Welcome to Gaia! ::

Lea's Theme

Her insult could only make Zoltan smile, a small smile that just revealed one of his fangs. He was a malevolent man, that much was for sure. When she finally grabbed is hand he felt as if he had one her already. Someone in this world that knew him... and wanted to work with him. Michael's information was interesting at least, but that fact his brother knew he couldn't stop him was laughable. "Pity" he muttered, awaiting more information. It was even more amusing that Micha'el doesn't know how Zoltan still exists, and even he doesn't have any tangible evidence to prove it. He could just 'feel' it apparently. Well, Zoltan knew exactly why everyone else forgot him, and now so does Tsuna. He wondered if she would go running back to him just to tell him he was right. At the news of being poisoned Zoltan raised a brow, what fantastic news. "Alexis Truesvale?" Zoltan scoffed, rolling his eyes, "that wizard is the maker of her own destruction. She was part of a larger group that bested me, all thanks to a mad man in a box. She will not be able to do so again, even with the help of the Sapphire Jewel."

Conversation then moved back to Micha'el, and Tsuna threatened to kill Zoltan if he dared to even lay a finger on him. "Was that a threat, puppy?" Zoltan asked, "I could speak to him from here, if I wanted. I could peel his skin from his flesh with just a strand of his hair to ignite the ritual. I have a great many magics, that even in this new body, I can still summon. Now how about we head inside so I can show you the tombs concerning the Emerald Jewel."

Together they ascended the steps towards the Halls of Reason. The towering pillars on either side led them into the tall doorway with painted glass over the top of it, blues, silvers, golds intertwined together. Once they stepped in the room felt cool, as if stepping into a basement, and the air smelled of old paper and paint. There were only a few others inside, and this space was mostly empty except for the statues standing around the main circular empty space before them. The floor was raised and at each edge there was a statue of each of the High Angels. Around these the steps lead down to the large, polished stone flooring that Zoltan and Tsuna were standing on now. The sun's light was shining through the glass domed roof, also made of gold, silver and dark blues. The gold was position over the statues so they appeared more godly. However, due to the large shadow being cast over the dome it meant the light emitted more of a faint glow. In the centre of the raised area was a single pedestal with a large booked opened upon it. Zoltan led the way up and as they passed between two of the monolithic statues he said "the High Angels. Vigour, Justice, Sincerity, Redemption and Reason." He had flashes, memories of them now and then come into his mind from when Lucifial had taken over his body and sacrificed it to become whole again. He presumed these memories were from Lucifial's last battle at World's End with the High Angels and Team Elixer. There was someone else at the pedestal, flicking through the pages, also in darker holy clothing. At first glance he appeared human, but as he stepped away and passed them down the steps it was obvious he was a Divine, like most citizens of Skyfall. Unlike Zoltan, or more specifically Lea in this case, the Divine's skin had a faint... youthful glow to it. And they had with them an aura of righteousness, as if walking near them made you slightly more in-tune with your emotions. It was something that Zoltan had become used to now. It was a feeling that most people had related to Lucas, being a Divine himself.

Zoltan flicked through the golden edged pages and eventually found what he was looking for. "The Jewels War" he said quietly, "that section will have a tomb on the where abouts of what we need." He touched his fingers onto the page and firmly pressed. The paper then glowed and conjured a small magically light that would guide them to where they had to be. "Now this is the part where you remain quiet, outsiders aren't allowed in this section. Light bending magic won't work, the Divine are far too savvy..." Zoltan then reluctantly turned to Tsuna, knowing that simple invisibility magic wouldn't be enough here. So instead he turned to the other magics he knew. "You see that Divine over there. If he sees you, he'l kill you. You see my hand? Make a nice and I'll kill you. The books you will see, they'll remember you and curse your dreams until you die. The very light in this room, however dull, will burn your skin should you be seen. Everything here is a threat to you, a Tehran in Skyfall? That's already dangerous enough." Zoltan stopped only for a minute after whispering these words to her. He was trying to scare her, make her realised everything here was a threat to her. "You need to hide from it all, fall into the darkness, become nothing." He waited again, waited for her eyes to change, to see even a small ounce of fear. When he finally saw it he opened his palm flat. "Touch my hand, now" Zoltan ordered, his voice firm, and as the girl put her hand to his she touched something invisible that was resting on his hand instead, something large and flat. For a split second she could see it, a black book with blood red markings, burnt edges. As soon as she saw it she could feel her blood turn hot, as if lava was moving through her veins. And then it was gone, she felt normal, but she felt like she was mentally trapped. Zoltan dropped his hand and grinned, looking around mischievously as he said "congratulations, you've just cast a glamour on yourself. One of fear. That trapped feeling you feel, its the shadows around you that fool everyone else from being able to see you. Now follow me"

