rp: main topic Craethiel Kingdom

[Neptune]

Craethiel Kingdom

(Photographer Steve Highfield)

The Craethiel Kingdom is a wild, and untamed land where the monsters and animals of the land rule with an iron fist. Where legends stalk the lands like giants, and myths are the way of the world. A land filled with beauty and wonder, that the unwary traveller would find enchanting and irresistible. A land where the Eldyr’s travelled at will without fear. A land that had seen wars that would strike fear into the sturdiest of souls. It is unwise for an adventurer to strike forth alone for there is little protection beyond the walls of the Great City of Selil, or any of the towns and villagers that dot this harsh and unforgiving land. 

To the North, lies the huge, imposing peaks of the Therarr Mountains that tower high into the air, as if striving to touch the very heavens themselves. A perfect symbol for the land of Craethiel. Beautiful. Enchanting. Untamable and traversable by only a few. To the East sits the Dynx desert. A barren land of blistering heat and little water. The desert is nearly uncrossable at times due to rolling sand storms and below freezing temperatures at night. To attempt the feat is almost as possible as climbing to the very tallest of the Therarr peaks. To the South lays the forest of Rosayia, a deep thick curtain of darkness that seems to go on for an eternity. Hidden within its depths, are mysteries beyond comprehension, and creatures that would make your nightmares seem tame. For citizens, and travellers alike, this land is filled with wonder and danger. For some, it seems that there is nowhere safe.

Be wary, dear traveller, of the land that sings its siren song. You might just meet your end...

Skill lever: Advanced

Relevant Links:

• Extra Information (A must read)
• Character ID
• Out of Character

Rules:
EcchiDreams Standard Roleplay Rules, plus:

• Posts must be at least one paragraph long, with a good amount of detail and with good grammar and spelling (barring mistakes). Anything less than a paragraph, such as a one line post, will be removed and the member in question requested to not do that again. If you consistently post less than a paragraph, then your posts will be removed and you will be asked to leave the roleplay.
• No one can make a character that is of one of the Epsian/UFF species without my strict permission. Also, non-Epsian/UFF species will not be allowed to wander onto the property of Epsian/UFF species without permission. If a character attempts to trespass, they will be met with potentially lethal hostility. 
• No one can RP as the human King who owns the land. If he is needed for anything, then I will roleplay with them providing that it’s a good plot that doesn’t ruin the flow of the RP.
• If you want a location put onto the map, then you’re going to need to message me with the details. If I don’t think the suggestion is good enough, or that the extra information you provide is lacking, then I might refuse. 

[Neptune]

NOTE!
This post is a collab post, with @Temaelrin. We wrote this post together, in a Google Document since the characters Kaylarvana, The Daedric Wolf and King Kail belong to him.

Location: Vorserend, the City of the Eldyrannth, Therarr Mountains.

Devlyn looked down at the destruction that lay before him, an oily smirk curving his lips. He closed his eyes, inhaling deep the smoke and ash laden air, mute testament to the devastation that he and his companion had caused. He opened his gleaming white eyes, scanning the ruined city that lay before him. From where he was standing, he could see tiny figures that were the remains of the inhabitants of this once great and fair city. There were no longer spires that reached like great hands into the very heavens themselves and there was no longer that serene peace that shrouded the great city like a warm, comforting blanket. Devlyn looked upwards, towards the uncaring sky where the sun pulsated an almost sickly looking yellow in the evening sky. He observed the fiery object for a few moments before he turned towards his companion, a female Dreshza that was some years younger than himself,

“That’s stage one complete... now, we must go and pick up our things from that mud hut village.” He said, giving a low chuckle. Devlyn held a low opinion of the inhabitants of Craethiel, as to him they were as backwards as the apes that swung in the trees. They acted and lived like animals, and it made him sick to the stomach however Diomedes had an interest in these people, and he was not going to disobey his Master just because he was having to go among stinking apes. Even the fact that he had to speak their vile tongue made him feel filthy. He turned around, looking once more down at the mountain city, “Now that the scourge of the world of wiped out... we can continue with our plan...” He said. He took a step forward, looking down from the cliff that they were standing upon. There was no way either of the two were able to get onto this cliff without some magical means. The cliff they were standing on was high up inside the Therarr Mountains, on an outcropping. The tall man stood there for a few moments before he seemed to give himself a shake,

“Enough of this. As much as I love to see the result of what we are able to do with the new powers Diomedes blessed us with... we have a mission to carry out and it isn’t getting done while we’re here.” He said, his tone crisp and cold. He stepped back from the cliff edge before closing his eyes as he concentrated. Willing himself to change, he could feel his body shifting and moving. He could feel his body enlarging as feathers seemed to ooze from his body, covering him with electric blue feathers that glinted like jewels in the sick light of the sun. The transition took a few moments, his entire body changing to that of a magnificent bird. It was a huge bird, far larger than any bird that existed, standing twelve metres at the shoulders and having a wingspan of a massive fifty six metres. Even though his feathers were blue in colour, they held a white sheen which gave him the appearance of glittering whenever the light hit one of his pristine feathers. His talons were huge, looking like they could easily grip onto a wagon and carry it off, contents and all. His beak was long and had a slight hook at the end that pointed downwards, giving it a cruel look. The beak alone was strong enough to snap a man easily in two in one bite. The last feature was his eyes. A piercing white that could strike terror into even the bravest of souls. Devlyn looked over his shoulder at his companion, before he looked straight ahead once more. With his sharper eyes, every detail of the Mountain range was made clear to him. He could even see little rabbits scurrying here and there among the Mountain crags like tiny insects. After a few moments pause, Devlyn pushed himself forward, falling off the cliff.

After a few moments, he opened his massive pinions and effortlessly glided on the brisk wind that pushed him up and into the sky. He didn’t look behind him for Yamura, instead choosing a seemingly random direction and lazily flying towards his destination. His huge wings made great stroking sounds, almost like thunder that crackled around him. He paid this no attention, as it was something that he was used to. His focus was on the joy that flying like this gave him. The freedom to fly as he pleased without having to worry about small minded apes panicking at the sight of him. It was glorious. It almost made him want to swoop around like he did when he was a chick, but firmly restrained himself. He wasn’t here to play games like he was a child. He was here on a vital mission.

Devlyn was almost sad when he saw the tiny village in the distance, signalling that their journey was almost over. It had seemed like no time at all since they left Vorserend. Devlyn snapped his beak, feeling annoyed. He tilted his wings, causing him to begin a gentle slope towards the ground. Once he had reached it, mere miles from the village, he flared his wings and allowed his talons to grip the ground below him. Once he was fully settled on the ground, he slowly shifted back into his human form, already missing the feeling of the wind rustling through his feathers. Nearby, Yamura also touched down, her talons gripping the earth before she shrank down into her humanoid form. The tall, blue haired man began walking towards the tiny village in the distance, to where their things were waiting for them in a local inn. He also needed to get horses, so that they could move around without raising to many questions about who they were, although he was planning on using any means possible to be able to convert people over to daedra worship, to be blessed as he was. It didn’t take them that long to reach the outskirts of the filthy, stinking, village. He turned towards Yamura,

“Go wait for me in the Inn. I need to go and buy horses.” He told her before walking off without giving her a chance to say anything or to follow him. He fully expected obedience from her. He walked through the shoddy wooden huts, ignoring the mud splattered people who bowed and fawned at his very presence. Even though he had converted this village before leaving it, he loathed the look that they directed at him, like he was their saviour or something. Much like their smell, it made him feel sick. They were not worthy to look upon him like that, let alone daedra. What possible interest would daedra have in these... cattle. Perhaps Diomedes, or the Almighty Lucifer, just wanted some new play things to mess around with. It was the only thing that Devlyn could think of and he hesitated to presume to know their intentions. He was their servant, nothing more. Just like he expected obedience from Yamura, he expected his own obedience to his Masters. He reached the stables and wandered inside. It was surprisingly neat, for a place where horses were kept. In fact it was cleaner in here than it was in many of the houses. A few moments after he walked inside, a gruff, unshaven man limped towards him. The limp was most likely caused by one of the dumb animals kicking him.

“Good day to yer, sir. What can I do yer’ for, mister?” The man asked, his voice dry and rough sounding. Devlyn eyed him for a few moments,

“I need four good horses, complete with riding equipment.” He said promptly, not wanting to stand around for small talk. Just being in their presence was more than he could handle.

“Four good horses, eh? That’s gonna cost yer...” The man warned, despite the eager glint that came into his eyes.

“I’ll pay whatever you want for them.” Devlyn said, beginning to feel extremely annoyed. The glint faded from the man’s eyes as his face fell, clearly disappointed that his customer wasn’t going to haggle on the prices for them.

“Fine... Fifteen gold pieces each... they’re good horses and I dun want them going fer cheap.” The man said. Devlyn reached into his pocket and pulled out the required amount of money. The man checked the money before stuffing them in his pocket and limping towards the horses as he muttered low under his breath. The Dreshza ignored the man as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms as he impatiently waited for his merchandise. His fingers drummed on his arm as he listened to the man moving about and continuing to mutter as he readied the horses for him. Finally, the man came out leading four large animals. Two of they were a Bay colour, with one black and the other white. He already knew which one he wanted.

“Here yer are, sir. May they serve yer well.” The man said, more out of politeness than any genuine feeling. Devlyn only grunted in response, pulling himself up on the black stallion and taking the reins of the other three horses. He then rode the black horse out into the streets, nudging the creature towards the inn. It was not as graceful as his preferred method, but it should do as a temporary measure. Once he had fully converted this land, he could travel any way that he wanted. When he reached the Inn, he dismounted from his mount and lead them inside the small stable area that they had. He made sure that they comfortable before he left and entered through a side door that led directly into the taproom. He walked up to the bar, ordering an ale, which was promptly given to him, free of charge. He snatched the tankard up and turned away, walking to the corner table and sitting himself down. The sooner he got this done and out of the way, the better. But first, he needed a drink so that he could deal better with the animals and he wasn’t talking about the horses that he had just bought.

Location: The Craethiel Wilds and The Eldyrannth City, Vorserend, Therarr Mountains.

Talivana swept through the clouds, high above the Kingdom of Craethiel. The clouds swirled around her great form, hiding her from view from the ground below. The great dragon ignored the droplets of freezing cold water that collected on her glistening scales and wing membranes. Her wings, over two hundred metres in length, moved up and down as she flew through the thin air of the upper atmosphere, a place where few creatures were able to reach. Her nostrils flared as she breathed deep the thin air, her one way breathing system allowing her to extract more oxygen from the air than most animals two way breathing. It allowed her the advantage of being able to fly high up in the sky, free from the watchful gazes of the inhabitants below. Despite being a dragon, she was nothing like the fearsome creatures that people feared. The only creatures that should fear her were daedra and anything relating to them.

Even though her flight seemed relaxed, delightful even, there was nothing relaxed about her pace. Her wings worked as furiously as they could, sweeping air into them and forcing her to be thrust forwards with each stroke of her vast pinions. The muscles in her shoulders burnt and stung, a feeling that was wrapping itself around her chest and stabbing its way down her back. And yet she continued, trying her best to ignore the mind-numbing pain. Her stomach twisted, and knotted inside of her, as she raced as quickly as she could towards her home; the City of Vorserend, the last City of the Eldyrannth. 

She had been away from the city, chasing a Daedra that had been terrorising a small town, and trying to warp the inhabitants into worshipping him. Talivana had been gone for weeks, at first observing the daedra and its unusual behaviour. But it seemed like it was doing nothing more than trying to satisfy its own desire for some kind of power, so she had lured it away from the town and disposed of it. When she had returned to the inn in which she had been staying, she had found the one person she didn’t want to ever see. Diomedes. When she had demanded that he tell her what he wanted, he told her to return home immediately. He had then smirked at her, before disappearing from view. Concerned, Talivana was helpless but to obey that command.

Talivana tilted her wings slightly, swinging in a low arch as she changed her direction slightly, heading towards her home city deep within the Therarr Mountains. She felt excited to be finally going back after being away from her home for so long, although her excitement was tinged with apprehension as to what she might find. She hoped that her mother, Queen Jyravana, would be alive and safe. Talivana loved her mother dearly, and she had lost far too many family members to want to lose her as well. Her father had been murdered by the hands of Diomedes, an action he had gloated about. She had lost her niece and adopted daughter, Kaylarvana, who had disappeared mysteriously weeks ago. Talivana’s fear was that the Daedra had gotten her and that thought wrung her hearts. She was close to her little niece, almost thinking of her as a daughter and her disappearance had been as hard on Talivana, as it had been on her sister, Lyravana who was Kaylarvana’s real mother. And then, of course, there was that one person that Talivana didn’t want to think about. The traitor. The betrayer and his betraying lover. Her brother, Talrin, and her cousin, Lusravana. Too many of her family had fallen, and she couldn’t stand to lose any more, no matter how.

The Princess was nearing the Mountain range, and was eager to have the thoughts of her people inside of her mind, whispering to her as she would then lose herself into the group mind. However at the point where she would normally begin to hear it, she could sense nothing. No whispers, no thoughts. Nothing. Feeling a little worried, she sped up the strokes of her wings, gaining speed and easily covering the miles over the jagged peaks. Even as she got closer, she could not feel the group consciousness. Her mind like a dark silent tunnel. Feeling more worried, scared even, she sped up more, her wings straining more with the effort. She paid little attention to the burning muscles of her shoulders as she overworked the muscles. Something was wrong. She could sense it. Her gut was twisting painfully as the feeling became overpowering.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she began flying over the familiar peaks that surrounded the city. Despite the dread that was clouding her mind, nothing prepared her for what was to come as she flew over the last peak. The entire city was destroyed. Plumes of thick, oily smoke curling lazily up into the sky. Buildings lay open to the sky, their roofs blasted off as if an explosion within the structure had ripped it apart with great force. In some places, the earth was scorched as if a great power had descended upon it, scaring the very stone itself. Talivana seemed to freeze in the air, her wings still as she drank in the scene before her, not quite believing. The attack seemed to have happened a long time ago, as snow had already began building up in the sad, empty buildings. It was then that she saw the figures lying here and there, half hidden by the snow like figurines haphazardly thrown across the snowy scene. Her entire body trembling with dread and fatigue, Talivana glided over the sad scene, her head swinging from side to side as she took in as much as possible, as it trying to believe that this was all a dream. A terrible, terrible nightmare.

As she reached the very centre of the once great city, she backwinged and landed in the City Square, the ground groaning with her vast weight. The white dragon turned on the spot, her breath coming out as white puffs of smoke that coiled up past her nostrils. Slowly, the dragon seemed to shrink and change shape. Once the transformation was complete, a tall, humanoid woman stood in the dragon's place. Her face was stunningly beautiful, despite the shocked, haunted look in her eyes, with even, exotic looking features that were framed by wavey, thick black hair. Her lips were full and luscious, with a small nose above them which had a defining flick at the very tip. Her eyes were a golden colour, slightly angled and framed with thick eyelashes. Peaking out of her luscious hair were two large ears that were pointed, hugging close to her head and stopping at the top of her head. Running along the bottom of her ears were small spikes. She was wearing a white cloak that covered her entire body with the soft material. The material was smooth, hugging her figure through the use of a sash that was tied around her waist. It connected together at the front, with a piece of material that descended down the front of the carb, to end at a point at mid-shin. The material of the sash was mainly gold in colour, the same shade as her eyes, but it was ringed with white. On the back of the robe, a loose hood hung down, which was normally drawn up to hide the more salient features that immediately identified her as a non-human.

The Elyrannth looked around, her golden eyes taking in the total devastation that surrounded her. The Mountains, always seeming so serene, now seemed to weep openly as the city lay open to the very elements themselves. Talivana felt something wet on her cheeks, and she lifted one hand to her face. For a moment, she had thought that it had perhaps been raining. However it was her own tears that were wetting her pale, unblemished cheeks. She pulled her hand away, closing her eyes as she tried to stop the tears leaking from her eyes, however they stubbornly continued to fall, dripping off her cheek and onto the snow covered ground below. Talivana opened her golden eyes once more, wrapping her arms around her slim, curvy frame. The air, once seemingly so warm and friendly here, seemed to take on a sharper, colder feel. The wind feeling like a sharp knife. She cast her eyes to the sky, where gray clouds blocked out the view of the sky. It seemed like the very sky itself was going to burst upon, covering the city with its own tears as it grieved the loss of a once powerful civilisation.

The tall woman turned, facing towards the Palace, where her mother should be lying within. With slow, hesitant steps, she moved towards the doors that hung off the hinges having been all but smashed to pieces. She went inside, her footsteps sounding loud in the silent air. It was so surreal, to have her home completely changed like this. It had seemed too serene and peaceful. Now, the air was cold, and there was nothing serene about this place anymore. Talivana walked through the hallways, her feet automatically carrying her through the familiar halls, leading her to the one place she almost feared to go into. Finally, she reached the entrance to what others would call a throne room. Upon the raise dias, lay the still form of the Queen, her mother. Her golden eyes stared at the huge dragon, watching, almost hopeful, for a sign of life. However the dragon was as still as the mountains that surrounded her. Slowly, Talivana approached the immobile form, her footsteps echoing hollowingly around her. Suddenly, there was a loud crack beneath her feet and she looked down. Lying at her feet was the staff that the Queen used as the source of her power. It was completely ruined, the crystals dull and cracked and the staff snapped in two. Almost as if her legs could no longer hold her weight, Talivana crashed to the ground, her knees slamming against the hard floor. She paid no heed to the pain in her knees as she picked up the pieces of the staff with her trembling hands and holding them tightly to her chest,

“Oh... mother...” She gasped, her voice cracking with grief. The tall woman arched forward slightly, her head bowed. Her shoulders began shaking as tears once more flowed down her cheeks. She made no move to stop this, allowing the tears to drip onto the staff that she clutched in her hands. Loud sobs began to escape her mouth as she held the broken staff closer to her chest, her heart wrenching painfully in her chest. The reality of the situation crashed down upon her, and she could not stop crying, the sounds of her grief filling the silent hall around her. She rocked backwards and forth, crying like a heartbroken child.

The most crushing thing of all was the knowledge that she will never again hear the thoughts of her friends and loved ones within the depths of her mind. Her mind would forever be as silent as the city now was. A cruel reminder that felt like a knife twisting in her heart. Time seemed to stand still for the grieving woman as she lay bowed over the broken staff, the tears flowing freely down her cheeks, not being able to stop them. Finally, the tears stopped, but her body still convulsed with her grief. Her tears had run dry, but the memories of what had transpired were fresh in her mind. Her eyes and cheeks were red and puffy from the prolonged weeping. Talivana pulled the ruined pieces of the staff away from her chest, staring at the pieces. Slowly, a towering anger filled her mind. Someone had done this. Someone had come into her beautiful city and slaughtered her entire race. Her hands clenched around the objects tightly, her knuckles turning white beneath the metal of her gauntlet. Someone was going to pay. A loud growl rippled past her lips. She was going to find whoever had done this and rip them to pieces. Talivana pushed down on her grief as the anger took control of her mind and heart. She forged the anger into one thing and one thing only. Revenge. She was not going to stop until everyone involved was lying dead at her feet. Filled with a new determination, Talivana stood up, casting her eyes to the form of the dead Queen. She stood still for a few moments before she spoke in a harsh whisper,

“I will avenge you, Mother. I will avenge all of you.” She then turned and left the room without another backward glance, her thoughts consumed with the need to get revenge for this terrible crime. She emerged from the Palace, looking up at the murky clouds. Her breathing was slightly heavy as she breathed deep, trying to control the anger that was slowly consuming her being. She needed to stop, and think about how she was going to do this. She couldn’t simply turn into a dragon and tear the Kingdom apart looking for whoever had done this. It would attract too much attention and she had no idea as to where to even begin looking. She had to hope that, somewhat at least, the stables were still intact and an Aelda, a species of horse unique to her race, was still alive. It was a long shot, but she had to try.

