IT had been hours since they had ventured into the region of the jungle known as Maveth. Along the way they had stopped to build a crude gurney for Ryan to make carrying him easier.
They walked along in relative silence, to the ambient noise of the forest around them… or the lack there of. For a while now they had not heard a sound from any other living creature which was odd to say the least in an area with such dense vegetation.
"The silence is killing me," Mac groaned as they set Ryan down to rest. "I kind of get why this region isn't ventured into,"
"I wish we could get a layout of the area," Jasmine groaned.
Ryd sat down on a stump, Jasmine had noticed he seemed weaker ever since they entered the region.
Jasmine was just about to say something when Mac burst through from some nearby shrubbery, "Guys, you need to come see this,"
Jasmine didn't even notice her leaving to go scout ahead. She got up and followed the girl's gaze through the shrubs. What they saw made her awe-struck
"Whoa," Ryd commented.
They were close to the edge of a ridge, in the valley below sat a vast stretch of land covered in a thick layer of fog. Even among the giant trees, the towers and spires of an ancient city stood out noticeably, made from solid black stones that glittered in the moonlight.
"Incredible," Jasmine gasped
"This is…unbelievable," Ryd stammered
"Let's go check those out," Mac said
It took an hour for them to make it down the ridge to the valley with turned out to be a swamp. From there they trudged to the area the ruins were located. As they got closer, they noticed that the flooded remains of bungalows and other simple buildings, the fact that these had survived was a marvel, but deeper into the swamp led to a massive wall with an arched entryway that loomed over them. Vegetation of the swamp climbed up the walls, hiding its blackened stone like camouflage. Passing the gates, they entered the sprawling partially buried ruins of a once-great ancient city, they passed ancient aqueducts, amphitheaters, arenas and the likes, all made of the same blackened stone, remnants of the city at its height, but now half buried in earth and weeds, slowly crumbling into oblivion. T
"This is amazing," Jasmine said, as they crossed a bridge over a flooded gully,
"But what is it doing here?" Mac asked, "I've read about ancient civilizations, but never anything like this."
"These ruins are definitely Atlantean," Jasmine said, "ARGUS has found ruins like these all over the world. Apparently, when Atlantis fell, the cataclysm was powerful enough to shatter the ancient lands, sending fragments like this were probably scattered all over the place."
"What could be strong enough to break apart a whole damn continent?" Mac wondered
"The cataclysm predates the Chaos Wars, and was powerful enough to splinter reality, creating the splnter realms, with Atlantis at the epicenter. Back then magik was on a whole different level." Jasmine stated. She was a bit of a nerd for magus history and mythology.
"Although a few of them have collapsed, there's hardly any structural damage on these structures, just clear out the flora and you could move right in." Mac commented, "This is some serious architecture and construction for it to be this preserved after all this time, it barely looks like it's been abandoned for more than a few decades, despite it being hundreds of thousands of years."
They came to what looked like a plaza, one of the gargantuan black towers loomed over them. Walking among these ancient ruins gave Jasmine the same feeling as when she was in the Necropolis six months ago with Ryan, Simon and… Christie. The thought of her late friend dulled her enthusiasm for the ruins a bit.
As they walked on, Jasmine noticed that the walls and buildings seemed to have been scorched, like there was some great explosion that permanently tainted the entire city in soot; every piece of it, be it stone, wood, or metal were equally blackened. As they got to the towers they noticed that above the entryway of each tower was a three-point star etched into the stonework.
Why does that look familiar? Jasmine wondered to herself. She knew she had seen it somewhere before.
"Do you guys sense that?" Mac shivered, "This whole place feels… off."
Jasmine agreed with Mac's conclusion. The hairs on the back of her neck were on ends, she could feel the goosebumps riddling her skin, her every instinct was on edge.
"It's not just you," Ryd shivered, "The animal instincts that come with my magik are screaming at me; they're all saying to leave right now."
"There is a wrongness here," Jasmine concluded, "this whole city had been tainted by something unnatural."
As much as this place upset her senses, Jasmine's interest in its history still far outweighed her trepidation. There was something to be learnt here, in this untouched piece of history.
"Let's go see what's down this road." Jasmine said
… )]≥( …
Back at the 1st branch, due to security reasons the summit was postponed to conduct repairs and fortify their defenses. The attack, although large in scale was low in damage and casualty. The city was still in a state of alert to prevent any more ambushes.
Stephanie was in her suite, looking out the balcony up at the city above her, it was unsettling knowing that right now Ryan wasn't there; he always knew how to cheer her up.
There was a knocking on the room door, "Enter," she said and Vlad walked in
"Vlad, I'm not really in the mood right now." She said without turning to face him.
"I know," Vlad said, "Any word from Jasmine yet?"
"No, I haven't heard from her since her last transmission en route, it was a possibility that she'd be out of range." Stephanie said solemnly, "They're on their own now, and there's nothing I can do about it."
"Stevie, I know you're worried, but don't be; Ryan is a tough kid, and the two you sent after him are reliable. They'll be alright."
"Vlad, if you don't mind; I'd like to be alone." Stephanie said evenly
"As you wish, Keeper Fairchylde," Vlad bowed before leaving the room and closing the door.
As Stephanie stood in her room alone, there her phone started ringing.
She answered, "Who is this?"
She listened,
"You!" she asked "How did you get this number? Why are you even calling me?"
