A Walk on the Wild Side (Open Introduction)

The wind howled around the mountaintop, screaming with a ferocity rarely matched elsewhere, while the snow fell in blinding sheets, swirling through the air as the wind tore it this way and that. It was the sort of storm that would have discouraged most people, but then again, Marisela wasn't most people, and the cold and wind didn't bother her at all. That was evidenced in her clothing- a light-weight white shirt with a black corset over her stomach, a black knee-length skirt, and black boots. She also wore a pale blue, light-weight diaphanous cloak, which billowed behind her as she followed the path up the mountain. Her white hair was fastened in a pony tail on the right side of her head.

She was currently following the pale blue form of one of the mountain's wolves, just barely visible up ahead as it led her toward the guild hall. She could feel the wind lessening a bit, and guessed she must be close. Sure enough, the wolf abruptly sheered off to the side. Marisela continued forward, however, and finally stepped into the patch of calm that surrounded what was obviously the guildhall. It looked like a cozy lodge, light glowing from within, shining out through the windows.

Marisela continued toward the door, her feet making barely a whisper of sound as she stepped lightly on the carpet of snow. She climbed the steps to the front door, hesitated for a moment, then pushed it open, stepping inside. She let the door fall closed behind her, stopping in the doorway for a few moments, looking around to get her bearings, unsure of what she would find.

-Leona's Room-

In an uncharacteristically lazy day for her, Leona was not in her office. She was still in her room getting dressed in her green-and-gold outfit and Argent Gloves. She was sure that reports on reports on all manner of subjects were waiting for her on her office desk, so the blonde hurriedly threw on her green-and-gold outfit and put on the matching boots, then quickly slipped on her Argent Gloves and brushed her hair down to a somewhat presentable state. It was not like she needed them in the safety of her own guild hall, but she had grown accustomed to wearing them at all times in case she needed to go on a job or a threat to the guild presented itself.

Having finally gotten dressed for the day, Leona left the relative warmth of her room behind and started for her office. She wondered how the library staff was doing on the reorganization of their books... they probably needed a helping hand to cope with the sheer amount of books that numbered in the hundreds, if not thousands. She should know because she read through every last one of them looking for a book on the New Muserian language and came up with nothing to show for it.

Leona strolled through the hallways on the way to her office when she felt a magic signature in the foyer. That most likely meant that a prospective new member was here to inquire about joining the guild. The Wizard Saint strolled into the foyer, where she saw a young woman with white hair, red eyes, and exceptionally pale skin that was reminiscent of a porcelain doll. She was dressed in clothing that was not quite suited for the weather, but she was still well-dressed in clothing that was neat and wrinkle-free. Leona raised a hand in greeting to the young woman who was slightly shorter than her.

"Hi there. I'm Leona Jarnefeldt, Guild Mistress of Silver Wolf!" Leona introduced herself to the pale young woman standing in the foyer.

Marisela was still unsure of who she ought to approach when the problem was apparently solved for her. There was a woman making a bee-line straight toward her, and her gaze shifted from the room in general to the woman, studying her. She was a bit on the shorter side, although not quite as short as Marisela herself, with short blonde hair, green eyes, and a confident bearing. Marisela didn't know who she was, at least not yet, but she got the feeling she was someone important. Especially since she could sense the sheer amount of raw magic power coming off of her. She was clearly a very powerful mage.

So she wasn't the least bit surprised when the woman introduced herself as the guild master. Or guild mistress, as she had put it, an affectation that brought just a hint of a smile to Marisela's face. She nodded in acknowledgement of the greeting.

"I'm Marisela," she told her. "Marisela D'Avignon." Her voice revealed that she had an accent. It was just a hint, enough to tell a careful listener that she was not from Fiore, at least not originally, but not quite enough to identify where exactly she was from.

She glanced around the room one more time, although she'd pretty much already committed it to memory. It was a simple room, with the dark paneling and carpet on the floor, with a staircase off to the right and a few doors leading off of it. Not much to see, really.

"Nice place you have here," she continued, her gaze switching back to Leona. "Very cozy." She paused for a moment, then added, "I came here because I was hoping to join your guild."

Leona noted that the pale young woman introduced herself as Marisela D'Avignon. Leona then listened to Marisela compliment the decor and architecture of the guild hall. The blonde was pleased to hear that, but she could not rightfully take credit for any of it. The credit belonged to Leila Vergious.

"Thanks. I'm glad you like it, Marisela. Leila Vergious is the one who chose the layout of the guild hall." Leona said to Marisela. Giving credit to Leila might undermine Leona's claim to being the Guild Mistress, but the blonde would not steal credit that belonged to the first Guild Mistress and founder of Silver Wolf. Leona had no right to claim that she had created anything in her time as a member of Silver Wolf.

Leona tried to think of what to say next when Marisela mentioned that she had come here to join the guild. That subject was in Leona's wheelhouse. She had inducted many new members into Silver Wolf and knew exactly what to do, but she had to take it slow and not overwhelm Marisela with so much enthusiasm that the blonde looked desperate for new members. Leona would take it slow and offer a chance for Marisela to ask questions before going into detail about joining the guild.

"I can induct you into the guild, but before I do, do you have any questions you'd like to ask about Silver Wolf?" Leona asked Marisela.

Marisela shrugged slightly. To be honest, she wasn't sure to react to Leona's statement that a different guild member had designed the guild. But she supposed it was probably unimportant, a simple off-handed comment, so she ultimately decided not to respond. Instead she focused on Leona's next question.

"Not exactly specific questions," she hedged. "I came here because I heard Silver Wolf allows their members a high degree of freedom, and because you're known for your magical research, which is something that interests me. But to be honest, I suppose I don't really know much more than that. You know, about the specifics of the guild, what your main projects and focuses are."

