Trash Panda

Wherefore Art Thou? [Summer + Veiana]

The market of Thyra was bustling with activity, as it was every summer. However this year there was a new crowd among the throng. Many of the royals had ventured out from the Inner Hall to join in the activity. They halfheartedly browsed the wares of various vendors, but they were all there for one reason: Gorman prisoners. Word had gotten out that the Thyran knights took captives during the war against Gorm, and they were on their way back to sell them to the royals as slaves. Naturally, the royals responded quickly. Owning a large number of servants reflected wealth and power, and each of them wanted to display their importance to the commoners and to their competitors.

Down the road, horse-drawn carriages bounced along the road leading into the marketplace. They were far from the comfortable, luxurious ones used by the royals. Crudely made of splintering wood and encircled by iron bars, their presence could only mean one thing. The prisoners had arrived. Heads turned one by one as people began to take notice of the carriages, and the crowds parted to let them pass through. The royals pressed in as closely as they could to get a look at the Gorman prisoners crouching behind the bars. Their eyes were lit with greed.

The carriages halted beside the large wooden platform upon which hangings were executed. Today, however, the platform would be used as a stage for the slave auction. The royals crowded at the base and fidgeted impatiently as the prisoners were dragged roughly out of their iron cages and forced to stand in a line along the back of the platform. Their hands were bound with coarse rope that rubbed and left angry red marks on their wrists, and knights were stationed at all the nearby exits. There would be no escape for the Gormans, even if they tried to run.

After all the captives had been organized, one of the knights stepped forward with a scroll. His gaze swept over the audience and he cleared his throat.

“Fellow Thyrans,” he said, projecting his voice loudly, and then paused as the conversations among the royals slowly faded. “We return bearing good news. The war against our enemy, Gorm, will soon be over.” There was an eruption of cheers and applause. “The knights return victorious. We come bearing riches for our king and slaves for the rest of the Inner Hall.” He paused as there was another round of applause. “So without further ado, let’s begin.”

The knight began to call numbers from the scroll he was carrying. One could assume that the Gormans were assigned individual numbers, because each time the knight read one, a prisoner was lead forward by one of the other nearby knights. Then the chaos would begin. Any royal interested in buying the captive would shout out his price until only the highest-paying buyer remained. The newly enslaved prisoner would then be led off the platform to be taken away by his or her master.

During the bustle of activity, no one noticed the short, pudgy man pushing his way through the crowd. He carried a heavy satchel in one hand and a scroll in the other. He shoved his way past the royals to get to the front of the pack. Once there, he peered up at the platform and turned visibly paler. There was only one prisoner left, a young Gorman girl.

“Excuse me,” he began shouting frantically. “Excuse me!”

The knight gave the little man a look of disgust. Who did he think he was to interrupt the bidding? Nevertheless, he gestured for the new arrival to speak.

“My name is Esben,” the man said. His voice was tight was nervousness as all eyes turned on him. “I’m here in place of the King. I-I have proof.” He waved the scroll in the air. “The King’s seal is in here.” He handed it up to the knight, who unfolded in to verify that he was telling the truth. After a moment, the knight nodded in appeasement.

“I also have money,” Esben offered the satchel. The knight took it and opened it up. His eyes grew wide at the number of gold coins inside.

“Well, I assume this means the last prisoner goes to the king,” the knight said with an avaricious grin. The remaining royals grumbled in irritation and started to disperse. The other knight led the remaining captive down from the stage. He gave Esben a scrutinizing look.

“I will accompany you back in case she tries to escape,” he said. There was no question in his voice. “Just looking at you, I don’t think you will be able to restrain her if she runs.”

Esben glanced at the servant girl and nodded, “Well, come on then. The king is waiting.”

They made the trip back in silence, riding in one of the king’s carriages. Esben’s eyes kept wandering back to the Gorman girl. His gaze held a glimmer of sympathy, but the knight didn’t seem to notice it. The castle seemed to grow larger and more imposing as they rode closer. The carriage dropped them off at main portal, and the knight left them there in the confidence that there was enough security in the area to catch the girl if she tried to escape.

“This way,” Esben said softly, climbing the steps to the portal. The king was waiting for them at the top. He looked the Gorman girl over and gave a curt nod.

