(EVENT) The Annual Guildmaster's Meeting!

It had been an eventful meeting thus far. Discussions had turned into arguments - which in turn had come close to becoming a fist fight if not more -, there were talks of destroying that beast Acnologia, about peace with dark wizards. Needless to say that this meeting had been unpredictable right up to this point and Marick had witnessed every second of it, albeit in silence and stood at the back of the hall. Watching Zenshin and Master Shuhei of Blue Pegasus was quite the sight to behold, even if the tension between the two hadn't reached breaking point. Through all that though there was only one topic that really concerned the Sabertooth Ace; the mass exodus of the guilds members to Nox Animus.

Marick felt as sore about that as Zenshin did, if not more so what with the issues he'd had with Alexander Zenneth. Just as he thought they'd resolved their issues, Zenneth had turned heel and walked out, taking numerous magi with him and claiming he was doing it in the name of freedom. Marick held his respect for him for that action. But what was to come next...for Zenneth to turn dark and betray every ounce of what he'd claimed to believe in...that left the Solitaire feeling bitter. Very bitter. Actions needed to be made to stop Nox Animus, but the discussion about Acnologia was understandably an important one. Afterall, Marick had witnessed that particular destruction first hand. But the idea of siding with dark magi to fight that monster...well, that wasn't going to happen. It was a dark mage that summoned Acnologia. Most dark magi had no care for anything but themselves from what he could gather, with only a handful of exceptions.

Irrespective of that however was how long it had been. Over a year since Acnologia struck and it hadn't been sighted since, or at least there were no reports of a sighting. Who was to say Acnologia wasn't still within Fiore? Who was to say it wouldn't strike at any moment.

Suddenly his silence was broken as his eyes opened and looked up at his fellow card master, Zeno. "With all due respect, we may not have time to find a way to counter Acnologia. We've heard nothing about it since the events at Era and, as we know from those events, we are ill-prepared for a sudden attack. We should consider a plan of action as a wizarding community on what we should do should Acnologia strike again before we are able to defeat it. We need a backup plan or a last resort, and sealing it should not be dismissed so quickly. A short-term seal could be useful to keep it at bay while we find a way to properly destroy it." he spoke loudly, his arms remaining crossed.

Zeno kindly nodded in acknowledgement of Solitaire's input and quickly replied with a calm smile;

"Of course, I was merely theorizing on our final move. In the meantime, we should indeed have several plans at the ready so that we do not get caught off-guard. Strengthening the communication and mutual use of resources between the guilds are steps in the right direction. Eclipse Soul contributes its highly defensible guildhall as a safehaven in times of need. The Saving Goddess will be able to make port there." Zeno said, joining Zuo and Shuhei in the collaboration.


"Perhaps the S and H Class of the magic community should consider certain strike strategies as well? Even if we cannot stop Acnologia entirely with them, we might be able to keep him at bay until everyone is brought to safety."

Nikolai tried his best to follow the guild master's words, but more often than not, the topics of their discussion flew over his head. Someone named Frederik, Acnologia, apparently the discussion of heavy topics had already begun. Seeing Shuhei get upset, as well as the atmosphere grow so tense, he wasn't exactly sure how to handle it all. However, it did convince him that all questions he had to ask before had lost their timing; there was no way he was gonna be the following act to this. He was almost in a daze at this point, trying to figure out what exactly everyone was talking about. He snapped himself back to reality, turning to Akeya next to him. He had been so focused on deciphering everything he hadn't answered her.

Standing up, Nikolai tried to think of a way to help her. He didn't exactly have any cloth on him, but he had to help her somehow. He slid his brown jacket off himself, awkwardly extending it to Akeya. "H-Here, I know it's n-not exactly a cloth, but d-do whatever you want with it, I-I have more a-at home." Keep the jacket extended towards Akeya, Nikolai leaned back against the wall, once more facing the guild master's to listen. "Yeah, it might be better to j-just stay back here and listen. T-Things seem to have g-gotten pretty intense. F-Feel free to go over to the r-rest of the guild if you w-want, I think I-I'll stay back here." He was still fairly nervous from the previous events, and decided that stay back where there were less people would probably be best for himself right now.

Akeya frowned as she noticed that the Meeting was still developing at full speed. She and Nikolai have apparently been thrown out off the loop, thanks to Akeya reacting to Shuhei's entrance as she did. Knowing that she was the cause for Nikolai at least partially missing out on the Meeting didn't help Akeya's mood: It was basically the same as if she were to force her teammates to abandon a job because she was too wounded to continue, and Akeya hated the idea of being the weak link.

