Succession: Heir to the Empire

C.C.

"Hello Katie. I hope you're doing alright now." C.C. began, offering a friendly smile to the young girl.

Tsuba, Maul, and Caesar

"Of course." Tsuba answered. She paused for a moment and the dried blood disappeared from her clothes, and a nice dress took the place of her combat armor. She took a seat next to Maul.

"There are no shades of grey, Baruti. There is only good, and evil. Corruption is corruption, Baruti. The Order understands that. Whenever the Elders are overthrown, it is for good reason and for the advancement for our organization. We are the watchmen of this Empire, and of humanity." Maul answered. Caesar walked over and took a seat across from him.

"Ah, but who watches the watchmen, Maul? I'd be careful what you do from here on out, considering you are now effectively in charge of the Order. After all, the Gaborian Empire's internal security depends solely on you now, until the next council is chosen. Try not to lose your soul." Caesar advised, smirking. Maul said nothing in response.

Rein

Rein opened her mouth to speak but at that moment her stomach chose to growl rather loudly. Rein gave an embarrassed laugh. "Well, I wouldn't mind picking up something to eat first."

Carlisle/Clara/Brighe

As Caesar spoke Carlisle walked into the room and realized that there were only two seats left at the table. One spot between Baruti and an Elvish woman, and another spot between the same Elvish woman and Caesar. As the Doctor thought over his options, he realized that Epiphany was automatically going to be sitting in whatever seat he didn't choose, and so the Doctor decided to be noble with the situation. Taking the seat next to Caesar as he tried not to gain anyone's attention.


"Hmm..." Clara hummed thoughtfully to herself as she sat quietly next to Tsuba. She found the conversation between all the Heirs to be a very rewarding experience as she learned the ideals, philosophies and, most important of all, their personalities.

"So Tsuba... Do tell me, how was the fight against the old council?" Clara asked as she tried to start up a conversation with her old "Friend".


During the conversation between the others at the table, Brighe sat in silence as she traced her finger around the tip of the goblet she had been given. She was beginning to give up the idea of speaking to anyone when suddenly the seat to her right was pulled out and then taken by a young man, obviously another Heir as he was certainly too nervous to be a powerful Noble who had bought himself a seat. "Well I suppose I shouldn't disturb him if he's making such an effort to not be noticed..." Brighe decided ruefully as she went back to tracing the tip of her glass.
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Kegan

Kegan chuckled after hearing Rein's stomach growl. "Well then, that shouldn't be too hard to fix." He replied as he turned Rein around so she could see the row of Restaurants behind them. "Take your pick, where shall we eat?"
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Rhys/Katie

"C.C. !" Katie exclaimed gleefully as she heard a familiar voice coming from behind Rhys. As Rhys stepped to the side to reveal that the voice in fact did come from C.C., Katie jumped up to greet her, only to trip over her feet and fall on her face.

"Are you alright?" Rhys asked as he stepped forward to help, only to stop as Katie raised her hand for him to stop.

"Fine, fine. Just a bit clumsy. I still haven't gained complete control since the..incident where I died. I mean the first one." Katie replied with a sense of bitter humor as she stood up again, this time successfully.

"Well I suppose we should get to-...." Rhys cut himself off as Katie walked past him towards C.C., embracing the girl as she ignored Rhys. "Thank you for saving me again." She whispered before releasing the Mage.
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Rein

"Well, I have always wanted to try Kaleesh food. I heard they make great cooks." Rein decided, pointing toward the restaurant at her far right. She hadn't had much variety in her diet, since most palace servants were always fed the same thing. Trying something new would be fun.

C.C.

C.C. smiled and hugged the young girl back. "You're welcome, Katie. Though I wasn't alone in saving you. Captain Rhys proved to be very helpful in saving you before it was too late."

The Mage's smile faltered, when she remembered what she would have to tell Katie. "Katie...things aren't as simple as the last time." she began.

