Meeting of the new Council.

The Grand Hall was empty except for the Rune Knights standing by the big and thick wooden doors, the only sound was the echoeing of Slaine's footsteps. He sat down calmly on his chair at the large Council table. As per usual, he was a few minutes early for a meeting like this.

He leaned back in his chair and set his eyes on the space between his hands. With subtlety he let the particles between his hands vibrate and watched the air morph as it heated up rapidly in a meditational fashion. The other members, chairman included, would arrive shortly.

Time to get acquainted.

Harland arrived at the doors to the council door when he heard Count Sparrow talking about bloody papers stacking his desk. The ironic fact about that remark was that those papers were indeed bloody, not in the literal sense. But considering their context those paper were bloody indeed. It were reports about the recent destructive developments that terrorized Fiore.
Something that should never had happened nothing, but their enemies had striked precisely when the new council was still building their fundaments.
And Harland had the feeling it still wasn't over, the destruction of Blue Pegasus, the rise of the Lichborne and even the attack on Magnolia. Somehow this all felt like it was just a prelude to much worse.

It could be off course Harland being wary as always. Shaking off the thought for now Harland entered the council room, there was going to be a long discussion on how to handle recent developments and how to prevent them.
He walked up to Count Lucien Sparrow and Slaine while nodding towards them as a greeting and then took his place. While he closely observed the other two councilors.
Chairman Count Lucien Sparrow, as extravagant as a rich man of class could be, and the mysterious councilor Slaine Intrega. The only member left from the old council.
'Count Sparrow, councilor Intrega good to have you her. Now where are the other two remaining members?' grunted Harland.

Slaine stood up immediately at the approach of the chairman. Count Sparrow's footsteps echoed through the acoustics of the room as his gentleman appearance casually made its way to the table. The march of his guard of Rune Knights could still be heard in the hallway.

With a calm and unmoving posture Slaine made eyecontact with Lucien. A smile appeared on the man's face, seemingly genuine, as the gentleman tilted his hat. Slaine nodded in acknlowedgement with a smile.

"Where have you been, Slaine?"

Slaine had been occupied with some... private issues. The chairman's hand reached far and had quite the grasp on Fiore with his network of spies, but Slaine knew perfectly well how to disappear and stay below anyone's radar.

"Ah well, I suppose it's for the best that I don't know--am I wrong?"

Slaine's white teeth appeared with a smirk as he replied.
"All in due time, Count Sparrow."

The chairman continued to speak between puffs, hinting at the order of the day until an elder silhouette appeared in the doorway. Harland quickly joined them at the table gruntingly. Clearly not pleased the remaining councilors weren't present yet.
In a respecting manner, Slaine remained standing with his arms calmly resting beside him until the others would arrive. He nodded at making Harland's acquaintance, yet he remained silent.

"Well, well! For once I'm not the late one!", an energetic voice cast against he echoeing walls of the hall. Skylar Frost strode forward making another dazzling entry as she greeted her colleagues.

"Councilman Integra, it is nice to see you again after such a long time away! I have many a wine to test for you impeccable taste!", she said before quickly moving on to their flamboyant chairman.

Slaine's bright green eyes followed the looks shared between each member of the council, smirking when I realized none of them had ever pronounced his last name correctly.

Out of sight, out of mind, so it seems.

Yet, there was a pressing matter on the table. Lichborne. The whisper that made him return to the council with haste and without any interruptions. Not another thought passed by until Kairi joined them. A most interesting personality. Interesting enough to have had Slaine run some... background checks personally. Whispers of a man called Steigmaz surrounded his name. The chairman's spies were one thing, Slaine's connections another. He was certain that every council member had heard whispers of every other, but never the specifics. They were each too careful and calculated in their ways. This Magic Council easily had the potential to surpass the previous one... but also the potential to derail much further.

In terms of renown and known magical gifts, Kairi and Slaine were probably shrouded in mystery the most. Slaine had had his own reasons for hiding them as much as he could until the time was right. He was known to be able to manipulate the environment around him, but nobody knew to what extend. Intimidation was one factor, not drawing attention to himself another. He was a nuclear explosion hiding in plain sight.

As Kairi finally sat down so did Slaine. The conversation could begin and everyone could feel the tension in the air. Fiore was a mess and they had to fix it. Press and media had been covering up a magical crisis for a very long time now. Too long, because they simply couldn't hide it anymore. The previous council disbanded because the councilors... had disappeared. Only Slaine remained as a senior in experience, but that meant very little among these five titans.

Calmly he shifted his eyes and attention to the chairman, curious as to how Sparrow would start this off.

