[IC] Myriad AoW Chapter 1 - Rise from the Cinders

[Cool Girl]

Jorgen

"Did anything happen that you might wanna tell me or are you going to be brusque and fit yourself into the loner niche again?"

"I believe there's someone you should look into. I bumped into this little girl once and almost fought some thugs. Then, her bodyguard shows up. I don't know why but I have a feeling that he's suspicious. You should look into her bodyguard. He had white hair and holds two black pistols. He also has blue eyes."

"I also visited Marblegate Library, something like that, with Karol. There's a part of it that's still being under construction. I tried to go in there to check out, but they wouldn't let me in, which I found suspicious. Other than that, that's all."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be going"

Misara is then about to walk off

Edited October 29, 2016 by Cool Girl

[Felicity]

Jorgen watched Misara go, shrugging to himself as she left. She wasn't his responsibility and at the very least she had shared some info. That was all the cooperation he needed. At the very least he had two leads now. Maybe at some point he could ask some questions of the policemen who had apprehended him. Hm. How many times did a cyborg get to to think that particular thought in his lifetime?

[Notus]

Hotel Group

Haze lifted an eyebrow at Jesse´s suggestion. "That might work, if you still have the pieces. The little miss is quite impressive with that kind of spell when she puts her mind to it. But she needs to rest for a while, it puts a lot of stress on her."

Meanwhile, Cana looked at Bargus with sleepy eyes. "Nah, I couldn´t do that with Mr. Haze. He´s too strong." the mini mage then yawned and crawled up to a bed.

Rhaeza

"Agreed" Marcus said, starting to move out of the alleyway. "I´ll follow with you then, at least until we find them."

((I´m closing up the current interactions so we can move forward. Let´s try to wrap the scenes currently in motion))

[IntSys]

Bargus

Too Strong? So you DO have your limits. I'm DEFINITELY stronger than Haze outside of marksmanship, hahahahahah! Bargus smirked and stood up, facing Haze. "Haze, if you don't mind, we, or at least, I would like to accompany you to the Student Meeting. I'm quite proficient in close-quarter combat, so I can certainly back you up if anything goes wrong." He said with confidence.

Edited November 7, 2016 by IntSys

[M_Cowher]

Rhaeza

"I´ll follow with you then, at least until we find them."

"Right then..." The werewolf said. "Let's just hope that my squad are as resourceful as I hope they are." He said, before taking the lead down the street.

[Chevaleresse]

Hotel Group

"If you don't mind, I would also like to attend the student meeting - in the guise of one of the young academics attending, of course." He searched Haze for any signs of reaction to him; was he offput like many by the gap between his appearance and demeanor? Was he suspicious of the group as a whole? Could they trust Haze, for that matter?

[Ragnar]

Hotel Group

"Eh, fine, Maybe i'm asking too much, even tho she's a powerful mage with unbelievable feats, she's just a child. and little girls do need their rest. As for the meeting, i'll be there, lending a hand if you need some assistance." Jesse said as he went to the corner, besides Mrs.eagle's table and looks at her. "Can't believe you're still here.you sure got out fast after that bomb exploded, I don't know if you can understand me but even tho i don't like animals, thanks for accompanying me in that entire mess.I really appreciate it. I know you're only doing because Lucille told you to." Jesse said to the bird as he crossed his arms. Can't believe i'm talking to an animal.

Jesse sighed once more and quietly watch the others discuss their plans from a far.

[krim]

Hotel Group

Opening his robes, Raziel took out the bag of ashes. He still wasn't sure what to think about this Haze fellow, but he was clearly the best shot at reconstructing the glove. "I do have the pieces. And it seems we'd all like to go to these meetings. At the very least, I could accompany Gabriel here as his father." thinking for a minute about the rumors he had heard, he added "According to...a source...a very powerful mage is supposed to be there. Some kind of monster. The way they said it, it sounded even more powerful than Cana."

[Notus]

Haze took the pack of ashes and pieces of the glove from Raziel and stared intently at it for a moment. Then he looked back at the group assembled in the corridor. "Very well then, we could all attend the meeting if you wish, it seems every bit of help will be necessary I´ll make the arrangments for signing you all up."

