A Tempting Challenge

If Vandrad never saw Mercury Arsenault again, it would be far, far too soon.

Whatever decent or positive impression she had left on him with her forwardness and her battle prowess was vastly outweighed by her carefree, fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants attitude that seemed personally constructed to get on his nerves. One minute he was admiring how well she maneuvered in combat, the next he wanted nothing more to punch her right in the face as she made some smug comment. There was a time and a place for mockery and, generally, it was for your enemies. Well, if she wanted to backtalk him like an enemy, that was fine – it just made things easier. He certainly wasn’t looking to make friends while he was in this ass backwards nation.

But unfortunately, he still needed to give the appearance that he was a fully dedicated member of the guild. The last thing he needed was his superiors taking him in a room and questioning why he seemed more interested in being outside of the guild. Getting in a verbal debate with the likes of Mura and the others seemed counterproductive to what he was trying to accomplish. So as much as he hated to do it, he needed to find a job. Now that he had proven himself perfectly capable of handling assignments with a bit of danger – if one could call those stubborn pirate spirits dangerous – he was able to pull from the lists that offered more of a challenge. And because of that, he felt absolutely no need to accompany anyone else on a job nor bring anyone in to help him. His partnership with the asinine Silver Wolf wizard had been a one hit wonder and he sought no reprisal with any new crooners who might want to ‘get to know him’.

He found himself at the job board, his arms crossed over his chest as his eyes scanned over the listings. He read each and every one carefully, taking in the fine details in hopes of finding one that stuck out for its challenging aspects. Thus far, most of them didn’t really offer a worthy cause for him to partake. Clearing out bandits was the local Rune Knight job as far as he was concerned. Investigating poisoning was hardly at his level. He sighed and rolled his eyes slightly in annoyance. If he couldn’t find a job here, then he’d just need to come back tomorrow. Maybe he could spend the rest of the day focusing on his research. There were a surprising amount of article about Mythal Ragnos, though most of them were mentions filtered off of transcripts about Serilda Sinclair. Perhaps he could see just how much access he could get on Gren’s records. No doubt most of the mission files were sealed and confidential but perhaps liaisons and former partners could pop up in the writing. Did he dread the idea of going to see Mythal? Perhaps a little. He wanted to ensure he had as much information on his side before he did anything rash after all.

He was so caught up in his own thoughts that when the body moved out of the corner and planted itself right in front of him, he glanced at it almost nonchalantly. But as the details of the smirking face and the lavender hair came into focus, he went from pensively brooding to suddenly completely in angry shock. It was Mercury – because of fucking course it was. Compared to the last time they had partnered, not that long ago, she was dressed almost completely down. Gone was the heavy jacket and cloak; now she looked more like she was getting ready to go to a concert or as if she had just rolled out of bed. His jaw worked itself into a vice grip as he took her in and as she spoke up, holding up a piece of paper in her hands, he scoffed.

"The hell are you doing here?” He asked, though he already knew the answer. She saw how she got under his skin and she was one of those people that reveled in it. Clearly she wanted to press his buttons more for her own enjoyment. He stared at her for a moment longer before he unfolded the parchment and looked it over. It was a job listing put forth by a client that lived in Magnolia, of all places. Their daughter had gone to some structure known as the Mystic Tower, which had a pretty awful history of swallowing up those that ventured inside – and that included wizards that wished to free loved ones or targets of other jobs. "Tsk. You think I care about some lost puppy that wandered beyond her means? As far as I’m concerned, she’s paying the price for her curiosity. And that reward is hardly enough to convince me to work with you again.” He was already folding the job slip back up, ready to toss it in her face and walk away.

But he paused. A tower that none other had ever escaped from, including other wizards that were even stronger than he. In comparison to the other listings he had seen on his own board, it was definitely the most tantalizing. His eyes flickered between the paper and her, weighing just how much he felt he could stomach working with her yet again for the sake of challenging this unstoppable building. Damn it – curse his lust for battle. "Alright fine. I accept. If only to see just how truly terrible this Mystic Tower is. But try and hinder me like you did last time and I’ll do much more than simply walk away.”

