RPG ~Still Can Dream~

[skedy]

[COLOR=#ffffff][SIZE=1][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode] [color=#300EC4]OOC:[/color] Jeans! Jeans! We can?t have denim in a medieval style setting, lol. Ohkami, this color thing is just a table. The code for it?s here. [color=#300EC4]Afternoon[/color] The post office was quiet, as usual, when Athen returned for a fresh batch of letters. He was left surprised by the lack of fresh deliveries, especially this time of the year. With a sigh he headed back into the bustling Town Square, at least now he would have time to browse the stalls while he chased the last of his failed deliveries. While most of Glen Haven?s streets were yet to experience the annual deluge of eager stall owners accompanied by their exotic, and often pungent, merchandise the Town Square had already fallen to a myriad of stalls. Spread across two levels, an upper where the clock tower, Curiosity Shop, and numerous food stores surrounded a luscious garden, complete with a twelve-foot fountain fashioned in memory of a triumvirate of ancient dragons. The lower consisted of a large paved courtyard, dotted with small clusters of dazzling flowers and benches, where couples often sat in the crisp evening air. This lower level connected the town?s heart to the ever-flowing streets and was always the site for the festival, despite the increasing clutter of stalls and merchants every year. Glen Haven?s only blacksmith could be heard from here. But only when it was early or late, before the crowds filled the square and the babbling din could be heard many streets over. Athen enjoyed listening to the rhythmic clashes on the anvil, from a distance, where the metallic smells of the forge couldn?t assault his nose, and the harsh crashing wouldn?t echo through his ears. It took several minutes to cross the town to the smithy?s forge, several more for the aging artisan to realize his company. Unusual as it was for him to be working in this hour, he was focused on the job at hand. ?Monty my man.? The grisly resident greeted Athen. He wasn?t exactly sure why he called him Monty, something he inherited from his father. ?What ?ave yer for me today?? He placed the hammer on the flat of the anvil, beside the glowing steel. The youth knew he would have had a hard enough time lifting the tool, let alone forging works as eloquent as the smithy?s. ?A letter sir.? He retrieved it from his canvas carrier bag as he spoke. ?From the west. Not often we receive letters from the west.? He continued his train of thought out loud as he delivered the mail. ?Thanks lad. But I?d best finish tis ?ere brace before I open it.? Athen noticed his patron?s work for the first time. It was a decorated brace for one of the dozens banners that would cover the town in coming weeks. Several more had been stacked against each of the workshops cluttered walls. ?Can yer jus? leave it on ter bench o? there.? Athen said his fair well and left the letter amongst the tools as he left. Freed from the acrid air of the forge he reached into the carrier bag for his next delivery. Heading back towards the Tea Kettle the mailman sighed. It was a shame Glen Haven was void of weapon smiths, the journey her had undergone to secure his punching daggers had been quite and experience, a break from the mediocrity that never seemed to change within town. Even the festival was starting to lose its appeal, the annual event that had dragged him through his childhood, simply because it was different to every other day. The mailman was lost in the past when he tripped through the front door of the tavern. The ground just outside the door had been churned up, sunken in several patches, a sure sign of a larger visitor to the establishment. ?Twice in one day. Some ting must really ?ave yer down.? Otik laughed as Athen ordered another mug of milk. ?Nah, just figured someone?s got to keep you in business.? Athen laughed as the keep fetched the urn. The Tea Kettle?s populace had more then doubled since his visit this morning, and most of them were the usual flow of regulars, but there was many a foreign face amongst the crowd. ?Don?t suppose you?ve seen Seuneu around?? He queried Otik as he returned with the drink. ??fraid not.? Athen sighed at the response. Seuneu was one of the hardest people to find Glen Haven. ?But he don? come in ?ere much anyways.? ?I suppose not.? Athen swept the crowd of faces as he spoke, he didn?t have mail for any of them. ?They could make my job a little easier though. You know, follow me around or something.? He laughed one last time before downing the remnants of his milk and disappearing back into the street.

[/font][/size][/color]

[GuyYouMetOnline]

He was tired of waiting for the girl's return. He had thought that she would rush back to Yuka, but she wasn't. Suddenly, it hit him. He went over to where she had climbed onto Sideria. [i]Footprints. Why didn't I think of this before?[/i]

He followed the girl's footprints to a cave. Before entering the cave, he concentrated on the girl's appearance. When he entered the cave, anyone looking at him would see the girl.

He/she was soon in the main area. [Terra, it's good that you have returned,] Yuka said. [There is something that you must know.]

"I know," he/she replied. "I'm sorry I had to leave."

[Don't worry. I am still here.] A pause, then, [Something... wrong. You're not Terra.]

He/she laughed. "Right on. You know, I thought it'd take you a little longer to figure it out." He dropped the illusion of Terra. "You know what I am here to do."

[You can't stop her from discovering what she is.]

He laughed again. "You and I are the only ones who know, and you are the only one who wants her to know. And when dead, you can't tell her a thing."

It happened fast. Yuka fought as best she could, but her oponent had the advantage. Before long, Yuka was a bloody mess, barely alive. He looked at the dying dragon and laughed. "I thought you'd put up more of a fight then that. Now, I'd say you have no more than a minute of life left. Live it as you are now."

He walked out. Yuka was barely able to move, but she managed one last act. A message, written in her own blood in the only written language she knew, telling Terra what the dragon needed her to know. Hopefully, she would be able to find one who could read it.

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OOC: Ohkami told me to do that.

[KKC]

[size=1][color=darkgreen][i]I'll get back to that man later...[/i]

Kel looked back over her shoulder to the Inn as Terra asked the question. From over the top of the Inn's roof an eagle glided through the air and perched itself on Kel's shoulder, nipping at her ear. Kel smiled and pulled a piece of bread out of her pocket and gave it to Talon (the eagle), who devoured it quickly.

"Let's go flying, I havn't been in a couple of days." Kel answered as the three walked over to Dryoga.

"Flying it is!" Charity said happily. Dryoga knelt down as Terra and Charity mounted just above his wings. Kel looked up at the sky, a black figure started to come towards them, as it came closer it could be identified as a black dragon. He landed gracefully next to Kel and growled, nuzzling his nose against her shoulder.

