Fantasy Idas: Song of the Riftsea

[_Line 213]

...
In the beginning...or so it is said...

...The world was bright, yet it was cold...

...For beneath the pall of sunlight was a lifeless sphere, a place of nothingness, where all was still and colorless. Not so much as wind blew across the surface of this land, and nary a pockmark dotted the surface of this smooth, motionless world...

...And upon this nothingness, a great Void tore forth, spilling the Riftsea upon the world. The ground rippled and tore, shattering into millions of imperfections as the first of the Waygods, shrouded in light, tore forth from the Place Between Places...

...And as they twirled and arced through the air, the limitless energies of the Riftsea shrouded them, whirling and dancing at their every whim. And with such ability, they seeded our world, embedding life and energy into its every freshly-sculpted pore...

...And from this cultivated garden of endless delights sprouted plants, animals, the Upright Races, and all the pleasures and dangers of this world alike...

...Or, so it is said...

...​

It had been long, long, and longer, still, since the Festival of Replenishment.

Once every sixty years--and, indeed, only once--there came a time when the followers of Alaphus, the seldom-seen, yet benign Waygod of a town known as Pyrr, put on the most lavish of fetes, at least as far as their region was concerned. Alaphus was an old, old god; older than the trees and the mountains, than the fields and the farmlands. Older than all the creations and empires of the Upright Races, and, indeed, it is said, older than the world itself.

Yet he, like many Waygods, had waned. The humble town which now paid him service in return for his blessing of sanctuary remained faithful, and for generations their festival pulled travelers from all the corners of the land to dance, sing, enjoy and expel their many energies for Alaphus's sake, in return for small blessings given from the unearthly denizen of the great standing stone in the town's central square. And so had come another once in a lifetime opportunity.

Ah, the festival of festivals; a week-long affair which had brought visits from even the greatest royal families of the ages, which had seen appearances of great heroes and men of honor. Firespitters danced in the streets, timing impressive bursts of flame to the haughty songs of nearby musicians. Colored paper flittered down from the bellows of the town's many chimneys, perpetually bathing the cobblestone pathways with multicolored shards of light. Bright, rainbow-spitting lanterns of blown glass hung and swayed in the lazy afternoon breeze, gawked at by travelers and children that stood just below. Every race, every creed, every type of person imaginable filled the festival to the brim, their shouts and hollers and muddled conversations mixing with music and other forms of celebration, all while the great Slumberstone, the towering pinnacle in the town's core, carved with the many happenings and histories of fetes past, and decorated with dyed, looping strings, spreading outward and latching to the many buildings of the plaza, cast a long shadow over bright stone rooftops.

The second afternoon of the Festival of Replenishment. Indeed, it was as wonderful as could be imagined.

 

[_Line 213]

Kolu'luka Oondaemate
Town Square (Eating Contest Table)
Open for Interaction
​

"And they're off, ladies and gentlemen! Look at them go!"

A life-long series of free meals! Whenever she visited! And all she had to do was win a single meat-eating contest! Just one! Kolu couldn't believe her luck. As far as she was concerned, there was no way that these other total lightweights were going to out-eat her. Not today.

Her eyes widened, saliva shooting into her mouth as she got her starting taste of the first haunch before her. Actually, now that she thought about it, it was kind of a shame; when it came to contests like this, it became all about eating quickly and as much as possible. Minimal time and effort could be given toward actually savoring the flavor, and boy was this meat delicious. She'd have to ask where it actually came from when she was done--and crowned the victor, of course. For now, though, all she could do was hope that she managed to eat enough, despite her need for speed, for the taste to naturally exist in her mouth after so many bites.

She turned her haunch, ripping off as much meat as she could as her other arm moved to grab a second off of her gigantic, stacked plate. Sure, it wasn't as if she was going to need the thing so early, but she wanted to feel ready. And besides, the sight of honeyed glaze dripping off of the second haunch was enough to keep her hunger going. Not that it really needed spurring anyway, at least not at that point; she'd been starving herself for the past day and a half in preparation for something like this. It was a miserable experience, but, hey, the things we do for victory.

"Looks like our big girl is really packing that meat away!" shouted the showman. Normally, Kolu would have grinned and reveled in the attention, but this was no time for that. No; this was a time for utter seriousness. An unfathomable amount of good meat was on the line--so long as she kept coming back to town, at least. She tossed her first stripped bone into the bucket next to her, the metal letting out a loud clang as it signaled the foreigner as the first to finish. A few of the other contestants looked over while others, Kolu included, focused on their meals. The waiting haunch immediately flew to her mouth, her now-free hand not remaining so for long as it immediately clutched a third piece of meat.

The race was on.

 

[Hanarei]

Maribel Schwefel​

The life of an adventurer was not a cheap one... at least that is a lesson Maribel had come to quickly realize. It had been a decent length of time since her departure from her home town out into the world. Having hitched a ride with some empire soldiers (albeit being more along the lines of her stowing away in a transport and ditching it before they found their way to the destination) she had found her some distance from her home town. With just her backpack (though it was quite large and bulky and far from the most lightweight thing around) she had found her way through several towns primarily relying on being a stow away. Even with hitching rides she was quick to find her funds had quickly turned to nothing. The need for food was something she couldn't simply ignore and she lacked much of the survival skills to hunt on her own. In poor weather she would often be forced to find shelter somewhere that also tended to wittle at her already small coin purse until it was nothing.

Fortunately, she had found her way to the festival. It hadn't been her intention at all to come to such a location (her last stow away attempt having happened to have the festival as their end goal). While she lacked the coin to really get enjoyment out of the festival, she knew of ways to make money. If there was talent she had it was that of a tinker, and her countless experiments had made her quite efficient at making flashy useless junk that had the ability to draw the eyes of many. While it wasn't something to likely fascinate someone from a big city, out in the wild where technology was far from prevalent being able to take what was looked upon scrap and turn it into flashing magical contraptions was sure to make plenty excited about it. She had gizmos of all sort in her makeshift (and very much unauthorized) stall, or more so the blanket she had draped on the ground with all her little creations.

Various objects flashed bright lights that mesmorized many kids as they wandered past. There we time tellers flashing little led telling a somewhat accurate account of time once more after centuries of disrepair. Other little devises fidgeted around moving about as the gears cranked once more making for a rather entertaining show of a little object somehow jolting about in a spot. None of the devises were very complicated or big, after all she had to make use of the little scrap she could salvage to even be able to put up things to sell to finally get some cash for her pockets. As people passed Maribel still was working on fixing up small cube, its purpose to act as a 'fortunate teller' based on shaking it and the color of the light that would appear, at least that was how she planned on marketing it. She paused with her tinkering giving it a little shake noticing the colors flashed from red to blue as she sighed a bit taking a small break, it was time to get more eyes.

"Come one, come all to Maribel's Great and Wonderful Gadgets and Gizmos! Sure to impress your kids and loved ones! Head home with a unique contraption you will never see in those big cities, all hand crafted or restored by the great Engineer Maribel Schwefel! Don't be shy and take a peek!" She called out, her hands fumbling briefly down feeling the bit of weight her pouch had already having made enough coin to at least provide her for long enough to get around for a few weeks, though she wanted to try and get as much cash as she could. A festival was the ideal time for her to make good business and she planned on capitalizing on it while she could.

STATUS

HP █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
MP █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
Location: Festival (Makeshift "Stall")
With: None (Open for Interaction)

 

[Diagonal]

Not long after the festival started, unified footsteps of soldiers could be heard throughout the town of Pyrr. A blood red flag with a symbol of a dragon waved high in the sky. This could only mean one thing: The Empire's army. Soldiers, every one of them were in sync with one another marching in rows of seven. Their metal armor shined brightly, reflecting the sun's rays off to bypassing strangers. Behind all the soldiers was Steve holding the reigns to a white horse, on which the captain of the Empire was positioned.

Steve was exhausted from walking all the way from the Empire to Pyrr. He didn't have time to eat because the Empire was training him, early from the morning, about what it means to be a soldier of the Empire. His stomach growled loudly, and all Steve could do was hold his belly as he guided the Captain's horse towards the festival.

At the front of the festival, the army stopped. The captain took off his sliver helmet to project his voice, revealing a long and curly mustache. His voice was high pitched, but no one could mistake it was a man that spoke... albeit a tiny man.

"Citizens of Pyrr, your benevolent leader, His Majesty, the Emperor, has provided protection-"

"He's not our leader!" Shouted one person.

The captain's bushy eyes furrowed deep as he signaled one of his guards with a flick of his finger. One of the soldiers ran towards the person.

"Quiet you!" He shouted as he hit the person in the stomach with the wooden end of the spear, causing that person to gasp for air as he was forced to kneel.

The captain cleared his throat as he began to speak once more.

"As I was saying, your leader, His Majesty, the Emperor, has provided protection to your land for centuries. It has come the time one again to show your thanks by giving us what you have earned-"

"The empire has done nothing for this town!"