Harland smirked at the remark from Count Sparrow about him facing his cannons towards Magnolia. mostly because what he said was true. Harland hated it to admit it, but threatening the obliterating the town along the Lichborne wasn't probably to most popular way to deal with the problem. But Harland never doubted that it was the best course of action at that very moment. It was only the arrival of Zeno from Eclipse Soul and Shuhei from Blue Pegasus that made him change his mind.
'Tch first of all, I have to say that I regret nothing. The Lichborne was a blight on life itself and a major threat to all of Fiore. If those guildmasters didn't defeated him, I would have gladly destroyed all of Magnolia in order to save the rest. Because the corruption wouldn't just stop here at Fiore, it would eventually spread all around the globe.'

He looked every council member straight in the eye when he was explaining his motive for targeting the entire Town. It was a weird group together, each of them with a tremendous power and their own aspect in which they exceeded each other. For Harland was this the destructive raw power he possessed. His cannons had no equal in this even among the council. But that didn't made him necessarily the strongest, raw power wasn't the only thing that made these members of the council maybe the most dangerous men and woman in Fiore. It was also their might, like Count Sparrow who held an intelligence unlike any other. Or Councilor Frost with the deceiving looks and behavior, she was someone far stronger then she leads on to be. And then there were Slaine and Kairi, both of them shrouded in mystery and each of them holding a power then was yet unknown.
But Harland didn't like to keeps things like that hidden, his show of force was also to let the others know that he wasn't just a senile old man. That if it came down on destruction and raw power that there was no equal. To others it may look like a dangerous action to reveal yourself like that, but nothing was less true. After all with age there is wisdom and wits, and Harland knew very well on how to play the game.

'But let us move one from my indiscretions in front of Magnolia, there are indeed much more pressing matter at hand. So Count Sparrow I'll support your decision on rebuilding Magnolia along with the guild. But we also need to make people see us as the saviors once again. And we can only achieve that if we reconcile with Fairy Tail. Maybe even honor them for all their effort in the battle, in front of the entire town. Even if it goes against our own pride.'

Harland rested his voice for a second, giving other to think this through before he continued.

'Also, Councilor Sparrow what you told us about Constantine Rebellion worries me. It is indeed strange that he suddenly just vanished from the face of the earth like that. Nothing to be seen or heard about. He was after all one of the powerhouses in Savage Skull. And then there is also the sudden increase of new dark guilds, or old ones filling in the gap of power that Savage Skull left behind. I feel that there is a new form of evil and darkness brewing under the surface of what we can see.
And that brings me to Savage Skull once again, who supposedly should be falling apart and be nothing more then a mere shadow of it's former self. Which I strongly disbelieve. There is no way a guild with that former power would lay down their weapons like that and do nothing anymore. They have done to much for that.'

A silence befell the room as Slaine observed his fellow councilmen before addressing them. Sparrow's eyes were like mirrors, the more Slaine tried to penetrate them the more Sparrow tried to penetrate his, to see what emotions lay within. Slaine would smile in acknowledgement of mutual... interest, but he suppressed it. Harland's eyes seemed more impatient in a way, eager to hear Slaine's input, but ready to judge it. It was as if Kairi was not even trying to make eyecontact and seemed disinterested, already thinking about how he would spend his hours when the meeting was over.

Slaine cleared his throat as he quickly summarized all topics addressed in his mind. Each of them was of high-level priority, time was of the essence and he didn't like wasting any of it.
After having heard all of them, he realized this Council truely was of a much higher caliber than the previous one.

"Thank you, Kairi. I know you all must have your questions about my abscence, or should I say.. disappearance? I must say that I had my reasons for this as I'm sure I will be able to prove to you when the time comes. I can say, however, that part of my time was spent in the part of society where the sun doesn't quite shine. I agree with the proposed solution to Magnolia Town. Maybe fixing up the place will also put Fairy Tail at ease and open up their ears to what we have to say. I also support miss Frost's proposition to aid Veronica. Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone if this is connected to the Kugeki. As for the dark guilds and Constantine..." He paused for a brief moment and shifted his eyes to Kairi for a quick moment.

"I would like to propose that I delve into those matters more deeply myself. When I was part of the previous council, I.. took care of things. I believe I can track Constantine down and bring him to justice. Whatever justice that might be according to your instructions, Chairman. As for Savage Skull and the Kugeki, a task force might not be a bad idea. Although, we really need to make certain this cannot come back around. If that course of action is traced back to us, we might as well paint targets on our foreheads. Some legal guildmasters might also not approve of such methods and lose faith in us. The risk of losing credibility is quite high. Which brings me to Kairi's idea of... exploiting Fiore's underworld."

Again he let silence sink in. He leaned forward, placed his elbows on the table and placed his fingertips together, the air between his palms seemed to blur as if heat was generated between them.  "We would lose all credibility by doing that, no doubt. It has been quite some time since the Council had any form of.. corruption, but we are facing financial problems due to recent events. Fixing up Magnolia will take another chunk out of the budget and aiding Veronica will cost us plenty more before it will become a profitable deal. If we create a task force to root out the remnants of Savage Skull, it will be another additional cost and the Rune Knights love their salaries. We have little support from the populace indeed and even if for the first time in history the Council would start to fund itself from the pockets of the Councilmen and women, we will still lack sufficient funds."

