Clouse grit his teeth. Captain Pyth knew better than to approach him in public- and at the Princess's ball no less. He stalked to the edge of the ballroom with the captain following closely on his heels.

"What was so important you couldn't wait until later this evening to discuss with me?" Clouse hissed, his voice barely discernible above the din that surrounded them. "This is not what I meant when I said you needed to check in regularly with me."

"I'm sorry sir. It's the newest arrival. He's been more unruly than my men anticipated him being and we- we might have lost him."

"You. Did. WHAT?" Clouse barely restrained himself from screaming at the man, though his tone carried enough to earn him several sideways glances from the nearest partygoers.

The normally collected captain paled significantly. "He's still in the lower levels. He couldn't have made it back to the surface, especially since he has no way to know the way in or out."

"You'd better hope his lack of sight keeps you from lacking a head. Get down there and find him. I can't leave yet without drawing suspicion and you'd better hope you find him before I do."

"Yes, sir." Nodding his head Pyth hurried out of the room.

'I'm surrounded by idiots!' Clouse seethed. If the Master of Sound escaped it would be disastrous for his plans. Not to mention alert the public of brewing plans. How in the world did they manage to lose a blind man?

Gritting his teeth Clouse walked back into the throng of people. Music swelled and Clouse didn't ask anyone to dance. No one asked him to either.

A stir ran through the crowd. It took Clouse a moment to pinpoint the source but he froze when he did- Princess Skylor and Prince Cole partnered together on the dance floor.

'And a moment ago I only had a wayward Master of Sound to worry about.' The tertiary Elemental was nothing compared to the secondary Element of Amber, let alone a primary Element like Earth. Though he had many contingency plans in place, Skylor becoming close with a primary wielder could cause more trouble than he bargained for.

That would have to be dealt with. Subtly.

Frowning in thought Clouse didn't have time to process it further when a phantom pain pricked his palm. Someone had entered his quarters.

Lithely, Clouse stalked through the dancers. His presence had no further significance in the evening and Clouse held no fantasies that any of the nobles gathered would care to speak with him again. He would be free to deal with whoever was foolhardy enough to enter his chambers uninvited.

Other than an occasional guard the palace halls were silent as Clouse made his way to his room. 'To think anyone would try to sneak past me and my wards undetected.' Such was laughable, though Clouse never remembered being in a laughing mood in his life. Within three minutes of leaving the ballroom Clouse arrived at his destination.

He burst through the door, foregoing any pretense of subtly.

"Who dares-!" His enraged shout died out when he saw a falcon staring deadpan at him from the windowsill. "Humph."

Slamming the door behind him Clouse sent a bolt of magic at the bird. "You'd better have a good reason for abandoning your post."

For once Ronin really did have a good reason. Clouse gave a feral grin when Ronin finished his report. Ronin took an unconscious step backward, the look on his master's face more terrifying than any of the times he blew up in anger.

"You have until first light to tend to your own devices. I'll give you your next mission then."

Clouse waved his hand and both of them melted into a plume of smoke. Seconds later they reappeared in the caverns. Ronin groaned quietly, but he'd long since adapted to the vertigo sensation that came with Clouse's preferred method of transportation. The constant vomiting in the first few months of his servitude had not been fun.

"First light," The magician reiterated. "Don't be late."

Rolling his eye Ronin disappeared down one of the corridors. Clouse's attention turned to his ingredients and potions. The eclipse was drawing ever near. With most of the Masters gathered in the palace, and now that Skylor's Amber had absorbed each guest's Element, the time for Phase Two had almost arrived.

Clouse looked at the staff and frowned. A couple low-ranking Masters disappearing here or there had been easy to keep from the general populous, but there would be no turning back once Phase Two was enacted. Even if the move didn't show all of Clouse's cards, it was still showing his hand to the people who currently went about their days in blissful ignorance. When mid-ranking lords (who happened to be Elementals) began to vanish, precautions had to be in place to keep the people from revolting.

He'd discuss such with Captain Pyth tomorrow. Assuming the man lived until then. If the Master of Sound wasn't caught Pyth was well aware of the consequences.

Shaking his head, Clouse turned back to the table. His next target would barely catch anyone's attention which, though he was loathe to admit, amazed him. What was with the primary Elements coming from such obscure backgrounds? One would have thought such powerful holders would be standing alongside the ruler of their respective nation, but no. All four would appear and disappear, dyssynchronous and quickly, throughout history. It was as if the Elements themselves wanted to remain hidden. Though one appearing in a foreign king's youngest son was more surprising than ones living in obscurity within Ouroboros itself.

And Lightning being the next one to be found... Clouse grinned again. From the sounds of Ronin's report not only could Lightning be the missing piece needed for Clouse's contraption, but the Master himself could prove an invaluable asset to the project as well- given the right motivation. The boy being an inventor was almost laughable, another unexpected gift of fate. And fate had been generous lately.

Almost as if hearing his thoughts there was a knock on his chamber door.

"Enter."

Pyth walked in, slightly red in the face, but with grim satisfaction. "We caught Sound sir. He hadn't made it anywhere near the entrance. My men are dealing with him as we speak. I'm confident he won't attempt such a stunt again."

