It was a clear night for the town, a cool breeze echoed through the silence as the water dispersed the light of the crescent moon. There was rarely a sound through the night, it was by all means peaceful except for the townhouse Luna was tossing and turning in her bed. Eventually she was thrust into consciousness as she felt a aching pain in her back and side. A long sigh escaped the lips of the young woman as she gently brushed pink hair away from her eyes before looking around the room. Her Gynoid companion was no where to be seen which was not surprising, Amelia said she would be gone for few days on a private trip, the silence created by her absence bothered Luna a bit. She had come accustom to hearing all the sounds the Gynoid made whether it was the subtle clanking of gears when she laid next to the fairy, or the sound of her working on some project. Luna slowly sat up as her restlessness was disturbing her.
She stood up and started to walk towards the window facing out towards the docks, looking over the water. She gently pulled back the curtain as from the side enough so she could see out the window and take in a small breath of the cool air. Luna's eyes flickered for a moment as they gradually became able to open wider. Luna groggily walked away from the window, her feet slipping into each of her slippers as she made her way towards the door and quietly opened it as to not disturb whoever might be in her house. She had an open door policy for her family and has had many come and go through, she found her elder brother Gordon sleeping on the couch when he was in town for business, her younger sister Zina and elder sister Solaris often used the guest rooms, and there were a few times her mother brought company over to use her kitchen. She had a clear 'break it and you replace it' rule as well as prohibiting her elder sister from bringing guests, so she had little to worry about. Leaving the bedroom, she gently walked down the hall, past the doors to the bathroom, guest bedrooms, and slowly down the stairs. She passed through the living room, stopping to gaze at the eight inch sleeping mermaid in the fishbowl for a moment before carrying on towards the kitchen.
She lightly tapped the light lacrima hanging from the ceiling, holding her finger for a moment as the room slightly illuminated. Luna looked around the spacious kitchen, it was spacious with a large island at the middle, a flame lacrima stove and a ice lacrima fridge. Luna reached into one of the cabinets and pulled out her pot, and a mug from the other. After placing the pot on the burner she opened up the fridge, her eyes tracing the contents only to sigh as what she was looking for wasn't there. As to only confirm her suspicion she opened the recycling bin next to the fridge only to see the clear bottle she was hoping to be filled. She groaned as she did not feel like going out, even if the store was just across the street.
She looked down at herself as she reexamined her clothing, noting she was wearing her dark green nightgown. Not wanting to switch clothes so late and not even caring about appearances at this hour, she returned up the stares to throw her bathrobe loosely overtop before grabbing her wallet and key, placing them in the pocket before she made her way back down the stairs and towards the front door. She felt the cold air brush upon her skin as she walked across the street towards the small store, one of the other perks about her location aside from the house was it was near such a great store. Luna walked into the store, nodded to the attendant Sheryl, the quietest of the family that owns the store and is normally on the night shift. Luna slowly made her way towards the back of the store, towards the drinks when she grabbed a bottle of apple cider.
Apple Cider was one of the few things that could make Luna relax enough to sleep easily and peacefully, which is why she always tried to have some on hand as she dealt with stress a lot. However as she laid fingers on the bottle she heard the bell of the door ringing, she initially thought nothing of it as it was probably another local but her thoughts changed as she listened. She could hear the labored breathing and irregular steps, and the life force emanating seemed to be flaring erratically, almost chaotic. Luna could hear Sheryl scream and instantly turned around to see a middle aged man holding a jagged and chipped knife towards Sherl's neck before lunging his other hand to cover the girl's mouth. "Any other note out of you and I'll be making a mosaic out of yer innards, maybe win an art contest with it, who knows. Now everythin' ye got, hand it over." He whispered.
