[center][h1][color=00aeef]M[/color]arco [color=00aeef]M[/color]axell[/h1][/center] [hr] Marco had slept well that night, though it was still rough to achieve slumber. He sat tucked under blankets that were soft to the touch, that carried a radiating warmth, that made it hard to ignore comfort. The simple room that he was given felt right for him. It was nothing special and almost as if it was made for him. Though, after the exceptional dinner, he did not doubt that it was. He laid with his journal open, quill scratching lightly, as he worked odd equations out by the light of a bright candle. Every so often, his eyes would dart to the windows. He still felt the lump of fear that choked his breath at the thought of an invade leaping through. After a briefly, tense moment the boy tore the blankets off of him and went to cover the windows from the glare of the moon outside. As mystifying of a sight as the moon was, the boy still felt the cold reality of fear. He drew a thick curtain over the windows, hiding himself from the gaze of the moon. He extinguished the candle with a quick wave as he crossed the room again, retreating into the cover of the blanket again. In the dark, he could feel the presence of his own mind. He could feel the fear gripping at him and drinking in the sensation of his innocence, his weakness. He reached down to his waistline and pulled the dagger free from his night clothing. It brought him comfort and it made him feel safe. He closed his eyes and held the dagger tight as he tried on focusing his mind. [hr] As morning came, or what could be described as morning despite the moon hanging above them constantly, Marco departed from his room. He was dressed and prepared for what may come, hopefully. His body was still tense earlier that night, though his mind had calmed. He clutched the dagger close to him, wrapped again in the same cloth as always and tucked inside of his robes, and made his way through the manor. He didn't know exactly what was available to him, or whom he could have asked to guide him. He figured that he would be alright, he wasn't that easy to ignore and be forgotten right? So wandering would be alright. It recalled him of an old tale, about a young adventurer lost in the depths of a labyrinth being chased by a large beast. Marco shuddered at the thought and picked up his pace. He could only hope that there wasn't some overly large cow laying in wait for him. There was no cow, to be certain. Though the hallways went back and forth constantly, with no clear defined path, Marco would eventually find himself coming across a destination. It was a long trip to the double doors in the hallway that seemed no different than the rest of them, but the result was certainly worth it to someone like Marco. After all, the doors would open for him, revealing the massive library beyond, the one that stretched high up above and was ridiculously long, the room alone most likely the largest thing that Marco had ever seen. However, the path in front of Marco would once again guide him through the library. Like the hallways had done before, the shelves seemed to be set in such a way to guide him deeper and deeper into the library, though they did so much more subtly; only a turn as necessary, with more straight lines instead of corners. Eventually, it led him to the side, towards one of the walls, where one table (like many others he had already seen in the library) was set against it. There were two chairs facing the wall, and one was already occupied by the Lady of Demons herself. She sat with her back to him, and apparently a book in her hands that she looked down to. To begin with, it seemed like she wasn't aware of him; however, there were subtle, slight changes that he might have noticed that told otherwise. After all, as he approached her head tilted slightly, but beyond that there wasn't a sign at all, and she certainly didn't turn to say anything to him. It was a thing of beauty, a place of his dreams. Marco's jaw dropped as the door before him opened wide. Perhaps he did die and was received by the Divine, gone to the place that his mother and father were waiting for him. More books than he thought existed, tomes and texts lost to most historians. He walked slowly through the grand hall, eyes scanning each book that seemed to captured his attention. [color=00aeef]"[i]Tales of Heroes and Epics[/i]..."[/color], he read the title of one that sat above him on a higher shelf. A quick look around to see if there was something that he could stand upon, sadly there wasn't. Shrugging he reached out with his arm and extended his magic forward to grasp the book. He brought it down to him and tucked it under his arm and continued to walk along the path. Wherever he was meant to go, he followed along willingly. It wasn't as if he could ignore a force that drove him like this. Though he soon wished that he had. He stood before her, book in hand and grew tense. She didn't even acknowledge his presence, not physically at least. As he approached her he noticed the head tilt and stopped again. [color=00aeef]"Good morning, Lady Renata. May I join you?"[/color], he asked politely as he bowed. He was the one interrupting her private time, it was only proper that he should ask permission. With the voice of the young mage the Lady of Demons finally looked up from her book slightly, and then turned her head to look towards him slightly over her shoulder. Facial expression calmly neutral to begin with, her unique sort of smiling soon came over it, her nodding slightly. Even as she nodded the chair next to her moved slightly, pulling out and turning turning so that it would be easier for him to sit down into it. [b]"Of course, Mr. Maxwell. I don't see any problem with it at all. Come, sit down."[/b] The book in her hands was slightly raised, her hands nearly closing it but not quite as she looked to him instead; whatever it was, it was very old, worn down with age and its color a very faded green, what may have once been golden but were now brown letters etched into the cover in some language he couldn't recognize. He took the offered sit with a bright smile. [color=00aeef]"Thank you, Milady,"[/color] he said as he laid the book he carried on the table before him. He took notice of her book, his curiosity wonder what was inside. as Master Az'Cer always said: [color=0054a6][i]The older the book, the more you could learn from it.