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    Two Worlds, One Family

    Vandrad Ragnos
    Vandrad Ragnos

    Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- Player 
    Lineage : Traveller of the Multiverse
    Position : None
    Posts : 791
    Guild : Fairy Tail
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 8,080,767

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Energy Monarch
    Second Skill: Ark of the Dread Masters
    Third Skill:

    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Vandrad Ragnos 8th June 2020, 8:42 pm

    There’s no fair or unfair in battle.
    ( There is only victory or in your case, defeat. )
    Two Worlds, One Family RJtajUnz_o

    The day had finally come. And admittedly, Vandrad wasn’t sure how he was supposed to feel.

    He supposed that was normal -- he figured that anyone meeting someone who had known their father longer would create quite the flurry of different feelings and emotions. Even he, who had done everything in his power to harden himself against fluttering sensations, was not impervious against it. He supposed, in a way, he was excited. He was finally getting the chance to meet Mythal, the adoptive son of his father Gren. It was also his first introduction to Serilda Sinclair, the Field Marshall of the Rune Knights and Mythal’s fiance. It was a large step in the direction of discovering more about himself, though that wasn’t necessarily guaranteed.

    As far as Vandrad knew, Gren had never learned about his legitimate son’s birth. There was no reason then for Mythal to have even a slight suspicion that the Prince of Bellum was related to him. On the face of things, it more seemed like they were just meeting to truly embrace the fact that one another existed. But for Vandrad, it was much more than that. He’d come to Fiore because he’d heard rumors that Gren was still alive. Sightings of his movement and brief physical descriptions that seemed to hint towards his survival were frequent enough to warrant investigation. Unfortunately his mother had held out in telling him all the details until the trails had cooled off but that didn’t mean there wasn’t evidence to find. Mercury had drummed up a good amount of it but truthfully, if Gren was still operating, Vandrad had a feeling that Mythal would know about it. As the Director of the Rune Knights, it seemed impossible that he wouldn’t have heard the stories and investigated them himself.

    The Prince imagined it wouldn’t be an easy topic to broach. One couldn’t just walk up and say “Hi, my name is Vandrad du Wolff, Gren’s my father, where the hell is he?” And as much as Vandrad wished he could do it that simply -- and he did greatly -- he knew that would resolve nothing. No, unfortunately it seemed like he would have to call upon the practices and mannerisms he’d been taught within the court. Serilda was, after all, royalty in Fiore and that meant that there was a common denominator between the two of them. He could use that to establish a familiarity, a sense of respect and from there, he would be able to build. It was going to be hard enough proving that he was truly related to Gren without any birth records; his grandmother had forced Themesycia to have the pregnancy quietly and then forge adoption papers.

    He imagined he would feel better once Mercury was by his side or, at the very least, more confident. They were in a place of… flux, that he couldn’t quite describe. After the earth-shattering revelation of her being an alien had come to light, they had culminated all the swirling emotions and tension in another night of passionate coitus. It had been the secondary awareness on his part that he was, in fact, in love with Mercury that had prompted his making a move on her… again. The next day she had returned to form, taking several hours to look over his advancements and offering him technical advice on improvements and changes. She’d even allowed him the opportunity to look over Mercy, her gunblade, to better understand how it operated. The knowledge that she was from another world and possessed equipment with alien materials was exciting as an engineer and thrilling as a man of action. He’d longed to stay at Silver Wolf longer with her but his own duties and responsibilities had called him back.

    But since then, things had been different in a very good way. The playfulness between them was far more intimate than it had been before. While no exchange of words had passed between them, they were acting, for all intents and purposes, like they were a couple. It was oddly satisfying, having finally revealed to her his past and come to grips with his own feelings for his own sake. Though he wasn’t quite prepared to tell her, he was more than ready to show her just how much he desired her throughout the day, as many of their training sessions had found a way to go… a bit off course. As far as he was concerned, they were still doing a form of exercise.

    Normally he would have suggested that they meet at either Silver Wolf or Fairy Tail and head to Era together. But considering that kind of travel would involve going past the Rune Knight headquarters anyways, it seemed a bit foolish. It was decided the best course was to meet outside of the main complex and head in from there. It wasn’t like it was a normal mission for the two of them -- they didn’t have to form a plan or prepare any kind of strategy. It was simply talking… but frankly, that was more irksome than fighting half a dozen demon creatures anyday.

    He had parked himself near the gate, dressed in a higher fashion than he was used to. He’d taken his mother’s advice and opted to go in something a bit more formal, adding a black-button down shirt and gray vest to the black slacks over his legs. He’d even broken out the glasses that he kept for more formal occasions. The matriarch of the du Wolff clan had offered herself to join him in meeting Mythal, if her presence was needed to bring him ease. But he could tell that she had very little interest in coming to Fiore. Perhaps a part of her still felt guilty over everything that had happened with Gren. He’d given her ease and explained that Mercury would be there with him. Plus it would be hard to disguise a distinguished duchess from Bellum -- it was trial enough to keep his own place a secret for the time being.

    Frankly, even he felt that the time for secrecy was wearing out. He’d met a number of people that had come to Fiore from across the world and had been welcomed. The only difference he’d see to his daily life would be certain people that felt they had to treat him like a royal and  that would only last only long enough for him to tell them to knock it off. It was something he would have to consider more seriously after this meeting.

    Once Mercury had arrived and joined him, he gave her a soft nod. "I know this goes without saying but… I appreciate you coming with me,” he told her gently, the only moment of emotional weakness he was willing to show that day. He reinforced his readiness with a sharp inhale and another nod to her, this one bearing a small, casual smirk. Then he’d walk up to the gate, where the guards stood ready. They’d already been watching him, though Vandrad had taken the time to inform them he was waiting for a member of Silver Wolf and he was the Fairy Tail appointment. "My partner is here. We’re ready for our meeting.”







    Words: 1215 | Tag: @Mercury Arseneault @Serilda Sinclair @Mythal Ragnos | © marzia at shine & gs.


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Mercury Arseneault
    Mercury Arseneault

    Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- Player 
    Lineage : Gold Rush
    Position : None
    Posts : 690
    Cosmic Coins : 0
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 7,126,000

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Gunblade Master
    Second Skill: Mecha Primordial Slayer
    Third Skill:

    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Re: Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Mercury Arseneault 9th June 2020, 4:11 pm

    Mercury Banner
    Cunning is the art of concealing our own defects
    and discovering other peoples' weaknesses.
    Today was certainly going to be an interesting day. Mercury rarely got nervous about anything, but even she had to admit that she was at least a little intimidated by the task ahead. Not for herself, of course. Afterall, Vandrad was the one who was about to be opening up about himself to complete strangers and trying to get answers about his own life, and family, and heritage. None of what happened was necessarily going to affect herself directly. But it was going to affect Vandrad, and that meant a lot to her. It was the whole reason that she’d been pouring hours of her free time into researching about Mythal Ragnos and his fiancee Serilda Sinclair, visiting the towns they were from and where they lived, trying to learn as much about them as possible so she’d have at least some idea of what they were about to get into.

    As far as she could tell, they were actually pretty decent people. Anyone with fame was bound to pull up the odd article here and there with a negative story or review of some kind, but there really were almost no scandals revolving around either of them that she could find. Normally, that meant one of two things: either they were very good at keeping their noses clean, or they were very good about keeping their tracks covered. Unlike Patricia, however, there wasn’t anything she came up against that struck her as odd, such as the doctor’s overnight disgrace in the field of science with no explanation. Everything she found about the marshal and director seemed to be fairly linear with no missing steps. There was always the change of political corruption of course. They did work directly for the Magic Council and Mercury would be shocked if there weren’t any council members that were corrupt. However, there was no evidence of it, nor was there really any evidence of how close the two of them even were with the council itself. Serilda handled most press releases, and her poker face was a force to be reckoned with as far as Mercury could tell.

    But the Xocili had done a lot of digging and it had mostly been reassuring. The general populace, particularly the citizens of Era, seemed to have a high regard for the two Gods of Ishgar. Apparently, there had been a huge attack from a dark guild a little under two years ago that had resulted in the near total loss of the Rune Knights. From what she’d gathered, Serilda and Mythal had been citizens at the time but were there when the attack started and split up to handle it. Without their help, the dark guild might have overrun the city and the council hall, which was why they had been placed in charge of the country’s military shortly afterward. The two of them had been working their asses off to build the Knights back up basically from the ground, and all it took was a day of strolling through Era to see how successful that had been. Altogether, they had very positive reputations with the public. Even Serilda and her family were greatly liked in Clover. So, Mercury’s hopes were fairly high.

    She knew that Vandrad wanted to make the right first impression with them, and to make it a good one, so she had promised him weeks back that she would be on her best behavior. Mercury had even taken the time to make sure she put on something nice for the meeting. She wore a grey sweater over a black shirt and a short white skirt. A thin scarf made of a light, white material was wrapped fashionably around her neck, and she’d grown her hair out a little bit until it was just past her shoulder blades. She put on a light layer of makeup and had even painted her nails. A classy pair of black heels completed the ensemble along with a few simple bits of jewelry here and there, including the emerald ring on her left hand. Ever since the night Vandrad had accidentally discovered that she wasn’t human, Mercury had taken to openly wearing the ring. She’d always been wearing it, afraid of losing it, but had always kept it hidden. Now, she elected not to hide it, a choice that seemed to make Vandrad pretty happy.

    Granted, he was pretty happy in general these days and so was she. Things had definitely changed in their dynamic with one another since he learned her truth, but not in the way she had expected. They were closer now than before. They’d spent the night together, the third such time since they’d started working together, and ever since then their more intimate behaviors hadn’t really stopped. Training was certainly more interesting, now. It made Mercury wonder what was going on between them, but a part of her was too intimidated to ask. She’d never slept with anyone as much as Vandrad, so all of this was new territory for her and she didn’t really know what it made them. Despite her many questions, however, Mercury elected not to ask. After all, there were still things about her he didn’t know and if she broached the topic it might lead into some of those few secrets that she had left, which really would cause a rift between them.

    And she wasn’t ready for that.

    Since traveling together to Era was going to be a bit of a chore, Vandrad had suggested that they just meet up separately. Mercury had left a bit early so that she wouldn’t have to rush to get there, meaning that her hair wouldn’t be tossed around in the wind from the ride. By the time she got there, he was already waiting outside near the gate. He looked quite nice in a black and grey ensemble, with a button up shirt and vest. Granted Mercury always thought he looked attractive, but given how little he liked putting on more formal attire it was definitely a bit of a treat to see him a little dressed up again -- especially with those glasses. Honestly, his attire had been one of her favorite parts of staying in Bellum with him, getting to see him dressed up so much. She touched down to the ground and stood up from her hoverdisc, which instantly collapsed into a size small enough for her to slip into the small purse she was carrying in lieu of the pouches that normally adorned her lower torso.

    The prince gave her a soft nod as she approached and quietly thanked her for agreeing to come with him. “Of course. I wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else.” Mercury could tell he was a little nervous, too, though like always he hid it fairly well. Soon his little smirk was back on his face, drawing one out of her. She followed his lead to the gate and spoke up to the guards to let them know she was there and they were ready to be escorted to their appointment.

    The guards nodded. “We’ll have to check your purse, miss,”one of them told her. “And we will have to scan both of you for any weapons.” If was fairly standard security measures, so Mercury was more than happy to oblige. She opened the purse and allowed them to peer inside, where all they would see was the shrunken device they’d seen her fly in on, a wallet, and a few other mundane things that would normally be found in a lady’s handbag. Then, they used a rod like device and waved it over their bodies, scanning them for any mundane or magical contraband and weapons. Once they were cleared, one of the guards remained at the gate while the other escorted them up to the marshal’s office.

    By the direction he took them, it seemed Serilda’s office was rather high up in the building. Unsurprising. Thankfully, there was an elevator, and soon they were standing in front of a large, heavy oak door. The guard motioned for them to wait as he approached the open threshold. “My lady, your appointment is here.” As he waited for the clearance to let them through, and while they were temporarily not being watched by anyone, Mercury reached over and slipped her hand into Vandrad’s, giving it a gentle and reassuring squeeze. A small but encouraging smile graced her lips long enough for him to notice it, and then she let go and let him lead the way into the office...

    WORDS: 1436/1436 TOTAL: 2651 | @Vandrad Ragnos @Serilda Sinclair @Mythal Ragnos
    Serilda Sinclair



    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Mythal Ragnos
    Mythal Ragnos

    Knight VIP Status- Regular VIP Status- VIP- Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- God Slayer- Magic Application Approved!- Character Application Approved!- Complete Your First Job!- Obtain A Lineage!- Join A Faction!- Player 
    Lineage : Heir to Darkness
    Position : God of Sedulity
    Faction : The Rune Knights
    Posts : 1057
    Guild : Guildless
    Cosmic Coins : 50
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Age : 36
    Mentor : Nessa Cordelia Lux (Former)
    Experience : 11,070,431

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Kami No Ken Sutairu O Taosu
    Second Skill: Kingdom Darkness Embodiment
    Third Skill: Soul Stone/Trickster's Illusions

    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Re: Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Mythal Ragnos 10th June 2020, 11:41 am

    LIGHT
    &
    DARK
    Mythal was late, yet he wasn’t completely aware of it. Rather, he was far too focused on his current training session.

    The Darkness King wasn’t one for methodical, scheduled sessions of training every single day. He simply couldn’t be bothered to work out to the lengths that many others felt compelled to, such as his adoptive brother he didn’t know about. He did the bare minimum to keep himself in shape and fit enough that if he was called onto a mission or battle, he wouldn’t be winded. If anything, he focused more on practicing his magic and attempting to make it stronger more than anything else. He put himself through plenty of trials to expand upon his abilities, embracing a more creative control over the darkness that seemingly filled the world.

    But recently, he’d begun to work a bit harder on both fronts. He wasn’t sure why but there was a pit in his stomach most days, a nagging sensation that seemed to foretell a conflict. He couldn’t narrow down what it meant or what was coming but his concern was still there. It had been over a year since he and Serilda had escaped from Kingdom Darkness, the Voidwalker dismantling one of the realm’s archangels and dealing an absolute insult in front of Faera. For their actions, they had both expected there to be some kind of response. Surely if it wasn’t immediate, it wouldn’t be too long after… and yet, here they were. Two years was coming up and there hadn’t been a single peep from the Divine or her people. To say that that was a little concerning wasn’t putting proper weight to it.

    He’d managed to put it at the back of his mind for some time but with the strange knot in his body, it had become all too clear that he needed to be better prepared. As strong as his magic was and his ally-base was, he needed to be ready for anything. Faera had tried several times before to fulfill her plan and he doubted she would give up so easily, if ever. He’d shared his sentiments with Serilda, wanting her to be just as ready as he was along with being truthful about his concerns. As usual, she was supportive and understanding -- after all, she had been right there with him, diving into Kingdom Darkness to save Mythal from almost certain defeat. They would be prepared, come hell or high water.

    And so Mythal had begun training harder. Right around the time Vandrad and Mercury were approaching the gate, the Darkness Slayer was in the courtyard of the Rune Knight headquarters, facing off against several of the higher ranking Knights. He’d been hoping to ask Beaux or Gisen to help him out but their duties had kept them busy and unable to help him out. That was fine -- there were several fine soldiers ready and willing to put him through the ringer to test out his mettle. After all, facing off against a stronger wizard would give them insight in how to improve themselves. The sound of metal clanging together echoed over the padded down field as weapons clashed against one another loudly. And standing in the center of the circle of Knights was Mythal, Curse in hand and on edge.

    Several of the soldiers darted in with simultaneous strikes, trying to overmatch him with varying angles of swings. Mythal’s sword split and opened up in an instant, half-unfolding into its scythe form as he spun the weapon around to catch the sharp edges on the handle above his hand and at the base of his own blade. Following through, he pushed his weapon forward to knock the two soldiers off balance, spinning around and activating Curse once more to retract it back into sword form. He’d managed it just in time to catch another swipe from a war hammer, the weight of the heavier weapon pressing hard against his sword but his own strength keeping himself grounded.

    But a fourth soldier came rushing in with a polearm, aiming it right for Mythal’s side. With little to no time to prepare a proper defense, Mythal released a hand from Curse and brought it around to block the spear as it came in, using a knife edge to know it away. But the loss of the additional arm caused a rift in his defense on Curse and the war hammer followed through, knocking the weapon to the wayside and disarming Mythal all at once. The Darkness Slayer leapt back a step, even as the plodding of boots rushing towards him from behind indicated he had little to no time to catch a breath.

    His foot slid to the side slightly, bending at the knee as he went into a combat stance. This stance particularly gave him a more fluid motion through his body, so that he could weave in between attacks with, hopefully, more ease. Once more, the two soldiers that attacked him first swung together, each one taking the high and low areas to try and force a hit. The Director pushed off the ground and spun in the air like a wild top, folding his hands in and pointing his legs down so that he became as flat as possible. Both weapons carved through the air where his body had just been, one just above his form and the other just below. As Mythal came down onto the ground, he shuffled towards them and planted a hard palm strike to each of their chests, knocking them off their feet and swiftly disarming them as well.

