Lucia stood out on the balcony of the Pittsburgh House, the 84th Nome of the House of Life. The balcony was on the 4th floor, the highest floor and the location of her room; the Sem Priest's Master Bedroom. She stared up at the clear blue morning sky, a soft wind blew past her, she felt connected to the sky. Well, in a way, she was. Lucia followed the path of the sky goddess, Nut. Nut had guided her when she ran away from home, all the way to Cairo when she was thirteen, she then found out that the timing wasn't a coincidence; as the rules state mages must begin training at the age of thirteen.
Lucia was muscular and tall, but not disproportionate. Her physique was due to her special training at the First Nome. Aside from that, her skin is smooth and clear, except for the occasional blemish. Her dark complexion matches well with light colors, especially the white of her eyes, it blends smoothly with her light golden brown skin tone. Her raven black hair was freshly washed and curly, her bangs pulled back held by a clip, but her hair still fell down her back and over her shoulders.
At the First Nome she had been trained in her newly discovered abilities, and upon discovery of her adept affinity for magic, delved deeper and deeper into training. Her special training had been drilled into her, no matter what would happen to her, she'd still remember it all like the back of her hand. She nodded a silent thanks to the sky, before turning and heading inside. She made her way downstairs to the second floor, where the others had gathered in the dining hall. There was chatter and laughter, but as she descended down the stairs, Ethan, Lucia's second in command, stood. "Attention!" He shouted and the others stopped what they were doing and stood, facing Lucia. She stayed silent as she walked through the room, to her table where her inner circle stood. Ethan bowed to her and the others followed his example. When she sat down, everything popped off like a corkscrew in a shaken bottle of wine.
Everyone resumed chatter, but this time, familiars that served the 84th Nome burst through the kitchen doors and served breakfast. "Good morning, madam." Ethan said, "Sleep well?" Lucia nodded. "The skylight helps." She gave Ethan a thankful smile. Around a month ago, she suddenly began having trouble sleeping, only being able to sleep on the balcony, where she felt closest to the sky; resulting in her getting sick. When Lucia recovered, Ethan pretended to have discovered a powerful artifact, and sent her on a wild goose chase, while he used the Nomes funds to install a skylight above her bed. She wasn't pleased at first, complaining that the funds could have been used for the Nome, or in an emergency. But, for the first time in her life, she had been at a loss for words when he said You are the 84th Nome, without you at your best, we aren't at one hundred percent. She let him off with a warning, but his words sunk deep into her. And when she slept like a baby that night, she couldn't help but be thankful.
When everyone had finished, Ethan, stood and called for attention, as Lucia stood and turned to address the Nome as she did every day. "Fortunately, no news to report today, no incident reports, and everyone accounted for. Please, continue to do your best." The room rang as everyone answered in unison, "Yes, madam!" Before hurrying off to their business. "Madam," called Ethan, he had a serious look on his face, so did Helen and Celo, the other heads of the Nome. The ranking order went: Lucia, Sem Priest, Ethan, his rank isn't official, but if she had to chose, it would be equivalent of the Chief Lector (Ensuring Lucia's orders are carried out and everything is running smooth), Helen, the Scribe, and Celo, Keeper. Celo was a skinny Japanese-American, who was fit and flexible, he wore a coal black suit with a red tie and black dress pants. He treated his work very seriously and always wore suits when outside of his room. Helen had dark red, almost brown, hair, with large black eyes and clear light skin. She wore a white linen blouse with tight black pants.
Keeper is not a rank you'd see in other Nomes, but the rank is very important in the 84th Nome, because it contains The Vault. The Vault is the most secure vault of magical artifacts in the western world, only second to the First Nome. Celo is responsible for keeping The Vault in top condition. "What is it?" Asked Lucia. Helen reached into her robe and pulled out a parchment scroll with a red ribbon tied around the middle, with a Eye of Horus pin. The pin marked the official symbol of the Pharaoh, Carter Kane. "When did this come in?" Lucia asked. "Not sure, but some time last night." Lucia took the scroll from Helen. "Well, what did it say?"
Instead of reading it herself, Lucia asked Helen, because a new messaging system had been set in place by Carter to prevent interception of communication. Scribes are responsible for deciphering the coded messages sent between Nomes, only Scribes are trained with the deciphering code. Lucia probably wouldn't be able to understand a word. "Carter and Sadie Kane are coming to the 84th Nome, to personally view a very specific artifact said to be stored in The Vault." Lucia stared at the Eye of Horus. "Which artifact?" Lucia memorized each artifact they had in possession. "The Soul Harvesters Staff." Lucia was taken aback, "That one? Why that one in particular? It's not incredibly powerful, It's powers are mediocre compared to most others. So.. why that staff?" She looked towards Celo, who shrugged. "I'm under the same impression you are, Madam. The staff, from the archives, is one of the Nomes oldest artifacts, found long before we moved in. Not much information is listed about the staff itself, but a lot of information was present on its owner. The Soul Harvester.
Apparently he was a Magician back in ancient Egypt who followed the path of Anubis, but became obsessed with the soul and death, sought to harvest enough souls to become a full immortal. A lot of details about their battles with him and chasing him all over North America before finally cornering him in San Francisco. When the Soul Harvester died, his body exploded, resulting in a large magical shockwave causing the 1906 earthquake. All that was left of him was…" His voice trailed off, "His staff." Lucia finished. "This doesn't answer what about that staff captured the attention of the Carter Kane, our Pharaoh." Helen shifted her weight to her other hip, "I agree, this is so out of the blue. Could something have happened? Or do they know something that we don't?" Lucia didn't have an answer. "When are they going to be here?" Helen pursed her lips, "Apparently, the moment you press the center of the Eye."
Lucia ran her thumb over the Eye. "We'll call them later, for now, return to your positions. We'll summon them for dinner, treat them, then take them to The Vault. Helen, do you think you could…" Helen rose an eyebrow, but when she realized what Lucia was asking, she shook her head, fear apparent in her eyes. "N-No, I wouldn't want to bother him." She didn't say more, even though it was obvious she could. You see, only a select few Houses practice the Path of the Gods, since the Chief Lector, Amos Kane, has set a precedent against it; however Carter Kane allows selective participation. Lucia was trained through the Path of the Gods, so she would train initiatives under her the same way, by choice of course. Helen had been training under the Path of Thoth, and when Lucia was about to set out on Operation Firestarter - a disastrous and dangerous mission that resulted in the death of three Nome members - they sought Thoth's wisdom. When she channeled the power of Thoth, apparently a conversation had sparked between the two and he deemed her "unworthy" nearly killing her, writing the hieroglyph of "implosion" on Helen's forehead, before the spell could activate fully, Lucia disabled it. However, Helen had been injured and was bedridden for a few weeks. She has been too scared to even attempt to contact Thoth, let alone channel him.
Lucia wasn't going to force her, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about this visit; the sudden visit, the sudden interest in an artifact currently collecting dust in The Vault… They needed answers. Maybe those answers weren't theirs to know. "Very well." The color returned to her face. "Celo, search the Vault's records, look for any inconsistencies and information on the Soul Harvester. Ethan, go make sure the familiars have all they are going to need to cook a meal worthy of a Pharaoh. Helen, search the library for any information regarding the staff in particular. Report immediately if you find anything. Dismissed." They nodded to her and split off, however Ethan remained. "What are you going to do, Lucia?" She looked Ethan in his eyes. "To shore up our defenses. Something doesn't seem right."