OOC: This will be the only OOC in this thread. I really dislike OOC being in the IC so for my sanity, please post your OOC comments in the OOC thread. Thank you.




The council

“We must be strategic with this, my lord. We can't just do—“

A fist slammed against the cool surface of the table which caused the man speaking to inhale. It was a round table made out of white marble with various papers, books, pens and other trinkets scattered about while a giant map laid in the center. The man who slammed his fist was shouting, “Results! I want results!” His voice echoed across the room while the remaining parties sat in silence with their eyes averting the table. He continued, his anger growing with each word, “I have grown tired of these endless talks! It is time to act!”

A heavy silence fell across the room as they all waited for someone to break it. The King tapped his fingers impatiently against the table as his eyes burned holes into Hilrandra’s location on the map. It had to be his, at any cost.

“With all do respect, your Grace…” The lone voice spoke softly as she looked up. With her white hair tucked neatly under her scarf, her deep gray eyes shone brighter than normal. She was a woman in her fifties and wiser than most. A bit of relief fell across her fellows faces as they watched her face the King’s wrath. It was a known fact that she had always been a bit of a mother too him and possibly the only person alive who could put the fear in him. “I do believe dear Amos was only trying to make our path easier.” She paused for a moment, waiting for a sign of protest.

Upon receiving none, the lady continued. “If we were to attack now, I am sure Hilrandra would retaliate quicker than we could think of our next move despite their supposed stance of peace. It would be ill advised on our part to attack hicks from the mountains.” The elderly looked around her, as each man turned to face her, “We must never underestimate our enemies. “

They all waited as the old woman kept her eyes on the King with a sly smile playing on her lips.

“Amos!” The King roared, causing the old man to jump one way and his glasses the other.

“S-sire?” Amos replied while reaching for his fallen glasses.

“Tell us of this plan of yours and be quick about it.”

The old woman smiled approvingly while Amos spoke, “Well, my Lord we will need Sir Robert and a few ships for this…”

Out in the courtyard

“Leo…? Leonarold! Where are you?” The voice of a hurried female drifted beside the wind and eventually reached the ears of a young man who had decided a branch on an elder tree named, Oni was the wisest of choices. He opened a yellow eye slightly and glanced down while his mind drifted towards the legend behind this tree. It was something in regards to a fairy being slain in order to save the life of a child she fell in love with which resulted in her blood staining this tree. He was not sure of the specifics but he enjoyed toying with the idea behind love and tragedy. Such was the romantic he was. Whatever the case, Leo has always able to find peace of mind here when he felt troubled as he did today, that is to say until this very moment.

The brown haired girl looked up and spotted him “There you are!” Placing her hands against her hips, she looked more like a mother scolding a child then a Knight of the Guard. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you, seven hells and back! Why are you hiding up there? Don’t you remember your duties?”

The girl was in fact a woman dressed in metal, leather and cloth. Yet she had the figure of a small child only amplified by her brown hair and blue eyes. This gave her an advantage as many underestimated her ability to lift swords bigger than her persons.

“Just thinking, Ellyra. Thinking.” He replied heavily.

“Thinking!? At a time like this? Surely you’ve gone mad with the fever!” Sucking her teeth, Ellyra tapped her foot impatiently. “We have to prepare and Lord Robert has been looking for you for the past hour. He will not be pleased to know you’ve been playing monkey in the trees. And there is little time for your thinking.”

Leo waved his hand as if he were shooing a small child, “There will be time for tha—UMPF”

A hard object hit him square against his head and within moments, he was face first against the solid cold ground. Tossing a smaller rock in her hand, Ellyra grinned and turned from him, “Now that that’s over with, we have to go. So get up! I’ll be damned if I face the whips for you.”

Rubbing his now very red face, Leo muttered. “Oh you sure do have a way with words…”

“What was that?!” She called back over her shoulder, rock still in hand.

“N-nothing, nothing.” He replied hastily. Standing up to full height, one had to wonder if such a man could really be a Knight let alone one of the Seven. Quickly, he followed the girl with his armor clanking in every movement and his face still throbbing from his fall.



A few days prior to the present…

“Quickly! Through the woods!”

“I saw her go this way!”

“Find her or the Cap’n’ will have our heads! And I’ll have your asses!”

“That…doesn’t make any sense.”

“…Just find her you dolt!”

Various voices echoed off the cliffs as a young woman ran with all her might. There was an ache forming in her calves and her heart was beating rapidly in her throat but she knew she couldn’t stop running. They’d kill her after what she’d done, after what she…took. The smell of fire followed her as she headed deeper into the woods.

The light began to fade while the trees grew thicker and the air felt lighter as she traveled further away from the crash site. Slowing down, she placed her hands against her shoulders and shuddered lightly. Again, she questioned her position while looking around at the small clearing she had entered. There were no voices let alone signs of life which gave her chills down her back. Slowly she reached out and placed her hand against a nearby tree, “The hell did I get myself into…” she muttered before gently sliding down. The thumping of her heart began to slow but the ache in her legs throbbed painfully.

Placing a hand in her right pocket, she pulled out a small leather pouch and opened it. She took a glance inside before tossing its contents into her hand. A small jewel rolled out. It was a deep purple, looking almost black in the dimmed lighting and as she turned it over, a shimmer of light rolled across its body. It couldn’t be…she thought.

SNAP!

She jumped, a bit too quickly for her liking, and slipped the item back into its rightful place as a few more snaps were heard.

“I knew we’d find you…” A husky voice commented as he edged closer toward the clearing. His frame barely passing through the trees guarding the place as it had done since before either of them were even thought of.

