Main Story [Kingslayer Arc]

Drake Silver and Millie Thorrin

It was good to be home. Despite everything that had happened in the castle, life in Harrow Town was much the same as it had always been and that left Millie smiling brightly as she skipped across the streets towards the guild hall after a fine morning. Part of her was honestly surprised to see that the birds had still been waiting for her by the town's little fountain, and another part of her knew that they would always be there; the bread that she brought them was merely a bonus added on to the beauty of the fountain.


Ever since they arrived back at Harrow Town two days ago, Drake wasn't at the guild as often as he usually was. He mainly stuck to the town, he wasn't in much of a mood to hang out with anyone. Though that was mainly due to the stress of responsibilty that was building up in him. He swore if another person asked him about the meeting or where thier master was, he would snap. Currently he was outside his apartment with a certain gate open for his spirits. "You and I need to chat some even if you can't talk." He said with a light laugh as he looked up at the huge snake spirit Ophiuchus.


The spirit gave Drake a simple nod as it lowered itself to the ground. Just as Drake was about to start talking with the spirit someone tapped his shoulder. Looking behind him he saw it was a mailcarrier and at the sight of him he raised a brow. "I don't get mail...I know I told the post office not to send me anything. Got sick of all the junk after a week of moving in here." The carrier however ignored what Drake said and shuffled through his bag handing the letter to Drake. "This is a special delivery, from the king himself."


At this Drake snatched the letter out of the messangers hand and shooed him away. With Ophiuchus looking over his shoulder he started to read the letter, and once he did he let out a loud groan. "Couldn't wait a week?" he muttered as he put the letter away. "I need to get a few things first.... You want to go back to the spirit world?" He asked as he looked at the serpeant. Ophiuchus shook it's head and Drake gave a simple nod. "Okay lets go then."


With that Drake left his small yard and headed to the town center where he would be able to obtain a quick bite before heading off. As he walked Ophiuchus flew above his head careful to to break anything, such as the buildings. When they got to the center Drake looked over at the fountain where he saw the girl feeding the birds once again. After a moment he took a hand out of his pockets and waved at her. "Hey Millie, done feeding your buddies?"


Millie waved to Drake almost as soon as she saw him, tossing the last of the bread crumbs she held onto the cobblestone around the fountain before nodding. "Mhm!" she answered. "I think I might have fed them too much," she chuckled, "but I had a lot of mornings to make up for."


"Well they should show a bit of restraint if they don't want to overeat. Anyway Millie, I'm about to head out again to the capital...again. Did you get a letter as well?" Drake asked with a sigh and a bit of distaste in his voice.


Millie promptly shook her head. "Letter?" she seemed confused by the implication though she stood up and walked over to Drake now that her own task was done.


The simple matter was that never occurred to either of them. Given that the guild hall was quite empty as of late, there was no one there to redirect a letter-carryer to the fountain where Millie spent her mornings. He simply stood, waiting at the unoccupied guild hall instead.


Drake took out of his pocket and showed Millie his letter. "This is what I'm talking about. I think it applies to you and anyone that's still at the guild." He said letting her take it as he ignored Ophiuchus poking the back of his head with it's tail. "It more likely than not applies to you as well. "


Millie took the letter he offered her and her eyes glanced over its confines, her expression slowly sinking as she did so. As she finished, her eyes glanced up to Drake, riddled with concern. "We have to go, Drake," she said simply as she handed the letter back to him. Though she seemed to not say more, her tone explained a lot.


Concern. Fear. A small amount of helplessness. Millie didn't want to not try to help when people had died and she didn't want to be labeled a dark mage either. The threat scared her. More than that, Millie was afraid of being asked to actually fight though. She wasn't sure if the king would know that she wasn't very good at actually fighting and she wasn't sure if there would be any other way for her to help.


Drake took the letter and looked down at Millie. With a sigh he put his letter away and moved his hand on top of her head before lightly ruffling her hair. "Yeah we do, not right away. Have you eaten or did you feed your friends before you ate yourself?" He asked no longer ruffling her hair but he kept his hand there.


Millie's smile grew wide and expansive at his words before she started laughing. "I wouldn't eat myself, Drake!" she seemed to find it to be the funniest thing in the world.


Drake rolled his eyes at this a small smile gracing him for a bit. "Haha... You know what I meant. Are you hungry?"


"Yeah. Let's go eat breakfast." Millie grabbed his hand and started walking with him, most likely to do just that.
 
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Russel Lefton and Werner Reinhold

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Russel found himself wandering through Margaret Town after two days staying with Lamia Scale and no matter what he did, he couldn’t manage to make the place feel like home. It was missing too many of his family members and he felt like he was intruding whenever he did anything, even if it was with Libby of all people. Of course, she insisted that he really wasn’t intruding at all, but none of anything anyone said seemed to get rid of that feeling. Although Jacob had been staying there too, Russel didn’t see much of his guildmate and he knew that there was a lot on the mist mage’s mind just as there was a lot on the young boy’s mind.


So much of their guild was gone. Alicia had betrayed them. Dusty had went off on his own. Olive was missing. Master Gregory was still in the hospital from injuries sustained as the guild hall had blown up. And then others were unaccounted for.


From the street came a rather familiar voice. “Russel! H-Hey!” It was Werner, his clothes changed into the ones he wore when he first came to the guild. His rather large polearm was held on his shoulder, as the armor let out a ‘clank’ noise as he walked. He smiled seeing Russel, having only thought of the worst. He was indeed a sight for sore eyes.


The boy’s eyes lifted at the sound of his name. At first he was confused as not many people in Margaret Town would know his name in the first place, but once his eyes fell on Werner, the boy’s entire expression lit up like a Christmas tree. “Werner!?” He blinked twice, as though he didn’t believe his eyes, but his guildmate still stood there in front of him. “Werner!”


His shoes carried him up and off the ground as rather than run at Werner, Russel flew at him, embracing him in a hug with just enough force to hit home without actually knocking either one of them over. It was actually kind of impressive that he knew how to do that although it could have been entirely unintentional as well.


Werner let out a small laugh at the hug, putting a hand on his back to hold Russel as to not knock him down. “Glad you made it out Rus. Really glad.” His eyes closed, still smiling. It was a small relief from all the chaos that evolved over the past week. It was true what some said. Enjoy the little things in life.


“What about the others? A-Are they alright as well?” Werner asked, slowly rubbing Russel’s back, while his other hand was still holding his polearm.


Russel sighed. “Jacob and I have been staying with Lamia Scale, but I don’t know if he’s still there or not,” he explained. “The others, though…” Russel started frowning. “Alicia betrayed us… I dunno how, I dunno why, but she’s working with the Red Tide and they’re the ones who blew up our home… why would anyone do that, Werner!? It’s home and now its gone…” to even mention it further only brought more distress and Russel was already crying.


“Olive went missing two days ago and Dusty… he left us…” Russel looked up to Werner, a sort of sadness in his eyes that was seemingly immeasurable. “I thought they were family…”


Werner couldn’t help but feel sad for Russel. He knew what family meant, and he had a rough past, but he never wanted anyone to feel the sort-of pain he once felt. He kneeled down to his level, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, stop that. People sometimes do that. Even families do that to one another. It’s not pretty, I know it first hand. But what I needed in those times, the only thing I dreamt of, was a friend. Someone to share my heartaches with. I thought I had that with my sister… Until she left. It’s no use crying over spilled milk Russel, alright? And cheer up, Heather’s safe.” Werner said, a smile on his face, and with a slight glimmer in his eyes.


Russel nodded slowly before pulling away ever so slightly and wiping the tears from his eyes with his arm. “You’re right, I guess,” he mumbled softly.


“I think most of the Lamia Scale mages left to go to some meeting the king summoned. We should probably go too, right?” His eyes looked up to Werner expectantly. In reality, Russel knew that they had to go, but he had no intentions of going alone.


Raising up, Werner nodded towards Russel. “I think we should. After you, because you know where to, right?” Werner went close to Russel, putting a hand on his head. “And I’ll never leave your side, alright? So don’t worry, you’re not alone in this.” Werner’s general stutter went away as it seemed. It seemed to be a confidence problem at root, but now, it seemed to have passed.


The boy’s head slowly nodded once more. “The meeting is back in the capital… at the king’s palace, I think. There was a letter, but I don’t have it with me right now.” He nodded once more to confirm what he said and then he turned around and started walking. “I guess we should go get on the train, huh?”


