((OOC: I’m practicing longer posts, the first one is always the easiest… Please post more then 150 words here.))

For Aether Draka the city of Cascadia, and in fact any place that seemed to have any sort of waterfall, was quickly associated with angels. In her time in this land she had met more demonic creatures then angelic, and they were to be found practically anywhere. But those of Angelic blood were always found by some sort of waterfall. The very first being of such she had met was a half-angel who called himself Gregory Faust. She had not told him her name until their last parting though, their second parting. He was changed a bit by that parting, very different from when they had met that time. He said years had passed… but they hadn’t. It had only been a shot time and she didn’t feel as if it had really helped her at all. The second had been a half-angel also, a girl who she explored some caves behind a waterfall with. It hadn't been this waterfal though.

She had been only walking for a short time, appearing from the shadows cast in the trees nearby. The sound of the rushing water had brought her here. Now she stood at the top of the falls, the water rushing down to met, from what she could see, only mist. She had been here before and so now her gaze shifted to the opposite side of the falls where a statue stood. Stories abounded about that statue, some great hero or something. Her gaze then went to the sky. The sun would be setting soon. But there was still a good bit of light. To practice then. That was why she was here after all.

Up and down the bank was mostly trees, but there, over by that bit of an outcrop, was a patch of sand peppered with some branches, stray leaves, and other bits of debris. She went over there, not worrying about being quiet. She wouldn’t be heard over the roar of the falls anyways and she also hoped that no one would be about here so late, or for the creatures of the night, so early. Reaching the spot, she set to clearing away some of the bigger sticks, some of the more annoying debris, and smoothing out the slightly damp sand. Once she had cleared a spot she sat down cross-legged with the blank spot in the sand before her. She shrugged off her backpack and set it in her lap in order to try and look through it. She shook her head and decided to just dump the chaos of her bag out on the sand. A glass bottle thumped on the ground, red liquid shimmering inside it, a fly dragon zipped out and landed on her shoulder, a book thumped by the bottle, flopping over on it’s cover. A few random trinkets tumbled out to shimmer in the sand, coins just tossed in the mess as she had no coin purse on her hip. She was quick to rescue feathers, all too big to be normal feathers. They shimmered with a light of their own, even the black one. Two of them, the black one and a shining white one, belonged to full blooded angels. The iridescent white one belonged to a half angel. None were broken or damaged in any way and all had been gifts. She took one of the scraps of clothing, a wrinkled but clean white blouse, and wrapped them up carefully. Pulling together the other clothing she stuffed them back into the bottom of her bag and carefully added the wrapped feathers. As she did so, the tiny dragon chided her for making a mess and why she simply didn’t ask him what she was looking for. He did spend a lot of time in there. No one could have heard the dragon though, as he spoke telepathically to her. She paused and turned her head to look at the creature.

“You also sleep a lot. You can gather up the hoard if you want. I might miss something.” She said, gesturing to the trinkets, coins and other shinnies she had dumped in the sand. The fly dragon looked at her with wide eyes and did just that with an almost indignant tone, as if, how dare she even suggest that something of his own hoard would be left behind! AD grinned and shook her head at the tiny dragon who had been with her from the moment she came to Imythess.

Soon all that was left in the sand was a bottle and a book. AD picked up the bottle and held it up. She had forgotten she had this. One sip was supposed to help you with your luck. If she had remembered it when she needed to have Raven summoned… She shook her head. She remembered it now, and it might be needed with some of this spell work she was struggling through. She was no natural mage and it actually took her a long time to get something to work right. She was better at in now though, as the shadows helped her.

She set the bottle on the top of her open bag that lay to her right. She then looked to her side, by her dagger was a thin sheath with a wand in it. After fishing out the wand and tucking it behind her ear, she retrieved the book. She dusted the sand off its cover and set it in her lap. Opening the book she ran her finger down the lines of text to find where she had been reading last. Meanwhile the fly dragon zipped back and forth, gathering up all the smaller items that had tumbled out into the sand. Finding the spot she had been reading before she once more began to read, her finger tracing along the row as she whispered the words to herself. She turned the page then and came upon a list of symbols. She frowned as she looked at the symbols and removed the wand from behind her ear. Looking at the sand before her she ran the side of her hand across it to smooth it out once more and then attempted to scribe the symbols lightly in the sand with her wand tip.

