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((The History of Gealan and the Dark War))

Gealan was a prosperous land, filled with green fields, lush forests, and good people. The land was split into three separate provinces, but all was well between the three lands. Belairio; the human land, was the largest province in Gealan, followed by Famelrahd; the elven land in the east, then Galvar; the dwarven lands to the north west, deep in the Collum mountains. There were of course other races in Gealan: Centaur, Faries, Gnomes, and Halflings; who all lived in harmony with others.

There was rarely ever a dispute between the different races, but when there was, it was usually about the amount of crop space the Halflings had taken for there village, or the amount of trees the Humans had cut out of the Famelrahd forest, or other things of that nature. All of which were easily remedied with a few days of discussion between the opposing parties, with a mutual judge to decide the outcome.

Of course, not everything was fine and dandy in Gealan. There was the ever present crime in the cities, and there were races in Gealan that would cause a stir every once and again, such as Minotaurs, Orcs, and Goblins. That's not to say that everyone one of that race was bad or evil; there were quite a few good natured Minotaurs living with there cousins, the Centaurs; and there were many Orcs working in the ship yards along with humans and elves. Not nearly as many Goblins were good, but there were a few. But even then, with the occasional looting band of Orcs, or the drunk horde of Goblins, these races liked to stay to themselves, hidden away the huge Dark Forest, the "evil", scarcely traveled forest at the base of the Collum Mountains. That is, they stayed to themselves before the invasion.

300 years ago, hundreds of ships stormed the port city Tibus, which was also the capitol city of Belairio. The ships were maned by Orcs, Goblins, and evil Men; and upon seeing this, every evil race in Gealan came out of their holes to join this invasion army. It took only 1 month for this invasion army to completely take over Tibus, and with the help of the "new recruits", all of the main cities in Gealan were engaged in war within the year. For 2 years the armies battled for control, yet no one knew where this invasion army had come from, or who was its leader. It wasn't until far into the third year of fighting, that the skies were blackened over Tibus by the wings of a huge dragon.

There had been tales of dragons in Gealan history, hundreds of years ago, but never had one been seen by anyone that was still alive. The dragon, along with its rider, who was only ever identified as the black speck that sat behind the dragons head, began a long reign of terror. For 30 years, the dragon and its master laid waste to the land, and were unopposed.

After 33 years of pain and suffering, the Gealanian people came together to fight. Who knows why it took so long for the races to come together. Some would say that the kings of the races had to much pride to ask for help. Others would say that the kings were under a spell, and were not allowed to lead their people. This theory was more widely believed, only because when the good races came together, each army had a mage at its fore front. Where mages came from, no one knew, but they were powerful, and all of the kings would later write that it was only because of them that they were able to come together.

There were four sorcerer's; one of fire, one of water, one of air, and one of earth. The one of fire was fierce, and helped train the good races to fight with tenacity. The mage of water stayed with the kings and captains, giving sound advise, always remaining cool and collected when the camps were ready to burst with anticipation. The mage of air began working on giant engines of war. Using not but her hands, she would bring cyclones into the camps carrying logs which were in turn made into giant devises that launched huge sharpened logs like arrows, and boulders, into the enemy lines. The earth mage was a hulking man who carried a giant hammer. He was soon taken as the standard for the army, as they now felt as big as he with their new found strengths.

The two giant armies clashed a final time on the plains of Alesea, in the northern lands of Belairio, and there, the four mages, on the backs of griffons, went to battle with the dragon. It was a long fight, a fight that lasted days high above the battle field. At night, men would stand outside their tents and look up in the sky, only to see flashes of fire and lighting.

On the third day of fighting, the air rang with a roar that some would later write "sounded like the gods themselves had torn open the heavens and screamed for the fighting to stop". For a minute, nothing happened, but then it began to rain blood, giant droplets of blood. Then to the south, the hulking body of the dragon fell from the sky, spiraling towards the earth like a giant meteor. Upon seeing this, the evil army retreated. Many went back to the ports, got onto ships and sailed way, others went back to hiding in their dark forest. The army of men, elves, dwarves and other good races rejoiced in their victory, and when the mages returned, hoisted them onto their shoulders, singing them praises and offering them any amount of land, gold, jewels and other such things. The mages only request was food and a bed to sleep in.

After the sorcerer's were rested, they flew to the place where the dragon had fallen; an island in the middle of huge Lake Jorkah in the center of the continent. After making sure it was dead, they burned the giant carcass. The mages then disappeared. For the five years after the invasion ended, the mages were no where to be found. The main cities were rebuilt, and the people of Gealan now had the task of starting anew. But then, word started spreading that four schools of magic were opening, one for fire, one for water, one for air, and one for earth. Of course everyone wanted into the schools, but no one could ever find them. After another year, random people began to get letters; invitations to the schools of magic. With nothing but the letter, and the vague message of what direction to start traveling, the invitees would pack there bags, and begin their journey.

But of course, like most mysterious things, the schools of magic went to the back of every ones mind, and the thoughts of farming and restarting the market came to the fore front of every ones mind. Only the most dedicated people still sought out the schools of magic, and soon, mages began to appear all over Gealan. Some sorcerers helped grow crops by making it rain over just the fields, others helped till the land, by merely raising there hands, and the dirt would turn and crumble. Others helped get rid of the unwanted trash the invaders left behind, by creating spontaneous fires, or lend their fierce nature to the defenses being put up at the edges of the Dark Forest. While more still came flying...FLYING!... into the cities, bringing with them knowledge of giant machines that turned in the wind, using the energy to grind corn and other crops at twice the speed of the normally animal turned machines. It was the beginning of a new life for all of the Gealanian people.

It wasn't until one hundred years later that a new issue of arrived on the scene. The human leaders were in a terrible fight over where the capitol city should be. Tibus had always been the capitol, so many thought it should always stay like that. But others said that it was unwise to have your capitol so close to the ocean, because it could easily be taken, like in the invasion, or Dark War, as it was being called. After much bickering, the human land was split in half. Some still think the split was unnecessary and stupid, but the leaders had insisted that neither of them should be wrong, and they should just be two provinces, with the south having their capitol where it always was, Tibus Port, and keeping the name Belairio; and the north having their capitol in Alesea, a city that had prospered after the war, and naming their new land, Cayplan. The two lands still trade with one another, and many are happy with the change, but there is still the occasional over taxation of traded goods by each market.

For the next hundred years, Gealan lived in peace, but then, once again, trouble aroused. The Evil races began working together. Random towns would be burned, and all the people in them murdered. Large groups of Goblins and Orcs would storm a large city, set fires, then run away. The elves forest was being burned by Minotaurs, Dwarven cities were being raided by evil men, the human crops were being burned, and the northern lands were completely infertile (which they blamed on the earth magic school because of the rumors that the earth school was in the northern mountains). The land was slowly turning towards Evil again. The good races all pointed figures at the other for helping the evil races, and amongst the bickering, the evil races continually got more and more aggressive in their attacks.

The queen of Cayplan has had enough though. She has called a council of the leaders of all the Good races. Her intent is to bring the leaders together and unite the races in a single effort to stop the Evil races before another leader can emerge like the Dark Rider from before. Unannounced to the other races though, her cousin, the king of Belairio, and herself have a plan of their own. A plan to bring a group of strong individuals together to use as a spear head, and plunge into the heart of the enemy, before the actual war takes place. A group that will stand in the face of Evil, and over come it with Good. Even though they mey be just a few normal people, they must be strong, because this is the time, the time when hero's rise.

((Opening post to start the game will be here shortly. If you want to post your character receiving the invite to the council and exploring the Human city Alesea, feel free. I will hopefully be posting a map of the world tonight to help reference everything.
If you read this, and are interested, feel free to create a character and join in. This game is open to all))

A woman made her way up to the gate. She had long blonde hair sprawled out over her shoulders upon the red cloak that covered the rest of her form. As she came to the gates a guard stopped her.What business do you have here?The woman opened her cloak to show red clothing underneath. ((Like the human pic just red instead of white.)) She pulled out a letter with a broken seal, showing she has read it. She then spoke softly, her bright Pink eyes lookign at the guards. I have been asked here by the Council.... her words were soft yet there was power behind them. The guard eyed the letter a moment before taking it and reading. Petal Silverwand huh? Alright then. He handed the letter back to her and Petal simply put it back into her side bag, bringing her cloak cloased to hide her body. Sorry about that Ma'am. We have to check everyone wether in a Caravan or alone. You understand right? Petal then smiled. Her face lighting up as she did. She did have a very breath taking face. Of course I do. Now you guys be careful alright? Take care.She made her way into the city and began to look around. Her smile had lessened but it was still one of Joy. She had never been in the city of Alesea before. The humans always fascinated her, but since she herself looked human at the moment, no one would know she is actually a Fairy.

Humans…

Janey stood in the center of the bustling city, worn earthen cloak hiding a majority of her features. Looking up, past the waist and faces of people, looking up into the sky, she tilted her head curiously. It was a rarity for her; staring into the wild blue yonder without a canopy of green obstructing her view. What was even rarer was for her to be possibly the shortest adult in the proximity. Haven’t felt this short since 20. Swiping her nose with her thumb, she smirked. “Lovely.”

With a song in her head and a skip to her step, Janey made her way over to the pub. She had explored the human town for a good portion of the afternoon and with the day reaching its close, didn’t see anything wrong with treating herself to a drink. It was actually one of the things she missed while being out in the wild. Human sized drinks..! Rubbing her hands together in excitement, she smiled as she made herself comfortable at a bar stool. Tapping the wooden counter with a gold coin, she shouted. “A glass of the hardest thing ya got!”

The bartender nodded, his back turned to the customer. Taking one of several dust laden bottles of caramel liquid, he poured a glass and snickered. “Good luck downin’ this!” Facing Janey, his cheerfulness faded. He suspiciously looked her up and down, grip tightening on the glass. “What’s the big idea? What are ya, 12 or something? Aren’t you a little too young for these parts?”

“HEY!” Slapping the table, Janey grinned mildly psychotic, a nerve in her temple noticeable twitching. Palm on the coin, she spoke through gritted teeth. “I’m short, not illegal,” Noticing the bartender hadn’t budged, she rolled her eyes. “Oh for the love of…” She unbuttoned her cloak while mumbling murderous words in a foreign tongue. Janey slid the robe down to her shoulders to reveal a skintight black leather top that worked well on accentuating her curves…among other things. Adjusting her rather short shorts, Janey mumbled. “…as you can see, I’m older than first glance appears. AND,” She grabbed her breasts proudly. “Show me a 12 year old with THESE and I’ll show you a Gnome in disguise!” Beaming after her declaration, she settled back down into the bar stool. “Now…my drink?”

Eyes still narrowed in distrust, the bartender reluctantly set the drink down to the expectant Janey. He watched her sip tentatively to the drink, waiting for her to spit it out in agony…or something close to it. Shockingly, the Halfling downed the drink swiftly, the bartender not quite sure what he’d witnessed. He picked up her empty mug, glanced to the bubbly Janey, then moved his gaze back to the mug. “You’re a weird one. I’ve got a question-”

“And I’ve got an answer.” finished Janey mischievously. Drink doing marvels to her insides, she rocked back and forth on the bar stool giddily.

“What brings a Gnome to these parts?” inquired the bartender gingerly.

Janey clapped her hands. “I am delighted you asked…”

“Ah Orion, Orion, Orion…I can’t begin to tell you how disappointed I am with you!”

Orion’s fringe danced under the hot gust of breath from the bull snout just inches from his face. He stood rigid, his gaze upon the cobbled floor, his hand on the panther head pommel of the sword strapped to his waist, every ounce of fibre on alert.

A throaty rumble that passed for a chuckle issued forth from the giant Minotaur as it stepped back to regard him with an amused expression. “Come now Orion, you don’t really think you can hurt me with that poxy weapon, do you? No, my friend…sorely, sorely disappointed. I had grand plans for you,” it mused, poking Orion in his leather clad chest, “grand plans indeed.”

The Minotaur spoke the human tongue perfectly, at times he even sounded gentlemanly. Orion wasn’t to be fooled. He had been around Ombrack long enough to know that he was a savage killer who would rip your throat out in an instant.

“But alas, those plans must be shelved now, for you have failed me for the last time Orion. This is the third time in as many months and these…lapses simply can not be tolerated. You must die, my friend,” and Ombrack almost looked sad as he fiddled with one of the daggers strapped diagonally across Orion’s chest, righting it as a wife might right a husbands neck tie before a formal occasion.

“Good day Orion,” Ombrack’s boots clicked over the cobbles as he walked away, still Orion did not move. As still as a statue, he did not even hear the quiet order given by the Minotaur to the twins standing on either side of the archway as he left the courtyard.

Pale as ghosts to the point of being almost see through in the right light, the twin albino elves made a swift and silent approach. Erandil and Vithranil were outcasts, shunned by their own kind and hated by most others, it was only natural they would align themselves with the darker races in Gealan. They were masters of the sword, and almost impossible to beat when together.

Orion paid them no mind as they whisked towards him across the cobbles, for he had slipped into one if his battle trances, which meant only one thing…this fight might well cost him his life.

As if in slow motion, the coming battle played out before his eyes. Every move, every breath, every grunt, every groan, every cut, every drop of blood spilled and every drop of sweat that dropped onto the cobbles he saw as if his senses had been heightened tenfold. He memorised it all, and then, the twins were upon him.

They came at him in a dual frontal rush, their thin elven blades sweeping in low and hard. His eyes still closed, he lept the flashing steel and barrel rolled away, drawing his long sword from its scabbard in a single, smooth motion.

Slash glinted in the sunlight, the amber eyes of its panther head pommel shining like those of the beast it was modelled on. It was time to dance and Orion could feel the adrenalin pulsing through him to his blade. In his mind, he could almost hear Slash sigh as if in anticipation of parting the flesh before him.

The elves rushed him again, one to the left, one to the right, on slight angles, their needle like swords swishing high and low. Orion jumped and let his upper body weight drag him horizontal, twisting and rolling as he landed hard, kicking up a cloud of dust from the cobbled floor.

He sprang to his feet to meet Erandil, who was driving his blade towards his gut, and batted the elf’s sword sideways, drilling the knuckles of his free hand into the albino’s nose.

Crack

Erandil’s head rocked back and the blood splattered his brother’s face as Vithranil rushed to his defence. The needle blade worked overtime, striking left and right, high and low, at viper speed, probing for an opening.

The sweat poured from Orion’s brow as he continually parried the onslaught, his mind racing to remember every move he had envisioned in his trance. Then, his moment came. The slightest overbalance by Vithranil as his boot landed in a pool of Orion’s sweat and the Panther lunged.

The shimmering blade of his own sword seemed to entrance Vithranil as it spun through the air as if in slow motion to, unbelievably, lodge in his brother’s Adams apple. A gurgling Erandil hadn’t even hit the cobbles before a swift strike from Slash sent Vithranil’s head soaring across the courtyard.

Orion heard the thump of Erandil hitting the deck and the writhing, choking death throws that followed, but nothing could avert his gaze from the sight before him. Vithranil’s headless body had fallen to it knees and blood fountained out of the severed neck at an alarming rate. Slowly he reached out the hand holding Slash and bathed the blade under the crimson torrent, a feeling of pure ecstasy reverberated up his sword arm and through his entire body, making him weak at the knees.

