[h1]Drosil[/h1]

Drosil was glad that Marco understood the seriousness of the matter, and gave him a small nod as he walked away. As the group headed out, Drosil gave a final glance towards Ambrosia his gaze sliding across towards Christopher as he felt something clench in his chest. It was an unpleasant feeling, and one that he felt he'd long buried. The interaction between the Divine and her child reminded him rather painfully of how his own Divine parent never sought him out, never set him any guidance, nor even made their presence known in any way, shape or fashion. While he did care deeply for his caretakers . . . there was always a distance between them, maintained by secrets that the two would never share. THey laughed, they smiled, but he could never truly consider them his mother or his father, even in an adoptive sense. They cared for him because it was their job, and while they did enjoy it and care for him, they never let their guard down, never let him into their hearts. 

He'd only really thought about this in his final years at the orphanage, having seen all the other kids, his friends, leaving with their new families, all happy smiles and tender embraces. It wasn't until he felt a tap from Sir Maul's antenna that he realized that he squeezing his fists so tightly that his knuckles were turning white, nor that his teeth were grinding together so fiercely. He told himself to relax, attempting to clear his head of these unwelcome thoughts, but all that came to mind was that first image of the Divine rushing forward to hug her child, and soon after an image of himself studying alone with a Jasian Library, 17 years old and surrounded by many summoning tomes, filled with the passion that first brought him towards his current passion and field of study: The desire to summon a Divine whenever he wished.

Shaking his head, he simply focused on something else, his eyes tinging slightly with purple energy as he felt a familiar touch make it's way up from the small of his back. The phantom presence located inside of his own mind was reveling within the feel of his dark and hateful thoughts, a teasing chuckle resounding in his head, amused by how deep strong a chord this jealousy struck within his soul.

[hr]Sometime later. . .[hr]

Drosil was very impressed by the powerful magic he was seeing as the group entered the world of their host, but he also couldn't help the instinctual terror that rose up within him, both his own and that of the other being that held onto his soul. Still, afraid or not, he was scanning all of the world around him, taking down notes on all of the magical emanations he could understand, and even that he couldn't. His examinations of the dimensional space was interrupted, however, by a sudden rumbling that exploded into a golden blur streaking it's way through the air, aiming for Christopher, but hitting the Fortune-teller instead. Drosil blinked slightly as he found the blur to be a young girl(young, at least, in terms of attitude and appearance, if not actual age), and couldn't help but tilt his head slightly in confusion as he found that Etsuko had apparently already been acquainted with the girl in question, who the butler fellow introduced as Lady Helle, younger sister of the one they had come to see. At the mention of Karin, however, he couldn't repress the shiver that ran through his form, a desire to flee overcoming him for a second before he suppressed it, if only barely. His head was filled with a barrage of gruesome imagery, bodies adorning a field, glowing crimson eyes in darkness, bright silver hair dyed red by the blood of a hundred demons. THese and more filled his head as he walked forward with the others, having dismounted from Sir Mauls, who had decided to follow with the rest instead of waiting outside with the other mounts, much to the relief of the horses he was sure.

Entering the mansion, he felt a mix of comfort from no longer freezing his butt of, and dread as he felt the fear inside of his gut fill him even more intensely . . . as well as other emotions. Lustful desire, something he hardly felt in such strength, suddenly assaulted him, fantasy upon fantasy and causing his face to turn about as red as the over-sized moon from outside. He shook his head, and spoke a short spell of focus on himself, a simple incantation that assists helps block out outer interference. It helped a little, making it so that he could actually think and pay attention inside of his own mind. If anyone where to look at him now, they'd find that he'd look quite frustrated with something, though what was hard for them to say.

[color=Gold][i]Okay, so either she's fucking with me right now, or has some extremely mixed feelings about this woman. Either way, I doubt my time here will be anything less than excrutiating. *sigh* I should have Shadar deal with this instead, but he'll probably switch back as soon as he realizes what I'm trying to do.[/i][/color]

When they were finally introduced to their patron, the fear came back stronger than ever as he laid his eyes on their host, as he took an instinctive step back, his eyes quickly shifting to a violet hue before he closed them shut and rub them, whispering the focus spell several times over and over in order to keep him from attempting to flee the room that moment. Still, he couldn't help but feel the pressure of her power weighing down on him as he approached, making sure to take a seat that was as far away as possible from the demon as possible. While he remembered what Lady Ambrosia had said, he couldn't help his own terror from driving him away from her, having a grand distaste for demons in general, though he didn't let it show. That being so, he had little doubt that the deceptively young looking girl in front of them could tell how uncomfortable he was, and probably knew the reason why as well. As the food appeared on his plate, he couldn't bring himself to eat, having lost much of his appetite upon entering the mansion, and the fact that he was still suffering a bit from the feelings from before. As such, seeing the Traditional Jasian meal before him, a concoction of delectable spices and meats that had yet to be so perfectly recreated since he had left the orphanage, made him feel just a tad more melancholy than he had felt before.