The Monument of Cascadia was well-known for its craftsmanship and size. The colossal figure, bravely holding his stone blade towards the east, would forever guard the city of waterfalls. Or so the people who foolishly lived there now believed. The elf ran a hand over the mist-soaked stone, feeling the smooth texture and supposedly immaculate workmanship. But after all, anything born of sorcery would appear perfect to mortal eyes and fingers. Seele could feel the magic in the stone, the protective spells woven into the shape of a great warrior. It had taken the elf, with all of his scholarly knowledge and connections, several months after returning to Imythess to realize its secret. Bernal, the founder of this city, had created a dystopia by sacrificing his citizens to a monster in order to preserve the beauty and perfection of Cascadia. Few of its citizens now knew of the city's bloodstained past. But what had happened to the demon was the true mystery... But Seele had noticed soemthing unusual. The very same month that a group of spellcasters had donated the monument to the city, there were no more unexplained disappearances. The demon had, supposedly, disappeared. "But no..." Seele's voice was as soft as a breath, immediately lost in the pounding roar of the falls. "Here you shall forever watch over the city you helped that foolish mortal create... Your mouth dry and lusting for blood, your eyes forever locked in stone. A fitting end." The elf smiled slightly, his thin lips pressing together for an instant before his usual blank expression reappeared on his face. His curiosity assuaged, the elf turned away fromt he monument and began to walk along the edge of the cliff. Cascadia was sprawled out below him, but he had no intention of visiting that city. It was a place of light and water. He did not belong in such a place, even at dusk.

The slightest sound caused the elf's head to snap up, his hands disappearing inside the flowing velvet cloak he wore. They reemerged holding two black daggers, with long, curved, and wickedly sharp blades. He had heard a soft voice, the sound almost swallowed by the pounding water around him. The elf crouched, silently gliding towards where he had heard the voice. Near the edge of the cliff was a small sandy area, and with her back turned to him, there was a girl crouched in the sand. Completely focused on the task at hand, she did not notice the elf stealthily creep up behind her until he stood on the edge of the sandy area. there he stopped, the daggers disappearing as quickly as they had emerged. For Seele could remember any aura, and hers was unique in many ways. The girl had referred to herself only as AD the last time they had met. Seele's golden eyes drifted over the scene, taking in the fly dragon, open book, and the tiny red vial. Fromw hat he could tell, she was scratching something from the book into the sand with a wand. For what purpose he could not tell, but from the looks of it, she was practicing a spell.

The tall elf looked around, quickly finding a convenient stick. He did not wish to frighten the girl. no, not yet. He brought his foot down on the stick, the sudden crack sounding out even over the roar of the waterfall. He stood there, simply watching to see if she had noticed.

A sharp sound caught her attention then, a loud snap. Her spine when straight and her head quickly turned in the direction of the sound. The motion caused her hair to be tossed over her shoulder and for her to twist her shoulders some in order to see who it was. Truth be told, she was expecting an angel of sorts. It was the sort of place she tended to find them… All the worse as she was attempting to learn how to summon a demon. She wasn’t going to tell anyone that though, no… she wanted to be able to do that on her own. Things had gone all too badly when she had had Gregory summon the angel who had practically raised her. There was no way she was going to do that again. Now Gregory was looking for one of the people in Imythess she felt she could trust the most. Why she wasn’t looking for him, to warn him or something, was because she still felt she could be friends with Gregory. She wanted to trust him after all.

What she saw was not at all what she had been expecting to see, but it seemed, perhaps, her luck was turning around just for remembering she had that red potion. She had learned a lot in her last meeting with the person who was now standing by the forest behind her, and now that she was starting to have trouble with magic again…

AD grinned and stuck the wand in the middle of the page before closing the book, to mark the page, and set it down to her left. She scrambled to her feet, glad to see someone she recognized and who might actually be able to answer her questions. Without dusting the sand off Aether Draka found herself walking toward him. Her bag, book, and even her fly dragon all staying in the sand behind her.

“Hello!” She said a bit loudly so she could be heard over the waterfall, stopping about two feet in front of him and putting her hands behind her back. From her expression, she was just bursting with questions, her curiosity getting the better of her again. Only one question escaped her for the moment though, one she only asked out of formality and because she needed some way to start her Game of Questions. “How are you?” She really had no idea how odd it was for her to respond to him like that, knowing only he knew a lot more about magic then she did and that perhaps he could help her once again.

Seele could not help but grant her a small smile. She seemed to be overflowing with enthusiasm, and it took all of her efforts to not besiege him with questions immediately. Instead she only greeted him politely, but the elf could sense what she desired. Yes, the spellbook and the wand sticking out of the dusty pages were a huge hint, but she still sought a power the elf knew well. Magic... Summoning, if those hastily scratched runes int he sand are any indication... The tall elf kneeled so that his eyes were on the same level as AD's, staring into the green orbs that bore into his so hopefully. "Hello, little one..." His soft voice cut through the roar of the waterfall, crystal clear despite its volume. "I am well. Yet another mystery of this land has been solved tonight. My thirst for knowledge is sated for a while..." He trailed off, standing upright once again. "But from the looks of it, yours is not."

