Private Tales Brontide

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

"I don't keep tabs on every lesson professors have, but if the summoning teacher is bringing these in as a first. I might need to assist in finding him something less, abhorrent." She scoffed, not pleased with the idea of the gasbags being able to quite literally burn the school down. It was one thing to have practical knowledge of how to defeat such an an annoying creature. Another entirely to think summoning it was a grand idea.

As for the incident in question, it had passed under her attention as a botched summoning. Likely a story fabricated to keep everyone from limiting the summoning of the blighted things or changing the summon altogether. She would have to sincerely make an effort to find something different for Gawkroger to summon.

He guided her hand and ran her through the motion, explaining what a previous tutor had done as she recalled the lesson. Before her chosen magic had affected her style of fighting, she had practiced a myriad of things to become the next in her mothers place.

She did as instructed, feeling at odds not channeling her magic into the move as he released her hand. He spoke about something disabling her magic, to which she smirked.

"I am quite confident without my magic in that regard. Monsters that disarm magic I do not often fight alone, as I plan for the beasts. This I haven't done without magic in some time however." She sassed as the knife sang through the air with swing of her arm and snap of her wrist. This time the knife lodged deep into the Dreg's eye.

 

[Smiling One]

"Oh come on Phillipa!" Willis chuckled crossing his arms and observing Philippa aiming at the Dreg. "That's hardly the worst thing that happened at the College of Elbion. You know the undead attack at Elbion 250 years ago? Caused by an experiment gone wrong and killed a third of the population? A damn pogrom against the school nearly took place if it weren't for the quick reforms by the merchant council."

And that wasn't even getting into the rumored amoral experimentations that some professors were doing in secret. Willis wasn't sure if Phillipa was aware of them but the merchants from the Black Market claim that Professors from the College of Elbion come by to purchase items that was forbidden by the school. "Well you can good practice in," Willis smiled at the Philippa. He wasn't worried at all, since the raven haired beauty is well traveled and has faced danger many times before. Still it was pretty fun teaching a thing or two about knife throwing. Mages tend to look down on anything that doesn't require magic.

The Dreg stumbled back, black blood beginning to spew from the wound. "Hah!" Willis laughed slapping his hand on his knee. "Great shot Phil that was one in a million!"

It was all about precision Willis had seen plenty muscle head sailors get frustrated with Knife Throwing because they lack the dexterity for it. The young man was thankful that he learned it from Captain Davis, he was a master of Knife Throwing capable of hurling any knife with liquid precision in half a second. Captain Davis was known as Hawkeye for his excellent accuracy.

"I knew there was a toughness that goes along with your beauty," Willis said. "It seems that fate has bought us together."

Fate? Hah! Willis was just joking about that if anything the young man prefers to make his own fate.

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

She eyed him for a brief moment, weighing her words before she spoke. "I never suggested I believed his incident was by and by the worst, just the most recent." She wouldn't argue that the college had certainly been troublesome to the general populace at times. Then again, what could one expect whenever regular people were in close proximity to a place that studied known and unknown forms of magic daily?

He complimented the shot and while she wanted to preen, she was a little more concerned with dealing with the thing first for once. Commenting on the blend of tough and beauty, treading in to fate as she huffed before addressing him. "Fate, pah. Hardly, just mere luck and coincidence on your part."

 

[Smiling One]

Willis shrugged "I'm just saying," he chuckled at Phillipa. "Magic is inherently dangerous with a dangerous spell like summoning even the experts can have problems."

Summoning was considered to be one of the most difficult magical techniques to master. There are many ways to summon a monster and they may not be very cooperative. Willis heard though that the best (though may be most difficult way) to successfully summon an ally is to form a magical with them. As a result the magical cost is significantly lessened and the summoned person will obey you.

"I can say the same for you sweetheart," Willis shrugged. "Though I only jest, I believe fate is determined by the choices people make. Though this Marid that our Professor is so eager to summon has beliefs that fate is already determined. He just likes to categorize them in prophecies."

