Who Dares to Judge the Judge ? [Leah's A Rank Exam]

WHAT MAH GM SAID:

Leah,

There is a certain dark mage in on the Magic Council; his name is Rhys Quaesor.  Take him down by any means, but remember he cannot survive to spread his corruption to the rest of Fiore.

You will be justly rewarded.

The redhead crumpled the letter in her fist and growled under her breath as she cast her eyes to the ceiling.  What the hell? was all she could think.  It was one thing to make a request to assassinate an officer of the magic council (and to put it to a legal mage, no less!) but the fact that this mysterious client somehow got into her room at the Golden Phoenix guild hall and furthermore, didn't even see fit to leave his or her name...  Well, that had the ReQuip mage rearing her head with ire and ready to explode and go kill somebody.

She did reflect that such a state of mind might have been what the unknown requester had wanted.

But really, I couldn't care less about being manipulated at this point, the female mused to herself, Although I would like to know what that reward is before I go tromping around and defying the Magic Council, she mentally added hurriedly.  After all, Leah was a legal mage.  Despite some hesitations she had towards doing things purely out of a good heart, the emerald eyed girl actually did have common human decency and disliked corruption in administration just as much as any other person.  So it was fair to say that she would take this mission regardless of whether the reward was even a single jewel (but don't remind her of this fact to her face or she'll gut you like a fish!).  Now, the only question was of how to find the man as well as how to defeat him and not get caught.  The first would possibly be challenging, considering that as a member of the Magic Council he would probably have tight security and likely concealing charms or something surrounding his residence.  As for the other two steps... well, she would think about that when the time came.  The mage huffed a puff of hair out of her nose, fluttering her half grown out bangs away from her face.  Irritatingly enough, especially when it came to combat, the ruby locks seemed to want to just cling and never let go of the skin on her nose, cheeks, and even eyelids.  But where to begin searching?  That was the true question.

In the end, it was only by random selection was Leah persuaded to start at Era; having made a list of potential places which a member of the Magic Council would frequent, she had crossed each of the unchosen options out one by one until only a single name stared back at her from the waxy paper.  Era.  It was truly the base of most government run operations within Fiore.  To be fair, the redhead was sure that she herself had likely made some sort of complaint to higher ups by heading to the place, about the many bureaucracies that seemed to exist in the nation but be neither consistent nor fully effective at any point in time.  But that was to digress from the subject.  Anyways, the point was that somehow despite Crocus being the official capital, the modern and hulking city of skyscrapers that was called Era held more than just stern standing buildings.  Honestly, it functioned as the true seat of power in a country of mages.  So the emerald eyed female would go there; this was decided.  She still did have some problems with deciding exactly where in the city she could search, though, because not only was it difficult to tell where a man like Quaesor would live but in addition, the mage was strictly not allowed to go wandering about the more urban and residential areas.  It wouldn't do for the Rune Knights to just let a scraggly treasure hunter roam their precious streets, after all, and this fact put a wrench in any hopes of going about and finding his place through pure word of mouth, local inquiry, or trial and error.  The last was particularly a shame, because guess and check as monotonous as it may be was an extraordinarily useful tool for a meticulous and organized searcher such as Leah.

Oh well, she would survive.  Bending down to pick up the smashed ball of paper that had previously been the letter/ job request (oops!  Thanks a lot anger issues) the redhead carefully smoothed it out against her nightstand, accidentally bumping her hand against the wooden corner which was actually quite hard and sharp.  Wincing at the sudden jolt of pain, the mage withdrew her hand and gently massaged the area.  A slow realization came to her that she would probably have a bruise there tomorrow, and the corners of her mouth tightened at the thought.  Did rubbing an injury make it more inflamed or help it heal better?  The girl tried to slowly run the pads of her fingertips over the area, but she halted her attempts when she realized that she actually had absolutely no clue whether or not this was doing more good than harm.  With a short sigh of frustration, she retracted her other hand and let the slightly bruised one (her pride was more damaged, about being hung up over just a small bump) hang loosely at her side.  She regarded the situation for a moment before shrugging imperceptibly and holding down the paper with her left hand (the uninjured one) to read over once again what had been written.  Rhys Quaesor.  Sure, she knew the name.  And Era was definitely a good place to start, now that she had thought more about it and kept realizing that murdering a member of the Magic Council was the kind of thing a person didn't avoid doing if they were ordered to get it done.  There was no telling who was behind it, if they were powerful enough to manage to infiltrate the Golden Phoenix guild hall, which was notoriously safe and sound from outside interference (it was even underwater, for pete's sake!).

