“...don't see why I need a brand new suit, the old one is just fine!” Vincent grumbled to the castle's head butler, Norman who was standing in front of him displaying his old suit. “This suit sir?” Norman said, a somewhat malicious twinkle in his eye.

“Yes, what's wrong with OUCH!” The prince exclaimed as Zoey, his maid and caretaker since he was a child, accidentally stuck him with a pin. “Oh don't be a baby prince, really with how many holes you come back with from the battlefield I am surprised you even felt that.” Vincent gave her a quick glare and muttered “I'm expecting to get shot out there, bot so much when I'm at hOUCH.

Vincent turned back his attention to Norman “What's wrong with that one?”. “If his highness will recall.” Norman replied. “This is the suit he wore to his final exam. His final. Alchemy. Exam.” Norman smirked and turned it around to show him the back. The rear was charred black, with holes in various places where the fabric had burned through.

“Oh... right... I don't remember much of that night. Did they ever rebuild the lab?” Prince Victor asked, his mind wandering back to the lab. He must have left the extract from the drake liver in the calcinator and forgotten to turn it off.

“Did they ever rebuild the lab after...” A blast sounded from outside, flinging he shuttered window open . The servants all hit the deck aside from Zoey and Vincent, the former immediately stepping close to the prince and projecting a translucent bubble around both her and Vincent.

Vincent for his part fell back in a casting stance, the pit of his stomach dropping out as purple black mist coiled around his arms like the tentacles of a creature from the deepest parts of the ocean, visions of a dozen potential curses flashing in his mind as he hunted for targets. Seeing none in the room he dashed over to the window, sticking his head through for a split second before a strong grip pulled him aside. He whirled to see Zoey holding his arm and keeping him pinned against the wall away from the window.

“THINK Vincent! If it's an attack they could be after you, when you hear an explosion you do NOT just stick your head out the window to see what happened.” Vincent winced, chastised, while Zoey took a quick peek herself out the window before darting back in. “My apologies your highness, it appears to just be...” “An unauthorised mass teleport, yes I saw myself. A lot of wounded it looked like.”

Vincent turned towards Norman, who was just now rising to his feet. “I don't know how much more of this my old bones can take your highness.” He said, dusting off his clothes. “We're so jumpy since that first explosion. Me and the rest of the staff's nerves are shot to... We're all very stressed out by these events your highness.”

“Norman, I'm not a little boy anymore, you are allowed to swear in front of me.” Vincent smirked as he moved to take a better look out the window.

Norman finished dusting himself off and moved over to the prince, who was peering out into the courtyard.

The courtyard down below was a vision of carnage, the center, the rune inscribed circle that was used as a teleportation focus by all the kingdom's mages, was covered in bloody torn bodies, some still and unmoving, some thrashing in agony, none of them wearing armor or carrying weapons. In the center of them all gasped a young mage in torn robes, on all fours and struggling to breathe.

“It's another emergency evacuation! Norman, get Penny down to the field with vigor potions and a mana restorative, the one who teleported them overstretched himself, if we don't stabilize him soon he could die.” Vincent narrowed his eyes, staring at a spot just outside the circle of carnage, and with a surge of mental effort, pulled.

“Of course sir, right aw...” Norman was cut off by a snap in the air as Vincent whispered “Blink” blinked out of existence in the room they had been in, and reappeared below in the midst of the carnage.

Vincent around himself at the sudden change of light from the Blink magic he had used to get down from the window to the courtyard so quickly. His trajectory placed him just outside the ring of bodies an a foot above the ground.

Vincent dropped to the stone floor, rapidly shaking off the tingling numbness that had crept into his fingers after the spell, and began sprinting towards the middle of the rune circle where the mage, who he could see now was a young girl who's fingers and lips were rapidly taking on an alarming shade of blackish blue.

Vincent quickly hurried to the center of the circle where the mage lay and focused his will. He felt the heat of his body, like a tingling field, tracing the blood flowing through his veins. His focus narrowed to the blood, and to what was inside the blood, letting what he felt there flow and infect the web of energy within him. With a surge and a muttered word “Clot” he cast that web out in all directions, an expanding sphere of diffuse golden webs that stuck fast to the moaning bodies around him, the trailing strands sinking into the wounded, and causing the blood weeping from their wounds to seal and clot.

Vincent then kneeled beside the young woman struggling to breathe, and placed his hand spread wide just below her collarbone, and once more focused on his own body, this time focusing down to his chest, his lungs, and the interface where blood exchanged air.

Once more he pushed the web of energy out of himself, this time along his hand, with a murmured 'Oxygenate'.