He turned his hands until his palms face the ceiling, his hands gesturing as he spoke.

"In light of our current circumstances, I would support this idea. At least until we are back on our feet and have regained some stability. Make no mistake though, if we do this it will need to be done with absolute precision and control. Another reason why I would suggest to have me keep my ear to the ground and my hands untied. None of this is allowed to backfire in any way." Slaine spoke calmly and let his hands rest on the table when he concluded his reasoning.

In his mind, chess pieces started to move again. It had been a long time since he had played a game on this level and he was going to enjoy it.

 Hex walked with a brisk pace, her long legs adding extra length to her stride.   With hair as white as the purest snow moving in time with her steps swaying at her back, her black leather suit accentuating her figure and the movement of her hips, she passed Knight after Knight along the halls of the Magic Council building.   The council was in session, but in her orders she was told to meet with the councilman, and it requested her at this time.   She was running late as it was, the orders caught her while in the midst information gathering that she wasn’t strictly supposed to be doing.  Digging in deep to the underground activity, Hex was doing all she could in her free time to pursue details on criminal activity with special regards to the Kugeki and Savage Skull.   She'd managed to apprehend a group of three minor dark mages with past connections to Savage Skull while one was a member of the Kugeki himself.   As befitting what little she knew of the Kugeki,  the man did not want to talk.  In her… efforts, blood had been spilled that was not her own. 

Her white gloves were stained still.  Orders were her orders, and she came without hesitation,  she ended two of the mages since she didn't have the time to detain them and she couldn't have the Kugeki mage squealing to his masters.  But she did leave one of the Ex-Skulls living,  but only just,  to hopefully get her name and appearance out.   She wanted dark mages to recognize her.  She wanted them to know what she'd do to them.  She wanted them to fear her.

It would have taken her an hour or more to clean all the blood off herself, so whatever consequences she may face for her potentially unbecoming state of dress would be less important to her then appearing when called, particularly by any member of the Magic Council such as this.  Her gloves were dried,  but obviously stained with blood.   She was faced with a dilemma.  Would she lie if asked about the blood?  Or would she be forward and tell them what happened.   They were dark mages,  each with a record of killing,  Hex felt no remorse for them,  and was in fact in a good mood because of it.   She was slightly displeased she couldn't extend her... inquisition, but it was a small matter.
 
 She appeared before the doors to the chamber the meeting was taking place,   more than one Rune Knight present seemed indecisive as to whether they should be intimidated and take her as threat or potential threat, or to be taken back by her looks.  With one red-stained glove she raised her hand and with a little movement of her forefinger conjured a set of dice, traces of red vapor leaking off of them for a moment.  With a little flick of her wrist she kept one of the dice in the palm of her hand while with two fingers held the other out to one of the Rune Knights by the door.

 “Hold onto this for me, would you please?” She asked him, but didn’t wait for a response.  She could see well enough his indecisiveness but willingness to do so, just unsure and obviously distressed by her and the white fur trimming of her suit that framed her cleavage.   She slipped the die in one of the Knights pockets and whispered her thanks.    Stepping back, She nodded at the door, waiting for one of them to open it for her,  and announce her presence and request to join to those in side as formal for any intruder into a meeting of this caliber.  Plus, she doubted the Council would appreciate her stained glove touching it.

The Rune Knights opened the door for her,  addressing the council giving her name as "Black Gamble", a new recruit of the Rune Knights as she was.   She felt a chill travel down her sign when she saw the faces of the Council members,  each one would likely be able to kill her a hundred times over if they deemed it necessary.  Maybe more.  But the realization did nothing to perturb her.  She was here,  she was called,  she was a little late but she was called.  She entered the chamber and stood confidently waiting for direction and recognition now that she answered her summons.

Harland didn't particular like these methods on how they were going to apprehend the enemy. But it may be the only way possible for them to regain their former image and to get some valuable information on the enemy.
'Hmm this all, can be a double edged blade were we will cut ourselves on if we don't be careful. But I can see the merit in this. And hitting two birds with one stone isn't such a bad idea. Anyway if I am in command of the Rune Knights then I will march towards Magnolia to assist in rebuilding the town. And to make amends by offering my apologies to the town for my drastic measures on how to handle the situation during the war. And I think it would be wise that miss Frost would accompany me. If she is going to be the public face of this council then there it is only beneficial if she is there with me.
In the mean time....'
Suddenly the doors towards the council chambers opened and a young woman appeared, standing firmly before these five giants among men.
'What is this intrusion!! There is a meeting of the most highest importance taking place right now! So you better have a good reason for your insolence before I wills trip you for any rank that you have young lady.'
Harland din't know off course that she was summoned by one of the other members.