Jet was the dragon Kel knew best (picture at bottom). Although he was fully grown, he remained very small, being the runt of the litter he was born into. He was only about a foot about Kel's height so he neer had to crouch for her to mount him.

"Jet seems to alwasy know when we're-" Terra stopped in the middle of her sentance as a heavy wind blew through the town, sending chills down their backs. Jet and Dryoga seemed very un-easy as they scratched their claws against the ground. Kel looked at Talon, who had fluffed up his feathers so much that his head could barely be seen.

Large flocks of birds flapped over head as if they were trying to escape something and howls from animals could be heard from the forest that was west of the town.

"Somethings wrong..." Kel murmered quietly as another chill itched down her back. Terra suddenly gasped and her eyes grew wide.

"Terra, what's wrong?"[/size][/color]

[Sakura]

[B]OOC:[/B] Thanks for that Takuya. Now I'll do your section. If I did anything to Seuneu that you didn't want then let me know.
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[COLOR=Navy]Tears sprang to Terra's eyes.

"No, no!" she cried. She put to fingers into her mouth and whistled a long high pitched note that vibrated. There was no reply.

She jumped off Dryoga. ["Sid!! Wherever you are. Get here now!"] she screamed mentally.

There was a wind around her and she looked into the eyes of her purple dragon. Terra climbed onto her back and apologised to her friends, saying she'd explain later.

["Quick, Sid. We have to get to..."] Terra started, she felt the life essence of a dragon fade away. But only one dragon had such a powerful essence. Sideria, Dryoga, Jet and Talon felt it. Sideria knew where Terra was asking her to go. She pumped her wings and soared off into the sky, heading for the caves.

As they flew over head, the tears rolled down the girl's cheeks. Yuka had been one of her closest dragon friends. Her vision was blurry by tears but she saw a red spirit emerge from a cave. Terra asked Sideria to stop, it looked familiar. Sideria landed and Terra approached the spirit.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Seuneu. I'm a fire spirit." he answered, predicting her next question.

"Seuneu...It sounds so familiar. Excuse me, my name's--" she started.

"Terra. Yes, I know. My name sounds familiar because I saved your town from a fire a number of years back. Where are you off to in such a hurry?" he asked.

Terra didn't reply, but more tears appeared and continued to flow down her cheeks. Seuneu transformed into his human form and produced a handkerchief and gave it to her. She wiped her eyes and thanked him.

"Would my guess be right if you were going to see the old dragon that lives further up? Yuka, I think her name was." Seuneu predicted.

"How do you know all this? How do you know about Yuka?" Terra asked.

"I have my ways, and I've visited Yuka before, she was very kind." he explained.

"You can talk to her?"

"Of course, she is a creature of fire."

"I'm sorry, I don't have time to talk, I must go to her..." Terra said, her eyes shining with new tears.

"May I come? She was a good friend. Don't worry, you can trust me. I'm a friend to the town."

"Yes, of course. I know, I saw what you did with the fire. Get on, quick." Terra said, getting back onto the purple dragon. Seuneu climbed on behind her and Sideria took off.

It wasn't long before they landed again and they got off. Terra thanked the dragon for flying at fast speeds and they headed for the entrance, but stopped Seuneu from taking another step. There were two sets of footprints. The second set were fresh. Terra saw her own and someone elses. They went into the cave and Terra watched as the footprints changed from someones to ones exactly like hers. She ran into the central chamber and saw the bloodied up body of Yuka.

"No!! YUKA!!!" Terra cried, running over, she hurdled over the moat and sat by the dragon's side. She was dead, her eyes were wide open. Terra didn't notice as Seuneu came over. Tears flooded her eyes and they fell to the floor, making marks before evaporating from the heat. Seuneu saw something and walked over to it. There was a series of marks and prints that he diddn't know.

"Terra, take a look at this, she made these marks before she died. They may be a clue to something." Seuneu said.

"How do you know?! They could be years old!" Terra snapped angrily, over come by anger and grief.

"It's done with blood and is still fresh." he said.

Terra looked over and saw he was right. She checked some of her pockets and found paper and a pencil. She copied each of the marks perfectly and stashed the paper away carefully, she'd see if anyone knew what language it was in and could translate it for her.

"Yuka..." Terra cried sadly, falling to her knees. She looked at the old dragon, she had always worn some sort of pendant around her scaley neck. Terra examined it and something told her she would need it so she unclasped the silver chain and pendant and attached it to her neck, she would never forget her dragon friend. Terra looked at it and saw it was a small glass orb with some sort of blue power inside. It was a spark, it seemed attached to her emotions, she was feelnig sad so it was small, but then she felt anger for whoever killed Yuka and it flared brightly and angrily, exactly like how she was feeling. She swore revenge on whoever did it and looked at the dragon with hatred burning in her eyes.

'I'll avenge you Yuka, even if I die trying.' she promised silently.

"How are we going to bury her?" Terra asked, looking to the spirit.

"I can break this rock under her, then she'll fall into the lava. From lava she was born, to fire she'll return." Seuneu said.

"Alright, but is it possible to get the piece with the marks on it? In case my copy is ruined or lost." Terra asked.

"Yes, it is possible. you may want to stand back." he alerted her.

Terra backed away and Seuneu transformed into his spirit form that wouldn't be affected by the boiling hot lava. He hit a spot and the whole plate started to crumble away. He broke the part with the marks on it away quickly before it fell into the lava and walked over to Terra. He handed her the section and watched with her as the rocks melted and Yuka sank into the lava as well.

Terra watched until Yuka was completely under the surface and turned away, heading for the entrance. Seuneu was behind her but they were in silence.

Terra got outside and tucked the rock under her arm as she climbed onto Sideria's back.

"Do you want a lift back to your cave, Seuneu?" she asked.

"No thanks, I'll walk. But may we meet again?" he asked.

"Of course. Thank you..." she said.

"It wasn't a problem. Don't feel too beat up about leaving Yuka for that time. You didn't know someone would attack her." he said.

