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3 mos ago
Current Sorry for the delay everyone. I've been absolutely swamped with work these last weeks. I'm getting my replies up slowly.
3 mos ago
Keeping track of things makes it easier to avoid bad experiences! And to not make the same mistake like an idiot... :-/

Bio

"Humanity takes great pride in three things. Their willpower, their greed and their mortality.

Their will and endless greed allows them to grow and accend past other creatures
But their mortality denies them divinity

It's a delightful purgatory between being Fallen and being Divine"


Most Recent Posts

Naaji


Location: Forest, Kindred territory.

Naaji was hissing to the man, ready to jump. He certainly wouldn't let that happen to anyone ever again... He only hoped Taiah could get away safely. But even before they could do anything, the man looked at them and said:

"I am sorry"

As he said that, the other hunters closed it. Immediately after that, both Taiah and Naaji were pulled down from the tree by invisible tendrils, as strong nets were tossed on them.
Naaji tried his best, but there were simply too many hunters and the net was making it so he wasn't able to move himself properly.
He fought with all his strength, the only things he remember after the man's words were his claws, his fangs and the hunters. He remember feeling the taste of their blood, he remember hitting some of them but they were too many and it was impossible to concentrate on them and the net at the same time...

But even after they threw the net over Naaji, he didn't stop fighting. He knew it was useless, he knew he wouldn't be able to escape, but the only thing he could do was fight.

After being dragged for some time, the worst thing that could happen to Naaji happened... He could see from the holes in the net as they approached the cages... He tried to bite the net, he tried to cut it with his claws, he tried to attack the ones that were holding the net but it was useless. After being put on the cage, he roared, enraged as he threw himself against the steel bars, again, again and again, until he could no longer stand from exhaustion... And like that, he collapsed, completely exhausted. The time he spent sleeping wasn't peaceful... It was filled with nightmares and his burning rage towards the hunters.

Naaji woke up after several hours, completely lost. He wasn't in the forest anymore. There were strange voices, strange sounds and smells all around them. He could smell Taiah too, but she was the only familiar smell around. He could feel the cart stopping, he smelled and listened the furs being taken from the cart... Even if his cage was covered, his other senses were still sharp and told him a lot of what was happening outside. Sadly, there was no way to escape that cage... At least not for now.

Soon after they finished moving the furs, both his and Taiah's cage were taken, the covers were removed and the cages opened, leading to a bigger cell. The new cell was dark and silent. He was able to smell other animals, but none of them made a sound... It was strange... The only sound he could hear was screams echoing through the stone walls.

” We need to get out of here now. Any plans?” A familiar voice interrupted his trance-like state, bringing Naaji back to reality.

"Taiah, are you ok?" Naaji said, with a shaky voice, trying to hide his anger as he stood up, walking around the cell back and forth, smelling every nook and cranny, inspecting everything on the cell, looking for anything that could give them any hope, even if small, to escape.

It was quite obvious that Naaji was extremely stressed and uncomfortable with the situation. After several minutes walking back and forth, he let out an enraged roar throwing his front paws at the steel bars...

"It's useless... I know." He said, trying to calm himself down without much success...

@Demonic Angel



Aisha Najm


Location: Hyall


Aisha heard as Mikahiel spoke about his life. Every word that came out of his mouth only made her even more intrigued about the man. She didn't knew much about the man, but even before he said anything she knew that he had already seen many things. Just like as she somehow knew that he was an artist, she knew that. It wasn't just a coincidence... It was his words... His eyes, the way he looked at the things... Those weren't eyes of a merchant that was only worried about his money, or a nobleman that knew nothing about the world other than his own mansion and his precious city... He knew more, much more...

But before they could reach the Crimson Brothers or even before they could continue their conversation, a courier interrupted them, delivering a fancy letter to Mikahiel and an equally fancy letter to Aisha.

The envelop was quite fancy and flashy. It was sealed with a golden wax seal, emblazoned with an intricate sigil, exactly the same sigil as the letter delivered to Mikahiel.
Who could have sent those letters? Aisha didn't knew anyone on the city, nor was she expecting to be contacted by anyone...

