Blu

Drakenguard

"Just stay calm and do your best." Saya's last words before she and Shiki had separated echoed through his mind over and over again. For the young dragon, it's easier said than done. Shiki stood there, nearly shaking, as he watched the humans around him practicing their combat prowess on the straw dummies and targets. He recognized some of the weapons that were being used: a sword, a lance, a dagger. However, there was one weapon that he had never seen before. It looked to be a bent piece of wood and metal construction attached with a long piece of string. "Hey, stop standing around like that, Shiki. We're supposed to be practicing." Brenard's voice came from behind him. "Huh? O-Oh right." Shiki responded. Going to the weapon's barrel, he noticed that the familiar weaponry had all been taken and the only thing left is that strange bent wood construct that he was fixated on about earlier. With no other choices, Shiki picked it up and walked over to Brenard. "A bow, huh? I wouldn't have guessed. Oh, didn't you take any arrows?" Brenard asked. "Arrows? What's that?" Shiki asked in reply. Suddenly, a curious look formed on Brenard's face which Shiki quickly mistook for suspicion. "R-Right, of course! Arrows: how could I forget!? Hehe..." Shiki nervously laughed it off. "Crap, that was close. If this human gets too suspicious, I'll be done for." Shiki thought before returning to the weapon barrel. Right next to it was a separate barrel full of quivers - each filled with about ten arrows. Of course, Shiki had no idea if these were arrows or not. Hoping for the best, Shiki grabbed a quiver and attached it to his waist since it looked most appropriate there. "Hey! You can't treat the wyvern like that!" a young feminine voice caught Shiki's attention. With the immediate mention of a "wyvern", Shiki couldn't help but see what it was about. Over near the stables in Training Area One, a young woman with green hair was confronting a young man with curly black hair who is standing next to a submissive wyvern. The wyvern looks to be fearful of the male human. The girl with green hair looked angry at the other human. "Someone like you is not fit to be part of the Wyvern Corps!" she fiercely scolded. "Tch. What's it to you? Who cares how I treat it? It's a tool for battle. Nothing more, nothing less." the other human replied rather arrogantly. "You know why dragons no longer exist yet wyverns remain? It's because wyverns are obedient. They know who the superior being is. I'm glad dragons were eliminated. They were such useless creatures. Unlike wyverns who exist for humans to use - not to pamper. See?" he explained before putting his foot on the wyverns head nonchalantly. Seeing that, the girl balled her hands into fists; she even looked like she was about to hit the man. "Get your dirty foot off of him!" Suddenly, the man was pushed into the stable behind him by Shiki who had ran up to him once he saw what the man did. Shiki looked quite angry. If there is one thing he couldn't tolerate, it is hearing a human insulting dragons or wyverns. It reminded him just who exactly the enemy is and why they needed to be eliminated. The girl looked at Shiki in surprise but he didn't notice her as he was too busy staring down the other human. The green-haired girl turned her attention back onto the man as well. "Don't you talk about dragons or wyverns like you know anything about them! We wrongly judged dragons based on a few bad ones but there are still good dragons out there! Just like the one who protected me!" the girl stated. Hearing what she had just said, Shiki looked to her with widened eyes. "S-She encountered... a dragon...!?" Shiki thought. Suddenly, the loud alarm of war horns reverberated throughout the Wall and Atland. The citizens of Atland, hearing the alarm, proceeded to retreat to their homes. Amazingly, they were rather calm about it. Then, a Wallguard came rushing into Training Area One. "Everybody listen up! A goblin force of five-hundred strong is heading this way to Atland! This is a call to arms! All of you here wishing to be part of the Wallguards are now asked to prove just that! Everyone: prepare for battle!" the Wallguard rallied and is answered by a resounding battle cry. It was time for the recruits to prove their bravery in the field of battle. The invading force is drawing ever near. Now was the time to gear up and head to their respective posts. At the central gate, hundreds of Wallguards belonging to the Assault Troops and the Magic Brigade will gather in preparation to tackle the enemy force on foot. Converging atop the Wall is the Archer Squadron with their bows and arrows and siege weapons. Finally, soaring overhead are the Wallguards of the Wyvern Corps. At Training Area Two, the mage recruits were also given the same message: to prepare for the invasion. Dorian is to lead the new recruits into combat. The central gate awaits them. Back at Training Area One, the green-haired girl looked to Shiki after the situation had been explained to them. "Well, you heard the man. It's time to gear up for battle!" she excitedly said before rushing off to prepare herself. Shiki noticed that Brenard also left. It looks like he has no choice but to ready himself as well even though his mind was occupied at the moment. At the medical tents, Alere was being healed by professional Wallguard mages. They would do a better job than Elise who, while also skilled in her own right, possesses a more varied arsenal. She was there with Mira and Rakanishu, the leader of the small goblin unit who had been captured earlier. Captain Gungneer was also there to get a report of the situation. Of course, he had already heard the essential message which was why he sent word for everyone to prepare for battle. "So the green bastards assembled a small army, huh? Not bad." the captain said rather calmly. "Mira, lock this ugly son of a bitch up then prepare your wyvern for battle. We'll have an interrogator extract the information we need out of him later." Gungneer stated. "Yes, Sir!" Mira replied before dragging the goblin off. Gungneer looked to Elise. "Missy, you stay here, got it? Normally, I'd put you to work but seeing as how you're in no condition to be exerting yourself, you just have to keep Alere company." Gungneer stated. He then walked towards the tent's entrance. "Well, I gotta go. A Wallguard's duty is on the field of battle regardless of rank," a grin then came onto the captain's face, "and that's the way it's supposed to be." he finished while looking fondly at his giant battle axe. Half an hour left before the invading force arrives at the Wall...

