New Faces, New Equipment, and Revelations

[Lance]

Alicia and Luna walked through the portal when told to, though Alicia paused for a moment to nod at Aria. The world seemed to whirl in a burst of color, their bodies not moving but their surroundings warping and shifting until they were suddenly in the warmth of the sun, dead center in the Fire Kingdom's market district.

Alicia was unphased by the shift, having been used to seeing scenery change and distort while during aerial maneuvers while in her jet, but Luna was trying to fight back a wave of nausea and a small headache that throbbed in her temples. "Ugh...every time...how are you not feeling ill? You've been doing this less than I have."

Alicia shrugged, "My body ain't moving, just the world around me, I'm used to it...here, look at me." She walked over and gently grabbed Luna's shoulders, "I got something that might help, a kind of exercise. I need you to kneel on your knees and look up at the sky, just not at the sun, obviously."

Luna gave her companion a soft glare, frowning at the ridiculous sounding order she'd just been given.

"Trust me, would ya? Just cause I don't get it doesn't mean I've never gotten it before."

The Dark Elf sighed and did as she was asked, wincing slightly at the feeling of cobblestone on her knees. "There, it's still there, how is t-"

"Because it's not a one step process wise ass. Now zip your lip and listen, alright? I'm gonna run this by you once, and I expect you to do it: Touch the ground with your head, and tuck your chin so your head goes toward your knees. Wait for about 30 seconds. Then, turn your head in the direction you feel dizzy, if it's on your left side, turn to face your left elbow. Wait another 30 seconds, then quickly raise your head so it's level with your back while you're on all fours. Make sure to keep your head at that 45-degree angle. Wait 30 seconds one last time, and then quickly raise your head so it's fully upright, but keep your head turned to the shoulder of the side you're working on. Then slowly stand up."

Luna listened to Alicia's instructions and mimicked them perfectly, and to her surprise, it actually seemed to work a bit. Her headache was dulled, if not gone, and the world was no longer spinning and making her nauseous. "Huh...Humans can't cast spells in your world, but have a form of Yoga that banishes vertigo...how odd."

She looked at the airwoman and nodded, her voice a bit quiet. "Thank you for your help...and, I'm sorry for everything that happened with Lance. I had no idea how badly he was suffering until...well, until he told me. I know that does not undo what I said and did, but...if he trusts you enough to be with you, even after yesterday, then I am willing to as well." She held out her hand, her eyes locking with Alicia's to show that she was sincere.

"Tch, shit...you don't need to be all formal Luna, I know he can be hard to deal with, same with me. But I appreciate your apology, and accept it.~" She gripped Luna's hand firmly, smirking at her before letting go, just in time for Umbra to appear next to them. "And here's our ride home too, once shopping is over and done with."

===========================================

Philemon nodded at Aria when she glanced at him, something that Lance didn't comment on but noticed. The airman's attention was taken when Aldari leaned back and gently cleared his throat, looking at everyone.

"Indeed...so, I'm sure you're all aware of why I summoned you?"

"Because you wanna be debriefed on the Twilight Kingdom shit, gawk at Arin's fancy Doo-Dad, and tell me how it's my turn to go to some ruin and nearly get killed for some egotist's old tchotchke (pronounced CHOTCH-key, it's an old jewish-american term for a trinked or bric-a-brak.) all in the name of world peace. That about sum it up boss man?"

"Fawkes" snorted softly at the Airman's decisive castration of Aldair's opening speech as to the purpose of the meeting, something that earned him a sharp glare from the King before he turned to look at Lance. "Quite...though your summation was a bit...crude."

Lance noticed the somewhat offended tone in Aldari's voice...and he did not particularly care, instead he leaned forwards and pulled his shirt open, exposing the beginnings of a faded but still prominent scar. "Yeah? Well when you get four shattered ribs, a punctured lung and have 2 emotional breakdowns in one day, most of it a result of your little quest, I'll care about how crude I am."

Aldari narrowed his eyes, something that made Lance smirk, 'Good, stew for me you little shit. I forgave Arin, I still got a beef with you.'

The Fire King was silent for a few moments before speaking once more, "I gather that there is some anger towards me for your injuries? Or is this something else, Lance?" His tone was even, if a bit clipped, his temper was already frayed due to recent events...and Lance insulting him in front of his advisors was not helping.

"Let's see...since the sources of my problems are in the same room, I'll do a twofer.~" Lance looked at Aria and smiled in a way that was clearly meant to be fake, before turning back to Aldari. "I don't like you, Aldari. My first interaction with you gave me the impression that your most intelligent advisor is Cypher, and that you and Asmous jailed an innocent woman because of people being fucking racist. Now, I know you AND him are sorry, so I'm not going to hold that against ya. But it's not a great first impression of your competence."

The Fire King's face remained impassive, his finger twitching in annoyance as Lance "politely" gave him a dressing down.

"Then, I get sent on a mission with Arin, all so he can achieve his grand destiny or whatever. Which, might I add...I don't appreciate you, OR Aria throwing him into this shit for YOUR political reasons-"

Lance pointed at Aldari, and then glared at Aria "-Or so YOU can salve your own fucking guilt...and if you think I don't appreciate it when you do it to someone who I still think has a loooong way to go before I'd call him my best buddy or some shit, you have NO idea how much I dislike it on a personal level...I was basically a tool of the US government for...oh, about half a decade or more? It cost me my mental health, and you two have cost me that and my physical wellbeing."

Lance stood and looked at both parties, his eyes piercing and glowing dimly with cyan light. "And, even better...If Umbra hadn't gone out of her way to teach me, I'd be going in blind, with no goddamn teacher! So how DID you expect me to get that treasure, hmm?~"

Aldari moved to stand, ready to argue, only for a blast of wind to shove him back into the seat, Lance's hand held up and his fingers spread open. "Sit your five dollar ass down before I make change. I've held this in long enough, and you WILL fucking listen to me, I don't care who's hole you popped out of, and I don't care if Aria can rip hole's in time and space or whatever the fuck. You want that goddamn kingdom? Then you shut up and listen!"

