Hero

Of Blood and Magic

---

---

Lilie jumped in place once she heard the giggling, spinning around. What was a little girl doing out here? She was entirely confused, looking the girl up and down. Her dress looked like something she had seen in a history book or something, further confusing her. Still, if she was lost (or playing with someone by the looks of it) then Lilie couldn't ignore her. As she took a step closer, however, she noticed the weird edges, coming to a halt.

"...what?" Lilie voiced her confusion, squinting at her. Pushing aside her unease, she said, "Hey, um...are you--?"

She didn't get to ask her question fully, eyes widening immensely as she noticed the man. It felt like ever hair on the back of her neck stood, and Lilie found herself running forward.Once the man roared, however, Lilie froze in place, and before she could do anything, the man nabbed the girl. Lilie let out a rather loud scream of horror, nearly tripping over the unsteady forest ground as she immediately backed away. She crashed right into Ben, her foot catching a root as she tripped and fell. She immediately sat up, looking at the still vampire for a moment before looking back at where she saw the girl last. They were gone! But how?!

"Th-the girl! The tree--I--he just snatched her!" Lilie could barely string a sentence together, panicking as she whipped her head to look around. Whatever happened, she was not a fan of it, and she scrambled to her feet. "W-We're leaving! Right now! Right now!" She said, grabbing Ben's sleeve and pulling him in the direction she thought was south.

---

Shaken and dragging @Bert Macklin with her.

Of Blood and Magic

---

---

What they were seeing matched the blocks they were carrying--right, Eris did feel some kind of star pattern on the block he had been carrying. So he had been carrying a yellow block with stars, and Wells had been carrying a blue one with the moon. What could he do with that information? There might have been something obvious he was missing, he needed to try not to overthink. He was right above the kid, they were both facing something similar. Anything that touched the light would disappear, and he couldn't move from his spot.

Wells thought they were supposed to touch the approaching symbols. It was as good a guess as any, but even though he wanted to agree, the whole 'not moving' thing did throw a wrench into things. But it sounded right. Eris just wasn't sure why he couldn't commit entirely. There was definitely something he was missing, but he had no idea what. Then again, the exam was supposed to be a test of trust, so maybe a leap of faith was the right response.

That said, he wanted to make sure they were completely on the same page. "Okay. I'm going to add 'touch them at the same time' to that theory," He said. "The way we got in here was in sync, maybe we're supposed to touch them together, too. I think." He paused. "Was there anything else from the riddle that might be a clue?"

---

Keeping calm with @Scribe of Thoth.

Of Blood and Magic

---

---

The sight before him struck Eris as weird, taking him a second to realize that he could actually see again. The massive amount of relief almost overwhelmed him, the vampire's hand to his chest before brushing his hair off his forehead for a moment. Looking around, there was nothing but stars--what was all this? It must have been part of the exam, or rather, the 'game' Wells had mentioned. Right, he mentioned a game, but what were the rules? Eris couldn't say he was a huge fan of any kind of game, but it was too late to do anything about it now.

At least he could see again. It would have been beautiful if it wasn't for the fact that Eris was pretty sure he was going insane. The academy was doing a great job at souring all kinds of illusion magic, that much was for sure. The fact was solidified as Eris spotted the bird touching the star and disappearing, something resembling a dark chuckle escaping him. Great. Just great.

The yellow stars caught his attention, although when he tried to move closer for a better look, he found that he couldn't move. This exam was going to give him all sorts of anxiety by the end of it. He squinted at the wall, recognizing the cluster as a constellation. Interesting. "Can't say I'm super into astronomy, but..." Eris trailed off as he looked around again. Where the hell did the kid go? For some reason and through what he could only guess was magic, he was above Wells. Because that made sense. He rolled his eyes, stopping for a second as he realized the constellation was getting closer.

"Well, fuck. Now what?" He called down. "There's a constellation colored--I think I'd say either daffodil or maybe blonde, definitely not a true yellow color--anyway, the stars are on the wall, and it's getting closer. And I can't move."

---

Keeping calm with @Scribe of Thoth.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒊𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒅 & 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉

A few mumbles here and there and the odd comment showed that the young man's interaction had gotten some attention. For the most part, it was curiosity getting the better of them. The idea of anyone lowborn standing up to higher powers was greatly entertaining, especially when done so boldly. She was greatly amused by the interaction, her mind made up right then and there. There would be no better option to take back what was hers than with someone who cared little for authority--at minimum she had little reason to think he would turn her in.