Prophecies was something that's hotly debated all over. The common people revere prophecies while scholars are skeptical of its use. Willis wasn't entirely sure what the College's stances on prophecies but he heard that there was a class on divine readings. "Right!" Willis said smiling. "What a fierce and epic battle! Time-"

The young man took a step and his eyebrows rose up fear. The Dreg began magically disappear tiny green flames surrounded its corpse as it vanished completely. "That Dreg was summoned," Willis frowning his hand placed on the hilt of his rapier.

"Dregs doesn't take much magic to summon," Willis explained to Philippa. "They're capable of telepathy meaning that mages use them for some light scouting. Some one is here."

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

"Any and all magic is inherently dangerous. You are channeling a power from outside of your body either through your very own body or through a focus that you have to maintain contact with. Such use puts a stress upon the physical state, and sometimes the mental one as well. Magic can very well destroy the person trying to wield it." Phillipa shrugged, knowing full well what happened when people without the ability or know how tried to use advanced spells straight out of the gate without working up to them.

It always ended badly.

He switched to the topic of fates more readily, telling her of the Marid and how he had essentially relinquished the state of affairs to already existing and merely tasking itself with sorting them out.

"Fate and destiny are pretty words thought up and used by authors that sell cheap romance novels to the less flexibly minded. You do not have any kind of guiding line that says you are meant to do this or achieve or fail at this. What you do is not guided by some unseen hand. While I understand that divination can give one a rough idea of what they are able to do, by now certainly we would have an absolutely solid idea of how to properly see into one's future without the need for largely mercurial forces." Phillipa frowned, making her stance on prophecies very clear.

He got back to dealing with the Dreg as he moved and stopped suddenly, his brows arching in surprise? Hard to tell as green flames consumed the body and they were left standing there dumbfounded. At least before Willis informed her that it was likely a mages summon they had just dealt with.

Hands went into the pouches, and left them seemingly empty as ball bearings filled her hands now. "Hopefully we don't have to say hello then."

 

[Smiling One]

Willis chuckled, Phillipa was right fate was a good selling point for trashy romance novels written by hack authors. Considering that the literacy rate of the people of Arethril has gone up now and days, books have been flying off the shelves. Among the most popular of them were fucking romance novels Willis never understood them. The young man read enough romance novels to conclude that they were nothing more than cheesy, implausible, cliched nonsense written for the lowest common denominator. Molly Blackwood loved them there wasn't a day where Willis saw his ex-lover without her face in a romance novel.

Still destiny and fate.... they were intriguing ideas and oracles make a living off of supposed premonitions. Maybe there was an outside force controlling fate. If then, why is it that people were made to suffer? Why couldn't a person do something to change their fate? Willis did his best to escape his conditions at the Allriran docks and he's trying damnest to stomp out all traces of the boy and become Willis.

"I hope not," Willis said sheathing his Rapier. "I like a fight but if we can avoid one, then it's best not to engage." Oh who was he kidding? It was probably a crazy mage making a trek into the woodlands. Every year there was some mad mage, woods witch who would venture into the Woodlands in search of ancient artifacts. They either end up disappearing or come back even madder than before. Willis was thankful that he didn't end up like them during his adventure in the Woodlands.

"They must have taken the scenic route," Willis said frowning beginning to walk. "Best to stick to the roads for now but keep watch for your flanks. You never when another summoned animal will strike."

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

"Much the same, monsters are easy enough. People tend to put a strange spin on fighting, trying not to die and such." Phillipa shrugged, scanning their surroundings for any other signs of summoned beasts. If there was another somewhere around them, it was doing a damn fine job of hiding at the moment.

"Hopefully the roads are more clear, either that or they are planning ambush. Oh well. Just have to deal with it as it comes." She replied with a small huff. Not like she hadn't been ambushed before. Lot's of times whenever it seemed all to convenient for her to have an artifact or missing item in hand, a trap was usually sprung.

It almost became a dreadfully predictable scenario.