As she opened it and her eyes met with the words written with a fancy and flourished calligraphy, Aisha didn't know how to react.
It was a letter from the queen of Hyall... She wanted to make a proposal to her... Until then, it was only a bit shocking, since such an important people was contacting Aisha. What could she want with her? By that proposal she meant that she wanted Aisha to work for her?
But the most shocking part came right after that... The queen invited Aisha for a... ball... complete with formal clothes & everything.

"A ball?!" Aisha said out loud, shocked as she read the letter. She had never been to a ball before. Aisha was genuinely lost and didn't knew how to react to that. Rejecting that invitation would be incredibly rude, and could potentially bring some problems to Aisha. She was aware on how the noblemen wanted things their way and they wanted it right on the moment they asked. She most certainly didn't want to ruin her stay on the city...

"Really? A ball?!" She said to herself, sighing. After a few moments lost on her own thoughts, her head almost exploding trying to find answers to all the questions that rose on her mind without much success, she looked at Mikahiel.

"It seems that the queen sent a letter to you as well... Am I wrong?" Aisha asked, with a forced smile, trying to hide her troubled expression.

"She wants to make me a 'proposal'... Probably she wants to hire me... But she also wants me to go on her ball..." She said, looking to Mikahiel, almost as if she was looking for answers for her problems on his eyes. Even if she didn't say much after that, it was clear that her mind was almost exploding with questions and problems.
Should she go? Should she just politely reject her invitation? Wouldn't that make the queen angry? Did the tailors even make formal dresses to centaurs? Wouldn't it be incredibly difficult and uncomfortable to move around with them? What did the queen possibly might to want with Aisha?
Such questions and many other more flooded her mind, as she looked to Mikahiel.

@Rai
Freyr


After taking care of the last one of the weird shooting plants, Freyr thought that things would now calm down, but the second he felt the ground rumbling, he knew it wouldn't be as easy as he thought. But when he saw the next opponents, his first thought was that the 'Huwana' Darren had was simply a very, very potent hallucinogen. First plants shooting peas, now catapults that fired watermelons and a... a huge corn on the cob on a wagon?

"This is ridiculous!" Freyr thought to himself. But again, it didn't matter how ridiculous the situation was, the pain was very real...

Freyr had no time to waste, the corn was already aiming up, and if it hit him, he would probably break a lot of bones... In the best of the outcomes...
On the other hand, if one of those watermelons hit him in the head, he would probably go unconscious. Something had to be done...

Without many options, Freyr did the only thing he could think of. Instead of running away, he ran towards the corn and the watermelon catapults. Approaching them from the side, Freyr's plan was to use the corn cob as a cover against the other watermelons, so he would have only to deal with a portion of them.

In theory, the plan was simple: He would approach the enemies from the side. Obviously, as he approached, the catapults would try to shoot him, but by the time they started firing towards him, he should be already close enough so the corn cob would made it so the other watermelons that were on its other side weren't able to hit him. That way, he would only have to deal with those on one side. Due to their number, he would focus solely on dodging, since it was simply impossible to do otherwise without risking being hit. After getting close to the giant corn cob wagon, he would use all his speed and momentum in a jump, kicking the corn, which was already aiming up, and try to flip the huge wagon over. With luck, it would take out the other watermelon catapults...

Freyr wasn't happy with the situation. He didn't knew if he could die on that hallucination, but he knew the pain was very real...

"I hope these are the last ones... I'm running out of options on how to deal with them..." He cursed as he started running towards them.

@PaulHaynek



Bast Ragoczy


After reaching the guild, Bast had quite a surprise. Instead of the ruined building he saw a few days earlier, now the guild was fully built, made of solid stone in a dwarvish style. Bast knew the Dwarves, he knew their prowess. The guild was now practically a small fortress. He doubted they would have any problems with it.

The first faces he saw after quickly inspecting the new building were those of Magnus and Bartholomew.