    The warhammer was coming back for a strike, an overhand blow that sought to swing down and slam him into the ground. Mythal’s arms whirled around him as he turned, sliding feet both forward and backward at the same time so he reversed his face in an instant. He carried the weapon with both hands, fingers pressing upon the metal surface, and drove it underneath the swinging soldier, its weight carrying his body downwards. When he released it out of preservation for his stance, Mythal swept his other arm up and delivered a rising palm strike to the newly disarmed man’s chin, snapping his head up and dropping him onto his ass a moment later.

    The last soldier tried once more to stab at Mythal but his polearm was once more brushed off by a knife edge. But this time the Darkness Slayer slid his other arm underneath the wooden handle and pulled the weapon back, ripping it from the soldier’s grip. A full spin around and the Director swept the spear underneath the surprised soldier’s legs, knocking them to the ground and planting the last of the group. With a deep release of breath, Mythal tossed the spear on the ground and took a moment to look around. “Y’all alright?” he asked.

    “As good as ever, sir,” one of them replied as he got to his feet slowly. The rest of the group grumbled similar responses, looking battered but still grinning in amusement. “One of these days we’re gonna get a hit on you.”

    “No doubt ‘bout that. Yer all gettin’ better each day,” the Director said with a nod and a smile of his own. “Now then, let’s run it again.”

    “Uh sir? Didn’t you say you had an appointment?” One of the soldiers spoke up, taking a moment to check her iLac.

    “Yea but that ain’t for ‘nother hour or so.”

    “Actually that was an hour ago. It’s two minutes after now.”

    Ah shit. “How the time flies. A’ight, I gotta run then. You guys keep practicing -- maybe you’ll actually manage to hit one another,” he hurriedly teased them, rushing over to grab Curse and tuck it behind him. Then he took off running, cursing silently to himself. Well, at least it was just a dignitary from Fairy Tail that wasn’t anyone he knew. The only reason he was joining the meeting was because of his prior residency in the independent guild with which he still felt a kinship towards. But he highly doubted it was going to be anything world-breaking in the long run...




    STATISTICS
    HP: x/y
    MP: x/y
    Spells Used: list them here
    Abilities Active: list them and their effects here
    Weapons Equipped: list/link them here
    Monsters Killed: list here
    Other Notes: reeeeeee this should scroll if you type too much
    IVYLEAF33



    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Serilda Sinclair
    Serilda Sinclair

    Ice Queen


    Ice Queen

    Developer/GFX Artist- Main Account- Gain An Artifact- Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- God Of Ishgar- Ten Wizard Saint Member- Guild Master- Custom Slayer- God Slayer- Z-Rank- Y-Rank- X-Rank- H-Rank- S-Rank- A-Rank- Wanderer- So Extra- EXP Grinder- Job Creator- Working Together- Forever Solo- Christian Minecraft Server- Teaming Up!- Limited Edition- Hired Help- Unknown Powerhouse- Unknown Legend- Helper- Guild Creator- Achiever- Expert Achiever- Over Achiever- Buddy Buddy- Obligatory Beach Episode- Shipped- Dank Memer- Taskmaster- Richie Rich- Rich- Veteran Level 2- Veteran Level 1- Character History!- Magic Application Approved!- Obtain A Secondary Magic!- Get A Pet!- Character Application Approved!- Complete Your First Job!- Obtain A Lineage!- Join A Faction!- Tertiary Magic- Senior [500]- Novice [250]- 1st Place Event/Contest Winner- X-Mas Event Participant- Motor City Rush- Best GFX Artist Award- Player 
    Lineage : Scion of the Void King
    Position : Goddess of Conviction
    Faction : The Rune Knights
    Posts : 1448
    Guild : Guildless
    Cosmic Coins : 155
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 12,421,054

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Voidwalking
    Second Skill: Sword of Wrath
    Third Skill: Cruorthurgy

    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Re: Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Serilda Sinclair 10th June 2020, 3:48 pm

    Seri Banner
    Conviction never shames nor condemns us.
    It calls us back to who we truly are.
    Things had certainly been pretty peaceful lately, which was relieving but also a bit concerning. She wasn’t going to argue not having active problems knocking at her doorstep, of course. There was always plenty for the Field Marshal to do. While the Knights had come far from the disheveled and broken state they’d been in when she and Mythal had taken over, there was still work to be done -- particularly now that the two of them had their sights set on a target that they were investigating almost by themselves. The Magic Council had done a number of things lately to draw their suspicions, and as such they were spending a lot of their free time secretly looking into the history of the members to see what was there. Many of the findings were concerning, to say the least.

    At first finding any information was a hell of a struggle. A lot of documents had conveniently been destroyed or gone missing during the Crimson Fang attack, and since neither Serilda nor Mythal had been members of the Rune Knights beforehand they had little to no knowledge of the type of information that could have gone missing in the midst of all that. Thankfully, the most unexpected person had come in clutch for them with some documents that even the Council had probably thought long gone. It seemed that Gren had been keeping personal copies of his reports from his time with the Knights, and had stashed them somewhere safe long ago. While Serilda didn’t condone an officer holding on to such confidential information, she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth, and so had accepted his offer to let them have the files -- which she was currently reading through while waiting for her upcoming appointment.

    Sadly, it was only one of many things that persisted to be on her mind despite how nice things were at the moment. Mythal was greatly concerned that Faera was up to something big. It had been almost a year since Mythal had been kidnapped and taken to Kingdom Darkness, since Serilda had stormed the realm that she shouldn’t have even been able to get to and spanked one of her archangels in order to get Mythal back. The Voidwalker knew that she had painted quite the target on her back, and knew that Faera would be coming for her at some point. There had been so much going on that she herself hadn’t really thought of the oddity of the goddess not rearing her ugly face yet, but once Mythal brought it up and admitted to the sinking sensation he’d been feeling about it lately she couldn’t help but agree with him. Whatever the ruler of Kingdom Darkness was up to, it wasn’t anything good.

    And on top of that was Ozorith. Serilda prided herself on being able to control her emotions and having solid discipline, but she had been pretty ripshit that the demon lord had elected to visit Mythal personally while she wasn’t there. All things considered the meeting had gone fairly well, considering that the neighborhood hadn’t gone up in flames from a confrontation and even Susano had gotten through the interaction without so much as an insult from the Ozorith. Not that Serilda expected him to bait Mythal into a physical confrontation. No, he was much more oily and underhanded than that. But she was still quite angry that he had taken it upon himself to bother Mythal without her at least being there. Afterall, his business was with Serilda, not Mythal.

    Then there was the wedding, which was at least a positive event but no less stressful at times. There were so many little things that went into planning one that it could often be quite anxiety inducing, even with her being more than excited for it. It was just a lot more to plan and organize and pay attention to in addition to everything else going on, all of which would have been hard enough as it was without an additional voice in her head. Between Faera, Victoria, their investigation into the Council, having to live up to the duties and reputation and politics of being both a Goddess of Ishgar and a noble, and the upcoming wedding, Serilda was under quite a bit of stress lately. She hid it well most days with only Mythal really being privy to how much certain things were bothering her, and the stress itself wasn’t necessarily crippling. Still, it was there lingering over her head.

    And apparently it was affecting her more than she understood or was willing to admit at first, because she was starting to see things from time to time. Most of it had to be paranoia from the investigation into the Council, as she was constantly having to keep an eye over her shoulder and be mindful of what she was saying and to whom, and where she conducted her research, among other things. There were shadows in every corner as far as she was concerned, which was an awful way to live but also the only way to keep herself on guard and safe. Unfortunately it was having some side effects, including at least twice now over the last month or two where a quick glance caused her to think she’d seen Hugo in a crowd only to find nothing there. She was starting to think she needed a small vacation to step away for a bit and clear her head.

    I’m quite surprised.

    What about?

    These reports that Mythal’s father gave you. Victoria was currently sharing Serilda’s body, the old woman’s voice resounding calmly in her head. While the Seal wasn’t in control of the noblewoman’s body, she was passively able to utilise Serilda’s senses which meant that she had been reading the reports at the same time as the Field Marshal and taking in the same information. There is a lot of information in these that is suspect in regards to your Council. Most of it on its own isn’t necessarily telling on a case by case basis, but in reading all of these things at once and seeing how many small things were steadily building up… it just surprises me that no one noticed it before now.

    Serilda rubbed her forehead with a hand as though she were getting a headache. Well, the problem is that I think people were starting to notice. You weren’t active yet for the previous Marshal’s dying words to me. He was trying to tell me something about the Council. At first I thought he was just holding on to his desire to protect them at all costs, but lately I’ve been wondering if he knew something was up, and if the Council had a hand in orchestrating that attack to have Langley killed and replaced. And the more I read of these reports Gren gave us, the more certain I feel that they did...

    A soft whine drew her attention down to the side of her chair where Xiuh was sitting. At the moment, both Xiuh and her now insanely oversize younger brother Gren were in Serilda’s office. The smaller wolf generally was content to relax on her pillow throughout the day while Serilda worked, but ever since their bond had been cemented the hound was privy to Serilda’s emotions. Oftentimes, Xiuh knew that Serilda was stressed long before when the noblewoman herself did. It seemed this was one of those times as the wolf shoved her nose under Serilda’s arm and made quite the show to distract her. Even Gren was eyeing the Voidwalker with some amount of concern, probably picking up his sister’s worry over Serilda’s tension. She smirked softly. “Am I getting anxious again, girl?” Setting down the paperwork, Serilda turned her chair and gave the animal her full attention, running her fingers through Xiuh’s thick coat on her face and placing a few affectionate kisses on her forehead.

    She was in the middle of playing with both the wolves a little, holding on to the end of a rope while Xiuh and Gren attempted to wrench it from her grasp, when she felt the approach of a few individuals. Serilda knew it was about time for the appointment that had been scheduled for her and Mythal to meet with a representative each from Fairy Tail and Silver Wolf over a topic that had as of yet remained a mystery. Meeting up with someone from Fairy Tail wasn’t too out of the ordinary, given that the two of them actually worked quite closely with members of the guild still due to Mythal’s history with them. The Silver Wolf mage was interesting, though. Serilda had only met a wizard from Silver Wolf once, and she hadn’t run into Leila once since then. In fact, the woman had gone missing for quite some time, long enough that the Council had seen it fit to remove her prior god status and bequeath it to Serilda herself. In truth, she knew little about the guild except that they were a bit more involved in studious arts and that nine out of ten times their worst crime was the occasional theft here and there. Generally they kept their noses clean, so Serilda honestly had very little reason to keep an active eye on them or their members.

    Soon enough, a guard stepped up to the threshold. “My lady, your appointment is here.”

    “Thank you, sergeant. Send them in.” She relinquished the rope toy to Xiuh with a smirk, turning back to her desk and closing the folder she’d been reading, slipping it into a drawer that had been enchanted to lock if anyone but herself or Mythal attempted to access it. As always, her spacious office was neat and tidy, with little cluttering her desk nor any of the other various surfaces in the room. A corner of the space was occupied by a decent sized sofa and a couple arm chairs for more casual interactions, with a coffee table between them. A wall of tall windows that overlooked the main courtyard of the complex lined one side of the room, connecting the points between the couch and a small wet bar. There were rows of large bookshelves filled with leatherbound books containing various laws for Fiore as well as the country’s history. While the office itself was still fairly totalitarian with little by way of personal adornments, there was a few pictures here and there now on her desk and on the walls that pictured Serilda with Mythal and her own family, as well as the large purple and gold tapestry bearing the twisting dragon crest of the Sinclair noble house draped on the wall directly behind her desk.

    As the pair walked in, Serilda looked up to greet them and it was only a lifetime of discipline that kept her from dropping her jaw and freezing at the sight of them. Or at least, at one of them. As it was there was still just the slightest of pauses in her movement as she straightened up from placing the file in the drawer and her brows furrowed only the slightest bit, only enough to be seen by someone who might have been actively looking for such a reaction. But she couldn’t help the sheer amount of shock that rushed through her nonetheless. Whoever the man was, he looked exactly like Gren, Mythal’s father. He could have been a near clone of the man, despite being obviously younger by a couple decades. It took everything she had not to openly stare at him. Thankfully, she had nearly three decades of being used to dealing with sudden surprises, particularly in the political world where it was often crucial that she be able to control her facial expressions when shocking things happened, and while her mask hadn’t been quite perfect with this particular surprise it had still only fluctuated enough that someone would have to be an empath or be able to read her vital signs to even realize she’d been surprised.

    She smiled easily and sincerely, coming out from behind the desk to meet them halfway in the room. “Please, come in. I’m Serilda Sinclair, Field Marshal for the Knights.” Lifting a hand, she offered them both a firm shake to compliment the greeting and gave them a moment to introduce themselves as well. Then, she gestured to the small sofa in the corner. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. Feel free to have a seat. Don’t mind the wolves. They’re quite friendly, especially the big one. Gren still thinks he’s a lap dog, honestly.” She smirked a bit in humor. “Director Ragnos should be joining us shortly. He was hosting a training regiment that seems to have gone a little late.” She hadn’t received any communication on that front from Mythal just yet, but he was always fairly prompt so it was an easy assumption to make. Serilda trusted that he hadn’t forgotten. “May I get either of you something to drink in the meantime? I have a few wines and liquors, as well as juice, coffee, tea… or even just some water?”

    WORDS: 2244/2244 TOTAL: 6275 | @Vandrad Ragnos @Mercury Arseneault @Mythal Ragnos
    Serilda Sinclair



    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Vandrad Ragnos
    Vandrad Ragnos

    Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- Player 
    Lineage : Traveller of the Multiverse
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    Experience : 8,080,767

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Energy Monarch
    Second Skill: Ark of the Dread Masters
    Third Skill:

    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Re: Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Vandrad Ragnos 11th June 2020, 2:09 pm

    There’s no fair or unfair in battle.
    ( There is only victory or in your case, defeat. )
    Two Worlds, One Family RJtajUnz_o

    Vandrad already felt more at ease after seeing Mercury arrive, dressed far more formally than he was used to. In the more formal regards, such as when they had been in Bellum, she still had an air of playful naughtiness in her outfits. Today she had chosen to dress more moderately and, ironically, had somehow managed to match him. It was amusing and a comfortable, playful smirk of his own graced his lips as he looked her over. "A little different from being covered in oil or blood but I imagine we’ll make it work,” he admitted softly, his tone still more careful than normal. Frankly, he would have already been making a pass at her if it weren’t for the seriousness of their meeting. But rather than stand around chatting, which would only be delaying the inevitable, he turned and walked towards the guarded gate, where the Rune Knights claimed they had to check Mercury’s bag and scan them for weapons.

    To no surprise whatsoever, the spot check of the bag came up with nothing. A wand was waved over them to scan for any kind of weaponry, magical-based or not. It only took a moment for it to signal that they were clean and they were allowed through, one of the guards taking up the privilege of escorting them right to the Field Marshall. The Prince of Bellum took a brief look around as they were led forward, taking in the sight of the military complex. There wasn’t a lot to see from the entrance they were coming in but over the hillside he spotted the troop barracks and the training yard. Several Knights could be seen on the field, practicing routines and trials as part of their daily workout. There was even one group where a single person was in the middle of four others, apparently wanting to test their abilities against multiple enemies.

    Once they entered the main headquarters, Vandrad assumed they would be heading further up. In all his history of being brought into headquarters, the head boss always seemed to be found resting on the top of the building, perhaps as some kind of metaphorical significance of being in charge. That or it gave them plenty of space to view their operatives hard at work. They brought into an elevator and rode it up to the upper echelon of the headquarters, a relatively short trip considering. The doors opened and they entered a new foyer, a waiting room for those looking to meet with the Field Marshall. Vandrad wondered if the Director’s office was on the same level as well.

    The guard went in to check with Serilda, ensuring her availability. Vandrad was focused forward, his attention only turning back when his hand was taken by Mercury. He looked down at it and then to her, seeing the encouragement in both action and look, and he gave her a soft nod, the briefest of smiles reaching his face. Once the Rune Knight had waved them inwards, he reluctantly let her hand fall back to her side and walked into the office. Normally his first reaction was to check the entire room before meeting the eyes of the person he had targeted, be it friendly or not. A lifetime in the military had taught him to scan for all manners of recording devices and traps, while his royal upbringing instructed him to observe the cleanliness and solidarity of the office’s trinkets and design. But his eyes were glued upon Serilda as he entered and there was no missing the snap-quick reaction she had at the sight of him. It was so brief and casually pushed aside that most people would have missed it but a lifetime spent among nobles and his magic’s ability to sense emotional changes had provided him with a swift realization of it. There was little doubt that she was reacting to him, that she saw the resemblance he apparently had to his father. Whether that confirmed that the Field Marshall had encountered his father or not was still up for debate -- there was always the possibility that she had seen a photograph or some record of him in the Rune Knight files. But the connection was made immediately.

