The Playground 2: The Dying of the Light

[TheDarkDM]

The Holy City of Telraya (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxAOHez4meA)

Despair! Fall upon your knees in prayer, oh children of the Creator, for on this day his Patriarch has fallen. The holy throne in Telraya lies empty, and a great light has gone out in the world. Tens of thousands have gathered from across the known world to pay homage to this great man, and to weep for the great works he leaves unfinished.

Yet, amid the sadness of death comes a new flame of hope. For the first time in recorded history, the elders of the Creator’s Church have unanimously agreed to upraise the Holy Prophet Derriel to the seat of Patriarch, for his blessed works are truly the blessing of the Creator itself. He has taken the name Erasmus III, and where once the throngs in the streets cried out in agony, now they lift their voices in praise. The seven-spired Basilica of Saints has been made ready, and all persons of note have gathered to attend the coronation.

Within the massive edifice of white stone, the most powerful individuals from Lucina and abroad have gathered in deference to the new Holy Patriarch. The star shaped interior fills with light, reflected from innumerable crystals inlaid into the ceiling, sending flickering wisps of color cascading over the crowd. Then, the tolling of a great silver bell in the northern spire, followed quickly by its five fellows ringing the Basilica. Finally, the great tower of the Creator releases a cascade of music from its multitude of bells, joining the other six in a thunderous melody of joy. Gathered on the balcony overlooking the assemblage, a choir of hundreds raises their voices in hymns, hymns that none have heard since the last Patriarch took his place atop the Creator’s Throne.

With a creak that speaks of centuries of use, the main doors to the Basilica swing open, and the holy procession enters the hall. The new Patriarch is flanked by the Elders of the Church, great and learned men bearing the golden vestments of the office with pride. Behind follow fifty of the sanctified Daughters of the Creator, noble women who have pledged their lives to the pursuit of purity and virtue, the silver hems of their white robes trailing on the intricate marble floor. And at the center of it all stands a man barely past his thirty-fifth year, auburn hair only recently tamed, clad only in the pure white vestments of a Prophet. He seems unaccustomed to the pomp and circumstance the day has offered, and fixes his eyes squarely on his destination – the Throne of the Creator.

Last artifact of the Creator’s ancient faith, the crystal throne stands at the center of the Basilica, its unblemished contours continuously illuminated by a shaft of light from above, cleverly manipulated by an ingenious series of mirrors to reflect sunlight and moonlight unerringly. As the procession gathers about the raised Artifact, the new Patriarch takes a tentative step forwards, before easing into the massive seat. Great and ancient invocations are intoned by the Elders, their voices reverberating off the wall like peals of thunder, the choir rising and falling in response to their words. It is a storm of fervor, a storm of worship, and at the end the peaked crown of the Creator’s Chosen has been placed atop the head of Erasmus III.
A new age has begun.

[Ninjabob]

Having heard the Patriarch was dead, Derskan and his crew were among the crowd in the Basilica. When the crowd was placed on the new Patriarch's head, Derskan whispers to himself: "A new age has begun. Let it be fruitful for us all."
With that he strides out of the basilica, motioning for his crew to follow him.
Now that you lot have seen the coronation, can we finally get off. We need some profit, and I hear prices are good in the Duchy of Emdar. Make ready to sail, and I will get us some goods in the market.

[BladeofOblivion]

Duchy of Emdar

Halfway across the continent, in the Duchy of Emdar, an unusual group of people had entered fairly quietly. Among them was a creature not often found: A genuine bard. It is difficult to tell a true bard from one who plays an instrument, of course, but there are more than the simple tangible differences.

The biggest difference, after all, is the spirit. One can't truly be a bard, after all, without the true desire to make music, rather than performing the craft purely out of idleness or desire for profit in some shape or form. No, there must be great amounts of passion for the arts within the soul of a true bard.

And so it was with her.

When they left on yonder road...
All winter seemed to fall...
But when they returned to the land...

She saw the ruined castle, with widening eyes.

They saw that ruin engulfs all.

After the song was finished, she simply sputtered out.

Well, that's not what I expected. I'm hoping there's a perfectly logical explanation for this. If not, I'm going to torch him alive. With your permission of course, milord.

[have_a_cow]

Castle Trio
Before the Funeral

Of course Titus had known about the Patriarch's death before he received the official notice asking for his attendance at the funeral and the coronation of the new Patriarch; very few events of note remained hidden from Titus for long. As head of House Trio, Titus would have to go to Telraya to represent his Great House.

*sigh* I suppose I should put my current plans on hold, at least until the sting of the Patriarch's death has been forgotten. There is no need to stir the pot and be seen as unfaithful right now. It's a shame, had anyone else important died I could have used the uproar to keep people from noticing what I was doing until it was too late to try to oppose me. Oh well. I should prepare to leave.

Telraya
The Basilica

Being the head of a Great House certainly has it's advantages, few in attendance have more prominent seats than Titus. He isn't a very religious man, but still considers himself to be a member of the Church. As such, while the ceremony is beautiful, he is rather bored with the whole thing, but at least all people of note in Lucina are in attendance. He is being saved the trouble of having to cast a spell to keep tabs on them.

Oh, I suppose it's also a good place to be seen. I should make sure that I pay the proper respects to the new Patriarch when I get the chance. I think I have just the gift to give him as well. Titus thinks to himself while trying to hide a smirk.

[Imperial Psycho]

Telraya
Orvas had of course, been asked to attend the funeral. He had to plead illness to escape the damned thing. He'd probably have to pretend to be bed-ridden for half the week. Ah, if that was the price he must play, so be it. He was dressed in a fine grey cloak. His clothing was simple, but was still of a finer cut than any commoners garb. Having anything too drab in his wardrobe would draw suspicion. Not even his servants knew of his....nightly activities.

It is not every day a Patriarch dies, and almost every member of the nobility was in attendance. Orvas was most grateful to the dead old goat. He muttered thanks as he slipped into a townhouse, a smile playing across his lips. Quickly rifling through the empty room, he found a few jewels, but nothing worth much. He lingered a little in the study, casting his eyes about for valuables.

[Croverus]

[The Cracked Spire, Halfwaypoint between Telraya and the Duchy of Emdar

On a desolate hill, raised above the surrounding filds, the Cracked Spire stood, an ominous structure with links to the Under Realm. While recognized as the halfway point between the Duchy and Telrya, few actually considered it a place to visit. The castle seemed to be made of a single giant stone, the top of the tower resembling a clawed hand. A crack ran from one of the top corners almost all the way down to the ground, hence the name, as it was the noly noticeable blemish on the structure's surface.

Within the Spire an old man with greyed skin and pale eyes sat hunched over a large tome, scribbling notes, crossing out disproved information and pausing only to glance up at the shadows of his study, as if waiting. He had recieved an invitation tot eh funeral, as he had known the previous Patriarch, but his studies were more important. He had no knowledge of this new Patriarch and waited now for news.

A loud step in the shadows behind him had the old man pause. He turned and saw only a pair of glowing green eyes staring back at him from the shadows. "Well then, what news do you bring? And speak quickly if you wish to stay on thsi plane tonight." That threat seemed to dim the fury in those eyes, eyes that stood much too high from the floor to be of any mortal being.

A cloven foot stepped out of the shadows and the creature revealed itself, standing a good 9 ft tall, its body covered by a dirty cloak. This was a poor attempt to disguise the beast that stood there. It's face had no lips, eyelids or nose, its mouth a constant snarl of jagged teeth, the slits of its nose flaring and the green eyes unblinking. It finally spokem its words, though spoken in common, would be harsh to the ears of those who had not grown accustomed to listening to a demon, "Thenew Patriarch is a youthful man, Erasmus III. He seems unaccustomed to their protocol and rituals. He smells... though, don't all you fleshbags..."

The old man glared and the demon seemed to shrink back as if struck, cowed by the gaze of the one that had summoned him. "That is enough for now. Go, you may hunt in the fields, but only for beasts, and no more livestock. I will call on you when I feel a need to. Now Begone"! With that the demon gave a mock bow and turned, disappearing into the shadows to go hunt.

[Nefarion Xid]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Coronation of Erasmus III
Telraya, Early Morning

“Is it a new tradition, you suppose?” asked the flower girl of the trinket hawker.
“I didn’t hear nofing about it. If’n they were putting on a show, they’d’ve told someone about it so’s we can be up to watch.” The old merchant’s reasoning was sound, if hard to understand as it whistled through missing teeth.
“Jake said it was lovely, bolts of fire streaking up into the night sky and winking out. I hope they do it again when this pope dies.”
Aghast, and with all the accumulated bile of old age, he shook his cane furiously at the air. “Your tongue, girl! Min’ your tongue! Musn’t say such things of his holiness.”
Then, regarding her suspiciously out of the corner of his good eye, he asked, “And just what was your frien’ doing up so late? Hmm?”

The flower girl was about to answer, but the pair grew silent and gawked at the cabbage merchant rolling his cart down the street to join them for the day. A three foot long ballista bolt was lodged through the gap in the second A in CABBAGES. Whatever Jake had been up to, this guy probably had a better story.

Telraya, Courtyard of the Red Cat
Earlier

Life returned slowly to Lucien, though he doubted it. For a moment, he didn't know if he was breathing and though he willed his lungs to work, he couldn’t feel them. His head swam and the fading stars above danced in rapid circles. He was too dizzy, too euphoric to care and he simply accepted the fact that he was dead or dying. As he began to close his eyes, he caught a glimpse of bountiful décolletage and a white gown and knew he was in heaven.

“Ye soi muert…” he declared thoughtfully in his foreign tongue before closing his eyes. It was only then he discovered that his head was throbbing and that breathing definitely hurt. Alas.

37th Day of Summer
Talraya, After Midnight

“What was that?” the sergeant fumbled to keep hold of the pipe as he was startled by a sudden cry in the night.
“Just a barn owl, sarge. Haven’t you ever heard a…”
The air over the city wall rippled and the moonlight flickered as something very big and very fast flew overhead. The two guardsmen had already hurled themselves behind the tower door when the scream came again, tenfold the volume and much closer this time. Whatever that thing was, it wasn’t an owl; not a normal sized one anyway.

“Come on Monte, not much longer now. We’ll lose them.” The wyvern roared something back to his rider through ragged breaths. Lucien squeezed his knees into Monte’s shoulders and leaned forward in his saddle, nudging the wyvern into another dive and holding a reassuring hand to his neck. The shadow dropped out of the night sky. Two others followed an instant later.

Buzzing the ramparts, the Monte grabbed a lit brazier with his talons and launched it overhead with a back flip. He caught himself on the crenellation of the tower and made brief eye contact with a petrified soldier before hurling himself into the air again. Flaming coal sprayed through the air and the lead of the pursuing wyverns screamed, more in annoyance than pain.

The three shapes raced along the city wall; Lucien hoped someone would wake up and start shooting back. As an experienced dralcier, he knew how hard it was to land a shot on the lead flier. What worried him is that his assailants also knew how much danger they were in by tailing him into the city defenses. But they did it anyway. When the crossbows failed to dissuade them, Lucien and Monte took to the streets, darting towards the heart of the city and slipping between the towers, hoping to lose them in a tight turn.

Nearing the lights of the Basilica, Monte began to climb. It was an exhausting maneuver under normal conditions, but the three had been in the air since the previous evening. Lucien bet on the assumption that his pursuers wanted to live more than they wanted to kill him. Unfortunately the two were lightered and better conditioned than Monte and were making headway. They nipped at Monte’s tail. They’d rip him apart if he faltered now.

There was a flash of steel in the moonlight. Lucien hurtled over the head of the first rider, free falling with an extended blade and scoring a hit on the wing as he zipped past. Monte came after, plummeting like a stone with his tail and wings tucked in. Lucien fell backwards towards the spires of the basilica, arms outstretched to slow his fall. He held his breath and tears formed in the corners of his eyes. It was a terrifying thing to do, even when you were used to flying on the back of monster. Slowly, surely, he felt the pressure of Monte’s saddle against his back. Air flooded into his lungs and he lurched forwards to catch the reins and check his weapon, retracting the blade and shoving it inside his coat. A quick glimpse behind him revealed only one rider, diving to catch up.

The two slipped through the basilica towers, reluctantly looking for a place to land, their mounts half dead. A duel to finish it, Lucien thought. Perhaps he might even get some information out of the other rider before kicking him off the roof. The whistle of bolts from the papal soldiers cut the plan short. While they weren’t better shots than the city guard, they did have the backing of mages. Fire lanced through the sky, subtly arcing as the mages corrected their aim. Tucking his wings, Monte moved to glide swiftly out of range and away from the basilica. A horrible sound came from behind as the arcane missiles found their mark, followed by the crunch of scale on stone a moment later.

Escape almost assured, Monte was struck on the wing and tumbled into the city. He only had time to pry his rider from the saddle and tuck him safely under his body as he smashed through the branches of an old oak and skipped across the ground before finally skidding to a halt.

[hi-mi-tsu]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Courtyard of the Red Cat

Business was slow on the eve/morn of the coronation; not too many people were willing to miss out on such a momentous occasion for a couple hours of carnal pleasure. The girls were playing cards, and Maitane cast a glance at the Basilica, then sighed and swept her hair back. Slow nights were boring...

Crack. A sound like a thunderbolt echoed through the courtyard, and the Madam lifted her head swiftly as a sound like something large and heavy being dragged at great speed across her space came into the House; the girls cried out in fear, and Mai grabbed a cudgel from beside the back door, lighting a lantern and throwing it open.

"Oh, for all the gods..."

"What is that?!?"

Maitane knew about the Dracliers. Who they were, what they did. It seemed as though several of the girls did not, and screamed their very girlish screams as they pointed at the man sprawled out across the yard and the large creature wound up in its own wings that was at the end of the rather deep gash cut across her grass.

"Oh, do shut up with the screaming, will you? Cassie, Maria, get me some hot water and clean rags. Ehm...Josiah...bring me one of the large blankets, yes? Maybe..." She appraised the wyvern.

"Maybe several of them." As the few of her staff she'd sent off jumped to their duties, Maitane leaned over the prone figure on the ground, just in time to hear his murmured words. Her lips quirked up in a sardonic smile as she set the lantern by his face to assess the damage. Less than she'd been expecting, though more than was healthy...cuts on the face and hands from the tree, and some bruises. To be expected, from the way he'd hit the ground.

"Non, tu est pas mourte, chere...though you might feel it right now." A faint smile, a soothing hand placed to Lucien's forehead; Josiah came back with the blankets, and Maitane stood.

"Put those over the wyvern...see if you can get his wings spread out a little. Don't want the poor thing inadvertently cutting himself up more. Then help me get this fellow inside..."

Twenty minutes later saw Lucien in a warm bed, bandaged, and Maitane sitting beside him. The girls had been ordered not to gossip, and the Madam simply waited; when he was conscious enough, they'd speak. She certainly wasn't going to ignore this potential windfall...having a Draclier in her debt could be a very useful thing indeed.

[Nefarion Xid]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya, The Red Cat
Early Morning

Lucien felt life return to his breast a moment before his eyes snapped open. He went for his sword in a flash and found himself in agony a moment later. He clutched only bandages instead of his coat and blade. Half on and half off his bed, he panted, righting himself. He gasped, "Ma vouivre, ... ou es... Monte!" He manage one cry before he met a pair of reassuring eyes and collapsed against his pillows. Lucien straightened, not at ease, but not ignorant of the hospitality, and still not entirely certain of where he was.

"Mia viverna." He repeated tersely in the only other language he knew.

Maitane had jumped to her feet, when the man had lunged upwards, half-off the bed; Josiah stepped forward, but she waved at him to stay, and leaned over to gently rearrange the blankets around the man.

Her language was similar, but not the same; Orian, not whatever he was speaking, but he'd understand easily enough.

"Monte...? Unconscious, in the courtyard. We managed to get his wings unwound from around him, so that if he struggles he won't injure himself further, and we put some blankets over him. Don't worry..."

The Madam's hand is gentle, on Lucien's forehead.

"You're among friends."

"Non, let me see him. He'll be scared without me." Lucien struggled forward, but his ribs and Maitane's reassuring touch wouldn't let him. Beads of sweat sprung to his brow before collapsing again.

"If he lives, take me to him." Lucien protested with gritted teeth.

Mai turned away from the man in the bed, to glance back at her bouncer/bodyguard.

"Didn't we get a visitor who said something about being a healer? I realize he was drunk, but even drunk is better than nothing. Go find him, I'm pretty sure he's with Lilia..."

[DragonOfUndeath]

37th day of Summer, 203
Coronation

Davik stood on a nearby rooftop, overlooking the coronation. He is flanked by 2 of his Vampire Apprentices, a 3rd watches from an adjacent rooftop.
"A new day is dawning Davik. May Gamen'Fu aid us in seizing it for ourselves." One of the apprentices say as the crown touches Erasmus' head
"We sieze the day not for us, but for our lord. We exist solely to spread his word and attain the recognition he deserves, alongside the One True God." The other Vamp reminds him.
"Quite, I want to watch this. Not everything is for Gamen'Fu, sometimes observing our own world is an end in itself." Said the Master, staring straight at the newly-crowned Erasmus

[Xondoure]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya, The Red Cat
Early Morning

Jon was disturbed by the pounding of fists against the door.

"Go away!"

Grumbling he turned back to the pretty little thing lying before him. To his annoyance the pounding continued. Trying to ignore it he slid his arm back around the girl whispering a private joke into her ear. The pounding continued. His head was starting to hurt and the woman seemed more concerned with who was at the door than what he had to say, which was just insulting. He would have to make a remark about her lack of enthusiasm if he remembered her name. The pounding continued.

"What is it!? What could anyone possibly need from me here at this hour?" wrapping his cloak around him he reached the door wrenching it open. Standing there was another one of the courtesans face flushed from the excitement. "I haven't got the coin for another of you so if thats all-"

"Sir, its... well. A man fell from the sky."

"He what?"

"Fell from the sky, on a dragon. He's terribly injured and you said you were a healer so..."

Jon's crimson eyes narrowed, "You'd better not be lying about this." The girl stammered her insistance suddenly overcome with the need to make her believe him. Jon sighed, she wasn't lying at least. And whether or not it was true his curiosity was aroused. "Very well, take me to this fallen man.

The girl ushered him quickly to a nearby room. Inside the hostess herself sat attending to a handsome young man who seemed quite well off for someone who had fallen out of the sky. Judging by his torso he had shattered a few ribs, but the impact should be simple enough to revert. He wasn't going to tell them that though, if he played it up enough he might be able to keep what was left of his gold.

"Right, so what have we here?"

[hi-mi-tsu]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya, The Red Cat
Early Morning

Maitane glances up at the door when the healer is shown in; her eyes flicker a little, and one eyebrow raises. Surely he is not so drunk as to not be able to see what is had? An injured man, raising a bit of a fuss. Obviously that is what is had, here.

"He fell. ...Off a wyvern. Which he insists he must return to, though he is clearly in nearly no shape to be moved. Getting him into this bed in the first place was a difficult enough feat, I'm not about to send him back out onto the ground."

She stands, and affixes the man in the bed with a stern look.

"The healer is going to examine you. If he works on you and determines you fit, then I will take you back out to your wyvern. If he says stay put, however, you will stay put, even if I have to have Josiah knock you out. I'm not having a Draclier die in my whorehouse."

Lucien's weapon is leaned up against the far wall, out of reach; Maitane is nothing if not cautious. Her eyes flick up to Josiah.

"Watch them." She leaves the room, to go out to the courtyard and survey the damage; the tree was destroyed, and would have to be cut down. The long furrow in the grass...that would take some mending as well.

"So much work..." She sighs the words. "He'd better be worth it."

[Kasanip]

"Lyll"
[Telraya]

It had been some time since Lyll had been in the holy city of Telraya. The white buildings and the basilica where beautiful, and also nostalgic. The Patriarchs had always been announced here. Well, as long as Lyll could remember- and that was a long time. It was a comforting feeling in someway. This place would grow, but always it would stay the same, and it would endure through hardships.

It was also a place full of life and activity today, and that was always the most interesting thing about humans. The smell of flowers, the sounds of voices like music in the markets, or the singing at the Basilica..these were things Lyll found incredible, and even though she had walked with humans and learned of them, it always was overwhelming.

Maybe it was overwhelming for them too? Excitement seems to be like this. All emotions maybe are like this in some way.

Lyll's sandals made a pleasant sound as she walked on the path into the Basilica. It was a good day to have come, because with so many guests, a young woman traveling would be easily overlooked. She wanted to see the ceremony- the last one was how many years ago? It had been a long time she thought. Before the plague at least.

The ceremony was beautiful as she thought. The songs were nostalgic and beautiful. And there were so many different people here. Some rich, some poor, men and women and children. And at last people begin to leave the ceremony, and Lyll also exits onto the streets of Telraya.

