Fantasy Ris'Saliance Aior (IC)

[Literary Revenant]

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After a long time of waiting, emotions brewing, tensions rising, power OVERWHELMING!!!! Okay maybe not that dramatic, but at long last we shall be starting the story for Ris'Saliance Aior. First things first is all of the Prologue Posts that have been given to me by all of you; THE PLAYERS!! Please go through them as we all have worked our little butts off making them. Some might be longer than others, but please read what you can! What you didn't work your butt off? Well I sure did! Have fun, and the first scene is following shortly.

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(Lothualil Start)Lothuialil had a bag slung over her shoulder, just leaving her small cottage like house, as well as her mother, behind. She had heard of the collections. She had never thought she would be collected, so it wasn't much of a focus for her, but she was interested in the prospect of leaving her tribal village. It pained her to leave her mother behind, she didn't really want to leave, but she voluntarily stepped from her home and walked to the edge of her village.

Lothuialil pressed onward because she hoped that it would ease the strain that her mother constantly underwent because of the stress of raising her in a village where she was mostly unwelcome. She knew that her mother dealt with everything, trying to put on a brave face, but she would occasionally speak honestly with Lothuialil and it pained her to know how much her mother went through for her sake and it was that pain that motivated her to volunteer. As she finally reached the beginning of a small path out of the village, she turned around one last time before she left. She caught the glances and heard the whispers of townspeople that expressed their relief that she was leaving, as well as the voice of one of her friends defending her, even though they didn't notice her. With a sigh that held a mixture of sadness and expectance, she strode into the forest.

After a few minutes, she stilled at the sound of footsteps coming towards her. She cast her eyes forward and then swept her hair behind her ears to be sure that nothing was falling in front of her face to distort her vision. In front of her was a masked man, a man that fit the description of the person that the gossipers called "the collector". Her breath caught despite herself. Her mind swirled in mild confusion. She would venture to guess that she probably seemed a spectacle frozen on the path.

After a few moments of confusion, a thought settled in the forefront of her mind. 'my village is the only one this far on the outskirts of the kingdom in this direction.' If he was who the people say he is, the only person that would fit his "prey" (as some of the villagers called those collected), was her. Her mind momentarily caught on the disheartening fact that most of the villagers would probably have enjoyed seeing her forcefully taken from the village. It was that sad thought that kept her frozen a moment longer, not concerning herself with the possibly dangerous person in front of her.

(Sebastian Start)Another day, and another volunteer marked for acceptance. Sadly Horingmar and Zerath were tasked with grabbing others so it was again Sebastian who was sent to find this target. In his pocket was a letter, on parchment with a wax seal bearing Zerath's symbol of a sword and flower. He opened it slowly to reveal its contents.

Lothuialil Calithil, a female moon elf human hybrid. D Class, not marked for Forcible Collection. Reading closer, he found that Lothie, as he would so call her, did have some magic potential, but not nearly that of previous volunteers and collectees he had encountered. She had some practice in Umbra Venificium, illusion magic. However with Sebastian's knowledge of illusions, he would surely be able to see through any illusions she might project. Overall since she was a volunteer, Sebastian didn't have to worry about fighting a potentially dangerous foe, yet he still carried Valezeil, his dragon staff and Soul with him. It said here that she would be in a Village deep within the Voralian Forest, and that is where he happened to be.

His best bet first would be to find this village, as that is where she is or atleast should be. Sadly, Sebastian had little knowledge of this forest, it was vibrant and cheerful, full of greenery and life but that didn't make him entirely comfortable. As his father once told him "Every Rose has its Thorns." there could be some dangerous beast nearby, or worse, a rogue malificarum. Although uncommon, rogue mages loved to make Forests their hiding ground. Therefore if one were to show up now, Sebastian would have no choice but to retaliate in full force.

Voices were heard in the distance, he must've wandered close to some sort of settlement. Some spoke in tongues he didn't fully recognize but he did understand some of it. "I'm glad she's gone, we won't have her filthy presence with us anymore!" "Stop it! She's Voralian just like you and I!" "Shut up! ..." Apparently someone had either left the village or died. It made Sebastian pause, could this be Lothuialil? His answer soon appeared in front of him. Where she came from is a mystery, but all he knew is that this must've been her. She carried a pack, a bow with some arrows on her back, and a small, elven made sword.

Before her was an unusual looking moon elf. She bore the glimmering silver hair of her kind but he has never heard of Moon elves having black tips growing in their hair. Nor has he seen a relatively short elf, all elves are typically taller than men, and a Moon Elf of her age should easily match Sebastian's height, yet this one didn't. It was when he looked into her eyes that he saw Human. The gentle ocean blue eyes that were in beautiful resonance to her lovely silver, blackish hair. Yet this elf appeared sad, as if she'd never had true friendship or even love. In that aspect he felt alike. His father never loved him, and he had never known his mother. Only Valezeil cares for his well being.

"Shalas Dorii Nahiin...." Valezeil whispered to him. "I know, This must be who I am looking for." Sebastian replied quietly.

Sebastian looked at the young lady, bowing politely. "Hello there, have no fear I am not here to hurt you. I am simply looking for someone. Perhaps you can help me find her! I'll happily pay you for your time." Sebastian said, shaking his small coinpurse that hung from his belt. I'm looking for Lothuialil Calithil." Sebastian said cheerfully, projecting an illusion of light behind his back to resemble an angel of sorts. "Oh, forgive me... My name is Sebastian Ramirov, Head Collector of Ris'Saliance Aior. I am here to bring the Volunteer Lothuialil to our sanctuary."

(Lothuialil's Reply)Lothuialil was jolted from thoughts by a voice. She looked ahead of her to see the boy she had forgotten about swathed in a bright light, but something felt off, like the light was maybe a little too bright, or something of that nature. 'Is this a trick? Is he testing me?' she thought to herself, her expression changing to a blank one that didn't show her thoughts or emotions, a mask that she had careful practice putting on. She had subconsciously slipped into a semi defensive stance as she studied the mysterious man that was an inch or two taller than her. She could almost hear the disdainful comments about her height even though there were no villagers around her. She drew her thoughts away from the negativity that would be waiting later and studied the boy, wary of his possible use of magic.

Lothuialil listened to what the boy, Sebastian as he had introduced himself as, had to say. 'I was right, a collector, looking for me. What a measly prospect I must be.' she thought to herself, though her expression didn't waver. She took a few moments to consider a response. She wasn't looking for a fight, and even she was a fighter, based off of her initial judgement, a self taught elf, at that only a half elf, would stand no chance. 'Sanctuary, huh, an interesting term for a place that I will most likely face internal turmoil for a few years at.' she decided. She was still unaware that she had shifted into a defensive stance as she observed him.

"I am in no need of coin and you need not trouble yourself further, you have come deep enough into the forest already. I am Lothuialil and I am sorry that you were sent to the edge of the land to get someone who was already setting out for themselves." She stated calmly. She was unsure of what to do next. Was there something else she was supposed to say to a strange masked man who had come to take her to a far off school? She didn't think so, so she matched his watchful gaze with one of her own. Something had to be off with him, even besides the light, but she couldn't place anything, and the mask certainly wasn't helping her. Her mother had always told her that she could read people like a book, but apparently that didn't apply to a strange masked man crafting magic, leaving few hints for her to grasp. There seemed to be some type of emotion in his eyes, sadness perhaps, but she couldn't be sure with the mask. 'Interesting.' she thought as she waited for a reply.

(Sebastian's Reply)Lothualil made small gestures of fear, that was to be expected. Everyone was scared of his mask, that's what it was designed for. Maybe his angelic light illusion was too much? With a small wave of his hand Sebastian dissipated the illusion. The small elf withdrew, it was unclear if there was a hand on her sword, but it was clear that she was preparing for a potential fight. That made Sebastian nervous, his hands holding his staff tighter to his body. He was about to conjure a small fire circle but he remembered, Lothie was not marked for Collection. Instead he exhaled slowly, relaxing himself.

"Look, I realize that I might not seem like the friendliest of persons, and that analysis would normally be correct. However, there is no need to fear me. I am simply here to take you to our sanctuary." Sebastian said as gently as he could. The girl almost became an emotionless statue, not showing fear, sadness, anger, nothing. This was a practiced face, Sebastian was unsure why she needed to practice with absence of emotion, but he could imagine it wasn't good. "I am unclear if you were treated poorly here, but I can assure you, at Ris'Saliance you will be given a good home. Zerath is a wonderful woman, and I'm sure she'll love you to death, if she doesn't already. I can't say this for certain, but you'll likely have a warm room to yourself, and hot meals prepared daily just for you, among other things." Still, Lothualil did not show any signs of trusting him soon.

Trust, a feeling that is earned and not given. Sebastian has never earned the trust of anyone save for Zerath and Horingmar, yet that was not enough. He sometimes wished that he was never a sorcerer, that way he could possibly be trusted, and even make friends, actual friends. Maybe it was the endless lectures or countless torture sessions that molded him into this vessel of mistrust. People see a man with a broken soul and think he is some kind of monster. While that is true in some ways. Sebastian is and always will be a man. Perhaps because he is a man, Lothie doesn't trust him. A single tear fall onto the mask, getting caught by the fabric layer. Thankfully that was not noticeable to anyone due to it, but being treated as an object of fear was enough to make him cry.

Then Sebastian thought; 'Perhaps she doesn't need convincing, maybe she just doesn't like me? No.... Rather she is afraid of me....' As those thoughts crossed his mind, Valezeil made her angelic chiming voice heard in his head.

"Dolarai Velhasiin. Balona Shel'Castor, Seloknai." She said quietly.

"What? But she doesn't seem to trust me at all already... No. You're right Valezeil, it's worth a shot." he whispered in reply. Facing Lothualil with a bright smile under the mask and a happy gesture, Sebastian turned around and began walking from where he came from."Well come on! We have a lot of walking to do in order to get to the edge of this forest. Once we get to Lunasuun, I'll fetch you a carriage to the Tired Tavern. It is there where you will meet Zerath and the others. Of course thats if you want to! You can still say no after all!" Sebastian said, marching back through the forest. At this point it was up to Lothi... er wait, Lothualil to make the decision to follow. If she did, Sebastian would be pleased, maybe even happy. If not, then it would be yet another Soul lost to the world. Then again, it was always her choice from the start.

He grabbed a small canteen from his pack and, by using an illusion to cover his temporary unmasking, took a sip before replacing the mask. The small second of the mask being removed allowed his hair to flow free. Short flowy locks of messy black hair, just as they always are.

(Lothuialil's Reply)Lothuialil continued to observe him. His demeanor seemed to shift slightly, confusing her a bit. "Is he worried, about me? Scared? Not scared, but maybe wary? Did I do something wrong already? Have a already messed up?' she internally fought with herself. Despite how the man looked on the outside, she couldn't help but to feel like she had just kicked a pup.

When Sebastian dispelled his magic, Lothuialil shifted to straighten up slightly and she realized that she had been right about his use of magic. Unfortunately, it also took that long to realise that she had taken a defensive position. She would have worn a shamed face if she bothered to show that anymore. 'A pup, I think I kicked a small frost-wolf pup in an intimidating mask.' she decided. She listened to him speak as a small, faint smile seemed to find its way onto her face, despite how down his mood seemed. 'Frost, maybe I'll think of him by the name of Frost.' she mused. Her expression turned stony again when he mentioned her village and she finally responded, though she respected that he was trying to be more sociable, but that wasn't exactly her forte.

"It matters not how I was treated in the past. It matters what I do in the future." She stated 'and how I can try and change things for those in the future' she finished in her thoughts, briefly gazing behind her before turning to follow him. She guessed that she wasn't being very personable, seeing how much he was forcing himself to be kind. Frankly, she didn't care too much for the extra amenities she would receive, that isn't why she left home behind, but she guessed that he believed that knowledge would offer some form of comfort to her, so she carefully placed a small smile on her face as she paced herself to follow at a respectful distance and spoke to attempt to make an effort.

"I mean, it does sound...nice. It is nice to ,uh, meet you. Sebastian, right?" She said. If he was willing to try, she would too, even if it was painfully awkward. She hoped it wouldn't be too terrible during the trek to Lunasuun.

"It matters not how I was treated in the past. It matters what I do in the future." Lothualil said quietly, sternly, her face returning blank. 'Well she has some wisdom in her after all. She has good potential, maybe it just takes time.' Sebastian thought. As he marched through the forest he heard the patter of footsteps behind him, a tiny glance behind revealed that she has started to follow him. Valezeil was right, if he moved than she will follow! They walked silently for a few moments, passing over branches and rocks.

"I mean it does sound... nice. It is nice to ,uh, meet you. Sebastian, right?" Lothie asked.

(Sebastian's Reply)Her socially awkward behavior made Sebastian chuckle. The way how she spoke reminded him of the years he spent in the Magic Emporium, specifically of young boys trying to win the hearts of young girls. It made him chuckle, laugh even. Why? Because it was cute, this 'collection' definitely had more happiness than he previously thought.

"The name is Sebastian Ramirov. You can call me Basher, Masked Guy, Collector, Meanie Mask, even Sebbie." Sebastian replied, chuckling at memories when a girl who had a crush on him called him Sebbie. "In return may I call you Lothie? Its MUCH easier to say than Lothuialil." Sebastian said, reaching into his small pack, pulling out a small wrapped ration of salted crackers and peaches and handing them to her. "And it is nice to meet you too."

(Lothualil's Reply)Lothuialil was surprised that Sebastian started to laugh. She was slightly unhappy because she guessed it was because of the way she acted, but if she was able to make the sad boy chuckle, than she would push the other thoughts aside. When he mentioned his nicknames, a small smile ghosted over her features, not lasting, but it was there nonetheless. 'I wonder what he would think of Frost?' she questioned herself.

When he moved the topic back to her, she missed a small step, but covered it extremely well, she was part elf after all, and an elf that lived in forests at that. 'If you fall, pick yourself back up...' her mother would say 'because there won't always be someone to help you.' she mentally added. Her mind lagged on the nickname he had given her, "Lothie." She had only ever had one nickname. She accepted the proffered food, glancing at it carefully, but quickly. In a forest where anything could be poisonous and a rival tribe could be after you at any moment, it becomes second nature to inspect the food, even if it is not suspected to be bad. As she took a small bite out of a cracker she looked at the fruit in her other hand, automatically avoiding roots and fronds that she just knew were there without actually looking at them. The fruit made her recall something. "Peaches" she muttered almost silently under her breath. A fruit from the human world, a fruit of her childhood, before her father was killed, before the last time he had ever used her nickname.

"Aurora" was what he had called her. It had a celestial connection like her elven name, but it was easier to pronounce and was a name that had helped her to better fit in in the human lands. She thought of a memory as she turned over the small package of peaches, noticing a bruise on a slice of peach.

"Come see Aurora, I have something important to tell you!" Her father called.

"What is it papa?" She had asked in a puzzled tone as she walked to her father to see him holding a fruit, a peach to be exact.

"You like peaches right?"

"Right Papa!"

"But you don't know much about them?"

"Well... They grow nearby and they have a pit in them." She said. She was 4 years old, how much could she really know.

"That's right, but I have something important that I want to show you." His father said and showed the peach to her. "What do you think of this peach?" She took a moment to look at it, guessing that there was something important because of how her father had asked her. She couldn't figure out anything special, so she just answered honestly.

"It looks good Papa, it's a good size and it looks like it would taste good too" she responded. Her father nodded to her.

"That's a good observation at a first glance." He said, but then he turned the peach around in his hand, revealing a bruise on the other side. "But what about now?"

"Well I think it would still be a good peach, but what's wrong with it?" She asked childishly. Her father looked at her with a gleam in his eyes, seeming to have gotten an answer he was looking for.

"Your right, it's still a good peach, but nothing is wrong with it, it is just a little bruised, like when you fall while playing outside, except it doesn't go away."

"So the peach will always be hurt if it doesn't go away, like it hurts whenever I still have a bruise Papa?" She questioned with mild confusion. Her father chuckled slightly at how she put her words, but handed her the peach, with the bruise still facing her.

"Kind of Aurora. The peach doesn't feel physical pain like us, but the point is that the bruise will always be there on a peach, even if it doesn't hurt the peach like it hurts you when you get a bruise."

"Then, if it doesn't go away, the peach will never be all better again." She stated sadly. Her father knelt in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Your right, it won't be all better, but sometimes it will look like it is." He said and turned the peach around in her hands so that she couldn't see the bruise. "There, the bruise is gone, that's good enough isn't it?"

"But Papa, isn't it still there?" She asked. Her father smiled.

"That's right. That's what you should remember. Just because you can't always see that something is bruised, doesn't mean it never was. Sometimes you just can't see it." He stated and took her hand and started walking back to the house. "Come now little 'Rora, your mom is making food right now. A bruised peach might not be the best to eat at first, but after a little time, it makes for good jam or pie, it just takes some work."


Lothuialil had been too young to completely understand what her father had meant. People were like peaches, they could be hurt, but hide the pain. After so much loss, she knew she was like the peach he had showed her. She had long since decided that if a peach could still be used despite it being damaged, then she could move past her bad history and move forward. She would always have her past, but she could work towards a future that remembered her past, but allowed for moving on. She supposed that it could start with a new nickname. She knew she was starting a new beginning for herself. She wouldn't abandon her past or blow over it. Her mother would continue to call her Aurora and she would always have the memories of hearing her father call that name and she would never let that change, she wouldn't let that go. She decided that since she didn't want anyone else to call her Aurora outside her family, then perhaps another nickname would be needed. Her name was rather long and difficult to pronounce, so it made sense, and she didn't have any ideas anyway. After she stepped from her daze, not realizing that she had been walking along the path and instinctively moving around obstructions that she knew had always been there, Aurora then turned the package back over and looked ahead of her again. "Lothie will be fine." She stated simply and quietly.

(Sebastian's Final Reply)"Then Lothie your name shall be! Atleast when you talk to me." Sebastian remarked cheerfully.

Was Sebastian on the right track? This is the longest conversation he has ever had with another person, without them trying to kill him or cowering in fear. Typically at this point, other people and especially the collected would either have tried to kill him or cursed him in some way. Was this a new feeling Sebastian felt? Or was it another feeling, one that he hasn't felt in over a decade. Happiness, maybe even a glimmer or love?

The last time he had ever felt this way was a day before he was collected by his father. He had been practicing the Arcane Dance, Celehrix Alinzea, with a young girl his age: a girl named Leilianne Olverstein. She was another one gifted in the magical arts such as he was, she was smart, beautiful, but she was also noble born. However in those days, he had been far more rebellious.

He recalled one particular memory as he retraced his steps through the forest. The day before he was Collected, just over ten years ago. He and Leilianne snuck away from her castle in Olverstein, running towards the nearby Azure Lake.

Leilianne had showed him the power of Onyx, it was a strange black abyssal energy, one that was far different from the Shiraniic energy he himself practices. It reached out to him, embraced him, and gave Sebastian warmth in the cold night. But Sebastian didn't know that Onyx was a magic banned by the Kingdom of Joten.

Emporium enforcers arrived from the shadows ambushing them. In an effort to save Leilianne from Collection, Sebastian took responsibility and was then collected, all to save the one he cared about; someone he loved. Now look at him, 10 years later and he does to others, what others have done to him.

A sad memory sure, but atleast Lothie was making it better by not yelling at him.

(Lothuialil's Final Reply)"Okay." Aurora marked that his cheerfulness seemed more genuine than before. She smiled slightly. 'I might have actually helped someone feel better.' she thought fondly. She wasn't used to interacting with others positively, at least outside her 2 friends in the village. 'Friend' she thought. It seemed like a long forgotten word. If she spoke it, it would probably seem strange. She hadn't had new friends for many years, having met her friends when she first moved to the village. She glanced forward again towards Sebastian's back. He seemed to look a little more relaxed. 'I wonder if he could be a friend.' There was a twinge of hope that sparked in her. She let a smile through for a moment and caught up to him to walk beside him, it seemed like a friendly thing to do. She still wasn't good at small talk, but she could at least stand being closer to someone instead of wandering awkwardly behind them. Could she give him a nickname? She guessed that her nickname that she had come up with would seem strange considering that she guessed that most people didn't give him nice or funny nicknames, so she stayed quiet about the nickname, too unsure about it. She settled for silence, hoping that it was more companionable than awkward now that she was beside him, the soft snap of a few twigs the only sound.

(Imrae Start)Imrae's fist flew towards its target, flames surrounding it like a fireball or comet and striking with just about the same amount of force. The poor trainer did not know what hit him when the fist struck at his stomach singing his training shirt abd send him flying back at a nearby wall. An other hoping to get a cheap shot in hit nothing but air as Imrae moved with dancer grace a struck with a sharp kick on the side of his head making him pass down immidiately. Imrae returned to a defensive chance ready for an attack that never came as all opponents have been beaten.

She went to relax before the sound of clapping made her tense up and turn to see her father watching. She stood in attention and bowed at him respectfully, before looking at him curiously, he seemed pleased "Well done, you exploited the opening well but remember the enemy won't give you that big an opening for so long." Galerian complimennt. "Your fire fist attack should be stronger though, you hurried the sleep to much to exploit the opening."

"I just didn't want to give you the cost of hiring another trainer., f2arher"She commented with a sly smile.

"What a considering daughter I have." He said sarcastically looking down at her fallen opponents, "I doubt though you will gain much more from this lot. Or others our nation's have to offer... However you still have a lot to learn and much of your power you have not tapped in yet and we will need that for the time to come."

She nodded, she wouldn't deny that the training of the last few months seemed to be a waist of time. "What you will have me do?"

"I have send word to the Ris'salience Aior, we are finally announcing her status as gifted."

Imrae looked at him with surprised knowing what this meant. "You are sending me away." She said in a calm manner but her indignity and surprise was evident. "Have I displeased you father."

He groaned expecting this reacting from Imrae"No of course not. Like I said this is an opportunity to learn from gifted like yourself so to better use your power. That knowledge is also useful for our future plans as well, we need to learn more of those that beat my father's army." He explained. "Not to mention this will be the first state visit to the human empire and the fact we are willing to share our gifted is good for diplomacy,"

"Yet I will be living with the lesser races, the granddaughter of the villain who brought war and destruction to them. Peace or no they won't be pleasant to me." She pointed out again calmly but clear anger in eyes." You are sending me to them to use me as a hostage." She said accusatory.

"Don't be silly. Like you could ever be a hostage. This is a school affiliate to no other nation and your joining is necessary to the future of out people. It is your duty to do this."He said sternly before turning to leave. "Their representive should be here any day now. You either go with him willingly or he will press you to come with. I won't have you make an embarrassment of the Alveric by being forced to go. I will need another heir if you do." He didn't wait for a reply knowing she would not let him down despite her disapproval.

(Sebastian Start)The day was warm, much warmer than what Sebastian was accustomed to, too damn warm! But that would make sense as he was in Alver; home to the Sun Elves. He had been given a mission, not one for collection, but one for acceptation. And this was no ordinary person he was sent for, but instead was the Granddaughter of Elzaniel himself, one named Imrae Nathrien. The letter that he had been given told him that Imrae was Magic Adept. Sebastian sighed angrily at this fact, he is always sent out to get the sorcerers, and this time he was sent to get perhaps the most rebellious one of them all.

Sweat dripped from his mask, each breath smelling of salt and flowers. Using his staff Valezeil as a cane, Sebastian approached the gates of Andariel, the capital of Solasuun. It was hard for him to believe that just 13 years earlier, Aior, and Zerath herself were here breaching the walls of the marvelous stone castle. Even with their country in great disarray, the citizens of Alver lived fairly decently, but it was very clear that they were still suffering. The faces of each elf he passed marked with anger in the smallest degree, even the young children had this anger. As he walked by, Sebastian felt the eyes of hundreds of elves drilling into him as he marched slowly towards the gates. When he was at the large golden gates, Sebastian was stopped by a tall guard wearing golden armor of unknown make. A tall elf with a long spear stopped him, pointing the spear forward.

"Human, state your business or die in the name of Galerian!" The elf declared sternly. Sebastian sighed, and pulled out the letter from his jacket pocket handing it to the Elf.

"I am here by order of Zerath Yavernsky, to meet with the Emperor." Sebastian said slowly. "If you need to know, I am on a ... pickup mission if you will." The guard glanced at the letter, seeing the seal of Zerath, and of King Melnorix.

"Fine, I'll let you in. But first you must remove your mask, human! It is extremely rude for one to approach the Emperor in such attire." The elf commanded. Sebastian chuckled, 'Thats not the first time I've heard that.' he thought. Reaching his hand up to his mask, Sebastian undid a lock, but then stopped, hearing the ringing voice of Valezeil, his guide and guardian keeping him alive. He redid the lock and stared into the eyes of the guard, creating an illusion of red eyes from beneath his mask.

"I could take this mask off, but I'm not sure you really want to see whats underneath." Sebastian replied.

Obviously frightened, the guard opened the door and allowed Sebastian through. Inside was a gorgeous room of gold and orange. Flowers were everywhere, music played, and in the courtroom itself in special lots were ornate statues of the Royal family. The air was sweet, dry yet humid. Calm yet alive, there was a lot of Arcane here. He felt a tingle from his staff, a sign of the immense energy. As Sebastian walked around he decided to look at the statues. Dalithei, Brolathei, Thandeil, Orlaisand, and finally Elzaniel. He found the empty lot that used to carry the statue of Elzaniel. It seemed that after his defeat, his statue was discarded.

