Fetus of the Cranial Womb

cranialwomb @ 2007-12-24T02:31:00

2007-12-24T10:35:43Z

I think that I'm going to disown you, cranialwomb

Too much old crap on here.

Moved over to thedevouring

This year's NaNo is there, so I might as well use it from now on.
Add it if you want to keep up with my ridiculous writing. Aiiiight.

New shit.

2007-07-19T06:57:27Z

Wow, so I utterly failed at NaNoWriMo AGAIN. It's okay, there's always next year... and the year after that... and the year after that, and so on and so forth!

ANYWHO, this is the prologue to some stupid piece of shit that I will write eventually. It started out as a silly-pants sci-fi novel, but considering the turn this prologue took for the ~philosophical~ I think that I have to drastically revamp the idea for the rest of the novel. Anyways, I'm quite pleased with this && the tense change is on purpose! <3

We stood at the top of the hill, shaking with nerves, perspiring with fright. We held hands and I breathed a quiet word of comfort, almost more to myself than to the stoic character I had found myself with. We were two of many, many millions that were unable to save ourselves. It felt strange that we were so alone now, when there were so many others that were doomed to share our fate. He let go of my hand to pull me close- he could feel my unease.

The wind picked up around us, tangling the long brown mass that was my hair. It fluttered into my face, sticking to my recently moistened lips, and obscuring my vision. I pulled it all back with a hair tie and leaned against my lover.

The idea of “growing old” had seemed to escape us; we were not granted the long lives of our forefathers. Youth disappeared faster than a single crystal of salt dissolving into boiling water. Growing up in a war zone had committed us to a life bereft of normalcy. Not even the notion of love was considered normal anymore. Love was a concept long forgotten: it got in the way, it made us emotional, our thoughts were said to be blinded by the irrational. Love was impractical, and thus it had been stamped out.

Marriage existed purely because it was tradition, lawful, easy. Something that had occurred for centuries within the majority of Earth’s communities could not be removed so easily. Instead, marriage became not a union of lovers, but a union of two people looking for mutual gain. One would marry and have children for one’s own personal and familial gain. It almost reminded me of medieval times, arranged marriages, dowries to buy a woman’s right to be with a man; history was truly repeating itself.

I was a “rebel.” I had found love and beauty in literature, and longed to feel as our ancestors had. I had longed to experience romance, and the wonderful excitement and intricacies of true love. I guess you could say that I had found this all with my lover. He was everything, and nothing. For a long time, he was my best kept secret. When I spoke out to my family and the rest of the community, when I preached about the beauty of love, we were shunned. We were outcasts because we weren’t following public order, but it didn’t matter because we had each other, how ever cheesy that sounds.

Now we stand together, witnessing not only our last night together on Earth, but the end of the very Earth itself. As the sun disappears behind the mountains ahead, the sky explodes like it is on fire. Pinks, reds, oranges all mix with the blue hues in a wicked myriad like some twisted rainbow with its roots embedded deep within hell itself.

The wind is blowing harder than before and small white explosions dot the sky. It is obvious to us what is happening, but I wonder about the little villagers who have no access to the daily news. When they look up to the sky, what do they think is happening to them? Do they fear their vengeful God who seeks to strike down those who do not follow His word? Are they going to lie down and accept their fate, or will they plead, and plead for His mercy? Is this exact scenario happening in Vatican City? Surely the Pope would not abandon his post- I know he would accept it as the will of God. He is speaking out to his fellow Catholics, he is telling them not to fear the day of judgement.

Judgement Day, the day of reckoning, has God modernized his “walk through the river of fire?” Are we the heathens, the sinners, who are left behind to die from Satan’s wrath? So maybe those religious zealots had a point, and we really are left behind because we blaspheme every waking moment of our lives. Funny how God’s will changes with the times- once it was sacrilegious to marry if you weren’t in love, and now only a few years later it is completely the opposite. Oh how militaristic our society has become. Well, it’s too late now to accept God into my heart- even if I were able to repent for all of my sins, there’s no rescuing me now. I am left to die on this forsaken planet.

I was quiet for too long, my lover taps me and asks me if I am okay. I tell him not to worry, that I am fine because he is with me and lending me strength. That everything is worth it because I know that we are going through this together.

I look at him and our eyes connect like they have many times before, and I ask him, “Will we find each other again?” I had been told by many a person, ever since I was a child that I was an ‘old soul,’ and that I was wise beyond my years. I always thought that I was just born at the wrong time.

Confused, my lover replies, “But we have each other right now. You are with me.”

I forgive him, I was vague. “In the next life,” I smile. “Will we find each other in our next life?”

“I won’t stop searching until I find you,” he says. “Nothing in the universe will stop me. Any boundary that I can and cannot cross, I will find a way. Any person, any obstacle I come across. I will find a way. And if not the next life, or the next after that, even if it takes a hundred lifetimes, I will find you, my love.”

He has always had such a way with words. I reply to him, “And I will not stop searching until I hold you in my arms once more.” Though our words to each other have always been so clichéd, it couldn’t be helped. It’s almost as if someone turned off the floodgates from brain-to-mouth and the words just fall out like a tiny waterfall from the dam of my cerebrum.

“There is such beauty in destruction.”

I agree. There is nothing more tragic and sincere than the birth of a human, and the death… The brevity of life, the most beautiful thing of all; it is what you make of it. Many do not choose to let themselves find beauty in the world. Beauty hasn’t left, people just haven’t been taking the time to notice it, and now because of that, the world is in shambles.

Am I going to lie down and accept my fate? Do I even have a choice? No.

The explosions are getting closer now, and we can finally hear the small booms that they make. I hope that the end comes quick and is relatively painless, but for some reason I doubt it. I sincerely doubt that I will find beauty in this situation. One explosion hits the ground too close to us, but still many miles away. The ground is engulfed in flames.

The sky is literally falling. I guess they’re stars. Falling meteors, asteroids, space debris, it is all completely alien to us, in the truest sense of the word. We don’t even really know the truth behind it, but we don’t have the time to know. We will never have the chance to know what happened to us.

“I love you,” I say. “We will be together soon.”

“Not soon enough.” I can just barely make out his words as the deafening scream of a falling star heads right for us. He kisses me suddenly with such desperate, passionate abandon and I find myself falling into his arms.

I love you. I love you. I love you. The words are tumbling out of our mouths. I love you. I love-

Pain. Burning, searing pain. White light. Then nothing.

