Welcome to Gaia! ::

((OOC: Sounds good Ayame.

And it sounds like I was very misunderstood in my wind spell...I saw it more as the sort of spell that would lift you above the ground (like float) but additionally carries a gust among us to speed up our walking (kinda like riding a moving sidewalk along the ground). Just so you know.))

Gwyn, we're not walking. Just wait a sec and we'll be there, okay?

*Bryce looks over at Baikasu and chuckles a little.*

I'm sorry you two...I'd forgotten you aren't as attuned to the wind as I am. Just try and stand up straight and the wind'll move us along once I start forward. Okay then, let's go.

*As Bryce stepped forward, the others could feel the breeze pick up slightly, then even more, sending the trio forth at a speed much faster than walking or running.*

This is really neat! Why don't I have a spell like this in my spell book?

Haha...It's a wind spell, so it kinda comes with the amulet. And I suppose I could have let you use haste like Gwyn said, but I thought this would be faster, since you'd have to look it up in your spell book.

*Shuichi blushes a little.*

I didn't mean any harm, Shuichi. You have some great stuff in there. It'd just be nicer if you knew where that great stuff was. Ha.

*Soon enough, they broke through the treeline and Minister Keika looked down on them from the base of Crystal Hall. Bryce noticed Sion, Gwyn,a nd Daewyn standing between the statue and the entrance, and headed over there. With a quick chant, the wind ceased and the three came down to settle on the ground next to the others.*

"Told you we'd get here," Bryce said with a sort of grin. "Glad to see you didn't make it into the hall yet. Any word from the others?"

Yes! Undead Pit Lords for all!

*As Gwyn begins to go all telepathy on him, Baikasu turns to Shuichi.*

Baikasu: Hey, Shuichi?

Shuichi: What is it?

Baikasu: Your spellbook has white magic in it, I'm assuming?

Shuichi: Uh... maybe. Why?

Baikasu: Think you could find some magic in there for my leg? I kinda need it, and Daewyn's solution only numbs a little of the pain and only mildly increases the speed at which I heal. If you can heal my leg with so mething from that book of tricks you have, I'll actually be fit for combat. and since I'm running low on ammo...

Shuichi: Actually, I think I might be able to do that. I wonder wh I never thought about it until now?

*Opens book and begins sifting through pages, seemingly at random.*

*Baikasu looks down slightly, closes eyes, and clutches forhead. He let's out a sigh*

Baikasu: You need to get a table of contents for that book, ma-OUCH! Damnit!

*Get's a shock, winces, and raises a hand with an extended index finger.*

Baikasu: Lightning bearers have ONE weakness... Electricity.

*Once Gwyn had relayed his message to everyone, Bryce and Sion looked at each other in a knowing manner, remembering their time here before. Bryce let out a sigh.*

That's gotta be General Reika. It's nice to see she hasn't changed.

I wonder if she remembers me...

I'm sure she doesn't. You're kinda hard to forget around here. However, she might not realize that you are you; though the way she stressed 'Wind Bearer' makes it seem like she does. I mean...that's an attribute that pretty much coincides with you.

Yeah...


**********FLASHBACK**********

*A white-haired man seated at the center of a dais with four others, looks down upon a young man seated in a chair at the center of the room, directly in front of him. Light streams in from the circular window in the middle of the ceiling, and incidentally spills over the figure of the boy, who is staring at the ground in silence.*

Bryce Highwind, you will look at me as I am speaking to you.

*The boy raises his head, revealing a younger version of Bryce with a blank, almost dead, expression on his face.*

Yes, Minister Sortan.

Very good then. You have heard the charges against you made by Captain Reika, Vice-Captain Yuko, Elder Masrai, Elder Kandar, and myself. You have also listened to eyewitness accounts from several citizens and students. Do you have anything else to say for yourself?

No, sir.

*A fiery-spirited female seated at the Minister's right jumps up rapidly, leaning forward to look Bryce in the eye and speaking through clenched teeth.*

Do you mean to tell me, Bryce, that you have no further explanation for the deaths of four academy students, five soldiers, seven citizens, and General Andresta (may he rest in peace)!? You have absolutely nothing to say for yourself? No reason why you felt these innocent people had to die??

