dragonpiece

The Hourglass Order

---

---

Student Magic Specializations

---

---

Start of Arc Four

❖ Ingrid Penderson: 0 4 2 0 2 4 0 0 0 0 0

❖ Tku: 0 0 4 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 0

Magnetic Arcane Binding Chemical Kinetic Atomic Blood Temporal Dark Command Primordial

The Hourglass Order

Tku

Tku sits on a bollard near the Pharoah Point Light, watching the ships go in and out as he sketches. The last week was crazy, ah? Tku thought as he sketched that wondrous scene of Jomurr rushing into Mudsvile. Making him the centerpiece, slightly larger than the accused and the peasantry smaller, lesser. He is the will of Dami in this piece, holding the accused responsible for the crimes against the meager people. He does up the filth of the Yasoi, shaping her slightly larger than Esmii's size. Tku keeps Nazih mostly the same but makes the shit on him much less intrusive into the scene to not detract from the rest of the image,Your welcome my friend.

Feeling satisfied with the charcoal rendition before he goes further he flips to a new canvas and starts to head back to his dorm to actually paint. Ah! The Swirl was quite the venture, even ventured into the horror stories he heard in Tarlon, Tku shook his head and felt a tingle from where he almost died to those monsters. He didn’t get a good look at the storm but he can imagine the beast.

He stops at the pumpernickel club for some bread and a single piece of fruit for the fun of it. He plops his bag next to the canvas and transfers the charcoal sketch onto a larger canvas. Rough lines were replaced with more set ones. Shaping was done over and over to get it right. Finally, Tku cracked his knuckles and excitedly prepares the paint. Egg yolks blended with some pot ash to make a slurry. Tku whistles as he makes some pigments and only makes what he can handle in 4 hours, any more, and the paint will dry and become unworkable.

He starts with base a base layer of paint, building details as he went. He works from warm to cool for this specific piece, working with warmer colors was more natural for him. He enjoyed the earliest stages because the painting isn’t set, he can still morph it as he sees fit. At a certain point, you can’t change anything, you lose some control over your piece. You are merely the tool to finish it.

2 weeks later the painting was finished and Tku reached out to Jomurr if he would like to come and look at it. Tku had grown deeply interested in the hegelan craft. There was a charm brought to it by artistry and function. His homeland always focussed on artistry than function. If he could learn from them and apply them to his own craft, perhaps he could reach a higher level in his craft. If he wasn’t interested then to the auction it would go, trying to at least cover the cost of making it. This is the problem with making things on inspiration, people might not buy them and Tku has fallen into that multiple times.

The Hourglass Order

---

Location: Ersand'Ernise

---

Interactions: Lots of people

---

---

Thin Air

Thin Air

Velles 7th was going to be a busy day for Ingrid. The event was Thin Air and Snaked and Afraid was well prepared thanks to Zarra. Zarra’s parents were undoubtedly odd but they seemed to be quite the inventors to make a Hot Air Balloon. They were in town on their own so it was simply an ask. As long as we didn’t damage it too much then we would be fine.

After some not-so-true promises to the Travendour about the safety of their Balloon, the team was ready. There was some debate about the teams we could choose but in the end, it was Sådan Æresvaktr. They were all talented kineticist with a good bit of Arcane and Chemical. Ingrid being cousins with Siv made it relatively easy to pair up with them. Ingrid wasn’t sure because of the bad memories between them but Dory got her to drop that for now.

They were a relatively calm team and were cooperative for the most part. Both teams really believed that they could come first with the Air Balloon and the skill they possessed. With a lot of Kinetic, Arcane, and Chemical, the teams felt confident that this would be their best match yet.

The start was a quick rise with our sisters in the sky. The 2 airships had a decent rise, though admittedly, the blimp was slower than expected. The weather had looked good for flight before the event but the hour of prep changed that as multiple storms were created by lots of people. It wasn’t something to dread but we worried still. What we did need to worry about was that apparently, 2 strong teams had teamed up against us. They were riding dragons and had people on the blimp for sabotage. Ingrid thought that with how new these vehicles were, they were safe from being immediately targeted. Whatever the case, the small alliance we formed was found out along with our method for the ascent. The fighting was intense but we seemed to get away with some minor damage to the Balloon and Desmond being knocked out by Ayla and her entourage. Dory put in some major work, knocking out 2 people who were piloting the dragons. They of course had more people who could pilot but it was a great defense against their all-out war against us.

As planned, the team broke away from our ally once we felt the alliance was no longer beneficial and rose up by ourselves. The team rose up as fast as we could and even launched ourselves high into the air right before we finished. But it was obvious to Ingrid that we had not come first, not even 2nd as she could clearly see 2 teams above her.

As they fell, Ingrid could only feel bitter. It felt like this was the one they could finally get 1st or 2nd. Now they were third once again. Ingrid just breathed out and composed herself on the way down. It was unbecoming of anyone to be bitter over third. They weren’t cheated or disadvantaged in any way. They lost fairly.

Ingrid hid away these indecorous thoughts and just enjoyed a view she has never seen. Dozens of people flying and falling through the stormy sky. Ingrid slowed herself down to enjoy the fall for a minute or so longer before she took full control and stopped her descent and righted herself and landed with some grace.

It took longer than Ingrid expected to calculate who won. Not that it mattered. Ingrid was sure of her team's overall height. Ingrid quietly spent some time with her group, drinking some ale to pass the time as she read. Ingrid’s cousin, Siv, approached her with a letter from the patriarch of her family, her grandfather. Ingrid accepted it like it was nothing but she held some anxiousness about opening it.

Ingrid knew that she hadn’t been well behaved and her grandfather could be here to simply confirm things. From making a scene at the student faire to having boys in her room, so many things could worsen her position. The scene of Ayla being betrothed comes to her mind and she hesitantly opened it.

At first glance, the letter seemed to simply be a business meeting and she needed to bring the books so that everyone could get up to speed on things. Besides some other small things, there was not much to it. It was so short for the first time they have spoken in months. Maybe it was only a business event. Ingrid read it over 3 or so more times to make sure there wasn’t some secret meaning.

Ingrid sighed in relief, she seemed to dodge getting married off for at least a few months. That is unless her cousins have been gathering information on their own. They could easily take over the conversation and get it on to her exploits. Ingrid needed some way to take the eyes away from herself if they try something. Her first thought was to discuss her newly acquired ship and seed but Ingrid believes that might not be enough. Plus she wants to give that to her king herself and announcing it there would mean her grandfather would get to hand it over. The ship might be enough and could get her some connections if they need it to be loaded from the Enthish capital. Enthish… Wait Desmond got that ruby, that will surely get the attention of everyone.

Ingrid jaunted off to Desmond, hoping he hadn’t sold the ruby.

Desmond sat at his desk as he sighed and rubbed his head, he had awoken just a little while ago from the sonic blast he received from team Zemana and Seoul Sistas, however it left him with an intense ringing in his head. He was okay from the other affects from the sonic attack, thankfully binding healed his ears and body from the intense concusive force of the attack. Yet it did not take away the intense ringing his mind remembered from the host memories of the attack.

As a sound cut through Desmond’s quiet time and recovery, a knock at his door, as he rose from his chair and opened the door to find Ingrid was at his door, as he greeted her, ”Hey Ingrid. What do I owe the pleasure to?”.

Ingrid smiled,“Oh I was hoping you would accompany me to a small event, I believe you might find a buyer for your ruby." Ingrid seemed well put together, better dressed than normal.

Desmond looked to Ingrid as he saw her get up and what she said, he thought for a moment if what he was wearing was good enough, he looked to Ingrid and said, ”Oh of course, thank you for the opportunity, if you can give me a moment then I will be ready to go”. Desmond quickly turned and then took his walk over to his desk, as he kneeled down and grabbed the handle of his lower left drawer. It was the drawer he told anyone who entered his room to never open, or consequences will be had, however as he opened it he applied the smallest amount of kinetic energy to a certain part and the drawer opened just fine. Desmond then reached in and pulled out the ruby as he put it in his bag and closed the drawer as he once more applied a light bit of kinetic energy in a certain way and the drawer closed just fine. As Desmond stood up and looked towards Ingrid and said with a soft smile, ”Alright, you lead the way”.

Ingrid was happy to find that Desmond had not sold it off yet. Hopefully this with my new ship will be enough to keep them off of me for the meeting. Ingrid turned to desmond as they walked, "So this is a small meeting with some of my family. They are in town and want to talk about some business. Grandfather is always looking for something to buy and then sell."

Desmond nodded his head as he said, ”Ah okay, well this’ll be good then. I hope you don’t mind me asking, what kind of business?”

Ingrid patted the side of her satchel, "When ships move through near here they are delivered to me for balancing and record keeping. I sent a message by dragon every now and then." Ingrid kept walking without making eye contact with them.

Desmond nodded as he said with a chuckle, ”I see, well I hope this goes well. It would be awkward to be turned down by your family”. Desmond jokingly said afterwards, ”I swear if deals go wrong I will hold back my anger and only knock out one of their teeth”. Desmond snickered slightly as they continued on.
Ingrid couldn’t help but laugh as well but she had to say, "Thank you but please, let's not punch them. Or at least do it when there alone." Ingrid somewhat needed that to relieve the tension she was building. Everything is fine, they shouldn’t want to marry me off yet.

They crossed the city to the port, heading towards the light tower until they stopped at a large ship, decorated with Eskandish imagery and seemingly growing fruit on the ship, a rare sight indeed. The ship seemed to be occupied but there was no plank for them to get onto the ship. Ingrid didn’t seem perturbed simply took a longer stride. "Ett steg, två steg, tre steg, språng," Ingrid chanted as on the third she ascended up onto the guard rail of the ship and hops off onto the deck. She looks at Desmond, "Need a hand?" Ingrid teased.

Desmond looked up Ingrid and chuckled as he said, ”Oh please, let me have some dignity”. As Desmond swings his arms back he lowers himself and the moment he had reached the perfect position of his posture, he amplified his body’s chemical responses and drew from his own gravity as he leaped. He used the energy he drew from his own gravity to launch him higher up as he begins to magnetically charge himself and the ledge to pull himself up as he sent himself high and flying, he seemed to almost fly as his hands grabbed the ledge and took a firm hold as he threw himself up and landed on his feet with grace.

He looked to Ingrid and did jazz hands as he took a slight stance and said, ”Tada!” Desmond began to chuckle as he quickly composed himself before doing an exaggerated deep bow and saying, ”After you~”.

The deck of the ship was full of Eskandish and a few Drudgunzeans, there looked to be some sparing going on for entertainment. Large men and women using wooden weapons to strike at eachother, obviously enhanced by kinetic and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say they were aiming to break their opponent. Ingrid and Desmond only got an acknowledging glance as they arrived.

Once the spar was over, the girl overtaking the man with a speedy set of strikes aimed at his wrist and knee, dropping him and his weapon to the ground. Claps and some small cheers from the crewmates, attention was finally put on the 2 arrivals. Ingrid gave a slight bow towards the old man who seemed to be sitting at a table where the food for the event was. He was definitely old but his large frame hadn’t shrunk too aggressively from his age. He stood up and waved his hand over the table, telling them to come and sit. For the moment, Desmond could see that he was even taller than Ingrid by a few inches and still had a steady amount of muscle. Well, enough that Desmond was sure he could swing that axe on his hip still. Ingrid made her way over to take a seat across from him.

Desmond did a slight bow following Ingrid as he followed in step, Desmond looked around with a calm look, inspecting each person to determine who was who. Based on the size and stature Desmond picked out who was who, as the man they must have been going to would be the patriarch, the Grandfather. While they walked over Desmond gave a nod and light applause to the victor as he said, ”It was a wonderful bout”. Once they made it to the table Desmond allowed Ingrid to sit first before he then took a seat next to her before greeting the Patriarch with a ”Hello sir”.

The elderly man gave Desmond a once over and nodded before coming back to Ingrid. “So child, tell me, how has your time been in this magnificent city?” the grandfather asked in a thick Eskandish accent accentuated by an old gravelly voice, “And more importantly, are you in good health?” Insinuating the incident that led to her eventually going to Ersand’Ernise.

Ingrid just smiled and started to take out part of the ledger, "I’m fine grandfather, I go out often and even started training again, I am even practicing Kastäng" Ingrid flexed her arm.

Ingrid’s grandfather laughed at her show, “Alright, alright, I won’t question you on it too much. It isn’t even the end of the first semester.” The old man grabbed some empty cups and set them in front of the 2 of them, “So you are doing well in the Trials! Top 5 in all of them so far! I’m proud of you, Ingrid. I have a gift for when you leave,” her grandfather continues as he poured the 2 of them a strong cider. He looks over at the Enthish man, “So you are one of my grandchildren’s teammates?”

Desmond listened to Ingrid and her Grandfather talk, he took notice of eyes, people seemed to inspect not only them but each other. Each seemed to have insinuations of the talks, hidden ideas and motives moved between them, yet otherwise it seemed calm. As the older man passed on a question to Desmond, wishing to know if he was a teammate to Ingrid and her cousin, Desmond responded with a soft smile, ”Yes I am, sir. I had the pleasure of meeting Ingrid because we are in the same Zeno group”.

The old man gave a small smile, “I see, well young man, my name is Bjorn Penderson,” Bjorn said as he extended a hand to Desmond.

Desmond reached for the man’s hand with a smile, ”Desmond Catulus it is nice to meet you”.

There wasn’t much to the handshake other than Bjorn giving it a fair bit of strength to test Desmond. At the same time, Siv made his way onto the boat but went to the side instead of the table. Bjorn let go of the handshake and clapped his hand, “Now that everyone is here, let's get to business,” He looks over at Ingrid once more to her to start.

Ingrid started to go over the trade that has been passing in and out of the school that their family has a hand in. Along with some more reports about some of the dealing in surrounding waters. Ingrid also handed over some information on the cargo that has been going in and out of the school. Of course, Ingrid didn’t know everything and didn’t know the underground, she could still give some insight into it. Then the other people start talking about other areas that they manage. It is essentially a passing of information between the different sides of the family. After all that, new directives and predictions are given and that is when the real conversations are to be had.

Each relative starts talking about their recent ventures and the connections they have been making. If they have nothing to report, Bjorn writes their name down in a small notebook. It was old and worn but there seeming attempts to fix it. Eventually, though things got to Siv. Siv, unlike his general feel and the outfits he wears with his team, was unbelievably successful for his age. It was a mixture of luck, cheating, and good business sense. He put himself through school as a show of his own strength and has the best mixture of high RAS and connections. No one was aware if he was actually first on Bjorn’s list of successors but they could imagine he was high on the list.