We’ll find each other.

~~~fin

So yeah it's kind of supposed to be a little cheesy. I kind of like it like that. lol. ANYWAYS YEAH, critique the shit out of this crap. It only took me like 4 hours to write/re-write/edit/type up

//NaNoWriMo

2006-11-02T08:31:13Z

Chapter One - Talia the Tomboy
Chapter Two - Two Meetings and a Decision to Act.
Chapter Three - unknownone
Chapter Four - Finally, Some Answers...
Chapter Five - Return to the Ship
Chapter Six - The Ship
Chapter Seven - Brutal Attack
Chapter Eight - unknowntwo

cranialwomb @ 2006-10-29T01:15:00

2006-10-29T08:15:34Z

Stressful.

So I've been planning for ages now for NaNoWriMo.
All of the sudden I want to write sci-fi fantasy. Wtf. I want androids and shiz.
Clearly too much Xenosaga!

I'll just try and avoid throwing them into the mix. The world is too primitive to have silly technology like that.

It's so soon though. Gotta prepare. Get some lined paper.

//NANOWRIMO//

2005-11-22T07:35:21Z

“Jyla!” Celia was running down the street towards the short form of the Lasirus. Her combat boots were hitting the pavement with loud thuds each time, and her trench coat nearly billowed out behind her.

“Huh?” Jyla looked up from a piece of paper she held in her hand. “What?”

The assassin grinned as she reached the pirate’s side. “I’m bringing Sari along, is that okay?”

“On me ship?”

“Yeah. She’ll help out of course, only if it’s okay with you though.”

“I s’pose so. She be needed?”

“Just for… friendship, I suppose. She’s always wanted to see the world.”

Sari smiled extra wide, “I’m strong, and I have a falcon, would it be okay if I brought him too?”

“Hum,” Jyla thought for a moment then replied, “I s’pose so.”

“Excellent!” The two younger girls yelled loudly, together.

“I’ll go get my things,” Sari nodded before running off, back towards her house.

“Be there anythin’ ye want to be gettin’ b’fore we set sail?” Jyla asked, placing a clawed hand on her corseted hip rather awkwardly. Her bat-like wing folded up and stuck out behind her clumsily.

Celia shook her head, causing her long black hair to fall around her face. “I don’t think so.” She thought quickly of anything she might need, but nothing came to mind. “No, nothing. Where are we going next?”

“Adyse, I think.”

“That’s where the Wolfen live, right?”

“Yea. They be wild.”

“Oh come off it, just because they’re not as civilised as those of us who live in Soras or Kembren doesn’t mean they’re wild.”

Jyla laughed heartily, “I know.”

“Let’s go back to the ship then, I told Sari where it was, and she should be along shortly. I understand we are to leave as soon as possible.”

“Aye, we are to be.”

They returned to the ship as Celia had suggested, and Jyla boarded, making sure that everything was running smoothly. Phill was already up in the crow’s nest, and Coresca was helping Morgan raise the anchor. Crew members were running around doing miscellaneous tasks, and altogether it reminded Celia of a book, or a painting, the perfect example of a pirate ship.

As soon as Sari arrived, they boarded the ship. Celia moved her stuff from Jyla’s room in with Sari’s in the spare room while the pirates readied the vessel for the slightly longer trip south to Adyse, the secluded island of Wolfen. When they came out from the room, Celia introduced Sari to those of the crew whose names she remembered, and Sari tied a long rope from Lucian’s jesses to the mast, to allow her falcon to fly freely.

They set sail quickly, and Celia showed her friend around the ship. It took Sari awhile to get her ‘sea legs’ but she adapted fairly well.

Nothing happened that was out of the ordinary, for the first two days. That was until they got stuck in the midst of a giant storm. Rain and thunder, strong winds and turbulent water, they were definitely in for a ride.

“Watch out!” Coresca screamed as a barrel went flying towards Celia. The assassin ducked, narrowly avoiding it and sighed in relief.

“Thanks!” She yelled over the loud wind as she ran to throw loose objects into the hold.

Sari was busy tying down barrels when a huge wave splashed over the side of the ship and hit her, throwing her backwards against the mast. She slumped to the ground, head spinning and only barely conscious. Morgan came running to her, and picked her up gently. He carried her into Jyla’s quarters and laid her on the bed.

“…Lucian…” She muttered softly, shivering. “Get… Lucian.”

Morgan nodded and left her inside. He called up to Phill as he was about to climb down from the crow’s nest. “Make sure the bird comes with you!”

“Alright!” Phill yelled back, coaxing the bird onto his gloved arm. Lucian acquiesced and hopped on, shuffling up to Phill’s shoulder. The Lasirus lookout climbed down quickly and with ease, and when he reached the bottom, he untied Lucian’s leash. He carried the bird into Jyla’s room, and put him down on the desk.

Back outside, things were flying everywhere, the deck was slippery and there was wood and debris everywhere. The sail was flying wildly, untied, and Coresca was busy trying to get it under control.

“Man overboard!” A crew member screamed suddenly, pointing off the starboard side. Celia and Adrian ran over to see who it was, and it was Malachai.

“Malachai!” Celia screamed. “We have to save him!” The boy kept going under, he couldn’t keep himself afloat. Since no one was doing anything, Celia threw off her jacket, kicked off her boots and jumped off the side of the ship.

She prided herself on her many skills, and luckily for her and Malachai, swimming was one of them. She grabbed the boy around his waist and held him afloat long enough for him to cough up the water that he had breathed in, and to actually breathe. Adrian grabbed a rope and tied it to the mast, throwing it over the side.

“Grab the rope, Celia!” His voice was nearly lost in the wind, and Celia could barely see, but she could make out the rope. She grabbed it and pulled herself close to the ship. Malachai looked like he was on the verge of passing out, so Celia placed him on her shoulder.

“You’re going to have to help get us up! He can’t climb up on his own!” She grabbed hold of the rope and pulled herself up, slightly out of the water. It would have been quite a struggle to carry her own body weight up the slippery rope, but with Malachai too, it was nearly impossible.

The next thing she knew, the rope was being hoisted out of the water. She held it tightly, wrapped around her fist, and made sure Malachai was safe in her arms. When the crew finally got Malachai and Celia on board, Jyla was there, nearly in tears. She gathered up the young Lasirus into her arms and held him though the rain continued to beat down upon their heads.

“Jyla, we’ve got to get him warm. Here I’ll take him to your room,” Adrian offered. Jyla nodded, and Adrian scooped up the white furred Lasirus and carried him into Jyla’s room.

The storm seemed like it would never end, and they knew that they were definitely blown off course. They lost a lot of supplies, and thus would be stocking up once they arrived in Adyse. Malachai caught a nasty flu and had to stay in bed until they reached Adyse. Many other crew members caught something small from all the cold and wet they were experiencing, but nothing bad enough to inhibit them from working.

Jyla continued to be ever grateful to Celia, thanking her every time she saw her for the next two days. Celia got irritated quickly by it, but she never said anything. If it made Jyla feel better, then why should she be the one to take that away.

Sari recovered almost immediately, and all she was left with was a nasty cut on her head, and multiple bruises. In fact, none of the crew got away from the storm completely unharmed. There were bruises and cuts and bumps and scratches abound, not to mention plenty of blood.

Even though they were blown off course, they quickly recovered it, and arrived in Adyse merely a day later than they were expected.

“Come here, Ayla, quit playing with that boy. I’ve got a meeting to attend to.” Daron, the Wolfen lord of Adyse called to his daughter.

“Coming Daddy! Bye Kaele,” She hugged him and hesitantly came running over to her father, blonde ringlets bouncing up and down against her back. “But you had a meeting yesterday… Woss this meeting for?”

Daron gathered up Ayla into his arms and kissed her on the nose. “The meeting didn’t happen yesterday, they hadn’t arrived, so we’re having it today. I’m not sure what it’s about, but it’s important. Something to do with Dante.”

“Dante?” She grinned widely, “Did he come too?”

“No, not today.” He squeezed her tighter when she frowned, and began walking back to their large home. Ayla had taken quite a liking to calling it her castle, and that she was the princess, but it was really nothing other than a large stone mansion.

“I want to come to the meeting, Daddy,” She said as Daron let her down. “I like meeting new people.”

He shook his head, “I don’t think so, Ayla, not today. I don’t know the nature of the visit, but I think you’ll be able to meet them before or after. How does that sound?”

“Okay!” The young, nearly eight year old girl seemed satisfied with this answer. She skipped merrily beside her father until they reached the front door. Daron opened it and lead the way inside.

“Lord, the visitors are here to see you, they’re in the antechamber,” the Wolfen maid bowed her head respectfully and took their jackets.

“Thank you Meryl, I’ll be with them in a second. Can you prepare some tea please?” He turned his attention to his daughter and said, “Come along then, if you want to meet them.”

Ayla nearly squealed with excitement and she yelled out, “Kay!”

They walked inside the room and were greeted by three women, one of which was a Lasirus while the other two were human. Ayla got very excited and nervous because she had never seen a Lasirus in person before.

“Hello Lord Daron,” the black haired woman bowed her head. “I am Celia, and I come on behalf of Mayor Dante of Talmora. These two are Sari, and Captain Jyla, my companions.”

“Good evening,” he smiled and placed a hand on the little girl’s shoulder. “This is my daughter Ayla.”

Embarrassed at being introduced by her dad, she blushed and dropped her head so that her massive curls covered her face. “Hi…”

“Hi!” Celia smiled happily, she liked kids.

Daron nodded, “Then, shall the meeting commence? Ayla, run along now.”

The little mint furred girl nodded slowly and disappeared out the door. The three women followed Daron to a different room where they all sat down around a circular table.

“I guess you’re wondering why we’re here, huh?” Celia asked, upon receiving his nod, she continued with the story of events, starting with her being hired, and ending at Aindra.

Daron nodded thoughtfully, “I see… and you say that this situation affects all of us?”

“She controls Takisrax,” Celia said bluntly.

“Oh… well then, that… is certainly an interesting turn of events. Takisrax you say? Castle of the Gods?” He thought for a moment, chin resting in hand. “And the Gods haven’t interfered?”

“Maybe they can’t…” Sari suggested.

Daron sighed heavily. “So you three are going around to get alliances, huh? Adyse doesn’t have a lot to offer, we’re hardly a war-faring island, but we can be strong when needed, and you have our support. Takisrax must not be abused by mortals.”

“Oh, I am so happy. Thank you very much Lord Daron!” Celia said with a smile. Things were turning our far better than she had imagined them to. Of course they left the hardest for last, the Sakans of Arameia were very different from the other races. She had no idea how they were going to respond to Dante’s proposition.

“Thank you for warning us about this. Are you ladies staying on Adyse tonight? My daughter, though she is shy, very much wanted to meet you three and talk to you about your ‘adventure.’”

Celia looked to Jyla for an answer, to which the pirate replied, “Arr, we be staying.”

“Excellent!” Celia exclaimed, “I love kids!”

Daron left and promptly returned with Ayla in tow, walking with her head down and staring at her feet.

TALK TIMEZ

GO TO TOWN AND BUY SUPPLIES TIMEZ

SPLIT GROUPZ

“Hello,” the soft, nearly feminine voice murmured from a heavily cloaked face.

Celia was a bit taken aback and a little way of the figure that had just approached her. She held her bag a little closer to her body and replied, “Hi.”

“You are Celia, correct? The one sent by Dante?”

She nodded slowly, a little weirded out. How did he know who she was? “I am…”

“We’ve heard much about you.”

She gulped, feeling more and more uncomfortable. “We…?”

“Never mind about that now. You will know soon enough. I was hoping to travel with you to Kembren.”

“I would… have to ask Jyla first, after all it is her ship.”

“But are you not the one who was sent by Dante?”

“I am, but she was also sent by him. It is her ship therefore her decision. Of course you’d have to pay, and I don’t know she’d even allow you to, it’s hard to trust someone who won’t even show his face.”

“His…” the figure spoke wistfully to itself, “Hmm, money is not an issue, I have a lot.”

Celia thought for a moment then replied. “I… well, I’ll ask her. Come with me.”

The robed and hooded figure followed Celia silently. It reminded her of some sort of deathbringer and it was slightly unnerving to have it stalking along behind you. She was worried that it might be a Fell, but then she realized that more often than not they did not take on sentient and intelligent forms, and most definitely did not walk on 2 legs.

“Jyla, I, um… This person would like to travel with us to Kembren.” Celia bit her lip nervously. “He just kind of approached me on the street.”

Jyla raised her eyebrows and looked to the figure. “Oh ye? How much ye got?”

“As much as you want, captain,” came the reply.

Sceptically, she said, “Show me your face, and maybe I’ll accept. What’s your name?”

The figure was silent for a moment. “My name is Kel…Kero. Akero.” It pulled the hood slowly away from its head, revealing long, wavy black hair and a beautiful, androgynous face. It had shining green eyes and pouty lips, and Jyla nearly mistook the figure for a girl.

“Heh, ye look harmless, Akero. Why ye be needin’ to hide ye face? Oh well, I don’t need t’ know, s’yer business.” Jyla held out her hand, and Akero shook it. “It be a pleasure t’ meet ye. How’s about ye give me 100 gold, and ye can travel with us.”

Akero nodded, “That sounds fine. When are you leaving?”

“Tomorra mornin’ at daybreak.”

“I’ll be there.”

They said their goodbyes and parted ways, Celia was still a little suspicious, and Jyla felt weird vibes coming from him, but 100 gold was 100 gold: a lot. How could she refuse?

“Takisrax…” Adera sighed. “I remember when it was being built.”

Keirel nodded, “So long ago.”

“I wonder how she figured it out. I thought for sure that it would be safe from mortals’ hands.” Sariel leaned back comfortably into its chair.

“Well, they are fairly clever, those mortals,” Keirel mused.

“But clever enough to decipher the instructions?” Adera asked.

“Speaking of instructions, whose idiot of an idea was that anyways?” Sariel nearly shouted.

“Sariel, you’re right. Clearly if there are instructions written down, no matter how cleverly disguised one thinks it is, it is decipherable.” Keirel sighed. “But what are we to do? Do any of the other Gods know about Mira’s destruction binges?”

Adera nodded, “Yes, we all do, but I don’t know if we can possibly do anything. I mean, we all signed a contract forbidden us from interfering the mortals’ lives anymore.”

“Not like Kelias cares about that,” Keirel mumbled, glancing askance.

“Maybe Kelias can…?” Sariel suggested meekly.

“Are you kidding me? All Kelias ever does is mess around with their minds, and then kiss them. Disgusting habit, that. I do hope punishment is coming.” Adera ran a hand through its long curly blonde locks.

A little disappointed, Sariel replied, “It’s worth a shot… I mean we could always ask…”

“Well, I personally think that if we leave the mortals to their own devices, she’ll surely massacre them…” Adera said, pausing. “But then again, Fate said that that Celia girl is destined… Well, destined for more than being killed by the Fell at Iliriath.”

“Fate said that, huh? That definitely means something…” Keirel bit its lip in thought.

“Maybe Celia will be able to do something about it?” Sariel’s voice was hopeful, but more of a pessimistic, false hopefulness.

“Not much that a mortal can do against someone who is practically a God,” Adera stated honestly.

“A demi-God…” Sariel mused, “A nice name…”

“For something not so nice,” Adera finished.

Keirel looked over at Adera and said, “Maybe if we go down incognito… Talk to the mortals?”

“I suppose we could…” Sariel agreed.

“We should talk to Celia, I think. If Fate regards her, then she must be somehow important, vital to the way the world is to be played out,” stated Adera.

“You know, I kind of hope we get to her first. Who knows how many other Gods will think of this…” Keirel muttered softly.

Adera, in response, shook her head. “Only my siblings heard Fate.”

“That doesn’t mean they don’t know what’s going on. I’m sure they’re all paying as much attention as we are… and Kelias… well Kelias is already planning on returning to Kestinore. For what, I don’t know.” Sariel wore a dejected look upon its face.

Keirel laughed, “Probably to go kiss more mortals.”

“One can never know what Kelias is up to though. There’s more to Kelias than meets the eye…” Adera said wistfully.

“Yeah, tricky bastard,” Sariel agreed, a grin now upon its face.

“Shall we then?” Adera asked, still smiling.

“You want to go already?” Sariel replied with another question.

“Why not?” Keirel shrugged happily.

//NANOWRIMO//

2005-11-14T08:08:54Z

The next day started much like the last, Jyla had a hangover, and Celia was, for the most part, fine. The biggest difference was that Jyla refused to return to bed. She said that because there were only a few hours left until they reached Aindra, she wanted to be awake and coherent. She drank a lot of water, and said with a jealous frown, “Ye must have a stomach a’ steel.”

Breakfast on this day was an oatmeal of sorts, which wasn’t as bad as Celia had assumed it would be. Time went by much more quickly, and it wasn’t long before the island had grown twice the size it had been the night before. The biggest grin never left Celia’s face.

They arrived, and Celia started to get antsy. The crew was taking far too long to bring the ship in, or taking too long to lower the anchor, or let down the plank, she nearly screamed. So when she finally got off, she ran as fast as she could to where she remembered Sari’s house to be. She knocked, and as soon as Sari opened the door, the assassin threw herself at her in a loving embrace.

“You…I … what? You’re here sooner than I expected you to be! You… didn’t reply to my letter…” Sari’s voice was caught, muffled in Celia’s trench coat.

Holding her tighter, Celia replied, “I know, I’m sorry. We were sent on a mission of sorts. I missed you so much, so I convinced Jyla to go to Aindra first.”

“A mission!? Come in and tell me about it.” She smiled broadly, and pulled away from the embrace, leaving her friend into her house.

“Oh… it’s been too long, Sari. Far too long. Oh! Lucian, hello to you too.” A large falcon had swooped down put of nowhere and landed on Celia’s shoulder, nipping her ear affectionately.

“You know he’s missed you…”

“I can tell!” Celia laughed as she gently stroked Lucian’s unhooded head. Sari didn’t believe that forcing a falcon into blindness by making it wear a hood made it a good hunter. Of course because of this, Lucian wasn’t quite as bloodthirsty and wild as most other falconers would have liked, but Sari didn’t mind.

Celia sat down on the couch while Sari fetched drinks and snacks from the kitchen. When she returned she sat down beside Sari and placed their drinks on the table.

“So, what is this mission you’ve been sent on. Why’d you have to come to Aindra?” Sari asked, taking a sip of her tea.

“Well,” Celia paused, “I guess I’ll explain everything so it will make more sense. There’s this woman named Mira, or something, and she was the one who sent the beasts that destroyed Iliriath. I looked for survivors but it seems that only Corin and I did. While I was searching, I met the pirate, Jyla, captain of the Lady Serendipity. In short, we saved each other’s lives and she brought me to Talmora. Dante hired us to go around the world to rally support against Mira.”

Listening intently the whole time, Sari nodded along. “Wow. That is… that’s very strange. I’m assuming you guys will be wanting a conference with Kirei, Aleria and Draco too then?”

“Yeah, that’d be good. Maybe tomorrow though, I want to catch up with you.”

“Okay good. I assume you’re staying the night then?”

“Of course. I think I have to go back and… collect the pirates. Make sure they’re not getting into too much trouble.”

“Heh, they sound like an interesting bunch. I’d like to meet them.”

“You will, but do come along with me, you can help me round them up.”

They both shared a laugh and went to the door. Sari locked it, and they headed out to the dock, where Celia had previously left Jyla and her crew. When they arrived, Celia hastily called Jyla over.

“Jyla, this is Sari, my friend. I’ll be staying with her tonight, and tomorrow she’ll get us an audience with the leaders of this place. You guys are staying at the Brahms Inn.”

“Hello, Captain Jyla.”

“Hello.”

Grinning, Celia said, “Jyla, make yourselves at home. I’m going to spend the rest of the day with Sari.”

“Arr, alright.” Jyla did smile though, and she returned to her crew.

Celia linked her arm with Sari’s and smiled widely. “It’s been a few years. Shall we take a stroll?”

“Oh! Of course, milady.” Sari bowed awkwardly, and the two burst out into laughter.

“Come along then!” Celia exclaimed as she gently tugged on her friend’s arm. “Show me around the town.”

They wandered around for a few hours, never leaving each other’s side. There weren’t many new things for Celia to see, but she didn’t mind. Afterwards, they returned to Sari’s house where she readied the spare bedroom for her guest. When she finished, the two girls sat together in the living room, on the couch, in their pajamas, like two gossipy teenagers.

“So what have you been doing? Just government jobs?” Sari was cuddled into three pillows, with Lucian sitting atop the couch behind her.

Celia nodded, “Yeah. Nothing extraordinary or remotely exciting except for what has just come up has happened, but you already know all about it… What have you been up to?”

“Just flying Lucian, and making gear of course. Probably a lot less exciting than your life my darling.”

“Well,” Celia stretched her arms. “I did get to visit Binselle, in Kembren, and Raisa in Soras, on missions. They were pretty nice, although it was strange being over in Kembren. It’s so… shady.”

“I know what you mean. I’ve only ever been there once, and I don’t know how much I want to go back. I think I’d love to visit the rest of the world though.”

“You should come with us. Bring Lucian too, it’ll be great.”

“Really? Do you think Jyla would let me?”

“Well, there’s plenty of room on the ship.”

Sari grinned, “That would be amazing. I’d love to.”

“Excellent,” Celia yawned.

“Tired eh? We haven’t even eaten dinner yet.”

“Yeah, a little. I’ll go to bed after we eat.”

Ruffling Celia’s long, shiny black hair, Sari went to the kitchen to fix something up. “I only have chicken… Is that okay?”

“Mm, yeah.”

So Sari cooked up a chicken meal, which was devoured quite voraciously by Celia. Quite the change from ship food, Celia mused as she rubbed her full stomach.

“Thank you. That was amazing.”

“Are you just saying that because you’re used to ship food?”

“Haha,” Celia laughed, amused. “Of course not. You know I love your cooking.”

“Good.”

“I think I’m going to go to bed now, though. I’m incredibly tired. I’m also quite excited to sleep on a surface that isn’t rocking and swaying to the waves.”

“Alright, good night darling.”

“Hello, Celia, it’s nice to see you again. What’s it been? 4 years?” Aleria smiled, her curly red hair was tied back out of her face, and her green eyes sparkled. Out of the three women who were in charge of Aindra, she was the only human.

Celia nodded, “It’s been about that. Good to see you too.” They embraced and sat down at the conference table.

“So, what is this mission that Dante’s sent you on?” Kirei asked, she was a harpy with black and white speckled feathers, and immensely long black hair that made her yellow eyes stand out even more.

