Intruders I

Within the Mayor's Office, Egidius had not been pleased sitting across from Old Mar and the Solarian Commander, Ser Quinn Emer, in a charcoal black surcoat that carried the Crest of the half moon on his cape, the emblem of his house no doubt. Tall with broad shoulders, a stubbed beard, and raven-colored hair that carried flecks of gray, he sat poised in his seat, demanding attention with presence alone. 

"I was not aware that Trinity has a vested interest in this phenomenon," Ser Quinn Emer began in his raspy voice; though he had not bothered to move his eyes from Old Mar, he spoke to Egidius. 

"What of it?" said Egidius. 

"The College of Trinity has no power within the Empire of Solaris." He said, his voice cold like a winter's breeze. 

"We have an alliance!" rasped Egidius, rising to his feet. 

"And so we allow you to exist," Quinn said. "But do not make the mistake of believing you are allowed to venture into our lands without permission as you please." He turned, looking at the boy of two decades for the first time. "Or I'll have your head, boy." 

Egidius felt a fire catch in his belly. "One of our's died!" he snapped, but Quinn did not seem to care. 

"You'll leave on the morrow but not before handing over all your research, letters, and material collected. Old Mar, my people will be camped outside the Redwoods north of the Andel Mountains. Before day's end, you will deliver us a detailed report of all residences within the four Rivers." Quinn stood up, snatching the sword he'd left at the door, and left, not bothering to so much as glance at Egidius. 

"Bastard," hissed Egidius. 

"He's a Solarian." Said Old Mar finally. No one liked Solarians, butcherous they were often called. 

"Imperialist pigs," continued Egidius, clenching his fist with a trembling voice. "Professor Renly will hear of this… Trinity will hear of this!" he swore, storming out, leaving Old Mar with a bitter smile. 

"... I'm too old for this." 

—

With a belly full of deer, Zariel gave his wary arms a wide stretch, looking up at the ceiling of his cottage upon his bed he'd made out of furs. 

It had taken longer than he liked, nearly two months, but he'd done it. He'd created a small cottage in which to lay his head.

"Home…" He mused, closing his eyes after nearly three months of sleepless nights. He slept, echoing soft breaths of air from his lips. That night, he didn't dream of the hells or the heavens, of life or anything else but pure darkness. 

It had been noon when he woke to the sound of someone's firm hand banging against his door, forcing his eyes open. He was alerted to the three soldiers on his porch. Aurelia had been the one to open the door. She had risen at dawn like most mornings and had been learning to control her Spirit when the noise came. 

"Are you Aurelia Morningstar?" A tall, bull-shaped man asked, though he sounded like he already knew the answer.

The young girl stared at the dark-skinned man decked in dark black metal armor that bore the Crest of Silver Lilies on their shoulders and hung over their half capes. 

'The Silver Lilies?' Aurelia thought and gave a simple nod. 

The bull-shaped man tsked. "And there is another… a nobleman? You have been recorded venturing with a boy of silver hair and eyes." 

"That would be me," Zariel said, stepping out from his door with a shadow. He was beside Aurelia in a few breaths. 

"Your name?" 

Zariel closed the door in his face. He turned to Aurelia. "Remember Stranger Danger." He said, returning to his room with a yawn reminiscent of the best sleep of his life. 

*BANG! *BANG! *BANG! 

"Open up! Open up!" shouted the Solarian Soldier. "Open up, I say!" 

The door roared but remained steadfast, hard, and solemn. It began to glow with a runic symbol. It shone before the eyes of the Solarian soldiers, turning their eyes wide. They grew pensive, exchanging glances with one another, and left. 

Aurelia watched them leave through the window and fixed her penetrating eye on his door before returning to her room to resume her training. She had visited him earlier in the morning, but when she found him at rest, she smiled, seeing he'd fallen asleep. 

The Solarian Soldiers returned hours later with a woman who bore the cape of silver lilies. She stared up at the door. Traced her fingers over the door's frame and stepped back the second her eyes graced the runic symbol. 

"Can you break it, Lady Sura? "The bull-faced man asked. Nate, they called him. 