Best friend. The very words sent rippling waves of anger through his veins, combining in his core and feeding the fire of his fury. After everything that had happened between them, she had it in her mind that they were friends? Not even that – best friends. Like they’d bonded over their spelunking in the caverns of the Silent Glaciers. At what point, in all of that, had there been even a single moment where anything friendly or familiar had passed between the two of them? The closest had been perhaps the slight playfulness they’d thrown at one another but it hadn’t been fun or fruity by any design. If anything, he had simply talked down to her, trying to press her buttons like she had done to him. He paused his mental tirade suddenly as it dawned on him. That’s what it was; calling him her best friend was her attempt to keep on triggering him. She knew it would make him angry, make him act out and lash out at her. Clever bitch.

He opted not to answer her first mocking question, even as she posed the second one – after a short explanation of why she could simply come and see him. "Truly,” he remarked mirthlessly as he put his attention on the paper, now wanting to get this business over with. But unfortunately, he had fallen right into her trap. She knew that he wouldn’t give one damn about the girl disappearing and would refuse the job… at first. But upon reflection to the challenge it posed, he would feel inclined to take part if only to prove he was better than the other wizards that had failed. He finally agreed to the job, under the threatening condition that she not attempt to stall him like she had in the last job. Yet she turned it right back on him, kindly reminding him that he had started the routine of hindering one’s partner. He inhaled sharply between his teeth, already regretting his decision as she teased him about his threats and what they did to her.

"Insufferable wench…” he spoke softly, though still loud enough for her to hear. But as she pushed herself off the board and headed back the way she had come, he followed after her. He had agreed and he wasn’t about to back out just because Mercury felt the need to run her mouth again. Besides, there was still the challenge of the tower that awaited them. And if anything, she did get a bit easier to stomach when they were fighting. So the sooner they got to the mystic structure, the better. As they stepped outside, she reached into her pocket and withdrew a device, tossing idly to the ground. It opened up into a disk of sorts, hauntingly smooth and hovering of its own volition with nary a sound. She stepped onto it without breaking her gait and it rose up, showcasing its ease with carrying her about. She gave him another amused look before she rocketed into the sky, the Prince’s magic taking hold of him and shooting him after her only a second later.

As he evened himself out in the air, he tucked his hands over his chest once more and focused forward. He kept himself near her side but letting her lead by a few inches; that way she was truly guiding them to the location. As much as he hated to leave her in charge of the job, she was the one that had brought it to him in the first place. It’s not like she would lead him uselessly to an area that wasn’t part of the job description. Hopefully she knew better than to test his patience that way. She spoke up over the roar of the wind, asking him how his search was going. A low growl rumbled out of his throat as his eyes snapped over to her, ready to berate her for, once again, pressing for information. But she was prepared this time; halting him from blowing a gasket by assuring him it wasn’t an attempt to dig for details, merely one person asking another. To him, the difference was as thin as a knife’s edge.

But there was a difference. Black orbs watched her for a moment longer before he sighed, releasing his angry tension. "There is plenty of information about this Mythal character. Him and his betrothed. Articles upon articles about their achievements and successes. You’d think the two of them were national heroes or something.” The thought amused him slightly, though any indication of that only came in the form of a dry, single laugh. "I haven’t uncovered anything else about Gren. A few articles that he was quoted in but nothing significant.” He paused for a moment, weighing if he really wanted to continue his thought process aloud for her to hear. To hell with it. "I plan on circling back and looking for other Rune Knights mention in conjunction with Gren. Possible partners or colleagues – people I can track down easier. One of them might know more and set me on the right trail.”

He let that air for several seconds before he turned his attention back to her. "And how about you? Knowing you, I imagine you continued to dig for information yourself out of morbid curiosity. My question is this; were you looking for information about Gren? Or were you looking into me?”

