Arrival at the Hall

Keep to the path the wolves set for you and you will find what you need. Don't stray unless you wish to be lost forever.

Noah continues to hear these words from the spirit as he walks in the storm. True to its guidance, the wolves appeared soon after the storm did and thus far had led him onwards toward, well something or someone. It was odd though, usually he summoned the Magician's spirit, not the other way around; he was hard pressed to think of the last time Andros had come to offer wisdom without being asked. The message after only a few hours of his arrival in the country and he cannot help but wonder why he is here; Andros would explain no further and had not re-appeared since then. Whatever he was heading to, it was important enough to warrant a change in the normal and so more than enough to make him want to see for himself. Eventually he would find the storm subsiding and in its place a building; clearly well maintained judging by its appearance alone. He begins to approach and in doing so the wolf that guided him moves aside, keeping its distance. Whatever he had been led to, this was it. He takes a deep breath and begins to walk up to the door and pushes it open without any resistance.

The inside is just as well kept as the out; as he enters he begins to call out loudly, Hello? Is there anyone here? I'm not quite sure where I am, but I was sent here for some purpose. I mean no-one harm..

WC: 272
TWC:272

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, guild cafe-

Wearing her green, white, and gold outfit while sipping from a white mug of coffee, Leona sat at a square table by herself and pondered her next move. She was trying to decide whether to go look for more work or stay at home and study her newly purchased GED test books.

Leona had to study for the GED test she planned to take, but she did not know which subject to start with and how to study for it. Did she need to do math problems or learn chemical formulas? Did she need to buy practice test books or did the books she had already bought have space for practice problems? Did Leona have books that were good enough to help her prepare for every possible question on the test?

The only way she could find out for certain was to sit down and read the books, but that would take time that was currently in short supply. Despite her new goal the demand for the Wizard Saint's services had not abated enough for her to study, so for a few nights Leona would have to make the time to study. That was easier said than done.

Leona's thoughts were interrupted by the front door of the guild hall opening and a male voice calling out to anyone in the area. The voice claimed that he was sent here for some purpose and that he did not mean anyone any harm. Perhaps the voice belonged to a potential new member of Silver Wolf.

Deciding to go investigate, Leona got up from her table and paid for her coffee, then walked out of the cafe and towards the guild foyer. It had been awhile since she had gotten to greet anyone new. Normally her diligent Aces greeted newcomers, but today the Guild Mistress would get to do so herself.

-In the foyer-

Leona entered the foyer and saw a tall dark-haired man with a scarred face and an athletic build standing just inside the door. The blonde calmly approached the man and greeted him.

"Hi there. I'm Leona Jarnefeldt, the Guild Mistress of Silver Wolf. Welcome to Silver Wolf Guild Hall!" Leona greeted the newcomer.

[Post Word Count: 372]
[Leona's Word Count: 372]
[Total Word Count: 644]

As soon as Leona appears Noah takes careful note of her. He can tell she is somewhere near his own age range; but that is where the similarities seem to end. Her hair was blonde, slightly longer than his own and framed a face that was decidedly less scarred. Where he looked slightly disheveled from months of travel, she seemed more put together; clothes clean while his armor looked scraped and bruised in many places. Then there was the question of her sheer presence. In terms of raw power he estimated her to be many more times more powerful than himself. Despite the age similarity he had no reason to believe she was lying to him about who she was. Clearly she was more experienced, but he senses no danger and while he was cautions about the presence of such a powerful person, that same energy simply fueled his own curiosity more than anything.

He offers her as genuine a smile as he can as he comes near enough to speak without raising his voice; if at any point she seems less than pleased with that he will stop his approach. As he does he begins to speak trying to be as genuine as he can be. So this is a guild? Forgive me if I intrude, but I was told by... a guide that this is a place that has what I need. They never did specify what I would find, or who; only that I needed to come here. But at its center was this place. I am not from here so forgive me for asking Le-ona. What is a guild? And what is it's purpose that someone sent me here? After a moment he realizes his error and speaks once more "My name is Noah by the way. Noah Alston."

[Word Count: 304]
[Personal Word Count: 576]
[Total Word Count: 946]

Leona listened to the tall newcomer state that he had been sent to the guild hall by someone who had told him that he needed to come here. He also explained that he was not from around here and apologized before asking what a guild was. After that question he then told her his name... he was Noah Alston. Leona took a few moments to try and come up with a good explanation that did not sound patronizing. Once she had what she thought sounded like a good answer the blonde spoke to Noah.

"A guild's a formal organization of mages who decide that they want to work together, usually because of a common goal. Silver Wolf's one of three Independent Guilds, meaning that while we're not on the best terms with the Magic Council, as long as we don't seriously violate the law we're pretty much left alone. The Magic Council's a body of officials that governs the magic world. They hold authority over Legal Guilds in particular and mages in general. You don't want to cross them." Leona started off her explanation of what a guild was before adding what the Magic Council did. It was not the best or most technical explanation of either what a guild was or what the Magic Council was and what they did, but it was the best that Leona could come up with on short notice. She would need to read up on those topics for the future. Leona then went on to list reasons that mages joined guilds, a topic on which she could speak with more authority.

"Mages join a guild for a variety of reasons, Noah. Some join a guild because they're looking for like-minded individuals to work with. Others join because they're looking for the pipeline of steady work that guilds have access to. Others believe in the guild's goal and work to further it." Leona listed a few of the reasons that mages joined guilds. Leona herself had joined Silver Wolf because she was tired of the life of a Guildless mage. She had a lot of freedom, but she also had no friends and no reliable source of work. Back when she was Guildless Leona did not have a job board to pick a job from and only got work by paying attention to the local grapevine... she did not even know that Talonia, the city known as the gathering place of Guildless mages, existed until well after becoming a Wizard Saint and Guild Mistress of Silver Wolf.

