RPG Prophecy [ PG - SL ]

[terra]

[font=Trebuchet MS]The scroll announcing the decade's Luthen Fair was sent out to every part of Hevan-mei over six months in advance. The parchments were lovingly protected by their messengers, never unrolled until they reached their final destination so that the colors that had been hand-inked onto each sheet stayed as vibrant as possible. Elanna had traced the sheet with her eyes hundreds of times, her neck craned upward to see the announcement tacked up on her town's central message board.[/font]


[center][font=Book Antiqua]King Navare announces the

[size=3][b][color=blue]LUTHEN FAIR[/color][/b][/size]

[size=1]to occur in the first two weeks of the month of[/size] August
[size=1]of[/size] Year 26 [size=1]of his Realm
at the[/size] Campgrounds of the Castle of Hevan-mei

[size=1]all denizens of [/size]Hevan-mei, Jesobe, and Vernasith
[size=1]are cordially invited[/size][/font][/center]


[font=Trebuchet MS]Elanna had been desperate to go the moment she saw the announcement, even more desperate than when the same announcement had appeared ten years ago. But now she was in a much better position than when she'd been fourteen; then, her parents had been able to coax away her desire with complaints that they couldn't get away from the farm and there was no way she could travel all that way on her own. Today, armed with her engagement and ten extra years of experience, Elanna had been able to get their agreement to let her and Jeffrey go together, a sort of pre-wedding honeymoon that would negate their need for a post-wedding one.

Their bags were packed and ready for the two-week journey to the Castle, and Elanna was waiting at the town's message board for Jeffrey, reading the blessed announcement one more time. Grasping at every word on the parchment, Elanna savored their promise; she might even meet visitors from the neighboring kingdoms of Jesobe and Vernasith. The invitation was extended to those parts as well, and she'd heard that there were always at least a few people from outside Hevan-mei at the Fair.

Outside Hevan-mei! Elanna laughed to herself cheerfully. This would be her second town outside her tiny hometown, and she might even meet people from outside Hevan-mei! Just as she thought she would go mad from her anticipation, Jeffrey appeared alongside their mule, who was carrying the small cart of their belongings.

"Are you ready, sweetheart?" her fiance asked, looking fondly at her. Elanna smiled and returned his look.

"I simply can't wait," she grinned.[/font]

[Heaven's Cloud]

[color=indigo]Marcus Bagelsworth, head Deacon of the University for Magical Studies, had a dilemma. That dilemma?s name was Falstaff McBroomwitch. For the past nine years McBroomwitch had been an exemplary student; he had strong academic marks, a good understanding for the majority of magical principles and fundamentals (although he never had any real talent for elemental magic), and he was the most popular social leader at the school since Dickey Bagger founded Theta Epsilon Alpha half a century ago. However, McBroomwitch seemed unable to pass the Advanced Aptitude Test for the Application of Scientific Spells (or APTASS for short).

The APTASS determines whether or not a student is proficient enough in the magical arts to graduate from the University and obtain his or her Wizarding License. A student has to score an eighty percent completion or higher on the test in order to pass. However, if a student scores seventy percent or lower they not only fail the test but they also fail out of the University. Those few students that score between a seventy and eighty percent on the exam are allowed to continue their studies at the school in hopes that they will pass the exam at the end of the following year.

For the past five years Falstaff McBroomwitch has scored no higher than a seventy-six on the exam and no lower than seventy-three. Since the University was founded eight centuries ago no student has remained a student for as long as McBroomwitch.

Deacon Bagelsworth was worried that Falstaff may never graduate. His concern, however, wasn?t for the boy?s future, but, rather, for his own reputation. The school board would not look kindly upon a Deacon that allowed such a promising student slip through the cracks so many times.

As he sat in his office staring at Falstaff?s sixth APTASS test (on which he scored a median seventy-five) Bagelsworth made a decision?.[/color]

[Domon]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1][I]Caden stood in the fields wiping the sweat off his brow, his upper torso exposed beacuse his shirt had started to bother him, he was almost finished with pitching hey into the cart that their donkey was hitched to.

After a few more minutes, Caden's mother came up into the field on their horse, a look of happiness on her face and in one hand was a rolled up parchment. Bringing the horse to a stop Cara (the name of the mother) climbed off and jogged towards Caden, with a look of surprise at how fast she was moving Caden brought an open hand up so as to stop her from slamming into him but instead of his mom smacking into his hand she slapped the parchment there instead. As he quickly retracted his hand and brought his other hand up he unrolled it and was surprised. It was an announcement that said the Luthen Fair would be holding a fighting contest and that the winner would win a decent amount of money.[/I]

"Mother, are you sure I should enter??" [I]Cara nodded at her son as her husband strolled up behind Caden and placed his arm on his son's shoulder and looked at the scroll.[/I]

"Your mother and I both have confidence in you as a fighter, plus that money could help us with some new equipment and things for the farming." [I]Caden nodded a little stunned still, his mother motioned for him to follow her back to the house, looking a little torn, Caden looked towards his father who nodded that he should go with her. Quickly grabbing his shirt Caden then climbed on the horse's back and his mother climbed on behind him, nudging the horse with his heels they were off towards the house.

Guiding the horse in front of their thatch roofed barn, Caden climbed off and took the strap and tied it to the hitch post and helped his mother off. As soon as she was off, Cara took her son by the arm and led him into the house and out to the back where their hot water spring was.[/I]

"Wash up and then change into your clothes in your room, I'll have some supplies ready for you to take with you on your trip." [I]With that she bustled off towards the kitchen as Caden sheded the rest of his clothes and eased his body into the spring. The warm water felt relaxing againt Caden's tensed body as he slid up to his chin. Finally reaching for the bar of soap and a clean rag on a rock, he began to clean himself rather quickly. As he finished he grabbed a clean towel on the small stand his father had made and wrapped his waist in it.

After finally changing into his regular attire Caden bolted down the stairs as he grabbed his bo his mother met him at the door and gave him a bag of food stuffs and other things he would need. But before he was out the door she gave him two last things, a yellow cape with a leaf clasp on the front and her father's golden head band that he wore when he fought, it was a sort of good luck charm. Giving his mother and father he walked out and jumped on the horse and rode off towards the castle for the fight.[/I][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Muse]

[COLOR=indigo][SIZE=1]

Lyra sat utop the high fence that surrounded the fair grounds. There were workers still adding the finishing touches, and eager young children were scattered around, peering over the fence with wide eyes. None were tall enough to rach the top were Lyra was sitting, a look of pure interest plastered over her young face.

Ten years ago, at the last Luthen Fair, she remembered having the time of her life. She was supposed to stay with the other Academy children, but, like always, she had slipped away and enjoyed the fair with a nice young boy.

