So you can throw me to the wolves Tomorrow I will come back Leader of the whole pack Beat me black and blue Every wound will shape me Every scar will build my throne
Sliding his fingers across the paperwork laid out across the table before him, he could feel the coarseness of the paper. Letting out a heavy sigh, he was the first to arrive, as expected considering he was the host this time around. Today was a guild master's meeting, and for the first time, all guilds were invited. He was slightly nervous, but the samurai was quite confident they would accomplish great feats today. The conference room was not massive, but it was big enough to seat every guild master, and some guests. Here goes. He awaited the arrival of the other masters patiently, keeping his paperwork close. Dressed in his armor and white cloak, he was prepared for some form of antagonism or confrontation, but he hoped it did not occur. There were no Rune Knights here, just the mages and their discussion.
As some would enter, he would begin by stating a few ground rules. And as more entered, he would repeat them. Welcome guys. We've got coffee and drinks if you wish. We'll begin as soon as the rest arrive. If they are not here by two, we'll begin without them. The sun shined bright in the sky, white fluffy clouds floating along the breeze as it was about two pm. He picked this time because it was after lunch, and there was no darkness to hide behind. I'm gonna lay out a few ground rules. 1. No fighting. If any occurs, it will be dealt with swiftly. There is temporary peace here, and I will enforce it on both sides. 2. Try not to interrupt other mages 3. Try not to go off topic, if we stray too far I will drag us back. That's about it. Take a seat and wait patiently. Thanks. He had to admit, it was a bit odd that dark guilds would be joining them, but it would be to their benefit. Last time, Heero had hosted it, and it had not gone so well. The former Fairy Tail guild master was an old friend, but he tended to bring storms with him. The perspective of a dark guild was something they had never had before, but hopefully it did not turn out to be a shit show, as that was not his intention here today. His red eyes stayed fixated upon all of those who entered.
@GuildMastersnotBDSMmasters
MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0
Info:
-There will be a posting order for gm's, but the guests will mainly be spectating so they're not included in it. Just dont double post guests okay lol
Topic List: Navrick situation, Tension in Bosco, Dark guild relations, and if you have any more, feel free to bring them up.
Appearance was key. Most humanoid creatures had the dominant sense of the eyes, being unfortunately lacking when it came to the finer aspects of other senses. Unlike an animal, their hearing, smelling, tasting were talents that had been quietly locked away, leaving naught but a pair of ignorant, deceiving eyes. And as this was so, in order to succeed in almost any formality with a humanoid, what she wore, how she stood, her expression, and all those tiny details factored into the ultimate outcome of an appearance were all to be considered. In fact, the usually modestly-dressed child lacking in fashion taste had spent a whole hour before the mirror, subjected to the opinions of a cat with wings. Hoshi, having paid much more attention to the world around them than the girl who spent half her life with her head in the clouds possessed a surprisingly good taste in clothing, and thus had put together the entirety of Sorano’s wardrobe. But why all this fuss? Why all this bother and mess and discomfort? The occasion was a crucially important meeting, a gathering of bright minds and powerful magic, the first ever meeting of ALL the guild masters. Even, in this case, the exiled guild of Fairy Tail.
Deep breath in, deep breath out. Roll your shoulders, look ahead. Keep a neutral expression. Back ramrod straight – must create a presentable guise. She was younger than the rest – youngest out of them all, being only fourteen years of age. She would be cast among adults, those who had been through more life than herself, those who had run their guilds for longer. Watch your tongue. Thoughts pulled themselves from the library of Sorano’s mind, presenting themselves at the very front for their owner’s admiration. She sighed, turning to face the door of her room. She did have to leave sometime, after all.
With Hoshi wrapped about her shoulders, the letter mage cautiously poked her head into the room where the guild masters were to gather, feeling an increase in heart rate. Despite her lack of emotion, such human instincts were still rather annoying, and she tried to ignore it as her eyes searched for the other guild masters. The man who was hosting the meeting… Sorano’s eyes flickered upwards towards the well-known form of Ardere Kasai, guild master of the legal guild Infinity Hydra. Ardere… Although the girl had never met him in person, she’d heard plenty of stories in the news, and from Heero while he was still with the guild. Hesitantly, she entered, realizing that somehow, she’d made it there the first. Ah… This felt strange… “Mm, hello, it’s nice to meet you,” she said quickly, to fill up the silence. Never had the girl ever been good in social situations, emotional or not. Trying to figure out how to act and what to say among people such as these… It was most certainly a struggle. Hopefully she would fit in more by the end of this.
»»-------------------------¤----------------------«« ohwow i'm first somehow
A cloaked figure rose from a billow of ashes, any features hidden beneath a red hood as the woman entered into a place that had once been forbidden to her. Glowing, bloodied optics were the only source of light that were visible through the shadows of the silken cloak that she wore. Her physique unknown beneath the shapely cloak, as she glided across the ground like a phantom to a seat that was designated for her. She never took her eyes off of the two that were already present in the building, watching them warily as she slide across the room. Ardere sat proudly in his seat, the first of all the guild masters to have risen to the occasion and arrived in a timely manner as per usual. The other was but a mere child, one she didn’t quite recognize, but had the rancid scent of Fairy Tail crawling all over her. Marceline wrinkled her nose in disgust and turned around, settling comfortably down into the seat and turning her attention toward them both.
She was silent as a bat, but a slender hand slid out from between the fabrics of her cloak and beckoned toward empty space for something to come toward her. With her, she had brought one of her most trusted members, more for guard than anything else, but with her nonetheless, as she didn’t know what to expect here. The dark guilds were outnumbered compared to the legal and neutral guilds and for all she knew, it could have very much been a trap. Her other hand slithered out from the crevice of her cloak, and pulled down the hood to reveal a blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty. Marcy gave both Sorano and Ardere the sweetest smile that she could manage, trying not to show the disgust she felt being there. “Ich schätze die Einladung, Ardere,” she spoke in her native tongue, the intent being so that she came off as not being able to understand their language. An old trick in the book, honestly, but she was not trustworthy of why the dark guilds were invited to such an important meeting like this.
(My post taking place at 2 at the dot, which it wasn't said how soon that was exactly. If you have not yet arrived but wished your character to arrive before the time the meeting starts, just post our arrival as normal and then include what happens here in the latter half)
In case anyone makes a snap judgement based on the banners or song, no, I'm not attacking or being mean.
Eris
Everything was normal and content in the room and the mountain valley the town resided in, the sun shining down from blue skies speckled with the white fluff of clouds, the clock ticking down to the hour on the wall. The final minute coming to a close as the second hand rounded its way. Tick. Tick.. Tick... silence, hands frozen still in alignment, two o clock. A cold chill radiated off from the walls with frost creeping lightly around the edges of the room and glass surfaces.
Light dimmed and flickered but there was no sound but what the guildmasters in the room and beyond generated themselves. Lesser beings were still and as lifeless as statues, the common rabble locked in the moment, with the falling leaves, the birds, and the wind. Nothing was in motion but the mages in attendance, and the blue sky turned dark as the sun warped in on itself to burn a vivid scarlet that cast a crimson glow on the landscape.
On the horizon a low rumble escalated somewhere beyond the mountains until a stormfront rushed overhead flowing past the mountain tops, the rumble loud and echoing throughout the valleys, becoming more distinct as the sound of hundreds dozens of colossal hearts beating chaotically backed by a higher pitch undertone of screams that faintly droned on behind the heavy beating noise, with each thump of the rumbling the stormfront roiled violently, rapidly shifting and moving forward to hide the sky over the town, a gigantic skull finally bursting through the inky black clouds to dive downwards towards the earth, streams of black gas streaming out from its sides trailing behind it as it swooped to turn its head skyward, a long shaft behind the skull ridged with a spine across the top, spires jutting out from its sides.
When it was facing the sky the ship's momentum jerked to a stop and it fell downwards to slam the black cloud-hidden bottom of whatever it was into the top of a nearby mountain overlooking the valley with a heavy tremor that was felt below. The long spires that ringed the central tower moved erratically like the legs of an insect as they turned around and stretched out down along the sides of the mountain like long claws reaching out from the body of a beast, the skull cracked and shook, spine along the back of the tower-ship stretching to accommodate the skull's movement as it moved from looking skyward to looking down at the town, red eyes blazing as black vapors flooded up into the sky from the structure.
The noise died down to a low distant rumble that grew fainter as the tower settled into place.
On the other side of the valley another tremor was felt as another giant abomination slammed into the opposing mountain, punctuated by a roar that tapered into an violent growl. A giant beast had landed hard there, trees collapsing and a small landslide sliding off one end. The monster that landed there was gargantuan, and had blended in with the black clouds, as it's body itself was deeply shadowed as to be only vaguely distinguished as some sort of dragon with an intense rage radiating off from it, tendrils of inky black smoke like from the clouds above rippled off from its form, like a living shadow that boiled with what seemed like faces within the smoke around its body. It sunk low against the mountain as a third and final tremor shook the meeting hall, something having landed close, just outside the building even.