Werner let out a small giggle. “Yeah, I guess we should.”


Collaboration with the wonderful @DaughterofAthena
 
Kyla Hivan and Piper Alyss

It was the news that brought them back to Crocus.


Piper had seen that deaths had resulted from the fighting with the Red Tide and it wasn’t even the deaths that concerned her. What consumed her mind, rather, was figuring out what kind of world this “Red Tide” envisioned and determining if it was a place that she could continue to live peacefully while fulfilling the promise she had made to take care of Kyla. Some of the views on magic that she had heard people talking about bordered on the extreme, and Piper knew that extreme cases often weren’t situations that Kyla could live within.


Apparently there was a rally which might be an opportunity to learn more. Piper had every intention of finding someone who could tell her more and she wasn’t going to take bullshit for an answer.


Walking along, she noticed that Kyla had stopped to pick a small branch of flowers from a lilac bush before the child promptly stuck her nose right into the pleasant and fresh aroma. She made a show of inhaling before she turned to smile at Piper. “Flower!” Her hair promptly turned to the exact same purple as the color of the lilacs.


Piper could not contain a smile directed towards the child. “Yes, it’s a very pretty flower, Kyla. You can keep it with you, but we have to keep moving or we’re going to be late.” The small amount of magic in her words was enough to convince the little girl to follow along and the two of them continued making their way through the city.


“Erm… excuse me. Are you miss… uhm… Piper and miss Kyla Hivan?”


Kyla’s eyes turned first and the little girl jumped up, proclaiming, “Kyla!” as though she was excited to hear her name.


Piper instead turned her head and simply nodded; then she watched as a letter was offered to her. She swiftly opened the envelope and read through its contents before tossing it aside and chuckling to herself. The messenger was gone. Looking down to Kyla, she laughed, “Well, this is interesting indeed. What do you think, Kyla? Meeting or rally?”


“Meeting.”


“Very well then.”


Collaboration with @DaughterofAthena




Aubrey Lorrisk

Aubrey had been busy putting all of her clothes from Crocus into their proper places. She made sure nothing got too wrinkled, she made sure everything was hung up or folded properly, and she made sure she still had everything. She was nearly certain she had forgotten something somewhere, but it seemed that was not the case. ‘Good.’


Satisfied that that was taken care of, she wandered back to the main hall of the guild hall, wondering if anyone would be around at all. It had been too quiet lately.


“Hmm… it seems no one is here.” The saddened expression on her face was obvious. She wasn’t used to the place being so quiet or unattended and she stepped outside, thinking maybe some fresh air would help her mood. That was when the letter came.


Waving to the letter carrier as he left her with the news it contained, Aubrey headed back inside to pack up all her clothes and head back to Crocus again. At least there were people in Crocus and at least she’d get to see some of her friends at this meeting… hopefully. They actually had to show up, but she didn’t imagine they had any reason not to.
 
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The Meeting
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The palace throne-room was raucous, the volume only increasing as the crowd of mages grew. A handful of royal dignitaries lurked in one corner, but after their earlier attempts to quieten the gathering had been flagrantly ignored they now only sulked and glared. Crocus had spent the past two days preparing for the storm to hit, and the capital was now doused in an air of nervous anticipation. Walking the streets the city felt empty, its windows closed, doors locked, and its citizens quietly bracing for a long siege. In city's newfound stillness its transformation was glaringly apparent. In just two days the Tide had transformed into a Tsunami, with leaflets, posters and fliers everywhere. Those parts of the city where the Rune Knights no longer dared enter had been pressed into impromptu barracks and mustering grounds for the Red Tide's supporters, guarded by makeshift barricades. In these areas of the city the Red Tide presence was palpable, distributing weapons powered by Scava's magic reactor to seething rioters. It was clear that the government could no longer claim total control over the city, and it seemed inevitable that the revolutionaries and the royalists would ultimately come to blows over Fiore's future. And so despite the happy frenzy that the mages brought with them to the palace, the air in the palace was heavy with threat. For all anyone knew, within days this same palace might be occupied by the leadership of the Red Tide.


A bell chimed, and the assembly faded into silence. King Eisenhower Fiore entered from a small door secreted behind the throne. Wordlessly, he sat, eyes tired but alert.


"First of all, I'd like to thank you for answering my summons." He announced to the room at large in a clear, resonant voice. "I understand that the people of this city view mages as dangerous liabilities, and I appreciate your attendance in spite of this. Fighting to protect the defenseless even when those same people scorn you is noble, and characteristic of true Fiorans. I hope that over the coming day the people will come to recognize the good intentions that you all possess."


Fiore allowed a moment for his introduction to settle in, and to gauge the crowd. Then he pressed on.


"I know that mages are not politicians, so I will spare you my speeches, and cut straight to the issue and my plan to counter it. The Red Tide have occupied several districts of Crocus, and I am told are currently massing to overthrow the government. The majority of them are citizen rioters, incited and directed by Red Tide operatives, armed with weapons powered from the stolen magical reactor. Therefore our primary objective should be to locate and recapture this reactor so as to disarm the revolution."


An aide offered the King a piece of paper. Fiore glanced at it, continuing to speak.


"My assistants have taken note of who has arrived and who, unfortunately, must now live out their days as a dark mage." Fiore allowed a long pause and looked faintly disappointed. "They have also, with the expert guidance of senior mages, divided you into appropriate teams to tackle various tasks across the city. But first," Fiore frowned slightly. "I see that we have another matter to attend to. Would Caleb Augustus Malachi come forward."


Caleb stepped forward, flanked by a guard on each side. His hair and clothes were a mess, and his eyes had bags in spades. It was clear the time he spent in the holding cell had been stressful for him. He had not slept since turning himself in. His eyes flicked nervously across the mages gathered. As he settled on a worried looking Caitlyn he seemed to relax a bit. He turned his eyes to the king and tried to look as well composed as possible. Which basically meant standing up straight and looking directly at him.


"This man has come to us from the Red Tide, claiming to defect. Perhaps he really is a genuine traitor... or perhaps he's a spy meant to learn of our plans." Fiore shrugged. "Mr Malachi, do make your case. I suggest that you try to be honest and convincing."


Caleb nodded. "First off, I'd like to be up front about where I'm from so I doesn't appear I'm hiding anything. Originally I fled here from Bosco, where authorities were chasing me on charges of a crime I didn't commit. On top of that I searching for my sister who'd been missing for a couple of years. I was on the run for most if a year before I ended up in Fiore."


"When I made it here I was physically and magically spent and trapped in a corner. When I thought for sure I was going to be captured the Red Tide saved me. I thought they were some sort of heroic group. I asked them to help me find my sister. They promised they would, in exchange for my help with a few jobs."


He stopped for a few seconds to let what he said sink in, and to catch his breath. Lack of sleep really messed with your breathing. "Obviously I agreed. I did a couple small jobs before I was sent to help with the Blue Pegasus Guild hall. I.... I didn't know what they planned. I was just supposed to be a distraction, like the sandstorm recently. Big, annoying, and distracting."


He refused to make eye contact with anyone, clearly ashamed. "Kidnapping, terrorism, murder. The Tide wasn't the heroic group I thought. I however was determined to continue, at first because I didn't think I had any choice. I'd be killed for what I did, and my sister would never be found. But when I found out she was already here...."


He looked back at Caitlyn. "Well I planned on continuing on the assumption they knew she was here and would kill her if I didn't. Due to a confusing scrape with another Tide member and a meeting with Lynn and Caitlyn, my sister, I have decided that switching is the only good action I could take. I'm here to offer inside information and try to make penance for what I did while working for them. In fact I know of the location and way you need to access the Red Tide headquarters." He let that be the last thing he said, allowing everyone to absorb his words. He looked to the king with nervous, yet firm eyes.


Fiore considered Caleb for a moment, his expression calculating and intent.


what-him.png



"Do tell."


Caleb's eyes almost comically widened as the King asked him to share. "Uh um. Well the HQ is called the Scarlet Corporation building. It is as heavily guarded both physically and magically as you might expect. However if you have a special.... lacrimal I believe their called. If you have one carried by Tide senior operatives you can basically walk right past the magical defenses that are put up to protect it."


Fiore's eyes flickered from Caleb to the piece of paper that he held.


