Ssseeking the Crimson Edge [Crimson Edge Members Only]

[Annassena]

Summer 40th, 511 AV

[b]Annassena strode through Sunberth's streets purposefully, followed by shadows that spoke to her of the actions of others. She spoke to them, telling them made up little stories, and they gave her cold, hard fact that was highly useful. If anyone came to attack her, she would know.

As Syna descended and the darkness deepened, Annassena paused in her stride to take a good look around. She was seeking a particular group. People she had seen only a few times, but had taken an interest to recently. A gang, of sorts, known as the Crimson Edge. Oh, how she wanted to join, to take the organization and drive it into the darkness where she belonged. She wanted to become a part of something, and not just walk alone. Free food would come in the form of victims of the Crimson Edge, or in the members themselves. Really, she didn't care what -or who- she ate, just as long as it sated her hunger until another meal was required.

Maybe seeking an underworld organization was foolish for a small, pale girl like her, but she didn't care. She had her trusty crossbow on her personage, a weapon an Isur once demanded she relinquish or he would break and mutilate her "pretty face". She was better at using the weapon as a full Dhani, in the form the race was named for, but she was still a pretty good shot. And it did provide a wonderful workout, hefting around the large wooden object. The downfall was that it also worked up her hunger to an almost unbearable point. One would think that a small female like her wouldn't eat much, nor get hungry that often, but appearances were often the greatest deception of all.

Now, as she ran her tongue over her lips expectantly, the slim Dhani climbed a pile of crates, shadows fleeting to her side, as she gazed out over the heads of nameless people, picking out anyone she would deem a member of the desired gang. She hoped she found someone soon. She was only getting hungrier.[b]

[Eryss Waldu]

[As Leth rose over Sunberth slowly, darkness descending over the entire city, Eryss watched from amongst those wandering the streets appearing as little more than a nameless face capable of blending with the crowd. Maybe because so few knew of his appearance beneath the cloak he wore, its hood pulled high to hide his features, he could walk the streets almost unnoticed as though he were anyone else in Sunberth. Was Eryss the master of the Crimson Edge or just a messenger, a slave to someone only referred to and never revealed, that was sent to collect those who sought out the Crimson Edge itself? He bore no tattoo or marking that might reveal his allegiance but his intimidate knowledge of the group was one born of experience and not happenchance.] [As the lithe girl climbed onto a stack of crates, licking her tongue, so that she could overlook the crowds of those walking the streets he approached her. She could see him coming if she looked hard enough but it was just as likely she’d overlook him completely. He hardly stood out and baring nothing except the cloak covering him to tell him apart from the others that wandered the street Eryss didn’t exactly fit the figure of a dangerous thug or leg breaker, he was definitely dangerous in his own way though which he could demonstrate if required.] [When he drew closer to the Dhani she would likely be able to recognize a faint shimmering that surrounds his cloak. His Shields had been created to defend him against piercing weapons, more specifically arrows and bolts fired from bow or crossbow, Eryss knew enough that it would be difficult to get close to him and deliver a deadly blow so he concentrated much of his defences on ranged combat where he would be most vulnerable. Tilting his head backwards so that he could look at the lithe girl as he moved closer it would be easy for her to tell that he was approaching her by then and it would be made even more obvious when he came to a halt in front of the pile of crafts she had scaled.] [Was he staring at her or merely looking up in her direction? Difficult to say but Eryss stood there and remained silent for an ample duration of time before finally muttering loud enough for her to hear...”Get down from there. You and I have something to talk about.”...then he would move around the stack of crates and begin to walk in the direction of an alleyway.] [Inside the alley if the Dhani, who Eryss only recognized as a lithe girl, followed she would discover that he had turned to face her by the time she arrived. Standing a dozen feet back within the mouth of the alley Eryss, who cautious by nature, had begun to emanate a haze of res into the palm of his right hand which he shaped into a translucent sphere. Holding that sphere as though it were a ball he had decided to wait before acting offensively, watching and waiting for the girl to explain herself, which she might need some prompting to do though Eryss was capable of providing the proper motivation socially or otherwise if needed.] [Across the small distance that Eryss used to separate them he would appraise her, she was short and didn’t look like she weighed more than a feather but appearances were obviously the greatest deception of them all which he knew well, and after a short time he would state to her...”You seek the Crimson Edge? The Crimson Edge has found you.”...after which he waited for her to respond. Was it a surprise that she had been discovered? After all she must have learned of the Crimson Edge from someone and vice versa the Crimson Edge must well have learned of her somehow. Whatever the case she had gotten her wish for the moment.]

