Fantasy Sanctus et Foedus Sanguis

[Aron the Aron]

"Like discussed." The Cardinal said to her Inquisitor companion, watching as the white-haired head skulked off into the shadows. To keep lookout for any suspicious onlookers and to keep out anyone who might stumble into the scene, Cecilia had asked her escort to maintain a perimeter and report after if anything unusual was noticed.

The Cardinal herself, meanwhile, was in charge of investigating at least this first site they had come to visit. Confirming from a signal that nobody was nearby for the moment, Cecilia closed her eyes and reached out in a sense that she rarely found herself exercising these days, feeling the world in a way different than most could even dream of. The vague shape of Del bellow her, remaining obediently still to not disturb her, the bricks and tiles around reflecting the sun's rays, and the swaying of the breeze through the world. A fantastical way to 'see', and one of the fundamental skills for a mage wanting to do more than parlor tricks.

Perched up high like a bird of prey, the blanchette kept vigilance over her charge. The commanding view of the alleyway from on high afforded more than enough sightlines while keeping her away from an errant gaze; the ability to literally get the drop on any unwanted intruder that she couldn't shoot dead with her crossbow. Whatever investigation Cecilia was conducting, it was clearly something beyond Lumina's pedigree, and something told her that she'd lose the plot even if the Cardinal tried to explain what she was doing in detail. Not her fault that the arcane was something that evaded her grasp...

It was one of those odd times that "Felicia" found herself taking a backseat in a situation that she was participating in; one of those odd times that she was playing second fiddle to somebody else on a voluntary basis by virtue of specialization. The Cardinal technically out-ranked her somewhere by virtue of being short of the very top of the social pyramid, and this whole situation being her dance to begin with, "Felicia" had no reason to overrule and take a more involved role than she already was. If this was how non-Daemonic matters were going to pan out for the near future, then fine by her...

Feeling her way through the world around almost as though she were extending her hands to create a visualization entirely on touch, she twitched when she reached a dreadfully familiar sensation of punching through nothingness. Like extending your hand for a doorknob in the darkness, but the door was open.

Yet, as she felt around, she realized that these pockets were small and well-concealed. Far from the work of an amateur who should have known better, if Cecilia were any less experienced or in a bit of a rush she would have entirely overlooked these tiny tears in the immaterial reality surrounding them. With a nudge, Del slowly walked forward, Cecilia observing every nook and cranny of the area in meticulous detail before she was finally satisfied and called out, "Do you want the bad news first? Or the worse news?"

Seeing "Felicia" drop from the sky and land mere feet from Cecilia was like seeing an owl swoop in for the kill: silent, graceful, and beautiful in it's own way. Perhaps if her eyes were more a golden color, then the owl imagery would be more complete.

"... There a difference? ...I'd be hearing both anyways..." And if what the signs from her special talisman were to be believed, then "Felicia" likely knew what the Cardinal was about to tell her.

 

[That Lass Over There]

Seeing "Felicia" drop from the sky and land mere feet from Cecilia was like seeing an owl swoop in for the kill: silent, graceful, and beautiful in it's own way. Perhaps if her eyes were more a golden color, then the owl imagery would be more complete.

"... There a difference? ...I'd be hearing both anyways..." And if what the signs from her special talisman were to be believed, then "Felicia" likely knew what the Cardinal was about to tell her.

"... Hmph." Childishly, the Cardinal looked to the side, puffing her cheeks out and pouting with her moment ruined. Maybe not the most appropriate, but she thought to have a bit of fun now that she had someone to share her antics with, saying something that sounded straight out of a play... Her stoic companion may not have been the best prospect for someone to accompany her tiny whim, in retrospect.

Cecilia quickly dropped the act, though, and thought seriously for a moment with her lips parted before shaking her head. "... It's not something to be discussed in the open." Especially now that traces of magic use had been identified, it was best to stick with the safe plan of discussing sensitive details only in private. She had a growing doubt that scrying in particular was something to be concerned about, but such measures were still important in ensuring they wouldn't be on the losing side of the information war preceding whatever mess they were getting themselves into.



While she felt like she had gathered as much as she possibly could about the previously assumed mage, she still planned on giving the other two areas - unfortunately less specific than this particular one - a combing for traces of other sorts when they got to them. Not feeling entirely confident on her judgement, she considered before offering, "Would you like to take a look, and then we go to discuss before checking other areas?"

After all, it was probably best to let the Daemon Hunter confirm the site before voicing her suspicions.

 

[Aron the Aron]

"... Hmph."While she felt like she had gathered as much as she possibly could about the previously assumed mage, she still planned on giving the other two areas - unfortunately less specific than this particular one - a combing for traces of other sorts when they got to them. Not feeling entirely confident on her judgement, she considered before offering, "Would you like to take a look, and then we go to discuss before checking other areas?"

After all, it was probably best to let the Daemon Hunter confirm the site before voicing her suspicions.

With the request for a second, Inquisitor "Felicia" could finally determine the anomalous behavior her talisman had been warning her of. It was one of her oldest tools as a Daemonhunter: a simple iron piece tied with string and specially made for those talentless in the arcane. It's behaviour in the face of ambient magic were obscure and difficult to tell for the average layman, but lifetimes spent learning and relying on it meant an intimate knowledge on its innumerable tells.

And the tell it was giving off put "Felicia" on edge, enough to make her draw out another tool.

The device in question resembled a crude lantern from the far north, what with its wooden and hide construction hanging by a rope loop. But when the Inquisitor began to gently scan it around... It... glowed?

In truth, the "lantern" in question was something called a "faery lantern" (the name from the belief that faeries in pagan mythology appeared as wisps of colorful lights to humans): a special device that recreated atmospheric magic and represented it as light and shadows. The special powder inside glowed and behaved in tune with the magic outside, changing color and and light intensity. And what the lantern was telling "Felicia" and Cecilia only confirmed the latter's observations. The Inquisitor naturally put the lantern away after seeing enough, but something nagged at her. Her long tenure as a Daemonhunter meant she had an idea as to who... or what was likely responsible for this disappearance, but was this really what she thought it was?

The Inquisitor-turned-bodyguard began to scrutinize her surroundings more closely after she had an idea for what the Cardinal felt. She looked for anomalies, signs of something else that didn't fi-

"... Hm?"

On the sandstone wall behind Cecilia... were those... claw marks? The thoughts in Lumina's mins raced at the correlation of plausibility, and the loudest conclusion was something she didn't want to entertain:

Daemons were in Bursa.

"... The next place of incidence... we need to go there... soon as possible." The urgency in her normally stoic tone was one that could generate a panic out of flightier individuals. "... This could be worse than I thought..."