Ivan S.'s Story

Ivan
Ivan hummed as he walked around aimlessly. He knew he was supposed to be doing something, but couldn't quite remember what. As he walked, it slowly came back to him. Oh, yeah. Jaren wanted to meet, he thought, changing his course of direction and heading for the training grounds. Wonder what he wants...
Ivan wasn't wearing armor at that moment, just a black and white outfit. Of course, he had both his swords sheathed at either side of his waist. He never went anywhere unprotected, always suspecting something bad to happen. Some call it paranoia, he called it not wanting to get killed. Ivan was feeling really lazy however, and was glad that the training grounds was a short walk.

Ivan didn't really get along with people on purpose, and usually avoided them, so it took him some time to remember Jaren. Some guy who used dark magick, and looked fairly stronger than Ivan himself. Not that Ivan believed he really was. He also was pretty sure Jaren was older than him. Letting out a breath, Ivan paused to look up at the sky. It seemed much duller lately, but maybe it was just him. Maybe everything was just losing his interest. Wouldn't be the first.

Finally coming to the training grounds, Ivan immediately saw Jaren sitting on his bench. Upon seeing Jaren, Ivan confirmed his earlier thought about the man looking stronger. Sticking his hands in his pockets, Ivan walked up to him, curious about why they were meeting in the first place. Ivan wasn't much of a captain to be honest. He did his job well enough, but only because he had to. Leading usually wasn't his thing, fighting was. And being captain involved fighting.
"You need something?" Ivan asked.
Alexis
"Oh no oh no oh no oh no..." Alex repeated to herself over and over hurrying around her room. She came to a large stack of papers and began to sift through them swiftly with long, thin fingers. There was no way, no way at all, she could have lost it. Giving up on looking through there, she decided to look somewhere else. It wasn't like her to lose things, but even she should know goggles wouldn't be in a stack of papers.
Opening one of her drawers, she was met with many metal pieces and tools, but she ignored them. In the corner of the drawer, was her favorite pair of wielding goggles.
After putting them on, Alex heard a loud meow which caused her to jump. Looking behind her, "Flee Bag" (Shadow) was sitting on a pile of books, staring at Alex. The expression Shadow had was something like, "my owners nuts".
Rolling her eyes, Alex adjusted her goggles before going back over to her work bench to mess around with a few trinkets.

Adion was being taken by a group of gaurds to the dungeons of the city. After being dragged by the guards past Warren, then to the training grounds at the castle. Once the guards had taken Adion to a open spot in the training courtyard, where anyone in the training grounds could see, they threw Adion on the ground.

Adion rolled immediately onto his back. He had learned that when a guard throws you to the ground, prepare for a small fight. "Now it is time to show you why you don't just go around killing people." spoke one of the guards. As the guard went to strike Adion with a club, he was met with a spew of black, magical ink to his face. Adion then leaped to his feet and quickly called casted his Dark Paladin spell. The surviving of the two guards found himself fighting an enemy that his sword could not best, and was quickly sent to the underworld.

Ivan
Ivan had sat down to listen to Jaren, mildly interested. When someone was thrown to the floor by some of his guards, Ivan felt a tad annoyed. They were really reckless, keep someone restrained and unable to fight, even if they don't seem like they'll fight. His annoyance grew when whoever the guy was did attack. Were the guards really that weak?

"Remind me to go train them against spells," he muttered to Jaren, who he wasn't sure heard him or not. Watching the short-lived fight for a moment longer, Ivan became more and more annoyed. Not at the stupidity of his guards, but of peoples presence around him at all. "Who is he?" he said a bit louder, for anyone who would answer. ...and who did he kill? he added to himself in his head.

Jaren looked to Ivan with a slight smirk getting directly to the point "No reason to look uneasy, since I am usually outside these walls I've been picking up on rumors about a rebellious group. I want an investigation to go underway, and since you lead the guard I see this as a direct threat to our kingdom. The dark world is becoming more unsettling, get patrols stronger around the gates that's a direct order. These petty fools of the city need to be taken care of, that's your duty. In the mean time, shall I test your blade I've never seen you in action I doubt your anything special." Jaren said with a smile strafing over to the center field motioning Ivan over with his blade drawn.

Before anything interesting could have happened between the two a new face came onto the floor. Fighting back against the guards quite easily, devastating all three with relative ease taking them each down in a creative way. "Deal with him," Jaren said waving him off heading towards the man annoyed motioning Ivan to follow.