Lance turned to Aria again, walking up to her, though he kept his hands at his sides to avoid looking like he was going to strike her. "And as for you...I want you to admit to my face, no hiding shit, no lying or pulling that wise old witch crap. I'm done being led around by the shorthairs just on how 'old and powerful' you are. Admit it...you don't want to interfere because you're afraid, you're afraid because the last time you and yours directly intervened in something big, a lot of people died...I can understand that, but I will not tolerate you pretending not to be, because doing that shit and not copping to it? Sending  your son into that shit, and nearly getting him, me and Luna killed? To say nothing of those mercs or Nyx? It's fucking cowardly, and if you're also keeping Ciel and Alicia close, I'm damn sure not going to let you do the same thing with them if this is how you treat me and Arin!"

Lance jabbed a finger at Aria to emphasize his point, locking eyes with her and showing no signs of fear for retaliation.

Fawkes just watched, his eyes flicking to Aldari, who was fuming so heavily the room's temperature kicked up a few degrees. He then looked at Lance, his expression curious behind his mask. 'So interesting...reminds me of him almost, though he's far more open and doesn't bother hiding his true self.'

[Arin]

Nyx tilted her head as she watched the elf performing some odd ritual. She seemed sickly at first, almost prey-like in demeanor. But as she stood herself up, she seemed to be back to her healthy self. So curious, but she just kept watching observantly. At one point, she tried to say something to the girls, but all that Alicia and Luna could hear was the chittering and clicking of her native tongue.

Umbra smirked and strutted over to the group, keeping her shoulders high and her hips swaying "When I'm around, darling, everyone gets a ride.~ Now then, where shall we start? Perhaps the leathersmith? Or perhaps a weapons or archery shop?"
======================================
Arin's hands clasped together, absorbing Lance's hostility and trying to contain himself. He had some very strong points, there was certainly a political reason for his journey through the catacombs, but he also had a personal stake in this as well. Still, he was going to let Lance vent out his anger.

Aria lowered herself down from her elevated position, standing upright when she saw that Lance was starting to get verbally aggressive, getting ready to raise her voice when he started to use magic to force Aldari back into his seat. But a loud clearing of a throat caught her attention, and she was shocked to see Arin giving her a calm, but firm stare, and was shaking his head.

She was taken aback when Lance accused her of being afraid, sending Arin and everyone else to claim the catacomb relic like a coward "Lance, that is preposterous! I would never-" "-Don't lie to us. Don't lie to me!" Arin was standing now, eyes firmly locked onto Aria, his aura growing a dark cobalt gray, and his deep golden eyes piercing into hers "...Lance, you've said your piece. I will take it from here, thank you. Please sit and try to calm yourself."

He stared at Lance and waited until he took his seat, and was going to wait until he was done ranting if that's what it took, before turning his attention back to Aria "...If you would never send us to our deaths, then why not aid us when we needed your power the most? I understand your reluctance to help because of your fear of hurting or killing more innocent lives, but you did nothing to protect us when we were up against an endless wave of shadow creatures. When your son is fighting against a deadly enemy with his lover, our companion, and a group of trained fighters, and were still struggling to stay alive, why did you not provide a protective barrier, or a dome of light to keep us safe?"

Aria sighed and took a breath, trying to calm herself. The fact that Arin was chastising her was surprising, and unsettling. He was right, she didn't do anything when they needed her. Had she truly failed as a guardian? "Arin...I...I thought that you didn't need me at first...You were doing so well on your own, without my help. I only intervened when I sensed your soul darkening back in Wheat Town. I had never traveled to the kingdom during the night time, I had no idea that the land was so cursed." "That shouldn't be an excuse. You knew the risks of even the trial itself, you should have been their to support us, support me. I had to face the ancient rulers of the kingdom, prove I was worthy of the power this trinket possesses. Lance still has strong royal blood in him, but I was a mutt who got lucky! Why were you so afraid to come with us?"

Aria was silent for a long time, her face far less composed than it had been since walking in. She lowered her head, averting her gaze "I was afraid...Of death." "...You're the most powerful mage I know, you're going to have to give us more than that, Aria." The punctuation of her name sent a jolt of shock through her, and she flinched, too afriad to lift her gaze now. "...Death...Forbid me from returning to the island...When I found the lake of spirits...He told me the land was to be guarded until a worthy successor to the throne came to claim the relic. Had anyone known of the land, and came with a purpose that compromised his death charter, he would either add them to the charter, or make them wish they were dead...Death is absolute, and holds power over all living things, including myself...I couldn't interfere, because I wanted to be alive to see you turn into the man I knew you can become, a man that can lead a land of peace, and justice..."

Arin stood there, a neutral expression on his face as he took in Aria's answer "...So you didn't come to our aid because you were unable to, not because you were afraid?" "No...I was afraid...afraid I wouldn't be able to keep watching you grow...If I interfered, my life would have been traded for yours to survive only for a bit longer than you did on that island. It wouldn't have guaranteed your survival, only a small sliver of more time. I'm not ready to go just yet, not until I can see you claim your birthright."

Arin narrowed his eyes when Aria spoke those last few words "...Aria...Look at me." When she hesitated, he grew impatient, and spoke with a more commanding tone "Look at me." Aria lifted her head and met his gaze, more timid, now that she was exposed for her fears "...You're right. I can lead a land of peace and justice, and I plan to. But throwing me into danger, and not even seeing me off before I flung myself, and people I care about into that danger? I'm disappointed in you, Aria. As your son, I am disappointed in you. You're my mother, and I will always trust you to help me stay out of the darkness, but it is going to take a lot for you to restore my faith in you as an advisor on my life."

