Oran and his students, Isaac and Lozkhad, rest at the pub in Driftwood Shore. The two students sleep soundly in the room up stairs while Oran continues to hang out in the pub with his bandit turned trader allies. He holds a mug up to his face and takes a large drink from it as he continues to keep his senses in tune with the world around him. His mind feels restless as he wonders what happened when the residual darkness mixed with Lozkhad’s. He could only feel the energy that Lozkhad had and if anything was mixed in with his energy, only time would tell. The blade was cleansed and was now ready for a new purpose; training.

“Oran, you alright?”

“I’m just thinking, Stern.”

“I know that look though; you’re wondering if you made the right choice.” He replied.

“I’m easily read, I know.” Oran said with a sigh as he sat up taller in his chair. “Just like before; this is for the best.”

“Burning our tents down was not the greatest idea but once you explained to us all what was going on; it only made sense. You were doing what had to be done.” Stern added with calmness but determination.

“The difference is that I had a backup plan for you all. I can’t rely on my students to be each other's sheaths. It’s my duty to protect them and my duty to protect this realm.” He replied, becoming heated just thinking about it. “Something is wrong here but I can’t place my finger on it.”

Stern chuckled a bit causing Oran to look up at him in confusion but more of an angry confusion on his face. “Sorry, I know it’s not funny. Your student Isaac is strong enough to handle normal adversaries with ease. I can feel that already and I’m not good at this sensing thing you tried to teach me about. Lozkhad, that’s his name right?” Oran nods his head. “He seems almost as strong but you’re unsure due to their predecessor. I think your thoughts are a bit cloudy, Oran.”

“You’re right but what am I supposed to do? I’ve never had two students at once and I generally don’t accept students as is.” He sighed deeply and was realizing he was making it a bigger deal than it actually was. “Maybe I’m just not ready for this.”

“You’ll get it. You seem to be doing a fine job with Isaac so just keep doing what you’re doing.” Oran lowered his head onto the table and closed his eyes. Stern places his hand on his back and motions for the bartender to bring him another drink for them both. “Sometimes, it just takes a little more time to understand what you’re doing.”

“Advice comes when you least expect it.” Oran said with a muffled voice as he spoke into the table.

Stern sits down across from him and props his boots up on the table. “The best part about them being teenagers is that you don’t have to toilet train them. They’re old enough to do that already.”

He chuckles as he lays there on the table since Stern was right about that at least. He lifts his head up and looks over at him,”Yeah. Any kids out there in the world?”

“Nah, too busy being a bandit before becoming a trader. Now though, it’s something I think about at my age. I could have left a legacy out there but as of now my legacy is built here in Driftwood. I have a more legal trade now.”

“More legal.” Oran looks at him with an eyebrow raised. “I know better than to believe you’re a hundred percent legal. The skills you acquired as a bandit definitely helped you get a foothold in the trade industry. Get you a ship and trade with pirates.” He shrugged,”I would.”

“Oh, it seems like someone has the plan all figured out. You got me.” Stern's robust voice turned into a hearty sound with a full belly laugh. “What about you; any kids?”

“Not yet. I’m just now starting to settle down. Literally, proposed to Bridgette before coming to Driftwood. I have to find a house…a different house.” Oran points out the window,”Is that one still for sale?”

“Congrats, my friend! Are me and the boys invited to your wedding shindig?” Stern asks before turning to see which house Oran was pointing to. “Aye, it is.”

He shrugs his shoulders,”Considering that both Bridgette and myself don’t have family left at this point, I don’t see why not.” He nods his head,”I’ll buy it then.”

“Bring me some gold and I’ll give you the key.” Stern laughs again. “It’ll be nice to have these conversations more frequently.”

“It would be nice to visit home more frequently.” Oran said, nodding his head.