[Annassena]

Annassena hadn't noticed the man. She paid no attention to him, expecting a person much larger and much stringer than a faceless man in a crowd. She should have known better, but the Dhani didn't think about it. As darkness fell and shadows deepened, she and the darkness surrounding her began to whisper and speak in Makath, but a passerby would only hear her muttering to herself.

The Dhani only took notice of the man as she spotted him staring at her... Or in her general direction. A shadow was deployed to observe him closer, but to not openly hinder his vision. Shadows were malleable creatures. Quick and small, lumbering and large, they could do anything but dance in direct light. They could even move her, but she had not tried it yet. She wanted to wait.

This man bore no symbol of the Crimson Edge. He looked nothing like those people in that alley her darkness had stalked. Had she drawn the attention of an insane person? Should she go down, lure him into an alley, and eat him? Due to her inexperience, his shields were invisible to her. She was learning only one art of magic, the only one she'd known of, and shields were something impossible for her to understand without being taught.

When he spoke, after delaying it for long enough, pale eyebrows lifted but the girl obeyed. He had saved her the trouble of luring him herself. The fact that he didn't wait left something to be desired, but she moved quickly and had followed him into the nearest alleyway.

In the dim light, Annassena saw clearly. The shadows didn't hinder her like they would have any other human creature. It really was all thanks to Akajia that she was so blessed. Such a beautiful world existed in the darkness. She could not imagine missing it. But here, her attention had to be focused on the greatest threat. The man in his heavy cloak. She wondered at who he was, and what race he belonged to, and why he had approached her. This distraction was removing time from her search. It had to be eliminated.

The Res, Annassena saw. She didn't know what to think about it. Her shadows said it was magic, but she'd not seen anything like this. He was expelling mist and allowing it to hover over his hand. What was it really? Could it kill her? Without conscious thought, Annassena tensed. She watched him, and he seemed to be watching her. That hood was a frustrating thing.

As he began to speak again, she tensed for words to make the mist thing explode. She didn't expect him to address her. His words gave her pause though, and her lurid green, slit-pupiled eyes examined him much more deliberately. She had learned of them in an alley, had listened to her shadows as they spoke of an organized group of criminals. She chose this group, over whatever others roamed Sunberth, because she wanted their kills for herself. She was greedy. In this group, she could learn secrets no others were privy to. She could devour kills, removing bodies with glee. She was always hungry, after all.

"Yes, I seek the Crimson Edge." She said almost coldly. She had discarded his possibility as sustenance. He was no longer a distraction, but a means to a new life. "I wish to join them" She finished tensely. She didn't know if this man had the power to deny her, but she was ready to ask her shadows to hinder him as she began the cathartic method of changing her form. It was always good to have friends in a world where danger lurked everywhere. "You're part of them?" Quite an interesting guise, making a faceless man a courier boy. She'd find out his face soon enough. Her shadows always saw into darkness even as deep as that. It would be good to know what her new acquaintance looked like.