Plopping down on the hard floor, he gazed up at the sun with a lazy smile. Ombrack had made the mistake of thinking he couldn’t handle two elves, great swordsman as they were; his first mistake. His second was not having a back up plan. Well, if he did have a back up plan, Orion wasn’t about to let him execute it.

With a grunt of effort he rose to his feet and walked over to Erandil, using the elf’s tunic to clean Slash before sheathing it. He was now an outcast himself, every dark being within a hundred miles would know that he had a price on his head soon. He also had no where to go and no coin.

No matter, he would face his future; come what may, so there was no point in dwelling on it. His first priority was to get away with his hide still in tact.

With that thought in mind, he yanked the blade from Erandil's throat and slipped both of the twins swords through his belt, then set off from the old castle ruins towards the forest at a quick jog.

Petal made her way around the City, taking in a few of the sights. After a bit of time she yawned lightly and approached one of the guards at his post. Excuss me. Sir? Petal smiled sweetly and the guard seemed to stand a bit straighter. What can I do for you Miss? Petal set the blunt end of her spear on the ground, the blade a foot or so over her head, and leaned on the shaft. I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of a Nice Inn? Ive been on my feet all day and I am tired. The guard then gave directions to the closest one, instructing her to go around the shops and to not go into the Alley behind them. Though the Alley is shorter, it wasnt safe. He explained that the current times has brought out the worst of many people and the fact she was in the city was no exception. Petal nodded her head with a grin. Thank you sir. I shall keep that in mind. She turned to walk off but the guard stopped her. Excuss me. I was just wondering. Whats a beautiful woman like yourself doing with something like that?He pointed to her spear. This? Oh. Its nothing. I just use it as a walking stick. It was my fathers you see. Family Heirloom and such. She gave a soft giggle and that made the guard smile a little. Well just the same. Its still dangerous. Try not to trip okay Miss?Petal bowed her head. I shall try not to sir. Thank you for the Directions. Petal turned again and made her way to the Inn, However she took the Alley anyway. Sure enough two guys stepped out infront of her. One chuckling lightly. And a voice behind her spoke as another one stepped out of the shadws behind her. Well... well... well... and after that nice guard told you not too. Women. always in a rush. Petal simply frowned. I know. but I wish to get to the Inn and rest. Im sure you understand. The two in front chuckled. and the LEader behind her spoke. Oh I understand. I understand that we will be taking all you got Lady.... As well as what ever I can get outa ya. the man chuckled in a sinister way.Well... If you must.. the man behind her laughed and grabbed her shoulder and the two walked forward. As soon as the man touched her she flipped her spear, sending the blunt end up into the Leaders groin and the blade slashing down across the throat of one of the goons infront of her. the man grabbed his neck and fell to his knees a moment before drowing in his own blood and falling to the ground. the Leader behind her groaned and stepped back. Your gona regret that, B**ch! Petal took the spear and slammed the blunt end into the ground, embeding it so it stood up on its own. She pulled her cloak open and she held a longsword in her hand. Hilt seeming to be Pure Silver and twisted like branchs of a tree. She put the tip in the ground and spun around in a circle drawing a line in the dirt. She stood, facing the wall, the Goon and his leader on either side of her. Enter the circle... and Dance with me. the Leader, engulfed in rage, was the first to rush at her, a dagger in his hand. He was also the first to fall. He rushed at her, and Petal stood perfectly still. And like she said, as soon as he passed the line of the circle she had carved in the ground, Petal spun around, as if dancing. The Leader stumbled a little past her, his back exposed. She brought her elbow down hard, hitting the mans spine in a crack as well as bringing her knee up to his chest with another crack. The man tried to yell but he couldnt before he fell to the ground. He sputted some words, trying to talk when Petal simple walked by, leaving him on the ground. The second Goon that was infront of her had wide eyes of fear. She pulled the spear from the ground and walked to the Goon. She slowly reached out and took the edge of his shirt and used it to clean the blood from her spear. Petal then walked by him and exited the Alley and turned to the Inn. She stepped inside and the woman at the front desk smiled in greeting. Hello Miss. Are you interested in a room? Petal just smiled her usual bright smile, as if the Alley incident didnt happen. Yes please. I would like that very much.Without much more words she signed her name upon the Inns register log, Payed the first nights fee, took the Key with a nod and a thanks, then made her way up the stairs and down the hall to the room. Ill rest here for a bit then make my way to where the Letter told me to. She shut the door behind her and locked it before getting comfortable and laying back on the bed.

As the two dwarf brothers Narku and Rador made there way through the bustling crowd of Alsea, they couldn't help but feel slightly...well, dwarfed. The city was huge. As a former dwarven city that had been "purchased" by the humans, all the buildings were made of white stone, and towered over land around it. The brother however, could not have cared less. They strolled through the city, talking and jest with each other.

At a quick glance, the brothers almost looked like two little boys walking down the street dressed up to go play in the forest out side the city. But as soon as someone took a moment to look at the boys, they quickly realized the true nature of the brothers. The biggest tell-tales for the dwarven race is their thick braided beards and stone hard faces. No man, whether sea man or murder could have the emotionless look that most dwarves have.

These two were different though. Though they both sported the traditional dwarven beard, which is in fact a dwarfs pride and legacy, the twins faces both beamed with a kindness and lightheartedness that many of their race only shared with close friends and relatives. One was almost inclined to walk up to the dwarfs and ask why their day was so happy, in light of recent events. No one did of course, but had anyone, the answer would have been nothing in particular. The dwarves were just happy; happy to be out, and happy to be adventuring together.

"So, where is this council being held anyway," asked Nark in dwarven, a rich language that rolled like thunder off the tongue.

"I'm not sure brother," answered Rador. "But, it can't be to hard to find. This is the first meeting of the races in centuries. I would say follow the masses, and look for lots of guards." This raised a chuckle from both brothers, for no reason in particular.

As they made their way towards the center of the city, it was evident that they were headed in the right direction. The groups of three and four people turned to throngs of ten to twelve. Soon, a dwarf couldn't see much but the torsos around him, and the stone beneath. They broke though a group of folk gossiping about faries being spotted, and the cobble stone beneath their feet turned from normal grey to bright white.

"Ah, the court yard of the castle," said Narku. "Only dwarves would be so tacky as to change the color of the rode." Rador smirked as Narku roared at his own joke. Children played in the court yard, and upon seeing the dwarves enter the area, the young ones ran over to them.

"Hey, are you a dwarf?" asked one very loud little boy. Without waiting for an answer, another boy ran up and tugged, very harshly Rador thought, on Narku's beard.

"Yeah, its real alright, didn't move or nothin'. Hey, where are you from?"

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Alexander Borton walked casually around the court of the palace in Alsea, scanning the crowd for any trouble makers. It was bad enough that he had to be in this city of northerners, but now he had to watch these people because the Northern Guard just wasn't cutting it. This was all his opinion, and though in reality, the palace guards were quite sufficient, it made him feel better to have an eye on the crowd himself should something arise and he had to get back to his king.

His armor with the lion head of the king on its chest was drawing many jeers, but Alexander cared not. He merely raised his head higher and carried on his path. "Let the dividers jeer," he muttered to himself. "It just goes to show how ridiculous they are."

Across the court he saw a group of boys standing in a circle. In the middle of the circle he saw two shorter boys. The taller children had snatch the hat off of one of the shorter, and they were playing gnome-in-the-middle with it, laughing and carrying on. Alexander stalked over, grabbed the hat, which turned out to be naught but a rangers shooting bill, and scowled at the youngsters.

"Carry on now kids. This is no place for playing. There are important people showing up today, and you need not be in the way." The children ran away, still jeering and yelling at the smaller children, that, as Alexander turned to return the hat, now saw were dwarves.

"I'm sorry gentle-sirs for the behavior of the little ones." He bowed and held the hat out, which Narku quickly grabbed and placed in his pocket. "They are but children, and all the excitment has them in a frenzy."

"It was nothing southerner," said Rador. "My brother is only grumpy because...well, I'm not sure why. He was quite happy a moment ago. It could be the cold or...."

"No, its this blasted city, all closed in and what not," Narku snapped. He loved the forest, and missed the wide open spaces dearly. He looked at Alexanders armor, and all the anger and crankyness left in a whooping laugh. "Look at this brother! The Northerners have put the Southerner guard on child patrol! HAH!" Narku couldn't speak in his fit of laughter, and Rador smirked shaking his head.

Alexander was quite put off and glowered at the dwarves. "Well, if you have no business here, get on with you. I have a watch to get back to."

"CHILD WATCH!" roared Narku and nearly fell over.

"Never mind my brother sir. We are merely looking for the location of the council, as we plan to attend."

Alexander glared at Narku. "Well, the queen as issued that a certain number of witnesses from each race may be admitted tomorrow. As I have not seen many other dwarves in this city, you may be in luck. But it will be first come first in. The Council will take place in the great room inside the castle at high noon. All witnesses will enter from the side doors after the processional of leaders come through here," he motioned at the ground around him.

Rador nodded. "You have been a great help to us..."

"Alexander Borton of His Majesty's Guard," he answered.

Narku ceased his laughter and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Ah...thank you Alex for a good laugh. Sorry it had to be at your expense, but thank you none the less."

"My name is Alexander, sir," Alexander growled.

Ignoring him, Narku continued. "Now, brother, let us find an inn, and a good tavern, and we saw eat and drink, and wait for the morning."

Alexander nodded south. "There is a good inn about a quarter mile south called the Spear and Shield. Many of the invited have been sent there to stay."

"Thank you again Alex the Southerner," Narku said, banging on the lion head on the armor and walked away with his brother, heading to good food and drink.


((woohoo, not my best, but its been to long since I've written and i had to get the juices flowing. Time to get started!! And GREAT intros by all!!!))

(ooc: arigatou xornon everyone has been quite lovely...)

“Genevieve Portfoot?”

The conspicuously decorated messenger dismounted his flawless white steed, a trace amount of concern in pretty grey eyes. He had been ordered to this location and he was positive it was the right location but it was not the village of humbled citizens he expected to encounter. Instead he found himself deep within the forest, a series of low swooping branches hiding the sun, the green canopy a sky of its own. Deciding to chance it one last time, he called out to the clearing. “Is there a Genevieve Portfoot in the immediate area?”

“Janey!” shouted a voice.

The messenger quickly turned on his heel, hoping to see the elusive Genevieve. Not seeing her anywhere in sight, he made a face. “Genevieve..?”

“Janey,” corrected Genevieve again. Extending a hand downwards, she whistled to the messenger. “Up here, dear.” Smiling down to the bemused gentleman as she hung upside down from a branch, she motioned for him to take her hand. “Genevieve Portfoot IS my given name but I find it can be lots of words for the mouth and I don’t believe in wasting words…so please, Janey.” Shaking the man’s hand, she chuckled at his confusion. Loosening her hold over the branch, she fell into a handstand, wobbling around before managing to get onto her feet. “What brings you here, may I ask? Not many humans get lost shouting for a Portfoot!”

Regaining his sense of professionalism, the messenger removed a sealed envelope from the inside of his coat. He offered it to Janey, the Gnome staring dumbly at the paper. Noticing her make no motion to claim the invitation, he began to open it for her. He stopped at seeing her raise a hand. “Miss Portfoot?”

“Janey,” Janey blinked once, twice before erupting into guilty laughter. Shaking her head with a rueful smile, she confessed. “To be frank, I haven’t read for the past five years so I’m a little rusty with words. Might you be able to sum it up?”

“Oh, of course. In summation, your presence is required in Alesea by decree of our royal highness, Queen of Caplan…” He folded the letter and held it out for Genevieve.

Janey widened her deep brown eyes. “Pardons?” She rested a hand on her chest. “Me, a Gnome? But what could I possibly accomplish with my little Halfling arms?” Grabbing a leg, she raised it up entirely vertical in mock confusion. “What could be done with my rather flexible legs? Granted, I can reach the tip of your chin maybe but I’d…I’d,” She hopped on her other foot, leg still in the air as she contemplated. “…I’d have to stand on my hands and do a spin kick but even then, that’s a feat!” innocently exclaimed Janey.

The messenger pulled at his collar slightly, his attention everywhere but Janey. “I am not sure if you’re trying to proposition me…”

“Oh..!” Lowering her leg, Janey dismissed his claim with a smirk. “Well if I were I’m clearly not doing a good job…but I promise that is not the case. Although…” Crossing her arms over her chest, she narrowed her eyes. “Do you not find it a little strange I’d be sent for?”

“I would…” A sudden glint appeared to the messenger’s eyes. Stroking an invisible beard, he continued. “…I would, if not for our queen informing me of your supposed status-”

“Oh…?” Janey tapped her lips with her index finger, doing her best not to smile.

“You do not look deceased.”

“Looks can be deceiving,” retorted Janey sweetly.

“I do not believe I am talking to the undead-”

“I’ve died once.” Cut off Janey abruptly. “But that’s a long story and you surely don’t have the time..!” She chuckled, finally accepting the invitation. “I’ll be there, in Alesea, that is. Let our royal highness know?”

“But of course.” Mounting his steed, the messenger galloped away from the forest, leaving a very amused Janey to her thoughts…

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What brings a Gnome to these parts?” inquired the bartender gingerly.

Janey clapped her hands. “I am delighted you asked…” Tapping her nose, she stared pensively up to the chandelier lights. “…though I’m really not sure myself,” Spinning a silver coin on the countertop, she spoke to the table. “Someone sent for me, said I had business at the palace, so here I am..!”

“You, a gnome? But what would ya do with your little Halfling arms?”

“That is EXACTLY what I said!” Janey banged the table forcefully, several drinks sloshing their contents onto the countertop. Blushing mildly from the excess use of strength, she rested her elbow on the table. “It is a curious bothersome terribly…exciting thing.” She lifted her gaze from the table, a fire in her eyes. “Shiny for your thoughts?” Tossing the tip to the bartender as she left the pub, she stood outside, briefly taking in the modernized world. “Bah.” Wiggling her nose in distaste, she sighed. Let’s see what this life has in store for me… Pocketing her hands, she began on her venture to the nearest inn.

(ooc: On a side note, no worries, Janey is clearly not the undead. But that’s another story on its own…yes, I like to abuse ellipses.)

((i can not begin to explain how happy i am that this post is the only post in this game that is shorter then a paragraph. Gonna get this thing moving quickly here soon, just gonna give any stragglers time to create a character and join in))

(ooc: lol, totally agree with you Xornon, my man. Great to get decent length posts, no?

Thwack!

Slithers of bark cut his ear as the black arrow hammered into the trunk of the tree. Still, a far better result than would have occurred if his head had been where it was just a second earlier.

Blood trickled down the side of his neck and under his leather armour but he paid his bleeding ear no mind, his free hand was already busy clutching a piece of torn pant leg to the remnants of the arrow that was lodged in the bicep of his sword arm. His right leg was bruised and aching from the tree stump he had ploughed into early into the pursuit. All in all, his right side had taken quite the hammering.

