and the boy managed to keep himself composed while Eris dragged the mage into his lap. He quite approved of Eris’ putting him through his paces and watched as the boy untangled himself from the actor, all perfectly polite excuses, and Varis was about to return to his full focus to the discussion at hand until the boy made the mistake. While it was a good move, Varis hadn’t yet destroyed the boy’s sense of modesty and bodily autonomy and he’d just entered a deal with someone far more than willing to take advantage of that. Well, Varis couldn’t complain. It's an excellent learning opportunity.

He placed his glass down and tapped once on the bottom before returning to the conversation in full.

“All in all, it’s a mystery that continues to plague historians and spawn theories and fantasies alike. If you’d like, I’d be more than happy to send you a few volumes for you to peruse at your leisure. That way you can fully appreciate the mysteries the past still holds for us.” Varis offered Count Benjamin. Of course, a few volumes was a little bit of an understatement. A few bookshelves may be more appropriate. It’s impossible to understand the enormity of the hole without a thorough understanding of how much was known after all.

---

Maddie watched with trepidation as the others overcame their apprehension enough to not just approach but pick up the clock that just randomly appeared. If it was Maddie’s choice, she would have put a box or a pot over it and then called the school’s security to check on it. Unsurprisingly but still interesting enough to note, Max was ready to tear it into pieces with no hesitation like the rest of them. She wasn’t sure how that was useful yet but she’s sure it would come in handy eventually. She appreciated Salem’s resourcefulness though, trying to analyze it with his limited abilities before handling it, and that was another bit of information she stashed away. She’d pass this onto Amaris later, especially how Lilie was the only one who didn’t use the full extent of her abilities to handle the situation.

But for now, she admired how easily Max spun the clock in the air and dismantled it quietly. Her control over her magic was fragile at best (and she was so thankful she hadn’t messed tonight up because she wholeheartedly thought she would) and here he was, going through the motions as if he was bored and this barely took a thought. And when it ended there was a dismantled clock sitting in front of them. Maddie had never seen a clock in pieces but she supposed it looked normal enough. She jumped when Aaron spoke but then slapped a hand over her mouth as she snorted at how wide Aaron’s eyes were at the sight in front of him.

“Well, a hand dropped a clock set for 5:55 on the table and we weren’t sure if it was something that could hurt the vampires. Lilie and Salem did an excellent job analyzing the outside and Max is the only one who could check the inside without damaging the parts.” Maddie explained, hping that Aaron wouldn’t get too upset at their curiosity.

The Gifted - Concluded

James Kingston

---

Location: Outside
Skills: N/A

---

---

James froze when she grabbed him, pulling him closer. He felt so much anger at the motion and he wasn’t really sure what to do with it. It was all he could do not to try and snap each of her fingers, remind her that he wasn’t something he could shove around at her whim, but it died out at her accusation. James snapped back into this world, going stiff as a board as he realized what happened. He felt sick to his stomach and something unpleasant crawled over his skin. He needed to get that under control. He was here with the mutant underground. He should have been normal. He should have been fine. Everything was fine.

The bullet felt like lead in his pocket.

However, the urge to smack her when she shoved him was all him right now. He didn’t know where all the other stuff came from. All he’d said was she didn’t like him―which isn’t unreasonable since she’s always been unpleasant towards him. It was a good day when they never crossed paths honestly.―and that he was waiting for her plan because he knew he couldn’t touch it. This woman exhausted him to no end and she was quickly reaching the end of his tolerance. He could be patient, had been patient for months, but her abrasiveness was seriously wearing him thin. If she didn’t dislike him was she just a dick because she could be? Because she found some sort of sick, twisted pleasure in treating people like this? James didn’t know and he didn’t want to put anymore effort into this but he might have to; the Underground having two members with issues towards each other, because James was developing some really fast, was a problem they didn’t need. They had plenty of others.

James fished out his cellphone, checking the text and closing his eyes briefly. He held back a groan and quickly sent out a response - “Dealing with the brotherhood’s mess. Came hunting for Polaris. Will be ready as soon as possible.”

“Veil texted. They’re bringing Jack back and they’ll need your help after this, Luna.” James explained with an apologetic look as he put the phone away again. He really didn’t like an m-pox victim straining themselves, much less Luna. He felt far more protective over her than others but he blamed that on the fact that she had nearly died in his hands. He settled down next to Echo on the ground, leaving his hand out in case Echo needed something to hold onto through this. “Hey, we’ve got you. Even if something goes wrong and you get cut up a little more, I’m here to make sure you get pieced back together. I haven’t failed anyone yet. Well, I’m not counting Magik. She may have sold her soul to a demon but as long as you haven’t done that we’ll have you up on your feet in no time.” James tried comforting Echo. He couldn’t imagine what the man was going through but it’d all be a distant memory sometime soon. “And I’m sorry for being a dick early.”