"Oh! So these where you were." Bartholomew said, greeting both of them.

"Hey Bast. I don't recall you returning to the guild yesterday. What happened?" He asked, turning to Bast with a somewhat worried expression.

"Mr. Bartholomew, Mr. Magnus! I apologize for taking so long to return... I had a very... interesting encounter with a certain Lord Araghast..." Bast said, with a mysterious expression.

"It was quite the... interesting encounter... A bit messy, but interesting nonetheless." He said with a dark laugh.


"Anyways, I see that the guild has been rebuilt! I am quite familiar with the Dwarvish craftsmanship! Their works have a very unique style. Practical and durable. Their works surely are things that will outlive any one of us... Well... at least most of us..."
He said, with a treacherous smile as he said the last part.

"So guys. What do you say? Do you have any complaints? Because this is our last chance to have anything changed." Bartholomew asked, looking to him and Magnus after he shown the new guild to them.

"Complaints? By all means no! A dining room, a lounge, an armory and even a bath! And quite the luxurious one! Bartholomew, Magnus, what would you say about commemorating our new guild with a good bottle of wine or whiskey?" He asked, looking to both of them, interested in their answer.

"I can even tell you more about my little... encounter with Araghast and his army of mindless animals and the quest of a foolish boy for revenge." He said, with a treacherous smile.

@PaulHaynek @The Irish Tree
Freyr


Freyr was a bit surprised when he saw Neil getting out, coughing. What was wrong? He hasn't felt any smell yet, and his nose was far more sensitive than Neil, so if it was something that strong, he would already have smelled it. It wasn't long before he started to smell a nice, pleasing fragrance, but other than that he wasn't feeling any other effects.

"It's a pure mellow high, isn't it?" Freyr heard Darren saying, as the sweet fragrance came to his nose.
"But I do get concerned about the monsters." He continued talking, but Freyr was too concentrated to pay attention to what he was saying, it was something about how that they are nothing that serious, but to not let them too close and other things..

So far, he didn't noticed anything wrong with that 'Huwana'. No strange effects, nothing that could be potentially dangerous, at least not until that moment.... Wait! Monsters?

"Monsters? What mons-" Freyr tried to ask, but before he could finish his sentence before his vision got blurred for a second, making him blink a few times. Just as he opened his eyes again, he suddenly was alone in a foggy forest, nowhere near the city or the apothecary.
What was happening? Was he drugged? Was he taken somewhere? A lot of questions came up on his head, but there were more pressing matters to attend, as a green thing hit him on his stomach with full force, almost making him lost his balance.

When he looked to the direction the 'shot' came, he only found a very strange and silly looking plant, bouncing around. He had never seen such strange plant before. Before he could investigate it a little bit better though, the plant quickly shot another pea on his direction, surprising him. Luckily, this time he was prepared, jumping to avoid the shot. The previous shot wasn't lethal, and not enough to incapacitate him, but it surely was painful.

Freyr had his weapons with him, and more and more plants were popping off the ground, all of them shooting at his direction.
Was that the 'monsters' Darren told him about?
Freyr could do only one thing... Fight the strange plants, and so he did. Luckily, he was in his element, a forest. Using his agility and the trees, he easily dodged the shots, shooting back arrows whenever he found a little break between all the shots. Due to the number of plants, it was impossible to keep shooting them continuously amongst the hail of 'bullets', but he still was able to shoot. If things continued on that rhythm, slowly but surely he would be able to take care of the plants.

@PaulHaynek



Bast Ragoczy


Araghast's dark laughter resonated through the camp as the warlord said Bast was free to go. Sure, his soldiers were nothing more than mindless drones. Meat sacks that did only what their beloved commander told them, but that Araghast... His next words would surely spark Bast's interest...

"But let us not kid ourselves. You WILL partake on our petty squabbles and our barbaric, meaningless bloodshed. Sooner or later. After all, did you not just participate in it in your 'exception'? Hehe, I look forward to your next 'exception', magician." He said, after telling his warriors to stand down.