Now just to get to Era.  Well, it was an obvious requirement that she at first had to leave the miniature submerged city and journey from the Phoenix Isles to the mainland.  The seat of the Magic Council was... somewhere between Crocus, the capital, and Magnolia Town.  That was a rather big area to search, but she would get a map sometime soon and everything would be so totally fine.  As she headed out, the girl passed by several mages from the guild who wished her luck; how they seemed to know about a mission that she normally would have assumed to be classified, well Leah had no idea and was actually faintly curious about that.  But maybe, they were just wishing her safety on any random mission... even if she had never experienced that before, perhaps some fellow members were actually realizing that she was a part of the guild and worrying about her.  The redhead was so secluded and such a loner that she rarely got much of a chance to interact with her fellow mages from Golden Phoenix, but it was nice to know that they still noticed and... cared about her.  At least, if she took away from that experience her first assumption.  And the mage chose to do so.

Her emerald eyes gleamed bright even in the dim light of an early rising dawn as she stepped out on top of the mountain where the entrance to the portal was located.  Although she had dressed in her typical fashion, with tight clothing that dared not to catch on anything no matter what terrain she chose to fight in, the slight breeze brought goose bumps to the surface of her skin.  Usually the redhead didn't get cold around these parts, but today seemed to be an exception for many things.  Including, it seemed, Ilosa's level of amiability dropping sharply.  Such a decrease in the willingness of the pegasus to carry the mage where she needed to go (even if the flying horse hated teleporting with other people, she usually made an exception for the girl if there were bribes of cupcakes or apples or something else, like snacks, involved) this important time which she was needed seemed to be an unfortunate exception for those opportunities when Ilosa would reluctantly give in and take her to job locations or portals or anywhere that was required, really.  Her eyebrows furrowed as she finally let the animal go, watching her speckled pelt rise and fall as the horse cantered away into the shadows without even taking the proffered apple (Leah had already gotten it out; even if the dark creature refused to use her abilities as a method of transportation for today, she could have at least spared the redhead the trouble of exquipping it or trying to chomp it down before getting on a boat).  Because she did indeed have to get on a boat, a small skiff belonging to a fisherman who was indifferent to taking across a Golden Phoenix mage, so long as she didn't sink it or make a fuss or try to come back later and get another free ride.  Well, that was fine.  The girl was thankful that her tattoo being plain to see (when not covered up by non magical make up as it often was, since she was a private person and also didn't like some of the nuances associated with members of the guild) was advantageous in this situation.  Perhaps she would conceal it upon reaching the main land, or whenever it was necessary (although doing so with magic might prove ineffective, in some ways it was so much safer to use physical means).

Finally the boat was touching the shore (not really, it was just the dock) and she leaped out immediately, glad to be on solid ground again even if a person didn't get jitters or sea legs just from a quick little row across the ocean.  Water, even that of a barely stirring body like the sea, was dangerous in large quantities.  It honestly would probably unnerve the redhead until she died, or had some kind of more traumatic and tragic event occur that wiped out and made obsolete that fear of moving water and wide open oceans.  Leah shook her head slightly at the reminder of rivers, those gods awful rushing things that just were so ready to drag a person down, dash him or her on the rocks, and drown what was left alive after that.  She concealed a shudder as she walked as briskly as possible through the market place that was maybe a quarter of a mile away from the port area where most vessels either heading out across the sea or coming from the Phoenix Isles chose to dock and rest up, refuel, or drop of cargo.  Because it was very much of an imports and exports town, built on trade, the market place was a fascinating place to be.  If she had had more time, the redhead would be willing to spend days there trying to get a great deal on a new sword that was enchanted with a spell that might not be so useful in combat but would be darned pretty to the sight.  (She was [maybe surprisingly] shallow at times).

