Riven Wight

Of Men and Elves (Siaya-Dragalorn x AutumnFrost)

The buzzing chaos of conversations filled the town streets as merchants tried to sell their wares, and buyers negotiated boisterously over prices. The light of the late spring sun filtered lazily through the gaps in the clouds above, casting its heavenly golden streams to the earth. Bodies of the young and old alike crowded together, a few children laughing and chasing each other through the cobbled streets.
Ryathane scowled and drew the hood of his scarf tighter around his face. It just had to be market day. Despite the crowds, he wove his way expertly between the shoppers.
From beneath the shadow of his hood, his eyes locked on a pompous-looking man dressed in richly colored clothes finer than most others around him. He stood a few yards away in front of a booth, haggling with a woman selling jewelry, trying to talk her down to an unreasonably low price.
Ryathane snorted in disapproval and slunk closer. He nonchalantly brushed against the man, his gloved hand slipping easily in and out of one of the man’s pocket.
“Watch it, boy!” the man snarled, turning, but the boy had already disappeared into the crowd.
The eighteen-year-old ducked into a mostly deserted alleyway. With his back to the crowded street, he looked to the velvet pouch now in his hand. A smug smile spread over his face at the satisfying weight of coins inside. Pausing, he dumped five silver and two gold coins from the pouch to his hand, then transferred them into the leather pouch hanging around his belt.
Reaching the end of the alley, he stopped, watching people pass by in the town square beyond. A church, its Gothic spires rising above the other buildings, stood opposite him, a grand brick staircase leading to the heavy-looking double doors.
Making his way quickly across the square, he slipped the velvet pouch onto the edge of a stand piled high with vegetables, then ascended the steps to the church. He reached toward one of the cast iron handles on the doors, but stopped as a poster tacked viciously to the stone beside it caught his attention.
The words, “Wanted by Order of the King” stood out on the thick parchment. Beneath it, a skilled artist had drawn a picture of an elf, his ears pointed and an evil gleam in his uncolored eyes. Ryathane made a choking sound as he read the reward written below in a calligraphic hand: 20,000 gold coins.
He knew well of the hatred some still held for these fantasized creatures, but no one had seen them since long before his birth. To seek them out and offer such a generous reward…
Looks like the king’s finally lost it, he thought, tearing the page from the wall and fingering the rough parchment. With a shake of his head, he folded the parchment and stuffed it absently in his pouch.
Turning back to the church doors, he opened one side just enough for him to slip by. He closed it as quietly as he could, the thud of it shutting echoing over the domed stone ceiling. The sounds of the people outside vanished, leaving only a reverent, tangible silence.
Wooden pews lined both sides of the glittering granite aisle. Light filtered in through stained glass windows, casting brilliant rainbow hews over the sanctuary.
Ryathane stepped aside as a woman in a plain dress went to the door. They shared a quick nod in greeting before the woman left. With the woman gone, he looked around, searching, until his gaze fell upon a single man with graying hair kneeling at one of the pews, his head bowed.
He strode toward the man, the slight heels on his tall boots clicking against the stone. Sliding into the only occupied pew, he sat a couple feet from the man, the sheath of the short sword at his waste tapping against the wood. He slouched in the pew, draped his arms atop the pew’s back, and waited.
The pudgy man glanced over, then took a double take. He stood and stepped back. “Can I help you?”
“I was told I’d find you here,” the boy answered, his voice hushed. He took in the man’s crooked nose and the worry lines etched onto his face. “I hear you’ve got a manticore problem, mayor.”
The man squared his jaw as he regarded Ryathane. “Have you? And who might you be?”
“Shade Thatcher.” Ryathane placed his legs on the top of the pew in front of him and crossed them at the ankles.
The man’s eyes narrowed. “Why does that name sound familiar?”
“I get around.” He stretched, tilting his head back and letting his hood fall from his strong, angular face. “If you want that thing gone, I’d be happy to help. As long as the reward for its head still stands.” He looked to the mayor, the bangs of his messy hair brushing sideways over his eyebrows.
The man blinked, startled at the boy’s eyes as the light of one of the windows sparked in Ryathane’s one red and one blue iris.
“I’ve heard of you,” the mayor said slowly.
“Then that should make this go smoothly.” Ryathane stood, the mayor an inch shorter than him.
The mayor took another step back, his hand going to the hilt of a dagger at his belt.
Ryathane rolled his eyes. “Does the reward still stand or not?”
“Yes.”
“How many plan on hunting for it tonight?”
“A dozen men are preparing as we speak.”
“Call off their search. They’ll only get in my way.”
The mayor snorted. “You’re just a boy! What makes you think you could do better than a dozen of my trained men?”
Ryathane raised his eyebrows. “Apparently you didn’t listen to what you heard.”
Before the mayor had time to react, Ryathane jumped onto the seat of the pew, swept behind the mayor, drew the man’s dagger from beneath his grasp, and placed the flat of the blade against the mayor’s throat.
“Put me in a room alone with your men, mayor, and I’ll show you,” he whispered in the mayor’s ear. “Or you could just leave the manticore to me.”
He quickly placed the mayor’s dagger back in its sheath and jumped away as the man spun around, fear in the mayor’s eyes as he redrew his dagger.
Ryathane crossed his arms loosely and smirked. “Call off your men and give me two nights. You’ll get your manticore, I’ll get my pay, and your people will live happily ever after. It’s a win-win situation. Now put that,” he nodded to the dagger, “away before you hurt yourself.”
The mayor glared at him for a moment, the boy returning his look with amusement.
“Fine,” the mayor said grudgingly. “You’ve got two days, Mr. Thatcher. I want that manticore eradicated.”
“It will be.” Ryathane gave a mocking half-bow, turned on his heels, and strode confidently from the church, the ends of his coat flaring slightly around his knees.

