Thalia pulled Lavernius in close and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Can you blame a girl for getting excited at the thought of our day to come?" She smiled up at him, a tinge of red in her cheeks as well as she continued, "Enjoy the show, dear." A gentle hand waved Lavernius off toward his seat as Thalia went and sat down at her place, taking note of the other competitors as well as anyone else in the crowd that may look familiar, or interesting enough to arise suspicion. It was fun to get such a reaction from Lavernius, another perk of the job. He was pretty good, which challenged Thalia to be even better.

Although she spent maybe first half an hour dangling her legs on the chair, Faye eventually got bored of idleness and got up, busying herself with awaiting patients. Making sure that she hasn't been getting in the way of nurses and Wands, the Thaa'nas left the medical work for them, instead taking care of the most minor stuff and occupying both hers and patients' time with idle talk if they were willing.

When it was finally her turn, Faye followed the lead Wand and obeyed her requests. Although this lack of trust was slightly inconvenient, the girl completely understood the need for such security dealings. The Thaa'nas listened to what Cyarin had to say, and remained quiet for a longer moment after she was finished. "I guess that confirms my suspicion...Ravhin, the other victim I'm currently taking care of, is in a coma and..." She started slowly with a frown and a finger on her chin, still thinking things through as she went. "...Has been assaulted from the front, but there was also a stab wound on his back; probably where the attack started." Faye began to slowly wander around the table, and at this point it seemed like she was thinking out loud to herself, rather than talking to Cyarin.

"So if we assume there was only one assailant, what he could've done was that he 'neutralized' Ravhin from behind, then moved onto Dreifreed before he could react, quickly gutting him, then came back to already wounded victim to finish it with three stabs to the chest... That's not what happened though I feel like. The problem is, there were signs of a fight at the crime scene; missed slashes and thrown, broken objects. They haven't been caught by a complete surprise, BUT...Neither of them used magic to even try to defend themselves. Not a single spell even though they definitely had time and capability." The girl stopped by the dead man's hand hanging off the table. "Today morning I also found identical 'injections' on Ravhin's wrists and neck, which got me thinking they might be connected to all this somehow, and at this point...Im not sure how would that even work, but do you think that could be the reason why they just let it happen?" Faye raised her eyes to look at the Wand. "I mean, we mages use our hands, and brains..." She first waggled her fingers, then pointed at her head and slid her finger down where the spinal cord would go through the neck. "...to channel hareas for the most part, so maybe there's a certain spot that...I know it probably sounds ridiculous, but unless they simply didn't want to use magic, what else could it be? A death wish? It's weirdly coincidental." The girl shrugged, shook her head and looked down at the covered body. "Just...how and when would they appear there? Its too precise to be done unnoticed, or during the fight, and no Thaa'nas would allow to cripple himself like that willingly...No mage would allow to cripple himself like that."

Lavernius gently touched the place she kissed him and could feel how hot his cheeks were, his face must've looked amusing to anyone watching and he quickly made his way to the back for a place to sit. He didn't want to sit in the front as his height might block the view of others. He wondered if Illaya would still be able to see him even if he sat in the back and quickly dismissed the fancy, it was a silly thing to worry about but he couldn't help but think about it.

Faye Petralis, the Glorious Legion Outpost | Infirmary
Cyarin crossed her arms. "You underestimate training, dear," the Wand shook her head. "I can weave a healing spell faster than you can without a doubt. How do you think I achieved that?"

The Wand leaned her back on the wall. "Do you know how rigorous Legion training is? It's drill day after day, I have to check them each time to see if they're about to faint or die on the spot. They fight mages too you know. Normal, everyday people fight extraordinary, uncommons like you and me. How do you think they'd survive a one-on-one? See another day for their friends and family?"

The Wand went to the side of the table and placed the hand back under the sheets. "It isn't impossible that a person would be able to learn how to strike at these points in the heat of battle," she said. "The precision attacks and the stabs were checked, due to their unusual nature and found to be the exact wound ages. They happened within minutes of themselves."

After a moment of silence, Cyarin nodded her head and sighed. "We've had hunches on what they could mean, these needle like attacks. One of us thinks it was to inject poison. Either it was so well made that it dissolved in the blood and disappeared after doing its work or there was none at all. No residual magic was detected either."