Maul, Tsuba, Caesar

"Unlike what their title suggests, they do not fight like helpless old men. The Elders are some of the best fighters inside the Order. The fight was very hard. If I wasn't there to help him, Maul surely wouldn't have survived. I nearly died myself, but the outcome was inevitable. I am going to be the next Empress, after all. And I managed to make a good deal with Maul, in exchange for helping him." Tsuba said.

"Ah, Carlisle, good to see you." Caesar began, taking full notice of the boy. "Looks like you might be having another patient soon," Caesar commented, pointing toward Maul, specifically his left arm. Or rather, lack thereof.

"It's a flesh wound." Maul simply stated.

Brighe/Carlisle/Clara

"Well I...I can't help a patient who doesn't want my help. Not until they're asleep and I can sneak into their room at least." Carlisle joked awkwardly before chuckling a bit as his attempt to somehow lighten the mood failed. "Never mind..." He mumbled in apology before drinking out of the glass set in front of him.

"So, is it only a flesh wound because most of the flesh in that area is missing?" Brighe asked as she tried to help take any unwanted attention off of the Doctor beside her.
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"Hmm. Well that certainly is excellent news." Clara replied before taking a sip out of the goblet in front of her. "Do you think that Baruti will remember this and take note of your strength?"
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Katie/Rhys

"So this is more complicated then when the man that almost killed me started stalking Susanna and then he ended up having multiple people inside him? What is it that's so complicated now C.C.?" Katie asked in a slightly joking manner as she tried to cover how worried she was.
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Kegan

"Well then...Kaleesh food it is." Kegan complied before walking down the street towards the Restaurant with Rein.

C.C.

"Rhys and I, at this moment, are the only ones aware that you are still alive. Caesar had led Susanna to believe you dead. He has framed Rhys here for your near murder, when in fact it was Caesar's lackey Kaleb who nearly killed you. I do not know what he is planning, but it seems to involve Susanna in some way." C.C. elaborated. She paused to let this information sink into Katie. This next part would be hard on her...

Rein

Rein entered the restaurant with Kegan. Rein approached the waiting room and waited for someone to take them to their seats. A middle-aged Kaleesh walked over to them.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid the two of you must leave. I'd love to serve you myself, but the owners have a certain....policy." the Kaleesh began, pointing to a sign on the wall. It read, humans only.

Caesar, Tsuba, Maul

"The loss of my arm is only a minor setback. I can easily replace it with a more powerful, magical one if I wish so. However, sometimes disabilities can make a person stronger. One of the Order's greatest warriors had no arms and was blind. Even with those major setbacks, he proved to be a warrior who changed our Order for the better." Maul explained. He withdrew a flask from his robes and downed the substance.

"Perhaps. One never knows with Baruti." Tsuba said.

Kegan

"Oh well that's wonderful." Kegan replied sarcastically after reading the sign before glancing down at Rein. "I believe an exception can be need for us tonight. If the other Heirs can commit acts of random vandalism, thievery, sexual deviancy, murder, and bad hygiene, then I can certainly use my rank so we can eat in a restaurant." Kegan stated as he tried to build himself up.

"My name is Kegan Ekaitz, I am one of the seven Heirs to the throne of Gaboria, and I demand that you allow my companion and I to be allowed to dine here." Kegan ordered, his voice sounding odd and compelling as he spoke.
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Katie/Rhys

"He's got Anna? ...Then why don't we stop him and save her. You two saved me when he wanted me dead, can't you just stop him now?" Katie asked with an emotional urgency.
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Clara/Brighe/Carlisle

"That is true Tsuba. But I think he respects initiative and power. With those two features, plus your.. traditional values. Well it certainly wouldn't be surprising to see him throw his support behind you." Clara stated her opinion as she looked past Tsuba down the table towards Baruti for a second to see what the mysterious man was doing.

After hearing Maul's explanation for how he was going to get by, Carlisle looked down at his food as he hid a knowing smile, not wanting to annoy the Kaleesh or gain his attention.

