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[Meriann]

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1st Summer 518 AV
"Speech"

It was dark on the evening of the first day of Summer, and Evalka smiled in the night. The shadows lay flat on every surface of the dark alleyway, coating the lintel, the windowframe, the sullen, drab washing still hanging low across the narrow passage. It was dead quiet, except for the skittering of rats and the soft breathing of Evalka's eleven year old rapscallion son, his yellow teeth the only thing that gleamed from his filthy face.

Evalka was a thief by trade, a mother by accident, and a brute by habit. Hers was a typical tale of the city, a tale of a poor family and a poorer, wickeder man of a husband. A tale that eventually ended in murder, but on Evalka's terms, not her good for nothing but the worms husband. She had once been beaten within an inch of her life, but looking at her now, as Meriann was, one coudn't tell. She was straight-backed and proud-looking, holding a short, thick stick in her right hand and a large sack in the other. She flicked the corner of her ragged hood and whispered something in a low voice to her son, Hof. The sack was exchanged.

Meriann drifted closer, unseen by the living, her dull curiosity piqued by the dark duo in the night. The ghostly woman hadn't left the alleyway for a season, and during that time she had fallen into an almost fever-like stillness. Her incorporeal hands shook because she made them do so, and her flickering was erratic as if to prove she still existed, but she hadn't moved. She knew the alleyway well, but the narrow stretch of simple houses was a mental gaoler more than a refuge. She hadn't materialised again since the early days of her ghosthood, she simply rested on the lip between unlife and true death. Without knowing it, Evalka had become the only point of interest in the small alley, and Meriann moved towards her and the building she was about to break into like a moth to a flame.

The cloaked woman stopped, perhaps feeling a presence, but then shook off the superstition. Evalka hunkered at the door, and rummaged in the lock whilst Heb waited and Meriann watched with fascinated, yet cautious, confusion. The house was relatively large, considering, and presentable enough for Sunberth. Meriann had seen its occupant, a tall dark-haired man, from time to time, though she often let the faces blur into one as she stood still and numb. Now the ghostly woman flickered invisibly closer, lurking over Evalka's shoulder. The air grew more chilled, but there was little to suggest a lonely, lost ghost was hiding nearby.

"I got it, Heb my boy." The voice was rusty and rough, deep enough to sound like a man, though she was just a heavy smoker. And she was right. The door creaked open, and the two delinquents pushed their way in, without trying to be quiet. It was dark inside, though no darker than the street. Meriann flooded in too, her soulmist beginning to tumble erratically as she reacted to the two would-be thieves and the sudden excitement that breaking and entering brought. "Go find the good stuff, Hebbie! I'll clock 'im down!" She cackled, and began to rush around the building, searching for the owner. Meriann, dragged unceremoniously out of the numbness of the previous weeks, squeezed her soul and fought to regain any sense of her brain.

It was difficult, and awful, as emotions she had ignored rushed into her soul and made her want to cry and scream from the feeling of entrapment she had so long embraced as a coping mechanism, but she needed to protect the street, and Evalka and Heb were a threat to its imprisoning sanctuary. She was a prisoner, but then she didn't really want to feel anything, any more. Only a stubborn sense of a need to do something before she went kept her hanging on, but the alleyway was her comfort blanket, even if it was one that smothered her. The dark-haired man who lived in the house was far from her mind, but as she struggled to become visible to the eyes of the living, it would be standing in front of Kynier that she eventually became visible with a scream of, "No!" The 'No!' was directed at Evalka, who uttered a ragged, childish yelp in horrified response, but only fell back a foot, eyeing the ghost warily. There was violence in her eyes yet, and the thieving woman meant to follow through with it.

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[Kynier]

It was nearing the end of the day, and Kynier felt exhausted. Doler had him tracking a particular courier for several days, one whom happened to make deliveries all over Sunberth. And he was a quick person. Kynier just laid in bed appreciating the ability to be off his feet. Normally he would be practicing one of his magics. Tonight, it was hard to find the drive to do so. Tomorrow was going to be more like this one and would require an earlier start. His home was dark and he was waiting for sleep to take him.