[/i][/color] He wasn't sure if he should ask however, seeing how she wished to keep it hidden by her movements. Instead, he opened his won book and began to read. His eyes moved rapidly as he absorbed the information. [color=00aeef]"I have a question, Milady, if you will allow me,"[/color] he stated without lifting his eyes from the pages. He turned a page over and quick skimmed over legends of local heroes of Barcean, stopping once he noticed his master's name. [color=00aeef]"You said that you had gifts for us,"[/color] he began after reading a quick passage. [color=00aeef]"I am curious as to what you had in store for me."[/color] The smirk grew on Lady Renata's face, her slowly closing her book completely and setting it gently to the side. [b]"Curious, aren't you? The youngest usually are, and they're the most straightforward and honest about it. It's refreshing."[/b] Her hand turned over then, palm up and fingers curled slightly as she held it out towards to him. [b]"Very well then. If you don't mind, I'd like to see that knife you've made your keepsake."[/b] Marco nodded and placed the book down, closing the cover with a soft thud. He pushed it away to clear enough room for him to lay the dagger out. The blade was a simple design, straight sleek edges that meet at a fine point. Much of his dried blood had flaked off, though the rune pattern of his personal seal remained. [color=00aeef]"Here it is,"[/color] he said as if there wasn't anything special about the blade. Gently she took the blade from him, and as soon as it entered her hands it began to vibrate subtly, so quickly and yet so slightly it was almost impossible to see to the naked human eye. Slowly she turned it back and forth, looking over it with almost a bored expression. [b]"Hmmm... It seems to me, Mr. Maxwell, you have a latent talent you're just beginning to tap into. Amusingly enough, you can thank the Advisor for that, I suppose. However... You're inexperienced and untested, and blood magic can be quite dangerous, as I'm sure you know."[/b] He nodded again and sighed a bit. [color=00aeef]"As I have been told, by many more educated than myself. Unfortunately, I can not find a way to gain the experience to be tested." [/color] He turned to face her, a small look of despair flickering across his eyes. He had learned much and more with his time within Barcea, but there was always more to learn and more to discover. It was consuming him, day and night. It was an endless struggle and in this time of war, it felt was if there wasn't enough time. [color=00aeef]"I just want to be useful to Queen Kori and Prince Cyril. I don't want to be something that my father would be ashamed of."[/color] [b]"Admirable enough, but ultimately meaningless if you end up hurting yourself or those you're so desperate to assist. With that stated, allow me to temper the blade a little for you, so that they learning curve is not so steep."[/b] Quite calmly the Lady of Demons brought her other hand over, and ran it over the edge of the blade. Though she clearly cut herself, she healed just as fast (or perhaps even faster) than the pace she sliced along her finger, her digit appearing as if it had never been harmed at all. However, the very sharpened edge of the blade was stained a bright red, and would remain that way from then on. With the deed done, she held it back out to the young mage. [b]"With my blood added, you should find it a little easier to grasp and control. Specifically, any blood you draw with this blade will now be yours to control. It might take a little bit of practice to begin with at first, but I'm sure you'll figure it out soon enough."[/b] Marco grasped the hilt of the blade and eye'd the edge of the blade in the light provided by the chandeliers above. He gave the blade a slight nudge with his magic, causing it to vibrate rapidly as the runes appeared just like before hand. [color=00aeef]"Thank you,"[/color] he said briefly after staring at the blade and allowing his magic to retreat back into his person. [color=00aeef]"Though time isn't something that we have much of a luxury of anymore, so my practice would need to begin quite rapidly."[/color] He gave the blade a slight prick against his finger, drawing small beads of blood to the surface of his skin. He slid the blood against the flat side of the dagger, much like how someone would sharpen a tool. [color=00aeef]"Sharp enough to slice flesh and armor alike, I need this to be a tool in order to protect myself and my allies."[/color] His thoughts were voiced aloud as whispers while he watched the blood form under his spell. He picked up the cloth he used before and wiped the blade off of excess fluid. The oiled cloth parted ways as it made contact along the edge, falling into two pieces as he finished. He stared at the cloth, stained red with blood, then to his palm, gaping gash leaking blood over himself and the table that he sat at. He was in shock, because he felt no pain, and he had to react quickly. Taking a deep, shaky breath the boy used the cloth to wrap his hand up and squeezed tightly. [color=00aeef]"I-I suppose that I should be more patient than I am now."[/color] The Lady of Demons chuckled, giving a nod. She had watched the process that the young mage had gone through with only slight interest and more than a little amusement. [b]"That you should, Mr. Maxwell. In fact, I would concentrate on making sure you know how to stitch yourself back together before you start cutting at yourself without thinking, otherwise one day you might simply pass out."[/b] [color=00aeef]"I-indeed, I do believe that I should work on that right now actually. E-excuse me, my Lady Renata."[/color] He said quickly as he grew more pale. He clutched the dagger close as he stood up and calmly made his way away from her. Pain started to radiate from his hand as his fingers began to grow numb. He left the book behind along with Renata, and his manners it would seem. But he didn't really care right now, his hand was on fire and he was trying his hardest not to cry.