"Yea, Alaphus saved us! If you want to take what we earned from us, then you have to kill us!"

"Aye!"

Soon a mob of the townspeople started to attack the guards and in return the guards went into a defensive position awaiting the captains orders.

"How uncivilized." The captain muttered under his breath, then turning to Steve, he commanded "You there, Farmer boy, go take this letter to the leader of this town. I'll take care of these pests, and take what is rightfully the Empire's."

Steve took the letter and was about to leave when the Captain shouted at him.

"Aren't you forgetting something, oh soldier of the Empire?"

"For the glory of the Empire" Steve saluted very tired.

"For the glory of the Empire! Hya!" With that the Captain drove his horse into the mob that was forming effectively splitting them in two. Steve used this chance to slip past them while the soldiers of the Empire surrounded the mobs into two groups that the Captain had effectively split.

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

Bolting towards the town center, Steve tripped over some goods that a girl ( Hanarei ) has made, falling over on his face. The young boy rolled over in pain, but quickly recovered. He looked over at the mechanic and apologized.

"Sorry for tripping over your stuff," He said as he put his hand on his head "I'm kind of in a hurry, but I'll come back to collect your taxes later."

With that he was once again off to the town center... that is until he got a wiff of some delicious food. All his body stopped moving. His eyes were closed, and his nose twitched as it followed the scent of freshly cooked meat. His gut was talking, and it was saying follow the scent!

Once he arrived he saw people sitting at tables eating bunch of cooked meat! Almost drooling at this point, Steve started to make his way up on the stage. The directors tried to stop him, but he simply brushed them aside and made his way over to an empty table.

"Five more minutes folks and the contest is over! It seems that the big lady from foreign lands has taken a tremendous lead!" Yelled the announcer.

Without hesitation Steve started gulping down the meat, not even chewing, but swallowing them. Throwing the bones into the bucket like as if he was peeling potatoes. Clink. Clank. The announcer turned to Steve and to his surprise the bucket was filling up dead even with the foreigner ( _Line 213 ).

"Seems like we got another contestant folks and he's on fire! Two foreigners beating the home town? Come on contestants let's pick up the pace!"

 

[Shiyonichi]

While the festivities gathered plenty of people who gathered for joyous celebrations, but Luna was not. Rather than mingling with the crowd she leaned against the wall in the shadows of the alleyway with a worn traveling cloak on, hiding her face. The only sign that she had been interacting with the town was a single shiny red apple that she was snacking on. Unlike everyone that travelled far and wide to join in on the festivities of Pyrr, Luna was here for business, specifically information. Though was only just Luna that was content with sitting around and avoiding any human connection.

“So, are you seriously just going to sit around here and wait for hours on end?” A rounded skull like statue was formed around part of the brickwork it’s two eyes glowed with green light as it complained to the anti social Luna. “Yes we are and you’re going to spend that time right next to me and you’re going to spend that time with me, so sit your stone rear down, Golem.” Luna shot back barely raising her voice. She looked out of the alleyway over to the town square, there was an enormous stone towering over many of the buildings with a large crowd stand around it walking up to the large stone and praying before it. “You could just walk right up to it and have a short chat with him.” Golem suggested, hoping that his unreasonable Summoner would listen to reason. “Ah who am I kidding, you’d think that your own shadow would try and smother you in your sleep, much less that anyone would care enough about your conversation to listen in. I’m surprised you haven’t just covered the square in enough sleeping gas to make a dragon drop into a coma.”

“That was the original plan, but Duyane took the tools required for that.” Luna said in a matter of fact sort of fashion. “Speaking of which, where is Duyane?” Golem asked as he did what was basically the Waygod equivalent of a nap in incorporeal form and woke up to find just Luna and himself. “Went out to take a look around the festivitial.” The former mage explained. “Wait, why does he get to go out and take break.” The Waygod asked, appalled at the injustice and difference in treatment “Because he isn’t 10ft tall, made of stone, and ugly enough to get attacked on sight. Oh and he does his job without slacking off or complaining like a 5 year old.” The Summoner gave a passive aggressive response.

Duyane was like a kid in a aquarium, as minor village Waygod, he had never seen this level of festivities in few hundred years and looked around the town in amazement. In his hands were a skewers of browned meats and roasted vegetables, that he bought with the money Luna gave him. Of course being a Waygod he didn’t need to eat, but after not having a physical form for so long, he wanted to know what the hype people had around it and he could say that he could get used to the sensation of eating.

“Sorry for tripping over your stuff. I’m kinda in a hurry, but I’ll come back to collect you taxes later.” As the Waygod of the little guys and being one of the little guys, he was halfway tempted to pull out his bow and shoot the clumsy soldier ( Diagonal ) in the knee. Though the soldier left fairly quickly. “Um... Are you ok?” the Waygod asked street vendor who had her stuff knocked around ( Hanarei ). “Here let me help.” Duyane started to pick up the scattered objects and handed it back to the vendor.

 

[Remembrance]

Elijah Elrod
Currently in the middle of something
Interactions: None really, just a bunch of references. (I guess this dude: Shiyonichi )

Elijah walked and walked through the festival, it was a grand one, a real grand one but the word “festival” had brought up some bad memories, he didn’t like the feeling of loneliness and not having any family near him but this feeling went away almost as soon Warden put his hand on Elijah’s shoulder, Warden didn’t say anything but the tone of it said enough. “Thanks Warden.” A small hum came from the bright being, it seemed as though Warden had gotten brighter.

Elijah walked throughout the festival, odd aromas and weird sounds of metal grinding together, and for some peculiar reason, there were warcries being screamed out as if the festival was a battlefield. To remedy all of this, Elijah took out his bag of coins and bought a drink, the woman who was manning the table of wonderfully and weirdly named drinks said that the drink could let him “see all that stays hidden from you”, no amount of convincing was needed after that, Elijah had a mission to do and what better than a drink that can reveal things for him.

He drank it in small portions, he was scared that if he drank too much, it would come to him too fast and it wouldn’t last longer than it took to drink. “You know, you shouldn’t believe everything people say to you, what if that drink is poisonous?” Warden’s warning was something that Elijah would consider, but the drink tasted so good, he couldn’t help himself. “I’m sure it’ll be fine Warden, we need to find something that gives us a path, anything that gives us a start will work.” Elijah responded, slurping the drink down hastily, disregarding the statement of concern he issued to himself.

Almost immediately, it seemed as though everything was much clearer than before, maybe it healed his eyesight, or maybe the drink was actually magical, he didn’t know quite himself. This new powerful sense of sight made him aware of a woman manning a table with an odd assortment of machinery. Oh that sound! That’s what it was! Elijah blanked out until his lack of concentration was broken when a soldier knocked over her things, it seemed accidental but he remarked about coming back, which to Elijah seemed like a threat. After that, a small.. boy? Walked up and offered help, oh what a touching moment. Warden sat on a table, inspecting food as if he was checking it for poison, he raised his head from the grill and turned his head to see where Elijah was looking.

“We’re leaving.” Warden appeared in front of Elijah, standing tall and proud, with one hand on Elijah’s shoulder and another making a fist. Since Warden had present contact with Elijah, he became fully visible, his glow shining brighter than the fires that cooked the meat at a nearby table. “But why?” Elijah asked, “I know we have a mission to do but it gets so boring looking for clues and riddles.” His pleads fell on deaf ears, with Warden looking behind at the young boy helping the machine girl, eyes filled with anger and hatred. Elijah ended up conceding, he couldn’t put up too much of a fight against a being that’s bound to him after all. In disappointment he began walking in the opposite direction of all the commotion, Elijah figured he could visit the temple to get some clues on where to find an entrance to the Riftsea.

“I’m really hungry though.”

 

[Hanarei]

Maribel Schwefel​

Maribel was quite content as she was sitting back to tinker with her newest gizmo sorting out the bugs in its operation. She needed to make sure it worked properly or her whole 'fortune telling' angle would seem far less plausible. She fiddled using the little screw driver as she worked to adjust some mechanic parts in an attempt to fix what seemed more like an accidental hiccup rather then some serious issue that would require her to have to fully take it apart, at least she hoped. Before she could even discover how serious the problem might be she was tossed head first into another one... or more so the problem came stumbling right into her 'shop'.

"Hey watch it you darn loaf!" She called out angrily at the boy, quite noticeably perturbed by it. She could see a few parts flying from the careless tumble the man had over them. She watched him get up only to get up in an obvious hurry not seeming to pay too much attention to her in his rush. "I'm talking to you, pay up now... hey wait!" She called out as he stormed off before she had a chance to even stop him. A rather harsh glare lingered in the direction he went as her cheeks puffed out in frustration. Sure, most of the scrap he had knocked about or broke was stuff she found, but its not like it was easy to find parts that were functional enough to actually work. Most people simply discarded those items without much thought, and if someone had the smarts to actually sell such things was very likely to sell it for a premium she couldn't obviously afford with her very limited funding.

