Drazaria’s fifth attempt to steal Swordheart could barely be considered one.

When he arrived, the Guardian - along with the bug-armed sorcerer Tedi - was already fighting another challenger. He hadn’t noticed it before, but there was one platform apart from the arena - next to the sidelines. He pulled a swap stone from his jacket and tossed it down, using it to teleport closer to the platform before making his usual magical footholds down.

“Looks like I’m late to the party,” he grinned at the sidelines - where Vasskr, the nankin he hadn’t heard the name of yet, and Kendra stood.

I can’t face them after this, Drazaria thought to himself, one eye on the battle - it looked like it had been going on a while, and Jax was struggling to keep up with their opponent. Yeah, a back-to-back battle would make things a lot easier for him, and he didn’t mind fighting dirty - but that was against adults. Usually, ones that fought dirty themselves.

“What are you, some kind of coward?” Kendra demanded, “You have to wait for someone else to soften your opponent up?”

“Perhaps we should not be provoking the Brutal Butcher,” the nankin said, nervously tilting their head back and forth, “Probably not.”

“Life ain’t fair, kid,” Drazaria said, wondering, when’d I pick that one up?

Vasskr looked askance from the Guardian’s fight, then sighed almost imperceptibly before pulling the whip from his waist and snapping it into a spear, “Then perhaps, challenger, you will accept a substitute?”

“You’re going to fight?” Kendra asked - more in excitement than concern.

“Sure,” Drazaria huffed, looking around the platform and finding his swap stone from earlier, “Might as well see if the Mentor is up to the task.”

His brother just kept from rolling his eyes - the human sorcerer was very familiar with the ‘I can’t react to your nonsense because I’m doing something dignified right now’ look.

Drazaria jerked his head up, “More room at the top.”

“Very well,” Vasskr replied, pulling out his own swap stones.

Drazaria grabbed a second from his pocket, then tossed the first as high as he could - with a bit of enhanced strength, it made it about halfway up the gorge. When he swapped to that point, he tossed the second stone up to the ground above, landing in a roll to his feet.

Vasskr appeared in much the same manner and glanced back before asking, “Are we actually fighting?”

“No,” Drazaria rolled his eyes, “But you knew that.”

“I was not sure how much image you would feel the need to maintain,” his brother replied, pressing a button that caused the spear to collapse into a whip again.

“Yeah, cause I’m the only one,” the human huffed, casting his eyes around - just in case he wasn’t the only late challenger making their way to the gorge.

“I suppose you have a point,” Vasskr agreed softly, then hesitated before adding, “I thought I might visit today.”

“Are you asking?” Drazaria asked.

“Warning,” his brother replied, “If I asked, I’d never see you. Except for these lovely chats.”

The human shrugged - he couldn’t exactly disagree, and he knew Vasskr was just trying to look out for him. No matter how misguided. Then, he sent a blast of magic force at the ground next to his brother.

“What are you doing?” Vasskr asked, not even flinching.

Drazaria started sending more blasts out around them at random, “No one will believe a fight happened here without any collateral damage.”

Vasskr rolled his eyes - then sighed and struck out with his metallic whip, “Not with the way you fight, no.”

“Come on,” his brother snorted, “Don’t tell me you don’t have any frustration to work out working with a bunch of teenagers.”

“Some of us don’t need to work out our frustration with violence, thank you,” the kradreen arched his left brows at Drazaria.

“Where’s the fun in that?” the human replied.

“I find meditation very helpful - I’m only sorry it holds nothing for you,” Vasskr said, hitting the ground with a few more half-hearted strikes before putting his whip away, “I think we’ve been gone long enough.”

<<For what they’ve come to expect, anyway,>> Drazaria signed in reply, then sent a final blast a little further off.

“Some day, they may figure you out on their own,” his brother said.

<<I’ll deal with that then,>> his brother signed, then stuffed his hands in his pockets and headed towards the woods.

“Until later, then,” Vasskr reminded him.

Drazaria grunted in acknowledgment and left for home.  