Talivana walked through the silent streets, averting her eyes from the still figures that lay upon the ground, their bodies covered in a sprinkling of snow. Seeing the figures threatening to bring the grief back, and she was unwilling to let it get in the way of her revenge. When she reached the stables, she stepped over the broken gate, her eyes widening at the sight of the dead Aelda scattered about. They look like they had been attacked by some huge beast, their stomachs torn open and their insides scattered around them. Whoever, or whatever, had done this was a cruel creature she was sure. Whatever had done this had no intention of eating any of the horses but had simply killed and disemboweled them for fun. A frightened whiney suddenly cut through the frozen silence and she snapped her head towards the stable building. Quickly, she moved towards the entrance, pushing aside the pieces of door that was in her way. Within one of the stalls, surrounded by his dead brothers and sisters, was a single Aelda. His eyes were wide and rolling into the back of his head as he shifted from one hoof to the other as he snorted nervously.

“Hey... shh... shh... you’re safe now...” Talivana crooned softly as she approached the stall. At the sound of her voice, the Aelda calmed down, looking at her with wide eyes. As they were far more intelligent than the horses of other races, she knew that he was safe to approach as he was fully aware of who she was. She opened the stall and he trotted out, whinnying softly and nuzzling his nose against her chest.

“I know... I’m scared too, Aena...” She said softly as she rubbed the nose of the huge horse gently. She had ridden Aena a few times, as he was her favourite mount. He was a very patient horse and always loved to be ridden. He was a huge horse, about twenty three hands high. Much larger than the horses of other races, which were usually about fifteen hands high. She pulled away from the horse, going over to where she knew the saddles were located. Many of them were ruined, but she managed to find a set that was intact. She pulled it out, as well as some saddlebags, placing them on Aena, who pranced slightly as she placed them on him. Once they were on him, she gently placed the broken staff inside one of the saddlebags, not wanting to part company with it so soon after its discovery. She took his reins and led him out of the stables. She felt the huge horse shudder and nudge slightly closer to her as she led him through the field of his dead kin.

Talivana took the horse through the streets of Vorserend towards her home as the sad mountains towered above them. She couldn’t bear to look at them, as she knew they would remind her of how this place once used to be like. Right now, she couldn’t recall those memories without feeling tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. She just wanted to get out of her as fast as possible. Once outside of her home, she kicked down the door and began rummaging through the place. There wasn’t much intact, but there were some food items. She gathered them up, wrapping them in cloth before going outside and putting them in Aena’s saddlebags. She then went back inside to search for clothing, and was able to find several clean pairs of clothing, including a spare cloak. Once she had everything she needed, she left the house, determined not to look back at the broken home. She pulled herself up on Aena, taking the reins in her hand. She turned the great horse around, nudging him towards the City Entrance, as she knew a way down and out of the mountains. As she left, she took one look back at the broken, crumbling City. She knew that soon, nature will completely cover up any evidence of the city that took millions of years to build and defend. Nature was uncaring like that, always pushing to reclaim what was taken from it. Talivana gave one last sigh before she turned her back on the ancient city, hoping never to set eyes upon it ever again. 

She however found someone directly in front of her, a seeming Daedra, with his hands up, and unarmed “Hello, mother. I know I look like your enemy. Call it a special operation; undercover if you will. You can hear my mind and know I am your kin. I mean you no harm despite how I look.” The strange Daedra had very Talrin like features in his face, he was quite tall with large horns that went upwards. He had long black hair, and black eyes, and his cloak, although open in the torso and rather dress like below the waist was also black with smoke emanating up from it. He gave her a smile, a strange smile that oddly felt both threatening and heart warming at the same time.

Despite the fact that he claimed he meant no harm and had his hands up, Talivana immediately drew out a sharp blade, as Aena snorted in surprise and pawed at the ground, “Forgive me if I don’t believe you.” She grated between clenched teeth.

“Considering the circumstances, and the timing of this, that’s understandable. You have allies within the Daedra, but not all Daedra are your friends. I am an ally I don’t expect you to take my word for it, after all-” He then spoke in Eldyrannthiain “Trust is earnt, not given.” Before returning to his previous language, Daedric, “I understand this concept.”

“I’ve never had allies in the Daedra. I’m not a traitor.” Talivana told him, her golden eyes narrowing. 

“No, you’re not… Unlike some you do not bear that dishonourment. No it is the Daedra Allies of yours that are the traitors. They dream of a day where there are universal rights across all Daedra, and a Democracy of sorts. They dream of freedom. Liberty. The Daedric realm is not as it all appears… Maybe I’d do better by picking a form of mine that you’d be more comfortable with. You know me, actually. You know me, quite well already. Despite my time travel…” He then said in English, a language that had not been invented or refined yet “Fag-got-try.” Before smiling wider. He then seemed to glow slightly, shimmering, before as if like liquid, his form shrunk and fur grew out of him as he turned to a Mako’demerian. This caused Talivana to stare at him in shock, “Dad!?” She demanded, “Is that you!?”

The Mako smiled, “Yes, it is.” He replied. With the much more friendlier face, as this was the man that adopted her and… the one she couldn’t bear thinking about, when her biological father had been absent, she felt herself relax slightly as she instinctively knew that he did not mean her personal harm. He was Temporin, The Daedric Wolf. A man she loved deeply, who she knew meant them no harm. She allowed her mind to briefly touch against his which confirmed to her he was who he said he was. She then frowned at him, “You’re… a Daedra?” She asked.

“Not exactly, but yes…” He then looked slightly confused “I know that doesn’t make sense.” The Daedric Wolf said.

“You’re right. It doesn’t. Speak clearly, Dad. I am in no mood for mind games.” Talivana snapped, her temper flaring.

“I am trying to, you know what Temporin’s like with his Time Travelling nonsense, I’m open and honest but causality is a bitch. In my time, I am as much Daedra as quite few people. With my Father we rule over the Daedra. Bringing them the Universal Rights your allies craved, but I’m also very important not only to the Eldyrannth but it’s children too. I am the Daedric Wolf, the defender of the - Well name pending, to survive you’re going to have to unite them, and under that federation and its values, that is what I protect. My loyalty is first and foremost to you and of course my father, personally. Secondly it’s to such a united front. Then my religion, third.” The Daedric Wolf said as he slowly put his hands down.

“Dad, that doesn’t make much sense to me.” Talivana said, before demanding, “Who did this? Who destroyed Voserend? Who killed my mother and who killed our son!?” Towards the end, her voice became higher pitched in her distress. Her throat felt as if it was closing in on her, forcing her to spit her words out, as more tears threatened to burst from her eyes.

The Daedric Wolf seemed to sigh, looking at her with sad, tired eyes before he spoke with a heavy heart, “I can’t tell you that, and you know that sweetheart. It violates all three of those loyalties, in every single way. Because you need to find out for yourself, and you need to deal with it in your own way. All I can do, is give you a piece of advice; Listen to Tripp Sin-Keza’maraki. You’ll understand when it comes to it. He’ll be here soon. He’s your Grandson; you’ll understand that when you meet him. And when you do, come to the Kae Cave. I’ll speak more to you then. I know, you know where it is.” The Daedric Wolf replied. 

“That sounds like a flimsy excuse as to why it violates those loyalties, Dad.” Talivana said, scowling at him as her temper was getting the better of her, causing her to be rude and abrasive with him. But instead of being angry, or upset with her for it, he gave her an understanding look. Not one born out of pity, but a look drawn out of a mutual understanding of a shared pain.

“Causality is a bitch. You think A leads to B leads to C, it doesn’t. In fact is more complicated than that. Let's say in an over simplistic term that A leads to B-One, B-Two, B-Three and B-Four. B-One leads to T-Seven and B-Two leads to C-Nine, and so on and so on. Some of those can lead right back to A, or even A-Two. Which is never fun. Needless to say I am doing enough Temporal Raping as it is. Just by being here and having this conversation with you. You want me to really prove my loyalty to you?” He explained before asking.

“Yes. I do. Because frankly I’m skeptical. Because you’re the only one that’s survived here and as much as I love you, Dad, seeing you as a Daedra really has me questioning things right now.” Talivana replied, her voice quavering slightly towards the end.

The Daedric Wolf smiled “Good. I like skeptical. You should encourage it, it’s sexy. It means that I’ve raised you right.” He said with a grin, before saying  “I’ve found someone who was wrongly taken to the future. She’s however - not ready for that. You could do with having her around instead. She’s my daughter, but she’s not going to see her mother for a long time, I need you to be a mum for her. Because my time here is finished… For now.”

“Who?” Talivana asked, her blade lowering slightly.

“Kaylarvana, she was taken by a yet unknown force, to an island. This island, takes people from all over the universe, and normally you can’t get out. She did, and not only that but one day she will return under her own free will to free her son, adoptive son. A wounded and tortured alien child she found on the island who she cared for as if he was her own son. She’s now an adult, she has only been gone here for just over two months, but she’s aged thirty odd years. She’s a smart young woman, however she’s been insistent on helping you. She thinks you shouldn’t go through this alone, and she does rightfully belong here give or take a couple of months, it’s just fate has been kind and decided to take a couple of months. I am returning her to you, so you may adopt her as your daughter, and help her understand and help you.” The Daedric Wolf said.

“Y-...You’re lying…” Talivana said, unable to believe him. And yet there was a burning hope, that he was indeed telling the truth, “S-she disappeared....”

“No, mother. I’m not lying.” He said with a sad tone. A cloaked and hooded figure appeared next to him, just out of thin air, in less than a blink of an eye. The cloaked figure reached up and lifted her hood before pulling it back over her head, revealing a white haired, deep blue eyed Eldyrannth who looked female, she smiled slightly at Talivana before saying “Hello, Mum.” She then saw the city in the background and her smile dropped instantly, immediately she commented “Oh that’s worse than I was lead to believe.”

Talivana stared at the young Eldyrannth in stunned disbelief, not quite able to believe her own eyes. In her shock, the blade dropped from her numb fingers to clatter onto the ground below. She then practically threw herself out of the saddle and ran up to Kaylarvana, scooping her up in her arms and holding her so tightly that the young Eldyrannth squeaked in surprise. Talivana had taken her eyes off of the Daedric Wolf for just one small moment, and he was gone, without even waiting for a thank you. But she didn’t even notice as she burst into tears, so overwhelmingly happy to see Kaylarvana again as she held the smaller Eldyrannth tightly. 

Kaylarvana wrapped her arms around her elder and hugged her back. Patting her back as she did so, as she let Talivana let out her bottled up emotions. Talivana continued to cling to her, almost afraid to let her go again, just in case she disappeared once more. Aena trotted over to them and snorted softly as he nuzzled at Talivana’s shoulder. The older Eldyrannth finally pulled away with a sniff, cupping Kaylarvana’s face in her hands, “We thought the Daedra had gotten you.” She said. Kaylarvana shook her head slightly “No… I was in a place that was objectively worse… But I survived.”

Talivana’s eyes roamed over Kaylarvana, looking at her closely, “You’ve grown, so much.” She noted, which had proven that the Daedric Wolf had spoken the truth, “You’re so beautiful.” Talivana said, managing a smile, which was returned as Kaylarvana replied “You don’t look too bad yourself. Save some tears.”

“Oh, please, dear. I look terrible when I cry. I just don’t have the right complexion for it.” Talivana told her with an unflattering sniffle.

Kaylarvana managed to laugh out loud a little as she said “Well I wasn’t going to word it quite like that, mum.”

“That’s because you’re a sweetheart. Just like your mother.” Talivana told her, before faltering a little. Kaylarvana however just smiled “I have seen mother, in the future. Albeit it was for a short time, my fath-... The Daedric Wolf proved to me that she was still alive. Her body isn’t here. I don’t need to look to know that. There are around four-hundred bodies missing… As I am sure you’ve checked already.”

Talivana slowly nodded, “I had noticed, yes… So… they’re safe?” Talivana asked, hoping that her initial fears of them being captured by the Daedra could be put to rest.

“Yes… I know this to be true. I’m going to work out with the others in my time how to save everyone else too… For you see, I have inherited my father’s abilities, I have a powerful arsenal of tools at my disposal. But I need to do it right... As the Daedric Wolf says - Causality is a bitch.” Kaylarvana replied.

Talivana gave a slight smile, “Yes… he did mention that. But… I’m glad to hear that from someone I know I can trust because right now I don’t know who to trust. It gives me some hope.” She said, before looking back towards the broken city. “We should bury the dead…” Kaylarvana said after a few moments, as she looked up at the city too. Some of the buildings were still billowing smoke into the air. Kaylarvana then let out a surprised squeak as a yellow square piece of paper was left, stuck by a thin strip along the top of the back of paper to her forehead. Talivana looked at it and noticed the writing, in Eldyrannthian Glyphs, written on it, saying that the dead had been buried already, adding ‘Time Travel is sometimes a bitch. Sometimes’ it’s a real time saver. The person ultimately responsible (He who shall not be named) for this has done it as their first punishment. Justice is being served. - Wht. W’

Talivana reached up and pulled the paper away, “It seems like we don’t need to.” She said, adding as she recognised the signature, “It’s signed by the one Fyaerin calls The White Wolf.” Kaylarvana took the post it note out of her hand and said “He’s really handsome, and quite smart. Advanced for his age. But then he is also your son. Ah well.” She then put the piece of paper in her mouth and proceeded to eat and swallow it. 

“Why did you do that?” Talivana asked, a little surprised.

“Temporal Corruption. That’s advanced technology that shouldn’t be here… Luckily it tastes like lemons… Unfortunately I hate lemons. But it’s better than the taste of parchment.” Kaylarvana replied, before blowing slightly on Talivana, who could smell the lemons quite strongly.

“You’re just as strange as I remember.” Talivana told her, with an affectionate smile.

Kaylarvana grinned “Thanks mum!” Talivana laughed softly, before pulling out a handkerchief and blowing her nose and wiping her eyes to dry them. She then put the piece of cloth away before she reached up and pulled Kaylarvana’s ear out, pulling it away from her head so it was flapped outwards rather than wrapped around her head. Talivana peeked behind it, “It’s good to see you still take good care of yourself.” She said before pulling back and asking, “How do your nails look?”

“Pretty good.” She said showing Talivana her seemingly well looked after nails, lifting her fingers up so she could take a closer inspection. Talivana looked at them and nodded “Very nicely clipped, and why are they shiney?” She asked. Kaylarvana replied “Gloss. Kind of. It’s hard to explain. You’ll find out. They won’t look this good forever… Perhaps a year or two years tops.”

“That’s a shame; they look really nice.” Talivana said, feeling herself beginning to get some kind of control over her unruly emotions with this rather lighthearted conversation. Whiles he might not realise it, Kaylarvana was just what Talivana needed right now, as her rather calm demeanor and her reasurances were enough to help Talivana reach a balance again. 

“I know. When I work out how to make it and what it is, I’ll design my own brands of them for the Children of the Eldyr.” Kaylarvana replied. Talivana nodded, “I hope so. I would use it myself.” She said, before sighing, “We should go. I need to find the ones who did this.” She finally let go of Kaylarvana and moved back, towards Aena.

Kaylarvana took a step forward before picking up the dagger Talivana dropped, bending down to do so. She stood back up and handed Talivana, holding the blade by it’s flat sides, so she could take it by the handle, she said “Hey; you dropped this, mum.”

Talivana looked at her, before looking down at the dagger, “Thank you, dear. I’m a bit all over the place at the moment.” She said, taking the weapon and putting it away in its holster.

“I’ll say. You’ve not even noticed that the Daedric Wolf has disappeared. Means you trusted him. Deep down.” Kaylarvana replied with a soft chuckle.

Talivana looked around, only then noticing that the Daedric Wolf was indeed gone, “I forgot all about him when I saw you…” Talivana looked back at Kaylarvana, “I think I was a bit short with Dad… I should apologise… I… I don’t think he had anything to do with this, and I’m not sure even he could have stopped it...” She said.

“Yeah, but I think he understa-” Kaylarvana said as Talivana said “Young lady! Watch your language. You speak like such a commoner. It’s Yes. Not Yeah. Don’t be so verbally lazy.” Talivana folded her arms as she admonished Kaylarvana who just gave her an impish grin “I’ve always been a bit of a mould breaker.” She replied.

“Yes… your mother was very lenient with you. I think that charmed her, honestly.” Talivana said.

“You don’t know the half of it… But I do want to speak more like you do though so I will try. Yes; I’m come to learn that the Daedric Wolf is a very close friend of ours. Very close. As I kinda-” Kaylarvana started as Talivana coughed “Heh-Ehm! Verbal laziness. Oh I can tell this already going to be fun, at this rate I will have to do the whole books on your head training, and maybe get some grace into you. Bow… Let’s see how butchered this is.”

Kaylarvana blushed softly before saying “... I …” She then blinked before bowing… And it was awful, “That has about as much grace as a cart with square wheels… Oh dear, oh dear… We’ve got a lot of work that needs to be done on you. You’re royalty, not a commoner.” Talivana said. Kaylarvana stood up straight and said “I’m starting to think that this wasn’t such a good idea. Oh well, I literally asked for this. I’ll try but we’re going to have to take it a step at a time. I have thirty years of bad habits to break. Even my accent compared to yours is ‘Common’.” 

“It is. It does not suit you. I always said that sending you to a common school was such a bad idea. But your mother and father ‘knew’ best.” Talivana replied as Kaylarvana said “Yeah, I kinda wished they never did that.” 

“Yeah… Kinda… Goodness gracious girl.” Talivana commented, at this point she looked like she was smirking, she was actually suppressing laughing, because she knew it was triggering her, and yet it was frustrating, as Kaylarvana had so much potential. Kaylarvana blushed again, deeper this time as she replied “Ah yeah- I mean, Yes. Yes, I kind of wish that they never did that. I hated that school, but at the same time I did help bring about the rebellion against faulty education… Although it seems I need have bothered.” She said looking at the city.

“Yes, and it didn’t stop after you left, either. It was beginning to get to the point where the children didn’t even bother going to school. Mother was quite put out with the whole situation.” Talivana replied.

“Oh I would have never have endorsed that. Going to school is the law, it’s important. However not going to class is not a law. I was rebellious, but I was well within the law. And so was everyone with me. It was our… Moral high ground. We actually opted to go and read books in the library, to educate ourselves. After all we thought we could do a better job of it than our teachers could. To skip school? That’s insane, that’s mad.” 

“There is one small flaw with that plan, though, dear. The teachers taught from the knowledge of that library. You would have read, what they had. Especially in regards to history.” Talivana pointed out.

“Yes… That’s true, but we had lots of books, including ones forgotten about. Deep, deep in the library. I wonder if that’s st- oh no, it’s not.” She said as she had wondered if it was even still standing, but it was clear that no, it was one of the buildings billowing smoke, as their entire history was being burnt into the sky. “Look my point is, we were getting and doing what we craved for, we achieved this and learn more than our teachers ever could teach us. That’s the point of an education, is it not? Those that skipped school completely, squandered their own opportunities. They’re only punishing themselves when they do this. This is why I’d ever endorse it. Legal or not. This is why we went to the library, and researched ourselves. We already proven one thing that was held as fact to be false, and many of us were going to take jobs in the education field to improve things for everyone… Not me though. Even in an outcast group, I was an was outcast. I want to do engineering, building shit wi-”

“Hey! Watch your fucking mouth!” Talivana said, as Kaelarvana was saying “-th my hands.”