Seele stared at the book on the sand, absentmindedly reaching into his cloak. There he lightly touched the handle of his own summoning wand. He dared not even think of its name in the demonic tongue for fear of awakening its powers, but Midnight was the closest translation in Imythess's common tongue. His fingers could feel the pulsing magic of the wand, begging to be released. The shadow sorceror pulled his hand away recluctantly. For like AD, he lusted for the deep power of summoning. It was a facet of the arcane arts he had only recently begun to develop, but already the call of its deeper power consumed him.

"I can see that you have picked yet another difficult task..." Seele sat down, his cloak swirling around him before falling down, as natural as his own shadow. "What do you want now, AD...? What powers do you seek to master?" Hios golden eyes watched her hopeful face, and although he kept his face as blank as an empty slate, he almost felt like smiling again. For her thirst for knowledge was something he had no problem understanding.

As he spoke, she felt herself relaxing some, the stress of trying to figure it out all on her own dissolving. She didn’t really have the confidence she needed to do things like that on her own, so she always struggled. Magic was also something she didn’t really understand, so she was fishing in the dark in the hopes that if she said the right thing at the right time and did the right thing all at once, something would happen.

AD wasn’t going to ask him to summon a demon, but she had more things she could ask. The first to come to mind was weather she needed to draw it on the ground when she didn’t have a staff to summon with. She had read something about doing it in the air, but she couldn’t ever tell if she had done it right.

His words sunk in though as he sat. Worry crossed her features and she shook her head in an attempt to chase those worries away. Worried she shouldn’t try the harder of the two spells suddenly, she decided to skip it. Hell hounds sounding useful, and they would be her first time trying to summon something from the Abyss… so she had a reason to worry then, right? Perhaps the Roc then. She knew that spell, though had yet to try it. “Is it really that hard of a thing to learn? I’ve seen it done, but I’m not sure… I’m just summoning a Roc. There’s room for it here, isn’t there?”

She turned away from him, looking at the space she had chosen. She had been planning on the Hell Hounds, that was why she had sought the potion, but now she wasn’t sure. She didn’t even think to look at what she had been doing, where the first part of the spell to summon the fiery demon dogs was still was inscribed in the sand. She retrieved the book then, kneeling and placing it on her lap. She removed the wand, placed it once more behind her left ear and opened the battered text up to the beginning again.

Her abrupt change of plan was as clear as day, now she really wasn’t sure what to ask him. She had to say something after all, she had to show she could do this… so many had told her she couldn’t do magic and she knew he could. Suddenly, it felt like a test as she fumbled though the pages.

((OOC: Sorry for the bad post, but I'm tired...))

Seele saw her nervousness and reached out, placing his pale hand on hers as she flipped through the book. "Shhhh, little one. Calm down." Despite how white he was, his skin felt warm to the touch, feverish even. He stilled her clumsy fingers, glancing at the page. He gently took the book from her hands, closing it softly. "There's plenty of room for a Roc. But... don't worry about the book. Think only of the magic. Let it flow from you... being worried, or nervous, can do nothing but impede you..." He laid the book down and stood, reaching into his cloak. "And summoning is only another form of magic..." His voice was soothing, meant to calm her down. She could not hide her nervousness, even now, and her aura became even more unstable because of it. "Let me show you first..."

He withdrew his hand from the cloak, holding the wand loosely. It was around a foot long, hand-carved from black wood. Seele had etched runes of summoning into it himself, and they glowed with power in the light of the setting sun. "First... simply draw your glyph..." Seele glanced over at the scratches in the sand. He could draw the symbol in mid-air, but he was not sure if AD, in her nervous state, could manage. So we walked over to the center of the sandy area and bent over, first smoothing out the sand with one foot before tracing the tip of Midnight in a complicated pattern. The wand trailed a crackling line of darkness that quickly took shape. In the middle of the glyph was the demonic rune for "doom," although he doubted she could decipher it as such. Spiraling out from the center was a trail of twisting patterns and symbols. Soon his entire glyph was etched into the sand, a perfect circle. "And then... you add the name of what you wish to summon." Around the edge of the glyph he added a line in spidery, flowing script. "Step back... and let the magic go to work..."

Seele heeded his own advice and took several steps backward, sending a pulse of dark power throught he wand. The runes on its surface flashed, sending beams of light into the glyph. All of the crackling power began to coelesce in the center of the circle. Suddenly a huge paw thrust through, scrabbling for purchase in the sand. Another followed, each the size of an iron skillet. Muscles bunched under the black fur, pulling up the rest of the beast. It was a panther, but of no ordinary type. The demonic panther's red eyes seemed to glow with a predatory delight that went far beyond wanting to kill for survival, but rather to kill for pleasure. It hissed at Seele, displaying rows of razor-sharp teeth, strips of rotted meat from its last meal stuck in the gaps. Each paw had three claws, each as long as a knife and serrated. These claws sunk into the ground as it padded over to the shadow sorceror, silent despite its colossal size. As it walked away fromt he glyph, the crackling energy slid over the panther's back, giving it a dark aura. Seele smiled and knelt down, stroking one of the panther's ears. "Don't let her scare you. She obeys me." The panther licked its teeth before curling up around Seele's feet, purring. Seele straightened, looking into AD's eyes, and smiled reassuringly.