Maribel looked to see someone approach her, looking scurrilously upon them. He looked human but there was something... odd about him she couldn't put her finger on. She wasn't quite sure what it was but the thought lingered a bit in her mind. She let out a sigh, quickly venting her frustration not wanting to come off rude as he began to collect some of her scattered wares. At the very least it seemed as most of the items were still working fine, with only a few having managed to come apart or seemingly stopped working. Most of it seemed like it would at the very least be a quick fix at worst with only small losses. She could hopefully find a way to repurpose any completely broken parts into something else, even if it was likely to be a bit less impressive of a creation.

"Thanks... I appreciate the help." She spoke as her voice still hinted a bit of her frustration despite her attempt to come off thankful. A light smile was on her lips in an attempt to come off nice even if it appeared a little sour still. "Some people just don't have much respect for other people's stuff." She spoke picking up a few things herself as she worked on putting it back in place. Her eyes glanced over at the items one by one, double checking they still worked before placing them back in their spot on the blanket. Anything that seemed as if it wasn't functioning or properly working she put to her side in a small scrap pile, having been tossed a bit off to the side to roughly designated as 'broke'. Not very nicely organized but Maribel wasn't really known for being the most organized person around when it came to her tinkering.

"Thanks again for the help, really um...s.. sir?" She spoke as she seemed to stumble a bit at the end not really having a name to call him by making it sound a bit more awkward. She was a bit too use to her home village knowing people by name. She still hadn't quite gotten use to meeting new people all the time and having to address someone she didn't know. She felt a little out of place even asking for his name looking awkwardly.

STATUS

HP █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
MP █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
Location: Festival (Makeshift "Stall")
With: Luna Shiyonichi
(Mentioned) Steve Diagonal

 

[_Line 213]

"Hoh ho! Curious and curiouser..."

"What is it, my lady?" Echoed a voice, nearby yet nowhere. The question prompted the extension of a pale, spindly arm, directed like a notched arrow toward the streets below the belltower. Dark purple cloth wrapped and trailed around her skin, her flesh so light that blue, veiny webbing became clear in the afternoon light.

"Behold, behold! The emperor's toy soldiers arrive upon their pale horses." The shrouded figure's high voice suppressed a hint of laughter as she dangled dangerously over the edge of the tower, her other arm hooked upon a pillar as long nails dug deep into the stone. "And they do not come for the sake of pleasure, oh no no no. No, these men come for appeasement."

She lept from the tower, her many trailing lines of cloth accentuating the surprisingly graceful movement. She landed upon a lower rooftop with the delicacy of a falling feather, not making so much as a sound as she touched down. Arms outstretched, her footsteps straddled the top of the sloped roof, balancing as a child would as she regained her vantage over the spread of the empire's forces. "Is this a problem, my lady?" asked her unseen companion, prompting his apparent overseer to tilt her head ever so slightly.

"No, no, I do not believe so...but the townsfolk might." Beneath her hood, there grew a grin. "Ah, Maphalus, Maphalus...! I have need of you! I do, I do, I do..."

 

[_Line 213]

Kolu'luka Oondaemate
Town Square (Eating Contest Table)
Interacting with: Diagonal
​

Who the heck was this other guy? And why did they just let him jump into the competition after the whole thing had started? Where did he even get another plate of meat from? None of this was even allowed!

Save for a sidelong glare at the random stranger's interruption, Kolu made no attempt to slow her eating. She was going to win no matter what, and besides! There was no way that this new guy was going to be able to get the prize, even if he did win. Which he wasn't going to. The sword-swinging girl would make sure of that. Her pail clunked again as she ripped another set of meat off of her bone, immediately pulling her last piece of meat off of her plate. Two haunches in hand once again, and soon to be faced with a clean platter, one of the meat smokers began piling a new set atop a fresh tin tray, running up and sliding it atop her old one as quickly as he could.

Another clunk as a bone hit her bucket. She pulled a fresh piece of meat off of her new platter, steam rising from the freshly-cooked haunch as she cast another glare toward her unwanted interloper. If he hadn't stepped in--whoever the hell he was--she'd have one hell of a lead by now! Completely inexcusable. She'd have to talk to the contest organizers about something so shameless, even if she did win. I mean, who in their right mind just lets someone join in mid-contest like that? The very idea practically got her steaming, and her fast-paced eating became more bestial to match.

 

[simj26]

MaxieA festival, a festival! She cried out inwardly to herself, excitement brimming within her, as the carriage she had hitch-hiked on for the price of a panacea for the common cold for its passengers, rolled into the town of Pyrr, according to the map she had. She hopped off the driver’s side and gazed about her in wonder. The last time she had gone to one was with Master, though ‘gone to’ was a little bit of a erroneous description of it. They had encountered what seemed to be a midsummer’s celebration and there was much joy and excitement in the air, just as it did in this one, but she was requested by Master to not partake in it. His advice was that the festivals were often a way to offer worship or reverence to a Waygod. They were outsiders, and to participate was unbecoming of them, almost bordering on sullying the traditions. They had come for only supplies and a few words with the nearby bartender, and she could only look on at the festivities while Master carried out his errands, and then departed before the sun had set.

But now that she was here, she could feel the electricity in the air. Was this perhaps…? She read about this somewhere in her Handy Dandy Notebook. She removed the book from her belt, and flipped through the pages, searching for the entry for Pyrr, then for Alaphus. She nodded sagely as she traced her finger across the page. Ancient Waygod, yadda yadda yadda, aren’t all Waygods ancient anyway?, expelling energy to offer up to Alaphus for his (her?) blessings of safety to Pyrr. Basically, it was be happy for the day, so the town can remain happy. Very Waygod-y, Maxie thought. They were either ridiculously mean, or they were ridiculously nice, just like Alaphus. She gazed up to the statue in the center of the square. Yes, she could feel that the deity was indeed a benign one. Her gut instincts told her as such, but unease stirred within her. Perhaps it was just the angle. Perhaps it was just the same gut instinct, telling her that the samesaid Waygod was not as powerful as he was.

She turned her attention away from the statue. She had to remember that she was but a student of the world, seeking to learn, not to sully, its mysteries. She mustn’t become part of it. She was but an observer.

But by the Riftsea’s tributaries, there was so much colour! So much explosions! So much fire, people, energy, just spinning around her! To not experience just a little bit of it would be a waste! She made up her mind to simply watch the festivities and take note of what has changed over the years. That way, she can update her Handy Dandy Notebook. Yes, that was exactly what she’d do. She was simply cross-referencing between the last time the festival for Alaphus was conducted and today. It had been sixty years, after all. Change was bound to happen. Gleeful for a reason to investigate the festival, she gripped her book in one hand, and darted around the town. A food-eating contest was being held, and it drew a bit of the crowd, and so many shops littered the area, ranging from foodstuffs to things such as gadgets and gizmos, though that shop seemed to have suffered a bit of damage. Its goods were scattered on the ground, and two people, a girl and a man, were picking up the bits. Maxie’s eyes darted to the food-eating competition, then back at the gizmo shop, then back at the competition. Master always said that life tosses people difficult choices. She doubted this was one of them, and he probably meant things like whether to walk the lonesome path of a Grinstead or hang out with the cooler mages, but this junction did remind her of his words.

She clipped her book on her belt, and scurried over to the fallen store, picking up a few of the dropped gadgets. She was about to return them to the owner, which she supposed was the girl, before she noticed something. Cradling the pile in one hand, she plucked out one of the gadgets. It flashed the time on tiny little bulbs on the surface. She couldn't deny it was very cool to be up close to such artworks, but closer inspection led her to believe that this were a tinkerer’s creations. She looked up from the time-telling machine to the girl, then at the man, then the girl again. She held out the machine to the girl, a large smile starting to form on her face.

“These are extremely well-made!” she exclaimed. “How do you do it? What energy source do you use to make these work like these? Is it magic? Practical conversion of energy? Golly gee, you must tell me!” Master never let her fiddle around with machines like these. This was a first time for her. “Master never let me fiddle around with machines like these! This is the first time for me!” She arranged the rest of the machines on the table neatly, in well-practiced motions. She had done the same actions for Master’s messy desk for many years to the point that it was almost second nature to arrange things neatly. She pointed to one of the machines, then crouched down in front of it, studying it with curious eyes. “What does this one do?” Her eyes wandered quickly away from that machine to the a small cube at the side. She pointed at that other one, her tail wagging at an exponentially increasing speed. “Ooh! And what does that one do? Tell me your secrets, o artisan!”

Hanarei

 

[Shiyonichi]

“You’re welcome.” Duyane responded as he slowly looked over what was scattered across the floor and what was still left on the makeshift stall. Some of the stuff that were being sold he could somewhat recognize, most of the older pieces and even then, they weren’t quite what he remembered. Of course it should have over several hundred years since he say something like them and mortal tended to change far faster than Waygods. Though he wasn’t quite sure about the exact years, since keeping the time was more of a mortal thing.

"Some people just don't have much respect for other people's stuff." The girl had said. “Yeah I can think of a person like that.” Duyane agreed, having his anti-social mortal companion come to mind.

