Kane laid down on the nearest cot "Let it out, Cedric, just let it out. it's unhealthy to keep laughter pent up like that."

"Nah, its mean to laugh at people when they're injured." Cedric said, leaning against a wall. "You need anything bringing? I was gonna go back into town in a while."

"Some new clothes would be nice" Kane responded after a long pause, looking at his current blackened and swiss-cheesed outfit "Failing that:donuts would be awesome. Either works really, i'm easy." He said with a bright smile

Eliza got up and went looking for Karina. She needed to pas the Dwellers suggestion on.

She found her sitting watching a training session. Long slighted for an apprentice or student, she liked to watch other masters and help them if they needed something done. Karina greeted Eliza cheerfully and asked how the baby was doing. "Babies, Karina. I'm having twins." Karina squealed and said "Oh your gonna be an awesome mommy!" Eliza chuckled and sat next to her and said "I miss training apprentices." Karina nodded and said "SO whats up?" "The Dweller suggested you take the Trial of Ak'Tar'Zur. He wants you to be a High Master, balance the male domination." Karina blinked then laughed and said "Oh the Dweller he's so silly. He can't have possibly meant it. 'Take he Trial of Ak'Tar'Zur' no one survives those." Eliza shook her head and said "It's true, Karina. And you would make a great High Master." Karina twiddled her thumbs, something she did when she was thinking and said "Can you guarantee that I will live?" Eliza shook her head and said "I can present you to th sword. If you can touch it you will in all likelihood survive."

Eliza stood a little ways off as Karina stood in front of the golden sword int he ritual hall. She looked nervous and whined saying "I don't want to all of a sudden." Eliza said back to her "Its just an object it can't hurt you. If the great guardians don't want you you wont touch it." Karina reached out and tentatively touched the sword and wrapped her hand around the hilt before saying "I touched it, thats good right?" Eliza nodded and said "I'll start the ritual." "Wait.." started Karina but Eliza was intoning the words already. "I, Eliza Gray, High Master of the Guardians of Light look down upon this servant of the Light's will. She has trained hard t understand the ways of your noble code and I call upon the Great Guardians to judge her heart and soul as worth for High Master equal to myself. I call upon the power of the Light to make her strong. For if she survives this, gravest of tests, may she be given all the power of High Master of the Guardians of Light. Let her deeds reflect the worth of her soul." and turned to Karina and said "The ritual is started. You will feel tired, as the Great Guardians send the Light upon you. Do not fear, I will watch over you." and at once Karina's eyes drooped and she laid down saying "Don't let me die." in a weak voice before passing out.

Eliza watched as Karina twitched and moaned as she dreamed of the test she was undergoing. She was drenched with sweat and whimpered aloud and curled under unseen pain. Finally her eyes flew open and she gasped for breath, exuding the newly-given power of the Light. The kind of rushing, boiling power that came with rulership. At once Karina reverted to her Lupine form for a moment, shaggy brown fur from before transformed into silken white fur and her eyes glowing with golden radiance. "I have...the Light....within me...." panted Karina as she became human again. Karina stood, wobbling and said "I'm so dizzy...." Eliza helped her stand and walked her upstairs to the Masters dormitories to find her a new room for her to decorate for herself.

Kane, in the meantime, was writing on a notebook he had borrowed from one of the nurses, he had discovered he could get used to this "science" thingy, especially since his realisation that, if he became good enough, he could refer to himself as a "Mad scientist"

"Sure thing. I'll be back in a few hours." Cedric said, walking out of the door with a wave.
He went back to his room first to grab his wallet.

Eliza left Karina to organize and decorate her new room with the High Masters and walked back downstairs to wait for John to return with this princess.

Zeke laughed at a joke that Aimee had made as he left the room carrying her empty breakfast. He passed others after hearing various explosions and put the empty plates in the sink.
He heard mumblings about a silver weaponry.

"Hope they don't use that when I'm around..." He mumbled to himself. Lost in his own thoughts he exclaimed out loud "Hey! Eliza never answered me about the promotion! Damn sneaky woman..."

Eliza turned as Zeke approached "Promotion I head?" asked Eliza You want a promotion?" Zeke nodded enthusiastically. "Talk to Cedric or Jericho. I'm tired."

"But...But...But...I thought you were in charge of rank upgrades?" Zeke queried. "Anything you want me to cook you? Or anything the baby wants?" He asked.

I'll go find Cedric afterwards. Zeke thought to himself.

Rowan walked past Zeke and Eliza talking in the hallway and overheard them talking. "You're gonna have to beg harder than that if you want a promotion," he laughed.

"I'm going to ask Cedric afterwards." Zeke smiled. "But while I'm here, anything that I can cook the lovely couple?"

Eliza pondered and said "Perhaps something spicy. Curry perhaps? The babies want something spicy." she smiled and said "Or anything spicy you can think of. How about you, dearest?"

"Sweet and spicy, maybe something asian," Rowan licked his lips.

Kane continued drawing up bluprints, the area around him was already littered with balled up pieces of paper from discarded ideas.

"Bloody hell, I'm tired," groans Dekres wandering into the kitchen a yawn escaping his lips.