"Don't think about it. Simply write your glyph, then fill it with your own magic. The summon will take care of the rest..."

((OOC: Nothing wrong with it. I want to let you know I won't be on 'til Tuse.))

When his hands touched hers, she paused and looked up at him. As he continued with what he was doing she found herself doing something she hadn’t done in a while, she stopped. After the book had been set aside and he moved to show her what to do, she paused her questions, her mind, her emotions, everything. She stood like the statue not far from where they were, frozen. As she waited there she smiled slightly as she heard the shadows growing around them in the fading light. They liked the night and it was always so much easier for her to get places in the dark. There were many and their unheard voices stirred like the sound of a crowded street. She remembered that stopping like this was what had let her hear the shadows and had allowed her to find a way to stop her dark and light sides from attacking each other… The trees were murmuring amongst each other among the sounds of the falls. She let the voices dissolve into the sounds around her, letting her focus on what Seele was doing and saying. She didn’t recognize who or what he was summoning, and the who was something she wanted to be able to learn also, but she knew to simply… wait.

She waited for him to finish, careful not to let the shadows hide her as they often did when she wasn’t moving about. Disappearing in plane sight while someone was helping you was just rude. AD looked at the big cat that came out of the shadows and was reminded of a smaller cat that she knew was around somewhere. It had been following her for some time, even able to keep up with her as she shadow jumped. This cat was really nothing like the little cat that shadowed her, but…

At his direction, she moved forward to the once more empty spot in the sand. Kneeling down she caught her simple wand from behind her ear. She held it in her left hand for a moment and then remembered that Raven said she shouldn’t use her left hand… but her right now had a scar across it too. It was hard enough to write with her right hand before that mark… She took a deep breath and left the wand in her left hand, “Don’t think about it…” She said softly to herself, repeating Seele’s words, and started her glyph. She had only written it once before, it surprised her a bit that time too, as for some reason she found it right to use draconic.

She used the word sjach in the center, meaning shadow.. It only took her a moment to finish it. To try and fill it with magic. The marks on the ground solidified into shadows, her shadow illusions filling it as if she had made them with her not actually doing so. It then burned with a slight life, a black fire. She stood up and took a few steps back as the shadow illusion seemed to continue to act on it's own, forming itself into the form of a huge bird. Then, the shadows fell away and the actual roc came forth. AD really had no idea what to do now that she had done that.

Seele closed his eyes, letting the mere observational powers of his physical senses fade away. The sight of the sandy area and the towering trees of the forests, the roar of the waterfalls far below, the musky scent of the demonic panther's fur. He even let the feel of the panther's stiff, spiky hair inbetween his fingers fade away, although he kept scratching between its ears. For the moment, only the magic existed. He could almost taste its purity, how the intricate weave of energies created something powerful, something desirable. Even without opening his eyes he could see the glyph that AD drew, recognizing the draconic symbol for shadow in the center of the design. He filed this information away as she filled the glyph with her budding power. AD's aura was strange; Seele had rarely seen a magical presence so conflicted, an aura where light and shadow were in constant battle. But now... her darker side presided, filling the air with the delicious scent of black power. He opened his eyes slightly so that they were mere golden slits, forcing himself to not join int he magical display, to feel such a rush of power in his own veins. She would only learn if she did it alone.

The glyph erupted in dark flames that began to coelesce into an identifiable shape. A roc took form, its massive wings flapping silently to keep its huge body from falling. Awkward ont he ground, the colossal hawk-like creatures were both graceful and terrifying when airborne. Seele opened his eyes completely, letting hismelf fall back into the dull awareness of reality, fighting the urge to unleash his own magic, to consume both the girl and her summon in a beautiful wave of tainted power. The demonic panther drew its lips black, dark saliva dripping from its mouth as it silently snarled at the roc. The elf's thin fingers pressed harder against the panther's head, a firm message. No feasting tonight. Although its serrated claws curled deeper into the ground, it made no attempt to disobey Seele. The elf's golden eyes followed AD, completely emotionless. None for me either...

The tall elf said nothing, waiting for the girl to do something. From her indecision earlier, he had assumed that this was her first time summoning a creature. It was not for him to tell her what to do.

