Yaksha stood outside the door of Master Ace, the principal of the Academy of Magic. He wore a dark-red button shirt, and his pants were perfectly manicured. He knocked softly on the door, and spoke in a voice that rang clearly and calmly. "Master Ace? I've a need to speak with you." He pulled out his tophat from behind him, placing it squarely on his head, and giving a soft smile. "I'm sure we can be civil even just for a few minutes?"

The Academy was more or less in a state of panic. Frantic reasearch was taken on by everyone, looking for solutions to Imythess impending demise and answers to the questions that surrounded it. Master Ace was no exceptions. Books were scatterd across the room, levitating and fliping pages by some unseen force. The room was otherwise as clean and straightened as ussual. Ace was deep within the study of an old volume on his desk as an unfamiliar voice came to distract him. He wondered what the man had to say, likely he was the bearer of ill news, but if it was it was news Ace had to hear.

"You may enter," Ace said as he straightened himself in his chair and the door open. "Please, come in and take a seat," Ace greeted, still paying more attention to the book than his new guest.

Yaksha walked in, and looked around, his voice full of a quiet awe. "Even for a man such as yourself, Master Ace...those are quite a lot of books." He sat down, and pulled off his tophat, tossing it apathetically to the side. "My name is Yaksha, and I am a half-demon. I have come to speak to you about the destruction of Taras, and of the implications it may have." He crossed his legs, and placed his hands in the lap. "Namely the place of one Lynthaer Golthry, former head of the Divschatten in such."

He sighed, and began to slouch in the chair. "I realize something big is on the way, and no doubt you did a long time ago. I ALSO realize whatever it is, it's inhumanly strong. This is no time for demons to be squabbling with humans and elves. Therefore..." He folded his hands together, his next words silken and soft, and as sweet as honey. "I propose a truce. No attacks on anyone who may be affected by Imythess's fall, until this crisis is averted."

As the half-demon spoke his name, the pages of the book before Ace flipped back. When it stopped, the same name was highlighted with green coloring. Ace was surprised by the occurrence, and hadn't expected the cantrip to be useful outside of his studies. The page depicted the half-demon in one of his less honorable activities against the material plane. He said little that wasn't known and nothing that would likely bring solutions. The name of Divschatten was of course important and might be a clue though it was doubtfully. Chances were he was not but a mere puppet just as ignorant as his pawns.

Ace leaned and rested his elbows on the desk. "A truce? This crisis is due to demons. And likely fault of the Divschatten, whether they or you claim otherwise or not. It's demons that destroyed Taras. It's demons that are still on the loose with a still sizable force. The Divschatten may have been a mere tool in this, but isn't it very odd for this score of half-demons, demons, and infused to be a part of the summoning of a mass of demons from the abyss and then play innocent. For all I know, you demons could just mad the higher ups didn't go your way and are pulling a convenient scapegoat," Ace said narrowing his eyes, but refraining from taking on an unfriendly tone.

"I'm sure you were getting to a better string of words that would win me over, and given your .... accomplishments they had better be rather stunning. Demons aren't known best for honesty and keeping their word after all," Ace smiled wondering if the demon would be left dumbfounded or weaving that string words that would likely be a web of lies. Foreseeing the later, Ace spun a spell of his own as he spoke. Knowing what the demon was thinking would prove usefully in determining how much truth his words held. Most likely Yaksha had noticed and wouldn't notice the working spell, though it possible that the divschatten had foreseen such a simple tactic.

Yaksha cocked his head. "While it is true that demons destroyed Taras, they had no ties to our own actions. We were all played as puppets, every demon in the Divschatten. And now that we see the strings...." His lips pulled back into a primal sneer, and he shook his head. "We want the puppeteer. Logic would dictate it's the one who summoned the armies of demons." Yaksha sat rigidly in his chair, and then sighed. "Lynthaer Golthry was the one that put the beacon in the town. I myself have every intention of finding out why."

He finally rose from his chair, and smiled wearily. "You want a string of words to win you over? How about this: I may be a demon, but I have given you absolutely no reason to distrust me. To punish one for the past is a travesty, not for one as intelligent as yourself." He spoke slowly, almost spitting each word out. "I could have blown the door down, or blasted my way to your dorm room. I did not, despite how.....dishonest I am."

