Kage no Sekai [Magic | IC | Episode 1]

[Imperial--japan]

Eliza Hastings

Eliza sighed, lost in thought that if her father were alive, perhaps he'd be proud that she decided to follow in his footsteps, albeit in a slightly different variation. It had been on her mind quite a lot recently, but her perfect appearance of happiness and charm came first. Now that she was finally at the academy however, she couldn't allow such thoughts to drag her down and interfere with her performance. She had a goal to achieve after all.

"Dressing for success as usual?" Her spirit Leviana snickered at her as the group was waling towards their areas of living. Eliza performed a small twirl out of spite and smile at her Spirit.

"Obviously. If you've got it, flaunt it." Eliza scoffed playfully as if she was explaining basic mathematics. She was dressed in a blue blazer which she kept unbuttoned, with a white undershirt that she kept buttoned if only for decency's sake. No need to be giving a show to an audience this early in the year after all, as went her mental jest. Her dark blue skirt covered just what it needed to in order to not be ruled immediately indecent, but if she were to pick up a dropped item it would certainly garner attention from wandering eyes. A pair of black thighighs accentuated her legs well, and she wore heels, but most would likely tell from the click as she walked.

"You're nothing if not bold dear. You foxy minx." Leviana winked at Eliza as the two continued with the group, only to temporarily part as they set their bags down with maybe a bit of handsy teasing from Leviana, albeit out of view from anyone else. As they regrouped to follow Endriel, Eliza made sure to wave at any fellow students who happened to look her way and smile warmly, hoping none would care much for the amber eyes that were evidently the indication of a Demon. No need to be rude after all, when it was made abundantly clear they should lean on each other. Or on top of each other as Eliza preferred from the decent pickings of cute girls and guys.

"Not bad so far. Lots of places to go. I think we'll like it here. Plus you need to get better at physical work you slouch. Silver tongue won't get you everywhere you louche." Leviana suggested, at which Eliza merely hummed in agreement, continuing to look over others and gauge them. Partially in looks, perhaps mentally guessing their measurements. Real professional work after all.

[Confederation of the Equator]

[minecraft villager sound]

[Castelia]

“Yeah, in another building. Check for the long one around here, it’s not far I believe. Although I have to say, swimming isn’t going to get you very far when your teammates are sparring or lifting weights.”

Archie had a chuckle at that one. For an instructor, she seemed to have failed to discern his meaning. Not very instructor-like of you, Ma'am. Oh, well, I guess I should make my intentions clear.

"Perhaps, if I was looking to train my muscles or my CQC skills. But there's no need for that, for now at least. I'm not looking to become some muscle-bound beef-cake. I happen to take pride in my build." At this, Archie began to mockingly make bodybuilding poses, as if trying to show off his non-existent muscles. Seeing that nobody was laughing, he stopped immediately and then began to explain.

"Instructor, training your muscles is one thing. But there's one other thing you can train, and that is your magic. I'm not one to be all secretive, so I guess I'll show everyone what I mean." At this, Archie closed his eyes and began concentrating his mana. At Archie's feet, a massive blue arcane circle began to appear along the floor, slowly growing in size until it measured 5 feet in radius. Building up massive amounts of mana, the arcane circle began to emit large amounts of wind, buffeting everyone in the training center.

"Everyone, I present to you the Lawson family's specialty: water magic!" Upon opening his eyes, Archie suddenly raised his right hand up while lowering his other hand, with palms facing their respective directions. At this, a massive amount of water shot up from the arcane circle, surrounding Archie in a massive water pillar 10 feet tall. Archie then began to dance as if he was in a ballet, keeping his palms open while waving his hands around. The pillar then broke up into two separate water streams, with one end following each of his hands. Archie then began to put on a show for everyone at the training center, dancing and twirling and performing tricks and what not. The water streams followed his hands gracefully throughout the routine, with Archie's mana binding the water together to prevent them from splashing the audience.

"Hehe, well, time for the show to end, I guess!" At that, Archie then slapped his hands together, the two water streams combining together into one huge water sphere. "Everyone, prepare to get wet!" At that, Archie snapped his fingers, and the water sphere exploded into all directions. To everyone's surprise, though, nobody got wet. As soon as the water began to separate, they changed once again into mana particles, which then disappeared.

"Everyone, I hope you enjoyed the show! There's more of that soon! Come on, WiKi, to the pool we go!" At this, Archie then sped out of the training center, making his way towards the swimming pool, leaving The Witch King and everyone else behind.

"My apologies to everyone for the actions of my master. I shall try to get him to reflect on this actions later." The Witch King, facing everyone, gave a deep bow. Upon raising his head, he too headed out of the training center, following the direction Archie went.

[Theyra]

Vatnar Eldursson
Once he and Thava were finished unpacking, they heard Endriel saying about heading down to the training center and decided on going there. It is always good to get some more training in and on the way there, "So Thava you planning on sparring with your shield on or no"?"

"Hmmm, if I am sparring with you and with no magic, then just the sword. Since you have problems with dealing with opponents with shields unless you wish to continue working on that?

"Ahhhh..... while I would rather just focus on my strikes, maybe I should work on that while we are here".

Thava had a smile on her face, "Then sword and shield it is and I hope you are ready for it, I will not be going easy on you".

"I know you will not and maybe we sure use practice weapons".

Thava stopped and gave Vatnar a look, "Are you afraid that I may hurt or go too far Vatnar? "I know what I am doing and it will not hurt".

"I do not mean it like that just....", Vatnar stopped and sighed. "Fine, we will use or weapons and let's get over there".

"Good Vat and remember what I told you about this and I may not make you land on your ass".

"You know Thava you do not have to call me that".

"Thava smirked, oh I know, I just like the look on your face when I call you that".

Vatnar sighed, "let's just get this over with" and the two made their way to the training center. The two found an empty sparring room and started to spar.

[The Cross and Davids Star]

Right as Lucian put on his usual charismatic expression that he gave to strangers and was about to introduce himself, Haunn struck first. "Greetings stranger! Unlike this one here, YOU look like a worthy opponent! I shall challenge your marksmanship!" The short figure said, pointing at the range.