There was a pause, "What about Ryan?" Stephanie said, her eyes widen, "He what?"
Stephanie listened to what her mysterious caller said, "No, don't do anything."
She cut the call abruptly and, out of frustration, threw the phone at the wall. She sighs, Ryan, what have you gotten yourself into? She thinks as she gazes out the window, wandering who might have to die this time to get him back.
… )]≥( …
Somewhere, in a café overlooking a river, a man is sitting at a table, apparently talking to himself.
The man is of uncertain ethnicity and is dressed in an impeccably tailored black bespoke 3-piece suit and an Italian silk shirt underneath. He has a black fedora resting stylishly on his head and sunglasses covering his eyes. He has a black diamond signet ring on his right pinkie finger.
As a waitress brings the man a cup of coffee, he smiles at her, speaking fluently in whatever the local language was, "thank you my dear, and one for my friend also,"
The waitress looks at the seemingly empty seat and is momentarily frozen, a look of pure horror flashes across her friendly face before she turns away and is back to normal, she nods to the man and walks away.
"That is an incredible trick you do," the man said as he raises his mug to his companion, who must not be seen.
"We don't do anything," the unnoticed companion states, "mortals cannot comprehend us, so they subconsciously erase our presence from memory in order to protect their fragile sanity, depite still being influenced by our presence. It's really amusing the lengths they will go; deluding themselves in the name of self-preservation." There is a brief pause before the unseen entity speaks again, "So how are things with the boy?"
"That's how it is, eh?" the man says, feigning offence, "No 'hello, how are you?', just straight to business?"
The waitress comes back with another cup and places it in front of the unseen companion, she is unsure why she brought a second cup but she knows that dare not look at the supposedly empty seat again. Around them, other customers are the same, they avoid looking at what should be an empty seat opposite the stylish man, for fear of what should not be there but is.
As the waitress leaves again, the unseen companion takes as sip from the cup, "We must say; we are fascinated by what these dull creatures can do, they are a wondrous existence, these mortals, so creative. It is almost a shame that we will plunge them into madness."
"You and your hobbies," the stylish man chuckled lightly, "Anyway, if you must know, the boy is doing quite well. His senses and abilities grow stronger as we speak; he was even able to sense me briefly when he was in the Reins house."
"Ah, that old decrepit shed, how is it now?"
"Gone, I believe, the whole place came down after his visit." the man says, "The boy also has a bounty on his head, you can thank our other friends for that."
"They were an unwelcomed addition in the course of events, they may hinder the progress we have made." the unseen scoffed, "Why do you not remove them as a potential obstacle?"
The man in the fedora declined, "As you know I'm not as invested in all this as much as the rest of you are, I only like to throw a stone at the pond and watch the ripples form, these people are an interesting ripple to watch. Plus, if I were to personally intervene in this matter, my impact on the coming events would attract the wrong type of attention."
"Yes, we also cannot act as we wish in this, as we would make our intent known too soon to the wrong parties. We suppose we must let the young Reins take care of them himself."
The man in the fedora looks up at the sky, "well, we must cut our lunch short I'm afraid. Your influence is starting to seep in, and the Stars may soon take notice as well."
Around them, chaos had slowly been ensuing, as the environment itself slowly turned hostile. Now people who had just moments ago been laughing and enjoying each others company were now in the heat of fierce and bitter arguments seemingly out of nowhere, animals were randomly attacking pedestrians, and nearby drivers were suddenly afflicted with an inexplicable case of the worst road rage. This all came to a head when a driver just ploughed their car right into the café, running over several pedestrians, and that was the catalyst that exploded into pure pandemonium as people were now openly attacking each other.
The unseen figure nods, "True, the mortal plane is not compatible with an existence such as ours, if we continue to linger, this land may become cursed. And as much as we would love to watch that, we must leave now before our absence is noticed by our kin."
The two nod at each other, then in the next moment, both vanish, leaving their empty cups behind. There is a tip for their waitress, who was currently clawing another waitress' face. This case of spontaneous violence was later reported as mass hysteria, with a staggering number of casualties. The existence of the stylish man at that table already working its way out of the memories of everyone who was there.
… )]≥( …
Ramsey and what was left of the black talons were now at a loss. Up until now, they had been successful at tracking Ryan by the tracking bacteria they had placed on him and Jasmine. But now, the massive magikal blast from Ryan must've scrubbed the bacteria from both of them, because there was nothing to trace.
"Damn," Mika said, "Tracking him now is next to impossible."
"Losing two of our members in one day was a severe blow." Ronan said
"What are we supposed to do? Master expects results." Ramsey said
"Well, I might not be able to track them anymore by bacteria, but maybe I can follow their aura." Mika said
"Can you do it?" Ronan asked
"Yes," she replied, "Their magik is strong, especially that golden eyed girl. If I can identify it, I can track it."
"Good, do that." Ramsey said, "I'm going to call it in."
Ramsey pulled out a wand, then drew a glyph in the air,
The glyph flashed and a ball of light floated in front of him, an undulating orb of energy that spoke in their master's voice,
"Ramsey, what news do you have?"
"Sir, I regret to inform you that Kraw was slain… by Seraz… who has now deserted the black talons."
The orb was silent for a moment, then it began to vibrate again, and Ramsey heard the faint sounds of a person sitting back on their chair and stroking their chin, "This is serious, but not important. What of the Rein brat?"