[Eryss Waldu]

[In the dim light of the alleyway the Dhani likely saw better than he could though Eryss, unknowing of her relationship with the shadows, didn’t suspect this initially. He thought that she could see as he did and that he had appropriately camouflaged himself in the darkness. At a distance of a dozen feet how much camouflage could one expect to have though? Likely Eryss could see the girl and she could see him with only a minor amount of inconvenience. It was the cloak that Eryss was wearing that set him apart however and made it more difficult to discern what exactly he looked like or how he might have let his expressions shift.] [Beneath the hood of his cloak, if Annassena could eventually look that far, the Dhani would have seen youthful though experienced features that were still largely nondescript. Maybe the most noticeable thing about Eryss was that as he shaped his magic, creating res, his face reddened around the eyes until it appeared to be a dark red in color. Almost as though his body had begun to saturate itself with the res that he was creating. Maybe this was even just his bodies natural response to the creation of res and how he had to take a little of himself to induce the effects of his magic.] [Listening to the girl however Eryss was quite capable of noticing the coldness in her voice, maybe even noticing how her voice had become tenser as she finished what she was saying, though he was largely indifferent towards her reactions. As she questioned him as to whether or not he was apart of the Crimson Edge Eryss would lift his right hand and gather the res that had been surrounding until it formed a sphere that hovered several inches above his palm. The Sphere was largely translucent at this time as well and even though it hovered above his hand Annassena might get the feeling that Eryss was controlling it with his mind.] [Igniting the sphere a brilliant haze of fire would immolate its outer shell in a wave that encircled the entire ball while the center of the sphere remained largely in its translucent state so that Eryss could maintain his control over it. Letting it hover over his hand Eryss would eventually cast it aside, towards a pile of refuse that littered one side of the alley, he ignited the inner most res at the last moment so that the flames would blow outwards and create a small fire that lit a portion of the alleyway. In the darkness that was beginning to descend it was unlikely anyone would take the fire for more than it was and Eryss had ensured it wasn’t large enough that it might rage out of control.] [As he took a second look at the girl Eryss would beckon her closer to the fire with his outstretched hand, the same one that he had cast the fire with, before saying...”Let me have a closer look at you.”...to her as though he were in control at the moment. He only wanted to take a better look at her however. Like she had thought of him he considered her obviously small guise to be a clever disguise for whatever was on the inside. Whether that be a highly skilled individual or something else he hadn’t decided yet. Surely they both wore their appearances for their own reasons though.] [Finally, after what must have seemed like a long time, Eryss would nod once he was satisfied before telling Annassena...”I serve the master of the Crimson Edge. You seek to join then you must impress me.”...an irony considering that Eryss was the master of the Crimson Edge however he enjoyed the freedom that anonymity gave him, the power, and that only a few knew who he was even if they knew his face. “Do you think you can do that?”...he’d continue by questioning her, curious as to how confident she was in her own prowess, as his eyes gazed more deeply towards her. Firelight made it easier to see here in the alley, banishing some of the darkness away with its touch, his hands were scarred from fire though instead of making him more wary of its touch it had seemingly only intensified his love of its kiss.]

[Annassena]

The shadows informed Annassena of the man's features, muttering and fleeing the shadow of his cowl once their work was done, settling again at her side and making the walls darken. They could see where no eyes could not, and while they were apt to ignore her requests, they did excellently when they accepted. While she could only imagine the build of his features, they told her the colour of his skin, his eyes, his hair, and the way his expressions changed and the skin around his eyes went bloodshot whenever he summoned that misty stuff. Annassena found this information very, very interesting. It hinted at a weakness. Weaknesses were ideal in others.

She flinched as he summoned another sphere, and the shadows crowed at her uncertainty of the nature of his actions. She held her tongue to keep from snapping at them. It wouldn't do good to offend the gift Akajia gave her. She could take their taunts. Their company was well-recieved from her. When he ignited the sphere, she held back her instinct to fight or flee. This magic of his was very intriguing, and she wanted it. A hunger to take that knowledge for herself crowded out the uncertainty and wariness. The shadows fleeted, dancing along the flames tauntingly after the man had lit the pile of refuse. The fire drew them in, licked at their sides, and yet couldn't harm them. The shadows were beyond physical pain and defeat. They could go anywhere but in a room lit completely by light. They needed somewhere to exist in the shadows.