Kaylarvana laughed, as this was in joke with the royal family, Talivana was doing an impression of her mother, because that was something Jyravana did frequently to children. Kaylarvana admitted “You sounded just like Great-Grandmuma. Impressive impersonation. I thought for a moment that I was being told off by her.” Talivana smiled and said “Thank you.”

“You’re so going to need that ability. Especially with certain children you’ll be having.” Kaylarvana replied. “I beg your pardon? Was that an offer?” Talivana asked.

“Oh no-no. Stating empirical fact. You will have children, lots of them. Not only do we need to rebuild our people, that’s a lot of fucking right there. But you kind of adopt some too, because your heart is that big and you have a lot of time to help a lot of children, just I did on the island. I’m going to help you, keep your finances afloat with that, and be an onsite engineer, in the future it’ll be cheaper in the long run. Anyway… I need to tell you something… I’m pregnant… Um. I’m not exactly - er… Mmm… You know how I could theoretically get pregnant up the arse?”

“Yes, I remember something to that effect. Why?” Talivana asked.

“Well… I have a vagina too. Full functional one. And a bigger… Penis. Um. I’m pregnant in both… One of them and… I might as well tell you right now, because it’s going to be obvious when it’s born. Is… Talrin’s.” Kaylarvana said, knowing that Talivana wasn’t going to take that too well. 

Talivana seemed to freeze, “I beg your fucking pardon?” She asked. “Um… yes, mum.” Kaylarvana confirmed, before saying, “Even from my point of view, it was a future him. It was him that did this for me. He was very kind. He’s reformed. Hell, he’s a Doctor. From what I saw, he made a lot of people, very happy. I know he’s not like that right now, but he will be. You’ll get your brother back, one day.”

“I literally do not even know what to say to that.” Talivana said blankly. “You trust me, right, mum? Because the second one, the one… Well, that will be an arse baby… Is a lot weirder than that. Although I have no idea how you will react to that either.” Kaylarvanna said adding “I’m a bit of a slut.”

“Oh in Fyaerin’s name…” Talivana sighed, before adding, “I think I could see that when you were younger. You are your mother’s daughter…” She trailed off for a moment before asking, “Are those rumours about Lyravana true?”

“That she likes being treated like a-? Yes. They are true. Since I was about fifty that’s how I’ve treated her. She wasn’t really a mother to me, behind closed doors anyway. She was more of a … sexual pet.” Kaylarvana replied, adding, “I still love her to pieces though… But you’ve always been more of a mum to me. Hence why I’ve never really called you Grandmuma… Or Auntie.”

“I knew it.” Talivana said, with a slight smile before she then smiled at Kaylarvana, “I’ve always thought of you as the daughter I’ve never had. But I take that back about you being your mother’s daughter. You are your parent’s child. Your father was even more randy. Everyone knew that he was sleeping with half of the city. Even with our low population, that’s still a good few hundred thousand.” Talivana said.

“Well that’s exactly why Grandpapa did this to me - at my demanding request. I was exceptionally insistent. I got the most out of that deal, and so too will our son’s. Ultimately us, we got a good deal with this.” Kaylarvana said as Talivana asked “So who is the second one?”

“Your first daughter’s, first son, and I’m sorry… But I didn’t get you pregnant first… Someone else did. I can’t take that away from him… Nor you, your daughter and her children. I don’t have that right.” Kaylarvana replied.

“I can understand that. As the Daedric Wolf said; causality is a bitch.” Talivana replied, “But that doesn’t shock me as much as the first did.” She added.

“Yeah. Now you get it… I need to go to somewhere in this city… Before we go. There’s something I must pick up, and something I must check on. We should do the latter, first, but I need to do the former first so I can do the latter. We can also verify the consumed note.” Kaylarvana replied.

“Of course, dear.” Talivana replied.

Kaylarvana decided to start walking, as Talivana decided to walk with her, with Aena walking up behind them, trailing their path as they re-entered the city together. It had almost immediately become obvious that the bodies had been buried, properly to become the trees that they deserved to be. It was obvious that a great amount of respect and dignity was upheld, as each was done by hand, by a male, who was wearing boots, but seemed to have a cloak sweeping the dirt into his boot prints. 

Kaylarvana came up to Temporin’s Shop, which was oddly still standing, although the windows had been smashed, and the store’s insides had been pretty much seemingly destroyed. Inside was the bodies of several Daedra that had been sliced open by something, although there seemed to be a Manticore head sitting in one of the displays with blood covering the glass. Talivana blinked and said “What in Fyaerin’s name?! What did this?” 

“Father had access to what you’d call a Temporal Sentinel. It’s the protector of his vault here.” Kaylarvana explained, as Talivana asked “V-Vault? Under a clock shop?”

Kaylarvana nodded “Yes. I cannot walk around in this clothing. It is not of this century, the clothes I have on underneath, should not exist for thousands of years. I cannot walk around like this. The Vault is where Time Travelling Eldyrannth drop off their ‘goodies’, their advanced technology from the future. It is there to be locked up, to prevent temporal contamination. I need to dump these clothes there. I can also pick up a working version of one of those watches… I doubt any of these work anymore. There should be one for you too.”

Talivana looked around at the ruined contents of the shop, “I doubt that, either.” She said, “But I understand those reasons. We can’t contaminate any further than what’s already happened.” She added.

A strange, almost robotically moving object in the room started coming towards them, their exterior seemed to be pure glass, although it likely wasn’t, and inside seemed to be a number of finely shaped golden gears, intricately moving around within its glassy body. Talivana’s eyes snapped to it as she was alarmed but quickly calmed down as it seemed to be Eldyrannthian technology, albeit rather steam-punky. The Sentinel bowed with more grace than even Kaylarvana could muster. 

“Oh dear. You know it’s bad when even a robot has more grace and poise than you do, daughter.” Talivana noted with amusement.

Kaylarvana blushed again, as she said in an embarrassed tone “Alright mum!” The sentinel stood back up straight and tilted its head slightly at Kaylarvana, although it seemed to lack the ability to speak, it was silently asking for a status report from both of them.

“Vorserend has fallen.” Talivana told it as Kaylarvana nodded “Code black. You’ll need to defend the vault from the inside. We want to access it, so I can drop off my advanced technology and pick up the current century’s clothing… Maybe some pocket watches from Father’s workshop. But you’ll need to seal the vault from the inside, unfortunately.”

The sentinel seemed to understand, it rocked it’s head back upwards and then turned around before heading to a corridor, that was open. They could immediately see that the sentinel seemed to be damaged in the back, the casing had been cracked open and a couple of gears had clearly come out, or shattered. Yet it was clearly using some kind of redundancy circuit because it was still operational. The two walked into the shop, through the broken in windows and followed, although the robot seemed to be walking through a mass open grave yard of Daedra corpses and signs of a battle had clearly been taking place at such close quarters. 

“Goodness, gracious.” Talivana exclaimed. “Oh I really wish I didn’t have to walk all over that…” Kaylarvana said. “Hover using telekinesis?” Talivana suggested. “I’m going to have to…” Kaylarvana agreed, before levitating, and crossing her legs, as she seemed to hover over the mess all over the floor. Talivana just walked through it, with little to no regard for them, she even stepped on a few faces. However down the hall, she noticed that one of the fingers moved of one of the Daedra, however the sentinel also appeared to notice this, and a bright light formed in it’s head before firing out a white beam that sliced through the Daedra, causing it to scream before it was silenced with death’s cold embrace. 

“Oh, that was satisfying to watch.” Talivana remarked. Kaylarvana said “Powerful enough to power crystals, and control them. Impressive… I knew my father was an outside the box kind of thinker.” She agreed though adding “I second that though.” The sentinel seemed to continue one, before opening a hatch in the floor and descending down a tiled, mosaically decorated staircase to a corridor that was cleaner, indicating no Daedra had breached this far. In this corridor there was a door dead ahead, two doors on the left, and one door on the right. The right lead to a workshop, and the left lead to his storeroom, one of finished watches, and one for components, and raw materials. The door ahead was to the vault.

Kaylarvana was back on her feet as Talivana said “This is extravagant.”

“It looks that way, but the gold tiles in the mosaic walls, actually serve a purpose. It keeps the Sentinel charged up, yet you can walk bare footed here, it won’t affect us at all. It’s like wireless energy transmissions.” Kaylarvana explained, as her father had explained it to her when she was forty. 

“How interesting.” Talivana said with genuine interest.

The sentinel stopped at the end door and started opening the door to the vault room, which required security steps from devices Talivana had never seen before. The Sentinel put its hand on the device which glowed white before changing to blue, causing the door to unlock. It then stepped inside and held the door open for the two ladies. The two of them stepped inside, immediately looking around them with curiosity as they saw the vault wall, with the door of the vault in the centre. The two of them frowned slightly, as their minds were unable to come to grips with how black the bricks were. It almost hurt their eyes to look at it. It was blacker than the blackest of blacks.

“Dark Star Alloy…” Kaylarvana said “I have no idea past that point. It’s apparently from a dark star, from a very cold and dead universe, our universe in the future. I theorised that sometimes things slip from one universe to another, it could be older than this universe and slipped through after the creation of it.”

“Creation? No dear… No one ‘Created it’, do you mean when it came into existence?” Talivana asked to which Kaylarvana replied “I’m religious… Kind of always have been. I just keep it to myself. Afterall it’s none of anyone else's business, my religion forbids me to push it onto others. It’s a personal choice and that’s why I don’t usually talk about it. So don’t worry I won’t off your head for being a non-believer. You’re entitled to your opinions and beliefs as I am to mine. You’re my mum. I love you regardless.” Kaylarvana assured her. 

“Well, that’s good to know.” Talivana smiled, “I just never thought of you as the religious type.” 

“No, I guess not, with being scientifically oriented. But there we go. Your ‘came into existence’ theory doesn’t even disprove my belief either. After all, before creation it didn’t exist, after - it did, ergo: It came into existence.” Kaylarvana smiled, adding “Anyway, I no longer believe that my theory held water. I believe it’s possible that it is from the future and unlikely to be illegally penetrated by any technology that will exist during it’s purposeful stay here.”

Whilst they were talking the sentinel was opening the vault, once it had opened to bright room that looked nothing like Talivana had ever seen before, the sentinel stepped inside. Talivana and Kaylarvana stepped in, to see the floor what white ceramic tiles, and strange light emitting rods on the ceiling in special silvery coloured fixtures. There were shelves of things all filled with neatly stacked technology, that had labels in different languages, uniformly along the wooden edges of each of the dark wooden, and polished shelves.

“This place looks very clean.” Talivana remarked as she looked around before her eyes were drawn to the shelves as she saw the secret treasure trove of technology that had yet to come into existence. “Yes… It’s a well kept vault.” Kaylarvana replied as Talivana could sense a Daedric mind in the vault, that she could not sense from the outside. Her initial thought was to overload the mind and kill that Daedra, however she wanted to see the sentinel go after it.

Kaylarvana said “Right…” She then seemed to raise her right hand curled in a curious looking fist and flicked her fingers and thumb out freezing the sentinel in place. “... I’ve frozen time for the sentinel because it will most likely seal the door now and lock us in with it.”

“You do realise that there is a Daedra in here, right?” Talivana asked.

“Yes, I did. Her name is Rae’zaal. She is one of father’s pets, and ex-general I believe. He warned me before sending me here. I’ll need her help actually.” She replied before speaking out “Rae! It’s Kaylarvana. I need to do a drop off and collect!” 

A voice called out, sounding quite lustful and yet cheery “Coming~!” 

“Your father is working with a Daedra?!” Talivana asked. “No. He’s enslaved her. She’s not actually that bad… She’s a bit lustful apparently. I vaguely remember her from when I was six or seven. She’s an ally, not even from the same Daedra that attacked us… Seriously ask her about Lucifer.” Kaylarvana replied as the the voice earlier sounded louder, as it was closer, revealing a white haired, elfish looking trap who said “Little Lucy? HA! What a fucking cuck. Oh-no-no-no-no… He’s made to be fucked, not to fuck. I’ve always said that. My king never liked his stupid ass.”

“Your king?” Talivana asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Mmhm, darling~ King Sethross. Luci’s big brother actually… More stable too. Although he’s in the position of always being fucked. Mmm~ I like fucking little Stephanie~! My true leaders now are King’s Tal’aar, King Temael’aar and Queen Tali’aar. The Saviours of the Daedra.” Rae’zaal said as Kaylarvana said “Yeah apparently the whole Daedra thing is exceptionally complicated. Just like I said it was at school.”

“Yes, I’m beginning to see that.” Talivana remarked, adding “So I assume you’re one of the Daedric Wolf’s allies?” To which Rae’zaal said “Yes, darling~! I love serving my master~. But my priorities are his priorities-” She then looked around and leaned in slightly whispering “He was always better fuck than Stephanie ever was.” In a conspiratorial tone. Talivana noticed that her breath didn’t smell typical of a Daedra, it was like she brushed her teeth with mints, because it actually smelt pleasant. She also seemed to look like she took care of how she looked, and dressed in a way that exposed her natural beauty rather than synthetically cake it on. Not like how she had envisioned at all. 

Kaylarvana smiled and said “I need to dump off these clothes and change into something that matches this century, rather urgently actually. And I should tell you that I’ve told the sentinel to enact code black.” To which Rae’zaal said “Oh! Okay, it’s that time is it? Okay. I will help you, and stay within this vault, to protect and maintain it. I have everything to keep me comfortable in here, including some friends to play with.” She smirked before saying “Let's get you dressed and get you the fuck out of here.”

Kaylarvana nodded “Thank you.” She looked at Talivana and said “I trust her… She is one of the good ones. She’s not - from what father said, from the ‘Sect’ that attacked. They’re millions of lightyears away. They’ve nothing to do with them, yet they’re oppressed as much they are. Hence: Saviour of the Daedra. Things are very complicated, I don’t have all the answers. I have no idea who these three royals are, how they relate to Diomedes, Temporin and Eshanae. My father is not a traitor, and he did not cause the fall of Vorserend though. That I can say with absolute certainty.”

Talivana sighed, “Far more complicated than I originally thought. Hopefully while we track down who was responsible for this, we will get some answers at the very least. Dad said he could talk more at the Kae Cave.” She said.

“Indeed.” Kaylarvana said as they were lead to a shelf with Kaylarvana’s name on it, Rae’zaal moved to one section that read ‘42nd Century’ and said “Here you go.” Kaylarvana smiled and looked over to see that there was a shelf from the ‘43rd Century’ with a cylindrical device, once she had never seen before, it seemed to be intricately decorated but she had no idea what it was or what it’s purpose was. Talivana seemed to notice this too, and reached out to touch it to which Kaylarvana said sternly “Mum…” Talivana pulled her hand back, looking as if she had gotten caught with her hands in the cookie jar.

Kaylarvana smirked slightly before stripping off her cloak to reveal the absolutely immodest clothing she was wearing underneath. “Goodness…” Talivana said to the black thigh highs with dark purple fishnets over it, the heavy looking boots, and the strange shirt she was wearing in such garish colours. “You most certainly would not have gotten away with … being dressed like that. No way.” Talivana replied sneakily reaching out to the device on the shelf again, under Rae’zaals watchful eyes who remained silent. She picked up the device and slipping it up her sleeve. She then pulled away, and noticed that the Daedra was watching her. She looked back at Rae’zaal and raised an eyebrow at her, wondering why she was silent as she watched Talivana steal from the vault.

‘My first loyalties and my first priorities are the exact same as your son’s, the Daedric Wolf. I’m not saying shit, darling… Besides you are hot when you steal. Mmmhm~!’ Rae’zaal said licking her lips. Talivana stared at her for a few moments, not entirely sure how to react to that. Finally, she said, ‘Well… good girl, I guess. But, um, I’m not interested.’

‘Not right now you’re not. But I can wait. And I can dream. And I can…’ Rae’zaal said before moaning into Talivana’s mind ‘Fantasise~!’

‘Well. Keep them to yourself. I’m not interested in knowing.’ Talivana said, feeling a bit more than weirded out.

Rae’zaal chuckled her in her mind and smiled on the outside before saying ‘You’re not worthy enough anyway to know them yet, darling. Besides - don’t flatter yourself. I’m more interested in men anyway, love.’ 

‘Then you can consider me; relieved.’ Talivana responded.

‘Mmm. Climatically so.’ The Daedra replied causing Talivana to roll her eyes. Despite herself, she was actually quite enjoying the amusing exchange. The Daedra then seemed to pull out a cloth from her sleeve and started polishing the shelf behind her, turning her back to Talivana as she started cleaning.

‘I never thought I’d see a domesticated Daedra… That’s quite something for these animals. I can’t say I can complain at all.’ Talivana privately told Kaylarvana who replied ‘Oh mum leave her alone~ and put that back! I saw that.’

‘I bet she would love being called an animal.’ Talivana protested. ‘From what I’ve seen of her and my father, yes, probably. You’ve got a good point.’ Kaylarvana replied before saying, ‘Put it back. Now, mum.’

‘Damnit.’ Talivana sighed before putting the strange device back where it belonged. Kaylarvana shook her head “Grandmuma didn’t call you her little magpie by any chance did she?” 

“... yes.” Talivana admitted. ‘Well deserved.’ Kaylarvana added with a chuckle. She then stripped off her boots and put them on the shelf, before taking off her clothes and folding them onto the shelf. Once she was naked, she picked out clothes from a shelf that read ‘13th Century’ and started putting them on. It was a basic set of cloth clothing with leather straps in some places to carry objects. As she was busy getting dressed, Talivana quickly and stealthily swiped the device again, in one fluid motion, storing it down her cleavage. 

After Kaylarvana finished she turned around and said “Now we need to grab a watch.” She then started walking back towards the vault door, grabbing a generic cloak off a cloak hook, before throwing it on, not noticing or stopping to check if Talivana had swiped the device again. She then walked over to the frozen sentinel, as Talivana moved quietly behind her, picking things off the shelves and stuffing them into her pockets. At the vault door, Kaylarvana turned around and looked at Talivana before saying “Empty out your pockets…” 

Talivana sighed “Damn it.” She then started taking things out of her pocket, neglecting to take out the thing she put in her cleavage, or in her underwear. Kaylarvana looked on with deeply mockingly judgemental eyes “Fucking hell mother. I don’t think that’s even been invented the century, I came from.” She said pointing to one of the devices. 

“All the better reason to get it before it comes out then.” She replied. To which Kaylarvana said “Mum! You’re incorrigible.” 

“We all have our bad habits, dear.” Talivana said calmly. “Some more bad than others… Seriously? Stealing?” Kaylarvana asked to which Talivana shrugged “I consider it appropriating for a better cause. They’re otherwise going to rot down here, doing nothing.” Kaylarvana shook her head and said “By the mercy of the divines…” She turned her back only for Talivana to swiftly take a hand held device back from the table, “Put it back mum.” Kaylarvana said without even looking at her, she knew she had taken it.

Talivana sighed “Ugh, fine…” She put it back and took something else instead before stuffing it into her pocket and walking out with Kaylarvana. However outside Kaylarvana stood infront of her with her hand out open to Talivana “... Anything in your pockets?”

“Seriously?” Talivana asked, before pouting slightly. She gave Kaylarvana the device she stole, and Kaylarvana said “I feel like your mother.” To which Talivana said “I’m starting to feel like you’re my mother. I can’t seem to trick you.” 