Keeping her hand near her pocket, the woman gave him a sly smile. “Why Jonard, I didn’t realize you would catch up so quickly.” She said as her eyes looked from side to side. There were five of them and one of her. What odds.

“Yes, well you made the trail quite easy what with leaving trunks uprooted and what not…” The oaf replied knowingly.

Standing straighter, she looked at him bemused, “Surely you jest, Jonard. I wouldn’t harm a tree purposely…”

But as he opened his mouth to retort, a rustle from behind caught his attention. “What tha—“

She didn’t wait to find out. Within moments she was gone, figuring it would be better to live another day. This was always her favorite option. It wasn’t every day you could walk away from the Packers with your head still intact and now was not the time to take chances...



Leo spotted him from the distance, saying his goodbyes to his men before he left. Despite his status among the Guard, Robert had never considered himself more than the average man and this was something Leo had always admired. Despite the man's age, he had always been a force to reckon with and everyone knew it. Robert turned, a grim face changing into delighted one as Leo approached him. “I hear you fell from a tree today.” A roar of laughter exploded from the older Knight as Leonarold’s face flushed.

“I suppose I deserve that.” Was his reply.

An awkward silence fell between the two as the older watched the younger, with eyes cast down.

“You know, I’ve never been one for sappy good byes.” The Knight replied hastily.

“I know.” Leo looked up to see Robert holding his hand out to him. Taking it, Leo held tightly almost afraid to let go.
“You’ve grown into a fine young man, Leo.” Within seconds, the two were locked in a hug between men. “I’m proud of you and I know you’ll be fine.”

And as quickly as it came, it had gone. Robert was walking away as Leo watched his fatherly figure head down the steps. “Oh, before I forget.” Robert turned and smirked, “I left ya a present in your room. Be sure to take care of it and I’ll see you in a year!” And he was gone.

For a few moments, Leonarold felt like a small child again.

A small Village in Hilrandra.


Most bandits knew their limitations. Travel in groups, make sure that you are careful and never let yourself get caught- and if you do, be ready to fight to the death! In the banditry business, you usually ended up one in a large group, pillaging little villages (Depending on which side of the two kingdoms you found yourself in. If you happened to be in Emerald, you might want to have a bit more protection than if you were in Hirandra, or at least more cannon fodder) and sharing the loot from the wreckage. It was usually a good system- people would die in the original takeover, and then you'd have less people to share with, and you'd still make away with a goo bit of whatever the hell it is that you wanted, before slinking back to the stronghold type place that you and your little band of merry men wanted to be at.

Despite that being the norm for those with a profession that Saken just so happened to share, that did not mean that the slender young woman was going to follow in those big-bad guys' footsteps. In fact, at that exact moment, in which she was contemplating the best way as to how she could overtake this small village and somehow sneak into the main house that it was centered around, Saken had no backup. There was nothing more than the feline-like woman, her nose scrunched upwards slightly, her teeth bared in a large grin. Large, mismatched orbs danced along the sight of the village before her. It was small -and that was a good thing, the woman figured she could somehow distract the inhabitants by starting a fire, or a rather large bang-type thing, that they'd blame on magic (she loved that these people didn't have a large grasp of technology yet, the moment they did, Saken might be out of business and have to join a horde of Neanderthals) before she'd slip her slight self into the mansion and go to town on the place, stuffing full the pack that she had slung around her shoulders full of whatever riches lay inside of the large house.

The woman rubbed her hands together, lips twisted upwards even more, so that it was a mockery of a pleasant smile, instead of the full baring of teeth that it had been moments before. Sweaty palms gently glided along the woman's cloth shorts, beads of sweat being absorbed by the fabric before she slung the pack that was rested against her back to her front, head peering into the hole,a hand shoving into it, fingers desperately groping for what would, one day, be known as fire crackers. She had spotted a barn that was almost 15 or so feet from the mansion she wanted to get herself, and with the long fuse type-thing on the firecrackers, she could toss a few of them (After lightening them) and then slip into the larger house. Orbs flickered about once more as she settled her features into a blank look, sort of mindless, eyelids descending so that she was peering through her lashes. It would not do well for the locals to see her as a trouble maker- and with her mismatched orbs and the set f ears that, quickly, hid within her white curls, it could get her branded as different from the get go- and then she'd never be allowed close enough for her task.

Written by Kanzi and Moonscar

An Orchard in the Emerald Kingdom


Although it was very early, there already were some people walking about in the orchard. Frequently one could be seen yawning or stretching and some seemed more asleep than awake. However, at least one of them couldn’t be more awake. Despite the lack of any real danger, he could already feel his heartbeat in his throat, his breath slightly heavier than usual. He was glad it was still a bit foggy, it wasn’t many but still better than nothing. As casually as he could, he made way for one of the storage sheds. Normally, he would’ve been less nervous, but he wasn’t used to working in a nonurban area. Chances were that if he would be caught red handed, he wouldn’t have a way out. There wasn’t even a place to hide, with all these planted rows of trees. Luckily there were so much people working on the orchards that not everyone knew each other.

“Hey you!”

He froze, his eyes widening in panic for just a moment before he put his game face on. “Yea?” he asked, turning in the direction of the man that had called out for him, though all he could see was a silhouette in the fog. He felt himself getting goosebumps.

“You seem awake enough; go get us some empty crates!”