Luna blinked twice as she was not sure if this was amateur hour or some sort of horrible prank. She wondered why would anyone rob a store in a town filled with wizards from a renowned legal guild. Luna sighed as she looked over at the man, sensing from his life force and lack of intimidating magic that he was of little threat, and most of that threat was the hostage. She picked up the bottle and looked over at the man. "Oi! Release the shopkeep and try to run, I don't want to be awake for much longer." She said as she yawned. The man trembled as he looked over, startled by the presence of another albeit he never checked the store beforehand. "Whe- when did you get here? How?" He asked as Luna could see his red eyes, skin drowned in his own sweat. He's clearly coming down from something nasty. If it's making his Life force flux in withdrawal like that who knows what it is." She thought to herself as she analyzed the man, his stance was weak as his legs were shaking. Luna could see his mental faculties weren't in prime order and his focus seemed to be single minded for the meantime, which meant Luna had to keep the man focused on herself.
She put down the bottle and slid it across the shelves, the noise seemed to startle the man as he lunged at her. Luna could feel her heart race in the moment but she recalled her time with Maris Strake, the Rune Knight who served in the internal affairs office for decades and passed on her skills to Luna, to be able to subdue most of the Rune Knights without magic. She watched as the man lunged at her with his knife. Luna took a breath as she stepped to the slide while gently redirecting his arm with both her hands disrupting the flow of power causing him to stumble and fall onto the floor. Luna stepped back slowly as she heard the man groan as he stood up, seemingly forgetting about the knife as he charged at Luna who simply walked out of the way as he charged right into the door and out into the street before falling. Once he was in the dirt a pink Liquid oozed out of Luna's fingers before she tossed it near the man, causing vines to grow out of the ground and quickly bind the man's arms behind his back and pulling him down onto the ground.
Luna turned back towards Sheryl who was shaking a bit. "You okay?" She asked, Sheryl was stuttering as she was about to try and answer but her voice was overshadowed by the sound of two young men running into the room. "Sheryl what's wrong!" One of them said in a panic while the other focused on the body. "I think it's him mark."
Luna turned around to see two local guards in uniform, the one called Mark turned around to see the body before looking back at Luna. "Late Night robbery?" He asked. Luna grabbed the bottle of cider from earlier and approached the counter. "Yeah, How'd you know?" She asked and noticed instantly as Mark and Sheryl blushed, she saw Sheryl's iLac on the counter, she looked at the open text window then back to Mark. "I see. Congratulations. But yeah, he came in trying to rob the place, something's wrong with him, I think he took some form of drug and is going through mad withdrawal as his mind doesn't seem all there. His Life force too." She recounted her earlier analysis.
The partner outside however looked at the man, and pulled out a small binder from under his uniform and scrolled through. "Miss Mira, Mark, get out here now!" He said as he stopped scrolling, almost frightened by the discovery. Luna and the guard slowly walked out as they met his partner, who held up a photo of a man next to the detainee, aside from his scruffy features, they were identical. the Photo was the man's missing flier, stating that he had been declared missing five months ago, and his name was Orlin Mays, a renowned Archive wizard. "One of the top Archive Mages, one of the most complex magic forms, reduced to a mere husk? Something isn't adding up here. Especially since this man has no magic tied into his Life Force. He's about as inept as anyone in the Neutral Zone."
Both guards looked at Luna as if she was crazy when she said the latter part, but they decided to trust her judgment. Luna on closer inspection looked at the man. She silently signaled the two guards to hold him down before she closed her eyes. She opened her mind and let her spiritual senses guide her. She focused on the man, letting his life force be the sole focus as she watched the flow. However she noted there were some weird spots, particularly in his brain as the energy was flowing strangely. As she narrowed her focus the cause was clear, there were areas that were not part of him, but made for him, artificial parts. Instantly she snapped out of her meditative state as she fell to her knees, vomiting onto the ground. Her breathing was intense as her mind was trying to cope with the reality of what she just sensed. She snapped her fingers and the vines came out of the ground allowing for the man to be transported. "Take him into custody, arrange for the Rune Knights to escort him to a secured medical facility, anywhere. Someone butchered him..."