Behind Lyra was a group of siblings, lower-class by the looks of them. There were three boys, all considerably older then the young girl, who looked as if she was the same age as Lyra when she first attened the fair. Lyra was completely oblivious to this, of course, as her head was totally in the clouds, as usual.

She got pulled back by the gentle tugging of the hem of her dress, the one she had been made to wear to King Navare's breakfast party earlier.

"Excuse me, miss." Came a shy little voice. Lyra turned to see it was the young girl, her brothers had gone off to speak with a few merchants.

"Yes?" She coaxed gently, hopping gracefully off the fence.

"Are you the Princess of this castle?" Lyra was suprised by the suddeness, and innocence, of the question.

"Oh, deary me, no. Are you? You really look it, you know. The prettiest young thing I've ever laid my green eyes upon." She wasn't lying. The girl had rather long brown hair and large, blue eyes to match the stunningness of Lyra's herself. The girl bushed, looking at a particulary large beetle scuttling across the dirt road, but continued.

"No, I'm a farmer, miss. I don't get to wear those fancy clothes or pretty jewlery like you do. You [i]must[/i] be a Princess." The girl inststed, looking comically exasperated and inpatient. Lyra chuckled. Her gown was anything but fancy as of now, as she had gotten it quite dirty playing a game with some of the farmer boys. She had a rather nice bracelett on that she recieved from one of her admirers, that she thought was pretty but kept it only for that reason.

"Well, if exquisite jewlery proves you are a Princess, then I suppose it doesn't belong to me."

The girl gaped as Lyra slipped the bracelet of her small wrist and handed it to the her. The girl beamed, but her brothers, who had only just arrived, glared at Lyra.

"Our parents do not accept charitable gifts, m'lady." The tallest said politely, motioning for his sister to hand him the bracelet, but she held tight and looked to Lyra.

"You may tell your parents, young man, that Lyra Hyrinsohn of the King's Academy is the giver of this gift." She put on her false-commanding voice and even added her schooling, just in case the parents hadn't heard of her. Which wasn't very likely, seeming as the brothers knew quite well as they stumbled to bow to her and rushed off down the road. The shortest was holding the sister's hand, and with her free she was waving to Lyra, grinning.

Lyra smiled and headed for the castle doors to find something remotely interesting to do.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=MediumTurquoise][i]When Avlenn Arboreal finally came home after unhitching the pony cart, her father was sitting at the table, one hand resting around his tea cup, the other on his knee. When she had washed her hans and tied back her unusually thick auburn hair, she entered the two room house and sat down at the table. There she sipped her tea quietly, inhaling the scentes of valerian and chamomile, the evening tea they both drank to soothe their aching muscles and bring relaxation to their overworked bodies.

After an hour of a pleasant, and silent, supper and clean up, her father finally spoke.[/i]

"This year I want you to go to the Luthen Fair in your mothers place."

"Yes father."

"...take her embroidery and try to get a good price. We need a Shire for the plowing next year. ...now that I have your cousin's help."

"Yes father. I'll do as you ask."

[i]He nodded to her obedience and then, for the rest of the evening, not another word passed between them. Such was the way of Avlenn and her father. But it was all well and good. They never became angry, and when they disagreed, it was a long time before one spoke to the other, to give time to consider the truth of the opposition. And in such a way, Avlenn had learned how to deal with the frustrations of life.

She went to bed, curled up in the small room above the kitchen, while her father rested in his easy chair by the fire place. Like usual, they were both asleep within minutes of pulling up the thick woolen blankets.

The next day, Avlenn rose and prepared a small breakfast for herself, her father already out working. When she was finished, she opened her mother's chest and pulled out all of the clothes she had sewn herself, covered in beautiful colcha stitches. A small smile passed over her lips, and she closed the lid of the chest and dressed in her mother's clothes. Advertisment perhaps. Then she loaded the chest onto the cart, hitched up the faithful pony, and began the ride from Tracy to the fair. ...it would take a day or two...but she would get there. And her father saw her pass by in the fields and smiled to himself.

He had gotten lucky, having a daughter like Avlenn.[/i][/COLOR]

[Ezekiel]

[COLOR=SlateGray]Imric sat at his desk in a dusty back room of the local Church. His books were laid out in front of him as he scribbled down notes and scanned through the musty old pages.

He heard hurried footsteps from outside and a few seconds later, a young child barrelled through the door managing to stop himself only a few inches away from the young man.

"Imric," he preferred that everyone used his first name, "There's a notice outside that you should see! Come on!" the child tugged on the priest's long sleeve and he complied by following the excited child out.
"Is there any need for this rush, Allen? I'm sure it will be there just the same when we arrive...."
Imric's voice was low and gentle but it had a sense of authority about it, Allen nodded and slowed down, just as they got to the destination.
"There, there!" he pointed to the towns notice board and giggled. Imric smiled slightly and pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, he leaned in further to read the notice more carefully.

"You think I should go to this?" He asked.
"Yes, your parents too."
Imric raised an eyebrow and walked to his house, he peered in through the partially opened door and saw his mother sitting at the heavy oak table knitting peacefully.
"You want me to go to this fair, mother? I'll have to abandon my duties for a long time."
The old woman nodded, her greying hair fell about her shoulder and she quickly tucked it back behind her ear.
"I talked to Father Jacob and he says that he will mind your duties. Your father thinks that you should get out and travel too, you know."
Imric sighed and nodded,
"I'll pack my things then." then he left through a loose hanging curtain at the back of the kitchen that lead to the living quarters of his home, it was small but home none the less and he would never admit it, but the young priest was terrified of leaving it.[/COLOR]

[dMage]

Keiryn walked at a slow pace, enjoying the soothing sensation that the fresh air had while it whipped around his face, and taking in the beautiful scenery that the forest offered. His gait was crisp, and tho he felt seemed to be in a very relaxed state, his senses were up and ready to move at the slightest need.

He had been walking for a couple of days now, taking his quest slowly, and was almost out of provisions. Still, he wasn't worried, the farmers who had last provided the ardous traveler with a meal had told him that a small village was a little more than a days walk away. True to their word, the little village appeared as the woods thinned out. Curious to find the village inn, Keiryn made his way to what he imagined would be the square that every small town and village had to serve as a meeting place. As he reached the center, he saw many people crowding around a sign posted in the middle of the square. He politely manuevered his way through the crowd of people and read the sign, which said that the Luthen Fair would be held for the next 2 weeks.

A small smile spread over his face, as he finally realized why his uncle had finally decided to let him leave on his quest. He had begged to leave ever since he was 15, and it hadn't been until 2 months ago that his uncle had come to his room, and told him that he would be leaving in the morning. What better way to offer his services to his Lord and to offer to protect the Kingdom than at the Luthen Fair. Sure he had shown his prowess and ability with the sword to countless farmers and village people, but to win one of the famed Fair competitions? That would easily prove his mettle and ability to his Lord. Turning around, he made his way to the stables he had seen on his way to the square. He would buy a decent horse, and make his way to the Luthen Fair, and its famed tourneys.