Waking before Isaac, Lozkhad heads downstairs to see his new mentor hanging out with them still. He seemed bewildered and confused even though he was having a good time by the looks of it. He could feel the doubt in his heart and mind. There was definitely hesitation in himself as well, feeling this was how Oran felt. He walks over to him and sits down with a somber look. “Master Verdell.”

“Just Oran, away from the Guild. What’s wrong?”

“You don’t have to teach me if you don’t think you can handle it. I can see you feel unsure about taking me on as a student..” Oran put his hand up to stop him from finishing. “Am I wrong?”

“No, your precision with that statement is exact. I am confused, Lozkhad. I’m only about ten years older than you both. I’m a new teacher more or less but this feeling isn’t your fault.” He takes a deep breath before continuing on,”Years ago, I had my first student Raziel Moro. He was gifted and could grow to be powerful if trained correctly. He stopped listening to me once he got engulfed in the darkness of his own power. He left the guild and my teachings to learn from his older brother Eclipse. That was my first failure as a teacher.”

“I didn’t know anything about that. I can see why you’d be cautious about dark based energy in training.”

Stern gets up from the table and walks off,”You can handle this.” He puts his hand on Oran’s shoulder and walks off to the backroom.

“Thanks.” Oran replied quickly. “I'm less concerned with the energy and more concerned with being able to teach you both correctly.” He cleared his throat after speaking. “Sorry about that. Anyway, I never really intended to be a teacher but I had to pick it up to stay at the guild. My adventures for that time were over and I had to continue on.”

“What were these adventures that were over?” Lozkhad wondered aloud even though he knew who Oran was exactly. He was just curious to hear the words from him instead of other people. This was straight from the source.

“I was fighting my nemesis for the most part; Ren Raiju. He was an ancient being who has been in this world specifically for a long time. He was defeated by one of my ancestors and eventually came back. I was here when this place was burned to the ground and I was warped away somehow to a far away place.” Oran shook his head as he just recalled everything while talking. It felt like it was so long ago to him but in reality it wasn’t that long at all. “After that, I did years of training with my own mentor and father figure before returning here and finishing what Ren started by defeating him.”

“Sounds like you’ve had years of practice battling your enemies.” Lozkhad said as Oran looked up at him with a friendly smirk on his face. “What?”

“I have a lot of practice battling darkness: Mine. Ren’s. My master’s enemies. The thing that we have that allows us to keep coming back from the blackness of it is each other.” He nods his head,”I know that sounds corny but it’s true.”

“I don’t really have any of that out here. I’m trying to be better for my family by controlling my innate darkness, but I’m alone.”

“You’re not alone any more. Whatever path you may choose at the end of our training together, you’re my student and you’ll always be welcome here. If you need help just come ask me.” Oran replied with a deep sincerity in his voice and a strong look of truth in his eyes.

“Thank you.”

“Of course, now can you do me a favor and go wake up Isaac? We should get back to the guild and get you sorted out.” Oran asked politely as he shoved his hand into his pocket and balled it up. He kept a smile on his face as he did so.

“Yeah, be back soon.” Lozkhad removed himself from the table and went upstairs to get Isaac. He was perplexed with what was happening but felt something tugging at his mind that he couldn’t place.

Oran pulled his hand out of his pocket and walked outside to the house across the street. He sat on the bench in front of the gate of the house and stared at his wound from the battle. Blood was coming from his hand but there was no cut and he wasn’t feeling any effects from blood loss. He looks down at his palm. You’re back aren’t you? I don’t know who found a way for you to come back but I’ll figure this out… He turned up the power of his aura and flooded his body with energy. The golden flecks of his eyes began shifting into a symbol but faded as he saw the blood disappear and stopped focusing. The blood was just a mental trick that was being played on him. His hand had been infected by Ren’s energy from the sword. He had a pit in his stomach; something was going on.

As the blood faded from Oran, the tugging left Lozkhad’s mind as well. He stood at the foot of the bed where Isaac slept before walking to the side of it. He places his hand on Isaac’s shoulder. “Hey get up. Oran says we’re heading out.”