The dragon is here

*A woman with long, black hair and dressed similarly to the man circles him, looking him over.* A good day to you, Serilith, and welcome. I am Siaya, a woman of many roleplaying faces.

The Collector (2) [Closed]

@TheWindel

Looking forward to it! :-)

(No pun intended.)

Northwood Academy

@Treepuncher121
Never heard of that until now, but I could totally see him as an evil character in something horror themed.

@Kirah and @kittyluna45
Ugh. I really, REALLY hope things turn out okay! I'll keep you in my prayers!

Northwood Academy

@Treepuncher121
Kiddo's kinda creepy. I like him! ^.^

Northwood Academy

@Kirah
Ah. Makes sense. Still happy with the arrangement, though. :-)

Northwood Academy

Opps put a sophomore with a senior. All well I'm not perfect.

@Kirah

Hey, no complaints here! Is there something wrong with that?

Northwood Academy

Zaylin and Athena

Zaylin managed to find the dorm room without mishap. Hoping she had arrived first, she paused in front of the heavy-looking door, sat a suitcase down again, pulled her key from her pocket, then unlocked the door.
The empty room was basically cut in half and created mirror images of each other. On either side, a canopy bed, mirrored dresser, a desk built into the wall, and a closet took up most of the space, the plush-looking blankets on the beds made up neatly. A window sat in the middle of the space between the two beds, burgundy curtains drawn over the glass and the evening sun shining through from outside.
“Sweet,” she muttered, closing the door behind her, but leaving it slightly ajar for her roommate.
Her roommate. Zaylin took a deep breath at the thought of sharing a dorm with someone for the duration of the school year.
It’ll be fine, she reassured herself, going to the bed and tossing her suitcases on top of the covers, the relative silence of the room gratefully welcomed. She quickly began to unpack, placing a few arcane looking books and a jeweled jewelry box on the dresser.
When she finished, wishing she had brought some sort of posters to put up to give it more of a personal flare, she tossed the suitcases under the bad, grabbed a sketchbook and pencil from the desk, and sat down cross-legged on the end of her bed. Placing the spiral-bound sketchbook on her lap, she flipped through the pages filled with detailed drawings, each one dated.
She placed her pencil to paper, ready to write the date and begin a sketch of the school, when she heard someone outside the door. She looked up as an older, brown-haired girl dressed in similar colors as Zaylin entered with a cheerful introduction.
She looked at Athena and cocked her head as she took in the girl’s appearance. Something about her seemed intriguing, though she couldn’t quite place what, no matter how hard she tried to figure it out. After a short moment, she returned Athena’s smile, realizing she should probably answer before the worry she saw in the girl’s eyes worsened. She could ponder later.
Athena. Greek goddess of wisdom. I like it.” Zaylin placed the sketchbook on the bed, the blank page facing up, as Athena sighed in relief.
“Thank you.” Athena entered the room, tugging her stuff inside with her.
Zaylin stood, looking the girl in the eye as she offered a leisurely hand to Athena. “The name’s Zaylin. Friends call me Zay. Just transferred for my sophomore year.”