"But how..." she started, but he was gone. She shook her head and asked Sideria to take her home. She thanked the dragon again and walked into the house. Charity's mom greeted her, she just waved headed for her room. Terra put the stone carefully onto her table and flopped onto her bed. The tears flowed freely again and she cried herself into an unrestful sleep.[/COLOR]

[skedy]

[COLOR=#CCCCCC][SIZE=1][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode] The package sent small blooms of dust billowing through the air as it thudded to the table, still squirming. Talon had spent most of his morning explaining exotic intricacies to clueless customers; this delivery would make for a welcome relief. He couldn?t help but chuckle at the young mailman, still counting from the bag of small golden coins, as he crossed back into the front room of the Curiosity Shop. Athen was one of the stores regulars, as most of the mages in Glen Haven were, and one of Talon?s favorites. He had a new story to tell every time he came in, an occurrence growing more and more common with the development of his skills. ?Will that be all sir??: a formality as his patron made for the door. ?Not today sir.? Once again, Talon couldn?t help but laugh at the man?s mocking tone, unsure as to why, as usual. Knowing it wouldn?t be long before his next customer sought refuge from the bustling masses of the Town Square, Talon retreated to the backroom. It was cluttered and far dustier than the rest of the store, but he was comfortable amongst its many desks, perhaps one too many, each more cluttered then the last. It would be a long wait for the sun to fall, until he could investigate his newest addition. With a sigh he dropped to the only desk free enough to work on in the room. He tried to keep it clear, clear enough for his inks and imported nibs. It was at this desk he kept the books, sorted the papers for the store. At this desk he translated his ancient wears, traded one aging script for another. Glen Haven wasn?t a particularly diverse town when it came to the ancient arts. Its magicks were new, its people and culture newer still. He was grateful for his heritage, proud of his skills with forgotten lore, ancient magicks. Musing over his newest bundle of scrolls, imported from the south, the youth had forgotten the store, left a fresh cluster of bewildered customers to browse his world of oddities unguided. A shrill scream brought him back to reality, running to the front room. A young woman had wandered in from the street, accompanied by and equally youthful and boisterous man, unaware of her suddenly unique surroundings. The Curiosity Shop, the only store in town where a table would squabble with a passerby or a pouch could swallow an unwanted hand. This particular incident wasn?t anymore unusual than the rest, no less amusing to the youthful shopkeeper either. Caught between a pair of gossiping tables, one discussing the weather, the other complaining of the one before, the young woman was fighting desperately to free a cluster of brightly colored, shrieking feathers from her long golden hair. Her partner had turned a brilliant shade of red and dropped to the ground in hysterics, accompanied by several of the tables? chairs. ?May I help you ma?am?? He couldn?t help but laugh, as usual. Perhaps that was where the store?s reputation came from.

[/font][/size][/color]

[Dmitri_Dragoon]

[SIZE=1][B]The following morning Gavin awoke with his head on the floor of his room, and his body sprawled across the bed. After he was able to get himself up, he felt the stiffness in his neck, it was so sore that he was not sure if he would be able to get to the dining room. He dressed himself into some simple leather breeches and a white tunic. He did not feel like wearing his full armor this day, he wanted to have some comfort.

He adjusted his sword on his way down to the common room, which also served as the dining room. Otik saw him coming and quickly rushed into the kitchen to prepare his guest's breakfast. In fifteen minutes, Otik returned with a plate full of eggs, bacon, spiced potatoes, and toast.

"What would you have to drink Sir?" Otik asked.

"Tea, or coffee, either will be fine," Gavin replied, eyeing his breakfast hungrily. When Otik left, Gavin started on his breakfast.

[CENTER]* * *[/CENTER]

Gavin walked around the town. It was very crowded and he saw many interesting looking people. His first stop, was to the blacksmith. Who didn't take kindly to Gavin.

"Ye can wait!" The gruff, stocky man said with a raised voice. "I 'ave orders that were placed two weeks ago! Wit' this blasted festival I'll probably ne'er be able to done! So yer horse can wait. I'll get to it when I 'ave a chance. Good day!" The smith had been able to herd Gavin to the door, and slam it in front of the warriors face.

Gavin had nothing to do, except return to the Tea Kettle. He took his lunch, and informed Otik that he would be staying indefinately.

"In that case, twenty jin will insure you residence here for two full weeks. If you need more time after that, you can pay as you need," Otik explained.

Gavin paid out the jin, and went back into the town. He had to find something to do, the boredom would be the death of him.[/B][/SIZE]

[GuyYouMetOnline]

Seuneu could move rather quickly in his spirit form, although not as fast as a dragon. He chose not to accept the ride because he needed time to think.

[i]I was right, then. Things are starting to happen. But what is my role in all of this? What part will I play?[/i]

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt... something. He assumed human form and walked over to where the feeling came from. He found himself looking at himself. But he wasn't fooled. "An illusion. I can't be fooled by illusions. The illsuion doesn't extend to heat."

"Correct,"was the reply. "And I know that you are not in your natural form. Neither of us are showing what we really are, and right now, I prefer that you not know who and what I actually am. As for a name, well, call me Valse."

"Fine. Now, I assume you want something?"

"I couldn't help but notice you were with the girl Terra. Why?"

"Because I felt that I needed to be. I need no other reason. I assume that you are responsible?"

"Very good," Valse replied. "You are correct. I killed the dragon Yuka."

"You're the one, aren't you? The one everyone is afraid of. The one the prophisies(sp?) say will be defeated by the Winged Soverign."

Valse nodded. "Also correct. Care to continue? You've been right so far."

"The question on my mind right now is this: why did you kill Yuka? She was certainly no threat to you, I take it. She was well past her prime. I assume you didn't have too much trouble with her. Besides, she would have died soon, anyways. So, why did you need to kill her? That's the question. My guess is, she knew something you didn't want revealed."

"Correct again."

"Then the question changes," Seuneu continued. "What did Yuka know? That's the question now. Now, a lot of people don't have much faith in prophecies. Spirits such as myself, however, tend to believe them. My guess is, Yuka knew the identity of the Winged Soverign. You didn't want te identity known, so you killed her. There is one more question, and that is: what do you want with me?"

"Take a guess," Valse replied. "You seem to be good at figuring things out."

"You've been watching us," Seuneu guessed. "You want what Terra was carrying when we left Yuka's cave. And if you can't have it, you want it destroyed."