Now to get his attention. Tapping her chin, an idea came to mind. As she stepped aside, however, she faced the back of a guard's head. Quickly turning around, she knew she needed to get made a decision here and now. Snapping her fingers, a rush of wind swept through, startling the poor elephant. As it reared back on its hind-legs, the guard next to her ran forward in an attempt to calm the creature. Part of her felt bad, but it wasn't hurt, just scared, so she gave it a small apology before moving through the now bustling crowd. Once she got through, she approached the stranger, though before she could get to close, she spotted more guards coming along to assess the situation.

Not wanting to draw any more unneeded attention, she reached out and touched his arm. "Come," She said, beckoning for him to follow her before she turned around and walked into the alley.

Of Blood and Magic

---

---

Lilie watched the flowers bloom with wide eyes, completely fascinated by the speedy process. Magic was so cool, she wondered if she could sneak the vial out with her and spread it over the flowers she had at the dorm. Tempting as it was, though, she focused on the flowers in the bushes in front of her: one dandelion, one rose. As far as she knew, neither one was really represented by the moon, so Ben's advice didn't really do her any favors. She frowned to herself as she rubbed her arms for warmth, trying to really think. Well, dandelions looked like the sun, so maybe that's what it meant? But that didn't sound right, either.

Letting out a sigh, Lilie knew she'd have to do something. She decided to go with what looked familiar, stooping down and carefully plucking the rose from the bush. She admired it for a second before walking back to the vampire. "One turned out to be a dandelion and the other one a rose, so I picked out a rose," She told him with a slight shrug. "I'm kinda hoping dumb luck will help, 'cause I'm not really sure which one's right." She outright admitted.

---

Staying close to @Bert Macklin.

---

---

How nice, someone really thought this entire scenario was a game. Eris openly rolled his eyes, deciding to keep his complaints to himself. At the very least, they would progress after this, and whatever helped them move forward was a plus in his book, even if they had to play along to whatever asinine mage thought of all this.

Once he felt the vambrace move, he adjusted his grip on the block, letting Wells guide him as needed. As weird and unwelcoming the sensation was, he knew it was easier to let it happen than to fight it. He felt the block getting pushed into something, and once the vambrace stopped holding his hand up, he waited for the next thing. Right, then, five paces back, that much he could do on his own as he took them backwards. He mentally counted five to himself, figuring that since they were the same height, they would probably have the same length in steps. Well, technically the kid was a little taller, but whatever.

"Sratum Picon," Eris spoke at the same time, bracing himself for whatever came next.

---

Getting ready to sync with @Scribe of Thoth.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒊𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒅 & 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉

The Diamond

Name: Vijaya Lakshmi

Age: 25

Appearance: Lakshmi has the appearance of an attractive young woman with dark facial features, an hourglass figure, and a charming way of speaking. Her mess of long, raven-black hair is usually tied back with an elaborate blue ribbon, striking blue eyes matching the tear shaped bindi she wears. Often draped in a blue sari, she is adorned with a pair of golden bangles that never seem to come off.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒊𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒅 & 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉

On this day, Raghba Shahr knew nothing but joy.

Founded one hundred and eight years ago today, its citizens celebrated the success of their kingdom. The streets were flooded with people as they took to enjoying themselves, taking every chance to fill on food and drink. For the most part, the spirit was shared among both peasant and royalty; within the castle walls, the Sultan had invited several important figures, intent on showing the capital their leaders.

That said, there was one who did not quite participate. While the Sultan was all too happy to impart his joy, a man known as Khedive Raoul had an imposing aura about him. His composure was kept in expression save for his eyes: a tranquil fury filled them as he glanced over the crowds outside. He tapped his cane with long fingers, only moving when a guard approached him. His scowl was plain at this point, though he didn’t need to respond as said guard departed immediately.

His name was then called, and after putting on some semblance of a pleasant expression, rejoined the other nobility. The guard that had departed exited the room, letting out an exasperated sigh before straightening up at the arrival of the captain.

“Khedive Raoul has asked to increase the numbers in the search,” He stated.

The captain slowly shook his head, unamused. An escaped concubine of sorts wasn’t necessarily anything urgent, but the Khedive insisted on her recovery sooner than later while urging for discretion. “I won’t afford him any more, it shouldn’t be so difficult to find one woman,” He replied curtly. “Quietly, get to it. I’ll take over from here.”

The guard nodded, taking off in the direction of the populace. Music filled the entire city at this point, conversations shouted over one another in an effort in communication. Throughout the celebrations, the occasional guard was seen conversing with another. They would never linger, their reactions a mix of disbelief and exasperation. The result was a stumbling search as the guards alternated between caution and carelessness obvious to any who looked.