***

[Two days later - Opening Ceremony of the First Marblegate Magic Studies Meeting]

The Ceremony Hall, now finished and occupied with people of all kinds, was quite the sight to behold. The circular wall of pure white marble contrasted with the thousands of golden ropes and multiple chandeliers that hanging from the ceiling, as well as with the deep blue carpet covering the floor. There were tables with food from various regions of Myriad for the guests, and waiters walking and flying around serving the best drinks the city could muster. Even then, the crowd was notably smaller than it would be expected.

A small door opened behind the lit stage on the far end of the room, and soon all the sound of conversations ceased. A figure in a simple white robe walked through it into the stage with a dignified expression - tall, with silver hair, green eyes and six majestic wings, Caspiel looked like a man on his early forties even though, being an angel, his age would more likely be counted in centuries. He looked around the room for a moment and started his speech.

"Hope. That´s what our world of Myriad is living through right now. An age of hope for mutual understanding, for growth, for peace like we´ve never experiencied before. The age of Destruction is over, and it is now our job - mine, and of all the talented individuals who grace Marblegate with their presence tonight - to get started the age of Creation. However, one of the basic concepts of magic is that destroying something is much easier than creating or fixing the same it, and that´s why we need greatly to have all the power and talent we can muster in order to build what only Myriad, among all the infinite worlds, has concrete chances of accomplishing: to be a perfect world, an utopia of dreams and a place of confort for all souls."

"I, Caspiel, welcome you all to the first Marblegate Magic Studies Meeting. I understand that, due to recent events, many people decided not to come for tonight´s ceremony and I surely can´t condemn that posture. But know that I´m personally overseeing the organization of this event, and I assure you there is no threat from the forces in the dark that could get in the way of this beacon of hope that we are lighting here, in this moment. I wish that you all enjoy our city, improve and share your wisdom, and help us build the road for the brightest future. Thank you."

The room exploded with applause, and Caspiel got down from the stage, being right away flooded with people eager to compliment him and have a conversation with the greatest mage in Myriad. The stage was occupied by an orchestra, and sound filled the hall. Everything seemed, indeed, well.

PLAYER INFO

((Nothing of note happened in the days before the ceremony. Haze arranged for everyone that wanted so to be present at the ceremony and registered in the meeting. He, Cana, Shelly, Hannah, Hesediel, Ledoroch, all main NPCs are present in the room. Cana has fixed the magic stealing glove. You´re free to decide were and with whom you are at the moment and what you did in the last few days. Let´s get this going!))

[IntSys]

Bargus

Bargus sat with Haze, Cana, and some others at the table. He was planning on directly assisting Haze, so he was quite content with the placement.

He looked around, noticing the caliber of the participants in the audience. Those who are here must be very confident in their magical prowess. They might have even enchanted their gears with magic to make them extra-protective.

If I were the assassin...I'd have some sort of way to bypass magic spells. Maybe, the assassin will come with the special glove! I'll just have to keep an eye on hands.

He stretched his arms a bit and took a glass of wine from the table. "So, what did you guys do yesterday? I went on a spelunking trip in a cave system just a few meters down from the entrance. Streams flowed through the caves, almost as if they were natural, but then I realized that the whole cave system was a sewer system for Marblegate!"

He took a sip at the wine and put it down in disappointment. Man...I miss the ales.

Edited November 21, 2016 by IntSys

[Ragnar]

Jesse

After that promising speech, Jesse reluctantly claps his hands as the other guest cheer wildly for this angel idealist named Castiel. Hmm..This guy is quite the big shot around here. Jesse quietly observes Castiel as the fancy angel was swarmed by a bunch of people the moment he got of the stage.

but I think this guy is getting ahead of himself, Usually, ideas like that invites conflict. Jesse thought to himself as he takes a sip out of his drink. Also I can't believe I'm doing this, I'm supposed to be in a high vantage point with a sniping rifle at hand, looking out for the killer from above instead of going to this event and wearing this stupid tie. I look ridiculous in this school uniform and I'm not used in combing my hair, i look like a dork. Jesse sighed as he was seated somewhere far from the group and disguised himself as one of these magical students there.