[DragonOfUndeath]

37th day of Summer, 203
Outside the Cracked Spire

A single being appeared outside the door.
*knock knock knock* she knocked as her glowing blue eyes dimmed.
She stood outside the door, her tunic clinging to her lithe body. Her sleek black hair swayed gently despite the lack of breeze.
"I'm looking for The Summoner." She called.

37th day of summer, 203
Telraya

Davik moved through the crowds, sensing the atmosphere. It felt good to get away from home sometimes, to soak in the celebration of the new era away from the known.
Suddenly he stopped, took a step back, turned and grabbed his apprentice by the throat, all pulled off in an eyeblink.
"What have I told you? No following me when I bask in the ambiance of a city."

[Croverus]

37th day of Summer, 203
The Cracked Spire

The door opens and the lesser demon that serves Eleazer seems to take a measure of the visitor. It turns to speak over its shoulder, the language it uses only summoners would know how to use. "Мастер, у Вас есть посетителя." And after a moment a response is heard, the voice not as harsh as the demon's, "привести их в пределах."

After stepping aside and allowing the female to enter, the demon closes the door behind her and stomps off down a corridor. The voice she had hear a moment ago calls from a door just ahead. "Come in this way my dear. I'm sure you have something important to say if you came here."

[DragonOfUndeath]

37th day of Summer, 203
The Cracked Spire

"I have come to discover the secret to Portals. I have received a vision from Gamen'Fu himself, may he judge us all worthy in our time, that you are the first step in the journey."

[Xondoure]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya, The Red Cat
Early Morning

Jonathan sighed as the woman rushed away, she'd managed to avoid talking of pay entirely. It wasn't often someone managed to slip by him like that, the woman was good, or maybe he was just alot more drunk than he thought.

Slapping his hands together the Red Wizard grinned, "Better start now then eh?" With a woosh of flame his palms opened up, crackling in the morning light. Josiah opened his mouth in protest before being cut off.

"Relax, the flames won't hurt anyone unless I want them too."

Jonathan approached the bed his hands still burning quietly. His eyes scanned the wounds quickly. And then his hands came down upon the stranger's chest.

The fire quickly spread over him burning away the bandages but leaving his skin intact. As it crawled over the wounds they seemed to be consumed by the fire, leaving no trace that the body had ever been broken there. As the healing went on the fires vanished from what had been healed and huddled around the wounds until one by one the flames vanished.

"Keep him rested for the next few days, healing magic is powerful but it does provide some strain on the body and it is best not too push it. He can walk, talk, eat, and sleep but I wouldn't reccomend flying."

Jonathan stood slowly and gave a small nod to Josiah before making his way back to his room exhausted. Shooing away the consort before collapsing onto his bed. The flames had been entirely unnecessary, and had taken a lot out of him at this hour, but the spectacle had been worth it.

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya, The Red Cat
Afternoon

The Red Wizard woke up shuddering slightly at eerie dreams of a time not his own. Moving quickly he stepped to the cabinet and reached for his clothes, grimmacing at the quality. He would have to stop by the tailors to find something more appropriate for the cathedral. Slipping on his boots he left, making his way down to the main hall to finish dealing with Mai before taking his leave.

[Croverus]

37th day of Summer, 203
The Cracked Spire

The old man nods, standing from his deska nd going to one of his shelves. He traces a finger across the spines of seveeral books then looks at the woman. A wave of his hand causes the candelabra hanging from the ceiling to glow more, revealing that this office is much larger than it should be. The old man's skin is an odd gray color, his eyes pale, but the pupils are still black and more cat-like than they should be. He studies her for a moment before speaking.

"You are right to seek me out then. For I was the first mortal to make contact with the Under Realm, and the first to bring forth one of its denizens, who promptly tried to repay me with claw and tooth. It found me to not be the frail man I appear. It was sent back where it came from, howling and screaming in agony, to crash on the plains of Under Realm ad be dashed to pieces. After that the demons were more cooperative."

He seemed to find the book he wanted, pulling it down and taking it to one of the several bookstands. Setting it down he smirks. "So, what do I get out of helping you? I'm not in the habit of giving out charity. Most lords and dukes that I've dealt with in the past pay me money, or help em acquire... resources that I need. What do you offer in exchnge for my knowledge and potential services?"

[Gourtox]

37th Day of summer, 203
Telraya
Grino

Ceremonies aren't usually his thing, but Grino decided that this was a special occassion. Dressed as a commoner he watched the procession and giving his repects in silence before going into the streets. The markets were full of people celebrating their new Patriarch. As such it was a perfect time to make inquisitions about the called specifically the called that had been so close to his family.
One man was selling several antiques and seemed like the perfect man to ask.
"Hello sir, what would you happen to know anything about the called?"
"The Called, you mean like in the legends?"
"Yes, like the legends. You wouldn't happen to know anything would you?"
"Only what's in the legends."
"Thank you for your help."
He moved on repeating the conversation over and over again with various merchants. He came up with nothing. No leads. Perhaps fate could help him.

[DragonOfUndeath]

"I offer you anything you wish to ask. The resources of the church are behind me in this endeavor. If it is within our power we will procure it for you."

[hi-mi-tsu]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya, The Red Cat
Early Morning

When it became apparent the "healer" wasn't going to step outside and help with the wyvern, Maitane let out a long-suffering sigh. Some healer he was...ah, well. She knew enough to make a crude, yet effective splint for the wyvern's wing; she was fairly certain the creatures could heal well enough on their own, but...there was no reason not to help nature along, a little. The poor thing was in enough trouble as it was. Maitane's fingers gently rubbed over the wyvern's head, for a moment; then she tucked the blankets back in around the wyvern and headed inside. She'd figure out what to do with the landscaping later.

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya, The Red Cat
Afternoon

Maitane glances up at the footfalls in the hallway; she is dressed impeccably as always, in a soft heather-grey dress that reveals just enough cleavage to be tantalizing.

"Ah, so the healer finally awakes. I hear you put on quite a show for my poor, impressionable doorman. Flames? Really? Was that necessary? And you didn't even bother to help the wyvern. I assume the flames took too much energy, seeing as Josiah said you went straight to bed, and Lilia said you shooed her away without even taking pleasure in her...charms."

She gestures to a small bag of coin on the table.

"There's your refund. I don't charge for what isn't used. It is minus a small fee--twenty-five percent--for the bed, and the fact that because she was supposed to be with you Lilia got no other custom..."

[Nefarion Xid]

37th Day of Summer
Telraya, The Red Cat
Early Morning

After his healing session, Lucien negotiated with Josiah to be let out of bed to follow Mai and see how Monte was doing. Here, 'negotiate' will mean stare down and repeating himself in a broken language. Slipping on what remained of his shirt, he made his way down the hall and into the courtyard. He clutched his ribs as he went, still tender if no longer broken at least. The curious and intrigued looks from doorways made him bashful and he tugged at his shirt and straightened his shoulders. Perhaps I should fall out of the sky more often if it garners this sort of attention, he thought.

Monte was roughly in the same position as when he'd landed, on his side roughly fetal. His breathing was only just perceptible, his sides bulging and receding every half minute or so. There was no rhythm in his chest, just a faint twitch every now and again. Wyverns, like their progenitors, were able to go comatose nearly at will to conserve energy and heal grievous injury. Judging from the length of the flight and his burned and broken win, he'd be out for a month and even after he awoke, he'd need plenty of food and exercise to fully recover; his body would cannibalize his own muscles until then.

Lucien left his friend after a long time kneeling and caressing his brow before returning inside the manor and catching Maitane.

"We need to move him," he said with closed eyes, concentrating on the Orian words and trying not to slip into the similar Syrainian. "They'll be looking for us as soon as it's light out."

There was no telling what the church would do to him if they found him now. It wasn't an attack, not really, but there would be no convincing the authorities of that now. Lucien's heart began to race as the magnitude of the situation dawned on him. The madame would be well rewarded for turning him in.

"Please, we have to hide him. I can pay..."

[Xondoure]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya, The Red Cat
Afternoon

"Please excuse my rudeness last night, I was quite drunk and not entirely myself. That with the hour made me unwilling to risk a procedure on a creature I have rarely encountered. Now that I have my senses I would be happy to help with that and anything else you might require before I take my leave." Jonathan smiled gently a seemingly new man in the light of day. "As for the flames, I find that when dealing with fire you must always be cautious lest it roam to freely and consume too greedily, and as such it helps provide focus when my mind is elsewhere. I must admit I do have a fondness for theatricality, but then I wouldn't have survived this long without it." He chuckled at his joke in an infectious way before bowing slightly "Again I offer my sincerest apologies for anything I may have done to offend."

[Jade_Tarem]

45th day of Summer, 203
Duchy of Emdar - Rayess approach

Duke Cetus Rigel brought his horse to a halt. "What is this?" He looked at the obviously abandoned castle before placing a hand to his side and wincing. The last 'test of faith' had succeeded in injuring him, but so far he had been lucky - the wound had not festered, nor had it kept him from travel. He leans over when his bard makes her remark. "You may yet have it. Arcilan has much explaining to do."

***

An examination of the castle revealed that Jerrick Arcilan had departed, along with most of what he was entrusted with. Standing in the empty front hall, Rigel snorted derisively. "Well alright then. I suppose, for now, we shall have to conduct business primarily from the city."

"Shall we move on, then?" His sister, Centauri, asked. "We should go make sure that the town hasn't burned to the ground and that the king is still alive, at least."

***

Rayess

"You know, when I said we should see if the king was still alive, I'll be the first to admit that I thought he would be."

The Duke and his entourage had only spent a brief time in Rayess before learning the rest of the national news - the king had been dead for some time, long enough for the news to reach across the continent.

Rigel shook his head. "This is madness. So our defenses and economy take an enormous hit right before the country goes into turmoil."

He pauses, then smiles to himself, beginning to emulate the mannerisms of his mother when presenting him with a game. "So... you have a knight, a queen, and an unknown number of pawns..."

"...can you, using only these resources, phrase this problem in a way that doesn't sound pretentious?" Centauri finished for him.

"Always, dear sister." He turned to the others. "I need to know more." He nodded to his bard. "I leave that task in your capable hands, or any other convenient appendages." To his guard captain, he pointed to the city walls. "Find out who's guarding the city, how loyal they are, and who's paying them. We need to know what we have to work with before we can do anything effective."

"And I?"

"You, dear sister, are coming with me to the castle library."

[Croverus]

37th day of Summer, 203
The Cracked Spire

The old man chuckled, opening the tome and beckoning the woman to come near. "The most vital thing about summoning and binding magic is blood. To summon a demon for example, you can use any amount of blood but more potent beings require less of their blood, and using demon blood ensures a summoning is successful. If I wanted to and cared not for the consequences, I could theoretically use your blood to summon you through a portal whenever I wished, though whether you survive the journey between the portal I can not say. I can say that attempts with lesser creatures have provided only failure,and I am not allowed to us intelligent creatures besides demons."

He nods a few times, seeming to fall back on his own thoughts for a moment as he retrieves another tome, wiping some dust from it. "Now, knowing what you need and what to do is one thing. Actually doing it is entirely different. I've met several young summoners, overconfident and in a hurry to obtain power. I've seen most dragged down to the Under Realm or attacked by the demons they planned to control. Portal magic is not to be used lightly."

[DragonOfUndeath]

"I will use the magic as carefully and slowly as you wish. I have forever to learn to summon the Reapers from Limbo safely. Why are you unable to summon intelligent beings through Portals? Why are Demons the exceptions?"

[Croverus]

"Because I had demon blood with me before hand, and this tower allowed me to find a link to the Under Realm that makes the passage back and forth save for them as long as I am using it. Before we continue, I'll have your ful name, and what you are, as you aren't human. I could guess but I prefer not to waste time."

[DragonOfUndeath]

"I am a chosen of Gamen'Fu, the God of Death. My kind are known as Vampires, we live only as long as we drain blood from beings and do not grow old. My full name is Arianna Hellena Jasdem Deselth and I am 25 years old, though I was Chosen at 21. I was sent here to begin my journey of discovery, to usher in a new being from Limbo. The Reapers."

[BladeofOblivion]

45th day of Summer, 203
Duchy of Emdar - Rayess

The bard smiles. Not too difficult a task today, it seems. It was just as well.

"It shan't be a problem, Sir Rigel. I'll report if I find anything useful."

She still gives a glare at the 'Convienient Appendages.' One that pretty much outright states: "There's a Dragonslayer with us, don't forget. Please don't make him suspicious."

She wandered down to the local tavern, and gave a salute to the patrons. The ones that were there had been largely depressed at the conditions until she appeared. The crowd positively cheered at the sight of her!

With her reputation in Emdar, of course, who could blame them? She was the figurative right hand of the Duchy, after all, second only to Rigel and his sister. Not only that, she was acclaimed as one of the best musicians around, period!

She was immediately assailed by questions of where they had all been, and so she smiled. Waving off the direct questions, she took her usual seat in the corner. One motion, and her lute was in her arms. Another, and she was standing atop the table.

"Let me tell a story
of Legends and Tomes.
One that entangled us,
tore us from our homes.
In the mountains of Sonntag,
Great magic did exist!
And of course we did not know
that we would be so missed..."

Several minutes later, the ballad was complete, and several entranced patrons cheered in delight. Their curiosities sated and their attention span expended, most immediately lapsed into frantic conversation.

If this didn't get the news of the Royal return spread, she didn't know what did. And she was no fool. Royal return would quickly boost the economy, and prices here would rise. Merchants would flock to Emdar in droves, attempting to get hold of goods while prices were low. And getting the money moving is always the best way to jumpstart an economy.

She wandered over to the barkeep.

"A glass of wine, please, sir. Your best."

As the barkeep pours the wine, she asks a series of light, slightly probing questions. About everything. The enchantment in her music affects the Barkeeper to great effect, especially combined with her natural Charisma.

So why don't you tell me how Emdar's been doing while I've been absent? Please, feel free to leave the juicy details in. You know everything around here, and I want you to share the information. I hope that's not a problem?

[Croverus]

Nodding the old man seemed pleased. He closed the tome and stood, motioning to a cot near the back among several stacks of books. "You will rest there when you need. When you must feed, do so far enough away from here to keep the locals from accusing me of more than they already do. When the sun has set and I am ready to, we will start your examination, to be sure you are suitable for summoning. After that we can eventually start your training. You are to refer to me at all time as Master or Summoner, anything else will result in no lesson for the rest of that day. Ask any questions you like but I will only answer 3 questions each day, so best not to ask unless you really want to know and it doesn't seem like something I will tell you freely. If you cannot abide by any of these rules, the door is that way." He sits back down at his desk as he finished, scribbling mroe notes in handwriting that is impossible to read. He leaves her to her business until nightfall.

[DragonOfUndeath]

"Thank you Master. I will return at nightfall."
Arianna's eyes flare brightly and she whispers a word in an ancient and unpronounceable tongue. She disappears from the room, teleporting to another place.

[Kasanip]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya, Streets

There were all sorts of travelers here in Telraya- some of them young, some of them old. Some of them were criminals, and most of them were innocent.

You must guard your money very carefully during this time, even in the Holy City it is a good idea to do so.

Through the busy streets Lyll was walking- she kept her gray cloak around her white dress, the decorated headband around her forehead to cover her seal.

It was dangerous to be seen without it. Though maybe as time went on, more people had thought of the Called in legends, but for Lyll, her legend was well known. It was hard to not be known when children heard the stories of Sigun, the great hero, and his trusted sword.
Though Lyll doubted most would recognize her, the seal would reveal her to be a called, and that would attract too much attention. She had learned this lesson many times already.

It would be nice if there was a day when the called could walk freely again. Kyll thought this while walking. The new Patriarch might be able to make a declaration like this, but that was a strange wish. The church didn't take prayers from tools or artifacts.

Watching a street performance idly, Lyll was lost in thought before colliding into a young man. Her hood fell back as she kept her balance.
"Oh, I am sorry! I was not paying attention." She said in a flustered way of apology.

[DragonOfUndeath]

@Kasanip: Was that set up for someone or up for anyone to jump in? If it was set up then I'll delete this post

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya, Streets

Davik releases his Apprentice and turned as the woman bumped into him.
"It's alright, I sho- Your forehead. You might want to cover that up, even in the Holy City people would be looking for someone like you. You are one of them right?"
Davik makes a gesture to his Apprentice and says
"Leave us. Report back to the temple."

[Kasanip]

(ooc: It was hopefully for someone to interact, but not have a plan, so it is good! Normally she is wearing a headband over her forehead, but I will play as it is written now and put it on.)

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya, Streets

Quickly Lyll covered her forehead with a hand and pulled her hood up.
"Ah!"
She looks around quickly, hoping that no one looked at the accident closely. In a busy town of course many people run into each other, so it is not unusual.
She looks at Davik again, stepping away.
"One of who?" She asks evasively. Secretly though, she is quite scared.
This was a bad place to be revealed. There would be a lot of interest if she was noticed. Only one thing stops her from running now, and it is the man tried to help her first.

[Imperial Psycho]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya
Orvas rifled through the room, searching every nook and cranny until he came across his prize. Under a desk, oddly enough, was a silver statuette. The silver was worth a little, but it was very finely crafted, and that is where the true value came from. Carefully placing it into a large pocket in his cloak, he considered his next move.

There was an unbolted door going further into the house, and the balcony from which he entered was opposite. Hearing footsteps, he quickly replaced most of his mess, and fled. He took to the streets, ran a few houses down, then ducked into an alley. There, he removed his hood, and began to walk down the streets, calmly. He retrieved the signet ring that marked him as a nobleman, and placed it onto his finger. He shouldn't be bothered now.

[DragonOfUndeath]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya, Streets

"I can't say it in the middle of a street now can I? But you have nothing to fear from me, I wield enough power. What Gamen'Fu grants me is enough. Come, I'll show you the temple. It isn't as grand as some of the other ones but we have to keep a low profile in this city. But we have been Called, as have you by your mark. The way of God is a tough calling, you can lose sight of the little things, like the bustle of a crowd or the gentle trickling of a stream."
Davik will lead the way to a temple if she wants to follow. It looks exactly like a tavern with "Priest's Liqueur' on a sign above the door.

[hi-mi-tsu]

37th Day of Summer
Telraya, The Red Cat
Early Morning

A sigh. What was it about menfolk that made them all so cursed stubborn and bull-headed? Here he was, staggering after her practically broken into bits, insisting this that and the other.

"You're a fool, you know." Her tone was conversational, as she replied easily in the Orian he was fighting so hard to speak. "Firstly for getting up and staggering out here despite the likely orders to stay in bed, secondly for fighting so hard to speak a slightly less familiar tongue as opposed to the one I have already demonstrated I understand quite well."

A pause, and then another sigh. We do not need to do anything. You need to get back into bed where you belong, after your injuries. I will take care of moving your wyvern inside...somewhere. Maybe the secondary sitting room...I can take the furniture out of that. We'll discuss payment...later." She waves her hand back towards his room.

"Go on, shoo."

An hour later, as the sun begins to truly rise, Maitane surveys her handiwork. It was no mean feat, getting the wyvern through the doors of her..."establishment" and into the large room she felt would be best suited for it; they'd had to move the chairs and tables and the bookshelf out first, and put those into the storage room. Then one blanket had gone down on the ground, and she and Josiah had managed to (carefully) wrestle the wyvern onto it...he'd proved amazingly foldable, had Monte, and they'd managed to get him through the door without too terribly much trouble. Sliding him over the polished wooden floorboards had been easy, and now he was set up in the room, curtains drawn and door closed.

Afternoon

"Your effusive, though unnecessary, apologies are accepted." The madam is tired, and it shows in her voice, though she tries quite hard to remain civil. "And we no longer require your services, as far as I know. The wyvern simply needs to heal, and it is resting until it does. Your excellent work on our unexpected guest has been noted, but I'm sure a man of such skill and talent like yourself has far better things to do than hang around a common brothel during an exceptionally auspicious day. Or haven't you heard? The new Holy Patriarch has received his crown. There must be much celebrating going on."

She gestures to the papers before her, and her eyebrow arches. "If you'll forgive my curtness, it would make my day much easier were you to take your leave so that I may focus, as opposed to worry about entertaining a potentially-offended guest."

[Croverus]

37th Day of Summer
The Cracked Spire
Nightfall

The old man walked outside of the spire and made his way to a small fire going between two benches. The benches were made of a sturdy wood, with thick planks and stout legs to hold a good deal of weight. The old man sat on on bench, looking at the empy one across from him and waited. He knew she would come, they are always eager their first night.

[DragonOfUndeath]

Arianna materialized on the seat.
"I am here Master."

[KiCowboy]

45th day of Summer, 203
Duchy of Emdar - Rayess

Tristan's face soured at the look of Rayess. The weathered grooves of crows feet gathered at the edges of his eyes. He had expected something . . . . grander.

So, this is the mighty Emdar?