He turned his back to her and, taking a long, deep breath, returned to his seat, and rested his arms on the table "Can we please move on from the drama, and focus on why we are here. Because if all we're going to do is bicker, then I'm not going to waste mine, or Lance's time with this. As it stands, I would rather be spending my time with my girlfriend, planning what to do next with our lives."

Aria, silent as she was, moved over to a corner of the room, and pulled a chair from the table to sit down "...Agreed...Let's please move on..."

[Lance]

Alicia smirked and chuckled at Umbra's flirting, looking at Luna when asked where she wanted to go. "This is mostly for you hon, where to first?"

"I suppose the weapon's shop is our first best bet, I need new arrows, and I'd like to replace or enhance my equipment. That fiasco in the Twilight Kingdom showed me just how underpowered I am when facing foes like those shadow beasts."

The airwoman nodded and looked at Umbra, "Weapons smith it is, or would that be a bower?"

"Both, but the bower would be my preferred first stop if it's in a different location. From what I remember of the city, they tend to share floorspace."

=================

Lance listened to Aria's explanation for her absence, his opinion not swayed in the least regarding Aria's handling of the situation, if anything it solidified his thoughts. She was afraid of dying? Well so was he, so was Luna, Nyx and everybody else! He bit his tongue, turning and sitting in his seat, glaring daggers at a very flustered and aggravated Aldari. When Arin sat down again, he muttered to him in a soft whisper that only the fellow Royal could hear, his voice simmering with still potent anger. "You let her off way too easy...she's using us, and so is Aldari. If you keep letting her off the hook, she's just going to fucking use you, and I don't want that for you or Luna."

Lance ceased his mutterings when Aldari sighed heavily and sat up, his tone weary but back to being it's professional sounding norm. "I did not plan on bickering, Arin...but it is what it is."

The king let out another exhale and became silent for a moment, looking at Arin, more specifically the gauntlet on his arm. "I assume that gauntlet is the treasure of the Twilight Kingdom...what happened there? From what I've gathered, both from Lance's grievances and simply overhearing your discussion, it seems that it was far more treacherous than I was led to believe."

Lance snorted, "You wanna tell him about what a fucking shitshow it was? Or do you want me to? Because depending on who tells it, I might end up punching somebody today." The airman smirked and glanced at Arin, his tone dripping with sarcasm and barely restrained contempt for the sudden businesslike tone of the meeting. To him, this was just another debriefing with some pompous general, and now he didn't have to fear being court martialed for speaking his mind.

Fawkes, surprisingly, piped up at Lance's remark. His tone calm and professional, but not lacking in sympathy for Lance's irritation. "While I'm sure that you have more you'd like to say to both his Highness and the Majin woman, I would request that you power through the more official side of things first. If only so we can have on record what you were forced to go through, so that these mistakes will not be repeated in the future."

The masked man looked at Aldari when he stressed the word 'mistakes', making the King grit his teeth in agitation. Fawkes was always candid with his thoughts, and was not afraid to rise up to Aldari's temper, but he was very quickly toeing the line from candid and hot-blooded in his critique to being insubordinate. "Thank you, Fawkes...I understand that I have made MANY...mistakes in recent months..."

The king looked at Asmous and Cypher, his tone becoming contemplative. "My kingdom is under attack from within and without, I have lost many people who have served me faithfully, and now I am worried for someone whom I've taken into my family line to protect them from the abuse of another noble, who has her OWN mission to undertake...I am king of this land, and I would, in fact benefit from having you two as allies to my kingdom...but I am not some villain trying to use you, I simply want my people and yes, myself to know PEACE after so long..."

Aldari slumped forwards, his hands at his temples as he took another deep breath. "The first war...took my parents, and many friends. I do not want another war, another bloody conflict, on my conscience. I've seen too many widows, too many orphans or parents weeping at the loss of their children."

The Fire King looked at Lance, his expression one of a man utterly exhausted. "You know this pain as well, I've been told. You've lost your own, even if it was in the skies in those great mechanical contraptions you fought with. Of all the people here, Lance Deveraux...you are the only other person who could possibly understand what it means to see your friends and allies die like that, all for such a pointless cause as that war was."

Lance said nothing, his expression hardening and his nails digging into the arms of the seat, hard enough that his knuckles were audibly popping for Arin to hear.

"So I beg of you, on my knees if need be..." Aldari, to the shock of Lance and even Fawkes, actually got to his knees and bowed, his forehead touching the stone floor. "Please, help me stop this, and I will help you both make your kingdoms thrive once more. Independent from my own, if that is your wish..."

Lance looked at Arin and stood up, walking to the door, only to stop and look at Aldari. "Stand up and look me in the eyes when you say that..." The airman's tone was not mocking, or angry, but he was broaching no argument from the Fire King. This was a test in his mind as to how sincere the king was being.

Aldari did as Lance asked, the pair's eyes meeting as he spoke. "I swear to you, that I will not use you for my kingdom's benefit outside of ending this stalemate and bringing peace. I will help you rebuild your ancestral lands, and will only enter an alliance with you if that is what you wish...I swear this on my Father and Mother's graves."

The airman was silent for a good few minutes before turning to Arin, "Fill him in, I need a minute. Call me back when this gets to something other than reminiscing about our camping trip from hell...as for you-"

Lance turned to Aldari, his tone less angry but still stern. "Talk is cheap...but I'm willing to trust you, but if you fuck me or Arin on this, you'll wish you died when your palace was turned into a glacier. This is your last and only chance to prove that you're the first national leader I've met who's worth a shit, so don't blow it. We clear, Your Highness?"

Aldari blinked at being addressed as such, Lance was actually using the title with the respect it was supposed to be used with. "Yes...I understand completely, Prince Deveraux."