Before the man could get any closer, the intruder tapped his cap. “I’ll be back before you know it!” Not waiting for a reply, he quickly ran towards the shed. Hopefully the man hadn’t seen more than a silhouette either. Just a few seconds later he was at the shed, trying to open the door. Of course, it was locked. But he definitely couldn’t go back and ask for the key. He searched in his pockets, nibbling on his lip a bit. Then, after searching at least three pockets, he let out a sigh and a smile spread over his face. From his pocket, he pulled out a key ring with all kinds of tools hanging from it, as well as some very common keys. It didn’t take long before he got inside and just a tad longer to get outside again.

Reminding himself that he should figure out a way to close unlocked-doors behind him for the third time in a week, he carried a couple of crates towards where the man had been. It wasn’t difficult to tell that his bag was a lot heavier than before he had entered the shed, but he hoped it would go unnoticed. The whole thing was filled with peaches. But where was that man? He looked around, nibbling his lip a bit, a habit of him whenever he was in deep thought. Maybe he should just put the crates down and get out. Yes. He probably should.

“Ah, there you are!”

Almost he dropped the crates in shock. “Y-Yeah,” he muttered, not having to look behind him to know that there was someone standing closely behind him. Trying to act as casual as he could, he put the crates down. “Oh, and someone forgot to lock the shed,” he quickly added. Pretty smart of himself, he’d say.

“Was something missing?”

“I’m not sure, I didn’t really take a look around, just grabbed the crates and left.” He knew that he had to turn around to not raise any suspicion, so he turned to face the man, just a slight hint of hesitance in his movements. “I could go take a look…” He hoped the man would allow him to, he didn’t know when he’d get another chance of getting out. But the man didn’t reply immediately, instead, he just kept looking at him. The intruder started to get anxious. More out of instinct than anything else, he put his hands in his pockets, feeling the small smoke bombs in his pockets. He hoped he didn’t have to use them. But, anxious and nervous as he was at the moment, he knew that, if he got out safely, this’d be the best part of the trip.

“Have we ever met?”

He shook his head, curling his toes in stress. “I don’t think so, mister… but if there’s no need for my assistance any more, I’d like to excuse myself.” Oh boy oh boy, he had to get out now. Already there was a small crowd forming behind the man. “Please?” Maybe the magic word would help.

“Sure, no problem.”

Turning around, the intruder suppressed a sigh of relief, casually walking away. Casual under these circumstances, that is. “Thanks,” he said, tapping his cap again with a look over his shoulder. Then he heard a soft mumble, probably from one of the men in the crowd: “I don’t know him either.”
“Me neither.”
“No one knows him?” He could feel, no, hear his heartbeat getting louder. The men concluded no one knew him.

“Hey you, wait a minute!”

He cursed quietly, continuing to walk as if he hadn’t heard it. Again he heard how he got told to come back. He ignored it. And after he ignored them again when they ordered him to turn around, the chase started. The adrenaline was pumping through his body as he shot forward; he took a turn to the left, the right, the left. Then, when it seemed like he was almost caught, he threw one of the smoke bombs. The fog was nothing compared to this, the air got filled with a cloud of heavy smoke, causing his pursuers to cough and sneeze thanks to the components of the bomb. When the smoke had dissipated, the intruder was gone. “Find him! Find him immediately!” one of the coughing men shouted. Everyone spread out in the direction the intruder had ran to just a moment ago.

When everyone was gone, the intruder let himself drop from the tree he had climbed in, taking deep breaths to compensate for the small sips of airs he had taken while hiding. Some peaches fell from the tree along with him. Quickly he put them in his bag, where the rest of the peaches were. If he’d leave them there and someone found them, they’d probably figure out what had happened much sooner than he hoped them to. He closed his bag and shifted his cap a bit, before he started jogging in the direction opposite to the one his pursuers had went to. He didn’t go all that fast, but he figured it would be best to save his energy for when he’d have more need of it.

Meanwhile...

The sun.
Oh, the sun. What a glorious, warm, shining ball of light in the sky. It cast rays down to warm cheeks and settled a happily full stomach full of peaches. It also heavied lids and had a pleasant, fruit-smeared smile upon the lips of a young lad, fast asleep in the middle of two large tree's. A large bag filled with peaches rested by him. Even the hurried sound of footsteps and the loud yelling did nothing to disturb the boy from his blissful slumber. His head of curls lay like a pillow around his head, concealing red ears and folding into his eyes.

Oh, what delighted, heavenly things orchards were! There was no better job than being able to eat peaches all day and then to take a nap in this sun. Mmmmhmm. He couldn't even hear the thief coming his way.

And that thief had the smuggest of smiles on his face, to be exact, he couldn't feel more accomplished. Sure, he had been a bit stressed at a moment, but he had done a fine job at hiding that. He assumed he could get out without much more difficulties, as long as his bag didn't rip. That'd be very inconvenient. Maybe he should try one of those peaches, they smelled delicious. And once that thought was in his head, he couldn't focus on anything else until he took a bite from the biggest peach he found when he had opened the bag. Closing his eyes more out of habit than anything else, he savoured the taste, smiling widely. They tasted even better than they smell-

BANG!

"Wut...?" he muttered, feeling the ground against the side of his face, the smell of peaches replaced by the smell of earth. Did he trip? Huh...?

...and that thief did it. That foot, propelling a full force against the side of the sleepy lad's stomach, causing those poor peaches to be disturbed within the confines of his gut. The curly-haired young lad, previously asleep, now sat rather quickly, large blue eyes planted onto the young thief lad. Who had also crushed his bag of peaches on the way down.

Oh, what a glare Jasper was giving him. Like venom. All at the same time, more footsteps were heard. A rough man, one with a darkly bearded face, stopped in their lane to spot-

"Thief! He's right here!"