"Well certainly is an inspiring story Sir." Brighe replied before pausing as she looked towards the Doctor while the Kaleesh downed whatever he had in the bottle. "I regret to say that I know very little about your people, this revolutionary you speak of, what was his fate?" Brighe asked as she decided to ignore the others at the table excluding the Kaleesh, for now at least.

"Indeed, Heir Tsuba," Baruti said with a chuckle, "It's always good to have a few secrets kept to yourself. And I must respectfully disagree, Heir Maul. There are certainly shades of grey. The world is never so simple."

I should be careful, Nebi thought with a frown. He didn't trust many of the people at this table or their motives.

Rein and Server

"Ah, forgive me Heir Kegan. Well, we can make this exception. Follow me, please." the server said. He led them to a table toward the back. He gave them menus.

"What would the two of you like?"

Rein thought for a moment before asking Kegan, "Think you can order for me? I have no idea what I should eat."

C.C.

"As I said, it isn't as simple. Caesar may think you're dead, but no doubt he has lingering suspicions that you're still alive. My presence in that room no doubt made him curious. If you were to step onto the palace grounds, Caesar could kill you before you could reach Susanna. I'm sorry, but I don't want to take that risk." C.C. carefully explained. She didn't like this situation either, but it couldn't be avoided for now.

Caesar, Maul, Tsuba

"The great warrior was known as Trigon. He died during the third occurence of the Black Death two centuries ago." Maul replied.

Kegan

"Of course." Kegan replied, slightly surprised at Rein's request but still willing to fulfill it. The Half-Elf did have to pause a few seconds as he tried to remember what Kaleesh cuisine usually entailed, but after a few seconds he was ready as he looked up at their server. "Yes, we would like two orders of durum, preferably with Lahvash as the the bread for the wrap instead of yufka. Fried vegetables for the appetizer, but please do not include mint as one of the spices. And finally for dessert...sherbet. Also Lemonade for the drink and that is all I think." Kegan ordered politely before he looked at Rein with a smile.
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Brighe

"Fascinating, if somewhat tragic that it had to be a disease that took the warrior out in the end. Would you say that Trigon is a personal inspiration for yourself?" Brighe asked in reply.
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Katie

"And of course it's unlikely that Susanna will comply with any requests if I'm not there to prove Caesar wrong." Katie stated her thoughts aloud as she realized that the situation was a very tricky one. "So we're just going to wait then?"

Rein and Server

"Coming right up, my lord." the Kaleesh bowed and left.

"Thanks for ordering for me, Kegan. You're the best!" Rein said, smiling gratefully. After a few minutes of waiting their food was quickly brought out.

C.C.

"Yes, until the right moment. I'm sorry Katie, but that all I can do. My contract to the Empire prevents me from killing the Emperor or Empress. Since Caesar and the others are Heirs and any one of them can become the next ruler, I cannot kill Caesar. I wish I could, but I can't." C.C. replied. Another time a loop hole would be useful, but she had found no way to get around that clause.

Maul, Tsuba, Caesar

"Perhaps," Maul simply answered. A servant came over and refilled his goblet. Maul thank the young man and stared at the drink. Then, faster than the eye could see, Maul drew out a sword and swiftly beheaded the servant.

((If it's alright AI, I'd like to make another character.))

((Who's Clara again?))
Epiphany continued into the dining room. This time, Epiphany wore just a simple dress instead of the usual Amazonian clothing. She wanted to try something different for once. As she entered, Epiphany saw a servant get beheaded. She believed it was maul but couldn't tell because of how swiftly it happened. Epiphany just tryed to ignore the fact that someone just got beheaded and during dinner. Epiphany went and sat between Baruti and the elven woman. She quietly helped herself to some broth.

(one of my new characters. Her profile is up on the first page now.)

Kegan

"Sorry for ordering something so messy, but it should be fine as long as we manage to keep it in the wrap. And yes, we do have o use our hands for this." Kegan informed Rein before chuckling as he looked up towards her.
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Katie/Rhys

"And you Sir?" Katie asked as she turned to look at Rhys.