Lance chuckled at the posh title, but nodded before leaving, "Good...and Aria, we're going to  have a long talk when all is said and done with this..." (Temporary Exit for Lance.)

Aldari sighed and stood, walking over to his chair and sitting down before rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Alright...now then, what happened in the Twilight Kingdom Arin?"

[Arin]

Umbra clapped her hands in agreement, leading the pack through the market district "To the fletcher's shop it is! Onwards ladies.~" She repeated her words in Nyx's tongue, which helped her understand what was happening a little better, but she was silent, and somewhat unenthused. She tried to hide it from the others, however, wanting to be included, and giving a calm smile when attention was on her.
===================================
Arin was silent when Lance commented on Aldari and Aria using them; biting his tongue if only to see how things played out further. His surrogate mother, he knew would not retaliate for his harsh addressing, but a king of a whole land who specializes in fire? That would be something far more volatile if provoked.

He waited through all of Lance, Aldari and Fawkes' interactions, only reacting enough to agree with Lance on who should tell the story of what happened, and replying with a quick "I'll handle it." before letting them finish their interactions.

Once Lance took his leave, and Aldari, thrown off by Lance's political tact and seemingly humbled for it, then addressed Arin, asking what happened at the Twilight kingdom, he finally decided now was as good of a time as any to speak "...well, the energies in the twilight Kingdom are all out of balance: Negative energy thrives and becomes alive in the shadows, and is dormant while the sun's rays are cast over the land. Anywhere that darkness is thickest, is a breeding ground for odd shadow creatures bent on only death of any living creatures that are intelligent."

"As for what I had to go through during my trials. I had to use some very complex uses of both light and darkness. And if it wasn't for Syraki's help in filtering my darkness-" He gestured to the drow-like humanoid sitting beside them "-I would have perished down there, because I couldn't control myself. And that was just the trials. The real test was acquiring the royal arms itself."

Cypher's brow quirked at that last comment "Well, I see the rumors are true about the 'shadow beasts', but what else happened on that island?" "Well. I don't know how this will apply for someone who has more royal blood in them, like Lance; but I almost had my soul destroyed by the ancient kings of Twilight. I had to use some strong persuasive skills to convince them to give me a chance. But now, I have a death counter on my soul, unless I meet the requirements that they have set."

"What kind of requirements? Why are they threatening to destroy your soul?" "Because I have barely any royal blood in me, and they are using my one and only remaining link to the royal line as a way to keep the kingdom alive. So, I need to master my elements, both of them. I need to restore the kingdom with at least a minimum amount of people to maintain a stable kingdom, and I need to produce a blood heir to the throne. And I need to do all of this before my 30th birthday. I'm 25 now, so my time to accomplish all of this is short."

[Lance]

Alicia and Luna didn't seem to notice Nyx's unease, the former simply smiling and patting Nyx on the shoulder as they walked to the fletcher's shop, while the latter was...distracted.

Luna had spent years being stalked by her aunt, fearing death at every turn as a result. She did not feel the same kind of menace now, but she could not help but feel as if there was a set of eyes upon her, like she was being followed.

She walked closer to Umbra, doing her best to appear casual, and whispered so softly that only the witch could hear her. "I think we're being followed...I'm not sure, but I've spent enough time being stalked to get a chill down my back when eyes linger on me, call it...I don't know, intuition."

Luna looked over her shoulder, ostensibly to see the other shops and stalls lining the road...only to see a person who's eyes were fixed on their little group a little more intently then a simple curious passersby.

It was a Forest Elf with rather fair skin and silver hair that was tied into an elaborate braid. His build was lithe but strong, easily hitting 6 feet tall and sporting a piercing set of amber eyes that reminded her of an eagle almost, which fit his hawkish facial features. He was clad in light traveling clothes, a mossy green tunic shirt that ended at mid thigh, a pair of durable looking pants that were dark brown and a set of leather boots.

He didn't look dangerous, but the way he followed and stared at them, almost like he was studying them from afar...It made her uneasy. "A Forest Elf, silver hair and a green tunic. He's staring at us and following, he doesn't seem dangerous, but you don't need to look like a threat to be one."

===============================================

Aldari listened carefully to Arin's story, frowning a bit when he was told that the kings of the Kingdom had essentially put a gun to Arin's head upon claiming his title, and only for being less "pureblood" than others. "Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous! They, from beyond the mortal coil no less, threaten to annihilate what could well be their only hope of reviving their homeland!?"

Fawkes nodded in agreement, his tone sarcastic but lacking in humor. "Now I can understand why Lance was so furious with you and Lady Aria. Arin's little journey to find his true heritage has ended with being cursed almost, and with the other things now underway, his journey is only becoming more fraught with peril. He must have believed that you would both know this would happen, and simply neglected to tell Arin about it."

Aldari shook his head, "I would never! I want the twilight kingdom to thrive once more, yes, but never with this kind of noose around a young man's throat! How...did I really seem that callous?" The Fire King sounded wounded at the thought. He had a temper, and was impulsive, sure, but he wasn't uncaring about the safety of others.

The masked man shook his head and nodded at Aria, "I believe that between your status and age, as well as Lady Aria giving off an air of being all knowing to those who are uninitiated might have given Lance the wrong impression. You are both learned and with great amounts of experience, but I know all too well that neither of you are omniscient."

There was a pause, and he then added, almost as an afterthought. "Of course, I do not mean that Lady Aria intentionally deceives people. She is simply very wise and incredibly powerful, to those who are new to this land, she probably comes off as some kind of oracle or seer, as opposed to the gifted and very well taught mage that she actually is. She wields great power, yes, but even that might has hard limits to it, if I'm not mistaken."

