"We're all a little bit crazy."
Name: Alan Tempest
Location: Phantom Melody Guild Hall
Status: Nervous
Arc: Prologue
CSS-Credit: Infinite
Enter: Alan
A brown haired boy stood, unmoving in front of a pair of large doors attached to the Phantom Melody guild, an imposing guildhall with fairly unremarkable architecture. His legs shook a little as he stood, and thoughts rapidly raced through his head. He was frozen still. The boy's hazel eyes searched the wood for some kind of meaning. He clutched at a black necklace, pointed by a nicely cut gem of sapphire. A miniature plastic red fire dragon clambered up onto his left shoulder and perched there. He had black and maroon spikes, scales, and horns. The dragon's steely yellow eyes seared lasers through the door. The dragon perched itself on the boy's shoulder, arching his back up and snorting. He was no more than five inches long. He said, in a deep, weighted voice, "Hey kid, you gonna do it or not?"
On the boy's other shoulder, a miniature plastic white ice dragon heaved itself up, scrambling to navigate over his collarbone, "Yeah Alan, for once I agree with Ember, you're making me really nervous here!" She spoke in a high-pitched, dramatic voice. She had icy blue spikes, scales, and a frill adorning the back of her head where Ember's horns were. She rested with her chest protruding upwards like a proud dog or a cobra. She looked warmly up to Alan with caring, green eyes.
"My god, Frost, even the sound of your voice makes me want to jump off of Alan right now!!" The red dragon taunted.
Frost retorted with vigor, "Can you just be on task for once in your life? You need to care about the situation at hand. I don't understand how you could be so callous as t-"
"Yeah yeah yeah whatever, you need to stop overacting so much, jeez it's like every time I say something you find some problem with it," Ember snapped back.
"That's because everything you say is inherently problematic…" Frost rolled her eyes.
Ember huffed in response, "Yeah? You seriously need to reexamine your life Frost. Also Alan, just open the door already." The little dragon slinked forward, glaring up at Alan's face.
Alan was incredibly nervous. He had never done anything like this before in his life. His magic tutor went to this guild and recommended that he joined so that he could gain more experience and have a network of connections, but Alan was unaccustomed to meeting so many new people at once. What if they thought he was weird? It certainly would not be the first time. He figured that he should probably hide Ember and Frost, the two dragons normally turned people away from him, even if he did not know why. He said, "Uh, guys, it's time for the bag. Sorry."
"Aw come on, for real?" Ember lay down, "But it was just getting fun."
Frost looked at Ember with total disgust and rolled her eyes, "Fine. I'll do it. You better too Ember." She gutted her head toward him, "That is, if you're man enough."
The red dragon averted his eyes and muttered, "Fine."
Alan pulled a miniature purple pouch with intricate black rune designs scattered all over it out of his pocket. He briefly massaged the velvety lip of the bag, relishing in its softness. He held it in the air open beneath his neck and the two dragons both leapt in, less than happy. They vanished into its infinite depths and Alan pulled the drawstring tight, pursing the bag closed and shutting them inside. The door winked at him and swung open rapidly, a cavern opening up to swallow him whole.
A man stood in front of him, holding the door open. He had a chiseled, older face with light stubble snuggling his chin and mouth. His short black hair was gelled upward into a perfect, slicked pompadour. His brown, warm eyes looked down at Alan, filling the boy with confidence. The man wore a taut, navy t-shirt and tight black pants, bulging muscles exuding from all of his clothing. He smiled warmly and his eyes crinkled, crow's feet extending out from both sides of his face.
Alan immediately recognized him. The man was Skylar Stoneward, his magic teacher. Alan joined the guild at Skylar's suggestion, for money, and to continue his studies. The void inside of the guildhall faded and Alan saw a quaint looking building, full of chatting people. He looked up to Skylar. "Hey! Alan, you made it!! I was thinking you weren't going to," The large man chuckled.
"Uh, yeah, here I am," Alan clutched at his sapphire necklace, massaging it calmed him. He smiled.
"Great! I was going to leave for a job, but I can wait a little bit for you," Skylar grinned walked inside. The hall was about fifty feet long, a wooden building with many tables and chairs set up for a community space. People milled about, some looking at a board with many fliers pinned against it. Skylar made a grandiose gesture and said in a deep, booming voice, "This is the guild hall."
Alan was… underwhelmed. He was expecting the inside of the building to be full of fearsome, powerful wizards whose very look could kill you. But, most of them just seemed like normal people. Which was good, he supposed, although, he could not help but feel the tiniest bit slighted. Glances were cast his way and whispered exchanges shuddered through the air, Alan tried to smile, but he just succeeded in looking like he was in pain. Skylar heftily slapped Alan on the back, causing him to jolt forward a step or two, and called out, "Hey everyone! Second new recruit of the day. This is Alan, he's my student."
