Divided RP:

I never would have thought about the amount of concentration it took to be constantly manipulating electronic fields in the air. The trip had been exhausting but now I had found myself in a small town a few days journey away from Fize. The quaint place seemed peaceful and homely, but too soon was I going to learn that things are never as they appear.

Zipporah pushed her body to step into the town entrance, her vision blurring with every step. Weakly she muttered ‘So heavy....’ before she collapsed in the dusty street. Now as her body finally began to recuperate from the journey. Strangely nothing is taught about the sub conscious and how it corresponds with the mana flow. Zipporah had dreams unlike any she had before. She found herself amongst students in different uniforms lying dead, there were others standing like her but they were too far to make out. Suddenly the mana flow screamed out in agony from what was happening. The sound was like nothing she could ever explain.

She awoke with a start and sat up; her surroundings were a small room with fresh air flowing from a window. She quickly surveyed everything only to find she was still encased in the ebony armour. She sighed and got out of bed. The rest definitely had helped her recover from the stress of constantly manipulating the fields around her. She walked out of the small room and asked the house if anyone was there. A small elderly lady stuck her head out from the other end of the hall.

“Oh! Well, well she lives! How are you feeling missy? Come, come you must be hungry you have been asleep for quite some time. I’m going to have to tell all the boys that have been coming by you are awake. Not often a pretty young lady comes here.”

Zippy blushed slightly but nodded and made her way to the small dining area and sat a little puzzled at everything that was going on. “Ummm, miss my name is Zipporah. Thanks for taking care of me, I don’t have much to give as a gift though...”

“Zipporah is it? My name’s Emme. No need to worry about paying me, I don’t have much to do nowadays, and it was nice to look after someone again. Here, here eat up. We can talk after you have a full stomach.”

As Zippy ate she recounted her story to Emme, and Emme shared her own past. She was a widow here in the village but was counted a grandmother by all the residents. Her husband was struck with leprosy and was excommunicated from the village in order to stop it from spreading. The tale stung Zipporah’s heart, but Emme was too joyful and carefree to let the story stop there. She told her how it was the Festival of Night here in the town, and that she would not let Zipporah leave without enjoying the festivities tonight. She said that instead of trying to walk the whole way to Dransa that it would be much easier to just take a ship tomorrow morning.

“You just relax and enjoy tonight alright Zippy girl. I’ll get everything worked out for you to travel tomorrow.”

“Thank you sooo much! That is really nice of you. I’m going to go for a walk for awhile is that alright Emme?”

The elderly lady nodded and moved the wrinkles in her face to form a kind smile. Zipporah arose and made her way out of the house. The town was busy and quiet at the same time. People greeted each other as the set up for the night’s festival. Zippy speedily made her way out of the city as she felt all eyes on her. Usually she didn’t mind the attention but this was different. There was a twinge of distrust in their stares. She suspected due to her new attire, she didn’t look like a student of Fize any longer, just some mercenary or soldier. Now that she was a ways from the town she could begin her studies.

I need to figure out what this suit can do. After what happened with Cruxius in front of the school there is definitely something up with this armour. Hmmm...It kinda reminds me of those who specialize in the conductor’s tract at school. Only it stores the energy and releases it in a much different manner. With the damage it did...it couldn’t have been just lightning, something was weird with the mana flow when it released Cruxius spell.

As she stood there away from the town she began to look at her surroundings, absently taking in the detail of the small clearing as she reflected back on the past few events at the school. She remembered when Gyne first came to her and wanted to know what tract she was going to take at school being in her last year. Three were given to her as options: Conductor, Field Manipulation, and Charge. Conductors focused mostly on the ability to control where a lightning strike would happen, manipulating nature’s rules to the occurrence, also enabling them to conduct where the bolt would strike next. Field Manipulation was simply put the ability to manipulate the fields around objects especially magnetic fields which made things like this prison easy to move in despite its weight. Charge was the most common of the three, specializing in charging the mana flow and casting forth powerful bolts of lightning from it, Cruxius who specialized in this could even charge the mana flow itself and shock anyone drawing from it. She had decided to specialize in Field Manipulation after much discussion with Gyne. Zipporah enjoyed it the most of the three and found it the easiest to focus on. Now though it would appear she wasn’t going to finish her studies.

“And there it is...”

She said coyly as the mana flow around her became simple and easy for her to draw from. Strangely she always found reflecting on the past the easiest way to open her mind to it. Thoughts of Gyne only brought feelings of betrayal and anger.

She smiled wrathfully as she produced a bolt of lightning and manipulated it to strike her. She could feel the warmth of the bolt as it was absorbed by the ebony armour. Just as she thought the suit acted as a conductor, even to the point that the lightning didn’t even strike her but was totally absorbed by the suit.

“I thought as much, now how does it release it...”
For hours she tried to figure out how the armour worked and its properties. In the end though it only led to a fit of frustration and very necessary cursing of her teacher Gyne.

“I’m going to kill that man when I see him again, after I get the stupid taboo off me!! Ugh! Stupid old fool trapped me in this! I hate him, and this prison!”

Slowly she regained some of her composer and picked up her axe and made her way back to the village. The sun was setting now, casting a beautiful horizon on the other end of the village. The village now was arrayed totally different. The whole atmosphere changed to something majestic and festive with its tapestries and lamps that danced wild flames. It easily overpowered Zippy’s angry mood and she soon found Emme. The two of them shared a wonderful evening together. Emme despite her age showed Zipporah how to do all the festive dances in the town square. The two would laugh together, and then Emme would push Zippy out to meet a boy and make her dance with him. It didn’t take long for Zipporah to feel like she was part of the village. It seemed the villagers had lightened up as well. As the night came to a conclusion she found herself back in her room.

“Thank you so much for everything Emme. Tonight was great!”

“Of course it was, I still got some life in me hahaha! Now listen here, no matter what comes your way after tomorrow never forget to have some fun alright. Your smile is too nice to be hiding behind anything alright? Now get some sleep, you’ll be leaving early tomorrow.”

As Emme left Zippy in the room, tears ran down the young students face. To end up in a place like this after all that happened to her was miraculous. A lot was a head of her but she was sure she would be back here after it all.

After a good night’s sleep, Zippy was now at the harbour with Emme already to head towards Dransa College. She hugged the elderly lady and waved good bye to the few villagers that also came to see her off.

“Thanks so much Emme, you better be alive when I come back ok? I won’t take no as an answer.”

“Listen here young missy; you aren’t in charge of me. You are welcome to come back after you get this mess all sorted out. Remember to enjoy as much of your life as you can!”

The raspy, crackling voice responded in kind and Zippy nodded. She ran up onto the boat as it weighed anchor and began to head towards Dransa.

I could hardly believe after all the things that had happened so quickly, I happened to find a place like that town. Phixius was its name. I would never forget it. Now I was on my way to Dransa College, hopefully a step closer to getting the armour off of me and a step closer to Gyne.

"Ah s*it, there goes my chivalry."

Felzen uncovered the cloak to reveal the face of a young girl, about his age. "Ah well, that's what you get for messing around in my forest. You'll hurt when you wake up, that's for sure." Felzen searched for anything that would label her as an attacker, but there was nothing. She didn't wear black armor and the magic she conjured didn't linger as the dark magic did in Suin and Sol.

All she carried were some scrolls written in some strange language that Felzen didn't understand, yet they seemed familiar. "Hmmm, I think I saw something like this in that Rune class I took a year ago, not that I could read them anyway.....what a waste of my time that class was," Felzen thought as he came upon a leather bag hanging on her belt.Inside where some precious stones and about 500 gold coins. "You won't be needing these," Felzen smirked as he put the bag in his pocket. As he did, his fingers brushed against one of the stones, causing it to suddenly glow.

"What heretic magic is this!?!?!" Felzen yelled aloud as he felt a burning sensation crawl up his arms. "You must be Drasna, no earthly stone is imbued with a magic this foul, you Bi@#$!!" Felzen kicked at the limp body of the girl sending her down the hill to the edge of the river. The burning magic made its way through Felzen's veins and went to his neck. As Felzen prepared for the worst, the pain suddenly stopped. The burning feeling was gone and Felzn stood there, shaken. "What just happened??" Felzen thought as he got back on his feet. "I feel......anew. The earth doesn't feel locked up and inactive to me anymore, but the foul magic still soaks it. Let me try something."

Felzen went to a clearing, in front of the cave entrance to Drasna's domain, with the girl's body over his shoulder. He set her down at the cave entrance and stepped back. Focusing on his magic, he raised his hands and lifted them to the sky. The rock around the girl did the same.

"YES!! I HAVE CONTROL AGAIN!!!" Felzen took the rock and wrapped it around the girl's body, putting her into a makeshift cocoon. "There, when you wake up, Drasna can take you back. But not before I look around a bit in your domain." Leaving the girl, Felzen crept into the Drasnian cave.

"Hmmm, It appears her stones have allowed me control over the earth that has been corrupted. That's good but, doesn't that mean Drasna magic flows through me, ugghhhh. When this is over, I'm going to have a chat with those heretics."

An hour passed, and Felzen found no sign of Drasna. He saw buildings, probably for colleges and dorms but not a sign of anything or anyone, save the chirps of the occasional bat. The smell was horrible, yet still not as bad as the magic corrupting the land around Suin and Sol. As Felzen walked, tired and hungry, he heared something. Many somethings. As Felzen quietly walked through a large opening in the rock he found himself in a huge cavern. The glory of it was quite beautiful, but Felzen took no notice, as he saw before him a sight that made his blood freeze.

Thousands upon thousands of beasts, in all horrible shapes and sizes. Every possible deadly creature was in that cave, and many Felzen would've never believed existed. Huge behemoths with twisted horns, disgusting writhing beasts with mulitple eyes, and long slimy worm-like...things were only a tiny amout of the twisted abominations, all unique in their own nightmarish ways. However, Felzen noticed three things they all had in common. They were all dormant, as if under a sleeping spell, they smelled as bad as the soldiers in black, and strange runes covered their bodies like tatooes. The markings glowed an eerie purple. Felzen recognized that the runes were the same as on the scrolls that girl had.

"Wait, I can make some of it out....We...Weli...Wila....argh, the beasts are too far away, I can't see. Forget the investigating, I need help. I have to get back to Sol, hopefully those people I heard are still there. If they are Sol students, I think I know how to reach them."

Felzen ran as hard as his legs would carry him. He made his way back outside and ran toward Sol college. As he ran through the forest, he started his magic. He sent his manna through his feet and into the earth, shaking the crust in a shockwave. The shockwave would cause some of the molten rock to come to the suface. Felzen remembered a joint lesson between Suin and Sol students on volcanology, the interaction between earth and fire. If Sol students were still at the burning college, or within a few miles, they would detect the unatural heat change in the ground and come to the source.

Felzen prayed he wasn't too late.

As she saw that the school was being attacked, Wendy got on her feet without caring about her skirt. Panic rose inside of her, controlling her, making her movements faster.
She forced herself to watch the scenario, yet she decided to hide in a corner of the hallway, watching Dean fight some unknown mages. She'd seen one of them before - the strange man had worn the same clothes. It was still not making sense to her, though she tried to figure out what exactly was happening.

As she watched, more and more students of Cro appeared in the hallway, but also more enemies appeared. Somewhen then she lost track of the fight. She saw some ice spells from the students of Cro and some she didn't recognize - the ones of the mages.
She shook her head, wanting this to be only a nightmare.

"I have to get out!", she thought. "I could slip through the fight, nobody's noticed me before, so this won't be a big problem. But why can't I move? Why am I so afraid? What do these strange fighters want? Is this a nightmare? Will I wake up now? Please, let me wake up!"
She was about to cry, but she kept the tears to herself, washing them away when she noticed them. She had to get out of here!

Without thinking about where to go, she ran right into the fight scene. She felt cold ice on her shoulder - there had been a kind of beam next to her. Shocked, she didn't realize that there was ice on the floor, too. Within seconds, she fell to the floor. She hurt her knee, but when she looked down, there was something that frightened her even more: There was someone standing right in front of her. She looked up to the person. Her eyes widened. It was a strange man again who smirked at her.

"Look what I've found here. A filthy little Cro student not able to walk. Shall I help you, kid?" he said sarcastically.

Wendy couldn't move. She was too afraid to do something. In her head, all she'd learned about casting Ice spun around. But nothing could help her now. Where was the boy she'd seen? She looked around helplessly, yet couldn't see him anymore.
Disturbing her thoughts and bringing her back to face the danger she was in was the harsh laughter of the man in front of her.

"Looking for help now? Ah, you are pityful, kid. I should kill you right here..." he said, looking at her with a desire to kill glowing in his eyes.

Wendy shook her head.
"No!" she screamed. "I don't want... I..." But nobody heard her. Everyone was fighting on their own, not noticing anyone on the floor.
"I have to fight," she thought. "But I can't. I'm not able to do it."

Though she didn't believe in herself, she got to her feet and stumbled a few steps backwards. Again, the man laughed harshly, coming nearer with every step she took back. Wendy constantly shook her head.

"I won't let you... let you kill me..." she mumbled, despite of herself. "Master Glarrel taught me how to defend myself... how to attack... so I-"

"Master Glarrel, is it?" the man asked, smirking. "I don't think his lessons were of much help. At least, he wasn't able to defend himself when we approached him..."

He stopped right there and Wendy's eyes began to widen again. Master Glarrel... dead? How could someone possibly kill a master of Cro? And what was their reason for doing it? There were so many questions in her head, she had to think about it for a while until she knew which she should ask.

"What did you do to Master Glarrel?!" she wanted to know. Again, the man laughed at her. Then, he shook his head.

"We just... visited him, you know?" He was obviously having fun. Wendy found him to be terribly stupid. He talked too much, though he didn't give her the information she wanted. Nevertheless, he'd given her enough time to think about what Master Glarrel taught her.

She closed her eyes, concentrating on the cold air around her. All the students fighting with all their strength had released much energy which was captured in the air around her. She tried to bundle it, mumbling a spell. She knew that this was her only chance to defend herself. Also, she knew that her Ice Shield wouldn't last long. Perhaps a few minutes. By then, there had to be someone helping her.
Unfortunately - for her - the man noticed what she was up to and laughed again. Wendy tried to ignore it, just concentrating on finding enough energy to build her shield.

"Don't you think this will help you. One strike... and you'll be done for," the man said.

"This is the end..." Wendy thought. Then, because of all the angst inside her, her shield was complete. Ice surrounded her, not letting anything through. She felt how the Shield ate away all of her strength. Ten minutes. Perhaps fifteen. Then the ice would melt and the strange man smirking at her would kill her.

Nathan kept on walking through the forest of Sol. He was passing rivers so big and beautiful that had water falls that droped anywere from 40 to 50 feet. But night fall was coming around and you can bearly see anything in these woods at night. But up ahead there was a little light coming out of a widow it seemed. As Nathan got closer and closer, he relized it was a two story cottage. The cottage was a pub. It was called *Drink Yourself Sober Pub* This was the first sighn of huan life for about 5 hours of walking.

"Thats one hell of a name, but I could use a drink. I could also use a place to crash. I pretty sure that they will have some rooms for rent."

Nathan walked up to the door of the pub. He could hear load talking and a lot of movement shuffling around the floors. He could heareveryones beer mugs hitting together with cheer and people singing of joy. It was most definetly a bar. So Nathan took one of his cigars out of his pockets and put it in his mouth and lit it. He then opened and walked into the pub. He walked right on over to the bar and sat down on a bar stool.

"Let me get a Jack and Coke. Thank you sir."

As the bartender went to go get the drink for Nathan, Nathan looked around as he puffed on his cigar. He noticed a group of people sitting at a table at the far left corner. They were all in black cloaks with their hoods covering their eyes. It was 20 of them. They seemed like they weren't up to anything, but Nathan didn't trust them. He knew something wasn't right. He had that gut feeling.

Bartender: "Here you go sir. Just give me a shout when you need anything else."

"Thank you. Here is a little tip."