The building didn't stop shaking after the impact however, a rumble persisted, vibrations ringing through the area. Any windows were obscured, what happened outside was for the moment a mystery, until the dust settled and the rumbling stopped. Silence followed for a single acute moment before the walls suddenly blew away in a gust, as though turning to ash and being vacuumed away on the wind. Rusting people's hair but having no effect on the inhabitants there in.
The building was gone, leaving only the floor, the refreshments table, conference table and chairs. The meeting was elevated off the ground on a large pillar of clear crystal or ice, shaped like two hands rising up side by side, one looking like a skeletal limb, the other delicate and feminine. A wide elegant stairway lead down to the streets of the town below, which were unharmed, lined with black skull torches glowing with red light on one side, an obsidian stairway on one half and a white marble other half which had olympian pillars topped with golden braziers.
An obsidian disk was held in the palms of the two hands that supported the remaining floor of the building that was, around the disk rose archways that ringed around the edge, a few growing into sharp peaks, the space through the arch rippling, gateways forming. Servants came through two such archways, angelic women in white robes through one, adorned with golden leaves, and black skeletons through another. Both sets carried out new tables and chairs and set them around the spacious disk and setting tableware and platters, candles, cushioned chairs of the highest quality. Smaller tables scattered around the large longer tables on which food was set on silver and gold decorum.
Most the servants disappeared back through the rippling archways while a few stayed to stand with their hands crossed behind them, skeletons and the maidens standing in pairs one next to another, a few others stood at the top of the staircase and another pair at the bottom, to point the way and cordially usher any would be attendees along the way.
While the sky was black and overcast, the Dark Tower and shadowed dragon perched on either side of the valley were ominous, but while the land around them was cast in a red light the platform and archway itself was well lit by golden tones that cast sheer shadows that gave all in attendance a noble hue to them.
The clock that had frozen on the wall hovered fixed in place unmoving as though nothing had happened, its hands still frozen, as it itself now was fixed in the air, like a reminder of the purpose of the hour and a focus. Like this was really happening, it wasn't a vision or dream.
A sudden spike in malevolence could have sent shivers down a demon's back as a white figure materialized out from a swirl of inky black smoke that contrasted the sheer white of her skin and hair, the only color coming from the vivid red of her ruby eyes that matched the scarlet velvet inner lining of her billowing cape and the blood red of her lips. She was dressed fully, but immodestly, in black leather studded with metal spikes and silver skulls. A gold and ruby ring on one finger over a thin black glove that stretched up past her elbows, much like her boots.
Her hair was ethereal in the way it flowed behind her, a property shared by the cloak that waved hypnotically with each step and sway of her hips, though where you'd expect the clack of heels she made no sound until she waved her cape away when she dipped to take a seat at the table near the man who had extended the invitation indirectly to her, finding its way through her network of eyes, becoming aware of it the moment one of them heard it.
She had had such a pleasant day at the last meeting of masters, but she wasn't invited to that one. But she left her mark all the same, the red hand drawn from the blood of so many bystanders who had been there to witness the day. Perhaps today would go differently. There was the clear concern of an elaborate trap of some kind, some intention to strike the heads of each "Dark guild" as they gathered in one place. One more reason to distance the meeting from the building it had been in. Any traps that lie in that hall were irrelevant now, any advantage they had hoped to retain by hosting the event on their own terms was cast to the wind.
Eris made her presence known hard, a threat and a warning. The two colossal figures waiting around the valley saw to that, daring them to try to test their limits. It worked both ways on the other hand, it showed that Eris was not attacking them. Immediately at any case, or the town would already be in ruins at the hands of any of the three threats Eris brought to the table. But they were immobile, watching. Like two guardians, warning against hostilities from any party, "Legal" or "Dark".
Servant maidens and skeletons alike offered drinks and highly fanciful snacks to attendees carried on their gilded trays, politely keeping at arms length and wordlessly offering their services and dipping away if shooed off. Skeletons tended to the dark, while the maidens tended to the light, though it depended on their mood and who they sensed would be most receptive or avoidant.
"A wizard is never late" Eris spoke, any evil presence she gave off rolled back in waves leaving only pleasantry and humor. "So they say. I'm no wizard but I make due." She seemed to be referencing the clock, which remained frozen at two. There was an amused smile playing at her lips, entertained at the thought of confusion and perhaps relief that she was not in fact attacking them. Though she was obviously prepared for that outcome if they tried something. More so than they knew.
At first glance Shirotsume appeared to be having nothing but a simple and mundane spring day in the midst of April. A bright day with the sun shining strongly in the ocean blue sky which didn't held a single cloud at moment. Yet despite the strong sun, it was still an early spring day and so a chill gust would occasionally make the laundry hanging to dry flutter in the wind. All in all, it seemed to be a day like any other in the small town if it weren't for just one small matter, the titan of all meetings. One that could decide the fate for all of Fiore. Namely the guild masters meeting. Now you would think, why could a simple meeting between masters be such a big deal. Sure the ones that occurred in the past were always a bit rowdy but never that big of a deal right. Well this time around it was going to be different, this time not a single guild in the country was excluded from the meeting. Meaning that next to all the Legal guilds and Neutral ones. One more alignment would join the fray, The Dark Guilds!
One of these nefarious groups was none other then the guild Savage Skull. The blight of Fiore, the undying weed that never could be fully eradicated from the face of the earth. The self-proclaimed darkest of guilds. And the one representing that guild, and thus gracing the meager legal masters with her malicious presence was the queen of the Savages herself. Marceline Anicetus. But Marceline wasn't the only savage present this day, no with her came a rather peculiar individual. An enigma as he stood just as tall and proud as the master all around him. Even though he seemed to function as the Savage Queens guard. This man was Dahau and he trod behind Marceline, following her every step until she reached her seat, and even though he didn't showed it, pride and arrogance dripped off him. As if he was coated with it.
Dahau took his stand right behind Marceline. And glared around the room. It seemed that right now only two masters were present. One was probably easily recognizable for every Savage mage, even if they haven't met him in person. Ardere Kasai, The Fire King or as he was known to some of the lower thugs of the dark guild, Savage's Bane. This man managed to fight most of the entire dark guild head on and force them to a deadlock. An incredible feat, and one that even Dahau applauded as not many would face the might of Savage Skull alone. The second master who was already present was also an obvious one. The pitiful disgrace that one would call Fairy Tail. She was coated in it, only a guild as shortsighted and blinded with being good as Fairy Tail would put a tween in charge. More over, you could say that it was rather surprising that Fairy Tail would be present here, as Dahau expected them to run away with their tails between their legs after the most recent battle in Magnolia.
Right now this was far from a meeting between titans, as there was only a handful of mages present. But then again, it was still early. After all the clock hadn't even struck two yet. The moment it however changed everything, from the very atmosphere to their surroundings itself. At first something very unnoticeable happened, yet Dahau caught a glimpse of it from the corner of his eye. The very clock hanging in the room came to a standstill at exactly two o'clock, frozen in time as it appeared to be. Then it all changed starting with peaceful blue sky which turned into an ominous crimson red as everything around them trembled simultaneously with a deafening roar that felt as if it could shatter existence itself. The walls surrounding them, no the entire building except the very floor they were standing on seemed to have disappeared. Only to be replaced with a giant pillar made out of crystal that would now support the very floor the guild master would conduct their meeting on. Leading now down from the pillar to the streets were large steps that together formed one hell of a majestic looking stairs. This was surely a grand act befitting of a master.
Dahau on the other hand managed to stand firmly, unmoved even. Almost unaffected, while others tried to hold on to the nearest chair or table. Showing that theatrical entrances alone weren't enough to impress the man, even though he appreciated her taste.
The area was suddenly invaded by a loud voice that boomed the room, the voice was a male's voice, but it was there for definite. The man kicked the door open with his inferior motive and looked around. No wonder he kicked the entrance in the first place… it seemed he was carrying a girl of small stature bridal style, allowing her to have the most comfortable journey that she possibly can. Of course, this was none other than Bao, Summer’s gatekeeper to the realm of the Chinese Zodiac. Of course, nobody else knew that other than Bao himself, and Summer, the lady who woke up to see him looking at her from above… In fact, Summer was right behind the neko gatekeeper, and as always, he has on his resting bitch face, lovely.
“You can let her go now, Bao…” Summer sighed softly as she scratched the side of her head. It seemed that the fireworks expert was still trying to get comfortable around the presence of the 13th zodiac, he was a forbidden zodiac, someone who couldn’t make it in the category of the 12 zodiacs. The cat was most certainly an interesting creature to exile, but it wasn’t her decision to do so. It was her decision to bring him out here, however.
“Hmph… only because you said so… You know, Summer… I am only doing this until your death is brought… I hope you understand that…” Bao really was an arrogant piece of shit, but Summer couldn’t do anything about it for the time being. Most she could do about it as of right now was struggle to understand the cats true intentions.
“You’re so arrogant. I told you, I won’t die… the zodiac won’t let me.”
”Them zodiac exiled me and didn’t include me as the 13th one… urrgghh, and you say they won’t let you die?!”
“Calm down, Bao. Just let her go, we aren’t here to bicker or to take the piss out of each other.”
“Fine..”
The cat zodiac was well and truly pissed right out of his mind, it has really placed a damper on Summer’s energetic mood. On the bright side, he was a protective neko, but probably only because he's a gatekeeper and doing his job.