[Arin]

Umbra quirked a brow when Luna told her that she felt they were being followed. Curious herself, she waited until Luna had confirmed her suspicions. Once she had given a description, and her thoughts about how dangerous they could be, albeit unassuming at first glance, she smirked mischievously "Lunaris, darling, truer words were never said.~ There's a reason I let My pupil take all of the glory as heroine of the realm; she is far more public friendly than I.~"

Nyx was scuttling next to the group, listening to the ladies talk, and even tilted her head a bit for one of her secondary sets of eyes to pick up the sight of the suspicious man. As they started to get into the crowded lanes of the markets, Nyx scurried off silently down an alley, keeping low to not be detected while the girls were focused on shopping.

===========================  

Arin looked over at Fawkes as he started to speak about his assumed 'curse', and believing him being omitted of that information. As well as giving sharp analysis of both Aldari and Aria in the process. As more was brought up, more memories from before his departure started to return to him, and he knew he needed to speak up now "...I knew the risks of taking the trial, Fawkes; the punishment of the unworthy was already known to me, courtesy of Aldari himself. And it was my decision, despite Aria's objections, to see this trial through to the end. She did not push me to do this, she did not even want me to do it.

He looked over at Aria, his gaze still sharp, but not as harsh as it once was "I saw the hollow husks of those who had chased after the treasure, only to be denied by the very kings that guard its power of the unworthy. When I arrived at the lake of spirits, it was packed with the souls of the fallen from the first war, the victims of the bandit raids. And an avatar of death was waiting there, when I showed that I could see all of those souls, trapped in unrest. He informed me of the entire situation with the souls of the fallen kingdom, and so did the souls."

He tapped his head with a finger, closing his eyes momentarily "They gave me their knowledge, their purpose. All of their fragmented memories are all in here: All of the pain, all of the suffering, and all the unjust deaths. But they also game me the good parts of their lives; the joy; the prosperity; the peace. I swore to myself, and to death itself, that I was willing to take the risk; to prove to myself that I was worthy of such a responsibility. I was going to give those desperate souls the ability to move on with hope that their homeland wont remain a ruinous landscape. I am going to restore the Twilight kingdom, and I am not going to die failing a cause that I promised so many that I would succeed. And I told the former kings exactly what would happen if they let me die; that their chances of restoring what they lost would die with me."

He looked back to Aldari, his gaze a calm one "Time has made us forget what has happened in the past, Aldari. You are no callous, uncaring king. You gave me honest information and did not deceive me when you knew such information could possibly turn me away from my cause. And now, the Twilight kingdom has a potential ruler that can build the once great land up again. You have my thanks for that."

He turned to Aria, his tone softer "I had almost forgotten how protective you were. The trauma of that island, and everything leading up to this point, I suppose I got caught up in the whirlwind of emotions in the room. I will tell Lance about our private talk we had with Cypher back in my room, and explain the things he did not know about when this happened. I still will have some difficulty trusting you to give me life advice, but I think this is good for me. I won't distance myself from you, Aria, but it's time I made decisions on my own now. You can't keep protecting me forever, even if it is your job."

Aria was in tears by this point, cupping her mouth to stifle her own suppressed crying. Through her muffled mouth, she nodded, before speaking "I...I understand...You're right...I...I can't keep trying to protect you...I'll...I'll keep myself at arms length...from now on..." She turned to Aldari, using a finger to wipe her tears away, and taking a deep, shaken breath, before addressing the fire king "Aldari, is there anything more you need of me?"[/b]

[Lance]

Alicia turned and glanced at the man as well, who was still following them, though he seemed to be absorbed in thought given his expression. He didn't notice that he'd been detected either, simply making his way through the crowd and making sure to stay at least 5-10 feet away without losing sight of them.

"You want me to handle this guy? I can knock him flat if ya need me to."

Luna shook her head, "No, no! Absolutely not, we are not creating a scene here. We need to be discrete. Hell I could just be paranoid, and maybe he's staring cause of Umbra or something. She's not exactly anonymous even if she's known known as a hero of the realm."

================================================================

Aldari listened to Arin and leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled as he processed all that had been revealed to him. He hadn't expected things to be easy, rebuilding an entire kingdom was far from simple after all...but this...this was far FAR more complicated than he'd wanted things to be.

Then, Aria asked him if she was still needed. He was about to respond, but was cut off by the barest, quietest clearing of someone's throat. He turned and saw Philemon, whos hands were clasped together in front of his stomach in an almost nervous way.

"I...I do not know if Aldari still has need of you, but I unfortunately do, Lady Aria. I also need Lance as well, it's...well, Lady Aria knows how important this is."

The Fire king looked at Aria, and then at Fawkes, who was already standing up. "I'll go retrieve the Wind King, believe me my lord, you will want and need to hear this as well."

Fawkes left the room, leaving the four alone for the moment.

"Would you...would you prefer if I told Arin about the more personal matter now, while we have a minute or two of privacy?" Philemon's tone was very gentle and calming, even a bit sympathetic. He knew that Aria was already enduring so much, and what he had to share now would do nothing to lessen her strain.

[Arin]

Umbra smirked and turned to look at Luna "You misunderstand, Lunaris.~ I may be powerful, and Aria's mentor, but I hold no claim to being a hero of this realm. I did not even participate in the severing of the dimensions, that was all little Ari's doing.~" She continued to stare forward again, keeping her composure and even holding a mild swagger in her steps now, if only to keep eyes on them to dissuade their pursuer "But what we need right now is to feign ignorance. He will make his presence known eventually, and when he does, he will be surprised to see exactly who he is messing with. Isn't that right, ladies?"

==================================================

Aria was silent for a long time when Philemon addressed her about a 'personal matter', mulling over exactly what she should say. She was not prepared to tell him about this yet, but Philemon had just forced her hand. It was now or never, the truth was going to get out eventually.

"Arin, confused by the silence, and the off topic nature of this discussion, was getting anxious, speaking up before Philemon or Aria could say anything "Aria, what is he talking about? What is this personal matter he's bringing up now?"

