The Heirophant: The pursuit of knowledge (closed to Leona)

[Cards of Fate]

The house of Cards
Vincent finds himself in a familiar situation, sequestered away in the Tarot Hierarchy's library with a bedroll and a chamber pot studying. His "nest" seemed undisturbed from the last time he had taken to it, binge reading about the Eternal tap and it's purported powers. Most of his time spent here was in a manic haze of studying, instead of memories he had information seared into his skull. It was almost annoying, the moment he would try to recall a moment in the library his mind would flood with information, overwhelming his senses. However, this time he found his dark and dusty library to be a dead end. Try as he might he simply could not find anything new to study. In fact it was downright disturbing. He poured over stacks of books only to have their contents already memorized in his head. Soon he began to become frantic. His heart thudded in his chest as he raced from shelf to shelf as a wild look began to glaze over his eyes. He was almost feral in nature as he tore through the library in search of a book he had not read. After about an hour Vincent woke from his episode surrounded by books strewn around him.

Sitting up he rubbed his temples both astounded and frustrated by his achievement. How could he have possibly read every book in the library? The idea alone was bizarre. He had been with the Hierarchy for no more than a year, and a decent portion he had been away on missions. There was no possible way for him to have accomplished such a task. He rose to his feet and glanced around. Tomes of all shapes and sized lied strewn about in the aftermath of the scholarly storm, and it would most likely take several hours to put everything back. Sighing he scooped up a tome and found a playing card of sorts beneath it laying face up. On it a man sat on a throne holding a staff in one hand and a cup in the other. On the bottom was a scroll like embellishment with the roman numeral 'V' and the title "The Hierophant" on it. Vincent paused for a moment. Tarot cards were something of a nuisance to they young man, it was a magical deck of them that had sent him to this world after all. Since then he would draw one from an otherwise empty deck of cards and be tasked with enigmatic task shown to him in a blurry rush of visions. He had completed the number "I" the magician card last, however he had not drawn a new card from the box yet. In fact, this card did not seem to be a part of the same set even, yet he felt compelled to pick it up. As his fingers brushed the cards surface a flood of visions overwhelmed him, but these were different. The scholar felt like his mind was gently floating through an empty void while soundless images flickered through his thoughts. Vincent opened his eyes to find nothing but darkness, and for a moment thought his candle had simply burnt out. However a voice spoke to him unlike any he had ever heard. "Vincant Cain I am behind you!" it boomed. The scholar jerked around and found himself facing a man sitting on a throne, crown perched crookedly upon his head as two fierce red eyes peered at him behind a long beak of a nose. His hair was golden and hung from his scalp in clumps. His skin was golden, and he wore a robe of green, bearing a staff in one hand while a bowl rested easily in the others.

"Who are you?" Vincent asked curiously. "I am you" the king replied grinning, "Or part of you at least." the man continued. "I am the Hierophant, and YOU are also the Hierophant," he continued. Vincent squinted looking at the man. Something about his felt familiar..."You're...me?" Vincent asked tilting his head slightly to one side. "And I am you yes!" The Hierophant replied. Vincent felt a light headache begin to form and rubbed his temples. "You just repeated the same thing I said but phrased it differently." Vincent growled. "Well of course! Anyways I must make this quick, I'm not supposed to be here right now you see, she hasn't decided you are ready but I just couldn't resist meeting you Vincent! Especially after memorizing an entire libraries worth of information!" The man seemed genuinely excited as he spoke, his voice almost trembling. "Deep within the House of Cards is a cave system that I'm sure you've at least seen before no?" the man said rising to his full height to dwarf Vincent. "At the very bottom of this cave system you will find a most peculiar room you see, it is a library much like the one you just finished reading, however this library is very special." The man...? kneeled to lock gazes with Vincent, his scarlet orbs seemed to betray the excitement of his voice showing no emotion at all. "This library is older than the War of the Eternal Tap! Howeve, be warned, a being of immense power guards it. In this library lies forgotten knowledge of the war and in essence what the tap is! It is possibly the most priceless collection of literature to exist in all of the world, yet there is a catch to it that I'll leave you to discover for yourself!" The being rose to his full height and towered over Vincent "We will meet again soon, but I fear our time is up. Leona is here after all." The man cackled and suddenly Vincent found himself jolted awake yet again in the library in a cold sweat. Panting he glanced up to find Leona glaring at him.

[Leona Stevvains]

She stood over the warrior that was destined to be her Hierophant with a sigh. Leona Stevvains, the Judgment card reviewed the trashed and tarnished furnishings that was once Vincent’s room and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Honestly, I’ve seen toddlers take better care of their books than you guys.”

“What’s up boss lady?” came the reply from the newer member of the Hierarchy as though a friend just casually passed by.

“I have a mission for you,” Leona spoke with her fingers still upon her nose, “And given you’re recent interest in finding new reading material, I thought it would be right up your alley.”

“Wait,” Vincent said with a blink upon his upside down features, “How did you---oh yeah.”

“Questions, Vincent,” Leona replied. The prophet had some strict rules to running around in this secret hideaway known as The House of Cards. One of the primary regulations for living underneath the Red Forest was not asking questions, or more accurately, not asking stupid questions. Nothing annoyed Leona Stevvains more than to have people ask her ‘why’ after she gave them very thorough instructions and enough information to show she knew what she was talking about. Vincent’s transgression was overlooked, mostly due to his newer status as a member.

“My dear Hierophant, have you heard of Khal’Jaren?” Leona watched as her fellow displaced traveler righted himself and dusted off the dirt from his clothes. He looked at her and cocked his head for a minute, though the look on his features spoke more of curiosity than a general absence of knowledge.

“The Thayne?” Vincent asked, “I’ve heard of him. Guy is supposed to be really intelligent, one of the brightest on Althanas.” The male picked up a few books and started to carry them to a shelf, though Leona knew it would be the most cleaning the warrior would do for the next month.

“Yes. The Thayne, Vincent,” Leona’s eyes shifted back to the rest of the untidy mess, “his library, a place that normally shifts around through space and time, is said to have a doorway right down here in the House of Cards. There’s not a lot of places here we have cleared out, however, so delving deeper into the caves around here might spring booby traps or be home to some nasty things. I need you to accompany me down the caves to make sure we find what we’re looking for.”

Vincent paused, his hand still on the spine of one of his now neatly placed books. “Uhhhh, I hate to burst your bubble Leona, but I’m not very good in a fight.”

