rp: main topic Craethiel Kingdom

[Aura]

  On 7/21/2018 at 10:04 AM, Neptune said:

Location: Rosayia Forest, along with Ageon River, heading Northbound

When Natia reached out to the Aelda, he flinched slightly but after a moment he leaned into her touch before snorting softly, clearly getting more relaxed in her presence. Rowan grinned and told the Aelda, “See. I told you that she was a friend.” The Aelda then pulled away from her hand, only to turn his head to the side so that he could drop the branch before he turned back to nuzzle at her cheek affectionately which caused Rowan to chuckle and say, “I think he’s more than happy to share it with you.” He looked up at the Aelda, wondering if it had a name because he couldn’t stand calling it just ‘Aelda’. It seemed rude to him. He reached out, patting the stallion on his curved neck, stroking along it as he tried to think. However, he was getting the strong impression that it did have a name and he felt as if he was groping forwards it. As he watched it nuzzling Natia, a single name came to him but for the life of him he couldn’t explain as to how, or even why that name came to him, but the feeling that he was correct was so strong that it could not be ignored. It almost felt as if the Aelda wanted him to know.

“Baellator. That’s your name, isn’t it?” He asked. The Aelda pulled away from Natia and turned his head towards Rowan with a curious look, and at first he didn’t seem to react. But he then bobbed his head up and down as if to say ‘yes’. That left Rowan feeling a little shaken, because it almost seemed as if the Aelda had communicated it to him, but he didn’t know how. He was only a Keza, and as far as he was aware, he wasn’t telepathic. Was it possible that the Aelda was? And simply implanted his name in Rowan’s mind? If that was the case, Rowan sincerely hoped that it wasn’t looking around at anything up there but somehow, he doubted it. Deciding to put it out of his mind for now, he reached to his side and pulled out a dagger before holding out a hand, “Give me the apple, Natia. I’ll cut it up for you.” He said. He wasn’t going to give Natia his dagger, because it was extremely sharp and he was concerned about her accidentally hurting herself which was something he didn’t want to happen.

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Natia just giggled again as the Aelda began to snuggle up to her. She cupped his head in her delicate hands with a smile. "You're just the sweetest, aren't you?" She gave the horse a kiss on the snout while still petting his head. He was huge, to be sure. Even larger when she could compare him to her hands which were absolutely dwarfed by the width of his muzzle. She was surprised to hear Rowan suddenly say the horse's name. She pulled away from the Aelda when it nodded and turned to give Rowan a quizzical look. When Rowan asked for her to give him the apple, she gently handed it off to him without suspicion, although she was curious how Rowan could have possibly known this horse's name. "Do you recognize him? How did you know his name?" She asked Rowan, turning back to look at the Aelda up and down. She couldn't imagine Rowan having ever met such a creature before, especially considering his reaction when he first saw it. It was certainly odd. Maybe some sort of spiritual connection drove the two together? It was certainly odd, but she wasn't really sure what else to say while she continued to pet the creature.  "Baellator... it's certainly a unique name, I can't imagine it'd be something you'd just come up with."

[Neptune]

Location: Rosayia Forest, along with Ageon River, heading Northbound

“No, it isn’t something I would just come up with. I’ve never heard of that name before in my life.” Rowan replied to Natia’s last comment as he took the apple. He fell silent, buying time by using his dagger to slice into the juicy flesh of the apple. He cut it perfectly in two, before handing the two slices over to Natia so that she could feed Baellator. He wiped clean the silvery blade before setting it back on his hip, once again hiding it from view. He then rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to figure out exactly how to word it. Eventually he just said, “I’m not sure how I knew. I know I’m not a mind reader. I can’t have read its mind but the only thing I can think of is that he told me. Without words but…” He shrugged, finding it hard to explain, “It just kind of feels like he put the name there, without speaking if that makes any sense.” 

Baellator nudged him gently with his nose and Rowan patted him on the top of his muzzle before he told Natia, “This is a horse bred by the Eldyrannth, of which unicorns are part of. Really it wouldn’t surprise me if they had some traits like that. Maybe I’ll ask them when I next visit Vorserend.” He then smiled at Natia as Baellator pulled away from Rowan before he nuzzled at Natia eagerly. His tail whipped back and forth, clearly anticipating the treat from her, almost acting like a puppy. Once he had gotten over his nervousness with her, it seemed as if he quite like Natia especially since she was willing to share her gift of the apple with him. The sight made Rowan smile, glad to see that despite the bad way in which they had met each other, they were becoming quick friends.

[Akira]

LOCATION: Tiloga village

I was in a small merchant ship heading to the village, the owner of the ship was going to stop at that place anyway since he had quite a lot of customers in there and he was kind enough to give me a free ride. After a few hours traviling through the sea we finally reached our destination "Well, we are here" said the owner as we stopped at the local harbor "This is where we part ways huh?" I simply nodded and grabbed my dusty backpack before getting out of the ship. "Thank you again for the ride, you helped me a lot" I said to the merchant, who laughed a little and told me to not worry about that, I waved him goodbye and entered the village.

I was taking a look around and thinking on what should my next step be when I heard a female voice shouting "Help! Thief!" and a man carring a small bag of gold on his hands ran pass me, while it would be a lot easier to simply immobilize him with my Hell's Chain, it would also get too much unwanted attention, so I just decided to run after him, with my superior speed I was able to quickly catch up to him and pin him down. After the man was taken by the local authorities I gave the bag back to the woman that had shouted, in thanks she offered me a ride in her chariot to Selil, which I accepted

[Aura]

  On 7/23/2018 at 12:48 PM, Neptune said:

Location: Rosayia Forest, along with Ageon River, heading Northbound

“No, it isn’t something I would just come up with. I’ve never heard of that name before in my life.” Rowan replied to Natia’s last comment as he took the apple. He fell silent, buying time by using his dagger to slice into the juicy flesh of the apple. He cut it perfectly in two, before handing the two slices over to Natia so that she could feed Baellator. He wiped clean the silvery blade before setting it back on his hip, once again hiding it from view. He then rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to figure out exactly how to word it. Eventually he just said, “I’m not sure how I knew. I know I’m not a mind reader. I can’t have read its mind but the only thing I can think of is that he told me. Without words but…” He shrugged, finding it hard to explain, “It just kind of feels like he put the name there, without speaking if that makes any sense.” 

 Baellator nudged him gently with his nose and Rowan patted him on the top of his muzzle before he told Natia, “This is a horse bred by the Eldyrannth, of which unicorns are part of. Really it wouldn’t surprise me if they had some traits like that. Maybe I’ll ask them when I next visit Vorserend.” He then smiled at Natia as Baellator pulled away from Rowan before he nuzzled at Natia eagerly. His tail whipped back and forth, clearly anticipating the treat from her, almost acting like a puppy. Once he had gotten over his nervousness with her, it seemed as if he quite like Natia especially since she was willing to share her gift of the apple with him. The sight made Rowan smile, glad to see that despite the bad way in which they had met each other, they were becoming quick friends.

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Natia was quite perplexed by Rowan's explanation. She accepted the freshly cut apple before turning her attention back to Baellator and continuing to listen to Rowan's explanation.  "Hm... so you're telepathic? Can you read my thoughts, or can you only send messages? Perhaps it's only a link with Rowan? I've heard that telepathy isn't uncommon among mythical creatures, and I would certainly say you are quite mythical." She giggled, pressing her head against the horse's snout before noticing where his attention had been set. "Oh, of course." She smiled, lifting one of the slices to Baellator's mouth with one hand while taking a bite from the slice in her other hand. The soft crunch was immediately followed by the sweet juices flowing from the fruit. It was absolutely delicious! Of course, like the blackberries, it wasn't quite perfect, but it was clear that this creature had carefully picked out a particularly delicious apple for her. "Wow! This apple is great!"  She grinned slightly, pushing the slice she had bitten from toward Rowan. "You should have some!"  She then turned her attention back to Baellator after pawning her slice onto Rowan. "I hope you like it too, you beautiful thing~. You deserve it after all the trouble you've gone through for our sake. I really do appreciate all of your help." She could tell that she would enjoy spending time with this creature. He looked massive and intimidating at first, but he seemed to be quite the sweetheart. She smiled and gently kissed his muzzle before snuggling up to him again. "If there's any way we can help you, you can just let us know the way you let us know your name, okay?"

