The Watch officer at the front desk noticed the elderly man approach his desk, the smell of alcohol preceding the visitor. The officer held his breath slightly and gave a smile. Before he could even ask how he could help the question was already answered.

"Missing person you say? Let's have a look then." the officer took in the folded parchment poster and read over it. "Hmmm." He'd stand, a human by most appearances though some accents to his face bespoke slight elvish blood. "Come right over here to sit and rest. I'll get Captain Jubal for you. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes. Get you something warm to drink too." He'd escort the old man gently to a chair to sit and then vanished upstairs to the main offices.

As good as his promise within ten minutes or so, the blonde headed captain of the watch, in green cloak was before the elderly man. She gave a crouch of respect, poster held in her fingers. "Mr. Owen the Marred, I'm Captain Hope Jubal. What can you tell me about Alexia? We are here to help."

(( Posting at the author's behest. ))

'Twas at that very moment, in his harrowed fervor to garner the Captain's sympathy, that a harsh thrusting of the entryway door sounded. Passing through the threshold proceeded an absurdly tall figure clad in heavy-looking plate armor composed of a notably foreign alloy. A banner marking his crest was present on both his adorning mantle and the fabric that served to obscure the majority of his leg pieces. What's more, it seemed to be faintly littered with runic seals, though it was hard to discern due to the regalia's comparably gem-like luster.

Sooner or later, the statuesque knight's footfalls saw him poised before the front counter... that is until his unseen gaze granted him the insight of the scene playing out a short ways yonder. There he spied the person he'd come to see comforting a curious bystander. Tapping the counter in passing reverence to the kindly desk staff, he'd make strides over to the bewildered fellow and the Captain.

"What seems to be the problem here?" the imposing knight inquired in his callous, almost droning timbre, his demeanor made all the more unapproachable to most by the metallic filter of having to speak through a full, angular sheet of protective metal. It was a wonder he could even see at all. What he failed to remember was that he'd never truly given Hope a chance to see him clad in his full knight's garb, so there was a good chance she would fail to recognize him unless she sensed his lingering spirit therein.

"I'm not certain what I might be able to help with, but I'm not averse to aiding those in need," he added, his garb's mesh's shifting accompanied by a soft clink as he folded his arms over one another atop his chest in waiting.

What a curious thing for a knight to say, given that it would typically be the compunction of an orderly individual like him that would prevent him from refusing service to the needy. Perhaps this soldier belonged to no such order?

Lex groaned softly, trying to remember where she was. Nothing looked familiar. She couldn't see her humble little bed or the stacks of books from the bookstore. No great inviting hearth of the inn or whispering trees from the glenn. In fact, she couldn't see anything. There wasn't a shred of light and her tiny body ached against a freezing cold concrete floor.

She tried to sit up and heard the soft clink of chains. Her hands and feet were bound. She gave the shackles on her wrist a test pull and was met with searing pain wherever they touched her skin.

'I'm cuffed in iron.' She thought as she remembered her 'allergy.'

She waited for her eyes to adjust until she finally realized that one eye was completely swollen shut and the other was stinging from some sticky substance dripping into it. Eventually she recognized the substance as her own blood slowly trickling from a nasty gash above her eyebrow.

Bewildered, she tried to remember what she last saw and how she could have ended up in this predicament. All she could recall was being at the bookstore, but that seemed like ages ago. She was going to have to rely on what little clues she could find on herself in vain hopes of jogging her memory.

As she slowly became more and more awake, she began noticing a few things. Her clothes, although filthy and badly mistreated, were still on her body. She spared only a brief moment of relief before she continued on. She seemed to have only one boot and the little silver blade, hardly better than a letter opener, was gone.

She sighed, feeling defeated, and closed her eyes, gently leaning her head on the wall on which she was propped and tethered to. She knew she should try to stay awake, but the iron cuffs were sapping the strength from her battered frame. She'd only close her eyes for a few minutes, then get back to trying to figured everything out. Just a few minutes.