“I know,” The girl said before leaving the room, “That’s why I made sure we had a little protection for this trip. I’ll meet you on the secondary ‘floor’ in ten minutes.”

[Tobias Stalt]

Though he lived for the thrills in life, Tobias scarcely sold his skills to magickers. There was something about their reliance on the all-powerful crutch that robbed him of any pity he might feel toward them. When Leona Stevvains called for his aid, there were only so many things the woman had to offer that Stalt had any interest in.

Knowledge from the Library of Khal'Jaren admittedly piqued the man's interest. Answers to all the mysteries in life lie just beyond reach, and Leona said she knew how to span that distance. It was enough. "I'll go," he had grunted, "but don't you think this makes me your whipping bitch."

"Oh no, never," Leona had replied with a wink. "You're no one's toy, Untapped." He'd scowled. Leona was a woman who saw and knew things about others that she had no business knowing. Stalt loathed that about her. They'd agreed, so long as she never sold him out to his enemies, he'd never come after her life. He still disliked the way she spoke so freely around him with her stolen knowledge. "I just need your help."

That Stevvains played herself as such a harmless woman, Tobias could only chuckle at. With her powers, she could legitimately stage a coup to overthrow even the greatest powers in Althanas and live quietly while pulling strings for the rest of her natural life. Yet she chose a paltry life, chasing after worthless mystical mysteries. The vagabond couldn't help but think less of her for wasted ambition. Her seeming loss was his gain, however. "The mysteries of magic," Leona said as she entered the 'secondary' floor, her greeting less than formal, "are just the tip of the iceberg. This library could answer questions thousands of years old."

"If it's hidden so well," Tobias remarked, "there's a reason that knowledge is locked away." Observant as always, Tobias knew that Leona disliked his pessimistic view and caustic personality, especially when it came to the arcane. Still, their mutual tolerance was born of one thing they shared. One had a power the other sought to exploit. Or, was it something else?

The young woman frowned as she studied his face, thousands of possible futures running through her mind in an instant. Tobias matched her gaze with a gentle smile, his mind a tumult of paths. "You are a clever man, Stalt," she conceded, "to have so many options."

"Give a man the time," he responded, "and he'll find a way to cheat even fate."

"You are a gambling man, Tobias Stalt," she remarked.

"Only when I can't bet on a sure thing," he chuckled. The floor was austere in comparison to undiscovered corners of the House of Cards; where books and dirt littered the floor in other chambers, this one sparkled with preternatural eminence. An odd power lingered, though Tobias had no sense for those kinds of things. Leona seemed at ease and her lips curled into a smile.

"The sure thing is, Tobias," she held up a card, its face toward her, then shuffled it into her deck. "We will find more than we bargain for."

"That's what I'm afraid of," he muttered as he meticulously polished a mithril blade. "I'm not terribly interested in secrets. Especially not anyone else's."

"Then you're one of a kind. Care for a reading?" she asked.

"Nope," Tobias spun the weapon around a finger idly and smirked up at Leona, who gave him a small frown. Message received. "I'm not interested in hearing what the fates have in store for me. I'm just interested in shoving it up their arses."

"That's your opinion of most women," she spat back at him with disdain evident on her face, "but have it your way. I for one like to be prepared."

"Then grab a sword," he suggested, "it'll do you more good than a stack of playing cards."

Leona only shook her head as she dealt the first card.

[Silence Sei]

She did not understand what she was doing here. Emma Orlouge was never the type to just up and abandon her position in the Ixian Knights to follow the whims of a strange woman. Yet, here she was, walking down a flight of stairs that would lead her to the mysterious prophet known as Leona Stevvains. A chill ran down her spine as she walked through the bleak halls of what she would come to know as the House of Cards. Had she really gotten pampered to the easily adjustable heating of Ixian Castle?

She shook off the thought and kept her hand upon the sword at her side. Ever since she had claimed the weapon at the Auction House off of a gamble, the blade seemed to bring her to great things. With her free left hand, Emma pressed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She had placed her raven black hair into a tight dozen knotted ponytail that was tucked into the khaki blouse she wore. Her armor was much more becoming of a warrior, steel leggings that befit one of the title ‘knight’.

She knew she was making a lot of noise as she walked through the hall and was instantly feeled with a sense of nostalgia. This underground base seemed to be much similar to the style used in Sei’s Tomb, the underground tunnels that lead straight into the Ixian Castle dungeons. A breeze flowed into the cellar, and tickled her back. She bit her lower lip and looked around, careful not to alert any would-be guards.

As she walked through the stone masonry hallway, one of the unremarkable looking wood doors opened, and out walked a young man. He turned to look at his would-be intruder with wide blue eyes. The apparent shock on the man’s face instantly told the Daughter of the Dragon that he was not used to combat. He looked back towards his room as though her thought he would find safety there. He began to step and within an instant, the Ghostbuster had torn through a few strands of the youth’s dirty blonde hair.

“One wrong move and your haircut becomes a lobotomy,” she threatened. Her eyes narrowed at the fear stricken man, and his eyes shifted as if they were trying to look further into the halls, as though there were something lurking in the shadows.

“Vincent,” a familiar voice rang out, Leona Stevvain’s voice, “Since you and Emma OIrlouge are now acquainted, can you both join me and The Untapped, please?” Her voice carried like an echo through the halls, as though she knew the exact pitch she needed to bounce the sounds off the stone architecture correctly. The boy’s crystalline blue’s moved back to focus on his would be maimer.

“You heard the lady,” Emma sheathed her sword, her voice carried with it a tone becoming of one with the last name Orlouge, “lead the way, Vincent.”

[Cards of Fate]

Vincent had been ready for an adventure, but he was not expecting it to start the moment he had stepped out of his bedroom. He saw a woman he didn't recognize, surprised he had opened his mouth to greet her, only to be silenced by her flashing blade. What a rude greeting... Vincent thought to himself as he glanced to the blade lying on his bed just beyond the door. He then glanced back at her and almost swooned. Her fair face framed by glasses and black hair pulled back in a ponytail gave her a 'sexy librarian' look to her. She was just his type.

"Oi you perv! Keep it on your pants!" Vincent turned and looked into the shadows to see the gold skinned Hierophant glaring at him. Before he could muster a reply Leona's voice echoed through the halls. Turning to Emma Orlouge "Thanks for the trim Ms. Orlouge," he replied stepping through the door for a moment and fetching his steel blade, Pythagoras. Fitting the blade to his belt he cursed himself and stepped out the door. "This way," he said rather curtly storming down the hallway. It was a stupid mistake letting his guard down, even if he was in his own home.The two walked in silence as the approached Leona's room where it seemed that the seer and Tobias were playing cards.