"I am also bound by oath not to harm any of the Heirs unfortunately." Rhys replied solemnly as he moved in and sat at the table in the middle of the room.

"Well then...I'm useless, and neither of you can directly fight him either.... Can't one of the other Heirs kill him at least? Like what if we gave them some sort of incentive to kill Caesar during a challenge or something?" Katie asked as she looked up at C.C. again. "I mean I'm sure one of them would at least try to kill him if they got an enchanted weapon, or they were taught a new spell...or something in return." She finished with a hint of desperation in her expression and voice.
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Carlisle/Brighe/Clara

"Ahh!" Carlisle screamed as he jumped away from the table, causing his chair to fall back as he saw the Servant's body collapse to the ground.

"Hmm." Brighe stopped as she tried to swallow her wine without gagging at the sight of seeing a man's head fly off of his body. But as the alcohol went down her throat with little trouble Brighe simply ignored the corpse behind the other side of the table as she tried to stay calm. "I guess that was him proving a point... I should be careful when questioning his views or history I suppose. Or maybe he was just trying to show how fast he is?" She thought quickly as she set her glass down slowly.

"Well then, I'm sure that your actions shall be a very interesting read for future generations Lord Maul." Brighe stated calmly before she turned to look at the Doctor as he sat his chair upright loudly.

As Carlisle stood up and set his chair in place he looked across the table towards Maul, ignoring everyone else in the room. "What did you do that for?" He asked slowly and tensely, anger very easy to hear in his voice as he glared at Maul icily.


"Could someone get this cleaned up, I believe this man is starting to stain the carpet." Clara asked one of the other Servants in what she thought was a polite way.

"Indeed," Baruti said, agreeing with Brighe, "You have affected your order for generations to come. Whether for good or ill, I will be interested in seeing."

"Seems like if you become king, you'll control an Order that would otherwise have the potential to overthrow you if you became corrupt," Nebi mused thoughtfully.

Maul, Caesar, Tsuba

"The servant I just killed was apart of the Rebellion." Maul informed them all. His eyes drifted toward the woman servant cleaning up the remains of the traitor.

"As is she."

Before the woman could even react she was pinned against the wall, several knives holding her there. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn't get out. Maul withdrew a flask from his robes and sat it on the table.

"I suggest none of you drink any more of the wine. The drinks were poisoned. No doubt the Rebellion planned to kill off all the Heirs, and throw the Empire into chaos. Let us be thankful the poison does not act for another two minutes. For those without the magic ability to negate poisons, drink this. It's an antidote. Pass it around after you take your sip."

Tsuba quickly snatched up the flask and took a drink. The Heir made sure to purge her body of another other toxic chemicals, just to be safe. She handed it to Clara.

Rein

"Oh, it's fine with me. Don't worry!" Rein said, and began to dig into her food with much enthusiasm. After realizing how sloppily she was probably eating, Rein gave an embarrassed chuckle and started to eat more politely.

C.C.

"I really would like to do that Katie but....I would be condemning five other personalities to death as well. The world would be better off with Rau and Caesar gone, but Zaku, Arthur, Sarah, and Sai are innocent in all this. I want to save them some how before trying to get rid of Caesar." C.C. replied. Their just had to be a way to save her grandson, C.C. knew it. Sai had deserved a better life than he had had, as well as most of the other personalities. It would not be fair, killing them too just to get rid of Caesar.

Nebi gulped and took a swig of the antidote. Maybe, for now on, he had to watch what he had to drink. He looked up to see Gilkas was at the table.
"No thanks. This poison doesn't affect Dwarves," Gilkas said as he examined the label on the antidote.

Clara/Brighe/Carlisle

Clara eagerly accepted the glass from Tsuba before handing it to Nebi. After he was finished, Brighe accepted the flask and drank out of it before handing it to the Amazonian to her left.

As the others drank, instead of waiting for his turn along with them, Carlisle walked across the room towards Maul and the rebel. For some reason the Doctor still didn't feel comfortable with the idea of trusting the Kaleesh without hearing a word from the girl who had supposedly tried to kill everyone here.