Sura De'l Vormet stepped forward, brushing her hands over the door that seemed to push her hands away as if to resist her touch. "I could… anyone could with a simple firebolt," She began, mystified. "But I don't know if we should. The Rune Protects against all physical attacks. Azalea's Grace. I've never seen such a Runic Symbol. And you said kids live here?" 

"Yes, m'lady," said Nate. " Aurelia and a… Silver-haired boy. We tried talking to 'em but—"

"They slammed the door in our face," One of the Solarian Spearman inserted. 

"Were you rude?" 

"What?" The trio exchanged glances, turning to Sura as if to ask, 'Why does that matter?

Lady Sura sighed before giving the door a knock. 

The door opened to reveal the pure glimmer of steel reflected through the boy's eyes. 

He stared. "You're all still here?" 

Sura was a bit surprised. She could not feel his spirit nor the stars he held in his heart. She herself had five. When she heard Nate say kids were hiding out in some rural cottage, she had been interested. Though she never imagined they'd be so young. They were practically babes. 

"My name is Sura De'l Vormet, an Acolyte of the Empire and graduate of Trinity." She said, studying the child that bore no expression. "Might I ask your name?" 

"Malos," he lied. 

The three soldiers trembled. Nate strutted forward. "Why answer her but not me!" he demanded. 

Zariel slid his gaze to meet the Solarian soldiers. "She didn't wake me from my nap. Now, what can I do for you?" 

"Big Brother…" Aurelia called then, peeping her head out of her room. She fixed her gaze on a pretty woman with sultry-skinned, long, raven-colored hair that fluttered to her shoulders in a ponytail and pale sapphire blue eyes that were sharp with an effeminate slenderness that was sure to warm any man's heart. She might have been the prettiest woman she'd ever seen. 

She waddled out to Zariel, standing behind him, staring at the stunning woman. 

"Hello, my name is Sura," Sura said, eying the lovely girl. 

"I'm Aurelia, Aurelia Morningstar." 

"The Golden Morningstar," mused Sura. "What a pretty name. Might I ask how old you are?" she could feel the glimmer of specs of Arcana in her heart, purer than anything she'd ever felt. 

"Six," She answered. 

"And you?" 

Zariel did not answer but stepped outside his cottage. "What can I do for you, Sura? I don't believe I've done anything to incur the wrath of soldiers on my door." 

'He speaks clearly… To clearly for one his age.' Sura noted and said, "The lightning that shook the realm about two months ago. We've been tasked to investigate it. To do that, we've been asking various questions to the locals or anyone in the neighboring regions."

"Like us," said Aurelia. 

Sura gave a low-cut nod. "Yes. Your cooperation is more than acceptable." 

"Or we could tie you up by the ankles and have you face the whip," snapped Nate. 

The look that Sura gave him silenced him. She turned her gaze back to Zariel. "Might I ask what you recount that day?" 

The Young Master gave a long pause. Thinking. Slowly, he began to recount a story about him losing consciousness when the scarlet lightning struck, claiming that when he awoke, he was covered in soot and ash. Aurelia's story hadn't been too far off. She had said she ate something weird that made her sleepy, and when she woke up, the skies were black. 

Sura asked a few other questions, most of which neither Zariel nor Aurelia could answer or wanted to answer. 

When they were finally done, Sura sighed. "Alright… but before I leave, might I ask who wrote that rune?" 

"I did," Zariel said. "Are you interested in my Rune of Protection?" 

"You did?" Sura whispered, feeling her eyes open wide. Unable to believe it. She shook her head. "If that Rune could be applied to armor, then our armies could be immune to just about any form of physical attack. That could be—" 

"Not all physical attacks. Above a particular threshold, and the Rune will shatter." Zariel told her. "Any experienced Arcanist who understands the basic theory of body enhancements might be able to shatter it. And, of course, any sort of magic can also do so." 

"Still… I'd like to research it." She said, staring at the boy. Sura had been sure that he had not been the one to draw such a rune, but there had always been types of genius that went against reason. Those known who bore the title of Magus and Arcmagus had proven that. 

Zariel thought for a moment. "If you like, you can purchase it. I can even inscribe the formula necessary for particular types of metals. Though that will be extra."