Aria took a deep breath, before giving Philemon a nod, and turning to Arin "Arin. There is something you need to know about my past. Something I was afraid to let anyone else know about out of shame...You...Aren't my first son."

This caused Arin to pause, silent with surprise, and confusion "...You never had anyone growing up beside me. What do you mean I'm not your first son?!" "Please remain calm, Arin. I will tell you everything, but you need to remain focused on my words, not on what you think they may mean. You are my first adopted child, that much is true. But before I found you, or Ciel, I had a biological son; Alan. He...He left, after I confronted him about something he did that I disapproved of greatly...He and I haven't spoken to each other in a long time, and we were not on the best terms when he left."

Arin was trying to process all of this information, arms crossed and sitting upright to hold his composure. But this news had caught him off guard, and he was doing his best to listen to Aria explain everything. "Okay...And where is he now? It's been twenty-four years, Aria, why has he kept away for all this time?"

Aria turned to Philemon, knowing her own knowledge on this would not be sufficient enough to explain thoroughly "Perhaps you should take the explanations from here, Philemon. I doubt I could explain the rest as well as you could."

[Lance]

Luna sighed and shook her head, her expression returning to it's normal deadpan look. "Hmph, humble for a woman who tamed the damn Elder Wyvern...Dragon, however he refers to himself. But I'll do my best to not look like I'm about ready to put an arrow between some random stalker's eyes."

Alicia smirked, her eyes glinting slightly as she "casually" cracked her neck and knuckles. "I hold him down and you stomp his face?~"

Luna just sighed again, rolling her eyes. "I am surrounded by madmen and madwomen..." Her voice held no anger, instead being merely exasperated, as if she'd made peace with her situation.

Thankfully, the group had reached their destination, a large Bower's shop that had a good sized crowd of various mercenaries and hunters loitering outside, looking at merchandise and talking shop.

"A popular place it seems, though I'd expect nothing less if this place is as good as you say, Umbra."

=======================================

Philemon nodded and held out his hand, a sphere of magic expanding outwards into the same Scrying Orb that his master had used when they'd first met Aria. A familiar (to Aria at least) young man appeared in the orb, sitting in a room that looked distinctly East Asian in it's décor, with a tatami floor and a small table visible in it's center. He was reading from a positively ancient looking leather-bound book, his cane perched in the crook of his arm and leaning against his shoulder.

"Hmm...I believe that he is somewhere in Asia, Japan I believe. Yes, he appears to be in a traditional Japanese home, in current times." The Time Majin looked at Arin, his expression unreadable behind his mask.

"He requested to be sent away from here, over 50 years before. He had an important part to play in the timeline, so my master and I agreed to send him away to the human realm. He said that his reason for leaving was that he could no longer learn under Umbra or his Mother, fearing that he would destroy the trust they held in one another. Sadly, given the bitterness that Aria has towards her former teacher, I'm afraid that he might have only intensified any feelings of anger."

Philemon was matter-of-fact but not callous in his description of Aria's feelings, giving her what was assumedly a sympathetic glance as he spoke. "He was sent to England, hundreds of years into the past, during the formation of what you know as Camelot. He is the wizard known as Merlin in the old fables, but the tale behind Camelot's fall is...not accurate in any record you've seen, I can assure you. He's simply traveled the world since then, staying out of major world affairs to avoid repeating what befell the knights of the round. Right now I believe he is actually in contact with the Royal Tailor's wayward son...how curious, how the eddies of time seem to pull them together."

The door to the meeting room opened, and Lance stepped in with Fawkes...and Ciel in tow, the girl holding onto Lance's arm and looking at the figure in the orb. "Who's that?"

Lance nodded, looking at the orb as well, before settling his gaze on Philemon. "I'm curious as well, who're you, and what's going on here anyways? We still talking about the Twilight Kingdom?"

Philemon shook his head, "No, we are not. My name is Philemon, I am an advisor to King Aldari, as well as a master of a special kind of Arcane Magic. The boy in the Orb is...well, it's not my place to tell."

[Arin]

"It is the best Fletcher's market in all of Terra Mystica...Save for the shop in the Ice kingdom of course.~" She looked to the rest of the group and noticed then, that they were now one person short "Oh dear. That isn't good. Has anyone seen where our arachne friend has scurried off to?"

=====================================

Arin glanced over to Aria, giving her an inquisitive look. She noticed his glance and looked back, understanding his intents, and gave a brief nod, and a gesture as if to usher him forward. Nodding in return, he turned to Lance and Aria, leaning onto the conference table "He is Aria's wayward son; mine and Ciel's older Surrogate brother. He was sent in time because of personal reasons involving Aria and Umbra, which I can only assume would be some form of adultery or criminal act, given how harsh the two women interact together. He is the Merlin of our storybooks, Lance, apparently Camelot and the knights of the round table were a real thing. Big shocker, right?"

Arin paused for a moment, before taking a breath and continuing "And In case Fawkes hadn't filled you in, there are things involving us and Aria, or at least Aria and myself, that I need to fill you in on, so I'd like to ask that you try not to show any anger or directed hostility towards her in the meantime, at least until you've heard everything."

[Lance]

Luna's head was immediately on a swivel when Umbra made mention of Nyx being missing, her eyes scanning the crowd wildly as she tried to find the Arachne. "Damn it, how did we lose a 6 foot tall Arachne!?"

Alicia was more frantic, pushing through the crowd and calling Nyx's name, trying to grab the demi-human's attention...with an equal lack of results as Luna's scanning of the crowd. "Shitshitshit! NYX!? Where are you honey!?"

Luna kept looking, trying not to panic...only to jump out of her skin when she felt an unfamiliar hand gently tap her on the shoulder. Her response was immediate, a drawn blade and a hand on the offender's throat, her eyes locking with the idiot who'd grabbed her.