"Hrogmah's hairy taint!" Tobias spat throwing down his cards and standing up to walk away from the table of for a moment. It appeared that during their wait for the other two they had started a hand of cards.

"Did you really think playing cards against a seer was a good idea Tobes?" Vincent asked grinning ear to ear.

"Vinnie!" Tobias exclaimed turning to the Hierophant. "You shut your whore mouth and listen," he retorted.

"You'd know something about whore mouths..." Vincent replied offering a hand to shake his.

"You're correct, I do know quite a lot 'bout yer mother," Tobias replied clasping his.

"Fuck you!" Vincent replied grinning as they shook hands. The scholar had spent a large amount of time under the mercenary's wing learning how to fight. It was during this time the two had come to enjoy the others company. Tobias was rough and gruff, but had a soft side for the scholar who seemed to genuinely care about his fate. He also felt perhaps the slightest amount of guilt for the torment his teaching had inflicted on the youth. Vincent admired the strength the man boasted, and how he only seemed to use it for...honorable purposes. Emma was simply shocked by the twos display of friendship and turned to observer Leona.

"Are you two done?" Leona asked raising an eyebrow at the two. She motioned to three chairs and everyone sat down around the tabled as Leona tapped her fingers together.

"Know that we are all gathered I will begin..."

[Leona Stevvains]

Leona placed another card down as the wind that followed Emma seemed to follow her into the room. There was a strange quiet in the room much like the calm before a storm. Three people in this room did not know what they were to be up against on this journey. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) for them, the fourth person in their little trope had every idea what to expect. As Leona laid another tarot down before her, she shuddered at the idea of their upcoming expedition.

“Khal’Jaren is not a Thayne to be taken lightly,” the prophet spoke as she shifted the cards back into her deck and placed them inside the box at her hip, “This is a God who is known as the one who imparted knowledge to al Althanians when the Althayne dispersed so many centuries ago. He is clever, he is smarter than all of us, and he will have ways to destroy each and every one of you. If you listen closely to my instructions, we will make it out okay, but if you don’t, the three of you will die in this labyrinth tonight.”

“Wait, how do y---“ Emma began to speak but stopped when Vince’s hand clasped her shoulder. Leona looked up and saw the uncomfortable shiver the Hierophant’s hand gave the Orlouge’s shoulder. The Daughter of the Dragon looked towards Vincent with a sneer upon her features and hand upon the hilt of her blade. Vincent responded in kind by simply shaking his head back and forth.

“Questions,” Vince, Leona, and Tobias all said in unison.

“Questions?” Emma’s eyebrow rose as she looked back to the woman and her Untapped.

“Don’t ask them,” Tobias said plainly.

“Or she finds ways to make you hurt,” Vincent finished.

“Ha. Pussy,” Tobias’s face drew upon it a half-smile as he said the words.

Leona sighed and gave a forced cough, which brought the entire team back to her person. “As I was saying, we have a very distinct line-up here. Tobias and Emma are our heavy hitters. They should be able to take on anything that comes our way. Vincent, your connection to Future Hierophant will allow you to tell what are illusions and what are legitimate traps. I’m here to tell you what traps to expect at one point.”

Leona paused for a long while, as if she had to mull over her next words carefully. Perhaps it was just the irony of the situation given the previous conversation. When her eyes stopped gazing into the air, she looked back to the trio before her. “Do any of you have any questions?”

The silence was deafening. Leona could only smile.

“Good, then Tobias,” her eyes focused solely on her Untapped, “Will you please guide us through the door to the unknown?”

[Tobias Stalt]

The Untapped complied more quickly than he would have liked, bidden by his curiosity. His fingers brushed against the ornately carved door, which appeared as just another one of many within the House of Cards. "You don't have to make it sound so grandiose," Tobias told Leona as the door swung open, and he was met with all-consuming darkness. "There's nothing that could possibly..."

His words hung on the air as he stared into the abyss, and he gulped involuntarily.

"You were saying?" she drawled, and Tobias snorted. Leona's flair for the dramatic annoyed Tobias, but it was also what endeared her to him. He couldn't go anywhere else to get quite the same level of eccentric.

It was uncertainty, not fear that stayed him. "Bugger that," he murmured to himself. There were so many times that, had Tobias held back because he was not sure of the outcome, he would never have made it to where he was now.

This would be no different. He took the first step with a loud inhalation of breath, and the darkness swallowed him.

"Tobias!" Vincent called after him, but no response came. "Quickly, after him!"

"Calm down, Vincent," Leona told him softly, "haste could do us much more harm than good; silence does not necessarily predicate danger." With a half nod, the young man reluctantly agreed. "Miss Orlogue, if you would?"

Emma was quick to take the step, since she had heard nothing horrific echo back from Tobias. Once she did, though, the blonde haired woman saw why he had said nothing.

Where he stood in the vast emptiness, Tobias was suddenly engulfed by unimaginable beauty. Explosions of bright light and color stained the blackness that went on forever. Heat and cold in equal measure blasted both of the insignificant beings who stood in awe of what transpired all around them.

Stars whispered into being. Entire planets began to take shape, and time itself spun into motion around them. Tobias took a half step back and bumped into Emma; for once, the girl could not even manage a scowl.

"Tobias!" Vincent called out, but the word died in his throat. Comets and galactic dust burned to ash and shivered into oblivion as fleeting specks of light. Day bled into night countless times in the blink of an eye, and all three of the mortals simply stood by. Their minds struggled to comprehend the phenomena.

"Oh," Leona muttered nonchalantly, "the beginning of time. How pretty."

With her dismissal, the others ripped their gazes from beauty that they might never witness again in their lives and turned to look at Stevvains, as though she knew something they did not.

Hell- she always did.

Beneath them, above them, all around them, there appeared to be no path. They simply existed on some other plane where gravity meant nothing and distance was relative. Beneath the soles of their feet, a white golden glow faintly indicated that they had somewhere to stand, but it offered no hint as to the direction they needed to go.

"Focus," she bid the others, and with one last longing gaze toward the starfire, Tobias nodded his assent. "We need to find which way the Library is from here.

In the beginning, there was darkness. Cold, empty, vast...

