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"It was a terrible thing Lady Sakura, a terrible thing." the new High Mage of the outpost said. He had teleported in early that morning after news of the assassination had reached the ears of the general in charge of the region. Sakura had not even bothered to learn this new High Mage's name. It was unimportant to her. "Rest assured that drastic measures will be taken here, drastic measures! We will hunt down and kill this assassin, this I promise you." Sakura knew enough about the High Mages to know that this was likely nothing but the empty talk of a bureaucrat. Indeed, very few cats she knew would bother to keep a promise to one they were so unfamiliar with.

"I'm sure you will be successful in your endeavors." Sakura said flatly. She knew how to play the political game, having been mated to a High Mage for many years.

"Your mate's death has shaken us all. That one of those mongrels could reach us in our own homes, while we are surrounded by guards, well let's just say such occurrences are rare." The new High Mage's sympathies seemed sincere, but Sakura detected the glimmer of ambition in his eyes. He was happy to be in charge. Thankfully, Sakura had gotten permission to leave. She was no longer bound to this outpost, and she had decided to return to the capitol.

"I am ready to leave now" Sakura stated quietly. The new High Mage looked taken aback.

"I...I was under the impression you were staying longer," he said, his surprise evident "you still need to recount exactly what happened to the archivist."

"I have done that already." Sakura informed the mage.

"Oh...well...I had hoped..." the mage, all the illusion of authority vanishing under his drooping ears and scattered speech, glanced sheepishly at her. Was he attempting to court her? The morning after her previous mate's death? Sakura's eyes narrowed

"I would much like to leave." she stated harshly. The mage sighed.

"Very well. The pathmage should be ready, you can summon her from her quarters any time you wish." Sakura gave the mage a curt nod and strode swiftly from the room, taking another quick look at the bare walls. Her things had already been transported to her new home in the capitol. As she made her way to the pathmage's quarters, she gazed around at the base. The guards were visibly shaken, their stances tense and their eyes shifting. Seeing them made Sakura remember the three guards that had been killed on duty the previous night, and a pang of sadness found her again. Their bodies would be sent back to their families and there would be a period of mourning. None of them were important enough to be resurrected, and her people had long since grown used to losing loved ones. Sakura sighed. Such was the way in war. After a few more moments she reached the barracks where the pathmage was staying. She maneuvered quickly to the mage's quarters and gave a sharp knock once she reached the door.

"Just a minuet!" Came the reply, and after a few seconds the door opened. "Lady Sakura! I wasn't expecting you until later today! Um, are you ready to leave already?" The pathmage was a tabby cat, and somewhat of a scruffy one at that.

"Yes, I'm ready." Sakura replied, giving a thin smile.

"Alright, let me just gather my components and we'll be on our way, kay?"

Eleron shifted uneasily in his seat. It was uncomfortable, though he expected nothing less. It was the judge's way of punishing him, giving him quarters barely suitable for a common soldier when he had just come from his luxurious mansion. They knew that Eleron was too valuable an asset to punish severely. The tiger gave a growling sigh. He wished they would hurry up. He glanced up at the timepiece. They were still over an hour late in fetching him. He vowed silently to arrange for something unpleasant to happen to the one responsible for the delay. He drummed his long fingers on a nearby poorly made table and decided that he may as well make use of the time. He thought back to the events of the night the dog commander came to negotiate with him, hoping to find something that would aid him in his defense, hopefully persuading the judges to assign him to a less boring outpost...

_Eleron sized up the dog that had been brought before him. He was younger than he had expected, but carried an air of command. Still, he seemed inexperienced and his eyes emanated compassion, which Eleron considered weak. The High Mage was not impressed.

"I am Dael, I was sent to negotiate with the High Mage of this establishment."

"That would be me" Eleron replied in an oily voice. There was a pause; Eleron knew that etiquette demanded he introduce himself at this point, but he didn't feel as if he needed to. He considered Dael to be a lesser individual, even for a dog.

"And what might I call you?" he asked politely.

"Eleron" Eleron stated bluntly, seeing no other alternative.

"Very well. I have come to negotiate a cease-fire."

"Straight to the business eh? I like that in an individual" Eleron's calculating mind quickly shifted into gear. How could he best exploit this situation?