Nathan took his drink and put 20 gold coins in the mans' hand. The mans' face lit up with happieness. He then walked off do handle another customer. Nathan sipped on his drink and smoked on his cigar. Then he felt something so wierd. The ground itself seemed to be growing hotter. Nathan knew of what this was. It was someone that could control earth spells. They where trying to communicate with someone from Sol.

Nathan jumped up from his br stool with his drink in hand and his cigar in his mouth. He pulled out one of his throwing knifes with his empty hand and walked toward the door. Nathan still didn't feel right about the cloaked people in the back.

"I have away to find out who you are." Nathan spoke to himself.

Nathan then turned around swiftly and threw his knife for the man in the middle at the back table in the left corner of the bar. It hit the man in the hood lifting it from his face and pinning the hood to the wall. His face was now showing and Nathan knew who this person was. It was someone he had grew up with. It was someone he had trained with. It was his brother Micheal Sherman. Nathan just stood there in shock. He hadn't seen his brother for 3 years. His brother finished training before him and went on his own. Nathan never seen him after that.

Nathan and Micheal looked at one another for at least 3 minutes. Michel seem to not even know who Nathan was. So Nathan then walked over to the table and up next to his brother. Micheal looked at Nathan.

Micheal: "Its been a long time little brother. A very long time. Come and have a seat."

Nathan sat down next to his brother and kept smoking on his cigar. Then after awail of chating and catching up, a big explosion blew the whole front half of the pub away. It sent debree everywere and people hit the floors for cover. I just sat there along with my brother passing my cigar back and forth. We both then stood up and walked toward the what use tgo be an entrance to a pub. Nathan knew something big was coming, but it wasn't that big of a threat. With him and his brother, it would be even easier to take down.

Nathan: "So what do you think it is?"

Micheal: *Its probably some dumbass armed forces. They think they run everything. They would get killed by damn near everything around this world."

Nathan: "I know thats right. Well if they give us any problems, we will show them we could kill them aswell."

Nathan and Micheal stood there, smoking on the cigar, drinking on their drink, and laughing at anything that pops into their heads, waiting for whatever it was the blew of the entrance to the pub to show up. Time was counting down to have fun. After this, Nathan will start looking for whoever is trying to contact a Sol student through the ground. That person is most likely in trouble. Nathan needed to get to that person and him and his brother would.

The dead of night fell over the kingdom of Welia. It's ebony embrace almost eerie. A gentle breeze whistled through the forest which encircled castle Ultrela. A battalion of black armoured troops hid amoungst the foliage. The head of the group peered above a thick bunch of brambles before him. Silence was on the air as he held up his left hand. His next move would determine their fate. If his fingers balled into a fist they were to charge. If he pulled down his arm, they'd retreat. Suddenly the sky lit with a bright, near blinding light. It illuminated the scene showing up to fifty battalions lining the forests edge. Each group was a hundred men strong. The captains hand rolled in on itself and he rose, drawing his sword.

"Charge!.. For god!" The captain leapt forward, his sword held alongside his head and brandished in both hands.

He was followed by the five thousand strong army of the Paragon Alliance. Each running in unison towards the open castle gate. To the onlooking guardsman the scene seemed as if in slow motion. The defensive bells rang out, on after another. These proved futile, however. The town was already washed in a sea of shining black armour. The PA's war-cries blew through the town instilling terror. Everyone who met their sights soon met a blades edge. At first they met very little resistance. Only a few of King Welias 'Loyalists' were around and they were spread thinly. The captain of the PA met a small pocket on the straight that led to the castles keep. It was a group of Welias elite Loyalists alright. Each one were garbed in no more than green kilts. Their faces and body were painted with sky blue paint. They held twin shortswords in front of them, swinging them manacingly. These mercenaries were obviously from the barbarian country of Garea, the country beside the sea. The head of the group had long, unkempt hair. It was tangled and tied back, leaving a black beard covering his face.

"Captain, what a surprise." Spoke the husky barbarian, his heavily scarred face shifting to a distorted smile. "One step ahead, as always." He looked around at the Paragon Alliance knights that surrounded his small band.

"Stand aside, Greyloch. We have no quarrel with Garea. There is no need to spill innocent blood." The captain lowered his sword and stood forward.

"It's too late for that, I think. You are a fine chief. Serving you was an honour. I could ask no more than to fall to the same sword I had recently followed." The barbarian general stepped back for better grip, readying himself.

"The honour was mine. Im sorry, my friend."

The captain leapt forward, swinging his sword in an upward arched motion. Greyloch raised his twin swords in defense and pushed forward, shifting his body weight. This was a fatal error. The captains sword shifted direction, moving downwards he cut deep into Greylochs shoulder. The edge of his blade connected with the barbarians spine. With a grunt Greyloch tipped to the side and released his blades. He blinked and dropped as the life left him. The rest of the resistance soon fell alongside their leader. The PA captain knelt beside Greylock, closing his eyelids. He paused for a second in thought, rose and set off again at a march towards the keep. Screams echoed through the city streets alongside the cheers of the PA as each mercenary force fell. The thing that troubled the captain, however, was the lack of a breeze. The bells had ceased which could only mean that he controlled the walls. Still, the un-natural feel of the city set him on edge. Though his fears mounted he marched on. He had to achieve his goal. His troops met the gate to the keep. The walls of the courtyard were covered with PA troops, not a single Welian soldier had met them here. The captain paused, his stomach dropped. The gate had been ajar, the entrance to the courtyard had been left open. He slapped his forehead and pointed to the gate.

"HOLD THAT! HOLD IT!"

His men rushed to keep the courtyard gate open. If the gate were to close they would be walled in. His men managed it and the captain let out a sigh of relief. It was all too easy. He turned to the keeps doors once more and signalled for his men to open it. Again, this wasn't necessary. The huge doors flew open with a simple kick. The captain paused in though. 'What are you planning, Artemis?' he thought to himself. 'What do you have lurking within your dark citadel?' A shrill cry came from the front of the group and the captain forced his way towards it. The soldier at the head was pointing inside the doors, his eyes wide. The captain looked to just within the torchlight, a swamp of blood lay before them. The only sign of anyone inside was a hacked, lifeless corpse. It wasn't a PA night that much was certain. The captain help up his hand, spreading his fingers. The PA stormed in, lighting torches. Each newly lit torch revealed a unique and terrifying scene. There were at least a few hundred bodies lay before them. The reception halls floor was covered in blood, every inch. Not a body in the place could have been recognised beyond dental records. The captain held his arm up to cover his nose as he took in the scene. The purpose of this force was obvious. It was meant to head the Paragon Army off, to hold their advance. They were the best King Welia had to offer. The pride and joy of his Loyalist armies. This begged the question; who could have done this?

"Spread. First battalion, take the sleeping chambers. Second, on me. The rest of you, scower the town. I want Welia and the prisoners alive!"

The troops obeyed and went in their respective directions. The captain stood fast as he watched first battalion head off in the direction of the dorms. He the turned, his long brown hair swaying in a sudden breeze. He felt a shiver run down his spine and an ominous feeling wash over him. Wila couldn't be here. He'd made sure that they had left before entering. Then, who can track somebody that moves with the wind? He shook his head and continued his march towards the Kings own lodgings. the breeze seemed to follow him. He halted outside the door to King Welias estate.

"Leave this to me!" He spoke over his shoulder. "The last thing I need if for you to mess this up." He swept his cloak to the side and sheathed his sword. Tying back his long, brown hair he pulled up his hood. This shadowed his eyes making him hard to recognise. His hand took the door-handle filrmly in its grasp, turning it slowly.

Once within the room he looked around. This room was as dismal as the rest of the city. It's walls were bare save for a single window. In the centre stood a messy, moth eaten bed. He had to stop himself from choking as a damp, musty smell hit his nostrils. Upon a chair, by the window, sat the King. His eyes staring out upon his burning city. He clapped his hands slowly and turned to the captain.

"You've won, Zelgius. Who would have thought my own brother would be my downfall? The once proud general of my army reduced to the ranks of a traitor!" The last of these words were spat. King Welia stood although he made no attempt to advance on Captain Zelgius. Instead he looked at the floor. "Tell me, though... Brother; how did you achieve this? How did you get past Lars?"

Zelgius laughed, his troubled face at last dropping to a look of profound relief.

"Lars? That's who was leading your forces? Oh, brother. You have been a fool..." He set off in a riot of laughter that almost made him buckle. "Who do you think sent us here?" He straightened up and wiped his eyes, looking upon the form of his older brother.

"Wila has sided with you? I offered you glory, I offered riches, I..."

"YOU OFFERED DEATH!" Anger pulsated through Zelgius' body. He forces himself to calm, realizing that his schedule was running almost over. "Besides, he didn't side with us... We sided with him."

King Welias eyebrows raised. A sword was thrust through his chest from behind, Lars' smirk appeared at his shoulder as his lips neared the Kings ears.

"It will be I that rules this world. The Gods tell me I am destined to be great..." He removed his sword from Artemis' ribcage. The King fell to the floor with an echoing thud. "... And I will be." He smiled down at the corpse of the late king and spat before looking to Zelgius. "Well done... General. You've shown your worth. I could have use for you."

"I live to serve you, my lord." Zelgius bowed low, his troops following his example.

Lars smirked and nodded, allowing them to straighten up. "Bring me the prisoners, I'm ready..."

"They are on their way, my lord." Said Zelgius awaiting further praise.

"Good, very good." Lars' smile was, for once, overwhelmed with joy. "Artemis, I've decided what I want as a reward..." Laughed Lars looking down at the dead king.

"Sir, what of Linear and Rafiel?" Asked Zelgius with concern.

"Ohhhhhhh... Bring them to me..." Lars spoke as if he were bored, waving his hand passively.

----o0o----

"Linear, I'm telling you. I don't feel right." Rafiel spoke with panic, his eyes scouting out into the darkness of the forest.

"Shhhhhh, be quiet darling. Lars told us to hold this position and that we will. It's for the good of Wila. That's what he told us!"

"That's just it. We're just sat here in the dark, does that no seem strange to you? What the heck are we waiting for?"

"Has he ever lead us astray?" Linear looked Rafiel in the eyes, touching his cheek and gently stroking with her thumb.

"Well... No..."

"Exactly, so just be patient. There's no need to get all shaky because he's trusted us with the defense of the king. That's a merit to us, I think. Lars' way of showing he trusts us." She removed her hand from his cheek with a smile, turning to again scout the treeline.

Rafiel reached out an arm, locking it around Linears waist with a sigh. He was looking at the floor, deep in thought. The only thing that truly bothered him about the situation was some of Lars' words. he'd said 'harvest' not use, absorb or acquire their talent... Harvest like they were crops. It had sent him on edge all day and night. They had left those days behind them, no more evil; they had taken an oath. Somehow he felt that Lars wanted to start up the whole thing again. Rafiel felt a shiver run down his spine and pulled Linear in closer.

"Lars asks for you both to come to the kings quarters." A voice from behind them made Rafiel jump. He felt stupid when he turned to find a servant standing before him. No more than a pathetic non-user. A sub-human had made him jump. He felt a laugh pass his lips as he and Linear followed the servant off into the city walls.

Once inside he had to stop and take in what he saw fully. Fire. It was all around them and a smell of flesh was on the air. How had he not noticed this when they were outside? Of course! The wind direction. It was blowing the smoke away from them. He couldn't feel it in the air or smell it on the breeze. Another shiver fell down his spine hard, this time it made him shudder. He linked Linears hand, gripping it hard. Feeling her whince he lightened his grip.

"Sorry, it's all just so... Horrifying." He said, kissing her forehead gently. She smile back and nodded taking his hand in the same tight grip.

As they pressed on the true extent of the carnage could be seen. Not one of the mercenary groups was left. Here and there a soldier of the PA was seen scattered amongst the endless droves of Welian corpses. Wherever Lars was he was probably with the only survivors. Rafiel and Linear would find it hard to used WindTravel now, with all the carbon dioxide from the smoke. This too made Rafiel feel strange. Almost defenseless. It wasn't normally the PA's style to burn the cities they took. They normally acted as liberators.

Finally they reached the castle. Here stood a last defense. Dead Loyalists were scattered in a near ocean of blood. It was a truly terrifying scene. Not a single enemy lay with them. Rafiel stopped but was pulled along by Linear. He wanted nothing more than to leave but he couldn't. He would follow his love to the end of eternity. If she wanted to continue, he would act as her escort. Her bodyguard in passion.

The kings quarters were dark. Rafiel couldn't see anything but Lars sat at a desk. his face lit by a single flickering candle. Lars ran his fingers over the flame. He looked up at Rafiel and Linear with a smile and stood from the chair.

"Ah, my friends. We have had a great victory here today. Almost too easy." He moved around the desk towards Rafiel, the smile still on his face.

"And how would you say that? I saw how many dead we have." Replied Rafiel, his eyes narrowing.

"Oh, no. We had very few casualties." Lars placed his hand on Rafiels shoulder. The smile on his face had faded and his voice dropped to a more serious tone. "The king has kindly agreed to advocate the throne." He pionted to the lifeless body of King Welia though his eyes were still upon Rafiel.

"You managed this? Why didn't you tell us? We, we could have helped!" Rafiels eyes were looking into Lars' and Lars' into his.

Linear had moved to check the kings pulse. She knelt beside him and looked back at the two Wila men. She made a move to speak but a hand silenced her. A palm lay over her mouth and one around her chest. A figure held her at the edge of the darkness. Soldiers emerged from the abyss standing in a circle and surrounding around the room.

"I didn't require your assistance, old friend." Lars tightened his grip on Rafiels shoulder, the smirk back on his sinister face. Rafiel was looking around the room, open mouthed. "I only have one more use for you..."

"And what is that?" Rafiels voice was that of panic as his eyes fell upon Linear, who was now restrained by two PA soldiers. He made for her but Lars' grip restrained him rather too effectively. Then Rafiel smelled it. The distinctive smell of Sols magic. It was powerful magic, too. He could feel the mana dripping from Rafiel as if he had been in a stream of it. "What have you done Lars?"

"I took what is rightfully mine... Power. What I require from you two is yours. I need your strength. You see, Rafiel, my magic is somewhat... Distorted. Sixty years of pillaging life forces can have that effect on a man. I need a couple of purer souls to feed mine back to strength." Again the smirk lit his face. Lars' hand began to glow a sky blue upon Rafiels shoulder. Rafiel felt his legs buckle and he fell to a kneeling position on the floor. "That's where you two come in..." Smiled Lars, he followed Rafiels eye-line to Linear. "Don't worry, I won't hurt her. You are my friends, after all. It will be painless."

Linears eyes filled with tears as she fought in vain against the soldiers grips. She watched as the life faded from Rafiels eyes and his torso hit the floor. A scream left her lips and a surge of power passed through her. It threw the PA from her and she ran to the window.

"RESTRAIN HER!" Lars' voice cut through her like a knife as she threw open the window. Her form faded and she flew along a self-made breeze. She made sure to avoid the smoke that billowed in towers from the town. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" Lars' voice followed her on the wind. But he wasn't pursuing her. All she could guess was that smoke had come in through the window and prevented him.

Her mind raced and her heart pounded. She felt tears building up like oceans behind her eyes. The air which she had become built as if it were a raincloud. Her body ached almost unbearably under this new breed of pain. She raced for hours, her emotions making her a storm as she passed over Sar. She wasn't thinking and before she knew what she was doing she had landed neatly in the gardens of Sol. Surrounded by the men she had killed just a day or so before. The pain in her heart seemed to threaten her life. She curled up in a ball just beside the door to the college. Her body was too weak to move. Her mana to weak for her to WindTravel. She tried to cry out but no sound left her lips. The pain was so intense that only one could have soothed her. He was gone, though. Her stomach rolled as she vomited on the grass. Again she tried to scream but, once more, no sound left her lips. Had she lost her voice? Rafiels face was the last thing she saw, and then, she passed out.

----o0o----

Back inside Castle Ultrela Lars paced his new quarters. He stopped in front of the group of Paragon Alliance soldiers. At it's head stood Zelgius, two of the PA soldiers lay dead at his feet. Zelgius' blade dripped with fresh blood.

