FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 1

Magic swirled around me in a maelstrom as I sat cross legged in the center of my workshop, meditating and pulling the ambient energy into me and then funneled it into the pair of magic staves I had recently finished making. Candles were the only source of light, the flames flickering and dancing as the faintest smell of smoke filled the room. A small fountain of water bubbled, adding to the peaceful ambience. Faye prowled on the outskirts of the magical vortex, her deep purple fur fading in and out of visibility as she stalked through darker parts of the room, all while making deep guttural purrs as the gentle motes of multicolored light swirled around. Light danced in her 4 eyes as she watched with amused satisfaction.

“Nearly done, you only need a little more and they will be finished” she purred, her upper set of eyes glow bright as she watched. I kept my breathing centered as I focused on the flames and the water. I drew in 2 opposing elements for 2 opposing staves. In every way these staves were identical except for the glowing crystals affixed firmly into the top of each.

These staves were made for a pair of identical twins Which is why they looked the same, however magic is fickle or at least seems to like to joke. These identical twins had opposing magical natures; One channeled fire, one water. Now if that's not magical fuckery, I don't know what is.

The staves rose from the ground slightly as I finished priming them with my own magical power and I deftly caught them out of the air as they dropped. The motes of magic died, fading to nothing as the candles went out and the fountain stopped.

“Flamma” I murmured, with a casual wave of my hand. The candles ignited once more as well as my fireplace, bathing the room in amber light.

“A fine pair of magical tools” Faye said in her deep hissing speech. “A shame they didn’t allow us to add some runes"

“You know how Sorcerers are, They need to add those things themselves” I responded as I carefully set both staves into individually decorated wooden boxes. “They only wanted a few standard sigils carved into them”

“Yes yes i know, your kind is very foolish, that fire staff could use some brimstone runes” Faye hissed, her top set of eyes on the fire staff while her lower set was looking at the water staff.

I shrugged as I closed the boxes and stretched. Priming magical wands and staves was my least favorite part of the crafting process and I was glad it was done.

“How long did that take?” I asked as I looked around my workshop; ok it was actually the living room in my basement apartment. One to many failed magical experiments had caused me to get moved to the basement for “safety”. Because I lived underneath a giant tree, large roots snaked down through the stone walls and formed support pillars. I went to my kitchen, feeling slightly drained and checked my fridge. I actually couldn't use your standard fridge, those took electricity and the Majority of electronics didn't work around me because of my magic. Instead I had just taken a bunch of ever-frozen ice and lined an insulated metal box with it. Viola magical fridge.

“Four hours. You’re improving your control. Charging two opposing elements would present a challenge to many” Faye answered, her form sinking into a shadow and then rising out of my shadow to peer into the now opened fridge.

“Ulysses i request the steak” she said, her lower eyes looking bored while her upper eyes were locked in on the cut of meat.

“It's pork, What will you give me for it?” I asked as I grabbed myself a container of leftover Dwarven food. Dwarves always made food with lots of meat and pasta, and that suited me fine.

“I shall catch you glitter wings in the overneath” Faye growled softly.

“Deal” I said, tossing her the raw pork chop which she caught out of the air in a leap, landing on a shadow only to sink into it like it was water. Faye was a Howl, a type of Cat demon about the size of a large bobcat. She was also my familiar and friend. However when dealing with demons usually one has to trade with them because demons don't accept handouts, they take it as an insult. something like thinking that it makes them look like they can't provide for themselves.

I didn't bother grabbing a fork or anything and simply ate with my fingers in front of my fridge, eating the meal with gusto. I wasn't even quite sure what the meat in this dish was, but meditating for four hours without moving and only channeling magical energy builds up one heck of an appetite.

I had just about finished my meal and started drinking cold water when I heard a loud scratching from one of my above ground windows that I often opened just to let smoke from my failed experiments waft out. I looked at it and saw an envelope scratching one of its corners against the glass with more aggression than a piece of paper should have.

