Her entrance into the library was from the shadows themselves as she shadow jumped into the library. She let her gaze shift one way, then the other. No one. So she moved, the shadows falling away from her as she walked briskly down one of the many aisles in an outfit she normally wouldn’t have worn. She had decided to get it on a whim in Cascadea. Mostly because of the way it felt. She wore a fitted dress made of silk with what almost looked like clouds swirling across it. The top was more like shortened bodice in gold with black lace up both sides. In the same piece was a shortened skirt, only hitting just above her knees. Under that was a black dress that slowly became red at the ends of the sleeves and skirt. The sleeves were just fun, bell sleeves cut at just the right angle that when she lifted her arm it left her arm bare at the elbow. The skirt only went just past her knees and she was wearing a new pair of shoes that were not made for travel. They were city shoes that were black with gold trimming. The entire thing felt soft and light and she had fallen in love with it.

So Aether Draka seemed to float down the rows of books, her gaze skimming the tittles, row by row, until she found titles that might give her a little more information on what she was looking for. The book she reached for was titled “Of Angels and Demons”. She took it down and opened it, standing in the aisle as she looked at the first few pages. Tucking it under her arm she looked for a few more books. “Bloodline Descendent” sounded odd at first, but a peek inside looked promising. The book titles “Infusions, Risks and Findings” caught her eye and she didn’t bother looking inside. As she started to leave the aisle one last book caught her attention. “Demon Souls”. She knelt to snatch it up and added the book to her stack. She took a moment to balance it before heading around the far corner to look for somewhere to set them down. Tables had to be about here somewhere…

And as she rounded the corner, she nearly ran into a fiery haired male dressed in loose fitting slacks and tunic. Sarin took a quick step back, hand reaching out to catch a single book as it fell from her stack. "Sorry 'bout that," he said quietly, handing the book back to her. In his other hand were two books, Of Flame and Blood, clearly a martial arts research book, and Battles for the Ages, clearly a strategy book.

He smiled, and bowed. "Here, let me help you with those," he said, taking the books, his eyes glancing over the titles. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he glanced over at her. "Researching Demons and Demonic Infusions, I see. I suppose it would be rude to ask you why you might have an interest in such a subject?"

His voice gave no sign of the reasons for asking this question, but his mind was racing. Could she be looking to become infused herself? Gods in the heavens, I hope not. She's too adorable in that dress for me to have to kill her.

No. Something's not right. She's not infused, but there's a slight demonic aura coming from her. But here's the thing, Sarin. She ALSO has a slight ANGELIC aura as well.

Zarinock? Are you sure? I thought that wasn't possible?

It SHOULDN'T be. It could have something to do with her parents. Either way, keep your wits about you, Sarin.

AD jumped a little and before she knew what had happened the books were out of her hands. At first she was afraid she had dropped them, but instead they had been taken from her hands. A man with bright red hair was just around the corner and he said he was helping her though, not taking them, so she resisted the urge to snatch them back. To his comment she shook her head, meaning it was not rude but he had it wrong.

"No, not Demonic Infused. I'm looking up Celestial Infusions, though I wouldn’t mind knowing the differences between the two. If the mechanic is the same, it won't matter too much I don't think. Either way, either would kill me if I tried it.” She said this off hand, as if it was a fact as simple as breathing. “The main reason for my visit isn’t that though. I saw the book and know a few people who are infused. I'm doing research on souls actually and how they relate to Celestia and the Abyss. It’s a hard topic to pin down." She tipped her head to the right as she looked up at him past the books. She shifted her weight forward then, leaning toward him. "You're part celestial somehow. Blood, Infusion, or both?" She couldn't see an infusion mark, but not all were obvious. She couldn't help but grin then, her emerald eyes shining because she was sure she was right. "You're Infused, right?"

He smiled, and shifted the books he had taken from her, lifting the right sleeve, baring the mark that marked him as a Celestial Infused. "You got it right. No, my AGE is more attributed to my blood than my aura," he said quietly, gesturing to an empty table.

"If you're doing research on souls, perhaps I can give you a bit of aid. So far as I know, I'm the only Celestial Infused that can talk to their Celestial without any kind of spell," he said, setting her books on the table, pulling a chair out for her, and walking around to the other side, setting his own down, and settling himself easily into the chair.