A horn blew nearby. Once, twice, three times; they knew they had him, their attack was about to intensify. Suddenly, two Minotaur appeared a ways behind him, gaining fast, their human like legs pumping hard to close the distance. They yelled out to him in their native tongue, demanding that he give up his flight, but he simply ran harder.

He could see an end to the tree line some distance ahead and spurred his dodgy leg on harder, but as he neared the clearing his right ankle rolled on a small dead branch he failed to notice and he went down with a squawk of surprise.

The fall saved his life.

The arrow that would have struck the back of his skull sailed harmlessly overhead and the Minotaur hadn’t even finished cursing his bad luck when one of Orion’s six inch daggers lodged itself into its throat. The second Minotaur was on him in an instant, bearing down with all its weight, trying it’s best to strangle him and cave his skull in with a spiked cudgel at the same time.

Choking to death and his good arm using all its strength to hold off the cudgel, Orion forced away the searing pain in his injured arm to deliver a swift blow to the creature’s ribs. It did little damage, but separated their bodies enough that he was able to unsheathe one of his two remaining daggers. Quick as a flash he slammed the blade home into the side of the Minotaur’s neck and heaved the bulky creature off.

Clutching his throat and gasping for breath, he stomped his foot down onto the hilt of the dagger and the beast ceased its death throws. Orion collected his daggers, grinning at the bloodied blade that had felled the first beast. It was a miracle, underhanded throw with his non preferred hand.

“Thank you for teaching me to use either hand Ombrack,” he chuckled as he glanced at the fallen Minotaur, “though I don’t think your cousins share such sentiments.”

Thud

The arrow slammed into his right quad and he screamed but did not drop, instead he made a lumbering gait to the clearing. There was a reason he had come here, for he had been here before; his escape route lie nigh.

In the center of the clearing was a large fresh water pond. Most would think it just a water hole that the local fauna used to drink, but Orion had been taught its secret many years ago, by an old sorcerer when he was barely off the teat and even though he was so young, he remembered the secret clearly.

Clutching an amber medallion that hung about his neck, he screamed words in an alien tongue and plunged headlong into the pond. He felt intense pain, searing heat, deathly cold and then oblivion claimed him.

******

Ombrack came into the clearing just as the ripples in the pond had died away, his frantic eyes darting this way and that.

“He can’t be far,” he roared to his band as they thundered into the clearing behind him. “Spread out! Find him! But bring him to me alive! This one dies by my hand alone!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The owner of the armory store shook his head from the 3rd round of knocks to the front door. The tall and slender man had closed up shop hours earlier and didn’t understand who could possibly be that persistent around sunset. Sighing from another round of knocks, he got up from the back room and marched to the front of the shop. He leaned his forehead against the glass of the door. “My apologies, whoever you are. Shop is closed for the day!”

“Oh? But Teilus, you have something I want…”

“…that voice.” Mumbled Teilus. His hand slowly moved to unlock the door, Teilus breathing onto the glass. “Do I? What might that be?” Taking a deep breath and hoping his suspicions were correct, he pulled open the door. Confused at not immediately seeing a person, he lowered his gaze upon hearing a low cough close to ground level. A smile began to break his normally stony features. “...I don’t believe it.”

“Animakata.” Raising her head to meet Teilus’s eyes, Janey beamed from cheek to cheek. She slid off her hood and went on tiptoes to pat his shoulder. “Believe it!” Brushing past him and into the darkness of the shop, she trailed her fingers along the spotless display shelves. “I hope you’ve kept her decent.”

Still stunned by the presence of the Gnome, Teilus could only repeat the last of her words. “Decent…uhm, yeah, yes, of course,” Screwing up his face, he cautiously stepped after her. “I thought you retired your bow...all bows for that matter.”

“Well technically it retired me.” smirked Janey, hands on her hips. She tilted her head. “But we all know that story and it gets old fast.”

“And you’re standin’ here now.” He motioned her into the back of the shop. “Getting back into the game?”

“Not by choice...” Janey glanced to Teilus with a cool expression. Noting the furrowing of his brow grow more pronounced, she elaborated. “After my last…commission, I did retire my bow and services to the Queen. She has respected my wishes but these are politics and just because I care not to be pawn, it doesn’t change the fact things will notwork that way.” She shrugged. “What can I do?”

“Return to the wild?” Teilus retrieved a long mahogany bow from a glass case underneath the floorboards. Grabbing an arrow, he meticulously pulled the bow string back. “Sides, bein’ out in the wild for so long…prolly out of practice.”

Eyes focusing on the front of the store, Janey nodded. “Of course,” Pulling out her blade, she immediately parried the arrow shot to her back. She pitched her other sword to the wall next to the head of the astonished store owner. “…I am not.” Finished Janey testily. “You don’t have to shoot me to find out! You ask, I’ll tell you. It’s simple.”

Still on edge after the assault on his life, he smiled nervously. “Still can kill a fly on the wall, I see.”

“Don’t be foolish,” Janey sauntered up to Teilus with a diabolic grin. She slid her hand up the wall and wrapped her fingers around the hilt of her sword. “I missed. Now,” Wedging the sword free from the wall, she raised a brow. “Are you going to return Animakata or are we going to have a problem?” She asked him the question jokingly, her humor slightly fading from the brief tinge of guilt in his eyes. “Teilus?”

“Here,” Handing the rich bow over to Janey, Teilus lowered his head. “I was hoping…”

Janey drowned out the rest of his words, brown eyes furtively scanning the area. Detailed sketches…seven mock designs…note of completion. Weighing a sword in her free hand, she aimed the pointed edge beneath Teilus’s chin. “Teilus…though you are confident in the belief that curses do not exist curiosity begs me to ask. Did you make replicas of my bow...even though I have explicitly asked you to do the opposite? Think I mentioned burning it.” Said Janey, sweet voice laced with poison.

“Lucky I didn’t,” He pressed himself further into the wall, the sword growing uncomfortably closer.

“Didn’t answer my question.”

“No.”