Ivan
Ivan had pulled one of his swords, but not the other. It didn't really seem needed. " 'Nothing special' doesn't get you to be captain of the royal guard," Ivan started, "but I'm not too special, I just can fight like most of us around here..."
Ivan watched his guards all get dropped and let out an annoyed sigh. "If these were my men, I'd be embarrassed... Oh wait, they are. Well, this sucks," he muttered.
Ivan followed Jaren, but he wasn't quite sure why he was following him. He had rights, and right now all he wanted to do was take a nap. Glancing at the supposed killer, Ivan realized he'd be napping a lot less. "Stupid criminals ruining my sleep..." he said, growling quietly out of habit. He quickly shut himself up though, as he wasn't alone. Jaren was here, and as he found out, it was apparently to fight him.

Adion looked at the next group of guards that came after him. The sad part was that they had grouped together when they decided to assault him. With one movement of his hand, Adion had killed or injured all with a large wall of shadows. This also made it very blunt that he had quite some mana reserve as the spell caused a quick release and then absorption of a massive amount of mana. Adion then used his Night's Deception to move from the courtyard to 5 feet in front of Ivan. "I may be a little late, but did you ask who I am?" spoke Adion.

Sky pulled out a piece of bread from his pack. He never went to bed last night, so he was a bit tired. All he had left to eat for now was the bread, which he almost ate in one bite. This morning, he had met with the Old Man, and he had asked him about investigating one of the Magi entering the Royal Palace. Thank goodness the Old Man's lips were easy to read. Sky wasn't sure if he had been silent or not, but he had followed the Magi after he had left the building, sticking to the shadows. When they had reached the training grounds, he seen he was meeting with the Captain of the Royal Guard. He read their lips while the spoke. There wasn't much said.

When a fight broke out on the training grounds, Sky took the chance to sneak away. He should probably head over to the others. A sudden gush of wind being felt against the side of his face caused him to look in the other direction, noting a person pushing some of the guards back with some sort of magic. Oh, it was the fay. Let him decide what he wants to do. Instead of going to help or bug the fey, he decided to just move on. Not like he'd be useful right now anyway.

Should he morph into his wolf form, so he could run faster? No, that would just bring attention to himself... He decided to stay as he was, in a sort-of human form. He took off running in his usual form, his tail flowing behind him.

Soon, he was at the apartment-like building (if I am wrong on this assumption, let me know). Walking in, he smelt mana assault his nose. Scrunching his face up at the sudden strong scent, he knew Alexis had been working on her project. He could ask to see it later. Right now, he wanted to get more food, as bread wasn't enough.

He walked into the kitchen, panting lightly from running earlier. He wasn't sure how he looked right now, what with his all-nighter, but he could care less. He seen Satou and Alexis in the kitchen and he smiled, his voice strangled as he spoke, "Hay ghuyz!"

Ivan

Ivan didn't turn to look at whoever spoke to him, because he could assume who it was. Instead he nodded. "Yes, I did," he said simply, shrugging. "Be nice to know who took down my guards..." as he spoke, he swore he heard fighting. Finally turning to look, Ivan had to keep himself from screaming in frustration. He'd only recently become captain, and was still annoyed that most of the guards he'd seen were so... stupid and weak. How was Ivan supposed to do anything with them if they were all so dumb? Trying not to face palm in front of the mystery killer, Ivan instead settled for growling slightly
.
Whoever the new guy was, he wasn't human. Ivan could tell that much. He also could tell fighting with him shouldn't be something you do unless it's really, really your only option. Ivan wasn't even close to being a weak fighter, but he also wasn't stupid. Seeing his guards all be pushed out of the way confirmed that whoever to was could use their mana, and well. Ivan had to admit, he'd always wished he could use spells, but that just wasn't something he could do. "And who's that?" Ivan asked to no one in particular. He was starting to feel like he was repeating himself.

As the captured man appeared in front of Ivan, Jaren groaned prisoners never had the courage to attack the inner walls that effectively. He pondered if the man actually wanted to get captured and with a smile, Jaren swayed to the side giving Ivan the space to deal with the threat, "Get rid of him or recapture him I'm leaning on killing a good majority of your guards because of this, weak, useless and powerless."

Jaren turned his attention to the Fay that entered the palace, turning to him and shrugging as he made his way towards the floating fay "You really should learn your place in this kingdom, I hold nothing against your people but rest assured I will kill you if you do not peacefully leave, I have no qualm with leaving you alive." With a snap he split into two different beings, using the double image double cast spell taking a split formation as the him and his clone stood across from each other. Preemptively charging his destruction spell in his right and left hand, firing a blast from his right hand and his clones left hand. "Oops I've misfired," Jaren said with a grin, as the first blast was aiming for this chest and the second aiming a little higher and to the left attempting to prodict the direction he would jump into.