Those words made a dark, mischievous smile appear on Bast's face.
"Interesting... Very, very interesting indeed!" He thought to himself, sheathing his sword cane with a flourished movement as the cards continued spinning around him, albeit in a much slower pace, shielding him from any arrow or surprise attack.

"Oh! And I thought that you were just a mindless mass of muscles just like your soldiers, but it looks like you are a cut above these mindless drones, right?"

"But there are some wrong things in your assumption... I killed him solely because I wanted to... I could easily flee from this battle... But instead I've chosen to stay, and have a bit of fun!" He said, laughing.

"I'm not interested in politics, struggles for power or any other thing you might want to use to justify your actions, no... I'm interested solely on your actions, Mr. Araghast... You've caught my interest, warlord..." He said, looking directly towards Araghast with a dark smile.

"Oh, and about my 'exception'? I forgot to tell you... I am a cultured individual, a gentleman, and I'm proud of being one, but honestly? I have no qualms in killing ten or even one hundred lives in order to attain my goals... You see... I have very specific interests... Secrets, taboo, knowledge, magic... I have no use for money or material possessions..." Bast said, bowing down in a flourished farewell as the cards took him away.

"Oh, but don't worry! I'm not a savage beast... I won't slaughter innocent lives if I have the choice. Of course... that depends on what is at stake..." He said, still looking towards Araghast.

"Hypocrisy? Maybe... But just as you said... This is the way of the world, am I right? You're not mistaken in that... There is no running away from this fact... But the world is much more than what you can see... What people take as 'powerful' and 'precious' pale in comparison to the things they cannot see... Seek knowledge, Araghast. Seek everything that is taboo, everything that is forbidden and you will find the truth, and with it, you will find power. Seek secrets, and you will find me... Whether you will be able to find me or not, only your thirst for knowledge and your determination will tell..." Bast said, turning his back and calmly walking back towards Boreal Port.

"Friends, enemies, allies... I don't care about neither of those things! Warlord Araghast... Keep me entertained, and I'll make sure to be the only one responsible by the end of your act... And I won't let it end prematurely." Bast said, disappearing beneath the clouds with a dark, blood chilling laughter.


"Don't disappoint me, Araghast. The stage is all yours, I wont interfere anymore, at least not for now, instead, I will only watch..."
Bast said, throwing a card on his direction. The card would stop right in front of him, standing up and showing its face, displaying a king. The card was imbued with a beacon type magic. If Araghast discovered that and used it, it didn't matter where Bast was, he would know where Araghast were.

"Use it if you want to talk to me, I'm anxious to see what you will do next..." He shouted as he walked away.

@PaulHaynek
Aisha Najm


Location: Hyall


The more she heard Mikahiel, the more she saw herself on him. He talked acted and saw the world in a similar way as she did. He seemed to have the same free spirit as her. He was a very interesting man, especially because he didn't seem to be looking at her with prejudice or treating her differently because she was a centaur. That was the part that genuinely let her even more surprised. He was treating her like a lady, and not like an... animal.

"Surely I will accompany you to this place. Perhaps this way we can assure neither bumps into anyone else." Aisha heard him saying, making her open a discreet, but kind smile.

"Maybe that was a good thing?" She said, with a chuckle.
"Somehow... I can feel like I can trust you. You have a free soul, just like mine. I feel like you see the world just like I do. Maybe this is what people call 'soulmates'?" She said, giggling without realizing that she had just unintentionally flirted with him.

Before she could continue, the doors flung open as the innkeeper came to their table apologizing by all the confusion caused by the tall nobleman, which she called 'Prince SaDi' with a smile and even offered, or better, brought another kettle of tea without them even accepting it. Aisha could appreciate her politeness and her smile, but she felt like the additional kettle of tea was unnecessary. The beauty of drinking tea wasn't drinking it too much, but appreciating it in the right amount. Luckily, Mikahiel dealt with the situation smoothly, even before Aisha could feel uncomfortable by not drinking the tea the innkeeper brought, letting a generous tip under the napkin.

