Kaz had been making his way around town for a couple of days. Mostly wanting to see all that had changed. There was a part of him that felt a heavy pressure in his gut. He had come all this way to rejoin the knights but now stood on the steps hesitant to enter. His resolve had been strong but now it was tested. Probably an added reason why it took days for him to arrive here.

He left without a word. He didn't even officially resign. With everything that was going on and the fact he was only an apprentice, he wouldn't be surprised if they never noticed or presumed he was dead. The last they knew was that he went out to investigate the situation with Nerva threatening to destroy the village.

On the other hand if they did know, he worried how that conversation would go. If they asked him why he chose that path.

Thinking through all this things, the wind mage tightened his fist to crack his knuckles and let out a deep breath. The thoughts helped bolster his decision. He knew what he had done, and he knew where he was meant to be.

He took one step onto the concrete leading to the first path he had taken and the one that would be his future.

The closer he came to the door the more sure he was. Memories of walking up these steps flooded back. The sounds of fatigue in training as a page. Meeting the two that took him under their wing and being tested. The moment he was awarded the apprentice title. A small and meager award but one that he valued now more than he did when he got it.

His hand gripped the door and lingered on it. He was here not because the rune knights were the only way. But because that is just who he was. A nephilim, here to protect the people. And this group had been his home. Within the walls were people that he considered his real tribe.

The door swung open revealing the hustle of the knights. page's and apprentices rushing about on assignment. Taking up duties from the wall and ushering criminals down to the cells.

He hoped he would be able to reunite with those he ran with before but this was a new chapter and who knew what beginnings it would bring. Whatever they were...he would be ready to face them. As a Knight.

The desk was staffed with three attendees, Two of them were stamping paperwork from other knights and the third in the middle waved for Kaz to approach.

Without missing a beat the wind mage stood before the woman with a gentle smile, "Kazimir Seiryu, reporting for duty ma'am."

Along came a buggy, a magic buggy, carting with it four rune knights. They had just finished a job out in the field, they were seasoned, they were skilled, they had with them a fifth person. They looked like a prisoner. Drab and bland rags that clung to their body. Lovely red hair, done in to a side tail that hung from the top of their head and down over one ear. She didn't have much else on. A metal collar around her neck, around her wrists were a pair of cuffs that were linked together by a verdant green chain of glowing magic. Around her ankles were a pair of cuffs as well with a magical chain dragging behind them. She was sweating, she looked dirty.

The Rune Knights were here to protect the people, detain the criminals, and, if this girl was a criminal, why wasn't she in the buggy being detained? Iris DuPage was not a criminal that had just been caught, she was more like a member of the rune knights, as part of a program to earn her freedom through going on dangerous and grueling tasks. The last one she had been off on really left her drained, literally. Something had stolen a majority of her magic power, or, sealed it away, and with the sealing cuffs and ankles on, Iris was nothing like the power she had from when she entered the country.

Without going in to that history too much, she had been implicated in a crime she had no association with other than by proxy of being tied to a group of people that conducted the crime for real. Alas, because she wanted out, she was left to be the one to take the fall, and so, she was caught, and given a grand amount of time as a sentence unless she willingly volunteered for the task of going on life ending missions for the rune knights, in order to earn her freedom. She had just a couple more to go when some strange creature on the last one had sealed her in to a state of when she was just training her magic. Cursing herself for it, she was running along side the buggy, trying to keep up while the knights jeered the criminal for not being able to keep up perfectly.

They had to slow down to make sure she didn't try to run, well, with a simple verbal command, those cuffs would seize her limbs up and make it hard to move at all. But, they were able to get back in to the establishment. There, someone was reporting for duty.

At the desk, the woman would speak to Kaz, "We have you as temporarily AWOL, has your little sabbatical proven to be of any sort of use? Are you ready to resume duty?" Looking over at the girl that was brought in, she just sighed and made a mark down, she still wasn't dead, that red head was tenacious.

As she entered, Iris would look at the person at the desk, a new face, a new person to mock and ridicule her? Whatever, she wanted to go back to her potato sack bed in the cells.

Kaz turned his head as he heard the sound of a buggy approaching. It was a fairly typical seen. a group of knights returning from a mission. Probably carting in some criminal or ready to give a simple report. With them was a prisoner he could tell was of high value. The knights arrival was a common thing but it was a rarity to see a prisoner in THOSE shackles. He had never used them on anyone but it was a part of their training to know what they were for.

The girl ran beside the cart as they arrived. Kaz breathed once out of his nose heavily, and he slowly crossed his arms. Criminals needed to be stopped but this was unbecoming of what a knight should do. It seemed that there were still plenty of bad eggs in the organization.

His full attention was on the incoming group. The prisoner looked young and Kaz narrowed his eyes as he contemplated the situation. He kept his hands at his sides and took a step back as they approached. He could tell the other knights didn't know who he was. They let their eyes fall on the returning knight and trailed away without a second thought.

The attendant at the counter spoke and, "Oh, sorry," Kaz replied as he turned to face her. His voice was flat but respectful towards her at least for now. His eyes looked weary from the thought of explaining it to her, "Yes ma'am. I have a written report about the incident that happened with Nerva and his sudden disappearance." The woman tripped over her own words as she searched for what to say, "S..so...you were there, Ahem," she fixed her glasses with one hand. "Thank you for the report. I suppose this will suffice."

"And yes, i am ready to return to duty," kaz added.

The woman pursed her lips and shuffled some papers. "Fine then," her eyes caught the young red-haired woman as the others she came with had stepped away. "You there. You are technically a knight. You have another task as the others are busy. Swear this man in and sign this," it was more of an order than someone speaking to a fellow knight.

Kaz looked back at the woman. She was knight! Not a prisoner. His hands were at his waist but his fingers opened as if to reach out and make sure she was okay. His hands stopped, barely having budged. he rubbed his wrist tightly with his other hand. He knew what was happening now. It was an archaic practice. Good in thought but poor in execution.