Siv gave his normal report, it was impressive but it was obvious that they expected more, including Bjorn who just crossed his arms like he heard something bad. Ingrid whispered to Desmond about how his reports usually go to give some context. Siv seemed nervous in a way that initially had the whispers speculating that he was hiding the true extent of the report. Those hushed voices were cut by the final thing Siv had to say. “I plan on marrying Karla Magnusdotter,”

There wasn’t a vocal reaction but it was obvious this was a big deal. Karla’s family was well known but wasn’t particularly wealthy and not well connected outside of Eskand. It would be fine if Siv wasn’t favored but he was and was expected to marry someone to advance his position. Bjorn seemed calm on the surface but it was evident from his actions that he was not. He took out his book again and instead of writing, he simply slashed Siv’s name in the book. Bjorn looked at his grandson and started to rise. It was understood that doing this would hurt the family, a crime that will be compensated for. Another figure took the floor, Dagh Penderson, another successful man in her family. 21 years old, decently tall, and attractive his only shortcoming is his RAS of 8.0. By far one of the strongest people here has been in school the longest and has seemingly the most overseas connections.

Dagh took the stage and supported Siv, even offering to help cover the price of Siv’s actions. It was obvious something was going on with the situation but they couldn’t know for sure. It was hard for even Bjorn to stand against the both of them so he sat and Siv started to make his way off the ship, feeling assured he wouldn’t have to face his grandfather directly.

That is before Bjorn commanded with a booming voice loud enough to make your ears ring if you were next to him, “Wait.” Siv stopped and so did everyone else. Siv and Dagh thought they were in the clear but Bjorns started to stand. Bjorn closed in on the boy, each heavy footstep filled the atmosphere with more tension. Bjorn got right up to Siv and looked down at him. There was silence and some of the non-gifted crew members have already started to take cover in case of a fight. Siv sweated profusely and all the years of fear weighed on him. Bjorn reached into his coat and spoke in a softer voice, “If you are going, take this to Ingrid’s room,” handing Siv an ornate box. Bjorn turned back and sat down. Siv nodded and quickly got off the boat.

Tensions seemed to calm and people started to get back to their own reports. Nothing spectacular of note happened but it was interesting that they didn’t even ask Ingrid if she had anything to mention. Now came the gossip that Ingrid oh so dreaded. She came up with multiple diversions for the event but she needed none of it with Siv’s report. All attention was on that. Some talk about how cute they would be, and others talk about how weird they will be together. Most talked about who is moving up the list and who might get hitched next. With things settled, Ingrid spoke to her grandfather, "Grandfather, I brought Desmond here to make you an offer," Ingrid said and looked over to Desmond.

Desmond held calm the entire ordeal, it seemed many things were happening under the surface as people talked and predicted. A simple thing as saying you shall marry someone and the whole world seemed to almost grow tense seemed all too strange. Yet soon it seemed to fade once more as the Grandfather sat once more, and then Ingrid passed off the floor to Desmond. Desmond gave a light nod as he said with a small smile, and then said as he lifted his satchel onto the table and began to reach in, ”Yes, I came here to sell you something marvelous”. As Desmond took out of his bag a ruby of extraordinary size. It fit nicely in the hand as he played with it in his hand for a moment before he then held it out with his 3 fingers as he continued, ”I wish to sell you this ruby, and possibly more like it”.

There were some slight gasps at the reveal of such a large ruby followed by a few of them coming up to inspect it. Bjorn held a hand out to them to not crowd Desmond. “Damn children,” Bjorn sneered, “Don’t crowd around the seller.” Bjorn looked over to Desmond and extended a hand, “Give it here so I can expect it.” Bjorn seemed interested in the ruby.

Desmond noticed the movements of people around him and he knew that they were interested. They wished to inspect it with such fervor a few nearly lost composure, yet it seemed the man Desmond wished to interest the most was only slightly impressed. Desmond smiled as the patriarch asked to inspect it, Desmond answered, ”Of course”. As he held out his hand and lightly levitated the Ruby over the man for him to take hold of it.

Clasped it gently and started to cast a spell, the words were old Eskandish and its effects were mostly hidden but the trained magusjeager could feel Arcane energy focus in Bjorn’s eye. He turned it and muttered as on the table he moved coins to do some math. He looked up at Desmond and said, “3,900 Neskal?” Bjorn offered.

Desmond heard the price and his smile almost broke, it was an amount that was one he was not used to hearing. However, he knew he could possibly get more, and with what he needed to do, he needed to try and get as much as he could, so he said in a calm voice, measuring the reactions and the thoughts, ”It’s larger than most rubies one would see in their lifetime let alone be in their possession. I know with some cutting you can turn much more of a profit, so how about 4,200 Neskals?”

Bjorn had hoped to scam the lad for 100 magus but it seems his damn offspring gave it away. Bjorn started to play off of it, “You are right child, this ruby is larger than many other ones. Finding a cutter and a jeweler that can handle this beast is going to be hard. Finding a buyer will be even more difficult.” Bjorn retorted making an argument for his price.

Desmond listened as he heard the concerns of the price, the size being hard for a jeweler to work, and even harder for them to find a buyer. As those were simple bullets, as Desmond wanted and said, he was looking for a buyer of future rubies. Desmond said lightly with his smile still on his face, ”I would hope it not be too difficult to find people to process the rubies and procure buyers. I am in need of a buyer of rubies from a fresh mine starting up after all, and I was hoping it was to be you~”. Desmond’s face stayed the exact same, his smile was calm, and his voice was smooth. He almost seemed to be relaxed, even when negotiating and upselling a practiced businessman.

Bjorn handed back the Ruby and sat back weighing the options. He stroked his build, “Fine, I can be the main buyer of the rubies if you can beat one of us in a spar,” Bjorn he raised his arms to his large family. Bjorn seemed confident in his family’s ability. “What do you say boy? You win and you get your 4,200 neskal and I will do my best to buy from your source quickly. You lose, I get it for 3,900 and I will get something from you later?” Bjorn confidently said and raised the stakes.

Desmond heard the new deal, and his smile broke, and a grin appeared, It was as if he was a grinning devil as Desmond asked one simple question, ”Anyone here?”

Bjorn was curious about what Desmond was thinking, “Anyone.”

Desmond with the ruby in hand, stood up and set the ruby on the table between himself and Bjorn as he looked the man akin to a mountain dead in the eyes with that same grinning smile, ”How about you then, Bodach? You think you still got it in you? You seem to be one of the only ones here worth a damn”.

An unexpected choice turned Bjorn’s eye’s sharp on the boy, “Impudent brat, You really chose me?” Bjorn started to raise and with that Desmond could feel the draw of some of the other ‘not worth a damn’ Penderson's. They were obviously offended and with Ingrid not seeming to give any support to desmond things could get harry. Bjorn looked down at Desmond and a smirk erupted, “Cheeky brat!” The dining table flew off the ship as the old man sent a downward straight at Desmond.

Fights for Profit

As the mountain of a man named Bjorn throws a fast and powerful straight, Desmond was unable to dodge the sheer reach of the man, as the fist connected, yet Desmond's head turned and with it the force of the punch was mostly diverted away. Desmond took this split second to quickly tried to buff himself before throwing a spear like kick to the man's stomach.

Bjorn had never intended for him to dodge the surprise attack and got paid a spear kick to repay him for his assumption. However, Bjorn was going to magic to boost himself. The cheeky brat needs to learn his place. Bjorn pounded on his chest as his body went red and his muscles swelled, veins popped and he glared at Desmond like he was half gone.

Desmond felt the force that flowed from this man and chuckled as he said, "Damn Berserkers". Desmond dashed in and threw a quick and sharp kick aiming for the side of Bjorn's Head.

Bjorn’s body dropped and his stance shifted back to prepare for his next attack, "Prepare yourself, boy," Bjorn sprung off into a tackle while Desmond’s leg came down.

Desmond missed his kick he saw the berserker spring off like a bullet, however, Desmond did not wait to jump on his falling foot as he twisted himself to be facing away from the older man and kinetically enhanced his other leg to lightly leaped off of it. Allowing him to get over the charging bullet of a man. The moment he landed he boosted himself to tackle the beast from behind.

Bjorn abused his birthright and with his massive RAS drew the energy out of the young man, following it with a hammer fist.

The moment Desmond felt the energy draw away from him he knew the man was going to strike out again, as he saw the hammer fist coming down, Desmond quickly shifted off to the side and let the fist fall and at that moment Desmond attempted to quickly buff himself again and then punch the Bjorn across the face.

When Desmond struck the large man across the face, the punch wasn't the main point, it was the setup. Desmond used the moment to slip his leg between the larger man and leaned them both back and he brought them down to the ground. Desmond began to wrap his legs around the man's leg and began to take hold of it against Desmond's body to create a Kneebar.

Bjorn strengthens his leg and with kinetic magic as goes to strike hard using Kinetic on Desmond's back.

Desmond was almost able to complete his Knee bar however Bjorn was able to react fast enough to the attack as he strikes at Desmond's back as it landed firm and strong. Desmond was left ringing as the hit was hard enough to send the boy sliding from the strike as the 2 men began to stand back up.

Desmond took the moment to enhance himself as the energy flowed through him, not like the raging storm that was the berserker, but more like a smooth flow of water.

The effects of the chemicals magic were coming down and the pain in his leg was evident in the way it twitched when he moved it. I think I might finally be getting old if this hurts. Nevertheless, he saw the boy buff himself, "Not like that, Like this" As he pounded on his chess again. As an eruption of energy poured out once more.

Desmond chuckled as he said, "Eh, it was more of a slight stop gap, you hurt old man". Desmond dashed forward and does a long reaching kick to strike at his now weakened knee.

Bjorn went to guard his knee with his arm, he can't afford to lose to a damn knee injury. When the strike connected it landed solidly against the arm of the larger man yet not enough to really move him. Then. unnaturally, Bjorn's body moved at him diagonally up to get on top as he went to smash him and the deck if needed.

Bjorn sent Desmond into the deck with a savage punch, and he began to slam down onto him again and again as it was almost like a downfall of attacks and held him by the shirt, "You give, child?" Bjorn was more than ready to continue this beating.

Desmond took the beating, it was rough, however, it was not the worst he felt, honestly just a day ago this would have been much preferable to what he got.

Yet as the man asked Desmond's face changed, a smirk appeared as he spoke, "Why would I? You're open.".

As he used the energy he stored from the onslaught and then from his buffing to boot kick the man with everything he had in the man's knee.

Bjorn expected this lowborn whelp to give up. Bjorn could even fill his broken bones beneath his fist. Yet this cheeky brat goes to hit me in my manhood.

As the boot strike landed clean onto the older man's knee, for all his years and all his power, one strike was all it took to swing the tables between the two men again.

Of the mountain of a man, his leg gave in, his knee capitulated to the unyielding force that the whelp lashed out with.

It was nothing truly special, it was in fact a weaker strike than many strikes he has taken before. However, with the precise application of force in an already weakened spot, even this beast would fall.

His leg bent in a strange way, one that would require the hand of a highly skilled binder. Ones that he did have employed on the ship to make sure if he was to be injured his body would not give out from age, yet if not treated soon might take away the little freedom of walking from him, as not even magic can perform miracles after more damage.

It was his choice, did he dare continue this fight with the Smiling Devil he thought was at Death's door?

Bjorn fell to the side, using kinetic magic to gain some distance, this pain he could feel through the chemicals he was pumping through his veins. This isn't good he thought, Could he continue the fight? Risk his leg to win. He felt an energy well up in him, this was like when he was young and would adventure into danger. But he was no longer young, his strength has waned and here he was, still beating down young men like he was in his twenties. Bjorn fell back, "I yield you cunt."

The family was surprised, they have never seen him lose without being at Ahn-Eshiran's door. But they know that Bjorn's pride was too great to give up half heartedly and they accepted the outcome.

Desmond saw the man fall back, moving away as he made distance. Desmond rose from his indent in the boat, battered, yet not broken, Desmond stood as he filled himself with chemical energies to dull the pain. He drew from his internal energies to cease the constant alarms his body released to tell his mind he is in pain.

He was waning in consciousness, as this was his gambit, as he stood there he waited for the man to act, yet what came was the glorious words he wanted to hear. Desmond's smile faded as he sighed, as he fell back and began to hold his ribs while saying, "Aye aye aye, you hurt old man".

"Don't worry about me child, I'm just getting old" Bjorn looked over to the healer and had him go over to Desmond, his damage was quickly healed and then Bjorn's was as well. "Alright child, 4,200 Neskal and I will buy from you. Do you already have the connection to get more or are you just trying to find people beforehand?"

Desmond let out a sigh once he was healed as he answered the man's question, "The mine is not up yet, I was in search of buyers beforehand. However, it should be up within a month"

"Alright then, have Ingrid send a message when it is running," Bjorn looked over to the crew mates and waved them off to get the money. Out came 2 chests and a decent size of neskal. He pulled out a few and handed him 2 more neskals than what was owed. 1 gold, 1 onyx.

Desmond took the 2 neskals and nodded while saying, "I shall". Desmond looked to the chests as he chuckled slightly at the sheer idea that this man had this much money on his ship, and more so enough to be able to purchase something of this much value at the drop of a hat.

As Desmond turned to give Ingrid a thumbs up and a smile as she was the one that allowed this to even happen.

After having it counted in front of Desmond, Bjorn looked at Desmond, "What's your business? You seem skilled, too skilled to be a random student. You got a good chunk of capital now, what's your game? Sitting money will get taken one day."

Desmond chuckled as he said, "My profession? I'm a Magusjaeger for hire. But my plan for the money doesn't follow the same path as my profession. I'm going to put the money into the Royal Bank of Perrence to accrue interest whilst I set up the Ruby mines. Once that is underway I will be getting the necessary tools and supplies for me to start up a Firearm business". Desmond has had ideas in his head for some time about what businesses' he wanted to do, and after some of the research and reverse engineering he did with the Sirrahi technology, he knew what he wanted to do.

Bjorn listened, a connection with a new gun manufacturer would be nice for his men. "Well, send me a few guns when you get it going, I been thinking about arming more of my men. If they are good enough, I might buy more."

Desmond nods his head, as he said with a light smile, "I will when production begins". Desmond thought this would be a great beginning to his business.

Satisfied with making a connection with a hopeful upcoming gun maker, Bjorn turns to Ingrid, “You brought an interesting man to me,” Bjorn made a mark in his notebook. Ingrid demeanor went from slightly worried to immensely proud. Bjorn just patted her head, no one minded even though it seemed like favoritism. They knew Bjorn would never let that skew who he chose. “Go have fun Ingrid, I heard there are events happening across the city, I wish you the best in the next event,” Bjorn smiled and sent Ingrid and Desmond off. Ingrid gave a light bow and headed off.

Desmond gave a light wave as they headed off, as when they made it off of the ship Desmond turned to Ingrids and asked as he chuckled, ”Hey can you help me take this to the bank? It’s kinda heavy and I would prefer some extra protection for this”.

“Sure,” Ingrid said, “So even with all these funds, are you looking for any investors?” Ingrid asked with a smirk. She honestly had a lot of cash and needed to spread it out to not have it just sit there collecting dust.