[Neptune]

Location: Rosayia Forest, along with Ageon River, heading Northbound

At Natia’s question, Beallator snorted as his tail flicked, sounding a little amused. Rowan smiled, thinking that it looked sweet to see Natia being so close to the Aelda despite the fact that it absolutely dwarfed her and made her look even more tiny than before. But that was fine in Rowan’s eyes. He liked small woman; he found them absolutely adorable and Natia was no exception. Especially with her exotic white hair and purple eyes, features he found extremely attractive. When she lifted the slice to Baellator the huge creature gently took it from her hand, taking care not to bite Natia’s hand in the process. He snorted happily, his tail flicking from side to side as he pawed at the ground like an excited puppy. Rowan chuckled, before he felt Natia nudge him gently and he looked down to see that she was offering him her half of the apple.

“Ah, thank you.” He said, graciously accepting the offering to which he took a bite of the sweet flesh of the apple, “Mm. Not bad.” He mumbled around his mouthful as he chewed it. Baellator had made short work of his half, and seemed to be quite happy accepting Natia’s affection. After the gentle kiss, he nuzzled back at her with a soft whinnying sound before he let out a loud snort. He pressed his head against her gently, closing his eyes as he relaxed. Rowan took another bite of the apple slice before he handed the rest back to Natia so that she could eat the rest of it. He had eaten his fill, and didn’t fancy any more. While he was loath to break Natia’s affection with the Aelda, they really should move on. He put his hand on her shoulder and said, “Natia, we really should be going if we want to make it out of the forest by nightful.”

Baellator pulled away from Natia and eyed Rowan before snorting and nudging him again. Once again, Rowan felt a series of impressions without words and it took him several moments to work it out. He then said, “You know, Natia… I think he is telepathic. Because I think… he wants to… go with us?” He said the last part in a questioning tone, watching Baellator. The huge stallion pawed at the ground, letting out a snort as he ducked his head up and down as if to emphatically agree with him. “What about your herd?” Rowan asked, looking towards where the other Aelda had been with the baby unicorn onto to see that they were gone. Once more, he felt impressions press in on him, and he let out an, “Ah… they’ve already moved on. They’re fine without you… I see.” He then shrugged and looked at Natia, “Want to ride Baellator? I really don’t think he would object, would you Baellator?” He asked, looking at Baellator who shook his head with a snort causing Rowan to chuckle.

[Aura]

Location:  Rosayia Forest, along the Ageon River, heading Northbound

Natia just continued to giggle as she watched the horse scarf down the apple so happily. She had been enjoying the moment a bit too much and hadn't realized just how much time the two had squandered just standing around. As Rowan had suggested, tey really did need to go. She had no idea how much further they would have to travel and could only hope that they'd be able to put plenty of distance between themselves and the forest by nightfall. "You're right, we should get going..."  The idea of leaving Baellator didn't sit well with her, however, and it would seem that everyone, even the Aelda, was in agreement. It wasn't long before Rowan offered to allow her to ride Baellator, to which the horse also seemed to agree. She nodded in agreement as well, although she quickly looked up at the horse towering above her and blushed slightly in embarrassment. 

"W-well... I wouldn't mind riding on him, but he's... well... really tall..." It was a bit too embarrassing for her to come out and say it.  "I'm... y'know..." She sighed, growing frustrated with her own timidness, she crossed her arms. "I'm too short, okay? I can't reach all the way up there!" Her face was red by this point. It was the first time her height had really ever come into question. Not only was she unable to use her magic, but she was too short to reach some things that would be perfectly natural for most other races. Even if Baellator kneeled down for her to climb up, she probably wouldn't be able to throw a leg over his back to pull herself up. As embarrassing as it was to admit, the only way she could get on or off of this creature would be if Rowan lifted her up. She looked back up at him, shyly and still a bit flustered. "C-can you... pick me up?"

[Neptune]

Location: Rosayia Forest, along with Ageon River, heading Northbound

Rowan was pressing his lips together thinly, trying to resist the urge to chuckle at Natia’s embarrassment over her height. Instead of finding it annoying, he found it rather endearing and he had to resist the urge to scoop her up in his arms and kiss her breathless. Instead, he crouched down next to her so that he was eye level with her, his golden eyes sparkling in amusement, “Of course I will, Natia. It’s even going to be a bit of a task for me to get up there…” He wrapped his arms around her shoulder and pulled her close, “There’s no need to be embarrassed about your height. I personally think it’s cute. I like short women.” He then smirked slightly at her before his arm moved down to her thighs, tightening his grip and pulling her against him as he stood up, picking her up as he did so, his arm wrapped under her thigh so that her head was above his.

Baellator stepped closer to them, standing still as Rowan turned and said, “Grab onto his mane and use it to pull yourself up.” Despite being given a boost by him, Natia was still going to need to yank herself up. Rowan figured he would still need to boost her up, but he didn’t mind since it was an excuse to touch her. Her small body felt good against his, and he could feel the warmth thought his thin clothes. He was resisting every urge not to put her back down and fuck her right there and then, the main thing stopping them was the worry of another beast coming to cause them trouble. Despite how powerful Baellator was, Rowan doubted he would be a match for something such as the Wyvern that they had passed the previous day. The sooner they got out of the forest, the better. And the sooner they could talk about that sudden display of affection from Natia earlier, a thought that very much appealed to Rowan.

[Aura]

Location:  Rosayia Forest, along the Ageon River, heading Northbound.

Natia's blush only deepened again when Rowan crouched down to her level. It did come off as a bit patronizing, but when he wrapped his arms around her and called her cute for her height with his soft, tender voice, she just felt relaxed in his arms. Soon, she felt his arm sliding down and carefully lifting her up. She felt like a child being picked up by her daddy and, where she expected it to be embarrassing, she actually found it quite fun and exciting to see the world from so high up. She could see over the nearby bushes that she couldn't see past before and she could much more easily reach the top of Baellator. The Aelda was still a bit taller than her, but with Rowan's advice, she grabbed onto his mane and began trying to pull herself onto his back. She still found it quite difficult to reach his back, but a slight boost from Rowan, she managed to throw a leg over the horse and rap her arms around his neck.

"Ah! There we go, thank you!" She spoke with gratitude, looking down at Rowan. It was quite amusing that she was now significantly taller than the Keza. She then turned her attention to Baelator and hugged him from behind. "I hope I didn't pull too hard on your mane." She gently began to brush his mane with her fingers while looking around at the new view.  "Wow... it's like a whole new world up here. I feel so much... larger! Rowan, you're coming up here, too, right?"

[Akira]

LOCATION: Tiloga village, heading to Selil

As I found myself at the back of the woman's chariot heading to Selil while she was ''driving'' it I decided to take the moment of peace and quiet, which was something that didn't happen very often, to talk to Odium, since our very souls were literally fused together we were capable of speak with each other telepathically, however, that required some level of focus and, thankfully, consent both from Odium and myself so it can't be done under agitated situations. *So...* I began *why are we going to Selil again? all this time and still own me a proper explanation* in response Odium sighed and "spoke" in a grumpy tone *Like I said before, there is the possibility that others Embodiments of Sin came after us so we need to get stronger and that city can help us with this objective* I rolled my eyes without the woman noticing since she was focused on the road *Yeah great, but how about you elaborate a bit more? or what? I am supposed to simply step inside the city's border and BAM new powers?* while most people wouldn't consider a good idea to piss off the demon who represented the deadly sin of wrath, I was already used to it at that point *Of course is not that simple you dumbass!* he responded in a angry tone *and its not the city itself that its important, but forest near it, I can tell that many powerfull relics and runes are hidden there, so we are going after them* I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck, without even noticing I actually spoke: "...great..." the woman turned her head back at me, looking away from the road for a few moments to ask me if there was something wrong "hm? oh its nothing, sorry, I was just a little uh... lost in thought" I responded with a slighly embareced laught, hoping it would be enough to convince her and thankfully it was *Heh nice one idiot* Odium comented teasingly *Shut the hell up! this is your fault!* I replied in more thoughts.