[Silence Sei]

Emma’s glasses nearly slid off of her features as she tried to comprehend just what was before her. Swirls of white and black mingled with one another and resulted in tiny explosions that created solar systems. Planets, stars and asteroid belts that were not present a second ago sprung to life with what was no more than a mix of two colors. She took several deep breaths, an attempt to keep a panic attack in check, and took in the majesty of it all.

She stepped forward out from beneath the shadow of Tobias, and looked all around her. They were, for all intents and purposes, the center of this universe being born around them. There was a smell that resembled rocks, much like the smell one experiences in a quarry. The voices of the Tarot Members seemed to carry on for eons as they remarked amongst themselves. It wasn’t an echo, but the stillness of space just added an extra layer of depth to their tones.

The emptiness and odd quiet of the room reminded the girl of her own spellsinging abilities. It seemed like only yesterday she was a student of Istien University with Ruby Winchester, learning the basics of becoming a human in an elf dominated profession. Whenever Emma tried to sing for her magic, no vocals would find their way to the surface, yet her magic still took effect. Truly she was a successor to the title of ‘Silence’ Orlouge.

She took another step as she watched a comet fly by them, its tail a rainbow of colors as it rocketed towards its destination. The voices of her fellow adventurers were lost on her, she was much too preoccupied with the vast expanse that was this room. How long did it take to create all this, she wondered. Another step forward as stars were flung across the room, even through her body as though she were spectral visitor.

“Emma…” Leona’s voice reached her as she took another step, “Don’t stray too—“

In an instant, she was falling, her ponytail suddenly far above her head as the abyss tried to take her. Both arms were raised in the air, an attempt to scratch and claw at any vestiges of a surface that remained. Her life flashed before her, brief as it was, and she quickly realized she would be one of the causalities Leona just finished speaking of.

Two hands gripped each of her forearms before she could fall further into the nothingness. Her eyes shifted upwards to see Tobias Stalt, the one Leona deemed ‘Untapped’, and Vincent on either side of her, their combined strength enough to pull her up despite the added weight of weapons and armor. Her heartbeat started to slow, but her breaths grew faster. She could no longer stop the panic attack from running its course. As the two men lifted her back to the surface, Emma curled into a fetal position and continued her quick, heavy breaths. Leona approached the trio and kneeled down, placing a hand upon the young girl’s forehead.

“You are not your father,” she spoke as though her words were a knife that cut into the very deepest part of the teen’s heart, “but nor do we expect you to be. This is not his endeavor Emma, it is your own.” Her palm was ice cold, but her words rang with such truth in them, such comfort, that it eased the younger female. It somehow instilled confidence in her, like this one mishap would not be enough to deter her for the rest of the adventure.

“Thanks…” she whispered as she stood back up. Eyes shifted downwards to try and hide her shame, only to notice the orange glow of everyone’s feet, as though the floor wanted to let them know where was solid and where was a pit fall. “…tread softly and watch the colors guys. They will be our guide.”

Then, we created the stars, so the void would no longer be lonely, the planets to create new stories, and universe to call these things their home…

[Cards of Fate]

The group remained silent as they Leona spoke softly to Emma. Vincent and Tobias exchanged worried looks, Emma had been heavy, and if she continued to be falling off the rainbow road they were going to have an issue. All around the the universe itself was forming, stars were bursting from clouds of gas as they lit up the void with their radiance. Vincent felt some of the first rays of light in the universe grace his skin and could not believe what he was seeing. Soon the stars, planets, galaxies, all seemed to expand away from each other settling into their new homes nicely. Whilst the others seemed to be chatting about what they were seeing, Vincent was lost in the stars.

"Leona..." Vincent started but trailed off. "Your astronomy equipment is on it's way from Alerar." the seer finished. The Hierophant frowned and debated asking about the equipment but a sharp glare from Leona made him flinch slightly and decide against it.

"Have you gotten stronger since they last time I saw you Vince?" Tobias asked "It almost felt like you were doing some of the work just then." He teased slugging Vince on the arm gently.

"Fuck you," Vincent replied grinning as he rubbed his arm that hurt.... "I've been working out since you last saw me.Y'know...trying to build some muscle so I can carry my weight. Just doing some sit-ups, crunches, push-ups..." his voice trailed off as a single planet seemed to become the focus of the show now, still molten and red from it's conception. "Terraforming..." the word escaped his lips unbidden.


We too looked for a home, somewhere to call our own...

Emma rose to her feet and the four of them gawked at the planet. "Is that...." Emma asked curiously. The three non-omniscient seers stared at the crimson orb floating in space.

"Yes, it is Althanas." Leona replied making a mental note to slug Emma for a stupid question later. The group looked on in awe as they watched the planet spout lava from it's molten surface before it began to cool and form oceans. There was something so strange about watching their home develop. This was a site that almost no-one else the the history of Althanas would ever experience. They watched as the continents drifted and merged into super continents, only to part once more. The group watched the mountains they had seen and explored rise from from the rough terrain of the land to stand over all else. They watched as forests began to pop up marking the planet with spots of verdant green. They were watching the birth of their planet.


We found it here, in the world we dubbed Althanas.

[Leona Stevvains]

Her three allies were in absolute awe at the sudden birth of the cosmos, but Leona stayed the course like a loyal disciple of Jomil. As Emma found her feet and Althanas was born, the prophet turned to her allies, motioned for them to keep an eye to the floor, and beckoned them to continue. The seer allowed Tobias to take the lead once more, followed by Emma. Leona walked side by side with Vince, the fellow Earth-Born literally star struck at the moment.

“You are useless to me in this state Vincent,” Leona whispered just loud enough for everybody to hear. Tobias’ head turned around, a smirk upon the Untapped’s features.

“Oh….burn,” he turned back around, the front of his foot having found no solid ground forward, and so turning east and testing the floor there.

“Quiet you,” Leona spoke with a quick tongue towards her guardian, “you are just as dumbfounded as he is when witnessing these events. You have no reason to berate him like that, nor do I expect such conduct to continue. Do I make myself clear Tobias?”

“Questions,” the smart alek replied.

“What’s this…” Emma trailed off as the ground around the quartet began to shake, a bright light suddenly in the room as though one of the stars in the vast cosmos exploded. Leona remained stoic in her demeanor as the group was transported to what appeared to be Alerar, where young elflings were busy crafting crude swords out of sticks and stone, spoke a language long lost to the ages, and created the first spells on Althanas.