Thankfully, the emerald eyed girl made it through the many rows of shows and kiosks and stores, arriving at the train station on time (if one rounded down by an hour and a half or so) to take the next train to Era.  It was honestly just great that they had a direct line set up, so she didn't need to worry about maps, although the mage did grab one anyways because a little extra information could never hurt.  How come she was so ignorant of Fiore anyways?  That made things a little bit awkward when one thought of how she had spent the majority of her life (counting by important or life changing events, not years, years were stupid to count by because there were too many of them for Leah) in the nation.  Well, she was doing her civic duty now, that was for sure, murdering Magic Council officers (and removing corruption.  That was the important thing and the reason she was making this trip to Era anyways, the redhead would finally admit that the stupid 'just reward' was not at all a good motivator.  Whoever wrote that letter would have to work on their persuasive skills, of course since he or she probably knew of her tendencies towards doing the right thing despite her staunchly shallow and greedy exterior, ehh... maybe they were a decent writer anyways.  Mentioning corruption had been basically all that was needed).  

Returning her attention to the matter at hand, which was buying train tickets (on second thought, that didn't require her attention, let's just go back to day dreaming about ending all negativity, dishonesty, and unscrupulousness in the world... oh wait, the redhead lied like once every four to five minutes or less, guess she had to kill herself before anyone else or else she'd be a hypocrite... well hypocrisy wasn't exactly something on her list of vices anyways.  BUT OH WELL.  The point was, she knew what morals were and supported doing the right thing, she just didn't actually do it herself).  The tickets were successfully bought while Leah was deep in her half reverie, half spew of random and almost irrelevant thoughts, and despite the fact that the conductor gave her a strange look and almost felt the temptation to kick the weird acting mage off of the vehicle, she was allowed to remain (even if she hadn't been aware of her precarious position as a passenger on the train).  Because Era was rather far away, she took the time to practice a little bit of more subtle magic: things such as changing the color of people's underwear and poofing flowers into nearby travelers' hair, and making just enough mischief that there were some wondering what was up.  Yet, she didn't make nearly so much of a fuss that anyone was actually either upset or noticed something happening to a significant degree.  In the end, it was a comparatively boring train ride, and it had cost money, and she hadn't managed to rid the world of the nefarious just yet so it was pretty just much a complete lose lose situation going on in this mission so far.

At least it seemed that things were going to get much, much better.

Right when the train stopped at the station in Era, a mob stormed the platform and rioted right next to the rail, so close that one could simply glance outside of the window and meet almost eye to eye with a complete stranger who seemed angry enough to disembowel somebody else and hang their intestines either around their neck like a lei and do the hula dance or all over traffic light posts to make a statement.  Like fair streamers, except... uh, more gory.  Well that was a description you never needed and wait did you hear that sound?  Was that the fourth wall breaking?  Anyways, so there were a bunch of madmen and women (better not assume the gender of these poor people despite any colloquial phrases that we use in writing) crowded around the train and its tracks.  Fearing for his life, the conductor demanded that all exits and entrances be sealed shut.  Like, airtight shut.  And that marked the first and most obvious clue that the man who headed this operation, job, or whatever a person wanted to call it, was not the brightest bulb in the set of broken lights that sat in the basement forever.  Now that they were sealed in, it was true that the passengers were safe from any bodily harm that might be caused by the turmoil going on outside, but being separated utterly and completely from the atmosphere aside from that which was already inside the train was... not the smartest choice.  Quickly and surely, with hundreds of people breathing in the sparse air (these were massive affairs, meant to travel distance in Fiore swiftly and be available to many people) the crew and clients ran out very, very rapidly.