"It's decided then! First we'll go to the Crimson Brothers, then just after that you'll help me to choose a new body chain for me on that jewelry smith, ok?" She said, excited after he said for her to lead the way.

"I can't help it but feel strange. I'm usually not that talkative... Surely it may not come as a surprise, but people aren't exactly that kind to centaurs... It's weird..." She said, while walking towards the big store.

"Oh, and before you even say something, I wont allow you to pay for the body chain, ok? I also have my pride, you know..." She said, with a chuckle.

Stopping right in front of the huge store, she turned towards Mikahiel.
"So, would you mind telling me a bit about yourself?" She asked.

@Rai


Lyn's help came in a very good time. Thanks to her distraction, Henri was able to land an attack on the orc woman even tired as he was.
As soon as his legs wrapped around the orc woman's neck, Henri grabbed the woman's other arm, making sure she wouldn't hit him. He could feel the woman's muscles tensing up as she tried to escape both his grasp and Lyn's vines, without much success. Even if she was able to rip some of the vines, they quickly grew again around her arm.

The woman's strength was more than Henri expected, but still not enough to get free from his grasp. He didn't know for how long Lyn could keep up with her vines, but he presumed they wouldn't last forever. He had to finish that quickly. But the second that thought came to his mind, he saw with the corner of his eyes something red coming out of Lyn's nose. It was blood. She was probably already close to her limit. Time was running short.

"Shit..." Henri cursed, immediately shifting his weight and pulling the woman's arm to try and throw her on the ground, while simultaneously choking her with his thighs.
As soon as he did that though, he heard a thump sound... Lyn was on her knees, blood coming out from her nose as she struggled to maintain the vines. That was it. The second Lyn lost control of her vines, Henri was certainly dead. The orc woman wouldn't hesitate to cut him with her other machete. He had to finish that on that second, Henri wasn't going to last too much as well... He could already feel an intense muscular pain slowly building up...

"Why it had to be an orc...? Even this woman is as hard as a freaking rock..." Henri thought to himself, as he continued to tighten his grasp on her neck. Indeed, even orc women were heavy, brutish masses of muscles. Luckily they weren't that agile and flexible, but on raw strength, there was hardly any other race that matched their raw, brute strength.

"Just... a bit... more... Hang on Lyn!!" He shouted under his exhausted breath, tensing up his muscles and pressing his legs around the woman's neck almost like a snake in a deadly embrace, before twisting his body with all his strength in a quick, sudden movement, twisting both the woman's arm and her neck backwards in a violent manner.

"Damn... I don't think I'll be able to run for a while after this... Henri thought to himself with an audible groan of pain. Every muscle of his body was aching with pain. He certainly wouldn't be able to run after that. Not on the state he was right now... Not only his muscles, but he was also hungry and thirsty. The effort he was doing right now would probably spend his last reserves of strength...

@Fallenreaper
Naaji


Location: Forest, Kindred territory.

It didn't matter how much Naaji tried to say that, he knew that things would never be like that. He knew better than anyone how it was to loose someone... He saw with his own eyes her mother being slaughtered by those hunters... Her blood, her flesh, her fur, her life... Everything was taken away from her. Taiah's words made him see himself on her. She knew how cruel the humans could be. He experienced that himself.

Taiah's words were unfortunately, true. Most of the kindred had lost someone to hunters... It wasn't only him and Taiah... Just like Taiah said, they took whatever they wanted from them. They respected nothing, they loved nothing. They only came to destroy and kill...

"You are not the only one, Taiah... Maybe it is foolish of my part, but I was always curious about the humans... I believed that there are two type of humans. The normal humans, who come to the forest to do their strange things such as cut trees, hunt a few small animals... and then there are the hunters... Those who come only to kill, destroy and take everything away from us..." Naaji said, gently resting his head on her paws.

"Maybe I'm just foolish... It seems that every time we interact with them, someone close to us pays with blood... My mother was killed, butchered right in front of me for her fur... Maybe that is right... Maybe I'm just being too naïve and thinking that there are good humans around... Even if I only saw humans that weren't hunting me a few times." Naaji said, in a saddened tone.