Okay, he did not pee his pants. That odd feeling was something else. Right? Quickly he sat up, noticing the other guy, but first he checked what caused the odd feeling. The thief sighed in relief. Then he realized his whole loot was now close to worthless. "Ah, man..." he muttered, before he heard someone calling through his position. "And now this?!" But most of all, what was that dude staring at? The thief looked back at the person sitting on the ground, tapping his cap as a greeting.

The rough man advanced, but just as he did, the curly-haired lad got up and held out a hand to stop him, then towards the other young boy to pat him on the shoulder. "This is Joseph. He is my friend," he said with a smile, now going to put two hands on the thief's shoulders. If this worked out, the small kid would find his shoulders being squeezed rather harshly. "He's helping me pick peaches. And he will be doing so all day. Sorry if he ran. He's a bit nervous, really." Jasper's grin grew all the wider.

The large man raised a brow, then shrugged suspicously. "Alright...just make sure he doesn't run off again!"

"Aye, aye."

'Joseph' couldn't believe what was happening. This this guy, this stranger... did he just save him? "S-S-Sorry," he said, faking a stutter. However, he couldn't suppress a smile when he realized his loot was safe and that he had crushed the other guy's instead.

"Sorry isn't going to cut it," said Jasper, lids half closed. He went to grasp 'Joseph's' head and shove him toward a tree, emptying the bag of crushed peaches. "You're helping me pick peaches. You owe me." He handed the bag to the thief. "Or else I'll tell."

He then picked up a bag himself, keeping a soured eye on the thief as he plucked fruit from a nearby tree.

'Joseph' shrugged, taking his bag and started to pluck some peaches, only stashing some away when his 'friend' wasn't looking, but other than that he did quite a good job. "Oh and..." The thief gulped. "Thanks."

"Keep picking."

Laaka Taikoa had not been in Hilandra for very long but in his short time he had started to successfully learn the art of healing magic but it was a fairly gruelling process. Especially when the people of the city believed that you had to become closer to nature. The only thing that nature was useful for in Laaka’s opinion was to provide herbs that help with the healing process. Otherwise it was just a waste of time and he had been wasting his time for about two days now and he was about ready to head back into the town and proclaiming that he was now one with nature.

”This is a stupid place. This is a stupid forest. This is a stupid country.” Laaka grumbled as he walked along a path in the woods randomly kicking at small plants growing near the forest floor. He hadn’t been having the greatest wilderness adventure to say the least. But he was willing to stick it out and deal with the odd requests in order to further his knowledge. At least he thought he was willing too, but after these two crappy days he was beginning to doubt his devotion. But Laaka’s luck was about to change, whether it was for the better or the worse was still to be seen.

As Laaka had been absently kicking at the ground while muttering his discontent he wasn’t even watching the path in front of him. He hadn’t figured that he would have to since he was so far into the wild that no one should even be close to bothering him but then he would be wrong. Before he knew it a woman had burst out from the bush and onto the trail and straight into him knocking him down roughly onto the ground. He let out a groan of discontent as his brain began to work out what had just happened.

”What are you doing so far out here?” It was clear by his tone of voice that he didn’t really want to know what she was doing out here, but that he was more annoyed at the fact that someone was this far from civilization.

Azura's Eye watched as the group barreled on through the forest he'd been calling home for the last few months. They weren't trappers, he could tell that much, but what he couldn't tell was who they were or why they were out here. Almost nobody came out to these mountains unless they were foolhardy, senile, or incredibly cautious. He prided himself on being the third of them, though many would say he was more than his share of fool.

With careful steps, Maero stalked away, sounding no louder than one of the great hunting cats of the world. He had business to attend to, and had no time to deal with the whims of brigands and the maidens whom they chased. As he got a couple hundred yards away, he noticed a boar in the underbrush, grazing upon some wildflowers. He pulled the hand-made custom rifle from his back and pulled back the hammer, having already got a round ready to fire. A habit of his, nothing more. He crouched, making as little sound as he could, and lifted the weapon to his shoulder, taking careful aim at the boar's eyes so that he could save as much of the hide as he could. The hunter exhaled and pulled the trigger and, with a thunderous report, fired a round into the animal's skull, killing it quickly.

He was a trapper by trade, a man skilled in staying in the wild for extensive periods of time without having harm befall him. He had learned his trade from his father, quickly proving that he was skilled at tracking game and killing it while saving as much of the furs as he could. Originally a hunter by bow, he now hunts with a rifle his father had gotten designed specifically for him when he was a boy.

He walked over to the boar and inspected it. It had fought many battles, and had a scarred hide. Not good for fur, but good for leather. he thought before hefting the hundred and fifty pound load over his shoulder. He began the hike back to his camp, taking his time with the great burden upon his body. It would be a poor idea for him to make a mistake with his prize, as the meat would keep him alive and the hide would keep coin in his pockets.

Hilrandra

Running.

She had been running for nearly two days now with little rest between. Cuts and bruises covered her almost everywhere thanks to the surprisingly sharp branches she had slapped to the side while passing by. However Caster was unable to stop herself. A stitch twisted in her side which felt more like a nag then actual pain as the thudding of her heart grew louder, she could scarcely see the path before her and this meant she was quite lost as everything looked the same.

Bam!

Her head slammed against the chest of a taller man and within seconds they were both on the ground. She laid there as the world decided now would be the appropriate time to spin.

”What are you doing so far out here?” The voice wasn’t exactly prince charming and she did try to use her words however, her body was fighting with her mind and nothing seemed to work. She thought she saw a face, a handsome one at that and then she heard the same voice asking if she was okay before hearing a loud bang as her eyes fluttered to a close.

“You can’t go, I forbid it!”