True to his word, Vasskr arrived at Drazaria’s home that evening.

“The kids,” Drazaria opened unceremoniously, “Who are they?”

“Making plans - or just curious?” Vasskr snorted, closing the door and finding a place to stand. There were no chairs in his brother’s base - he’d gotten used to going without.4

“Making plans,” Drazaria replied, reading an older text about Companion Focuses, “They’re joining in the fights, aren’t they?”

“That they are,” Vasskr sighed - sadly resigned, “The young sorcerer is Tedi - as you probably guessed, he got his arm from his nankin friend, Hik. They grew up together in an outlying farming village, moving to the capital when the Scourge got too close.”

“Formal training?” Drazaria asked.

“None to speak of,” his brother replied, “Both know mainly travel and household spells - but I have been sharing my knowledge of basic defensive and offensive spells.”

“Should get him a trainer,” the human remarked, “Not everyone is as nice as I am.”

“I know,” Vasskr sighed again, “I suppose I hoped it wouldn’t come to that.”

<<You’ve always been an optimist,>> Drazaria signed, letting the book fall flat on the table he was sitting on.

His brother hummed, “Kendra has some combat training - her fathers are both Basin Guards. She and Nen were the only other candidates for Guardian.”

<<He’s a piece of work,>> the human replied.

“He was the favored candidate - his uncle was the last Guardian, and he’s been training for it since he was young,” Vasskr said, “Jax, on the other hand…”

Drazaria looked up at the pause.

“Jax’s father is a pacifist,” the kradreen said, “He almost didn’t let them participate in the trials - if Aanda thought there was any chance Jax would be chosen…”

“Explains a lot,” his brother said, remembering the stuffy apothecary he’d actually known when living in the capital. He returned to his book, “Thanks.”

“Just trying to keep them safe,” Vasskr shrugged, “Are you-”

“I’m not changing my mind,” Drazaria cut him off - but without any bite.

“… I was going to ask if you’re… alright,” his brother said.

“No, you weren’t,” the human replied, scratching at his forearm as an itch started building under his skin, “And I’m fine.”

Vasskr hesitated as though he wanted to say something - then sighed and said, “I suppose I’ll let you get back to your research.”

Drazaria hummed an acknowledgment, still scratching at his arm as he asked, “How…”

His brother paused on his way to the door without turning back.

Drazaria took a deep breath, then asked, “How is she?”

At that, Vasskr did look back - and replied softly, “She’s very happy and well cared for.”

“Good,” the human said, mostly to himself, “Good.”

“… she knows about you,” his brother added.

“You can go,” Drazaria said - more sharply than he intended.

Vasskr sighed, “Of course. Stay well, Zawn.”

Drazaria didn’t reply - not to the use of his kradreen name or the sentiment. For a long time after his brother had left, he just stared uncomprehendingly at the book in front of him.

After his next failed attempt at stealing Swordheart, Drazaria leapt to the top of the gorge to find a human in armor waiting for him.

They immediately put up their arms, “I’m not here to fight.”

“Oh?” Drazaria asked, hands starting to glow faintly pink.

Keeping one hand up, they reached into a pouch at their side with the other and pulled out a scroll, “I’m just here to deliver this.”

The sorcerer eyed them briefly, then said, “Set it on the ground and leave.”

The armored person nodded, slowly setting the scroll down - then turning and jogging away quickly.

Once they were out of sight, Drazaria released his attack magic. Charging his arms with defense magic in case the scroll was enchanted to blow up or something, he walked over and opened it. It read:

To all those attempting to steal Swordheart, let’s meet to discuss an alliance.

The sorcerer snorted, rolling the scroll up and tucking it away as he strode into the forest. The meeting was set for one week from today in an abandoned town that was half Scourge already. He wasn’t interested in forming alliances - but he still planned on going.

He grinned as he walked - all his competition in one place? It was like they wanted him to take them out. 