[Heaven's Cloud]

[color=indigo]?Congratulations, McBroomwitch! Congratulations! After so many years, to finally pass the APTASS, it must be such a relief, such a relief.?

Deacon Bagelsworth grasped Falstaff?s hand and pumped it up and down with nervous excitement. The not so young student looked unusually puzzled.

?Ah-are you certain?? stammered Falstaff. ?I didn?t think I did all that well on the exam.?

The Deacon smiled at the boy, it wasn?t a very warm smile.

?I am sure you must be very excited, very excited indeed,? Bagelsworth said, reassuringly. ?After coming so close to passing so many times, you must be relieved to finally be able to leave these dusty old halls behind you.?

Falstaff grew quite pale and looked as though he was about to become very ill.

?Are you sure you are sure Deacon? Perhaps the gentleman that graded the test made an error. I don?t think I could live with myself if I knew I graduated without passing the APTASS on my own merit.?

?No, no, no. There is no need to worry about silly nonsense like that. No mistakes were made, I guarantee it. After all, I was the one that graded your exam.?

The Deacon placed a fatherly hand on Falstaff?s shoulder. He could feel the young man?s body quiver slightly.

?I understand, I understand. I know how much this must mean to you. It is quite an accomplishment, quite an accomplishment.?

?Yeh-yes sir,? replied the student in a voice as hollow as a wooden leg. ?I am sure ih-it will just teh-take a minute or so to suh-sink in.?

He walked away from Bagelsworth trying not to look like a defeated man. Unfortunately, the façade was unmanageable. His shoulders drooped, his skin was pale, and even the smiling corners of his eyes could not hide the nervousness swimming frantically through their dark blue depths.

He thought he could escape his fate, or, the very least, prolong the inevitable for another five or six years. Now he had no choice but to face his future head on, and hope that the extra years he spent in school thwarted the fortune teller?s prediction.

When he reached the OAT house, a regal building that sat on top a hill directly east of the university, Falstaff was overwhelmed with nostalgia. Memories of past parties and past girlfriends, of past initiations and past farewells, and of past friends and past people stampeded through his mind. He had so many fond memories of the University and so many friends that he would soon have to leave.

He opened the door to a great ?Hurrah!? from his fellow OAT?s. Streamers fell and corks form fizzy liquor bottles flew through the air. Friends surrounded him, hugging him and patting him with congratulatory pats. He even received a deep kiss with sinful intentions from a Theta Epsilon Alpha follower (a group of female students crudely referred to as ?baggers?). He was passed around the room nearly as swiftly as alcohol was passed into his hands.

It seemed as though every student from the University had come to the celebration, even the potions professor (who never wore clothes because he was afraid they would corrupt the purity of his magic) was there in his full naked glory.

During the festivities Falstaff bumped into Charlie, the obvious culprit for all of the surrounding merriment.

?Any excuse for a party, eh Charlie??

The sheepish OAT grinned, ?Yep, any excuse. I thought we should allow these festivities to flow over into the Luthen Fair. We can organize a quick caravan crawl.?

Falstaff grinned as the last of his worries faded away.
[/color]

[terra]

[font=Trebuchet MS]Elanna woke up in the morning feeling ecstatic. It was the eleventh day of their journey and they'd been making excellent time, and expected to arrive at the Campgrounds after two more days of travelling.

She stretched, yawning, noticing that Jeffrey had already gotten up for the day, as she had the tent to herself now. Travelling with Jeffrey had been pleasant, just like the entirety of the rest of their relationship together. They made good companions, and always had; they were able to keep up steady conversations, helped each other out, had known each other so long that they knew all of each other's likes and dislikes. It was nice, and all that Elanna could ask for in a fiance. Maybe even a little more; Elanna thought she could smell breakfast cooking already.

The scent got her up, and indeed, bacon was frying on their small campfire when she peeked her head out of the tent. "Morning, sweetheart," Jeffrey said, grunting slightly. He was doing pullups on a limb of the tree that was not sheltering them from the harsh morning sun, while he waited for the bacon to cook. Elanna couldn't help but grin -- that was such typical Jeffrey, always getting things done as efficiently as possible.

"You weren't going to let this burn, were you?" Elanna teased him as she turned the bacon.

"I've been keeping an eye on it," Jeffrey grinned, then grimaced as he pulled himself up. "We have eggs, too, I bought them from a farmer a little ways down the road."

Elanna squealed her delight at the prospect of a real bacon-and-eggs breakfast. She cracked them into the pan eagerly, and was just putting the prepared food onto plates when she heard an ominous crack.

The next moment she looked up, Jeffrey was lying on the ground, the broken limb beside him, and he was clutching his ankle and moaning.



"Well, it doesn't look too good to me," said the grizzled old farmer, who'd introduced himself as Zane. He'd immediately recognized Jeffrey as "the young man who'd boughten those eggs just this morning!", and ushered them in to examine Jeffrey's ankle. As their luck had it, he was the amateur doctor for the surrounding area, as well.

After examining the ankle for a few more moments, Zane straightened up. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you need, if you'd like -- I'd say you probably wouldn't want to travel on it, anyway."

"How long do you think it'll take to mend?" Jeffrey asked, voicing Elanna's own worry.

Zane glanced at the ankle again appraisingly. "Could be anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks, I guess," he said. "Excuse me, let me go find my wife and get you kids something to eat and drink."

By the time Jeffrey looked over at Elanna, she had masked her sadness and disappointment and was smiling brightly at him, but he hadn't been with her for six years for nothing. "You should go without me," he said immediately.

"What? No!" Elanna protested. "We'll wait for your ankle to heal and go together."

"If we wait, you might miss the Fair, and you've had your heart set on it for ages," Jeffrey said. "I know how much this means to you -- please, you should go. To be honest, I think the Fair would be fun and all, but I'm not dead set on it like you are."

Elanna hesitated.

"If I get better within the week, I'll come and find you," Jeffrey promised. "Please, sweetheart, I really want you to go."

So somehow Elanna found herself on the road again in a few hours, this time very much alone, heading again towards the Castle of Hevan-mei.[/font]

[Ezekiel]

[COLOR=SlateGray]Imric stretched and yawned. Alone on the road for over a week and he could feel it starting to take it's toll on his tired body.
"I've never had to ride so far..." he grumbled. As he got up and pulled on his priests? outfit he noticed another character walking along the road. He had seen a few travellers but all had been with someone else, but this woman, she was all by herself.

The Priest made sure he looked presentable, hung his cross around his neck and climbed onto his packed up horse.
He slapped it lightly on the backside and the beast whinnied and started trotting towards the young woman.