Of Blood and Magic

_{December 7th, 5:45am - The Sinnenodel Dorm}

Varis had to admit, he’d never seen someone burn their bridges quite as effectively as the Marivaldi did. It was a bold move, isolating herself from her only potential ally in a room with three opponents of her house, and if he had any faith in her statesmanship, perhaps he’d have respected it. However he didn’t. It was an act of passion, one of the most degrading for their kind, and with it removed herself from the political stage once more. Perhaps that’s how she liked it, free from responsibility and care. Perhaps she wanted to enjoy a whimsical life, riding on the coattails of her deceased father for however long it took her to walk into the sunlight. Well, one could only hope.

That being said, the bickering was amusing but ultimately taking away from Varis’ plans for the morning. He’d admit that the Marivaldi’s tactlessness gave him some insight into the Count Eve he hadn’t expected but it hadn’t been what she’d been supposed to do. He was going to have to do some maneuvering to get the Eve where he needed him before the dinner was over; otherwise, Varis was going to have a long day of reworking to do and he honestly needed the sleep. He took one last sip of the girls’ blood―what cruel twist of fate gave the abomination such delicious flavor?―and left it alone, knowing the boy would be in soon to move the tasting along. “While I’m sure deliberating the challenging situation the Princess put Count Eve in could dominate the rest of the evening, perhaps it’s best laid to rest while level heads still prevail. It would be unfortunate to upset each other while we’re stuck somewhere we don’t have the luxury of distance.” Varis suggested calmly. “A taste of someone familiar for the Countess ought to do the trick. I’m looking forward to it; after all, someone willing to put on an audacious display must have a flavor to match.”

When the time came to serve the next bottle, Aaron smoothly disengaged from any conversation in the living room and made for the kitchen, arranging five more pristine crystal glasses on his tray alongside Maddie’s blood and the neutral bottle.

Stepping subtly into the parlor, tray in hand, Aaron made his way around the room, delicately balancing being polite with being invisible as he replaced used glasses with clean ones and topped off each guest’s glass of palate cleanser. As far as any spectator could know, he was deaf to any conversation not directed at him; when every dirty glass had been collected, he moved on to Maddie’s blood, displaying the bottle to each guest before uncorking it and serving.

Varis left his glass unacknowledged for the moment and instead moved the conversation on. “I was quite surprised to hear from one of my vassal’s Countess that your family entertains celebrity mages at your educational events. Evidently, they were quite curious about Morgan le Fey. I was always under the impression we knew so little about her, it was basically impossible to properly adapt her to modern entertainment without a slew of conjecture.”

Maddie’s Blood

Pomegranate and Apples

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Max’s answer had her bringing her hand up to laugh silently behind her hand. For all his abrasiveness, it was funny when you weren’t the target. She didn’t know him all that well but she did wonder how much of it was honest and how much of it was played up. She could understand how this would make anyone uneasy and if he was the aggressive type, then maybe it was his way of keeping everyone at arm’s length. It made her think of a porcupine or a puffer fish. The thought had her laughing again.

“Transmutation? My old school was going to make me go into it but I have no interest in it.” Maddie grimaced at the thought. It wasn’t that she hadn’t been interested but being forced to go into it without a say in the matter made it seem as awful a major as she could get. “You already have a job lined up after this? What are you―” Maddie cut herself off as something rippled in the air above the coffee table. The television and entertainment system beyond seemed to twist into themselves, warping further and further the longer it went on until a faint black orb appeared. It was just larger than a fist and while she was initially curious, she found herself scooting back into the couch as something started coming through. Maddie started panicking, on the verge of calling Ari over because this was clearly outside her abilities to handle…

An alarm clock. A gloved hand came out smoothly, deposited a silver alarm clock on the table, and then disappeared back into the hole and then everything returned to normal. The twin bell clock ticked softly and Maddie looked around just in case something else happened. When nothing else did, she looked back at the clock confused. “What… who would…” Maddie began but found herself struggling with the words. She wasn’t even really sure what she wanted to ask so she just asked the first thing that popped into her head. “Why is that alarm set for ten minutes from now?”