[M] Angel of the Night (Holey & Angel) IC

[Holeypaladin]

Arriving in the city of Firenzia by way of airship, Sir Harold, Dragon Knight of Bahamut, summoned forth a phantasmal steed by incanting the phrase, "Jivi, arcanisstok," triggering his conjuration circuit to summon the creature from a celestial plane. Firenzia was one of the most powerful of the Bahamut-aligned cities among the League of Free Cities, and one of the few cities supporting a genuine airship dock.

Harold's business, however, was not in the city of Firenzia itself, but in the surrounding countryside of the League. Dragon attacks had been intensifying over the past several months, which warranted the Doge of Firenzia to enlist the support of one of the most famous of Bahamut's dragon knights in order to deal with the menace.

Harold was not the only one dealing with the dragons, of course... it was said that the goddess Varvara also offered sanctuary for her followers, and indeed, some of the local free cities had taken to worship of the night goddess, or "Dea Della Notte" in the native language. Such cities seemed to be spared from the dragon raids, and were among the destinations that Harold intended to visit on his journey, to study what manner of divine magic the night priestesses held that could ward off dragons.

Before long, he was on the road, heading towards a small city called Lucia, which had taken to worshiping the goddess Varvara exclusively. It would be a few days by horseback, but Harold wanted to see some of the beautiful countryside in this temperate climate along the way.

[AngelDellaNotte]

An angel with long white wings wearing red and silver armor walked into the main hall though by the looks of it the armor wouldn't do much to protect her. Looks wasn't really what mattered the armor was the enchanted armor of an angel designed to take the shape of whatever the wearer desired yet offer the same protection as a full suit of chain mail. The main hall was a grand room with pillars that seemed to stand fifty feet high made of black marble and gold, leading up to a ceiling that was brilliant purple color flaked with specks of gold. Under her feet was the same black marble, the angel continued on to a large golden throne at the end of the hall. She stopped just before it and dropped to one knee bowing her head. “You summoned me Mistress?” The woman asked, looking up at the throne to the woman seated there.

“Fleur, my sweet Fleur.” Varvara said, rising from her throne and walking toward the angel. She leaned down, cupping Fleur's cheeks in her hands and gently pulling the other woman to her feet. Varvara leaned in pressing a light kiss to her lips then stepped back to her throne pulling the angel along by her hand. “Stand beside me where you belong.” She said, taking her seat the angel taking her place next to the throne.

Varvara waved her hand in the air before them causing a viewing portal to appear. “I have a task I need you to complete.” She said, an image of a man stepping off an air ship. “This man Harold, a Dragon Knight of Bahamut has been causing quite a stir below with our allies. They have asked us for our help to rid them of him.”

“Mistress, I do not understand our alliance with the dragons, with the havoc they cause among your followers.” Fleur said, genuinely confused the dragons caused much problems for the mortals under Varvara's protection yet they had many dealings with them.

“Politics is not the place for a pretty warrior like you.” Varvara said, stroking her fingers across the top of Fleur's hand which she still held. “Leave the matters of them to me. You are needed elsewhere. As you are...”

“I am your spear.” Fleur said, finishing her mistress' sentence while she looked at the man in the portal. He looked strong and well armed, the stories she had heard about him say he had felled many dragons. He no doubt was a formidable warrior but he had never faced off against an angel. “As you command Mistress.”

“Good, we have word that he is traveling from Firenzia to the city of Lucia. You will travel to our temple there and take care of the problem.” Varvara said. Fleur nodded then brought her mistress' hand to her lips pressing a kiss to it before walking away.

She was a short distance from the goddess when a spear formed in her left hand and she spread her wings out to their full length, flapping them twice then disappearing. A moment later she appeared on the altar of the temple in Lucia scaring a young acolyte. Angels had the ability to teleport between the heavens and mortal realms but only to lands holy to the deity they served.

[Holeypaladin]

Arriving at the outskirts of the small city of Lucia after a long ride through the countryside, Harold acknowledged a couple pretty young acolytes that were making their way into the city. Disciples of the night goddess, Varvara, by the looks of them. They weren't bad to look at, but he was on the job right now, and had other things to take care of first.

For some reason, dragons never came this close to town. Harold thought that it might be due to some sort of divine ward that somehow repelled them, but a quick scan of the magical fields revealed no such thing. Still, Varvara's priestesses possessed some sort of magic that he was unfamiliar with that repelled dragons... it would definitely be worth looking into, as any tool that he could use against them was a good one.

Well, he wouldn't learn much from watching the city from outside. Dismissing his phantasmal steed for the time being, he proceeded into town on foot. While some people liked to ride their horses through the crowded streets, Harold found it to be rather inconvenient for those on foot, as they had to make way for the massive animals.

And so, he headed on foot into the city of Lucia. His destination was quite obvious... the center of divinity. The Temple of Varvara. Though it was still daylight, evening services would begin soon. Most of the night goddess' rituals took place at night, of course, so this came as no surprise. Making his way to the temple, he soon pressed open the doors, stepping foot onto Varvara's holy ground. Even though he was not a theurge himself, he could feel that this was a place of great power for those who practiced such theurgy.