Vandrad had to be very careful how he mentioned the steps he took in his own investigation. While it hurt his pride to have to seem like he was technologically inept, he knew the truth would create another bread crumb trail that Mercury would surely follow. The truth of the matter was that any research or information he ever needed was generally found out separate from him. As a royal and as an officer of the military, he never really had to do a lot of information gathering himself. It was always found out by servants of the house or the soldiers under his command. But he couldn’t rely on that anymore; he was operating as his own agent and that meant he had to do his own research. Come to find out, he was quite basic at it.

But he couldn’t tell her that. The minute he let loose that he wasn’t used to having to scour the Lacnet himself, she would be able to narrow down her search further. It was clear and evident that she was curious about him, about where he had come from. Based on the minimal observation he’d had of her, he assumed it was just her nature. And the admittance of his experience would give her plenty to work with. His only benefit at the moment was that Vandrad was a common Bellum name, as his mother sought to make him seem as basic as possible at first. So instead, he needed to look like he was an absolute idiot when it came to doing proper digging… which, in a way, wasn’t an absolute lie. Still, it made his pride squirm and churn in annoyance.

He had thought about giving her a relatively stubborn answer. It seemed easier in terms of ending the conversation sooner rather than later. But if she was asking, he had an inkling it was because she had something to contribute. Shutting her down swiftly may have resulted in her finding a way to tantalize and tease him about what she knew. That sounded more insufferable than opening up the dialogue for a couple of minutes, just to see what she had found. But his own assumptions about her researching him were correct as well and, to her credit, she admitted that she had scoured for both Gren and himself. It would have been a relief to hear that she hadn’t found anything tangible on him but he wasn’t entirely sure if she was telling the truth or not. She had no reason to lie… other than to hit him with knowledge later.

Her own search had resulted in about as much detail as his had and her conclusions were fairly in line with his own. If Gren was alive, the people that knew about it were quite tightlipped, if there were even others beyond himself. Sightings and rumors were as concrete as the wind without solid physical evidence to back it up. As an added caveat to her train of thought, she offered him a bit of advice – that digging too deep into hidden business was likely to attract attention itself. She didn’t say it out of any concern for his well being or hinting that he was getting in over his head. It was more the observation a scientist might make in the long winded theory of their hypothesis. And frankly he understood and agreed. That was why he was trying to avoid direct confrontations at the moment. That and anyone that had known Gren and laid eyes on Vandrad would surely make out the similarities almost immediately.

But Mercury had found something he hadn’t; a name of a comrade. He leveled his gaze on her as she pulled out a smaller tablet and tossed it to him. The Prince pressed the button to turn it on, the information popping up right to the front of the screen. Several articles were pinned but the one at the forefront was one about Gren and Branwen Fane, a longtime confident of the supposedly dead Rune Knight. A recently retired major with a wife that had also been part of the Rune Knights. It seemed that Gren and Branwen had worked closely together for some years and were friends outside of service. A fresh connection but the one that followed it was even more curious. As Mercury floated closer to him, she tapped on the screen and switched to a different page. Mythal’s bride-to-be, Serilda apparently had been put under the tutelage of Aster Fane when she was younger. That couldn’t have been a coincidence and she agreed.

Serilda and Aster, Branwen and Mythal… the connection there seemed to hint at something deeper. Was it possible that Mythal was, in fact, Gren’s son? Perhaps when Gren had died, either realistically or faked, Mythal had been taken in by Branwen and through him and his wife, had eventually met Serilda. It seemed more plausible now than it did before. Did that mean he had a brother or a half-brother? Yet despite all the wonderings he had now about his own family situation, his gaze slowly lifted from the tablet to look over at her, casually using a file on her fingers. "Just who the hell are you?” He asked her, his gaze narrowed. Here she was, putting together all these pieces seemingly for no reason. It wasn’t out of the goodness of her heart, that much he was sure of. And while he wasn’t prone to caring about other people’s histories or stories, she had proved an odd curiosity.