"Very good. Yes, I want it. I saw what it is. A stone with a message in blood. I was careless, leaving Yuka to die. She had time to write a message. I need that stone with the message."

"What makes you think that will do any good?" Seuneu responded.

"Because Terra can't read it. Neither can you. If she knew what it said, she would have been acting a lot differently. I don't want her to know what it says. I'm asking you because she'll trust you. She won't suspect you. Either take the stone if you can, or destroy it if yo can't. If you take it, get it to Mount Krolstoronomono. When you see a... well, anything intelligent, say 'Sent from the Outside." If the reply is 'Outside enters under all', then give whatever you're speaking to the stone and instruct he/she/it to get it to me. He/she/it will know me b the same name you do, Valse. You will be rewarded, of course."

Valse seemed to gradually fade out, saying, "Consider it.' as he did. Seuneu returned to spirit form, and headed toward Glen Haven.

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[KKC]

[size=1][color=darkgreen]OOC: I changed my eagle's name to Shard sense Skedy's character's name is Talon.

IC: Kel and Charity waited in the bed room for Terra to wake up, she had been sleeping for what seemed like hours. Kel already knew what had happened to Yuka, not only was Terra mumbling about the dragon in her sleep, but only Yuka could have an affect on dragons like what happened earlier.

Terra started to stir and her eyes slowly blinked open, she looked up at Charity and Kel and her eyes began to water. Kel managed a weak smile, she knew it wasn't really a happy moment, but she couldn't stand being gloomy very long.

"We kind of already know what happened..." Charity said softly as she sat next to Terra on her bed. They gave each other a hug and Kel sat down on a chair near the wall. She had recieved a horrible head ache soon after Terra had left them earlier. Terra quickly wiped away her tears and pulled a stone out from under the covers.

"Yuka wrote a message for me with the last bit of her strength," Terra said as she placed it in her lap. Kel stood and bent over to look at the message, "But... I can't read the language it is in..." Terra sighed gloomily. Kel stared at the writing, it looked very familiar as if she had seen it many times before.

"I know!!" Kel suddenly screamed, causing everyone in the room to jump, Shard jumped off Kel's shoulder and flew out the opened window.

"You know what it says?" Charity asked with excitment, Terra's face seemed to light up.

"Heck no," Kel exclaimed with a wave of her hand, "But, I'm positive that I'v seen writing like that in Talon's shop. If anyone can translate that message, it's ganna be Talon." [/size][/color]

[Dead Alice]

Isabelle woke from a pleasant sleep the next day, feeling a little more confident. She wore a clean blue dress and a white smock, her long blonde hair fastened at the back of her head. She decided to keep the shop open until noon, and maybe take a walk around town later.

"If anyone comes in today, I'll bake them something fresh," she said to herself, fixing the sign on the door to read OPEN. She sat at one of the small round tables and ate a quick breakfast, then began cleaning and dusting the entire shop.

OOC: Sorry it's short. I can't think of much to write at the moment.

[Sakura]

[COLOR=Navy]Terra nodded. "It's worth a shot." she sighed.

Terra got up and went to the bathroom. She wiped her eyes and cleaned her face from the tear stains. Her eyes were slightly red and puffy from the crying but it didn't matter. She walked back to the room and picked up the stone.

"Let's go." she said plainly.

Kel and Charity looked at each other. Terra's enthusiasm and happiness had died with Yuka. She was in depression and wouldn't come out of it for quite a while.

They walked into town, Terra didn't feel like calling any of the dragons for a lift. They walked to Talon's shop and walked up to the counter. She ignored all of the screaming and shouting from the other customers and talked to Talon.

"Hey Talon!" she yelled over the noise.

"Terra! Hey! Hey Kel and Charity!" he yelled back.

"Is there somewhere quiter to go?!" she continued.

"Yeah! Gimme a minute!" he said, then he turned to his partner, asking him to take over for a while, then she motioned to the side. They followed him and arrived in his office, where the sound was muffled.

"I think I went deaf..." Kel said, digging a finger in her ear.

"So what's wrong?" Talon asked, sitting in his chair.

Terra placed the slab of stone on the table.

"Do you know what writing this is in?" Terra asked.

Talon studied it, making little 'hmmm' and 'ah' noises.

"Well?" Terra asked impatiently.

"I've only seen this writing 2 times in my life. It's known as Ancient Dragonian. But I don't know what it means. It is a very old writing, older than you or I. You should ask some of your dragons, Terra." he said, leaning back.

"Ok, is that all you can tell me about it?" Terra asked.

"Hmm....there might be a book on it somewhere, but I don't know where. It could literally be anywhere." Talon sighed.

"Ok, thanks for the help Talon. You better get out there, sounds like it's getting rowdy." Terra said, smiling slightly as she picked up the stone.

They all exited the office and the three girls headed for the door, waving at Talon and exiting.

Terra called Sideria and she landed. She held out the piece of slab to her.

"Do you know what this is?'" she asked.

Sideria studied it. ['"It's Ancient Dragonian."] she replied.

"Do you know what it means?" she asked again.

["No, Ancient Dragonian was far before my time. Only very old dragons know the script. Like.....Yuka..."] she finished softly.

"I know, she left me this message before she died, written in her own blood. I need to find out a way to translate it. Sorry I called you for nothing, I'll start my hunt for anyone who can help now. Let me know if you get anything either." Terra said.

The dragon nodded and flew away, Terra sighed and told her friends that they didn't have to follow her. They shook their heads, saying they wanted to find out what it meant too. So they started their hunt for information.[/COLOR]

[Dmitri_Dragoon]

[SIZE=1][B]Gavin was once again traveling the streets of the bustling town of Glen Haven. He was looking for anything interesting in this Harvest Festival. Unfortunately, everything was, obviously, based upon some sort of harvesting type thing.

Gavin was drawn to a part of the town that he had visited the previous day. He was once again looking at a sign that read: [I]La Boulangerie DeFerias. [/I] From what he could tell the store was still open, but he was leery. He had a bad habit of indulging on breads and sweets of the sort.

His will power held out for quite some time, he was even able to leave that part of the town for a short while. He explored more of the town taking in the sights, for what seemed to be such a small little town, there was a lot to be seen.