A royal servant approached Sebastian, not even a minute passed and he was already being bugged by someone. Still, she was a kind, young thing with braided red hair. In order to not frighten her, he dispelled the illusion of his red eyes. Now he could only hope that his Eyes of Fear would not reveal themselves now.

"Hello sir, my name is Shanii, may I ask why you are here at Andariel, home to our Great and Holy Emperor Galerian?"

"My name is Sebastian Xelon Ramirov, Head Collector of Ris'Saliance of Aior. I have been sent here by Zerath Yavernsky to speak with Emperor Galerian, and Princess Imrae. If you could inform them of my arrival I would..." Suddenly his eyes burned, and the once beautiful servant appeared as a hideous rotting corpse. His heart raced, and Sebastian withdrew slightly. Years of dealing with this trained him to stay strong, and stay strong he did. "If you could inform them I'd be much obliged."

(Imrae's Reply)Sebastian didn't know that words had already been send as another servant rushed upstairs to the royal apartments and into Imrae 's room. The servant knocked on the door and waited for the order to come in before entering, seeing Imrae standing naked in front of her wardrobe looking at the large selections of clothes. Imrae barely reacted to the servant seemingly not self conscious about her body. She had little to be embarrassed about, she was slender and atheletiv with almost smooth porcelain like skin. It was marred though by a several scars born from a life of training, hunting and skirmishes with other nation. She was not embarrassed by her scars but wore them with pride, it proved she was no pampered princess but a fighter who worked to keep her birthright.

"Yes?" She asked simply taking out a crimson red tunic and examining it carefully before putting it back. Fashion was important for Sun elves as current fashion trends match the state of the nation and often decided by the royalty as form of propaganda . Until fairly recently the fashion was of dark colours of mourning for the defeat in war and devastation it brought. Now thought as recovery from the war was going well the had king decided to change the fashion to the the reds and yellow the national colours to inspire pride in the people. As princess she was task as the trend setter and model of the new fashion so had to pick the outfit carefully.

"Gentleman from the Ris'salience is here, ma'am." The servant said with bowed head. Imrae paused and sighed, she had hoped she would have an other couple of days to find a way out of this but it seemed her time was up. She had to face her duty.

"Thank you, Miriam. Extend the representive every courtesy and tell him I will be down soon. " She replied and waited for the servant to leave before dressing. She picked something simple and practical, a set of brown leather armour under a crimson red and gold trimmed overlay robe. She picked up a prepared bag for some of her essentials for her tribe and stay in the school and made her way downstairs. When she entered the room and looked at the individual inside with curiosity. She had to admit she was a little disappointed, the latter her father had invited the hero headmistress of the school to attend and Sebastian was clearly not her. However the strange appearance of the man and the magical aura around him filled her with curiosity as much apprehension.

"Welcome to the palace, head collector"She greeted Sebastian courtiously as she approached him offering her hand. She was not told his name but was able to guess as he was neither female or orc "I hope it hasn't been such a strenuous trip. I am Imrae, princes of the Sun Elves and your new recruit. My father apologises for nor being here but he has urgent matter of state to deal with."

(Sebastian's Reply)It wasn't long before Princess Imrae arrived. Shanii hadn't even moved, which made Sebastian wonder if the Elves were also telekinetic. Stranger things are possible. For being a Princess, and a Princess of Alveric Elves, the Princess chose to wear a very simple dress of red with gold trim. The simple dress complimented the extreme beauty of her body just enough without entirely expressing her status. That's a good thing, if other volunteers or worse the Collected knew she was the Alveric Heiress, things could go bad very fast.

"My greetings Princess." Sebastian said with the smallest bow. "Zerath also extends her apologies, she would've been here but she had other duties as well. Honestly I don't care, she's not here so I was sent instead. Thankfully you aren't marked for collection so I promise no blood will be shed today."

As he spoke, Sebastian could feel the immense Arcane energy emanating from the Princess. There was no doubt that she was a sorceress.

"Celehrix Alinzea..." Sebastian whispered. Immediately after a large Aura of mana appeared around Imrae, a very large aura. If she chose she could easily conjure a storm of Arcane, and part of him wondered how she managed to contain it all.

"You are a sorceress I see. If you don't mind I will be placing a dampening ward on you for the length of the trip..." Sebastian said, gently grabbing Imrae's small yet calloused hands. A small black mark appeared on each hand. "This is only for my safety, and I promise the wards will dissipate in a week if not sooner." Once the wards were placed, he felt the magic within her fade, atleast from her hands. His gloved hands released hers. It took a moment to sink in, he literally placed a ward upon the granddaughter of Jotens greatest enemy. If the King knew, he would hang. "Rough hands, it seems you've seen plenty of fights. That makes us kindred spirits."

"Come, we are going to Joten. To a place called the Tired Tavern, there youll find good lodging until we get you to the actual location."

(Imrae Finish)"No spilled blood?" She asked curiously and slightly amused. "You collections tend to lead to bloodshed?" She asked and got her answer by the look in his eyes gave her the answer. "Well i doubt you will get far even with your magical ene..." she just managed to say before the sudden spell casting made her pause. It was a strange feeling like a warm comforting blanket that had been over her just increased in weight and there was something of about the air. She also felt powerful like an energy she could tap into when she wants. "Wow... I knew I had power but..."

She cleared her throat trying to regain her composure. "Best in the land which is saying a lot considering bring among sun elves. Admit you show more energy than most that for sure, I would be interested in learning about your experiences..." She said she want to agree to the spell but he didn't seem to wait for her. When the spell was cast, she felt the blanket was removed and she felt cold and vulnerable. It was an unpleasant feeling she hasn't felt before and made her light headed. "Fights... Yeah ... in the sun kingdom blood line is of little bearing in succession. At the end of the day only the strong rule...Which seems for now I am unworthy...You better hope it is temporary."She said trying to push through the feeling and a little suspicious of the collector.She took a deep breath before adjusted her pack before indicating for the Collector to lead the way.

(Ascelin Start)The sun had only just risen above the housing, its warmth seeping gently through the retreating damp chill of the night now passed. Morning had come and Ascelin was going through his morning training routine.


A large stuffed burlap sack was tied securely to a sturdy post and was well into being pounded right out of the ground. The young man’s hands, like sledgehammers, relentlessly struck the makeshift target from all angles while his feet slid into position, angling his body for the explosive strikes time and time again.


Many other items lay strewn about. Several quarterstaffs were stacked against a handy wall, some made of sturdy wood and others of hardened steel, a clear space was set up for sparring and next to that was a set of weights made from little more than large stones, steel bars and a lot of inexpertly knotted rope.


Amidst the seemingly arbitrary setup stood Ascelin, torso bared with sweat trickling down his body, working, always working. Until there was a sharp knock.


“Ascelin, good to see you’re still working hard as ever, despite the early hour.”


Without looking away from his work, nor even pausing for a moment Ascelin answered, “Markus, I’m glad to see you’ve taken my advice on the knocking aspect of entering my place.”


The pole shuddered with a final punch and Ascelin relented, grabbing a nearby towel and cleaning most of the sweat from his body. In silence, he removed his clothing completely and grabbed a bucket of water with a wooden ladle in it and began washing himself. His movements deliberate, practiced, well worn into a clear routine. Then Markus spoke and broke the routine. “You know they’re coming for you, right?” The newcomer was dressed in fine linen, a curled moustache and slicked back hair revealing him to be of higher status than Ascelin, or at least of the belief that he was of more importance. Eyeing the room with disdain, Markus advanced a few paces before stopping and grabbing a handkerchief from his pocket and holding it to his nose. “You can’t just beat the money cow for notorious street scum into cowering submission and expect there to not be any retaliation.”


“I did no such thing, Markus. But I did not expect them to send you for the job.”


A loud laugh echoed through the bare-walled room. “I wouldn’t be foolish enough to take that job, Stumpy. I know exactly what you’re capable of and I don’t ever plan to be on the receiving end of those fists of yours.”


“Then why are you, a mercenary, here?”


“To warn you, Ascelin. Young though you may be, local thugs have noticed what you’ve been doing and they are… displeased, to say the least. Many want your head on a pike and there are whispers.”


Refreshed and clean, Ascelin slipped into what should have been a loose cotton shirt, which still looked tight on him. Clenching and unclenching his fists musingly, Ascelin finally looked at Markus, catching the mercenary’s cold blue eyes with his warm brown ones. “What whispers could there possibly be?”


“That you are something more, Ascelin. Something different. I don’t know anyone as strong as you, and I know many, many fighters. People are in awe of you, fear almost. Is that what you want? To be feared? Do you plan on becoming a boss in this manner? Because, you know, there is talk of loyalty to the Stump,” Markus replied slyly.


Ascelin smiled knowingly. “You’re not here to finish me. You’re here to see if I will finish what I started.


Markus almost looked embarrassed and . “I said I would do you no harm, regardless of price. You’re my friend, Ascelin. However,” he continued with a dismissive wave, “this is coin for a task of relative ease and safety. This is rare in my line of work, you see, and to be honest, I’m curious as to your answer.”


For a moment, Ascelin looked almost sad, but it passed as swiftly as it came on. Moving slowly, the fighter cleared up his training gear before turning to face Markus, advancing upon the man in a straight line at high speed before stopping less than an arm’s length from the smaller frame of a nonetheless well reputed warrior. His face fearless, he looked down at the man before him, reflecting on how they had fought back to back with carelessness and how, ever since, a bond had been forged, though calling it friendship was a stretch by any standard.


“I will never be a boss, Markus. I have no intention to be a leader of the rabble. I do, however, place those I have helped under my personal care. I do not send others to do my work. It is mine to do, you see, no one else’s. Go back and tell your job giver that I am to depart soon, but that I will be keeping an ear to the ground, as it were. I expect the work I have completed to remain intact. Were I to hear something else, I would be… disappointed to say the least. I do not relish the fight, but I am quite proficient as you well know. Could you relay that message?”


Markus blinked, found he had tensed up and taken a fighting stance as if in reaction to an almost primal fear. His hand was clenched on the hilt of his sword but, he noticed, there had not been enough time to even begin to draw it before Ascelin had been in front of him. Such speed… He could have been the greatest of us, he thought.


Removing his hand and standing up straight again, Markus replied, “I will tell them. But I will also tell you this. I truly hope this is not a bluff, Ascelin, because they will test you and should you come up short, well, all those people you have helped will be bleeding in the gutter before long. You are a good man, Ascelin, one of the best I know as a warrior, but also as a man. I would hate to see what legacy you have built fall to those of lesser repute.”


Markus brushed a bit of dust from his should before turning around and walking towards the door. He grabbed the handle and opened the door, stepping through the opening. As he turned around, he caught the massive fighter’s smile and returned it. “Air out this place for goodness sake. While some may enjoy the smell of sweat and filth, there are many more who prefer cleanliness.” With that, he shut the door and walked off.


With no one left to bother him, Ascelin continued cleaning the place up and took the advice from Markus, opening the shutters to allow a bit of crisp morning air to make its way in. When he finished, he sat down in a corner, closing his eyes for a moment and reflecting on his choices. He stood by them all, but was worried about Markus’ words. There would be push towards him, and he would have to push back. Would he be able to push back hard enough and on time, or would those he had previously given aid to perish while waiting for his steadying hand. Either way, it was too late to change things now. He had volunteered and was to be picked up soon. Today was the last day.


The door opened, violently. Ascelin opened his eyes and was standing before the door had fully opened. Into view came a massive orc, squeezing through the opening with some difficulty. “Horingmar believe that he come at good time,” said the orc as he looked through the room as though he owned it before settling his gaze on Ascelin. “You not as tiny as other humans. Still small though.”


The orc strolled casually into the room and looked around before scoffing and shaking his massive head. “Well?” he said to Ascelin.


“Who are you?” replied Ascelin flatly.

(Horingmar Start)War... War is endless... "GRAAAHHHH!!! Grah! Were you expecting me to rip off Fallout guy? Tiny reader has been fooled! Ha ha! And ha!"

While war is endless, apparently so is the amount of Vaskoliir that randomly pop up in this world. Today, it was the great Warmonger Horingmar Oruguun who was sent out for acceptance. His target? He didn't know, he tore apart the letter after he couldn't read what it held. But he did manage to partially read where he should be. Somewhere close to a small, borderline illegal arena.

Horingmar could smell the stench of stale blood in the air, it was something he knew quite well. But by the look of some of the 'fighters' he saw, Tall muscular men with scraps of metal strapped to them with rotting leather straps and loose rivets. Wielding dulling blades made of pot iron, it's a wonder those toothpicks managed to even cut anything. It's likely they were pit fighters who fought like gladiators for money, or for the entertainment of drunken lowlifes. Such men had no honor, not like Horingmar. Even though Horingmar often fought opponents smaller and weaker than him, he did not do so for money or cheap, meaningless entertainment. When he fought, it was for pride, and for honor. The honor of Himself, of Zerath, and now for Ris'Saliance Aior.

A relatively short man, with a large build stopped Horingmar. Shortly after he was surrounded by thugs, Wielding large weapons; axes, mauls, great swords. It was clear that they wanted to fight...

"You know... Strangers aren't common here. Let alone Orcs! What are you here to fight?" The man in front of him asked.

"Hee hee heeyeah! We likes to fight! We fights all the tieemmes!" A large simpleton carrying a maul asked.

"Shut up, your killing my vibe Smalls." The leader said to The man wielding the maul. "Anyways, by the look of your shiny weapon there, you have money. Money we can use for better weapons. I'll cut you a deal..."

"Yeah, we'll cuts you a deyalll hee hee haa he he" Smalls snickered.

"Oh for Golds sake shut the hell up! I'll kick you in the chokey pit again if you don't stop talking!" He said, again turning his attention to Horingmar. "Now if you don't mind, we'll take all of your money, that weapon, and any other baubles you carry, or we will beat the orc out of you!"

It is people like this who are despised by Horingmar. They pray easily upon the meek, and ambush the strong. But Horingmar was not strong, no... instead Horingmar was honorable. And it was his honor that would win this battle.

"Tiny things should know when they have been given a gift." Horingmar spoke slowly. "And you have been given my gift of warning!" He yelled, his bellowing voice echoing throughout the immediate area. He put his hand on the Wrayehr Sahn he carried, a giant axe the size of a teenager. It was a weapon given to him by his father after he won the duel against the former Oruguun Warmonger. Zerath would say that weapon bore his soul, but Horingmar would always answer 'An axe can't carry a soul, but a soul can carry an axe.'

The lead bandit laughed hysterically, ignoring Horingmar's warning. "Fine, get him boys!" He commanded. The group of thugs all charged at him, blades aimed at his heart.
"GRRAAAAAAAAAHAHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
What happened next was so violent and so horrific that no man dare speak of it. Bones were shattered, skulls crushed, and blood was spilt. It wasn't necessarily hard for Horingmar, dispatching a group of thugs, but it was hard doing so without killing them, it would be bad publicity if he killed 'innocent' men. They were all relatively small, weak compared to Horingmar. So easily broken... After the battle, Horingmar cleaned the blood off of himself and the Wrayehr Sahn, then he tended to the battered and bruised leader.
"Heh heh... 'coughs violently' welp, you kicked our asses quite easily. I don't think anyone will bother you now." He peeped pathetically,

Horingmar lifted the man, easily bringing him up to face level. "You were a weak group of humans. Nothing special!" Horingmar spat. "I am however, looking for one like me. Someone strong! Tell me, do you know of person?" Horingmar said with his best smile. The man appeared to wet himself, embarrassing how some humans like Zerath are strong but others were like bugs.

"I know of a man, he's stronger than anyone here! Except maybe you." He answered nervously. "His name is Ascelin, he lives in a shack on the other side of town. He's friends with Markus though, and I don't think I've ever seen him lose a fight. He maybe even beat you orc! Heh heh..." the man laughed. After getting what he needed, Horingmar gently dropped the man and continued walking through town. Many civilians stared at him as he passed, some silently passing by, others spitting silent curses. It was obvious he wasn't welcome, but since he wasn't leading a band of orcs and pillaging the place they all tolerated him. It didn't take long before he found perhaps the smallest shack. It was crudely built of wood, but sturdy enough to keep the cold out. If he were to knock on the door, it might break, but Zerath told him that if you were to apologize after entering a home, anyone will let you in!

He grabbed the handle and pushed the door open... more like broke it down. The door fell in front of him, landing on the floor. Horingmar then crouched and squeezed himself through the door, splintering the wood and creating a rough outline of him in the doorway. The shack itself was tall, but not tall enough for Horingmar so he sat down. Inside the shack, a tall man, very tall for a human lived. He was strong and covered in drops of sweat, this man is a warrior, and warriors are worthy of respect.

"Me sorry." Horingmar said, gesturing at himself. "Horingmar believe he came at good time. You are not as tiny as other humans but still tiny." Horingmar said. Then he waited, the man just stared at him, blankly. He wasn't mad, but didn't seem happy either. Did Horingmar find the wrong man? According to Brelnor Sebastian, most volunteers let you know immediately that they are volunteering. So Horingmar waited for that sign. He quickly lost patience. "Well?" He asked.

"Who are you?" The man asked. 'That must be sign!'

"Warmonger Horingmar Oruguun, Ishta Brelnor of Ris'Saliance Aior. I'm looking for Vaskoliir, and someone told me Ascelin was stronger than all others here. So you must be Vaskoliir!" Horingmar cheered.

(Ascelin's Reply)"Warmonger Horingmar Oruguun, Ishta Brelnor of Ris'Saliance Aior. I'm looking for Vaskoliir, and someone told me Ascelin was stronger than all others here. So you must be Vaskoliir!" Horingmar cheered.

Ascelin looked at the massive orc who stood there, beaming happily down at him. It was a new experience, to say the least. Not just the fact that he was being cheered at by an orc, but also that he was being cheered down on. "Horingmar, it is good to meet you," Ascelin said as he walked towards the orc with his arm outstretched in the greeting he was accustomed to.

Not skipping a beat, the orc wrapped his long fingers around Ascelin's outstretched forearm, met his eyes and firmed his grip. The human involuntarily winced before bracing himself and gripping back. Nothing happened, except for the smile on Horingmar's face widening ever so slightly.

"Man earlier said you may beat me. You are strong, Ascelin, but I doubt you have what it takes to beat me in honorable combat."

"I believe orcs have duels to the death, Horingmar. Perhaps one day we can just... arm wrestle?"

At this the orc seemed to focus properly on Ascelin and laughed. "Most people shy away from all duels with orcs. You are Vaskoliir and do not. You are welcome at Ris'Saliance Aior. Come now, we waste time in this shack. Bring what you need, we go now."

(Coridelia Start)It was a clear day, one perfect for collecting samples from her experiments. Even at the very beginning of the morning, Cordelia was already set to get to work on her research. She pulled herself out of bed and made her way to the closet, used to getting around her room without having to look by now. Of course, it would only make sense for her to be able to, as she had been doing so for 5 years now. She quickly changed into her typical attire, brushed her hair, threw plenty of water on her face in order to keep the flowers from wilting, and was out the door with a quick bow tied in the back with the satin ribbons, to keep her dress in a way that would enhance her figure. As she walked down the stairs, she made sure to do so carefully and gracefully, to see her father already busying himself with work in the shop. Not wanting to disturb him, Cordelia made her way to the back without a sound, exited through the rustic door into a beautiful garden in the back.

She grabbed her walking stick and used it to feel her way to the tree and rose bushes she kept her current experiments under, and sat down on a small stool, analyzing the contents of each cage, as thoroughly as someone without eyes could. She removed the contents from the first cage, a small mouse with flower petals grouwing around its eyes should've been, as well as what looked to be roots traveling just below its first layer of skin. The mouse was very thin and lacking in color, looking sickly.
Out of her pocket, Cordelia took a small notebook. She picked a flower from the nearest bush and turned to the next empty page. She placed the flower in the book.

"Perennis sermo memento," Cordelia said, growing satisfied when the book seemed to turn translusent.

"Subject Number 27,876 has succesfully regenerated its eyes, but the Oculus flower roots have spread through the rest of the body and drained the majority of the water from subject, leaving it nearly dead. Subject 27,876 is a failed experiment as of now, but we will keep the subject alive until further conclusions can be made."

She took the next mouse from it's cage. The cage was covered in flower petals and feces, and tufts of fur identical to the fur on the mouse. "Subject 17,877 is a failure. Eyes wilted and substance R46 had negative impact on mental state..."

Cordelia continued to do this for 20 cages of identical mice, her clear, thickly accented, English voice ringing through the garden.. She would do this everyday, whether it was good weather outside, or not so much. She showed determination and was carefull and attentive to each and every cage. This process would sometimes take her an hour, if every subject was dead, up to an entire day, as sometimes the experiment resulted in something unusual or difficult to understand. It was easy to keep this from her father, because he didn't want to disrupt his daughter from her gardening, which was what she had told him she would always be doing out of love for botany.

There was no doubt that Cordelia loved plants and plantlife, but she was more interested in magical experimentation on them than her parents had wanted her to be.

(Sebastian Start)Upon the delivery of the moon elf, Sebastian took a moment to sit at the bar and relax.

"Tender, I'll have a whiskey." Sebastian said to the bartender, an old fat man with balding grey hair and perhaps the angriest face a man could have. The man ignored him, instead gesturing to the door. Getting slightly annoyed, Sebastian's hands clenched into a fist. "What you want me to leave? I only just got here and I haven't had anything to drink." Sebastian said as calmly as he could. The bartender again grumbled and pointed to the door. Sebastian turned around, ignoring all the people who were currently collected and accepted. In a small cubby marked with the initials C R was a small envelope, one with a black seal. That could only mean one thing... A target.

"I see..." Sebastian replied. He reached into the coin pouch that hung from his belt and pulled out a silver coin, placing it on the bar. "Here, this should cover my tab."

"'Ye haven't even started drinkin' yet." The old man croaked. Sebastian got up and started walking towards the cubby.
"No, but I imagine after this job I will be." Sebastian answered. The bartender grumbled again, taking the coin and putting it in his pocket. Sebastian walked to the cubby and grabbed the letter. It was simply addressed to: The Collector. It bore the seal of King Melnorix in black wax which kept it sealed. Breaking the seal with relative ease, Sebastian then read the letter. Most of the lettering was rushed scribbles, this had to have been the work of Craig, the Kings lousy Messenger.

To the Collector of Ris'Saliance Aior, by the King's command you have hereby been ordered to collect an individual and remove them to the care of Zerath Yavernsky. All important details about the target are written on the back of this parchment. As requested, 5 gold coins have been placed within the envelope to cover travel and work expenses...

Sebastian chuckled at 'work expenses'. The King doesn't realize what kind of work he actually does, what dangers he traverses and pains he endures. No one does.

May Melonax bless you and keep you safe in your travels.
Sincerely Craig Firehand, The Royal Messenger.

The last paragraph was barely legible, it made Sebastian wonder if the mans hand really was on fire. Nevertheless, he flipped over the document to learn about his target. "Lets see..." Sebastian mumbled as he read the details. "Coridelia Avem Syringa... a human. Female. Middle class... aged 18... Wolfs blood... I'm collecting Children now? F**k. Gifted with the Blood, is rumored to have trained in a rogues style... Has some power in Change magic? It's a wonder she hasn't been collected by the Emporium..." Sebastian kept mumbling. A girl aged 18 should be more concerned with her own ambitions, and for her to be marked for collection... it... it wasn't fair. But then again, he was collected at a far earlier age after being framed by a childhood friend. If there was one thing about the world that Sebastian would say, he'd use 4 words. Life is not fair.

He continued to read. "Target has a monstrous appearance? Flowers for eyes?! Now I've read everything... The Target is in Wuld, at a farm famous for flowers and barley. Hmph, flower farm, flower eyes... Alchemical experiments maybe?" After that there was no more to be read. Now it was time to begin... Sebastian grabbed his small Dragon Cane that rested beside the door, feeling the surge of energy and completion that it provided. Completion only offered by Valezeil.
"Valezeil, we have a target." Sebastian whispered. A chiming angelic voice quickly answered, with slight dissonance. "So you saw as well? I know, I don't like it either, but what's done is done, Coridelia is marked." The voice rang in agreement and Sebastian left the Tavern taking the coins from the envelope, disappearing into the night following the road eastward to Wuld.

The weather was pleasant atleast, cool, refreshing, nothing like Alver where it was so hot his face would've melted to his mask. A gentle breeze kept him cool as he followed the road through the plains and occasional tree. It was a quiet, almost tranquil time. Not like the actual collection that lie ahead.

After a three day trip, he had arrived in Wuld. A warm place with large wheat fields and ranches. Most of these ranches held wheat farmers, as to be expected with all the wheat. Pleasant aromas surrounded him, reminding him of fresh bread and biscuits. He took a side path that swept North, towards the mountains. According to his information and the hearsay of farmers, The Syringa Flower Farm should be in this direction. Sebastian slowly crept up a strangely steep hill, until a large field of color and aroma appeared before him. There were countless flowers, red ones, white ones, yellow ones, too many to count. If he could, Sebastian would have simply sat down for a picnic and admired the great wave of flowers, but he had another purpose here.

