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Not for the first time in Signet, a time distortion appeared and sucked another person from over a thousand years ago into the present. Yellow electricity exploded outward from the rift as Artanis was violently rocketed out of the vortex and onto the floor. For the moment he was unconscious, which was a surprising feat considering the yellow and now purple electricity shooting towards and through him would have woken up many a corpse. His sword and hammer had also erupted from the vortex to come smashing into the floor and embedding themselves there. Arcs of electricity flew from Artanis and the vortex to the now grounded weapons.

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Arcturus stowed the book in his robes before quickly and noiselessly leaving the hall as the meeting drew to a close. Once again a think cloud of fog enveloped him as he moved outside towards his apartment.

(Lyra, didn't you mention one of the Leaders specializing in ice?)

Next time, a simple howl will do, Milan. Quinn appeared next to her, after she would have heard his voice inside her head, "We travel by magic to return."

He placed a hand on her arm, taking a firm hold, and teleported the two of them to Ashra's Den. It wasn't that far to walk, but they still needed to move quickly. Quinn had felt it when Milan made her call. He had witnessed it. The scales had begun to tip. Balance was shifting.

The two appeared right next to Ashra, and Quinn spared no motion or minute in approaching the child leader, "The Scales tipped during my meditation, Ashra. The tipped in Darkness's favor. I believe Troden is on the move. He's probably after one of the Books of Fate. What will we do?"

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Mira sat on the bed in the guest room of Lina and Remus's home, quietly humming to herself as she leaned against the wall. Stefan sat with her in silence, the only noise coming from his miniature violin he was playing with. He strummed the strings occasionally, in perfect time with Mira's tune, creating a beautiful, soft melody. Together they waited. They both needed the rest.

Remus knelt down and lightly flicked his son's nose to get him to be quiet. "First of all, stop this. You're not going to die and it's getting on my nerves. Second of all, I need you to understand just how stupid you were being..." Remus sat down on Riken's bed and pulled his son over next to him. "First of all, you brought a loaded, unlocked gun in the house and you were playing with it. What would you have done if that gun had gone off when your mother or I was standing there instead of my armor..." He let that sink in for a moment before continuing. "Then you ran. Doing just that terrified me. On top of it all, I nearly opened a fire fight on your behalf that could have resulted in the loss of at least one or two more lives, one of which could have been mine or yours. And even after this you kept running. Why? So you wouldn't be grounded? Which is better?"

Artanis was still out cold, but his armor and weapons were enchanted to defend him if he was down. Glowing a bright yellowish gold from the energy they were pulling from him, they came off piece by piece and assembled themselves together again to form a living suit of armor. Taking up his hammer and sword, the suit began to assist Karrot and Torrent by slashing and bashing the creatures coming through the portal.



Arcturus mumbled under his breath as he flipped through the book in his small apartment study. Surely Troden would have known or learned about the meeting? He wouldn't overlook a gathering of such powers...

I have no idea where the leaders are now... Perhaps Lina or Remus though? Yes... It's been a while since I've gone to the mansion.. We might compare notes too.

He bolted up quickly from his chair and again stowed the book in his robes before exiting through and locking his apartment door. The usual tic in his right eye was enough to make most people stay away from him, and he actually kind of enjoyed the thought of people thinking he was insane. Quickly walking out of the complex he skated off towards the Asanti manor, arriving a few minutes later and knocking on the door.

"From the way things are falling into place, it would be safe to say that Troden always has the Book," Ashra replied quietly, his now dimly lit gaze hardening slightly, "I hate to say it, but for him to acquie the Book on the very day it is released is quite a feat. He must have matured drastically for such an action. I wonder how many spies are within this city that we don't know about..."

"Lord Ashra," Milan's voice was firm as she spoke, her grip tightening slightly. She said nothing after that, but to the child Leader the meaning was clear.

Ashra looked at her for only a moment before a faint smile crossed his face, "It was only a moment of weakness Milan. It has passed." The smile faded as he closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath as he did so. The temperature slowly lowered as he held the breath in and released it, giving the air the tangy scent of ancient magic as he did so. As before, the Threads of Life slowly appeared before them and even through them, but unlike before, Ashra's golden Thread was slowly unravelling, the slender strands slipping away and travels undoubtedly to his new vessel, "I want you and our fastest runners to move into the city and tell STU and the others of Quinn's news," he said after a moment, his hands slowly lifting to bring himself out of the bed, "Go now and hurry back. I will need you soon." Milan nodded and quickly moved out, barking out orders even as the door began to close. Howls filled the air as the small group left Ashra's Den and went into the city, their magic-encrypted howls traveling the air and into the intended targets in with the clear message:

Troden is on the move. The time to search for the vessels begins now.

Ashra wavered slightly as he got to his feet, but he soon stood firm, "We will keep as much Balance as we can, but it is the Light that must do the rest...as will the Darkness when the time comes."

"Let's begin."

--

"How long have you known? Was this why you were acting so strangely lately? Do you know if it is a boy or a girl yet? If so..." a torrent of qestions escaped from the excited father-to-be's lips, fading away ony when the sounds of the howl was heard.

"Hmm...why does Troden have such horrible timing?"

Tyran nodded, smiling slightly before standing up and moving across the room, stopping as he reflection stared back at him from across the mirror, "I have really hurt haven't I...and even when I was trying to do good... Nothing would have been good no matter what I did for either you would have been hurt or Magnolia, and then all of the Ten would have probably been hurt even more than before. So I took the lesser of two evils...even though the first was more important to me." he turned to her, his pale gaze kind as before...but the innocence was gone. Give thanks to Dorien's harsh training for his children in combat and life for that, "I am sorry for what I have done to you and everyone else. I truly am."