Her face flushed ever so slightly as she said it. When put that way, it made her sound a bit silly. After all, who decided to join a guild when there was so much that they didn't know about it. But Marisela could be a bit impulsive, and the idea of belonging to something had drawn her in. After all, as far as she knew she had no family, no friends. So she'd wanted something to fill that gap, and Silver Wolf had seemed like the best option to her.

"You're right, Marisela. Silver Wolf does allow its members a high degree of freedom. I've taken a lot of jobs that don't involve advancing magical science or technology." Leona said to Marisela, deliberately omitting all the jobs that involved fighting she had taken over the months because old feelings were starting to rise to the surface. If Marisela wanted to learn about the Wizard Saint's exploits, all she had to do was pick up a newspaper, browse news lacrimanet sites, or just ask Leona herself. Instead she chose to emphasize the freedom that the guild offered to its members.

"The guild focuses on gaining a deeper understanding of magic. It has a secondary focus on understanding magic and how it applies to technology. I've found that the best way to do both is to study magical artifacts because they're relevant to mages of any alignment." Leona said to Marisela, showing off her Argent Gloves to the young woman as proof of what she was talking about.

"I received these gloves as a reward for helping a town of cat people recover some food they had paid for but was intercepted by bandits. They're called the Argent Gloves. They boost my defensive abilities just by wearing them." Leona briefly explained what they could do to Marisela. They had become an indispensable item in the Wizard Saint's life and had protected her on many an adventure. They had almost become as much of a trademark of Leona's as the green-and-gold outfit she wore.

"Over the past several months I've been studying an ancient language of Desierto known as Court Heiromesh. I'm also about to study another Desierto language called Muserian because . However, you don't have to do just that. You can take whatever jobs appeal to you." Leona told Marisela.

"For example, I've been to Midi on the behest of the Emperor to escort a royal offering to a shrine so that the country could continue to prosper. I've been to Haunted Castle to rescue a film crew from captivity. I've hunted serial killers in Hargeon Town. I've taken jobs that have little to do with either magic or technology." Leona listed just a few of the many jobs she had taken that did not involve scholarship in the slightest. While they were not educational in the traditional sense, they taught her quite a bit about the culture of Midi, how to fight the undead, and how to fight opponents with nothing to lose and everything to gain from killing her. She did not know Marisela enough to know whether the pale young woman was a fighter, a scholar, or something in between.

Leona's Argent Gloves:

Marisela considered Leona's words for a long moment before nodding her head slightly.

"I see..." she began, pausing for a moment before continuing. "Well, I certainly want to understand more about how magic works. After all, that's the only way to really better myself and grow as a mage. People say magic and science are totally different, because science is predictable, governed by strict laws, while magic is freer and unpredictable, but I disagree. I think magic is a science, just like chemistry, or physics. We just haven't discovered the rules and patterns yet. That's why it's so puzzling to people. But with enough studying, I think we can unlock its secrets once and for all."

She stopped, wondering if any of that had made sense. It felt like she'd been rambling on a bit, and she hoped that hadn't annoyed the guild mistress. It wouldn't be very good for her career at the moment.

"Anyway," she said, changing the subject slightly, "that doesn't mean I'm looking to spend all my time locked up in a lab. Studying magic is only half of the equation. You have to get out and practice with it too. Experience it. Live it, even. After all, understanding your own magics, with its rules and limitations, is the first step to understanding magic in general. And every new kind of magic you encounter out in the real world will teach you a little bit more."

She sighed. "Besides, there's people out there doing so much damage to our world. Killing people, destroying buildings, tearing apart historical sites, stealing artifacts just for their own personal gain. They have to be stopped. Not just because they're harming people when they do this, but because if they keep destroying sites and stealing artifacts we'll never be able to study those magics and understand them."

She stopped again, wondering if she'd gone too far. After all, there were inevitably people in Silver Wolf who did some of those things. Still, it was something she was passionate about, so she wasn't going to just keep quiet about it. And anyway, it's not like she was planning on going after her own guildmates. She could turn a blind eye there if it meant she had access to the resources here to help her achieve her goals.

After listening to her talk, Leona felt like she and Marisela shared an opinion on a few key points, namely that people who destroyed magical sites and looted them for their own gain had to be stopped. Dark Guilds big and small were on the hunt for anything that could level the playing field against Wizard Saints, Gods/Goddesses of Ishgar, and the Rune Knights. So were bandit gangs. Leona decided to give a small example of how what one studied at the guild hall was good for more than just expanding knowledge... it could also save one's life.

"I studied the Court Heiromesh language of ancient Desierto until I'm at Expert proficiency. I've been to Desierto a few times and explored ruins where knowing Court Heiromesh came in handy, namely in reading the inscriptions for clues on how to avoid traps set up to guard the ruins. Being able to read Court Heiromesh saved me from getting a steel dart through the top of my head." Leona gave a very brief example to Marisela of the real-world applications of Silver Wolf's work. There were also the experiments with the Aggression Pack and the Muserian Focusing Stone, but Marisela did not need to know about those projects just yet. That could come later.

"And I get what you're saying about the secrets of magic, Marisela. There's a lot we still don't know about it, but with enough time and effort we can learn more." Leona said to her, again thinking back to the baby steps she took with studying the Aggression Pack and the Muserian Focusing Stone. Marisela might have thought that she was just rambling on, but she was making a lot of sense. She was also passionate about the subject of magic, a trait that Silver Wolf would be foolish not to make use of. Silver Wolf might be a good fit for Marisela, but it was up to her as to whether she joined or not.