Sorana

"They forgot about me." Vivi's voice was quiet, forlorn. "Everybody forgot that I exist, which class I went to. My dancing teacher claims, that she never saw me before." She listened as the others continued with their questions, listened to their host who explained more about the thing they would be looking for. Despite the strangers in the room, Vivi looked forward to the job. A heist, as it would have been called in a book. It would be exciting and she would be able to do something for once. To earn her own money. The prospect brightened her mood and she shoved all dark thoughts into a corner of her mind. She had been forgotten once, she would make sure that this wouldn't happen a second time. She let the others discuss their abilities, pondered whether she should talk about her own as well and finally pulled out her rapier and lifted it a little to indicate that she knew how to use it. Let them believe it or not, her father had trained her well. Pride envelopped her heart and she wrapped the rapier's belt around her hip, the weapon a welcome weight at her side. Vivi used the discussion to look around the room again, tried to get a better idea who had come here. Lady Warren had mentioned the Dark Alley and she considered the possibility of one of them being here. Most likely. According to her mom they were always around when strange things happened. Vivi looked at everybody present, tried to decide who might be an undercover agent, the Ghostbloods had to be here for sure as well. And Tuba. Just like in the stories. The Scholar's, too. And they would work grudingly together and against each other and defeat the evil ones. Just like they had done with Plasma Core or the bomb. Excitement made her heart flutter and she looked at everybody again, pictured them to be like the heros of the Seven Day War she had heard so much about. Maybe one day, their statues would be in the Hall of Legends, too. Maybe one day, she herself would have a statue there. Her gaze rested on one member of the team after the other and the imagined them in a heroic pose, defying evil. The wince of the quiet woman who had entered the room shortly after herself disrupted her dream of turning into an aweinspiring hero of old. Was she afraid? Vivi looked more closely. No, she didn't look afraid. Making a quick decision she picked up a sandwich, just like one the woman had eaten earlier and handed it to her. "Food helps with dark thoughts." She gave a small smile. "If you don't want it, I can eat it." @Voidus

Vivi watched as their host walked down the stairs, old and somehow wrung out. And yet she had an air around her that made Vivi's toes curl in envy. Such pride, such majestic behaviour. If she herself was able to walk like that once, to have that bodylanguage, then she was like a queen. Her attention shifted away from her host and her speech about retrieving some object when she was adressed by the woman who had just arrived. "Hello Vivi, I'm Marie. Excuse me, but are you a kid or do you just look like one?" Startled Vivi looked up at her, needed a moment to process the question. "I'm not a kid." She protested and tried to stand straight to show her full height. "I'm twelve. I even go to school when -" she trailed off, shadows creeping over her face. When the school hadn't forgotten about her just like every one else seemed to have. "I suppose I don't go there anymore." she added weakly and tiredly brushed her hair out of her face. She was twelve, she was supposed to go to school and be a kid. With a sigh she shook her head to get rid of the dark thoughts and lifted her backpack. "I didn't bring a pet." she explained glad for something else to talk about. She opened it and held it, so that Marie could take a look inside. Her very worn and well used stuffed unicorn stared out at Marie, the cake sitting somewhere close to it's hooves. "She's called Rainbowglow." Vivi introduced her and brushed her fingers over its head. "My mum," she made a pause, "it doesn't matter." Hastily she closed the backpack again and slung it over her shoulders. Suddenly a door slammed close somewhere and she made a startled sound, jumped to see where the sound had come from. Everything was calm and so she forced herself to take a deep breath. She had to stay calm. If she wanted to be respected one day, she had to stay calm and strong. "That's just a door, what are you getting all jumpy for?" Marie stated calmly next to her and Vivi quickly nodded her agreement. Just a door. Just a gust of wind. She was no child to be spooked by some natural phenomenon. @mathiau