How long had he been away? The Emdar forces he remembered were well organized and efficient, if ruthless. More in line with the Rigel fellow - not the mess before him. At the very least he had hoped Glasir would have been provided some order to reign in the madness of Baron Sigg's final days. But this . . . this wouldn't do.

It felt good to get off his horse and stretch his legs. He had never been a soft man, but years alone in the mountains had left him little reason to do much riding. His back was grateful to the Sigil. Tristan was no craftsman, but he could certainly appreciate how the family armor contoured and braced as needed. Just the thing for a knight charged to travel great stretches in full plate.

Or an old fool. Blood and ashes! Why am I even here?

But Tristan knew his father's sword would not have stirred without cause. It was as if the Dragonslayer had known Duke Rigel's party was nearby in the Sonntag Mountains. At first he had thought it was misplaced curiosity that lead him to join their quest. Or an impulse to keep that damned fool girl alive. No one can be that bloody cheerful without being a bit simple. . . Talented though . . . No. This was why he had come. Truly, if Rayess itself was in such disarray - how well could the people of his homeland be faring? He heard whispers even the patriarch was dead! The world seemed to decay ever faster in his waning years. At least it was sure to provide a fitting quest. Something grand, and final.

After walking the perimeter to observe the guard (and sharing several sharp glares with those who stared at his archaic guise) he settled in at the tavern for a drink. He lied to himself that he needed to make sure a young girl like Drache wasn't accosted by the ruffians that might be about in this town's poor state. In truth it was obvious she could have all but the worst crowds eating out of her hands. Obviously it couldn't just be that a lonely old man found comfort in the first true music he'd heard in nearly a lifetime.

"Well played, lass."

He raised his glass in appreciation. The gesture was a bit undercut by his stony face and cold scrutinizing eyes.

[Xondoure]

37th Day of Summer
Telraya, The Red Cat
Afternoon

Bowing once more Jonathan pulled a piece of parchment from his sleeve. With a flick of his hand he scorched writing onto it, handing it to Mai. As she touched the parchment he willed a spark of healing magic to flow to her directing it to restore her energy.

"A gift to your new guest. It has certainly been... a memorable visit to say the least. "

And with that the mage smiled and left.

The Note

The parchment has been burned into a perfect rectangle, and is bordered by strange symbols curling around the edges.


Dear reader,
Whoever holds this note is a personal friend of the Red Wizard, if ever you have need of his services, cast these words into the flames.
Sincerely, Jonathan Hearth.

At the end of the letter is a dragon curved in a figure eight and breathing a flame that forms its own tail.

37th Day of Summer
Telraya, the Basilica
Evening of the Coronation

Swarming the streets outside of the Basilica stood the residents of Lucina. Packed like livestock as they struggled to find a way through the throng. Young, old, rich and poor it made little difference in the chaos.

Jonathan tugged at the sleeve of his new cloak. A brilliant red adorned with gold embroidery which seemed to catch fire when he moved. Underneath he wore a simple white tunic and pants cut to the eastern style twirling around two fine leather boots. All of the clasps were also in gold and shone in the crystal light. He had felt bad about taking from the tailor, but as the man had brought him to the back he had seen the working conditions of his apprentices. After that he would have burned the man himself on a different day.

He made his way through the crowd easily enough. The mob mentality was easy enough to push away around him, giving him plenty of space as the crowd molded and flowed around him. He soon found himself standing with the nobility near the front of the crowd as the rituals began to climb towards the coronation. A patriarch who could perform true miracles, it had been years since the last one, centuries. He remembered the last time he had seen this event when Lucina was still young he had... no. That was another man's memories.

Hoping to distract himself Jonathan scanned the crowd searching for a familiar face. Darting over many minor nobles before he noticed Viscount Trio watching the crowd in much the same way. He remembered the man from his initiation into the High Mages. Trio had been one of five charged with evaluating him. As he recalled he had never seemed to be quite trustworthy, as if the man knew far more about you and everyone else than he would ever let on. Still the man was sure to have a reason for being here, and Hearth had never relished spending to much time with his own thoughts.

"Viscount Titus of house Trio a pleasure to see you here, although I doubt you would recognize me. My name is Jonathan Hearth: apprentice of Norman Vaox."

[BladeofOblivion]

45th day of Summer, 203
Duchy of Emdar - Rayess - The Bawdy Barmaid

After hearing the full story, as told by the Barkeep's amalgam of patron tales, Drache was satisfied. She paid for her wine and sat down at one of the tables. So that Arcilan fellow abdicated the throne, eh? At least Star Harbor was still in one piece though. She always liked to see the sights there, to feel the cool sea breeze, and to smell the tinge of salt in the air.

She was just about to leave and head back up to Emberlock Castle when she spotted the hermit that she and her party brought along, sitting alone with a glass of something. Looking lonely. That simply wouldn't do, now would it?

She snuck over to the chair next to him, and sat down. A quick motion pulled the stick out of her hair, allowing it to fall down to her shoulders. She smiled, and said:

"So, how's Emdar so far? I know it's in a sorry state right now, but Rigel's a political genius. He'll have the place fixed up soon enough. Oh, have you visited the Star Harbor yet? You should go sometime!"

You know, it gets a bit unnerving when someone smiles that much.

[Croverus]

37th Day of Summer
The Cracked Spire
Night

He nodded and stood, gathering up his strength as he spoke in a voice much more commanding than before. "Arianna Hellena Jasdem Deselth, you come before em know to determine if you have the strength to handle the dangerous arts of summoning and binding. What you will learn in the following period is not to be given out freely. The Knowledge of summoning has a price, and the price varies from one to another. I, Eleazer Whitestorm, gave of a great deal to start myself down this path. What do you have to offer for payment of this knowledge? Know that what you offer, you can never gain back, and if the offer is not enough, the powers you seek will be beyond your reach."

[DragonOfUndeath]

"I offer my hypnotism. My ability to hypnotise people into giving me their blood. I also offer my most treasured possession, a ring from my grandmother given on her deathbed."
The ring is embossed with a golden raven and is remarkably valuable.
"It was passed down through my family for generations. It is thought to be a relic of the Before, before the Great War and the loss of knowledge."

[Kasanip]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya, Streets

Lyll looked around again, still anxious if she was spotted, but to see no one else with an interest.
When the name Gamen'Fu is said, she becomes more focused. This is a name she has heard before,and not in good ways.

She thought to refuse quickly and to escape into the crowd, but the man had said something strange, and also terrifying.

So he knew she was a Called. And even that, he knew what Called named themselves, not like most humans. So reluctantly, she agrees to follow him quietly for the moment.

But when they come to the temple, she stops at the door. It is nothing like a temple should look, in a holy city, but it looks more unsettling. Certainly for Lyll, who was already worried and feeling trapped, this did not look like a safe place. Since she had not been discovered by others, now it was almost a feeling of safety to be lost in a crowd away from this stranger.
"What are your intentions sir? You have not given your name, and I feel it is not wise to follow you further than here without knowing."

[KiCowboy]

45th day of Summer, 203
Duchy of Emdar - Rayess - The Bawdy Barmaid

Tristan chewed on his words a moment before speaking. He didn't mean to scowl exactly. It was just proper to look someone in the eye when talking to them. And blast it if this child's extroverted nature wasn't like a kick in the sternum for an old hermit.

"Seen the harbor once in my youth. My eldest brother held his wedding ceremony there. 'Twas the only time I'd ever been that far down the Balmus. Used to think the river was endless as a child. Disappointing, that. Not Star Harbor mind you - she's grand. 'Tis a shame dreams don't hold up so well to the real world . . ."

He finished his drink. It was dark, bitter, and just right. He seemed surprised to see Drache still listening.

"Right now Emdar reminds me of what it was like to see the Balmus come to an end. And Rigel . . . "

Tristan skirted his eyes, one milky and scarred, the other ocean blue, as he debated whether to be tactful. With a grim chuckle he decided not to bother and waved for another drink.

" . . . he's an arrogant son of a bitch, that one. But level-headed. And I suppose I'll take a magnificent bastard over a manic tyrant. Blood and ashes, Sigg . . . "

He welcomed the new drink, glad to cut himself off. He raised his glass and forced a wan smile.

"So . . . here's to song. Where at least we can remember the world as we like it, not as it is."

[Nefarion Xid]

37th Day of Summer
Telraya, The Red Cat: Courtyard
Early Morning

Lucien had cared for Monte for a decade and he boiled under the accusation that he should perhaps be less concerned with the well being of his friend. His tongue hit the back of his teeth; his clenched jaw the only thing keeping him from snapping at the woman. He snorted his annoyance and after a moment, hissed back, “You do not speak Syrainian as well as you think!”

Best not to press his luck or mouth off further. The Madame, after all, could easily call the guards at a whim. There was no telling what the church officials would do to him and Monte if they were turned over to the city’s custody and there would be little chance of convincing them that the aerial escapade wasn’t an attack.

Maitane arched an eyebrow, at that. "Really? Because I think I was following you fairly well. I get that you're worried about Monte. He's your friend, isn't he? You bond for life, or something like that. But you must realize that you are not going to do him any good whatsoever if you kill yourself trying to help him. You're hurt, rather grievously, or don't you remember crashing through a tree and going skidding across the yard?"

“I’ve had worse!” He started gingerly back to the door. It was a lie. While he’d suffered a few blows to the head, had a bone chipped a tibia, pulled, twisted and tweaked every likely candidate and take more than a few bruises and scrapes, he’d never actually broken anything. And as far as injuries go, “it hurts when I breathe” is rather high up the scale. Breathing was still nauseating, but at least nothing was broken, he supposed.

He turned, leaning against the doorway. “I will tutor you in Syrainian if you wish. Or we may speak in Etasian if you prefer. I speak it fluently.”

"Sweetheart, if I wanted a tutor in your tongue, I'd ask for it." Mai's lips quirked up in an amused grin as she stopped, hands on her hips, to look at the young Draclier. "If it'd make you more comfortable to speak in Etasian, I can use that as well...I'm not quite as fluent in it as I am Orian, but I get along just fine."

Really, men were so stubborn. She didn't need to learn Syrainian...because it was close enough to Orian that she got by. And there weren't many noblemen that spoke it, anyways.

"You're not going to go back to bed until we get your wyvern inside, are you..." The madam sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment. "Why can't you just rest like you need to?"

As promised, Lucien’s spoke Etasian without hesitation, a clue he was the product of proper education and an unusual thing for a rider. “I will return straight to bed once he’s inside and you’ll not chide me until then. Agreed?” He forced a pained smile while propping himself against the door frame and ruffling dirty hair. Really, it still had dirt in it from the landing.

Another soft sigh. "All right, fine, since you're going to be a thorn in my side anyways." Rounding up her doorman was an easy task...getting the wyvern inside, less so. But when Lucien moved to help, she shot him a glare that would freeze blood. Bad enough he was out of bed as injured as he was. She wasn't going to have him re-breaking ribs while trying to tug his friend along the floor.

Task complete, Lucien thanked Maitane before starting towards bed, as promised. He turned after a few steps, frowning. "I'm afraid to ask, but why are you helping me? Why not just turn me over to the guards?" While she might not know the exact circumstances that lead to him crashing in her yard, one might assume they hadn't escaped the notice or the ire of the Telrayan authorities.

"You're joking, right?" The madam's eyebrow arched. "You don't honestly think I'm so grasping as all that? The guards would give me a pittance, or nothing at all, for turning you in. Consider my establishment. I'm barely above illegal, as far as most of them are concerned, and the only reason I have the impunity I do is the clientele I cater to. Besides, I can think of much more useful things than the few coins I might get. Such as having a Draclier in my debt. And besides..."

The woman smiled. It was a cunning, calculating smile, but amusement flickered in her eyes.

"I don't know your name yet, nor your story. Anything that sends a draclier crashing down into a whorehouse's backyard is bound to be interesting."

“Bene,” he said with a smirk, which faded into a smile that was nothing if not demure. It was a lot to take in, but the burden of decision wasn’t his at least. There was nothing he could do about his situation except make the best of it. Maitane held all the cards. “Silly me, I thought it was a boarding school. Still… I may teach your girls their letters!”

“C’est Lucien.” He might as well pronounce his own name correctly.

"My girls know their letters, pretty boy, and a lot of other things besides." Maitane's smile grew wickedly amused, and one perfectly-groomed eyebrow arched. "Lucien, dive-bombing a whorehouse in Lucina. Fascinating. See? All you've said is your name and I'm already more intrigued then I was five minutes ago."

"Lucina eh? Well, it is good to know what country I'm in, at least." He waved his hand absently overhead. "It all looks the same from up there. I thought we might have drifted farther west. Though, I should have guessed from the basilica. It is beautiful at night... I'm sure, more so, when no one is shooting at you." A light chuckle. "Ah, but you made me promise to get my rest. Buona noche, madonna."

"Go, shoo!" The madam's eyebrow had gone higher at the mention of being shot at, and a low, surprised chuckle had pulled itself from her at being called madonna. Oh, it was the appropriate term, of course...but it still amused her.

"Goodnight, Lucien. Sleep well."

"Domani, you give me your name... I give you more story."

"Maitane." The madam chuckled again. "Mai, for short. And while I am practically dying to hear more of this story, it can wait until morning."

An imperious finger pointed towards the bedroom. "Go to bed. Before I have Josiah knock you out and carry you there."

[DragonOfUndeath]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya, Streets

"I am Davik, Head Priest of the Emdar sect of Gamen'Fu. The God of Death who has gifted me and others like me with Immortality to do His work. This tavern is a front for the local sect, we have to keep a low profile in the Holy City, the other religion doesn't like us much. No idea why, just because our God exists doesn't mean theirs doesn't. I can explain in detail inside."

[Croverus]

37th Day of Summer
The Cracked Spire
Night

The old man nods and the demon servant of his appears, seemingly out of no where. How somethign so big as able to move so silently is a mystery. The whole night seemed... odd. The sky was much darker than normal, filled with clouds. But there was no wind, the air was still. No sounds of bugs, birds and small critters could be heard. The demon stared into Arianna's eyes. It stares for what seems like minutes, nearly an hour, and suddenly a great pain would sear through her mind. Her hypnotism was pulled out slowly, made into a tangible presence as a thick black miasma that seeped from her eyes. It gathered in the air over the fire, balling up until the demon reached out and snatched the ball, the flames of the fire leaping up and engulfing his closed fist. The fire turned to shades of purple and green as the firest gift was taken and accepted.

Next the demon reached out and plucked the ring from Arianna's hand, clutching it in his fist over the flams once more. The flames lept up as he released it, catching the ring. It seemed to melt, but left behind no molten material, simply disappearing into te flames as they changed to red and gold. The demon's eyes glowed brightly and it seemed to shake before suddenly kneeling down. The old man let out a loud laugh, clapping his hands.

"Wonderful! The gifts have been offered, and the Under Realm has accepted them. You have great potential, my new Apprentice. This is Fnagt. He is bound to this plane by me but I have made it so his apct has him obey any summoner powerful enough to command him. For now you can practice command words on him. He will follow any rder you give that does not contradict my own or endanger me in any way. After you have grown used to commanding a demon we will practice summoning a Demonite as your first servant. For now, I imagine you feel somewhat drained from this experiance, I plan to retire to bed, you may do as yu please until tomorrow midday."

With that eleazer heads back into the spire to rest. Fnagt is still kneeling, watching Arianna with his glowing eyes. The fire has died down to embers and there is no sign of the ring that was sacrificed. The sky is clear now, and it seems several hours have passed since this ritual began.

[Kasanip]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya, Streets

Lyll looks at Davik with her sapphire blue eyes as he announces himself. She seems to relax- if only a little. She has a solemn expression as she speaks.

"Very well. You have given me your name, and so far your trust. I will enter gratefully. And I thank you for your help." She bows her head to him, and will enter the tavern, though she does not remove the hood of her cloak.

[Imperial Psycho]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya
Orvas strolled through the streets of the city, glancing around for easy opportunities. Seeing none, he began to wander towards his home, taking a round about route to avoid being tracked. He took in the city around him as he strolled. He was a city boy at heart, after all. His holdings outside were little more than a source of income to him. He noticed a few interesting people as he walked. An older man, followed by a girl, for example. The girl did not seem comfortable in the elder mans presence, as far as his saw. Well, none of his business. Ducking into a side alley, he took a shortcut towards his home.

[have_a_cow]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Titus' Town House, Telraya

Titus was pleased with himself. The new Patriarch had gladly accepted his gift of two mirrors (one large wall mirror and one hand mirror) that allowed anyone who stands before one and speaks the command word to see through the other mirror. What the Patriarch didn't know was that the set consisted of three mirrors. The last was in Titus' tower in Trio. It was enchanted to allow vision to the other two, but not to allow the other two to look through it. Now even if the Church set up magical wards to prevent scrying, Titus would still be able to use the mirrors to keep tabs on the Patriarch. Almost as important, Titus looked like a good and humble churchgoer for giving such a beautiful gift to the Patriarch.

He sat down in his chair, ready to get some work done, and reached underneath his desk for the silver angel that was enchanted to allow communication with the other silver angels that Titus keeps in all of his homes. After he felt around for a while, Titus bent down and looked for the angel under his desk, and he noticed that it's not there.

"Where did I put that damned angel? I could have sworn I left it under the desk like I always do." He stood up and began to search for his angel. His search took him to his bedroom where he noticed that the door to his balcony was standing wide open. Then he realized that he had been robbed. That's why his angel was missing and why his office was messier than usual.

A smile crept onto Titus' face. Whoever this criminal was, he must have been skilled; Titus himself had cast the wards on this place and while they weren't as powerful as the ones cast on his tower in Trio, they should have been sufficient to alert him to the robbery while it was occurring. If someone could avoid his wards, then this person could avoid the wards of others, and that could be useful. Well, this would be a simple matter of using magic to locate the statue, and then he would contact the thief and give him the opportunity to work together. If the thief refused, he would have him arrested and probably killed, otherwise he'd have a useful tool for later.

OOC Assuming that Orvas makes it to his house:

37th Day of Summer, 203
Orvas' House, Telraya

A nondescript man gently knocks upon the door, awaiting a response from the occupants of the house.

[BladeofOblivion]

45th day of Summer, 203
Duchy of Emdar - Rayess - The Bawdy Barmaid

She listens intently, smiling through most of it, though the bit about dreams seems to hit a heartstring. Still, when he raises his glass to song, she gladly clinks her glass as well, and takes a sip of wine.

"To Song."

She stands, drinking the last of the wine quickly.

"I should probably return to Castle Emberlock. Feel free to visit sometime, if you need to stay the night, need some work, or just want to hear a melody."

She smiles, winks, and walks out of the tavern, leaving the empty glass on the table.


45th day of Summer, 203
Duchy of Emdar - Rayess - Emberlock Castle

Entering the castle she shouted out in a slightly melodic manner:

Is anybody hooommme?!


Assuming she does find Rigel, she reports the events that the barkeep described, in great detail, though she glosses over the more personal events. It's doubtful that Rigel wants to hear about every single farmer's economic troubles, after all.

[Imperial Psycho]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Retham Manor, Telraya
The outer gate is opened slightly, and a green-clad guard answers. "You have some business with the Baron?"

Orvas, seeing the visitor as he approaches the manor, slips around the back, entering the house through a back entrance. He slips across the modest gardens, and in through the back door. His cloak is hung up on a rack, the statuette quickly locked into a box, for now, and Orvas settles in at his desk, making a show of putting his seal on a few documents.

[have_a_cow]

37th Day of Summer
Telraya, the Basilica
Evening of the Coronation


"Viscount Titus of house Trio a pleasure to see you here, although I doubt you would recognize me. My name is Jonathan Hearth: apprentice of Norman Vaox."

Even if Titus hadn't remembered Jonathan from his evaluation, but who has problems remembering a mage with that much flair, his memory would certainly be helped by the stylish (and audacious in Titus' opinion) robes that he wore. An incident with a certain wyvern rider, that Titus wasted no time scrying, had already put Jonathan near the forefront of Titus' mind anyways.

Jonathan had been unusual for a High Mage candidate, to say the least. It wasn't very often that they accepted fire mages into their ranks, but Jonathan had very high potential for greatness or, as was far more likely in Titus opinion, as an explosive distraction.

"Jonathan, why of course I remember you! It isn't everyday that a candidate sets fire to the robes of one of the evaluators. How are you my boy? I haven't heard from you or your former master in a long while. I was afraid that a wyvern had fallen out of the sky and crushed you." Titus made a not so subtle reference to the events of the previous evening.

OOC Note to self: Never end a character's name with an "s." You will forget apostrophes when you are writing possessively.

EDIT:
37th Day of Summer, 203
Retham Manner, Telraya

Titus was disappointed when he found out that a noble had been the infiltrator. That would make his plans of coercion with money or threats more difficult, but everyone had their price.

The servant that Titus sent replied to the guard at the gate, "Yes I do. My master noticed some of the Baron's activities earlier, and would like to engage in a business deal with him. May I see the Baron?"