The helmet lowered to the distraught man, parsing what information was able to glean and locking it away in the deep repository that was his decidedly bookish mind. Averting his gaze quite momentarily in the interest of respect to the Captain, Hope's explanation of the situation and summary inquiry pried as straightforward an answer from him as he could muster, the animate plate mail keeping the introductions to as terse a minimum as possible.

"Lucius, The Dark Sun... Honored Servant to both Eternal House and Alchemy House within the scope of Bristle Crios Academy and Covetous Moon to Her Radiance, Lady Amaterasu. I serve as another of the institution's guardians," he responded curtly, apparently far more interested in hearing what else this Owen had to say amid his woe-ridden stupor than explaining himself to someone he felt could learn the information she sought to obtain herself, given time. He was a faith-favored swordsman beholden to a goddess, as so many others were. Naught more, naught less. A glance in the direction of the poster compounded his fears that it might have, in fact, had something to do with the overarching veil of pretense that was the Humanity First movement and the insurgent, vigilante forces taking the law into their own hands of late.

Returning his attention to the man, his demeanor went cold once more. He'd not impede Hope's inquisition if it meant he acquired more data to confer with the others and subsequently act upon. That said, the fact that the Watch possessed a team dedicated to investigating the mystical and scientific aspects of criminal behavior instilled within him an genuine, if brief sense of relief. The poor guys must have been overworked by this point. The reports had indeed piled up since he'd last submitted his findings to the Captain a ways back. Another thought had crossed his mind, but he dismissed it, seeing as he doubted its relevance to the case at hand. That, or he didn't want to believe it was a possibility. At all.

"Any and all knowledge you can impart upon us will ultimately only serve to hasten the search for and eventual rescue of your yet-young ward. If she's not capable of lasting, then it is to our mutual benefit if you were to give the Captain as much in the way of reliable testimony as you are able," he urged him, the passive serenity of his voice failing to accurately betray the gravity of what he'd said. Thankfully, it would also likely not stir up his emotions too much, nor should it serve to undermine Jubal's control of the conversation's flow, either. There wasn't much in the vein of impetus to his vocals at the moment.

Hope rubbed her face a bit. Lucius. Right, the other gentleman she was looking for missing people on. You'd think with so many missing people, they'd have clues and find some, but then again, RhyDin plays its cards close to its chest.

"Thank you for your cooperation Mr. Owen. MCSI well get to work right away on a divination spell to track her with the hair provided to us. I will also ask Mr. Lucius here, if has proficiency in this area as well. The city of late has been turbulent and every second of delay is a second she loses a chance for being found."

She gave the man a gentle, reaffirming pat to his shoulder and nodded to an officer to escort Mr. Owen back home safely.

Hope then turned back to Lucius. "Considering we are already working together, I apologize for the scrutiny. We don't often get people in full plate armor walking into this office. And you're working for Lady Amaterasu? Well, then that tells me that you have plenty of credibility if the alchemist trusts someone to lend her a hand."

She waved a woman over to her that brought a small clear evidence bag and scissors made entirely of obsidian. She carefully snipped the hair strand in half, placed on half in the bag and sent the woman with evidence and scissors off to the MCSI department. She held out the other end to Lucius. "Well shall we see if we can find our missing Alexia Longbow?

(( Also posting at the author's behest. ))

The vision took his mind and those of any that served to make contact with him to an undisclosed and seemingly sealed-off location deep underground somewhere... Intentionally obscured were the sounds that outsiders who deigned to peer in with unwanted eyes attempted to glean for confidentiality's sake. Whatever they could grasp wasn't by the will of the forces that inhibited them...


Therein a figure stepped, clad in an ornate, alabaster cloak-robe and carrying a clipboard of eldritch make and fashion. A few steps out of the rift from which he appeared saw him poised before what looked to be magicked glass. A cursory glance inside would reveal the girl situated amid an utterly darkened room. It was more akin to a prison than a dwelling of any suitable merit. Was he studying her or something?