When he was close to losing consciousness he heard a door creaking open. Kynier stood up quietly and moved to the large chest. All his weapons, money, and other items he wanted out of view were locked inside, except for his cold iron short sword. Kynier heard a cackling voice and drew his short sword silently. The wardrobe sat next to the door and Kynier concealed himself on the opposite side. He intended to wait for the intruder to make their way to his room.

It did not matter who it was, Kynier was ready to move with killing intent. The slums were a neutral territory. Petty drug dealers and low rate prostitution lined the streets. But no gang affiliates ever disturbed the residents. Someone that violated that sanctity would receive no quarter from Kynier, especially when they picked his home. But he didn't need to wait long. Before his eyes a mist suddenly emerged. Shifting in the air rapidly it took a vaguely humanoid shape. The head developed the features of a woman just for an instant, long enough to scream, before the whole thing vanished.

Kynier stared wide-eyed at the place the apparition appeared. On the other side of the wardrobe he heared a surprised exclamation. Crouching low he took two quick steps around and stabbed at the figure in the doorway. In the dark he couldn't quite make out the shape of the intruder though he could see them. His blade connected with something as the intruder cried out in pain. After that something heavy and wooden struck Kynier on the shoulder.

Cringing away he made a defensive cut in the air to prevent the intruder from closing in. Kynier focused on the silhouette and could see something long in the intruder's grip. Some sort of stick. With a glance at his blade he could see blood decorating the tip. But not enough to deter the person before him. Kynier advanced making a foray of downward and upward cuts. The intruder had to give ground in order to block each attack. Loud thunk thunk noises occurred each time his blade bit into their weapon.

Kynier's attacks had a rhythm, one the figure could easily determine. It was a deliberate tactic. At the top of the stairs Kynier performed another downward cut that was easily blocked, just like he wanted. Before pulling the short sword away Kynier kicked the intruder at center mass to knock them back down the stairs. Still standing at the top Kynier cleared his thoughts, and banished his rage. Searching inward for his Djed while the person tumbled down to the other room. By the time the intruder could stand up Kynier would have found the Djed and begin willing it to form res in his hand. The res would be liquid, but he intended to hold off on igniting it.

[Meriann]

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"Speech"

It seemed Meriann need not have intervened. She could only watch, a flickering, dusty shadow, as the ensuing fight took place and the tall, dark-haired man tricked the would-be thief. The fight was as violent as Evalka's eyes promised it would be, but the violence was directed against her, instead of in her favour. As she stumbled and fell with a muffled groan down the stairs, her hood fell from her face and her pale skin and ragged brown hair tumbled free. She landed face down on the floor and didn't move for a few moments.

Meriann wavered, both physically and mentally. It might have been better never to have entered the house, but she was here now and she was invested in the unfolding drama. She had seen the flicker of confusion in Kynier's eyes, and she wanted to see it again, if only as a proof that she could materialise and could exist, in some form or another.

She drifted closer, her presence cooling the air. Somewhere in the house, the young boy named Heb crept closer to his injured mother. Meriann slid down the stairs, her incorporeal body clinging to the banister, and stood beside Evalka, glaring down at her. As the pale-faced woman unfolded, she clutched her nose and the side of her face where a large, red patch had been scoured by the fall.

Above, Kynier stood. Meriann watched as he summoned something in his hands, and gasped. He was a magician! Her thoughts tumbled, and she strained to become real again, until she flickered into being with a short thrill of a shudder. Meriann stood as she had been in life, a strong-shouldered, dark haired Svefra woman. Her eyes had been eaten by her killer, but as she could still not face the truth and the brutality of her death, she ignored the fact and her blue eyes gazed from their sockets.

Evalka stumbled to her feet and stood. Her eyes, once dark with casual violence, were now tinted with something like fear. Her son stood where the two women could see him, but where Kynier could not. He was shaking his head, meaning that he had not found anything of worth. Evalka risked a sideways glance at the young lad, and he could read what she felt as soon as he saw her. The two had spent a long time as mother and son, and they knew the dangers of their job. Kynier's house had been a gamble, and it hadn't paid off. The only thing that Evalka now knew was that she would personally lead a rabble to burn this house down, if only to kill the filthy mage that dwelled inside it.