[Xondoure]

37th Day of Summer
Telraya, the Basilica
Evening of the Coronation

"As I recall that was the first time I ever conjured a flame. Imagine my surprise when a few weeks later I had been accepted not as an initiate but a full member! Who knew redefining one of the core principles of enchantment was enough for the council to overlook a few singed robes? I have been doing quite well, truly. My time in Telraya has been quite interesting to say the least. But what of yourself and the others of our order in Lucina? I must confess since my return four years ago I have been quite focused in my own work and have fallen quite far behind current political affairs."

[Imperial Psycho]

37th Day of Summer
Retham Manor, Telraya
The guard looked at the visitor suspiciously, but, after a fashion, the gate swings open. The man is escorted through the small courtyard, and eventually brought before Lord Retham.

The Lord is a young man, sporting long blond hair. When he raises his head, the oddly gaunt face is revealed. Other than that, his appearance is largely plain. He wears a simple silk shirt, and dark trousers, and is undorned with jewelry, sans his signet ring. As the visitor is brought in, Lord Retham presses the ring into a circle of hot wax, giving a document his seal, before looking up. Clearly bored, the Lord surveys the visitor. "I am told you have some business with me?" Retham makes a signal with his hand, and the guards leave the room, standing guard by the door. A smile flits across the mans face. "Now, what can I do for you?"

[Gourtox]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya, Streets

During his questioning of the various merchants around the market, by pure chance he saw an accident. It was just two people bumping into each other, but it revealed a mark an a woman's forehead. Perhaps it was a coincidence, but he decided to stick around and then he heard the word called. He knew it wasn't a coincidence anymore, he had found one of them. He followed them into tavern, waiting for to see what would happen.

[DragonOfUndeath]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya, Temple

You feel a static charge go through you as you open the door as wards are circumvented. Inside is not a tavern at all, it is a grand space filled with robed Clerics and plain-clothed people who seem to be treated much differently than the others.
The floor is a polished wood of very fine design and the walls have numerous murals depicting great Divine acts by the Clerics and portraits of more plain-clothed people, some of which you see in the temple. At the far end you see an altar with a person lay still, she is obviously sick but a few Clerics are around her praying.
"Welcome to the Temple of Gamen'Fu. This is the Holy City Sect. Are you a guest, an initiate or part of a Vampire's Quest?" A cleric approaches you, she is holding a stylized scythe the size of your hand.

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya, Outside Temple

The man you are tracking, the moment the girl walks inside, turns and stares deep into your eyes.
"Why are you following us?"


OOC: This is a minor hypnotism effect, it won't compel you to do anything unless you are really weak-willed but you think it is a good idea to answer the question.

[have_a_cow]

37th Day of Summer
Telraya, the Basilica
Evening of the Coronation

"We haven't been up to much, just the usual stuff you do to run an order of mages and a fiefdom. It's mostly okaying the work of others, but it's something that has to be done. This noble wants that nobles land, and it's up to a third noble to negotiate the deal without bloodshed. That's pretty much how it is, and how it's been for the last thousand years or so. It's enough to put you to sleep if you ask me." Titus gives Jonathan a wink.

"Oh! I almost forgot, I have arranged an audience with the new Patriarch for later. Would you like to join me? I'm sure it will be quite interesting."

37th Day of Summer
Retham Manor, Telraya

The servant scratches his head nervously before addressing the Baron, "My Lord, please forgive my intrusion, but it has come to my master's attention that you broke into the Telrayan residence of the Viscount Trio and have absconded with a possession of his. My master is quite impressed with your skill, because, as you probably know, Viscount Trio is a powerful mage and has his home warded against intrusion and you managed to enter his home and take something of his without triggering any of them."

" My master would like to make a deal with you: If you are willing to do the "work," my master will provide you with information and locations to allow you to maximize profits. My master only wants one thing; you must attempt to retrieve an item when he asks. Of course, the locations he gives to you regularly would be up to you, but under special circumstances he might ask you to do something for him. Is this deal to your liking?"

[Kasanip]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya, Temple

Lyll had no idea she had been spotted, or was followed. She entered the tavern with a little apprehensiveness, but with resolve.

Lyll felt the wards pass around her, and there was the strange feeling of her skin reacting to it a little. To be a Called, there are sensations that humans may be used to that are still unsettling.

But she is surprised by the temple on the inside. It is larger than it seemed, and decorated in a fashion that seemed similar to the Church, and yet different. It is not what she expected, but of hidden things, she also had secrets, and so perhaps it was not wise to judge very quickly about things she didn't know.

The cleric approaches and Lyll watches the stylized scythe carefully, but bows her head.

"Thank you. I believe am a guest here....
But... what do you mean, 'Vampire's quest'?" She asks a little surprised and confused. There are some bad rumors about vampires, and the church especially does not like them, Lyll has learned. She had often though they were also a rumor, but it is a good idea to be wary.

[DragonOfUndeath]

37th day of Summer
Telraya, Temple

"A Vampire's Quest is what Gamen'Fu has tasked one of his Chosen, a Vampire, to complete. At least tell me you know what a Vampire is? Hang on, was the person who brought you here named Davik? That would explain a lot. He acts quite on the spur of the moment, or seems to. Events turn out too much in his favor for it to be pure luck.
Let me give you a crash course in our religion, we worship the God of Death, Gamen'Fu. Contrary to popular belief, and the Church, we do not all wear black, we are not all Evil, we are not a threat to society. In fact it's the complete opposite. We Clerics help our communities, blessing the crops, curing the sick, catching the criminals, we do not kidnap young women to sacrifice to our God, we channel His power to help her find her true love, wherever he may be. In some places, like here, we have to keep a low profile, pretend we don't exist and so forth. But in smaller towns or far-away cities we can act more freely. Not having to wory about the Church branding us heretics and slaughtering us.
We believe Souls do not always pass on to another realm, Souls are in fact reincarnated each time if they are not Pure Evil or Pure Good in which case they move on to another, unknown realm or realms.
Vampires are those Clerics chosen on the Winter Solstice to be His messengers and do His work on this world. They are gifted with the ability to withstand greater power channeled through them and Immortality, provided they receive regular donations of Blood, extracted non-lethally of course, they are also given mild memory-erasing and hypnotism abilities."

[Imperial Psycho]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Retham Manor, Telraya
Lord Retham cuts the servant off well before his speech is done. "You DARE come into my home and accuse me of such things? I ought to have you beaten bloody. Your 'master' will see me in person or not at all. " Retham summons the guards back into the room. "Take his man outside. I am done with him." When the man is gone, Orvas allows himself a smirk.

[Gourtox]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Telraya, Outside Temple

"I am following merely becasue I wish to speak to that girl. My question is what are you hiding? People with nothing to hide generally aren't as perceptive as you are." He felt a slight urge to answer the question and that intrigued him, not as much the girl but interested all the same.

[DragonOfUndeath]

37th day of Summer
Telraya, Outside Temple

"I am always this perceptive. It comes with the lifestyle. Why do you wish to speak with her? Do you know her personally or her people generally?"

[Gourtox]

37th day of Summer
Telraya, Outside Temple
He smiles, "A nice job answering the question, while revealing nothing. I would like to more about who you are, but for the moment I'm content. As for her, I know her people generally and was hoping she could help me find a specific member of her people."

[DragonOfUndeath]

37th day of Summer
Telraya, Outside Temple

"I am Davik, Vampire of Gamen'Fu, the God of Death. Happy? Now who do you seek?"

[Gourtox]

37th day of Summer
Telraya, Outside Temple

"Very, but I would prefer to only discuss that with her first, if you wouldn't mind as from what I know thay tend to like to keep their secrets to themselves and I wouldn't want to reveal anything that she wanted to keep hidden. However if it is alright with her I will gladly tell who I'm looking for and perhaps you could tell me more about Gamen'Fu and Vampires as what I've heard is only rumors."

[DragonOfUndeath]

37th day of Summer, 203
Telraya, Outside Temple

"And probably none of them good, right? Gamen'Fu is the God of Death. He recycles those not Pure or Vile enough back into new bodies. Only those that are Pure Evil or Saints get to move onto other realms that are unknown to us. Every year on the Winter Solstice he gifts a certain number of His Clerics with Immortality and minor Hypnotism powers, but it comes with a cost, we must drink the blood of the living to sustain the Immortality or we shall fall into Death and be reborn in another body. We do not need to kill our victims though, despite what the Church would have you believe.
We are gifted for a single purpose, to have the power to do His work, to aid those that struggle. That's the short version anyway, the long version involves becoming a Cleric yourself an takes a year or so."

[Gourtox]

37th day of Summer
Telraya, Outside Temple

"Hmm that's very interesting, completely different from the rumors I've heard. Now may I go and speak with the lady?"

[DragonOfUndeath]

37th day of Summer, 203
Telraya, Outside Temple

"Be my guest. But remember that if you harm her or anyone in the temple I will kill you."

[Xondoure]

37th Day of Summer
Telraya, the Basilica
Evening of the Coronation

Jonathan cursed the scrying bastard. The ring had made it harder and harder to avoid magical detection, such was the cost of being bound to magic. "I'd be honored to accompany you. The patriarch is indeed a fascinating individual and I am very curious to discover what sort of man he is."

[Kasanip]

37th day of Summer
Telraya, Temple

Lyll listened politely to the words of the cleric. It sounded a little like some of the cults she had heard of before, even a little like some of the things about the dragons long ago. By those that liked the dragons, and who worshiped them as gods.
But that had brought as much misery and death as it had good. And Lyll had played a role in that- bringing death and good as well. So, for a cult said they worshiped Death and did Good, it was a situation of uncomfortableness. In some ways it is no different, Lyll thinks, but it is also very different.
Is it dangerous and wrong? Perhaps.
But humans liked to think about the souls they had.
Do Called have souls?
It is a question of course that Lyll is too afraid to think of, and removes the thought from her mind. It is a question that comes to a Called at some time. Maybe some Called have become insane to consider it.
But a Called is immortal, that it 'is.' It always 'is'. what happens after a Called dies?
It's an unanswerable question, so it is not asked and not answered.

"How do you know if you are right?" Lyll asked curiously.

[Gourtox]

37th day of Summer
Telraya, Temple

He walked into the temple and within a few seconds found the woman who he was looking for. He approached the woman and the man she was talking with. "I hope I'm interrupting anything, but miss I was wondering if you could help me. You see my name is Grino Rachaysa and I am searching for someone very special. You wouldn't know about any beings known as called? Specifically one named Kaelylldal, perhaps?"

[Kasanip]

37th day of Summer
Telraya, Temple

Before the cleric can answer however, there is an interruption by another man. He was a stranger that Lyll was certain she had not met. But something about him seemed a little familiar.

It was not common however, for someone to approach and ask her for help. But it was not a bad feeling.
The words Grino Rachayasa said next however, were startling more than even Davik.
Lyll struggled not to look too surprised with his questions.
"E-excuse me? You're looking for a Called named Kaelylldal?" She looked at the cleric with uncertainty. Hopefully the other people in the temple would not hear. She looked at Grino and took a small step back.

"What makes you think the Sword of Light is a called? Why are you looking for such a person? What are your intentions if you are to find the Kaelylldal?"

[Gourtox]

37th day of Summer
Telraya, Temple

"Oh, you do know something. I'm glad I haven't bothered you for no reason. As for my intentions, I was hoping to convince her to return with me to the Kingdom of Rachaysa. It should be my Kingdom, but my cousin had other intentions for it. However I'm getting off track, I wanted her to help me convince the Kingdom to at the very least hear me out. You see I was accused of murdering my brother, when in fact it was my cousin that had him killed." He stops letting loose a slight sigh, "I'm sorry if I'm not very clear. Any information you could give me about Kaelylldal would be very helpful."

[TheDarkDM]

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
The Offices of the Holy Patriarch, Just After Midnight

Solomon Jerrol bowed before the earthly embodiment of his god. For years, he had stood by the old Patriarch, serving him faithfully and well, holding back his criticism and his doubts in the face of ancient wisdom. He'd held his tongue as the former Patriarch put a stop to the Church's involvement in the daily life of the wider city, held his tongue as heretical filth and sin began to clog the streets at the fringes of society. But now, Solomon Jerrol, Lord Commander of the Order of the Dove, sensed change in the air. Kneeling on the thickly carpeted floor of the Patriarch's private offices, he looked up at the new Patriarch and saw something that had long been absent in the Church - the fires of purpose.

Despite his uncrowned head and simple garb, the new Patriarch already seemed a native to the lush surroundings, his humility and grace serving to accentuate rather than detract from the obvious wealth of the Holy City. He had called the heads of the three great Orders before him, as had all Patriarchs before, to elucidate his plans to spread the glory and power of the Church. Kneeling beside Solomon was Arvus Clane, High Magister of the Order of the Laurel, and Damien Harleth, Master of the Grey Order. Distasteful as Harleth's presence was, it alone spoke to great changes in the air, so when the youthful Patriarch began to speak Solomon strained to listen, and more importantly, to comprehend.

"My brothers, though I still find myself speechless whenever I contemplate what awaits on the morrow, it seems the duty of protecting this Church has fallen to me. While I will not speak ill of my predecessor, we all knew him to be a gentle, diplomatic man. I do not begrudge him his comforts, but in the shadow of indolence a cancer has spread through this Holy City, a cancer of corruption and blasphemy that cannot be allowed to spread further. Therefore, brothers, I believe it is time to re-enter the affairs of Telraya, to spread our holy influence beyond the borders of City Center. If the incident tonight has taught us anything, it is that cowering behind our walls will not save us from the threats of the outside."

Solomon cringed at mention of the shameful attack on the Basilica, doubly so because his men had yet to discover the third assailant. To attack the Basilica so close to such a holy day spoke a dark purpose on the part of the Dracliers that had been captured, and he took some comfort in the fact that the Grey Order would soon have more answers for him.

"Therefore, I ask that you three combine your powers, unite your spheres of influence, that we might return this city to its former shining glory. And then, we may look to healing the shattered ties of the land around us, for the good of all."

Solomon bowed his head at the words he'd longed for so long to hear, slamming his gantleted fist against silvered breastplate before he spoke.

"Your holiness, you have my word that the filth that coats the outer city shall be purged. Once more, our silver knights will seek out wickedness - once again, we shall enforce a virtuous peace."

The other two heads murmured their assent, Clane's eyes filled with genuine fervor and Harleth nursing the same calculating expression he seemed to have been born with. Passing the men, the new Patriarch allowed them to kiss his ring of office before waving a dismissal, turning to the mountain of vellum and parchment that dominated his desk. Soundlessly, the three men rose from the knees and filed out of the office, Clane sweeping down a hall towards the Great Library and his order's tower, while Solomon found himself walking side by side with Harleth. Being so close to the grey robed man always made Solomon's skin crawl, for the deeds he had committed and ordered committed hung heavy around him, dimming even the holy peace of Telraya's heart. Solomon knew that hundreds of feet below, in the forbidden vaults of the Grey, the two Dracliers and dozens of others were suffering unspeakable torments for their crimes, Grey Inquisitors repeating their rote questions as a religious mantra as they flayed and burned and froze the flesh from their bodies. Solomon's stern face wore his distaste openly, but after fifty feet Harleth only smiled before clearing his throat.

"Lord Commander, it may interest you to know that a major temple of heretics is located in a certain tavern in the outer city. They've grown increasingly bold since the elder Patriarch instituted the policy of non-interference, but now that you've been untethered I've had the location sent to your offices. Have a good night."

Solomon barely managed a mumbled thanks before Harleth pressed into a shadowy alcove and disappeared, ducking into the maze of secret tunnels used so often by the Grey. Doubtless, the torturous wretch had some agenda in pointing him towards one particular cult, but so long as heretics were cleansed from the city Solomon was willing to accept what he was given.

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
Secret Temple to Gamen'Fu, Noon

As Davik entered the temple behind Grino, the sounds of revelry among the crowd concealed the telltale sounds of marching feet, the curiously silent rasp of silvered plate. Mere moments later though, a heavy pounding came at the door of the false tavern, followed by a booming voice.

"Open this door in the name of the Creator! This building is surrounded, and all occupants will be detained and questioned!"

[Kasanip]

37th day of Summer
Telraya, Temple

"Oh, you do know something. I'm glad I haven't bothered you for no reason. As for my intentions, I was hoping to convince her to return with me to the Kingdom of Rachaysa. It should be my Kingdom, but my cousin had other intentions for it. However I'm getting off track, I wanted her to help me convince the Kingdom to at the very least hear me out. You see I was accused of murdering my brother, when in fact it was my cousin that had him killed." He stops letting loose a slight sigh, "I'm sorry if I'm not very clear. Any information you could give me about Kaelylldal would be very helpful."

37th Day of Summer
Telraya, Temple

Lyll looked confused, but pursed her lips. The young man sounded troubled, and it was not a happy story that he told. If he told the truth.
"What could Kaelylldal, if she wanted to help, do for you? Why would she want to help you? There are many people who have troubles in this world, and you think that having the Sword of Light would help you solve yours? Isn't that..." She stopped herself and bowed her head.

"Sorry. I might be able to help you find Kaelylldal, but I don't understand why you think a Called can convince a kingdom for you. She is just a sword, after all." She said to him.

Why am I agreeing to help him? He's seeking me! You can't just lie to him everyday.

But... I have to know his intentions. I can't hide forever. And it is Rachayasa, which was....

....Even if he seems familiar. I can't be sure. I have to know more. Were the thoughts of her mind.



[B]37th Day of Summer, Telraya
Secret Temple to Gamen'Fu, Noon

As Davik entered the temple behind Grino, the sounds of revelry among the crowd concealed the telltale sounds of marching feet, the curiously silent rasp of silvered plate. Mere moments later though, a heavy pounding came at the door of the false tavern, followed by a booming voice.

"Open this door in the name of the Creator! This building is surrounded, and all occupants will be detained and question!"


Suddenly the sound of the pounding and angry voice came, and Lyll looked at the door, horrified.

No, this was not a good situation. Why were they here? She looked at Davik. Was the cult really doing something horrible?
Were they here for Grino? Was he a criminal?
Were they here for her?

[DragonOfUndeath]

37th day of summer, 203
Secret temple of Gamen'Fu, Telraya

"If it was just questioning, why did you bring so many people to bring us in? We aren't heretics, heck most of us believe your Creator and our God are related somehow. Let the record show we are law-abiding people and are submitting peacefully. On the condition we may write a one page letter to be distributed amongst the citizens explaining what happened in OUR terms, none of the propaganda and lies you Knights are so fond of."
Davik turns to Grino and Lyll
"Sorry about this, I must work on my hospitality skills (:smalltongue:). I'm sure you can get out of this with some explaining. I should have known the new Patriarch would want to solidify his power base by taking down some heretics."

The door is unlocked and the knights let in, all the things that could be misconstrued as weapons down on the ground.

[Gourtox]

37th day of summer, 203
Secret temple of Gamen'Fu, Telraya

The knights barge in the room, some with drawn swords ready to confront any of these heathen cultists who wish to resist. "Everyone put your hands in the air!" Once everyone had complied they began taking occupants outside and loaded them into wagons to be taken to the prison. Luckily he is able to slip a note to the woman he had been talking to. Although quickly written the note clearly says to meet Grino at the statue of the old King on the eastside of town at 10:00. The guards were thorough in confiscating any weapons the occupants of the tavern had on them at the time. The wagons were crowded with little room for all the occupants. The ride however bumpy was luckily quite short, if eventful. At one point during the ride when they hit a particulalry large bump the woman next faked a fall and slipped him a note. He smiled at the irony of it. Seconds later he was at the prison.

[KiCowboy]

37th day of Summer, 203
Duchy of Emdar - Star Harbor

Eustace stood amidst the crowd of rough men on the docks. Their jaws were stern, and most of their eyes were hungry and desperate. Times were hard, and the dockmasters couldn't spare coin to pay the wage of every able bodied man that showed up looking for work. But Eustace kept his eyes up and hopeful. He was blessed with all he could ask for.

Many would bemoan their fate if their homestead had been burned as his had. But he still had his wife and their darling daughter. He believed with all his heart then end of one tale was merely the beginning of another. Just a little more coin and the wagon could be repaired. He thanked the Maker for the bitter Sonntag winters and toils of his land that had built the strength of body and soul he had needed to endure. He would not be lost in these broken masses. A new age dawned in Telraya, and his family would be there to see it.

The other men grumbled as Eustace was once again picked first to join the day's work force. Oblivious to it all he threw himself into his labor.

Story Element: The Pilgrimage
In recent years things have taken a turn for the worse in some regions of Emdar. Amidst the lower class are many who have lost their way. Struggling for work, starving, and forgotten - they cling to the hope that there is something greater to reach for.

For many, the Pilgrimage is the answer. It is hard to pin down exactly where it started, but surely it was the result of broken people who felt they had little left to lose. More and more people have decided their new mission in life is to make the journey to the distant city of Telraya. There they will pay respects to the fallen Patriarch of old, and beseech the blessings of the Light from the Patriarch of the new age.