"Lynn Aquari, Jamke Dain, Light Ethereal and Russel Lefton. I was originally going to task yo with taking out a group of Tide operatives near the palace. Allow me to amend that to wiping out the operatives and securing one of these lacrima, intact if you please."


Fiore nodded at Caleb.


"This is valuable infomation, and a worthy trade for your life. Go back to your sister, Mr Malachi. You can further convince me of your loyalty by bringing down Wyatt Verlock and Cipher, who I believe were your close colleagues. Take your sister, Millie Thorin and Drake Silver with you, and go to the rally."


Caleb could hardly believe what he was hearing. He... he was going to live, to live and fight another day. He broke out into the biggest, dumbest looking smile and nodded repeatedly. He had to force himself not too relieved as he thanked the king and went to stand by Caitlyn, this time sans guards. He was just too giddy to realize the dangerous task ahead of him.


Fiore watched Caleb go with a slight nod of the head before forging on with the assignments.


"Kyla Hivan, Piper Alyss, Libby Tuck, Nathan Wade and Werner Reinhold. I want you to help control the rioting near the Domus Flau. Try not too be too lethal in your handling of it. Meanwhile Gurren Simon, Sarafina the Exceed, and Aubry Lorrisk and Ryannan Costice are needed at the Pergrandi embassy to escort Emperor Pergrande out of the city."


Fiore took a moment to catch his breath and take a sip from a bottle of water offered by an aide.


"Finally the Novine siblings, and Bailey O'Hara will be working with Mia Ashley of Crime Sorciere to track down and apprehend the Dark Mages; Malakai Grave and Angel Litwick. These two are to be taken alive and brought back here. It's not that I don't trust their sentiments, but I can ill afford rogue mages. I hope you'll be able to resolve this issue without violence. But if it comes down to it..."


A young, black haired woman emerged from behind the throne. She wore the mark of Crime Sorciere on her arm, and her eyes glittered with enigmatic malice.


"Mia -or Lotus, as you know her- will handle them."





The King continued to assign jobs to the other mages from lesser guilds for a further five minutes, and the noise in the hall grew from silence to a low murmur as he spoke. Just as it started to reach a crescendo, the King returned to addressing the room at large.





"I understand that many of you don't want to work with me, and while it may be a pity that you distrust your king so, it cannot be avoided. Therefore I hope that you set aside your views of me and my government and see that these tasks are for the benefit of the people. They will be dangerous, and civilians are always nearby. I pray that you keep destruction to a minimum, and save lives wherever you can."





The King stood.





"Those with questions, feel free to ask. Otherwise I suggest you proceed with your missions before we lose our window of opportunity."





At that the throne-room exploded into noise again. Lotus descended from beside the king, weaving through the crowd to stand by the door. She wanted to assemble her team, and there was a certain someone that she looked forward to seeing again. In other parts of the hall dignitaries gave mages directions to their tasks, and urged them to take haste. The battle for Crocus had begun.






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@DaughterofAthena @shadowdude505 @utdfan22 @AllHailDago @BlacknifeVane @Peaceswore @Stormborn Targaryen @John Doe @BLUR @ Everyone
 
Olive Kittana and Russel Lefton



Olive made her way in with the party of Kuruko Scarlet without any issues. She had her VIP badge around her neck and she couldn’t help but feel like a tourist to the meeting even though she truly was one of the mages that the king was addressing as far as anyone else would see or know. The badge itself was slightly annoying; Olive kept fiddling with it and it kept telling her who had worn it before which really wasn’t relevant or important in any manner at all. The simple fact that the cord touched her neck was enough to entice her magic.


Nonetheless, she managed to listen through most of the King’s assignments as she carefully wove her way through the crowd of people to stand amongst the mages being addressed. She glanced back once to the entourage she’d come in with and she tracked the mass of minds easily with her own in such a way that she wasn’t distracted in the slightest.


What shocked her the most was how few of her guildmates were actually present at the meeting. Russel was there and Werner was there. Almost as soon as the king had finished speaking, Olive located their minds in the midst of all the others and made her way over to the two of them, standing together as none of the others had showed up. “Russel! Werner!” Olive called out to them as she walked towards them.


Russel’s head turned swiftly and he saw Olive. Without further, thought, the boy charged at Olive with the widest smile imaginable - the same smile and the same charge he’d given to Werner when he rediscovered him. “OLIVE!” His body impacted hers and his arms wrapped around her tightly. “I heard that you were gone! You’re back!!”


The smile on her own face was also one of relief. She allowed herself to hold her guildmate in the embrace for as long as she could tell he needed it. Holding him as she was also concerned her, though. His mind so close to hers told her many things. Firstly, he didn’t know where Dusty or Jacob were either and their absence concerned him almost as much as it concerned Olive herself. That brought further into question why the king had not mentioned them in his list of ‘Dark Mages’ who needed to be brought in. Secondly, with his mind so close to her own, Olive could tell that Russel was scared of leaving her and Werner to go with his group. Though this was new - usually Russel would’ve jumped at a fight - she wasn’t about to leave it completely alone either.


Russel picked his head out of its tuck within her chest and looked up at her. “Why didn’t the king assign you anything?”


Another good question. Olive wasn’t sure if it was the fact that she already appeared to be busy given she was accompanied by the VIP entourage. “I’m going to go ask.” Kneeling down beside Russel, she put both of her hands on his shoulders. “Listen to me, Russel. I need you to stay with Werner, ok? I’m going to talk to the king and try to pull a few strings. Our guild is shrinking and we can’t let it fall apart anymore. Family is important. Family will never hurt you, you understand me?” She said the words as though they were the most important things she had ever said.


Russel slowly nodded.


Olive’s eyes turned to Werner and she smiled at him. “It’s good to see you again, Werner,” she said truthfully. “I can’t stay with you two, unfortunately. There are other things I’m meant to do here. Keep him safe, please.”


Not waiting for confirmation because she trusted her family, Olive made her way towards the king so that she was standing directly in front of him in that moment. Her mind prodded at his though she maintained a civil distance and bowed as custom would demand. “I’m Olive Kittana of Blue Pegasus, Your Majesty. I am currently the senior-most representative present from my guild and I have a small request, if you don’t mind.” She paused for a moment, contemplating how to continue.


“These events with the Red Tide have slowly been tearing my guild apart. We lost our home, one of our guildmates went so far as to cut the skin bearing his guild mark and one of our former guildmates has been revealed to work with the Red Tide. She helped to plot the very destruction of our home,” Olive began, presenting information that the king already knew or should have known. “Now you’re assigning tasks and I can’t help but feel you’ve failed to see the importance of guilds as families. You’ve taken my two guildmates and separated them and it's painful for me to see such a thing. I find myself in a position to request that the groups be changed so that Werner and Russel may stay together. As guildmates, they’re more likely to be effective together than apart and if they are apart, they’ll be worrying for each other more than they’ll be worrying about their task.”


Olive let her words settle, her mind weighing his reaction and hoping she’d managed to have some sort of effect.


@AnnoDomini @Hellkite @BLUR
 
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Lynn Aquari, Caitlyn & Caleb Malachi

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In the throne room, Lynn stood on the left side of Caitlyn as she watched and listened to what the king had to say. She tensed up after the King called Caleb to defend himself. She didn't like how the King phrased things as he goaded Caleb. Lynn looked over at Caitlyn, who was probably more worried about her brother than she was. Lynn reached out with her guild marked hand and gently grabbed Caitlyn's hand to reassure her. Whatever happens next will happen. If Lynn had to fight to keep Caleb alive, she wouldn't regret it. Though with the amount of mages around, her level head was telling her that fighting them all wouldn't be easy, but then again...maybe she wouldn't have to fight them all.


Caitlyn could barely contain her nervousness as she watched her little brother, something she hadn't tired of saying or thinking, be put on trial by the king. The way he explained things, it sounded like he had been genuinely afraid and in a way coerced into helping the Tide. Surely he wouldn't be punished? He was so young and just wanted to find her as well as be safe himself.


Caitlyn felt a settling of pressure on her left wrist. She looked to find Lynn had grabbed her bandaged hand, which she had been toying with moments before. She looked up at Lynn and gave her a weak smile and a nod. Turning her attention back to Caleb and the King.


After a few more short exchanges the king made his decision. He spared him due to inside information, assigning them to a team together. She was happy to hear Millie and Drake's names again, but that happiness was overshadowed by the excitement over Caleb's pardoning.