The question was fight, or flight. Evalka suddenly screamed out, "Get out Heb!!" Her voice cracked, and Meriann had a choice. She battled indecision for the briefest of moments, and then as she abandoned her materialisation she lunged forwards and coiled her conciousness up and into the boy who was making an exit for the door. She viciously fed her spirit into him, funnelling herself down his throat, into his nose, scraping past his eyelids and coiling into his ears.

His was a tough, if clueless soul, and Meriann was extremely weak, but for a few precious moments she was in control. The sensation was incredibly strange. She felt as if she had shrunk into the size of nothing at all, and yet she could control the body, albeit sluggishly. Without thinking of the safety of herself or Heb, she yanked his body to a stop and threw herself down onto the floor. The action unlatched her from possession of the boy, and he retched her from his body with a look of terror and disgust equally displayed on his grimy face. Her desperate measure had worked, though. Heb lay on the ground for a chime, leaving enough time for Kynier to do whatever he had to do. Meriann only waited, biding her time and trying to rest, as her soul was weak and tired from the strains she had been placing on it.

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[Kynier]

Kynier descended the stairs slowly, noiselessly. When the body at the bottom of the stairs shifted he willed more res to form in his hand. The taste of nickel touched his tongue as his djed took physical shape above his palm. Ignite. The outer layers of the res were set aflame, bringing light to the dark. The intruder, a oafish woman, turned to look up at him. Firelight reflecting in eyes of hatred and horror. She called out to someone, telling them to run.

Kynier thrust his hand forward, willing the unburned res to crash down upon the woman and set her ablaze. He groaned. The sensation of needles stabbing his brow deeply caused him to list into the bannister.

"Recollect, you fool! She's not alone in here!"

Pushing aside the discomfort Kynier lept down the remaining stairs. The burning woman was writhing and flailing about. Kynier held his short sword high and stabbed down with the force of both hands. Fire licked his clothes and caressed his skin. Quickly he recoiled, pulling his blade out from the woman. With a hastened glance he could see that a second intruder lay upon the floor. Marching towards it he raised his blade up, ready to skewer this person. The boy rolled over and Kynier could see that he was young. That didn't cause him to hesitate and he slid the cold iron into the boy's soft stomach.

Kynier's eyes still portrayed his surprise. There was no other option. The boy had seen his magic. Had he lived the boy would've brought the prejudice of the entire city upon him. Kynier wouldn't let a few years of careful work be brought down by one youth. He watched the boy sob and gasp painfully. He didn't know how long it would take for him to die. And he wasn't cruel enough to let this boy live his last in agony. Kynier withdrew the blade, making the boy, Heb, cry out loudly. Then he knelt down and brought the blade across the boy's throat.

Blood sprayed out with an intensity he didn't expect. The red mist caught him partially on the face and in an eye. Kynier spat and rubbed it out with his sleeve. In less than ten seconds the boy was dead pale. Kynier allowed his weapon to clatter onto the floor as he ran to retrieve his cloak that was laying on the floor upstairs. Running back down the steps he bundled it and started to stamp out the fire. Last thing he wanted was to burn down his own home. He really needed to improve his shielding skills to have safeguards against these hazards.

Once the fire was out Kynier sat on the floor in the dark. The smell of blood was already pungent. "Just great," he said irritably. For a moment he sat there, waiting for the rush to recede. A shiver coursed over his body, and the air tasted cold. Colder than a summer night usually was. Kynier looked around his darkened home and could see nothing out of the ordinary. Standing up he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Needles still stabbed his brow, making it difficult to concentrate. After a chime he managed to get past it and calm his thoughts and emotions. Kynier called upon his Djed for Auristics.

He opened his eyes and scanned the room. There was an aura... cloud... hanging in the air. The energy was human-sized but swirled upon itself continuously. Looking at it caused his eyes to hurt, and his auristic vision began to flicker. The headache reformed anew. Kynier released the djed and closed his Sight. Something was there with him still.

"I know you're still there," he said aloud. "No use in hiding yourself from me."

[Meriann]

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"Speech"

Blood. Blood, and lots of it. Meriann shivered and clutched herself as she watched the man go about his task. She watched his silvery sword glint in the light of the flame as it plunged into Evalka's body, steadily becoming a charcoaled corpse. She watched, her fists curling into tight, protective fists, as the man ended the boy's life and Heb's conciousness gurgled from existence. Meriann wondered absently if they would return as ghosts, but the stray thought drifted back into her brain as she rested and watched.