Achoo!

“See, this why we shouldn’t be standing around here.”

“Ah... please no need to be so formal, my name’s Duyane, it’s very nice to meet you.” The Waygod replied with an ironic formal greeting. “Uh, this is a...” The Waygod paused for a moment as he was handing back a bronze sphere shaped device. Someone was watching them, more specifically Someone hostile was watching him. As a god of hunting he could tell this much, the Waygod started to scan around the area like a hawk, before coming face to face with a blue haired Rhagakin, an overly enthusiastic blue haired Rhagakin.

The Rhagakin started to ask a bunch of questions, acting like an excited puppy who was thrown a brand new bone to chew on. Her out of left field appearance threw the Waygod off and out of focus. The Rhagakin remind him of Luna in a way, but if Luna went the opposite direction. Instead of being dark, cynical, and looking like she was contemplating what the best angle was to stab you was replaced with joy, enthusiasm, and with an overly friendly demeanor. Now, he kinda wanted to see what would happen if the two met.

He was contemplating that situation, making a simulation in his head of how the event would unfold, when he realized what he was supposed to be doing. Though the presence had already left the area and he probably wouldn’t be able to find them within the crowd. The Hunter god gave the bronze gadget in his hands over to the street vendor, looking a bit worried and a bit defeated..

Both Luna and Golem would never let him hear the end of this.

 

[Hanarei]

Maribel Schwefel​

Maribel looked towards Duyane as he told her his name and eased her on being more formal... granted his own tone wasn't exactly the most 'casual' form of speaking in itself. It worked better for her truthfully, she wasn't much of the formal type. Given her home village being more of a mining town that type of formalities was far more likely to get you laughed at. She nodded lightly in response as she was quick to respond back realizing she hadn't given her own name. While she had pitched out her name clearly as the owner fo the 'shop' it wasn't as if she could expect him to of overheard her say it before.

"Maribel, Mari for short if you prefer." She spoke nodding her head not really minding which he called her. Given the less formal tone he told her she could use it made sense for her to drop her own little nickname. She nodded her head lightly as he started to speak again handing over another object that had been knocked away as if he seemed to have some idea what it was.... or perhaps she was over-thinking it and he had been just attempting to ask her about what it might be. Either way a rather excited voice had peeked out interupting their conversation shifting Maribel's attention over to the girl. She seemed excited, not being quite sure what race she was. She hadn't really been exposed to much outside of humans in her home town and she hadn't encountered all that many different races in her short time traveling so far.

"Oh, well yes, thank you!" She spoke pausing briefly to get use to her rather exciting demeanor and the sudden shift in tone. It didn't seem to take much to get Maribel to smile with an excited grin on her face more then excited to help sing her praises of her craftsmanship along with the interesting nature of the old tech she had tinkered with. While she kept spewing out questions far her to answer it didn't hinder her desire to catch up on each question as quickly as she could. If there was one thing Maribel could get all geeky on it was all things mechanical.

"Yes! You see I obtain much of the material from scrap yards or antique shops," She spoke, a bit misleading on the last mention of the shops given her lack of funds to actually buy anything from them, though it still made it sound more official if she did. "A lot of my creations here actually don't utilize a power source a tall, many of the components contain latent energy from their orignal construct to be powered on their own. In some cases they even manage to generate energy through the very air, or can generate it through light motions from the user to provide both the momentum and charge the light as it spins." She spoke holding up what was the equivalent of a fidget spinner, moving it around in her fingers causing the little lights on the ends to turn on as it spun around as she spun it, only for the lights to turn off as she put it down and the momentum fell off.

"The more advance pieces are powered by what you would call battery that hold in magic energy in order to be used when activated. While they have a limited complicity it is possible a wizard could channel some of their energy into it in order to refuel it so it might work once more. Not too many of the devices are powered by such batteries, mostly since it is a harder to find part and finding a skilled wizard to recharge it isn't easy for most people." She spoke seeming to find enjoyment in explaining it to someone. The girl might be going at light speed asking questions but Maribel had more then enough resolve to try and keep up when it came to getting to talk about her geeky interests.

"That there is a rather elegant timer! Its set up that depending on the input of dials you switch it can set a timer from 1 second up to 7 minutes and 77 seconds, mostly cause its a cool number to use but also given I wasn't able to quite get it work at exactly 10 minutes due to limitations with the parts I had. It can light up and makes an actual buzzing and clicking noise when it goes off until the button at the top is pressed to stop it. That cube is what I like to call the mystic fortune telling 5,000! You ask it about something, shake it and then let it sit and it will flash a color based on the response! Still working on some bugs with it." She spoke with a wide grin obviously enjoying such positive attention to her work while attempting to do her best impression of a salesmen to sell her product in the process.

STATUS

HP █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
MP █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
Location: Festival (Makeshift "Stall")
With: Duyane Shiyonichi
Maxie simj26

 

[simj26]

Maxie“Self-replenishing energy sources?" She squeaked in excitement, her pitch reaching a fever high. She had only ever read of them in her Notebook. Ancient technology that converted the elements (or even movement!) around them into a sustainable source of energy for themselves. And latent energy that lasted throughout the years! This was so awesome, being able to experience first hand mechanical magicks at work. It was a completely different art than her own, and it thrilled her to meet someone who seemed to know her work. And BATTERIES? She gave another squeak. There was an entry in her Notebook about them somewhere, and there was a remarkably detailed section about the process of refueling one of these ‘batteries’. The girl was right- it was indeed a complicated process which did not only require a mage to collect magical energy, but also to siphon it into the battery in a steady pace. Doing it at a higher rate than the battery can contain would result in disastrous conclusions. Maxie assumed the Grinstead who wrote this meant explosions, which, while certainly thrilling, was not good for her fur.

She turned her attention past the timer, which she thought was something she might need when she needed to be reminded to do something, to the cube. A fortune-telling device? Her face turned serious for a moment as she examined the device in closer detail. No, no, she could not feel powerful magicks flow from it. To be so tied to the fates to tell the future was in and of itself a can of worms that even the grandest of thaumaturges (that she knew of) would not dabble in. It would require tremendous sacrifice or power to do just that. This was a huckster’s device, the colours were randomised. It would be better and cheaper to roll a dice.

But it was so cool! It was much more fun than a simple dice. Kids would love it! She loved it! Besides, if the fates really wanted to involve themselves and tell the truth about someone’s future, she was sure they would manipulate the results. The Waygods were fickle, that much she knew. There was just a small chance that they might choose to answer someone in a way such as this.

It was only then that she realised that she hadn't introduced herself. Her manners had left her in the haze of excitement. She quickly sprang to her feet, beaming widely. “My name’s--” she paused, recalling Master’s words on the Grinstead name having an adverse effect on some people, then resumed almost immediately in the dame rapid-fire chatter, “Maxie! You can call me Maxie! I’m very interested in your devices! They’re operational marvels, every single one of them! Have you ever thought about recreating the self-powering devices’ internal construct so you needn’t rely on batteries? Speaking of batteries, do you have any lying around? I always wanted to experiment on them. I need the practice if I’m ever going to be a mage just like my Master!”

Hanarei @Shinoyichi

 

[Diagonal]

The mob that formed in front of Pyrr dissipated thanks to the help of the Empire's troops. The angry crowd that was once there, was now a line of people paying tributes to the soldiers. Like fire ants, the Army spread throughout all of the small villages demanding taxes, and commodities for the Empire. A few soldiers came about Maribel ( Hanarei ), Maxie ( simj26 ), and Duyane ( Shiyonichi ). One soldier abruptly interrupted the conversation that was going on between the two fanatics. He tapped the girl with ears and a wizard hat on the shoulders, and guided her aside. The soldier was unimpressed with all the junk that was on the streets, but his expressions did not show any of it as he was a trained soldier. Turning to the street vendor he went straight to business.

"The Empire demands that everyone who does business in Pyrr pay taxes or other commodities to His Majesty, the Emperor."

The soldier looked straight at the girl with ragged clothing. He seemed not to care whether this girl was poor or rich. His face showed no alterations, nor did he take his eyes off of the engineer as he spoke. Another solider stepped in front of the wizard with the same stern eyes that the latter soldier had met the engineer with.

"The Empire demands any visitors to the town of Pyrr to pay taxes or other commodities to His Majesty, the Emperor. Forfeit some of your goods."

His chest armor moved up and down as the soldier breathed in and out. This soldier's voice was louder and less deep. Nevertheless, it rang authority.

Soon the whole town was peppered with soldiers in red, demanding it's citizens or those who are visiting there for some sort of commodities.

----------------
"Ladies and gentleman, we are down to the last minute on our annual eating contests, and what a contest this was!" The announcer boomed, "Who's going to take the prize of unlimited series of food? Is it going to be the foreign lady, or our boy who joined abruptly?" He looked at the crowd for confirmation. The staffs weren't happy about the boy who just showed up to eat, but the crowd seemed to overwhelm their cry to get the boy off the stage, so as a good host, the announcer kept going.