As the man now beckoned her nearer with words to see her better, she obeyed, if cautiously. The hand gesturing her had been the one to set this garbage on fire. She had to be careful. Dhani could burn as well. "As you wisssh." Her accent had slipped as she came closer. Speech in the voice of a serpent passed pale lips. She stood nearer now, allowing him to look at her. She knew she was small, and light, and looked particularly weak, but that was all part of the game. She could play men and women, lure them from their herd, and distract them for but a chime to kill them. And that's all it took to become something with scales and fangs. A single chime. Long enough to shed clothes and transform.

His request caused a small smirk to fleet across her lips. Could she impress him? She wondered. In the Nest, she'd never been asked to impress anyone before. Here, the experience was quite exhilarating.

"Yesss. I believe I can. If you feel up to it, can you hold my weapon while I go about impressssing you? I won't need it." Cocky, maybe, but as the darkness grew, she gained an edge over any quarry that was human and unmarked. She was considering what to do, and how to do it. She wouldn't need her crossbow if everything went well. Just a set of fangs and some well-placed shadows.

She had noticed the man's burn scars on his hands, but didn't think anything of them. She had Zith scars all over her back. Even if this wasn't some sort of contest, she still felt that her scars were more impressive, due to the fact that she was both a small woman and had killed the Zith for the affront.

[Eryss Waldu]

[He was pleased to see how well she obeyed, coming closer to the flames of the burning refuse so that he could make out her features more closely than he had, when she was on the edge of the flames and her visage more visible to him he focused on her. Taking in her features so that he could make a mental note of them, especially her eyes, until she spoke in a strange accent that Eryss had never heard but that was vaguely familiar to him. He had heard rumours of the Dhani, the snake people, before and according to what he was told they spoke with a tongue similar to the one that she used now; it was supposed to betray their nature but he couldn’t be certain. It was, after all, equally possible that this small woman merely had a lisp but something told Eryss that this was not the case.] [Inspecting her more closely it was easy to see how someone could have mistaken her for helpless, Eryss would not make that mistake even though he considered himself superior to her, she did have the advantage of looking attractive though. Her smaller physique was definitely appealing to the eye where most men were concerned, Eryss himself could not deny that looking at her he might have been lulled into a deadly embrace under the right circumstances, and he wondered how many had met their deaths because of this. Always a thinker he needed to make sure he wouldn’t be lost in the same kind of trap.] [He noticed the small smirk that she gave him when he asked her if she thought she could impress him. Arrogance or confidence? He would soon find out. Shaking his head however Eryss would tell her...”Your weapon? Why not just set it down beside you?”...he had posed a question but in reality he was suggesting that she do this seeing as how to take the crossbow from her might put him within an easier range for her to reach him, he was no fool when it came to new acquaintances that he didn’t fully trust yet and took every precaution. Even if he had known her better it might have seemed like an odd request to him.] [While he waited to see what she could do whether that be some display of prowess or skill Eryss would continue to regard the small woman, his eyes never leaving her, she only knew him as a messenger from the master of the Crimson Edge when he was much more important to the organization than that. Underneath the hood of his cloak he had begun to generate another small amount of res, harder to identify as he didn’t exude it around himself, he exhaled it as a thin mist from between his lips and allowed it to hover there close to his face in no specific form. Whether she noticed or not was inconsequential at this point.] [During the brief pause between the both of them Eryss looked beyond Annassena towards the mouth of the alley, there was no one there but it made sense to check considering that the alleys of Sunberth were some of the most dangerous in Mizahar and murder occurred frequently in them, beyond caution he also showed discretion at not wanting them to be observed by passersby. Quiet randomly, as it may be, when he had shift his eyes back towards her Annassena would hear him asking...”What do they call you?”...which was one way of inquiring as to what her name was; he’d need to know regardless of whether she was able to pass his test or not.] [Beside them the refuse that Eryss had ignited using his reimancy was starting to die down already, garbage never seemed to burn that long, but it was irrelevant as the fire, though diminished, would live for a few minutes longer and its embers would remain after that. He could always create more if he needed to anyways.] OOCApologies for the post, I found it kind of lacking after rereading it.