He looked up from his meal, looking between Thuraya and Karin as the former seemed to struggle with the fact that the child-like figure was more than she seemed. Drosil had no such problems, having studied and experienced such a phenomena many times over, and having suffered ever so slightly for underestimating a summoned being just because it looked like a child. He shuddered slightly as he recalled the time he'd summoned his first pixie, remembering rather keenly the feeling of it's tiny syringe-like teeth as it tried to bite his hand off that one time. he'd given too much power to the Fae, causing it too grow large and ferocious as a result, and had gotten quite the scolding from his professor for that mess up. Luckily, everything had gotten relatively under control, and they only had to worry about the Mega-pixie , as it had been named, every full moon or so.

As KArin spoke to them all, however, Drosil did a good job of schooling his face so as not to let on to the guilt he felt stab at his chest as he heard of the Advisor and her organization. FInding out that she was only one of the lower rungs of the operation made him feel rather pathetic as a mage, as he knew she was leagues above him . . . and that the ones stronger than her where behind the god kings made him realize how deep in the shit he currently was. There was no getting out of this organization alive, that he was now certain . . . but maybe if he could get some information out of them, something to assist the Prince. The God kings where a terror on the world, and any organization that were behind them were not one he wanted to be behind.

[i][color=DarkOrchid]But you know . . . if they birthed the God kings, imagine what power they have at their command, what kind of knowledge they hold? Do you really think that such knowledge, that which you've been seeking all your life, can be obtained by pure and moral means? Why give up this chance just for a man you barely know, a country you bear no allegiance to. . .[/color][/i]

Drosil froze slightly as he heard the voice in his head, because it was not the soft, sultry one he'd been expecting, trying to pull at his darker side. It was his own voice, his own thoughts, which had reverberated through his mind, and to make matters worse, he felt himself getting dragged into the seductive promise that the voice whispered to him. However, he shook his head again, warding it off, as he made himself eat, feeling a knife plant itself deep in his chest and twist around a bit with every bite reminding him of what he had never truly had, of what he was trying to run from, and what he truly desired. 

That being said, he couldn't fault that the food was as delicious as he remembered. Almost brought him to tears.

[hr]

As the man with the violin appeared, another slamming of the door could be heard, but whoever turned to look would find the hallway the portal lead to being completely empty, as if a soul had never passed through there at all. It wouldn't be until a voice spoke up from near Etsuko that attention would likely be drawn to the second newcomer. He was a tallish man, standing about  5'11, dressed in rather plain, travel-worn clothes as opposed to the more well-dressed man that had come before him. He wore a simple white tunic with leather breeches, his form framed with a patchwork cloak made form many different forms of fabric, going from expensive silks to plain cottons, ranging every color of the rainbow and beyond. Hanging from his neck was a elaborate jeweled and designed medallion, with four gleaming red jewels near the center, metal encasing them with petal-like extensions sprouting all around it like multi-colored flower petals. As for the man himself, he was a very handsome individual, his blond hair reaching all the way down to his back in a rolling wave, shifting from it's natural golden hue to a veritable rainbow of dyes and hues, all of them strangely seeming to compliment each other instead of clashing garishly as they should. His skin was rather tanned, similar to that of Drosil, actually, but of a somewhat deeper pigment. As he fixated a single, ice-blue eye down upon Etsuko, the other covered by a simple black eyepatch, he got down to one knee, reaching out to lightly grasp her hand and give it a light kiss, as if he was a knight greeting a princess.

Rising soon after, he gave a warm smile down towards the woman before him, speaking in a melodious voice that tickled the ears upon hearing it, giving a low bow to both Etsuko and then the rest of the group as he introduced himself.

"Hello all, my name is Ian Blackwood, a rather humble bard who Lady Renata has taken the time to help from time to time. I must say, however, that I feel rather bullied by both the ladies of this household, for they did not prepare me for charm of the Diviner, nor her other lovely compatriots." Ian gave an over dramatic spin, as he grasped at his hear, seemingly pained as his form fell over in a tumble of cloth, only to disappear, as if he was erased from existence. Before the group would have time to wonder what happened, Ian's voice would be heard from near Cyril and Ayano(assuming they were sitting near each other, if not he's next to Cyril). "I must say, Prince Cyril, you're exploits, both past, present, and future, will likely make for great tales for me and my ilk to carry across the land. Ah, the very thought of it makes me wish to break out into song."

The flamboyant man suddenly seemed to produce a Lute from out of nowhere and, without further adieu, sang. The language was not one known by most, light and airy as if it was the voice of the very sky and sunshine, but it would touch them all to their core. As he played and sang, the group would feel their souls become lifted, their worries eased, their darkness abated as a brilliance seemed to radiate of the man, impossible to see with ones eyes, yet impossible to miss. They'd be reminded of better times, happier times, uplifting times where things were so much simpler and the worries of life seemed so far away. After what seemed like hours of pleasant listening, but was truly only a few minutes, the song would come to a close, and the man would take a bow before appearing on the other side of Lady Renata and Dimitrius. Noticeable only to these two, however, would be a single, hungering glance at what they held in their cups, but in the split second that it broke through, the look was gone, and he was moving on to bow towards the Lady of the house.

"I apologize for my intrusion, but I couldn't help but see who had come, as well as make a good first impression while I can. It's always fun to meet new people, after all. But seriously, couldn't you have told me that so many lovely individuals would be coming? I swear, I was almost blinded in the one good eye I had left."