Fantasy 3 Vertices IC

[Thalia_Neko]

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location: Juya
characters: Sirindra, Hyss
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It was a couple days after Juya's preliminary finals ended. Sirindra had just finished her preparations to leave. She was walking along a dirt street, flipping a special coin. That was when she felt a strange sensation sparked within her. She barely shifted her head to the side as something whizzed passed, striking into the wooden frame of the building beside her. Sirindra titled her gaze into the alley beside her, pink-red eyes glinting. There in the shadows was someone in a hood.

"You dodged that? Impresssssive," came the hiss. If she hadn't, her entire head was liable to have been cut clean off. Well, not clean, it would've been a bloody mess. Or she would've at least taken a nasty cut along her shoulder and collarbone area. The person moved forwards, only just allowing the light to touch her. "Hello, 'Juya's Supernova'."

Sirindra glimpsed the weapon sticking out of the wall. A large glaive with sharpened edges, gleaming dangerously. This girl just threw her weapon, disarming herself like that? Was she a fool?... Sirindra's eyes narrowed. No... This girl felt different. She surely was not that foolish. There had to be some meaning to it.

The hooded girl continued. "Did you know, across the 3 continents, other tournaments are wrapping up? With their own 'Supernovas'?"

"It's only been about a day since the preliminaries have ended, and yet you already know that?"

A smile appeared on the half of her face that was lit by light, with her eyes shadowed by her hood. "Do you know what I am?"

Huh. An interesting question. This girl was playing around. Well, whatever. Sirindra would play along. She thought about it. Hm.. A small hooded girl, clad in shadows. With a unique hissing enunciation. But she was asking her affiliation, not who she was. It only took a second to come up with an answer.

"The Information Guild that spreads across the world, you're an agent of theirs."

"Sss.." she hissed in delight. "Very good. Then, do you know who I am?"

Now she was asking about who she specifically was. Glancing back at the large glaive sticking out of the wall. The hissing cadence. Again, it didn't take long for Sirindra to have a guess.

"Based on rumors, I'd say you're the agent known as the Silent Walk, the Snow's Shadow, Shadow of the Snowflake Blade. Silver Eye Hyss," the woman answered, eyes gleaming. She added, "To name just a few of your titles."

"Hehh.. That'ss no good. My work iz suppossed to be covert; there shhouldn't be rumors about me. It will impair my work."

Teh, yeah right. No matter how much you whinge. No matter if your tone doesn't convey anything, or you don't reveal anything, I can tell you relish in those rumors.

While most of the Information Guild are nameless agents, there was a use in having such negative and dark reputations. A few of the agents have such reputations. It gives the Information Guild notoriety, and makes those around wary of them. Plus, should one ever appear, then certain things can happen. Namely, what the primary reason for meeting an agent is. To find out information. When agents have reps, the Information Guild gains trust.

"I've done a bit of sleuthing myself. I took it upon myself to learn all I could about this world; In this line of work, there's no limit to the amount of information one can have.mThat equates to higher survival rate."

Hyss grinned. "Thinking jusst like an Information agent. It ssounds like we'd get along. The way you phrassed that though, 'thiss world'. A bit suspicccious, don't you think? What did you mean by that?" The hooded girl inquired, silver eyes narrowing in the shadows, flicking her forked tongue. "Ah, well, never mind that. We'll move passssed it," she said, leaning back. Dismissing it with a wave of her hand.

"Ssstill... It's good that you know that muchhh, it meanss itss worthh shhowing mysself to you."

Sirindra turned completely towards her and smirked as she leaned against the wall. "Let me guess what this is. You have a job offer."

"Hehee.. You truly are impressssive. I lucked out in finding you. I would be a fool to not conssiider a union of ssorts. But sstill, in our line of work, itzz best to be covert to find out information." The hooded girl seemed hesitant. Rather that was on purpose or a plot.. "Ssiince you're in the limelight, I don't think you're a right fit."

What a joke. You were the one showed yourself to me.

"On the other hand," she began, drawing the agent's gaze. "The best way to learn information is undoubtedly to be told it directly. Right? So in a way, it's better if I'm in the limelight, meeting with bigshots, high-profile types, leaders, and other such important people. I could leverage my position as a Supernova to meet with those people. I bet they'd be quite forthright with someone me." Sirindra said with a wicked grin.

Hyss's cool ice blue eyes gleamed. "You and my masster think alike."

"Still... I'm not so sure I should accept. Not yet anyway. I don't know what sort of dangers would come with associating myself with you guys." The position was reversed. Now she was playing hard to get. That clearly irritated the hooded girl. You could feel her annoyance radiating off of her.

Well, that much was true. While the Information Guild was neutral, they dealt in information. That meant that they had made many enemies. "Tsk, you're a shhrewd one."

"So, I'll think it over."

"Mhm, next time we meet, I'm shure we'll have much more to discussss."

"I'm sure we will."

While Sirindra thought this meeting was over. It didn't appear the hooded one had any intention of ending it just yet.

"Now, onto the topic at hand. Jussst who are you? That wasss a bit of unique magic you shhowed off there."

Sirindra frowned. Prying into her wasn't welcome. Go figure. An Information agent would always take every convenience to learn exclusive information. Still, it was troublesome. "I have no reason to answer that."

"Then, allow me to tell you about myself. My true name is Hysssyyyddisssciyy. For you mammals, that's Hysydice. I am what you people refer to as a 'lesssser race' -- I'm a naga. From the Naga tribe. But as you can seeee, not so lessser." She sounded a bit vindictive. "My people have bad blood with thosse fishh from the Meriss Kingdom. They are currently in a long-term bloody disspute with them."

Her hissing cadence had already kinda clued her in, yet this was more personal than Sirindra was expecting. "A naga? You don't look like one."

"Thankx to seecret naga magic; long ago, our kind learned how to walk amongsst the two-legs. But, none of that concernss me. I am Operative #2, codename: Hebi."

Yup. She was giving away a lot. Sirindra wasn't thrilled with getting all this 'free' information.

"Now you go."

"...I still have no reason to say anything." Sirindra replied, folding her arms.

"We're suppossed to alternate. I ssay something about mysself. Then you ssay something about yourssself. That'z how thiss worxx."

"..."

Seeing as how Sirindra remained stoically silent, Hiss chuckled. "Yess, shhrewd and cautiouss, indeed. If you were thiss eazy to break after a few questionss, then you wouldn't be worth purssuing at all. -Very well. Until next time we meet. We'll talk then, make shure your lipss are a little loosser."

Hyss' weapon dislodged from the wood of the building and curved back to her, avoiding Sirindra between them. The heavy pressure of the weapon felt by Sirindra's shoulder, as it flew by her dangerously. The hooded girl deftly caught the glaive nearly as large as her, then disappeared in an instant. The quick way that weapon returned, and the pressure it exerted made her hair stand on end.

For the first time since the meeting, Sirindra was slightly surprised. She glanced around. There was no sign of her. Even extending her senses, Sirindra couldn't notice anything. Even her special signature, whether that be Qi-based, Magic based, or Astral based, wasn't detectable any longer. Was that more secret naga magic? Or was it Information Guild secret techniques? The latter would be worse, considering how she'd have to deal with them in the future.

Still, there was more to this meeting. From the very beginning, Sirindra was being assessed. Evaluated. Information Guild agents didn't simply reveal themselves for no reason. Hyss, in particular, had been capable of launching a lethal attack without exuding a single trace of bloodlust. That meant she was extremely skilled. Sirindra had only known to dodge because something in her body felt the change in air-pressure. Not that she had actually noticed she was about to be attacked. The only reason she had dodged at all, was from experience. From her experience in Wravadar, to be specific. Was that an inherent trait, from being a naga? Or was it trained from the Info-Guild? Well, whichever it was, it was flat-out scary. Sirindra couldn't recall having to avoid such a lethal attack without sensing any bloodlust before.

Hyss hadn't simply tossed away her weapon. That very first throw had been to see if Sirindra could detect something so subtle. Then the rest of it was just a courtesy convo. Or a game. Could Sirindra play along? Could she even play at all?

Then the end.. A warning. She wasn't really doing the whole "I'll give something away, then you do," thing. With Hyss willingly giving up information about herself, it was conveying something. Sirindra narrowed her eyes and grit her teeth.

Was she really Operative #2? Sirindra didn't know about the inner workings of the Info-Guild. But that was a high number, indicating something purposeful. It could've been a lie, but there was no way for Sirindra to know that. Regardless, it was a warning, saying, "Look how strong I am. I don't even mind telling you this about me. But don't cross me/ us. I'm warning you."

Keh... Sirindra found herself shaking a bit. Punk!

Could she beat Hebii? If it was her right now.. Unlikely. However, ninja and assassin types were notoriously bad at head-on confrontation. If it was like that.. then she likely had a good chance of winning. But to make it an even better chance... Sirindra furrowed her brow and flipped the coin, catching it in her fist, clenching it there tightly. She'd have to get stronger by their next meeting. Enough to threaten Hyss and the Info-Guild. Otherwise their next meeting could be disastrous.

A moment later a solemn voice sounded, as a bored-faced male stepped up beside her. The man was carrying bags in one hand, and in the other, a biscuit that he was munching on.

"Who was that?" Moonhu asks.

"Don't worry about it..." Huh, he had sensed Hebii. Or perhaps heard her? If he had heard, then he would've spoken up earlier.. Hm. Sirindra's eyes then noticed him. "Do you even need to eat?"

Moonhu took a bite, then he boredly glanced at the biscuit. He shrugged.

"Chuu chuu!" Ajuu chirped, appearing like a chubby bird. This time the little critter was on Moonhu's head, nestled into his plum-brown colored hair.

Sirindra didn't push it. She grabbed their bags. "C'mon, time to go; the carriage is waiting."

 

[TreasureSniper]

Location: Juya
Interaction: Sirindra

Stalking, shadowing, reconnaissance. No matter, what word you use to describe, that was exactly what Talio was doing. He was doing all he could to find out more about the most formidable opponents the tournament had to offer. Today's target was Sirindra, a merciless fighter with a penchant for devasting magical attacks. From the reports he read about the lady, she was not to be trifled with. But even so, just like before, he found himself strangely drawn into these characters, finding them to be an interesting case study for his trinkets and bobbles.

Just like any other day, Talio took this opportunity to test out the mobility of his Steel Strider armor, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Eventually, he would find himself spotting a familiar face. The individual known as Sirindra was close by, walking towards a carriage while carrying her bags. "What a fortunate turn of events." Talio celebrated internally as he leaped off one more roof, leaping upwards for descending downwards towards the lady's general area. A few seconds later, the Steel Strider will make his signature entrance, shattering the road beneath his feet as he lands. "Hello there, you must be the one called Sirindra..a pleasure to make your acquaintance." It was an odd thing to see, a fully armored humanoid descending from the skies to greet an infamous arena fighter that had no qualms about unleashing her full strength if she deemed it necessary. He was playing with fire here, he absolutely couldn't resist the probability of him learning something from this encounter.

 

[Femboy]

Vivi Finii
4​

Vivi was just trying to enjoy peace and quiet only now to feel a burst that lifted the brim of her hat, in which she held and pulled it down before it went flying off elsewhere due to the inconsiderate method of arrival of someone else. Luckily she was already sitting with back against the wall, for it wouldn't have been a nice thing to do to surprise a pixie by just blowing them into a wall as hard as possible just because one was too lazy to arrive like a normal person. Sighing in disappointment that she would have to be witness to whatever inspection they were likely going to do for the finished stage, she sat and bared through the introductory interactions between those that were meeting. Her hopes for how well things would turn out were rock-bottom and still likely wouldn't be surpassed.

Hearing the annoying presence of Elusadimus Hephamedes, Vivi cared not for anything he claimed to do as in her opinion he had completely failed at his own job. Rolling her eyes that such an idiot was to search for the most credit for something he had never even showed up or lifted a finger for, Vivi chose not to attempt to interject into anything whatsoever as eventually they transported the Grand Stage away. Despite the fact she didn't care about what they were going to do with it, seeing it suddenly vanish after working on it for so long left her quite shocked in a very negative way. Vivi was already annoyed that her peace for the last six months had been ruined for working on it, but to also find out that they were just going to completely take it away from them and then essentially not credit them at all by giving it all to some false idol.

Overcome by naught but anger over the entire thing, she began to loudly ventilate her views on the matter.
"All that for all that time, and all that comes out of it is some stupid invitation to the reveal of the thing that we've already seen because we made the whole szie'lan thing- I knew this was going to happen and apparently I'm still surprised. Of course they didn't care, why would anyone who could be in a position above others care about others and use them for anything else that isn't mindless tools for their lazy, incompetent selves?" Vivi cussed and madly spoke to herself over the whole topic. Now the significant waste of time was just the biggest insult anyone could give.
"And that absolute unamusing jester of an 'architect' didn't even do his job correctly, he never even once checked the construction process or bothered to spend time on-site. It doesn't matter whose in charge of anything, the architect is ALWAYS SUPPOSED TO BE ON SITE, I hope that ridiculous death-ring collapses on those insignificant-minded uncaring higher-ups from their stupid bloodsports and faulty architecture. This entire thing has been a complete waste of everyone's times, and the only reason we were told to do it for such 'reward' was so the greedy damned higher-ups of this Spire can go ahead and load their own pockets with everything they could want. Anyone could probably poke the walls with a pin and pop the entire thing like a bubble, but we'll never know; there was never a real lead architect around to actually do his job. Good riddance to naught being lost if something bad happened" she furiously claimed as she huffed and chose to go back to a corner in the Spire to stress-read about dangerous things. She was feeling tempted to just not even go out of spite, for likely any worthwhile opportunity out of the entire thing was already gone and those going were just fools trying to cope with the idea that their efforts were not going to be rightfully responded to or cared about whatsoever. Clearly, she shouldn't listen to someone else so willingly again if they were to suggest wasting her time with such significant disappointments.

 

[Silver Wolf]

Sophia Yurel

Spoiler: appearance

Location: Sordrinn, Four Family Collosseum
Interactions: Thalia_Neko (GM, Pronoia & Alina)
​

When Alina unexpectedly spoke behind her, Sophia gave a jump and a quick high pitched squeak, and had to force her reflexes to swing her blade down. Once she saw Alina's face she gave an exasperated sigh, somewhat mixed with relief before her eyes relaxed back to their position and her normal facial expressions resumed. She didn't hold attention to Alina for long though as Pronoia was with her and decided to not only echo her thoughts but introduce herself. Not to be completely rude, she nodded in acknowledgement before giving her name, "I'm Sophia Yurel, but feel free to just call me Sophie."

Alina decided to continue the conversation, "What a brilliant move to use a feint like that."

"Yeah, I will admit it was its own rush. Doesn't change the fact spear wielders are just annoying to fight."

"Still, I think you did great."

"Well...if you say so..." Sophia said while glancing away briefly, she didn't entirely know how to take this.

"Say, why don't we celebrate? To sweeten the deal I'll ask the kitchen back home to prepare some unique treats."

Surprisingly, Sophia crossed her arms and raised and eyebrow to Alina. It didn't last long before she softened her gaze and said, "So long as they're good."

"Splendid," Alina replied with the clap of her hand. Almost on the same breadth she turned to her sister and asked, "Do you want to join us Pronoia?"

Sophia gave Pronoia a neutral glance to see how she would respond. She was mildly curious, but she soon did return to wiping her blade before checking it over and finally sheathing it. All the while, she listened to what might have been said. In the end, she looked back to Pronoia, more than a little curious about the girl, everything considered. The fight hadn't been bad to watch, but she felt as though there was something more to Pronoia, something that fight hadn't told her. The typical response of Sophia to stress was often to train, and often by extent take it out on someone else which she usually was equipped to do at home. Initially she had come to the Robicc territory on some vague hope or idea to go down the martial path. Robiccs were supposed to be some of the best, and if there was something so disturbing to a child of the current Lord Robicc that their basic ability to control their qi and fight had made her start thinking. Besides, Alina had already dragged her into what was happening around here anyways, and she didn't necessarily have anything better to do than go back to taking commissions from the guild until she stumbled upon a rumor about her father or brother, who could be half a continent over anyways. Maybe she ought to at least try to stick around somewhere for a little bit. Maybe this was a sign?

 

[Thalia_Neko]

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location: office in Epica Citadel
characters: Empress Elisztraza, ??? Advisor
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"Here is the list of the winners of the preliminaries, Empress." Said a man, after entering an important looking office. He was dressed in nice, noble garments. He set down a stack of papers. It was a full list of winners of the Block tournaments across the 3 continents.