Reika, please calm yourself. *The man seated beside her spoke up.*

No, Yuko, I will not calm myself. This city has lost it's General, some of its top students, and others. Not to mention the fact that we are in conflict with Caeron and we have no person in charge of our troops! And it is all this young man's fault. Why did you feel it necessary for their deaths?

I have no valid explanation that you will accept. I have already presented my case, and that is the truth.

That is because you expect us to believe that some wind demon possessed you and made you do it. Is this correct? Do you honestly expect us to listen to that scrap of chocobo dung?

Yes, I do. But it is clear that you will not.

*An elderly woman seated to the far left of the Minister interrupted the bickering*

Minister Sortan, I believe we have let this go on long enough. It is apparent that Captain Reika is under much stress, and Bryce obviously has nothing further to say to us. Let us deliberate and end this.

Very well, Elder Masrai. We will re-convene in two hours, at which point we will have decided your fate. You may wait outside until then.

*Bryce slowly gets up from his seat and looks up at the five council members seated in front of him. He recieves five looks back, each with its own quality. The two Elders look very solemn; the Minister pensive; the Vice-Captain confused; and a death stare complete with an audible "hmph" from Captain Reika. As he turned from them to walk outside, he thought to himself that he could not blame her for hating him. He did kill all those people, including her dear friend and supervisor, General Andresta. Not that he could help it, of course. Plus, he put her in a very compromising position. Being just under the General, she knew she was next in line for the position. And nobody wants to have to go from Second-in-Command to First in the middle of a conflict with a foreign country. Not without some warning.*

They did say to just wait outside, right?

Yes, Bryce. I do hope it doesn't take all that long.

Narya! You startled me. It's going to take some getting used to, now that you're actually communicating with me.

Well, I didn't have much a choice. Now that you've begun to come into your power as a amulet bearer, you're going to need some extra help.

Yeah, especially when I go into a killing rampage and don't know what the hell is going on. I didn't exactly ask for this, you know.

I can't help that fact. I do not control him.

Him?

Well...I suppose you could call it a 'him'. The time will come when you understand the reason behind this awakening inside you. But now, we have other things to worry about. Like what we're going to do when you get kicked out of the Mage Academy.

Don't remind me...

*Bryce, having now left the Council Chamber and entered the main hallway, decides to go out the front doors and wait next to the statue of Minister Keika. As he leans against the base, he cannot help but feel like thousands of eyes are watching him. Which is not entirely far from the truth...since the event two days ago, the whole town has been warned to stay away from him and be wary until the trial is over.*

I hate this.

*Out of the corner of his eye, he notices something against the wall. Turning his head, he realizes he can see the painting of a beautiful woman, with a benevolent expression on her face. He moves closer to look.*

This is so familiar...why? Why do I feel like I've been here before? ...oh. Mother. Rayne. This is where you two and Father left me. When I was old enough to come to the Academy, you were able to walk me to the doors before I had to go on alone. And it was here...here that you gave me this amulet. Your necklace, Mother. I wonder...does it have any relation to this woman? Isn't she the Goddess who founded Tuvidal and gave us the first Mages?

*Suddenly, Bryce feels a tap on his shoulder.*

Excuse me, Bryce? The council is ready. Please follow me.

********END FLASHBACK********


*Bryce shakes his head slowly, trying to forget the past. He then looks up at the doorway to the hall, and then to the right. Spotting the painting, he points for the others.*

There. That's her. The Goddess of Tuvidal.

((OOC: Sorry for the long update...figured I'd spend a little time connecting character gaps. Btw, what are we calling this Goddess? And what does she look like? Ayame, you can have Sion finish my statement and describe it for us. I'm also going to fill in more info on the trial and aftermath, as well as the actual event once things get rolling inside. Hehe. Reika's going to be real happy to see me.))

OOC: It makes sense, but then again, the town could have been named after a beloved pet or been named such to be Ironic... 'Tuvidal' could be the name of a nemisis the Goddess had that despised mortals, and she loved irony. Nobody knows besides Ayame.