"Good- for your sake. Be sure his antics don't spill into the others. I don't have time to deal with an attempted uprising right now."

"Sir." Pyth gave a brisk nod.

"Check the vengestone supply. I need forty sets of shackles in operable condition within the next two weeks."

"Forty?"

Clouse glared at Pyth. "Is there something the matter with that number?"

"No, sir. Just clarifying. The blacksmiths are always more difficult when forced to work with vengestone."

"Remind them of the consequences if they don't obey. My word is final. Dismissed." Clouse waved a hand at him and heard Pyth quickly leave the room.

Scowling Clouse returned to his work. Those people too easily forgot to be thankful they still had their lives- miserable as they may be. Many others who'd outlived their usefulness had been eliminated over the years. Perhaps some needed a reminder that they lived or died by Clouse's will. He'd ponder that later. Now he needed to focus on the best way to contain Lightning.

The Element was volatile by nature. Unpredictable. Few notes and experiments existed from anyone who studied naturally occurring lightning. Many who'd tried ended up electrocuted to death. With so little known about regular lightning, the Element Lightning had to be even more formidable. How much control the Master had over his Element could pose serious problems when he was cornered.

One of the few concrete facts Clouse found was that metal attracted lightning, and that a thick substance known as rubber helped dampen the lightning's effects. It'd be curious to see if Elemental Lightning behaved similarly to its natural counterpart. Luckily Clouse made it a habit to acquire the rare and obscure for his magic purposes. He had a large quantity of rubber sheets on hand. In the morning he would commission to be made into protective gear for the squadron sent after the Lightning Master.

Those wouldn't be ready for a few days, but it'd be wise to study the new Master before then anyway. Know thine enemy and all that. Not that Clouse would be on the field, but he would need his best men on this one and didn't intend to have to pick a new elite group any time soon.

Clouse set to work grounding ingredients for a sleeping potion. If everything went according to plan he'd need a substantial amount in the coming weeks. Not to mention it was one of the few effective ways to shut Ronin up.

As he worked Clouse indulged in imagination, picturing what it'd be like to wield Lightning. Or any of the Elements. Sure there had been a couple instances where he'd shot one of the contained Elements out of the staff, but that wasn't the same as feeling raw power coursing through his veins, becoming anything he wished it to be.

But if everything worked the way he planned he'd get that and more. Much, much more. There was only the pesky detail of surviving.

Energy couldn't be created or destroyed, only converted in form. Even the Elemental powers depended on the strength of their Masters to be utilized. The sheer amount of energy needed to contain all the known Elements would incinerate Clouse in his current state. As such he needed to find a way to increase his own body's capacity to hold such power.

Based on the ancient texts he'd found, there was one sure way. But it required a wish and a sacrifice. The latter portion was a conundrum he'd begun to puzzle through, but he needed access to the former before he could finish his theory.

A small chime interrupted his musings. Clouse looked up to see his time candle burnt out. The night had already passed. As if on cue Ronin stumbled through the doorway, his eye bloodshot but more alert than Clouse had seen in awhile.

"You're to watch the Lightning boy for the next couple days," Clouse began without preamble, "Report in nightly with what he's done, who he talks to and where he goes."

"No prince duty?"

"I don't think he'll be a variable for much longer. Here at the palace I have other people who can keep an eye on him. There's the matter of the boy's friend though. Keep him in your sights too, but your primary objective is Lightning."

"M'kay."

Sleep really did temper Ronin's mood. Clouse would have to consider allowing a little extra time for that, it made dealing with the surly man that much more bearable.

Clouse retrieved his staff, and in a cloud of purple the two men found themselves back in Clouse's quarters. He sent another burst of magic at Ronin and within a minute a brown falcon leapt off the windowsill and into the sky.

Now that Ronin was gone Clouse allowed himself to feel tired. It had been twenty-four hours since he slept last. Putting a sealing ward over his door, Clouse changed his clothes and settled into his bed. A few short hours would be enough to sustain him the rest of the day. There was too much work to waste time on sleeping.

Three hours later he awoke to a knock on the door. More sluggish than he'd prefer, Clouse rose and took down the spell surrounding his door. Irritated, he opened the door to see a young man in a guard's uniform.

"Morro," Clouse didn't bother to hide his disgust.

The feeling was mutual. "Captain Pyth said to report to you prior to breakfast."

Clouse swung open the door and beckoned Morro inside. "You're being reassigned to Prince Cole's guard. A security detail of four is hardly fitting for a visiting prince staying within our walls."

"Because five men will make such a difference." Morro muttered, just loud enough for Clouse to hear.

"I believe having you will make all the difference. Report to me daily with the Prince's activities." Morro frowned, fiddling with the metal vambraces on his forearms. "Do I make myself clear, guard?"

"Yes, sir." Morro snapped.

"By the way how is your father doing?" Clouse smirked at the way Morro clenched his fists. "I do trust he's recovering from his recent accident?"

"The prince was on his way to the dining hall when I came to your rooms. By your leave?" The question came out with biting bitterness.

Clouse gave a dismissive wave of his hand, watching with cold amusement as Morro stomped away. He turned to his wardrobe and selected an outfit. It was time to ready for another day of political scheming and drama. With most of the nobles returning home today it might not be terribly exciting, but who knew what a day could hold?