“Forbid it? Ha! You’re thankfully not my father, old man.” Caster turned her back towards the eldery man, choosing not to see the hurt across his face. “I’ll do what I damn well please.” She huffed as her hands crossed her chest.

“…Very well.” The voice was resigned and his hands tightened on the handle of his gnarly cane. “But if you leave, you’re not allowed to return. Ever.”

This caught her off guard but Caster wouldn’t or couldn’t allow her emotions to show across her face. “Fine. It wasn’t like I wanted to come back to this dump anyways.” She reached for her bag and stormed out the door as a small attempt of her name was made. It was too hard for her to look back…

“Iros…!”

All too soon she awoke and she regretted it. “Am I dead…?” She mumbled. No, not dead she realized, blinking and adjusting to the sudden light. Dry. Her mouth was dry and her lips felt chapped. The taste of iron was strong and her stomach rumbled loudly. Sitting up, her hands automatically reached for her side. A shocked sound escaped her as her hands groped the flesh of her stomach.

“…”

Panic began to set in as it dawned on her. “Where the hell are my clothes!?” She yelled, franticly pulling the sheet in some vain attempt to keep herself covered. Then she remembered the sound of a man’s voice, a gunshot and a face. But upon observation, Caster saw no one around, she was in a small tent and through the opening, a lonely campfire waved to her while the crickets chirped around her.

As she stood up, Caster made a better attempt of wrapping the blanket more securely around her frame and cautiously, poked her head out. Everything hurt and there were various bandages around her arms. That pervert touched me, she thought. Stepping out, Caster realized she couldn’t find her clothes and she had no idea when he would get back.


Eirabella; outside the Queen’s room.

“Getting yourself into more trouble, m’lady?” A tall woman clad in white armor with a golden scarf wrapped around her neck couldn’t help but smirk as Essie walked by her. The woman was considered one of the Archards and well respected. Some preferred to call her “The Silver Dragon of Hilrandra” due to her fierceness out in the field and out of respect of her people she decided to have a small dragon engraved onto her breastplate. She wasn’t wearing her helmet today and left her auburn hair in a tight braid over her shoulder.

Pushing her body off the wall, Meredith Flight walked with Essie down the corridor. People moved to the side without question and bowed to both women. This had always been something that made her a bit uncomfortable but she nodded her respects in return.

“What did the Queen say of your plan?”

Laaka had carried the mysterious woman back to his temporary camp and brought her into his tent. It would be the best place for her since she seemed to be fairly injured and would need some medical attention. But that would require her to be undressed and while that might freak her out he had no other choice. So as carefully as possible Laaka undressed the woman while trying to avoid touching her more sensitive areas once he had finished he began to patch her up without using magic. After he had finished he took her clothes, which were torn to rags, and put them in his backpack that was near the campfire and left to go out to hunt for food.


Later Laaka returned carrying with him two cleaned and skinned rabbits tied to sticks. As he entered into his campsite he noticed the woman sticking her head out of his tent it appeared she had woken up and she didn’t look pleased.

”Ah good your awake.” Laaka said as he walked close to the fire and set the two rabbits on a stone near the fire but not close enough to cook yet. He then headed closer to the tent but not in any kind of menacing fashion. ”My names Laaka Taikoa. But you can call me Ka or Tai if you want.” As he got within arm’s reach of the tent he stopped and stuck out one hand offering a friendly handshake.

”When I brought you back here, you were pretty beat up and had some decent injuries. I am surprised you were moving as quickly as you were when you hit me. But don’t worry I cleaned you up and you should already be feeling better. Oh and don’t worry I didn’t take advantage of the situation or anything.” As he explained the situation he couldn’t help but feel that he might just be making it worse. It probably didn’t help that she was most likely completely naked behind the tent curtain.

”I would have left you your clothing but...they were pretty much ripped to shreds and would probably be just as revealing as nothing at all. So I left you some spare clothing of mine. It’s the best I can do.” He gestured to the tent so that she understood that some of his clothing was inside the tent. He was willing to give back her own clothing if she wanted, but like he said she would probably be covered more if she was nude.

Maero walked into town, a sack slung over his shoulder, his rifle slung in the opposite direction. He kept the hood of his cloak over his head, keeping his gaze downward so that none would see the three vertical stripes (one on each side of his face, near where sideburns grow, and one in the center of his forehead) on his face. They were a deep green in color, almost black. He kept his movement quick, making his way towards the smithy. When he'd shot the boar earlier in the day, part of his rifle had broken. Unfortunately, that meant he would have to come out of the mountains earlier in the season than he'd have preferred. Still, he could earn a bit of money today, if nothing else.

As he entered the smithy, a small bell tinkled above him. He was immediately beset by the heat flowing out of the forge in the back and he smiled as he pulled back the hood. He called out softly, not hearing the peal of metal striking metal, "Master Smith? I have work for you again, and on one of your favorite pieces, no doubt." It had been a running joke between the two of them, his rifle. Every time it broke, he brought it here, and he'd heard no end to the complaints that Lyon had about his weapon and how confusing fixing it could sometimes be.

He chuckled softly. He'd always liked Lyon, though he'd never been able to convince the smith to join him on one of his many treks into the surrounding mountains. As he thought about it, he realized that there was plenty of raw ore in them, even to someone like him. It caused him to think about where the smith got his ore from but he decided that now was not the time to inquire of the man. He looked at a displayed set of butcher's knives while he waited.