[Notus]

Bargus

"Ew!" Cana said, jumping off her chair with a disgusted look. "I´ve heard demons don´t take baths, is that true?"

Haze smiled at that and put his hand on her head. "It´s not, little miss. And you shoudn´t say such things to Mr. Bargus anyway, that´s rude."

Cana showed her tongue to Haze and looked away, crossing her little arms and stomping her right foot in the floor. Then she saw Jesse in the other table and changed her attitude immediately.

"Hey hey, can I go play with Mr. Angel? Pleeease?"

"As long as you stay close to him, and don´t use magic. Otherwise we´ll go back to the hotel."

Cana nodded excitedly and ruhed towards Jesse´s table, leaving Haze and Bargus alone.

"Well Mr. Bargus, I´ve been busy doing some research at the people signed up for the meeting and the security staff. After Mr. Marcus´ information about the possibilty of an infiltrated enemy agent, we can never be too careful."

Jesse

Cana arrived at Jesse´s table as cheerful as ever "Heeeey Mr. Angel! Where were you these last few days? I want to play with you!"

She was dressed for the event, of course, wearing a pink dress full of decoration. It didn´t quite match her unruly attitude and destructive power, but she certainly looked like a cute, harmless child in it.

[Ragnar]

Jesse

"Uh, nothing special, I've been searching the city and I haven't found what we're looking for yet," Jesse sighed, seemingly disappointed that nothing has come up in this past few days and takes a sip of his drink."Well, look at you." The angel said a bit surprised as he saw the seemingly cute and harmless child in front of him. "you look pretty in that pink dress, I almost didn't recognize you from the little girl who blew up half of her room and almost try to kill me with an exploding ball in the past couple of days." he said.

"Anyways, Sure we can play, but I want you to explain to me the dynamics here first." He said looking around the people within the vicinity."Do you know any of these people? who are the high mages around here and who's that Castiel fellow? if you don't mind me asking." Jesse asked Cana, trying to get some information on these people in this event.

Edited November 23, 2016 by Ragnar

[Sutoratosu]

In the eyes of Bora

"We won't ever speak about that again..."

"It's alright if you're still afraid... a lot of them are... the ones who made it out..."

"It's different for me you fool, I'm supposed to be the master, the strongest... the one who'll defend that place with my life if I have to. If they ever knew a mere building was enough to undo me like that-"

"What, you think they'll shun you? Shame you? You really shouldn't keep thinking about this like we're still children, they've all learned since those days. None of them would dare question your leadership, regardless of some phobia. And like I said... there's no way in hell at least some of them don't have it too. But You've proven yourself time and time again, put your life on the line too many times for them to start doubting you now"

The bear's temper only grew more disgruntled as he lay there behind the girl with the mouse and eagle on her shoulders, the former two's entire conversation relaying over his own link. Bora eyes lingered from one passer by to the next as they milled through the entrance, and for once, not a whole lot of them bothered to stare back. Perhaps that was one of the benefits of being invisible- you had the absolute element of surprise... the mouse was annoying, but damn if his extensive knowledge of magic didn't have it's uses. The rodent was easily a sage in his right... much like Old Fox.

"I... suppose you're right... how did you... get me out though?"

"Honestly, I'm not too sure... I can remember breaching my way into the moment, running down the halls, sniffing you out. Then I found him, or rather, he came for me, I cast a rune in defense, then a few more when he kept moving, but they didn't seem to much more than injure him. Then the next thing I knew, there was a flash... and it was over"

"You killed him then?"

"No, no... I would've sensed it if he went down in there... no, he just, just vanished, couldn't find a trace of him... and well, after that, I kept looking for you. I don't know where the fucker went or what he's going to do, but for now... you're free."

"For now, yeah, sure..." the bear finally grumbled over his own link. Both of them turned to stare at him, though to any onlookers, they'd simply be looking at empty air. He truly was beginning to appreciate all these little piddly ass runes the mouse knew "you teleported him out of that moment in time, you clumsy ass. I was on my way to fucking obliterate whoever was causing all the disturbances I felt from her when the thing popped up right near me in the streets. You didn't do jack shit to him mouse, all you did was give him the escape route he'd been looking for..."