Lena, University District, Il Grano Lena smiled at the dark red liquid in her glass, watched it move from one side to the other when she turned the glass slowly in her hand. The wine smelled amazing. Sweet, but a little herb as well, not too sour and it's colour was a winning condition on its own. She lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip, enjoyed the flavors in her mouth. Delicious. The man, Steven, sat close to her at the table made a sound and she looked over to him, covered her annoyance with a smile. Steven straightened on his stool at her obvious attention and launched into another elaborate story of his and Lena forced herself to keep at least part of her attention with him this time. He was boring. His stories were boring, his opinions not of any interest to her and the perfume he wore smelled like wet dog. But even more important, he was arrogant. And that made him easy prey. She widened her eyes in faked surprise when he finished the story with a non surprising twist, something about his brother who guessed a gift correctly? How could someone fill their days with such boring things, when you could head out and breathe the smell, feel the heartbeat of Alleycity? It was amazing. Monsters, fabulous women and glorious men, adventures and alleys, and this guy talked about guessing a gift. She took another sip of her wine and decided to go on with this quickly. If she had to listen to another word coming out of his mouth she would end this another way. And in that case she would have to find another suitable victim. No, it was better to endure him for a little while longer. "Would you care for a more private place?" She asked him, careful to stress the word private just in the right way. His face shone up like a star at night and his ego grew like a plant with water. Lena leaned a little forward and noticed with satisfaction that he took the oppotunity to glance into her cleveage. She was dressed in a beautiful, dark violett dress that went perfectly with the dark wig she wore. It highlighted her curves, lifted her breasts a little and its fabric caressed her skin. Or in other words, she loved it. It was rare to find a piece that fit you so well. In a fluid motion she stood up, enjoyed Steven's admiring gaze and took her glass into her hand. She walked over to the staircase leading upstairs, aware of his eyes lingering on her backside, a smile on her face. Lena didn't wait for him but instead climbed the stairs without hesitation, stepping into the the hallway on top of them. She opened the second door to the right and only now waited for him to reach the top of the stairs before she entered. Couldn't have the poor guy wander around like a lost soul. When he finally entered the room she was standing in front of the mirror, her glass carefully placed on a small table nearby. She watched him through the mirror, observed as he took in the large bed and the drawer. Mat, the owner of this place, had a few rooms he rented to drunken customers at night, or to love struck couples. Or to others. He didn't particularly care as long as he was paid. She opened her pouch and lifted her lipstick to her lips, slowly covering them in red paint. Pursing them she ensured that they were covered completely before she added a layer of gloss, that one only slightly smaller, never touching her bare skin. Then she turned around, an alluring smile on her face, her movements enticing. "Glad you made it." She greeted him, her smile growing wider. He shot her a slightly confused look, but Lena walked over to him, placed her hands on his chest. "You didn't need to get all that make up on them." He pointed out. "I'll smear it anyway." Lena grinned at him happily, her first real smile for the whole evening. "Oh I hope that you will. Some things need to be done the proper way." He grinned a stupid, male grin and her heart jumped in excitement. Finally. It had been too long. Without any further delay she kissed him. Watched his smile falter a short while later, watched him stumble backwards, trip and hit his head when he fell to the ground. And smiled. She had calculated correctly. Lena reached for a handkerchief and removed the remaining lipstick from her mouth, happily humming to herself. Then she sat down in a comfortable chair and took another sip of wine. It was far too good to waste it. Some time later she left the room and locked the door behind herself. This time she didn't take the steps back into the main room, but instead a smaller one set at the back of the house. She opened a wooden door without knocking, waved at the man inside. "I'll go now." She informed him cheerfully and tossed him a small bag. He caught it and opened it, before he nodded. "Is he still alive." He asked and didn't wait for a reply. "You didn't check, I know. " he made a wave with his hand. "Should I need a clean up crew -" "it'll cost me extra." Lena finished his sentence. "I know, I know. He hit his head when he fell." She gave a slight shrug. "But he's definitely not dead from the poison." She hadn't made such a beginners mistake in years. It was so much more complicated to keep them alive than to kill them. "I'll be back in a couple of hours." She threw him another bag. "Put that in his drink when he wakes up." It would keep the guy off work for a bit. "Will do." Mat replied curtly. "Have a good day, Leila." She smiled and waved at him, before she shut the door again. It had been a good day. And with a guild head meeting coming up it would only be better. Humming happily she walked through the streets, a small passcard in her pocket. It was going to be her invitation.

