RPG Strange World [PG-V]

[Zhara]

[SIZE=1][I][FONT=Century Gothic][INDENT]December 15[/INDENT]
The mirror doesn't always tell you who you really are - one look into my own mirror will show a young, proper lady of the Queen's court, but I am so much more. I am a warrior, a sorceress, and a savior. At least, that's what they tell me. Who knows? Maybe they have it all wrong, maybe I'm the wrong person...I would like to think I'm just a regular girl, but all the evidence points to the alternative. It's like Louis...Or maybe it was Lestat?...that said it's pure arrogance for human kind to think nothing extraordinary can happen in their presence. I don't know...It's been so long since I've read a good fantasy novel...I think the last one was [/I]Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

[I]It's depressing, but Empress Mae has promised I can return home when I kill Kaenia. I trust her, but sometimes I wonder if I'll ever finish --[/FONT][/I]

A knock sounds at Iris's chamber door, interrupting the chronicling of her new life. She rises to her feet and wraps a wool robe around her dressing gown, as is proper. The knock sounds again, and she grits her teeth in irritation, longing to yell at the perpetrator. But, she reminds herself, a lady must always appear to be gracious and soft-spoken. Opening the door a crack, she spies a messenger wearing the Empress's crest on his tunic. He appears frantic, and Iris figures Her Majesty was having a bad hair day. He bows, making her lip twitch, since, technically, she had no standing in court, and hands her an envelope bearing the royal scribe's signature and the Empress's seal of a flame surrounding a crown.

The young boy waits for a moment with an greedy look tainting his innocent face until Iris's resolve falters and she hands him a small coin. He runs off, doubtlessly going to spend his money as quickly as possible to keep it away from the other boys his age. Rolling her eyes at the irresponsible youth, she tears off the wax seal to remove the letter within.[/SIZE]
[FONT=Palatino Linotype][INDENT][I]Lady Duvall,[/I][/INDENT]
[I]My esteemed guards have recently imprisoned a man with whom I believe you may have the greatest of interest. He has been detained in the prison tower to await your inspection with the assistance of Lord Zagh. Though he has hinted towards nothing of the sort, our court wizards sense upon him a powerful magic. Please report immediately to the tower to speak with him upon the subject of his immediate and irreversible pardon should he choose to join our esteemed cause. Use whatever means necessary.

Her Majesty, Empress Mae the Eternal Flame[/I][/FONT]

[FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode][SIZE=1]Iris scoffs at the queen's overly formal use of the titles of "Lord" and "Lady" before twitching her brow at the Empress's, or perhaps her scribe's, miniscule vocabulary.

"I suppose I have no choice but to go," she mutters, shedding her robe in order to dress more appropriately.

Several minutes later, she meets Zagh outside the Tower, a few feet from the bloody stump used for executions. His hand takes her own, and for the hundredth time she marvels at his spindly fae fingers. It was comforting for the short time decorum allowed them to grasp each other before entering the tower and ascending to the higher levels to interview their candidate.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[Starwind]

It had been almost a week since the great man who introduced himself as Lord Zagh and had requested his assitance. Aaron wasn't the type to just through himself into a fight, esspecially for another kingdom. But the threat of someone else falling into power could bring disaster to all the kingdoms of the world, so he saw it was a worthy mission.

Aaron knealt down to say good bye to the children one more time before he set off. Even through his expressionless face the children knew he wanted to stay and so they pleaded for him to do so. He continued to explain why it was so important for him to do this. And with a tearful good bye from the children and a final word with the sister he set off with his bag flung over his shoulder. He was off for the White Fire kingdom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been three days since leaving the orphanage and the White fire kingdom was in sight just ahead. Once there he was to hand the guard at the gate his letter and he would then be escorted to the tower in the center of the city where he would meet his fellow crusaders. He knew little about what the rest of them would be like except for the fact that they were all highly skilled in there arts. This was both comforting and intimidating in a way. If they felt the need to pull so many forces from all over like this the the size of this threat must have truly been great.

Aaron arrived at the gate and was immediatly greeted by a rather large guard. He handed over the letter, to which he was then usherd through the gate and into a small carriage which was black and had absolutly no windows. This was a bit disheartening since it kinda looked like a it should be used to escort prisoners. Without question he stepped inside and let it wheel him away to the tower where he was suppose to meet these others. His "allies".

