The first thing Tina knew to do was head towards the Guild. It was the central hub of information and order within Orario, and thus it was a key structure to figuring out her next step. She was keenly aware of Orario's rules, or at least some of them. The glaring one, which is why she has to go to the guild, is that without being part of a Familia, a member of a Patron Deity's assemble, she would be refused entry into the Dungeon, or if she does somehow get into the Dungeon, she could not legally exchange her loot for money.
That means the very first step she has to take is to get a Familia, and in order to figure out which ones would be recruiting, she has to get a list of them. And only the Guild would have such a list at the ready, therefore it was imperative that Tina gets a read ASAP.
There was also another secondary reason to go to the guild. Tina knew where she was, sure, but not WHEN she was. Danmachi was primarily told from one timeline, one set of events that transpire within a year. As such, it was well within possibility to be within that year, but also elsewhere in time. Tina needed to know during which events she had arrived in order to gather herself and prepare for what would be ahead of her.
Eventually, she finally arrived at the stairway leading up towards the Pantheon, the main hub of the Guild, its headquarters basically. She walked up the many steps and reached the top, after which she passed the large gates and stood behind a small line for one of the many receptions. This line, unlike the one at the city's entrance, was very short and only took a few minutes.
The first thing Tina noticed was just who stood behind the counter of the reception. Short, brown hair, glasses, dull pointy ears, curvy figure but a contrasting professional expression. It was none other than Eina Tulle, one of the most well known receptionists for how strict yet caring she is as an advisor. She was also a notorious workahollic who took the brunt of the paperwork from slackers.
Tina struck gold, that much she was aware of, now she just had to make the best ouf of it. "Hello, miss." She greeted politely through her helmet, her voice slightly muffled and a tone deeper than it would be naturally. "I came here to seek guidance on joining a Familia."
"Ah, welcome! I am Eina Tulle, and I would be glad to assist" Eina greeted in return before clasping her hands together. "With what can I assist you with?"
"For starters" Tina began and leaned slightly forward, her tall figure casting a light shadow over Eina's much shorter form. "I require information on which Exploration-type familias are recruiting."
"Exploration types, so you seek to enter the dungeon?" Eina questioned while nodding her head, keeping her expression perfectly neutral despite being dwarved by the opposing Sith.
"Indeed" Tina responded before crossing her arms. "I would like it if you could compile a list of recruiting Familias so I may visit them one by one until I find what suits me."
"Very well, just a moment please" Eina spoke before she disappeared to the back of the counter, skimming through a few books before she found one, opened it, read it thoroughly for a few minutes while writing down things every now and then onto a piece of paper. After a while, she returned with said piece of paper and handed it over to Tina. "This is a list of current Exploration type Familias recruiting. It is up to date, with the latest actualization having occured this morning.
Tina nodded her head and grabbed the piece of paper slowly and gently, flying over its contents for a few seconds before she nodded her head. "Thank you very much. Just one thing before I go." She lowered her hands and then took a small step back. "What is the latest you can tell me regarding abnormal activities within the Dungeon? Have any Minotaurs gone up a few floors, has an irregular spawned, anything at all at the rumor mill?"
Eina put a hand on her chin in thought before shaking her head negatively. "Nothing as of late. There was an incident regarding a minotaur party ascending a few floors, but that was about 3 months ago. As far as Rumors go, I am afraid I cannot help you much. But, if I may make a recommendation for Familias. There is a small Exploration type Familia always looking for recruitment. They are the Hestia Familia."
Tina immediately arched a brow, not that anyone could see due to her helmet. 3 months ago, the incident with the Minotaurs thanks to Loki Familia occured. This means that she was currently around the time Apollo Familia was mobilizing to stunt a wargame against Hestia in order to claim Bell, or it may have already passed. To confirm, she decided to press the matter. "And whats the last Wargame that was held?"
"ohh, the last Wargame was quite a while ago, I'm afraid. I'd have to check the records on that one." Eina answered, but her response was all the intel Tina needed.
"No need, I got what I came for" She spoke before waving her goodbye. "I will be seeing you around, I suppose."
"Farewell, and good luck on your search!" Eina wished.
Though, it won't be any search at all, because Tina already knew she would be joining Hestia Familia. It was her intent from the start to be directly involved with the plots concerning the world. Tina was a rather active spirit, and with the means to help people, she just couldn't stand by idly. She had to interfere, to manifest thoughts and wishes she never could have in her past life.
"Well, time to stir up some trouble..." She mused to herself while she exited the Pantheon.
Unbeknownst to Tina, she had already caught the eye of a silent observer...
---
Atop the tower, on its highest floor, resides the Penthouse Suite, owned by Freya herself. Patron Deity of Freya Familia, one of the top 2 within Orario, known mostly for how fanatic and devoted the members are to their goddess. It was also widely regarded as the strongest Familia of the current generation due to hosting its only Level 7 Adventurer.
Freya herself was an older deity, having descended centuries ago and fostered many followers over the ages. And with her descend came a hope, the hope that she would find her Odr, her fated beloved. And she has come to believe she has finally found him. You see, Freya has a gift, one she is capable of using despite having her divine powers sealed as part of the rule for descending Deities: She can use the gift of soul sight. Her eyes are capable of piercing the mortal shroud and gaze upon the souls of all mortal beings.