Vivi turned towards the woman who had just stepped into the room. "No, you're not. We're still waiting for our host to appear." She eyed the snacks again, wondering if she might even be able to sneak some into her lunchbox. "I'm Vivi." She introduced herself, still thinking about the little cakes. The ones with a red filling had been really tasty. “Where is our host, anyway?” Perses asked and Vivi looked back towards him and the woman in the wheelchair, Malsam. Perses seemed to be growing impatient, even though it had only been a few minutes. Not that she had a watch or anything else to track the time, maybe it had been a lot longer. Vivi frowned and bit into her last snack. Better to use the time. "I don't know." She replied to him. "They'll probably give others a chance to join us." She shifted her weight on her other foot and looked through the room again. Two from Scadrial, so there was a chance they were able to use the metallic arts. Three she wasn't able to determine where they came from, nor did their clothing style remind her of a world. Her mother would have known. Vivi grit her teeth and hastily took another bite of cake. If she had attended her school regularly she would have a chance to know, too. But she hadn’t and there was no use to cry over something as irrelevant like that. She turned her attention back to the room. They were six now, none of them gave the first impression of a trained fighter like those at the Canton. Malsam had to be very competent at handling herself and the young thief eating a sandwich most likely, too. Otherwise she wouldn't have dared to dress like that. Or she was like herself, more or less harmless, in the end it was all speculation. The others, Vivi would have to watch them for a while and maybe she could find out something else about them. Another thought occured to her and she clapped her forehead in annoyance. She'd completely forgotten about Rainbowglow. Quickly she headed over to the table with the snacks and removed her backpack, opened it. "I'm so sorry." She peeked inside. "You've got to be hungry, too. Here you are." Vivi picked up one of the cakes and put it into the backpack, then she closed it again and grabbed another one for herself. Then she walked the few steps to the others and made sure she kept her facial expression friendly. Whatever waited for them in the house, her odds looked a lot brighter if she wasn't going in all on her own.

"Thank you so much!" Temeria exclaimed and bent forward over the map. She reached into her pocket and took out a small notebook. Squinting at the street names on the map she noted down the addresses. "That sounds exactly like something we can do." She looked at Ember. "We can go and look into the buildings, turn them to dust and train our surge at the same time." She put the notebook back into her pocket. "And we can do something good at the same time." A smile touched her face. "Honestly, thank you so much. For the explanation regarding my surges and for the map and that you took the time for my question. I know that it's not what people look for usually." Temeria bit down on her lip and hesitated. He hadn't reacted when she'd mentioned her sister and she didn't really want to push him in that direction. But on the other hand, it was a chance to see her again. Torn between the two options she grit her teeth unable to decide, unable to stay here for longer. The longer she stayed, the higher the chances that Aln would arrive. She simply wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. So better to avoid it completely. "I, I've got to go. I don't want to bother you further." She took a step towards the door, hesitated again, and then inhaled deeply. "Just, maybe, if you see Aln, tell her that if she wants to, we could go and grab a coffee together." Hastily she walked over to the door and pushed it oped, unable to look him into his eyes again. "I'm still at the Boarding House." She had ruined so much already, if she stayed she would ruin this as well. She always did. This was something her sister had build up, it had no room for her, not now, not until they had spoken again. "Tell her I'm sorry. I really am." She ducked her head and took a step outside, swallowed when she felt a tight knot form in her throat, but forced herself to look back. It wasn't his fault, he had only been polite. "Thanks again. I'm glad that she found some good people." Temeria lifted a hand and brushed a tear off her face, angry at herself. She was too old to cry like a little girl. It had been a mistake to go to this place. She should have kept her distance, waited for Aln to reach out to her. Another tear joined the first and she shook her head nearly ran from the building and off into the streets, tears streaming over her face. Tears of shame, of a life she'd ripped into pieces. Temeria ran, hand clutched around the handle of a sword, her eyes on the street her thoughts a whirlwind. She had to go and train. She owed it to Folorian. It wasn't his fault that she was such a mess. She hasted around a corner, nearly running directly into the man walking towards it and lifted her head to apologize but no word left her mouth. Instead she stared at him. "But you're gone." @MacThorstenson