Nev Hurn, Firing Range

Nev was busy talking a look around at the range itself when he was suddenly challenged by a spirit, one with an apparent skill in marksmanship. Though Nev was definitely ready for a friendly match, especially with firearms. He looked at the spirit and gave a thumbs up, morphing his glasses into a pair of safety glasses, as per normal protocol. He went over to the armory and picked his out his rifle, which was a standard M4 Carbine, the rifle he was most familiar with due to it being his service rifle, as well as several magazines of ammunition. He looked at the spirit and spoke.

"So, you want to do pistols or rifles first? Either one is ok with me."

[Forest State]

---

Candace

---

She wasn’t in the greatest of moods as she made her way towards the training area where some of the others were going, after leaving her master behind. They had just finished what one could call a minor argument and she didn’t really feel like talking to Gabriella - not because she didn’t like her master, she did, but because she felt like their styles were a bit too different for them to have chemistry working together. She was a brawler. Gabriella focused on runes of all things. When it came to magic, there was no way for them to relate because they had nothing to relate on. And yet, at the same time… She wondered if she had been too harsh.

No. She was right, the other style was one that was less flexible and she doubted it would work out well once they ended up in a real fight and not some training exercise. Which was coming soon enough given the fact that they were at this academy where they would be tested in both the classroom and the real world. This wasn’t back home. They couldn’t rely on it ‘just’ being training when something went wrong.

Maybe that was the reason she had been so adamant about it. She was, after all, competitive. And she wasn’t happy that she didn’t feel that was matched. Didn’t know if Gabriella had the desire or the skill to be a good partner for her in the field. They’d find out soon enough. Candace just hoped that things worked out once they did.

---

Juno Helena Kunze / Arios

---

Which world do I really belong to? This one, right here, at the seat of power for the Mage’s Guild? The place that I grew up being so close to, at Schwer’s Landing, but the one that was always off limits? Or am I… Simply a commoner posing as someone that fits in here? Am I destined to become a servant of the Guild or to live a harsher life of a mercenary or a mage for hire, attached to no family and no organization or nation?

The thoughts wouldn’t stop running through the head of Juno as she unpacked her things in the room, her spirit Arios already having finished because of carrying less things than her. Not that she had a ton of things in the first place. It wasn’t like she was like some of the others here, coming from distinguished mage lines. Well, she did, if you were talking biologically. She came from some of the most distinguished lines in the world, but as far as actually taking care of her went, they might as well have not been related to her.

She still didn’t quite know what she was. The child of two great houses, as her DNA said, or the child of a cleaning lady, as her experiences said. And it put her on edge as she entered this place, only miles away from the headquarters of the Mage’s Guild and filled with people who were qualified more than her when it came to those experiences. People who came from powerful mage families, people who had been trained by more distinguished teachers than her, and people who would surely adapt quicker and receive more benefits from the instructors than she would.

Until she proved herself, which she was determined to do.

“I see you’re lost inside your thoughts,” said Arios, looking down at her while walking to the front door of the apartment and opening it. “But I’m going to head to find the others. You can come if you feel like it, might be a distraction for you.”

“Don’t think it’s going to help,” Juno replied, as Arios nodded silently and made his way in the general direction that the group as a whole seemed to have gone after most of the students finished unpacking their things. Towards the training center, apparently. Well, this place would be useful, although Arios was already stronger not just as a result of physical training, but of magic which required an entirely different kind of training than what could be done here.

The spirit didn’t head to the training equipment or to the sparring areas immediately, instead checking out the area and the others within it and then spotting the ones who also seemed to be doing the same thing. A pair of women, and it wasn’t that hard to tell that they were also students here, a pairing of spirit and master. Conversation with them might be… Interesting. At the least, it would be something to do.

“What would you two happen to be checking everyone out for?” Arios asked, looking down on them.

[Imperial--japan]

Eliza

"“What would you two happen to be checking everyone out for?”

Eliza was snapped out of her intense concentration by the approach of a newcomer, and just as she was trying to predict 'waist' measurements as well. No matter, as now she had someone to get to know after all, rather than just remaining with her spirit consistently. Even Leviana could sometimes get annoying.

"Checking out who seems to have the most confidence and lean physique. Those types tend to be pretty sure in their abilities. Figure they'll be pretty capable to work with." Leviana explained, while Eliza grinned.

"What she's trying to say is I'm ranking people in terms of sex appeal." Eliza blatantly pointed out while Leviana sighed.

"Well screw me for trying not to make it sound as creepy." Leviana huffed and turned around, returning to looking over a few more of the students. Eliza put a hand on her hip and looked Arios up and down. Overall, he wasn't bad at all. Definitely a possible trophy at some point.

"Name's Eliza by the way. That's Leviana, my Spirit." She gestured and gave Arios a warm smile.

"Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?" She held out her hand for a shake.

[Forest State]

---

Arios

---

“Arios. Remember the name, as I’ve found myself next to one of the most talented masters at this place. I’m sure that both of us will quickly be headed to the top because of this pairing,” Arios replied to Eliza, with not a single hint of unconfidence in his voice. Of course he was confident. Juno might not be accepted by either side of her family but that didn’t mean she didn’t have the right bloodline to become a legend, and she had also shown a good head on her shoulders since Arios had met her.

Not that it had been the longest time ago. There was still some time to see if she could do certain things effectively, of course.

Arios couldn’t help but chuckle at Eliza’s explanation for why they were watching everyone. “I’d say I’m watching everyone around here, too, but for an entirely different reason. Fun can come later, but I believe during the first day or so the most important thing anyone can do is observe. Pick up who the strongest people are, the weakest people, the ones that are good to work with, the ones to avoid… You know what I mean,” he continued, before speaking up again after a brief pause. “Not that I mind having fun. My priorities are just… A bit more competitive.”

After that statement, he turned his attention to analyzing Eliza and Leviana a bit more, although it was pretty easy to tell some things about them just by looking at them. They were more laid back than most at a tense and competitive academy like this, that was for sure. They didn’t seem to be the type that were averse to pleasures of the physical kind. In other words, they were decent to have around - even if neither one of them seemed dependable when shit hit the fan and it was a crunch time situation in combat.