He peered at the attendant with cold eyes at the counter. She opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself. Kaz had left a page but his record spoke otherwise and the information he had about the inquisition was valuable. The woman huffed and looked aware.

Turning his attention to the red-haired woman his eyes were filled with calm once again and he extended his hand to her, "Kazimir Seiryu. I am ready to be re-sworn in miss. Thank you." Some of the knights nearby staggered where they stood at how the Iris was approached. Some because they hated her and others because they knew anyone that associated with her would face backlash from some high ranking knights.

Noyiah Gasped for breath halfway up the hill a buggy with a lot of armed knights passed her with a rather unhappy looking girl in the back. She didn’t seem too dangerous, but the shackles would tell her otherwise. “You’d think this would get easier each time. . but no” she huffed out to herself as she stopped to take a breather. watching as the cart took the girl all the way up the building.  It was a big hill and the knights didn’t seemed bothered by it in the least,  maybe she wasn’t in good enough shape and they would turn her down, shaking her head quickly “ I can bake cookies, I can do this, even if I never make more the page I can at least try.” She rambled on to herself.

Continuing up the hill she took a second breather at the top of the hill, looking down onto the town below she took in the view and caught her breath so when she came in it didn’t look like she was winded.  After regaining her composure, Noyiah would open the doors to the large building, it was intimidating, and she felt like everyone’s eyes where always on her when she came in.  this hadn’t been the first time she had been here, but she had only really dropped off files and retreated down the hill. This time was different though, Kazimir had mentioned how easy he had it off the start and that she couldn’t easily do it, Noyiah considered that he was just being nice about it or downplayed the rune knights a bit to make her feel better about her occupation.

The entire room didn’t stop what they were doing nor did anyone even so much as glance up. But the feeling stayed with her, she didn’t feel she belonged, but she wanted to.  Noyiah was dressed in Black Blazer a Purple turtle neck underneath, and a black pencil skirt and matching tights, that her pale skin made seem more grey.  She wore her hair back in a ponytail, her bangs were swept to one side and she wore quite a bit more makeup today, trying her best to look the part.

She paused in the middle of the chaos that was the reception room. Multitudes of people talking drowned out a lot of the conversations making it hard to grasp what other people were saying. Noyiah’s heart beat flooded her ears, she could hear it above most things as she looked around with a deer In the headlights look, a collections of papers tucked under her arms.

Outfit:

"Get to helping them out, then get to where you belong." She was a member of the rune knights, as was the thought of at least one of the new people she was meeting, but this red haired girl was more or less a servant to them, a tool with minimal will that they allowed her to have. She just looked at the guy who was looking to be sworn in with a look of indifference as she wrote his name down in to the papers. The magic pen making his identification permanent for the next five years before he would have to re-register.

With his name she wrote down "The Tool" under his name because he seemed like a goodie do gooder. While that went unnoticed, the other person came up, or, just stood there. Iris would, with barely any tone of joy in her voice, would talk to the girl, "Hey, can I help you? Because I really got hurt on my last outing, and I'd rather go sleep it off." SHe had a look of disdain on her face. Her eyes sunken, bags under them, she wasn't granted much sleep, what sleep she could take, she took.

Why didn't she get some healing done? Well, they didn't want to waste the money on her. For Iris, it was a matter of trying to defy the odds so she could go back to being a human. Right now, she was like an attack dog, except she got the bare minimum of attention. Used to stake out camp sites so the rune knights can rest, used as the one to lure out enemies or trigger traps, it was all a matter of seeing how reckless they could make her be with her life in exchange for amnesty and forgiveness of the issue she caused. Well, they were considerably cross with her for being caught with some crown jewels and a rare artifact that would have allowed her to evade capture.

In actuality, the girl had been set up by her former colleagues, and she wouldn't forget it.

Tapping the pen on the paper, she waited for Noyiah to come up so that she could get this over with.

The young woman scribbled his name down without a second thought or so much as a meaningful glace up at him. He thought there would be more to it than that, but then again what could he expect from the knights. After all they were a spotty organization with its fair share of holes and wrongdoings. Things that Kaz hoped to change.

But this girl. This young one in shackles treated in such a poor way. it was not how the rune knights should behave. Kaz looked at her and crossed his arms. It was sad what happened to her but she also seemed to have a bit of an attitude. "well that takes care of that then. What's your name?"

As soon as he asked, a familiar face entered the building and caught their attention. Kaz smiled seeing the woman that appeared. Noyiah had actually decided to make her way down and join the knights. Something he knew she would be great at. And she looked really...

The girl red head spoke up finally and it was something that fit the solemn look on her face. The wind mage turned his attention away form the red head and toward Noyiah with a smile, "I'm really glad you decided to come. Welcome to the head quarters."

He looked back at Iris, "Sorry this has caused you some trouble. Can you swear her in as well? If you were hurt though, you should get some healing from the knights medics." he realized as soon as he said that, how bad the situation looked. He was just sworn in by a woman in shackles and Noyiah's first impression of the knights wouldn't be the best one.

Having her here made him feel a rush of warmth in his cheeks and he tightened his gloves. It was embarrassing for the knights to be seen in such a way and to let this kind of thing happened. But if the red head was in pain and tired he would question her about it just yet.

Part of him was glad that he left for a while to follow what he thought was right. But another part regretted walking away from the knights along with a good handful of others and leaving it to the corrupt. Now it would take even longer for meaningful change to happen.

There were good knights, there were bad knights, there were foolish knights, there was Iris. She just continued to give the person in front of her a dead pan look as he was apologizing to her, for what? This was her job, she wasn't supposed to do anything but what they asked of her. She would take down the name of the girl as she came in, and introduced herself whenever the hell that was.

