Taking Over

[twimbre]

RP TIME YEH

BACKSTORY

Our story is set in the Great Kingdom of Haewon, a nation that was built on the backbone of the people. Within the country there are four main tribes that have held up the value and integrity of the country, protecting it's people and fighting of those who wish to destroy it. The Shu Clan has been on the throne since the creation of Haewon, and for nearly over a thousand years the King's Castle has stood. However, evil stirs far east in the outland known as Asekith. Rumors say the land is cursed, that land infertile and the air miasmic. It is also said that all that enter the desolate fog never return and are lost forever.


Denhun Shu, the current King and lord of Haewon, has maintained peace and balance among the nations tribes just like his predecessors before him. He has recently been presented with the information of [OVERLORD NAME] is on conquest to destroy Haewon and that he also plans on kidnapping the Princess. To prevent this from happen, Lord Shu has hired a strong willed man to protect his precious daughter...

 

[SatyrWarrior]

“So….hungry….”

“We’ll be there shortly.”

“Good. I’m tired of his complaining ass!”

“….”

“What?”

“Weren't you complaining about your feet a few moments ago…?”

“Well…”

“Kiro apparently isn’t the only one that’s fatigued, so stop provoking unnecessary quarrels with him.”

Fresh greenery cascaded about the three lads, mildly miserable expressions upon all of their features as they trudged along through the dense forest. It wasn’t as if they didn’t enjoy roving. They truly did, but the lack of sleep, food, and water was what they didn’t particularly feel fond of. “I’d really like to sink my teeth into a tender, juicy piece of meat right about now… Ooh, or maybe something sweet!” Kiro fantasized aloud. “Could you shut up about food for one measly minute? …You’re making me hungry…” Fiore grumbled, folding his arms over his abdomen. In the intervening time, Dahn merely tuned the two of them out and kept his steely optics straight ahead. Burrowing dark brows, he pushed aside the various jutting branches and leaves, all the while stepping over another hefty shrub. “Are you sure we’re close to our destination? We’re probably lost and you just don’t want to admit it Dahn…” Fiore glared faintly in Dahn’s direction. Silence loomed over, which merely augmented the harshness of Fiore’s scowl. Dahn, who was still not paying any mind to him at all, continued to gait forward. Perhaps Fiore was not the only one gifted with selective hearing. “Hey!” Fiore barked, finally obtaining Dahn’s nonchalant awareness. “What?” The oldest male took a brief glimpse back at Fiore, an expression of dullness engraving itself upon his features. “Are we lost or not?” Fiore demanded lowly as the youngest male, Kiro, observed the pair quietly.

“Yes. Is that what you want to hear?” Dahn countered, optics narrowing out of sheer annoyance. Dahn was usually a man of patience and serenity, but something about Fiore’s mannerisms deteriorated that patience until it was dissipated almost daily. “Not exactly…” the ivory-haired halfing responded through a disgruntled sigh, all the while Kiro glanced to Dahn with concern flooding his tired grey eyes. “How lost are we?” He, out of nervous habit, fiddled with the sharp tips of his scythe daggers. They were attached to the opposing sides of his svelte waistline for immediate access. “We aren’t lost enough for it to be a major concern. I think we just circled the area more than once. If we retrace our steps and take the correct path this time, we should be fine from there on.” Dahn explained briefly, pausing to scan the adjoining area. At least that actually made sense to Fiore and Kiro. The only reason why Fiore had piped up with the insinuation of misplacement was because the surrounding vicinity all seemed a little too familiar to him… Going around in a circle was a primary sign of being lost, but if only Fiore’s manner of speech was not so…rash. That way, his remarks would be much more helpful, rather than borderline derogatory. Upon recognizing the familiar landmarks, the three young men used them to return to the predominant route that forked out into several other passageways. The ability to recall information given by the locals had been proven to be quite practical at that very moment. As they took the time to pause and consider the paths carefully, they eventually remembered being told to take the middle way when the route divided. If the three had not been in such a rush to keep a swift pace in the first place, they would have actually avoided the waste of time altogether. Fortunately they didn’t have anymore time to dispose of by beating themselves up about it.