"Scadrial." Vivacia brightened at the familiar name. "I think my grandfather came from there." She froze, the memory of her father like a sharp blade in her side. He had to be somewhere, anywhere in this city. Vivi lifted a slightly shaking hand to brush her hair out of her face to cover her mistake. Better to change the topic quickly. "The food is nice." She referred to his earlier statement. Especially if you hadn’t eaten something decent in days. Vivi looked through the room and noticed that she was the only one who had taken something so far. "I thought it would be impolite to ignore the invitation. They only put it here for us, it would be a shame to let it go to waste." She lifted another little cake to her mouth and took a small bite, chewed and swallowed. It tasted slightly like tomatoes with some spices. She should try to pack a few of them in her box for later. "I don't know how many will come. But if it's only the few of us, at least the chances that we'll be hired are higher than if they have a whole bunch of people to choose from." "Do you know anybody here already?" She asked quietly. "I don't." @Ookla the Headmuncher

Vivi perked up at the mention of light refreshments and looked through the room again. There they were. A few snacks and something to drink. She walked over and fetched the snacks first, not too many of course. Better to go twice, than to appear greedy. Grinning at her plate she stuffed a small cake like thing into her mouth. Delicious. She hadn't eaten that good food in ages. Weeks. It had been weeks. Her grin vanished and she sighed quietly, before she turned back to the others. They were five now and she answered the friendly wave of the woman at the door with one of her own, wondering if she could interpret the gesture as an invitation to walk over and speak to her. She looked like exactly the type of a person Vivi should probably befriend given her current situation. Turning the idea in her head around another time she couldn't muster the courage to do so and looked away. She could talk to her later as well Instead she took a few steps towards Perses. "Hi." She greeted him again and tried to come up with something to talk about. "I've never seen that combination of greeting gestures before. Where are you from?" Hopefully that was a harmless topic he wouldn't mind talking about. And if he did - she shifted her position a little so that she partially faced the door. If things went completely wrong she could always try to run. @Ookla the Headmuncher

Vivi stood on the pavement across the manor and watched as the first people entered it as soon as the doors had been opened. Recalling her mother's words, to look nice and clean in order to make a good first impression. She looked down at her cloths and brushed her hands over them in an attempt to remove a couple of crinkles. And she had gotten a new spot on them, too. With a sigh she rubbed at it, but it stayed where it was. A pity, she had only washed them yesterday as preparation for her first steps into the manor. She had doubts that they would agree to have a child work for them, the fact that she didn't have a home wouldn't exactly speak in her favor. If only she knew where to go. For the thousands time she pulled out the small device and tried to reach them. Nothing. Gritting her teeth she lifted her head, combed her hair with her fingers and straightened her back to appear a bit taller. Then she strode across the street, her steps firm and self-confident. She walked through the door and paused, looked at the room in front of her. So this was, what a manor looked like. Vivi turned her head to get a good look first at the walls and then the ceiling, before she realized that she was standing in the middle of the doorway like an idiot. Hastily she stepped fully inside and quickly joined the other three she had observed. This wss it. Her first official job. There were supposed to be interviews and maybe a test and she had to make the best impression of all of them. Some money would be nice for a change. "Hello." She greeted them. "My name is Vivi." Giving her nickname out of habit. "Vivacia, I mean. It's a pleasure to meet you." Hopefully she hadn't messed up already. Vivi tried to remember anything about how to behave in such a situation and failed. Oh well, these lessons had been boring. It wasn't her fault that staying away had been so much more fun. And her parents had rarely spoken about work. She would improvise, be polite and hope for the best. This was as good a starting point for her career as any other job. And so she smiled brightly at the room and hoped that at least one person would reply and greet her in return.

With Lena planned for something else, I need another character for the sideplot I'm not quite sure how to classify her merrits, but then I doubt that she's too strong. She's more a character with some room to grow.