"We had him cornered, but he surprised us with a lightning attack and escaped. We are tracking him now."
"For now, you are to rendezvous at safe house sigma. Wait for further instructions." The master says, then the orb faded, leaving him alone.
… )]≥( …
Crowley was in his office when a scout team arrived to see him.
The four rangers walked into his office and saluted the Keeper, the leader of the scout team, Roger Stevens, walked up to him "Sir,"
"What is it?" Crowley demanded
"We were dispatched to investigate the kidnapping of purebloods,"
"That case is an internal affairs matter, ranger," he said, "therefore it is under Branch O's jurisdiction, and is ongoing."
One of the rangers gave a sarcastic eye-roll that did not go unnoticed by Crowley. He knew how Branch 0 was perceived by most of ARGUS, but he also knew that their duty was vital to protect its internal security.
"We were tasked to conduct our own investigation by a representative of the noble houses, and we believe we may have identified the culprits." He held out a rolled sheet of paper, "We suspect that someone affiliated with Branch 0 may be involved with these culprits, and would like to check your recent branch records to identify this traitor."
Crowley looked down at the four rangers before him. He knew of them; they were great rangers, an effective scout team, but their branch was sponsored solely by the noble houses, so their skills as expert trackers were often utilized by the nobles for unofficial missions. They may wear the trappings of rangers, but they were little more than mercenaries now.
It was quite the shame that the nobles wasted such talent on petty interests, "Have you reported this suspicion to anyone else?" Crowley asked
"Not yet, sir, right now it is just a hunch. We want to find something concrete before we report back."
"Ness!" Crowley yells, summoning his assistant, a few moments later, a woman walks into the room. She was tall, with tan skin, dark hair packed into a braid and gray eyes hidden behind glasses, her face gave off no expression and her body language was rigid and formal. She was dressed in a black business suit with a white blouse, knee-length pencil skirt and heels. She was the stereotypical secretary, and she walked with purpose, carrying a tablet.
"Yes, lord Crowley?" she bowed
"These four have inquiries our records in relation to the kidnapped purebloods. Take care of this, will you." Crowley said as he got up from his chair.
"Understood sir." Ness said with a respectful nod as Crowley walked past her and out the door. As soon as the door closes, there is a commotion coming from the office, followed by the screams of the four scouts, then everything went quiet.
A moment later, Ness walks out of the room, straightening her blouse. "They have been silenced, sir." She said, in a professional tone. "I will have the bodies dispose of shortly."
"Good, and draw up a list of potential replacements for the two missing Black Talons."
"At once, sir," she said with a nod
"Also," Crowley added as she began to walk away, "When you are done with that, I'm sending you into the field."
She jerks to a stop then turns around, surprised, "Sir?"
"It appears Ramsey's team has proven incapable of completing this task. I need someone I can trust to bring me the book and the Reins brat."
She bows respectfully, "Yes, sir. I've heard of this Ryan Reins' accomplishments since he came to ARGUS, is it necessary for him to be recovered in one piece?"
"Not necessarily," Crowley said, "But I do need him alive."
"Consider it done, sir. He should be in our custody by tomorrow evening at the latest."
"Good." Crowley said, "See that he is."
… )]≥( …
Back at the ruins, Jasmine was exploring with Mac and Ryd carrying Ryan on their improvised stretcher.
They went deeper down into the city and found it to be built into the natural geography of the area. They entered what seemed to be a cul-de-sac with a temple at the end. It was built into the side of a hill. Unlike the other structures, this one was squat and the black stones seemed to have been etched with a large shimmering red marking above the front doorway,
"Whoa, creepy looking," Mac commented
As soon as they got closer to it, the emblem glowed a menacing crimson red then the doors slid noiselessly apart revealing the entrance. All the while, they did not notice Ryan being lightly covered in a faint black haze that leeched from his body.
"Well, that's helpful." Mac said
"And suspicious," Jasmine commented. She could feel a strong pull, deep in the Naexis, every bit of magik energy in this city –however little there was— flowed into this temple.
With trepidation they approached the temple, passing the threshold into the depths within.
Darkness. After her trip to that godforsaken island a few months ago, Jasmine could never be truly comfortable in complete darkness again.
They found themselves in an antechamber with no windows whatsoever; the only source of light came from the closing doors behind them. Jasmine pulled out her wand and created a simple ball of light that quickly illuminated their immediate surroundings. The light wasn't strong enough to banish the darkness from the entire room, but created a ten-foot bubble of visibility around them. The chamber was fairly large and circular.
Inspecting the ceiling, Jasmine found there were what she thought could be some sort of light fixtures, but she couldn't see any way to turn them on. A small podium sat in the middle of the room, they approached it and noticed that on the top of it was some sort of circular dial.
"What's this?" Jasmine queried, inspecting the dial.
"Hey, I think…" Mac started as she studied the surface, "nope. I have no idea what this is."
Ryd brushed the dust from the surface to get a better view, and as soon as he touched the dial, characters glowed to life all over the podium, all around the room, the light fixtures blazed to life completely banishing the darkness. Now they could see clearly around the room, large silver mirrors stood floor to ceiling lined against the wall in separate alcoves, at the top of each mirror was a glowing sigils.
"Cool," Ryd said
"This city just keeps getting better and better." Mac commented, "Ryan would love this."