"I cannot apologize enough for my troops' incompetence, my lord." Said Zelgius with a bow. His voice was wobbling uncontrollably.

"Bring her to me. Only with her can my power by limitless... I need her, Zelgius. I want her!" Lars' voice shook with obvious fury. His eyes piercing into Zelgius. "And bring me the rest of the prisoners. Master Julios power is just the beginning."

"As you wish..." Zelgius marched from the room with his troops at his feet.

"Soon, the world will fall under one banner. I will create a world with limitless mana. I will create a world where there are no sub-humans." Lars' trademark smirk adorned his face again. "I will create a world where I am a god."

Lucid & Hyzenthlay Joint post


Solan stopped and turned towards Nathan as he heard his answer. He still didn't think it was wise for the boy to go off on his own, but against his better judgement, he would keep his word and not try to stop him. He knew what it was like at that age since he too had been the type to want to do things on his own.

"Very well then," Solan nodded. "Good luck to you as well." Without another word, he turned and walked into the building. His office was on the opposite side of the building, and it had luckily sustained no damage from the battle so he knew it would be safe there.

It wasn't too long before they finally reached Solan's office, but anyone who had seen his office would say that it was more of a library than an office since there were more books than shelf space, as there were piles of books on top of other piles of books. Solan would always argue that they were neatly piled at least, as if that made it any better. However, there was plenty of room to walk since most of the books were stacked against the walls all they way around the room, but it didn't mean that the occasional tripping or falling accident didn't occur from time to time.

Marcellus, who had arrived first, was already moving stacks of books out of the way as the two entered. Solan noticed that he was still pale and shaking from earlier so he quickly went to help him, nearly tripping over a stack in the process. He then leaned close to Marcellus and spoke quietly to him for a moment. Marcellus then left the room without a word as Solan went about moving books from elsewhere.

"Er...have a seat," Solan said as he frantically cleared the books from the chairs facing his desk. He never used them so they had become new homes for his growing book collection. He picked up a few more books as he walked around the desk, then sat down in his own chair.

"A... A seat." Riian looked down at the chair beside him and took it. He looked around at all the books and then back at Solan. His eyes darting over his face. "Do, erm... Erm... What do you want me to tell you, sir!?" He looked down at his feet once more. "I'm afraid what I saw is... W-well, I don't understand it myself!"

"Relax Riian," Solan said. "This isn't an interrogation, so don't worry if you say something that sounds wrong. It's important that you tell me exactly what you saw, regardless if it may sound strange or not. I know it must have been a traumatizing event for you to experience, so I won't rush you, but it is important that we know what we're dealing with."

"Erm, okay. I'll do my best.' Riian felt relief wash over him. At least Solan wouldn't be angry if what he said made as much sense as it did in his head. "Right, well, I saw a man. He had black hair and a red, erm, cloak? He was really powerful, too. Prof-professor Julio cast Hellfire... It didn't even scratch the other mage." Riian felt himself shake as he picture the mages smile. He saw his smirk form from under a mass of ebony hair and shook again, rattling the chair. "He had two other with him. I didn't see them properly. I think it was a girl and a boy. The way they moved..." This time it was his voice that faltered. "It was beautiful... And terrifying. They just... Well, they floated. Like they were melting into the wind. Then they would appear again somewhere else." Riian gulped hard. He focused on what he had seen. He was trying to drum out the facts without ranting. "Then there were these black armoured soldiers. The two other mages had killed them. The strange thing was, though, that the black-haired mage seemed angry about it. As if the black armoured soldiers shouldn't have been there at all. It almost seemed like he knew them well. I could see it in his eyes..."

Solan listened intently as Riian spoke, but none of this was making any sense. Had Master Julio really been beaten? But where was he now?! He had so many more questions, but just as he was about to speak, he felt the ground beneath him quiver and sensed the abnormal change in temperature on the surface. It could only mean that someone from Suin college was trying to contant them, or anyone within range who could detect it, which meant that Sol wasn't the only one who had been attacked. Just what was going on? Had Cro and Fize been attacked as well? And what of Drasna? He remembered Riian asking about them before, but why would Drasna attack the colleges? He wanted to ask Riian more about it, but there were other important things to think about now.

"It seems Suin has been attacked as well..." Solan said in a solemn tone. "...and one of it's members are heading this way as we speak, possibly a student. I should probably go meet up with them since they may be injured." He paused before speaking again as he stood. "Riian, I want you to stay here while I go meet this person and bring them back with me. It'll be getting dark soon and I don't want to put you in anymore danger right now until I know what's out there. I'll have Marcellus stay here, so you won't be alone. I know there hasn't been a lot of time for introductions, but I'm sure you'll get along just fine. This is probably the safest place for you to be right now since I doubt whoever did this would feel the need to come back." He said, picking up his staff as he rounded the desk and made his way to the door.

"Yeah. Yeah. I suppose with so many colleges close together Drasna would... Erm, I'll remain here professor. I'll take a look around for survivors."

"That's a good idea," Solan said as he turned back towards the door, but was stopped by Marcellus who was standing in the doorway holding a small tray with three cups of hot tea.

W...where are you going?" Marcellus asked in a surprised tone. "I just..."

"Sorry, I have to go meet someone," Solan answered. Marcellus opened his mouth to say something, but Solan stopped him. "Don't worry, I'll be back as soon as I can, but I want you to stay here with Riian and look for survivors. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes," Marcellus frowned as he moved out of Solan's way. "Just...be careful."

"I will. Hold down the fort until I get back, okay? I'm counting on you, Marcel." Solan smiled at the frowning boy before walking out. He then quickly headed off in the direction that he felt the signal originated from.

Nathan and Micheal stood outside the bar and waited for something or someone to come. Hours went by and Nathan and Micheal already down 6 crown and cokes, and smoked 3 cigars. At this point and time they were both feeling good. Now all they needed was something to do. Like kick somethings ass.

Nathan then looked over to his older brother and Micheal began to say something when everyone outside the bar heard something walking threw the bushes. It didn't ound like anything small at all. When it walked, it made trees shack. You could hear this thing coming 6 miles.

Nathan: "What the hell is that?"

Micheal: "Hell if I know. I just hope whatever it is, it has a mind that wants to kill. I just want it to be huge and I want to kill it."

Nathan: "Thats what I am talking about. I got an idea. Whoever kills this thing out of me and you, the loser has to by the drinks the rest of the night. Hows that sound?"

Micheal: "Thats sounds like a plan little bro. I hope you have alot of money though, because your about to be buying a sh*t loud of drinks. Hahaha!"

Then the beast showed itself. It came out of the trees standing 10 feet tall. The thing had rows of jagged and sharp teeth. The teeth had blood stains from the monsters last victim. The beast also had glowing markings on it. It was glowing Wila. It had the marking all over its razor sharp claws. It had ruff stone looking skin and red glowing eyes. This was for certian a gaint beast looking to kill.

Micheal: "Sweeet! Its just what I wanted. I wonder what the hell all those wierd markings are on the big bastered."

Nathan: "It looks like it is saying Wila. Who knows. Lets just kill it and we can get a better look."

Micheal: "Thats sounds like a great idea. I am about f**ked up from the floor up and my vision is blurry from this far. So lets go with the killing idea."

Nathan and Micheal then just smiled at one another and then took of faster then light with there katans at their sides. The beast was just standing there and Micheal jumped into the air and came down with his katans slashing downwards on the beast back. When the blades hit, it made sparks fly as if the blades hit steal. The monster was not hurt by the slash one bit. The skin was to hard.

Nathan came around the side and then jumped in the air. Why he was in the air, Nathan summoned a spell of fire on his swords. Fire covered the blades with blazing flames. Nathan's katans slashed the beast in the eye. As Nathan landed, he slashed the legs of the monster 50 or 60 times. He was moving back and forth and side to side on both legs. Nathan then jumped back next to Micheal and seen the beast just roar really load in anger.

Micheal: "I think we just pissed him off."

Nathan: "You think? We have to figure out how we are going to hurt this big some bitch, because what we are doing has not worked. I am going to use an attack I have been working on for 6 years. I have only done it once, but I was to weak to control it and it almost killed me. I have never tried it again since."

Micheal: "The hell with that. Your going to be buying the drinks. I am going to kill this thing. I am going first."

Nathan: "Fine, fine, lets see what you got. I don't think you can do it."

Micheal: "Please... I went to Fize mother f**ker!"

After saying that Micheal started charging a ball of lighting in his hands. It was a blue and white ball with little lighting bolt inside of it. It kept growing and growing. Then Micheal formed the balls of lighting over his body. He then ran and jumped on the face of the beast.

Micheal: "Fusion Explosion!"

The lighting then ran off of Micheals body and formed around the beast. Micheal then jumped off of the beast. As he landed the lighting ball exploded. After it eploded, it kept electrecuting the monster. You could hear the screams off pain. After 20 minutes, the electrisity was done doing what it was suppose to do. The monster layed there in a crater of black ground from were the lighting had so much power. The monster was dead.

Micheal: "Woohoo!!! Now that thats over, how about them drinks little bro?"

Nathan: "Screww you. You got lucky. I could have killed him too. I might be buying drinks, but your renting the rooms and I am smoking my cigars all by myself. How you like that. Hahaha!"

Nathan and Micheal then walked into the bar. Nathan was telling him all about Drasna and that girl Nizuka. He even told him about the calling threw the ground. It was a student of the earth school. Nathan doesn't remeber names of schools he doesn't care about. They started drinking again and they fired up another cigar. Nathan talked his brother into traveling with him. They were going to Drasna first thing in the morning. Right now they are catching up on past time. Both of them have a goal to get a woman in the bed. That battle was not that much of a stress reliver. It was time to party and then wake up with a hang over in the morning and start walking.

Lortin just stood there, with the artifact in his hand. The battle he just fought wasn't much of a battle, more like a duel that ended within the first few blows. The mana in the air was still raw, Lortin knew that he was being watched from someone, he didn't know where or who. He began to back trace out of the forest, through the darkness and back into the open fields of the mountains. It was coming close to sunset once again but this time Lortin wasn't going to make camp, he decided to just spend a few hours in the mountains at night and camp at Murdon's camp. He looked back at the forest and the trees were changing from green to brown slowly. "Is that my doing?" he thought to himself as he turned around and began to walk back towards Murdon's camp.

Lortin walked up to Murdon's camp and to his surprise Murdon was present. He put his things down and Murdon greeted him.

"How are you young one?" "Out on another errand for Kaohn?"

"Indeed, I'm not sure why he wants these artifacts. When I took this from that forest the forest began to change colors like it was dieing."

"Sounds bad, well I'm sure whatever Kaohn has planned is for the right reasons."

The next morning Lortin awakes with Murdon standing beside him ready in armor. "You ready boy?" Murdon said to Lortin.

"What?" Lortin asked, "what do you mean."

"I need to ask Kaohn a few things, thought I accompany you."

"By all means, please."

Murdon and Lortin set out back toward Drasna to return the artifact and for questions.

It was around the early afternoon when they arrived at Drasna. The mana was different, Lortin could sense it. It was also very quiet for the early afternoon. They walked into the courtyard to see the horrid site of student corpses all around.

"What the hell happened here," Lortin said out loud.

"Looks like a slaughter to me," Murdon replied.

Murdon headed towards the elder's tower while Lortin headed to the dorms to see if there were any survivors.

‘‘Now being in Drasna territory I was slightly relieved. The trip here was less than nice to put it simply. Sailors can be very piggish! Whatever though, I think they got more of a shock than I did. Anyways it wasn’t until I arrived at the school that things began to unravel.’’

The entrance to the school was open, damaged beyond repair. When Zipporah walked into the place she found herself amidst a slew of corpses. It seemed as though someone had attacked Drasna and didn’t leave anyone standing. Zipporah gasped and tried to stop herself from being sick. The sight was horrifying. She had never even heard of such damage before. Something didn’t quite fit though. The mana flow seemed unchanged. No scarring from the land being damaged or from the many bodies around her. She walked through making her way towards the main offices. All along the way the scene didn’t change, bodies lay all over the ground lifeless. When she could Zipporah called out hoping for a response.

How am I ever going to get rid of this without Drasna’s help! This is terrible.

Sadly her selfish desires began to overcome any sympathy for the carnage around her. To the point where she missed seeing the figure sneak up behind her. Suddenly she felt a change in the mana flow but it was too late. She felt herself being lifted in the air. An unseen force wrapping around her and hindering her from doing anything, panic began overtaking her now and she cursed herself for getting caught up in her own selfishness. Helpless she was taken into the main offices and into what may have been an audience chamber. The room was dark and she couldn’t make out anyone around her. Without warning she was released from the bond and a voice called out to her.

“Who are you and where are you from!? You gotta be pretty stupid to wander around a place like this oblivious to others.”

“Hahhaa, but what would you expect from a girl!”

“Excuse me!!!”

Zippy couldn’t stand the voices trying to boss her around. With her new found rage sparks began to course around her body, dancing madly over the ebony armour encasing her. She lifted her axe into a ready stance.

“I’ve got no problem frying you two in here, it would only take about one bolt to break this building down. I better appease your curiosity though. The name’s Zipporah, formally a student at Fize. You definitely pissed the wrong girl off today guys!”

“Quiet!”

The room quickly lit up and Zippy found herself surrounded by many students. One man stepped towards her. He had authority despite his young looking appearance. His blue Mohawk parted to the right and his numerable piercings on his face.

“So concludes class for today, it would seem that our guest doesn’t appreciate the fine art of illusion as much as we do. Class as per your required assignment the illusions need to be maintained for at least another ten hours. Class dismissed!”

Without a word the many of the students teleported out of the room while others walked by Zipporah chuckling at her. It didn’t take long for her to blush as she figured out what had happened. She looked at the man in disbelief.

“So all of that wasn’t real? Isn’t that a bit mean to be doing to those coming to the school!!!! What’s wrong with you?! I thought the whole school was slaughtered!”

“Please relax, and allow me to introduce myself. I’m Vaughn Gunir, a teacher here at Drasna. How might Drasna be of service to you Miss Zipporah?”

Zipporah began recounting her tale to Vaughn Gunir, just as she concluded a group appeared beside. It was made up of mostly children and one younger woman around Zipporah’s age. With tears running down her face she talked wildly to Vaughn. Who seemed almost totally unfazed by whatever she was saying except that his eyes began to become watery. Zipporah stepped back not wanting to eavesdrop. With kids sobbing also, Vaughn looked to Zipporah and spoke.

“Our college is quite large and it appears that a small band has attacked one of our dormitories to the west. Let me explain something to you, your reasons for coming here cannot be adequately dealt with until these fools have been disposed of. We teachers aren’t expendable enough to go save the day, and it isn’t the way of Drasna. We must keep watch in case another attack takes place. However a student from another college like Fize for instance is much less precious.”

Zipporah could sense concern in the man’s voice despite the rudeness he used to explain the situation to her. She didn’t appreciate the fact she was being looked down upon. She paused for a moment before making her decision then shook her head.

“I’ll go.” She repsonded quietly.

With that Zippy rushed out of the room and towards the west dormitory. Alright times to get serious, lives are at stake here including my own. C’mon Zip, let’s impress the spectators so they’ll help you with your own problems.

As Zipporah neared what was once the dormitory she stopped taking a moment to catch her breath. She slowly moved closer toward the dorm unsure of what she could be walking into her axe brandished.

As Solan ran down the long hall towards the exit, he played Riian's words over and over in the back of his mind. How could Master Julio's magic been so useless against the black-haired mage? Just who was this person and what did he plan to do? The thought sent chills down his spine, but the evening sun warmed him as he pushed through the double doors and made his way outside. The air was still thick with smoke from the attack and as he looked back towards the college, he wondered if it was really okay to leave Marcellus and Riian there. No, he shook his head as he thought to himself, they'll be fine. He then continued on down the path away from the college and headed towards the forest.

