It was the strangest sensation. One minute they were standing in the archmagister's tower about to duel to the death, the next minute they were standing outside the doors again.

To Aleks, it felt very much like a terrible dream.

The cold wind blew again... Accompanied by snow flurries. Khione had used her witchlance.

She turned around to face them, blocking the doors. "We can't go in there," she said, shaking her head. "And we have to go. Now. Before Fenwick senses my Craft."

The sensation was a bit unnerving at first but then, he realized what had happened. Reminiscent of those times that Khione had aided his Craft, she had performed some sort of time magicks to rewind their timeline to moments before entering the meeting. A very dangerous power and interesting.

Aleks turned back to Khione, "Then let's get back to Lorei and Ethan. We need to check on them."

Khione shook her head. "That won't be as easy as it sounds," she said. "A Hellgate is opening in Aspire, consuming the whole city. I won't be able to portal us there.

"But I can take us to someone who can."

Kirin Skye--Chalice. She had returned to Central to deliver her report.

Aleks nodded, "A Hellgate? Already?! But I thought that they needed to..." his voice trailed off as he remembered what happened in the Throne Room before he went into the Vault. Bael already had what he needed; Aleks had assumed that he needed a physical sacrifice but when it felt like Bael had ripped half of Aleks's soul away, he had gotten exactly what he needed. He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs but held his composure.

Aleks's face look as if it held years of defeat lined throughout it. He somberly said, "Let's get out of here, please... Khione..."

Khione had nothing more to say. Her own expression was a grim reflection of the dark thoughts running through her mind, and for the moment she thought it more prudent to keep those thoughts to herself.

Chloris expressed her need to return back to the West and deliver her report, since discovering the news about Fenwick and Tomlin. The pink-hair knight cast her portal, and vanished.

Khione's portal shortly followed, and the pair was wisked away...

November 24, 2312, 7:32 PM
Royal Academy of Goetia, London


They exited Khione's portal in an alley, across the street from a very large building with gothic architecture. It was snowing, and the streets already had at least an inch's worth.  People, sleepers from the look of them, were hurrying to complete their errands, as night had just fallen. Everyone was bundled up to protect against the chill.

"We're in the Londinium," Khione explained, leading the way across the street and up the steps. "This is the Royal Academy of Goetia, my alma mater.

"Kirin--Chalice, must be somewhere nearby."

The chill in the air bit just slightly as they walked about; it probably would have been more noticeable if the young man wasn't so preoccupied with everything that was going on. Aleks gave two slight grunts of acknowledgment when Khione let him know where they were.

Aleks nodded before he posed his question, "Any ideas where she might be?" Another worrying thought crossed Aleks's mind, Is the whole of the Collegium in league with Bael? Are all the headmasters collaborating with the Asmodei? This thought occurred to him as he remembered that Collegium had branches in the Londinium. Which made him remember the others across the globe. Was it a whole network that would be combating them or were Fenwick and Tomlin going rogue?

He hesitated, because in truth he was afraid of the answer, "K-Khione... do you think all of the Sorcery Collegium is in on it? I just remembered about the branch in Londinium, Moscow, and a few in the Dynasty Republic, and the scores of them that I don't know about." It truly was not a welcoming thought as, apparently, "Ragnarok" was approaching.

"It's difficult to say for sure," she replied. "On one hand, it is the Sorcery Collegium's great mission to perfect and spread the classical education of Craft, and rediscover the great mysteries of Atlantis. If Bael can provide for that mission, then there is motive.

"But on the other hand, global destruction undermines that goal. Why go through the trouble of unearthing the world's greatest Craft only to watch the world burn? As an organization, I can't see the Collegium being willing to commit to such folly," she reasoned.

"And then, there are certainly individuals who would directly profit from war; We've already heard from Fenwick and Tomlin, and Rowan made a really good point back in Aspire when he said that Dynasty, Inc. funds many of the Collegium's excavation projects. Dynasty Inc. is the world's largest supplier of educational materials, but it also happens own a number of subsidiaries specializing in weapons technology.

"It really can go either way," Khione concluded, shaking her head.

Suddenly, there was a scream.

"Ah! My bag! He snatched my bag!" a woman shouted.

The obvious culprit was clutching a bag and dashing down the sidewalk, bumping into pedestrians.