Finally, Bao let the silverette female down and he glared over at Summer. “Ey, are those Chinese zodiac saying anything to you about me??” He asked in arrogance. “If they are, they need to quit shitting around. I am not in the mood for them.”
“Omfg, did he just like, totally diss us?? Gdi…”
“What the hell are you speaking, rooster??” Summer asked in her mind.
“It seems that he well and truly hates us…” The rabbit spoke of disinterest.
“There isn’t much we can do no- holy shit what the hell is happening…!?” Summer had to ask in her head as suddenly, everything around them changed… she didn’t understand what was going on at all, but let it run it’s course.
“Did your zodiac cause this?!”
“No Bao! They didn’t!”
Bao was just as confused, but merely because he was too busy trying to find out if Summer was speaking to her zodiac spirits or not. Luckily, the calming aura that Summer spits out constantly is always a good thing to keep in mind.
HP: 440 MP: 100%
Words: -- Total Words: --
Spells/Abilities: Dangerous Games - 25% Damage Increase. Zodiac Auras - 30m sensing presences unless they are undead/cyborgs/robots. Zodiac Calm Affinity - Everyone within 25m of Summer feels much calmer and is less susceptible to attack her. Zodiac’s Call - Damage cut by a quarter.
Unlike the letter mage, Mura took this meeting way too easy. Although, according to information, a lot of mages were to gather there at Shirotsume, so instead of his lazy attire, he wore his battle suit. It was light, sturdy and felt well to wear. He needed to feel calm at times like these, or mostly all the time. Again, he found it not so overwhelming as Sorano would’ve thought. He should’ve taken it more seriously, though; as an Ace, his duty was to attend the meeting along his Guildmaster, make sure that nothing major struggled her or anything like that. Like a guard, just… cooler. Or so he thought.
Walking beside Sorano towards the room where all the Guildmasters were to gather, he took a quick glance around. Soon, he would spot so many new faces and spirits that he never met before, and it already started with the inviter; a mage and relative from Midi, Ardere Kasai. Mura had looked up to him when he first joined Fairy Tail, mostly because that he didn’t know of another Midian mage in Fiore other than him. That knowledge now grew to a few others, but standing before the rolemodel was quite the honor of him. As Sorano made her greeting quite quickly, he was on it with a: “Hajimemashite, Ardere.” He sent a quiet smile towards the taller Midian before taking another look into the room. Ardere began making the rules clear; no fighting, no interruption, no off-topic topics… yeah, those made up the general rules.
Taking it so easy, he didn’t expect the blonde-haired lady to appear from behind. Her smile was gentle and friendly as she greeted them in some language that he didn’t understand. Well, naming Ardere at last, it seemed like a greeting, in which she made her arrival. Mura was surprised that she would show up; then again, he had no idea about guild meetings, but this shocked him no matter what. He kept his eyes low, though, as he didn’t expect anything hostile from the Savage pairs; the rules were clearly set. For some odd reason, he put his trust to that. However, this world just wouldn’t give him a break; the next thing that happened was the entire sky and atmosphere to change drastically. Everything happened in a hurry, in which Mura suddenly found himself lifted from the surface and the entire building changed - the walls were gone, they stood on a levitating floor that rested on two crystal-like hands and another figure had made its presence. A time where even Mura was getting uneasy. Kyuken hadn’t even made his presence because of the auras around them; varying from fierce, calm, hidden and wicked entities.
“This…” he mumbled calmly to the others, “This is… quite unexpected. Do things like these happen in all guild meetings?”
Anastasia stood in front of the mirror within her quarters on the Myrmidon. They were already parked in Shirotsume at the harbor and was just preparing their final appearance before presenting themselves. Anastasia wore her blue outfit, rather revealing, showing off more hip and leg than she's used to. On top of her blue clothing, she wore some ceremonial armor and a coat with a fuzzy neckline. Upon making sure her appearance was presentable, she walked out of her room and walked towards the cargo bay of the ship. "Open up, George," she shouted out as the on-board computer stated, "Acknowledged," before opening the cargo door, dropping it down like it's a ramp.
"Let's get a move-on, Cirven. We can't be late for this thing. Gotta give a good impression right?" she asked. As Cirven caught up to her, the two of them made their way towards the hall that the GM meeting would be held. The West Fiore Trading Company flag flew upon the ship's mast instead of 'flying the black'. The fact that they are pirates is supposed to remain a secret, using the West Fiore Trading Company as their cover. She went over a few important things with Cirven such as their identity as the West Fiore Trading Company. While she knew Cirven knew that, she also said it for her own sanity.
"Let's also not act like complete buffoons. I'm certain the Blue Pegasus would do a good enough job doing that to themselves," she said. Even after all of this time, she still disliked the Blue Pegasus and will constantly dislike the Blue Pegasus. If she had a guild she wouldn't have any regrets robbing blind, it would be those losers. "Assuming they even show up. Who knows what Zack is like as a GM," she said, ignorant of the fact that Zack was no longer the GM of the guild. That was the information she had last of the guild; still believing that Akryn, too, was still a part of the guild.
"Anyway, enough rambling about bumbling idiots. We're going to have to put on a professional act," she said as she shuddered at the thought of being 'professional'. Nobody acts professional properly and those that do are simply lying to themselves. Being 'professional' is putting on a facade that people normally aren't; all it does is saves the feelings of some. Either way, acting professional is for frauds.
As she rambled on, the two made it to the door leading to the hall. Ana stopped for a moment and took a deep breath before turning to look towards Cirven and delivered a bit, comforting smile. She nodded to him and turned her head towards the door and noticed a large foot-print upon the door. This caused her to blink for a moment before taking a deep breath and opened the door. She opened it to see Guild Masters and some of their entourage with them. She didn't recognize a single face other than that of that creepy lady, Marceline. She did a job with this woman and she was all 'bleh, darkness, bleh'. Anastasia had an aversion to that form of 'evil' I guess you can say, but she didn't seem THAT bad.
Anastasia noticed Ardere's bright red armor and tilted her head. "I didn't know that lobsters can thrive on land," she said inquisitively, if not mockingly. She also noticed a pure white woman who needed to put some clothing on enter. Her eyes drifted towards her chest and she shook her head for a moment, needing to focus. Clearing her throat, she turned her eyes towards a familiar looking man. A man that she remembered Akryn embarrassing himself over at the Sabertooth ball. At least Sabertooth decided to show up -- well, at least that is what she thought, still remembering Fred being a member of Sabertooth; oh my, have things changed.
In hindsight, upon saying to not act like a total moron to Cirven, her insult towards Ard just slipped. "Oops, my bad," she said loud enough for only her and Cirven to hear. "This pretend shit is difficult," she turned and whispered to Cirven. Anastasia walked towards the table and claimed a couple seats for herself and Cirven. She heard the ground rules spoken by Lobster Lord before nodding her head. "You got it."
The Quartermaster was not exactly the type of guy that would be in a meeting of any kind but he had to go and support his captain or else it would probably end up badly. It might end up worse with him there but at least he could make sure they would both get out of there in one piece. He knew how she was with talking at times and she could slip up and say something that could get them in trouble quickly but that was something they both shared a similarity with except that he could process things a bit better and hold back at times.
He looked himself over in the mirror as he had just finished putting on the outfit that he was given by Ana to wear. It was somewhat his style but at the same time wasn't. He wore a blue armored jacket that would match what Ana wore which was also accompanied by matching pants and other clothing. He was looking at how he looked with the jacket buttoned up completely but decided against it and to throw more of his own style into the mix which lead him to unbuttoning the jacket to show his black shirt underneath.
Before he could continue to mess with the look he heard Ana calling for him and made his way out of his room on the Myrmidon to meet up with her on their way to the meeting. They were not late for it any way but she seemed to be in a bit of a rush to get there. She explained what they were to the others around them over again to him and even though he knew it, it was nice to get a refresher on it before he accidentally blurted something out. "Yup, we are a guild that focuses on trading goods called the West Fiore Trading Company. The name might be a bit generic but what we do is pretty much that too." He joked to her after she explained what they were to him again. "Yeah... I'm hoping we don't end up fighting in this thing. Pretty sure it will be something that will be prevented but how quickly can they really stop a fight from breaking out between some crazy strong individuals..?" He spoke out a question to Ana for her comments about Blue Pegasus that he wasn't really wanting an answer to at all. She continued to ramble while Cirven continued to insert his own dialogue in between what she was saying as they arrived to the door leading into the meeting which clearly had a foot print on it. "Looks like someone beat us to the party..." He spoke out to her as he moved inside with her.
He did not recognize anyone really at all. All he could do was pick up on their scents and hope that they did not question his red left eye or pointed ears. He really did not know how to explain them and had not practiced any particular way to do so on the spot. It looked like most of the members of the meeting all took to dressing like they were going to some sort of formal event so he did not feel too bad for what he was wearing so much even though he disliked the armor part of his outfit. It just felt unnecessary to him.