OOC: Lol, I honestly have NO CLUE what to name the goddess person...it just kinda popped into my head. sweatdrop

*coughs* ANY-way...I guess I'll name her...something.... confused

IC:

Naoko brushed away a portion of her bangs from her eyes underneath the hood, not caring whether her cousin could see her roll her eyes or not.

"If you expect me to remember the outlook of this place after just visiting it only once, then you must think I'm some sort of genius or something -- which I'm not," she coolly retorted back as she and Nida stepped further into the room, taking note of the aura that was leeking from a pillar in front of Reika. "So, this is why you stayed here..."

Reika, looking as equally exhausted as Naoko from just the concentration of her powers, turned back to the structure that she was trying to force back into its tomb.

"Your brother made a complete mess when he arrived here," the Mistress of Fire told her. "When my soldiers and I finally arrived to the Pillar, we met with just a beautiful sight."

"Still as sarcastic as ever," Naoko muttered underneath her breath as she eyed the artifact in the center of the room. "If you expect us to help you, then you're out of luck."

"I didn't expect you to. I'm just distracting the darn thing from catching the lot of you as you enter in here."

"That darn thing," Naoko's eyes flashed in anger, "killed one of our comrades. Don't expect me to be so nice about that fact when you were sitting here, warding off other factors with your soldiers. You could have at least helped us when we came in here."

Reika kept her face still, although it was hard to keep her anger in as well. She didn't like being lectured at, especially by Naoko. "I didn't know that Dante had gone in this far and unsealed the spirit that had caused chaos in Tuvidal thousands of years before. With all these traps and dead ends, who would have thought that he had gone in and out unscathed and without notice."

...Wyvern, returned the familiar deep voice of her ancestor.

"..Daemon?" Naoko looked up in surprise. She hadn't thought that he would somehow become active once reaching the Pillar.

Hmm...it seems that the girl's persistence at keeping Axen back has given some sort of backlash to the seals that Crystal Hall created in order to keep unknown spirits from communicating with the living.

Eyes narrowing at the name, Naoko fixed her gaze back on Reika. "Reika, the Death Dealer was sealed here?"

~~~

Sion eyed the painting, searching for blue stone that needed to be taken before arriving inside the building. It was a painting of a beautiful woman, her golden hair like a halo flowed past her shoulders, green eyes gazing down upon a small town that was once called Tuvidal below her before it expanded. She wore the typical robes of what a female elder of magic would have worn back then, a creamy white ankle-length dress that was wrapped around by a cloak of the same color. Only, the cloak itself covered the upper part of her shoulders and didn't go full length.

He didn't know much about the history of Tuvidal, how it was founded and whatnot (he never really paid much attention in those classes when he was actually at the Academy), but he did remember that before magic even entered into the city and became its source of income, one very powerful man had terrorized his people. That man was called the Death Dealer Axen, a former nobleman gone insane after making a deal with the guardian of Nekleska Temple, Ryden. Sion remembered that the woman in the painting, now called the Goddess of Tuvidal, had arrived to the small town of Tuvidal during the time that Axen had decided to massacre an entire neighboring village for trying to steal something inside his castle, which ironically was now what is Crystal Hall.
The books never mentioned her name, nor did the teachers at the Magic Academy say who she was. All the woman in the painting was ever mentioned was the "Goddess of Tuvidal" or the one who saved and changed Tuvidal to the path that it was today, that was all.

Noting something glinting against his eye, Sion turned to look above him, on top of the woman's head was a tiara. Imbedded within the carving, one green and one blue jewel.

"This it?" he asked himself as he began to take out the sapphire.

"You mean you don't even know?" he could hear Gwyn say incredulously behind him.

"Didn't pay much attention in history class while I was hear," Sion replied back, grinning as he plucked the small object out of its resting place and placed it in his pouch.

A small tremor rumbled beneath their feet as the painting disappeared and a door slid open.

"You might have a better memory than I do, Bryce," Sion said as the stared at the dark path now in front of them. "You remember the way in here?"

Luckily, this time Melchoir refrained from comment.

OOC: Lol, yeah, we're getting back together real soon (hopefully) ^^;;

IC:

She wasn't quite sure where she was going, but she was sure that she could feel Naoko nearby.

Layla continued to limp along her path feeling lost through her bruised body. She didn't know why she was here nor where she was. After Dante had introduced her to the truth, the bitter voice inside her head seemed to be fighting to take over by sending her gruesome images of the past. The last thing Layla could remember was screaming to stop...and then, nothing.

She hadn't realized it until now that she was climbing up stairs of some sort. It seemed that while she was lost in thought, her body had unconsciously guided her to these stairs, and the ornate building that stood above her.

What's that? she wondered to herself. A cold gust of wind blew through the charred area, and Layla shivered. As her pupil-less green eyes gazed down at her clothes, she noted the dark, rustic stains of blood. She blinked in confusion as she looked at her clothes but continued to walk anyway. It was beginning to be too hard for her to think.

The voices of people caught her ears as she neared the top, and Layla could think of nothing else but to hide as she watched a group of people stand in front of a painting that had just opened its doors to them.
~~~~