Temeria, The Scholar's Guild Temeria looked down at her hands in an attempt to avoid Folorian's gaze. It was good, that he didn't know who she was. If he knew, in the end he would start to look down on Aln because of her failure for a sister. And she had cost Aln so much already. Their mother, their home, her childhood. It had all been twisted because of her, because Temeria had never found the courage to stop what was going on. She was so good at looking away. She couldn't taint her guild, too. "Practice." a voice said close to her ear and she perked up, looked over to Ember. He stood straight-backed with his hands clasped behind him. "If we practice we can do it. Maybe practice on the houses where bad people live? It's okay to cut them isn't it?" His words warmed her and she found a smile creep its way on her face. "It is okay to cut them." she agreed. "It's alright to cut the bad people." Realizing how she sounded she quickly added for Folorian's sake. "We only need to make sure we don't accidently hit someone good as well." There. That hopefully added a little different touch to her words. She looked down at her hands again and then forced herself to lift her gaze. First back to Ember, to whom she nodded again. "You're right. We need to practice. So let's do that." It took her another moment before she managed to turn her head and looked Folorian straight in the eye. "Ember has a point. I don't even know what we're supposed to be able to do one day. So we're probably not exactly what this city needs right now." she fell silent, tried to come up with something else, something that spoke for herself, that didn't make her seem utterly and completely worthless and failed. "I'm sorry." she added. "I'm wasting your time. You're a guild and not some guide for overly motivated people like myself. I only came here because of my sister, but -" she froze in place feeling very, very cold. "It was the only place I could think of, that might know what to do." She finished weakly. @mathiau @Voidus

That's Lena. Thanks a lot for taking a look at her.

I mean she could go there to plead for the whole 'do some good' topic. But there is no reason why a person who's not belonging to a guild should be admitted. It might work if she tagged along with Mac or the SG, but that would imply, that her current scene has to be finished - so it's a no. I don't want to hold everything up or pressure mathiau. I have to admit that I toyed with the thought of Lena replacing a caterer (in my head there's no meeting with important people without some finger food). Those attending could call her out of course, don't want to decide that nobody looks through a disguise. But only if it works for everybody. I'm fine with not participating.

I have to admit, that I don't really have a character for the meeting Which is a bit sad as I'd ooc love to be a part of it. But I'm afraid that it wouldn't make a lot of sense ic. === But if it's still possible I would like to have a character join your mini side plot. @ZincAboutIt

Temeria, The Scholar's Guild "I can't." Temeria replied simply. "Manifest Ember as a Shardblade, I mean." She added to clarify which of his two questions she was refering to. "We're still trying to figure out how everything works and which words are the right ones to progress." That sounded definitely better, than 'I have no clue what to do'. "But we will. In the right place, to the right time, we will. And until then, " she tapped her knuckles lightly on the heft of her sword, "I've got my old companion with us to help us out should the need for a blade arise." She thought about his other question for a while. "I'm not sure." She finally stated and reached for the stone in her pocket, showing it to him. "I did this, but I'm not quite sure if I can reproduce it easily. And to burn down a house without harming one directly next to it, I think I might be able to vaporize one in several steps." She fell silent for another moment, glanced over to Ember pensively. "I don't think, that we would be able to control our flames that tightly. But we can most certainly try." Although it would probably be better to do so with two ruins. She pocketed the stone again, feeling suddenly small and empty. If Mac hadn't been able to do something about this city, how could she ever how to make a difference? "Can you think of something small, or a place where I can't do much harm should I make a mistake?" She asked quietly, her excitement and energy puffed away, like a flame snuffed out. "I don't think I can deal with anything else." @mathiau