Desmond looked up slightly as he thought for a minute, investors could be quite useful, especially with the start-up of any business, however, Desmond knew what he was doing could quickly turn from innovation and business to outright calling out other foundries and even Gunsmiths. Desmond looked to Ingrid and thought about what it could mean for Ingrid to have her name attached to it. He thought for a moment as he looked up once more and then finally said, ”I think we could talk about it. I would like to discuss it with you in more detail though”. As Desmond turned to Ingrid as he said with a smile, ”There’s some things I wanna make sure of with when I take people on, even as investors”.

Ingrid raised an eyebrow as she walked with him, still staying vigilant for sticky hands. This was more money than a commoner could make in 5 lifetimes. “So what are those requirements?” Ingrid questioned.

Desmond said with his usual slight smile, ”Oh, well, this isn’t just a business, what I wish to build is something like a place of innovation. There will be times where outside forces will try to control it. And I wish not to be controlled. It’s why I wanna make sure I can trust those who are in this to be able to stand against the control of others”.

Ingrid understood what Desmond was getting at and to some degree, she agreed. “If you don’t want to be controlled, you are going to need allies. That is the fact of it,” Ingrid said before continuing to try and sell herself as an investor, “I know it might not seem like much but I also try to innovate. Before we met them, I was researching a way to use atomic to detect materials in the ground and through walls, it’s rough at the moment but after meeting them, I feel it’s more possible.”

Desmond lightly nodded his head as he listened and walked, he knew well he needed allies, people he could trust, it was why he was stringent on who he allowed in on his business. It was one of the ways people could invoke control over him. As Desmond listened he thought about Ingrid, who she was, what kind of control could be invoked over her, and could it affect him.

He knew she was backed by the Eskandish crown during the Auction of the Box. However, she did also side with Sven when it was brought up to buy it out for themselves instead to take it out of the hands of others. Desmond couldn’t be certain however mattering on what spurred her to do it, however, to turn against one's own government means that control to be invoked over her would be much less likely.

Desmond thought for a moment longer as he finally broke his maybe half a minute long silence with, ”Okay, we can talk about it. This isn’t a cheap endeavor, however, it should definitely be an interesting one”. Desmond then threw her another smile as they continued their way to the bank.

Ingrid smiled and would leave the rest of the conversation for later, satisfied that she had earned Desmond’s trust.

Hidden Letter

After Siv made his way out of the meeting, he didn’t meet up with his teammates right away. Instead, he wandered to the student dormitory. With the students bustling after the event, Siv made his way to Ingrid’s room with no more suspicion than any other man heading to the girl's dorm. He put a hand on his chest and clasped it like he was adjusting his clothes and took a deep breath before entering.

Siv arrived at Ingrid’s dorm. He stared at the door for a few moments, seemingly displeased and scrunched. He rubbed his face to knock away any emotions, reapplied his business-like smile and knocked on the door once, twice, wait for 5 and knock once more. Eirik opened the door promptly and spoke in Eskandish. “What is it?” he asked, seemingly knowing who it was.

“I have come with a small gift for my cousin,” Siv said quickly, obviously trying to get in.

Eirik huffed and let him in, “Fine, Speak to Åsa,” Eirik turned to go get her and Siv tried to enter the room only to feel himself be kinetically drained. “I did not say enter child, I’m still her guard.” Eirik made clear.

Åsa made it to the door, “Yes?” she asked, curious about the situation. Normally gifts would just be set to the side until lady Ingrid returned home. Though Åsa had known Siv when he was younger so it wasn’t bad to see him.

“It is good to see you Åsa, I would have just handed off the gift to the guardsman but he seemed upset,” Siv said, trying to shake off whatever that interaction was with Eirik, he isn’t even a noble yet he used his gift against him.

Åsa looked behind her into the room, also wondering why he was only in a sour mood. A real Penderson he was. Åsa just shook her head, “Don’t mind him, I’ll take the gift for her lady.” Åsa moved for him to come in. Siv stepped in quickly and Åsa closed the door behind him.

They took a seat and Siv was given some water to drink while they talk, as it is not too long before Siv pulls out a beautiful emerald necklace, intricately designed with silver and gold. It was enough for Åsa to take a moment and behold it. She set it back into its case and said, “That is a very fine gift, anything else?” Åsa asked as she put it to the side,

Siv breathes out, “There is,” Siv says with some sadness. He hands Åsa a letter from his breast pocket. Åsa unfolds the letter and reads, her face was its normal sternness but it slowly goes agape. “I see,” Åsa states, her face harder than before, “I understand, let me see you to the door.”

Chamber of Greed

Chamber of Greed

Enough is Enough

The mission for the hourglass order went a little awry but overall we accomplished the main goal. There was a small incident with a century and some resistance but overall, it wasn’t the worst. No one got killed and the only person who got injured was Desmond from what looked like a Volti. Who could have ever thought that we would come across a Volti on our mission?

We made our escape through the sewer, making out before the real situation went down. Ingrid couldn’t shake the natural anxiousness from sensing all those imminent mages readying themselves for battle.

Ingrid decided to spread the flyers near the student societies, knowing that more people would get see them this way. She was somewhat absentminded, her mind occupied by what was going on in the workman quarters. When she sensed some lamplighters she tried to hide but got caught casting her spell. She started to run but more and more of them came for her before a small woman guided her out

She got passed around between multiple people to get her away from the lamplighters, ending up in a large workshop. The discussion she had with them was tense, to say the least. She knew that they wouldn’t like her, even if she had wanted to help. She tried being honest, she knew that things wouldn’t be fixed with just a pamphlet. Ingrid hoped she made enough of an impression to leave but she was struck with a potent chemical attack, rendering her unconscious.

Ingrid didn’t know what would happen to her. All she felt was fear that came from losing control of her own life. If she died then she would have no say, if she lived she would have no say. All Ingrid prayed for was that she would wake up.

Ingrid came to surrounded by cold, salty water. She breached the surface only to see chalky white cliffs and sea birds. Her head was wracked with pain, probably the aftereffect of the chemical attack she sustained. Ingrid was barely able to make out what looked to be a small boat. Trying to lift herself out of the water, she moved over to the fisherman.

Ingrid wasn’t thinking about how she would appear to the fisherman, she just wanted to be out of the cold seawater.

Frightened, the fisherman began to paddle instinctively away. "Wh-who are you?" he demanded in Perrench. He looked up a the sky, gape-mouthed, and then at her. "How did you get here?"

Ingrid felt relieved to know that she was still in Perrench territory if the man was speaking it. Ingrid scratched her head, "I have no idea how I got here, I shook hands with someone and they knocked me out. Next thing I know, I'm in the ocean. Do you know how far we are from Ersand'Ernise?" Ingrid asked the fisherman, trying to be polite and less intimidating. "I really mean you no harm, I'm just not the best at flying with my head all messed up.”

He looked the soaking girl up and down in the early morning light, blinking incredulously. "I... a handshake knocked you out?" he replied. He shook his head. "Ersand'Enise?" He appeared to consider. "Mademoiselle, you are near Lombrai, right now, not so far from Enth." he held out a hand to help her aboard. "You said that you had struck your head?"

"Not a handshake per se, but the magic he used on me during the handshake. My head hurts because the magic attacked my head," Ingrid said, hoping that would explain it a bit better. She would deal with the soul-crushing weight of where she was in a bit but first, she grabbed his hand and boarded the ship, "Thank you," Ingrid smiled. Once she got on the boat she asked, "Can I dry myself off with a bit of magic," not wanting to spook him again.

The fisherman, still appearing rather confused, smiled as welcomingly as he could and looked away, perhaps not quite understanding. "Yes," he assured her. "Yes. I will look away." It took Ingrid only moments, of course. The man peered back when he was certain that she was finished, even though there had been no real reason for him to avert his eyes in the first place. "You need to go to shore," he questioned after a few more seconds, "yes?"

"That be a good start I guess, I can push us there if you like, just tell me what shore is okay," Ingrid said as she peered over at the rocky cliffs. She seemed pretty down. To keep her mind off of it she asked, "What are you out on the waters for today? Are you bringing in the nets today?"

"Ha. Well, not quite," the man replied, reaching up for a second to adjust his cap. "I was headed out further, looking to land a torpedo since they're breeding 'round this time. No matter. I've got all day, though I won't refuse your offer of a boost."

Ingrid raised an eyebrow, "That seems dangerous, but I know those eggs sell for a good bit. I hope you can get some. My friend found some thresher eggs near the capital of Enth recently." Ingrid started to speed the boat up, to a speed that it still felt under control but which was much more than they could achieve by paddling together. "Do they lay their eggs on the cliff near the water?" Ingrid asked as she looked at the cliffs again. Anything to take her mind off of what is happening.

He shook his head, glancing out behind him at the sea. "They prefer the open water." Before too long, and with some direction, they were nearing a small cove that seemed to be home to a dock and a village. "You..." the fisherman hesitated. "You say you come from Ersand'Enise?" He swallowed. "How will you get back there?"

"I honestly don't know, I don't know how long I have been out either," Ingrid admitted. "The trials were going on and we were on the last game, we even made it to the final game as well. It seems like I will miss it," Ingrid had a hard time hiding the bitter sadness that brought her. She just sighed, letting it go for now, there was nothing she could do. "I think if it comes down to it, I'll make my way to the capital of Enth and hitch a ride to the school from there." Ingrid looked at the fisherman, "Thank you for your kindness earlier, do you want me to give you another shove back into the water?"

They were at the dock. The fisherman paused. "Why yes," he replied. "I would appreciate that, but first..." He heaved a long sigh. "He had the unique misfortune of his nephew having been killed on the Isla d'Amato." The leathery man regarded her curiously. "And his brother died in a mining mishap. If he'd had his way, you'd have been dead." He shook his head. "But I have seen you for myself now, and not as some figure of myth and power, as a simple man."

Then, it was a woman with long blonde hair who addressed her instead. "Your heart is not bad, even if your actions sometimes are. I doubt that some will ever forgive, but that is their issue." She smiled faintly, as if reaching a peace with something, and there was an enormous surge of magic. "Return to the school and your life and be aware of the people whose stories will never grace the pages of books. Treat them with kindness." With that, a portal appeared toward its bow. "Until we meet again," said the Traveler, now a crimson-robed man. Ingrid found herself alone in the rowboat, space and time and a way home open before her.

Ingrid was about to start drawing in what she needed to start sending him back into the waters but then things changed. The fisherman was no longer the fisherman, he referred to himself. And when he brought up the nephew who died Isla d'Amato, Ingrid knew for sure that this was something else someone who knew about what she did. Her heart grew weak with the memory of that small boy’s corpse. The man he referred to she didn't even know but she was sure that it was connected to her family. All such terrible things. Her guilt was so heavy that she didn't even raise a defense.

When the man turned into a woman she wasn't sure still, she seemed familiar but her mind was hazy still from remembering what happened on the island. Once Ingrid was alone she tried reflecting on it but she just wanted to be back. She felt like a wreck. She stepped through the portal. Not angry or scared just remembering what she did.

The portal took her into an alleyway near her dorm. Some students were already moving about but not many have left their rooms. Ingrid was about to head to her dorm to just wallow for a while and compose herself for the upcoming trial. The worst thing Ingrid could imagine is that she let her team down. We worked so hard to get this far, I have to be can’t be out of it today, Ingrid thought as she was about to open her dorm to grab some things to calm her nerves. There was some reservation in her heart. She had relied on these substitutions for a long time when she had no one there. Now was slightly different, she could rely on someone. Ingrid headed back to her Zeno's house to go see Dory, her closest friend.

Ingrid gently knocked on their shared room to see if Dory was awake.

“The door’s unlocked, come one in.” The Feskan girl was comfortably sitting down, enjoying her book. Fairy tales of all sorts from all over Drudgunze. Tales such as ‘Olde Kriemhilde’ A tale about a woman who aspired to be a knight… the Ending is rather painful… or the famous tale of Little Cappy Mitzy. A tale about a girl, wearing a signature little cap visiting her Grandfather… This ending might even beat out the previous one with how grotesque it is…

Upon entering the room it was obvious Ingrid was weary. Clothes had that dull staleness dry sea soaked clothes, her hair the same. She could definitely use a bath. Ingrid gave a small smile, "Hey… can I stay with you for a bit," Ingrid seemed unsure, uncomfortable asking, "Maybe talk a little?" Ingrid rubbed her arm, anxious for a reply.

"Of course you can. Why wouldn't you be able to stay here?" She gave the girl a warm smile, soon enough noticing something might have happened. "Hey, did something happen? You don't look like your usual self."

Ingrid shuffled over to Dory, taking a seat next to her. Ingrid didn’t know what to say, how does she begin? Ingrid rubbed her arm and decided to start by asking, "Did you get home safely after dropping off the flyers?" Ingrid was obviously in the best state but she found it easier to ask how Dory was to start than to just speak herself.

Dory gave Ingrid a reassuring look. "Everything went perfectly according to plan. I got home safely and even had time to read!" After turning a page she placed her hand on her friend's leg. "Now, enough about me. How did you fare after we split up?"

Ingrid smiled slightly that she was safe. She would hate it if she had to deal with that. Ingrid kept hold of herself as she spoke, “I thought it was going well but I got caught by the Lamplighters. I was able to get away with some help.” Ingrid stopped abruptly as she realized all that was probably set up, they weren’t helping her they led her to a trap. “They led me to a workshop and it was full of people, not very friendly people. They knew my name but I trusted them because they helped me escape,” Ingrid said bitterly. Bitter that they had tricked her, that she gave them the benefit of the doubt. “I shouldn’t have trusted them. They knocked me out with magic. They had been hunting me. It was personal.” Ingrid didn’t shake but her breath was loud like she was trying to self-regulate.

Dorothea’s expression changed from a warm smile to something more akin to a look of concern. “Were they from a rival family back home? Why would they be hunting you?” She began to remember her own experience with being attacked a couple days ago. “Did it have anything to do with that ruckus after the melon derby?... People seem rather mad with what happened back then.”

“No,” Ingrid quickly corrected, “They were with the traveler, maybe agents? I’m unsure what makes one an agent of the traveler.” Ingrid breathed out, remembering what happened. “After they knocked me out I was suddenly falling into the ocean, I was near Enth.” Ingrid went silent for a moment realizing that she was being tested and judged. “The Traveler was there,” Ingrid said, fear in her eyes. “It judged me for my sins and the sins of my father.” Ingrid knew that she would be judged for what she did, she just thought it would be herself and the gods when she passes. Not the Traveler.

"Judged you for your sins? You say that as if the Traveler is some sort of god… and the sins of your ancestors should not be your burden to bear. Something like that is unfair." The girl tried to be a calming voice for her rather shaken up friend. "I don't think anyone has the right to judge someone so harshly… not even the gods for even they have flaws of their own."”

Ingrid shook her head, “That’s the issue, I don’t think the traveler cares. Well, I’m unsure.” Ingrid took a breath out, “They took the form of a fisherman and tested how I would act I guess. Like an experiment… They made it clear at the end that this was the deciding factor if I live or die.” Ingrid felt cold, when would she be tested again, and when would the agents just kill her even if she is trying to do good? “I…I’m scared. I’m scared that one day I’m going to end up dead because her agents think that is correct.” Ingrid leaned on Dory, looking for some comfort. Ingrid felt a spiral of emotions as she opened her heart.