Now with light, Jasmine took another look at the dial. She twisted it quite easily to one of the glowing characters around it, and the same character appeared on the dial itself. In one of the alcoves, a mirror started to glow as the surface now rippled like liquid, distorting the reflection. Now in the rippling surface of the mirror, they saw the same chamber, but dark and empty.
"Whoa, that's a neat trick," Ryd said, "that's another chamber, right?"
"So, it's a viewing room?" Mac asked
"I'm not so sure," Jasmine commented, looking at all the alcoves and large mirrors in each. A lot of mirrors were either cracked or completely shattered, only a few were still whole.
Mac made her way towards the mirror and touched it. She and everyone else watched as her hand pass right through the surface.
"It feels weird," She commented "like I'm slipping through a membrane of slime,"
"These aren't viewing windows," Jasmine surmised, "they're some kind of portal,"
"What?" Mac demanded, yanking her hand out of the mirror, "What happened to all that 'portals don't work around this time because it's an auspicious time' thing?"
"That's how our portals work, these are clearly differently." Jasmine said, "the ancient Atlanteans were different from us in how they understood and utilized magik."
"So we now have portals," Ryd spoke, "so where do we go?"
That was a fair question, where should they go? Back to sanctum? To the 1st branch? Where? They still didn't know how these portals worked, or how to work them.
She studied the different points on the surface and guessed that maybe it was tied to other ancient sites.
Wait.
The other cities.
"The expo," Jasmine said to herself
"The Rangers' Expo?" Mac asked, vaguely remembering others mentioning it at sanctum.
"Yeah," Jasmine said, "I remember hearing that its location was confirmed the night before the siege on the city."
"What does that have to do with our current situation?" Ryd asked
"It is being held at another Atlantean ruin like this, but in the desert.
"Are all these cities located in strange places?" Mac asked
"I don't know," Jasmine replied, "but I think these mirrors lead to somewhere, so it's worth a shot…"
Mac and Jasmine glanced over at Ryd. He held his hands up defensively, "Hey, I've been avoiding the ARGUS authorities for a reason, now you want me to go to a convention of them?"
"I won't let anything happen to you." Jasmine assured him
He looked over at Mac, "Hey, if I have a reason not to trust you, I won't let the crows get to you first." She cracked her knuckles to make her point know.
Ryd gave a deep sigh, and muttered under his breath, "I can't believe I let you talk me into this,"
… )]≥( …
After a series of trial and error, they finally found the right mirror gate –as they chose to call them— that led to the desert ruins. They arrived in a similar circular chamber, surrounded by mirrors, only the place was covered in sand. Exiting the temple, they found themselves in the the outskirts of an Atlantean city that was half buried in sand, the scorching sun blazed overhead and rolling dunes of desert stretched out to the horizon.
"Hey, I was wondering…" Mac started as she carried Ryan with Ryd, "If these cities are so old and are considered archaeological monuments, why is ARGUS using it as a venue for a ranger convention?"
"Well," Jasmine started, "these sites are under the protection of ARGUS by the magus historical conservation act, being preserved for magus study, so from time to time, some of these sites are used to host ARGUS events, because they have great security value."
"I could guess that." Mac said, "What I don't get is how all these rangers are so comfortable throwing combat magik about within this city." she said as the sound of an explosion reverberated through the buildings.
"Oh, the entire city is being maintained by special preservative magik. Interestingly enough, this special protection magik was first developed by the Reins family."
"Damn, Ryan's family sounds really cool," Mac commented as they continued
"We're probably in a restricted part of the ruins," Jasmine noted the lack of spectators about, "we should get somewhere more populated before we get spotted."
"Easier said than done." Mac groaned, "Don't forget, we're carrying an unconscious eighteen-year-old… who everyone wants to kill us for."
"Well carrying him like this is very slow. If you can't handle it, give him here; I'll carry him for you." Ryd offered
"Right, like I would trust you to carry Ryan." Mac said, setting the stretcher down, "I've still got my eye on you." A green glyph appears over her chest, covering her body in an aura,
"There we go. Don't know why I didn't think of this sooner," Mac said as she grabbed Ryan and lifts him over her shoulder with one hand.
"Whoa." Ryd said, "How is that possible?"
"I come from a family of biotics, this is a special body reinforcement technique," Mac said. Jasmine looked over at Mac, for the first time noticing the crest that was tattooed on her neck,
"I don't know much about biotics, or the Torris family," Ryd said
"Well I wouldn't expect you to," Mac stated, "biotics are endangered, not that many of us left these days. We used to make the best healers, but then we were hunted because we also made the best panacea. My parents died when I was about eight, I spent the next couple of years bouncing around from sanctuary to sanctuary, couldn't take the risk of anyone finding out I was a biotic so could never really get close to anyone."
"That sounds horrible," Jasmine empathized, "growing up on your own, as a magik sensitive kid, is a good way to end up in the wrong crowd, or dead,"
"Yeah, well I'm not like most people," Mac said, her eyes hardening, "I'm a survivor,"
"I know," Jasmine noted, "you're a lot like Stephanie in that way,"
Mac remained silent at that comment.
"Hey," Ryd said, ducking back, "I saw a few people up ahead who didn't wear a ARGUS gear."