“You did well, Esben,” he said approvingly. “She will make a fine servant for my son.”

“Thank you, Sire,” Esben puffed his chest out a little at the praise.

“Take her to him now,” the king said. With that, he turned and walked back into the castle.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Esben bowed quickly as his king left and turned to the Gorman girl. “Please come this way to meet your new master.”

Wherefore Art Thou? [Summer + Veiana]

Reposting my CS 'cause why not? Lol


(wearing medieval clothes rather than modern, of course)

Beo

Age: 25

Personality: Haughty and selfish, Beo’s only “friends” are the people required to be around him. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree, though. His father is the same way, expecting everything to be given to him just because of his status. Beo also takes advantage of his royal lineage when dealing with the serfs and commoners of his father’s land, never thinking of the concerns of others. He thinks of everyone else as beneath his concern, which has given him something of a bad reputation in the kingdom.

Other: Beo is an expert at swordplay and has a little-known passion for music.

---

I will start working on my opening post shortly :)

Dragon Roleplay

I'd be interested in this :)
I'm always up for a good dragon rp!

The Hive

Charter said
Sheikarah hasn't made a post in over a month. Not sure if their still active.

Probably not. Coyote, you can go ahead if you'd like :)

The Hive

People who still need to post in the IC:
Sheikarah
Coyote

Try to get something up whenever you have the time

The Hive

"We had better get moving soon. SoNem, you will carry Dovah."

SoNem blinked in surprise at the dragonelle’s suddenly commanding tone. He drew his lip back in something of a snarl. Who made her the boss? She was injured and weak; not in any condition to assume a position of leadership. Nevertheless, he held his tongue and moved to where Dovah was finishing his meal to pick him up.

While he was reluctant to comply, Feneya’s orders were the unarguably rational. Flight was their quickest means to get from point A to point B, and he was probably the most capable dragon to carry Dovah for a great distance.

“I hope you’ve finished eating,” SoNem said as he gripped the drake’s flanks with his sii and hoisted him about a tail-length above the ground, trying to get a feel for his weight. Dovah wasn’t much smaller than him in mass and SoNem had to awkwardly adjust his grip to prevent himself from dropping the drake, but he determined the task was doable.

In the air, he spotted a small group of humans in the distance. They were a fair ways away from the hillside where the dragons resided, but their presence was still unsettling. Could it be a scouting party from the hunters that attack them before? SoNem narrowed his eyes to get a better look. One of the humans looked familiar. He remembered the straggling human from the previous night and matched the two faces in his mind. Yes, this was the same one. But why was he coming back?

SoNem let himself drop back to the ground and released Dovah from his grip.

“There are humans on the horizon,” he announced unceremoniously, spreading his wings to take flight again. “I’m going to find out what they want.” Without waiting for a reply, he took off.

“Wai—” Istatia started, but she was too late. She rattled her scales anxiously and turned to the others. “This isn’t good… If he goes by himself, he’ll probably kill them.” She paddled her saa with nervous energy and focused her eyes on the ground. “Sorry to bother you, lords, but I-I think someone should go with him… Just to make sure he doesn’t do any more harm, you see.”

Istaria briefly flicked her gaze up to the others to gauge their responses, and then lowered it to the ground again. She mentally cursed her master for causing so much trouble in such a short amount of time. She always knew him to be a handful, but this was something else entirely. The trauma from the Queen’s death must have affected him more deeply than she first suspected.

“I-If it’s too much of a bother, I can go instead,” Istaria suggested meekly. She didn’t want to cause these dragons any more of an inconvenience than SoNem already had.

The Hive

Sorry for the wait y'all, I'll have a post up in a few hours :)

EDIT: Posted~

The Hive

Sorry for the lateness. My week ended up being busier than I expected.

I'll post tonight or tomorrow at the latest :)

Empire of the Dead ~

Alyss Dolyss said
Yup, I agree. I like this plan. c:

Okay cool :) How about next Sunday? I'm super busy this week
(It seems like all the birthdays fall in the first week of November XD... I feel like Santa Claus with all the gifts I have to put together)

Empire of the Dead ~

I added my tiny post lol :p Alyss, we could collab at some point if Otto's going to engage Killian in a conversation. It'll be easier than writing up a bunch of little call-and-response posts.