"What in the seven hells do you mean" Des called back indignantly "That... no, that could NOT have been him, that... that was simply a bad memory that kept haunting her, Fox sealed the real bastard awa....by the gods, I'm a damn fool..."

"Good, you finally realize you're not hot shit. It doesn't matter that Fox sealed him, hell, even he was unsure if it would work when he did it. And that fucker already made it clear he could flaunt time and space if he wanted..." they both felt ripples as he began addressing Lucy instead. "and you. You've never remember shit like an ordinary being... everything you see and here is literally frozen in time, a cut and paste from that moment... hell, if someone wanted, they could probably time travel just by poking around in your head. Hence how that old, wrinkly, evil old corpse was able to leap out of your pretty little head and out into the here and now... Des opened a door into that moment in time like an idiot, the lich jumped through and rode our links like a river until he found one far enough to get away... me. And he tasted like shit by the way, just saying. We'd better be getting food after this mess."

They both took turns glancing at back and forth in disbelief... Despero by the fact that he'd for once been outfoxed at his own game and Lucille that the bear had spoken so articulately for once... most of the time he'd simply stuck to grunts or groans of annoyance or short verses, if he bothered speaking at all... though... wait...

"Bora... y-you ATE him!?"

"No, I shoved him up my ass and squeezed till he was begging for the sweet mercy of a second death... yes Lucy, I ate him. Like I said, the bastard was trying to get away, so I just charged and Swallowed his darkness and malice whole, felt just fine afterwards. Just like I'll fucking eat anyone who dares challenge you back home. No shut up and get to searching the crowd, the sooner I can maul whoever the hell wants to start another war, the sooner I get to wipe his taste out of Elder Lich outta my mouth..."

"Are you... sure you're alright?"

"Why the hell wouldn't I be?"

"It's just..."

"All of this is quite different than what we're used to from you, ya hairy arse."

The bear thought about it for a moment. Perhaps he did feel different. Ever since that night his mind had felt... almost clear. Like the fog he'd been wading in all these years had finally lifted. But he gave it no mind beyond that. He wasn't about to turn into a Dire Bear Litch, if that was what the fools were insinuating. Hell, it had already been two days, and he really was fine as far as he could tell.

"Meh, nonsense... now let's shut up and find whoever needs to be ripped a new one."

[M_Cowher]

Rhaeza

As the Archangel was delivering his speech Rhaeza watched, hiding in plain sight as a civilian. He was paying less attention to his speech, and more towards the security at the event. 'How many of you are loyal... and the loyal ones, how long will they last?' Rhaeza pondered, before turing around and walking back to Marcus and Jarvis.

"Any of the security look familiar? I feel like some of them may be undercover. We still don't know how deep this corruption is." He said, glancing around to make sure that nobody else could hear them speaking. "The security here is tight. It's hard to imagine anything breaking through this, but I've seen worse. Guards could be undercover, maybe even civilians, or both. There are stil a lot of unknowns here."

[IntSys]

Bargus

"I guess you haven't found any worthy suspects so far. For now, I suggest that we keep an eye on the guests' hands. Those special gloves seem like the best weapon for the agent to use in their mission." Bargus said.

[Cool Girl]

As the event goes, Misara watched from afar. As they clapped, Misara clapped. Misara then looks around at everyone in the event.

"No-one suspicious so far. But, doesn't hurt to take precautions." Misara thought

[Chevaleresse]

Gabriel had spent the last few days prodding about as best he could at the various academic gatherings, trying to ascertain who the important people in attendance were. Who the likeliest target would be, what their schedule would be like. Trying to track them and get a feel for their routine much as an assassin would, though this was significantly harder on the defensive. Of course, he'd also made some more personal inquiries - nothing as straightforward as the confession to Lerodoch, of course, but inquries nonetheless - into the knowledge of those attending.

He'd also tried to imply that anyone with suspicions should go to him or the other team members with them as indirectly as possible, though once again that was mostly a shot in the dark. The half-elf assumed that it couldn't do more harm than good; it might alert the assassin to the presence of a counter force, but that could possibly delay the killing or prevent it entirely if they lost their nerve.

Currently, he sat with a group of students positioned near the stage, keeping up appearances as best he could while trying to scan the crowd for anything or anyone that looked off.