Zoltan began leading her down the steps, the whole while looking perfectly comfortable with the spell that's just been cast over Tsuna. It was a dark spell, one that works on your own negative emotions. It relies on your own sense of fear to hide you from it all, like a comfort blanket. It requires you to believe everything around you is a threat so that you remain hidden. It traps your mind in it's darkness and to some it can be torturing if used for too long. He quickly lead her to an archway that opened up into another large hall, this one long and rectangular, like a great cathedral, but the entire room was on a decline into the ground. Along the floor each row of tall bookcases dropped with the floor deeper and deeper into the ground. These were the archives. They moved through row after row, he would give her a tap to remind her of their direction, they followed the small light until it stopped at one particular bookcase and exstinguished. They reached a large open space that strangely had light pouring through a large stained glass wall, only stained slightly so that you could still see through it. In front of it was several pedestals with several booking placed upon them, thick and heavy. Through the glass Tsuna could see a gigantic, unfathomable white structure. It was the Obelisk far, far in the distance. Zoltan finally told her now that she could drop the spell, he said "jump out of the darkness, let the light warm your soul. Think of your friends... think of what you must do to stop me from killing Micha'el". At that he smirked and knew that that thought would make her instantly be able to crawl out of the spell. "Do not threat, I won't kill him, it would be a waste of my time. But I must commend you for not going mad, that spell is not for the weak. I saw someone claw their own eyes out because of it once."

The room was semi-circular in shape, and almost felt like a balcony looking down at the world beneath them. Sky fall was so high up in the sky that you usually only ever saw clouds, but from this spot it seemed the Injustira Syndicate wanted the Obelisk to be visible from this section of the library. "That is the Obelisk" Zoltan gestured out the stained glass, "It's where they keep the discovered Jewels, rather fitting for the Jewel War's section in the library, isn't it?" Even from here, the structure seemed quite small, but realising just how far away it was made you realise his big it must be in real life.

Lea's Theme

Tsuna's reaction to the spell was all quite amusing. From the moment she snapped out of it he could see her struggling to keep her breath and sanity. The fear had drained her strength for a few minutes and was making her desperate to move on. At her mention of just getting there already he chuckled and gestured to one of the grand books displayed on the various pedestals around them. "We're here for the books, not the Obelisk" he said with a smug tone. When he turned to look at her again she was wiping her nose and suddenly filled with dread when she realised her nose was bleeding. Yet another display that made Zoltan smile. "You're bleeding, obviously" Zoltan said, "but a simple side-effect of the glamour." He then brought out his hand and over his palm there was a haze that rippled and revealed the book that Tsuna saw earlier. Hundreds of pages thick, with blood red markings all over it and scorched edges, she could feel some kind of horrific warmth coming from it too. Without a word he glided his other hand over it and the pages spilled open, revealing more confusing runes, bloody smears and burned spots. There was a page with what seemed like a depiction of the human skeleton, then another with what she could only describer as a demon. Eventually the pages stopped at one with unreadable writing and a circular pool-like depiction on the left. He muttered some strange words from an unknown language, as if commanding the book to do something. The blood smeared on her skin then lifted into tiny droplets in the air. They began to spiral together and condense, forming into a blood-red crystal. Zoltan then pilled a couple of strands of hair from Tsuna's head and let it join the ritual. Before her very eyes her few strands of hair wove together to create a necklace, sturdy and elegant, fiery orange to compliment the red crystal dangling off of it. It landed in his hand and with his other he clapped the book shut where it instantly turned to ash and vanished from existence. "You're going to need this if your puny body is going to hold up on the way to the Emerald Jewel. It will harden your blood more quickly, stops cuts from bleeding as fast as they begin. Now stop whinging about a simple nose-bleed. Even if it wasn't natural."