Said idiot was the Wood Elf who'd been following them, his expression one of surprise and a fair bit of apprehension from being held at knife point. "Ah! Easy, easy...I mean no harm!"

"Why were you following us!? Where's Nyx?" The woman pushed him harder into the wall, her grip on her knife shifting so that the point was poised to go right into the man's chest if he got violent.

"I was simply struck by your appearance, you seemed...familiar to me, but I wasn't sure and feared for making myself a fool. I had to head this way anyhow, so I decided to follow and see if a clearer look at your face would prove that I'd known you...erm, for what it's worth, n-no...I don't think I've ever met you before. H-Hehe..." The man offered a sheepish grin, his tone genuinely apologetic for scaring Luna.

"As for...Nyx, was it? If you mean your Arachne friend, she walked, or um, skittered off into a side street about 2-3 intersections back. I believe the street she went on had more vendors on it."

==============================================

Lance looked at Aria, Arin, and then the Masked man before finally settling over the man in the image. He was silent for a moment before shrugging and taking a seat. "I'm not going to say I'm surprised by this shit anymore, because I think my capability to do so has been beaten with the reality stick until it's bleeding and whimpering in a corner. So I'm just going to say this-"

He turned to Aria and spoke in a tone that was so blunt it could be used to hammer steel, his expression deadpan and more than a little tired looking. "You...really need some parenting courses, because this is less anger inducing and more sad at this fuckin' point."

With that, Lance turned back to Philemon and nodded, "Alright, Aria's got a baby we weren't told of and he lived in Camelot, which probably meant he ate ham and jam and spam a lot. So what is this big, scary, world ending threat that's coming to bite our nuts off and hear the lamentations of our women?"

Philemon...was utterly gobsmacked, blinking a few times to an awkward silence as Lance stared expectantly at him. "You... really aren't surprised at any of this? And how do you know th-"

Lance sighed, "Because Aria looks spooked, a masked, spooky magic man who Aldari is pally with is giving us a fucking plot dump, and really? My luck and this fucker's luck -" Lance jabbed his thumb at Arin, "Are so goddamned bad that I wouldn't be surprised if Kefka Palazzo, Exdeath and Golbez were doing a chorus line down the street on their way to try and kill us at this fucking point. So just...out with it already, would ya?"

Philemon was silent a few moments longer before sighing and banishing the image of Alan, his tone becoming grave. "You, Arin and your friends are key to stopping a madman with the same magical powers as my master and myself from distorting all of time in an insane attempt at becoming a god who would obliterate all of existence, just to remake it in the ways he sees fit. He sees this as the culmination of an experiment, in which he seeks to rip out the so called 'Royal Mana' from a would be king or queen of every element, and combine it with his own Temporal Mana to try and claim the powers of the raw magical energy that fuels all of existence, thereby proving that beings such as myself and him have the potential to become omniscient and all powerful."

Lance was silent for a few seconds...before promptly standing up and walking over to a wall, where he proceeded to headbutt the stone for about a minute, punctuating his anger with, "I...Fucking...KNEW IT!"

[Arin]

Umbra took a deep breath, realizing that all of the tension was going to slowly ebb down, now that their 'stalker' had explained himself, and even offered to tell them where Nyx had run off to. She walked over and gently placed a hand on Luna's shoulder, trying to get her to ease herself back "I think we should give this poor boy the benefit of the doubt, darling.~ No need to get too worked up, now that we know he isn't a threat." She turned her playful, mirthful gaze at the boy, her eyes peering above her glasses with an almost interrogating glare "Are you?~"

========================================
Arin couldn't help but smirk at Lance's old-timey gaming references, having read up on them himself during his time back 'home'. But when he completely flabbergasted Philemon with his predicting accusation about world-ending events, he had to force himself to suppress laughter, his chest heaving slightly as he kept his laughter as silent as possible.

Of course, Philemon's explanation of the situation immediately flipped his mood in a full 180, the shock in his furrowed glareapparent as he stared Philemon down, while Lance was bashing his head against a stone wall "...So, he's going to come here, looking to take mine, Lance, and Aldari's mana away? That seems like a farfetched plan. I doubt our mana signatures have any special effect on anything other than being able to control these." He punctuated his sentence by lifting up his brace, the Twilight kingdom's symbol emblazoned just above his wrist. "And it's not like these were made by anyone special, right? just some high level mages that struck a peace agreement between the five kingdoms, from what I've heard."

[Lance]

The man shook his head vehemently when Umbra gave him that subtle glare from behind her glasses, his hands still raised to show a lack of intent to harm. "Of course not! I mean, I'm no slouch in a fight if need be, but I don't go looking for trouble."

Luna held her position for a couple moments longer, before releasing the man and putting her dagger away. "Lead the way to that street you told us about, and we'll call it even for you stalking us, sound like a deal?" She held out her hand, and the man took it without a moment's hesitation.

"Deal, my name is Tinnuion, by the way." The young elf smiled softly, though his name made Luna quirk an eyebrow.

"Tinnuion? I didn't know anyone still used Sindarin for names. Usually people stick to common tongue."

=======================================

Philemon sighed, "As I said, he's insane. From what I can gather, he believes that a Royal's Mana is the most "pure" or powerful of it's element, due to the strength needed to forge a royal line. It makes a twisted sort of sense, given the skill and magical strength one needs to retrieve their Relics if they aren't just handed down from one generation to the next. As for the actual history's behind the relics, I believe they were dwarven forged, and then enchanted by the mages, but I'm not positive. The exact details vary from timeline to timeline, and it's not as easy as looking into a crystal ball and dialing in a date..."

Lance laughed, "At least he admits when he doesn't know everything. That's refreshing right?"