“You ending up dead?” The Feskan sighed. “I do not think you are truly the evil the Traveler is fighting against… If anything I am much more likely.” A rather weak smile covered her face. “I do not think they would kill you without a specific reason.” Dory placed her hand onto Ingrid’s. “And even if that might happen some day, it will just mean you have to enjoy life to the fullest. Live, Ingrid. Even if others might look at you weird, even if you might get comments about it…”

Ingrid smiled, she didn’t feel better but the attempt was enough to steer her mind to a more optimistic view."If you think I am not the evil they are trying to get rid of then you should be fine,” Ingrid rested her head on Dory’s, ”You are one of the sweetest people I’ve met." Ingrid didn’t know how to respond to such confidence, no strength, "Maybe you can live like that, and I hope I can possess half that strength, but right now I could settle for a bit of reading before we compete in our final game." Ingrid nodded over to the book that Dory was reading.

Dory snorted. “I’m not strong at all, I’m a runt that got a couple years to live before I’m married off!” The girl bursted out in laughter before looking at Ingrid once more. “I am not sweet. I just treat people how I wish to be treated.” She placed the book between them. “You’re interested in what I’m reading?”

"Yeah getting married off," Ingrid said solemnly. The mere thought made Ingrid cringe. She wanted to control her destiny now and being married off enraged a part of her, for all her friends. Ingrid spoke up, "But you have Manfred!," Ingrid cheered, "He's pretty alright." Ingrid didn't like Manfred, in fact, he was the one person she hoped to have perished during the trials. He doesn't deserve her. Ingrid smiled, "Of course! I love all books. I think my chambers are more books than anything else."

“Manfred.. I do have him for how long I can postpone it..” The girl sighed, something about what was said bothered her. “He’s more than alright, Ingrid. He makes me feel like I am more than a black sheep…” She bit her lip in frustration. “I truly wish to live the rest of my life with him… But I’m scared I will just be married off if he doesn’t…” The girl touched her hat, rubbing it softly. “I would give my all for him.”

Not the response Ingrid expected, nor the one she wished to hear. Ingrid didn’t have something like that and to be supposedly in love so quickly made her suspicious. But it was Dory saying all this. Dory was straightforward and truthful for the better part. Ingrid sighed, “Well if you feel that strongly,” Ingrid’s voice made no attempt to hide that she doesn’t care for Manfred, “We can try to convince him and your parents. In all honesty, he isn’t a bad suitor. From what I know his land is close so you have some more protection and his family has some people of great renown.” Ingrid was already thinking but stopped, “I told you I would be there to help with anything, and that even means getting you to that wedding with your chosen.” Ingrid gave a hug to Dory and admitted, “I worry that I will be married off as well, so please be there when I might need help,” Ingrid chuckled.

Dory laughed at the prospect of someone so strong needing her help. “Well, I will do what I can when that happens, although I doubt I could do much if it came to anything requiring firepower.” The girl leaned in to place her forehead against the other. “Listen, Ingrid. You are strong, really strong. Take that firepower and put that in your words. If your parents want to marry you off, tell them to find a better one!” Dory chuckled. “You are a highly sought after woman, after all. Any man would be more than happy to be with you.”

Ingrid tittered, “I wish it was that easy,” Ingrid shook her head, “Even with my strength, it isn’t like my family is weak. I don’t care if they are happy with me, I want to be happy. And that means more than them being handsome or having high RAS.” Ingrid took a breath, “I don’t know if I can force my way into a happy marriage. I think I will have to settle with someone I at least don’t find insufferable.” Ingrid could feel the conversation weighing her down. She was strong, but with that strength came more pressure. “Can we read the book?” Ingrid asked, avoiding any more talk about arranged marriage.

Dory sighed, letting the topic drop itself for now. “Of course we can, I do hope you don’t mind if some of these stories don’t have the most happy endings.” The girl chuckled. “What kind of story do you want to read first?”

Ingrid sighed in relief that Dory would drop it. Maybe Ingrid should see herself as more but that’s not for now. Now was book time, “Any book, I like them all, even some that would be too much for you,” Ingrid teased as she pivoted to laying down. Scooting into the corner, “You want to narrate or I?” Ingrid asked ready to settle down for the moment they had before the last event.

Ingrid felt calmer going into the Chamber than she thought. She was a wellspring of knowledge and felt she could answer almost anything but she had a much bigger prize in mind. The Great Neskal chest. Rarely is it ever seen to make it out and Ingrid felt that if she could get one she would be able to secure first place for her team.

The first round was the most difficult and with Ingrid not knowing how to breathe, whether they could get the chest was of serious question. But that first round had given them information that would change the game. With that Ingrid worked on a plan with her team. Coming up with the pathing and setting up the needed support. With there only ever been a handful of people to ever get it, Ingrid felt that at least one should remain there. The plan was sound and had fail safes built into it.

But as the 2nd turn happened and Ingrid rushed over there at full speed, it was gone. She ran over to the 2nd one believing there would still be one. But no. Both were taken and Ingrid’s heart sank a bit but she had to keep moving. The team needed her. She retrieved the Magus chest so quickly that even with the hiccup, she had more than a minute left. She grabbed some other chests and the scepter of Ahn-Shune. And overall, Ingrid felt like she salvaged the situation. Giving a hug to Ismette as she lept through the portal with seconds to spare. She did the best she could and felt proud of her attempt. She prayed to Eshiran-Zept for their victories and Oraff-Zept for their safety.

At the end of it all, they did fine. Coming 4th once again. Never having touched the top 2 podium spots and as much as she really wanted to, she couldn’t be upset with the results. She did something that she didn’t think was possible for her team. She felt so proud. But then came Right or Spite.

Right or Spite & The Auction

Right or Spite & the Auction

The last event left Ingrid bitter. Even if she knew she shouldn’t be. By all metrics she should feel sweeter than honey and light as air, celebrating that her team made it this far. Rejoicing with her fellow countryman that they made such a strong showing after the humiliation they faced only a few months ago. But instead, Ingrid was bitter at the results of Right or Spite. She felt she had been kind in the games, save for a few key moments. And their position dropped. Everyone’s dropped except for Zemana’s group, Ayla’s group.

No, they had risen. Not merely a spot but to the very top. It irked her, to have her team's efforts be sullied by some sort of scheme concocted by that Desert Kitten. It had to be her, Ingrid knew it. Ayla was immensely talented and the way she could orchestrate her team gave no doubt that she had lied and plotted to get all those votes. It just felt so unsportsman of her, like it was a game but was it worth it to lie to everyone to come first? She knew that the point of the game was to try to get points but Ingrid believed that it should have been based on the merits and character they had shown. Ingrid felt lied to, like she didn’t know who Ayla was. Her worse

The Auction was here with all the unique items that were not grabbed. Ingrid had only really planned a few things to buy. Well, that was the plan anyways. Buying felt good. It lightened her mood in a way she couldn’t describe. She went overboard on it, spending way too much on way too many things. Some items she didn’t truly want and simply through a bid for truly no reason and one. She had lost something that she really wanted and it was to Ayla and her best friend Maura. Ingrid was angry and pouty, making stupid, weightless threats in her head for only herself to hear. But no, they bought it fair and square. Nothing else really happened at the auction this time around. No political warfare to make things tense.

Items bought

A Trickster Wyrm egg for 120 Magus.
Some special cheese for 70 Magus.
A Savanah Runner egg for 120 Magus.
A Qilin Egg for 220 Magus
The Amazing Speak Trout for 400 Magus
A Slave barge for 145 Magus
Another set of cheese from Jomurr More for 145 Magus
And a magic guide for 200 Magus.

Aberration Madness

Aberration Madness

Summary of Sven, Niallus, and Ingrid
Ingrid, Niallus, and Sven had grouped together in the confusion of the sudden appearance of black aberrations around the city. A quick conversation was had if they could truly swipe the Music Box during the chaos. Ingrid, ever the worrier, was against it since the plans they had made would be mute. So with that, they made their way toward the dormitories.

They ran through the edge of the merchant district, right by the bathhouse before Sven sensed something, two things actually. Something that seemed to be right in front of Ingrid’s dorm room and something that Ingrid elaborated to be ‘The Tip’. Concerned that her dorm may be ransacked, they head on over.

A small black aberration was found by Sven and Niallus who gleefully absorbed it. Ingrid was peeved and gave them both a light kick in the rump. Things were still jovial until a demon appeared. The demon came at them quickly, launching at them what could only be felt to be an invisible fireball. Ingrid dispelled it easily but some of the transparent flames licked Niallus’s arm. Ingrid tried to crush it into the ground but it was quick and disappeared into shadows.

Nerves ran high as the three waited for some kind of attack. The demon rose out of the shadows and grabbed Sven’s leg to pull him into the ground. But it was only an illusion placed by Sven Bjørnsson, one so great to trick the demon and with a flash of light, Sven had seemingly dispelled the demon. A breather was had about what that was and Sven healed Niallus’s light burns. After checking on Ingrid’s servant, they decided to head to The Tip.

They had made it to the sea wall and as they were about to leap over, the Arcane Demon appeared again, this time performing something akin to Eshiran-Zept’s army. They spread across the three, the majority being focused on Ingrid. Niallus barely defended his own two assailants and Sven handily defeated his own. Ingrid had three on her, two she could defend but the last one was close to devastating her, it tugged on her internal organs. Sven hurried over and dissuaded the attack on her. The two sides were at a standstill once more.

The demon attacked again but it was different. It was a powerful attack that Niallus couldn’t hope to defend and with the others preoccupied, Niallus was left for dead. But it seemed something had spared him for now.

The world stopped. Blood dripped from the sky into a rain. The demon that was once there shattered into thousands of fragments. This was no illusion to trick the three this was something else.

In the spectacle of absurdity that they were witnessing, a sword of blood manifested from a puddle aimed at Sven. It gouged his stomach out and left him bleeding on the flagstone. That was the but the opening act.

A black chasm ripped open from the ground, and the feeling of the void permeated the three. Blood evaporated away leaving a smell of iron throughout the dorms. The demon let out a howl that shook the essence of the students. Its eyes gleamed and it was now awake. The swirls of heat change instantly into freezing cold and the blood now snows to shape ramshackle towers, congealing to form sickle-like arms. Unbeknownst to the 3 students, the demon that ripped itself from the abyss was none other than The Grand Demon Yabuchadzan, the avatar of tyranny emerges, blood dripping in rivulets and waterfalls from its crowned head.

The demon made quickly struck at the three with a myriad of spines that destroyed everything in the way, houses collapsed, and animals were skewered. Ingrid was no exception to this as they had been focused on her. Niallus saved her from immediate death and Sven healed her with the abundant energy that was now available. They had survived the first attack but The Avatar of Tyranny was not done.

He commanded them, KNEEL. Niallus and Sven had fallen to their knees but Ingrid stood, she would come to regret standing so defiantly. The Demon threw her body into the air with little effort and smashed her into the ground over and over as the other two had to watch their friend become what seemed like a mangled corpse. Niallus had risen his will to resist the command only to be brought to his knees by Sven’s chemical attack under the demon’s order.

Eventually, Sven breaks free and runs over to heal Ingrid, hoping she still had the ability to heal. Much to his surprise he was able to stitch her back together in this bleak situation, saving her life for not. Niallus blasted from the cobblestone streets and plunged his Arcane Sword into the Demon’s neck. He landed a hit, an actual hit. The demon absorbed the sword afterward but that wasn’t the end. The chest of the demon exploded.

Another monster had joined the fight, friend or foe was unknown but it seemed to be able to hurt the demon. The energy that got pulled from the surrounding rendered the three unconscious as a battle of titans happened. Just as the fight started, it quickly ended. None of them knew what happened but they had to take time to heal, to accept what had happened. Driven by the desire to just move away from that accursed area, they went to The Tip.

There they found a small aberration, so small in fact that trying to share it would just be pointless. They gave it to Ingrid and it was still nothing of true substance. But the gesture was nice enough. After that, they walked down from the Tip to Brazen Head and then to Queen’s Gate. But upon walking over, Sven felt another aberration coming from the Bathhouse. They headed over.

The bathhouse was going to be extra appreciated as they were still covered in blood from their last event encounter. Surprisingly, there were fish in the waters and in particular a really angry one that leaped out at Ingrid. Sven pleated with Ingrid last second not to kill it but Ingrid was in no mood for shenanigans and blasted the fish with a kinetic kick. At first, things were still jovial, Ingrid tends to be crazier every time she almost dies. But the fish was not down somehow. The fish was bigger and stronger.

The fish leaped at Ingrid again and swallowed her, going up to her head. Ingrid screamed and the group struggled unsuccessfully to get it off of her. Things went from funny to dangerous when it sucked mana from her and grew in strength. Oh no, they all thought, it is the Demon fish of Endless Frustration! The fish leaped off of Ingrid and went for Sven. Sven dodged and it went after Niallus now. Niallus and the Fish clashed like battle hardened warriors, neither giving any ground, flashes of Arcane Swords against the Fish’s sturdy tail. Dishonorably, the Fish went for the weakened Ingrid and sucked her essence again, growing stronger. At this point the fish was dominating the battle, having grown so strong that it could contend with the likes of Jocasta or Hugo. This Fish was a threat that could become worst than Revidia and Perrence going to war. Sven made a desperate attempt to calm it with his chemical magic but the Fish’s rage could not be confined by magic. And then it got Sven.

At this point all hope was lost, they could no longer even attempt to overpower the godlike entity. But as spiteful as the Fish was, Ingrid was more so. Her magic cut in half she ran over to the bar and found a bottle of spirits to hit the Fish. Grabbing its rageful gaze as the first one to hurt it, the Fish flopped over at Ingrid with considerable speed, smashing her into a wall, and breaking her bones but her plan had worked. It flopped in broken glass and alcohol covered it’s body. Niallus ignited the booze and Sven increased the flame. Ingrid watched her nemesis get cooked by Sven and she smiled at its death.

A rageful hunger took over and they proceeded to eat the now beer battered fish. They couldn’t eat all of it but what they could was delicious. Little did they know that eating the fully grown demon fish had altered their very bodies, turning them into Bottomfeeders. They went for the aberration and gave it to Niallus in full as he was the only one to not get sucked by the fish. Ingrid would have been fine ending it there, drinking booze and bathing but Sven and Niallus wanted more so they headed now toward the academy

Upon reaching the Academy Sven, the aberration hound, sensed something in the Grand Library. Ingrid worried for the books and they rushed in and quickly found the aberration. It was larger this time so all 3 shared it. Ingrid was fine and surprisingly Niallus was as well. Sven though had finally gone mad. And in his madness, he rushed to Ingrid pulled her in, and went to make out with her. A gesture she would normally accept but she worried that their first kiss would not be one he would consent to, Ingris blocked it with her hand and said maybe later. Sven like the true gentleman he is came to his senses immediately and apologized with some rose painted on his cheeks. The city had calmed down and the trio was left in the library with so many questions to ask about what happened.