Ultimately, however, he found himself once again in the presence of the bakery. He looked into the window and saw the proprietor. A young looking woman that had a streak of flour on her cheek. Her blonde hair was put up in a bun to stay out of her face and food. Even though she had the look of a "commoner" she was still very beautiful.

Gavin studied her for a few moments, she had not taken notice of him as of yet. He felt his heart give a slight pain. Something he had been experiencing frequently. He hoped it was not the heart problems that his family was known for. On the second moment of pain, he realized it wasn't a "bad" feeling, it was one of remorse. He missed his queen, and this baker, reminded him fully of the queen he so longed to see.

He almost slapped himself. He frowned at his ignorance. He should not be so weak, especially in public. He stood up straight, adjusted his sword, and entered the bakery.

At first he smelled stale bread. Then as he got used to the smell he noticed it was still a satisfying smell. The proprietor noticed him and gave him a small smile of shock and happiness. As if he was the first person she had seen in a long time.

"Um... h-hello..." Gavin stammered quietly.

"Hello..." the woman replied with a continuing smile, her voice edged with an accent he could not quite place.[/B][/SIZE]

[Xra]

OOC: >.> i dont fit in anywhere, im starting to have doubts, but I will continue to post untill I find unessessary...ess...es..y...o.O;;

IC:

[i][font=Courier New]Varskin finally sat back down at his tree after a day of nothing. Today was quiet from up here. Everything seemed fine. He was unneeded. Perhaps he was getting too old anyway.[/font][/i]
[i][font=Courier New][/font][/i]
[i][font=Courier New][color=seagreen][b]"One more look couldn't hurt..."[/b][color=black] He murmured to himself.[/color][/color][/font][/i]
[i][font=Courier New][/font][/i]
[i][font=Courier New]He peeked over the hill to see everything in order. But something seemed different. There were a few people he had never seen before. As he went to take a closer look, a huge beast flew over his head. He fell back at the speeds of this creature. Maybe something was amiss after all.[/font][/i]
[i][font=Courier New][/font][/i]
[i][font=Courier New]Varskin got back up on his feet and headed for the city, Morning Star in hand...[/font][/i]

[GuyYouMetOnline]

Pretty much as soon as they started walking, Terra, Kel, and Charity ran into Seuneu.

"You got back faster than I thought," Terra said.

"I must be quick," Seuneu said. "Shortly after you left on Sideria, I was approached by one calling himself Valse. He is the one everyone's talking about, the monster attacking the towns and all that. The one in the prophicies of the Winged Soverign. He is the one who killed Yuka. He did it to prevent her from telling you something. That something is what was written, is what's on the piece of stone. You copied it down, right?"

Terra nodded. "Yes. I have the paper with me."

"I've seen similar characters. It was a while ago, before I settled in here. There's a dragon by the name of Plejalta, the oldest dragon currently alive. He can read it. If memory serves, his lair is in a mountain at the east edge of the Grolomorena range, Mount Hastumnen. It's about three days' journey west on horseback from here. It's only a day or so away on dragonback, but don't do that. Valse, who I'd bet is hiding somewhere near town, watching the sky, will surely see you. I'm sure he expects that if you go somewhere, it'll be on dragonback. He won't let you live, I don't think. He won't expect you to leave on horesback, though.

"Valse doesn't want you to learn what's on that stone. He asked me to take it from you if possible, and destroy it if not. I want you to give it to me. See, he doesn't know that you copied the message to paper, so if I bring him the stone, he'll think you can't learn the mesage. He instructed me to take the stone to Mount Krolstoronomono, on the west edge of the Grolomorena range and about four days' hourney from here. Of course, in my natural form-which I can carry things in, although it doesn't look like I can-I can move about twice as fast as a horse, and, unlike a horse, I don't need to sleep. I can be at Krolstoronomono at about this time tomorrow. I want to take the stone there. Valse will think that you don't have the message any more. Meanwhile, you'll start for Hastumnen on horseback, making sure that nobody knows you're leaving and that no dragons follow you. When I've delivered the stone, I'll double back and meet you, and together we'll find Plejalta's lair in Mount Hastumnen. We'll show him the paper you copied the message to, and because he owes me a favor, he'll definatly be willing to translate it. Agreed?"

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Ohkami, you make the decision. Will Terra go with Seuneu's plan, or not? Oh, and everything Seuneu said is true, just so there's no confusion.

[skedy]

[COLOR=#CCCCCC][SIZE=1][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode] [color=#aaaaaa]OOC: [/color] ?Subtle? hints seem to be the way to go, eh? ?Talon!? The youth?s voice was distant, leagues away. ?Talon! Snap out of it.? His assistant, Tomas, brought the shop flooding back. Freed Talon from his troubled thoughts. It had been a long time since he?d seen the ancient draconic script, longer since he had had to translate it. ?Yes, yes.? He collected his senses and turned to his store. ?What is it?? The youth was nervous, fidgeting under his employer?s glare. The patrons had slackened but the store was still busier than it had ever been, at least since he could remember. The festival wasn?t to start for another four days, and already they were run off their feet. ?What did they want?? Talon couldn?t escape the odd sense that of ordering a man no less than a year his junior, but that wasn?t unusual. ?Nothing.? He replied simply and headed for the cluttered desks of the backroom. Pausing at the door, he explained: ?I?ve work to do, attend the store. Close early if you must.? No patron had ever seen the backroom, even Tomas had been barred, until recently; he still wasn?t sure enough to touch its venerable wares. No this was his room, his refuge from the outside, when everything was too much. This was his treasury, his secret store of items deemed to valuable to sell, unleash among the unwary eyes of the public. After several moments of browsing the great dusty stacks of books, Talon picked the one he needed, the one he had mentioned to the girls. Their visit had reminded him of the time before he had the store, when he was free to wander the lands surrounding Glen Haven; to converse with the dragons, to learn their hidden arts and tongue. The storeowner hadn?t been entirely truth full with Terra, he knew enough of the ancient tongue to know the information she carried shouldn?t be borne lightly. He had hesitated because he wasn?t sure she was ready, wasn?t sure what it was she carried. But now he sat at his dusty old desk, among his dusty old books, pouring over ancient history books and archaic tongues. He would learn the mysteries of the Winged Sovereign, a legend he was becoming increasingly familiar with, and then he would decide just how much Terra should know.