 

[Smiling One]

Clearly Phillipa hasn’t faced that many monsters then. Sure some monsters are weak and predictable but there are monsters who cunning and destructive as any person. Willis had prevented some of them from destroying cities in his time as a Monster Hunter. The most recent was against the lost Toad Sages in the Woodlands. “It’s preservation,” Willis said looking around while walking on the road. “Monsters, people they will do whatever it takes to win a fight. The bards love to romantize battles but in reality whoever is the most brutal wins.”

And the most pragmatic as well, the first thing that Captain Davis taught Willis was to do what ever it took to fight. "As my mentor once told me: Do ye wanna fight pretty or do you want to win?" The young man smiled basking in Captain Davis' memories. "Knights hate me for being a dishonorable cuthroat but there's a reason why people like me survive while they die gruesome deaths."

Knights were not only cold blooded killers but stupid as well. When he was a mercenary fighting battles, Willis could recount countless times that they've lost due to the Knights stupidly charging into battle to prove their worth. Willis hated seeing that, because that meant he and his crew had to devise a plan on how to defect to the other side.

"I'm doubtful it'll be clear sweetheart," Willis shrugged "but it's best to keep your wits about ya," traveling with the raven haired beauty eased the young man a bit as they traveled. At least if he dies, the last person he'll see is Philippa's beauty.

A few hours have passed and the sun was setting, Willis yawned as he stared at Philippa. He was used to traveling long distances and could go for a few more miles but alas he needed some rest. "So Phil," Willis said. "Wanna set up camp?"

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

"Sometimes not the most brutal, sometimes just the most decisive." The woman nodded. Sure, monsters could be dangerous, and at times show more cunning than people, on the other hand. It was always a gaurantee that a monster would typically always fight for its life with whatever means it could.

A person however, would take themselves and three others with them that had nothing to do with it. And create maddening as well as altogether ridiculous means to do it.

"While that is understandable in most cases to fight and win. Once you have become accustomed to fighting in that manner, it becomes its own art. You make a signature for how you fight. Others are able to tell one persons handiwork from anothers if they are too invovled with the bloody work of dispatching others." She noted, twirling a few of the ball bearings in her hand. Phillipa's most notable handiwork was always shown to be range. Armor, no armor, trying to hide behind walls or other things. It didn't matter with kinetomancy.

There was artistic use of equations and study of energy applied in her magic to either bounce the little metal balls off of a wall or a shield, to simply just understanding the energy deflecting nature of shaped armor plate and how to defeat it. Kinetomancy was a difficult subject to truly master the use of, never mind teaching it to another.

Which led to the questions of how a helmet was crushed inward at strange angles or why a pointed breastplate that deflected swords with ease was defeated by a small orb of metal no bigger than a mans thumbnail.

One could use brute force and apply a heaping load of directed energy into the weapon of choice. Without understanding the basic principles of what one was fighting however, it became wasteful to expend so much magic in such a way.

Willis doubted the road would be clear, something that she had guessed very much the same to be true. She simply smirked when he informed her to keep her wits about her as they continued on.

"Might as well. Doesn't bode well to travel at night through the woods anywhere. Grab all sorts of attention that way." Phillipa muttered.

 

[Smiling One]

A few hours later, Willis returned to the campsite throwing down some logs in front Phillipa. "You know the best part of having a mage as your companion," Willis said grinning. "Is that they make life easier like lighting a fire." Willis of course was hoping that Phillipa would light the wood he spent the past few hours hunting and gathering wood. Thankfully there were no monsters patrolling the Woodlands though thoughts of the summoned Dreg took over Willis' mind.

The young man sighed, Dregs were easy to summon they have uninteresting features and self-loathing, spiteful creatures that are full of combustible gas. Who was the mage who summoned it though, he and Phillipa found no sign of the summoner. In fact it was eerily quiet on the path through the Woodlands, normally a monster or two would come out to either observe or attack travelers on sight.

It was all too bizarre, at least Willis found two Jackrabbits in the middle of the forest. It took two quick shots from his mini crossbow to kill them. The Jackrabbits didn't have too much meat on their bones but It was enough to satisfy them for the night. As Willis skinned the Jackrabbits he stared at the Raven haired beauty with lust in his eyes. "So beautiful," Willis said. "Ever had Rabbit stew? I can whip up a mean one for you and I. Not bad for a first date huh?"