Hours more had passed until the three of them encountered another obstruction of miniature trees and undergrowth. Most would have analyzed the blockage to be a dead end, but the trio favored creating their own paths, especially when such hindrances could have been concealing significant passages. Without any cues, Dahn unsheathed one of his broad swords with a swiftness that unveiled just how experienced he was with using such a cumbersome weapon. Vibrant sun rays reflected off the metallic mass as he drew the weapon in reverse, preparing to strike. One sturdy swing was all it took to slice down the trees simultaneously, but alas, Kiro and Fiore were in the line of some of the plummeting trees. Kiro preferred to avoid opportunities to use blunt force, so he merely stepped aside to keep himself out of harm’s way. Alternatively, Fiore lifted lean arms up over his head, allowing one of the trees to fall right into his grasp, which kept it from hitting him directly. Even though the tree was somewhat heavy, despite its petite size in length compared to the other trees, Fiore seemed to hold it up and fling it away with a casual effortlessness. “Please do the world a favor and never go into lumber-jacking.” Fiore retorted towards Dahn, who simply responded by quietly sheathing the sword with a faint smirk smeared into his fair lips. “Um…you guys…?” Kiro’s uncertain undertone quickly grabbed their attention. They turned to find Kiro standing just beyond the recently chopped trees, near the precipice that hovered over…a kingdom…? Kiro’s optics had become dilated with fascination as he viewed the kingdom below. “Is…this it? The kingdom we were looking for?” He only sounded unsure because he honestly thought that it’d take them a few more days to reach their destination (in spite of Dahn's lie about being there shortly in attempts to shut them up earlier), but perhaps that had been an incorrect calculation?

Fiore and Dahn neared the overhang as well, mildly befuddled frowns burrowing into their brows. “This…can’t be the Abuma kingdom we were heading to. It should have taken us at least another day or two to reach it.” Dahn contemplated aloud, reaching a hand up to stroke his chin, as if he had suddenly grown out a full beard. “Yeah, we knew you were fibbing about being there 'shortly'. But if it’s not Abuma kingdom, then…which kingdom is this??” Fiore asked quizzically, inquisitiveness peeking. “Not sure. Perhaps I miscalculated how long it would take after all.” Dahn replied softly, pondering. “Maybe we should head down there and check to be sure. We can ask around and see.” Kiro suggested, a slight smile of marvel forming as he kept bright grey optics on the faded depiction of a distant palace. Keen eyesight did come in handy when one wanted to perform long-distance sightseeing. After all, none of them had ever seen anything like it. It was almost surreal, especially with how pure the atmosphere felt here, compared to the kingdom that they'd fled. Nevertheless, none of them were completely certain of the fact that they had just stumbled upon their intended destination. Not like there was a huge sign nearby stating that this was indeed Abuma kingdom. Mentally hoping that Dahn would agree to Kiro’s suggestion, the two younger males watched Dahn intently. “Well…I guess it’ll be alright to take a look around and confirm--,” Dahn was immediately interrupted when Kiro and Fiore began to cheer out, “Yes!!” in unison. Truthfully, the only components they were thinking about involved food, shelter, and water. “Finally! Food!” Kiro joyfully shouted as he recklessly leaped from the edge of the cliff, but ended up safely sliding down the slanted dirt ramp beneath it.

Fiore grinned, following directly after his younger cousin. His mindset was only thinking about food and rest as well. In contrast, Dahn rolled his eyes and jumped down after them. Subsequent to eventually catching up to the duo, he grabbed onto the back collars of their upper garments to halt them in their tracks. “Hold it. Let’s not make a scene while we’re at it. And don’t forget that we still have a mission to fulfill.” Dahn reminded them flatly. “Relax with your uptight ass. We’re not five, in case you haven’t noticed. We know how to act in public, and the mission’s still on our minds.” Fiore stated with the usual bluntness. “Really…? You could have fooled me…” Dahn muttered as he released his grip, underhandedly responding to both of his statements. “We should resort to business-related matters first. Food and rest should be saved for later.” Inward groans erupted between the younger ones, just as they heard the horrible strategy. Sometimes, they truly detested Dahn’s frequent approach: ‘Work first. Play later’. It was infuriating, especially when you were completely drained, dehydrated, and at the commencement of starving to death. Well, maybe that last part was a bit of an understatement, but it sure did feel like they were about to. “Dahn, are you aware that we haven’t eaten for…....days…?!” Fiore questioned, having paused in order to count the days on his fingers, prior to deciding to just go with an unspecified amount of days when he realized he’d lost count of how long it’d been awhile ago. Soon enough, he was scowling yet again.