“Judging from what I’ve seen so far of you two so far, I’d say you fall under the category of people I can manage to work with. Although, somehow I doubt that your skillset is a conventional one. For one, I couldn’t tell which one of you was the spirit before it was said. Which means that neither one of you particularly carries yourself as a brawler or assassin or anything along those lines,” he continued, his voice cool and analytical as he offered his thoughts. “I would assume that your specialties have something to do with support or indirect combat.”

Arios then paused, fully shifting to face them. “But, that’s just talking about your magic. As people, you two seem plenty fun.”

[Imperial--japan]

Eliza

"Confident in not just yourself, but your master as well? I have to admit...I like that." Eliza smiled and bit her lip as Arios boasted of his pairing. With such certainty, she was quite curious as to the identity of Arios' partner. Perhaps a well built and intimidating figure? Perhaps a beautiful and lithesome woman? If not for decorum, Eliza would be salivating at the thought of what sort of Alpha of an individual could find themselves partnered with the Spirit before her.

“Not that I mind having fun. My priorities are just… A bit more competitive.” Eliza nodded at this justification.

"Oh, I understand all right. I have my own priorities as well, but it just so happens I can multitask in this instance." Whether that was believable or not was irrelevant, as Arios wasn't a Demon and it seemed said race was of relative few here.

"Just let me know when you're feeling up to get to know each other a bit better. I'm sure we can find some better ways to be competitive that even I might give you a run for your money on." She joked and Leviana sounded like she was trying hard not to laugh in the background, but successfully held her tongue.

"Overall, I appreciate the honest assessment though. You're not wrong in the fact that my skillset is somewhat...specialized. Not best for combat really. If we ever get the chance to work together I'd find it a pleasure to clue you in fully...and trust me when I say, I do hope we can have the pleasure to work together at some point." Eliza walked forward a bit more sultry, and stroked a finger down Arios' chest while giving him a wink.

"So where are you and your master from? I'm sure whoever you left to come here must not of realized what they were losing." Eliza complimented.

[Forest State]

---

Arios

---

Arios didn’t move at the sudden gesture of the finger on his chest but he did take a mental note about it. Told him a bit about who he was dealing with in this case. “Schwer’s Landing. At least, my master is. She has the blood of the great houses Schwer and Riley, although I doubt you would know her name. She may have their blood, but she isn’t part of either house. Never has been. I joined her not long after she was exiled from Schwer’s Landing for the crime of challenging the house leader there to a fight.”

After a pause, Arios continue with the story. “Of course, that fight had stakes, which was her membership in House Schwer. She would gain that positions should she win, but beating a house leader… Is a near impossible task for someone not even out of training yet. It’s safe to say the end result wasn’t good, which is why my master ended up in England and then here. A couple of German provinces away from Schwer’s Landing, where her journey began.”

“I’m sure we will be getting to know each other, however,” Arios continued. “As it turns out, my master isn’t a weak one who requires a spirit by her side at all times to get anything done. For a spirit, I myself carry a high amount of… I guess you could call it autonomy. Autonomy to forge my own connections and relationships outside of those involving my master.”

“I’m sure there will be a productive relationship between us over the next months and years. You two seem interesting enough, after all.”

[Confederation of the Equator]

[minecraft villager sound]

[Sraelyn]

Marcus and Irina

It had been a damned long day. 16 hours ago he had been across the ocean, attending his grandfather’s funeral back in Canada with the rest of the family. Although somber, it wasn’t an affair that troubled him much really. Some mourned the previous head of the family as if he was a hero, loved by all. Marcus didn’t saw it that way. To him it was just the death of a weak, old man, under whose leadership House Allard had grown as weak and feeble as him. It was surely not a person that deserved to be missed much. However, little of that mattered at the moment. Right now he was the heir, standing at the gates of Mittlerstadt Academy. In front of him was the chance to amend the wrongdoings of lesser men. A path that could help him achieve what he desired and more if he was smart enough.

Once the staff had made the formal introduction to the Academy and showed them a bit around the premises, they were directed towards the dormitories. Marcus quietly followed the group during the tour, carrying the luggage for both of them while Irina trailed behind him closely. The girl curiously eyed their surroundings with a surprised look on her face, no doubt trying to visually absorb as much as possible about the place that would be their new residence in the foreseeable future. It was the first time she had gone to a place like this, having remained mostly in Canada before this experience, and the change of scenery was a welcomed one indeed.

Luckily, unpacking was a fast process. Neither of them had brought much, a pair of duffel bags and a briefcase, filled mostly with clothes, a couple of books, and a few personal items each, nothing extravagant or fancy. Once Marcus was done with his things, he quickly helped Irina finish with hers. The room they would stay in was mostly spartan in nature, the white painted walls and minimal decoration a stark difference from their previous accommodations. It was something that the girl would most likely miss, but making it more homely would have to wait. Before going out once again, he removed his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his white dressing shirt, he had already ditched the tie a while ago, but was mostly still wearing what he had at the funeral. Another thing that would have to wait.

“I want to take a look at the rest Irina, so let’s go to the sparring center. Remember to stay close, I don’t want a repeat of what happened in Calgary.”
“I-it won’t happen again, I promise.” She enthusiastically proclaimed.
“Good girl” Irina was clearly not the best at dealing with social interactions, something that had already brought them problems in the past when they were separated, and something that he needed to take into consideration if he wanted to achieve his goals.

Marcus took the chance to calmly walk around the area, spending a few moments watching the rooms in which there were contenders sparring. In most of them there were a spirit and a mage contending against each other. There were angels, demons, humans and spirit of all sizes, and watching them fight was a decent way to gauge out what he would be facing. Knowledge was power after all, and Marcus would become powerful.

[The Cross and Davids Star]

Nev Hurn
Shooting Range

Nev didn't really care about the spirit trying to stroke his own ego by challenging him, but he was not one to let another person's rudeness go unpunished, so he waited patiently for the spirit to have his turn, loading his carbine while the spirit was having at it. When he looked at the targets, he was mildly impressed with the spirit's performance, but now it was his turn.