As he walked over and joined them she let go of Lynn's hands and gave him a hug. After a second it registered to her that maybe she would have embarrassed him and let go. His shocked face made her realize that he was surprised she had hugged him at all. It surprised her too, but she mentally shrugged it off. It wasn't a bad sign she COULD touch someone after all.


Caleb gave Lynn and Caitlyn a dopey smile. "Well, looks like you will have to put up with me a while longer, huh?" He stuck his tongue out, trying to mask his relief and fading nervousness with jokes and faux confidence. "By the way, who are Drake and Millie, Lynn?" He gave her a curious glance. "They must be strong if we're gonna fight Wyatt and Cipher."


Lynn flashed a sisterly smile at Caitlyn and Caleb, but it faded once he asked about his partners. "They're Raven Tail members," she replied. "I don't know how strong they are, but the King seems to think so. Though I'm not too sure how sound his judgement is, sending you in to find your old teammates."


Lynn paused and took in a deep breath as she closed her eyes. She wasn't thrilled with the idea of being separated from Caitlyn and her brother, especially since they were supposed to deal with Cipher as an opponent. Considering their last run in, things could go downhill fast if Cipher spotted Caleb first. Lynn opened her eyes and gave Caleb a serious look.


"When you find your group, warn them about what Cipher and Wyatt can do," she said in a commanding tone. Lynn then placed her guild marked hand on Caleb's shoulder. "But more importantly... take care of our sister," she added, sounding tender and commanding at the same time. "And Caitlyn, keep this foolish boy out of trouble," she jokingly told her guildmate, a playful smirk on her lips.


Caleb rolled his eyes in a purposefully exaggerative manner. "Well duuuh. I'm not gonna let them fight those two blind. Wyatt may be an annoying tool, but he's tough. Cipher hardly needs explaining to you I'm sure. And my actions so far, as dumb as they might have been, should show how far I'll go to protect Caitlyn. She'll make it even if I don't!" Caleb's tone started out joking but gradually turned serious as he spoke. "Also, stop calling me boy!"


Caitlyn eyed him with a frown. "But we will both make it after everything is said and done! We're not getting separated again Caleb, so can the s-self sacrifice stuff." She kinda leered at him for a moment as he hung his head guiltily for a sec. As he did Caitlyn stifled a giggle and winked at Lynn.


"Compaired to me, you are a boy," Lynn teased Caleb with her seniority. She flashed the duo another smile. "Good luck you two." Lynn let her words sink in as she started to wander the noisy throne room as she tried to find her assigned teammates. She decided to look for Jamke first since she had met him at the guild meeting with the King from a couple days ago.


Collab with: @AllHailDago


Mentioned: @utdfan22
 
Libby Tuck and Sarafina



Libby's eyes shifted around hesitantly as she learned who she was to be working with and the only name that stood out to her at all from her group was the name ‘Kyla Hivan’. She vaguely remembered meeting the girl on her first mission ever and all Libby remembered about her was that the girl didn’t seem to know how to talk correctly. That was literally the only thought that popped into her head on her group.


Turning around, she looked into the group highly uncertain as to who the other people even were. Libby simply didn’t know them. Frantic, Libby’s eyes turned to her guildmate, Sarafina who was easily spotted and differentiated from the others in the crowd and Libby ran to her. “I don’t know any of these people, Sarafina,” Libby whined. “I know we gotta help, but… but…” her eyes glanced to the giant crowd of mages that the king had assembled and the remainder of her sentence was clear in her eyes. She was afraid and none of these people - aside from a fair few - could help her cope with that fear.


Sarafina understood how Libby felt. Out of all the team pairings, Jamke and Light were the only paired Lamia Scale wizards. Not that she had any problems with the team she was on, she had already met two of her Fairy Tail teammates, but it would have been nice to keep the Lamia family together. “Would you like to come with my group?” she asked. “Just say the word and I’ll talk to the king for ya.”


Libby looked around hesitantly. She saw Russel with his guildmate. She saw the Fairy Tail mages together. Her eyes briefly glanced at Piper and Kyla. It seemed that families were all staying together. Turning her eyes back to Sarafina, all she could do was nod.


Sarafina gave Libby a grin as she sprouted wings. As she flew over toward the King, her feline-like ears picked up on a conversation a wizard woman was having with him. It sounded like she was trying to keep the Blue Pegasus family together. “Ya,” she said, vocalising her agreement with Olive’s sentiment. “This is a big gathering of wizards, but most guild wizards are only familiar with their own guild. It’ll be hard for some to adjust to being separated from their family.”


The Exceed hovered at the King’s eyeheight. “I can’t leave my guildmate Libby without any Lamia support. Why not put her on my team?” she asked. “With her magic I think she could easily spot and report any Tide members hanging around. It’ll make things easier for us to know what’s coming.”


Collab With: @shadowdude505


Tags: @Hellkite / @BLUR



Ryannan “Ryan” Costice



Ryannan was left leaning against a wall at being brought into the meeting by her own personal request. She was still nearly completely drained of magic energy after trying to watch so many things for so long with her paper ants and as such, she knew she likely wouldn’t be ready to go nearly as quickly as it seemed that the king expected them to be able to move out at.


She shrugged briefly at being assigned to an escort mission and looked around for her team. Unfortunately, she knew absolutely zero of them. She didn’t really know how to start. Getting up would be difficult, calling out names seemed rude and there weren’t a whole lot of other options.


‘Wait! Sarafina the Exceed… exceeds look kinda like cats. Maybe I can find that one.’ Calling out to one, at least, didn’t seem nearly as bad as calling out the whole laundry list.


Her eyes peeked through the crowds as she tried to spot the flying feline who would no doubt be a lot easier to find than any of the others simply because of how distinct she really ought to look. And then her eyes found her. Apparently, talking to the king was kind of a big deal as Sarafina was over by the throne and so was another girl, one who Ryannan didn’t recognize.


‘Well,’ she sighed, ‘I guess that leaves me waiting here some more.’ Her eyes remained focused on the Exceed, intent on waving her over as soon as she seemed to be finished with whatever it was she needed to talk to the king about.


Mentioned: @shadowdude505



Marcella Novine and Asher Novine



Marcella Novine was on edge from the moment she walked into the palace with her guildmates and that didn’t change at any point at all over the course of King Eisenhower’s announcements and decisions. Her eyes flickered to the few that she knew as she heard their names and wondered on the status of those she didn’t know though there wasn’t too much time for that.


For a brief moment, her eyes fell on Kyla Hivan standing next to her apparent caretaker and the archer passed her an intense glare. Marcella remembered what the child had done when they had been fighting for the reactor in the first place and it was her primary belief that if the child hadn’t gone completely insane, they would have been able to protect the reactor. Then none of this would have happened in the first place.


A cool hand fell onto her shoulder. “Marcella, please don’t cause trouble.” Asher’s voice spoke in a very calm manner. “If they are here, that means the king trusts them. You don’t even have to work with them from what I’m hearing.” At that point, the king was only halfway through handing out assignments.


Then their names came up.


Then Lotus walked in.


Asher’s hand slipped from Marcella’s shoulder simply because he knew that to hold onto her in the rage that was to come was simply not something he could do without at least giving her room to move. The minute his hand fell off, Marcella’s hand jerked back to her quiver, drawing an arrow without saying a word and aiming it straight at Mia Ashley’s core. “I will never work with her!” Marcella spat. “If she hadn’t been a threat in the first place… all the way back in Scava… Asher would’ve been with us and we never would’ve lost the reactor in the first place!”


A hiss slipped through Asher’s mouth as he realized that his sister might have had a point; however, he still couldn’t let her loose an arrow within the palace walls. That just screamed trouble. “Bailey…” he tried to get the attention of his guildmate standing nearby. “We can’t let her start a fight here.”


Hearing her brother’s words, Marcella’s head whipped around to glance at Bailey as she snapped, “No, Bailey. Asher’s wrong on this one. She tried to kill him! He’s not thinking straight. Don’t agree to work with her. She’s the enemy!” The whole time, her arrow remained trained on Lotus.


Tags: @Hellkite @BlackknifeVane



Light Ethereal



Light nodded briefly upon being assigned his task. He had never been one to question orders. He wouldn’t turn down a fight and he had no intentions of failing on this task. Last time he had received orders, he had failed and that would not be the same again.