He wasn't sure how long he had been running, but he was out of breath by the time he made it to the edge of the forest. He stopped by the side of the path and leaned against a tree, hunching over as he tried to catch his breath. He definately wasn't used to running so much at once. When he was finally able to stand up straight, he cautiously entered the dense forest. The path was wide and welcoming at the entrance, but the further in he went, the narrower the path became, and the once bright sun overhead could now only be detected by the slivers of light that were able to penetrate throught the thick leaves. Solan shivered, not only because of the sudden chill in the air, but because of how eerie the forest had now become.

He hadn't been walking for too long when he noticed something else strange. Despite the forest being home to many different types of animals and birds, it was unnaturally quiet, as if every living thing had disappeared. There was also a heaviness in the air that seemed to bear down on him, like something was watching him. A snap from behind caused him to turn in surprise, but there was nothing there so he brushed it off as just his mind playing tricks on him and laughed at himself as he continued on.

A few minutes later, Solan heard a rustling from the trees up ahead. Something was headed towards his way, and fast. He held up his staff and stood in a defensive position as he waited for whoever or whatever was headed for him.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Hyzenthlay & Lucid Joint post (Riian & Marcellus)

"Riian is it?" Marcellus asked as he crossed the room, the silence seemed to amplify the swishing of his robe as he walked. "I know there hasn't been a good time for formal introductions, but I'm Marcellus." He gave a small smile as he held the tray out to Riian. "I...I made some tea. It's not much, but it should help to calm your nerves."

He was still a bit upset with Solan for leaving him behind, but he was going to try and make the best of the situation. Maybe he would even make a new friend. Even so, he wasn't looking forward to searching the college for survivors. He didn't have a problem with wanting to help people, but he just didn't think he could bear to see anymore corpses. Thinking about it now made him feel like it wasn't the first time that he had seen so many, but he knew that notion was absurd since he never remembered seeing so many dead bodies like that in one place.

Riian glanced at Marcel and shook his head gently. His body ached from nerves and his mind was tired of thoughts. Yet Marcellus and Solan seemed so calm. Even to the point of making tea. He looked at Marcel nodding and smiled weakly.

"Thank you... Marcellus. Though, I think we should go soon. The night is setting in and if the temperature drops too low my WarmHeal won't work." Riian looked at his hands with a slight smile. A beautiful orange glow emitted from them.

Healing spells were high spells, normally only mastered by trainee teachers and mages. So WarmHeal and HeatAid by Sols terms were far too advanced for Riian. Yet he had picked them up with no effort at all. Almost like he had inherited them. He took a cup of tea and sat back, closing his eyes. The steam of the tea ran up his nose gently and the smell raised his spirits.

Marcellus nodded as he sat the tray down and took a cup of his own, holding it between his cool hands for a moment before taking a sip of the sweet, honeymint tea. The liquid quickly warmed him and helped to clear his head, but it also made him become more uneasy, like there was something important he had forgotten to do. He had begun to feel a lot like that lately, even to the point where he felt like sometimes there was another voice in his head trying to speak out, but it hurt too much, so he always tried to suppress it. No point in thinking about it now though.

He looked out of the window at the setting sun and hoped that everything was going well with Solan. The forest was no place anyone wanted to be when it got dark, but he knew that Solan was plenty capable when it came to taking care of himself and others. Still, he was worried. Something in the air just didn't seem to sit right with him. He took another sip of tea then sat the cup back down on the tray.

"I guess you're right. Better to get it done before it gets too dark," he said, looking back over at Riian. "Are you feeling well enough to lead? I'm not really familiar with the some of the areas of the school yet."

Riian opened his eyes briefly and looked over at Marcel with, at last, a wide smile. He nodded and sipped his tea.

"I'm ready to help my friends. That's all there is."

His smile faded as fast as it had come as a lump caught in his throat. Some of his friends would almost definitely be dead, if not most of them. A storm caught his eye as his gaze shot to the window. A vast rain cloud carried towards the college from the north. It seemed to settle directly above the building before dispersing. Riian shook his head and looked back to Marcellus placing his tea back onto the tray.

"Perhaps we should move, then? I didn't much like the look of that storm, let alone the night." He stood and stretched his arms.

"Storm?" Marcellus asked, hesitantly looking back out of the window, but saw nothing. Maybe he had heard Riian wrong. He turned back to Riian and nodded, picking up his staff that was resting against the wall as he made his way to the door.

Once out in the hallway, Marcellus looked left, then right down each hall just to make sure they were clear. A nearby hall light flickered unexpectedly, causing him to stop, his heart catching in his throat. Realizing what it was, he gave a sigh of relief. He didn't know why he was so jumpy all the sudden, but then again, the old school always did sort of gave him the creeps, especially when it was dark.

"It's a bit dark out here, but it looks safe," he said to Riian. "Should we turn on all the lights, or do you think it might attract unwanted attention? I could just use my staff..." As he finished speaking, the orb on his staff began to glow with a small, but bright white light. It lit the area around them, but made the darkness beyond the light seem much more sinister.

"Y...you go first," he stammered timidly.

They then slowly made their way through the college as they searched for survivors.

--15 mintes before Zipporah arrives at Drasna college--
He needed a plan, there had to be some way out of this. Teleportation was being jammed, the stairways were blocked, and climbing down the side of the building probably wouldn’t work either. Maybe if he sacrificed himself to find whoever had set up the teleportation jammer then at the very least the others would be able to get out, but… He didn’t want to die. There was so much that he still needed to do. Who would save her if he didn’t. Who would carry the mantel of his self inflicted burden? He had no other options, none, not a single way that could guarantee he would get through this alive. Sighing he reassessed his options, he would die, if he took that fact for granted then how could he minimise his loss? He turned to look at Vanessa who sat cowering amongst the children. She was an option, she could continue what he had started. But there was no way to guarantee she would. If he died then there was nothing to force her into bearing his burden. She had one though, cradled within her arms, he could use that, his for hers. An appeal to her guilt as much as to her honour. And what could bring on that guilt more than a smiling face, an entire living testament to a broken promise. Aloin pulled himself to his feet, his eyes scanning the room. He coughed, just loud enough to draw the eyes of the frightened crowd.

“Is there a healer here” He said calmly, watching for any shy movement. The girl on Vanessa's lap squirmed slightly and raised a hand. Aloin breathed a sigh of relief and strode over to the diminutive healer. Giving a little nod to Vanessa he crouched down, looking the little girl directly in her amber eyes. “You reckon I could borrow those powers, It’ll be difficult but just do what you can please” He said, slowly unwrapping his arm from the coiling sleeve of his shirt. It was a sickening sight, the fragmented pieces of bone still pushing out against the skin forming jagged lumps that were covered in bruises. The girl however didn’t seem to care, a few weeks training as a healer takes away ones ability to be squeamish. She laid a hand on the mangled limb and began to chant, her eyes screwed shut in concentration. A faint blue light glimmered from between her fingers, and aloin could hear a scraping sound as his bones were dragged back into place. The bruising that covered every inch of his arm also began to recede, becoming little more than discoloured bumps against his skin. However this was far more than the girl was used to. She gave out a little yelp and feinted, falling backwards into Vanessas forgiving arms. Aloin flexed his partially healed arm. It no longer hurt to move but it felt brittle, as if it was on the verge of being broken once again. It would have to do though, he thought, glad of at least this much. He turned his attention away from his semi restored arm to face Vanessa, who simmered with silent rage.

“Were all going to die anyway, you didn’t have to push my sis-“ she hissed from between clenched teeth before Aloin cut her off.

“I think I have a way out of this” he began “Well you’ll have a way out at least” he added, watching the confused expression flow over her small face. “If I knock out the person jamming teleportation, you should be able to get everyone out right?

“Yeah I could… but we don’t know where-” she stopped, a thought flowing through her mind “You’re planing to go out to find them aren’t you? That’s suicide! Even if you do manage it I won’t be able to teleport you if I don’t know where you are” Vanessa was almost screaming and the children in the room had all turned to face the pair, large eyes staring silently towards the commotion.

“I realise that” Aloin said, ignoring the harsh gaze of the children “But if we’re all going to die anyway then at least there’s a chance that every one else will survive”

Vanessa stared at Aloin, unable to find any words to express the clamouring multitude of thoughts which floated through her mind. It was if she expected him to smile at any moment and tell her his true plan, one that would save all of them. Instead there was just cold acceptance in his angular eyes and gaunt cheeks. It made her whole body tingle in dread. He didn’t stand a chance against the attackers, all he would achieve would be an early death. He couldn’t possibly… it wouldn’t be fair. How could anyone consider sacrificing themselves? Suddenly a single voice amidst her internal cacophony rang out above the rabble, a single hope filled voice.

“What about that goal you set yourself, the one that was more important than your life itself. Are you going to throw it away?” She said her voice tinged with desperation. Aloin stared at her and silently flicked a hand to his neck, pulling away the silver locket. He reached out and placed it in her unresisting hand, hesitating longingly for only the briefest of moments before withdrawing his arm.

“We all die sometime right?” He said as Vanessa flipped open the delicate piece of silver work. She gasped slightly, a sharp little intake of breath. Her eyes wavered between the contents of the locket and Aloins cold eyes.

“I never knew…” she said re closing the locket “this was your goal?”

“I’m asking you to find her, and to help her if you can” Aloin said standing up “Or at least to commemorate a grave” He said softly, a pained smile on his face. He looked down at the unconscious girl on Vanessa's lap. “Yours for mine eh Vanessa. Yours for mine.”

He turned, not wanting to see the expression on her face. It would be better to let his words fester within her mind. Even though his eyes were focused on the door ahead of him he could feel the eyes of everyone else in the room resting on him. The faint sigh of moving heads and rustling clothes. He reached the door, its forgiving oak frame welcoming him onwards, its sturdy handle fitting neatly into his palm. He pushed it, hearing the whining groan of the hinges as it swung open. The world outside the room was harsh, the arid smell of scorched air filling his nostrils like gaudy incense in a crampt room. He closed the door gently behind him and turned to face his silent companion.

“Are you ready for this kiki?” Aloin asked quietly. The small ferret frowned slightly, a momentary tilt of her head indicating a hesitant yes. As Aloin turned towards the distant stairs she opened her muzzle to speak.

“Why are you doing this?” She hissed “At best you're going to get just us killed, if you really wanted to survive you'd have used the children as a distraction...” Her voice trailed off leaving only an uneasy silence. Aloin passed his hand up towards his shoulder, holding it there before his companion. She bit it eagerly, sucking the blood from the open wound.

“I don't want to do that. Even though my search is the most important thing to me, I don't want to become the kind of person she'd despise.” He said beginning his descent with slow, deliberate steps that landed flatly against the stone steps. “You'd better start having a look around Kiki I don't want to be caught off guard.” Reluctantly she released his hand, casting her eyes down towards the enemy.

“Damnit” she muttered “ they're about to come up a floor so they're gathered at the stairway”

“Which floor” Aloin said stopping suddenly

“The one below us...” Kiki said quietly. Aloin nodded, his eyes going glassy for a moment. He had to ensure they'd only be chasing him. If they kept going then there would be nothing to stop them from killing the survivors. He spun slowly on the spot scanning the stairway around him, looking for an answer to the problem. It was the same as when he'd left it. Great swathes of stone had been torn away by the raging flames of his assailant leaving piles of discarded rubble across the floor. He smiled to himself as he picked up two large stones from their own little craters.

***
Barely a floor beneath Aloin lay the invaders. It was a small group, four heads in a tight circle at the base of the final ascent. Despite how closely they stood together it was a mismatched looking gathering. Each body a contrast to the next; one with gleaming golden hair carefully slicked back with a pair of black goggles adorning his forehead, his clothes an assortment of tattered red scarves and a short sleeve jacket that snugly fitted his lithely muscular frame; the woman whose limbs were covered in a sheen of hard rock, her hair tied up into two tight black buns secured with sparkling silver pins that extended right the ways through the silken hair; The pale man whose breath left a whitened spectre, as if he stood in the dead of winter, with long pure black gloves that reached past his elbows with ease; and the fiery red head who had secured countless blades to her slender form.

“Are we ready to go up yet? This is taking forever” The man wreathed in red cloth muttered darkly.

“Be patient Vaneer, is that really too much to ask” The rock armed woman said soothingly, extending the stone around her fist into a cruelly barbed spike.

“It would have been much easier to just burn the whole thing” Vaneer said, talking more to himself this time.

“But then the teachers would be able to see the smoke and go 'Oh my we appear to be under attack release the counter measures and let's give them what for'... we don't want that now do we?” The woman said throwing her arm around Vaneers shoulders. He shrugged it off casting his head down the corridor.

“Why is Arlane taking so long, what could she possibly have to do? Were against students here”

“I think Arlane said something about preparing our escape route, she might be summoning something” The bladed woman said fiddling with a lock of hair that dangled over her eyes. Vaneer turned his head questioningly.

“I thought once you'd made the contract you could just call them whenever” He said incredulously

“Nope, you gotta abide by whatever contract they set down. Sometimes it has details about only being able to summon on certain days or what not” She said tilting her head to one side as her eyes concentrated on the wayward lock of hair.

“But wouldn't that-” Vaneer began before being cut off

“She's bargaining with it I assume” the woman said taking her fingers away from the strand of hair. She stopped suddenly, her hand grinding to a halt in front of her chest, the briefest flicker of surprise playing over her face. She craned her head back “ I think there's someone above u-”

There was a heavy crack as the rock hit her squarely between the eyes. Time seemed to stand still as she tumbled backwards, leaving a sporadic trail of thick red blood in her wake. Her companions merely watched, not yet registering what had just happened. Even as she fell her hands flew in the direction of the rocks origin, sending forth a cyclone of raging flames. It incinerated everything it touched, cutting neat holes through the stairway and the wall beyond. She landed against the floor with a soft thump, a crazed smile extending over her bloodied face.

“Alice, destroying the stairway was not a good idea...” The pale man said quietly “It makes our mission much more difficult” Alice merely shrugged from where she lay spread eagled on the floor, her eyes staring upwards with gleeful abandon. Suddenly her eyes widened, her whole body contorting into a tight ball as a hysterical giggling began to emanate from her throat. She raised a shakey hand to point upwards.

“He's got a ferret” she managed between gasps of air “I've got to give him points for that”

“Alice... We've all seen a ferret before, I'm sure it's not quite that funny” Vaneer said slowly, obviously embarrassed by his now rocking companion. She shook her head once as she continued to roll on the floor. Vaneer cocked his head to one side his brow creasing ever so slightly in confusion. “What? Then why are you laughing?”

“Cos he's gonna land on your head” She said, her voice suddenly serious. It took only a moment for her words to sink in. Vaneer threw his head back, his hands flying with it in an easy arc.

There was a muffled thump as Aloins foot connected with the man's face, the impact driving it backwards as Vaneer tried desperately to maintain his balance, his arms fumbling through the air wildly. Not wasting a single moment Aloin allowed his body crumple against the man before leaping forwards in another desperate jump, like a bird hurling itself from the top of a cliff. Even as he hurtled through the air Aloin managed to twist himself around, his body turning to face the group as he pulled his arm backwards expectantly. He hurled the second chunk of rock at the black gloved man, its flight arcing towards his bored looking face. It connected with the sound of shattering glass causing him to spin rapidly on the spot. Aloin landed uncertainly on the stone floor, his feet skipping over the tiles backwards as he tried to maintain both his balance and his momentum. With a grunt of exertion he jabbed the butt of his spear against the wall, propelling him around into a full sprint down the corridor.

“How irksome” the black gloved man said, his spin grinding to a halt. Mere inches from his face lay the rock, frozen in a bed of ice which had formed from the surface of his skin. He broke it off cleanly and tossed it to one side “Vaneer, you can deal with this one as you have been complaining so virulently”

Vaneer nodded, pulling the black goggles down over his eyes. He raised a hand, one finger pointing down the long corridor towards the retreating back. A burst of flame shot down the corridor, leaving a crimson streak in its wake. Far ahead Aloin jumped to one side, narrowly avoiding the burning projectile as it speed past him. Vaneer smiled extending both sets of fingers towards his target. The ten streaking flame zig zaged down the hall, slicing like prison bars towards his attempt to escape. Aloin repressed a shout as he felt two of the bolts pierce his body, bursting through it like a warm knife through butter. He staggered on, knowing full well that he could not afford to stop. Once again Vaneer smiled, closing his fists with a confident finality. The flames in front of Aloin exploded into a hundred flaming streaks that circled back towards him as a wall of dancing flame.