His attention shifted to Ana when she practically made fun of the man who had all brought them to the meeting and was laying out the rules of the meeting. Cirven could not help but agree that the armor looked a bit much on him but at the same time it was not something that she should have said. "She meant that in a completely positive way, sir!" He could barely believe he had said that and felt as if there was acid in his own throat from speaking it. He knew they had to act professional but to degrade themselves so much so that it looked like they were push overs might have been a bit much. Even so, he had done it and had to accept the consequences of it all. Ana then spoke to him about messing up which she said loud enough for his sensitive ears to pick up. He silently reacted to what she said by staring at her blankly. He hoped she picked up on what his look meant and took the seat next to his captain that she had claimed.
After a bit of time the entire meeting area and some of the city was being morphed by someone's magic to the point where everything had become something almost completely different and more similar to something out of a folk tale. The end result was the meeting area somewhat guarded by two giant beasts while a pale woman joined the meeting herself. Cirven did not recognize her but spoke out anyways. "Nice way of joining up with us. Maybe next time you could roll out the 'red carpet' for all of us with some sort of famous guest announcer?" His eyes widened and he looked at Ana remembering that they were not supposed to speak like that. He shrugged at her. "Couldn't hold it in." He spoke loud enough for her to hear him.
Right on time, as usual. Perhaps some people said that to be on time was to be late, but to the Youkai, what was the point in being early? Everyone most likely would be on edge, or there would be boring talk of politics. Nothing would get done in the end, so she took no time in being super early. The pink-feathered jay would arrive minutes before the strike of two, and alight on the sill of an open window, alongside a white fairy tern.
Their magic presence could be sensed should one try, most likely, even though the two Ayakashi did their best to hide it. It was none other than Izayuki, the pink jay, and her companion, Seika, the white-feathered fairy tern. The first time she had used the pink jay form for travel was when she had been contacted via letter by Elyx, who challenged her to an interesting duel game of sorts. Back then, she had alighted on his head, and managed to scare his phoenix pet, who sent fireballs their way. An interesting scenario, but as tempting as it was to try it again, the Bakedanuki now knew better.
She did not approach or take a seat right away, nor did she assume her human form, as she remained silent on the windowsill alongside Seika. Just before they could fly in and make a decent entrance, however, the building began to shake, and transform.
A nuisance, no doubt, as someone was attempting to be impressive again, in the eyes of the Bakedanuki. “Ah, perfect. My seat has arrived,” she said softly with a grin, as she flew towards the table to avoid the crumbling walls and windowsill. The fairy tern followed, but quickly reverted back into her true form- that of a white-furred, felid, mew-like creature who hovered above the table as she gazed around at the changing building with curious, cyan eyes.
Izayuki herself flew up towards the silver-haired woman with the evil presence, who was scandalously dressed. The pink jay attempted to alight on the woman’s head once she was safely on the floor of the new conference room. Once she was safely on Eris’s head, the Black Rose Guildmaster reverted to her true form: a silver-furred, pink-eyed, fluffy tanuki, and curled up smugly.
“Good to meet you, miss. Though I must say, your choice of attire is rather… revealing, to say the least. You mustn’t give men the wrong idea, if you get what I mean,” she began. “Unless, in fact, you are seeking to not be single. Forgive my assumption, if so.”
The silver-furred tanuki would use her ability to fly, should an attempt to get her off or removed by made. Should that be so, she would try to levitate close to Eris’s head, not quite ready to leave her new favorite seat. If her seat teleported away? She would follow with her own. Hopefully, however, the dark guild master would be kind enough to allow the eastern raccoon dog to remain. After all, Izayuki would do her best to ensure her head was warm and cozy.
Averting her attention elsewhere, the tiny fluffy canine gazed at everyone else in the room with a smile. “Good to see you again, Ardere, Marceline, and Anastasia! To those of you I have yet to meet, I am Izayuki Hyoujin-Reiaki, the Guild Master of Black Rose! Lovely to be here; thank you for the invitation!”
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And while you are sitting indoors waiting for the storm to pass I will be outside dancing in the rain
❧
She did not want to be here. Gods knew what she would do to not be here right now. Normally Astrid was all for group discussions, as it gave her a chance to sit down and relax with a bunch of various characters, talking about… Well, whatever the discussion was. It was a good way to see differing opinions from her own. But there was one thing, one little detail that caused the guild master to want to decline this invitation. It involved all of the guild masters. Not to say she did not like any of the guild masters. She enjoyed the sound of most of them from what she heard, and a few were even her friends. But there was one in particular she did not wish to see. Her mother. ‘Supposed’ mother that was. The entire situation was still a bit too foreign and complicated for her to fully comprehend and believe. If all of the guild masters were indeed invited to this, then there was a chance she would see her there. And any chance of seeing the tanuki right now was enough for the salyer to want to avoid this gathering like the plague. It was why she stayed away from Rose Garden, or any other property owned by the Black Rose guild, knowing the youkai would have a greater chance of being there than any other places. She used the excuse of Golden Phoenix having two guild masters to her advantage. She told herself it would not give the guild a bad name if only one of them showed up, and that she would be looking after the guild hall while the other would be representing them, making sure nothing would happen while both were gone. But as fate would have it, apparently Summer was not going to have any of her excuses. So despite her many attempts of getting the firework mage to go without her, the final solution was that the Chinese woman would force her to go… By using her companion… Carrying her bridal style. The silvernette screamed and kicked the entire way there, using her full force to try and get the cat man to release her. But it was no use. Bao was just too strong. Just how tough was this guy that he could bare through all of her attacks like nothing? Eventually tiring herself out Astrid barely had any energy left once they did get there, gaining motion sickness from their ride over to top it all of. She did not see Bao as a friend after all. More like the thing keeping her from freedom. The slayer’s eyes swirled as she laid limply in the cat man’s arms, only nauseated more when he kicked open the door. When released from his grasp she only fell to the floor and stayed there, letting out moans of discomfort as her mind and body swirled with sickness. She did not even move or take notice when the structure around them all began to change, too caught up with trying not to vomit in front of such high ranking people rather than any events happening around her. “O-Okay we made it. C-Can i just go home now?” she pleaded weakly, wanting to return to the comfort of her bed and not have to face anyone in this state.
Also unaffected by the change, as he has seen much stranger things in his life, Wolfgang flew up from where he had been riding on Bao’s head to hover just above Astrid, his white feathered wings stretched out. He flicked his tail towards her lightly to send a cool breeze her way, trying to cool her off so she would be able to function again. “Dis is a mess alweady” the lispy feline sighed, getting a strange feeling this was going to be one hell of a conference.
Never one to really be able to tell time through a clock, the fact she was given a time to arrive wasn't really something she could ever truly adhere to. Since nobody ever made sundials anymore, trying to help to learn to convert the idea of learning time or how it coincided with the position of the sun was just something she couldn't really think would be an option right now. Though as high up as it had been currently, the blonde bunny wasn't too sure if she was going to be terribly late, or extremely early to the event, but it didn't matter to her either way. Sure, she was grateful for an invite and the small scent she picked up reminded her of the firey brat she had met before. The idea to blow it off was something she had at one point considered, however she turned a blind eye to that as she knew she'd end up being able to hang out with Aiyana again at some point. As long as she knew at least one person, she had a reason to believe she could stand the place for a little while at least.
She trekked through a forest as though she were taking a shortcut through Hargeon to get to Shirotsume a little faster. The names and even pronunciation of such a place were a little difficult until she had found the picture that she could recognize it as. That town to her was like a large fancy place; large upscale buildings, plenty of higher society folk walking around from place-to-place. It also wasn't to the point that she had no idea what the location of the place had been, but she had her papa for a guide, so there was easily a way to get to it without getting lost... If she chose to listen to him that was. "Take a right" and she would walk straight. "Take a left" and the bunny girl would ignore and go in another direction like she'd remember it all completely on her own. As much of a happy effort was put into the idea of trying to get there on her own, it had only pushed her arrival time backward more and more.
After a little arguing and coming to a mutual agreement, Gisen decided to let him guide her along until she reached the town. Now the tricky part of it had come by. She took the trip over in nothing but her pajamas riddled with tiny carrots printed in the fabric of it, but now that she was here she had to change attire to something a little more befitting. Nothing like some large, upscale gown or battlesuit, but instead she'd chosen something a little more adoring to her style. Honestly, she couldn't remember the last time she wore an outfit like this, but today just seemed like one of those days to do so. With a quick flash from her body, the pajamas had been interchanged for this outfit she wanted to wear to this meeting. She had taken off towards an alley way just on the inside of the town when she paused to create a carrot into her hand and hold onto it while she walked into the streets. Slowly working to curb her fear, she tried to keep from having to consistently eat the food to cope, but just working her way little by little.
The blonde bunny approached the destination, picking up a black empty tray along the way to the meeting place and stopping nearby. She had been a little thrown off by the decor of the place from the bit she could see, but the smell of Ardere was nearby for sure, so she knew she was near the right place. Holding the tray out, 3 dozen carrot sticks would begin to pop up rapidly in succession neatly onto the tray, all secretly created with a flavor that she had picked out in her mind from the get go. She had someone coming by soon with many more feastful meals from their hunting adventures in preparation. Large wvyern ribs, huge spirals of warhog meat, Sharq fillets, and much more. For now, she was bringing the appetizer. "Hello hello!~" She announced, walking into the meeting hall building and to the table where she would set the tray of carrots down and slide them into the table some. "I have plenty of freshly cooked monstrous meals on their way for after the meeting for everyone to enjoy, courtesy of Lamia Scale for the invitation! For now, please enjoy my carrot stick tray, freshly made and packed full of flavors you wouldn't believe, I promise!~" With a little giggle, Gisen would take a bite from her own carrot and move slightly away from her tray, letting others whom may or may not be interested to try them.