Zoltan wasn't one to waste his magic on strangers, so the fact that he had already spent two spells on this girl had to mean something. He was serious. If his plan was to succeed then he needed Tsuna to survive as long as possible. He doubt the mission would kill her, but he feared that after she touched the Demonaria that it would have an adverse effect on her. The necklace should do the trick at stopping that. He had to keep up this charade, he could not be going around doing crazy things. He had to work his way up, fill in the gaps now that Lucas was missing. He had to make do with the Celeste girl taking his place for the moment. Eventually it would be worth it, with the Emerald Jewel he could reform his original body, be pure once more, and with his standing here he could get rid of anyone that remembered him one-by-one before revealing his true form and taking control of the Injustira Syndicate. The true guild, the one that should be in supreme power, the one guild that he could use to give him access to Non-magic Earth... and make everyone believe he was doing it for the good of all magic folk.

Lea's Theme

Watching Tsuna attempt to put on a necklace was a truly desperate and appealing display of any etiquette. When she pushed it out to him, frustrated, Zoltan couldn't help but raise a brow. "This is no laughing matter" he said, letting her turn as he then leaned closer to her ear as he placed the necklace around her neck, "this is an incredible... dire situation.' She could hear his lips curl into a smile beside her face as he clicked the necklace together and pulled backwards, but by the time she had turned to face him again his face was already dead of emotion again, back at work within his master plan in his mind.

"Why?" he repeated, his tone sounding as perplexed as hers. But his voice was then drowned out by a menacing chuckle. Whatever embarrassment she had tried to give him it obviously didn't work as the air grew cold with his expression. "Because you're about to do this for me." He gestured to one of the books in particular, it was silver, embedded with various colours of crystals all over its gold-patterned cover. The different colours supposedly represented the known and unknown jewels. "But yes, I would consider it flattering to be ornamented by a man that doesn't exist."

With that said and done he moved over to the book his just gestured to, the light coming in through the stained glass lit it up beautifully. As he moved the cover open it revealed pristine white pages with black writing, each letter joined and curled as neatly as one could imagine on old parchments. This book was the 'History of Known and Unknown Jewels', an incomplete record, one that Zoltan believed would never be completed. He flicked the pages over to the chapter noted as 'Emerald Jewel'. There was a beautiful drawing depicting the jewel on the page on the left, it stood out like a crystalline foliage. Before Zoltan turned the pages, a sentence stood out. It read:

'Not much is known about the verdant, Emerald Jewel, except that it is rumoured to mimic life itself. It's first sightings have been described as iridescent and surrounded by growth of the natural world.'

"It is hard not to read what the Order of Injustira had written about the jewels" Zoltan admitted. "The Syndicate continued adding pieces after the Guildisation that followed the Jewel War." He turned the pages towards the end, where it begins to state where it had last been seen.

'The exact location of the Emerald Jewel is now unknown. It was last seen in 1557 in the hands of the Fae, who used its divine powers to bring life back to their destroyed World Tree's roots. The Circle have been confronted numerous times in the last century however they are unwilling to divulge it's location after tossing it into the wilderness. Relations must be upheld since their official Guildisation and inclusion into the Guildeam alliance. It was our hope to finally learn of it's location to secure it, and keep the world safe, once Castayu Del'yir was founded and recognised as a guild. However, the Circle remained stubborn and continue to deny us our divine right."

Zoltan had been running his finger along this passage and at the end he said "this was written in 1812, two years after Castayu Del'yir joined the Guildeam. No one knows where the Emerald Jewel is except for the Circle. But I happen to know that someone else hunted for it once. And apparently found it."

Lea's Theme

"I know of them" Zoltan said, surprisingly unmockingly. It was strange to watch his expressions change, like the direction of the wind he would go from snide, to serious, to blank. He was thinking about how he was to best go about this situation, and it was by some amazing luck that Tsuna stumbled into Skyfall, as if the gods themselves were blessing him. "They died once" he then added, looking at her from the corner of his eye, "she apparently discovered the jewel, then was stopped by the Circle and sworn into secrecy. My servants hunted her and tortured her, yet she never divulged. That was another time though, before the 'Zoltan Crisis' as they call it." He rolled his eyes at the name, what a silly name, even if it was named after himself.