Flipping through the papers, she gave them a quick overview. Tossing them down, she asked, "Is there any notable contestants?"

"Hm, there are some." He leaned over, and spread out some of the papers. Until he found the one. "The Inolore child comes to mind."

"Child?"

"It seems the Inolore's have a prodigy child that they unveiled in the tournament."

"Hm.. Interesting.." Elis murmured, rubbing her chin. She hadn't expected literal children to enter. Something else caught her eye. It was the heading of another list in particular. "'Supernovas'?" she asked, picking up the paper.

"Yes -that's what some of the winners are being called. They dominated their specific Block tournaments. While the criteria they were each judged at is nebulous, it can't be denied how commanding they were on the field. You could call them the 'strongest fighters' from their respective tournaments."

"Hm. I see." While the woman's response was cookie-cutter, there was a twinkle in her eye as she looked over the list. Finally she asked, "Are any of them Grand Ten worthy?"

"Hm.. Yes, well.. you see, Empress.." The man seemed a bit flustered by that question, sweating a bit. "If they were to win, I'd say they would be the weakest Grand Ten by far." Frankly speaking, the specs on most of the fighters in the tournament were not high. But he didn't need to say so. She could see that information from the papers.

Empress's face shadowed. "Yes. I see.. " That meant even this tournament wasn't enough to draw out the strongest across the lands? "I guess the strong have their pride. Perhaps they were just using this tournament as a 'wait-and-see'? It's such an out-there idea, that they're all probably cautious about it." She sighed, and leaned back in her chair. But it wasn't like she didn't know that from the beginning.

Oh well, it could still be considered a success. She was happy with this outcome. She leaned forward once more, picked up the papers, and began going over them once more. She would learn these champions in and out, she owed them that much.

Her eyes swept over the names of some of the notable fighters. The so-called 'Supernovas'. Then she cross-referenced the papers with their specific information, and got to studying.

============================================================

location: enroute to Epica, Robicc territory; Epica Straight
characters: Sirindra, Moonhu, Ussa
================================================================

It had been a month or so that she had been on the road. It was midsummer and scenic outside. She had left Juya far behind. The horses had been changed a few times already during this lengthy forced march. Thus, she was making good time through Robicc territory and was coming upon the patch of land connecting the East and West continents called the Epica Straight.

Sirindra was sitting nestled in the warmth of a cushiony carriage. The carriage itself was made out of some sturdy wood that was a reddish color, giving the carriage a regal look. Beneath her butt was some comfortable, velvety cushions. The embroidery over the whole carriage was artistic, and nothing to scoff at. A total of 8 large, two-horse drawn carriages made up the caravan. Aside from the various passengers, they were loaded up with goods.

"Phew, when you really look at it, I'm being given the royal treatment, huh?"

She was being given the "royal treatment". Heh, it wasn't royal enough, actually. After all, she wasn't traveling by Way Gate. Though, those tended to be expensive, so only the rich really got to. Actually, she could've taken it, but decided to go by foot. Have a leisure trip, y'know? Take in the sights.

Now that she had won her Block tournament, that meant she was officially invited to the Grand Stage as a Grand Stage tournament participant. That meant, she would only have to win one more fight, and her previous record would be erased! She'd be free! Wait. Why was she doing this as her 'Sirindra' alter-ego? She thought about it for a second. Wouldn't have made more sense to just sign up as Zinniaphi and win Zinniaphi's freedom??.. Hm.. Oh well, perhaps the 'Sirindra' ego would be more useful up here. After all, Zinniaphi was only really useful in Wravadar. You know, when bandits weren't hunting you.

Ajuu trilled in agreement; with a nice fuzzy pink tail flopping over Moonhu's face.

"Puu phuu~" Moonhu spit-blew up at his hair, which only managed to blow the tail up a bit, falling back into place. "Why has this thing begun to use my head as a nest?"

"Aww, don't complain. Ajuu simply likes you. Isn't that right, Ajuu~? Isn't that riight~~~" Sirindra cooed, looking utterly pleased and devoted to the thing.

"Phrrr! Phrr!"

Moonhu, who sat across from her, didn't seem to pleased about the whole thing.

With a grin still dancing on her lips, Sirindra looked out of the window. Off in the distance, with her keen eyesight like a hawk's, she spotted discarded weapons, pikes, and wooden debris. Flags and banners were ripped beyond recognition, though she swore they had the color of the Robiccs' house. And the earth was ripped up and scarred, smoking billowing in the air. Sirindra narrowed her eyes. To her, that had looked like the remnants of a battle. Recent, too.

It was funny they were calling her 'Supernova'. Quite amusing.

Sirindra took up a simple sitting position, and closed her eyes.

She may have dominated her Block tournament, but she was under no delusion the tournament proper would go as smoothly. One win was technically all she needed, but it was likely not enough for her. She needed to get stronger.

"Teh, 'Supernova'. Simple perception from simple, common fools who don't know any better."

Moonhu, with a concerned look, glance up at Ajuu, who looked down at him in return.

I'm still weak. So weak. I need training.

...

"Where is this?" Sirindra questioned, once her eyes opened. She took the time to look around at the darkness that was engulfing her. "Oh, I remember." It was the Glassblack Ziggurat in the Void Pit back in Wravadar. A empty, cold land with nothing. Well nothing but roaming monsters, and this huge ziggurat. A literal black void. A place she knew well. She had spent a lot of time here to train. For whatever reason, it seemed she was back here again. Even if she hated this place, it was comforting, in a way. She couldn't really recall what she had been doing before this, but... Eh, oh well.

"Okay, lets get training."

Stepping forward on the chalky ground, Sirindra entered the imposing ziggurat before her.

...

A jolt of the carriage brought Sirindra back, her eyes blinking open. The carriage was stopped.

"What's going on?" She asked, curious, but also slightly miffed about being interrupted.

"It seems we're being held up by bandits," Moonhu answered, as Sirindra leaned her head out of carriage, looking up towards the front of the caravan.

It appeared the entire caravan had been stopped by bandits, seeking to rob them. It was quite lucrative to rob on this particular road for people heading to Epica. It seemed they had taken over the checkpoint up ahead. There should've been Robicc guards stationed there. Aha, that was what that battlefield earlier was about. Those were murdered Robicc knights. The Robiccs likely didn't know, and neither did the other aristocracy or people who were in charge of this. The ones who would otherwise have been in charge likely had used the Way Gate, and were already in Epica. Tch, these bandits chose a good time to do this. Or likely, they chose to do this because of this particular time; it was a good chance for them to make a lot off of travelers who couldn't afford the Way Gate. Those who couldn't afford were also more likely to be traveling with hired lesser guards or mercs.

"All you have to do, is pay the toll," a bandit was saying to some of the guards and other officials of the caravan up front.

In this caravan, a couple of merchants were also traveling along. It was one of them that replied.

"But this is my entire livelihood! If I give you what you said, I'll go bankrupt!"
"Yah! Yah!"
"That price is too absurd!!"
"Who are you to demand such a toll?!"
"Where are the Robicc knights?!"

"HEY! SHUT IT! I DON'T CARE IF YOU CAN'T PAY, DOES IT LOOK LIKE I CARE? JUST PAY! OR DIE." With that ultimatum said, the bandit folded his arms and snickered. All the other bandits around, who were encircling the front of the caravan equally smirked and laughed. Enjoying flaunting their superiority.

"But that's..!"

"HEY! The last few people who came through paid the toll! So can you! Now pay up! OR DIE! I'll give you 2 minutes!"

That was it. All the people and merchants began chatting to each other, their faces creased in concern and dismay.

The bandits, all clad in makeshift, haphazard armor, wielding haphazard swords, maxes, and axes, and other similar weapons, all seemed eager and ready to begin the raid. The red in their eyes. The way they licked their lips. It was like they were looking over prey. They likely would've preferred if the caravan didn't pay the toll.

The caravan had Juya knights -or so called "knights". Juya knights were more like trained militia from the village, glorified city guardsman. The village was simply too small to have real, actual knights. That was what the problem was. These Juya 'knights' knew they were no match for the bandits. They were escorting the caravan, but it was mostly a courtesy, rather than for actual protection.

"1 minute..."

Everyone seemed stressed to the breaking point. But -to their credit- it seemed they weren't giving in. This bunch was brave. Foolish. But brave.

"30 seconds.. 29..."

"We won't give you a thing!!!!" One person screamed.
"Get them!!!"
"Fight!!"
"Kill these bastards!!"

The Juya knights -and other random people- unsheathed their swords and other weapons with metallic rings, racing at the bandits.

"Ohhhh~yeaaah~~ Hell ya~ This is my favorite part!!" The spokesperson bandit breathed out, running his tongue over his curved blade. "KILL THESE FUCKERS, BOYS!!" He shouted, before running forward. A loud chorus shout from the bandits came forth, as they began running at the Juya knights. Some of them stood up on the small hills around them, firing spells or arrows.

This was as terrible as it could get. Not only were the Juya knights under-trained, but they were also completely outnumbered. There was probably around 50 bandits.

The two groups clashed with metallic clangs and explosions. And screams.

Many, terrible screams began echoing across the caravan.

The guards were clearly struggling. There were a few mercenaries amongst those on their side. And some of the Block tournament winners were in this caravan as well. They were jumping forward to help.

But, even they were struggling with the vast numbers. Not to mention this particular bandit group...

These bandits were the Jade Bleeders, going by their banners. Which depicted jade magatamas bleeding green blood into red blood. Led by the legendary Bandit Lord, the Crimson Jade. Sirindra narrowed her eyes. This was a problem. This wasn't something the likes of Juya knights could deal with. These guys would've been tough for a smaller unit of Robicc knights. Probably why they were all killed.

The screams continued. Some Juya knights began running in terror. Sirindra watched one running for his life, blood leaking down his face and chest. An arrow struck his back and he fell unmoving.

"Madam Sirindra!! Please-!" A Juya knight gasped, flinging himself against the carriage, grabbing the window and using it to hold himself up. He didn't look much better as his friend who just collapsed. She recognized this man. His name was Ussa. He was the defacto leader of the Juya knights, and looked just like a generic knight in worn armor, though he had kind eyes. He had talked to her before leaving, gathered the knights, and lead the caravan. He had periodically talked to her through the journey, keeping her up to date with reports. He was a good man.

"Please, help us!! I know if it's you..! You can save us!"

The woman with maroon-hair looked at him, blinking. She grinned. "Of course, sir Ussa! You guys have treated us well! And, well.. You look up to me like some sort of hero. I gotta measure up to that expectation, right?" Her grin spread into a nasty toothy one.

"Moonhu. You're up. You too, Ajuu."

She ordered, kicking open the carriage door, with Ussa flopping onto the ground just in time to avoid it slamming open.

"As you wish, Master."

"Trr trhrr!"

Moonhu, leapt out of the carriage. He immediately cut down a bandit running at them. With a swift foot, he dashed between bandit and bandit, stabbing or slashing them one after the other. He was smooth. Not a single wasted movement. Impressive.

Ajuu, on the other hand, quickly shapeshifted into a large bird-like creature. It almost looked like an ostrich. Except about twice the size, pink fangs, and spines.

"CRAAH CRAANH!"

With huge feet, wielding huge talons, Ajuu hissed and leapt a bandit, cutting it down. Ajuu then leapt to the next bandit, catching him in its clawed feet, grasping him around his entire torso.

"HEY! WH-WHAT'S THIS?! YOU FREAKING BIRD! LET ME D-"

Ajuu crushed him and tossed him aside. "CRAAAH!" Flapping huge wings, it attacked the next bandit, pecking him so hard, blood spurted out like a fountain.

Ussa just stared in shock. Even some of the Block winners were struggling! These two were having no issues! And one was -well, he didn't know what it was!

The bandits had killed many guards, a few mercenaries, and even a couple of Juya's Block winners. They were now walking forward, surrounding Moonhu and Ajuu, pushing the two back with their intense numbers.

Sirindra frowned. Finally, she stepped forward.

"HEY! YOU'VE KILLED SOME OF US! OUR OFFERS OFF THE TABLE! DIE FOR THAT! JADE BLEEDERS AVENGE THEIR BROTHERS AND SISTERS!"

Frankly, Sirindra didn't seem impressed, or intimidated. Ussa, and some survivors were cowering behind her. With a smile, she unsheathed Moonhu, the Dragon Lord's Moonscale. Moonhu, standing beside her, faded away, his energy returning to the sword she held. She seemed pleased by that.

"Seems like it's my turn. Let's try out this fancy new sword."

"HUH?! WERE YOU NOT LISTENING BITCH!" The 'leader' bandit shouted, his face turning red as he seemed to have been ignored. He didn't like this woman's cavalier attitude! She should've been cowering like the rest!

"Keh... One Side of the Moon, Darkened, Shadowed. Gloom~ Phase~"

BYRRAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMM!!

It was nearly instantaneous as she said that. Her Qi infected the sword, and Moonhu glowed purple. No matter the Qi she used in this attack, it was like her Qi's quality was at its max. She swung her blade in a flourishing arc. A massive purple wave of energy spread out from the blade, growing as it sailed through the air towards the bandits.

"WHAAA~?!?!" The bandit gasped.

Other bandits were equally shocked. Screams came from them as her sword wave traveled through the group, instantly slicing them in half. Many bandits were bisected, falling to the ground in bloodied pieces as her sword wave passed through them. In total, Sirindra slayed over 30 bandits with one attack.

Ussa's mouth fell open. The other survivors were equally stunned. And so were the bandits that managed to survive.

She held up her blade, staring at it, blinking. "HM! Not bad!" Sirindra hummed. Though, that was all she said.

A shadow of Moonhu appears, with sweat drops appearing on his face. Even in his ghostly form, he appeared pale. "You don't need to use that much power for cretins like these, Master..."

"Hm? Ha ha.. I guess not! Whoops," Sirindra snickered, sticking her tongue out and clonking herself on her head.

"H~HE~EY!!! BITCH!! WHAT DID YOU DO?! YOU KILLED OUR BROTHERS!!" His voice was shakier this time, and his knees seemed to be quivering. "AS THE MIGHTY CRIMSON JADE -"

She cut him off. "Shameful. You're just using the bandit lord's name, huh?"

"Huh-?" He grunted, taken aback, not expecting her to interrupt with that.

"You heard me. While this seems like something you imbeciles would do. I don't see your actual leader. You're not him. Even for a bandit, the Crimson Jade has a presence about him. You're nothing but a lackey."

The 'leader' bandit grit his teeth. Then he shouted.

"FOOL! Our lord doesn't care! So long as we bring in the loot! This is a prime time to rob you privileged shits!"

He was using the fact that the tournament was drawing a lot of foot traffic. Even with the Way Gates, a lot of rich nobles were prime targets, heading to Epica.

"I see. Well, if your bandit lord is still alive after the tournament, I'll make sure to hunt him down."

Sirindra promised, a dark smile forming on her lips.

"WHAT-?"

Sirindra didn't give him a chance. In an instantaneous movement, she stabbed through him. And the so-called leader fell.

"Cron's dead!!" One shouted in utter shock.
"Cron's dead!"
"Run!!"

That was it. The rest of the bandits began fleeing.

"You can clean this up," she said to Ussa. "Their morale is completely shot."

"Huh? What?.. O -oh, yes. Yes! Everyone! After them!!" Ussa ordered. The remaining guards ran down the bandits, slaughtering the rest of them without much fuss.

With Moonhu perched over her shoulder nonchalantly, and a satisfied grin on her face, Sirindra watched as Ussa came up to her.

"ThAnK YoU, maDaM!!! If it weren't for you -" He could barely speak. He was blubbering.

"Uh!" She held up her hand. "None of that. Yeah, you're welcome. It was no big deal. I'd do it again."

"Really?"

"Huh? Yeh, sure. Killing bandits is an old past time of mine," Sirindra stated, some memories stirring up.

"Well.. Tha-thank you again, anyway! *sniff sniff*"

She chuckled.

"I -is there anything we can do for you?!"
"-I agree! Miss, you deserve a reward for saving us!"
"I agree!!"

Some of the merchants who were saved gathered up and repeated the same words to Sirindra.

"Hm.. Well, yeah, I could go for a handsome reward! Reward your savior! Keh heh.."

"Of course!!"
"Naturally!"
"I promise to do so!!"

They promised her a handsome reward. So she definitely felt she wasn't going to be running out of funds anytime soon. Once back in her carriage, Sirindra fell back, butt plopping down onto the comfy cushions, feeling completely satisfied. Moonhu said something, but Sirindra was already drifting away.