(Note: The carrots taste like BBQ spare ribs~ Enjoy ^o^)
Heat cannot be separated from fire, or beauty from The finite.
An indiscriminate amount of time in the past:
After having returned from... A life of wandering and adventuring that had likely been far too long for her friends and families tastes, Venir had finally returned home. Naturally, she had expected a great deal of questioning: Where was she? Why was she gone so long? Even a few tears or some much needed hugs. What she did not expect was for her half-sister to invite her to a "party" of sorts. "A party?" Veinir raised a single golden brow, a tad skeptical, "In Shirotsume? I'm not sure if that's the ideal place for a party but it's as good as any."One would think that by now Venir would know better than to actually believe Iza. Even after all her travels, Venir was still without a doubt gullible:
"Hell yeah I'll go! Sounds like a fun party!"
Present Day
A piece of paper with the destination scribbled on it was what lead Venir to the meeting point in question. The first thing she should have noticed was the amount of magical power gathered in one place. However, when one was attending a "party" with wizards one wouldn't bat an eye, though perhaps at this magnitude of power Venir should have been wary. Venir had entered with little grace, or tact, "Oi I brought some-" A bottle of alcohol was held up in her hand but her sentence was cut short as she looked at everyone in the room. Her smile which had held up immediately dropped.... Was she in the wrong place? She recognized some of the faces in the room but they certainly were not the ones she was expecting at the party Iza had mentioned. Speaking of the troublesome Tanuki:
Amthyst eyes locked onto the ball of fur atop a scantily clad woman's head. Internally she cursed both the tanuki and herself for having ever believed Iza. "Well, this isn't exactly a party but... I'm already here so... to those of you that don't know me I'm Venir RuLush from Golden Phoenix. That ball of fur over there invited me." She scratched at the back of her head feeling all too awkward and out of place. "So uh carry on, don't mind me."
Completed: D:9 C:5 B:7 A:3 S:2 10Y:0 100Y:0 Working on 5/6: Gourmet World Island(100) The End of Exitence (100) The Idol (A) The Storm King(100) Protect the Forest (A) Exp: 50,175.25/275,000
Ardere took a deep breath as friends and fellow guild masters alike entered. Some he knew like Iza and Dalrynn. Others were new to him or he had only known them by name alone. Many of the guild masters here today had not been in their position for long, which meant they had a long road ahead of them. But he had faith in all of their capabilities. As the senior in the group, he felt a responsibility here, but he was not alone in this. He had his friends.
As it grew closer and closer to the stroke of two, he began to notice a few were missing, but as the matters were pressing, he could not afford to wait for them to start. Kite and Aiyana were his closest guild master friends, but they would have to be caught up. Hopefully nothing pressing was in their way. Some people he was quite surprised even showed, such as Fredrick and Venir, the latter of which he was pleased to see. Nice to see you guys. Feel free to take a seat. We've got coffee and- The fire mage did not plan to sit until they began, but as it became time for their adventurous discussion to start, something odd happened.
The building itself had been changed, albeit it was a lot more open and flashy, it was a disturbing shift. Instinctively clutching his blade Clarent, the stench of a familiar mage hang in the air. The witch known as Eris was responsible for this. Perhaps his strongest enemy had indeed decided to show her face at the meeting. He had not expected her to show, but she did. Either she truly wanted to talk to help her guild, or their were ulterior motives at work, as per usual. Gritting his teeth, he could not help but grimace.
Allowing everyone to enter before speaking, the Fire King stood proud and confident, even with the bit of nervousness inkling down his throat. His piercing red eyes fixated upon the masters, and a few guests, he began to speak. Thank you all for coming. To my friends, it is nice to see you. To my enemies, I appreciate the trust and peace you are showing. The first order of business concerns a matter of international relations. As you know, the battle with Navrick caused tension in the country itself and with others, Bosco especially is showing signs of distaste. Even though my fellow mages and I brokered peace and gained them as an ally, it is still hard to gain trade and support from their people. The king and I talked, but I need support and ideas from you all, the trusted masters. To avoid war with Navrick again, and Bosco. I do not believe the former shows hostility, but that does not deny the possibility. I want to hear opinions on how it was handled, and ideas moving forward not just with Navrick, but other countries as well.
Spoiler:
First topic: Navrick
Post order: Ardere Ivyleaf Marshy Eris Sally Ana Iza Ami Gisen
She sat quietly, inconspicuous as grand mage after grand mage swept into the hall, all sorts of people, both human and not. Besides Ardere, there were plenty of others whom she had heard about, figures that were almost legendary to her. How should she act around fairytale characters of her childhood? However, not all faces were recognized ones. Soon after she had entered, a blonde woman entered, smiling sweetly at the two, though waves of disgust simply rolled outwards from her aura. Perhaps a dark guild master? Words of German slipped off her tongue, as she showed recognition towards Ardere. Seeing as Sorano herself had been mostly ignored, she made no response, wondering how the other guild masters would understand her. She wasn’t too keen on having to act as translator if need be. But even she was quickly forgotten, as a sudden rumble of energies and shifting of surroundings took place. Tension stirred within her belly as the surroundings swiftly underwent a drastic change. Powerful magic was at work here – there was no question about that.
She shifted in her seat, though discomfort was well-hidden. She would prefer to be the one reading the other mages, instead of herself being figured out the first. The cause of the shift, a scantily dressed mage would saunter in, practically screaming “DARK MAGE” with her magic and appearance. This would be interesting. And after that? They just kept coming. Another roil of disgust was thrown in her direction, from a man whom she had never seen before. It was something she was plenty used to by now, and ignored the presence. Unless he posed a threat, there was no need to worry for now. The strangely cheerful mage with the emotionally calming aura strode in next, accompanied by a spirit, clutching in his arms a very flustered, white-haired woman. Sorano had heard about the sudden change in guild master of the newest legal guild, Golden Phoenix. This time, the letter mage would pause before acting instinctively against the aura, refraining from touching it this time around. Peace was a necessity here.
The next figure? Awkward and friendly as always, Mura would enter, much more relaxed than she herself was. He would be a comforting presence among all these strange faces. A man and a woman – a couple, perhaps, came in next, seeming very out of place in the whole situation. Then entered a bird that transformed into a tanuki, settling itself down on the “dark mage” figure’s head. Was that the master of Black Rose? She had certainly heard a lot about the woman. In fact, Kanix had formed an alliance with the trading guild that Sorano herself had only recently learned about. It was funny how she had never met Izayuki, yet was allied with her. A kemonomimi entered then, holding a tray of carrots and asking everyone to try them. Sorano would take one out of politeness, knowing that in order to push her way through the world of adults, she would have to build relationships. It couldn’t hurt to start with a… barbecue-flavored carrot? Welp. One final person, a rather confused blonde stumbled on in, and Ardere would begin the meeting.
First topic? The battle with Navrick. It had been one the letter mage wasn’t present for, unfortunately, though she had heard much from her guildmates. “I was not present for the battles themselves, but I’ve heard and researched on the situation. As you said, the king of Navrick seems to be a peace-loving man. As long as we can establish something like a truce with him and get the citizens’ hatred and emotions to settle down as well, it should be fine. I have to say that it was rash of the Magic Council to so quickly send in troops though… No consideration for the emotions between the peoples that might remain even after official conflicts have ended. I believe that will be one of the more difficult problems with them. As for Bosco… I do not know much about their recent actions, only that there is conflict due to Etherion between us.”
»»-------------------------¤----------------------«« Awkward? Pfft, I'm not awkward, you're awkward >.>
It was two on the dot when Eris made her dramatic entrance into the designated location for the ‘meeting’. Time stood completely still, the hands of the clock remaining frozen, thought only the observant ones would notice this. Vana was not invited directly to attend, but was asked by Eris to accompany her. The heavenly body wizard would never refuse her guildmistress’s invitation to pretty much anything. In fact, she was very concerned about their safety in this whole event. Even though Eris was the biggest threat in Fiore and was capable of shaking the magic world on a whim, it was still a risk. To be seated at a table with all but two guildmasters who weren’t of the illegal alignment, seemed absurd. So there was every reason to be on high alert, for all the dark wizards.
Vana had chosen to appear in her true form this day, arriving together with her guildmistress who had to make things all fancy and her way, not that Vana was complaining. It made her feel at home and much more pleasant compared to feeling claustrophobic in a room where a table took up most of the space. She had her arms folded, almost walking in the shadow of her guildmistress, though there was a distance of a meter and a half between them. While Eris did Eris things, Vana’s unwavering attention was on her guildmistress, her hands only loosely folded so that she could act upon any funny action without hindrance. As much as she liked to think that it was an honor to be invited to such an event, there still prevailed a huge suspicion that this could all be one big trap for the dark wizards. As she looked across the room, she noticed that there was barely anyone she recognized. Even Marceline, her ex guildmate seemed to have altered her appearance, so Vana couldn’t remember her either. However, she had already memorized each and every person present including the big shot clad in red who seemed to be the one hosting the meeting.