"Awake, are you...? Good, good. You seem to have recovered from that drubbing rather well given the circumstances. My brothers-in-arms will be glad to know that your recuperative properties extend beyond your ability to heal others," spoke the voice, unbeknownst to the man observing him from the aether. It would not be long, as he recorded his findings on the odd page, that another voice sounded.

"Do you plan on keeping her long, Kallim?"

Another, decidedly more feminine form stepped into the room, clad in the same garb as the more masculine figure appeared to be. In time, she would come to regard the caged woman, settling in posture with her arms folded behind her back beside the first arrival and speaking to him as though they were colleagues.

"I see no problem with this, Kaiah... The High Ones wanted to measure the exceptional traits of mixed races and determine their worth. Surely you recall that order being sent down the rungs of the hierarchy's ladder, yes?"

"I am more than aware. I'm just curious as to why this one was special enough that they had one of the rank-and-file abduct her. Our Lord isn't the sort for meaningless kidnapping. He typically utilizes the forms of whomever he takes. Ahhh, Our Lord... Such a gentleman. He doesn't waste anything he appropriates."

"Yes... Quite," the first figure responded, raising the arm that held the pen to his lips so that he might clear his throat. "Your religious zeal with regards to Him is astounding and impressive to bear witness to, but that is not why we are here. Take care to remember that. The High Ones have expressed a desire to see these curious beings apprehended thus, that they might be tools for experimentation. I look forward to the test data this one could provide us with. Hnhn."

"Right, right. This one looks to be either elven or fae, or even both. The High Ones don't take too kindly to celestials and fell creatures, but I was under the distinct impression that Our Lord wasn't ill-acquainted with these creatures, nor does He bear them any ill will. I wonder what his goal is."

"Ah, but you see, this is the desire of the Seventh Lord. He was the one who had her imprisoned, seeking to make an example of her and draw out the myriad of movements working for the sake of humanity of late. He seems to detest the idea that humans would be subjugated on behalf of supposedly inferior creatures. Regardless, it isn't our place to question the whims of the Esoterics. It is merely our station to obey," he returned, recording the last of his notes before reaching forward and conjuring up a console of hard light. Pressing down on a button, he called out to her, smirking as he did so.

"Subject. State your name for the record, if you would."

Hope was often one to refrain from mixing into magical practices as she often thought she had no gift with it. A mundane human from some variation of Earth and a keeper of the peace on top of that. However, since her introduction and work with the 27th and a Hunter named Mach, her trip down the rabbit hole of RhyDin was one full of turbulence and catching the Jabberwocky by the tail. Having talked with and been around enough magic users enough she both understood and saw when Lucius went into that trance.

Did she grab his arm or not? Tick Tock dear Alice. She'd took a hold of his arm and just hoped the continued oddities of what her head kept feeling like wouldn't get worse. Mad Hatter shoved in a biscuit box! Her brain ached as she was pulled along mentally into that scrying spell of Lucius.

Hope wasn't sure how much time was passing but she kept everything she saw before them deeply etched in her mind. Holding facility of some sort. Above or below ground was not clear. Their missing person was quite possibly in the darkened room beyond the viewing glass unless they shaved her head bald and left the hair where they were now viewing. She cuffed that pessimism on the ear soundly and continued the observation. Two persons of high interest. Male and Female. Kallim for the male per the female identifying him, and Kaiah for the female per Kallim identifying her. However the robe-cloaks obscured most of their features. Possibly a cult? She'd have to ask Lucius if he'd seen the style before.

Some sort of collection program for testing and experimenting on various races. Could be a tie in to the non-human protests but this felt too well organized and documented for that. Plus the mention of Hierarchy and, High Ones, a Lord these two served and a 7th Lord who seems to be implicated in this testing. She heard Kallim asking the person in the cell to say there name. The captured person refused and seemed with out a clue for the reason being there. It was a female voice. Quite possible their missing person? Without a clear visual on the woman in the dark room there was a large margin of error for positive identification. Yet the scrying with the hair lead here. That meant the MCSI better get a working tracker spell running soon.