Emerging from an alleyway once the guard had passed, the raven haired woman took a look around. The celebration had been just as good a distraction as any, though judging by the guards crawling around, her presence was missed. For now, that simply wasn’t her concern, though she did stop to tug at the golden choli; considering his insistence that she was his tawaif and not his ’courtesan’ as the servants assumed, the man certainly liked the idea of showing her off. The sari was less modest than the others she was used to, the slit outright scandalous, as if her midriff hadn't shown enough skin as it was. But he had assured her of its fine quality, pointing out the intricate designs of gold on blue. She could have believed him if he had been subtle at all, but at this point she knew better.

She stopped as she heard a commotion, raising an eyebrow. Right, then, if she was to escape, then she would need another pair of hands. But there was nothing wrong with a little exploration, her eyes drawn to a small gaggle of women dancing for a crowd.

Of Blood and Magic

---

---

A bunch of falling rocks was more along what Eris had thought the practical would be, so he could honestly say he was surprised when Wells admitted he had dropped something. The wind blowing through gave him an additional spook, but he shrugged it off as he focused more on not dropping the block. Well, physical contact wasn't doing anything at least, but he figured it might do something else eventually. His thumb continuously ran over the star symbol as he tried to focus on it. Definitely a star, but aside from size and shape, he couldn't really tell anything else otherwise.

Once they came to a stop, Wells went ahead and described what was next. He didn't read the next riddle out loud, but he seemed confident enough in what they needed to do. 'Stratum Picon'...the first word meant layer or something, the second was French for 'pick', but he wasn't sure what they meant together. A 'layered pick'? That couldn't be right. There might have been more to it, but he'd have to just let him take the lead.

He went along with whatever the kid wanted, changing the block to the same hand the vambrace was on. "Block in, countdown, gibberish. Got it," Eris replied, lightly rolling his shoulder. "Is that all there is to it? Or is this the first part to something?" He remained relaxed, waiting for the pull.

---

Getting ready to sync with @Scribe of Thoth.

Of Blood and Magic

---

---

See, that was the kind of thinking Eris could get behind. There was the tiniest chuckle before he felt the vambrace getting tugged, and he followed suit in the hopefully right direction. He lightly rubbed the block, frowning as he tried to think of the riddle. There were likely to be more parts to it, but since Wells was more concerned about getting the practical done sooner than later, he wouldn't stress himself out too much over it.

That said, Eris did feel like he should try the small talk thing again, only with more relevant topics. Maybe he'd start dropping some other gossip topics, but there wasn't nearly enough time in the night to properly discuss to get an effective conversation going. Going forward, he would make sure to try to keep the kid in the loop with anything relevant; it was only natural that he have some sort of idea on important people and important information to casually bring up if the occasion ever came. Or whatever.

The vampire stopped as he heard something hit the ground, tensing up immediately. Was there someone else there? Was it the kid? Fuck, he hated this so much, anytime he thought he was finally begrudgingly getting used to it only for something to remind him that not seeing sucked. "Uh...was that you, or...?" Eris asked slowly, holding the block to his chest almost protectively.

---

Getting a lil spooked with @Scribe of Thoth.

[c a n c e l e d]

---

---

The harmonic chirping was accompanied by a buzzing sound, ignored even as its owner sat less than a foot away. Miriam was more focused on prettying herself up more than anything at the moment, her brush effortlessly traveling through her hair. It was pointless to go out in public if you weren't going to look your best at all times, and needless to say, she did have an ulterior motive. She had actually looked forward to the school year; ironically, it was at Alexandrina Prep that she felt independent and on top of her game. The only thing she really missed were her cats, of course, but lately she felt that she was ready to be taken seriously in the world.

That said, her phone wouldn't stop giving notification after notification, and once she finished with her hair, she decided to see what the buzz was all about. She had gotten tagged in some image someone had taken, and after squinting at it, she realized it was a board of pictures. What was this all about? She almost dismissed it until she spotted Zacharias' face among them. 'The Saint' was right underneath, and it took her a moment to think about that. Cute, but she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about someone else penning him.

She scanned the rest of the picture, eyebrows shooting up as she saw her own face. Ugh, what a terrible picture, she knew she never should have uploaded that one. She narrowed her eyes, unamused as she finally noticed what was put underneath. The tag wasn't at all flattering, either; it was downright offensive considering the connotations. That someone would compare her to an animal of sin of all things was completely ridiculous. "How daft," She muttered, putting her phone down and giving it no further thought as she put herself to work on her makeup.

---

Texting @Amore

---