So here they were, coming to a head that had been charging towards them since the first time they met. There hadn’t been any doubt, between the two of them surely, that Vandrad’s curiosity over her intentions, her motives and her moves had only heightened the more and more he saw of her. It wasn’t a vested interest in any capacity of friendship or romance or anything trivial like that – but it was certainly an inquisitiveness to what she had to gain from doing all of this. Vandrad had no problem sitting there and processing the possibilities himself; in most cases, he much preferred to simply work through the problems all by his lonesome. But at the moment, she was there and the words sprang out from his mouth.

Apparently, she was not expecting that. While it was only a beat or two of surprise, it was still there. He’d clearly caught her off guard, which was no surprise. Given that he had insisted and pressed upon not wanting to know much about… well, anyone. But she would catch up; of that he had no doubt. As he watched, her smirk returned – though it did carry something a bit darker with it. And she essentially repeated what she had said to him in the Silent Glaciers. She had her secrets and he had his. She felt no inclination to let him in on her, much like he had very sternly told her he had no intention of letting her deeper than she already had. But there was the fact that, unlike him, she did know a bit more about his situation. Vandrad wasn’t the one to complain or whine for fairness but it was a significant symbol of just what kind of person Mercury was.

Or so he thought. He had assumed that was going to be the end of the dialogue but instead, she opened the door just a bit more – if only to prove herself far more mysterious. Stating that one was a lot of things was a general sweeping comment that quite literally anyone could make and it did not impress him that she had started that way. But she elaborated, explaining that she was a scientist, an engineer and a mage. She even added that she was still embracing the new title and existence of being a mage. So she was not used to having magic then? That was no surprise; a lot of what he’d been taught in Bellum was that those that focused on the sciences rarely involved themselves in magic. Whether it be by choice or nature, their calling came to the development of invention. These were the people that his family, his entire nation, viewed as nothing more than worker bees. Those that possessed magic and utilized it were the superior race; because that’s what it came down to. Wizards and non-wizards weren’t even of the same ilk. At least, that’s what most of Bellum believed.

Owning up to being a smartass was not the same as apologizing for being one. Her being aware that she was a pest only seemed to make the fact that she was one even more agitating. She intentionally went out of her way to push the line. At the very least, at least she was honest about it. But she continued in her explanation, now seemingly wanting to put him at ease over any concerns he may have had. She proclaimed herself as unimportant – that she wasn’t dangerous to him or his journey. It was simply curiosity that had led her to investigate both him and his agenda. The scientist in her couldn’t let an unresolved puzzle without taking a crack at it. Once again, the notion was genuine but that didn’t discourage him – though that was hardly her fault. "Great or not, everyone is of some consequence,” he grumbled, in a tone that conveyed such words weren’t meant to be complimentary. "I’ll make my own judgements as to who is or isn’t a danger to me.”

As far as he was concerned, no one from this nation could be trusted. He wasn’t even entirely sure if the man who was his father could be fully believed either, should he happen to find him. She continued, apparently in the sport of further building some kind of rapport with him, and explained that she was in Fiore for her own reasons that were just as mysterious and guarded as his own. Given that she had only been here a few months and that look that had briefly crossed her face, that didn’t surprise him by much. She once again assured him that anything involving her own focuses had nothing to do with him and even admitted that she enjoyed getting into trouble and that her own curiosity would likely be the end of her.

He stared at her for a few seconds, processing everything she had said. Then he snorted in his own amusement. "That’s all very interesting, woman, but you got one thing wrong,” he stated simply. Slowly his mouth pulled back into a smirk as his eyes flashed with something akin to excitement and violence. "Keep pressing your luck with me and your sense of curiosity will be the least of your worries.” It was a hardly veiled threat once more at her, a warning sign against pressing his buttons again. Yet there was a playfulness to it – as if he knew, by saying it, that it would invite her to act like the smart ass she was by her own admission. It was hard to tell but either way, it was the same look he had given her when he’d invited her to join him in the fight back at Silent Glaciers.