45th day of Summer, 203
Duchy of Emdar - Rayess - The Bawdy Barmaid

Tristan was surprised to miss the company of the bard as she left. He was certainly less enthralled with company of the most recent group to enter the tavern.

"Let's get some drinks for our daft friend here!"

A group of heavy men, reeking with the scent of the docks, plopped their friend down forcefully in the first empty chair. Exhausted yet smiling, a tall blonde man now draped over the chair across from Tristan.

"I'm very sorry suh-suh-*hic* . . .sir. Last night and all that. My friends ruh - ruh - really are too good to me!"

The old hermit was quite annoyed as the other men returned with several drinks and proceeded to quite properly crowd him.

"Hah! Listen to Mumbles here! Ain't you just so proper and polite? Betcha they'll like that in the Holy City. You always were tuh-tuh-tuh too good for the rest of us." The men laugh, but there is much more bitterness than mirth.

"Nuh-nuh-nuh . . .No! I'll miss you fellows something fierce. Brenda and I, we w-w-wish all of you could come."

Tristan stood, hoping to silently excuse himself from these buffoons. It was obvious they had already been heavy with drink before they entered.

"Where you goin' old man? Ain't you got the decency to toast our friend here? He's gonna make a holy man o' hisself. Gonna ride him a broken wagon all the way to Telraya!" The group snorted and guffawed at their friend, yet he seemed almost blissfully unaware. The taste of bile filled the knights mouth.

"Very well. To you, sir, and your travels. If Telraya is your destination you have a hard journey ahead. I can only hope you find better company than this flock of simpletons."

Drunkenly the leader of the mob rose to Tristan's face. Oh I'll show you simple you worthless bag of bones!" While the lout reached far back to deliver a blow, his face exploded in pain and his eyes teared as the old hermit slammed a wrinkled forehead into the bridge of his nose. The rest began to rise as well, but paused as the old stranger slung a massive black blade across his back.

"This old man doesn't have time to go toe to toe with the lot of you. The next one gets cut in twain."

46th day of Summer, 203
Duchy of Emdar - Rayess, Morning

Tristan visited the castle, wishing to seek audience about his concerns. It appeared, however, that Duke Rigel would be detained for no short amount of time with matters of the most dire urgency. 'Course, everything is "dire" and "urgent" except for what's more than a hundred feet from a noble . . .

Lost in thought he rounded a corner and cursed as he bowled into someone. "Blood and ashes, watch where you . . ." Seeing the ever upbeat bard he mumbled a barely audible apology. "Oh, er . . .Well then . . . Miss Drache, I should like to say it has been a pleasure to travel with you. I feel it is time for me to find a new path. I'll be seeking a caravan I believe. I've scrounged a pair of eggs and a few other things if you'd care to share breakfast." His courtesy was tempered with forced indifference. He waited little time before he continued walking, and yet his pace was not too quick.

----------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Eustace packed the last of his belongings onto the wagon. His wife, Brenda, held a stern look and her hands were firmly planted on her hips.

"N-n-n-o, it's true love! We will be with a caravan. 'Course we'll need to meet with 'em up at Balmus Bridge . . . B-b-b-ut that isn't so far." Eustace lifted up his adorable flaxen haired little girl. Tiny Evelyn tried her best to imitate her mother but was nothing but smiles as soon as she was in her father's arms.

[Kasanip]

37th Day of Summer
Telraya, Temple

There was no doubt, this was a desperate situation. If the church learned who she truly was...then surely they would invoke the binding song with her. And they would never let her leave. When the Patriarch died, the new one would be immediately bound with her...over and over again like this until the end of time, or until the whole continent came crashing down.

That wasn't a pleasant thought. But it wasn't necessarily the truth. She knew. There were other futures maybe.

But now the vampire and his cult were going to surrender peacefully. Would Grino also surrender so?

She was afraid, but at the same time, she was pleased they did not fight. To fight would have shown they had something to hide. To trust and believe firmly in justice, that was a good choice- the right choice.

Her own fears were not theirs- if the church was here for her, then she also could not put them in danger- they were innocent. So she would accept this, and go forward with belief in Justice.

"Then justice will find you innocent." She replied as calmly as she could. She turned away from the door and pulled her headband up over her forehead. With her cloak over her head as well, she hoped it would be good enough. If there was interrogation though, it would probably fail. It was worth to try however.

She felt something her hand, and on it were the scribbles and symbols that were human language. Grino had just put it there. She looked at it with confusion. The description was not helpful. An old statue? How old? Some of them were quite young, she thought. One hundred years old was still very young in her mind, concerning objects. It was a graceful age maybe, but then again, she was a Called and not an object. So it is a statue of a King, but she wasn't sure which King. But the familiar looking man wanted to continue to talk about her...with her. If she was able to, should she go? She wondered a little.

But this note looked suspicious, so it was secretly dropped as everyone was led outside.

She cooperated quietly as the guards took everyone to the wagons. She closed her eyes as they sat in the tight and uncomfortable space. Ironically, if you have endured being held in a sheath, or buried in warm bodies that bleed on you, then to fight into tight spaces like this is not very difficult. Her calm expression hides her nervousness, but she has faith in justice, and she has hope.
Those that sit around her, if they are nervous, feel a little more at ease if they look at this young woman's serene expression.

[TheDarkDM]

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
Secret Temple to Gamen'Fu, Noon

As soon as Davik unlocked the door, it exploded inwards from a mighty kick. In moments, two dozen crossbow wielding knights had entered the building, leveling their deadly bolts indiscriminately. The building thus secured, a man whose armor was blazoned in bronze stepped into the shadowy temple, eyes squinting in the gloom. He approached Davik, but as the Vampire made is demands the knight's steely face contorted in rage. In a flash, he struck a ringing backhand against Davik's face, sending the unprepared Vampire to the ground.

"We don't take demands from heretical filth."

Before Davik could respond, the knight's steel-shod boot collided with his face, sending him tumbling into unconsciousness. Scowling, the knight turned to look back towards the doorway, where a man in nondescript grey robes stood. A slight nod passed between them, before the knight drew his sword.

"By order of the Patriarch, you are all under arrest. Come quietly, or we will use force."

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
The Dungeons of the Grey Order

The wagons did not stop at the city's normal prison, nor indeed within any part of the city that could be recognized. Instead, after a winding, bumpy journey they seemed to have descended into the bowels of the earth, all light on the outside dying, leaving naught but the flickering flame of a single lantern in each overcrowded wagon. After what seemed like an hour, the prisoners were released into a great cavern, the walls showing only the barest sign of workmanship, and led deeper into the gloom.

Davik awoke in a strange room, the walls so black they seemed to extend into an infinite abyss. He was hanging by his wrists from manacles secured to the stone ceiling, his feet bound by chains and resting more than a foot from the floor. His clothing had been stripped away, replaced by rough homespun that seemed several sizes too large. Before him was a desk and chair, a door, and a large brazier where several tongs sat reddening, the only source of light. He didn't know how long he hung there, but eventually a deep clang reverberated through the room, and the door opened. In walked a man in deep grey robes, completely unremarkable save for their obvious comfort and expense. Taking a seat at the desk, he steepled his fingers and looked deep into Davik's eyes, revealing that his pupils were not black, but a dark, rippling silver.

"Who are you?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

A bag had been put over Grino's head as soon as he entered the first tunnel. At first, it seemed normal enough, but then the draw strings around his neck tightened and the sounds around him began to fade into a faint buzzing. Eventually, all he could do was feel his footfalls along increasingly even ways, feel as he was bound to a metal frame and stripped of his belongings, only to be garbed again in a prisoners uniform. His bare feet suffered the chill of ancient stone as he was led to a small room, where the suffocating hood was removed and he was chained to an iron chair that seemed built into the stone floor. Seated in a desk before him was an elderly man in grey, his hair thinning. But any further observation stopped at his curious eyes, that seemed to glow even in the dim light of the room's lanterns.

"Who are you?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Lyll was led into the dark maze, her headband was torn away in preparation for the Grey Order's search. But as soon as her mark was revealed, the unseen hands hesitated, if only for a moment. In the murky half light, she caught a glimpse pass between the two processors, before a bag was placed over her head as well. But rather than suffer the indignity of the others, she was led swiftly up several flights of stairs, until she felt herself seated in an overstuffed chair and the bag was removed. Lyll found herself in the kind of office bards dream of, walls packed with bookcases brimming with old leather, a desk of granite engraved with sigils both arcane and profane, lanterns of blue glass casting an ethereal glow over the entire room. Lyll's feet sank into a carpet far too grand to be kept underground, from nowhere the wall behind the desk swung open, and a man stepped through.

Tall and seemingly in his thirties, the man wore a deep grey robe that, on closer inspection, was meticulously embroidered with a pattern of shifting smoke in silver thread. The robe itself seemed to move in the light, distracting from the man's elegant movements, movements Lyll recognized as those of a killer. Taking a seat and the high backed chair behind the desk, he smiled easily at Lyll, though his eyes held neither mirth nor warmth.

"Who are you?"

[DragonOfUndeath]

37th day of Summer
Telraya, Dungeon

Davik looks back defiantly, the shackles rattling as he rubbed his hands against them.
"I am Davik, a man of God. I have honor, which is more than I can say for you. The people you attacked have done nothing wrong. Your...I hesitate to use the word Knights because that implies Chivalry. Your hounds interrupted a Healing Ritual for a woman suffering the plague. The same plague that killed so many 20 years ago. I have broken no oaths I have sworn, nor broken any law I know of, except acknowledge the existence of Two Gods instead of One as you believe. Did your pack leader tell you what I said shortly before he knocked me out? I said I was coming peacefully and when he so rudely burst in, not a single one of my people in the temple had anything resembling a weapon in their hands nor did any of them run. We faced Justice with our heads held high. When it comes for you, will you be able to do the same?"

Cracked Spire

Arianna spent the next few hours testing the Demon's loyalty, making it use it's powers and even once ordering it to attack just to see what it would do.

[Kasanip]

37th Day of Summer, Telraya,
A Certain Office

Lyll's heart had sank when her headband was torn away. The hesitation of the unseen hands said enough to her. She could hear the sounds of the other prisoners disappearing, and knew she was going upstairs instead of down.

So it was no surprise when she was seated in an overstuffed chair and the bag was removed.

The room was very impressive however. More than she expected. Something about this place spoke to her about older days.

It was nostalgic.


She had seen many dark days, and been in many wars. But she had seen glorious days of peace and justice. And many of the things in this room reminded her of those times. They had stories- the books, the lanterns, even this chair. They were, in this little way, a comfort.

Lyll had seen many things, and so, though she could have been frightened or nervous here, she was not. There was nothing to hide. She could not escape who she was, so justly she would meet her fate.

She sat up gracefully, and looked into the man's eyes earnestly with her sapphire gaze.

"My name is Kaelylldal." She said. "I am, as you have already seen, a Called." She put her hands together- it looked like a prayer maybe, but it was a symbol of meeting of Called.

"If I have permission, I ask you sir, who you are and what intentions you have. I am sure you have more questions, which I will answer truthfully, though I desire to know more about whom I am speaking to."

[Meriss]

36th Day of Summer, Telraya
Evening
Shieldarm Knight Local Headquaters, aka "The Rack"

The swing door banged lightly in the wake of Chaz's passing. The balding duty officer looked up from his broadsheet and grunted at the newcomer.

"Name, Rank, Unit."

"Chaz Westenne, Sargent Brother, The One Five One." Replied the solidly built man.

"Got it, 151st eh? Nasty bit of work up in the Ranges, then?"

"Before my time really."

"Pity. Just you then Sargent?"

If you call an unholy slaughter a good thing "Solo mission, guarding some muckety mucks out from Solnay. They'll be taking a caravan back."

"Anything for the log?" The balding man indicated the heavy book in front of him.

"Nothing to speak of. Mission complete, no casualties. You know the drill."

"Roger," The duty officer jotted down a few terse phrases. "The layout is standard Racks, kitchen, common room, armory, stables on the first floor, the upper is all beds 'cept for the Captain Father's office. Should be a liedown or two along the east wall. Staying long?"

"A day or two unless anything comes up. Throw me on the roster in case of need, but I'll be racking up for now."

"Aye, Sargent. Night."

"Goodnight, Brother" With brothers like this who needs enemies?

[Imperial Psycho]

37th Day of Summer 203
Telraya
Orvas slipped out the rear entrance to the Manor, wearing no ring, and black cloak this time, instead of grey. Carefully, he followed the servant of his would-be benefactor, his mind turning over the details in his head.

"Caught? How? Not a hair was left out of place, I made sure of it. And what is this about a mage? It was a blind job. I didn't even know the name of the owner, I just saw the opportunity and took it. As if I'd know what to do when confronted with a magic ward. "

The servant half-turned. Orvas managed to slip away from his line of sight.

"This so-called master seemed to know a lot about Trio's security. And to beat me back to my own home.... wherever this servant comes from must be closer than my place to Trios, to come so quickly. But HOW did he know, so fast? Perhaps he should call on Trio. The fool wouldn't suspect a thing. Unless this mysterious apparently omniscient man told him. There has got to be magic involved.... " Orvas had always had a mild distaste for magic. It always complicated things, and he had never found it especially effective, at least as it applied to him. Suddenly the servant came to a stop. The Mages Guild. Damn.

[Gourtox]

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
The Dungeons of the Grey Order

"My name is Grino Rachaysa. If you wanted to know my name you coulda just asked instead of going through all the trouble of bringing me down here." A slihgt smile comes to his lips despite his circumstances. "Now may I ask who you are?"

[have_a_cow]

37th Day of Summer, 203
Titus Trio's Townhouse, Telraya

Titus had watched the scene unfold between the Baron and the servant, and at the end of the short exchange he was furious. That fool servant had all but outright accused Orvas of being a thief. At least he had the insight to send a servant from the Mage's Guild and not one of his own because the damned thief had followed the servant back, apparently to find who sent him.

Why wasn't it some poor street-urchin? I could have easily used him then. Instead, I get a noble turned thief who now is probably suspicious about what he stole. It's not terribly important to me, but if he digs into the magic, he might be able to deduce that I've been scrying him the entire time. There are worse things, but the fewer peopole who know I'm watching, the better. I need to nip his curiosity in the bud, or get rid of him immediately. Meeting him outside the guild right now would be too suspicious though. It looks like I have a busy day tomorrow. The sooner I get business here out of the way, the sooner I can get home though. Titus put down his scrying mirror, and began to plan out his encounter with Orvas. When the church bells tolled midnight, Titus had just finished his plans. Satisfied with his work, he went to bed.

[Jade_Tarem]

Castle Emberlock (Rayess) - Morning - 46th Day of Summer

Right before Tristan and Drache can leave, Duke Rigel himself strides through the door. "My apologies for the wait. We've collected everything that's left here - I'll be moving to the city offices until we can repair the castle..."

He stops. "Listen carefully, Drache. I need an accurate overview of what's happening in the country. Could I impose on you to take a trip to Telraya? I need to hear about the new Patriarch, any policy changes, that sort of thing. Find out who's scheming to do what. Recruit whoever you want - except Centauri. I'm going to be occupied with cleaning things up here, so I can't go with you this time."

He looks at Tristan directly. "Again, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. What do you need?"

Mage's Guild (Telraya), 37th day of Summer

Rayle crossed her arms. "What do you mean, 'we don't have anything for you right now?' Don't tell me all of the intrigue and mystery in the world dried up in the six months I was gone."

The clerk smiled pleasantly. "It isn't that, Miss Bancross, it's... well..." He scratched his head sheepishly. "We've heard some alarming reports from Rayess, and other parts of east Emdar. They say that you may not be fit for this kind of work anymore."

Rayle brought her hands down on the table before leaning on it. "Oh, for the love of shiny objects, I was on a tiny island for a week, purifying substances you don't want to think about to keep from dying of thirst. I think I'm entitled to a hallucination or two!" She straightened up. "I'm perfectly fine."

The man's grin faded. "That's as may be, but with the change in the Holy City's leadership, most of the Mage Guild's higher-ups are looking for low-risk prospects right now. Oh, and the going rumor is that you're cursed. I mean really, we have an image to maintain."

"Your only instructions were to get rid of me as quickly as possible, weren't they?" Rayle's eyebrow twitched.

The clerk's manner brightened. "Ah! So you are sane enough to grasp the reality of the situation. Excellent."

"Great!" Rayle finally smiled back. "So did I pass your little test?"

"Ha-ha... no. There wasn't a test. They just told me to get rid of you."

"Fine." Suddenly exhausted, Rayle pushed back out the door and into the street.

[BladeofOblivion]

Rayess - Castle Emberlock
46th Day of Summer - Morning

When Tristan bumped into her she gave a startled cry, but instantly calmed down when she remembered that she was in in the Castle, not on the street where the cutpurses roamed.

She still beamed back at Tristan.

"Wait, where are you going?"

She was interrupted by Duke Rigel's entry, and curtsied to him.

Drache brightened up again at the orders.

"I'll do it! I'll miss you two though. Hopefully, I won't be gone long."

I'll need to put together a team though. A group of people who can handle anything, but just look like normal travelers on yet another pilgrimage...

She smiled at Rigel, bowed, and left the room. She waited just outside for Tristan, though. She had a good feeling about the man, so there was most certainly no reason not to ask.

[KiCowboy]

Castle Emberlock (Rayess) - Morning - 46th Day of Summer

For moment the Duke's apology only made Tristan more frustrated. He had built himself up to a comfortable level of grumpiness only to be deflated by a modicum of hospitality. Worse, he couldn't quite think of what to ask. No, asking was not on the agenda . . . .

"You are too kind m'lord." His face became granite as he he forced himself not to scowl. His entire body stiffened like an iron beam while presenting himself in proper fashion before nobility as he had in his youth. "In fact, you have given me the time I needed to reflect upon things. I have decided I am not here to ask for anything. Instead, I realize I am here out of courtesy." There was a brief pause, and the old man smiled inwardly. He would never have dared to be so insolent in his youth. "Upon absorbing the Barony of Glasir, you have accepted responsibility for her people. Before you stands their defender. If you would have them fly your banner, then know this. I will ask for no title. No land. I will, however, uphold justice and righteousness wherever they call home. By the Sigil of Gram, I swear it."

Ever so slightly, the outer edge of Tristan's lips curled into the beginnings of a smile. It felt good to have purpose. It felt better yet to have the audacity to appoint himself before his country's usurper.

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

Still in reasonably good spirits, the old hermit bowed with a flourish to Drache as he exited. "Aha! I see even the great bard and favored friend of the Duke does not turn down a free meal so easily. Come, I insist you let me cook you a proper breakfast. Perhaps we could speak about this journey to Telraya."

[BladeofOblivion]

Rayess - Castle Emberlock
46th Day of Summer - Morning

At Tristan's remark, she giggled a bit, still smiling.

"I think I could use a decent meal. I'm ravenous right now. Indeed, I'd be glad to travel with you to Telraya as well. Besides, Bandits tend to do well when the land is in chaos like this. I'm sure having a few extra sword-hands around couldn't hurt a bit."

She smirks teasingly.

[TheDarkDM]

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
Davik's Inquisition

As Davik finished his defiant outburst, a searing pain raked across his back. Amid the fire and sudden spray of blood, he could feel nine distinct barbs tear themselves from his back, and the slow drip of liquid into liquid bespoke of a pool beneath Davik's feet. All the while, the interrogator scribbled notes on a roll of vellum, dipping a razored quill into ink with mechanical precision.

"Good. You will answer only what you are asked. Refrain from any more outbursts. Now, how many other cells of Gamen'Fu are located in the Holy City?"

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
Grino's Interrogation

The interrogator studied Grino for a long moment before noting down his answer on a long scroll of vellum. In that time, those silvery pupils seemed to bore into Grino's skull.

"What is your affiliation with the cult of Gamen'Fu."

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
Kaelylldal's Interview

The strange man's smile broadened at Kaelylldal's name, as he sat up and spread his hands over his desk.

"So you are not just a simple Called, but the legendary Sword of Light herself. I am honored to meet you. My name is Damien Harleth, and for the moment I am the Master of the Grey Order. And I have been searching for you or someone like you for some time."

Harleth stood and began moving around the room, pulling bound manuscripts from the walls in a flurry of activity. Soon, a pile of thick tomes lay before Kaelylldal, and as she opened the first one she saw names, dates, reports of movement, and realized that it was a surveillance log of the entire city. No, the entire country.

"I am sure you are aware of the terrible chaos that has gripped the continent of late. The death of the Lucinan King, the rise of the Cult of Draconis, the plague. All random, all seemingly unrelated. But if you look close enough a pattern can be observed. Chaos that would otherwise have snuffed itself out has grown and thrived in the past decades, and I think that something is behind it. I need help, agents willing to keep an ear to the ground in the places the Church cannot easily influence. You know how to fight darkness, my lady, and now I must ask you to help me fight it again."