The buckets of bones were piling up on Steve's side, as well as the foreign lady's. Other contestants looked at how far they were behind and just gave up.

"It would seem that our young boy has a sizeable lead- wait what's this? The foreigner is picking up speed! It seems that we have a race here!"

Behind all the loud cheers and hype, a line of red began to form behind them. It was the Empire's troops.

They began to close in on the contest, as Steve blissfully indulged in some good meat. Looking up for the first time with two meats in his hand, Steve could see the army advancing towards him. He quickly gulped his food down, and having one steak at hand he said out loud "I gotta go."

With that he began to take off towards the Town center. He was reminded of what he needed to do, but at least he had a good lunch. Behind him were screams, as the troops began to line up the group. Steve rushed for his destination, but was weighed down form all the meat in his stomach. His run soon came to a slow march, as he breathed heavily.

"Need a ride?" Said a familar high pitched voice, as a white horse came infront of Steve. It was the Captain. He let out his hand to Steve, who accepted the hand onto the white horse's back. "We couldn't have lost the messenger boy, could we now?"

"T-thank you Captain." Steve let out in between him catching his breath.

"Thank the Empire my child, now let's get going. Hiyah!" The captain slapped the reigns causing the horse to go on its back two hooves, which made Steve almost fall over. Then the horse began to gallop. In moments time, they arrived at the Town Center.

 

[_Line 213]

The soldiers marched toward the town's heart, passing by curious visitors and scowling locals alike, with the parted crowds whispering quietly to themselves once the procession passed by, words fading away past the thunder of falling footsteps.

A young, fresh-faced recruit glanced over his shoulder every so often from the very end of the line. He had never been this far from home; the Empire's service had delivered the sensation of travel and new locales, just as they had promised, yet those within this village did not seem all that happy to see them. He could not understand why; considering the reputation he had been told the Empire commanded, as well as the reasonable reception they had in his own village, there was little he could do other than look on in confusion.

Hello?

His pace slowed; the remainder of his fellows continued to pull on ahead of him. He had heard something; the voice of a child, clear as if it were right next to him. And yet, no one else seemed to notice. He glanced toward a small alley just next to him, and indeed, those same tones seemed to emanate from just around the corner of the shadowed passage.

Please come; I need your help.

He swallowed lightly. Some of the other villagers had stopped to look at him, though many others continued to whisper to themselves or watch the main section of soldiers. None of his fellows had noticed; wasn't it his duty to aid others?

The recruit glanced back to the alleyway and took off in a jog, armor clinking lightly as he disappeared into the shadows.

---​

The great Slumberstone loomed over the rapidly quieting crowd as the soldiers made their way forward, the sound of horse hooves and armored shoes echoing off of the stucco walls. There were very few appreciative faces in the crowd, yet the building silence here was markedly different from the outbursts of malcontent visited upon the imperial troops at the edge of the town. The hush here was one born from the reverence of the pillar-like monument in the middle of the plaza; crowds held their tongues and their anger only because displaying such outcry in front of their god was a definite marker of impropriety.

Even those rapidly taking part in the eating contest slowed to a stop, crowd and competitors looking to the soldiers as they arrived. Waves of murmurs went out through the crowd, with some wondering why the empire's men had arrived, and others decrying what they thought or knew they would do. The musicians ceased their playing, and some of the townsfolk began leaning out of the windows of their homes. In moments, the central square had gone from a fairground to a place packed with statues.

The long line of knights finally came to a stop as they faced the towering stone before them, and for a brief moment, the ringing of the bell tower signaling the hour became the only sound in the town's center. Yet, soon after, one soldier continued to walk; he was young and low of rank, yet he strode up and past the other soldiers despite their glances. Some were confused, some were worried, and some were only barely concerned with his actions at all. To those clad in imperial armor, it was clear that something was awry in regards to the boy's continued advancement, yet to those merely watching, there was little to pick up on.

And so the man stepped forward, his stride neither confident nor laden with guilt, his mien neither scared nor fearless. Everything about him, every expression, every movement, was nothing if not neutral. He dropped his weapons, metal ringing out across the plaza as he stepped from the cobblestone street and onto the ring of lush grass that surrounded the Slumberstone, drawing nearer to Alaphus with every step.

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Trailing steadily towards the town of Pyrr, a lone girl treaded her way into the festive town with aching feet, a thick hood draped over her head, and a mild sigh.

It seemed she was late.

The festival was already in full swing, merry was being made, and the opening ceremonies were clearly over and done. Ahhh, that really was a shame. It would've been interesting to see the practices of the followers of a Waygod like Alaphus in their full breadth; But she supposed that she should at least be grateful that she'd arrived while the festival was still going on at all. Walking, as she'd quickly learned after setting out on this trip of hers, was hardly the locomotive method of a timely wanderer. But it wasn't like there was anyone waiting on her.

Pyrr, like most of the towns she'd visited, struck a stark contrast against the walls of the Crater. The streets were lined with more people than she could count, and a litany of foreign scents played across her nostrils; And they all smelled delicious enough to set her stomach grumbling. Unfortunately though, before she could eat her fill, the girl needed to pay her respects.

Just by looking around, it was plain to see that Alaphus and Pit were hardly Waygods of similar inclinations, but it wasn't like she was some sort of zealot. The people here seemed to be happy enough under the guidance of their deity, so she'd nary be the type to judge them on their differences. Once her business here was done, today would be a day where she'd rest her feet, fill her stomach, and ready up to continue her journey, perhaps in the direction of an ocean or lake. It'd been days since she'd last been able to bathe, and something had always rubbed her the wrong way about having to pay for something a simple as decent hygiene.

Breaking away from the stall-lined streets of the festival proper, she shook her head and altered her course. This was no time to be thinking about such trivial things. The more she got distracted, the longer she'd have to wait before she could sit down and get some food in her stomach. The Slumberstone soon loomed beautifully overhead, a testament to the liveliness of Pyrr, and the efforts of its people. So, as her approach saw not a rise of festivities but instead one of a tense silence, the hooded girl was quickly confused.

The bustle of the streets quieted down as she stood in its shadow, and a foreign-looking ocean of silver sought to overtake the peace of the plaza. A few voices of protest cried out, and a man of an intent which she could not tell approached the towering landmark.

Just was was going on here?

 

[Shiyonichi]

What an disrespectful bunch, first one of their own’s reckless action’s damages another’s property and they dare ask for more? Duyane thought himself as he narrowed his eyes just for a moment his pupils would narrow, looking at the soldiers like a panther ready to pounce, but instead of killing them all he simply whisled a brief song. Before he walked up to the soldiers. He looked to the left before saying.

“Oh, I see... is this enough?”

Duyane reached for his belt and pulled out a brown bag tied close with hemp rope, one that jingled with a sharp metallic sound. Of course Duyane did lie to the solider, he didn’t “see.” He didn’t really see the point of mortals and their obsession with gold or their acts of claiming land. Gold was just there to look pretty it wasn’t as important as food or water and claiming land was just silly, it was there for all creatures, it was there before them all.

As the soldier reaches for the bag of gold, a large crow suddenly dive bombs the soldier, pecking and clawing at every opening and then another came and another and another. Until a blanket black covered the soldiers. The after a while the sheer size of murder caused the armored men to run away covered in black feathers as a the black cawing cloud were quite literally pecking at their heels.

“Wow... Pyrr has some seriously determined crows. I’m pretty sure they shouldn’t have worn such shiny armor.”

The Hunter Waygod rubbed the back of his head while taking a glance to the left.

“Well I think we should get out of here before the crows get back, they might snag one of your machines Ms. Mari.”

Hanarei simj26
————

Luna looked up taking a finger to hold up the top of her hood watching the soldiers walk up to the Slumberstone. Luna didn’t really care about the Soliders very much, but Golem grumbled in annoyance, those Soldiers meant that they would be staying even longer than before.

“What’s he doing?”

Golem asked more intrigued than anything, but Luna didn’t answer. She scanned around the area and got out from her leaning position. Her eyes watched the single soldier as shouts fron the crowd filled the air. Of course Luna was just as confused as the rest of them, but she did know that something special would happen and she didn’t mean the festivities. Whether this was good or bad, she didn’t know. Luna stepped out from the Alley.

“Golem, I’m gonna move, keep an eye out and back me up.”

 

[BioshockRP]

As the man, known as Meryloin, dipped his calloused, saggy fingers into the pickle barrel; the captain commanded in a hearty yell: "Set port to starboard, you ragglemuffins!" Quickly, the pickle slipped into the wooden planks' cracks that held the ship, while Meryloin adjusted his stature to grip upon the splintered sides that aided in balance. In a shift, the ship's momentum cautiously placed itself in the harbor. The men who pulled the ropes to situate the vessel accordingly grumbled in agony, as the rugged rope burns punctured their callouses. Such a sight beckoned Meryloin to thank whatever Waygod prevented him the prior consumption of the pickle. No less had his eyes had a certain fill towards the horrendous view in which the pus that leaked into the salt water. However, old age begat problems, and so he failed in weighing himself accordingly, for the swift turn led his gaze onto the ocean, and then SPLASH. Now, he too became the soggy, salted pickle among an endless sea.