It as then that he heard the howls. Almost immediately the look hardened as he moved towards the window, his dark locks raping around him as he listened, "Of course things would begin to move when I am finally able to come see you. Just great..."

--

Riken listened quietly as Remus spoke, his gaze slowly lowering until he was staring straight at the floor. Remus and Lina dead? He couldn't see his parents in such a way. They were his parents afterall. He honestly hadnt meant any harm in his actions for he merely acted out on his overdramatic instincts and rolled with them. Perhaps he needed to start using his head as well...

"Father, I am so sorry," he murmured, his vice filled with held back tears, "I never meant to hurt anyone...honest!"

Lina watched this quietly, her gaze softening slightly. She would have takene the time to speak with Riken as well, but the sound of knocking caught her ears, a strage sound to hear within the former Lotus base...as well as the howls. She quickly moved out of the room, giving Remus and their sn one last glance before going down the hall and slowly opening the door. A pleasantly surprise look crossed her face before the door widened, "I'm guessing you heard the howls as well. It is good to see you again...Othello."

[I wasn't sure if she was supposed to know his name change or not so...yeah...]

--

Salen also heard the howls, but to him they held no magically sealed meaning. If he was an ordinary man, he could have passed it off as a pack of lycans hunting as they usually do in Signet, but he had been in too many wars and fought along side too many lycans for that. There was a since of urgency within those howls, something that reminded him all too much a warning...

He slowly closed his eyes and moved to go inside his home, unlocking the door as he did so...but someone had already done that for him. His katana sang as it was released from his shield and Salen slowly walked inside, his gaze narrowing slightly as he peered into the darkness. Whoever had been foolish enough to enter his home uninvited would regret stepping a single foot inside...atleast that was before two figures appeared out of the darkness, their red eyes gleaming slightly from the outside light.

"So this is what a traitor's home looks like," Amateru murmured, looking around with eyes that needed no light, "I am shocked. A traitor must cost more than I thought..."

"Now now brother, be nice," Rasuki said as Salen's blade raised slightly before lowering into its sheath, "Is it surprising that a person who could completely abandon his first family break the codes of his second and probably most powerful family known as the Lotus?"

"I suppose not...although you didn't say what his first family was," Amateru repliled, enjoying the small mental torture they were onlly beginning to inflict upon the warrior, "What were their names again?"

Rasuki laughed lightly, "You didn't guess from his name dear brother? He is Salen Az'il, the former heir to the Az'il family...and technically should be in Raziel's place at the moment."

"I see..."

They both looked back at Salen, who had slowly moved to the table nearby and sat down, his weariness clearly in voice as he said, "Why are you here?"

"To give you atleast part of your honor back dear Salen," they said in unison, "You want to have a cause again correct? Then come back into the fold and fight for not only your freedom, but for your honor as well"

Salen looked up at them and laughed lightly, "You want me to fight under Troden?" he laughed once again, his echoes bouncing into the rest of the rooms, "You must be joking."

"Oh dear, I think he believes us mad." Amateru said quietly, "Shall we give him a more forceful invitation?"

"Very well," Salen was suddenly chained by slender threads that looked very much like the Threads of Life, "We'll let Troden himself speak with you. He has a very persuasive voice..." The twins' laughter filled the room as they btoh disappeared with the struggling Salen in their clutches.

[Erm...where is Seine and Emit's post Jet?]

Arachneim smirked as he flipped through the pages of the Book of Fate, "This was too easy..." Lady Isabelle, we have acquired the Book of Fate. What are your orders?

"Perhaps Troden overestimated the Ten and their allies," Mara replied as they appeared within the Rajen base, "But I guess it's better than underestimating them."

"We only made the first move Mara," Arachneim answered, his smirk fading away, "I'm sure their more will be quite interesting."

--

"It all depends on where you need to touch," Troden replied before standing up and moving towards the window nearby, the sounds of howling only bringing a small grin upon his face, "We are family by race alone then...very well. Do what you must to see if there is actually a line I am a part of and you will be paid for your services whether there is a line or not. In the meantime..." he turned to look at her, "I will have one of my men show you to your room. It will be safer there once my newest guest arrives...Az'il's have such bad tempers you know."

He nodded to Raziel as he entered the room, "Make sure she is comfortable, and whne you are done, meet me at the rendevous point. Our allies are sure to be arriving soon."

"As you wish Sir Troden," Raziel answered, with a slight bow before taking Daystar's arm, "Shall we go?"

Kanna shivered as a chill ran up her spine, making her close her eyes and rub the back of her arms lightly. She didn't usually get cold, so this couln't have been normal... Brother, what have you done now?

"Yes. Let us begin."

Using the same magic but a different method, Quinn first called forth the Scales of Time. The weights that kept the scale level now danced back and fourth, causing the scale to teeter from one side to the other. It was a dangerous game the chips played, for they were playing with the very balance of existence.

"You conduct the show, Teacher." It was one of the very few times Quinn ever called Ashra teacher. They were equals to him, in almost every regard. But when it came to Balancing the scales, Ashra led. Always, "Please, begin, and I will follow. I will complete if I must."

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"I can feel him again." Mira said more to herself than Stefan, "I can always feel him, but I can never find him."

"Hrm?" Stefan looked to his wife in slight confusion, but then realized what she meant.

"Quinn my dear brother, where are you hiding?" She asked, half frustrated, half amused, and just glad to know that her brother was still among the living.

The two of them continued their humming and music playing respectively as they waited to be addressed by the owners of the establishment in which they sat. There wasn't anything else they could do until then. There wasn't anything else they wanted to do.