Mark swallowed his breath as his partner stood the man up. "What do you mean?" He asked afraid to hear the answer. Luna stood up nervously, unable to look Mark in the eyes as she let the truth come from her lips. "In addition to removing his magic, someone removed and replaced parts of his brain."
WC 1819
She stood up and started to walk towards the window facing out towards the docks, looking over the water. She gently pulled back the curtain as from the side enough so she could see out the window and take in a small breath of the cool air. Luna's eyes flickered for a moment as they gradually became able to open wider. Luna groggily walked away from the window, her feet slipping into each of her slippers as she made her way towards the door and quietly opened it as to not disturb whoever might be in her house. She had an open door policy for her family and has had many come and go through, she found her elder brother Gordon sleeping on the couch when he was in town for business, her younger sister Zina and elder sister Solaris often used the guest rooms, and there were a few times her mother brought company over to use her kitchen. She had a clear 'break it and you replace it' rule as well as prohibiting her elder sister from bringing guests, so she had little to worry about. Leaving the bedroom, she gently walked down the hall, past the doors to the bathroom, guest bedrooms, and slowly down the stairs. She passed through the living room, stopping to gaze at the eight inch sleeping mermaid in the fishbowl for a moment before carrying on towards the kitchen.
She lightly tapped the light lacrima hanging from the ceiling, holding her finger for a moment as the room slightly illuminated. Luna looked around the spacious kitchen, it was spacious with a large island at the middle, a flame lacrima stove and a ice lacrima fridge. Luna reached into one of the cabinets and pulled out her pot, and a mug from the other. After placing the pot on the burner she opened up the fridge, her eyes tracing the contents only to sigh as what she was looking for wasn't there. As to only confirm her suspicion she opened the recycling bin next to the fridge only to see the clear bottle she was hoping to be filled. She groaned as she did not feel like going out, even if the store was just across the street.
She looked down at herself as she reexamined her clothing, noting she was wearing her dark green nightgown. Not wanting to switch clothes so late and not even caring about appearances at this hour, she returned up the stares to throw her bathrobe loosely overtop before grabbing her wallet and key, placing them in the pocket before she made her way back down the stairs and towards the front door. She felt the cold air brush upon her skin as she walked across the street towards the small store, one of the other perks about her location aside from the house was it was near such a great store. Luna walked into the store, nodded to the attendant Sheryl, the quietest of the family that owns the store and is normally on the night shift. Luna slowly made her way towards the back of the store, towards the drinks when she grabbed a bottle of apple cider.
Apple Cider was one of the few things that could make Luna relax enough to sleep easily and peacefully, which is why she always tried to have some on hand as she dealt with stress a lot. However as she laid fingers on the bottle she heard the bell of the door ringing, she initially thought nothing of it as it was probably another local but her thoughts changed as she listened. She could hear the labored breathing and irregular steps, and the life force emanating seemed to be flaring erratically, almost chaotic. Luna could hear Sheryl scream and instantly turned around to see a middle aged man holding a jagged and chipped knife towards Sherl's neck before lunging his other hand to cover the girl's mouth. "Any other note out of you and I'll be making a mosaic out of yer innards, maybe win an art contest with it, who knows. Now everythin' ye got, hand it over." He whispered.
Luna blinked twice as she was not sure if this was amateur hour or some sort of horrible prank. She wondered why would anyone rob a store in a town filled with wizards from a renowned legal guild. Luna sighed as she looked over at the man, sensing from his life force and lack of intimidating magic that he was of little threat, and most of that threat was the hostage. She picked up the bottle and looked over at the man. "Oi! Release the shopkeep and try to run, I don't want to be awake for much longer." She said as she yawned. The man trembled as he looked over, startled by the presence of another albeit he never checked the store beforehand. "Whe- when did you get here? How?" He asked as Luna could see his red eyes, skin drowned in his own sweat. He's clearly coming down from something nasty. If it's making his Life force flux in withdrawal like that who knows what it is." She thought to herself as she analyzed the man, his stance was weak as his legs were shaking. Luna could see his mental faculties weren't in prime order and his focus seemed to be single minded for the meantime, which meant Luna had to keep the man focused on herself.