Imric cleared his throat, "Excuse me, ma'am"
The woman turned; surprised that someone had spoken to her,
"Oh, yes?" she seemed puzzled that she had just been greeted by a Priest on horseback.
Imric climbed off his horse and bowed low,
"You?re by yourself?"
"Oh, my partner, Jeffrey...he hurt himself and said that I should continue without him...I'm going to the Castle." her voice was nervous and she seemed tired, her feet must have been throbbing by now.
"Then allow me to escort you, that's where I?m heading too." Imric bowed again, his cross dangled down and almost touched his knees.
"Oh no, I couldn?t ask for you to..." but Imric was already relieving her of her luggage,
"Come on, I'll take this and my horse will take you...let's go."
Elanna nodded, knowing that to resist wouldn?t help,
"My name is Elanna, thank you."
"It's no problem, my name is Imric Conner."
"Father Imric?"
Imric shuddered slightly,
"No...that makes me sound old, please, just Imric."
Elanna laughed and Imric smiled and they carried on with their journey to the Fair.[/COLOR]

[B]OOC I hope it's okay for me to include your character, Terra. If not I'll delete this post.[/B]

[Domon]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1][I]The worn dirt road seemed to go on forever and Caden was getting bored of riding and nothing interesting happening. Reaching into the bag of food that his mother had made he retrieved a sandwhich and began to munch on it when he saw a person laying in the road, quickly Caden pulled back on the rein and stopped the horse. Cautiously Caden climbed down and grabbed his bo, walking towards the person he nudged him gently, but the man didn't move, this time Caden nudged a little harder and the person groaned but still didn't move, a little more irritated, Caden took the bo and smacked the person square on the back making him jump up with a yelp. It was a boy a little younger than Caden and he was staring daggers in Caden's direction as he rubbed his back.[/I]

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" [I]The boy asked angrily,[/I]

"Getting you out of my way so move it!!" [I]Caden said in a matching tone as he climbed back onto the horse, but the younger boy would not let the conversation end there, instead he grabbed Caden's food bag and proceeded to dump all of the contents onto the ground and then stomped on some sandwhiches, bad thing was the boy had no idea how hungry and how angry Caden got when he saw food being destroyed like that. In an instant Caden had leaped off his horse and with quick speed he'd pinned the boy on his stomach with his arms pulled behind his back rather harshly.[/I]

"Damn you, that was my only food bag and you've ruined it!!! I should skin you alive for this!!!" [I]The young boy thrashed to get out of Caden's grasp but Caden was far stronger and his anger seemed to be feeding that, just then an idea clicked in Caden's head. Still holding the boy's arms he whistled for his horse to come closer, as it did he grabbed a decent length of spare rope he had and cut off some of the rope and bound the bound his hands and another piece he bound the boy's legs and with that he left the kid there to flail like a fish out of water.[/I]

"I'm sure someone will pass by and see you laying there yet again, and if you get hungry, help yourself to the food that you ruined." [I]Caden said venomously as he spurred his horse further down the road, he knew that he couldn't be that far from the Castle because it only took a few hours from his home village, and he'd already passed through there an hour ago, but it was starting to get dark and Caden really didn't want to be riding in the dark, so he found a small clearing near some trees and pulled out the flint that his father always had put on the horse when someone would be gone for over a day. Finally scrounging up some rocks and twigs, Caden got a small fire started but there wasn't any food worth cooking thanks to that brat, so Caden slept that night on an empty stomach.

The following morning, Caden awoke early enough that the sun's edge hadn't even appeared over the horizion, but it was light enough that he could see the road. So he mounted his horse and started off to the castle for the festivities. He could feel the clock ticking in his mind if he didn't get there today for the fight sign ups. Urging his horse on faster Caden was running on adrenaline. The country side soon felt like it had become a blur and then a large hill appeared before Caden and his horse, as they reached the top, Caden was looking down on the city with the fairgrounds in clear sight, and near the castle walls he could see the fighting ring, grinning with happiness he nudged his horse gently in the sides and they were off towards the castle.[/I][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=MediumTurquoise][i]When Avlenn arrived to take her place at the embroidery booths, she found the women in charge had left her an open space. They welcomed her pleasantly, speaking kind things about her mother, Camellia, and saying how nice it was that her daughter had honored them with her presence. Avlenn Arboreal smiled pleasantly on everyone that gazed upon her and opened the chest of needlework.[/i]

"Those are lovely....especially the piece showing our valley here..."

[i]Avlenn smiled at the woman and held it up to the light to show the bright green and gold threads interwoven. While she did, people slowed to take a closer look.

Those that passed saw her folding dresses and tunics of every sort, emblazoned with symbols of trees, mountains, and wild creatures. Such garments were rare to come across, and she knew that someone would be bound to be interested in her mother's works. While she was an excellent needleworker, her daughter had merely inherited the skill to choose plant dyes and change the colors of threads and wool.

Some of the newest pieces were done out of Avlenn's own dyeing threads. She smiled ant the thought and sat down on the now empty chest, the pony that had done all the hauling reposing with his nose in a patch of clover in the corals. Avlenn smoothed down the corners of her dress and adjusted the corset beneath her bodice when a rather wild looking group of young men sauntered by.

The woman who had reserved her a space stood next to Avlenn and gently nudged her underneath the table with her foot, a warning to be silent. The leader of the group, sporting stylish clothing and a bright sword leaned down to get a closer look at Avlenn's face. She didn't make his job any easier, and kept her eyes lowered demurely.[/i]

"Who's this?"

"....the daughter of Camellia Arboreal. You have no buisness with her unless you seek to buy some of her mother's handiwork."

[i]Avlenn stared at her hands and said nothing, although she was slightly embarassed at the treatment she was recieving. In Tracy, the men that spoke to her did so with respect, because everyone knew she was not the average lass looking for a husband. ...but here was a man, or boy, speaking to her like she was a good to be sold.[/i][/COLOR]

[Domon]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1][I]His horse's hooves clopped along the cobblestone roads, Caden could feel excitment brimming inside of his stomach, or maybe it was the hunger that had been bugging him since last night, either way he was at the gates of the fair when he climbed off his horse and led it into a stable.

Walking out into the bustling grounds with his Bo in hand and money and other essentials in a bag that was slung on his shoulder, Caden walked into the heart of the fair and started to look for the fighting ring and the person he would have to speak with so that he could even sign up for the matches. Still somewhat confused by all the people milling about, finally agitated by not being able to see anything Caden finally walked towards a tree and climbed up into it and finally was able to spot the fight officiator's booth. Jumping down, Caden bolted towards the booth and finally managed to sign up along with giving a small entrance fee for the fight. The officiator told him that the elimination rounds would be held in two hours and that he should spend his free time doing whatever, Caden nodded and left to explore the fair.