It was at this point that the conductor knew.  He ***ked up.

Leah, however, was not about to die any time soon, so she inhaled deeply to prepare for the idiotic stunt she was about to try and pull (that in itself was a bad idea, but breathing in a giant gasp was even worse because there was nothing in the air to breath).  After barely a second had passed, the redhead became desperate for a lungful of normal air.  Knowing her responsibility as a legal mage, though, especially one representing Golden Phoenix (gosh darn it, she knew she should've covered up her tattoo earlier.  Now anything she did wrong would be held accountable towards the organization of treasure hunters and shiny thing lovers, which would eat away at her conscience for decades), the emerald eyed girl squeezed her eyes shut and pulled, managing to Shunpo the entirety of the humans and pets and even some of the bacteria (go amoebas!) onto the platform outside of the isolated and oxygenless cars that had been suffocating everybody inside to death.  Well, previously inside, that was.  Unfortunately, this feat, while the distance was very small, was extraordinarily taxing just because of the sheer amount of living bodies that had to be transported.  So naturally, the mage stumbled around briefly on the stone, trying to make her way over across the pavement to one of the benches, before her legs gave out and she collapsed on the ground, a seamless heap of wobbly bones and unconsciousness. Lovely.  Just lovely.


It was bright when she came to.  Everything seemed to be blindingly white, yet she could discern shapes and different colors and all sorts of shadows.  To make a Fairy Tail analogy (crack goes the fourth wall again) it was like Heaven God Slayer Magic... dark and glowing so strongly with a golden and pale ivory hue that it seemed one's eyes were about to burn out just like a fuse.  And where was she?

A dungeon.

Immediately upon realizing where she was, Leah's lips twitched up into a smile, and she glanced in a cursory fashion around her cell.  It was more for show than anything else; the deliberate movement of her head, although not to the degree where it seemed mocking or even on purpose, concealed how she had already scanned almost every inch by the time she struggled all the way to sit up.  The smile was going full on out now, and she was glad for her discretion earlier when it came to powers of observation.  As soon as she had begun to move, a figure had retreated into the corner, where the shadows were thickest, and just now the unknown being (was it a being?) spoke.  Well, if it was speaking, then surely it counted as a being?  "Been here for forty years," it rasped in a voice to cut metal.  "And never did I see a young un' in here nor did any prisoner smile his first day and not like to make fun of the watchman," the grating sound continued on.  The redhead's smile dropped slightly as the noise cut through to her eardrums, and the curve to her lips was never regained until she left the cell later.  "Lise Ansem," she said with a wink towards the darkness shrouding the mysterious shape that huddled in the corner.  The woman (Leah had decided on labeling the thing as female, if only to use proper pronouns and allow for more flexibility in writing this adventure of hers [and there goes the fourth wall again, better pay for repairs]) was skinny to the point of almost being emaciated, but judging by the radiant expression in those eyes that were almost buldging out of their thin and fragile sockets, she wasn't lacking for joy here in the musty darkness.

"You crazy?" the emerald eyed female asked in a mild tone, but the words were so blunt and contradicting to her conversational tone that the Stranger in the Corner laughed: a cackling, jittery sound that wasn't shrill but sure as hell wasn't touching anywhere below the mezzo soprano range with a ten foot pole.  "You been in here for forty years, what you happy about now hun?" the mage continued, smirking lightly at the Stranger in the Corner.  The dark woman seemed to be unperturbed by her faint attempts to fish for annoyed remarks and simply replied, "You're gonna be the one to break us outta here, I can feel it in these old bones," before she fell silent and the Golden Phoenix mage never heard from her again.  It was another forty five minutes before anything happened; so bored was the girl that she resorted to counting the seconds out, not aloud for fear of disturbing the serenity that surely had inhabited this place before her arrival but instead mentally, each thought number taking precisely three fourths of a second and creating a horribly inaccurate mark of time.  And when a new thing came, Leah was ready.  For what?  She wasn't sure.