[Notus]

Jesse

Cana gave Jesse an impacient look "I don´t now them silly, I´m not from here! And Caspiel is the one who just spoke, dã?" then the little girl looked around a bit more intensely and, stuffing her chest proudly, completed. "Meh, I can tell you most of them are strong, but none is a match for me!"

Rhaeza

"Yeah, it´s a problem. I hate making the security of this kind of crowded space." Marcus said, sighing. "Anyway, I did manage to get the guards list from the CIty Guard, I already identified some of them pretending to be civilians. And my contacts prevented that info about you being the killers from reaching them as well, of course."

Bargus

Haze looked around and sighed. "That will prove difficult. It´s a formal ceremony after all, many guests are using gloves." The white haired butler then raised one of his gloved hands. "Even me, though I didn´t want to take any chances. Anyone could be wearing one of these." Bargus knew that was the stealing glove, painted all white on the outside to make it stand out less.

Misara

An angel approached Misara, dressed elegantly in a white suit. "Oh hey, look at who is here. Did you lose your sister again?" When he got near, Misara recognized him as being Hesediel, though he looked pretty different in formal clothes. He smiled at her and then looked around. "What do you think of our work here in the Ceremony Hall? It ended up pretty well, didn´t it?"

Gabriel

Gabriel felt someone touching his shoulder from behind. "Good evening Gabriel, how are you liking the party?" The vampire recognized Ledoroch wothout even turning to see the blue skinned demon. "Have you been feeling well these last days?"

[Notus]

Jesse

Cana gave Jesse an impacient look "I don´t now them silly, I´m not from here! And Caspiel is the one who just spoke, dã?" then the little girl looked around a bit more intensely and, stuffing her chest proudly, completed. "Meh, I can tell you most of them are strong, but none is a match for me!"

Rhaeza

"Yeah, it´s a problem. I hate making the security of this kind of crowded space." Marcus said, sighing. "Anyway, I did manage to get the guards list from the CIty Guard, I already identified some of them pretending to be civilians. And my contacts prevented that info about you being the killers from reaching them as well, of course."

Bargus

Haze looked around and sighed. "That will prove difficult. It´s a formal ceremony after all, many guests are using gloves." The white haired butler then raised one of his gloved hands. "Even me, though I didn´t want to take any chances. Anyone could be%2

[IntSys]

Bargus

"Ah, the glove's fixed. I guess you've tried out the glove, too," Bargus said. "Why bring it here, though? Did you find something new about the glove?"

He called one of the angel waiters nearby to switch his wine to something else.

[M_Cowher]

Rhaeza

"So none of the guards knows about us." Rhaeza said, refering to the task group, that he still hadn't returned to yet. "Don't know if that will be for the best or not. On the one hand there is no chance of the corruption finding out. But at the same time that presents an awkward situation if the guard gets involved. I would rather not have to explain myself to someone while the enemy is probably escaping, or getting closer to their target." Rhaeza had almost forgotten something that should have been blatantly obvious. "Nobody on the inside knows that you're alive still right? Did you have to make contact with anyone?" Rhaeza said while scanning the crowd, hoping to find anything out of the ordinary.

[Ragnar]

Jesse

"Is that so? Well i supposed you're one of the elites here.." Jesse said and shrugs after hearing Cana brag. "So what game should we play to pass the time?" The angel asked out of boredom.

[krim]

Raziel

He was surprised that nothing happened to Caspiel during the speech. Given the nature of their former combatant, he thought these people had a thing for theatrics. "Probably for the best. I doubt we could've gotten up there to stop it anyways." When the speech was finished, he saw Haze hold up the glove and felt his heart almost stop. With a surprised grin he said "You've fixed it then? I can't say I didn't doubt you given how well that was going for me, but this is going to be a very valuable asset in the future." "Let's just hope its enough. For my sake." he added mentally.

Edited November 28, 2016 by DragonMasterKrim

[Cool Girl]

Misara looked at everyone in the room. As she stared at Caspiel while he was saying his speech, she felt like he was the threat. She decides to shrug it off, but she also does her best to keep a close eye on him. She does not want him to notice her.