She put down the bottle and slid it across the shelves, the noise seemed to startle the man as he lunged at her. Luna could feel her heart race in the moment but she recalled her time with Maris Strake, the Rune Knight who served in the internal affairs office for decades and passed on her skills to Luna, to be able to subdue most of the Rune Knights without magic. She watched as the man lunged at her with his knife. Luna took a breath as she stepped to the slide while gently redirecting his arm with both her hands disrupting the flow of power causing him to stumble and fall onto the floor. Luna stepped back slowly as she heard the man groan as he stood up, seemingly forgetting about the knife as he charged at Luna who simply walked out of the way as he charged right into the door and out into the street before falling. Once he was in the dirt a pink Liquid oozed out of Luna's fingers before she tossed it near the man, causing vines to grow out of the ground and quickly bind the man's arms behind his back and pulling him down onto the ground.
Luna turned back towards Sheryl who was shaking a bit. "You okay?" She asked, Sheryl was stuttering as she was about to try and answer but her voice was overshadowed by the sound of two young men running into the room. "Sheryl what's wrong!" One of them said in a panic while the other focused on the body. "I think it's him mark."
Luna turned around to see two local guards in uniform, the one called Mark turned around to see the body before looking back at Luna. "Late Night robbery?" He asked. Luna grabbed the bottle of cider from earlier and approached the counter. "Yeah, How'd you know?" She asked and noticed instantly as Mark and Sheryl blushed, she saw Sheryl's iLac on the counter, she looked at the open text window then back to Mark. "I see. Congratulations. But yeah, he came in trying to rob the place, something's wrong with him, I think he took some form of drug and is going through mad withdrawal as his mind doesn't seem all there. His Life force too." She recounted her earlier analysis.
The partner outside however looked at the man, and pulled out a small binder from under his uniform and scrolled through. "Miss Mira, Mark, get out here now!" He said as he stopped scrolling, almost frightened by the discovery. Luna and the guard slowly walked out as they met his partner, who held up a photo of a man next to the detainee, aside from his scruffy features, they were identical. the Photo was the man's missing flier, stating that he had been declared missing five months ago, and his name was Orlin Mays, a renowned Archive wizard. "One of the top Archive Mages, one of the most complex magic forms, reduced to a mere husk? Something isn't adding up here. Especially since this man has no magic tied into his Life Force. He's about as inept as anyone in the Neutral Zone."
Both guards looked at Luna as if she was crazy when she said the latter part, but they decided to trust her judgment. Luna on closer inspection looked at the man. She silently signaled the two guards to hold him down before she closed her eyes. She opened her mind and let her spiritual senses guide her. She focused on the man, letting his life force be the sole focus as she watched the flow. However she noted there were some weird spots, particularly in his brain as the energy was flowing strangely. As she narrowed her focus the cause was clear, there were areas that were not part of him, but made for him, artificial parts. Instantly she snapped out of her meditative state as she fell to her knees, vomiting onto the ground. Her breathing was intense as her mind was trying to cope with the reality of what she just sensed. She snapped her fingers and the vines came out of the ground allowing for the man to be transported. "Take him into custody, arrange for the Rune Knights to escort him to a secured medical facility, anywhere. Someone butchered him..."
Mark swallowed his breath as his partner stood the man up. "What do you mean?" He asked afraid to hear the answer. Luna stood up nervously, unable to look Mark in the eyes as she let the truth come from her lips. "In addition to removing his magic, someone removed and replaced parts of his brain."
WC 1819