Sebastian moved onward, now he had to be careful, there was no telling what had waited for him. Perhaps some rare kind of man eating rose or poisonous lilac, Paranoid? No dear reader, one can only be prepared... He did his best to not crush all the flowers he walked through. They were beautiful after all. Finally he had found the target, a small woman, who maybe had a weird rat collection? He couldn't tell exactly what they were, but Sebastian saw caged rats, and the girl was ... tending to them. Odd. Yet even if they were rats, Sebastian was a living weapon. No rats could stop him! MWA HA HA Ha ... wait this isn't a horror post. Sebastian felt a twig, or old flower stem, snap beneath his foot and the girl quickly turned around. To his shock, she did indeed have flowers for eyes, but by the way she held her head, it was clear she couldn't see him, but she did know she was here. An illusion would be useless here, a visual one atleast. But maybe this one would be compliant. There might be no need for violence.

"Coridelia Avem Syringa, I am Collector Sebastian Ramirov. You have been marked for Collection by King Melnorix Leskor, therefore it is my duty to take you into my custody. Come quietly, and there will be no need for violence."

(Coridelia's Reply)Cordelia had just about finished her daily observations, when not far from behind her the snap of a twig or root had sounded. Thinking maybe her father had finally found her actions suspicious, Cordelia quickly tossed the subject back into it's cage and spun around, standing up. Just as she were about to come up with some kind of lie or what not, he had spoken. This man was not her father. A collector? An underling for the government. She had been found out and now her magic was going to be taken away for good. This couldn't be happening. Just as she had seen slightly succesfull results in an experiment, she was being taken into custody.

"A lady does not use violence, Mr. Ramirov," Cordelia spoke, crouching down and opening the book, removing a clear flower and placing it on the ground. The book regained it's color and the observations Cordelia had taken today were engraved into the pages. She closed the book, set it down and stood back up "I don't want to make anyone's job too hard. I just want my eyes back. It's very difficult to admire floral botany without sight."

She picked up a pair of gardening shears, slightly rusted and engraved with the name, 'Elm Ulmus Syringa.' She pocketed them and brushed her hand along the leaves of the bush beside her.

"You seem tired. I don't think violence would do either of us any good. How about a cup of tea instead? I just had my helpers gather some pansies to make a brew not too long ago, I'm sure there's enough for two."

She stepped closer to him, but walked past him towards a small iron table painted white with four chairs. She sat herself down in one. "I do apologize if you are in a rush, I'm sure you have plenty of other jobs, I just want to enjoy my garden for a few more minutes before I have to leave. I'm sure you could understand that, right?"

What looked like some kind of barely humanoid 6-ft tall venus fly trap monster, carried a small tray with two cups of tea, a small bowl of sugar and a small cream jug, and placed it on the table. It wasn't hard to notice the sharpness of the teeth, especially when it made some sort of yawn, as though it had just woken up. If one were to take a look around the garden, many strange half plant, half animal creatures seemed to sleepily move about, tending to the gardens normal plants and flowers. Birds with venus fly trap beaks and petals around their necks, as well as a dog with flower eyes and various humanoid flowers more similar to the venus fly trap monster.

The garden itself was flowing with magic, and while Cordelia had considered many of the creatures within it as failed experiments, with no value or worth, visitors might have found her garden to be something of much more value.

"Thank you, Saffron," Cordelia said, as it set the two teas down, then turned her focus to her visitor, "Now, I'm curious as to how much this removing of magic from my blood will hurt, as I've never experienced anything of the sort, and I'm hoping the it won't cause these flowers to wilt at all. As I assume that's what collectors do, yes? Take the magic from others? Criminals? People who are of no use to the royal court?" She pointed at the flowers on her face, preparing for the worst, but still not doubting she would see again one day. There had to be a way, and she would find it, even if she couldn't use magic.

(Sebastian's Reply)Coridelia's reaction was not what Sebastian was expecting, and neither was what followed. She had offered him tea, made of more flowers no doubt. Sebastian would not trust her, as she was... emitting a very strange aura. Most of his collected would fight to defend themselves, yet she was ... resilient. Instead of fighting, she chose to surrender with no fight. Was this even a collection? Could he just treat her as a Volunteer?

No... he had a job. As kind as she may seem, this lady was marked for collection, and it was Sebastian's duty to carry out that collection. As Sebastian slowly crept towards the girl, a crazy plant-like monster appeared, with huge gaping jaws and sharp teeth. Instinctively, Sebastian conjured his Arcane Circle, a dancing ring of purplish blue energy appearing like stars around him, channeling it into his hands. 'What is this?! A monster meant to kill me?!? I cannot allow this!' Sebastian thought aloud.

Zeliir Avantehra! he shouted, willing the Arcane into flame. The blue energy morphed into orange and yellow flames that rushed towards the monster. A minute moment before it struck the monster, Sebastian saw it simply holding Tea cups... of all things f*****g teacups! Sebastian then used the dancing flame he had learned from Valezeil and pulled the flame back towards him, causing no damage to the monster or to the girl. Keeping the flames alive in small orbs that rested above his shoulders, slowly 'dancing' in an elegant swirling fashion. Sebastian advanced. Slowly, cautiously. Keeping the flames ready just in case of a potential attack. The monster had prepared a table for tea, Sebastian wasn't overly fond of tea, only in very early mornings. Morals told him that it would be unfair, and downright cruel to take away this girl from her home, but his own past taught him that following morals leads to death. Specifically of those he cared for. It was weird hearing her call the monster 'Saffron.' The only time he heard that was when he was at the castle of his childhood friend Leilianne, she of course had servants and only the best everything... but he couldn't get distracted now.

"You can spare me the pleasantries, I am simply here for one purpose." Sebastian answered grabbing the girl's arms and forcing them behind her back. After that she clearly was not happy, she tugged slightly and pulled away from him. It was then that he used the Nullification wards. "I am not here to strip away your magic, far from it actually. However I am completely nullifying your ability to create new magic or handle current ones." Sebastian said as black crossed sword-like seals appeared on her hands. "You will feel extremely tense for a few hours, but that's due to the excess Mana being pent up within your body. After that you will almost feel normal." Sebastian released her arms, allowing her to sit comfortably at the table.

"I do not normally allow this, but since you have not resisted me so far I will allow you to finish your tea. 5 minutes and then we leave. If you don't comply...." Sebastian droned, his voice growing low and fierce. He conjured flames and heavy clouds. The air grew uncomfortably still, smelling of sulphur and smoke. Yet everything was calm, like the quiet before a storm. "Fire will reign, and I'm certain the King won't mind if your father was ... accidentally killed in a freak firestorm, along with everything you have built." Sebastian warned.

(Coridelia's Reply)"It was smart of you to not take my tea, darling, I had Saffron mix Monkshood in it, which wouldn't kill you, just paralyze every limb in your body for long enough for me to send you away from this garden or use you as a subject for my experiments," Cordelia spoke calmly, "However nullifying my magic, could potentially have some equally, if not more, negative effects..."

At that moment, growls and snapping twigs and vines sounded throughout the garden.
The creature, whom Cordelia had called, 'Saffron,' began to curl its leafy arms and open its mouth, as though ready to devour the closest target, Sebastion.

"I'm able to comply, but these failed experiments of mine might not let us go so easily. You see, darling, I was using magic to keep them under control, as well as keeping them from feeling the pain of the Occulus Flower, this spell that lives off of the host's blood and sunlight intake. Saffron was originally a young man who had attempted to steal from my parent's shop, but I injected him with monkshood and turned him into an experiment. It's already painful for just my eyes to be taken by the parasite, so I can only imagine what the pain would be like if my whole body was an Occulus Flower."

Experiments slowly gathered around, surrounding the two. "If you burn my garden or harm my subject's I'll kill you, and I won't join you on your collection thing. Cutting them won't kill them, but it might get them to submit, fear you, or at least recognize you as a tough opponent who should be avoided. Since I only have 5 minutes, I would rather stay to do research and ladies do not resort to violence, I'll sit and drink my tea, while you figure out this mess on your own."

Cordelia sat back down calmly and picked up her cup of tea. A large humming bird quickly snapped at her, but Cordelia withdrew her shears, scissored completely threw the bird, and took a sip all in one fluid motion.
The rest had seemed already knowing of her power and backed off from her, even without magic, instead focusing their strength on the man.

"I'm sure you can guess who I'd rather have win, but I wouldn't be surprised if my wish didn't come true," Cordelia mused, "The world doesn't seem to want to do that for me."

(Sebastian's VIOLENT reply)After hearing her words, Sebastian realized that he was indeed surrounded. Monstrous plant like creatures ready to devour all in their path, Sebastian felt fear. For the first time in months he felt genuine fear, if monsters would be his undoing atleast let him be 90 years old first! Suddenly a pain racked his heart... Sebastian knew this feeling, the stopping of his Heart. A dark entity that plagued Sebastian for years has now returned, and at the worst possible time. Unfortunately for the girl ... she made a grim mistake by challenging the Masked Revenant!

"Really now? Your magic controlled them? Like Puppets!?" Sebastian laughed, almost maniacally. "Then it will be my magic that kills them, but not with fire... I have something else in mind! He he he heheeeeeeee..." Sebastian's Eyes of Fear had revealed themselves, red glowing orbs of pure malice. What had once been a man, had become something ... inhuman. Something... Evil, no ... Something... Dead! This was not the man Sebastian was, but it was instead the Revenant that lie within. A dark spirit kept at bay by Valezeil's power, but alas, due to a lapse in will Sebastian had lost control.

Even with the Girl's threats of 'not joining him if he burns down her experiments.' The Revenant knew of other means to get what he desired.

'Valezeil? Valezeil?! Where are you???' Sebastian said in his mind as if crying, the angelic voice rang silently and disappeared. Instead, another took its place. 'Ha ha ha... ha ha ha... I knew you wouldn't be able to resist for long... You always manage to come back to me... me.... What is it... You desire? desire....' A dark, malevolent male voice asked.

"I don't have time for games girl, if you believe your monsters will stop me, you are sadly mistaken AH HA HA HA HA HA HAHAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!! BRELNOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The Revenant roared. Answering his call, and enveloping the land in an immense blackness, was a demon, a demon of Despair; Brelnor, an ancient foe and enemy of Sebastian. It was Brelnor who had cursed Sebastian with the Eyes of Fear, but when coerced with enough willpower, Brelnor was a weapon for The Revenant. "I command you demon, eviscerate those plant like beasts, and everything surrounding it. Leave the girl untouched! She is Mine!!!"

A downright scary grin fell upon the demon's face, one sickening and hateful, even Sebastian would've normally retreated from such a beast, but not today... 'With.... Pleasure! pleasure....' Brelnor answered, his voice echoing. And with claws the size of a man, Brelnor massacred the monsters surrounding The Revenant, completely obliterating all in his path. Even the air was scarred by his fury, and the monsters? Well there are some ways to make salad, and this was one of them. As Brelnor had his way with the monsters, The Revenant stomped towards Coridelia, slapping the teacup out of her hand, causing it's contents to spill onto the ground.

Now the Revenant conjured a black orb within his left hand, it was a forbidden magic. A magic used against him when he was young. This magic was meant to stop the heart and tear a rift in one's soul leaving it open for possession, by an entity of light, or dark... This was forbidden, even forbidden by Zerath, but this girl had threatened him... Even through his mask, The Revenant's Red eyes glowed bright like small suns, these were murderous eyes. Coridelia had made the foolish choice to threaten The Revenant, even though it was inadvertent, it was a threat nonetheless She MUST PAY WITH HER LI-
Before anything else could be done, a white light shone immensely bright throughout the entire land, so bright, it would compare to a fallen star. Immense searing pain flooded Sebastian's entire body, as if purging the madness and fear that lie within. Valezeil had unleashed her wrath upon the demon and Sebastian alike, he was foolish to trust Brelnor, even for the briefest of moments. With unrivaled divine strength, Valezeil, appearing as a white orb, dispelled Brelnor sending him back to the Onyx realm of Khaoloras. She then immediately entered Sebastian, returning his own essence, his soul, back to his body.

Shocked, Sebastian looked around, seeing the great destruction dealt to the monsters and to the flowers surrounding them. Bits and pieces of the monster remained intact, it seemed like they were indeed only cut, and not burned. The same was said for the flowers, nothing was burned, except for maybe Sebastian's Soul. He had no choice now, Sebastian reached into his jacket pocket and removed a tincture, containing an extremely powerful sleeping potion. It was unclear if Coridelia was injured, or just frightened. Either way, he didn't want her remembering this.

"I'm sorry little one... This ... will only take a moment..." Sebastian poured a few drops of the tincture onto the cloth and pressed it against the girl's nose. She resisted, but only for a brief moment. In mere seconds she had fallen asleep. To prevent her from remembered the demon, and The Revenant, Valezeil advised Memory Alteration. Using powerful illusion magic, Sebastian replaced any memory of the Revenant and of Brelnor with scenes of him viciously battling the monsters. She may still hate him, but she would never know the Demon...

(Coridelia's Final Reply)Cordelia was able to remain calm in any situation because she wasn't able to see what was going on. She didn't find noises as scary, nor smells. This was a different case. The man who had seemed like just a grump had shifted into some sort of maniac. She could feel the power radiating off of him and pricking her skin. Even the roots in her face had tensed up and she could feel her flower eyes growing dry as if they, too, were taken offguard at the radiating energy the man was giving off.

Another thing that made Cordelia panic. The flowers growing dry. If they shriveled up or wilted, she would no longer be able to see. Cordelia reached around on the table for the tea she had planned on giving Sebastion. She was immune to poisonous plants; one good thing that came with the Occulus flower.

Even as she reached around the table with shaky hands, Cordelia was scared that the demon of a man would come to her as well. She was sure death was scarier, but she reached for the tea nonetheless. She could hear the growling and hissing of her experiments as they attacked, only to be met with destruction prominent in the sound of slashing and their cries. Just as Cordelia had thought, the man would win, even if she wanted a different result. Cordelia never expected it to be such a brutal and insane fight. She had finally grabbed it and lifted it to her face to heal the flowers but had it knocked out of her hand.

She felt lightheaded, and she gasped for air, just realizing that she had been holding her breath for quite some time, as though the events had caused her to forget how to breathe. She wanted to cry, but flowers couldn't shed tears. Instead her face twisted into something glum, and the flowers seemed to regain their color, as though what would've been tears was food for them. Cordelia backed up, falling out of her chair onto the ground and crawling backwards from him.

Suddenly she felt a calming warmth, and the sounds of battle had stopped, for now, yet she could still feel some sort of unbeatable power. She was confused, but she could breathe a bit easier for now. She heard foot steps coming towards her.
"Please don't kill me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't make them do it. They were supposed to be friendly. Puppets, like you said. I'm sorry. I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry. I knew you would destroy them. I just didn't think it would be like this. I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry. Please forgive me. Even if you can't forgive me, please don't kill me."

She heard a much more calm tone from him, and she felt cloth against her nose. She attempted to get away, thinking he was going to knock her out and then kill her, but there was no escape, and she fell into the tight clutches of sleep.

The monsters seemed to reattatch themselves together, as they always would no matter how many pieces they would be cut into, through some finite spell Cordelia had casted along time ago, but instead of attacking again, they slithered and scampered off in various directions, still rebuilding themselves as they fled.

The regular flowers and plants of the garden, were just that, regular, and stayed cut in pieces, having no form of spell placed upon them.

(Sebastian Finish)Pain, sweet aching pain. Every part of Sebastian was in pain, but his heart probably hurt the most. Vague memories of the past events flashed in his mind... Brelnor, The Revenant, it was unclear what had happened, but Sebastian knew it was definitely not good. Valezeil's presence was heavy, her presence gave him comfort, but his heart ached immensely. Sebastian took a few minutes to catch his breath, trying to think of any reason why Brelnor could have appeared. Normally the Eyes of Fear signal his presence, but today, at the threat of danger he just... took over. That has never happened before.

Prying away from his pain, Sebastian turned to Coridelia, who was sleeping, almost peacefully, in a pile of flowers that weren't damaged, a beautiful bed of colors. He had noticed her... eyes, or flowers had been wilting. Sebastian had no idea what to do, but he pulled out his water canteen and poured some onto her face; gently as to not have her choke on water. After pouring half of his canteen, the flower eyes sort of revived, and appeared to be in no danger of wilting now. Sebastian then lifted the flower child, as he would now call her, and held her on his back. For the rest of that day he prayed, for protection against all dark entities. Would it work? I don't know, has praying helped you before? It certainly never helped Sebastian; he might just be a blight in the eyes of the Gods. Maybe even a half souled abomination that they simply ignore.

On the way back to the tired Tavern, Sebastian made sure to renew the tincture every two hours, sacrificing his own sleep to keep her under control. He also splashed her with water occasionally, but now his canteen was empty, he had to get to the tavern or face death... again. However, one night he found a strange type of flower, a dark blue one with a glowing white center. He thought it was pretty and plucked it for Coridelia, as a peace offering. That night he finally reached the Tavern. Almost everyone was asleep, either passed out drunk or in the rooms. Everyone, save for the bartender. The old man was cleaning dishes with a pale yellow cloth that had seen better years. He turned to Sebastian, and simply grumbled. He saw the girl in his back, and smirked.

"Get that thought out of your head, she was my target not a conquest. But I will need one of the 'Special' rooms." Sebastian said. With the smirk still on his face, the man opened a hidden compartment that sat under an empty liquor bottle and tossed Sebastian an Iron key.
Using it, Sebastian opened one of the reinforced doors that lie under the Tavern itself, a place where only the Collected are taken to. Sebastian opened the first door, revealing a very plain room with a tiny window in the top right corner, a small bed, and a supply of bread to last a week maybe. Sebastian placed the girl on the bed gently, leaving that flower he found on her belly so that she may find it when she woke.

Once he was finished, Sebastian locked the door behind him and slowly slumped back to the bar. He sat down on a stool and placed a gold coin on the bar. "Give that girl water. Lots of it, a few trough's worth if necessary. As for me... Whiskey, on the rocks. Top shelf, and make it a double, awe hell make it a triple."

(Karasu Start)

First prologue post

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Karasu Camille

"What a breathtaking view."​

Feelings: Reserved ​

Site: Arboretum of the Camille Family ​

Tags: ​

Text
Prologue Post

He blinked twice, very calmly, at the distant sight of the large arboretum, the one his family had owned ever since he was ten years of age. The one he would always visit, as long as he had the consent of his parents on the occasion. This was Karasu’s safe haven, his oasis of peace ever since he had began engaging in moonlit thievery with a group of companions from his youthful days. It possessed an aura that always soothed and balanced his uneased mind after a thrilling night heist. Like the gentle gallop of freshwater moving down the mini fall and through the stream that stretched into the pond near the arboretum’s center.

Pass the arched bridge and under a large sycamore on a small inclination near the pond edge, laid Karasu, dormant against the tree’s mass. The young male had just spent his night in the oasis once again, as if he never had a room to sleep in. But it wasn’t unlike him, his personal connection to this landscape brought him joy, the honest kind, unlike the joy he feels while working. He would spend his countless free time here of all places, reminiscing on the days of his adolescence when his mother would bring him and his siblings here and tell stories of fantastical beast and valorous warriors to love stricken youths and tales of sinful exploits.

Not today -no- today was a day that Karasu couldn’t feel the same tranquility he normally felt when in his oasis. He felt like something was missing or out of place. Hm... perhaps something new was here and he failed to acknowledge it before. He sat upright with his back still against the sycamore behind him and opened his grayed eyes to slits. The sun’s radiance burned his retinas for a few seconds before his mind adjusted itself to being active. The sycamore had let go of a dead leaf that sat on Karasu’s hand and he shifted his gaze towards the lonely leaf.

“All grown up now.” he spoke in a caring tone.

He brought his hand up to his eye level and let the next heavy breeze carry it across the arboretum, giving it a tour of the magnificence before letting it go on it’s own. Karasu let his head back against the wooden giant behind him and nearly felt his body topple on the grass for a second. He was discombobulated and seemingly unable to get comfortable, not with the nagging feeling of something unfamiliar being near. He took a breath and began twiddling his fingers in the grass strands while thinking.

“Why am I so perturbed?“

Karasu looked to his left, scanning past the red maple trees towering of the bundle of bushes then looked past the flower beds with dark red carnations to various other flowers. There was no sign of anything peculiar there so he faced the opposite direction. To his surprise the wooden arch bridge that extends over both sides of the large pond.

"Oh that's new." He exclaimed whilst standing up and making his merry way over to the bridge

He places both hands on the wooden railing and ran then across, back and forth. "Someone was kind enough to polish the wood again." He smiled and began to walk up the bridge until he was at it's center. Leaning on the railing with both arms placed over each other Karasu looks over the landscape before him. The refreshing wind takes it's path through his ink black hair, playing with the strands like a child with a piece of string.

"Now I can relax."
​

(Sebastian's Lame not coded Reply)Sebastian had passed out on the bar after multiple drinks. One perk out this was that he could not have hangovers, people with broken souls have never been able to fully feel human. To feel emotions, warm emotions is all that Sebastian wants. Happiness, joy, laughter, surprise, passion, love... Such gifts were stripped from him when...

"'Ey! Collector man, wake up!" the grumpy bartender bellowed, waking Sebastian from a dreamless sleep. "Wake up! Its morning, and another message was left for ye, and I took the liberty of delivering it to you." The old man grumbled, pushing a letter under Sebastian's hand. Sebastian opened his eyes, revealing his light green hazel irises that were dim, almost lifeless. He immediately grabbed his mask from the bar and shoved it on his face hastily. The envelope under his hand was well made, locked with the black was seal of King Melnorix Leskor. That could only mean another collection.

Using his small but sharp letter opener to cut he envelope open, Sebastian pulled out the contents to reveal the Royal Messenger's Troll ass writing.

To the Collector of Ris'Saliance Aior, by the King's command you have hereby been ordered to collect an individual and remove them to the care of Zerath Yavernsky. All important details about the target are written on the back of this parchment. As requested, 5 gold coins have been placed within the envelope to cover travel and work expenses...

It felt like deja Vu, as he had just finished a collection only a few hours earlier...

May Melonax bless you and keep you safe in your travels.
Sincerely Craig Firehand, The Royal Messenger.

"More like Shakyhand... Damn Craig, you desperately need to learn how to write..." Sebastian groaned. He flipped the parchment, finding the details of his new target, one called: Karasu Camille. "Karasu Camille... Male, human just like most of us, aged 20. Hes a man then... Not a child this time... Good. Now... Shows symptoms of the Soul? That's going to be a challenge. Has special training in combat magic and other skills, lovely. Upper class? Well I hope his parents don't mind if I pay a visit. Last seen on his family estate in ... Dethaxan. Classy place, good wine country." Sebastian said to himself, putting the coins in a small pouch. Armed with his information he motioned to get up, but his numbed legs didn't do him any good, instead only causing him to fall to the floor.

An uproar of drunken laughter filled the tavern for a moment, even the gumpy old bartender chuckled. "Ha ha yes, very funny, a young man falls on his ass." He laughed. " F****** idiot, my legs must be numb from that bloody stool." Taking a few moments to let feeling return to his legs, Sebastian then stood up, using his trusty dragon cane for assistance and left the tavern, taking the heavily traveled West road to Dethaxan.

Two days passed, and Sebastian soon found himself in wine country, large green rolling hills with green orchards dotting the land. Red grades, white grapes, dark grapes, all kind of grapes! Part of him wanted to stop for a snack. But he searched for a larger estate instead, if his Target's family was upper class, surely they would own lots of land, or the best land. It was the best land that hosted an ENORMOUS estate, huge fancy buildings everywhere! Granaries, a chapel, a mansion, this place had everything. Even a large iron fence painted white surrounded the estate borders, this family was RICH, it had to be he Camille estate.

Following a paved road, Sebastian approached the mansion, he found ponds, arching bridges, an occasional servant tending the land or cleaning something... Surely he stood out, so he best finish this job fast! Luckily, aside a garden of trees there was a pond, and over this pond was a arching bridge, and on this bridge was a man who appeared to be in his twenties.

"Vasko Deliinha..." he whispered. Small green wisps appeared from the fields, scrambling in all directions. It didn't take them long to start traveling towards the man before they disappeared into the pond. "That's him. Fog... With me!" He yelled, using his magic to create a thick fog that enveloped him and everything behind him. With the fog as cover, Sebastian would easily be able to sneak up on the young man. Soon he was within earshot of him.

"Now I can relax." The man said. Sebastian then walked through the trees and stepped on to the bridge with heavy steps, commanding for the man's attention. Clop! Clop! Clop!

"Sadly... That is where you are wrong." Sebastian said, his voice low and fierce. "My name is Collector Ramirov, I am here because you have been marked for Collection by King Melnorix Leskor. Therefore it is my duty to put you in custody. Come quietly and there will be no violence, but if you resist... I'll have to force you."

(Karasu's Reply)

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Karasu Camille

"I should be careful..."​

Feelings: Startled ​

Site: Arboretum of the Camille Family ​

Tags: ​

Text
Prologue Post #2

Karasu began to feel the stress of his past emotions drift away with the playful wind blowing past him. Afterwards he had let his head hang low to look down at his reflection on the pond water while thinking; waiting for a new subject to touch on. Maybe there was no more new things to notice, everything seemed in order and seemingly nothing else could surprise Karasu at this point. He was just focused on his mirrored image in the water and his day dreaming. He felt sleep creeping over his body, causing him to become more dependent on the railing for support. He shook his head slightly and pressed his cheek against his right hand simulating the feeling of a pillow.

