Crimson Pov

I glared across the entry hall of my castle at the only man foolish enough in the last century to blast his way in through my doors. Literally, Germaine Hallows, 1st Merlin of the Shielding Council, Warrior of Light and Dragon Slayer, had blown the magically reinforced doors off their hinges.

"And to what do I owe this...pleasure?" My voice echoed with magical energies, the emphasis on the last word turning it into almost a hiss.

Germaine the brat coughed and brushed his robes clean of dust. They were decent robes, understated yet ornate at the same time, a difficult balance to strike. I would have to get the name of the tailor.

"Apologies, I needed to see you and the wards weren't opening."

All eight of my eyes focused on him staring, I knew the effect of eight glowing red eyes staring from the empty void of my robes. I'd honestly been surprised the first time I saw a mirror and just how effective such an appearance was. The special effects of my eyes and robe had been chosen for their practical purposes, that they made me ominous and imposing simply was a bonus.

"That is in fact the purpose of wards."

"Indeed" He nodded and then continued "So about the reason that i totally justifiably had to break your wards to come see you."

I loomed ominously atop the hall's dais as I waited.

"The Shielding Council desires your aid in..."

"No"

"...training and assisting new Hunters in..."

"No"

"...their efforts against the legions of the night"

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The glow of my eyes was so intense I could see the shadow behind Germaine growing longer. A side effect of the magic I was flooding them with to double check this was Germaine and not an illusion, doppelganger or just him but drunk. Since none of these seemed to be the case...

"Ah I see, you've finally gone mad from delving too deep into the mystical arts and come to me to put you out of your misery."

Germaine's mustache twitched.

"They are offering magical supplies of up to the third circle..."

"Perhaps you tried gazing into one of the far realms?" I mused.

"...money, precious metals and jewels as payment..."

"Or did you try to decipher some of my notes you stole that time? I did warn you nothing good would come of that." I pointedly ignored his face turning red at the mention of those "notes". It seems he had in fact broken the magical protections over them, the images inside admittedly had no chance of causing madness, unless you count a taste in beautiful women madness. Some people did, I'm not one to judge.

"...and access to mystical documents."

"And why would I ever need such things from your council?" I inquired.

Germaine sighed.

"That's what i told them but they wanted to try."

I turned around and stomped to the wooden...throne? Did it count as a throne? I ignored such questions and sat in my incredibly ornate and heavy wooden chair before speaking to Germaine again. Most of my eyes had retreated into the shadows of my hood, only two red eyes looked out, mimicking a normal human.

"So why are you really here? You wouldn't come here just to deliver a message from those dogs."

Germaine smirked "Just because the Shielding Council and its current Merlin are buffoons is no reason to insult dogs."

I waved a hand at him to continue.

"They wanted me to pass on a message and try to sway you, since you are the Red Eyed Sorcerer. And there is a point I think you'd be interested in."

"And what is that?" I inquired.

"They found a descendant of the Verains."

I sat up straighter and my eyes once more peered from my hood. All of them focused on Germaine's smug look.

"And?"

"Since they know you have some of their old hunting gear and ties to that family, they're hoping for a meeting to request aid in the name of the legendary family itself."

I snorted, then broke out in laughter that gradually grew in volume, my magic began to surge as pure emotion bubbled out of me, joy, anger, disbelief and sheer unbridled amusement. Dust fell from the rafters as the magically enhanced sound literally shook the hall. Finally, I settled down enough to have a response.

"Sure, you can let them come in."

Germaine cursed in Nightborne speak before speaking again in the common tongue "I knew you had wards up to detect visitors and were keeping me out on purpose!"

My own voice clearly carried amusement as I responded "Of course, I have to see if my former student has made any progress do I not?" I chuckled to myself as Germaine snorted in disdain and waved his hand, a pigeon shaped messenger flew out, one of my eyes scanning it and playing back a detailed analysis of the magic and message inside. A very detailed and lifelike magical messenger, I approved, and a very simple message telling the two people outside to come in.

I clapped and sent a bit of magic into the soundwave. It would travel through the castle to the servants quarters and there it would become a simple list of instructions spoken for them. It would not do to have guests and provide no refreshments or meal. Germaine did not count as a guest.