Alais de Royeaux finished her song, her voice leaving a ringing musical note hanging in the air, and the crowd clapped, murmuring amongst themselves. The marionettes that she had been directing finished their little dance along with the song and she made them bow to the applauding audience and was rewarded by a few more coins dropping into the bowl that she had left on the ground in front of her. She stood and bowed herself as the crowd began to move along, and stooped to count her earnings.

A measly few hundred jewel, she sighed in disappointment, sitting back on the upturned box that she'd been using as a stage. She thought about her time in Fiore, so far, as she stowed her little marionettes away in her pack and collected the small amount of change. Street performing hadn't been as lucrative as she'd hoped it would be and, with the reemergence of Wizard's Guilds, there wasn't much call for freelance Mage's anymore. People seemed to prefer to trust a guild rather than a random Mage such as her.

Guilds... As Alais thought of them, she looked up at the building at stood over the others of Magnolia, Phoenix Wing. She remembered when she'd first seen the building from a distance, two days ago, as she'd rode into town on the back of a wagon. To her the building looked resplendent, one of the most beautiful buildings she'd ever seen. She looked down at the paltry sum of coins in her hand and came to a decision. She gathered up her belongings and headed off towards the Guild hall.

Alais arrived at the guild's door to find them open and welcoming. A good sign, she thought. There were two people standing just inside the doorway, a young man with platinum blond hair and a dark haired woman. Alais arrived at the threshold of the doorway and glanced around at the interior of the hall, a little smile appearing on her face. She then returned her attention to to two people standing just inside, waiting expectantly for them to notice her.