"Yes. Both our sides would benefit from a cease fire on the borders of our two outposts. Surely you can see that further fighting and further bloodshed would hurt us both. A cease-fire is for the best."

"And how long do you propose this cease-fire should last?" Eleron asked, idly examining his claws, boredom etched on his feline features.

"Three months initially, but I hope that we can renew our cease-fire after that amount of time has elapsed."

"Tell me," Eleron asked suddenly, "why have you approached me with this request? What do you Proger-Luna have to gain from such an arrangement?"

"I...I've already explained that..."

"If all your superiors wanted was less bloodshed then they would be negotiating peace on a more global scale, would they not?" probed the cunning wizard

"Perhaps this is simply the first step." Dael stated, strength in his words. Eleron chuckled darkly. He was already through with this conversation.

"Clearly you are new to the mantle of leadership, pup," he drawled patronizingly, "but as I have come to realize over the years, the only time one side of a war chooses peace is when that side is losing. No, I will not accept your offer of a cease-fire. And furthermore, since you were so kind to present yourself alone and unarmed before me, I think I'll deprive the Proger-Luna of one of their commanders as well! Goodbye Dael." And with that Eleron rolled up the sleeve of his robe to reveal a black bracer which hummed a deep resonant tone. An arc of golden energy emerged from the end of it, taking the form of a long blade, and before Dael could react Eleron lashed out, the energy making a clean slice through Dael's abdomen and toppling him to the floor. As he lay bleeding, the energy from Eleron's bracer still crackling, the wicked mage took a black diamond from the folds of his robe. "One final lesson, dear friend. Never let your guard down in the presence of an enemy. Enjoy your new home." and with a sadistic grin Eleron began chanting. Dael choked out his final utterances as his wispy form emerged from his mouth and was absorbed into the dark gem like smoke being funneled into the sky. Eleron gazed at his prize, the black gem now pulsing with a sinister purple light. This soul was stronger than Eleron had expected. He was already eager to see what power he could unlock with it. "Catapult this filth back out onto the Proger-Luna soldiers" Eleron commanded, motioning toward the sprawled form of Dael, still bleeding heavily. As two of his guards obeyed his orders, the archivist, who had been stunned by the display of cruelty, found his voice.

"Y-you know I'm going to have to report this to the general, don't you?" he asked hesitantly.

"Of course. That is your job, is it not?" the cat looked relieved, and scurried quickly from the room, obviously fearing that Eleron would change his mind. Eleron was preoccupied with his new toy. Never before had he obtained a soul so strong. He shivered in apprehension of what could be done with it. He touched his energy bracers, which had been crafted with souls that were nowhere near this caliber, who knew what powerful items he could create with this one?_

In retrospect, Eleron wondered why he had done it, why he had killed the commander. He felt no remorse for his actions, only confusion. It was the first time he could remember that he hadn't taken the best option. Certainly his actions had brought him short term gain, but they also invoked the wrath of his general as, at least for him, killing ambassadors was somewhat taboo. Certainly a more intelligent course of action would have been to agree to the cease-fire, then plan an attack while the enemies' guard was down. If he could bury all records of the cease-fire and eliminate the Proger-Luna outpost then he would certainly gain favor with his superiors, which would probably loosen the grip they kept on him, allowing him to be more free with his experiments. Oh well, the way he had handled the situation certainly had its rewards as well Eleron reminded himself, reaching into his robes to touch the glowing gem that had become a prison for Dael's soul.

"The judges will see you now" Eleron looked up. He had been so preoccupied with his thoughts he hadn't heard the door open. He stood, glancing at the messenger.

"It's about time. Take me." The walk to the courtroom was rather shorter than Eleron remembered, which was a good thing seeing as how he was already impatient. The messenger left him at the double doors that led to the courtroom. He entered, seeing a small brightly lit room with a raised platform on which the five judges sat, all of them aged males.

"Sit" the middle one, the Master Judge, a lion whom the years had not been kind to, commanded, motioning to the seat positioned in front of them, lowered from the platform. Eleron did as he was told. "You have deliberately and willfully slain a Proger-Luna ambassador which came to you in good faith. What have you to say in your defense?"

"What I did I did for the Raja" Eleron said, the lie coming easily to his lips. There was a pause as the judges waited to hear more, but Eleron had wasted enough time today on this trial and he knew nothing he had to say would change his sentence.