Without much of a warning call, the startling sound of heavy placed footsteps near one side of the bridge, Karasu’s eyes had shot wide open and he felt his heart drop through his ribcage. He turned to face the direction of the sound as if a lion’s roar had resonated through the air waves. Due to Karasu being unarmed he takes a small step back and waits for his infiltrator to make a new move.

”How did I not notice this before?” Karasu thought as he focused on the grey fog that now became a bit clearer.

He could see a masculine figure walking within it as one. Whoever this was was comparatively elusive, so whatever Karasu would do from this point on was limited greatly. He places a hand on his aching chest from becoming so flustered a few seconds ago and lets his breath steady itself.

The man had introduced himself though in a stifled and cutthroat tone. “My name is Collector Ramirov, I am here because you have been marked for Collection by King Melnorix Leskor. Therefore it is my duty to put you in custody. Come quietly and there will be no violence, but if you resist... I'll have to force you."

Karasu had blinked at Ramirov and grinned as a wave of relief came over him. “Ah for a moment I assumed that my life was endangered, but I feel as though your intentions are fair.” He spoke softly.

The infiltrator named Ramirov had overheard Karasu’s last statement, making him believe this said ‘Collector’ had been in on his property long before now. However he hadn’t been active in over 6 minutes so his senses were still not at their best ability as of yet. Regardless, Karasu took a hushed deep breath and gathered his words once again.

“I have no reason to resist Sir, I assume King Melnorix has his reasons for doing so...however I do believe he has marked the wrong noblesse. Perhaps the Delaurox Estate is what you might be looking for, if you are astray I could give you directions.”

​

(Sebastian's Reply)The boy was surprisingly calm, especially since the circumstances could very well lead to his death. It was clear that he was shocked and perhaps afraid, but not so much so that fear paralyzed him. He then spoke, his tone refined yet shaken.

“I have no reason to resist Sir, I assume King Melnorix has his reasons for doing so...however I do believe he has marked the wrong noblesse. Perhaps the Delaurox Estate is what you might be looking for, if you are astray I could give you directions.”

The Delaurox Estate?! Ha! Those squishy poets could never harm a fly! Sure, some were interesting, but not so much so that Zerath was concerned. As the boy spoke, Sebastian circled the boy, using the staff Valezeil to create a 'Crushing Prison.' If the boy made any moves now, all Sebastian would have to do is snap his finger and young Karasu would have a broken everything to worry about.

"Amusing, But I am here for you. Karasu Camille, of the Camille family. Unless you suddenly transformed into a fat poet and are creating the Illusion of Karasu, then I would leave you be. Sadly that is not the case. Shiias, Zeliinha..." Sebastian replied. With that final incantation the 'prison' revealed itself. Clear walls barely seen by the refracting sunlight and the fog stopping at an invisible barrier. "Any belongings of yours, that are of value will be collected in due time. Since you are cooperating I'll allow you to travel without shackles. But I do need to ward you. Come here..."

(Karasu's Final Reply)

.

Karasu
Camille
". . ."​

Feelings: Collected
​

Site: Arboretum of the Camille Family
​

Tags: ​

TextPrologue Post #3

Collector Ramirov clearly had not bought Karasu's last response and was now circling him like an eagle though their eyes never met. Could he have spoken incorrectly or could Ramirov have a short fuse? More likely this is the Karma received after attempting to sell out the Delaurox. Karasu let his head hang low when Collector Ramirov had began to close in on him. His mind was racing and for a moment Karasu didn't want to speak at all knowing that his words imitate that of a less liked flavor of ice-cream that would only lead to an upset child. His actions had consequences and his chances to checkmate Ramirov were greatly decreasing. He knows when he has been beat but he felt that his punishment seemed more suited for someone who has a death sentence. He silenced his breathing to listen carefully to Ramirov explaining the gravity of his predicament and he now feels intimidated. He overheard a magical incantation and knew something was raring to happen. When Karasu had looked up he noticed a transparent barrier surrounding him completely.

"Does he have plans on caging me like an animal or crushing me under it's weight like a bug?" He thought questionably.

There was a method to this man's madness clearly and Karasu now wanted to exploit it as much as he could, but that would have to wait for another time when he isn't held at a difficult position. Ramirov continued with his message.

"Any belongings of yours, that are of value will be collected in due time. Since you are cooperating I'll allow you to travel without shackles. But I do need to ward you. Come here..."

"How kind of him to do so..."

With that in mind and the calm before the storm inside Karasu's heart, he turns to face his abductor. His once sincere grin fading away to a innocent look combined with that of defeat, with each step he finally catches eye with Ramirov. Giving him a look that conveyed a message but through the eyes.

"Well played."

Karasu finds himself looking around at the barrier, contemplating it's construction. Magic, Ramirov certainly looked as though he had a strong affinity for such a force. It would be at Karasu's best convenience to not set him on the edge too quickly. So he will be at full cooperation for the time being and he made his way to join Ramirov on the other side of the arch bridge.
​

(Sebastian's Finish)Smart Lad. After Sebastian's bluff mingled warning, Karasu willingly submitted himself to the tired Collector. As Karasu approaches, Sebastian secretly conjured a full nullification ward, one designed to nullify all Magic capibilities as well as most of ones Physical strength. Normally he would use this Ward against his much larger, and stronger, comrade Horingmar whenever he had gone drunk, but there were many alarms ringing in Sebastian's head. This boy, Karasu, was ... more than what appeared and he felt no illusion magic other than what he had created. As Karasu finally walked within arms reach, Sebastian, in a lightning motion placed the Orungalus Seal on Karasu's Stomach.

"I did say you could travel without shackles, but that doesn't mean I trust you one bit."

Luckily for Karasu, there was no elemental Arcane conjured so he wouldn't have flowers sprouting or flames searing his stomach, but such a ward was designed for an Orc, and against a human it would hurt immensely.

"Good night little one." Sebastian teased.

Karasu was stunned for a brief moment, unknown if he was stunned or about to start crying, Sebastian struck the back of his neck, putting the poor fella to sleep. As his unconscious body fell to the floor, Sebastian caught it, and lifted the man onto his back in a firemans carry he had learned from a fiction novel. Karasu was rather light, either that or Sebastian was still somewhat overcharged from his previous collection.

As Sebastian turned to walk back to the Tired Tavern, he realized that any nobles or servants that passed him would notice the boy he carried on his back and sound an alarm. To remedy this, he conjured an illusion to make himself seem like a farmer carrying a large sack of grain on his back. It wasn't his most original work,!but it's not like the Emporium would flag him for 'Lack of Creativity in Ilusio.'. Sebastian walked back from the way he came, taking a few moments to admire the gorgeous surroundings. Karasu was lucky to have such a gorgeous home, maybe sometime after the upcoming events, Sebastian would return here for a much needed Vacation.

Days passed, and in order to keep Karasu unconscious, he used a powerful sleeping tonic administered via a smelling salt of sorts. With the Tired Tavern in sight, Sebastian relaxed. Gently nudging the door open with his foot, Sebastian entered and immediately faced the bartender.

"I need a reinforced key." He said quietly. With a small grumble, the old man with greying hair reached for a hidden compartment that rested under an old liquor bottle, which apparently had been a gift from the King himself. The old man grabbed an iron key and tossed it to Sebastian, who caught it in his left hand. Sebastian then walked down the hall, into the storage room. Behind a seemingly new cupboard, was a hidden door that led to a small jail containing only 3 cells. Sebastian passed the first door where he placed Flower Child, and walked to the 2nd cell which had no windows and a heavily reinforced door. Using the key he opened the door, and placed Karasu on the small iron bed, given a small down pillow and 'soft' foam cushion. Sebastian then pulled out his rations supply, and placed a jar of preserved jam and biscuits on the small nightstandlike reinforcement. With that, the Collection was done. Returning to the Tavern, Sebastian placed 2 gold coins on the bar.

"I will be taking my usual room, and see that those 2 are given warm food when they wake. Thanks again old friend." Sebastian said quietly.

"Yeah yeah... don't burn anything this time."

Somewhat ignoring those words, Sebastian walked upstairs and passed the many rooms that housed the Volunteers. These rooms were luxurious, designed for comfort. It did make Sebastian feel guilty having to put the Collected in such a drab contrast, but it was what he had been commanded. Sebastian passed the doors, hearing voices from a few of them, seems like Horingmar and Zerath were successful. At the end of the hall, was a small closet of a room where Sebastian rested. It was incredibly plain, and contained no luxuries. In place of a bed was a single napping chair, it's wasn't much, but Revenants don't need the luxuries of man. Locking the door with both Bolt and Ward, Sebastian removed his mask and placed his staff beside the chair. Taking no time to remove his robes and armor, Sebastian sat down in the chair and let sleep finally envelope him.

RemnantsOfShadows A Wild Kitsune Ashes to Ashes Chiba ThatGuyWithSouvlaki
Gents, these are your Prologue Posts.

FIRST SCENE SOON TO COME!

 

[A Wild Kitsune]

Mood: "I'm a bit confused right now, darling, but I promise that I'll understand whatever confuses me in the blink of an eye."

Items: A forget-me-not flower, Elm Ulmus Syringa's magical sheers

New Friend/Enemy: Sebastian Ramirov~ "My thoughts on Mr. Ramirov? As of now he is an enemy, because I can't trust him. But he has good taste in flowers, so we could become allies if he doesn't cut too many more up."

Interaction with: Karasu Camille played by Chiba

Story Through Flowers​

Forget Me Not​

Right Eye Occulus Flower​

Left Eye Occulus Flower​

Cordelia woke with a dry throat. She felt cold but she sat up anyways and could feel something drop off of her stomach when she did so. She picked it up and felt that it was a flower. She panicked for a moment and reached to touch the flowers on her face and sighed in relief when they were still there. She picked up the fallen flower again and brought it to her nose. It had a very faint scent, but even with just the slightest scent she could smell that it was a forget me not; A blue flower that had a strong scent during the night but was odorless during the day. She was very familiar with the plant as most of her earlier research had been conducted with various substances combined with forget me nots, as they were known to have very good medicinal impacts on the eyes.

Because the scent was becoming less and less, Cordelia could tell that it was morning. She could feel the flowers on her face drying up so she got to the edge of her bed and stood up. This bed was higher than her typical bed, so she knew she had been taken somewhere by that man, Ramirov.

So it wasn't a dream. The man had come in and barged in on her research and smartly denied a cup of tea. Cordelia didn't plan on directly fighting him, as she never won those kinds of battles, unless against someone with lower intelligence than a fruit fly, like saffron, before his monstrous transformation. However, he had sealed her powers and the failed experiments that took shelter in her garden had quickly attacked once free from her control, and the man had sliced them all up.

There was nothing particularly special about the way he fought, she just remembered him being rather quick in his work, as expected of a royal family dog. She was suspicious of how fast it was though. Perhaps the next time she encountered him she would try to test his strength again. Of course, she didn't want to use her magic on a human that she found interest in, and all she had now was a pair of sheers and a forget me not.

Oh! The forget me not! How ironic that he would give her a flower that was to be given to someone who the giver wanted to remember them! A pretty blue flower that glowed in the night. A symbol of a connection that lasted through time. Cordelia had remembered laughing at the story of its discovery. Two lovers walked in the night by a river. The man had picked the flowers and handed them to the woman, but was swept away by the river soon after, and he told her to remember him as he left. Many found the story to be sad or romantic, while Cordelia found it silly-- Pathetic, even.

Even still, Cordelia would not forget the man, Ramirov. How could she forget some one who so rudely barged in on her research and left a mess in her garden. The failed experiments would clean themselves up, but the flowers that she actually felt admiration for would not. Cordelia took this flower as more of a challenge than a peace offering or a gift of friendship. Ramirov was cutting his way to being an enemy of Cordelia as of now. Even if he was irritating, however, he was equally as interesting. He was an enemy that Cordelia wanted to know more about, rather than cut down.

Cordelia moved her hands around and walked forward till she hit something with her leg. She cursed quietly to herself and moved her hands down to the top of whatever it was, and felt water. She then laughed out loud a bit, as Ramirov had been kind enough to gift her an entire trough of water. Not that she didn't need it. Even this much water would only last her about a day for her flowers, and she wasn't sure how long she was to be held whereever it was she was staying. She gripped the sides of the trough and brought her face down to the surface of water, and within a few minutes the entire thing had been sucked dry. She felt refreshed and continued to feel her way to the wall.

"Sine oculis, sextus sensu," She chanted. Nothing happened visually, but a small chime sounded and the wall vibrated where her hand was. It was a form of magic that Cordelia, herself, had created that put her surroundings in the first stage of transformation, and then shifted them immediately back. It was a spell that could help her sense what was around her within 25 feet, and it was what she had used once a day for the first 3 years of her blindness to memorize where everything was around her. Hopefully she wouldn't be here for that long.

Because there was a small and very specific area that her magic did not touch, and cloth around that area, she knew there was another human nearby. A human within hearing distance.

Cordelia removed her hand from the wall and sat back down on her bed, twirling Ramirov's forget-me-not in her hand.

"So, unless you're Ramirov, which I'm sure you're not, I take it you were collected as well, darling? I think we'll be spending quite a bit of time together, and without my research I have nothing better to do than talk to you, so would you mind entertaining me for a while? My name is Cordelia Avem Syringa, and I'm from Wuld, so you can imagine I don't know very much about what might happen to us. Outside information doesn't travel there often. Oh, forgive me, darling, a lady should not ramble on as much as I just did. Either way, do you happen to know why we are here?"

 

[Chiba]

.

Karasu Camille

". . ."​

Feelings: Calm ​

Site: Tired Tavern - Prison Cell ​

Tags: A Wild Kitsune > Cordelia Avem Syringa ​

Text
Imprisonment

Heavy breathing and constant shifting in his sleep, this young male overnight had been placed on a makeshift mattress on top of an iron bed. Truly a careless act in Karasu’s opinion, culling him from his home sweet home and dropping him inside a cell, like a criminal. And fancy not seeing the lack of sunshine entering through a window and decent furniture, perhaps the pillow wasn’t that bad, but it sunk too deep when he laid his head down on it. It lacked firmness, unlike the unyielding bed frame beneath the “mattress”, causing Karasu quiet back pains. He sighed slightly irritated and sat himself up against the wall., though extremely sluggish and still half asleep. He had realized that he was alone and without the comfort of a either a bonsai tree, or a vase of carnations. The atmosphere was tense, stuffy and the air made breathing feel like a chore. This would take some getting used to if he were to be here for an extended amount of time without something to admire or breath clean air through.

Karasu coughed once and had brought his right hand up to place it on his stomach. He began to reminisce about the night a few days prior to now. The day of his ‘abduction’ and meeting a sly individual Karasu considers untrustworthy, Collector Ramirov. A proficient magic user and presumable a very tactical fighter. Karasu wheezed at the jolting pain surging through his upper body and calmly let his head hang back.

“How kind of him to leave me this gift.“ He thought sarcastically.

A few seconds afterwards Karasu’s senses were aroused with the sweet scent of jam lingering near. He turned to the small wooden stand right of his bed and noticed biscuits and a jar of strawberry preserves. “Rolanox. prepared with the freshest strawberries in the fields”, one of the finest brands on markets too!

Karasu scoffed at the sight of the jar, he had assumed that Ramirov had left it behind after dropping him off here. Perhaps it was a mistake, or it was the off chance that Ramirov meant to leave it behind. Karasu had taken up the jar in his hand and examined its interior, then opened it. The scent was even more powerful after the cap was released and without thinking twice Karasu forgot his manners and scooped a piece from inside to taste it. His face lit up with delight, Ramirov might be rude and careless, but he possessed great taste in goods. Karasu placed the cap back on the jar, tightly, and put it back on the stand, daring not to touch the exposed biscuits that lied there.

“Could I forgive him. . .No, this was probably another part of his assignment. No need to bring any feelings towards him.“ Karasu mused.

Especially after his last encounter with his ‘Collector’ resulting in an immense pain threading through his body, like he had been attacked with fist of bricks or pieces of concrete. He still felt the faint remnants of his agony haunting his abdomen. It happened all too quick for his eyes to catch, there was no way for him to dodge Ramirov’s strike. He shifted his weak and numb legs over the edge of the bed to touch the floor, which was concrete and obtains cracks over it’s surface. With his condition he decided to stay put.

That wasn’t the only reason, he felt as though someone else was active, could they be free and planning to come extract him from his prison or trapped just like him? His only option was to be patient and wait for something new to happen.

"So, unless you're Ramirov, which I'm sure you're not, I take it you were collected as well, darling? I think we'll be spending quite a bit of time together, and without my research I have nothing better to do than talk to you, so would you mind entertaining me for a while? My name is Cordelia Avem Syringa, and I'm from Wuld, so you can imagine I don't know very much about what might happen to us. Outside information doesn't travel there often. Oh, forgive me, darling, a lady should not ramble on as much as I just did. Either way, do you happen to know why we are here?"

A voice...Her voice? Belonging to a female so young, reserved and pleasant to the ears, she might be a fair maiden, but why would a voice so sweet as jam be imprisoned in a place like this? Cordelia Avem Syringa from Wuld, she must a noblesse like Karasu.

”Cordelia. . .like the flower, that’s a beautiful name.“ He stared off for a second.

“I am sorry, but I am just as perplexed as you are about our current predicament. However if I were to say I believe we are two special individuals since King Melnorix Leskor had marked us for this ‘collection process.’I doubt we will be harmed physically. Pardon my manners, my name is Karasu Camille, I hail from Dethaxan.”

​

 

[A Wild Kitsune]

Mood: "I'm a bit confused right now, darling, but I promise that I'll understand whatever confuses me in the blink of an eye."

Items: A forget-me-not flower, Elm Ulmus Syringa's magical sheers

New Friend/Enemy: Karasu Camille~ "Mr. Camille interests me. Romantically? Oh, darling, don't make me laugh! Well yes, he is definitely the type of man I'd pursue but, I never would decide something like that to begin. All humans have something to hide."

Interaction with: Karasu Camille played by Chiba

Story Through Flowers​

Forget Me Not​

Right Eye Occulus Flower​

Left Eye Occulus Flower​

“I am sorry, but I am just as perplexed as you are about our current predicament. However if I were to say I believe we are two special individuals since King Melnorix Leskor had marked us for this ‘collection process.’I doubt we will be harmed physically. Pardon my manners, my name is Karasu Camille, I hail from Dethaxan.”

Cordelia frowned, at first, but it wasn't for long, as she heard a name even she would recognize. A Camille, one of the most noble families in all of the land. She had heard customers in the shop talk about them. A Camille, or Camelia flower, a flower that symbolized the presence of the divine, a name that fit the job. Cordelia was in the midst of some one who was at least of equal intelligence, with good manners and articulate tongue. He spoke properly, even to a monster like Cordelia.

"So this is a process. Every process has a result, and if you claim that we won't be harmed physically, I suppose I could rest easy for now," Cordelia chirped, "Emphasis on could though, darling, I could sense the locked doors when I used a spell, we must be quite a bit of a danger to the kingdom. Not too much of a threat, if Mr. Ramirov left me with this flower, knowing what kind of magic I specialize in."

Cordelia stood up to fetch a piece of bread, slowly shuffling around the room and trying her best not to bump into things. The sight was not the slightest bit graceful, and almost comedic if anyone happened to see, but Cordelia herself was more interested in escaping, perhaps with her neighbor, afterall it would be hard to feel her way back to her farm.

She took the bread and dipped it in the water, placing it then on the ground and casting a quickened growth spell, which generally did nothing on a piece of bread, or dirt, or any sort of lifeless object, but soon mold grew on the bread, a organism with life; something much more useful than bread. She obtained her grandfather's sheers from her pocket and cut a tiny piece off of the flower's stem at the bottom.

"So, Mr. Camille, darling, what do you often find yourself doing for entertainment?" She asked, as she fiddled with the bread, "If you must know about me, I expertise in botanical magic and research, and while it is necessary for me in order to live, I also find it quite entertaining in other aspects."

"Vita turpis, vita mutatio, jussum Cordelia Avem Syringa suscipo," She chanted, touching the moldy bread with one hand and the flower in another.

The flower grew roots at the bottom of the stem, and they cracked and stretched as they grew, sliding across the floor, they split in the middle, looking like legs. The flower closest to the center curved into something that looked similar to a mouth of sorts. Cordelia could feel her own flowers drying, and that's how she knew to stop. She stood back up and put her face in the second and final trough, her flowers sucking it dry once again.

The forget-me-not stood and walked around a while as Cordelia sat on the bed.

"I'll call you Collie, short for Collector Sebastian Ramirov Jr," She mused, speaking to the tiny plant golem. It cocked its head- or the closest thing it had to a head-, to the side and she could hear leaves and roots cracking in response, accepting the noise as a form of agreement. She picked it up and sat it on her lap, before turning her attention to Karasu again, "As of you, Mr. Camille, would you care to join me in taking a walk outside for a brief, let's say till we are brought back by the King's dogs again? If we can get outside. Who knows what Mr. Ramirov left for us to face on our way out?"

 

[Chiba]

.

Karasu Camille

"My my, what a fascinating individual. I wish to know more about her."​

Feelings: Calm ​

Site: Tired Tavern - Prison Cell ​

Tags: A Wild Kitsune > Cordelia Avem Syringa ​

Text
Imprisonment Pt. 2

This was even more intriguing about Ramirov and Ms. Cordelia, she is capable of using magic and spells in her daily life. Truly an admirable trait she possesses and a unique way to utilize her affinity as a sensory type magic. And Ramirov had left behind a flower for Cordelia after her collection, how compassionate will he possible be or could it be that Ramirov has an interest in her? Regardless, that is all Karasu could imply from her words, he knew that she was far more complex and mysterious than what he might hear from her. He just wanted to keep conversation with her to unlock the secrets to her magnificence and to keep himself engrossed.

"I will take your word for it then Miss." He said, quietly.

Karasu began to lightly tap his feet and felt slight pins and needles in the soles of his feet, but it was tolerable enough to stand up. He raised himself up off the cushion and walked over to the heavily reinforced door which was locked tight but possessed an opening hole at the top with three steel bars aligning it. He angled his vision through the hole in an attempt to look down the hallway, no one stood in the corridor, but he noticed the cell in which Cordelia was residing in. He could see light in her cell, implying that she had some sort of window or opening in her cell, allowing the sun's radiance to leak into the room.

She was a lucky lady to be subjected to Collector's compassion or most accurately both of them were, in a sort, and it would justify why Karasu was placed in this cell as a result. Karasu had stepped away from the door and made his way back to the bed to sit once again. It would be a while until someone were to come for both of them so it's no use tiring oneself out standing in one position.

Once he sat down he moved up to lean on the wall and overheard Cordelia speak on the topic of amusement. Her stated professions in botanic research and enchantment was very reflective of her personality, but her continuation stating that doing these things is key to her survival made Karasu worry. Though she was calm and sure while revealing such pertinent information she must have had some sort of trust if she could tell him.

"We share a similar interest Ms. Cordelia, one day, if you wouldn't mind, I would love to hear more about your profession. As for me I-" He caught his tongue mid sentence.

He couldn't reveal to her right away that he was really a criminal hidden behind his social status and family name so no one would suspect him. What would she think of him after telling her. It was not fair to frighten a lady. She trusted him with the fact she needs to practice botanical magic and conduct research for her survival and she has never killed anyone as far as Karasu was aware. But he couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth for her sake. He didn't want to tell her the real reason why he might be in this cell. That he was probably more of a threat in the kingdom's eyes than she was.

"I am a hobbyist, a poet and a lover of nature. You see my family estate owns an Arboretum, a lovely garden with large diversity of flowers and tree life. We have recently started growing our own fruit there too. I spend most of my excess time there as it holds a special place in my heart. In fact I miss it greatly." He responded kindly though a bit shook.

His mind raced afterwards and all he could do was fall to his side on the bed, exhausted with himself, to stare over to the wall while listening to Cordelia's voice. She had wanted to know if he would fancy a walk once they are freed from their cells. Karasu smiled and shifted his body to lay on his back.

"That is a grand plan of yours Cordelia. I pray that we are given that luxury in a timely manner so we can spend more time with each other."

​

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Lothuialil Calithil​

Lothuialil awoke early in the morning, before the sunrise. She put everything except her sword in a wardrobe and sealed it shut, using a simple magic that she had actually learned from a book. After that, she headed over to the bartender and asked for a glass of water, for which she received a funny look.

"Just water? Not an early morning pick me up?" He asked. She looked at him with a not so amused look, not about to even get into a conversation about how it was far to early in the day to drink alcohol, even if she did drink alcohol. Something in her gaze, perhaps how dark her black eyes speckled with blue seemed in the early morning light, must have instilled in him that she was not going to discuss the matter, so he handed her a glass of water. She felt bad about how he seemed to rush slightly and gave him a friendly smile.

'This man doesn't come from my village, maybe I should talk with him.' she thought. She looked up from her glass of water that she had inspected for a moment and made to say something to the bartender, only to find that he had walked away to attend to something else. Her smile fell, so she just took out her canteen and poured the water into it, deciding that she didn't want to sit inside anymore. It didn't appear as if many others were awake, just a few drunkards that she ignored, so she made her way outside, a slightly downtrodden expression lingering on her face before she erased it and replaced it with a neutral expression, something she was used to doing out of self preservation. She heard faint voices that seemed to come from somewhere beneath the building, her senses keen enough to pick up on it, so she looked around. She cautiously made her way back towards the bar. Something smelled different, maybe like... flowers perhaps?

