Ikazuchi’s day to day life primarily consisted of training and blacksmithing with various jobs scattered amongst those activities. That was the case until he was greeted by an envoy from the elven Celdrua family at the guildhall one day. They specifically requested his services as a guard for the young heir of the family during her travels. She was someone that he often heard about among the guild members, so he was surprised to hear about a request from her. He didn’t particularly keep up with the rumors, so he was naturally confused due to his previous understanding that they were a Rune Knight. Knowing this fact made him wary, but the representative that contacted him was able to clear up any misunderstandings that his outdated information caused.

After hearing that she had left the Rune Knights, he had no further concerns about the request and naturally accepted. Admittedly, he had been tempted before that simply due to the large sum of jewels that was offered. After agreeing informally, the two proceeded to negotiate the various details on the contract. The duration and pay were the primary focus, but he also added additional clauses about injury, fatality, and general hazards outside of the scope of the original arrangement. Considering his nature, the chance that they encountered anything deserving of additional payment was unlikely. ‘It’s not like they’re asking me to kill a god or something…’ This was what Ikazuchi thought as he signed and stored his copy while the Celdrua envoy took a separate copy that would likely be delivered to Aleja later.

As he was contacted a few days ahead of time, he had the luxury of meticulously inspecting, repairing, and maintaining his equipment. He would be ashamed if he experienced any equipment failure during such a request, so he took all of the necessary steps needed to avoid that possibility. The final day of preparations were spent going over his various supplementary equipment and resources that were carefully stored in the sturdy saddlebags on his wyvern. He naturally had a spare set of equipment that could be used for repairing equipment, various general use knives, camping equipment, and some extra food and water. With all of that, he felt that he was fully prepared for whatever may come their way. ‘Well, I may have over prepared...’ He couldn’t be sure about what his employer would provide, so he ensured that he would be ready for anything.

Ikazuchi woke early on the day he would meet his employer in order to do some light training to loosen up, something like a warm up for what could follow. He cleaned himself and properly equipped his armor with Spellcutter on his right hip and Breaker on his left. He was mostly calm and relaxed as he naturally mounted his red wyvern and took to the skies at a reasonable time to arrive at the designated location on the far side of the Worth Woodsea. With his experience in the area, he wasn’t worried that he would arrive late.

As Ikazuchi approached the area on the back of his wyvern, he caught sight of a unique creature flying around freely in the sky above. ‘It must belong to them?’ He didn’t worry too much as he urged his wyvern to descend and eventually land in an open area a short distance from the guards and Aleja who had arrived ahead of him. Ikazuchi first appraised the group of guards, aware that they were likely fairly strong to be the escorts of someone known as their heir. ‘I wonder if I could fight them after this?’ He thought this, but naturally quelled any desire to battle as it would be rude to his employer.

It was at this point that his attention naturally settled on the woman that he recognized at a glance. Even without his blessing, he had heard enough about her appearance from others to know who she was. The power of his eyes only reinforced that fact and gave him even more information. In particular, the details of her magic and the status that came from it left him feeling slightly uncomfortable. He could only reluctantly approach her after learning of it. “Miss Celdrua?” He asked this as he approached within a few meters of her, unconcerned by any defensive actions her guards may take due to his sudden appearance. “I’m Ikazuchi, the guard that you’ve requested. I’m looking forward to working with you.” He spoke politely with a relaxed and friendly smile on his face, only the strict distance a few meters away from her revealing any wariness he may feel towards her at this moment.

Seeing Aleja approach, Ikazuchi didn’t blatantly avoid her despite the desire to do so. The fact that her magic could easily manipulate him was discomforting, even if she wasn’t actively using it against him at this moment. The magic she possessed was precisely the kind of magic that he disliked facing as it wasn’t specialized in direct combat, but instead specialized in control and manipulation. The possibility of her casually walking through a warzone safely as everyone fell under her charm flashed through his mind as she spoke to him.

“Truthfully, I didn’t inquire extensively about what you may need from me.” His left hand casually rested on Breaker’s pommel as he spoke. “What I do know is that I will be acting as your guard and assisting you within the limits of my skill set.” There wasn’t any malice or provocation intended by his action, he simply intended to highlight the fact that what he had to offer was precisely his skill with the sword. He was confident in his other skills and experience as well, but that wasn’t what he was requested for so he didn’t expect to need them.

Something Ikazuchi didn’t realize was that while he was polite, he also didn’t follow the etiquette generally expected of those associating with someone in Aleja’s position. His direct and honest mannerisms could easily be perceived as rude, but he never considered that fact. As he didn’t see himself as below anyone, he tended to associate with most as though they were his equal until given a reason not to. His gaze shifted from the young miss of the Celdrua family to her guards, blatantly inspecting them more thoroughly than before. “Will they be accompanying us?”

He hadn’t confirmed if there would be other guards present, so he was curious about this fact. Considering the animosity that he perceived, he couldn’t help but wonder about how their travels would go if they continued to associate. He would hate to have a falling out with his employer, but he wouldn’t calmly accept any aggression or provocation either. Part of him hoped that the woman standing somewhere between one to two meters away would be leaving them behind.

OOC: This topic is closed due to Aleja being death coined.