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

Willis was gone for some time, bringing back logs as Phillipa stacked them into the small ring of rocks the professor had made while he had been away. His mention of mages making lighting a fire easier made her snort a laugh, nodding to his words.

"They certainly can yes. Igni." She spoke as a tongue of fire danced across the top of the stacked pile of wood. She hadn't thought again on the Dreg, mostly caring about getting a fire going and warming the road worn feet in front of it. Willis spoke of rabbit stew, making her side eye him for a moment.

"Had one hired hand would eat nothing but rabbit stew. Had to hunt everyday and wouldn't eat anything but rabbit stew. Strange fellow, and he was terrible at cooking rabbit." She stared off into the distance for long second before the second half of what he said caught up with her.

"Wouldn't say it was first rate, but far from the worst thing." She teased, watching him work over the rabbits.

 

[Smiling One]

"Well that man didn't put passion and love into his cooking," Willis winked bringing out the supplies necessary to cook the Rabbit stew. "Clearly he doesn't appreciate the alluring raven haired woman sitting in front of me and thought: Hey I gotta work my ass off to please this beautiful woman in front of me."

Willis had a lot of experience cooking for Captain Davis' crew back when he was a Pirate. He started off with Turtle Soup: A Pirate delicacy but he slowly moved up to Fish, Chicken and other forms of soup. Those skills served him well when he became a mercenary. Cooking Rabbit soup was easy, the hard part was just catching the damn things. They spring all over the place.

"Ooohh," Willis said intrigued by Phillpa's remark as he began to put in the seasoning for the soup. "You've been in many dates I presume. So you have a boyfriend? A cute boyfriend?"

Willis really hoped that she said no.

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

She shuddered at the thought of that man cooking once more. "No, obviously not. I don't believe he had any appreciation for anyone that sat with him. Never you mind a woman." His interest in her comment made her smirk however.

"Lot's of firsts. Granted, nothing every beyond that. And I wouldn't call them cute, bit green with a skinny neck. Aged a while and comes with a cork when I am finished with them." She was referring to a wine bottle rather than an actual person at this point. She smirked, turning the tables on him in just a moment. "By your tenacity, I would guess I haven't been the first of your interests however."

 

[Smiling One]

Willis laughed at Philppa's statement of the sellsword who was a terrible cook. "Yeah," Willis said. "A Sellsword's life is good for one thing: Getting paid to kill people. Nothing more and nothing less. You're lucky you've hired the total package sweetheart," The young man winked. "Not only I'm skilled fighter but I can whip up a meal that's worth of five star restaurant. Especially when that said revolves around fish."

Willis does take pride in fishing while others find fishing boring and monotonous, Willis finds it satisfying and relaxing. Going to the nearest riverbank or Ocean, whisk out a fishing rod and just relax and focus on the fish and waves. Ah the waves, the most beautiful sound in the world. Of course once Willis catches some fish, it's all about cooking, fried, baked, sauted, Willis can work wonders cooking fish. It was a passion he had and it helped that former lovers like: Ayreal Mellbrand enjoyed his meals. Perhaps Philppa will do the same.

As Willis began to pour water over the cauldron he laughed when Philippa said that her "boyfriends" were wine bottles. Isn't that the truth? Sometimes when you're curled and all alone, good old alcohol is there to comfort you and make you forget everything. Willis definitely found console in it in the past though Alcohol is nothing compared to the warmth of a woman. "Nope," Willis shook his head a bit embarrassed. While he wasn't subtle about it, Willis never told most women he slept with about other lovers. He didn't know why it just hasn't occured to him.

"All those "boyfriends"," Willis said. "And they're not cute? Come on Phil you need to ditch those old hags and come meet a man who's young, handsome and full of charm." Willis smiled at Philppa. "Someone who will give you pleasure that's equivalent to the finest wine in all of Arethril."