“Open” I mumbled as I did an upwards flick with my fingers causing the window to swing outward and upward. I never was good at Thaumaturgy, which was using spells without a focus like a staff or one of my many other magical tools, but small spells like that one I could manage without much of an issue. The envelope flitted into my apartment and caught it out of the air. The wax seal on the back showed what looked like a snowflake except its fractals were made of hammers, signifying it was from a Snowborne dwarf.

The snowborne dwarves were a clan of dwarves that were taller than the other clan, the Stoneborne. Snowborne dwarves were like the warrior class; they were taller, trained for combat as well as crafting and were generally armed. The Stoneborne were shorter, often were miners and preferred to never leave the mountainous homes of the dwarves.

I opened the letter and read its contents, amused at how direct and to the point it was. It simply read:

“Ulysses,

I’m on my way so we can go to the guild meeting. Be ready with those staves.

Elijah”

Amused, I quietly snorted to myself thinking about how my adoptive father never was one for many words in messages. Regardless I set about getting ready to leave, thinking about the upcoming meeting. Chances are it would be a ceremony to award the two staves I had made to their new owners. I got my long fur lined coat, made for the harsh mountain conditions and crafted with several magical wards under the lining on, then slid my belt with a few magical tools like my “gun” which was loaded with a fresh magical crystal ready to shoot off several spells. Lastly, I made sure the 3 badges I had earned were attached to the collar of my coat, showing my allegiances.

The first one was the same Snowflake as the letter I had just received, signifying I was a part of the Snowborne dwarves, as I had been adopted and raised in a dwarven city and trained on how to do magic there. The second was a small 7 pointed star, the symbol of the sorcerer's guild; it glowed with a dull bluish light and showed I was a member of the all-human guild. Although there were some exceptions, the guild was mostly made up of human members since most other magical races had their own equivalent, particularly the elves. The last badge was that of a simple living leaf, kept alive by magic and showing I was an honorary Folink and more importantly a member of the Longleaf clan. Satisfied all 3 were fixed in place, the last thing i had to do before i met Elijah was to inform my intended of the meeting the guild meeting as she was a special guest.

"Imprimeo" I called out, motioning to a stack of papers and a pen. The pen jumped up onto its end and pressed its tip to the paper, ready to copy my words as I penned a letter to Raxeia.

"Love, Elijah will be here soon for the meeting, head down, uh scratch those last two words" I said and the pen scribbled out 2 words.

"Please head down to my place so we can meet him"

peering at the paper, i was satisfied with the message and the amended bit, best to be polite.

"Cluedo" I cast, causing the pen to lay back down "Mitte Raxeia"

The paper folded itself and flew out my open window then upwards towards the treetop. I looked out after it, then double checked that I had all of my gear. These meetings often dissolved into petty bickering and squabbles, which is why I rarely went to them. When I did go, I had all the equipment that I would normally carry when I went somewhere dangerous like overneath or on an adventure. I was looking over my magical gun effigy when my rotary phone, which sat on a dusty bookshelf, rang loudly, shattering the serene silence of my home and making me nearly drop my gun. I bobbled it for a moment before getting a firm hold on it to holster it.

I looked to the corner where it was ringing, noting that it was covered in dust. I heard Faye hissing from somewhere in the room, her ire directed towards the annoying noise.

"Kill it!" She hissed, her voice seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.

I grabbed the phone off its cradle, shaking it a few times to rid it of dust and cobwebs.

"Hello?"

"A note? You seriously sent a note? What are we in school again? just call me" came Raxeia's annoyed yet melodic voice.

I sighed and rubbed at my eyes, grimacing as I tracked dust from the phone across my face.

"it's easier to use magic, besides i don't remember your phone numbers... or uh anyone's for that matter" I replied as I grabbed a semi clean rag and wiped the dust from my face. I heard Raxeia swear softly through the earpiece.