Kaylarvana took the device and chucked it back into the vault, this time keeping her eyes on Talivana as she resumed time for the sentinel who closed and locked the vault door. After a few moments there was hiss before it sealed shut, to which Talivana said “But in reality I am one step ahead of you. Just like I was with my mother. If you’re going to be like my mother - then realise that this is fault path. I always won.” She said taking the strange object from the shelf out from between her cleavage. 

“MUM!” Kaylarvana said with wide eyes “I told you to put everything back.”

“Yes, you did. You told me to put everything in my pockets back. This wasn’t in my pocket. Neither was this.” Talivana replied, opening her cloak and reaching into her trousers to pull out a black box before Kaylarvana’s astonished eyes. 

Kaylarvana then thought for a few moments before saying, “Damnit!” Talivana smirked at her as she tucked the items away inside of her cloak. 

“Uh-Excuse you? That is mine, albeit - not yet. You keep that black box, I’ll keep that shiny cylinder. Whatever it is. We can’t put it back, so you should split your loot… Besides that is mine… Apparently.”

Talivana rolled her eyes, “Fine.” She said, before taking it back out and handing it to Kaylarvana who took it “Thank you, mum… Don’t steal it from me.”

“I won’t, I promise. I have no idea what it is anyway.” Talivana said, adding, “Sometimes the stealing is the funnest part.” 

“It kind of looks like something my dad uses to open metal based locks. But it is not where near as big…” She said as she took a closer look at the intricate design, where she noticed a tiny displayport what seemed to show tiny little text on it, she couldn’t quite figure it out and it didn’t make much sense at the moment though. She tucked it into her cloak and said “Now we’re going to steal something… A pocket watch from his finished watch store cupboard.”

“And you told me off-” Talivana started as Kaylarvana said “That’s different. These watches were going to be given to Eldyrannth, but now there are none other than us two. Scavenger’s rights. The vault however contains property from people who are still alive, after all they put it in there to begin with. The way I see it, one is legal the other isn’t.”

Talivana sighed and said “You’re so your father’s daughter. I think I can appreciate the hell you put your teachers through now.” To which Kaylarvana replied “You’re goddamned right I did. It was my argument used to abolish the practice of ‘Homework’. Father taught me arguing skills. So you’re correct.” 

“Yes, I heard about that one… honestly I agreed with you.” Talivana replied, before adding, “But then I never liked homework, so I was a little biased in that matter.” 

“Nobody does… Well except Melvrin.” Kaylarvana said before shrugging “But he did it voluntarily which I never had a problem with. Live and let live and all that. Our generation opposed the current political sphere from military to social care. For example we believe that the head of the military made a critical mistake. He had a choice between two technologies, and picked one foolishly thinking he could make it work, he should have gone for both, because they would have complemented and helped each other. Melvrin was educating us on this; he believed and demonstrated that learning how to make the Exotic Beam Cannon; would have helped to unlock parts of the Anti-Exotic Critical-Cascade Deflector Shield technology. Melvrin was exceptionally intelligent for a Plebeian. He tried to pitch the idea to the board of Generals, but he was laughed out of the room before he could even open his mouth. He had put together a very detailed presentation, and as someone doing engineering courses, I helped, I believed and understood what he was saying and and proved it to be true. That’s where we’re heading to next… I made a school project, using his ideas, it was the one homework I refused not to do. We had implemented it as some kind of air and water purification device. We won’t be able to remove it because of what’s gone on here, but if he’s right, and my engineering is worth a crap then it should last for thousands of years.” She explained.

“Not all the Generals laughed at Melvrin. I remember Uncle Kalrin mentioning about that incident, because he had been interested in listening. He told me that he planned on talking to Melvrin about it, although I’m not sure if he ever got the chance. He was extremely busy.” Talivana replied.

The two entered the pocket watch room, where there was a white furred Mako’demeri looking into one of the watches. “Hey Wolfie.” Kaylarvana said as Wolfie nodded back “Sup, KayKay.” 

“I’m sorry; who are you?” Talivana asked.

“The guy that left the post-it note on her forehead. I’m Wolfie. The White Wolf.” He then looked up at them, looking at Talivana with his deep purple eyes. He then smiled at Talivana “Hey Mother.” Talivana blinked back at him, “Hello…” She quietly greeted back.

Kaylarvana looked at the some one hundred watches that were ready to be sold, and said “Bloody hell I remember the day Father started working on these. Why are you here, Wolfie?” She then asked him to which he said “Sometimes I ask myself that too… In this case I am bringing back a piece of history to be put on display in a ‘museum’ of sorts… They kinda paid me to come and pick one up, so it can be put on display - freely. For everyone to see. They operate on donations - completely legal and above board. After all - scavenger rights, and all that.” 

“Oh… Neat. Mum and I were after a watch to keep for ourselves.” She replied as Wolfie pointed a set of six out “Then you’ll want them, they are the best. The cogs and gears aren’t just gold but actually platinum and gold, self lubricating too, should last at least a thousand years before it even needs maintaining.” Talivana asked “Can we take all six?”

“Well I suppose… But I was going to take at least two back with me too. But that’s up to you, you actually live here, in this time. I am but a visitor. An uninvited one.” Wolfie replied.

“In fairness, it’s not like there’s anyone to either invite you in, or kick you out. I suppose we can take the remaining four of them.” Talivana said.

“Deal… You can have the other ninety-two watches if you like, too. They’re not as good, but they’re still pretty good… The technology isn’t really something that humans have yet though. But the Keza’s do, in fact they have similar watches. You could sell them to the Keza’s, you need money to survive. It’s not like you’d be corrupting the Keza’s either, they already have this technology, believe it or not.”

Talivana considered it for a few moments, “I suppose we could… I have enough room in Aena’s saddlebags and he can carry that weight with ease. I assume the Keza’s don’t tech-share.” She said slowly.

“Not Eldyr-tech, no.” Wolfie replied, “Most likely they’d become Royal heirlooms. Right-o. I’ve selected the ones I want from the standard ones… I’ll let you two pick out which of the platinum lines you want first, then I’ll take the two left.” Kaylarvana nodded and just grabbed four of the platinum coloured watches, before handing two to Talivana, Kaylarvana said “I think I will give one to our first child together… When we get a chance to.”

Talivana smiled at her, “That’s a good idea. I think I will give my second one to my first daughter.” She said as she put the two watches away. She then looked at all the other ones, “Will you help me with these, dear? We really do need the money, and if the Keza’s do not share our technology then we would be foolish to leave them behind.” She said. “Seeing as the vultures are apparently circling… I can sense more minds just poofing into the city, scavenging…” Kaylarvana shrugged before grabbing a burlap sack and started carefully putting watches into the bag, whilst Wolfie slapped a strange device on a grandfather clock, he then tapped something and said “Extraction - Alpha. Energise.” In that moment a strange white and blue particle beam enveloped the clock and it dematerialised, as Wolfie said “Right-o. Those ‘scavengers’ are cleaning up the technology, the bodies won’t be touched, they’re cleaners - not grave-robbers. At the end of the day your shit can’t fall into the Daedra’s hands. So try not killing anyone for taking shit that doesn’t belong to them… I know it’s tempting.”

“It is. Because it just smacks me as wrong, and cold that the city has barely fallen and they’re looting the place.” Talivana said as she helped Kaylarvana gently pack the watches away.

“Me too.” Kaylarvana replied agreeing to Talivana as Wolfie said “Yeah, they’re not. No one is making a profit out of this, I suspect the same ‘museum’ has hired them to bring stuff back. If anything, they’re trying to preserve history. Not steal it.” 

“I’ll try not to kick myself in the face with my knees.” Talivana said, fully able to admit that she knew she was knee-jerking.

“Awesome… I’ll see you someday, Mother… Please take care of yourself.” Wolfie replied. “And you, dear.” Talivana responded.

Wolfie nodded and tapped his device “Wolfie to ship. One to beam up. Energise.” Like the clock, he seemed to disappear in the same way as Kaylarvana said “And no I have no idea what that is… I think from the fiction I saw when I was in the future that’s something called a Trans-Porter. I assume like a Trans-Gendered person that it’s a porter that transitioning, or something… Or anything that is transitioning into a portal or something…. Yes, I don’t know.”

“I imagine we’ll find out, one day.” Talivana replied. “Yes… It’s technology beyond what I saw there, where I came from…” Kaylarvana said before continuing to stuff the sack with the watches, clearing the entire shelf. She tied a rope over the end and threw it over her bag “All I need is ‘SWAG’ printed on the bag, and I’m set.”

“SWAG?” Talivana asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Loot. Ill-gotten gains.” Kaylarvana grinned, adding “Pirate-speak.”

“Ah. Is that the term for it.” Talivana responded. The two of them then left the shop, where Aena was waiting patiently outside, as a Coda was coming up to it. Talivana took the sack before looking at the Coda, “Shoo. Away from my Aelda. He’s not going with you.” She admonished. 

“Oooh! Ahh~! Fuck!” The Coda said before backing up as Talivana and Kaylarvana said “Oi! Watch your fucking mouth!” 

“Sorry!” The Coda said in a high pitched tone before running off. Talivana shook her head, before she tied the sack onto Aena’s saddlebags, “My goodness…” Aena snorted softly, turning his head to peer at them with his dark eyes which looked amused. 

Kaylarvana said “I hope they don’t find Melvrin and my school project.”

“Where is it?” Talivana asked.

“Outside the back of my house in the river… It’s hidden but I’m worried that they might sense it, to lack a better word.” Kaylarvana replied. Talivana nodded, “Then we’ll go have a look, since you wanted to do that anyway.” She then climbed up onto Aena, settling herself in the saddle before reaching down and helping Kaylarvana up the huge Aelda to settle behind her. Kaylarvana wrapped her arms around Talivana’s waist as she turned Aena and nudged him into a trot towards Kaylarvana’s old home.

As they drew closer, Talivana could suddenly sense other Eldyrannth minds, including Temporin’s familiar mind, on the river side under the tree in the garden. However they didn’t feel right, as if they were echoes. Kaylarvana’s mind seemed to recognise why, and she simply stayed quiet. Talivana noticed that Kaylarvana seemed to know what was going on, and yet she didn’t seem worried or even the slightest bit concerned. As they drew closer to Kaylarvana’s home, the presence of the minds disappeared, leaving the mental world quiet once again.

“Maybe you can explain what that was?” Talivana asked to which she replied “I cannot… Because I barely understand it myself. It’s from my past, your future. When I was in the forty-second century. It’s something that I’m not really proud of. But your first born helped me out of it, with a nice Coda and my adoptive son.” Kaylarvana said.

“Oh, I hate not knowing…” Talivana sighed as they approached the house, which was, to their surprise, still mostly intact.

“You will know one day. I can’t spoil every surprise for you. But I will try to be up front and honest. My loyalty is to you after all. Just like father’s.” She replied.

“I appreciate it…” Talivana said, falling quiet for a moment before asking, “Does Dad really like me that much?”

“He fucking idolises you. You’re his mother… And he loves you very deeply…” She replied to Talivana being stern, serious and frank with her. “It’s weird knowing, and talking, about a son I’ve not had yet. Not to mention the son who became my adoptive father.” Talivana remarked as she pulled Aena to a stop outside of Kaylarvana’s home before the two of them dropped down. 

Just as their feet touched the ground, they saw that the door was open and a white furred Mako with a weapon on his hip, was very carefully, and very respectfully wrapping up one of Lyravana’s priceless vases and was carefully putting it into a box. In a knee-jerk reaction, Talivana snapped, “Oi, you! Put that back!” 

The Meko blinked and looked up at them with piercing purple eyes, who quite clearly looked like a descendant of The White Wolf, “Hey Grandma! And no, I won’t, sorry. I’ve got a court order to pick up Lyravana’s things. Signed by her, herself, actually.” He said, pulling out a piece of white parchment which allowed them to see Lyravana’s signature, a unique squiggle only done by her. He came over with the piece of paper for Talivana to read, she was on guard but he didn’t seem to have any hostile intention towards her. When he stood in front of her, he stopped and offered the paper which she took and read, it seemed to be from the ‘Court of Vorserend, in the capital city of: Lyrae City; a city that didn’t exist yet, at least not the capital city. It was village here, but the date was clearly marked as ‘6th June 4200’ roughly three-thousand years into the future. Talivana asked “What date; Kaylarvana did you come from?”

“Just shy of mid-June, Forty-One-Sixty-Six.” Kaylarvana replied.

“So some thirty odd years before this court order… So you can’t verify it.” Talivana replied as the Mako said “Put your finger over the seal, the wax seal down there.” Talivana looked up at him and asked “Why?” To which he replied “Telepathic Wax. It contains verification. Her signature if you will.” Talivana thought the concept of Telepathic Wax to be the most fantastical thing she had ever heard, she looked at Kaylarvana who said “I’ve been on a ship, in space, travelled to a strange place, to an island, into the future, into the past and even been on an alien world. I think telepathic wax at this point is more than possible.” The Mako nodded and said “Hey sis.” to which Kaylarvana blinked “Do I know you?” The Mako shook his head “Nope, not yet. Your father is my adopted father, so you’re kinda a sister to me. Looking beautiful as always.” Kaylarvana smiled back at him, flattered by the comment, “Damn right I do.” She said, before she and the Mako laughed.

Talivana put her metal covered finger on the wax, and form it she could sense her sister’s mind. It did not feel like a mockery or imitation, either. As a Princess, Lyravana’s mind was more complicated than a normal Eldyrannth, and it was impossible to imitate it. She pulled her finger away and the presence disappeared, “It doesn’t feel faked.” She said, although a part of her still felt a little dubious. She then handed it back to the white furred Mako, “So I’ll accept it, for the time being.” 

“Don’t worry, the items are being taken back to her. Most of this stuff is things she wanted back. As you can see, I’m taking a lot of care with them.” The Mako said, pointing to the box where they could see the vase sitting in its protective wrapper.

“Well, you are being properly respectful…” Talivana said, before sighing. The Mako looked at her and said, “I know you hate this, Grandma, but the sooner we’re here, the sooner we can get everything that’s intact before the real looters come. Everything will either be returned to their original owners, or being placed within a museum. I know this is the present for you, but this is the past to me.” He looked around, “I wasn’t even born on this planet. This is the first time I’ve ever been here. I knew about Vorserend, as everyone does, but this is the first time I’ve seen it…” He looked up at the sky, “Is it always so cloudy?” He asked. 

Involuntarily, Talivana looked up, “Not always… no…” She said softly, adding, “The sun often shines brightly. Not today, though.”

The Mako looked out across the snow-capped mountains, “Despite the devastation… I can see why Eldyrannth have a soft spot for mountains. It’s beautiful here.” He said. Talivana couldn’t help but to smile slightly, “There’s a serenity about the mountains that we love.” She said, to which the Mako nodded, “I can see why.” He then grinned at her, “Anyway, I should be getting on. I don’t have all the time in the world.” He said, to which Kaylarvana laughed loudly. When she saw Talivana’s blank look, she said, “Sorry, temporal joke.”

“Ah. An in-joke. Okay.” Talivana said.

“Y...Yes, it’s like… Temporal Traveller walks into the bar… As he’s leaving it at the same time.” Kaylarvana said before laughing with the Mako who also laughed saying “HA! I’ve never heard that one before!” Talivana just looked blankly at both of them before saying “I don’t get it.”

“Uh? Oh. What about Doctor, Doctor, I don’t know the time..?” Kaylarvana asked to which the Mako said “Stop winding me up!” Both of them laughed hard. Talivana just looked at both of them. She had no idea what to even say to that, she had no concept of these types of jokes and the humour just fell flat to her. It was like an alien sense of humour to her, much like the Coda’s strange sense of humour. “No… I don’t say I get that either.” Talivana said as Kaylarvana smiled at her “Don’t worry. Anyway we have stuff to get on with.” To which the Mako asked “Your school project? Yep; we’ve got explicit orders to leave it alone. I think you’ll see why when you get there.” 

Kaylarvana blinked as the Mako added “Toodles.” He then walked swiftly back into the house as Talivana blinked “Too-dles?” Kaylarvana shrugged “See ya later?” 

“See ya later?... No dear. See you later.” Talivana corrected as Kaylarvana nodded “Yeah I was quoting.”

“Yes I was quoting.” Talivana corrected.

“By the Gods; your past self is a Grammar Nazi…” Kaylarvana replied as Talivana blinked and asked “Naz-ee?” Kaylarvana replied “Nat-... Nevermind. It is unimportant… As of this present moment.” To which Talivana nodded “Yes that school proj- hang on, one gold mining second! Was that Mako speaking fluent Eldyrannthian?” To which Kaylarvana nodded “Yes. I find that everyone does that in the future… Something called ‘Universal Translators’... It’s either that or - he did call you Grandma, maybe you taught him. You do need to set up a federation of species if you will. An alliance, perhaps.” 

“Maybe not just yet. I’ve got to find the ones who did this, first.” Talivana replied.

“How you choose to prioritise your life is your business, I’ll help out in whatever way I can, Mum.” Kaylarvana said, to say that she was behind Talivana, supporting her in whatever decision she made. The two then made their way over to the riverside where there was a deceased Daedra constantly being shocked with bolts of turquoise coloured Exotic energy, quite obviously it was a blue and green crystal that was way overcharged and it was discharging energy into the deceased Daedra, who was an impure source of energy. Kaylarvana said “Oh… It’s like electricity… I know you don’t know what that is yet… But that’s bad. We can’t get in its way and we can’t leave the Daedra there… It seems the device is overloaded with energy.”

“We could just flip it away.” Talivana suggested.

Kaylarvana nodded and telekinetically scooped the burnt corpse out of the ground before flinging him into the woods. After the Daedra had been moved the riverbed seemed to start glowing. The water flowing towards it was saturated with blood, yet the water flowing away from it was cleaner than she had ever seen from this river. They could even see the river bed and the fish swimming in it.

“Wow. That’s amazing.” Talivana observed as she looked at the results of Kaylarvana’s little school project. 

“This proves that Melvrin was right.” Kaylarvana said as she felt a vibration from within her cloak. She then went into her cloak and pulled out the device Talivana stole from the shelf in the vault. An orange bolt of energy leaped out the river and into the device which Kaylarvana dropped in surprise, letting out a squeak as she did so. The metal device just continued to drain the energy until the device in the river was operating at manageable levels again. The glowing ceased its intensity although the water was still being cleaned. The bolt stopped and Kaylarvana carefully approached the metal cylinder before picking it up and commenting “It’s really warm.” 

“I’m not surprised. It just absorbed a massive energy burst, as if it was nothing. Even the biggest crystal we have would have exploded with that amount of energy. Just how much energy can that thing store? That just took enough to theoretically run the city!” Talivana said in surprise as Kaylarvana answered “I don’t know… As I said my father had one it made noise and lit up at the end, it always - pretty much - opened metal locks. I think he gave Santrin one, to allow him to come into people’s homes and leave presents. I think it’s like a universal key. It can open metal locks. But it’s … I don’t know… I never asked him, I was always curious but I never asked- that in itself is strange.” She then said as Talivana said the same thing at the same time “That in itself is strange-... Yes; it is because you usually have a million and one questions.”

Kaylarvana looked confused for a moment before saying “Yes; it is…” She then put her thumb on a button of the tool and held it out before pressing it, the device made highly energetic sound before a bolt of white energy fired out the top arcing to all the trees in her surrounding area blasting them like explosives sending all of the trees down into the riverbed, as both of them jumped back and Kaylarvana once again dropped the tool in surprise. “My goodness!” Talivana exclaimed. 

“Note to self; don’t play with things you don’t know about.” Kaylarvana said.

“Put it away, before you destroy anything else.” Talivana told her.

“Bu-bu-but… It’s not supposed to work on wood!” Kaylarvana exclaimed. 