Already his mind was formulating plans for how to address the situation. They were given permission to ‘wipe them out’. While that was all fine and dandy, he knew that he himself couldn’t go all out. Not only could it damage the city to extremes, but it would interfere with the others’ missions as well. Rain wasn’t easy to contain to one place alone and neither was any storm the likes of which he could create.


He and Jamke both made storms, though. He knew that as well. Jamke’s brand was the one kind that Light couldn’t touch. This brought more trouble. Light was contemplating how to contain such a thing in the middle of battle.


His feet carried him towards his guildmate the snow mage and he gave him a slight nod. “Any ideas on how to contain the storm once a fight breaks out?” He hoped that such a question wasn’t too mysterious to ask. He was referring to the storm that would result from his magic and his guildmate’s own and he hoped he made it clear that he didn’t want to cause too much damage.


Tags: @utdfan22



Millie Thorrin



Millie remained by her guildmate’s side for the duration of the king’s speech. Even though he said he wasn’t going to give a speech, that was what Millie managed to make of his long laundry list of instructions for everyone. She heard her name fairly early on and after that, she simply stopped paying attention to everything else because it didn’t matter.


Some might have questioned how much Millie really understood. The answer was that she understood a fair amount of it. She understood that they were being sent after two individuals to ‘bring them down’. From her time with Raven Tail, she knew that meant a fight and Millie also knew that she was not a fighter. She quivered at the thought of seeing anyone get hurt.


Her eyes trickled to ‘Caleb’s sister’ because her name wasn’t used at all. Millie’s eyes widened a bit because she recognized her, but she hadn’t introduced herself as ‘Caleb’s sister’ the last time they had met. Her name was Rose.


Millie briefly nudged Drake’s side and pointed towards them. “She’s the girl from the storm, right? The one who made fire?”


Her eyes further trailed to the boy beside her, the ‘traitor’ as the king had said he might be such a thing. He didn’t look bad to Millie; in fact, she could practically feel a wave of goodness coming off of him in a way that only she could. Without waiting for Drake to answer her first question, Millie walked up to them and waved in a slightly hesitant manner. “Hello,” she greeted simply.


Tags: @AllHailDago @Peaceswore
 
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Bailey O'Hara





Damn, we just got here and already everything's going crazy. I know this Lotus chick is bad news...but she won't pull anything in a room full of guild mages, right?


Bailey took action quickly, hopefully avoiding any conflicts that would end up in more fighting. It was at this moment that Bailey's protective instinct kicked in.


He grabbed Asher's wrist so that the dragon slayer was standing in front of Marcella and behind him, forming a straight line with him in front, providing protection for both his friends. He raised his density as much as he could, with his injuries taken into account. He looked at the girl and stared into her eyes with the ferocity of a predator in the wild. Whether she was helping or hurting them, he would not let his friends be hit by a sneak attack. He had never had friends before Sabertooth, and he wasn't about to lose them for any reason.


"We'll work with you, because it'll help us get the job done and get this whole war done with, but if you so much as give my friends a wrong look I won't hesitate to take you down, got it?"





Bailey's actions and emotions came from instinct, a feeling he had deep in his gut, that this woman was bad news. This feeling definitely wasn't going away any time soon...





@DaughterofAthena
 

JAMKE DAIN (Lamia Scale)



​



The meeting was crowded and loud, Jamke glancing around at the raucous atmosphere uncertainly. "The usual mood is not normally so tense. I hope it's just me. If we lose the general cheer of the more boisterous members, the guilds will become rather dour." Still, his musings did not distract him from the King's orders or his planning. Whether it was the King's own ideas or the work of an unseen strategist, Jamke could see a few rough patterns emerging in the teams. "It would seem we're being paired together for general team building purposes rather than for the specific jobs we're being given. Increased flexibility in our operations in exchange for greater general difficulty, a risky gambit." His arms crossed in thought as he pondered over the various tasks being given out. On the bright side, he'd been paired with Light, someone he held great respect for, and Lynn, who was alleged to be one of Mermaid Heel's strongest. Between the three of them was potent A Rank magic that should serve them well.


Jamke frowned slightly at the remembrance of Russel, his fingers clenching on his biceps ever so slightly. "I don't know him too well at all. His magic is a mystery and his physical abilities are going to be limited by his youth," the snow mage pondered, unsure of why Russel had been assigned to a battle task like theirs. Glancing around the opulent meeting room, he located his allies, most seeming locked in their own conversations. It was a turbulent time after all, most would prefer the chance to encourage each other. Speaking of, Light was on the approach, nodding to Jamke, drawing a small bow from the silver haired boy in return. The mention of controlling their storm power brought a slightly confused grin to his face, "My power is..." he trailed a thin line of snowflakes from his right finger to his toe before flicking his wrist to wrap it into his palm in a tight ball, "... relatively precise on a small scale, as yours can be. We might be able to just utilise our powers in short, contained bursts." His optimism gave way after that to him running a hand nervously through his hair, as he often did while deep in thought. "That assumes we won't encounter any strong Mage operatives though. Directing our powers away from the Palace and the other missions might be all we have to go on." Jamke shrugged in Light's direction, "I'm sorry but being careful may be all we have to work with for now. We could rank our magics in terms of risk and work on principles of non-escalation." His brain was running ahead of his mouth, quickly throwing down ideas and putting them out into the open for dissection. Their powers had great synergy but were most suited for facing large crowds in the open.


While he was reflecting further, he noticed Lynn's approach and bowed his head slightly. "Miss Lynn, it is good to see you well. It appears we've been paired together for this mission. I will do my best to complete the mission," he said as he stood back up. "Mister Light and I were discussing trying to collateral damage while using our powers. Do you have any ideas?" She had seemed confident during the meeting with the King and had consistently maintained a level head during the times he'd seen her. He was curious about her approach to these missions. He rolled his right shoulder slightly to loosen it up ahead of the job. "Does anyone here know what Russel's abilities are?"
 

Lynn Aquari

​



"As will I," Lynn replied as she returned Janke's bow. "It looks like we'll be officially teamed up this time," she added, glancing between Light and Jamke. She remembered how they ended up fighting together against Crime Sorciere back at the Blue Pegasus guildhall. "I agree that we should try to cause little collateral damage, that seems to be one reason why the Tide doesn't like us. Unfortunately it may be easier said then done. The Tide has some powerful mages, or pseudo-wizards with their magic mimicking technology. We shouldn't underestimate them. If we have to go all out, stopping short of killing of course, we should try to limit our magic to the combat zone. We're stuck in a war now; one that we, as Guild Wizards, can't afford to lose our humanity to."


Lynn sighed. "I'm not familiar with Russel or his magic," she replied to Janke's second question. "When we find Russel, I think it would be a good idea for all of us to introduce ourselves and briefly explain our magic type. That way we can put a strategy together before the battle starts." She had looked serious as she gave her input to the two Lamia Scale wizards and her serious air didn't leave her as she waited to hear their's.


@utdfan22 @DaughterofAthena
 
Marcella Novine and Asher Novine



Asher readily accepted Bailey’s pull, allowing the three of them to form a line between them as Sabertooth mages and Lotus although Asher’s eyes remained focused on the Crime Sorciere mage. His hand swiftly fell onto Bailey’s shoulder as he whispered to his guildmate, “Calm down. She’s really not as bad as all that. Trust me, Bailey.”


“Asher, you’re an idiot!” Marcella’s yell interrupted anything further that the water dragon slayer might have intended on saying. “I don’t know what she did to brainwash you while I was out cold before the explosion, but I won’t have any of it!” Her eyes glared daggers at her brother’s back.


“Bailey, come on! Don’t let her get inside your head too! She would’ve let me die and she tried to kill my brother… your guildmate, Bailey!”


“You were willing to work with her against the werewolves, Marcella,” Asher swiftly pointed out. “How is now any different?”


“Now we’re not in any danger,” Marcella spat back.


Asher sighed. “And if these mages we’re seeking out decide to turn violent? What then, Marcella?”


Marcella grumbled immensely. None of the anger left her eyes although she loosened her grip on her bowstring and slid the arrow back into her quiver. Turning around, Marcella stomped out of the palace, grumbling to anyone who could hear. “I’ll be waiting outside…”


Asher let out a sigh of relief and faced the king briefly. “My apologies, your majesty.” Then his eyes turned to Lotus as he walked around Bailey and offered a hand to the black haired mage called Lotus. “Apologies to you as well,” he stated courteously, “though I reckon her anger didn’t surprise you one bit.”