"Can make a fudging magical artifact from scratch but can't remember a phone number... I'm buying you a rolodex or something"

I shrugged before I realized she couldn't see me.

"Sure ok, you heading down?"

"How long until Sir Elijah is there?"

"I dunno, his note said he was on his way"

"Well what time does the meeting start?"

"When most people get there"

I heard Raxeia curse again.

"Trees be damned sorcerers and your time blindness! Fine I'm on my way down"

The line went dead as she hung up without letting me defend myself from such vile and probably true accusations. I heard Faye laughing her raspy laugh at my expense.

"Ohhh my I hope she's that feisty in bed"

"Shut up and stop listening to my phone calls"

She cackled this time as her four purple eyes, the only visible part of her, glittered in amusement at my expense. I turned away from her, triple checking my equipment and making sure I had everything. The two staves were secured in their boxes to protect them from anything, and to protect me from them. If I used a spell while touching either staff it could magnify the spell to be several times more powerful. A simple flame spell could turn into a huge fireball, or a light spell could become something akin to a Have-not flashbang grenade, because of that I carefully set them on a counter and then grabbed a few crystals i was in the process of carving to look over, just to kill time.

The feeling of my apartment's protective wards being disarmed nearly set me on alert until I rationalized that Raxeia was coming to my door; after all she had one of the few protective charms I had created to let people through the normally debilitating spells I had weaved around my home. Raxeia And Purlazae entered my apartment, looking around the room as they shut the door behind them. The spells all snapped back into place as soon as the door closed.

They were both Folinks, A wolflike Magical beings that stood at over 7 feet tall. Raxeia was a bit shorter than Purlazae, standing at 7 foot as opposed to Purl's 7 and a half foot. Both had Thick fur that covered their slender bodies, Raxeia’s being light Blue and Purl's being a light purple color. Their clawed feet clacked gently against my hardwood floor as they strode in.

I noted that Raxeia wasn't wearing her usual nurse uniform that she wore almost everywhere, instead she wore a green gown that flowed and had leaf patterns sewn into it along with a long thin sword that looked like a giant sewing needle. Purl wore Leather armor dyed to look like a forest canopy and had a long bow attached to her back.

Raxeia's long snout wrinkled slightly and her long tail thrashed behind her as she sniffed the air.

"What did you explode this time?"

I shrugged at her.

"Tried to make a potion"

She sighed and pressed a paw to her face.

"You are the worst potion maker i swear, what was it this time"

"Potion of softness, one of the crystals I'm carving ruined one of my tools" I answered, pointing at a bright yellow crystal about the size of a tomato that had a half finished series of runes on it.

Raxeia looked mildly concerned and Purl moved closer to the crystal, looking at it and prodding it gently . She looked like she was going to say something, but shook her furred head instead.

"I'll help next time, i think i have a plant that will help with that" Raxeia sighed as Purl got a small electrical shock from the crystal.

Raxeia and her family had a huge garden of magical plants deep in the forest that had been grown and expanded on for generations. Many of the plants had been gathered from the Overneath; a world parallel to ours that was home to thousands of types of magical flora and fauna.

Raxeia sniffed again then looked at a dark corner of the room.

"I can see you Faye"

Faye lets out a slight growl of disappointment then materialized out of the shadow.

"I'll get you one day"

the two of them glared at each other for a moment until a wide smile crossed Raxeia's muzzle and she opened her arms wide

"com'oere ya overgrown fuzzball"

Faye mewled and pounced from clear across the room into Raxeias arms, immediately purring and getting tummy rubs like she was a kitten instead of a demon bobcat.

"Whos my fuzzy baby? whoooooos my fuzzzzzy baby" Raxeia singsonged to her, petting and burying her face in Faye's tummy fluff.

Faye just purred louder, then wiggled free.

