The boy's exhausted puffing softly echoed throughout the cavern. This place was man-made, easily told from the smooth polish of the stone walls. The boy was high in the cliffsides of the southern mountain range, but from a distance, it just seemed like a normal recess within the natural geometry of the walls. It is a surprise he found his mark to begin with. Xen met the boy at the entrance, walking slowly and methodically toward him. His cowl was raised but was pulled back slightly above his browline. He used a rather inconspicuous staff to aid him in movement, the rhythmic tapping against the stone ground bouncing off the chamber walls.

	As the boy handed him the letter, Xen looked at the boy curiously, eyeing him up and down. Many questions entered his mind, foremost being as to how he found the old man to begin with, but such a question, he thought, a messenger would not know. Information is the currency of the high lords and ladies, and manipulation the blind knife in the dark. Pursing his lips, he took the letter. [color=red]"Eat something before you leave."[/color] His tone was dry, but not harsh. He gestured toward a table around the corner with a loaf of bread and a small cut of meat on a plate. Xen moved with purpose toward a table, breaking the wax seal of the letter. He spread the letter out onto the table and read each word carefully. His nose wrinkled in disgust and he pushed the paper away, settling down into the chair near him. 

	[i]After all of these years, they dare seek me out.[/i] He cursed in his mind, seeing the boy pocket the bread and chew on the meat as he slipped out of the cavern as quickly as he could. Xen knew he rubbed people the wrong way. Never having been a social person, Xen didn't pick up on the nuances of courtship and kissing asses. He resigned himself away to live in solitude for that reason. He hated politics. He hated the game. Unfortunately for all of us, sometimes politics invades our lives in inconceivable ways. [i]Sadron... What is it you seek?[/i] He mused after a moment of silence. He eyed the letter than lay on the floor, the crystal sitting on the table. It sparkled in the incandescent light of the room and pale blue. The color seemed almost hollow.

	Xen swooped up the crystal in his hand and held it between his pointer and thumb, examining it curiously. [color=red]"Hmm..."[/red] he murmered, looking again at the letter. Picking it up, he reread it again, and sighed. He stood from his chair and went to his chambers, where he grabbed a dagger and belt, several pouches and a satchel. He examined his robes, the dark blue pigment highlighted by archaic runes running the length of the seems. Pulling back the several braids, he lifted the cowl over his head. Taking stock of himself, he raised his head and closed his eyes. Lifting the crystal above him, he murmured some words.

[center][color=red]"u'Lthir Dyn."[/color]

Xen's form collapsed upon itself and he was gone.[/center]

	Xen'Desh Idlindra stood suddenly in the hall, having slowly and silently materialized from the wall in the back corner. It had been several decades since he has last been within The Center and it looked eerily the same as it did then. Moving closer to where the other "champions" had gathered, he positioned himself to have full view of the entire area. He eyed the men and women gathered there curiously, making mental notes here and there of what they are wearing and what armaments they brought with them. Just as he was positioning himself, he noticed a woman enter and Lord Arandur greet her.

This was going to get interesting.