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((So idk what the fck happened with Trent's coding and now Izzy's picture isn't loading for me. Oh well))

The elf held his hands over his waist, a graceful stance if anyone could describe it, as he seemed to recognise the names that Adika gave him. He blinked slowly and nodded, "Yes, Isabelle said that you would be coming. Trenton will be more than pleased to know you are here so soon." He then opened his arms and gestured with his right for her to follow him. He began to lead the way across the dry dirt path that quickly turned to polished grey stone, crossing the wooden bridge and then taking a small ascent up the mountain. It was laid in such a way that it was never steep. "Our realm lies just ahead. What is the news of Absolute? We have already began doing what we can to help locate your Consul"

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It wasn't long until the endless trees became taller, and the canopy became broader. Sunlight from above came down in strong rays, illuminates the path until suddenly the trees opened out to a new view. There were elven buildings made of polished wood, all seemingly out of one piece. The were grand and beautiful, connected with bridges over gaps in the mountain. There were some towers, some balconies, and some much wider circular buildings all looking out over the lake and forest. The elves have managed to make the mountain side even more beautiful. There was a bridge in front of Adika, where there was a large circular platform with archways around it and a roof. On it was another elf, this one in more lavish robes, also grey and silver, with long blond hair that almost looked white. Talking with him was Isabelle and Trenton, who was pacing. Isabelle looked up, noticing her at the corner of her eye and a smile grew upon her face as she said Adi's name. Trenton then stopped in his tracks and looked up, his eyes resting upon her and his body seeming to loosen. "Adi" He said, suddenly following Isabelle as she came to cross the bridge. Izzy got to her first and said "You're alright! What's happened?" but before she could get an answer Trenton brushed by and brought his arms around her, holding her tight.

"I thought you would be locked up... or worse."

Trent's head pulled back to look at her when she said she actually nearly was put into the prisons. He then quickly pulled his arms away from her, stepping back to hear about what had happened in Absolute. "Apprehended?" Isabelle asked, looking concerned. "It sounds like there was a stand-off?" she then asked, but letting Adi continue. "I'll kill him" Trent said, clenching his fists by his side, "Mathias doesn't even deserve a sentence by the Senate." Isabelle rolled her eyes, apparently it was Trent's way to just kill someone who betrayed him. Though... in this case he was probably allowed to think that. Izzy then said "That's good... if there's some kind of control over Absolute now. I can't believe you managed to pull that off..."

That was when the elf that Izzy and Trent had been speaking with earlier approached them on the bridge. Now up close his strong facial features could be seen, they were strung yet delicate at the same time. His skin was clear and his eyes were brightest green with hair as close to silver than blond could get. It was put into two thin braids above his ears that came back to meet atop the rest of his long hair over his back, combining together and becoming loose hair once again. Over his forehead was a circlet of silver, shaped into delicate twigs that merged with his hair on each side above the braids of each ear. In the centre was a blue gem. His robes were long, heavy and twilight themes. Over his shoulders and chest were thin silver armour, more for decoration than battle, and from the back of it came a long midnight blue cape. He stood several inches even above Isabelle with her heels. "Oh" Isabelle said, "forgive me. Adi, this is Lord Faelthonor of Calen-Amon'eryn. Lord Faelthonor, this is Rur'Adika Addaharra."

Faelthonor nodded his head slowly and closed his eyes for the briefest of moments to welcome her with a hand over his chest. "You are always welcome here. As the youngest Elven Realm of Earth we are blessed with long respite in our distance from the other realms. And for the last century we have had a good relationship with the Highgarden Family, any ally of Charlotte's is a welcomes guest here. If you three would follow me we can discuss what must be done"