After what felt like really long trip, mostly because of Odium, I finally arrived in Selil, I thanked the woman for the ride before we parted ways *Alright, we are here... now what?* Odium didn't reply immediatly he was also probably thinking on what should our next move be *Well, why don't you walk around the city a bit and try to get some info or maybe a map before we head to the forest?* I simply nodded and bagan to walk around occasionally asking info about the city to a few people around

[Neptune]

Location: Rosayia Forest, along with Ageon River, heading Northbound

Rowan watched as Natia reached out and grabbed onto the Aelda’s thick mane and pulled herself up. He put his hands on her thighs, helping her by giving her a shove as he resisted every urge to not grope her arse as he did so. Once she was on Baellator, Rowan looked up at her, his golden eyes glinting in amusement as he also found it funny that she was now significantly taller than he was. But then, Baellator was a monster steed and most certainly being the largest equine creature he had ever seen. Baellator snorted softly at Natia’s question, turning his head to roll his eyes back at her in amusement. Rowan could not only see the amused twinkle on the Aelda’s dark eyes but it was almost as if he could sense it. He tried to push that thought from his mind as he said, “I don’t think you hurt him in the slightest.” 

At her last question, Rowan grinned up at her slightly, “Well, I don’t plan on walking.” He said, eyeing up the Aelda and deciding how best to approach this. He took a fistful of Baellator’s mane, putting his other hand against his back before he expertly lifted his weight with his arms before using his foot to plan on the Aelda’s side before heaving himself up to swing the other leg across Baellator so that he was sat behind Natia, feeling rather glad that he was very acrobatic. He shifted slightly, getting himself more comfortable as he looked about, “Wow. The view is absolutely fantastic up here.” He then wrapped his arms around Natia’s waist, pulling her back against his chest, as he gripped onto Baellator’s mane. He looked down with a grin, “Comfortable?” He asked, his voice subtly teasing as he quite liked having this excuse to pull Natia close and to hug her like this. He body felt so good against his own and he hoped she enjoyed it as much as he did. 

Location: Daedrin’s Blackmith, Selil Marketplace.

Daedrin tilted his head slightly, his piercing blood red eyes narrowing slightly as his gaze ran over the silvery blade in front of him. He could see the flames from the torches reflected against it, causing it to glitter faintly in the dim room, the colours shifting and moving like a wave across its smooth surface. He could see the metallic crystals in the blade surface, a detail that would escape most people, and felt satisfied that they were the correct size and shape. He lifted his free hand, holding a clean cloth in his grip before he began to rub the cloth up and down the blade as he was polishing it to perfection. He could sense his apprentices nearby, but none of them disturbed him during this time for they knew that his temper was not something to trifle with. He found this task relaxing, and it allowed his mind to wonder as he ran the cloth up and down the blade. It allowed him to inspect every inch of the well crafted blade, giving him a deep sense of satisfaction that yet again, it was perfect. While it was not his way to meditate, it was quite close. He absolutely loved being a blacksmith. The heat of the forge, and the feel of the tools within his grasp. Watching the red-hot piece of metal change shape and take the form that he desired with every strike of a hammer… watching as he polished the dull blade to a mirror perfection, and sharpening it to the correct edge, whether it be relatively dull or razor sharp. 

Daedrin pulled the cloth away and once again ran his eyes over the blade. It was absolutely beautiful in his eyes. A weapon of war. A tool of death. Perfect and beautiful in its function. The corner of his lip curved slightly in a subtle smirk. It was finished, ready for its intended partner to come and pick it up. Daedrin tucked the polishing cloth into a small tray that was beside him, hiding it from view. He stood up, relieved to be standing again as his arse had gotten numb from sitting on the hard bench for too long. One of his apprentices, seeing that he was finished, came over where Daedrin wordlessly handed him to finished blade so that he could complete the scabbard for when the customer came around later that afternoon. Now that he was standing, Daedrin was aware of the uncomfortable tenseness across his shoulders and down his back from being hunched over. He had spend several days polishing that sword, making sure that it was perfect as the customer was paying a lot for a good quality weapon. Daedric prided himself on his work, and would take no shortcuts. It was more exhausting, but he found that it was a lot more satisfying in the end when the customer sees their weapon for the first time and their eyes light up in delight. The money was good, too. After all, he needed to put food on the table for his wife, and he had apprentices who needed to pay for their families. 

Wanting to take a break, Daedrin left the main forge room which consisted of most of the shop floor, and went through a door into a break area which had a kitchen stove and several benches. One of the apprentices wives was back here, shaping a loaf of bread before putting it into the stove to cook. She turned around and smiled when she saw him, “Hello, Daedrin. Would you like something to drink?” She asked.

“Tea, please.” Daedrin said quietly as he sat himself down in his personal chair. It was made from wood, but was heavily cushioned for his own comfort. It was the only place in his shop that he could sit comfortably for any length of time. He looked over at the fireplace but saw that no fire burnt there as it was already warm enough in here. He red eyes moved over to an open window where he was able to watch the general bustle of the marketplace as people scurried around looking for goods to buy, as traders raised their voices enticingly, trying to encourage people to buy their wares. He lost himself in it, until he sensed the woman coming closer and he switched his attention to her as she held out a cup of herbal tea. He smiled his thanks as he took it before returning his gaze back outside the window, wishing that there was a more exciting job he could be doing right now.

[Aura]

Location:  Rosayia Forest, along the Ageon River, heading Northbound.

Feeling Rowan climb up behind her and pull her tightly against him, Natia couldn't have felt more relaxed. She felt safe, protected. Even if they were attacked by those horrible howlers, she knew Rowan and Baellator together would be more than enough to take them out. To make things better, they were finally on their way out! With any luck, there would be no more horrible encounters until they got to town. She was looking forward to seeing what these currency-centric civilizations were like and exactly how they operated. Although, she was a bit concerned that Rowan might end up spending too much of his own hard-earned money on her. After all, she hadn't done any real work to benefit the society herself, and it seemed that the point of money was to ensure that everyone worked hard and did their part. If someone like her could just mooch off of someone else, what would be the point?

Ultimately, she decided not to worry herself over such details. Obviously, Rowan wouldn't do anything foolish that would damage the system or anything. It was still an entirely foreign concept to her, but Rowan seemed like a logical person. She knew she could trust him. Smiling with a faint, lingering blush, she nestled back into Rowan's grasp, burying her head up under his chin. "Alright, I think I'm ready to go..." She commented, realizing Baellator hadn't yet begun to move. Perhaps he wanted to make sure she was secure? It seemed even the horse was a better gentleman than those disgusting people who captured her. She smiled to herself, amused by that thought as she lay relaxed against Rowan's body. His warmth surrounding her on all sides. She wasn't certain she could be convinced to leave his embrace even after they reach their destination. She would rather time simply be frozen like this...

[Neptune]

Location: Rosayia Forest, along with Ageon River, heading Northbound

When Natia stated that she was ready, Rowan gave Baellator a light affectionate slap on the side of his neck, “Let’s go.” He told the Aelda who let out an excited snort before suddenly turning on the spot, causing the two of them to sway on top of him. Rowan held onto Natia a little tighter, as he also tightened his legs around Baellator’s sides to prevent the both of them from swinging off. The huge stallion then jumped forwards into the treeline, eager to get going. He moved onto a steady canter, swerving between the trees with ease and grace. To Rowan, the trees almost seemed to blur by from how swift the Aelda’s movements were. If he continued at this pace, then they would escape the forest long before nightfall. Rowan was quick to begin enjoying the ride, feeling the powerful muscles flexing between his thighs as Baellator ran smoothly, with a grace that was unrivalled by any other horse he had ridden. He found himself grinning despite himself, suddenly very glad that he had accepted Baellator’s wish to be with the two of them. 