As if to say here’s the game; are you sure you want to play?

It seemed they had reached a place of mutual consideration, at least as far as Vandrad was concerned. They’d discussed a little about themselves – or rather, she had done a lot of conversation on both her part and his. And she had revealed a little bit more about herself than perhaps he was expecting. It did not mean that she wasn’t going to try and twist his knobs and press his buttons again. And by even keeping the door open a little, which he did by smirking and idly threatening her, he was sure she would bust through it once more. But Vandrad stubbornly convinced himself that if was aware of such things, if he was the one dealing the metaphorical cards, he was in control.

She took the bait fairly easily, asking him if he was threatening her or making a kind of sick, perverted promise. Clarifying would have been simple but rather than do that, he let the answer remain open ended. He kept his gaze on her for a bit longer before he pulled it back towards the horizon, opting to remain focused on the task at hand and let her imagination run wild with whatever she wanted. Who was he to rob her of her fantasies? That’s what it would remain as far as he was concerned – a fictional construct of what she hoped or wanted to happen. She would not touch him unless he gave consent and he had no intention of giving consent whatsoever.

It wasn’t that much longer before the structure came into sight. As it rose out of the skyline, its brilliant form breaking the even keel, even Vandrad was surprised at how impending it felt but not necessarily in a bad way. It rose from the ground like a mighty scepter of kings, piercing the ocean of sky. A stone wall encompassed the grounds around it, a meager attempt to keep intruders out… or perhaps, most realistically, in. And at its top was a glowing ball of light as bright and radiant as the sun itself. It hurt to even tip one’s head to look near it but Vandrad couldn’t deny that every instinct in him told him to stare directly into its magnificent core.

They came to a stop just outside it’s perimeter, to avoid any magical traps or signals revealing their arrival. The air was palpable with the magical energy that seeped into his body at an alarming rate. The Prince was used to absorbing more ethernano from the world around him than other people but this was surprising. It warmed his body all over, sending a comforting wave through his veins and causing his brain to slow. Was this the power of the sun? Was it that creation at the top of the tower that granted this… strength? He flexed his hand a few times in wonder, staring at it absentmindedly. It took him a moment to realize she had spoken to him, asking him what the game plan was.

Before he could answer right away, his mind still rising out of the fog, she casually reminded him that they were here for a girl. As much as Mercury was fine with storming the breach, the damage they could cause could cause the life of the one they had come to rescue. But why would they want to rescue anyone from this feeling? "What?” He snapped, more annoyed that she had pulled him out of his trance. But as her words sunk in with more clarity, sanity clicked back in and he gave a small shake of his head. "Right uh… do we have some kind of… visual, picture of what she looks like?” He couldn’t recall if there was a picture on the job sheet at the moment. In fact, his memory of the job was hazy too.

When she confirmed what the girl looked like, he nodded softly. "Maybe we blow a hole in the midway section there,” he said, pointing near the middle of the tower. "Large enough for us to get in but not enough to topple the tower. Whoever comes to the defense, we take them out save one. That one we’ll question to the location of the girl. Once we have that, it’ll be easy to simply break through each level until we find her. After that we should des…” His voice trailed off for a moment. Why would he want to destroy the tower? Another quick shake of his head. "Destroy the tower. Get rid of these ingrates once and for all.”

Vandrad glanced at the picture of Jenna, memorizing her face to the best of his abilities. On most days – hell, even an hour ago – he could have had no problem. But this strange fog had settled onto his head and it made things a bit more blurred than normal. He gave his head another decent shake as Mercury broke down some of the finer details to the girl’s plight or lack thereof. It sounded like she wasn’t being held against her will, that she may have come and joined the ranks of the tower’s members of her own volition. And why shouldn’t she? There was such a feeling of calm and strength and intoxication that came from being near the tower. Worries and fears that plagued the mind seemed so far away when one was near this beacon of holiness and divinity.