At the scream, Aleks's head snapped in the direction of the woman, and he saw the hooligan running away with her bag. There was a moment where Aleks stood transfixed in indecision. He had a very important tasking that needed to be dealt with as soon as possible, but could he stand idly by as something bad was happening in front of him? His first instinct was to immediately run after the thief and collect the woman's belongings but in that instant, it was like the world froze.

His mind wandered back to the conversations that he had with Khione when he wanted to help Dawn retrieve his soul and Ethan with the tournament. Was he neglecting his duty by attempting to the help the woman? A melancholy which had threatened to overcome Aleks had hit him when he realized that when Bael stole a large portion of his soul that was all that was needed to complete the unholy ritual that had been over 200 years in the making. The revelation that all his selfish decisions had led them to the situation that they were in was not lost on Aleks. His decision to take the sine Amduscias in his lust for power, against Khione's advice, which by extension made him beholden to Bael. His decision to join Jadesong Fire's Storm Wardens not only because he wanted to be the honorable knight but because in some small portion, he wanted to be important. His decision to accept the place of Abbaddon of the Fury to save his life by acquiring more, darker power. His decision to murder Skyward Palm when he was defenseless because he feared the repercussions of not doing so after he had accepted the Mantle of Abbaddon. His decision to brag to Jadesong Fire because he thought it would please him, not knowing Khione was there to hear it, even though he didn't mean it and was putting forth a front. His decision to sacrifice Pandora's Box to save Khione and selfishly put her above everyone else because he wanted her, needed her to be with him. Even though the world was undoubtedly better for having Khione, the goddess Amaterasu, in it but it was colored by his reasoning. All these individual, selfish, and desire-driven decisions had played into the enemy's hands and now, a Hellgate was opening and killing thousands of people.

The only thing that had kept him anchored and not plunge into despair was his duty to the world. The world and the people in it needed him to be stronger than he ever had been before to help undo the machinations that sought to tear the Materia asunder. His duty was to the world and to the people of the world that could not stand against what was coming. In that moment that he heard the scream and saw the thief running away, he knew. He had to work towards the greater good for all of man, but that did not mean he could not stop injustices of the individual as he came across them, but he would not let it send him off on a wild tangent that would derail him from the main task at hand.

It was an epiphany, his own path of duty was revealed; he had discovered within himself his Code of Honor to which he would be beholden. In that instant, his selfish tendencies were left by the wayside. He was placed in the world to defend the defenseless and ensure that the world was a better place. He was the guardian of the realm, the sentinel of balance and the Materia. He also knew that being the sentinel of balance would eventually require him to make the hard decisions that Khione could not. To effect change on a large scale, he would have to be in a position of power, but until he attained a role that fit that, he would back up Khione and be her shield and sword when needed.

He had made his decision. He would not receive accolades for recovering a bag, it was not a shortcut to utilize in a lust for power, it wasn't a selfish act to solely benefit himself; it would be his first truly selfless act on his new path that stretched out before him. But if it interfered with the bigger picture, he would have to entrust it to others because there was a greater good that was more important for far more people. He learned that there were points that he would have to let go and trust others to take up the cause.

He could help the woman without letting it take away from his current mission. He was extremely fast especially by mortal standards, and he would use that to his advantage. He sprinted towards the thief while bearing in mind that if it was something that he could not handle in a very short amount of time, he would have to leave it up to the proper authorities to deal with. He ran as fast as he could, unaided by magicks, to catch the thief and take back the bag for the woman.

+1 Morality

Roll Dex + Athletics.

Total successes= 3(1 rolled + 2 auto)23:14, Today: Aleksandr Kai'Amari Nigil rolled 1 success using 6d10. {Dec + Athletics}.

Aleks was easily able to navigate through pedestrians, and soon enough had caught up to the thief. He was fast, but not as fast as Aleks.

Tackling the purse snatcher was child's play.

Aleks was on top of the thief's back with the thief securely pinned underneath him. He hadn't even broken a sweat in the pursuit, and he didn't want to hurt the thief but wanted to the bag. Aleks took the free arm of the thief and twisted it behind his back and pulled upward. He had, had this move used on him many times by his father and knew exactly how far toward the middle of the man's shoulder blades that he could pull before dislocating the shoulder. He leaned down and whispered into the young man's ear almost like one would do to a lover, "I only want the bag back. I do not want to hurt you, but I will if I am forced to. It has been an extremely trying day and in my frustration, I may seriously injure you if I don't accidentally kill you." He infused the cold rage that dwelt deep within into the statement as he lifted up to look down at the back of the lad.