“I don’t think it was the device, dear. It was the energy. Clearly it was loaded with so much energy that it just does not give a fuck about what you think it does.” Talivana told her. Flustered a little, Kaylarvana bent down and picked up the device off the river bank as the trees effectively covered the river’s surface infront of their location “You know… I think we should mount Aena and get the hell out of here… I was going to check if it needed moving but I think I can surmise that, it doesn’t matter. If I touch it, I’m dead.” She carefully put the device back in her cloak.

“Most assuredly.” Talivana agreed with a nod, “Come on. We should get out of here… leave these… collectors to their job.” Talivana said.

“Yes. Let’s go.” Kaylarvana agreed as the two of them left the garden and returned to Aena only to find the white furred Mako feeding the very happy Aelda apples that were from the kitchen. He looked at them and smiled, “Hey again. Sorry, I found some apples in the kitchen, and he looked hungry, so I decided not to let them go to waste.” He said.

“Well. Aena does like his apples, and that makes sense. Waste not, want not, and all that.” Talivana said as they came to stand beside the two. She reached out, patting Aena on his strongly curved neck as he was eagerly awaiting his next treat. When the apples were gone, the Mako stepped back, “Safe journey, guys. And take care.” He said.

“Uh, thank you. And you, too.” Talivana replied, as the Mako went back inside, “Wait!” Kaylarvana called out to which the Mako turned around and asked “Mm?” To which Kaylarvana showed him the device in her cloak “What is this?” To which the Mako’s demeanor changed visibly “You shouldn’t have that… Hand that over.” Kaylarvana said “Er- I think not, no. It’s mine. Albeit not yet. What is it?” She asked.

“Keyword: Not Yet. It’s not supposed to be here, it’s from a year or two in my time. I think it should be returned to the correct century.” The Mako replied as Kaylarvana said “It’s not leaving my possession, not with the power it contains. Answer my question.” She demanded. “I cannot… Temporal Prime Directive… Ask Tripp he doesn’t care about the TPD. But me? I don’t violate my father’s rules. I’m sorry but I will have to try and get that off of you. I’ll give you a head start to run. I’d get out of here if I were you.” The Mako said.

Talivana said “Come on, Kaylarvana.” She then climbed up onto Aena, before once more helping Kaylarvana up onto the huge horse. Talivana took up the reins and turned Aena before snapping them signalling Aena to start galloping. The Mako gave chase, but only because he was legally required to, Talivana could sense that he didn’t want to, but he was actually being rather half arsed about it because she could sense his telekinetic power, he could if he wanted to stop them very easily. Thus she moved Aena to dart in and out of the buildings to lose him, since he wasn’t bothering to really follow them and thus she lost him easily. It seemed he couldn’t stay too far from Lyravana’s house, because he stopped pursuing them and returned to the house, at least that’s how they sensed his mind move off.

As they passed the ruins of the Palace, Talivana suddenly pulled on the reins, causing Aena to slide to a stop. The Aelda snorted and pawed at the ground, obviously objecting to stopping as he was eager to be running again. Talivana looked out along the front of the palace, at the line of fresh graves. All, but one, were unmarked. The one in the very centre of the line had a small bush of white Mountain lilies planted at its head. Lined up neatly beside the grave was a metal shovel that showed signs of heavy use. On top of the grave was a small wooden box. It could only be her mother’s grave.

“You want to look in the box, don’t you?” Kaylarvana asked, in a sore tone, as she knew all too well what this was. Talivana said nothing, instead she let herself down off of Aena and walked over to it, before crouching and picking up the box. At first, she just stared at it, before shen swiftly opened it before she could stop herself. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw that it was a amethyst necklace, one which her mother had gifted to her father, Kayrin. He had never taken it off. She picked out the necklace, looking at it as she clenched her jaw in an effort to stop the tears that threatened to fall. She knew that this necklace had disappeared when her father had, so this meant that only one person could have returned it to this grave. She stood up, turning towards Kaylarvana with angry, burning eyes, “The White Wolf said that the person ultimately responsible, buried them. This means that it could only be one person in the entire Universe.” She said.

Kaylarvana remained silent, she just nodded, quietly, afterall she was currently carrying his baby, and with Eldyrannth Grief; emotions were a bitch. Talivana let out an angry sigh, “Fuck…” She faltered a moment before almost growling, “I had hoped, deep in my heart… that maybe, just maybe, he could redeem himself. But this? This… this is beyond forgivable. He’s done the one thing that will forever deny him that.” She grated. Kaylarvana continued to say nothing, she didn’t know how to tell her that she was wrong, and she doubted she even had the right to, all she could say is; “One day he will face justice for his crimes. This was what the White Wolf said was step one of Justice. We need to hold the White Wolf - and my Father - The Daedric Wolf to account, to hold them to Talrin, to make sure Justice is delivered. I feel his day in court to the Eldyrannth will be within our lifetimes where all parties can discuss what happened, how and why. I prefer to wait until that day before casting judgement… Because I’m on the opposite end of the scale to you right now. I forgive him… Because I think he had no other choice… But your point of view is no less valid than mine, and you’re entitled to that point of view. It’s a difference of opinion.”

“There’s always another choice.” Talivana snapped, too angry to be polite.

“I agree; doesn’t mean that choice is better though.” Kaylarvana replied, in a polite tone, she then added “I’m not going to defend him - I think it’s fucking horrible, almost unthinkable that he is the sole cause of this, I’m not defending that. But you don’t have all the facts yet. I barely do, but I have his side, I know his reasons and justifications, and considering the alternative… Xenrin’s Book: The Lesser of Two Evils.” She said quoting an entire book to back up her argument. Talivana said “By that logic, that means you believe that there is such a thing as the Ends Justifying the Means.” To which Kaylarvana shook her head “Not necessarily. This is where I am uncertain on how to proceed with Talrin. It’s a false dichotomy that I’d believe in the Lesser of Two Evils therefore I believe in the Ends Justifying the Means, and going on the logic that if I don’t then I don’t believe in the other. I think every situation has to be accounted for and weighed up with unbiased minds, in a court of law. We do not assume guilt until proven innocence. We assume innocence over guilt. Sometimes some things might fall under the end that justifies the means. Other times, not so much. That’s not for you or I to answer; that’s for a court of law to answer. The rest is just personal opinion, personal beliefs. I understand your seething the fyre’s on anguish and rage, I apologise right now if that’s not what you wanted to hear. But I was brought up not to bullshit my elders. To speak my mind whatever the cost. A lesser of two evils right now, I assure you. You and I both know this is not the end of the volume on Eldrannthian History, it’s merely the end of a chapter.”

“You’re right; it isn’t what I want to hear, but I appreciate that you’re not going to sit there, smile like an idiot and bleep like a sheep at me. I don’t think I’m even ready for any of that, right now.” Talivana said.

“No, of course you’re not…” Kaylarvana replied, adding “I understand that, but… My child doesn’t bare his, or her father’s sins either… I want you to understand that too.”

“I do, dear. A child is never responsible for what their parents did, especially before they were even born. Granted, it’s a different matter if the child was involved, but I doubt it… don’t worry, I won’t judge the child for its father’s actions. Although I can’t promise that I would treat… him with any kind of fairness if I meet him.” Talivana assured her. She closed the wooden box and tucked it into her cloak, before reaching up and putting the necklace around her neck. She then came back over and climbed back onto Aena. Kaylarvana’s arms came to wrap around her waist as Talivana nudged Aena into a trot, heading for the mountain path that would take them away from Vorserend. As they reached the outskirts of the city, Talivana glanced back one last time before sighing and turning her back, no longer wanting to see the devastation, as the three of them set out to head towards the town of Dragon’s Eye so that they could do on to the Kae Cave. There, Talivana hoped to gleam more answers as to what had happened to her people.

Location: Keza’marakian Palace, Selil.

Rowan walked down the quiet halls of the Keza Palace, home of the Sin clan Royal family. His leather boots made little sound against the stone floor. His father, King Kail Sin-Keza’maraki, had summoned him to his office. Despite the fact that Rowan was a Prince, he was far down the line of succession. While his brothers bickered and maneuvered for the position of the Crown Prince, Rowan had no such desires. He had no inclination to take up the throne of the Sin clan. It just wasn’t his ambition. He was content as he was. A spy, thief, assassin and merchant. His title more often than not got in the way of it. Being a King would make things even worse. The thought of sitting on the throne and doing all the administrative details made his stomach churn. He thanked all Gods, existent or not, for his luck of being the person least able to inherit the throne. Besides, he was the most different of the Royal Keza’s. Generally, they clung to tradition like a child and their favourite toy. Rowan flaunted those traditions. He had never married, despite being twenty-six. He was free with his sexual partners, and felt no jealousy whenever his lovers took others to their beds. Rowan had never been a jealous man, and despite the tradition of having a faithful wife, the Prince would not restrict his spouse like that. He also frequently slept with other men, which was frowned upon in their time. But Rowan didn’t really care. When it came to picking partners, the gender didn’t matter. He just had sex with whomever took his fancy at that particular time. 

The Prince snapped out of his thoughts when he arrived at his father’s office. A guard standing outside bowed before knocking on the door and announcing loudly, “Prince Rowan has arrived, your Majesty.”

“Let him in.” Said a commanding voice from behind the door. The guard opened the door, looking at Rowan expectantly. The Prince tilted an eyebrow at the man before he sauntered into the office, the door closing behind him. The office was large and lined with large oak bookcases that were filled with leather bound books and scrolls. In the centre of the room was a large mahogany desk that had pieces of parchment strewn across it. Behind the desk, sitting in a large leather backed chair sat the portly King of the Sin Clan, Kail. The man was looking up at Rowan, his eyes the same golden colours as Rowan’s own. The Prince strode forwards, “You asked for me, father?” He asked.

“Yes. Sit down, son.” The King said gruffly, indicating one of the two comfortable chairs in front of the desk. Rowan sat himself down, his eyes never leaving his father’s face. He didn’t speak, instead waiting for the King to tell him what he wanted.

“I’ve had some disturbing reports from up North. Tales of some unseen battles that sound as if the very God’s themselves are fighting. There has also been some strange reports from some of the villages and towns up North, of a mysterious man that seems to be able to easy sway people to his whim. Speaking of demons of some such. I want you to go and investigate this for me.” The King said.

Rowan rubbed along his chin with his long fingers, his golden eyes thoughtful, “Interesting… I’ve had similar reports from my own sources. Why do you want them investigated? If they want to be savages and worship demons, then let them.” 

“Normally, I would agree,” The King rumbled, “However this isn’t an isolated incident. Several villages have fallen to this new religion, it's gotten a number of the bloody Christian’s here with their frocks in a twist and the silly little Selilian Barron is offering large gold coinage for information- something in which I can pay you with… As well as our private arrangements, princess. Of all the same demon. Does the name Diomedes mean anything to you?”

At the mention of ‘princess’ Rowan blushed slightly, “Hush, father…” He muttered, before turning serious as he thought for a few moments before he shrugged, “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask a scholar. Legends and Myths aren’t really my forté…” He said before asking “How much Gold am I getting paid for this?”

The King grunted, “About two-thousand pieces, I’m getting four thousand, and splitting it with you, putting my half in our vault for the Kingdom.” Rowan said “Okay then. That’s a lot of Gold. I can pay them to help me, like ten pieces or something. I can put that up out of my own capital and get a profit with your payment, so long as the baron pays.” 

Kail nodded and said “Alright, I will do that and see what answers I can wrangle out of them. In the meantime, I want you to go North and have a look around. I want to know if they are a serious threat. Don’t worry about the Baron, I will shake him by his ankles if he doesn’t pay up. You can be certain of that. If he wants to play dirty politics then I can player dirtier… May ‘Christ’ help him if he screws me.”

Inclining his head, Rowan stood from his chair, “I will do that, father. I will leave soon. Have fun with the Baron.” He said, with a smirk. The King nodded, as if he expected nothing less. The portly monarch then waved a dismissive hand, as he said “I should hope so; I’m nobbing his wife!” He laughed to which Rowan chuckled and walked out of the office. He ignored the guard outside, who had bowed, and walked back through the halls of the Palace, passing court officials and servants as he headed towards his private chambers.

When he arrived, he found his personal servant cleaning his room. The man looked up at the Prince and bowed before turning back to his work however the sound of the Prince’s voice made him turn back again,

“I am in need of supplies. Enough food for a few weeks, as well as some fresh parchment, quills and ink. I want it packed and ready to go soon.” Rowan ordered as he moved over to his desk and sat down.

“Yes, your highness.” The servant bowed, before quietly leaving the room. Once alone, Rowan pulled a few pieces of parchment towards him where he wrote a couple of letters for the Queen, and his full blood sister, Elizabeth. The second letter was to his best friend, and lover, Gavrilovich. The letters explained that he was going up North to do some investigation for the King. He didn’t go into any other detail than that, but he let them know that he was likely to be gone for a while, a few weeks at the most. He hoped not to be too long. Once he had finished the letters, he rolled them up and sealed them with his stamp with their names on them.

The servant returned, carrying a bag, “I have your supplies, your highness. I also took the liberty of putting in a wineskin, just in case you get thirsty on the way.” He said as he gently placed the bag down. Rowan stood from his desk,

“Thank you, Charles. Please make sure that these letters get to the Queen and Gavrilovich.” He ordered, flicking his fingers towards the two scrolls. The servant, Charles, glanced at the letters and bowed an affirmative. Rowan then left him and strode into his bedroom where he stripped himself naked and moved over to one of his wardrobe where he kept various commoner clothes that would allow him to move easier through a civilian population without attracting undue notice. He picked out a rather plain brown tunic and hose along with soft leather boots. Once dressed, he looked like a commoner, especially as the clothes were patched and frayed in numerous places. Despite how tatty they looked, they weren’t actually on the verge of falling apart. They were designed from the ground up to be this decrepit looking. They were, in fact, some of the finest made clothes he had. His only problem was that he was much taller than the general population, but there was little he could do about that at the moment. Once he was properly attired, with a cloak wrapped around him to hide his clothes from view, the Prince left his chambers, picking up the bag of supplies on his way out. He made his way to the front gates of the palace, passing through the guards who bowed towards him. Rowan simply nodded as he walked past them, slipping into the crowd of civilians. 

Taking a leisurely pace, Rowan made his way through the Capital City of Selil. Business was usual within the city, as it was clear that no one was alarmed by anything although he did catch some rumours about these demon worshippers, or daedric as they were commonly called, but otherwise he didn’t learn anything new. But then he never expected people here to pay much attention, especially in the richer part of the city. They were more concerned about making their money and living a comfortable lifestyle. As he passed through the poorer districts of the Capital City, their main concern was being able to have enough to eat, drink and a roof over their heads. So again, there was nothing new. Why should the concerns of villages up at the North of Craethiel be another of their worries?

Getting himself involved in a small crowd, Rowan was able to slip out of the main gates without a glance from the main guards. He followed the road for a while, keeping with the crowd before he split from them, heading towards the river. Eventually, he came to a stop and looked about to make sure that he was alone. The closest people, the group he had left with, were far away, heading towards the coast on their way to Tiloga. He would not be visible to them. Satisfied, Rowan pulled off his cloak and packed it away into his bag, before pulling it back on. He closed his eyes as he pictured inside of his mind the image of a wolf. He then began to force himself into that image, feeling his body shift and change. It was a strange sensation, as if he was melting into the shape he had in his mind, almost as if he temporarily became liquified. Finally, he opened his eyes and looked down at himself, now in the form of a large wolf, although he was unlike any wolf that was naturally seen. Most of his fur was jet black in colour, similar to his hair colour as a Keza. His eyes were the same golden colour, speaking of an intelligence far beyond that of a wolf. But the most striking of all, was the fact that he had fur that was more white at the tips of his ears and his tail. His bag, and clothes, were nowhere to be seen but that didn’t concern him. They were still there, and yet they were not. It was a concept difficult for him to explain, and even then he was sure he didn’t understand it. 

A long pink tongue emerged from his mouth as he panted softly, looking up at the sun to see that it was almost high noon. He turned and back to trot along the Ageon River, heading north with the river on his right, heading towards the towns and villages that his father wanted investigating. With his wolf form, he was able to move with greater speed, as well as with much less notice.

Location: Village of Vortase, late at night.

The faint crunch of the fine gravel underneath Rayvenne’s boot seemed unnaturally loud in the silent air. She paused, becoming as still as the village around her that seemed almost breathless with anticipation. Her eyes were drawn upwards, into the black sky above her. The one thing that drew her gaze was the pale glow of the full moon which seemed to be wane and sick that night, bathing her surroundings with a light that leeched all colour from the world. She paused, seeming to consider it before she once more lowered her eyes to observe the village. She stood in the very centre of the street, the dark shapes of thatched houses lining the path on each side. The windows and doorways were shrunken in a fearful darkness. Not a single candle burned, nor a single fireplace. And yet Rayvenne was aware of the intent gazes of the inhabitants watching her fearfully. She tilted her head slightly, as a slight breeze stirred briefly, bringing with it the soft rustling of leaves. It died down again, leaving the village still again for several moments before the wind stirred again. This time, it brought with it the sharp stench of blood, and the smell of damp, filthy animal fur.

Rayvenne stiffened for a moment, before she forced her muscles to relax as she breathed in deep of the cool night air. Her fingers flexed around the handle of the silver sword that she held in her right hand, the point held low to the ground. She then tightened her grip and shifted, gripping the sword with her left hand as well, as she became still once again, becoming hyper-aware of her environment as she paid attention to each and every disturbance. There was a faint rustling, drawing her eyes towards the roof of one of the houses, where she could see a large raven perched, looking down at her with piercing blood red eyes. It opened its mouth and cawed, the sound cutting through the silent air, before it went quiet. The sudden silence after the loud noise made the stillness seem even more palpable. 

Another sound then began to pervade the air. The sound of a low growling, filled with an intense hunger and malice towards all living things. Rayvenne turned towards the sound, using her sharp hearing to pinpoint the origin. With her sharp night vision, he saw movement between two of the houses. It seemed no more than a flicker, before the growling stopped. The air grew still again, and yet the hairs on the back of her neck rose in warning. She could feel that malicious, hungry gaze upon her. She settled into a semi-crouch, ready to move at any given moment. The stench of blood, and damp fur became heavier in the air, and she could sense the creature moving closer towards her. There was a sudden scraping sound as the creature leapt towards her. It looked a little similar to a werewolf, however its fur was darker, shorter and coarser. There were patches where there was no fur, revealing scabbed, diseased looking skin. Its eyes were blood red, seeming to glow with its malice and hatred. Its upper lip was peeled back, revealing huge dagger-like fangs that looked as if he could rend her flesh with ease. Almost contemptuously, she waited until the last moment before diving forwards, as if to meet its charge. However, pulling one hand from her sword and using it to balance herself, she dove beneath the creature. She placed her hand on the ground, using it as a point of balance as she spun herself around, as the foul creature landed on all fours and turned towards her.