Hope would remain touching Lucius for as long as he continued the scrying to witness as much as she could. She was going to need a whole bottle of aspirin after this and maybe get into the Die Hard Hall of Fame for most Aspiring Chugged on duty.

No matter how much physical pain she endured, how much fear shook her to her very core, there was something in her that persisted. Like a candle flickering in a small room while gale force winds ravaged outside, she inexplicably held onto the small, flickering hope that she would somehow survive. She thought of her parents, lost to her at such an early age and never found. Of her grandmother long since passed. Of the people, friends and strangers alike, that she'd tried to help regardless of the danger to herself. She even thought of her Master Owen and wondered who would take care of him if she were to perish.

Then, a figure appeared. It was as if all the remaining shreds of warmth and life in her battered little body were being rapidly drained away. The figure that appeared gave an aura strikingly polar opposite to her own. To her, he felt like hopelessness incarnate. Her injuries seemed to throb with more persistence and her breath suddenly become more labored. She wanted nothing more than to run away. The burning cuffs on her wrists and ankles saw to it that she couldn't even curl away from him.

Instead, she simply stared blankly in his direction. For a while now, she thought she had felt something in the room with her. Of course her senses could not be trusted, but she could not shake the sensation of someone watching. She had brushed it off as being in observed by those who had confined her, but when the unnerving figure spoke, she was surprised to learn he easily saw what she had only guessed at.

"... Goodbye for now..."

With those simple words, she felt her last shred of hope begin to fade like the trail of smoke from a dying ember. She began to wonder if her refusal to say her name had only doomed her further. She knew the importance of names. Names held power and could even be a person's undoing. But now she wasn't sure if she had protected herself or sealed her own fate.

She decided it didn't matter. Whoever had been watching was not watching any longer. Good or bad, her only lifeline to outside of her prison was gone. Whatever this imposing individual had in store for her, she would just have to do her best to survive.

Alexia sighed heavily, something she immediately regretted as it stirred up the throbbing pain that had lessened to a dull ache for a few moments. At least it was a welcome distraction from the frightening figure before her. She couldn't help being acutely aware of each and every injury. The worst had to be the iron that burned and bubbled her skin. Her other wounds hurt, but it was only residual pain from the original blow that caused her discomfort. The chains were a constant. Their very touch sapped her strength and poisoned her body against her at a constant, steady pace.

The entire situation was enough to make her just a little angry. There, far beneath the fear and despair, a shred of anger glowed like a candle wick recently blown out. It was enough to awaken something deep within her. Something even she was unaware of. Something ancient and powerful. For now, however, it was just a glow. A soft, violet glow that persisted within the dullness that clouded her large, dark brown, downcast eyes.

With dismissal of the all-too-foreseen obstruction to his 'data gathering', Rialza lackadaisically brushed away at his cloak, as though he were tidying up the symbolic residue left behind by the advent of unseen eavesdroppers. Really, having someone watch him whilst he worked was rather bothersome; not to mention, it actually left something of a bad taste in his mouth when they inevitably pitched their usual fit of whining at his expense. Alas, he finished soon enough and lowered his rather tall form to the degree of height at his guise was level with her pathetic hues.

"Now, now... Don't fret, my dear. I assure you they weren't going to cause you any trouble. Trust me when I say, they were about as inconsequential where they were as they would have been had they been right here in front of me. Giheheh... I'm not My Lord's Seventh for no reason, after all."

No doubt, his rhetoric was none too shy of meaningless to her, even as he held back a string of cackles in correspondence to her slim chance of escape from her captivity. 'Twas when he reached forward and attempted to lift her chin up with the tip of a clawed digit that he really got in her face about it. Thoroughly detestable, indeed.

"Now, I know the strapping young lad behind me asked for your name earlier... and I also know that you don't feel all that fondly about him, his virtual cultist of an associate, or even me for that matter... That being said... I just want to hear you state it for the record. It would save the lot of us, yourself included, a great deal of trouble if you were to cooperate... I could put you on display for all the humans out there to see just what kind of monster you are capable of being under true duress, but.... Heh heh... That wouldn't be right. Would it... Alexia?"