The fallen girl's hands and lips immediately began recovering to a more healthy pallor, though she was still panicking and trying to draw a breathe. Vincent kept the energy flowing from himself to her, in spite of the coughing fit that wracked his body. Her eyes met his for a moment, the fear changing to hope, and maybe relief.

Over the moans of the wounded he heard the high pitched yell of his assistant, or Head Alchemist if anyone official was around, Penny.

“Over here!” Vincent rasped between coughs, waving his free hand at Penny. “Over here! She's not breathing!” He called out as a coughing fit forced him to focus back on keeping the magic flowing, breathing heavily as he did so.

Penny was a petite young woman of almost five feet was currently struggling under the weight of a backpack full to bursting and two duffelbags, from which a cacophany of clinking glass sounded whenever she moved, which she was currently doing quite rapidly, sprinting under the weight of her potion filled bags towards the prince in the middle of the ring of wounded.

Penny dropped her duffelbags beside Vincent and immediately began going through them, pulling out neatly arranged racks of vials while briskly firing questions at Vincent. “What's her status your highness?”

“Her lungs arent moving air, spatial backlash from the teleport. I'm keeping her blood oxygenated for now.” Vincent said between lungfulls of air.

Penny nodded and counted off from one side of one of her racks until she reached a vial with a particular shade of bright violet-blue.”Got it, bottoms up!” Penny said as she moved over the girl's mouth, gently opened her jaw, and poured the substance in.

The girl swallowed the mixture and made a disgusted face for a moment, before turning to the side and vomiting the now black substance onto the ground. As her retching faded, she started breathing normally, and Vincent withdrew his hand and let the spell collapse.

“Your turn your highness.” Penny said, holding up an azure green potion to him as he resumed coughing into his hand. He turned to glare at her, only for Penny to put her hands on her hips, causing her lacy hoop-skirt to sway back and forth.

“Don't you give me that look, the cough isn't the only backlash you are suffering I bet. You healed all of these people as soon as you arrived didn't you?” Penny said, her voice like a scolding mother despite only being a few years Vincent's senior.

“I'll be fine, It was just a Clotting spell...” Penny interrupted him “On thirty people simultaneously, I'm surprised you aren't bleeding internally.” As she said that Vincent quickly hid his hand, covered in blood from his coughing fit.

“Fine” Vincent said petulantly, snatching the vial from her hand and downing it in one go. Immediately he felt his body rebel, spasming uncontrollably. He maintained just enough awareness and control to roll to his side as the vile concoction was vomited back up, as black as the girls had been. Penny bent over him and rubbed his back while he was doing so, occasionally turning to the girl who was now attempting to lift herself up.

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“T-t-thank you your highness.” The girl said, bowing her head slightly to Vincent, who was still on his side retching out the black fluid.

“No.. No problem” Vincent said in between gasps.

He wiped his mouth and sat up, wincing as one of the pins holding together his still-to-be-tailored suit stabbed him.

“Who are you? What happened? Where did you bring all these people from?” Vincent asked, finally catching his breath, and despite the tremors in his guts feeling markedly improved, the potion having worked to remove the magical backlash from his spellcasting. At least the casting of the healing spells, his fingers and toes still felt a bit numb from the Blink.

“I'm Nancy, I was apprenticed to Master Olfwick in Seytan village.” The girl said, moving to a more comfortable position and rearranging her apprentice robes around her.

“What happened to your master? Not going to lie but you were not up to handling this kind of spellcraft, it almost killed you.” Vincent said.

“It would have if his highness had actually stopped to think 'Oh maybe I shouldn't jump out a window and start throwing around magic that could very well kill me if my dashing, heroic, master alchemist retainer does not show up in time.'” Penny replied, glaring at Vincent.

Vincent looked away and muttered something.

“What was that?” Penny snapped.

“I didn't jump out the damn window. I used Blink.”

“OH! Because that's so much better! Let's bully reality into subverting physics to get down the stairs faster.” Penny snapped back at him, then moved in and started looking intently at his fingers.

“It doesent look too bad. The backlash didn't seem to mess with your blood pressure too much. Short of breath?” She said, her manner returning to it's professional cadence.

Vincent shook his head no. “Not since the potion. Did you give me a focused one or the standard.”

Penny grinned”You got to try my first dose of the new discipline specific potions I cooked up. If you feel any side effects be sure to write them down. Remember, it's for science!”

The two of them done with their banter they both turned as one to look at the young mage Nancy.

“Um. Going back to your question, Master Olfwick told me to gather all the wounded, and then he would come and teleport us all to safety. Then he went to fight them and... and...” She looked down at her knees. “He didn't come back.”

Vincent reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder. “What happened to the town?”

Nancy took a breath. “It happened so quickly. Me and Master Olfwick were just, walking through town, to pick up some things at the market. We didn't know anything was going on until the screaming started.”

