Entrée de la Cour du Serpent à Plumes

So somewhere on this pitiful little planet was the person responsible for her freedom.

Freedom was such a nasty word to attach to her situation. What the Nazru gave her was freedom -- an open invitation to spy on planets throughout the stars, sewing chaos and destruction among their forces and providing ample targets for the invading force that would eventually arrive. Freedom was being given the chance to adapt technology from all of the species the universe across and incorporate it into her own arsenal of weapons. Freedom was being given a direction and sent on her way. Or at least, that’s how Willow viewed freedom. The poor Xocili scientist had been so well and truly indoctrinated that she had believed that her slavers were providing her free reign. All they asked in return was that she fulfill her duties and locate suitable invasion points for them, weakening defenses and priming suitable races for annihilation or assimilation. But without that, what the hell was she? Without a guiding hand, what was she capable of even doing?

Well, she was certainly capable of coming to the planet where the so-called ‘savior’ lived and get some answers. Earthland was remarkably similar to plenty of other worlds she had been to but at the same time… quite different. The humans, as she learned they were called, looked far more similar to her than other races she had encountered. They also possessed a kind of… supernatural ability called ‘magic’. It allowed them to do most anything they could want -- conjure fire from their hands, turn people into icy sculptures or rend the earth apart with a mere thought. It was a strange trait that she had little doubt the Nazru would greatly appreciate having… if they were still alive. After landing on the planet and hiding her ship, Willow went about her normal routine when she first arrived. She found a means to connect to a global network and downloaded as much information as possible. And boy, was there a lot.

It took Willow weeks to get herself fully acclimated to the world, at least enough to blend in. While the transmission had gone out, mapping out what had happened with the Nazru and alerting all of the Xocili of their current whereabouts, Willow had no desire to rejoin her race. Not yet, at least. They were all busy celebrating having their ‘shackles’ pulled free, not even bothering to wonder what in the cosmos they were going to do with themselves. Maybe they would assimilate into the human world, creating a utopia of mixed beings. Ugh, the very word utopia made her sick to her stomach. The world was structured and governed by laws, but there was no denying that the humans were far more chaotic than they let on. Researching all of the massacres and wars and devastations that had occurred on Earthland filled Willow with a sense of excitement. Maybe her time here wouldn’t have to be wasted simply hiding in a lab and plotting against her own.

She’d have to acquire magic, somehow. That seemed complicated; she understood that people could be gifted magical abilities but a lot of users were simply born with their abilities. A problem but not one that she couldn’t overcome; her science could make almost anything possible, so long as she put her mind to it. If she wanted to acquire more resources, she’d need a reliable source of interaction. Apparently there were groupings of people called ‘guilds’, where mages and non-mages gathered together to get work. Her eye was instinctively drawn to the one called Silver Wolf, as it seemed focused on magical study and antiquity acquisition. But they were all a bunch of lab dweebs, or that’s what she seemed to believe. They were sanctioned by something called the ‘Magic Council’ -- the lawmakers of the land of Fiore. Being under the scrutinous eye of lawmakers was the last thing Willow needed in her life.

But then she heard about an event; a devastation, actually. In the land of Joya, a city had been almost completely wiped off the map, brought to ruin by the actions of a guild called Plumed Serpent. Now that was the kind of chaos that Willow could vibe with. It took some time, several favors and a few dead bodies along the way but she eventually learned of their whereabouts. A decrepit, run-down building called the Drunken Monkey Tavern stood before her, the blue-haired woman cocking her head curiously as she stared at it. A quick scan provided a breakdown of the people inside, including a long stretch of stairs heading into a tunnel. She managed to pick up on a figure stepping forward and then disappearing entirely from existence within the confined walls of the basement. She grinned knowingly before marching inside confidently. The bartender named Maximon had just returned from the basement, already lighting up another cigarette. He and the rest of the patrons of the bar were, no doubt, surprised when Willow kicked in the front door and jaunted in, practically skipping to the bar. Giving a little twirl that dropped her onto a stool, she reached behind her and then pulled forth a large bag. The sack was covered in spots of blood, clues to how she had acquired what lay inside. She gave it a small shove in Maximon’s direction, the top untied enough to show the gathered jewel inside.

“Hiya handsome,” she remarked with a grin. “I was sure hopin’ you could take that there money and tell me where I can go to find Plumed Serpent.” Her tone was bubbly and friendly, despite the slightly manic look in her eyes. Maximon considered her for a long moment, taking several drags off his cigarette as Willow met his gaze, still smiling and bouncing slightly in her chair. After what felt like an eternity of waiting, he gave her a curt nod and waved at her to follow him. Giggling, Willow hopped off the stool and vaulted over the bar to follow directly behind him.

She was right on his heels all the way down into the basement, coming before the massive obsidian mirror. “Oooh now that’s fun,” she remarked as she took a moment to circle the object curiously. Inquisitive nature demanded she inspect it more but she imagined she’d have time and questions for that later. At the moment, Maximon gestured to the mirror and deciding not to waste anymore time, she leapt towards it, finding herself transported to an entirely different realm. “How exciting!” she cackled as she emerged into the Crossroads, grinning from ear to ear. Her attention remained on the vast and curious realm for only as long as it took her to notice two things; one, the floating city directly ahead and the man that had paused near its entry and was moving to enter.