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[Dead Alice]

Isabelle was so happy to see a customer that she nearly forgot her manners. "Ah! [I]Monsieur[/I], please feel free to look around. Most of my goods have been out for a few days, but I do have some bread in the oven. I have not had a customer in many days, even with the Harvest Festival approaching.."

The tall man nodded, eyeing some of the sweets held in glass cases on either side of the counter.

Isabelle noticed the great sword at his side and could not help asking, "Are you a Paladin? I have not seen many of them around, but I suppose you are traveling, yes?" She was about to say more, before she realized her rudeness, turning a shade of pink.

[Ayokano]

[size=1]Leon walked out of the Inn after his had finished his breakfast. He had been walking along the roads of Glen Haven for a while, listen to people chat and yelling out what they were selling. It was a peaceful day, and he enjoyed the smell of the goods others were selling, but he had something on his mind. He wanted to help around the town, seeing how he had taken a liking to it. He soon started to think about the subject, and then something hit him.

He had entered the town square, and in the middle was a message board. He could post his services as a knight. He slowly wrote what he could do, and where someone could find him. He pinned the piece of parchment to the board, and walked off with the feeling of getting rid of another problem. Know he just hoped someone would answer his message.

OOC: Sorry for such a small post. I was aiming for the hope of getting my character active in the main story.[/size]

[Dmitri_Dragoon]

[SIZE=1][B]Gavin smiled at the girl's question. "No, I'm not a Paladin. Paladins have a religion that they follow, which gives them power. I have no religion. I am self-relying. I'm just a normal, everyday warrior.."

Isabelle watched him for a few moments. She noted a sense of regret, sorrow in his voice. "What brings a warrior to these parts?" She asked, daring to pry.

Gavin started looking at a rack of muffins, he couldn't decide if he wanted to tell the truth, or bend it. "I'm just traveling around..." He bent it. He turned his back on her for a brief moment, showing an insignia on the sleeve of his tunic.

"Is that not an insignia on your shirt [I]Monsieur[/I]? Does that not mean that you belong to some sort of army?" Her curiousity was getting the best of her, Gavin didn't mind the least bit.

"Yes, I was a knight at one time. I was exiled because of love," Gavin said, then remained quiet. A long drawn out akward silence followed, when the scent of bread aroused Gavin's interest. "Isn't there some bread you should be worrying about?"

Isabelle started, she had forgot about the bread. She ran off to the ovens to check on it. Luckily it wasn't burnt yet. She had hoped to sell something to Gavin. Gavin had hoped to buy something.[/B][/SIZE]

Did I handle your character well enough? [I]Oui[/I]? [I]Non[/I]? If I need to change it let me know.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

OOC: Ohkami said to use Seuneu's plan.

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Terra nodded. "Agreed. Here." She gave the stone to Seuneu. "I think Kel and Charity here want to come with me."

"That's fine," Seuneu told her. "You might also want to think about an escort. There's normally a sword-for-hire or two around here. Find one. I don't know if you'll encounter anything, but it's better to be safe then sorry."

"Got it."

Seuneu looked at her. "Be careful, Terra. If Valse learns that you have the message copied down on paper, then you're in serious trouble. Don't talk about it, don't take it out, and do your best not to think about it."

He turned to leave. "If all goes well, I'll see you a couple days from now. Remember, travel on horseback, no dragons following you, and tell nobody where you're going, except the escort, who'll be going with you." WIth that, he reverted to spirit form and was off.

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OOC: Ohkami, the 'escort' is meant to be Leon (Ayokano wants him to get into the main storyline).

[KKC]

[size=1][color=darkgreen]Kel blinked as Seuneu flew off in his spirit form. The three girls then headed over to the town's message board. Terra scaned the messages that were pined on the board and placed her finger on one.

"Here's one. Leon, a knight for hire." Terra said with a small smile. Kel felt her heart thump, she didn't know why, but she was eager to leave as soon as possible. Terra pulled the paper off the message board then turned back to Charity and Kel, "OK, I'll go find Leon. You to get some supplies and we'll meet at the North edge of town." All three nodded and started to walk away.

"By the way, you best not tell your parets about this." Kel called to Charity, "We don't want anyone to know where we're going." With that said Kel ran to the outskirts of the town until she came upon a small green house. She pulled a Key out of her pocket and unlocked it, then entered.

This was the house that Kel and her father had lived in before he passed away, she kept all her belongings her, but never stayed in the house very long, she didn't even sleep there. Kel walked over to a large trunk and opened it. She withdrew a thick long sword in a scabbard and glaive that had a leather skin pouch covering the blade. She crossed the straps over each shoulder and pulled some cloth bags out of a closet. She stepped out side and tossed the sacks into the yard and then ran off to the bakery, she didn't visit the place that much, but when she needed alot of bread it was always the best place.

Walking into the bakery, Kel was greeted by a man who appeared to be a warrior like herself. She smiled with a nod and waited until Isabelle came from the room of the shop with a large plate of freshly baked bread. Kel's mouth watered and tryed not to appear too hungry. Isabelle greeted her happily and placed the bread onto the counter, handing a piece to the man, who stepped aside so Kel could talk to her, but he did not leave.

"It's been a while, Isabelle. I'm stalking up for a while, I'll take as much bread as you want to give me. Fresh baked or a few days old." Kel grinned pulling out a small bag that rattled with coins. Isabelle seemed very happy and started gathering up bread.

The sack of bread she gave Kel seemed like it weighed thirty pounds. Kel grinned and let Isabelle keep the whole bag of coins, even if the bread was worth less. She quickly headed out of the bakery and back to her house. Kel took each stick of bread and snapped it into pieces, then wrapped them in cloth and placed them into a sack.

She hurried back inside the house, grabbing clothes, pots, pans, and some flint and tender. She packed all these and other asorted thing in bags and sacks. Kel stood outside the front of her house with bags, it looked like she was waiting for something to come pick her up. Suddenly, a chestnut horse with a black spot on its head came galloping up to the house, coming to a brupt stop infront of Kel. She stroked the horses neck and saddled him up, tying up the sacks and bags.