The burning body of the home invader had finished writhing in silent agony. The ghostly woman supposed it was better than hearing screaming, but there was something in the silent movements that had been utterly unnerving, and the boy... Heb was dead too, a young corpse with a slit throat. Just another casualty. Just like... her. She doubted either of the two people had been prepared, in reality, for the trouble they had accidentally stumbled across. Just like her. It wasn't often that you found a mage in Sunberth, though Meriann wasn't a native, anyone knew that fact. Her own reckoning had come from a woman named Kelski, a woman she hadn't had the chance to know or understand.

She rested quietly, unable to move fully. She was at a loss. Was the street safe now? What should she do? Torn between leaving and staying to see what the strange man would do next, she lingered. Then Kynier took the choice from her as he spoke quietly into the room, announcing he knew she was there. Meriann didn't doubt it. Being ignorant when it came to her new ghosthood, and the types of mages in general, she figured he could sense her presence somehow, although she couldn't guess how.

With equal quietness, she drifted closer, trailing her feet behind her. She didn't materialise fully, but instead simply became visible in front of the mage. She was dressed in a cropped top that exposed her slim belly, and a long, swirling purple skirt, both of which were faded as was her entire body. Her eyes were blue, and about the only thing with some sense of real colour to them. Her hair gently drifted, as if she were suspended in water.

"Hello." She was wary of him, she found. Kynier had proven himself a dangerous individual. One who had killed a child, even if he had just been a scruffy son of a thief. Yet he didn't seem angry now, only irritated. She found it difficult to tell his facial expression, and so she just stood a little distance from him, studying his face and trying to quieten her tumbling soulmist.

"Why did you kill the child?"

Meriann's fingers began shaking. She was near to understanding something about her own reason for staying behind in the world. She could sense it. Why did he kill? It was the burning question that she needed to ask, but could she? Would be even be able to explain fully?

Did she even want to know the answer?

She waited. Coldness seeped into the air, enough to make Kynier shiver if he let himself. She stood utterly still, listening to whatever he had to say, and thinking endless, tumultuous thoughts, trying to understand this mysterious man.

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[Kynier]

Kynier stared, half in fascination, half in terror as she appeared from nowhere. The translucent form of a woman materialized in his home. The appearance she took was that of a slim woman dressed for hot outdoors. Skin tone was indeterminable, but the irises managed to form an astounding blue. Every other color was muted with death.

Standing there with trembling breath, Kynier frantically thought of what to do now. He knew next to nothing of ghosts, or if even magic could have an effect on them. Where this one came from was a mystery. For a couple years there had been no strange presence around his home. Why was it here? Sunberth was a city of violent endings. Maybe she lived here once.

The apparition asked about the child with an unexpected not of curiosity. Kynier dared a glance at the dead youth. Blood pooling around the floor. Kynier remembered about the blood still on his face. It had congealed and was irritating his skin. With his sleeve he wiped the remnants off his face.

"I didn't know he was here." He moved to stand over the body, gazing into the lifeless eyes. "He saw my magic. Once he did, there was no choice in the matter. The tale of a mage in Sunberth would've spread. Old scars would begin to itch, and the city itself would seek my blood." Kynier looked up at the ghost to gage it's reaction. "He needed to die, so that I could continue to live," he stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

Closing his eyes he took a deep breath. Reaching for traces of Djed within. The effort caused his body to convulse uncomfortably. Mentally grasping at the few remaining bits of power he had he focused on the space above the boy's corpse. Directing the Djed there he willed it into a circular pattern. With a mental ladle he stirred the energy for a chime, feeding it more as he did. Once it had channeled enough power a small gateway opened to the void. It was roughly the size of his palm and directed towards the body. Kynier initiated a 'pull', as strong as he could.

The body itself didn't move, but the blood around it slowly was lifted off the floor. Kynier's convulsions worsened. Pain rippled through his body, affecting his concentration. The portal fluctuated in size respectively. Once the last of the blood had been sucked through Kynier severed himself from the flow of Djed. He gasped painfully and fell to the floor. For a chime his breathing was labored and the room spun. He rolled onto his back and watched the ceiling rotate then snap back to place, only to repeat itself.