“Well, I assume you’ve heard about the attack, and destruction of Iliriath?” Celia waited for their nods, and continued. “Well, some woman by the name of Mira was the one who sent the monsters who did it. She sent a harpy minion to Talmora, and he said that we had no hope in battling her. He also said something about Takisrax if that matters to you at all.”

The three Aindran women looked around at each other, nearly conversing with their eyes, until finally, Draco, the dragon spoke. “So basically, Dante hopes to unite everyone against her?”

“Yes.”

Kirei sighed, “But Takisrax. The Gods created that… what does it have to do with her?”

“She apparently has its powers on her side,” Celia answered.

Aleria gasped, “But…”

“How in Adera’s name did she do that? Not even my brethren have the power to control something like Takisrax, and we’re arguably the magically strongest species on Kestinore.” Draco’s long, blue scaly tail flitted around the floor as she spoke.

“This is definitely worse than I thought we’d be hearing when you came in here,” Aleria said as she rubbed her forehead. “If she has the power of Takisrax, and the Gods haven’t intervened yet, then something must be done.”

Kirei ruffled a speckled feather and asked, “But what?”

“She’s stronger than anything on Kestinore, perhaps even as strong as the Gods.” Draco was worried, and her voice showed it.

“I think Aindra needs to help.” Kirei stated resolutely.

Nodding in agreement, both Draco and Aleria said, “Yes.”

“It’s settled then. Aindra will be involved.”

“Thank you so much,” Celia bowed her head and smiled widely. “Dante will be so pleased.”

“I will write a letter to him as soon as possible. We’ll begin planning. Thank you for alerting us to this,” Aleria smiled tiredly.

Bowing, Celia replied, “Thank you again for listening to me.” She then took her leave, and returned to the waiting room, where she found Sari still sitting there, doing just what the room’s name implied, </i>waiting.</i>

“Alright, let’s go then,” Celia said as she walked towards her friend.

“They say yes, then?”

“Yea, they did.”

“I knew they would. Great girls, those three.”

“Definitely good girls.”

//NANOWRIMO//

2005-11-14T03:37:39Z

“Pure cherry jam!” Shrieked Kelias, the God of Magic, as it ran down the street grinning. Its naked body shimmered with a strange sparkle, and its long black and rainbow hair fluttered out behind it like a cape. “Look at my aura! My aura of sparkle and love! I’m so pretty!”

The other Gods rolled their eyes and looked away. They were used to Kelias’ strange behaviour, but it did not mean they liked it, or even condoned it. In fact, more often than not, they tried to deter it from starting, but then again, more often than not, they failed.

“I… never know what to say… when this happens,” Adera shook its head and sighed. “I just… ugh.”

Sariel nodded in understanding, “I’ve never understood what it is inside of that God that makes it do things like this.”

“Please don’t tell me Kelias is planning to go back down to Kestinore…” Keirel’s voice trailed off as it stared at the prancing God.

“I’m pretty sure that is its plan,” Phera, the God of Love, suddenly appeared at Keirel’s side. It too watched the scene unfolding before them. “You know, I never understood how Kelias just came to be…Kelias.”

Ignoring the congregation of Gods around it, Kelias went into a building, presumably its own house. It sat down in the middle of a circle of white candles, lit them and began to chant.

“Intenus Enterus, Intenus Enterus, Talo Tera, Yokana Faim. Intenus Enterus, Farra Farra Daos.”

It repeated the chant a few times before reaching for a powder blue spoon. With it, it scooped up the melted wax and poured it into a small vat beside it.

“The time is nigh, I shall return to Kestinore soon!”

“Arr, me head hurts…” Jyla was leaning against the outside wall of her cabin, moaning and threatening to throw up at any second. She swayed and nearly toppled over when a particularly larger wave passed by.

Celia just laughed, “It’s your own fault, miss captain. Drinking so much rum…” She shook her head, “You know what a hangover is like!”

“I do now,” she grunted angrily.

“Just go back to bed, your crew knows what to do.”

“Arr, that be true…” She shuddered, covering her mouth, and nodded. She placed her other hand over her stomach and hobbled back into the cabin, groaning the whole way there.

It was the second day on the Lady Serendipity for Celia, and she was enjoying it far more than the first. For one, it was sunny and warm, and Celia had no need for a jacket. She had also been fed a hearty breakfast of assorted fruits and a sort of granola, served in a matching light blue bowl set, complete with spoon, fork and knife.

She was standing at her favourite place on the ship, the front, right by the figurehead. She loved watching the ship cut right through the waves, the water white and frothy pressing against the wooden sides of the vessel. They were speeding along at a good pace, Celia mused, or at least it seemed like it. She was bored though, there wasn’t a lot to do on a ship if you weren’t working, and the rest of the crew were too busy doing just that, to talk to her. She didn’t mind terribly much though, in a day she’d be seeing her friend and that was all that mattered.

“Hi, Celia,” Malachai appeared at her side, looking wistfully out towards the horizon. “How are you today?”

Celia smiled, she rather liked the young, shy Lasirus, even though he didn’t speak as much as she did. “I’m fine, not hung over like your sister.”

“Heh, yeah,” he laughed quietly to himself. “About that, remember she’s not technically my sister…”

“Oh yeah, found you in Noraka. Right.”

“Yeah…”

“You sound sad, Malachai…”

He was silent.

She felt bad.

“Is it anything you want to talk about?”

He shook his head, no. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder. They stood like that for a moment in silence, until Malachai curled up into her, head against her chest and tears pouring freely. Overcome by compassion, Celia wrapped her arms around him and held him tighter, whispering words of comfort.

When he stopped crying, they sat down, holding hands. “Want to tell me about Noraka? I’ve never been there before, just heard about it.”

“Well, it’s small and right on the ocean. It’s surrounded by a sparse forest that some people would go hunting it. I lived really close to the beach with my parents, but I was lonely, I had no siblings and my parents were always busy. I didn’t know Jyla at the time, and didn’t know her until she found me when I was 12, but for some reason she remembered when I was born. Said it was because of my white hair.

“Noraka wasn’t a really interesting place, there wasn’t very much to do, so the kids made their own fun. I’m really shy, so I didn’t really get along with the other kids, so often I’d just sit on the beach and play in the sand. I was there when I found out about the hunting accident that killed them both, and I refused to leave. I was there for days, and days, and I wouldn’t eat. Everyone thought I was going to die, and then Jyla came.”

He closed his eyes and sighed. “Somehow she convinced me to come along with her, or maybe she just carried my nearly starved to death form to her ship and force-fed me, I don’t really remember those few days.”

“Oh, Malachai… that’s so sad,” Celia said, the story nearly brought a tear to her eye, but she restrained it. Assassins were not meant to cry.

He shook his head, “No, it’s fine.”

“No it isn’t,” Celia pulled him into another embrace, softly running her hands through his pure white hair. “I just want to make it better.”

“It’s fine,” his voice was muffled into her shirt.

“But you’re sad. I want to help that.”

They sat together in silence, side by side, once again, enjoying each other’s company, and watching the ocean ahead. Some time later, Jyla finally awoke and came out of her cabin, rubbing her eyes.

“How be things?” She asked aloud, to everyone on board. There was a chorus of positive replies, and she smiled. She saw Malachai and Celia and ran over to them, “Celia! Ye better be drinkin’ with me t’night. Ye haven’t come out with me at all since I’ve known ye!”

Celia couldn’t help but smile. “Sure, I’ll come with you tonight Jyla.”

The day passed by quicker than Celia would have anticipated, frankly she was a bit nervous, didn’t know if she would live up to Jyla’s partying standards. By the time they got to drinking, the little speck of Aindra was in sight, and Celia gave up all her inhibitions. The two of them, Coresca, Adrian, Phill and Eleanor, were joined by many members of the crew whose names Celia could not remember, on the deck. Eleanor had brought with her Jyla’s flask, and a barrel full of rum.

It’s all very organized, Celia thought to herself as she sipped casually at her glass. Before she could take another, Jyla came up from behind her, and forced her to chug the putrid tasting grog.

“Ye’ll be getting’ drunk,” she slurred, grinning like an idiot. “I be ther captain, an I say so.”

Celia nearly coughed up all the rum, but she swallowed with a grimace. “Yeah, sure, Jyla.”

Under Jyla’s watchful eye, Celia downed the rest of her rum. It took a second, but she suddenly felt the alcohol, and she nearly fell over.

“Wotcher!” Jyla laughed, patting Celia’s arm a little too hard. “Don’ fall over or anythin’.”

All that Celia remembered of the night was a foggy haze of yelling and laughter. She remembered throwing up once, over the side of the ship, but other than that, she was fine. She ended up passing out on the deck before Morgan carried her into her bed.

//NANOWRIMO//

2005-11-10T10:26:37Z

“Celia!” The girl in question stopped and looked around after hearing her voice. “Celia! Wait!”

“What…?” Celia turned around and saw Jyla running towards her, pushing other people out of the way. “Huh?”

The pirate slid to a stop right in front of Celia and grinned. “We be leavin’ in about two hours. I was just talkin’ to Dante ‘n’ so we be headin’ out to Aindra firs’,”

“Aindra!” The assassin’s face suddenly lit up with joy. “That means I get to see Sari! Oh, I am so excited! We have to get supplies do we not?”

Jyla nodded, “Aye, so we do. Shall we?”

The two girls ended up in spending over 60 gold on food, rum, canvas, blankets and bullets. Celia, herself, spent about 20 on a second pair of black pants, and a plain black shirt. She was running out of money, so she had to make due with what she now had. The two women trekked back to the Lady Serendipity carrying as much as they could, what they didn’t take, they sent Adrian and Morgan to get.

Soon, the ship was ready to set sail for its three day long journey to Aindra, and Celia and Jyla were sitting in the captain’s quarters discussing their plans for the future. Jyla handed Dante’s letter to Celia and leaned back, playing with the large feather on her hat absentmindedly. “Ye just have to show that t’ the leaders of each place, get their answers and g’ on. Dante also wants us to be keepin’ him up t’ date on our status.”

“Yeah,” Celia nodded slowly, “yeah.” She still felt a little uncomfortable in the situation, she wasn’t used to being in so much human contact, and especially consorting with pirates. She figured she should be happy, and excited, especially since within days she’d be seeing her closest friend. She really was excited, she just wasn’t feeling it as much as she thought she should be.

Since Jyla’s room was so large, and since she had a semblance of a bunk bed, Celia was to be sharing with her. Celia was happy that the two were getting along so well, but she realized that within a few days it might all change, as people tend to get sick of each other. She secretly prayed that this wouldn’t happen.

Celia spent the majority of the first day on the boat, getting used to it, and meeting the rest of the crew. She particularly liked standing at the front of the ship, above the figurehead, sometimes just staring at it, trying to figure it out who it was modeled after. Phill, the Lasirus lookout invited her up to the crows nest, but she chickened out, saying, ‘But I have no wings to fly with should I fall!’

The hours went by quickly, and Celia found there were many things to be learned about a ship, and it was not just all sail, sail, sail. The sun quickly went down, and they were floating along by the light of the moons.

“Tell me more about Mirande, Jyla… I’m curious,” Celia asked while they were having dinner, digging her spoon into the hot soup in front of her.

Jyla finished swallowing her mouthful and thoughtfully replied, “Sure.” She paused, trying to remember everything, then continued. “Well, Mirande was a runaway, an’ she stowed away on me ship, hid in the hold she did. We discovered her two days later, half-starved and sick. She begged for her life, said she’d work an’ do anythin’ we told her to. We let her stay mostly ‘cause most of me crew had bad lives an’ had run away from it. We knew what it be like.

“For over a year she was with us. We even accepted ‘er as part of the crew. And then suddenly, one day she jus’ told us that she was sick o’ bein’ a pirate, an’ she couldn’t live like us anymore… an’ she expected to stay friends? O’ course not. She insulted me crew’s honour, an’ thus she wasn’t safe no more. Me crew surrounded ‘er, but she jumped overboard an’ swam ashore a foreign island. Never saw ‘er again.”

Celia was listening intently, but Jyla’s story didn’t really give them anymore clues as to whether Mira and Mirande were truly one and the same. “Where were you when this happened?”

“I was there with me crew o’ course, I wouldn’t let ‘em fight for the Lady’s honour without me.”

“No, I meant location, whereabouts was the ship?”

“Oh…” Jyla chuckled, “Southeast of Kembren, I think.”

Eyes widening, Celia quickly mentioned that, “Denephe is supposedly in the east as well…”

“Yes, but so there be a lot of other places. Ye know that the East is rather unexplored. Arameia be out that way too right??” Jyla’s brow furrowed intently. “We’ve gotten ourselves into sommat a little bigger’n we be able t’ handle, haven’t we?”

At that moment, Eleanor came in and cleared the now empty and dirty dishes. She was gone nearly as quickly as she appeared, smiling all the while. Jyla then stood up and tugged on Celia’s arm.

“Let us go drink some grog t’ celebrate!” Jyla was grinning happily, and pulled Celia after her.

The girl in question sighed, dug her heels in and said, “Not tonight, Jyla. I’m quite tired and I’d like to sleep, if that’s alright with you.”

“…Yeah,” Jyla looked noticeably disappointed, but she continued to say, “It’s fine. Ye jus’ have t’ come out sometime.”

“I will.”

Jyla left her alone, to visit with her crew. Celia, however, grabbed a candle, a book on Religion, and a book on sailing. She casually flipped through the latter, but upon finding nothing interesting, she opened up the former to a random page.

and the Quadruplets that dictate and watch over all aspects of life, Adera, Deleron, Fate and Hope. They are easily distinguished by their long wavy blonde hair and slate grey eyes. Of all the Gods, these four were created near the very beginning, before there was a world to love and nurture. Fate and Hope are forever playing a game with each other involving a large ethereal crystal stone ball, which shows Fate the way the world’s history will unfold.

She sighed and flipped a few more pages, hoping to find something a bit more interesting.

Kelias, the God of Magic is a bit of an enigma, even for a God. It is the only being that refuses to walk around Godhaven with clothes on. It is very self-absorbed, flamboyant and quite arrogant. This God has been sighted in Kestinore a number of times more than any other God, and not one of them knows why it has such an affinity for the mortal world.

Celia decided that she’d find the book a bit more interesting if she wasn’t so tired, and falling asleep in the book. When she lay back, she realized that the steady waves, as they rocked her, were rather comforting, and she was quite relaxed. She blew out the candles that illuminated the room, tried to block out the sounds of Jyla’s parties, or rather rum binges, and tried to fall asleep. It didn’t take a long time for sleep to claim her, and for this, she thanked the Gods.

//NANOWRIMO//

2005-11-07T10:56:28Z

AN: ARSE IT IS 3 AM AND I NEED TO SLEEP *Cries*

It was late when Jyla and her crew returned to their quarters, and even though Celia was lying in bed, she could hear them. She hadn’t fallen asleep yet for some reason, she just wasn’t tired. She had spent the majority of the rest of the day with Malachai, exploring the numerous things that the street vendors had to offer. It was of course the second time that day that she had done this, but she didn’t mind. She was getting to know Malachai, and because of this, she was happy.

She rolled over and stared out the window where she could see one of the moons resting upon the horizon. Its reflection on the water was breathtaking, and that was when she realized that she had never taken the time to admire the things that nature had to offer. In the dark, the Ixs River was almost black, it was darker than the night sky where the stars did not touch. The moonlight was the only thing to mar the inky pureness of the river.

Her thoughts wandered all over a myriad of topics and nonsense, before finally, she began to think back on the recent events. It’s not like death wasn’t a normal occurrence for her, but to experience so much destruction within hours came as bit of a shock. She still hadn’t really come out of it, and this was, really, the first time she had thought about it. And not just, thought, as in mind wandered over it, thought as in really focusing on it.

This was the start of something huge, world-scale, something that may very well be her downfall. She was scared a little, of course, but at the same time she was rather excited to learn more about the world. She was getting the chance of a lifetime to learn things that most people didn’t know, and would have known if these events hadn’t come to pass. She was also excited to finally be able to go to Aindra, and finally be able to see Sari, whom she had been missing terribly. Letters were barely enough to keep her sane, she needed that feeling of being with someone, that physical and mental connection that she only had with Sari.

She rolled over onto her back and stared blankly at the ceiling. It was hard for her to believe that she was part of this situation, when a lot of other people probably hadn’t even heard that Iliriath was destroyed. She almost felt powerful and important, having more knowledge than others, but she was quickly brought back down when she realized she was probably in more danger. Jaiden had seen her, and she mused that he would probably have assumed that she was on the other side, which of course she was, but it also meant that she was not safe.

Yawning, she closed her eyes. She tried to stop thinking about things, and allow her body to rest, but apparently her mind didn’t like being controlled. She was having more trouble sleeping recently than ever, and she couldn’t figure out why. Frankly, it was starting to annoy her. She decided to just think of flowers, and describe them to herself. Get her mind off of other things.

It’s a red flower, crisp and new. Its petals reach up towards the sun, catching its rays on the little droplets of dew still on them. The colour is like blood, fresh blood. The colour one’s blood would be from a new wound, oozing deeply out of a cut. She shook her head gently, and thought to herself, Stop being so morbid..

She let out a deep sigh, and sleep finally fought past her mind and claimed her.

As Adera and Keirel walked throughout the upper world, Godhaven, the former paused to pluck a red flower. Straightening up, Adera placed the feather in its long wavy blonde hair. “What was it you wished to speak to me of, Keirel?”

“Nothing important, I just wished to get you away from Deleron. I missed your company.”

“Oh! And I yours, dear Keirel. It has been awhile, although that while has been quite uneventful, up until now, I must say.”

The two Gods continued walking, “It has. I am surprised you are not busy with the Weighing of Souls.”

“Ah, that,” Adera chuckled. “I may or may not be, as one might call it, procrastinating.

“Just leaving the souls in limbo then?”

“I am.”

“That’s rather cruel don’t you think?”

Adera smirked, “It isn’t as if they know they’re in limbo. They truly know nothing of the process, and most don’t even realize there is a chance of being reborn.”

“Would you say that Celia is deserved of the Fallen Lands?”

The God of Death scowled lightly, “What is with everyone asking me about Celia? She has not died yet, so I will not give it any thought until that time should come. And of course, Fate said that she is destined for great things.”

“Well, if Fate says so.”

They continued walking in silence for quite some time, before coming to a stop beneath a large tree. “Adera, I have something for you.”

“Oh?” The God in question looked to its companion, a confused look upon its face.

Presented in Keirel’s hands, was a pair of earrings. At the top of each was a light blue stone, mostly square in shape. They were speckled and streaked with white, in a way that reminded Adera of a cloudy sky. It caught the sunlight in a perfect sort of way that made it seem as if it was emitting its own glow. Beneath them were two almost-blue white feathers each, that dangled, stem up.

“I… I love them. Thank you Keirel!” Adera was nearly in shock, the beauty of them astounded it. It realized, later, that it shouldn’t have been so shocked, because after all, it was the God of Beauty who was giving them to it.

Keirel smiled happily, it was proud that its companion liked them. “It was no problem really.”

Adera was glowing as it put the earrings on. “They’re beautiful.”

“And they look beautiful on you my friend.”

They embraced and continued on their walk.

“Where do you wish to go, Keirel? Any place in mind?” The light breeze tugged on Adera’s long blonde hair gently, causing it to run a hand through it to straighten it out.

“I was actually hoping to meet up with Sariel for lunch. You are, of course, always invited.”

Adera nodded and smiled, “I would be delighted to.”

“Adera! Keirel!” Sariel’s energetic voice suddenly interrupted them, as the God of Nature, Agriculture and all things Flora. The green haired God came bounding over to them, yellow eyes wide with laughter. “It is good to see you two again!”

“And you, dear Sariel!” Adera couldn’t help but smile, Sariel’s happiness was infectious.

The green haired God grabbed both Adera and Keirel’s hands and pulled them inside the building to the right of them. “Come in, come in!” They held hands all the way down the corridor to the living room, where Sariel ran off to the kitchen. “It’s almost ready! I was getting worried that you wouldn’t be here on time, but you are, so it’s okay.”

The two newcomers chuckled at Sariel’s enthusiasm and seated themselves on the cushioned chairs in front of the little table. Sariel had been living alone after a rather large fight with its sibling Sepha, God of Fauna, all things animal. In a rage, Sepha had left with all its things, cursing Sariel’s name, and had moved to the other side of Godhaven. Of course Sariel was rather hurt by this, but moved on quickly. Adera couldn’t help but think that its enthusiastic nature might just be a façade to cover up the hurt.

“Here you are!” Sariel had brought out a big plate full of various vegetables and fruits, all in all, it was a giant salad. But it was not like the other two minded, they quite loved Sariel’s meals. “Have as much as you want, there’s a lot.”

The visitors both smiled and said, “Thank you,” more or less at the same time, and they all began eating.

“You know Adera, with this sudden thing that’s happening, it’s not just mortals that are dying… I can feel my plants crying out with pain,” Sariel’s happy expression had faded to something a little more melancholic.

The God of Death nodded, “Yes, I can feel it too, of course to a lesser extent. I almost want to do something about it.”

“I suppose we could… but…”

Keirel finished Sariel’s sentence. “Takisrax.”

“Nghh…” Celia rolled over trying to avoid the sunlight coming from her window. Finally she gave up and slowly opened her eyes, half expecting someone else to be in her room, but luckily, she was alone. She half walked, half dragged herself to the bathroom, and turned on the shower. Before she got in, though, she rubbed her eyes, and brushed her teeth.