Among the many beings that were present within the confines that Eris had created herself, Vana spotted that one particular creature was approaching dangerously close to her guildmistress. Although it posed no real threat, being just a small bird, in this situation, Vana deemed everything and anything to be a threat, including small birds. She wouldn’t let even a feather of this bird get any closer to Eris. As the bird would fly towards the head of her guildmistress, she would create a tiny portal in the direction that it was flying, and open up the exit portal right above the head of the meeting’s host, causing the small thing to fly straight into the portal and leave through the exit to be situated on Ardere’s head instead. She wouldn’t allow any form of disrespect towards her guildmistress, as well as the guild. Nobody would be able to tell who was behind this action without using magical abilities as Vana’s expressionless face gave nothing away.
More and more people arrived, including a blonde girl who seemed to have an announcement to make, but was cut short by possibly a sudden realisation. Vana would have ignored her completely if it weren’t for the bottle of goodness that she brought with her. She waited for her to finish her embarrassed introduction before taking the bottle from her and saying, “Thanks, I think I’ll need this,” popping the lid open before gulping down a small portion of the alcohol. The amount of alcohol she just consumed would do nothing more than give her some confidence. She then returned the bottle back to the blonde and followed Eris in taking her seat, standing behind her like a guardian on full alert. The host then began to speak first, talking about boring things that did not really interest Vana. From that point onwards her only priority would be to keep Eris and herself safe as she believed her guildmistress would be involved in this discussion.
Guide:
- I Can Do This (active): A very unique ability that she has learnt, that is the creation of warp points anywhere within the universe. The warp points on Earthland should be places she already has knowledge of. This gives her the power to not only save time during journeys, but she is also able to travel in and out of battle using her warp points which are portals within the cosmos and can re-enter her dimension through a portal, such as behind her foe, etc. She is allowed to use this ability once in 3 posts in a battle and the duration of her leave is no more than a single post. However, she must return to this dimension within 60 m of her previous location.
The extremely soft hum of Kaori's bike wisped through the town as she lead the food truck from the restaurant to the site of the meeting. For reasons unknown to her, Lady Ceostra had chosen Kaori to be the one to do this as well as remain to accompany her at a meeting between the other magic clan leaders. She had been briefed on the meeting, as there would be murderers and saviors alike present. She was told to leave her weapons at the guild, but her response was a very firm 'hell no' to the one who was telling her. Getting off her bike, Kaori was a walking armory. On her right side was a katana, on her back a bow, and on her tool belt was a set of smoke balls, flashers, shockwave bombs, and explosion lacrima. At the same time, she had several explosion charges stored in her bike on top of the two fusion cores the bike operated on.
The leaders of these clans were supposed to be strong, and she didn't trust anyone to remain peaceful regardless of which side they were on. The mask she wore concealed her identity, and through the slits in them she'd seen dozens of 'peace' meetings; all of which became blood baths. The food van came to a gentle stop in front the building and two young men came out to help with the food. "Don't worry about that, just hang tight in the van." Kaori said with a commanding, but friendly enough tone right before splitting off into eight copies, each exactly the same as the original in every possible way. The two men looked at Kaori with a bewildered expression, deception magic being a rather odd skill set for them. Each clone took a tray, and the two remaining copies got the doors.
Walking into the room, Kaori remained silent. She was a servant of the Ceostra house, not a member. Each of the copies set down their tray on a rather large table, so gently that not a single sound was produced. She took a seat directly next to Lady Ceostra, on her right side where she belonged, and her other versions all politely bowed to her before erupting into a smoke cloud. Kaori knew that Ceostra was a but shy at times, and as a means to help comfort her the masked warrior laced her left arm around Gisen's right one. She gently locked her fingers with Gisen's and remained silent. There were times where she wanted to speak, but she hadn't been addressed, so she didn't.
None
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The frozen hands of the clock were not just for show, the stillness in the air betrayed that fact, but throughout the town all who weren't slated for attendance to the event were frozen in place. Some of the guests who had not yet arrived would have seen the common man stuck in the precise moment of Two PM in the middle of their actions, Unless a would-be intruder was of some importance to the timeline with a hand to play they meeting was quite ice'olated. A cold chill wafted from all that was frozen, slight frost glazing over things both natural and unnatural adding a cold eeriness to the world beyond the meeting hall, which from the town's perspective was raised up as the highest structure short of the mountains around them, two touching arms reaching up to hold an obsidian platform, the ornate stairway leading up to it was very much like proceeding down a red carpet for all the flair it possessed, one half being gilded marble and the other obsidian and granite, long torches brightening the way further setting it apart from the darkened world that had took over in the overcast sky and red glow of the sun, all of which perfectly visible with the open-air venue that the meeting hall had become when the building had evaporated around them like mist leaving only some of the floor that was effectively zoning a space for the table and chairs and their occupants who weren't scratched in the process.
Perhaps one would wonder if it was cruel, that the civilians were trapped or literally frozen, or if they were spared panic at the change that had overcome the town or having to witness the white lady who's sighting brings disaster.
It wasn't Eris acting out carelessly, but the change of scenery served to neutralize the situation and put it more towards her favor, as the Dark Tower's skull glared down from one side of the valley and the dragon's fierce stare from the other reminded troublemakers that it wasn't a great idea to break the supposed peace of the meeting, and the open air allowed anyone the opportunity to freely come and go, assuming they had transportation or flight which eliminated any feelings of being trapped with an enemy, but it also simply meant Eris was able to stand and sit comfortably on the larger chair that had sprouted out of ice and bone in place of one of the other chairs, as she stood like a giant before sitting when she had shrunk to only twelve feet, somewhat huge but not gargantuan, as to visibly shrink and take an edge off impressions of hostility.
One man spoke to her from his seat at the table as she sat, and Eris responded. "You were early I'm afraid, if you'd like you can try again, the staircase over there should satisfy. Suitably more elaborate than a red carpet, if you're so inclined."
Considering every other creature was frozen, and would have fled the presence of anything Eris created let alone Eris herself, it was already clear the bird was unnatural, the bird that Eris could see approach from a distance without looking. Her ruby eyes seeing more than eyes of flesh, including the cloud of magic surrounding the creature from which Eris could easily reason out who it would be. While there may be more than one ice slayer, it was quite unlikely another would possess this same cocktail of abilities not to mention the improbability of also being in attendance.
She was pleased with her companion's attempt at depositing the fluff upon Ardere's head, but it was apparently rejected, and quickly flickered back on its path, though on approach faint horns would become more visible like glass in water at first, chameleoned, then as visible as a clear diamond. Two separate sets adorned her head, one smoothly curved back along her head in a wave that ended in an upward flick of the horn's very acute needle-like tips, two other horns curling out a bit under the longer pair to wrap around the others and point outwards, and lastly a faint halo briefly could be seen, but it faded away like an mirage. Disturbingly though was the heavy chill in the air immediately around her, but as quick as it was felt it disappeared. The moment she was touched, there was a flicker of intense heat, but similarly it disappeared in the same moment before much could get through, leaving behind only a somewhat ominous warning of what might have been.
Horns adorning her head like a crown, the little creature was like a smaller than a kitten in comparison to her, but she would find no purchase on her head, and fall through Eris as though she were a ghost. Which she was, in fact, when she wished. But hit a tangible surface when the angle placed her on her chest instead, where Eris's hand was cupped to catch it softly easily in her palm. She would find her touch to be comfortable, unnaturally so, comforting, relaxing, soothing. Alluring, the touch of a devil was temptation. But in respect to the meeting itself and the new acquaintance Eris was withholding more... carnal elements. It wasn't an active effort, but came naturally to her as she gave the fluff a light scratch as one would do with any small fluffy animal they picked up. The touch would in most instances make one less inclined to leave contact, as Eris raised her hand up to make eye contact with the fluffy guildmaster of Rose, as she presumably then spoke.
"It's a conflict of impressions, to draw desire. They want what they can't have, to inspire feelings of need are to put someone off balance. But, moreover, I'm not a big fan of being too covered. I would point out I'm more covered than were I dressed for a swim." Considering that she might want to address others around the table, Eris moved her to her shoulder where she'd see out across the table and would be considerably safer than again attempting to be too close to her head and those sharp horns. The contact with Eris's skin was soft and inviting however, a sharp contrast to the uneasy flicker of temperature change felt when contact was almost made with the horns.
Other attendees were falling into place and the meeting was getting close to full, though the absence of Famine wasn't thrilling. Two of three dark guildmasters among all these others. At least, they called Grim Heresy a guild. With what scant little of it they knew it was a casual assumption based on the guild-oriented culture they had. Eris had kept the name, given not by her but by rumors of its existence, as it interested her. It wasn't unfitting, neither was it to call it a guild.
But despite the numbers, it wasn't an unbalance of power. Even Marceline alone could wreck havoc should the legals and neutrals have planned a trap, one sole drop of chaos could poison a whole well. One dark mage was challenge for a potentially unending number of "Light". So long as they had room to work with and cause collateral damage. Eris looked down at the town below the platform, though the raised platform put most of it out of direct view Eris's ruby eyes could still see the buildings and frozen people below.