"yes yes i am the fuzzy baby" She said, looking as embarrassed as a smug cat could. She melted into the nearest shadow without a whisper of sound. Raxeia stared after her for a moment, a smile on her muzzle still. She looked to where I was checking the magical energy of a few crystals.

"The staves are done?"

I nodded and motioned to the two wooden boxes that were laying on my counter. Raxeia nodded then strode across the room in her long strides to wrap me in an embrace. Her fur was soft like smooth velvet and smelled of eucalyptus mixed with mint.

"Missed you"

"Missed you too" I replied, wrapping my arms around her waist. She gave me a quick kiss and I pet the spot right above her tail, sending small shivers up Raxeia’s spine. We stood in each other's arms for a moment savoring being close to each other.

"gross get a room" Purl called out as she and Faye snickered.

Raxeia huffed at her friend as we broke our embrace.

"Next time you get hurt, I'll tell you to get a room Purl!"

Purl cocked her head to the side in a very canine way.

"Rax, that doesn't make any sense"

Raxeia, now looking flustered, just glared at purl.

"Where's the note from Elijah!? I'm sure it has the time he's arriving on it" She grumped, changing topics to try and save face.

I passed her the note and she stared at it for a moment before crumpling it up and tossing it.

"dead trees you sorcerers, what time did you finish the staves? Have they settled?" she asked, opening the box of one of the staves and letting the fire crystal set into it glow.

"I dunno, what time is it now"

"look at your clock"

"It doesn't work anymore"

Raxeia huffed and looked to where the analog clock she had given me was sitting on a bookshelf that was lined with used notebooks.

"Did you wind it?"

I stared at her for a moment.

"You have to wind it?"

Raxeia threw her hands up As purlazae guffawed.

"Yes! How else would it work"

"Don't know, figured it was magic and I forgot to recharge it."

Purlazae strode over to the clock, pulled it off the shelf , shook it a few times then began winding it. She looked at a pocket watch she had and set the time.

The clock began its rhythmic "tick tock" as She looked at me.

"Can make complex magical objects but can't figure out a clock. For someone who was born a have-not you're pretty technically inept" Purl quipped with an annoying grin

I waved off the comment.

"I know about wind up clocks, I just never used them" I said defensively, peering at the noisy clock in annoyance.

Raxeia rolled her eyes as she checked the other water staff, poking at the crystal and drawing out a bit of the magical energy.

"Wow these are good" Raxeia commented, her eyes focused on the magical crystals in both staves.

"Yea those are from that cyclops den we raided a while ago"

Cyclops were a type of demigod and while not a particularly bright type, they could sniff out powerful magical items like a bizarre one-eyed basset hound. The crystals I had used to make both staves were from that haul and I had kept the leftover scraps from both since they were so dang powerful.

Raxeia slowly rotated the staff in her hands, examining the wooden heft and the cut crystal. She smiled as a few runes I had carved into it glowed softly.

"Those kids are gonna love them"

I nodded, then felt my spine stiffen as my protection spells shut off. When i say they shut off i meant all of them turned off all at once. when Raxeia had come through the shut down in sequence, one after the other. I felt the magical presence of another sorcerer approaching. Although it was familiar, magical signatures could be copied and used like a mask. Raxeia and Purl sensed it too, their neck fur standing on end.

"Faye" I called out.

"He is coming, he has left the schism"

Raxeia smoothed down her fur and sighed.

"He still does this?"

I nodded solemnly.

"every time"

I grabbed my goggles from my belt and lowered them over my eyes. A quick look around, running my fingers over runes I had etched into the sides. Eventually I spotted a man approaching my window with magical thermal vision. He was army crawling through some bushes to try to get the drop on me.

"Da, I can see you" I called out!

A Scottish accent answered me.

"gah, goddammit"

I watched as the man stood up and just crawled through the window, tumbling down to the floor.

"how'ode ya get me this time" he said as he stood up and dusted himself off.

I tossed him the goggles and he raised them to his eyes.