She frequently uses this gift for what she calls 'Soul Gazing', where she views the many souls from atop the penthouse suite in search for exquisite souls she may add to her collection of followers. Freya was a big fan of uniqueness and has a habit of collecting them like trophies into her Familia. This however often had the unintended side effect of robbing the soul of the beauty she had beheld, the uniqueness she wants to collect, for the souls, or rather the mortals the soul belongs to, gradually become obsessed with her.
Freya has, aside from her soul sight, another gift, or what she would rather consider to be a pesky curse: She was a goddess of Beauty, and as such, her very existence is beauty at its most sensuous. It is a permanent, passive effect she has on all beings, gods and mortals alike. Only the fewest, like the Virgin gods, are capable of resisting her Beauty, her Charm effect. All others however succumb to it and, for lack of better words, become brainless simps for the goddess.
On this day, Freya was observing souls with her Soul Sight, particularily observing her Odr, the one she believes to be her fated beloved, when her attention was grabbed away by something that shone with such an intrusive light that it was almost blinding.
A soul of such deep crimson, intertwined with the blackest of black she has ever beheld. It was like watching a moonless night incarnated in mortal form, a dance of the rawest emotions swirling with pure freedom, rage and anger dominating them above all. A soul so virulent, so dark in its ambition, it was as intoxicating as it was frightening. Freya immediately knew she had to add this soul to her collection, but first she needed to observe some more. This soul was new, arrived only today for she had never seen it before.
"Ottarl" She called out for the captain of her Familia, the level 7 Boaz with the build of a titan in mortal form.
"Yes, Lady Freya?" He responded, his voice deep, steady, calm, as it always was when he followed her orders. His enhanced sight allowed him to immediately trace where she was glancing and, even through the sheer distance, was able to grasp where she was looking, trailing the person she had caught an interest in. "I see..."
"Indeed, Ottarl" Freya began and reached for her wine glass, swirling its contents harmlessly before taking a sip. "There is a new arrival in town, one that deeply intrigues me. Find out everything you can about them. Trail after them for a while, learn what you can and report to me in the next 24 hours."
"It shall be done" Ottarl responded before turning away and exiting the room, and later, the Penthouse suite itself.
"Oh, who are you? What brings such a vengeful soul to this city?" She monologued to herself while returning her attention to her Odr, observing him once more.
---
Tina eventually arrived at where the Hestia Familia was last seen based on Eina's writing. An abandoned, dilapidated church that had clearly seen better days.
She approached the church and knocked on its gates, but found that no one was there. As such, she decided she would just wait it out, and in the meantime, she would go through her memories and train some, get used to this new body and its prowess some more and maybe even awaken some combat instinct in the process.
So she drew her Ancient Sith Lord's Warblade, its blade humming with a thirst for blood in her grasp, and she began to swing it, rehearsing some Kata from her memories.
The practice took an increasing amount of focus as Tina got more and more into it, eventually devoting all her attention solely to training herself, steeling herself, and letting the sensation of the Force drink into her. With each passing move, with each second, with every tidbit of motion she underwent, she became more and more used to the feeling of combat, her latent talent for it proving itself frighteningly efficient.
Hours passed before she finally stopped, and the reason for stopping was that someone had entered the church and promptly took much of her attention. She sheated her blade quickly and turned to the new arrival, instantly recognizing the white hair and ruby eyes of the person that came into the church.
"Ah, sorry for intruding" Tina spoke first, crossing her arms and taking a lax stance. "I was waiting for the people that live here."
Bell Cranel, the white haired, ruby eyed young man in question, nodded his head while gulping nervously upon feeling the sheer pressure of this person's presence. "N-no worries. But why were you waiting on me and Goddess?"
Tina spoke straight to the point. "It's simple. I wish to join your Familia."
"Really!?" Bell exclaimed a bit too loudly for Tina's liking, but she had anticipated as much. "You... you want to join our small, broke, run down Familia?"
"Heh, what better Familia to choose from than the one at the bottom?" Tina spoke with more confidence. "Isn't one of the best feelings the one you get from racing to the top from the bottom?" She asked, her tone carrying nothing but genuine, raw belief in her words. She was growing more and more accustomed to playing her role, and with it, felt more and more empowered as well.
Bell nodded his head slowly, nervously, as if wanting to agree but being a bit too unsure of the reality. "I suppose..." he answered before catching himself once again. "S-sorry, but who are you? I am Bell Cranel!"
"... Tina" She answered with a deadpan simplicism that caught Bell off-guard, making him comically stumble forward a bit.
"E-eheh... okay, miss Tina-"
"Cut the Miss, I am not that old" She immediately reprimanded him.
"S-sorry!" He nervously fired back and saluted purely on instinct. Something within him told him to do so, and he didn't disobey his gut feeling.
"Good boy" Tina shot back, smirking under her helmet before uncrossing her arms and resting one at her hip. "Then allow me to again formally ask: May I join the Hestia Familia?"
Bell blinked a few times before he nodded. "Yes, of course! We just need to wait for Goddess to return!"