Aleks saw the young man's eyes widen with fear and become glassy with unshed tears. Aleks leaned in once more, "You understand me don't you? I don't want any more blood on my hands today. Will it be the bag or your arm?" He actually had no intention of taking it that far, but he preferred to resolve the situation as simply as possible without resulting in more bloodshed. Luckily, Aleks's intimidation tactics paid off and the resistance went out of the lad's body. It was then that he realized that the thief was about his age, he couldn't have been more than 17 or 18. Aleks inhaled slowly and deeply as he took the bag from the boy's other hand. Once he had the bag, he let go of the boy's arm that was held behind him and stood.

The boy rolled over still between Aleks's legs and looked up at what appeared, to him, to be an imposing figure. Aleks's hand shot downward and the lad flinched and squeezed his eyes shut out of the fear of being hit or worse. A few moments later, when the hit didn't come, he hazarded a look upward to see the man that had just threatened him, holding out his hand to help him stand. He tentatively reached his hand up to grasp the warrior's. Aleks helped the young man to his feet. Given the look of the lad, Aleks surmised the possible reasoning behind the theft. The boy was looking downward until Aleks smoothly but firmly lifted the young man's head up, so that they were looking eye to eye.

"I don't know why you stole the bag, and I don't need to," he said even though the dirty face and tattered, disheveled clothing spoke as to the reasoning, "but I want you to remember something. The person you might be stealing from may have just as little as you do. Then again they may not, but you can be better than this... do better than this. Work hard for what it is you want. Get the things that you want off your own effort and not by taking them from others. I don't want to see you like this again... do you understand?" The thief shook his head yes as the tears that had been brimming overflowed from his eyes. Aleks's hand went from the young man's chin to the side of his neck and used his thumb to wipe away the tear stream that was beside it. Aleks gave a slight smile and nodded for the boy to run along. The young man shook his head yes again and jogged away, looking back at the seemingly kind warrior again, with a face that said "I'm sorry", before disappearing in the crowd.

Aleks jogged his own way back through the crowd and found the woman that the bag belonged to, and Khione was standing next to her. Of course, she knew full well where Aleks had run off to, and it appeared as if she had been consoling the woman upon his return. He smiled as he came to a halt in front of the two women, "I think this belongs to you," he said as he handed the woman her bag...

The woman offered a heartfelt thanks, then proceeded on her way. It wasn't long before she disappeared in the crowd as well...

"That was kind," Khione remarked quietly to Aleks. "You didn't have to do that, but I'm glad you did."

She proceeded up the steps and into the main courtyard of the campus proper. It very much brought to mind the feel of a Sorcery Collegium campus, but Aleks only saw female students. He would recall that the school only admitted girls.

Aleks followed closely behind Khione as she made her way into the courtyard. He looked around and was just as impressed as he had been by the other institutions of learning they had visited. Everything was beautiful and seemed perfectly settled into its place; everything looked so posh and sleek. As they continued on, Aleks remembered the detail that it was an all-female school after noticing the lack of any young males.

"So, Khione why is it that this school only takes females? I mean it doesn't so much matter to me anymore given that I'm a Walker now, but I am just curious," he asked Khione as he followed her path.

"For security reasons, I'm not supposed to tell you this, but under the circumstances, I don't think it matters anymore," she explained as they walked.

"Like I said before, it has everything to do with G.O.D.D.E.S.. That stands for genetic oracular data-determinant evolution synthesis. The program, with its top-secret medical procedure, requires special female exalts called nymphs.

"Nymphs have special DNA that gives us a higher chance of surviving the procedure. Also, should we have children, they will always be exalts. If the child is a girl, she has a high chance of being a nymph herself."