Besides, what about Kegan? If they killed everyone here then he would automatically be the Heir to the throne, and the security around him would be much tighter then it was now. Which left four possibilities. One, the Rebels were idiots. Two, they were working with Kegan to eliminated his competition. Three, Maul was paranoid and he had just pointlessly killed someone. Or four, Kegan was in danger and the rebels were going to harm him while he was out of the Castle and too injured to fight.

"Is what he saying true? Are you really trying to kill all the Heirs?" Carlisle asked the Server as he caught up to Maul.
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Kegan

Kegan chuckled as he noticed Rein's shift in eating style. "Don't worry about me, I'm certainly no one that you need to impress Rein. Do what makes you comfortable. ....As long as it doesn't involve using me as a test subject." He added hastily after trying to reassure his friend.
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Katie

"Oh...." Katie replied weakly. She was surprised to hear that there were more personalities besides Arthur and Caesar in the body. "So we are stuck."

Maul, Tsuba, Caesar, Rebel Spy

The servant girl spat on Carlisle's face. "The Gaborian Empire deserves to fall! All the wretched people that support it must die as well. With no Emperor at the moment, the Rebellion has the greatest chance it's had in years to finally make this corrupt entity collapse." the girl again tried to get out of her bindings, but the knives would not move an inch.

Rein

Rein blushed, but she kept eating that way. It did not take them all that long to finish the food. Another waiter took up the plates and was going to retrieve a desert, 'on the house'.

"Say Kegan...can I ask you something?"

C.C.

"Don't worry Katie, I promise I'll try and fix this somehow. Everything will be alright." the Mage reassured. However, she had doubts about her own statement. This was going to be one hard problem to solve...

Kegan

"Hmm? Oh yes of course you can." Kegan replied after wiping a few of the remaining crumbs from his meal off of his clothes.
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Carlisle

Carlisle flinched as he felt the spit hit his face. "Very well then, I suppose that answers one of my questions..." Carlisle replied as he wiped the spit off of his face. "But tell me this, how do you intend to kill Heir Ekaitz? Unless of course, your group supports him for some reason?" He asked the girl in an oddly respectful way, considering what she had just said and done.
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Katie/Rhys

"Ok then. So I'm guessing that I'll be here alone until all of this is finished?" Katie asked, obviously not thrilled with the idea of being alone in who knows where while everyone else tried to fix everything.

Maul, Tsuba, Caesar, Rebel Spy

The woman cackled. "Like I'd tell a scum bag like you. You won't know our plans for that Heir until it's too late."

"Oh believe me, you will tell us, rebel. Once I am done with you, you shall talk. They say if you stare into the yellow eyes of a Kaleesh too long, you go insane. Would you care to test that theory?"

Maul stood up, walked over, and pushed Carlisle to the side. He stared directly into the eyes of the woman. The rebel laughed and matched his stare. The smile on her face started to waver as she continued to stare into his eyes. She started to take faster breaths and desperately tried to look away, but found that she could not.

In the span of another few seconds the rebel started to scream uncontrolably. Maul broke off the eye contact. The woman sobbed, begging for no more torment.

"Tell me what I want to know." Maul demanded. He leaned in as the rebel talked, her voice barely above a whisper. Maul snarled and called for the guards to take her away for a 'proper interrogation' later.

Tsuba stared at Maul with a hint of nervousness. Well, now she knew it better not to look him in the eyes, if she wanted to live.

Rein

"You....won't forget me when you become Emperor, will you?" Rein asked, her expression becoming more serious.

C.C.

"Don't worry, I'll try and visit you as often as I can. I'll even leave you some company, if you wish." C.C. reassured.

Here's a bio for a new character I want to introduce.