As Lothuialil followed her senses, a strange feeling overcame her. She was thinking about what might be drawing her somewhere. Maybe her mother was right, maybe her senses were keen, even for a moon elf. As she made her way towards the doorway to a small hallway, she nearly jumped, but didn't, when the bartender called out to her.

"Hey, employees and collectors only back there." he stated, eyeing her cautiously. She wasn't sure what to do. Something intrigued her about what might be back there. She was sure it wasn't too dangerous, and if a collector was allowed back there, maybe it was other people headed to Ris'Salieance Aior. Her intuition said that she should be careful, but it also drew her towards her curious side. She was by no means a master of illusion, and the bartender seemed to be at least familiar around those that used spells, but she hoped she was skilled enough for what she was about to try. She didn't see Sebastian anywhere, so she decided that she had a decent enough chance that no one would notice.

"Of course, sorry." she said, then she crafted an illusion of herself walking out the door as she hid her actual self within the illusion. She noticed the barkeep follow her illusion before she made her way silently down the hallway as she heard him say "That damn collector always seems to bring in some interesting people." She had made the wise decision to make her illusion go outside because she didn't know how long she could sustain an illusion of herself staying in the bar before her magic gave out. She didn't know at that time that she had been underestimating her skills, but then again, she had never used much of her potential before, so she assumed that she didn't have too much magical potential. She made her way down the hall and then into an unlocked storage closet. The voices were louder, but seemed to still be behind something. There was a side of the room that smelled more strongly of flowers.

Lothuialil searched the wall to try and find some secret to it, but some sense of self preservation kicked in when she remembered that she didn't actually know what she would find if she was even able to find some secret entrance to something. Instead, she tried her hardest to hear the voices, and when she realized that she could actually discern two voices, she instead settled on the ground beside the wall and listened. There was a male and a female voice. For a moment, she worried that she might be disturbing a private conversation, the barkeep had said that Sebastian went back there, and there was two voices, but she quickly discerned that the male voice was not Sebastian's. She caught a few snippets of the conversation and decided that it was nothing that she was really intruding on. In fact, she learned that they were also going to Ris'Salieance Aior, except they were collected. She felt bad for them, seemingly locked behind a wall in some secret place, but she couldn't do much, and she wanted to be safe, seeing as she didn't know much about them. She would have introduced herself, but she was unable to do that either, so she settled for sitting on the floor with her back against the wall and trying to hear what the two of them were discussing. At least they didn't really seem injured or anything based off of what she had heard.

 

[Literary Revenant]

The Fun Stuff is Below!

Scene One: Unexpected Events​

Now it begins! Zerath​

It was a warm day, the Autumn winds were coming in from the east bringing a cool breeze with it. Headmistress Zerath waited in a forest clearing surround by trees with yellowing leaves filling the land beneath him. She waited eagerly for the arrival of the new Vaskoliir, hoping that her many letters had reached their intended recipients. It had been Ten years since she's seen another Vaskoliir having lost all her comrades at the final battle at Solasuun.

Supposedly there was new Vaskoliir appearing around the world of Vian, people just like her. Unfortunately they were treated like freaks, outcasts among society who were being killed for their special gifts. Zerath couldn't stand seeing kindred souls being killed out of cold blood, and that's why she formed Ris'Saliance Aior, to create a save haven for these people. Hopefully with time and guidance they would be able to either rejoin society as equals or choose their own path. Some called it odd, that Zerath, the weakest out of Aior's group survived. A violent explosion such as the one Elzaniel used should have killed any living being, but she survived. Zerath thanked her gift for saving her life, since her gift in the Blood of the Daravii allowed her to absorb almost any form of energy and cancel it out like it never existed. If only she could've used it to save his friends, then maybe the Vaskoliir today wouldn't be treated so harshly.

Now it was time for a new generation of Vaskoliir to arise, to use their gifts for the better of society. Will that truly happen? Zerath only hoped for it, but only time will tell. Today, Zerath had begun her journey by Carriage to Frostburne, a cold land in Northern Joten. This was the location where her Academy, Ris'Saliance Aior, was said to be settled. In the Carriage with her was a Nobleman, Count Thomas Olverstein, the man financing the school. He wore well tailored clothes made of silks, wools, and cashmere. A fine vest, a long draping cloak. silver pendants, and embezzled golden rings on each hand. This man was respected by all in Joten, when he had announced his support for Zerath, it shocked many but none challenged him for he had strong ties with the King himself. He and Zerath had been arguing for the past few hours, about what? Lets find out...

"You mean to tell me that we only have 3 acres of land dedicated to the Vaskoliir? I begged for your assistance Count, it is not just me who needs your help now. I have at least five Vaskoliir under my care. Five souls, five people. We need more than that if we are going to be successful, not just for ourselves but for the King!" Zerath said, her voice as restrained as it could be given the circumstance. Although she had been given the support of a powerful noble, what has been given was pathetic, meek. Barely enough to keep any organization alive, let alone a specialized care academy. The Count scoffed, half ignoring the seasoned soldier.

"Don't play that card against me, woman! You are lucky that I even cared enough to give you any support at all! And you thought that I would simply come and give you my whole fortunes after you have earned nothing for yourself." The Count spat. "While you have the King's gratitude in the release of our Kingdom from Elzaniel and the Alveric elves, you did so while sacrificing my first son, Gregor. The only reason why I support you is because you and my son fought together alongside Aior. For that you should be grateful." Quiet, tempered rage shone underneath the refined image that the Count had created.

Zerath, although fiery herself had to stop. She remembered Gregor, he was a powerful and charismatic man second only to Aior himself. He was older than her by a good decade, yet you wouldn't know that since he was always so youthful in his actions. For a time, she had a crush on him but he had been killed before she could confess those feelings. Heh, not like a nobleman would've shared those feelings with a Noble turned Farmer.

"Listen, all you have to do is temper them, we already have their first missions in mind." The Count whispered, his voice barely heard over the bouncing carriage.

"'Missions'? You wouldn't dare!" Zerath yelled. In an immediate response, The Count conjured a rush of immensely powerful arcane, so much that even her masked friend, Sebastian, would be challenged by a man this powerful. A red aura of energy formed around him, spreading to the carriage and even touching Zerath. The energy was hot, but caused her no pain thanks to her Blood. Blood gifted by the Daravii.

"On the contrary child, You wouldn't dare challenge a Noble and an archmage. You have only one purpose now, to raise soldiers. Their first mission will arrive in a few days, either they will be ready or they will die. It is that simple. And honestly, no matter what they do, I think they will die anyways." With that warning, The Count dispelled his magic. Right on time, as the carriage had stopped.

"We have arrived milord!" the driver yelled with a muffled voice. The Count pulled out a flask from his pocket, taking a sip of a mystery liquid. Zerath pulled herself up, and opened the door stepping out into the cold land of Frostburne. It had just started snowing, Zerath could see her breath. Small puffs of white fog, they were sort of cute and gave her a sense of happiness.

"Go now Zerath. Prove me wrong." The Count said. The driver closed the door, and then walked back up to the pilot seat, whipping the reins and just like that he was gone.

Zerath was much more than a little upset, she had known that the Vaskoliir would be turned into warriors again. Just like in the past, it would be so again. She had to find her friends, Sebastian and Horingmar. They too were Vaskoliir, and she trusted them more than anyone at this moment. The Tired Tavern lie in front of her, it was a sturdy inn made of stone and wood, and if everything had been done correctly this is where the Vaskoliir will be sheltered. As she entered, Zerath heard the cheers of partygoers and drunken followers. It seemed like... only one word was being said. Apparently in your world, this world is special, used only at special social events. What is this word? Chug.

​

"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! YEAAAAHH!!!!!!!!!" A crowd of men and women cheered. Upon entering the building, Zerath saw a huge crowd of people cheering for a giant green creature. Her friend, and occasional drinker, Warmonger Horingmar Oruguun! What was he doing? 'Chugging' a giant barrel of the Tired Tavern's famous ale beside another large man (No not you Ascelin.) with huge muscles but apparently no brains. In Zerath's experience she has seen Horingmar easily swallow three barrels of ale. Did he stay standing afterwards? She refuses to answer even today.. "Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!" the crowd continued to shout. The large man wavered quickly, barely starting the barrel chug and he had already fallen over completely hammered.

Standing victorious, Horingmar raised his arms in the air beating his chest, making a deep drumming sound that was loud enough to be heard outside the Tavern. Although she was mildly annoyed that Horingmar was being incredibly frivolous, Zerath clapped for her larger and stronger companion. Cheering for him amongst the crowd.

​

"WHOO! Go Horingmar!"​

she cheered. Immediately recognizing the soft feminine voice of his comrade, Horingmar shot back, surprised.

"Zerath?" Horingmar asked. Upon realizing that it was Zerath he saw, Horingmar lifted the small woman up in the air, almost tossing her up like a child. "You are here! Celebrate!" Horingmar was so excited that he was literally shaking Zerath around like a ragdoll. Zerath had to push herself away to avoid being accidentally crushed. The orc had a huge, albeit, drunken grin on his face. "Is it time? Is building ready? Are we allowed to bring Vaskoliir to Sanctuary?" Taking a brief moment to recover, Zerath also smiled and nodded. Although it was withdrawn due to The Count's words, her smile was genuine.

"We are Horingmar. The Count kept his word, to an extent. Is Sebastian here? We will need him to lift the wards set on the ..."

"DRINK!!!!!!!!!!!! WE MUST DRINK!!!!!!!! BARMAN WE NEED MORE DOLASH!" Horingmar cheered, interrupting Zerath.

​

'Really? He must be drunk... Maybe I just need to find Sebastian myself.' Zerath thought. "Look, Horingmar I just need you to get the volunteers rounded up. Try to do that for me please..." Zerath huffed, her eyes twitching ever so slightly. As if still ignoring her, Horingmar started stomping around the room singing this weird chant regarding a drunken rock and an old man. It was odd, but still amusing. The angry grin on Zerath's face turned back into a smile. "You know... You can be so damned funny sometimes. Especially for an orc."

"That because HORINGMAR is laugh friendly face!" Horingmar sort of said. "Small Masky man guy went upstairs to room, I get Volunteers as you request, but first more DOLASH!!!!" Horingmar cheered, the crowd joining him.

Finding Small Ones! Except tall man. Horingmar​

"Tender! WHERE IS DOLASH!" Horingmar yelled in the direction of the Bartender. The small older man was wiping the counter down, his rag now drenched with spilled ale and watered down beer. He was incredibly angry, mainly because Horingmar was making a huge mess in the bar, one he will have to clean later. Zerath walked past horingmar, heading upstairs to find the Masked one, Se, Sebas, Horingmar could never fully pronounce his name. "ALE!!!!! NEED ALE!!!!!!!"

"Why don't 'ye actually do what the lady asked of 'ye and leave me alone! You've drinken my entire stock of ale!" The bartender growled. Horingmar couldn't grasp the idea that a Barman had been released of his entire stock, but Horingmar did literally swallow an entire barrel of Ale. "Off! SHOO! Get outta here!" The bartender insisted.

Horingmar growled back at the old man, but even in the face of an Orcish Warmonger the old man didn't waver. His old wrinkled face marked by years of drunken patrons and countless stories, possibly even some military experience. There were few things that Horingmar respected aside strength and that would be Bravery. Horingmar gently tapped his chest twice, the Orcish way of showing respect and acknowledgement. He walked upstairs, towards the southern corridors where the Volunteers were housed in comfortable rooms. GRAH!!! YOU NO NEED COMFORT WHEN YOU HAVE STRENGTH! Readers should think about that the next time they sit on couch...

In a small corridor were 6 rooms, with the 3 at the far end being the ones housing the three Volunteers; Lothuialil, Imrae, and the man Horingmar found, Ascelin. On the left room was Imrae. Horingmar had been informed that she was NOT to be disturbed by him personally. Apparently, she was a 'special' one, or atleast he was told. So in a workaround, he knocked on the wooden door 4 times. And by knock, you as my readers can imagine Horingmar almost broke the door off it's hinges. It was a miracle of the Daravii that the door didn't break, or maybe it did but it didn't fall over.

"Zerath is here! Dress and Steel yourself! Be out in four duels!" Horingmar bellowed through the door, unsure if she could hear him. Oh, and for my readers, Duels is an Orcish term for five minutes, as that is how long they typically last.

The door behind him was the room for a half elf, one that Sebastian grabbed, he had told Horingmar that she was a bit on the ... Shaeyee (Shy) side. WHAT IS SHAEYEE?!? GRA (Coughs). When Horingmar grabbed the door, it was locked. a minor inconvenience for him! He knocked 4 times, using his 'war voice' to bellow across the entire tavern, he repeated "ZERATH IS HERE! DRESS AND STEEL YOURSELF! BE OUT IN FOUR DUELS!"

Last but not least was Ascelin, the Tall but Small man that Horingmar found after crushing tiny bandits in the central room. Horingmar grabbed the door knob, and just like before, the door simply fell at Horingmar's touch, revealing a partially dressed Ascelin Inmer. Horingmar saw him, tapping his chest twice with a smile on his face. "Kolash Brelnor! Zerath is here. Dress and Steel yourself. Be out in four duels, and... sorry about door." Horingmar said quietly.

With that done, Horingmar stood at the end of the hallway, waiting for the tiny ones to finally prepare themselves.

Nightmares in the Day. Sebastian​

Sebastian had only slept for maybe four hours after Collecting Karasu. He was dreaming about a meadow, similar to those he saw when Collecting Karasu and Coridelia. A large green meadow,an almost endless sea of emerald encompassing the world around him. It wasn't clear where he was, whether it was somewhere he had been before, or if it was simply a creation of his imagination. He saw something appear in the distance, something bright, immensely bright. A ball of light that was warm, enveloping, but... it was more than that. This light was alien. Sebastian walked towards this light, and it retreated from him. Intrigued, Sebastian continued to follow this light as it led him up one of the many rolling hills. His body felt none of the pains of the waking world, only a warm comforting feeling. Close to the top of the hill, he heard a voice... something feminine? Valezeil? No... She spoke mainly Draconic, this voice was human.

"Sebastian... Sebastian?" The voice said.

In an instant, Sebastian was pulled from the dream and back to the waking world. His body ached, sore from the endless week of acceptance and collection. Someone was knocking on the door, someone with a voice that he recognized.

"Sebastian, Are you there? It's me, Zerath. Are you awake? May I come in?" Zerath asked gently, her voice muffled by the door. She said a lot of words in a short period of time an he had to register and receive to his tired mind. Sebastian looked at himself, his robes were covered with dirt, his blood, sweat, grass stains from the demonic lawnmower... his armor was not much better, but it wasn't something some polishing would fix later on. He couldn't see his face, but he felt dried sweat crusted onto his skin; what he wouldn't give for a bath right now... While he could conjure an illusion to hide his shame, Zerath had seen him in far worse situations.

"Come in..." Sebastian said, almost yawning. He coughed violently for a few moments, blood coming out. Maybe that demon had created more physical trauma than he previously thought. The door opened, and Zerath entered, she was wearing a brown cloth dress with a dark red overcoat, fur lined boots, and a small phoenix feather keeping her hair up. Stark contrast to Sebastian
currently. Zerath saw him and her eyes saddened slightly, no tears formed but she was definitely upset.

​

Putting a smile on his face, Sebastian acknowledged his senior companion. The one who gave him a second chance at life. "Forgive me for not cleaning up... I've had a very busy few weeks..." Zerath pulled out a small handkerchief from her coat, walking towards Sebastian, kneeling down and gently wiping the blood from his mouth.

"Gods blood, Sebastian. You should've informed me if you were injured, I would've been able to take one of the volunteers to allow you some rest." Zerath said, her voice concerned. Although her concern was warming, Sebastian could never truly be comfortable. his soul was broken. His emotions could never be complete, unless his soul was fixed or returned. Valezeil prevented him from suffering the horrible pains of Soul Tearing by providing par of her essence into him.

"It is no big deal, this is my job after all, and as a Revenant I have grown accustomed to pain. Is there anything I can do for you?" Sebastian asked.

"I'd rather have you rest, but... yes. We need to get the Collected. You should have gotten only 2 letters correct?"

"That is correct, Karasu... GAH!" Sebastian squealed as Zerath touched his left arm, it still burning from the Tearing Orb that the Revenant conjured against Coridelia. Before Zerath could ask 'What's wrong?' Sebastian answered. "And Coridelia. But with her... Brelnor ... made an appearance."

For all who wonder what happens typically when someone hears something has gone incredibly wrong, be it you lost your car keys, or lost your job, in my experience, its not fun. The person's eyes swell, their body stiffens, based on the person they may be sad, mad, complacent even. For Zerath, she was frightened. Brelnor was a demon, but not any ordinary demon. Brelnor was one of the old gods, specifically the Lord of Sacrifice. Long before the time of the 7 Kingdoms, Brelnor was reveled as one of the great providers, giving knowledge and power to his followers; in exchange for the Sacrifice of the Soul. When the Daravii arrived, creating the Dragons and filling the world with their power, Old Gods like Brelnor lost their following, some ultimately being forgotten entirely. While Brelnor could make one incredibly powerful, He does so in exchange for your soul, completely erasing the person who you are, or ever could be.

"WHAT?!?" She almost screamed in a shrill voice. Doing her best to calm herself, Zerath stood up, and closed the door. "Do you know what happened? Was anyone hurt?" She nervously asked. Sebastian, almost regretting his decision to tell her, stood up, using a nearby shelf to assist him.

"All I know is that Valezeil managed to purge him temporarily, but unless I get my Soul back... He will just keep coming along with the Eyes. But I don't want to talk further." Sebastian said, grabbing his mask and the staff Valezeil. When he tried to open the door, Zerath stopped him, something she doesn't often do.

"Sebastian, I need you to know that you can trust me." She whispered. "Your pains don't have to only be your own. They can be relieved by others around you."

"Heh, Everyone already relieves my pains by being themselves, doing what they deserve to do. If I deserve to battle demon gods, and rogue magi so be it. I'll get the Collected and bring them out. I promise you this, if I feel that Brelnor is going to fully possess me, I will purge myself to protect you and this world." Sebastian replied.

Those were grim words, even from Sebastian in his normal state. With his muscles aching, Sebastian replaced his mask, and opened the door. As if some comedic sprite wanted to prank him, he heard this loud voice that created a huge shockwave of sound. ""ZERATH IS HERE! DRESS AND STEEL YOURSELF! BE OUT IN FOUR DUELS!" The loud yelling of his comrade Horingmar was enough to make his hair blow back. But that wouldn't stop him, as 2 famous french robots said in another world... "More than ever, hour after, our work is, never over!"

Sebastian walked down the stairs, some his strength having been rekindled by the sleep he had. He found Horingmar in front of the southern corridor, waiting for... something. Who knows what Orcs are up to? Sebastian opened the door and found something curious. Lothuialil Calithil, Lothie standing right in front of the Secret cabinet that lead to the cell area within the Tavern. He was unsure why the young girl was so incredibly interested in the Collected, enough to sneak out of her room, eluding Horingmar which is probably why he bellowed, and simply waited in front of the cabinet probably trying to find a way in. 'What are you doing here? Trying to free them? No Lothie, you wouldn't do that... But what are you doing?' he thought, doing his best to not think aloud. Holding Valezeil in a slightly loose grip, Sebastian walked behind Lothie and tapped her shoulder lightly.

"Lothie, what are you doing here? Did you not hear the bartender say only Collectors or Employees?" He asked. Startled, Lothie shot around faster than a miser picking a coin from the ground, her hand on her sword drawing it slightly. Her bright, focused, Elven eyes focused on Sebastian. The face she wore was as emotionless as it was when he met her, blank, unfeeling but slightly sad with a hint of shock due to the surprise. "Whoa, stay calm its only me, Basher, Big Meanie face, scary mask. You can put the sword away." Sebastian said, his arms raised. Lothie let the blade fall back into it's scabbard, and now she just looked at him. Of course Sebastian could never understand what was going on in her mind, her blank face was a mask in of itself. Very similar to his own, in fact Sebastian was scared by it; terrified even. "Now how did you get in here?" He asked. Without waiting for an answer, Sebastian did a miniature investigation, using his experience in Arcane to sense what had happened. Upon investigation, Sebastian learned that magic had been done, magic that was not his own. The air was stiller than normal, but still vibrant and full of excited energy. The Arcane was excited, rushing around the room from the door to the ceiling at lightning speeds. Combat magic would result in the air being completely still, and creation magic would have the air being focused in a certain area; that left Illusion magic. It was like putting pieces of a puzzle together. Lothie must have used illusion magic to elude the bartender and sneak to the room.

While normally Sebastian would have severely punished someone with a Needle Ward or the Sentences of Burning Hand, Lothie was sort of special to him. As she is the first one to meet him and not run away screaming, that is a victory in of itself. She also reminded him of Leilianne, his childhood friend. She too, had a blank face, only showing slight emotions when around him, allowing it's beauty to be seen in the briefest of moments before returning the the vigilant emptiness. Long flowing hair, that would sweep in the Western wind, with flowers bending, blossoms falling... Could this be... that Sebastian liked Lothuialil? Was that even possible?

No... No, Sebastian is a Revenant, his heart marked with the Soul Tearing Seal created by the Old God Brelnor, and his Soul torn into pieces leaving behind the emptiness; emptiness that demons love. Without his Soul he cannot truly love someone, yet his heart still raced a bit when he saw her now. Inexplicably so, like why lightning will strike a tree many times but never the same spot on the ground. Still, as a Revenant, it would probably be best if he didn't involve her into his own personal matters. For his safety sure, but especially for hers.

"Lothie, I need you to go back to the Tavern. Horingmar and the other volunteers should be waiting for you. Please don't make me ask twice, the people here are dangerous and without my supervision I don't fully trust them around the others." Sebastian explained. Lothuialil opened her mouth slightly, possibly wanting to speak, but she remained silent, lowering her eyes and self. Without any real objection she left back into the tavern. 'Well that was cold of you, Great going idiot!' Sebastian thought. Even though he didn't want to go back to work, he had a job to do. Opening the secret door, Sebastian entered the jail cells, placing a powerful illusion to hide what was inside, in case Lothie had second thoughts.

Inside, he could see sunlight creeping from the window in Coridelia's cell. That meant it was finally daytime. Having realized that he forgot to ask the bartender for the keys, Sebastian used his Frost magic to make the locks brittle enough to break with a blow from his trusty dragon staff, Valezeil. First was Coridelias cell. Sebastian conjured the Frostburne elements of Ice and Wind into his hand, making it ridiculously cold to the touch. He touched the first lock, and ice crystals formed around it. With a swift blow he broke the lock and opened the door, with a loud metallic clang. He did the same for Karasu's door, thus freeing both of the Collected.

"Hello you two... I imagine mine is the last 'face' you want to see, but it is time for you to meet Zerath. If you could forgive anything that I have done for a couple hours, I can take you to her. Come lets go, I really don't want to force you again. I'd rather not have you hate me too much. Sorta like black licorice right?! hahahaha! Come on Karasu, That ward should be weaker now, You can walk. Once we get to our location I'll treat you to some healing! Maybe even a drink! Ha ha ha!" Sebastian joked. After glancing in Coridelia's cell, he saw a weird plant thingie, very similar to the ones he saw at her home. It had a resemblance to the flower he gave her. Does she see it as peace or as a means of revenge? His hand slowly rising, a finger pointing at the Plant thing, Sebastian asked "What... On Earth... Is that?"

People Tagged: RemnantsOfShadows ThatGuyWithSouvlaki Ashes to Ashes Chiba A Wild Kitsune
Interactions Made With: Lothuialil Calithil (Lothie) RemnantsOfShadows Karasu Camille Chiba Coridelia Avem Syringa A Wild Kitsune

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

Imrae was resting on the couch reading one of the books she had taken from the schools library. It was one of the first places she visited on arrival, using it to judge the worth of the academy. Admittedly she was impressed, there was a larger selection than that found in the royal libraries back in the palace. She supposed the academy had more resources available having access to donations from most of the other nations about. While the Alveric elves had only there own and what they were able to gain through past conquests. Still some of the books from Alveric origins were quite rare even for the elves.She had taken a few from various origins and a few story books and was content to either read or train until the headmistress returned to get things started.

Things were quite in the academy which surprised her expecting such a place would be alive with activity. The only sign of real activity was the occasional, what she could only describe as, drunken rampage of the academies pet orc. The creature made so much noise the first time she had heard it she worried the academy was attacked until it was explained to her. She had not seen the orc yet except in passing and glimpses in her travels through the academy, she wondered whether she was relieved or curious. Still she had heard of the great Horingmar. His reputation was exceptional even among the sun elves but she expected someone more level, as far as levels orcs can go. She was surprised that a near beast was made teacher despite his reputation. A great warrior he might be, it took a different set of skill to be a teacher and it was some he clearly lacked. The only use he seemed to have was a pet, to fetch and guard.