Munching on a turkey leg from a food booth, Caden felt relieved to have some food in his stomach while he walked around staring at some of the more interesting booths. One of them was something that he knew his mother enjoyed doing, it was an embroidery booth, but something seemed a little off. There was a group of men that looked they would be in the fights too but they were hassaling a girl who seemed to just be minding herself. Gripping his bo tighter, Caden walked over towards the booth and just pretended to look at things as he listened to the group of men act like pigs. Finally having enough of their rude behavior, Caden looked at the group with a joking look,[/I]

"Guys, guys, let's just leave the lass to herself, I think she's had enough of the jokes eh?" [I]But the man holding the sword was not about to take that remark lightly, instead he brought the sword up in a downward vertical strike as if to cut Caden in half, but as the sword was coming down Caden smacked the man full force in the right side ribs which caused the man to drop his sword and fall to the ground in pain.[/I]

"Tch tch.. I at least thought you would have some decent manners and hold all that anger for the fights. Oh well." [I]Turning towards the girl at the booth he winked and walked off as he munched some more on what he thought was the turkey leg, but he was munching on thin air, looking back he saw that his food had been dropped. Cursing loudly Caden stomped off towards a quiet place where he could pout for the loss of his precious food for the next hour[/COLOR][/SIZE][/I].

[terra]

[font=Trebuchet MS]Elanna had to admit to herself that she was somewhat relieved to be joined by someone on her way to the Campgrounds. A priest, no less ... If he couldn't protect her and provide amiable companionship along the way, the kingdom was in much worse condition than she'd thought.

The two of them made good time that first day, Elanna gratefully accepting the position on the horse as Imric seemingly tirelessly walked beside her carrying the small bundle she was taking to the Fair. At first Jeffrey had wanted her to take their mule along with her, but Elanna had flatly insisted that the mule must stay with the farmer Zane as [i]some[/i] repayment for his gratitude in allowing him to stay there. Jeffrey had, eventually, agreed, and Elanna hadn't quite been sure if she could've made it to the Campgrounds on foot, but had staunchly set out anyway. The arrival of the priest and his horse were, well, a godsend.

They awoke early on the second day of travelling, and set off again shortly after breakfast. "We're travelling quickly," Imric observed. The two were walking side by side that day, their belongings on the horse, to give Imric's back a rest after his strains the day before. "We should make it to the Fair by late afternoon, if we're lucky."

"It's even closer than I'd thought," Elanna said, delight evident in her voice.

Imric glanced at her with a small smile. "You're looking forward to the Fair, I take it?"

"How could you not!" Elanna exclaimed, resisting the urge to jump in the most childish manner. "I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse my exuberance ... It's just that I've never been out of my hometown, and this is terribly exciting to me. I've been looking forward to seeing more of the world for ages, and this is the first time my parents have let me get out. I'm sure you're much more travelled than I am and this is all old news to you, but to me it seems so new and fresh!"

Imric paused a moment before admitting, "Actually, I've never really left home for an extended period of time ... My parents wanted me to travel."

Elanna looked at him, clearly aghast for a moment. "I can't believe you've never travelled and your parents [i]wanted[/i] you to!" she blurted out before remembering her manners and shutting her mouth. "Well, at least we're both on the road together," she fumbled for some sort of concluding statement.

Her abrupt change of pace made Imric laugh a little, but he let her former sentiment go.

The day passed quickly with their gentle conversation, and after several hours, Imric paused and squinted at the road ahead. "If my map and sense of direction are right," he said, "the Castle should be just after this hill."

Forgetting her weary feet and parched throat, Elanna ran ahead to the top of the hill, dying for a vantage point of the famed Castle of Hevan-mei at last. And at its apex, she got it.

The sun was just setting, casting golden rays against the solid rock construction of the Castle and the myriads of people surrounding it. The Castle itself was beautiful, with colorful glass windows and impressive-looking flags waving representing things Elanna couldn't even imagine. And the Campgrounds were teeming even this late in the afternoon. The ground seemed to nearly be spilling out on the edges from people rushing back and forth among brightly-colored tents that appeared as dotted specks from the distance.

Behind her Imric and the horse approached, and Imric, though still slightly nervous about this whole travelling experience, couldn't help but share Elanna's amazement at the sight. "Think we're at the right place?" he quipped.

Elanna laughed aloud with pure joy and they descended towards the Castle.


Though the sight of the busy Fair had been impressive from a distance, it was far more intimidating as she and Imric neared it. Suddenly what looked like groups of cheerful citizens became slightly menacing, crowds of strangers who might or might not ignore her or, even worse, wish to harm her. Elanna was glad again for her company. She suddenly realized that she knew absolutely nobody at the fair, and that her situation could have been much more dangerous than it currently was.

As it was growing dark already, Imric and Elanna headed towards the area of the Campgrounds that had been designated for the tents and camps of travelling visitors for themselves. On their way they passed several booths that were still open or just closing for the evening, and Elanna craned her neck to peer into them. Though she was interested in staking out a territory for herself to call "home" for the nights she'd be at the fair, she vowed she'd be back to visit those booths tomorrow or the day after, in particular one that was exhibiting clothes featuring embroidery far more beautiful than anything she'd ever seen. She deliberately tried to look away, however, from a group of rowdy boys and girls who appeared to be dunking their heads into barrels full of some dark brew. But she couldn't help glance at the proud banner that floated above them, something that, though it was written in plain words, she couldn't understand. It seemed to be about some farm crop; perhaps they were celebrating a good year. Well, that was more acceptable, she thought cheerfully.

Eventually the two made it to the camping area. Elanna pulled her tent out of her pack immediately, glad for a chance to rest, as Imric tended to his horse patiently and tenderly. "Thank you so much for accompanying me," Elanna couldn't help but say again to the priest. "I don't know what I would've done without you."

Imric smiled back at her gratefulness. "It was no trouble at all," he said. "I'll see you in the morning." With that, Elanna crawled into her tent and lay down, thrilled to give her feet a rest, and to finally be at the Fair.[/font]

[size=1]OOC: Of course it's no problem you included my character :p Hope everything I did was okay, too.
Also, unfortunately inti had to drop out because of time constraints, just so you all know.
Final announcement, as I'm luckily a moderator, I can change the rating of the thread (according to the new regulations in the sticky) whenever I want :p. So if you want to add violence or make it worthy of an M rating instead, feel free to do so and I'll change the rating accordingly.[/size]

[dMage]

Keiryn sighed wistfully as he reached the top of the hill and looked down upon the magnificent scene that the Castle of Heaven-Mei offered from his vantage point. The Castle stood out majestically, looking more romantic and powerful than any word or description ever made it seem. He had heard countless tales from many travellers about the granduer and beauty of the castle, but it seemed that none of these tales did the castle full justice. His warriors eye was soon appraising its high walls and powerfully built gates, giving proof to the stories that the Castle was not only beautiful, but close to impenetrable from any attack ever made upon it. He was engorssed in planning defences and ways of improving its formidable defenses when he felt a slight sway, and saw that his horse was pawing the ground, as if aware that the journey was almost over, and wanted to get it done.