Drakenguard

Grey, I left it vague so you can come up with something for your post so do as you please.

Drakenguard

I've posted as well. Anyways, I'm afraid I'll have to drop GodOfChaos seeing as how he's been pretty much inactive. I'll give Empath the open spot.

Drakenguard

Believing that an opportunity had opened up to them to infiltrate the capital without any difficulty, Saya forged on ahead, with Shiki in tow, to greet the bespectacled human from before. Once she reached him, she brought up the "Wallguards" in hopes of extracting more information from the unknowing young man. "Yup. That's what I'm here." he said in direct response to Saya's question. Pushing his glasses up, a glint could be seen in his right eye. "Ever since I was little, I had always admired the Wallguards. They've kept Atland safe from invasions ever since the end of the Extinction War. It's a cause I'll proudly sign up for." he explained. Hearing the words "Extinction War" caused Shiki to balled his hands into fists. It reminded him exactly of why this mission of theirs is so important. The evil humans have to be stopped if dragons are to once again allow to freely live above ground. Unfortunately, the bespectacled human didn't provide much information before the three of them reached their destination: Training Area One. It is a big dirt field without a single blade in grass in sight. Straw dummies and targets are placed strategically within the area. Northwest of the area is a path leading into the actual city grounds. The group that arrived here which includes Shiki and Saya as well were prompted to stand at the center of the field. "By the way, before I forget, I'm Brenard. It's nice to meet the two of you." the bespectacled human introduced himself. Shiki was reluctant to say anything but felt that he needed to join on the conversation and not just let his sister do all their work for them. "I-I'm Shiki. This is my broo-" Shiki immediately stopped himself. "T-This is my sister, Saya." he managed to correct. It was still clear that the young dragon is nervous in the presence of so many humans. Whether Saya felt the same is a mystery. If she did, she hides it well. Fortunately, Brenard took no suspicion to Shiki's near stumble; he simply nodded smilingly in response to their introduction. Before they could continue their conversation, two people arrived at the area and walked in front of the group. One was a man wearing red armor and had a serious scar on his cheek. He is accompanied by a young man with unkempt, flaxen hair who had a pretty intimidating stare. "Listen up, lasses!" the older human began. "Here, at Training Area One, Lieutenant Dorian Starkkewolfe and I, Captain Mervas Gungneer, are to test your aptitude to see just what division each one of you belongs in! Now, first order of business: those with the capability of using magic, you will go with Lt. Dorian to Training Area Two to run the special magic course. The rest of you lot will stay here with me." Gungneer then looked to Dorian. "Go ahead and weed out the weak." he directed. Shiki looked to Saya. "You can use magic, right? Does that mean... we'll be separated now?" Shiki asked. It may be best to conform to the human's directions for now as to not arouse any suspicion. Besides, if Saya decides to stay here with Shiki, who knows what sort of plans the human may have. Best to go with the route most suited to her talents. [Outskirt Forest] Alere was finally waking up. He had sustained injuries that caused major blood loss, enough so that it resulted in him passing out. So what happened afterwards? Did the party managed to escape? Did they rescue the slave girl? Were there any casualties on their part? Fortunately, they party did managed to escape but... Alere's first sight as he awakens is the slave girl who appears to be using magic to heal his more serious injuries. The two of them were riding on Raum while riding just beside them is Mira and her wyvern. "Oh, you're finally awake. Thank goodness..." the slave girl sighed in relief. "Hey, try to take it easy, Alere, Sir." Mira told her superior as if she was giving him an order almost. "You're no longer in any immediate danger but we have to get you back to Atland, quick." she explained. The slave girl was quiet; sadness apparent on her expression. Mira looked at her and sighed. "It's not your fault, you know..." Mira told her. The slave girl nodded in acknowledgement but she still appeared sad. Mira looked to Alere once more. "Quince, his wyvern, and Rei were captured by the goblin forces. They stayed back to create a distraction for us to escape." Mira explained. Looking up, it was still yet to be dark. It seems all of that happened in a relatively short period of time. The goblins were behind but not by much so it's imperative that they reached Atland to warn the Wallguards of the incoming invasion. Fortunately, it is also known that the goblins prefer to keep humans they captured as slaves rather than outright kill them so the chances are high that Quince and Rei are still alive. A wyvern would fetch good money for the goblins too. In any case, the slave girl finally decided to speak again. "I-I'm Elise." she introduced. Mira gave a weak smile. "I'm Mira. I'm glad we rescued you. Without your healing magic, I'm not sure what would've happened to Alere." Suddenly, both Raum and Mira's wyvern stopped and began to growl. They were warning about something up ahead. Mira took out a telescope to scan the upcoming part of the forest. "There's a small goblin unit up ahead. There's four of them in total." Mira reported. "We can't fly. Maybe we should find an alternative route? But... this is the fastest route to Atland..." Mira said, letting her sentence trail off. They may have to engage the enemy.