His eyes changed slightly, and he smiled softly. "Forgive me. I have not properly introduced myself. I am Sarin Mythros. And my Celestial - my Astral Deva friend - is Zarinock. Though I did say that slightly backwards." He shook his head. "If you wish some information on how souls pertain to Celestia, I can help you with that. The Abyss, I won't be so much help, as I have never been there, nor known anyone who has." He smiled softly. "I am at your disposal, child of Celestia and Abyss," he said, the Deva that was speaking through him taking a shot in the dark as to her peculiar aura.

She had guessed right and shifted her weight back to center as he moved toward the table. AD found his offer to help curious. He was most likely trying to make sure she didn't fall into those so called "darker" things. If he knew what she knew though... but those were her secrets. She walked a fine line and she had many things she wanted to know and do. For now though, she walked those few steps to the table and slid between the set he had pulled out, inviting her to sit, and the table. Once she had settled herself, she tucked both feet, crossed at the ankle, under her.

"It's nice to meet you then Sarin Mythros and Zarinock. You may call me AD." She said with a smile. "You're not the only one who's infused can speak with them though. I'm sure about that. I've had the demon in a demonic infused pair speak to me before. He was trying to kill me, but still." She shrugged and placed her arms on the table, crossing them before her and leaning forward to ask a question that was clearly important to her. "You wouldn't know how to make an infused no longer infused, would you? Some way of summoning the angel or demon away from the infusion or something?" Her gaze was searching. It was a scrap of information she wanted to know very badly for some reason.

He shook his head. "No, not really. The easiest way, and it'll only work if they're EXTREMELY powerful, is to make them do something that angers whatever they are infused with. I know if Sarin were ever to do an evil act by my standards, he would lose my support in a heartbeat. That's the way an infusion works." He shook his head. "It takes an act of extremes to either side of the balance in order to GAIN the interest of a Celestial or Demon, and an act to the opposite extreme will anger them and likely make them leave," he said, smiling.

He shook his head. "But MAKING them do such a thing is the difficult part. An Infused will not easily violate the codes that are dictated to them when they are bound to their Infuser. It is a thing very much unheard of, and sometimes is very difficult for the Infused to even IMAGINE, let alone do."

His eyebrow quirked, and he tilted his head slightly. "Why is this information so important to you?" he asked, curiosity in his voice. "I find it a bit difficult to grasp, to be honest. Why would someone who is part of all THREE worlds want to know how to get rid of the signs of one or another?"

She leaned back in her chair as Zarinock began to speak. The information he provided might be useful. She wasn't sure how yet, but it might be. His questions made her frown, her eyes narrow for a moment. "Because the infused I spoke of is more being possessed by the demon then an actual infusion and I would like to kill the demon for attempting to kill me and twisting the will of my best friend simply because my friend wanted to pay back his family, more so his father, for abandoning him simply because he was born of demonic blood. I've read right here many times that the child of a demon is often inclined to rebel against it's demonic parent, which he did. Still his family would not even try to accept him. They chased him off." Her gaze became hard and her face set. "Not once, from the very moment I met him, did he ever try to hurt me and he knew I was of mixed blood. Not once did he even try and he has done things to prevent me from getting hurt. I think that is what had made the demon mad, made it take over his body by force and try to kill me. I want to pay the demon back and spare my friend's life too." She looked upset about it now, her voice trembling a little. "He's my best friend and he had to stab himself, almost in the heart, to regain control of his own body. I think that demon has to pay for that. The thing is, so many people treat him like a monster just because of how he looks. You probably would try to kill him too if you ever saw him. I don't doubt it. But that's the way the battle between the Angels and Demons goes. Kill first, ask questions later. I've been on both sides, I know." She looked to the books and picked up 'Of Angels and Demons". She set it in front of her but didn't open it. She looked at it for a moment, then back up at the man across from her.

"I'm sorry if I seem a bit spiteful. People have done the same to me though, so I'm protective of him. His own brother set out to kill him after all. His brother almost killed me too." She tipped her head to the right once more. "You wouldn't kill someone just for looking like a demon, would you? He doesn't act like one until someone tries to kill him. But you really can't blame him for trying to defend himself."

"Just because someone looks and acts like a demon doesn't make them wrong. It's all a matter of circumstances and opinions. You take a demon, plunk him into a kingdom ruled by a tyrant, and he'll take down the tyrant. Simply because he can't stand someone being better than him. Taking down the tyrant doesn't make him evil. It's his MOTIVES that do. If he did it just to take down someone better than him, with no desire to replace him, then his motives are SELFISH, but not evil. BUT. If he REPLACES that tyrant, then his motives become evil, and he should be killed."