As the caravan cleaned up, and got ready to depart once more, Sirindra was entering her mindscape...

---

This time she was standing in a vast room, feet firmly planted on black tiling so shiny it looked like obsidian. The tiled walls raised high, also made out of the same black material. Suddenly, what could be called 'lights' illuminated the area. These lights were gloomy, giving off a blue glow. And it wasn't clear just where these 'lights' were coming from. But that wasn't important.

Glancing around her, she recognized this place. It was an arena of sorts in the Ziggurat. The walls around led up to seats that were raised high. She stood center of the room, as if she had all the attention. Only, there was no one there. No attention for her to grab. It was a lonely place. As lonely as it was intimidating.

She looked forward. There, standing before her, was a massive monster. It towered over her. It was gray, or perhaps blue, in this lighting it was hard to tell. It's misshapen head turned towards her, with black protrusions out of its head, like hair that was hard, or perhaps horns. Its eyes were pitch black, and when it grinned, two rows of black teeth shined as clear as mirrors.

She recognized this monster! It was the leader of Glassblack Ziggurat. The Ruler of Void, Glassblack Monarch, Defulsive, the towering Behemoth of Voidsidian.

"Teh.. Look at you. Back from the dead. I killed you years ago! What are you doing back? Gah, as ugly as ever. Shit, that grin gives me the shivers. Kehkeh.. You wanna go?!~ Like last time, I'll put you down!!"

~~~

"Zinniaphi we've seen its weaknesses and strengths, time to pull back! Lets retreat and come back when we're prepared with a better strategy!"

"NO!"

"But Princess Zinnia!"
"I said I'll kill Defulsive, here and now! don't interfere!"
"Princess.."
"SHUT UP!"
"But this isn't what we discussed!"
"I SAID SHUT UP! WANT ME TO GUT YOU?"

She growled in a nasty tone, reminiscent of those in Wravadar. Her threat told them she was quite serious, shutting them up.

There was a small gathered group. They were watching from the spectators seats, a barrier in place between them and what was happening down in the unwelcoming, dreary arena. This group was a group of strong individuals from Gloomhall Castle. It consisted of Zinniaphi, her brother, her father, the court counsel, the castle guard captain, and a few other randoms who were handpicked for this expedition.

"Sir.. the princess is being unreasonable.." said the counsel.

Her father sighed. He looked a lot like her, except with perhaps even sharper features, and a more dangerous glare, if that were possible. His black skin seemed ethereal in the glow of that place. "Perhaps. But she does what she does. That's the Wravadaran way. And no one embodies that perhaps more than Zinniaphi."

"High praise," retaliated the counsel, frowning a bit. "Words of a doting father? That's not very 'Wravadaran' of you."

"Of course not. I only say what is true."

The counsel didn't seem too thrilled with that response. He pushed further, "But you said it's undefeatable at the moment! You're cosigning the princess to death!"

"It's surpass me or death. That was what I told her. That's her only two choices."

The counsel stares at his king in disbelief. The other Dire People gathered around also staring at him, concerned looks on their faces.

The brother just stared at his father, then closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them and looking back down at his sister fighting that unholy monster alone. He stared at her back, the behemoth looming in front of her.

~~~

Here he was, the Ruler of Void, Defulsive. He was a tough sob back then, but.. fighting a foe that one vanquished in their past didn't make for good training.

Hmm..

Sirindra had an idea.

Focusing, she felt her spirit beginning to rise and flare up. Her Astral energy began to wave about her, and her Stars began to glow within her. With a grin, she opened her eyes, and they glowed white for a brief moment.

Suddenly, Defulsive began to mutate.

She watched as it grew another few meters tall, bulked up even more. Two more arms grew. The plates on its head began to form together, growing more, until a crown made out of what-looked-like obsidian showed on its head. And its eyes turned bright red. Tusks and horns of glassy black sprouted. Finally, it pounded the ground and roared loudly. Shaking the entire arena.

The Ruler of Void, Glassblack Supreme Monarch of Dark, Defulsiveddhana.

Now stood before her.

That was truly the foe she was looking for! "Oh yeah~! Nice!"

Even her form in the real world, sitting on that cushy cushion grinned.

Their battle commenced. Woman wielding a beautiful curved blade launched at the behemoth and began cutting it with a glowing purple sword. The huge beast didn't even seem to notice. It took one swing at her with one of its massive paws, striking her hard.

When Sirindra got hit, even her real self winced. In the mindscape, she flew back and hit the ground. Propping herself up, Sirindra grunted through clenched teeth, a facsimile of blood dripping down her face, and sputtering out of her mouth. "Teh.. Did I make it too strong?" She looked up at the beast with an irregular smirk on her bruised, contorted face.

It took only one more attack to kill her. An echo of Defulsiveddhana's laugh ringed in her ears as she jolted back to reality.

How long was it till Epicanth? Oh yeah, this would serve as adequate training.

"Surpass, or die." Sirindra echoed. Then she closed her eyes and felt her inner spirit. A warmth appeared in her, and it felt as if it was growing. Perhaps expanding.

====================================================

location: 4 Families Colosseum
characters: Pronoia
interacting: Silver Wolf
========================================
The brunette turned to her sister. She put on a friendly smile. "You two seem to be close! Absolutely! I would love to join you two! Mm~ I'm just imagining those sweets now! We deserve to to celebrate!" The lot of them had won after all. No doubt with so many wins from Robiccs, her father would call for a banquet to celebrate. And while it could be kinda tense when the entire family got together, she was still looking forward to it! This was worth celebrating, so her brothers and sisters would definitely be in a better mood! As would father.

And when she thought about it. She may have won her Block tournament, but she wasn't too proud of it. She knew Vequanial still far surpassed her. If she was going to catch up, she would need to train. A lot. Hopefully she could train with Alina's friend. She trained too much with Robiccs and their knights. It would be an interesting departure to train with someone from outside the Robicc sphere. "Maybe we can train together, too!" She suggested good-naturedly.
====================================================

location: Epicanth, Epica Citadel
characters: Empress Elisztraza, Razial, Peaceroot, Pronoia
interacting: Femboy and everyone really
================================================

Everyone was gathered in the Epica Citadel's Great Hall. People from all across the 3 Continents. Fighters for the Grand Stage, dignitaries, important merchants, nobles of various kingdoms, family and friends, those of the JGT Committee, other various workers that deserved recognition, and other interested parties. The fact that the Great Hall could fit everyone was staggering, and it had room to spare! This Great Hall was truly great.

Although everyone was mingling, it became apparent someone of great import was entering, and out of respect, a hush fell over those gathered, their attention drawn to the woman. The Empress walked down a flight of stairs, clad in a red dress, shining like heavenly ruby, taking the breath away from many in the audience. For a brief moment, many of those people, forgot where they were, and why they were there. Many couldn't breathe. Such was the beauty of the Empire's Empress.

She was surrounded by a posse of Epica Empire officials, guards, and other high-ranked people in her circle. They surrounded her in such a way that warned against even trying to touch. Only looking was allowed.

She stepped up to the railing, still a flight above everyone else, and suddenly addressed everyone. Perhaps her angelic voice snapped some of them out of their stupor, and perhaps it did not. Despite the size of the place, and the huge gathering, it was not an issue for people to hear her. Her voice was magically enhanced to carry across the crowd. Neither was it an issue for everyone to see her. A magical reflection of hers appeared zoomed in and big enough for the entire gathering.

"Thank you all for coming to my country, and gathering here," began the Empress. "I know our esteemed Empire has lost a lot of favor with the people of this world. I hope this event will help bring back honor to the Empire, so that our country can be admired again. That is my sincere, express wish." She said, clutching her hands to her chest. "I put this tournament together after the passing of the late Grand Ten member Mirror Blade Mijorine. I put it together as both a reminder to honor Mijorine and as a way to commemorate her life."

Amongst those in the audience was Pronoia Robicc. Hearing this, she began to tear up. As did others.

Empress Elisztraza went on. "I know there have been many rumors about what happened spreading around. Like how was I able to draw up this tournament? How did the Epica Empire know before anyone else? And, of course, the primary question on everyone's mind has been "Is it true? Is Mijorine really dead?" Her beautiful face grew grim. Seeing her face like that was a sight too sad to see for many. Elis closed her eyes, as if to pay her respects to the fallen Grand Ten member one final time. Then she began speaking again, opening her eyes, seemingly glowing a bright red. "I will quash those rumors here and now, before we begin." She motioned for someone to come over.

Everyone gasped, then murmurs began happening amongst the crowd. An important man, clad in a black and gold cloak walked over. It was what he carried that made the gathering gasp.

Pronoia's eyes widened. That was Mijorine's sword!!

Taking the large one-handed great sword in hand, the man stabbed it down. The blade was struck into the ground, piercing it and standing upright like a gravestone. Empress Elis patted it, looking over the beauty of its mirror-like blade, reading the inscription on it to herself. "I'm sure everyone here is aware of what this means?"

Pronoia couldn't believe it. That was Mijorine's sword! If it was here... Well, then her death was all but confirmed. After all, for a Martial Artist like Mijorine, her sword was her life. She wouldn't leave it just anywhere, nor would she go off without it. If it was here, then she was without a doubt, dead. Pronoia's heart suck, and she felt like throwing up. She had managed to win her Block tournament back in the prelims in the Ver's colosseum. At the time, she had thanked her luck for having not been in her family members' tournaments. But now? Now she was feeling that same despair when she first heard the news. That darkness reared its ugly head again. Now she was wondering what to do again. All over again, she was losing her purpose, sinking into a pit of misery.

Just like Pronoia's despair. The murmurs all around were equally somber. It seemed most in the gathering felt Mijorine's loss. If it wasn't silent before when the Empress was speaking, then it was deathly silent now.

The reason Elis had this sword was because another of the Grand Ten brought it to her. Obviously, this wasn't known to the public. That Grand Ten member was her own personal friend Vaso, a specialist in the Astral vertex. She wondered where and how he managed to get Mijorine's sword, but didn't really push the question, fearing the actual answer. This was enough proof to convince the masses. No self-respecting warrior would go anywhere without their weapon. It was their companion. And equally more so for swordmasters like Mijorine. Definitely no Grand Ten would ever be without it. That was unheard of. Yep, this would convince them, after all, it was enough to have convinced her of Mijorine's death.

After another reverent pause, Elisztraza took a deep breath. "Alright! Now. To move forward. The Grand Tournament proper will begin to this day a month from now! We will call it the Grand Stage! Many of you are aware of this already. And many of you will be participants in the Grand Stage! Having won your Block tournaments! Everyone, give our winners a round of applause!"

Starting it off, Elisztraza began clapping delightfully. A chorus of applause sounded across the Great Hall.

A lovely mage named Beawenna Peaceroot was amongst those in attendance. She nudged a witch beside her. A witch clad in purple.
"See, hunny? I know you didn't want to come! But aren't you glad you did?? There's the recognition you wanted!" Peaceroot flashed a brilliant smile to Vivi. In their time working on the Grand Stage, Peaceroot felt she had become friends with the moody witch. It had taken some convincing to get her to go, but she was glad that her friend agreed! "Well I'm glad my bestie came!!" She purred, clinging to Vivi and side-hugging her hard, showing too much affection.

After it settled down, she spoke once more. Motioning over to the side, where a group of magicians were standing. It was kinda obvious for some. Their large witch hates were a dead giveaway. Amongst the group of mages, there were many familiar faces. The Cauldron Spire Director, Craxisys. The 7 Seats. And a few other noteworthy High Mages that had earned small reps. "Now. The unveiling of the Grand Stage will happen then, but before that, we would still like to commemorate the efforts of the Great Cauldron Spire's mages. Using the specs provided by our Grand Architect of Magical Structures, the mages of the Cauldron Spire created the Grand Stage!! For my selfish request, they worked tirelessly for 6 months! Show them appreciation for everything they've done!"

Another round of applause louder than before erupted.

When that died down, Elis had a small smile on her lips. It seemed, with that, she was satisfied. "There is still more to say, but I have taken up enough of your time! We have plenty of time to go over everything between now and the Grand Stage. For now, everyone enjoy yourselves!" She cried out, raising her hands up. "Let the party get started!!"

This was supposed to be a party, everyone who was attending knew this. To be honest, for a majority of the time between the end of the prelims and the Grand Stage, Epicanth had been in a bit of a "party atmosphere." That is to say, across the capital, for about a month, the city had been under siege from a wave of constant partying. The populace, at large, were taking this time to have fun. And many people interested in the Grand Stage had been arriving daily. These people added to the party atmosphere, joining in, and having a lot of fun with the people.

But now, the pre-Grand Stage party was official. And in full swing!!

It began today, here in the Great Hall of Epica's Citadel. And it would last the entire month until the Grand Stage began. Once she ended her speech, people once again began talking. Until a loud, nearly incessant chatter began. People began mingling to their heart's desire once more. Music began being played by one of Epica's premiere bands. And countless servants began bringing in countless trays of food prepared by the best cooks in the Empire. These trays lined table after table on one side of the hall. For those who did not eat, they took another's hand and began dancing on the floor. And for others, it was time for them to talk and get to know one another.

In particular, it was an opportunity for the winners to talk. Some were boring, amicable chats. Others were friendly declarations of rivalry. And still, others.. were perhaps not the best interactions. Still, it was hard for the winners to stay away from each other. Curiosity would inevitably pull the fighters to one another. Why else were they here?

Sirindra was in the audience, having made it to the capital only just recently. Her caravan really booked it to make it in time for this party. The mysterious woman had a smile on her lips, she had enjoyed all of that.

 

[TreasureSniper]

location: enroute to Epica, Robicc territory; Epica Straight
characters: Sirindra, Moonhu, Ussa

A bandit ambush was a pleasant surprise for Talio. Now, most would find that strange, since getting ambushed by unruly characters wasn't something a merchant looks forward to. While most of the excitement was centered at the front of the caravan, there were a few groups that were present at the back, no doubt waiting to ambush his own hauler. Unlike the carriages of the other merchants, his was significantly bigger, and heavier, looking it would easily be the slowest out of all of them. This was of course done all on purpose as it made his carriage an irresistible target. Bandits were good test subjects for his tech, much more responsive and varied compared to training dummies

Even so, Talio's employees within the carriage couldn't help but worry as they saw a large mob of bandits coming out from the shadows, wielding all manner of weapons, no doubt ready to plunder them. "Boss..should we send out the golems.... there's a lot of them out there." One of them spoke, clearly concerned about their current predicament. "That went be necessary...I'll deal with them myself.." Talio replied confidently, as he suited up.

As the bandit group drew closer, the top hatch of the carriage opened up, and shortly after, an armored figure shot out of the metal carriage landing on the ground with impressive force. "What the hell is that?!" The leader spoke in shock, clearly not expecting this form of resistance from a merchant caravan. In spite of this, these people still seemed determined to get some loot out of this encounter. A group of at least twenty came out of the woodworks, armed with decent gear, swords, maces, and even a few crossbows. Without delay, they begin their attack.

Arrows began flying towards the steel strider only for them to harmlessly bounce off the armor, as expected. "Now then...how about you put your weapons down, and I can take you in alive.
I'll claim some damages from you..and we can settle this like civilized..." Talio wouldn't get to finish his sentence as one of the brave bandits immediately charged toward him, with a large mace in hand, hoping to cave the armored human's head in.

However, such an attack would never reach him. In the eyes of the bandits, it was all a blur, as all they could see was Strider, already sheathing his blade while the severed arm of his would-be attacker. It took a few seconds before the screams of this man could heard piercing the silence in the air. "Well..suit yourself then.." Talio spoke, a bit disappointed these bandits had very little sense of self-preservation. In such a short amount of time, what was once bandits would be reduced to nothing pulverized meat. There were some that were bisected cleanly, while other were unlucky enough to be used as a human club, being used to bludgeon their comrades. While the results were brutal, Talio seemed much more concerned about an effective way of removing blood from his armor. Miraculously, one of the bandits had survived, and reached out to him, grasping at his feet, much to his disdain. "You'll....pay for.." The bandit was swiftly silenced by a kick of disgust from the merchant, sending the severed head flying a great distance, never to be seen again.

As interesting as his own battle was, his eyes were attracted to the symphony of destruction and death happening on the front side of the caravan. His visor allowed him to see the convergence of and dispersal of magical energies within the area, truly an awe-inspiring experience.