For a moment she had forgotten about Seele, she simply looked at the bird. Then, instead of having it come to her, she stepped forward to it. The roc swiveled its huge head toward her as she approached, it’s coppered eyes meeting her emerald ones. She reached up, her fingers touching the soft lightness of the feathers on the side of its head. She then turned to find Turin . There was something she really wanted to be able to do, to be able to summon the same creature again. From what she remembered, from Gregory summoning someone specific from her, it had taken one of Raven’s feathers.

“Turin,” She raised her hand upon spotting the tiny fly dragon where it had perched on the potion of luck resting on top of her bag. His head shot up and then he did too, zipping over to perch on her raised fingertips. “Can you find out this roc’s name for me?” He responded with a mental shrug and took to wing again. The roc didn’t seem to be paying much attention to Turin . The small creature zipped about, then found purchase on her shoulder.

She says to call her Arra. Turin told AD. “Arra?” The roc gaze back at her. “Thank you. May I call on you again?”

She doesn't know why not. Turin translated for her, as AD really had no idea what the bird was thinking. “May I have a feather? Just a small one?” Aether Draka asked it. The roc reached over her shoulder, half spread one wing, and then came back with a single feather in her beak. AD took the feather, one about the size of an eagle feather but small for a roc's feather. “Thank you. I'll see you later then, and perhaps we will go flying.” With that, the spell was dismissed and the roc vanished into the shadows.

She felt, satisfied. That had gone well, and now she just had to see if she would be able to get the same bird back later or not. That was for later though. Holding the feather in her hand for a moment, she realized she should probably put it somewhere. She took a few steps over to her bag and placed the potion of luck beside it in order to dig out a wrapped bundle. She found it, wrapped in wrinkled off-white fabric. She had just wrapped it up just a bit ago. Unwrapping it she revealed the three feathers within and added the roc's feather to them. She paused, looking at the feathers. The roc's feather seemed so dull next to the angelic feathers. 'I need something better...' she thought to herself and wondered where she would be able to find a box or a padded case to carry them in.

((OOC: It's totally not Tuesday yet. Plus, I noticed this a while ago, but... there's no "t" in my name. Seele is german for soul. ^_^))

Seele's face remained still, although he was smiling inwardly. She had potential, this girl, despite her conflicted aura. Now that the spell was complete it was once again a turmoil of both light and darkness. The demonic symbol on Seele's cheek flared, and he closed his eyes once again, losing himself not in the magic this time but the memories.

A young elf stood at the top of the tower, holding the wand loosely. He appeared to be roughly 16 years of age, although he was in truth nearly a century old. He watched the forests surrounding the tower, smiling slightly, letting the wind whisper its secrets in his pointed ears, the true mark of his elven blood. His skin was a healthy hue, bronzed from the sun, and his hair glittered as if it had been cut from silver wire. The golden eyes shimmered with conflicting emotions. Hope and apprehension, fear and joy, but the strongest one was desire. Raising the wand, he began to inscribe his glyph in the air, letting the magic sing across the forest.

Seele opened his eyes once again, watching as the roc disappeared. He scratched the ears of the demonic panther one last time before the creature sunk into its own shadow, disappearing in an instant. Seele's whispered words were cool and unemotional. "See. Even without the book, the power is yours to use. Magic must flow. Do not let others dictate it to you. Else you would be nothing more than their pawn." Seele watched her carefully. Whether or not he wished for AD to become one of his own pawns was to be seen. "What now, little one?"

((OOC: :o Sorry, I fixed it! A friend of mine uses Steele all the time, so I tend to type that. I'll be more careful. And I know it's wasn't Tuseday, but I got my hands on a friend's computer for a while yesterday, so I got on! ... it's a bit short... :( ))

AD looked up at Seele as she packed away the feathers once more. Standing once more a slight frown crossed her features as she thought about his words. Little did even she know that she had already been a pawn, for both Raven and the demon she was now seeking to summon. So, she shook her head as if saying no, disagreeing with him in a way. “I don’t think I do see actually, even though it worked, I was just following what you had said. I don’t see how asking for help or looking for information and then using it makes someone a pawn. I hadn’t been able to pull together it with my own symbol, just summon an elemental and,” She looked up at the night sky, just now noticing how dark it had gotten, and then she let her gaze move back to him. She could see him easily, no matter what the light did. “…rain. But neither of those needs a wand and I feel clumsy with it. Perhaps I should… try a different spell…” Her sight went to the potion of luck where it rested now in the sand. Should she use it? She was still inclined to summon the Hellhounds. She liked the way they sounded and had picked this place in hopes that they wouldn’t set too many things on fire because of all the water.