Upon his arrival he saw two people just preparing to enter the tower. One of which he recognized right away as the one named lord Zagh. Aaron in a calm tone called out to him [B]"Lord Zagh of the White fire kingdom."[/B]

The man turned to face him just before entering the tower along with the young girl standing next to him, who seemed a little upset for some reason. Was she suppose to be one of his partners? If so the look on her face was not a good first impression. The lord then waved him over [B]"Ah yes, master Aaron. Please come this way. Were on our way to meet the others."[/B]

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]"This seems.. familiar."

Familiar as his situation might have been, Aruj had to admit that his lodgings were a bit more comfortable than the last time around- I mean, for being a cell the room they had tossed him in was certainly less dank, dreary and foreboding than the one from last time. He sat in a wooden chair within the plain room, leaning back and staring to the ceiling as he waited patiently for whatever was to come. The metal handcuffs they had put on him lay in a heap on the floor- as much as he respected protocol he found the cuffs an unnecessary annoyance. Time continued to pass. Hopefully, they had considered his offer and were coming to tell him as much. Having evaded their capture for several years now they had proven to be irritatingly persistent and disruptive. Making this overture to the Empire in person was probably the worst idea he could have thought of but, really, it was a little late to have doubts. As he brooded on this his tattoos shifted color to a dark green and began to glow. A smile crept across his face.. the Imperials had arrived. Other magicians had been arriving and lodged in nearby buildings, buildings whose names did not include the word "Prison". Only Aruj had the luck of having this lofty 'room' as his own.

A series of clicks came from the heavy, iron door as it's numerous locks came undone. It swung open hesitantly, letting out a horrendous [i]creeeeak[/i] as it went. The door guard came in, his armor clanking as he walked, and stiffly stood straight up. "Presenting Lord Zagh, Lady Duvall and Master.."

"Aaron Tellis." A voice responded impassively.

"Tellis! I'm very sorry, Master Tellis." The door guard said to whomever it was. Aruj was still staring at the ceiling, listening to the amusing attention the guard was paying to the introductions. "Please, make your way inside milords and milady."

"Yes, please come in.." Aruj said and leveled his head to look at his 'visitors'. A young woman and two men were there, looking uncomfortable at the door guards careful attention to introductions. Amusedly, he examined them- a childe of Terra, an Imperial and a Passerine mixed-blood. He looked to the young woman, "Lady Duvall, I presume. It's rare to see a childe such of yourself in these lands, hm? What brings you and this motley entourage to my humble skyward cell?"[/color]

[Darth Vectis]

[COLOR=DarkGreen][SIZE=1]Sun light streamed through the windows of the massive grey castle. Large towers over looked the entire complex and covered the surrounding areas as well. Several guards were posted in each tower and two guards per door for every tower and at the door of every room that was occupied by anyone who was important. And the castle was still, the light filtered in naturally and everything remained untouched.

Except for the unusual shadow passing in front of a window for a split second, then vanishing as quickly as it came. Everytime it passed by, you could make out a humanoid form from a far. But up close, you could instantly tell this creatuer was not of human origin. Scales covered its body except for its stomach and chest. Its head was shaped like a snakes with the forked tongue flicking out.

Anyone in the castle knew this was Carthage, a creatuer that none would dare bother him. Except Kaenia, who was the only one who could approch him without getting ripped to shreds. Carthage worked his way through the corridors, looking for something. He soon came across it, he moved swiftly through a pair of large wooden doors. The doors swinging open with ease and announcing his presence.

As soon as he entered he vanished into the dark regions of the large room, Kaenia sitting in a throne like chair. Her face showed no emotion, like a stone statue. She was just staring at the wide open doors, Carthage still hiding in the shadows. Crawling up the wall silently now, getting a good spot if a surprise attack was needed.

A few seconds later, a man in dirty clothes and his face caked in dirt. Some sweat drop lets cut through the dirt, but only to show more dirt under the first layer. He was panting as he stumbled towards Kaenia. Carthage watched as he approched her, if he drew to close for his comfort he would strike. His yellow eyes penetrating the shadows. His ears picking up the convertation from his postion.
[B]
"Mistress! Something is going on in the White Fire Kingdom. I can sense the energies gathering in one point. I don't know what is going on there, but it requires immediate attention."[/B] Kaenia nodded and used her hand to make a hand motion, with that done, Carthage dropped from his postion right behind the man. Landing in a crouched postion and standing up.

The man slowly turning around, seeing the Skhad towering over him with a cold look. Kaenia spoke, breaking the quick tension between the Skhad and the dirty man.
[B]
"This is Carthage Ashrak. As you can see he is a Skhad."