Forked Tower

Forked Tower

Ingrid had initially entered the Forked Tower to see the secrets of the 2 artifacts. Secretly, she never saw herself making it. Her team could have been better but they made it. She set off to do her goal but was pulled away by Yuliya’s antics. And from that, Ingrid’s whole time in the Forked Tower had been changed.

Through cooperation and some trust, they solved the puzzles and games that the tower presented to them. In retrospect, the puzzles were simple in a way that undermined the authority of the tower but that somehow made it all the more challenging. Space seemed to warp with each puzzle and at the end, they were greeted by an angel they found out later to be Ahn-Dami.

Ahn-Dami was not what Ingrid expected, she was oh so human that she came off as a friend. She was beyond charming and Ingrid found out first hand that the god could tease as good as Zarina. So many questions were answered and they were instructed to have Yuliya’s book of Ahn-Shune and Trypanpo’s Lantern Shune-Zept. When they touched out popped the most adorable nerd. Watching them act as siblings was heartwarming, Ingrid could only ponder how the Eshiran duo would act.

Soon Shune Zept arrived and frankly, he was crazy. Lively and somewhat insane but Ingrid could understand his attitude to a degree. She felt similarly when she played with magic or whenever she was exploring something new. Uncovering secrets, even small ones, filled Ingrid with joy. Even if some of her discoveries made her anxious or scared. That was the nature of information. Some fun times at various locals later were brought to end in a room they called The Chamber of Time and Space.

They answered lots of questions that we had. Some vague than others but in the end, the amount of info that was offered by them was enough to scare some and give hope to a few. We were given time to learn whatever school of magic that we wanted and even the forbidden schools were there.

Before all that happened, Ingrid would have jumped at the opportunity to learn Temporal. But Hugo’s words weighed on her she decided she wasn’t ready for that, not yet. Instead, she turned to Arcane where she was confronted that more than anything, her lack of knowledge wasn’t the issue at the moment. It was her skill. She had felt this way for a while now but the dimension she was brought to for training proved it. Her skill was bad, terrible even, and that was holding her back.

Ingrid thinks she had found something else out as well. Her magic, and possibly those around her, seems to grow the fastest when she is in danger or stressed. The Arcane room realize this when she died again and again to the birds who constantly tested her ability. It never stopped. Her mind felt damaged but the lesson did not stop. Ingrid believes this is why she was able to grow so quickly. That high stress caused her Mana to learn to survive. She either got better or die.

Once she left the room she could have chosen anything. No one else seemed to make their way out of their lessons. Then again, everyone else went through the scariest of the forbidden magic. Yuliya and Kaspar went through the school that Ahn-Dami warned about and the rest went into the school that allowed Hugo to rewind the world and change history dozens of times. They were terrifyingly tempting to her still but what reason she needed them? For Strength? To protect herself? Does she just wish to learn because she can? Were any of these good enough to learn? Ingrid couldn’t decide but she knew one thing.

Her life had been in constant danger. Her friends had nearly died so many times. And all she could do with all her supposed strength is fight against their assailants and hope that someone else can save them. She had a chance to kickstart that. To learn more and to become the shield that they need. By Oraff-Zept I won’t let someone die on my watch. Ingrid delved into the school for binding and blood.

The scene she was presented with was gentle at first. Simply teaching her how to stop a ball from and draw it into energy. A simple task with her little brother tossing her a ball. It took a while but she eventually got it. The room changed and she was then under siege. She was fighting again, this time there were arrows flying at her and her friends. She stopped the ones aimed at her but some of her friends got hit. Over and over this repeated until she could dispel the entire barrage.

After that, she was faced with something else entirely she was in a medical tent where the injured were being treated. She was given the quickest, most gruesome lesson in biology and she needed to make decisions that would change lives. Do you operate? Do you amputate? Do you hope that they survive? Do you let the White Rezaindians come in with their milk and let Eshiran take them These were the choices that those without binding needed to make.

Ingrid could see the binder trying there best, healing as she can but she was ragged. She was tired. She was unwavering in her attempts to save the injured and sick. She was without a doubt a hero in her own way. She was the one doing the work that directly helped the people.

Ingrid left there with some knowledge. She could continue on to another orb but her mind hurt, she was tired. She retired from her magic studies and read up on Sanguianire’s first while Yuliya and the others studied were still learning secrets. Zeno Secrets for some gossip and other things. Sirrahi because there might be a cell phone in one of the books or a spell to call them. And finally the Volti, they were connected to many things and who knows, this might hold their secrets.

Ingrid left the Forked tower feeling satisfied with what she learned even if the others would call her a fool for not partaking in forbidden magic.

Timeskip to Nox Arcanum

Timeskip to Nox Arcanum

The world seemed to collapse during the Trials and briefly after. Hidden plot after hidden plot and bubbling tensions spilling over and causing death. From commoners almost killing a princess of Perrench and the Auction being stolen. A box to control the strongest dragon was taken away by unknown forces. The school collapsed into chaos as aberration ran rampant through the city. Her and her friends almost dying and from what she knows, someone actually dying. Meeting the gods and learning so many things.

Yet it all seemed to stop. War adverted and ships sailed again. Hugo died but not much happened other than a funeral. Life continued. Ingrid thought she would calm, that she could get back to herself. Trying to better herself. Trying to be a better person.

But it wasn’t working. She told herself that she didn’t care for power and money. And she resisted the Forked Tower’s forbidden magic but that was but a single action, not a pattern of change for her. She held hatred in her heart for slights against her and she saw actions still in the means of gains and loss. She even lost her composure and started threatening someone because she thought she could.

If anything, Ingrid had gotten worse. She had gained the confidence to stand up and act on her own behalf. She was strong. She did have agency. She wasn’t just some marriage candidate that was born for her family’s benefit. Somewhere along the way, she went a little power happy. She wasn’t as caring about the things she thought she was. She was less empathetic and cared for only herself.

This… wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted to have friends and be able to care for people as she wanted. To be more than herself. She started to get depressed and move away from people, keeping up only what she was obligated to do. She had to rethink things. How many friendships has she damaged, and how many people has she stepped on while thinking solely for herself?

Normally when she wanted to reflect she would weigh everything against one another and then tally the outcome. But this was different. A change in methodology was what she needed to try. Her mindset needed to change along with her actions. It took a while before she started to interact with people in a meaningful way. She weighed her actions on how people responded instead of how much it benefitted her. It seemed small but it wasn’t her primary way of looking at things.

What she struggled with was that she could not change how she acted in the past or how people perceived her actions now but eventually, she learned that doesn’t matter. Not in who she is trying to be. She wanted to grow past current herself.

Besides that, Ingrid had upped the intensity of her training. She frequented Eshiran’s Chosen for spars and demonstrations on fighting. She studied in the library how to better her sensing capabilities and actively hammered her weaknesses to improve. All of it was to try to ready herself next time she needed to fight. She studied triage in case it was needed though she hoped that next time she needed she would be able to heal.

The most intensive thing however was asking Benny to spar. She wasn’t nervous not about dying or getting hurt but because Ingrid knew this was her asking for help. She cared for him and if he had been older, she would have tried to go on a few dates. Ingrid knew he was strong and she didn’t want to profit off of his strength. Ingrid grew courageous enough to ask Benny for that. She needed to ready herself for the future. She prepared offers in exchange if he was hesitant but much to her surprise he was okay with it.

They met on every Victendes and Pandes for sparring. It was rough, it seemed Benny had gotten even stronger. Broken bones were considered acceptable and somewhat the norm against him and Atomic magic was used more freely with Ingrid being proficient and him being exceptionally good at it. Ingrid shared a spell she picked up from a book called Ahn-Oraff’s Furious Creation. Ingrid could only get it to work every now and then but it seemed like something he could use. It wasn’t payment but hopefully a gesture of their friendship.

Other than that she finally got her business off the ground. Shipping was going rough at the start but such a large ship was bound to make profits. She spent money on Jocasta to teleport her around to make her business easier. The hardest part of making a shipping business is setting up proper connections in different ports and buyers in each. It was normal to see losses when you are just starting off. But Ingrid’s expertise, prior connections, and ability to move across the south end of the twin continents gave her unparalleled luck in her first half year of running.

She also set up some extra routes through Dami’s eye for Spratz and through the inland sea between Miatto and Perrench to the school. Along with paying for part of her next galleon, buying carts and a few other ships, investing in Blackfield Armory, and setting up a sausage business. Ingrid’s business was moving up in scale. But Ingrid kept her personal investment in her things limited. As long as she was making some profits she was fine. This was to increase her presence and give her more power in the long run.

Even with her wanting to change, she needed to keep putting money into herself so that way she could compete for the head of her family. It felt futile but she kept going at it for her own conscience.

She felt conflicted. On one hand, she has tried to go against her nation to prevent the death of the innocent, and on the other side a new fear of the traveler’s agents. They had taken her hostage oh so easily. Who is to say it won’t happen again and that this time they will take her life? These thoughts that she may die because of her family’s actions had gotten to the point that she started having passing thoughts of getting rid of them. Ingrid never let them take hold but the fact that they had showed up worried her.
She hadn’t tried to repair relationships with people and just trying to not damage them anymore. But she wanted to just stay consistent, and give some confidence to them by not being who she was. Ingrid won’t lie it was difficult keeping herself away. In that time it seemed Sven had moved to someone new and that was alright. Esmi seems sweet and they have a lot of shared interests. It sucked but opportunities come and go and she was thinking of someone else as well.

Niallus had been growing on her. Not initially though and in fact, he was closer to pissing her off. But he was sweet and consistent. He had moments when they were exploring the catacombs where he was brave and witty. It took some time for Ingrid to accept that he was just nice. She tried to ask him out on the Day of Fortune.

The catacombs bore many fruits like that secret laboratory for her friend Trypano. It took time to get the materials and equipment down there for her but it was worth it. Ingrid made her a copy of the map and highlighted escape routes for her church defying friend.

With that, Nox Arcanum was going to start soon. The Enchantment Union Ingrid had joined originally thinking she would have to discard her nobility for freedom now made her feel nervous months later. There was a high likelihood that there were Traveler agents there. Ingrid couldn’t bare going there to such a wild party. So instead she committed to the Eskandish student union and got the honor of slaying the Keampo ko. The battle was rough with only a spear and kinetic enhancement but she got off okay with only a crushed body and mangled arm. All things are easily healed by a binder of moderate skill.

Ingrid the day of Nox Arcanum dressed as colorfully as she could with a slight snake theme. She was in charge of smoking and roasting the keampo ko and she loved every second of it. It was peaceful and she got to run the hot dog stand. She had no friends with her but that’s fine, I’m sure they are off having a good time. Especially since she had a visitor coming over later that night.

Ingrid's Finances

WHEN I GET AROUND TO IT. GOD

Notes

I will edit this at a different point I wanted it out. Sue me.

The Hourglass Order

Dory's Birthday

---

It was Dory’s birthday and Ingrid was a little nervous. She was bringing a humble gift, a few stories from her personal collection. She had a fancy box made for them with intricate designs of some of the characters in it. It had 3 books but could fit 20 roughly. There was room left if Dory wanted to have more added to the box. It felt a little childish but that’s fine.

Ingrid dressed slightly up, putting on light makeup. She wore good perfume and headed out the door. Dory wasn’t far from her own dorm, so she just carried the box. A few minutes later she was just outside her dorm room and she could hear the conversation and the heartwarming smell of baked apples. "Knock knock," Ingrid said as she entered the room.

"Happy Birthday Dory!" Ingrid exclaimed with joy. When her eyes landed on Yalen, “It’s good to see you as well, brother Yalen. I hope your day is going well,” Ingrid said in a more respectful but still familiar tone.

Ingrid gave Dory a hug, "I brought you something," Ingrid tapped on the box, "I know you like stories and have a collection going on so I brought some from my own collection to give you. I read them as a child and thought they might be fun to read." Ingrid pulled attention to the box, "I had the box made to hold some of the stories, I thought you could add your own designs as you filled it up with your favorites. I put mine on, ‘Kol the Dragon Slayer.’ I hope you like it, Dory."

Ingrid glanced at the rather large pie, "Mind if I have a slice?"

The Hourglass Order

Velles 5th

Location: Ersand'Enise
Time: Later hours of Eshiran
Characters: Ingrid, Zarina@YummyYummy, Frédérique, Étienne, Idun, Thorinn, Maura @Ti

---

My Milkshake

Ingrid was preparing her food as Zarina next door impressed the judges, and it wasn’t a moment too late as the Virangish girl came with the meat for the next part of the meal. It also meant that the judges were making their appearance too, as part two of the food wars commence!

First is Idun from the RAS Guardians. With Thorinn getting the token, the troop were one step closer to sealing the deal. Armed with Brandæbles and Snepebbers the nature loving Eskand moved swiftly to create three speciality dishes. What is very important in a dish isn’t simply the best cuts, but the worst cuts too, and getting the best from that Snowsweeper would definitely be getting your money’s worth.

Étienne watches on as Idun seems to be swaying that figure of hers in a seductive manner, her face rising as she smiles sweetly towards him before turning away with a blush as she prepares the treat. She offers a plate adorned with Köttbullar with a dollop of Brandæble jam on the side, very flirtatious towards the Perrench Noble. “Would sir like to taste of what I have to offer~?”, and before he could have a chance to respond, Frédérique interrupts as she takes one of the meat balls with a fork, dipping it into the jam before sampling it for herself, “These appear to be light and sweet, is this what you intend to serve his majesty?”. The twins shared a look between them, Étienne bemused as his sister decided to take the lead on this section of the competition. It seems that mere sex appeal would not get the contenders through the round now. “My appetite is rather sated currently, my Lady de Perpignan will be judging this round.”

Idun flushed red as her early gamble appeared to have backfired, catching the ire of the one actually making the decision. “This is the hors d'oeuvres, a treat which would consist of the Snow sweeper to wet the appetite”. She moved over to another dish, something called Kjøttboller which is larger and more like a meat patty. “This is another treat, perhaps for the servants. Its heat is said to put hairs on your chest.”

Frédérique certainly raises a questioning eye-brow at this comment as it is being served to her, much to Étienne amusement. She clapped her hand as a servant came for the testing, though whilst he didn’t grow any hairs on his chest, his tongue tasted as if it is on fire. “That is the Snepebber, very valuable.”

The main course was cuts of Biffribbe which were cooked with steaming water then finished with a roast to produce a tender treat which melts within the mouth, simply dripping from the bone. To accompany it seems to be a sauce of some kind, søtkrydderglasur, as Idun pastes that upon the meat. The brownish colour seems somewhat familiar, though out of place. “This is Eskandish speciality saus, created it myself.”. Frédérique gives a surprised look as she tastes it, offering it to Étienne to taste. He gives a surprised look, as he tastes it. The sweet, spicy, smokey texture, it seems to complement the ribs perfectly.