"Three round burst, all bullseyes, one bullet per target. Take notes kid, you might learn something." Nev said clearly while he cocked a round into the chamber and got ready, a mental countdown going in his head. 3...2...1!

Nev send his mana into the glasses, and the world around him slowed down to a crawl when Nev pulled the trigger, quickly shifting to a new target when he saw the first bullet leave the barrel, doing it twice once more before giving the trigger another pull, repeating it until he had a bullet headed toward every target. To Haunn and Lucian however, it looked like he was running full auto while the end of his barrel was flying left and right like a painter's brush under the rush of inspiration. Satisfied with his firing, Nev stopped the mana flow and his perception returned to normal, each bullet hitting its mark as he had promised. Putting the gun to his side, Nev looked out of the corner of his eye to observe the reactions of both mage and spirit.

[Forest State]

---

Edge of the Future, Chapter One

【ＫＮＩＦＥ＇Ｓ　ＥＤＧＥ】

Part Two

---

Collaborative post between Forest State and Lunas Legion

---

Their conversation hadn't been over for long before another vehicle pulled up outside of the lounge and a pair of Guild aides stepped out of it, gesturing towards the open doors of the large SUV. "Now that everyone is gathered here," one of the aides said. "I believe we should head back to the headquarters building to receive the full details of just what this team has been assembled for..."

To which Lyvia nodded, fine with getting out of the building and pushing her way through the doors and onto the tarmac before Hayato or the others moved. "You aren't going to have any problems from me. I've survived long enough this way, but I suppose that's something that I'll have to prove in the field," he stated as a last remark towards Chelsea before moving to the open doors and climbing into the SUV after Lyvia.

"We'll see." Chelsea muttered under her breath, obviously unhappy with this entire situation as she followed their other, newer members, Iona falling in alongside her with Ash following slightly behind them, humming to himself with his hands in his pockets. He seemed completely relaxed and at ease with it all, Maya skipping after him. One by one they climbed into the SUV, Chelsea watching out the window as Ash shut the door behind Maya as she climbed in.

Once the SUV was moving, the second aide turned around to give the start of an explanation. "Let's go over the things that you should be briefed on by the time you show up to the headquarters building. Essentially, this team is being assembled with the idea that cross jurisdiction problems require cross jurisdiction solutions. That is, the problem of the fifth Xenofront cell has become a big enough one that containing it has become a job shared across a number of jurisdictions, and the Guild is putting a lot of their focus into dealing with it."

"Not just a lot of their focus," the aide continued. "But a lot of resources. Resources such as the addition of Lyvia to this team, and the very fact that a team is being gathered in the first place with no regard for the traditional borders. This fight between this specific cell and between the Guild has been going on for long enough. Your team is being moved in to deal the knockout blow. You'll have some freedom in how to go about that, and the backing of the Guild organization. However, you will have to be able to handle yourselves wen it comes to doing the actual legwork on the ground, where you'll mostly be on your own."

"We'd like to have given you more support or even organized a more 'proper' team, but the thing is... The Guild doesn't exactly want everyone to know how much of a problem the fifth cell is in the first place. And because of that, the team that was gathered today is one that's off the radar. None of the assets here are ones that will be seen on the official records, so to speak. But you're expected to do the same job as any official unit, or rather, do the job they couldn't do."

"I see." There wasn't much else Chelsea could say as she mentally evaluated everything that had just been said. So they were being thrown together as the tip of the spear; if she was more of a cynic, she'd have called it being the first thrown into a meatgrinder.

"I'm assuming that this team has been assembled now is due to the Guild already having an intended target for us to strike and that they intend for us to do so relatively soon?" She asked, none of the minor doubts that she harboured detectable in her voice. She'd been given a job to do, and she'd do it. She might have preferred different circumstances and different tools, but one could never have perfection. She'd make do with what she'd been given.

"For now, your goal is a more defensive one. We know that the fifth cell will strike again because this is what separates them from other Xenofront cells. Not just their status as being battle hardened but the fact that they have the ambition and aggression to take the initiative and put the Guild and the authorities on the back foot, bringing more and more attention to magical conflicts and indirectly hurting the Guild through that fact. Matters of magic, after all, are meant to stay hidden," the aide replied, before pausing.

"So we can assume that their strikes aren't going to stop with what they've already done. We believe the first priority is acting as a shield, and then figuring out how to strike back from there, potentially using information gathered from the enemy directly. This is why your team has been assembled. Counter their blow, land a blow of your own, and get the knockout. Of course, actually doing that is the hard part, as more organized units have already failed at that task. Another thing that puts Cell Five above others is their resilience over along term period."

It was as the aide said. The odds weren't great, they were up against opposition that had outlasted better organized and larger divisions. But those ones hadn't had the aces up the sleeve that this new team had, did they? Or rather, one specific ace which was said to be a game changer. With little experience in the field, however, at least experience that wasn't classified, it was hard to tell just which card that so-called ace was. They'd find out soon. Hopefully, they didn't end up finding out as they realized they didn't quite have enough firepower in their moment of need.

[Forest State]

Time Skip

October 10th, 2021

---

The passing of years was a familiar cycle for those who were familiar with the Mage’s Guild and the larger world of magic. The dog days of summer passed, the August heat turned to cooler September weather, and just in time for the changing of the leaves on the trees, mages from around the world descended on the city of Mittlerstadt for the yearly meetings there. It was the event where the Mage’s Guild decided on any changes to their rules and initiatives for each year and it was also one of the events where plenty of mage families from all corners would come face to face either in person or through representatives.

There were always tensions during the meeting week. Sometimes there were backroom deals. Everyone tended to show up before the meetings themselves and mages always seemed to have a way of getting into trouble before the meetings could get underway properly. So it was safe to say that for the ones overseeing everything and trying to keep both the clashing between mages and the inherent chaos that came with an event like this to a minimum, this was one of the most stressful weeks of the year.

Could be one of the most rewarding, too. Plenty of useful initiatives for the Guild had come out of meetings during this week, and it was also… Something of an event in itself. Over the years it had developed a reputation of sorts. Magic was always in the shadows by its very nature, ever since the shift happened and mages moved away from being in the forefront, and acting as kings and kingmakers. But this week was one of the few when it as very close to being out in the open.