He then leaned forwards, his mouth very close to Natia’s ear as he asked her, “Are you alright, Natia?” He was forced to raise his voice very slightly as their passage was so swift Rowan could hear the whistling of wind in his sensitive ears. He hoped she was enjoying herself as much as he was, but he wasn’t even sure if she had ever ridden a horse in her life. While most people thought of them as nothing more as a means of transport, Rowan felt differently. He assumed it was down to his ability, which really allowed him to get into the minds of animals. He saw the many different personalities that horses had, and knew that horses were very much able to forge bonds with the people that cared for them, often forgetting that the people were not actually horses. He glanced upwards, watching as a few birds flitted through the tall branches, disturbing the streams of sunlight that managed to filter through, despite the thick foliage. He found the forest both beautiful and enchanting, but he was going to be extremely glad to be out of it and he had no doubt that Natia would echoe his opinion, especially with the kinds of frights she had suffered while here. 

[Akira]

Location: Selil 

I wasn't hard to gather enough info to find the forest, all I really had to do was to ask a person or two about it, besides, despite how big the capital was, once you spot the big cluster of trees near one of it's borders it gets pretty obvious where to head. I placed myself in front of the entrance and took a deep breath, both Odium and I could feel a ominous and menacing aura coming from inside, even though it wasn't very strong *Well, seems to be a fun place... you are getting this feeling too right?* I thought in a sarcastic tone *Yes, but it is not the first time we face something like this right?* Odium replied in a rather cocky tone before getting serious again *besides, I am feeling something else... I can tell that there is a relic not too far from us* I placed my hands inside my jacket's pockets and entered the place 

[Aura]

  On 8/13/2018 at 8:36 AM, Neptune said:

Location: Rosayia Forest, along with Ageon River, heading Northbound

When Natia stated that she was ready, Rowan gave Baellator a light affectionate slap on the side of his neck, “Let’s go.” He told the Aelda who let out an excited snort before suddenly turning on the spot, causing the two of them to sway on top of him. Rowan held onto Natia a little tighter, as he also tightened his legs around Baellator’s sides to prevent the both of them from swinging off. The huge stallion then jumped forwards into the treeline, eager to get going. He moved onto a steady canter, swerving between the trees with ease and grace. To Rowan, the trees almost seemed to blur by from how swift the Aelda’s movements were. If he continued at this pace, then they would escape the forest long before nightfall. Rowan was quick to begin enjoying the ride, feeling the powerful muscles flexing between his thighs as Baellator ran smoothly, with a grace that was unrivalled by any other horse he had ridden. He found himself grinning despite himself, suddenly very glad that he had accepted Baellator’s wish to be with the two of them. 

He then leaned forwards, his mouth very close to Natia’s ear as he asked her, “Are you alright, Natia?” He was forced to raise his voice very slightly as their passage was so swift Rowan could hear the whistling of wind in his sensitive ears. He hoped she was enjoying herself as much as he was, but he wasn’t even sure if she had ever ridden a horse in her life. While most people thought of them as nothing more as a means of transport, Rowan felt differently. He assumed it was down to his ability, which really allowed him to get into the minds of animals. He saw the many different personalities that horses had, and knew that horses were very much able to forge bonds with the people that cared for them, often forgetting that the people were not actually horses. He glanced upwards, watching as a few birds flitted through the tall branches, disturbing the streams of sunlight that managed to filter through, despite the thick foliage. He found the forest both beautiful and enchanting, but he was going to be extremely glad to be out of it and he had no doubt that Natia would echoe his opinion, especially with the kinds of frights she had suffered while here. 

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Natia was surprised when Baellator took off so suddenly and quickly. She was sure that, had Rowan not been there, she would have been thrown right off. Or, perhaps Rowan and Baellator were already coordinated enough for the Aelda to know he could hold her. Natia had never moved so quickly in her life! Her people never really had any sense of urgency with traveling. They tended to just follow whatever path seemed natural. And since they could set up camp just about anywhere, there wasn't ever any real danger in staying in one area over another. As such, the Aequu never had any need for such swift transportation. Children would occasionally ride smaller animals for fun, but something like this was a whole other story. It was almost dizzying how quickly this horse was running. Rowan wasn't anywhere near this fast, granted, he was mostly going slower to make sure she could stay on his back.

The wind was howling in her ears and she could hardly hear anything else until Rowan shouted his question to her. She nodded and shouted back. "Yeah! I've never felt like this before! It's scary, but it's also... exciting! My heart is racing! We'll be out of here in no time, right? And if we keep going like this, we can outrun anything!!" She had half the mind to continue snuggling and rubbing against Rowan, but, quite frankly, she was a bit afraid to move too much for fear of losing her balance and falling as the horse darts to the side to avoid a tree. Instead, she just continued to lay against him, feeling his heart beat almost as fast as her own, though her heart beat significantly faster due to her smaller size. The air blowing her hair behind her made her feel almost like she was gliding through the trees. She was completely out of her typical slow, relaxed pace, but she had never felt more alive!

[Solaire]

Location: Along the river Adil, Ildgara.

Liva looked at Rayvenne with a glad look. She was glad that the woman took her apology so well, and didn't get irate at her. The pale woman sighed and looked at her with a small smile, watching her stuff food into the raven's mouth. It was quite a funny thing to her, laughing softly for a moment. Upon hearing her answer to her next question, her eyes widened, hearing that she was going to be heading towards the town of Dragon's Eye. She had been heading towards the direction of that town, so she was elated to hear this. Seeing this as an opportunity to get there safer, and also help out others, she knew it would be stupid to not say anything about it. "Y-You're heading northeast?  I was also heading that direction, myself. Would you mind if I accompanied you on the way? I could offer you all of my services along the way, and I would be as little a hindrance as possible." Liva didn't want Rayvenne to think she was trying to take advantage of her, but she really wanted to get there safer. She took a breath before saying, "I'm a healer, so I'd like to think I could help you out as much as possible on the way, but I understand if you refuse, travelling alone is hard as it is."

[Neptune]

Location: Rosayia Forest, along with Ageon River, heading Northbound

“Yes, Natia! Much sooner than we might have hoped!” Rowan called back to Natia. The Keza couldn’t help but to grin at Natia’s response, hearing the excitement lacing her tones. He found it endearing of her, but then he had began noticing things about her that endeared themselves on him, lingering in his memory like the aftertaste of a sweet fruit that he wished to have more of. He tightened his grip on her, holding her tighter as the Aelda let out a snort before leaping over a small stream with ease, never breaking his stride as he landed and continued running. Rowan had found himself leaning into Baellator’s movements, allowing the huge animal to move as he wished but kept the tight grip on the mane which helped to anchor him in place. He glanced off to the side, seeing movement but it seemed to be some form of deer that they had startled, picking itself through the trees as its tail flicked back and forth. As long as it wasn’t a Hound, or even worse, a Wyvern. Hounds he was sure that Baellator could stand up to, but a Wyvern or other kind of dragon? He sincerely doubted it. The Aelda was strong but… He just hoped that Baellator’s instincts would help keep him out of trouble. 

Rowan returned his attention to in front of them again, watching as trees seemed to fly towards them before suddenly twisting off to the side as Baellator smoothly sidestepped them and continued running forwards. With how smooth and powerful the Aelda was moving, it gave Rowan the feeling that he was flying, an activity he had enjoyed doing on occasion. It always gave him a sense of unrivalled freedom. It was nothing but him and the sky which for a bird seemed limitless. It was a dangerous game, for if his rhythm faltered or his wings stopped working, he would plummet to his death. It was exhilarating. And this is exactly how it felt for him right this moment. He wished Baellator didn’t want to return to the forest once this journey of theirs was gone. He doubted he could ever ride another horse again after this. 