Those were strange thoughts. They felt altogether different from how he normally felt… well, generally all the time. He wasn’t sure how to proceed with them lingering in his mind and he didn’t want to let Mercury know that something was bothering him. Instead he forced his normal way of thinking to the forefront, in hopes that his simply by beating the subject over the head with stubbornness, he would win out. She agreed to his plan, happily even and then after brandishing her transforming pistol, she stepped off her disc and broke into a free fall. He watched her go, followed speedily by her device, rolling his eyes at her flair for the dramatic. Slowly he floated after her, continuing to focus more on his own thoughts than the ones that were nipping at his mental blocks.

She aimed her pistol and fired, releasing a grenade of sorts at the side of the tower. The walls practically evaporated within the heart of the explosion, opening up a sizable hole in the structure. As she dove through the new entryway, he followed after her quickly. As she rolled across the debris, Vandrad curled up near the ceiling of the room and then floated down to the ground, his arms folding over his chest as he settled into place. Several of the initiates had been caught up in the explosion of dust that had kicked up from the initial attack, the sounds of hacking and complaining echoing in the room. Mercury emerged from the smoke to confront four of the cultists while a small group of five marched towards the Prince. Sunlight poured over their limbs and coalesced onto their hands and feet, granting them additional strength and speed no doubt.

He glanced between the five of them idly as they closed in on him. "If anyone wishes to leave alive, you’ll tell us where Jenna is now,” he said simply. His brow furrowed in concern at his own words; why the hell was he offering the opportunity for escape? The plan was to take down all but one and though Mercury was clearly toying with her prey, he had no intention of being as playful. Yet here he was, offering an ultimatum. Luckily for him, none of the group seemed interested in chatting or listening to him – though he did see a few eyes waver in confidence. So they needed a strong showcase to be convinced then. In an instant his Empowerment form took hold, granting him golden hair and an emerald gaze that promised death. That’s when the group paused in approach, causing the Prince to smirk slightly. "What’s the matter? Scared of something a bit brighter than your precious sun?”

He didn’t wait for an answer. He lurched forward, planting his fist into the closest cultist’s chest. His speed pushed him forward a step before he slammed his feet onto the ground and jerked his body downwards, piledriving the cultist into the floor with a sickening and bone-breaking crack. The burst of action broke the other four from their reverie and they all turned at once, reenergized and ready to fight. Vandrad turned on his heel and caught an incoming punch from one of them by the wrist, gripping the flesh tight. The heat coming from the initiate’s hand pressed against his glove but that only caused him a nanosecond of pause before he yanked the cultist towards him and brought up his other hand, smashing the elbow of his opponent with such strength that his entire arm bent the absolute wrong way.

As that cultist wailed in agony, Vandrad turned and flung his leg out, sending a kick into the stomach of a charging cultist. As the initiate curled over from the air being driven from his lungs, Vandrad grabbed him by the head with both hands and yanked him sideways, ripping him from the ground. He spun around, using the injured cultist as a weapon to smash into the other two initiates before they could get too close. With the other pair now on the ground, Vandrad slammed his foot down and stopped his rotation while also letting go over the cultist’s head, just in time to send the stunned and dizzy idiot flying through the hole he and Mercury had entered in.

He marched over to one of the cultists as they struggled to their feet, throwing a wild strike in an attempt to get Vandrad away. Instead, the Prince caught the punch by the forearm and then took hold of the limb with both hands. He quickly twisted the appendage back around so that the initiate’s own hand was facing their face and then slammed it full speed into their forehead. Down they went but Vandrad wasn’t done, repeatedly beating the cultist with his own fist until there was just a mass of blood and bone chips where his face once was. He slowly stood back up just as the last uninjured cultist tried to charge him. He turned just enough to bring his hand up and out, his fingers splayed and facing the ceiling. Surprised, the initiate try to stop as he came face to palm. And that’s when Vandrad released a beam of energy, vaporizing the face of the last enemy. Smoke sizzled out from the cauterized neck of the cultist before the corpse dropped to the ground uselessly.