    He made no motion or change in his own complexion to betray that he had noticed her. Instead, he started his cursory scan of the room, looking around methodically. She kept a pristine office, her dedication to an organized workspace noteworthy. She had her sizable desk, a small area for comfortability with sofas and chairs, a bar and tall bookshelves filled with tomes. One side of the room was almost entirely glass, looking out at the courtyard. She had very little personal items, a few pictures of her family and her and Mythal littered about the place. There was, of course, the tall family crest that hung behind her desk, a bold statement of who was in charge. Overall, it was about what he expected… except for the wolves. Two canines with lavish colored fur sat nearby Serilda’s desk, each one of drastically different sizes. One was around the size of a fully grown wolf while the other was… humongous. Even Vandrad had to pause at the sight of it, blinking slowly at the dopey face of the mutant Star Wolf.

    Serilda rose and came around the desk to introduce herself, offering a hand to each of them. Vandrad took it, giving her a firm shake in return for her own. "Vandrad from Fairy Tail,” he introduced himself and nearly kicked himself for it. He didn’t get a lot of time to regret his words before Serilda was gesturing to the couch and asking that they pay no heed to the wolves. Then she called the mutant by the name of Gren, his face tightening only slightly at the sound. An homage for Mythal’s former adoptive father? How interesting. She explained that Mythal had been doing some training and would be arriving soon.

    Deciding to take the offered seat -- because standing up was probably going to get tough for everyone in a moment -- he sunk down onto the couch, resting against the cushions. As Serilda offered them a drink, he gave a soft shake of his head. "No, thank you,” he said, remembering his manners. Once Mercury and Serilda had set themselves, Vandrad leaned forward on the couch, setting his gaze on the Field Marshall. "Lady Sinclair, I have no intention of delaying the true nature of why we arranged this meeting. I’ve never been one for small talk, especially when I’ve come here with a purpose that I know involves you and Director Ragnos. I am Prince Vandrad du Wolff of Bellum, son of Duchess Themesycia du Wolff, whom I imagine you are aware of. But I am also the bastard son of Gren Ragnos, whom I imagine you have some knowledge about. I am fully aware that the Director was adopted by my father and considering neither one of them even knew I existed, I felt it proper that I come and make my existence known.”







    Words: 1197/2412 | Tag: @Mercury Arseneault @Serilda Sinclair @Mythal Ragnos | © marzia at shine & gs.


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Mercury Arseneault
    Mercury Arseneault

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    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Gunblade Master
    Second Skill: Mecha Primordial Slayer
    Third Skill:

    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Re: Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Mercury Arseneault 15th June 2020, 12:26 pm

    Mercury Banner
    Cunning is the art of concealing our own defects
    and discovering other peoples' weaknesses.
    Mercury wasn’t at all surprised to discover that the marshal’s office was both spacious and immaculate. Cleanliness seemed to be an expectation for nobles at this point, as far as she could tell. Just about every space in the du Wolff manor had been pristine and from what Mercury understood the du Wolffs were about on the level politically in Bellum as the Sinclairs were in Fiore. In fact, the only major differences that Mercury had been able to note in her research on Serilda and comparing what she could find of the Fioren noble’s family versus Vandrad’s was that the Sinclairs seemed to carry themselves a bit more professionally. Not to say that the du Wolff’s weren’t professional, but they clearly indulged quite a bit in their luxurious lifestyle, despite how much of their wealth they gave away, while the Sinclairs presented themselves much more modestly.

    And it took little more than walking into the room and setting her eyes on Serilda for the first time, at least up close, to know that the white haired noblewoman was far more like Vandrad rather than like Vandrad’s family. She was impeccably dressed in perfectly tailored clothing and carried herself with a dignity that exuded confidence, though not necessarily arrogance. Mercury herself might have missed the microscopic pause that Serilda had upon seeing Vandrad, except that she could read the woman’s vital signs. Serilda had an impressive poker face, to the point where even her vitals were only slightly higher than the relaxed state she’d had only a moment ago.. But there was just enough increase in her pulse for Mercury to notice. Serilda definitely recognized Vandrad as being nearly identical to his father, Gren. Had she met Gren? Was this a sign that the rumors Vandrad had heard about his father being alive were true? Or was she just familiar with Gren’s appearance from photographs that Mythal had and stuff that remained from Gren’s days with the Rune Knights? Only time would tell.

    Serilda wasn’t the only one in the room either. There were two wolves present. A normal fully grown wolf was already large on its own, but one of them was impossibly huge, several times larger than any of the wolves in the Phoenix Mountains. Could wolves grow that big, she wondered? Or did this one have some kind of genetic mutation? Both of them seemed to be of the same breed, having thick dark coats with lighter markings that seemed to imitate the starry night sky. She didn’t need to run a search to know what breed they were, if only because she’d already come across such information while researching Serilda and her family. These must be a couple of the Star Wolves the Sinclairs were known to breed. Even Mercury had to admit that they were utterly stunning, and she found herself staring at them even as the wolves stared back. They were curious about the newcomers, though for some reason Mercury felt like they were staring at her more than Vandrad -- something Mercury had a theory about, but no time to really explore for the moment.

    Vandrad introduced himself without the use of his surname, claiming Fairy Tail as his affiliation. Mercury hadn’t been expecting him to kick down the door with the truth anyway, so the less detailed introduction didn’t strike her as odd. Instead, she also accepted the woman’s hand when it was her turn and returned Serilda’s smile with one of her own. “Mercury Arseneault, Ace with Silver Wolf.” The Goddess of Conviction gestured for them to take a seat over in the less formal area, which would presumably have more space for the four of them once Mythal joined them. She explained not to be put off by the wolves, as they were both friendly, even the big one. Interesting that the large wolf shared the same name as Vandrad’s father. It must have belonged to Mythal and been named after Gren, which led Mercury to think that the man probably was dead. Afterall, why would someone name a pet after a living parent? That would just be awkward. Then again, it was entirely possible that perhaps Gren was alive and Serilda and Mythal simply weren’t aware of it.

    Much speculation, but Mercury wouldn’t adhere to any assumptions until they learned more and actually got to talking. Serilda stated that Mythal would be joining them soon, explaining that he’d been running a training exercise and likely lost track of time. Then, she offered to get either of them a drink. Vandrad turned it down, taking a seat on the couch. This surprised Mercury as she figured at the least he’d want something to calm his nerves a little, but perhaps he was too self conscious even for that. Mercury’s own ears perked up, however, when the marshal mentioned one particular drink that always caught her interest. “I certainly won’t say no to a coffee if you have some,” she said, taking a seat on the couch next to Vandrad, close enough to suggest that they were more than just allies, but not so close as to give the open impression that they were more than just friends.

    The Xocili was ready to get through a bit of small talk before Mythal arrived, imagining that Vandrad would want to at least wait until his adoptive brother was present before dropping that bomb. Apparently, she’d imagined wrong. Serilda was in the process of using an enchanted pot to pour Mercury an instantly hot cup of coffee when Vandrad suddenly spoke up again, barrelling right into giving his full name and origin of his birth, as well as admitting to being Gren’s long lost son. As he explained that the purpose of the visit was to more or less make them aware of his existence, Mercury blinked at him momentarily in surprise. Guess we’re just jumping full steam ahead, she thought to herself, quickly recovering from the shock.

    “We know this is sudden,” she explained, a bit more gentle than she normally spoke in respect to what was sure to be a sensitive topic. “It took us a while to confirm the connection between Gren and the Director. We didn’t want to approach the two of you until we knew for sure that you were the right ones to talk to. Our hope is that you and the Director will be able to answer some questions for us.. Help us piece together a bit of Vandrad’s heritage that he never got to experience…” Mercury phrased their intentions very carefully, telling the truth without necessarily telling all of it. After all, it was up to Vandrad to determine how much he wanted to let on about his suspicions of Gren still being alive. Mercury didn’t want to bring that specific question up until Vandrad himself was ready to ask it. But there was no harm in stating that they were there to hopefully learn more about the birth father Vandrad never got to meet, particularly when his relationship to his father would be undeniable to anyone who knew what Gren looked like.

    WORDS: 1203/2639 TOTAL: 8675 | @Vandrad Ragnos @Mythal Ragnos @Serilda Sinclair
    Serilda Sinclair



    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Mythal Ragnos
    Mythal Ragnos

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    Lineage : Heir to Darkness
    Position : God of Sedulity
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    Age : 36
    Mentor : Nessa Cordelia Lux (Former)
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    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Kami No Ken Sutairu O Taosu
    Second Skill: Kingdom Darkness Embodiment
    Third Skill: Soul Stone/Trickster's Illusions

    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Re: Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Mythal Ragnos 15th June 2020, 2:06 pm

    LIGHT
    &
    DARK
    He would be a few minutes late but nothing to be too concerned about. After all, he was running a training session with several of the other Rune Knights and those responsibilities were, sometimes, a bit more important. Since the meeting with the representatives from Fairy Tail and Silver Wolf didn’t carry an air of extreme importance, his promptness probably wouldn’t be frowned upon too hard. With that in mind, Mythal took the time to rush to his office quickly and change into his more formal outfit that still seemed to be lacking true formality that was assumed all members of the Rune Knights held. While employed as the Director, the Darkness King was rarely found in a true uniform unless he believed it required. Unfortunately for him, he had meetings with important people more often than not nowadays so being out of uniform was rare.

    Once he had deposited the worn clothing, he made sure to lock his office up. He took a moment to glance at the empty secretary desk in the foyer, neat and lacking any substance from the unoccupied position. At some point, he’d need to do some hunting and locate a suitable assistant for when he wasn’t in the office. He knew that Serilda hadn’t hired a personal assistant either -- the two of them had relied on Valorie to handle most of those responsibilities. Of course, it wasn’t just as easy as plucking a Knight from the line up and giving them the promotion. With the two heads of the organization investigating the Magic Council under the suspicion of wrongdoing, there was no telling what kind of spies or informants had been placed in their ranks. It was a gross thought, to think that one of their people could be a traitor but given the circumstances, they couldn’t be too careful.

    After his brief moment of thought, he moved along. Serilda’s office was a quick ride up the elevator and then perhaps ten yards beyond that. As the elevator doors slid shut, he pressed the button for the next floor up and stood in place. The machine hummed loudly as it carried him up for about five seconds before dinging, indicating he had arrived. Once the doors had slid open, he walked ahead and right for his fiance’s office. Already he could hear her offering the guests some kind of beverage, listing from alcohols to non-alcoholic. One of the visitor’s, a woman, he could hear state that she would love some coffee. Mythal was just about at the doorway, ready to apologize and make his own introduction when the other guest, a man, spoke up. And what he had to say was shocking.

    He explained that he had no intention of using deception towards the purpose of their meeting and didn’t seem keen on waiting either. He explained that he wasn’t a fan of small talk, especially when he had a driven reason for coming to the Rune Knight headquarters in the first place that involved both her and Mythal. A moment later and he was introducing himself as Prince Vandrad du Wolff, a royal from Bellum and the son of someone named Themesycia. But the jaw dropping fact came a brief second later, as he revealed that he was actually the bastard son of Gren Ragnos. He knew that Mythal was Gren’s adoptive son and that his existence had been unknown to both the God Slayer and the former Rune Knight.

    Mythal had stopped in the doorway, his eyes wide as he listened in. By now, Serilda would certainly be able to see him there but he couldn’t imagine that, with their backs to him, the other two could have known. But that was also rather assumptive; it was entirely possible they had means and methods of figuring when he had gotten close enough to hear. While the Darkness King was keen to keep his magic power under wraps, he couldn’t exactly halt the beating of his heart or the sound of his feet on the ground. But all of that didn’t even matter in the grand scheme of this man stating that he was Gren’s son. How was that even possible? Had his father accidentally sired a child after he had been brought back to life? It seemed unlikely -- he was so driven towards the singular purpose of working for his shady organization, whoever they were. That meant that this man was probably some child from even before Mythal’s time.

    That… actually made a bit of sense. Gren had always been closed off and seemingly unwilling to even consider a man or woman as a romantic partner. But there were stories, tales that seemed to drift up from the Darkness King’s memory quickly, of how he’d once seen a woman that had stolen his heart. It had always seemed like a fairy tale, some conjured story to humanize Gren a bit more to his adoptive son. Plus it clearly hadn’t amounted to anything, as the former Rune Knight wasn’t married nor made any mention of children. But clearly, things had been far more serious than Mythal had made himself believe.

    Somehow he managed to shake himself from his shock, refocusing up enough that he found the strength and courage to step fully into the office. His gaze went to Serilda’s first, betraying just how heavily the news had hit him from out of nowhere. Normally he would seek comfort and courage in her eyes for a long moment but he’d grown adept at wiping away his neuroses with just a simple look. Besides, this wasn’t some earth-shattering revelation about the end of the world -- though, perhaps, in a way it was. Taking a breath he walked to her side and turned to face the visitors, finally laying eyes on them.

    The woman was pretty, with bright colored hair and shining gems for eyes. But there was no denying that Mythal’s full attention was on Vandrad, staring down at the very image of a younger Gren. There was certainly a height difference there that made up a slight difference but the structure of his face, the shape of his brow and forehead, even the angle of his eyes looked exactly like Gren with some decades removed. Dark eyes met crimson ones as Mythal studied the man, unable to find any visual definition that could have proven the Prince a liar. And he didn’t sense any kind of magic that could be disguising his true features, meaning that what he was seeing was truly what was there.

    “Director Mythal Ragnos,” he said slowly, his gaze flicking over to Mercury briefly for the sake of manners before glueing themselves once more to Vandrad. “But I guess you can call me Mythal. After all, it seems we’re… siblin’s,”




    STATISTICS
    HP: x/y
    MP: x/y
    Spells Used: list them here
    Abilities Active: list them and their effects here
    Weapons Equipped: list/link them here
    Monsters Killed: list here
    Other Notes: reeeeeee this should scroll if you type too much
    IVYLEAF33



    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Serilda Sinclair
    Serilda Sinclair

    Ice Queen


    Ice Queen

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    Lineage : Scion of the Void King
    Position : Goddess of Conviction
    Faction : The Rune Knights
    Posts : 1448
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    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Voidwalking
    Second Skill: Sword of Wrath
    Third Skill: Cruorthurgy

    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Re: Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Serilda Sinclair 15th June 2020, 4:12 pm

    Seri Banner
    Conviction never shames nor condemns us.
    It calls us back to who we truly are.
    Introductions went simply enough. The man introduced himself as Vandrad, without giving a surname. Serilda had a feeling she knew why he hadn’t given such, just as she was starting to get some inkling as to what the true nature of this meeting was about. The woman gave the name of Mercury Arseneault, claiming to be not just with Silver Wolf but one of their Aces, indicating she was one of their commanding members. She was pretty enough, even Serilda had to admit that, with piercing emerald eyes that twinkled with a bit of honest mirth or mischief despite the fact that Mercury wasn’t actively doing any teasing. Both of them were dresses quite nicely, more like they were here for a personal interview rather than guild matters, which further lead Serilda to believe that this meeting was going to be much more impactful to both her life and Mythal’s than either of them had been prepared for.

    Both parties took a seat on the sofa when offered, with Mercury accepting a cup of coffee while Vandrad declined a refreshment. As Serilda made her way over to the bar to get the drink made for the Silver Wolf Ace, her pale gaze caught Xiuh and Gren staring rather intently at Mercury. There was an air of curiosity radiating from Xiuhcoatl that far exceeded what the wolf normally felt around new people. Serilda was actually shocked to see that Xiuh took a few steps closer to the woman almost without thinking, a direct contradiction to her training, before seemingly realizing what she was doing and stopping before getting too close. Still, the wolf whined a little with interest and clearly wanted nothing more than to approach the woman. She looked almost antsy, pacing slightly where she stood, ears perked forward with her bush tail wagging generously rather than cautiously.

    Serilda couldn’t help but frown at the sight, wondering what in the world could have possessed her highly disciplined hound to be so liberal in the company of strangers. “Xiuh, what are you doing?” she asked quietly, though not so much that Vandrad and Mercury wouldn’t hear it. “Go lay down with your brother.” The wolf surprised her more by not immediately obeying, instead giving Serilda a wide eyed puppy dog look as if to ask, “Do I have to?” “What did I say?” Serilda asked, her tone still gentle but slightly more firm in insistence. It would be clear that she was not used to her hound hesitating to obey her, though there was no trace of anger in her voice so much as confusion or concern.

    Xiuh did as instructed this time, wandering back over to the bed next to where Gren was laying and plopping on it, looking the very picture of a dejected child that had just been told they needed to finish their homework before they could play. Serilda shook her head softly and got to work on the coffee, pulling out an enchanted pot and changing its settings from tea to coffee. She could sense Mythal approaching and a part of her was thinking that perhaps she should excuse herself for a moment to prepare her fiance for what he was about to walk in to. If Vandrad’s appearance was a shock for her she could only imagine how Mythal was going to take it. Unfortunately, by the time she started thinking about formulating the words, Vandrad spoke up again, this time with more purpose.

