[h3][color=black][b]East Forest > Phoenix Wing Guild[/b]
Rutger Artz[/color][/h3]
The last few steps out of the forest felt as if he had stepped out from under a great weight. The presence of plant life, especially anything wooden, always made him nervous. It was the same with buildings, but out here, on the edge of Magnolia, it seemed that civilization was far enough from him to remain safe. There was only one building here. It inspired not fear, but hope.

Phoenix Wing had begun garnering a reputation for itself in the past few months, quickly rising in the public eye. He hadn't known much about any of the Guilds when he left home. His village was so isolated he barely knew what guilds were, and out there away from the big cities where magic was so rarely seen, anything to do with it was seen with the same suspicion that had haunted the rest of the world for a hundred years. But his travels had brought word of this place to his ears. Other mages, powerful ones, capable of great feats. Surely they could teach him to control his power. Surely they could make his "curse" fade...

But as the traveler grew closer to the hall, something did not seem right. He was still fairly far away, coming down a hill out of the woods, but shouldn't he have heard something by now? Weren't Guilds supposed to be lively places, full of hustle and bustle and noise and excitement? Not even a dull murmur was to be had in the air around the hall. He looked up, checked to make sure that this was indeed Phoenix Wing. He was in the right place. So...where was everyone?

He approached the double doors of the entrance, and knocked with a firm but somewhat timid fist. Three raps, no more. He waited...nothing. Three more times he knocked, harder and louder now...still nothing.

Slowly, he pushed the door open...

"Hello?"