Folorian turned towards Sei first and Temeria forced herself to keep her mouth shut. She was here for help. It was most likely better if she tried not to offend them immediatly. Not that it would change something, but who knew. And yet, She doubted that Aln would ever really like her. Realizing that she was being talked to Temeria inwardly cursed herself. Aln. If the prospect of her sister nearby diverted her attention so much, that she didn't realize someone talked to her - if Folorian had wanted to, he could have killed her. She hadn't acted that green in years. "... is more complicated than you seem to think and I'll have to ask you a few questions before I can answer yours. First, what kind of broken are you searching for? Is it physically broken, like a ruin that hasn't been properly removed? Is it systemicly broken, like poverty or corruption? Is it something else, like a group of bandit or a monster's nest?" he inquired and then went on without a break, inviting her inside. "Thank you." Temeria nodded and walked past him, into the building. She turned around as soon as she had entered, realizing that she hadn't replied to his question at all. It was quieter here, the noise of the city suddenly far away. "A ruin would be nice. Ember loves to look into things." And if a few additional stones or doors broke in a ruin, nobody would care at all. "Although bandits and monsters sound amazing." She added with a grin. They sounded like a fight and she missed a good fight. Maybe that was also an easy way to do some good. Knock a few heads together, burn down a monster and there - good was done. And even better, it was in a way she understood. "I'm not the one to deal with the system." She admitted with a grimace. "But maybe," she considered her words and started again when a thought occured to her. "To be honest, I fear that, this is exactly what I will have to deal with, too. It might be the most important part of all." "If you had promised to do some good in the city, to try to fix things. Where would you start?" She finished with a question for him. He was, quite obviously, more learnt than she ever expected to become. "With something small like a ruin, or a bandit or a monster, or ignore all of that and focus on the big picture?" @mathiau

Temeria smiled when Ember flared more brightly at the mention of his name and she lifted a hand to touch him gently. It felt good that he was here, that she wasn't completely alone. She loved his excitement, the way he focused completely on something, all of his attention in one place. His gaze was towards the guild's building and she wondered what had caught his attention. The door maybe, or a window. Whatever it was, he was for sure trying to find out how it looked on the inside. Someone else walked up to them and she shifted a little, ensured that she could face both of them. It wasn't likely, but in this city you never knew. There were always people around who tended to explode in violence without any real reason. Good thing, that her boarding house didn't count as a tavern. She relaxed a little when the newcomer introduced herself and claimed, to be here to join the guild. She looked her over, searched for weapons and then offered another smile in greeting. "I'm Temeria. I only have a quick question and then I'm om my way." Wait until I'm done, she added silently. She definitely didn't want to wait until the whole, let me join a guild procedure was over. "You don't happen to know the most broken parts of the city?" She repeated her earlier question, not really caring who replied in the end. She only needed a starting point, something to change that made sense. Silently she wished again that she had taken the time to get to know the city better ever since she had arrived here. But she had stayed mostly in her district and only went to some markets outside of it, when the need arouse. To learn how to lead a boarding house successfully had taken more time than expected. A slight frown shifted her expression when she pushed the thought at a promise she had forgotten aside. She was working on it now. That was all that counted for the moment. It wasn't as if Mac would stroll around the corner and lift a scolding finger at her. "I'd like to know so that I can see whether I can do something there." She added an explanation, impatienly shifting her weight again. Maybe that would help to get a better, preferably a quicker response. The whole standing around and doing nothing part was exhausting. Now that she had decided to do something, she wanted to act. And if they didn't know - well she could always follow Ember's idea and look for something bad to break. It might not be the most efficient way, but it would work all the same. @NerdyAarakocra @mathiau

To be honest I don't really need another virus dominating my actions. I kind of played this plot the last two years and I don't want to rp it as well. I can't decide if it would be okay in general, because I'm just one person (obviously). I am simply not interested in a(ny) pandemic plot right now.

Temeria - The Scholar's Guild Temeria shifted her weight from one foot to the other while she waited for someone to answer the door, silently hoping that this wasn't a huge mistake. The last thing she needed right now was another fight with her sister. But they had parted on good terms, so it - she pushed the thought aside when the door was opened and she was greeted by a man. "Er... Hello-welcome... How can the scholar guild help you?" Temeria barely covered her relief at the sight of him, glad that she didn't have to face her sister just now. Later, later when she had the time to prepare and to try to make things even better between them. That would work so much better. In the end they had never met, or it had gone differently, or they hated each other now. Her memories were fuzzy in places, as if she was able to recall different versions of the same thing. And with Aln, too much had gone wrong between them already. Things needed to go right for once. If only she knew how to deal with year long anger and despite. Temeria pushed it all aside focused on the situation at hand. Aln wasn't here. One thing after the other. "Hello." She replied and smiled at him. "I hoped that you might be able to answer a couple of questions about the city. About things that could be better to be more precise. Broken things." She moved her hand obviously farther away from her weapon, to put him at ease. "That's Ember and I'm Temeria." She introduced the two of them, carefully watching his face to see if he would recognize the name. @mathiau

