[RP] The Magi Saga - The Mandate of Magic

[VeloJello]

Lightthroat Hadran Lurel
Wind Guild (High Speaker)
Lesonia, Raya (en route to Shadow Guild chapter meeting)
ARP’ers: @Saraibre Ryu

Hadran hated Windshots.

Some mode of fast transit was a necessity for most travelers between Skybound City and literally anywhere else, and Windshots were better than most of the other Guilds’ fast travel options. That didn’t mean that Hadran enjoyed being propelled at speeds high enough that friction would have torn her to pieces if it weren’t for the magic, only to be brought to an abrupt halt anywhere from ten to fifty feet above the ground and lowered down by another’s magic. If she was going to fly anywhere, she wanted to get there under her own power.

Aside from the odd case of whiplash, though, the Windshots were reliable and zippy - and were pretty easy to find most of the time, due to the Windshot spell being easier to cast and requiring a lot less focus than most other fast-travel methods. They were also good at carrying multiple passengers, such as the seven Wind Guild members she’d brought with her.

A guard greeted her little contingent almost immediately. “Hold!” the centaur ordered, trotting over to the endpoint of the Windshot. She stopped in front of the group and surveyed them, eyes faintly aglow with some manner of scrying spell. After a few moments, the examination ceased, and the centaur nodded. “Clear of illusions and enchantments,” she said. “Orphus. You are High Speaker Hadran Lurel, I presume?”

“Lightthroat Lurel,” Hadran corrected. She couldn’t tell whether people thought that they were allowed to use her closed name because they weren’t orphi or because she was a public figure. Either way, it grated her. Not that she showed much of the grating; it wouldn’t do to appear as anything but the reasonable authority figure. “There is a small meeting of your local Shadow Guild chapter taking place approximately half an hour from now, and I have been asked to bring some of my own Guildmates to the meeting as well.”

Technically, Hadran had only been cordially invited when she was asked to send a few Wind Guild members whose skillsets complimented the stealthiest of the Shadow Guild - there was no obligation for her to make an actual appearance. The meeting would be presided over by one of the many chapter leaders of the Shadow Guild, and there was no real need for Hadran to go. However, recently, she’d been making as many appearances in public as she possibly could. Not only did she have to be a stronger leader than Jonah had been, she had to make sure that everyone knew her strength. Holing up in the Skybound City would make her appear out-of-touch, possibly even cowardly or hostile. Coming out would show that she was willing to work with the other Guilds, and would give others a chance to get to know her.

Thusfar, it had been fairly successful. Those she worked with treated her with respect for the most part, though she wouldn’t be surprised if others still held doubts about her. Frankly, after Jonah’s performance with Vrell, she couldn’t really blame them. Not to mention that the Wind Guild tended to get stereotyped as one of the weaker Guilds to begin with.

The centaur nodded. “Very well. Welcome to Lesonia, High Speaker, Guild members.”

Lesonia was quite beautiful. An old port settlement, one from whom several of the Skybound City’s founders and migrants had come, it was well-kept and home to many large, elegant buildings. Here and there, Hadran could pick out similarities to the Skybound City’s architecture, though Skybound tended to build upward more due to a preexisting abundance of flight abilities and more scarce land. Most of the commonalities lay in the heavy use of glass and other reflective building materials, and the many ornate pillars that dotted the newer buildings.

During the time of the Platinum Crusade, nearly all cities that had previously lacked local Guild chapters had gained at least some presence from each Guild. So far as Hadran knew, Lesonia hadn’t had much real Shadow Guild presence previously, but their temporary base was easy enough to find. A sign decorated with the Shadow Guild’s emblem showed that they were gathered in a repurposed warehouse.

Hadran checked the watch in her pocket. Early. She took the time to turn around and address her Guild members. “Each of you has been invited here to mingle with the Shadow Guild’s elite spies and saboteurs and to potentially work alongside them in those capacities. I trust that you will represent our Guild well and show your counterparts respect. We are part of a Circle now, which means reaching out and learning from new sources. Are we clear?” The assembled Guild members nodded, and there were a few murmur of assent.

She then turned to the Storm Kyte near her side. “Hazy,” she said. Nicknames gave Hadran mixed feelings - an alteration of an orphus’s closed name was considered an insult, but Aria-Haizen seemed not to mind. As for Haizen’s insistence on being Hadran’s impromptu bodyguard, Hadran hadn’t figured out an opinion on that yet. The Storm Kyte was a bit unruly, but Hadran wasn’t exactly in a position to turn down help. “Just to be clear, you’re not to volunteer for any mission offered here, jointly or otherwise, as I can almost guarantee it will not be at all in your skillset. I didn’t figure you’d try, but I want to make sure that we’re all on the same page. Alright?”