[Annassena]

Long blonde lashes darkened pale cheeks as green eyes, bearing slitted pupils, flashed and flickered in the flames. The heat was welcome to the Dhani. It was a delicious sensation. Warmth pleased her body and brought her energy. She smiled at it as her tongue wetted her lips again. Her eyes remained on him though, and while she allowed him to examine her she was whispering under her breath to the darkness around her, swooning and seducing it with the promise of more secrets and fun. They doubted her, however, and she snorted before looking closely at the man.

"Yesss, my crossssbow." Her head tilted as she looked at him. She realized, as his suggestion passed his lips, that maybe he didn't trust her. She smiled much wider. An intelligent man. There were so few. But, she obeyed his suggestion and placed her crossbow down delicately. "I'm sssorry. I got ahead of myssself there." She quirked her lips at him. He was, technically, smarter than her as she'd take any risk. Well, any risk that was worth it.

She still considered how she'd wow this man. Should she tell him she knew exactly what he looked like? Should she say that she could blind him without touching him? The former was much more easier than the latter, as she would require the shadows to cover his eyes if she wanted to blind him temporarily. But, if it worked, it would leave him vulnerable. How would he react to being left without his eyes, in the dark? The darkness wouldn't be complete, but he would have difficulty seeing clearly. Her tongue ran along her teeth thoughtfully now as she considered how to impress this person. "Why does the skin around your eyes redden when you make that mist?"

Maybe that would aggravate him, or he'd still demand to see her skills. Well... She could show him herself dropping a man almost four times her size with a little seduction, hypnotism, and time.

She didn't comment on the use of magic, but she knew he had summoned it for the skin reddened with blood flow again. She was learning the pattern here. As they shared the silence, Annassena took the time to observe him further. He was a man, and while she wouldn't have minded doing things with him, she had no obvious desire to do things to him. She didn't feel like eating him, dead or alive and even if she wasn't against coaxing him into something with her, she also had no real desire to do so currently. She had found what she wanted already, and she was focused entirely upon joining it.

"Where I come from, I am Annassssena." She grinned slightly. "Will you share what you are called with me?" Curiousity and the hunger to satisfy the shadows caused her to focus djed in her eyes. Hypnotism surged, tickling at the consciousness at this man. The shadows snickered and fluttered, waiting like little scavengers after the wolf has taken down a deer. "Who are you?" Her voice was slow and persuasive, her eyes gleaming even brighter with the use of her djed. Maybe it wouldn't work. She wasn't that impressive. Perhaps she could convince him to confide in her however.

As the fire dimmed, she didn't mind. The warmth still buzzed under her skin, still resonated and made her cells buzz with excitement. It wasn't as delicious as a hot Summer day, but it was still tantalizing. She felt a sense of loss as the fire began to dwindle, and she waited expectantly for a new one to bring her warmth.

[Eryss Waldu]