"Ahhh... ok. I see. That's very interesting. You know how you don't fully appreciate something til it is gone? I'm kind of experiencing that at the moment. I wish that I would have taken more time to study Theorycraft and spellwork while I was still a mage. It was quite odd, I had spent so long vying for Magehood and when I had it, I stuck with what was comfortable as opposed to broadening my horizons. Don't get me wrong, your tutelage in the ways of the Paladin were wonderful and you helped me hone my skills to a finer point than I ever had with my father, probably because I enjoyed training with you, but looking back on it, I should have experimented and studied a bit more with Craft. I wonder if it was because on some level I knew that it was a faux-Awakening?" Aleks posed rhetorically.

He continued to take in the sights of the campus, as he talked further, "It's so weird, the not being able to improvise Craft, anymore. The cosmic correlations and deep understanding of how arcana worked in the core of my being held wonders that I no longer have access to. It's kind of like a dream that you have but the longer you're awake the farther away it seems and the more you forget of that dream. Those intrinsic truths of the building blocks of creation are like a memory that is on the tip of my tongue but is just out of reach. It's so frustrating at times, but being a Walker is not without its advantages. I mean being a wellspring of essence is kind of amazing, and the regeneration of it so quickly is astounding. It's almost like I'm thrumming with energy constantly; it's kind of a interesting feeling. I'm guessing that there are very few in the world, if any, that transition from a Mage to a Walker. I wonder if I'll ever have an Awakening into Magehood of my own. I hope so eventually but if I am a Walker forever, I don't think it will be too bad."

Aleks skirted around directly to her side and looked at her in the face before he started again, "When we are able... I would like to pledge myself to be your Guardian til if and when I become a Mage, again. If you'll have me that is. I'm not expecting an answer now, I just wanted to let you know that..."  The young man began to blush and look around as if there was something meandering around that had garnered his attention.

Khione was quiet for a moment, considering. "That's flattering," she said with a weak smile. "I never really saw myself having a Guardian.

"But that's not quite how a Guardian's Oath works," she added. "I mean, it's not just a verbal promise. If a Walker soul is a pillar, then a Guardian's soul is a fortified tower.

"It's difficult to explain, because I've only ever worked with Guardians, never had one of my own. But as I understand it, once a Guardian, always a Guardian. The decision to become one will forever make you a Sleepwalker. It's a sacred vow that transforms one into a living, spiritual fortress," she explained. "A choice that permanently anchors the soul."

Aleks's steps begin to slow until they gradually came to a halt. The enormity of the commitment hit Aleks hard in the chest because it meant that he would have to sacrifice any chance of attaining Magehood on his own, permanently. It was like the air was taken from his lungs, and he didn't fully understand why.

Along Aleks's journey, in actuality probably long before then, he had begun to have a vision of what he hoped to accomplish and to attain. He had imagined himself a great warrior of the people, a devout protector of all mankind. And after a time of doing many wondrous deeds, he would be elevated to sovereignty and would utilize his position to bring peace to his land. He would give his all to reshape the world to his vision and ensure that his people were well taken care of. He saw himself as a mage utilizing his superlative understanding of arcana to mold the world into a place of peace, understanding, and equality. He saw himself giving speeches to crowds that cheered with adulation for their Prince and vowed to strive for a kingdom where no matter if Sleeper, Walker, Scion, or Mage, all were equal.

He had known the pain of almost being sacrificed by his father, after years of torture, for being a Sleeper, by the grace of Godcraft he had lived for ten whole days as the Mage he had striven to be his entire remembered life, and he had had his soul shredded and sacrificed his Magehood to save his sister's life, purity, and goodness... leaving him changed into a Sleepwalker. When one gives up something like Magehood, for the life of and to maintain the honor and nobility of the soul of the person one cares the most deeply about, it's far easier to do in the moment. In that moment, one holds out hope that maybe something can be done later and one also doesn't have the time to reason out the other options or realize that some long-enduring hopes and dreams will blow away like ashes on the wind.

Once again, Aleks saw himself standing in front of a large crowd in a black collar-less suit with a white scarf around his neck lightly flapping in the wind. The podium upon which he stood began to rise up upon a growing shard of dark gray granite, which turned into a hill, which then turned into a mountain. And on the face of that mountain, there were sigils that Aleks knew were meant to represent him, but there was a palpable darkness thrumming off of them and tricks of shadow played across them in a disturbing manner. The face of the Aleks that was on the podium begins to darken and contort in scary flashes, until the suit turned into scarlet and black lithe armor and horns of the same colors protruded from Aleks's head. It starts to thunder and lightning as rain begins to fall in a torrential downpour, but it isn't water... it's blood. The crowd beneath him begins to scream as the white scarf on Aleks's neck becomes completely saturated in the blood. With a deft, quick motion the Aleks on the podium stabs a sword downward with a squelching sound. He looks down to see Skyward Palm at the end of the blade, then it changes to the thief from earlier, then the old woman, countless other faces, then Ethan, then Chalice, then Lamia, then Lorei, and finally Khione. And it is with gruesome relish that the demon, Aleks, stabs her body.