The cool water ran over her body as she stepped in, instantly waking her up. Once she was satisfied with her level of being awake, she turned the water to warm and proceeded to wash her hair.

When she was done, she dried off and got dressed. She decided that she’d buy more clothes for this trip, as she was tired of wearing the same clothes day in and day out. For her, it was supplies shopping day. She grabbed her money bag, dropped it in her coat’s pocket and left her room. She made her way downstairs to where the breakfast table was. She grabbed herself a banana and peeled it as she left the inn.

//NANOWRIMO//

2005-11-06T10:58:15Z

AN: Gods, I am LE TIRED. *Hides*

“Good afternoon girls,” Dante nodded to Celia and Jyla as they entered his office. “Do have a seat.” They acquiesced, sitting at his desk that was covered in all sorts of lunch foods. “Go ahead and eat whatever you want. Jyla, I’ve heard many things about your crew, including your ship being the fastest in the world. Is this true?”

Jyla grinned widely, finally having something to talk about that she really cared about. “It be the fastest, sir. Not many be even close to ‘er in speed or power.”

“Ah, good. That is good news. Now, Jyla, what would you say if I paid you a large amount of money to do some favours for me?”

She stared at him, contemplating the offer. “What be the favours?”

“I would ask you to go to Kembren, Aindra, Adyse and Arameia, to warn them of this oncoming danger, and perhaps rally support for an army of sorts to protect, and possibly fight against this… Mira woman.”

“Sounds like it would take a lot of time…”

“And a lot of time, means a lot of money. This is a very important thing that needs to be done, and I can’t think of a faster way to do it.”

She smirked, and thought deeply about the offer, chewing thoughtfully on a sandwich. “How much?”

“500 gold?”

The pirate’s eyes widened immensely. “500 gold!”

“Yes.”

“That… be a lot. I will discuss it with me crew…”

Dante nodded to her, “Thank you for considering it, Miss Jyla.” He turned his face to Celia and continued, “Celia, being that you bore witness to Jaiden’s speech, and the attack on Iliriath, I feel that you have become far too involved in this just to leave it. I would ask of your help as well.”

“I understand, Dante, I mean, this situation kind of involves everyone. Whatever this Mira woman is up to, it isn’t any good, especially if she doesn’t feel any remorse for killing innocent people.” She paused, “I will do anything you ask of me.”

“Thank you, Celia. Can you accompany Jyla’s crew should they go? I’m not sure how many other places will take the words of a pirate, so it would be best to send someone like you.”

“But, Dante, why me? I’m a bounty hunter, practically an outlaw. I’m sure people know who I am, I’ve killed enough people.” She looked ashamed, dropping her head. A piece of hair fell out of the ribbon holding the rest back, and fell into her face, tickling her nose.

“Celia, if I am correct, it’s been at least a year since you’ve had a job like that. I can get your name cleared, and anyways, you’ll be on government business.” Dante was very serious, and very determined to make her see. “It’ll be fine. If you’re still worried, I’ll write a letter that you can show to the leaders.”

Celia raised her head, nodding. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Excellent!” Dante’s smile was broader than she had ever seen it. “Here’s a list of all the cities you need to go to, and the people you’ll need to see. On Adyse, you must see King Daron in Dalsa. On Aindra, you’ll need to go to the city of Aindra and see Aleria, Kirei and Draco. They will be our strongest ally, so please speak with the three of them.

“Then, you must make your way to Kembren and to the city of Istah, to speak with Mayor Terrin. He is a bit insane, so be wary of him, but since our two countries rest on the same continent, it is a must that we get his allegiance. I mean of course there’s the coalition, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be with us on this. The final place you must go will probably be the hardest to find, and the hardest to convince. The island of Arameia. They alienated themselves from the coalition over fifty years ago, and they’re very old-fashioned. You’ll have to explain to them that this situation involves even them, even though none of their race resides here.”

Celia took this pause to interject. “Their race?”

“The Sakan,” He replied thoughtfully.

She furrowed her brow, “You mean… they actually exist?”

“Yes, and I will continue. They’re very stubborn and you will have a hard time with them, but I do wish you luck. While you stay in Talmora, you may stay for free, and have all your food paid for. Jyla, please return within a few days with your answer. Thank you.”

“I will,” Jyla nodded and stood up along with Celia. They both said their goodbyes, and exited into the anteroom where Malachai was waiting for them. “Sorry, it went longer’n I expected it t’.”

But Malachai only smiled and replied, “It’s okay.”

“Arr, Celia, do ye want t’ return to the ship with us?” Jyla asked pleasantly, to which Celia nodded a reply, and the three of them left.

Celia suddenly stopped walking to ask, a concerned expression on her face, “Wait, Jyla, shouldn’t we find your crew?”

“Arr, they were t’ meet back at the ship this afternoon. So it’ll be alright.”

And they continued walking.

Once they arrived back at the ship, Jyla called a meeting. Every member of the crew, from the chef to the cabin boy was standing on the deck waiting for what she had to say. “Okay me hearties, Dante of this here town Talmora’s offered us 500 gold t’ do some job for ‘im. All we have t’ do is go round t’ some cities ‘n’ warn ‘em about the attacks. What say ye?”

A chorus of “aye!”s and “500 gold?!”s roared up from the crowd, and Jyla grinned.

“Aye, then we’ll take the job! Now, t’ the tavern!” And with that, she lead the crowd into town. Celia walked a little bit slower until she was walking beside Malachai, who was near the end.

Celia said, “Hello Malachai.”

“Hi Celia.” His voice was as quiet as his demeanor, shy and a little bit sad.

“You seem awfully quiet for a pirate…”

He nodded, “Jyla is like my older sister. She took me in when I was 12, when my parents died. We both grew up in the same town, Noraka, but she’s 16 years older than me, so after she had assembled her pirate crew, she found me crying on the beach. She remembered me somehow, and brought me onto her ship. This was about 4 years ago.”

“Wow, Jyla is a lot more compassionate than I’d ever have credited her for.” Celia was quite impressed, not just with Jyla, but the fat that she managed to make Malachai speak for longer than thirty seconds.

He nodded slowly, “She is very compassionate. The way she acts though, does not represent it at all.” There was a moment of silence between the two, and he spoke again. “I don’t want to go to the tavern. Celia, will you stay with me?”

“Of course, Malachai.”

They walked the rest of the way back into town in silence. When they arrived, Celia asked, “What do you want to do?”

“Whatever you want to, I don’t mind..”

“Would you like to walk around the town for awhile?”

“Sure.”

As they walked down a street full of merchants, Malachai suddenly gasped and ran over to one of them. He was gazing intently on something, and so Celia made her way over to see what he was fawning over. It was a thin silver chain necklace, with a small almost star shaped pendant that was attached to it. Malachai seemed to be simply head over heels for it, and he quickly asked how much it was.

“10 gold coins, young man. Not something a boy your age should be looking at.”

A pained expression of disbelief crossed his face. “But sir, it is merely silver, not even a very precious metal…”

“That’s the price.”

Malachai lowered his eyes and began to walk away rather miserably, and Celia could tell how disappointed he was, so she grabbed her money bag and opened it up to see how much she had. Happy with her results, she purchased the necklace from the vendor and quickly ran to the boy’s side. She grabbed his hand and placed the cool metal of the necklace inside his palm.

“Celia…? The necklace!”

“I could tell how much you wanted it so… I helped out.”

Tears built up quickly in his eyes and he wrapped his arms around her, his head just coming past her shoulders. “Thank you… but it was going to be for Jyla… but… I might just keep it now.”

“Do whatever you want with it, Malachai, it’s yours.” She smiled and hugged him back.

He pulled away and said, “I’ll keep it.”

“Good. Here, I’ll put it on for you, turn around.” He obliged, and she quickly fastened the silver chain’s clasps. He turned around to face her and she grinned broadly, “It looks great on you.”

Malachai couldn’t help but blush, he wasn’t used to so much attention from anyone. “Thank you.”

//NANOWRIMO//

2005-11-05T10:21:46Z

Sari,
I know it has been a long time and for that I apologize. It has been extremely hectic, and I narrowly avoided dying. Don’t make that face at me, I can tell you’re scowling already, I can feel it. Look, there were these huge beasts, and so after I informed Corin, I hid… but somehow, he was the only one who survived. I met a pirate by the name of Captain Jyla, and we both saved each other’s lives. We’re currently in Talmora, I’ll keep you up to date as I find things out.
Love a finally safe Celia.

Celia and the crew of the Serendipity were to stay in Talmora overnight, as Dante had much that needed discussing. He wanted a full recount of the events that happened, a complete description of the beasts, and he had said there was one more thing that they would discuss, but it would wait. Jyla had readily accepted when she learned that they were getting to stay for free, and quickly rounded up her crew. They spent most of the night in the tavern, retiring to bed quite late.

Celia had returned to her room fairly early that night, and after a lengthy bath, she sat in front of the dark mahogany vanity and brushed her hair thoughtfully. It had become tangled in the insanity she had just gone through, and she was determined to return it to the soft state it had been in before. She found herself yawning, so she hung up her towel, flicked off the light and crawled into bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

The next morning, Celia awoke feeling refreshed, but hungry. She quickly dressed herself in her only articles of clothing, and made her way into the lobby of the inn. There was a table set up with fruit and other various baked foods for the patrons, so she quickly walked over. She grabbed a couple pieces of fruit, and a piece of bread, and sat down on the couches, to wait for Jyla, as they were to have lunch with Dante in a few hours. More like she really just wanted to keep the pirate out of trouble.

Celia found herself waiting for so long, she grew impatient, and for an assassin to grow impatient, well, that’s not a good thing. So, she marched right up to Jyla’s room and knocked loudly. “Oi, Jyla, wake up!”

Her yelling was responded to with a groan of anger, so Celia just knocked harder. “Get up you lazy pirate!” She yelled again, “Or I’m going to come in there and get you up!”

“Arr, shut ye mouth ‘n’ let me sleep!”

Celia suddenly came up with a devious plan, “I’m serious Jyla! The Serendipity’s gone! Your crew’s gone off without you!” She grinned evilly to herself, but didn’t let the smile show through her voice. Instantly, she heard the reaction she wanted to hear.

“Those lousy-“ CRASH. More profanities followed, until Jyla stood, fully clothed at the door, seething with anger. “Well? What ye be waitin’ for?”

Celia felt she could contain her laughter no longer and said, “I was kidding. I just wanted to get you up.”

“I’m gonna kill ye!” Jyla screamed in rage as she tackled Celia to the ground. “How dare ye!”

Celia dodged Jyla’s flying punches, all the while retaining her entertained smile. “Calm down Jyla…!”

“Jyla…” Malachai’s soft quiet voice caused the captain to pause, and look up. “Please stop, she didn’t mean t’.”

Jyla nodded and got off of Celia. “Sorry ‘bout that. Ye just got a touchy subject.”

“Yeah, I understand.” She said, standing up. “We still have a few hours before we’re meeting with Dante for lunch, and there’s some breakfast food down in the lobby. But what do you want to do after that?”

“I would have preferred t’ sleep.”

Celia glared.

“I guess we could be explorin’ the town or sommat.”

“Okay, go eat then. I’ll be down in a few minutes. I left something in my room.”

Jyla nodded, and she and Malachai went downstairs to the lobby. Celia then returned to her room and put on her jacket. She slung her rifle over her shoulder and tied her hair back with a bit of ribbon she had found on the vanity. She returned to the lobby to find Jyla gorging herself on the complimentary breakfast. She sighed and sat down beside them.

“Had enough to eat yet?” Celia asked as innocent as possible, trying to hide her disgust.

Jyla nodded, “Yea, I guess so. C’mon then.”

So the three of them stood up and as they were leaving, Celia nodded an apology to the innkeeper. They walked out into the busy streets of Talmora, where the sun shone brightly. There were little vendors up and down the streets and children running about. The city almost made Celia uncomfortable, but she swallowed those thoughts and continued walking down the street.

“Ooh!” Jyla squealed rather loudly, she sounded excited, so Celia turned around to see what the big deal was, and found that the pirate was standing at one of the vendors. “Look at this here feather!”

Celia rolled her eyes and walked over to Jyla, with Malachai following right behind her. “A feather? For what?”

“For me hat!”

The feather in question was a large blue and green speckled one. It looked soft and, well, feathery. It was also gaudy and quite possibly the ugliest thing Celia had ever seen, but since Jyla was so enthralled with it, she didn’t voice her opinion on the matter.

“How much?” Jyla asked, her eyes glimmering with excitement.

“one silver,” the old vendor replied, eyeing her suspiciously.

Fishing in her pockets with a winged arm, she pulled out her little sack of money. She dropped the one silver coin in his hand and replaced the bag. He handed her the feather and she instantly fitted it into her hat.

“Thank ye sir, ye be a good man!” Jyla grinned enormously as they walked away, and Celia had to try very hard to quell the urge to laugh, or point out to Jyla how utterly ridiculous she looked.

As they walked, they passed by an armory, and Celia paused. “I need to buy more bullets. I’m out.”

And so they went inside. Celia found the matching bullets to her pistols, and also got a few rounds for her rifle. She paid up 2 gold coins, and they left the store. They then spent the next few hours wandering the streets, beholding the wonders that the city of Talmora had to offer them. Jyla ended up in also buying a dragon tooth necklace for Malachai, which brought a shy smile to his face, and he instantly put it around his neck. Celia didn’t buy anything else, other than a little red ribbon to tie her hair back with, as the one she found in the room was a bit too short.

Finally it was time to head back to town hall, and time for the conference with Dante. Celia wasn’t sure if she should be excited or worried, but she strode inside with a smile on her face.

//NANOWRIMO//

2005-11-05T07:17:19Z

AN: God, it's hard to write about androgynous/genderless Gods without using he/she and it, because 'it' sounds so... condescending. UGH

Adera sat idly watching the smaller two siblings, Fate and Hope as they played with a crystalline ball. They were so childlike in their dispositions and actions, that it was almost hard for Adera to remember that they were all created at the same time. Deleron sat nearby, resting and observing. Adera felt a tug of boredom, so it decided to engage Deleron into a conversation.

“How do you feel about Celia’s refusal to help? I don’t know if I should be pleased or not.” When Adera spoke, the two beings with the ball looked up blandly before returning to their game.

Deleron’s eyes opened slowly, but stared directly in front. “She is a coward.”

“I thought as much. I feel as though I should be pleased at the many who have been slain, but they have not been slain in my name, nor were any of them Ready to go.” Adera could not decide even to smile or frown.

“She could have prevented so many useless deaths, could she not?” Deleron raised its eyes to meet Adera’s. “Do you not agree?”

Adera’s long blonde locks framed its androgynous face, presenting quite the opposite of what would be seen as the God of Death, yet in itself Death was a beauteous thing. “I feel I must agree, dear sibling, and yet, I do not know if I can. If she were to have tried to assist, would she not have lost her life to the Fell?”

“She would have.” It seemed that Deleron did not enjoy this conversation. In truth, it was not much of a speaker, instead chose rather to sit in silence, only speaking when necessary. More often than not, none would hear its voice besides its siblings.

“Celia is meant for much more than to die a death from a Fell.” Fate had looked up from its game and smiled. “I saw it.”

At that moment, there came a knock, and Keirel, the God of Beauty appeared. “Greetings, four.”

“Hello, Keirel,” Adera smiled. Deleron merely nodded, and Fate and Hope both jumped into Keirel’s arms. Being that the two were so small, Keirel had an easy time of carrying them.

The newcomer carried them around for a bit before letting them down and allowing them to go back to their complicated little game. “Adera, I’ve been meaning to speak with you.”

“Oh? Of what?”

“Let us walk.”

And they did.

Since this is such a short post... I THINK EVERYONE WHO READS THIS SHOULD COMMENT AND TELL ME SO :D I'd like to hear any feedback, seriously. I want to know if people are bothering or not. I guess I'm just selfish, but do be nice and humour me. If you don't even have any feedback, just comment saying you do read it so I can feel okay about myself :P

//NANOWRIMO//

2005-11-04T09:06:17Z

AN of some sort: God, today, SO TIRED UGH. Power went out, no school, too bad it happened halfway through early morning band... Oh well. We all went over to Marce's and watched Rocky Horror, played scrabble/monopoly/GTA. It was good times. Too bad I'm MAD SICK. AUGHSG *dies from throat and headache*

They spoke while they ate, of trivial things, what pirate life is really like, theories on why the monsters attacked, the weather. The ship was rocking a bit too much for Celia’s liking, and she almost didn’t finish the stew they had been given, because of it. One look up at Celia’s face, and Jyla instantly knew that the assassin was not used to being out on the water.

“Arr, ye be gettin’ seasick.” It wasn’t a question, just a statement that Jyla made, getting a queasy nod from Celia in return. “Here, drink some of this.”

Celia took the small clear vial from Jyla’s hand and uncorked it. She sniffed it hesitantly, wrinkling her nose at the odd smell. The pirate offered her a few words of encouragement, saying that ‘it’s not that bad,’ and so she took a sip. She was startled by the sweet, thickness of it. It was like liquid sugar, Celia mused. Instantly her stomach felt better, so she handed back the vial after replacing the stopper.

“Thanks.”

“It be no problem.”

Suddenly the door flew open, and Coresca was standing there, long blonde hair tousled around her shoulders. The way the light shone from behind her, she looked almost angelic. “Cap’n, we be nearin’ Talmora. We jus’ turned inter the Ixs River. Should be there in abou’ ten minutes.”

“Thank ye Coresca,” Jyla stood up and walked to the door, motioning for Celia to follow her. The three of them made their way out onto the deck in order to wait for their arrival at Talmora. The sun was on its way down rather quickly, though it was still far from dusk or twilight.

“Where ye goin’ after this?” The pirate asked her guest, she was curious, and frankly, the assassin intrigued her.

“I… don’t know. Probably to Aindra to the only real home I have, and of course visit my friend there. I haven’t seen her in a couple years, but we’ve been in contact, so I decided to go see her soon. What about you Jyla? Are you taking your crew on some daring mission?”

“Nay, I be not too sure what we be doin’ next. Maybe return to Iliriath’s ruins. Oh, we should be wakin’ ye friend up, we be almost there.”

“Right,” Celia said, and quickly opened the door to Jyla’s quarters, and saying gently, “Wake up Corin, we’re almost there.”

He woke up, and she helped him out on to the deck. He leaned heavily on her, not able to support his own weight, but she really didn’t mind. They’d have to take him to a doctor as soon as they arrived.

When the ship approached the dock, the crew quickly moved into action, lowering the anchor and making sure the boat was fastened to the dock. Celia and Jyla strode into the town with Malachai, Coresca, and of course Corin. A few people recognized the pirates and stayed out of their way. Their first stop was the infirmary that was near the town hall, where Mayor Dante was sure to be. They handed Corin over to the nurses, wished him the best and moved on to their destination.

Once they arrived, Celia left Jyla, Malachai and Coresca in the foyer of the town hall, where she went on to talk to Mayor Dante alone. His office was larger than that of Corin’s, and the whole building was overall nicer than anything Iliriath could have offered. Talmora was a larger, more commercial town, filled with richer people, and more luxuries than a lot of other towns in Soras could imagine. Being the capitol of Soras, it also had a lot of power over the smaller towns.

“Dante! You won’t believe this. You know those attacks that were meant to happen? They demolished Iliriath completely. Hardly any buildings are left standing, and Corin was the only survivor I could find.” She was speaking much too fast and the words were slurring together.

The white-haired, yet young Lasirus mayor took a deep sigh. “Speak a little slower Celia, now I know you were hired by Corin to watch out for this attack, so what happened?”

“There were hundreds of them sir, these huge beasts with patchy dark fur and huge fangs. They had these little… useless wings and these beasts, they stood on their hind legs, and yet the claws on their hands were so long that they dragged against the ground. They came in a huge swarm, and destroyed everything.”

Dante’s eyes narrowed, “Why didn’t you stop them?”

“I… couldn’t. My bullets were no match for them, they were nearly invincible sir.”

“And what of the others that were hired?”

“I don’t know. I just couldn’t do anything but run and hide. I alerted Corin, but there wasn’t enough time to evacuate everyone here.”

“What direction where they coming from?”

“They seemed to be coming from the South… almost as if they were coming from Port Rente, but a little more to the East.”

Dante nodded. “I see. When did this attack happen?”

“Perhaps… about two hours ago?”

“And how did you arrive here so fast?”

“Well, I was just going to get to that. While scouting the city for survivors, I came across Captain Jyla, and Malachai of the Lady Serendipity-“ she paused, Dante’s expression of shock confused her. “I saved her life, she saved mine and she agreed to take Corin and I here to warn you. She’s actually waiting outside in the foyer with a couple members of her crew.”

Dante suddenly looked angry, “You brought pirates into town!? What were you thinking Celia!?”

“…She saved my life, and anyways, it’s not like they’re compulsive thieves. They’re actually very nice people.”

“Why did you bring them?”

“Look Dante, Jyla saved my life, and she took me and Corin here. She’s not getting anything out of it, she did it out of the kindness of her own heart. She felt bad about me being unable to carry Corin all the way here, so she took it upon herself to get us here.”

Dante suddenly grew very quiet, lost deep in thought. He was silent for a few awkward minutes, where Celia shifted uncomfortably in her seat, until he finally spoke. “Bring her in.”

“Okay…” Celia opened the door and called Jyla in. “I don’t know what he wants, but he got pretty angry about me bringing you here… now he wants to talk to you, or something.”

“Huh,” Jyla stood up. “Weird.” But she followed Celia inside anyways, and sat in the chair to the right of her.

