Jack King
Arcane Alliance Base
Jack floated solemnly, his eyes radiating an aura of sadness and mourning. Above him, dark clouds floated, out of them came an endless torrent of rain. King himself was currently in his Rain form, since it was he who had conjured up a Rain Dance. It wasn't intentional, it was simply a result of his sadness. The raindrops that came into contact with the Castform's skin were absorbed by him, and stored in the little cloud connected to him. The cloud itself crackled with electricity, releasing miniature lightning bolts every now and again. Before him sat a coffin. The coffin was small, and made of the finest oak wood from the Ferrum Woods. King stared down at the coffin which contained his good friend, the former leader of the Arcane Alliance. In the background, a choir sang, and around him, more members of the Arcane Alliance stood, paying their respects. The coffin lay next to a deep hole in the ground created by a Dugtrio. Indeed, the Glaceon known as Claudia Vanderpool had been a great, though at times cruel, leader. Despite her personality, she and King had been good friends, since he had been her second-in-command. It was illness that had struck her down in the end, like it almost had in the beginning, a terrible sickness called the Flare that could be fatal to Ice-types such as her. Obviously, it was King who was next in line to become leader, but he honestly had no idea what he should do.
Soon, two Psychics began slowly lowering the coffin down into the hole with their telekinetic powers. Jack and the others watched as it descended into its final resting place. King floated up to the hole, where the coffin now lay, and said, "Well, Claudia, looks like you finally know peace." With that, two Rhyperior began burying the coffin, and King floated away from the scene.
The young Castform didn't show up for the remembering afterwards. The remembering was where Pokemon who had known the deceased well all took turns remembering their experiences with the deceased and shared them. It was common Arcane Alliance tradition, but King did not want to share his experiences with the Glaceon. She had been a good friend, or at least as good a friend as she had the capacity to be, but she was not the best of Pokemon. King didn't want to be the one to go over there and tell them about what a horrible Pokemon she really was. Instead, he just stayed back, admiring the wide open spaces of the plains and the dull grey the sky presented. The wind was light, but it blew against his body as if it was trying to push him away. He was leader now. He would have to maintain order and stability among the members of the group. He didn't doubt his ability to do so, rather he doubted the capacity that the others had to obey him. They often listened to Claudia because she was a fearsome and unforgiving leader, but he was not so. He hoped that, if he showed the Arcane Alliance some compassion, it would show him some in return.
After the ceremony was finished, the various worker Pokemon that had been hired to prepare it left the area. King, meanwhile, simply looked on as the other members of the Arcane Alliance simply vanished into the base. Literally. Nobody said anything, they just walked on until they vanished into thin air. King guessed that everyone had mixed feelings about Claudia's death; while she was a great leader, she was also kind of an ass, but nobody wanted to admit that just now. King followed suit, staying silent and following the others back into the base.
Now, the peculiar thing about the Arcane Alliance base is that it is located in the middle of the plains, clear as day. However, the founders of the Arcane Alliance, once they had finished construction of the base, pooled together their collected powers to create a telepathic trap around the construct. This meant that any Pokemon who should be able to see the base would be fooled into believing it isn't actually there. The telepathic trap would manipulate their minds into thinking that there was simply empty space instead of a building. This rendered the base invisible, basically. The Arcane Alliance members, upon initiation, had a telepathic trigger welded into their minds by a powerful Psychic-type, allowing them to look past the trap and see the building. In the eyes of a stranger, however, it would seem that the Pokemon would disappear after setting foot into the building, since all of the inhabitants of the base were also rendered invisible.
To a member of the Arcane Alliance, the base itself looks majestic from the outside. The building is made entirely from concrete, and is protected by a thick, 20-foot long wall working its way around the construct. Engraved upon the walls are the symbols of the five base elements from which our world is made: fire, air, water, and earth. The symbols are accompanied by ancient writings engraved beside them, the language only readable by a true elemental master. The wall is only broken by the gate, which is as large as the wall itself. The gate will only open before a true member of the Arcane Alliance, or an invited guest. Behind these walls was a pavilion, its windows made of the highest quality glass, and the walls lined with bronze and silver. The roof, however, was the true spectacle, since the entire thing was made out of beautiful gold. In the sunlight, the base shone with the combined glint of gold, silver, and bronze, all at once. The pavilion is larger than the average one, though, and has two entrances: one back and one front. The front entrance, which one will find when stepping through the gate, has a symbol of a sun over it. The back entrance, leading to a beautiful garden, has a symbol of a moon hanging over it. The pavilion itself consists of two floors: one at ground level and one subterranean level. The first floor is where the Arcane Alliance will generally plan their days, going on missions. The room also contains a long, wooden dinner table with a white cloth covering it, and is adorned with a candle melted in the shape of a Litwick at the center. The underground level wasn't dark, since it contained shafts in the sides of the walls that lead up to the surface, through which light can flow, so they act as windows of sorts. The bedrooms of the members are to be found here, and this is where everyone sleeps.
When everyone had gathered in the first floor of the base, King spoke up before them. There were six members in total, Castform included. "Alright, everyone. Let's get down to business," he said, somewhat shyly. "Claudia may be gone, and I may be your new leader, but that doesn't-" he was interrupted by another member. The Magmar known as Firebreather spoke up. "We ain't listenin' to you until you get your hat, kid. Where's the proof that you'll be able to lead us, anyway?" he retorted. Instantly, the expression on King's face changed to one of kindness to one of malice. Without a moment's hesitation, he struck Firebreather with a miniature lightning bolt from his cloud. The Magmar was zapped, and stood, burnt, for a moment, before falling down like a stiff totem pole. "There's your proof," King said, as the Magmar groaned and begun to stand back up. Nobody challenged the Castform after that. "Now, as I was saying, just because Vanderpool is dead, and I am leader, doesn't mean we should stray from our regular schedule. I want you to divide into groups of three; two with me, and three together. Then find two good missions, each group will handle one. Got it?" Nods in all directions came, even Firebreather hastily nodded and scampered off to find jobs. There were none left here, so they would have to go to Medeis Town to find some on the jobs bulletin board.