"I agree that it is specifically odd that they didn't use magic to defend themselves or at the very least escape," Cyarin closed her eyes. "That's all that I can tell you to be honest. We've made neither heads or tails to the reason of the tiny wounds."

A knock on the door signalled the entrance of someone else, Faye and Cyarin looked at the door and found themselves in the presence of a tall woman with slightly tanned skin: Lord Ashtoreth Vysterious.

"Cyarin," Vysterious nodded. The Wand simply nodded. The commander turned to Faye. "Greetings, I am Ashtoreth Vysterious. I hear you are a witness to the scene of the murders. I'd like to speak with you regarding all of this." One look told the Wand it was a private meeting and she went out without a word.

Once the Commander knew they were alone in the room, she looked to Faye once more.

"Ravhin was supposedly on a mission alongside my men," Vysterious said gruffly. "I'd like to know if he divulged anything to you regarding this."

Lavernius Mylarc & Thalia Valgeiros, the Plaza of the Monolith | Duelist Tournament
As Thalia rounded to her chair, she found herself in the company of the other nineteen. Each realm had, at the very least, had one representative. She could tell each would harbor their own style, bring their own presence to the stage, intimidating or not.

Within minutes, a person set foot onto the wooden stage, he wore bright colored shirt and vest alongside a fitting pair of pants. "Welcome one and all to the annual Duelist's Tournament!"

A round of applause rose from behind the contestants, surprisingly, more people had flocked to the seats now. "As per year, we ask for twenty or so brave individuals to show their skills in the art of formal combat. No one is a stranger to violence but some may be to a disciplined one. The bracket has been revealed at the entrance of our venue, kept hidden from our very contestants," the announcer winked. "Keeps the excitement in for the players, no?"

He spun around and then tapped his shoe on the stage. Two racks of weapons appear on either side of the stage, each with several bladed different kinds of bladed weapons. "This isn't a fight to the death, so most of these are mockups of the actual thing but are made as close as possible in terms of weight and build as to not throw off our skilled players whom have practiced with the actual thing."

Thalia noticed her co-contestands nodding throughout the entire thing. Others were simply ignorant, perhaps regular players in terms of this kind of tournaments.

"Now! Onto the main event shall we?" The man said gleefully. "Our first combatants, Merylin Day and Gwennifer Mylarc! Please step on stage."

Over to the furthest corner, the retired assassin saw her opponent stand from her seat. She seemed normal but a bit pale, and from the looks of her hair which was cut short like a man's, crownlander. A bright shade of red streaked one side of her hair and the other, orange. She wore simply though, a white blouse and a red pleated riding skirt.

Thalia then moved towards the foot of the stage, staring at the arrangement of weapons¹ at her disposal. From her vantage point, she couldn't see what Merylin was choosing on her side but perhaps that was intentional.

"Kindly wait as our participants take their weapon of choice," the announcer said.



Lavernius watched as the seats around him began to get occupied by the people that came pouring in. He noticed a few legionnaires at the entrance and then others at the edge of the event proper, perhaps to watch.

"Fancy meeting you here, Mylarc," a familiar voice came by. "Seems I missed some news. She your wife?"

To the artist's surpise, Yasuno Itsuka had made an appearance, taking a seat by his side.

FOOTNOTES
¹A pair of daggers, pair of scimitars, longsword, broadsword, glaive, saber, izukani masamune and spear

Lavernius clapped and mildly cheered along with the rest, however he didn't participate in the cat calling most of the men were getting into, rather settling down to watch. He speculating getting his sketchbook out but he doubt they would be fighting slow enough for him to actually capture anything. So he decided to put everything to watching so that he could memorize as much as he could, then draw it later. However his process was immediately interrupted by a voice. "Oh Itsuka." Lavernius blinked as he refocused. "A good fancy I'm hoping." The artist smiled. He blushed at the question and smiled awkwardly. "No no, it's just a joke. She seems to enjoy toying with me." Lavernius shook his head and tried to change the conversation. "So what brought you here? Trying to get inspiration for your work or this a pleasure thing?"