Abruptly she turned back to Seele “How much control does the summonor have over the summoned creature? What about the smarter creatures, like those who summon angels or demons? How would you summon someone specific?” It took an effort for her to stop with those questions, as many more were starting to gather in her mind now that she was thinking about things. She held herself still, chaos filling her mind and causing s tension between her light and dark sides.

((OOC: It's fine. It happens pretty often actually. Poor Seele. : ( ))

Seele shrugged. "But ask for information from the wrong sources and you're trapped." The elf let her finish her questions, taking a minute to think carefully before responding. Although his golden eyes were watching her, he seemed to looking past her as if she wasn't there at all.

"The level of control depends entirely on the summon. Some demonic creatures, specifically, are notorious for being troublesome. But also, it depends on your level of power... if you are too weak, they will have no incentive to listen." Seele abesntmindedly slipped Midnight back into his robe, recluctantly removing his fingers from the well-polished wood handle. "Attempting to summon a creature that is stronger than you is usually impossible. However, some of the highest-level summons, such as fallen angels or celestials, can... augment your power before being summoned in order to guarantee that you complete the spell. But be careful..." his eyes flashed for a moment, although he kept his voice calm and collected. "The strongest fallen angels can send YOU back to the Abyss in their place... that's why summoning is so dangerous."


When she asked her next question his gaze immediately focused on the girl. "Someone specific?" Oh, that is even more dangerous..." His voice trailed off ominously as he watched the girl, thinking. Telling her this information might doom her. Summoning named demons was dangerous...

The skeletal hand reached out of the shadows, fingers sinking into empty air and somehow gaining purchase, pulling the being through. It was cloaked fromt eh wrists to the ankles ina soft velvet robe, so black that instead of just being a normal color, a plain hue, it actually seemed to draw the light into itself. But that was nothing compared to her eyes. They were darker still, drawing not jsut the light but your soul into their inky depths. He could not think, could not breath, could not look away... only being drawn deeper into her midnight gaze.

HE mentally shook off the memory, continuing in a voice that was almost a breat. "You must have great power to do that, and know the being's true name. And then... usually, they demand that you make a deal. A pact, more specifically. And sometimes the price is much higher than you're willing to pay..." He shrugged, appearing apathetic, but still watching her carefully. "Who is it you wish to summon, little one?"

AD looked away for a moment, debating weather or not to talk about it. Absently her fingers grasped the silver demonic ring around her neck. It was inscribed, but she didn’t know what it actually was. She had never bothered to study it. All she knew is that she was given it with a promise of safety. Her thoughts were not on the ring though, but on whom she wished to summon. She knew she wasn’t powerful enough to even try such a summons; she had to get that powerful… somehow. AD noticed the potion again and knew she would need more then luck. Perhaps she should just go. It would be easy now that night had wrapped the world in darkness, in shadow. She could go anywhere she had ever been at this moment. She didn’t have any real reason to stay and the light half of her was more then willing to have her flee, to wander, to run from this darkness it felt was swallowing it whole. She could run, but was it that important of a thing? She already trusted him… and if she ever saw him again she would feel obligated to answer the question. Especially after vanishing on him.

Aether Draka knelt down so she balanced on her toes and could rest her arms on her knees. It was as if she was sitting on her heels. A long moment passed as she debated exactly what to call the demon she wished to summon. She thought she knew the demon, well, perhaps a Demon Prince even… AD hadn’t yet figured out how rank worked among demons. She knew the name of the aspect that had forged her mother, as far as she knew, her mother hadn’t really been born so much as made. That aspect was Ki, KiChel, so the demon was Chel. It may not be a true name though. According to Raven, Chel ruled the Citadel of Gateways hidden in the Abyss where the Shadow Plane was seeping in though a thin spot. According, once more, to the angel; Chel had many aspects… KiChel was the one who had created Vivian Slyph in order to kill the ruler of the Elven stronghold Draka Keep, an aasimar named Archleo Draka. Instead the ‘flawed’ half-fiend fell in love with the elven aasimar. She had never really understood that, but Raven had told her nothing about the demon side of her family until she had Gregory Faust summon the angel, who he had called Ashriel for some reason. She knew all about her celestial blood, specifically the great Holy Warrior Rebecca Draka who was said to have two sets of wings that shined like liquid metal. The elven woman was her grandmother on her celestial side and had been a sort of hero for her growing up. She still wished she could be more like that. But she wasn’t summoning an aasimar, or even a half-angel. They were dead as far as AD knew anyways. So who she wished to summon was a demon, it was…

AD looked up at Seele. “My Grandmother.” She stood and crossed her arms. Her gaze left him to wander to the night sky. “I probably can’t… I don’t know why I’m even trying. I figure it can’t hurt anything though. She already has claimed my soul, promising me that I may have… should I wish it, a new demonic body in which I can then return to enact revenge upon my killer or killers. Weather I wish it or not though, I’ll go to the Abyss when I die.” She looked back at Seele. “Takes the mystery out of dieing. The fear too I guess. Still… I would like to at least understand why…”