[Compliance was always welcome. When the Dhani accepted his suggestion and set her crossbow down, abandoning the idea that he would hold it for her, Eryss was pleased. She could follow direction he saw and that was a suitable beginning. When she placed her crossbow down in the alleyway he would relax, not visibly but mentally, and wait for her to do what he asked. Could she impress him? He was sceptical at the moment but he had been wrong before so it stood to reason that this small girl was capable of something he would find was desirable. As Eryss had already surmised her facade was in her appearance. What lies beneath that was the real mystery.] [As Annassena questioned him about his eyes Eryss would smirk beneath the hood of his cloak. Not what he had been expecting for a show of talent or skill nor was it extremely impressive seeing as how he didn’t believe it was entirely difficult to see his features if one tried hard enough. Maybe she had exceptional vision. She was the first Dhani that Eryss had encountered and yet beyond her voice he still wasn’t entirely sure what she was. It stood to reason that besides her the possibility of her having better than average eyesight that she also possessed a low light form of vision though. Hypothetically speaking of course.] [Even though he wasn’t displeased with her display Eryss would chide her lightly by responding...”Eyes are the windows to our souls are they not. Perhaps my windows can barely contain my power inside themselves.”...simple rhetoric not meant to intimidate her but certainly capable of leaving one guessing as to the nature of the statement. Perhaps the flesh was weak, slowly being eaten away by what lies beneath, but if that was true than why discard the mortal coil and allow whatever was contained inside of it freedom. It was a question for another time. Eryss hated and he did so well, in time it was that hate that might have transformed him into something else altogether.] [Listening to her tell him the name she went by at last Eryss would tilt his head to the side once, Annassena was such an exotic name, and making a mental note would begin to regard her again before something started to occur as she spoke again. Her initial query was normal but something in the small woman’s eyes had started to effect Eryss, he wasn’t sure what it was about her, maybe some sort of personnel magnetism. As he listened to her speak the second set of words though, much more slowly than the first, Eryss would raise a hand and shout...”Enough! You think you can scramble my mind? Insolent girl.”...his voice boomed far louder than it seemed he was capable of when he spoke the first word and cut her off before she could finish her sentence. Identifying other magic users was something Eryss had a particular talent with and while he might not have known what she was trying to do to him he could recognize the subtle pull on his mind as something unnatural as well as the djed gleaming in her eyes.] [Did she fear what he would do now that he had discovered she was trying to manipulate him? Eryss had no idea but his eyes had grown much darker because of her attempt and now that there was less distance between them Annassena would be wise to think he had it in his mind to reach out and let the flames lick across her features. Instead of attacking her though he pointed an accusing finger at her before wagging it back and forth before accompanying it with...”You forget yourself. My name is not important but you may call me Eryss. You have tried to impress me and failed.”...his final comment seemed harsh, as though he were dismissing her, though he hadn’t told her to leave yet.] [Djed resonated from Eryss as he generated a light haze of res that started to pour from eyes, nose and mouth. The res clouded his features and slowly started to hovered out of his hood and into the alley where it pooled in a cloud. Eryss could have ignited it as a large flame but instead he let it hover overhead and in front of himself as a mist. Mentally he could control the res he created while it maintained that form so Annassena had no worry of it transforming into fire and burning her unless he wanted it too. “Come closer. Close enough for me to touch you.”...she’d have heard him remark just then and waiting for her a vaguely smile began to spread across his features after he had made the request of her. He clearly had something in mind of her for penance. Annassena was such an alluring girl after all, small and toned, all the things a twisted mind could run wild with.]

[Annassena]

Annassena wondered at the smirk at her question, snake-like eyes narrowing only slightly. His reply coaxed a smile out of her. Eyes, she could have told him, were nothing without a soul to see into. They were fantastic to eat. Practice among the Vipers of Eyktol was that eyes were eaten alone so that they could be enjoyed fully. Humour came in the form of Dhani remarking that now a person knew what the stomach looked like intimately.

His sudden outburst at her use of hypnotism made her raise her eyebrows. "Ssscramble your mind? My dear massster, I wouldn't ssscramble your mind if I could. No, I jussst wish for you to relax. But that isss not how I planned to 'impresss you." She didn't recoil as he stepped closer to him, but her head tilted back to keep his face more in her line of vision. She wasn't certain of what he'd do. She wondered if he would choose to burn her to nothingness, and she found herself caring very little. She was sure she was faster than him, and if necessary she would make her transformation and hunt him as a true Dhani. She smiled somewhat at the tongue-lashing she felt she was about to receive followed by more, much more serious, scars than the ones on her back. "Massster Eryssss. I never sssaid that I wasss going to impresss you by Hypnotizing you. If you wish to punish me, do ssso, but I will 'impresss' you afterwardsss if you would follow me to the main ssstreet and pick out sssomeone for me to enjoy." She felt that sounding submissive would please him, as would accepting whatever he would do to her. She just hoped that he wouldn't take her face from her. It was the one foolproof way she caught her prey.