“Just a few more minutes.” Isaac replied.

“I don’t think we have a few minutes, Isaac. Oran was acting a little strange when he sent me up here. I think something else is on his mind.”

Isaac sat up quickly with a focused look on his face,”Strange how?”

“He put his hand in his pocket and I’m pretty sure it was bleeding. I think he sent me to fetch you so he could take care of that.”

“He doesn’t like to worry us and truthfully he was probably just not wanting to show off how fast he can heal his own wounds in front of people. I’m pretty sure he’s been up all night because of his energy.” Isaac added.

Lozkhad looked at him in confusion,”You can feel that he hasn’t slept?”

He nods his head in agreement,”I’ve been training with him for a year. It’s a bit early for his energy to feel this focused. In training he usually waits to get more focused. In this instance he feels like he never lost focus or slept. When you sleep your energy naturally lowers itself to a calm state like a heartbeat. He’s on guard.” Isaac explained to him in the manner of a teacher himself. He was learning from Oran afterall, and those were his words. “His words, not mine.” He said with a laugh.

“We should get down there and return to the guild so he can rest.” Lozkhad says as he is worried for his new mentor, having only known him for hours at this point.

Isaac chuckles lightly,”Don’t worry about him like that; he’ll be fine. We should, however, get down there like you said.”

As they walk down the stairs Isaac and Lozkhad feel the well opening up as Oran’s power flares from outside of the building. That wasn’t something Isaac was expecting so early to happen and it caused him to become more concerned. The boys ran down the stairs and out the door with Lozkhad following behind Isaac. They rush to Oran who is just standing there with a serious look on his face.

“Oran are you alright?” Isaac asks worriedly.

“I will be but I need us to return to the guild as soon as possible. Are you both ready to go?” He asks.

“Can we eat first?” Isaac questions him.

“Not this time. The guild has plenty of food for breakfast and we’re up very early so I’ll get you there in time for the biggest breakfast you can have.”

“Master Oran, is something bothering you?” Lozkhad adds, questioningly.

“At the moment, yes. Will fill you both in later, but I need to talk with Bridgette and the Guild Master first. This isn’t something for you both to worry about.” Oran explains as he offers them his hands. “This is going to feel weird and may cause you to vomit upon arrival but it’ll be over in a moment.”

“What are you about to do?” Isaac questions while Lozkhad looks confused as well.

“My quick way of traveling was taught to me by two of my masters together. In short, we call it: teleportation.” Oran explained. “It’ll get us to where we’re going in a matter of moments even faster than the gates we used before.”

“How does it work?” Lozkhad asks.

“I use my ability to sense a power and then my energy breaks down my body to travel at an extreme speed, as particles. After that, the pieces are rearranged back into my form at the position I found the energy at. You’ll both be protected by my power but it will make you feel sick upon arrival. You just have to trust me.”

“You know I do.” Isaac takes his left hand. “Don’t worry about it, we’ll get there in one piece.”

Lozkhad nods his head as he takes Oran’s right hand. “All my trust.”

Oran searches for a quick power and locks onto the Guild Master’s energy. The three of them are broken down into their energy. Oran’s teleportation covers them as green leaves while Isaac’s aura is blue and Lozkhad’s is red.

Stern looks out the window at that moment,”I haven’t seen him do that in a very long time it feels like. Godspeed, Oran.” He goes back to drinking his beer out of the mug and begins bracing himself for whatever negative thing that Oran was feeling was going to come.

Moments later; Oran and the boys appear back at the guild near the front door. Oran still has a severe look on his face as the boys begin to look sick. The Guild Master pushes over a bucket that was left by the cleaning crew. Isaac manages to fight it off but Lozkhad takes the bucket and turns around to face the door.

Oran pats his back,”It’ll pass in a few moments.”

