Tone and Torys
"Alright, I think its about time I test myself," Tone said to himself as he picked himself up off the floor of his room, having finished his basic exercises.
"None of these jobs have been challenging. I need to fight somebody stronger than me if I want to grow. The S-class wizards will do." With a grin he cracked his knuckles and took to the door. He was fortunate enough to rent a room above the Fenixtear hall so it was always took no effort to reach anybody he wanted. He kept a brisk pace as he headed downstairs into the smoking guild hall.
After realizing the smoke was from the kitchen, as per usual, Tone took the moment to identify who was present and available.
So Zenith must be in the kitchen if somebody is burning something. He wouldn't be able to stand somebody messing up the place. Grasidia isn't here, Holly won't be back for a long time. And Kaden is at the bar. I'll ask him first. The dragon slayer grinned and began to approach, but before he could announce his challenge he realized that Kaden was talking with a girl.
Oh man, maybe I shouldn't interrupt. Now that he was closer to the two at the bar he finally picked up the foul smell from the mug Akemi was holding. His enhanced senses as a dragon slayer made the stench even more severe for him.
"Ack! What the-!?" he shouted, hacking as he covered his nose and mouth.
His presence behind Kaden and Akemi was no longer undetected now.
"What the hell is that smell!?" Tone took a few steps back away from the two.
"Should you be drinking that stuff at all!?" His previous intention of challenging Kaden had been completely derailed by the mysterious substance in the mug. After coughing a few more times he took another step back.
"I'll come back later." He continued hacking and coughing as he bolted to the front door, running outside to get some fresh air and spare his nose the misery.
Standing near the job board, Torys giggled at the exaggerated display from Tone. Today felt like a good day to her, everyone was as lively as ever and news of the upcoming festival was exciting. But she couldn't shake the feeling that something felt
off.
"Huh, what could it be..." the guild master muttered aloud to herself, her gaze looking over the hall at all her guild members. As she looked over she noticed a particular seat at a particular table was empty.
"Huh, that's unusual. By this time of the day Grasidia would be back from her garden..."
Grasidia
In the mountains just outside Crocus, near enough to see across the entire capital, stands a large and gothic guild hall. The home of Black Curtain. Appearing as a large, dark cathedral from the outside the truth was that it was home to the largest mage hunting guild in the country. Before its black doors stood two sentinels, men tasked with guarding the entrance and barring entry from unauthorized visitors. Of course nobody would be stupid enough to attack such an important and powerful guild, but Black Curtain has an atmosphere of exlusivity and some degree of secrecy so not just anybody can visit their hall. Only those who have been given permission by members can enter, and only with proof and a way to verify their ID.
Ascending from the base of the mountain all the way to the doors of the guild were marble stairs. A significant hike for any normal person but the mages of Black Curtain have grown used to the climb. They are supposed to be a cut above the rest after all. But arriving at the top of these stairs right now was neither a member of the guild nor any normal person, but instead it was Grasidia of Fenixtear. As she drew near the entrance one of the two guards stepped forward to interrogate her.
"Hold it! Who are you and what's your business?" Grasidia stopped in front of the man, inches away from his outstretched hand. She actually stood taller than the guard, looking down on him with her piercing gaze. Yet she said nothing. After an awkward moment of silence the guard began to sweat.
What's with this woman? She's so intense, he thought, gulping back his hesitation.
"If you aren't supposed to be here then I won't feel the least bit guilty to send you tumbling back down the mountain," he threatened, pulling his hand back to reach for his sword sheathed at his hip. As he grabbed the hilt and attempted to draw he felt resistance. He couldn't draw his sword.
"How the..." He looked down and saw that a vine had wrapped itself around his sheath and his hand, tying them together. The vine continued to grow, winding up his arm and reaching up to his shoulder.
"Excuse me," Grasidia finally let out, stepping past the entangled guard. The second one, having witnessed this from behind, concluded that she was an intruder here to attack. He wasted no time and held one of his hands out towards Grasidia, a magic circle forming in the air before it.
"Blazing Su-"The mages gathered around the main hall were minding their business, having conversations or perhaps enjoying a meal or perusing jobs. But the peace of the hall was shattered as the front doors flew open and the guard crashed to the floor. He slid to a halt next to a nearby table, where one mage was currently sitting. He looked down at his fallen comrade and was shocked to see he was completely conscious but perfectly still. Even his eyes were unmoving. The mage looked up to the open front doors to see Grasidia standing there, her hand outstretched with a large white flower blooming from her palm. She lowered her hand and the flower detached, falling to the floor, before she stepped inside the hall and began to look around. She made hardly a few steps in before another man appeared out of thin air before her.
