Shady Red [Jeon]

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The arch of ages; well it was a tough nut to crack; there were charms and spells up the wazoo around this place. Aria stood just outside of the spells ranges; she could smell the magic coming off of this place. There were certain ways to enter this place without setting of an intruder alarm; well a certain way for people who weren’t apart of the academy. If you were a student you had something to be able to enter the great tree without setting an alarm spell off; you could always enter with someone who had the token…but even then you’d be noticed. But if Cores memories were correct there was another entrance; a set of tunnels that connected the Arch to the underground.



She wonder how well known those tunnels were as she turned away from the Arch. Padding into the woods towards an entrance to the tunnels. Aria was dressed in a simple off white dress with a brown tunic over it. The dress was hanging off of her looser then before; since being fated her routine of living outside on what she could scrounge up was beginning to take its toll. She had a shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Her feet were bare as she slipped into the tunnels, her only security was the heavy weight of her daggers resting in hidden places along her body. She made her way down and under the arch; careful in her approach. She slipped into the arch unnoticed. First step was done, now all there was to it was to explore until she was caught. For the next half hour or so Aria explored around the arch, making her way up to the top of the arch.

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Jeon had been lead by an escort to the academy. He hadn't been here since he was a child and had forgotten his way. Now, he was going to be in charge of the school. How did he get himself into this? He sometimes wished he could hide from his social status.

As he rode on a horse following the escort, he could feel the waves of magic protection for the school. The magic recognized him and weaved over his body feeling every bump and pore. It was an icky feeling, but that's how it was. If the school wanted to protect itself it had to had major shields. The large doors opened as they approached and a couple of students waited at the open to greet him. They looked older than he was and here he was coming in to be above them. His stomach churned. Responsibilities pain.

"Welcome back Sir Jeon!" one of the students said graciously. "Thank you for the welcome. It is good to be back," he recognized the man's face, but had no idea of his name. He smiled as big as he could as he got off his horse and handed the reins to the escort. They gave their farewells and rode away. Jeon walked through the doors and looked at the grand atmosphere of the school. Many things were afloat and many books trailed the walls. There was an elaborate and rich color of old book bindings and the smell of old wood stung his nose. It was a familiar place and now that he was here, he could feel his body relax and take it all in. A memory waxed through his mind of his father holding his hand as they walked into this space that seemed so much larger back then. Young Jeon was impressed by the wonder and freedom within these walls. These days the people didn't look so joyful. They had obviously lost some momentum under the rule of the new king. What a pity.

"Thank you for your time, but I will go the rest of through on my own," Jeon said with another big smile. He adjusted his bag hanging from his right shoulder and began toward the stairs that were against the wall to his left. His steps gave a slight echo in the giant opening room, but once he was onto the second floor and in the small hall the noise dampened. He was going to have to walk a few floors before he got to his room at the top of the tower. He was happy that he had been crossing the country for the past two years because the walk up the stairs didn't ware him out. In reality, it felt good. His muscles accepted the stress of the steps.

By the time he got to the top floor he realized he could feel an odd presence. The oddest thing about this presence was that it was familiar, but not in the context. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of red hair. The color was richer and darker than his own. He had seen this hair a lot since his return to the capital. He quietly stepped behind her. When he was close enough to see her completely he put his hand to the floor and muttered a quiet spell. The shiny wood floor became glossed over with a thick layer of ice. "Aria, what brings you to the arch?"

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A thick sheet of cold formed under her bare feet; she looked down and frowned. Slowly Aria spun around to look at the fellow red head. A calm expression on her face as she raised an eyebrow at him. Seriously drug a man once and he is cautious as a deer during hunting season. He already got even with her by knocking her into Noku and ruining her dress.

"Is this really necessary?"

While she could indeed melt the ice beneath her feet, she chose not to. She had yet to use an ounce of magic in front of him. Always good to keep mages guessing. She gave a bemused smile at Jeon when he asked what brought her to the arch.

"Why would anyone come to a school? A curiosity to learn...by my time this arch is destroyed and Magic users are hunted like dogs. To me this is a living piece of history ; I wanted to explore. "

Aria looked at him with curiosity, he was the first person to spot her; then again the top of this tower was oddly empty. Really he was the only one she could hear on this floor.

"So what's on this level of the arch? Also do you mind removing the ice my toes are getting cold."