“A few days of no eating is equivalent to…mm, maybe about one day of no eating for someone with both human and demon blood. You should be fine.” Dahn responded calmly as they closed in on the outskirts of a village, looking away in a dismissive matter. “But Kiro’s practically a full-fledged demon. I doubt that applies to him much, since he needs to eat more. Hell, that theory doesn’t even work all that well for me in my opinion!” Fiore glowered once more, frustration gradually progressing. Although Kiro had miraculously obtained the strength to hop off of the cliff at the notion of finally receiving food and water, he currently did not have the energy to bicker. Another moment of silence occurred before a slight smile surfaced on Dahn’s face. He wasn’t going to let them starve for the sake of ‘business’, but Dahn simply wanted to lead Fiore to believe that because…well, who wouldn’t want to watch a snarky little instigator become all flustered and frustrated for once, instead of the other way around? It was…amusing. After discreetly receiving the peculiar satisfaction, Dahn finally spoke. “Alright. We can eat and rest for a little while at an inn first, but then we must confirm which kingdom this is and deliver our message if this is the right one.” Fiore relaxed mildly now, but continued to frown at Dahn suspiciously whilst Kiro’s optics brightened back up.

It wasn’t long before they’d found an inn to settle down at for a short term. Surely, the rest period would remain very short with Dahn around.​

 

[twimbre]

"W-wait Tsaio!" Yelled Mao as she proceeded to fall out of the door way. "You're hair isn't done yet!" Tsaio didn't even turn around as she bolted around the corner.


It was beautiful summer day in Abuma; the sun shined brightly, the wind spun softly and the flowers were all in full bloom. But that wasn't why Tsaio, the only daughter of Lord Denhun, was speeding towards the main dining room. In a few weeks there is to be a festival in the Captial City, Baod, known as Pei Jing, to celebrate the history and prosperity of the people of Abuma. Her father had promised her a new kimono specially for this occasion and it was supposed to arrive today. He wouldn't tell her what color it was, why style, or even the fit- he said it was a surprise. Tsaio had been waiting patiently for weeks for the kimono to arrive, even though it would be another few weeks before she could actually wear it, they still needed to do a fitting and mend the kimono accordingly.


"Father!" Tsaio drastically slid open the doors to the main dining hall and burst in. Denhun had the same goofy grin on his face as he always did, sitting at the edge of the dining hall. He was surrounded by the elected officials and members of his court and at first glance you could tell they were in deep discussion before the Princess so carelessly dropped in. Their somber faces quickly lightened to welcome the Princess to the room and she barely even noticed the slight pause in their demeanor. She quickly made her way passed the officials and to sit next to her father.


"What is it, my dove?" He ask, reaching out to her and touching her cheek. They were fully flushed and her breath was heavy.


"Is it here yet? My kimono?" She asked, her breath in pieces. Her father let out a hearty laugh.


"Not yet, my sweet." He said. "But it should be here soon, and promise me, you will be the first too know." He leaned in kissing the top of her forehead. A bit disappointed, Tsaio began to pout.


"But you said it would be here today! And it's not here yet!" She let out a cry. Her father let out another hearty chuckle.


"I said it would be here today, but not what time, my dear. It will get here soon, have patience." He pulled back, sitting upright. "Besides, shouldn't you be more worried about your studies?" He asked.


Tsaio grunted. "Father, why must I keep studying? All the material Jun has been given me has been nothing but repeats! I already know everything he has too teach me, at first it was fun but." She sighed, leaning on her hand. "Now it's just boring, I'd much rather play music, or read stories." She looked up to her father, he still had a comforting smile on his face.


"My dear Tsaio," He began, " everything Jun does is in your benefit. And even I know that if you don't go over the material again, you'd forget it." Tsaio let out another heavy sigh.


"I suppose you're right..." She let out, reluctantly. She stood up, brushing off her kimono. "But promise me that the moment my new kimono arrives, you'll have someone fetch for me?" She begged.


"Of course." Tsaio smiled, then spun around and was gone, just as quickly as she had arrived. After a few moments, to ensure Tsaio was out of hear shot, the smiles on everyone's faces quickly disappeared.