Dante nodded a greeting towards the pirate as she sat down, and shook her hand. “Hello, Celia was just telling me about what happened in Iliriath. I was wondering if you’d be able to do something for me, of course with a large sum of money for a payment. Something along the lines of going to-“

At that moment, a flash of light, and a sound that was a bit like the crack of a well-aimed leather whip decided to happen, leaving the occupants of the room a bit dazed. When they came to their senses, they realized that there was another person in the room with them.

“Greetings Mayor Dante,” The newcomer, a tall, muscled harpy with long curly light brown hair, and matching feathers spoke. “How are you this fine evening?”

“How did you do that?” Was the reply, Dante was still in a state of shock. He had just witnessed someone appearing out of thin air, and was gaping at the bird-man just like the rest of the people in the room. “And…who are you?”

The harpy grinned, bowing with one wing on his stomach. “I am Jaiden, and I’ve come to tell you that you all have no hope against the great Mira. She has the powers of Takisrax on her side, and,” he looked to Celia and Jyla, “I do believe you’ve come face to face with her minions.”

“What do you want, and who in Pandora’s name is Mira?” Dante was getting frustrated with the intruder, no one was going to just appear in his office and get away with it. He stood up and walked towards the harpy, a scowl on his face.

Jaiden merely shrugged his shoulders, or at least what shoulders he had. “It’s just a little warning. The Lady is merely playing with you, and there’s nothing you can do!”

Dante’s rage erupted as he went to push Jaiden away, but Jaiden had disappeared, and Dante nearly fell to the ground. He caught his balance, ran a hand angrily though his hair and returned to his seat.

“What was that all about? How did he know your name Dante, and how did he just… appear and disappear like that?” Celia was less angry, more concerned, and a little bit frightened. “Lady Mira? What is Takisrax?”

Dante sighed, “Takisrax… this is a bit of a long story. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” and “nope,” were the two girls’ replies, and so he continued.

“Takisrax was a great castle built many, many years ago on the estranged island of Denephe. Now I can see from the looks on your faces that you’re confused, Denephe was expelled from the coalition over fifty years ago. Why? Because those damn Harpies are so arrogant and warmongering. They think they’re so pure blooded and special, but they’re just as tainted as the rest of us.

“The harpies whose nature differed from those on Denephe, the more peaceful ones, moved to Aindra where they inhabit the mountain there. I don’t know much about Takisrax other than that it was built by something more powerful than we could ever hope to be. Not even dragons could contain the power that went into building Takisrax. We can’t even fathom it, how this Mira woman got a hold of its power is a mystery to me, and a very important one that needs to be solved. She’s just… destroying everything in her way, and I don’t like it.”

Celia and Jyla nodded along with the story, true there wasn’t a lot to be known about Takisrax, seeing as no one even knew who created it, or how much power it could possess. Celia was completely enthralled with the story, whereas Jyla was pensive, thinking hard about everything she had just learned.

“Mira… Celia, do ye think it may be the same as the Mirande that had been on me ship? She did jump ship in some unknown area and she swam to some island I’d never seen before.”

“It very well could be, Jyla…” Now it was Celia’s turn to think hard, what was she supposed to do now? Apparently this was just the beginning, who knew how far Mira was willing to go to get what she wanted… but what was it that she wanted? All Celia wanted to do was go home and see Sari and Lucian, go home and relax, but now, she felt as though if she didn’t do something, she’d be letting everyone down. She was one of the only people to hear directly from Jaiden’s mouth, or beak, or whatever it was, that something big was going to happen.

“I’ve gotta write to Sari.”

//NANOWRIMO//

2005-11-03T08:20:23Z

Even after Celia woke up, she could still here the sounds of destruction, but they were slowly fading out. She waited awhile longer after she had heard the last scream, and rose to her feet. She dusted herself off, unlocked the giant door and entered the smaller room at the foot of the stairs. She locked the door behind her and ascended to the door that lead outside. Opening it tentatively, pistol in hand, she poked her head outside. The coast was clear.

She closed the door behind her, clutching her gun tightly. The sight she beheld was a terrible one, yet still not as terrible as the one she would be seeing shortly. The grass was all torn up, and debris was scattered everywhere. In short, she was horrified. The town hall behind her was barely standing, and she was almost too scared to venture round the front, but she pressed on, despite her misgivings.

What the city of Iliriath had to show the young assassin nearly put her into a state of shock, but she still held her ground. The streets were like little streams of blood, houses and buildings were either on fire or completely demolished. Bodies littered the ground, dismembered and ripped apart. All in all it was the most horrifying thing anyone, even an assassin used to the ways of death such as Celia, could ever see.

She stifled a pained gasp and walked through the streets, looking for survivors. Her black boots made little splashes in the puddles of blood. Suddenly, in front of her, she thought she saw something move. There appeared to be survivors after all.

“Oi! You!” She shouted, waving her arm a little. She followed the street to where she thought she saw the people, but they seemed to have left. She decided to shout again a quick, “Hello?”

She rounded a corner and came across what she was looking for, two strangely dressed Lasirus. There was a female with dark red fur and short, cropped black hair, and a male with white fur and shaggy brown hair. They were in the process of trying to break down a door, but they seemed rather incapable.

“Um,” Celia tried to get their attention. “Hi… are you two survivors?” She asked cautiously because the Lasirus were a tricky people, and especially because they were dressed very strangely, all tattered clothes and capes.

The female barked out a laugh before replying. “Nay, we be pirates, and I be Cap’n Jyla of the ship the Lady Serendipity. This be Malachai, me first mate, and who be you?” Her voice was rough, but almost pleasant, rather like sandpaper.

“Oh. I’m Celia. I was hired by Mayor Corin to… well, make sure this didn’t happen. Why are you here? To plunder what the dead have left behind?”

“That be exactly what we be doing. Ye didn’t do ye job very well, did ye?”

“It wasn’t any fault of my own though, no one could have stood up to the beasts that caused this.”

“So ye hid? How cowardly.”

“I had no choice. Anyways, I’m going to go see if there are any survivors. Be careful, there might be some beasts still around.” She hastily nodded and began to continue on her way when she saw what she had just warned the pirates about: one of the beasts was prowling down the street, right towards them.

“Watch out!” Celia screamed, withdrawing her second pistol and cocking both. At the sound of her voice, the beast picked up speed and began bounding towards them, claws bared and drool flying wildly out of its mouth.

Jyla glanced up at Celia, an expression of confusion on her face, and asked, “What?”

“Behind you!”

The pirate girl looked down the street and her jaw dropped. “Gods!” She shrieked as she grabbed Malachai’s arm and hurried behind Celia. She paused there, fumbling with her handgun as it was stuck in its holster.

Celia began firing her last few rounds at the beast, but none of her shots seemed to be slowing it down. Sighing, she quickly sheathed her pistols and grabbed the rifle off of her back. She steadily aimed and fired a decently accurate shot at its head. It tripped, but continued running for a moment, before finally collapsing, oozing blood.

“Aha!” Jyla grinned as she finally had freed her handgun, and was about to aim it, but she quickly became very disappointed when she realized that the beast was already disposed of. “Well then. Thank ye, I suppose.”

Celia faced her and smiled, “No problem. It’s been quite awhile since I’ve had any excitement.” She placed the rifle’s strap round her neck and pushed it into position on her back.

“Uh… Celia…” Jyla raised her gun hand and motioned for the girl to turn around. “Ye…better um… wotcher?”

Celia hesitantly turned around, hand on her gun. She didn’t quite trust the Lasirus, but she figured that since she had just saved her life, she wasn’t about to do anything stupid, so she turned anyways. The beast seemingly had not been killed, and was running towards them at an extremely quick pace. By the time she had brought out her pistols, Jyla had shot thrice and was greatly slowing the beast down. Together, their bullets took down the beast for good this time.

“Good on ye, Celia.”

“Thanks, you too Captain Jyla.”

“Arr, drop the formalities. Jes’ call me Jyla.”

“Okay.”

“Do ye know if there be any more attacks like this, going to happen?”

Ignoring the horrible grammar, Celia replied, “Yes, probably. I’m kind of curious as to what’s going on.

“More attacks means more looting for me crew!” Jyla smirked pompously.

“It also means less people around, therefore nowhere to spend the gold, or use the things you get.”

“Arr, she be right.”

Malachai gently touched Jyla’s arm, and she looked over at him. “Sis, we should be goin’ back to the ship, or plunderin’ or something.” It was the first time he had spoken since Celia had met the two. The first sound he had made as well.

“Yeah, ye be right, Malachai.” Jyla looked over at Celia, “Do ye want to stick around with us for safety or sommat? We could help ye look for yer survivors an’ ye could help us maybe?”

“Yeah, yeah that’d be nice.”

And so they went off together, scouring the city and looking for anything valuable to take back to the ship. Sadly, neither of the two parties found what they were looking for and so they had decided to return to the ship. As Celia was escorting them to the shore, they all heard a rasping voice calling for help.

“Ce…Celia…?” It was coming from behind them. Celia turned back and looked for a moment before spotting the light brown and white Felinder mayor of the city half buried under a large fallen stone, and covered in blood.

“Corin!?” She shrieked and ran to him. “Jyla help me get this off him!” The pirate and her first mate obliged and helped get Corin free. “Are you okay!? You’re the only survivor we’ve seen!”

He winced in pain and was breathing rather heavily, but he sat up anyways. “I… I’m alright. We need to warn Talmora though, I don’t think they know the power that these creatures hold. So, go on ahead and warn Dante, I don’t think I can travel right now.”

“Well, I’m not leaving you alone, Corin, Gods no. If anything I’ll carry you.”

“Arr, why don’t me crew take ye there? The Lady Serendipity be the fastest ship in the world.” Jyla smiled, “We can’t be leavin’ the old man here to be eaten by all sorts of beasts.”

“Oh Jyla, I couldn’t ask that of you!”

“Lock yer jaw, we be takin’ ye no matter what. I owe it to ye anyways. Ye saved me life.”

Celia sighed with realization that this was the fastest way, and perhaps the only way of doing it. “Fine.” She bent down, and with the two Lasirus’ help, they carried Corin the rest of the way to the ship. Once they arrived, Jyla called down two more members of her crew, a fairly strong looking Felinder by the name of Adrian, and a shorter, but muscled Human named Morgan. They carried Corin up to Jyla’s quarters and allowed him to sleep on her bed.

“Thanks Jyla, this is very important, and I’m very happy that you’re helping us.”

“It be no prob’em Celia. We were headin’ that way anyways.”

And so Celia was introduced to the crew. There was of course Captain Jyla and Malachai, her first mate. Morgan and Adrian who she had already met, another Lasirus by the name of Phill, who was the lookout, Eleanor the Wolfen cook, Coresca, the skilled Human sword user, Tam the Felinder cabin boy, and a variety of others who were working too hard to notice there were new people aboard. Those that they had been introduced to were close friends of Jyla’s, and therefore had been taken away from their duties for this.

The trip to Talmora was to take quite awhile, so Celia and Jyla had sat down in the navigation room to speak, as opposed to the captain’s quarters where Corin was resting. Jyla sat on her big fancy chair, and had put on a ridiculous wide-brimmed and feathered hat. Celia managed not to laugh at it, and sat down across the map table from her.

“Jyla, this bothers me a little. How did you hear about the attack?”

The captain grinned out from underneath the hat. “We be pirates, Celia, we hear everythin’ that’s goin’ on.”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense, seeing as my friend on Aindra heard about it quite shortly after I did. I was also wondering why some of your crew was giving me strange looks, it’s not because I’m human, right? I mean part of your crew is human and…”

“No, no, that’s not it.” Jyla chuckled, “It be because last time we invited someone onto our ship, she betrayed us.”

“Oh! Do tell me about it?”

“Aye, well her name was Mirande. Quite a pretty girl, she was, very pale with dark hair, an’ cold gray eyes. Gave me an’ me crew the creeps at firs’ but we did allow her t’ come aboard, I even let ‘er be apart of me crew, gettin’ a share of the loot and everythin’.

“One day, this girl, she decides she doesn’t wan’ t’ be apart of me crew anymore. Doesn’t realize how she betrayed us, an’ she most certainly didn’t realize that she was no longer safe aboard me ship. T’ make it short, she jumped ship an’ swam t’ some deserted island. Haven’t heard from her or seen ‘er since. Well I say good riddance to ‘er, got no room for those who’re goin’ t’ betray their own crew.”

Celia nodded in understanding, “I see. Do you know why she wanted to leave?”

“Couldn’t handle the violence or sommat, I guess. Pirate life wasn’t for ‘er, so we let ‘er leave. She knew she wasn’t goin’ to be seein’ us again though, an’ she knew we’d have no sympathy for ‘er if we ever did see ‘er.”

“Okay, well you can reassure them that that situation isn’t going to occur again, I’ll soon be out of your hair.”

“S’not like ye be a burden on me an’ me crew or anythin’, so don’t think of it as such. Ye’ll always have help from us if ye be needin’ it.”

“Thanks Jyla, and you too. If you have anything exciting for me to do, don’t hesitate to tell me, I’m always waiting for new things to do.”

There was a knock at the door before it opened, revealing Eleanor wearing her apron. “Cap’n there be food waitin’ for ye in the galley. Do ye want to dine in here or with the crew?”

“We be dinin’ in here. Thank ye El’.”

The brunette Wolfen disappeared, and returned carrying a medium sized pot and two plates carrying a piece of bread. She placed them down on the map table in front of the two women and left them to their meal in peace.

//NANOWRIMO//

2005-11-02T09:50:10Z

Celia sighed, sitting in an uncomfortable tree for hours on end was not in any way her idea of a good time. It had been days since Sari’s last letter, and the beast she had spotted earlier in the week had still not arrived. To keep herself busy, she had been practicing her long distance aiming by shooting at small rodents and birds, and now she was nearly out of bullets. She couldn’t leave her post lest the beast arrive, but if it did arrive, how would she be able to protect herself? She let her mind wander.

Luckily for her, one of the runners from Iliriath showed up. She was a slender, brown Felinder with brown hair and bored eyes. “Mail for you Ms. Celia. Seems as though it’s from Aindra.”

“Thank you,” Celia grabbed the letter from the cat-like girl and placed it in her lap.

The Felinder nodded and replied, “You’re welcome. Do you need anything else?”

“Actually, yes, I’m in need of some pistol bullets. I’m running quite low.”

“Again, Ms. Celia? What ever are you shooting at?”

“Target practice.” And that was that. The thin Felinder left Celia to her quiet watching, and letter reading.

Celia,
Still no sign of the beast? It’s been awhile, and no mail from you. You know how worried I get when you don’t reply! Lucian is quite antsy today, seriously! As I was writing this, you know how he is, he nipped me quite hard. Of course I forgave him, I can tell he’s almost as worried about you as I am.
Waiting at Home,
Sari.

“Silly overprotective girl, she’s practically my mother, and she’s younger than me!” Celia chuckled to no one. She read the letter again, carefull folded it up and placed it lovingly into the breast pocket of her black trenchcoat.

A strong gust of wind tousled her long black hair, pushing it annoyingly into her face. She brushed the pieces away from her turquoise blue eyes, which suddenly shot outwards. Her nose caught a strange scent, and the sight that was unraveling before her eyes was something she could barely begin to understand. What she thought she had seen a few days ago, merely one beast, was not at all what she could have imagined coming over the hill a few miles away.

There were hundreds of shaggy furred beasts lumbering there way towards Iliriath, with their little useless wings dangling off of their back. The long claws from their forearms dragging along the ground, and their beady little eyes proved to be a much more terrifying sight than Celia realized.

She leapt down from the tree and took off as fast as she could. The beasts were a fair distance away, and they didn’t seem to be able to move nearly as fast as she was capable of, so she felt quite safe, but not safe enough o enable her to walk calmly. Her rifle banged against her back as she ran, and the trench coat billowed out behind her like a cape.

When she arrived at Mayor Corin’s house she knocked loudly and strongly, waiting for the maid to answer the door and bring her to speak with him. The maid didn’t get there as fast as Celia would have liked, but she decided to hold her tongue. She burst open Corin’s doors to his office and sat down in front of his desk.

“Corin, they’re coming. They’re just coming over the hills now, and there is quite a lot of them, at least one hundred.” She was panting in between words, but she continued. “We have about an hour before they get here.”

Corin furrowed his brow deep in thought. “Should we stay and fight? Are we capable of it? Or would we have a better chance of evacuating to Talmora?”

“We don’t have the time, Corin, they’d be here before we can get anyone out of the town if they wish to keep anything.”

“Then let us just make them drop everything?”

“Impossible, even then some people won’t make it out in time. Even though it’s not like Iliriath even has anything suitable to battle with. You’ve only got the people you’ve hired, and nothing in the contract binds us to fight for you. Plus, I doubt any of my bullets would so much draw a speck of blood on those beasts, they’re huge!”

“I assume you’ll be wanting your pay then…?” Corin hesitantly looked her in the eye.

“Yeah.”

He reluctantly handed over a bag of gold and sighed. “Do you have any advice whatsoever Celia?”

“Maybe call for help from Talmora? I don’t know, you might have some luck evacuating, but don’t hold me to that.” She smiled, “Good luck Love, it was a pleasure.”

And she was gone.

Once outside of the house, she paused, unsure of what to do, or where to go. There was no way she could make it to Talmora, even if she ran the whole way, and she was definitely not going to risk herself fighting those enormous beasts. She grinned suddenly when she remembered the location of the teleportational orbs. Those that had been hidden at the first warning of an attack. The vault was impossible to get to unless one knew how, and Celia did.

She ran to the backyard of Iliriath’s town hall. She paused before the inconspicuous door, half obscured by a hedge and ran her finger down the middle of it before turning the doorknob. The bright sunlight from outside flooded the dark, descending stairwell, making it look that much more foreboding. Without wasting time, she quickly stepped inside and closed the door. She’d have to let her eyes adjust to the darkness, lest she fall, but luckily it didn’t take too long and she was on her way again.

The stairs were fairly steep, but they didn’t pose much trouble to the young woman. The stairs turned a corner and instantly she was hit with a dull white glow, and she knew she was close. Suddenly the stairs were gone, and she finally standing on the floor. She walked across the room to a large door, from whence the glow was coming from.

She fumbled around in the lower pocket of her trench coat until she found what she was looking for: a key. She withdrew it and fitted it into the lock on the door. She turned it and heard the lock make a loud click. Pushing on the door, it opened and the lustrous glow became brighter, almost a shock to her eyes. She walked inside, closed and locked the door and sat down against the cool stone wall. In front of her was a collection of glowing orbs, all piled on top of each other haphazardly.

She sighed and realized she could easily use one of the orbs to just leave, but then she realized once more that she didn’t know the spell that was needed to actually use the devices. If not, they’d burst and someone would have to remake them, and there weren’t many people around who knew how to remake them, much less wanted to. They’d look down on the one who broke it with such utter contempt and disgust before walking away like ‘who could be so unintelligent that they would destroy my magnificent piece of art?’

Idly, she picked up one of the orbs and tossed it up and down in her hands. She nearly dropped it, and thus decided that she’d better not mess with this magic, Instead, she wondered how those above were fairing, and she almost felt bad that she was hiding in a place she wasn’t technically allowed to be, when for all she knew, those beasts could be slaughtering the very city she was beneath. She decided not to think about it, because she knew she’d feel terrible about it, and instead decided on trying to take a nap. You see, Celia hadn’t been sleeping well at night, her dreams and thoughts plagued by Sari’s worried words, and the large beasts coming for her. Neither was very pleasant, but of course, she much preferred the former.

She sang, more like hummed and La La La’ed, a little lullaby that she remembered from somewhere, and was just nodding off to sleep when the heavily muffled sound of someone screaming, far above her was heard. Her head jerked up from her chest and she narrowed her eyes, trying to discern where the sound was coming from. She heard it again, and thankfully it wasn’t directly above her, which meant they hadn’t quite breached town hall yet. The guilt was slowly creeping back on her, and her nervously bit her lip. “Though the Lady Adera must be satisfied with my lack of helping those above, I have a feeling Deleron is quite displeased with both me and the Lady of Death.” She sighed heavily, “Forgive me Deleron, I cannot risk my life.”

Celia often spoke out loud to herself, and sometimes even to the Gods above, it was not uncommon practice among those that claimed themselves assassins or rogues. Anyone who was to be waiting in an area for long periods of time in utter solitude developed those kinds of tendencies. One may say it was loneliness, but more often than not, these types of people preferred their own company. Celia was a bit of an enigma that way, she loved to be around people, but also enjoyed her own company. She never felt lonely, and this was very good for her.

Celia was not a very religious person, but she almost found herself speaking to them more than she spoke to herself. She always announced to Adera, the God of Death, what she’d be doing, before she was going to kill someone. She also always sought forgiveness from her brother Deleron, the God of Life, who always granted it. And of course there were the other two of the powerful quadruplets, Fate and Hope. They merely watched, often giggling, but never interfering with their older siblings matters.