As Rowan glanced around, he noticed that the trees were beginning to thin out which meant that they were nearing the edge of the forest and would soon be able to taste freedom from this nightmare world. He leaned forwards again and shouted to Natia, “We’re almost out!” He grinned, feeling excited to finally be out of this place and judging from the eagerness he could sense from Baellator, so would he. As Rowan looked ahead, something dark flickered across their path. For a moment, he thought it was only a trick of the light however Baellator suddenly skidded to a stop with a snort of surprise. 

“What is it?” Rowan asked the huge creature, who looked off to the side. Rowan looked in its direction, and felt bile rise in his throat as he saw a hunched figure closeby. It almost looked human, with pink and reddish skin that looked as if it was peeling and rotting away as it clung to its skeleton. Its face was twisted, its eye sockets empty and the surrounding skin scarred. The stench of decaying flesh hang around it like a thick cloud, causing Rowan’s stomach to twist in disgust, “Baellator! Get out of here!” He ordered, causing the Aelda to snort and jump forwards again. The creature, a ghoul from what Rowan could only describe it as, leapt forwards with a hungry gaze, reached up as if to try and drag the two from the Aelda’s back. Baellator however, had different ideas. As he jumped forwards, he lifted his back legs and kicked the ghoul away from them before running forwards again, speeding away from the twisted and decaying creature. 

Location: Along the river Adil, Ildgara.

One of Rayvenne’s dark eyebrows rose when Liva revealed that she had the same destination. A suspicion wormed into her mind, telling her that this was just too convenient. But there was nothing about Liva’s posture to suggest that she was lying or trying to deceive her. Rayvenne had learnt over the years how to read people but that didn’t mean she could read everyone. The corner of her mouth twitched, and she glanced off into the forest before returning her gaze to the pale woman before her, frowning slightly. Services? When the woman clarified what she had meant by that, Rayvenne let out a soft, “Ah…” sound. She felt Raeghan jump up to perch on her knee, but she ignored the large raven as she frowned slightly. She doubted she would need the services of a healer. Thanks to the… artifact that was now lodged on her chest, she healed far quicker than most humans. Just thinking about it made her want to unconsciously reach up and touch it, where it was hidden beneath her clothes but she stopped herself. She didn’t want to reveal anything of that to Liva, so she didn’t mention that she had no need for a healer,

“Well, I guess there is no harm in us travelling together. Although please tell me… do you have a horse? Or do you travel only using your feet?” Rayvenne asked, glancing around as if trying to see a horse that had escaped her notice. If the woman had no horse, Rayvenne saw it as no real problem, as Maedoc could easily carry the two of them. He was a strong horse, and very fit. He could carry two passengers as easily as he could one. And if Liva did try anything, such as stab her in the back, Rayvenne was very well equipped to defend herself. 

[Akira]

Location: Rosayia Forest

After a few moments of walking through the dense woods I was beginning to get sort of used to the place, the sounds made by the trees and the creatures that lived in the area, I couldn't help but think that the forest was a pretty fascinating sector, however, my patience was starting to run low regarding the artifact that, supposedly, wasn't very far away *I thought you said that the artifact thingy was nearby, how much long until we find it?* I asked sighing *Oh stop complaining will you? I can't tell the EXACT location of the item, but I am sure we are really clo-* Odium's train of thought was interrupted by a arrow that was fired from the top of one of the trees behind us, fortunately I managed to dodge it by a hair before turning back, trying to find the archer, to no avail due to the density of the trees, it was possible to hear someone moving through the branches and leafs before another arrow was fired in my direction, this time I was able to catch it with my left hand, but still no luck in finding the enemy. I took a deep breath to calm down and closed my eyes, focusing only on the sounds around me, soon enough a third arrow was fired, at that moment I opened my eyes again and summoned my Hell's Chain right in front of me, firing it in the same direction that the arrow came from, deflecting it in the process and restraining the archer from behind the branches before pulling him to the ground near me, it was a man wearing leather armor and helmet "Well well well, looks like I got myself a thief here huh?" the man smiled a little before whistling loudly, shortly after, other six man came out of the branches, surrounding me, they were all wearing leather armor and helmets as well, one of them was a notoriously big and muscular guy with a enormous iron axe in his right hand "So, which one of you is the leader?" I asked taking a look around and noticing the big, muscular guy taking a step forward "Alright, here is the deal: you assholes get out of my way and in exchange you get you little teammate here back, what do you say?" there was a moment of silence before they all began to laugh loudly "You are surrounded and you still think you are in position to negotiate?!" the leader said cutting everyone's laugh and ordering: "Get him boys!" they all took out their weapons and charged at me shouting, I simply sighed in response and reacted "Hell's Chain: Lockdown!" suddenly a lot of small portals appeared out of thin air, firing my chains around every single one of the bandits, restraining and lifting them from the ground, they were all looking at me in shock "Welp, I tried to negotiate" I said before punching them in the head with just enough strength to knock them out and vanishing my chains "You guys are at the mercy of the forest now" it was the last thing I said before continuing my way

 

 

[Aura]

  On 8/14/2018 at 11:27 AM, Neptune said:

Location: Rosayia Forest, along with Ageon River, heading Northbound

“Yes, Natia! Much sooner than we might have hoped!” Rowan called back to Natia. The Keza couldn’t help but to grin at Natia’s response, hearing the excitement lacing her tones. He found it endearing of her, but then he had began noticing things about her that endeared themselves on him, lingering in his memory like the aftertaste of a sweet fruit that he wished to have more of. He tightened his grip on her, holding her tighter as the Aelda let out a snort before leaping over a small stream with ease, never breaking his stride as he landed and continued running. Rowan had found himself leaning into Baellator’s movements, allowing the huge animal to move as he wished but kept the tight grip on the mane which helped to anchor him in place. He glanced off to the side, seeing movement but it seemed to be some form of deer that they had startled, picking itself through the trees as its tail flicked back and forth. As long as it wasn’t a Hound, or even worse, a Wyvern. Hounds he was sure that Baellator could stand up to, but a Wyvern or other kind of dragon? He sincerely doubted it. The Aelda was strong but… He just hoped that Baellator’s instincts would help keep him out of trouble. 

Rowan returned his attention to in front of them again, watching as trees seemed to fly towards them before suddenly twisting off to the side as Baellator smoothly sidestepped them and continued running forwards. With how smooth and powerful the Aelda was moving, it gave Rowan the feeling that he was flying, an activity he had enjoyed doing on occasion. It always gave him a sense of unrivalled freedom. It was nothing but him and the sky which for a bird seemed limitless. It was a dangerous game, for if his rhythm faltered or his wings stopped working, he would plummet to his death. It was exhilarating. And this is exactly how it felt for him right this moment. He wished Baellator didn’t want to return to the forest once this journey of theirs was gone. He doubted he could ever ride another horse again after this. 

As Rowan glanced around, he noticed that the trees were beginning to thin out which meant that they were nearing the edge of the forest and would soon be able to taste freedom from this nightmare world. He leaned forwards again and shouted to Natia, “We’re almost out!” He grinned, feeling excited to finally be out of this place and judging from the eagerness he could sense from Baellator, so would he. As Rowan looked ahead, something dark flickered across their path. For a moment, he thought it was only a trick of the light however Baellator suddenly skidded to a stop with a snort of surprise. 