“Do something!” Kiki shrieked, her claws digging into Aloins shoulder.

“I'm thinking!” Aloin screamed back as the flames raced towards him

Like a shining beacon of hope cutting through the heavy fog of despair, he could see a door. He dove for it, struggling with the handle as his hands fumbled aimlessly. He flung it open as the flames began to consume the door frame, just managing to squeeze through as they swept passed. He collapsed against the ground with a short sigh of relief. He turned his face to the still trembling kiki.

“Which way?” He said quickly “We've got to keep moving or he'll just catch up to us...” He trailed off pausing to think for a moment “He probably doesn't even need to chase us. He could probably direct a fire ball down here right now” He said scrambling to his feet, a sense of dread lining his stomach. Nothing happened.

“left...” Kiki said slowly “The next left, about 100ft away” Aloin nodded racing off in tune to kikik's directions.

***

“You missed Vaneer” the black gloved man said coldly.

“It's no fun if you don't give them a chance Krys” Vaneer said his hands clasped behind his head. Krys scowled slightly before turning to the rock armed woman.

“And Thea is there any reason you have not recreated the stairs yet, it would be more efficient if we fixed them now rather than waiting for the loose ends to be tied up”

“And miss a chance to watch Vaneer's spectacular failures?” she said innocently, her eyes gleaming slightly as she watched Vaneer clench his fist. Krys shrugged slightly, an unnatural looking shift of his shoulders. From the floor came another voice

“I'd get going if I were you Vaneer.” Alice said, rolling into a sitting position “Preferably before he tracks Arlane down”

“He's running for his life Alice I doubt he has the time to look for Arlane” Vaneer said as he began to stride down the corridor.

“Remember that ferret I was talking about?” Alice said, pulling at a lock of hair beside her ear. “It's a summon, specifically a spirit tracker. He shouldn't have much trouble finding her” She said, her words causing Vaneer to stop suddenly. He spun slowly.

“Why do you know so much about Drasnian magic?” He said

“I used to be a student here” she said simply

“What!? But you don't... I mean, you said you went to...” He stopped, holding both hands in front of himself, almost defensively. “I really don't want to know do I?” He said, turning back towards where his target had fled.

“I like to burn things...” Alice said quietly. For the briefest moment Vaneer froze, his brain rapidly searching his memories for any clues. He shrugged to himself, It didn't really matter right now. He had someone interesting to kill. This would be far more fun than just hurling a few fireballs into the crowd.

***

“He's right behind us!” kiki said as a fire ball burst against the wall beside them, showering them in a cascade of biting sparks. “Left here” she added as an intersection rounded into view.

“How close are we?” Aloin asked as a sliver of flame shot across his cheek.

“It's hard to tell” kiki said, before taking a quick glance over her shoulder “Is that bastard playing with us?” she muttered irritably. Aloin took a glance over his shoulder. The man chasing them was casually throwing crude balls of fire in their direction, smiling as they showered sparks down over the duo.

“I suppose it's not as bad as when he super heated the floor” Aloin muttered “He's probably just thinking of something else to throw at us right now”

With out warning the world around him became tinted with a deep blue. There was a faint sense of stretching against his skin, as if he was trying to run though a skin of congealed fat. It faded quickly accompanied by the arrival of a blue winged butterfly that hovered over his head.

“Kikik how close is she? That must have been some kind of warning system!” Aloin said trying to force his body to move faster.

“The end of the corridor maybe, but she's started to move. Why are we going faster?” Kiki asked, her face swivelling to face Aloins.

“Because he probably knows what the butterfly means” He said breathlessly. Suddenly the world around them began to buzz, white hot heat cascading down the stone surfaces of the corridor chasing the running figure like a pack of hounds. With it came a flurry of fire balls that sped past him, connecting with the walls to belch fresh flame across the hall like a newly unleashed volcano. He slid under them, feeling the beginnings of heat against his back on the floor. He drew himself to his feet, the last door within his sights. Another flurry of flames, this time the slender arrow like ones that bounced against the walls. Aloin didn't even try to dodge, their unpredictable flight making it useless to even try. They cut through him, his left arm now covered in large cauterised holes. The door was closer now, part of it had been blown away by a previous piece of magic and through the hole Aloin could see the back of someone's head, just as it was beginning to turn. Slowly this vision of hope died, as it was obscured by a wall of flames. He just needed to get a little further. A few more yards. He kept running. Surrounded by a world of heat and flame. His feet burning against the molten ground. His left arm hanging uselessly by his side. His partially healed right arm clutching his spear desperately. The summon biting deep into his shoulder as it shook in terror. And through it all the approaching wall. He would not give up!

He clenched his teeth, tightened his grip on his spear, coiled his legs for one final burst, and jumped into the air. He hit the wall of flame. He could feel it, dancing over his skin. A continuous wave of pain that smothered his entire body. He wanted to scream. But that would mean letting the flames into the recess of his mouth where they would drive down his throat like a sword slicing unprotected flesh. And then he was on the other side. He opened a heavily burnt eye to see, through his faded sight, the door; and past it, through the hole that lay in its centre, the face of his target. He smashed against the door, accompanied by the sound of groaning hinges. In that face was a mixture of surprise and confusion, as if it were trying to make sense of the grim remnant of a being that lay beyond the wood. The hinges gave a quiet twang as they flew from the wall, spraying stone and dust into the heated air. With the hinges gone the door began to plow forwards, nothing left to withstand the momentum of Aloins body against it. It collapsed over onto the other side, hitting the still surprised person and driving them to the floor. There was a loud crack as something below the door broke. Aloin collapsed sideways, rolling off the door onto the cool floor of the room.

“Did they make it out?” He whispered hoarsely. Kiki scanned the floor above them and nodded quickly. Aloin smiled for a moment “that just leaves us then” He said, trying unsuccessfully to pull him self from the floor. After he managed to draw himself up to a kneeling position using his spear as a stand.

“There's no way you're getting out of here like that” Kiki said, watching Aloins body shake unsteadily. He gave a wane little smile, taking ahold of the small summon and bringing it in front of his face. Tears were falling openly from his eyes, leaving hissing streaks on his burnt skin.

“I'm sorry” he whispered, as the man dashed into the room, rage splashed across his face, and a ball of fire sitting neatly in his palm. “I don't want to die yet...”

There was a flash of golden light...

(This has been a long time coming. If anybody is still in then post in the OOC so that I know you are still around. It's nearly Christmas so I'll be around a lot more.)

Lars' knees buckled. His head seemed to squirm with pain. He raised his head to look at Zelgius through blurred eyes. Zelgius looked back flinching as Lars raised his arm for aid.

"Help me up, General." Lars' eyes scanned over Zelgius as if he didn't see him at all. His fingers outstretched waiting for the General to pull him to his feet.

"My... My lord?" Zelgius took a step back, his eyes flashed.

"What are you waiting for?" Demanded Lars shaking his outstretched arm.

Again Zelgius stepped back. Lars' skin had begun to shine but not with light. It emitted a dark, shadow-like aura. For a split second Zelgius was sure he saw screaming faces within. More apparent than that were Lars' features. The powerful life forces he had recently absorbed seemed to have distorted him immensely. Making all his features sharper, more creature than man. His eyes were now of the purest ebony and his voice had become deep and chilling.

Zelgius extended a hand with a shudder. Lars pulled himself to his feet and stepped over the bodies that lay before him. He seemed to then float over towards a mirror where he examined himself with a grin. As his eyes swam into focus the smile fell from his face.

"No. No. I think a new look may be required. To suit my new self. What would you say Zelgius?" He turned on the spot to look at the General with a faint smile.

"Erm... C-certainly... One more befitting of your power, my lord?"

Lars raised his hands and his body dissolved behind a curtain of darkness. When light finally fought its way through the veil of shadow a new figure stood there. His hair was of a shining gold and his eyes a pure, ocean blue. Lars now adorned a white tunic with golden trim. He looked down at his own hands with a chuckle.

"It seems that the kings grand symphony may have been mine after-all." Laughed Lars, "He may have been the conductor but I... Was the composer." Lars' smirk was the only thing left that showed his former self. "Now... What of the girl!?"

'I really am sorry' Aloin thought as his body floated effortlessly in an ethereal sea of golden light, 'but I suppose I really am Drasnian to the core' He smiled sadly to himself as he slowly began to spin into an upright position. In front of him lay the revolving form of his small summon, as still and silent as the grave. He reached out a hand carefully taking hold of her, before glancing around at the shapeless expanse that surrounded him. The atmosphere was stifling, too many memories seemingly chocking and twisting the comforting light into something far more malevolent. He sighed. This place wasn't real anyway, just a tool to do something that he'd once had no qualms with. Slowly he closed his hand tightly against the warm body in his hand. It immediately sprung into life, clawing and scratching at his hand as it tried to escape his grasp. There was a crunch as bones broke beneath his fingers. He let his arms drop, swinging loosely at his sides. On his skin the golden marks of his contract flashed out, squirming as if in pain before shattering completely. In their place rose a black and red seal that flashed darkly against the golden light. The contract was broken. Slowly, as if urged on by the appearance of a brother, other seals began to appear, covering his body in a rippling sea of black and red. Once more he raised his arm, the body of kiki was gone, replaced by a pulsing orb that seemed to almost beat in time with his heart. He placed it gingerly against his chest as his other arm stretched out to the side in preparation. He swung, his memories spinning out into the world around him like water leaking through cloth. That same swing time and time again. That same timeless world, that same broken contract. His hand slammed into the pulsating orb, driving it into his body through sheer force of will. It was slow, inching through his skin as everything around him began to disintegrate like taut strings severed one by one. He could feel it fighting against him, trying to push its way out. And somewhere, far beyond hearing, came the small pleading voice of one already broken.
***
Gasping for breath Aloin re-entered the flame scarred room. The man still stood before him, almost frozen as time slowly wound its way back to normal. And yet it was different. He could see deeper, something above sight or hearing, a black veined aura that burned like a flame around the man. He could sense himself changing too, his body knitting itself together as pure magic washed through his system, bones extending, tiny hairs forcing themselves out through his pale skin. He grinned manically, his lips drawing back to reveal sharpened points. He'd fused with kiki, forcing her into it against her will. The only thing left to do know was make it worth it.

He sprang from the ground, his lithe body passing beneath the burning hand and up under the mans vision. The eyes seemed to freeze, as if in shock, before they began to frantically follow the boys movements. Aloin bit down hard, sinking his new teeth deep into the mans neck as he screamed in pain. He spun, dropping back to the floor and scrambling towards his discarded spear, as the man lashed out instinctively at where the boy had been. Aloin felt his clawed hands grip the cold metal, swinging it up defensively as his eyes searched for exits. There was a moment, filled only by the husky breath of the man as he clasped at his bleeding wound.

“You're a ****ing harmonizer” he spat, his body shaking almost uncontrollably as his eyes narrowed in pure hatred “You even hurt Arlane, if I hadn't been playing around this wouldn't have...” he stopped suddenly, rivulets of fire beginning to flow dangerously over his body “but I'm still stronger than you aren't I?” he said smirking to himself as the flames began to coil into an ever smaller point. “tell me” he whispered softly “Do you like explosions?”

Hyzenthlay & Lucid Joint post (Riian & Marcellus)

Riian stood in front and to the left of Marcel, the light of the staff just piercing through the darkness ahead of him. How stupid it seemed that a college of fire mastery would be so dark. Riian heard a shuffle and withdrew his sword; a long, thin bladed thing with runic symbols running the length. Something flew past making him drop to avoid it. He threw his head back and cursed,

"A bat... Of all the things..." He regained his calm and dropped his voice to a whisper as his heartbeat raced, "are you okay?" Spoke Riian, hoping for an echo of his own current emotional instability.

It wasn't his intention to react so cowardly, but Marcellus had already crouched down and covered his head as soon as he heard the shuffle, afraid of what might have been coming from beyond the darkness. The thought made him shudder, although he wasn't quite sure why. It took him a moment to realize that Riian had also ducked down, and it somehow made the situation seem rather humorous, seeing as they were both crouching on the floor because of a bat.

"Y...yeah," Marcellus whispered back sheepishly, uncovering his head as he looked at Riian. "Where did that thing even come from?"

Riian smirked, he couldn't see Marcel's face through the glare of his staff, but his voice told Riian everything. It seemed his companion was as nervous as himself. He felt relief wash over him.

"I think there was a bat colony over in the north tower. I guess we'd all be in our common areas at this time... Usually." He turned his head and began to walk once more.

Riian held his sword at his side, gripping it tightly. He touched the wall beside him and muttered an incantation, "Firefly!" The mortar between the stone lit with a faint blue glow. It showed the corridor clearly for a while then faded to darkness once more.

"Sorry, I know it's not much... At least we know there is nothing lurking out there in the abyss." He gave one, nervous chuckle and continued to walk.

"Bat colony...?" Marcellus laughed nervously as he stood, moving a bit closer to Riian, who had a sword. It might not be much use against bats, but it was better than no weapon at all. He just hoped that Riian was skilled enough with it in case they ran into something bigger.

After Riian touched the wall, it glowed for a few moments, giving them a good view of the hall before finally fading out. Riian apologized for it not being of too much help, but Marcellus was grateful for the assurance that there was nothing hiding in the darkness, making him feel bad that he had silently questioned Riian's skill with a sword.

"T..thank you," he smiled before they continued down the hall. It didn't seem quite as scary now, but the heaviness in the air was still a bit unnerving. Maybe it was just him who felt it though.

"I hope Solan is doing alright out there," Marcellus said, trying to make conversation in order to calm some of the uneasiness he was having.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. I don't think whoever they were will come back. If they wanted to kill everyone here they'd have killed me. Besides..." Riian sighed and felt apprehension drive him to a standstill beside the entrance hall. He knew it would be horrible outside and they drew closer to the carnage with every step. "...I think they got what they came for."

Riian began to walk again at an unsteady pace. His breathing became faster as his heart pounded in his chest. At last they rounded the corner that joined the rest of the college with the main hall.

"Firefly!" The room lit, illuminating a gruesome scene of dead bodies and broken furniture. A chandelier lay in the center around which was a circle of high level mages.

"The defensive mages..." Whispered Riian.

From the scene it was apparent exactly what had gone on. The professor probably realized this on the way here. Riian had been too shocked by what he had seen previously to look at his surroundings. The enemy mages had evidentially reached the castle and invaded before any shield spells could be cast. Having seen their speed first hand he could believe this.


Marcellus nodded in agreement then fell silent in thought as the two continued on. It was clear that Riian was becoming more hesitant with every step they took, but there was nothing Marcellus could say that would help to ease his fears. At least he knew that he wasn't the only one who felt this way.

When they finally reached the large room at the end of the hall, Riian once again cast the spell which lit the room in the soft blue light, revealing the awful sight of carnage before them. Marcellus gasped in horror as an image of a similar scene flashed in his head, causing him to take a step back. Where had he seen something like that before? Was it an old memory? He couldn't remember anything else about it, but it had to be something important...

Once he got over the initial shock, he suddenly felt sick again. He couldn't understand how something like this could happen.

"W...who could have done something like this...?" Marcellus finally asked, not sure if he was even speaking out loud. "...and for what reason?"

Four years ago...

"Like hell!" Body postured threateningly, Arcus glared upon the sitting Master with a venomous contempt that only he could produce, his face already growing red with hubris rage as the words he had been fearing for a year reached his ears.
"Arcus, do not think that because you sent me a colorful letter and an array of angry looks over the past year that I would simply let you be as you are. This is my college and you are part of its staff, so if I decide to make you a teacher, then you may either accept the job or quit," Master Julio replied with a hidden smile of satisfaction. He could see the anger rise in his student's eyes rise with every word, something he expected. Things were playing out the way he thought they would. Perfect.
"I did not finish my training and become the top student in my class to sit behind a desk for the rest of my life!" Arc kicked one of the desk chairs into the wall as he screamed at the Master, somewhat enjoying the feeling of letting it all out after holding it in for so long. "Why do you seek to chain my power down to suit to your lethargic agenda?" A moment of silence followed as the two of them stared at each other.