Drakenguard

Empath, I might be if one of my current participants drops out or is dropped. But I have no idea yet. If you'd like, I could get back to you about an open spot via PM. I had to PM Shinigami and GodOfChaos about their inactivity. If I don't get a response tomorrow, I'll continue the story and I'll have to drop GodOfChaos.

Drakenguard

Shiki listened attentively as Saya described the path they needed to take to get to Atland. She then mentioned she smelled the river nearby that they could follow. Saya grabbed her brother's hand and took off in its direction. Shiki also caught a whiff of the unique river smell; it was his first time. "Wow... That smells amazing." Shiki thought. To the young dragon, the surface river smelled so clean - there was a crispness to it. Rivers that flow underground smelled much darker and more earthy. It was quite the new experience. He can only imagined what the surface river water tastes like. After a little time has passed, Saya let go of Shiki's hand in order to put the map away. This allowed the young dragon to scan his environment for a bit. Everywhere he looked was a new experience - a new memory. The "new" types of flora and fauna, the sights, sounds, and smells almost gave Shiki a sensory overload. Saya then cautioned Shiki to be careful of their new environment. Shiki nodded and smiled. "So this is what 'daytime' is like. We never got to experience 'day' and 'night' properly living in Drakehaven." Shiki remarked. It's true. While the concepts of "day" and "night" still existed underground, neither Shiki nor Saya knew what they truly are until now. As the early morning passed, noon came and, then, afternoon. Shiki and Saya followed the river diligently while taking in the new sights and smells along the way. They then arrived at the forest on the outskirts of Atland. Fortunately, there was a crossroad sign that pointed them in the right path to their destination. After just a bit more of a walk, they passed the forest and arrived at the human capital of Atland. There, they are greeted to a most alarming sight: humans. Shiki quickly became unnerved. "Th-Those are humans... right?" Shiki asked his sister; a bit of fear was in his voice. There were a lot of them - humans. Of course that is to be expected of the human capital. What's stranger is that a large assembly of humans were gathered at one part of the gargantuan wall that surrounded the capital. And the wall really was gargantuan. It dwarfed any dragon Shiki has ever seen and that includes Draken-King Deidreig. Atop of the seventy-foot-or-so wall are more humans. They all dressed in similar uniforms and carried weapons. The curious dragons decided to investigate the gathering taking place. After all, the best way to infiltrate human society is to socialize with other humans. To the nervous Shiki, however, it will be a daunting task. "Welcome to the Wallguards. Go on ahead and report to Training Area One" a uniformed human told another human while handing him a small map of the Wall. Shiki gave Saya a look of bewilderment concerning the human gathering. Just what are these humans doing exactly? "Hey are you guys here to sign up for the Wallguards too?" the voice of a young man emanated from behind Shiki and Saya. The voice caused Shiki to jump out of surprise. Turning around, the two dragons see a bespectacled young man with a shaved head and a friendly smile on his face; he looks to be around their age. "H-H-Human..." Shiki muttered fearfully. "Hmm? Did