"Yes I can. But what is he doing out of the Sulphur Wastes? Isn't that where he should be, since he is a creatuer of them?"[/B] Carthage's face moved closed to him as he let out a deep throated growl. Kaenia motioned for him to move next to her, he moved slowly, keeping his eyes on the dirty man.
[B]
"I'd be careful if I were you. Yes, he was born in the Wastes, but he is an out cast from his tribe. So, he lives here and does what I ask. Now."[/B] She turned her attention to Carthage, he looked down at her.
[B]
"Carthage, I need you to go to the White Fire Kingdom and find out what is happening. If anyone sees you, kill them. If you are captuered, do not speak a word. Remember your extensive training."[/B] Carthage bowed his head for a moment then started to walk to the doors, she called him one more time and he turned around.
[B]
"Take him outside. Give him a reward for being so helpful."[/B] Carthage knew what she really meant, he nodded and motioned with his head for the man to follow. They walked through the large doors and into the hall, the doors closed behind him with a loud creaking noise. The man rubbed his hands in anticipation of a reward, Carthage started down another hall. Motioning the man to follow once more, the man followed hurriedly.

Carthage came to another door and opened it, the man walked in. His eyes opened wide. He was staring at the largest amount of treauer he had ever seen. He started to move to a pile when he felt something sharp enter his body. Then pull away, he started to crumble to the floor. He looked behind him to see Carthage's fangs hanging from his mouth. He opened his mouth and they folded in.

The man fell over and then started to convulse, foam spilling out of his mouth and his convulsions grew more violent. Then, he stopped altogether and lay motionless on the ground. Carthage grabbed the mans shirt and threw him over his shoulder, he walked a few feet then came to another door. He opened the door and pulled out a cloth sheet. He laid it on the floor then plopped the man in it. He rolled the man up in the sheet.

After he was done he threw him over his shoulder once more and departed the castle, heading for the White Fire Kingdom. Off to find out what was happening that required to send him off on a pointless mission.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Frankie]

She folded her wings across her chest. She was growing impatient. She was called from her home to assist someone powerful and was now made to wait untill she got to meet her... employer. She let out a great sigh and walked across her temporary room.

She sat down on a chair and tapped her foot, whcih at the moment was a bird like talon with stretchy rope sandles on. The feathers on her head moved with every slightest movement. The blonde colors were glowing almost golden as she sat in the little bit of sunlight there was.

She found this all quite uncomfortable with her large wings. She wasnt able to do much of anything in a room such as the one she was in. She closed her eyes and began to feel the feathers in her arms and head slowly shrink in and away. Hair sprouted from herh ead where the feathers were her wings turned to normal arms like a humans and her feet slowly grew softer and fit the sandles better. She soon had all human features. She stretched with a large yawn and sat back in the chair.

She remembered she was shirtless and put one on quickly. She prefered not to wear them when she was in full feathers. It either got to hot or to uncomfortable. She leaned the chair against the wall and waited.

[Zhara]

[SIZE=1][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]"I thought I might enjoy the view, you prisoners have it so lucky," she smiles and leans against the wall, waving her hand at the guard in dismissal. He pivots on his heel, almost falling over, and exits, an anxious look on his face. The poor man distinctly remembered leading the strange captive into his cell shackled. Iris stays silent for a moment, appraising her possible ally. "Her Majesty tells me we might find your particular talents useful in our little 'quest.' Tell me, just what is it that you can do?"

"Fire. I am an Elementalist," he states it calmly and to the point, as if it should be painfully obvious.

Inwardly, Iris does a victory dance, amazed she had found an Elementalist so quickly. Obviously he was powerful, that was as plain as his discarded chains. But would he join them, and would he be useful? Many powerful magicians were pathetically weak because of poor training or some other factor. [B]'No matter. Should he prove unhelpful, he'll still have his pardon and we'll never have to deal with him again. But how do I get him to join us?'[/B]

"Well then, tell me, what will it take to persuade you to join us, Sir...?" [B]'Idiot! You don't even know his name! Wait, no, it's the Empress's fault isn't it? She should have told me his name...I guess I just have to ask.'[/B]

"I don't believe we know your name."

"My name is Aruj Zale."