"I'm sorry Odais." Keiryn whispered softly in to the horses ear. "It seems that I got carried away up here, we'll head on down and see if we can find that place that we need to get you stabled in." Clicking his tongue and lightly tapping the sides of the horse, they made their way down into the town. The stable owner hadn't been able to sell the horse to Keiryn, since he kept a trade with a courier service, which this horse belonged to. Odais had proven to be a sure-footed steed and Keiryn would most definitely ask the owner of the courier service if he could be bought.

As they made their way down to the fair, Keiryn kept his eyes open for the fighters registration. He found the booth close to the ring, and signed up for the events of sword, unarmed, and the open forum combat, in which the different combatants could use their weapon of choice. The registration fee left his purse quite less lighter than it had been, but thats what he had kept the money for anyways. Once he had recieved his instructions and learned that the tournament would begin in 3 hours time, he made his way through the crowds, looking for the small stable he had promised to drop Odais off at.

[Raiha]

[COLOR=MediumTurquoise][i]Avlenn was surprised that the Bo carrying man had paused to defend her honor, and was even more surprised when he left without another word. The lady in charge smiled and helped her pack up the remaining goods, to be sold at another date. The chest was sealed with a handmade lock, unbreakable exept by dark sorcery, and stowed away for the evening. The women at the booth had set up their own tent and willingly welcomed the child of Camellia with open arms.

She smiled on them all and took her place in the far corner of the tent, most junior to every woman present except for the nursing babies. Her grace while kneeling was apparent, and her gestures and movements spoke of a hidden talent of sorts, but the women surrounding her merely passed the plates of food cheerfully and said nothing about it. Camellia had been one of the best, it was necessary that her daughter be held to the same high standards.

The youngest woman present stood at a later hour, when the eating was finished and everyone had laid down for the night. She didn't find herself tired. Instead, she was curious as to where she was. It was a warm evening, bright stars, gentle breeze, and the sounds of humans and animals attracting her attention.