    He addressed her formally by her noble title, stating that he did not wish to delay his reason for the meeting, claiming that small talk wasn’t entirely his forte. The matter he wished to discuss pertained directly to her and Mythal personally, rather than to the Rune Knights. Serilda had already been expecting where this was about to go… Vandrad’s uncanny resemblance to Gren and his apparent age was all the evidence she needed to assume that he was likely the man’s son. However, she was greatly surprised when he first admitted that he was actually a prince of the du Wolff family out of Bellum. Serilda actually paused after setting an empty cup down on the little wet bar for Mercury’s drink, her brows furrowing gently not out of suspicion but rather surprise and consideration. The Goddess was used to surprise or last minute interactions with visiting nobility, but typically that was from other Fioren families or one of the neighboring countries, such as Minstrel or Bosco. The only country that would have been less expected to send a dignitary to them than Bellum would have been Pergrande. Bellum and Fiore weren’t necessarily enemies, but the two countries certainly disagreed on a few key political stances that often made relations between them quite strained, particularly in regard to the treatment of non mages.

    Serilda’s gaze wouldn’t have the time to linger on the man, however. Her gaze was on Vadrad for only a moment before flicking slowly up to the doorway behind the visiting pair where Mythal stood dumbfounded in the doorway. It seemed he had overheard, which was no surprise. As a slayer, his hearing was rather keen. He looked like he’d been punched in the gut. Her own gaze remained even, but the Darkness Slayer was more than adept at reading through her composure most days. They shared a heavy gaze briefly before Mythal mustered up some strength and moved into the room to join them, wandering over to Serilda’s side where he and their guests could see one another properly for the first time.

    The two brothers looked at one another for a moment, and Serilda knew that Mythal was using his magical intuition to determine whether or not Vandrad was telling any falsehoods. Though at this point, there was little chance of that and everyone present knew it. Serilda silently set her hand against the small of Mythal’s back in a subtle and gentle display of support and waited to let him speak first, wanting to follow his lead. Unsurprisingly, it seemed that he sensed no deceit in the prince’s claim as Mythal ultimately introduced himself and invited Vandrad to address him informally, given their apparent familial connection.

    Mercury spoke up at that point, admitting their understanding of the gravity of this revelation they were placing on the affianced couple. The Silver Wolf Ace told them they had been researching Gren together, trying to find answers to a part of Vandrad’s life he’d never gotten, and that once they had learned enough to be certain that Mythal was actually related to the man that they had hoped to come to the two Rune Knight leaders in search of answers, as much as to connect with the family that Vandrad never knew he’d had. While the woman carried herself very confidently, there was a softness in her tone that betrayed how much it meant to her to try and help the prince in this endeavor, despite the fact that Mercury herself was claiming no direct relation to the Ragnos family. This led Serilda to conclude that Mercury was likely a good friend of the Prince’s, possibly even a lover.

    With no indication from Mythal that they should be treating this pair with suspicion or hostility, Serilda took it upon herself to push them forward, knowing that she was better at navigating heavy discussions than Mythal was. Chances were it would take some time for Mythal to be able to find some of his words, and she could give him the time he needed by taking some of the direct attention off of him and carrying the conversation forward herself until he was ready to take point. “This is certainly unexpected,” she admitted, giving a soft rub on Mythal’s back where her hand was. “But given how much you look like Mythal’s father, there is no questioning the validity of your claim. We are honored by the visit, Lord du Wolff. I do believe I have heard respectable tales of your mother, assuming she is the one known as the Ashen Dread.”

    Despite the tension between their two nations, it seemed that Serilda had no negative preconceptions of the famed Duchess Themesycia. As much as she wanted to linger and focus on reassuring Mythal, she had a duty as a hostess now not just to two guild representatives, but to one that was both a noble and family. With a final glance up at Mythal to make sure he was okay, Serilda turned back and poured the coffee for Mercury, bringing the lavender haired woman both the mug and a small tray that had some sugar and creamer in it. Then, she went back and poured herself a glass of tea. Normally she would have fixed Mythal a whiskey or scotch, knowing that he probably wanted one, but she almost felt like this interaction was too serious even for him to feel the need for a drink.

    Sitting gracefully down in one of the armchairs that faced the sofa, she set her teacup down on a coaster and gave it a moment to cool off a little. “We will give you what answers and information we can on Gren,” she told them. While the subject itself was a tricky one that she and Mythal would have to tread very carefully, she couldn’t blame Vandrad for wanting information on his father. Did Vandrad know that Gren had died, she wondered? Gren was alive now, of course, but Mythal and Serilda were part of a very limited few that knew this, and even they had only learned it recently. Given the nature of Gren’s mission and affiliation, they would not be able to tell Vandrad the whole truth. At least, not until reaching out to the man himself. But there were certainly things about him they could say freely, things leading up to the day he had died. “I hope you understand that we may not be able to answer all questions you have about him. Much of his life was spent as an agent with the Knights, and as such much about him is confidential information that we can’t share. But whatever we might know that doesn’t pertain to military matters… we will do our best.”

    She paused there for a moment, gearing herself up to get the inevitable part over with that needed to be addressed. Steeling herself both to keep her discipline in check and to deliver what might be devastating news if Vandrad didn’t already know, she said, “I have to ask, and I apologize if this is the first you’re hearing of it… but are you aware that Gren died? It was some time ago, long before I ever met Mythal. I want to say somewhere around… fifteen years? Sixteen?” Serilda glanced to Mythal for confirmation. She’d never really done the math on that herself, but her figures sounded fairly correct. And given that Gren had legitimately died, there was no deceit in her words or her demeanor.

    WORDS: 1865/4109 TOTAL: 11,677 | @Vandrad Ragnos @Mythal Ragnos @Mercury Arseneault
    Serilda Sinclair



    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Vandrad Ragnos
    Vandrad Ragnos

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    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Re: Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Vandrad Ragnos 15th June 2020, 7:24 pm

    There’s no fair or unfair in battle.
    ( There is only victory or in your case, defeat. )
    Two Worlds, One Family RJtajUnz_o

    It was a bit odd that the wolves had such a… visceral reaction to Mercury’s presence. They seemed quite attuned to her, drawn to her even. Perhaps it was her alien nature that they sensed and wanted to explore, to inhale and get the scent for. But more realistically, it was probably the fact that she was part of the Silver Wolf guild. The independent science-based guild worked closely with the wolves of Phoenix Mountains, the canines acting as guides and protectors. That wild nature was most likely calling to Gren and Xiuhcoatl, so much so that Serilda was surprised that her own pet had practically disobeyed an order. The Field Marshall wasn’t cruel to the canine but she was insistent upon the wolf remaining in place, her tone betraying just how surprised she was by the liberal breach of command. Yet as interesting as that was, Vandrad’s mind was solely focused on the purpose at hand.

    There was a time and place for subtlety. Arguably, many people may have insisted that going to meet with one’s newly discovered family would call for a little bit of moderation until jumping right into the warzone. On a level, Vandrad understood that and respected it… but he had been denied this opportunity for almost forty years. The secret of his birth had been hidden from his father and, by extension, his adoptive brother and it wasn’t until only a few months ago that he came to understand where he had come from. His mission had nearly stopped before it began but circling rumors and whispers in the dark had drummed up enough suspicion that a glimmer of a hope was still there. And upon learning that there was another sharing Gren’s name, there was no reason to delay and play around.

    Vandrad waited exactly as long as it took for him to sense someone arriving through the elevator, a person who’s magic felt weak on the surface. But there was a storm beneath the covering, ready to be unveiled should the opportunity arise. Given Mythal’s standing in the country, there was little reason to believe it was anyone else and so he held his tongue until the Darkness King was outside the door. Perhaps he should have turned and addressed him first -- that may have been the more mannerly tactic. But there was a part of him that was worried over meeting the man’s gaze, over seeing the person his father had the opportunity to help raise. There wasn’t hatred, not at all… but there was certainly a selfish jealousy that he couldn’t quite shake.

    His words were quick and to the point, holding steady in tone and concept as he spoke to Serilda and, by extension, Mythal. Vandrad had introduced himself to a fair number of family members of the years -- men, women and children that were connected to the du Wolff name somehow popped up newly once every couple of years. But there was something about doing it again here that felt strange, as it was an entirely new side to himself that he’d never encountered. He was sure it would be less awkward with Mythal than it would be with Gren, were he still alive, but that didn’t make the situation any less tense. Once he finished his spiel, he took a slow inhale, allowing the air to flow into his veins and relax the vibrations that had somehow overtaken his muscles, if only slightly.

    Mercury spoke up, offering a bit more explanation from behind the scenes rather than the neon colored distraction that was Vandrad’s truth. She detailed how they had done the proper research to ensure that they were approaching the right people, that Mythal was related to Gren. The hope was that by meeting with them, the Prince would get the opportunity to ask some questions and get some answers about his past. It was the truth, though not the entire thing fully. The angle of trying to discover whether Gren was truly gone or if his resurrection had truly occurred wasn’t something either one of them wanted to target right from the start. Granted, the plan hadn’t involved Vandrad coming right out with their intentions either but there was no protecting against emotional moments it seemed.

    Mythal entered the room a moment later, walking over to Serilda and planting himself beside her. Bright rubies met the charcoal stones of Vandrad’s gaze, a line drawn between their two eyes as they took one another in for the first time in person. Being this close to Mythal, there was no denying the power that was brimming down beneath his core. It was strong -- perhaps the strongest power Vandrad had felt since he left Bellum. And by the feel of things, Serilda was right on the same level as her fiance. Unlike the Prince, Mythal looked the farthest from Gren that a person could be while claiming their surname. Yet… there was something about him that felt familial.

    Mythal was’t the first to speak after the revelation, with Serilda taking charge and stating the very obvious fact that the meeting certainly wasn’t going the way they had envisioned. But she didn’t pretend that Vandrad didn’t have Gren’s look and spoke of their honor for having him, addressing him formally. She even took a moment to pay respects to his mother, in her own way. "Indeed -- the Ashen Dread is but one name she is known by,” he conceded softly, finding his voice surprisingly quick. "Just call me Vandrad. Prince or not, I can’t suffer titles longer than original greeting when it comes to myself. No offense.” Vandrad was a Prince by birth but it was clear that his nature was something far more lowkey. His explanation, while crude, was seemingly to undo Mythal and Serilda from having to exert extra effort in addressing him for the rest of the meeting.

    Mythal finally spoke, formally introducing himself. He asked that he be called by his first name as well, since they were brothers through adoption. The Prince pushed himself to his feet and stepped over in front of Mythal, their gazes locked the entire trip. The height difference may have been laughable on less serious terms, given that the tip of Vandrad’s hair ended right at the top of Mythal’s entire head. After a moment of study, Vandrad thrust his hand out for the Director, offering a handshake. Mythal glanced down at it and then took it, each man giving the other a firm grip as they shook. "I apologize for the abrupt manner of our meeting… but I knew to get any answers, we would need to eventually meet. It’s… good to finally meet you,” Vandrad said, trying to wrap up the business-like exchange as warmly as possible and stumbling, if only a bit.

    As Serilda went to get coffee for Mercury, the men parted, with Mythal walking over to stand near Seri’s eventual place of sitting. Vandrad returned to the couch with Mercury, relaxing a bit more now that the actual introduction was out of the way. Once they were all set, the Field Marshall told them that she would provide as much information as she could. There was a… hesitance to her words, a thin veil that coated the explanation that followed. She spoke of the secrecy involving his time in the Rune Knights which, in a way, made sense. But even by the end of it, she brushed past the idea that his Knight business would even be invoked and concluded that they would do their best with his personal history. Mythal had grown up with Gren for a good amount of years -- enough that most if not all normal questions Vandrad could have would be easily answered. But there was still the focus on attempting to answer everything -- the Prince could only conclude that they were being upfront without being upfront. It was as good a confirmation that Gren was most likely alive as he would most likely get without asking.

    Serilda attempted to cover that fact up carefully, asking Vandrad if he’d been aware of Gren’s death almost two decades ago. He nodded. "I only recently learned of my heritage and relation to Gren. My history was fabricated in an attempt to protect me from political enemies of my family. But a few months ago, I was finally able to pry the truth from the Duchess and learn the truth of my parentage. My investigation almost stopped upon learning he had passed…” he trailed off for a second, carefully studying the two Rune Knights before he continued. "But I decided to continue, if only to learn more about the man before his passing. After all, there’s a lot that can be learned from ghosts by just asking about their lives.”

    It was an evident hint towards his true purpose, as many of the rumors about Gren had referenced him as a ghost. It was a test to see just how far down the rabbit hole Mythal and Serilda were and how much ground they were willing to give him before having to stop. Because at this point, Vandrad couldn’t shake the feeling that Gren’s reemergence in the world was something of great import and secrecy.







    Words: 1561/3973 | Tag: @Mercury Arseneault @Serilda Sinclair @Mythal Ragnos | © marzia at shine & gs.


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Mercury Arseneault
    Mercury Arseneault

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    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Re: Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Mercury Arseneault 15th June 2020, 9:27 pm

    Mercury Banner
    Cunning is the art of concealing our own defects
    and discovering other peoples' weaknesses.
    Well, this was about as awkward as Mercury had expected.  The knowledge of a previously unknown existing family member, particularly something so close as a sibling, was quite the revelation to take in. Like the others, Mercury had easily sensed the approach of Mythal joining them, though her awareness of his presence had less to do with his magical aura so much as his physical one, her radars silently beeping in her mind to alert her to the approaching figure who arrived just in time to hear Vandrad’s confession. Likewise, it was impossible to miss the significant, if mostly unreadable, glance that Serilda gave toward her doorway almost immediately upon hearing the confession herself.

    Mythal eventually moved fully into the room to stand beside the marshal, studying Vandrad with crimson colored eyes that did nothing to betray what he might think of the prince. Interestingly enough, Mercury found that her ability to read vital signs was astonishingly inconclusive with Mythal, as though there were something about him or his magic that interfered with her ability to read his body. It was impressive, and also troublesome. Mercury had yet to really explain to Vandrad that she was capable of reading a person’s vital signs not just to judge their general health but also to determine whether or not a person was lying. It was a skill that she’d hoped to put to use in this interaction, particularly given the very real possibility that the two Gods might know whether or not Gren was actually still alive. Unfortunately, that ability would be of little use against someone that clearly had the ability to cancel it out.

    After a quiet exchange of glances between the two men, the director introduced himself and -- much like Vandrad had done moments ago -- kindly granted his preference that he be called by his first name rather than his title with the Knights. Vandrad stood then and cautiously approached the younger man before sharing a handshake between them. He apologized then for the suddenness and secrecy of the meeting, explaining that speaking with Mythal and Serilda was the only and best avenue he really had at the moment to get answers. While the others might not necessarily notice it, or at least not as well as Mercury could, there was a certain amount of trepidation in the prince that betrayed his uncertainty in the best way to proceed with the matter at hand, despite how much time he’d had to prepare for it. Mercury couldn’t really blame him. No matter how well one prepared themselves, oftentimes the best laid plans went awry and were forgotten in the moment.

    “Thank you, my lady,” Mercury said when Serilda brought her the coffee and condiments, being surprisingly respectful to the general expectations of how one of non-royal birth was to conduct themselves within the presence of nobility. Then again, it wasn’t necessarily that out of character for her as she had actually been appropriately formal with Vandrad’s family upon meeting them, at least until they had made it clear that she was allowed to address them without formalities. But even in that instance Vandrad likely had surmised that the only reason Mercury had followed such protocol at first has simply been because, at the beginning, she had seen getting in good with Vandrad’s family as an avenue to further be a thorn in his side, and that if she hadn’t actually wanted to refer to his family respectfully, she wouldn’t have. Her interactions with Sabine had certainly been evidence enough of that. But she was definitely making an effort here and doing her best to do the right thing by him.

    If Mercury thought anything about Serilda’s approach to opening the topic of Gren, she didn’t say anything or even give Vandrad any silent looks. The noblewoman explained that there were parts of Gren’s history that they could not reveal as it would likely involve the exposure of military secrets and operations, but as far as the man’s personal life went they would answer what they could. It could have been a run around, certainly, and Mercury didn’t dismiss the possibility that this was Serilda’s way of trying to hide the fact that she knew more than she would let on. However, Mercury was suspicious of everyone at the best of times, and her life up until this point had turned her into a somewhat paranoid individual that was constantly looking over her shoulder and scrutinizing people as potential threats. And while Serilda’s life signs weren’t completely clouded like Mythal’s were, it was quite clear to Mercury that the older woman was highly adept at controlling not just her facial expressions but her emotions themselves, and her body’s reaction to them, meaning the fluctuations in her readings were nuances at best. Boy, this was going to be difficult.