The young man then winked. "Your personal stress reliever," he said. "Me."

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

She laughed at his words. The thought of the total package being a sword wielding mercenary being able to also cook was a somewhat silly idea given her line of work. Perhaps around other mercenaries it was truly the best of both worlds, but beyond travelling she had never thought as much.

His response to her prodding made her arch a brow at him. To be fair, a lot of pretty faces existed in the world. Her own among them, so it didn't come as any surprise, but his truthfulness was refreshing.

"The only thing cute about them is how quickly they seem to disapear. And by young and handsome I don't assume you mean one of your associates?" she smirked at his words. Certainly he was handsome, but the thought of men hadn't in truth crossed her mind. Her line of work was typically not conducive to any kind of relationship.

"All the greatest pleasures in the world mean nothing to me, Mr Willis, if they come at the hand of someone that sees a pretty face and chases like a loose pup. I have a short leash, and most tend to buckle beneath it." Phillipa replied with a forced smile. Be it upbringing or just how she was, her students had a hard time dealing with her attention. Men even less so, and she certainly knew others weren't the problem when it came to being likeable.

 

[Smiling One]

Willis smirked, Philippa was being coy with him and he's loving it. It was always fun flirting with a tease, It has been a while since Willis enjoyed exchanging witty banter with a beautiful woman. Phillipa is intelligent, witty and has some charm behind her as well as a mysterious past though Willis made a policy not to dive too deep into other people's background. He knows all too well what it means to be guarded about one's past.

"Of course I mean myself my raven haired beauty," Willis said smirking at Phillipa's remark. She made It clear that she's not the easiest woman to get along with. But that just makes the challenge all the more satisfying. "I like a challenge," Willis said beginning to stir the soup. "I like you Phil, I like your honesty, your beauty, your smarts, I like the way you call me Mr. Willis even though my social status is lower than dirt."

And here comes the crescendo, all of the hours of flirting coming to this moment. It was usually nerve-wracking to ask a woman to a bed or a date but Willis trained himself to masquerade it with confidence and charm. "Everyone has something that gives them pleasure," Willis said. "Let me be that person for you Phillipa, a night with me and you will coming back asking for more. Many men tend to buckle from your leash because they lack charm and grace. I may not have grace but I have a hell of a lot of charm and when men buckle I rise to the occasion."

Willis gave Phillipa a charming smile. "Come on Phil don't spend your life finding joy through endless bottles that don't give a damn about you," he said. "Find your joy with someone like me. Take a chance."

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

Phillipa had been teasing when she made mention of an associate, but she had to applaud his bravado at continuing the flirting. He spoke at length, and she gave him a clear sign that she was listening as she batted her lashes at him. It took effort to not show her anxiety at the topic, to keep the calm facade about her as he continued.

It was certainly tempting. He had a decent mind, thinking about more than rubbing a few coin between his fingers. Was versed in the world in a different way, but seemed well aware no less. It was hopeful, and it was a risk. She shifted, opening her mouth a fraction as the movement jostled the emblem on her choker.

In that moment it felt like an anchor. Like a dreadful chain that reminded her of her duties and expectations that waited back in Elbion. Of what had truly chased away anything she had enjoyed in life. She had been smiling a moment before the movement, its slow change to a much smaller and forced one before she actually spoke.

"I don't count stars on first outings Mr Willis. While tempting, for the time being I'll have to decline until another of our trips." she brushed a strand of hair out of her face, staring at the fire a moment.

"What is it like? Travelling to an fro I mean. Do you have a place you call home or some other arrangement?" she asked suddenly, thoughts still lingerinf on her pendant, curling her arms around her legs and huddling into herself.

 

[Smiling One]

So close but it seems that Phillipa was interested in Willis based on that she was smiling at him and it was genuine smile not a: "I have no one else to talk so I guess half ass listen to you" smile. Combined with the fact that she's batting her eyelashes more. But if there was one thing that Willis can take a way from this is that he has Philippa's undivided attention. It seems that the Raven haired beauty has some pleasures after all. "Oh we got plenty of time sweetheart," Willis smirked as he began to cook the Rabbit soup. "But very well."

