Saracen Rue had just downed his third beer when he asked the bartender for something a little stronger to dull his grief and pain. Fletcher Renn was swirling the contents of his glass around with a shocked expression across his pale face, his hair hanging limp. Gracious O'Callahan and Donegan Bane were sculling down twin shots on the tools beside them. The group had been practically living in the bar these days. It wasn't exactly the ideal state to discover one of the Dead Men and the three Monster Hunters in, for if they were this rattled nothing could be good. It was just by chance that Aria Shade happened to stumble upon them in their stupor that day as she strolled into the Roarhaven pub. After everything and anything that could have gone wrong with her flights to Ireland had slowed her down she was finally there, and she was exhausted. The young woman had just visited the pub for some relaxation time, but it wasn't exactly difficult to notice four of the most famous sorcerer's in the world sitting at the bar.
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She stalked over to them, straightening her posture and trying her best to look formal considering the state she was in. Saracen Rue didn't even glance in her direction and only took what the bartender offered him to try drowning out his misery. "I'm not exactly in the mood for entertaining today, sweetheart." he slurred.
"And I'm not exactly in the mood to be entertained today, Mr Rue." She said with utter professionalism. Only then did he glance at her, so she continued, "I'm Aria Shade, one of the Elders from the Sanctuary in Australia. I've come to inquire as to why the Irish Sanctuary has been withholding information from the other Sanctuaries. My cousin, Ellion Rune, was sent on an undescribed mission and has been unreachable by me and his parents since."
At this the Dead Man pulled his shoulders back and sat up, inspecting her with faint recognition in his lifeless eyes and Aria briefly wondered whether the true reason the Dead Men were named so was because of this lifeless demeanor. "I'm sorry Elder Shade, to tell you this, but Ellion Rune has been taken as a prisoner of war," Saracen responded after a long period of silence.
Aria froze, mouth dropping open, but no words were coming out. She sat in shock until she managed to form a coherence sentence in her thoughts and struggled to say it allowed. "No one was informed of a war. This is a direct breach of the Sanctuary transparency treaty signed and agreed upon by all Sanctuaries globally after the supreme council was disbanded." She said, trying to stop her voice from shaking with anger and panic.
"It only started a few hours ago." He snorted.
"Well that would have been a few hours longer that everyone else would have had to prepare!" she had to stop herself from yelling and then she was gone in a flash. In her state of fury, she did not comprehend where her feet were taking her until she was bursting into the meeting room of the Irish Sanctuary and Grand Mage China Sorrows and Elder Ophelia wisp were gawking at her.
"I travel to Ireland only wanting to find out why my little cousin has been off the grid for so long to find out that we have been plunged into war by your country once again!" she yelled. "The last time I checked Ireland was no exception to the treaty all the Sanctuaries from around the world signed and the agreement was to have complete transparency between us all. So that everyone would know everything, and no secrets would be kept. No information withheld. And now my baby cousin is a prisoner of a war no one knew about!" she pointed an accusatory finger at the two women sitting at the table before her.
Elder Wisp looked positively ashamed while Grand made Sorrows was giving nothing away in her poised calm.
"I suppose you are Elder Aria Shade, your Sanctuary informed me of your visit. Please join us, we were just about to announce the situation over the global link." she said with a regal air to her voice.
"There shouldn't have to have been a huge announcement. You should have informed everyone as soon as anything happened." Arias was having none of it.
"The Sanctuaries have the right to withhold information of the problems of their own countries, the issue did not reach a global scale until very recently I assure you," China replied and gestured for her to take a seat.
"Don't give me that bullshit! There was a threat. And a threat is enough! You tell me that you had no idea this issue could possibly extend past the borders of your screw-up of a country! Tell me that! Just go, say it and lie again. Where is my cousin." Her face grew red with the rush of blood and she was shaking in anger.
"Ellion Rune has been taken hostage by Hansard Kray and his followers in the caves of the void two days ago along with Skulduggery Pleasant, Valkyrie Cain, Tanith Low, Ghastly Bespoke, Elder Sapphire Wildfire, and Dexter Vex. War was declared by a message sent to us almost two hours ago. The Unnamed has returned by the hand of Hansard Kray and Alice Edgley who betrayed out Sanctuary along with her adoptive sister Viviana Vixen. The Kray Manor was shunted to an alternate dimension and we have no way to track it. It's now a waiting game to see when they will attack. We have limited resources, our best operatives have been captured and we have been left with no plan but to play the defensive. I have been scouring the old texts found from an earlier expedition dating back to the time of the Ancients for any information on how to destroy the Unnamed. The best option we have is to try and recreate the coma that the Ancients put him in which is impossible without drawing him back into the caves of the void which will never happen. We have no bargaining chips, nothing the Unnamed might want. It's hopeless." China stated emotionlessly. "Would you like me to continue?"
"How long has this been going on for?! There must be something we can do! Anything!" she screeched. She knew what happened when she let herself go too far but she was too furious to even try to stop it now.
That was when Aria Shade burst into flames. The fire licked her skin and burnt her clothes to ashes. She screamed as she tried to reel the raw power back in and collapsed to the floor, her anger dissipating like the smoke curling around her as she sobbed.
She faintly registered Ophelia taking her elbow and pulling her up and China calling Tipstaff to bring her clothes, but she was lost in her mind. It was hopeless. They were all going to die.