Rayvenne straightened, as she gazed back towards the creature which snarled at her. In those few moments, she was able to correctly identify her prey. It was not a werewolf. It was a Hound, which in many ways were much more dangerous than a werewolf. They both started out the same way, as a human, and thus had human intelligence. However, while a werewolf became more animalistic in their active state, a Hound always keep their keen intellect, making them a tricky opponent. Another difference between the two of them, was that a Hound had no reliance on the lunar cycles. They were always like this. From what Rayvenne had read on them, the Hounds were created by an ancient, evil God that once resided in these lands. He had created them to guard his house against any intruders, while he spent his time watching as his worshippers sacrificed anyone they could get their hands on. This God had apparently been defeated, but the texts had been unclear as to whom it was that had defeated them. It mentioned a single figure, that had sealed this God away, and had slain many of these Hounds as well as the fanatic cult followers. Several texts seemed certain that the figure that had defeated the God was a Daedra of some description, who had intended on using the God’s powers for their own. But Rayvenne had privately doubted these assertions. The Hounds were also known to have some tricks up their sleeves as well. They seemed to have some rudimentary talent at magic, as they were adept at casting illusions. They could also relentlessly hunt someone for weeks on end until they catch up with their prey, using not only their wolf-like senses but also their intellect. Like their old Master, they were malicious and hated any living thing that existed. Even their own kin. The thing that confused Rayvenne the most, was why this single Hound was this far away from its home, and pretending to be a werewolf. Hounds tended to operate in packs, and a pack of them were not something one would want to encounter on your own.

She straightened further, lifting the sword slightly, although she kept the point low. She stepped back slightly, keeping her dark eyes fixed upon the Hound, “What are you doing here?” She asked it. The Hound paused, its ears swivelling towards her before it snarled again,

“None of your business.” It growled, its mouth seemingly biting out the words. Before giving her a chance to respond, it bounded towards her once more. This time, it dropped to all fours and ran towards her, not allowing her to dive underneath it like she had done previously. Faster than the Hound anticipated, Rayvenne danced to the side, bringing up the silver sword and using both hands to turn it sharply, which made the sharp tip to swing forwards in a large arch. The sharp metal of the blade sank into the flesh of its shoulder and down its side. The moment she felt the resistance on the blade lift, Rayvenne turned to face the Hound. It’s snarl of hate had turned to that of pain, and it spun quickly and leapt towards her again, it's sharp front claws extended. Rayvenne once again tried to skirt to the side, but it anticipated the action and its claw followed her movement. It caught her on the side, her flesh only saved from the sharp claws by the chainmail that protected her stomach. It did not, however, protect her from the concussive force of the strike. She was thrown sideways, her sword dropping to the ground as she rolled across the gravel path, winded by the stunning blow. 

The Hound let out a loud, hair-raising howl as it bounded towards her, clearly intending on pinning her down and tearing her apart. But as it dropped down, its jaws opening wide, there was a sudden loud cawing sound. This distracted the Hound, who looked around to try and find the source of the sound. The huge raven that had been perched on the rooftop suddenly descended upon the Hound, screeching defiantly as it clawed at the beast's face and pecked at the hideous monster. The Hound snarled in annoyance and lifted its head to snap at the raven who fluttered up out of range, cawing angrily at the Hound. The distraction was just long enough for Rayvenne to pull herself to her feet and dive towards her sword. The weight of it was strangely reassuring as she turned to face the Hound. The raven flew back up, the Hound growling after it, almost forgetting Rayvenne in his anger. Using this to her advantage, she darted in on the offensive, swinging her sword up, aiming for the chest. But the Hound reacted faster than she anticipated. It jumped backwards, trying to avoid the blow, but it didn’t quite move fast enough. It snarled in pain as the blade sliced through the skin across its chest. The Hound leapt backwards, landing on all fours as he crouched, his eyes flat with rage, furious that she had managed to score two hits. 

She smirked at him, “Come on then. What are you waiting for, puppy? I’m getting pretty bored of this little game. Can’t you do better than this?” Rayvenne taunted. Despite being more intelligent than the average dog, they were still susceptible to human emotions, and she succeeded in needling him as the Hound growled, “I will tear your flesh from your quivering body and feast upon you!” He snarled before jumping in for the attack, its eyes burning in rage as it blindly charged towards her. Rayvenne jumped forwards, raising her sword above her head. She waited for the right moment, before she swung it down with all of her strength, down onto the top of the Hound’s head. With a sickening crunch, the sword pierced its way through its thick skull, burying itself in the Hound’s brain and pinning the creature to the ground. The creature twitched several times before it lay completely still.

The dark haired woman took several moments to catch her breath before she placed her foot on top of the Hound’s head, before grunting as she pulled her sword free. In the pale light of the moon, the blood and brain matter that clung to the silver blade looked black as it dripped down onto the gravel path. Rayvenne reached into her pocket, pulling out a piece of white cloth. With it, she carefully cleaned the blood from her sword before she returned the blade to its home in a holster on her back. She tilted her head as she looked down at the dead Hound, before frowning slightly. She never did get an answer to her question. Ashaba, the place in which they guarded, was much further South, hidden within the depths of the Rosayia Forest. What was it doing so far north near the Therarr Mountains? It perplexed her, and she worried that there could be more of them. Had they decided to migrate, for some unknown reason? 

The raven fluttered down, landing down on the corpse of the hound as it tilted its head up at Rayvenne. She looked down at the bird before suddenly scolding it, “Raeghan, that was a fool thing to do.” The Raven cawed slightly, sounding as if it was laughing at her before it spoke, “You won, didn’t you?” It then laughed again, causing Rayvenne to sigh and shake her head, “Foolish bird brain.” She said, causing the raven to laugh harder. Raeghan then flew up, settling himself on her shoulder as there was a small flare of light from one of the windows. After a moment, she heard a door open and then close before a lit lantern, illuminating the face of an old man, came into view, bobbing towards them. The man stopped closeby and looked down at the Hound, “So it is done?” He asked.

“Yes... although truth be told, I’m not sure if there are any more. This isn’t a Werewolf, as you mistakenly thought. It’s called a Hound, and they usually operate in packs. This one seemed to be on its own, perhaps a scout, but I can’t say for sure. They shouldn’t even be this far North. This is extremely unusual. I’m going to check around, before I leave, just to make sure.” Rayvenne answered in a professional tone, fully expecting the man to become annoyed with her and withheld on payment. It was a common thing that happened to her, particularly in the smaller, poorer villages where they wanted to try and keep their money. The man looked worried, before he then sighed, “That does not sound very good. Regardless, the contract stated for you to kill this one beast and thus you’ve earnt your reward… Anymore than that, is generosity on your part. So I won’t keep back what you’re owed… and I thank you for looking around.” He said, before pulling a worn leather purse from the folds of his clothes and handing it to her. Rayvenne took the bag, and opened it up to check that everything was in there. When she confirmed that it was, she tucked it away, “Thank you. I won’t charge for looking around. Hounds on the loose are a source of concern.” She then nudged the dead Hound with her foot, “I advise taking this thing some distance from the village, and bury it deeply. You won’t want it to attract other Hounds, especially if there are more of them out there. They’re vindictive beasts.” She said.

“We will take care of it. Thank you.” The old man said, giving her a slight ungraceful bow before retreating away from her and heading back towards his house to rouse help. Without bothering to wait to make sure that they followed her instructions, Rayvenne turned and headed off out of the village and into the surrounding forests, seemingly melting into the darkness, her footsteps as quiet as smoke. Raeghan fluttered up, flying off into the trees and disappearing from view, but Rayvenne wasn’t worried. She knew he would be back. He had advantages that she didn’t have, and he could scout much further than she could. Not only that, but with trying to move stealthily, she had to restrict her pace which meant she could only cover the immediate area around the village. She followed the old scent of the Hound, tracing it through the dark trees. It lead her to a small burrow in the ground a mile from the village. It was filled with old leaves and scraps of cloth as if the Hound had build some kind of bed. The area stank of blood and rotten flesh, as well as the pervading smell of damp fur as well as a musty scent of mould. She wrinkled her nose, the smell nauseating her.

Rayvenne looked around, noticing bones of not only humans, but animals as well. Clearly the Hound had been here for a while before she had killed it. She approached the small den and knelt down, examining it closely to try and get some kind of clue, however she couldn’t see anything beyond the leaves and rotting cloth. She straightened and moved around the area, carefully examining the surrounding area. Judging from the number of foot prints, and the other marks left around, there had only been a single individual. She couldn’t find any other signs of a pack. She began to expand her search as she roamed the forest, trying to find what she could. However she wasn’t able to find anything which only furthered her confusion.

By the time dawn arrived, she returned to the village and sought out the old man, “I couldn’t find any trace of a pack. It had a den, but it’s clear that only it was occupying it. So there aren’t any that I could find.” Rayvenne reported. The old man looked relieved, “That’s good news. Thanks very much for that, Hunter.” He said. 

Rayvenne inclined her head politely, “Yes, it’s very good news. It means that you shouldn’t be bothered by another Hound unless more are following. If any more monsters occur, just leave a poster up. I will no doubt pass through here again at some point.” She said.

The man nodded, “We’ll do that, we’ll do that. Where are yer heading now?” He then asked.

Rayvenne shrugged, “Up North.” She replied, not willing to say any more than that.

“Save travels, Hunter.” The man said politely. “Thanks.” Rayvenne answered before bowing slightly and moving around the man and heading down the street towards the tavern. When she had reached it, she stepped inside and approached the owner, “I’m leaving now.” She said, pulling out some coins and handing them over to pay for the room for the previous night. Despite the fact that she had not slept in it, she had used the room to store some of her things, thus she still needed to pay for it. The owner grunted, snatching the money from her before turning his back towards her, using a dirty cloth to wipe a tankard. Used to such rudeness, Rayvenne didn’t comment on it, and headed up the stairs towards the room that she had rented. She picked up her bags before leaving the room and exiting the tavern by use of the door that lead straight into the stable. 

Waiting for her, was a large black stallion which was happily munching on some hay. His head turned towards her, and he nickered slightly in greeting. Rayvenne smiled and stroked his long nose before she began to put on his saddle and her bags. By the time she had finished, and lead Maedoc from the stall, Raeghan made a return, swooping down to land on the gate. 

“Find anything?” Rayvenne asked him. The raven rustled his wings in an irritated fashion, “Nothing.” He reported. Rayvenne pulled herself up into the saddle, taking up the reins in her hands, “I didn’t find anything either. It’s clearly been in the area for a while, but it was alone. We’re heading to the Town of Dragon’s Eye, to see if there is anything unusual in the area there.” She told him. Raeghan fluttered up, landing on her shoulder,

“Right-o, lady-o. Let’s go!” Raeghan cawed, causing Rayvenne to snort softly in amusement before turning her horse and nudging it into a trot out of the village.

[Kalvoras Vertal Banned]

Location: Aria's Tailoring Shop/Sew it Seams.

Aria sat at her stool behind the curtain at the front desk, eagerly stitching away at a torn pair of light tan trousers. It had been hours since she had begun this special outfit for a friend that had asked and was willing to pay good money for it. She was eager to please her friend, but her arms had begin to grow tired with the continuous motions of moving the needle in and out of the fabric. Still, she fought through the growing wear at her muscles and finished the outfit about a half hour later.

After making sure that everything seemed perfect, she placed the outfit on a makeshift mannequin that had been provided to her by her mother, a sweet should that had passed away many years ago. All she had left was the needles and pins in the sewing kit that her mother had left her. She sighs and brushes off any lint that might be lingering on the light fabric. She smiles at her handiwork before turning and slowly walking through the curtain to the front desk to see an empty room. She takes hold of a small box that she had left on the counter, a box filled with brand new fabrics from the local merchant.

[Neptune]

Location: Tavern, Delwore and Aria's Tailoring Shop/Sew it Seams.

Devlyn looked up from the brown swill when he heard footsteps coming towards him. The corner of his lip twitched in annoyance when he saw that it was Yamura. She crossed her arms, looking down at him with one of her fine eyebrows arching,

“So? Are you going to sit here and drink all day?” She asked. Devlyn pushed the tankard away from himself with a derisive snort, 

“Not with that pisswater, no. I was hoping that it would at least be somewhat decent but I’ve had better out of a road puddle.” Devlyn said, causing Yamura to snicker in amusement. She looked over her shoulder towards the bartender before she looked back at Devlyn again, “Well, what do you expect from a bunch of animals? I’m surprised they’ve even discovered fire. Not that they seem to know how to handle that.” She remarked, her blue eyes flickering to the fireplace. There were signs that the fire had been out of control once, with burn marks up the wall and across the floor around the fireplace. 

Devlyn glanced at the fireplace before saying in agreement, “I’m surprised they haven’t killed themselves yet.” He said, before standing up. However as he shifted to stand straighter, his shirt caught on a loose iron nail, causing a tear in the fabric with a loud ripping sound. Scowling heavily, Devlyn muttered, “Oh, for fucks sakes.”

Yamura snorted in amusement, “You better have that fixed. We don’t have many clothes.” She said. “Oh, really? You fucking think so?” He asked, his tone laced with heavy sarcasm which only seemed to amuse her more. Normally other Dreshza were more servile towards those with White Eyes, like Devlyn due to their status symbol. However Yamura was not like that. She was far more fiery. Perhaps it was why Diomedes had chosen her for this mission. It was certainly different to Devlyn.

“Relax, Devlyn. There’s a seamstress in town. Maybe she can do something about it.” Yamura told him. “Where?” Devlyn demanded in a biting tone.

“Down the street, not far from here. I’m not holding your hand to take you there.” Yamura said causing Devlyn to sneer at her, “I wouldn’t fucking want you to. Go and sit in the room until I return. Make yourself useful for a change and pack our things.” He told her. Without waiting for a word in response, he stepped around her and left the tavern through the wooden door. He looked down the street, seeing if he could spot the shop that Yamura had mentioned. After a few moments, his sharp eyes saw a building with a sign hanging from it, with the symbol for a seamstress. With an irritated sigh, he made his way towards it, ignoring the looks of the villagers as he passed them. 

When he reached the building, he didn’t bother to knock and simply opened the door to stare inside. He could only see a single occupant, who stood behind her wooden counter gripping what seemed to be a box. She was the first anthro he had encountered in this village, and a rather cute red panda at that. Certainly an exotic creature if he had ever seen one. He locked his piercing white eyes with hers, staring her down for several moments in a silent show of dominance, before he strode into the shop closing the door behind him with a loud thud. He approached the counter, firmly putting his hand down on the surface before he said, “I want you to fix this before I have to leave, and I won’t take no for an answer.” He indicated the torn piece of fabric of his shirt. While he had walked in with money, he had absolutely no intention of paying her for her services. It seemed pointless to him to pay for such a trivial thing, especially since he had not factored it into his finances. He would make her do it for him, for free, even if he had to use force to do it.

[Kalvoras Vertal Banned]

Location: Aria's Tailoring Shop/Sew it Seams

As Aria heard the door to her shop open, she looked up to see a tall man dressed in dark clothing. She begins to smile, but her face goes rigid as her emerald eyes meet his pure white eyes. She is suddenly filled with a strange amount of fear, and her blood feels like it had begun to run cold. She shivers and does her best to break the contact between their eyes, but she fails to do so. If her body hadn't locked in place, she more than likely would've dropped the box of fabric that she was holding.

As the strange man approaches, her head slowly tilts up as their eye contact is continuous and unbroken. As he demands that she fix something, she manages to break the contact between their eyes to search his body, eventually finding the tear. Hesitantly, she puts down the box and reaches out to take hold of the torn fabric. She examines the extent of the rip and nods before straightening herself and picking up the box again.

"A-alright... J-just wait here and place your shirt on that mannequin..."

Aria can just barely manage to find her timid voice, pointing towards an empty but clean mannequin in the corner of the room. She hesitantly turns to walk past the curtain and places the box onto a table once she is out of sight. She shudders and the hair on her back seems to prickle up with fear if this strange man. Why was she feeling this way? Why did he seem so frightening? She would find out soon enough.

Aria walks back out a short moment later carrying the small sewing kit that she had been using just mere minutes ago, with several different types of needles and pins and a small spool of black thread.

[Neptune]

Location: Tavern, Delwore and Aria's Tailoring Shop/Sew it Seams.

Devlyn’s mood improved when he could see the fear that his mere presence caused this little panda to tremble in fear. As she rightfully should. He had the power to easily end her life, and whether it was conscious or not, she realised it and she feared him for it. He continued to stare her down, loving the way her voice cracked and squeaked with her fear. He snorted softly as he watched her disappear behind the curtain before returning a few moments later with a small sewing kit. He gazed down at her hands, seeing the tremble and wondered if she would even be able to repair his top neatly. That was one of the downsides of being so intimidating was that, that fear might be a detriment to what he was after.

Devlyn stripped himself of his top, revealing the pale skin of his well muscled torso. He went over to the mannequin, pulling the top over it so that the tear in his top was easily accessible. He then turned to her, looking down his nose at her as he said, “You better not fuck this job up, otherwise I’m not going to be very happy. I hope I make myself perfectly clear.” As he looked down at her, he almost wished that she would botch the job, just so that he could have an excuse to punish her. But then again, he was tempted to do it regardless. She was a very cute little thing, and he loved the way that she was so afraid of him. Besides, she was quite different from most of the animals in this stinking village. She was cleaner than they were, for a start which was strange considering that she was covered in fur which usually would be so easy to get messy. She also smelt a bit better than most of the people in this village too, which made him wonder just how she was able to do that. 

He looked down at her needles and saw that her kit was actually well stocked. She must make a decent living with such equipment. They looked good quality, unlike the usual large, thick needles that he had seen in other peoples houses, when he had gone in to cuck the man and fuck the wife. He licked his lips slightly, looking almost like a wolf staring down his prey as he stared at her before he asked, “What’s your name?”

[Kalvoras Vertal Banned]

Location: Aria's Tailoring Shop/Sew it Seams

Aria gulps gently as he strips himself of his top, sneaking a small, curious glance at his body to see that his musculature was basically perfect. His voice made her shiver softly, and she refused to look into his eyes, instead settling for his lips. She turns and sits down on a stool that she had taken from the side, taking a moment to calm her nerves and ease the shaking of her hands.

Once she had gotten the shaking down to a level that she could work with, she takes a deep breath and exhales before beginning to work on the tear. Her work was precise, but at the cost of speed, setting that she had been working on desperately. She had come close to pricking her finger with the needle, but had just barely missed due to quick thinking.

As she was asked of her name, she takes a soft breath before giving a pert, "Aria" and continuing with her work.

It had taken a few moments, but she had finally finished, and the end result nearly looked like there had been no tear in the history of the top. She smiles and stands before snipping off the leftover thread and removing the shirt from the mannequin. She takes it to the counter before opening a small box underneath.

"That'll be ten copper pieces, sir."

Edited May 26, 2018 by Shuya "Cheshire" Hideaki

[Neptune]

Location: Aria's Tailoring Shop/Sew it Seams.

Devlyn’s piercing white eyes watched Aria the entire time that she worked, observing her. Despite her shaky nerves, he had to grudgingly admit that she was good at what she did. Her movements were well practised and she knew exactly what she was doing. He remained where he stood, putting a hand on his hip as he waited impatiently for her to be finished. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to actually take that long to finish the job. He watched as she came back over with the top which he reached out and snatched from her grip. He then turned the top in his hands, looking for the tear. It was even neater up close than from his observation point when she had been working. 

He then looked up at her, tilting his head slightly when she asked for money from him. One of his well formed eyebrows twitched upwards, before he snorted slightly and sneered down at the small woman, “I never said that I was going to pay for the work.” He put a hand on the counter and leaned forwards her, fixing his eyes with hers as he asked in a soft voice, “What are you going to do about it, huh, little panda? Turn the village against me? Call the authorities? Well, I have news for you little panda. The villagers won’t do shit against me and you don’t have any real form of authority figures other than a couple of corrupt guards.” He slowly grinned at her, and hoped that she was attempted to push the issue. There was literally nothing that she could do to force him to pay the money. He was taller, and stronger than she is and he had the villagers eating out of his hands. She was alone and vulnerable, and that thought excited him. He glanced behind him towards the door, confirming that it was still closed, before he turned back to the little panda as an idea formed in his mind. Whether she protested or not, he was going to make her his. 