"Prisoner 186, if you could step forwards please," came the voice of a guard from right outside the cell, and the redhead pasted an extraordinarily plastic smile on her face before inching closer to the bars that comprised the swinging door (which was locked, of course, even if the girl had picked the lock what seemed like ages ago and nobody had noticed).  "That's you, girlie," the Stranger in the Corner warned from her hiding spot.  "The last one to die was Prisoner Number One Eighty Five, so you can bet you're gonna be taken to an execution right about now."  She didn't seem at all fazed by the thought, so the mage herself projected an air of calm and nodded cordially to the jailor, who seemed so guarded that a twitch of her nose would have netted her a punch in the jaw, and a single word would have warranted a badly broken arm.  Label it as an exaggeration if you must, but that was the impression which the redhead received.  Not all things seemed to be going too badly, though, because the man did somehow manage to have cupcakes with him.  And not only were they just any cupcakes, but they were apple and toffee cupcakes.  She remembered literally stumbling and hearing the sharp crack of her jaw hitting the floor when that little tidbit of information was revealed to her.  "They from me wife," was all he was willing to give up (and so very gruffly, at that) when it came to information relating to or about the way of their origin, but she questioned him anyways incessantly about the existence of Poolaria and whether he had heard of the place or not.  Unfortunately, an opportunity for escape presented itself before she could dig an answer out of the man; it came in the form of a high window, open and wide enough for a person (especially a skinny stick like Leah) to wriggle through.  Perhaps a distraction would be necessary to buy time to squeeze out, but that was perfectly doable.  She was, after all, a mage.

And for whatever reason or another, the girl hadn't had her magic extinguished, blocked, shackled... whatever you want to call it, you name it.  They hadn't had the insight to prevent her from using any abilities when they locked her up.  Whoever they was, anyways.

"I learned something from a man on a mountain," she told the guard conversationally as the two walked along, side by side, unlocked chains sitting uselessly wrapped around her wrists.  "He told me that the sky was red and said if I believed him, it would be red for me."  The girl with crimson hair stopped walking abruptly and turned to face the man, who had been tugged backwards by her sudden unwillingness to continue moving; she had not been budged by his continued yanking and attempts to lead her to wherever they wanted.  "Guardsman," Leah began in a very serious voice, with wide eyes that were uncharacteristically innocent and questioning for the mage.  She actually looked like a teenager once: maybe it was the lack of blood splatters everywhere?  "You're going to let me go."  It was so clearly a statement, not a fact, that the man was taken aback for a moment before he blinked and rushed towards her, feeling a sense of unease spreading through his body.  Saying that... something was deeply wrong.  And it was, because all of a sudden he was moving forwards but he wasn't running anymore.  Wasn't sprinting.  And most importantly...

Everything hurt.

Leah looked on dispassionately as the man toppled to the ground, his corpse embedded with tiny throwing daggers that were thin bladed and so numerous that their target almost seemed to be a human pincushion.  Without further ado, she shook the chains off her wrists, raising an eyebrow of amusement as she dropped the bobby pin she had used to pick the basic locks her captors had used on her.  This was too easy.  And that made her nervous and would come back to bite her in the butt later, but for now the redhead was perfectly fine with just escaping and getting back to the mission.  As she forced herself through the high, tiny box of open space that led to the outdoors, though, the Stranger's voice came flashing back to her.  "You're gonna be the one to break us outta here..." Now why would she think that?

The mage left without a single glance backwards at the prison.


