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the Project	By : theLureln Category: +M through R > Magic: The Gathering Views: 11901 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Magic the Gathering characters or settings, anything else is mine. This story is not being written for profit.

Chapter List
- 1-the Project
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-10
- 11-Eleven
- 12-Twelve
- 13-Thirteen
- 14-Fourteen
- 15-15
- 16-16
- 17-17
- 18-18
- 19-19
- 20-20
- 21-21
- 22-22
- 23-23
- 24-24
- 25-25
- 26-26
- 27-27
- 28-28
- 29-29
- 30-30
- 31-31
- 32-32
- 33-33
- 34-34
- 35-35
- 36-36
- 37-37
- 38-38
- 39-39
- 40-40
- 41-41
- 42-42
- 43-43
- 44-44
- 45-45
- 46-46
- 31
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- 33
Although Ral still didn’t approve of Lorissa’s selection as the second Izzet League emissary to the Living Guildpact, he had a newfound respect for the young woman as he led her out of Niv-Mizzet’s lair. He had rarely witnessed anyone stand up to the dragon, and certainly never someone so young and powerless. He had done so himself in the past, but he was capable of putting up a fight if necessary. The Dracogenius could have crushed the life out of her with laughable ease, making her defiance all the more stupid and impressive.
As they made their way back towards Tabozav’s lab, Ral explained the basic duties of a liaison, which was mostly collecting and cataloging complaints to be reviewed and then presented to the Living Guildpact. Since Ral was eminently more qualified in the role and had already been fulfilling such duties for a few months, he suggested she leave the presenting of the serious claims to him. Lorissa readily agreed, not intending to be in the role a moment longer than necessary. This left her with the presumably grueling task of reading and sorting the issues before passing them on to Ral. She had always enjoyed research; perhaps she could view this undertaking as another form of it.
They had just reached the lab when Ral paused to glance at her and said, “Emissaries don’t just push paper, unfortunately. We are also required to participate in events held by the various Guilds as a form of promoting unity. And there is a party tonight that you will need to attend, now that you are a liaison. It’s a celebration of a collaboration between the Simic and Selesnya. You’ll be representing the Izzet League; try to clean up tonight. I will meet you here and we can go together.”
She tried not to be offended by his tone; she was starting to recognize that he wasn’t aware of his arrogance. That or he didn’t care. Either way, his demeanor and condescension were nothing personal. She was less than thrilled with the idea of having to attend a social gathering; her free time outside of work was almost nonexistent already and this new position sounded as if it would take up any she had left. She thanked Ral for his assistance and headed back into the lab, where Tabozav was railing over his latest failed experiment. She tip toed past him to avoid catching the brunt of his annoyance and nodded to Venser in greeting.
Ral stood in the doorway for a moment watching the two of them interact. There was a comfortable camaraderie between the pair that was immediately evident. They appeared to be intellectually well matched and it was obvious there was a physical attraction as well. It should be a simple matter to get them together, but as usual Jace was proving to be a hindrance to Ral’s plans. The Living Guildpact had clearly given her the position of emissary to not only force her to spend more time with Jace, but to also remove Venser from her side for at least part of the day. Ral had acted to counter his move by obtaining Lorissa’s agreement to have him present matters to the Guildpact on behalf of the guild, but the Storm mage had a feeling Jace would quickly undo that.
He wondered how she was going to react when she found out Jace was the Guildpact. He suspected she would be furious; she was clearly a hard worker who wanted only to move up on her own merit. A promotion like this to a position she felt she had not earned and coming from a former lover would undermine everything she valued and worked to achieve. He couldn’t believe Jace hadn’t realized that. He was tempted to tell her who the Living Guildpact was but realized it would be more in his favor to let her find out on her own. The shock of it would be that much deeper.
As for that night, Ral knew she had family members in multiples guilds, so he wasn’t concerned she would make any major social gaffes at the gathering. Although if she caught sight of Jace and learned the truth, it might be impossible for her to retain her composure. Ral had already been looking forward to the evening since his lover Tomik was going to be there; now he had even more possible amusements to enjoy.
Lorissa saw Ral take his leave and released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. The Storm mage made her nervous. He had a well deserved reputation of being temperamental and she wasn’t at all thrilled to be forced into a position that required she work with him.
“So how did it go,” Venser asked, glancing up from a scroll he was studying as she sat down across from him.
“I have yet another new job,” she whispered, not wanting Tabozav to overhear since the archmage resented anything intruding on her time in his lab. The only reason Venser was tolerated was because he was a guest of the parun. That and more often than not he assisted Lorissa with her experiments that she conducted for Tabozav.
He arched an eyebrow at her and said. “You can’t be serious. You have no time to yourself as is. If you take on any more, you’ll be working in your sleep.”
Considering that her dreams had been pretty racy and confusing lately, she wasn’t sure she’d mind all that much. But she smiled, grateful for his concern. “Sleep is overrated, besides it doesn’t sound like it will require that much of my attention.”