“Write her the ticket. She passes.”, Frédérique turns around as she moves to another table. Whatever that sauce was, it just made the nobles completely change their decision.

That hussy! Ingrid exclaimed in her head, Using a premade sauce to win them over. Have you no shame? Absolutely atrocious she is. It doesn't matter, I can overcome this! Ingrid cracked her hand and got back to the cooking

The meat had to be perfect. Undercooked and the meat would be tough and gummy. Overcooked would be stringy and dry. Controlling the temperature of the meat to slowly rise it to the temperature to gelatinize the fibers, turning them juicy and succulent. A beautiful color is maintained in the meat to be revealed when cut into. Tender enough that a knife isn't needed.

Vegetables are prepared ahead of time to give the stew a dynamic look, building some height on the plate, seasoned perfectly with the cooking. Pearl onions are delicately peeled and slightly browned to bring out their subtle sweetness.

The sauce enrichened by the wine and meat that had been stewed in it. Complexity multiplied by the vegetables within. The sauce is strained, the bits to be eaten are set to the side. Ingrid freezes the fat to separate it from the sauce. Then the sauce is reduced into a thick sauce, this sauce could never hold the beef fat. It would split and become greasy. Ingrid cut the heat and started to mount the sauce with arcane chilled butter, stirring constantly to emulsify the butter. This sauce was now rich and complex. It's time to put it together.

A deep set plate was set, made of high quality ceramic and blazed to a brilliant white. A spoonful of sauce is set at the bottom then the meat is placed center. Pearls were placed on the side and carrots crossed to give some height to the dish. Then more sauce is layered on top, not enough to smother it, and instead, leave the colors on the plates. Finished off with some fresh herbs on top for color and smell. A basic dish elevated to something to blow those nobles away. I will best your cheating with unmatched skill. Plus some slide remarks to undermine their dish.

The competition is high within the room, many of the competitors look towards the Eskand team going above and beyond in their unique foray and posing a challenge that Ingrid rises to meet. The music within the hall changes as the pair approaches the table, adopting a similar more West Severan tone reminiscent of Zarina’s performance.

Instead of something unique, Ingrid goes for a Perrench fine dining staple of boeuf bourguignon with the aim of using her knowledge of the meat itself. It is no big secret that Snowsweeper meat is tough, and it needs the right kind of preparation to allow it to drip from the bone.

She displays clear use of advance cooking techniques using magic to enhance the flavour to remove the gristle, leaving behind rich meat that is so tender, a knife is not even required. The sauce rich and thick, the smell was absolutely divine in that ‘I cannot believe it is not chemical magic’ way, a clearly well done and superior to a normal dish.

Étienne looked up towards Ingrid, as all non-Yasoi do towards her imposing frame, and, due to the cooking, into those steamed glasses which were periodically wiped clean. There was always something with talking to a woman taller than you which makes you feel… “Your imposing stature belies your clear refinement. Clearly a book who shouldn’t be judged by their cover”, Frédérique cut in as she makes her initial impression as she breathes in the rich aroma surrounding the table, very impressed. Étienne remarked on the presentation, “Une etiquette impéccable, art de la table suited for a King.”

Frédérique seated herself as began to taste, she felt the knife slice through the beef like as if were hot butter. She placed it within her mouth as she took the time to savour the texture and flavour of the dish before her as she nods appreciatively, “Merci.”. Étienne as per the rules provides Ingrid with the token of approval.

The pair however now come to a difficult decision, out of those who got through, there were only two pairings. It is clear that having both roles working as a team would yield the best results, leading to a difficult choice between “RASgardians”, a foreign team, or the Sovereign Pact aligned Noble Students from “Haute Cuisson”.

“Eskandish creature being served by their native chefs would be authentic.” Étienne remarked when trying to come to a decision.
Frédérique sighed, “However, there is a reason the best chefs tend to be Perrench, though both here are Eskandish.”

Ingrid had kept quiet until now on Idun's 'choice' of ingredients but now it seemed the twins were trying to decide between us. Great, Ingrid thought as she weighed the idea that she could be beaten by some cheap woman. I won't let myself be done in by some cheater.

Ingrid coyly raised her hand to the twins, "I would rather not bring this up but I believe you should know. Although I enjoy Brandæble jam as many Eskandish do, it is something that can produce a mild psychedelic effect..." Ingrid plays up her worry, "It has me wondering what she may serve the lord if she would serve a psychedelic to you without even a courteous warning." Ingrid looked over to Idun with some shame and worry. Ingrid's gaze returned to the twins, "There is another thing I worry about but your health should come first."

The twins find themselves interrupted during their exchange as they see Ingrid approach, the RASgardians also take note of these as they come near to listen.

“This certainly explained that afterglow." Étienne gave a wide smile in response to the point raised by Ingrid. “The point is true, we should be adequately warned when our senses are to be dulled." as Frédérique offered a thankful nod towards Ingrid's contribution.

Idun comes into the conversation to object, "Brandæble's are a delicacy which our highest Jarls come to savour in their favourite dishes, søster. Do you think your paltry offering of beef in stewed onions is fit for nobles of high station?" the Eskandish woman smiles up sweetly towards Étienne as she adjusts position to allow the Brandæble's within her blouse to bounce joyously.

Thorrin spat towards the ground in the direction of the rival pair. as he glared towards Zarina. "This girl doesn't even know how to carve meat. She dance all pretty in skimpy outfit waving swords around. If she did this in a real kitchen, the cooks would lose all their limbs. Pitiful."

Frédérique gave a polite cough as she drew attention back towards herself before readdressing the pair. “You mentioned something about health risks?"

Ingrid knew that simply mentioning the hallucinogenic properties of brandæble. Ingrid heard Idun's retort but it didn't matter much."I understand that our people make enjoy the fruit and the effects that come with it. However, you are there cook. if you are so loose to not even give them a heeding of the effects of the fruit. What if you served that at the feast and someone ate too much? At best they would be tranced for a few hours and at worst they could need healing to save their life. There are so many dangerous ingredients that entice the pallet. You need to trust that your chef isn't going to harm you through negligence." Ingrid felt confident in what she said. The effects were slightly exaggerated but still, this wasn't the end of Ingrid's information.

She sent a gaze at Idun, Back down now before I bring up that your sauce claim is fraudulent! resign with some dignity you hussy.

Idun moved closer towards Étienne as she squeezed his arm against her brandæbles. "We are here to impress, there is nothing wrong with showing a lord the delights Eskand has to offer, not that you would know." Étienne simply stood bemused as the ladies fought it out between themselves. Frédérique just glared towards him, and simply sighed when he shrugged. "I am sure it was an oversight, but it was an important point to bring to our attention." Idun noded, "Big misunderstanding, we simply wanted to impress by offering such forbidden exotic goods for you to savour." those doe eyes gazing up towards Étienne.

“Cry about it.” Zarina scoffs with a smirk, arms crossed as she briefly pondered an impromptu acquisition of a recipe. She is reminded, however, of the stakes and foregoes any risky play. For now.

Ingrid has had enough of Idun's brazen attempts to seduce the man. It was shameful. Ingrid sighed and crossed her arms. Her attitude changed and she gave a sharper look at Idun. "And what of that sauce you used? Could you describe its origins? Some process of how you made it? It seems pretty similar to another sauce I have had..." Ingrid insinuated that Idun is using a premade sauce.

Étienne was impressed at how Zarina shutdown the objection with three words, the Eskand raging with his frustration. However, it was Idun upon the offensive now as she moved over to her table to pull out what appeared to be a homemade recipe book, waving it towards Ingrid as she showed it towards Frédérique. "The Søtkrydderglasur is my original recipe. Brandæbles, Snepebber, mixed with some honey, vinegar, and..." politely shut the book as she removed it from the noble woman's' hand after her point was made. "... not shared with you, søster"

Frédérique rubbed her temples as the only thing Idun seemed to say was Brandæbles after every other word. "If you can get that fruit, we will take you. You seem to have more to offer, more substance than this... Sale Putain.". She walked off as she led the pair away, with Étienne giving a polite nod to both of the ladies and a wave, and perhaps even a wink towards Zarina. "We will send the instructions to your sponsor, Madame Rose Bleue in due course."

Marquis Blaise Beauregard eyed the twins suspicious upon their return, people have started to clear out of the hall. “I imagine you have narrowed down the finalists. I shall be the final judge.” He started to heft his bulk as he begins to start down.

“You don’t need to concern yourself, we have already selected.” Étienne smiled proudly toward him. “I personally dealt with that little misunderstanding where a Huulendam boy tried to put a pouch of money within my hand too. He looked rather shocked at my refusal.” “The gall of trying to buy his way through, did he think we were Enth?” replied Frédérique most sternly.

The Marquis sat himself back down as he brought out a handkerchief to pat down his forehead. “Good, good, we don’t need those kind at our esteemed dining table.”, he looked toward as he muttered under his breath, meddlesome kids. After a brief moment of respite, he turned to the matter at hand, “I assume the ones you have chosen can cook at least?”.

Frédérique nodded, “The Eskandish girl was a hidden talent, you may want to consider taking her for further guidance. I will allow my brother to comment upon our butcher.” as she gazed toward him. Étienne simply shrugged his shoulders, “While my sister suggests I was merely charmed by her beauty, the Virangish girl certainly had a way with blades, and she was able to provide the requested cuts of meat. She was able to prepare the meat for cooking as well. It happened to be that our chosen picks came together, so they are most suited for the task of preparing a meal worthy of his majesty.”
Marquis looked toward them both in a cold manner, “If my lord and lady take full responsibility for the choice, then there is no issue on my part.”, “and rob you of your good fortune? There may be accusations of us of trying to usurp your lavish banquet. The honour is all yours.” Étienne simply bent in a formal gesture as he bids the Marquis farewell, followed by his sister, who soon departed as well. The Marquis squeezes an orange within his hand as the pulp oozes out. Perpignans.

---

Maura clapped her hands as Zarina and Ingrid exited from the building, calling them over towards her, “We love it when a plan comes together”. She leads them along a scenic route as they continue their conversation. “Our sponsor is very satisfied with your performance, it seemed you were both chosen on merit. That helps to create a plausible alibi for what we will be doing next.”

As if anticipating questions, especially from the spicy Virangish girl, she hands them both passes to a local ship going to Vaen. “Your role in this plan is to get yourself to the estate. You need to find a way to release the Snowsweeper. We got the help, we even got the escape craft. Though, you might have thought that was a job well done. Thankfully, your sponsor in her wisdom has added an important condition, for your own sake, a reminder that you both are not to get caught. Your involvement would risk your lives.”

Maura pulled out a vial of a mysterious substance, “This should help thicken any meat you use and make it tough. It is unlikely anyone in there has actually tasted Snowsweeper before, so it is your job to make them think they have done it. You are going to give them the best thing since Kaempe Ko steak.” She paused for a moment as tilted her head toward Ingrid, “What is with your people eating everything that moves?”.

She returned to the task, “Any questions or requests till you board the boat?”

Ingrid looks at the vial and swirls it as she inspects it, "I think I understand the job. I've had Snowsweeper before, maybe 6 to 8 years ago. I should be able to get it close to the taste." Ingrid said to Maura, hiding away the vial for later. Ingrid looked at Maura at her comment on Eskand's diet, "Our land doesn't host many things that won't eat us and it isn't like we can grow things year round. You eat what you can or die. Besides, we don't eat dragons."

“Bullshit you don't eat dragon.” Zarina crosses her arms and cocks a brow, “I saw a Monsigneus, fully grown, the other day over there. Guaranteed you lot eat some of that. All that exalted meat!” she chuckles to herself before shaking her head, “No I don't have- Actually, maybe one.” a single finger sticks out of her coiled arms as she seems to mull over something in her Virangish little head, “What are we using to move it? Aaaaand-” she wags that same finger to keep everyone's attention, “How do we stop it from just being poached again? Gotta, you know, think aftercare here.”

Ingrid laughed at Zarina's joke. She won't mention that people have definitely eaten dragon meat but it just tastes too bad to eat. Ingrid didn't think about the aftermath of rescuing the snowsweeper. But Zarina had a good point, "I didn't consider that to be honest. I can try to pull some connection in Eskand to find a place that will hold it up but that can take some time to get everything right." Ingrid put her hand to her chin, and started to poke her fingers at the air, "I think Sven's land is near-ish to their natural habitat. Maybe he can put them up, he is a really big animal lover."

Maura nodded at the questions, "It is simple. The plan is to return the Snowsweeper home! It was stolen from the reserve, illegally. The Fauna society is very interested in its return and pledged a donation to help improve things there..." "And we from Eskand will let no Perrench King eat one of our national treasures." The tall blonde Eskandish male, Thorinn, looked down toward Zarina and Ingrid, as his companion appeared from behind. "You didn't have to be so critical of my sauce, søster" Idun chimed as she winked toward Ingrid. Maura smirked as she examined the looks on both of their faces, "We would like to present to you, the RASgardians."

Thorinn swung his hammer and puffed his chest as he looked toward Zarina, "We were going to rescue the Snowsweeper ourselves... "...though your Blue Rose was quite persuasive in that we should work together instead." as Idun shook her head in defeat. Maura smiled towards the pair, her finger tapping the blue rose attached to her dress, "See? It is a convincing argument. These two lovely friends of mine provide the perfect cover, distracting the Marquise and his guests, whilst brawn and boobs here drag the Snowsweeper off to our smuggling ship." The pair glare down towards the girl in the wheelchair as she offered them an innocent smile, "Think of all the baby Snowsweepers who will have their Daddy back home for Nox Arcanum. Do it for them” She gave a fist pump as she turned her attention back to Zarina and Ingrid.

"So get on board that boat, and we will see you on the other side. Take these Blue Roses. When things are ready, leave the rose out as a signal, and we will move in on the Snowsweeper.”

The Hourglass Order

My first secondary character, tear him apart ruthlessly.

Tku

Tku

“Life is so much more than where you were born”

18 | Male | Obenja | Artisan | 7.55

P E R S O N A L I T Y

❖ [Soliscitous]
Tku has a natural concern for others in part from his time traveling and in part to his gratefulness to his own life. There are many lives that do not get to live a blessed life such as his. It is the minimum he can do to care for those he can see and consider those he can’t see. Every person is a story that has yet to be read.
❖ [Tolerant]
Tku had traveled to various places and had been met with estranged glances for his appearance until he figured out to hide it. From all the places and people he has found that if you can be tolerant then you at least come to hopefully learn and enjoy the world. Darhanic, Quenitc, Anglic. If they could learn to accept that people can disagree then there would be so much less fighting.
❖ [Inspired]
Tku is easily inspired to create art. The natural world has held his love since he was a child. People inspire him to create things worthy of admiration. And magic holds the ability to bewilder and help the world turn into a beautiful place.
❖ [Mischevious]
What is more fun than having a laugh with those around you? Blood magic may be dangerous but you tell me better magic than just harmlessly messing with someone. As long as it is in good spirits, Tku is sure people will laugh with him.
❖ [Generous]
Tku knows how to heal and how to build. He has healed small injuries and fixed or created small things for people or repaired things on someone's house. He never charged and has never asked for more than to sleep. He only needs what he needs. Memories are much more valuable than money.