One city, for a short while, would show openly just why it was the magic capital of the world.

It was safe to say the Guild could use all of the hands that they had available to help with getting it running smoothly now that the week had started. And there had already been clashes between mages, ones which had become dangerously public. Sometimes, around other mages, it was easy to slip up in a city like Mittlerstadt and forget the rules. Specifically, the rules that battles between mages were not something for the public eye. Just because Mittlerstadt was the magic capital of the world, after all, didn’t mean every citizen was a mage or that public battles wouldn’t be leaked to the outside.

Surely, it was something the students of Mittelrstadt Academy had already heard about. They’d been here for two weeks at this point, and they had already been immersed into their classes and practically thrown into the deep end as they began learning combat, more of the magical arts that all of them were already proficient in to an extent, and learned how to deal with certain situations in the field. Things like profiling, how to gather information to investigate a crime, and how to do the part that no one was a fan of, the paperwork.

However, two weeks of training was still just two weeks of training. They were raw compared to even the older students on this campus, even if they had all been brought in with a minimum level of competency. Fortunately for the staff who were hoping for good performances from their students, there hadn’t been anyone so far that just couldn’t keep up. Still, their roles in the field would start off small - like they did for everyone who passed through this academy before eventually being moved on to bigger and better things.

The first of their tasks in the field took them out of the academy and into the city of Mittlerstadt proper, where they were brought to one of the more expensive and notable buildings of the town. The music hall, the one with the curved roof and arches out front made of marble, notable through all Germany for the fine construction of the place. If one were to make a postcard showing the best destinations in Mittlerstadt, the music hall would likely be one of the ones on the front. Plenty of talented people had played here in the past, ranging from the more traditional classical performers to pop or rock groups doing tours in Germany.

Now, this well known building was the one that the students were being unloaded towards the back of. It was a parking lot closed off from the public, behind the music hall, and it was where a lot of the preparations were happening for the festivities. Including the preparations for the field task the students of the academy had been given. “If you’ll follow me,” said Caine Rayden, offering a wave towards the students as the pair of buses pulled up and parked in the closed off lot. “I’ll explain the reason you’ve all been dragged out here into the city.”

When they were mostly off the buses, Rayden started speaking, walking to lead the group towards the back entrance which was being unlocked as the group gathered. “Right. Well, you’re here because we could use some extra hands on this event. As you know, the Mittlerstadt Meetings every year are essentially when the Guild makes some of its most important decisions. Because of that, you end up with a lot of mages coming in from out of town from all of the different important families. You know the drill, I’m sure you’ve heard of it by now. As of now, the out of towners are starting to trickle in and we’re doing something nice for them. That is, the Guild is having a little gala at this music hall in about fifteen minutes,” Rayden continued.

He turned to point at the students. “And you’re here to assist the local police department with keeping everything running as it should. Now, don’t panic. You’re not doing all the work, I would say you aren’t even doing most of the work,” he added. “But it helps to have mages on hand if anything comes up and… A lot of our own people are already on the job or are busy in some way. A lot of them are attending the gala itself, after all. It ended up turning into a large event in terms of numbers, and that’s going to make this a challenge. On the front side of the building, the one that faces the street, you’ll have to deal with protesters. Xenofront supporters and some others who believe mages have too much power, or whatever. More Xenofront, but there’s some of the others, too. The protesters should be on the other side of the street, but you may have to step in if they decide to… Agitate things.”

“There’s also the matter of other mages to worry about. Battles between mages tend to happen around this time of the year, mainly because there’s a lot of different families showing up here and not all of them like each other. You can’t play the peacemaker for everything but try to avoid letting them tear the place down by getting into some fight between themselves,” Rayden continued, before reaching into his pocket and taking out a white sheet of paper which had been marked up like a map.

“There’s three sectors that you students and your spirits are being deployed to. Sector One is the one outside of the front entrance and deals with security. Mainly, your job is to help the police put the protesters back in line if they decide to agitate. This Sector will be led by myself and so any of you who would like to work with this Sector should remain here with me and my group. Sector Two will be on the ballroom floor and will also deal with security, but unlike the first sector, there’s no immediate threat for you. You will, however, have to possibly mingle above your social classes. Something that’s not always the easiest to do. This group will be led by Endriel. If you would like to volunteer for this, you can find her inside the ballroom.”

Rayden put the piece of paper away, moving to unlock the back entrance. “Lastly, the Third Sector is not one singular location but the hallways. Anyone in this group has the job of generally moving about and watching the perimeter for trouble. This group will be led by Nico Lucius, who you can find just inside the building in the hallway immediately behind the front entrance. If you want to join this group, speak to her. Now, I believe that’s everything that I have to tell you all, unless you have questions or objections. Remember, you all aren’t in this alone… You may be just students, but you have the force of the police behind you. Remember that and avoid making any brash decisions and you’ll do just fine, experienced or not.”

[Lunas Legion]

Gabriella Sara Bianchi-Costa

Normally, there'd have been no question over exactly which of the three sectors that Rayden had listed off that she'd pick. She was from the higher echelons of mage society; she'd grown up attending galas like this with her family, so fitting into it would be beyond easy for her. No need to worry about the issue of needing to mingle above her social class.

But she wasn't exactly alone. Where she went, Candace went. And knowing Candace as well as she did, it would not be a good idea to bring her into a party she'd no doubt view as boring and stuffy. She'd give her spirit five minutes at best before she caused a scene of greater or lesser proportions, and thereafter she'd no doubt spend the entire time running damage control and not doing her actual job.

No, as suited as she was for it, her spirit was completely unsuited for it.

"You feel like perimeter duty, which could be a complete mixed bag and just end up with a lot of walking, or standing out front looking intimidating?" She asked, turning her head slightly back towards Candace as she spoke, scratching at her neck, the ends of the painted runes that covered her entire body just visible above her collar. After their little argument after moving in, she'd tried to come up with some means of reducing how reliant she was on preparation time, and the best solution she'd come up with had been painting herself and her weapons after she'd showered every morning, giving her a less effective form of physical enhancement magic that she could access in a pinch. It was better than being caught completely off-guard, after all. "I know I'd fit in with the ballroom like a fish and water, but I'm not about to drag you into that since you'll be bored out of your mind in five minutes, so one of the other two it is."