Wh... what?

Some distance from the academy, away from its clean rooms, sensibly decorated halls, and safe strong hold, stood an old cabin. Contrary to its age and rundown appearance, it was actually very well cared for to the best of the ability of an incredibly petite halfling. Despite her best efforts, however, it was still in dire need of work and, since her disappearance, was not as clean as it once was.

Within its walls, draped on an old wooden chair in front of an unlit fireplace, sat Owen the Marred, a once respected and valued student turned professor for the magic school old cabin neighbored. He had been sleeping off his latest guilt induced drunken stupor when he heard the softest, yet undeniably familiar voice. It was almost a murmur, but the words were clear enough.

?Help me, Uncle.?

His eyes snapped open and his head whipped about trying to find the source. Even in his compromised state, he knew it hadn?t been a dream. Alexia was reaching out. There was only one thing to do. He rose unsteadily to his feet and made for the basin filled with freezing water. Without wasting a single moment, he dumped the entire icy contents onto his head, haphazardly wiped at his face with the sleeve of his robe, and hurried out the door.

Once the landslide of pain in her head subsided to a dull steam roller, Hope stood to her feet.

"MCSI wont be tracking the perps for us. They are strictly crime scene investigations when we have magical elements that need sorted out. The leg work well be on us, Lucius." Hope said.

She walked for the reception desk and the young man there gave her a fully charged radio and a map. The female officer she'd sent off to the labs came back with a bracelet of braided flax, with a small quartz crystal shaped like a cone swinging freely from the braided fibers in its harness.

"Here you are Captain Jubal. Boys in the lab said they were sorry for the delay. They've been working so many cases but they have the tracker bracelet. Just put it on your wrist and once you leave the building the quarts will start to tug in the direction of the missing person based on the hair. They do warn the effect may become weakened as hair is a secondary medium for tracking, blood being the highest match, but it should get you and your consultant where you need to get to. Best of luck Captain. Give them hell." The woman said.

Hope nodded to the woman and slipped on the bracelet. She did a quick check that she was armed, and that both radio and map were tucked away safely. Then she waved for Lucius to follow as she left the 27th Divisions Head Quarters. Sure enough the quartz began cease a lazy, natural sway by gravity and motion and took up a self possessed tug and pull, though it was weak.

"Time to go hunting." Hope said.

((Feel free to direct as you need. So sorry about delays. New job has been murder on free time.))

"Understood..."

With the raising of his armor-laden hand, he courteous gestured to the receptionist and the officer as he proceeded out with his de-facto partner in the investigation. With any luck, the former wouldn't need to be 're-educated' too harshly for acquiescing to his rather blunt and unwavering candor so easily. The luxurious material of his cape and waist-cloth billowed and swayed in tandem with his saunter he made to exit, as though it meant to float on air that was not apparent to the untrained eye. Charisma and intimidation, whether intended or otherwise, were just a couple of the tools in a knight's arsenal. If he could effectively exemplify the courage to act in order to properly discharge a situation with his mere presence alone, he was all the better for it.

Once he secured a position beside the captain, he extended an arm toward the quartz, aiming to lay one of his metal-heavy hands on it. However considerably restricted his magic prowess was whilst donning the armor, empowering charms with a mote of his spellforce was still well within the range of his capabilities.

"A moment, friend... Permit me to strengthen the connection between the two of us and her location. I fear in its current state, that bauble of yours possesses nary the degree of potency required for our undertaking."

He wasn't the sort to wait on an answer to one of his suggestions, should it result in the hastening of a mission of objective, either. That being said, the moment he made to pour his energy into the trinket, its connection grew stronger still... without his intervention. Though alarmed by the sudden change, that wouldn't prevent him from further fortifying the signal strength. Soon enough, they would have a direct enough line to follow that it was arguable as to whether they hardly needed either spell to begin with.