When Kaz suggested she see a medic, it was like he was mocking her, at least in her mind. She just looked at him with that glare, anger, resentment, a desire to just see him hurt. Looking down at the paper, she would keep it to herself, just taking down the information before she would stand up, and look to walk away. Where she would head off from the room, around the corner, and down the stairs to the holding cells. "It's Zero One Four Four Eight Two" SHe didn't have a name to give in this situation, just her prisoner number to him. Six digits that designated who she was if he bothered to look in to it.

Meanwhile, a couple of veteran knights would come by to explain to Kazimir why he shouldn't bother with Iris. She was not a knight, she was not a worker here, she was just a prisoner that was looking to work off their sentence, the more danger she was put in to, the quicker she could work it off, of course, they would keep her from dying, but, they wren't gonna waste the effort on healing her cuts and bruises, a broken limb maybe if it was her leg, but they'd just let broken arms or ribs heal on their own.

Meanwhile, iris would be heading down in to her cell, where the barred gate would shut behind her, and she could lie down on to the potato sack she called a bed.

The girl had such a sad existence from what the knight could tell. Giving her number she turned and walked away. Reduced to nothing more than a mindless servant of the knights. It intrigued the wind mage though and he needed to know what her situation was and what exactly the knights were doing to this poor girl.

A couple of knights approached him and gave him the run down, to which Kaz responded by waving his hand and dismissing it, "I'll make up my own mind, but thank you. I'll need to see the file on her," he said to them and the woman working the desk. The two veteran knights grumbled at how brazen he was. But even so, they knew Kaz's history and who he was associated with in the knights. They stepped aside, "Do what you want," they murmured as they walked off.

The attendant gave Kaz the report on the prisoner and he thumbed through it while stepping away. Making a quick look towards Noyiah, "Sorry you have to see this side of the knights. Let's go see what this is all about shall we," he said with a smile that he hadn't given the other knights he spoke to.

As he read the charges against her there were some things that didn't add up. Or rather added up too nicely. he had been around long enough to know things were not always clear cut especially with charges like these. or maybe it was just that she didn't seem the type. She had given herself into the mentality of the slave too easily for a person whose personality went along with these crimes.

He stopped by the medic's office. An old friend of his that dealt with the more interesting aspects of his injury and that of his allies. With a quick knock the door was opened and a middle aged man stood before him. "Ah Kazimir good to see you have returned. I trust you need me to check up on the,"

"No that won't be necessary. I'm here for another reason today. Can you follow me. I have a favor to ask. And can you put it under my account?" The healer nodded with a raised brow, questioning what exactly was going on but followed Kaz nonetheless.

They made their way down to the cells as was said in the folder he received. They drew closer and the healer nodded with a smirk, now understanding what this favor was.

The red-head was already sitting in her cell. A few pages patrolled the halls but none gave him more than just a look. Not after having brought down the hidden organization run by some corrupt rune knights and sending them to this very place.

"Here she is. Can you help her," Kaz said as he opened the door to her cell and the doctor stepped inside. The medic looked back at Kaz with a sigh and rolled up his sleeves. In the end it didn't matter who it was. He had a duty to heal, and trusted Kaz's judgement.

Noyiah’s Deer in a Headlights look faded quickly as Kazimir Recognized her , and she quickly made her way to the front desk, Hearing the Red headed girl speak, gave her a bit of the chills,  she seemed Brutish and cold hearted, but how she was tied up and treated, it didn’t seem like any sane person would be really cheerful in such a situation.  Noyiah had managed to pick up enough of a conversation to understand that she was a Knight, but also was not a knight in the traditional sense, more of a weapon.

Noyiah Walked up to the front desk and offered out the papers she carried, they were a Series of cases that Noyiah had taken on, on behalf of the Rune knights, nothing Dangerous mostly small jobs, one that would stick out was her job for Rune Knight Margret helping a man find his wife.  “ Hello Miss, i am Noyiah Dashi and I was hoping to be considered for a position of Page here at the rune knights. These are my credentials and list of applicable skills, I hope that I will server the rune knights well and be a contributing member of this team” She said almost rehearsed, it was something she had thought about a few times through the last few days, she wasn’t sure what to expect upon entering or how the Processes was when it came to getting new members.  

Noyiah Looked at the Red headed girl, the dulled and pained expression made her quickly realize that she was likely  far to professional in this informally Situation.  Kazimir seemed to defend Noyiah’s attendance, and asked that she was to be swore in.  Noyiah Noted the amount of Writing that the Prisoner Knight had done, it seemed very mild but she nodded in gratitude.  Was he considered a knight now? It didn’t seem very official,  Noyiah’s Brows furrowed a bit in confusion as she thought about it, at least a ceremony seemed in order.

A Group of knights came towards Kazimir and her and began to talk about the redheaded girl, they were far from kind. Noyiah couldn’t help but feel sorry for her though she seemed far too proud to allow pity. Noyiah also understood that the knights likely couldn’t control someone like her without these kinds of precaution.  She listed off a Number, 014482, it seemed important, but was the large number so necessary, she was dehumanized because of the power she wielded?  They seemed crueler then Noyiah would have ever guessed.   Kazimir seemed to hold his ground at least with his opinion before he turned and talked to her.

She nodded quietly not speaking out of fear her worlds would be drowned out in the lobby.  She simply followed along with Kazimir where they seemed to go to a medical ward.  After arrangements seemed to be made the medic followed Kazimir and So did Noyiah as they made their way down to the cells,  The Medic seemed disgruntled about having to patch up this girl but did so anyways after glancing back at them.  

“how crude” Noyiah commented, the cell was almost nothing, it was bare and dirty, it was no way to live even for prisoners,  but the budget likely didn’t allow for much more than to fed them. “would it break protocol to provide her with blankets, and pillows from my own belongings?” she asked quietly, as to not set the girl off, but loud enough she could by Kazimir.

Iris was already more than sound asleep by the time that Kazimir came down with a medic, and so did Noyiah. The girl was lying down on an empty sack meant for potatoes for frying out loud. Sleeping in the most comfortable position she could on the ground, she had plenty of the sack bundled up like a pillow so she wasn't just resting her head on the stone floor below.