Naaji was so distracted talking with Taiah that he didn't perceive that before, but there was something very, very wrong in the air... Hunters... They were surrounded by them. Immediately, Naaji stood up in front of Taiah protectively, showing his fangs towards the man that just appeared in front of them.

"Hunters..." Naaji said, looking at the man with an aggressive posture.

"Taiah... He is a hunter... And he is not alone." He said, roaring towards the man, giving a step forward.

"Go away, and take your friends with you. Last warning, otherwise I wont hesitate to kill you." Naaji said, ready to pounce on the man.

"Run Taiah... I wont let someone die in front of me again. Please run, I will try to hold them back." He whispered to her.

@Demonic Angel
Yasha


Yasha was lucky to find a safe and tranquil place to rest. The sounds of battle had completely disappeared, together with the strange foxmen. Under the shadow of two warped trees, the only noises Yasha could hear were the sounds of the forest and small animals. The place she found to hide was so convenient that even with her pale and striking appearance, it was somewhat hard to see her.

She didn't know exactly what happened before, but she could still feel the magic energy inside her, rebelling against her own body. It wasn't nearly as painful as before, but she still could feel the mana trying to get out of control...
Those symptoms, the crystalline, crimson spires and all the destruction... Were that the effects of the so called 'leylines'? Veins of pure, raw mana that ran across the land? They probably resonated with the amount of mana Yasha was gathering herself, making the Leyline break into the surface...

"Ugh... I can't even think straight... " she thought to herself, feeling dizzy and resting her head on the trunk of the tree for a second.

Yasha wasn't able to use any magic in the state she was right now... Now with her magic meridians all messed up, and the flow of mana inside her body looking like it wanted to rip her very being apart... She had to rest and meditate, and by sheer luck, that place was perfect for that. Crossing her legs and sitting under the twin trees, Yasha closed her eyes, diving inside her own self, carefully trying to order her own mana.

After some time, a peculiar noise interrupted her. At first, it sounded like footsteps, they were far away, but they resembled footsteps. Someone that deep within the forest? One of the foxmen maybe?
But as the sound grew nearer, it became clearer and louder. It wasn't footsteps. It was a meaty sound... Almost like slapping or something like that... It was somehow... disgusting, but at the same time it was vaguely familiar...
Pressing her body against the trees in order to hide herself, Yasha patiently waited to see the origin of the sound, after all it was coming directly towards her.

After a brief moment, Yasha was able to discern a slightly familiar shape walking through the forest. It was Lenore, and if Yasha wasn't mistaken, she was in the same situation as her. She was also a strange in that strange land. If she remembered herself well, other than the fact that she was a shoggoth, a fleshy abomination, she seemed to be a pretty normal girl. But still... Yasha trusted Senna, and that happened... She wouldn't make the same mistake again...

Although Yasha wasn't able to conjure bigger spells, due to her magic meridians, that brief meditation was already enough for her to use simple spells like Perfect Unknowable or even Fly, albeit she wasn't able to fly per se, instead only glide a few centimeters around the ground... Which was still faster than running...

Immediately casting those two spells, she waited for Lenore to pass, and started to follow her trying her best to not alarm her. She wanted to know if she could trust Lenore. Yasha wasn't in conditions to fight anyone right now, and anyone who saw her and was even a bit sensitive towards magic would know that, due to the chaotic flow of mana inside her.

Lenore was walking towards the same location where Yasha left a while ago, near the strange boulder portal and the foxmen. It was a risky bet, but Yasha would have to go there sooner or later...