"Well, Aruj Zale, we were prepared to give you an official pardon for joining our cause, but for some reason, I don't think that's your only way out of this cell." She smiles and winks. "And I've been authorized to use whatever force necessary to convince you to join use." It was stated with a smile on her lips, but she was no less serious than a spymaster interrogating an enemy's agent. "Believe me, I am quiet [I]adamant[/I] you assist us."[/FONT] [/SIZE]

[FONT=Garamond](OOC: Sorry it's so short and so late, everybody. I had midterms and just...everything was conspiring against me.)[/FONT]

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]Aruj chuckled at Iris and nodded, "I am content with the terms offered.. no further persuasion is needed. I will join your 'cause', Lady Duvall. I am sure I would wither in the face of your.. force, childe. That would be quite embarrassing for myself as you can imagine." His eyes twinkled ever so slightly before he continued, "The Infernal Aruj Zale is at your service, childe. Though, as comrades, you and your motley crew can call me Aruj."

Really though, the pardon was worth it's weight in gold to him. The wolves of the Empire had been shadowing him for too long. As uninterested in political affairs as he was, this was more of a transaction- a trade, perhaps. There were equitable benefits for both parties.. the young Duvall acquires help she is sorely lacking and Aruj gets the peaceful anonymity he requires.

Iris looked pleased. A grin upon her face, she gestured to the door, "Then I'm afraid you have to leave this cushy room, Aruj. You're a prisoner no more."

"How disappointing." Aruj replied, stood and cracked his neck, "I was beginning to enjoy it's atmosphere."[/color]

[Zhara]

[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1]Life had changed drastically for Kaenia since the beginning of her assault on Mae's Empire, and it had taken its toll on her. Physically and mentally, she was long since due for a break. But apparently, this was not to be so. Right as sleep calls her name in golden tones, a frightened page rushes into her room, waking herself and her hounds. They immediately set after him, barking and clawing at hind legs.

"My lady, the court Magicians have sent me to bring you word of a Skhad they have sensed, someone with immense power!" He struggles to catch his breath. Kaenia wasn't surprised; it was a long walk from one end of the castle to the other. "Th-they say you should greet her yourself...You know, support the cause?"

She nods, her eyes half-shut from exhaustion. "Perhaps you should return later...Though I appreciate the effort you put into delivering your message, it's hardly urgent."

"Ah, my lady...this Skhad...she's within the borders of our kingdom already...They told me to tell you it was really, really important."

She wishes, very briefly, that for once, her life could be as simple as that of a dog?s. Standing up, she tosses the young man a bauble that had been lying on her vanity. [B]?Tell you master you are to have the rest of the night off. I will inform the magicians your task was accomplished.?[/B] He smiles, already thinking of the perfect girl to woo with the money he would get from the lady?s expensive sapphire before saluting and backing out of the room.

For a moment, Kaenia stares dumbly at her great hunting dogs before dressing in a man?s tunic and breeches and marching out to meet the magicians. Hopefully one of the Arcane Mages would be able to teleport her close to this renegade Skhad.

[B]?And with any luck, she?ll be easily persuaded to leave my realm?Or perhaps join me, if she?s as mighty as the dang magicians say she is.?[/B]

Approximately two days later, Kaenia glares at another member of her elite group of soldiers, a Passerine and human crossbreed by the name of Avian. [B]"Do you know what I hate most about teleportation, Avian? No matter where you travel to, no matter who you are, it is always raining."[/B][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Garamond](OOC: Any chance I could get a couple of people to switch sides? We only have three followers for Kaenia.)[/FONT]

[Darth Vectis]

[COLOR=DarkGreen][SIZE=1]Carthage walked steadily through the Sulphur Wastes, the blood from the corpse soaking the sheet and starting to stink from the harsh sun light. Winds kicked up every once in awhile that kicked up dust into large clouds. They didn't affect Carthage that much they did start to get annoying. He hoped that what he was waiting for would appear soon enough.

And just then, figures in the dust started to appear. All of them lucid and hard to see, for a human. But Carthage recognized the shapes, he knew who exactly in the dusk. They were Skhad, from a different tribe then his own. The wind stopped and the dusk settled, Carthage found himself standing in the middle of small circle of Skhad. He kept his gaze straight, searching for the one who lead this band of hunters.

With in a few moments he found who he was looking for, and older looking, lizard-like being. Standing with a large spear in his hand and some of his scales were dried and cracked, some looked old. Carthage moved closer to the leader and bowed his head; he then knelt down and laid the body on the ground. He then stood up and took a step back.

