Chapter 5: Riders on the storm.
Yuu-Jin sat staring intently at the array of small crystals in front of him. His room was completely shrouded in darkness, save for the small sphere of light given off by his nether-tech desk lamp. The one benefit of being grounded was that it surely afforded him plenty of time to consider new projects and revise old ones. Presently his project was a bedside clock, which worked perfectly fine previously as a wind-up, gear driven alarm clock, but which he thought could be improved upon. Without access to the Academy's laboratories and store rooms Yuu was forced to make due with whatever materials he found around the estate, and which he could scavenge from items people 'probably' would not need; the result was laid out before him.
His concept revolved around a gentle, but stern mother... in the form of an alarm clock. Ideally instead of sounding an mind crushingly annoying bell the clock would begin to emit the light of a sunrise, going ever brighter. Then if the sleeper tried to hit the snooze button it would shock him with a small electrical charge; not really painful, but certainly enough to wake a person up. It was easy enough to put together one or the other and fit it into the small confines of the clock, the trick was to do them both in the same space. The young mage had tried dozens of configurations to no avail; either half of it would not work, or both would work with meager effect, or nothing would happen at all.
Gritting his teeth Yuu went at it once more, nimbly interlocking crystals with conducting filament, adding the right amount of residual nether energy at the the proper points, hooking up the wires, transistors and nether transformers for the electrical system and gently fitting it all into the clock housing. With everything in place he charged the clock and set the alarm.
A few seconds later the mage was blasted with a blinding flash of light followed by a stern arc of static electricity which sent him sprawling back in his chair covering his eyes. Lying on his back Yuu formed a smile, he was getting closer; with the proper power levels in place he just needed to find a way to regulate them. Such progress called for a break, and so Yuu excused himself from the project for a stroll in the courtyard.
The night was pleasantly cool for late summer, the humidity clinging like a soft sheet rather than a smothering wool blanket. A quick glance around reminds Yuu that this is not just another summer night as sentries are posted at regular intervals and a roving patrol can be seen on the far side. He had never experienced such tensions in the capital city before, but upon doing some historical investigation he learned this certainly is not the first time. His thoughts drifted to Vanyra and Zelpuz and the information they had uncovered and a pit began to form in the bottom of his stomach, and he searched for the nearest bench to collect himself.
Despite the guards the rest of the household was quite and dark, and judging from the position of the moon it was likely much later than Yuu had thought... not that he had anywhere to go in the morning. As Yuu sat on a bench near a koi pond and fountain fatigue started to take its toll, or so he thought; after rubbing his eyes and shaking his head the area had indeed grown darker. Glancing up the moon was suddenly obscured, not from a cloud as was to be expected. Rather it was simply darkened, as if someone had draped a great cosmic shade over it. Scanning the courtyard Yuu was not the only one to notice the strange lighting as the guards are visibly agitated. Moments later he could hear shouts of alarm from the opposite side of the manor. This was not a good sign.