All of this had felt wrong. His mind was throbbing intensely, causing him to wince and shake his head. The light from the hole seemed brighter than usual but not as bright as the most holy sun. And these followers, these innocent believers, had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. He tried to shake the thoughts out and luckily for him, the screams of the last living cultist brought him out of the daze. Growling, he stomped over and grabbed the screaming man by the throat, lifting him up off the ground. "Jenna. Where is she?”

The man blubbered, spittle and tears dripping off his chin as the pain of a horrendously broken limb overwrote his ability to think. Vandrad squeezed his neck tighter. "Tell us where she is and I’ll get rid of the pain.”

That was a promise worth following, apparently. “U-U-Upstairs. W-with the Archmage,” the man babbled out softly.

Without so much as a thanks, Vandrad jerked his hand and snapped the cultists neck, ending his life once and for all. "She’s with the Archmage,” he repeated to Mercury, his voice even more emotionless than usual.

Something was not right with Vandrad and what was worse is that he was aware of it but couldn’t seem to force himself to fix it. It was like his mind and body was betraying his very soul; acting based on the emotions that were being filtered directly into his brain from… well, it seemed the air. Unfortunately the Prince had the wonderful side effect to his magic in that he constantly absorbed ethernano from the air at an alarming rate. While normally this was greatly beneficial, it seemed to be doing a number onto his psyche from whatever influential power happened to be permeating around the tower. He was trying his hardest to fight it but his will power was fading.

The battle with the initiates seemed almost like a dream, his mind caught in a daze that was growing stronger with each passing moment. As the answer to their hunt came to him, he could merely repeat what he heard and show nothing for it. The thrill of the battle was gone from him because it had felt wrong to kill these innocent worshippers. A part of him even felt sad for having to take their lives, despite their standing between them and their target. What was their target again? The all powerful sun at the top, right? They were heading upwards to help bask in its glory, he thought…

Mercury spoke up, shaking him slightly from the trance. He turned his gaze to her as she smirked and teased him over his nonchalant attitude. She even offered to give him the reward he had supposedly earned from the last job they had gone on. He stared at her for a long moment as her words seeped through the controlling effects. He scoffed but it was half-assed and lacking any energy. "Shut up,” he said simply as his transformation melted from his form. He seemed to shake off the effects for the moment but it wouldn’t be long before they got back in and caused further damage. They had to keep going.

They ascended the tower quickly, running up the stairs as fast as they could. The entirety of the tower was most likely on alarm now so it was best that they keep moving up and up. But they hadn’t made it very far in their travel before they were confronted by another group of worshippers, these ones showing a lot more detail in their robes and a lot more confidence in confronting the intruders. As one of them yelled out to praise the sun, Vandrad’s vision darkened for a moment. Praise the sun. Praise the s- He managed to shake his head violently and bring back the entirety of his scope, in time to watch as Mercury caught the ball of sunlight that had apparently been thrown at them. She held it easily in her hand, as if the attack had originated from her in the first place. Wait, hadn’t she been able to manipulate metal? Could she use light magic too? Her insults towards the light plucked something deep within him he didn’t even know was there. He, too, felt offended as she brazenly mocked the light and played with it, like it was nothing more than a ball. And when she crushed it into nothing, a part of him felt hollow… and then violently angry.

Mercury. All she had done was be a major pain in his ass. And now here she was, once again finding a way to mistreat something he respected. She was abusing the divine sun like it was nothing more a toy. His hands curled tight into fists as several notions of clocking her rang loudly in his mind. But the movement of the mages caught his attention and shook him from the furious trance once more. The Silver Wolf wizard engaged three of them while the other two moved towards him. Growling, he stepped forward and ran into both of the worshippers, driving the three of them into – and through – the wall of the stairwell. They rolled into a hallway directly adjacent to them, the three sliding along the smooth floor. Vandrad stumbled to his feet along with the other two, voices in his head telling him to stop and not to hurt them.