She mounted the horse who she called Drum and headed off towards the north side of the Town.[/size][/color]

[Sakura]

[COLOR=Navy]Terra walked around, she was looking for the knight who was looking for work. But for someone who was looking for work, he sure wasn't all that easy to find.

Terra asked around and asked if they'd seen someone that looked like a knight. But then she decided to check the parchment, and lo and behold, there was the place where someone could find him. Terra sighed at her idiocy and walked off in the direction of the area.

She arrived at a house, it was a medium sized house and was quite nice. She walked up to the door and knocked loudly. There was a voice from inside, and a while later the door opened to reveal a man in his twenties with blond hair, wearing armour with blue trim on it.

"Uh...Hi, You must be Leon." Terra said.

"Yeah, I've seen you around before, who are you?" he replied.

"My name's Terra. I'm here from the ad you put up." Terra said, holding up the piece of paper.

"Oh, what do you need me for?" he asked.

"My friends and I need an escort. We're going on a journey." Terra answered.

"Please, come in." Leon said, letting her through the door.

"Thanks." Terra said.

The house was nice on the inside. He led her to the lounge room with chairs.

"Ok, we have this message in Ancient Dragonian. No one we know can translate it, so Seuneu, a elemental spirit gave me the idea of visiting an old dragon by the name of Plejalta that could possibly translate it. I got the message from another old dragon, her name was Yuka--" Terra continued.

"Yuka? As in the old dragon that not many people have seen? You've met Yuka?" Leon said with amazement.

"Yes, she was killed by an evil force by the name of Valse, and she wrote me a message before she died. I need to translate it because Valse wants it too. Seuneu has gone to give Valse the stone which the message was written on, but I have it copied down on paper and I keep it with me at all times. He doesn't know I wrote it down so we're going on the journey. Two of my closest friends are accompanying me. We have to leave soon and we can't tell anyone or have anyone follow us in case we're caught by Valse, then he'll kill us. I need you to come along and help us, all three of us are fighters, despite being girls, but it's still good to have someone else along as an escort. Are you willing to accept? But before you make a decision, you have to know that we'll be gone for sometime and your life will be at risk, also, you can't tell a soul, not a human, not a beast, nothing. And we'll have to leave right away, after I do something." Terra finally finished.

"Sounds fun. I accept." Leon said.

"Great, now let's go, I have to do something first." Terra said, leading them out of the house, and she pointed to the large hill.

They walked over there and Terra let the wind blow in her hair. She got her ocarina out and started to play a full dragon summoning. After the song she said a chant and they could see lots of dragons flying towards them. At the head was Sideria and Dryoga. Leon was slightly shocked by the amount of dragons. Terra walked forward and patted her two dragons.

"I'll be leaving in a while and I'll be gone for a long time. I don't want any of you following me. But, I may not come back alive if Valse catches us, that's why I must let you all know that you must stay here. Any dragons could give us away, and we'll be riding horseback to be more subtle." Terra told all of them. She turned to Jet. "Kel is also coming along. You mustn't worry. All of you are trusted enough to obey me, so take care, we will take our leave." Terra finished.

["Terra, you can't leave. Where are you going?"] Sideria and Dryoga asked.

She sent them both a private message. ["I'm going to Plejalta, we're hoping he can translate the message. Please don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Take care and make sure the other dragons don't try anything."] Terra said, before walking down the hill, there was a strong wind behind them as the dragons took wing again and went back to wherever they were and whatever they were doing.

"You're THE Terra?! You're famous." Leon said in awe.

"Why?" Terra asked, heading towards her house and to the stables where the horses were kept.

"Why?! Because of what you just did. Not just anyone can do that you know?" he said.

Terra just shrugged and opened the stable of her strawberry roan whom she named Sakura, because it has a strange mark that resembles a cherryblossom on her forehead. Terra saddled her and then went to get Leon a horse. She chose a chestnut with white socks called Fleck, because it had white flecks around it's body. She gave him the saddle and go out another spare piece of paper. She scribbled a note about going on a camping journey with Kel and Charity, not to worry and they didn't know when they'd be back, probably over a week or fortnight. Then she signed it and ran into the house to plant it on the table before running out, locking up and went back to the stables. Leon had saddled Fleck and they untied their horses and led them by their reins.

"We're meeting my other friends at the North Edge of town." Terra informed him.

They continued to walk along, Leon asked questions and Terra answered them. Finally as they approached they could see the outline of Charity and Kel on horses.

"Hey guys, This is Leon. Leon, Charity and Kel." Terra introduced, indicating who was here.

"Nice to meet you." They all said.

Terra and Leon mounted up.

"You got everything?" Terra asked, sliding her staff, which was her twin blades into a special holder on the side of the saddle.

"Yup. I got everything." Kel said grinning as she patted the bags.

"Well, looks like we're off then." Terra finished, trotting out of the gates with the others following.[/COLOR]

[B]OOC:[/B] Sorry if I handled your character wrong Ayokano.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

Valse watched from his hiding place on a hill above the town as a large number of dragons landed, then took off about a minute later. [i]Terra probably told them about the message,[/i] he thought. [i]Asked if any of them knew the language. Ancient Dragonian, the only language Yuka would have known, is fortunatly not a widely recognisable language. There are few who can even identify the language, much less read it. None of those dragons stayed long enough to have translated it, so none know it. But at least one could surely point her in the right direction. I can't take that chance.[/i]

Valse turned around and spoke to the creature standing brhind him. "We're going to attack Glen Haven, Estubane. How many did you bring with you?"

"There are about 15 of us, sir," Estubane replied, "including myself. Not nearly enough to win against the number of dragons we just saw, and all of those dragons are certainly close enough to the town to know if we attack it. Sir, might I suggest that we wait a while, give the dragons time to leave the area?"

Valse shook his head. "No. We can't do that. The girl Terra is a danger, and if the message she has can be translated, things will become much more difficult. She will probably leave town soon to find someone able to translate the message. We must strike before she departs."

"Sir, we can't stand up to so many dragons. Not with just 15 of us."

"That's why I'll be participating in the attack," Valse told him. "you'll go in first to draw the dragons to the town. Then I'll come in. The things won't know what hit them. Inform the others. The attack begins now."