Luckily for the female, her target was indeed in Era.  In fact, he was preaching the goodness of the Magic Council and its reforms (actually preaching, as though he were a priest or a revolutionist or somebody who wanted to make a difference in the world) on the streets, dressed simply enough in cream colored robes and golden sash.  The entire ensemble was suspiciously reminiscent of the light, heaven, and basically all things representing what was commonly known as 'the good side.'  So he didn't look corrupt, but was he anyways?  The redhead didn't narrow her eyes blatantly at the man in case anybody was subtly watching her and her expressions, but instead she clapped half approvingly, half robotically as he wrapped up one of his speeches.  It was an appropriate response and that of the majority of the spectators, who had come with an interest in the topic and stayed purely because he was an S Rank mage and they were mildly afraid of being blasted for rudeness if they left in the midst of his 'very important message.'  Now that it was over, however, the crowd seemed to disperse with no reluctance to stay, which Leah supposed, spoke wonders of his public speaking skills.  The man was admittedly not particularly charismatic, which was actually odd considering how he was supposed to be corrupted.  And in her experience, people who were slimy and conniving like that had an air about them that was faintly honest but somehow attracted unknowing victims, like a web, just... a social one?  A networking one?  Anything but a spider's, really.  And now spiderman- she meant, the opposite of spiderman, seemed to be making his way over here.  She felt that it would be prudent to flee the scene and thankfully it would hopefully not end up altogether odd to simply do so, considering how the majority of any listeners were already gone.  But luck actually wasn't on her side; she had found him right off the bat, but there was no opportunity to use the encounter as reconnaissance.  She would have to make contact with the subject right away why did this sound like she was an ambassador for aliens or something?

"Sir," she said, sweeping into a low bow that somehow the mage managed to pull off despite her severely dirty clothes and skin smudged with dirt everywhere.
That cell hadn't been the best place to take a nap, even if it hadn't been so much of a voluntary nap as forced unconsciousness from using too much magic power.  But she might have been digressing.  "Good day to you, miss," he said genially, and she nearly flinched at the clear amiable tone of his voice.  Oh how she hated deceivers.  Another hypocritical thing, but really, who would outright say they liked them and being lied to?  Even if it was by one's actions.  "Good day, sir," she replied, bowing once again as deeply as she could before straightening up and settling an apologetic expression on her face, with an underlying tinge of displeasure, annoyance, and regret.  "I'm afraid my sister has called me back from work, I'm a coal miner you see, come to visit Era on my off day and she's expecting me to be home for supper so if you would excuse me sir..." the redhead bowed her head once before backing away from the man, who seemed disappointed to say the least.  "Ah but miss, I'm sure she would understand if you explained that Sir Quaesor of the Magic Council desired to speak with you," he protested before reaching over to grab her wrist firmly.  The corners of Leah's mouth tightened before she broke into an embarrassed expression of mortification and tried to yank away.  "I- sir!  You can't just touch someone like that!" she admonished even as her face turned a brilliant scarlet and she backed away even faster than before.  Inwardly, the mage was glad for even more of an excuse to escape the scene.

Unfortunately, somebody's chivalry detector wasn't working right that day and the idiot kept on badgering her even as she walked briskly down the street and tried to lose the man.  But in her efforts to escape his view and really just to get as far away as possible, the redhead got lost in the streets of Era (she didn't want to ReQuip the map and reveal anything to a possible enemy).  Soon enough, she found herself in a deserted street where the houses were dark and everything suddenly seemed ominous.  When had it gotten so late in the evening?  How long had she spent in that odd prison again?  "Finally, we are alone," he murmured from directly behind her, so close that she could feel the warmth wafting over her cheek.  Jerking back, the girl snarled on instinct.  "How the hell did you get that close?" she asked impulsively and uncharacteristically.  The man smiled, and it suddenly seemed less pathetic and more... more... "I am an S Rank mage," he said simply, although his dark eyes like ebony bored into her own emerald ones.  "And now, I suppose, it's time to discuss why you are here," he said.