((OOC: Poor AD! She really has no idea what is going on! Even with all the facts, she wouldn’t know what it really means! Bet Seele could figure it out if he wanted to though… ))

The girl seemed to crumple, curling up into a small ball. Her emotions were raw on her face, obviopus to even the most cursory examination. Seele did not move, letting her take all the time she needed to speak. After all, this was almost undoubtedly a sensitive subject. Especially given the girl's conflicted aura... Seele almost frowned, considering the possibilities. To have such a divided aura probably meant that she was of mixed ancestry, both good and evil. Most races were born neutral with the ability to choose their path in life. Elves, humans, dwarves... all could choose to follow the way of good or evil, light or dark. Seele had simply chosen the darkness. But AD... she was probably a combination of bloodlines that were constricted to one camp or the other, such as celestials and demons, beings of immense power. Interesting... One day, I shall know your secrets, little one... Seele once again found himself thinking back to a distant memory, succumbing to the flow of the past as he waited.

His entire body felt cold, frozen, both in time and space. There was nothing except her eyes, eyes so dark they made the night sky look like a flare, dark and filled with an entrancing wisdom. The skin around the skeletal hands was white and pale, the strange coloration slowly spreading up his arm. Thin, transclucent lips parted as she breathed in, the air around them growing colder. "Seele..." Her voice sliced through his very being, penetrating his mind, bypassing mental and magical defenses he had spent hours perfecting. She spoke ina complete monotone, devoid of even a hint of life. The skeletal hand reached for his face...

Seele was drawn back to the present as AD began to speak, tentatively at first, but slowly ganing more confidence. He listened to her tale, completely silent. When she closed her mouth again his eyes narrowed to golden slits, obviously deep in thought. For a few minutes after she finished he did not move, simply watching her, arms crossed. When he did speak it was quietly, so soft the words were almost lost in the roar of the falls. "I have walked the Abyss, little one. It is nothing to be afraid of. There are worse fates for your soul to be chained to. But... your grandmother..." He once again lapsed into silence, lost for a moment.

"Seele... come to the Darkness..."

He opened his eyes fully, staring at AD. "That is quite a promise for any being to make. To grant you a new, demonic shell when this one is gone? And if your soul is truly heres, I believe you have much bigger problems to deal with..." Seele reached intot he sash at his waist, withdrawing a small black crystal. "You must not summon her. You must not let her have your soul." Seele twirled the crystal through his thin fingers, the golden glow in his eyes growing brighter.

Aether Draka looked down when he mentioned her grandmother. She had only spoken with KiChel once after all, or more like she was spoken at as she hadn't the courage to speak, but that was the demon who had created her mother… There were other demons that had visited during her stay with Alexander… other beings who passed through many of the gateways that scattered the land owned by the necromancer. She was made to promise not to go near any of those gateways… never to wander off. He had promised she would stay safe within his walls. If she went beyond them, he said he could do little to help her. They called him Lord there... but she hadn't. He had tried to teach her some things but then got angry at her and called her useless. Alex stopped talking to her and she was free to do as she wished. He had said she wasn't good for anything. He had been the one who had belittled her about magic so much and it had been Seele who was slowly reversing it, making her stop to really think about it. There was so much about magic she didn’t really understand though… but her grandmother… AD’s eye looked at her hands, finders laced together, where they were on her lap. Her thoughts wandered back to that time, why and how she knew what she had just told Seele. She spoke of it then, her voice with a tremble in it. Perhaps, perhaps he could still help her, make it so she could figure out a different way… as she didn’t know any other way.

“I’ve seen her before, she walked right up to me… I was afraid of her and couldn’t even look at her. I knew she was a demon and Alex had pointed out who and what she was to me a while back. He said I’m never to speak her name to anyone, as her blood is in my veins like it is in his own. He explained how he knew that, how I was related to that demon. I didn’t want to believe him, so I pretended I wasn’t… but when she came up to me… she spoke my name… not AD, not Aether Draka, but my real name… my true name… the name Raven knew because he was a very powerful Angel. I had to look at her then and she was smiling at me… She told me she would be keeping an eye on me, that she was now calming my soul as hers, but for now she wanted to see me grow, to see her grandchild grow. She said that… if I behaved well, she would make sure that, should I be killed… she said she would grant me a demonic form in order to enact revenge upon my killer and anyone else. After that, I would have to do what she wished of me.” AD looked up at Seele, then rose slowly back to her feet. She stepped toward him. “I ran away that night, away from Alex and the demons and the gates… I ended up in Imythess, about two days walk north of Taras. I had only been in Imythess three days when I first met you Seele, only three days after I met her. What can I do? I have to do something. I can’t hide forever, even if I can hide now… though, I’m not hiding at the moment…” A look of worry crossed her face for a moment and her emotions where in chaos once again under the surface. At least her two sides were not attacking each other too. Then she caught sight of the black crystal and she watched it flicker through his fingers.