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Faelthonor eventually lead them across several intricately carved wooden bridges and up spiralling steps onto a large semi-circular balcony overlooking much of the forest and the lake. The midday sun lit it up beautifully. In the middle was a wide oval table with seats around it. Faelthonor took one and sat, followed by the others. Trent had seen this table many times, he could recall each engraving along it's edge like the veins on the back of his hand. He could find each different shade of creamy-brown on it's face like the lines on his palm. This was where Faelthonor gathered his men, or would meet with members of the Occult to discuss important matters. "As I already said to you two, there has been no sign of Consul Highgarden in Calen. Where ever she has gone, it is known only to her. However, she did come to us some weeks ago. She asked for our scouts to observe as far as we could for any signs of Xantho, more specifically signs of demonic summoning..." That was when Faelthonor pulled out a flolded cloth" and she also asked us to investigate this". Upon the table he revealed what looked like leather. No... it was thick, dried skin. Upon it was an obscure symbol, not quite demonic but not quite human in origin either. Trent gasped and said "I remember this. Charlotte was investigating it and told me to complain about the quality of life somewhere else. It looked like a demonic symbol at first glance... but now i see it closer it doesn't look anything like the demonin magic we normally face."

In fact, it looked more akin to the marks that Adi was familiar with, similar to that of her own, or Claudia's, or Nyru's... or Mathias'.

Very quickly Adi seemed to have a response regarding the mysterious symbol. Trent noticed how almost with a flinch she grasped her arm, he noticed it must be pain and wanted to reach out to her, but he resisted and let her speak. Faelthonor tilted his head towards her as she mentioned games and an ancient being beyond their knowledge. Izzy and Trent's gaze were locked on her, even as she made a comment, perhaps more to herself than anyone else. "You know where this comes from?" Asked Trent, leaning forwards as if to get a better view of her beside him. Izzy edged in with "sounds like you've got a bone to pick with whoever it is." Falethonor took in a breath and said "if you truly know the origins of this symbol, then I suggest it would be in your greatest interest to find out if it is tied to Xantho. And if I might suggest something else, I advise heading south to Raleigh, in North Carolina. We have discovered similar markings on a stone formation. We do not know who has made them or whether they are still there. I could not let my men stay for too long for worry of non-magic folk or unwanted visitors discovering them. I can offer you all a change of clothes and suitable weapons and armour. Anything else you might require, please ask. The goods of Calen are yours to use."

(so im personally hating this post right now but im stumped so i'll posted it anyway. Looking forward to the Prince showing up soon though ;D )

Trent looked more perplexed than ever as Adika replied to Izzy, who gave her own smirk as if she knew what the feeling was like. As for Adika's explanation about this mysterious man it was obvious that there was a third enemy or... chess piece at least to this game Xantho was playing with them. At mention of the mark Trent gasped again, remembering her tattoo on her shoulder, "you're tattoo..." he tried to keep quiet "...the wings...", but of coarse he had seen her tattoo, only glimpses, but he began to realise that it was a mark. "Then it's a plan" Isabelle stated, not dwelling on the subject, knowing what it is like to use the power of an enemy, her whips are example to that. "We'll head south and like you said, Adi, we'll get this guy to show up... whoever he is. Hopefully he'll have some answers."
"This is a bit far fetched, don't you think?" Trent asked, "I mean, I don't want to offend you Adi, but we're relying on a person we don't truly know exists who you say claims people with these marks?"
"She's telling the truth" Isabelle said, and Trent gave her a strange look, so she replied "Nyru told me he and Claudia were marked a while back, I didn't really believe it but he definitely learned new powers."
"Nyru?" Trent said, he sighed then nodded, "fine. Let's go".

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The elves of Calen were very generous, many of them were welcoming and happy to see outsiders in their refuge. Trent always respected the elves of Calen, they were among the youngest of elven homes, and were the most accepting. They all wore white, silver or other pale colours to represent the winter, the elves of Non-magic Earth often dressed in accordance to the seasons, which are important to their lives and the way they live. Trent could remember being in Calen during summer and Faelthonor wore a crown of blossoming thorns. It was hard to find clothes suited for their needs that were similar to Valiant clothes. Isabelle managed to get herself into a long dark tunic, tinted green, with scale armour as dark as the tunic over her torso. She had long sleeves that fit snug, trousers and knee-high boots. Her black bracelets swirled and hugged her wrists over the top of her sleeves. Trent found similar coloured clothes, clothes that had not been used since perhaps spring or summer. Luckily the armour and fighting gear of the elves weren't as brightly coloured as their normal clothes and robes. He also found a tunic covered with dull scale armour, it extended over his legs to his knees and parted down each hip to give his legs freedom, as well as splitting at the front and back. He also had knee-high black leather boots. The scales extended to his elbows, where white clothes began leading down to his wrists, where bracers protected his arms. He was glad to find this getup had a hood of dull green cloth too. Their formal wear from the previous mash-up of days was kept with the elves until they wanted them back.