“What is it?” Rowan asked the huge creature, who looked off to the side. Rowan looked in its direction, and felt bile rise in his throat as he saw a hunched figure closeby. It almost looked human, with pink and reddish skin that looked as if it was peeling and rotting away as it clung to its skeleton. Its face was twisted, its eye sockets empty and the surrounding skin scarred. The stench of decaying flesh hang around it like a thick cloud, causing Rowan’s stomach to twist in disgust, “Baellator! Get out of here!” He ordered, causing the Aelda to snort and jump forwards again. The creature, a ghoul from what Rowan could only describe it as, leapt forwards with a hungry gaze, reached up as if to try and drag the two from the Aelda’s back. Baellator however, had different ideas. As he jumped forwards, he lifted his back legs and kicked the ghoul away from them before running forwards again, speeding away from the twisted and decaying creature. 

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23

As she continued to ride through the forest, Natia only grew more and more relaxed on the back of the horse. The way her small body bounced up and down while Rowan held her mostly in place, and the way Baellator turned and weaved through the bushes and trees, it all added to the joy she had been feeling since she met this horse. She loved every moment, and Rowan's announcement only thrilled her more. They were almost out! They would never have to come back to that horrible forest again! However, she felt her stomach lurch when she felt the Aelda suddenly came to a stop. Her heart began to pound. What could have possibly spooked a horse as strong as Baellator? 

As soon as Rowan asked and the Aelda pointed it out, Natia turned her head as well to see what had to have been the most terrifying creature she had ever seen in her life. By the time she had begun to focus on the empty eye sockets, the stench began to invade her nostrils. Was... was this thing even alive...? It seemed like time was standing still. Staring into its empty eyes made her increasingly uncomfortable. She was frozen with not necessarily fear, but confusion. She couldn't really fathom what exactly she was looking at. It looked like some sort of reanimated corpse. Like the result her father warned her about when it came to the forbidden elements. Bringing the dead back to life was one of the greatest taboos in her culture. Could it be possible that that was what happened to this... thing? The more she stared at the creature, the more disturbing its appearance seemed to become. Maybe it was the rotting flesh around the lips, but it almost seemed to be... grinning at her in a way that vaguely reminded her of the hungry looks her captors would flash at her as they looked up and down her body. She didn't need Rowan's command to Baellator to tell her that they were in danger the longer they stood within reach of this thing and Natia was relieved when the Aelda began running again.

That was when the ghoul reached out for the two of them, for a brief moment, she could feel the creature's long fingernail graze her arm as it grabbed out at the two of them, but was relieved when Baellator kicked it away, probably causing great pain considering the horrible state its body was in. As the three made their way toward the edge of the forest, Natia twisted her back to look at Rowan, who could now see the look of distress on her face. "Wh-what was that!? What was it going to do to us!?"

[Akira]

LOCATION: Rosayia forest, not too far from Selil 

*Why do you even bother trying to negotiate with these people? It would be a lot easier to just kill them don't you think?* Asked Odium as I kept making my way through the woods, I rolled my eyes and responded *We talked about this already, I won't kill another person unless it is absolutely necessary or said person really deserves it* the demon would never waste a opportunity when it comes to trying to convince me to, in his own words, 'let it loose' *And you don't think that those guys back there deserve to die? They tried to rob us and probably many other people in the past too* at times, it was a bit hard to resist the temptation, specially when I had to deal with bad people, like those bandits from before, thankfully, I have a strong moral compass *Maybe, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they kill their victims and... look, let's just focus on finding that artifact ok?* 

Soon we arrived at a area where the concentration of trees was considerably smaller, but it didn't seem to have any animals or something like that nearby too, I could feel... something, like a weird energy emanating from that area *We are here, now we just have to look for anything unusual around the area* it was a good thing that the area wasn't really that big so after looking around a bit I found a pitch back stone that was just a bit smaller than me, I felt a bit weird after finding it, like it was attracting me somehow *What is this thing?* I thought before placing a hand in it, the surface was ragged and kinda warm but normal otherwise *I think I know what this is... try merging your arm and touching it again* I removed my arm from the black surface and began to focus on negative emotions, generating dark energy within my body, I infused said energy on my right arm, causing it to merge with Odium and to get darker with a few lines around it from which it was possible to see energy flowing through. I took a deep breath and touched the stone again, however, my hand just sinked through as if the dark object in front of me was made of water *What the hell?* I quickly removed my hand and backed off a little, trying to understand what just happened *I knew it! There is a sin relic in there! Came on, go get it!* for the first time in a while Odium seemed happy, I on the other hand, was a bit uncertain *Wait, are you sure this is safe? even if there is one of those sin relics in there we don't know if it is okay to touch it* I was honestly expecting Odium to tell me just how dumb I was for not trying again straight away, but to my surprise that wasn't the case *Don't worry, if there really is a sin relic inside that thing it can't possibly hurt you, after all, you are a embodiment of sin* I sighed and approached the dark stone once again, I touched the ragged surface with my hand which began to sink in immediately, slowly and cautiously I shoved my arm deeper and deeper until my elbow went in too, at that point I felt something, there was a object inside, even though I couldn't tell what it was, I grabbed it and pulled as hard as I could, what came out was a enormous double edge sword, it was 5'2" ft tall, 0'6" ft spread and the blade itself was 0'04" ft spread and dark red, the handle was black and had a bright red round jewel at the tip "Wow..." that was the only thing I could say at the moment *A nice find, but it is not at it's best shape, look, the blade is not sharp at all and there are a few cracks on the body itself...* I took a look at the sword and confirmed that he was right, but not only that, the dark stone was slowly disintegrating *Well, I am sure there is someone in Selil who can fix it, we just need to ask around* 

As I made my way back I thought about the sin relics, I was... curious about them to say the least, so I decided to ask Odium *Hey Odium, what are these sin relics anyway? how did they get here?* he chuckled in response before beginning to explain *I told you before that the demons would love to take over your world right? well, with that in mind they ordered the best weapon smiths in hell to make powerful relics and hide it in your world so we could use them, some of them were specifically made to be used by the seven deadly sins demons, like the one we just found and they are all covered with that substance, so that no one else can pick them up* it wasn't long until we were back in Selil, I immediately began to ask around for info on a good blacksmith, I head a lot about a guy named Deadrin so I decided to check up on him, I approached the place that was said to be his store and began to look around until I found some people near the forge "Uhm... excuse me, I am looking for Deadrin, is he here?"

Edited August 21, 2018 by Akira
Wrong measurements xD

[Neptune]

Location: Rosayia Forest, along with Ageon River, heading Northbound

Rowan looked down, not liking to see such distress on Natia’s beautiful face. He tightened his grip on her, glancing backwards to see if the creature was pursuing them. He saw a flash of it in the trees however it was clear that Baellator was simply too fast for it. He turned back around towards Natia again and shouted against the wind, “I think it was a Ghoul! I don’t know what they are! Some people say that they’re the re-animated corpses of bandits and thieves, cursed to living on even after they’re dead. If it had grabbed us, it would have most certainly eaten us even if we were still conscious. They’re mindless corpse eaters that are drawn to battles and war. They tend to go crazy when there’s a lot of death and destruction.” Rowan replied, almost hating himself for telling her because he didn’t want her going into more of a panic. But at the same time, he didn’t want to lie to her and keep her ignorant. Ignorance of such things often lead to one thing; death.

With a soft sigh, he rested his chin against the top of her head, neatly enclosing her with his arms and body, “Don’t worry; it’s far behind now and we’re almost out. Please don’t panic; you’re safe with us two.” He told her. Baellator snorted and tossed his head as if agreeing with Rowan, as clearly he didn’t want his little friend to panic either. Rowan smiled slightly and said, “See. Even Baellator agrees.” He hugged her even tighter before shifting his gaze from her to the forest around them. The trees were beginning to give way to pushes and grassland now, signalling that they were on the very edge of the forest. Rowan relaxed, tension that he didn’t even realise was there slipping from his body. The trees then stopped suddenly, and the full force of the sun beat down on them as they ran into the grassland, the Enutpen Mountains in the distance to their right. Baellator slowed down to a fast trot, snorting in a happy fashion, proud that he had gotten them out safe. Rowan smiled, patting the Aelda on the side of his neck before glancing around, “We’re out, but I would still feel better if we were a little further away before taking a break…” He said, glancing up at the sun and gauging that it was almost noon. A slight grumble from his stomach told him that it would be a good idea to stop soon for food, but he would feel much better with the forest out of sight.