"Figured out the thermal vision"

"Oooo nice work boy!" he applauded, tossing them back to me.

"Sir Elijah" Raxeia said with a bow of her head, the Folink equivalent to a full formal bow due to exposing their long neck. Purlazae followed Raxeia's lead, bowing as well.

"There's my favorite daughter! Stop callin me sir" Elijah boomed happily, walking straight to Raxeia and wrapping her in a hug.

Elijah Tiller, a half dwarf, meaning he was about 5'8 and stocky as hell. He had a mithril battle ax that glowed blue strapped to his back and a Hatchet hooked to his belt. His full beard was a dark brown like his short cut hair and had a few streaks of gray. He was wearing a chain mail shirt and steel greaves covered by a leather coat similar to mine. He was also my adoptive father.

Raxeia hugged him back fondly.

"Not your daughter yet" She chided.

"Nonsense yer my sons intended so yer my daughter"

He broke the hug and bowed his head to Purlazae.

"Madam Stonearrow, good to see you again"

"Just Purlazae, Madam Stonearrow is my mom" Purl retorted calmly, extending a hand to Elijah, which he took and gave a bone jarring shake.

"Purlazae it is, gonna try to prank me again?"

"Not after last time"

Last time they met, purlazae coated herself in urushiol; the oil of poison ivy to "prank" Elijah. Instead He had somehow smelled it and used magic to throw her into a lake to "get that awful stuff off her" because he didn't know Folinks were immune to the oil.

"Smart girl! Now where's my gran daughter?"

I sensed Faye moving from shadows to shadow around us, the only thing seen of her was the occasional flash of luminous purple eyes. Elijah hucked what looked like a hacky sack into a shadow where I could feel Faye's energy.

"Gift from grams! Dwarven made with halfling arcadian catnip"

I heard Faye catch it and roll out of her hiding spot, biting and bunny kicking in the only ways cats can at the ball of fabric and magic.

"She won't be able to get through that" Elijah remarked to me.

Faye played for a moment before realizing that she was playing in full view of everyone. With a huff, she smacked the toy to her cat bed then tried to look dignified.

"sorcerer Tiller, a pleasure t-" Faye's words were cut off as Elijah scooped up the demon cat, making her try to wiggle out of his grip.

"THERE'S MY GRAN DAUGHER!"

Faye flailed, trying desperately to escape his grip. Her claws, which I had seen tear through steel, lashed out but found no purchase on Elijah's rock hard skin. Elijah was a geomancer or a magic user specializing in earth magic, and his familiar granted him skin like a stone on command.

Faye eventually escaped from Elijah's grasp (he let her go) and she hopped onto my shoulders with a dignified huff.

"yes yes I am the gran daughter" She growled, trying to look someone regal but failing due to her fluff standing on end.

"Got the staves ready? Ready to go?" Elijah asked, looking around until he spotted the staves resting in their boxes. He pulled out a pair of thick metal working gloves and slipped them on before picking up both staves gingerly.

"Ohh well crafted son, you've been studying your crystal carving"

"A bit, can't sell sub par equipment, what are we elves?"

We both chuckled at that as he studied the runes carved and the way the crystals caught the light.

"Good quality crystals, got anymore?"

"Got a full life crystal and a few others stashed away"

Elijah nodded thoughtfully.

"Think I can get one? I could get you that mithril you wanted"

"Yea i think i co-"

Raxeia took the staff from Elijah and set it back in its box.

"Sir Elijah I hate to interrupt, but when is the meeting? I do not wish to be late to my first one"

Elijah shrugged and looked at me, I shrugged back in response.

"I dunno"

Raxeia stared at us.

"You don't know what time the meeting is?"

"Nah magic takes time and you can't rush it, so when we get there we get there"

Poor Raxeia looked like she was about to start pulling out her fur or like she was going to stab us with her needle sword. I decided to lengthen Elijah and my lifespan by placating my intended.

"Why don't we head there now? Mingle a bit?"