"How's everyone doing this...'fine' morning?" he asks scratching his forehead before slumping into a chair.

Cedric walked slowly back through the busy end of town, holding brown paper bags containing new clothes for Kane and some donuts. As he ate his share, he stopped outside a bookshop called 'Starbooks'.
Frowning, he walked cautiously inside, looking around. He spotted a beautiful girl with long black hair behind the counter, the same one from the pub.
Dammit Kenny... He walked around the shelves, hiding from view. He spotted an old looking book about curses and magic spells.
"I wonder if the Dweller would read something like this.." He said aloud, picking it up. It was pretty cheap considering how old it looked. He took a dee breath and walked up to the counter.
"Hi." He said to the girl, who looked up and blushed.
"Oh.. Hi, its you from the pub right?" She said, hiding behind a book as she giggled. Cedric blushed again.
"Yeah.. I swear I threw that dart by accident." He said, smiling despite himself.
"Okay, well that'll be 6 pounds please." She said, looking at the price on the book cover.
"Thanks." He handed over the money, and started to walk away.
"Oh wait!" She ran after him to the doorway. "If you're not busy tomorrow, I have the afternoon off..." She trailed off, hiding further behind the book she was holding.
"What.. Really?" Cedric was stunned, he had never expected that she would like him. She nodded shyly.
"Heh.. Okay, I'll be here around 2pm?" He said, suddenly feeling really nervous.
She nodded again, then smiled and ran back behind the counter. He walked out of the shop and down the street, before realising something.
Shit, I didn't ask what her name was...

He got back to the infirmary, throwing the bag of clothes onto the end of Kane's bed.
"Hey! I got your clothes, and some donuts.. Although I ate half of them." He smiled mischievously.

"You ate half of the donuts you got me, or you ate half of each individual donut and put the other half back? and thanks for the clothes." Kane said with a smile. "Oh, and if there's a dress in that bag i'm going to test out my next batch of grenades on you"

"Sweet and Spicy. Got it." Zeke went to the fridge and imagined the ingredients that he would need. After retrieving them all he set to work cooking. "Spicy stir fry okay with you all?" He set to work putting the rice in a pan of boiling water and then cooking the various ingredients. Before long the kitchen and most of the sanctuary was filled with the smell of Zeke's cooking.

Within a couple more minutes Zeke plated up rice that he had mixed peas and egg with to add flavour, with a spiced beef stir fry sitting on top of the rice. The steam that came off the food wafted the smell of the cooked food around the area. Even though Zeke had eaten before it made him hungry, but the food was for his superiors. He laid the plates down in front of Rowan and Eliza with knives and forks.

"Bon apetit." He said with a mocking bow. "There's some spare if you want Dekres."

"And with that, High Masters, I am going to go find Cedric." Zeke walked out of the room to search for the other high master.

"Cedriiiic!" He yelled, walking through the sanctuary.

"Eww, who would take a bite out of each one, that's cruel!" He laughed, remembering that trick in case he ever got to try it on Dekres.

"Anyway, don't go blowing up any more stuff without someone else there okay?" He said, before wandering back down the hallway. He started to head towards the library when he heard someone yell his name.
"Hellooo!?" He yelled back.

"Aha!" Zeke yelled as he bounded round the corner, for some reason he was full of energy today. He did not know the reason why or when it would stop, but he had a good feeling.

However, whilst he was lost in thoughts he forgot that he could run arguably faster than any human thanks to his lupine powers. "CANIHAVEAPROMOTIONPLEASE?!" He yelled as he collided with Cedric.

"Shit...That kinda hurt my chances?"

"That smells pretty good, Zeke." Ewan said, hefting a sheet cake out of the oven. He pulled open the refrigerator and pulled out a tub of frosting, and the rest of the cake layers. Ewan piled a glob of frosting on to the first layer of cake and began icing it. He saw Zeke leave in a rush and heard him cry out for Cedric.

"Hmm... Where is John right now?" Ewan asked himself.

"Oww..." Cedric rubbed his head, sitting up on the floor. "Say again? My newest concussion made me forget." He joked. He stood up slowly, although by now he was used to getting hit on the head.

"Sorry. What I said was 'Can I have a promotion?' I did ask Eliza, yet she told me to ask you. Apparently she's tired." Zeke laughed a bit. "Sorry about the head by the way..."

"No worries, happens all the time." He smiled. Although he was wondering why Eliza would tell Zeke to ask him.
"Yeah I don't see why not. What time were you thinking?" He said, wanting to give the book to the Dweller before he changed his mind.

"What time? Whatever time is best for you. I'm not too sure how this promotion thing works really...It's been a long time since I graduated from being a student." Zeke smiled. The last thing he wanted to do was offend someone who was actually going to help him. "Again. Sorry about the head..."

"Jeez, stop worrying." He laughed a little. "How 'bout later on after John's Fae friend leaves?" He asked.

Elzia dug into the food Zeke had made This is definitely getting him major brownie points on my behalf she though as she ate. She was ravenously hungry still. The kids must be hungry too....eating for two I suppose Eliza thought, focusing only on scarfing the food down.

