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Haruk Baenre really could not stand living in the temporary Shadow Guard quarters. He hated warfare, he had enough of the hurt and the killing, and he hated contributing to it in any way. Even if that contribution was only sorting paperwork out and making sure everyone was clothed, fed, equipped and paid. He only stayed at his brutish cousin's side because he had nowhere else to go. Kal'Daka never made him partake in any of the fighting, but even working for the mercenary company as a non-combatant was enough to make it even harder for him to sleep at night. He was working for both a casue and a god in which he hated and had no faith in. Violence solves nothing and only begets more violence. Lying and stealing and cheating gets you nowhere in the end...

There were days he really wondered if he was actually a drow, and not some poor, switched and cursed surface elven child at birth. The only evidence Haruk really had for the previous was that his father, brother, and sister were all definately drow, and he looked like all three of them. Kal'Daka didn't even look like she was from the same city, let alone the same family. The only thing they seemed to "share" was he seemed to gain all the weight that Kal'Daka by all means should for being the roaring drunk that she was. He rarely ate himself, and half the time didn't keep what he did ingest down for one reason or another, and he was the one noticeably (though nowhere near grossly!) overweight.

Sitting around the SGCHQ (they were working on a better name) did nothing to help his aforementioned weight problem. Since there had been no new recruits, there was no real paperwork for him to fill out. Being on-base ment there was virtually no one to actually keep track of, and all provisions were already seen to. Kal'Daka was also finally starting to do her own finances, and hadn't been screwing up too badly. Her math was easy enough to follow for one of her other seconds to catch her mistake without having to draw Haruk into it. He was there for no other reason now than for Kal'Daka to keep an eye on him. He wasn't exactly the most mentally stable person on the face of, or underneath the planet. He was very prone to inner turmoil to the level that Kal'Daka often explained as feeling the guilt, shame, and pain that the entirety of the drow race was incapeable of feeling... all on the shoulders of one insecure man who had far too many of his own problems to deal with.

Teaching had always been a calling of his, and he could see no more noble and sincere of a profession than the passing on of knowledge. Peaceful and accurate knowledge, mind you. Not the spreading of war magic, and the knowledge of killing, and the hateful propoganda of the Lolthites. He loved to teach music and literature, history, common, and writing. Music and literature taught compassion, history taught only the truth, and common and writing... those were just two things everyone should know. When Kal'Daka mentioned offhandly (and very not-amused sounding) that a school of sorts had sprung up within Au Shinduago's walls, he could barely contain himself. He hurried over to Val' Rilyniryn's gates and peered around. His heart sank and blood ran cold at the sight of a Lolthite chapel looming off at the back of the campus, but the sight of a few scattered drow of other denominations acted as a mild defibrilator. They supported religious tolerance, and thus, were a step above their other dark kindred. Kal'Daka included. She'd been making threats towards the school since the first bricks were laid, now that he thought back on it. She was just as narrow minded as the Lolthites that she hated, but at least she didn't make any excuses for it. He refused to pass judgement on another. It was only the place of the gods to dictate who had the right to live and die. He did not have the place to take a life, and as he had demonstrated time and time again, not even in his own self defense. His presence on the campus would likely keep Kal'Daka from burning the establishment to the ground as soon as she got the spare time to do so and he doubted Vhaeraun would stop her so long as none of his own were on site.

In a rare occurance of self-confidence, he walked up to one of the older, lightly armed people walking around: presumably a guard. Past experience told him students weren't allowed to carry arms in school not for any real violence worries, so much as they were apt to poke eachother in the rears at inappropriate times with pointy objects if given the chance and other tomfoolery. Adolescents were just strange and silly. "Excuse me sir... By any chance would you be able to take me to speak with the headmaster? I would like to apply for a teaching position." His voice was quiet and soft, trembling a little when he actually turned his attention to him as if remembering his usual disposition. Haruk couldn't remember the last time he spoke without Kal'Daka in front of him and at least a dozen hardened warriors surrounding him.

The guard wasn't being particularly responsive, to the point where Haruk was wondering if he was a real guard or just a construct to make it seem as though the grounds were actually being patrolled. It was a new establishment. He doubted they had already amassed the resources to have the place as heavily guarded as it looked. Either that, or the doorguard here was demonstrating the surface custom of one particular monarch-and-knight based country he and his cousin had visited once. The practice of the stoic guard. (Kal'Daka had managed to make the man lose his calm, of course. That had been her only goal in visiting the country.) He had started to back up when a cold hand dropped onto his shoulder, forcing out a squeak and jump that only brought him up against the pale man's frigid, wet, and ragged body.

"Oh dear goddess are you alright sir!?" There was only one thing that would get him to come out of his padlocked shell, and that was if someone was hurt. He started to buckle under the man's weight a little, the sudden lurch forcing the heavy unicorn pendant to slip out of his shirt. The holy symbol was quickly shoved back in for fear of harming the vampire further. He tried to haul the dead-weight over to the wall so they both could lean against it, for through all his "bulk" there wasn't much muscle. "You look absolutely terrible... what happened if you don't mind my asking?" He bit his lip, afraid to try and heal him. He'd never been in a situation that called for him to aid an undead. Without looking back he waved the guard off, hoping he would have the wits about him to go grab the headmaster... like he'd been asked anyway. "Is there anything I can do?" Inwardly he gulped, half hoping his original assumption was wrong. He liked his blood where it was, but he was willing to sacrifice some of it if it meant easing this man's suffering.

