PROLOGUE

The high ceiling cast a domineering aura over the great hall. There were two crescent shaped tables on either side of the room, such that they would have formed a complete circle if they were to be joined together. At the far end of the room was a higher pedestal, like a throne. The room was lightened with torches and magic. The wall was of a dark shade and the white tiled floor reflected the ceiling, like a night sky full of stars.

Master Philip sat in the seat closest to the throne, at the edge of one of the crescent tables, with periodic distances sat his fellow masters. They were wearing a uniform, a formal attire. With each master also having a uniqueness, at the throne sat, what appeared to be, a frail old man. He had a pleasant smile on his face, the only other person in the room who had such a smile was Master Philip.

"So, my friends, shall we call this meeting to order?" said the frail looking man, as he lifted a goblet and showed it to the attendees as a signal to begin, before he brought it to his lips.

"Certainly, Grand master." said the scribe who was sitting in a darkened corner of the room. Emersed in the darkness, his face was barely visible, he continued, "We gathered here today to implore on the incident from a month ago, where Assassin's from the Garuda infiltrated and conducted an operation near the mainland, in the capital of the territory under the jurisdiction of Master Philip." The scribe paused, looked over at the tables and continued, "There are three masters who are absent today, and as they are not involved in this incident their leave of absence has been accepted," the scribe finished.

"Very well, Philip, please enlighten us as to what unfolded," The grand master stated looking towards Master Philip, who in turn bowed and stood up,

"A month and two days ago, disturbances occurred inside Aube," Master Philip looked at the audience, "five explosions, the rapid response forces got to all points but failed to capture anyone." The other masters were listening in with keen expressions.

"It was a decoy from the intruders to lure the guards away from their positions, and in the distracted state the intruders managed to steal documents and records. The mention of which is in the official report," Master Philip paused and with a gentle breath he continued, " and they abducted, Kai." Finishing rather informally. The other masters continued to observe, except one, who was looking at the grand master seeking approval to ask questions, the grand master smiling as ever nodded in response.

"Master Philip, do you not see this as your incompetence? The assassins succeeded in completing an operation right under your nose and managed to get away with it?" The master asking the question was a tall being wearing an expensive looking robe, he had a pointed white beard and sharp yellow eyes, his skin as pale as snow.

"They abducted the double pure! "Another master repeated in surprise.

"Master Edgar from the south, was it?" Master Philip turned his attention to the questioner, intentionally confirming his name.

"Humph..." Master Edgar let out a light annoyed snuff.

"Well, I do consider it a failure at my part to not have stopped them, but I resent to inform you that a few southerners were involved in the incidents that unfolded. Kai was duly recovered unharmed and is on his way to undergo training," Master Philip smiled.

"You dare blame the south for your incompetence human!" Master Edgar retorted.

"Now, now, my dears, shall we not become un-gentlemen like." The grand Master said still smiling but his face bore intimidation such that all the masters looked down at once, except Philip who still smiled, "Philip, would you care to explain..." The grand master finished.

"Why of course," Philip nodded gently "my fellow masters, three months before this incident an Envoy from our friend Master Edgar happened upon my Aube, he bore our dear master's seal which I duly confirmed and is recorded within our archives,"

"So?" Edgar questioned; an eyebrow raised.

"The Envoy, Mister Heraro is unfortunately now dead. He was assassinated by the assassins that conducted the strike. But having conducted necromancy upon his corpse."

The masters started to murmur, as some protested in outrage.

"You mean to tell me you performed Necromancy upon the corpse of my envoy, defiling him!" Edgar's fists were now clenched, "Grand Master, this is a confession. Necromancy was prohibited upon allies under the accord of Karna."

"Shh now, I am well aware of the accord of Karna my dear Edgar." The grand Master interjected in a light voice, but it was enough to cause absolute silence upon the room. Master Philip still stood smiling, as the Grand master nodded towards him to carry on.

"Thank you," Master Philip said as he continued, "as I was saying, having conducted necromancy upon the corpse it was revealed that he was leaking valuable information to them while intercepting it from within Aube. The record of this interrogation was also submitted, and as such the necromancy was not conducted on any ally of the order."

"The act of conducting necromancy without evidence is a crime Master Philip, what if he was not an enemy." a female master spoke, she was wearing a red gown, and had ginger hair,

"Naturally I am aware of this, and as such we did have evidence, Mistress Sabine?" Philip answered, as the room was in murmurs again.

"What evidence is it that you speak of?" Edgar inquired.

"You see master Edgar, you were rather misinformed when you heard that all the invaders had escaped, you see only six of the over twenty assassins managed to escape, and that too because they had help. The rest naturally had their memories sealed but using my rather special friends I was able to extract their memories of the operation that they were conducting," Philip continued to smile. While Edgar looked as if he was going to murder Philip.

"The information they revealed indicated towards Mister Heraro as well as several of his accomplices that had joined the ranks of my troops. Of course, all were caught. But unfortunately, they managed to spread misinformation enough to provide time for the assassins to escape. All the details have been submitted." Philip finished,

"Surely you do not blame me?" Edgar spews out as all the other masters listened in.

"Why no, why would I?" Philip replied, "naturally the fact that they entered the white wolf territory from the south, through over a few hundred miles of your land and entered mine is not your fault." Philip paused with a short laugh, "We can't blame incompetence on anyone here can we. For if that were the case, they wouldn't be here in the first place."

"That is enough." The grand master said now, without a smile, "what is it that the enemy wanted, surely not a war?"

"I am afraid that is exactly what they desire," Philip spoke, "this was a declaration of war. The assassin who pulled this off was none other than ... Allen."

The masters looked at each other again, surprised.

"I see..." The grand master replied smiling again.

"That concludes what I had to say, the references as well as details are in the information submitted earlier," Philip nodded once more before sitting back down.

The grand master stood up, and with a clap of his hands the tables were filled with food, "Gentlemen that concludes the purpose of today, before you enjoy the feast, the verdict. Master Edgar of the south is to investigate the occurrences that Master Philip pointed out, and Master Philip, well, I don't think we can ask him to do much. Philip after this I would like to have a word." with that the grand master sat down, rubbing his hands as food appeared in front of him too.

...

Master Philip and the grand master were walking in a garden, "Philip, my old friend, are you sure of this course you are taking?"

"I understand your concerns, and the fact that the other masters find a human as myself in their ranks quite... absurd, but I am simply doing what I have to."

"What of Edgar?"

"Simple envy I guess, though he tipped his shoes in waters too deep."

"I see, it is always nice chatting with you."

"You know this is also a reason why they envy me, my Lord, you keep me too close."

"They fail to see what I see, in any case, tell me more about this... Kai of yours"