People waved and smiled at Alan, various professions of welcome accompanied his introduction. Skylar looked down at Alan and said, "You can meet all of them later. For now, let's get you all sorted out." The man ambled loosely across the room and Alan followed him, obedient. As they crossed, a short, stout man sitting on a stool at a table said, "Hey, I thought you were headed out Sky."
Skylar waved his hand dismissively, "I was, but that was before Alan here showed up, I wasn't 'boutta leave him alone in this place." He winked at Alan, "Who knows what could happen."
The man snorted, "Whatever Sky." He shifted to face Alan, "I'm John, but you can call me Sinkhole huh."
Alan smiled, "Hi, I'm Alan."
"Welcome to Phantom Melody, I'm sure you'll have a great time here! If you ever need an ally, hit me up!" He grinned and turned back to the table, resuming conversation with someone across from him.
Skylar ushered Alan away and lead him toward the back of the room, "That's John, he's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet." A door in the back of the room swung open and an old woman stood framed against it. At first her expression was neutral, but when she caught everyone looking her way - as they always did when she burst through a doorway in her grandiose manner - her face took on a smug smile, widening as she descended the steps to the first floor. It took only a moment for her to lock eyes with Alan, and once she had, she deftly navigated between all the tables with shocking speed and stood before him, her smile feeling almost malicious as the many layers of cloth covering her body settled.
"Ah, so this is the boy you were talking about, Skylar? It's nice that he's finally here, but couldn't you have told him to come a bit earlier? Bralor just left, and he loves meeting new members, even if his friend pats on the back tend to leave bruises."
Skylar smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, sorry master, he was supposed to be here earlier. Is Starling still 'round?"
"Yes, she is. But she's gone to her room for the moment. When we finished talking business in my room, she heaved a big sigh and put her hand to her forehead like some woeful actress and said that dealing with Bralor and trying to keep little Pat from listening to him had tired her out, so she's taking a nap. I swear that girl will look for any excuse lately..." The master explained. She seemed to have lost track of her point, but before anyone could comment on it, she reaffixed her gaze to Alan and leaned uncomfortably close, staring into the boy's eyes. "What about you then, boy? Tell me why you want to join Phantom Melody?"
Alan shifted back slightly; he clutched at his right elbow and stared at the floor past the woman's left shoulder, hoping to find something on the floor to attach his gaze to, but it all swum around him sickeningly. "Uh," He stuttered. Alan glanced back at Skylar, pleading; he did not know what to do. A deep, wizened voice echoed from within his jacket, "My boy, you must tell her that you love being a wizard. You cannot freeze like this at moments of great import, you will never achieve what you really want to in life if you continue this way." Alan furrowed his eyebrows and clutched at the grip of the sword hanging from his hip. The sword, Luster, glowed with warmth, comforting him. He closed his eyes briefly.
Skylar interjected, "Uh, sorry Amalthea, Alan's not great at advocating for himself. I recommended he come he so he could teach himself. His magic has grown beyond the point where I, a single teacher, could help 'im. He needs to break out of his comfort zone and realize his full potential. The guild'll great for him, and I trust him very deeply."
"I know all that." She answered with a hint of annoyance, turning to raise an eyebrow at Skylar. "Do you think I'm so old that I forgot when we last spoke about it?" She looked back to Alan and cradled his chin so impossibly gently with a hand that he felt some of his nervousness melt away, then that same hand forced him to look at her. "I'm going to ask you again, and this time don't look away. It's rude to disobey your elders. Alan, why do you want to join Phantom Melody?"
Skylar bowed his hand in respect, but glanced off to the side. Alan looked her in the eyes and was taken by surprise. He saw neither judgment nor welcome in her gaze, he saw simply intense concentration, as if at that moment her entire world was the task of evaluating Alan's answer. Luster murmured disapprovingly from Alan's leg and instantly his eyes steeled over, suddenly filled with temporary confidence. "I want to join the guild so that I can get better and meet new people and I love using magic so I just really want to pursue it and be able to do stuff that I can't right now and I want to be independent so that nobody has to take care of me because I can," He said in one long winded sentence, before instantly retreating back into his head. The glow from Alan's sword intensified lightly, but Alan was shaking. He muttered, "Sorry." He regretted hiding Ember and Frost.
Amalthea stared into Alan's eyes for a short while longer, then suddenly stood all the way up and cracked her back. "I guess that's that then! Welcome to Phantom Melody, Alan! You can get your mark later today. You aren't the first recruit of the day, so I think we'll make a ceremony of it, give both of you your marks at once."
Alan's face broke out in a grin and he sighed in relief. Skylar came out of his bow and nudged Alan playfully, throwing him off. Skylar's brows immediately furrowed, "What should we do about his living situation? Alan is seventeen, he's still technically a kid."