Isaac chuckles then covers his face as he begins to feel it as well,”Guild Master do you have another bucket?”

“I do not. There is a trash can however.” He slides it over to Isaac.

“Thank..” Isaac coughs and vomits into the trash can. ”You.” He leans back over the trash can just in case.

“Master Verdell, what are you doing here at the front door?” The Guild Master asks.

“I came to see you.” He bows politely. “The new kid with me is another apprentice. His name is Lozkhad and if you’ll allow it; I’ll teach him here and he’ll bunk with Isaac.”

“Of course, let us sign him in. Isaac, when you’re both done, bring him to my office and we’ll sign him up as a student.”

Isaac gave him a thumbs up and pulled his head out of the trash can. “Yes sir.”

“Please take care of them. I need to take care of something important on campus. I will explain everything to you when I’m done, Guild Master. I’ll just say it’s an ancient problem…” Oran explained briefly.

He nods,”I think I understand. Please take care.”

“I will.” Oran turns to Isaac,”See you both in a bit.” He teleports away instantly like he had arrived this time it was a short distance; his room with the mask. He grabs it off the wall and disappears again without hesitation. He reappears in the library with Bridgette.

Bridgette stands up at his arrival, feeling the fluctuations in the energy and sees his face. His stern demeanor veils his worried emotions. She puts her hands on the side of his face. “I see you're worried, Verdell. I know you better than you think.”

He nods his head,”I know you do, Bridgette..it’s why I came straight here.” He was worried but he was more angry. “I think Ren’s back again.” He pulls the mask up and puts it on the desk and notices his hand bleeding from a non-existent wound. “This was caused by the Anger of Eons, yesterday. A boy named Lozkhad had broken into my house and acquired it somehow. I think it’s mixed with his energy but since then I've cleansed it fully.”

She has a completely shocked look on her face as he tells her his thoughts. “No…NO!” She shouts. “We’re just settling down..no…” She says while tears are coming down her cheeks. “We’re supposed to be getting married.”

Oran nods his head in agreement,”I’m not stopping our engagement because of him. If I start changing my whole life to combat his existence; that just means he wins. I’m not giving you up after all this time. I’ll handle whatever comes our way. If he’s already back he won’t need the mask to be powerful again. We can seal it up or I can let it go to see where it ends up.”

“Is that really what you want to do with it, Oran?” She asks him, worriedly because she knows how much this is bothering him. She sees him shaking his head about it, ”What do you want to do with it?”

“Barter with the demon himself.” He says sternly. “If he is back; I want to meet him face to face and barter with the mask. I’ll give it to him if he agrees to back off and leave our wedding in peace.”

“NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!” She yells at him angrily causing the doors to rattle and shake from her exertion of power. Oran’s hair light blows as she does so. “I will not have our wedding be a bargaining chip in this war of Ren versus Verdell. We’re putting this mask down and sealing it up.”

He nods again,”You’re the boss.” Oran knew deep down that she would make the best decision for them and he was right. His mind is too easily rattled at the mention of Ren returning, but her mind is clear enough for them both. “Thank you for having a level head where I don't.”

“I’m your better half for a reason, Verdell.” She wipes her face and stands on her toes to kiss him while wrapping her arms around him. “I’ve got you when you don’t.”

“I appreciate that and I love you.” He leans his forehead against hers.

“I love you too.” She closes her eyes.

Their energies swirl together as they focus on hopeful and healing thoughts. A quick kiss and both of them are returned to a calmer state with a slight smile. This is just one of the reasons why they work as a couple. They can calm each other.

The burst of Bridgette’s energy radiated further than they realized. The Guild Master, Isaac, and Lozkhad could all feel it across the campus. Isaac turned around confused and faced where the building was. He didn’t realize that she was so strong herself then thought about who she was with and chuckled.

“Now that Miss Thorne is done having a tantrum; let us complete this paperwork.” The Guild Master announced. “First name?”