Best way to deal with that would be to quickly get over her moment of shock so Nikolai no longer had to worry about her. Akeya silently demanded for her body to move normally, but it still was busy recovering from the shock. Looking towards Nikolai Akeya noticed that he had taken off his jacket and extended it to her as a reaction to her asking him for a piece of cloth. Not exactly what she had in mind, but he told her that she could do whatever she wanted with it, so it would have to do. Nodding Akeya quickly took the jacket, then grabbed the lower part with both claws and ripped a strip of cloth from the bottom, trying to make it as neatly as possible by also using her claws to cut it. Once Akeya was done Nikolai's jacket was still serviceable, although the somewhat ragged lower part might need to be fixed if Nikolai wanted to avoid looking like somebody who couldn't even afford proper clothing. Akeya turned towards the wall and lowered the hood of her cloak, keeping her eyes closed as she quickly wrapped the strip of cloth from Nikolai's jacket around her upper face. Once it was in place she pushed her hood back up and turned back to Nikolai, her face now almost completely obscured: The mask was hiding the lower half, the strip of cloth was covering the upper part, and the hood did a pretty good job of covering whatever might still be exposed, although a few strands of Akeya's raven hair were still poking out from underneath the hood. Akeya bowed towards Nikolai, then extended his jacket back to him.

"Thank you. Now I do not have to worry about getting hit by another burst of light. I apologize for damaging your jacket, and I'll pay for the repairs should you decide to keep it."

Now that she no longer had to worry about the light Akeya quite quickly calmed down, her claws turning back into hands and the strange aura disappearing. Akeya looked at the centre of the Meeting, where the Guild Masters were arguing. At least, she turned her head into that direction. Whether she actually saw anything was anyone's guess. After 'staring' for a moment Akeya shook her head, staying at her spot.

"I do not feel the need to join the crowd. From this location we can see and hear everything, so I might as well stay here. That is, if you don't mind."

It had been a silent day, Sango had ignored the urges of several members to go to the meeting. Actually feeling hurt that she was completely leaving Shuhei alone, regretting that she wouldn't be standing behind him as she swore herself she would do at all time, trying to forget that it would shine a specifically bad light upon the guild if one of the aces wasn't present Sango had secluded herself to the sacred grounds of Blue Pegasus. High up in the air, she was now meditating above the clouds waiting for the meeting to blow over and then returning to Shuhei's side, as usual. Just as usual, just like everyday. Just that this wouldn't be like everyday.

It was a flicker, a hint. A slight feeling that reverberated into and throughout the sky. A vibrating surge of magic that was collapsing into itself. It was as if the bath water was being drained. An uneasy feeling. It was nothing like she had ever felt before. It made her uncomfortable. It made her thoughts race. She was starting to worry. This was unlike anything she had ever encountered before. And although it was a lucky guess, Sango could see something. Above the clouds, where even blind men could see across continents, her opened eyes were able to pick something up. A sudden break in the sky? So it seemed like. Incredibly far away and unable to be seen from the angle she was in. She would have to get higher. And only a moment later, she saw it. A gaping hole in the veil of grey clouds that had pulled over Fiore. Hovering a few miles above the earth, Sango could see it. And the frail feeling of a disturbance in the magical force itself went through her bone. She was sure someone at the meeting had felt it too.

Diving down at blinding speeds in the form of an electric current, she passed through the clouds and blasted down unto the ground. A distance before Clover Town, her feet were swiftly set upon the ground. Looking past the hillocked landscape, there was clear concern in her eyes. Turning back around to face the city, her body dissipated once more into an electric and only moments later she arrived right in front of the meeting's building. An audible sigh and a short chat with the concierges later, Sango was allowed to pass with an urgent message for all the guildmasters. That something was wrong around the area where there was supposed to be the gigantic metropolis called Rose Garden. Something that slightly calmed her was the fact that none of the present Rune Knight's had received any emergency notifications. But the magical gap was still there, and after seeing it, Sango had the constant feeling of it. An empty space without energy in the north of Fiore.

Hastily making her way to the entrance, Sango didn't exactly think about making a scene. But she thought it was urgent. She wouldn't show any restraint. She braced herself before entering, hearing the guildmasters and their mighty voices talk. Breathing in, Sango casually opened the door and walked in, just to immediately turn into lightning before a waiter could even offer her anything to eat or drink, and landing right behind Shuhei's podest where she noticed Ayaseru was sitting. She was likely seen by many, and it was probable that her entrance was frowned upon in the midst of this, to the mages of Fiore, incredibly important meeting.