Mari slowly and tastefully finished her plate of food, glancing around her at the people coming and going out of the inn. Not noticing anybody worth of notice for the entirety of the morning, she decided it was time to take this situation into her own hands. The woman downed the last bite of her meal and stood up from her stool, quickly turning around and heading for the door of the inn. On her way to the door, her right hand smoothly went around her back, grabbing her green and yellow bandana. Her hands sinously made their way up to her head, gently dancing and maneuvering around it. In the matter of moments, Mari's hair was carefully collected under her trademark bandana, sign that the movement was now automatic for her.

As the woman finished tying the bandana around her hair, she had reached the door. Before exiting she glanced back at Joyce, standing behind the counter.

"If Mister Grayore asks about me, tell him I will meet him later at the established location."

Mari then opened the door and disappeared into the streets of Salvation Point, with the goal of retrieving her daggers from the legion's headquarters and going at the rendezvous point to meet the remainder of the Fangs.

"I uh...Yes, but...I don't..." Faye struggled to get a word in over the Wand speaking, and when she finally had a chance to speak, someone knocked on the door. A tall woman entered the room and introduced herself, although there was probably no such need. Her name and person were pretty well known, even for Faye.

"Um...yes, good morning. Of course." The girl seemed to have lost her tongue there for a second, but quickly recovered. She watched Cyarin leave in silence, hoping she'd get to see her again after this. There were still few questions that bothered her, and things that made little sense. For now however the Thaa'nas had to focus on something, or rather someone else. Her eyes moved back to meet Ashtoreth's gaze. "He has not. Ravhin has been unconscious since I found him in the alleyway, and all he said before passing out was that I had to do...something, but strength abandoned him before he could finish. All I know is what he told me two days ago. That he's been assigned by Joca-...Miss Olvira, to examine some odd criminal activity in Lorcas alongside other Thaa'nas and Legionnaires. He was to depart there soon, but I saw him linger in Salvation Point. That's...that's it, really. What's more to it I'm unaware of." Even though she kind of wanted to, Faye felt that this particular time she wasn't really in position to ask questions, but only to answer them. Hence after she said what she knew, the girl went silent having little hope in receiving any information back from the commander.

It only took Thalia a few moments of quick observation to assume which opponents would give her trouble, and to her amusement she was going up against a Crownlander female first. While it was true, especially in Thalia's case, that looks alone were not a determining factor in measuring one's skill, she did enjoy the act of fantasizing about her opponents background and possible martial ability. It was useless to try and meta her opponent, so Thalia would go with a comfort pick. Her hands roamed over the weapons, giving them a gingerly feel as she examined the craftsmanship. The choice was obvious when she saw it, even though it was one of her least used weapons. Thalia picked up the Izukani masamune and looked the blade over. It wasn't the finest she'd seen, but she still adored the style. Lavernius might also get a kick out of seeing her use the weapon, which in itself was a win. The weight of the blade was a bit off from what she was used to, and it wasn't the most balanced, but it would do wonderfully.

Thalia looked through the crowd and smiled when she saw Lavernius' hair, though he was turned talking to someone. Yasuno Itsuka. Her expression grew quite feral looking at the two before turning back to the task at hand. It only helped to further her agenda, after all, and it would make tonight that much sweeter. So she stood at the base of the stage, weapon in hand, ready to be called to face her opponent.

Faye Petralis, the Glorious Legion Outpost | Infirmary
Ashtoreth weighed in on Faye's answer, checking the woman's tone of voice and body language. "I see," she said finally. "If that is all that you know, that will be it."

The Lord Commander turned her back on the Thaa'nas and moved out the door.¹

Faye could see Cyarin just outside the room where she stood, speaking to the rest of the Wands present.

Marianna Laranis, the Glorious Legion Outpost | Outside²

Marianna left the Dancing Horseman and found an ever increasin crowd surrounding the Plaza. Seems as though a tournament of sorts had begun. The amount of people had begun to obscure her view but she could vaguely make out the stage. No one was on it though as of now, just the announcer screaming at the crowd.

"--lcome to the Duelist's Tournament!"

