Rynn could hardly believe what was happening. The massive fluctuations of magic throughout the realm had forced Rynn to land. It was already hard enough to maintain her draconic form without the problems with mana flow that had started appearing across the world. Something bad was definitely happening.

After landing near the Jasumin Lake and it’s ever eternal Autumn, she started towards the city of Jayou. It was all she could think to do at this point. As far as she was aware, the world itself was dying, but she hadn’t the slightest idea why or how, or what she could do about it. The steps that she took were timid at first. The ground felt off, as if the power were drained from it. She glanced at the trees that littered the area, all of which seemed to have their brilliant hues of orange and red fading.

“They’re dying,” she whispered. This was far too concerning. She wanted to do something, anything to help, but she felt that she had no power in this…

The assassin Lewis was more annoyed than anything. The shipping lanes had been shut down due to the fluctuating dead zones across the world, which meant the last bit of his trip had to be done on foot. Taking as few supplies as he could, he had made his way from the south of Parvpora, headed to where Xeik should have been in Jayou. He just hoped that his partner in crime was faring better. With everything crazy going on, Lewis was more worried about Danwe and him more than he was about himself.

Akira was nowhere to be found either, but that wasn’t a surprise to him. Despite the two being very close, they tended to take their separate paths about, only to cross when destiny seemed fit. He was quite fine with this method at the moment, as setting up and running the splinter thieves guild’s meant he was never in one place at a time. Maybe at a point later down the line he would settle in one place with her and actually develop a proper relationship.

Regardless of these thoughts, he made his way North, crossing into the Jasumin Lake area. It wasn’t long before he came up on a slower moving individual, a woman who vaguely reminded him of a man he rather didn’t care for.

Still, it seemed as though she were lost in thought, but as he grew closer, he heard her whisper something. It was about this point that Lewis took note to the plant life around him. It was all wilting. His eyes grew wide. Whatever was ailing the world, it was affecting more than just magic.

It was about this time that the Voice, in all its power, rang inside the minds of every sentient being…

To call the power of the Voice anything but overwhelming was an understatement. Rynn felt it speak to her very core, and the power shook her body. As it formed words in her mind, she briefly wondered if any of this would be explained. However, there was a task set forth by the Gods, and that at the moment was enough. She would have to trust that this would help.

Finally, she felt as though she could be useful in something. She started looking around for one of the objects, any of them that the Voice had mentioned. She started whispering to herself, “Codex Pages, Soul Twigs…” She spoke the list as if a mantra, and found herself almost spinning in circles for a moment before she realized that she would have to do a lot better than just recite the words.

It was about this point, as she tried to focus her thoughts, that she noticed the man standing at a distance, his eyes trained on her. Immediately she felt as though she should be on the defensive. The man barely had a presence, almost as if he hid it naturally. There were several instances in which she had met people like this, and each time had been a less than pleasant experience.

“Assassin?” she asked, narrowing her gaze as she reached for a weapon. No. If he wanted to attack, he wouldn’t be standing there. A trap, maybe? But there’s nowhere else to ambush me from. A coincidence?

Lewis realized moments after the Voice’s message stopped that he had been staring at the woman. She had long since noticed him, and had reacted defensively. He could appreciate that in a person. He held up his hands. “I mean no harm,” he stated aloud. “It seems there’s quite a bit more we have to worry about anyway. This location…it wouldn’t be a far stretch of the imagination to find twigs or feathers here.”

As he approached her, she seemed to lower her guard a little. Lewis silently deducted a few points from his opinion of her. Just because he stated he wasn’t a threat, didn’t mean he wasn’t one. He sighed. “Whatever seems to be happening, it’s a good indication that we should get a move on and try to get this over and done with. I have far too much to live for at this point.”