Lucius did not move during either acts of violence. His barriers and wards were strong enough to negate all conventional attacks. It was simply trying on his patience. When he finally refocused from controlling his calm, Lucius was greeted to the view of her back, taking in what assets she revealed to him. She was wrong in that he wanted to take her now, but the idea was beginning to be entertained for later.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff0000">“What you think is going to happen is not what I intend,” </span>Lucius said calmly, not moving from his position.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff0000">“I have many ways other than requiring you to strip of your own free will to take that. Such as this.”</span><br/><br/>A few arcane words later, and the feel of magic invaded Xiu’s untrained mind, forcing her free will into a corner but leaving her more than conscious to feel the sensation of her freedom leaving her body completely.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff0000">“Regardless of if you chose to learn or not, I would have required you to receive the markings at some point,” </span>Lucius said, mentally commanding Xiu to begin to do as he had asked her.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff0000">“A person’s mana is finite, no matter how long they train and increase their origin, or even if they gain a second. But they can always control their mana, even outside of their own body. If nothing else, the way you would repay your debt would be to… store my own mana so that the limits of what I can do could be pushed further and further back.” </span>Lucius strolled around Xiu once she was bare from the waist up, eyes never dropping below her neck. His hand gently grabbed her chin and brought her eyes up to him.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff0000"> “Because you decided to learn, I need you to begin that role of being storage early, as it will help you in the process. Whether or not I wish to use you for baser needs is not the question at this point.”</span><br/><br/>With that, Lucius released Xiu’s chin and commanded her body to the table. The table was at a forty-five degree angle, positioned in such a way that the dark moon’s light would always hit the person laying on it, regardless of who stood over them. As Xiu walked, the open box was on display, showing wicked implements and questionable liquids within.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff0000">“I shall promise it will be as painless as possible,” </span>Lucius said as he closed in on the box. The moment Xiu was comfortably on the table, the table reacted by shaping over her wrists and shoulders as well as her hips and ankles. A knife, a vial of oil, and a rag was collected and brought to her side.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff0000">“Think of this as a tattoo.”</span><br/><br/>Lucius carefully pours the vial of oil onto Xiu’s back and began to chant in that strange arcane language. His hands moved delicately over her flesh, spreading and gently massaging the oil into her back. Once she was properly prepared, Lucius took the knife in hand and moved to the top of her back, only a couple of inches away from the nape of her neck and above the shoulder blades. And it sunk into her flesh. The knife did not go too deep, but it did go deep enough that, no matter the healing, a scar would remain. There was no other sound in the valley aside the sound of the knife and any sound Xiu made. The knife glided through her flesh in a semi circle, moving as if it was through butter. The knife pulled free of her flesh, and returned to the beginning and plunged in again, carving a semi-circle in the opposite direction, meeting the other one at the end. The oil began to show it’s purpose thanks to the chanting. The wounds had already began to heal, tinting the faint scar a dark blue as the chanting began to loop.<br/><br/>Lucius was slow and methodical. He was making sure the blade did not do more than what it was intended to do. With the semi-circles complete, making an oval, He carefully and with a steady hand added a line to it, a resting place at the base of the oval to add to the design. It was largely straight until either end, where it grew slightly jagged, like a hook on either side. He took special care to ensure he did not go deep enough for his blade to sever her spinal cord or scratch the bone as it was drug over that area of her back. If Xiu had hoped that it would end there, she was wrong. On the bottom portion of the line, he began again with the semi-circles, adding another oval to the set. This one was slightly smaller than the first, but it had hurt no less. And again, another line was added with those wicked, almost hook like protrusions at the end of them. The pattern was almost hypnotic, if not for the implications and slight pain, as Lucius continued creating the ovals and adding the lines, steadily moving further and further down her back. It was an unending chain etched into her very flesh. By the time Lucius had reached the small of her back, the ovals were small and compact, and the lines did not extend too far out from it. But he kept carving.<br/><br/>Lucius wiped and dabbed carefully, cleaning up the small of her back before pulling her tights down ever so slightly. They did not leave her ass properly, only displaying the tiny portion of her back that they had covered. He was almost clinical in his actions, removing the blood from his path, and holding the rag above where he intended to continue so that more would not interfere. Another was added, and then another. But then mercifully, perhaps an inch or two above the cleavage made by her cheeks, he ended his artwork, the last bit of mist flowing into the last semi-circle. And no line followed this one. Lucius patted and wiped away the blood from her back as gingerly as he could. He did not release her yet. Instead, Lucius collected the implements and put them back in the box -save for the rag- and set them gently into the water, which shifted like sand once more before disappearing.<br/><br/>With a wave of his hand, the table released Xiu, catching her if need be. Lucius kept his back turned to her, giving her some privacy he felt she would need after this act.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff0000"> “When you have rested and are able, you are to take this rag that holds your blood and perform whatever ceremony your people do for funeral rites. It does not deserve to be in the trash, as you are not trash. Neither was this a battle, so it does not deserve to just be left behind.” </span>Lucius explained, still not turning around.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff0000">“When you are ready, however long it takes for you to feel comfortable with the mana that now circulates through that mark, we shall begin your training.”</span>