[Gudmund]

Lucas Deccan & Adrial Elysium | Mittelstadt Meetings

"Man this sounds like a pain, stopping a bunch of prideful mage families from hurting each other," thought Lucas, listening intently to Rayden's briefing. He'd never been to a Mittelstadt Meeting before, even though his family had attended most of the events. The last two weeks of classes couldn't compare to his families style of teaching so they weren't too difficult, if anything, Adrial's complaining was the most strenuous part. Going over the different sectors responsibilities, Lucas realised something very important, "Oh shit," he whispered, leaning closer to Adrial so she'd hear "my family will definately be here in sectors one and two, I'd rather not have that pressure on my back the whole day."

Adrial chortled, her eyes radiating an aura of smugness even under her helmet's strange visor, "Well then, we can't have that, guess it's best we take the hallways with Nico," she whispered back, grabbing his arm and leading him to the hallway behind the front entrance, exactly where Nico was waiting.

It was clear to Lucas that his Spirit simply wanted to be with her favourite instructor, something he'd mocked her on before, calling out Adrial's obvious crush and receiving a multitude of denials every time. Chuckling, Lucas pat his Spirit on the shoulder and began, "All the more time to spend with your belov-," he hissed, Adrial's grip on his arm painfully tightening and forcing him to stop mid-sentence. Looking at her again he laughed, catching glimpses of her red face under the constantly shapeshifting helmet. Something she'd do whenever her emotions got the best of her.

Adrial was clearly unhappy, however, sporting a scowl as they continued walking towards the instructor. Seeking to right this Lucas continued, "Ahh, nevermind, what a fantastic idea Adrial! Choosing the best option for the both of us, how thoughtful," he finished, gently pulling his arm from her grip and walking beside her. He wasn't entirely sure who else would be joining him, his magic would work great in a hallway, but neither him nor Adrial would be able to fly around. A fully armoured Adrial, a masterful user in dozens of metallic weapons, would be a nightmare to any opponent facing her in a hallway. Needless to say, he was pretty confident.

Reaching instructor Nico, Lucas greeted her and stood by. As did Adrial, who was rapidly moulding the lump of metal in her hands to distract herself, the forms growing more gruesome looking as time went by.

[Forest State]

---

Mittlerstadt Music Hall

---

“Neither one has as many guaranteed thrills as I would like,” said Candace, putting a hand on her chin as she worked on making her decision. She preferred something where she was sent in to fight a specific enemy rather than just hanging around and waiting for something to go wrong - with no guarantee that something would go wrong in the first place. Most people would be hoping that nothing happened, Candace on the other hand just wanted something interesting to do.

And her kind of interesting would involve smashing heads, something she couldn’t do if there was no trouble.

“But… I guess there’s a better chance of that if we head out front. Not too hard to find vampires and demons and the like starting trouble,” she said, knowing that the protestors outside were a mix of Xenofront and human supporters of them. Xenofront and humans didn’t typically get alone. Xenofront tended to view all humans as the same, after all. However, they didn’t exactly turn down help from outsiders either, and so there were sometimes crowds like this one made of both protesting humans and non humans.

The nuances of what they were protesting were lost on Candace, not because she was unintelligent but because she didn’t really give a shit. If anything she was appreciative of them, but not because of their message or their goals, but because they gave her a target to knock down in the future. Fighting demons or vampires was more fun than fighting humans, anyway. And Xenofront was always looking for a fight.

“We’ll join Sector One,” she announced to Rayden, before moving to head towards the front of the building, summoning her sword to her side because she figured it would be best to show the protesters just what they were dealing with here. If they saw the sword and decided to start trouble anyway and ended up getting cut down because of it… Well, that was their problem more than hers. She felt the police would take her side on that matter, too.

“Alright then,” Rayden nodded towards both Candace, Gabriella, and Bu, gesturing for both of them to come on and heading alongside Candace through the music hall’s interior until they had arrived out front. They would have a good view of the building as they moved through it - they had to cross the entire thing to get to the front entrance. If anyone else wanted to join them, they could find them there. They had a good enough sized group already.

It was also immediately obvious what they were there to deal with. Things were plenty peaceful on the side of the street that the Guild group had been posted to, but on the other side, there were indeed plenty of protesters both human and nonhuman alike. And none of them particularly looked friendly or like they intended to hold a peaceful and law abiding protest. Things hadn’t kicked off yet. But it seemed like they would at some point.

“Not even sure why they’re protesting,” Caine remarked to his group, looking over his shoulder at them as there were jeers from the other side of the street. That made sense. As a member of House Rayden, Caine was one of the most recognizable members of the academy staff, to anyone that was familiar at all with the inner workings of the magic world. “They blame us for people not liking them, I suppose… As if the real reason people dislike them isn’t the fact that they act like criminals and terrorists.”

---

“You again, I see,” said Nico Lucius as she saw Lucas and Adrial approaching her. She was, well… Herself. Clad in all black and wearing cargo pants and a leather jacket when the other instructors, even if they didn’t dress completely formally, put a bit more effort into looking the part for an event like this. Most of them tried to wear things that could be somewhat functional in case something happened but still looked like they belonged here. Nico had discarded style for function - unless one looked at things from a punk perspective, in which case she had style too.

“I still owe you that fight, but if things go well tonight, we’ll be fighting Xenofront,” she chuckled darkly, before pausing to explain herself. “Well, technically that wouldn’t be a good thing. I’m only saying it is because it would mean that coming here isn’t a complete waste of time for all of us that aren’t into ballroom dinners and classical music and the like. You wouldn’t be able to pay me to come to something like this if it was on my own time, but hey, I guess no one has a perfect job.”