"What where they wearing?" Jasmine asked
"A black leather jacket with a bird and crescent emblem." Ryd said, Jasmine walks to him and sees that his eyes are glowing.
"That's the symbol of the Moon Sparrows." Jasmine said
"Who are the Moon Sparrows?" Mac asked
"They're an independent magus group," Jasmine explained, "private contractors that are affiliated with ARGUS, active in zones where we don't have branches."
"They're mercenaries?" Mac said with a hint of excitement
"Basically, yeah. They technically operate unofficially within our framework and are subordinate to the Rangers… more or less." Jasmine said,
Jasmine briefly considered her options, before nodding, "I've got an idea."
She stashed her bow back into its pocket, then pulled out a custom crossbow with an automatic feeder and reload system out of another pocket.
Ahead there are three Moon Sparrows; two guys, one girl, each one wouldn't look out of place in a seedy bar or a biker gang with the leather jackets, trousers and boots which come with chains and excessive straps, not to mention the tattoos that could be seen creeping around their wrists and up their necks. Moon Sparrows and Rangers have a similar tradition of getting tattoos for successful missions, though Jasmine never saw the appeal of covering her body with graffiti and broadcasting her skill unnecessarily, but the three ahead of them weren't like her, and from the volume of ink on them, they were seasoned veterans.
"Hey," Jasmine said walking up to them. The woman turned around, she had a punk haircut and piercing, she seemed like the leader to the group.
"What're you doing all the way out here?" she asked,
"I could ask you the same thing." Jasmine said defensively
"We're doing patrol." The woman said, sizing Jasmine up, "Wait… I know you, you're Jasmine Sumner, the White Fang, aren't you? I heard you're a stone-cold bitch."
"How did you know?" Jasmine asked with a raised eyebrow
"Your reputation is known even within the Moon Sparrows." The woman said, "I'm Bonnie, by the way, these are my boys; Cruz and Salezar."
"Nice to meet you, Bonnie." Jasmine said, then she brought her crossbow from behind her back and shot all three of them in rapid succession before they could react.
Mac and Ryd came out of hiding, "that was cold." Mac said
"Well she did just call me a bitch." Jasmine said, "Grab their clothes."
"I always did love playing dress-up when I was a kid." Mac says as she removes Bonnie's jacket
… )]≥( …
Stephanie had been summoned by the Keeper king. As she waited outside of his office in the Great Hall her mind was going through dozens of reasons why she was summoned; it was concerning how the ones that involved her being stripped of her title, arrested and/or killed were more than she would've expected.
While she was preparing to make her case for her dismissal trial, the doors opened. Stephanie stopped in her tracks, petrified. At the door was the Keeper king himself.
"Uh…um…" she said at a loss for words [and Stephanie is never at a loss for words]
"Well?" he asked, "Are you waiting for a golden ticket? Come in."
"Y-yes, my king." She stammered as she hurried into the room.
She walked into the room, it wasn't at all what she had envisioned as the inner sanctum of the most powerful man in ARGUS. In fact, it was almost like her office, except there was a pool table and a large portion of the room was covered in book shelves, and the minibar.
The Keeper king sat in his chair. "Go ahead, do you like it?" he asked gesturing around the room. "Does it meet your expectations?"
"Uh… my king, your office is…"
He sighed, "Stephanie Fairchylde, we're away from the prying eyes, you can drop the formalities, in here I'm just Havran St. Klaus, another Keeper just like you, and I would like you to address me as such."
"O-okay… Mr. St. Klaus?" Stephanie said as he went to get a bottle of whisky and two glasses.
"I assume you'll have a drink with me?"
It didn't really sound like a request, so Stephanie took the offered glass.
A few drinks later, Stephanie was feeling much more relaxed.
"I like you." The Keeper king said, "Half the Keepers attending this damn summit want to see the other half in disgrace. And most of them have spies lurking about so that the second I'm dead, they can start clawing for my seat."
"I'd say I didn't think that was possible, but I'd be lying." Stephanie said with a grin, "From the second someone's appointed Keeper, the next thing they want is to be Keeper king."
"Yes," Ran agreed, "and I imagine there are a few in this sorry lot that would stab me in the back to get that title."
"Oh, I know there are." Stephanie said, taking a long draw from her glass
"Do you have any spies, Stephanie?" the Keeper king asked
Stephanie chuckled, "I have a few eyes and ears here and there, but I'm not going to waste them on watching the other Keepers, or you, I have other things to worry about."
"That's rare for a Keeper." he said, nursing his drink, "In my tenure as Keeper king, I've stopped three wars from breaking out between branches."
"But don't forget the two that you didn't." Stephanie pointed out, "I lost some damn fine friends in that last one."
"I know," he said, "you are part of a handful of Keepers that I actually think are worthy of your seat."
"Did you know that after my predecessor formally named me his successor, it almost sparked a coup in the 45th? Four Proctors threatened to walk out that very day, four?" Stephanie said, as she took another swig from her glass, "I went to speak with him about declining and asked why he would name me as his successor; I wasn't an aide, I wasn't even a senior officer, I was a rookie A-class nobody, I wasn't as experienced as the older rangers and I didn't even want the job, do you know what he told me?"
"What?"
"He said, 'Experienced veterans are a dime-a-dozen, I'm looking for someone who'd hate this chair as much as I do'."
"I don't get it." The Keeper king said topping their glasses off.