Elijah looked at the staves then shrugged.

"Aye ok"

I tapped the ring on my pinky and pointed it at both staves; in a small flash of light and magical energy they disappeared into my spatial storage ring. These rings were tough to make so I usually only stored extremely violent or volatile things in it. Seeing as we were going to go through a portal to a different part of the world I didn't want the staves reacting poorly to the magic of that. Once the owners had them and keyed the loose power to them that unstable magic would steady.

Faye hopped onto my shoulders, light as a feather and quiet as a ghost; her presence wasn't required for the meeting but she liked to "size up the competition". We left my apartment, the magical wards and spells snapping back into place as I stepped out.

"Where's Kraig?" Raxeia asked, apprehension written on her muzzle when we stepped out of the tree grown into an apartment building.

I could understand Raxeia's concern, Kraig was a Mountain Crag and Elijah's familiar; unfortunately he also drooled lava. Obviously that was bad for trees or giant forests and the entire city was literally grown from still living trees. Elijah waved off her concerns as we strolled around the giant tree to a huge obsidian archway with glyphs carved into it.

"he ain't coming, found himself a lava tube and gorged himself sick on it"

Raxeia visibly shuddered at the thought of a hippo sized stone creature literally eating lava. Being a magical nurse and a dendromancer, Raxeia did not much care for fire; she had seen people set on fire in duels and the aftermath far too many times. Even she couldn't make some of the scars, both physical and mental, fade.

Elijah seemed not to notice her shudder, instead reaching into a belt pouch and drawing out a knife made of bone with glyphs similar to the archways carved into it. Elijah focused and I felt power draw towards him and into him in a wave.

"Apartuem"

He slashed the air inside the archway, making the barest sliver of glowing light that shimmered for a moment. As the light started to fade the glyphs of the arch glowed yellow and what looked like hooks of white light shot out of each glowing figure, spearing into the shimmer of light and pulling it open like someone was playing a video of a wound being sewn closed in reverse. It all took about 5 seconds for the portal to fully open and stabilize, through it we saw a courtyard surrounded by stone walls and a castle under a nighttime sky.

"ladies first" Elijah said with a bow to Raxeia.

Raxeia stood tall and strode through the portal with a detached disinterest on her muzzle and a paw on her needle sword. I followed her, stepping through the portal into the courtyard with my senses open. The first thing I felt was the Age of this place, this castle that was once home to generations of nobility. It was a different feeling than that of an ancient forest, where the energy was old but vibrant. this was the age of men, trees did not age like a human, so time there was almost immaterial. Here the ages of hundreds if not thousands lives lived, deaths, battles and ceremonies set in on me from everywhere.

I felt Elijah step through the portal and it stitched itself closed, dimming the courtyard of grass and trees.

"Game face boy, lets get all set for this meeting"

Elijah strode through the courtyard like a seasoned general about to receive a medal for his service while Raxeia followed, straight backed like a queen about to address her subjects. Purlazae followed close behind her with her ears swiveling like radar dishes as she listened for anything out of place. I brought up the rear with Faye on my shoulders, checking each corner and dark spot like I had been trained to do.

"Faye" I murmured, motioning only the slightest bit with my head to a window that was cracked open. Faye hopped down from my shoulders disappearing into my shadow instead of padding silently onto the ground.

I kept up with Raxeia, Purlazae and Elijah still scanning my environment until we passed through an open doorway to a stone hallway lit by torches which glowed with orbs of magical light. Faye dropped down onto my shoulder once more from a shadow cast by a chandelier.

"Summoned goblin like creature with a crossbow, expendable" Faye reported so quietly only I could hear her. I could smell the blood on her breath and her barely contained craving for violence through our connection.