As he released more res, the Dhani tensed, ready for the fire to lick across her skin. She came closer to him as he asked her too, remaining submissive to his will but tensed. She didn't know yet what he would do, but she didn't hope he'd want her and take her in that alley. Even if he did, she suspected he'd burn her afterwards. She caught his smile and wondered at it, now within a foot of him and well within any person's personal space. Her green eyes flashed and her tongue ran across her lips expectantly. She'd not been set on fire before, and she had to admit that she was excited as well as unnerved.

[Eryss Waldu]

[When she chose to sound submissive Eryss recognized that it was likely a ruse meant to lull him into a false sense of satisfaction over her, he decided to humour Annassena for the time being, and a dark smile began to twist itself more prominently across the features beneath his hood. Maybe her shadows would tell her if she couldn’t make it out vaguely herself, he still assumed that her knowledge of his eyes stemmed from an advanced ability to see in low light, it hardly mattered though in the grand scheme of things. Hypnotism, or the mention of it, did arouse a certain amount of interest in him though.] [It all made more sense to him now. As Annassena moved within a foot of him, easily within his grasp, Eryss would reach out to take her by the shoulders before tilting his head to the side as he looked into those marvellous green eyes of her. “Now I see it.”...he would muse to himself before continuing...”Apparently my eyes are not the only ones with power.”...he said making a vague reference to her knowledge of Hypnotism, he knew little of the school but reasoned she was a novice at best or else it would have been difficult or even impossible for him to resist her, before running his hands downwards, across her arms, if she did not impede him.] [Within such a close proximity of one another Eryss could look at her differently, the res he had generated still hovering around him as though it were a light mist, and had he truly desired it he likely could have burnt her before she could react now. Maybe he still would, he hadn’t decided. Drawing his hands away from her arms he’d raise one to come up just below her chin so that he could raise it higher before stating...”Now I see that I was wrong about you. You will be very useful.”...as though he had noticed something, unconsciously, about her that he hadn’t been expecting. She was beautiful, small, unassuming, and perfect for so many things whether they be diversions or acts that required specific expertise he was sure she could learn.] [Almost forgetting what he had in store for her Eryss would eventually step backwards so that they were two feet apart, only slightly more than they had been, and with a tip of the head inform her...”You don’t need to be punished. Nor do you require me to pick anyone out. Your task will be a simple one.”...he didn’t elaborate initially but he would. Before that he seemed to think momentarily though and then speaking again he would announce...”Any thug on the streets will do. Bring one to me and we’ll see what you can do.”...the taking of life was not so important to Eryss as were the results that came with it. If he weren’t sending her to kill someone that needed to be dead then it didn’t matter to him who she brought back to toy with.] [Waiting for her compliance Eryss would hold out his hand, shaping the res he had created into a sphere in his palm, and starting with the outer layers slowly watch as he willed it to transform into stone. Nothing in particular, granite maybe, but the outer shell of the sphere would slowly crust over until none of the mist remained to the naked eye but hovering above his hand by inches anyone who knew much about Reimancy would devise that Eryss had only transformed what could be seen and that inside of the stone ball he had made was still under his control. At the moment he did little with though, merely controlling his creation while waiting for Annassena to complete her mission.] [The Crimson Edge, he rolled the name around in the back of his mind, the group that he lead had become more widespread over than could be expected over a short period of time. He knew who he wanted to move against first in Sunberth and now it was all a matter of time; Eryss could certainly use the skills of someone like Annassena and thus far she had proven willing and accommodating if not a bit sure of herself as well. She must know that she would be expendable in the beginning, a low ranking member, but the Mage thought she would move up quite quickly with the appropriate encouragement offered to her.] [Exerting his will over the rest of the res that he used to fashion the ball sized rock Eryss could sense that it was beginning to harden and watching as it fell into his palm once his control over the element had diminished he tossed it into the air, catching it, and then tossing it higher one more. “One more thing.”...he added to Annassena then, assuming she was on her way out of the alley...”Pick someone large.”...then he chuckled once, surmising he would see just what this small girl could do against someone much larger than she.]