Yaksha walked forward slowly, kneeling mere inches from Master Ace. "I would simply like to state that, though demons as a whole are untrustworthy, I myself highly prize truth and honesty. Though admittedly, truth is a tricky concept. To say you could've slain me easily is no lie, but I sense no desire for you to kill me." He looked up, his eyes squinted into tiny slits. "I have been known to twist the truth. But not now. This is no time to be stabbing others in the back."

He knelt even more, and then held out his hand. "What I offer you is simple. Undoubtedly you are smarter than me, Master Ace. But I've 300 years of memories locked in my mind. I would think that more than enough information and verbal records to keep your professors happy for a time. I offer you my own mind and thoughts, for a simple promise of Ahimsa. Peace, Master Ace. Peace among our kinds until this crisis is averted. To fight this foe alone is enough. To fight him and the Divschatten is madness."

He made an interesting points, but they weren't what Ace was looking for. He could do very little with them. Yaksha's strongest defense was that he wasn't lying, but if one evaded the right questions and answers that was unimportant. Ace shook his head heaved a heavy sigh. "I think we've been going about this wrong. Assuming that the Divschatten do indeed want a truce, there are still matters to be tended to and questions to be answered. What does the Divschatten stand for? Does it still support wanted killers and criminals like Fehade, Erolam, and Melmoth? How has it changed since the loosing it's original creator and leader? Who is the new leader of the guild? Is it you or are you merely an ambassador?" Ace asked as he flipped the pages of the book back to their former position. He gave minimal attention to the demon despite his closeness. Ace did not let his guard down, but highly doubted the demon would try to pull something.

"More importantly how can the Divschatten expect a truce right after making an open declaration of war? I speak not of the summoned demons, but what happened before they were summoned. It was the Divschatten that attacked and killed most of Taras military forces. Such a act is a clear act of war, you can not deny it. You can not say that much of the night was not intentional," Ace said as he turned his gaze to Yaksha's eyes. Perhaps that would help Yaksha see things from his perspective, from the perspective of the major leaders who were far less open minded than Ace.

"Unless the perfect answer exists, I doubt there is anything I can do for the guild aside from help members who seek to distance themselves from the guild," Ace said shaking his head. Perfection was a fleeting fickle creature and in this situation in particular, Ace doubted it existed. There was little the guild could say or do in it's defense. Lynthear was partially to blame, but at some point they had to be responsible for their own actions.

Yaksha's eyes were cloudy, and a dark brown. "I am merely an ambassador of goodwill, as you so wisely stated. As to our previous actions...." He pushed himself up, his eyes having gained a dark twinkle. "We want to rule Imythess, and one can not rule a pile of ruins. I never once stated we did not come to steal Taras. But we certainly did not come to raze it to the ground!"

He held out a pale hand, his next words horribly blunt. "Pick the lesser of the two evils, Master Ace. Keep your enemies close. The Divschatten may be bad, but whatever is coming will be much much worse." His hand turned, palm up, and he waved it out in a sweeping motion. "We want to rule this, whatever is coming merely wants it gone. In everyone's life, there comes time for a decision. Us versus him....or you versus them?"

"Goodwill? I may be open-minded, but even I question the 'goodwill' of demons. What will the other leaders of Imythess think? You may be the lesser of two evils, but of the evils we can deal with you are the same or even possibly a larger threat. The artifact used to call the demons is now a threat no more and I have found out that no such device is to be found on this plane, so I doubt there will be a new surge of demons. The Remaining forces can be dealt with without fear of loss. Our main threat remains intangible and you know as well as I that the largest army is useless against a foe it can not reach," Ace explained after sighing again. The guild still thought it had some sort of leverage. There was little difference between the demons of the Abyss and the demons of Imythess, both wanted to bring death and chaos, those of the Abyss only wished to bring a little bit more.

"There is no way any nation in Imythess will make a truce with the Divschatten after it's recent actions. The shearing teeth of Apocalypse would have to be seen before that could happen. Keeping an eye on the Divschatten, would take forces than any would not want to spare. The rewards would be minimal and in the end there is no guarantee the Divschatten will not slide a knife in our backs when it seems the battle would be won," Ace said as he returned his gaze once more to the book before him.

"If you think your members can prove useful, they can aid with research here, but if I, any of my mages, or anyone with the needed strength will attack your members on sight anywhere else. This is all I can do for you and your guild. There can and will be no negotiations beyond that as the present circumstances stand," Ace stated firmly not moving his eyes from the book.