"My lord." Said one of the men closest to the King. "We must take precautions, what if-" Lord Denhum raised his hand. His cheery, goofy deposition was replaced with a stern one.


"This is the safest place for my daughter." He said.


"But, the rumors-" He raised his hands again.


"I highly doubt they would travel all their way, passed our blockades, into our ranks, and somehow get inside the castle. Besides, Lord Yang, these are nothing but half spread rumors. It wouldn't be the first time, nor will it be the last, that we will hear of someone wanting to take my daughter for ransom, nor would it be the first attempt. Unless I am provided with reasonable evidence, the current safety measures should suffice."

 

[SatyrWarrior]

“I’m glad we decided to stop. I feel so much better! Honestly, I was also afraid that we’d run into more bounty hunters on the way here.” Kiro stated absentmindedly, eyeing the flowers that were in full bloom. Flowers rarely blossomed so heavenly back in Asekith Kingdom. On the contrary, they’d be lucky if even a single flower managed to bloom. Fiore discreetly admired the flowers beside him. Plants were related to his abilities after all, so as much as he’d never admit it, he did possess a natural affinity for them. “Tell me about it. I was sure we’d run into another one during our travels. Too bad we didn’t.” Fiore responded, mildly disappointed quality integrated within his undertone. “Too…bad…??” Kiro queried with astonishment. Why would anyone in their rightful minds want to run into more assassins, who were simply out to slaughter you or illicitly return you to your megalomaniac demon lord? “Yeah. I mean, they were the only elements that were spicing up our dull journey.” Of course. Fiore was merely considering the intrigue and exhilaration that the assassins had brought forth, even if only tremendously provisional. Unfortunately for him, it had been all too unproblematic to dispose of the enemies without actually killing them. Kiro would most likely refuse to execute such a soiled deed anyway, let alone Dahn would begin spewing some ‘justice’ speech. This was Fiore’s exaggerated perspective among the two of them, and to some extent, it was fairly precise. However, as much as he abhorred the actuality, he was no different. His nature just wasn’t that corrupted, to slay for no apparent reason (especially with the hunters obviously too frightened to even consider coming after them again), thus why he had agreed to leave their kingdom in the first place. Nevertheless, he did enjoy deceiving others to believe otherwise.


The village was a moderate-sized locale that did not appear to be congested or shady. Immensely contradicting to their own kingdom’s rural communities. Fraudulence and misdemeanors were permitted to run rampant, due to the fact that an entire kingdom’s law-enforcing obligations were complex to manage under the hands of three—possibly a couple more—individuals that actually cared for the innocent ones wedged up in such troublesome affairs. Merely considering the predicaments of the earlier time phase extracted the vigor out of Dahn’s mental capacity. Sweeping aside most pessimistic notions, however, the oldest male of the group abruptly focused intense hazel orbs at the distant view of the castle. “…We should cut off this resting period now.” Dahn interrupted, his nudging intuition getting the better of him. “Already?” Kiro questioned, mainly because he was aware that Dahn didn’t even get the chance to eat unlike them. Despite that he’d only consumed water so far, Dahn nodded quickly. “Yes. The sooner the better. Not to mention, the air doesn’t feel right…” A flat expression emerged on Fiore’s face. “You mean to tell me we’re about to skip out on resting longer because you don’t like the air quality here…?” he queried, which only forced Dahn to groan slightly and roll his eyes in response. “It’s a figure of speech, genius. Not trying to be negative here, but we really don’t know how much time we have left. We know this is Abuma kingdom now, so we should probably request an audience with the king right away.” he reminded, surprisingly hearing no complaints. “I doubt he’ll be able to get to us immediately though, so in that time, we can continue resting.” he added, the two nodding once more. After proposing the edited plan, the oldest lad stepped back into the inn to pick up the tab.