He then noticed how some of the colour was coming back to her cheeks, it filled him with some joy knowing his new play-thing might survive. "You appear to be taking well to the blood magic. Don't get too comfortable will you" he said, teasing her in a menacing way. He then turned back to the book on the pedestal, flicking another page to an empty space. "I cannot approach her to find out this information. She may remember what happened in her past life, the present that no longer exists. In that case she will never let me know, on the other hand, she might not know, but if I'm found snooping around for information on a Jewel it could become high profile. You on the other hand are a school girl on an adventure to discover herself, no doubt. Looking for a cure for her friends. There are some eyes that might look away by taking pity on you for asking questions, never believing you will actually find it." Zoltan closed the book, feeling as though he had done it a thousand painful times.

"Her name... is Leah."

Lea's Theme

"Yes... Leah" Zoltan repeated, her name rolling of her tongue as if he had spoken it many times before. The girl then turned to him, ready to take up the task before her. She wanted to meet Leah, to make a difference, to get the information they needed. "Oh" Zoltan then chuckled incredulously, "I couldn't get involved with her even if I wanted to. She might remember who I am, or she might be clueless, but what if seeingme triggered her to remember? Her closeness to the Emerald Jewel could have a different effect on her than everybody else effected by the Zoltan Crisis. You have my word."

Zoltan then turned to look out the window, staring down at the Obelisk in the far distance, a pillar of white extending from the earth. "Soon. Soon everything will come together, just as all things should." Finally he turned back to Tsuna again, this time giving her more information on her target, "Leah can be find here, in Skyfall. However it is more likely you will find her on ground level, where the Courts of Justice and the Endless Prison can be found. She is an Inquisitor, she interrogates, she upholds laws, and she purges what is foul from the Syndicate. If she learned of my scheme... she would surely come to find me and eradicate me, regardless of whether I am Zoltan... or Lea. So if you tell her too much - I will have no choice but to kill her. And you know I would."

Lea's Theme

"Oh?" Zoltan began, pondering on her statement for a moment, seeming nonchalant by the insult. "Would you prefer I dangle your body from barbed wire above a spear?" He then asked, matter-of-factly. Tsuna quickly moved the conversation to getting themselves out of the Halls of Reason, and she had a point. Zoltan knew she would not be able to get out of here like anyone else, she would have to go under the spell again, but this time it should be easier. "Better let your fears back in then, Tsuna Miki" Zoltan said, turning on his heel and passing her one glance over his shoulders before beginning to step up the staircase, "wouldn't want anyone to catch you and burn you beneath the White Sun. I've heard it's a very practical, very beautiful sphere of torture."

Zoltan wasn't slow, in fact he moved up the steps of the ascending hall more quickly than they ad originally walked down. He wondered if Tsuna would realise he was slowly on the way down because he wanted her to suffer under the effects of the invisibility spell. Now he was less interested and was more than happy to get out more quickly, letting her end her spell and get back to her senses more quickly. He gave her the signal to break the spell once they were in the main entrance hall again, where the lectern was. "It has been a pleasure meeting you, Tsuna Miki. I look forward to seeing your accomplishments come in the near future." Zoltan said, his tone less mysterious and more hopeful than before. He was actively being Lea now, in front of anyone who may pass them by. He was incredibly good at acting. "Reason is the pillar of the mind, may it support you always." With that he began leaving the Halls of Reason, just like anybody else.

It had been another long morning for Leah in the Endless Prison. She had been interrogating prisoners all night that were delivered fresh from the Asmodius Bastille yesterday evening, a ghastly prison beneath the depths of King's Berth in the red city. She had been there once, she could still smell the fresh coals burning from all the blacksmiths and the mining in the mountains just north of the city. Asmodius wasn't for her, and she only ever visited on official business. The Endless Prison, however, was more pleasing to the eye, and was organised precisely. The lower the level the more treacherous the criminal. The prison itself was disorientation to prisoners, because of its unfathomable scale and direction. Today's prisoners were in connection to a recent break-out of one prisoner in particular, a crazed girl from Non-magic Earth. She had murdered some other prisoners months ago and after Asmodius enforcements couldn't get any information out of them they were shipped south to Skyfall for the white guild to deal with. Today proved that they were stubborn and usually only ever spoke gibberish nonsense.