The crime boss of the Twin Fangs arrived at the Legion Outpost, a nondescript structure of gray with the only possible distinction of it being the outpost being the gold and black banner of the legion by the entrance and two legionnaires stationed by the door.

The guards looked at her from their position. "What's your business here, Laranis?"

Lavernius Mylarc & Thalia Valgeiros, the Plaza of the Monolith | Duelist's Tournament

The announcer looked to each of end of the stage, awaiting a thumbs up from either of the staff alongside the contestants. Once both had raised the signal, he nodded.

"All right, first of," the announcer gestured to his left with both hands. "Gwennifer Mylarc!"

Cheers waved through the crowd as she went up to the stage, holding the masamune tightly in her grip. "And her contender, Merylin Day!"

The bright haired crownlander stepped onto the stage for the first time, Thalia noted the woman's choice of weapon: the glaive. She twirled the staff weapon around her person before slamming the blunt end of the glaive down to the stage floor.

"Looks like our participants are ready," the announcer said. "Now remember, this is a point system. When the weapon strikes a mortal blow to your opponent, you get a point. Once a point is made, both parties must distance from each other so the match can start again. This is a race to five points within five minutes. I will stand in as the referee as well, ladies."

Thalia looked around her, four judges sat on the table nearest to the stage, holding papers and writing materials.

The announcer stepped back and allowed the fighters to view each other. When Thalia looked to Merylin, she found fiery determination in her eyes; like a tiger ready to pounce.

"Duelists ready?"

Merylin twirled the glaive and lowered her stance, the blade tip of her weapon lightly touched the stage as the butt end was diagonally raised. The announcer nodded when he found both contestants at their stances.

"Begin!"³

Without warning, the glaive wielder charged forward with a powerful battlecry, intent on taking point direct at Thalia's chest.



"I'm here for the reference," Yasuno stated. "I was commissioned a sculpture of the fateful battle at Maelthanrias, before the Thaa'nas came along to save the city."

"I don't really see that much fighting where I'm from so I don't have much to work with," she confided, ruffling her bag for a red leather bound sketchbook and pen. "I guess we can compare and share notes since thats what you're going to do too."

FOOTNOTES
¹You may ask questions to Lord Ashtoreth as she is about to leave or you could just let her leave in your post and do what you wish.
²First half of the post is a bit behind in the timeline to synchronize events. By the end half, Marianna would be outside as Faye would be in the infirmary.
³You will be writing the first battle. I've sent the details on how Merylin fights. Not all fights will be like this and others will be timeskipped to save time.

"Ever working. How professional." The artist smiled playfully then nodded. "Sounds like a plan." He was drawn back to the match when he heard Illaya's "name" and clapped along with the rest. Lavernius wondered if she would even hear him so instead simply waved one hand, instead of cheering. Her choice of weaponry simply made her all the more mysterious as he wondered where she would have learned how to use it.

However, as her opposition entered the stage, the artist couldn't help but feel a tinge of worry as the other woman showed off her prowess with her choice of weaponry. "I do hope she'll be alright..." the young man muttered and to brush away his worry he called out. "You can do this-" a short pause as he tried to think of what to call out, "Sweetheart!" He blushed even though he knew it was a joke, and hoped that none of it was lost in the hubbub of the crowd but at the same time, that it all was. It was simply a game they were playing, that's all it was. "Just a game..." he nodded to himself, "just a game." Lavernius pulled out his sketchbook, flipping to an empty page where he began to do a quick sketch of their battle poises before looking back up to watch as the fight started.

As Faye watched the commander leave, she bit her lower lip and hopped on her toes before gathering enough courage to speak up again. "Excuse me, ma'am?" She still wasn't quite sure how to properly address the woman. "If I may ask. What is...what is happening? Why would someone want these two dead so bad?" The girl paused, waiting for Ashtoreth to stop or perhaps even turn around." I mean... I know it may look like selfish curiosity, but that's not what drives me here. When something like this happens to a Thaa'nas, to someone I know...to anyone really, I feel obliged to, and would really like to help. In any way possible. Hence me asking." There was genuine concern in Staff's voice. "Also..." Faye let out a long breath. That, was a selfish part. "Since Ravhin is currently under my watch, and I myself haven't exactly kept it...discreet back at the crime scene, I would like to know what I may have to deal with. If there is to be a situation that would require such knowledge... While I'm obviously by no means a soldier or a bounty hunter, I can definitely fend for myself out there, and perhaps be of assistance as an additional pair of eyes, ears and hands." Having said her request, Faye once more fell silent awaiting the response.