The two were silent for about an hour, Willis was finishing the soup while adding some peppers on to it while Philippa was staring into the fire. The young man carefully took out the metal bowl and poured the Rabbit stew onto it. "Take it," Willis said handing the spoon and soup to the woman while smiling. "But be careful It's still very hot."

It was then that Phillipa asked Willis about what was it like to travel which surprised him since she was silent for the past hour. Not many people asked him questions about his love for travel mainly because Willis was mum about it. "Well," Willis said listening to the faint chirping of Crickets. "It's wonderful when I'm traveling I get to see new places, new people, new cultures. To me travelling around the world represents freedom and displays that there is a world beyond the one that you are in. I want to be the first person to see everything Arethril has to offer."

It sounded childish but Willis had that dream since his childhood. Every day when the sun goes down he would head to the docks and stare at the sea, at the horizon. The boy would promise himself that one day he would escape his abusive mother and the Allririan docks and go on an adventure where he can just travel and hear new stories, forge a new identity and forget about his past. "I mean I come from Alliria," Willis said to Philippa "so I do have some contacts that will let me spend the night here. I also can go to Monster Hunter safehouses that's located all over Arethril. I can rest and get more weapons while also be informed about any upcoming contracts."

Willis then poured the soup for his own and began slurping. "But for the most part," he said. "I guess you can call me a vagabond."

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

Gloves came out of her jacket when she was told the bowl would be hot. They seemed terrifically thin, almost ornamental and useless to the unknowing. They were spelled heavily though, the entire back of the lining stitched with runes and other spell incantations that only activated with skin contact.

The bowl was taken carefully to not spill with a nod of thanks as she listened. It didn't sound to her like a terrible thing, travelling as a mercenary. She ate slowly, enjoying the meal and flavor as she thought quietly.

"Not terrible then. I typically venture towards places with inns and taverns or use my families...carriage when one of the previous options are not available." she informed him. Calling the travelling inn her family owned a carriage was a large diservice to the thing. But she rarely brought it out given the sheer excess of energy and time it added to trips.

"The stew is, acceptable by the way. Thank you." she teased, a grin appearing as she continued eating.

 

[Smiling One]

The soup tasted better than Willis thought it surprised him since he felt that he rushed making the soup. The young man remembered back when he first became Pirate, Willis was taught how to cook by the "Goldeneye" Michel Brush: A longtime Pirate known for having a golden orb in his eye in which he claims is a projectile called: A "Musket Ball" one of the many advanced weaponry from the Age of Wonders. Goldneye's injuries sustained from 40 years of Piracy forced him to take menial jobs much to his irritation. Despite the grumblings, Goldeneye did a great job of swabbing the decks, taking inventory and most important of all: Cooking.

When a 12 year old Willis first met Goldeneye he came down with a bad case of Scurvy and was often stumbling around slurring his words due to fatigue. Since Goldeneye was unable to teach Willis how to cook, the whole lesson became trial and error in where Willis created some interesting "cuisines" like burnt Duck, Undercooked Pig. There was also a time where Willis nearly burnt down the ship because he didn't bother to put out the fire after he was done cooking the soup.

Willis did get better at cooking as soon as Goldeneye recovered from his illness to the point where he can teach properly. It was just in time too, since the crew was about to tie Willis to the bow and keelhaul him because he gave them food poisoning. "Acceptable?" Willis smirked towards the Raven haired beauty. "Damned by faint praise when compared to the awful cooking of the mercenary."

The young man sipped his soup. "Not to worry," Willis winked. "This is hardly my best meal that I've cooked. My Salmagundi dish is something that people rave about. I save it for those special occasions usually for the women that I'm intensely into."

Willis locked eyes with Phillippa and smiled. "Like you," he chuckled. "In our next date I should whip you some of that Salmagundi."

No subtle but a battles are sometimes won by bold strategies. "So Phil," Willis said. "You're a noble right? Got any connections to the merchants guild?"