Temeria - Hall of Legends Temeria found herself grinning when Ember studied the insides of the rock carefully. It felt good to see him that way, all excited and aflame. He loved to do things, to really do something that was more than their usual daily life. At her question he seemed to brighten even more, matching her excitement instantly. "Mmm... with your hands?" He suggested, "Some things go back together easy and some don't. And some you need to change more. Rocks? Rocks rocks rocks..." He frowned and she smiled at him. He was cute when he frowned and concentrated like that. She loved how he concentrated fully on a single thing, how he was able to shut everything else out and just be. Pensively she placed the two halves together with her hands. They nearly fitted together, the small section in the middle she had turned to dust missing. "Heat." Ember said and flared with joy. "Lots and lots of heat. Heat changes things." He was right. Just like a sword had to be changed by heat, she had heard theories that stone was able to melt, too. Temeria pocketed the two halves and extended a hand for Ember to sit upon. "I have to admit, that I doubt that we can change this city by heat alone." But maybe, a thought came to her mind and she brightened, glad to finally have an idea that might actually work. "You're a genius." She grinned at Ember happily, "we can't burn the whole city down, but maybe we can, no maybe we should, find out whether there are structures we need to get rid off. Remnants of the past that don't work well anymore. Things like that." Spoken aloud it sounded nearly as daring as the original idea. But it was more, it was way more to the point. "We need help." She decided and pressed her lips slightly together. "This will be awkward and uncomfortable and I wish, I wish-" She trailed off. She wished Mac had never left so that she could have helped him. Not that she could change it. "We need help." she repeated. "And so we'll try to find someone with the right knowledge." Even if it meant facing her sister again. They hadn't parted on bad terms, but she wasn't entirely sure what to make of her. "Let's go." She decided, forcing herself to stop thinking about it. "Let's start to do something." And they would start by asking questions in the one place she knew where she would get an answer. The Scholar's guild. Temeria gritt her teeth and then forced herself to relax to try and share Ember's joy at doing something. Then she started down the street, passed people who spent the Vigil in a thousand different ways, towards the headquarters. "Give me a sign when I start acting like an idiot." she asked Ember, "she's got that effect on me." After a pause she added. "Or when I'm mean. Or too shy, or -" Temeria drew her face in a grimace. "Just stop me from doing something completely stupid." she finished vaguely. It had been one thing to ask her sister to show her around, but to need her help, it grated her, more than she was willing to admit. Temeria took another deep breath and then another last turn. There it was, down the street. The Scholar's Guild. She tapped her fingers against the handle of the sword and then forced herself to let her hand fall. She was here to ask for help, not to accidently threaten someone. "You're with me." She asked Ember, knowing the answer. "Thank you." Gently she touched his form. "Let's try to make good on a promise." Temeria lifted her hand and knocked on the door. @Voidus @mathiau @NerdyAarakocra

Would it work for the two of you to have all three meet at the SG? Reading through mathiau's post Vigil would probably be better timeline wise, but I'll go where it suits you best. @NerdyAarakocra @mathiau

Temeria is currently in the Vigil one, and I'm not quite sure how it works moving backwards in time. But anyway, I'd be happy to move her to Aftermath for a conversation. Thanks a lot!

As zinc already pointed out, it was about the guild. I reached out to the members of the Scholar’s Guild, because of past interactions with the guild and some of the characters belonging to it. I can see that my question in combination with my reply to your post might have been interpreted as rude in your direction - that wasn't my intention and I'm sorry if you perceived it that way. Nonetheless I would prefer if you didn't 'give me crap' about something like that (nor about anything else)