The medic in question would, of course, feel like this was a waste, but, he would do his duty while the two new recruits would talk among themselves. Upon finishing that little patch job, he would sigh and step back, looking to pull the two rookies to the side so he could explain things to them clearly. "Listen, you've both got good intentions. I'll come and heal her when she's sound asleep like this if you make sure no one knows about it, but, we aren't supposed to be doing something like this. That girl is supposed to be incarcerated. She's supposed to be on the chopping block. She had royal jewels on her when she was arrested. Whatever the reason may be, she's the prime suspect, and no one else is implicated in what she did."

"She somehow had enough pull to keep her out of prison and get this little game set up, if you call it that. She has to complete thirty S ranked missions within a year, or it's gonna reset every year. She made it to twenty-eight, this last one though, it did something to her, and she's in no shape to be going on a mission like that, she's gonna die if she does." He would look at them both, and sigh, rubbing the back of his neck, "JUst, if you're really trying to show you care about her, keep an eye on her or something."

As the man would turn to leave, he would say one more thing, "She's not allowed anything other than what's in there, so, you give her some sheets or a pillow, and she's gonna get in trouble for having it, more so than you. Have a good day." He would leave.

Over back to Iris, she was pulling that potato sack closer, as if to try and stay warm while she shivered. She was trying to sleep in a stone jail cell that was below ground level, and with rags for clothes. Such a sad life, no?

A dream of his, That put back so far upon his life Regis never thought he would achieve was now something he was on the eve of starting, He put off much a whole different life behind him Regis would be  finishing his long awaited walk or travel to the Rune Knight Headquarters. Still the normal of him speaking nothing while he was walking in.

Taking a moment to look at what was around. Regis stuck out pretty badly consider his armor and the whole helmet covering up his face situation.

Regis would walk over to the desk and wait a few minutes while he wandered over to mentally prepare himself and talking himself into doing this still. So Regis would not make it look so horrible for himself while he was feeling ready. Taking the helmet off and walking over to recruiter. "Greetings, My name is Regis Karlinus, I would like to join the Rune Knights and wonder what I need to do to join them?" Regis sounded so in line, confident and like nothing was bothering him.

That new step would start here which by all account he was excited for, It was interesting and maybe the redo would be perfect for him, getting to have a change that was not just woods and no one else. Hope was with him for this job. He did just need to get through this with nothing but the armor and his name. Hopefully it was enough, But there was not a lot of information he had on it, just because he did not keep track.

He was only thinking to him how it could have helped him more if he had his younger sister to guide him slightly with this, It would be helpful but then again Regis knew most of his life he was the example.

Kaz smiled at the formality that Noyiah had, and it was exactly what the knights needed more of. She gave her resume, and he could understand her confusion. This was a bit informal and Kaz tried to reason that it was because of the short staff situation they found themselves in. Their forces scattered because of the demonic rifts opening all across the country,

It was something they would hopefully get around to rectifying and at least get the relic from the armory. The symbol of a knight. Noyiah followed him down to see the woman in the cell. He glanced back every once and awhile, in dismay that this was her first encounter with the knights.

They arrived at the bleak scene of her cell and he nodded in agreement with Noyiah about the crude setting. "I'm sure there would be some complaints about it," he responded to Noyiah as the medic got to work. His tone didn't seem as though he was too overly concerned with what problems that would bring.

It wasn't long before the medic addressed both of them. It was relieving to hear he still planned to help but some of the words he spoke caused Kaz's brows lower. "Thank you for helping her. I'll keep it a secret. Suspect is the keyword. Meaning she hasn't been charged with anything and things are still speculation. I had hoped when I returned the Knights would be done with something this archaic."

He looked towards Noyiah, "Sorry you have to see the knights like this." He brought his attention back to the medic.

"Someone kept her out of jail. Seems there is more to her story. And as much as it is hard to admit. I have arrested too many rune knights myself to think that there may not be something darker to this. But I hope not. I will keep an eye on her though." Iris' task was a difficult one without a doubt. One designed to keep her in perpetual servitude.

"Noyiah, I'm glad you decided to join. Although being seen with me. I don't have the best reputation. I've acter largely independent. The people that trained me clashed with high ranking officers and I've arrested a decent amount of corrupt knights. But if you're alright with all that," he added in a softer tone.

"If she isn't allowed to have anything else in there. looks like we'll just have to take her on long missions," he added as he leaned into the cell and for now placed a jacket over her. Just long enough so that she may fall asleep at least with some warmth.

Meanwhile...with Regis

The attendant greeted him back with a sigh. "There are so many today." The young man was already armored and ready to go. He had exemplary manners as well. The attendant flipped through the paperwork as if hunting for something, "Ah, I thought the name sounded familiar. You have a relative in her from a well-known family," she closed the file up and brought out a pen.

"Alright you don't have to do much," she signed his name on a document and stamped it. "You are officially in," she gave a small sigh and then saw a lieutenant look her way. She stood up more straight and planted a smile on her face. "You'll report for training tomorrow morning as a first time entering page. Uh, there was another two who just joined. Let them know as well. One of them is an apprentice, he can get you set up with your relics. pass training and you'll be sworn in to be able to do missions."  

She pointed in the direction that Noyiah, Iris, and Kaz had walked in. She hoped the man would leave soon so she could get out of the watchful eye of the lieutenant.

Noyiah could hardly hold back the horrified expressions when some of then things were mentioned, 30 S Ranked missions seemed as close to killing her without executing her themselves as it could get. Who could possibly do that. . .?  Noyiah seemed to calculate something as she started holding up fingers and biting hard against her lip as she thought about the multitude of that ~ 365 days in the year, taking upwards of a week/two weeks a mission of that multitude... 52 weeks in the year, if they took as much as 1 week there was only 22 weeks in recovery with 8 weeks that would be back to back missions. ~   This was no way to live, if it could be called that.