Both Vincent and Penny lapsed into silence and listened, as doctor's began filtering into the courtyard and began treating the wounded surrounding them.

“Master Olfwick started moving towards the screams, which was hard as all of the SMART people were running the other direction. I followed him and at the edge of town... It was a bloodbath.”

Nancies eyes stared far away between Vincent and Penny as she recounted the scene. “The men on the walls were dead, it looked like their throats had been slit, the gates were open. Men on the walls, but not soldiers. Or not dressed like them. They were fighting against the few of the town guard that were left trying to retake the walls, and get to the alarm bell. The men who came through the gates though, they were soldiers. They were wearing Vidya colors. They didn't call for surrender or anything, just started hacking at anything that moved. Master told me to run and gather any wounded in the town square, and that he'd meet me and take us away. So I did, I used my magic to pull the few people still alive at the gate to me, and I took them and ran. There were more of those soldiers in the streets now, and we kept seeing them cutting people down. I got everyone I could together in the square, but the soldiers were surrounding us, so... I tried teleporting. And then we were here.” As she finished her eyes welled up with tears, and hacking sobs started to escape her.

Vincent stood, his gaze hardening. “Get these people out of here, call the crystal knights, we have a counter attack to make!” Penny tugged at his sleeve. “You aren't in charge of the crystal knights anymore, remember? Mira took over after you nearly died? You are supposed to be recuperating!” Vincent scowled. “Besides, Mira took the crystal knights out to meet your fiance. You know. The person you are supposed to be meeting. In an hour?”

Vincent glared at her coolly. He then turned to the people milling around. “Bring any noble in the castle willing to fight to defend his land alongside his prince” He turned back to Penny, who was glaring right back at him. Finally she relented. “Just... give me long enough to go find your armor. You are not going into a fight in that.” Penny ran off, leaving her bags of potions behind.

**********************************************************************************

By the time Penny returned the courtyard was clear of wounded, and several older men were currently putting on armor, all of varying quality and varying age. Vincent was currently helping an older man with balding white hair, a gut that was showing the signs of old age and to much good food, and a large, meticulously groomed handlebar mustache buckle up the last piece of the massive rune etched armor he was wearing.

“Thank you my boy, think I've been having a few too many deserts. That or the armor has shrunk since I last put it on. It probably shrunk. Shouldn't blame the poor innocent pudding.” Baron Vardfort said, as he stretched inside of his armor, and grasped the handle of a similarly rune etched maul.

Penny walked up to Vincent and dropped a collection of armor pieces at his feet. She herself had changed into armor while she was gone, now wearing a suit of banded mail, still with a skirt, but of chain and gambeson, with armored shin-guards. Two bandoliers full of potions were strapped across her chest, and she had several pouches hanging off of a strategically placed hooks and catches across her armor.

“Alright Prince, lose the suit, if you are doing this you are going to do it properly.” Penny said as she lifted up the front breastplate of Prince Vincent's armor.

“Allow me.” Baron Vardfort said, lifting up the back piece of the armor as the Prince swiftly removed the half tailored suit he was still garbed in.

Silently Penny and the Baron got the prince suited up, first with the fine breastplate, underlaid with chain and leather. Unlike the Baron and Penny's sets of armor, his shoulder's were bare, the only protection on his arms a pair of bracers. A short chain tunic draped down to mid-thigh, and his legs were clad in plate like his torso. Finally a cowl of chain went on, followed by a helmet with a relatively wide open area around the eyes, compared to the Baron's full helmet or even Penny's with it's cheek guards. Finally Penny handed him his bow, black ebony with carved traceries of silver running over it, and his quiver.

Fully clad in his armor and weapons Prince Vincent strode into the middle of the rune circle in the courtyard, and bellowed. “Everyone gather to me! Brace for transit!” The noble's he had gathered moved in close, though their gear was disparate and showed the signs of a hundred different artisans, they were all trained on how to fight coming out of a teleport, and they all knew that if the prince fell they would be stranded. The formed a circle around him, those with shields in front, those with spears and two handed weapons position further in, ready to stab over the shoulders of their compatriots or move in to take the place of the shieldwall should an enemy look like they would be forcing their way through.

“Transit in five.” In the distance he could hear a shouted conversation.

“Four.” He raised up his right hand, space warping around it, he focused on the faraway town of Seytan, casting his mind out to it.

“Three.” He could hear armor clad feet stomping up the hall leading to the courtyard. A hazy remembered image of Seytan wove it's way into his mind's eye.

“Two.” The warped space spread from his hand to surround the circle of nobles, causing the rest of the courtyard to appear hazy and indistinct. He reached out to Seytan, and pulled.

“One.” The last thing he saw in the courtyard was the double doors to the foyer slamming open.