Tinboy Blue didn't waste any time in flushing out the Ellvanir. There weren't many light shafts left in the meadow, so it didn't have a lot of escape options. It seemed to know that as well, for it wove around them in a fit of rage, dive bombing whoever was closest.

Awesome Dude and Jolly Jenius had no trouble avoiding its attacks. Their agility was high enough that evading it was a cakewalk for them as long as they paid attention. As they settled into a rhythm of attack, dodge, attack, Severance began to realize why both Shades were sent on this quest.

Ellvanir didn't seem that strong, but a single strike from it could one-shot a player. In Tinboy Blue's case, he lost roughly half his health each time. But that was why Severance was there.

"Mend," he murmured, sending a healing breeze towards their tank. Then he thrust a closed fan skyward. "Sky Dance."

The gentle winds morphed into an electrical storm, blue crackling energy dancing around his fans. A few sparks blinked around his feet as well, though he hardly noticed. Since he didn't dare get too close to the creature, he'd settle for contributing from a safe distance.

"Flare," he said. Instantly, thunder rolled overhead, the skies darkening, and then a bolt of molten blue energy shot from the sky. It broke upon impact, scattering electrical shocks over the bird's translucent plumage.

Shrieking, the Ellvanir propelled itself with two great wing strokes, beelining towards another light shaft.

"Hey! Stop, you—oh crap. Rush!" Awesome Dude blurred, moving at impossible speeds in a straight line to the Ellvanir's side.

The creature cried in rage, but before it could react, Awesome Dude continued, stringing together a chain of attacks that had him bounding from one side of the Ellvanir to the other. Its head swivelled on its long neck, trying to track his movements so it could strike.

"Rush!" Jolly Jenius mirrored Awesome Dude's move, streaking across the meadow to reach the Ellvanir. The two of them unleashed a flurry of attacks, while Tinboy Blue jogged over to join them.

Severance wasn't about to be outdone. "Flare!"

With one fan closed and the other snapped open, he cast one Flare after another, creating a steady roll of thunder overheard. Electrical bolts fell from the heavens, bursting apart on the Ellvanir's struggling form. It cast a flash of blue light over the area, glinting off weapons and shading faces in pale light. Severance smiled. The skill was undeniably cool and flashy in all the right ways.

With a final, mournful cry, the Ellvanir dropped to the ground. Almost before it grew still, violet motes of light began to form upon its body.

Severance shifted both his fans into one hand, then walked over to join the others. Together, they looked down at the remains of the Ellvanir. It glowed purple, slowly disintegrating into little sparkles that began to lift into the sky.

"Nice work, everyone!" Awesome Dude gave Tinboy Blue a friendly punch to the shoulder. "That was a lot easier than I thought it'd be."

Tinboy Blue smirked. "It's just some bird. No big deal."

"Heh. We're an awesome team." Grinning, Awesome Dude went to give Jolly Jenius his usual affectionate gesture of a punch, but the big guy easily sidestepped. He looked like he was deep in thought.

The last of the Ellvanir finally disintegrated into death sparkles, creating a little flurry of violet stars that spun up into the sky. All that remained of the boss were two shimmering bundles of material, and a silver crystal in the shape of a perfect teardrop.

"Sweet!" Awesome Dude bent down and gathered them up before anyone could even think to move. "This is what we were looking for!"

"Great," Tinboy Blue didn't seem nearly as excited. In fact, he appeared almost bored.

"We'll take the Ethereal Silk. But here, Sev—you can have Ell's Tear. Maybe your clan will find a use for it." Awesome Dude held out his hand, the teardrop crystal resting in his palm.

Severance rubbed his jaw. If he were being honest, he hadn't expected to get anything out this deal. But if it was being offered, then he wasn't going to refuse. Besides, Olen liked materials.

With that thought, he carefully plucked the crystal from his friend's hand, and stored it in Inventory. "Thanks."

Light shone down on them, the last of the storm clouds drifting apart. If one went further out into the meadow, they'd still find a few more light shafts that another Ellvanir could potentially be hiding in, but Severance knew they weren't going to last long. This storm was done.

The group turned to leave now that their task was finished.

"Hey." That was Jolly Jenius. In the front of the group, Awesome Dude paused, thinking the player was speaking to him. But Jolly Jenius wasn't. Instead, he was observing Severance.

A little curious, but also apprehensive, Severance said, "What?"

"What clan are you?"