"You can call me Wolf the Dragoon." said Adion to Ivan, with a bow. Adion's voice did not sound like he really cared that another fight was going on at all. He was waiting for Ivan to respond. The mage that was standing next to Ivan had ran off to get rid of the other attacker, telling Ivan to either attack or restrain Adion. Adion had the feeling though that Ivan was not about to do that anytime soon.

Alexis
Alex took a bite out of an apple, staring at the ceiling. She was thinking about the checklist of things she had to do that day, and was mentally crossing things out and adding other things.
Upon hearing Sky, Alex pushed her thoughts to the side to wave at him. She would say good morning, but thought a wave was good enough so he wouldn't have to read her lips. When Satou came over to give them food, Alex smiled and said thanks before eating, ignoring most everything else. She really was hungry. Only when Satou asked Sky about what he found did Alex pause from eating to look up at Sky curiously.
Ivan
Ivan glanced at Adion as Jaren told him to attack him. He really didn't see why he should. He didn't know what he did to make his guards restrain him in the first place, and he wasn't one to attack people randomly. Glancing at Jaren's fight, Ivan couldn't stop from rolling his eyes. People are obsessed with killing and fighting, he thought before turning to "Wolf the Dragoon". "I'm Ivan. Just Ivan," he told him, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Do you feel like fighting? I really don't. It seems," he started, looking over at Jaren,"like a waste of time."
He wasn't sure if the Wolf guy would agree with him or not, but he wasn't attacking him at the moment so that was a good sign. Even when he seemed to get involved in Jaren's fight, Ivan didn't appear to care. He wasn't part of the fight, and no one was asking for his help. So why get involved?

Adion looked over at Ivan. "You don't seem to be abusing, or even caring about, anyone. So I agree with you that a battle between us would only be useful for a dominance display, training, or a waste of time." Adion then looked around, preparing a quick escape for if the magi decided that Adion's wall was not to the magi's fancy. Of course, Adion also had no particular place to go. He would be quite happy just standing in the training grounds for a couple hours, provided that he was not bothered for any reason. Adion then turned back to Ivan saying "I feel pity that you have to put up with magi doing your job and trying to command you, and that you have to put up with such useless guards."

Ivan
Ivan shrugged at Adion's comment about him being uncaring. It was technically true, but he didn't feel like sharing his views on people at that moment. He smirked though, and nodded when the other man brought up the annoying magi and guards. "You could say I'm new to my job as captain, but I can already tell that these guards aren't worth shit..." she trailed off, looking up at the sky. He kind of hoped it would rain soon, he liked rain.
"Supposedly, Jaren came here to ask me to fight him. Doubting that I'm actually strong, I'd guess," Ivan said, smirking slightly. It wouldn't be the first someone doubted him. He even doubted himself, but that was a flaw every human had.

The alleyway’s Gurth traveled through were like a maze, someone not familiar with the layout would get lost. Fortunately Gurth had planned and memorized his escape route yesterday, just in case anything when wrong with his task. Looking over his shoulder Gurth saw nobody not that he expected too he was completely hidden by his spell. He slowed to a brisk walk no point in wasting energy. His brisk pace quickly brought him to his destination. It was small door in the side of the wall, covered in grime and dirt the old plaque on the door could barely be read. But Gurth knew it said ‘The Rotten Apple.’

Raising his hand he knocked twice in quick succession and waited four seconds before knocking lightly against the door. In less than a minute the door opened showing a short balding man who walked with a limp and whose face was uglier than a donkey’s rear end. “Wach ya wont Beaky” he asked “I’m here to collect payment for a job” Gurth said in a soft tone not caring about the insult. Nodding the man, known as Pretty Pete stepped back clearing the way. Stooping low Gurth entered through the door, closing it behind himself. Amazingly the bar was dirtier on the inside than on the outside. Gurth heard laughter and arguing descending from the main floor of The Rotten Apple. He was in the basement were business was conducted away from the prying eyes of others. Turning left Gurth went through the nearest archway into a large but almost empty common room with many different sized doors set into the walls of room. Here it was said your darkest desire could be granted for the right price.

None of this interested Gurth, making his way straight to the largest door on his left and opening it he walked inside and came face to face with his contact, A man by the name of Vlad. He had met Vlad yesterday and from their short conversation Gurth knew he could make money if he used Vlad as his go-between to contact potential clients. Nodding to Vlad Gurth held out his hand the message obvious. Without saying a word Vlad pulled out a small pouch and dropped it into Gurth’s outstretched hand. Nodding again Gurth opened it and quickly counted it confirming that the full price had been paid. “Do you have any more jobs?” Gurth asked breaking the silence. Vlad shook his head “Today has been slow which is unusual but it does not matter there are always lulls in business today is just an unlucky day. Gurth nodded again slightly perturbed at the lack of work but accepting it there would always be more work later. For now he would content himself with exploration of the city, it would be beneficial if he got more equated with the layout of his new home.