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
Outside the Mages Guild

As Rayle continued down the street, the strains of music drifted through the air towards her. Yet, unlike the boisterous celebrating of the feast day, this was the mournful dirge of a violin, cutting through the buzz of the crowd like a scalpel through flesh. A flash, and Rayle was doubled over in pain, gripping at her head as visions flooded her mind.

She stood atop a great tower, surrounded by the swirling smoke of a great inferno. The scent of garlic and lilac assaulted her nostrils, choking her. Beside Rayle was a girl, young and beautiful, tears streaming down her face. Behind her, wreathed in shadow, a pair of hands clutched her shoulders. Trying to step back, she could not, and as her head began to shake one of the shadowy hands drew back and stabbed into the back of her head. The girl convulsed in agony, her eyes glazing over, and she took a step forward and tumbled from the tower, only to disappear into the roiling, burning fog.

Rayle awoke with a start, surrounded by the drunken mob of the city, her distress unnoticed by any.

[Aux-Ash]

Emdar, Rayess. Castle Emberlock
46th Day of summer, morning

The hooves thundered against the road as Guillame and his small band of riders were galloping up on their horses towards the castle. Rumour had come that someone had moved in into the castle and the baron had gathered his men to check it out. If it were bandits they needed to be rooted out quickly, before they could put their roots down and learn to defend the keep. Anyone else would need to have a very good explanation for their presence in, his liege, the duke's home.
Guillame had sort of taken up a role of patrolling Emdar's roads ever since the duke vanished and everything took a turn downwards. Hunted a fair few bandits trying to prey on the lack of a noble to combat them. The baron wasn't too sure he'd been very succesful, but some effect he was sure he had achieved.

As the four riders came up to the castle they spotted the pair walking out from one of the buildings and held in their horses. Guillame raised his lance and shouted with an authorative voice:
"Halt! Identify yourselves!"
The baron of Stonnbridd glared at the pair without being able to make out who they were, looking particularly fierce and savage with his very Uthrynn appearance. Thick, bushy, black beard. A massive nose and bushy black eyebrows. All under a black iron open helmet making him look all the more ferocious.

[BladeofOblivion]

Rayess - Castle Emberlock
46th Day of Summer - Morning

Drache looked down the road at the Baron, wondering if it was indeed him. It looked like him, even if it was hard to tell from here. And he had a large group of soldiers with him, so it seemed like a close enough guess. So naturally, she started singing.

Once that was over...

"Baron Guillame, is that you? It's been a while!"

[Gourtox]

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
Grino's Interrogation

Grino leaned back in the chair unaffected by the man's stare. "Gamen'Fu? I have no affiliation with them. I was merely having a wonderful conversation with a lovely girl when you interrupted. Who knows what that conversation could have led to."

[Croverus]

38th Dat of Summer
Cracked Spire

The Lesser Demon showed obediance to her orders, but when she ordered it to attack, the demon hesitated, then assumed she was ordering it to attack her. It compied, or... tried to. Swinging its taloned hand it seemed to have every intent to strike her down but its body jerked suddenly and its claws stoped inches from her face. The Lesser Demon's body shook in the effort to follow through with the attack until finally it gave up. The Lesser Demon maintained its scowl, waiting for further orders. The sun had begun rising over the treelines and the Lesser Demon creased its brow, as if it were squinting through the morning dawn. Sun light was not harmful to demons but the lack of eyelids made the bright light annoying.

[DragonOfUndeath]

37th day of summer
Telraya, Interrogation

"None. We have a policy of one Temple per place. And you won't get away with this. I am innocent."

38th day of Summer
Cracked Spire

"Interesting. Let us join your master."

[Croverus]

38th Day of Summer
Cracked Spire

The Lesser Demon nodded and let her enter the tower first, following. Eleazer sat at one of his tomes, his eyes closed and one hand holding a quill still touching a page. The old man breathed slowly, as if he was asleep, but as soon as they enter the study his eyes opened and he continued scribbling whatever he had started. The Lesser Demon returned to the shadows, waiting for new orders while Eleazer finished his notes.

"I assume you have proven your skill in manipulating Fnagt as thouroughly as you desire. I will be giving you your first task, or errand. Before I teach you your first summoning ritual you'll need to prove your worth and loyalty to me, just as the demon has proved his obediance to you. I am working on a special experiment concerning the Called, and require a subject for this experiment. At least a sample of one of the Called, but it must be fresh so finding one and convincing them to come here would be best. Your best chance to find one would be a major city. I care not how or where you get one, but you must bring one of the Called to the Spire, preferably before the last week of Summer. Take the Lesser Demon with you, he will remain hidden in shadows until you need him. A demon of any kind can cause some... trouble in a city, but his durability and demon strength should allow you to escape any bad situations."

[Jade_Tarem]

37th day of Summer, Streets of Telraya, Late Afternoon

Rayle rubbed at her throbbing head as she looked around. Another one. And almost useless, at that. She had no way to know when this conflagration would take place, where, or who that girl was. She also had no way of knowing if this was an event that she could change or not. Still... the tower top did look sort of familiar, and she might run into the girl at some point. Would it be here, in Telraya? She'd have to check.

She also found a note on her chest. It read simply: The man in the mirror wishes to see you tomorrow at your convenience.

She flopped her head back and groaned, now occupied with an entirely new headache. Of course Viscount Trio would want to talk to her - and of course he could find her in the middle of a dank, booze-smelling alley somewhere in Telraya, when even she wasn't quite sure where she was - it had to be close to the mage's guild, though: the vision hadn't taken very long.

She got up stiffly. Well, at least I wasn't robbed this time. And he probably has a job for me. I hope.

37th-38th day of Summer, House Trio Telraya Residence, Midnight-ish

What is a mage without his study?

A desk sat undisturbed for a moment, cluttered but organized, with a clear space in the middle dedicated to very carefully drawn diagrams and notations - the beginnings of a spell for turning mirrors, already useful as magic windows, into magic doors as well. A swiveling chair sat before it, unoccupied. The mage had other plans for the evening.

Titus stood before a rather impressive array, in one of the private rooms toward the top of his Telraya residence. The array was made of curious containers that held nothing, large mirrors that did not reflect, and perfectly-crafted lenses that could not be seen through. While seemingly the components to a horribly written riddle, they were, in fact, a carefully arranged set of scrying tools. Knowledge is power, after all.

...and power has brought me more knowledge. It is a *delightful* cycle. Titus thought, as his mirrors showed him reflections of other places entirely.

He'd long ago learned to read backwards, so he could clearly make out any text and signs his powers showed him. There was some new activity at Castle Emberlock, finally - Arcilan was leaving as quickly as possible, and his circle of cronies that he'd accumulated in the past few years was ransacking the place before the end of their undeserved monetary intake. Rigel would have to be the final looter of his own estate, although Titus knew better than to count him out. In fact, Emdar was still stronger than it had been when it had crushed the Barony of Glasir, and Rigel would return any day now and no doubt begin implementing damage control policies immediately.

The new patriarch had apparently not yet moved his gift mirrors into position - they were stored in a rather dark room full of other treasures and gifts from sycophants, genuine well-wishers, nobles, and probably one or two potential assassins (all the crazies seemed to come out of the woodwork whenever a big celebration began). No matter - he had confidence that his toys would be in position soon.

He was about to begin checking on the guild headquarters when he heard a voice - not from his door but from the outside window. "You have more shiny stuff than I remember."

Titus blinked once in annoyance, but his noble's poker face was too good for him to jump or startle. Instead, he straightened slowly. "You are either a talking magpie or Miss Rayle Bancross." He turned to face the voice, and saw a figure leaning against the large window sill with one foot propped up on it, the other dangling into the room. The figure was apparently reading from a big book, which was propped up against her leg. Though silhouetted by moonlight, he could make out enough to confirm her identity. "Also known as Rayle the Charmed," he went on, and then one corner of his mouth curled up into a faint smirk. "Or perhaps... it should be Rayle the Cursed now?"

Though he couldn't quite see her face, the treasure hunter's voice expressed annoyance. "Are you willing to pay for that information?"

"Perhaps."

Rayle made a noise of disgust. "Good grief, I was joking." She shut the book and hopped into the room completely.

"More's the pity." Titus responded without missing a beat. "I do hope that's not my spell book you were reading?" He wasn't that worried about her stealing his secrets - it took more than cribbing a few notes from a spell book to be able to cast spells. On top of that, he generally wrote his private notes mirror-reversed. It was no inconvenience to him, and made it that much harder for his rivals to pry any information out of them.

"It was!" Rayle said cheerfully, tossing him the book. "You can have it back, though."

"You are most kind." Titus said with some derision. Tired of being in the physical and proverbial darkness, he muttered a minor cantrip and the attuned panels around the edge of the room brightened, creating a cheery glow in his workshop.

"Nice." Rayle said, approvingly. She looked at his collection assortment of scrying tools. "Invading people's privacy again? That's rude and illegal, you know."

Titus's eye twiched once, "Says the grave-robbing treasure hunter who broke into my home."

"Touche."

"So... as pleasant as it is, and however much free time you might now possess, I cannot spend all night bantering with you. Why are you here? This is a most unusual hour."

Rayle grinned. "I thought you saw everything. Shouldn't you have known when and why I was coming?"

The mage grinned right back. "Who says I didn't?"

The rogue crossed her arms. "If you had, you would have been sitting in the spinning chair before I got here, and you would have turned it around slowly as I climbed through the window while stroking a fluffy white cat. Don't deny it."

Titus chuckled. "I don't even own a fluffy white cat. But... I will indeed not deny it." He grew serious. "My point stands, however. If you are here because of my note earlier, it distinctly mentioned tomorrow as the time of our meeting."

Rayle plopped down into the spinning chair and put her feet up on the desk. "It is tomorrow, I'm here now, our past business never kept regular hours, and most importantly, no one knows about this right now. So let's hear it. Why am I here?"

[DragonOfUndeath]

38th Day of Summer
Cracked Spire

"As you wish Master. I believe I know of someone who could help, a Vampire like me, named Davik. I heard one of his Quest's involved a Called, maybe they kept in touch."

Would this require a Plot Token? If so then consider it spent. The Quest was probably some time ago, a few years back. So an eyeblink to a Called.

[Kasanip]

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
Kaelylldal's Interview

It was a surprise, Damien Harleth's response to her. She had not expected this answer. While Harleth gathered the manuscripts, she sat silently watching curiously.

Carefully she touched the books and looked at the pages. There was so much information here, more than one person could possibly know.

"I am aware of the death of the recent King Lucinan. The cult of Draconis has been around for some time, and though the plague was truly terrible...I am not sure it is connected.

There is a difference, between shadow and chaos." She said firmly. "Chaos is something that always exists. And so does darkness. However, Chaos can only be seen when there is Order, and Darkness can often only be seen when there is Light." She said.

"For many years now, the Church is the Order of this land. But...
is the reason you cannot see the darkness because it no longer has Light with which to see?" She asked.

Maybe it was a small rebuke, but it was not a vain one. It was an observation.
She brushed a hand through her hair, and stands up.
"There is much that troubles this world, Master Harleth. What is needed in such a time is resolve of heart. Ambition. A desire and vision for a better future. Hearts that trust and hope." She looked over and reached to take Damien's hand in her own. She looked at it with half-closed eyes. And then she released it just as quickly.
"I am not an agent, nor do I write reports, histories, or anything like this. What you are searching for, Master Harleth, are Heroes. All I can do is give those hearts a form to be held."

[have_a_cow]

37th day of Summer, Telraya
Patriarchs Chambers

Titus, Jonathan, and a group of servants holding the gifts were finally let in to see the Patriarch. The room the Patriarch had met them in was truly magnificent. The rosewood floors were covered with thick carpets that had been imported from the other side of the world. The Patriarch sat in a chair facing the empty fireplace, watching the reflection of his guests in the mirror on the mantle.

The Patriarch rose and began to address his guests,
"Ah, my Lord Trio, it is truly an honor. And who have we here? I don't believe we've met before." As he spoke, he approached them and held out his ringed hand to Titus.

When the Patriarch stood up, Titus, Jonathan, and the servants fell to their knees. Titus and Jonathan kissed the ring when offered, before the Patriarch beckoned them to rise and to take a seat on a red velvet couch with gilded legs.

Titus finally introduced Jonathan, saying, "Your Holiness, this is Jonathan Hearth, a mage of my order. He is one of the younger mages in the order, but he has great skill and much potential." Jonathan blushes at the compliment. It isn't everyday that the head of your order introduces you to the living embodiment of God as having great skill.

Jonathan manages to quickly hide his blush and addresses the pontiff, "Your Holiness, truly it is an honor to meet with you, but I am afraid that the Viscount is being far too nice to me. I am just a common mage of the order, and nothing more." Jonathan bows his head meekly, indicating that he has nothing more to say.

Titus motions for his servants to come forward and speaks, saying, "Your Holiness, we come bearing gifts." At his instruction, the servants present the Patriarch with a small gilded and gem-studded hand mirror, and another pulls off the sheet that was obscuring the large wall mirror.

"These are two mirrors of my own creation. If you look into one and speak the correct word, you will be able to see out of the other mirror, as if you were standing there. I hope that you will find these to be most useful." Titus finishes and indicates that it is now Jonathan's turn to give his gift to the Patriarch.

[Xondoure]

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
Patriarch's Chambers

"Your Holiness, this is Jonathan Hearth, a mage of my order. He is one of the younger mages in the order, but he has great skill and much potential." Jonathan nearly smirks at the compliment, feigning a blush as he bows his head in thanks. It isn't everyday that the head of your order introduces you to the living embodiment of God as having great skill, but Jonathan knew now that until tonight he had not caught Lord Trio's attention, which was a vast relief. If he had he would not have been so quick to compliment him. Jonathan knew all the names he was called by the high mages who were aware of his antics. And the general agreement was this; no truly skilled mage in the high arts would ever stoop to such common tricks. If only they knew the true extent of his powers, but then he certainly wasn't going to tell them.

"Your Holiness, truly it is an honor to meet with you, but I am afraid that the Viscount is being far too nice to me. I am just a common mage of the order, and nothing more." Jonathan bows his head meekly gently releasing himself from the conversation.


"These are two mirrors of my own creation. If you look into one and speak the correct word, you will be able to see out of the other mirror, as if you were standing there. I hope that you will find these to be most useful." Jonathan watched silently as Titus presented his gift. Grinning slightly to himself as he notices the encryption. Titus was perhaps too clever for his own good. He made a mental note never to trust any gift the man gave him.

Finally the others turned to face him. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a single flower as white as snow with only the tips a vibrant red. What was remarkable was though he had pulled it most roughly out of his garments the flower seemed untouched, perfect, and full of life though the stem had been cut long ago.

"This is a sydian flower plucked from the highest mountains to the east some five years ago. In all this time it has neither bruised nor withered for what you see before you is a pure being, that thrives far beyond the weary sins of these lands. Cast it into a fire and it shall make a pure flame that will cleanse all it touches." He smiled softly, "I am also told that it makes a fantastic tea."

[Nefarion Xid]

38th Day of Summer
Telraya, The Red Cat

Sleep had come easily at first, but as morning wore on and Lucien was nearing a full day of confinement and growing increasingly restless. At last he threw off the sheets and dressed in his spare change of clothes; his only other shirt a lovely melange of grass green, dirt brown and the earthy crimson color of dried blood. His jacket was worse off, split up the back and with one arm hanging by threads. The coin he had with him would be enough to get by, at least until Monte had recovered. Though, that depended on the Madam's better nature. It was good he'd been traveling, or he'd have no clothes or money at all. No, he'd be just like the others...

Lucien had just resolved to buy himself something proper to wear, something to cheer himself up a bit and put his mind off the fate of the university and the inexplicable draclier involvement when he caught sight of his blade resting in the corner of the room. Knowing he had not the tools to repair it, he begged it not to be broken like everything else in his life. He flipped the switch experimentally and smiled as the twin blades exploded from the apparatus and the violent echo of springs sounded. What he didn't hear was the sound of his bedroom door opening.

[hi-mi-tsu]

38th Day of Summer
Telraya, The Red Cat
Early Morning

"Cassie, girl. You take Justine and go out to the bars, the streets, the markets. You do this, and you tell me anything you hear, about our little draclier and what might be going on, you hear me?"

"Yes ma'am!" Cassie gave a cheeky salute and vanished, to grab Justine and head out under the guise of picking up supplies for the brothel's kitchen; Mai's eyes turned to Josiah, standing stiffly and nervously at attention beside the door.

"Josiah. I need you to get rid of the broken branches in the tree, and then to talk to your gardening friend for me. The one that has all the flowers. We need to cover up that strip in the yard however possible, in case someone comes calling we don't expect."

"Yes, ma'am." Josiah turned to go, but Mai reached out a hand and stopped him, eyes steely.

"And Josiah? If anyone asks, you tell them you're landscaping. Nothing else. If you breathe a word of our...'guest'...to anyone, don't bother coming back."

The young man swallowed, and bobbed his head. "Yes, ma'am. Of course, ma'am." Backing away, he left, and Maitane sighed.

38th Day of Summer
Telraya, the Red Cat

Maitane paced a groove in her floor, eyes turbulent. The girls had brought back news she had not enjoyed hearing; there were rumors flying thick and fast throughout the city, that the Grey Watch was on the hunt, that they'd busted a bar--no, a secret temple--no, a coven of vampires...that they were searching around, and people were disappearing.

Now, Maitane had long since learned to take the rumors of Telraya with a grain of salt and a healthy dose of skepticism. But she'd made a few discreet inquiries of her own, and it was true that some tavern had been invaded and completely routed, cleared out under suspicions of being a stronghold for a cult of something-or-other, people getting arrested and carted away to god knows where for god knows what. It made her nervous.

Making up her mind, Maitane's heels clicked on the floor as she strode towards Lucien's room. She didn't care whether he was decent or not, as she pushed the door open; as it turned out, he was playing with his peculiar weapon, not that she cared.

"We need to talk."

Lucien looked over his shoulder at Mai, but said nothing until he'd retracted the blades into his clockwork weapon with a few cranks from a concealed brass lever. "Bien sur," he began softly, but immediately decided against continuing lightly when he saw the woman's serious face.

"We're going to start with you telling me who you are and why you crash-landed in my courtyard. Presumably you didn't do so on purpose, and I have heard some rumors that are making me very uncomfortable with your continued presence under my roof." Mai's eyes caught and held Lucien's, and they were stern.

"Everything, please. I'm rather a good judge of character, and I'd be incredibly displeased to learn later that you've lied to me now."

Lucien set his weapon on the desk reclined on the bed, preparing to recount the past two days. "I'm at your mercy, and I have little incentive to lie. You'd find me out quickly enough if I did. I'm a student at the University of Forezi, a mechanist." He gave a nod to the peculiar bladed instrument across the room. "Originally from Clan Cordin. I was away from school for a week, getting supplies. You'll find sketches and tin plates in my pack. And my papers..."

He gestured to the small brown pack that was found somewhere in the yard and brought up for him, surprised that they hadn't riffled through it already.

"I returned in the evening. The school seemed very quiet. No one was out. I landed anyway. I thought they might all be in the grand hall. But, before I get inside, two dracliers approach. They seem friendly at first, but then they see how surprised I am to see them and that I'm not wearing their colors. They drew their swords and chased, but I got to Monte and we flew away. I was scared and I didn't know where I was going, we just flew towards the mainland. They chased, just the two of them.

This is the first city I saw in the night... I knew they meant to kill me; I don't know why. I couldn't outrun them, I'd tried for hours. So, I try to lose them in the city... have them shot down. One was. He crashed into the basilica. I don't know where the other went, but I didn't see him. The church mages, they scorched Monte's wing and he was already very tired. We crashed."

He looked pained and the story made little sense to him. The poor man had no explanation for why he was chased and no idea what had transpired at the school while he was away.

Mai's eyes had softened, slightly, at the telling of the story; the poor boy seemed confused, and upset, and frustrated by the situation. And she certainly couldn't blame him; placed in his shoes, she'd likely be feeling the same things.

"So it wasn't an attack on the Patriarch, like some of the rumors have been saying. I have to say, dear, you picked a terrible day to come careening through Telraya...and the Grey Watch is apparently out en masse, being...very active. I've no idea if it's you they're looking for, or if they're just generally being pains in the asses, but...we're going to have to be very, very careful. I don't fancy getting hauled off to their super-secret interrogation chambers or...whatever it is they do with the people they take away."

"How progressive." He stared at his knees and sucked on his lip. "Why are you helping me then, if it's so dangerous?"

"Because you're still potentially useful to me." Maitane arched an eyebrow. "Don't get the misconception that I'm a good person, darling. I explained to you before that turning you in would have little and no benefits, for me...having you here, and keeping you safe, means the potential to have a wyvern and his rider in my debt."