@Lugubrious
Lila Moriarty




@Rai @13org



Lila was still trying to hear something about her family, or even something about the reason behind her being there. With time, she got used to the overwhelming smell of blood. It was quite unusual for her, but after devouring the first glass of blood without even blinking, now she was acting much more like the nobles, giving small sips, drinking it little by little. The smell of blood wasn't that distracting anymore, but even alert as Lila was... She was only hearing the royals having fun and casually chatting, dancing and the music playing... There was nothing noteworthy going on as far as Lila could perceive. At least not until the moment where a Nero royal, perfumed with a rare cologne, came near her, sliding his hand across the table she was and speaking with her with a smooth, charming voice, a

"Excuse me. I can't help but notice your beauty within this crowd. You remind me of a rose growing within the dark. A rare sight indeed. Would you be kind enough to have me for a dance?" The royal said, with a smooth and confident voice. But unlike other royals his voice had a certain... Youthfulness to it.

"I will guide you all the way." He continued, lowering his hand near hers.

Lila didn't know how to react to that. She didn't know how to dance, and nobody never approached her like that. Why her? There were a lot of other royal women on the banquet who were much more accustomed with the royalty, who knew how to use their charm... Lila was nothing like them. She knew how to kill and assassinate, but not how to dance and please... She didn't have the other female royals' charms, their carefully chosen words...

"Amongst all the roses in this garden, why choose the least fragrant one?" she asked, hesitantly turning towards the royal.

"Why choose the only rose that has more thorns than petals? A rose that was created not to love and be loved, to please and be pleased, but only to hurt others with its thorns and then die...?" she asked. slowly getting up.

Lila was indeed curious about that royal... There were many other women there. All of them much more charming than her. What could have that man possibly seen in her that caught his attention?

"I've... never danced before. I... don't know what to do... I've never seen anyone dancing before, or even tried to dance myself..." She said, standing besides the royal, looking down awkwardly and grabbing her dress with the other hand, unsure on how to move and act.
Without her scythe and her weapons, she felt... strange. Almost like she wasn't herself.

"I'm... sorry. I know I shouldn't be here... I'm not as graceful as the other nobles, nor well dressed or wealthy... If you wish to search another pair..." She said, still unsure on what to do. The man's fragrance was so different from hers... He smelled like something precious, like something... beautiful. A smell that was so different from the one Lila was used to... So different from the smell of death...
Why was that man interested on her? She was already so uncomfortable with all that situation... Having that royal nearby her only made her even more uncomfortable.

"But if you aren't really mistaken... If you really wish to take this black rose, full of thorns and cold, stiff petals to dance..." She said, hesitantly allowing him to take her hand.
Freyr


The trip to Ambran was calm and without any noteworthy incident. Neil was indeed a pure and kind boy, he was a good company. His naivety and always cheerful behavior were really refreshing.

Ambran was... a bit different than Freyr had expected... It was a very extravagant town, not just a village. In fact, it could be said that it was almost a city. Merchants, wagons, shops... The almost-city was teeming with people, both buying and selling. Most of them were humans, and only very, very few demi-humans.

The apothecary they were going to see wasn't exactly in the middle of Ambran, not even in one of its more bust streets, instead it was out of the way, not exactly hidden, but it was highly improbable that anyone would pass by the apothecary unless it was specifically searching for it.

After knocking, a cheerful, middle aged alchemist greeted them. The man had almost an juvenile air to his cheerfulness. His smile and his eyes, shining with excitement contrasted with the glasses the man wore. After Neil saying they were from the guild, the alchemist presented himself as Darren.

Darren then proceeded to talk about his discovery, showing them an incense burner with something inside. He seemed to be incredibly excited and confident about his discovery, claiming that his 'Huwana' would make pain go away and bring an incredible sensation of peace, going as far as to describe it as a 'ticket to heaven'.

He seemed to be eager to show them its effects, as he immediately lit the incense burner, letting its fumes fill the room.

"Oh, ah, do you have any questions? Like, are you following so far?" Darren asked, after he lit the incense burner.

"Mr. Darren, right? The only question I have is why the alchemist guild would make such thing illegal. I know a lot about herbs and even poisons, but that is as far as my knowledge goes. This... 'Huwana' Is basically a painkiller, right? Would it be asking too much to know what its made of?" Freyr asked, waiting to smell the fumes.

