Fantasy [Private] El Stories

[Late]

Xavier relaxed after catching up his breathing and eyed the small rock that happened to hit Rain. He gave a good look around to spot a girl who looked upset at herself. Komodo followed his gaze and gave a steady hard look at the stranger before Xavier shifted his head to see that Rain was now talking to a woman who seems to know each other.

After their exchange of words, Xavier perked up at the words about lizardmen. He thought back about an ancient story his mother dragon told him, a story about the ancient bone dragon. The story was meant for scaring Xavier to stop leaving the cave when he was a child but now he felt very interested if there were any remains of the bone dragon. Or any sort of signs that the beast was actually real back then. He can feel Perkisas' amusement at his own thoughts but the beast didn't comment.

Heavengiver LegenDarius I iFlipTables Breakthrough

 

[Breakthrough]

"Oh, there you are." Stella waved as Arya came closer. She eyed the younger woman, noting her expression and the lack of her pouch. "That reminds me, Toma said you left some of your stuff at his shop. He just dropped it off a little while ago." She replied, tossing a small leather pouch that was a lot heavier than Arya remembered to the girl. She quickly scanned the contents: slightly burnt map, several vials of mana and healing potions, several rolls of ED, as well as coins, ointments, and bandages. The usual adventuring things. She didn't remember having any of this, minus a few loose coins, her map, and dirty bandages.

"Oh...thanks." Arya smiled, slightly uncomfortable at all the charity. "So what did you need?"

"Meet your back up," Stella replied with a grin, gesturing to Rain. "Arya, meet Rain. Rain, this is Arya. She's agreed to help us deal with our lizardman problem as thanks for taking care of her after being attacked by them. I don't know how well she'll do in a fight, but she seems pretty impressive." Stella complimented the blonde girl who smiled faintly.

Arya turned to Rain. "Well, it's nice to meet you. And sorry about the rock. My master always told me I was as forgetful as an amnesiac. Thought I lost my pouch." She apologized.

Late I iFlipTables Heavengiver LegenDarius

 

[ChibiSkye]

The question caught Rena off guard and she unconsciously began to play around with her hands.

"Um... yes. I suppose I am from the forests around Ruben. I did not have many chances to visit human villages so I wasn't aware of the name until recently." She paused. "Um... if you don't mind... what is it like on the other side of the sea?"

The priestess seemed to have experience traveling around Elrios. Being confined to the forests around her village ever since she was young, the outside world fascinated her. As such, her eyes were sparkling when she asked about the priestess's journey.

MementoDei

 

[Heavengiver]

Rain
​

"Nice to meet you, Arya. And no worries about the stone. How about you meet my teammates and then we can get started?"

She turns to see Airi next to her, and Rain flashes a gentle smile.

"Airi, I found our next job. Let's get the boys and then Arya can explain the details to us. I need to buy a notebook."

While Rain already knows what to expect, she figures it's best if they found out themselves. She goes to the nearest merchant and exchanges a few coins for a thinly-made notebook. Heading back to her group, Rain waves for Arya to follow her.

Late LegenDarius I iFlipTables Breakthrough

 

[KizayaTaishuro]

Oblivio/Carna

"Everything that was to be would eventually return to its perfect state, and I found solace in that. I don't know why, but I felt that everything that would end would cease any suffering. I understood why the zealots believed in what they did. I understood why they did what they did. I was mesmerized, set into a belief that spiraled out of control. If every single suffering and emotions were turned to dust, then I could work towards that goal alongside them. No one would ever have to suffer, no one would ever have to face what I did...everything wouldn't exist after all. But...even when I escaped the Void, even when Hennon collected me from the Void and gave me a new identity...it ...it didn't feel right. That sensation of having everything violated by that Chaos still lingered.

"Even then, my anxiety turned into more fuel for the corruption. My metamorphosis into something else started to erode my fear. I started to give in, started to throw away everything, started to change color into something worse...even when I obeyed what Hennon told me to do, I no longer had second doubts. I would set about corrupting Elrios with the demon's help...which was what I planned.

"Still, to think I'm no longer human..." He started transforming his arm, which grew slightly bigger and the cold prickle of corruption set in, turquoise and blue patterns flowed throughout it. His fingers grew claws, dripping with poison. This was only a partial transformation, but it was what he was. "I've already become something else."

