What is Babel? 3

"Dawn Guild master Viktor Maddox," the man said, his voice smooth and controlled, "my name is Ray Alistair, and I have a proposition for you."

*************

Viktor settled back into the plush sofa, a defeated sigh escaping his lips. His fiery outburst felt like a distant memory, replaced by a suffocating sense of powerlessness in the face of his unwanted visitor's abilities. Ray, still cloaked in an aura of mystery, continued to sip his tea, the clinking of the delicate cup against the saucer the only sound breaking the tense silence.

"You haven't answered my question," Viktor finally rasped, his voice gruff but laced with a flicker of curiosity. "What would you want with a mere silver-rank guild master like me?"