Darren seemed to have the best intentions, judging by his cheerful smile and his eagerness to show his discovery, so Freyr wasn't that preoccupied that those fumes could be poisonous or make them sleep. Freyr would be able to smell it and even distinguish some ingredients with his enhanced senses. If Darren accepted to tell them what it was made of, Freyr could know if it was safe or not. It was a gamble, but he had no reason to not trust Darren. The man was so happy with his discovery and eager to show them...

@PaulHaynek



Bast Ragoczy


Bast silently listened as Araghast spoke about his reasons... which were exactly as he expected. Without any compassion or mercy, Araghast simply stole everything from Boreal Port, destroyed it and left its survivors and what left from the small city to rot...
He claimed that as a warlord, he should be slaughtering the enemies of Varjo, and bringing glory to the king... But everything he shown until now was just meaningless murder and bloodshed.

Bast really expected he would accept the duel, after all, he was a warlord, and his ego should be quite big judging by the way he spoke acted and the armor he was wearing. But Araghast's next words would soon make Bast's smile to disappear, giving place to a neutral, but surprisingly cold expression.

"...You talk too much." Araghast said, turning his back to Bast, issuing a last order before walking away.

"Kill him."

The warriors immediately surrounded Bast, rushing towards him like beasts, wielding swords, shields and axes. Their number was simply too much to count. Their enraged cries were just like a beast. A warrior wielding a two-handed axe was already close to Bast, and ready to swing that weighty, ungraceful lump of steel towards Bast. The movement was slow and easy to predict, but the other warriors would soon be attacking him.

"Disappointing..." Bast said, raising his cane without even unsheathing it, and with a swift and graceful movement, making the warrior's axe touch the side of his cane as Bast inclined it, redirecting the heavy axe and making it hit the ground as he spun behind the warrior and gave him a slight poke with the end of his cane, taking advantage of his failed charge and putting just enough force to make him lose his balance.

"I see... You are nothing more than uncivilized, ungraceful, barbaric beasts... It seems it was just a waste of time to try and talk with you..." Bast said, unsheathing his cane sword, and making a fluid movement with the sword, almost like if he was conducting an orchestra. Cards started to appear from under his cloak surrounding him in an aura of rapidly spinning cards. The cards cut the air with an incredible speed, making an eerie sound resonate through the camp.

It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time, the cards circled around Bast making waves and beautiful fluid movement, protecting Bast and preventing anyone to get nearby without getting shred by the cards as he continued moving the sword in graceful movements, with the cane part of the sword on the ground.

"Uncivilized beasts like you don't deserve any mercy or compassion. I am against meaningless bloodshed, but I will open an exception today. I will take one life, and one life only in exchange for the boy's life. Honestly, I couldn't care less for Boreal Port. But I took a liking to the boy. I was having such fun seeing his reactions... I was really looking forward the expression he would make after killing a person..." Bast said, making a card appear on his hand and throwing on the warrior with the axe. As soon as the card left his hand, it would start burning with a blue fire. Upon touching the warrior, he would immediately combust in extremely hot flames.

"Hm... I guess that isn't enough of a warning..." Bast said, making some of the cards form a cage around the warrior, encasing him inside a circle of cards.

"This stench... I guess its only fitting to beasts such as yourselves... May this show you to not underestimate me." Bast said, snapping his fingers, making the cards start to glow with the same blue flame, sending torrents of fire inside, hitting the poor warrior.

"Retreat at once. I wish not to partake on your petty squabbles and your barbaric, meaningless bloodshed. Continue, and you I shall repay you in the same coin." Bast said, still with his sword unsheathed forming a protective aura around him. Fighting against all those people at once would be problematic... If that wasn't enough to scare the warriors away, he might have to use his Mystic Tarot Deck...

@PaulHaynek
@PaulHaynek

Paul... Sorry for the delay. My mother was very, very ill. I was the one taking care of her. She just died yesterday, she was buried today. I'm just very, very exhausted RN... Will have my post done tomorrow. I promise
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