"...'Twould seem she's returned to the from the depths of darkness and surfaced back in RhyDin proper. It appears as though we've a heading. Let's just hope we make it there in time. By your leave, Captain Jubal," Lucius offered, stretching his arm outward in the hopes that she would take the reins of the operation, as was her right.

Hope took a moment to allow Lucis to fiddle with the quartz tracker MCSI had given her. If he could boost the work done by the department, she was thrilled. It'd mean less wild hare chasing and more solid fox hunt. Hearing his assessment of Miss Longbow's return to a more public access point, Hope took a moment to study the quartz suspended by wire. The shard of milky translucent crystal slowly swung in various arcs as if it were feeling the energies of the city. Soon it settled in a solid tugging direction towards the south of Rhy'din City.

"Seems we have a solid heading to follow for the moment. South it would seem. I'd offer us a faster means to travel by my motorcycle, but my mentor told me that sometimes magic and electronics do not mix well and I'd rather not loose our direction. Hope you like walking Master Lucis." Hope said and lead a brisk walk only a former beat cop could manage through the sprawling town of Rhy'din.

It was when they reached the southern gate and the pathways marked off to various trails all leading to the Southern Glen, that Hope paused a moment.

"If Miss Longbow was indeed released by her captors, or somehow managed an escape, it seems to have lead to her being out in the Southern Glen. Which is something to note especially given how many on the list missing that you gave me a month or so earlier were often found missing in the city, or the few found deceased were as well in the city. I was beginning to believe there was an operation going on in the city proper, then again, the Southern Glen could make a good access point as well for moving people and bodies." She mused and rambled under her breath as she mentally logged her notes.

Moving her hand, wrist out and quartz still tugging, she watched for the path pulled towards the most and then took Lucis down the rabbit hole, for this was another case where you just hoped someone didn't ask you to eat something to make you big or small or someone wanted to lop off your head.

((Work has been hell. Sorry for the delay.))

It was quiet in the Southern Glen. Even the chirping birds seemed to put their music on hold. For deep in the woods, a mysterious girl slept. All manner of creatures had gathered to watch her. Some were so curious as to sit on her back or snuggle near her face. Others still waited in the shadows to see if eating her was an option. They mercifully decided to resist for now.

After a long while, she finally stirred. Her voice was etched with pain as she groaned softly into the blades of grass in front of her face. Slowly, she rose to her knees and knelt there a moment. It took her a while to realize the spots of red were little pools of her own blood that had gathered as she slept.

Despite her horrific injuries, she stood up, picked a direction, and walked barefoot and bleeding. Sorrow and fear that threatened to overtake her. She was lost and incredibly weak and disoriented, but she refused to give in. Instead, she simply continued walking in a straight line, hoping she would soon find help.

After what seemed like hours, but was likely just a few excruciating minutes, she finally cleared the forest and found herself on a familiar path. Her temporary entourage of animals stopped at the edge of the glen and simply watched her as if seeing her off before dispersing back to their lives. Finally, her efforts paid off, she could hear footsteps and what she thought might have been shouting.

Not entirely sure her mind wasn't playing tricks on her, she listened carefully. She could swear she heard Master Owen and at least one other voice. Her pace quickened. It was as close to a run as she could manage. Her vision blurred, whether from the overwhelming emotions or her quickly swelling eye, it wasn't clear. It didn't matter. She was almost there.

((I'm not going anywhere, I promise!))

Alexia didn't know how much longer she could go on. Her bare feet stung with every painful step and every muscle, every bone, every inch of her was screaming. Her clothes were viciously ripped and stretched thin and she was doing her very best to hold them to her broken body. Wherever she stepped, she left a trail of blood and even scraps of cloth now and again. She just wanted to go home and it seemed like it was worlds away. It seemed like a faded memory that she'd never live to see again.