    Serilda inquired as to whether or not Vandrad knew that Gren had died, approaching the topic as sensitively as one could, and the prince nodded. He explained that he hadn’t known anything about the man at all until recently, and that his history was mostly kept from him out of a sense of political protection for both him and his family. It took nearly four decades, but Vandrad had been able to wrestle the truth out of his mother, and the knowledge the Gren had died had almost stopped his search for clues about the man nearly the same moment it had begun. However, even with the knowledge that Gren had died, Vandrad hoped to at least fill in the gaps and learn what he could. Just because Gren had passed away nearly two decades ago didn’t mean that his life and the details of it weren’t important to him.

    Vandrad was very careful to keep from mentioning his suspicions that Gren might be alive, though if Mythal and Serilda were aware of the rumors that existed about the man potentially having returned as a ghost then there was certainly enough of a nod in his words to steer the couple in that direction of conversation. It was a bit brilliant, really. For now, however, Mercury said little. At the end of the day she was really only here because Vandrad wanted her to be, but she had no immediate involvement in this interaction outside of having been the one to drum up most of the research that had led Vandrad to this point. The questions to be asked were his, just as the answers to be given were Mythal’s and Serilda’s. For now, she was content to sit and listen and observe in attentive silence, pouring some creamer into her coffee and sipping it gently as the family members found their emotional and conversational footing.

    WORDS: 1128/3767 TOTAL: 14,366 | @Vandrad Ragnos @Mythal Ragnos @Serilda Sinclair
    Serilda Sinclair



    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Mythal Ragnos
    Mythal Ragnos

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    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Re: Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Mythal Ragnos 17th June 2020, 11:21 am

    LIGHT
    &
    DARK
    There was going to be a lot to unpack. Mythal could only barely comprehend the sheer amount of information and questions and half-answers that were going to develop in the next couple of minutes. It was intimidating to think that he’d expected a laid back meeting but instead he had come upon perhaps one of the more stressful, serious encounters than he’d come across in some time. Perhaps this was what his stomach was warning him about -- this emergence of a family figure out of nowhere was surely unsettling. But it wasn’t as bad as he could have predicted either; after all, Gren had always wanted a son and was more than thankful when he had adopted Mythal. Knowing that he had one that he had created would probably be exciting, if no less infuriating. Misery would surely come to the woman that had kept that tidbit a secret from him.

    After introducing himself, Vandrad got to his feet and walked up to Mythal, taking him in fully. The Darkness King did the same as he looked over the shorter man, who was blessed with muscles that were threatening to burst through his clothes. Stocky was the word that could be used to describe the Prince -- not overly tall but still well built. He also had a vast amount of hair, the greatest amount Mythal had seen on a person’s head that didn’t immediately trickle down over the shoulders. There was a sharpness in his features and gaze that was lacking in Gren’s; grizzled features that betrayed the harshness he had seen. It took a moment for each of them to stop studying the other before the Prince offered his hand, the Director surprised by the friendly action as he looked at it but quickly taking it and giving Vandrad an equal measure of strength. There was little doubt that the Fairy Tail wizard was quite strong -- he could feel it brimming just beneath the surface. Vandrad apologized for the suddenness of the meeting, citing that it was the best means for him to get answers. He then, haltingly, expressed that it was good to finally meet. “Yeah, meetin’ family out of nowhere is always a bit o’ a shocker but I’m glad you came forward,” Mythal replied.

    After the short exchange, they parted and moved back to their prospective partners. Serilda took a few minutes to fix Mercury with a cup of coffee and then got herself a cup of tea. She was right to think that a glass of some kind of heavy booze was desired but not needed -- as much as this was a shocker, he wanted to be in his right senses for it. Plus he didn’t want to give the impression that it had floored him so hard that he’d been driven to drinking. After the Voidwalker had set herself on the closest armchair, she spoke up, taking the initiative in broaching the grander subject that was Gren. She explained they would provide as much information as they could on the former Rune Knight, a two-pronged statement that spoke to greater lengths than was probably understood. While a lot of the former Knight’s past was easy to talk about, it was the more recent history that would be complicated. Barely anyone knew that Gren was alive after spending numerous years being dead and as one of Faera’s playthings. While Mythal wanted to do right by Vandrad, the secret of Gren’s resurrection ran far deeper than even he and Serilda understood and it wasn’t simple to just unravel that. This was going to take some expert footwork on their part.

    Luckily, Serilda was there to clear up that confusion, albeit with a more appropriate cover. Simply telling Vandrad that there were things about Gren they couldn’t say probably wouldn’t go over well. But the explanation that his activities as a Rune Knight were confidential was both true and appropriate. Outside of that, all they could do was their best to clear up any queries that the Prince may have had. Continuing the thought, Seri asked Vandrad if he knew about Gren’s untimely death, wanting to ensure that he hadn’t come looking without knowing his father’s whereabouts. The Prince had, explaining that he’d only recently gotten the truth out of his mother concerning his creation. Apparently one of the first things he had learned was Gren’s death and that had nearly stopped him. But rather than forfeiting any further investigation, he opted to continue, wanting to learn more about Gren. He then spoke of wanting to learn more about ghosts by asking about them, a curious statement that caused Mythal’s face to wrinkle slightly.

    They’d done their best to follow up on the rumors about Gren, as many of them were more out of confusion than anything else. People spotting a man fitting his description had filed reports with the Knights, claiming to have seen a man who zapped away using electric magic. Many people had no idea who Gren was but the reports were all, clearly, of the same man. They all called him a ghost -- vanishing as fast as he had appeared. Clearly Vandrad was referencing that but for what purpose? Did he suspect that Gren was still alive? It would make sense, given his sudden desire to come and meet Mythal.

    That complicated matters some. But Mythal had no intention of leaping right to that point anyways. Vandrad was here to learn about Gren and the Darkness King could oblige that. “Gren was a good man. He took me in when he didn’t need to and raised me like I was one of his own. I know that ain’t exactly the best thing to hear but I know if he’d’a known about you, you would have had one helluva upbringin’,” he explained slowly. It was a lot easier to talk about Gren in a more positive light, now that the ache of his quiet revival had disappeared. Seeing the former Knight several times after the original meeting had helped as well. “He was well commended in the Rune Knights and was honorably discharged when he adopted me. That… is a bit of a complicated matter but the quick and skinny of it is that I was abandoned and Gren resigned from the Knights to raise me. Sixteen years I grew up with him and while he was a major pain in the ass, he was good to me. I was born into circumstances that weren’t exactly… lovin’ and carin’ for my well bein’.”

    Mythal paused there, giving a small shake of his head. Gren would absolutely hate all of the fluffy chatter being said about him but the Darkness King was finding it hard to focus on the past without betraying the present situation. He also wasn’t about to open up about the particularly complicated past of his own life to a stranger, adoptive brother or not. “I wish I’d’a known you were comin’ -- I could probably find some non-confidential pictures of him from his time with the Knights. I don’t really have any personal ones… he, unfortunately, passed in a house fire back when I was sixteen and everythin’ we owned went up with it.” Any pictures of the two of them had been long since burned away.

    “Sorry, I’m ramblin’. Yer here to ask questions and I’m just talkin’ away. Please, whatever you want to know, feel free to ask. As Seri said, I’ll do my best to answer it.”




    STATISTICS
    HP: x/y
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    Spells Used: list them here
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    Other Notes: reeeeeee this should scroll if you type too much
    IVYLEAF33



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    Serilda Sinclair
    Serilda Sinclair

    Ice Queen


    Ice Queen

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    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Re: Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Serilda Sinclair 22nd June 2020, 9:03 am

    Seri Banner
    Conviction never shames nor condemns us.
    It calls us back to who we truly are.
    The prince spoke up with his preference to be referred to by his given name rather than his title, stating that he couldn’t abide such formalities when it came to himself. It was an interesting tell, whether or not he meant it to be one. In Serilda’s experience, most nobles preferred the use of their titles except for two reasons: they weren’t the type to hold an ego over their status, or they didn’t feel it truly belonged to them. At the moment the Voidwalker didn’t know enough about the Bellum noble to know which camp he fell to. It was entirely possible that he was like her and her family in that they often preferred to interact informally with those around them, particularly in private settings. Still, the way he worded the request was strange and made her think that there was possibly something there that gave him a more specific aversion to the tradition.

    Something worth noting, but nothing that would ultimately bear any meaning to the meeting at hand. And luckily for Vandrad, Serilda was the type of noble that was more than happy to work with such a request. “None taken,” she assured him with a genuine, if small smile as he apologized for any offense he might have given at the desire. “I can give or take on titles, so please feel free to call me by Serilda as well.” It was shortly after that in which Mythal finally found his words, having been given enough time to process the sudden realization of Vandrad’s existence. The two men stood before one another, with the older son of Gren being significantly shorter than the younger. After they’d taken the time to measure up whatever it was they needed to, they shook hands.

    Vandrad apologized for the surprise and explained that he just wanted to try and get some information as well as to meet the adoptive brother he never knew he had. Serilda let the men situate themselves as she gave Mercury her coffee and sat down with her own tea. When there was an appropriate moment, she explained that their ability to tell Vandrad what they know of Gren would be limited to what they knew of his personal life, as former work related events were still confidential. He nodded his understanding, explaining that he’d only recently learned of his relationship to Gren and that one of the first things he’d picked up about the man was that he had died. The knowledge had nearly halted his search at the start, but he decided that knowledge about his deceased father was still more important than having nothing at all.

    What was interesting was his mention of ghosts. Serilda’s face remained cool with no real reaction to the statement, though it had caught her attention. Had Vandrad caught wind of some of the rumors running around that Gren wasn’t dead? It wasn’t impossible, but that certainly wouldn’t make their job here any easier. Serilda didn’t want to lie to the man, though she would if he asked outright and left them no choice. Not that she’d be happy about lying, of course. Truthfully, she wanted nothing more than to tell the man that his father was still alive and give him hope for a chance to meet him after decades of only ever wondering about him. Unfortunately, Serilda knew all too well the importance of the work that Gren was doing, even if the three of them collectively distrusted the group he was working for to do it. As much as Serilda hated lying, it was the only option they had. Only Gren could decide whether or not it would be appropriate to reveal the truth.

    Thus, her face remained easy but unreadable, and she quietly sipped her tea as Mythal responded, letting him be the one to determine what parts of Vandrad’s statements were acknowledged and which were brushed aside. The darkness slayer instead moved the conversation forward to give Vandrad a little insight on Gren’s history, or at least that from his own childhood. He explained how Gren had took him in from a bad heritage, raising him as his own son and taking on that burden when he hadn’t needed to, which may or may not have been an ideal thing for the prince to hear though Mythal did his best to assure him that Gren would have been equally as devoted to Vandrad if he’d been aware that he had a birth son. He went on to explain that Gren had been a highly decorated Rune Knight during his life and that his decision to adopt Mythal had triggered an honorable discharge, as the circumstances of Mythal’s birth were complicated.

    It was here that the story got difficult for Mythal to tell, as it always was. The director expressed his wish that he could have shown Vandrad some pictures of them together when he was younger, but couldn’t due to all such images having been eaten up by the very house fire that had killed him. Serilda reached out and silently took Mythal’s hand, giving it an encouraging squeeze even as he apologized for rambling and invited his new brother to ask any questions he might have. For now, much like Mercury, Serilda remained more on the quiet and observant side of the interaction, letting the two of them lead the conversation until she had something significant to contribute.

    WORDS: 915/915 TOTAL: 2178 | @Mythal Ragnos @Vandrad Ragnos @Mercury Arseneault
    Serilda Sinclair



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    Vandrad Ragnos
    Vandrad Ragnos

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    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Re: Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Vandrad Ragnos 7th July 2020, 3:08 pm

    There’s no fair or unfair in battle.
    ( There is only victory or in your case, defeat. )
    Two Worlds, One Family RJtajUnz_o

    How did he approach this? Now that he was here, in front of Mythal and with a semi-open book of answers awaiting him, Vandrad began to realize just how unprepared he was for this meeting. He’d built it up in  his head of course -- he was a tactician at heart and mind so preplanning almost everything was a pastime of his. And with plenty of time to prepare for the meeting, he’d circled the subject in his mind, playing it out several different ways. He imagined that Mythal and Serilda would be straight forward for the most part with their willingness but he had rightfully assumed not everything would come to light. Gren’s apparent resurrection had been mysterious and was kept so by the fact that he hadn’t stepped forward and presented himself to a wide audience. Anyone that knew he was alive was, most likely, mum on the subject as well. Mythal and Serilda were good -- they didn’t confirm fully whether they knew deeper details about the former Rune Knight but the feeling in his gut told him otherwise.

    Nonetheless, Mythal was an open book about Gren’s past -- allowing him full advantage on learning about his biological father’s upbringing. But now that the opportunity was there and in front of him, it was like all his plans came to a sudden stop. He wanted nothing more than to rifle off several different queries but the Director of the Rune Knight prefaced his offer with some details right from the start. It wasn’t a lot -- flowery words about Gren being a good person, a great caretaker and a wonderful father figure. Mythal explained that he had been abandoned at birth, glazing over the major details of his conception and emergence into the world, and Gren had been there to take him in, going as far as to resign from the Rune Knights to do so. For sixteen years, Mythal had a father who seemed to be a pain to deal with but only insofar as an adult could be to a teenager.

    The God Slayer, himself, was quickly becoming almost more curious than Gren. His remarks about being abandoned, not being tended to during his gestation and birth, presented the image of a child born in a terrible situation. While Vandrad could easily stand tall among those with a rough childhood, it was clear that Mythal’s own position required immediate care, leading Gren to depart from his occupation and become a father. And worse yet was the fact that Mythal only had the former Knight for sixteen years before his death. That meant that the man before Vandrad, the Director of the Rune Knights, had grown up for almost twenty years without that guiding hand. Evidence embodied, proving just how well Gren had done raising the boy into a teenager.

    Mythal mused out loud, stating that he’d wished he’d been prepared beforehand, as he may have been able to get some pictures of him. But it seemed any trinkets from Mythal’s past, including memories, wouldn’t be able to be presented -- Gren had perished in a house fire and all of the stuff he had accumulated had been turned to ash with him. It was a fact that Vandrad had already known, given the research he and Mercury had done, but honestly, the Prince was hoping for more. The details of the fire and of Mythal’s supposed survival had been vague at best, leaving far more questions than answers. Had the God Slayer been absent when the flames surged to life? Or had he escaped with the support of his father-figure? It was a topic that Vandrad greatly wanted to know more about but had zero grounding to approach. It was, no doubt, a tragic event and bringing it up carelessly would be rude and disrespectful. To someone Vandrad didn’t care about, he had no problem doing so. But for his adopted brother, who held all the keys of information, it would be detrimental. No, patience was the important factor here -- even if it wasn’t Vandrad’s favorite virtue.

    "It’s… fine,” Vandrad said, dismissing the apology almost as quickly as it had come out. "I appreciate hearing anything I can, even if it’s a little about his personality.” But from there on out, it seemed that Mythal was going to leave the possibility of questions open for the Prince. And that’s where things got complicated -- he didn’t know where to even start. Arguably, the only information he truly cared about at present was the status of the rumors surrounding Gren’s revival. "Now that I’m here and have the opportunity to ask questions, I’m finding myself… at a loss,” he said softly, his brow furrowed in frustration, though that was more at himself than anything else.

    He managed a glance at Serilda and Mercury briefly before settling his vision upon Mythal once more. "While I didn’t grow up with him as a father, nor did I have anyone that truly took that place, I did have a family that cared for me. They made sure I was loved and tended to, creating an atmosphere of honesty and openness that, admittedly, I squandered in my younger years.” He gestured to the God Slayer. "You spoke of being brought into this world under less-than-ideal circumstances and truthfully, for a long time, I felt apart from the rest of my family. As far as I understood, I was an orphan that had been tossed to the side of the road, unwanted and undesired by my birth parents. I grew up with that knowledge, a dark splotch on the otherwise bright life that my family provided. I understand my mother’s reasoning for keeping it from me on a tactical level but as a feeling person, I do think it caused more damage than it prevented. That and other events…”

    He had no desire to unravel the tumultuous tale of his grandmother to these essential strangers. Adopted brother or not, this was the first time meeting and it was his most guarded scar in a way. Mercury had only truly learned of it, as far as he knew, just a few weeks prior. "You’re not so different, you and I,” he said to Mythal. "The finer details are changed but beyond that, we experienced young hardships that shaped who we became. The odds of that are incredible, especially considering we don’t share any actual blood relation.”

    He wasn’t sure where he was going with this. Honestly, he was sorting through his feelings aloud for them all to see; an aspect he hadn’t expected nor appreciated. Vandrad prided himself as a guarded person but here he was, talking openly with his defenses lowered. He supposed he had to blame Mercury for that, as well as the understanding that perhaps it wasn’t a terribly bad thing, even if he felt that way. "I thought I had questions prepared for you; queries that I could go on and on about. And perhaps I do but understand that they may be treading upon territory you are unable to unveil to me.” He was still touching upon Gren’s reemergence but continued to dance around it methodically. "Blood or not, Gren took you in as his son and I imagine he views you as such fully. I respect that and as such, I see no reason to not treat you as family as well -- albeit recently discovered. I think what I want, Mythal, is to simply get to know you.”