Might as well ask questions since he wasn't kicking her out yet.

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"You ask a lot of questions for an intruder," he ignored her inquiry about the ice and continued to walk toward her. "The future sounds like such a bleak place if all magic users are being hunted. I wouldn't understand why," he crept around still he stood right in front of her. He stood casually and held his hands behind his back. His bright green eyes analyzed her face. His eyes trailed the scar. There was an interesting story behind it, but he would leave that up to her to tell. While looking straight into her eyes something seemed really familiar beside the fact that he had met her before. He tried to look deeper into them, but then decided it was probably nothing.

"This floor is dedicated to the administration of the school," he side stepped and continued past her," I think it should be used for something else because...as you can see...no one is up here. They all do their work elsewhere."

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”If I was an intruder wouldn’t the alarm magics have gone off? I have been here long enough for me to make my way up here.”

She grinned mischievously; her blue green eyes never leaving him as he circled around her. Poor boy still was wary of her, but then again she randomly drugged him…but honestly one really should have been able to tell a lunar drop potion when it was given to them.

”Magic is feared; harder to control and harder to control the users. I’m finding it odd people don’t jump at the mention of it…in my time many things are hunted”

Aria looked around, as she followed him. Might as well hang around someone who actually belonged there…and didn’t look like he was kicking her out just yet.

”Adminstration? …Well I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised so far you have shown you can use plant, ice…and wind if I can recall right. Most mages are only able to specialize in one type of magic. I don’t know if that is rare in this time though. I am going to assume since you’re the only one up here that your fairly high up.”

If Aria was impressed by this she certainly didn’t show it, she simply just listed it off.

”Does this tree open up to the canopy? I could see weather mages, or even some phiorics finding use up here…”

Aria scratched the back of her head.

”So…How did Noku take to having wine spilt on him?”

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It had been a long day already for the Archmage.

In Elemental Stone lecture, Elien had decided she was going to bring her own Firestone for the use in her test and exhibition today instead of one of the lesser stones provided by the academy for such purposes. Naturally, when a neophyte taps into power significantly higher than they were expecting, unintended results happen. The explosive impact knocked a number of other students back, and the magic dampening field could barely contain and dilute the fiery blast, setting some papers, furniture, and students ablaze.

The Archmage had been able to quickly release a wave of water mana in the room to counteract the fire, but dealing with anxious students in their own presentations going forward was less than pleasant. Elien was going to have to spend some time gathering reagents for this one. It was fortunate that it was Winter: sending a neophyte to gather was considered far worse punishment than most other options, especially in this snow.

As he was walking at a brisk pace down the hallway, his head wrapped up in the tasks he had yet to do this day, and mentally preparing for the lecture on the Estalvian Glyph and it's amplification effects on Fire and Earth oriented spells, he turned a corner into a patch of hall that had been covered in ice. It was on the second step the Archmage lost traction and began to slip, flailing briefly before he slid and crashed into the icy floor.

His elbow and leg sore, as well as a resounding headache from where his head struck the floor, he punches the ice from the ground, releasing a surge of mana that would disrupt the spell, the ice evaporating into raw mana in the air and leaving the hallway relatively safe.

"...When I find out who violated Article 87-A of Student Conduct..." he muttered under his breath, referring to the conduct rule that forbid altering the environment in unsafe manners within the Arch of Ages. Nearby students could tell he was irritated and left him a berth: while the Archmage was generally seen as benevolent and a great teacher, they also knew he was strict about rules like this and thus wanted to avoid being called out on minor violations themselves.

As Adrain made his way across the floor and up the stairs to the administration wing, he could feel a pair of auras nearby. Walking through the arch, he looks at them and seeing a pair of young looking peope, raising a brow.

"Students aren't allowed up here without a member of administration, what purpose have you here?"

The Archmage stood a little over six feet tall with white hair a little longer than shoulder length trailing down his black and white robe which identified him as the Headmaster of the School of Elemental Magic if one recognized the symbol of a circle and a complex glyph lined with several elemental themed lines. Purple, faintly glowing eyes took in the two, observing each detail and putting the faces to mind. Strange, these two didn't look like any he recognized, even if they weren't of the Elemental school.

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"You could say I'm fairly high up in administration. I'm not very happy about it either," he stated clearly. His face showed that he din't want to talk about it, but he was able to spurt out,"This place is Noku's punishment for me."