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

She shook her head as she ate another spoonful of the soup. Special occasions she thought quietly to herself, wondering if that was all the time or simply when the extraordinary caught his attention. Either that or whenever they truly put up a struggle as she was. It amused her certainly, and she was a little beside herself with enjoying the attention.

She looked him in the eye, amusement clearly on her face as he spoke of another date and having to cook for her once more. He then asked about the merchants guild, something that she tried to keep out of.

"I do not have any affiliation with them no, I am sure that my mother or even my cousins might given their attentive nature to furthering their own names." Phillipa shrugged. "Why do you ask?"

 

[Smiling One]

Phillipa does look cute when she has a bemused look on her face clearly she was enjoying the attention Willis was giving her. The young man smirked in response as long as he holds her attention it'll be matter of time. "Just curious," Willis said as he slurped some of his soup. "The Merchant's Guild has been under a lot pressure for the past couple of years. Citizens have been complaining about the special treatment that College of Elbion has been getting compared to them."

The relationship with the people of Elbion particularly those who have reside in the middle and lower districts and the College has been tense. Whenever there's a recession, a drought or an accident suspicion usually befalls onto the College usually in the form of rumors. Willis however is aware of how rumors can easily be twisted into fuel to add to the burning hatred of mages and the splendid comfort they have while the lower districts have to struggle every day working hard just to get by. In other cities such as Vel Anir (especially Vel Anir), pogroms would arise as people will take their anger and hate on the scapegoat of the day.

Elbion wasn't exempt from this, there were massacres, riots and beatings in the city's early years. There was possibly more than that, but Willis and the people suspected that the scholars of Elbion either downplayed or ignored other internal struggles that occurred in Elbion an attempt to make themselves look better than Vel Anir. With the College of Elbion, it nearly suffered a massacre a couple of times in its history. The last close call was over 300 years ago when an Necromancy experiment at the college went wrong and an hour later, the entire city was swarmed with Undead.

The Merchant's Guild had to place very strict restrictions on to the College to prevent a whole scale massacre by the people and even then things remained uneasy to this day. "I mean," Willis said. "There are many people in Elbion who resent the mage's status in the city. They get the best food, get education, enjoy special privileges all because the people can move objects with their mind. Sure a over a century ago the College created a couple of districts so that non-magic users can attend. But that doesn't fully erase the history of mistrust between you guys and the common people."

The young man then smiled. "There are rumors that the mages are secretly conspiring with the Merchant's Guild that they are trying to kill off the poor so the College of Elbion can use there corpses for experimentation. I'm glad you're not involved, it shows not only that you are beautiful and intelligent but you got a good sense of morals. I'm falling for you every minute."

Willis winked as he continued to eat his food.

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

"The College cuts them good deals from what I understand, typically buying in large quantities rather than in partial orders or orders placed close to ship date. We have a been a steady and reliable buyer of wares." Phillipa was vaguely aware of some trade deals, having used a few of them in the past to help her move towards a goal that she had in mind. However, the daily dealing of mage and common person were something she tended to ignore.

"People can resent us all they wish. However, when they need something special done that only a mage can do, they are all to willing to load praises upon us and beg us for services. It is not a new struggle for any mage that common people gather around them. Someone with extraordinary ability presents themselves and people wish to in some capacity have that person in their service." Phillipa huffed, becoming agitated by the subject as she usually did. It was always aggravating when the people outside of the College decided that they knew better.

"If they are truly irritated with us, either we mages can pack up the college and remove our constant influx of students from economy of the city. Or the people can move several miles away and begin their own port city without us. As both are not terrifically viable options, given that other people would be happy to live around us and their would be things worse than the people inside the college to use the people of Elbion." She spat, finishing her soup with a discontent huff. She began waving the spoon in the air as she continued.

"Honestly, if they wished to risk their lives in the study of dangerous magics in order to better understand not only how to use it for the betterment of people living around the college and also how to better handle and or possibly defeat said magic, they can come earn a heft sum of money doing so for us. No different than dealing with monsters. I imagine after travel expenses it isn't the most luxurious life, but certainly one far better than that of a farmer in terms of monetary gain." She hissed.