With map in hand, Trent met Isabelle and Adika at the first platform they had met at earlier, with Faelthonor standing on the next bridge ready to bid them farewell. That was when a couple of elves crossed another brige with weapons in hand. They were obviously crafted by the elves, looking nothing like weapons of Magic-earth, they were intricate, often slightly curved and polished to perfection. Each of them came to Trent and Izzy, handing over two pairs of fighting knives with a belt for each. There was also an extra weapon for Trent, a long sword to keep on his back. Izzy and Adi had no need for more weapons (im guessing Adi wouldn't require more? If she does you can just write it in razz ), since Adi can call her own, and Izzy has her whips. "Not quite tonfas" Trent said, admiring the weapons and putting them on his body. "You ready?" he then asked.

The new mission before them was daunting, Trent didn't want to admit it but he was anxious. What would they find at Raleigh, and who exactly is this mysterious guy that Adi has spoken about. Would it reveal any light on his Aunt? He worried a lot for her, he could feel it in his chest, that falling sensation that wouldn't go away. He didn't want to have to deal with the feeling for too long and when he found out how far it was until they would reach Raleigh his heart sank further. But he kept a strong face on. Luckily, to all of their surprise, the Elves had a network in the forests. Magic native to them had been weaved for centuries, creating small pockets between the forests, shortening distances so that they might traverse without being seen more quickly than having to use any mode of transport. It would turn a days journey of not rest into just a few hours. It gave them plenty of time to reflect. Each connection between the forests was usually difficult to find, but the elves told them how to find them. Usually they were strange formations in the trees, or by running water that didn't run down stream. To the naked eye these were misconceptions or went unnoticed, but to them it was the key. They would pass through an arch of branches, or past a large thick trunk, or over a river and through a cave. Without really noticing the trees would be slightly different, or the sun would be in a different place in the sky. They really were moving between forests, and the map marked each one to help them more.

"So..." Trent began, climbing over a rock, looking down at a decline int he earth covered in thick roots and dead leaves. "The Occult is okay now. That brings me some relief..." Trent tried to make small talk, there wasn't a great deal to speak about though, not that he could think of. There was a lot he wanted to say, or wanted to get off his chest but he couldn't think of the right way to say it, or he thought it would be stupid to bring it up here. And for the first time he had found himself thinking more and more about Adi in his thoughts, less and less about Izzy.

After some more time passed they had found themselves at Raleigh. The whole way there had been no signs on Adi's behalf of the Prince showing himself early, if he was watching, he was being silent. Or he was blissfully unaware. They came to a clearing at the edge of a forest, upon a cliff that overlooked a field. In the nearby distance there was a city, it's few tall buildings poked out of the many hundreds of thousands of oak trees surrounding it. If anything, it was a surprisingly beautiful city that hadn't pushed out nature. There was a stone formation at the tip, it was a ring of shards of stone, all placed length ways pointing inwards, making a ring that looked as though it shouldn't be holding itself together. It was afternoon now, the sun was still high enough to keep everything light, but in an hour or so sunset would start coming in. Izzy ran towards the formation to take a closer look, then pointed down at the stone at the base, it had markings etched into the stone that looked burnt. "It's the mark... it doesn't look... professional though, if that's the right word to use"
"Did non-magic folk do it?" Trent interjected, "you know what they're like, always trying to mess with magic they read in sketchy fake books" but Izzy shook her head, looking to Adi as she stood back up. "There's a spell over it" she said, "like a Valiant glamour... but slightly different..." she squinted her eyes as she tried to understand it, but the more she tried to really see the spell it hurt her head and her vision would blur. Trent then scoured over the formation too, doing what he did to see past Valiant concealing magic but felt a pang in his head, quickly giving up. "Well... Adi. Now's the time to call that ex of yours." Trent crossed his arms, looking neither excited nor particularly bored, only he could pull of that expression.