"In killing the Proger-Luna, you sealed away his soul, did you not?" asked the Master Judge.

"Yes" said Eleron uncomfortably, not liking where this was going.

"Take it out" the Master Judge commanded. Eleron did so, slowly, cautiously, trying to hide the strength of its glow with his spindly fingers. "Now bring it to us." Eleron's hand shot back protectively.

"No!" he hissed.

"These are orders from the Raja himself," the judge stated monotonously, "bring the gem to us." Of course. Of course the Raja would want this powerful soul to himself, Eleron reasoned. He made a mental note not to drain souls while in the presence of anyone who he did not plan to kill soon afterwards.

"Very well." Eleron said, knowing it would be foolish to get on the bad side of the Raja himself. He got up from his seat and reluctantly relinquished Dael's soul to the judges. "Will that be all?" he practically spat.

"You will be reassigned to a new outpost in about a week." the Master Judge said, tucking the black gem into his robes. Eleron turned and stormed out of the room, knowing there was nothing further to say but the ending formalities, which he chose not to recite at this time. His endeavors with the Proger-Luna ambassador had been fruitless, something he was not used to. His next outpost would probably be even more boring than the last one, and he no longer had a soul to experiment with.

Sakura entered the tavern slowly, glancing around swiftly at the various occupants from the traveler's robes she had put on as a disguise. She didn't want to be recognized here. She sat down at the fourth table from the left, where she had been told the representative of the Circle would meet her. The Circle was a group of mercenary spies, thieves, and, if the pay was right, assassins. Sakura planned to enlist their services here.

"Nice evenin', aye?" Sakura had not heard the cat approach at all and was rather startled by his voice being so near. She looked to him, sizing him up. He was a rather small grey furred cat with black markings around his eyes. His fur was unkempt and scruffy and he wore an amused expression.

"You are the one they sent?" she asked. He nodded, grinning.

"Y' can call me Bandit, t's what everyone calls me," he chuckled and motioned to the black markings around his eyes "see?"

"Alright then Bandit," Sakura began "I wish to recruit a spy."

"Straight to the job hm? Alright then, who's he gonna be spyin' on then?" Bandit asked, his amused expression still not subsiding.

"It's a dog. An assassin. The one who attacked one of our outposts recently, do you know of this?" To this Bandit laughed.

"This must be your first dealin' with the Circle! Of course we know of it, we're information gatherers, see?"

"Good," she said refusing to allow herself to feel patronized, "then you'll do it?"

"Hm," the grey furred cat said deliberately, "stalkin' dogs is tough work, not nearly as easy as keepin' tabs on our own, ya follow? We can do it, sure, but the price'l be high."

"Price is not a concern," waved Sakura, "just do it." Bandit grinned, showing off his needle sharp teeth.

"Lady, those'r some of my favorite words you just spoke there! I'll arrange this quick like, alright? Our agents will meet you with information on the first of the month and every week thereafter. Have your pay ready, or you get no info, follow?"

"How will you know where to meet me?" Sakura asked. Bandit laughed again.

"We're the Circle! We know all, see? I'm sure we'll be able to find ya, Lady Sakura." And with that Bandit stood, bowed sarcastically, and vanished out of the Tavern door, still chuckling.

"There must be some way to court her!" the frustrated High Mage stated.

"She has just lost her previous mate, give her time." his personal assistant, a wise old tiger told him.

"But I want her now!" the mage growled. "There must be a way to impress her somehow."

"You could keep your promise for once." his assistant joked.

"That, that's it!" the High Mage exploded into laughter. "How obvious! If I kill her mate's killer, then she will be in my debt!" Visions of Lady Sakura hugging him, putting her chin on his shoulder, thanking him for all he's done danced through the High Mage's head.

"Oh, come now. I was joking! There's no way you can take out an entire Proger-Luna outpost with only the troops you have here, especially given the recent state of moral." The assistant chuckled.

"No, not with just these troops, but I have a commander in charge of deploying forces who owes me a favor. Let's just say I have a hunch we'll be getting a certain ruthless fighter as reinforcements sometime soon."

"Who did you have in mind?" the assistant asked. The High Mage turned towards him, an excited grin quickly spreading across his features.

"Kain" he replied.