A moment of silence passed between the former acquaintances. After what seemed forever, Janey lowered her weapon, the steel in her eyes having yet to die down. “Goodnight Teilus.” Sheathing the weapon, she turned casually on her heel and wordlessly left the shop.

~~~~~~~~

Upon Janey’s departure followed hours of bitter mumblings about property damage and the Halflings overreaction to little things. While he understood the origin of her claims he didn’t see the big deal behind her worries. “Cursed bow…” He locked the front door of his shop, eyes rolling into the back of his head from the ridiculousness of it all. “Of all the-” Teilus ended the sentence in a scream, an arrow skimming past his ear and into the pane of the door. Properly stunned for the second time in the night, he ran his fingers down the arrow and to the note at its tip.

“Teilus
Two things:
If you would like to ensure the continuation of your family line, please do not attack me with an arrow.
Let that be the first and last time you lie to me.
~Genevieve.

Oh and I may have overreacted. If I’m not sent out tomorrow, we’re drinking on me.”

Not sure how to react to the bipolar nature of the letter, Teilus chose to laugh. Shaking his head, he smiled guiltily and crumpled up the note. “Crazy halfing…”

((just wanted all to know who are waiting, the movement towards starting is coming tonight. Excersice and dinner with the wife, then I will post the coucil and the call to all the characters. Hopefully we can get this thread pretty active and we'll get some more people interested.))

As the day wore on, more and more beings arrived in the city of Alsea. Inns and taverns were filled to bursting with elves, dwarves, halflings, and southerns alike. As the day turned to night, royalty entered the city. Alexander and the Southern Guard, as well as representatives from the Northern Guard stood at the northern gate of Alsea, watching a small band of cloaked figures approach. As the riders came closer, entering the light put off by the torches the men held, the stunningly beautiful features of elves could be seen under the hoods. Alexander and the captain of the Northern Guard, Brockus, stepped forward.

"Who goes there, and what is your business in Alsea?" Brockus called. This was a mere formality, but a formality that was necessary in these time.

"My name is Gandolas Nerahmas, the king of the elves of Famelrahd, and I come with the blessing of your queen, Her Highness Melaine." Upon saying his name and rank, King Gandolas stepped off his horse and presented the letter the queen had sent to him. It was a simple letter, on plain parchment. It was, however, in the beautiful script of the queen and not her scribe. The letter was hand written by the queen herself, and sealed with her ring signet, and not a stamp.

Bowing low, Brockus motioned towards the city gate. "Please your highness, enter our fair city. Anything that you and your guests may require, you need but ask, and it shall be granted." Brockus motioned to two of his men.

"These men will guide you to the palace where a room has been arranged for you."

"You hospitality is most welcome and you have our thanks," said the king with a bow of his head. "Our only request is..." The king fell abruptly silent and his head whipped around to look behind him. "Someone comes."

The human and elven guards alike fell around the king in a tight circle, every open hand on its weapon. A moment passed where nothing was heard, then the faint sound of horses galloping was heard.

Alexander glanced at Brockus and narrowed his eyes. "Who would travel at such a pace at night. Surely that is not safe."

"Unlike your potholed roads in the south, Alexander, the roads in this land are quite nice, and able to be ridden without danger at night." A few men around Brockus who had heard the jibe snickered quietly, while Alexander could do nothing but glare in the presence of royalty.

A minute later, a group of horses, or ponies as it were, came into view. The lead rider road directly up to the light, then halted, motioning for the five behind him to do the same. Brockus once again moved to speak, but before you could, was interrupted.

"I am King Morhd Lorzahk, of the Glavar dwarves, and I come with blessings from your queen." The king jumped off of his mount and walked up to Brockus, handing his note to the bewildered officer. Looking up at the elven king, who still stood behind his guards, King Morhd puffed out his chest and bowed his head, more as an acknowledgement, then out of respect.

"Gandolas, though we have never met in person, I feel like I know you." The guards around the king stiffened at the lack of title. "I feel our kin are more alike then they care to admit. We are both proud people, who, only now in the time of greatest need would venture out in search of help."

King Gandolas stepped out of the circle of guards to stand in front of King Morhd. "I think, Morhd, that you correct." Gandolas put out his hand. "Though our kin have had little good to say to one another up to this point, let it be known that here, on this night, two kings have shaken hands, and put their differences aside."

Morhd shook Gandolas' hand. "At least until this nonsence blows over. Then you can go back to sniffing your prissy flowers," Morhd said with a smile.

"And you to your rock humping," replied the elven king.

And so together, for the first time in recorded history, the elven and dwarven king rode together, and entered the city of Alsea.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Dawn was about to break and a old man fishing out on the lake heard a giant splash. He stood in his little boat and searched the fog covered water for whatever caused the ruckus. "Damn kids should know better then to swim in this damned lake, much less scare the fish away."

To the old mans surprise, a human man clad in leather armor, and armed to the teeth swam up to his boat and climbed in. "Where am I," the stranger asked, looking quite menacing with all of his knives. The old man noticed the youngster was bleeding also.

"What do you mean where are you? How can you not know where you are? Are you sick...in the head?" The old man said that last bit with a stammer and swallowed a lump in his throat.

"Just tell me where the hell I am," yelled Orion, clinching his teeth against the combined pain and cold.

"Your on the Jorkah Lake, just outside Alsea, the capitol of Cayplan."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

As the sun peaked its glorious head over the city wall, the hustle and bustle around the streets had already gotten into full swing. There were rumors all around town that elven royalty had walked through the streets the night before.

"They were so beautiful," said one old woman, "that I didn't know if they were male of female. They had to be male by the swords they carried, but my their faces were amazing."

"You must be crazy," said man. "I heard that the elven and dwarven king came into the city together. If one believes that, you must be daft."

But the city crawled with the same story. Of course other ridiculous stories were told. Children who had seen a group of fairies come flying in over the wall were rushing around excitedly, trying to find "the little pixies".

As high noon rolled around, the city was buzzing. Every citizen in the city was making their way to the palace courtyard, waiting to see the royalty from each nation. Young men hoping to see an exotic fairy, young women hoping to see a handsome elf.

Finally it is time, and trumpets blare the beginning of the procession. The first to enter the court yard is Queen Melaine, the monarch or Cayplan, the northern human province. She is a tall and gorgeous woman, in her twenties. She is a young queen who came to power after her mother and father died of fever due to a a plague that had devastated Alsea at the beginning of all the trouble with the Evil races. She is well loved by all her subjects, and has no problem waving at her people as she enters the council room.

The next to enter is King Thomas, of Belairio. He is an older man, with graying hair, but tall and very handsome. One would almost same that Melaine and thomas could be related, but that would be ridiculous. How could the two royal families be related?

After the king, Morhd and Gandolas entered together. People were shocked to see the elven and dwarven king together, especially the other elves and dwarves in the city. But there they were, like they had known each other as children.

After that, the Centaur king and queen followed by the fairy queen entered the courtyard. The only thing one could notice on the fairy queen that marked her as one of her own was the odd color of her eyes. They shown a brilliant red with a rim of purple. She smiled and waved as the people stared in amazement at her beauty and grace.

Once the royal procession was through the courtyard, people rushed to the side entrance, trying to be one of the few of their race that would be allowed in.

Rador and Narku were one of the first in line, as they had been waiting by the door, realizing they would be able to see the royals inside better then through the legs of all people outside. Alexander was also inside, but he had a front row seat as King Thomas' personal guard. All was set and ready for history.

((time for bed, go ahead and post your characters entrance into the council and/or things they do before hand, and we'll get this party started tomorrow. Decomp, if you had other plans for Orion, never mind my post above for him, and i apologize))

((OOC: Well, I did have some other plans for Orion, Xornon my man. Was going to keep him separate from the rest of the group for a while and build up a bit of a back story and such before coming into contact with the rest of you guys (only reason I wanted to do this is because I'm going away over the week end, so the rest of the story can carry on whilst I am away and I can jump back in then)....that being said, there is no reason why someone, like you, for example, can't play my character until I get back. That's the beauty of RP's, anything can get thrown at you at anytime so I'm not really fussed either way...being your RP, it's your call bro.))

((back story is better then someone who doesn't know the character playing him. And your right about keeping him away from the main group while your away. See, I love having smart writters who know what to do in situations like that. I'm so happy ))

((lol, I live to please bro, anyhow, some weird sh*ts about to start happening with my man Orion ))

The cloaked figure moved the ebony Ranger* with a bony hand, claiming an ivory Sorcerer, his flaming gaze never leaving his opponents face for an instant.

“Check,”

Wincing, his opponent studied the board in earnest. This was a battle he could ill afford to loose. Reaching out tentatively he began to move his own Ranger, then changed his mind and moved his Knight, claiming the Ranger threatening his King. Only at the last second did he see the trap for what it was.

He should have moved the Ranger.

The bony hand moved the ebony Queen swiftly, taking the Ranger and trapping his King next to his own bloody Knight.

“I believe you are done, my friend,” the eyes blazed brighter. The bony hand reached across the game board and coiled around his neck. “Checkmate!”

Crash!

The peel of thunder was so loud that it startled him out of his nightmare and he landed in a painful, groaning heap on a wooden floor. “Hnnahhhh…” he sucked in a breath and tried to rise but his right leg gave out and he crashed back to the floor. He lay there panting for some time before a head popped into his field of vision.

The girl beamed at him, waving her hand annoyingly in front of his eyes. “You alright, mister? Boy, you sure are clumsy!” Laughing at him as he lay there blinking dumbly, she offered him support and helped him back onto the bed.

His leg felt as if it was aflame and he let out a startled gasp. “What…where am I?” he ground out, sounding much harsher than intended. The girl eyed him up and down, she must be about eleven, maybe twelve summers old, he thought idly.

“A safe place, mister, that’s all that matters, right?”

“Right, I guess. How long have I been here?”

“Six nights.”

“Six nights, huh…brilliant!”

The girl put her fists on her hips. “Well, if you don’t like the hospitality, mister, you can just go on and get lost!” She stormed out of the room in a huff.

Orion laid his forearm across his eyes and groaned in frustration. Well, this is just fine and dandy, he thought. If it isn’t blood thirsty Minotaur’s out to get me it’s moody pre-teen girls driving me up the wall.

Welcome back the world of the living, Orion my friend!

((* The game that is being played at the start of the post is chess…I have merely changed the following pieces to differ it from the real world version; Ranger = Rook, Grunt = Pawn, Sorcerer = Bishop…the Knight, Queen and King remain the same. I was too tired (read – lazy) to change anything else, hence the terms check and checkmate remain too…))

((ooc: so...mild confession of sorts. In the next 6 days I'll be heading to Japan for a semester. I'm aware I'll have internet but I'm not quite sure of how frequently or what life abroad will have in store. i'll do my best to keep up but I won't make promises i can't keep. Fine print aside...))

With the dwindling strength left in her worn body and beads of sweat streaming down her face, Genevieve expelled the very last of her nature magic over the monolith of a creature. Roots surged from deep within the earth to further entangle themselves with vines and other plants that had wound around the body of the struggling Minotaur. Fearful she’d lose her grip, she locked her legs around the hairy beast’s neck, her surprisingly strong arms keeping the Minotaur’s mouth open. Letting her gaze linger out into the distance, she almost hesitated, heart rising into her throat.

Upon hearing the familiar and comforting thwang of the bow, all of her worries and apprehensions vanished. She exhaled as she watched the arrow sail across the clearing and into the mouth of the Minotaur, determined to reach its true target. Losing her breath as the arrow took her in the chest; her hands lost their grip on the dead beast. The arrow escaped through her back, the dying Janey launched into the air, the strangest of smiles gracing her features…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Janey jolted herself upright, hands desperately trying to stem the blood flow of the wound no longer there. Pressing her hands tightly to her chest, she took several breaths in an attempt to regain her bearings. “Damn it…” Blinking, she slid out of her sweat drenched sheets, mind spinning from the graphic nature of the dream.

Grabbing her bow and an arrow, she stumbled over to the tiny balcony of her room in the Inn. With every step taken, she felt her emotions begin to overwhelm her, a rare moment for the Halfling. Walking out into the night air, she pulled back the arrow and aimed for one of the few things she would always miss. The arrow zoomed into the night sky, skimming the obsidian blanket of stars, falling short of its ethereal pale white target. Janey watched as it spiraled down from the moon and back to the waiting earth, jumping slightly from the small yelp in the distance.

“Oops?” She wiped away a bitter tear, gaining a small smile as she mentally collected herself. Dropping the bow, she rested her hands on the handrail and made a wry face. “Janey needs a drink…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leaning against the walls by the side doors, Janey watched the commencement of the procession. She tapped her nose with a suspicious smirk as the Queen and King of the human territories gracefully entered the scene. She turned her gaze aside when the Elven King and Dwarven King walked the path together. She had nothing against the unification of the races. Rather, if she could help it, she would prefer not to see another elf for quite some time. Wrong place to be for that.

Returning her attention to the procession, she tuned in as the last of the Kings and Queens made their way into the Palace. There was no sight of a Gnome King or Queen, nor was Janey expecting there to be. Though her race would gladly contribute to the cause, they functioned in such a way that there was no particularly ruler of their territory. Least last I checked… The side doors creaked open, the anxious crowd rushing the entrance. Swinging her hands behind her head, with a shrug and a whistle she entered the palace…

Morning before...

Petal made her way back down the steps of the inn, wearing the same red cloak as when she came in the night before. She held spear in hand like a walking stick, her sword hidden under the cloaks fabric.

She stepped out of the inn and made her way down the alley as a short cut again and there met up with two guards talking, blood upon the dirt where one of the three men from last night died. One of the guards, who happened to be the one who told her not to go down the alley last nigt, stopped her, and as soon as he saw who it was he smiled.

Hello again Miss. I am happy you are safe. There was an inncedent here from last night. Apparently a few of the city goons got into a fight. Didnt end neatly as you can probably tell... Good thing you went around huh?He smiled again and Petal nodded. ]Yes, I suppose it is a lucky thing. Now I would love to chat but I am on my way to the Procession. Excuss me. She bowed her head lightly and walked by them.

Processions Commencment.

Petal watched as the Kings and queens of all the races made their way in. She automatically took notice of the Fairy queen, easily marked for her eyes. Like the queens, her eyes were shaded brightly. Though pink instead of red. She watched a bit longer, she didnt notice the gnome King or Queen. -Wonder where they are.- She asked herself thoughtfully. As other people began to make thier way into the Palace she herself made her way in. There was no rush for her really. Even if she got locked out her letter would get her in again.

=Izic Eldor walked with his king about two steps behind him. He kept a wary eye upon the Dwarf king. Though Izic was the one who convinced the King to join in the fight, he still didnt trust alot of the them. Not only has he been named Ambasador of the Elves to the council, he was also the War cheif of the Army. It was his job to expect the worst. Though he hoped the Worst didnt happen. He let out a small sigh then began eye scanning. His precise eyes looked upon every detail of the area they were in. Every Nook. Every cranny. Best possible route to get out in the event of the unexpected. He was a tense guy, always at the ready to react to almost anything.=

((It'll get more lengthy the more I get into this character and story.))

Jace Revane entered the council without his sacred staff, he felt that it would be a sign of disrespect to bring a weapon into this place, it would show a lack of trust, and a lack of understanding, something Jace learned long ago. He was unfamiliar with the exact reason why he was summoned here, and he was notoriously known for knowing almost everything. To him the thought of not knowing was very exciting for someone like him. He stood waiting patiently by the side, the light could cause a light glare reflecting off of his ebony skin. His eyes were light brown, with a small twinkle within them, his long black hair ran down past his shoulders.

He looked around and saw a few familiar faces along with some unfamiliar ones. The ones he could recall, they weren't close enough for him to just go up and acknowledge them. Jace showed his respects to everyone within the room and bowed to each King and Queen with an equal amount of respect towards all of them. He simply hoped that everyone else would practice the same amount of tolerance and respect he showed. The appearance of the royal families must mean something important, and whatever they needed he was ready to lay down his agenda and serve this world with unwavering devotion.

((i am going to assume everyone who hasn't posted made it to the council))

Alexander stood at rigid attention beside his king as the witnesses filed into the limited seating. As he waited for the talking to begin, Alexander took a moment to look around the room at the royalty and their guards.

The dwarven king Mordh had a very stout dwarf standing beside him, who looked nearly twice the size of any dwarf Alexander had ever seen. King Gandolas had an elf that Alexander recognized from the night before. He was a stern elf, who had the look of distrust and discomfort about him. The Centuar king and the fairy queen did not have guards, though that was understandable, as the fairy probably had enough magic to kill them all before they blinked, and the centaur was stronger then any five of them put together, including the dwarves.

The most interesting guard was the woman who sat beside Queen Melaine though. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, and had Alexander not known better, looked completely harmless. Her name was Rose Token, and contrary to her looks, she was an elder lady, nearing 55 in age. She had been a close friend to the royal family for some time, or so Alexander had heard, yet what her gifts were, or how dangerous she was, was a mystery to all. Alexander had heard rumors though. "She had killed a minotaur with not but a knife," said one guard. "She needs only to look at you to kill you," said another. "I saw her make a whole troop of Darkmen fall from the walls one time. Just by raising her hand!"
Whatever the rumors, she was always with her queen, and Alexander respected anyone loyal to their liege.

As the crowd began to quiet down, and the doors to outside were shut, the queen rose.

"We are here, as most of you know, in order to bring our nations together in a united front against the Dark Beings. Though I have arranged this meeting, and am the host ruler, I do not consider myself the foremost speaker. As many of you know, I am not even a year into my rule. That being said, I would implore you all to view this not as a meeting of rulers, but as the gathering of mutual friends to discuss the next step in a intricate dance that involves us all." Queen Melaine let out a visibly shaky breathe and seating herself again.

The other leaders looked around the table at each other, nodding. The centaur king spoke first. "Well spoken human queen. But enough with formality." There was an uncomfortable shifting in the seats above. "If this is truly to be a meeting of mutuals, let us not hide words. My people are dieing in increasing numbers daily. We do not have city walls to hide behind, or large numbers to put together an army with. We need help."

Gandolas spoke now, visibly upset. "Sir, everyone here has people that are dieing. We would not be here if we did not all have troubles that needed immediate attention. My own capitol would have fallen to the Dark armies had my War Councilor Izic Eldor had not stepped forward to lead our people." He motioned to the elf standing beside him who bowed his head.

King Mordh also chimed in. "We dwarves may had a strong defensive position, but our supplies can only last the next month or so. With the Dark Woods filled with these vile Dark Beings, it is impossible to send out a convoy for supplies."

Alexanders king also added his bit, describing the loss of many small cities and the over filling capitol and other large cities. Queen Melaine said much of the same. "You humans think that is trial," roared the centaur. "My peoples number dwindles to near extinction, and you think the loss of a couple of cities full of farmers is trial? I am losing family!"

King Thomas rose in anger. "See now centaur. Our numbers maybe greater, but that does not lessen the life of each person. And even if it did, I am losing a thousand to your ten."

The centaur growled and stomp a hoof angrily. The other rulers eyed the two cautiously. Centaurs were quite renowned for their lack of patience. When all looked to be coming apart, a faint laugh brought all eyes to the fairy queen.

"May I ask what is so funny, your grace," asked King Mordh. "Has not the fairy kind seen trouble in these days?"

"Oh quite," answered the queen. "In fact, I have the names of all who have perished here." She reached into her cloak and pulled out a scroll. Laying it on the table, she rolled the scroll open and the leaders gasped. The scroll continued to roll open until it fell off the table, and along the entire piece of parchment, there were written thousands of names, all in elegant hand writing that was certainly the queens.

"As you see, we have lost many. But, as has already been stated, so have all of us." She stood and looked at each leader in turn. "I came to this gathering hoping to be apart of a wonderful union of races. I see, however, that you would all rather bicker about who is worse off." The queen looked at the centaur. "King, if your kind is truly as bad off as you say, why not ask the elves to open their cities to you. That would give you a place to defend and in turn, you could provide your skill in battle to elves."

King Gandolas raised his eyebrows at this thought. The centaurs would certainly be a welcome force to his new army. The elves were new to offensive fighting, where the centaurs were not one to sit back and defend. "I would be more then willing to allow the centaur kin into our cities if it would help preserve their race."