Severance frowned. It wasn't the first time he'd been asked that. Nor was it the second. He hesitated, wondering if it was something he should be sharing with unknown players, but Awesome Dude helpfully butted in.

"Hey, chill out man. It's not important. Sev's cool."

I'm cool? It probably wasn't in the context he thought it was, but Severance didn't care. Never in his life had he thought someone would pin that adjective to him. It was nice.

"Just wondering what kind of clan it is, that's all," Jolly Jenius muttered, but he didn't push it. Nothing more was said on the matter, but Severance was aware of the random glances the big guy kept sending his way.

As they left the meadow, they passed another small group of Shades. Surprisingly, Tinboy Blue nodded at them, and Jolly Jenius gave them a little wave. No words were exchanged as they passed each other by.

"Hey, Dude," Severance spoke up. "Do you have a minute before you go back?"

"Oh, yeah! You bet!" Awesome Dude stopped. "Thanks for the help, guys! Me and Sev got something to do, so see ya later!"

"Whatever." Tinboy Blue didn't even look back at them. He kept on walking, soon leaving them behind. Jolly Jenius went with him, though not without a wave. He appeared a whole lot friendlier than he had before the fight, which was strange, but Severance didn't care.

He was just happy they were leaving so he could finally talk to Awesome Dude.

"So," he said, when it was just the two of them standing on the outskirts of the meadow. "You became a citizen too, huh?"

"Yup, I had to go see the Registrator dude and get all signed up. And now I have to do a whole pile of quests just to earn this Gift thing." Awesome Dude heaved a sigh. "That's why I've been so busy. Sorry man, I really wanted to meet up with you yesterday, but..."

"No, that's okay. You didn't get your Gift yet?" Severance felt mildly disappointed. That was what he wanted to ask his friend about.

The Shade laughed lightly. "Of course not. You have to earn it first. Everyone's running all over the place knocking out quests. Isn't it the same with you? You didn't even respond to my messages the past few days, except for yesterday."

Severance stared at his friend, a sinking feeling in his heart. There had been no messages waiting for him when he finally logged back in. Just what was going on?

"Has anyone you known gotten a Gift?" he asked carefully.

"Well sure, a whole bunch of people have. It's pretty awesome, which is why I've been hurrying to get all these quests done. I'm hoping this is the last one, though."

"Right." Severance forced a smile. "Do you know if anything happened to those people? When they got the Gifts, I mean?"

"Happened? Like what?" Awesome Dude tilted his head like a curious puppy.

"I don't know. A glitch in the game, maybe?"

"Hmm." Awesome Dude considered it. "Nah, I don't think so. They got some pretty cool skills, though. Did you know each clan has a set of skills they specialize in? That means people from different clans get different skills. Isn't that cool?"

Severance sighed. He wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or worried by Awesome Dude's words. If everyone else was fine after getting Gifted, then that meant his experience had to have been an error or something.

"Yeah, I guess. I was just wondering. My clan already gave me a Gift."

Awesome Dude's eyes grew wide and he all but lunged forward. "Already?! How did that happen? Can I see? What does it do?"

Severance pushed his friend back. "They just gave it to me. I didn't have to do much, probably because I'm the only Outsider they have."

He hesitated, then took a long look around. It was only him and his friend here. So he carefully maneuvered his arm free from its sleeve, then pulled the hem of the shirt up to his neck. This revealed his whole arm as well as part of his torso, and unlike the quick glimpse he'd gotten in Olen's office, he was now able to get a proper look at the tattoo-like mark.

Awesome Dude leaned in, his dark eyes zeroing in on the marking. "Whoa. It's way darker than the others I've seen."

"Really? What did the others look like?" Severance gently touched the mark. It tingled lightly, but nowhere as strong as it had earlier.

Awesome Dude drew back, prompting Severance to lower his shirt and adjust it properly. "Well, each clan has their own symbol. The Champions is a wolfhound, so all the ones I've seen look like the head of a wolf. But they're all gray and very light. Not like yours, which is black."

"My clan does like black," Severance pointed out. "Maybe that's why."

"Hehe, that could be! Anyway, what does it do? Did you get a cool skill?"

Severance shook his head. "There's no skill. It only gave me five extra points in Agility."

"Oh, huh. That makes sense. You were moving a bit different, so I was wondering. That's a pretty big boost to get at once!" Awesome Dude grinned, and bounced lightly on his heels. "Man, that's awesome! That's the kind of Gift I wanna get!"