"The Death Dealer...?" Reika repeated. It clicked a second later. "OOOoooh...him."

Naoko's eyes narrowed once more. "What do you mean 'oooh, him'? Is what Daemon is telling me the truth or not?"

Reika remained silent for a moment before closing her eyes. "From what the elders at the Academy told me, the Goddess was sealed here, though I'm not so sure. This aura's a b***h to control."

Naoko walked closer towards her cousin, noting that Nida was in the midst of...thought? (She assumed the dancer was talking to her guardian, but she wasn't quite sure.), and looked more closely at the aura. It was big...and it definitely was the same one that had created the earthquakes earlier.

Hn, so the Academy elders still keep secrets about its own past? reverberated Daemon's comment.

Naoko turned her head away from her cousin to a nearby wall, hearing voices. One was definitely arguing and loud, the others were either silent or in conversation.

What's that? It sounds like Bryce.

((OOC: Just to let you guys know what's going on: fast-forwarding a bit [I've been noticing that I tend to do that...]. Layla's entry is right when the group that's outside the Hall/Spire is entering the passageway. In order to keep from delaying some time and more confusion, Naoko's entry is when the group is getting closer to Naoko, Nida and Reika's area. Like literally behind the walls of the place ^^. And I apologize for delay...darn work >.<))

((OOC: I'm guessing we're supposed to stumble across Layla somehow? Or just have her follow us?))

"You remember the way in here?"

*Sion looked at Bryce with an expression that showed he would have rather been asking anything but this.*

Hm. Of course, that's a natural thing for any student of the Mage Academy to feel. We are taught to be entirely independant...

Yeah, I do. I've been through this area numerous times. Let's go everyone.

*As he entered the passageway created by the newly-opened painting, Bryce paused for a second to take in his surroundings.*

Okay...this has got to be a side-passageway...ceilings too low and less ornate...lots of statues though...must be near the council rooms...

This way.

*Bryce headed toward the left, down a long hallway filled with busts of past Elders on one side, and paintings of the Generals of Tuvidal on the other. As he passed each one, he remembered, suprisingly, learning about them and their achievements.*

Ugh. It's interesting what sticks with you even after so many years...damn Instructor Haen.

*Bryce glanced over to Daewyn, noting her curiousity at everything in the building.*

I wonder if she remembers any of this...it was far too long ago, I'm sure.

*Seeing a hint of irritation in her face, he pondered an earlier conversation that Gwyn had with them.*

I do hope she's going to be okay through this. I mean, she has made it this far. I just can't help but worry...but I guess that's something I'm allowed to do at this point.

*He grinned at the thought of being with his sister again, and looked back at the others to check that everyone was still in tow, noting that they were all looking around with an almost equivalent amazement as Daewyn.*

That's right...none of them have been here...and there are few places in the world that can equal Tuvidal's Crystal Hall...

*Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a shape in a side passage between two portraits. Looking more closely, he saw a hand that swiftly darted back out of sight.*

What the...