The blade rushed for Thalia's chest but the assassin instead waited until it got too close for Merylin to alter her path. On a heel, Thalia twirled against the glaive's outside and slid across the long handle until she found herself behind her opponent. Merylin made to spin harshly but jerked back as thalia's foot connected to Merylin's right thigh, just above her knee. The glaive wielder slashed defensively as she stepped away, a slight limp in her right leg, Thalia twirled the Masamune, altering her grip in a hungry response. Merylin stretched her leg before roaring and charging Thalia, swinging the glaive around wildly, forcing Thalia into retreat. The assassin's foot caught the end of the stage as Marylin made to swing again. The glaive moved much quicker than Thalia anticipated and stopped just short of smashing into the assassin's side as she made to slip away. "Guess that's your point, Miss Day."

The two reset to the center of the stage, taking up their poses before the second round began. Round two started similarly to the first round, but rather than using sly tactics to counter Merylin's moves, Thalia swung her masamune with feline grace to counter the swift attacks from the glaive. It only took a moment for Merylin to open her lower body up as she lifted the glaive, aiming to strike in a downward motion. Thalia jerked her hips forward, smashing another kick into the exact spot that the first had landed on Merylin's right leg. Merylin grunted louder than she meant, and it took all of her will to not let go of the glaive, or to stand. Half of the crowd was silent in anticipation while the other half were practically screaming in compensation. Another powerful strike flew from the glaive wielder, perhaps in a last ditch effort. Thalia's masamune knocked the glaive aside, exposing Merylin's back where the masamune fell swiftly to meet the nape of her neck. "Guess we're even, dove."

The two retreated away and Merylin could not hide how much her leg was failing her as she limped away. Another volley of swift attacks from Merylin followed after the announcement of the third round. They were more focused, stronger, quicker. Merylin stepped forward with that right leg and crumpled, signaling to Thalia that it was time to go on the offensive. After a few swift strikes from the masamune, Merylin's stance was quickly broken and Thalia stopped her blade short of where it would cut cleanly through Merylin's mid section had it been sharpened by the assassin.

The next two rounds went by rather quickly, both in Thalia's favor as Merylin was too exhausted to keep up her flurry of attacks. In a real fight, Thalia would have killed this opponenet quickly, but in a long drawn out battle she knew it would be wise to challenge her opponenets stamina and resolve. Merylin was a strong fighter, but her weapon choice and technique often left her open to attacks that Thalia quickly capitalized on. The glaive stabbed, slashed, and swung around slower than it had in previous rounds. Thalia could practically walk away from the attacks. Even when Thalia tried to end it, Merylin would pull through and deflect or dodge Thalia's attack. It was honorable to keep fighting the losing battle, but Thalia's body was also groaning in exhaustion, though she didn't let it show. The glaive fell wickedly and smashed against the masamune that barely made it in time to protect Thalia's head. With a huff and a mighty swing, Thalia sent the glaive skirting across the stage. She took a step to close the distance and stabbed violently at the air with her masamune, the point stopping right next to Merylin's cheek. "It was a good effort." Thalia smiled as she used the blade to pat Merylin's cheek twice in definant victory. Her head turned to a particular spot in the crowd and she blew a kiss to a Crownlander man standing in the back, cheering with his rainbow hair.

Lavernius watched the battle riveted, his hand no longer moving as he abandoned sketching to simply watch. He could only compare what he was watching to dancing, the way how Illaya moved was elegant and coordinated, there was no wasted movements, it was like watching a bird of prey hunt. Made the artist wonder if she truly was just a spokeswoman for a fishing company. He clapped along with the rest as she was announced the victor, and waved when she looked his way.