@BlackknifeVane @Hellkite



Light Ethereal



The words of his teammates left Light contemplating for a few moments afterwards. Jamke was right; his magic could be precise on a small scale simply because the small scale only involved one of the two elements - wind or water. However, on the smaller scale, it was also far less powerful and he was far less practiced in it. He really wasn’t sure what they would be walking into so he wasn’t quite sure how much power would be needed.


“I’m not aware of the boy’s abilities either, unfortunately,” he mentioned briefly when the subject of their fourth teammate came up. His eyes scanned the crowd briefly and they fell upon the boy who had been at his guild hall for a brief time. Light recognized him and he pointed him out to the others. “He is over there, though.” Light noticed that the boy appeared to be talking with a guildmate and he felt a sudden twinge of sadness as he remembered how desolate and depressed the boy had been about the loss of his guild hall.


Light’s mind wandered back to the thought of strategy for a moment. “As for strategy, can you both fight well enough in the rain? I’m not sure if I’ll be able to prevent it should there be too much of a fight.”


@shadowdude505 @utdfan22
 
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Bailey O'Hara





Bailey stood aside, letting Asher go ahead of him and confront Lotus. The truth of the matter was that he agreed with Marcella. He didn't trust this woman one bit, but all things considered he realized the reality of their situation. They had no choice in any of this. Asher would deal with Lotus. The best thing for Bailey to do right now was to try and find Marcella. If she was going to hit anyone, Bailey preferred it to be him, and keep Saber's name in good shape.


"Asher, I'm gonna go try and find Marcella. Hopefully she hasn't destroyed anything yet. I'll meet you out front."





Bailey turned to walk away, but looked back over his shoulder at Asher.





"oh, and Asher, be careful, would ya?"





So Bailey headed for the door, when he passed Caleb, who was still smiling like an idiot. Word passed around that he had defected from the Red Tide. When the King said he was going after Wyatt, the guy who beat him, Bailey knew he had to say something.


"Hey, it's Caleb, right? I'm Bailey O'Hara, from Sabertooth. The king said you were fighting those Red Tide guys. One of them beat me real bad. So I'm asking you, as a man, would you do me a solid and beat the crap out of him?"





Bailey held out his hand in friendship, and gave Caleb a grin and a nod. Bailey didn't care wherever he was from, he just knew he was a good guy, and Bailey was always up for making friends.


@DaughterofAthena @AllHailDago
 
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Piper Alyss, Libby Tuck and Kyla Hivan

For once, Piper actually found herself to be quite pleased with her position. Controlling rioting sounded easy enough and her magic was actually perfectly suited for the task. A few words that were loud enough for the crowd to hear should be all that was needed, so she believed, at least. She didn’t pay much attention to where the other groups were going because that wasn’t her problem.


What did draw her attention was the list of names of people she would be working with. Two of the five were names that very explicitly screamed “male” names. Her eyes flared around, searching for any seemingly random individuals who may have been approaching her so that she could determine who these men were. The other name - Libby - was a name that Piper was familiar with. It was another child and given the other two were men, Piper imagined she’d wind up playing babysitter. It wasn’t something she was particularly looking forward to.


“Come on, Kyla. Do you remember your friend from the ship to Scava?” Piper held out her hand, beckoning to the child she’d taken care of for longer than she cared to remember.


“Friend!” Kyla jumped up and down and proceeded to grab Piper’s hand.


Piper led Kyla as the two of them headed towards the one person in their group that they did know - Libby Tuck. “Hi, Libby,” Piper greeted the younger girl. “I’m not sure if you remember me, but we worked together a little in Scava. I’m Piper and this is…” she gestured down to Kyla, hoping the little light mage knew to give her name.


“Kyla.”


Libby’s eyes flickered first to the woman and then to the girl who she very specifically remembered from Scava. “You’re the weird little girl,” she said to Kyla specifically.


Kyla looked at Libby and smiled, “crazy.” Her hand looped around in circles as she said it.


Libby simply nodded. “Mhm.”


“Well, I wonder where the rest of our team is.” Piper said it aloud.


Collaboration with @DaughterofAthena
 
Aubrey Lorrisk, Gurren Simon & Ryannan “Ryan” Costice

At the King’s meeting, Gurren scoured the gathered mages for familiar faces. He spotted one of his guildmates, Aubrey Lorrisk, and walked up to her. Now standing beside Aubrey, he flashed her a smile; he was about to greet her when the King began to talk.


Aubrey looked to the side and noticed Gurren; she smiled back in return and waited for the king to give them instructions.


Gurren listened to the King’s and Caleb’s speeches. He looked bored and was already forgetting some of the smaller details. He perked up after hearing that missions were being assigned. “Looks like we’ll be working together again,” Gurren told Aubrey with a grin. He remembered the last time he worked alongside his guildmate. Escorting the Emperor wouldn’t be the same as demon slaying, but they were together just the same.


Aubrey smiled, “Guess we are working together again. Let’s do our best!” Aubrey looked around in search for the other teammates. “Have any idea where our other teammates might be?” Aubrey ran through memories of the last time she worked with Gurren but something told her this wasn’t going to be as easy as the last mission; this feeling made Aubrey nervous about the fight she may be entering.


Gurren nodded with a fiery look in his eye. He then looked at the sea of mages to search for their other two teammates. He noticed Sarafina talking to the King, but even if he hadn’t met the Exceed before it was obvious that Sarafina was their Exceed partner. “There’s Sarafina, talking to the King...um….” he trailed off. “And I’m guessing that’s Ryannan,” he added, indicating the young woman eyeing the orange Exceed.


Aubrey looked over to Sarafina and she then noticed Olive beside her. “Hey, I know them. Olive was that other wizard with us when we went on the mission. Sarafina... didn’t I run into her with you earlier?” Aubrey then looked around trying to notice Ryannan. “I don’t know that wizard though. Do you have any idea what kind of mage she is?” Aubrey continued to look at Ryannan noticing she appeared exhausted.


“Yep, she was helping me look for Olive,” Gurren replied. In the back of his mind he wondered why the Tide let Olive come to the meeting. He supposed her magic could uncover a big secret that the King was hiding, though that was a big if and not important at the moment. “No clue. Wouldn’t hurt to ask,” Gurren added as he began to walk over to Ryannan.


Aubrey followed Gurren to Ryannan; her usual skip was absent due to seriousness of the situation. Looking around the crowd of mages, Aubrey wondered if any of them were just as nervous as her. Aubrey turned her attention back to Ryannan. “Hey, I am Aubrey your other teammate. I was wondering what kind of magic you used. Oh, this is my guildmate Gurren.”


Ryannan looked up at the two mages who approached and she couldn’t help but smile a little. The whole job of finding them had just gotten a whole lot easier. “Well, now I know who you are and I guess you know who I am. Ryan Costice… I’m a Silver Phoenix mage.” Her eyes took in the sights of both of them before she held out her hand, closed a fist, and then opened it again to reveal a paper butterfly. “I use paper make magic and I also use pict magic. At the moment, I’m more than a bit drained, though, honestly. I was an idiot and tried to watch the whole city at once…” A sigh escaped her lips as she said it.


“Paper make huh? I’m partial to the fire version,” Gurren said with a friendly smile. He mimicked Ryannan’s actions, but his display of magic resulted in a small fiery Fairy Tail symbol instead of a butterfly. Come to think of it, Aubrey utilizes maker magic also: in the smoke variety. Though he didn’t say anything about it to Ryannan due to not wanting to spoil Aubrey’s fun of showing it off.


Aubrey smiled, “Cool, you’re a maker mage as well. My magic is also pretty cool.” Aubrey put her hands together, “Smoke make bunny!” Aubrey created a little bunny and set it on the ground. “See? Pretty cool isn’t it?” Aubrey looked to Gurren then at Ryannan thinking about three maker wizards working together would make a pretty badass team.


Ryannan nodded with a gentle smile. “We should make a fairly decent team, I think,” she commented to the both of them. “I’ll just have to keep the paper out of the fire and things should go well.”


Peeking around the two of them, she noted that Sarafina was still waiting on the king. “I guess we should wait on the Exceed before we get moving, huh?”


