[hr][h2][center]Phoebe[/center][/h2][hr][center][u][b]Locations:[/b] [i]???[/i] || [b]Interactions:[/b] [i]N/A[/i][/u][/center]
[indent]	Phoebe looked around at the dimly lit cavern that had recently been restyled as a ramshackle hideout for a minor dark guild. The members of said guild now surrounded her, armed and ready; the feeling of magic being charged in the air was thick and palpable, and being intimately familiar with this feeling, she was aware that her - admittedly feeble - attempts at negotiation had broken down, and a fight would inevitably break out soon.

	Jacobii Flesh-eaters, the dark guild in question, and numbering around 30-odd members of varying magical ability, was a dark guild that, while relatively a non-threat compared to other, more infamous dark guilds, had drawn attention to itself through various acts of atrocities, the most well-known of which was its members disturbing practice of devouring human flesh in order to fuel their more obscene magic abilities, from which its name was derived.

	If that weren't enough, they were known to have practiced human sacrifice on a routine basis. At first, the reports had been chalked off as another of their demented rituals - only to later recoil in fear and panic as they discovered that it was indeed a "ritual"; an actual magical ceremony designed to activate magic far beyond the capabilities of a single mage. 

	The specific aim for this ritual was what brought her here. After all, she would never condone the summoning of demons, regardless if one's intentions were benevolent or not. 

	The fact that it was the latter simply made it so much easier for her.

	"So," she muttered, her normally subdued voice amplified by the deathly quiet that filled the cavern, in spite of the sheer number of people surrounding her, "am I to take that as a 'no'?"

	"KILL HER!"

	And so to [i]battle[/i].

	The Jacobii Flesh-eaters were actually somewhat impressive, she observed. For a minor dark guild, they had an adequate amount of resources, a not insignificant number of members, some of which were actually mages of skill, and their guild leader was skilled in coordinating his guild members, making them an effective fighting force rather than a ragtag bunch of bandits with magic - an actual guild, so to speak. 

	That there was over 30 of them warranted this mission an A-class label, as well as a recommendation to do this as a party. In some ways, that she had come here alone would have been considered reckless, a bit foolish even. Even a party of A-class mages would have trouble with this many opponents. In the normal course of events, she would have been swarmed and defeated after bitterly struggling against them.

	But for all her faults and glaring deficiencies, for all that there were many that whispered behind her back and doubted, one thing remained true:

	She was considered border S-class for a reason.

	The members of Jacobii paused and blinked in confusion, as the little girl that had suddenly waltzed into the middle of their hideout and demanded their unconditional surrender disappeared. There was no flash of light, no magic that they could see, and yet, the girl was no longer there.

	"Come."

	Turning around, their eyes collectively widened as they saw her standing idly, arms relaxed at her side, and with a bored expression. What truly caught their attention, however, was the array of floating spears of light arranged menacingly behind her. The light from those javelins eclipsed the light of the torches arranged across the walls of cavern, and blinded several of them. 

	Before any of them could comprehend what was happening, the spears fell.

	It was a one-sided battle. No matter what spells and curses they threw at the girl, she remained unaffected, somehow dodging each and every one, while hurtling towards them an unending barrage of light. Their numbers dwindled quickly, and soon, there was only one was left standing.

	"M-monster!" cried the last member of Jacobii, their guild leader, an B-ranked mage by the name of Jacob Imber. In utter desperation, he opened his mouth, and from it, a dark hand pulsing with malicious energy shot towards Phoebe, aiming to grip her neck. To his utter astonishment, the hand went straight through the girl, passing through her neck and embedding itself in the wall behind her. "H-how?!"

	"A trick of the light, it seems."

	A familiar voice from behind him made his heart stop for a beat, and he turned pale as he slowly turned around to face the one that spoke.

	There stood another Phoebe, just as relaxed with the same uncaring look as the one in front of him. His mind reeled as he realized the implications. All this time, he and his comrades had been aiming their spells at an illusion, when the real mage was-!

	His thoughts cut off as another spear of light impaled him through the stomach. 

	The cavern was silent once again, the only sound that could be heard was his body hitting the ground with a dull thud. Phoebe walked forwards, stepping over the collapsed bodies of the dark guild, making her way towards a room in the back of the cavern. Blasting the locked door apart without preamble, she stepped inside, and spotted her prize. 

	A book on demon summoning. Where and how they procured it where secondary concerns; right now, she had a more pressing matter to attend to. 

	Another spear shot towards the book, immolating it completely. Phoebe watched it burn, and though her face remained expressionless as ever, the fires that reflected in her eyes told perhaps of a different story.

	Her job done, she took out the communications lacrima in her satchel. "I'm finished. Send someone to arrest the survivors," she said. With that done, she made way to exit the cavern. 

	With the way it was situated near the top of a cliff, Phoebe had a good vantage point. She should return to the guild soon, and report her success to the master. The guild was about 47 kilometers from here. It shouldn't take too long then . . .[/indent]
[hr]
[center][u][b]Locations:[/b] [i]Luna Crescente - Golem's Hand Guild Hall[/i] || [b]Interactions:[/b] [i]Deslin[/i][/u][/center]

[indent]She arrived in her room with a brief flash of light, and shook the dust off her cloak. She'd been gone three days -
 she owed Deslin a report. Before that however, food. The mountains the Jacobii Flesh-eaters hid in wasn't a good place to look for food,
 and she hadn't eaten anything for nearly two days.

	She was [i]starving.[/i]

	The first thing she noticed when she exited her room was that it was loud. [i]Really[/i] loud. It surprised her for a moment, before she recalled that they were making preparations for the festival when she left. That means it was already underway, and she'd missed the announcement for the S-class trials.

	Inconvenient, but she only had herself to blame for taking so long. Besides, a quick trip to Deslin's office would rectify that. A moment later, Phoebe knocked gently on his door, and let herself it. She greeted Deslin with a quick nod.

	"Back, Master. Mission was a total success." 

	Well, near total success, anyway. The quest specified that retrieving summoning book intact was preferred. The book, was unfortunately "caught in the crossfire", as she explained to the mage knights that were there to confirm the completion of her quest. They couldn't penalize her though, since it was optional.

	Back to the matter at hand.

	"The S-class trials, when?"

	She needed to get promoted. The sooner, the better. There were things she was limited to doing as an A-class, missions she wanted - no, [i]needed[/i] - to take that were kept away from her by the barrier of her rank. Missions like demon-hunting, for instance.
[/indent]