After some time, she managed to keep her expressions under control, it was very difficult for her to accept that there was corruption within the Rune Knights, but it wasn’t that surprising either.  But it was a fantasy to join the Knights for many years now and all of that seemed less then perfect when it came to the real situation.

As Kazimir explained a few things, she would nod. It was a cruel reality, but it was necessary, and she agreed with his decisions. If they were that corrupt, then Noyiah would keep an eye out herself. if she ridded the guild of corruption it would be that much closer to her dream job.

Noyiah took a deep breath and looked in at the sleeping 014482 as she deemed herself, it was odd thinking about a person as a number and how large that number was, did that mean there were that many more before her or if it was a number of significance it was hard to tell without digging a little further.
“ I don’t mind, id rather be hated on the side of good then liked for letting things like this happen “ She motioned very minorly around towards The prisoner.  It warmed Noyiah’s heart to see the compassionate side of Kazimir, as he placed the jacket over 014482, she couldn’t help but melt a bit. Regaining her collectiveness, she nodded in agreement and then instantly scowled “wait that wouldn’t help her unless its an S ranked one and then we aren’t really doing her any favors.

Noyiah leaned her back against the wall beside the cell, she wasn’t one hundred percent in agreement with any of this. Even if she was a prisoner of some sort, she was still a person and Noyiah wanted to help, thinking about it for a moment the only real thing she could think of was to stop by more often and talk with her, at least when she was awake, maybe even read books to her if she didn’t find that sort of treatment insulting.  If Noyiah was stuck in a cell it would be something she wouldn’t mind. But that issue lead to another.  Being seen here a lot would likely get her some bad attention. Not to mention if she was a dangerous criminal, how hard was it really to manipulate people who want to help.

Of so many times and years Regis actually thought this would be much rather it kind of baffled him, Largely baffled him. Leaving him almost entirely speechless Regis kind of finally mentioned something after a moment."This...is a lot simpler then I first ever assumed." Even thinking to himself now how he would have done this years a go if it was actually this easy."I thought this was something a lot...harder....age must be getting to me."Regis mentioned to himself to kind of just snap himself into a normal chain of thought.

Regis then mentioned."Yes that would be my younger sister Judina, maybe another family member too but that is the first one on the top of my mind."Regis might not know all of the details himself but some at least. So he would carry on as he normally would, Thinking to himself with various thoughts.

So Regis would take his time to follow where he heard the other people were who just joined and would slowly make his way other there, Then again he had was taking his time, Because he pictured this in a much different light in the past. Always trying his best to not focus on it, he could not this time

"Other knights....other knights."Regis was thinking to himself, aloud because he oddly he was some what now nervous and unsure of himself while he was walking. He had an idea where he was going and not paying attention to walk and where to in fact. Since he was lost in his thought that seemed to be going on with him. Such a situation Regis was common with him. Regis seemed to at least be trying but had a lot of things to work on to adjust in his life, None the less he was on his way to where he was told.

It almost seemed just as quickly Regis went away to join the other knights, some one else came through the door at a quicker pace then Regis did. Even kind of just crashing through the door in her own normal fashion Judina seemed to come through the door. Panting because she had ran rather quickly and did not give herself a moment to catch her breath.

Giving herself a moment to breath and realized, how little grace and class going through the door that way.Getting back to normal Judina would walk over to the desk."I am Judina Karlinius, I am here to return  after going missing form duty for a period of time." She said she sounded nervous about it for some reason, To wonder what would happen next since a part of her feared the worst already, Since she just up and disappeared and for no good reason. but so far everything seemed about manageable.

Nothing too horrible happen she was just a bit tired from traveling all the way here, But that was an easy given considering anyone traveling. But it was refreshing as well to her, So to face this moment was all she wanted to do, After all it was different then how she first got into the knights.

Looking around and waiting Judina seemed to start piecing together all that she remembered of this place. Her readiness to also return was something she was more keeping in her mind while she stood still waiting. It almost felt that time was flowing differently and Judina was just suffering from it or that was just her mind playing tricks on her, Judina would disagree with some one saying her mind was playing tricks on her, But also kind of new that was the case as well.

Iris would, while being observed by both Noyiah and Kazimir, turn over in her half sleeping state, pulling the potato sack with her to try and get more warmth, before she settled in to place, mumbling incoherently. For the other two that had come in, and were looking to rejoin the knights, Iris would be getting a notice from one of the knights up on the main floor that she had to get up and help out a little more. SHe would mumble a little, before turning over.

The knight that came down gave a side long glance to Kazimir and Noyiah, "Keeping an eye on her? Don't worry, she's not getting out of here. Now, you, move." he opened the cell door while Iris would sleepily make her way out. On the way, she would look at Kazimir and Noyiah, "Did you want to complain about how I registered you? It'll have to wait." "I said move!"

Iris would trundle her way back up stairs, and around to behind the desk, sitting down and picking up the pen, looking up at Judina and Regis, "Oh, joy, more people that came back after disappearing. What a day for this." SHe would sigh while sitting back, the red head just glowering at the two of them.

"So, you want to rejoin. Let me get your names, I'll write them down, and that's that, yeah?" SHe seemed very rude, well, she kind of was, considering she wasn't sleeping well, and had an undying hatred for rune knights now.

Before Regis could make his way down to deliver the message to the others, Iris was sent up to swear them in and gathered Regis along the way. As Iris left her cell behind Kaz grabbed his jacket and threw it back on, "No, just making sure you were warm," he replied, ignoring the other knight that had come down. The wind mage was passive but his patience had its limits, but he kept himself composed. He gave a nod towards Noyiah that the two should make their way out for now but the only way was to follow Iris. Something that he was interested in anyway.

He leaned over to whisper to Noyiah as they walked, "Hated it is then. And I mean we lie a little. She is in no position to do an S-rank quest until her strength returns. But if she has done them in the past then that means she can travel. If we take her on long quests to get her strength back we may be able to give her a few nights in a hotel at least," he was already plotting on how to undermine the things in the knights he disagreed with.  