---

location: Epicanth, Epica Citadel
characters: Empress Elisztraza, Razial, Peaceroot, Pronoia

Curiosity was always a weakness of the one-armed merchant. He had a penchant for sticking his nose where it didn't belong, this situation wasn't any different. Under the guise of his usual "business," he decided to attend an event at the Epica Cidatel. For the most part, he remained in the background, talking mostly about his small-time businesses more than anything else, trying to sell his wares, mostly his golems as a cheap form of labor. However, he will quickly find that these more regal folk were very reluctant to do business with a small-time merchant like him despite his feats.

His attention would eventually be funneled towards the sovereign ruler of the region, the empress herself. She would open the evening with a welcoming statement as well as confirm the rumor that Mijirone was truly dead. While Talio himself wasn't too invested initially, he did wonder what individual was capable of fighting a supposed champion of combat. His thoughts would go further towards what was the possible motive of this individual. Perhaps it was a statement from a shadow organization? A hit put out by political parties? Either way, these questions will not be answered anytime soon.

In any case, the empress eventually shifted the attention of the crowd towards the next grand event, a continuation of the tournament that he had entered. While this was only his first time entering such a tournament, he did make an effort to study how past events were conducted. In all honesty, he didn't think he would make it this far, though from what he could it seems that this year's contenders were inferior compared to the ones that came before them, which sadly includes himself.

As the empress finished her announcements, Talio couldn't help but notice a familiar figure he had seen before not too long ago. That distinct red hair, there was no doubt it his mind. It was the lady he saw fighting at the front of the caravan the other day. Seeing this as a golden opportunity to finally exchange some words with her, he made his way towards her with a confident swagger. Clothed in his standard merchant's uniform, he approached the girl with vague words of praise. "That was quite the show you put on yesterday, shame I didn't get to see it myself, up close." Talio said with an earnest smile on his face. "I've always admired those of you who are well-attuned with magic. And from what I can tell, yours is leagues of above what many are capable of. I am a Talio Ferromanus, tinkerer, merchant, and mercenary. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

 

[Silver Wolf]

Sophia Yurel

Spoiler: appearance

​

Location: Epicanth, Epica Chapel
Interactions/Around: Thalia_Neko (GM/NPCs & maybe Siri), TreasureSniper (Talio)



Parties, she really sometimes hated them. Yes, she could play the part of a noble, but it was only an act for her. Her uncle had done his damnest to drill etiquette into her, regardless of what she thought. Her mother was never really opposed to this, and with her father gone for large chunks of time, she had only really one course of action in response. Still, even outside of her uncle's grasp she found it was still secondary instinct in this environment. Regardless of what she thought or even wanted at times, she was still noble through and through, be it by blood or training.

The vast majority of attendees were fellow warriors though, albeit many more skilled if she could tell by the way they carried themselves. She had seen her father do much the same, and he wasn't a man she had any memory of truly being able to beat. Then again, her father didn't fight like an honored knight or proud warrior. He had made that clear when she first saw him fight first hand. The man was more akin to a mad butcher, a slaughterhouse in the shape of a man. He never thought about how he fought so long as it was efficient, and it made sense given his line of work and how long he had been in it. Either way, the parrallels were there for when she looked at the truly experienced among the guests. They had an air, an alertness, a posture about them that she had seen in those who had succeeded in a career dominated by shadow of giants and eclipsed by the silhouette of titans. Yet, here they all were, presumably for the chance of being named a titan themselves.

Of course there were fellow prodigies, but by now all those who were weaker than those standing in the hall were, in theory at least, weeded out. Nobody knew this better than her, prodigy she may be, but she was still just a teenager chasing the footsteps of another giant. Initially she had hoped that she would find solace following the martial path, that had always felt like her calling, but as she stood dwarfed in a field full of giants, she had felt a sense of doubt that she hadn't felt before creep in.

The struggle to win her block was far from effortless, and the daunting task of the true tournament, competing with these giants she had seen from afar now up close was easier said than done. She wasn't stupid, she understood their distance from comparing others. There were knights back home she could only dream of being lucky enough to scratch in a sparring match, much less a duel. She also understood that regardless of her talent, it took years of cultivation to approach the proficiency some of the men and women here had.

Yet, she wasn't concerned with winning. She wasn't even concerned with trying her best or catching anyone's attention in particular. Yet, here she was, competing in a tournament to take the place of a titan. By chance alone, she had none to speak of. The Robicc boy was already a hurdle she had seen, and she didn't like those chances. The only silver lining to all this in her current state of mind was how she had a once in a lifetime chance to see the Empire's Best in terms of sweets. Epica was practically the capital of the world, and such a title meant they had to have world class sweets.

So far, the situation hadn't disappointed. In all honesty, it was rather hard for her to keep her normal party composure due to the fact she was practically stuffing her face and clogging her plate trying all the baked goods.

"You sure do love your sweets," Alina managed to chime at one point, earning the Robicc girl a mildly pointed glare.

Oh yeah, she still somehow managed to not lose Alina. Rather, she had traveled with the Robicc sisters, and even trained with them on the way. The experience had been enlightening to both parties. Of course, much more of Sophia's time between the tournament's opening party had been going off doing adventurer things, and turns out the whole tournament had been decent advertising in that regard. She had earned a decent amount from parties practically tripping over themselves to commission not only the daughter of Count Yurel, but a winner of a Sordrinn block tournament. Granted, like father like daughter she took far more monster oriented requests than she did ordinary ones, plus a few passing highwaymen here and there. She had learned some neat tricks and managed to improve in the short time, but not by the amount needed to win something like this tournament.

When the empress finally made an appearance, Sophia was conveniently nearby Pronoia to notice the girl teared up a little at the mention of Mijorne's death. While she hadn't doubted the authenticity of the rumors, especially since there was a tournament sponsored by Empress Elisztraza herself over the issue, she had stopped stuffing her face when the sword itself was brought out.

While she wasn't one of the gaspers or murmurers, the fact she had stopped indulging in her own personal paradise was telling enough to anyone who had gotten to know her by now.

Some applause and honoring of the people who built the coliseum they would be using and the party had properly started.

Music tickled the ears and conversation echoed, but Sophia for her part had still opted to remain near the Robicc sisters. Those that did approach them received an unusually cordial greeting and light conversation before things moved forward.

There was one oddity that had caught her attention though. Her eyes had managed to spot the eccentric merchant, Talio, from afar and she took note of him briefly before turning her attention back to where she currently was. Needless to say, many were surprised a Yurel of all people had made an appearance, even if some were only mildly surprised. It had also been surprising that she had been hanging around the Robiccs.

Occasionally she asked more rugged types, usually fellow adventurers, about her father and brother, which usually ended up leaving her empty on information, again. No surprise there really. Her father was notorious for wandering around the world. Though, she heard a few promising stories about recent gates, which was something her father was known for hovering around whenever they popped up, if usually briefly.

Her brother proved to be more elusive though. Simply put, no one had seemed to pay him any mind aside from being seen, at times, around the same place and time as their father, but not with a consistency she was comfortable with. With nothing else to ease her growing frustrations on finding her sibling, she decided to drown it in more sweets and drink, which may have led to her developing a small buzz which seemed to amuse Alina. Regardless, she managed to loosen up a little and was exchanging more of a common topic with some which also followed with some form demonstrations.

 

[AriAriAbabwa]

Tear Ripley
Thalia_Neko TreasureSniper
​

This was awful. Terrible. Horrendous! Why, oh why, did there have to be a party for the winners in the Citadel of all places?! And was that not the Empress Epica in attendance? Tear Ripley wished that after all her hardship and work, she'd earn a low-key break with her parents. The audience's applause at the preliminaries was already enough, but now was Tear's hardest task yet: mingling.

There should have been plenty to talk about, what with Mijorine's sword being brought out to confirm her death. But... who goes up to ivory-laced strangers like these, with "shame about the dead person" as an opener? So Tear made the safe bet and stuck with the refuge of her parents, who happily tagged along. They wouldn't miss a party in the Citadel for the world, and were ecstatic not only for Tear's victory, but for the opportunity.

But much to Tear's horror, she found her mother chatting away with one of the guests. It wasn't just small talk, either. "When Tear was 10 years old, she found this stuffed bear who she named Jerry, and she would not go anywhere without it for the next two years! In fact, she still sleeps—"

"Mom!" Tear stepped after them, face flushed red. "Wh-Wh-What are you telling them...?!"

She smiled softly, embracing her daughter in a tight hug. At any other point in time, Tear might have reciprocated. The only thing she could think of, though, was the stranger's snickering and adoring gaze. "It's one of your fans, Tear! They wanted to know more about you, so I started off with some stories from when you were younger!"

Tear forced a fidgeting smile at her 'fan.' She didn't even know she had fans! Which, in hindsight, made sense, considering the thunderous applause at the Tournament. What was one supposed to say to their fans? Thank you? Thank you for what! "I-aba-wha-th-you-you." Nope. Tear's face was burning, now. She pushed herself away from her mother (who laughed at her daughter's "excitement"), and ran.

Tear only skidded to a stop when she laid eyes on a very familiar type of clothing. She didn't know its wearer, but the merchant's uniform was a sight for sore eyes—especially in this place filled with nobles and rough-looking types. Although he was speaking with a woman of the latter sort, Tear figured that if she had to endure this party, she best get to know one of her own.

It took many minutes of pondering in a small circle, taking breaths, reciting mantras, and hyping herself up. But in time, Tear approached Talio. "H-Hello...?" Tear said in a near whisper. "I'm Tear... I'm also a merchant... You-You were wearing that uniform, s-so I thought..." For a few moments, her mouth moved, but no words came out. She shook her head in a blur. "How is your weather doing?"

Tear might as well be dead already.

 

[Thalia_Neko]