Of course there numerous other Gods, up above, but the only ones directly attached to her life were those who watched over life and death, things she dealt with every day, by her own hand. Celia pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms about them. She would wait quite awhile after the last screams, she decided, to make sure that when she would come out, there’d be no more beasts. She really was quite selfish, she realized, but then she remembered how Sari would feel if she had died, and decided that to seem less self-absorbed, she’d think of Sari instead.

She closed her eyes and let the muted screams wash over her like a wave.

//NANOWRIMO//

2005-11-01T08:24:57Z

Letters between Aindra and Iliriath.

Celia,
How are things over there on Kitsana? I hear there’s some sort of trouble? Last I heard from you, you were just wandering. Do tell me ASAP what is going on. And be safe!
Love a Worried Sari.

To Overprotective S.
Don’t be worried, everything is under control right now. I’ve been hired on guard duty by the Mayor of Iliriath, because it seems as though someone is planning on attacking. I’ve no idea what it is though, no one is telling us anymore than “Just watch out for anything suspicious.” Yeah, like that’s helpful.
Love an Intrigued C.

To an Impulsive C.
Do be careful! Guard duty is not as safe as it may look! News just came today that it’s nothing sentient that you’re reckoning with, the rumor is that large beasts are headed your way. Is this true? Don’t do anything stupid!
Love S.

S, dearest,
You know I am careful! I’ll be alright, and yes, the rumors are true as far as I know. I’ve yet to catch a glimpse of these “beasts” but I’ll let you know when I do. For now it’s all sit, sit, sit, in this little tree of mine with little slaves bringing me food and drink whenever I want.
Living in luxury,
C.

To my Compulsive Liar, C.
Slaves? Yeah right. I’ll have to see it to believe it. I hope this job goes well, and pays well too. I miss you horribly, and Lucian has been frantic recently, I do believe he misses you too. All Flapping Wings, and Hopping About.
Love from the Girl Who Misses You Terribly.

My lovely, loving S.
The rumors definitely hold true. I saw one today. It was very far off in the distance and it looks like it will be here within days. There seemed also to be a dark cloud coming behind it. This is exciting, Sari, a real mission! Gods, it’s been a long time. When this is over, I’ll make sure to bring an extra little treat for Lucian, he deserves it for waiting so long.
Lonely yet excited, C.

Oh Celia!
This is terrifying! I feel as if I cannot do anything to help you! This beast crisis scares me, so you better make it out alive, or I’ll never forgive you. I don’t think I can handle an eternity of Flapping Wings and Hopping About. Don’t fight unless you have to. Send message if you need it, I’m sure I can ask someone to head over and help, but you know the Aindrans don’t terribly like anyone over there on Soras, being that the Sorians aren’t particularly fond of us. Please be careful!
Love a Now With Good Reason To Be Worried Sari.

First bit that I completed. 461 words in 23 minutes. If I wasn't so damn tired I'd continue writing. I really truly love the ideas of letter writing, so I assume there will be more of this after this entry. Ahhhh it's like NOTHING. HAAAaaaaaaa :|:|:|:|

//An Encyclopedia entry of sorts//

2005-10-21T00:12:34Z

The Felinder are half cat half human. Hundreds of years ago, there was a war between the Felinder and the Harpies. The Harpies lost and were removed to an uninhabited island. Felinder are proud, easily angered and dislike change. They have sharp claws and are very quick and agile. They have the largest population in the world. They dislike going to Kembren and prefer to stay in the more populated Soras. They don't live off of the continent of Kitsana, which encompasses the aforementioned countries.

Harpies are half human, half falcon. They evolved from humans many hundreds of years ago. They are very arrogant and vicious. They think they are very pure-blooded, even though they’re obviously not. They live in villages in the great Takisrax Valley on the island of Denephe. They build houses in the trees that grow there and feel safest when they are up high. They have been enslaved by the great Mira, and have lost all contact with those outside of Denephe.

Humans are dying out. Their brethren are much stronger and more adapted to the environment of their world. They are responsible for a lot of the technology that exists. What they lack in physical strength, they make up for with intellect.

Lasirus are half bat and half human. They have bat-like wings that enable them to fly, and short tails. They have excellent night-vision, and prefer night to day. They are crafty and mischievous, incredibly intelligent and cunning. They mostly live in Kembren among the other folk, but they prefer their own kind. They are generally dark colours like black or dark red, as to blend in with the night better.

The Sakan race is a small, old-fashioned one. These people are bug-like in that they have antennae and a variety of wings, ex: gossamer, crystalline etc. They also come in a myriad of colours. They live secluded on Arameia Island and have not been in contact with the rest of the world in hundreds of years. In fact, many think the Sakan are merely mythology, besides those that have met Alorah. The Sakan believe in arranged marriages and having as many children as possible.

Wolfen are half human and half wolf, mostly secluded on Adyse Island. They have a port, named Marria which sails to Port Rente on Kitsana, but besides that, there is little to no contact with the outside world. The “royalty” on the island comes from a very pure bloodline that may have actually been royalty at one point. Wolfen are generally kind hearted and loyal, but can be fierce when challenged to battle. They protect the things that are dear to them no matter what and will go to great lengths to please their love and friends.

//NaNoWriMo//

2005-10-20T04:04:28Z

Part 1: The Basics

1. What is your full name?

Jyla. I don't 'ave a last name.

2. Where and when were you born?

I was born... lesse... prob'ly 'bout 32 years ago in the city of Noraka

3. Who are/were your parents? (Know their names, occupations, personalities, etc.)

Can't remember 'em but I be sure they were pretty nice.

4. Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like?

Nah.

5. Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place and the person/people.

I live with mw crew on the Lady Ser'ndipiteh. (Serendipity is her ship.)

6. What is your occupation?

Arr, I be a pirate.

7. Write a full physical description of yourself. You might want to consider factors such as: height, weight, race, hair and eye color, style of dress, and any tattoos, scars, or distinguishing marks.

I be a Lasirus wit' dark red fur, short black hair 'n yellow eyes. I gotta lil white scar 'cross me lip an' a tattoo of a star on me arm. Ye wanna know how I dress? *she laughs* Ah've got my loverly jacket tha' I stole offa big impo'tant ship's cappan (She means captain.) An' a red corset, an' brown knickers an' white socks an' some shoes. Whatcha expect? Harr, I be a pirate, we don't wear no fancy clothes. 'less we steal em.

8. To which social class do you belong?

Pirates belong to nothing an' no one!

9. Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses?

Ar, of course not. I be in perfect health.

10. Are you right- or left-handed?

I can shoot with both.

11. What does your voice sound like?

I sound like a pirate be!

12. What words and/or phrases do you use very frequently?

Arr, avast, ye know, those piratelike words.

13. What do you have in your pockets?

gold! Arr but don't ye be stealin' it from me.

14. Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics?

Arr, I like silver an' I'll do anythin' for it.

Part 2: Growing Up

15. How would you describe your childhood in general?

Don't rember it much.

16. What is your earliest memory?

silver.

17. How much schooling have you had?

Skewl? wossthat.

18. Did you enjoy school?

*blank stare*

19. Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities?

On thee high seas a course.

20. While growing up, did you have any role models? If so, describe them.

Cap'n Aronius cause he was the greatest pirate there ever did be!

21. While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family?

Don't rember.

22. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Can' rember wan'in to be anythin but a pirate.

23. As a child, what were your favorite activities?

Vis'tin the sea 'n playin' wif swords.

24. As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display?

I was..wossword... indeeepe..?

Bayley: Independant?

Yeh! Thasaword. I liked to aventor too. (Adventure.)

25. As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like?

I s'pose so, I 'ad friends bu' I don't rember 'em.

26. When and with whom was your first kiss?

Don' rember, too many to count.

27. Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity?

Nope, bu' I don' rember that either.

28. If you are a supernatural being (i.e. mage, werewolf, vampire), tell the story of how you became what you are or first learned of your own abilities. If you are just a normal human, describe any influences in your past that led you to do the things you do today.

Was born all talented and the like. I'd like ta meet a werewolf or a vampire one day though.

Part 3: Past Influences

29. What do you consider the most important event of your life so far?

Dunno, probly becomin' a pirate.

30. Who has had the most influence on you?

Me crew.

31. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Heh, heheheh. Long story!

32. What is your greatest regret?

Not learnin how t' use more weapons.

33. What is the most evil thing you have ever done?

Beside kill'n rape'n plunderin'? Heheheh.

34. Do you have a criminal record of any kind?

Heheheheheh.

35. When was the time you were the most frightened?

Pirates ain't be afraida nothin'.

36. What is the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to you?

Pirates ain't ever being embarassed!

37. If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why?

Nothin', gotta live in the present.

38. What is your best memory?

Hehehhehheh. *Grins evilly* See this here pendant? Hehe yeah.

39. What is your worst memory?

Losin' a sword duel an' gettin' this scar... i guess. The scar kinna adds to me character though.

Part 4: Beliefs And Opinions

40. Are you basically optimistic or pessimistic?

I like t' think on the good things.

41. What is your greatest fear?

Pirates ain't be afraid of nothin'.

42. What are your religious views?

Wossthat, Gods an' all that? I s'pose there's a God, but he's probly none to happy wit me.

43. What are your political views?

*blank stare*

44. What are your views on sex?

It be fun.

45. Are you able to kill? Under what circumstances do you find killing to be acceptable or unacceptable?

Heheheh.

46. In your opinion, what is the most evil thing any human being could do?

Take away sommon's dream.

47. Do you believe in the existence of soul mates and/or true love?

Hah. Love. *Starts laughing*

48. What do you believe makes a successful life?

Arr, doin' watcha want to be doin.

49. How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings (i.e. do you hide your true self from others, and in what way)?

No one knows what really goes on in me brain.

50. Do you have any biases or prejudices?

I don' be likin' no cowards.

51. Is there anything you absolutely refuse to do under any circumstances? Why do you refuse to do it?

Betray me crew.

52. Who or what, if anything, would you die for (or otherwise go to extremes for)?

Me crew.

Part 5: Relationships With Others

53. In general, how do you treat others (politely, rudely, by keeping them at a distance, etc.)? Does your treatment of them change depending on how well you know them, and if so, how?

I be however I feel like.

54. Who is the most important person in your life, and why?

Me crew! Well, out of me crew, probably Malachai, me first mate. He be like a little brother to me.

55. Who is the person you respect the most, and why?

Besides meself? Heh, I spose it'd be Aronius if I ever got t' meet 'im.

56. Who are your friends? Do you have a best friend? Describe these people.

Me crew of course. Ye expect me to be describin 13 people to ye?

57. Do you have a spouse or significant other? If so, describe this person.

Nah, we pirates don't have the time fer marr-age.

58. Have you ever been in love? If so, describe what happened.

I think so, but... I don't be wantin' t' get int' it.

59. What do you look for in a potential lover?

Heheh. Gotta be perty t' look at.

60. How close are you to your family?

Don't talk t' em.

61. Have you started your own family? If so, describe them. If not, do you want to? Why or why not?

Like I said, pirates don't be havin' the time fer family.

62. Who would you turn to if you were in desperate need of help?

Me crew an' Malachai.

63. Do you trust anyone to protect you? Who, and why?

Malachai an' me crew.

64. If you died or went missing, who would miss you?

Me crew.

65. Who is the person you despise the most, and why?

This girl, called 'erself Mirande or sommat, the only person ter ever betray me and me crew.

66. Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict?

Heheh. I like t' argue.

67. Do you tend to take on leadership roles in social situations?

Ah course! I be the cap'n of this here pirate vessel.

68. Do you like interacting with large groups of people? Why or why not?

Arr, of course. I inter...tract? With me crew every day.

69. Do you care what others think of you?

I care what me crew thinks.

Part 6: Likes And Dislikes

70. What is/are your favorite hobbies and pastimes?

I like bein' a pirate.

71. What is your most treasured possession?

Me treasure of course. I also like this pendant... heheheh.

72. What is your favorite color?

silver

73. What is your favorite food?

Anythin' that we don't be eatin' on this ship every day.

74. What, if anything, do you like to read?

I can't read too good.

75. What is your idea of good entertainment (consider music, movies, art, etc.)?

I like t' watch things.

76. Do you smoke, drink, or use drugs? If so, why? Do you want to quit?

I drink grog every day. Grog an' rum.

77. How do you spend a typical Saturday night?

Like every other night, drinkin' an' pillagin'.

78. What makes you laugh?

Arr funny things.

79. What, if anything, shocks or offends you?

Har har har. Look who ye be askin'.

80. What would you do if you had insomnia and had to find something to do to amuse yourself?

Swill a pint or two o' grog an' hope that knocks me out.

81. How do you deal with stress?

pirates don't be needed t' be stressin.

82. Are you spontaneous, or do you always need to have a plan?

depends on the sitooashun. Situation.

83. What are your pet peeves?

When there be not enough grog fer the lot of us.

Part 7: Self Images And Etc.

84. Describe the routine of a normal day for you. How do you feel when this routine is disrupted?

Wake up an' sail 'round, maybe plunder some, esplore. Ye know how it be.

85. What is your greatest strength as a person?

I be full o' strengths.

86. What is your greatest weakness?

I don't be havin' no weaknesses.

87. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I wouldn't be changin' nothin'.

88. Are you generally introverted or extroverted?

Wossthat...? I be quite loud.

89. Are you generally organized or messy?

Ar, I be organized for a pirate.

90. Name three things you consider yourself to be very good at, and three things you consider yourself to be very bad at.

Findin' silver, pillagin', fightin'.
I be bad at singin', an' cookin' an' thassabout it.

91. Do you like yourself?

A'course!

92. What are your reasons for being an adventurer (or doing the strange and heroic things that RPG characters do)? Are your real reasons for doing this different than the ones you tell people in public? (If so, detail both sets of reasons...)

I be a pirate. Thassall. Ev'ryone knows it.

93. What goal do you most want to accomplish in your lifetime?

T' be the greatest pirate of all time!

94. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Lootin' an' piratin'.

95. If you could choose, how would you want to die?

In a duel, orr be eaten by a great big sea serpent.

96. If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, name three things you would do in the time you had left.

Probly visit me parents if they're still kickin' it, an' go on one last raid an' make sure there'll be a good cap'n once I be gone.

97. What is the one thing for which you would most like to be remembered after your death?

Arr, t' be the greatest pirate!

98. What three words best describe your personality?

Arr, strong, smart an' brave!

99. What three words would others probably use to describe you?

I been called raucous an' violent an' crazy before...

cranialwomb @ 2005-10-19T04:39:00

2005-10-19T11:39:47Z

Where I End and You Begin
14+ for violence and language
-If you're bothered by anthropomorphy etc. then don't bother-

Chapter 1

The magic-induced sleep finally wore off of the blonde wolfen girl, and her yellow eyes slowly opened. She was lying on a quite uncomfortable bed and was covered with a red, satin blanket. She eased herself into a sitting position and ran a hand through her golden locks. The blood appeared to have been cleaned off and her hair was no longer tangled, but in beautiful curls.

The room she was in was dirty, the walls and floor that were once stone, were charred black. There was a window on the wall behind her that showed a decrepit looking village in the midst of a large valley. There were few trees scattered about, and she could almost make out the forms of winged creatures slaving away below. The sun was shining brightly as always, but she was still slightly cold in the stone room.

Littered about the room, she saw various things like tables, candelabras, chests, chairs, and boxes, all charred black. She assumed there must have been a fire here a long time ago, and the owners never bothered to clean this room up. There was a door on the wall that her bed faced, but it appeared locked. “Maybe a dragon burned the place down!” She exclaimed, her overactive imagination surfacing. “Or maybe there was a usurper! Or… perhaps an angry maiden was in love with a prince but their families wouldn’t allow their love!” She giggled to herself, thinking of all sorts of possibilities.

“Oh, but I mustn’t assume things about this place. It would be wrong.” She reprimanded herself. “For what if someone was hurt or killed and here I am wondering and laughing about it, as if it were nothing!”

Before she could speak again, the door opened, and standing in front of her was a large beast, similar to the one that stole her away. It stood on its hind legs, though it was hunched over, and it seemed more intelligent than the other. For one, it was quite a bit leaner, though still very muscled. Its wise eyes were green and below them, a large amount of hair was held together by a golden band. The beast looked like a wild wolfen, its large front teeth hung out of its mouth, even when it was closed. It had many scars about its body and it had a golden earring in its left ear. It had a rope tied around its waist, and sheathed in it was a large 3-pronged fork. It too had small feathered wings that didn’t look like they’d be much help if it wanted to fly.

Ayla was quite surprised when it spoke in a low, throaty voice. “Good afternoon, mistress. May I be of any service to you?”

She flinched, the way it spoke with such an air of grace did not fit its voice, nor body. She quickly shook her head and the beast turned to leave.

“No, wait.” She had changed her mind, “Where am I and who are you… Why am I here?” She suddenly called out, before it closed the door. It turned back around and looked at her.

“Takisrax Castle. My name is Fenris.” It had ignored her last question. The door shut and she was alone once more.

-X- -X- -X- -X-

Kaele glanced up at the large stone wall in front of him, and wondered why the city would need such defence. He walked up to the gates and turned to the right, facing a hole in the stone that lead to a room, to speak with the watchman.

“Your business in Talmora?” The man in the room asked in a snivelling voice, his light eyes staring at the glaive in Kaele’s hands.

“I am merely searching for any information regarding a lost friend. The princess of Adyse Island, Ayla.” He stated plainly, and upon noticing the watchman’s glare, his hand tightened on the blade’s shaft.

The man thought for a moment, then answered. “We are a peaceful town. Leave your weapon with me and retrieve it on your way out. Your name?”

“Kaele,” he stated plainly as the man scribbled it down on a piece of paper. Kaele handed his weapon through the hole and the man hastily placed it behind him along with the paper.

“You may enter.” The gates opened, creaking loudly and Kaele walked forward. The gates slammed shut behind him.

He sighed quietly to himself, as he wondered where he should go first. He figured that the inn would be a good place to start, even if the one in Iliriath hadn’t been much help. He meandered down the main road, passing a food market and coming to a stop at a four way intersection.

His stomach growled, and he regretted handing over his last gold. What he would give for a meal right about now. He pouted a little before turning down the street to the right. The first thing he noticed was a little park with green grass, large trees and flowers, and after that, down the street a little further was an inn. He muttered quietly to himself, “Ayla, I need to rest, and so I must apologize to you for my lack of speed. I will come soon.”

He headed straight for the park, making note of the inn down the street, and sat down beneath a large tree. He was exhausted from travelling all day and he decided that this was a much need time to relax. He let his eyes close, drifted off to sleep, and within moments he felt another presence. Opening his eyes slowly, he examined the person who was standing in front of him.

“May I be of service to you?” He asked, taking in the girl’s features, her short, wavy blonde hair that reminded him so much of Ayla. Her skin was the same mint green as his beloved, and finally the same shaped eyes, only they were milky white. He realized that she was probably blind.

She giggled and replied, “No! You’re just silly, sleeping under the tree, y’know. Most people go home when they’re tired and want to sleep!”

“I- well, I am not from around here-”

“Well, I know that! You feel different. What are you, a Wolfen?” She laughed.

He felt slightly uncomfortable. First of all, if this girl was blind, how did she know that he was sleeping under the tree? And why did she have antennae and crystalline wings? And why the hell did she look so much like Ayla? “Actually, I am Wolfen.”

“Oh!” She gasped and laughed awkwardly. “I was right!” She suddenly shouted, grinning broadly. “You see, I’m blind! So I have to feel.”

Kaele’s eyes widened, “You touched me while I slept!?”

“No no,” the bug-girl laughed, “feel. Like sense! I sensed that you were a Wolfen.”

“Oh.”

“Of course I can use my antennae, but I like to try using my sensing sometimes. You know, exercise all your skills and all that.”

“Yeah, that.”

She stuck out a hand at him suddenly and announced, “My name is Alorah! Everyone around town knows me, so you should too!”

“I… see. Pleased to meet you, Alorah. I am Kaele.” He shook her hand quickly. “Out of curiosity, what are you?”

Giggling, Alorah replied, “I am a Sakan!”

“A… what?”

“Sakan! I’m originally from Arameia Island.”

“Never heard of it, to be honest.”

“Yeah… not many do.”

“You sound sad, why did you leave?”

“Oh! Arranged marriages and all that. They’re very old-fashioned over there. My parents had me set up to marry this old man and I ran away!”

“Sounds terrible.”

“Well, it wasn’t all bad. I got to explore a lot.”

“Wasn’t that hard because of your-”

“What, because I’m blind?” She laughed. “I have my antennae remember? I can see with them almost as well as if my eyes worked.”

Kaele nodded, he was beginning to quite like the girl. Despite her difficulties, she was still optimistic and friendly. He decided to ask about Ayla, just in case she might know something.

“Hey, you said everyone in town knows you?”

“Yes, I did say that.”

“Would you happen to have heard anything about a girl by the name of Ayla? She resembles you very much, only she is a Wolfen. She’s the Princess of Adyse.”

“Hmm,” Alorah thought for a moment, running a hand through her lightly curled hair. “Nope. Can’t say I have!”