Iris was behind the desk as Noyiah and Kazimir appeared. Kaz shook his head with a smile seeing that not only his Ally Judina had returned but Regis had arrived to make his home in the rune knights as well. The indentured servant to the knight took her position and with a rude remark began their process of registration.

The hall was bustling with talk and it was a word that drifted through, lost to all ears except for one. A single word that clasped the shackles worn by Iris together, CLANK, and would send her to the ground, with a light thud like she was that sack of potatoes she slept upon.

"To think we would have an indentured servant to the knights not only registering new members but speaking at them with such vile," A tall man approached. His chest was out and his armor was polished clean with a robe draped over one shoulder. The receptionist snapped to attention, "Captain Baldanti...I."

"Silence, Gather the pendents and files and bring them," he snapped back at her. His walk was slow and he took in all that was around him. His scowling gaze fell upon the new and returning members and turned to a smile that was more forced than what he really felt.

"Welcome to the Rune Knights," he said as he moved behind the desk and grabbed the human-sized bundle by the back of her ragged clothes and set her out from behind it. "Do not be concerned with this criminal. She is merely working off her time. Do not let her appearance and size make you think she is anything other than dangerous. He whispered to her, "Remember your place, or you will lose what privileges you have managed to snake your way into."

He looked at Judina and Kaz Having recognized them from the bonfire that seemed it was so long ago. Captain Baldanti was the one spitting soured words at other knights, "I trust that the two of you are traveling with better company now," he said more so aimed at Kazimir than Judina. "Now then let's get you registered. Stand in a line," the receptionist returned with the pendants and what files she had on them and handed them to Baldanti. The captain draped the pendants on Iris to hold while he addressed the new arrivals.

Kaz stood with his hands at his sides in line. He hid the scowl that his face wanted to twist into. Baldanti was a harsh man before and even more so now. But he was a captain.

"Welcome to the..."
"That will be all Baldanti,"A more affirmative voice resonated from the side as Captain-Commander Germano Pagni stepped forward. A well-built man with his standard displayed on his chest. Pagni huffed and stepped to the side of the formation of recruits.

Pagni strolled before the ragtag group of gathered potential now. He knelt down and whispered a word to Iris that alleviated the gravity that held her down. He was a much more sympathetic man than the others. His position afforded him the ability to live as he pleased but also bound him by some protocol. He released Iris but did not help her up and let her continue to hold the pendants. It was unclear whether he supported her being a servant or not. What was clear is that he afforded her humanity.

"I'll take a look at your files. It is not often these days that we get so many at one time," he said as he flipped through the paperwork on the new arrivals. Both what they brought and what was already held in the knight's records.

Noyiah Nodded as Kazimir Whispered About his Scheme, it seemed like a good plan but it didn’t benefit her in the long run, as she wouldn’t be awarded an S ranked completion for It, and she would have to double up the amount on other weeks.  After Iris was yelled out of her cell, they stood there for a moment before returning towards the Reception desk.

As they got there it seemed far more hectic now than when she originally arrived, what was the occasion? Thought Noyiah as she glanced from stranger to Stranger, the other woman there looked familiar, but at the same time not, this was because of talking to Judith about Judina  but likely never would make the connection herself, at least not until she would hear her name aloud.

Noyiah was a little Nervous as the large chested man introduced himself, he seemed pompous and a loudmouth.  Noyiah’s Immediate dislike for him only furthered, as he seemed to Treat Iris Roughly and call her a criminal.  Noyiah would decide if she really was, she planned on sneaking some one on one time with her, even if it was just to talk. See if she really was as horrible a person as people said. Though Being New to the order Noyiah didn’t call him out on the behavior as she normally would have or at least made a sarcastic remark. But this organization was known for its more military based Ranking and talking to a Upper ranking officer would likely come with some repercussions. Though Noyiah didn’t care too much about this, she wasn’t certain that the 014482 was completely innocent, it wasn’t enough to stick her neck out for her yet, not in front of the other captains

Noyiah’s Attention Moved towards the other Rune Knight, this one seemed to be a higher Rank as he Dismissed the Loudmouthed, Barrel chested half-wit.  She would wait at the back of the line, first was a Man in Full armor, next was the Familiar looking Woman with dark hair, next was Kazimir and then lastly was her.  Noyiah watched as the man seemed to use magic on 014482, Now Noyiah looked Visible mad, it was one thing to have it, but it was a blatant, and unneeded waste of magic, more of a flex as to show he was capable of it.   As Noyiah didn’t possess any Magical Abilities she scowled slightly. It was uncalled for, but Noyiah couldn’t say anything about it now.  He was clearly higher up then most people here.

She did her best to hide her anger, but her face seemed to get a little more red than usual, Kazimir likely would know that she wasn’t happy, but she didn’t say anything to get herself in trouble.  And if addressed she would paly it off as being a small girl  flustered by all the great knights she dreamed about as a kid.

Regis did not seemed to express much, it might be from many details. But if ever some how he would ever speak, Regis would most like mention that he felt such treatment is wrong. He just put his helmet back on while he was walking towards. So when it was all started Regis seemed unsure with himself. But Regis started to learn that all knights work differently, But these situation seemed off and a bit annoying to him, Partly wondering if he should have left and regret his choice to go forward with this, But would press on still for his own sake.

He would at least answer Iris before things shifted around with his name."Like I said before. My name is Regis Karlinius."But then the shift around people happen while Regis would slowly walk over to stand in line like he said. Starting to feel only slightly annoyed with what was going on. Then again Regis now days was a lot more short tempered then even Judina.