Marianna Laranis, the Glorious Legion Outpost | Outside -> Armory
One of the guards nodded and allowed Marianna to pass. The crime boss found herself in the company of the legion, weapons and armor racks and some banners dot the rooms and halls. With a bit of asking, she found the way to the armory and found herself in the basement of the headquarters. The entire bottom floor was converted into a huge display of weapons and black and gold armor, neatly stacked in numerous shelves. Two guards had been station at the stairwell going back up and a single man sat behind a desk, filing some papers.

The clerk looked up from his papers and found Mari waiting impatiently in front of him. "You must be the leader of that gang the Commander's told me about. You fit the description, anyway. Is she that one?" He asked, turning to one of the legionnaires by the stairs who simply nodded.

"Okay," the clerk said. "Wait here."

With that, he stood up and disappeared into the armory behind him. Mari waited for a bit longer before she finally saw the man again, this time holding the pair of daggers. He stopped by the desk and handed the weapons over.

"I'd like to issue a warning that came from the Lord Commander herself. She says that even one wrong step will land you and your men execution."

Lavernius Mylarc & Thalia Valgeiros, the Plaza of the Monolith | Duelist's Tournament

Merylin Day scoffed and pushed the blade away from her face. "Good fight. Hopefully, we'll meet again for another one."

"That was one hell of a first match! The fiery Day was no match for Mylarc. Please exit the stage and hand over the weapons while you wait for your next round."



Yasuno shook her head and giggled. "Is it really a joke, Mylarc? You seem sincere with your call," she never took her eyes off of the battle, as did her colleague. "It seems as though you yourself are unconvinced of the nature of this joke."

When the fight had ended, Yasuno began to sketch. She drew two lines on her sheet that signified the attacker and defender's motion then quickly moved to the basic structure of the background then the people.



The other matches went by fairly quickly as the rest ended even before the five minutes were up. Thalia found some of the others quite an exotic bunch, one refused to use any of the weapons in the array and prompted to use his bare fists and proved to his opponent that he indeed never needed them. Another masterfully took the twin scimitars and overwhelmed her opponent with a flawless match.

The rest were alright to Thalia's eyes; skilled but not quite. What remained of winner's batch were those ten fighters, notably the fist fighter, two twin scimitar masters, a dagger wielder and a quarterstaff.

After the tenth match, the organizers called for the ten winners to come to the stage. Once again, the announcer came around, his voice still loud and clear. "All right, folks, we have our final ten! According to our judges, the leader in terms of points is the Lorcasian, Vermon Dextros, a master of the twin scimitars, decisively ending the match with not one point scored against him!"

The crowd cheers as Vermon takes a step forward and bows his head modestly.

"We will take a short intermission," the announcer mentioned. "Participants will be allowed to wander to the audience area if they please but no further." He then nodded and gestured the contestants to do as they please as he himself went off the stage.

Yasuno smiled as she completed several rough sketches of the rounds, by the time the announcement of the intermission came in, she was busy with a new sketch. "Curious, Mylarc," she started, not even looking up from her pad. "How did you meet such a fine warrior? By how she moves, she seems adept, more so than the rest of the participants."

"I've been watching her," Yasuno continued. "Not like how you do though but as I watched her, she seemed.. I don't know, wizened? A lot more hardened as if she acted on experience rather than training. If you look at this Vermon person,"

Yasuno flipped to her sketch of the match with Vermon in it, the man with the scimitars followed form to the dot.

"You can see him, his moves are blocky, solid but quick. With hers, its adaptive, fluid..."

She then flipped to the first sketch, of Thalia and Merylin. "She is different from these people. Maybe not the fisticuffs one but most of them."

Faye Petralis, the Glorious Legion Headquarters | Infirmary
Ashtoreth looked over her shoulder gauging Faye's curiosity and sincerity.

"Thaa'nas being the target of a hate crime isn't uncommon although the successful one is a lot rarer," the commander turned around to face Faye, her eyes cold as ice. "Your concern is noted but unneeded. The Legion will take control of the situation before the Emperor arrives but if you worry of your own safety, what you may deal with would be same as with the two victims. I'd be careful where you tread, Thaa'nas. If the haeras cannot defend you against these killers, then you only have your wit to be your saviour."

The commander turned around once more and proceeded to leave before stopping again. "What are you in the Thaa'nas?"