“The birth of magic?” Vincent questioned.

“No,” Leona commented and turned around. Almost as if they knew that she had done so, Emma and Tobias turned as well. Behind Vincent, a large geyser of blue radiance stretched to the heavens above. The young elves in the vision slung their natural weapons around, throwing fireballs at one another as human children would do with baseballs. They laughed and giggled as they ran around the magical tapestry as if it were some sort of decoration to be trifled with. “Emma, Tobias, Vincent, I present to you, The Eternal Tap.”

The children we created, they could not exist without our aid. We created for them the Eternal Tap, so they could use its gifts for advancement. But with such a powerful entity came those who had greed in their hearts…

[Tobias Stalt]

For Tobias, it was a rare glance at something he had never known to begin with. Emma and Vincent stared in bewilderment at magic as it once was, but the man bereft of mystical power stared at the deep, royal radiance and his gaze hardened. The power that flowed out from it coiled like serpents, shifting between every color in every spectrum. Elves and men alike touched the power and in their wake, empires rose.

The Untapped turned his gaze warily toward Leona, who glanced over at him thoughtfully. She must have seen it a million times in her visions, because it held such little suspense for her, which played on the Seer's face as an almost bored expression. "It's a pattern with Magic," he muttered, "once people realize it can be abused, everything starts falling to pieces."

"Such a cynic," Stevvains shook her head and pointed to the scene unfolding, "but not necessarily a wrong way to look at things. Watch."

He knew what came next from the history books; the way that the colors shifted slowly from cool blue to hot oranges and reds made the room look as hot as it was growing. Bloodied elven faces railed against pale faced humans, their bodies burned alive in a monumental pyre. Corpses scattered to ash and dust as two powerful civilizations quarreled, warred, and finally left each other to rebuild.

Some were luckier than others. Powerful beings the world over manipulated events to garner power, amassing the strength the would need to hold Althanas as their own. Trees twisted into grim mockeries of their former selves, painted red by curses that scoured the earth. Winter fell over mountains that would rage for countless lifetimes. Hordes of evil and unspeakable things rose up in the west, and in their march westward, the world burned.

In the midst of all the darkness, a flicker of hope stood up. Against the darkness, a single man dared to risk all that he was in hopes of a better tomorrow. Screams of horror and anguish echoed through the vast expanse around them as the room seemed to explode with vibrations. Tobias fell to a knee, head clutched in both hands as the world around him bore down with immense weight.

Vincent placed a hand on Stalt's back. "Hey," he called, "are you alright?"

"F... fine," Tobias stammered. The scene around them depicted hellish battle as it swallowed the world, and the Tap itself was twisted into a mockery of what it was meant to be. Emma looked transfixed, her lips pressed in a flat line as visions of the past cowed her to silence. For a Mystic, Magic meant something that provoked reverence, and to see it perverted so was truly sad. In the next instant, her hand flew up over her mouth and stifled a sob.

The majesty that once filled the world with power shattered.

Fragments trickled like dust into oblivion beneath them. Brilliant shards all the colors of the rainbow surrounded them, sundered remnants of the world's magic. As Tobias struggled to stand, he looked over all of it and let out a hoarse breath. "That..." he shivered, "was the war of the Tap."

Sadness and tragedy filled the world as the gift we so freely gave shared the fate of so many other things we left to mortals. The magic we intended for good was twisted by evil, and in the last great effort to redeem themselves, humanity proved that they would never be worthy...

[Silence Sei]

Before them, roughly half a dozen people stood up around the corrupted tap. Each one of their features were hidden from view, and no matter how much Emma bobbed her head one way or the other, she could never distinguish one person from the next. The group surrounded the magical wellspring and began to once again create magic, but something felt different this time. Something felt wrong this time.

With every fireball conjured, Emma now thought about the children that suffered as their flesh melted into their own skeletons, with every lightning bolt that cracked against the ground, she thought of houses ripped apart and graveyards made from once busy villages. She buried her features into her hands, and could feel the cold palm of Leona as it touched the back of her neck. Something about this girl made Emma want to cry into her, though the prophet was not much older than Emma herself.

“The rise of the Forgotten Ones…” Leona whispered.

“Why can’t we see their faces?” Vincent asked, which caused both Toby and Leona to turn to the youth and give him a deadpan expression.

“What….what part of ‘Forgotten One’ don’t you get?” Tobias placed both of his hands on either side of his head. A less rational man would have already questioned the book smart Vincent’s capabilities in this mission, but Tobias Stalt seemed to be a man who could take the silly questions with a grain of salt and a verbal jab.

“They’re…they’re using their magic to conquer. They’re ruling through fear. If one person rises up to oppose them, they destroy an entire village. These people…these people are monsters…” Her voice cracked and wavered as she spoke, and her legs gave out from beneath her. Her chest felt as though it was set aflame, and not even Leona’s soft neck message could keep the ache in her bosom from growing. “I…I don’t think we were ever meant to see all this…”

“Nobody should have t—“ Emmas’s delicate face now turned to face Vincent. Tears streamed down her reddened cheeks, loose strands of hairs matted to her features.

“No. This isn’t meant for us,” Emma explained, “I learn more about this stuff and I can’t take it. How much longer before we witness genocide on a grand scale and go mad upon one another?! This whole thing, it’s trying to fill our heads with knowledge, turn us against one another! It wants us to fight over the right for who retains this lore!”

“She’s right,” Leona spoke as she lifted the girl up, “We must hurry as quickly as possible. The more time we spend here, the more likely we are to be consumed by madness and sorrow.”

The Forgotten Ones were nigh unstoppable. We had to forge a weapon to combat them, but even more so, we had to become many from one to wield this weapon…

[Cards of Fate]

It seemed that Emma and Leona were starting to have some form of episode at the information that was being show to them. Vincent turned to Tobias, feeling something tugging at his chest as he spoke.

“Tobias we need to get out of here.” Vincent grunted.

“No shit.” Tobias shouted as the group scurried down the barrier of light. The illusion continued to grow more and more violent as they continued to ignore it. Visions of burning villages, piles of corpses that would rise again to claim the lives of their friends and family. The vision demanded they comply and watch it, changing locations to forcibly meet their gaze. They ran quickly watching carefully for the road until in just a second it seemed to disappear out from under Emma who was taking the lead.

“Emma!” Vincent and Tobias exclaimed grabbing her outstretched arms.

“Where’s the path!” Tobias roared as they hefted the mystic back onto the path.