you say something?" the glasses-wearing human asked. "Alright, it's getting late and we can't waste any more time jotting down everyone's name. Go ahead and grab a map and head to Training Area One, recruits." the uniformed human from earlier announced to everyone gathered here. "Oh, I guess we should get going before they close the gates." the glasses-wearing human told Shiki and Saya before grabbing a map and heading inside Atland. Shiki, once again, looked to Saya. "What should we do?" he asked. [Outskirt Forest] After hearing Alere's report, Quince looked to the sky. He noticed the same thing too: that there isn't much daylight left. "We've been out here this long?" Quince asked no one in particular. Mira smiled. "I guess we didn't really notice." "Yeah, you're right. I'm having so much fun scouting that I sorta forgot about everything else. It's okay. Mags needed the exercise, don't you, boy?" Quince asked his wyvern as he pat it lovingly on its side. The wyvern responded with a satisfied purr. Quince grabbed hold of his shell necklace once more. "Okay, you guys keep scouting this area. Mira and I will go ahead and find a suitable campsite-" "Quince, watch out!" Mira shouted before rushing towards Quince and using her wyvern to push both him and his wyvern aside. Suddenly, a huge net came crashing into Mira and her wyvern, sending both of them towards the forest floor below. "Mira!" Quince shouted out in concern. Quickly looking back, he sees another net heading towards him. Working quickly, Quince maneuvered his wyvern out of harm's way. He knew exactly what was happening: a goblin ambush. Those nets are specially designed to withstand the varied arsenal a wyvern possesses. However, the more alarming issue here is that none of the party's wyverns could sniff out the goblins. In any case, to avoid more nets, Quince retreats to the ground to regroup with the rest of the party. Down below, the goblins arrive in troves; all of them ready to defeat and capture the party of Wallguards. The party was completely surrounded. Mira, herself, was still tangled in the net with her wyvern. The net was weighed down by heavy rocks. "Hahaha! Stupid humans! You couldn't sniff us out, can ya!? Now you're cornered like mice!" one goblin, most likely the captain of the bunch, boasted. "I'm sorry... They made me... Please, you have to help me!" a chained young woman led by a goblin told the party. "Shaddap, filthy human!" the goblin scolded before punching her in the stomach and causing her to fall onto her knees. "D-Damn it. I get it..." Rei, the mage of the party, started. "The girl's a mage and they forced her to use magic to mask their scent. That's why none of the wyverns could detect them." he explained. "Enough talk! Capture them alive! They'll make great slaves! But remember: a hand or leg missing isn't such a big deal, hahaha!" the goblin captain bellowed.

Drakenguard

GodOfChaos, we're still waiting on a post from you. I'll go ahead and move the story along later on in the day if there still isn't a post.

Drakenguard

IC has been posted and Season 1 Information has been posted on my 2nd OOC post. If anyone needs help on their first post, don't be afraid to ask.

Drakenguard

Shinigami, yup, it's okay to have water and ice. It's accepted. Go ahead and paste it into "Characters". I haven't heard from Grey in a while but I'm gonna go ahead and start working on the first IC post.

Drakenguard

Good to hear, Shinigami. I can't wait to see it :)