They must have picked up on that as they started to move towards him. A low growl escaped his mouth and he thrust both his hands forward, unleashing duel blasts of energy through the unprepared wizards. They stared at him, wide-eyed before tumbling to the floor. Pain pierced his heart at the sight of them dying, throbbing agony that threatened to swallow up the entirety of his mind. He hissed and turned back to check on Mercury, who had just as easily dispatched the rest of the worshippers. Silently he climbed back onto the stairs and started to head upwards, not saying a single word to her.

The trip to the very top of the tower was all a blur. As they moved through the archway into a grand, open room, Vandrad looked more like a zombie than a person. Window panes made up the walls on every side of what could only be called a throne room and there, sitting at the top of a staircase, was the Archmage. Oh and he was utterly brilliant. His robes were magnificent, the crown on top of his head reflected and absorbed the sun from above and he, himself, seemed to shine with all the brightness a world could offer. Two guards stood at the bottom of the stairs and there, just beyond the throne, was another initiate. Jenna.

“Welcome my children… or should I say, my child,” the Archmage spoke, his voice booming in the hall. His gaze was fixed on Vandrad, his smile warm and welcoming. He rose slowly from his throne and took a few steps forward, stretching his hand out. “You’ve come a long way but you have made it. I am so very proud of you.”

"Proud…?” the Prince asked, staring up at the man through half-lidded eyes.

“You have made it here to worship, correct? You have come to praise the sun.” As if it was the keyword for funneling more influence, Vandrad wrenched to the side, his vision nearly leaving him completely. He fell to a single knee, hissing in a mixture of pain and resistance.

"Praise… the sun…” he mumbled, the words starting to take root in his mind.

“That’s right. And the one you came here with, she is a nonbeliever. She wishes to destroy the sun.”

"…no,” the Prince said, shaking his head, the very notion a deep insult to him.

“Yes… she must be… removed from the situation. Come, my child. Prove your loyalty. Eliminate the nonbeliever. Praise the sun.”

Vandrad didn’t respond this time. He slowly rose from his knee, his head hung over his chest. Then he started to turn around, taking a few steps forward, until he was facing directly across from Mercury. The bane of his existence. The nonbeliever who wanted to hurt his most precious sun. No, she had to be destroyed. She had to be eliminated. She was his enemy. She was…

Smart ass.

Vandrad’s head lifted slightly.

Scientist.

His vision cleared slightly. Why? Why were her useless words coming to him now?

I smell a secret, I like to unravel it.

Vandrad’s hands were trembling.

“Do it! Eliminate her! Praise the sun!”

The Prince’s head jerked violently to the side but he did not move. "I… am Prince Vandrad of Bellum…” he started to say slowly, anger and rebellion seething through his teeth. "I am Prince Vandrad… of Bellum,” he repeated it again, finding something deep inside to cling to. His hair instantly changed to its golden form, emerald orbs widening with fury. "I am Prince Vandrad of Bellum…”

“And I will not be controlled!” His words roared out of him as he flung his arms to the side, magical power unleashing itself from his core. Energy danced across his body as his muscles expanded outwards, his body growing several inches and his hair forming sharper, more defined spikes in it. The ground beneath his feet shattered into thousands of pieces and rose up into the air around them slowly before they, all at once, shot towards the windows and destroyed them all at once. The two guards had stepped forward, their magic radiating about their limbs as they prepared to defend their archmage. In a flash, Vandrad was before them, grabbing them by their robes and flinging them backwards towards the stairwell both he and Mercury had come from.

"Kill the son of a bitch. I’ll handle these two,” the transformed Prince said to Mercury, turning to look at her. And just to show that he had regained his wits, he flashed a smirk at her. "That’s if you can handle him all by your lonesome,” An aura of golden energy wrapped around him as he launched himself through the doorway to the stairwell to take on the two remaining acolytes of this insane cult.