But hearing his sister voice Regis would kind of try to relax now, Judina had a lot more reason to really feel upset and bitter about him being around. After all Regis did attack her once he heard, He did kill his own wife and daughter in front of her. Regis was expecting almost a scorning or his sister to attack him before they both even got sworn it, It was a worry but burying his face behind a helmet that shadowed his face would hide the nervousness and feeling he had, But unless a reaction was needed Regis would just try to control himself. He knew he could he just hoped his sister could. Since knowing his family such treatment of people was not something they could keep quiet about.

Unlike Regis, Judina was in more of a rushing mood and far little in control. You could just kind of tell with looking at her she was far more easily on the ready to do something that would be considered unfavorable. After all much like Kazimir who had returned, Judina solo tend to work alone, But was far more blunt and bull headed. Where was her older brother was in control of himself Judina was not. From her face, She seemed rather tired still, Like she had not recovered quite yet from her travels here from.

Regis and Kazimir could control their disliking, That quick change that Judina dislike and disapproved of what she saw before was very easily. But it came for that very moment slowly. Being loud enough for when her name was mention while looking around."Judina Karlinius."She did not sound tired just like she wanted to get this over with.

The problem with the stubborn sister, before she would even consider standing in line."Jeez I did not realize the knights degraded their own reputation by treating others who work for them in such a manner."Judina was cutting the point to most likely the shock of no one who knew. her"Even giving them a chance for what they have done, Treat them better to show a better example of how to be."Judina sounded she was a bit more annoyed, if anything the word displeased would easily be considered for it.

She would also follow it up with."I traveled here alone thank you, I had other matters to deal with...Not like sitting behind a desk or just at base would make you realize that."Yes Judina was grumpy and unhappy, these moment of everyone just keeping it to themselves seemed to be over since Judina was already just expressing what was on her mind. Not even her own mother could stop her from doing this right away. Her words were sharp, She would however go and casually walk into line even staring at her brother now in line and stopped in place, That was a warning sign that Judina was not on her super short fuse anything now would set her off.

As soon as she heard that word, she tried to ready herself, her eyes went wide and the sudden rush of dropping to the ground was painful. Her body weighing even more suddenly from gravity magic forced upon her cuffs. Brought to the ground with a painful thud as a captain of all people was using the command to keep her in line. Gnashing her teeth together while glaring at the guy.

When he came to drag her out from behind the desk, and basically held her up despite the added weight, she would just have her limbs hanging, trying to move them as the sounds of her straining and struggling could be heard. She couldn't even budge her ankles or wrists.

Set on to her feet and used as a rack to hold the pendants that welcomed the new knights, she struggled to stay standing. Veins visible on her neck and head from the effort she was putting in to remaining standing. The last time she didn't do something someone this high ranked wanted, she lost her bread privileges for a week. The other time they sealed off her window to sunlight for a couple of weeks. So Iris was doing her best to stay attentive, until every pendant was removed from her, and given to the others.

She finally buckled and fell over on to the ground, leaving some good cracks in to the wooden floor from the weight of those magic inhibitor cuffs around her.

When the captain commander came and released the spell on the cuffs for her, she was huffing and panting on the ground, keeping her gaze from angrily looking at anyone. Of the rune knights, there were only a few she could actually say she didn't want to see die painful deaths, this man was one of them, at least, he didn't treat her like a worthless criminal. As for the four new ones, two of them seemed alright, the other two, she couldn't be certain, but more rune knights was always a problem for her.

Baldanti couldn't bite his tongue as Judina lashed out. His face flared red, "A nasty attitude from someone who betrayed the Knights and wandered with a murderous fanatic!"

Pagni slammed the files shut, "THAT'S ENOUGH!. I'll not have Knights bickering in the main hall. If either of you intend on demonstrating what it is to be a knight I suggest restraint," he calmed himself as he put the files back behind the desk. "There has been enough madness and division in the knights and the country already.  We should all strive to be better examples of what it means to be a knight and protect the people, myself included. Now then, fall in shoulder to shoulder. Baldanti you are dismissed I can take care of this."

Kaz stepped out of the single-file line and moves to stand side by side with everyone. He looked back at Noyiah and grimaced at seeing her own expression. He knew she was having a hard time holding back her anger at the situation and so was he. As they moved to stand side by side, he let his hand touch hers for a moment and nodded with as comforting a smile as he could to reassure her.

Kaz didn't like the way things had gone down and kept a straight face on, but hated the processes and red tape that came along with some aspects of being a knight.

Pagni grabbed another pendant and handed it to Iris, "Now then Knight Dupage please walk alongside me," he said as he stepped in front of to the first person in line once they were all situated. He purposefully called her Knight to show respect and to avoid calling her page dupage. Not because it rhymed but because some of the ill-mannered knights took to calling her 'page dupage who lives in a cage.' It was something he reprimanded them for if he ever heard it. "I trust miss Dupage asked you all why you wish to become knights and interviewed you all so we will commence."


"Regis Karlinius. You come from a strong family. I see you are a melee fighter, there aren't enough of those in the knights that truly stand out anymore.  You'll be a welcome addition to the ranks. I look forward to seeing how far you progress," He reached down and took a Pendant from Iris. Most of the knights watching didn't pay it any attention but some scowled at Iris being afforded the right to assist the Captain-Commander. "By taking this Pendant you agree to serve and protect those in need," he extended the pendant towards him and if Regis accepted then Pagni would shake his hand. "Welcome to the Knights."


He stepped in front of the next person in line.
"Judina Karlinius. You have served the Knights well in the past. You have shown conviction towards helping those in need and have an impeccable record. You played a great roll in always keeping civilians safe during demonic attacks and I thank you. We welcome you back to the ranks. I know you will continue to accomplish great things both for the people and within the organization,"the last part was said with a slight nod. He leaned in to say something to her that only those in the line could hear, "Your passion to right injustice is well placed Judina. But if I may offer a word of caution. There are those in the knights at all levels who will be watching you and will distrust your return because of the news surrounding Nerva. Tread carefully but do not lose your passion," he spoke with genuine concern. He took a pendant from Iris."By taking this Pendant you agree to serve and protect those in need," he extended the pendant towards her and if Judina accepted then Pagni would shake her hand. "Welcome to the Knights."