In Aleks's lust for power, he had made many decisions which had led him down the path he was on. If he continued down that path, it would mean certain ruination for him and all those that he cared about and countless others. Even if he was now not seeking the power for his own sake but for the sake of others, he had proven time and again his inability to grapple with some of his baser instincts and had killed a man in cold blood so that he wouldn't have to deal with him and out of fear of a master that he did not understand. When a Mage gives into hubris, it effects the whole of reality and can bring about great calamity, and Aleks could not say with certainty that he would be able to successfully defeat his temptations, even to the detriment of those he purported to care about. But there was something that he could do, to prove himself worthy of the person that he truly wanted to be, to do the duty that he knows that he has. He may not be the person to lead the world into the new era but he could be the towering fortress for one that he knows would be able to resist the temptation and would be a beacon of goodness to the world. And there was no way to ask for forgiveness for taking Skyward Palm's life, but maybe there was a way to atone. He could sacrifice that life that he dreamed of and he believed that he would easily attain, to help seat and fortify the Goddess Amaterasu, to atone for the murder of a fellow warrior, and to ensure that he would never afflict what he was becoming onto the Materia... that would be his sacrifice.

Aleks saw himself again on the podium laughing when the dark gray storm clouds began to change to bright shades of blue. It was no longer raining blood, but some opalescent fluid that burned the demon and caused the dark gray granite to crumble as the demon Aleks plunged to his doom.  As the granite continued to crumble away, underneath appeared a gleaming white tower of multiple layers that began to pierce the sky. It too began to rise higher and higher, soon it had surpassed even the mountain that had come before. As the tower widened and sectioned off, various golden sigils marked out Aleks's true path. On a lower level plateau underneath the largest sigil stood Aleks with his hands raised upwards and at the top of the tower were seven golden prongs which had atop them a pure white diamond. Just then sunlight hits the white diamond and ethereal white flames erupt upwards into the heavens and light cascaded across the countryside further and further to the roar of citizens below.

The scene shifts and he sees Khione sitting on her throne in a kimono of white with various hues of reds, oranges, and golds in beautiful patterns, so that it looked like she was in a fiery lotus blossom. She sat there with a smile, and then a man stepped beside her to her right. He was dressed in an outfit similar to what Aleks wore at that moment, except it was white with silver filigree and golden scarf/hood and piping in strategic places. In his hands he held two swords, one was Muramasa and the other was the Masamune. And looking at his golden baked skin which led to those piercing tri-colored irises with long tresses of goldenrod hair billowing at his back. That's when he realized it was himself. Khione's right hand, her guardian, her advisor, her brother....

Aleks said quietly, "I have to protect the future... that's what I'm suited for. I believe that you are a beacon to a better future, Khione. I understand what it means, and I understand what it means that I can never have, but I'm willing to sacrifice that to see you emerge. I believe that much in you and what light you can bring to this world. I will be your guardian; I will protect your light and grace for a better world." Khione heard him and knew that he truly meant what he was saying, even more so that his very being believed that.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:21, Fri 21 Aug 2015.

"I-I don't know, Aleks," she started, obviously uncomfortable. "That's all extraordinarily sweet of you to say, but I don't want to be the reason you permanently sacrifice something you've always wanted," she said, and thought to herself, and killed for.

"I'm not worthy of such a sacrifice.

"In any case, we've been through a lot. It's probably wise to save this conversation for another time."

Khione heaved a tired sigh and headed into the building.

Aleks heard the uncomfortable tone in Khione's response, but he wasn't sure what the cause of it was. There could be any number of reasons why she was uncomfortable, and it made Aleks a little sad. But they had work to do, so he continued the march forward as he said, "Understood."

Aleks held his head high as they continued on their way...