The rest of the day passed quickly even though Tabozav was a taskmaster, Venser was a calming presence and willingly pitched in with her research. She felt guilty for letting him help her when she was the one who was supposed to be assisting him, but he assured her it was no trouble. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get his memory back and she had to wonder if it was partly because of the attraction between them. She was doing her best not to give him any encouraging signs; until she understood what was going on between her and Jace it wouldn’t be right to let Venser think anything might develop.
Lorissa was tired by the time she got home that night, but she still had that party to attend so she took a shower to wake up and then dug through her closet for something presentable. She had no idea how to dress and Ral hadn’t given her any clues, although to be fair most men didn’t spend much time thinking about what they were going to wear let alone advising someone else about how to do it. She decided it would be better to go glamorous and be wrong, than show up in something that wasn’t up to par.
Because she had no idea how long such an event could take, she dropped Nix off at her parents’ place. She didn’t want to explain what was going on, so she did the cowardly thing and opened the door so the big cat could trot inside and then she took off without going in.
When she strolled in to Nivix, Ral was impatiently pacing in the library as he waited for her. He was wearing a brilliant crimson suit that fit him like a second skin. The lining and seams were all a glowing shade of electric blue. He hadn’t completely abandoned his inventor’s attire however; he was sporting the mizzium-ion electrostatic accumulator on his back and gauntlets. She was profoundly glad she had chosen upscale for her outfit.
He grunted when he saw her. “About time. The event will begin shortly; luckily I have a teleportation spell to take us there immediately.”
Lorissa hadn’t been running behind; she could only assume he’d told her an incorrect start time. Doubtless he believed the event beneath him and was only going because he had no other option. She took his hand when he held it out to her and her skin shivered at the barely contained energy he exuded. He was known as a powerful man in the guild, and rightly so it seemed.
She didn’t have time to dwell on that; in a blink of the eye after he touched her, she found herself transported to an enormous glade. Surrounded by towering trees, a majestic waterfall crashed down into a sparkling river that snaked its way through the center of the clearing. Benches and tables that seemed to be shaped from the earth and trees were stationed throughout the area and people ambled through lush grasses. Even though she was a researcher first and foremost, Lorissa had always loved the outdoors and the sheer natural beauty of the area was breathtaking.
At her side, Ral noted her rapt expression and snorted. “I was going to ask if you needed me to keep you company until you felt comfortable, but you look like you’re in love with the place so I’m going to go mingle.”
She absently nodded at him before drifting over to a patch of stunning purple flowers with red centers, admiring the way they swayed in the gentle breeze. Ral, satisfied that she was fine on her own, took off in search of Tomik, who had naturally been selected as an emissary for the Orzhov Syndicate thanks to his family ties. The two men had both been so busy of late that they hardly got to spend time together; he was thrilled at the opportunity to see his lover while on the job.
Lorissa closed her eyes and basked in the peaceful sounds of the wild, ignoring the quiet murmurings of the people in the other portion of the glade. She was suffused with a feeling of calm contentment; something that had been missing in her life lately. Thus she felt distinctly annoyed when she sensed the presence of someone drawing near her.
“Forgive me for interrupting you, but you look familiar to me,” a woman’s voice greeted her, drawing her attention from her tranquil surroundings to the speaker. “I’m Emmara Tandris.”
It was a tall, beautiful blond elf who Lorissa vaguely recognized as having been with Jace on the day he accosted her outside of New Prahv. Her eyes widened at the memory, but her smile was courteous as she said, “Hello, I’m Lorissa deCar. Yes, we met when I was on my way to see my mother at the Azorius Senate; you were with Lavinia at the time.”
And Jace, but Lorissa wasn’t going to let on that she’d known the man.
Of course, Emmara already knew something had been going on between Jace and this woman, although she didn’t know the particulars.
Both women diplomatically didn’t touch the subject.
Instead, the elf smiled back at her and said, “I see you arrived here with Ral Zarek; are you the second emissary from the Izzet League?”
“Yes, as of this morning,” Lorissa replied. “I’m afraid I haven’t the first clue about what I’m supposed to be doing here.”
Emmara laughed, liking the other woman’s friendly nature. She was so different from Jace, who could be quite reserved and reticent with strangers. Maybe she could draw him out of his aloof shell. “Don’t worry, tonight is just a celebration, no real formal interactions required. There are those who will try to stir up trouble of course; the Dimir, Gruul and Rakdos really can’t seem to help themselves I’m afraid. But overall, this is just a gathering to celebrate a cooperation between two guilds. The Living Guildpact insists on these functions to impress upon all of us the importance of getting along.”
“It sounds like his life would be a lot easier then; so he’s really pushing the notion to bring himself more peace rather than being altruistic,” Lorissa mused.
Emmara found herself laughing yet again at this pragmatic but definitely probable observation. “Come with me, I’ll show you around since Ral abandoned you.”
And so Jace’s ex flame and his current lover set out across the glade together.
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