Sirindra -or rather Zinniaphi- wasn't as strong, or as powerful, or as raw-ly talented as her family, friends, and counterparts in Wravadar. But she did have something that perhaps outshone them all. She had the raw potential to surpass them all. She had the uncanny ability to grow faster than anyone, and go beyond the limits of those around her. It was this potential that her father helped her cultivate.

~~~

Zinniaphi flew threw the air, demonic eyes glowing bright red and yellow. Her horns had grown 3x their usual size, curling around her head almost like a crown, looking like bull horns. Thick, sturdy, and intimidating.

"Yyyrraaaaaahhhhh!!!!"

She screamed with the effort, blade glowing a bright purple light that raged like a storm in her hand. The amassed power flowing off it was as big as the arena they were in. Barreling through a dark blast attack, she swung and cut the head of the Ruler of Void, Glassblack Monarch, Defulsive clean off. Her cut also severed half of the Voidsidian arena, leaving a scar in the dense ore.

The counsel man and the other various party members were all left in shock, staring wide-eyed and slack-jawed. The counsel, in particular, couldn't believe what he had just seen.
"S~sir, your daughter -"

"GUHA HA HA HA HA HA!" The Lord Gloomring burst out laughing, his red eyes sparkling, watching the behemoth collapse with a thunderous boom that shook the castle. Which caught the counsel off guard, shutting him up. He hadn't ever recalled seeing his lord like that. "Very good, girl! Very good!"

Zinniaphi stood up straight, the body of the behemoth monster on the ground behind her, its head rolling on the ground. She was gasping for breath, purple blood dripping all down her. Her blade still had a haunting purple energy about it.

Could she kill the Ruler of Void, Glassblack Supreme Monarch of Dark, Defulsiveddhana? If it was the her now...

A third core shined within the woman. All of her cores were now at the Muddled Stage.
Two Ghost rings had been discovered. Something she had already thought to be the case, considering her magic control. The four rings now gleamed proudly within her.
In spite of that, she still hadn't increased her Martial or Magic rank.
However it was different for her down the Astral path. She now had a 'Small Nova'. She was now a Graduate. She had achieved a beautiful 3rd Star.
~~~
interacting: TreasureSniper AriAriAbabwa
~~~

Sirindra frowned and opened her eyes. "I can almost feel myself being drawn back there if I let myself drift off even a bit," she murmured. But no, she couldn't right now. She had other things to do at the moment. She was currently in a place that required her attention.

The Empire's Empress was in the middle of giving her speech. Which had momentary pauses to give applause to various people who deserved it. From beneath her weird cat-shaped hood, Sirindra's red eyes gleamed. Snapping from person to person. There were all sorts there, not just stuffy well-dressed nobles. Many of them looked rough. Or gaudy. And underdressed. Looking out of place at such a party held by the Empress of all people, in Epica, one of the most modern places in the world. Not just nobles and important staff. They were the competition. While the winners of the block tournaments were not specified, she could tell who was strong simply by looking at them. They each 'radiated' a strength unlike the common people around them. Auras of blue, green, purples, pinks, and other colors told her there were many fighters here who were walking their own unique steps down the 3 Paths. Just looking at them was getting her fire raring. She shivered, wanting to fight them now.

Wait, were they 'winners'? Or should they be 'contestants' now? Since they were contestants in the Grand Stage.. Hm.. Anyway, for most of the fighters, she couldn't tell completely about their strengths. Just vague energies. So that meant they were of strength comparable to hers. Some were 'scarier' than others, and others exuded 'calm' energies. Sometimes, it was the calmer ones you had to watch out for. As they were the type to wholly hide their power.

Sirindra munched on something she had plucked up from the buffet, as she scoped out the competition. That was when someone spoke to her. "Hm?"

She turned, still holding whatever it was up to her mouth, obviously chewing the food that was an Epica Empire original. Some sort of sandwich-like food on a skewer. "Huh?" Well-tuned with magic? What was he talking about? She couldn't recall using any magic recently.. Wait, a merchant?

Perhaps he was in the caravan.

Moonhu's voice spoke directly to her in her head.

Yup, I gathered that. She responded. So he had been apart of that caravan, huh? She hadn't noticed, admittedly... But.. she didn't recall using magic then... Had she?

"Halileil, Sirindra. Yup, a pleasure," she responded, slightly curt, before taking another bite, staring at him. He had an aura. She regarded him seriously, despite her outwards dopey appearance. Was he a contestant? Certainly merchants were here. There were many opportunities to peddle their wares, or make deals either with the staff of Epica, or directly with the powerful people gathered here. However... His aura was unlike other merchants, and like that of a fighter.

Sirindra glanced at the smaller person who showed up beside him with gleaming eyes beneath her hood. She pointed with the skewer. "Looksh like you gotsht a-tag-a-longsh. Competishhin?" She mused aloud, voice slightly muffled by the food rounding out her cheek.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
location: at the party
characters: Pronoia
interacting: Silver Wolf
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Beside Sophia and Alina, the brunette Robicc daughter was completely demoralized. Tears staining her cheeks. It was unsightly for a proud Robicc warrior. Especially for a Robicc attending a special party such as this one, held by one of the most important people in the world, no less. But it was clear none of that bothered the girl, or that she was thinking about it at all.

"Mijorine... I can't believe she's dead. She's really dead.. I can't believe it..." Pronoia was consistently mumbling the same thing over and over, head down, eyes cast down at the beautifully tiled floor.

"How? Just.. how?" It hadn't really hit her before. But this was a tournament apparently to find the next Grand Ten member. But Pronoia couldn't understand how a Grand Ten member could even be killed. It didn't seem possible. And her idol... She sniffled and placed her hands over her eyes. She was devastated.

Her actions were driving people away from the trio. There had been some who had come to talk to the prestigious Robiccs, but seeing one of them act that way was a turn-off, and the nobles steered clear, mumbling to themselves, already starting rumors. Like "How could a Robicc behave like that?"
"Didn't they teach her manners?"
"Didn't they teach her how to behave like a proper noble?"
"Disrespectful."
"Abhorrent."

And while the 'whispered' rumors were loud enough for Pronoia to hear them, the brunette paid them no attention as she wallowed. Again she was questioning her purpose for being here, fighting in this tournament.

 

[Femboy]

Vivi Finii
5


Vivi didn't want to be present at such an event in the slightest after all the wasted time and insulted dignity she had been through. She only agreed after the asking of someone who hadn't disappeared from her life after the traumatic 6 months would prove itself to be yet another obstacle of her enjoying her own time in peace. Now she was subject to the annoyances that those distracted with their upper class lives and material possessions created for her.

"Not really" Vivi quietly grumbled as Peaceroot spoke about them crediting the mages of the Spire, having a lot more of a hate-fueled rant to spew on the matter but witholding it solely for the presence of Peaceroot. Vivi didn't hate the other mage, but she was definitely way too bright for her own liking.
"The work we did will be forgotten in minutes once these idiots begin wasting themselves on spirits and the toxins of pride. They weren't thankful for a thing and the Grand Designer of Terrible Reasoning gets all the credit for the rest of his miserable life. I hope his heart clogs on vulture vomit" Vivi muttered to herself in spiteful thought as she was about to gently lower the brim of her hat so that she didn't have to face the sight of those talking before Peaceroot hugged her in excitement.

"Alright- you made your point-- You're a mage, not a martial artist-" Vivi huffed as she was suddenly tightly grabbed and hugged way too hard for her own liking and survival, patting the head of Peaceroot as she did so. Vivi's headpats were likely to be taken as a sign of friendship since her other arm was withheld within Peaceroot's embrace, but in reality she was trying to tap out so that the cheerful barbarian-mage would release her. Long gone were the moments of peaceful lonesome it seemed, at least Peaceroot was only one person even if quite a handful to deal with. At the very least, she could somewhat try to think on the peace she'll get back at the spire although more than too many post-party people might be a nuisance on the returning night.​

 

[TreasureSniper]

Interacting: Thalia_Neko AriAriAbabwa

Talio was happy to hear that this mysterious magical lady was acknowledging him. "Sirindra, what nice a name." He was hoping that she would have more to say but all he could see was the lady silently sizing him up. Aside from giving him "the look" she seemed much more interested in the food she was eating instead of the person she was talking to. Given the circumstances, he was no one special. But then came the third party, who seemed to show much greater interest in him.

"Greetings....I am sorry I didn't quite catch your name there.." He had instinctively responded to this stranger's greeting with a polite response, one that he would give to just about anyone that was willing to take interest in his products. The girl would then shyly mutter her name before introducing herself as a fellow merchant. "Hmm, Tear, a lovely name as well. Takes one to know one I guess." The young girl now momentarily had his full attention, giving her a polite bow before giving her a proper introduction. "Talio Ferromanus, tinkerer, merchant, and mercenary. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"I'd say the weather right now is acceptable. Though I do enjoy a bit of rain every now and then." Strangely enough, Talio had answered her question as if he had just been asked about his preference. While he did not immediately recognize her, he did recall there was a block winner that he read about who had Tear as their first name. Could this shy person be her? Based on the description of this individual, she was a capable combatant, one who won her fights with little issue. If that "Tear" was truly the person in front of him, was this shy girl persona just an act? Only one way to find out. "So then, what brings you here? Are you looking for prospective sponsor opportunities? Selling your wares perhaps?" Despite his friendly tone, his eyes hinted at much more serious intentions. "Call it a gut feeling, but like her...I feel like you're an interesting person as well." Talio couldn't help but smirk, excited for this individual's response.

 

[AriAriAbabwa]

Tear Ripley
Thalia_Neko TreasureSniper
​

"C-Competition? Why, I-I would never," she practically mouthed out. Sirindra looked and acted scarily powerful; how anyone, including this other merchant, didn't tremble before her was beyond Tear. More likely, it was just a Tear thing.

She calmed down a bit after Talio's polite introduction and pleasantries. That was familiar ground, and her breath slowed. He even thankfully overlooked her disastrous greeting! Though Tear couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to Talio than a friendly merchant. He did mention an experience as a mercenary. At his first round of questions, Tear chuckled nervously. "Oh, no! I'm actually here for... for..."

Then Talio got his gut feeling, and her stomach clenched. Tear supposed this was inevitable. "Well... I guess I am interesting... not that I'm trying to b-brag, you know..." Her cheeks flushed red, and for once, she mustered a little smile. One of Tear's hands twirled with a strand of her as she glanced away. "I'm... actually a... winner... of a prelim." The way she spoke made it sound like she admitted some terrible mistake. "But I'm... really glad that I'm here."

Having gained just enough calmness from the thought, Tear posed a question back. "Wh-What are you two here for...?"

 

[Thalia_Neko]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
location: at the party
characters: Elisztraza, Nathanial, Trudüün, Sirindra, Zelig, Adonia
interact: TreasureSniper AriAriAbabwa

Spoiler

Nathanial


Trudüün


Zelig


Adonia

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

Up where the Empress had entered to give her opening speech, Elis stood with her entourage, which mostly consisted of men, surprisingly. There were a few maids who hung back, but most of the people around her were men. The Grand Court Magician, who was as intimidating as ever, with his sharp features and dapper uniform. The Imperial Advisor Trudüün, who regularly leaned in to whisper to her about something or other. And another boy, who was shorter than the Empress herself, who she was in deep conversation with.

That was Nathanial. He was known to be the Empire's "Genius of the Eyes". It was unclear where he came from, but he just showed up in court one day. Only the Empress herself knows where she found such a boy.

It was clear as the two talked closely, pointing towards various people, that the people there were being evaluated. Probably the tournament contestants were being evaluated so they could have an accurate understanding of the fighters' skills.

Nathanial's eyes finally found Sirindra. His gaze was utterly piercing. Like being swept up into a thrashing ocean current, or getting lost into the far reaches of space.

Even Sirindra could tell he was a 1 in a million talent. The aura that short boy radiated was something Sirindra did not feel often. It reminded her of the beasts in Wravadar.

Just who was he?

His discerning gaze was enough to illicit a shiver from people, but Sirindra held her ground. His gaze had nearly elicited such a shiver from her, but she hadn't wanted to appear weak, so she simply stared back, piercing his gaze with hers. Then she focused once again on the current interaction before her. "Ah, is that so?" the woman grunted in response to Talio. It was a borrowed name after all. She had no opinion on his name at all, so she said nothing. She focused on the two's interaction with a bit more intrigue. She swallowed the last bite of her food and brushed off her hands.

"Hm, a merchant and a mercenary? That's an interesting combination. Why is that?" she asked right after swallowing. There was nothing saying a merchant couldn't be a strong fighter. In fact, the way Sirindra saw it, everyone should seek some form of strength, if not for anything else than for self-defense. You'd be a fool to remain weak in a world like this one, but then, they were surrounded by fools. Even one of the Grand Ten was a famous merchant. But most merchants could simply buy mercenaries. So it was unusual to find one that was both.

Sirindra's eyebrow raised when she heard that. The woman regarded the smaller girl. She certainly didn't really seem capable of what she just admitted to, but fighters came in all sorts and sizes. Still, she was a bit too timid to be a noteworthy fighter.. Well, unfortunate. Perhaps she got by on luck. There was always a few of those in tournaments of size like this one.

Although there was a minor 'film' of aura surrounding the girl.

Did that hide inner power? Or was it extremely fine mana control or aura control? Both cases were intriguing..

"What else do you think we're here for?" Sirindra responded with a voice tinged with fire and ice. Though, there was something off about the girl, there was no need to play nice. Might as well poke the bear a bit.

But before her taunt could really go any farther, a man bumped right into Tear. It was enough force to nearly knock the girl over, and probably sent her right into Talio who she was standing right beside. For the man, it was practically nothing, but he made a big deal of it all the same.

The man had light green-blue hair, a thinnish, but still sturdy frame, and was decked out in noble finery.

He feigned frustration with a grunt. "HEY! Watch where you're going!" He began. Although it was clear he was the one who ran into her. His green eyes peered down, taking in the thing that obstructed his way. It was as if it was the first time he saw the girl.

"Ugh! Who let this child in?"

"She's not a child." Sirindra began. Well, she practically was, but that was beside the point. There was no rules against children entering the tournament. "She's a Prelim winner. A Grand Stage contestant," Sirindra said, defending the girl.

The man looked taken aback. Or worse, offended.

"What?! Who?! This half-pint?!" The man then laughed. "What is the meaning of this? Are we seriously letting weaklings and children into the tournament?! I thought this was supposed to be some GRAND affair! And did I overhear you call this runt interesting? Don't make me laugh! For a merchant, you must not really have a discerning eye at all. How do you even get business with that low level of judgment?" He scoffed to Talio, indicating he had, in fact, not been as ignorant of the situation before him as he had originally let on.

"Empress -" Trudüün began, up at the Empress's entourage, with an obviously concerned inflection in his voice.

Elisztraza simply held up her hand to quiet him. It was clear the group was close enough for the Empress's entourage to see and overhear what was going on.

"Of course this is the type of event the Empress would throw!" the green-haired man shouted. He placed a hand upon his chest, "Do you even know who I am, little girl?! I am Zelig Earthbane, the eldest son of the noble Stone Walls and Poisoned Steps House!" When it appeared the group wasn't following he seemed even more taken aback. "Are you serious?! Oh, come on! The Stone Walls and Poisoned Steps House, the Earthbanes, are one of the 5 Great Founding Duke Families of Epica!" He couldn't believe that these people didn't recognize him. "At the Empire's inception, the 5 Great Duke Families came together and elected a ruler for their newly formed great nation. That was the Epica family, that was said to have blood that was blessed. But look at them now; how their family has fallen! The 5 Duke families of the past made a mistake, it's time to correct that mistake."

"You uncultured swine~" hissed the woman standing beside him, fury raging in her eyes. She was slightly shorter than the man, and matched Sirindra in height, with an equally lanky frame, and hothead, arrogant, better-than-thou attitude. Though her bust was of a decent size. She was dressed in equally obvious noble wear, indicating she came from a classy family, but the glare she wore on her face could convince you of otherwise. "My husband-to-be is the rising star of the Stone Walls and Poisoned Steps House! He'll rule it soon! The likes of that little empress girl can't even compare to him!" Her caustic words indicated very well how she felt about the Empress.

As Sirindra glared at the woman suddenly butting in, Zelig spoke. "This is my fiancée Adonia Celenera Robicc Peacestorm. The current head of the Flame Walk of the Silent Forests House. It is clear, that the Empress is throwing this sham of a tournament to hide her own inadequacies! Trying to worm her way into the good graces of the Duke families, the nobles, and the nobles of the rest of the world." Yes, for those that had discerning ears, the woman who was to be his bride was a Robicc. The Eldest Robicc daughter, to be exact. Who had married into the Peacestorm family years ago. But with the death of her husband, she was left head of the house, and it seemed she was now betrothed to Zelig.

The man had a cocky sneer. "But I, declare here, after I win this tournament, I will thoroughly crush the Empress's reputation into the ground, and with it, any hope she had of allying herself with anyone. Then, with my wife, Adonia, we will rule Epica, as its new Emperor and Empress, and take her in a brand new prosperous direction!"

At his declaration, some of the people who were gathered around listening all clapped in admiration. While others looked on in disgust, shocked he could so openly speak out against the Empress and about his ambitions. That was private talk.

"Empress!" Trudüün cried.

Elisztraza once more quieted her advisor, glaring at him.

"B~but Empress.. he's directly mocking you, and.. and -and he's -!"

"Enough, Trudüün. I have ears. Let the Earthbane boy talk. He's all bark, and no bite," she said with a dark glare. It wasn't like she was thrilled with what the man was saying so openly, in front of the guests. It was clear it was tantamount to treason. But Elis knew that this was how the Duke families operated. She had heard many such similar statements all her life. Even more so since assuming the throne. It wouldn't do well to make a scene here. She was probably within her rights to arrest him for this public display of treason. But it would only throw wood on the fire, giving ammo to the Duke families who were not thrilled with her rule. They could use such an incident to attack her position. Nathanial stared down at them, eyes gleaming, perpetual poker faced.

"Leave him be. I've heard rumors coming from his family that sound impressive, but we'll see if he can back them up in the ring," Elis said coldly.

"Yes Empress..." Trudüün gave in, lowering his head.

Meanwhile, the man was continuing. He addressed the short girl. "Girl, know your place. You should concede right here and now, save yourself the embarrassment, and don't waste everyone's time." He let the words hang there, as if he was expecting her to take his 'advice.'