Suddenly, thanks to peripheral vision, Fiore noticed a carriage nearby. Truth be told, it stuck out like a sore thumb and that was the only reason why Fiore took note of it. However, he realized something else. The carriage was rather embellished and fortified, as if designed for additional protection. Whatever was in the carriage must have been rather significant, or of top priority at the very least. With that in mind, Fiore came to the conclusion that it must’ve been a delivery wagon of some sort. For who, though? ‘Could it be for…? Maybe…’ Fiore’s notions eventually led him to assume that the delivery was for someone of high status. Curious optics trailed over to the castle in the distance. Who else would be able to afford such a top-notch delivery service, after all? “Excuse me.” The transporter glanced over to the ivory-haired lad. “Mind if I ask where you’re headed?” Fiore asked without much hesitation. As the man tossed another item into the back of the carriage, he positioned himself onto the front seat. “Sorry kid, but that’s classified information. Good day.” And with that, the delivery man prepared to ride off. “Oh, okay. Well, thanks anyway.” Fiore answered, a slight smirk forming. His suspicions were confirmed when the carriage continued on in the direction of the castle.


“Hey, I think that carriage is going to the castle.” Fiore announced, once Dahn had emerged from the inn. “How do you know?” Dahn asked with an arched brow. “Well, the carriage was all fancy to start and when I asked, he answered so obviously. Classified information? That was a huge giveaway, but he’s going in that direction too.” Fiore responded, obliging Dahn’s curiosity to flourish. “I see. What’d you have in mind?” He folded his arms, knowing that Fiore was likely plotting. He possessed an inkling regarding where this might be going. “Let’s hitch a ride!” Fiore suggested with a grin. Kiro finally jumped into the conversation after listening on this whole time. “Oh, I get it! If we get into the carriage somehow, we’ll be able to bypass the guards and get deeper into the castle grounds that way.” Fiore snapped his fingers. “Exactly! Wouldn’t that be better than waiting eons to speak with the king, after ‘officially’ requesting an audience with him anyway?” “That’s true. The sooner the better, I suppose…even if we would be technically trespassing.” Dahn stated, thoughtfully watching the carriage. “Alright, I have an idea. I’m going to need your good arm Kiro.” He looked back at the youngest with a smirk. From there, they eventually caught up to the carriage and managed to delay it, for just a couple of minutes. That was about as long as it took for the man to patch up one of the front wheels of the wagon, as predicted. Kiro hadn’t impacted the wheel with a rock hard enough to damage anything, but just enough to move the wheel out of place on the axis. During that time, the three young men slipped into the carriage from the back on the other side, while the delivery man had been on the opposite side repairing the wheel.


Moments later, it was back on the move. It wasn’t long before they’d reached the castle grounds either. Being as nosy as he was, Fiore peeked at the delivery upon feeling the carriage come to a stop. “Ooh! What is this, a kimono?” Fiore commented through a whisper, right before the delivery man’s voice had been perceived. It sounded like he was about to retrieve the delivery from the back of the carriage…where they currently resided. Damn. Panicking slightly (but only for a split second), Dahn snatched the package from Fiore’s grip and stuck an arm out past the curtains, just enough for the man to take it without thinking. While Dahn instantly made it clear that it was time to depart, the delivery man blinked blankly just then, finally becoming aware of the point that someone was in the back of the carriage. Someone that certainly wasn’t supposed to be there. The oblivious man wouldn’t have even known if Dahn hadn’t reached out an arm to give him the package, but he had no choice in the matter. It was better than him looking back there to obtain the package when they least expected it, and blowing their cover altogether. Personally handing over the item to the transporter would at least allow them to see him coming. Furthermore, Dahn was aware that doing so would lead him to investigate the back. In that time, they’d be able to run right past him unseen. “What the…?” As expected, the man became suspicious enough to rip open the curtains that concealed the back of the carriage. “Hmm.” No one was there… But…then who just gave him the package? Before a shudder managed to slither its way up his spine, the man immediately chose to dismiss it and move on.


Meanwhile, the trio had already snuck their way into the castle, utilizing their speed, along with the shadows, to conceal themselves as they progressed. It was fairly simple to do so, given that they were already deep within the grounds. It was all within due gratitude to the delivery carriage that possessed such privileges. Now, they needed to find the king…all the while ensuring that they wouldn’t get caught sneaking around looking for him in the process. Quite the bold maneuver that they were undergoing here, but this was best approach. …Okay, so maybe it wasn’t, but at least they were driven by good intentions instead of bad ones. No matter how Dahn attempted to analyze the situation for justification, the fact that they were wrongfully trespassing refused to leave his stubborn mind.