Phillipa rolled her eyes at the last comment about killing off the poor folk. A reaction that had been perfected over the years, not because they were true but because the gargoyles were not killed. They were contracted workers that the college found based on their inability to hold steady jobs. If they had next of kin, they were offered a hefty sum, one reminiscent of that of the city guard given what the gargoyles were doing.

So long as the gargoyle remained alive, the family received a stipend of funds for their service to the college.

"There will always be rumors of people misusing magic no matter where you go. It could be a coven of healers centuries in practice and you will find one person, or even possibly more that suspect them of some evil and ill intent. It is so....enraging." She finished her tirade.

 

[Smiling One]

The College of Eblion did a lot of good not only for the City of Eblion but for Arethril as well. Their innovations in medicine, education and agriculture has been a major reason why the Age of Chronicles has been experiencing a rise in literacy. The students and Maesters had pushed scholars from all over to actively chronicle history and check the facts rather than leaving it to theory and stories. The College of Elbion also had a major hand in creating the most accurate map of Arethril to date. Other maps in the past were inconsistent in locations which lead to many ships disappearing. The College also played a major parts in negotiations the Treaty of Elbion which ended the Fifth War between the Elves of Falwood and Val Anir. The peace talks took place in the College and were by one of the Magisters: Denethor Rada an Elven Sage who eventually when to expand the College inviting non magic students to into the school.

However Willis can't ignore the many controversies that the College of Elbion did. Their pursuit in knowledge had lead them to do morally questionable things such as live test subjects on people, genetic engineering, injecting people with deadly diseases to study their affects and pump them with chemicals supposedly for the cure. Of course since they're mages, that meant that they have access to abilities that is beyond a normal person's comprehension. Willis had fought with mages before but he also fought against them and no Monster he faced, came close to the power of a Mage. They just so much at their disposal to where the best mage can disengage a person but just staring at them.

A common question amongst the citizens of Elbion was can the Mages be trusted? What if one day they all just snapped and decided to take over Elbion. Who could stop them? They had power to do so, the Magisters had powers which defied time and space. The Mages of the College dedicated themselves to Elbion and by extent the world but amongst the observant: Words are wind. Willis didn't mind mages, they have their place in the world of Arethril but he can't help wonder sometimes. What if the Mages decided to take over? Philippa was so certain that the mages would just pack up their bags and leave but Willis wasn't so certain. If anything such an abrupt move would spread more fear and doubt amongst the people leading to a massacre.

Elbioans are not Anirians but all it takes a single spark to cause a mountain sized explosion. Elbion is dealing with mages while Vel Anir is dealing with..... anyone who is not human. "That's true," Willis replied. "People fear the unknown which makes them susceptible to manipulation to the real threats. The Kings, Queens, the Priests and the nobles. They pull their puppet strings and the common folk dance to their tune."

Willis sighed. "I lived in shit all of my life," he said. "I've seen how the nobility subtly use their power to stomp on the common people. To keep them distracted from them, the nobles place a scapegoat: Maybe it's a mage or someone from Elbion who is the cause of taxes and next thing you know a massacre of Elbions is caused. It's fucking disgusting."

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

"It's wise to believe everyone is pulling the strings wherever they can. I do it to my students for reasons they don't understand. I don't want them to like me, I'm a noble born and will never know their struggle. I can't know it. But if they hate me, and they use that to motivate themselves beyond what they think they can do, then in some small way I have succeeded in helping them. Their emnity is just an unfortunate side effect." Phillipa shrugged. One student in particular had caught her attention this year.

Young miss Orin. The colleges student that was by birth a simple person. She had immense potential, all of it untapped given the chance to remain idle. Phillipa tended to put herself at odds with her the most, wanting her to outshine others that had advantages to begin with. Likely though it was time for Phillipa to do something nice for her, even if it seemed as though she had ulterior motives.

"Nobility regardless of the place they live play games. It is inescapable. Ones in power always seek to extend or affirm their power regardless of who pays the price." She huffed.