C H A R A C T E R A P P E A R A N C E

Tku, being a bloodchild, is albino. However, you will rarely see his white skin. Spends a lot of time applying skin dyes and makeup to get him to something close to his family’s color but still, they would say he is light skinned. What he doesn’t hide are his violet eyes that contrast with his makeup, drawing people in for long conversations. He has always loved his eyes and would never hide them. His hair is naturally this whitish yellow but he embraces his cultural love of vibrant colors and dyes his hair regularly. Though he has chosen to stick with a dark blue/purple for his arrival, nothing too eye-catching for now.

He tends to dress quite simply when traveling, and only a few articles that are not important like trinkets from his travel along with a variety of accessories he has made from a variety of materials he has found, some appreciating the natural color of the material, others dyed in the most brilliant of colors.

His build is rather developed from his travels, not overly muscular but built enough to withstand the strain of travel with ease. He varies in weight but is coming to the school purposefully leaner to define his build. The last thing Tku would want would people to believe him to be overweight. He stands around 5’10, taller than the average man but hopefully not tall enough to gain suspicion.

Traveling for so long has given Tku some scars that he managed to keep under control. Burns are not too uncommon in his travels. At some point, he started to keep track of them and laugh about how and where he got them, though he prefers his souvenirs.

L A N G U A G E S

Tku is a wanderer and has traveled to more to many lands. He knows a few by heart and can get the job done in quite a few others.

He can speak Belgaggic fluently and knows a couple of dialects like his home nation of Obenja.
He is also fluent in Torganeese and Tarlonese Yasoi from his time traveling in those countries.
He speaks some Virangish and Iniporian but struggles with writing.
His time in Nikan taught him how to do basic conversation but the writing system alludes him. He can recognize a few characters and is interested in learning more due to the beauty he finds in them. The same can be said with Rettanesse but he spent more time in Nikan.
Avincian is something he found useful across the world for the most part. A handy language to have though he wouldn’t call his perfect by any means.

Although he may seem super knowledgeable about languages, his knowledge is inherently superficial. He needed to know enough to conversate and get through as he moved through. Language for him is but a tool to learn and talk to many others.

T H E G I F T

Tku had spent the majority of his time using kinetic magic and binding/blood during his travels. Sometimes he creates water for himself and others to drink. He is quite proficient in first aid and creating materials using Blood. He builds towers in places he has gone to, using the natural materials around him and highlighting the structure with unique materials from the places he has traveled. Sometimes these structures are functional by design but most are functional by happenstance.

He is quite gifted with deconstruction and reconstructing things and can heal minorly. Most of his fighting was kinetically enhanced use of a spear. Lots of running away.

Magic Table

School	Level	Tier	Favored Use	Signature Spell
Binding	Apprentice	2nd	Barrior creation	Reinforced Wall
Blood	Apprentice	2nd	Material Construction	Make Pigment
Kinetic	Novice	2nd	Telekinesis	Solid Manipulation

B A C K G R O U N D

Tku wasn’t long for the world on his first go about. He was born meager and underdeveloped. His parents knew he wouldn’t survive but they kept hope he may push past. However, fate did not favor him as he died of whooping cough. That would have been the end of his life if it hadn’t been for a Belzaggic noble that had been looking at their wares. She took pity on the Tku and resuscitated him, bringing him back from death.

After that Tku had a normal upbringing, with the exception of him being a blood child now and having a RAS higher than any of his family by a wide margin. His skin was pale and white compared to his family. His hair had lost its natural color and was brought to a yellowish white. His family’s hazel eyes were gone, leaving a brilliant violet. Children were cruel to those who were different and his family was accepting but had a hard time dealing with it as well. Tku knew well that they loved him but there was a gap between his family and him.

This ostracization pained him as a young child but he grew to accept the way life he was given, it was better than not living. With all the time he had to himself, he studied his family's trade. They were builders of many things and had to know many things to make the jaw dropping towers. He remembers sitting on his great grandfather lap, asking so many questions about their trade. His grandfather had traveled in the past and regaled the many things he had seen. “Life is so much more than where you were born.”

A fateful day came when the same noble that revived him as a newborn came back again. Tku was 6 at the time and wanted to show his gratitude to the noblewoman. He took 5 days to carve an intricate statue in her honor. The noblewoman was so impressed that she offered his family to take him to develop his school, sailing back during the harvest seasons to help with work. Tutors would be provided to hone his skills as a craftsman and Tku would create something of worth for her from time to time. Tku was nervous but with the confidence of his family, Tku left his home.

His grandfather came with Tku to be his caretaker and the boy's journey began. He spent 3 years studying and learning from various teachers and his grandfather. He traveled within the noblewoman’s land to find inspiration and learn about natural structure. The flora in the larger Belzaggic island in the North Severan Sea. It was forever fascinating for the young boy. Classes were challenging and stimulating but he wanted to explore the island more.

The Noblewoman did expect Tku to continue to make art for her but when Tku’s magic started to form, she had to give him some training to make sure he didn’t accidentally kill himself. Tku was eager to use his magic, absorbing materials and being able to recreate them. It was a true blessing. He could collect things and make them later. He loved doing it until he essentially injures himself and then he would stop for a day or 2 and do it all over again.

At 10 he produced a sculpture for the lady and she thought about selling it as it didn’t meet her wants. It sold quite well and the Noblewoman was excited for the week. From there he started getting some specific requests from the Noblewoman. He got paid a small amount for it but he was still being taught so he didn’t mind.

By the time he was 11 his great grandfather passed and he returned home for mourning. While he was there he felt the love of his family once again and they asked if he could stay. Tku didn’t want to though. He wanted to still learn and develop. And he had already learned everything from his great grandfather. So Tku boarded the ship and left.

Only to realize he was taken the wrong boat and ended up in Sakenga. Confused, Tku wandered the port and somehow got onto another wrong boat. This time to Joru. He was at first upset at his own ineptitude. But he had another thought as he looked towards the land of Joru. Maybe this was his time to wander? Maybe Tku getting on the wrong boat twice was a sign. And with that Tku went on a long journey.

Tku explored Joru for a while and made his way to Azjul. From Azjul to Zanegol. Took a boat from Zanegol to the major island Bozán. Another ship from Bozán to Kelawi for a week or 2 and then another ship to Joru to send a letter back home that he was alive and then he crossed into Torragon.

By the time he crossed into Torragon he was 14. He had gotten better in magic and could empower his body with kinetic to a small degree. It made travel so much more useful. Torragon was beautiful if not empty in places. This did not sit well with, “Why not just build something here?” So Tku started crafting structures out of sandstone and other buildable materials using blood and kinetic. If they collapsed who was to care, they were in the middle of nowhere. This habit left a trail to where small statues of people he met started appearing everywhere he went.

Then he perceived something truly beautiful. The sun had set on top of a barren rocky flat. It looked like it cradled the sun itself. Tku wept at the beauty of the world and decided to take his biggest build yet. A tower to Eshiran to mark the time of day and setting sun. Oranges and black materials were used to create a winding structure that exemplifies the beautiful sunset. He spent a whole year laboring away using his magic to the utmost. It was a simple use of magic but not a day went by when he didn’t get to bed exhausted and woke up sore. But it was all worth it. To see the beautiful structure. He left it there and moved on. He was 15.

The rest of the time was spent traveling in the Darhanic nations and then making it to Tarlon. The Darhanic people were splendid and had a magnificently colorful culture. He learned so much from visiting there. He wouldn’t build there as he felt it would be disrespectful with his skills and lack of knowledge. Just some small statues in the nowhere areas.

The Yasoi of Tarlon were unique if not somewhat hostile. Tku couldn’t blame them though as he was a traveler into their lands. Their architecture was inspiring and he learned a great deal from them. Some of the things he learned were not about architecture but that is for another story. But still, Tku remained there for maybe a year and a half before catching a boat to Nikan.

His explorations of Nikan were cut short as he met a map maker who just so happened to be a Zeno at the prestigious school of Ersand’Enise. After a drink and traveling with him, a surprising offer was put on the table for him to go to school. Tku was surprised but did not hesitate to take it. After all, when else would something like this come up?

M O T I V A T I O N

Tku is motivated every day to create and learn. This opportunity to attend the Ersand’Enise is one that he was gifted and to waste it would be an insult. He wants to hone his craft and make the connections needed to explore the places he hasn’t been. He worries though that there are those that he one day grows so attached to that he couldn’t leave and continue to explore.

I N V E N T O R Y

Tku has very little clothing as he can always make more. What you find are knick knacks from his travels, a book of stories that he has heard from time to time. A jewelry box filled with inexpensive pieces that he was given out of goodwill. A sack of different currencies that come out to 5 magus more or less. A mass produced spear that was made in Joru. Various beads of various materials

He carries on him a satchel full of small carving tools, various brushes, and dried pigments to be used for watercolor. An assortment of oiled paint that range in quality. Some charcoal. Tku carries many things. No weapons or anything too odd for an artist. 2 sketchbooks.

S T R E N G T H S & S K I L L S

❖Spearmanship: Although Tku is rather humble when talking about his skill, he is quite talented with one and has honed his through necessity.
❖ Cooking: A common skill that everyone without a servant needs.
❖ Painting and Building: He is an artist versed in many techniques.
❖ Spatial thinking: He is great at perceiving and placing things spatially due to his time thinking of architectural
❖ Master of camouflage: Tku is a master of makeup and has learned with a bit of acting, you can fit in almost anywhere.

W E A K N E S S E S & F L A W S

❖ Violet eyes: These violet eyes that Tku refuses to cover are an easy giveaway to people about his blood type.
❖ Impulsive: Tku is quick to give in to impulses and slack off on duties that can range from nothing big to disappearing from his benefactor and family for 2 years.
❖ Insecure: He grew up with judgment of his appearance and takes a great amount of time and effort to do his makeup.
❖ Uninformed: Being a traveler he knows very general things about the greater things going on but their nuances are completely lost on him. Nor is he fully aware of how many nations are gearing up for war.
❖ Stress: Tku can deal with many things but stress is where he can falter. His morals and beliefs have never been hardened and he has never been put in a situation where he was more than an observer in difficult scenarios. How does one act when the weight of a situation will change lives? How do you tolerate someone who tries to eradicate another?

M I S C E L L A N E O U S

Hex code is 734960

Class Schedule

DEEP Score

Magnetic: 0
Arcane: 0
Binding: 8???
Chemical: 0
Kinetic: 2
Atomic: 0
Temporal: 0
Dark: 0
10 points
+ points
=10 total
Factor Two:
Primary Mana Type: 0 (Blackblood)
Secondary Mana Type: 5 (Bloodchild)
Viral Mana Type: 0 (N/A)
Aberrative Mana Type: 0 (N/A)
Total: 5
Factor Three:
Reading: 3
Drawing: 4
Range: 3
Speed: 4
Containment: 2
Conversion: 3
Efficiency: 4
Focus Words: 0
Preservation: -3
Freecasting: 3
Multiplying: 5
Spatial Intensifying: 0
Temporal Intensifying: 0
Total: 28
Factor Four
RAS: 7.55
Total: 49
Factor Five
unique items: 0
mana boosting items: 0
Experience: 6
penalties for overspecialization: -2
Penalties for physical frailties or impairments: 0
Mindset: 3
Constitution: 4
other relevant skills: 5
Temporal and Dark bonus: 0
Total: 16
Grand Total: 10+5+28+49+16 = 108

The Hourglass Order

Velles 6th, Roses and Neskals

---

Location: A plethora of locations

---

---

Ingrid lays down in her bed at Luna’s after a long day. So much stuff had happened that it felt like a blur. Her body was sore but her mind was racing from the spoils of todays event. Ingrid sat up and began to write down her day to catalog her adventures and maybe to put her mind at rest.

Velles Sixth

I had wanted to prepare a fine breakfast for Ismette’s family and the rest of Vyshta’s Favour but with how early the games were to happen, I had no time to prepare anything more than a meager meal. Nothing like the spread me and Dory made for shortlisted, If I had some of Dorothea’s wonderful pastries than even a simple breakfast would be a delight.

I wasn’t too sure on them from what happened when they raided us, so much was destroyed and Chad’s taunting was irked me I admit but it seems that was fully in the past. I hope.

Although we ended taking top 5 in the tournament, I was worried from the onset. I feel confident in my abilities but the rest of my Zeno Group gives me little faith. Zarra was hard to work with in every regard, honestly that boy wasn’t raised right. Poor Dory was left out to dry in this event. Chemical attacks were strictly against the rules and her Arcane wasn’t directed at Icy walls or illusions of sight. I know she would struggle but maybe she could man a puffer but she was competent in the end. Desmond was well, not able to use his gun and 5 RAS. He was by no means incompetant but I worried he would struggle as people bullied him with their raw power.
Obviously we handled ourselves fine in retrospect but it was a genuine concern!

I believe all in Snaked and Afraid were aware that we were not the best. So when word got around about the level of Eaiko Teamwork and surprising ability to combo spells, we would be fools to go for them. And we did! And better yet, they were willing to have us. We definitely got the better deal this time around. They were a wonderful bunch, Each one of them was a unique character and very enjoyable. I would love to visit them at their home.

Before anything started, I stumbled upon Shortlisted and Vyshta who seemed to have paired up. I could see them enjoying themselves but I wondered how they would fare in the match. I came over to just talk and explain the rules to our teams former partners but I may have gotten pulled into drinking again. This time I had Penny, Desmond, and Zarina with me. Zarina was acting strange but I didn’t think anything of it at the moment. The talks were simple and pleasant. The drinks were astrigent and awful but the boost they provided was like no other. I was content with 1 shot but as me and Penny kept talking I was convinced to keep drinking. I did my father proud keeping it all down.

Zarina was something frightful, something was wrong and she looked to be in so much pain. I won’t go into too much detail but I fear that our decisions in the ruins may affect her for a long time. I should’ve listened to her and Jojo. It wasn’t my right to stay neutral in this. I’m sorry Zarina. Penny Knocked her out. Not easily either. With all the RAS that Penny had available to her, it barely was enough.
I looked over Zarina while Desmond ran off to get a Zeno. Zarina had drunk so much I worried she would asphyxiate in her sleep from throwing up. Penny got the conversation going, she was a real fun gal, even if she was the a princess of Perrench. We talked of many things and most of all we kept drinking. I think I may have gotten a good bit past tipsy. Some things were said that I can’t remember… Oh Shune! Why are you letting me recollect me flirting! Why do I suddenly gain enough confidence to flirt with whoever when I drink!

A few of the games were nothing but us getting a rhythm to our play style. Coastal Crusaders were shockingly competent and apparently they served in the military together. They truly got our team to work as a unit instead of 5 stars sharing a stage.