[Kalvoras Vertal Banned]

As the strange man began to speak, letting her know that he wasn't going to pay for his clothes and then prattling on about her blabbing to a numerous amount of people, a soft growl emanates from her throat. She was becoming annoyed, and his condescending tone only made her emotions heighten into slight anger. She wouldn't let him push her around like this. She wasn't simply one to be used as a tool, though she often felt that way at times. At least she made an honest living out of what she did.

"Who the hell do you think you are? Do you think that I do this for free, you scrounger? I have food and a home that I must pay for, and labor thieves like you don't help. I demand that you pay up, this instance. Ten. Copper. Pieces."

She points her finger downwards before making a connection with the counter. Her voice was filled with shyness, something expected of her as she was a normally quiet person who didn't tell people off. However, she was particularly annoyed that he was refusing to pay for her services. She brings her finger up and prods him in the chest with it before looking into his eyes again and scowling, only slightly fearing him this time.

"Either pay, or leave the top and get out of my shop."

[Neptune]

Location: Aria's Tailoring Shop/Sew it Seams.

Her response greatly amused Devlyn at first, as she attempted to stand up to him of all people. She was making demands of him, and yet she was not in a position to actually enforce those demands. He couldn’t help but to let out a deep chested chuckle which escaped him as he continued looking down at her as she pointed her finger down at the counter, her eyes flashing with anger despite the reserved demeanor of her voice. Her attempts to act like a much tougher person only amused him. She was almost half of his height, and she had nowhere near the strength he had. While she might be a little stronger than a human, it was still nothing compared to him. 

His amusement didn’t last long, however, as she prodded him in the chest before trying to make an ultimatum. His white eyes narrowed as his own anger flared. Quicker than her eyes could perceive, he reached up and gripping onto her wrist. His grip was so tight that her wrist was threatening to break in his grasp. He yanked hard on the arm, pulling her over the counter before flipping her down onto the floor onto her back. He turned to look down at her, his expression turning dark as he let out another chuckle, this time filled with a dark malice that often made peoples blood run cold. He brought up his hand, making a claw of his hand as he continued to stare down at her with cold eyes,

“You are in no position to make demands of me, little panda. I’m not one of your usual customers. I’m not weak, and pathetic like they are. I’m blessed by my Masters, and Gods. They have granted me their Divine powers, and I can strike you down with little thought. Your life is meaningless before me, panda. Do you think I care what you think?” He asked, before there was a crackling sound. Arcs of electricity snapped from fingertip, to fingertip and yet he didn’t seem to be in any form of pain. Not that he would expect her to know what electricity was; it wasn’t something known about in this time so it would most certainly look like some kind of divine power. Not to mention the loud crackling and snapping sounds were bound to be frightening which was what he was aiming for. If not, he could always shock her. His smirk widened even further as he said, “You ask me who do I think I am? Well. I am my God’s servant. I am here to do his will, and I will not hesitate to strike down anyone in my way of my God’s desires.” 

[Kalvoras Vertal Banned]

Her tough act faltered as soon as her wrist was taken in such a crushing grip. She could feel her radius and ulna creaking, threatening to break under the tremendous stress that this man was putting them under with ease. She cried out in pain, trying to pull her hand from his grasp to no avail.

Aria's emerald eyes flicked with fear as she was thrown onto her back, a loud exhale being heard as the wind was forced out of her. She struggled to catch her breath, eventually taking in a deep gulp of air. The sudden crackling along with the dark tone of his voice made her give a soft yelp of fear, rolling onto her stomach and beginning to try to crawl away.

She crawled as fast as she could, but she couldn't go very fast because of how shaky she was. Her body wouldn't quit shaking and her wrist hurt like hell. She bet that it had already bruised by now. She collapsed down onto her side, her wist giving out from under her.

"N-no... This can't be happening..."

[Neptune]

Location: Aria's Tailoring Shop/Sew it Seams.

Devlyn watched her pathetic attempts to crawl across the floor as she tried to escape him. He didn’t bother trying to stop her because he could see how shaken she was, which was severely hampering her efforts until she collapsed down on her side before whimpering in fear. Devlyn moved across the floor, his steps unnaturally loud against the wooden floor. He kicked her in the side to make her flip over onto her back before he swiftly swooped down and pressed his hand against her throat. The grip was firm enough to keep her in place, but not so hard that it was crushing her windpipe, so she could still breath,

“Yes, little Panda… this is happening. And no one is going to stop it. You made a grave mistake today little Panda and you’re going to pay for your mistake. I’m going to punish you, and show you the power of your God!” Devlyn said, before he pressed two fingers of his free hand into her stomach, sending an electrical shock into her. It wasn’t enough to cause any actual harm, but it would most certainly hurt as it was like a taser. He kept it up for several moments before he pulled his fingers away, as his dark smirk grew ever wider,

“That is but a taste, little Panda. From this moment on, you will obey my every command. If you disobey I will not hesitate to hurt you. Run away, and I will not hesitate to hurt you. No one in this village is going to come and save you. They will have no problems in letting me do anything I want to you, because they see the power of their new God and wisely give him their worship. Do I make myself clear, little Panda?” Devlyn said, before asking. He tapped his fingers together, sparks flying between them as more crackling sounds filled the shop room to remind her of the kind of pain he could inflict. The beautiful thing about it, is that he could cause as much pain as he wanted, and he wouldn’t be damaging his goods.

[Kalvoras Vertal Banned]

The breath was knocked out of her once more as his foot connected with her and sent her onto her back. It didn't help that he had begun to choke her, something that she actually found to be quite arousing. But the arousal was quickly replaced by pain as she felt sparks inside of her, making her flail wildly about in attempts to escape the torture.

In her flailing, her hand make contact with his face once and then his back before he had taken his hand away. She began to pant, trying to find her breath as her mind swam with thoughts. What had she done to deserve this? She had always been the good girl, despite touching herself, which was considered self-rape in Catholic culture.

As he that she would obey his every command, she shook her head as best she could before giving a raspy "No..." and putting her hands on his wrist and trying to pry him off of her

[Neptune]

Location: Aria's Tailoring Shop/Sew it Seams.

Using his grip on her throat, he pulled Aria up so that her face was inches away from his own, as he glared down into her emerald eyes with his own stark white ones, “No?” He echoed, before he chuckled softly, the sound filled with a wealth of darkness and amusement at her suffering, “I think not, little Panda. As I told you earlier; you are not in the position to make demands of me. There is nothing you can do to stop me from owning you, and there is no one that will save you. Because unlike in your fictional stories… white knights riding in to save you do not exist!” He then laughed at her, mocking her for her resistance. He was feeling a measure of excitement at having such power over her, knowing that there was nothing she could do to resist him. She was powerless, and it made him feel a rush he was rarely used to. Normally he was nothing but a servant for his Masters. His Gods. But right now, he was the one in control and he was the one that had the power. He doubted that Diomedes would begrudge him of this one single prize. 

He let go of her throat, allowing her to fall to the floor and to get her breath back. He thought he heard a noise from behind him, and when he glanced back towards one of the windows he saw a flash of white. One of the villagers, perhaps, investigating what the noise was. Not that he cared. They wouldn’t dare stop him. They could all surround them, and he wouldn’t care. All that would be happening was him humiliating Aria, and reducing her social status to that of his pet. From this point on, if she wanted to survive, she was going to have to rely on him. He smirked slightly and looked back at Aria, “It seems like the locals already know what’s going to happen now. They’re never going to look at you in the same way. I imagine some might think of you as a disgusting whore. But some might be nicer. Consider you special and lucky, for being chosen by me. No doubt a number of the woman would beg to trade places with you. From this point on, if you want to eat and have somewhere nice to sleep… I’m the only one that can give this to you…” He said, running his fingers along both sides of her jaw, ready to grab her throat if she started struggling again.

[Kalvoras Vertal Banned]

Aria began to struggle as she was lifted off the ground, kicking at him and clawing at his arms until he dropped her. She was about to turn and attempt to crawl away, but she heard his words. Words that made her freeze dead in her tracks. She would be an outcast. No one would come to her for business anymore. She wouldn't be able to pay for anything, which means that she would end up homeless and starving. In reality, she now needed him. But she couldn't.

The second he ran his fingers along her jaw, she looked up at him and then away. There was no more use in fighting. She couldn't. He was a monster that could destroy her in seconds. She closed her eyes as a single small tear ran down her face.

"Please..."

((Moved to: 

Taming a Little Panda)

 

Edited May 31, 2018 by Shuya "Cheshire" Hideaki

[PinkKitten]

Location: Wandering the streets of Lathulla

Justine stood by Nanette, her beautiful white Camargue mare, who by this time was more than accustomed to being shipped back and forth on boats with her lady. "How are you, mon chérie?" she crooned softly. Hubert, her large Beauceron, barked at her feet and she immediately bent down to pet him. "You're in high spirits, Hubert," she said with a small smile, glad to see that he too was doing well. "Glad you've stopped getting sea legs." They were traveling on a boat owned by a merchant whose daughter she'd successfully treated, and she didn't really know where she was headed, but that was part of being a Cathar. She went wherever God seemed to want to take her, and so far, aside from fleeing the Catholic church, it had been quite enjoyable.

What she did know was that the merchant was headed to Lathulla. She stood on the deck with her animal friends and watched as the shore drew closer and closer into view. "Here we are, Lady Justine," one of the crew called. Justine gave one last glance to make sure she'd left nothing behind, and she nodded as she carefully led Nanette to the stern ramp as Hubert walked in front, barking cheerfully at the sailors. But for all those good spirits, Hubert seemed relieved to be on solid ground again. Justine had taken a few steps away from the ship when the merchant himself called a farewell, and she gave a curt bow in recognition before facing the busy street full of other merchants in the process of unloading their wares for sale.

"Well...let's see whether we can find some people to save, eh?" Justine murmured under her breath. "But first...some food wouldn't hurt." The three of them made their way through the crowds, Hubert obligingly slowing down for his larger and heavier companions. Justine's gaze wandered everywhere, taking in the new sights and hoping to catch a glimpse of something she could make a vegetarian meal of. And perhaps she could get an apple as a special treat for Nanette, and something with meat and grain in it for Hubert. She was trying to wean him slowly off of meat, but her dog appeared very much opposed to the plan.

Edited June 4, 2018 by PinkKitten

[Aura]

Location: Rosayia Forest, along the Ildran River

Time: Dawn

Natia awoke to the sound of running water. She hadn't recalled ever falling asleep, but at some point in the night, she must have keeled over. Certainly, she wouldn't have randomly decided to fall asleep in such an open area as this riverside, especially considering either her captors or that monster could have possibly been tracking her down after the attack.  As she tried to move, she found all of her joints and muscles extremely sore. She had no idea how long she had been running or how far she had gotten before she collapsed, but one look around only confirmed that she was, in fact, completely lost. She was naked save for the inhibitor collar that was still fastened tightly to her neck, partially restricting her breathing, as well as her shackles and the plank of wood which was once a part of the wall of the caravan the shackles were attached to. 

After spending an entire night in the wilderness, exposed to the elements, and with no access to her magic abilities, her whole body was cold and covered with dirt. Her delicate body trembled and she soon felt her stomach growl. She hadn't eaten since before she had been captured. Her mouth was dry and her stomach empty. This pain in her stomach was foreign to her, as her entire life she could have simply pulled water from the air around her and sprouted berries and fruit with a wave of her hand. Being starved like this felt like some form of cruel torment. Had Goddess Cera been punishing her for her misgivings? Her negligence? 

Whatever the case, Natia couldn't just surrender and waste away right here on the side of the river. Just staying here motionless and defenseless, she would likely be mistaken for a carcass and feasted on by some scavenger beast. Without access to her magic, she knew she had to find some source of food or water. Thankfully, the river right next to her made water quite accessible. After several minutes, she managed to force her legs to move in such a manner that pushed her close enough so that she could dip her face into the flowing water and drink from it. The earthy taste of the somewhat dirty water almost made her want to spit it out. She was used to consuming pure water which she had personally extracted, so even the slightest trace of dirt inside the water was more than noticeable. However, she was desperate, so she was hardly in the position to complain. She downed gulp after gulp of water before feeling as though her thirst had been quenched. Her face and the tips of her hair were wet as she rolled over onto her back to gasp for air, staring up at the sky. The sun had just begun to leave the horizon, painting the sky in a beautiful orange hue. It was a convenient time to awaken, since the sun would be bright in a few hours, making travel easy, but she wasn't quite sure how much that would help. She was still defenseless and every part of her body felt broken. As she stared helplessly at the sky, she could feel her whole body begin to tremble once again. Her breathing became stuttered and tears began to fall from her eyes. 

"Where am I...?" She caught herself speaking aloud. She had no idea who she was talking to, perhaps to Goddess Cera, or prehaps she was just thinking aloud. Either way, her normally soft and beautiful voice was choked and cracked between hideous sobs. "What am I doing here? Why can't I just be brought back to my tribe? I don't care if I get another telling off from my father, I swear I'll listen from now on, honest!!" Her sobs only grew in volume after her voice escalated toward the end. "Please..." she hiccuped. "Help me..."

[Neptune]

Location: Rosayia Forest, along with Ildran River

Rowan had travelling throughout the day, never slowing in his pace as he moved up the Ageon River, ignoring the time as it slipped into night. He knew he could travel for days before he needed to curl up in some bush and sleep. However during the night, he was forced to make a cross over the river to avoid Hermitage as well as the swampy marsh that was almost impassable in a hurry. They kept a guard all hours of the day, due to how dangerous it was living so close to the Rosayia Forest. It was quite often that hungry monsters would stumble across the river and bother them. It also meant that if they saw a wolf prowling around, they would end up hunting him down as they had herds of animals that they wanted to protect, despite the fact that Rowan had absolutely no interest.

When he reached the other side, he shook himself vigorously so that he was no longer dripping with water. He took a moment to pause, looking around to make sure that there was nothing unfriendly hidden, waiting to pounce on him. When nothing was amiss, he stood back up and lopped off down the river again, using it as a guide since it was the best route to follow up north. It did require him to be uncomfortable close to the Forest, however he knew that as he was, not many monsters were going to be interested in him unless they were after a snack. But a wolf was quick and nimble, and he was able to get out of trouble very easily.

As the sun slipped over the horizon, signalling a new day, Rowan suddenly came to a stop with one paw rose. His ears swivelled forwards as he heard an unexpected sound. Sobbing. Which both puzzled and concerned him. People this deep into the forest was unusual, because it was so dangerous. It could be a trap, by some monster of the Forest. Or it was someone that had foolishly lost their way. Slowly, he inched forwards and peered out of some bushes to see what looked like a child at first glance. But after a moment, he realised that she was completely naked, and her body had a level of maturity that a child simply lacked. But she was tiny, with the youthful appearance of a child. He remained where he was, watching her carefully for any signs that this was a trap. His ears twitched as she spoke between her sobs, referring to a father that she had clearly been at odds with before she let out a feeble cry for help.

Rowan pulled back slightly, debating on what to do. This didn’t appear to be a trap, or if it was, it was a very good one. But his gut was telling him that no, it wasn’t. She seemed like a lost young woman who had gotten separated from her family. He sat down on his haunches, his ears still pricked forwards. He felt at odds, since he needed to do this mission for his father and yet he didn’t feel right at just leaving this person, especially when she was in need of help. He may sometimes be a bit of a dick, but he wasn’t a deliberately cruel person. It wasn’t as if she would recognise who he was, either so he could help and she wouldn’t be able to find him if he helped her back to her family. The best guess she could come up with, was that he was a random Keza. At worse, especially countering educational ignorance, a Neko. She most certainly wouldn't be able to figure out that he was a Prince as he was dressed as a simple peasant. Not only that, but he could cover his royal demeanor pretty well. With a sigh, he returned back to his Keza’marakian form so that he could speak to her. Most people would have freaked if a wolf had suddenly jumped out of the bushes. Besides, that was something he kept rather tight lipped about. He turned towards the girl, deliberately twisting his boot on the ground to create noise so that he didn’t startle her. He then pushed his way through the bushes so that she could see her, giving her a friendly smile as he said, “Hello… are you alright?” He glanced over her, but she didn’t seem to have any serious injuries so he rather doubted that her life was in immediate mortal danger. He then held his hands up to show that he wasn’t holding any weapons, “I’m not here to hurt you, I promise.” He said, hoping to put her at ease. Really, if he had wanted to hurt her, he could have done so easily especially since he had several weapons hidden among on his person which only the sharpest of eyes would be able to notice. 

Location: Ildgara Forest

Rayvenne pulled on Maedoc’s reins, causing him to come to a stop with an impatient snort as he pawed at the ground. She ignored the black stallion as she looked up at the morning sun which filtered through the leaves of the forest causing the light to shift and change as the wind stirred the leaves. She then looked down at the sight of the Adil River which bubbled past merrily, not caring in the slightest that she wanted to cross. Rayvenne dug her heels into the horses flanks again, causing the stallion to lurge forwards and continue trotting along the river, happy that they were moving once again.

Raeghan swooped down and landed on Rayvenne shoulder pad, ruffling his feathers before tucking them against himself as he said, “The ford is still there. It’s a little hard to make out, though.” 

“That doesn’t surprise me. It’s not used often, so no one bothers to mark it out.” Rayvenne replied as the three of them continued moving up the river. When they were getting close to the lake that was a result from small mountain streams, they found what Rayvenne was looking for. A shallow area of the river which would allow her to cross easily with Maedoc. She tugged on the reins and urge the horse into the river. Maedoc rather happily moved to the river and stepped into the cool running water as he trotted to the other side. It wasn’t much that frightened the large black stallion, for which Rayvenne was glad since she was often in dangerous situations and she needed a horse with the right temperament who wouldn’t panic and cause more trouble than it was worth.

When they reached the otherside of the river, they stepped up onto the bank of the river before they started to move deeper into the forest. She knew there were creatures such as bears and wolves, however they didn’t concern her. It was a lot more dangerous to travel the Rosayia Forest, especially when alone. Bears and wolves were quite tame compared to some of the creatures that inhabited this land. In fact, this forest was one of the safest places one could travel. But then, the close proximity of Vorserend might have something to do with that. She angeled them so that they drew close to the Therarr Mountain range, keeping the forest on the right of her and the beautiful snow capped mountains on the right. She knew she needed to travel close to the point of the Ageon River, before she could find the path that would lead her to her destination; Dragon’s Eye. Luckily, due to frequent trade up to the mountain town, the path was well worn and easy to spot. It was just going to take her a few days to get there.

[Aura]

10 hours ago, Neptune said:

Location: Rosayia Forest, along with Ildran River

Rowan had travelling throughout the day, never slowing in his pace as he moved up the Ageon River, ignoring the time as it slipped into night. He knew he could travel for days before he needed to curl up in some bush and sleep. However during the night, he was forced to make a cross over the river to avoid Hermitage as well as the swampy marsh that was almost impassable in a hurry. They kept a guard all hours of the day, due to how dangerous it was living so close to the Rosayia Forest. It was quite often that hungry monsters would stumble across the river and bother them. It also meant that if they saw a wolf prowling around, they would end up hunting him down as they had herds of animals that they wanted to protect, despite the fact that Rowan had absolutely no interest.

When he reached the other side, he shook himself vigorously so that he was no longer dripping with water. He took a moment to pause, looking around to make sure that there was nothing unfriendly hidden, waiting to pounce on him. When nothing was amiss, he stood back up and lopped off down the river again, using it as a guide since it was the best route to follow up north. It did require him to be uncomfortable close to the Forest, however he knew that as he was, not many monsters were going to be interested in him unless they were after a snack. But a wolf was quick and nimble, and he was able to get out of trouble very easily.