“Lozkhad. L-o-z-k-h-a-d.”

“Last name?”

“My family doesn’t use last names.” Lozkhad replied.

“So you’re solo? That could be a good last name.” The Guild Master says jokingly.

“Please don’t.” Lozkhad replied. He finishes the paperwork with his date of birth, height, weight, eye color, hair color, skin color, and signs it with his first and only name. He hands the paper back to the Guild Master.

“You didn’t answer this question about who brought you for training.”

“I wasn’t sure how to spell his name.” Lozkhad explained.

“I’ll take care of it then.” He writes in Oran Verdell’s name in the section. “You’re all set. Isaac, please show him to your room.”

“Yes sir. Come on Loz.” He says playfully to his new friend.

“Loz?” He asks in confusion. ”My name is Lozkhad though.”

“I was just shortening it to make it easier. Just a nickname between friends but I can stop if you’d like.” Isaac said assuring him it was alright if he didn’t like it.

Lozkhad shakes his head, ”No, it’s fine Isaac. I think it works for us as friends. It’s nice to have a friend after all this time.” He smiles joyously for the first time in a long time, because he had a new friend. One that understood how hard it was to have power. “Let’s go see this room we’ll be sharing.”

The two of them head off to the dorms for Lozkhad to see his new bed and room. A room with bookshelves and just two beds. One that was made and untouched and Isaac’s that had his belongings on it. Just like everywhere else in the guild..it had no doors. Isaac sat down on his own bed and Lozkhad laid down on his, just to feel the comfort of it. His bed at home wasn’t even this comfortable. He hops back up off of it and walks over to Isaac.

“We were told there would be breakfast.”He says as his stomach growls.

“Alright, to the cafeteria.” Isaac announced to him.

They went down stairs into the cafeteria and had a huge breakfast together. Learning about one another and talking about the training. Lozkhad explained his home life and how every time he tried to get close to someone his power would freak out and scare them off. He lost many friends because of it. It wasn’t a topic that Isaac could relate too at all in that regard but assured him that Oran would be there for him always and so would he.

Meanwhile on the boat; the skeletons continued to tap as the man in the black and red armor did so. A heart beat still thumping from within the ship due to their rhythmic tapping. A smirk forms on his face as the light breaks through a window, just enough to see the smirk. The man disappears with his skeleton crew in red and black orbs.

He reappears at the original base from where they set out from; ”Changes have been made, Master Alchemist. Verdell knows that I’m back and that mask will be sealed up before we can retrieve it.”

“Pity that you came here instead of fetching it yourself.” The Alchemist stated.

“At this moment, my power isn’t enough to break the guild barrier. If you could augment my power or create a way to make a hole in it; I’ll go retrieve it myself.” The skeletal man replies.

“I see. You can stay but send your army back to the ship. There isn’t enough room for that walking pile of calcium.” He pauses,”What of the Moro Brothers?”

“At their currently slow place; they’ll get there in a couple of days.” The skeletal man replied once more as he waved his hand to make his army disappear back to the ship. “What is your plan now?”

“I’ll augment you and give you a way to break through the guild barrier. You will meet the Moro’s and teleport them close to the guild itself. Retrieve your mask and come back. Leave Verdell to the brothers for now, we’ll see how it unfolds.” The Alchemist replied calmly while keeping his work going.

“If I see Verdell I will strike at him and anyone nearby including his significant other.”

“If you touch one hair on Brigdette Thorne’s head, until the time is right; I will turn you back into the pile of ash and dust I found you as. Do you understand me, Ren Raiju?” The master alchemist shouted at him. “Leave her alone.”

“As you wish, Master Alchemist.” Ren walked off into the darkness to wait and hide himself from being sensed using a special chamber. He locked himself in but was still smirking wildly.