Collab with: @Kyra @DaughterofAthena
 
Bailey O'Hara and Caleb Malachi


Caleb was a moment away from firing back at Lynn's boy comment when he was approached by two separate people. One was a young, adorable girl. The other a guy nearish his age and height. Although it was the latter he had more on if Caleb's guess was right. He smiled as the girl greeted him, and presumably Caitlyn as well. Lynn had walked off so she wasn't apparently a factor now.


"Hello to both of you. Yea I'm Caleb. This is my sister Caitlyn!" He pointed happily over his shoulder at her as he spoke. He was originally going to say hello to the girl, but the guy who introduced himself as Bailey from a guild called Sabretooth(which sounded SUPER COOL) had a bit to say and offered his hand.


Caleb nodded back with a confident smile. "Sure Bailey. I'll make sure to give... I'm assuming Wyatt. I'll give him a good beat down for ya." He shook his hand as he said this.


"Damn right. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he beat somebody else. If you're fighting him, watch his eyes. They can help him see through anything. Aim for his eyes then hit him in his side, there'll be a dent where I got him good. Come back in one piece and I'll owe ya one. I appreciate it."


Bailey smiled and shook Caleb's hand tightly. Friends were hard to come by for him, but he hoped he had just made a new one.


"If you meet one of the other guys...well best of luck to ya. You seem really strong. I got a feeling you'll be OK."


Caleb had a bit of difficulty stifling his happiness at the man's comment on his strength. "Thanks! I'll make sure your work doesn't go to waste! I'll make sure to really give him a solid punch or three for ya. You kick butt on your own mission, alright?"


Although they had let their grips loose from the prior handshake, Bailey put his hand out for a bro-five. He felt it was right at the time.


"Hahaha, I honestly hope it doesn't come to that. I'm still a little busted up, and my team is the opposite of stable. But I know we'll get the job done. Team Saber, we don't give up no matter what gets thrown at us. Anyway, I gotta go. A friend needs my help. Nice meeting ya, hope we can hang out some time soon, ya know, without a war hanging over us."


Caleb high fived Bailey and nodded as he walked off. "Yeah, I'd like that man. See ya next time." Caleb thought over the guilds he'd run into so far as he watched him walk away. It was going to be tough picking a guild after things were said and done. He turned his attention back to the young girl. "Sorry about that. So, I'm betting your Millie, right?"


@BlackknifeVane


@DaughterofAthena
 
Bailey O’Hara and Marcella Novine

Bailey walked out the door and saw Marcella angrily pacing the area in front of the castle. Bailey often times forgot how young she was, and it was times like this he realized it more than usual.


“Hey, now before you say anything, please don’t hit me. Literally just got out of the hospital. I’ll give you a coupon for one hit when I’m better if you really want it. But anyway, I’m getting sidetracked. The point I was going to make was that I agree with you here. This Lotus woman is nothing but bad news. But the king put us together and if we’re gonna end this whole thing we can do it a hell of a lot faster working together. So please. Once this is all over, we’ll take her on together. But for now...C’mon Marcella. There are people’s lives in the balance. Innocent people who don’t have anything to do with this.”


“Sometimes I want to punch you in your perfect teeth,” Marcella growled as she stopped pacing and allowed her feet to carry her over to her guildmate. “Makes me wonder if you’ve ever been beat up once in your life, honestly. That way that your mouth never stops moving… come on!” Her voice gradually grew sharper and more intense as she spoke.


“Don’t give me any of that ‘lives hang in the balance’ bullshit because you and I both see right through it. She’s brainwashed them! She’s brainwashed the king and she’s brainwashed Asher! You saw what she did at the guildhall!” Marcella threw her arms up, adding to the drama.


“Yeah, I saw what she did, and I know that when she’s involved Asher doesn’t exactly think straight. But here’s the thing Marcella, we don’t have a choice. The Red Tide are a real threat whether we like it or not, and it’s gonna take every single mage we can gather up to beat em’. These guys are not playing around. Trust me.” Bailey’s face grew serious as he lifted up his black undershirt to reveal a deep, painful black bruise on his chest. It was only through his density magic that he could keep all his bones in place. It didn’t take that much of his strength, a very small amount, actually, but it was significant.


“So please, I know you and I haven’t exactly gotten along in the past. But just put that bullshit aside for a minute and think about this. We need to be on the top of our game and work together if Asher’s judgement is going to be in question, and if Lotus tries anything, we’re gonna be the ones who are going to launch the counterattack. So I’m asking you, as your guildmate...as your friend. Work with me on this one.” Bailey offered his hand out in friendship, hoping that we would finally get her cooperation instead of a shock or explosive arrow to the chest.


About halfway through Bailey’s long speech, Marcella quite legitimately stopped listening and instead, she just watched his mouth as it moved way too much for her to care about a single word that slipped through his lips. “Didn’t I just get done telling you that you talk WAAAY too much!?”


“Right now, you’re just gonna have to deal with it. Just work with me here, OK?”


“No! I don’t have to deal with it! You’re an idiot, you know something is wrong here and you’re doing absolutely nothing about it!” Marcella screamed loudly at him. “Next time you have something to say, spare me the lecture and cut straight to the point, god dammit!”


Bailey finally lost his temper, and yelled at the girl, getting right in her face, which he knew was definitely not the best idea, but it was the only way in which she might hear him.


“Well I don’t see you doing anything else! So either work with me, and make sure Asher is OK, or just keep on ranting like a little kid!”


As Bailey stepped towards her, Marcella did not back down. In fact, she pushed her face right up against his, quite literally smashing his nose with hers. “I’m not the one who just tried to give a heroic speech to his own guildmate! You’re the one talking for so long… NOT ME!”


“Fine. I talk too much, I know. But this is about Asher. Either we work together, or when Lotus pulls something he’s done for!!”


“SHUT UP, BAILEY!” Marcella interrupted. “Admitting you talk too much does absolutely nothing if you keep talking! Do you have no common sense!?”


Bailey stepped back, leaned against the wall, and sat down. He finally realized nothing he said even mattered.


“Alright. Just make sure you’re ready for this mission. I really need you here.”


“Did you seriously think I wasn’t!? I’m not about to abandon my brother. Break every bone in my body but you’ll never get rid of me, Bailey. Sorry, but it ain’t happenin’.”


“Ok, this conversation really got misconstrued. All I care about is that you won’t zap me with a shock arrow when a real threat shows up.”


“Trust me, Bailey. When a real threat shows up, my arrows will have much better places to go.” Almost as though she knew her comment hadn’t actually been rude in any way, Marcella turned around and walked a few paces away from him, intentionally avoiding hearing any comment he might make next because whatever it was, she didn’t care.


Bailey put his hands behind his head and looked up at the sky. He breathed a deep sigh and closed his eyes. Then, he reached for his neck and grabbed his red ruby necklace, which was a gift from his mother before he left for Sabertooth. “I’m really nervous for this one, mom. If you’re hearing this… help me out here.”
 
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Drake Silver

Drake wasn't paying that much attention to what the king said. With his legs crossed as he looked down in silence he waited till he heard his name along with a set of orders. Despite not liking to be ordered around he knew at this stage of everything, and with how little he knew about everything in reality. He simply didn't have much choice in the matter. When Caleb was brought up he looked at him for a bit before looking once more at the ground his eyes now closed as he listened in silence to everything. Once he got the gist of everything he let out a sigh as he leaned back. 'Yay blind trust, I know nothing of him, the story....it's possible but I still don't trust someone that was a recent enemy.'


He rolled his neck once and when he heard the name Cipher as well as his name closely following behind his attention had been caught and he looked right up at the king. "................" He was fully silent at this and his face showed zero emotion despite everything that was running through his head. He wasn't sure whether to be happy or pissed off at the pairing of this. Sure he longed for a rematch against Cipher especially after his last humiliating lost, but having only gained his black key since then he really hasn't had time to fully prepare to fight him. And there was no way he would be able to use his new key against Cipher...at least not that he knew of.


What really angered him was the people he was given to go against Cipher and this man named Wyatt. Millie that was fine, he knew her he trusted her, though he was very worried about having her in a battle where their magic would be used against them.... The other two however, he had no clue how strong they were and seeing how Caleb had gotten captured unlike anyone he was with, he doubted he was all that... Which would prove to be a problem depending on how hard this Wyatt person was. 'I think....no I know I can take Cipher on, but can the others take on Wyatt? Is the four of us enough? How strong exactly is that girl and her brother? They don't give off a strong aura or presence. I just.....don't have a good feeling about this team all and all.'