Eric stared blankly at the forms strewn across his desk, garrison requests, increase of active guard requests, increase forward watch requests. He had signed more request orders in the past month than he cared to recount. Such was the glorious duty of a soldier in times of peace. Certainly, things need to be done, crime needed to be policed, bandits hunted, pirates captured and sent to trial, but Sergeants of the Guard where rarely called on for such actions. Besides, he had done his share of that work, these days he knew to enjoy the peace he had. Younger soldiers were eager to be sent off to get some action, men who hadn't seen war in it's fullest, who hadn't lived for weeks on end hiding in the shadows of the enemy as Eric had.

He opened a drawer in his desk, inside it lay a few trinkets and medallions, memories of a past that he hoped would never reflect into the future. He removed a gold medallion, on it was the Guard crest, a sword behind a shield standing before a gate. The words "from one to many, from many to one." It was given in honor to a man who commanded a great respect. Eric remembered handing it to the man so many years ago, a gift from his fellow officers to the Captain of the Guard, a year later that man was gone. For twenty years the medallion slumbered in Eric's desk drawer.

Gently he placed the medallion back in it's place and closed the drawer. Dipping a pen into the inkwell he signed the requests. "Private, have these delivered to the emissaries desk to be filed and sent off. Hopefully they will admit me at least some of our need." a young man, for all intents and purposes a boy, entered from an adjacent room and retrieved the letters with crisp bow of is head, "Yes, Lord Jeansen."

"And take the rest of the day for yourself Arnold, I'll have no need for you till tomorrow."

The boy's face lit up a bit, "Yes sir, thank you sir."

Eric dismissed the boy with a wave and stood, gathering up a few possessions and tidying his desk. He then made his way on to the rest of the mundane tasks that awaited him around the garrison.

“Mind focused, legs shoulder-width apart, eyes always on the target, blade always aimed toward their throat, control hand on the neck, slide down, twirl, overhead spin, and…

“HYAH!”

The loud chattering and shouts could be heard from the training grounds near the castle. It was filled with straw-and-stick practice dummies, a small obstacle course, and scattered wooden instruments about the place. In the midst of all this, wielding a long, metal pole arm with a thin and curving blade at the top, was a woman with silver-white hair. With the light, though well-made leather armor she wore, it was obvious just who she was. A knight of the Emerald kingdom, she was, and one who had been training for several hours already.

The singing of the blade as she swung it skillfully through the air was almost as loud as her loud grunts. Finally, after a long day, the knight dropped to the ground, sweat pouring from her skin. Her breathing was raspy and harsh. It felt that, indeed, her lungs must pop at some point!

But they did not, and eventually the woman knight heaved a great sigh, which ended the attack to her lungs. The knight got to her feet, taking the large, bladed pole arm with her. Someone had been watching from the entrance, and as she staggered out, an old friend patted her on the shoulder. “Training hard as always, Rannyn.”

She regarded them with a weary smile. “Always.”

Hilrandra

“Ah, good you’re awake.”

Startled, Caster looked back and forth searching for the source of the mysterious voice as her hands gripped the sheet tightly. A young man walked closer towards the fire and she recognized him as the man from before. He was carrying something and placed it near the fire, she watched his every moment and he may or may not have been aware of it as he took it upon himself to get closer. His hand came up as he introduced himself, “My names Laaka Taikoa. But you can call me Ka or Tai if you want.” How about dead? She thought, teeth grinding together in agony. Ignoring his hand, she took another glance around, checking for scouts or any kind of sign that meant danger while he took it as a sign to keep talking.

“When I brought you back here, you were pretty beat up and had some decent injuries. I am surprised you were moving as quickly as you were when you hit me.” He sure does talk a lot, she thought. “But don’t worry, I cleaned you up and you should already be feeling better. Oh and don’t worry, I didn’t take advantage of the situation or anything.” She looked alarmed at this as her face turned scarlet to match her hair. Not only was he a non-Hilrandrain but he saw her indecently. “Where the hell are my clothes!?” A hoarse whisper left her which surprised her. This was not supposed to happen.

“I would have left you your clothing but…they were pretty much ripped to shreds and would probably be just as revealing as nothing at all. So I left you some spare clothing of mine. It’s the best I can do.” He gestured towards the tent and Caster eyed him untrustingly, “If you come in here I swear I will claw your eyes out.” She threatened before disappearing behind the flap.

As she turned around, Caster realized he was right. There was a pair of man clothes behind her which she threw on quickly, keeping her ears peeled in case he decided to take a risk of sight. It was a bit big on her and she had to actually tie some string together to keep the pants from falling but this would do for now. Taking a deep breath to calm her temper, Caster walked out and stepped towards the man who some would say was her savior.
In seconds her hand came smashing into his face, “That was for undressing me without my permission. Now where are my belongings?” She demanded.


Eirabella; the corridors

"She hated it. Thinks I'm been stupid and I haven't thought it out. But I have. I'm not as stupid as she thinks. I've got it all figured out. I've even spoken to a friend about hiding my markings. He'll do it for me. I'm not going to speak out against the queen, but I am speaking out against my cousin. She thinks that because I'm the baby of the children that I'm the reckless and careless one. Well, I'm about to prove her wrong. I'm gonna go into Emerald and get all the information we want and need on their sorry asses. That king..."

Meredith let out a long drawn out sigh as Essie went on with her rant. The girl had a habit of raging at the world and she could at times be a bit rash with her decisions. It was usually best to let her go on and on until she ran out of steam which seemed to be about now. “Are you sure that is wise?” She asked quietly, keeping pace with the hot headed girl.

Essie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'm going to do this with or without her approval."

“Then I guess I’ll tag along for the ride.” Meredith mused, “I’m sure it will be a pleasure to be in your company.” They continued walking, her armor making various sounds with each movement, her right hand placed lightly on the hilt of her sword. “Do we have a ship? A plan? Anything in mind?”