The moment Ren hid himself in the chamber, Oran’s hand stopped hurting and bleeding entirely. The mask stopped glowing with energy and the darkness stopped seething from it. This was a sign for Oran and Bridgette that Ren was back again. It was the only thing that made sense. They were now feeling it confirmed but without major proof it was better to wait before telling anyone else.

Oran takes a deep breath and lifts the mask off the table then puts it in a small chest. The chest is closed and bounded and the locks, as well as bindings made of durable metal. He places his left hand above the chest and begins performing hand signs for sealing. Bridgette follows his lead but uses her own sealing symbols she’s learned over her years of being a historian. Together they had created a hugely powerful seal in combination with their abilities.

“Let’s add another layer.” Bridgette says as a suggestion.

“Agreed.” Oran replied.

“Oran.” A voice whispered. “Oran.”

“What’s up, Bridgette? Do you need me?” Oran asks in confusion.

She shakes her head,”I didn’t say anything.”

“Weird, I thought someone was calling my name.” He shakes his head and takes a breath. “I guess I’m more stressed than I thought.”

“Maybe.” Bridgette replied.

“Oran.” The voice says again. “Focus on the symbol around your neck.”

He picks up the triquetra emblem around his neck,”Celeste, is that you calling out to me?”

“Yes, Oran. Draw this symbol as a seal and write the letters D-Z-I over it. I’m lending you my strength that I can. This seal won’t hold forever but it’ll hold long to prepare your trainees for Ren Raiju.”

“Thank you, Celeste. I don’t know how to repay you for your help.” It took Oran a minute due to his stress levels to realize that he was speaking to her clearly without as much focus. “How are we talking so easily?”

“I’m not sure but I’m running out of energy to keep this up. Good luck Oran.” Celeste replied quickly as if she was hiding something, only hoping that Oran didn’t notice it.

He holds the necklace in his hand,”Thank you again.” Oran walked a few steps closer and followed her instructions. He drew a triquetra over the chest and wrote D-Z-I in energy with it. The power in the letters shined in a golden hue and he could feel the strength of the divine energy from Celeste. He was hoping that this would work long enough to train Lozkhad and Isaac enough to handle themselves.

“Oran, what did you do just now?” Bridgette asked.

“I was given a hint of divine protection for our box by Celeste. It’s the clearest I’ve ever heard her in my head and she wanted to help our cause. She said it wouldn’t last forever but it would last long enough to make preparations.” He explained to her.

“Who is Celeste and how do you know she has divine energy?” She said questioningly trying to get more information from him. If she was a deity of some kind, it was one she had never heard of.

“Celeste is a goddess locked away in her own realm. I met her through the power of the triquetra emblem. It’s linked to her somehow. She likes to keep an eye on me because I remind her of someone from her past. I can’t usually keep a long conversation with her but today something just felt more focused and stronger. She must have really wanted to help us out.” Oran explained to Bridgette as much as he actually knew. There was so much more he didn’t know.

The Moro brothers continue on their path to the guild. Raziel was still allowed in the guild as a member and as a member he could bring someone in with him. The guild wasn’t all good but it was a majority of good people who left bad quests to rot. There are however those you pick up the more hurtful quests that are presented by in recent years; thanks to Oran, negative quests have gone extremely low in numbers. Even though he left for the dark, Raziel was still a member and could still pick up quests but he didn’t have unfiltered access like he could if he stayed. This is what they were planning on using to get into the guild more or less undetected.

They were still on the path from Valerosa. It wasn’t a dangerous road especially for them but with the orders to take their time they were just walking at a brisk space. Both of them were determined to get to the guild and give Oran and whoever else got in their way the hardest time of their lives. Their determination only matched by their desire to cause mayhem and kill Oran for whatever slights they could blame on him

Oran and Bridgette would continue to plan their lives during the night while Isaac and Lozkhad would rest for their training tomorrow. The guild was calm except for three people; Oran, Bridgette, and the Guild Master, they were on guard.