Philemon shook his head, his voice grave. "I wish I could know everything, but peering into the distant past is difficult, even for me. Time...it fights attempts to control it's flow, it's like trying to stymie a river with nothing but loose soil, you can make it slow, maybe get fleeting looks, but unless I'm looking into the here and now, exact details are hard to pick out. I only knew about Alan's place in history because he had such a large influence that it was easier to detect the...'ripple effect' he had on the present, for lack of a better word."

Lance sighed and sat back down, a bruise forming on his forehead, "Right...so you can only see bits and pieces of certain timeframes, unless something MAJOR, like, world shaping kinda major, kicks up enough of a stink to make it's presence obvious?"

The masked man nodded, "That's...it's a very simple way of putting it, but yes, that is the best way I can describe it without delving into quantum mechanics and magic's effect on them."

Lance nodded, "Alright...and because it sounds like time works on Multiverse theory, where Time has a main flow of sorts and billions of 'rivers' that branch off of it, you can't accurately look into the future either, right?"

Philemon nodded again, "I can see the millions of paths one timeline might take, but picking out a single course of action is near impossible, it's not as complex as EVERY action making a new timeline, but the span of creation is a very long length for major events and deviations to occur."

Lance sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "So...what now then? Just go about our business and try to reach our goals?"

"...Yes, that's honestly all I can recommend. Be on your guard, most assuredly, but the being I'm warning you of is not one to take direct action unless absolutely necessary. He acts through agents and sometimes even those who aren't aware of his machinations at all. He disrupts a world so severely that it's place in time becomes unseated, leaving it in a temporal limbo. I even suspect that the current tensions with the ice kingdom might be part of his plan, even if he is not directly stirring the situation further along. You both need to strengthen your magics and your bodies, and to gain enough influence to stabilize the world. If the world is stable, he will be forced to more directly involve himself, and that is when we can strike and end this threat."

Lance just laughed at that, shaking his head and smirking mirthlessly, "So I'm being drafted to save the universe, huh? Why am I not surprised?"

"Were it something I could do on my own I assure you I would. But if I were to clash with him, this timeline would most assuredly become unseated, everything would be frozen in limbo, and I'm not even sure that his defeat would set it right again."

[Arin]

Umbra gave Luna a playful gaze, her eyes peering over her lenses as she pushed them up her nose again to sit comfortably on the bridge. "Yes, well it is not so common in royal bloodlines, is it, Lunaris?" She gave a knowing smirk, before following Tinnuoin to the alleyway that Nyx snuck into.
===============================================

Arin listened closely to Philemon's explanation of the situation, and of his ability, as well as its limits. But something came to mind as he observed, something that might just give them an edge, if he could disclose it.

"There is one thing that I'm curious about. You can see the different pathways this timeline can go...How many of them keep moving forward, where we are victorious?"

[Lance]

Luna gave Umbra a pointed glare, not appreciating the jab. "My name isn't written in Sindarin, Umbra."

Tinnuoin nodded, "No it's not, Sindarin is incredibly Archaic, though I hear that it's quite popular in the Human Realm since J.R.R Tolkien used it in his Lord of the Rings novels. Did you know he was actually sent here during his time served in World War One? He was only present for a few days before being sent back by a Majin of considerable power, and for obvious reasons he never admitted to what had happened. It was all covered up quite nicely, but he took a great deal of inspiration for his later Fantasy Writings from here, or at the very least, he borrowed our old language for the Elvish in those books."

Luna sighed and shook her head, not exactly in the mood for a history dissertation. "I find that quite facinating, but now is not the time nor the place, Tinnuoin."

The elf blinked and chuckled, rubbing the back of his head as he led the two through the alleyways, "Yes, you're right. My apologies, Lady Lunaris."

============================================

Lance looked at Philemon, who shook his head regretfully, an apologetic expression clear behind his mask. "I...I cannot, so many variables go into dictating the flow of time into it's different branches, I'm forbidden by my master to share details. Besides that, my intervention, as well as our foe's, could very well have altered things so much that anything I share would be useless at this point. I'm sorry Arin, and to you as well Lance, if I could do anything more I honestly would...but I've already tried to directly confront this threat, and it's how I know that this timeline could be lost to limbo if I did anything too drastic..." 

Standing at the back of the assembled group, Fawkes' fingers curled into a fist, his eyes hardening behind his masked helmet. Hearing about the situation his world was embroiled in, and how Aldari had been speaking to this man for weeks now, without telling ANY of his advisors of this hidden threat, made his blood boil. 'Whether he means well or not, I tire of these goddamned secrets!'

Philemon looked absolutely devastated recounting his past failure, sitting down in a nearby chair and reaching under his mask to rub the bridge of his nose...until Ciel, who had sat silently and listened to all of this, walked over to him and placed her hand on his. "I know what it's like to feel helpless when you want to keep other people safe, I had...I had a lot of people that I cared about who got sick, who died when I had no home back in Wheat Town. I wanted to help them so much, but I couldn't do anything but steal food and try to keep them safe, but it wasn't always enough."

Ciel's eyes watered and her voice cracked a bit, her other hand wiping her eyes as she looked up at Philemon, who was looking down at the young girl intently now. "I know how scary it is to just...have to watch when things are bad. But I know My big brother and Lance can win if they get strong enough! So...So just help us as much as you can, even if it's not a whole lot, because I believe in them, and in Luna, Alicia...even Nyx, even if she's kinda scary and I can't understand her very well. We're gonna be okay!"

The girl placed her other hand on Philemon's, squeezing his larger palm and giving him a determined glare, even if her eyes were still misty with tears.

The masked man was quiet for a moment, before he began to chuckle softly, placing his other hand atop of Ciel's. "Very well...if a young lady as wise beyond her years as you has this much faith in them...then I won't be afraid anymore. Thank you, Ciel."

The girl smiled widely and nodded, only to wince in pain and grab her head. "Ah! Stupid headache..."