"Who're you?" he asked, sounding sick. "Why are you in my home?"

[Meriann]

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"Speech"

Meriann's own shivers slowly subsided as she watched the man perform his magic. She watched the blood lift lethargically into emptiness, and her jaw slackened somewhat, amazed at the spectacle and yet finding nothing to say about it. After what seemed an age, the man managed to make the majority if not all of the blood completely disappear. She wondered what this new sorcery was, and where the blood had gone to. The boy's face was obscured by the flop of his hair and the darker shadows, and she was glad she couldn't see his eyes. She remembered the boy's corpse now lying in the burial grounds beside her own, and felt her weary soulmist churn in revulsion to this further death.

She could see the reasoning he spoke of so sensibly, but she didn't agree with it. Sunberth's reaction to mages and magic wasn't unfounded, after all. Perhaps a man such as this shouldn't be in the city, and if he had been elsewhere then no-one would have died. It was a 'what if?' situation, and Meriann didn't have the energy to feel truly incensed about it. Instead, she stared calmly at the man as he spoke, the way his chin moved as he talked from the ground.

"I'm... Meriann. And I'm in your home because..." Why, again? "Because I didn't want your house changing when those two people broke in. I don't know. I don't know!" The ghost was growing upset. Trying to talk about matters she didn't even understand was stressing her and she felt almost powerless to stop the growing sense of desperation that seemed to wash up like an unwanted tide of emotion. "To help you, I suppose, though I didn't remember your face, though I don't know you. I don't know why." Her tone grew accusatory, though of course she had no right to be as she was a trespasser in the man's home as well, and it was her childlike confusion that was making her angry rather than anything else. "Who are you? What is your magic? Why are you here?"

She retreated backwards until she was nestled against the nearest wall and willed herself energy faster. Now it was her turn for fight or flight. The street was safe now, and the house secure. There was no need for her to be inside with the grim-faced man, and so she rested her soulmist, trying to gain back some kind of energy. It dripped into her, droplet by metaphorical droplet, and she experimentally reached for a way to materialise again, to no effect. The irrational urge to help was fading as fast as the bloody drama that had just come to an end. Meriann felt untethered, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

OOCSorry this one's a little short!

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[Kynier]

The day had been long, and the night was getting there too. Burglers and ghosts, a set that no one would want to deal with in the same night. Yet here he was, lying of the floor, disoriented, talking to a dead woman about a dead child. Neither of whom should've been in his home in the first place. Barring more interruptions, he could just sleep on the floor like this. Unfortunately he would have to remove the bodies. More physical exertion that he didn't have the energy to do right now. If he didn't they would begin to smell.

The ghost, Mariann, was getting irate. Her shape was becoming more opaque as her tone escalated. That made him nervous. Enough to cautiously get to his feet in a low squat. She seemed unstable, in her thought process. Doing things that she couldn't explain. After her questions she flew to the opposite wall from him. Unusually, she stopped for a moment before going through it. Kynier arched an eyebrow.

"She can't have been dead long. Otherwise she wouldn't have hesitated to move through a solid object."

Kynier crossed the room to where Meriann had made her exit. He set his hand against the wall and felt that its surface had grown very cold. Strange. Did the environment always grow cold in their presence? Kynier shrugged, thankful that she was gone. He turned to the new task at hand, his intruder's remains. Perhaps he could just dump them in the street. Dead bodies on the road were just common enough to not raise suspicion. But in the Slums it may stand out. The violence was lower here. He didn't want to dump them in the water supply, and both the river and docks were too far away to drag them both.

If he had a lot more skill, he could just send them to the void. But even attempting to open one that large was likely to drag him through as well. Kynier still wasn't sure what to do as he returned to the boy's body. It couldn't stay here. Taking a knee he grasped the boy by a wrist and dragged his upper body off the floor. After some effort he flipped the boy over his shoulder and stood up with a grunt. Kynier listed heavily to a side for counter balance. Bee lining to the door he went out onto the street. Leth was hiding behind the clouds, placing darkness upon the city. Kynier decided to go northeast towards the Quay and dump him at the wall in a remote spot.

"This is going to be a long summer, isn't it?"

"Not any longer than those that came before, I imagine."

"Shut up."