A chill breeze tugged at the figures upon the ramparts. Each wore a heavy woolen cloak that swathed their figures, removing any trace of gender or build. One held a torch that burned with an orange flame. It flickered gently in the winds. The pair were framed beneath a fold of cloth hung from an iron pole. Icy fingers clutched at the folds of the cloth so that one moment it was folded into obscurity, and the next spread out flat. Neither of the figures paid it any heed, for their mouths worked quickly and their tones were hushed. Secrets were being shared upon the bleak stone of the castles walls, oaths broken, and plans crafted.

"..death is what you wish, if shall be done." The taller of the figures spoke with a low baritone. He had a broad face and a thick of hair around his mouth. The snot had frozen beneath his nose. "It will take time though, My Lady. If what you say about the war is true, it may already be too late." The flame flickered again, and his face was wreathed in shadows.

The shorter of the figures remained silent for a moment. The darkness around them was drawn tighter. The torch guttered. The man let out a slow breath of frost.

"The war is precisely what we need. People are going to die. If we want their deaths to go unremarked, where better to strike than amidst a field of corpses?" She was a woman, it was clear. The torch was held in the hand of the taller man, and she made sure that the dim light never touched her features. The wind rose again, pinning her robe against a slight frame.

"...we have before war, My Lady?"

"Weeks. We have only weeks."

The taller man said nothing for a long moment, pinned beneath the invisible gaze of his Lady. After a long moment he nodded his head and stole away with no more said between them. The woman remained, alone beneath the moonlight. She turned and laid two pale hands on the cool stone of the wall. Beneath her stretched a road wide enough for two wagons, though she could scare make out its form. She lifted her eyes and stared into the darkness for a long time.

---

The figure atop the wall stared out after him, and even swathed in night as he were he felt uneasy. By fire and moonlight the two figures had stood upon the ramparts and spoken, fancying themselves unseen. Even from so far he knew if not who they were than what they were. A frown creased the solemn mans face as he returned the stare of the Lady atop the wall, for she was the one he truly recognized. The sound of hooves on dirt stirred his mind, and the young man turned his head back to the road. Seven horses trotted to meet him. Three bore riders adorning gilded armour over gilded livery. The silk and shine of their armour marked them as nobles. The lack of hair on their faces and their slight frames marked them as nobles children. The four other men were larger and wore plain plate metal. A gold broach fastened a cloak to the back of each. A crow resting upon a tree, black upon crimson. He knew such despite the light of the moon that bleached everything the same colour. One of the boys reined up before him.

"Why must you always insist we go hunting by night? You know how my mother worries so." The young noble sat atop a horse too large for his legs. He wore soft black velvet beneath his armour, and his house crested showed when he stretched his arms. "Why have we stopped?"

"Your Lord Father wishes you to be ready for war. It is on his order that we ride tonight." He fixed the boy with an iron look before turned away. The road stretched off behind him, but the forest was what they came for. It began here, and seemed to stretch until the end of the world in the midst of night. "There is a deer trail. It is old, but it will lead us to water at least, and our first nights camp."

"I want to shoot boar, not deer!"

"We will have no deer tonight. The trail is old. We will have rabbit, perhaps, or whatever the forest offers us. Tomorrow we ride East, and then you will find your boar." Turning his destrier, he left the young nobles and their guard behind him and moved into the forest. The deer trail was truly old, and the forest here was dense. A thick canopy grew above them, and soon the eight riders were lost to darkness, broken only occasionally by sparse silvery shafts of light.

By the time they made camp the sky was black as ink and the moon hid behind a thick barrier of cloud the colour of stone. A large fire created the only light in the clearing, around which eight men sat. Two rows of four tents were beside them, stretching towards a pool of water. It was here that the horses were staked. A trio of rabbits and a large pheasant turned above the fire, while each man made conversation or stared into the shades around them. The young noble beside him tugged his sleeve. He was one of Qolte's young friends, a noble from another powerful house, no doubt. His name evaded the tongue.

"If we ride to war, we will win?"

A few of the guards heard, and whilst smiles tarried their faces none of them laughed. They knew better than to openly mock a nobles child, however thick of mind. And body. None spoke up.

"I do not know."

"Of course we will!" Qolte jostled in.

"What if they have dragons?"

"Lords, the dragons are gone you idiot..."

Therein began a debate between the three children about dragons, war and everything between the two. He did not take part. When the food was eaten, two of the guards moved to their tents, and the other two drifted to the edge of the camp to take watch. He did the same at the opposite edge. The nobles were now fast asleep, no doubt, dreaming of hunting, wars and glory. Somewhere in the distance a wolf howled against the stir of the wind.

Sheol smiled.

The sound of the small bell ringing once again fell upon Lyon's ear. He looked up to see Maero, one of his favorite customers, enter the shop. Maero was a hunter, and Lyon would sometimes ask the man his advice on the market. However other then that the relationship was mostly professional, aside from the occasional shared drinks and meaningless talk about women. The main source of their relationship was none other then the hunter's complex rifle. It was an interesting piece of equipment to say the least. Very effective and fairly intricate, it didn't loose any style points either. however the problem witht he firearm was the complexity, it would often break and leave Lyon at a loss as to how to fix it for a while. Lyon enjoyed the challenge but felt it was necessary for him to play his role of being pissed of at the weapon.

"You bring me that damned rifle of yours again?" Lyon groaned as Maero presented it. "what's wrong with it this time? The amount of time I've spent with it is more then I've spent on a woman!"