    "And I think, through that, I believe I’ll be able to know Gren better, even with him gone.”







    Words: 1294/1294 | Tag: @Mercury Arseneault @Serilda Sinclair @Mythal Ragnos | © marzia at shine & gs.


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    Mercury Arseneault
    Mercury Arseneault

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    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Re: Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Mercury Arseneault 10th July 2020, 2:02 pm

    Mercury Banner
    Cunning is the art of concealing our own defects
    and discovering other peoples' weaknesses.
    For the most part, Mercury was simply watching and listening. There was little she could contribute to the current conversation, as this was really the moment for the two men to find their ground and feel one another out. She was just here for basically emotional support. It seemed that Serilda felt similarly, as the noblewoman also kept on the quieter side of observation. But while Mercury appeared on the surface to just be enjoying the interaction and keeping up with the dialogue, the Xocili was actually doing much more than what was readily visible to the naked eye. She was keeping a close eye on both Mythal and Serilda’s vitals as they spoke, taking note of any and all inflections in their pulse and speech. There was a slight tension in the woman’s demeanor that betrayed… not necessarily lies, but perhaps omissions. Not that one could see it just by looking at her. If anything Serilda’s poker face was more on point than Mercury’s, and that was saying a lot. If Mercury didn’t have the ability to monitor vitals, she probably wouldn’t have been able to tell.

    Mythal was completely different, however. It was like there was something blocking her from being able to read him at all. Even when he was visibly caught off guard and shaken by rather world shattering news, Mercury had caught nothing of his vitals that strayed outside normal, calm ranges. Normally she would just think he was an exceptionally good liar, and maybe he was, but since he hadn’t really been covering his emotions on his face since the start of this encounter that gave Mercury very little reason to think that he would be able to control his life signs so thoroughly. Thus, she had to conclude that he had some means of blocking her from being able to read him, even though she wasn’t using magic to do so. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do to change that without making her look suspicious, and she wasn’t interested in doing that here.

    So, she simply listened as the Director explained a bit about his life with Gren, admitting that the circumstances of his birth weren’t necessarily the best and that Gren had retired from the Knights to raise him as a single father. He gave a rather wide description of the man’s personality; he was a good father, good person, good knight, blah blah. Nothing that necessarily gave a whole lot of insight, but that wasn’t necessarily Mythal’s fault. It was difficult to summarize an entire person in only a few sentences. He lamented not having any pictures of Gren to show them, admitting that everything he’d had of his life with the man had gone up in flames with the rest of everything they’d owned in the house fire that had killed the man. “We were able to locate some pictures on the lacrinet,” Mercury offered after Vandrad had brushed off Mythal’s apology about rambling. “There’s a few images of him online from articles on some of his earlier work with the Rune Knights, so we’ve at least been able to see a little of him.”

    As Mercury took a sip from the coffee, Vandrad somewhat haltingly explained that he was at a loss of questions, despite how much he’d been thinking and preparing for this moment for the last couple weeks. The Silver Wolf mage cast him a small glance, meeting his eyes as he briefly looked to the two ladies. She was a little surprised. Did he not intend on actually asking outright about Gren’s potential resurgence? That was the whole reason they’d even gotten to this point, was to try and recover the truth about the state of his father, but now it seemed that Vandrad was having second thoughts about how he wanted to proceed. She didn’t say anything, of course, though there was a slight look of concern on her face as she watched him struggle with what he wanted to say.

    Ultimately, he explained a little about his own history with his family in Bellum, giving about as vague a description of his past as Mythal had given. There were slightly more details here and there about what he’d been led to believe about the nature of his birth and whatnot, but nothing was mentioned about his grandmother, which was to be expected. He’d only talked to one person about it in near forty years, and that was Mercury herself. But, it seemed his aim in bringing some of these matters up was to find a common ground between them, to show that they weren’t so far removed despite decades of never knowing one another. And in the end, that seemed to have led Vandrad to the conclusion that perhaps it wasn’t important that he get all his questions answered so much as getting the chance to just spend time with Mythal, the brother he never knew he had, and get to know him. In that sense, he would be able to learn more about his father, too.

    She supposed it made sense, in a way. Mercury didn’t exactly claim to understand how familial relationships worked. She’d never had any, before. If that’s how he wanted to approach this, then she would back him in it, of course. It was just wholly different from how she’d expected everything to go down. Mercury couldn’t exactly blame him, though. If she had any family, she’d want to explore getting to know them better as well. So since that was the avenue he’d chosen to go, she decided to step up and get a different line of conversation flowing. Vandrad may have been at a loss for questions, but Mercury never was, and since she wasn’t as emotionally involved in the situation it was probably easier for her to encourage the conversation along anyway.

    “We hear congratulations are in order,” she offered with a smile, easily changing the subject to something that was more suited to actually socializing with the pair across from them. “We learned a little bit about the two of you while we were doing some research into Gren, and saw that the two of you are recently engaged. When’s the big day?”

    WORDS: 1051/1051 TOTAL: 4523 | @Mythal Ragnos @Vandrad Ragnos @Serilda Sinclair
    Serilda Sinclair



    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Mythal Ragnos
    Mythal Ragnos

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    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Re: Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Mythal Ragnos 14th July 2020, 12:31 pm

    LIGHT
    &
    DARK
    Even before he really started talking, Mythal could tell that he and Vandrad were quite similar. There was an alienation of feelings, a show of discomfort as they tried to wrestle with the knowledge that they were having to be open and honest here… to a point. While they hid it well, there was an underlying level of unspoken curiosity from the pair of independent guild wizards. Vandrad wanted more information and he had hinted as much prior -- Mythal imagined that Mercury was here as a sort of support system. He figured if they were married, they would have indicated as such… but the lack of confirmation and the missing rings on their fingers was enough solid proof. So she had come to back him up. It was funny really -- Mythal probably would have done the same thing with Seri if the positions were reversed.

    But it was obvious that Vandrad didn’t want to ask outright about Gren and his fate. It was a smart move -- he probably figured they wouldn’t say anything right off the bat and it was true. That, of course, made things fairly messy. On the one hand, Mythal couldn’t help but believe that the Prince of Bellum more than deserved the truth to his father’s fate and whereabouts. After all, he’d gone nearly 40 years without that fatherly figure in his life; he hadn’t even been made aware that his father’s name was known. So now that he had that opportunity, one he suspected wasn’t as lost as publicly stated, he more than likely wanted it. And as someone who had just recently been reacquainted with the former Knight, it was hard to argue it.

    But Gren was in a situation that couldn’t be compromised, at least by Mythal and Serilda. He had been resurrected by a group that they had no knowledge about and Gren couldn’t really explain what or who they were. He had given enough indication that they had no intention of causing any harm and were solely purposed with protecting the world but saying such things while operating out of the shadows was sketchy at best. Still, it was Gren’s choice to work with them and after some explanation and time, Seri and Mythal had come to understand that his perception wasn’t as black and white as they originally thought. But he still operated in secret and while Mythal had no reason to mistrust Vandrad, it wasn’t his place to out Gren’s situation. That would be on his father. A complicated matter, to say the least.

    Yet Vandrad deserved to know some things and Mythal would do his best to acquaint him. He apologized ahead of time about his lack of resources and the Prince was quick to dismiss it. He hadn’t expected them to be prepared and he seemed to understand how confidentiality worked, satisfied slightly with the knowledge of Gren’s personality. That hung in the air for a moment longer before Vandrad spoke up again, explaining that he had prepared himself for this moment and now that he was in it, he was shell shocked and at a loss. Even after having only met him moments ago, Mythal could tell this was unusual for Vandrad. He seemed outright flustered, almost angry, that he was lacking the authority and ability to enact his strategy.

    He passed a glance to the women before continuing, as if he wanted them to understand how serious his own backstory was. Surprising for a man as stoic as Vandrad to come out with finer details about his life but he didn’t hesitate to open up. He explained that while he didn’t directly understand Mythal’s plight, he had noticed similarities between their lives, albeit from a prince and a pauper stance. Yet for a man with a royal title, it seemed that Vandrad was rather humble at his core, beneath the hardened shell over the top. Vandrad reasoned that, despite their different upbringings, they had each gone through trials at a young age that had toughened them up and strengthened them, even while causing emotional and distressing scars. The fact that they both called Gren father now seemed to be the lower connection, despite all the odds.

    Vandrad was coming to grips with his own emotions it seemed and they were all bearing witness to it. After much thought, he spoke up about the questions he surely still had and even admitted they were probably upon topics they couldn’t discuss. But it seemed that despite not being related by blood, Vandrad would still consider him family. And in doing so, he hoped that he would better understand Gren’s life from the upbringing of the Rune Knight. It was authentic and genuine; an olive branch to show he hadn’t come here with ill intent. Mythal nodded softly. And despite how terribly complicated it was, he knew he had to give the man something. “There are topics I’m sure we can’t discuss but that don’t mean, given time, the opportunity to open up about them could come. But thank you, Vandrad. For what it’s worth, I’m glad yer here.”

    It wasn’t a promise of anything but Mythal knew that, no matter what, they would be talking to Gren about this. And the former Knight deserved the opportunity to come to grips with the reality of having a blood-born son himself. What that would amount to, he couldn’t tell. But he would give the prince just enough to let him know he wasn’t crazy for thinking what he was probably concerned about. He was glad that Mercury had explained that they had managed to see some pictures in their research, even if it seemed remarkably little in comparison to what Vandrad could have had.

    Speaking of the Silver Wolf mage, she spoke up once more, changing the topic to one less weighty… in a sense. She congratulated them on their engagement, explaining that they had come across the announcement in their research. She asked when the date of the event was, earning a small laugh from Mythal. “Ah well, that’s uh… a good question. We got some much shit goin’ on that it’s hard to peg down a solid date.” Co-running the Rune Knights was certainly making planning a wedding quite the challenge. “Hopefully sooner rather than later though,” he said hopefully, looking at Serilda with a soft smile.

    “So uh… what about you two? Are you guys just partners or…?”




    STATISTICS
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    IVYLEAF33



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    Serilda Sinclair
    Serilda Sinclair

    Ice Queen


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    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Re: Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Serilda Sinclair 31st July 2020, 5:38 pm

    Seri Banner
    Conviction never shames nor condemns us.
    It calls us back to who we truly are.
    Serilda felt for Vandrad. She couldn’t imagine what it was like to be in his position. He’d spent his whole life wondering who his father was and what had become of him, probably wishing to have been able to spend time with him. Sure, the prince said that he’d had a loving family that had supported him, that he’d never necessarily wanted when it came to familial relationships, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t longed to have his father. How could he not? Even people whose lives had brought them to a place of hating their parents surely still day dreamed of a perfect world where things hadn’t reached that point, where they could have that connection. And for Vandrad, it was desired deeply enough that even after nearly forty years of not having his father in any part of his life he still was taking the time to reach out to the only connection he could find, putting himself out there and being vulnerable to complete strangers in the aim of getting some answers, some knowledge… something. Anything.

    But he couldn’t get all that he wanted, and it was becoming more and more apparent that all of them were dancing around the topic and communicating the truth without actually speaking or confirming it out loud. Mythal and Serilda did their best to answer without lying to him about Gren’s mysterious return, but Vandrad was intelligent. He picked up the subtle cues and made it clear, in his own way, that he understood what they were really saying beneath the surface of their words… yet, did not push for the truth or call them on their vagueness. Whatever truth he’d gathered from their stance, he’d clearly taken with it the weight of why they were acting the way they were and elected to respect it. Perhaps he understood it wasn’t their place to talk about it. Or maybe, if he’d already been able to surmise from their demeanors that Gren was alive, he realized it was only a matter of time before knowledge of his existence got back to the man, and from there maybe he’d finally get what he wanted. Serilda certainly planned on making sure Vandrad got that chance, and from what she knew of Gren so far she suspected the older man would do everything in his power to do the same.

    But for now, Serilda and Mythal had a cover to protect as best they could. Vandrad expressed that it meant a lot to him to just hear about what his father was like, even if only a little. But he confessed that he was at a loss of words and questions now that he was actually before the two of them, despite how much time he’d surely spent up until now building a list of inquiries in his head in preparation for this moment. Instead, he wound up telling a bit of his story, if only the surface details. He explained how he’d been raised thinking he was an orphan that had been taken in by his supposedly adoptive mother, who in truth was his actual birth mother. The woman had kept the truth from him for some time, it seemed and while Serilda did not interrupt the man she did nod knowingly at what he was implying. She understood well the expectations nobility placed on one another when it came to behavior and propriety, and could quickly surmise that a story had been crafted to protect the Ashen Dread from being ridiculed by her Bellum peers for being a single mother out of wedlock with a bastard son from an enemy country.

    The unraveling of that story, however, had not played so nicely for Vandrad. He confessed having always felt a bit estranged from the family he’d never thought was truly his, and eluded to other events that still seemed to be quite the sore spot for him. While he went into no further commentary on the matter, he did draw it all back to find some kind of common ground with Mythal, remarking on how wondrous it was that the who of them had such similarly sober childhoods, despite their separate and vastly different upbringings. While he spoke with the eloquence and education that befitted his station, there was a tone of uncertainty to his speech that was only to be expected given the circumstances. After hinting his suspicion that now was not yet the time to ask the questions he truly wished answered about Gren, he concluded with a statement about wishing to treat Mythal as family and to simply be given the chance to build a relationship with the man that his father had called son, and in so doing he would hopefully get the chance to learn more about Gren as well.

    Mythal sounded open to it, and really Serilda hadn’t expected anything less. While normally a situation like this might be met with suspicion and speculation, there was no way either of them could deny the validity of Vandrad’s claims. Plus, the darkness slayer had never really had much family outside of Gren and Branwen, so this was likely a welcome surprise, if a startling one. All that was left to do was accept it and find a path forward, together. Her fiance gave a cryptic statement about being able to answer more of Vandrad’s questions in time, the closest any of them had come to outright stating the truth. For her part, Serilda gave Vandrad a soft, apologetic look to accompany Mythal’s words, wanting more than anything for the man to know it was not their desire to keep the information he wanted away from him. It was out of their hands.. But she got the feeling he understood that, and that he wouldn’t hold it against them.

    The time for a change in conversation had come, however, and all of them likely sensed it. Mercury had taken the initiative to prompt that along, likely looking to save both the men from drowning in their emotional discomfort, and Serilda couldn’t help but appreciate how excellently timed the shift was. The lavender haired woman congratulated them on their engagement, drawing a small smile from the stoic princess and a laugh from Mythal. He explained that a date hadn’t exactly been set yet, given how much they’d had going on around them. “Wedding planning is so meticulous,” she lamented light heartedly. “I have half a mind to hire someone to just plan and detail everything for us. It would certainly take a load off our shoulders.”

    Serilda sipped her tea daintily as Mythal turned the question around and gave a similar inquiry to the other pair, one that she herself had been quite interested in knowing. Were the two of them a couple? They weren’t necessarily acting like it, but there was clearly a deep level of trust and understanding between them if Vandrad had seen it fit to bring this friend of his to so important and delicate a meeting.

    Once an answer was given, the field marshal decided to take matters into her own hands and, much like Mercury, do her part to help the adoptive brothers navigate the beginnings of their relationship to one another. Reaching over, she gave Mythal’s hand a small squeeze and held it gently. A small, encouraging look was glance his way before she turned back to Vandrad and Mercury. “I know we’ve still got a bit of time left in the appointment you set up, but now that we know who you are and why you’ve come to us, I don’t believe this is really the most suitable setting for it. Why don’t the two of you come join us at my house for dinner, and we can spend the evening getting to know one another better? I think a more casual atmosphere will be more appropriate, and I find that good food has a way of bringing people together.”

    Presuming they were open to the invitation, Serilda finished her tea and rinsed out both her cup and Mercury’s, setting them back on the little bar in the corner. Pressing the intercom on her desk, she alerted the receptionist that she and Mythal were leaving, and that their guests were coming with them, so the guards would not wonder where they went or worry when Vandrad and Mercury didn’t leave the grounds after the end of their allotted appointment. Then, she shut the door to her office and locked it from the inside. By then, the wolves were back up on their feet, looking a bit more excited now that people were moving around and sensing that they were about to go somewhere. Serilda waved casually before her and a portal opened up in the form of the air appearing to bend a ripple in the middle of the room. There was no other visual indication that a space had opened, but if Vandrad and Mercury were mages then they surely would be able to sense the magic spot in some form. The wolves wasted no time trotting through the space, their bodies disappearing as they stepped within it. Serilda followed suit, inviting their guests to follow her with a smile.