"What a lovely mercenary disposition you have, Madonna. Does that mean you have a clock that needs fixing? I'm in your debt of course, but eh... I don't intend to stay here once Monte can fly."

Maitane's eyes flash, just once. "We'll see what happens, once your friend is recovered. If we can get him--and you--there without you getting hauled off."

She appraises him, critically. "...I'll have to send Josiah after some new clothes before anything else happens..."

Lucien sighed and stood to look out the window. "I don't know what your aspirations are for me. So, there's no need in making threats like that. I'm a rider, yes... but I'm no warrior."

"...Making threats?" Now Maitane's voice was quizzical. "I wasn't making a threat. I don't know why on earth you'd think that."

"You mean you won't call the guard or this Grey Order if I don't... whatever it is you want with a draclier."

The woman sighed. "Look. I run a, at-best, quasi-legal establishment. Do you know what calling the guard here will do? It will get you hauled away, where you will be of absolutely no use to me whatsoever--and yes, even out of the city you may have some use still--and it will bring me and mine to the attention of people who do not approve of what I do. I am a shrewd woman, Lucien. Not a petty one."

He folded his hands behind his back in a suspiciously military fashion and spun sharply with a sudden grin. "Ca va. I like smart women, Madonna. I understand they're a rarity in this country."

"Bestill my decrepit old heart, a compliment from a man about something other than my chest size. Will wonders never cease." A faint hint of a smile, and those assessing eyes cast over Lucien again.

"...Green, and white, I think. ...Or perhaps green and silver..."

"I'll leave it to you and your good taste." He bowed his head curtly and crossed the room. "I would ask to go the market myself, but I imagine you'll only object, at least until I stop limping. Tell me then, so I have something to think on during my... recovery. What do you have in mind with me?"

Before she can answer, he adds, "The worst I can say is 'no', and then you'll have your answer and know what to do about it..."

"I don't know what I plan on doing yet." The answer is frank. "I've only had you here for a day, and I haven't had time to think about what exactly you could do for me. I promise, when I figure it out, you'll be the first to know."

"I'm lead to believe honesty is another rare trait in Lucinian women... though I do not suspect you are from this country, Madonna." He turned from her and slipped on the leather jerkin laid out on the bed, leaving it unbuckled in the front. "I shall be in the kitchen preparing my breakfast... Orian or Etasian lessons to commence shortly, whichever you prefer the girls learn." The insinuation was that he should at least earn his keep as a tutor until Mai devised something else to occupy his energy.

"I'm not. But honesty is a rare trait in any woman, darling, not just Lucinian ones." Mai's smile was lopsided, at that, and she stepped backwards out of his door.

"Ah, I was intending to set up a cot in the room with Monte, if that would be something you'd prefer. Is it?"

He called back from the hallway, "For the best. If he wakes up and does not see me, you will have trouble controlling him!"

[TheDarkDM]

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
Davik's Inquisition

Another note on the inquisitor's scroll, and Davik heard a rusty click from somewhere above him. Then, he was falling, the chains above him spooling from the ceiling, sending him plunging into freezing black water. The chain around his ankles dragged him downwards, speaking to yet greater depths in the water. But such thoughts were soon driven from his mind by the fire coursing through empty lungs. Davik's chest constricted, his muscles struggling desperately for a last hint of air, the black water forcing itself ever further past his lips. He was on the brink of unconsciousness before he felt the pull on his wrists, before he was lifted back into the gloom that, in that instant, seemed as bright and beautiful as a mountain sunrise. Reality soon struck through his half-drowned haze, though, with another raking lash across his back.

Raising a finger to stifle a slight cough, the inquisitor looked back at Davik.

"Answer only what you are asked. What other cities in Lucina hold major cults?"

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
Grino's Interrogation

A slight frown crossed the interrogator's face at Grino's flippant attitude.

"You will answer only what you are asked. What is your purpose in Telraya?"

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
Kaelylldal's Interview

Harleth ceased his pacing at Lyll's rebuke, his face becoming strangely neutral until she finished. Then, his eyes darkened momentarily, and for the first time Kaelylldal sensed the predator that she was trapped with.

"Do not presume to tell me the difference betweeen random chaos and true darkness, Kaelylldal. I have gazed into that black abyss far longer than you, and I did not need some fool hero to help me do it."

Then, the smile returned, and a shroud seemed to lift from the room. But the thought persisted, at the back of Lyll's mind, that this simple man would have little trouble killing her if it suited his needs.

"Now, I agree that we need heroes in these uncertain times. However, my forte and that of my people is not in finding heroes. That is what I need you for. Go out into the city, into the country, and find me a savior. Should you require aid, you need only call for it."

Harleth reached into his pocket and pulled out a simple silver ring, placing it onto the arm of her chair.

"At your touch, and a word you can designate, this ring will put us into direct contact. Now, you are free to go, and do what you do best."

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
Patriarch's Chambers

The Patriarch smiled at the presentation of gifts, motioning for the two mages to take chairs before the hearth. Behind them, a group of grey robed men took hold of the mirrors, and the flower, taking them from the room.

"I must thank you for these wondrous gifts gentlemen. Now, may I ask what you wish to discuss?"

38th Day of Summer, Telraya
Street Celebrations, After Midnight

Eleanor Hynes, initiate into the Daughters of the Creator, walked the streets with a group of other Daughters. While the holy women normally reserved their movements to City Center, they had been given one day to go out amongst the people, to spread the holy light of the Creator among the commons. For Eleanor, the occasion was doubly joyous, as she'd been accepted into the elite ranks of those fifty Daughters that served the Patriarch directly. She could still vividly remember the surge of joy she'd felt when Bishop Telayn had told her, the rush of light that seemed to fill her to the brim. And now, she walked among a sea of light and music, surrounded by people who, for the moment, had forgotten the cruel darkness of the world and basked into radiance.

Wrapped in such thoughts, Eleanor lagged behind the other silver robed virgins for a moment, far enough that when the strains of a single violin floated over the crowd she was the only one to hear it. Entranced, she turned towards one of the multitude of colored wagons, it's door barely ajar, shadows and ethereal music drifting from the interior.

38th Day of Summer, Telraya
City Center, Dawn

Eleanor clutched herself as she walked along the inner wall of the city, the harsh light of the sun cutting through her frail facade. A whiff of incense, and she was back in that room, the room she'd been forced to pay the price for her place serving the Patriarch. Her skin still crawled where Telayn's hands had touched her, her ears burned at the blasphemous indecencies that had been whispered by the other senior Daughters, of how their order was nothing more than a whore house for the Patriarch to pick and choose from at will. Every lesson she's ever learned, every person she'd ever idolized, it had all been a lie. And with every attempt to grasp the dissipating wisps of her faith, they simply drifted further out of sight. She didn't know when she's climbed atop the crenelations of the wall, didn't know how long she'd been staring down at the empty alley, but everything suddenly became clear. Leaping into the open air, she rushed to embrace the creator.

[Gourtox]

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
Grino's Interrogation

"I was here to see the coronation of the new Patriarch. That has to be a fairly common occurence about now. I'm sure there are tons of people here for the coronation about now." Grino flashed a small smile at the irritation of interrogator.

[Aux-Ash]

Rayess - Castle Emberlock
46th Day of Summer - Morning

"Milady Drache?"

Guillame let the lance fall back leaning towards his shoulder and the rough-looking baron took off his helmet. One of the lancers rode forward to him and he handed both over and then dismounted in a single motion and walked up to the pair. He bowed as deeply as was appropriate.

"It has been some time since you graced these lands with your presence. What of his ducal highness? Is he still alive? Is he back?"

[BladeofOblivion]

Rayess - Castle Emberlock
46th Day of Summer - Morning

She curtsied back, as well.

"Indeed, we arrived just a day ago. I suppose that the word might not have reached thine ears quite yet. I'm sure that Sir Rigel would be quite happy to see you, after all of the stress he's been getting lately."

[DragonOfUndeath]

Davik's Interrogation

"Well there is one in KissMyAss, a couple of cultists in F***You and Your Mum told me last night in bed of a sect at the bottom of the ocean. Oh by the way, she asked me to tell you that she is bringing over a friend tonight and you should find a place to sleep that isn't her bed."

May I point out: Vampire.
Vampires don't breath as they are Undead.

[have_a_cow]

38th day of Summer, 203
"The Rack" Telraya

After the disaster with the servant the previous day, Titus decided that he needed to get someone trustworthy and competent. This is why he had come to the Rack. It wasn't the most pleasant place in the city, but he certainly felt safe among all of the heavily armed men. He would have to find someone trustworthy, and that was easier said than done.

After spending most of the morning looking for someone suitable, Titus had found someone who he though was the best he could find in the city. His name was Chaz Westenne. The man's file had been exemplary and it seemed that the soldier was a man of integrity. That's what Titus thought from the file anyway. He wasn't the best judge of character.

Titus asked for a word with Chaz in private. So, Sargent Westenne is it? I'm in need of a bodyguard, and I think you're the man for the job. You certainly are skilled with a blade, but there is one last thing I need to know. Can I trust you? And don't lie to me, I've cast a spell that will let me know if you lie." [OOC: He hasn't.]

38th day of Summer, Midnight
Viscount Trio's Telrayan Residence

Titus smirked at Rayle, "Simply put, you are here because I asked."

Rayle gave the mage a look as if to say, "Duh," but remained silent otherwise.

"I asked you to be here because I need something found, or rather retrieved. I know where it is." Titus laughed and indicated one of his mirrors. In it there was a chamber that was lit only by a faintly glowing staff. "That is the staff of the Archmage Lucien Faustus Trio, but many times great grandfather. He dates back to before the time of the High Mages, and legend says that his power is sealed within the staff. I want you to retrieve it for me."

37th day of Summer, 203
Patriarch's Chambers

Titus took his seat as indicated and began to speak, "As I'm sure you are aware, it is my duty as the highest ranking mage in Lucina to advise you on magic. The mirrors I gave you will also allow you to contact me if need arises. Now, I would like to discuss what you plan to do as Patriarch, and how that will affect my mages. I'm sure you have much planned, and I would like to assist you."

Titus paused and waited for a response.

37th day of Summer, 203
Baron Retham's Study

Orvas opened the box where he had stashed the angel he had stolen and took his prize out to admire its fine craftsmanship. He almost dropped it when it spoke to him.

"This statue is property of Viscount Titus Trio. Return it to his residence or the nearest mage's guild if found."

37th day of Summer, 203
Viscount Trio's Study, Telraya

The look on Orvas' face when the angel spoke was priceless, Titus thought. With any luck, that fool would be shocked and embarrassed enough to bring the statue right back to him. Undoubtedly he'd sneak it back in just like he had taken it, but this time Titus would be waiting.

Titus grinned as he imagined the meeting between the two of them. It would be quite awkward for the baron, but Titus would enjoy it. He hoped that Orvas would take the job Titus would offer him, but having the noble thrown in jail would still be quite enjoyable.

OOC: New Advantage: Communication Magic.
Communication Magic:

Titus can use magic to have conversations over great distances. He can have these conversations through mental means (ie. his voice speaks in the targets head and they can also respond mentally) or he can speak audibly to the people (anyone within earshot can hear and speak back).

[Jade_Tarem]

38th day of Summer, Midnight
Viscount Trio's Telrayan Residence

"Context is a wonderful thing." Rayle states dryly as she looks at the staff. "And... you don't know where it is, do you? So I'll have to track this thing down, too." She takes a long look at the old House Trio staff, committing the details to memory. "You know that will be added to my fee. Do you have any idea where I might find some helpers?"

38th day of Summer, top of the Basilica, Dawn

Rayle looked out over the city. Climbing the Basilica had been easier than she'd expected, but then she hadn't been trying to get in - only to reach the top. No doubt more substantial defenses were devoted to keeping out actual intruders. She'd found a tower that could be the one from her vision. But again, it might not be. She wouldn't have sought it out at all, except that she'd been completely unable to sleep the previous night.

And if the whole city - plus the Basilica - is actually ablaze, then I have bigger problems than saving one girl. She frowned. Don't I?

As the sun continued to rise, she had to admit that Telraya was a glorious sight at dawn - at least at this angle. The sun shone across the rooftops and reflected off of the Basilica itself. Rayle forced herself to look away and down past the shining facade into the grittier parts of the city below - somewhere down there were the people and sources she needed to do this job for Viscount Trio and get back on her feet. She gripped her rope with one hand, and took a look back at the Basilica.

And that's when she saw it.

A young woman - really a girl - poised on the edge of a tower that, in truth, also matched the one in the vision, right next to the one Rayle had climbed. Before Rayle could shout, jump across, or even fully process what was going on, she saw a wisp of something dark behind the girl - who proceeded to jump.

No... way... Rayle watched, knowing that even if she hadn't been weakened from her recent ordeal, she still wouldn't have been able to catch the girl in time. There wasn't a fire, or the smells, or the dark man... This wasn't supposed to happen yet!

Rayle scrambled down the Basilica as quickly as she could. By the time she reached the ground, a small crowd had already gathered around the girl's body. A greasy black smoke emerged from the corpse even as blood pooled on the ground. "Where is the smoke coming from?" She asked, largely to herself. For a moment, she had the wild notion that the girl had fallen so fast that her body had caught fire. An older woman next to her looked at Rayle strangely. "What smoke?"

"The..." Rayle caught herself. They can't see it. That was new, and had more frightening implications than she cared to consider at the moment. Without even finishing the sentence, she shook her head and took to the streets.

38th day of Summer, top of the city wall, Early Morning (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Qa1BkMNYs)

Rayle again sat on the crenelations of Telraya, having walked all the way to the edge of town. She'd been turning over the implications in her head, and none of them were good. Thoughts chased themselves in circles for a while, before she finally shook her head. It was time to focus - Rayle stood and looked out over the city. This is Telraya. The answers are all here somewhere.

She dropped off of the wall onto the roof of a nearby bakery. A moment later she was on the street and headed for a number of meetings - none of them expected. This is the life I chose. Here we go again!

[Imperial Psycho]

Retham Manor
Orvas jumped when the statuette spoke. His look of surprise quickly turned to a scowl. "Bloody Mages and their bloody little tricks. Very clever." The thing was probably worthless now, too. Who would buy a thing that talked about how it was stolen? He could probably foist it on someone before they realised, but he'd didn't want to get a reputation as a liar. Orvas had half a mind to throw the thing out.

[Kasanip]

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
Kaelylldal's Interview

The man's warning and dark spirit made Lyll step back. But there was a chair, so she sat down into the chair awkwardly. But she narrowed her eyes warily as he spoke.

"If you are older and have endured more than me...
Then you are not human. What are you?"
She asked quietly.
The beautiful ring he gave was not a gift, but it was beautiful. If she took it, perhaps he would use it to contact her. And he wanted her to contact him... For something.
Like her purpose was to find heroes!
She had tried to live a normal life...but maybe it was impossible.
Lyll despaired.
To be useful is not a bad feeling. And it's a selfish thought perhaps to want her own life.
But to be a called is to be a force of destiny perhaps. She was always tied to a hero's fate- and their story would become a legend as she endured and continued.

She looked at the ring, a little troubled, but took it and bowed her head.
"I will follow the fate that comes in these times." She says. It's not an exact agreement, but it is her acceptance of the events.
"Am I allowed then, to freely leave?" She asks.
"And what will happen to the other prisoners who are innocent?" She asks. "There may be someone among them I desire to speak to."

[Meriss]

38th day of Summer, 203
"The Rack" Telraya

Titus asked for a word with Chaz in private. So, Sargent Westenne is it? I'm in need of a bodyguard, and I think you're the man for the job. You certainly are skilled with a blade, but there is one last thing I need to know. Can I trust you? And don't lie to me, I've cast a spell that will let me know if you lie."


Chaz shrugs his well muscled shoulders. He was used to dealing with people who thought they were better than he, it only made him try that much harder to prove his mettle. He smiled warmly and put out his cleanest hand to be shook.

"Sir, I wonder what you know of my order? But I'll tell you exactly what you should know or have heard. We are Shieldarm Knights, drawn true from the common people, but our training and our oaths make us a match for any fighting force on the continent. Our oath is what you have questioned, and I will give that oath in answer."

Chaz draws himself to his full height of not quite six feet and begins to recite. "I, Chaz Westenne do here swear by the Duke and Crown of Solnay, to serve my brothers, my clients and my land to the best of my ability. I swear I will do this no matter the risk or trial, til' death and beyond."

He smiles impishly, "What say you sir? Does this answer your question?"

[TheDarkDM]

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
Davik's Inquisition

The inquisitor cocked his head at Davik's lack of discomfort at being submerged. Noting the trait down on the scroll in front of him, the man began to mumble as he wrote.

"Prisoner shows a marked lack of response to initial interrogation techniques. I have ruled more extreme measures are required."

Putting down his pen, the inquisitor looked up at Davik, smoothing out a rumple in his robe as he did so.

"As you seem uwilling to divulge the truth, we shall cease the questioning for now. What is to come will stop once you become willing to talk."

The inquisitor nodded into the darkness behind Davik, and from behind him emerged a man whose face was hidden by the shadows of a slate grey cowl. Moving across the cramped chamber, the robed man took one of the blazing pokers out of the brazier and looked down at the inquisitor. The silver-eyed man gave a slight nod, and without a moment of hesitation the red-hot metal had been thrust into Davik's left eye, piercing the flimsy eyelid and causing the fragile orb to explode like a rotten egg. Ocular fluid streamed down Davik's cheek as the blazing poker seared the flesh of his eyes socket, withdrawing only when it was a blackened ruin. Dropping the poker on the stone floor, the cowled man took another out of the brazier and began to run in over Davik's chest, leaving a flaming gash as it went.

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
Grino's Interrogation

The interrogator's eyes narrowed further at Grino's impudence, but could detect no lie in his words. With a curt nod to the darkness behind Grino, he stood and left, pushing open the door moments before the bag was thrust over Grino's head again. Grino felt the shackles being loosened, before he was led down another succession of tunnels and stairways. Eventually, with a great heave, he felt himself go flying through the air as his bonds were released, only to land in a pile of rank fecundity.

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
Kaelylldal's Interview

Harleth took his seat once again, smiling faintly at Lyll's question.

"Please forgive the hyperbole, my lady. I am nowhere near as old as you. But I promise you, I have seen more horror that you would care to in another thousand years of life. Now, any who are truly innocent will be released after some questioning - I am sure you will be able to track them down. After all, I am recruiting you for your ingenuity, am I not? Now, I must ask you to leave."

At that word, a grey robed man appeared beside Lyll, seemingly from thin air. In his hand was her headband, which was returned wordlessly. Taking her by the hand, the silent man led her through tunnels of gloom and tunnels of absolute darkness, where even the screams of the damned might become lost. After what seemed like hours, a grating sound heralded the blinding light of the sun, and Lyll was pushed out into a narrow alley. As she turned, she saw only a blank wall, with no hint of latch or hinge.

37th day of Summer, Telraya
Patriarch's Chambers

Try as he might, the Patriarch could not entirely hide his bewildered smile with his hand at Titus' words, though he made a brave attempt at it. Recovering quickly, he stared quizzically at the mage.

"I must wonder what counsel you could provide that the Order of the Laurel could not, my dear Viscount. While I appreciate your offer, I believe I shall keep to the ranks of those sworn to the Creator when I need an arcane matter addressed. However, please be assured that I do not intend to meddle in the affairs of wizards. Like my predecessor, I realize it to be both unnecessary and dangerous."

[Jade_Tarem]

38th Day of Summer, the Red Cat, Afternoon

Rayle breezed through the door and walked into the establishment like she owned the place. It was familiar to her - she had come here with Lancy any number of times as a child, although he'd had to invent a number of truly imaginative lies to hide what the people here actually did until she was old enough to understand it. It went with the territory - a rogue of Lancy's notoriety had to have contacts, and Maitane was perfect. She seemed to hear everything, and was as much a permanent fixture in Telraya as the cobblestones - and was just as officially invisible.

Rayle still missed Lancy.

After he had disappeared, Rayle had occasionally dropped by the Red Cat on her own. At first, it was just to visit Maitane, who had remained a friendly acquaintance. After Rayle's 'career' had taken off, she began to employ the Madame as a contact herself.

And so she walked in like an old friend, brushing past a pair of early customers. "Lady Mai! Guess who's back?"

"Take it easy, girl. I'm right here." Maitane swept into view, graceful as always - in fact, very little about her appearance changed from year to year. "Welcome back. I had heard that your recent venture went poorly, but I'm happy to see you've returned safely."

"More or less." Rayle paced a slow circle around the room. Maitane had redecorated while she was gone. "I'm glad you brought that up. I'm actually here about a job."

"Oh? I had no idea your business was going so poorly." Maitane grinned. "Very well. How much experience have you had?"

"Plenty." Rayle grinned. She could play that game too. "Most of it in Lucina, but I also get around more than you do."