The first time we had quite a challenge was when we fought against Benny’s group! For all my strength I feared Benny and Penny quite a bit. They were strong. One was a princess so it made sense but the other was mysterious and so much more knowledgeable than he gives off. Benny even taught me so easily that I threw my first atomic blast and flew with him. Oh it was so wonderful, I wish he would notice my attempts to get closer just a bit. But anyways, they were strong.

Not only were they strong, they paired up with the terrifying Covenant team. They were scary. Associated with the church and they torture people. Like are they even in our age range? Eshiran empower me for this fight.

But before that, I decided to search around for a bit. We were in a unique location afterall, I wanted to explore the waters towards the harbor hoping to view some ships. I jumped from the stage and slowed myself down onto an ice slab of my own construction. It was always fun to glide on the water with an ice sheet. But as I moved, a fog bank moved in and I moved towards it, feeling something in it. The fog was dense and obscured my vision but I could sense something colossal, something moving slowly partially above the water. I investigated further and what I found was absolutely amazing

The ghost ship Herald of Free Enterprise

The ghost ship Herald of Free Enterprise, believed lost twenty years ago. This magnificent galleon is in somewhat rough shape but somehow still afloat and with much of its cargo intact. (20)

The ship is in pretty rough shape. Some of the planks are badly rotten and it's taken on some water and a slight but noticeable list. The sails are in tatters and many nails are rusted right into the planks and need to be replaced. The rudder is done for and nothing in the cabins is much good anymore. It's afloat, though, and definitely salvageable: much cheaper than building a new galleon, and especially one of this size At 230 feet in length and 1200 tons, it is one of the largest ships afloat the known world over. Its cargo manifest consists almost entirely of copper and zinc mined in Belzagg: fairly valuable if not especially so, and easily preserved, at least. If the ship is carrying 500 tons of cargo, then it's worth about Ỽ8,000, though it'll likely cost roughly half of that for repairs.

The ship was utterly enormous. Much larger than any ship I had seen. It was a Galleon by shape but its size was a league of its own. It made the ship I ordered from Zarra’s family seem modest, even bashfully small. I leaped onto the ship with little care, I knew that it was unmanned by the sorry state it was in. I came to know it Herald of Free Enterprise, a ship I had heard went missing years ago.

Exploring the glost ship was fun and creepy. I was on edge with every turn and I was loving it! But the ship kept distracting me, reminding me of its beauty and quality at every opportunity. It was a shame that this ship had been loss. I had made my way to the cargo hold and was met with crates and crates of refined metal. It was Bezaggic Copper and Zinc to be more exact. I tested the quality quickly and it was good beside the patina on the copper and the chalky rust on the zinc. Though it is expected that it will rust over a trip across the Ensolian see. I estimated it to be 8,000 to 8,500 Magus. Quite a large load but for what could be held here it was small change.

I will not lie, I should have taken the material and sent this to be salvaged by Zarra’s family. That amount of Magus could set us cleanly on our goals. It would make sense but I couldn’t. The ship was beautiful. It survived for so long on its own. It had weathered many storms with but was minor injuries. And it even had brought payment. How could I leave her!

After that I pulled her out of the fog, the spectators were in awe seeing this massive ship come out of nowhere. Now I was quite nervous about pulling this near the island but I had to for now. For our game, it went… Better than well! We achieved a conquest! I couldn’t believe it. Like actually how did we do it. And we seemingly uncovered a secret technique for our Sunblessed. It will be useful for the coming games.

The next match that mattered was against Zarina’s group. Their presence was immense. I think many had power near that of Benny or Jojo. It was bad. Not only that but they had people of then my strength. Terrifying. And do think we were in my home to just get slaughtered. Honestly getting slaughtered by the turned out to not even be my biggest issue.

Some things happened and I may have ‘upset’ the son of the lord. But that doesn’t matter too much. I’m sure that it will not matter at all… Oh god this is going to bite me later. But I did find something.

Seed from the Tree of Life

A lockbox containing an original seed of the tree of life from an ambrosia fruit, still able to germinate, 800 years old. (8)

The wulliweid skeletons stared back at her with their empty eye sockets. There was a strange chill in the air. Reaching out with her magic senses, Ingrid could feel something in the seed that was unlike anything else she had sensed before: not necessarily grander and more powerful. It was merely... different - an entirely new type of energy. She furrowed her brow and thought, still wary in this strange place. It was vaguely familiar - very vaguely. For some reason, it reminded her of something she'd felt around Penny when they'd been drinking with the Hegelans this morning. Ingrid has found the first of the Five Legendary Treasures of Eskand

I could not believe it. This seed was legendary was so important and it was locked away and forgotten. Obviously still defended considering the Atomic blast that almost killed me for just touching the box and the poisonous skeletons of the wulliweid that I totally didn’t try to steal. Totally didn’t almost kill myself by grabbing it with my naked hand. Nope. Did not happen… I need to stop grabbing things it keeps nearly killing me.

Still, I have to question if I should have this. I’m no great Eskander, no hefty achievements. Nothing. And even worse I’m trying to take the music box from my own country…

How many Eskandish will die from our actions? How many innocent will peasants in the world will die if I give the box? Am I truly helping or just prolonging a war and abandoning my home? I don’t know and I doubt I will ever truly know. Like so many others, I feel blind to grand outcome of my actions.

Our last fight was with Secto’s group. I was excited about it. Not only would I be facing of against Sven but Niallus as well! I felt our teamwork was getting pretty good and overall I felt this might be a lot more even than some of the other matches. It should be all fun is what I thought at first before Sven used Faceless Thunder! He shouldn’t be able to use that yet! Like what the hell, he was coming to the tutoring thing. I thought he knew less. Why was I tutoring him then! That Scoundrel! Did he just sit there and let me think I was smart? God that is irritating! Did he lie since the start? Does he think I wouldn’t remember? I have half a mind to just cut him out of my life for that.

Ingrid got out of her chair for a moment to stretch, she had been writing for a little and she could feel it in her shoulders. It was getting later but her mind was still racing now with thoughts on what she needed to do about the Sven thing. Ingrid quietly leaned back and tried thinking of Sven. All the good times and the little bad. Even if he lied, maybe there was a reason. Ingrid hated to be lied to. Her mind would spiral into tangents about every reason he could have and she had to fight it, weighing what she knew about him. Even after connecting so well and trusting him with so many of her resources, enjoying almost every time they met, and thinking about him as something more potentially, Ingrid still found it hard to trust that this was just something small. Something as simple as Sven being awkward. Her nature and nurture told her to just forget Sven.

Memories of Dory forgiving her were coming into her mind. Dory gave Ingrid the benefit of doubt, no, even more than that. Dory had forgiven Ingrid before she even came over but just wanted her to be forward with it like a real friend. Ingrid sighed and got back to writing

Maybe not, I can ignore it for now. But he is on thin ice. What am I kidding? A few hangouts and things should be better. I hope.

Oh yeah, we won by attrition. Take that Sven and sorry Niallus. Also, Niallus and me actually went searching in the swamp. There was a bunch of carts being swallowed up and we decided to explore like we had when we were younger. I have to say, Niallus is the same but now as an adult. Which I’m unsure about, to be honest. Still, he’s pretty sweet so it's nice to have him around. He almost died to a toad dragon and lost his shirt in the process. It seems he still gets into trouble often. Not that I’m much better.

I know our team was doing well but I wasn’t expecting to make it to the finals with how strong other teams were. Either way, I was proud of my team for coming this far. But with how things are going who wouldn’t want to search around some more. I’ve gotten a ship and a legendary treasure. The sewers were always rumored to have things so why wouldn’t I? Niallus wished to come with me and I saw no reason to refuse. Searching for it was not as fun as the other ones. Mostly because of Niallus actually being in danger.

Magnetic Lamp

An old lantern that, when ignited, emits a blue light rather than red/orange/yellow. It appears to be powered by arcane and magnetic magic. The blue light allows for early-age UV lighting that enables one to see things many can't. Due to its middling condition, it has lost quite a bit of its potency. However, with how this light interacts with other forms of light, it grants a 5% resistance to Arcane-based illusions. (11)

We went down a ledge to dodge the surge of water that appeared behind us. I still don’t know how that happened. I surprisingly kept on my feet and made it to the small opening. Niallus, for all his athleticism, ate literal sewage and fell down a hole. In retrospect it was funny but at the moment I was wrought with concern. Rumors of abandoned threshers and schlockidillians existing in the sewers had me worrying about what could have happened. I stayed at the opening and yelled out for him. Maybe I should have gone down for him but I didn’t wish to test my luck and eat sewage as well. Luckily Niallus made it back in one piece. At the moment I gave him a hug. I still regret that hug. We then moved through the tunnel and found a lamp. It gave off a peculiar blue light that seemed to make certain things glow in the dark. It revealed secrets that we could read under its light. A mysterious bit of kit. But that was all the time we had left before the game.

Then the final game happened. It was not fun. We weren’t in the center but on the opposite side of who the center was attacking ferociously. Both Secto and Zemana kept us pinned the entire time and when the center was taken by Secto, they both converged on us. We lost horribly, not even putting up much of a fight. I’m still frustrated by it. I decided to go cool off for a bit before going into the sewers once more. There were more secrets there and the lamp would let me find them.

Zeno’s Keyring

A zeno's keyring, tied to a tiny booklet of passphrases and a second with a map of the city's catacombs (19)

Niallus caught up to me even though they apparently won the entire event. I must have taken quite some time to myself if he could catch up. We saw some misplaced bricks earlier and decided to go there. Niallus was trying to get me to talk about what I was irritated by and I was just not feeling up to it. He’s sweet but honestly, I didn’t want to talk about Sven to his teammate. It felt wrong to do that. Plus Niallus is awfully clingy since we met back up and I rather not bring up liking Sven to him.

With the power of the lamp, we made it into the catacombs. I didn’t even know these existed. They were awfully creepy and but the contrast of the beautiful Ahn-Eshiran statue gave an eeriness to this place. It was not welcoming in the slightest. We continued to search when we found a dead body. It had been rotting for a while and the stench was putrid. Looking around the room, we uncovered letters on the wall that were spelled out with blood. S-I-E-H

At first, we thought maybe they were trying to spell Eshiran and we said it aloud. The room shook and we could hear things move. So many things are voice activated I swear. It can never just be a lever or something more practical. We rushed down stare to see that the statue had grown wings. I worried that too many wrong guesses and something bad would happen. Me and Niallus wracked our brains and ended up saying Eshi. Things shook again and this time the statue held out a key ring with a map and passcodes for the catacombs. It seems that Niallus and I have some more adventures ahead of us.

We left the catacombs and swore we would explore them together. We met up later that day at the Seoul Sistas concert. Not much to say other than I got wasted, smashed some people in arm wrestling and Dory got a new instrument. It was a great night though. One thing that saddened me was that Dory didn’t want to go to the beer halls together! It’s where she likes to spend her time and I thought going there together would be nice. I know I don’t fit into that crowd but I thought I could at least pass.

Ingrid sat back again, mind finally settling down. So much happened today and she needed to get to sleep. Tomorrow was Thin Air and hopefully, they might finally come first.

The Hourglass Order

---

Location: Ersand'Enise Notcie Board

---

Interactions: Zarina@YummyYummy

---

High Steaks

Bœuf Bourgignon? Ingrid questioned. It was from, what Ingrid had known, a common stew that was meant to feed many people. A humble and hearty dish perfect for the tougher pieces of oxen. It takes time to denature the meat to tender perfection. But most of all, it isn't very pretty. It's a stew. It requires some skill but the benefit is that it is hard to mess up too badly. Ingrid was confident that she could make it well but her presentation had to be perfect. She just gave Zarina a thumbs up as she continued to think on how to best present it.

Ingrid started by cleaning and peeling the vegetables. They would end up as part of the final dish so they needed to be cut with intention. How would they change over the cook? What way of cooking them made them the most delectable? Do I use some vegetables for their added flavor and make some on the side for the actual presentation, discarding the rest? Then there was the order, most of the things could be put somewhat together and would benefit from the braise. Other ones would end up as nothing and would look unappetizing.

The most time consuming part was brushing the mushrooms clean to make sure no dirt or anything gets into the stew. Peeling the carrots was difficult with a less than perfect knife. She couldn't allow her compatriots to help with this as they had limited ingredients as well. Pearl onions were so pretty but a real hassle to peel. She could use some magic but she wanted to be delicate with the prep. She measured her wine and stock that was provided to make sure it was all ready for when the meat arrives.

The Hourglass Order

---

Location: A fountain by the Arboretum

---

Interactions: Zarra @BreathOfTheWoof, Desmond @Th3King0fChaos, Sven @Force and Fury, Dory@jasbraq, Ayla@Ti, Casii@Pirouette, Ymiico@Salsa Verde

---

Enough is Enough

Part One

Ingrid arrived a little early and sat near the fountain to read as she waited for others. Her hair was still braided from Roses and Neskals. The ends of the braids are tied with a dark red ribbon. The light of the moons were just enough for her to read without having to cast some light. She watched people appear one by one, some seemed to be there all along and she just didn't see them, and others just walked in on time.

The moment of silence wasn't felt by Ingrid who was genuinely reading in wait when suddenly posters appeared on a building in front of them. When should laws be broken? An interesting question that depends on who you are. Ingrid thought for a moment as it seemed Ayla started to 'answer'. Ingrid only required a moment to put together her thoughts but Ayla was still going. As much as Ingrid didn't mind long winded discussions, we were on a timer and brevity would be appreciated. She waited another handful of seconds hoping Ayla would reach a conclusion but no. With how many people were here, Ingrid doubted they would be allotted 2 minutes each.

Ingrid decided to cut into her speech, however rude that was, and simply speak over her. Ingrid kept her talking short, "Laws should be broken when there is no recourse for the injustice those laws cause. Without any recourse, the governing bodies leave no other choice." Ingrid knew that laws are by their nature imperfect, there will always be people whose laws passively or actively hurt them. That is why there needs to be systems in place for recourse and if there are not then let the breakage of those laws be the mechanism for change.

The Hourglass Order

---

Location: Ersand'Enise Notcie Board

---

Interactions: Zarina@YummyYummy, Zarra@BreathOfTheWoof, Kaspar@wolfieh, and Maura @Ti

---

High Steaks

Ingrid was walking around the school. After such an intense time at the ruins, Ingrid wants to ruin her figure with the tastiest of street food. What is when she saw some people she knew, some more than others. They were surrounding a bulletin board with a post on it. She read it, wondering what all the chatter was about. Cooking a Snowsweeper! Ingrid was shocked at whatever bastard would try to eat an endangered species. Especially when they know it is. Sure Ingrid had eaten one years ago but they weren't this critical, nor did she know so it was bad but not the worst sin. Still, fuck him. Of course I want to taste the succulent meat again but I can wait until they get to a healthier number. I need to win to protest this atrocity.

After hearing Zarina's offer Ingrid confidently stated, "I'll be the chef, I actually cook a good deal. Let's do this." Ingrid looked to the others to hear their opinions. Ingrid smiles at Kaspar, happy to see him potentially participating.