"Any way to trace the who summoned it or the target"

"I would have to finish it off and eat it for that" she said eagerly, a too wide grin crossing her face. Her smiles always were uncanny and now with her bloodlust rising I saw that instead of having normal feline teeth, her mouth was filled with row upon row of vicious looking shark like teeth. She had probably pulled it into wherever she goes when she sinks into shadows and was playing with her prey

I pondered for a moment before shaking my head slightly.

"No time for a that, plus we don't know if Raxeia was the target; tell Elijah and follow his orders"

Faye reluctantly nodded and disappeared, reappearing on Elijah's shoulder and whispering into his ear. The half dwarf never broke stride as he listened, then muttered something to Faye.

After a moment Faye hopped down from his shoulders and darkness engulfed her. I assumed she was prowling around us because she didn't return immediately to me. I eyed the walls of the stone hallway we were walking through, my senses open and searching for any magical traps. All I felt was the latent ambient magic of this place and I only saw the occasional bit of stone that was a different color due to a repair.

Before long I began hearing a cacophony of voices ahead of us, no voices were identifiable or recognizable in the din. I saw Raxeia's ears twitch as she strode onwards, the only show she might be feeling nervous.

"It's ok, I'm here" I murmured softly, too softly for anyone else to hear but her. the tuft on the end of her long tail batted me as she silently acknowledged me. Normally I would have grabbed it and gave her tail a reassuring rub, but this time I was busy with my guardianship of her. Purlazae gave Raxeia a small pat on the back looked like She was smoothing her dress.

We approached another stone doorway beyond which was a large ballroom filled with dozens of people who were socializing. At the door stood two guards, part of the Sorcerers guild's military muscle called the Stalwart. I could tell one was a newer recruit as he was only about 20 and carried a magical sword awkwardly like he wasn't used to it. The other was older, his age would be hard to guess due to magical beings aging slower, but he looked to be in his mid to late 40s; He had a Griffon, well a dog sized griffon at his side as his familiar. The younger of the pair raised his hand in a "stop" gesture.

"welcome to the sorcerers gu-"

"Sir Elijah and Protector Ulysses escorting two VIPs" Elijah cut him off curtly.

For a moment the young guard looked taken aback before a flash of anger covered his face.

"Sir Elijah, we have protoca-"

"and WE have a VIP to this meeting and need to escort her to safety and establish Guest rights"

THe older guard held up a hand to belay the younger one, stopping any remarks he might make.

"Sir Elijah, was the guild informed about your VIP coming to this meeting"

"i was Invited in good faith to this meeting as an ambassador of the Folinks, My protector and Sir Elijah Are my appointed escort by the Leafhewn Court due to past services rendered" Raxeia said with a sniff of disdain, her pink eyes held an air of contempt as she literally looked down on the guards. "SHall i return to my sire and tell him of this insult to my honor?"

"n-no insult upon you ma'am, w-we were told no non humans wou-"

"and WHO had the authority to tell you that our GUEST would be turned away after she traveled all the way here from Folink lands?" Elijah ordered,

the guards I felt the tension rising as both guards were now pale faced and staring at us. Elijah glared them down despite his size as I rested my right hand on my gun. Raxeia stood still like none of this concerned her in the slightest. but i could see the slightest quiver in her ears as she stood.

"That's enough Guardian Leon, Guardian damascus; Raxeia longleaf is an invited Guest and shall be treated as such"

a female voice called d over the dissonance of the ballroom, causing a wave of silence to spread over the assembled people. I turned my attention to the source of the voice, still holding my gun. a Woman wearing a long flowing gown of the deepest blue, strode down a curved staircase like a cliche from one of those medieval movies. without a further word the guards bowed their heads and moved out of the way, allowing us entry into the ballroom.

We stood together, looking warily into the guilds ballroom as the members craned their necks to get a good look at us and our "VIPs".

"You ready for this daughter? Son Purl?" Elijah asked calmly.

"Ready" I answered.

Raxeia just nodded silently as Purl began rubbing her armor with urushiol.

"OK, Lets go"

With those words we stepped into the lion's Den.