Location: Daedrin’s Blacksmith, Selil Marketplace.

The apprentice at the forge glanced up at the new customer in the shop. He looked him up and down, before turning to look over his shoulder at another apprentice, “William. Can you go get Master Daedrin?” He asked, as it was clear that he was heating up metal that he couldn’t leave unattended. William nodded, putting aside the blade that he was polishing before he stood up and went into the back room, the door blocking the customers view inside. There he found Daedrin still sitting in his chair staring out of the window with his finished cup of tea in his hand. The apprentice cleared his throat, causing Daedrin to look over his shoulder, “Yes?” He enquired.

“There’s a customer asking for you, sir.” The apprentice told him. Daedrin nodded and waved him out before giving a slight sigh as his relaxing moment had been disturbed. He sat there for a couple of moments, taking one last look out of the window before he stood up and moved over to William’s wife, handing her the empty cup back, “It was delicious, thank you.” He said causing her to smile as she took it from him, “You’re welcome.” She told him before she turned back to the bread that she was kneading. Daedrin then turned and left the back of the shop to see who it was that wanted to see him. As the door closed behind him, he paused for a moment as he noticed the new figure within his smithy. He was an unusual specimen from what Daedrin could see. His hair was white in colour, not exactly a common colour especially for someone who looked so young. His sharp eyes eyed the roots of the man's hair, but it was clear that it was not an artificial colouring either. He looked very slim, but Daedrin could definitely sense power coming off of him, but what exactly it was escaped him. His blood red eyes narrowed slightly, before he strode forwards, the heels of his boots clipping against the stone floor. He then stopped in front of the man, putting his right hand on his chest above his left heart before bowing his head for a moment.

When Daedrin looked up, the corners of his mouth twitched up in a slight smile before he asked politely, “I am Daedrin. How may I help you…?” He trailed off, hoping to be able to gleam the mans name in return after introducing himself. This strange man interested him, and he wanted to find out more information about him. It wasn’t often he was asked for by name except for customers that were actually able to afford his services which, due to how good it was and how popular his shop was, was not many people. Still, he had a number of very good apprentices who are more than happy to serve under him, having fought for that position. None of them were willing to compromise the opportunity to study under him.

[Akira]

LOCATION: Deadrin's Blacksmith, Selil Market place

The reaction of the people around surprised me a little specially after I had heard the 'master Deadrin' part *Master huh?  I only can assume that these people are his students or something like that...* I thought while William went off to fetch his tutor *By the way Odium, it should be safe for the blacksmith to touch the relic right? even though he isn't an embodiment of sin and all?* to be honest, I began to wonder about that while I was still making my way back to the city 'are only embodiments of sin allowed to touch demonic relics?' *I highly doubt it will be a problem, that black stone back there was the only security system, and since we already got the sword out of it, there shouldn't be any real danger left* responded the demon in a surprisingly reassuring tone *specially considering that the relic itself was damaged, which implies that the stone reached this realm a long time ago* I discretely sighed in relief *Thank goodness, the last thing I want is to hurt an innocent soul* once again, Odium did not waste a chance to remind me about my sins from the past *As if you haven't done that before* he spoke in a irritating and mocking tone, likely referring to moment when he possessed me for the first time and killed all the cultists involved in the ritual that changed my life forever, but I was sure about two things: 1) Those people were by no means innocent souls and 2) I wasn't the only one to blame for their deaths, so I responded in a angry tone *Odium, we already talked about this and-* I was interrupted however, by the sound of a door closing.

I immediately assumed that the man walking towards me was Deadrin, while he was approaching I took the opportunity to analyze him, even though he seemed to be a normal person, a few details got my attention: First of all, he was a lot younger than I expected, considering how he was called 'master' before, I thought he would be about 35 or 40 years old, but he seemed to be about my age; Second of all, his eyes were red, just like my right one, but in a darker tone; And by last but definitely not least, he had this weird... aura around him, it was different from anything I had sensed before so I couldn't tell what exactly that meant.

I looked a bit surprised after Deadrin has presented himself, being greeted in such a formal and polite way was not something I was really used to, specially considering that most of the time Odium was my only company and... well, being polite isn't exactly his strong suit "Oh, uhm... nice to meet you Deadrin, my name is Izanagi Durum" I presented myself with a quick bow as a sigh of respect "I heard that you are the best blacksmith in Selil, so I wondered if you would be able to help me with this" I said handing you the massive sword in my right hand, while you were distracted looking at the unknown item I activated my Soul Eye for a few instants and what I saw was... surprising to say the very least, your soul was a bit different from a normal human's one, it had a really intense flow of energy around it, while that didn't necessarily mean you were not human, that also meant you were certainly not a normal one either.

"So? what do you think? can it be fixed?" I asked, somehow managing to hide how surprised I was from my recent discovery "Oh and... how much will it cost?"

[Neptune]

Location: Daedrin’s Blacksmith, Selil Marketplace.

Daedrin’s eyebrows twitched up for a moment, almost imperceptibly at the sound of the man's name. Izanagi Durum? What an unusual name, and certainly not any he had come across in his life time and he had met a lot of people over the long years. It made him even more curious about this strange individual. It wasn’t often that someone caught his interest like that and he had to resist to urge to ask probing questions. His blood red eyes glinted in amusement when Izanagi said that he had heard that Daedrin was the best blacksmith in town. He knew it was true, but he was often very modest with it, and tended not to flaunt it in peoples faces. He wasn’t arrogant when it came to his capabilities, as he found such behaviour distasteful. He knew that there were better people than him, although they were nowhere near Craethiel, let alone Selil. When the man pulled out the large sword, Daedrin felt a stir of interest as he took the blade to have a look at it. 

It appeared to be a double edged sword, a mix between a broadsword and a longsword. It was an interestingly forged blade, however damaged. Just by looking at it, he could see that the edges were dulled, and there was a slight chip in the point of the blade. The fuller, the part that ran central through the blade, looked to be a little cracked which he knew weakened the blade strength and made it unusable in combat. The cross-guard was an interesting and intricate design that not only looked fancy, but did the job well. The grip of the blade was black in colour and made from a material he had never seen before but it was in a good condition with no mark on it. The pommel itself was made of a red round jewel that looked as if it had been lovingly polished until it glittered darkly in the dim light of his smithy. It reminded him of the kinds of blades his people made, and yet this had a completely different feel to it. He knew it wasn’t an Eldyrannthian weapon. It was still interesting nonetheless. 

He looked up at the man’s question, watching him in silence for a few moments before his eyes narrowed slightly. The corner of his lip twitched, “If I was any other blacksmith, I would tell you that no… It cannot.” He pointed to the cracks, “This damage is to the core structure of the blade which most blacksmiths would have no hope of fixing as it would require an entirely new blade…” He then smirked slightly, “However, I am not just any blacksmith. I believe I can fix this and make the blade whole and strong again. I can also make a scabbard for the blade, if you do not have one. It will not be cheap, though.” He warned, his eyes trailing down to the blade once again, “It will cost you a hundred gold coins.” He said, stating it clearly so that there was no room for any mistake. It was expensive, yes, but it would take a lot of effort and energy on his part to ensure that the blade is correctly fixed and would last for many years to come. 