She had come up to Skyfall, as usual, to meet with Valorius, the Exarch of Injustira, to relay her information. Her midday talks with him went as usual, she couldn't get much more out of them, but she knew she could break them eventually. After leaving the Halls of Justice she found herself following the usual trail. Out into the pristine fields that circled the edge of the floating city, where a chapel of Redemption could be found, a lesser building in the entirety of Skyfall. She came to the front of the great building, which was nothing in comparison to the other areas in the city. You could easily tell that this was an area still within Old Archem, as it was definitely part of the original city before it was lifted to the skies. She stepped in to see the usual pews with blue velvet, archways decorated the roof of white stone and stained glass that brought down the sun in a beautiful golden glow. From the pristine, square columns that stretched down either end of the hall were decorative, small, golden flowers carved of smooth orange crystal growing from its sides. Leah remembered learning that these were in fact the flower called Galium Odoratum, otherwise known as Hay Plant or... Sweet Woodruff. The attention to detail was beautiful, the tiny golden flowers were made to look as though they grow from all over the pillars, emitting their beautiful, subtle glow across the room. They were the symbol of New Beginnings.

She followed the hall further towards the front, where like many churches, chapels and halls in Skyfall, there was a great stained glass window. This one depicted another golden angel, this one with spiked wing decoration on his armour, and his wings themselves were like beautiful golden tendrils. Behind him was a thing orange ring, likely repersenting the New Moon. At least that was what Leah was taught, which also mean a new beginning. "Lysandiel" Leah whispered to herself, taking a seat on one of the benches towards the front. She crossed her arms and leaned back, her long black hair elegantly pulled over one shoulder to cascade down to her knees. It wasin stark contrast to her pure white clothing that looked thick and sturdy, yet slick and pristine. She let the warmth of the room fill her with calm before she began to put her thoughts into words, believing she was alone to muse. "You are supposed to be the High Angel of Redemption, a symbol of new beginnings, forgiveness... and strength. And yet I'm sure I'm the only one that visits." She then looked back over her shoulder to see a giant statue of Lysandiel reaching out with his spear from the wall above the archway that she came into the chapel through. "I would think that such a... required aspect in life would be so much more noticed." She let out a sigh before looking back ahead. "There is a lack of redemption in the world" Leah shrugged, "perhaps that is why your Halls of Redemption are lost, and that you have only a small chapel on the outskirts of Old Archem. Anyway... I have been with my thoughts more and more recently. My dreams... the premonitions - no - the memories are become more vivid. I'm struggling to understand them completely, but I know one thing is certain. I was killed, and I failed. My previous goal, whatever it was, is filled with green light that blinds me, and then nothing but darkness. I want to stop it from happening again, now that I have been given this second chance. But more importantly... I want to find who killed me - because if they exist... I cannot let them hurt anyone else. My memories from that life... I feel so much sorrow and loneliness, and whenever I look at my husband... i am filled with such... dread. Its as if my memories are telling me he's gone, yet he can be standing right before me, and I know he is here, he is alive. Whatever my previous life was..." Leah began to shake her head, "it was not its best."

Through her entire monologue Leah shed not a single tear, she was steady and strong. She had articulated her thoughts for a long time, and she was sure she repeated this conversation with herself every day now. "I know now what I must do - make right from the wrong" Leah said, almost smiling as she turned her head to look around at the room. It was then that she noticed, on a bench behind her, just a little way further down, was a young girl with vibrant red hair. Leah gasped as she jumped, a heart-beat lost in her chest. She quickly stood before noticing that the girl was asleep and luckily her musing had not awoken her. "Excuse me" she said, "excuse me!" Her voice suddenly more proper, "this chapel is no place for sleep, it is a place of reflection."

"Just sort of passed out?" Leah muttered, her tone incredulous at the thought of the child just happening to fall asleep in the chapel. As she awaiting for the girl to say something else, she couldn't help but notice how the red head looked stunned and distracted, to a point that she wondered what might be on her own face to make her stare. Leah instinctively touched her face with two of her fingers just in case. Leah then watched as she slapped herself, something that made Leah take a step back and raise her brow. After throwing a... compliment she thought, Tsuna introduced herself very informally. "Tsuna.. Miki" Leah repeated, gazing down at the girl before finally taking her hand and saying "Leah. Leah Saint-Croix. Inquisitor for the Courts of Justice." Leah was proud to announce herself, even before a school girl who probably didn't know who she was. But if she was here in Skyfall she imagined she ought to know what an inquisitor was, and high highly they ranked in the Injustira Syndicate.

Leah broke the handshake first and crossing her arms, becoming like a statue. "What is a girl like you doing here in an old forgotten church. I somehow doubt you were looking for redemption"