Fume

 

[MementoDei]

Lara smiled warmly at the elf's fascination. It was familiar, that smile, that curiosity for the unknown. "It's my pleasure to tell you about my land, I- Miss Rena." She frowned as some memories flashed briefly before her eyes. Thankfully, they weren't clear enough. "In Fluone, there are big citadels on the northern coast. Those are rich and commercial towns, I was born in one of them. Among the dark elves that live there, customs are somewhat different since they live among humans. If you go to the east, there is the Desert's Golden Jewel: the town of Sander." Lara let out a short sigh and continued "I've lived there. It's a wonderful town, near an oasis where most travelling merchants get silk and other rarities from the East of the continent and sell them in the West. After Sander, there is the fire land of Lanox. I haven't been there a lot of times, but they are known for their tradition of... swordsmanship and generations of blacksmiths along with them. There is even rumours that a whole village is made out of families of blacksmiths. Beyond that, well, rare were the adventurers that came back alive with tales to tell."
She took a small pause and clenched her fists nervously. "I'm afraid that, after the demon invasion, many of those tales might have changed, miss Rena. I hope you still find some of these old memoirs of mine somewhat...enjoyable, despite their current inaccuracy."

Lara's voice died with those words and she felt her headache return. She took a mana bead from the box she had received from Dust and, with her hand, absorbed all its mana. Rena looked at her with faint guilt in her eyes. "Do not worry about me Idra- Miss Rena. It's...not your fault, I live out of absorbing life from others, not only their mana. One of the reasons why I wanted to talk is that I was afraid that...the dark presence in your soul might have been triggered because of my nature. I was in Ruben too."Lara opened her mouth again, but closed it after letting a short sigh.

ChibiSkye

 

[LegenDarius]

Ren caught up to group and noticed a bunch of new faces. Turning to them, he said, "We got a new job on our hands? I'd like to lend my services."

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[Breakthrough]

Arya followed after Rain silently as the girl beckoned her to do so. "The details are pretty simple. We just go after the leader and assassinate him. Classic case of regicide." Arya shrugged, not really sure how best to put it. She pulled out her map, staring through the glaring hole in the center for a few moments before focusing on their location, Bethma. Thankfully Stella had marked their route ahead of time. It was then that Arya realized the reason she had gotten lost. Well, part of the reason. She'd been reading the thing upside-down before. She passed the map to Rain. "I think you should handle the map. I'd just get us lost."

She stopped though when she wondered something. "Wait, you're my only backup?"

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[Late]

"We got a new mission?" Xavier asked when Rain walked right over and noticed the other girl followed her to their group. He wasn't sure what was her purpose though Komodo already gave a low growl at the new comer.

Xavier went ahead to take off the bag he was carrying, Komodo nearly falling off but landed on the hot ground in which the dragon started to roll around the ground for heat. Xavier just wanted to stretch out once again as the bag plus Komodo was getting to him.

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[Heavengiver]

Rain
​

Rain chuckles as she is handed the map. She already knew the area like the back of her hand, but she accepts it nonetheless.

"Very well then. Since Stella hired you first though, I'll leave you in charge of what we do."

They find Xavier and Steele standing on the edge of town. Xavier dropped the bag he was carrying onto the floor. She hears them both ask if she has a new job.

​

"Yes, we do. This is Arya. We're going to help her assassinate someone."

Rain allows the group to introduce themselves to her, letting out a small smile at the komodo's hiss. Opening up the notebook that she had bought, she starts drawing the lizardman they're about to kill.

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[ChibiSkye]

"Oh, no! That's not true! It wasn't Tureen's fault at all!"

Rena hurriedly rebutted the dark priestess's claim, feeling bad that she had been thinking that way because of her condition.

"I wasn't aware that you were there and... I can't say how I know but I know it wasn't your fault." She hesitated and took a deep breath. "Please do not misunderstand. It's not that I don't trust you. It's just that I don't know how to explain it myself..."

MementoDei

 

[LegenDarius]

"Hahaa," Ren laughed gleefully. "Assassination! Regicide! Reminds me of Resiam. I'm in."

Ren then turned to the new girl, presumably Arya, and held out his hand. "Name's Steele. It's a pleasure to meet you."

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[MementoDei]

Lara chuckled softly as she passed her hands over her face, as if to wipe her fatigue and shame off her face. "Miss Rena, do me a favour, please. Do not pity me. If you think it wasn't my fault, I will accept that explanation and I'm certainly glad to hear that I haven't scared you enough for you to see me as an enemy." She scoffed "At least not enough for you to be honest about it."

ChibiSkye

 

[Breakthrough]

"Arya," She said, nodding to Steele and taking the offered hand. She saw a boy with a dragon nearby as well that growled at her and became confused. Had she done something to upset it? As far as she knew, she hadn't. She didn't even know the thing. Not that it really mattered to Arya at the moment. She'd find out at some point if the dragon decided to attack her or not. He would find that she wouldn't make for the easiest meal in that case. Or whatever dragons did to people they seemed to dislike. She glanced over to Xavier with a slight smile. "Cute dragon. Where'd you find it?" She asked, curious for curiosity's sake. Who knows, maybe she'd find a pet of her own during her adventure.