Finally, Julio looked down at the resume he had written on his desk as he let his mind wonder in deep thought. He could sense the enraged tension throughout his student's body, telling him when the erratic man was about to burst. I hope you find what you seek. With a heavy sigh, Julio gave Arcus an austere look.

"Arcus Schokken, are you ready to accept your fate?" Julio asked with an emphasis on the word fate. Arc appeared to be shaking with anger as a response, yet somehow remained quiet as something in the Master's words seemed queer.
"I always have." Arc replied in an oddly calm manner.
"Then as headmaster of Sol college, I hereby appoint you as the school ambassador."
"What?!" Arc yelled in surprise.
"If there is anyone qualified to use their power and with purpose, it's you."
"But...diplomacy is the the least of my skills."
"That's not true, however, I have something else in mind for you." Julio pulled out an amulet from within his desk, a bracelet of sorts with the school symbol hanging from its string. "Come closer and sit. I have much to tell you."

The Day After the Attack...

It was a common thing to watch the cold, woe-filled rain saturate a field of death after a dark moment in time; yet the day after the assault on Sol, there was nothing but a blood-red sun warming the blood-soaked ground. It only confirmed to Arc that something was wrong within the world as he walked through a path of bodies along the grounds. Some faces he recognized, while others were burned into his mind with an expression he had seen before; an horrific fear of the unknown. Still, it did not stop him from continuing forward, the lack of fear or disgust making him appear indifferent to the destruction of this place; he had seen it before. This was the beginning of an altered fate.

Coming upon the entrance to Sol, Arc caught sight of an odd color among the bleak stone walls, stopping in front of the college entryway to see a young girl curled up near the door wearing a blue dress, her silver hair exotic to him. Quietly crouching closer, he saw that she was still breathing, which seemed odd that out of all the carnage around them she had somehow lived. His eyes trailed down her arms to see a few defensive bruises, a sign of struggle, But from who? he thought. A cautious sensation drifted through his mind the more he questioned what he saw; something wasn't right.

Her eyes peeling open, Linear found it difficult to focus on the shadow in front of her as she woke. She caught the movement of blonde hair, then slowly widened her gaze to see a stoic face. At first she was unsure if it was real as she studied the man's features, the thick scar over his brow creating a sense of fear and experience. His bright amber eyes stared right through her as well, though the light shining off the metal bracelets around his body gave him a noble appearance. Despite that, he looked like someone who'd work for King...Oh God! Memories poured back into her mind as she remembered what had happened the night before, dread and sickness overwhelming her senses as she tried to cry out. At the same time, Linear tried to cower away, but her body felt too weak to move.

The stranger seemed to perceive her sudden fright, lifting his hand towards her; she sought to scream, yet couldn't find her voice. Closing her eyes, Linear simply curled up again, believing more agony would follow. Comfortingly, a warm hand sat gently upon her shoulder, something she did not suspect.

"Did you see what happened here?" Arcus finally spoke. His voice surprised her too, finding it to be slow and calm. When she didn't respond, she heard him shift towards her and suddenly slide both arms underneath her, then lift her from the cold ground. Being too weak to struggle, Linear let him do as he wished, though she found it odd the way he acted. Did he believe her a student? She could only hope.

Arc wasted no time to find some shelter, entering the college until he found the senior training center near the main hall. Desks were crushed and scattered about in piles of ash with many scorch marks painted on the walls. One wall had a large hole in it that led to another classroom, but overall the place was safe from the outside environment. With no bed, Arc found extra sets of uniforms that were used for when students burned themselves, bundling them together in one of the corners before laying Linear down. He then took some unburnt wood and a strip of clothing to light a fire near the girl, creating a little more light.

When Linear opened her eyes once more, she saw Arcus sitting across from her holding a pendant. He simply stared at it in thought, no expression to be found upon his tired face. The sound of her moving though interrupted his focus, however, and his eyes briefly flashed the color of the evening sun as he turned his head towards her. This time she caught malice come forth in his gaze, then suddenly settle. It confused her of what his intentions might be, yet somehow she did not fear him for the moment. He continued to stay silent until she drifted off to sleep once more.

Surrounded by death, I found you. What is your fate?

With Murdon headed towards the North Elder Tower, Lortin arrived at the Dorms of the North Section of the Drasna School. This section of the school was attacked relentlessly, as if nobody was spared. Lortin entered the front doors to the dorms to see the inside just ravaged, the doors were ripped off, there were old summoning circles from a battle, holes in the walls towards the hallways, everything was thrown around and thrown through the walls as if it was light as a feather, the magic that lit the rooms were still active though.

Having most of his teleporting powers blocked and only being able to use his Psychic and Healing abilities to help him out, Lortin never got very strong in the summoning arts. The mana in the air was damaged, he could feel it. Walking through the corridors of the dorms Lortin could sense there was something or someone near him, something he has sensed before, from the forest he just came back from. Lortin could feel the presence moving, it wasn’t close, but it was on the school. Lortin continued through the dorms.

Standing in front of the North Elder’s Tower of the Drasna College, Murdon has sword ready as he heads into the Elder Tower. The Elder tower’s interior design was different than the rest of the college, it was fancier, the dorms and classrooms looked bland and old; the elder tower had silk and marble everywhere. “I haven’t been here in years, I wonder if the teleportation stones still work,” Murdon thought to himself.

The teleportation stones were inactive as Murdon suspected, he searched for the hidden doors that led you to the stairways. From the front room, Murdon searched behind a bench on the east side of the room, there was a stone on the bottom of the bench, Murdon pressed it in and the wall next to it began to move. He walked into the stairway room and he began to walk up towards the top, to Elder Kaohn’s Quarters, which were heavily hidden.

After walking up the flight of stairs to get to the top of the tower, the next part was to find the hidden switches to activate the entrance. You had to use your mind powers though, no need for teleportation powers. The top of the tower was just a long corridor with statues and carvings on the walls, all with meanings; and a secret behind them, or a trap. Now the traps weren’t deadly, they were more of tests, if you couldn’t sense the trap when activating it, you were knocked out and teleported back to the bottom floor in a hidden room. Problem with this was, Murdon didn’t want to know what would happen if a trap hit him while teleportation was being nullified

Hyzenthlay & Lucid Joint post (Riian & Marcellus)

Riian thought on Marcel's words. His minds swam with possibilities but to utter them may shatter his nerves completely.

"Let's not think about that now. Let's... Let's just try to finds some survivors."

Riian began checking bodies, using his Firefly spell to light the scene and look for even the slightest of movements.

As Riian checked the bodies, Marcellus moved to the other side of the room, but he didn't have to kneel down to check. From where he stood, he could feel no life energy coming from the bodies by him. He could only feel the cold chill of death as it seemed to creep closer towards him. It was then that he suddenly remembered something. It was brief and somewhat distorted, but he could feel that it was important..

Bound by magic, he watched in horror as the violet lines snaked upwards, inscribing his entire body with ancient runes. The pain was excruciating, but it was almost nothing compared to the fate he would meet.

"I never thought things would end up like this," he said to the faceless figure before him. "Do you really hate me so much that you would have me suffer? You were........."

He then screamed as he was completely engulfed by the brilliant violet light.

As if he had come to some realization, he quickly backed away from the bodies with a gasp, stumbling backwards over another body. Fighting against an oncoming wave of nausea, he struggled to get to his feet and get away, but could only take a few steps before he dropped to his knees and vomited once again. His body trembled in agony. Even in the dim light he could see the tint of blood and it terrified him.

I'm running out of time, he said to himself, clenching his hands and teeth. Damn this cursed body! he slammed his fists on the floor as tears of anger and frustration filled his eyes. If only I could just remember more...

Riian had noticed a shadow pass by a door further down the hall. He turned to tell Marcel only to find him kneeling a little further back. He hammered his fists into the floor and appeared to be in agony. Riian took a glimpse to the door again. Nothing. He took a step back but kept his eyes on the far end of the hall. He drew up beside Marcel and a faint smell of vomit filled the air.

"Hey, are you okay?" He glimpsed around. The full impact of the room must have got to Marcel. "Maybe you should sit down... The area over there by the wall is clear. We should rest a while. It's been hard so far."

"I don't have time to rest!" Marcellus snapped angrily at Riian. "I've already wasted too much time...unable to remember...unable to do anything but cower in the dark like a frightened lamb! There's still so much I have to do... A child like you would never understand!"

He quickly regretted his outburst, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself. He hadn't meant to take out his pent up frustrations on Riian, but the flood of emotions from his memory had overwhelmed and angered him with the lack of anything very useful. It was just one more small piece of the puzzle he had to solve.

"I'm sorry," he apologized in a much calmer tone. "You shouldn't concern yourself with me, boy. It will only end up causing you trouble."

Despite what he had said, he did feel tired. Even the weight of his clouded memories made him weary, but he knew that no amount of resting would help him. He resented Riian's youth and optimism. He had been that way once, but now... He looked down at his shaking hands, angry that he could barely even control his own body.

The last thing he wanted was sympathy.

He took another deep breath as he regained his composure. This wasn't the time nor the place to be feeling sorry for himself. He had to be the responsible one now, especially when they weren't exactly in the safest situation. The heaviness he had felt in the air earlier had become increasingly denser and it bothered him now. He knew it hadn't been his imagination. Something had been watching them from the shadows this whole time!

Using his staff as support, he slowly rose from the floor on his own, although a bit unsteady at first. He turned towards Riian, but looked past him into the darkness.

"You should stay close to me," he said, taking up a defensive stance. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let something happen to one of Solan's precious students."

Riian was taken aback. A change in Marcel's attitude unnerved him. He looked into his eyes through the darkness. He wasn't even looking at Riian as he spoke. Riian follow his gaze but saw nothing. He turned back to Marcel and nodded. He suddenly had the feeling of being a child in a playground full of shattered glass.

What exactly had Marcel rattled was beyond him. However, he certainly wasn't willing to poke around looking for a cause of distress.

Riian raised his sword, gripping the hilt tightly with both hands. His eyes were fixed on the doorway at the end of the hall. He squinted in hope of seeing the shadow once again. Even if it were an enemy, at least he'd know it's direction.

"I saw a movement over by that door. I think it's one of the exam halls. Do you think it's a survivor?"

Riian looked at Marcel for recognition. They were both clearly on different wavelengths. While Riian hoped for life within the darkness, he knew that Marcel may fear it. 'Stay close' he thought 'for what reason?'.

Marcellus ignored Riian's question as he scanned the darkness. It wasn't that he didn't have an answer, it was the fact that he didn't know exactly what to say. He wasn't about to lie to him and get his hopes up, but he also didn't want to say something too bluntly and possibly upset him...

He eyed Riian. He realized he must have sounded pretty condescending earlier. Riian certainly wasn't a fragile child who needed someone to hold his hand, he was a young man who could surely take care of himself if he had to. It wasn't healthy to baby him, but still... he felt some sympathy for him. In just a day he had probably lost all the friends he had. It felt as though they had more in common than he realized.

"There!" he shouted, interrupting his own thoughts as he turned towards the figure which suddenly appeared in the doorway behind them. It was still for a moment, then slowly began to make its way across the room. As it moved into the dim light, it became clear that it was a student, but there was something wrong. The girl's movements seemed jerky and unnatural as if she weren't in control of herself, and her eyes were eerily vacant. Marcellus inhaled sharply as he watched her. He had seen something like this before, but where? He couldn't remember and it frustrated him.

As the girl drew closer to them, Marcellus put his arm out in front of Riian to shield him. He wasn't sure what she would do, but he didn't exactly want to find out just yet.

"Get back!" he commanded Riian, once again unintentionally treating him like a child.

Riian stumbled backwards. Marcel's sudden movement to shield him had made him jump back without thought. His eyes darted to meet with the vision-line of Marcellus. A student drew close to them, she jerked as her blank expression surveyed them. Another jolt and she drew even closer. Riian reached out with his hand. His chest was met by Marcel as he tried to step forward. Restrained, and certainly not wanting to see her more closely anyway, Riian drew back and spoke to the girl.

"Valarie, are you alright?"

No answer came. The girl's head bobbed slightly as her eyes followed to the voice's origin. Riian felt fear like no other grip him. This girl had been his friend but, whatever she was now, she was not Valarie anymore.

He heard a tapping noise to the rear, he drew his sword high in an arc and held it before him. The blade cut what light there was and lay still, diagonally before his face. Another student drew close. This time it was one Riian didn't know. Clearly an older student and just as puppet-like as Valarie. This one fell still a little while away its arms lolling at it's side. It swayed silently, as if on a breeze. Riian turned his head to speak to Marcel.

"What... Is this!?"

Marcellus glanced back at the other student who had appeared behind them. He was worried now, but he kept his thoughts to himself. There was no telling just how many more of the students and teachers were like this. He just wished Riian would stop asking him so many questions. He couldn't explain what he didn't know, or couldn't remember. Everything in his head was so hazy that it hurt even trying to think about it. Looking back to the girl, however, he spoke as though he knew more than he realized.

"Don't look at them as your friends," he advised. "There's nothing you can do for them. The only thing you can do now is to help put an end to their suffering."

The implications were as clear as they were grim, and Marcellus didn't like the idea anymore than he imagined Riian did, but they had to do whatever they could if they hoped to survive.
If they hoped to survive... Those words made him feel uneasy.

"You worry too much..." he heard a girl say. She was standing on the hill with her back to him as she gazed up the orange and red evening sky. Her long hair fluttered in the breeze and she reached up to tuck a strand behind her ear. He stood a few steps behind her, unable to decide which was more beautiful.

"...but I'm thankful to know that you worry about us." She turned and smiled at him, but only her smile was clear to him.

His vision was suddenly interrupted by a scream and he looked up just in time to see the female student racing towards them. He began to cast a spell which created a fire barrier between them and the girl, but to his surprise, she quickly dispersed it. Another fire spell was cast, but it too was dispersed just as quickly.

"This doesn't look too good," he said. "We might have to make a run for it if we don't figure something out soon."

Riian's eyes raked the room for an exit strategy but none presented themselves. He sighed and slashed forward as the male student advanced on him. He felt the cold of the flagstones leave him as he lunged and threw his sword down. It didn't even seem to connect and was pushed away as if by magnetic force. His body crashed into the wall beside him, his sword slipping from grip. Riian's stomach lurched. He was winded and defenseless. He looked to Marcel and then back to the advancing student marionette.

"TEMPEST!" He yelled, throwing his hands forward.

In his weakened state the spell only reached half power. It had barely left his hands before it became smoke. He panicked and looked around frantically for his sword. The room was to dark to make it out.

"We have to move." called Riian. "Try to get to the senior training centre. We can make a stand in there."

He felt his body lurch as a cold hand gripped his arm. The student's lifeless eyes were drawn close to his own. Riian threw himself backwards as another hand made for his throat. He kicked forwards and the boy released his grip, then advanced again. Riian, however, was in full flight.

"Riian!" Marcellus shouted and started towards him, but was stopped by the female student who blocked his path. He stepped back in apprehension, knowing that his fire spells wouldn't be of much use. He blamed his limited skill with fire magic since he had only just learned the basics from Solan not too long ago. Still, it seemed as though fire magic had little affect on them. If he could just use that...but he had promised Solan that he wouldn't. It was too dangerous.

"Go! I'll be right behind you!" he called to Riian. He swung his staff at the girl's head, stunning her momentarily in order to move past her without interruption. He then cast a fire spell at the male student, hoping to draw his attention away from Riian as he made his escape. Thankfully the diversion worked and the boy turned to focus on him, but now he had both students to deal with.