"It was foolish of you to attack our guild, but this is as far as you go," the gruff man spoke. His clothes were little more than tattered rags and his black hair was long and beginning to gray. His beard was similarly overgrown and unkempt. He held both his hands with his palms facing Grasidia.
"Now you face the head of security, Rough Dan, and your life is forfeit." The air around his hands began to vibrate, prompting Grasidia to stop approaching him.
"Null Zone!" A pulse radiated through the air from his hands, passing through Grasidia with a strange feeling.
"Did you really think a mage hunting guild would have any difficulty with a single intruder?"Grasidia lifted her left hand and looked at it, flexing her fingers a few times.
Of course, he's using a spell to disrupt magic, she concluded. Her eyes drifted back towards Dan.
Unlucky for him. She reached forward with that hand, far faster than this head of security expected, and grabbed him by the mouth. While he could no longer speak his eyes were wide open and full of shock. It was obvious he was surprised by her strength and speed, that she could still be combat capable after being hit by his spell. Grasidia lifted him up, holding him a little off the ground.
I was the fool! All these years of waiting had dulled my senses and I didn't think about the possibility that a lone intruder might actually be powerful instead of suicidal! Others around the hall were standing and at the ready now and it looked like a fight was truly going to break out. But before anyone else could intervene a flash of shadows darted across the floor of the guild hall and manifested to the side of Grasidia and Dan.
"Whoa there, we need to be more respectful to our esteemed guest," the guild master, Duncan Nythe, spoke up.
"I invited this lady myself. You may recognize her, for she is Grasidia of the guild known as Fenixtear." With this she let go of Dan, letting him land on his feet.
"She's a guest? But she just-" "Now now, you were just too hasty. Grasidia here is a woman of few words and there must've just been a misunderstanding at the door is all. If you take a look you'll see she didn't hurt either of the door guards." The head of security was still reluctant, but if his guild master was saying she was allowed in then it must be true.
"Well, uh, my apologies then ma'am." He gave a polite bow towards Grasidia, surprising her.
"Um..." There was another pause, a complete silence as it seemed the entire guild hall was listening.
"It's nothing." She looked over to Duncan now, who was letting out a sigh of relief as she glanced over but quickly began grinning.
"I'm here, you got what you wanted." Duncan chuckled briefly before stepping closer and draping his arm over Grasidia's shoulders.
"No no no, what I want is yet to come." This physical contact didn't last long before Grasidia brushed his arm off.
"Why don't you come with me to my office and we can talk about a few things, yeah? We're gonna need to fix that ugly guild mark of yours into something more fitting..." He then turned to face the rest of the guild and raised his voice for the next part, to make sure everyone would hear.
"For our newest S-class wizard!"Various responses of shock, confusion, and anger resounded from the mages in the hall. While many here had heard of Grasidia in some shape or form it was unheard of that an inductee would be promoted to S-class right away. In Black Curtain the S-class position was highly esteemed, like with many guilds, and while everyone is expected to be strong this meant the S-class were the best of the best. There were many trials and tribulations to be even considered for the role and candidates only had the chance for promotion once a year in a grueling test. Grasidia being offered the position immediately, before she even bore the guild mark of Black Curtain yet, stirred controversy.
"Follow me, if you don't mind," Duncan continued, his voice at a normal level now. As he made his way down the middle aisle of the hall and Grasidia followed his gaze looked out over the mages that were all staring back, settling on one in particular.
Markovis, a veteran of the guild, would feel a creeping sensation as a thin shadow snaked its way up his body and settled behind his left ear.
"Markovis," he would hear whisper.
"I have a specific task for you. Over the coming days I need you to keep an eye on this woman, Grasidia. She is not as she seems, but I think you might be one of our best candidates for gaining her trust." Duncan's gaze averted from Markovis now but the voice in his ear continued.
"She is a very valuable asset but she is also very dangerous. The secrets she contains could change the course of history not just for our guild but for the entire kingdom. We must contain her while we find a way to get her information, but we cannot let her know that we are keeping her. If she were to feel too threatened or perhaps unsure of us then I don't think that even I could stop her from fleeing. For now just be kind to her but never let your guard down."The shadow behind his ear began to retreat back down to the floor and disappearing almost as soon as it reached. Grasidia was none the wiser of the secret orders, even though her senses were extraordinary she didn't stand a chance to hear those whispers over all the other noise of protest around the guild. Perhaps that was Duncan's intention with making a scene of Grasidia. But even without any of that knowledge it was by pure chance that as Grasidia was looking around the guild and glancing over the faces of what will be her new comrades she locked eyes with Markovis.
That's strange, he looks just like that one boy, she thought to herself.
I wonder if they are related...
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