Name: Hazuki
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Race: Humage
Appearance: http://amaretti.deviantart.com/art/Sakura-60087329
Magic?: Yes
Royal Bloodline?: No
Personality: Hazuki is a fierce and determined girl. She does not let anything get in her way, and would do anything to make sure the Gaborian Empire fell.
History: Hazuki was sold into slavery at a young age by her parents. She rebelled against her masters, and was nearly beaten to death. The Rebellion came to her rescue, and raised her. She became a full-fledged member of the Rebellion shortly afterwards, and has became an important operative in their actions against the Empire. Hazuki's current mission is now to kill the Heirs.
Other:

(Cool. Accepted.)

Nebi frowned. Was the rebellion that fierce in its hatred? If so, he'd have to watch his back incase they went after him.

Kegan

"Why would you think that?" Kegan asked, brows furrowed as he tried to figure out where Rein's worries were coming from.
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Katie

"Thank you..." Katie replied weakly as she sat down and looked up at C.C. "So when will you be leaving though?"
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Carlisle

Carlisle stood still as he watched the crazed rebel be dragged out of the room. He felt a little sympathy for the woman, even though she had just attempted to kill everyone in the room, she had her reasons. But now wasn't the time to feel sympathy for his rivals when there was still the possibility that Kegan was in danger.

"So?" Carlisle asked as he looked back at Maul, wanting to see if the Kaleesh would inform him of what the rebel's last words were.

C.C.

"I'll have to leave soon, sorry. I promise to be back as soon as I can. Rhys, you should stay as well. The moment you return to the castle, Caesar will likely arrange it so Susanna kills you, or something similar." C.C. cautioned.

Rein

"Well....people change." Rein answered, looking away from Kegan. "You've changed."

Maul, Caesar, Tsuba

"The Rebellion is planning an attack on Kegan. Apparently he is in the City, and they're going to have an assassin eliminate him." Maul reported. His mind calculated the odds. It was possible that Kegan was already dead, but it was also possibly they hadn't struck yet or Kegan had defeated the assassin. Whatever happened, the rebel assassin needed to be captured.

Carlisle

As Carlisle saw that Maul was thinking he seized the moment and walked over to the table to drink the antidote the Kaleesh had passed out earlier, downing the liquid quickly before he turned around.

"Kegan certainly wouldn't win in any sort of fight if the assassin is trained. I healed him myself, he wont be able to run for a few days, much less fight." Carlisle informed Maul after guessing what the Kaleesh was thinking. "So he's either dead, kidnapped, or oblivious because they haven't made their move yet."
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Kegan


"I've changed? ...How so?" Kegan asked in reply, obviously worried now after hearing Rein's statement.
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Rhys/Katie

"True, it would be reckless of me to just waltz right back in there with you." Rhys agreed as he tried to hide how displeased he was with this decision, even if it was the correct one.

"So you'll be here to keep me company then?" Katie asked as she turned to look at Rhys.

"I suppose...." Rhys replied as he looked towards C.C. for help, unsure of how to actually respond to the young girl.

C.C.

"It would be best for you to stay with Katie, Rhys. I'm sure she wouldn't mind the company." C.C smiled at Katie before beginning her teleportation spell.

"Oh and Rhys," C.C. added as she started to disappear, "I better not catch you doing anything inappropriate with Katie when I return. I know many ways, each more painful than the next, to make a man an eunuch."

C.C. smiled to show she was just kidding. A moment later the Mage fully disappeared.

Rein

"Well.....you know what, never mind. Just forget that I asked." Rein said. Rein changed her previous downcast expression for her regular, happy one.

"So, where to next?"

Maul, Syrien

"Agreed, Heir Carlisle. Master Baruti, with your permission, may I go out to help Heir Kegan?" Syrien asked, materializing out of nowhere. He gave a bow to the guests.

"Greetings, I am Syrien. I would make a more proper introduction, but now is not the time. To make my long history short, I was a personal slave to the former Emperor. I will also become the personal slave of the next Emperor or Empress. I am an Elf proficiently trained in magic, and a superb body-guard."

Maul frowned at Syrien's sudden arrival. He had not sensed the man's presence until now. Indeed, he was a powerful user of magic, if his aura was any indication.