During his sputtering of the ocean, he laid there a moment, not in peace, but not entirely in terror. Likely a mix of the two favored themselves in the odd mind that decided to wear basic trousers and vest under a coat and robe. However, most unfortunate, the waves' nature lulled his headpiece: The wizard's hat. How easy for an old man to fall overboard, partly because he spent the prior centuries isolated to an island. Luckily, death did not befall him to lay his weary end in diluted sorrow. Just above his head, he laced his hands behind his neck, and he calmed himself to recite the words, "Neckus Stretchus." From the ocean, the sailors clamored at the second sighting of the man's engrossed neck. At an opening, near the vessel's board, the fifty foot neck coiled itself in a bundle. In a raspy voice, Meryloin demanded, "Tug on my neck. Pull me out of this watery hell!" The heaves and hos spouted by the sailors soon after turned silent upon successful rescue.

While his neck retracted back into its natural place, a bent composure upon Meryloin's appearance, he gagged the remaining seawater onto the vessel. He stood only five foot and four inches, for age deteriorated his upright position. With all the trouble, Meryloin required replenishment to his mana reserves. He wondered if the village he landed in contained any lizard backs to lick upon or mana potions to suckle. He asked the captain angrily, "Where in the seven sorrows am I? This is not the land of lizards, but-" For a moment, he stopped himself to set forth his cataract pupils upon beauty blurred, the sea hag. Immediately, he trailed forward ignoring any response. "Lady of fair port, you bare your beauty, may I add: even in clothes," he blinked at her, "You see the ocean, it reflects the waves you pour into my heart." Stopped short by another, the fingers clenched deep into Meryloin's shoulder. He twisted his head to see his opponent, "Captain, it is you?" Lifted into the air from the Captain's hands, the old man landed generously into the dumps that sported plagued rats, rotten food, debris, and the occasional, no wait constant buzzing flies.

In utmost vexation, the captain harnessed a yell so bold, it spooked ears upon men to turn their heads, "Lay your grubby hands off my wife, you demented old geezer!" Even the words removed the captain's hat. And so, with embarrassment, Meryloin promptly plotted his escape, "Cactus Cataracts!" He cast his spell at the eyes of all around, making those not immune feel a prickly sensation in their eyes, which limited their visibility. Those not affected witnessed a horrendous scene to which man and woman alike protruded minor cactus needles from their eyes. Fortunately, it remained a temporarily disturbance, as the needles diminished upon Meryloin's distance away from the crowd.

His clops generated a clatter on the cobblestone, until he stepped forth into the muddied grass, resting himself under a tree's cool shade. Under the tree, a mage who sits, down where it's shady, he spots two breasts. He grinned hungrily at the smoking pair, while the woman displayed her two goods, "Come get your chicken breasts! Bound to replenish any energy!" Intermittent smoke escaped the two chicken breasts, as the Mage's stomach grumbled in agony. Remembering the sailing, he'd cursed himself for not consuming that pickle. He checked his coat, which produced no coins. A moment later, he gathered his thoughts for a new approach. Keeping steady to his staff, he walked in a limp towards the woman, "Woe is my left leg. A man in my age edges closer to death, but shall I not enjoy the luxury produced from a woman's careful craft of roasted breasts?" Oddly enough, the woman stared the man over, probably dumbfounded by Meryloin's acting, which for her seemed rather static, "Shoo off you bugger. No beggars, coins only."

When his feet trudged away from the mouthwatering treats, he required another way to alleviate his hunger. He looked to a farmer, who tilled wheat, which covered his stand for sale, "Brother, may I have your oats? Do you not see a starved old man, who wishes for the world to provide for him, as he did in his youth?" Stricken by the old man's grief, the farmer took pardon to his oats, "What? I don't understand. You want this for free?" As tears left Meryloin's eyes to the stone path, he cried out, "I fought many wars. The struggle, the tribulations. These tears, they cry not for the youth to understand the old, but for the charity that I allowed to cultivate in my service." Suddenly the farmer distributed a few ounces of oats to the old man's outstretched hands, "Thank you for your service." After thanking the farmer, Meryloin lessened his limp and proudly walked away with oats to consume.

Among the festival grounds, Meryloin decided to spend a few moments, once he finished devouring his sustenance. He strutted the grounds, with a staff in his right hand, searching for a wizard hat to match his attire. A slight prayer muttered under his breath for the loss of his preceding hat at sea. Still even after his minor meal, his stomach growled for more. Then, his eyes caught the table that contained a plethora of food. In that table, several seated themselves prepared for an eating contest, so the man placed his hat in the ring, if he had one; therefore, it's metaphorical in nature. There he waited with the others for the sound that commenced the gluttonous engorgement.

He only consumed a few samples, before giving up to the others, as his aged stomach needed only a bit. During the competition, he talked with a few of the contestants with his mouth full, "Delicious, my compliments to the chefs and butcher, as well as the entertainment." From a shrugged shoulders, he hunched himself to view a woman consume a dastardly amount of meat, "She's certainly hungry." Now leaving the table, he turned once again to the table that filled his belly with glorious free meat, "Even young men can't get enough. Oh, youth, how I long for it's ability to allow me a cooked sausage to eat fully."

_Line 213 Diagonal

With his stomach full, he passed the other stands, one containing odd gadgets, but no lizards or hats. Yet, the old man, upon visage, decided to approach the young lady. He looked down at her boots and to her tank top, for which the glance remained longer. Lacking coin, he bothered not with the trade, and instead focused on the assets. He asked her in curiosity, "The way your hands move on that cube, shows such vigor. May I look closely?" After the engagement, the old man sought another stand for hats or lizards.

Hanarei

Everywhere he noticed the stands all about replenishing energy. He thought maybe, just maybe something ought to replenish his lost elevated energy wrought from old age. Finally, he stumbled upon a hat stand, and to his luck, a wizard hat. Heading towards the stand, Meryloin spotted the guards and discerned a bell ringing loudly in the distance. Just as he made his way, the stand closed instantly to the event's amusement. Unlike others, he decided to confront the knights, hoping they may point him in the correct direction towards his homeland. While others scattered, he stood his ground, slowly displaying a regard towards his own pride. At the center, he finally met the knight, but now his bowels ached, so he asked, "Sir Knight, where shall I pardon my excrement? Oh, and where is Ishtan?"

 

[Hanarei]

Maribel Schwefel​

Maribel looked quite excited as the girl only seemed that much more thrilled as she went on explaining things. The fact she seemed to know what she was talking about at least to a very basic extent was amazing. Most people the mentioning of self renewing energy or a battery would come off as confusing hogwash and nothing more. Her choice of clothing did seem to hint at her having a magical background if stereotypes were to be believed, it made sense someone with that sort of background would have a much higher understanding of ancient technology given how well tied in it tended to be with wizards. While her application of it differed greatly, they both functioned off the same basic source of energy as a catalyst.

"Yes, yes it quite is! Don't get too ahead of yourself though, they are far from very power intensive devises so their application is very limited in use. I do have a devise I created myself for the purpose of extracting a larger sum from the air at an accelerated rate, though it does take a bit too much time to be a reliable source if you expect constant power output." She spoke pausing as she noticed an old man approach questioning her about the devise she had been tinkering with beforehand.

"Oh, sorry sir, its still being fixed up I'm sure if you come back later I'll have it fixed up." She spoke bowing her head lightly to him trying to be as polite as she could while being brief. It didn't seem as if he really intended on buying anything else and if he did she could quickly of helped him out if there was more he wanted. She turned her head back to look at Maxie as she gave her name out so she had something to go by to call her by. it wasn't as if she needed a name to use though it still was nice and helped to make it feel a little less odd to get into a conversation with a stranger like she was focused more on the under workings of her little invention rather then simply buying some colorful devise they didn't have the slightest clue how it might work.

"Well Maxie, as far as battery goes I should clarify its more like they function like batteries. I have experimented with some forms of containing energy though their application is far from ideal and currently only functions in a more raw weaponized form. Unfortunately actual batteries of old are much rare at least in a working form that hasn't spoiled from the test of time which the empire mostly has taken possession of...."

Her words were cut short as if on cue a few empire soldiers came storming in. She looked a bit in disbelief at their blatent actions, a little hard to believe how blatently thuggish they were acting. Given the assortment of people at such a festival it was far from the best place to flex military strength, and an excellent way to make enemies of the world. Then again, while she had lived under Empire rule they hadn't exactly been in-hospital to her and the town she lived in albeit she felt as if they could be neglectful of sharing in their great wealth of technology as well. It was quite possible the troops were working under their own authority without any direct input from those in charge. She looked to the solider directing his attention at her. At the very least she wasn't called out for having never recieved a permit in the first place she supposed?