Standing behind Shuhei, she gently put her hand on his shoulder and whispered. "Shuhei, I'm sure you can feel it too if you concentrate for a moment. Something is wrong in Fiore, and I don't think this one is something to take light-heartedly. My gut may be wrong, but my instincts tell me that I should raise your awareness and take your focus off of this meeting for one moment." The fact that she chose words to express herself at this point would likely tell Shuhei that she wasn't joking around. Swiftly brushing past him, she was sure he was enraged right about now. Grabbing the microphone on his desk, Sango took her turn to speak just this once and make a scene. She would speak. In front of everyone. Her voice would reverberate throughout the hall. The echoing sound of a gentle omnipotence would lay rest on this meeting.

"Greetings, assembly of mages." Her eyes went throughout the masses of mages and even gazed at the guildmasters. Her eyes were filled with worry and concern mixed with a strong determination to go through with this. "My presence at this place is an occurrence forged solely through the things I have witnessed. I, Sango, one of the aces of Blue Pegasus urge any and everyone to search the flux of energy for just one bit and realize that something is not right. In the north of Fiore, I have just witnessed the thick veil of grey clouds breaking in above the area where the metropolis called Rose Garden is. There is no mistake, this meeting needs to continue, but I ask of you to be alert about this situation. I will go to survey whatever has happened there. I apologize for my interruption, but I know that if some of you are already beginning to feel something wrong, you will understand why I am saying this."

The microphone she had grabbed somewhere in between those words was let go and it popped back to its original position. Turning back to Shuhei, she looked him dead in the eye with an expression that was seeking for apology and understanding all the same. She then looked to Ayaseru, who was seemingly not in his best shape. But she could tell that his attention was dilluted. Perhaps he would come with her. Disregarding whatever mishap and outrage she had just caused behind her, Sango glanced at him and nicked with her head to indicate the question of coming with her. Either way, after that, she would leave.

Ayeseru gripped his head tighter and tighter as time continued on; there was definitely a disturbance in Fiore somewhere.  As he concentrated to pinpoint the direction of where it was coming from, he felt it more and more, which resulted in more pain.  Seemingly out of nowhere, Sango went up to the stage, next to Shuhei, whispering some things into his ear, before finally addressing the entire crowd, in which Ayeseru was able to focus enough in order to make out what she was saying.  Ayeseru sighed deeply once he heard her speak, though not in relief; he was hoping that he was the only one experiencing a disturbance in the air, hoping it to be some sort of disease or sickness that would go away within the next few days...  The problem presented was, that was not the case.

As soon as Sango finished, Ayeseru stood up, no longer clutching his head in pain as the strange feeling mystically disappeared.  He took a deep breath, and made direct contact with Sango, before getting up on the stage, taking place next to her.  He looked at her momentarily, before turning to face the crowd with his gaze, and took a deep breath.  "I too, alongside my dear friend Sango, have felt a strange energy.  While I may not have seen it, I was able to feel it and react to it.  I agree with Sango; this meeting must continue, however, we also need mages to scout out the area.  As a result, I'll be traveling with Sango.  The rest of you, stay put."  Ayeseru turned towards Sango, and gave her indication to follow him outside, which, she appeared to have done.

When the two were outside, Ayeseru felt a stinging pain, though nowhere near as badly as before; he was able to shrug it off.  He turned towards Sango once more, and took a deep breath, and released it.  "We should leave as soon as we can.  Do you need anything here?"

*continued in Rose Garden*

Zeno speaking in response to him wasn't something he'd expected and for a moment the Sabertooth Ace was almost surprised that someone as respected as Zeno would actually pay any kind of attention to him. But then again the Eclipse Soul founder was apparently rather down-to-earth. His surprise was short-lived however due to a strange feeling coming over the Rising Star. At first he thought it was simply that someone had entered the hall and the air had changed, but then he realised that the air felt somewhat heavy as opposed to lighter. A figure appeared on the stage and gripped a microphone before speaking with everyone in the hall.

Sango's announcement confirmed the feeling that had suddenly crept into the air around Marick. A mass of energy followed by an immediate void of said energy, as if someone had simply sucked it from existence. He felt an peculiar feeling in his gut that he simply couldn't ignore, causing him to look up at the guildmasters table to see how his master would react. He wanted to leave and head to the Rose Garden immediately and, thankfully, it seemed Zenshin wished him to do exactly that as the Wizard Saint tilted his head to signal for Marick to follow suit. The Solitaire nodded in response and exited the hall with haste.