Sirindra stepped closer, basically pushing herself into his presence. She sneered. "You've said some big words, little man."

"-little!?"
"Ugh! What!? Don't belittle my fiancé-"

"But you never know how it'll go in the ring. Wouldn't your reputation become completely crushed if you lost to her in the ring?" She asked, folding her arms. Using his own words against him.

His eyes narrowed in on Sirindra. "Oh~? Are you defending this mouse? I took you of all people to be smarter than that, since you agree with me."

"Agree with you? Are you a mind-reader? I let actions do the talking, not my ego."

The woman snickered. It seemed she was taking offense to how this woman was standing up to her man and attempting to embarrass him. "I hope your blade is as sharp as your tongue."

Sirindra glanced at her, a grin equal to the woman's curling her lips. "Oh, no worries there, it's sharper. Trust me."

"Really? We'll find out in the ring~"

She said, stepping up, placing her face to Sirindra's. Eye-to-eye glares.

"Why wait till the ring?"

"Shouldn't we do something?" Trudüün couldn't help himself speaking up again.

"If this is enough to scare the girl away, then she wasn't worthy in the first place." Elisztraza stated coldly. She turned away, as if she was bored with the scene. Nathanial did as well, as if he and the Empress moved as one. Razial's eyes glinted, but he didn't convey anything either.

"As ruthless as ever, My Lady," the man said with a bow of his head, a smirk, and the tone of his voice signifying his pride in her.

As if on cue, two men confidently walked up to the Empress, engaging her in conversation.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
location: Elis' party
characters: Peaceroot
interacting: Femboy
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Peaceroot chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck. "Oh, please.. Vivi... I don't think that's true..." It was hard to ignore the Grand Stage after all... It was built to last. There was no way the people would forget about it, or its origins. But she knew that's just how Vivi was. Vivi enjoyed being a bit ornery, but for Peaceroot, she actually felt quite a bit of pride in what they accomplished. Even a woman like her felt a bit of mage-pride.

The girl chuckled at Vivi's joke. "Eww..." Then when she was pat on the head, she giggled in delight. "Oh~ Ohho~ Eee, hehe... Vivi!"

By now, the argument was loud enough it was drawing attention. And even the easygoing Peaceroot had her attention drawn. "Oo~ look over there Vivi! Those people are arguing! I wonder what it's about?" The girl wondered, tilting her head and tapping her chin.

 

[AriAriAbabwa]

Tear Ripley
Thalia_Neko TreasureSniper
​

Tear blinked at Sirindra. Did she do something to offend her? Or was she reading the wrong thing from her tone? Tear let her mouth dangle open, searching for a response, when someone ran into her.

You'd think that the nobility, for all their uptightness, would actually retain basic manners?

Twisting Tear's smile into a confused, disgruntled glare was the fact he blamed her! Then went on a foolish-sounding tirade of... enough things to send Tear's opinion of him into the pits. She recognized him. Tear had watched his prelim fight, in awe of his combat prowess and how he handled his opponent. Like the others in the crowd, she thought he was cool. Never meet your heroes.

Sure, maybe she got lucky in the prelims. Sure, when she looked at her present and future opponents, she felt deeply out of place.

But ironically, hearing such grating things solidified her thoughts. She won. And she had the 4th Star to prove it.

As he and his joining fiancée turned their attention to Sirindra, Tear was left to her thoughts. She was petty; she knew that. But there had to be something to get back Zelig. Attacking was... not the brightest idea, considering the setting and basic courtesy. Maybe a little prod in the right spot... Tear eyed the pressure point between his belly button and pubic bone. She stifled a grin.

"Wow... The Zelig Earthbane? Eldest son of the noble Stone Walls and Poisoned Steps House?" Tear injected herself beside Zelig with the brightest, most sparkling expression she could muster. As if he never threw any insult at her. "It's such an honor to be in your presence! I witnessed your prelim match—I could never fathom myself measuring up to such ability!"

Tear reached for her heel, retrieving a sheathed stiletto. "I remember your opponent thrusting his spear at you like a madman, but you and your excellence easily countered his attacks!" She mimicked the spearman's movements with the stiletto. "The way you walled him off, using his strength against him so he could be struck with your poison? Genius!"

"It was especially amazing when your opponent did this—!" Tear spread both her arms out, her gaze glued to the stiletto. On her free hand, though, the center joint of her middle finger struck Zelig. Between his belly button and pubic bone. There was plenty of pressure from her speed, but it was only for a split-second; an honest mistake. "Sorry," she quickly said. "When he did this with his spear, and you went in for the final blow!"

Tear continued her gushing, not even looking at the guy anymore. By now, Zelig's bladder must have been reacting...

 

[Femboy]

Vivi Finii
6

Mentions: Thalia_Neko TreasureSniper AriAriAbabwa ​

Vivi had heard the abrupt breakout of voices raising at eachother nearby as she sighed, wishing that it would have been something that would dissipate on its own. Barely any time at such a terrible excuse for a celebration had passed and there were already those looking to fight over personal views that probably didn't matter at all in the slightest.

"Beawenna, you shouldn't entertain yourself with the likes of barbaric people who have something idiotic to prove. I assure you that it's nothing worth thinking about and it's just another example of how some people may possess the ability to think but choose not to use it, acting with their own pride to prove something pointless" Vivi muttered as she tried to ignore the disruption of sound to the best of her abilities, before attempting to go on to talk about it in ways that should hopefully dispel any thoughts of it mattering.

"If you direct too much attention to such people, they'll drag you into it, and the more that get involved the more wide-scale it becomes... " she mumbled as she sighed before she knew her mind wouldn't get off of it.
"But this is definitely the kind of thing that people will choose to add themselves to for ill consequence, and will probably waste and hinder my time inevitably. They'll end up just upscaling and fighting it out right here and the whole thing'll end quite fast, and then everyone will go home early from a ruined experience" Vivi muttered as she hesitated on her words before reconsidering something.

"On second thought, let them fight, I'm sure it's fine" Vivi answered before she glanced in the direction of Peaceroot's eyes, meeting them as her intent to hope things just got worse decided to let itself go under the presence of someone much more positive and wholesome than her. She quickly faced away and lowered the brim of her hat to hide her somewhat unnerved and slight embarrassment to return to her usual dull demeanour.
"Fine, I'll go and see what's happening. Someone whose passion isn't blood sport is probably the only thing that'll be able to handle the situation calmly" Vivi answered as she looked to the direction that the sound sourced from, finding multiple people blocking her way to her own annoyance as she used her manipulation magic to revert back to her usual state to avoid people by simply floating over them. Whether or not Peaceroot was to come along or distract herself elsewhere, the bright mage should be fine enough left alone in a social environment as long as she wasn't doing anything ridiculous like finding potential new friends or trying to find her a hook-up with a special someone. Vivi couldn't trust what positive extroverts would end up doing when left to their own devices.

Passing over the people that stood between her and the disturbance in question, she was met with the sight of multiple people of which two females were arguing against eachother. Vivi didn't know or care at all about the Tournament, so the names and appearances of anyone to do with it was completely unknown. Judging from their clothes alone, she could take a prediction at who was the one overly worried about their societal status and which was the one worried about the status of their ego. Looking briefly at others present, she could see Talio was poised and dressed of someone of intelligence albeit questionable for what reasoning his attention would bring him to the area near where such barbaric-minded people were almost about to break out fighting. Perhaps from considering the fact, he was a betting man, and when there's about to be conflict amidst a major party it would make sense someone would see opportunity. Perhaps she was estimating him too much from first appearances. As for noticing Tear, well...

Vivi didn't even know that they would have let children on the premises at all. Maybe one of the people present were her parents, or that the security was so terrible a child could break in all on their own and go unnoticed. Either way, she may as well try to ease tensions between the current competitors as a rather amusing-sized voice of reason. She chose to remain in her tiny 0'2" pixie form as she just floated into presence of the interaction, since it was much more convenient and the sight of little pixies in places they didn't live could surprise people at times.

"Look, I'm sure you both are making some points. Not by any means well thought out ones, but points nonetheless. You only further humiliate yourselves publicly by trying to encourage people that you have something to prove, which only reads as your failure being much more embarrassing rather than your success being impressive. Letting people get to you just demonstrates your own weaknesses" Vivi said as she gestured a hand in the direction of Talio and Tear.
"Besides, you only damage onlooking people's opinions from you from fighting like children. From comparison of the example I have, it's likely an insult to the children of the world to say that your conflictions are child-like" she continued. She could take an assumption that Sirindra may be a participant of the Tournament, although she wasn't very convinced about Adonia who she looked to face specifically. She didn't care for taking sides, but for everything she has to go through Vivi was looking to metaphorically spit on the rich.

"As for you, considering this entire thing is a cause of higher societal egotistical drama-queens looking to enforce their meaningless life events on everyone, and that I wasted the last six months of my life non-stop working on that ridiculous Grand Stage for little to no credit amongst all the others who suffered the same, I'm sure that there's plenty of people who would love to do better than have made a fighting pit so that withering wives can parade their partners around and celebrate watching them throw their lives for their partner's pride" Viv answered in disgust of the high society who thought they were so good for no deserved reason.

"And before you offer me your words of hatred, let it be known that I'm small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and I don't feel threatened by you in the slightest. Now quit fighting amongst eachother, your quarrelling is ruining the chance that I'll go home and sleep in peace after this tragedy of an event is over".​

 

[TreasureSniper]

Talio Ferromanus
Interaction: Thalia_Neko AriAriAbabwa Femboy

Networking is the breadbutter of a social event such as this. While there would be many individuals in this event who would make much better business associates, he couldn't help but enjoy the intrigue of these two individuals. Sirindra, a powerful magic user who is capable of great destruction and death, acts somewhat innocent, even cute at times. To think just a few days ago he saw he decimate over a dozen bandits. And then there was Tear, a person who appeared to be meek and shy, full of anxiety from simple social interactions, and yet behind this facade. Hearing her basically confirmed that she was indeed the preliminary winner.

There were many questions presented to him, in such a short period of time no less. Thankfully, the merchant was used to being bombarded by inquiries and responded in a rapid fashion. "I am here for a similar reason to Tear. I won the preliminaries. Though, if I am being honest, I am just using this tournament as a demonstration of my wares. I don't really consider myself an exceptional fighter, but I like to think my equipment and tools compensate for that." Talio spoke, giving the two an honest answer. Based on his performance, without his armor, it was no secret that he wasn't the most skillful sword fighter around. But that was also something he used to his advantage, letting his opponent get comfortable and complacent before he landed a decisive blow.

Unfortunately, this pleasant mood would not last long, with the sudden dynamic entry of a supposed noble. Bumping into the innocent, he began rambling about how she should watch we she was going, despite being the person that bumps into him. And then, he went on a tangent about who he was despite never being asked. Based on the way this noble was talking, it seemed like he was compensating for something. And if that wasn't bad enough, his, admittedly attractive, fiance also joined in as well, adding more fuel to the fire. Talio himself is used to getting "strong" words here and there, but he felt that such hostility was not warranted, especially towards someone like Tear. He was about to take matters into his own hands, but impressively, the shy Tear had already an interesting response on the way. Surprisingly, her response was deceptively positive, giving words of praise, while making...interesting moves. Her words said one thing, and yet her actions were decisive, calculated, and cunning. If she is who she says she is...then this must be her pressure point technique. A small grin formed around Talio's mouth, acknowledging just how capable this girl was despite how "harmless" she looked.

Just when he thought the hilarity was subsiding, an exceptionally small lady had also joined their little group discussion to share her own choice words. For a person so small, her words dug deep, defending just about everyone against this tiresome noble. She even said that they avoid getting involved since this is a relatively trivial interaction. But sometimes Talio just couldn't help himself. "My my.. Lord Earthbane, you sure do have a way with words." Talio muttered, trying his best to hide an amused chuckle. While there was a lot he wanted to say to this noble, he figured that others had already verbalized his thoughts. And now was a time for action.

Pulling of the glove from his prosthetic hand, Talio flicked it toward the floor in front of the arrogant noble, making it clear what his intentions were. "But talk is cheap. I, Talio Ferromanus challenge you, Lord Zelig Earthbane Eldest son of the noble Stone Walls and Poisoned Steps House to a duel. From what I can tell, you're a talented individual with respectable combat prowess, a perfect candidate to help me improve my products. You did after all win your preliminaries did you not?" While his tone remained professional, there was a hint of venom and disdain in his voice. "Should you win, I am prepared to offer you my finest mining golem, a tool that will no doubt be a strong asset to your house." Aside from his Strider armor, the mining golem was easily his most prized possession. "However should you lose....I want your wife, Lady Adonia Celenera Robicc Peacestorm's hand in marriage." This was of course a very absurd, term, designed to provoke the opponent on purpose. "Let the occupants of this hall be the witness to my challenge. I look forward to your acceptance...unless of course..you're afraid of fighting a lowly merchant in a fight." And now, the ball was on the noble's court. Should he refuse the challenge, it is likely he would be branded a bit of a coward who is not able to back up his claims and as well let lowly merchant taunt and disrespect him and his wife. And even if he did accept it, Talio would no doubt use this as a good case study on what he needs to improve on his armor. "I eagerly wait for your response, Lord Earthbane."

 

[Thalia_Neko]

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location: Elis' pre Grand Stage party
characters: Zelig, Adonia, Hausan, Sirindra
interact: TreasureSniper AriAriAbabwa Femboy
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The little brat was speaking up now. What? Did she get tired of getting walked all over? Heh, it was too late to grow a backbone! What she said next somewhat confused him. But, being Zelig, he couldn't help but enjoy how his ego was being stroked. "Heh! You do seem to know your betters! It certainly is!"

Zelig sneered. "Well of course not, it'd be inconceivable for a brat like you."

He was intrigued by her trying to reenact what he had done.. in some fight she supposedly watched. Was that how it had went? "Yes, sure enough, you got that right." He had excellent combat sense. At first it was flattering, then odd, and frankly, strange by the end.

Just as he had predicted, she was trying something. She tried to stab him.

She definitely struck true, which annoyed him. But she would feel her attack bounce. Like hitting a bouncy barrier. The attack would feel unsatisfying.

"Nice try, shrimp. But this level of attack can't pierce my aura (defense). Come back next time when you're off bottles," he retorted, flicking her head. He turned to confidently stroll away. Adonia, too, would leave with one last sneer at the group. "You and me, we'll settle this in the ring~" she spat at Sirindra.

Even though he acted tough, he had felt something from her strike. Annoying brat had actually tried something! And nearly succeeded! No. Even this little bit of discomfort was her success! Goddamn brat... He grit his teeth, and his green eyes gleamed like jades. If he met her in the ring he would throttle her. Show a streetrat like that her betters.

Sirindra had also been watching Tear's antics. And she was impressed when she saw the technique the girl was attempting. But yeah.. She had already evaluated the two fighters. Unless Zelig was a total fool, and just had no defense up, then it wasn't likely any technique Tear could throw out would prove all too effective. But it was the attempt that counted! Maybe the little munchkin had it in her!

She laughed, and clapped Tear on the back. "Nice going, girl! I was wrong about you! You showed him! You got moxie! I like that in a little tyke! Khe heh he kheh!"

However, it didn't seem the exchange was over. Zelig and Adonia, were forced to stop and listen to the others, annoyed with being held up by these people.

"Huh? Is that so?" the airheaded mage wondered, tilting her head at Vivi's words. "WAIT! EEE! Did you just call me by my name?! EEEE VIVI! I knew it! I knew you truly cared!!" Peaceroot screeched shrilly, clasping the other woman's hands in hers and hopping up and down.

But then her friend moved towards the squabbling group. She reached after Vivi, as the witch-hatted woman turned into her usual teensy self, forcing her hand to catch nothing but air. "Wait! Viv! Wait! No! I.. I just meant to watch! Viv!!" The call came from the left behind mage. She was left with a worried look on her face and concern in her eyes.

The group wasn't finished with them yet. Zelig noticed something flying over. Huh, it was a pixie! That was an interesting sight.

The man clicked his tongue, and scratched out the inside of his ear. "Man~ your voice is so shrill. Must you chitter away like that? Why don't you just buzz off." It was like the green-haired noble completely disregarded everything she said. "My ears hurt from all that~" he whined unscrupulously.

Even though she had deemed the interaction no longer worth her time, she couldn't help but overhear just a bit more. Something of note caught her attention in particular, actually. While her posse chatted in front of her, Empress Elis glanced back at the quarreling group. But her red eyes focused on one tiny being in particular.

"Huh... So there are people with opinions like that.." Elis murmured. She grinned and closed her eyes. "Well of course there would be. Some people would think that." Some wouldn't be too thrilled. Some would dislike the pomposity of it all. "Interesting." Naturally there were those who did not like fighting and conflict and such similar things. Elis' eyes opened, and she had a darker expression. "But this is a world of power. She should wake up and get with the times."

Even if she had found the opinion interesting, the Empress was through with it, her tone one of dismissal, even when spoken to herself.

Poor Vivi, she had gone out of her way to interact with others, and most seemed to disregard the little person. Perhaps it was due to her size?

Back at the group, Zelig was dealing with the merchant Talio. He watched the glove fly through the air, slap his chest, and fall to the ground. Was that some sort of tradition? His face remained neutral. Almost unimpressed. He was nursing a dull ache in his groin, and wanted to get out of there as quick as possible. But here was this man trying...

"Heh. The merchant who thinks himself a fighter still can't gauge the situation," Zelig began in an amused tone, a smirk curling his lips. But underneath, he was seething. Was he serious? A duel? With him? The next Duke of Stone Walls and Poisoned Steps? The next Emperor? How goddamn arrogant. "A duel? Zheh heh... You got guts, merchant."

Many onlookers were now whispering amongst themselves about the proposed duel. Their whispers could be heard, and it was clear what some of them thought about it.