Leaving Vlad and The Lower rooms of The Rotten Apple Gurth entered the alleyway again intent on committing the city to memory. After a short time he found himself in front of a large palace the home of the King and the Magi. There was already a large crowd outside intent on seeing the inside but being held back by the guards. Casting an illusion Gurth walked up to the guards and saluted. To them he looked like another guard coming back from patrolling the city. Receiving a salute from the guards at the gate he walked right by.

Immediately Gurth noticed a number of odd things the first was a couple of men standing in the middle of a field talking with the body of three guards on the floor around one of them. The sound strange thing was the Fay and a Magi fighting, he had never seen a Fay before and for a moment a spark of wonder filled him but that spark was quickly stuffed out by logic. The Fay was dangerous that was all. The third point of interest was the man with hooves, he realized this was the leader of the Magi. A powerful mage but also a potential employer for Gurth and that interested him the most. The strangest thing to him was the woman walking across the field a book in her hand see seemed out of place when taken in context with the fighting going on around her.

An idea rose from the depths of Gurth’s mind. The Royals were fighting against the Rebellion so maybe they could offer him a job that was sure to pay a lot, but that would wait until the fight ended then he would seek employment from one of the Magi. The walls of the Castle provided an ample amount of deep shadows, walking into one he cast Shadow Cloak content to wait until the fighting was over to make his next move.

"I have rarely ever met a guard who expects the man he throws to the ground to spit magic ink in his face." Adion said to Ivan. It was true and false that the guards are worth shit. Most guards are trained to fight common criminals who either don't use or don't know magic. This means that few guards pose a threat to someone who can wield even the most basic magic. However, the guards of this city didn't even seem to know that people other than the magi can use magic. Adion hoped that it would stay this way, as it would mean less guards to cause him trouble when he frees those who can't free themselves.

"I am a dragoon after all. I have two abilities that use spitting, the other one than what you saw is much more destructive and painful." Adion said to Ivan, before looking over at the battle between Jaren and the fay. "If the rebellion is as powerful as any of the magi I have seen today, then you have a lot of work to do. However, I doubt that they are quite that powerful." Adion spoke as he looked back at Ivan "You should also train your guards to not through someone who has come without struggle to the ground. That's how I got here."

Ivan
Ivan shrugged. It wasn't really in his interest to teach guards manners, but then again, it was one reason they were all so quickly defeated. "I guess I have a lot of work to do," he said, looking around the training grounds. People were coming and going really fast, and only two of them had really fought. This place didn't seem much of a training ground right now to Ivan. "And as for rebellion, it's better safe than sorry. If they aren't strong now, it's a good time to wipe it out before it becomes strong."

Sighing, Ivan looked over to the way out of the training grounds. It was very tempting, as he figured Jaren didn't care about their fight anymore. "Well," he started, hands stuffed in his pockets, "I think I'm going to go for a walk if I'm not needed. It's rather... confusing here." As he spoke, he looked around at the training grounds seeing people around him.

Alexis
Alexis was standing a little ways inside, listening to Satou talk to the dragoon guy. She still had a pistol in her hand, but she wasn't planning on using it. Though the guy seemed a bit off, she didn't feel any immediate danger. Still, she was going to keep an eye on him.
When they started talking about him needing a place to stay though, Alex tensed slightly. Someone else living with us? she thought, eyes widening. ...but he could kill us, or snitch...oh god or he could move the stuff in my room. Alex thought. Walking up behind Satou, she tapped his shoulder. "Oi! If he stays here, make sure he knows my rooms off limits," she whispered, though Adion could probably hear anyways. She then backed off a bit, muttering something about killing him if he touched her stuff.
Ivan
Ivan walked away from the training grounds after Adion left, uninterested in anything there. Training was useless unless with a real person in his opinion, because a dummy can't dodge nor block. Or fight back, for that matter. So, what to do of the so called rebellion, he thought, looking up at the sky. He remembered what Adion said about them most likely being weak, but that didn't make it any less a problem. If word got around, then people could want to take their side. Fools, he thought bitterly, deciding to sit down near the wall of a building. He didn't want to go home, as it was close to where royals lived and while he would fight for them, he didn't really want to talk to them. He was fine with taking simple orders, but chatting wasn't his thing.