"Students aren't allowed up here without a member of administration, what purpose have you here?" Jeon turned around after hearing these words and looking at the man with white hair. He hated white hair. It reminded him of a certain King. He also gazed at the robes that adorned the man and Jeon understood who he was. He took a step toward the man. It was at this moment that Jeon noticed that the ice was gone. He peered down to the floor and at the man. Chuckling to himself he continued to walk toward the man and motioned for Aria to follow with his hand. The Archmage was a good amount of inches taller than he was, so if these scene had been viewed from afar it would have appeared comical.

"I am Jeon Ambrosius Noru," he bowed his head,"it is an honor to start working with...you?" phrased this question awkwardly,"Pardon me, may I ask you your name?" those purple eyes were hypnotizing.

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Aria chuckled when she heard this place was a punishment for him. She had to give Noku credit where credit was due…he was creative.

”Don’t like to be noticed either? And why was he punishing you….Though you have to give him credit for creative punishments.”

As soon as a new presence made itself known, Aria spun in the direction of the new voice, her eyes opening as wide as saucers. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared wide eyed at the man...her whole body frozen in place for a few moments. Something seemed to click as an indescribable amount of joy and relief flooded into her eyes. A grin broke out across her face as a squeal escaped her throat, Aria ran past Jeon and jumped up and wrapped her arms around the man’s neck in a full on tackle.

”ADRAIN! YOU’RE ALIVE!”

As she tackled him she was ready to evaporate any ice blocks that he sent at her. Knowing when he was surprised….that’s usually what happened to a person. She held him in a tight hug before finally releasing him to circle him, looking him up and down. He certainly didn’t seem any worse for wear of being her…or having his home planet destroyed.

”I’ve been searching for you for eight damn years; when I got fated over I lost hope I’d see you again! How long have you been here?”

The fact he was an administrator did not surprise her in the least. He was the first one to try to get her to learn how to use her magic. Aria stopped looking over him and opened her mind. It quickly sweeping over any animal in the entire arch. Reaching out in greeting for a certain shadowy feline.

”Now where’s Serai!”

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Noru? Strange, he didn't recognize this as one of Lord Noku's family members. The man seemed to be a mage of some repute whether socially or magical he had yet to determine. He had a certain softness to him that made Adrain question if he had the will to be a master, or if he was even capable of it. No matter, they were some inner thoughts that would hardly be relevant to the situation. If his grace appointed somebody to the staff here then chances are he wanted more direct surveillance in here. Was it not enough that the academy has had spectacular success with directing the talents of aspiring mages to the greater good? Was it even in Noku's power to appoint someone? The Arch had operated independently to this point, but perhaps with Noku's donations to the coffers of the Arch it was within his right whether in reality or his mind to appoint someone. It hardly mattered, the last thing Adrain would want is to make a contentious situation that makes lives unpleasant for the students. They were what the Arch was for.

"A pleasure, my name is Archmage Adrai..." he starts to state, but before he knew it the girl in the room had leapt and tackled him. Aria wouldn't knock the man down, though his body would tense up and he would stutter a step backwards. Her reaction was strange...of one who acted as she knew him, yet he did not her. 'Searching for eight years'? He has published literature accepted as the modern practice of arcane magic and considered a prodigy in the advancement of the magical arts. He hasn't made any attempt to conceal himself. While he was well aware that he lacked memory past a decade or so ago, it was strange that it took two years before whoever may have been interested in his fate sent someone to look for him. But what if it was a ruse of some sort?

Then the fact Aria mentioned Serai by name...that was what caught his attention. Not many people bothered to remember the tiger, and he didn't advertise his companion's presence, it being revealed normally when noise is heard in a lecture hall and he reveals himself startling a classroom.

Interesting indeed...Adrain would have to think of a way to approach this, but not at this time when this man was apparently appointed to some position of significance within the academy. This felt like a personal matter, while the issue with Jeon was that of business.

"I'm afraid that this is the first time we've met..." Adrain says after having snapped out of his moment of thought and once Aria had backed away. "While I understand Jeon has a role within this academy going forward apparently, what is your purpose here miss...?" he says, leading Aria to introduce herself. He isn't interested in speaking of Serai right now, another personal matter when the task at hand was business.