With a gentle brush of her hands, she placed her skirt in place and opened the tent flap. Then, with delicate footsteps, she made her way through the groups of tents, taking in everything quietly.[/i]


~~~~~~~
This is the part where I am found by someone.[/COLOR]

[Domon]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1][I]Caden limped off from the elimination rounds, he'd managed to get through that and would be in the matchups tomorrow. So as of this moment all Caden wanted to do was relax or something. Finally finding a tree to sit under Caden placed his Bo next to him and he stared up at the stars, just admiring at how they twinkled. Picking up a long piece of grass, Caden bit onto the stem and twirled the grass strand around in his mouth thoughtlessly as he thought of home.

Right now his father would be sitting down to the table as his mother served a hen with leeks. His father then would rub his leathered hands together and praise his mother on her cooking and she would blush slightly and say that she's just doing what her mother taught her. After dinner, his father would go into his study and read one of his father's old books and his mother would sit by the fire place sewing or knitting. After that his mother would head to bed but before she did she would stop in his father's study and tell him not to stay up much later and his father would then reply that he wouldn't. Letting out a sigh of lonelyness, Caden felt a twinge of homesickness as he stared at the stars. Remembering one night that he and his father spent the night out in the fields just staring at the stars, his father told him stories of when he was a young boy and how his father had been a knight of the former king and that's how the family had so much money. Caden's grandfather only spent money on the necessities and saved the rest so that his son and wife would live with plenty of money. Another sigh escaped Caden's mouth as he continued to stare at the stars.

While this was happening, the sword wielder that Caden had beaten at the embroidery booth was sulking around in the shadows watching the young boy staring at the sky as he quietly unsheathed a throwing dagger. Moving closer as quietly as he could, the man smirked dangerously as he gripped the point of the dagger as he aimed and then with a quick flick of his wrist the dagger was whizzing at Caden and the man was rewarded when Caden fell over on his right side clutching his bleeding left shoulder.

Caden stood up and went to pull the blade out but as he did he saw that it was semi-barbed and as he pulled the knife out his arm screamed in more pain which made him wince even more. Once he managed to pull the knife out he drove it into a tree trunk and ran for his bo but the man he'd fought earlier was holding it and with a smirk he brought his sword upon Caden's head.

Quickly jumping backwards Caden realized that he couldn't do anything with his bo not with him so all he could do was get out of that sword's range, looking up at the tree he jumped into it and managed to hide himself within the leaves. Looking down as the man sheathed his sword and started to walk away Caden jumped down full force on the man's shoulders, which either killed him or knocked him out, but it gave Caden the opprotunity to get his Bo and run towards the guards at the gate. Still running Caden didn't see the girl and that caused him to slam into her, both fell onto their rears, but Caden had landed on his injured side and howled in pain as the girl stood up and walked over towards him. At that moment Caden looked at her rather surprised.[/I]

"You! You're from earlier today." [/SIZE][/COLOR]

[dMage]

Keiryn was walking slowly, pleased that he had been able to pass the elimintation rounds. Some of his opponents he knew would be much better than those that he had faced today, but he didn't feel that worried. He had watched some of the other fighters while he got the chance, and many, while very good, had one or more weakness he knew he would be able to exploit when the time came.

He was slowly walking, making his way the sleeping area when he heard a cry. Rushing to the cry, he suddenly saw one of the young men from the competition jump up a tree, clutching a wound on his shoulder, and saw a man on the ground look around, sheath his sword and walk away. Suddenly, the young boy jumped from the tree onto the man, crushing him. Keiryn was about to run after him when he saw the man was soon surrounded by 3 other men, who began talking in quick voices. They took off after the boy, who had just run into a young lady. Realizing their motive, Keiryn cut across the field, and reached the 2 bowled over youths before the bandits could.

"What is happening sir?" asked the young girl, who instead of being bewildered, seem calm and in control.
"I'm not quite sure my lady, but it seems that this young boy has been hurt, and that these men heading towards us want to finish the job. I will fend them off, but help get this young man out of here, and it wouldn't hurt if to alert the town guards of whats going on if you get the chance."
Nodding her head in compliance, the young girl helped the young man get to his feet, and started helping him move away. Meanwhile, the pursuers, seeing Keiryn and the girl helping the boy slowed their pace, and walked to Keiryn, stopping well away from sword range.

"What are you doing with that boy. He's just seriously injured one of our companions, and we need to show him that such behaviour is intolerable." Spoke one of the pursuers
Keiryn, though still not sure of the boys total innocence, went with his gut instinct and continued defending the boy "From what I saw, ur friend there wasn't being quite peaceful, and the boy seemed only to defend himself. Now, if you dont mind, I'd rather see to the boy then be in a parley here with you." Keiryn was about to turn when Mouth (as Keiryn had quickly nicknamed him) spoke again.
"If you dont give us the boy, then you'll have to suffer, you, the boy, and that pretty dame we saw dragging him away."

Keiryn turned and gave the offender a very cold smile. "It'll be your graves they'd be digging up." A look of fear seemed to take the mans face, but looking at the 2 other men he had with him, his confidence came back to him, and with a furious smile, he looked at Keiryn and muttered, "Lets take him boys."

They drew their swords, and rushed Keiryn, who stood in an almost indifferent stance, watching their approach. When the first of them reached him, his sword upraised but ready to swing down, Keiryn moved forward, and even before the man had thought of bringing his sword down, Keiryn had slammed his palm into his face, reached up and grabbed his hands, bringing him in closer and kneeing him in the stomach, after which the winded man was easily thrown to the side. Seeing their friend thrown down so easily and expertly seemed to take the fight out of the men, but Keiryn wasn't about to let them run away. Still unarmed, he rushed the second man, who swung his sword at Keiryn in a panicked manner. This was exactly wat Keiryn had expected, and instead of rolling outside and out of the range of the wide arc the man had made with his sword swing, he stepped in, blocked the sword swipe by stopping his arms from making the full motion. He then rapped the man's knuckles with his own, causing his opponent to almost drop his sword, which was all the opening he needed. As the man fumbled to make sure his weapon didn't fall, Keiryn threw a quick punch to his opponents throat, making him gag, which he followed up by a hard kick which hit the man directly in his sternum. He dropped like a bag of potatoes. The third man, Mouth, seeing himself alone against Keiryn, let out a small wail, dropped his sword, and started to run away. Keiryn, showing almost no mercy, reached for the small throwing dagger he carried inhis belt. He drew it up, and with an expert throw, Mouth let out a high pitched scream, and fell over, clutching at his right thigh, where Keiryn's throwing dagger was implanted. Keiryn jogged over to Mouth, a grim smile on his face.

"Your lucky I'm not as cold blooded as you guys are" he said before kicking the man in the face, and making him fall unconscoius. He then picked up Mouth, headed to where the other 2 men were also lying unconscious, and tied the men up together, waiting for either the return of the young girl, or the arrival of the town guard.

[Raiha]

[COLOR=MediumTurquoise][i]Avlenn was not shocked at the sight of blood, she had witnessed death before, and tended to several bad wounds in her time. The man looked in pain, and she was quick about her remedies.

With the flat of her palm, she drove her hand directly into his wounded shoulder, stopping the blood in a matter of mnutes. He nearly screamed at the sudden pain, but she merely held him still with a strength he didn't know existed within her delicate frame.[/i]

"Hold still sir. This will take some fixing."

".....thank you."

"Quite the contrary. I owe you quite a bit for your actions earlier today."

"It was nothing."

[i]He was about to shrug, when he looked at his shoulder and thought better of it. she smiled and took her hand away. It was around this time when he noticed that her hair had rooted itself firmly into the ground. Caden gasped, then saw it revert to normal hair and a piece of the ground open up. She dipped her blood stained hand in the pool of water she'd just revealed and rubbed the blood away with a clean kercheif. Then she leaned forward, holding his normal shoulder with her left hand. He blinked in surprise. She had brought her lips down to his shoulder and was closing the broken skin, mending the wound with her mouth. It was around this point that he realized the pain had gone away.

And he was left with an extremely pleasant tingling feeling in his shoulder. She drew her lips away and bandadged his wound with a strip of cloth torn from her petticoat.[/i]

"Feeling better?"

"As good as ...new. How did you do that?"

[i]Her grin was mischevious.[/i]

"Magic."[/COLOR]

[Heaven's Cloud]

[COLOR=INDIGO]No one remembered who organized the first caravan crawl, mainly because by the end of the journey all of the participants were incredibly inebriated and could barely manage to walk, but over the years the crawls had become an OAT?s tradition. Eight four horse caravans were each filled with a different grog, wine or liquor. Every few hours the occupants would switch caravans. The trips were generally very merry and fun, although it was not unusual to end the day sick or wake up the following day still drunk.

Falstaff McBroomwitch was still drunk, but he was not merry nor was he having much fun. He had never really considered what he would do when he graduated from the University because he never planned to graduate. His future lay before him shrouded in uncertainty and it made Falstaff nervous, he was not used to being nervous.