The centaur king looked at Gandolas in shock for an instance, then bowed his head low. "My people would be eternally grateful, and would certainly help the elven kind strengthen their army." There was a cheer from the witnesses who the leaders had forgotten all about. The people knew they were witnessing history.

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After a hour of talk, the rulers had come to an agreement on much. The dwarves were to receive supplies from King Thomas in the south by boat to the under ground port city in the Collum Mountains. The Northern cities, along with the elven forest, were opened to any and all of the fairies or centaurs that chose to take refuge. The north and south would put differences aside combine two of their legions, creating a mass army that would be ready to move to the assistance and any that needed it.

The most important part of the meeting though, was at the end when Queen Melaine rose again and spoke to all. "I am so pleased that we have been able to come together like this." The other leader smiled at one another. Even the centaur looked somewhat fondly at the other leaders. "But all of this is for not if we are not able to stay in touch with one another." At this, the queen motioned behind her, and Rose Token rose and places a wooden box on the table.

Looking at the leaders, Rose spoke confidently. "I will be giving each of you a talisman that is shaped to match your royal crest." She handed each necklace to it respective owner. "The talisman is crafted with air and water magic. When places in a blessed bowl of water, and the magic words are spoke, which I will give you shortly, the water will carry your voice to water in the bowls of any leader you choose." Rose sat back down, and the queen rose again.

"I think that concludes this meeting." Melaine looked up at the crowd. "Thank you for witnessing this historic event." There was a thunderous applause and a chorus of cheers. The group of leaders all rose, and filed out the door in the back of the room, presumably to the queens chambers to be told the magic behind the talismans.

Everyone talked of the meeting as they left. Things were going to change now. The leaders were coming together. There was no force on earth that could stop a united Gealna. As all the beings were ushered out of the council room, the guards watched the doors carefully. They had special instructions.

As the dwarven brothers Rador and Narku near the door, the guard holds up a hand. "Sirs, could you please stay behind for a while." Though confused, the brothers are curious and turn around. As they look around, they see others being stopped.

Genevieve Portfoot, Petal Silverwand,Jace Revane, Izic Eldor, Alexander Borton, and a few others all have been denied the exit. As the group stare around the room at each other, Rose Token comes through the door the kings and queens had exited through.

"Hello ambassadors. I know that you are wondering why you are here. Why you have been specifically invited. All I can say in at this time, in this room, is that your leaders and your land need you. If you are strong enough to take on a burden for your land, please follow me." With that Rose steps back into the room.

((Here it is folks. The looming door of "The Beginning". Sorry that was so long.... and now i have to go to bed . This is when we start the interactive part. Who's going through the door? Go ahead and write out your take on the council if you want. If you go into the room, you find all the leaders sitting in chairs waiting for.....well, you. If you want to start conversing with them or each other go ahead. I'll try to be pretty good about posting replies from any characters I'm controlling.
Was hoping to get some more takers, but oh well. If any of you want to run two characters let me know, and we'll see what we can do))

Petal stood and watched as the Leaders bickered bac kand forth. The Centaur leader growing angry. Then the Fairy queen spoke up and when she was finished the Centaur leader calmed. Petal just grinned. ... always sweet with your words... Ever since childhood.. She giggled softly and it echoed to those close to her, making them look to her briefly. She smiled to them and returned her attention to the meeting.

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With the meeting at an end Petal began to make her way out. She was sure they would be summoned later, but she was stopped by a Guard. Oddly enough it was the Same one again. You are Miss Peal Silverwand correct? Petal nodded her head and smiled softly. Why yes I am. Its good to see you again. I am begining to think fate wants us to be friends. He nodded Perhaps it is Miss Silverwand. However I must ask you to remain here. You are needed. Petal nodded, understanding. So they were to wait here then.Thank you sir. Could you tell me your name please? The guard blushed a little but answered. My name? It is Lavitz Ma'am. Lavitz Slambert. ((10 points if you know that name)) Petal nodded her head. I shall remember it Sir Slambert. she bowed her head again and then turned to see others being stopped. She then looked towards the door the leader went through as the Queens guard steps out and speaks. She nods lightly then waves to Lavits Slambert before following and entering the room.

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Petal saw all the leaders sitting and chatting with each other and bows to them all before she makes her way over to the Fairy Queen. The Fairy Queen stands up and her and Petal, surprisingly, hug. Petal. So glad you could make it. The Queen speaks holding Petals arms, a B-U-tiful smile upon her lips. Please my queen. Yo do not have to stand up because of me. The Fairy Queen gives her a soft smile. Well, if you are going to be ordering me around I might as well. She gave a sly smile to Petal before taking her seat. Some of the other leaders where just looking at her, though they didnt know who she was... she thought. Petal bows her head slightly to them all once more before making her way back to the front where she figured them to stay at.

((OOC: Bideogame da yo? Though I totally cheated and googled it, I *did* briefly play the game Sir Slambert is from...))

“Hello Ambassadors. I know that you are wondering…”

The rest of the woman’s speech was tuned out the moment the word “Ambassadors” left her lips. So much for that drink…Oy. Janey’s eyes trailed down the line of other individuals delayed at the gates, the strange characters belonging to one of the many races represented in the earlier procession. Counting the number of people representing each race, she stopped on herself, a mixture of amused and disappointed at realizing she was the only Gnome in the crowd. Least I’m not the only short one. Moving her eyes back onto the speaker, she caught her final words.

“…if you are strong enough to take on a burden for your land, please follow me.” With a final look over at the nominated candidates, Rose turned around and proceeded back into the main room.

“Hmm,” Raising an eyebrow as the woman walked away, Janey cocked her head. “Guess I’ll be burdened.” She licked her lips and grinned as she followed after the woman.

Janey entered the Queen’s chambers with a questioning smile, the Halfling finding it oddly comforting to be in the presence of the mostly diverse group. The towering King of the Centaurs, the exotic Queen of the Fairies; the gruff mighty Dwarf King, the unmatched elegance of the Elf leader, and then there were the human King and Queen, the brains behind the scheme; the strangest of them all. “Interesting.”

Tapping her lips with an index finger, her eyes scanned the large chamber as her footsteps wandered carelessly. She stopped in front of a gold plaque, her brown eyes glued to the fancy italic words. With a sigh, she turned and bowed to Queen Melaine. “My condolences,” She straightened herself up. “Your mother was one of the few who could tolerate me with a smile. I am sorry to read of her passing. Even though I believe my height is indicative of my identity, nonetheless, I am Genevieve Portfoot.”

Queen Melaine looked the Gnome over in scrutiny. “I thought you said you could not read.”

Genevieve offered an apologetic smile. “I also said I was dead…but much like things in this room,” Her gaze darted between the King and Queen. She held up her index finger, a sparkle in her eye. “…not everything is as seems, eh?”

“My, aren’t you rather bold?” The Queen stared at Genevieve in something close to titillation but not quite.

“Indeed!” Janey rocked back and forth on her heels, hands swinging behind her head. She beamed at the figure of authority like a child would to a parent, the Halfling the apex of innocence and joviality.

“Mother informed me of you, Miss Portfoot.” The Queen pouted in a moment of contemplation. “Would you care to know what she said?” Watching as Janey turned an ear towards her, the Queen beckoned for her to move closer. She waited until the Gnome was directly in front of her before speaking in a whisper. “She said, ‘If the time ever arrives that you meet Miss Portfoot, watch her carefully. The way she talks, she smiles, listen to everything she says…then disregard it almost completely.'”

Janey’s brow shot up, the last part of the Queen’s sentence catching her off guard. “Oh?”

“I am not finished,” The woman of power grinned. Assuming a pose that eerily resembled the grace of her dead mother, she continued. “‘While she is sincere in her charm and she will be a smart ass, she is a valuable asset and both cutthroat and precise the rare occasion she is serious. If you doubt my words, look her in the eyes.'”

“What do you see?” asked Janey, both curious and indifferent to the deceased queen’s speculations.

“Truth,” answered Queen Melaine simply. “You enter this hall surrounded by the powerful, the foreign, the strong…and yet, your mannerism is casual, carefree even. Potentially there is a demon lurking underneath your deceivingly harmless demeanor. Present company will soon find out.” Finished the Queen in a mysterious air.

Janey smirked, pleased by the Queen’s response. In the times that she had worked under the former Queen, she hadn’t imagined her actions were monitored that closely. And oh so accurately. However, it was not in her best interest to seem as capable as she actually was. Modesty will be the death of me… Janey sighed. “Your mother flatters me. Your mother also knew me in different times. Granted, I believe I am still…decent at what I do. And I can promise you I will do it well. But I would like to think dying has granted me a new perspective on life and perhaps things have changed.”

“Someday you should explain that.”

“Someday.” The Gnome gave the Queen a lopsided grin. Lowering her head in respect, she turned her attention away from the woman and focused on the approaching meeting at hand.

=Izic Eldor made his way in the back room with the others. He stopped in the doorway then looked about before fully entering. Izic stood to the side watching the events. Petal, the one with the bright Pink eyes, Hugging the one who was the Fairy Queen in Human form. Petal was a Fairy as well then... and one who knows the Fairy Queen well if the Queen speaks so casualy with her. Interesting. His eyes go to the Gnome and Queen Melaine. From the conversation he put together that they didnt know eachother but through the Former Queen know OF each other. He eyed the Gnome a moment, She was in service to the Former Queen. And apparently she has died? He dismisses that idea. If she had died she wouldnt be here. He then looked to his own King who was waving him over. Izic Keldor bowed his head lightly before walking over and standing beside him.=

The black panther stopped in his tracks at the sight of the white panther, hackles rising.

A white panther? Impossible!

And yet, here I am…and you are done.

The black panther dug his claws into the turf as the white panther tensioned on its haunches.

Checkmate!

The white panther uncoiled in a storm of tooth and fang…

“DINNER! COME AND GET IT!”

Orion jerked out of his nightmare with a startled gasp, eyes darting around the room. When he realized he was safe, he threw the covers off with a curse and eased his way out of the bed.

“DINNER!”

Wincing at the shout, he used his nose to navigate his way through the house to the kitchen, the smell of a rich stew drawing him on. It was gloriously warm in the kitchen and he sat down at the table with a sigh of pleasure.

“About time you got up, sleepy head,” the girl beamed at him and plonked a bowl of steaming stew in front of him. “Here, eat. Would you like a hot Temerak drink with that?”

Orion’s brows almost launched off his head. “Temerak? You…have Temerak here?”

“Uh huh.”

“I’d love one!” he replied, mouth salivating at the thought. Temerak was a very rare herb found only around the Collum Mountains. It made a rather delicious spicy drink when boiled in water. It was Orion’s favourite drink.

So, I’m somewhere near the mountains…

The girl set the cup down in front of him then proceeded to serve herself. Once settled over her stew she sat there eyeing him, spoon hovering over her bowl.

“So, mister, what’s your name?”

Orion eyed her in return. He wasn’t really one to just throw his name about will-nilly, but he couldn’t imagine this girl being any threat to him. “My name is Orion...in some circles I'm known as the Black Panther. And you are?”

“Merailin…but my Da called me Merry.”

“Called?”

At that her face fell a little. “Da died three years ago, in the Battle of Cutter’s Path.”

Orion frowned. “Never heard of a Battle of Cutter’s Path. Never even heard of Cutter’s Path for that matter, and I’ve seen most places in Gealan.”

“Just because you’ve never heard of it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen…people just don’t see all that goes on in Gealan.”

“Or don’t want to know,” Orion said. “I know…I’ve seen it too often. What about your mother?”

“I never knew her; she died giving birth to me…”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pried”

She flashed him a grin, pushing her sad memories away. “I don’t mind, really. It just gives me an excuse to pry into your past!”

Orion snorted. He eyed her until she asked what he was staring at. “How does a girl so young survive on her own for so long?”

Merry slapped the table top in indignation. “I am not a girl! I’m thirteen!”

Orion held up his hands in surrender. “Sorry. How then, does a young lady survive on her own?’

She harrumphed and swelled up with pride. “My Da taught me to use the bow. I can hunt like the best of ‘em,” she paused, eyeing his arm. “Lucky for you, he taught me how to tend arrow wounds. Nasty barbed numbers I pulled from you too. Dark beings?”

“Let’s just say I’m not as nice a person as you may think.”

“Oh, I don’t know, you don’t seem so bad.”

“I care for naught but what’s good for me. If it’ll make me rich, I’d kill an unborn in the womb.”

“Looking out for oneself is not such an evil crime, mister. After all, one can’t change the world if they are dead.”

Orion chuckled at her and shook his head.

Merry put her hands on her hips. “What’s so funny, mister?”

“Oh, nothing really, I just didn’t expect the wisest words I’ve probably ever heard to come from the lips of a thirteen year old girl.”
“I am not a girl!” she squealed and threw her spoon at him, which he ducked and burst out laughing. She couldn’t keep a straight face for long and soon joined him.

When they had calmed themselves she put her elbows up on the table and rested her face in her palms. “So, tell me mister, were you born with those strange eyes?”

Orion put on a guarded expression. “No I…it’s a long story.”

She grinned at him. “I’ve got all the time in the world.”

He sighed, “I guess this is the part where you get to pry into my past, eh?”

“You got it, mister. Spill.”

“Very well,” he made himself more comfortable. “It happened when I was ten; my father and I were riding in the outskirts of the Dark Forest. It was a day like any other…”

((OOC: I shall post the back story of how Orion became the Black Panther when I return from my trip...)

(((Ok, so....Hurricane Bill is sending some amazing surf right into the coast of Virginia Beach, which happens to be where I live. So, I may get some posting done tonight or tomorow night, but I'll be spending alot of time at the parents house, so, we shall see.)))

Petal Shifts in her spot a little as she waits for the meeting to start.

((AKA: Bump))

Jace answers the call and walks through the door. He kept his head humbly low out of respect to the royal families of each race. He bowed to each King and Queen. This so called "burden" was not as heavy to him as it would seem to others. Jace himself was ready to lay down his life in service of his Queen. He bowed to the Fairy Queen and to the woman who seemed to be so close to her. He didn't know who she was nor was he able to recognize her as someone of political power, but she had to have some importance to her if she's so friendly with his Queen. He bowed once more and verbally paid his respects to his Queen. "Good day my Queen, I am Jace Revane, a humble servant to the throne. I thank you, your guest and your fellow Kings and Queens for having me here. Whatever it is you may need of my talents then I humbly lay down my entire agenda for you."

((sorry for the wait everyone. The call of the ocean has been fulfilled, now time to play))

Queen Melaine stands and motions you all to sit. "Welcome everyone. I am sure you are curious as to why you have been called together, and I hope we can answer all of your questions shortly.

"As is apparent, our land is under attack. The meeting we have had today will bring our nations together to fight the Evil in the open. Now, what we need is a united front that the Evil can not see coming."

Queen Melaine motioned to King Thomas, who rose to speak. "Queen Melaine and I have been forming a plan for months now. We want to set up a group of beings who will work as our dagger in the dark. A force that is strong, yet small, and able to do battle with the darkness, but never be found afterwards."

King Thomas motioned to his fellow leaders. "I asked each of the leaders here to give me names of people of there own race who have shown bravery, or strength, or wits to the caliber that will be needed. Many of the names we received we have heard before, or had the pleasure of meeting before," the king nodded to both Alexander and the dwarven brothers, as many knew the brothers from their deeds in the mountain fights.

"We have called you all here now to ask you to help us. As a united land, we can now face the armies of the Evil, but if we can find the heart of this new rebellion before there is war.....well, I just don't think Gealan can survive another Dark War."

At this Queen Melaine stood back up. "To whittle it down to a simple statement, we wish to use you as instruments of battle. Will you help us defeat the Evil?"



(((Ok, I need everyone to post a response so that I know how many active players I have. This is when I'll be deciding if we need to have multiple characters from some of you, so if you want to write two characters, be thinking.)))

((I'll get a response up tonight or tomorrow, but I know that Scarlet and Zal aren't able to post until Wednesdays due to their schedules.))

Orion rocked gently with the motion of his mount as he basked in the warm sunlight; it would be a while until he saw the sun again once they had entered the forest for the hunt so he wanted to enjoy it while it lasted. Beside him his father rode in silence, emotions playing across his features as if an internal war was raging inside him. Orion knew what his problem was, but kept his mouth shut, waiting for his father to speak for himself.

Finally, after some time, his father regarded him with a cautious expression. “Orion, I have to…well, there’s something you must know…” he grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Yes, father?” Orion put on an expectant expression.

“Orion, your mother and I have decided to separate. Now, before you say anything,” his father added quickly, “I want you to know that it is of no fault of yours and we both love you very much.”

Orion regarded his father, frowning. “I know it’s not my fault, father. I know exactly why you are separating.”

His father looked shocked and terrified all at once. “You…you do?”

“Really father, an Elf? You of all people should know such relationships only end in heartache. She’ll outlive you by two centuries for crying out loud!”

“Now see here Ori-”

“No, I will not see here, father, and let me tell you something. If you even think about siring a half breed whelp that’ll outlive me I will kill the little bastard before he can take his first breath, do I make myself clear?”

His father’s face looked like a thunder cloud ready to burst after the threat rolled out, and Orion wondered if he might draw his blade on his own son right then and there. The suddenly, his expression changed, eyes widening in fear. “Orion, get down!”

The expression and the authority of the shout made his duck instinctively, but he was too slow. A black mass flew over his head, clipping him and sending him tumbling from his saddle, where he landed flat on his back, his breath knocked out of him. Gasping for breath, he watched through a daze as the black creature slammed into his father’s chest, knocking him from his mount. His father hit the ground hard, but rolled, coming up with sword in hand.

The black mass turned out to be a large, sleek black cat and it sat now tensed on its haunches, a rumbling growl working its way up its throat as it prepared to pounce. It launched and his father ducked and rolled, coming up into a run and sprinted for the forest.

“Get out of here Orion! Save yourself!”

The cat charged into the tree line after his father and Orion struggled to his feet, drawing his own blade. He had barely taken two steps when a horrible animal shriek echoed through his skull and a piercing human scream echoed from the forest.

“Father!” he sprinted into the forest, running faster than he ever had before. He came skidding to a halt, slipping in something wet and splatting face first onto the forest floor, his sword slipping out of his grip and sliding away. He rose slowly, trembling, soaked in ichor; it was his fathers’ blood. The body before him was shredded, one arm completely detached, the skin of his upper body and torso torn open, intestines and part of his stomach lying bare to see.

Orion threw up violently at the sight and it was only as he raised his head that he noticed the cat was still there, glaring at him, blood dripping from a slash in its side. Orion went to draw his sword, cursing when his hand came to the empty scabbard, remembering he had already drawn it. His eyes darted around and come to rest on his blade, lying directly in front of the cat.

Orion clenched his jaw and set his feet. There was nothing for it now, so he may as well go down fighting. “You will pay for attacking one of my blood, beast!”

The cat rumbled a growl and sprang at him so fast he couldn’t even move in time and it slammed into him like a cannon ball. He landed hard, but had presence of mind to bring his foot up and slam it into the cats’ nether region. It screeched and flung itself away. Stopping a few yards from him, the cat sat panting and whining, obviously in pain.

Orion eased himself to his feet, body aching and began to move slowly towards his sword. The cat, still in pain, hobbled to the blade quickly and sat its backside on top of the blade.

Orion arched a brow. “Smart beast, you’re no ordinary cat, are you?”

His only answer was another frontal attack but this time the cat was slower and Orion had time to slam his fist into the side of the beasts head before it slammed into him. They hit the ground next to each other and Orion sprang to his feet as quick as his body would let him to deliver a swift kick to the creatures jaw. A tooth went flying and it screeched and fled away to a safe distance.

Panting, it eyed him warily, blood dripping from its mouth, tongue lolling from the exertion.

You are strong for your age, boy.

Orion shook his head as the comment echoed through his skull. What the hell?

The cat took advantage of his confusion and came at him, hammering into his legs with as much force as it could muster, sending him flipping over completely to land hard on his back. Ivory teeth clamped down on his knee, bone cracked and he screamed. His hand hit something and through the tears he saw it was his fathers’ sword. He gripped the blade and with all of his strength swung the over sized sword at the cat, cutting clean through its head and his own leg.

He didn’t really feel the pain, such was his shock and as he lay there drifting in and out of consciousness a dozen black shapes slinked through the trees towards him. They surrounded him glaring and as he watched, the nearest of the cats sank back on its haunches; he was about to die.

Enough!

The command that rattled through his head caused the cat about to spring to reluctantly relax and a much larger, older and scarred beast hovered before his vision. There is something about this one… It turned to the others. Bring the boy; he is not to be harmed. With that, the old beast slinked away again and before he knew anything else, Orion passed out into darkness.

