There was one thing that Chandler had been trying to do for quite some time, and that was figure out a way to create additional special crystals. He was a black mage, which meant that he didn't have to play by the rules that others set for themselves. He didn't fear dabbling in the dark arts. Rather than considering them evil, he considered them misunderstood.

Honestly he figured that all magical powers were a tool. They were therefore completely morally neutral. Indeed, they were as morally neutral as a screwdriver or a hammer would be. Someone could use a hammer to build up a house or a barn. They could also use a hammer to break into someone's homestead and steal from him or her.

Either way, the hammer itself did not choose whether it was going to be used for good or evil. Rather, it was merely a speechless playing piece in the events that surrounded it. Magic was like that to him. Even black magic could be used to heal, by killing the organisms that caused infection. What you did with it was up to the mage.

As he adjusted his pointed hat, he started over toward the fairy that he had been meaning to speak with. Though he knew the fact that her father's kingdom was tiny, he still knew who they were, and that's why he had made the journey out this way. Most people would have figured that it was somehow wrong to make new special crystals. Therefore, they wouldn't have even attempted.

Since he was different, he didn't have the same moral qualms. Instead, he had been screwing around with some new techniques, and believed that he had actually made some spares in the grim tower he locked himself away in. All right, well, it was actually his bedroom back above his parent's place, but he didn't want to admit that for fear of not being taken seriously.

It looked to him like this Frost fairy had a tattoo on her left arm, and it even looked like she had a piercing above her one eyebrow. Instantly he imagined her as some being of pain like him or at least like he liked to imagine himself. Chandler actually had a happy life, but thought that he'd never get taken seriously practicing black magic if he didn't act like he had a bunch of angst.

Looking toward her, he removed his pointed hat and made a flourished bow before he restored it to his head. "Well, I'm sure you know I was coming, a messenger foretold me I'm sure. I'm the one that figured out a way to turn ordinary crystals into replacements for the one that you have in this place."

What he didn't realize at this moment, though, was just how attached he was going to get to those objects and the individual in front of him. "I assume you'll soon be ejecting me, considering I dabble in such dark arts."

He tried to say it in a way that sounded menacing, but that didn't work for him at all.

Frost had snuck out. She was wandering around just outside the kingdom's walls. Another spat with her father had drove her to leave. She was sitting currently by a river that seemed to creep right on by. The edges of the water were frozen, but the current was too swift to allow the center to freeze.

Upon hearing a voice, she jerked to her feet and turned. She was met with a weird looking wizard. She assumed so because of the pointy hat, but she'd never encountered one. She assumed he was a wizard because of pictures she'd seen with the hats though. It made her nervous. Her father had warned her of outsiders. Their kingdom was currently on lock-down, and it made no sense how some random stranger would've found out about anything such as the crystals.

Her eyes narrowed and her wings began to flutter in readiness in case she needed to fly away in a hurry, but she wanted to know his source for all his information. She hovered a few inches off the snowy ground, and she stared at him.

"Who are you? How'd you know about the crystals? Who sent you? Speak!" She demanded in a highly untrusting fashion.

_________________

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Lovely Lady Lewi

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Naturally there wasn't any way that he could have realized that she was fighting with her father. There was little intelligence that he had on the situation, but he had braved quite a bit to get here. No one had sent him either, in spite of her questions. He was operating all on his own. While it was rather cold here, he was doing his best to avoid shivering. After all, he figured that shivering wasn't going to look tough enough, and he had been trying to look like such a tough mage.

Well, as soon as she had caught glimpse of him it looked like she was distrustful of him. This was just perfect, and it was precisely what he hadn't have needed. Dispensing with the internal sarcasm, he looked her over and let loose a large exhalation. She started to bark out questions at him, but then she had appeared equally willing to flee. Though he wasn't quite sure which one she had wanted to try, he figured that he probably should have been prepared for either.

As a result, as long as she stuck around, Chandler would have given her responses to the questions she had posed. Certainly he had hoped that she would have stuck around. Otherwise if she flew off she was probably going to complain and he was going to have a ton of people on his tail.

Watching her as she hovered, he soon vocalized those answers.

"No one sent me or anything like that, and anyway I have a crystal ball. I heard rumors that your kingdom was under top security, caught a glimpse of the crystals on my crystal ball and started to experiment with figuring out a way to help you out. My name is Chandler, and I practice black magic. All of that is the truth."