[AngelDellaNotte]

“Fear not, young disciple we serve the same Mistress.” Fleur said, stepping down from the altar noticing her landing on it had knocked over several offerings for the goddess. She stepped around a goblet of wine noticing it was a dark red wine from the vineyards of Fruzli to the north of here. It wasn't one of Varvara's favorites ironically the goddess of night preferred white wines over red. Still most parishioners mistook reds as the goddess' favorite due to the dark color of it. She smiled to the acolyte once she was on the ground then picked up the goblet. Reds may not have been Varvara's favorite but Fleur did enjoy them. She took a drink of it seeing the acolyte torn between stopping her and thinking it was alright. “Lovely flavor just a hint of bitterness. Word of advice, our Mistress prefers whites.” She told the man then began walking away from the altar to the doors, noticing it was smaller than she was used to in the heavens. She laid her wings down flat on her back, closing her eyes and willing them to fade away, using a charm that would allow her to blend as a human.

[Holeypaladin]

Stepping into the temple, Harold took a moment to concentrate, scanning the room for magical signatures. There was, of course, a steady flow of Divinity heading through the altar towards the goddess Varvara herself. As deities drew power through the faith of their followers, a place of power such as this temple acted as a nexus, routing power from her many worshippers to the goddess herself. In turn, the goddess would return some of this power to her clergy, allowing them to perform feats of magic through a means of theurgy.

He wasn't interested in this, however. Putting aside the flow of divinity, he noticed... something powerful. A very powerful signature of magic, emanating from a single woman. He sensed traces of Draconic spiritual essence as well, but rather than the foul, sinister nature of the chromatics, this woman was... good. Benevolent. Caring. Not a full dragon, of course... he could recognize those right away. Possibly a quarter dragon, as the non-dragon aspect of her was far more powerful than the dragon aspect.

Slowly, he made his way over to the woman. One glance at her face and he froze. She was, in fact, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Though she wore a human form, he immediately knew that she was no human... for no human woman could possess such a supernatural beauty. Taking a moment to compose himself, he sat down next to the otherworldly beauty.

"Hello..." he said. "I couldn't help but notice your overwhelming magical aura. Could it be that you're related to the reason why this city has been spared from dragon attacks recently?"

[AngelDellaNotte]

“Mistress Varvara protects these lands and though I serve her I am not charged with the protection of this region.” Fleur said, glancing at the man the grip on her spear tightening a little then letting up. She hadn't expected to run into her target so soon, figuring he would still be on the road when she arrived. She must have misjudged her jump from the heavens to the mortal realms. Time flowed different in the heavens and in travel between the two you often either gained or lost some time, it would seem she had the latter. She pondered for a moment about attacking him right here but the closed in space would make battle difficult and she couldn't use her wings to aid her in battle. Not to mention there were people around who could be collateral damage, followers of her mistress. No, she would have to lure him away from here somehow. “What interest do you have in my mistress' lands?”

[Holeypaladin]

Harold noticed the way the woman tensed up, gripping her spear. She clearly was not a human, though she definitely seemed to want to pass for one. She seemed to be defensive of him, as well, and now that he was closer to her.. her magical aura was overwhelming. It was similar to the magic used by theurges, yet also similar to the Divinity that filled the temple and flowed to the celestial realm in order to provide Varvara with her power.

Harold didn't know that this was most likely the woman's first time trying to disguise herself as a mortal... only that she was clearly inexperienced in doing so. Plus, the fact that she referred to Varvara as her mistress, rather than her goddess, indicated that he a closer relationship to her than a mere priestess or paladin. "You're not human.." he said in a low tone, so as not to alert the other clergy. "You're not even from this world... what are you?" Well, it was certainly clear why the woman would want to disguise herself as a human... but any trained user of magic could easily discern her supernatural nature of they tried.

"It is said that your... mistress..." he used the woman's term as he spoke, "protects her followers from the chromatic dragon attacks that are currently plaguing the countryside. Indeed, there are no signs of this city or anything around it being hit. My interest is in what sort of magic your priests use in order to ward them off... it would be helpful to learn this sort of thing myself, as I'd like to protect other cities in the same way."

[AngelDellaNotte]

"I am but a servant of Mistress Varvava." Fleur said, an idea coming to her mind. While it was true she hadn't traveled much on the mortal plains her teachers had insisted she study them intensively. She knew much about the cultures, politics, other religions and most importantly their geography. To the north of the city there were some old runes that had once been a worship area of the goddess. They hadn't really been used much in the last few hundred years as people moved from the lands to the cities. Nowadays they were only used on holidays and usually by the most devote. "The magic is my mistress' but I can show you some areas of great importance to her."

[Holeypaladin]

It wasn't lost on Harold the way the beautiful woman hadn't answered his question... but he let it slide, as he sensed she was at least pure of heart and righteous, so she had her reasons, whatever they were, and it would be rude to press the issue. Instead, he listened as the woman offered to show him some places of power. Perhaps these would be a bit more enlightening. He gave her a nod.

"I'd love to accompany you to such places," he readily agreed. "It's a date, then." He certainly wouldn't turn down a chance to accompany such an incredibly attractive woman along in his travels, despite her mysterious nature. It didn't bother Harold a bit that the woman wasn't human... human women tended to be far too boring for his tastes, after all. Magical creatures such as elves and fae were far more interesting and mysterious. "Shall we, then?" He offered the woman his arm in order to escort her.

[AngelDellaNotte]

Fleur looked at his extended arm and his comment about a date. "Not a date only a show of the goddess' good faith." She said, starting to walk out the door not looking to see if he followed before adding, "I'm sworn to my mistress." Once outside she looked to see if Harold had followed her. The runes were a couple miles from the city and wouldn't take long to walk there. She would have preferred flying there but didn't want to let onto Harold what she was or cause the townspeople to realized what part she played in this. The acolyte had seen her in her divine form but even if he did tell anyone it was unlikely they would believe him.