“I can’t find it…” Leona said looking from side to side. The path didn’t seem to continue in any direction. In fact the way they had come from had vanished as well.

“Looks like this is where the sidewalk ends…” Vincent muttered, still kneeling. The others began to panic, Leona stared at her cards in disbelief, Tobias growled as he frantically looked around for something anything. Emma was sitting on the ground hyperventilating trying her damnedest to regain control of her breathing . Vincent found himself staring into the void. Not five feet below them a familiar hallucination was beckoning him.

“Oh…” he muttered softly. A grin spread across his face as he began to chuckle. “Oh my goodness this is absurdly simply…” he half shouted laughing. The other three turned to the scholar with fury in their eyes.

“What the fuck Vince!” Tobias roared reaching to grab the hysterical scholar by the shoulder. However he was gone, falling. “Vincent!” Tobias screamed grasping at thin air.

The scholar gulped and held his breath as he fell, praying that his gamble had worked. His feet hit something solid, and he let out a gasp. The abyss below his feet seemed to shatter like glass, fragments flying past him. He looked up and saw the others standing on the rainbow platform not five feet above him.

“It was an illusion the entire time.” Vincent said grinning up at them. He glanced down to find his was standing on stone brick in a rather simple room. The golden skinned Hierophant was nowhere to be found yet again, leaving Vincent to question his own sanity. Tobias landed next to him with thump, Emma cradled bridal style in his arms whilst Leona landing gracefully behind the two. “What an interesting solution.” Vincent said nodding.

Leona smacked Vincent growling, “You could have died.” She growled staring daggers at him.

“I didn’t.” Vincent countered gesturing to the hall before them. “And now we have a way to continue.”

[Leona Stevvains]

She shook her head with a sigh. Vincent’s rash decision making skills had spared them all from falling victims to their own insanity. She watched as Tobias slowly lowered himself down and then helped Emma down as well. As she watched, Leona thought about why she could not see Vincent’s solution far before the Hierophant himself did. It was odd for the prophet to not be able to see the future, and the fact that her own Arcana just up and solved the solution left the seer perplexed.

It must be Khal’Jaren, Leona thought as she slowly lowered herself to the platform below, my all-sight was a gift from Jomil, so it would not be too far to assume that her ‘brother’ could interfere with it. Well played Mantis God, well played.

As she gained her footing, all three other members of the party turned to her expectantly. She scratched behind her ear and returned the empty gaze to her comrades. She secretly hoped that they would take this as her continuing to be cryptic, and continue on. Tobias was the first to turn around, and she could see his broad shoulders shrug as he began to lead the group once more.

Poor Tobias, so young and innocent. Leona saw what fate awaited him, and she wept in her room on occasionally because of it. No one human should have to endure the pains that her Untapped would have to go through, but such steps were necessary for her to evolve the warrior into the Hanged Man she needed him to be.

Emma followed next, so sweet and innocent. Most of her futures saw her as the undisputed leader of the Ixian Knights, with her sisters and mentor at her sides. She would suffer great loss in her journies, one of those losses was what brought her here in the first place. Perhaps she had started to gain Kyla Orlouge’s sense of adventure? Whatever it was, it would only shape her and make her stronger.

Finally, Vincent turned around and smiled to Leona, his hand gently waving towards her as if to invite her by his side. Her eyes narrowed as she looked to the Hierophant and the possible futures he had. Several timelines depicted this man as Leona’s lover, other times as her new best friend, and even a few saw him at the end of the prophet’s swords. No matter what reality would form the true one, Vincent Cain would not doubt have a big impact on the life of Leona Stevvains.

“So…what now?” Tobias called back to him and caused Vince’s eyes to move off of his leader.

As if the dungeon itself wished to answer, a bright light filled the room. Leona shielded her eyes from the sudden starburst, only for her vision to come back to the sight of nothingness. She was without her allies, alone in a room of pure black.

And then, she heard a knock.

“….Oh My…”

[Tobias Stalt]

Where they have gone, you cannot follow.

For the first time, the voice permeated the blackness. Tobias twisted to look around, only to wince as he met with the indifference of rattling chains. "What-" Colors bled away as he struggled violently, streaks of once beautiful starlight splattered around like a murder scene. "What's going on?"

The world around him was fractured, imperfect, and ruined. Whatever illusion swallowed the others, Tobias was bereft of the kindness that it offered. Thousands of years of knowledge converged in a gentle breeze that washed across his face, and Tobias saw the Mantis step forward from behind him. "You will find my library precisely when you are meant to; I will never fail to reward those who strive after my secrets. Fear not."

"I'm hardly afraid," the mercenary drawled; even in the presence of a god, Tobias remained irreverent.

"I admire that" Khal'Jaren responded with his lifeless voice, whatever emotion tied to the words obscured by divinity. "I have long sought to speak with you, child."

"And you didn't think to just call?" the youth quipped. "I hardly think this is the most productive way."

"When the Althayne was broken," the Mantis God replied, "our powers became finite in scope. For instance, I am bound to this place. I can reach out to mortals, but they must seek me for themselves." A probiscus moved over the Untapped thoughtfully as Khal'Jaren observed him, head tilted inquisitively. "Hurry, I must speak before your friends find me."

Tobias reached up and gripped the chains on his body, strewn like garments. The Thayne nodded, then turned away. "A caution, to anchor you here. This place is a fragment, the heart of the Broken Tap." The god's voice seemed to waver. "It seeks to be whole again, marred by the evil in the hearts that once touched it. It was our gift to humanity, but in their darkest hour, they forever twisted it."

Tobias' gaze hardened, but he listened. "In the moments where Aesphestos was sealed, the Sword of Light sought to purify the taint that the War left on the Eternal Tap." Khal'Jaren shivered. "The Tap resisted. With all of the darkness it swallowed, it also inherited unlikely traits from those who sought to master it."

"What does this have to do with me?" Tobias muttered skepticallly.

"Everything!" Khal'Jaren erupted, turned and pointed at Tobias. "It has everything to do with you. Tobias, your body is unable to touch the Tap because your soul was fashioned from these energies. You are literally a fragment of the Eternal Tap. You are the piece that hangs in balance. Your existence, your very presence undoes magic."

Tobias stared blankly, unable to comprehend the words. "Why?" he asked. "What god would want this?" He shuddered. Tobias swallowed the dryness of his throat, then heaved. Bile splashed across the floor. "Why!"

