Fantasy A Breath of Fire

[Grey]

Millennia ago, Dragons ruled the world - until something killed them, unto the very last one. Their titanic skeletons fossilized in the earth, their blood turned to rich veins of crystal charged with their magical power.


Today we mine this ancient power, this chrysm, to fuel society - steam-engines, streetlamps, and more. The past is a mystery few are inclined to solve. Dragons are dead.


But in the space between birth and life, something might remain for a very long time...

 

[Grey]

• Marion & Ka'lii
• Avery
• G'arr

• 
  
  
  A year has passed since Ka'lii found Marion, naked and alone, menaced by hounds, in the depths of Cedarwood.
  
  
  A year in which the famine has only gotten worse, which has made pickings so slim Ka'lii is on the verge of reputable employment.
  
  
  The people are angry, depressed, and it makes you a little grateful for your hilltop cabin hidden in the forest.
  
  
  Now it's a bright spring morning when your companion Teepo wakes you both, still in his pajamas (but his long purple hair perfect, as always). He's only a little older than Marion.
  
  
  "C'mooon you guys. I'm starving. Can't we go down to the main road and mug somebody?"
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  Fanfare. Bright lights. The swell of the crowd and the reek of perfumes. Even on this high balcony the noise and vitality reach you.
  
  
  It's not like you hate crowds or want to shirk your duty - after all, one day you will be queen - but sometimes the pageantry is a bit much.
  
  
  Before he got old, father used to personally deal with troubles in the kingdom, at the head of his column of knights. A great warrior until his leg was broken so badly he walks with a cane.
  
  
  Finally, the address is over - father has vowed, once again, to find the cause between the unrest in the kingdom. The people cheer, content; Wyndia remains in idyll, even if the counties are struggling.
  
  
  Bertram, the oldest Wyndian still living, emerges from a doorway behind you. Graying, fragile wings sprout from his back through holes carefully tailored into his black jacket.
  
  
  "Princess, are you ready to come for your lessons?"
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  It's almost a pilgrimage. The journey to Genmel for the next tournament.
  
  
  The thought fails to wash away on vigorous applications of Rhapala's finest, and the cats surrounding you almost seem to be judging. The people simply avoid looking too long. Your reputation might not come this far, but...
  
  
  There's an ominous clop on the wooden floor behind you, followed by another, and you know exactly who's there.
  
  
  

 

[king5ter]

Ka'lii sighed as Teepo moaned at her. She pushed herself up from the bed, unaffected by the fact that he could see her naked. He had seen her body so many times that it didn't bother her at all. Trust was vital in a companionship like this and Ka'lii felt that between them there was plenty of it. She glanced sideways at Marion, sleeping so peacefully. The girl was an enigma, a puzzle that even Marion herself couldn't figure out. It was a wonder she had turned up alive. Ka'lii left her to sleep and went over to her wardrobe, pulling out her armor. She quickly pulled it on and followed Teepo out of the cabin, grabbing her daggers as she left.


Teepo led the way through the tress and towards the road. The sun was shining brightly, not that you'd notice among the trees. The few moments that it did burst through were a welcome relief, a shine of light in a forest of darkness. Small little animals scurried away as they walked, scared away by the disturbance in the silence. It was so peaceful here. Ka'lii loved it. There was a sort of beauty to silence that you couldn't find anywhere else, a magnificence in the way that everything was quiet and calm and peaceful. Even the slow, methodical sound of their footsteps wasn't enough to distract Ka'lii from the beauty of the woods.


They reached the road, and noticed a traveler walking along the road, carrying a large rucksack. This was going to be too easy. Ka'lii slipped into the trees to watch as Teepo put on his biggest smile and walked towards the man.

 

[Elle Joyner]

She was uncomfortable. That was the word for it. Very early that morning, before the sun had crested fully over the horizon they had woken her. Father was giving an address, and she had to look her best. The bath water had been spiced with cloves and juniper, and they had laid out a shift the color of Persimmons. Round her middle was tied a cord of gold and her feet were shod in blue slippers, matching perfectly the ribbon which held back her chestnut curls.


She'd spent a majority of the speech simultaneously fidgeting with the braided cord round her waist and reminding herself fidgeting with the braided cord round her waist was immensely unladylike. As her father came to a close and the crowd below erupted in enthusiastic shouts, Avery offered a gentle smile of encouragement and curtsied, low, but not too low, as was proper. Straightening, she turned to find Bertram standing in the doorway and her mouth split into a wide grin, "I'll need a moment to change."


Offering a nod to the older Wyndian, Avery took off at what might have been considered an inappropriate pace, down the complicated series of narrow hallways until she reached her room, where Lydia was already waiting. Lydia had been Avery's handmaiden for as long as the Princess had been alive. She was a plump, wide woman with a knobbly face, filled with pock-holes, whips of thin, stringy grey hair more prominent in her ears than on her scalp. She walked with a gait that suggested her knees were well past worn, and made a strange creaking sound her joints when she bent. But what she lacked in physical beauty and grace she well made up for in a disposition of compassion and cleverness.


As Avery just about toppled into the room, Lydia met her with a pair of tan breeches and a thin white blouse. The gown was left in a pile, and Avery dressed quickly. As Lydia laced a leather vest over the blouse, Avery pulled her hair free of the blue ribbon, plaiting it into a tight braid. Faun-hide boots were tied below her knees, dark leather gauntlets over her wrists.


"Some days, I'd half mistake ya' for a boy..." Lydia teased, her voice soft, but adenoidal, an unfortunate lineament of her large, bulb-like nose, "Lucky you've got so fine a face..."


Avery laughed, loud enough that were her mother there, she would surely frown, "I am certain, Lydee... If it serves me nothing now, I will be glad for it, some day."


Lydia handed Avery her wand, the gradient black and white bone handle cool to the touch in her palm. The tip bore a plum sized amethyst rock and along the shaft gold filigree and gemstones wove the shapes of leaves. Tucking this carefully into her belt, Avery kissed Lydia's cheek, offered a warm smile and left her room.


Once more, she made her way through the maze like hallways to where she knew she would find Bertram waiting, ever patient as always, "Ready..."

 

[TentacleTherapist]

All that G'arr is asked of now is vigilance, or rather that is his only requirement in life. His vigilance hasn't wavered, his belief never tested, and now he finds himself performing petty tasks for no real reason in particular. To keep sharp, maybe? As if any of these fools could seriously challenge him. Perhaps it is because his enemy will surely seek out conflict, or maybe it will be destined and everything between is meaningless.


The sound behind him would be one of the brothers, or maybe both of them, what were their names? Balius and Xanthus? No, that wasn't right. They fancy themselves as leaders, or masters, or superior, but none of it is true. They have some power, but it's power steeped in trickery and lies, their lack of honor ruins them. So why then, does G'arr let them lead him around? Truly, they don't, it is merely a fleeting excuse, and he turns them down as often as he agrees to help them. If left alone they will prattle and scheme, and that would ruin the mood, so he lets out a noncommittal grunt, and flexes his wings a touch. Only mildly threatening, and liable to make them prattle just a little bit faster.


To be honest, this was the part of the trip that G'arr liked least. The drinks were good and the people were fine, but the sea always made him feel uneasy. Perhaps because he was so soundly a being of the land, of earth and stone, or maybe it was an irrational fear of the vastness, the depths that one day might swallow him, never to be seen again. It will be good if they can get on their way quickly.