Drazaria made sure he was well rested before heading out for the meeting. He had no idea who else would be there - so he took a few days camping to conserve his magic rather than walk all the way in one, arriving a day early.

They probably hadn’t planned too far in advance to prevent anyone else from arriving much earlier and setting traps, but that still left whoever had organized the meeting plenty of time to do so themselves. Climbing up a tree, Drazaria used magic sight to scout the area. He saw a few thugs hanging around inside, but nothing out of the ordinary. The part of the town claimed by the Scourge was already decayed as if it had stood empty for centuries rather than a few decades at most.

“Not worried about catching Scourge pox?” someone called out.

Drazaria dropped down, red attack magic coating both hands as he turned to the source.

A vanin teen held up their hands, “Whoa there, we’re here for the same reason, friend.”

Like all of their species, the kid was covered in dark scales and had a feline face, webbed paw-like hands and feet, and a thick, finned tail. Their tendril-shaped whiskers were short compared to many vanin but did not appear to have been clipped.  

“I’m not your friend, kid,” the sorcerer replied, “Shouldn’t you know better than to surprise people?”

“People, sure,” the teen grinned, “But the guy with a scary reputation that keeps going easy on some kids in his way? Nah.”

Drazaria held his attack stance a moment longer, then rolled his eyes and relaxed. He stood and put his hands in his pockets, “You’ve been watching me.”

“I’ve been watching everyone,” the vanin replied, pulling out a little red book, “And for a price, I can tell you all about the folks who have shown up for this meeting so far.”

“Making this offer to all of them, too?” Drazaria asked, leaning back against the tree, “Or is your handler nearby calling the shots?”

Vanin society worked within apprentice-master relationships; a teen usually had a master.

“I’m a free agent - for now,” they replied, “The name is Owal, and I’ve only made this offer to you. Was sure you wouldn’t be interested in an alliance - since most the folks here are ‘by any means necessary’ and you… well, aren’t. So you showing up has to be for something other than a team-up - and I’m guessing you could use information for whatever you’re planning.”

“And what’s the price?” Drazaria arched a brow. He wondered how the kid had been trained to watch him unnoticed long enough to figure all this out. And what for.

“Weeeeeell,” Owal grimaced, “I may have stolen something from my handler and need a well-hidden and fortified place to lay low for a bit.”

“And what guild are you from?” the sorcerer asked.

“That is exactly the question I would ask,” Owal said, clasping their hands together and pointing with both index fingers together, “In your situation.”

Drazaria rolled his eyes, “No guild, no deal.”

The teen hmmed, then put their fingers to their lips, then pointed again and said, “I’m an assassin.”

“That checks out,” the sorcerer replied.

Owal waited for a further reaction, glanced to the side and back, then asked, “So…?”

“… I can give you a week,” the sorcerer relented. He didn’t like the idea of a house guest, but he had to admit intel would be useful. It had always been his greatest weapon.

“Two months,” the teen bargained, holding up the notebook again.

Drazaria snapped his fingers, and a blue barrier suddenly surrounded the vanin teen - all but his hand holding the notebook.

“Hey!” Owal said, jumping up with both feet on the barrier to try and get free.

“One week,” Drazaria repeated, easily grabbing the notebook, “If your information is good, two.”

“That’s not-!” the teen started, then sighed, letting their legs touch the ground again, “Guess I shouldn’t have expected fairness…”

“Not being scumbag enough to hurt kids doesn’t make me a good person,” the sorcerer agreed, reading through the admittedly detailed and organized notes, “I’ll meet you back here after the meeting.”

“You’re not going to keep me trapped in this bubble until then, are you?” Owal asked though they didn’t sound worried - mostly annoyed.

Drazaria didn’t reply, walking off. After he was a good distance away and could magically shield himself from prying eyes, he would release his barrier on the kid - but for an assassin, they definitely needed a few reminders about how the world worked. They probably just got cocky after realizing he wasn’t going all out on Jax.

Settling into an abandoned wolf den in the roots under a tree, Drazaria set up his shielding and released the kid before getting to reading.