Seele's face did not change as he listened to her fragmented tale, but he wished he could have smiled. So demonic and angleic blood flows in her veins. Oh, what a prize this girl is... The elf felt a ruch of excitement as she continued, his grip tightening on the dark crystal. Negative energy coursed through his arm, pouring into the small, crystalline structure. It was a demon stone, a flawless (and priceless) black jewel harvested in the depths of the Abyss, a rare artifact that served a single purpose. A purpose that few mortals had the gall or the pure power required to use it properly. He watched AD closely as she finished her long story, his golden eyes burning with power, two metallic suns shining in the night. "Little one... I think I have the answer to this dilemma..." He threw the crystal up into the air, glowing eyes tracking its arc. When it reached its highest point he gestured, his pale fingers twisted like claws. The crystal suddenly stopped, hovering in midair, sparks of black power coursing across its glassy facets.

"You shall not need to hide, AD. It is she who shall have to hide. Your powers are great but raw. Tempered correctly, you could destroy her. But not yet..." Seele kneeled so that his face was on the same level as the girl's, staring directly into her eyes. "But we must protect you... and for that, we have this." He gestured again, this time in a sweeping motion. The black crystal fell, lopping around the pair. "This is a powerful stone, enchanted. And with it, little one, I can defend you from her..." His eyes flashed, the madness mostly hidden by both curiosity and arcane might.

"With this, I can take your soul before she can..."

Seele's hand moved as a blur, snatching the crackling crystal out of the air. "It is a complicated spell, one that requires a great deal of power to complete. But your soul shall be sealed within this container. No one could remove it unless I assented or they killed me. And that, my dear, is a very unlikely possibility." His grip tightened on the crystal, coursing energy zapping between his skin and the glowing jewel. "I can protect you AD, until you can protect yourself. I can train you to kill a demon, or even an angel..." His eyes were wide, his grin growing to almost manic proportions. "You will not need to hide from her, AD. I can guarantee that."

AD’s eyes followed the small black stone until Seele said AD, then her attention snapped back to him. She didn’t flinch from his golden gaze, not knowing any reason to fear him and still having every reason to trust him. He had helped her before after all. He was a very good friend and also a teacher to her, someone who knew more about magic then she did and was at least willing to give her a chance. How well she did by comparison was something she couldn’t measure and what he spoke of she didn’t understand. She didn’t know if she really wanted to destroy Chel… no, she wanted to prove she was not going to be controlled by her… and AD had spent so much time perfecting her ability to hide and had even struggled with memorizing a spell that would keep her with her soul even if she left her body. It had been at first an attempt to learn what sleep was, but it had been useless for sleep. AD simply couldn’t sleep…

She was thrilled he was willing to help her like that, but she didn’t know if she should do such a thing. The point was for her to be the one in charge of her own soul, not to leave it in the care of another, and with as much chaos as it caused her, she didn’t know if she wanted to burden him with it. Also, as far as she knew, be it true or false, she thought her ability to use magic was because of the power in her soul, even as conflicted as it was. As she thought about his offer she bit her bottom lip with a single small fang, a tooth not small enough to be normal, but not really big enough to be a true fang. Her tone sounded almost wistful when she spoke.

“I… I don’t know. I’m sorry. Perhaps I just don’t understand… I don’t mind hiding for now. I’m good at it and it’s fun. The shadows are nice to me and hide me very well… from magic and even from Lynthaer.” She paused for a moment before adding, “And Raven was teaching me how to kill demons, though not with real magic. I would just use my blade and help him when he killed them. Angels are similar I think, but I don’t like fighting in the War between Angels and Demons. I’ve fought it before and I would rather keep my friends…” Her gaze dropped to her hand and she noticed the slightly lighter and thin line of a scar running across the palm of her right hand. She remembered then something and clenched her fist around the mark Gregory claimed would follow her even to a new body. If her soul wasn’t in her body, would the scar still exist, and if so, where?

“I can’t ask you to do that Seele, I’ve already learned that I shouldn’t ask such things of others and because I don’t know what she would do if you did… She says she had claim on my soul. I haven’t run into her or any others like the demons who would visit Alex. They are full blooded demons and I have only met mixed blood so far after all, but I don’t want her wrath to what ever focused on you. Besides, part of my soul really hates the other part and that other part feels the same. I’m not sure what would happen if I wasn’t also there to try and keep them in check.”

((OOC: Can post AD, but not Ornell... I don't know why... :unsure: ))