“Oh. Well, thanks anyways, Alorah.” He sighed in disappointment and leaned back against the tree.

Alorah sat down in front of him and leaned her head in her hand. “If you don’t mind me asking, what happened to her?”

“I don’t mind.” He paused, trying to recall everything that had happened so far. “It’s a bit of a long story, if you don’t mind hearing it all.” She shook her head and so he continued. “Well, Ayla and I, we’re from the island of Adyse, which I’m sure you’ve heard of. Ayla comes from an old bloodline and so we, the villagers called her princess.

“One day, I was resting in this place that no one but myself and Ayla knew about." Before he could continue, Ayla interrupted him.

“What’s it like?”

He laughed quietly and replied, “It’s a cliff overlooking a big bay. At the far end is a waterfall from the ocean. It’s a strange little place, and I had discovered it when I was a little boy. I brought Ayla there once, and from then on it was our place.

“Anyways, I was sitting there, just thinking, when I heard Ayla scream. So I of course ran to her aid, but she was in the Forbidden Forest. That didn’t stop me though. When I got to her, she was being tossed about by a large wolf-like beast, but it had wings.”

“How horrible! Was she hurt?”

“Not badly, but before I could rescue her, the beast made a portal and disappeared into it. I chased after them, but by the time I got to the other side, they were gone. I saw them inside another portal but I accidentally destroyed it.”

“Oh no! That’s no good. Are you going to try and find her?” Alorah asked. She looked genuinely sad about the story.

“Well, I’m going to try. But I have no idea of where they went, and I’ve never been here before. I don’t really know where to look, and everywhere I go people want my money. I lost all I had to a barkeeper in Iliriath in exchange for worthless information.”

Alorah laughed, “You have to watch out for those slimy bartenders! They’ll take all your money, and still be utterly useless! Well, I might be able to help you out if you’d like. I know Kitsana pretty well, and I’ve been pretty bored around here.”

“I couldn’t ask that of you, Alorah. It’s quite dangerous.”

Laughing again, she gently touched his arm. “Probably nothing I haven’t faced before. And anyways, I like adventures! Rescuing the maidens and whatnot.”

“But Alorah,” He glowered, “I-”

“No buts! You need a guide, assistance, what have you. I can help out, I really want to. And if you’re worried about my blindness, it doesn’t hinder me in any way!”

He was about to argue back, but his stomach decided at that moment to growl terribly loud and he dropped his head in embarrassment.

“Oh right! You have no money! Come with me, I’ll get you some food.”

Kaele’s eyes widened and he shot her a glance. “I can’t take your food or money, or whatever it is you’re offering!”

“Yes you can!” She stood up, grabbed his hands and pulled.

He resisted and calmly stated, “I can’t. It wouldn’t be right.”

“But if I was giving it to you!” She tugged a little harder.

“You’re not going to give up are you?”

“Nope!”

“Argh.” He grunted and stood up. “Fine, but I insist that I do something for you, in return.”

“Yeah, whatever!” Alorah smirked, turned away and started walking towards the food market that Kaele passed on his way to the park.

He easily caught up to her, since his legs were much longer. “Why do you want to help me anyways?”

“I’m bored! And, well, your story sounded interesting…”

They arrived at the little market, and Alorah looked at Kaele and said, “You can get whatever you want.” He thought for a moment and pointed at an apple. He wasn’t going to rob her of her money, but he was hungry.

“Oh don’t be silly, do you eat meat?” Alorah waited for his nod before continuing, “Alright, mister food shop guy, I want a steak, a big one! And, maybe, um…” She bit her lip, “And two potatoes… and that apple.”

The market owner nodded and said, “Anything for you Alorah.” He brought the food she requested to the counter and asked for 5 gold coins. She handed it over, scooped up the food, brightly said thanks, and began walking away.

Kaele followed her. “You know, you didn’t have to buy all that,” he said, disgruntled.

“Yeah, well, I get a discount! And anyways, it’s been awhile since I’ve gotten to cook for someone!”

2 hours and a full meal later, Kaele was sitting in Alorah’s living room on her couch with her. He still couldn’t believe how generous she was being, and that she actually wanted to help him. He didn’t want to refuse because really, he needed all the help he could get. And plus, it was nice to have some sort of companionship.

“I’m sorry, there’s not a lot to do at my house…” Alorah apologized, half-pouting. Her curly blonde hair fell into her face and covered her milky-white eyes.

Kaele glanced over at her, a look of disbelief was in his eyes. “Alorah, please do not apologise. You are being very generous, much more than I would have ever asked of you.”

“Yeah…” She whispered, “I guess it’s just… I’m lonely sometimes, and… I feel like I have to make it up to people.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

The girl glanced up smiling, her usual happy demeanour had returned. “It’s fine! See, I’m alright. Don’t worry about it.”

Alright, said Kaele’s mind, she’s definitely crazy, but in an endearing sort of way. The girl was like none other than Kaele had ever met, and even Ayla’s perkiness was no match for Alorah’s optimistic attitude. He couldn’t help but smile at her; she was like a little child, eager to learn things and always willing to make a friend.

“So… Do you have any idea where you want to start looking?” Alorah had evidently decided to steer the topic away from herself and onto the future.

“I saw Ayla in one of those strange bubbles on the Plains of Elgorath, but I apparently destroyed it.”

“What’d it look like?”

“It looked like she was in a stone room, a castle perhaps. It was light, so she wasn’t in a dungeon.”

“I… don’t think there are any castles here.”

Kaele’s brow furrowed and his ears pressed flat against his skull. He stared hard against the wall opposite him; it was wooden and had a dent near the floor. He figured that perhaps if he stared hard enough, the grains of the wood would show him where his beloved was.

The girl looked over at him, a bit concerned with his fervent wall staring. She tapped his shoulder and said, “Well, there are some awfully old towns on Kitsana, and I never really explored Kembren…”

“…Kitsana? Kembren?”

Alorah laughed quite loud, nearly bringing tears to her eyes. “You really come from a secluded place don’t you! Kitsana is the continent we are on, it has two countries on it. We’re in Soras, and to the East is Kembren. People don’t go to Kembren a lot though because it’s a kind of shady place. The guy who’s in charge of the capitol is a weird Lasirus who enjoys playing pranks on everyone.”

“Sorry to be so ignorant,” he paused, an embarrassed look on his face, “but what is a Lasirus?”

Another burst of laughter from Alorah, to which she promptly apologized for. “Really, I don’t mean to laugh! A Lasirus, well, they’ve got great big leathery wings and these enormous ears! Oh and their eyes are absolutely too large for their heads! They can see in the dark real well though. I’m sure we’ll meet one someday, and then you can see one for yourself.”

“Oh.” Kaele nodded in understanding. This was a lot for him to take in, in such a short amount of time. New continents that he never knew existed, and species that he’d never heard of, among other things. He unconsciously yawned and Alorah snapped her head up.

“Right! You’re tired, you poor thing. I won’t keep you up anymore with my chatter.” She grinned and stood up. “I’ve got a spare room with a nice bed in it, just for you!”

Kaele stood up as well and followed her down the narrow hallway. “Thank you.” Alorah opened a door to their right and lead him inside where, like she said, there was a bed, amongst a bookshelf littered with old books, a little desk and an odd assortment of things like swords, scabbards, bows, and pieces of armour on display.

He stood gaping at the display for a moment and Alorah chuckled. “I like to collect things when I’m out.”

“Oh, I understand. Thank you again, Alorah. Good night.”

“G’night, you. Have a good sleep, promise?”

“I promise.”

“Good. See you in the morning.” She shut the door and left him alone.

//NaNoWriMo//

2005-10-17T10:09:29Z

Hello, I'm going to be an arse and copy followthetisa 's idea of doing the 100 questions interview. I thought it was quite brilliant, so Celia, my lovely protagonist will tell you all about herself.

Part 1: The Basics

1. What is your full name?

I am Celia, but I'm not going to tell you anymore than that.

2. Where and when were you born?

I was born in Port Senta, on Kitsana, 23 years ago.

3. Who are/were your parents?

My parents... My mother's name is Ferrah and she and my father, Jareth own a little fish shop in Senta. It's quite popular

4. Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like?

I have a sister, but she was only a baby when I left, so I really don't know what she's like now. Her name's Mina and she's 7. When I was at home though, she was a good kid. Didn't cry a lot or anything. She was really fascinated by my guns though.

5. Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place and the person/people.

Well, when I live somewhere, it's usually an inn, and always by myself. I travel a lot.

6. What is your occupation?

Hired assassin, although lately I've been doing less assassination, and more boring guard duty.

7. Write a full physical description of yourself. You might want to consider factors such as: height, weight, race, hair and eye color, style of dress, and any tattoos, scars, or distinguishing marks.

Well, I'm tall and quite thin. I'm a bit lanky, but that's alright. I'm probably about 5'9" and last time I checked, I weighed about 130 lbs. I'm human, of course- wait a sec, you won't use this against me will you? ...Okay, I have to stay on the safe side you know, I'm probably wanted in many places. Anyways, I have short jet-black hair, it's around shoulder-length really. My eyes are a brilliant turquoise colour. It's cool because I've never seen anyone with my colour before. I don't have any scars or tattoos or anything, but my canine teeth are really sharp. My usual attire is black pants tucked into black combat boots, a red laced-up shirt, and my lovely black trenchcoat. I'm pretty stylish.

8. To which social class do you belong?

I don't understand... I'm not very social, you see.

9. Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses?

Um, nope. The only weakness I can think of is sore muscles, but everyone gets that.

10. Are you right- or left-handed?

Left handed, although I can still shoot with my right.

11. What does your voice sound like?

How am I supposed to answer that? I don't know, it's not very rough, or soft, or anything. It's kind of boring.

12. What words and/or phrases do you use very frequently?

I swear a lot, well, sometimes.

13. What do you have in your pockets?

A little bit of money, a cloth for cleaning my guns, that's about it.

14. Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics?

I talk to myself when I'm on a job, it gets lonely, okay? I also bite my lip when I'm nervous.

Part 2: Growing Up

15. How would you describe your childhood in general?

It was good, my parents were nice, and they spoiled me. It was boring though, living in a fishing port. After you met all the crews of the same ships, it got mundane. Also, I got really sick of the fish smell.

16. What is your earliest memory?

Hmm, I think it might be the first time I went fishing with my Dad. It was fun, but I was more interested in the gun he had.

17. How much schooling have you had?

Enough. There was a school in Senta, and I went there for a few years.

18. Did you enjoy school?

It was alright, boring.

19. Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities?

My dad taught me how to use a gun, but I learnt most of my skills by myself. It's easy to learn things when you visit different cities and cultures.

20. While growing up, did you have any role models? If so, describe them.

Definately my father, he was brilliant with a gun and even better with his harpoon. I also admired my mother and her knowledge of other languages. She taught me a lot of what I know. Oh! I forgot about Kyo. He taught me a lot about hunting and shooting long-range.

21. While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family?

We got along fine, even when Mina was born, there was never any animosity between the two of us.

22. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Of course, when I was very young, I wanted to do what my parents did, but as I grew older, I knew I wanted to use guns. I mean it's awfully sad to have a job of killing people, but it's good money, and I only take certain jobs, I'll have you know.

23. As a child, what were your favorite activities?

Fishing, harpooning, swimming, hunting with Kyo.

24. As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display?

I was curious and outgoing, I got along with everyone in the town. I was also very independant.

25. As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like?

Yes, I was friends with all the other children in out town. We all used to play together on the beach, and sometimes we were allowed to go to the mountain range and explore, if there was an adult.

26. When and with whom was your first kiss?

Umm.. it was when I was 7, and it was a boy named Erik.

27. Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity?

Still a virgin. I've never had a boyfriend.

28. If you are a supernatural being (i.e. mage, werewolf, vampire), tell the story of how you became what you are or first learned of your own abilities. If you are just a normal human, describe any influences in your past that led you to do the things you do today.

Kyo and my father taught me to use guns, that's about it.

Part 3: Past Influences

29. What do you consider the most important event of your life so far?

Leaving home and getting my first assassination job. Well, first human-assassination job. It was definately weird to have to kill a sentient being.

30. Who has had the most influence on you?

My father.

31. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Every successful assassination, I guess.

32. What is your greatest regret?

I regret leaving so early from home. It wasn't my fault though, I was bored and my parents were being so protective.

33. What is the most evil thing you have ever done?

I do evil deeds everyday. Killing someone is very evil. Funny hearing that from an assassin huh? Sometimes I wish I wasn't an assassin...

34. Do you have a criminal record of any kind?

Well, I would assume so.

35. When was the time you were the most frightened?

Getting my first real job, guard duty, and animal hunting doesn't count.

36. What is the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to you?

I'm sort of clumsy, so it was either when I fell out of a tree while trying to hide, or tripping and falling on my ass in front of my first employer.

37. If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why?

I can't really say. I would want to say that I'd have not gotten that first human assassination job, but it was worth it, and for good reason, so I can't really decide.

38. What is your best memory?

Shooting a gun for the first time.

39. What is your worst memory?

Having to kill a little girl. I'm not going to into any more detail other than she was going to die a painful and terrible death, and I was doing her a favour. It still haunts me though.

Part 4: Beliefs And Opinions

40. Are you basically optimistic or pessimistic?

I can be both, as most people. I generally try to be optimistic though.

41. What is your greatest fear?

Death.

42. What are your religious views?

I have faith in something more but I don't spend a lot of time dwelling on it.

43. What are your political views?

For what politics we have here, they're fine I guess.

44. What are your views on sex?

It's something that happens. I haven't experienced it, and I'm sure I will, if I don't die before I find someone to love.

45. Are you able to kill? Under what circumstances do you find killing to be acceptable or unacceptable?

I do it constantly. Although I only take the jobs that are necessary, nothing stupid like "Kill john because I don't like him." Stuff thats important.

46. In your opinion, what is the most evil thing any human being could do?

Rape.

47. Do you believe in the existence of soul mates and/or true love?

I believe that people do fall in love, but I doubt the fact that there is one person for everyone. What if your one person lives halfway across the world from you and you never meet?

48. What do you believe makes a successful life?

Doing something you love.

49. How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings (i.e. do you hide your true self from others, and in what way)?

Well, I don't get myself into a lot of social situations, and a lot of the time I have to travel incognito, but as a child I was very honest about everything I believed, and so I assume if the time came, I would be the same.

50. Do you have any biases or prejudices?

I don't like Lasirus' very much, because more often than not they're very sneaky and manipulative, they also lie a lot to get what they want. Of course this doesn't apply to everyone, but I usually won't take a job from one.

51. Is there anything you absolutely refuse to do under any circumstances? Why do you refuse to do it?

Kill someone slowly and/or torture someone. I think the reason why is obvious.

52. Who or what, if anything, would you die for (or otherwise go to extremes for)?

My family. But then again everytime I take a job I am risking my life.

Part 5: Relationships With Others

53. In general, how do you treat others (politely, rudely, by keeping them at a distance, etc.)? Does your treatment of them change depending on how well you know them, and if so, how?

I'm very professional, but not rude.

54. Who is the most important person in your life, and why?

My parents, because well, they're my parents. I don't really know anyone else.

55. Who is the person you respect the most, and why?

My father because he was always very supportive, and he shares a lot of the same views as me.

56. Who are your friends? Do you have a best friend? Describe these people.

I stick to myself.

57. Do you have a spouse or significant other? If so, describe this person.

No.

58. Have you ever been in love? If so, describe what happened.

No.

59. What do you look for in a potential lover?

I can't waste thoughts on things like that. If it happens, it happens.

60. How close are you to your family?

I haven't spoken with them in a few months, but we generally keep in touch.

61. Have you started your own family? If so, describe them. If not, do you want to? Why or why not?

No, but I would like to think that one day I will have one.

62. Who would you turn to if you were in desperate need of help?

I can't rely on anyone but myself.

63. Do you trust anyone to protect you? Who, and why?

Again, I don't think there's anyone out there who can protect me more than I can protect myself.

64. If you died or went missing, who would miss you?

My family.

65. Who is the person you despise the most, and why?

I don't know anyone well enough to despise them.

66. Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict?

The people that I am in contact with, my employers, well, it wouldn't be smart to argue with them, would it?

67. Do you tend to take on leadership roles in social situations?

I lead myself, so I guess I might.

68. Do you like interacting with large groups of people? Why or why not?

It's never happened, really, so I wouldn't know.

69. Do you care what others think of you?

My employers and my family. That's about it.

Part 6: Likes And Dislikes

70. What is/are your favorite hobbies and pastimes?

When I'm not on the job, I like to explore and meet children.

71. What is your most treasured possession?

My guns, of course.

72. What is your favorite color?

Black.

73. What is your favorite food?

I like to eat. A lot. Anything really though, I can't decide.

74. What, if anything, do you like to read?

History books are interesting sometimes. I also, of course, read gun magazines.

75. What is your idea of good entertainment (consider music, movies, art, etc.)?

I like to watch things, like dancing, or things like that. Playing with children.

76. Do you smoke, drink, or use drugs? If so, why? Do you want to quit?

The alcohol here is terrible, I'm not a big drinker though.

77. How do you spend a typical Saturday night?

No different from my other nights.

78. What makes you laugh?

People. Funny situations, I don't know! How am I supposed to answer this?

79. What, if anything, shocks or offends you?

Traitors, betrayal etc.

80. What would you do if you had insomnia and had to find something to do to amuse yourself?

I'd read or polish my guns or something.

81. How do you deal with stress?

Shootings things I guess -she laughs- I like to get massages.

82. Are you spontaneous, or do you always need to have a plan?

Cold, calculated and cruel! Well, maybe not so much, but I do like to make sure I know what I'm doing when I'm on a job.

83. What are your pet peeves?

Working in the rain, stuck-up people.

Part 7: Self Images And Etc.

84. Describe the routine of a normal day for you. How do you feel when this routine is disrupted?

Depends on if I have a job or not. I like to explore the city that I'm working in, when I'm looking for a job. Sometimes jobs take more than a day though, so I get that done before exploring.

85. What is your greatest strength as a person?

I guess my talent with long range weapons. I can hit a target over 50 feet away with a pistol.

86. What is your greatest weakness?

I'm a bit too sympathetic for my job.

87. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Either lock myself away from emotion to be better at my job, or be less clumsy.

88. Are you generally introverted or extroverted?

Like I said, I'm not very social because I can't be with my job. But I like to be around children, and they bring out my extroverted side.

89. Are you generally organized or messy?

I don't have a lot of belongings to get messy.

90. Name three things you consider yourself to be very good at, and three things you consider yourself to be very bad at.

I'm good at long-range shooting, running and persuading people.
I'm terrible at cooking, things like dancing, and speaking in front of large groups.

91. Do you like yourself?

I guess so. I get along very well by myself so yeah.

92. What are your reasons for being an adventurer (or doing the strange and heroic things that RPG characters do)? Are your real reasons for doing this different than the ones you tell people in public? (If so, detail both sets of reasons...)

I like exploring and guns. There's nothing really more to it than that. Discovering new places and whatnot. People don't ask, so I don't tell.

93. What goal do you most want to accomplish in your lifetime?

I guess starting a family or something. I don't really have high hopes about anything else... maybe visiting every city, or something...

94. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Still on the job I guess, but with a hell of a lot more experience.

95. If you could choose, how would you want to die?

Something extravagant so everyone would know my name -she laughs-.

96. If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, name three things you would do in the time you had left.

Visit my parents and sister and give them everything I own, eat a gigantic feast and... Gods, I don't know, maybe do something to garner attention for myself? Heh...

97. What is the one thing for which you would most like to be remembered after your death?

My excellent sharp-shooting skills!

98. What three words best describe your personality?

Sharp-witted, quiet and trusting.

99. What three words would others probably use to describe you?

Aloof, smart and talented or something.

Phew -she runs a hand through her hair- that was a long quiz. And if anyone else wants to ask me questions, go ahead. I'll answer them! -She grins.-

cranialwomb @ 2005-10-04T00:22:00

2005-10-04T07:22:48Z

Where I End and You Begin
14+ for violence and language
-If you're bothered by anthropomorphy etc. then don't bother-