"Ah, well you see sir, my goods are very delicate and are licences by the bureau of antiquated technology and rehabilitation committee and..." She spoke spewing whatever bull she could come off with on a whim to distract the man as she glanced down at her things figuring it wouldn't be too hard to grab the corners and go running with her things. She had planned to make a hasty retreat if worst came to worst and she was caught. It wasn't ever really meant to be the most 'law abiding' idea of hers to start with but it wasn't a crime she figured was really at all serious or harming anyone. Fortunately for her the boy from before seemed to have his own plans, watching as he handed over a sack of something and before she knew it saw the soldier being assailed by... crows? Before he could even say a word Maribel had already grabbed the corners of the blanket suddenly pulling it together into a makeshift sack. She looked at him, a bit of a guilty expression on her face as it was quite clear she was preparing to book it away before he had even said so, seeming more then willing to dash off.

"Um... yes! That's exactly a good idea! I got some business done and really I don't have anything much to pay for some taxes." She spoke thinking to add the last bit as to hide any remote bit of guilt she might have with an awkward smile as if to hide some guilt. Sure it wasn't as if she had been caught with a shop she didn't have a permit to have up but it didn't change the fact she felt guilty for having to flee like she initially had expected as a possibility. She began to shuffle away avoidng any sort of trouble from the soldiers and to hopefully keep the goods and sum of coin she managed to garnish that day.

STATUS

HP █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
MP █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
Location: Festival (Makeshift "Stall")
With: Duyane Shiyonichi
Maxie simj26 , Merylion BioshockRP Soldiers Diagonal

 

[Blackvelvet]

London Hunt
Location: Pyrr
Feeling: Festivals! YAY!
London had been journeying for several days now, on the open road, catching rides when she could but mostly walking and camping out, moving from town to town, never staying long, taking up odd jobs to earn money and staying in inns when she could. She had been so restless lately, nothing fun every really happened when she was on the road like this and it made her bored to death. She sighed as she continued on her feet towards the next town that was on her map, hoping to find some answers there. At least she hadn't been bothered by any monsters yet today, that was the only positive factor of this day, she was running low on medical supplies and would probably need to restock in Pyrr, the next town up.

As she walked the sun beat down on her, luckily for her she dressed in light clothing so she wasn't overly warm, though the down side was that she was starting to develop a sun burn on her areas of uncovered skin, which in the long run would be a major annoyance. She walked up over a small incline and from there she could see that there was a town in the distance. Only a little more and I'm there She thought to her self trying to stay optimistic as possible, but this amount of heat had made her cranky to a point and the blisters on her feet and the soreness of her calves and thighs weren't helping to contribute to her usual good mood. She began o get closer to the town when she noticed something was amiss. The town looked different to others she had visited, more up beat for some reason, it was almost like..... "FESTIVAL!" London shouted out as she began to sprint a little faster, her back pack and weapons seeming like they were only a couple pounds heavy each the way she ran.

Approaching the town London could see more clearly. The festival was in full swing, there would be prizes and games and contests and food. Her sprinting almost seemed like a fast paced gleeful skip the why she was smiling and jumping for joy as she ran. A festival was what she needed right now to cool of and relax after the long days of walking and having nothing to do. She approached the town center and began to take part in some activities. Arm wrestling contests, apple bobbing, horse shoes, and eating food, she even managed to win a little bit of money at some of the activities, she had no idea what the festival was for, probably to appease one of this lands way gods. She didn't really know too much about them so it was hard to say for sure, but she still continued to participate because it was fun.

Then as she was gobbling down a plate full of Takoyaki the soldiers began to approach and the town grew with silence. She wasn't sure what was going on or why everyone seemed to be afraid of the soldiers, having grown dead quiet and all but she didn't like it. She stood up from her table and looked around, it seemed like all at once the festival had died out and now every ones focus was on the soldiers. She sighed, if it were just a few of them she probably would have spoken out against them but this was a whole platoon, and she couldn't take on all of them if things turned out for the worse. She continued standig chewing on her takoyaki in dead silence.

 

[Rantos]

Nala - Festival - Sleeping with the Slumberstone
Tags:N/A
That same repetitive dream seemed to find her today, again. On a mountain peak overlooking her home. Sitting beneath the lone willow tree with a fox in her lap. Her fingers danced across the arch of it's back and stopped to play a while with its tail. Lost in the neurotic pleasure of petting the beast's fur. Lost in the repetitive motions. Sometimes she would dare to break the rhythm to tug at its ears. The beast did not stir. Sometimes she would break the rhythm with a poke to the face. The beast stayed silent still in her lap. But Nala could hear the voice from the quiet thing. A voice that came from the wind, heard within the rustle of the branches. A voice that Nala knew was the fox's own. It spoke of running in fields. Tasting the wind rushing past. Playing with the children it once knew. A peaceful dream. Nala found herself envious.

"Can you really not wake up even when I come and visit?" Tenderly, she continued to stroke. "You know that makes me angry." Lovingly, she scratched the ich on the beast's neck. "Pissed even." Softly, she planted a kiss on its forehead. "Useless Waygod."

------

It wasn't the noise that woke Nala from her slumber, it was the lack of noise. The sudden shift in tone that communicated something was amiss. Nala sat slumped against the town's local sleeping rock. A uniquely weird amenity, but she was grateful the town had a Slumberstone for her to rest against. Her Phylactery was still resting on her lap, thank goodness. It took a moment for her to asses the situation. What was the reason for the sudden stagnate hush? Nala followed the eyes of the crowd, they were all looking behind her, and when she joined the crowd she too saw the knights. At first, she figured they were here for her. As all the knights stopped one continued to walk forwards but his gaze was locked on the Slumberstone.

Whatever was about to happen, it didn't need to include Nala. She gripped her Phylactery tight and dashed into the edge of the crowd. She overheard some confused mumblings that confirmed the fact that the crowd was just as confused. Nala was sure that if she stuck around she would understand the situation well enough. Once she is able to grasp the situation in full it was just a matter of figuring out the best way of sticking her nose where it didn't belong.

 

[_Line 213]

"What are you doing, soldier? Get back in line!"

The shouted command from the man's overseer was not nearly enough to dissuade him. Step by step he drew closer to the stone, hand outstretched to touch the sacred pillar as if he had heard nothing at all.

The commander grit his teeth. An order, disobeyed? "Men, subdue him; I run a tight watch here, and I will not be denied!" And indeed, no sooner did he bark such an instruction did several forward guardsmen step forward to oppose their rogue fellow, spears drawn and pointed forward at the ready as they surrounded their companion. The square's many bystanders remained entirely silent, watching with eyes both wide and narrow as the soldiers briefly seemed to turn against their own. Whispers of whether this was some sort of ploy or hidden directive shot back and forth between looser mouths, though the vast majority remained silent.

Yet, even they were forced into shocked silence; in a single swift motion, dark tendrils erupted from the lone soldier's back as he touched the stone, shooting toward the advancing guardsmen. Then, they froze, pulled taught like strings threatening to break, yet pointed and sharp like blades, quivering in the air mere hairs away from the men's chestguards.

The pale woman upon the rooftops overlooking the procession grinned. "Protecting even the empire's souls. How befitting of you, Alaphus. In this state and all." Wave-like pulses emanated from the single hand making contact with the Slumberstone, only to be forced back inward at its edges by a counterpulse, greater in rhythm and scope.

Panic washed throughout the square; travelers and villagers ran, screaming and shoving as they attempted to push their way into buildings, streets, and alleyways. Some of the troops began to establish a perimeter, others advanced, and others froze out of fear as the former festival cascaded into madness around them. Those that had initially taken point did not dare move, lest the struggling tendrils somehow manage to break free from whatever invisible chains latched them a second away from ending their lives.

"My lady." Even then, his voice was audible only to her, yet the connection was strained. "I can supply my effort for only so much longer."

"Then struggle a moment more, then rest, as you so very much deserve." Her feet lifted lightly off of the tiled rooftop as she drifted upward into the air, arms outstretched at her sides as her long, dark cloak billowed open. Yet, there was no cloth within; the interior of her garb was naught but the glow of the endless, twisting void, a mesmerizing outpouring of light that wrapped her form as it billowed open. An inky blackness engulfed her right hand, twisting it into a great and mangled claw, something more befitting some horrid creature than any member of the upright races. "Through the veil, pass, and bind with me, that the will and drive to act be sapped from this place!"

A wave of bright pink light washed outward, accompanied with a great heaviness; it was the sensation of being dead, yet waking. Alive just enough to experience what it was like to be immobile. The mind was no prison, for there was no mind. Merely the sensation of drifting, as if there were no place to go. No place to be. Nowhere in which to merely exist.

"Now, Alaphus! Come to me." She drifted forward, high above the frozen crowds, maligned arm outstretched. Many more ripped forth from the void within her cloak, planting themselves against the stone as they pulsated with energy, ripping life away from the stone. It was then that another wave of energy pushed outward, though this time a bright gold, and from the stone itself, phasing neither the soldier below, nor the witch tirelessly ripping life away from the sacred object.