Zelig thought about it. A golem? Would his family even need such a thing? Certainly it would be useful... but he had no basis for this merchant's wares. Dealing with merchants counted on trust. There was no trust there, so he didn't have faith in such a machine. It likely would just break down the moment it walked out of whatever the merchant's magic range was. A truly terrible prize for such a bet. Especially when placed against his dear Adonia.

But the reality was different. It wasn't about a golem. It was about his pride and reputation. And about...

His eyes flicked over to his wife-to-be. The fury she exuded was palpable. Radiating a fiery aura.

He was going to go off, but Adonia beat him to it.

"You. That's not funny." Came the woman's voice, lacking in feminine lilt or any alluring tone at all. Instead laced with a dark and rough one, akin to a man, or perhaps bear. "You seem to lack common sense, mister merchant. Do you even know who I am?" Adonia spat.

"I am not some random noble floozy! I'm not just the head of the Great Duke Peacestorm Family. I am a Robicc! The eldest Robicc daughter! Essentially a princess! The eldest princess! I can't just go marrying any layabout fool. You show your lack of decorum even suggesting something so ludicrous!" Once she asserted this, a hush of whispers agreeing with her sounded behind her, their eyes now flicking over to Talio, regarding him with suspicion, unease, and displeasure.

"Even if I were to agree to such a thing, and there's absolutely no way I would. To ask for my hand in marriage one must take the proper measures!" She pointed at him a slender finger with a sharpened blackred nail as dangerous as a knife.

"Don't address and regard me so shallowly and thoughtlessly!! You shouldn't make such frivolous, flippant comments towards me so lightly! Know your place!!! Do you want your head to roll, merchant?!?!"

Murmurs of agreement arose from the crowd.

Despite her anger, she seemed to be saying it not just for her sake, but for Talio's as well.

Zelig snorted. Though, the man's attempt to steal his wife-to-be right in front of him struck a cord within him deep down. Such a thing was too bold, even for this altercation. He wanted nothing more than to smash this pompous merchant's skull in. It seemed the matter was settled. "There you have it. Unfortunate. The stakes are not equal. You think your golem could replace my wife? That's just like a merchant. Overselling his wares. No faith in fellow humans. Some rock machine couldn't compare to the lady Adonia. I can't agree to such terms. Daring to suggest a duel truly was too audacious of one such as you." The man said seemingly bowing his head in pity. "You can't suggest a duel so flippantly to the eldest son of the Great Duke Family, the Earthbanes. Give up, as the lady said, know your place."

"You go around calling yourself the eldest son?" came a male voice, deep, but laced with sarcastic amusement. With just a hint of danger and warning.

That drew eyes, with Zelig spinning around, as the crowd parted so the voice's owner could join the group. People staring at the tall man in surprise. They couldn't believe their eyes! It was the returned son, and one of the Supernovas. He had sharp eyes, a tough exterior, despite the noble clothes, and an overbearing presence, with a thick aura that he was allowing to exude just a bit to smother the annoying "extras" around them. It wafted off of him like a blurry red-purple-black haze. Causing some people to shy away, some to wince, and even some coughed and sputtered.

"Have you forgotten your older brother? I'm hurt."



"You abandoned your right to be called an Earthbane when you left to join the Terrastal Infusion and Permeation sect! You're no longer the eldest Earthbane brother! You abandoned that title and all that came with it!"

"Huathuathaha! So you say, but it seems you've gotten yourself in trouble, little brother! Allow your 'big brother' to bail you out!" He laughed, as if completely disregarding everything said.

"Hey! Are you listening to me!?! Hau-"

He now focused on the man in question, with even Adonia backing down just a bit. His humored face fell. Addressing Talio now, he said.

"Oi, kid. Aren't you being too brash? You were just rude to an escorted lady with a partner. Do you know what the correct propriety is? Do you have an ounce of dignity? First, apologize to the lady. Second -" the 6'8'' man reached down and picked up the glove off the floor, looking back over at Talio his ice-blue eyes glinting as he crushed the glove, a prepossing grin on his face, "-I'll accept the duel in place of my fool brother. I - Hausan Tyrídin Cylnncine Earthbane Baishoushan - formerly accept your duel, Talio Ferromanus! I hope you're prepared, merchant. 'Cuz if you can't beat me, your entire business will end."

That was the stakes when it came to dealing with this man. That was what it meant to duel Hausan Earthbane Baishoushan, the Third Seat of the Terrastal Infusion and Permation sect.

 

[Silver Wolf]

Spoiler: Appearance

Sophia Yurel
Mentions: TreasureSniper , Thalia_Neko , AriAriAbabwa , Femboy


​

Pronoia appeared to be having a moment. Sophia knew this girl was going through a lot, clearly, but she just couldn't necessarily sympathize as much as she would have liked. To be distraught this much over Mijorne's death must have made her something special to the Robicc girl. Thankfully she didn't have to wait long as it seemed yet another Robicc had entered the scene. Drawn to the name, her attention shifted and for all intensive purposes Pronoia was forgotten.

The offending party was quite loud after all. The whole situation had managed to distract her and spoil her appetite. A few questioning glances were shot toward Alina who looked like she was holding in everything with an expression that screamed she wanted to sink through the floor. Quite so too considering the show Zerig and Adonia were putting on. For the sake of her companions she chose to withhold her thoughts, but regardless it was pretty jarring to hear what was essentially high treason to the empire, by one of its more powerful nobles, within earshot of the empress no less. She gave a curious look towards the seemingly young empress to gauge her response before more loud voices drew her attention back.

By the guardian they were loud, and it was enough to spoil her mood. Normally she would just sip wine and watch the show, but something about the way these people spoke just managed to tick her off and spoil her mood. To make matters horrid, nothing was being done to de-escalate. Every response seemed to be met with further aggression and further bristling of hairs. Then, it all came to a head when a certain someone made the most ludicrous and outlandish request she had ever heard from someone in her life.

Talio, a merchant, demanded a duel with Adonia on the line. Now, she had heard a lot of things, but this took the cake for the worst and dumbest at the same time. To demand a duke's wife on the basis of a duel was about as ludicrous as one could get. By now, there would be no escaping this mess and even the far end of the ballroom was going to be gossiping. As Adonia screamed and yet still nothing was done it certainly did drive home how far away she was from home now. Back at Yurel, this sort of behavior would have anyone booted from a party. Besides, in that area the rivalries were much more cloak and dagger than whatever this display was. Then again, Yurel was primarily a commercial city, a place of trade and logistics. That wasn't even mentioning how the Great Lake region was the world's gold standard for potions. People didn't tend to speak openly about what was being talked about here where she was from. Back home your prestige as a noble was due to arts and trade, and backlash tended to follow those routes. Instead of open duels among the aristocracy there were trade wars, logistical sabotage, and of course rumors. To publicly declare a duel to a noble with a spouse on the line was beyond ludicrous to her ears.

In the end Sophia sighed then handed what she was holding to Alina before simply walking forward. As she did so she began clapping slowly and loudly, shifting frequency ever so lower with increasing strength. Once she had caught enough attention she looked to them with a dead fish-eyed stare which hopefully drove home what she really thought of this situation.

"Bravo, bravo. Before the night's over and the tournament begins we have the first duel. All of it on top of a false gold throne of hubris, proof that some don't have even the slightest modicrum of patience and need to jump at any excuse to vent their frustrations, regardless of how minor. Of course, the cherry on top of all this is that the future Duke Earthsbane here has openly admitted treason to the empress herself. Even if she doesn't respond now, how bright someone must be to paint a fat red target on their back in front of the most politically powerful woman in the world. Frankly I'm shocked it has led to this much of a restrained response to deny such an absurd request, only to be ruined by a relative who decided to take this opportunity to accept a duel with stakes as absurd as this."

She grinned and began laughing before setting her face back to its unamused look. "I'm amazed, I thought the politics in Yurel was bad enough, but this by far is perhaps the most impressively idiotic display I have seen, and one at an event to honor Mijorine no less. Truly, what a great family the Earthsbanes must be to spit on her memory and paint themselves as a target for the empress. So again, bravo, you've singlehandedly proven the opposite of what you set out to prove through whatever this is."

She didn't have anything more to say and simply walked back to grab her wine from Alina and finished it in one go, choosing to watch what would happen next with the same disinterested expression as before. She didn't even know why she bothered to address the situation, but one gaze towards Alina and Pronoia left her feeling a little more than satisfied with pointing out how foolish this whole situation was. Granted, she fully expected to to bounce off whatever thick skulls Adonia and Zerig had, but it would inevitably echo to others to point out how none of this was actually worth anyone's time.

 

[TreasureSniper]

"You speak a lot about your honor and legacy as a noble and yet you refuse to defend it. You are beyond contempt. " While there are a lot of intimidating responses from multiple parties, Talio mostly zeroed in on Zelig's lackluster reply. Turning his attention towards Lady Adonia, he was not surprised by her rage, in fact, he very much expected it. He was mainly hoping that Zelig would be furious enough to answer before she could give her own response. He was silent at first, merely returning Adonia's gaze with his own stare of indifference. And just before he could formulate his own response, Zelig was quick to retort with some insults. Even so, he could already tell he had discredited a bit of noble pride and fighting prowess. After all, what kind of noble would allow such a level of disrespect without any repercussions?

And yet again, another interruption came, one from a much greater threat compared to Zelig. It was his elder brother, the now estranged, Hausan Tyrídin Cylnncine Earthbane Baishoushan. His eyes widened up as he realized that a superior opponent had just accepted his request for a duel. It was then that Talio realized that he may have bit off more than he could chew. Even so, in this dire situation, he saw an opportunity to turn it somewhat in his favor. "Very well... Lady Adonia, I apologize for addressing you so brazenly. My intention was not to offend you. I was merely hoping that Lord Zelig would be a lot more enthusiastic at defending you. I see now that I may have overestimated his bravado." Talio gave the lady a deep bow accompanied by a sincere apology. "However, I will not apologize to Lord Zelig. He speaks of respect and "knowing" our place, and yet he has spoken against the Empress oh so casually. You bumped into someone and your first action is to immediately berate them...flaunt your family name and house to compensate for your own lack of decorum. But after seeing your elder brother...I know why." Things couldn't get any worse at this point, but from what he can tell, people here, especially the Empress were a lot more liberal than the usual nobles of other nations.

Staring daggers into the noble eyes, Talio continued his line of thought. He may be a merchant, but lately, his mercenary work had made him a lot cockier for better or for worse. He'd gotten a lot better at reading people, their capabilities, emotions, and even intentions. "You'll likely always be in your brother's shadow. The lesser Earthbane sibling..." his voice sounded a lot calmer, there was even a hint of pity in his words. And now he finally turns his full attention to the intimidating man known as Hausan. While he was somewhat confident in his ability to match or at least come close to Zelig's battle prowess...the elder brother was not within his perimeters whatsoever. As it stands, the chances of winning against such an opponent were slim to none. But even so, his pride and honor wouldn't allow him to deny the duel acceptance. "I have no quarrel with you. Lord Hausan. Even so..I've made a valid challenge and you have accepted it. With the change of opponents, it's only fair that we have a change in terms as well." This was perhaps the riskiest thing he had done in his life. It was one thing to challenge a noble, but it was another matter to fight an individual with a notable skill and strength gap. His only hope now is for him to minimize his losses as much as possible. Regardless of what happens today, at least he'll get the satisfaction of showcasing the hypocrisy of the lesser noble.

 

[Thalia_Neko]

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location: pre Grand Stage party
characters: Alina, Pronoia, Adonia, Zelig, Hausan, Sirindra, Elis, Razial
interacting: Silver Wolf TreasureSniper AriAriAbabwa
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Pronoia was indeed going through something, but that didn't mean she was completely oblivious to her surroundings. Her ear caught the familiar name, causing her to look over. Eldest sister?

She couldn't remember the last time she had seen Adonia. It was probably when the woman left to go get married over 10 years ago. So this is how Adonia looked now?

Alina, too, was captivated by the scene before them. Adonia was Pronoia's half-sister, but was her own full-blooded sister. For Alina, she had much more vivid memories of Adonia. Those memories consisted of the older girl playing with her, holding her, comforting her, and rough-housing with her just a bit. It brought tears to Alina's eyes. But those tears were frozen. But comparing her memory of her sister and this woman before her was disillusioning her. She couldn't justify the discrepancy between them.

In front of the most politically powerful woman in the world.

Empress Elisztraza heard what the young girl had to say about her. What~? Who me?? N~no.. I don't think I am.. The woman couldn't help but blush a little bit, pleased with the praise, right in the middle of the conversation she was having with the men around her.

Why did it have to continue, and why did she have to continue overhearing them?! Couldn't they get the hint?!?! Break it up already!

Her demeanor was noticed.

"Empress?" asked Razial, leaning over her shoulder to look at her. "Your face is red.. Have you fallen ill? Is the atmosphere too much for you? Perhaps you should retire early.."

"HUH~?!?! N~no! Razial, I'm fin~e! Sheesh! Ju-just forget it!"

"Well.. If you insist, Your Majesty..." he murmured, not sounding terribly convinced. Everyone in their group had stopped, watching the interaction. Which only caused more problems for the Empress, wilting under their scrutinizing gazes.

"Hey kid! -" Zelig began, clearly heated. Only for Hausan's arm to come up in front of him, cutting him off.

Hausan glanced at the short girl who butted in. He had a smarmy grin on his face. "Oh? I'm not such a disciplined gentleman to obey such droll customs. If she didn't want people to spit on her memory, then she shouldn't've died," he flatly said.

Pronoia couldn't believe her ears. She hadn't really been paying attention to the man, more distracted by the sight of her older sister. But her sharp ears picked up when someone was disrespecting Mijorine. Her gaze turned razor sharp, and she glared over at him, opening her mouth about to say something, too.

Hausan cut her off. "Uup! Looks like I went too far." He turned to the large, magnificent blade still stabbed into the ground, and deeply bowed to it. "I pay my respects to the fallen warrior, Mijorine, and ask for her forgiveness for my offhanded remark." Some in the crowd were confused, and those confused, too bowed to the sword, following his example. He stood back up, looking straight into Pronoia's still-teary, angry eyes, and grinned.

He glanced back to the short Sophia again. His blue eyes gleaming like polished pearls. Heh, girl's got a sharp tongue. "Forgive my brother. His mouth runs before his head thinks. Sorry everyone!" Hausan raised his voice, and his arms, turning to the crowd. "Forget what my brother said." He clapped his hand down on Zelig's head, ruffling his green hair. "Kiddo likes to get ahead of himself. He's always playing the 'game of nobles' in his room. He forgets games and real life are different. He apologizes for his actions and for being rude to the Empress. Long live the Empress!"

"Hey! I'm not a kid!-"

"Long live the Empress!"

"Long live the Empress!!!"
"Long live the Empress!!"

The voices of nobles rose up in chorus, taken with Hausan's charisma and joining in. Even some of them who didn't like the Empress couldn't help but echo the statement. It was better to play along with the group rather than stand out when one didn't.

"C'mon, apologize. Apologize." Hausan said, firmly pressing Zelig's head down, forcing him into a bow.

"..I apologize." He grumbled through grit teeth.

The Empress was once again forced to pay attention to the group. Her eyes were on the two brothers, watching him 'bow' and 'apologize'. Then she turned her head. The crowd began murmuring.

Zelig yanked his head out from under Hausan's hand, standing up straight. He huffed, brushed his hair and tugged on his coat. He turned up his nose at Talio, face contorted with displeasure when looking at the merchant. There were many around that he had choice words for, however, too many had gotten involved -including his freaking estranged older brother, and his opportunity to argue had come and gone. He 'tsked' inwardly, and conceded one thing. "I have no need to explain myself with uncivilized sorts. Arguing with ill-bred cretins is a waste of breath." He made sure his statement was loud enough for them -Talio, Tear, Sophie, and whoever else- to hear and get offended by.

"Lets go, dear." He growled, whipping around, cape fluttering nobly with the motion, and immediately walking away. That cool look on Hausan's face never left, as his eyes trailed after his departing brother.

Zelig looked back once, glimpsing the original source of his ire. The short elf girl. Their eyes connected. His lips didn't even hide his growl of disgust before he turned back to where he was walking.

Adonia's eyes moved from Sirindra to Talio. "Make sure it doesn't happen again. Watch how you conduct yourself in High Society from now on, merchant. You got off light this time." She warned in a dark tone. Her gaze swept over Sophia to the two girls behind her. One with hair of a similar color to hers, and a brunette. Then she turned and departed behind Zelig.

Sirindra whistled, watching the disappearing blotches of green and red hair, until they were swept up in the crowd. The crowd, which, at this point, was beginning to disperse, and go back to their own business, now that basically all of the drama was over. There were some grumblings in disappointment. These type of scenarios are what made these parties interesting. The nobles lived to watch this sort of mess unfold.

"Impressive," she mused. He handled it like a champ. The man just came in, and essentially handled it all by himself. That impressed Sirindra, and she found it rather amusing.

She pat the back of Tear, right at the base of her neck. Then looked down at her. "How you doin' kiddo?" She asked with some consideration.

Speaking of the dark-haired man. He finally addressed Talio once again. "Oh~? What terms would those be? What stake do you even have in this? I think I already made it clear that your business would be in jeopardy. Surely a merchant would do everything in their power to safeguard their business; is this really worth such a risk?"

"Sister! Wait!!" Alina called, stepping after the disappearing woman, reaching a hand out. But Adonia was gone. Her hand, hanging in the air, lowered a bit, as the redhead's face fell. Then, finally, her hand dropped. Pronoia was just behind her, looking equally dejected. Pronoia's eyes were downcast to the rosy carpet beneath her feet. She knew many of her siblings had gone their own ways, but she couldn't believe a Robicc behaved the way their elder sister did. "Sister.." she murmured.

A boy with a long ponytail of red hair, wearing fancy duds leaned against a wall nearby with arms folded. His eyes were closed. But then they slowly opened, already peering in the direction of the Robiccs, and the gathered group that had caused the commotion. He didn't wait more than a moment, before pulling off the wall and disappearing down the hallway beside him.

 

[Femboy]

Vivi Finii
7

Thalia_Neko
Vivi found that her attempts were met with criticism and rejection, deciding to leave them be as she could only witness the leftovers of what their fighting left them with. Sighing quietly to herself, she made the choice that it wasn't worth stooping to their level as she left them be and went to return back to try and find if Peaceroot had went off anywhere.