    Beyond, they would find themselves standing in an ornate entry room within what appeared to be an exceptionally large home. While it was not quite the palace that Vandrad’s family boasted, it was certainly still a mansion. Cream colored tiles were crisp and clean on the floor against the dark wood that trimmed the walls and ceiling. The walls themselves were primarily plaster, but there were accent walls here and there that showcased the stone masonry that matched the exterior of the home. The vaulted ceiling moved beyond the present room into a grand living room that lay a few feet beyond a small circular console table, and a curved staircase led the way to a second floor where a landing spanned the entire circumference of the space above them with several archways leading into other rooms. Additional such archways also led toward other hallways from the foyer on the first floor, though their destinations weren’t readily discernible.

    The wolves, comfortable in their own home and no longer needing to behave as if on duty, trotted off with wagging tails through to the great room and out of sight. “Please make yourselves at home,” Serilda told the pair as she removed a few of her daily items from her pockets and set them down on the console table. She invited Mercury to set her purse either at the console table or in a nearby closet if she wished to relieve herself of it. As Serilda was hanging her coat in the same aforementioned closet, a well dressed butler entered the room from the direction the hounds had gone.

    “Ah, good evening my lady, master Mythal. You’re home earlier than expected.”

    “We decided to play hookey tonight.” Her tone was still as dignified as ever, but there was a faint smirk and a twinkle in her eye that betrayed her subtle sense of humor.

    The man held his own reserved and professional demeanor, but carried a similar look of amusement in his eyes. “Ah, well, I guess you and I shall need to discuss the matter of payment for my silence to your superiors,” he joked back casually, knowing full well that neither Mythal nor Serilda really had any direct bosses to oversee them. “Shall I alert the staff to expect guests for dinner?”

    “I would greatly appreciate that, Julian. Thank you so much. Are the girls home yet?”

    “Not yet, my lady, though they did call to check in. Their job is going well but taking a little longer than expected. They will be out of town for at least two more days, but promised they would call the two of you tomorrow to keep you from worrying.”

    Serilda smirked knowingly at Mythal. That sounded like Jellisha. “They’re too young to know us that well. Julian, our guests are Vandrad and Mercury.” She introduced the two of them to the butler, who bowed his head respectfully in greeting. Since she’d already picked up enough from the prince to know he was keen on keeping his true identity on the down low for now, she did not share his title, nor did she share what guilds either of them were affiliated with. Turning to them she said, “Julian is my head butler. If you need anything at all, he or his staff will make sure you get it.”

    “Shall we prepare the dining room?”

    “Hm. No, I think tonight we’ll eat out on the back patio.” She wanted to keep the meeting more private and intimate, and the patio by the large lake-like pool was perfect for that. While Serilda wholly trusted her staff, she wanted Vandrad and Mercury to feel at ease in discussing whatever they wanted to talk about without fear of unknown prying ears. Plus, the view was much prettier and more relaxing than that of the dining room.

    “As you wish, my lady,” Julian replied pleasantly before leaving to go see about getting dinner started. From there, Serilda would lead the way through the house and toward the backyard.

    WORDS: 2240/3155 TOTAL: 8026 | @Vandrad Ragnos @Mythal Ragnos @Mercury Arseneault
    Serilda Sinclair



    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Vandrad Ragnos
    Vandrad Ragnos

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    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Re: Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Vandrad Ragnos 8th August 2020, 2:00 pm

    There’s no fair or unfair in battle.
    ( There is only victory or in your case, defeat. )
    Two Worlds, One Family RJtajUnz_o

    Well this was strange.

    Vandrad couldn’t peg one instance where he’d met someone -- let alone two people -- that seemed impossible to dislike. Maybe it was his natural way of assuming the worst of people or his tactical mind that worked out the tiniest of changes in a person’s demeanor but usually, the Prince of Bellum could find at least one thing to nitpick on. And that wasn’t to say that there weren’t things about both Serilda and Mythal that he could focus on and grow an annoyance over. She was the epitome of court royalty and he had no doubt that if push came to shove, she’d have no problem pushing her inherited weight around. And Mythal’s manner of speech was base, broken, jarring compared to the full structured languages of the rest of the world. But those things seemed so petty, so trivial… aspects that, prior to this, he had no problem siding with. It seemed he had changed more in a short amount of time than he expected.

    Overall, the leaders of the Rune Knights seemed like genuine, honest people who were caught up in something they truly didn’t wish to be in the center of. It probably wasn’t their fault that they couldn’t tell him more about Gren and even Vandrad could tell that there was a deep desire to want to tell more. It would be one thing if he could sense a need, even an enjoyment, of being callously aloof but Serilda barely touched upon the topic and Mythal only delivered half-measures of truth. They were barred and shackled from revealing everything and, as much as Vandrad wanted the full truth, he saw no reason to push. Aggressively pursuing answers would close the doors for good and could even injure whatever budding relationship was developing here. And Mythal was Vandrad’s only connection to Gren, at the moment.

    So the Prince humbled himself, in spite of himself. He didn’t care for showing a more open and emotional side but what other alternative did he have? Even if he had another plan, it seemed it was apt to come out anyways, considering how his emotions were bubbling to the surface. Deeper wisdom was overwriting the strategy he had planned out and there wasn’t much he could do but go along with it. No doubt Mercury would have some words of amusement after this over that fact but he would cross that bridge when he came to it.

    Mythal understood, the blasted, knowing man that he was. He knew that while Vandrad was getting less answers than he wanted, there was no reason to write off the possibility of his questions coming full circle later. Vandrad could only assume that Serilda and Mythal had to bring the knowledge of his very existence to Gren and surmise what they could or couldn’t do. If the former Knight was half the man he’d heard about, he would most likely find some means to contact Vandrad directly. But the Director of the Rune Knights appreciated his words of wanting to form a connection, even going as far as to say he was glad that he had come forward. An odd taste to the mouth considering but there it was. He gave a soft nod of appreciation over the other man’s words, not wanting to spew anymore nonsensical and emotional drivel than he already had. He was already fighting back an embarrassed blush.

    With that all said and done, Mercury finally spoke up, seeing an opportunity to join the conversation. She’d come as his ally, his friend and his support and unfortunately, with it being a family matter, she didn’t believe it was her place to interject without prompting. A rare occurrence for the Silver Wolf mage but then again, she understood just how personal this was for him. It meant a lot to him that she showed as much respect for the matter as she had and relieved that she felt comfortable enough to stray away from it naturally. He took a small breath in and then out to release the tension from his body, only then realizing how stiff he had been the entire time. She asked about the wedding, offering congratulations and wondering how the planning had been going. Mythal didn’t have much in the way of answers, looking about as flustered as Vandrad might have in the role. Serilda took it more jovially, if exhaustively and lamented not hiring a wedding planner to sort all of the details out.

    Vandrad had very little interest in discussing any kind of wedding, though he didn’t show as much for the sake of being polite. Yet he much preferred that topic over the one that Mythal broached next, turning the inquisitive session onto not only the Prince but his companion as well. He asked about Mercury and Vandrad, wondering if they were partners and then trailing off, not wanting to commit to raising the possibility of anything more. The color in his cheeks deepened into a dark red and his jaw clenched tight, somehow not prepared for this question in the least. And why wasn’t he? It was only natural that with a pair of them arriving at the meeting, there would eventually be inquiries to what the nature of their relationship was. That was commonplace and yet it hadn’t occurred to him. Either that or he had refused to sit himself down and prepare a proper answer for it. He and Mercury were in a place of… well, he couldn’t describe it. It was beyond friends, there was little denying that. They’d spent just as much time vertical as they had horizontally over the past few weeks, engaging in acts that were far better suited for a couple. But they weren’t a couple, right?

    "She is uh… my close acquaintance,” Vandrad tried to explain, sounding more flustered than he meant. "She has been my partner for some months now and, despite being a constant pest, she is the most reliable person I’ve worked with. I trust her with my life and my secrets.” Somehow his eyes had slowly made their way over to Mercury, looking at her with a deepness that was unusual for him. It wasn’t harsh but ironically, far softer than he usually felt compelled to stare at another. After a moment, he realized what he was doing and shook it off. "She’s been instrumental in me on my journey to learn more about my father and I wished her to come along for the meeting.”

    It wasn’t the nicest thing he had said about her but certainly it was the best he’d ever described her in front of other people. He glanced at her once more out of the corner of his eye before Serilda spoke up, opting to once more change the subject. She surmised that it was more advantageous for them to move their conversation to somewhere that was more hospitable and less formal, considering the nature of the meeting. She offered them the opportunity to have dinner with the couple and upon looking to Mercury for agreement, Vandrad nodded. "We’d appreciate that.”

    Serilda took the time to do some clean up before informing the receptionist that Mythal and her were departing for the day, taking Mercury and Vandrad with them. Interestingly, they spoke as if they didn’t plan on leaving through the office doors. The answer to the quandary came a few moments later, after Serilda had locked the doors to the office. She turned and gave a small wave of her hand, opening up a rift in the middle of the room. A magic portal it seemed, from the feel of it and as Vandrad studied it curiously, the two Star Wolves scampered through to the other side. After another glance at Mercury, Vandrad shrugged and followed the couple, stepping into the shimmering breach.

    As they passed onto the other side, Vandrad now found they were standing in the foyer of a mansion, elegantly designed and richly kept. Immediately memories of other extravagant homes in Bellum and other nations came to mind, recalling the many regal trips he had taken with his mother to other such houses. The living area lay just beyond them and at its rear a curving staircase that lay a path to the second floor. Hallways branched off from the main room, leading to other areas beyond the living space. The wolves took off into the house, seeking out other means of excitement in the bowels of their home. Serilda and Mythal began to dress down into more casual means, removing their daily required trinkets and articles of clothing. As Vandrad looked around, a tailored man came from one of the hallways and approached the foursome. He addressed the couple of the house, presenting himself fully as the butler, trading jovial remarks with his lady before inquiring about the extra dinner guests. She agreed, before introducing him as Julian, the head butler, and offering his and his staff’s services should they be in need of it.

    Serilda opted over the dining room for dinner and offered, instead, the opportunity to dine on the back patio. With that agreed, Serilda led them through the house towards the back, happy to introduce them to their dining place before the food was prepared. Vandrad was silent as they went, but the interest in his gaze was obvious, as he looked about each room, studying it meticulously and taking in the sights they met his eyes from all around.







    Words: 1602/2896 | Tag: @Mercury Arseneault @Serilda Sinclair @Mythal Ragnos | © marzia at shine & gs.


    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Mercury Arseneault
    Mercury Arseneault

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    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Re: Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Mercury Arseneault 8th August 2020, 8:29 pm

    Mercury Banner
    Cunning is the art of concealing our own defects
    and discovering other peoples' weaknesses.
    Truthfully, Mercury also had very little interest in wedding related anything. Aside from the one she’d attended with Gangting several months ago, she had never really been to any before, and felt that they were fairly straightforward events that wouldn’t contribute too much to her study of the Earthlanders. However, she was interested to see how the couple before them would react to a non-invasive but somewhat personal question. Plus, it would buy poor Vandrad some time to recover from his emotional leak. He and Mythal really were two peas in a pod, as the director gave a somewhat stumbling answer that betrayed how little he probably talked about his personal life. It was such a stark contrast to Serilda, who seemed the type to always be in complete control of herself and spoke with a little more candor and humor about their upcoming nuptials. The two were, as she’d suspected from her research, almost hilariously mismatched but somehow it seemed to work for them. There was an obvious trust and fondness between them that crossed the barriers of their vastly different upbringings and personalities.

    Even she was caught slightly off guard by Mythal turning the nature of the inquiry back around toward them, looking to confirm the status of their two guests’ relationship to one another. However, where Vandrad immediately turned a dark crimson hue, Mercury grinned a bit, finally allowing some of her more impish nature to shine through all of her better behavior. She could only do so much in that regard, and this kind of question was rife for the teasing. Vandrad spoke up with a slightly less than convincing explanation that they were essentially close acquaintances that had been partners for a number of months now, and that she had earned his trust wholly in that time despite her being a “pest”. Her grin only grew as she told them, “‘Close acquaintance’ is his favorite synonym to keep from admitting that I’m his very best friend in the whole wide world.”

    Her tone was obviously playful, though certainly not mocking. And somehow she managed to maintain the expression despite the way he was looking at her, and how the deepness of his gaze made her heart race. She found herself unable to hold the look for very long, turning her grin somewhat quickly back to Mythal and Serilda as she took another drink from the coffee. Mercury intent wasn’t to brush off his words, of course. Far from it. But she also wanted to help Vandrad maintain some sense of normalcy in this unsure setting. If she could keep him grounded in what he could expect from her, and draw some sense of comfort from their typical bantering behavior, then it would also boost his confidence and resolve with these strangers he was hoping to get to know better.

    He ended his thoughts up by stating that she was the one who had essentially helped him get this far in his search, and as such felt it was appropriate for her to be present with him during the meeting. “I’m a bit of a tech head,” she explained pleasantly. “Got some skill with research and stuff, so I helped him put a few pieces together on his trail that eventually led us to the two of you. He promised I could come if I behaved myself, but I’d like to state for the record that he didn’t say how long I had to behave for.”

    The playful commentary earned a small but greatly amused smirk from Serilda, at least, who did her best to hide it tactfully behind her teacup. Mercury was doing her best to keep the air light, and she liked to think it was working. The noblewoman seemed to be of the same mind, as she quickly offered a change of setting to something more casual, given that the meeting had less to do with matters of Rune Knight business and more with personal revelations. Vandrad looked to Mercury questioningly, and the lavender haired woman shrugged. “I’ve got no other plans tonight,” she said. That seemed to be good enough for him, and the prince accepted the offer for dinner on both their behalfs.

    A quick clean up and security of the office later, Serilda opened a rift of some kind that registered on Mercury’s senses as a fluctuation of the air before her. The wolves ran through first, and then the two of them followed the engaged couple into what had to be their home. While it certainly wasn’t to the grand splendor that was the du Wolff palace, it was definitely a mansion of its own right, befitting a woman of noble stature. It was clean and beautiful in a classy sense without being an obnoxious show of wealth. Mercury could already sense a dozen or so other people in the home, one of whom started moving their way after the wolves passed by them.

    She set her purse down on the console table, looking around alongside Vandrad as a servingman approached. It was worth noting to Mercury that, while the interactions between Serilda and her servant was much more professional than that of the du Wolffs and their own people, there was no less an air of trust and respect, even friendliness, between this Julien and the masters of the house. Her expectation of nobles was that the majority of them were more like Sabine: entitled, selfish, callous, arrogant. Perhaps most of them were, but so far her exposure seemed to be to homes that were far more caring than anything else to those under their charge, and for a woman that had grown up with the oppression of the Nazru… well, it was strange to witness.

    While everyone seemed to be briefly distracted, Mercury activated a couple of microscopic drones no larger than a fruit fly from her purse, something that would likely be next to impossible for anyone to notice even if they were looking for them. While Mercury wanted this new relationship to work out for Vandrad, there was no curing her more paranoid behavior and decades of harsh training that demanded she be fully aware of her surroundings at all times. Mercury liked surprises to a point, but if these people weren’t who they said they were she’d rather figure that out on her own terms, rather than theirs, so she could do everything in her power to support Vandrad and keep both of them safe. It was a risk -- a big one, considering how powerful both of these individuals were, and the kind of secrets they were clearly guarding about Gren. Vandrad would probably scold her later when he found out about it. If he found out. But it was a calculated risk that she felt was worth taking, and after a couple crucial seconds there was no reaction from Serilda, Mythal, or anyone she could sense within the house, so it seemed no one had noticed.

    She planned on snooping, but not very far in depth. Mostly Mercury just wanted to check for any red flags that might scream toward their two hosts being anything more than what they appeared to be on the surface and in public. Thus, the drones went about their job lightly searching the house even as Serilda led the way to the back patio where she’d elected to serve them dinner. The interior of the house that they saw was quite beautiful, but the backyard was admittedly a little more breathtaking. The home was set on a good portion of land, with plenty of space from their nearest neighbors, though not so much that there was no other home to be seen. Clearly, for all the home’s splendor, it was still simply a nice home on a somewhat modest plot of land rather than an actual estate that spanned for acres beyond the line of sight.

    Still, what was there was masterfully staged. A large patio boasted an ample view of the landscape, and if it weren’t for the rail leading down into the water Mercury would have never realized that the body of water was a pool, rather than a natural lake. The furniture outside consisted of a few lounging pool chairs and a small dining set beneath an umbrella that was lined with a series of small but power lights that sensed them when they approached and turned themselves on, much like the lighting in Vandrad’s room back in Bellum. There was also a decent sized outdoor grilling and cooking station near the back side of the building that included a small bar with a refrigerated unit.

    Serilda once again offered to provide them with drinks, and this time Mercury took her up on a beer which the noblewoman humbly served to the Silver Wolf Ace herself. She would do the same for Vandrad with whatever he wanted, before steering them over toward the table which was far enough away from the house that they wouldn’t have to worry about eavesdroppers. Mercury took a seat on one side of the table next to Vandrad, and took it upon herself, once again, to prompt some conversation and getting-to-know-you moments that would hopefully lead to a place where Vandrad wouldn’t feel so awkward in conversation.

