Dayne was not at all what she had expected. She expected a monstrosity of muscle and scars and grit. Some kind of strange amalgamation of Spelltech augmentation and flesh utilized as a living weapon with an attitude. Which she now realized was incredibly wrong.
He was taller than she expected–broad in the shoulders, leaned down at the waist. His posture was far too casual for the air of barely restrained violence that emanated off him. The pressure of it was almost enough to make it hard for Aria to breathe naturally. His skin was a sun-warmed golden hue. His jawline was strong and angular which would have been far more appealing if not for the thin-lipped scowl forced onto his otherwise immaculately symmetrical face.
His hair was the same shade of black as a raven's wings. Unkempt and swept back from his brow but long and bushy enough to encroach on the space below his collar. He was dressed just as finely as Kaden. Though he wore no impractical robes. A dark tunic resting on his upper body followed by a practical pair of trousers but each of them inlaid and elegantly tailored seemingly by professional hands.
As Dayne rose to his feet with a barely discernable sigh and began to approach, Aria's eyes fell to the shapes of his exposed forearms. Landing on the lattice of faint scarring across their flesh. At oddly symmetrical intervals as well. Surgery scars? Battle wounds? She found her curiosity flaring up like a wildfire.
However the time for inspection was over now. Instead her eyes lifted to meet his own. Their coloration was like a deep glass of whiskey with just the right amount of sunlight piercing through the liquid. Almost glowing but not quite. Aria felt a smile paint her lips on pure instinct as she extended a hand out for Dayne and spoke in a well practiced and refined tone.
"Hello, my name is Aria. We'll be working together." she said with astute politeness.
Which he seemed to care little about.
"So you're the handler."
It wasn't so much a question as it was a statement. His tone was blunt and unfiltered by any kind of pretense.
"Yes…I'll be assigned to keep oversight over you for the time being it seems."
His gaze narrowed ever so slightly at those words. Perhaps a sore spot. It was his fault actually, for choosing to forgo the pleasantries and make the conversation so sharp tongued. She felt not a shred of guilt about it.
"You're younger than I expected." He continued with a critical look in his eyes.
"You're more rude than I expected." She snapped back without thinking.
That seemed to elicit a small reaction. A very small one. The corner of his lips moved just a bit upwards–perhaps an indication of mild amusement or surprise.
While this happened it seemed Kaden and Caeldren preferred not to interrupt. In fact Caeldren had lost interest almost entirely and had gone to re-arranging some files and schematics near one of the countless unfinished mannequins.
"This is entirely unnecessary." Dayne said through a hefty sigh. His eyes moved over Aria's head to what she could only assume was the frame of Kaden behind her. "It was a one time thing. I already told them what happened."
"It isn't so simple Dayne. You removed your Aegis within Citadel limits. You know how ironclad that procedure is." Kaden's smooth voice replied from behind her.
"Aegis?" Aria blurted out without thinking. Halting their exchange and getting a few strange looks before the comforting sound of Caeldren's voice rang out with laughter.
"Right! You Leidonians don't use Aegis over there do you? Well you say you do. We all know that's nonsense." He began to ramble as his hurried steps moved him to and fro across the floor of the lab. "Kaden, do you mind giving our dear Lady Aria a look at yours?" the old man shouted from behind a rather large stack of crates and papers.
"Not at all." Kaden answered and stepped forward to hover near Aria's side. With a movement his right hand was extended out in front of Aria. She found herself confused for a moment. What did his hand have to do with whatever the Divine an Aegis was? Then her eyes noticed the lusterless band of glimmering blue alloy.
It was a Manasteel band. Intricately crafted and from what she could tell imbued with the thickest mess of mana-circuitry she'd ever laid eyes on. The soft glimmers of glyphs and wards and spells firing around inside them in brilliant sparks of starlight.
"Aegis is a system developed long ago to keep track of Deva outside of their duties on the front line." Kaden spoke calmly with his ever present pleasant expression. "The idea is that the device prohibits us from using a large portion of our abilities. Only to be taken off or disabled outside of battle in the rarest of exceptions. The council likes to say they use it to keep us in control–" Kaden was cut off by a scoff from Dayne.
"We agree to wear it because it makes them feel better. Just say it how it is Kaden."
Aria blinked slightly before nodding her head.
That made more sense. Even someone like her who had lacked the education of most nobles in her position was aware that Deva could not be controlled by any known means to the average Magus. They were simply too far elevated. So the clearer explanation would be that the Aegis devices they were explaining were more of a voluntary self restriction than an enforced one. As highly regarded as the Deva might be she could imagine how uncomfortable she would feel in their presence on the street. Or outside her home. Even the air around them was different. It would eventually lead to something bad if they were openly unrestricted around the average citizen.
"Right…and you took yours off?" Aria spoke slowly as her mind mulled over the new information. Glancing up at Dayne.
He didn't verbally answer. Just shook his head ever so slightly and turned away from her to make his way over to Caeldren. "Old man, did you lose it or what?"
Aria scowled. Rude. Again. She had a feeling that this was going to be a continual interaction between the two. Suddenly any signs of hope she had that they would get along were dissipating by the very second.
"No no you impatient brat. Here." Caeldren's voice came from out of sight before his shape stepped out from behind the mountain of random items and in his hands was cradled a simple circular band. Not a ring, unless you were fitting it to the finger of a giant.
Dayne's hand reached out and took the presumed Aegis from Caeldren and with practiced movements of his hands rose it to his neck. Separating the band at the back from a seam she could not see from where she stood he wrapped it around his neck to settle snugly around the base of it in a thin blue line. It was a choker. Or a collar maybe?
"Why is yours different from Lord Magtera's?" Aria asked.
"We all choose our own Aegis design." Kaden answered from her side. "We used to all wear them as bracelets but a certain Malvo family Engineer decided she would like the challenge of creating Aegis unique to us."
A Malvo family engineer? Kiara? Aria glanced up towards Kaden who only affirmed her assumed thoughts with a slight nod.
"Your friend works with Master Kiir. She is his direct assistant. The only one actually. Researcher Malvo is quite a talented young lady."
"So she made your ring, and Daynes co–" She caught herself mid sentence with the peripheral sight of Dayne's glimmering eyes narrowing into a glare. "Necklace." she quickly corrected.
"Yes yes, your friend Kiara is one of the greatest minds to come from her family." Caeldren answered as he made his way back over with a genuine smile on his lips. "Brilliant in the most chaotic way! My favorite kind of person."
The description made Aria laugh. The sound was a little strange to her own ears. She couldn't actually remember the last time she had.
"Now, Dayne, my boy." Caeldren turned to face the Deva "You are certain you have no more developments concerning your Divine Entity?" Aria watched as the eyes of the brilliant old man narrowed into critical slits.
"Seriously old man?" He answered back with an angry expression. His whiskey eyes darted over to Aria and then back to Caeldren.
"What? Stop that! She was going to find out eventually what are you all nervous for." Caeldren scoffed back and lifted a hand to stick one finger in Dayne's face. Making the man recoil back and then roll his eyes.
"No. I still have no idea who it is, what they look like, or any other details outside that." He rattled off the shocking words like the most casual thing in the world.
It was not truthfully so casual.
For a Deva to be unaware of their patron was unheard of in all of history in fact.