"Can't believe I was stupid enough to think people at this event could be reasoned with. I should've not even come in the first place" Vivi muttered as she felt all she did was embarrass herself within the presence of others by trying to interject where her voice held no value, albeit just choosing to direct all sorts of emotions of embarrassment to the disgust of the kinds of people who attend such events. She didn't need a required status or to be able to violently abuse others in order to know of her own capabilities and that there were so many present who were blatantly wasting their time. Her included. She could be back at the Spire right now with nobody around, but she let someone else talk her into going.

"Speaking of which, where is that witch? I wouldn't take her for someone to run off on her own in a party, so she couldn't be far... " Vivi mumbled as she had chose to give herself some elevation to see if she could pick out an obvious hat in the crowd. The noise from nobles pointlessly chanting about the Empress was so annoying that Vivi didn't know how anyone could stand it being something someone would want to do. Taking a look around until she noticed her supposed friend she was looking for, Vivi chose to return back to her shifted size so she wouldn't be treated like an insect further as she was now stood near the person she was looking for.

"They were merely arguing about pointless matters. You would think that the rich are just infants in suits with how they can act. How long are you planning to want to stay here?" Vivi asked as she approached Peaceroot, tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention. She knew Peaceroot would probably be disappointed if she were to leave on her own, so Vivi was hoping that Peaceroot would have had her fill of pointless party life by now.

"We've heard them talk and 'give thanks'-" Vivi said as she made air quotes with her fingers, still not letting go how much she disliked everything about the past six months.
"Wasn't that the thing we came for? What else do you expect to find here?" Vivi further asked, since Peaceroot wasn't any rich noble or combatant by any means so she didn't see why the girl was interested at all in coming.​

 

[AriAriAbabwa]

Tear Ripley
Thalia_Neko TreasureSniper
​

So her little technique didn't work. What a shame...

It only worsened by the face the other contestants noticed. Tear winced, trying her best to ignore Sirindra's encouragement.

She was more than happy, though, to step aside when things escalated, taking a cup of juice in the meantime. The merchant, Talio, took it upon himself to try and steal the jerk's girl via duel! It almost made Tear spit out her drink! And when the guy's older brother stepped in, Tear felt herself shrink further and further away. This was none of her business anymore.

For better or for worse, though, the situation didn't go any further. Although she felt a chill down her spine when Zelig left her with one last growl. He must've felt something from her poke. That gratifying fact was enough to overpower any anxiety from earlier.
Tear froze up when a hand patted her nape. She hesitantly turned to see Sirindra addressing little old her. She outclassed Tear in every way! The toughness, the muscle, the looks, the... Tear subconsciously put a hand over her own breasts, grumbling. Yet, it was as if the other contestant was looking out for her... it felt kind of comforting. "I'm fine..." she said, shaking her head. "Guys like him never consider consequences or the long term. The only fate waiting for them is failure..."

This was a good place to leave, right? Tear couldn't stand being apart from her mother any longer; she'd rather deal with the utter embarrassment than deal with noble drama...

And as fate would have it, Tear would regret those very thoughts.

"TEAR!" a deafening voice cut through the air, bringing a greater dread to the small girl than any snobby bastard ever could.

Bulldozing her way through the crowds, her adoptive mother barreled through anything and everyone. Her sights were only set on Tear. The girl only made a few steps away when Maryam caught up, embracing her daughter in a hug so tight she was no longer standing on the floor.

Spoiler: Maryam

#FB839C

"Oh, my little munchkin... how dare that ludicrously rude, pus-filled excuse of a man say such awful words to my baby?" She glanced up at the nearby Baishoushan brother with a polite smile. "Talking about a different person, of course~" Returning to her daughter and an upset tone, she continued. "Men like him never consider consequences or the long term. The only fate waiting for them is failure."

That was great and all, but Tear was turning a bright red as she could only keep eye contact with Sirindra. She wouldn't dare look anywhere else, where all the other eyes were. "Mom... you're embarrassing me!" she squealed, trying and failing to push against Maryam.

Maryam patted her back. "Hush... You did wonderfully. To make up for this incident, what do you think about going to that bakery later today? I know how much you like the chocolate pastries! I still remember your lips being slathered with the stuff!"

"Mom..." Tear gave up. And to be honest, that did sound appealing.

Her mother perked up at Sirindra, smiling warmly. "You're... Sirindra, I presume? One of the prelim winners? Did you happen to... befriend my munchkin?" she asked with hopeful, gleaming eyes.

Tear muffled her groan into Maryam's shoulder.

 

[TreasureSniper]

location: pre Grand Stage party
characters: Hausan, Tear and Sirindra
interacting: AriAriAbabwa Thalia_Neko

Ignoring the retort of lesser, brother, the merchant mercenary instead focuses on Hausan. While this definitely, held an intimidating aura, he seemed civilized enough to discuss terms with. Based on his current guess, he was severely out of his league with this matchup. But even so, rescinding a duel wasn't something he looked forward to either. "Yes..about that. If I am staking my company...wouldn't only be fair for you to stake something of similar value. But alas....I think this is a discussion for another. Let's have a proper talk about this..tomorrow morning, at my stall." Talio spoke with a much more refined tone, a voice he often used for his business discussions. Eventually, he would offer the nobleman a handshake. From what he can tell, this brother seemed respectful enough. While he likely wouldn't beat him in combat, he would at least get the satisfaction of confirming that the lesser brother was too afraid to fight him, a crippled merchant.

And now, he turns his attention to Tear...and another lady, who introduced herself as her mother. Interesting. He took notice of how Tear's earlier interaction was very...cunning. To launch a secret assault on a noble, and do so casually as well. Perhaps this little lady was a lot more dangerous than he had thought at first, using the farce of a harmless girl to drop the guard of potential opponents, how ingenious of her. "That was an impressive move you pulled there. So you are indeed the preliminary winner after all. Another merchant fighter, I knew there was something interesting about you." Talio gave the girl a small glare before smiling at her, happy to see another one of her kind in this field of work. "But I must know one thing...what exactly it is do you sell? Perhaps we can....work together on a joint venture. Unless of course...you're competitor..."

 

[Thalia_Neko]

-----------------------------------------------------
location: party
characters: Peaceroot
interacting: Femboy
-----------------------------------------------------
Peaceroot turned around when she was tapped on the shoulder, a pleasant little smile that drew one in on her face, giving her a rather homely look. Then her gentle face shifted into one of pure shock at such a question. "Whaaat~? I'm going to stay in Epica until the tournament is over! I want to see the Grand Stage unveiling! And I'm intrigued by how they use our wonderful creation!" She had expected Vivi to do the same. But this was Peaceroot who we were talking about. The sweet, airheaded witch who didn't think ill of others and was absentminded enough to forget the nature of others, even someone as close to her as Vivi.

Peaceroot's lower lip quivered, looking into the other witch's face, imploring her with her eyes. She knew Vivi didn't like this place, or anything.. really... That was why it was up to her to draw Vivi out of her shell! And also, use emotional manipulation to get her friend to do even the most basic of human things! "Viviiiii~!! Here~ Take a bite of this!"

She shoved a yummy crunchy snack with some dip into the other witch's mouth. "It's an Epica specialty! That sauce is made right here in the capital! It's a secret recipe~!~!"

-----------------------------------------------------
characters: Sirindra
interacting: AriAriAbabwa
-----------------------------------------------------


"Huh? Wasn't there a pixie flying around here?" The woman with the magenta hair inquired, glancing this way and that, trying to spot the little flying thing. She looked perplexed. "That's strange.. Where'd she go..?" Sirindra wondered aloud, rubbing the back of her head. She was interested in the little person! She wanted to talk to it!

Hausan's sharp eyes met those of the over-enthusiastic, and overly protective mother bear. A very subtle smile drew its way across his lips. "No worries, madam. I concur, heh. My little bro's always been a little tryhard, disgrace blowhard. Though, I'm sure some of the blame falls upon me. It's up to an older brother to discipline the younger, ain't it? Heh!" His sharp gaze found Tear, as she was embraced by her mother.

For Sirindra, she had no stake in any of this really, and especially not whatever the merchant was doing. Frankly, when she was assessing him before, she didn't think he matched well against Zelig, despite his brave act when suggesting that duel against the noble. In fact, she didn't think he matched up well against the wife he was trying to win either. Adonia's aura, when looking at her with Inner Sight was impressive. Hot like a raging inferno. Still, it was hard to discern what the merchant was capable of. Truthfully, even with her honed sight, it was difficult even for Sirindra to appraise his abilities. His aura was needlessly cool and almost abstract. It was the first time she had seen something like this. Most fighters had auras that were abrasive and intimidating. That was how they both sized up the competition, and gave a off a silent warning to them. That's how one could easily appraise their skills, but one such as this? Regardless of his skills.. Sirindra's eyes flicked over to Hausan. Against this man? She didn't think the merchant stood a chance.

But then Sirindra's eyes were drawn towards the mother. "You know me?" That was unusual. And suspicious. "Befriend wha? No.. We.." Sirindra paused. Then chuckled. "Sure! Friends! What the heck!?" She exclaimed, clapping her hand down on the little girl's head and giving Tear a rough tousle, thoroughly messing up her hair, laughing heartily the entire time time. "Leave your little kiddo in Big Sis Sirindra's strong hands! I'll look after the little munchkin! Kehhkehkehehehehe!"

Pointing across to one of the tables, she said, "You don't gotta go to a bakery. There's chocolate pastries right over there. Man, rich people sure are something else~"

Hausan remained expressionless as Talio began speaking. Only staring at him with cold, gleaming eyes. Like miniature suns. The man then snickered and chuckled breathily. It seemed the man was getting the wrong impression about him. First off, as a man who essentially gave up his birthright, you could call him a 'disgraced' or even 'fallen' noble. You could... but not many would have the guts to. "Heh, nope! You're mistaken something, merchant. In Epica. Strength is what speaks. I have no reason to offer you anything of 'equal value'. Or really, anything at all. This is just something I agreed to on a whim. It's really a duel proposed to my younger brother. If you're owed something, it would be from him. Because you see," he leaned in closer, and with a cold smile said, "I'm not nearly as civilized."

Then he backed up and shrugged, when the man suggested meeting later to discuss further. "Well, if you insist. It seems it's time I departed. I'm sure you've got other things to attend to," he said, eyes sweeping over the others around. "Until next time. Don't make anymore enemies, okay? It'll only get harder for you lot from this point onwards. Just a friendly warning from a 'Big Brother'! Huathuathaha!"

His laugh carried, as the crowd parted like the sea, as the man disappeared into the throngs of people.

Even as she was jovially talking with the mama and Tear, Sirindra's gaze trailed after the disappearing man.

------------------------------------------------------
characters: Elisztraza and entourage
------------------------------------------------------

With the pleasantries towards her entourage out of the way, the conversation had finally turned to something important.

"So is it ready?" Empress Elisztraza asked.

"We're just putting on the finishing touches now," answered one of the men who had recently joined the group.

A gleeful voice spoke up. It belonged to Elusadimus, the Grand Architect of Magical Structures. "Oh yes!! We're SO close! Just a few more spells to engrave here and there! Eeeeya~! Gosh!!! My grand dream is about to be realized~!!! I'm over the two moons!" The bespectacled man claimed excitedly. His overenthusiastic voice carried beyond the private conversation they were having.

"Elusadimus, contain yourself!" hissed Razial, his eyes burning with anger. Clearly pissed the man was getting too loud about a private topic.

Elis' hand came up in front of the magician. "Razial." At her firm, yet gentle voice, the mage calmed. "You, too, Grand Architect, chill." She knew that her magical architect of choice often got on the stoic, and stern mage's nerves. Razial was too "by the books". Elusadimus's odd, eccentric nature was often too much for him. And it gave the empress girl a massive headache whenever the two butted heads.

The man in the glasses deflated. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Good. Sounds like everything is progressing smoothly."

"Oh, yes! We will definitely be ready in time!" Elusadmius's eyes once again gleamed. It was clear he was once again getting excited about the prospect of seeing *his* Grand Stage completed.

She glanced at the other two men. The one from before spoke up. "Do not worry, Your Majesty. We'll have it completed in time. The spells are intricate, but are nothing for us."

"Good. We shall proceed as planned then, and officially unveil it a week before the tournament," Elisztraza told them. With the group acknowledging her words. Despite her stolid self, that she rigidly displayed to those within her circle, even Elis couldn't stop the growing excitement impatiently rising in her heart.

------------------------------------------------------
location: ???
characters: Mijorine
------------------------------------------------------

I've been down here for a long time. It's to the point that I've begun to remember some stuff, and I even understand some stuff about this place I'm in. For one, my name is Mijorine. Most call me 'Mirror Blade Mijorine'. I remember being affiliated with the 'Grand Ten'. I remember my Mirror Blade technique, and how to fight. I can even recall my Qi and Stars and can manifest a full Spectral sword. This place is some sort of 'dark zone'. Where very little thrives. Heck, since coming here, I haven't seen a single other living thing. There are times.. where I wonder.. If I'm dead. Is this the realm of the dead? I ask these things often. However, I have seen things. Like a large black castle, looming in the distance, cordoned off by a barrier. Just what is that place? What is that about? Nothing I could do affected the barrier. I have nothing either. No coverings to hide my modesty beyond this small blanket. That has become scraggy and frayed and tattered on my journey here. However long it's lasted. Time is not something I can tell here.

These are the things I remember and know.

What I don't remember. Is where I am. Or why I am here...

Why am I here?

All I can do. Is what I have been doing all this time. It's train. And meditate.

Those voices from before have stopped. I don't feel the creepy gazes on me anymore either. I'm not sure where they were coming from, or who those gazes belonged to, but I do know, they are not watching me anymore. Hm, perhaps they got bored of me? Anyway, no use worrying about things I cannot change. All I can do is what I can do.

The woman once more sat down upon the gray ground. She posed with one of her legs in her lap. Two fingers touched, forming circles as she rested them upon her knees. And she closed her eyes. Mijorine, then, began to meditate. Feeling her inner self.

A faint glow began to appear at her center. Then the light grew and grew. Blinding the oppressive darkness of that place.

It caught the attention of another.

"Zinniaphi?.. Zinniaphi, is that you?! ZINNIAPHI!" called a feminine voice. The girl it belonged to chased after the glow, spotting the shape of a person. She continued to call as she ran over, noticing the shape becoming one of a woman. "ZINNIE!!" she called, joy overtaking her.

However, it was short lived. She noticed it was not who she thought. And her heart sunk. Slowing her step, the girl's energy left, her body deflating. "Oh.. It's.. it's not.. You're... Not her. I was mistaken." She mumbled, walking up to the woman sitting upon the ground. She had been momentarily tricked by her exhaustion, hope, and the void.

The glow gradually disappeared, and the woman opened her eyes. They were like pools of starry white. And briefly, the girl got lost in them. "I do not know that person you were calling for." She began, noticing the strange black skin of this woman. "I am Mijorine. And you are?"

This was the first sign of life she had seen in this place! And she was taking it remarkably well. Though, inwardly, Mijorine was astounded, and rejoicing! So.. this wasn't the land of death! Just where was she then?

"Mijorine?.. Never heard of you. How'd you get here?"

"Huh? I thought you might be able to tell me that."

"You... Don't know? You don't know where you are?"

Mijorine shook her head. "You hit the nail on the head. I have no idea. What is this place?"

The other girl just stared in disbelief. "Haa.. It seems you really don't. Okay. I'll tell you.. Just promise you won't harm me or do anything of the sort."

Mijorine was almost offended. But she understood. "Does it look like I'm in such a position to do that, to you?"

The girl scanned her. This woman was nude under her blanket. She clearly had nothing. Then what was that strange light from before? She shook her head.

"Well, there you go."

"Okay..."

And with that, the girl began to tell Mijorine were she was.

Mijorine was in Wravadar.

Specifically in a desolate place known as the Void Pit.

 

[Femboy]

Vivi Finii
8

Thalia_Neko​

​

Vivi subtly winced at the sight of Peaceroot's positivity and desire to stay for so long, knowing how much that she herself despised the idea of doing so. They were in Epica however, so perhaps she would be able to devise a plan in order to get Peaceroot to find some other friends that she could distract herself with while the purple witch sought out a library or somewhere quiet to actually be productive. Vivi wasn't liking how much the other witch was still letting the Grand Stage credit thing slide, shaking her head at the suggestion they got properly acknowledged for their efforts.

"You're going to have to come to terms that these people aren't as nice or considerate as you believe them to be" Vivi spoke softly as her attention was brought back to the sight of a guilt-tripping Peaceroot that was directly looking her in the eyes. Nervously edging her own line of sight anywhere else to avoid direct eye contact, she held her hat brim lower to hide any sort of embarrassment to not let her onto any idea that she was anything but stone-cold and intentionally introverted. Eventually, she broke a little to make sure that she didn't ruin Peaceroot's time.

"F-fine, we can stay a  little longer" Vivi muttered reluctantly knowing that now finding an escape plan to enjoy some time alone somewhere for smart people was on the priority list, although her thoughts were interrupted when Peaceroot shoved something into her mouth.
"Beawenna, do not put things into my mouth, ever, especially if it has secret contents" Vivi uttered in response as she had to restrain her urge to backhand Peaceroot's hand away in sudden reflex only to know it would probably upset her. The most awkward part of all was that Vivi was kind of weak when it came to sweets and snacks, so despite it all she had still eaten it and enjoyed it although not wanting to say anything. She wasn't sure if Peaceroot had ever caught onto it before since Vivi usually never ate around anyone.

One thing that came to mind was those arguing and conflicting to eachother earlier, silently wondering who would care enough to start such commotion at an event like this. It seemed likely that atleast one of them was possibly even a tournament participant although most of them didn't fit the idea she would imagine for such a role.
"Who are the contestants within this tournament?" Vivi asked Peaceroot since the other witch was probably paying more attention to such details, interested in getting the information for her own benefits. Vivi hoped Peaceroot wouldn't suddenly change the topic to some other distraction, or get the false idea that her question implied interest in the event itself. Once she got what she needed to know and knew Peaceroot was blissfully unaware and happy, she could concoct something to get the other witch girl out of her hands that wouldn't make her feel guilty. Wording and planning about how to handle Peaceroot was difficult, for Vivi wasn't wanting her to be upset at all but the purple witch did not like the potential ideas of Peaceroot signing them up for something to do together, or trying to get Vivi to make friends or relationships furthermore with strangers. Gross. Unimportant.​