[Meriann]

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Date
"Speech"

Despite Kynier's relief in Meriann's disappearance, the woman was not gone as such. She had bled through the wall and back out onto the street, where she stood invisibly against the dark backdrop of someone's doorway, wonderingly bleakly what to do. She had almost decided to do absolutely nothing at all, to return back to her previous state of dull ignorance, when Kynier's door opened and he stepped out.

It was immediately clear he was carrying something, judging from the weighted, stooped walk and the dark lump draped over his shoulder. Meriann supposed with distaste that the something was the dead boy. Where was he going with him? She looked over and watched with fascination as his lips moved. He was talking to himself... Or someone she couldn't see. Nothing could be discounted again, after the display of magic she had seen that night.

She was far enough away that she couldn't fully catch the words, but she was in a position of uncertainty, where her grim fascination with the man vied passionately with her intentions to keep herself to herself. Passion was something she hadn't felt in what seemed like an age. The former won out. Kynier hadn't answered her questions, and a remnant of her impetuous and bossy nature in life still remained within her.

It would be a push on her physical state and her abilities, but she made a decision. She flickered closer to the man and as she came out of her juddering movement she took a chance. She didn't materialise as she found it wearisome, but instead she pushed her hands against the man's shoulder and willed herself to push him. Her hands would sting on impact, a frigid ghostly slap, and she gasped as she exerted soulmist enough to drain her of any energy she'd gained from her prior few moments of rest.

The shove was enough to make the man stumble, maybe even fall if he was feeling as weak as she was. Whether he fell or not, Meriann swirled into full visibility and hovered in front of his face. "You didn't answer me... Tell me... Who ARE you?" She was weak, but she wouldn't show this man that. His night wasn't over yet.

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[Kynier]

Now he truly understood the meaning behind the phrase, "dead weight". The corpse over his shoulder just wouldn't settle in a way that was comfortable. Frequently it would begin to slide dow Kynier's shoulder, threatening to fall off if his didn't pop it up higher. And this was a young boy while the body of his mother still lay in his home. Kynier wasn't looking forward to that experience. There were many areas of his life that he needed to improve upon, physical strength was now on that docket.

Kynier's thoughts wandered back to the ghost. Never before had he seen one. So the sight of one manifesting and talking in his home had been disturbing. Not as much as the thought of how many there must have been inhabiting a city as violent as Sunberth. Kynier never heard of how or why a ghost comes to be, apart from the obvious. There was no explanation to why their spirits lingered and others didn't. But as he marched down the street he felt that he was seeing the city in a different view.

It was at the beginning of a step that he felt a drastic chill on his shoulder. Something, unseen, pushed hard against him. The dead weight had already caused serious compromise to his balance beforehand. Kynier tried to regain balance, but the effort was futile. Forward he fell. Kynier shifted his body a bit more so that he free shoulder and arm were falling first. The same side hand stiffened and a slightly bent arm reached out in front of him. The outside of his hand touched the ground first. When it did he pushed down and slightly away, turning his hand and forearm into a buffer for the fall.

Instead of crashing down hard his motion allowed his momentum to continue forward. The side of his body slid across the ground for about a foot before he stopped. The corpse slid up his shoulder and placed an uncomfortable weight on his head and neck. Instantly, the outside of his hand ached and the same side of his body was already turning sore. With a couple of shrugs he got the body off of him and rolled onto his back.

"It seems that Meriann isn't done with you."

It was true. Her form rematerialized in the air before him to demand an answer to a question she had retreated from earlier. Though he was tired, sore, and before a being he had no knowledge of, Kynier's anger rose above his other senses.

"I'm, the one person," he said as he stood up, "that even you should hesitate to approach in this city." He pointed a finger at the being in warning as he continued. "Assault me again and I will not rest until I make your unlife as miserable of an existence as possible." Though the threat felt empty it was one he was willing to try and enforce. How dangerous a ghost was, he wasn't sure. But she could affect him. With the proper timing a small push is all it would take to seriously harm someone.

Glaring at Mariann he considered what to do next. An altercation with her out here would force him to expose his secret, which would be his end. His best course of action would be to avoid that. He lowered his finger to his side and relaxed his stance. "I am Kynier, and I am the man that will bring change to this decrepit city. Even if I have to bring it by force."