She heard the beast bark once more and expected it to be just another of the drunken rampages, yet he heard him get closer entering the dorm rooms. He seemed to avoid the doors and start yelling at the others that the headmistress had arrived. Finally she thought as she got out of bed and dressed into her training gear, a variation of the clothes she travelled with but without the ropes. She went to the doors and opened it and stepped outside casually and with a relaxed manner walked up to the large orc. "You make quite the alarm, big boy." She commented once close to him. "I am glad they have some use for a man of your talents." She teased.

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Lothuialil Calithil
​

Lothuialil waited outside the door and listened to the conversation between the two Collected. She stood up abruptly when she saw Sebastian enter the room. Her first thought was what it usually was when she was surprised by something, to defend herself. Her fight instinct faded when she did make the connection that she was not in danger once he started to speak. Something seemed off about Sebastian to her. He reeked of blood and sweat. She felt bad for him, not in a demeaning way, but she was concerned about him. She had a strange feeling that many people didn't concern themselves with his well-being, besides the two others that he had mentioned on the way to the tavern. Something else seemed strange. He was looking at her strangely, seeming to focus on her only for his eyes to slightly glaze over as if he was lost in his mind for a moment rather than having a conversation with her, if it could be called a conversation. She waited quietly while he finished dictating to her. She didn't appreciate how she was being treated, but given the circumstances, she held her tongue. Something told her that he could tell that she had used magic and that he normally wouldn't let its use to trick a barkeep to investigate the Collected go relatively ignored. He also seemed tired, he seemed to not even be concerned with his appearance, and though she had only known him for a small amount of time, it didn't seem like he would just leave blood stains and sweat stains on his clothes and armor unless he had no choice. She wanted to ask if he was okay, if there was something she could do to help him, but she didn't know how he would take that and if he would see that she was sincere, or see her as just disrupting him as he tried to get to the Collected. She didn't want to be the cause of further irritation to him, so instead of responding, she just walked out of the room quietly.

After she exited the room and went down the hall, Lothuialil did have to cast another small illusion to make it past the barkeep so that he didn't know that she had tricked him. Once her illusion was complete and she was hidden until she got outside, she dropped it and entered the tavern as if she had been outside the whole time. The barkeep turned towards her and she was worried for a moment that she had been caught, but instead he just mentioned that the headmistress had arrived. She thanked him for the information and walked up the stairs. She released the seal on her room and entered to retrieve her things, choosing to ignore the orc at the end of the hall for the moment so that she could prepare her things. She made the assumption that he was the orc that Sebastian had mentioned, so she figured she could formally meet him later. She packed her things and slung her quiver and bow onto her back over her bag and left her room. When she left her room, she noticed that there was someone attempting to converse with the orc. Her looks instantly notified Lothuialil that she was a Sun Elf. Now, she personally had nothing against the sun elves, but she had found that most Sun Elves thought that the Moon Elves were lesser beings. She was not in the mood to deal with anything like that, so she made a beeline down the stairs and sat at a table by the door to wait to leave, putting off meeting the orc just a little longer.

 

[A Wild Kitsune]

Mood: "I'm excited about the big discovery, but also dissapointed by the fact that I can't right any of my observations down."

Items: A forget-me-not flower creature, Elm Ulmus Syringa's magical sheers

New Friend/Enemy: Karasu Camille~ {Nothing new but the character is always being updated in the cs section}

Interaction with: Karasu Camille played by Chiba
Sebastian Ramirov played by Literary Revenant

Story Through Flowers​

Forget Me Not​

Right Eye Occulus Flower​

Left Eye Occulus Flower​

"Hello you two... I imagine mine is the last 'face' you want to see, but it is time for you to meet Zerath. If you could forgive anything that I have done for a couple hours, I can take you to her. Come lets go, I really don't want to force you again. I'd rather not have you hate me too much. Sorta like black licorice right?! hahahaha! Come on Karasu, That ward should be weaker now, You can walk. Once we get to our location I'll treat you to some healing! Maybe even a drink! Ha ha ha!"

Cordelia frowned when she heard Sebastian's voice and quickly reached around for Collie. She froze and her frown turned into a scowl when she heard the word, "see." It was the fastest and easiest way to make some one who was blind irritated.

"What... On Earth... Is that?"

"Myo! Myo!" The flower creature cried and it jumped out of Cordelia's arms. It ran at Sebastian and whacked his shin repeatedly. The punches probably didn't hurt, as a flower like Collie probably couldn't hurt anything more than a fly.

Wait a voice? The flower had a voice? Come to think of it, the flower moved as though it had eyes as well. This was not only good news, but big news, to Cordelia! She would have to take note of this big discovery immediately. She believed that the reason for this creature having eyes and vocal abilities was probably because she was used to pouring a lot more mana into each individual creature, as well as much larger animals. A flower like this could potentially allow for major advance on her experiment. She had to go to her garden right away and record in her observation journal.

Oh right... She couldn't... She had no idea where she was, nor any chance of getting home to retrieve her books on her own. But perhaps.... Yes. Maybe she could ask for Karasu's help. Of course, Sebastian knew what she prioritized, and he wouldn't be off guard at all. She'd have to stay for at least a while for him to gradually ease up.

Plus there was no certainty that her neighbor would be willing to escape with her anyways. Once people saw her face to face, they often grew wary of her; avoided her; She still remembered what it was like when she had first became blind. Other children that would follow their parents into the shop would sometimes try to throw something at her face. It didn't take long for her parents to no longer allow her to help in the shop, which was when she began spending all of her time in the garden.

She stood up and picked up her pet. Standing in front of Sebastian, she could still feel the strong aura he gave off. It was as though the air itself vibrated around him. "It's name is Collector Sebastian Ramirov Jr, and was made from the life force of mold on a piece of bread being drained and transfered through the stem of the flower you gave me. A forget-me-not. I call it Collie for short. If you so much as damage a leaf or petal, I will try to kill you, even if it kills me. If this plant dies, my life is meaningless anyways. This is the biggest advance on my research, darling, I don't want it to go to waste."

She wished she could wear a mask the way Sebastian did. It was too risky to do so, as masks blocked sunlight, as well as they could potentially crush the flowers or roots. She reached a hand up to feel his, but thought better of it, and walked past him instead, into the hallway.

"So, where are you taking us now, Mr. Ramirov?"

 

[Chiba]

.

Karasu Camille

"I wonder. . ."​

Feelings: Reserved & Pleased ​

Site: Tired Tavern - Prison Hall ​

Tags: Cordelia Avem Syringa - A Wild Kitsune
Sebastian Ramirov - Literary Revenant ​

Text
Freedom

The sound of distant voices rang through Karasu’s ears, he could hear it, but not well enough to comprehend every word. He just laid on the bed, listening, waiting for what would happen next. Had Ramirov finally come here to release him and Cordelia from their imprisonment? Hopefully so, as Karasu had started to become ill of looking at the grey on the walls and ceiling for so long. Cordelia probably didn't fair well under these conditions as well. But without the sight of his vibrant arboretum back at his family estate he felt a steady increase of his distress and woe building up inside. His heart falls heavy in his woe as he closes his eyes to recite a quote in his mind.

”Free Birds are Culled from their home by the Hunter.”

Breaking the temporary silence was the resonance of something shattering in the hallway caused Karasu’s eyes to fling open. From the sound of the force Karasu imagined someone of a similar alignment was breaking Cordelia and him out. Once the noise reached his own cell door, Karasu sat up and looked to see who it was standing on the other side of the cell. Much to his surprise it was not someone he would consider “of a similar alignment,” for it was just his previous assailant, trespasser, and Collector Mr. Ramirov.

"Come on Karasu, That ward should be weaker now, You can walk. Once we get to our location I'll treat you to some healing! Maybe even a drink! Ha ha ha!" Sebastian joked.

Karasu frowned slightly at the sight of Ramirov who seemed rather jovial in his speech, a bit too jovial for his previous demeanor.

“It seems he already indulged in a drink or two before arriving here or could be his everyday mentality? Maybe he is in distress as well.“ He thought.

Karasu brought his body over the bed and stood up to make his way to the entrance. Just as Ramirov said, the ward had lessened in potency just as Ramirov stated, just enough to walk and push against the cell door to open it wider and still have enough energy to stand on his own. Karasu sighed and ran his fingers through his dark strands to straighten his bang that hung over his right eye slightly. It has been too long since he had looked into a mirror so Karasu's appearance would unquestionably lack in proper dress. So he straightened his sleeves and ran his hand down his white shirt to move most of the wrinkles out of it's material.

“Is this what freedom feels like?“ He whispered jokingly, stepping past Ramirov and Cordelia further into the middle of the hall.

Cordelia and Ramirov were facing each other, Karasu couldn't see Cordelia's facial appearance, which was a topic he had wanted to explore more once they were released, but it would seem like it would have to wait until a more convenient time. The atmosphere of these parts were irritating to the skin, making him feel as if something was constantly crawling over his body. He wanted to make a hasty retreat to the outside world.

"Pardon me, Ms. Cordelia, Collector, but shall we be on our way?" He spoke softly.

​

 

[Ashes to Ashes]

“Kolash Brelnor! Zerath is here. Dress and Steel yourself. Be out in four duels, and... sorry about door." Horingmar said quietly.

“Not a problem, Horingmar. It is not my door,” replied Ascelin with a fleeting smile. “I will be out momentarily. Perhaps then we can have that arm-wrestling match?” the young man continued while buckling his belt.

There was no answer, when Ascelin looked back at the door, Horingmar had already walked away. Smiling to himself silently, the towering man continued dressing himself, putting on a thin, light shirt of cream color over which he placed a dark brown sleeveless leather jerkin. His boots, heavy soled but supple and very obviously made to fit, slipped on his massive feet fluidly. He strapped them into place tightly with long leather laces. Dressed and almost ready, he quickly ran a comb through his beard and tied his hair back in a ponytail.

For a moment, he looked at his reflection in the mirror, a mirror which he had already rehanged so he did not have to stoop down anymore to see what was going on. The clothing he had purchased were a tad snug, but they were all he could afford after the boots. He jumped experimentally a few times, landing as softly as a cat. They were good boots. His father would have been proud that at least one of the life lessons imparted upon the young and impressionable Ascelin had stuck, despite all the experiences of years now past.

The young warrior had brought along what little items he had, amongst which were several staves, one of which he grabbed and inspected before walking to his door, seemingly satisfied that the weapon would do. He grabbed the door and lifted it up, placing it against the wall. Horingmar, sometime soon I will teach you the way to knock on doors not used to massive strength. Just like I was taught, Ascelin thought, smiling as he could almost feel his mind already settling in a berating statement. Somehow the young man doubted his words would impact the massive orc.

For a second, he stood in front of the now doorless doorway. He took a deep breath and found he felt something new stir inside. Excitement, perhaps? Apprehension? Definitely. Whatever the case, Ascelin knew he was about to set foot into a new world, a new adventure. However, there was one thing he knew from the time he was still with his family. These things are never, ever possible without politically influential people lending their power, be it by voice or by coin. Even as a teenager, Ascelin had hated the men and women who had come by their house, scoffing at all that Ascelin loved and treating those beneath them like they were owed allegiance. Perhaps that is why the young man had turned out the way he did, despite his hardships. A helping hand, regardless of status. No man, nor woman deserves to be left alone, not when the world was this wide and there was kindness in it. He, personally, would make a difference where he could, and this is where that story was to start.

He stepped outside, holding the staff vertically alongside him as he strode towards the waiting form of the orc and remembered the two taps to the chest. Though he did not know what it meant, he returned the gesture as he caught Horingmar’s eye, making a mental note to learn more about orcs and their culture. “What is expected of us, Horingmar? What are we to learn here?” he asked clearly, hoping for a concise and equally clear answer. “And where do we train? I have trained every single day for years and do not intend to stop now.”

 

[Literary Revenant]

The Fun Stuff is Below!

What is Control? Sebastian​

As Sebastian stared at the weird living plant thing, he found a strong resemblance to the Plant Golems that were at Coridelia's home. The only real difference that Sebastian noticed was that is was considerably smaller, and spoke. Or babbled, or made vocal sounds. It charged at him babbling "MYO MYO!!!!!" Beating his shins. His attacks were ferociously cute. No. Really, ferociously cute. It just beat his legs for a good few minutes before Flower Child finally picked up the yelling flower of death.

"It's name is Collector Sebastian Ramirov Jr, and was made from the life force of mold on a piece of bread being drained and transfered through the stem of the flower you gave me. A forget-me-not. I call it Collie for short. If you so much as damage a leaf or petal, I will try to kill you, even if it kills me. If this plant dies, my life is meaningless anyways. This is the biggest advance on my research, darling, I don't want it to go to waste." Coridelia responded, her posture elegant, yet her attitude aggressive. That showed in the slight tension in her body, her chest, legs, arms, face even. This... mini him flower, although it was important to Coridelia, was made from a peace offering. Coridelia proceeded to walk past him going to the hallway, she reached for his mask, even going so far as touching it; which terrified Sebastian. He thought for a moment that the mask would've been removed but thankfully it wasn't, likely because she simply was trying to find her way. But... How would she know where his face was to reach for the mask? Brushing that thought aside, he stared at Collie, the forget me not flower thing she had made. It may have been a gift, but that does NOT mean she could simply make a Golem and expect Sebastian Not to do something about it.

As Sebastian approached Coridelia, Karasu walked out from his cell. He was also not very happy to see him, but atleast his ward held strong. Not so strong that he couldn't walk, but if he had not been warded, Karasu could've easily escaped, as his cell was designed more for a muscled bandit than a skilled Sorcerer adept.

"Pardon me, Ms. Cordelia, Collector, but shall we be on our way?" he asked. Sebastian nodded yes, but held his hand up. Karasu stopped, tensing slightly.

"Stand back, Karasu. 'Miss Coridelia' needs to learn a lesson, nothing major i promise." Sebastian said

Sebastian turned back to the Flower Child, conjuring fire in his hands. The flame with of average appearance and intensity, it glowed orange and red, with tints of yellow. He struck her in the back, causing the flames to envelop her entire body, even little Collie. However, these flames didn't spread, they only felt mildly warm, like a warm bath. Collie made this horrible screeching sound. The poor guy must've been scared of fire, so to spare the little him flower being, Sebastian took him out of her hands, using a levitation magic to keep him in the air, suspending gently. Coridelia, now unsure what was happening, was panicking at the loss of Collie.

"Coridelia Aven Syringa, it is time you realized something." Sebastian said angrily, emphasizing that every word was serious in their intent. "You can feel the flames around you I am certain. Don't worry they can't burn you or the mini me flower, I made sure of that." Removing his leather gloves from his hands, Sebastian roughly grabbed Coridelia's hands, placing them in front of her as if she were praying, keeping them parted as if she was holding a ball. "Now, if I wanted to, I could make the flames dimmer, so they could barely be felt. I don't demand the flame to burn, I ask it to..." as he lectured, the flames grew incredibly dim, to the point where they might've even gone out if they weren't fueled by Arcane. "Now I could also make them warmer just as easily. That is not me demanding anything. As you imagine, flame doesn't like to listen, but I make it listen through persuasion. This is what magic is, persuading the Arcane to my will, very rarely do I Force it. Oh I did mention warmer." The flames then resurged, glowing bright, and growing hot enough to imitate boiling water causing Coridelia to cry out in pain, her body shaking. "[I[That[/I] is control. I may have given you that flower as my peace offering, but you cannot bring it to life and then demand that I cannot do anything to it. Because my little Flower Child..." Sebastian stopped, channeling the same frosty magic he had a few minutes earlier, his hands growing ice cold. In perhaps the most aggressive move Sebastian has ever made today, he clapped his hands against Flower Child's, causing them to also clap together making a huge slapping sound. "That is out of your control." he finished grimly.

The fire immediately dispelled, but the icy magic didn't dispel. The magic spread into her hands, making them shiver. What Sebastian has done was a punishment used against him in his time at the Magic Emporium after he himself had spoken back to any of his instructors. Coridelia Flower Child may not have been his student, but she did speak back to him in such a way that he had to prevent it from happening again. Coridelia stopped screaming but her body trembled. Whether this was due to fear or the cold magic he wasn't sure, but hopefully Sebastian's point was made. If she were to demand, or talk in such a manner to him again, it would happen again. Little Collie was gently placed back into her hands, as if an Angel put him in her hands. He gave Sebastian another "Myo Myo!" as he saw the masked man.

"Myo Myo? Is that my nickname?" Sebastian said to himself. Turning back to Karasu, who had now been thoroughly terrified, Sebastian spoke again. "I advise you not demand anything of me either. Its very rude, and I would rather not hurt you too again, its not entirely my nature." His previously happy attitude had now diminished, mainly because Sebastian had to use the Frostburne punishment used against Coridelia, it brought back horrible memories of the dozens of times it had happened to him.

The Collected followed him as Sebastian led them through the hidden pathway. Entering the Tired Tavern's main room, where Horingmar waited. All he had to do was wait for Zerath.​

Tiny Annoying Things. Horingmar

A small tanned lady elf person walked out from the hallway first. She had a certain regal...ness about her. Horingmar was told to not interact with her too much as she was special, atleast more special than previously thought. The full details were not entirely revealed, but apparently her family has bad experiences with Orcs like him. Fair enough reasoning. But he would've liked it better if he could atleast talk to the tiny things normally.

"You make quite the alarm, big boy." She commented once close to him. "I am glad they have some use for a man of your talents." She teased.

'Alarm? What is an Alarm?' Horingmar thought. It was odd that she called him Alarm. It made him huff, but still smile. He imagined that Alarm meant a good thing for the little beings, but he would need to consult his magic word book, known in other worlds as a "Dik Shun Naree". According to Zerath this book contains all the words of the Human language. Truly ... Absolutely.... BATTLE WORTHY! Imagine the Spelling Battles you can win with such a weapon!

And with weapons in mind... Horingmar looked down the hallway, seeing the warrior Ascelin. He was no tiny being, for he could tower over the other humans here with great ease. His weapon has surely defeated many Enemies for they were surely no match for a man of his strength. Yet his weapon of choice was a long... narrow... smooth... stick? While that stick was tall like him, it wouldn't stand a chance against his War Axe. WHY WOULD GIANT MAN CARRY TINY STICK FOR WEAPON!!! SHAMEFUL, WEAK, UNFORGIVABLE!!!! GRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH

But in his moment of anger, Horingmar remembered that Ascelin showed no fear both times he broke his door, and he himself was built like an Ineshtrogul. (Orcish Bull creature with 6 legs, 3 horns, and a bad temper rolled together with tremendous size.) If he hit someone with that stick, it could possibly be equal to Horingmar play punching his orcish comrades, which when done to humans and other such creatures often led to them taking naps.

"What is expected of us, Horingmar? What are we to learn here?” the Warrior asked. “And where do we train? I have trained every single day for years and do not intend to stop now."

He want to train and learn what they should be learning? How can one do that at same time? Horingmar was stunned by the questions briefly, looking for the right words in the human language to give an answer that should do the things asked of him.

"You are expected to be you. We not some errrr..... Hiyeee Skouuul. We are Safe Place. Sanctuary!" Horingmar said with surprisingly good pronunciation. "Simply answer when we are needed and not harm each other. What we teach is strength. Not of body or mind, but of community. Of Spirit." Horingmar said, his smile returning. "As for training... You can hit me! I'm strong and I don't break easily. Balgo, I'm more likely to break your stick before it does damage Breyehlnor" Horingmar jested happily.

Journey's End, Stories Beginning. Zerath

Sebastian had abruptly ended their conversation, it was saddening for her to see the bright young man she knew in so much pain. Heartbreaking to know that she can't do anything about it aside from killing him... again. Sebastian brushed past her, walking down the stairs to find the Collected, just as he said. Those words though... "I promise you this, if I feel that Brelnor is going to fully possess me, I will purge myself to protect you and this world"

To hear a man so young mention suicide was horrible. Even when she first met Sebastian, bleeding by a Frozen Dracas Tree in Frostburne, he was a frivolous man, finding some joy in everything he did. That man would not be so willing to throw himself away, leaving what's left of his soul to the black depths of Purgatory. What could have changed? There had to be something. Sebastian was strong though, not even an Old God would deter Sebastian from his purpose. Zerath clutched the bloodied handkerchief in her hand, feeling sympathy for Sebastian, wishing for ways to save him.

And just like that with a whip of her hair and a happy thought, she returned to her task at hand. Folding the handkerchief and placing it in her satchel; Zerath looked at herself in the mirror, fussing over her hair and clothes. Straightening her dress and repositioning her hair, she even pushed her breasts up slightly. Why? Just in case there were any easily excited men in the group. Men like that pay attention to women with lovely features. Zerath grabbed a small fan kept it closed in her hand as she walked down the stairs. By the looks of it, Sebastian wasn't done yet, but Horingmar's wake up roar did a job well done. Imrae was waiting in the Tavern, Ascelin was chatting with Horingmar; which Zerath didn't think was possible, and a young Elven lady was sitting alone at a table staring at Horingmar then in the direction of where the Collected were kept. The girl was tall, taller than herself, young maybe in her late teens or early 20s. What wasn't interesting was the girls hair. It was silver and white, characteristics of the moon elves but it also had black ends. Her hair definitely didn't start off black, and there was no way she was a Kalasiin for they had glowing eyes. Maybe it was the human in her. The human that Zerath could relate with! Zerath didn't know when she was there alone, but she could give her company.

"Hello there, Naleythan. (Voralian for honorable girl.) You must be Lothuialil Calithil that Sebastian brought in. He told me a little bit about you." Zerath said chipperly. The Elven girl looked at her and remained silent. Her eyes focused on Zerath, it was clear that she was paying attention, but maybe only because Zerath was talking and not because the girl cared for what she had to say." Oh forgive me, my manners evade me sometimes!" Zerath continued, her cheeks blushing slightly. "My name is Zerath Yavernsky, I am the Headmistress of what will be Ris'Saliance Aior. I am the big boss of the whole operation, at least in the eyes of the King. Therefore it is my job to know all of you, so that I may give you a more comfortable environment to grow your abilities. However, would you like to know some secrets about my friends?" Zerath asked, glancing slightly to keep an eye on the secret door.

"Horingmar over there, he actually wanted to be his Clan's Fool, a Jester before he took the call of a Warmonger. You might not see it but he carries a pink and white ribbon on the war axe, just below the head of the axe itself. For him, this symbolizes silliness and femininity." Zerath said leaning closer to whisper in Lothie's ear. "Yes, he actually wanted to be female in his childhood years." She snickered. "When I met him however, it was right after he succeeded his Father Koringmar as the Warmonger of Oruguun. Due to my previous history with Koringmar, Horingmar himself made me a Blood Brother. Why he didn't say Sister still eludes me, but while he might seem like a big scary grumplumpicous, he can be the gentlest soul in all Vian." Pausing for a moment, Zerath hesitated. Sebastian's secrets were mostly secret even to her and this young elf would likely not react well. Upon that reprisal, she had an idea!

"I hear that you already had a small interaction with our Collecter Sebastian. It's a shame he always hides his face behind that mask, he's a handsome man. Sometimes I think it's less of him trying to protect his identity, and more of him hiding his reactions from women. He always ends up in awkward situations with women, heck he almost kissed me when we first met!" Zerath said forcing a small laugh. "But I will be honest, he's been through a lot of pain. Torture, rejection, betrayal, dea..." she stopped herself. If she revealed That secret, little Lothuialil might reject Sebastian, or worse... "Denial..." Zerath said, Correcting herself.

"He is the Strongest Sorcerer in my command, and I trust him with my life. I hear that he's made some nicknames for you. Lothie, Quiet moon, and the like. I wonder if you have any nicknames for him..." As Zerath spoke, Sebastian walked back into the room with the Collected in tow. A refined young man, and a young woman with flower eyes. The girl was visibly shaken, which like everything else that has happened today, worries Zerath. "Looks like everyone is here! Excuse me but I gotta go!"

Zerath stood up from the table, pushing the chair back. Brushing herself past the drunken crowd, Zerath first spoke with the old bartender who stood behind his aged wood bar. Whispering in his ear, with a soft feminine, nurturing voice. The bartender, his face still marked by anger and decades of wrinkling caused by sunlight. Using the empty pewter mug he held in his hand as a makeshift gavel, his powerful voice cracked by age and drinking, the man bellowed.

"Alright, all 'o 'ye! Get out! We're closing down for a private party! Finish 'ye'er drinks and go! Now!! Or ye'el never be welcome again!"

The current bar patrons all groaned collectively. One couple was especially disappointed, apparently they had hoped for a ... bubbly honeymoon. Nevertheless, the Bartenders word were clear enough, men and women of all ages left the bar. Even the Bartender excused himself from the room, disappearing to Vaahii-knows-where. The only ones left were the Vaskoliir. Imrae Nathrien, Lothuialil Calithil, Ascelin Inmer, Karasu Camille, Coridelia Avem Syringa, and her own followers. Even after many rehearsals, Zerath still felt nervous. It was not some silly stage fright that a child may feel before a portrayal of Beauty of the Orc. These people, were incredibly powerful. Incredibly smart, talented, but they also were without a purpose. In artistic words they were a blank canvas, in practical words however they were dull blades. Dull blades under the control of the King. It was her duty to make them sharp, and now was the time to do so.