Haruk tried as best as he could to help the man straighten, but it was hard work for his feeble strength. Kal'Daka would be a bit better suited to carrying him... even though she was at least half a foot shorter. The base would have Vhaeraun's clerics around who could likely do the man more good than he could. "I can't do either here sir... I know a place not too far that you could stay. My cousin's base." He blushed harshly, diverting his unearthly green gaze away from the albino vampire's judgmental eye for fear of what the pinkish red disks would have to say. He wasn't even substandard, let alone to a timeless vampire's standards. "I fear I'm the only one there that doesn't have some barely-legal substance pumping through me... Do you have the strength to turn into something a little lighter so I could simply carry you there?"

He looked around for a minute with his lip clamped firmly in his teeth before rummaging in his side pack for a note to leave for the headmaster.

I'd like to apply for a teaching position in surface literature or history, or music. I'm deeply sorry I could not speak with you in person, but circumstances arose. Please ask for Haruk Baenre at the Shadow Guard Company's headquarters on the eastern outskirts of the city.

-Haruk Baenre

Upon finishing the note, he stuffed it into the door and turned his attention back to the battered vampire, feeling another mad blush as something deep in his chest lurched. Most elves were resistant to charm, but most elves also had much stronger will power than this one. "I can't let you in here because I don't work here or know the place at all... I could let you into the Base though..." Kal'Daka probably wouldn't be happy with it, but he was the only thing that could tame that savage beast.

Seth wandered to a strange cluster of buildings she had never seen before. Two of them merely seemed different but there was something distinctly wrong with the third. She kept Erelavin close. This was not a place she wished to be alone in. A spider scurried in front of her. Seth immediately crushed the the tiny thing with her foot. For her, killing spiders was as much a reflex as blinking. She watched as the final traces of life faded from the spider's remains. Why do I do that? She asked herself. The spider had done nothing to her or anyone she knew and yet she had ended it's life without thinking. It might have been someone's friend or perhaps a beloved pet like Seelie. Another innocent creature I've hurt. Seth thought. She walked to one of the safer feeling buildings, guilt still heavy on her mind. That spider was something's child... Lolth's child. The ancestral hatred tingled in Seth's brain. Lolth hurts innocent creatures every day of her accursed life. She doesn't know the meaning of the word remorse... That witch. That's why I have to stay strong. I have to learn from this mistake and move forward or Lolth wins. She's the reason why I died. So that I can fight her tyranny... I cannot undo the past but I can ensure that it will never happen again. I'm sorry Zarud. I swear, I will not harm another innocent creature. She thought, her resolve strengthened. Seelie placed a soft foot on Seth's neck. "I'm sorry that I hurt you too." Seth said. The undead spider said nothing and began to tickle Seth's ear with her little feet. Before she knew it, Seth was a giggling, flailing mess.

Seth's laughter died and Seelie darted back behind the curtain of her mistress's hair. "Reivan." She growled without looking. Seth was in no mood to kill anyone. Reivan had chosen his moment well. "Have you come to stab my heart or merely to gloat at having deceived us for so long?" Seth asked coldly. She refused to even look in his direction. Seelie peeked at Reivan from behind Seth's milky tresses. The little spider watched him carefully, looking for any signs of hostile movement. Erelavin only stared straight ahead. Without Seth's orders she was simply a hideous statue standing by her mistress's side.

"And who do we have here?", came a voice. The voice seemed bodiless and seemed to originate from no one direction. But soon the sounds of his boots and swaying cloak gave way his location as he came into view. "Well it seems I have company. I'm sorry I don't have anything ready for you. I do so like to have tea ready for my guest." Llmryn was back from his trip to the city and notic a face present from his trip there. "Well young lady, I welcome you and your friend here to my school. Oh but I do sure you than the shrine before you holds no interest to you."

Inside the shrine, a large group of spiders were spinning one massive web, cutting the room in half with a wall of webbing. The spiders looked off, not something of nature. "Oh? Did you see them? I made them myself. A form of magical chimera. You see, the web they spine, though thin, is strong as the stones the shrine itself is made of. They also have no blood, but pump around a special venom that acts as blood for them. They have no fangs, at least these ones don't. I really cant have them hurting any students." He laughs softly to himself, "Oh but I must sound terribly boring, Would you two like to come inside the main house for that tea?"

He grins at the one 'rudely' barking an order to him. "Now now, I think you should take a step back. You see, I do encourage a thirst for information, but I also encourage for those to also enroll as students. I contain one of the largest archives of information you may ever come across. There for, I can't really let you go nosing around for free. I'm sure I can let you skip the need for classes and school hours, lets say for...twice the normal fee for one year of enrollment." He crossed his arms and his grin faded showing his true mood, and it was less than pleased. "And in the future will refer to me as Lord Llmyrn Val'Rilyniryn.", he stated with almost a growl to his voice.