"That makes two of us." Stephanie said as she took another swig, "but I'm glad the old bastard made me Keeper, I've done some good in that chair."
"Yes you have." he said, "Like, for instance; this attack that recently happened. I hear you're the only one who sent off your escort team to investigate."
"Well I had to," Stephanie said, shrugging, "my nephew may have been the cause."
"The Reins kid? I've heard about him, how is he?"
"He's probably off raising some kind of hell," Stephanie said, "hopefully, he'll make it back before he gets himself killed." Stephanie staggered off her seat, "I think I've had too much."
"Why?" the Keeper king asked, "We were having a fun time."
"I'd really love to sit here, drink your whisky, and tell you more about me and my checkered past, Mr. St. Klaus," Stephanie said with a slur, "but apparently I'm a lightweight when it comes to magik booze, so I think I'm too drunk to know when to stop talking, so I should leave before I tell you about something that could get me fired and/or killed."
"You may have a point," the Keeper king sighed
"I enjoyed this meeting," Stephanie said, as she staggered to the door, "you can get me drunk anytime, Mr. Keeper king."
… )]≥( …
The black talons were back on the hunt for Ryan Reins, but after the explosion, they didn't have much of a lead to follow and tracking Jasmine's aura was useless because she left no trace.
They waited in one of their dens to nurse their wounds.
"We have failed," Ronan said
"Don't say that." Ramsey said back
"But it's true," Mika said, "Kraw's a corpse, Seraz's a deserter, the Reins boy has escaped us again and I can't track him anymore. We've hunted half a dozen purebloods, why is this on eluding us?"
"Because you are now hunting a Reins." Ness said as she walked through the entrance,
"Lady Ness," Ramsey said, as all three of them bow before her, "what are you doing out here?"
"Lord Crowley has insisted that I join in the hunt to make up for your shortcomings."
"Forgive us." Mika bowed her head in reverence, "We didn't mean to cause you any inconvenience."
"Do not worry," Ness said, "you don't need to fear me; I know that you had not fully grasped the abilities of your target."
"Lord Crowley made him out to be an amateur magus, whose only link to glory was his family name." Ronan said
"Lord Crowley was mistaken," Ness said, "it is true, Ryan Reins has only been a true magus for six months, and yet he defeated a Court of Nox messiah at the start of his magus career. He possesses a prodigious affinity for combat that even we did not expect, as well as that night iron blade of his. He is no ordinary pureblood."
"But we cannot do anything now," Ramsey said, "Mika has lost the trail."
"And that is where I come in." Ness said, "After your last encounter, the Reins and his companions would most likely seek refuge somewhere they can rest and tend to their wounded."
"But there aren't that many places like that in this forest," Mika said,
"I have feelers everywhere on the lookout for them. As the Reins boy has a tendency for being unpredictable I even have eyes in the most unlikely of places." Ness said.
Her tablet beeped, she checked it and a confident grin tugged at the edge of her lips, "It seems like one has already paid off." She said, "I know exactly where they are."
… )]≥( …
Jasmine, Ryd and Mac had disguised themselves with the Raider uniforms, and were right now going towards the main event area.
"This is never gonna work." Mac said as she carried Ryan on her shoulder.
"Yeah," Ryd said, "And my disguise has a serious BO problem."
"Both of you, quiet." Jasmine hissed as they approached a security gate. The guard there looked over at them.
"Who are you?"
"We're with the Moon Sparrows," Jasmine said, her white hair was darkened with grease and grime to match Bonnie, "with the patrol team."
The sentry looked down at Ryan, "who's that?"
"Don't know," Mac said, "We found him passed out by the riverbank. We thought we should bring him back here before he drowns or damages the ruins."
The guard looked at him, "get him to the infirmary, he doesn't look so good."
"Thanks buddy." Mac said, "Then, maybe I can get this guy off my hands."
They passed through the post and walked to a large tent, where healers were tending to wounded and ill.
They dropped him on a bed, and a healer came to them, "what is the matter with him?"
"He's wounded." Ryd said.
The healer ran her hand over Ryan, "he's a lot more than just wounded." She said concerned,
"Yes," Jasmine replied,
"Can you do anything for him?" Mac said, "Make him better?"
"It is a miracle his is not dead already." the healer said, "I'll see what I can do for him, but this will take time."
"Is there anything we can get you to help speed this up?" Mac asked
"No, it is a delicate practice, it cannot be rushed." She said
"Alright." Mac said, backing away reluctantly.
"We'll come back later." Jasmine said as they walked away
After dropping Ryan with the healers, Jasmine, Ryd and Mac went about the Expo, now that they were in a safe zone they could relax a bit. Jasmine and Mac used the opportunity to get cleaned up, and were even able to resupply.
The first thing they did once they had freshened up was go get something to eat. They had run out of rations a while ago.
After eating, they decided to discuss their next course of action.
"So now we can call home, right?" Mac asked Jasmine,
"Yes," Jasmine said, "we should call her as soon as possible. The longer we wait…"
"The closer those black talon guys get to us." Ryd finished for her.
"Finding us?" Mac said, "We're on a whole different continent."
"Don't doubt their capabilities," Jasmine said
After a brief silence, Mac spoke again. "I'm worried about Ryan."
"Me too," Jasmine said, she had checked him over earlier, and he hadn't gotten any better, "Once we get in contact with Stephanie, we can get Ryan looked at back in the city."