There he sat, upon the edge of a cliff, thinking again. This was Kaele’s favourite spot. He always felt at peace here, looking down into the deep basin of clear turquoise water below, or watching the waterfalls cascade into the valley from the ocean outside. Either way, sitting here, dangling his legs down, put him in a state of comfort.

As he sat, he chewed on a long piece of straw thoughtfully, his shaggy blonde hair waving about in the gentle breeze. He held his magnificent weapon, a glaive of remarkable origins, in his right hand loosely, just in case.

Suddenly, his wolfen ears perked up as he heard something beyond the whispers of the silent breeze. He spat out the straw and asked aloud, “Ayla?” He recognized the girl’s quiet plea for help, and leapt to his bare feet instantly.

He heard her scream out once more, that lovely voice, and without hesitation he ran towards it, clenching his weapon tightly. Away from the quiet basin, away from his peace, and if it had been anyone else, he probably would’ve thought twice about leaving, but it was Ayla. He ran, not stopping until he arrived at the outskirts of a familiar forest. Once told by the elders not to enter, he hesitated, but upon hearing Ayla scream again, he waited no longer.

“Ayla! I’m coming!” He yelled out, his voice hoarse with exertion. He ran forwards, blindly dodging in and out of trees, everything was a blur.

Suddenly, he reached a clearing. A beautiful, untouched clearing, but there was something marring the beauty: a misshapen beast. It prowled around the corpselike body of Ayla as she lay, cowering away from it. Her beautiful golden hair appeared sticky with blood, and as she looked up to Kaele with such loving hopefulness in her yellow eyes, he saw the gouges on her pristine face. Her elaborate pink dress was stained with streaks of blood and dirt, but other than that, she appeared unharmed.

Kaele pulled his glaive up into a ready position, prepared to risk everything to save the frail form on the ground. “Don’t worry Ayla!” His ears flattened against his skull.

At the sound of his voice, the beast turned and faced its attacker. It let out a monstrous snarl and blinked its black, beady eyes. Opening its wide mouth, a large drop of drool hung precariously out, dangling off of its uneven teeth. It had a squished nose which it appeared to be missing a chunk out of, set atop a fairly long muzzle, and two large ears.

Kaele hesitated and it cost him a blow to the leg. The beast had swung its great tail and struck him plainly off his feet. In a cry of rage and slight pain, Kaele stood, pointing the glaive at the beast’s thick furred neck. He moved to jab his blade into it, but it dodged, merely glancing it off of its shoulder. The beast retaliated with a slash to the chest, leaving four long gashes across it, as he fell to the mossy ground. His once white shirt became stained with blood all around the front, and he managed to stand again, leaning heavily on his weapon.

“You must die, fell beast, for attacking a young innocent!” He snarled, addressing the great brute, although he was sure it didn’t understand. It merely stared at him vacantly with obvious annoyance in its blank eyes.

Kaele stood up straight, once more raising his weapon to a ready position. It struck out with its long claws again, but he merely deflected the attack with his blade and swiftly arced down across the beast’s talons, slicing off its whole hand. It cried out in agony and launched itself at him, knocking him to the ground under its weight. His glaive slipped out of his hands, too far out of reach to grab.

Ayla gasped, reaching out a lovely hand towards him, but she could do nothing, the beast was ready to devour Kaele whole. However, Kaele was not about to allow that to happen. He lifted his free hand and dug his fingers into the beast’s eye. It screamed an excruciating scream and leapt off him, fluttering its next to useless feathered wings.

“Had enough? Now leave fell beast!” Kaele barked huskily, struggling to his feet. He snatched up his glaive and leaned on it once more, his orange-furred tail waved about behind him jerkily.

The beast, however, had no intention of listening to him. It decided to ignore its missing hand and blinded eye and leap at Kaele again. The force of its movement and body threw Kaele against a tree, knocking him out cold.

Grinning with delight, the beast limped towards the mint-furred girl and snatched her up with its free claws. She uttered a light, “oh!” of surprise and struggled a bit, but it was to no avail, she could only free her tail. As Kaele lay unconscious, the beast whispered some strange language, closing its eyes in concentration. In front of it appeared a silvery orb of light that seemed to have an aura of great power. The beast moved closer, allowing itself to be enveloped by it, and instantly disappeared inside.

By this time, Kaele shook his head groggily and opened his purple eyes. By the time he refocused them, the beast was gone and only the orb remained, flickering and threatening to disappear any moment. He stood up, shed his blood-soaked shirt, and clutching his weapon he staggered towards the orb, swearing that he would find Ayla and return one day. He reached out and managed to grab hold of it before collapsing to the springy moss floor. Neither letting go of the glaive nor the orb, he blanked out.

When he awoke, he was surrounded by warm light, not at all like the shade of the forest glade. His eyes fluttered open and he noticed thousands of orbs, much like the one he had just seen, were floating lazily around a wide open field. He glanced around quickly, and one caught his eye: it showed his village. He reached out towards it, but upon touch, it burst and a painful, unbearable ringing came to his ears. He covered them and keeled over, trying to stop the excruciating torture. When it finally faded, he noticed that all the orbs had pictures on them as well, each showing something different, but upon expecting a few close by, he came to realize that none of them showed his home. He let out a sigh of disappointment and turned his thoughts back to Ayla. He loved her, he was sure, but she didn’t seem to return his feelings, after all he was merely a peasant, and she, she was daughter of the small village’s leader, the princess.

He stood weakly and looked around. Beyond the floating orbs, there appeared to be some sort of a city. He didn’t recognize it, but he felt it was probably best to start there, if he was ever to find Ayla again. At that thought, he began to walk, but something else caught his eye, another orb in which he saw the sleeping form of his beloved Ayla. Forgetting what happened to the former orb, he reached out longingly towards it and it too burst.

A terrible feeling of guilt and sadness washed over him and he felt his eyes well up with tears. He blinked them away, but one remained, and slid down his soft cheeks and hit the ground. He shook his head determined. “Nothing… she’s not dead, I know it. The orbs have nothing to do with anything do they?” He asked out loud. “They’re just… transportation devices! I know it! Ayla!” He screamed, “Ayla! I’m coming!”

He broke out into a forced run, towards the strange new city in front of him. Tears streaming down his face, he was slightly blinded and tripped occasionally over small rocks and twigs. Eventually, he made it. This city was nothing like he had ever seen, it was paved and the buildings seemed to be made of sturdier material than wood and stones. Albeit there were still horses and wagons about, as well as others dressed like him, but the majority was new to him.

He stood panting and leaning on his glaive, his chest ached and his legs felt as though they’d give out at any moment. As an older man walked by, Kaele called out to him to for help. “Um, can you tell me where I am?” He asked unsurely.

The man chortled and in a strange accent he replied, “Best know where yer headed before yeh start out.” He laughed again, “Y’are in the town of Iliriath.”

“Thanks sir,” Kaele nodded politely. “Although in my case it wasn’t a choice of knowing where I was going, I have to find someone.”

The man looked slightly interested; he raised his bushy white eyebrows and his graying, catlike tail flicked out behind him. “And who might this be?”

“A...friend. By the name of Ayla. She’s got blonde hair and mint fur, bright yellow eyes, wolfen, like me. She’s very beautiful.” Kaele described her, trying to remember anything else he could say.

The man shook his head, “Can’t say ah’ve seen ‘er. Yeh may want ter try in the tavern down yonder. It’s called the Dragon’s Beard, lots of shifty things goin’ on in ther’. Yeh migh’ get some of the info that yeh need, good luck on findin’ yer gal.”

“Thanks sir,” Kaele lowered his head in respect and hurried off down the street, leaning on his glaive for support, and looking for the tavern. The warm sun beat down on his back, but thankfully, he noted, it was sinking beyond the horizon.

The strong stench of ale and whiskey reached his sensitive nose and he halted for a moment, looking around. He noticed a shabby wooden building to his left with a crooked sign reading, ‘Dr gon’s Bea d.’ He assumed that the tavern was fairly old, hence the missing letters. He paused for a moment, readying himself and pushed open the door.

He was met with a flurry of smells, dirt, alcohol and sweat, as well as something else that he couldn’t quite put a name to. There were only a few people inside and a large, greasy bartender who was cleaning a mug with a dirty rag. A couple people glanced up at him, but refocused their attention on whatever they had been doing. Except for one, a pair of gleaming blue eyes peered out from a hooded person sitting alone at a table in the corner.

Kaele ignored the people around him and limped uneasily up to the bar where he seated himself two seats down from an old lady who was eying him suspiciously. The grubby bartender grunted a welcome and asked him bluntly what he wanted to drink.

“Um, nothing please,” Kaele’s stomach turned at the sight of the dirty mugs behind the bar. “But I was wondering if you could help me, you see I’ve been—“

“Information’s gonna cost yeh,” the barkeep snarled hoarsely, his breath reeked of alcohol.

Kaele plunged a hand into his pocket and pulled out a small gold coin. “Will this do?” He reached out and dropped the coin into the bartender’s grimy hand.

“What’re ya lookin’ for?” He asked, apparently sufficed with the single coin.

Kaele sighed and continued. “I’m looking for a woman, a wolfen woman actually, by the name of Ayla. Blonde hair, mint fur and yellow eyes. She was taken away from me by a beast, and I have reason to believe they are in this town somewhere.”

“Are y’sure they didn’t use one of them orbs outside?” The grubby, dark-furred man asked skeptically.

“Well, that’s how I arrived here, using one the beast had used. When I touched it, it burst—” He started.

The man raised an eyebrow as Kaele spoke, and then interjected. “It burst?” He laughed heartily for a moment, then continued, “Yeh just destroyed yer only way of gettin’ home.”

“But…!” Kaele pursed his lips in thought, half closing his eyes. “So you have not seen Ayla?”

The man merely put out his hand, asking for more gold. Kaele reluctantly plunged his hand back into his pocket and pulled out one more piece and dropped it in his outstretched hand.

“No, I haven’t.” The bartender answered plainly, calmly, knowing full well how Kaele would react.

“What!? You made me pay for that!?” He yelled in anger, flashing his white canines at the man, who chuckled quietly to himself. “You mean to tell me that you made me pay my last gold coin for that stupid little piece of information that does not help me in the slightest!?”

By this time, the large bartender was laughing hysterically at the enraged wolfen in front of him. The patrons of the tavern all stopped what they were doing to stare at the scene at the bar.

Red-faced and angry, Kaele turned to leave the bar when the old woman who was sitting beside him tapped him lightly on the shoulder. Ignoring the laughing bartender, she pulled him aside and spoke in hushed whispers. “I know something that may be of help to you. Come with me.”

With no choice but to follow, Kaele nodded his head, shot the uproarious bartender a glare and hobbled up the stairs to the inn, behind the lady. She paused at a door, pulled out a key and unlocked it. She opened it swiftly and ushered him inside, following right after.

“Couldn’t you have told me down at the bar?” He asked, feeling uneasy being alone in this old woman’s hotel room. She could easily bring out the voodoo and kill him or something, he thought, frowning.

She laughed quietly to herself and lit a candle from the torch outside before shutting the door and placing the candle on a desk. It seemed everyone was laughing at him, Kaele thought to himself, was it because he was wolfen?

“Oh no, I didn’t want them hearing. The barmen wouldn’t have approved me helping a young stranger, such as yourself. I am Samaira.” She slipped off her cloak, revealing a plain black dress and a greying, black wolfen tail. Kaele glanced up at her emerald eyes, and spotted the wolfen ears nearly hidden behind her white hair.

He nodded his head respectfully. “I am Kaele. I take it you are wolfen as well? The first I’ve seen here.”

“That is because I am the only one in this town. Our folk tend to live away from the others as you probably have noticed.” She closed her eyes in thought, then spoke again. “I recall you mentioning the Plains of Elgorath?” At the look of confusion in his eyes, she clarified, “The plains where you saw the silvery orbs.”

He nodded hopefully, “Yes, and that’s where the…”

“Hush, I know. You said you saw her in another orb, correct?” He nodded and she continued. “But then you approached it and it popped, correct?” Again, he nodded. “Well you may have no way of getting your girl back.”

His jaw dropped at the curt statement. “What… what do you mean?”

“Well, since you hadn’t invoked the traveling spell, you destroyed the link. The only way to get there, and to your home, now, is by foot.” She closed her eyes and lowered herself to the bed.

He furrowed his eyebrows. “What does that mean? What do I do now? I have no knowledge of these lands!”

“Sorry, Kaele, but I cannot assist you further. Unless of course…” She focused her vibrant green eyes on his pockets.

He shook his head regretfully. “I don’t have any more money. I was but a peasant in my village-”

“What’s that?” She pointed at his scythe. “I’ll take that instead.”

His eyes widened in shock, but he quickly narrowed them. “No, I’ll be keeping my glaive, thank you very much. And what is with you people and wanting my gold for everything!” He was clearly disgruntled and his professional speech was quickly losing its touch, he kept slipping into common slang.

“I guess, then, you are up to finding your beloved alone.” With that, she waved him out of her room and turned her back to him. He had no choice but to take leave of the deranged old woman, and no sooner than when he had left the room, the door slammed behind him.

He swore under his breath to himself, tightened his grip on his glaive and limped out towards the tavern. Ashamed, he readied himself to face the barkeep and the patrons, but when he reached the open bar area, it was empty, save for the bartender who was locking up. “Better get outta here, you, unless yer gonna pay for a room,” the man snarled, his pallid grey eyes shined greedily.

“No thanks, sir.” Kaele bowed his head and slipped outside. He must have been in that woman’s room a long time, he mused to himself, though it only felt like a couple minutes. It was well past midnight, Kaele was out of gold, and he was tired and cranky. He wasn’t about to sleep out in the street, should he be robbed of the very clothes on his back, so he walked down the cobblestone street, limping slightly, searching for something. He just didn’t know what he was looking for.

Eventually, he came to rest in front of pawn shop. His body was aching and screaming for rest, so he gave in and sat, with his back against the cool stone of the wall. He held his glaive protectively but soon felt his head dropping against his chest and his eyelids close heavily, there was nothing he could do to prevent the sleep from overcoming him.

When he awoke the next morning, he was not greeted by the stench of horse, nor was he missing anything, besides his glaive. But there was something different; he was covered by a blanket, and lying down, on nothing more than a hardwood floor, but it was better than sleeping outside, against a building. He struggled his purple eyes open and glanced about himself, granted his eyesight was blurry with sleep, but he could tell he was not where he had fallen asleep.

Surrounding the boy were many marvellous artefacts and other objects that some would classify as ‘junk’. Things had been moved to make room for him, he could tell, and there was his glaive lying some five feet away from him, leaned up against a wall. He sat up, rubbed his eyes vigorously and made to stand up. His knees buckled and he let out a ragged gasp as his hand went flying to his chest as the events and the fight of the day before came flooding back to his memory.

He furrowed his brow and frowned a bit before attempting to stand again, this time taking it easy and moving slower. He still had a bit of trouble, but at least he was able to stand now. He winced as he felt the muscles in his legs tense up, they were extremely sore from yesterday and he made a mental note not to do that again.

Forgetting his glaive for the time being, he hobbled out the door which was slightly ajar, and found himself in the pawnshop, as he had guessed. The owner noticed him and quickly walked over to him.

“I see you’re awake!” The dark-furred merchant smiled pleasantly, his voice had a heavy islander accent. “I found you asleep in fronta my store in the middle of the night, and decided you’d probably fair better inside.” The man seemed good-natured enough to Kaele, and he smiled in return.

“Thank you, sir.” He bowed his head respectfully. “I don’t have any gold to pay you though, for your hospitality.”

The man laughed a hearty laugh. “Don’t worry about, man! I’m no inn! I just have a pawn shop, so if you need anything, or don’t need it, dis is da place to come!”

“I’ll keep that in mind!” Kaele smiled warmly to his host. The man seemed like he knew about the town a bit, and so he decided to ask about Ayla.

As he finished reciting his story, the man frowned in thought, and shook his head, no. “I’m sorry! I haven’t heard anythin’ abou’ dis girl, I wish I could help more, man.”

Kaele sighed, disappointed. “It is alright. Thank you, sir, for lending your roof to me.” Refreshed, Kaele’s speech returned to its usual grace.

“It was no problem man, if you ever need a place to stay you can come by!” The pawnshop owner grinned toothily

Kaele smiled and bowed graciously. “Thank you again, sir.” He turned to take his leave, but the man kindly asked him to wait.

“Ya should check out Talmora. It’z a bit of a larger city, but ya may be able to find some info yeh need there, yea?” He shrugged. “It’z a bit northeast outta dis town.”

Kaele grinned and quickly thanked the man. “Truly in your debt!” He bowed respectfully and went back to the room where he left his glaive. As he emerged, the man waved him over.

“Do be careful though, there’s plenty’a wild beasts out there waitin’ for yah.” Kaele nodded, and the man continued. “Just exit the store ‘n’ turn right ‘n’ follow dat road out to the outskirts. From there, just follow da signs. Was nice meetin’ yah.”

“Thanks for everything sir, it was nice to meet you too. Hopefully we shall see each other again before my journey is through.” With that, the young man stood tall and exited the pawn shop.

He stepped down the stairs to the dusty, wind-beaten road, slowly, still leaning on his glaive. He turned to the right, just as the pawnshop owner had instructed, and followed the path. It was still fairly early in the morning, and so only a few people were out, mostly housemaids, or men’s wives and daughters hanging up the laundry. Nearly all of them glanced over at him uneasily as he passed, but he ignored them, he was used to being stared at. Back in his village, the townsfolk would all stare when he walked around with Ayla, she was like royalty to them, and he was nothing but a commoner.

His mind wandered as he walked, back to those times with Ayla, the times she’d wrap her arm around his and pull him along with her, to see the gardens, or the pretty flowers, or even the small animals that would not be afraid of her gentle touch. The people would stare, some with envy, and some with confusion and disgust. They’d wonder why someone like him was allowed in the immediate presence of the young princess, as they referred to her as, (even if she didn’t like it.) Ayla never noticed though, she was too happy just being with him to notice them staring. He came close to telling her, but he couldn’t bring himself to ruin that beautiful smile.

He shook his head and brushed off these thoughts of painful recollection, they weren’t doing him any good. He trudged along the path at a slower rate than he would have wished, yet his body seemed to be incapable of going any faster. His muscles ached, and even worse, his chest wound was still open and raw. He winced, just thinking about it, and decided to seek medical attention when he arrived at Talmora.

Before long, the buildings were further and further apart, and around him lay large fields and small farmhouses. He figured he had arrived at the outskirts and began searching for a sign to point him in the right direction. He continued down the path, slower than before, when he saw what looked like the sign. As he got closer, he could make out the word “Talmora,” engraved on an arrow pointing slightly to the left.

He paused for a moment, to rest his aching body, and leaned against the signpost. The sun was rising quickly, shining brightly, shedding little remorse on the little people below. The heat brought a slight sweat to Kaele’s brow, and he decided that he best get to the town as soon as possible, he was hungry.

Looking out, his eyes following the direction of the sign, he could make out the faint outline of the city on a backdrop of a large mountain range. Feeling slightly refreshed, he stood up, gripped his glaive and began walking on the beaten, dusty path. All around him was a vast expanse of grasslands with few trees scattered about.

His shoeless feet were calloused, but the heat of the sun on the ground still stung a bit. He wasn’t leaning so much on his glaive as he walked, anymore, and for that he was thankful. Being Wolfen, he had high stamina, and his body regenerated quickly, but it seemed that something in the beast’s claws was preventing his wounds from fully closing.

As he walked, little beads of sweat trickled down his forehead that he wiped away mechanically. He longed for a glass of water; his tongue was dry and sticking to the roof of his mouth. He looked up and saw that the little speck that was Talmora, was getting larger as he got closer. He figured that he’d only be walking for another hour or so before arriving.

That hour had passed uneventfully, but he was not in Talmora. He was now taking a rest underneath a large tree, glaive by his side, and head in his hands. The tree was offering a little shade from the onslaught of the sun’s heat, but not much. He wiped his brow again and stood up, deciding to reach Talmora before resting again.

His thoughts drifted back to the events of yesterday. The nice pawnshop owner he had met, whose name he didn’t know, the grubby bartender, and the weird old lady, Samaira, who barely helped him at all. His tail swayed about behind him as he walked, collecting dust and dirt. Its vibrant colour had faded to that of a dull grey-orange.

Ayla’s gentle face came to his mind once more, and he instantly felt a pang of guilt wash over him. His stomach churned and he nearly keeled over, but he caught himself. He whispered the words, “I’m sorry Ayla,” into the wind and stood tall. A new sense of determination took over and he doubled his speed, despite the pains in his body.

cranialwomb @ 2005-10-04T00:03:00

2005-10-04T07:03:56Z

Hay there world. This is chibiku's writing journal and it will soon be filled with all sorts of lovely stuff!

Yeah. That's right, it's matching my personal journal for now because I am boring!

You should add me... cause The Fetus Likes Friends