"I see. And you've worked with male and female partners?"

"Yes indeed - sometimes more than one at the same time. I try to avoid working with animals, but sometimes it's unavoidable." One of the patrons actually did a spit take - made doubly impressive because he wasn't drinking anything.

"Ah, and what kind of job are you looking for now?"

"Well, I'm trying to get my hands on a staff. You'd be surprised how much a certain noble is willing to pay for it."

"Hah! No I wouldn't."

"And that's because you're a terrible person." Rayle shook her head. "But seriously, there's a staff locked away in the back of beyond, and I'm going to need help retrieving it. While you're always welcome to join me, I was kind of hoping you could tell me where Jonathan Hearth is? I've heard that he's in town, but I can't seem to find him anywhere."

"The mage? He was here just last night, but I haven't seen him today."

Rayle shrugged. "Too bad. I don't suppose you'd know of anyone else who'd like to get out of Telraya for a while? Preferably someone with some useful skills? I'm offering you the standard contact fee, of course."

Story Element - Palam Shran
A fair distance around the ring of landmasses surrounding the Maw, a cluster of mid-size subcontinents fall under the rule of the Empire of Palam Shran, a growing economic and cultural power.

Palam Shran finally concluded a massive and centuries-long civil war a mere twenty-eight years ago, finally uniting the five disparate kingdoms of 'The Ringlet' - the five major landmasses that form the country are arranged in a ring that creates a bulge in the larger ring of land around the Maw - and bringing a so-far stable peace to a notoriously war-torn area.

The war did not end with one side conquering the other five, but rather with a surprising peace agreement among the groups, agreeing that none of them would be Monarch. Instead, the three princes and two princesses finally came to terms they could agree with. In the intervening time, three of these figures have died, but a combination of bloodline and merit allowed for a smooth ascension for their successors, and the united Palam Shran has been growing and rebuilding ever since.

The country's total area is large enough to feature a huge variance in terrain and environment. As a result, the people are also fairly diverse. Some of them tend toward short, with dark skin and nearly whitish hair, others tend toward dark hair and olive skin, and one of the provinces features the largest concentration of free elves in the world.

The Shranish, or Shranni, as they are sometimes known, are governed according to both Imperial and Princely law. Imperial laws cover all of Palam Shran, Princely law is local to the former Kingdom it was tied to. Imperial Law was written by the five rulers together and supercedes Princely Law.

Palam Shran features a state religion that is heavily tied into government, which features a... curious take on the Creator. There is an active inquisition - having been defunct for most of the great war - although each former Kingdom's inquisition is kept under tight watch by, amusingly enough, the government of another Kingdom. It's an experimental system, but by the reckoning of the Princes and Princesses, at least someone is watching the watchers. Also, the Inquisition is rarely completely active within Palam Shran (they act as information gatherers in other countries during slack periods), and those times when it is called into direct service are few and far between.*

The country is very secure from a military standpoint. Five semi-damaged armies combined into one rather large army, and even after scaling it back to reduce maintenance costs, the Shranni Army is impressive. Three centuries of off-and-on war have taken their toll on the country, but they've also hardened the military into one of the most brutally experienced and tactically and technologically advanced in the world.

Finally, the country has turned into a major trade hub. A great deal of money flows in, and goods that include everything from silk to dyes, spices, and diamonds flow back out.

*As a result, when they appear in force it generally comes as a complete surprise - no one expects the Shranish Inquisition.

Story Element - Lann-Si Zaxiol
A native of Palam Shran, Lann-Si Zaxiol arrived for unknown reasons in Lucina 25 years ago, and quickly made a name for himself as one of the most daring and insane rogues the country had ever seen. Rumors about him outweigh confirmed facts, and pinning down the truth was not made easier by face-to-face contact with the man, as his own claims frequently contradicted one another. In fact, all that could be confirmed were his skills, and even those are subject to blurring or embellishment - he was a master swordsman, wielding one of Palam Shran's folded-steel weapons, and it was said that it had an enchantment on it strong enough to allow it to cut through other blades. He could disappear at a moment's notice, and popped up several times after having been left for dead. He constantly gambled but rarely lost, and could theoretically get into and out of anything. How much, if any, of this was true could only possibly be confirmed by Lann-Si Zaxiol himself, or perhaps the little girl he had following him around...

Soon after his arrival in Lucina, Lann-Si picked up a small child - some say an orphan, others say collateral on a deal gone wrong, and simply started taking her everywhere with him. To this day, no one knows why, least of all the child. She was the only one allowed to call him "Lancy," and while it was obvious that she couldn't be related to him, he nonetheless took the kinds of risks for her that only a father would. He called her "Rayle."

In any case, his reasons will remain his own for now. Lann-Si Zaxiol disappeared without a trace eight years ago, although his signature sword has been sighted since (but never really recovered). It was partly because of that that a certain young woman was able to make a name for herself - using skills that he taught her.

Advantage - Brawling
Rayle spent more than a decade, including all of her most formative years, traveling with the notorious rogue Lann-Si Zaxiol as one part adopted daughter and two parts apprentice. Both during her travels with Lancy and her career since, she's been in enough fights to know when to duck, how to take a hit, and how to play for keeps.

Common Advantage (+1 in all close range combats, including surprise)

[Croverus]

38th Night of Summer
Cracked Spire

While he still kept hold of his demon servant and could recall the beast to him if he needed, the old man who lived in the tower was not without his own defenses. Rumors of his power alone would make common folk and guardsmen quake, his name is always mentioned in whispers and usually with a shudder. But it was not without good reason he was to be feared. Beyond his control over demons he had learned to make deals with them, obtaining samples of their power. His most recent gift was something he called Demonic Visage. He could literally take on the appearance of a demon, enough so that it would terrify even brave warriors. He could not cause any actual harm of course, but it was enough to cause anyone foolish enough to attack him to shrink back. Most turn and flee in terror, and even the stoutest hard will pause, unsure if engaging Eleazer is worth losing their life AND soul.

As he worked on some of his new formulas he was disturbed by a small winged beast. It resembled a skinned cat with leathery wings, its limbs bent at an odd angle and a thumb on its paws to allow it to manipulate tools. The Demonling chittered in a high pitched demonic voice and Eleazerfound the creature to be more annoying than anything. He paused though after striking it with a hand. He seemed to listen and briefly glanced aat the floor, below witch lie the catacombs of his tower.

"Well my annoying little friend. If what you say is true I suppose I'll be expecting guests in the coming weeks. I seem to have a lot of those lately. Well then, thank your master for me, now begone, back where you belong you flighty mongrel."

He waved his hand, fingers splayed, then clenched them into a fist. The Demonling screeched and seemed to crumple in on itslef then vanish. Being forced back to the Under Realm was painful for the lowerranked demons. Eleazer did not know who wascoming to his spire, or when they'd arrive, but he wouldn't be caught off guard. He set to work studying more tomes, scribbling ot notes and adding his own.

Story element - Demonites
Demonites are the lowest ranking beasts that exist in Under Realm. They are small beasts, only slightly larger than a house cat. They closely resemble small felines, if one were to skin the beast and attach leathery wings to its oversized shoulders. The claws on its front legs also have thumbs to allow it to manipulate like a mortal. They are frail and easily slain, and are commongly used as the 1st summon for any summoner.

By nature they are pestering creatures, with high-pitched voices and anooying habits. They flit about rather than staying in one spot, and with no real strength or any actual speed this seems their only real defense in a fight. They are able to hide themselves well, becoming transparent, but a well aimed strike can still find its target if they are tracked by sound or smell or magical detection.

The role of a Demonite ends up as being an information gatherer and messenger. Many Demon Lords use them to learn of Summoners that can be manipulated or controlled. The beasts will be sent to serve and convince the summoner to call forth a demon that the mortal will be unable to handle.

Currently at least two Demon Lords and a handful of summoners regularlysend Demonites to Eleazer, to makes deals or exchange information. Once an ex-apprentice used a Demonite to try and assassinate Eleazer. That attempt ended with the summoner being ratted out by the would-be assassin, then the poor young man was sent to Under Realm. Rumor has it he has faced the past 30 years in agonizing torture.

New Advantage - Demonic Visage
Grants a +3 bonus to defensive combat vs living creatures. Elementals, constructs, and non-intelligent undead are not affected by the bonus.

[Kasanip]

37th Day of Summer, Telraya
Kaelylldal's Interview

Lyll

Lyll winced as her eyes tried to see in the bright light. But it was comforting light, and warm, and it made her feel peaceful again. Her headband was tied again and she reassured it was not going to fall. But now, so many things had happened... The two men asking about Called, one of them looking for her. This new man who she did not trust, but who demanded her trust. She looked at the silver ring she wore on her finger now, and felt sorry for it. It's beauty was shadowed because of the manner it had been given to her. It was a tool for use, with a purpose. And maybe in that way, it was not so different than Lyll. She looked at the wall and sighed.

No, there was only one path she could follow in life. To continue to go forward.

During the festivals, Lyll was more quiet now as she walked through the crowds. As much warmth and busy crowds were helping, she now saw more shadows. The ceremony was wonderful as well.

But now, she had difficulty sleeping at night. There was the desire to go to the meeting tomorrow with the young man. She was curious what he wanted.

But she didn't know what she wanted.
But a peaceful future would be nice.



[Hour of meeting]

Lyll walked quickly through the night streets, her cloak around her like a blanket. There were several statues in the town she thought might be the correct place. But at last she had come to this one. This tall statue of Sigun, the hero, was done after he died. She didn't think it looked like him very much, but the heroic statue of memory was of course different than her memory of standing with him. Time changed things like this.

She was waiting at the spot in silence, thinking about this.

[Imperial Psycho]

37th Night of Summer, Telraya
Retham Manor
Having been woken by a servant, Orvas sighed, and redressed himself. He dismissed the servant from his chambers with his thanks, and grabbed the statuette he kept muffled and locked in his lockbox. Nothing for it. He'd give the damn thing back, and move on. There was no profit to be made from this.

Slipping out the door on soft shoes, he stepped lightly through the garden, out a rear door in the outer wall, and into the street.

Viscount Trio's Telrayan Residence
Looking up at the Townhouse, he realised he may be expected. Certainly a harder job than the simple thing it was before. Passing up the opportunity to use the same window to enter, he chose to clamber up a wall, slipping only once. The window was very slightly open. Not a lot, but just enough to give him purchase, carefully gripping it and shifting his weight, forcing the window open. The gap was just large enough to allow him to slip inside.

Story Element: Retham Manor
A fairly large Manor for a Baron, Retham Manor is a large townhouse in Telraya. Built with the not inconsiderable wealth of the Retham Family, it is a very good looking building, with a sizeable garden. Surrounding the grounds is a small wall, about six foot high, with a large front gate, and small side door set in the stone. It is not truly defensible, more of an aesthetic choice than anything. The Retham family are not a strong house militarily, with only 5 Guardsmen and a handful of servants at the house.

New Advantage: Magic Resistant
Unknown to Orvas, he is naturally resistant to most forms of Magic. All magic tends to have a reduced effect on him, and weak magic may not effect him at all. This includes healing magic, meaning he often requires powerful healing spells for relatively small injuries. It is a boon in his thieving trade, as he rarely trips magical traps or alarms.

[Gourtox]

The Alley

He rises from the grime of the alley. "Well that was about as cordial dismissal as I was expecting. Although they could've atleast let me walk put instead of throwing me into this unsanitary rat haven, but what am I to do except to live with eat." He left the alley and merged with the crowd waiting until the indicated time of the meeting.

The Meeting Hour
Statue if Sigun

He walked over to the girl he had met at the bar. A genuine smile is on his face as he approaches her. "I'm glad you came and would like to apologize for the vagueness of the note as it was time was in short supply. However now that you're here we can resume our discussion although before we do that I would to know tour name if you don't mind. In the excitement of finding someone who actually knew about 'them' I forget to inquire about your name."

[Kasanip]

38th(?) day of Summer, Telraya
The Meeting Hour
Statue of Sigun


He walked over to the girl he had met at the bar. A genuine smile is on his face as he approaches her. "I'm glad you came and would like to apologize for the vagueness of the note as it was time was in short supply. However now that you're here we can resume our discussion although before we do that I would to know your name if you don't mind. In the excitement of finding someone who actually knew about 'them' I forget to inquire about your name."

"Ah, it is good to see you again." Lyll greeted, turning to see Grino approach. She had been worried that perhaps he would not have been released yet.

She realized she had been playing with the silver ring a little, and clasped her hands together. But Grino's question made her smile waver a little. She looked sideways.

The mission demanded of her was a heavy thought. But...there was something about this young man too. Was it...?
She could not be certain. But he had been honest with her and trusting. The look in his eyes now had that same feeling of hope and friendliness.
Certainly he was different than the man she had met before. She did not have a choice then.

...So was it wrong then now?
No.

She bowed her head.

"I am sorry for before as well.
Perhaps this is hard to believe then, or easy.
Maybe it is fate, or maybe it is something else."

She looked at him with her sapphire blue eyes, and put her hands together, like a prayer- but it was a symbol of meeting.
"My name is Kaelylldal. She said softly. Not too loudly, because she did not want anyone else to hear. Then, she raised her headband to reveal that indeed, she was a Called. But she lowered it quickly.
"But please call me Lyll." She added quickly. "Nice to meet you, Grino Rachaysa."

Honesty sometimes was easier, but still there was an uncomfortable feeling. Embarrassment? Nervousness? Something like this. What do you say after this kind of presentation?

"You said that you wanted me to come with you... But I don't know what I can do for you." She said.

[Gourtox]

38th day of Summer, Telraya
The Meeting Hour
Statue of Sigun

He was obviously shocked by this new revelation. First his face sported surprise and shock, followed by relief and acceptence, and ended with dutiful expression. "L-Lady Kaelylldal, I'm sorry, Lyll. It is an honor to finally meet you." He ran his fingers through his hair and breathed a sigh to regain his composure and after a mere moment he had done so. "I'm sorry its just a lot to take in, however I won't let that stop me. Now that we're together we should head back to Raychaysa and while you have you're doubts, you are a legend within my country. Everyone knows of you and respects you, if you were to back me I could depose my wretched cousin. For anyone backed by you, would be regarded as chosen. I'm know it's a big commitment, but we have a long journey and you don't have to decide quite yet. However if you wish to come with me, I have some friends who can sneak us into the country."

[Xondoure]

37th Day of Summer
Late at Night
Outside the Basilica

Jonathan took a deep breath of the cool night air. "It has been a pleasure lord Titus, until our next meeting then? Unless you had some other business to discuss?"

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Story Elements:

High Magic:
The grand powers weilded by the High Mages is a force both awe inspiring and terrible to behold. Over the centuries they have refined their art to three central pathways with which to shape the future of mankind. To come across one who has mastered these pathways is a dangerous affair, and one not to be taken lightly if you value your life or your freedom.

The Path of LifeThe first school of high magic, this discipline is rooted in the art of healing. By reversing the damage done to the body one is able to cure and revive the wounded. Healing the sick is a more difficult affair as one must first discover the nature of the illness before one is able to undo the damage and remove the offending infection. The mages who follow this path consider themselves part of a select order within the guild, and any who would learn such magic is forced to swear to use their abilities to aid and heal and never to inflict harm. However this oath is not always kept.

While healing remains its primary purpose, life magic is a much broader discipline than the mages ever let on. It encompasses all manipulation of living things whether one tampers with their life force or uses their considerable knowledge of the human form to twist and alter it. This darker half of the discipline has never been formally taught outside of the most twisted houses, but the ambition and paranoia of many mages has led them to seek out the workings of this path. And any accomplished healer could potentially abuse their gifts to darker workings. The most obvious abuse of these abilities is the discipline of torture. High mages are able to attack the nerves within the body to devastating effect, and keep their subjects from dying when inflicting pain that would otherwise destroy them.The Path of EnchantmentEnchantment is the binding of arcane forces to the physical world, bringing out magical attributes in the otherwise mundane. Even a minor enchanter can enhance the inherent attributes of an object, such as making a sword more deadly, bringing out the flavor and sustenance in food, or sealing a lock. However such effects are only the beginning. By manipulating the arcane forces one can tie an object or idea to almost anything. One can breathe life into a statue or grow a towering oak from an acorn in a matter of hours. By infusing it with energy an enchanter may bind a cup to always be filled with water, or a lantern to always burn. And by binding ones thoughts to magic a mage can charm and impose their will on others. As by far the most versatile of the three paths it also boasts the largest amount of followers and most mages use some method of enchantment whether they are aware of it or not.

The flaw in enchantment is a matter of power. Greater enchantments require more power than a normal wizard is able to draw upon. Indeed the most potent spells require a lifetime to master but the energy of youth to perform. Thus most major enchantments are cast by a group of magi weaving their powers together. This was solved somewhat by Vaox's principle. Which holds that the physical world has inherent power that can be drawn out without calling upon the wizards own reserves. This tap magic while long used in other schools was viewed with distrust by the high mages as it was associated with what they considered "lesser forms" of their art. Nonetheless one can't deny the power of such magics and Norman Vaox himself was once the most feared Wizard in the known world.

A revised form of Vaox's principle was put forward by his apprentice, who claimed that one could weave the tap source into oneself, allowing the mage to increase his own power. He did however add that such an enchantment would be incredibly dangerous if prolonged as the body and mind wasn't strong enough to withstand the primal forces burning through them.The Path of Fate
Of the three paths fate magic is the most dangerous and the least used. Scrying magic, telepathy, divination, and fate locking are all a part of this path. The first three are used much like any other magic. Scrying allows one to observe the present, telepathy to communicate through the mental plane, and divination to discover the past and present history and location of an object, or seek hints of future possibilities.

The ultimate and deadly conclusion of these powers is fate locking. In which a mage forces a future or path onto the subject. Such prophetic magic can alter the entire world as the spell seeks to change the path of events to its making. Oaths, curses, and prophecies forged in mana work their way into reality. However no future is ever truly set in stone, and thus, no prophecy is ever guranteed to come to pass. However, all must be cautious lest the action they take to prevent it causes it to come to pass.

The true power of the High Mages, comes not from any one of these three, but from their power when brought together. For when all of these forces are brought to bear the limits of such power have not yet been concieved.

[Kasanip]

Lyll


Lyll frowned and took a step back. But there was the statue of Sigun there. She looked up and saw the statue him looking down on her. Her frown became a troubled look as she thought. Humans were rash like this sometimes, especially around his age. No, this was a little like deja vu. But that was also what was troubling too. She looked back at Grino.

"W-Wait. Wait. Please listen.
If I come with you to Rachaysa, I don't see how people will listen to me. Certainly people have heard of me. But people know me everywhere. It's why I've tried to hide for so long. I am not a good speaker or nobility. Called are just not treated that way in this world, even in Rachaysa. If you..." She made her hands into fists with a determined look at Grino.
"If I come with you, there will be danger. The trouble last night was only the start. It will be difficult. There is more darkness in this world than just the troubles of Rachaysa. There may be things I must do or ask of you, just as you ask of me.

I will trust in you, and you will have to trust in me.
Give me your hand."

She asked.

[Gourtox]

38th day of Summer, Telraya
The Meeting Hour
Statue of Sigun

"When we find ourselves in the darkness, surely we shall become the light to destroy it. For if we won't then who will?" He gives her his hand, his eyes full of trust and ambition. "Whatever it is you ask of me, I will do."

[Kasanip]

"When we find ourselves in the darkness, surely we shall become the light to destroy it. For if we won't then who will?" He gives her his hand, his eyes full of trust and ambition. "Whatever it is you ask of me, I will do."

38th day of Summer, Telraya
The Meeting Hour
Statue of Sigun

Lyll

"I ask you never stray from your heart. And when you hold me, that you have made your decision to kill or die, and have no regrets of the road you walk." She said.

Lyll closed her eyes and concentrated. She was surrounded with white light, glowing brightly until Grino could not help but look away, or feel his eyes burn.

And when his vision cleared, there was in the place of the girl, a sword he held in his hand. It was a beautiful sword, with a blade pure silver and white, with a hilt fashioned almost as 2 wings, wings of white silver. Below it, gold embraced it in a pattern he had seen on the girl's headband, and there was a pommel where a sapphire was.

It was a beautiful sword- a relic of an age of craft and beauty that never had recovered again. The light from the the sun shined brightly off of the prestine blade- it was pure and clean, and in the blade, the man could see his reflection.

The blade was light, and yet it was heavy too. It would cut strongly and easily. If he swung it, it would sing easily in the air.

And there was a familiar feeling, like he was holding the girl's hand still...but surely that was an illusion, as Grino held the sword Kaelylldal in his hand.

[Xondoure]

4 years ago

The coast of Emdar loomed in the horizon. Jonathan smiled at the site of his homeland. It had been five years since he had seen it. He looked down upon the gold dragon curled around his finger. Five years and he would never be the same arrogant boy who had sailed away.

He left his vantage point to find Rayle before they reached the shore.