As she soldiered on, she thought of her uncle. Would he care enough to look for her? Had he even noticed she was gone? He so often drunk himself into such a stupor, it was a wonder he was still alive. In fact, even before his drinking had spiraled out of control over the years, he had reached an unnaturally old age by human standards. She tried to remember exactly how old he was and the effort made her dizzy. The more she thought on it, she couldn't remember her own age either and the more she tried, the dizzier she got. Just like when she spoke. As the years went on her stutter grew worse, but it was especially intense when she tried to speak of her past. It was almost as if someone had intentionally done something to her to prevent her from remembering.

With labored breath, she turned a corner and saw some very blurred figures. She couldn't make them out. They could be friendly, or they could very well be the same people that abducted and abused her. It was entirely possible it wasn't even people she saw but inanimate objects in the distance. Either way, she would roll the dice and hope for the best. It was all she had left at this point.

She tried to call out, but her voice was raw and painful and her lip was split and bleeding badly. Everything was spinning. It was difficult to keep upright or even tell which way was up. Panic bubbled up anew as she felt the world slipping out from under her. She couldn't take another hit, certainly not one for the hard, unforgiving ground. Too weak to even throw her arms in front of her, the little halfling lurched forward.

"Such a shame that you did, my erstwhile master. Those prayers that serve to feed your spells will inevitably go unanswered, you old fool..."

Beyond the reach of immortal sight, a rift in space-time saw Rialza reappearing upon the sturdy branch of a considerably large oak tree a considerable distance yonder. Free from the void through which he and his twin attendants had traveled, a gauntlet-laden hand rose, erecting a small sphere at its tip brimming with golden light. At his behest, the scientists dispensed with their work facades, conjuring cloaks evocative of his more ornate and imposing garb. They then drew their hands together before themselves, fashioning a much larger sphere each. Slowly, the energy they passively gathered from their surroundings began to feed into the smaller globe poised atop the Esoteric's claw.

After a short while of this treatment, it had grown large enough to rival the combined size of both the lesser Seers' orbs. Bowing beside him, they would step aft of their overlord and pull his hood back from over his head.... revealing the guise of a... male fae? Bearing the youthful countenance reminiscent of a more traditional elf, the dark-skinned, light-haired fae male smirked, peering onward toward the clearing with the preternatural clarity inherent to his enhanced gaze. Slowly, did he lower his hand, the sphere collapsing inward to take on its original form... and yet retaining its highly-condensed aetheric potency.

"Now... Do me a favor and stay alive long enough after this for me to send you off in person. Hnhnhn... After all, you owe me that much..."

With only that whispered warning given, the sphere erupted forward, the resulting beam expanding only enough to rival a straight sword's blade in width. That said, it was aimed directly for the elderly male's heart, and should he or the girl not gain awareness of it swiftly enough, it would pierce them both. Unfortunately for the lot, the three were too far away for even Lucius and his charge to react swiftly enough: their attack's speed too swift for even the vaunted prowess of the hallowed knight to keep track of before it potentially speared its intended target. Truly a shame.

"Hold here, Captain. Something nefarious is afoot. There's something else here..."

It was soon that the radiant knight sensed a presence a ways off in the distance and not belonging to this world preparing to strike, and so did he extend an arm before his compatriot in the hopes that he might spare her a fate meant again for him. All at once, familiar images flew through his mind, kicking up momentum like the makings of a hurricane. Images of his death combined with the deaths of so many others unknown to him laid waste to his fortifications on a level he'd not yet experienced after donning the armor of his Goddess. With his mind so sufficiently occupied with its own defense, the only thing he could manage to do in retort was move in front of Hope before she experienced the brunt of his own torment. What surprised him the most pending this dutiful gesture on his part was the gentle means by which it ended. Suddenly, he felt no pain... no despair... no rage. In their place remained a lingering sorrow of which he could not locate the source initially.

Not long after the scene's events unfolded, Lucius hesitantly entered the clearing proper, gesturing for the Captain to do the same. At once, his eyes met the sight of woe anew. The sobbing girl knelt over the corpse of her beloved caretaker gave cause for his expression's solemn shift... and the necessity for such an obfuscating, sheer face plate. That being said, he would not be permitted to languish over her despair for long as the same entity he'd caught wind of before made its presence known in person. The robed figure slipped through the rift by which it was carried, its lengthy ears and pale complexion lending the Swordmage to style him erroneously as an elf. One thing did stand out about him that evoked fear from the otherwise taciturn knight; aside from the obvious aforementioned, differences he looked just like... one of his old master's remnants.