"Not a god," the Thayne corrected. "One long forgotten."

The warmth left his face, and Tobias stared up at the Mantis. "Aesphestos knew, while the Tap remained broken, his kin could never again walk Althanas."

"The seal," he mouthed. Khal'Jaren merely nodded.

"You have a choice, Tobias," the Thayne told him. "Nothing is set in stone."

"What will I do?" Stalt asked.

"That," the god chuckled, "remains to be seen. I have withheld this future from even Jomil. Tobias, you are a weapon, an event set in motion thousands of years ago by an evil entity. But that does not make you evil. I give you this knowledge as a gift. When the time comes, you alone will decide." He snapped an unseen finger, and the chains around Tobias shattered.

"It feels heavy here, " Stalt muttered. "I want to leave."

"Patience," Khal'Jaren whispered, "the others will arrive soon."

Tobias nodded quietly.

[Cards of Fate]

Vincent’s eyes readjusted to find himself in a familiar room, his father’s study in his childhood home. Everything was just as he could remember, tall mahogany bookshelves filled with all sorts of books. Old leather chairs set up face to face with a small coffee table between them. Even his father’s grand oak desk with his computer and files seemed to be present. He could smell the scent of fresh coffee behind him as he turned to find the study door open, and his father standing there grinning at him.

“Heya Vinnie! I haven’t seen you in a while…take a seat.” The man spoke with such ease that Vincent relaxed almost immediately. The scholar took a seat in one of the leather chairs as his father sat down opposite of him. The man filled the chair up with his broad shoulders and thick muscles as he raised his coffee mug to his lips before speaking. “Your college letters came in today son…” he said seemingly pulling letters from thin air before plopping them down on the table before him.

“Oh boy!” Vincent said greedily snatching the papers from the table and tearing the envelope open. Something nagged at him as he pulled out the first letter, but his quickly tabled the though and began to read the first letter. “I…got accepted to Harvard…” the words could barely leave his lips.

“I knew you could do it son…” Vincent turned to look up at the man he could barely remember with tears in his eyes. “I’m so proud of you…” the words echoed hollowly in his ears. The scholars hands shook slightly as he dropped the letters onto the table. The man before him with indescribably features seemed to frown. “What’s wrong son?”

“Why did you leave us…” The words croaked out of Vincent’s lips. The scholar turned his teary gaze up to the imperfect illusion before him. “Or do you not know because I’m out of your jurisdiction here…” he growled.

The man stood up and shrugged, “Earth is a realm outside of my domain.” The man said, his voice warping from that of his fathers. “Normally this illusion would work a little better, but the Hierophant seems naturally skilled at dealing with this sort of thing. The illusion itself is also imperfect making it even easier.”

“How cruel a taunt.” Vincent spat as he stood up. “Can I leave or is there some stupid puzzle I need to solve somewhere in here?”

“Just head though the door Vincent. You might have to wait on the others though, most people have desires I can actually show them…” The man replied as he faded to nothing. Scowling the scholar turned to the door and threw it open, crossing the threshold into the unknown.

[Silence Sei]

"Poor Emma Orlouge. You are saddled with so much burden, so much pain. I wish there were some way we could alleviate it." The voice came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. The tone of the pity sounded gentle, much like a grandfather would talk to their child. The young teen quickly found herself on the ground, surrounded by the family that so readily took her and her baby sister in; The Orlouge clan.

"F-Father? But I thought..." Emma stammered and then gave paused. Something about Sei Orlouge's mannerisms was odd. Not just her father, but the entire family of Orlouges were just staring at her. She swallowed hard as she stood up amongst the accusing eyes that continued to look at her. She quirked her eyebrow up and grabbed the hilt of her sword. She knew her kin better than this, and they were quick to strike up conversations at the first opportunity. To be this deftly quiet was something that was not in the blood of the Mystics.

She unsheathed her blade and swiped at the spectres. With each cut, a large purple gash was made across the stomachs of each of her relatives. Her blood ran cold as the forms of the noble family tansformed into black dust like creatures that dissapated almost as soon as they were revealed. Emma stood there on the cold floor of what seemed to be Ixian Castle and whispered to herself. "Ghosts...."

"In a sense," the grandfatherly voice was now back, "you did well to keep your father's secret, true to the pact you made to Sei and Ciato."

"How do y--"

"My dear, I am a God of knowledge. Do you really think I would be so oblivious to the secrets of another race just because they hide their towns from mortal eyes? I feel a little insulted." There was a laugh that permeated in the room. Emma smiled at first at the odd expression of joy, which came across as the sound of both crickets and hisses. Her smile quickly turned into full on laughter herself,, and the fit of hysterics caused her to close her eyes.

When she opened her eyes, she was standing before both Tobias Stalt and Vincent Cain. She quickly piped down at the sight of these two, and her cheeks were flushed a bright red color. "H-How long have you two been standing there?"

"Long enough to hear you, Harley Quinn," Cain retorted.

"Excuse me?"

He sighed, "Nevermind."

[Leona Stevvains]

"So, that makes all of you now," the ominous voice that spoke to each of them announced.

"Not quite," Vince spoke out, "we're still missing Leona. I'm not going to leave her."

"As sketchy as she seems at times, I have to agree with baby Vince," Tobias said as he scratched the back of his head. Almost as though admitting he would not leave the prophet was something that irritated him greatly. It probably did.

"We can't just abandon her," Emma spoke last of the three, her sword still drawn and at the ready should their mysterious voice decide to force them along.

"There's no need for such theatrics, guys," another voice came from behind the trio as Leona Stevvains stepped out of the darkness. Her features remained the same as opposed to those of her friends. Something seemed to change in each of them, as if they each underwent something they wished not to discuss. Vincent's curiosity got the better of him as Leona approached the troupe once more.

"So...what exactly did you se---" Vince never finished the sentence, as a hand smacked the boy in the back of his head. "OW!"

"Questions." Leona stood at the front of the group now, her head tilted upwards. "Do you not think that it is time to end this little farce of yours, Khal'Jaren? I think my team has been through enough of your tricks. We have all proven ourselves worthy of your library and the knowledge it holds. I request now that you grant us safe passage to your inner sanctum."

There was a small silence for several moments before the ground began to shake. The group (sans Leona) almost lost all their footing while the before them, the inky blackness seemed to rise as though it were a gate. Rubble and debris of darkness dripped from the door and gave way to a magnificent light as Jomil's chosen one turned to her group. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Khal'Jaren's library."

