Kyran chuckled to himself as he watched the ceremony unfold from within the large circle of King's Guard. It had been a week of legendary revelry for him, and though he had tried to preserve the grace and dignity of his homeland, he had found himself swept up in the surging excitement of the festival. Add to that the free ride the Red Mage's embassy had provided for him, and he couldn't help but feel some pang of regret that it would all soon be over. He would be permitted a single day to recover after the festival, and then would have to make his way back home, where a long list of training exercises both physical and spiritual would undoubtedly await him.

Still, there was no reason to focus on the future right now. This ceremony was for the past.

[b]“A great darkness shrouded the world. 
The wind died. 
The sea raged. 
The earth began to decay. 
Only a prophecy kept hope alive in people's hearts. 
"When darkness veils the world, four warriors of light shall come.”
And after journeying far, four young warriors did at last appear. 
In the hands of each rested a mysterious crystal... “[/b]

The King's voice echoed through the area, the crowd silenced as the ceremony seemed to reach it's climax. Sheets were pulled off the four wagons, and resting in each was a strange, colored orb. Kyran furrowed his brow, hadn't that strange red-hatted man said something about the Orbs? Were these the ones he was talking about? Something about them doing something... weird?

One of the orbs flared with light, causing the stirrings of fear and panic amongst the crowd. Kyran muttered a rather un-monk like curse as the orb continued to flare and leak raw energy. Although Kyran had never been to the Corneria festival before, he was fairly certain that wasn't supposed to happen. Screams split the air and he dropped into a fighting stance out of instinct, although the danger had not yet reached them yet. The King began to shout orders, but Kyran's attention was diverted, seeking the source of the confusion and panic. 

Imps, foul little creatures that seemed to delight in the slaughter they were performing, poured from the surrounding city, attacking anything that moved that wasn't one of them. The guards responded quickly, and soon the sounds of steel striking steel sounded through the city. Kyran sighed a bit, casting a glance at the other ambassadors, "Anybody else hate it when doomspeaking Red Mages happen to be right?"

One of the others darted past him, dressed in a black cloak and moving towards a pillar of red light in the distance. She stopped a short distance away, a small group of imps taking notice of her and moving towards the seemingly lone target. To his mild surprise, she had a dagger in her hand, and seemed like she knew how to use it too. With no more time to spend on the thought, he sprinted forward, cloak billowing in the wind behind him as he passed the dagger-wielding woman. He chose the imp furthest to his right to engage first, stopping just short of it's reach and grinning as the wicked-looking dagger went sailing through the air where he would have been. Unfortunately for the imp, the creature's short arms, plus the added length of the dagger, barely equaled Kyran's reach with just his arms. The monk stiffened his fingers and jabbed them painfully into the imp's arm. He grabbed the creature's arm and twisted , bringing his other hand up to the creature's shoulder and swinging around, send him rolling along the ground towards the other ambassadors.

A dagger glanced off his armored leg, reminding him that the surprise of his rush was spent. He dropped into a defensive stance, strangely eager to see how this played out.