She shrugged, moving from where she had been leaning against the wall and standing up straight. She looked between the two of them - seeing the pair of master and spirit approaching her reminding her that she didn’t have a spirit of her own anymore. Didn’t even have her protege here with her, either. They needed Night for something else, and Nico found herself… All alone. She couldn’t complain about company, even if it was on an assignment she didn’t like.

“But I’m just rambling. I’m sure you’re not all interested in the nightlife preferences of someone old enough to be your aunt. The real important thing tonight is that we get through the assignment without slipping up and getting yelled at by the brass.”

[Durmatagno]

Rosalie Morrigan and Autumn

Rosalie considered her options for a moment, before deciding that she didn't want to be in front of a crowd, and it probably wouldn't be a good idea to have her around important people. So instead, she turned her attention to Sector Three and dragged Autumn with her. Not that Autumn wasn't glad to follow her wherever she would decide, but she didn't wait for any snarky comments. Moving into the back area, she found Nico, and with a deceptively innocent smile raised her hand in greeting.

"Rosalie Morrigan and Autumn reporting for duty in Sector Three."

It was always good to play up that most people thought she was entirely clueless and innocent. She was only somewhat clueless, and then only with people. She scratched at the back of her head, while Autumn rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Her multicolored hair still covering one eye, if she needed to see it'd take a mere moment to correct. Not that she wasn't looking forward to a fight, though equally she wasn't really wishing for one either. A nice quiet night without any hammering or having to carry Rosalie back to bed was enough for Autumn.


Nadia Tiernan and Éadaoin

Sector Two frankly sounded boring. Surrounded by stuffy people who thought themselves to important for everyone. Sector Three was boring in a different way, quiet hallways where no one but guards would be unless something kicked off.Nadia and Éadaoin exchanged glances and made their choice. She stayed where she was, watching the protesters had to be at least mildly interesting, for a little while at least. Maybe not all night, but long enough to make it worth it to have actually bothered to show up. Besides, if things did get boring, she could easily find something more interesting to do with Éadaoin.

[Confederation of the Equator]

[minecraft villager sound]

[Lunas Legion]

Gabriella Sara Bianchi-Costa

"Your call." Gabriella shrugged. She wasn't entirely sure about that choice either, given that Candace was no doubt just looking for an excuse to crack protester skulls if they got overly uppity or violent or generally gave her any excuse whatsoever to hit something.

Xenofront, well... To her, they were their enemy, really. She didn't consider them anything but. Ideals and motivation mattered little to her; her family was quite entrenched within the Mages Guild after all, so her parents had fought them multiple times with the Guild, and then they'd fought them a few times whenever they surfaced in Rome. It was one of the few things all of the mage families of Rome could agree upon; Xenofront was an enemy to be utterly obliterated wherever and whenever possible.

She followed Candace, Caine and the others who'd joined Sector One out towards the front, internally wondering if she'd made the right call by potentially unleashing Candace on the protestors, but she dismissed those thoughts quickly. They probably deserved it, after all. She was silent as they made their way through the building, walking through the entire building until they finally emerged out of the front entrance. It was quiet enough on their side of the street, but she could see the protesters.

And given her experiences with protests from living in Rome, which saw protests about something or other against the Italian government, that particular band of protesters looked anything other than peaceful. If anything, she'd say they looked like they were looking for an excuse to kick off,

Just like Candace.

She let out a small, resigned sigh. She may have made a mistake.

"They act like criminals and terrorists because people dislike them." Gabriella shrugged as she replied to Caine. "It's a self-reinforcing thing. Maybe if they didn't resort to violent methods people might actually bother to listen to them. Sadly people aren't patent and think they can achieve things through the quick and violent method, not exactly realising that never works. Doesn't stop them trying."

[Forest State]

---

Edge of the Future, Chapter One

【ＫＮＩＦＥ＇Ｓ　ＥＤＧＥ】

Part Three Intro

---

The city of Berlin is not just the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany, and one of the historic centers of Europe, but is also a hive for vampire activity and home to all sorts of other supernatural creatures. If the forces of order have set up in Mittlerstadt and in Brandenburg, Berlin is the black heart of the dark underworld in Central Europe. In the hunt for Xenofront's fifth cell, the newly formed Guild team has been sent to the shady Mystery Club, located in former East Berlin...

---

Berlin. A lot of different things to a lot of different people. To some, Berlin was simply known as the capital of Germany - a city that had survived the World Wars before coming back stronger, cut in two during the Cold War before eventually being brought back together following the collapse of East Germany and the Soviet Union. That was the surface level analysis of Berlin. However, the truth was rarely that simple when it came to the world of magic. Berlin was all of those things. Berlin was also, though, one of the main hubs for vampires in Germany and in the surrounding area in general. Not just vampires, but demons and angels. Nonhumans in general.

So it was no surprising that when it came to finding the whereabouts of the infamous Cell Five of Xenofront, Berlin was one of the first places that the Guild wanted their newly assembled team to check. This was the first time during the two weeks that they had been together that they were being sent outside of Mittlerstadt, but if things went well, they would be coming away from this trip with information that could lead them right to what they were looking for: a chance to stop the next attack that was inevitably coming from this enemy organization, and potentially counter it and deal some damage of their own.

They’d been in the city for a day.

The charter flight had arrived the morning before and they had roughly one day to sit around the hotel and plan what they were doing. After that day, it was clear that there was only one place that they needed to check if they wanted to find out the whereabouts of Xenofront: the Mystery Club. It actually wasn’t their own lead, but it was a place that happened to be known by the one that the Guild had sent with them for this task because supposedly this newcomer had more personal experience with everything here than the main team would.

Night was her name. A masterless spirit who had been that way ever since her master died in the field, Night was said to know about the scene of nonhumans in Berlin better than any of the full time members of the team would. And she had known about this place that was hardly on the radar, that hardly showed up on reports from the Guild’s intelligence, that hardly made the news. But that made sense. According to Night, the Mystery Club wasn’t invisible because it wasn’t relevant. It was invisible because the people that ran the place were the best at what they did. And what they did was provide somewhere that was a secretive hub for nonhumans while being nearly closed off to the majority of humans that surrounded them on the outside.