"As far as leading this little escapade, I don't know the area well. I was on my way from Elder to Velder to visit my master's family and somehow managed to get lost. I don't really know what to expect, except extremely aggressive lizardmen." Arya said with a slight frown. "But I did see a lake on the map near here. I'd imagine that would be a good enough place to start looking."

Late Heavengiver LegenDarius

 

[ChibiSkye]

Rena was silent for a while as she fidgeted with her hands.

"I apologize if you were offended by my words but I truly don't think that you are a bad person. I admit, I am a bit cautious of what you can do but that doesn't mean that I view you as a threat. My priority right now is to stay with Dust and protect him. As long as you remain an ally to him, I would like for us to have a good relationship."

She was smiling as reached her hand out for a friendly handshake, but there was no mistaking the dangerous glint in her eyes when she mentioned Dust.

MementoDei

 

[MementoDei]

Lara smirked, it was almost like looking at herself from years in a mirror by the look in Rena's eyes. She took the elf's hand and gently shook it. "You're going to great lengths for the one that is opposite of your race. I can respect you for that, child of the light."

ChibiSkye

 

[Late]

"Komo, she called you cute," Xavier said to the dragon who is currently sprawling on the ground. Komodo just hissed in reaction and retreated behind Xavier. "Sorry about that, he doesn't fancy strangers and as for where I found him...well a story I'll save for another time. Anyways, name is Xavier," Xavier introduced himself with a nod of his head. "Nice to meet you."

Breakthrough

 

[ChibiSkye]

Rena smiled brightly and returned the handshake.
"He is my family. Our race difference is of no importance to me."

MementoDei

 

[Breakthrough]

"Well, hopefully, he'll warm up to me. It's a bit unnerving to have a dragon growling at me for no reason." Arya replied with a slight smile. "Nice to meet you too, by the way. I'm Arya. But I'm willing to listen to that story anytime you wanna tell it." At this, she grinned fully.

Late

 

[iFlipTables]

"I'm Xayah. Nice to meet you." Mumbled Airi.

Breakthrough Late Heavengiver LegenDarius

 

[MementoDei]

Lara widened her eyes in surprise. Between a pure dark elf and a human or a human hybrid was one thing. Between forest elves and dark elves, on the other hand, was simply unimaginable.

"Lurensian elders are very kind. To allow for both of you to be united and live for whatever time you've been together. It's rare, very rare."

ChibiSkye

 

[Late]

"R-right," Xavier responded, looking back down on Komodo who stayed close by and sniffed the bag on the ground out of curiosity.

Xavier went back to look around the village, the dry weather reminds him of home. He curiously gazed at civilians of the village who were walking around, very few were lizardmen, looking like elders.

Eventually he end up staring at a purple-haired male who seem to be talking to his customers, standing in front of a shop. The customers were definitely hooked into whatever the man was telling them, showing off many accessories to them and offering if they want to try it on. Xavier caught himself for staring too long, the man took noticed that he was being watched and gave a friendly wave at Xavier with a smile on his face.

Xavier looked away afterwards, feeling awkward for being caught staring. He waited for any additional information about their new mission.

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[ChibiSkye]

"No... not quite..." Rena's smile turned strained. "The time we had together was very short. Too short."

MementoDei

 

[MementoDei]

Lara frowned as she heard Rena's words. She had said they were family, but it surely wasn't the kind of family she initially thought. Or maybe, there was a darker meaning behind her words, which made more sense. She lived it, although in a certainly milder way than the forest elf.

"I understand, Miss Rena. I am sorry for bringing sadness upon your mind. It wasn't my intention."

ChibiSkye

 

[Heavengiver]

Rain
​

"I see. If you don't mind then, I'll take over the operation."

Using the map to help guide her teammates, Rain was about to describe the situation when her other self speaks up.

"Do not tell them the truth."

"But if we just guide them to the dark shaman instead...we don't have to kill their leader."

"I feel something amiss in this world...it grew ever since I got my memories back...we can't alert anyone that we know the events that are about to happen."

She feels Xavier's eyes on her as she paused with her hand over the map.

"Y-yes, there is a lake. There are tons of lizardmen there, but it is a good place to start. Honestly though, I know that lizardmen are friendly creatures, so I want to suggest that it's not their change of heart, but rather someone controlling them. We should investigate first before making any assumptions."

Rain curses at her stutter in the beginning. She only hopes that those things are attached to the lizardmen...

Late LegenDarius I iFlipTables Breakthrough