"I hired you and kidnapped you from the train station under the pretense of my subordinates caring for you..." he began well enough, until the next words figuratively knocked the female mage flat on her back, "For your cupcakes."

The redhead blinked twice before she flat burst out laughing, and the man stared unamusedly before he shrugged and conceded, "Alright, I was lying. I hired you for that box of snacks I know you have. It's from Meshi and I want it. Furthermore, though, I hired you to ask you to, well... to help me with something. Information. About Golden Phoenix, of course I'll pay you generously: at least half a million for anything useful." And then he smiled at her in a way that made the girl's skin crawl, and she was already backing away by the time he said the next bit, but somehow there he was again, barely half a meter behind her. "I never thought you were the rash type, but if you want to do it the way that all those dead bodies in the sewer tried to resolve things, well, there are a few options. If you do defeat me, if you do choose to fight rather than help me and you win..." he leaned so close that she could feel the moisture from his hot breath, beading into minuscule sized droplets on the skin covering the fleshy cartilage.  "I will teach you everything that nobody else will. Your just reward either way, eh?  For disagreeing with me or being smart. What do you say?"  The redhead immediately laughed outright at his offer before she turned away, walking at a slow pace from the man with her back turned, shoulders completely relaxed.  "You're the fool," she said without a single look back, and then the world went to hell.


I'm going to kill him.

That thought echoed through her mind as she whipped around; somehow everything was moving in slow motion as she dodged the knives sent flying at her. A small feeling of recognition tugged at the back of her mind. He's a ReQuip mage, she thought, but the moment passed and soon she was dodging weapons at the speed of light. So many hit her, scratching her skin until her body was littered with cuts and the mage was out of small weapons, it seemed. As she stood there, panting hard and bent a quarter of her height, the man seemed to be a statue fifteen meters away, impassive and stately as he stood with that pale robe and sash like a trail of molten gold flowing from his shoulders. And that? That angered her. So the girl took off at a sprint, yanking her Mercenary's Daggers from her extra dimensional space and grinning beneath the hair that whipped wildly all around her face. Why did she never put it up? Who the hell knew. Leah and the mage both certainly didn't care as the redhead straight up tackled the man, aiming for his gut with her knives that the girl was so certain could pierce through whatever she wanted. He was already off the ground as soon as she was touching it, and then the sun was in her eyes; shining bright and putting all other visual things noticed impossible to put into perspective. A dagger came soaring at her face, and the emerald eyed female snatched it out of the air with a flitting satisfaction that passed when she was speared in the side by the javelin that would have maybe ended her life had she not requipped defensively in time. Hefting the kite shaped Shield of the Judicator, she blocked the following slice that came like the speed of light: first he was twenty meters away, and then he was passing by with a whistling strike and there was left an enormous gash in the beautiful golden wrought metal. The mage's lips mashed together as red locks of hair fell in her eyes, sticking against her cheeks just like they had this morning.

Hey, Leah!
Good luck today, Leah!
Stay safe, alright?

The voices of her guild mates echoed in her ears before she turned to face the corrupt mage, a beautiful cloak of blue feathers tipped with gold settling over her shoulders. "I am going to win now," she said very simply, her eyes rising to meet those chunks of coal set into a face of marble stone. He was a speed mage. She was based off of... well, what was the definition of mobility, really? A slow smile spread across her face as the man dashed towards her at that impossibly quick pace, and she turned just barely to let his blade glance off the shield before suddenly, she was the one who was gone. "Shunpo." The word slowly dissolved into the air from her previous spot as Leah slid back into existence from above the mage, driving two High Imperial Daggers home. VORACITY, she wanted to scream, but the blades were already glowing and slicing through all the hoity toity armor and magical barriers that were shielding his body.

"It always works," she said, blinking at the corpse as she landed and stumbled a few steps before regaining her balance. What a long drop that had been. But it had worked. "It always works," she repeated with a soft smile. Because we are Golden Phoenix, she thought.

And emerald eyes burned.

6114/5000 Words.