The leader bent down and pulled back a piece of the sheet to see the bodies face. He leaned further in to smell the body; he could tell over the stink that it was only a few hours old. The leader stood up looked over Carthage; he then stepped to the side and made an opening in the circle. Carthage bowed his head again and walked out of the circle. He was a few steps away when he heard two pairs of foot steps behind him.

He knew this meant they would escort him through their land until he was gone. He didn't mind, they wouldn't harm him unless he struck first, and his gift to the tribe would allow him safe passage back and forth for one time. He picked up his speed to reach his destination faster, the warriors behind did the same. It was about a half-hour before he could see the gates of the White Fire Kingdom.

He grew closer to the wall and the foot steps behind him faded, he smiled as he got closer and closer. He was glad to be out of the Sulphur Wastes and those damn winds. As he approached the wall, he suddenly changed his path and headed further down the wall, looking for a spot that wasn't covered heavily and was easy to get into and out of.

It took him a few minutes before he found the right point. Most of the wall looked new, as if it had been blown out then replaced. But some of the wall was still old, with easy places to climb up if lacking claws. But most of the old walls were heavily guarded, except one. He went for it the second he saw it, climbing the crumbling wall.

He reached the top after a few seconds and peaked over, he saw one guard with his back turned to the wall. Carthage silently jumped over the wall and landed, he walked up quietly behind the man and quickly snapped his neck. Carthage instantly pulled the mans cloak and fastend it on. Putting the hood up and laying the body down, making sure it was hidden well enough that it wouldn't be spotted from a distance.

He walked down a set of stairs and walked among the people, listening carefully to what everybodt had to say. Slowly working his way through the crowed, looking for anyone who seemed important or smelled of magic. He slouched a little to keep his height from catching attention. His eyes searched quickly through the crowd.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Frankie]

Avian noticed the glare and nodded her head. She wasnt in a cramped room anymore so she was in full feather. The feathers on her head moved with the slightest breath of wind. Hew sword did the same at her side. She had her wings carefully folded in front of her chest. Not because she wasnt wearing anything but because it was warmer that way.

"Rain. I find it refeshing but very difficult to fly in m'Lady." Avian said only glancing at her for a moment before looking back down towards her feet for a moment. "Wretched stuff. Expecially the kind that isnt to heavy and isnt to light. Its really stick and very annoying. My feathers dont like it."

She spread her wings wide with a stretch and brought them back down by her sides. She awaited her orders. She never spoke much unless spoken too or given a reason to speak. She would sometimes say [b]"Why speak if there is nothing of worth to say." [/b]and always think [i][b]"not like i had anything interesting to say or anything anyways."[/b][/i]

[Disenchanted]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1]
It had been a long journey, but Kale had finally made it into the Kingdom of Kaenia's. She was sure that her presence would not go un-noticed by whatever forces the great Lady had up her sleeve. Kale was not entirely sure how she would be greeted, The Lady would either execute her on sight, ask her to leave or perhaps have some other use for her. She was hoping that it was the last of the three possible outcomes.

Kale had felt increasingly disturbed among the followers of the White Fire Kingdom, a half cast Skhad was not something they welcomed with open arms. Especially one that had a gift for manipulating the earth, strangely enough as she had entered the kingdom, a heavy rain fell upon the land. This was a sign that someone or something had been teleported near to her location.

Rather than traverse mountains and rivers to reach Kaenia?s lands kale had just manipulated the earth and then returned it to its previous state, a missing mountain or river was likely to cause concern for someone or rouse suspicion. While traveling Kale had been careful to avoid sighting a full blooded Skhad she knew to be in the service of Kaenia, rumors of this Skhad were few at best but still warranted her to use extreme caution.

Kale looked up to the sky as she walked; the clouds were thick and gray, heavy rain poured down pelting against the hood of her cloak. If anyone found themselves looking at Kale head on they wouldn?t know that she was Skhad, she would have the appearance of a young woman, her brown hair had proven to be deceiving to some people in the past.

The weather would seem rather depressing to most people, she on the other hand loved the rain and the sound it made when falling and hitting the ground or an object on the way down. She assumed that along the line somewhere, someone or something would come to greet her on behalf of Kaenia, Kale hoped that, that something wasn?t a monster.

She had not come into contact with any patrols yet but Kale was sure some sort of defense was in place. Kale was an un-invited guest in this place, and some times uninvited guests aren?t greeted to kindly, she was just going to have to wait and see. [/SIZE] [/COLOR]