As the sun slipped over the horizon, signalling a new day, Rowan suddenly came to a stop with one paw rose. His ears swivelled forwards as he heard an unexpected sound. Sobbing. Which both puzzled and concerned him. People this deep into the forest was unusual, because it was so dangerous. It could be a trap, by some monster of the Forest. Or it was someone that had foolishly lost their way. Slowly, he inched forwards and peered out of some bushes to see what looked like a child at first glance. But after a moment, he realised that she was completely naked, and her body had a level of maturity that a child simply lacked. But she was tiny, with the youthful appearance of a child. He remained where he was, watching her carefully for any signs that this was a trap. His ears twitched as she spoke between her sobs, referring to a father that she had clearly been at odds with before she let out a feeble cry for help.

Rowan pulled back slightly, debating on what to do. This didn’t appear to be a trap, or if it was, it was a very good one. But his gut was telling him that no, it wasn’t. She seemed like a lost young woman who had gotten separated from her family. He sat down on his haunches, his ears still pricked forwards. He felt at odds, since he needed to do this mission for his father and yet he didn’t feel right at just leaving this person, especially when she was in need of help. He may sometimes be a bit of a dick, but he wasn’t a deliberately cruel person. It wasn’t as if she would recognise who he was, either so he could help and she wouldn’t be able to find him if he helped her back to her family. The best guess she could come up with, was that he was a random Keza. At worse, especially countering educational ignorance, a Neko. She most certainly wouldn't be able to figure out that he was a Prince as he was dressed as a simple peasant. Not only that, but he could cover his royal demeanor pretty well. With a sigh, he returned back to his Keza’marakian form so that he could speak to her. Most people would have freaked if a wolf had suddenly jumped out of the bushes. Besides, that was something he kept rather tight lipped about. He turned towards the girl, deliberately twisting his boot on the ground to create noise so that he didn’t startle her. He then pushed his way through the bushes so that she could see her, giving her a friendly smile as he said, “Hello… are you alright?” He glanced over her, but she didn’t seem to have any serious injuries so he rather doubted that her life was in immediate mortal danger. He then held his hands up to show that he wasn’t holding any weapons, “I’m not here to hurt you, I promise.” He said, hoping to put her at ease. Really, if he had wanted to hurt her, he could have done so easily especially since he had several weapons hidden among on his person which only the sharpest of eyes would be able to notice. 

 

Natia was startled as she heard the crunching of leaves and grinding of dirt under Rowan's boot. She could tell by the volume and duration that it wasn't of a natural source. No beast she knew of would make such a noise. Only an intelligent species like a human would do something like that, but, even then, its purpose was unknown and, under the circumstances, she couldn't help but feel unsettled. It could be one of her slavers setting up a trap so that she would have nowhere to escape. She only had vague ideas of how hunters operated and the types of traps they use, but most of her methods of protecting herself from said traps relied on her ability to detect their locations by sensing the disturbances in natural patterns. Quickly, she managed to summon the strength to sit up, although she was still sore and running wasn't much of an option, but if she were to be attacked, she would have no choice but to try and escape. Perhaps she would dive into the river and have its current carry her downstream. Although she would likely drown given her condition, even the slightest chance to get away from those horrible strangers was worth it. 

Just as she was about to call out to whomever seemed to be hiding from her, she heard the bushes rustling before a tall man with black hair and what appeared to be two black cat ears with white tips. She had heard of hybrid species before, although she had never seen anyone like this. She could only assume someone with an appearance like this would have the intelligence of a human combined with the reflexes and sense of hearing, and maybe sight, of some sort of cat. Although, these were assumptions based purely off of her initial impression when looking at his appearance. She gulped as the man approached with a smile. and asked if she was alright. It was a polite gesture, but her father and taught her better than to openly trust a stranger and after her recent experience, she most certainly wasn't going to leap into the arms of some unknown man just because he said a few nice things. She had always been wary of people aside from other Aequu. Too many people would seek to use her and her abilities for their own selfish desires. Even if they approach as a friend, they very easily could just be trying to gain her trust in order to manipulate her. These people would only ever be friends with someone they can selfishly benefit from.

As the man approached closer, Natia's body tensed up, ready to fling herself into the river at a moment's notice. It was then that the man raised his hands and explained that he had no intention to hurt her. Again, she wouldn't be fooled so easily. While she certainly lacked the experience to confirm her suspicions, she knew he very easily could be concealing a weapon somewhere, or perhaps that sound she heard really was him setting up some sort of trap.

"D-don't come any closer!" Natia cried out, her voice still choked with tears. "Y-you're not gonna get what you want from me! I-I won't let you!!" In truth, the poor girl really did want his help. She wanted to believe that he really was only interested in helping her. However, her entire life, she had been hard-wired to think that she had to avoid contact with outsiders at all costs. That they were all after her unique abilities, but she always wanted to deny it. Yet, now that she had experienced first-hand just how cruel these outsiders could be, she may never be capable of seeing them in any other light again. She needed help, yet someone showed up to help her and she couldn't even trust him. She had never felt more helpless and alone in her life. 

[Neptune]

Location: Rosayia Forest, along with Ildran River

Rowan saw the young woman tense so much, he almost thought she was about to turn in on herself. But if she ran, one of the only places she could do it was by jumping in the river which would not have been good, especially if she was unable to swim. To make himself look a lot less threatening, he widened the spread of his arms and sat himself down and cross his legs. Not only did it make him look a lot smaller, and prevented him from looking down at her, but it also took a lot longer for him to move with his legs crossed. His ears tilted slightly, listening out behind him just in case there was some kind of monster that was sneaking up on them. That was the last thing he wanted. She was like a skittish wolf. Unsure, afraid and ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. Rowan had come across such wolves before, so knew that the best approach was a slow one.

His sharp eyes noticed the collar around her neck, and it made her wonder if she had been captured by slavers. Honestly, he could see why. She was a very attracted young woman. She would have made a fine sex slave. But she had clearly run away from them, which made her very lucky indeed. But it made him realise that she thought he was a slaver. His friendly smile deepened as he said, “I’m not after anything, I promise. I’m not a slaver, either. I’m a traveller, just travelling up north. I’m from Selil. I heard you crying and came to see if you needed any help.” That was partially true; a half truth. His father never liked lies, so in order to cover himself he often spoke in half-truths, especially when he wanted to hide his identity. And there was no reason to be entirely truthful with the girl. That information had absolutely nothing to do with the situation they were in right now.

“Do you want something to eat?” He then offered, as food was one of the best ways to calm a skittish person down. His eyes then glanced over her body before he offered, “And something to wear? I have some spare clothes in my bag… although they might be a little bit too big for you. But still, a tunic would be like a dress for you.” He chuckled softly because he was right. One of his tunics was likely to go down to her knees. Although he didn’t have any shoes that she could wear. But at least with a tunic she would be warmer, and far less exposed. 

[Aura]

10 hours ago, Neptune said:

Location: Rosayia Forest, along with Ildran River

Rowan saw the young woman tense so much, he almost thought she was about to turn in on herself. But if she ran, one of the only places she could do it was by jumping in the river which would not have been good, especially if she was unable to swim. To make himself look a lot less threatening, he widened the spread of his arms and sat himself down and cross his legs. Not only did it make him look a lot smaller, and prevented him from looking down at her, but it also took a lot longer for him to move with his legs crossed. His ears tilted slightly, listening out behind him just in case there was some kind of monster that was sneaking up on them. That was the last thing he wanted. She was like a skittish wolf. Unsure, afraid and ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. Rowan had come across such wolves before, so knew that the best approach was a slow one.

His sharp eyes noticed the collar around her neck, and it made her wonder if she had been captured by slavers. Honestly, he could see why. She was a very attracted young woman. She would have made a fine sex slave. But she had clearly run away from them, which made her very lucky indeed. But it made him realise that she thought he was a slaver. His friendly smile deepened as he said, “I’m not after anything, I promise. I’m not a slaver, either. I’m a traveller, just travelling up north. I’m from Selil. I heard you crying and came to see if you needed any help.” That was partially true; a half truth. His father never liked lies, so in order to cover himself he often spoke in half-truths, especially when he wanted to hide his identity. And there was no reason to be entirely truthful with the girl. That information had absolutely nothing to do with the situation they were in right now.

“Do you want something to eat?” He then offered, as food was one of the best ways to calm a skittish person down. His eyes then glanced over her body before he offered, “And something to wear? I have some spare clothes in my bag… although they might be a little bit too big for you. But still, a tunic would be like a dress for you.” He chuckled softly because he was right. One of his tunics was likely to go down to her knees. Although he didn’t have any shoes that she could wear. But at least with a tunic she would be warmer, and far less exposed. 

9

Natia remained wary even as Rowan sat down, leaving himself more vulnerable than before. Still, it could just be another trick to get her to lower her guard. She quickly glanced behind herself, afraid that someone may be sneaking up behind her while she was distracted by this man, not unlike how those men used those flowers as bait. When she turned to see that no one was approaching, she quickly moved her head back to face Rowan once again, leaving her eyes trained on him as he vaguely explained who he was. She remained completely quiet. She had no idea what, or where, Selil was, nor how far away she was from her family, but it was clear she was in a completely foreign land. 

Before she found her voice again, Rowan offered her food and clothing. This made her doubly wary, as this could very easily be bait to lure her closer. Although she was quite hungry and food would certainly help her to regain her strength... No, that type of desperation is exactly what people love to prey off of! She would just have to wait to recover naturally and then scavenge for berries around the forrest. Then again, without her father's guidance, she would have no way of knowing what types of berries would be okay to eat, especially in such an unknown location.

She bit her lip as she ran her options and the potential consequences through her mind. Quite honestly, she would rather die of poisoning or starvation than walk foolishly right into another trap... Perhaps if she could press this man to volunteer some more information, she would be able to see if he contradicted himself at all. That could reveal whether or not he was trustworthy.

"What is your name?" She called out, her state of panic slowly subsiding into a more calm, yet still defensive demeanor. "Why do you want to help me?"

[Neptune]

Location: Rosayia Forest, along with Ildran River

At the two questions, Rowan gave a slight shrug of his shoulders, “My name is Rowan. I want to help you because I heard you crying as I was travelling North. I heard you crying out for help. I’m not after anything from you, I promise.” He replied, tilting his ears again as he kept a constant ear-out for anything that might attack them. He wanted to tell her that staying here was dangerous, but he couldn’t blame her for not trusting him. Not only that, but she was clearly spooked enough as it was, and he didn’t want to frighten her any further unless they were in immediate danger which they currently were not. Besides, it was a lot more dangerous at night than it was during the day, and the day had only just started so he had plenty of time to try and convince her that he meant her no ill-will.

Rotating one of his shoulders, he removed his bag from his shoulders and set it beside him while making his demeanor appear relaxed to her, despite the fact that he was ready to jump up at a moment’s notice if there was trouble. But to her, he would appear relaxed and calm which he hoped would help her calm down further. She didn’t seem like she was immediately going to run off anymore, but she was still highly defensive. It was written all over her body that she would dash the moment she felt like he was a threat to her. Rowan really didn’t want that to happen, otherwise she might end up running into the jaws of some kind of monster. Still, he imagined she might find that preferable to the arms of a slaver. 

Using slow, visible movements, he untied the top of his bag and pulled out a cloth wrapped loaf of bread. He flipped the bag close again before unwrapping the bread and tearing off a chunk of it. He figured that if he showed her that he was eating from the same loaf, it would show that it wasn’t poisoned in some manner. Besides, he was hungry as he had not eaten the entire night. His stomach was definitely demanding that he eat something, so he took a bite from from the chunk he had torn off. When he had swallowed his mouthful, he said, “If you want some, just let me know. I’ll throw it so you don’t have to come close.” His ear twitched as he heard a low buzzing sound, but it was only a dragonfly that came darting up to them. It seemed to hover before Rowan for several moments, before darting over to the girl and circling her for a few moments before darting back off across the water as Rowan watched it disappear from view.

[Aura]

12 hours ago, Neptune said:

Location: Rosayia Forest, along with Ildran River

At the two questions, Rowan gave a slight shrug of his shoulders, “My name is Rowan. I want to help you because I heard you crying as I was travelling North. I heard you crying out for help. I’m not after anything from you, I promise.” He replied, tilting his ears again as he kept a constant ear-out for anything that might attack them. He wanted to tell her that staying here was dangerous, but he couldn’t blame her for not trusting him. Not only that, but she was clearly spooked enough as it was, and he didn’t want to frighten her any further unless they were in immediate danger which they currently were not. Besides, it was a lot more dangerous at night than it was during the day, and the day had only just started so he had plenty of time to try and convince her that he meant her no ill-will.

Rotating one of his shoulders, he removed his bag from his shoulders and set it beside him while making his demeanor appear relaxed to her, despite the fact that he was ready to jump up at a moment’s notice if there was trouble. But to her, he would appear relaxed and calm which he hoped would help her calm down further. She didn’t seem like she was immediately going to run off anymore, but she was still highly defensive. It was written all over her body that she would dash the moment she felt like he was a threat to her. Rowan really didn’t want that to happen, otherwise she might end up running into the jaws of some kind of monster. Still, he imagined she might find that preferable to the arms of a slaver. 

 Using slow, visible movements, he untied the top of his bag and pulled out a cloth wrapped loaf of bread. He flipped the bag close again before unwrapping the bread and tearing off a chunk of it. He figured that if he showed her that he was eating from the same loaf, it would show that it wasn’t poisoned in some manner. Besides, he was hungry as he had not eaten the entire night. His stomach was definitely demanding that he eat something, so he took a bite from from the chunk he had torn off. When he had swallowed his mouthful, he said, “If you want some, just let me know. I’ll throw it so you don’t have to come close.” His ear twitched as he heard a low buzzing sound, but it was only a dragonfly that came darting up to them. It seemed to hover before Rowan for several moments, before darting over to the girl and circling her for a few moments before darting back off across the water as Rowan watched it disappear from view.

3

Natia blinked as Rowan explained his reason for wanting to help. She could feel a slight blush growing across her face. It was quite embarrassing; it hadn't quite registered with her that she had been speaking out loud to herself that whole time. Besides that, his words did seem genuine, although she still wasn't quite sure whether or not she could trust him yet. At what point would it become okay to trust a complete stranger? At the same time, if this man really was genuinely trying to help her, she would hate to inconvenience him with her needless suspicion...

She kept her eyes peeled on the man as he slowly removed his bag. She couldn't help but immediately fear if there were some sort of tool he would use to trap her with. Then again, her wrists were already bound and she was quite clearly injured. Surely, he would have no need to restrict her movement further. Connecting these ideas helped her to relax the tension in her body a bit while she watched him open up the bag to reveal a small loaf of bread. Still, he could be planning to manipulate her somehow. Maybe using the bread as bait to lure her closer? Maybe he had some perverted idea of making her beg for her food... but again, he disproved her thoughts simply by not only offering the bread to her but also offering to toss it to her so that she wouldn't have to approach him. He even took a bite of the loaf he was offering, which confirmed that the food hadn't been tampered with. Admittedly, the bread did look quite appetizing. Although she had never personally tasted bread, it looked quite soft and fluffy.

Natia's stomach rumbled once again and just as she was about to speak when she noticed the dragonfly approach her. She couldn't help but giggle slightly before trying to reach her hand up to give the dragonfly the chance to land on her finger. However, she was quickly reminded that she didn't quite have the freedom to do so. Not only were her shoulders aching, but her hands were still shackled tightly behind her. Suddenly, the joy she felt at the sight of the small insect turned into a grim reminder of her helplessness as she watched the creature fly away across the river. After a few seconds of staring in its direction, she suddenly realized that she hadn't been keeping an eye on Rowan at all. She quickly turned to face him before realizing that the man was still just sitting there, eating patiently. He hadn't moved an inch closer in what would have been the perfect time to strike. 

She bit her lip before nodding slowly. She decided that she should try to approach the man on her own terms. After all, she knew if he made the first move, she would immediately be scared away. She tried rising to her feet, but the moment she extended her leg, a muscle in her thigh tensed up, sending a sharp pain through her leg. The sudden cramp caused her to cry out in pain as she tumbled forward, right back onto the ground. "Ah!! It hurts! M-my leg, no, my whole body... everything hurts...!" She complained through tears. With her arms bound and body aching, fighting to get back up on her own would most certainly be a massive struggle, assuming it would be possible at all.

[Neptune]

Location: Rosayia Forest, along with Ildran River

Rowan watched as the young girl seemed so utterly fascinated by the insect that she seemed to stop paying attention to anything else around her. His lip twitched slightly in a smile, finding it rather endearing, despite the fact that it was incredibly dangerous for her to be so unobservant of her surroundings. But while she was distracted, he remained where he was. The only movement he was making was to bring the bread up to his lips to take a bite from it to quell the rumbling of his stomach. He stuffed the last bite into his mouth as she turned back towards him to notice his complete lack of movement towards her. He watched as she shifted, clearly wanting to move however he winced slightly when he heard her cry of pain. He wanted to get up and move over to her, but didn’t want to spook her with the movement. But at the same time, he couldn’t ignore it.

Torn by indecision, Rowan slowly got up to a low crouch before saying, “I’m coming over. But I won’t touch you.” He took hold of his bag and moved closer to her so that he could better observe her. He could see a large number of bruises maring her pale skin. He looked at the shackles that bound her wrists and saw that some of the skin was red and sore. Whomever had captured her had clearly not taken care of her. But then, he did recognise the design of the shackles as those used by a certain group of slavers. It also meant he knew how to break her out of them. He looked up at her and said in offering, “I can pick the lock on your shackles so that your hands are free.” He reached behind him, to a small pouch that was hidden under his clothes before bringing his hand forwards to reveal a lockpick. With his other hand, he held it out towards her but not crowding her so that he could get her to come towards him of her own volition. He gave her an easy grin, “It will be easier to eat, if nothing else.” He said, keeping his tone light and friendly.

Being free to move around as she wished would no doubt help her feel more at ease as she wouldn’t be so restrained. She looked frail as it was, although given that she could barely stand on her own, it didn’t seem like she could run very far. And if she did decide to jump into the river then he doubted she would be able to swim far either and would likely drown quite quickly. Thankfully, even if she did that, Rowan knew he was a strong swimmer but he wouldn’t be too happy with her for it despite the fact that he completely understood why she was so scared of him. Slavers were not the kindest of people, as they cared little for those in their captivity aside from their value. Personal care was not exactly the top of their list.

[Aura]

Somehow, Natia was surprisingly at ease as Rowan announced his approach. Perhaps because she had already decided to approach him, or perhaps the pain from her cramp was just too much for her to be able to focus on anything else. Although, when Rowan reached into a hidden pouch, she could feel a sense of unease. Even after he showed her his strange tool, she was a bit skeptical. She had never seen such a tool before. Due to her nomadic life in the wilderness, she wasn't familiar at all with most common technologies, even things as mundane as lockpicks. As a result, she had no way of verifying what the tool was or its purpose. As far as she knew, it could have some sort of poisoned needle inside it and he could be playing off of her ignorance. However, once again, she figured that if this man truly did have evil intentions, he probably would have attacked her while she was at her most vulnerable. 

Natia slowly nodded, and as the muscles in her leg began to loosen, she slowly began to push herself closer to Rowan. Surely, she didn't have much to lose at this point anyway, and if she was going to get access to her magic, she would eventually need help from another soon. "You can really use that to free my hands?" she asked with curiosity before showing her shackles to Rowan more clearly.