Sarin's voice cut in for a moment. "I'll say one thing in response to that. Just because they REPLACE the tyrant, doesn't necessarily make them evil. If they change things for the better -- a rare occurrence anyway -- then he is not evil. It is when things do not change -- or change for the worse -- that true evil is born. THAT is what Zarinock and I hunt. THAT is our enemy."

His face split with a smile, and the voice of Zarinock came back. "He has a point. If your friend has tried and tried to keep you safe, then he is okay in my book."

Aether Draka's spirits seemed to lift then and she grinned, sitting up straight once more. Her nod of agreement was sharp. "Exactly. But the demon in him is evil. I guess I'll have to look around more. Perhaps I should look for the Academy of Magic?" Her gaze lowered to the book, her fingers picking at the corner where the leather had a little hole in it. Realizing what she was doing, she put her hands in her lap. Her mind was racing. She was sure there was more she could find out, but how to ask?

"What about this question..." she started, "and you don't have to answer if you don't want to..." AD added real quick. "Is there a way to make a soul marked by an angel or demon no longer marked? I don't mean a person, I mean their actual soul." The right hand in her lap closed into a tight fist around the scar she had there. The scar was the only visible mark she knew of. How she managed to be marked by both an angel and a demon was confusing though. The marks had to serve different purposes though. If not they would have clashed much more, like her soul had done so many times...

He shook his head. "No. Not that I know of. That is something that must be borne for all time," said the voice of Sarin. "It's something that, if it doesn't kill us, it makes us stronger," he continued, no change in the voice. "As for keeping any residual effects under control, that can be done by normal meditation," he said.

His eyes shifted color slightly, and Zarinock was back again. "That isn't entirely true. There IS a way, but for one such as you, AD, it would be dangerous, or even life-threatening. Your soul would have to be purged of whichever it was that had marked you that you did not wish to bear.

"But here's the thing. With a dual soul like yours, that would be fatal. Not only would it purge the mark, but it would also attempt to purge that part of your SOUL that was associated with that mark. Other than purging, there is no other way." He sighed, and shook his head.

"I'm sorry that I cannot help you with that question, but... Perhaps I know of someone who might be able to help you. If you DO make your way to the Academy, speak with the Magister. He proved most helpful in looking for this," he said, lifting the fiery red stone on his chest. "Maybe he could help you. Perhaps... I might be able to arrange a meeting," he said with a smile. "Would you like me to do so?"

AD looked down. Her voice barely a whisper, something not meant to be voiced, let alone heard. "Then I guess I'll have to just make her remove her mark and perhaps I can make him do the same. I'm tired of the fighting. I own my own soul, it's my responsibility."

She leaned back in her chair and smiled once more, but this time it didn't reach her eyes. "Thank you for the offer, but I would rather not press my luck too much. I find that asking for help is often more trouble then it's worth. I've had too many bad things happen when I accept the help of others, including their deaths, becoming the person's foe, and so on. I do appreciate the offer though. I'll make my way there latter on perhaps."

She would have to find out where it was though, that wouldn't be too much to ask, would it? No, she could ask that. Her gaze looked around. Wasn't there a map around her somewhere. A big one. "Though, if you could tell me where it is, that would help a lot." She said, standing to see if she remembered where the map was from where they were. "There's a map around here somewhere."

Sarin raised an eyebrow. His infusion had enhanced his hearing greatly, so her comment was plainly audible to him, if a bit cryptic.

When she declined his help, he shook his head. "Don't be offended if I don't get upset at your refusal," he said with a laugh. But her final comment brought on a thought. His hand wrapped loosely around the small coin dangling beside the fire stone, and his eyes closed.

Magister, I am sorry to disturb you. But there is a young lady here in the Taras Library asking questions of a nature that I believe only you can answer fully. I do not know if you have a moment, but if you do, could you please come and speak with her? I offered to take her to the academy of magic, but she has declined. Thank you in advance.

He smiled. "I can do you one better than that. I can have the Head Magister come here to speak with you," he said quietly. "In fact, I've already asked him to come," he said softly.