Trent raised his brows in surprise when she admitted to actually having a crush on the mystery man. He almost felt bad for bringing it up, and almost felt like he had to rival past experiences. He kept his lips shut as he walked around Adi, observing what she did to the stones to stir the prince's wrath. When her wings were revealed he was surprised yet again. They were not as he remembered or had expected. Instead of angelic they were fallen, they were not quite demonic but not quite seraphic. It was like angel wings devoid of emotion. The mark began to give off some alarming sparks, obviously agitated by what she did.

Everything went dark for a minute, as if the area was pulling in and out of another realm. Then everything fell silent and colour came back to them, as well as sound. "Well... that was weird" Isabelle commented, holding her fists tight by her sides. Then the voice of another came by Adika's ear. It began as a chuckle sweeping from left to right, and then he said "Well... well. Haven't you placed yourself in quite the predicament" and finally, at long last, he showed himself upon the stone formation, sitting inside the ring, leaning forwards with his elbows on his knees and his head looking up at her. "You're still fighting for your life in a world that you still don't quite fit in to, and you've found yourself in the middle of a web."
"So... is anything going to happen?" Trent asked, looking around. He couldn't see anyone, nor hear anyone. "So, you've kept him along, I see." as soon as her eyes left him, the Prince vanished and revealed himself beside Trent, looking over his shoulder, admiring him, before looking at the hill top. "For once, you have bested me, bravo" the Prince admitted, "Are you trying to reveal me to your new friends? A silly mark etched into stones like that one isn't going to do you much good, if that's what you're doing. Or are you trying to mark them? Perhaps... I could help with that..."

Trent was waiting for a reply from Rur'Adika when she glared at him, her eyes turning black and gold as if something had enraged her. Giving her a confused glare back he held up his hands in protest, "'Woh, calm down-" but he couldn't finish, there was suddenly a spear of golden light placed over his shoulder and Adika was staring over him venomously whilst denouncing the Prince of Crows. Letting out a gasp Trent froze, "Adi" he said, taking in a breath. Izzy then looked between them, walking forwards, "What's come over you?! Wait, is he here?"

The Prince let out another chuckle as his eyes looked down at the spear's tip. He then leaned forwards, the tip of the spear piercing through his neck as if it were just mist. The light of the spear seemed to... vanish inside. His eyes, emotionless, rested on hers and he said "this is your game of chess. Not mine. But very well, it is necessary." The Prince then pulled back and stepped behind Trent, suddenly vanishing behind his frame and appearing once more at the monument. Trent saw him first, jumped by the sudden new comer dressed in sleak black with long grey hair, grey eyes and a pale complexion. The Prince then began to slowly clap as Izzy turned round to face him too, gawking. "At long last, we meet on the edge of a very, very dangerous cliff."
"He's real" Izzy muttered. Trent squinted, the denied it, "No, just some twisted mage-" but then the Prince appeared in front of Trent's face, whispering "I am nothing like any mage, beast, or mortal. I am neither here nor there. I am the grey void of eternity, not some wretched mage." It was for the first time the Prince of Crows seemed to be angry, never before had he used words so sharply. He then turned around to look at Adi, "As for this toy of an offering. I didn't make this mark" he pointed down at the stones, "someone appears to be playing a game of catch the Prince, but I never knew of this until now." But then the Prince clicked, almost as if he read Adi's mind. "Oh..." he droned, letting a smirk grow across his lips. "You have met him, have you not? The one of flies, with a knife for a tongue. And I suppose that makes me the bad one?" He vanished again, this time coming to speak over Adi's shoulder as he said "I'm not the only one who plays chess"