She stared at him for a moment. She was trying to get a feel for his honesty. It could be hard to read people straight out, but she was going to try anyway. It was all she could do at this moment. He'd already come well within the kingdom's dominion by now, and it was concerning that he was able to make it so far. Most people would get lost in the maze of a forest long prior. Her father had made his mages cast numerous spells on the forest to make it an illusionary trap tp deter intruders quite awhile ago. Whether the wards had just worn off, or whether he'd seen through them was still a mystery.

The second thing up for debate was why did he want to help with the crystals? What would make an outsider so willing to help a kingdom they had literally no ties to? Especially when they were thrust into the middle of a war. There had to be some sort of ulterior goal in mind. No one did something that serious for free. What all did he know of the crystals? Did he realize their true importance? Or did he want a pay off? Did he want to try to conjure up replacements so that he could take the real ones and make off with a huge pay day?

"Why would you want to help a warring kingdom which you have no ties to? How do I know you're telling me the truth? What do you know about the crystals?" She asked. She seemed full of questions, but even though she and her dad fought, she was very loyal to her kingdom, and because of that, protective of it.

_________________

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Lovely Lady Lewi

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Chandler was being dead honest. If she had any real ability to read him through some sort of her own magic, then she would have figured that out quickly. Nevertheless, it was also clear that he was hiding something else in all of this. There was something he had not told her yet. Soon enough, though, he was going to find himself doing just that.

"Can you read my mind? That should tell you that I am being honest enough, but if you are so concerned about me getting in here it's only because of the type of mage I am! I'm sure anyone else wouldn't have been able to, you know?"

Naturally Chandler was being serious. He didn't think that most people would have been able to get through the impressive defenses that they had set here. That illusionary trap was ingenious and would have stopped almost anyone. At this point she would have known that he could see through them. They hadn't worn off, and that might have made her feel at least a little safer.

Eventually though it looked like Chandler was going to have to share with her that last piece of information. There was something he hadn't told her, but she asked him directly. There was an ulterior motive that he was working under, but what it was exactly might have been rather different from what she was thinking.

"Well, ever hear of leaders who kick all the black magicians out of their jurisdiction because they're kind of afraid of them?"

Punctuating his words by rubbing the back of his head with his hand underneath his pointed wizardry hat, it would have seemed like Chandler had admitted the reason he came to some other kingdom willing to help. He was looking for someone - anyone - who would have been willing to take him in since he was ejected from his own homeland.

"As for the crystals, they are wearing thin and you can't acquire more, isn't that the issue?" He figured that might be the case. Naturally, that was where he planned to step in. It was sort of his entrance, and hopefully a road to a new life.

Frost listened to his words and frowned. Was he serious? What was it? Usually black magic users were a lot more....cold? She didn't know the word for it. He just looked for a sense of belonging. Something like that was hard pressed to find when you were a black magic user. But even so most black magic users realized that this was their fate.

"You want a home kingdom?" Her eyes softened as she spoke. She slowly stopped hovering and lowered down to the ground. Once she was on the ground and she was no longer in a position to fly away she took a couple steps toward him.

"D...do you really think you'll be able to assist?" She seemed to have a bit of newfound hope. She knew that if anyone could help a black Mage could. They'd tried any kind of Mage and had no results. The only they hadn't was a black one.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

_________________

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Lovely Lady Lewi

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Chandler was actually dead serious. He had a certain way of acting that was, however not. He certainly gave plenty of thought to his attitude. In fact, he always gave thought to it. Many might have accused him, for that matter, of considering nothing but his attitude. He honestly thought he was a convincing black mage. Black magic users were cold and evil. He knew this to be completely true.

Nevertheless, it was hard to picture him as that at all. It was almost like he was pretending or something. Frost could probably at least sense something about his skills, however. If she could, then she would have realized that part was at least matured. He was adept at magic. Even if she couldn't, then she still knew that he was able to get through those barriers by seeing through them. That would have at least said that he knew what he was doing.

"Yes, I want a home to call my own again since my last kingdom ejected me, but are you ready for the kind of pain and anguish opening such evil forces can bring?"