"Then of course he can have a room!" Amalthea answered. "For a year that is...but we're getting a bit full, and the boy does seem a bit nervous. Are you sure he'll be comfortable in a room alone? Perhaps he should stay with you, Skylar?"
"Hm..." He pondered the subject, "What if we stick him with Gideon? I don't want him to be only talking to me, plus I'm not going to be around too often, and I think the two of them would get along great."
The Guild Master smiled and patted Alan on the shoulder. "Sounds good to me! Young boys should socialize! Why don't you introduce them?"
Alan twitched slightly at the touch, still apprehensive of the old woman, but smiled back. Skylar grinned and said, "Yeah sure, I'm just going to finish up this tour then, see ya Amalthea." He waved and led the teenager back down the stairs.
The two came upon a large corkboard, littered with various fliers pinned onto it. The sheets of paper had a header that seemed to specify an amount of money, and then a lot of writing beneath, although other than the money there did not seem to be any unified format. Skylar tapped the board lightly and clarified, "This is the job board. You'll get jobs here," He paused. "Yeah, not a ton to it. I'll find someone for you to do your first job with, the job I'm 'boutta to go on is way t' dangerous for you." Alan nodded. Skylar motioned across the room to a bar, "The kitchen is through there, where you can get some food if you need it. Alright, I'll take you to your room now."
Alan followed Skylar, the two headed into a corridor at the back of the guildhall. Skylar walked to the third room on the right and stopped short. He knocked on the door loudly with his thick fist and said, "Can we come in?"
There was a brief pause before a cheerful voice called out, "One second!"
After another pause, the door swung wide open, bouncing against Skylar's body, who winced and rubbed his elbow, where the doorknob struck, "Gideon, you gotta be more careful!"
"Sorry Sky!" A man just about the size of Alan stood in the doorway with an aloof grin on his face. He had a large head of hair upon his head, something that looked like an explosion of vibrant orange curls. Gideon's skin was very white, punctured by freckles that congregated primarily around his nose. His ice-blue eyes were filled with warmth, slight wrinkles around them that suggested a long history of smiles. His entire face was rounded; his body had a slight chub as well. He wore a white robe with lined grey seems, a hood hung down in the back. Gideon looked to Alan and grinned, "And who might you be?"
"Um, hi, I'm Alan," Alan smiled back.
"Yup, this is Alan, he's my student and has decided to join the guild. I know you'd been without a roommate for a while and we're running low on rooms, would you mind takin' him in?" Skylar inquired, his brows knitting themselves together.
"Yeah sure!! No problem." Gideon stuck out his hand, "Hi! I'm Gideon Elezar." Alan took his hand; Gideon had a tight grip and stared him directly in the eyes with welcoming warmth. The guy immediately seemed like he would make a great roommate, and Alan's nervousness was all but gone.
"I'll leave you two to get to know each other," He winked at Alan, "See yah later kid, I'll be back from my job in a few days." Skylar disappeared down the hallway, a swagger in his step. Alan creased his eyebrows, the hallway extended on forever to the guildhall; the entrance back out quickly seemed to vanish into infinity. Dread immediately washed over him.
"Come in!" Gideon swept the door open. A quaint little room awaited inside. It was barely decorated, with two beds on each wall. The room had plain wooden walls, and a wood floor, with a window overlooking the taken bed. The bed had a nice floral bed sheet and a fluffy white blanket, the same bed sheet on the not taken bed that Alan guessed he would be sleeping on. Sure enough, Gideon motioned to it, "You can sleep here! I don't really any rules, just try to clean up after yourself." He pointed to the other door, "And this is the bathroom. Well, I've got to go for a bit; you caught me on my way out, so have fun! Feel free to customize it however you want!!"
The man began to walk away and turned, shaking his head, "Whoops! Forgot, here's your key!" He thrust the cold metal object into Alan's hand, and walked down the hallway, quickly disappearing from view.
Alan stepped into the room and quickly shut the down, looking it behind him. He plopped down on the bed, and started to feel a little more secure. He thought of summoning Ember and Frost back, but thought better of it, wanting some peace and silence.
Alan pulled his golden sword out of his pocket. As he hand connected, he felt the light, familiar warm again. The sword lightly flashed, echoing in its deep, wizened voice again, "See, you survived."
"Barely," Alan snorted, "Luster, why did I do this?"
"You well know well why, my child," The light faded for an instant before starting up again, "Besides, nothing could be wrong with money."
Alan glanced off to the side, "Yeah I guess… I was expecting Skylar to be around here for longer though."
"You will do fine. Take a nap. You're just overwhelmed," The light softened as it began talking again, "Alan, go to sleep."
"Okay," Alan sighed, and set the sword down on the floor beside him. He laid backwards and drifted off.