((The back story shall continue…))

Originally posted by Wei Phoenix
((I'll get a response up tonight or tomorrow, but I know that Scarlet and Zal aren't able to post until Wednesdays due to their schedules.))
Well The begining of the week i have to catch up on paper work and Zal has Mondays and tuesdays off his job so he doesnt even bother getting online. He goes out to bars and stuff with his friends and stuff.))

Petal stood from her seat. I am happy to put my life on the line for my people and for the people of those in this room. She smiled, Beautifully, at them all then smiles to the Fairy queen who was smiling only half heartedly.

sry thats best i can do right now i was just checkin email and im too tired to make a big post.))

((Holy crap you're up late. Paperwork? I bet you're a sexy librarian.))

((dude, Its Police paper work. She goes in around 9am and doesnt get back until real late. Not only does she have to do the paper work but all her other duties. ))

=Izic closed his eyes for a moment then opened them.=

I too will lay my life down for the cause.

=He put his fist to his chest and bowed to the queen.=

((yeah not much else I can post... ))

The queen smiles. "Alright then, the first order of buisness is to figure out where you are to go first. Before you entered, we decided to send you to a small town just north west of here that was just attacked. There is strange talk of Dark Beings coming up from the ground during the attack. You should head to this town, talk to any survivors and figure out where these attacks keep coming from. We believe the largest contigentancy of Dark Beings are in the Dark Forest, and if your information proves this right, that may be where you head."

King Thomas stood up and nodded to the group. "Gather any supplies you may need and be on your way. There are horses in the palace stables for you all. Our only request is to be informed before you move into the Dark Forest, as we are not sure if we will be able to contact you via magic once you have entered." The king bowed his head and touched a small talismen around his neck. "May the gods go with you and keep you."


(((Okay folks, its all you now. This is when this game becomes semi- unhosted, as you will now write for anyone you come in contact with, except people in power unless it is on a casual basis. You can skip right to the journey, or write what supplies ou gather, then the journey, or whatever. Create your adventure. I will be here for when you get back into the storyline to give you important info and suck.)))

Petal walked up to the king and Queen. I have a request your majestys. There was a Guard who was most helpful to me while I was here. His name is Lavitz Slambert and I wished to Request he accompany me. If, it is not too much trouble. Petal smiled beautifully to them both.

((I would like to see a character sheet on Slambert if you could, unless he's going to be identical to the name sake in Legends of Dragoon, then I know him well and need no explaination))

The queen nods her approval to Petal. "I don't see why another set of hands and strong heart would be a bad thing. I will call for Sir Slambert to join you at the northern gates when you depart."

Orion woke from his slumber warm and comfortable on a stone slab covered in soft leaves that he couldn’t put a name to. There was no fire that he could see, but the place was quite warm, which was strange for the dark forest, if indeed that was still where he was.

He remembered, then, his injured leg and sat up gingerly to inspect the damage. He sat there, staring dumbly at a completely unblemished knee. There was nothing there to evidence the cat bite at all.

Good evening, boy.

Orion started violently at the intrusion in his skull and backed away from the dark shape that slinked towards him, its amber eyes glowing with an unnatural light. His back hit the rock wall behind him, he was trapped with no where to run.

Relax boy, I mean you no harm.

The scarred cat that he remembered as the leader regarded him with head tilted to one side, tongue running across its canines in an act that Orion suspected was just subconscious habit.

Only one human besides yourself has ever killed one of my kind, did you know that, boy? The cats eyes glanced to his left and he followed its gaze to his fathers’ sword. It sat against the stone, amber crystals gleaming in the cat head pommel with the same unnatural light as the beast before him.

We took him in, much as we have you now, and sent him through the Trials. He survived them and we accepted him as one of our own.

Orion frowned, eyes still one the blade. “Then why did that cat kill my father?”

The beast made a sound that sounded close to a sigh. I’m sorry to say your father was a greedy man, Orion, and when offered a fortune to bring parts of us back as trophies for the rich, well, let us just say he showed his true colours.

Orion nodded. He’d seen enough of his fathers’ behavior to know he wasn’t the nicest or most loyal man around. Well, he certainly paid for it. He turned to face the cat. “Tell me what you want of me.”

The cat regarded him for some time before it moved closer to sit on its haunches in front of him. I want you to become the man your father should have been. I want you to bring our kind to dominance in Gealan.

Orion snorted. “Cats will never be the dominant species in Gealan…”

Firstly, we are Panthers, the beast said testily. Secondly, I am not talking about panthers per se, rather those of us that are gifted with the mind speech, among other things. Boy-

“Orion!” he spat back, mimicking the Panthers peevish tone.

The cat sighed. Orion, if those of us with such talents as we possess band together we can become Gods amongst men. No one in Gealan could stop us.

Orion laughed aloud at the absurdity of it. “Look, beast, I don’t know what you’re on about but let me tell you I don’t like this religious mumbo jumbo crap in the slightest.”

The panther bared its teeth. “That being said,” Orion interjected quickly, “if I were to agree to band together with you, what would these trials entail?”

I cannot tell you exactly. All I can say is that we need a human to lead us because we cannot mingle amongst the other races in Gealan as you can. In order to lead my kind you must do one of two things…

Orion rose and picked up his fathers sword, turning it over and admiring the brilliantly crafted blade. It was almost spellbinding, staring at such perfection. In fact, he could almost here it singing for blood. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. “Go on,” he prompted.

You must complete the trials successfully, to fail is to die. Or, you must dispose of the current leader…which is me, obviously. Therefore you really only have the one choice, you must complete the trials.

Orion raised a brow. “Ah, but you’re failing to see one small thing…”

Oh?

Orion eyed the cat, a half grin touching one side of his mouth, a tingling urge running up his arm from the sword. “At heart, I’m my fathers’ son.” He struck so fast that the cat couldn’t quite comprehend what was happening and before the beast knew it the blade was buried hilt deep in its chest. It made a strange whining noise and began to convulse, blood bubbling up through its mouth.

The luminescence in the cats eyes grew brighter and a golden mist began to spiral out of them towards him. Orion shielded his eyes from the glow initially, but something inside told him he needn’t shy from the glare. Slowly, he dropped his hand away as the golden light reached him and began to seep into his own eyes.

He jolted and began convulsing as he stood, a thousand years of images and experiences hammering his senses. He saw empires rise and fall; Kings and Queens come and go, fire, apocalypse, life reborn and the cycle repeat. Then, as suddenly as he was assaulted, his vision cleared and he stared down at the old, scarred cat with his glowing amber eyes.

What have you done?

He raised his head to see all the cats from the forest surrounding him, twelve in all. He tilted his head sideways and ran his tongue across his teeth as he pulled the Panther blade from the carcass beside him. His grip was strong, his biceps were ripped and he’d aged, quite literally, ten years in but a few seconds. He faced them, no longer a boy, but a man.

“The one and only thing that matters to me,” he replied, readying his blade. “Looked out for Number One.”

He struck.

*****

Orion stepped out of the darkness that was the Dark Forest, into bright sunlight. Drenched in sticky crimson plasma, he flicked the blood from his Panther blade and regarded it with a look of pleasure. “I think…that I’ll name you Slash. Simple. Devastating. Slash!”

He sheathed the blade and gazed westward to the mountains. He would find a village before nightfall and rest for a few days, he decided, and then, it was off east. He had an elf friend that he needed to pay a visit. He stroked Slash. Yes indeed, that elf would be glad to see him again.

((Well, don't think that turned out how I intended at all, but these are the things that happen when you've just come off a twelve hour shift and are tired as hell. It's just one of the things that keep these RP's interesting ))

"Will you help us defeat the Evil?"

The Queen's words still echoed through Janey's mind as she focused on a speck of blood marring the perfection that was Sinfonhi. Brown eyes glued in concentration on the lovely weapon, she repeated the words she had whispered in the queen's chambers. "...I swear my allegiance to you and to this cause. I swear."

But for a cost...

She hadn't spoken the thought out loud nor did she have any intention of verbalizing her intentions. Janey would have died for the former queen and she had, without meaning to, died for the former queen. The halfling was more than willing to do it again but if she could help it, she would have to benefit from the task. Raising the glistening blade under the lantern light, she pierced her lips together. "...never again."

Leaving her thoughts strictly to herself, she sheathed her blade and exhaled deeply. The journey to stop the encroaching evil was meant to be a group one, but she wasn't sure how well she could function in a group just yet. She didn't find anything wrong with her other companions but trouble had a way of finding her. And if I can spare putting the others in danger, it would make things so much easier...

Sighing to herself in wonder whether growing up had put a damper on her spirit, she shrugged off the thought. The halfling smiled up to the evening sky, aware there would be a great challenge at hand finding the dark beings of the night...

(ooc: sorry i've been m.i.a. for awhile. apparently, wireless in Japan is almost non-existent cause everyone has internet on their phone. combined w/ jetlag and drinking w/ the new fellows (KONPAI !) it's a wonder I threw out this drunken post...my apologies for any inconsistencies and thank the HEAVENS for spellcheck !)

Jace listens to their mission and looks at his new friends to try and get a feel for them and understand who they are. The most talkative was a fellow fairy who seemed to be a very happy and cheerful person. That would be needed on such a dark serious journey as this. Hopefully her happiness would inspire the rest of them when the time is needed, after battles, after seeing the horrible actions of the dark beings if they truly are back.

He began to remember his thoughts and notes of the first Dark War, the death and mayhem it caused, now the rumors he has heard are slowly but surely becoming more and more true. This band of heroes he has been called to have been entrusted by the royal families to investigate the ongoing ominous events. For a mission such as this it would require the utmost form of respect and tolerance between the races. Intolerance and bickering between them during this mission would certainly cause their deaths.

He cared about every life he has been linked to today and he wants to make sure they including himself all knew what to do and who to follow. He steps up one last time to ask them a favor. "Forgive me your majesties for I have a small question to ask about the group you have chosen. To help ease relations and tension between your chosen warriors, I propose that you honor one of them with the title of our field leader, that way there may be no heated arguments on what to do in dire situations, however the one you choose should also be willing to listen to the rest of us."

Jace kept his head bowed and his mind and heart humbled. He looked to Petal, and believed that her joyful personality would make her a great choice to lead them.

=Izic looked to Jace as he suggested a Leader of the group. =

I lead the armys of the Elf people. I am certanly capable of leading our friends here. That is if they, as well as yourselves, Allow it. My success as the Warchief of my people was only possible by taking in the opinions of my men...

=Izic eyed the woman.=

and the women... and Then chooseing the best course of action. Please Allow me to do this Honor.

=The Elf king nodded his head.=

He is skilled and knows this land better then Most if not anyone. I do not see a problem with it if you dont.

=The Elf king nodded his head lightly, looking to the Human Queen.=

Petal bows her head to the Queen Thank you M'Lady. I shall take my leave now in preperation for the journey. She then turned to the others. I will meet you all at the front gate within two hours time. She made her way out of the chamber not seeming to care who the Leader of thier group was. She took her time walking down the main room and then out of the building. Petal walked down the street now waving to those who were still gathered outside. She smiled to them all, the men and some of the older boys smiling back in interest. Once she was out of the main square she went back to the Inn she had stayed at the night before and payed off her time spent once she had gathered her things. Afterwards she made her way to the front gate where the guar she requested was standing at. He looked to her with a curious gaze. Oh hey there. I was told to come her at your Request Miss Silverwand. Petal smiled. Please call me Petal. And yes I did request you meet me here. I have been given permission to ask you to assist me. By the Queens order me and a group of others are going on a mission. I will fill you in on the details later. But first let us get ready for the journey ahead. Do you have everything with you already? Lavitz looked at her a moment then shook his head. Oh. If it is a dangerous mission I suppose I should get out of the city armor and into my familys armor. I need to go by my home first though if you wish to follow. Lavitz then walked past Petal and back into the City. After a moment Petal Followed.

The queen pondered the thought of nominating the leader. "I had honestly not thought about nominating a leader. If you feel there must be one, I would say Izic makes the most sence, as he has taveled this land wide and far. If I may suggest not dwelling to much on a leader though. You each have remarkable skills to be offered to the group, and I feel that everyone will be at the forefront of the group at some point."

Thinking about it a moment more, the queen nodded. "Yes, I would say Izic will make a fine leader, with Ms. Janey and Petal as the groups communicators I think. No offence to Sir Izic, but Petal and Janey's personalities is a touch more....lighthearted, and will be recieved well by most groups."

=Izic nodded his head in approval=

I have No objections to that M'Lady.

=Izic then turned to the others.=

Alright. We have a bit of ground to cover so if you do not have everything with you now, i suggest you go now and retirive your supplys. Once you have meet at the front gate. When everyone is accounted for we will be off. Time is an important factor here so do not waste what we have. Get your gear and get to the gate.

=with one last bow to the Kings of Queens, Izic Eldor turned and made his way out of the room.=

Jace looked at Izic and then Ms. Janey and Petal and bowed his head to the both of them, recognizing them as his superiors and showing his agreement with the Queen's decision. He placed his trust in the Queen and Izic's leadership. Once Izic and Petal left, Jace would turn back to his Queen and the other royal families so that he may speak his final words to them. "My Queen, I swear that I shall serve you and them with unwavering devotion. Once again, you have my humble appreciation, but now I ask of you if I may take my leave and meet with the rest of my group."

And with that Jace walked out and arrived at the front gate, and took a seat on the ground to await for the rest of his new found friends.

Alexander Borton and the dwarven twins Rador and Narku walked together to the northern gate, as they were ready to depart. Alexander went no where without his sword and shield, and the brothers were always ready to move.

"I suppose we shall be traveling together for some time Alex," said Narku. "To refresh your memory, I am Narku, you may call me Nark, and this is my brother Rador. I call him Rad, you may also with his leave."

Alexander stopped in the middle of the road. "Master Dwarf, my name is Alexander Borton. I was named after my father, and I would greatly appreciate it if you would call me by my full first name."

"Whatever floats your boat Alex....ander. It just doesn't flow off the tongue like Alex. But oh well, its your name."

Rador smiled and shook his head at the two. "Alexander, you might as well come to the realization that Narku will be calling you Alex for the rest of our time together. Probably to annoy you more then for convenience."

Narku pretended to not hear his brother, but smiled to himself. This would be a fine journey. From what he could tell, all of the companions were fine folk, strong in there own way. It would be interesting to see how they reacted when faced with Dark Beings. It only looked like half of them had fought with the Evil. And of that half, none showed a sign of having fought real Evil. His brother and he had fought demons and wraiths like none could imagine. And if Narku hadn't missed his guess, they would be in for quite a few run ins with quite a few nasties.

As the three reached the gate, they saw Jace was already there waiting. "Hello friend," called out Narku. "I am Narku Blackgem. You can call me Nark if it suits you, and this is my brother Rador Blackgem, he's the uglier one, and you can call him Rad if it suits him for you to do so."

Alexander was shocked and slightly giddy at the dwarf. Nark was rude and loud, but very good natured it seemed. His joy almost made Alexander want to smile and take up a song with him....almost.

"I am Alexander Borton, of His Majesties Royal Guard. It is a pleasure to be traveling with you."

Rador laughed out loud. "Son, you do realize that during this "trip", you will be eating, drinking and pissing with this good man every day. I would say you should relax a bit. We should treat each other as close friends now, that way, when times are tough, we have good and practiced at trusting each other."

After his little speech, Rador walked over to the sitting man and offered him his hand. "Glad to meet you friend."

((I was trying to wait and see if anyone would jump in and start moving the thread forward. Remember, this is sorta like a unhosted game now. I'm here to provide info when needed, but anyone can start the group moving if you want, or spot a band of orges or something. The map of this world is in the OOC thread. We are currently in Alsea, and we want to head north west. The terrain will start to get hilly and foresty as we go. If you want any more info, just ask.))

((I think it would be best if you controlled things like attacking monsters or bandits. Add to the surprise and everything.))

After a bit of time passed Lavitz and Petal made thier way back to the gates. Ironicly enough Lavitz was a Spear weilder too though his looked my official. Lavitz held his staff against his shoulder while he walked, his blue cloak blowing lightly in the genlt breeze to show his armor underneath. Petal used hers as a walking stick. Both had a sword on thier belts though Lavitz sword was much bigger. I must say I was surprised to find you have such a weapon. Perhaps one day when we are camped you can show me your skills. I am always willing to learn how to weild my spear better. I am much more profecient in the sword though. Lavitz chuckled a bit. Well I am the other way around. The spear is my main choice in weaponry. the sword is just incase something happens to the spear. Always be prepared. They both walked back to the main gate. As they approached they saw Jace, Alexander, Narku, and Rador. They stopped when they reached the group and Lavitz waved at Alexander, both of them being with the guard, if not on diffrent posts. Hello again Alexander. Some task huh? Who are your friends? Lavitz looked to the two dwarfs but when he looked to Jace, Petal spoke. Hello everyone... My name is Petal... I look forward to our journey together. Lavitz looked to her. ... By that I hope you mean the time we will spend on the road and not where this little group ends right? Petal smiled her beautiful soft smile. Of course. Fighting is a terrible thing and should be avoided if it can be. Like my sister always told me when we were young. " Strength is nothing if you are unable to control it. Love all and fighting may be avoided. " Petal smiled again.. Lavitz just looked at her like she was crazy. .. you do know there are bandits out there who dont care for being nice.. and there are things out there that even bandits fear. Petal smiled and shrugged. Are we waiting for anyone else? If not then let us be off. We have a long road ahead and time is not on our side.

Jace rose from the ground and welcomed the three, with kindness. He shook hands with them and listened to Narku give the introductions of him and his brother. "It is a pleasure to meet you Narku and Rador." He said with his usual expressionless face, he knew Narku was joking around, but throughout all of his years on this plane of existence, he has never learned nor found the time and room to laugh or play around. He then shook Alexander's hand as well and welcomed him to the group.

"Greetings Alexander, I am also thankful for your aide as well in this journey." Much sooner, Petal and Lavitz arrived to join them, and Jace didn't mind seeing a fellow fairy in the party. It may make explaining magic and his powers a little easier. He bowed to her in order to show that he recognizes her position of authority over him. "Greetings Mrs. Petal, or is it Ms.? I thank you for your contributions to our Queen's will, and do not worry sir, bandits are of no threat to us, I can assure you of that."

Merry stared at him wide eyed, mouth slightly ajar.

Orion shrugged. “Well, you did insist. I told you I wasn’t such a nice guy, remember?”

She grunted. “I put it down to avenging your father, as any man would. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a bad guy.”

Orion snorted. “Put my sword in my hand and rub me the wrong way and we’ll see about that, squirt.”

Merry narrowed her eyes at him. “I can handle you, mister!”

Orion chuckled, shaking his head at the thought of a thirteen year old girl putting an arrow in him. “I believe you,” he surrendered. He leant back in his chair and gazed off into the fireplace. Tomorrow he’d make a move east towards the elven lands, he decided, and pay his friend there a visit. He hadn’t seen him since just after the incidents he had related to Merry. It would be a good place to lay low and avoid any of Ombrack’s agents, of which there were too many in these mountains.

“What’s on your mind, mister?” Merry interrupted his thoughts.

“I was just thinking that I’ll leave at first light, whether I am fit or not.”

She arched a small brow at him. “And where are you planning to run off to exactly?”

“That is a need to know basis and, right now, you don’t need to know.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “Fine then, mister.” She rose and cleaned the plates off the table, slamming them onto the kitchen bench. “See if I care if you fall and get eaten by something in the mountains!” She stormed out of the room.

Orion could do nothing but sit there and shake his head. “Thank the heavens I never had sisters,” he said aloud to the empty room.

“Faster you bastards! I’ve seen disabled Dwarves move faster than you sorry bunch of girls!”

Razotic Ellindar-Vagar stood with his black and teal tinged plumed helm under the crook of his left arm; his right hand fiddling with the hilt of the notched hatchet that hung at his waist, watching the youngest of his troops run the obstacle course he had set up. Beside him, his adjutant held onto his large round shield.

His more senior troops had struggled to finish the course themselves and now his greenhorns were nearly shot. He shook head and frowned, an act that still failed to make his half elven features look any less handsome. “What am I going to do with them, Gabriel?” he asked, turning teal eyes on the woman next to him.