Severance smiled at his friend's excitement. "I'm sure you'll get something really cool. You'll have to tell me when you do get it, okay?"

"Definitely! You'll be the first person I tell, I promise! But make sure you check your messages more often, okay?"

Severance nodded dutifully. "I will. Hey, one more thing. Do you get five hours of game time now, too?"

"Oh yeah!" Awesome Dude exclaimed. "It happened after I got the Citizen title. Everyone gets it. It's all over the Chat, you know."

The Chat was something Severance didn't look at often, and he made a mental reminder to at least peek at it every now and then. It seemed like he was missing out on a lot.

"Right, I was just wondering. Did you get stuck for an hour when you logged in the day after?"

"Huh?" The Shade gave him a funny look. "No, why? What are you talking about? Did that happen to you?"

Severance shook his head. "Never mind. I was just wondering."

It seemed like he really was the only one who had a weird glitch surrounding the Gift thing. That was a relief, but it still left a coil of unease within him. Why him? Why did he get the error and no one else?

"Okay, well, I better get back. I can't let you be the only one with a cool Gift." Awesome Dude stuck his tongue out like the mature five-year-old he was, and soon after, he vanished in a teleport.

It made Severance roll his eyes. Weirdo.

***

When Severance walked into Olen's office a short while later, the Veiled man glanced up with a smile. "How'd it go?"

"Good, I think." Severance pulled out the teardrop-shaped crystal from his Inventory, and placed it carefully on Olen's desk. "I got this."

"Oh?" Olen picked it up, holding it between thumb and forefinger. He turned it this way and that, eyeing it closely. "Ell's Tear, if I'm not mistaken. You were hunting the Ellvanir, then."

It should not have been surprising that Olen knew at a glance what the little crystal was. The guy seemed to know everything.

Severance felt a little disappointed. "Yeah."

"An interesting creature, the Ellvanir." Olen set the Tear down on his desk. "Its silk is quite valued for its durability, but its Tear, if one knows how to refine it correctly, can be quite useful in channeling energy through items."

"Like for power?" Severance peered at the softly glowing blue crystals on the wall. Made of high quality Amaurite, they produced and emitted a soft light of their own. Such lighting was only found in affluent households or large organizations, as Amaurite was both rare and expensive.

Olen smiled faintly. "Not quite. They don't produce anything on their own and are inanimate unless put through a certain refining process first." He brushed his fingertips lightly across the Tear's smooth surface, his expression growing thoughtful. "I'll send some hunters out to collect another one, I think."

Just for a Tear? Severance thought that was a little extra. The weird crystals sounded like a pain to make use of. "What about the silk?"

"That? I'm sure we can sell it to one of the other clans for a good price."

"Sell it?" Why on earth would Olen want to sell it? "But isn't it supposed to be really good material?"

"Quite good, yes," Olen agreed easily. "Unfortunately, we don't have a use for it."

Severance had trouble believing that. Wasn't Olen the one constantly asking him to go out and hunt creatures for the materials they dropped? The clan never bought their supplies. Whatever they had, they obtained through hunts and theft, as Severance recently learned.

"Why not?"

Laughter danced in Olen's dark eyes. "Because Ethereal Silk cannot be dyed."

Say what now? Severance frowned, not sure if he heard right. "You don't want it because it can't be dyed?"

"That's right. Have you ever seen any of the Veiled walking around in pale colors?"

To his complete and utter shock, Severance realized that Olen was being serious. It was true, though. He'd never seen anyone of the Clan in anything other than black. But never had he any idea that their preferences extended so far as to disposing of perfectly good quality material just because they couldn't dye it black.

It was ridiculous.

But Severance knew better than to complain about it. He just sighed, wordlessly giving up. An amused glint shone in Olen's eyes, no doubt enjoying this.

"Now then," the man said, "if you have a moment, there are some other items that—"

Shouting interrupted them. They turned towards the doorway, beyond which lay the second-floor balcony and below, the great Hall, from where the noise seemed to originate.

"Where is he?" cried a high-pitched child's voice. "Where did he go?"

A mumbled reply, not much lower in pitch. Then: "Sevvy, where are you? We need you! It's an emergency!"

"Sounds like Tayci," Olen murmured. He didn't seem particularly bothered by the sudden noise. "Wonder what trouble she got into now?"

Severance couldn't share the calm. Hearing the yelling followed by the butchered version of his name, worry wrenched in his chest.

Did someone get hurt?