Aether Draka paused in her barely started map search when he spoke, thought she hadn't caught all he said. She became very still. "I would rather you didn't. I actually prefer not to deal with people when it involves facts for a few reasons. First off, they always think that they are right, always. Second, you end up with opinions and not facts. Third, I don't deal well with people because most don't share my opinions and I have found it fruitless to try and explain to them why I am looking for what I am looking for. Most won’t even let me know anything without many lengthy explanations. I think I would rather just visit the library there and read about things myself without having another hovering over my shoulder. Besides, the last time I accepted the help of someone, I ended up being threatened, my very soul marked, and that person going after my best friend with all intentions of killing him. Atop of that, I didn’t even get what I wanted out of the situation.”

She took a few steps back over to the table and piled up the books she had picked out earlier. The stacked them nearly and picked them up. “So, if you insist on helping, you can show me it on a map. If you wish to do any more then that, I will have to refuse. I’m sure I can find it later. I would prefer though if you did not insist. I would rather have someone I can talk to as opposed to someone I have to avoid.” There was no smile now. She didn’t even bother with it. She wasn’t being nice, she was being very serious and she wanted him to understand that at least.

He sighed, and shook his head. "It's too late. I've already let him know you want to talk to him." He shook his head. "Though why you won't talk to him is a bit..." He winced, one hand going to his shoulder. "It's a bit odd. I know for a fact he won't hover over you, but if you insist."

He clutched the stone again, and went back into the link.

Never mind. For some reason, she seems reluctant to talk to you. So I'll just send her along to the academy. She plans on going right to the library, so if you decide you want to talk to her after all, that's where you'll be able to find her.

He nodded. "The map's right over here," he said, and led her to the wall map. "Mkay. We're here. The Academy of Magic, is... HERE,' he said, stabbing his finger down on two different spots on the board. "Easiest route would be this," he said, one finger tracing over to the other. "I just wish you'd talk to Ace, the Magister. He'll be sure to help you without too many questions."

AD frowned at what he said at first, her mind going over the idea of simply shadow jumping back to her room in the Choronzon Gebäude with the books she had now. Then it wouldn't matter if the one he had called showed or not... just before she had settled on the idea, he seemed to have changed the thing completely. How he got a hold of the person was under question, but she wanted to do things on her own. Help... help didn't seem to work as well as she would like it to.

Aether Draka followed behind him to where the map was and set down the books to look at where he was pointing. She smiled at the fact that he was still trying to be overly helpful as she came up next to him at studied the area where he said the Academy of Magic was. She then reached up and pointed just under where he was pointing. It was far enough away that she had not seen the building, but much closer them trying to get there from Taras.

"I've been here. I'll find my way to the academy from there when it gets dark, not today though.”

He nodded, and stepped back from the map, bowing slightly to her. "Well then. If that is all the help you require, I must apologize for my hasty exit. But I have a bit of extended research that I have to do. Been looking for this damn thing for weeks now," he said with a shake of his head.

"Or at least, an easy way there." He shook his head again. "Therab is not the easiest place to get into," he said wryly.

He gave another bow, and then smiled. "If you ever wish to talk to me again, just look for me in Istan. Better yet, just leave me a message with the tavernkeeper in the main tavern telling me where to meet you. He doesn't pry in my business," he said. "I'll get there as quick as I can."

As he turned, he tossed, seemingly off-handedly, a comment that probably stopped her stock still. "Fare thee well, my friend," he said, and vanished among the stacks.

AD gave him a half hearted wave as he left and she looked back to the map. Istan? Her gaze traveled over the map looking for the name when she saw it. The desert? He had to be kidding. What would she ever be doing in the desert? The first person ever to give her a way to contact them and she had no intentions of ever visiting the place. Not without a very good reason and just to talk to someone was not a good enough reason.

She shook her head. That would be something she was going to have to deal with when it came. Instead she picked up the books and found herself a quiet place to sit and read through them. She grew gradually more frustrated as she went along, but she was finding a lot out about the infusion process for both demonic and celestial infused. It really seemed that the only way to really get rid of the infused being was for the person who was infused to act in a way opposite to the nature of the angel or demon.

Now she was completely confused and more then a little upset. Gregory... he was still infused. That meant his angel didn't have any problem with how she had been treated. How... how... "Gah!" She proclaimed suddenly and slammed the book closed. leaving the stack on the table she pushed herself away from it. Standing, she stretched, and glanced around. No one was here. She walked towards the shadows then, shadow jumping back home after not finding what she was looking for. A visit to the Academy of Magic's library might have something better, but that would have to be at a different time.