His adjutant turned her attention to him in turn. She was tall, the same height as him in fact, and lithe. Raz had lusted for her since the day he met her, though she had made it clear very quickly that she wanted nothing more than a professional relationship and he respected that. She had very elfish facial features though she was, in fact, a half breed herself. Half elf, half something Raz knew not what.

Adorning her back where a set of cream colored wings that gleamed and shimmered in the sunlight, like those of the angels from a children’s story; there was a fable that told of a highly advanced birdlike human species that were wiped out by a particularly nasty cataclysmic event millennia ago. Several times he had tried to get information out of Gabriel but she refused to talk about her family or ancestors, so he had leaned to let the matter rest. As had his troops, after she put them through two weeks of hard labor the last time they had talked about her within her ear shot.

“Give them time, will you Raz. You are the most impatient man I have ever met.”

“Things are afoot, as you well know Gabriel. Dark beings are on the move in places they haven’t been seen in years. Even this forest is not fully safe anymore. Goblins were spotted within a league of Elméra but a few days ago. Goblins, for pity sakes!”

Gabriel sighed. “The Goblins aren’t going anywhere, Raz. Would you rather fight them now and see all our greenhorns dead or take an extra few weeks, months if necessary, and see some of them survive?”

“Our people could be dead at Goblin hands in less time, Gabriel. I don’t think you fully comprehend what could be at stake here. This is more than just a few skirmishes, more than just a few raiding parties; I can feel it in my bones. Something monumental is about to happen and I want to make sure we are ready.”

“The elves can look after themselves Raz, of that I am certain. Besides we are but one small troop, what could we possibly do against a united force of dark beings, even if there is such a thing? I know their kind; they can’t co-exist without trying to knife each other in the back.”

“Tell that to our ancestors three hundred years ago, Gab, I am sure they’ll appreciate your insight.”

“Times have changed since then Raz, we are far more prepared this time.”

Raz snorted and flicked his head in the direction of a greenhorn that had just gone arse over *** into a mud hole. “Yes of course, we are much more prepared.”

(OOC: Demo-- I'm sorry to say that I don't think I'll be able to properly participate in this story considering my long lapses away from the internet. Carry on wonderfully without me. I look forward to seeing where the story will go )

=Izic finally arrived at the main gate where the others were waiting.=

My appologese. I did not mean to take so long. But if we are all here now let us be off.. Those who have not come yet know where we are heading and can catch up.

=He nodded to them all, leaving the introductions for later and walked out of the city through the gate and began down the road. As he walked her adjusted the quiver strap going across his chest and then his belt, which held his duel sword on them. In his left hand he held a bow made of what seemed to be Oak.=

Orion rose several hours before sunrise, moving gingerly at first and then with more confidence as he realised his body would handle it. Healing fast was always a trait he possessed and that certainly seemed to be the case now. He dressed in his black leathers, which had been cleaned and stored neatly by Merry whilst he was unconscious, and strapped his daggers across his chest. He clipped his sword belt around his waist and ran his hand over the panther head pommel, feeling immense comfort in having Slash back on his person.

Slipping on his boots, he crept quietly into the kitchen and helped himself to some rations. Stuffing a loaf of bread, roll of cheese and some dried meat strips into a sack, he flung it over his shoulder and left the house, gnawing on a piece of the bread as he made his way towards a small stable at the side of the dwelling.

“Don’t think you’re just going to run off without me!”

Orion jumped violently, letting out a curse and dropping his piece of bread on a hay strewn floor. He let out a groan as he had also managed to bite his tongue in his fright.

When he had regained his composure he glared at the girl who stood in the dimness, holding the reins of two horses, one of which was a large black stallion. Orion blinked and shook his head, then blinked several times again. How in the seven hells had a thirteen year old girl come across such a beast in the middle of the bloody mountains? And why was stallion so timid?

“What the hell is going on? Who are you?” he mouthed but two of many questions running through his mind.

“What do you mean, mister? I’m Merry, like I told you last night. Did you take a knock to the head too, mister? Lost your memory?”

Orion scowled. “I mean, how the hell did you come to possess such a beast?” he growled in frustration.

“Oh, you mean Midnight?” she asked with faux innocence, enjoying getting under his skin. “He belonged to my Da. He had only just got him before he left for Cutters Pass.”

Orion eyes the beast as he approached; expecting the horse to act up when he drew near, but the beast remained calm. “He’s timid, for a stallion.”

“He has been trained to only go crazy when an enemy is near. If you happen to be riding him when he becomes skittish, you must voice the right command to keep him calm,” she smiled at him sweetly.

Orion felt the dread slowly descend over him. “And the command is?”

Her sweet smile turned quite wicked. “Ah, well, if you treat me nice enough I might just tell you the command…maybe.”

Orion sighed. “You’re going to make me beg for it, aren’t you?”

She laughed at him. “No, mister, begging is not good enough. I want just one small, teensy weensy thing from you. You must promise to take me with you wherever you go and let me be involved in whatever you do, and yes, that means fight with you if I have to.”

“Why would you want to come to the elfish lands with me?”

“Not just to the elfish lands, mister. I mean you must take me everywhere you go, like, forever!”

Orion felt as if someone had dropped a ten tonne weight on his shoulders. “What?” he demanded angrily. “Why the bloody hell would a girl like you want to follow a bastard like me around?”

“You said your number one goal is to look out for yourself, right? And you want to make an impact on this world, right?”

“Yeah, so, what of it?” he demanded.

“Well, how would you like your legacy to live forever?”

Now his brows knitted in confusion. “Will you just tell me what the hell you’re on about?”

“My dream, mister, is to be a world renowned chronicler; to tell the tales of the most influential people in all of Gealan from hand knowledge. Not just make up fantasy tales about them but record the cold, hard facts. I planned to start my career by chronicling my fathers’ time at the Battle of Cutters Pass, but he refused to let me go with him. I can see that you are going to give me some very interesting tales to record and I am not missing out on this opportunity. So there you have it, mister, that’s as much of me as you’ll ever know. Now, if you want that command you’ll agree to let me shadow you, won’t you?”

Orion stared at her for some time, wondering for about the thousandth time just who this girl really was. Eventually, he shrugged, “Or I could just walk. Goodbye Merry.”

She stomped her foot and whipped out the bow that was strung across her back, notching an arrow so quick you’d have thought she was of elfish descent. “Let me put it another way then, mister. Agree to take me with you or I’ll plant this arrow in your Adam’s apple.”

Orion swallowed and rubbed at his throat. “Alright, since you put it that way, you can shadow me, Merry the Chronicler.”
The bow was away and she beamed him a tremendous smile, as if she hadn’t just been threatening to murder him then and there. “Great! I’m so happy, mister. You won’t regret this.” She vaulted up onto the back of her grey mare with a burst of bubbly energy. “Let’s get this show on the road!”

Orion rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat loudly.

“What’s wrong,” she asked cheerily.

Orion arched a brow at her. “Are you forgetting something?”

Her brow furrowed. “Forgetting something? Oh, right, the command! Cupcakes!”

“Excuse me?”

“The command,” she chuckled, “is cupcakes.”

He shot her an incredulous look. “You…have got to be kidding me?”

“My Da let me choose the command,” she smiled and gazed away wistfully. “Besides, Midnight likes cupcakes.”

Orion snorted, “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” He mounted the Midnight and got himself as comfortable as was possible on the back of a giant living beast. “Shall we?”

Merry smiled wide and jerked her head in an affirmative. “Let us go forth and multiply! Hyaaa!” Her mount shot out of the stable, trailing her burst of laughter behind her as she disappeared out of view.

Orion shook his head in dismay. What the hell had he just gotten himself into?

Razotic Ellinar-Vagar, though born in the elf city of Elméra, and although elf cities were a whole different breed to their human counterparts, still abhorred city life. Hence why, when he had saved quite a fortune, he built a log mansion of sorts a few hours walk from the outskirts of the city. Truth be told it was far more than just a mansion, more like a complex which he used to house and train his troops. Besides the main house, there were stables, a large hall that was used for training and to hold large scale meetings with the entire troop, a courtyard big enough for mounted troops to train and a smithy for forging his troops very own weapons; a god send if ever there was one, given you had to give up an arm and a leg to get anywhere with the official army smithy in Elméra.

He had worked hard to save a small fortune to build his grand complex, but had lacked the funding needed to truly build his vision until his mother died in a tragic accident and he had received his inheritance; a considerably larger fortune.

He was a half breed, the product of a Human-Elf coupling. His elvan mother, Mylaillian, was a wealthy trader, specialising in elf spices and medicines which she sold mostly to the human cities of Tibus and Alésea in the west. She owned Star Drop Enterprises, the second largest merchant company behind Elméra Commodities, which was owned by Rillis, the richest and most powerful elf outside of the royal bloodline and a man who despised his mother and now him by proxy. Raz despised the man in return for his greedy nature alone, although he was glad of the human influences that had crept into the elf society over the last few hundred years that allowed such merchants and their companies to exist. He wouldn’t be where he was now without his mothers company.

His father, on the other hand, was a figure of no such importance. He was a wayfarer at heart, travelling the land in search of a good fight, of a chance to put his prized blade to use. It was a thing of beauty, Raz remembered as he reflected on the past, possibly the finest blade to ever be crafted by elvan hands, despite the fact that it was moulded from a more human design. The blades true showpiece, though, was the pommel; fine ivory moulded in the shape of a panthers head with two amber crystals inset in the eye sockets. When the sunlight hit those crystals just right it truly was spectacular to behold. His father never went anywhere without it.

The blade had disappeared along with his father, never to be seen again. To this day he still knew not where his father was or how he died. He was dead, of that he was sure; he could feel it deep down, a sons intuition.

At the age of eighteen, young for a half breed and extremely young for an elf, he joined the ranks of the elfish military. A decade of not only meeting the challenges of the army, but also the challenges of dealing with the other elves that ridiculed and spurned him for being a half breed – ridiculous really, considering much of the old elvan ways had given way to a more human style society- had honed him to the point that he was ready to take a command. Unfortunately Rillis, being his mothers rival and self absorbed bastard that he was, put a stop to that. He had been set up for a fall and like a good pawn he had walked right into the trap. There were those in power, however, that supported his mother and could well see what had been orchestrated. Though they did not have the ability to have him reinstated to his commanded, they had given him the opportunity to serve through a different avenue.

And so he had created his own mercenary troop, and was now subcontracted to the royal family themselves, to serve in the same capacity as the official armed forces. He had achieved a position of command despite it all and it had made Rillis an even more dangerous enemy in the process. Raz still expected to be knifed the dark whenever he visited the city.

He stood now on a dais at the front of the hall where his entire troop, blacksmiths and all, were gathered on the wooden benches that spanned the entire width of the room bar a narrow isle that ran down the centre from the doorway to the dais. There were low murmurs of conversation but all fell silent as he raised a hand to demand their attention.

He looked them over for a time and he could see that they were anxious to hear what he was about to say, to find out why he had called the hasty gathering.

“Not more than an hour ago I received a letter directly from the royal family,” he began, pausing for effect. “It would appear that my fretting about imminent problems being afoot were more than justified,” he gave a pointed glance to Gabriel, who he was sure would have stuck her tongue out at him had they been in private.

“Yesterday evening, a royal hunting party containing Prince Ellisedel, youngest son of our liege, was ambushed by a force of Goblins some two hundred strong.” He was forced to stop as multiple voices broke out into question at once.

He held up a hand for silence and waited for the hubbub to die down. “Allow me to finish, please. I will answer your questions shortly. It is my duty to convey the news that two thirds of the party were slain, our prince among that number. Ellisedel is dead.”

Raz had never heard such complete and utter silence. They were stunned, as well they should be. “The Crowned Prince, in the King’s absence, has already declared a week of morning in Elméra. We, however, will not have time to take part in the mourning process like the rest of our brethren as we have been tasked with bringing these Goblins to justice.”

Again, questions were fired at him and this time he had to verbally call for quiet. “There is more,” he said, looking several of his troops directly in the eye. “These Goblins were lead by elves.”

Pandemonium was a good word to describe the reaction in the room as he dropped that bombshell, but this time he didn’t even try to stop them. Instead he stood there as a barrage of shouts and demands washed over him and waited patiently for them to loose their bluster, which took a tad longer than he expected but he endured it none the less.

When they had finally quietened down he continued. “A survivor related her tale to the Prince told of four elves commanding the Goblin force, which will obviously make this more complicated than defeating a band of mindless Goblins. We will have to adapt to whatever greets us when we come across them. I want you all equipped and outfitted and ready to march by midday; we will eat before we leave though. I want you all filled and fit to fight when the time comes. Dismissed.”

Even though he had promised to answer any questions they might have, all knew that the situation was too important for the trivial and they must deal with the main problem at hand. He watched them silently as they filed out of the hall until it was only himself and Gabriel left.

“What are you thinking, Raz?”

He eyed her, his expression hard, as hard as his elf facial features could get. “We are going to find these rogue elves and their Goblin pawns and when we do I am going to personally rip out their hearts with my bare hands.” He gazed down at his rather delicate looking long fingered hands. Delicate they may appear, but he wasn’t afraid to get them dirty. “If there is one type of person I cannot stand it is a traitor to his own kind. I will not allow them to meet a quick end, Gabriel, of that you can be certain. They will suffer to the last.”

((Hope you don't mind me messing with the elf society a tad and changing them from the normal stereotypical elf types, Xornon buddy. Let us know if your not happy with it, eh?))

((dude......i cried. Now if only i could get everyone to write like that.....HINT!!! j/k hah, but really, that was good. Got some work to do then i will be posting))

Cutters Pass was on no map that Orion had ever seen and he wasn’t so sure he believed it even existed until Merry led him the valley that, while not looking like much at first glance, had definitely seen a battle. The tell tale signs were everywhere when one looked close enough; the gouges in the stone, a rusted scrap of metal or a shard of bone that had been missed in the clean up.

Merry had explained that Cutters Pass was the gate way to Malkavian Gorge, a natural haven that once contained the wealth of the mountains. There one could find every herb, spice and natural wonder imaginable; a veritable merchants paradise. That was before the battle of course.

Merrys’ father was friend and Guard Captain to the mountain merchantman, Garvin Gerador, that discovered the gorge and was tasked with not only keeping the discovery from prying eyes but also with defending it if it were ever discovered. Hence why, when warriors marched on the gorge under the orders of the tyrannical Warlord of (Insert name here), left his daughter behind and went off to die.

As they neared the end of the valley Orion could see what made this pass both a blessing and a curse. Curse, in the fact that it was the only way into the gorge and so if someone decided to bring war there was no way out but through the opposing army. Blessing, in the fact that it was narrow and would be easily defended; invaders would suffer large casualties in any attempt to take the gorge.

As they emerged from the valley into the gorge, Orion was greeted by a site that was both beautiful and sorrowful in the equal measures. The waterfall and fresh water river that Merry and so wistfully described to him during their ride gleamed in the sunlight. Around the river, however, all the beauty had been stripped away. The earth was blackened and charred and despite the three year time span nothing had grown back again. On the near side of the river, amongst the desolation and ash were hundreds of small stone pillars, each a few feet high. As they rode closer, he could see exactly what they were.

Headstones.

Merry reigned in several meters away from the grave and dismounted stretching and grinning into the sunlight as if she wasn’t standing next to hundreds of dead people. Orion dismounted more slowly, feeling intensely uncomfortable.

“Can we not dally here, please? This place gives me the creeps.”

She snorted and leered at him. “They’re dead, mister,” she stated simply and stalked off through the graves with an obvious destination in mind. After some time, he reluctantly followed and came silently to stand beside her as she gazed down at the headstone bearing her fathers name.

“There’s one thing I don’t understand,” he broke into the silence. “Why are there so many dead? Surely this friend of your fathers didn’t have such a large force guarding him?”

She looked at him as if he were an idiot. “For a merchant, this valley contained riches beyond belief. Who is the riches merchant that you know of, mister?”

“Rillis,” he replied without hesitation. “A powerful and dangerous elf if ever there was one.”

“Then let me put it this way. If a merchant was to harvest or collect every possible item from this gorge and sell it all, they would outstrip the profits of this Rillis by about a million times or more. Can you comprehend such a number, mister?”

Despite what she thought of him he wasn’t an idiot. He did indeed know how large a number a million was and it boggled his mind. Rillis’ profits a million times over. He whistled at the thought, which brought a smile from Merry.

“It would have been wonderful! Da would have been rich and I could have financed my chronicler ambitions with ease.” She sighed heavily and gestured around her. “Of course Garvin had hundreds of guards to defend this place, thousands even.”

Orion rubbed the back of his neck. “Thousands? I don’t see that many graves.”

“Here lie the men that my father had with him at the time. A few hundred more were with Garvin in Alésea to recruit yet more. Neither even knew that the gorge had been discovered by another and the attack was unexpected.” She pointed back towards the valley. “You see those two tails leading up the mountain on either side of the valley entrance?”

“I see them”

“They are man made, designed so archers can position themselves on the high ground and shoot down at invaders in the valley. It’s nearly impossible to get up there from the other end of the valley. If my father knew the enemy was coming sooner, he could have wiped most of the out without having to fight a pitched battle in the valley itself.”

“Yes, I can see it would be terribly easy to defend this gorge with enough forewarning.”

“My father sent a skeet to Alésea urging Garvin to make haste but he was several days too late. He arrived to find his oasis burning and all these many dead. So he buried my father and his men here and burnt the bodies of the enemy.”

Orion took this all in and his brows wrinkled in confusion. “One thing doesn’t seem to fit. The valley is quite long, certainly long enough for a scout to get word back about an imminent attack. How were they taken so by surprise?”

Merry shrugged. “I have no idea, and neither does Garvin. He isn’t saying, in any event.”

“You think he knows more than he is letting on?”

She shrugged again. “I don’t know, probably not. He did lose a massive fortune, after all, so I can’t imagine him having something to do with some sort of conspiracy.”

“Unless things didn’t turn out the way he had planned,” he looked around the gorge. “Maybe this fire was an accident?”

Merry hugged herself and shivered. “I don’t want to think about such thoughts. I like Garvin well enough and nothing is going to bring my father back. He is dead and I will let him lie.”

“I would want to avenge any bastard that did something like that to me, whether I could prove it or not. If I thought someone was hiding something that serious from me I’d extract the information from them, as painfully as possible.”

He drew his blade and held it high so it glimmered in the light. “Then I would nourish Slash!”

She stepped away from the mad glint in his eyes and he tilted his head to one side, running his tongue over his teeth. “Do you still think I am a nice guy?”

She tried to laugh, but it was nervous and stuttering. “I’m not scared of your bluster, mister.”

Despite what she said, he didn’t fail to notice her hand poised to whip out her bow should he try anything too hasty. He sheathed his blade slowly and smirked at her sigh of relief. “Right, not afraid at all.”

How Janey Died…
The robed figure entered the smoke filled excuse for a pub, drunken men gathered en masse to celebrate the joys of inebriation. Blissful ignorance. The small figure shouldered through the bulk of them, determined to get a seat at the bar. It had been a stressful week and more so than rest or a good screw, the dark character was in desperate need for a drink. And a drink I shall have… The stranger banged on the table with a bandaged hand, the loud sound almost startling to the cheerful company around her. She angled her neck and exhaled. Relax… She spoke to the bar keep. “A drink…”

The greasy faced balding man looked her up and down. He arched a brow. “A drink?”

“Something that will burn me from the inside out…” She rested her chin on her hand. “Surprise me.”

The barkeep laughed and moved on to prepare her beverage. Drumming her fingers on the surprisingly clean wooden counter, she whistled. “Got any stories goin’ round these parts? Been hearin’ tales of mad creatures…”

“Oy?” The bar tender slammed a glass full of amber liquid down in front of the figure. He stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Mad creatures and mad peoples to match,” Noticing the stranger lean in closer, he continued. “…yeah, stories been going about the pub. Mad little Halfling woman got herself killed by Belmoth. She’s known, well, was known for bein’ a smart and scary one…but can’t be all THAT smart if she be getting’ herself involved with the business of magicked minotaurs.”

She sipped tepidly to the drink. “She does sound like a stupid one,” commented the robed figure in a sympathetic tone. Despite the sincerity in her voice, it almost sounded like there was a smile behind her words…almost turning away in her smug satisfaction, the barkeep held her attention with three simple words.

“It gets better.”

“Hmm..?” She cocked her head. “Better than a suicidal Half woman?”

“Ay…there’s heresay there’s an elf involved…”

The woman’s bandaged grip tightened on the mug. Knuckles losing their color, she spoke in a slightly altered tone. “Tell me more…”