If ninety nine percent of the population in Berlin was human, the Mystery Club had been created so the one percent had a place to go and shut everyone else out. Even Night herself claimed that she wasn’t deep in the affairs of the place, it just so happened that she knew someone there and that she might be able to use that connection to get them the information they were looking for. But the key word was might. There was no guarantee it wouldn’t work and no guarantee they wouldn’t be throwing hands by the end of the night if the hosts of the club decided that their presence in this place was just too dangerous for the majority of the clubgoers. After all, many of the nonhumans that came here were ones that… Liked to live on the wild side while not integrating much into the human nations that they lived in.

And so, their group was sitting now in a rented van just across the street from the place that Night had told them about. The outside was unassuming. She claimed that the inside would be much more like what one would expect from somewhere with a name like this and a role like this. Then again, that was just another thing they had to trust Night’s judgement on. It wasn’t like they knew her, and yet, once again they had been thrown into something by the Guild. Because according to the Guild, there was no better person to guide them in and out of this place without getting themselves jumped by the locals.

“I’m just going to say one more thing,” Night said, as they moved out of the van. “When in Rome, walk like the Romans do. This might be an alien experience for you. Actually, it probably will be an alien experience for you. Hiding that fact as much as possible is the key to getting what we’re looking for. And not hiding it well enough… Well, I’m sure you already know. That’s just going to be dangerous for us, so avoid doing that.”

She put on a white masquerade mask as she spoke, something that was common within the club. No one there quite wanted to give up their real identity, at least not the nonhumans who were at risk of being targeted by the authorities for their involvement in a shady place like this. “If any of you have questions, get them out now, and quickly. Because once we step through those doors, we’re in a whole different world and there’s no turning back from it,” she continued, offering a slight smile to the group that she had just joined only a day or so ago. “Good luck.”

---

[Theyra]

Vatnar Eldursson

"Hmm what sector to take", Vatnar thought as he weighed the options. He crossed his arms and leaned up aganist a wall. The prospect of mingling with the magical elite during this job was not something he wished to do. He had been to Mittlerstadt Meetings once before with his father and he was fine with missing it. It donned on him that his family could be there. Even though they are a small house, his family's unique magic makes his family stand out. While it may be good to see family, Vatnar was not really feeling of seeing him, if they were there that is. "So Thava what do you think? Which one do you think we should do?

"Let's see, option 1 is outside and dealing with protesters, 2 is will be in the ballroom and 3 is the hallways". Me, I would go with three since I do not fine intermingling with magical houses and we lack crowd-control abilities if things go south. So I say we go with 3 and monitor the hallways.

"Okay and that sounds like a plan and you would stand out in the ballroom anyway" and he uncrossed his arms.

"Thava smirked "like I am one for dresses".

"Well, off to the meet Nico then and we will see if this proves to a quiet patrol" and the two headed to sector 3.

[Castelia]

Archie and The Witch King | Mittlerstadt Music Hall

Standing in front of the back entrance of the Mittlerstadt Music Hall, Archie's thoughts began to wander as he reminisced. The Mittlerstadt Meetings had always excited him as a child, back when he was the obedient son of the family. But now, it only left a bitter taste in his mouth.

As servants of the Riley family, the older members of the Lawson family had participated in the Meetings as either representatives or guards of the Rileys, and Archie's memories were rich with tales of experiences of various family members who had participated in the various events that made up the Meeting. He remembered how he always begged his grandfather to tell stories about defending a Riley from assailants, or his father about the various magic techniques that were put on as a show. As a child, it had been his dream to one day attend the Meetings himself, but now as an adult, it became a nightmare he had always sought to avoid, and for more than the simple reason of being a now-hated childhood dream.

"Master Archie, have you already chosen a Sector to be deployed to?" A question from the Witch King snapped him out of his thoughts. He hadn't been paying attention, as usual, so he decided to leave it up to his Spirit.

"Whatever you think is best, WiKi. And by that, I mean where we don't get to meet those mage snobs. Take me as far away from them as possible."

"Sector Three would be best, then, Master Archie. I'm afraid it would take us to the hallways inside the hall, but at least you get to move around by patrolling the perimeter. Let us look for Instructor Lucius, to whom we are supposed to report."

"Alright, then. Let's go." With an uncharacteristic lack of enthusiasm, Archie proceeded to enter the music hall, The Witch King following closely behind him. Thankfully, Nico Lucius proved easy to find, and Archie decided to report.

"Hey there, Instructor! Archie and WiKi, joining Sector Three!" Archie shouted in his trademark loud greeting, trying to hide his dampened spirits, but he was sure the Instructor could see through him. It was plain obvious, if one knew Archie's motivations and history, that he didn't want to be there.

[Lunas Legion]

Chelsea Eleanor Bianchi-Costa and Ashley 'Ash' Gryfe

"Bad analogy to make. Spent most of my life living in Rome, I still stick out like blood in water to the Italians." Ash said, grumbling as he pulled on his own mask, a full-face pitch-black mask that only exposed his grey-brown eyes, climbing out of the van and looking around warily, alert for any signs of a potential threat or ambush even before they were inside.

"That's because you're as subtle as a sledgehammer with a siren strapped to it at times. Maybe if you tried like I do you wouldn't." Chelsea rolled her eyes as she pulled her own mask on, one that covered the top half of her face, stopping just above her mouth, her purple eyes covered up by lenses within the mask.

"Maya, watch the van." Ash commanded, his short-, silver-haired spirit nodding in happy blissful contentment. She'd be an obvious indication they didn't belong, since saying Maya was oblivious was an understatement. It was ironic, really, for a spirit that mostly used a form of magic based around extending her own perceptions.

"Two questions." Chelsea said, turning towards Night. "One, should Iona come in with us? Too many people coming in at once might draw eyes, and Maya and her can keep an eye on things both out here and inside. If things get rough she should be able to get inside quick enough. Two, any last pieces of advice on how to stick out less? I can speak German, if that helps, but I'm not exactly used to clubs of any kind." If there was anyone other than Maya that was going to not hide it well enough, it would be her. She wasn't arrogant enough to think otherwise; this kind-of thing was not her realm by any stretch of the imagination.