"Everyone! Friends and fellow Vaskoliir, my name is Zerath Yavernsky, the last surviving member of Aior's Brigade, and Headmistress of Ris'Saliance Aior. To all I you I give my best greetings." Zerath announced, standing as tall as her little body would allow. "My apologies for not having us meet in better accomadations, but ours is not the most supported movement in Vian, especially with the events of the Alveric War still fresh in the minds of many. I also extend my apologies to Sir Karasu Camille, and Miss Coridelia Syringa for their... situations." Karasu and Camille gazed at her with dark, angry eyes... and flowers. "To the volunteers, those who called to us so that you may have a better life, I answer your call. I shall lead you to our Sanctuary, an abandoned fortress called: Vengrazlii Halafraiz. Translating to 'Lingering Cloud of Frost' in the Dragon tongue.

Imrae scoffed at the word 'abandoned', but that would make sense. She is Alveric royalty, hearing that she is not being given the absolute best must be troubling for her to hear.

"Our journey starts today! We will be traveling by horseback for a week, but to get to the fortress itself, we will have to hike up an ancient path. With the help of Count Olverstein, the Fortress will be prepared and the path has been repaired to the best of their ability. I know you maybe wonder what is in store for us, but I ask for your trust now, until we arrive at the Fortress. Warm food will be waiting at our lodgings, as well as comfortable beds, but lastly what I am most excited for is the hot springs! Yes, even in Frostburne, there are places of great warmth. Sebastian shall lead us. Since he was born here, he knows these lands better than most, and he happens to have been to the Fortress before. Lead on, Brother." Upon hearing those words, Sebastian, still keeping the Collected in close beside him, walked up to the door, opening it to allow the Vaskoliir out while also letting the bitter cold air in.

"Come, we have a long journey ahead of us. We must hurry before the storm fully sets." Sebastian said, his voice muffled by the mask he wears.

"Storm, Sebastian?" Zerath asked, genuinely confused. Sebastian faced Zerath, his dirtied mask and bloodied robes still worrying her.

"Yes, Master Zerath. Storms are extremely common, here in the Homelands."

Spoiler: READ ME AFTER THE POSTS!

Interactions have been made with all players and characters. This is a longer post since I have to get things moving so I apologize for not leaving room for conversation. However, I am making a transition to our main location. The Fortress Vengrazlii Halafraiz. You may post reaction posts, but we as a group are currently doing a timejump for one week where we are transitioning to the hike up the mountain that leads to the Fortress. In this phase, I'd like for you all to make friends, with each other or with me, or you can simply do reactions to what I made. Once you have all responded atleast once, I will post the next phase. I promise, after what comes next I will be allowing for greater freedoms to you and I won't be controlling your characters to this extent. Have fun, and I Remember, MAKE FRIENDS! - Aelia

RemnantsOfShadows ThatGuyWithSouvlaki Chiba A Wild Kitsune Ashes to Ashes

 

[Ashes to Ashes]

“I can hit you? Well, that’s not the training I had in mind. If that, however, is a challenge to a duel of skill, Horingmar, you will find that I am quite capable of holding my ground, even against an adversary such as yourself. As for my stick, as you so kindly call it, it can and has stood up to swords, axes and hammers and come out on top. A weapon is only as good as its wielder, wouldn’t you say?”

The orc did not respond immediately, but his eyes did brighten at the mention of a duel and for the first time, Ascelin tensed up slightly and raised his hand. “At a later date and a different place, Horingmar. First, we drink.”

Horingmar led the small group of what Ascelin presumed to be volunteers, like himself, to the tavern without any trouble. Somehow, the young man felt that if there were to be any trouble, it would be met with the patience of a dull backhand from the massive orc, followed by implicit obedience from all those who bore witness to it. As they walked, Ascelin looked at his companions properly. The elven lady seemed young, though his experience with that particular race left much to be desired to say the least. Despite her age, she held herself with grace that seemed natural. The look on her face was one of… what was it, exactly? Anger? Joy? Neutrality? He couldn’t begin to even make a guess and decided against it. To him, the elf was unreadable, for now.

As they arrived in the main room of the tavern, Ascelin was pleasantly surprised to see that they were not alone. Several tables held drinks on them and sat around them were people happily drinking, laughing and talking. The group seated themselves at a table where Ascelin continued to speak with Horingmar, intrigued by the brutish manner of the orc beneath which, the young man felt, was so much more. There was a depth there which had him hooked. Add to that the fact that Horingmar told a good story, and Ascelin was quite happy.

When Ascelin noticed that a masked man whom he had not yet met had also joined the party, he felt that standing up and introducing himself to that particular individual might be met with a less than courteous answer, so he decided to leave him be. The two who had walked in with him, a girl with flowers for eyes and a man who looked less than excited to be here, were eyed a little confusedly by Ascelin. The man seemed normal enough, if a little miffed, but that girl and those eyes. Unique was hardly a worthy description of her, but it was all he could think of at that moment.

Then, Zerath came in and the tavern emptied, much to the fighter’s dismay. She gave a speech and Ascelin was a little disappointed that they would have to travel for a week before reaching where they would be going, but at the same time he was excited. Things were happening, they were reaching their goal. As he walked back to his room to quickly gather his belongings into a leather rucksack, he suddenly realized what Zerath had said. Traveling by horseback. He shrugged as he walked back down, hoping the bartender would not make a fuss about the unhinged door. How hard could horseback riding really be?

He arrived downstairs again and spoke to Lothuialil. “Excuse me, little miss, but I am forced to admit being completely and utterly clueless on the topic of horses, never mind riding one. Is there a trick to it, per chance?”



RemnantsOfShadows

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Lothuialil Calithil
​

Lothie was removed from her thoughts by the soft voice of a woman. She listened to her speaking with attention, noting the elven greeting, but she was trying to catch up a little with the conversation because she was surprised that someone was actually talking to her. When she learned who the mysterious woman was, she made to stand up to properly greet her, but the woman, Headmistress Zerath, continued talking, seeming to want to hold a discussion. By the way that Zerath acted, Lothie was fairly certain that not many people knew the information that Zerath was telling her. She listened intently, not wanting to disturb her headmistress, but continued to be confused as to why she was talking to her. She figured she was being kind and nodded along with each piece of information that she received. She smiled faintly when Zerath mentioned Horingmar's ambitions, but decided that that was probably rude of her even though he wasn't paying attention to her, so her smile vanished for a moment, only to be replaced shortly after. She found herself with a rare feeling: happiness. Zerath seemed so ecstatic to talk about her colleagues, so Lothie was willing to listen, it was nice to be around some happy energy.

When Zerath switched the topic to Sebastian, a frown appeared for a moment. She was worried about him because of the condition that she had last seen him in. Her frown turned into a smile briefly, she was trying to show at least minimal emotion so that Zerath wouldn't find her too weird. She was smiling because of the nickname that she had received and that Sebastian had talked about her. It seemed as though he had not said anything very bad about her, or she supposed that Zerath wouldn't have been so kind to her. When the headmistress questioned her on any nicknames she might have had for Sebastian, she debated telling the woman about the possible nickname of Frost, but before she could, Zerath was off and making a speech when she caught sight of Sebastian and the Collected. Lothie took in the sight of Sebastian's disheveled appearance, as well as an odd magical energy that she felt, though she wasn't quite sure what it was, and she again wanted to ask him many questions, but didn't. Instead, her attention was grabbed by the two Collected, one girl with eyes for flowers, and one with a strange magic around him. Lothie could also see that they were both not exactly pleased with the situation, that the flower-eyed girl seemed out of sorts for some reason and was shivering, and that the man could probably break her in half. She had a similar impression of tall and muscular man that followed the Orc. She seemed to be in the company of very strong people, though she had expected that. The last volunteer shocked her slightly, for she recognized her, the princess of the sun elves. Had she been much for expressions, which she had suppressed again once Zerath had left her side, her eyes probably would have widened greatly. She decided that based off of everyone else's seemingly lack of recognition, she might be wrong about her guess. She tried to ignore her possible knowledge and chose to hide it, she didn't want to cause any trouble for the leaders, the possible princess, or herself. Instead, she turned her attention back to Zerath.

When Zerath finished her speech, Lothie picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder, followed by her quiver and bow. She absently thought about the fact that her nickname of "Frost" for Sebastian seemed to fit more considering he was from a cold climate. She then refocused her attention to following the lead of the Sebastian and the others and headed to the horses outside. She pulled up her hood to shelter herself from the slight wind then walked to the group of horses. As she approached a horse, preparing to get on it, she was halted by another voice, this time a male's. She turned around to find the tall male human volunteer approaching and talking to her. She was not fond of the being called "little miss" but she didn't outright say it. Her lack of socialization became evident again as she was silent for a moment, trying to form a response while trying to read him, as she tended to do when she met new people. She was part elf, and therefore taller than the average human girl, but this man seemed taller than the average human male, perhaps the same height as a few male elves she had met. He seemed kind in his greeting, so she didn't feel threatened, so she came to the conclusion that he was simply asking for advice.

"I would prefer if you called me by my name rather than little miss. You can call me Lothie and it is a pleasure to meet you." she said kindly, hoping that voicing her displeasure at what he had called her didn't seem out of a lot of anger and was pleased when he told her his name in return. She focused on his question again. At least the topic was something she could discuss. She was quite fond of horses. She turned and took the reins of the black horse with a gray mane that she had chosen and led it a few feet away to another horse that was bigger. She turned to the boy and addressed him, taking an unnoticeable calming breath to prepare herself to try to speak normally. She had done so with her friends at home, with Sebastian, and would have with the headmistress, so she was at least slightly prepared.

"I would re-recommend that you ride this horse." she stated, mentally chastising herself for stuttering, so she became more determined and calmed herself and relaxed, which showed as she loosened her grip on her horse's reins slightly. She looked at Ascelin and offered a friendly smile, she could try to get used to smiling a little more. Sebastian and Zerath had seemed to approve of it, so she would try her best.

"I think the best tip is to find a horse that fits your size." she stated and nodded towards the muscular brown horse that she had suggested. She was quite attune with animals. She couldn't read their minds, but she guessed that the brown horse seemed calm, and it didn't shift much when being approached, so it seemed even tempered, a good horse for a beginner. She took its reins as well and carefully led the horse to Ascelin and handed him the reins, noting again that the horse seemed calm. That was a little bit of a contrast to hers, who was spooked a little by all of the commotion, so Lothie patted her side softly in long strokes, which seemed to have a calming effect on her horse, then she redirected her attention back to Ascelin again.

"Riding is not very hard, especially at a travelling pace, so I think I can help. To mount the horse, just put your foot in the stirrup and push yourself up. Make sure to not propel off of it too hard, or it may hurt your horse and send you tumbling off of the other side." she stated as she mounted her horse in one fluid motion, settling into the saddle easily. It was actually almost strange for her to have such a nice saddle, most of the saddles that she was allowed to use at home were more worn out. She turned to the man and waited expectantly for him to mount his horse. After a few tries, he was able to mount the horse. She patiently explained that he had to nudge the horse slightly with his heels to get the horse to start to walk and to use the reins to direct it and provided an example by leading her horse in a small trot then returning to his side. Ascelin learned quickly that the horse could be angered if he used too much pressure, as he did so the first time, so he quickly figured out how to properly spur the horse forward and guide it with the reins.

"That was really good. I think we are ready to leave, so I don't think we have much more time to practice. Maybe we can ride next to each other, so I can help if something goes awry?" she offered kindly, happy when he accepted the offer. They trailed a little behind the others, but kept pace to make sure they wouldn't fall behind. She smiled softly for just a moment as they began to ride, her spirits lifted slightly by horseback riding, bringing back a few fond memories of her childhood. She made sure to turn her attention to Ascelin if something went a little wrong and offered a few more small tips if he needed them. She made a little small talk, interested in the prospect of perhaps another friend, so when they dismounted the horses, which she also offered a few tips on, she continued to walk by his side as they hiked up the mountain, this time able to stay right by the rest of the group.

Ashes to Ashes

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

Imrae held back a chuckle when the orc seemingly silence at her words, guessing it was the orcs misunderstanding her meaning and maybe even thinking it as a genuine compliment. She knew now she would have a lot of fun at the orcs expense, though she had to dread carefully. She had noted when the other student stepped out and asked about their training, that the orc showed some form of education or at least an attempt to better his intelligence. She found very debatable how far an orc can be trained that way but than again dogs some incredibly smart things when trained long enough. Still she was curious to see what he was capable both mentaly and martially, she would have to see if she could spar with him at some point.

She noted also the man that came up to the orc as well as the small group the seemed to have formed around her and the orc was guided to the form. Another muscle with no or little brains or magical ability which made her roll her eyes, she had hoped that would be more like Sabestian in the academy but it seemed so far he and herself were a minority here. Still from what he saw of Ascelin, he seemed kind and the ruggedness of his appearance had its charm, both can be indeed goo though she hoped it was in moderation.

On arrival to the Tavern, she took a seat alone at one of the tables and waited for something to happened. She didnt mind being alone expecting it knowing how sun elves are viewed and even welcomed in, there was a freedom in being alone at such times. She could act within reason without interuption and could take her time and observe everyone trying to find out as much as she could. She had finally notice the moon elf and she had to admit she was curious about her, she read only a little about the sun elves dark cousins, mostly that they were lesser than sun, and wanted to know more. There was something exotic about them she could help feel a little intrigued.

Than there came the one person came that really caught her eye, the chance to meet this person was the one of the main reason she decided to accept coming here. Zerath. The heroine of legend who defeated the Sun Elves. Imrae found her an impressive and beautiful sight and couldnt help feel a little awe at her, it was an incomfortable feeling for Imrae and she didnt like it but couldnt help it. Logicaly Zerath was little different than any other human female apart from her pretty appearance and should display the power she did. Imrae showed little of these thought remaining silent with her usual air of intitlement and arrogance. She listened at Zerath speak curiously and scoffed at the further explanation of what was to come. The people seemed interesting so far but the academy itself leaves something to be desire and there was still no word for training. Not to mention the prospect of more traveling. She groaned once more as she stood wanting this to be done as soon as possible.

 

[Literary Revenant]

Thoughts of Love and Beginnings. Sebastian​

It just was not fair. Sebastian had been working his Half dead ass off for the entire week in both Collections, and Acceptances. His Inner Robes were stained by blood and sweat, his mask was in desperate need of a polish, and he himself hadn't bathed since his return from Alver with Imrae. Part of him wished that he were in Alver right now, warm air, water everywhere and apparently they also had public bathing houses that could be used by all. That way he would be slightly more presentable but things don't always go as planned, if ever. Sebastian led the Collected outside, where a small gallop of horses waited for the soon to be 'students'. Making sure to keep one hand on Flower Child so she would not fall or get lost, Sebastian picked her up, gently helping her onto a smaller mare known as Burgun, Frostburne for Stone-Eyes. As for Karasu, he led him to his own personal horse, a giant muscular stallion with a gray spotted coat he called Hail.

Hail was no ordinary horse, Hail was a smart horse, a strong horse. But what was most important of all, Hail was a Frostburne horse. Many horses, especially some fancy city breeds, although they look pretty, cannot walk for more than a mile without grain or water. Hail could easily travel the full week on a smaller ration. Sebastian's favorite thing about Hail was that Hail always knew what to expect from Sebastian. If he were drunk, that horse would shake him off to prevent any road accidents. If Sebastian was tired, Hail would travel slow and steady to allow him some time to rest. Lastly, Gods forbid if Sebastian was gravely wounded, an unlikely scenario for a Revenant, Hail would run faster than any other creature alive just to get him to safty and healing. As Sebastian approached with Karasu, Hail snorted in greeting to his friend.

"Eohinii Hail, I'm glad to see you too." Sebastian said quietly, stroking the great horse along his face. "Hop on Karasu, Hail is my best horse, and I'd rather have you not hurt yourself. That Ward will cause trouble if its agitated. Once we get to the Fortress I'll see to weakening it." Redirecting his focus to Coridelia, he saw that she was cold, shivering even. Snow had begun to fall from the sky, small tufts of white in a normally brown world; caressing the sky as they slowly dropped to the earth below.

Glancing at his outer jacket, seeing that it was not too dirty, Sebastian pulled it off of himself using his White Flame to cleanse any blood or filth from it. This was not as thorough as a proper wash, but it would not have too much Liquid Sebastian on it. Approaching her calmly, Sebastian first lightly tugged on Coridelia's dress letting her know that he was there and then held up the jacket to her. The cold weather was screaming for him to not give up his source of warmth. However, he may have been partially soulless, but Sebastian was not Heartless. He would not allow this girl to suffer the harsh cold of the Frostburne lands he had grown up in.

"Take it Coridelia. It is going to get colder up the mountain until we reach the Fortress." He said politely. Coridelia turned his head away from him, angrily in fact. It was his fault for using the Frostburne Clap on her, but in his mind she deserved it. Still, it was another form of sadness for him, another soul hating him for simply doing what was needed of him in this harsh existence. "Look, I am not your enemy, I never was. But if you don't take it you, your flower eyes, and little Collie..." As Sebastian said: Collie, the little golem glanced at him yelling 'Myo!' "will freeze. Please, take it." It took her a bit, but she did take the jacket. Loosely throwing it onto herself, both angry and somewhat grateful, and perhaps also a little embarassed.

Next up, he wanted to tend to little Lothie. He was a tad harsh on her earlier, but when he looked to find her, she had been teaching Ascelin how to ride a horse. It was a rather amusing sight seeing the giant man balance himself on the average size horse.

For some reason, he found himself staring at Lothie. Almost as if he were admiring her, which was not hard to do. Even on horseback she was a sight to behold. Tall slender legs that were slightly muscular due to years in the forest, an excellent figure that was both athletic and feminine, her lovely silver-blacktipped hair now gently blowing in the soft winds; all of them could easily be admired for hours but what Sebastian admired most of all was her face. Her face was like his mask. Blank, emotionless, almost pained. When he saw her, he almost saw himself. A young soul pained by a lifetime of harshness and cruelties. A soul gifted with the magical arts, but also a soul of one who cares for others. If he perhaps were an elf and a Voralian one at that maybe she would take notice of him.

A hot flush fell over his face. What was he thinking!? There was no possible way she could like, or ever love him. Yet his heart raced, beating faster and faster with each moment he thought of her. He found himself panting, and imagined that he was blushing immensely. Thankfully with a Silvethiin mask no one can see whats behind it! Still it almost felt like he was complete, that he had emotions, feelings that he normally cannot feel. Feelings... Was this what joy felt like? Happiness? What is happiness? Simply seeing someone you like or doing something you enjoy? Or is it perhaps something else? It was then he realized something... Sebastian was a Revenant. By Magical, and Spiritual fact he could not feel emotions. He is nothing but a broken vessel with a partial soul. Realizing this made a tear form in his left eye, which he took care of with a small blink, allowing it to roll down his face.

Getting past that slight emberassment and sadness, Sebastian walked towards the front of the group, and began to lead the group on foot. There was no need for a horse when you are a Revenant. Technically you are partially dead at that rate, and you don't need rest. His breath was becoming visible in the colder weather, and he now regretted giving up his jacket. It would be one of many hardships to come in the coming week, but he would endure it so that these Vaskoliir, these Gifted Souls could reach their Sanctuary.

​

Now he marched along the path towards the Fortress, Horingmar running to catch up and walk beside him. Being next to the Giant Orc gave him some comfort, no Frostburne Dire Wolves would dare challenge them then. But For the Collected, the volunteers, for Lothie and Zerath, this would be a new beginning of something grand. And that would be the start of an amazing story.​

RemnantsOfShadows Chiba ThatGuyWithSouvlaki Ashes to Ashes A Wild Kitsune

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Lothuialil Calithil
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Lothie was enjoying the travelling, but there was something still sad inside her. Her village may have been a hostile place, but the further she got from it, the more she felt a distance growing between her and the ones that were kind to her, from her friends, from her mother, and from the memories of her father that her family brought with them. She slid some of her hair over her shoulder and looked at the black ends. 'Just like father's hair' she thought to herself. A few seconds later, a snowflake landed on her hand and melted, followed by a few more that started to land on her cloak. Lothie smiled, she loved the snow and the cold. The Voralian forest wasn't always as cold as it was here, but she loved when the winter set in and coated the forest in a white blanket and turned the smaller trees into ice sculptures that sparkled in the light. She turned and looked at Ascelin. His clothes seemed to be helping him against the cold, but it was a little funny to her to see the tall man seem to get a few gems in his hair before the snow melted. She giggled slightly, a foreign action that stopped abruptly when her mind caught up with her action and her facial expression returned to neutral. When Ascelin turned to her, she just explained the snow in his hair and earned a smile in return. She was happy that he wasn't angered. Lothie looked towards the others to see how they were responding to the snow.

The sun elf seemed cold, but it also appeared that her clothes were of a thick material and well-made, and in layers, it seemed the sun elf clothing could provide warmth. The man who was collected seemed to have a face of decent irritation, but at the same time uncaring, but she wasn't completely certain. At least he seemed mostly warm. The flower girl seemed to be indifferent, but Lothie noticed that she had a familiar jacket on and when she looked forward, she noticed Sebastian's lack of a jacket. 'Yeah, no heart huh?' she thought, finding her gaze lingering on Sebastian's back for a moment. 'Maybe he just doesn't see his kindness.' she decided. Her gaze then fell to Zerath. Lothie couldn't help but notice the height difference as she stood next to Horingmar and Sebastian, but she was certain that the warrior made up for her lack of height in strength and leadership. Finally, her gaze moved to Horingmar, the orc she had yet to meet. She felt a little bad about not greeting him before, but she had wanted to avoid any negative interactions with the sun elf, just in case, and to be frank, she was still socially awkward and she had never spoken with an orc before. She might even go as far as to say that she was more intimidated by him than when she first met Sebastian. She decided that he must be kind if Zerath spoke highly of him and trusted him. According to Zerath, he also had a kind heart that he just didn't always show. She made up her mind to introduce herself. She was going to ask Ascelin to hold Snowflake's reins, as she had decided to name the horse, even though it wasn't really hers, but when she moved the reins to hand them to Ascelin and ask him if it was okay, the horse seemed to spook and back up. Lothie quickly retracted the reins and patted the horse then stroked its mane to calm her. The horse seemed to calm at her touch. "Well it looks like I made at least one new friend." Lothie whispered to the horse as she guided it towards the front of the group, travelling around the edge of it so as not to disrupt the others. She also rummaged in her bag for an extra cloak, which she quickly found, then replaced her bag, bow, and quiver on her back.

When Lothie made it to the front of the group her voice caught for a moment when the three leaders looked at her, but she looked up at the Orc, determined to not lose her confidence. She was glad that he was on one of the sides of Sebastian while Zerath was on the other so that she wasn't in their way while they walked. She started to walk backwards so that she could face the orc properly, easily finding her footing, and even though she had only known Snowflake for just over a week, she trusted the horse to stop her from hurting herself as the horse carefully stepped behind her a few paces. Lothie's face was reddened by the wind, so at least she didn't have to worry about it being obvious that she was blushing from embarrassment and the attention. It still took a second of looking up at the tall orc to find her words, but she soon did and spoke to him.

"Hello, my name is Lothuialil, but you can call me Lothie." She said then realized after a quick second that she probably needed to say more. "I want to apologize for not greeting you earlier. I understand that you tried to gather all of the volunteers at the tavern, but I... did not respond to your call right away." she said carefully then thought about the hallway, where she still could have greeted him, but she didn't want to admit that, she was a tad too stubborn.

"I should have greeted you before we left the tavern, but I forgot. Headmistress Zerath and Sebastian have told me that your name is Horingmar. I am very pleased to meet you." she said and placed a kind smile on her face. She was also happy with herself that she hadn't stuttered at all. She waited for some sort of response from the Orc, hoping that he accepted her apology and her greeting. As she waited, she remembered the cloak in her hands, and her expression shifted to contemplative. It was rather big, as it was a travelling cloak and moon elf made to last a long time. She looked at Sebastian briefly, but was unsure of how to offer it to him. She was still wary that he might be mad at her for listening to the collected, so she was nervous to talk to him and worried that he wouldn't accept the cloak, at least for the remainder of the journey. He was hard to read, but for some reason, she seemed intent on figuring him out.

Lothie was always good at puzzles, but something seemed to be between her and Sebastian, and it wasn't just his mask. She wanted to figure out what that was. She found that she cared for him and his well being, despite not quite knowing why she seemed to worry about him a little more than the others. Some emotion lingered at the periphery of her other emotions, but it felt foreign, something she hadn't felt for anyone before, at least in the same way. She pushed that thought away and focused on her main thoughts that were a little less confusing. She was certain he was cold, but he had still given his cloak away. She didn't want him to be cold, she was worried about his well-being. She gripped the cloak a little more, trying to just ready herself to offer it to him. She wasn't sure why, but she felt embarrassed to offer him something. However, she also wanted him to know that she cared for his well being and cared about, well... him. She also worried about his opinion of her, which was strange. Just a few weeks ago, she had only cared about her opinion of herself and the opinions of her family and close friends because they knew her, yet she cared about his opinion after knowing him for such a short time. It wasn't like she needed someone's approval for her to be content with herself, but she liked when people did accept her, and she really wanted Sebastian to accept her for some reason. She liked Sebastian. She wasn't sure to what extent, but she admired him and was thankful for his kindness. He probably didn't know it, but he was the first person in a long time to not just look at her with disdain when they met. His happiness when she accepted his nickname had made her happy too. She liked how he really was kind, but seemed afraid to show it. She liked how much he was willing to show admiration for his friends and support their strengths, all without drawing attention to the strength she guessed he possessed. He seemed to have a selfless streak, a little like hers , at least as her mother thought she had, but no one saw that side of him really. She wanted to know more about him. She wanted to be a close friend of his. 'Maybe something more?' That thought popped into her head uninvited. Who would seriously like a halfling like her, some disappointment to her backgrounds, both human and elven. She quickly pushed that thought away, trying to restrict that hope that sprung up when she had thought that Sebastian could like her. She had become accustomed to not being too hopeful and always being wary. She felt the hope dissipate, but she knew it wasn't gone no matter how much she denied it. She cleared her mind and focused on the cloak again.