~~~~~~~~~~


Janey navigated her way through a particularly thick part of the forest, the lack of a trail potentially bothersome to those unused to the terrain. Combined with the pale grey colors of the early morning sky and the steady incline upwards, it made for a discouraging path, seemingly impractical for those looking for easy passage into the next city. However, unbeknownst to many, it was also the fastest path into the city. If one were willing to overcome a majority of the obstacles, it was possible to make it into town by midday; the evening if you took things slowly.

Hopefully the afternoon… Janey clapped her hands together and scanned the rocky path before her. Hmm… She wrapped bandages around her palms and fingers, beaming once satisfied. Carefully securing her weaponry, she started to scale the mountain peak, the Halfling moving swiftly despite her small size. Cringing in a semblance of guilt from leaving the others, she shrugged off her worries. The strange group looked like a capable bunch and surely had others who would guide them around better. Well... She smiled, a crack in the distance making her press herself closer to the wall.

Just in time.

A loose piece of the worn mountain fell, jagged rock skimming past Janey and crashing to the ground below. She glanced aside. …well, maybe not *better* but definitely safer in this case. her head, she continued on her journey upwards…



(OOC: Hmm. Okay. Kind of lied. My internet isn't consistent, this is true. But Wednesdays I'm free (so that gives me time to think/write). However, I don't want to hold up *others* is my problem...which is why Janey is solo (for now)?)

((Sorry, been studying for my last exam of school, EVER. Should be able to post tomorow))

Sorry Xornon, my man, but I really can't find the heart to continue with this RP, seeing as none of the others seem to give a shit about it enough to put some effort in...shame really...'cause I was just starting to warm up here...

Anyway...see ya around sometime champ. Pleasure writing with you again, short as it was. If you ever want to catch up to write anything in future, well, you got my email addy, so give us a shout.

Cheers mate

We did give a shit as you can see he never made that post he said he would the next day. I know I put effort towards it. Xornon just disappeared for whatever reasons.

As is Life...though...although...ALTHOUGH we could always BS something and make our own path through this story...!

Then again, I'm not one to talk considering my internet access has been reduced to 2 hours a day (because anything bad that can happen, WILL happen...and your PC charger will make itself immobile in a foreign country).

But it was interesting while it lasted (as short as that was...).

Take cares,
Middy

Later days my new black friend.

holy crapper! you guys were really typing some big'ol RP here! Uber Multi Paragraphs
Shame your are quiting and giving up

Hai...some people are mighty epic. But like all potentially good things, this came to its untimely demise...

Slash I love slacking off in class...

Originally posted by midnite127
Hai...some people are mighty epic. But like all potentially good things, this came to its untimely demise...

Slash I love slacking off in class...

Oh yeah it is day time over there...Have fun! I'll be moving to Germany in a few months with my brother