"Speaking of the guild's goal, Silver Wolf's goals are magical research, conservation, and treasure hunting. It sounds kinda strange, but they all work together. I can tell you more about how they work... if you'd like." Leona said to Noah, pausing for a few minutes so that he could have a chance to speak instead of her dominating the conversation from start to finish. Before she continued with her explanation of Silver Wolf and its mission, she would give Noah a chance to ask more questions.

[Post Word Count: 510]
[Leona's Word Count: 882]
[Total Word Count: 1,456]

Noah listens to most of what she says in silence, mentally making notes for everything she says and guessing at words he might not readily know. Mage, for instance was a word the spirit had used a few times before and which Noah associated with his magic specifically. The existence of a Magic Council was also a new concept for him and he suspected he'd soon need to go and make his presence somewhat known to them; well eventually anyways. What did interest him greatly was their mission and the concept of mages. Plural. Noah was inquisitive by nature; to be surrounded by a group of individuals that felt the same way and actively sought out interesting objects for discovery and study was something of direct interest to himself. The fact everyone in the guild seemed to be magic users was reason enough to grab his attention.

"There's a lot I admittedly do not know about the country I am in; despite the fact that it's the land that I have been searching for after all. My homeland was not one filled with magic; we had no need for guilds or councils to manage magic. I had heard this place contained much more active magic. But how many are we talking about? Magic users I mean?" He speaks in a light hearted manner despite basically admitting he came here without much of a detailed plan; "If you wouldn't mind I'd like to hear more about you and your mages; and this guild. How many more are there like you in this place? Have you ever come across a mage that claimed to be a God Slayer? A Slayer of any kind? I don't know how working with a guild is done; I don't have too much in the way of money, but if it's knowledge you all seek I can at least help you chronicle the knowledge of my homeland. I can certainly offer you that in exchange for a place here in the meantime."

[Word Count: 335]
[Personal Word Count: 911]
[Total Word Count: 1791]

"There's quite a few magic users in Earthland, Noah. If I had to estimate, I'd say somewhere around a hundred guild-affiliated mages and a lot more who aren't part of a guild. I'm not sure how many non-affiliated mages there are, but they're easily a few hundred of them." Leona did her best to give Noah a ballpark estimate of how many magic users were in Earthland. There were easily hundreds of freelance mages who were looking for a guild or who were just doing their own thing. It was hard to tell how many freelance mages there were at any given time because there were so many of them and Leona did not ordinarily keep up with such a thing.

Leona heard Noah agree to hear about Silver Wolf and its mission. There was another topic that she could discuss with authority. Having discussed the topic with prospective guild members many times before, Leona was particularly knowledgeable about Silver Wolf and its mission.

"Silver Wolf's mission is carried out by three divisions that work towards the mission. Hunters go out into the world and find magical artifacts whether they're weapons, armor, jewelry, books, whatever. Scholars study the artifacts and determine whether their effects can be duplicated and applied to other items... Scholars are also responsible for preserving any artifacts that the guild finds. Defenders help the guild mission by protecting the guild hall and the guild vault where the artifacts lie from people who want to steal them and use them for their own purposes." Leona gave a brief rundown of the three divisions and what they did. She hoped that the explanation helped her earlier remark about the seemingly contradictory missions actually working together make a little more sense. She then decided to elaborate on the flexibility in carrying out the mission that guild members enjoyed.

"However, while they have primary responsibilities, members of each division aren't rigidly bound to their respective duties to the exclusion of all else. For example, if a Scholar feels like getting out of the lab to go find an artifact, they're welcome to do so. Or if a Hunter wants to know more about something they just found and don't want to wait on a Scholar, they're welcome to do research on the item themselves. The same goes for Defenders... if they find something interesting in the field they can pick it up and bring it back to the guild hall without having to call a Hunter. And if the guild hall ever comes under attack, all guild members are obligated to defend the guild hall regardless of their division." Leona added that Silver Wolf members were not rigidly bound to their divisions and gave examples. While they had primary responsibilities that they were obligated to fulfill, members were not so bound to them that they had to call in members of other divisions to do something outside of their purview. For example, Leona did not want a Scholar to have to call in a Hunter and risk losing an artifact due to the delay in calling the Hunter and waiting for the Hunter to arrive.

She heard Noah ask whether she had encountered Slayers of any kind or any God Slayers.

"I've worked with a Water Dragon Slayer mage before, but that was over two years ago. I haven't encountered any God Slayers, though." Leona replied to that question. Leona remembered the mage in question being Althea Eventide of Fairy Tail. The blonde did not know if Althea was still around, but the Fairy Tail mage might still be around. She might even have been in a past edition of Sorcerer's Magazine... Leona would have to check her old copies soon.

"If you need a place here, I can help you with that. Silver Wolf's always looking for new members. And you can chronicle the knowledge of your homeland if you'd like, but it's not required for you to join." Leona assured Noah that while his offer was welcome, it was not a requirement for him to join Silver Wolf. Silver Wolf had taken Leona in when she was a struggling Guildless mage who had gotten in over her head with Jacob Goodnight and did not have anything special to offer the guild in exchange like access to powerful patrons or lost knowledge that only she possessed. While she would accept offers of aid in exchange for membership so that people did not feel like they were freeloading, she would not make them a requirement to join the guild.

[Post Word Count: 758]
[Leona's Word Count: 1,640]
[Total Word Count: 2,549]