Lyon straightened up and crossed one burly arm over the other across his chest as he looked down at the Hunter with a small grin.

Laaka saw the hand coming for his face and almost moved to block the hand. But instead let it come home to the left of his face. It hurt and he now had a quaint hand mark across his face but it was a small toll to pay so that the mystery woman wouldn’t have any reason to expel further anger on him. “That was for undressing me without my permission. Now where are my belongings?” The woman demanded and it only served to confuse Laaka a bit more. He had noticed that most Hilrandrian’s were kind and forgiving people, but so far it seemed that this woman did not fit that criterion.

“Your things are near the fire.” Laaka said as he pointed to a small sack that he had found on her. It didn’t contain much just the average items that most people carried on them when they went out adventuring but one thing he found curious was a purple stone she had. It seemed to be more than a simple purple stone. “You know you don’t seem to be an average Hilrandrian. In fact you haven’t even given your name.” He wasn’t going to be keeping the stone from her as he wasn’t the kind of person to steal from those who are unable to protect themselves, but he just felt an attraction towards it and wanted to know more.

“I assume you are hungry,” Laaka started as he moved towards the fire and placed the two skewered rabbits across the top of the fire allowing them to cook. “I did get enough food for the both of us.” While Laaka was being nice and generous at the moment he was beginning to doubt whether he should actually be kind to this woman or not, after all she did not seem to be too grateful. “Oh one more question for you...” Lakka pulled out a small pouch and withdrew the purple stone from it, “what exactly is this object that I have here?”

Maero chuckled softly as the smith asked him what was wrong. It was good to be around someone you knew so well. He hefted the rifle up and laid it on the counter, choosing to not bear the weight of the dense wood and steel.

"Oh, you know. Some of the bits have gotten a bit shifty. But that's not the real problem. What's been causing me some issues is the hammer itself. I'll bring it back, but it won't always release when the trigger is pulled," he explained. The hammer of the rifle had, in fact, been damaged recently when some deer had trampled his camp while he slept. He'd managed to wake in time to kill one with a lucky knife throw, but during their charge, one of the beasts had stepped on the ornate weapon he so loved.

"Plus, I know how much you love to work on my gun. Sometimes, when I stop by when I'm in for trading, I could swear you love your work more than any woman, but it's what makes you so damned good at it. I wouldn't trust another living soul with this rifle, aside, perhaps, from it's maker. So, how long do you think it'll take? I'm hoping to get what I can for the furs I have and be out and back to work as soon as I can, unless I'm needed here in town." He shrugged his shoulders, letting the fur-filled sack adjust to a more comfortable position.

Hilrandra

Eirabella; the corridors

As Essie stopped, Meredith was inches from walking into the girl who seemed more displeased with her company than what was considered normal. “Don’t you need to be here protecting Aileen?” The girl was staring at Meredith it wasn’t a nice one either. “I mean, I’m sure you’re really good and everything but with two of us – well, let’s just say you could drag me down a bit. I mean you do stick out like a sore thumb. But thanks for the offer.” With that she turned away, walking again. “And a ship is one of the kinks in my plan that I’m trying to sort out at this moment. I’m sure I’ll find one by morning. My plan is fine thought. Thank you for your unwanted concern.”

“What if I told you I had the connections to get us a ship by tonight? A reliable staff passage of course and before anyone could get in the way?” Meredith called out before edging closer towards Essie and whispering. “The way I see it either I can go with you as a personal guard or…arrest you now for treason.” It didn’t feel good to blackmail the girl yet Meredith didn’t have any other options at this point. The Queen would never be able to rest if she knew her flesh was running around into dangers unknown. “You are, after all…going against the Queen’s word.” And with that, Meredith walked ahead of the girl. Waiting for her answer, however hot tempered it may be.

The woods

“Your things are near the fire.” The man named Laaka pointed to her bag which somehow she had missed in her hurried search. With a slight hmph, Caster turned away from him and headed towards her belongings. Throwing herself on the ground, she proceeded to dig into her bag, a bit franctically. “You know, you don’t seem to be an average Hilrandrian. In fact you haven’t even given your name.” Questions. Why must they always ask her things?

“Do you really care to know the name of some strange girl in the woods? What if I wanted to kill you?” She countered as she proceeded to dump her belongings on the ground around her. Where could it be?

“I assume you are hungry,” Laaka responded and proceeded to cook the animals he had bought earlier. It was now that she saw what they were. Rabbits. She had always hated rabbits since she was a child. Caster was never sure as to why. It could have been the way they jumped around or maybe their unnatural eye coloring. Whatever it was, she truly despised them. “I did get enough food for both of us.” He said after a few months of silence other than the chirping, crackle and shuffling of things here and there. “Oh one more question for you…” She stopped moving and stared as fear crept over her face. “What exactly is this object that I have here?” and that fear turned to anger.

“Give that back!” She lunged at him in some vain attempt to retrieve the item.



Outside the courts

The sounds of thrusting and shouts caught Leo’s attention and he found himself moving towards it. There was a suspicion in him as to who this person was and Leo was pleased to see how right he was. The ever so lovely Rannyn was dancing with her Glaive alone. Leaning against the doorframe, he watched her move fluidly in awe. Her skills had always been different from the others, as if she was in a different plane of thought if that made any sense. When she had finished, the tired woman seemed to have not noticed him until his hand graced her shoulder. “Training hard as always, Rannyn.”

With a weary smile, she replied, “Always.”

He waited a few moments before replying, his eyes burning holes on the floor, “…He’s gone now.” Standing up straighter, Leo gave Rannyn a hard look, “It’s in our hands now to protect the throne.”