[Cards of Fate]

The group walked through the portal and stopped dead in his tracks as he processed what he was seeing. Bookcases, bookcases everywhere. They towered to the sky and beyond, further than Vincent could see. Miles and miles of bookcases stretched left to right filing into the horizon. It was literally a realm of literature. His eyes swelled to the size of dinner plates as he took it all in. His jaw dropped as a gigantic owl carried a crate of scrolls past them.

Welcome to my library seekers of knowledge! a voice boomed.

“Leona…” Vincent muttered calmly. “Does the giant mantis man god sound like Morgan Freeman to you?”
Leona paused and without saying a word smacked Vincent upside the head. “That was possibly the dumbest question I have ever heard Vincent. Of course he does.”
Emma and Tobias turned to each other confused by the exchange before turning their attention to the rest of the scenery.

I have but one rule, none of my works are allowed to leave this library, and none of this knowledge shall be used to abuse the shattered remains of the Tap.

A figure appeared from behind one of the bookcases and approached them. He looked every bit of your average human, save his long insectoid legs jutting out his emerald robes. His long silver hair flowed regally down his face in a Fu Manchu. His arms jutted awkwardly out of his sleeves pointed in silver claws. The Thayne gazed down at each of them, judging them in his cold silver glare.

“Excuse me!” Tobias asked waving his hand. “Where can I find the nearest chair? Im more or less here to protect the others while they got here, no reading for me. Just a chair and some relaxing. Based on the look on Vinnies face, we’re going to be here a while. Might as well get comfortable.”

The others glared at the sellsword as the god of knowledge flicked his claw to the right. Two bookshelves over. he replied, his lips not moving. As for the rest of you, I feel you might find everything you need… he said gesturing to three large owls saddled up and ready to ride. Perhaps this will make your trials worth it

[Silence Sei]

"As for you, young Emma Orlouge, heir to the Castle Ixia. Exploits of your father's deeds have reached even my ears." The decrepit Khal'JAren spoke to the teen. Emma looked downwards and shifted her feet as the elderly God spoke to her. "He was a great man, and if records of your tenure at Istein is any indication, you will quickly surpass even his heroics one day."

Her eyes shifted up now, a look on her face that was quite uncommon for the girl. Could the Thayne of knowledge actually be telling her that she would become a greater legend than that of 'Silence' Sei Orlouge, Savior of Radasanth, the Avatar of Alerar? She shook her head and blinked several times at this revelation. "I think you must have me mistaken, Lord Khal'Jaren sir. My father performed feats out of this world. I'm just a girl."

"At some point, your father was just a boy, Emma." He nodded as he walked over to one of his many bookshelves and brought one of his fingers across the spines of several different tomes. "I actually have a present for the Champion of the Thaynes anyways, since we are on the subject." Each book was given the same few seconds of attention as the mantis man reviewed each of the arcane symbols written upon their covers.

"With all due respect sir," Emma spoke and tried to straighten herself, "my father is not here."

This comment gave Khal Jaren a pause, and he craned his neck to the side before he turned to the young a girl. "What? I was not speaking of your father, young Emma." As he spoke, he grabbed a single book and pulled back upon it. With the roar of a lion, the entirety of the bookshelf raised up. Debris and dust floated down to the ground as Emma shifted her head past the elder to see what was it that the secret bookshelf hid from the sights of mortals lucky enough to discover the exclusive library to begin with. "The Champion of the Thaynes was never Sei Orlouge. He was a way to get our items to the champion, a messenger if you will. My brothers and sisters thought him a better guard for their items than themselves. I had a bit less faith."

He turned around and instantly, torches in the room beyond flickered to life to reveal a single pedestal with a trillby hat sit meticulously upon its surface. Emma blinked as she looked to the accessory. She could feel time itself stop as she stared at the object, almost as if the simple item called out to her, beckoned her. She shifted her gaze over to Khal'Jaren who closed his eyes and nodded. It must be wonderful to know nearly everything.

Almost as though he read the girl's mind, the mantis God opened his eyes and smiled. "You see Emma, you are to be the Champion of the Thaynes, not Sei as so many before you suspected. In your hands, these items of power will have all of their true potential unlocked. This hear is 'Khal'Jaren's Mind', another item belonging to the Thayne pantheon. In your hands, it will allow you to memorize and use the fighting styles of those you face in combat. You will lose this knowledge once the hat is removed, however." As the insect like being spoke, Emma approached the hat, and reached for it.

"I understand..." she whispered before the sage old man nodded and faced Leona.

[Leona Stevvains]

"As for you, disciple of Jomil," his voice cracked just a bit as he talked to the woman, "I would request that you stay and keep me company so we may talk at lengths about our living situation."

"Hold the fucking phone," Tobias moved from his position, ever the vigilant bodyguard to the prophet, "I am not leaving her here with some old guy to do as he pleases."

Emma Orlouge, who mere moment ago was busy trying on her new hat, also spoke up. "I agree. I appreciate your gift to me, Khal'Jaren, but we all got here together, and we're all leaving together."

"No, we are not," Leona spoke up finally as if to remind the group that she were her own woman, "I will stay, as per his request. In almost every time line I come across, there is not outcome that puts me in any form of danger. Half of the probabilities even involve Vincent staying here with me, lost in his reading material." She motioned over to the Hierophant. Vincent was plopped upon the floor, his nose deep in the text of a red tome with several other multi-colored books by his side. The tower of literature swayed around and threatened to topple upon the bookworm. To emphasize her point, the seer leaned down and picked up a novel the size of an average dictionary, and threw it into the head of her verbal punching bag. The book slammed into the side of the warrior-in-training's head and bounced harmlessly onto the floor.

Vincent merely turned to the next page.

"See? I'm good." She shrugged as she looked to Tobias and Emma, who shared the same stare at one another. After a few seconds of awkward silence, the two nodded.

"Ok then..." Tobias said with a sneer upon his features, "but for the record, this is shiftier than that woman Vince took home two nights ago that kept scratching her vag."

"Wonderful dialogue there, Toby," the Orlouge daughter replied as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, "are we done here then?"

"Not quite," Khal'Jaren spoke up once more, "There is still the matter of Mister Stalt..."

[Lye]

Cards of Fate (17720):
616 EXP
66 GP

Leona (17165):
484 EXP
66 GP

Tobes (17202):
499 EXP
44 GP

Sei (30):
0 EXP
110 GP

[Lye]

EXP & GP Added