The way Chandler had said it made it look like he was trying way too hard to be spooky, but at this point he was banking on the fact that she probably had nothing left to loose and he did need a home after all. He just didn't want to loose his credit as a frightening user of dark powers, but by the looks of it that was thin to begin with.

She stared at him for a long moment. It was hard for her to discern anymore if he was seriously trying to come off as scary, or if he was joking this whole time. She assumed that it was an equal chance at either, but instead of asking about that, she remained focused and serious. She had to be in order to keep her kingdom's safety and best interest at heart. This was no laughing matter. It was their life force he was talking about. The crystals were their key to existence, and they weren't to be messed around with willy nilly. But if he really had a way to remedy their problem, then this could be an award winning solution.

"I...I don't know if I am willing to take such a risk. Perhaps it would be better for you to discuss matters with my father over this?" She suggested.

Her father was a hard man to deal with. He was a hardened war veteran turned king, and he was rather intimidating at times. It was for those reasons that even Frost had a hard time dealing with him despite the fact that he was her father. Still though, he was a smart man, and the correct choice as a king, and he'd know what was best. He would know whether to trust this stranger or whether to send him away. This man knew what he was talking about, and he knew that they were in desperate need of a solution. And all he asked in return was a place to call home, so perhaps her father would have mercy.

_________________

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Lovely Lady Lewi

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Considering how she clearly perceived Chandler, it had looked like it was time for him to come clean. Looking into her eyes, he sighed heavily. This was not at all something that he was enamored with. He didn't want at all to think about admitting this to her. Still, however, he figured that it had to be done. "I don't scare you at all, do you? I have always tried to be a proper scary Black Mage, but it never seems to come off right! I probably just look ridiculous to you, don't it?"

That might have explained quickly to her why he had been ejected from his last position. He didn't want to admit what had happened. Nevertheless, it was now rather clear. He was probably supposed to be some fearsome weapon in the arsenal of the kingdom that he served. However, he had been anything but. Chandler was just sort of a failure in spite of the fact that he was so obviously skilled.

Without the appropriate personality, there was no reason to tolerate him practicing the dark arts. "Would you be willing to show me to him?" At this point Chandler wasn't even thinking of anyone having mercy. He was homeless and sort of lost, at least metaphorically. Since there wasn't a kingdom for him to return to, there wasn't anywhere that he could have gone if he left here.

That would have explained why didn't have too many qualms about seeing her father. Wandering around would have been certain doom in its own right. This actually seemed like a step up from that if nothing else. Therefore, he figured that he might as well just get it over and face the other.

Frost offered him a soft, reassuring smile. He would do better by stopping the pretending act. Nothing was more off putting than someone trying to act differently than what they usually would. "Just be yourself. Don't try to be something that you're not. It makes it look like you're trying to lie." She explained. She thought about what she needed to do and whether or not it was a good idea. She'd have to take him to her father. If she tried to sneak him in it would wind up being more trouble than it was worth.

"I can take you to him. Just be yourself like I told you to. He doesn't like it when he thinks someone is being dishonest with him."

She turned and started back for the kingdom's walls. She expected him to follow. She was also travelling on foot instead of flying like she usually would. She didn't want to leave him behind.

_________________

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Lovely Lady Lewi

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Perhaps she was right about all of this. Maybe he would have done better if he just stopped pretending. The fact that he was trying to act like someone else could be off-putting. Still, he had wanted to do his best to fill the role that he was given. He was supposed to be a dark mage. Black magic was supposed to be disturbing. Nothing that Chandler ever did was too spooky, though. As a result, he figured that he might as well have just done what Frost was telling him. From now on, he would simply act pretty natural toward her.

"Alright, I'll do that, but promise me that I'm not going to look like an idiot, okay?"

At this point he would have followed her. Even he could have realized that she was not flying for his benefit. Fairies would always have flown if given the chance. At least, that was what he had assumed. He hadn't met many, but they were fascinating creatures.

"I promise at least not to be dishonest!" The way that he had said that was plenty more natural, and Chandler was now starting to look like a regular person. He was probably even sounding like it, though he didn't do anything to alter his physical appearance. Even if she had wanted him to act naturally, he wasn't taking off the wizard's hat.

"Sorry about the bravado before; I honestly figured that you wouldn't have accepted me if I just acted like this, you know? Aren't black mages supposed to act a certain way?"