The innkeeper Vaxla was taking a walk. She was walking up a hill south of town when she heard two voices. One was that of a human male, the other sounded... odd. Inhuman. She crept closer, and came across a man conversing with a demon. She listened in on their conversation. [i]An attack?! I have to warn everyone![/i]

Vaxla ran back into Glen Gaven as fast as she could. She ran through town, yelling as loud as she could that demons were going to attack. Knowing that Vaxla wasn't one to lie, make things up, or exaggerate, people, both men and women, grabbed any weapons they owned, or anything that could be used as a weapon, and rushed outside. When the demons came, they were as ready as they would ever be. They would defend the town or die trying.

[skedy]

[COLOR=#ffffff][SIZE=1][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode] [color=#300EC4]Unwanted Ears: [/color] ?Impossible.? Athen didn?t know what to do as the summoner led her knight away. Yuka. Terra. He couldn?t still his thoughts. Couldn?t think what to do. He had been moving around the eastern district of town, delivering mail, when he overheard Terra informing the young man of the situation. Surely she meant for him to hear, someone so powerful. There?s no way she couldn?t have meant to let others know, revealing the story in an open doorway, less than a dozen feet from Glen Haven?s bustling streets. Remembering the letter the mailman hurried along, his job was his first priority. Maybe then he could follow after, ask Terra exactly what was happening. [color=#300EC4]OOC: [/color]Excuse the short post, I?ll make up the times left out between this one and the previous ones over the weekend - skedy

[/font][/size][/color]

[Dead Alice]

Isabelle smiled at the weight of gold in her hand. [I]Today is a good day,[/I] she thought. After putting the money away, she went back into the kitchen and pulled out the loaf of bread that had been baking. It was warm but cool enough to handle, so she wrapped it in paper and brought it out to the waiting swordsman.
"I am sorry to have kept you waiting so long. I am not so good with business these days..."
"It's fine, thank you very much," said the swordsman courteously (sp?), handing her a few jin.

OOC: Gomen ne again for the short post, but I wasn't sure what Dmitri_Dragoon would want his character to do...

[GuyYouMetOnline]

OOC: Come on, people! The town of Glen Haven is being attacked by demons! This is not a time to be bakeing bread or delivering letters! This attack was supposed to get everyone's characters involved in the main plotline.

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Valse watched as the demons entered Glen Haven. They were very efficient at first, but then the dragons started arriving. It was just two at first, and the demons took care of them, but more dragons were still nearby, and they were all heading for Glen Haven. Valse took the first two as his cue, and ran down the hill into town. As he arrived, several more dragons made it to the town. Valse leaped onto the roof of a still intact bakery (Isabelle's), betraying his non-human nature. One of the dragons, a very large red dragon, swooped down toward him.

Valse struck first. Yuka had been long past her prime, but her powers had still been far greater than most dragons, and Valse had easily killed her. The lesser red dragon never had a chance. After its death, three dragons flew towards Valse, who leapt off of the bakery, landing on the ground. The image of the human flickered and dissapeared.

What appeared in the human image's place looked nothing like a demon, but was still many people's image of a creature of Hell. He was covered in black fur from head to toe. About three times as tall as the human image, maybe a bit shorter, he was extremly intimidating. His eyes glowed red. His fingers ended in long, sharp claws, and his toes were more like talons. From his back grew large black wings of the type commonly attributed to demons (although the actuall demons had none).

One of the dragons swooped down at the new creature (well, not really new. The creature is still Valse). Valse held out a hand. Lines of black energy sprung from his fingers and wrapped around the dragon's throat. The dragon was choked, and was forced to land because it couldn't breathe. Valse dissipated the chocking lines, and the dragon opened its mouth to breath. Valse threw a black energy sphere into its open mouth, causing the dragon's head to litterally explode.

The other two dragons attempted to flee, but Valse leapt into the air. He was significantly faster than the two dragons, and caught them without much trouble. He killed the first one by destroying its wings. They were high enough in the air that the fall was fatal. The other dragon tried as best it could to get away, but Valse wasn't letting it. He landed on the dragon's back, his weight being too much for the dragon to carry. As it plummeted to the ground, Valse, displaying great psyical strength, ripped the dragon's head off.

The decapitated dragon hit the ground, but Valse didn't. He leapt off, hovering above the town. Clearly, his wings were not needed to keep him in the air. He watched as a pair of demons approached an inn (the same one that practically everyone's characters wound up at), and another demon neared the bakery. His time of inaction was short, however, as several more dragons came toward him. He laughed, knowing that he was far superior to any of them, then flew at them, ready to proove it.

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OOC: Okay, everyone. Demons are in the town. For those with characters at the inn, two demons are there, and one is at the bakery. For characters at neither location, well, there are twelve other demons. They can be anywhere in the town. Oh, nobody include Vasle in a post, please. It's not as easy as you'd think to balance his power. He needs to be quite powerful, but not above a certain level of power, and I have no clear restrictions, so I have to figure it out on my own. It's not easy, and I don't want it screwed up.

[Ayokano]

[size=1]Leon's horse galloped on the dirt road that cut through a forest. Though not deep, the forest gave them some shade from the sun, that was in it's highest in the sky in midday. They were going up hill, and Leon rode behind the three young women. He still couldn't believe that the same Terra who knew Yuka the great dragon had asked him to go on this adventure.

"Something's wrong." Terra said as she stopped. Her friends, Kel and Charity, also stopped. He also noticed it, though had been ignoring it.

"I feel it too." Charity said. Leon just kept on riding, catching up to the girls. He soon started to think they will never make it to the elder dragon they sought only in three days. "Don't you, Kel??

"Yeah, I do." Kel added. Leon soon passed them, ignoring the feeling again.

"Don't you feel it Leon?" Terra asked troubled. There was soon a long silence, the three girls waiting for his answer. He stopped his horse, and looked back.

"Yeah, but we shouldn't stop now just because of a feeling. And we don't even know what it is." He said. "Come on and lets go." He added with a smile. The sounds of gallops soon echoed through the forest again, and the party soon inched closer to their destination again.

OOC: The conversation was about the attack on the town, even though the four characters don't know it has happened.[/size]