He stepped in front of the wind mage and gave the same speech. He included a word of caution for the wind mage as well. "Welcome back Kazimir Seiryu. I extend the same caution to you. People will be watching because of your ties with Nerva and the aggressive way you handled your cases before your hiatus."

Pagni wanted to know what they had learned from their time with Nerva but would wait for a more appropriate time to ask them.

Kazimir accepted the pendant and shook Pagni's hand.


He stepped in front of her.
"Noyiah Dashi. Thank you for submitting a resume of your skillset. Thank you for all your service in he city of Era. Your agency as been a great help to the people and the knights in ensuring safety and peace. And I see here that Rune Knight Margret has already put in a recommendation for you were ever to decide to join," it seemed that even with the brief time Pagni had, he was able to acquire or recall a good deal of information from their files and his own memory.

He took a pendant from Iris."By taking this Pendant you agree to serve and protect those in need," he extended the pendant towards her and if Judina accepted then Pagni would shake her hand. "Welcome to the Knights."

There was still a final pendant that had not been handed out and Pagni looked at the red-headed girl. "That one is for you. Regardless of what situation has befallen you, if you are going to be a Knight you should have that." He left it in her hands to do with what she wanted and he faced the group once more.

"You will all report to training tomorrow. They will asses your skills and for the page's they will give you an assignment. Judina and Kazimir can help you as they know the process," he looked at them and saw something within the group before him. a mix of people that could go either way. Stabilize a sinking ship or let it fall to the depths.


"Know that as a knight you will see many things. Do not be discourage. We are here to help those that are innocent and in need. We are here to look beyond what some see at the surface and dig closer to the truth. Wherever that may be," he gave a quick sideways glance toward Iris, which could be seen as implying something of a mystery.

"The future is in your hands. I am sure this group will mold it into something worthwhile," he ended with a salute and once they returned it, he would make his way out.

Noyiahs immediate dislike for the Commander Pagni, was let go as fast as it occurred, Noyiah was sensible enough to know she didn’t have a fight that could be picked.  And for starting off on the wrong foot he seemed quite pleasant and respectful.   Noyiah would listen as each person was addressed, picking up on small details about them, how they looked at the commander and how they held themselves, Nervous ticks and subtleties that they showed.

Noyiah Nodded towards the commander as he recognized her achievements, it was something more heartfelt then she had anticipated, and that he had likely read her reports or at least knew of them was almost Surreal, for some reason Noyiah had never made the connection to her reports and where they actually went,  she knew that they had to be filed properly but never thought about it much more than just dropping of the papers to the faceless office of the Rune knights.  She would take the pendent after it was offered with a slight bow of her head “Thankyou Sir” she would say despite how wrong the words felt in her mouth. And if the handshake was offered Noyiah would take it as almost a reflex, shaking his hand firmly.

Noyiah would glance around at each person after he extended the offer to Iris as well, which was the most like a human Noyiah had witness anyone treat her other than Kazimir.  But the situation was so overwhelming it was hard to gather more details, as Noyiah Went into a Sensory overload. She felt light headed for a moment before catching herself placing a hand against he main desk and backed up to the side of everyone.   This was what she thought it would feel like  when she joined the Knights,  after all it was such a dream of hers,  and to see how awful a place it could be was discouraging, but it seemed there were people within it that wanted the world to be a better place, and as long as there were people who were fighting for this  there was a place for Noyiah.

Kaz walked forward and looked out at the knights. He was finally back. Nothing had changed much. He looked at the traffic in and out. The gossiping and scowls mingled with hard work and hopeful visions. It was his home but there were those that tainted it. But the knights were more than them. They were a symbol for people to be at ease. To know there was help for them. He wouldn't let it stay in this state forever.

He rubbed his hand over the new pendant that replaced his old one. It was exactly the same but it felt heavier now than before. A sign of something more to come. He gripped it in his hand. His knuckles wrapping around the rounded item with the chain flowing through his fingers.

"Alright then. Time to get started,"he said with a look of steel in his eye. He was only an apprentice but that never held him back or stopped him before. He stood on his abilities and he could help others. And now there were others that shared his conviction in the knights. The ones that had just sworn in. It would not be an easy rode for them but they could do it.

He walked by the reception desk as Noyiah was gathering herself. he simply gave her a reassuring pat on the back. "I'm going to start training pretty early tomorrow. We can all do it together if you'd like. Basic training won't take long with the platoon. But then we can all start something more intensive." The offer was for anyone who wanted to take it. He let the offer linger with them as he began to head towards the training grounds and the armory, "Glad you decided to join Regis. You guys should have some rooms in the barracks if you wanted to use them. I'm gonna see what the training ground looks like for tomorrow."

exit

Bowing his head slightly Regis just said."Thank you Sir."With that Regis was now a step towards the right way forward. He would be a new member in the knights. But just as quickly as Regis was around he seemed to leave too, Not that he did not have his reasons too.

Regis in reality was not ready to face his sister and talk to her quite yet, mostly out of shame and being unsure of himself as well. It seems just as much progress was made there was still problems for Regis.

He would not even face his sister as he walked away just walking away so normally, He did not want to have any reaction yet, He needed to keep himself in line. After all Regis felt the looming sense that Judina wanted to let out her vices with  him in that moment just as much as the person person she was talking back too. Who knew what that would entail, Regis did not want to know himself and it was for not worth the risk either.

Regis would quietly dismiss himself to maybe get his mind a bit more clear, He would get to training not too long but until for sure he needed too, Just for the moment Judina seemed like she needed to cool off and Regis needed to keep his mind in order. Did it bother Judina more he was so expressionless and quiet about leaving so quietly or was it something else? Regis would explore town and take in the area around him since he needed to learn and adjust to living in a populated areas. Regis was taking in a lot and it was trying not to let it break him but his mind needed to piece it's self together too.

{exit}