"That sounds great." Zeke smiled "Will you be joining me in a bit of revelry during the party? I have a bottle of Asian liquor I precured a while ago. Sake I think they call it. Haven't tried the stuff yet, but it smells good." Zeke thought for a moment. "Of course, if I can't drink then it will stay away for another day."

Damien saw his mother. He smiled like a child who has chanced upon something he had reckoned lost forever. he tried to run to here, but the faster he ran, the farther away she got. suddenly, he could not move at all. He found his feet bound in some unearthly substance, which moved upwards as he watched. He angled his head upwards and saw his mother turn around and smile at him. Suddenly, some monsters attacked his mother. She drew her sword, but she was no match for even one of them, and she was one of the greatest swordsmen in the world. 10 surrounded her. They seemed like Loup-Garou, but their visage flickered, as if they were hiding their true nature somehow. Damien shouted a spell to reveal the true face of something. Their forms dissolved and showed...nothing. There was a person-shaped thing there, but it had no face. The bonds had creeped up to his chest while he was watching his mother. As he watched, she was cut down. the bonds curled around his chin now. Damien mouthed one last spell, a spell for an etheral blade, Yet the bonds would not separate, even against the highest of that class. The bonds covered Damien's head, and then...Nothing.

Damien woke up and roared, putting even the greatest of monsters to shame. He brought his fist up, Etheral Blade dancing in the twilight. He brought the blade up to kill the enemy hovering over him. He stopped them blade an inch away from the person's neck when he realized it was merely a fellow apprentice who had tried to wake him up. Damien banished the blade, muttered a simple 'I'm sorry', and ran into the Sanctuary. He cupped his left eye with his left hand and shook visibly in his clothes. "What was that?" He wondered.

"Awesome! Any chance to get drunk is fine with me." Cedric said. "Anyways, I gotta give the Dweller something, so I'll speak to you later." He made his way to the library, still smiling to himself.
This day keeps getting better... Oh crap I hope I didn't jinx it. He thought, opening the doors to the library.

Eliza started remembering, thinking about past times with Rowan as she ate. She remembered many times, but one stood out in particular. The first time Rowan and her had made love. She hadn't remembered exactly how Rowan had been in bed back then when we was younger and more supple, but it didn't matter. The circumstances before were fond memories of teaching apprentices.

Eliza was younger then, and not pregnant. She was svelte and in her training tank top and pleated skirt. Fighting viciously with Rowan with practice swords. She held a pair of daggers and Rowan had a small sword. She whirled and fought ferociously, and Rowan kept in step. They were panting hard and bathed in sweat as a crowd watched and chanted. Eliza was focused entirely on flooring her apprentice who had challenged her to a no-hold barred training fight. Rowan stuck a foot out and kicked her in the solar plexus driving her away and leaped up to impale her, or so to speak if the wooden weapon was real. She dodged and tripped him with her foot and sprang back up. Red mist creeping into her vision she leaped up and over a swipe at her legs and began slashing intently. She drove him towards a wall but as she prepared to bat his sword away he walked backwards up the wall and flipped over her pinning her with the sword. She dropped her daggers and grabbing the swords int eh flat between her palms she twisted it from his grasp, grabbed it, and brought him to the ground witht he sword at his throat. He smiled, knowing it was over and siad "I knew I wouldnt beat you. I jsut wanted to try." Eliza sat up and threw the weapon aside and said "You are capable, fast and you show no qualms in doing whatever you need to do to win. Your footwork is sound, and your becoming more elegant." she helped him up and said "You've shaped up quite well." the crowed was cheering Eliza's name as they left for the apprentice dorm. Elzia had left towels and their normal clothes. As she toweled the sweat from her brow she was looking at Rowan drying the sweat from his own body. He panted as he took a draw from a bottle of liquer and offered her some. SHe took a swallow of what was probably whiskey and haned it back and said "Quite a work out." he nodded and toweled himself off. Eliza noticed as she dried herself off that Rowan was staring at her. Following his eyes vaguely she saw he was transfixed by her breasts. Thinking of caressing these, my apprentice? she had thought Too bad, I can be a tease. And I know you often daydream of bedding me. Your skillful and amazing Master. she was both disgusted and intrigued by the day he sized her up all the time. And with her powers as High Master often looked into his many daydreams. Fantastical interpretations of how he thought she would handle in bed. A submissive and coy vixen who desired foreplay and gentleness. She laughed at such a foolish venture. But what was this, now her own hormones were pounding and her heart crashing in her chest. She observed quietly as she dried off how he was undressing her with his eyes and she finally said "If you so much desire to bed me, my apprentice. Then step over here and test thy mettle. Or can you not steel yourself to this task?" he gritted his teeth in embarrassment, she remembered. But she came over to him and planted a kiss on his lips. He was not ready for the fierceness of the kiss returned. It didn't take to be embroiled in a hot, sweaty passion that was powerful and pleasing. She had liked the way he had led her all the way up to the top her mountain even past the time he had reached his. Such little stamina. This must change. she had thought as they wiped new sweat from their bodies before going their separate ways for the day. How foolish Eliza had been, thinking one harmless foray with hr apprentice could now lead to fathering a child by the same man.