“Zay… I like that! It’s easy to remember which is a plus. I’m quite terrible with names. But nonetheless, welcome to the Academy! I’m a senior here, and in the dance team so I apologize before hand for any sporadic dancing I might do here.” Athena laughed.
Zaylin returned her laughter with a smile. “I have dance, too. Not sure if it’s at the same time, but it’s on my schedule.”
“You’ve got dance?!” Athena’s brows rose in surprise. “No way, that’s great! Hopefully you’ll be with me.”
As Athena went to her bed, sat her stuff down and plopped down on the fluffy comforter, Zaylin returned to the edge of her bed, thankful that the girl seemed nice enough so far. Picking up her sketchbook, she looked over when Athena spoke again.
“Beautiful rooms, huh? I had some stuff sent a week in advanced so I have to check both closets later, if you don’t mind. I don’t know where they put it.”
“Yeah, they really are. I didn’t see any packages or anything in my closet, but I’ll double check if you want.” Zaylin wrote the date on the upper corner of the page of her sketchbook. “I have a couple packages on the way, too. Kind of sent them late, though. Procrastinated a little too long.”
“How are you liking this place so far? Have you met people yet?”
“This place is gorgeous! I’ve never seen anything like it.” Zaylin smiled at the thought as she began to sketch the general shape of the main building, adding a heavier Gothic flare to the architecture. She felt Athena’s gaze on her as she drew, but didn’t look up, her roommate’s content smile going unnoticed. “Only officially met a couple people so far. So, where’re you from? How’ve you liked going here?”
"Oh. Um. I'm not exactly from a certain place. I've been moving around a lot my whole life so it's difficult to say. I lived a large portion of it in South America though. My mom works for this company that's always sending her on business trips. How about yourself? How'd you hear about this place? My mom found out through a colleague of hers and immediately started doing research and calling in favors. I'm glad she did though because it has been a good experience..... Except...."
Zaylin looked up as Athena’s words faltered, the other girl’s expression grave.
"Except last year.... With the whole, uh, death ordeal. I'm sure you'll find out the story's entirety today." Athena frowned slightly, shaking her head.
I wonder if she knew the dead girl? Zaylin thought, but made a mental note to not bring up the recent murder with Athena, no matter how much she wanted to know. She didn’t need to get on her roommate’s bad side.
That’s awesome you got to live in different places, though,” she answered, redirecting the conversation from the gloomy topic. “I actually got an invitation to come here. My grandma went here, and almost died when she found out they wanted to recruit me.” She snorted lightly at the memory. “Didn’t really want to leave my school back in Cali, honestly, but I’d rather take on a raging bull while dressed in red than Gram.”
Athena stood. "I'm actually about to go have a look around the school. Try to find some of my friends. Would you like to come?"
Zaylin glanced to her sketchbook, debating for a second, then placed the pencil on top of it and sat it back on the bed. “Yeah, sure! It’d give me a chance to get used to the school’s layout before tomorrow.
Zaylin stood and gestured to the door with a flourish of her hand. “Lead the way, my friend!”

Northwood Academy

@Kirah
Oh my gosh! I hope everything's alright, and that you feel better soon!

Northwood Academy

@Kirah
Woo! Praise from the GM! :-D

@kittyluna45
*High-fives*