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Ryd said, trying to reassure them
"You don't get an opinion," Mac glared at him,
Ryd just held up his hands in surrender, "alright, I'm butting out."
Mac watched him as he got up and walked away.
"A little harsh don't you think?" Jasmine asked
"He was after the bounty on Ryan's head," Mac defended
"Wouldn't you be?" Jasmine accused, "if you found yourself wrapped up in this with us when you didn't have to be, wouldn't you also be interested in that bounty?"
"That's a low blow," Mac snarled, "so what; just because I grew up on the streets I can't be trusted?"
"That's not what I meant and you know it," Jasmine scowled back, "I'm just saying; how do you think Ryd feels about you judging him based only on your own impression of him."
Mac was silent for a bit, "I just… think Ryan's cool, okay? It's been a while since I've met someone as nice as him."
"Yeah, he tends to get that way," Jasmine acknowledged with a huff, "it makes it impossible to hate him, no matter how much I want to."
"Is it about the whole school thing?"
"Yes... no… not really" Jasmine sighed, "it's hard to explain,"
"I hope he gets better," Mac sighed
… )]≥( …
Ryan found himself in a vast, gray wasteland. He didn't know how he got here or where here was, but he got the distinct impression he shouldn't linger in this place.
He was at the crest of a hill and as far as the eye can see, the wasteland is filled with black weapons of all shapes and sizes arranged in an oddly organized manner. As he wanders around this field of weapons, he finds a woman. She has pale white skin, pale blonde hair and blood red eyes. She is wearing a long flowing black dress with ruffles that cover her legs completely around her neck was a prison collar, along with similar manacles on her wrists. She was tending to one of the weapons when he called out.
"Um… h-hello?" Ryan called, approaching her cautiously.
She turned around, surprised, "Hello? How did you get into my war garden?"
War garden?
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you,"
"It's okay." she smiled, "So, are you my master?"
"Huh?"
She approaches him, getting uncomfortably close, and sniffs him, "You smell familiar, so I must know you,"
"But I don't know you." Ryan says, ignoring the fact that she just smelt him.
She pondered for some time, "Do you want to be my master?" she asks finally, cocking her head a bit.
"Why do you even want a master?" he asked, "why not just keep doing your own thing?"
"Because I must have a master, or I will have no purpose." She said, "the Stars said I cannot exist for myself, so I must have a master to leave this place."
"I thought this was your garden?"
"It is, but it is also my prison," she said with a bored sigh, "my every moment is spent tending to these weapons, this is all I can do to pass the time. I want to see what else there is, I want to know more… but I cannot leave on my own,"
"That makes sense, I think," Ryan considered, "so how does one become your master?"
"Well it's really easy. First you must awaken me,"
"But you're already awake,"
She giggled, "Not in here, silly," she pointed at the ground, then she pointed up, "out there,"
"Oh-kay, but how do I do it 'out there'?"
"You just need to feed me your life."
"Come again?"
"But I know you've already fed me." she pondered, "for you to be here like this, it's strange…are you dead?"
"I certainly hope not,"
"No, if you were dead, I would know." she muttered to herself,
"So, why aren't you awake?" Ryan asked, trying to change the subject
"Maybe because you're not awake?" she guessed, "you're not dead, but you're here, so that means you're not awake too."
Ryan just shrugged, it was possible.
"Maybe when you wake up I'll wake up?" she theorized
"Would that work?"
"No one else has ever been here before," she shrugged, "so it could work. And after you've awoken me, you just need to name me."
Ryan paused, "like, I need to give you a name?"
She looked offended, "Do I look like a pet to you? I already have a name, you just have to call it out loud. That binds you to me as my master."
"So since I've already given you my 'life' somehow, all I have to do is say your name, right?"
"That's right,"
"Okay, so what is it?"
"What is what?" she asked confused
"Your name," Ryan said, "tell me your name so I can call you when I wake up."
"I can't tell you my name; you just know it."
"Why?"
"It's the rules,"
"Says who?"
"Says the Stars," she said, "only my master knows my name."
"I thought I was your master?"
"Not yet?" she says much to Ryan's confusion
"But how will I know to name you when I wake up,"
"You'll just know."
Ryan groaned
"Don't worry, I have faith you can do it,"
"And why's that?"
"Because," she grinned mockingly, "you're my master."
"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Ryan said deadpan
She giggled, "I like this."
… )]≥( …
After getting something to eat, Jasmine felt refreshed. She found a call booth and placed a call to Stephanie. Their conversation was short; she just reported what had happened, Ryan's current condition, where they were and what their plans were.
"Alright, I still don't know how you got all the way over to the Expo, but I'll send a warbird to pick you up."
"Thanks ma'am, we'll be here waiting," With that, the screen when black.
After the call, Jasmine stayed around the medical tent to keep an eye on Ryan. She saw the healers give him numerous tests and try all sorts of magik remedies to revive him, but none worked. It was like only Ryan could fix Ryan. Mac showed up a short while later.
"Hey, how is he?" She asked sitting next to Jasmine.
"Not getting any better." Jasmine said, "Nothing seems to be working."
"Well what did you see?"
"Nothing," she lied. With her aurum oculus, Jasmine saw exactly what was wrong with Ryan now; everything that they tried on him was negated by this other magik web, it was preventing Ryan from recovering.