Temeria - Hall of Legends Break things so that you can fix them. The words were so simple and yet they offered a whole new perspective. "We can do that?" She asked Ember out of surprise, not even considering that the answer might be a no. When he said so, they could. "Let's try." She said with an excited grin and rushed over to the side of the square where a few small bushes and flowers were growing. She picked up a stone and turned it around in her fingers. It was a stone. Rough surface, covered by dirt, more or less grey. Pressing her fingers together she wasn't able to do more than brush off some of the dirt. Perfect. So it wasn't already broken. Temeria closed her eyes and concentrated on what she had learned so far. Which, she realized, wasn't a lot. Studying wasn't exactly high on her list of things like to do. When she opened her eyes again she eyed the stone warily. Hesitating for another moment she then focused and inhaled. Her fingers started to glow gently and she grinned when she felt the energy, the wild, raw power inside, suddenly not understanding why she hadn't practiced more. It felt so good to finally do something more than to walk around and watch people. Ember was right. Breaking things was the perfect start. And it couldn't be that complicated. Things broke so easily. She pictured her light covering the stone, filling it and then break it apart. The stone crumbled in her hand, fine dust falling to the ground between her fingers. With a disappointed sigh she opened her hand and let go of the remaining dust. "Sorry" she muttered towards Ember and brushed of the dirt. "Nothing left to look at." She grinned apologetically and picked up another one. When she inhaled again she lifted the stone and tried to picture more clearly what she was trying to achieve. Two halves, so that there was something for Ember to look at. So maybe - she didn't cover the whole stone but instead drew only a thin line across its surface. "Break." She told the stone without realizing that she had spoken aloud. "Come on." Nothing happened and she cursed under her breath. How could she break something and not break it. In the end it would be easier if she used a saw to cut off a thin branch to use, instead of this stupid stone. Cut off a branch. Her face brightened at the thought. Not breaking, but cutting. She tapped the stone with her finger, picturing the line of light on its surface. And then she sliced through it, the stone falling open, two halves lying on her palm. Proudly she lifted them for Ember to take a close look. "Now, how do I put them together again?" She asked excitedly. @Voidus

To be honest I'm not quite sure what Zinc's refering to. I threw the idea of some antagonists into the pot when we brainstormed, as the central idea of rebuilding might be a bit hard to grasp for newer players, although I'm not even sure whether we have some new people around? If you've got an idea for a side plot I'd be happy to talk it over, see if it is something Temeria might be interested or not. ======== Would any of you be interested/ have a character available to meet mine at the Scholar’s Guild? @Rushu42 @mathiau @18th Shard @NerdyAarakocra

Temeria - Hall of Legends "I don't know." Temeria admitted with a grimace. She lifted a hand to Ember and sighed. "I mean, I know that I have to do something, but I don't know how." She fell silent, continued to head towards the huge doors and stepped outside. There were people outside, most walking or standing together in groups. Her hand touched the handle of her sword and she gave a slight shrug. "I don't know the right people?" She amended her earlier statement. "I'm still lost in this city." another grimace. "And don't tell me, that I run a boarding house and know tons of people." She felt a smile creep on her face. "I know that I do. But I need the right ones. Like my sister maybe." Temeria fell silent, pondering her last statement. It bothered her. To know that her sister was here, to know where she could find her was one thing. To ask someone for help who'd despised her for years was something else entirely. They had talked, but still. It was probably better to start somewhere else. But where. Mac's associates, colleagues or whatever they exactly were? The prospect to face them again, to step into the strange place where they lived again was a daring one. So maybe somewhere else. She looked at Ember and smiled at him. "Where would you start? We can try to find something to look inside." She offered mostly to see Ember brighten at the prospect. She liked when he was enjoying himself and it would be something easy to begin with. Unconciously she tapped her fingers on the hilt of her sword again and again. A sword. She liked to carry it around, but it felt more and more useless the more she learned about this place. She used to fight and now she found herself in a situation where she needed to learn and study, where she had to plot and plan. There was no use for a sword. A stale taste in her mouth made her purse her lips. It was so easy to solve a conflict with a sword, but that wasn't what she had to do. A better place. That sounded like something a hero would do, not like a task she could manage. "I need to learn." She admitted quietly and shrugged again to cover her embarrassment. "I need to be more than just some random woman who leads a boarding house." Temeria walked down the stairs and stopped in front of the hall. "And now we're back at the how, or the where, or the who." She made a gesture with her hand, indicating that in the end it was all the same. Her eyes followed the people outside, with their different styles of clothes, everybody looking so differently from everybody else. "Any ideas?" she asked Ember again while she considered her options. She needed to grow, turn into something more. What she lacked was a place for her roots. @Voidus