He rushed to catch up with the two Blue Pegasus magi unzipping his jacket so that he could easily grip his cards from their holder if he needed to. "I'm coming with the two of you."

[continued at Rose Garden]

Lance sat back down at his seat and suddenly got a headache. He put his hand on his head in agony as the world started to spin around him "Succumb to the Darkness..." a voice said in his mind and Lance winced in pain. Guild members around started to look at him with a concerned look as he waved it off with a feint smile "D-Don't worry... just... just a small headache..." he muttered as he placed his head down on the table and went to sleep.

These occurrences had been happening ever since he saved Lea in Minstrel. Lance didn't know what to do about them... Why would he succumb to the Darkness... who is that voice speaking to him... he didn't know any of the answers but he was scared for once in his life.

Kaseki remained near Lamia Scale, but couldn't help but feel detached from them. Surely there was someone or something that could ease him. Kaseki thought to himself, "How are we all on the same side if all we do is fight each other, politically? To truly create a strong assortment of us we must learn to accept our differences." Kaseki got up from his seat at the Lamia Scale wizards to wander to the back of the room. He preferred it this way, no one was around him, and he could freely talk to himself. "How can we expect to fight beside each other if all we're doing here is fighting one another? I would imagine that the other 'dark' mages are not the same. Sure they may be evil, twisted or corrupt, but there must be a method to the madness. I mean... Surely there's a possibility that we all fight for the same thing, but in dramatically different ways. I believe that thing to be freedom... Freedom." Kaseki mumbled to himself as he wandered against the walls behind the tables. Hearing about a harbored criminal made him uneasy. He stopped around the Fairy Tail table. From there a few people started to give him looks.

"... How can we fight together if we cannot accept one another?" he thought, "It's simple, Kaseki, we don't. At this rate that dragon will smite us all." said another voice in his head. "No Kodai... there must be hope..."

Rita had dozed off  very easily. She was never a very attentive girl. Even with such a serious discussion taking place The Fairy had managed to fall asleep face first into the table. She was suddenly bumped. Rita was startled out of her slumber and snapped up instantly. A voice apologized for disturbing her and she turned to face him. "Oh, Leo." Rita muttered groggily as she rubbed her eyes with her hand. Rita still failed to pay much attention to the meeting instead she had her eye on her guild members. She quickly noticed that Leo seemed somewhat anxious. She blinked ultimately brushing off her fatigue and quietly. "Hey, Is there something wrong?" She whispered being careful not to draw any eyes to her and Leonard. Rita so far had little ideas about what was being discussed. She only had managed to catch bits and pieces of the discussion between her slumber and dozing off from what she can tell the discussion consisted of Acnologia and something elsewhere in Rose Garden. Rita's eyes shifted from Leo to Lance who appeared to be sleeping just as she was. Once she confirmed that Lance hadn't run off and was still in one piece she turned her attention back to Leo and waited for his response.

Simon was in a worse mood then when he arrived and that was really saying something. The dragon business, Chikane blabbing like a green eared home girl, the crowd demanding answers to questions that cannot be answered and on top of that something was making the hairs on the back of his neck stick up. He was just fed up with all of this, he has important bird stuff to do. So with that he stood up from his seat and walked out of the guildhall. Leaving the building and into the light of day Simon sighed, Fiore was really in for it if that was their idea of a productive meeting.

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OOC: don't mind me just rping out before anima

There was something not exactly right as Zuo sifted uncomfortably in his chair. A bead of sweat rolled down his head, but it was not because he was stressed about the question Zenshin asked him. He was aware of the method those long ago has used to fall Acnologia but the information would not be of use to anyone in the room. In fact Zuo could only name one person on the planet with the resources at his disposal to repeat the feat and telling the whole world that their lives were in the hands of that person would likely cause a rather large stir. By a stir Zuo meant mass hysteria and potential rioting. The old geezer didn't like what he was about to say but he figured it had to be said. He couldn't horde information to himself, it would be right. With a sigh he opened his mouth "Well Master Zenshin in answer to your question, I-" his words were drowned out by a loud roar almost like an air plane flying way too low. Zuo looked up for the sound was coming from above and suddenly the guild hall was swallowed in a large blast of light.

Just like that everyone was gone. Zuo looked around, his chair and himself intact. What had once been a building completely filled with wizards was now entirely empty. The entire attendance of the meeting had been swept away except for Zuo. "Well that is most curious. It would seem the meeting is over. I do hope Kihia and the others are okay. I was going to make a pizza for the guild later, it would be a shame if they missed it." In truth missing that pizza would likely be best for the Lamia Scale mages.