---

Through the endlessness, a voice calls you...

...It is a voice familiar, yet unfamiliar; as if forgotten, yet on the edge the edge of memory upon this fresh hearing....

...It is comfortable in its unfamiliarity. Like a father whose memory exists only in the haze of the half-formed memories of unconscious youth...

"You are not one of my children," it says, echoing through the empty nothingness that surrounds you, "yet you are a traveler, and you are strong of heart. I beseech you, in this hour, to come to me, my time of need..."

...A glint of light sparkles in the nothingness. It is warmth, where there is cold. It is light, where there is darkness. It is spirit, where there is apathy. It is something, where there is nothing...

"...It will be difficult...for under this influence, you are not yourself...Crawl forth, fight to return to whom you are, and aid me...You will not be alone...There will be those, throughout the crowd, who will answer this call alongside you...of that, I am certain..."

---​

"None will answer your call, Alaphus! The crowd is afraid!" The woman cried, more arms erupting from within her cloak, "do you believe this day coincidence? You are at your weakest this day, as you are every sixty years! A second pulse. A third. Each time, the light weakened, and each time, its influence decreased. "The more you wait, the more your embers cool, Old One."

The Slumberstone began to fracture, light pouring through the growing cracks in the totem's many carvings. Misty trails leaked from the greater fissures, spiraling upward and into the folds of the woman's spreading robe, disappearing into the folds of what seemed like ominous wings. "You and I both know the necessity of this encounter! For too long, you have delayed what must occur!"

 

[CerpinTaxt]

Varis

"You want 'ow much?" The gruff man behind the counter of the dingy, back-alley pub stared in disbelief before his shocked expression turned to one of annoyance. The sounds of the festivities outside faintly seeped through the cracks in the windows and door, certainly it had effected his hearing. A grubby finger went inside the large man's ear, moving around to clean the wax. "Say that amount again." He leaned in, eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the elf sitting in a way that screamed 'relaxed'. He didn't like it, him and his fancy looking clothes and fancy accent. He was far too calm.

"What? You going deaf already? I said a thousand for the jewels. I'm practically giving these away!" The well dressed elf motioned to the small cloth bag contained the jewels which rested on the counter. "You could sell these for double the price easily, in fact you triple if you had someone put little details on them to make them look like they came from roy-"

"Then why don't you do that?" The pub owner cut the elf off, pushing the pouch into their direction. "Don't try and trick me with a few fake-"

"They're not fake. I'm trying to get a bit of quick cash to find another little job of mine! I'm offering you a deal and you get offended?!" The elf scoffed, rolling his eyes as the barman idly knocked his knuckles against the wood. Just a [/i]bit[/i] too much rhythm to be a coincidence. "I guess I'll just take my business elsewhere." The elf moved to stand up just as the front door opened up behind him and a group of men walked inside. Hired help.

"I guess we'll just need to do this the hard way."

--

Varis leaned back against the brick wall high up on the roof of one of the buildings, a gold coin glinting against the bright sunlight as he manipulated it in his fingers. He managed to keep the jewels, get a bit of cash, and spark a bit of fear in some thugs that were a bit too big for their breeches. Someone had to knock them down a peg. The elf's musing was cut short however as the sound of someone barking orders down below caught his attention. He hadn't realized just how quiet it had been until just now. His eyes focused on the commotion, figuring it was nothing more than some foolish guardsman being a bit too overzealous.

Varis went from amused to concerned once the tendrils appeared however. Panic had broken out among the crowd and Varis was unsure if he should flee like them or stay and observe. Even the soldier looked unsure of what to do.

The strange woman caught his eye, his eyes narrowing as he tried to process just what he was looking at. This town's Waygod was in certain danger, and he knew he should just get up and flee. Gather his things and hitch a ride to the next town. But that voice, it made him want to stay instead. His mind was telling him to run away, but his body had already began to scale the buildings; moving closer to the commotion instead of away from it.

He wasn't some hero or anything, but the back of his mind was certain there would be a reward if he helped. There had better be a reward.

His familiar was already beginning to be created, an eagle soon forming on the elf's shoulder before it took flight and began to move in circles over the plaza as its master had commanded. He had to time this just right, hopefully others had decided it was better to fight than stare in fear to lessen the burden on him. Though she would probably just cast aside his attacks like they were nothing, she certainly looked scary enough to do it. Mist began to cover the small rooftop just to the side of the strange woman as Varis landed on it. "Oh I better get rewarded real well for this.."

The eagle above let out a shriek before diving down towards the woman right as what looked to be ball bearings began to shoot out from the mist. He almost considered calling out to the woman and proclaiming he would slay here. A great idea if he was stupid and had huge muscles and a big sword. He wasn't the hero of those gaudy books he read, so it wasn't worth possibly getting hurt in exchange for making a few women swoon.

It was very tempting though.

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

From beneath her hood, the horned girl's eyes followed the soldier keenly. What he approached was a scared thing, something that would be kept under tight watch, and even tighter guard in any other town. Ignoring the stares of his onlookers and the shouts of his superiors, he splayed his palm across the Slumberstone, and chaos broke out. An inky darkness spilling from his back, and boldly contrasting the light of the sun, and the spirit of the festival that had raged until moments ago.

The square's unnatural silence soon died away as scream filled the town, man and woman of all walks of life fleeing the unnatural sight that was unfolding in front of them. Yet meanwhile, Pitah stood still. This was curious, very much so. It didn't take a genius to tell that a battle had just broken out here, one that would possibly spread out and cover this town in blood; But that was none of her concern. Such a thing was only natural in the face of the Cycle, and were this a more mundane battle, she may have turned her back and left this town to its fate. But, there was something unnatural about this. There was something wrong going on here. Her instincts as both a Shrine Maiden and a Rhagakin were telling her the same thing.

That she needed to get to the bottom of this.

Against the crowd, she began to urge her body to move; But with a flash of pink, it would not listen. The work of that woman, she was sure, but hers wasn't the only unwelcome influence that sought to press itself against her psyche. The voice of an unfamiliar god filled her senses, returning her body to her and doling out some sort of advice. An oracle from a foreign god in a foreign land. Pitah wasn't sure if it was something to be proud or ashamed of, having only ever heard the voice of her own Waygod once. Regardless, its words aligned with her own intent well enough, so she'd lend it her appreciation and aid.

Her veins begun to run hot with a familiar burn of magical energy, and without an announcement of name nor intent, Pitah launched herself forward. Through the ocean of silver and black, Pitah weaved her way towards the tratior-soldier. The woman above held herself with far more presence than he, but it was with his touch that this had begun. So, by ceasing it, she hoped to cease this, whatever it was, as well.

The distance between the two of them closed, and Pitah's fist flew clear through the air, aiming up and over the strange darkness that grew from his back and towards the back of his head.

_Line 213

 

[Diagonal]

The horse's gallop became a trot, as the sky drew black and darkness overshadowed the town of Pyrr. It came to a full stop, not wanting to go any further, as it gave out a wild neigh. The captain took the saddle and pulled it back to ease the horse. His head tilted upwards, and to the center of the town. A frown drew upon his face, and he let out a click of the tongue before issuing Steve to get off the Horse.

Steve, blank faced, and oblivious of the change of his surroundings got off as his captain commanded him.

"I'm afraid we're tad bit too late." The captain addressed Steve, looking at the farmer boy with stern black eyes. The captain stroke his mustache and closed his eyes. It was not like the captain to express such seriousness in front of Steve. The leader of the empire's troops, always greeted Farmer with a smile, but now the captain's face was all but smiles. He shook his head as he addressed Steve.

"Farmer, you have jeopardized our troops to far more danger than necessary. Your lack of focus at the mission at hand lead to the failure of this mission, and so, by the power invested in me by the Emperor, you are dismissed from the Empire's troops."

As the captain spoke these words Steve's eyes grew wider as he realized what he has done. The Farmer boy hung his head as the Captain took the letter from him and removed the empire's emblem from his armor. Furthermore, the captain took Steve's sword as it was property of the empire, but not his armor. It was a gift, or so the Captain said. As the white horse drifted off into the distance. Steve stood there wandering what he needs to do next.

Steve sat on the ground, resting one of his arms on his knee. He let out a sigh to try and make the best of the outcomes. His gut sometimes lead him to where he doesn't want to be. Now what was he going to do. Guess there was only one thing to do. Steve picked himself up, brushed the dirt off of his pants, and started his way back to his Farm. That is, until a strange voice called out to him.
Steve stopped what he was doing to listen in. It was tempting, but Steve didn't know if he could do anything. He lost his weapons, his title, and what was left of his food. Instantly his stomach growled again. He was not fit to be a soldier, nor a hero. Steve was a farmer, and that's what he was good at. With a smile on his face, he gathered up what he had and left for the countryside. Though he didn't get to do much, Steve had wonderful memories to look back on. Perhaps in another world, he would have been the hero he dreamed of.