Despite his unease Falstaff did his best to maintain a jovial façade around the rest of the OATs. He laughed and sang and danced, he drank and gambled and played games, he fooled with the horses and flirted with the TEA baggers and drank some more. Falstaff kept a smile on his face because he didn?t want his friends to worry about him. He knew that he would have to leave them for good once he arrived at the fair.

Although he knew that the OATs would stand beside him in any situation he couldn?t put his friends in any danger. Falstaff didn?t know what lay ahead, but the prophecy no longer guaranteed his safety. When they arrived at the fair tonight he would quietly sneak away from the rest of the group, he already had written his farewell note to the OATs.

Until then, however, he planned on continuing the merriment and trying his very best to distract himself from his misery.[/color]

OOC: Sorry, I was on vacation. I am obviously back now :)

[Ezekiel]

[COLOR=SlateGray]The sound of rushing footsteps and the laughter of children is what the Priest woke up to, expecting to look around and see his dusty old shelves filled with Bibles and books, he was instead greeted by canvas walls, silhouetting people outside as they milled around, going about there business.

The young man reached for his glasses, still slightly confused as to where he was...and why his feet and muscles ached so much.
Then he remembered, the day before was when he met up with Elanna and walked with her the Fair, now, he was here...it was quite obvious now he remembered and he shook his head, curing himself as he stood up, only to be stopped by yet another confusing obstacle.

Imric's head hit the roof of the tent, quite suddenly as it was about a head shorter than him and rather flexible.
He shouted in shock before collapsing back down chorused by the laughter of the people outside.

A young boy stuck his head into the Priests tent and giggled, wrinkling his dirty nose,
"Are you alright, mister? We was thinking that you'd never get up."

Imric shook his head and looked, quite clearly, confused.
"Why, what time is it?" he asked, rather croaky from his rude awakening.

"Time to get your young self up! The Fair is getting into full swing, young man!" the shout of an old woman spurred Imric into an unwilling action.
He pulled on his robes and hung his cross around his neck, walking out into the sun and stretching.
The boy 'oohed' as he noticed the silver sparkle in the fresh light,
"Look moma, he's a Priest!"
"Be quiet now, it's rude to point!"
"But maybe he can help Grandpa..." the boys voice trailed off and he tugged on Imric's robes.
He looked down and smiles warmly,
"I'll try my best, young man." with that, he picked up the boy and walked over to his family?s tent, setting him down and walking in to assist the first person in a long, long time.[/COLOR]

[terra]

[font=Trebuchet MS]Elanna pulled aside the flap of her tent and peered outside. It was still early, judging by the sun in the sky, but it was bright and the Fair was already humming quietly. From the quiet snores coming from the next-door tent, it looked like her escort Imric was still sleeping, but Elanna was suddenly wide-awake. It was morning, and she was finally at the Fair she'd been dreaming of for years.

So she got herself up, bringing a wash basin to one of the many freshwater supplies in the campgrounds and splashing the cold water in her face to wake herself up. After a perfunctory change of clothes, she was ready to explore.

Somehow Elanna found herself at the Battlegrounds, the temporary name for the area set aside for the battle competitions. Sets of elevated platforms were arranged in neat diamond shapes so that observers had a variety of places to stand and watch the fights. Some of the early elimination rounds were going on, even as early in the morning as it was, and Elanna paused in front of them. Swords glinted in the perfect morning sun as they clashed against shields, and Elanna found herself completely caught up by their mesmerizing footwork for a few moments.

She was distracted, however, by a very strange noise. It sounded something like a horse being strangled or perhaps a frog drowning somehow, but it certainly wasn't pleasant. Looking around for the source of the sound, she spotted someone propped up against a tree, the near-painful noises coming from him. Snores, apparently. Elanna drew nearer to the boy, who couldn't be much older than she was, and nearly reeled back from the overpowering smell of alcohol. It was one of those fraternity boys, clearly.

Elanna's eyes narrowed from the alcohol abuse, but she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the major hangover anybody could anticipate would be coming his way. She poked him slightly with a foot, not wanting to get too close, but the man didn't respond, head lolling over further and a small sliver of drool dripping out of his mouth. Elanna couldn't help but feel disgust, but pity prompted her to lean over and gingerly wrap his hand around her small canteen of fresh water. He might wake up with a blinding headache, but at least he could quench his thirst.

Elanna pivoted abruptly on one heel, hearing a loud noise behind her. She immediately recognized the emblem blazed across the chest of a troop of the king's soldiers, jogging in formation towards the hillocks on the east border of the campgrounds. Behind them was a group of straggling followers, men striding forward with a purposefully curious look on their faces, children looking worriedly behind them for their mothers who would assuredly have pulled them back into their tents. Elanna couldn't help but join in the fray.

"What's going on?" she asked one of the people whom she found herself jogging alongside.

"Not sure," the guy answered, picking up the pace slightly. "But there's rumors there's a dragon."

The news almost stopped Elanna in her tracks. Dragons were practically mythical creatures, even in this day and age; the last recorded appearance of one was almost a hundred years ago. Eager to see if it was the truth, she followed the rest of the crowd towards the hills.[/font]


[size=1]OOC: There is a dragon, but it will [b]not[/b] be easy if any of your characters does have the guts to go up and try to attack it. Firstly the king's soldiers are taking care of it, and are keeping a large boundary around the site. Secondly, dragons are pretty badass. Just so you know. Nobody should kill off the dragon in his/her post. :)[/size]

[Raiha]

[COLOR=MediumTurquoise][i]She heard the crowds charging up the hill, shrieking like banshees. Dragon this. Dragon that. Dragons kwuffwafh.

Avlenn Arboreal rose to her feet, having spent the night in the women's tent after leaving....Caden. That was his name. It came back to her quickly. The women of the tent had left for the most part, one or two remaining to nurse babies. She smiled and sat down again, picking her brush up from the leather satchel with her belongings. Running it through her hair, her eyes fell on the tunic she had worn yesterday. It stank of firesmoke, but then again, who cares?[/i]

"We all smell like it anyway."

"Very true Camellia's daughter, very true."

"Morning Lace. How's the baby girl?"

"Hungry."

[i]The two laughed together, such simple pleasure. She pulled her undedress over her head, tying up the bodice with nimble fingers, then reached out for the embroidered tunic and stood, the sound of fabric rushing over her ears like so much water. The caress of the material was extremely pleasant, and she was quite happy about life in general. She had helped someone in pain last night, the rest had been deep, and this was a brand new day.

Of course; now there was a dragon somewhere...on a hill. She rolled her eyes and opened the tent flap. The bright sunlight dazzled her eyes and she closed them quickly. Then, she cautiously opened one eye and peered up the hill.

Masses of people obscured her vision, and she didn't even bother. She'd go up after the smoke had cleared.[/i][/COLOR]

[Domon]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1][I]Snapping out of his thoughts from last night, Caden wiped the sweat off of his chest and stomach as he watched another fighter get rung out. Still feeling his arm over again Caden couldn't believe that his arm had been healed like that.

After he'd been healed by that girl, Avlenn. Caden saw another man coming towards them and he explained that he'd dealt with the others and the guards would handle them. Thanking both of them, Caden then returned towards his tent but his sleep was troubled and now during the fighting his concentration was elsewhere, like a small voice in his head nagging at him.

As the announcer/referee called Caden to enter the ring, the youth grabbed his bo and strode in to face his opponent. His opponent was a man of about 24 or so and was of muscular build and he was flexing his arms in an arrogant manner.

Smirking, Cadens readied his bo and prepared to fight this man, but just then everyone's attention was drawn to the large number of guards heading twards the hill. Listening to the group Caden heard that a dragon had appeared, looking at the announcer, Caden told him quickly that he would be back. Gripping his bo tighter, Caden ran off at full speed towards the direction the guards were going.[/I][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Heaven's Cloud]

[color=indigo]Falstaff opened his eyes cautiously, expecting the violent hues of sunshine to ravage his head and cause his stomach to twist into the shape of a pretzel. He was shocked to discover that the light was not at all abrasive, actually it was quite pleasant. Surprisingly enough his stomach wasn't queasy, his bones didn't ache, and his head felt perfectly normal. Falstaff was remarkably hangover free.

He got to his feet and stretched a mighty stretch, rolling his back from side to side. He stared at the pure blue sky and inhaled its sweetness. Around him people were busy setting up tents, competing in contests, and eating the wonderful food that fair vendors were selling. Children played, as children often do, running around in circles. Boys brandished their wooden swords mocking the ferocious heroes of yesteryear while girls laughed and giggled and swirled their ribboned pinwheels.

The festive atmosphere filled Falstaff with a sense of hope as he took a drink of water from the canteen that had been laced to his hand. The water was ice cold and refreshing and tasted unusually sweet. When he finished drinking the contents of the canteen Falstaff set it on the ground where he had been sleeping in hopes that the owner would come back and claim it.

He had only walked a few paces when he overheard a guard conversing with a stall keeper. Although he didn't hear exactly what the two were saying, Falstaff did catch two words: "Dragon" and "Army".

Falstaff immediately turned around and picked up the discarded canteen. He then laced it tightly to his small pack. Falstaff was not a superstitious person but, so far, the canteen had brought him a little luck, and, with Dragons and Armies wandering about, he needed all the luck he could get.[/color]