“Heeyyyy!” she called out, breaking into a sprint. Sliding up beside him, Willow turned to face Lance with a cheery grin. “Hi there, good looking. I’m guessing that's how I get to Plumed Serpent, right?” she asked, pointing towards Toltec.

Whoever the man was that she had come rushing up behind, he was quite the handsome human. Taller than her by a good margin, lean but clearly chiseled beneath his dapper clothes. Willow’s eyes performed a quick scan over him, analyzing his features and appreciating what she saw. He took only a fraction of a second to study her as well, most likely surprised by her sudden intrusion on how lonely trek towards the floating city. Willow did have a knack for interrupting a carefully constructed path and diverging it, more often than not. After taking one another in, she asked in reference to the city and its affiliation with Plumed Serpent and he admitted that he believed it was. It seemed he didn’t really know -- a new member as well? What a coincidence. He even came right out and admitted his minted status in terms of the guild, earning him an impish grin. “Well, I wouldn’t say that. You were here first so I suppose that means you are more tenured than me, if only slightly,” she teased him, holding up her fingers and spreading them by centimeters to orchestrate their differences.

His smile was… genuine but still odd. It was as if the features of his face were far more practiced in the art of presentation than the dulled glimmer in his eyes. Yet it was like a flame had been lit that often didn’t seen tinder, the light in his eyes shining, if only briefly, along with the rest of his sincerity. But within that same instant, his show of grace became more subdued, his smile warm but practiced, his gaze almost deadened. Most people might have ignored it and moved on but not Willow. She made a mental note about it, quite literally fashioning a list in her head about him already. He almost seemed like a broken toy, though Willow viewed most beings as toys for one reason or another. But she couldn’t help but wonder what damage lay within the confines of the physical form that was Lance Trystane, a name he put forth a moment later.

He offered his hand at a strange angle, though greeting someone seemed to vary depending on where she was. There were plenty of planets where greetings were more physical than she would expect and others where the best mannered introductions took place several miles away. Whatever the case, she brought her hand up and met his in a firm but somehow still soft grip. “Willow. No pretty last name attached like Trystane,” she returned the favor, giving him a slightly flirty grin. He complimented her tattoos and she took a moment to lean back to look at her own art. “Thanks, I designed and applied them myself. I’ve actually got a couple other ones but those are in more… intimate places.”

She was quite curious to what else she could learn about Lance but any attempt to continue the conversation was brought to a screeching halt. The world in front of her seemed to shift and shimmer and then a rift of some kind opened up, the very fabric of reality torn asunder by the two figures emerging from its depths. Willow could not hide the amazement in her eyes as she looked at the portal, the suppliers of it seemingly unimportant against the spectacle that was a literal magic egress. But once one of the women spoke, Willow trained her gaze on them, surprised yet again to find matching women, seamless to one another save for one or two details. Her eyes did another quick scan over two of them, recording the information that it found. The first one to speak wondered what they had come across, remarking to herself and Lance as lovebirds or lambs, the latter something she did not recognize. A quick search through the Lacnet provided an answer and she smiled warmly at the two. “Well we’ve just met so I doubt lovebirds is the most appropriate term, even if he is tall, dark and handsome,” she said, shooting a wink at Lance quickly before turning her attention back to Yuliana and Yurielle.

The other sister took the shared thought process further, wondering if the two were merely interruptions to their ascent to the ‘divine’. Willow wasn’t sure what that was either but she shelved that search for later as that self-same sibling wondered if they had potential yet untapped. Willow imitated Yurielle’s slight head tilt, genuinely as curious about the two of them as they were of the newly arriving pair. And then they demanded to know why they had come to Plumed Serpent. Opting to see what the ‘seasoned’ newbie would say first, Willow turned her gaze to look at Lance over her shoulder. After a few seconds, he claimed he wanted in and after running his hand through his hair, her internal sensors alerted her to a shift in the air. Though she was hardly programmed to read magical signatures or pressures, there was no denying a tension that settled in the space around them. A show of his abilities, no doubt -- evidence of the wondered potential that one of the sisters had mentioned. With his showcase, he stated that Plumed Serpent was the perfect place for him, as it provided opportunity and freedom -- no, explosive freedom. He said the word with a heavy emphasis, most likely insinuating some knowledge about the sisters. She’d probably be able to follow up on it if she ran a facial recognition search through Earthland’s databases… but where was the fun in that?

“I’ll admit, Plumed Serpent wasn’t my first choice,” she spoke up, leaning back casually. “I’d hoped to join a guild that would give me access to magical artifacts and Silver Wolf would have provided the perfect opportunity for that. Buuuut the problem is, I’m not exactly a ‘follower of the rules’,” she stated, throwing up finger quotes. “My line of research and development usually winds up being… well, more explosive and devastating. And considering how new I am to Fiore, I don’t want to be getting on the bad side of the law until I’m more prepared to handle it. I heard through reliable sources that you all provided a level of freedom most other guilds do not. So I figured I’d make good with ol’ glasses up in the bar and see if I could buy my way to an introduction.” Of course, there was the fact that if the rest of the Xocili were on Earthland, they would most likely congregate to Silver Wolf, considering it’s guild mission. She wasn’t quite ready to encounter any more of her people. Not until she had established a foundation for herself.