After a moment of contemplation, Lothie glanced at Zerath, who seemed to understand what she was trying to do, and gave her an encouraging smile and made a small tossing motion. Lothie decided that she would probably grow to be friends with Zerath, if she was allowed to be friends with her. Lothie nodded almost imperceptibly and tossed the cloak to Zerath after placing a slight shield spell over it that acted as a cover. She was kind, but she didn't want Sebastian's blood to get on the cloak. She was sure that it wouldn't be much longer before they got to the fortress, so she wasn't too worried about using her magic. Zerath then placed the cloak around Sebastian's shoulders before he had a chance to respond, all the while with a goofy grin on her face. Lothie offered her a small, brief smile in gratitude for helping her in her awkwardness. Lothie avoided looking at Sebastian and returned her gaze to Horingmar. She took a few more steps back, Snowflake adjusting her steps accordingly, seemingly in tune with Lothie already. It was easier and less straining on Lothie's neck to look at Horingmar if she was a little further away. She briefly considered remounting her horse to decrease the height difference, but decided that that might make the encounter even more awkward, so she settled with offering him one of her genuine smiles from where she stood slightly in front of him.

Ashes to Ashes Literary Revenant

 

[Literary Revenant]

Learning Truths and Meeting Moons. Horingmar.

Cold. Frostburne is Cold. Horingmar was born in Chatgo, a village that rested in the western forested mountains of Oruguun. A cold day was often cool, comparable to an early fall midday, and nowhere near as cold as it was here. Maybe that was why humans fight wars all the time, to control the warm lands. They did win against the Sun Elves, but they don't seem any warmer. Once Zerath finished her speech, Sebastian led them outside where horses were waiting for everyone. Almost everyone, there was no horse for Horingmar! All these creatures were puny, more fit for herding and eating rather than riding. Even the biggest horse there was too small, only an Ineshtrogul could carry him, but bringing one to Joten would be too 'expensive'. Horingmar understood that, many lives would be lost if a Bull Ineshtrogul was transported. Like him, they are strong!

Now all the students had found horses, Ascelin seemed unsteady on his. Horses, like weapons, take time to Master. Young Imrae was obviously reluctant about the trip. Humans who read this, Let Horingmar something tell you!!! Reluctance is weakness, weakness in confidence! Confidence will defeat reluctance, like my axe could defeat Giants!! Grah with me! GRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Alright back to post.
Imrae sun elf clearly disliked this entire experience. Was she spy? Would she betray Vaskoliir? Did she choose to be here? Too many questions!!! Horingmar can't handle this many question! He need ANSWERS! Maybe Sebastian and Zerath have answers, so he ask them! Horingmar walked swiftly towards Sebastian, who led the group on foot and without a jacket. Foolish, but Sebastian was the only one who has beaten Horingmar with his combination of Magic and Martial skill. Even in odd moments like this he would respect him.

"Kolash Ishta Brel'Nohr! (Greetings perfect warrior) I want Talk!" Horingmar bellowed tapping his chest twice and then slapping his arm, his thunderous voice heard by all. He caught up to Sebastian, now walking besides him, with the war axe in hand. "Imrae, can you tell me about her? Zerath hasn't shared detail." Sebastian glanced at Horingmar, his mask not revealing much about his thoughts.

"The Sun elf? Well she is a sorceress, not like me; she prefers a form of Martial Combat magic instead of a Spell based magic like my own. Her family... Is very rich and powerful." Sebastian said.
"Name." Horingmar grunted. Puzzled, Sebastian pulled his neck back, slightly confused by the question.
"What?" Sebastian asked.
"Name, what is Imrae's full name?"

"Imrae Nathrien." Zerath interrupted. Both Horingmar and Sebastian turned around to see her on horseback. Even then, Horingmar was almost taller than Zerath on Horseback, one blessing about being an Orcish Warmonger. "Imrae Nathrien, Granddaughter of Elzaniel Nathrien, and daughter of Galerien Nathrien, Emperor of the Alveric Empire."

Upon hearing this, Horingmar felt almost uncontrollably angry, he had to fight against Elzaniel in the War. Hearing Imrae was directly descended from Elzaniel, there was no amount of 'Grah' that could display his anger. Zerath's reasoning for this had to be extremely good. Noticing the potential for his large friend to explode, Sebastian slowed down, giving himself some distance between the giant green muscle bomb. Good reason? As in irrefutably good, like when he needed to succeed his father Koringmar, or when Sebastian escaped his own execution. However, before Horingmar could ask further questions, another elf made an appearance. Horingmar did not recognize this one, if she was a Vaskoliir then he hadn't met her. This elf did not look fully elven, she was tinier. Her hair had two colors. And perhaps the most upsetting thing was her lack of emotion. Horingmar couldn't judge whether he should smile or growl, so he simply waited, staring at the tiny young girl elf thing that he could crush with his pinkie. The elf moved with steady footing and dexterity such that Horingmar could never have. Hell it was hard enough for him to walk forward in some cases.

"Hello, my name is Lothuialil, but you can call me Lothie." 'Lah thee? Sounds like a Lao Tea(Orcish tea, equivalent to a dirty chai.) Is she a servant of Lao Tea? Where's the tea?' these thoughts ran through Horingmar's dull mind. "I want to apologize for not greeting you earlier. I understand that you tried to gather all of the volunteers at the tavern, but I... did not respond to your call right away." Volunteer? OH! SHE MUST'VE BEEN SLEEPING! Through his War Cry? Was she deaf? This elf thing brought too many questions. "I should have greeted before we left the tavern, but I forgot. Headmistress Zerath and Sebastian have told me that your name is Horingmar. I am very pleased to meet you."

Hearing his name prompted a proper Orcish greeting. Horingmar made a fist with his left hand and tapped his check twice, immediately following it up with a tap on his weapon. In Orcish culture, beating ones self meant that they would not harm another in this meeting, and the tap on the weapon meant that the person being addressed was being honored to a level where an Orc would not raise his weapon. Meanwhile, Zerath had taken something from the girl, or the girl gave her something. He couldn't tell! Afterwards she escaped, along with Sebastian.

"Kolash Ratknor (Greetings Rising Weapon), Lao Tea. I am honored to meet you too!" Horingmar said, surprisingly quietly. "You need to be calm, forgetting is bad like when you forget to sharpen an axe, but when you er.... Sharpen the axe... I er... Forgot what to say." He grumbled. "Forget that! We meet now! What can I do for you?" He asked, showing his famous smile.

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(WoW Picture looked best. It also belongs to Blizzard. I didn't make it, they did!)

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[RemnantsOfShadows]

Lothuialil Calithil
​

Lothie was temporarily shocked when all of a sudden the Orc hit his own chest twice then tapped his weapon. Her hand reached slightly back towards her sword, but she quickly stopped and had her arms fall to her sides as she tried to figure out what to do. She had seen him make a similar gesture to Ascelin at the inn, so it seemed to be some greeting. She had read books about orcs, but had never actually spoken with one, so she was trying to figure out what to do. It was a task that the shy girl had never encountered before, there weren't exactly a lot of orcs in the Voralian forest. She had gotten made fun of for reading about the orcs because others found it useless because the chance of a moon elf meeting one out of chance was very small. She supposed they couldn't say anything about it now as she tried to think of anything she remembered. She was thinking of his actions and what she had heard him say at the inn at all and focused on not letting herself be intimidated. She considered his movements with the fact that he was greeting her and decided that it was some gesture of respect or greeting. She wasn't sure which one, but she decided it would be rude to not reciprocate his greeting. She was sure she was about to look like an utter fool, but she could at least try. Lothie mirrored Horingmar's previous action. She tapped her chest twice with her left fist and then tapped her leaf shaped sword at her side. She hoped that she had not somehow offended him, but she decided that she should be confident that she had read the situation correctly.

"Le Hannon (formal thank you)." she stated. It almost felt strange to speak elvish outside of her town, especially since she knew that Horingmar had no idea what she said. Then again, she didn't know what "Kolash Ratknor" meant, so she decided it would be a show of trust to just go along with it. Based off of how he spoke the human language, Lothie guessed that Lao Tea was probably a pronunciation mistake of her nickname "Low thee," but she could ignore that, he was still learning she guessed. Being called a type of tea wasn't exactly an insult, at least she was pretty sure it wasn't. She wondered what would happen if he tried to say her full name.

Lothie hadn't really thought about what she would do after she introduced herself. She had planned on retreating to the back of the group again, but Horingmar seemed to be expecting her to ask him something. She was a little nervous, but she thought about what he said. Although he had messed up his own expression, she got the gist that it was supposed to be about staying calm.

"Well, is there anything about yourself that you would like me to know, or visa-versa-" she said, but didn't know if he would know what that phrase meant, so she changed the last bit "or anything you would like to know about me?" Lothie asked.

 

[Chiba]

.

Karasu Camille

". . ."​

Feelings: Uncomfortable ​

Site: Tired Tavern - Traveling Outside ​

Tags: Cordelia Avem Syringa - A Wild Kitsune
Sebastian Ramirov - Literary Revenant
Lothuialil Calithil - RemnantsOfShadows
Ascelin Immer - Ashes to Ashes
Imrae Nanthrien - ThatGuyWithSouvlaki ​

Post Below!
Departure

Karasu had catch a quick glimpse of the the rest who were volunteers here while listening to speech given by Zerath, who he eyed ferociously when she called him out. He disregarded it all and instead waited for further instructions to leave. Once they did, almost immediately, Karasu's arms began to feel like frost twigs from the bone chilling air that rushed through the opened door.

Having to wait for more than five seconds would probably the worst part to him; letting the cold air abuse his being while clueless to the next move was an ideal medium of torture. As the group was led to a cluster of horses and some taking the advantage to pick and choose a horse of their liking.

Unlike the rest, Karasu and Cordelia had been led by Ramirov to a horse he assigned to them. Cordelia to a mare, considerably smaller than the other steeds Karasu had spotted, but was perfect for Cordelia. Though Ramirov had led him to a behemoth on hooves that stood high over Karasu, an exceedingly larger stallion with a grey coat that best complimented it's environment. His size would explain his durability and capabilities in these conditions, "Hail" as Ramirov called him.

"H-Hail is a bit in-intimidating." He spoke while shivering under his lack of winter appropriate clothing.

A white button down shirt, slim, black pants and black flat shoes was far from appropriate for this weather and hopefully this destination was close by less he freeze in a breath of wind. Karasu had worried for Cordelia as she couldn't have felt to comfortable in this climate either.

"Hop on Karasu, Hail is my best horse, and I'd rather have you not hurt yourself. That Ward will cause trouble if its agitated. Once we get to the Fortress I'll see to weakening it." Ramirov said.

"S-sure..."

"Despite the fact I've never ridden horseback since I was an adolescent." He thought as he brought his arms up to help position himself to place his foot onto the stirrup and mount Hail. It took him three tries until he finally had success, but was exhausted afterwards.

"I'm an amateur Hail, go easy on me." He joked as if Hail would respond with the sounds of laughter.

The air grew silent, and colder, but only for a moment before Karasu looked back through his peripheral to notice Ramirov giving Cordelia his jacket. Even after what he did to her flower, how ironic he could still attempt to be so compassionate. Was he even like him and Cordelia or was he a beast in man's clothing? It wouldn't be much of a surprise if that was the truth. It's as if he is playing some game with her and Karasu didn't like that one bit. He frowned at the sight and his mind began to race of dark intentions until the air around him arose tense to the point Hail could sense it. This caused Karasu to revert back to his previously reserved manner to not attract attention.

"He'll be watching us while we're here so i'll keep my eyes on him too."

It was another while until Ramirov had stood in front of the group and began to guide them forward. During it all Karasu hadn't lifted his head from where it hung; letting his ink hair shadow over his expression of casual despair, even during the bellowing of large footsteps coming from behind the group. The conversation of those who were traveling with him didn't interest him enough to listen in, nothing made him shift, twitch or blink, even the cold seemed to not bother him as much. . .

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[Ashes to Ashes]

Ascelin Immer

Riding horses, while useful, invigorating, perhaps even challenging, was wholly new to Ascelin and felt a tad unnatural. Lothie gave excellent instructions, allowing the tree of a man to remain seated with minimal effort. He was a tad taken aback when he heard her laugh bounce its way off the snow falling around them, since it sounded… off, somehow. Like she wasn’t used to it. Turning his head, he saw her face in a complete lack of emotion again, and he felt uneasy, a sense of disquiet. Asking about the sound, she explained about the snow in his hair and beard, sparkling.

Perhaps that should be a thing, sparkling beards. He thought about it for a moment and decided that sparkly beards would and should never be a thing. It would be detrimental to, well, everything really. The more he thought about it, the more the young warrior wanted to proclaim the notion of sparkly beards to be ludicrous and he turned to Lothie to do just that, only to find that the young woman had gone ahead while he had mulled over the strange idea in his head.

He saw how she rode up to the trio ahead of them and how she interacted. From a distance, it seemed a normal affair, despite the fact that it concerned a massive orc offering his greetings and respect to a girl half his size, if that. A smile played over his full lips as Ascelin watched the affair, relaxing and almost leaning back in his saddle. Sebastian would be a tad warmer, Zerath would have something to chat about and, as per what seemed to be usual, Horingmar compensated by being a little louder and perhaps a little too quick. All the same, the three seemed… genuine. Yes, that was by far the best applicable word to what he saw and it pleased the warrior. Having three such as those people lead them, well, Ascelin was not worried. Somehow, they seemed to bring out more in each other, though he did not know how this happened, nor why he thought of it in this way, but nonetheless, the young man was as certain of their camaraderie and the rightness of the situation as he was of his offer to volunteer.

Ascelin thought back for a moment, of Marcus, of those he had lent a hand after his apparent death and subsequent return to civilization, or at least what passed for it in the slums where he had lived before Horingmar had come by to pick him up. There had been so many fights, so much blood, his own, but mostly that of others. He had always tried to avoid killing those he fought, but some bloodstains would always be on his hands, regardless of the good he would do and had done so far. Life has a way of just getting away from you.

The warrior had taken the time to look at those who travelled with them, noting that most of them carried weapons, while others had reputations and others still simply made Ascelin nervous, like the flower girl whom he had yet to meet. He knew her name was Coridelia while the other one near her was named Karasu. Both were collected rather than volunteers, such as himself. He was unsure how to feel towards them, but he was quite certain he felt no animosity. Rather, he was a little taken aback that other individuals such as himself existed who would rather keep what they had to themselves. It seemed wholly alien to him until he placed them in the perspective of the same low level bosses near his home. They had so much more than those they exploited, but they were selfish and greedy. He looked at the duo again with harder eyes. Greedy, selfish people. They couldn’t be, but if they were, he would have blunt words with them.

His dark eyes settled on the lithe frame of the elf known as Imrae. She would prove interesting to say the least. She seemed an enigma amongst his straight-minded thoughts. He tried placing her, but he could not find where she belonged, which was hardly a first, but definitely a rarity.

Ascelin had grown up being beaten and beating on others. It was what he knew best of all. But his heart also knew kindness and gentility, while his mind had learnt understanding of those around him. With pleasure, he had learnt that crossing fists or blades with another meant a much deeper understanding of what type of person he or she really is.

He hoped they would arrive soon. Once rested, he would request the honor of a duel with all of them, even the three who led the pack. The young warrior rolled his shoulders, feeling the muscles react to his impulses and smiled to himself again. He was quite certain he would not win all the bouts. In fact, he felt confident in saying that not everyone might want to entertain the notion of a contest of skill and strength. But that was not the point. He would learn about them while learning from them and once he knew how to, he would be able to help them all to the best of his ability.

Chiba
ThatGuyWithSouvlaki
A Wild Kitsune
RemnantsOfShadows
Literary Revenant

 

[Literary Revenant]

WARNING Semi Sensual Content ahead! Nothing graphic, Just an Orc talking about Chests and Girly Chests. I'd rate it PG​

Why do we beat Chests?(Semi Sensual Content) Horingmar.

"Well, is there anything about yourself that you would like me to know, or visa-versa, or anything you would like to know about me?"

Horingmar did think about her question, what would he like to know about the tiny elf lady? In blunt Orcish truth, nothing. He did not care to know more about the Elves, only when they proved to be a threat to him like back in the war against Alver. There were some things he was curious about, however, and it was less about her and more about what she thought. Taking a quick moment to check if Sebastian was close by, he wasn't. Apparently Karasu had angered his horse and Sebastian was tending to it, that man's work is never over.

Lao Tea was kind enough to return his greeting with one of her own. Seeing her beat her chest was... strange. Women don't beat their chests, mainly because it hurts the delicate flesh for lack of better words, and Not even male orcs beat the chests of females in their most intimate moments. In Orcish tradition, to beat the chest meant that you were showing Fekol, manliness in human words. For a woman to do that, it was odd.

"Do you beat your chest for me to stare at it? If so it's too small." Horingmar said while staring at her features. "Your chest too soft, it's not strong. Women chests are soft, and only meant for nursing and ... what is word?" He thought about it for a bit, trying to think of the word. But sadly he failed, so he would resort to his own language. "Zuggl'Nok. Orcs like me beat the chest to show... ma man manlee... Fekol, Strength!" Horingmar stuttered Foolishly, beating his chest again.

"I have better question. Who do you want to have staring at chest? We do have men here, and ladies too. I'm sure all will stare. Zerath will, I was, with Ramirov I never see. Mask doesn't halp. (Yes I wrote Halp) Does he even like woman chests?"

It was an extremely odd question to ask, perhaps too odd. The tiny thing's face turned red, Horingmar didn't know that could even happen. Did Elves change color? Was she sick? Is she going to explode? Did she need water?!? GRAAAHHH!!! Tiny thing TOO CONFUSING! Maybe Horingmar caused something that he didn't intend, like some sort of transformation into a Red faced demon. Sweat ran down his face, if this girl was Demon, Horingmar did not want to anger it! He needed to find a way to apologize and fast!

"Ignore question, Dark one! Let us talk about your many feats and victories! Or maybe I tell you mine! For I, Horingmar have won battles! Many, but never too many! Let me tell you about my previous Warmonger and how Father beat him in battle! ..." Horingmar proceeded to tell the story of how his father Koringmar defeated Gazluun in single combat at the Zhaastor, a form of Rite of Honor for the orcs. He happily exaggerated some details, like how he himself joined the battle to help his father in a dire moment, using the HulVakan (Dire Orc form) to crush Gazluun's skull like a nutshell. Lao Tea then told Horingmar that she had read some stories about Orcs, about how they, like some other barbarians, pillage villages. Slaying the strong, trampling the weak, ravishing the women. Huh? Wait what are you?! 'Girlish Screams'

Horingmar need to clarify this himself! Orcs never 'Pillage', Orcs show honorable battle! We show opponent a war letter, announcing our arrival. Unless our enemy can prove themselves stronger than us, we do battle. Any who can't fight are spared... sometime. If you cannot fight, you seen as coward and are branded as coward! We then push you into Arena combat with another coward and release the winner! Loser becomes lunch for wolves. As for Ravishing... HOW CAN WE RAVISH SOMETHING SO TINY!?!? It also seen as disgraceful, for such things are only shared in the Lock of Grindolash! That is Orcish Marriage. Horingmar believed he answered for you! Tiny author can take over now, GRAAAHHHH!!!

Ow... Orcs sure know how to hurt people... Now where was I? Oh yes! Horingmar told stories of Orcish lore, specifically what a Warmonger does, why Orcs fight, and how the orcs see other races as Tiny for the most part. He enjoyed his company with the tiny elf thing with the color changing face.

Interacted With: RemnantsOfShadows

 

[Literary Revenant]

​

Old Memories, New Friends. Zerath.

Fewer things brought Zerath joy than seeing the success of her prospects. In this case, she had succeeded in gathering 5 Vaskoliir. A smaller number than she had previously hoped, especially considering that she had multiple sources around the 7 Kingdoms. The first goal for the Vaskoliir that Zerath planned was a test to see how the Vaskoliir could handle teamwork under extreme stress, and there were things that even she had hidden from her closest allies waiting for the Vaskoliir at the Fortress. But there was another important task that she needed to address, meeting the Alveric Princess, Imrae Nathrien.

Our hidden Princess was riding on her horse behind the others, she still had a great regal beauty about her. An Elven beauty only matched by an early sunrise, the gorgeous golden shine that glows over the mountains providing warmth and light. Imrae's face did not show that beauty though, an angered wrinkled face, eyes that were bored and a half heartedly gazing at the ground in front of the horse which she rode. How could she approach the Princess, whose Grandfather was the sword enemy of all Joten? An enemy that had killed all her friends, even Aior himself, leaving her alone for a decade before she could find another soul like herself.

Memories of that event flooded her mind, her own face showing the emotional scars. Images of the bright flash of light that killed her friends were still fresh, even after all these years.The garish light, comparable to Dragon Fire, but more precise and enveloping. Her friends incinerating into ash, all except her. For some unknown reason she had been spared, but that just led to more pain.

"Hello there, Princess Imrae Nathrien." Zerath carefully whispered, making certain no one would hear. "My name is Lady Zerath Yavernsky, last of Aior's Brigade, and Headmistress of Ris'Saliance Aior. I must admit, it is my greatest honor and pleasure to have you amongst our ranks as a Vaskoliir. As you know, your Grandfather and I have a ... bloodied history to say the least. But I, unlike him, have moved on and I am willing to forgive you for his actions and embrace you as a sister!" Zerath said with a smile. "Now, on to a more delicate subject. As far as your... status, Sebastian, The Count, and I are the only ones who know that you are Alveric Royalty. That must not change. If Horingmar knew, I don't think even I could stop him from cleaving you into pieces. And if the other Vaskoliir knew, I'm afraid that it would make your life, and time under my care, miserable. So, to prevent any unwanted occasions, I want you to introduce yourself as Imrae of Zeliir'Ahna, an apprentice of Magic and Pugilism." Zerath hoped that Imrae would not be too offended at this request, as it was for her own safety, not just the safety of others or of the Vaskoliir Program.

"As for your accomadations, I am allowed to provide almost anything you desire. So if you feel anything is lacking please let me..." She stopped mid sentence, remembering something incredibly important. Zerath reached into her pack, putting aside various cosmetics, small trinkets, Sebastian's Protective Charm, and the like before finding a small item wrapped in a fine cloth. The item was small, but had a huge value, both sentimental and physical. Zerath held the cloth in her right hand and handed it Imrae. "Here, this little thing belonged to Elzaniel, your Grandfather. I've carried it since our victory at Solasuun, but it only seems fitting that I give it to you. After all, you are Alveric Royalty!"

Interacted With: ThatGuyWithSouvlaki
This post was intentionally short to allow for you to develop stories and make conversation. I hope you have fun like I did!

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

( Literary Revenant Love your definition of short as five paragraphs.)
Imrae rode her stead at the back of the group following them down the road towards the destination. As she went watching her companion talk between themselves, the orc taking an interest with her gloomy moon cousin and the bearded man looking uncomfortable on a horse. The later amused her a little as it was unusual to find a human who didnt ride a horse, they seemed to be proud of their horse ridesrs. That she understood, horses were fine noble beast more intelligent than they may appear and more so than any people she could name. She always liked horses and riding them, it was one of the pleasures in her younger days. She reached out and stroked her horses mane gently, a friesian mare of good stock indeed worthy of a princess. Whether that was intentional or not she didnt know or frankly care, just happy to have her.

As she focused on her horse, she had a feeling of someone approuch her side and looked up seeing Zareth approuch. It finally would happened it seems, there first proper introduction. Imrae had wondered how the meeting to go out and worried slightly that her own opinion about Zareth might so in some embarassing way. She surprised herself by mentaining her moody composure even managing indifference. In truth Imrae did not have to do much as it seemed Zareth didnt seem to let her get a word in edge wise. She noted the vale of secrecy and found it very curious at the need for it. As the explanation was made she couldnt help chuckle a little.

"And people say my people were the vengeful ones and you guys are the peacemakers. The title for yours rings a tad hollow when i must hide my identity for my safety. It this not the great era of peace and reconciliation? I thought as well you had your orc pet tamed. The Alveric people bare no such ill will to our conquerers." She shook he head. "There is no need for preferential treatment, i want to experience the proper training you provide down to the living arrengement. Especially if i have to play the comm..." looked at the trinket Zareth had offered her and her smile faded.

She cleared her throat and looked straight ahead. "You can keep it, the Elzaniel is no longer a member of the royal family. He is a nonperson for the harm he did to the Alveric people, he has no property and can be claimed by anyone. Besides i am mere Imrae of Zeliir'Ahna what to i have to do with a former king?" She asked with the question returning some of her lightness in her mood.