"What a sight for sore eyes, little one! Looks as though all your little flight did was secure your place by his side... and place the target squarely in the sights of his would-be killer."

As Rialza's frame came into view, he held up but a single digit, a sphere boasting the same energy signature as before coming to form just above the tip of the clawed appendage.

"Oh well, I wouldn't beat yourself up too much for your exhaustive failures... No matter what you had done, I would have found the means to exact my revenge in the end. The man had long since depleted his stores of usefulness far prior to this exchange, regardless. Still, I hope you're prepared to join him, dearie... Gieheheheheh..."

That was the cue for the Knight of the Cryst to proceed with his plan of action should something like this have come to pass. A hand lowered to his side that it might find purchase upon the spontaneously generated hilt of crystal that now resided there. Provided he had the necessary grip, he would draw his crystal sword from the aether wherein it had been bound, the resulting arc of light bending forward and darting out to the sphere in Rialza's possession. Fortunately for the good instructor, the fell magus was wholly focused on the girl, and therefore unprepared to make a suitable counteroffensive. The blade of light struck his hand and completely annihilated the beam's precursor, leaving the Seventh Lord to grip his arm in agony and put some considerable distance between himself and his secondary victim. That done, the knight sauntered over toward the fallen woman, poising himself as a barrier between assailant and mark and taking up a stance befitting a knight all the while.

"I hope you are well, young one... I do apologize for your loss. I was not able to save him... but he will not claim you, too. I swear by the name of Amaterasu. Thy foe shall not be suffered to escape unscathed."

"Gah! Grrhrhk... Well, well... Look who possesses the backbone in this relationship... Does she belong to you now, warrior?"

Of course, Lucius wasn't ready to expend undue words on the man before he'd set his plan in motion. Reaching up to press the palm of his gauntlet into his chest, Lucius set to work fashioning the necessary framework for his ascension to his next stage of potency. With each mumbled incantation, a glyph of hallowed light formed below him. When the time came, he fully embraced the prayer's gifts, enveloping him in a brief instance of blinding light. As the pillar of sanctified spellforce subsided, what now faced the unholy man was the same, imposing knight... wreathed in a sheen unlike before. Where naught and a relatively thin blade once were, an impressive shield and sword both beset by a filigree of gold that seemed to extend beyond their size had appeared. Lux without a source beyond the presumed otherworldly enchantments the knight had been bestowed with seemed to ebb and flow from his armor and armaments even as he craned his head back to address Jubal.

"Captain, I intend to engage this one. I would ask that you stay here and watch over our charge as she mourns. I know not how many additional allies this one has alongside him. She'll likely need assistance should she be ambushed by unseen foes. Call in reinforcements, should you feel the need. I will return ere long."

With that declaration given, he would settle into a stance and prepare to wind about, dragging his enlarged blade around with him to facilitate the creation of a sizable light arc along the ground. What he instead conjured was the eruption of several pillars of hallowed energy in Rialza's direction. Although the Seventh Lord proved to put up a worthy defense in the form of a pair of large barriers he erected with outstretched arms, the barrage ultimately overwhelmed them. With his primary defenses shattered in moments, the shade would silently bemoan his circumstances and leap backward into the treeline whereby he would beat a hasty retreat. Not to be shrugged off by a foe both he and his Goddess had condemned, Lucius drew back his blade and performed a horizontal swipe with the blade. Numerous beams launched forward from the sword's mighty swing and proceeded after Rialza, seemingly guided by the will of the sword that had summoned them into being.

One final glance aft of his position would be all Lucius needed to reassure himself of his duty to the lot of them, as he soon departed for the depths of the Glen and the forested area beyond their view.