As they both came towards him, he raised his staff in defense as he began to cast another spell, but it was ripped from his grasp by a strong force and the orb was smashed onto the floor into a million pieces. The fragments then rose into the air, hovering for a moment before flying in his direction. Marcellus raised his arms to protect his face, but the shards pierced and cut into his exposed hands.

Without even a chance to react, he then found himself being thrown across the room and into the wall. As he made contact, the wind was knocked out of him and he fell to the floor gasping for air. He tried to stand, but his effort only resulted in him being thrown around again, until he finally rolled to a stop. The sound of approaching footsteps made his heart race. There was no time to be caught in such a helpless state. He only hoped that Riian had made it far enough away. Cautiously, he picked himself up and rested on one knee.

"Did you really think something like that would kill me?" Marcellus' eyes glowed a fiery orange as he looked up at the students who were now standing in front of him. They were suddenly thrown back as a violent wind surrounded him. It tore at them as it burst outward, sending a rush of air throughout the halls and shattering the windows inside the room.

*****************

Rushing back inside the school, Solan almost tripped as he made his way up the stairs. Even though they weren't children, he berated himself for leaving them alone. After everything that had happened, he couldn't help worrying about them. He was sure they were fine, but there was still that nagging feeling in the back of his mind.

As he hurried down the hall, a blast of wind surged passed him. Could it be?!

Marcel! He ran, hoping it wasn't too late.

The wind continued to swirl around Marcellus as he stood, ruffling his hair and robes in the breeze. Raising his hands, he winced as the tiny shards were extracted from his palms by the force of the wind surrounding him. Blood dripped from his hands, but it was the least of his concerns at the moment. He wasted no time moving towards the two students who had just gotten back to their feet.

He wasn't sure what had come over him, but it was as if by some strange force that he felt himself drawn to the girl. He grabbed her by the throat and pressed her into the wall, almost shocked at himself by the satisfaction of it. It was like he had been waiting forever to take a drink of water that was just out of his reach, but now...the feeling of this young and fresh life as it passed through him made his body tremble in overwhelming ecstasy.

"Marcel, no...! Stop!" Solan called as he ran into the room.

Looking down, Marcellus noticed the runes on his arm were glowing a faint purple. He released his hold on the girl and quickly pulled back from her, yanking his sleeve up to get a better look. His eyes widened in fear as he watched the line of runes begin to move across his skin, then suddenly burn and tighten as if constricting him. He fell to his knees and hugged his body as he was gripped in excruciating pain.

"What...have you...done to me..." he muttered in ragged breaths.

Marcellus then screamed in agony, unable to move as the runes continued to bind tighter around him. The two students took this opportunity to attack the seemingly defenseless mage, but as they approached him, his unstable magic pulsed outward and the blast of wind slammed into them at full force. Their bodies were violently ripped apart by the power of it, spraying blood and gore all over.

Even at his distance, the blast slammed Solan back into the wall, luckily only stunning him for a moment as he fought to catch his breath. The room shook and Solan thought it was going to collapse from the damage. Racing over, he tried to reach Marcellus, but the wind swirling around him was still extremely dangerous and he winced as it cut into his body like blades when he tried to pass through.

"Marcel!" Solan called out again and he finally looked over at him with empty, haunted eyes.

Please... he silently mouthed to Solan. Help me...

Glowing orange light surrounded Solan's hand, pulsing as he held it up and shouted through the tempest. All at once, the winds dispersed and the glowing runes on Marcellus dimmed and shifted until they were once again just harmless symbols. He then fell back onto the ground, unconscious. Exhausted, Solan walked over and dropped down by him, grateful that they were both still be alive. Looking around the nearly destroyed room, he realized just how close to death he had been...again.

There was no sign of Riian, so Solan assumed he had escaped to safety before all of this chaos occurred. Good. He couldn't risk the chance of Marcel being exposed for what he was. Not yet. There was too much at stake now.

He sat atop one of the many spires of what was once the magnificent colloge of Sol, writing in a small diary.

"It seems the temporal distortion caused by my journey into the past has done more damage to this timeline than I ever would have predicted. Never in the history books of my time was an attack on Sol in this era mentioned, nor any other school for that matter; but all the same, this school and a few others lay in ruins now, overrun by an army that was never meant to exist. It is likely that the future I know will now never come to be, as the corruption of the timeline can only increase as these distortions are allowed to create others. I suppose in a sense this means I singlehandedly defeated the Archmage Corps... ironically enough, by fleeing from them.

At the time I had dismissed the theory as idiotic nonsense based in wild assumptions lacking in any real support, but it seems Archmage Arianna's writings on what she called Temporal Corruption were all too accurate. Perhaps she and the other Archmages were justified in banning my research on Chronomancy after all.

I must admit, I am thoroughly intrigued by this effect. If the future that spawned me will never be, yet I still exist in this new timeline... the grandfather paradox is shattered, this means time is not linear as we had previously assumed, but cyclic. Is it then possible that the timeline has been altered in this manner before by a person whom my own timeline would never know existed? If so, it is entirely within the realms of possibility that time has been rewritten an infinite number of times already. Perhaps this is worth further investigation at a later date.", he wrote. He sighed deeply, and changed the appearance of the diary to that of a damaged Drasna school textbook.

A storm appeared nearby, but dicipated quickly. He knew that a storm like that was no naturally occuring event... then suddenly, just as quickly as the storm came and went, a woman materialized and landed on the soft earth of the garden, one of the only parts of the college grounds left untouched. "Teleportation without any form of spatial distortion? I detect no temporal interference either... Perhaps the storm then was actually... That would mean... WindTravel? Then Wila members... or their magicks at least survived to this era in this timeline?", he asked himself quietly. He transformed the textbook into a diary once more, and made note of this occurence in it before returning it to its textbook form.

He was intrigued. He watched the woman for a while longer, noticing her curl up into a ball and vommit. She had clearly seen something she did not wish to see. He was going to go investigate and find out who this woman was, and how she and her school of magic had survived to this date.

Riian soon drew close to the senior training centre. It was equally as dark in there save for a bracket which held a dimly smouldering torch. He place his hand on the wall. Spreading his fingers he closed his eyes.

"Firefly!"

The room lit up to show a small cluster of students grouped in the far right corner. They seemed to be staring blankly at the wall before them. Riians threw himself round a corner and peered cautiously round. They could be alive. He shook his head wildly becoming cross with himself. They can't be alive.

"Marcel told you not to look at them as your friends." He muttered to himself.

Still the thought gripped him. As his anger swelled his aura grew. He couldn't afford to attract negative attention. Mustering just a single thought, and throwing the others aside, he ran towards the exit. Once out in the night air he fell to his knees. Leaning heavily on his hands. His head pounded with painful thoughts. A sudden, sinking realisation seemed to have been enough to deafeat him. Everyone he had known was now dead. He rose his head and fell back, a girl was lay before him. She looked familiar; he didn't know why. She had the most remarkable silver hair, it blew gently on the breeze. He watched her for a while. Her chest moved gently in and out with breath. He placed a hand on her shoulder gently rocking. No response came. Could this be another of those posessed bodies? He rose to his feet keeping his eyes on her.

"Best to be sure." Riians voice shook with raw emotion.

He looked down as his palms began to glow. Flames began to grow in his hand. He faced them down, squinting to make a half-hearted attempt at not looking.

"Temp..." He paused.

The girl had opened her eyes. She gazed at him with unblinking eyes. He saw sadness there. She didn't make a move to stop him, not one. Riian pulled his arms back to his sides. He stood motionless. They looked at eachother for a moment. Riian then threw himself back to his knees. He stroked her arm for comfort. He touched her cheek gently and smiled weakly.

"Are... Are you alright?" He said, shakily.

The girl shook her head, touching her throat. Riian was confused for a moment. When she did the action again he suddenly understood.

"You can't talk? Erm... Make this simple Riian." He thought for a moment, "are you injured?"

Again the girl shook her head. Still those eyes stared into Riians. This girl must have seen it all. She seemed numb.

"Are there any more survivors with you?"

Linear thought for a moment. She looked to the sky and back at Riian shaking her head. Riian looked back with a smile. He placed his hands at her waist and made to help her stand. At his motion she rose. An ache ebbed in her yet she saw the same hurt in his eyes.

Is this then when I should ask for forgiveness? Her thoughts collided with heart-renching impact. She knew now the severity of what she had done. Her hands trembled as she placed them upon his. Riian gripped her hands and smiled at her.

"We'll be okay. I'll watch out for you."

A lump caught in Linears throat. A tear rolled down her face. Riian pulled her to his feet. He knelt and pulled up his sword, sheithing it. They then made their way to the shelter of a huge oak tree. Once there Riian sat her against the trunk gently.

"I wont go far." He whispered. Linear nodded.