"I wish there was something we could do." Mac said sitting next to Jasmine. Although she was a biotic, she didn't have much in the way of formal medical training, and had no way of helping with Ryan's condition. She was frustrated by her lack of ability.
Jasmine raised her head, "maybe there is," she said, "give me the book."
Mac reached into her satchel and pulled out the grimoire, then handed it to Jasmine.
Jasmine opened the book and started flipping through the pages, they were all encrypted, naturally, but since they were imbued with some sort of magik, Jasmine should be able to decipher it with her aurum oculus.
She stared hard at a page, she observed the different characters and their arrangement. She may not be as good at codes and puzzles as Ryan, but with these eyes she should be able to just understand it eventually. However, just as she felt she was making some sort of headway, the symbols that were there before suddenly shifted to a whole new encryption pattern, throwing her off.
"Dammit!" Jasmine exclaimed
"What happened?" Mac demanded,
"The coding just changed on me," Jasmine growled, whatever rhyme or reason she had since deciphered was now completely useless.
"The book changed the encryption to stop your eyes from hacking it?" Mac wondered, as Jasmine slammed the book shut, "how is that even possible?"
"I don't know," Jasmine said, "but now it makes sense why Ryan's family kept this thing locked away in their family vault. It's dangerous."
"So, what's going to happen to Ryan now?"
"We can only hope for the best." Jasmine said. She handed the book back to Mac, and looked around,
"What is it?" Mac asked
"Where's Ryd?" she asked
"I dunno," Mac huffed, "haven't seen him since our little spat at lunch."
Jasmine activated her aurum oculus again and looked out around them, she was hoping to pick up Ryd's magik signature, even among the cacophony of auras that were present around her.
She was scanning through the crowd when saw a woman some distance away walking by herself. Something about her was… off… in a way that Jasmine couldn't put a finger on. She had no discernible presence whatsoever, not surprising if she was masking her aura like Jasmine herself had learned to do. Interestingly enough, this woman didn't seem to have any strings connected to her, which stuck Jasmine as particularly odd.
The woman then seemed to lock eyes with Jasmine and the second they made eye contact, Jasmine felt a sudden chill go down her spine; that woman wasn't hiding her presence, she had no presence at all. She was a void in the Naexis in the shape of a woman, a paradoxical existence that shouldn't be possible. No matter which way she looked at it, this woman was bad news. The woman then began walking in their direction.
Jasmine shot to her feet, "we need to move!"
"What?" Mac asked, before Jasmine grabbed her by the arm and took off for the tent.
Jasmine didn't need to know why she was here, the woman's presence alone was pushing her to move. Instinctively, she knew that she needed to get Ryan, and then get out of here. It wasn't safe here anymore.
Jasmine summoned her crossbow from her belt and fired two arrows at the woman, she simply grabbed them out of the air with a single motion of one hand.
"How did she do that?" Mac asked
"No time to ask," Jasmine said, "Just run."
They ran into the tent, where the healers were a bit startled to see them burst in.
"What is wrong?" a healer asked
"We need our friend." Jasmine said
"But he isn't recovered yet."
"I know that," Jasmine said, "And I don't think he will, not here."
"We cannot let him leave in this condition." The healer said, "As a healer sanctioned by the monastery, I took an oath, I cannot leave him untreated."
"Lady I do not care about your healer's oath," Jasmine snapped, pointing her crossbow at the woman.
As they argued, someone else walked into the tent. "What seems to be the problem?" a voice said from behind.
Jasmine turned around to see the woman she was worried about.
"I'm sorry," The healer said, "But we cannot discharge him yet."
"We don't have time for this." Jasmine said as she turned her crossbow towards the woman.
"You're not going anywhere." The woman said as she snapped her fingers. Before either Jasmine or Mac could move, a glyph engraved itself on their bare skin,
Once the glyph was on them, they instantly dropped to the ground, unable to move.
"Sorry for the commotion," the woman said to the healer, "but these two, as well as the young man they were trying to flee with, will all be coming with me."
"What did you do to them?" the healer asked
"Tranquil Bind, the seal I just put on them is akin to a mild sedative, they weren't harmed."
"Why are you doing this?" Jasmine struggles as she could feel her ability to speak grow lax, "Who are you?"
"I am Ness, with branch 0, Keeper Crowley's aide." She said, "I apologize for earlier, you caught a glimpse of my negative presence, it must have startled you."
"What are you?" Jasmine demanded,
"The same can be said for your friend here," Ness said as she ran her hand through Ryan's hair
"You keep away from him." Mac snarls
As they are being dragged away, Jasmine asks, "Why don't you just kill us now? It's Ryan you want."
Ness answers her, "My orders were to bring Ryan Reins in, yes, but you have the aurum oculus, and she is a biotic, you are both fine prizes. Now sleep."
Jasmine and Mac are then overtaken by an immense and unnatural fatigue and lost consciousness almost immediately.
As her people carried off the three unconscious teens, Ness turned back to the tent full of healers and patients.
"Apologies, but I cannot have witnesses." She said as her hand glowed.
Moments later, she exited the tent walking towards an awaiting warbird.
"We are currently looking for the shapeshifter, lady Ness?" one of the men accompanying her said
"He is of no current importance. You may tell lord Crowley that it has all been taken care of." She says as she sits down with perfect posture.