Shortly after the carrots arrived the meeting was put into motion, Navrik was a somewhat distasteful topic and not particularly inclusive of their shady guests. She knew more than she could say however, Eris was thick in Bosco's politics as she owned one of their cities and one of Bosco's major corporations, she'd be well informed about Bosco's tensions and intent under alternative guises. It wasn't something any would know, and Eris wouldn't betray the extent of her influence. Were Eris not invited she would have watched this meeting from afar regardless, for reasons such as this precisely. It was in her interest to know how these people intended to cooperate with one another, and their opinions on nations and situations she may well have had a hand in provoking.
"Fiore isn't much better than these other countries, you must realize. Fiore's borders are as strict as other major nations, and the threat of Etherion isn't something that inspires prosperous opinions. Perhaps, Fiore should relax border control and dismantle Etherion before placing the burden of change on other countries." There was a slight shimmer in her ruby eyes as she spoke in a persuasive tone that held no venom, but something about it seemed trustworthy. Whether it was a natural feeling or otherwise, could not be discerned. The more stalwart of individuals might consider it odd that someone of her nature or reputation would be helpful, but may struggle to hold on to doubt in face of the calm and familial presence she gave off where one would expect wickedness.
”W-Woah, the room is filling in with people quite quickly…” he mumbled to himself as he watched around. There were so many new souls that he knew nothing about, a few that he’d heard about, and only one soul to recognize quite familiarly. It was now that he felt that the true elements of the meeting was going to get at hand, in which he quickly inspected the room; honestly, he should refer to it as a floating floor rather than a room. The walls were still replaced by the uplifting hands from whatever Underworld that they came from; about the Underworld, he was quite involved since his last visit. The entire space screams ‘underworld’… it reminds me-, he was thinking when analyzing the architecture. However, when he noticed the tanuki try to land on top of the pale being, his attention cracked a little. At least, there was space to have a little fun, eh? He really appreciated that, and it would help soothe the mood a little.
While devouring the unusually delicious carrots from the Guildmaster of Lamia Scale, Mura had given his thanks in the symbol of a quick nod to the generous bunny-lady… trying to roll with the fact that firstly, he could remember her from Hera’s house, and secondly, she had bunny ears, which was fun, he kept eyes over the variation of mages that had attended. A specific blonde had arrived; she held up a bottle of beverage and presented herself as Venir. “That’s an interesting spirit-“ the shaman commented, before noticing that Kyuken was approaching the lady with predator eyes for the bottle. Mura’s sharp eyes were enough for the samurai ghost to pull himself together, though, as this was, quoting the very same samurai spirit, ‘an important meeting’. No fooling around this time, because what they discussed was one of many important elements; the fact that almost all guilds were gathered, from independent, light and dark, had its importance as well.
What was discussed, as started by Ardere, was firstly the relations to Navrick; while listening to the statements, Mura found himself comfortable in mid-air, soaring about a meter in the air with a cross-legged position to ease his thighs and knees a little. He wasn’t that impressed by Sorano’s quick response, and despite not having experienced the troubles down at the battlefield, what he heard from her sounded reasonable. Feeling at ease, he didn’t notice Kyuken having turned into a blue spirit ball and hanging around the silver tanuki for curiosity’s sake. It was just before that Mura had to walk up and chase the spirit down, but that would be awkward to do here… and now…
Ana turned to look towards Cirven and gave him a rather uncomfortable smile. "Thanks," she said as he covered her rear and from potentially blowing their cover. Cirven was a very reliable man, the kind of man that she would give the guild to if she were to either die or disappear for a while. Her eyes went from Cirven back towards the rest of the Guildmasters.
The bakedanuki was familiar, one of the two girls she had performed a job with in that strange, horrifying manor. Strange how some of these people she had met so happened to have been guild masters. Then again, she didn't get a chance to really meet either Marceline or Izayuki (or whatever persona she was taking). But then again, she might just be imagining knowing the bakedanuki, mistaking it for her other form (in which case, she just looked long and hard at the creature). But then she said her name, which caused her ears to perk up a bit. She simply waved towards Izayuki with a confused look on her face. "Well, hello there." At least this person acknowledged her, unlike King Lobster who dismissed her comment.
And then the bunny showed up and Ana's eyebrow twitched a bit. Someone made that bunny, who was afraid of her own shadow (it seemed), a guildmaster? No, that can't be. She must be the Guildmaster's entourage. And then carrots. A twisted look crossed Ana's face. She was fond of vegetables, but nothing but carrots? Typical of a half-breed like her. A look of annoyance and disgust washed over her for a moment before looking around for a moment and retaking her professional facade. While she didn't care for half-lings or animal-kin, she started to slowly break out of that distrust for them thanks to her guild housing many strange individuals.
The meeting then began with Ardere making mention of Navrick and the threat of Navrick. Clearing her throat, she pulled out a bag as people began to talk about the subject. While she isn't going to go into detail about her guild's involvement in the Navrick Conflict, she will, however remain very vague. The Clock Fragment was an important item in the Navrick Conflict and having obtained two of the pieces made the Black Sails a potentially important lynch-pin in this conversation. Great time to interject.
Anastasia thrust her hand into a little bag and pulled out one of the Clock Fragments and placed it upon the table. "If the King of Navrick had ill intentions, I wonder why he didn't put the pieces together. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?" she asked as she set it in front of her and sat with proper posture, hands clasped directly in front of her. "Why would Fiore attack Navrick? Any reason in particular, you wonder?" she asked inquisitively, tilting her head to the side for a brief moment. "Perhaps it was to get their hands on this. It makes me wonder why an invading force would come and attack a well-known peaceful country. The only reasons I know of are for resources or land; which Fiore has plenty in both."
Ana had a passionate dislike of the Magic Council and (by extension) the Rune Knights. The Rune Knights are puppets for a corrupt government like the Magic Council. Who knows, maybe it's because of the Magic Council that Dark Guilds exist and are the way they are, thus the reason the world may be plunged into chaos. "I'm actually quite surprised," she said as she fetched the Clock Piece and returned it to her bag, tightened up the bag, and replaced it to where she retrieved it. "That Navrick didn't declare their little invasion as an 'Act of War' and attempted some form of retaliatory action," she continued.
Notes Skipped ahead in line (this one time) because I won't have net for a while due to moving over the weekend (won't have net during move). But let Sally post though! Forgive my selfishness.
It seemed that the treatment Bao and herself gave to Astrid was not a very good one, she knew that she wanted the other Guild Master to be here because of some anxiety, but there were some issues in correlation to that. If Summer was going to be honest, she didn’t know anyone here apart from a few people… She has seen the male who looked like a lobster before, as she worked with him back at Navrick, and she was sure that she seen the bunny lady from them chain of events also. The most important thing right now however, is Astrid herself, she didn’t look well at all, maybe Bao mistreated her?? Or was she rebelling because Summer kinda made her go along with her?? She didn’t exactly know herself, but she wasn’t sure she really wanted to find out anytime soon.
Summer bit her lower lip as she looked towards Astrid. “I am sorry, but I feel we cannot go home yet. Don’t worry though! I will take you home the moment this meeting is over, okay?!” Summer grinned in her answer as she bounced her head back and forward twice.
That was when Ardere spoke, and the two lovely guild masters of Golden Phoenix weren’t even seated yet! Just what would the fireworks expert do? Nuuugh, she might aswell just ask publicly or she will use her healing ability where she would literally have to slice the more experienced mage, which is something she didn’t want to do. Instead, the female held out her hand gently and helped Astrid get up and even guided her to a free seat before sitting down next to her fellow master. Bao didn’t take that long to get himself ready either, he just layed on top of the table and instantly took a catnap… now Summer couldn’t see what was happening and sighed softly… this wasn’t going to be a smooth meeting for her at all.
HP: 440 MP: 100%
Words: Total Words:
Spells/Abilities: Dangerous Games - 25% Damage Increase. Zodiac Auras - 30m sensing presences unless they are undead/cyborgs/robots. Zodiac Calm Affinity - Everyone within 25m of Summer feels much calmer and is less susceptible to attack her. Zodiac’s Call - Damage cut by a quarter.
Ardere listened to the thoughts and responses from all mages without interrupting. During this time, a couple of new faces made an appearance. Nodding to the newcomers, he noticed a few guild masters had not shown up, which was quite disconcerting. Thank you for showing up, newcomers. Now, I've heard all of your thoughts and I think we can all agree that the main goal here would be to maintain peace. We are lucky a true war did not break out. Honestly I was scared shitless out there, not just for us but for Navrick. The Etherion issue is a problem we'll have to take to the council before it's too late. Ardere was not the biggest fan of the council, which was surprising as a wizard saint. But the fire mage knew their importance and utilized it to attain his goals, especially those that involved helping his home. Albeit, a few of the comments had annoyed him, seeing as what he and his team risked going to Navrick.