    “So I couldn’t help but notice that one of your wolves is a little bigger than standard,” she opened candidly, drawing on something obvious and light to discuss. “Is that a genetic thing? I’ve never seen wolves like that before. They’re nothing like the ones we have up in the mountains around Silver Wolf. Their coats are stunning.”

    WORDS: 1627/2678 TOTAL: 11,225/14,000 | @Mythal Ragnos @Vandrad Ragnos @Serilda Sinclair
    Serilda Sinclair



    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    Mythal Ragnos
    Mythal Ragnos

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    First Skill: Kami No Ken Sutairu O Taosu
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    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Re: Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Mythal Ragnos 11th August 2020, 12:09 am

    LIGHT
    &
    DARK
    A joke popped into Mythal’s head as he looked between Vandrad and Mercury. It wasn’t intentional and he certainly wasn’t prone to just casually, even mentally, teasing another pair of people but it just kind of creeped up into his mind. There was something about the silent protest to his assumption at the nature of the relationship -- neither one openly shot it down but there was a denial of the obvious. Maybe he recognized it because he’d been just like that at one point in time, refusing to acknowledge what he already felt.

    Oh they fuckin’,

    It was humorous to watch Vandrad freeze up, the sudden turn of events taking him by surprise. His eyes widened and his cheeks turned a rosy red as the spotlight was spun around to face him, putting him in a limelight he clearly wasn’t excited about. He managed to recover quickly, summarizing his relationship with Mercury as… close acquaintances. Of course and he and Serilda had only been sex pals without any emotional entanglement, right? The Prince continued, claiming that she had been his partner for a good amount of time, even claiming that she was more of a nuisance than anything else. But that was almost dismissive in comparison to the trust and respect he so clearly had for her. He looked over to the Silver Wolf mage and she averted her gaze, even as she playfully stated that he was merely downplaying the closeness of their friendship and going as far as to say that she was his best friend. There was something deeper in both of their words that wasn’t obvious on the face of things but for himself and Serilda, they understood it.

    But there was no gain in calling them on it. There was no advantage at questioning their words and suggesting they should revisit their words and reevaluate their feelings. Whatever this connection between them was, they would have to confront it themselves, just like he and Seri had. Trying to barge in could only cause damage and force them further into their shells -- and they both seemed to have deep, guarded shells. It didn’t take a lot of study to see just how guarded the two of them were, though Mercury played it off far better. In truth, Mythal only assumed she was guarded based on a gut feeling and nothing else. Whether it was true or not… well, only time would tell that, he supposed.

    If anything, Mercury was far more sociable than Vandrad. As the Prince explained that Mercury had offered him insight and assistance in learning more about Gren and, by extension, Mythal, the Silver Wolf mage admitted that she was a techie. She rounded up what was clearly a vast ability to deep dive into the Lacnet as simply having some skills, helping Vandrad follow the trail and leading him to answers. She then jokingly added that he only allowed her to come along if she behaved herself, though he didn’t give her a timeframe for how long she needed to be on her best behavior. A side eye look from him that seemed more playful than agitated came from Vandrad and Mythal allowed an amused smirk in the same frame as his fiance’s, bringing a more lighthearted air to the meeting. That worked as a perfect transition for Serilda to offer a change of place, stating that a more intimate, friendly atmosphere was better suited for their meeting moving forward. She offered the opportunity for the other pair to join them for dinner, with Vandrad and Mercury agreeing to the proposition fairly quickly.

    “Well that settles that then,” Mythal said, standing up. It took only a moment for Serilda to properly check them out for the day before she opened up a portal back to the mansion, with Gren and Xiuhco popping to their feet and racing through the portal. They knew exactly when it was time to go home, having traveled through both Mythal and Seri’s portals a number of times. As they disappeared onto the other side, Seri led their guests through and the Darkness King brought up the rear, the last one to pass through the shimmering rift before it disappeared completely.

    It felt good to be home early. He and Serilda so rarely had the opportunity to sneak away from their duties to just take it easy but given the occasion, it was certainly acceptable. Serilda welcomed Vandrad and Mercury, offering the use of the closet and the console table for their jackets and purses. A moment later Julian came rounding the corner that the Star Wolves had run through, briskly walking over to the group attentively. He greeted the two of them and commented on their arrival home, which Serilda explained as their wanting to play hooky. “We met some new friends and opted to move our meetin’ to home so we could have dinner an’ all,” Mythal explained with a bit more depth, though not too much more. After a bit of banter, Seri asked that dinner be prepared with the addition of the Prince and Silver Wolf mage attending, as well as inquiring to where their adoptive daughters were. “Grappa and Jellisha are our daughters, adopted Exceeds. We raised them from hatchlings, though I dunno if sayin’ raised them means much. They basically popped out with the awareness of a teenager,” Mythal explained once more to the new pair as he discarded his jacket, setting himself in an informal vest and shirt.

    Once dinner preparations were discussed and finalized, the group of them wandered through the house towards the back. The backyard was quite the marvel for those who first saw it, especially the natural spring that served as a swimming area. Vandrad paused at the door to look around, though it was more out of curiosity than amazement. Given that he was a Prince, this kind of lavish style probably didn’t shock him as often as it might Mythal. Seri offered drinks, Mythal asking only for water at the moment. As they settled into the seats around the dining table, Mercury spoke up and turned the question to Gren, the noticeably larger Star Wolf out of the siblings. “Ah well, Star Wolves themselves are kinda unique when they’re normal, like Xiuhco there,” the God Slayer explained, jabbing a thumb towards the mansion idly. “Gren’s size is due to a mutation, of sorts. To put it simply, he ate somethin’ that wasn’t normal to his diet and it changed him. It gave him magical powers and it has increased his growth to ridiculous levels. We’re not even sure if he’s done growin’ and he’s already larger than most vehicles. Feedin’ him is uh… quite expensive.”

    Family or not, he had just met Vandrad and his partner; he wasn’t about to out the fact that Gren had ingested God Slaying magic and essentially become that self-same title. But there wasn’t any reason to just ignore the topic at all when a simpler explanation was there, right? “So uh… Bellum,” Mythal started onto a new topic. “What’s it uh… like bein’ a Prince there? I’ve only been to Bellum once and it was when I was almost ten years younger. Wasn’t exactly the best experience of’ my life to be honest. Has it changed at all?” Of course Mythal knew that it really hadn’t; he got plenty of reports of the conditions of the slaves within Bellum’s borders. Being the primary bulwark for the Magic Council, they received reports on all of Fiore’s connections to other nations, especially ones that it considered hostile. But he was curious to hear about its situation from someone that had grown up within the nation itself -- perhaps a firsthand experience would offer more insight than what he simply read on paper.




    STATISTICS
    HP: x/y
    MP: x/y
    Spells Used: list them here
    Abilities Active: list them and their effects here
    Weapons Equipped: list/link them here
    Monsters Killed: list here
    Other Notes: reeeeeee this should scroll if you type too much
    IVYLEAF33



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    Serilda Sinclair
    Serilda Sinclair

    Ice Queen


    Ice Queen

    Developer/GFX Artist- Main Account- Gain An Artifact- Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- God Of Ishgar- Ten Wizard Saint Member- Guild Master- Custom Slayer- God Slayer- Z-Rank- Y-Rank- X-Rank- H-Rank- S-Rank- A-Rank- Wanderer- So Extra- EXP Grinder- Job Creator- Working Together- Forever Solo- Christian Minecraft Server- Teaming Up!- Limited Edition- Hired Help- Unknown Powerhouse- Unknown Legend- Helper- Guild Creator- Achiever- Expert Achiever- Over Achiever- Buddy Buddy- Obligatory Beach Episode- Shipped- Dank Memer- Taskmaster- Richie Rich- Rich- Veteran Level 2- Veteran Level 1- Character History!- Magic Application Approved!- Obtain A Secondary Magic!- Get A Pet!- Character Application Approved!- Complete Your First Job!- Obtain A Lineage!- Join A Faction!- Tertiary Magic- Senior [500]- Novice [250]- 1st Place Event/Contest Winner- X-Mas Event Participant- Motor City Rush- Best GFX Artist Award- Player 
    Lineage : Scion of the Void King
    Position : Goddess of Conviction
    Faction : The Rune Knights
    Posts : 1448
    Guild : Guildless
    Cosmic Coins : 155
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 12,421,054

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Voidwalking
    Second Skill: Sword of Wrath
    Third Skill: Cruorthurgy

    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Re: Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Serilda Sinclair 14th August 2020, 11:54 am

    Seri Banner
    Conviction never shames nor condemns us.
    It calls us back to who we truly are.
    Are you certain it is wise to bring them to your home?

    Victoria had been surprisingly quiet through most of the interaction, having sensed Serilda’s reaction upon seeing Vandrad when he walked through the door. The Seal had taken it upon herself lately to sit back and observe most of her host’s interactions, only really speaking up when she had something of weight to contribute. Or a complaint. To the old war queen, it was beneficial for her to be an unknown unit that could observe the world and people around Serilda separately, focusing and looking for things that perhaps the Voidwalker might miss, though if pressed Victoria would have to admit that Serilda honestly didn’t miss much. But she found herself greatly intrigued by this development, and as such had been all but silent since the meeting started, to the point where Serilda had almost forgotten about her.

    Is there a cause for concern? the Field Marshal asked as she poured drinks for everyone. There was no tone of exasperation in Serilda’s voice, as she was genuinely interested in hearing if the Seal had sense something amiss that she had not.

    Nothing specific, Victoria admitted. It just seems a bit careless to invite strangers so quickly to your residence, particular ones with such… peculiar claims. I am doing my best to give you the benefit of a doubt, but it is unlike you. And unlike Mythal as well.

    Serilda gave a soft, inward sigh. It is certainly unusual, but there is no doubt in my mind, nor Mythal’s, that they are who they say they are. You can see the resemblance for yourself, and it is very difficult to lie to Mythal.

    Be that as it may, that doesn’t mean they aren’t withholding information from you that would uncover less desirous knowledge. Particularly that Mercury woman.

    What do you mean..?

    There was a slight pause. I’m not sure. Something about her feels different. Something about her blood. I can’t put my finger on it.

    Wait, she’s not even bleeding or anything. How can you sense anything about her blood?

    Don’t forget that I have been attuned to blood since the dawn of man. I don’t always need to have it openly exposed to me in order to sense it, or at least to sense when something is different than usual.

    Well, it’s entirely possible that she’s not human. Not all Earthlanders were humans, though most of them were humanoid in some fashion. It was entirely possible that Mercury wasn’t what she presented herself to be in that regard. Out of curiosity, Serilda put a little more attention to her Void Sense, since it was a passive ability that required no active use of her magic and thus wouldn’t be sensed by any of them. Sure enough, there was something about the composition of Mercury’s body that was…. Odd. She could sense veins and muscles and bones that very much fit the structure and layout of a human body, but the composition of the organs was unlike anything she’d sensed in.. well, any organic creature before. She couldn’t say with certainty what any of the woman’s flesh was made of, but the closest thing Serilda could compare Mercury’s bones to was metal.

    While she was busy thinking about that as she walked over to join the rest of them at the table, Victoria added more to her thoughts. Does she look familiar to you? she asked as Mercury inquired about Gren’s abnormal size, a question that came up quite frequently.

    ...You know. Now that you mention it, yes she does. Wait, isn’t she that woman that we kept seeing in town last week?

    Yes! Victoria exclaimed, practically snapping her ethereal fingers inside Serilda’s mine. She was the one I suspected was following us for most of the day. I’m sure of it.

    Serilda was actually surprised by this revelation. It had taken her and Victoria quite some time to realize they were being followed. The person tailing them had been very good at it, but once Serilda had picked up on the clues they had managed to sneak a quick glimpse of their stalker: a short woman with fair skin, purple hair, and bright green eyes. She hadn’t gotten a long look as the woman had quickly made herself scarce and was only seen once or twice again after that, but Mercury perfectly matched the profile of the woman she’d seen. It was suspicious behavior, Serilda had to admit. But had it been for ill intent or had it simply been part of Mercury’s process in confirming who Serilda and Mythal were in her quest to help Vandrad?

    Tucking the thought away and ruminating over whether or not she wanted to confront Mercury about it -- as well as how she would even begin to do so -- Serilda contented herself with turning her attention back to the conversation at hand, very much interested in what Vandrad had to say about the country of Bellum and his experiences there growing up.

    WORDS: 897/4052 TOTAL: 13,448/14,000 | @Vandrad Ragnos @Mythal Ragnos @Mercury Arseneault
    Serilda Sinclair



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    Vandrad Ragnos
    Vandrad Ragnos

    Quality Badge Level 1- Quality Badge Level 2- Quality Badge Level 3- Player 
    Lineage : Traveller of the Multiverse
    Position : None
    Posts : 791
    Guild : Fairy Tail
    Dungeon Tokens : 0
    Experience : 8,080,767

    Character Sheet
    First Skill: Energy Monarch
    Second Skill: Ark of the Dread Masters
    Third Skill:

    Two Worlds, One Family Empty Re: Two Worlds, One Family

    Post by Vandrad Ragnos 15th August 2020, 11:13 pm

    There’s no fair or unfair in battle.
    ( There is only victory or in your case, defeat. )
    Two Worlds, One Family RJtajUnz_o

    Vandrad had heard of Star Wolves over the years; they were one of the rarest breeds to exist in the world and it seemed their existence and population was monopolized. Good jewel was spent to try and acquire a pup to take on as a pet and, as he understood it, it still wasn’t even that simple. There required a bond of a sort; a deeper connection beyond simply picking up a baby wolf and saying ‘mine’. In his own personal research, he had discovered that the Sinclair family were responsible for the breeding of the rare species, so it was hardly a wonder that both Serilda and Mythal had one. But Mercury had picked up on his own curiosity and inquired about the aptly named Gren, who bore a striking resemblance to a small bus at this point rather than a wolf. And yet despite his size, he didn’t seem to be the least bit intimidating. In fact, he was a bit of a goof; his tongue had hung out of his mouth the entire meeting and he looked ready to play at a moment’s notice. No wonder he had taken off as soon as they came here -- he was probably quite antsy.

    Mythal explained that Gren’s condition was actually a mutation, brought on by ingesting something foreign that had changed him at an atomic level. It granted him magical abilities and it has boosted his growth far beyond the normal measure for any kind of wolf. Vandrad could recall legends of dire wolves of old that used mountains to lounge on and watch for prey. And truthfully, there were plenty of gigantic animals in the world that seemed more like titans than wild creatures. But seeing the difference between the two wolves and knowing that Gren was the younger was… staggering, to say the least.

    Mythal brought up his own question, focusing his attention on Vandrad’s place of birth. He was curious about the Prince’s life; he’d apparently been there once before and the experience had left him with a sour taste. That came as little surprise -- Bellum was not the most welcoming to outsiders nor to people that looked down upon their misplaced beliefs. “My decree as a ‘Prince’ is merely an honorary title, so as to grant me some kind of recognition under my mother, the Duchess. Bellum is ruled by a council of Archmages while we, the Magi, work to better spread the influence of magical superiority. I joined the military when I was eighteen and, being the son of the Ashen Dread, I was able to quickly become an officer. I was mostly put in charge of training recruits and accompanying them on missions.” He paused there, realizing that he was giving a very bland, almost practiced explanation of his history and with Bellum as a whole.

    He sighed. “In truth, I don’t share Bellum’s deep racist beliefs that magical creatures are superior and everything else should be enslaved or killed. While I admittedly do believe that the strong will outlive the weak, I’ve never pushed others to crush their weaker. If anything, I’ve always sought to provide avenues for ‘weaker’ people to become strong. Everyone is strong in their own right -- they just have to discover it. Bellum does not share that belief and unfortunately, I do not have much influence or sway. My family, while still technically nobles, has been at odds with Bellum for quite some time. They seek to end the slave trade and to try and abolish the more criminal ways of treating others. It has not been… very successful. But my mother still tries.” It was one of the first times that he was truly opening up about his beliefs over Bellum’s ruling party. Mercury had heard snippets of his issues with the Archmages but he’d never put it into such deep, thoughtful words before. Honestly, it felt rather good to be upfront and honest about it. “My opinion of Fiore has always been rooted in what I was taught in Bellum. Your people were the enemies, subservient to the minimalized minds of non-magical creatures who sought to keep the ‘true race’ down. While I wouldn’t go as far as to classify anyone from here like that, all I knew was that I shouldn’t trust anyone from Fiore. That… changed once I came here. I came here ready to despise everything around me. I was surprised to find that the people here are more accepting, of anyone and anything. There are issues, as there always are in governmental bodies but… frankly, I find myself amiss that my family didn’t settle here rather than in Bellum.”







    Words: 786/3682 | Tag: @Mercury Arseneault @Serilda Sinclair @Mythal Ragnos | © marzia at shine & gs.


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