Having been lost in his thoughts he didn't notice Millie head off to talk to their future teammates till a few minutes later. Looking up he simply watched the two in silence. After a while he let out a sigh and stood up. "Don't drag us behind.... I don't know either of you but Millie and I come first in my book." He stated in a cold tone as he looked at them with a blank look. "Also.... The man Cipher that we are going to go after. He is mine, I don't want either of you to get in my way when I combat him. And do not even think about attempting to help me."


@DaughterofAthena @AllHailDago
 
Millie Thorrin



Millie tried to pay attention to the conversation between Bailey and Caleb, but the young girl found that her mind was too distracted by thoughts of the upcoming mission to make heads or tails of whatever they happened to be saying at the time. The child was nervous and anxious because everything that had been said made it seem like she would have to fight people and she neither wanted to nor believed that she actually could do such a thing.


Hearing her name snapped her back and she nodded towards Caleb and answered with a simple “Mhm.” Yes, she was Millie.


Quickly, she realized that Drake had followed her and she turned around, waving to him and then gesturing to him as she added, “And this is Drake. He’s my guildmate.” She didn’t notice or comment on the abruptness with which her guildmate spoke. For her, it was normal to hear him talking like that to other people.


What did catch her attention, though, was the mention of this guy - Cipher - being his to fight. She turned to face Drake, and there was a subtle frown on her face. “Can I help you just a little? You know I can…” With her countless blessings, Millie was quite legitimately the perfect fit to “help” someone else fight and she knew that much at least.


@AllHailDago @Peaceswore
 
King Fiore
​



Eisenhower Fiore was satisfied with his assembly. His own government agents were preparing to help certain mages with certain tasks, and so he was confident in the chances for success. Caleb's betrayal of the Tide was a huge turning point in the course of the conflict, and gave the monarchy the momentum it needed to take the fight to the Red Tide.


The king watched as a young girl walked up the stage to greet him. Olive Kittana, he noted. She was strictly business, and wasted no time going right into her concerns. Following behind her was an exceed and another young girl.


“These events with the Red Tide have slowly been tearing my guild apart. We lost our home, one of our guildmates went so far as to cut the skin bearing his guild mark and one of our former guildmates has been revealed to work with the Red Tide. She helped to plot the very destruction of our home. Now you’re assigning tasks and I can’t help but feel you’ve failed to see the importance of guilds as families. You’ve taken my two guildmates and separated them and it's painful for me to see such a thing. I find myself in a position to request that the groups be changed so that Werner and Russel may stay together. As guildmates, they’re more likely to be effective together than apart and if they are apart, they’ll be worrying for each other more than they’ll be worrying about their task.”


The king nodded. "Your concerns are justified. Very well, due to my confidence in the ability of the mages tasked with controlling the riots, I will allow Werner Reinhold to accompany the Russel Lefton's squad. However, young lady, do note that we are in a serious conflict. These tasks being handed to you mages are not equivalent to the jobs you take on a day-to-day basis. The importance of handling these tasks is paramount, and sacrifices will be made for the greater good of the country you serve. Don't get accustomed to seeing changes be made by higher officers at the behest of a young girl. The monarchy will make their own decisions based on tactical insight and experience in handling domestic and foreign threats, so have a little trust," the king responded, voice as stern as ever.


Having addressed Olive, the king then turned to address the exceed that had come up and asked a very similar request.


"As for you and your guild mate, I will accommodate you as well. I'm a bit surprised to see the amount of younger children my subordinates have assigned into teams, but we do appear to be short on willing and talented individuals, so I suppose I should not be so surprised. Nonetheless, as I do recognize your guild mate is a bit younger, I have no quarrels with allowing her to switch squads."


The next few days would be a huge challenge to the monarchy, and the king needed all hands on deck if he wished to overcome that challenge.
 
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Sarafina the Exceed

​



Sarafina was nervous about weather or not the King was going to let Libby switch teams. As she listened to his remark to Olive, he seemed tightly wound. The Exceed assumed this was because of the Red Tide and how the organization put even more stress on top of the regular kingly duties. "Thank you, your Majesty," Sarafina replied after getting a kinder reply from the King. She bowed her head as she hovered before the ruler of Fiore and flew back over to Libby.


"It's official, Libby, you can join my group or whatever team you want," Sarafina reported with a smile. "I'm going to find the rest of my team. Feel free to join me if you want." The Exceed started to scan the crowd and noticed the two teammates she was familiar with, Aubrey and Gurren, talking to another woman - presumably her other teammate. Sarafina flew over to the group and landed on Gurren's shoulder. "Hello, I'm Sarafina," she said to Ryannan as her wings disappeared. "But I guess you already figured that out. Are you guys ready for the mission?"


@Kyra @DaughterofAthena
 
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Olive Kittana



Olive’s eyes did not leave the king’s for the duration of his reply to her concern and as he spoke, her face seemed to grow more and more stern. It was odd, all things considered. Even though her request had been granted, she still didn’t seem overly happy with the man’s statements and declarations.


Briefly, she nodded her head and said, “Thank you.” There was no smile to go along with it and in the moment after, the Blue Pegasus mage turned to consider Sarafina. The exceed had given the same - albeit slightly more formal - reply and then meandered off. Olive considered following her for a moment to go give Russel the news that he could stay with Werner, but another thought occurred to her.


Turning back, she faced the king one final time. “If I might offer one small piece of advice?” she raised an eyebrow as though she intended on giving him a moment to reply although she continued right on afterwards. “Talking about sacrifices is not something you ask of mages who have already lost their homes. That is how you will lose our aid and that is how you will get mages who turn to the Red Tide. Whether by your intention or not, we mages have been through more than you know. We lost guildmates to mages under your command and some of us lost our very homes. You don’t want to be giving anyone here more reason to distrust you and the mere word ‘sacrifice’ will do that in a heartbeat.”


She let her red eyes simmer on him for a moment before she turned and made her way back into the crowd of mages. Her mind payed particular attention to the king himself. She wanted to know his reaction to her words. She wanted to know if they’d had any kind of effect.


Meanwhile, though, she approached Russel and Werner and told them, “Werner, you’ve received permission to switch teams and stay with Russel. I wish you the best of luck, and at the moment, I have my own tasks to fulfill.”


@BLUR @AnnoDomini
 
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<div style="text-align:center;"><p><strong><span style="color:#0080ff;">JAMKE DAIN (Lamia Scale)</span></strong><strong> </strong></p></div>


<p> Jamke nods in response to Light's question, <span style="color:#0080ff;">"I can turn rain very easily into snow and have no issue with the cold. The rain would give me an advantage most likely."</span> He looks to Lynn with a respectful smile, <span style="color:#0080ff;">"Your idea sounds like a great place to start. Let's go collect our teammate and we can gather in one of the rooms to strategise." </span><span style="color:#0080ff;"><em>"If we share all our abilities, we should have quite an advantage. Lynn is right that we'll need restraint but I suspect we have the power to do so. Restraint requires power to succeed, power and skill. It is a combination that fits Light perfectly and would appear to fit Lynn as well." </em></span>The thoughts were not dishonest per se but they certainly veered towards optimism. In the current situation, strategising would require realistic analysis but they would have to take such chances to hold any kind of morale together. He wandered through the crowd, seeming unusually composed in the busy environment. Glancing around at the depressed faces and anxiety on those present (including that on the face of his guildmates Sarafina and Libby), he believed that he had to stay strong. To be someone those around him could rely on when things were serious. He bore that in mind as he approached the very young Russell Lefton. He reached out to pat the boy on his shoulder, nodding at both Olive and Werner around him. <span style="color:#0080ff;">"Excuse me but we are preparing to gather for a meeting before our mission. We wish to compare strengths and lay out a plan that will minimise risk and damage. Master Russel, are you ready to go?" </span>His expression was his usual serene smile, his blue eyes perfectly calmed despite the mounting tension around him. <em><span style="color:#0080ff;">"Though at this rate, I may go the way of my powers. Snow melts under such tense heat." </span></em> @shadowdude505 @DaughterofAthena @AnnoDomini


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