Taking a deep breath, the samurai gave the room a good look around. It was odd too see all of these mages together, but it felt right in a way. Adjusting some of the papers, he exhaled slowly, maintaining his composed and reserved attitude. Moving on. As you know, dark and legal guilds don't get along, and for obvious reasons. But we all exist, so we'll have to deal with each other's crap. But an issue that concerns us all, similar to Navrick, is international relations. Ever since the invasion, there has been tension with other countries, the primary one being Bosco. Now Bosco does not support Navrick, but they do not support us either. Especially the council. What we need to do is to figure out what we can get the council to change, mainly with their military action, to avoid further confrontation. I'm told the new military leaders in Bosco are rash, so it's not entirely our fault, but we need to deal with it accordingly. In doing so, I hope the relations between the two of us, dark and light, can perhaps change. Maybe I'm just an idealist, but... we'll see. Throwing his hands down by his side he stopped monologuing for a moment and let everyone else give their input on the topics. It was quite the loaded subject, but it was one that needed to be posed.
It seemed that Sorano had somewhat overestimated the level of seriousness in such a meeting, hadn’t she? The girl blinked a few times at some of the happenings around the room, some of the great leaders seeming to just be fooling around, lighthearted as though it was just some gathering of friends. Perhaps they were more social, then, and simply knew the other mages better? Having always been a bit reclusive, even as an ace, she felt awkward and out of place among all these other mages. However, it was relieving to see that her opinion wasn’t clashing with any of the other guild masters’ as of yet. While she valued a diversity of opinions, she didn’t want to be the one to start up the inevitable conflict that would rise in a meeting of legal and dark mages alike.
This was interesting, though. The leaders, whether of dark of light alignment seemed to be of the same mindset. Once again, Sorano went over a question in her mind that came up in her mind a lot, especially during Fairy Tail’s period of exile. Why were the guilds so much against each other when, in reality, their mindsets were really quite similar? As she pondered the questions of life, spacing out briefly, her eyes drifted over the other attendants again. There were so many types of people who held important enough positions in guilds to come, random figures whom she had heard of before, people who she felt she had seen at some point in her life. It was strangely entertaining, just watching the other mages, watching how they acted and certain behavior tics they possessed. It was only when the fire mage prompted the next discussion that she wrench her wandering eyes back towards the matters at hand.
Something to smoothen the relations between Bosco and Fiore… It was already natural that the tech-savvy nation dislike this one, due to their opposing forces of choice. Magic and technology were things that were so similar, yet people held the perception that they were completely different things that would cripple the other. A rather useless opinion, she felt. But what could she do about it? The Navrick invasion really had been a disastrous decision, after all… Frowning, the letter mage would zone out briefly before bringing up a question, “Is there anything in particular that Bosco wants from us, or wants us to do?”
»»-------------------------¤----------------------«« fingerz be ded
Other Guild Masters slowly began to trickle into the building that the meeting was held in, all migrating toward a seat of their own. Red optics quietly studied these magi as they gathered to the meeting of a lifetime, likely only to be disappointed by its outcome. She, on the other hand, kept herself quiet, deciding that it was best to keep herself at a distance from the rest of the magi. Why? Many of the Guild Masters present were not all that fond of Savage Skull and the things it had done in its lifetime. More so, with the recent events that had preceded the Guild Master meeting, there stood the very master of the guild itself. Sorano? She was likely to feel uncomfortable here or perhaps even feel hatred toward the red cloaked woman beyond. Nevertheless, she would keep herself out of trouble as much as she possibly could and ignore what shall be thrown at her.
As the other masters conversed among themselves and their cohorts, Marceline's eyes drew toward Ardere as he interrupted them. At long last, the meeting had finally begun, but of what interest it would hold for her was something she had yet thought of. The first and foremost thing he brought up was the very fact that Navrick had caused a lot of issues with Bosco, Fiore, and itself. She rolled her eyes as the words rolled off his tongue, boring her with information she could care less to hear about. All of this was legal magi shit they were talking about; if they were just gonna discuss legal magus stuff, then why invite dark guilds. It was only inviting them to use the information against them in the future; did they not realize the consequence of that? Marcy tilted her head a little, acting as though she was interested in what the Infinity Hydra Guild Master was saying.
Peace with Navrick was not her issue. What she was more interested in was the infinity clock pieces that were being sought after. Those held more value than a potential alliance with a nation that had just tried to slaughter their own and turn others against them. A soft scoff emitted from her lips, but she did not put any thought into saying anything to the legal magus explaining the ordeal. Much of what was being talked about was a complete joked to her, but at the same time, a small part of her didn't want another war. All of the deaths that had gone on when Navrick and Fiore declared war on each other and Bosco stepping in. . . Marceline sighed and briefly turned her gaze away from Ardere, thinking over the situation with a different mindset than what she was used to. "Navrick attacked us with a very specific reason, who's to say that he isn't just fooling the Magic Council into believing they're at peace with us?"
Marceline pulled herself up into her seat, crossing one leg over the other and resting her arms onto both armrests. "Bosco only sided with Navrick because Navrick is practically a miniature Bosco," she retorted, a frown crossing her lips. "Navrick is a nation of technology and research; they wanted to research the infinity clock and bring it back to life. On the other hand, you have Bosco, another heavily technology-based nation, whose intent was likely to alliance with Navrick in order to have the infinity clock for themselves. Or better yet, to eventually turn against Navrick, so that it could become the global powerhouse rather than Navrick. Why make peace with two countries that are just power-hungry? You'll get absolutely nowhere because no matter what you do, they will always crave more." She doubted that any of the magi would see her way, let alone listen to someone who was likely the second youngest in the room compared to Sorano.
She wasn't someone well-researched on Bosco, but learned from her experience through time what the country was like. Bosco may not have supported Navrick, but no one knew the underlying secret that perhaps Bosco wanted the infinity clock for itself. Nevertheless, the infinity clock had caused havoc through the three nations and disturbed the international relationships. At the rate Fiore was going, it would be likely that the country would have to close its borders yet again for a while. Marcy breathed deeply and slid back into her seat, shrugging her shoulders slightly as if she was shrugging weight off. There was always something devious about other countries that they would never know about and learn once it was too late. Just, to her, everyone was too blind to see it, that or they were too ignorant to take care of issues before they happened.
"Getting the Magic Council to change its ways is like trying to teach a cat tricks; stubborn and useless to do from the start. The Magic Council is conceited and won't change a damn thing if they thin they're the best thing in the entire world. It is the Magic Council's conceited outlook on life that needs to change before you'll have any chance of changing anything else. Once you can get the Magic Council to see that it's not all about them and that it's for the better of the world, maybe then you'll have a chance." And that was all she had to say on the matter because if she said anymore, it would just look like spite toward the council. Neither had she done much to contribute to the meeting other than complain and explain how things weren't how they looked. She doubted anyone would listen; they would see her as only a magus with dark guild intentions and nothing more.
Eris shifted her weight to one side of her throne-like chair, though it was the same as the chair of the others it was larger and more imposing due it it having been scaled up to match her size, being so large as to not have been able to fit into the building if she had not erased it for the new gilded environment she bestowed in its place, and rested her chin lightly against the top of her knuckles after she had spoken last, suggesting that perhaps Fiore should go the path of disarmament. Getting rid of the Etherion. It was an idea that sounded sane to many who consider themselves forward thinkers or "The good guys" To get rid of your weapons of mass destruction in order to foster peace. Eris welcomed the idea, that Fiore do so. Knowing Bosco far more intimately than anyone here, she knew that the rest of the leadership would love it too, if Fiore did it. Perhaps for different reasons than the mages around this table did.
The conversation was bleeding off into relations between guilds, peace, between light and dark. An idealist indeed. He was essentially suggesting that all the dark turns to the light, or that the give up their own morals to cooperate with the dark. Were the lives of those lost in the last guild assembly so easily forgotten, Eris wondered. The chaos at Era, at Pergrande, Oak. They were altogether too trusting to welcome the darkness into this town. Eris counted the souls beyond the gilded platform the masters sat on raised above the still streets below, each frozen in place trapped in time. When the meeting adjourned no time would have passed for them, but townspeople were at her mercy right now. The Dark Tower looming on one end of the town, the dragon on the other. No one seemed to question it, the aura of trust she radiated was performing well apparently.
"I am easy to please, Fire King. All I have ever asked is a little... faith." She said. Raising her other hand she blew a kiss. A Neon red spark formed and wafted over the table, causing vivid red runes to appear in the air as it passed. Each was a promise and a blessing, reach out and take it, and desire becomes reality. Fantasy at one's fingertips, requiring only that you touch it, accept it. Bare the mark, and not much else.
As quick as the runes appeared though, seconds later they each faded away. Sure there was time enough to accept a rune, but not long enough to outstay the welcome. A taste of what could await them. As they disappeared Eris's hand closed after having blown the kiss, setting it back down on the other armrest. "It is too much to ask of some" She didn't look at anyone when she said it, a pointless gesture for a number of reasons she held no resentments, but it was a blanket statement that required no focus. There had been kings that took years to crack, some that never did, despite the suffering of their people. A frustration that alluded Eris; Pride. Virtue could be worked with. But Pride was the driving force of stubbornness.
![Master [1000]](https://i.imgur.com/AQXM4xC.png)
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![Novice [250]](https://i.imgur.com/lrYlde6.png)
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