At that Riian made his way to the edge of the edge of a patch lit by embers. If Marcel came out he'd surely spot Riian here.

~~~o0o~~~

"We will find her, my Lord."

Lars stepped over the body of Rafiel. He threw up his hand.

"Dispose of the bodies." He ordered.

Zelgius nodded and his men sprang to action. He then followed at Lars' heel as he made his way back down the hall.

"Should I begin my search at the ruins of Wila, my lord?" He asked, feeling ashamed.

"No, I will take the ruins. Your men will look to Sars cities. I want your troops to make their presense known. She will retreat to a safe haven when she sees she cannot hide within the country." Lars turned to the general amking him recoil slightly.

Zelgius saluted and marched ahead down the corridor.

Solan lifted Marcel into his arms and stood. He then turned to the shredded bodies of the two students and quickly ignited the pieces in a burst of flames, wanting to burn away the evidence of what had actually happened to them. He narrowed his eyes as he watched the flames dance across the ground. This should have never happened. Turning back, Solan made his way down the through the other doorway and out into the hall. He had to find Riian now and make sure he was alright as well.

He knew this place like the back of his hand, so he could easily find his way through the dimly lit corridors until he had found himself outside in the courtyard. It was then that he spotted Riian and he couldn't say how glad he was to see him. He didn't think he could stand to see anyone else die. Holding the still unconscious Marcel tightly against him, Solan quickly started over.

"Riian!" Solan called as he approached. "I'm glad to see you're alright. I came back as quickly as I could. There was no one around when I went to meet the person in the forest, so I guess they moved on, or I was too late...either way, I should have never left you two to do this alone. I'm sorry. You must think I'm a terrible person," he said in remorse. He then looked down at Marcel who had been bloodied from the ordeal. "I guess I came back just in time though." Of course, Marcel had been the one to save Riian. Solan had only saved Marcel from himself, though he could have easily killed both of them and destroyed half of this place in the process if he hadn't stopped him in time. He knew that Marcel was more powerful than he could ever hope to be, but his power had become unstable due to the runes that had been inscribed onto his body. It was not only for this reason that Solan didn't want him to use those powers, but the fact that they were forbidden. If anyone saw him using them, then he would be captured and killed by the Mage Council, or anyone else who might realize what he was. Solan figured this was probably how he ended up they way he was now.

He was preparing to teleport to the location of the girl; however, another came upon her almost as soon as the thought had crossed his mind. Instead of going down right away, he opted to observe for a moment. The boy led her to the great oak in front of the school, one of the few things not incinerated during the attack. "Hm, a Sol student survivor... Perhaps this would be a valuable opportunity to gain some information on what exactly has happened here...", he mumbled, as his appearance began to change. Soon he had become a tall boy, roughly 19 years old with short unruly blonde hair, and wearing standard Sol garments with a red hooded cloak. "Looks good enough to me...", he said to himself as he once again readied himself to teleport to the area.

As he began, he heard another voice.

"Riian!", called an older man as he approached the two. The man soon came into view, carrying another survivor. "Interesting... these attackers weren't particularly thorough it seems... I wonder how many others survived.", he muttered as he tried to listen to the conversation, but they were too far away for him to make any of it out. "Well, guess I'll have to make my introduction sooner or later.", he said.

Space began to ripple at his current location, and he dissappeared instantaneously into the spatial distortion as another appeared on the ground where he emerged just as suddenly behind a burnt tree, so not to be seen teleporting. He came out from around the tree walking towards the two. "Heya. Who's the girl? Dosen't look like another Sol survivor.", he said as he got closer.

At a young age of six, Aki Yubela was taken from her home village by the behest of the leader. The young girl's eyes lost their irises and the water in the village froze upon her touch. She couldn't drink by her own small hands. Someone else had to hold a cup for her so she could drink, as everything she touched turned to ice.

In a dire panic, the village leader contacted the nearby college of Cro to take away this cursed girl, so that mayhaps they could guide her to control her new given abilities.

Just a few years later at the age of ten, Aki had learned all there was about controlling her mana flow and all the different combinations of ice magic that the library held, as well as from the many different professors within. That was when she decided to learn a new magic that she wasn't born with, but was always fascinated in.

Aki was given a letter of recommendation from one of the headmasters of Cro, and took on a journey to the college of Fiza. Once there, she handed her letter over to the mage guards of Fiza, as it was her pass to enter for business.

Normally any college can teach the basics of all magic elements, but she wanted to learn more than just the basics. Once she was in Fiza college, she made her directed way to the headmaster's office to hand over her letter that was entrusted to her by the Cro headmaster.

At first, he was reluctant to take her in at such a young age, but he was intrigued nonetheless. If a headmaster suggested she be taught Fiza techniques there instead of at her home college, then who was he to disagree.

It took eight years of classes and relentless training, but Aki Yubela mastered all that she could about just one of the trades of electricity. It was the most common trade sought, but she didn't care. She loved being able to manipulate lightning bolts of various sizes at the tip of her fingers.

At eighteen, she thanked the Fiza headmaster for all that he did, and decided to return home to Cro, to tutor the younger mages and those who had trouble casting ice magic. However, while spending her time in Fiza, she was given a somewhat bad influence due to some of the pretty girl mages residing in the college. Their manipulative and flirty mannerisms rubbed off on her and before she knew it, she was the most popular girl mage in Cro. A school idol, even.

As Aki roamed the empty halls of Cro between classes, she noticed a girl about her age standing in front of her office. It was the office where she tutored those who sought aid in their classwork. Rather than continue walking toward her door, she leaned against the wall on the opposite side and observed the girl's actions and watched her facial expressions.

Suddenly, her note was ripped up to shreds and tossed to the ground in a fit of rage. A smirk spread upon Aki's lips as her pure white eyes continued to observe this curious girl, her body keeping pace as the girl walked further down the hall and bumped into some loser she's seen before. It was hard to see, but her eyes rolled in disgust. 'That guy is way out of her league...' she pondered to herself as her lips smiled a little as he was called a pervert. The loud scene grabbed the attention of students just leaving their classrooms, as the ending bell chimed just as the curious girl and the loser bumped into each other.

As she was watching the embarrassing scene, she heard an awful sound coming from the distance. Was Cro under attack? She wanted to investigate, but the enemy revealed themselves before too long. Mysterious people in dark garb began dominating the students, but not without resistance from them. Some students held them off for a while, but eventually blood was spilled within the clean halls. It was time for her to put all of her knowledge to use.

Etrian Odyssey - Dyed in Blood

Her body pushed off the wall as her feet stepped toward the giant brawl in the hall. Her hair flowed in the cold breeze as her jacket flapped with each step. Her gentle fingers removed the silk gloves from her hands while her eyes locked on to a foe that threatened the curious girl she saw earlier, locked up tight in her ice shield. Her steps quickened to a dash as she leapt over the ice shield and slid over the top and down the front, splitting her legs onto the ground. Her fingers enclosed into a fist and thrust a charged fist into the nether region of the immediate threat, sending jolts of energy throughout his body. As he bent over from the shock and the pain, a fierce and frosty palm strike met his chest as he shot up to the ceiling and fell face first into the ground.

With the immediate threat out of the way, she placed her open palms upon the shield of ice. It was a low level shield and would dissipate in just a few short moments. Not nearly long enough for the chaos running amok in her home. Her eyes flickered inside her closed lids as the shield of ice grew spikes all around it, feeling itself grow stronger. This one should last a few hours at least, long enough for her to clean house if she's able to.

"I'll protect you, even if you don't want me to!" she said to the girl inside the shield. One by one, she incapacitated the low level foes harming the other students in the halls, and in the campus outside the building. She could feel only half her mana left inside of her. If only there was a way to retain your energy even when your mana was depleted, because her martial arts training would be enough for most of the low level foes roaming around the place.

Her feet carried her wherever she heard cries of agony and helplessness. This was her home and she wasn't about to let it be taken over or defeated by some unknown evil.

Palm strike after palm strike, kick after kick, she sent most of them reeling. She decided to let the headmasters handle the rest as she went back into the hall to check on the girl. The few hours were almost up, after all, and her mana was almost depleted. Taking a large gulp as she walked her way back, her heels clacking on the tile. The immediate area was safe, so she dissipated the shield away and sat down against her door as she panted for breath from the exhaustion.

"So.. why'd you tear down my sign?" she asked the girl even though she well knew the answer already. She wanted to hear it from her own lips.

Riian stared at professor Solan. He closed his eyes slowly with an intake of breath. Throwing his sword to the ground he slumped to his knees and leant heavily on his hands.

"I thought you'd left us." Riian swallowed heavily. His throat had become dry and his voice horse. "I wouldn't have blamed you."

He then raised his head to take a look at Marcel. His eyes skipped over his limp body.

"What happened? I..." He looked back to the ground, "I left him. I should have brought the girl here and returned to him."

His thoughts were then immediately back on the girl. He peered around to see her leaning, eyes closed, against the base of the tree. He body had slipped and she was a little crooked where she lay. To Riian she looked peaceful. His attention threw itself back to Solan.

"I'm so glad you're back."

Solan was a little taken aback. He would never run away and leave them like that to save himself. He had run away once when he was much younger, but he learned his lesson. He would never run away from anything again. "I'm sorry," he said regretfully. "It wasn't my intention to leave you here alone when there was still danger. I thought it would be safe enough until I returned."

Solan then shook his head. "He... He's just exhausted. He'll be fine. There's no reason to feel bad. Marcel is quite capable of taking care of himself." At least, while he could control his powers that is, though he could still do quite a bit of damage with his unstable powers as well.

Following Riian's attention, Solan looked over to the nearby oak tree where he saw a girl laying. Another survivor? He was glad to see that at least someone else had survived. Despite what he thought, it was still too dangerous here. They needed to get out of here soon and find someplace safe.

"I just wish I had gotten back sooner," Solan replied as he walked over towards the tree and laid Marcel down on the grass by the girl. "Where did you manage to find her?" he asked, studying her. She appeared to be unharmed. He was then startled by another voice that appeared from nearby and he looked around to see another student approaching. Where did he come from? Solan looked back at the girl. Did she not? Why else would she be here if she wasn't a Sol survivor? He was about to say something when Marcel stirred beside him.

Marcellus' eyes slowly opened just a bit as he tried to focus. His mind was still hazy as he tried to remember what happened, though the pain in his body made it harder to think. He still felt like he was on fire. He moaned softly in pain as he closed his eyes and turned over on his side, wrapping his arms around his body and curling up into a fetal position.

Even though Marcel tried to hide it, Solan knew that he was sick, suffering from some mysterious affliction, though it was possibly related to what he was. Those who used the unspeakable magics could extend their lives by taking the lives of others, but the runes seemed to also prevent Marcel from doing that as well. Solan wasn't sure how he came to have his powers sealed in such a way, but regardless of his story, he didn't like to see Marcel suffer.

Wendy had watched a strange girl with white eyes defeat the strange man who had threatened her - within a few seconds. She watched, astonished by the strength of the girl, how she approached Wendy and touched her Ice Shield.
Although she was a little afraid of the pretty, yet frightening girl, she didn't move. She wanted to, but she couldn't.

When the strange girl touched her shield, Wendy suddenly felt a flow of Mana floating through her. It was like a big wave crushing into her body. Her knees softened and she stumbled. But the shield was much stronger now. Wendy was attacked by several men dressed like the one the girl punched - they didn't stand a chance.

"Oh how I hate it," Wendy thought. "This isn't my power. I'm just borrowing it. I feel so... weak."
She didn't move an inch when the strange girl kicked her way through the enemies. How beautiful she was, even when there was blood on her clothes. Wendy watched her every move.

After all the enemies were lying on the ground, not moving, Wendy's shield disappeared.
"Finally," she thought. Immediately after the shield was gone, she sat down on the ground. Her feet had become so heavy - that's been way too much mana for her. She wasn't able to handle so much power inside of her body. Wendy was even happy she survived - in the beginning she'd thought the mana would tear her body apart.

Before noticing her with her eyes, Wendy heard how the strange girl approached her again. She frowned and again pulled at her skirt, trying to hide how nervous she was.
"Thank you," that was what she had to say. She opened her mouth, tried to speak, but she couldn't say a single word. Nothing but a cough came out of her mouth, so she closed it again.

"So.. why'd you tear down my sign?" the girl asked. Wendy finally looked up to her, staring her directly into her white eyes. Fascinating. Her irises were gone! Wendy had never seen such eyes before. She again opened her mouth but was to astonished to say something.

She stared at her rescuer for a couple of minutes, then she looked away.

"I..." she started, hesitantly. She paused for another minute before she continued. "I don't know." Lie.
"Yeah, I don't really know. I was angry... at... some boy I met in the library. He just came to me and... and wanted to have the book I wanted to read." Lie. Lie. Lie!

Wendy felt bad for lying to the girl who saved her. But she couldn't tell her the truth. And she looked away all the time. She wasn't able to look the girl in the eye and lie to her.
"Because I hate being so weak. Because I'm not able to ask someone for help, although I really need help. Because I suck at casting Ice magic." was what she should've said.

"I was just angry. That's all," was what she said.

"Heya. Who's the girl? Dosen't look like another Sol survivor."

A new figure was now emerging from the darkness. He seemed a little too casual for Riians liking.

"Not a Sol survivor? I suppose you know all the Sol students, then?" He turned his head on its side and frowned. Placing a foot facing down he hauled himself, with great effort, to his feet. "You seem very calm considering what you're surrounded by. Not a scratch on you from what I can see. Where did you come from?" Riian narrowed hs eyes.

Linear had now opened her eyes and looked blankly at the scene before her. She made to get up placin her ands on the ground. Riian noticed this and moved to her side.

"Are you uncomfortable?" Linear shook her head.

Riians attention was then backon the newcomer.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure you meant no offense or anything, I'm just tired and we've all been through a lot." He was again sitting, though this time he rolled and lay on his back. He breathed heavily. "We have to stick together..."

He thought back to the puppet-like students and closed his eyes.

"...We have to."

Solan nodded at Riian's statement as he looked around at each of the the people that were now here. They really did need to stay together now, but where should they go? Even though he was the oldest, Solan felt just as lost and helpless as the rest probably felt. He would have to take charge though and lead them to safety. They were his responsibility now. He wasn't going to let anyone else die.

Marcel whimpered on the ground and Solan looked back down to him. "No..." he mumbled in his sleep. "Please...I didn't...No!" Marcel's eyes suddenly flew open. He felt sick. He just wanted to go home. Home? Where was home? With Solan or somewhere else? He couldn't remember. He had remembered someone in his dreams...he had seen the person's face, but the image had quickly faded from his mind once he woke up. It was so frustrating. He felt like this quest was hopeless. He wasn't sure if he would even make it in time. His time was slowly running out and there was nothing he could do about it. It was just...hopeless.

"Are you alright?" Solan asked, placing his hand gently on Marcel's arm.

He turned to lay on his back, looking up at Solan. "I'm fine, but Riian...is he...?"

Solan nodded back in response. "He's fine, thanks to you, but... You were talking in your sleep. Did you remember something?"

"It wasn't my intention to get trapped back there, but I suppose it worked out in the end," Marcellus replied, raising an eyebrow as Solan trailed off. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you, but I did what I had to do," Marcellus shook his head as he rubbed his arm.

"Does it still hurt?" Solan asked in concern, seeing Marcel rub his arm.

"Just a little. I don't know what came over me back there," Marcellus glanced back at Solan, noticing the cut on his cheek. "I-I'm sorry," he said softly, turning his head away in shame.

"This?" Solan said, attempting to brush it off. "It's just a scratch. Nothing to get all worked up over."

Marcellus said nothing in response to that. Didn't Solan know that he could have killed him? Of course it wouldn't have been on purpose, but that wasn't the point.

"And yes, I remembered someone, but only for a moment. I was just thinking... I can't remember anyone from my past, but...I wonder if there's someone out there who remembers me? Someone who still thinks about me..." Marcellus mused sadly. "I often dream about that person, and although I can never remember them when I wake up, my heart continues to ache unbearably. I think I may have hurt that person in the past." He suddenly flushed in embarrassment as he realized that he was rambling. "I-I'm sorry. You must think I'm a fool to feel so guilty about a past that I can't even properly remember..."

"I don't think you're a fool at all," Solan shook his head. "It's understandable that you want to reconnect with your past. I'm just sorry that there's nothing I can do to help you. All I can really say is to just keep trying and I'm sure you'll remember everything eventually." Solan glanced to the side in contemplation. He wasn't sure if he should tell Marcel exactly what happened to the others like him. There may not be anyone else left. It was possible that he was the only survivor of the Wila massacre. How do you tell someone something like that? Even though Marcel was from Wila, Solan never feared him as he had never done anything to hurt him, but he wasn't sure if it was because Marcel didn't really know what he was, or if it was because he was grateful for Solan saving him. He never thought to ask. He was a little afraid to.

"I hope you're right, but..." He looked down at his hands with uneasiness. "What if I don't like the things I see when I start to remember...? What if it turns out that I'm really a horrible person, and that I've done horrible things in my past?" Solan had seen what he was capable of and at time, Marcellus was afraid of himself...of what he might do.

"Whatever you did in the past is the past. I'd be a hypocrite if I let it bother me," Solan assured him. He knew all too well what it meant to have a past that he was ashamed of, though what happened had been an accident.

Marcellus gave a hesitate nod. Even after hearing what Solan had said, he still couldn't help feeling the way he did. There was always a feeling in the back of his mind that he had done something horrible, something unforgivable. What if the things he did weren't an accident like the events in Solan's past had been. What would Solan say then? Would he still look at him as a friend? It hurt to think about it. Friends... He wondered if the person in his dreams was a friend from his past. It felt important. He just wished he could remember.

Looking over, Marcellus gave a small, content smile to see that Riian was indeed alright. It was then that he saw the girl nearby as well. There was something familiar about her and her silver hair, but he couldn't quite remember. Perhaps it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

Lex had planned to play this role pretty poorly, to allow for a smoother transition into the persona he had assumed in this time. It seemed to work well, it took viurtually no time at all for this boy to notice more than one thing strange about him. Perhaps he'd even chosen to play a bit too dumb...

"Not a Sol survivor? I suppose you know all the Sol students, then?" He turned his head on its side and frowned. Placing a foot facing down he hauled himself, with great effort, to his feet. "You seem very calm considering what you're surrounded by. Not a scratch on you from what I can see. Where did you come from?" Riian narrowed hs eyes.

He acted somewhat nervous, intentionally raising suspicion. "Well, I uh... No actually, I just transferred here a week ago. I guess all I really meant was... uh... that she doesn't look like anybody I've seen around here!", he lied, laughing nervously.

"Right... just because I'm aware doesn't mean they all would be... I should be more careful... I can't afford to give out vital information like that, even if I am playing the fool...", he thought to himself.

"As for where I came from... I kinda got kicked out of Drasna a while back... And fire's the only other magic I have any affinity with at all, so I came here.", he said, intentionally avoiding the subject of his unnatural calm after the attack, or how he'd managed to live through the incident completely unscathed.


"I'm sorry. I'm sure you meant no offense or anything, I'm just tired and we've all been through a lot." He was again sitting, though this time he rolled and lay on his back. He breathed heavily. "We have to stick together... We have to..."

"Yeah, understandable. Those guys were something else to have done this kinda damage.", he said calmly, looking around the area. "So, what do you wanna do? About the attack I mean.", he asked. "I hardly knew any of these people... but still, I feel like I have to do something about their deaths. Like I have to get even or something, y'know?", he asked.

The words spun from the girl's lips as Aki took fewer deep breaths to flush the adrenaline from her system. Her eyes took in the girl's expression and body language. From noticing before, the girl seemed to have a nervous tick of pulling down her skirt for some reason. Not like the skirt was a mini skirt or anything, but she's seen stranger nervous ticks. However, the story she heard from the girl had disappointed her.

She shook her head at the girl while looking into her eyes. She shifted her position to sit in front of the girl. “So let me get this straight. You saw my sign and welled up with prideful anger at the thought of someone offering help to you. You'd rather do things on your own, but you know for a fact that you've hit your pique of self-learning so your mind wants help, but your heart has too much pride for such a foolish thing. Did I get that right?” The visage on her face was a serious one, her eyes softly glaring at the girl for lying, but had a tone of understanding.

Aki winced from exhaustion as she forced her feet to stand her up. She had one hand on her hip as she softly paced a circle around the girl whose name she had yet to know. “And before you ask me how I could tell, it's simple. I was a little ways behind you in the hall as you walked in front of my office. So I saw the anger on your face and everything. Although normally that wouldn't be enough to warrant my reasoning. It was your body language as well,” she noted as she looked down and tapped the side of her head with her finger. “I was born naturally curious about everything, so as I grew older, my skills of observation and deduction have been honed and increased. The way your body moved before you saw my sign had no rhyme or reason to be upset. A little flustered, probably due to that encounter in the library you mentioned, but not upset by far.”

Aki took the pleasure of pulling the girl onto her feet without her consent, because she knew if she offered, the girl would reject because it was in her personality to do so. Her white eyes looked into the girl as she held her hand, “Having pride is fine, but too much of it can be your downfall, as you have already might have noticed.” But then she studied the girl closer. “Or maybe it's not pride... although certainly there's a bit of it in there...” she trailed off as she contemplated the girl's eyes.

She made sure no one else was within range, and put her lips to the girl's ear and spoke softly. “It's fear, isn't it?”

Why didn't it come to her sooner? Why did she think the girl had pride? Were her skills of observation still needing work? Well, not everyone is perfect. Even if she does make a mistake, she can correct it later if need be. Even those great at deduction are sure to make a bad call now and then. That's probably all it was.

“Before I go on any further, what's your name? Mine's Aki Yubela. Judging by how long I've been here, I'm pretty sure you've heard my name before at least once,” she released the girl's hand and ran her fingers through her own hair, flicking it behind her back and dusting her dress off.

“Or maybe you just heard a fabled description of me. 'The Ice Prodigy' or 'The Girl who abandoned Cro for Fiza' or some crap like that. I've always hated that word; Prodigy. People never use it correctly. And as for leaving Cro, that's only because I was not satisfied with the 'basics' of Fiza magic. I wanted more. Besides, the Headmaster allowed me to go because I couldn't learn anything else here.”

“Fantastic. I began by calling the girl out on her lie, and now I'm going on a tirade about something she probably doesn't even care about. Why do I do this all the time?” she thought to herself as a sigh left her glossed lips. The last words from Aki's mouth probably intimidated the girl, or at least put her into more of a shock.

“To sum it all up.. I'm more of a teacher here than a student. Although that probably will make you even more upset won't it? To know someone your own age was born with an uncontrollable ice magic. I've been here since I was six years old, learning how to control it. Everything I touched turned to ice. I couldn't hold my own cups to drink, or utensils to eat or anything until I learned to control my mana. But oh no, I'm some sort of prodigy genius master person who mastered ice magic at the age of eleven. Well what other choice did I have? I was born with half of it.”

Why am I pouring out my frustrations on people onto her? I thought I got over all this when I was at Fiza? Was it just all locked up until now? Well I guess I'll just shut myself up now to save her from more boring torment from me.

Aki slapped herself to get herself to stop moving her lips. “....My apologies. I asked for your name and then went on another tirade...” her eyes glanced away as she folded her arms and looked to the side. “You must probably hate me now...”

That was the thing with Aki. People either adored her or envied her. ..It was mostly the boys that adored her though. Typical.