[Aura]

  On 8/22/2018 at 3:24 PM, Neptune said:

Location: Rosayia Forest, along with Ageon River, heading Northbound

Rowan looked down, not liking to see such distress on Natia’s beautiful face. He tightened his grip on her, glancing backwards to see if the creature was pursuing them. He saw a flash of it in the trees however it was clear that Baellator was simply too fast for it. He turned back around towards Natia again and shouted against the wind, “I think it was a Ghoul! I don’t know what they are! Some people say that they’re the re-animated corpses of bandits and thieves, cursed to living on even after they’re dead. If it had grabbed us, it would have most certainly eaten us even if we were still conscious. They’re mindless corpse eaters that are drawn to battles and war. They tend to go crazy when there’s a lot of death and destruction.” Rowan replied, almost hating himself for telling her because he didn’t want her going into more of a panic. But at the same time, he didn’t want to lie to her and keep her ignorant. Ignorance of such things often lead to one thing; death.

With a soft sigh, he rested his chin against the top of her head, neatly enclosing her with his arms and body, “Don’t worry; it’s far behind now and we’re almost out. Please don’t panic; you’re safe with us two.” He told her. Baellator snorted and tossed his head as if agreeing with Rowan, as clearly he didn’t want his little friend to panic either. Rowan smiled slightly and said, “See. Even Baellator agrees.” He hugged her even tighter before shifting his gaze from her to the forest around them. The trees were beginning to give way to pushes and grassland now, signalling that they were on the very edge of the forest. Rowan relaxed, tension that he didn’t even realise was there slipping from his body. The trees then stopped suddenly, and the full force of the sun beat down on them as they ran into the grassland, the Enutpen Mountains in the distance to their right. Baellator slowed down to a fast trot, snorting in a happy fashion, proud that he had gotten them out safe. Rowan smiled, patting the Aelda on the side of his neck before glancing around, “We’re out, but I would still feel better if we were a little further away before taking a break…” He said, glancing up at the sun and gauging that it was almost noon. A slight grumble from his stomach told him that it would be a good idea to stop soon for food, but he would feel much better with the forest out of sight.

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12

Location:  Outside Rosayia Forest, along the Ageon River, heading Northbound

Somehow, Rowan's explanation of what the Ghoul was and what it would have done wasn't much of a surprise to her. Considering her observations beforehand and the described consequences of reanimating a dead corpse. Introducing the element of soul into a body without enough focus on the mind would lead to the creation of a creature that knows nothing of its own actions and lives entirely off of instinct. They have no morality, they would just consume anything and everything they can get their hands on and would rape others just to satisfy their urge to reproduce, even if their reproductive organs aren't fully intact. Depending on how little of a mind they might have, they would likely try to have intercourse with and eat anything and everything they saw until something "worked." The very idea of being at the mercy of such a creature in such a decayed state sent chills through her body. The image of that thing's grinning face was burned into her mind. It would take a while for her to be able to close her eyes without seeing it. 

Feeling Rowan tighten his grip around her certainly helped, however. For a moment, she was able to at least shift her focus to the warmth she felt from him. She believed with all her heart that what he said was true. It wasn't just blind faith, Baellator and Rowan had both proved it multiple times that they would risk their own lives just to ensure her safety. It wasn't long before the three had escaped from the forest and could finally begin to relax. She loosened her whole body a little and just leaned tighter into Rowan's arms, snuggling up to him with a sigh. "I'm so glad we're out... I never want to go back in there again..." She commented, smiling up at Rowan. "I'm also glad you two are both unhurt, too." She glanced down to where that Ghoul had grazed her arm. She hadn't realized it until now, but there was a small cut that was bleeding slightly. It wasn't anything major, just a minor cut that wasn't even dripping, but it still made her heart sink.  "That... ghoul... it came so close to grabbing us... How could something like that even exist? I thought for sure they were just myths. There's... there's no way someone has been able to control a element of soul, right? That's... blasphemous...! It's a divine power with responsibilities that only gods can handle! And it would require decades of studying..." The thought that there was someone out there with the ability to create monstrosities such as that Ghoul only bothered her more. What other horrors could that person have made in all his years of practicing? Whatever the case, she could only hope that they all lived in the forest and she would never run into another. 

[Akira]

LOCATION: Deadrin's Blacksmith, Selil Marketplace 

Hearing how much the repairs would cost made look in shock for a few brief moments without even noticing, while I wasn't exactly expecting it to be cheap, I surely didn't think it would cost that much "Oh... I see, uhm... this might be a problem..." I placed my right hand on my chin and closed my eyes as I took my time analyze my options, after all, despite the fact that I didn't have enough money to pay the repairs, I couldn't use the relic in its broken state *So? what is the plan now?* asked Odium *Well, maybe I can convince him to repair the sword in exchange for something...* I responded, still thinking if there was something else I could do *Like what? this guy probably has enough money to buy damn near anything he wants, plus he also has all of his students here...* considering how much he was charging for his services it would make sense to assume he has a lot of money, but I didn't really catch the second part *Wait, I agree about the money part, but what does his students have to do with anything?* Odium, obviously, wouldn't waste a opportunity to mock me again *Well duh, if he wants something he could simply ask one of them to do it for him* I chose to simply ignore the fact he was mocking me again and kept my focus on analyzing if my idea was worth trying or not *That is true, but there might be something that his students can't do right? besides, the worst that could happen is he saying no* Oduim sighed before finally agreeing with me *Well, a broken relic is useless anyway so...* 

After a few brief moments of thinking I opened my eyes again and placed my hands back in my pants' pockets "So, the bad news is: I don't have enough money to afford the repairs; but I do have a proposition,or rather, a question for you: is there something else you would exchange for your services? who knows right? maybe I could get it for you..." now all I could do is hope that you would accept my proposition

[Neptune]

Location: Along with Ageon River, North of Rosayia Forest.

Rowan frowned slightly in thought, “I’m not entirely sure how those creatures come into existence…” He said, looking down at the light scratch on her arm. He took her arm and raised it slightly so that he could look at it. It didn’t seem serious, and as far as he was aware they didn’t create new ones by scratching people so other than maybe hurting a little, Natia was fine. Even so, he reached into his pocket and took out a fine silk handkerchief which he tied around her arm to cover the wound. He then kissed it, giving her a smile before letting her arm fall and continuing to speak, “I’m not that knowledgeable on monsters, other than how to evade them, but that is experience I have gained from traversing the forest and as you know, I don’t exactly have a conventional manner in which I travel. You would be better off asking a monster hunter. I mean, I guess a necromancer is responsible? But… I’m not entirely sure how common they are. I don’t actually encounter them that often and they are more common in areas where battles take place which...” His expression darkened, “Considering the fact that the Kingdom is currently facing invasion from the Black Ones… that doesn’t bode well.” He said, before sighing deeply. It made him wonder if that was why it was on the edge of the forest like that, instead of further in. It could sense the scent of war, death and destruction on the wind and it was responding as such.

Baellator snorted, shaking his head slightly in an uncomfortable manner as his trotting slowed down to a brisk walk as he looked over his shoulder at them with his dark eyes. A shadow passed over them and Rowan glanced up to see that it was a hawk, lazily flying on the wind. Rowan then looked behind them at the receding trees before he turned and looked at the Ageon River which was sluggishly moving past them. He turned golden eyes to the front again before saying, “We’ll likely stop for some food soon. We should make it to Ryn’tur by tomorrow afternoon we go at a relaxed pace. It’s across the river, so we’ll need to find the ford that will allow us to cross.” 

Location: Daedrin’s Blacksmith, Selil Marketplace.

Daedrin remained still, watching Izanagi carefully as the man closed his eyes, clearly thinking hard. He kept his face impassive, not allowing his emotions to show but he was both curious and amused. He was expecting the man to protest such a price, and attempt to haggle like all of his customers did. Unfortunately for Izanagi, Daedrin was the only one that could repair this blade. No other blacksmith had his skill, or even resources. But then he had trained with Blacksmiths who’s skill far surpassed any human blacksmith, including the one that was the father of Eldyrannthian blacksmithing. Thus he didn’t think that his price was entirely unreasonable. He watched carefully as the man opened his eyes and placed his hands in the pockets of his trousers before giving his suggestion. 

The corner of Daedrin’s lip twitched slightly as he tapped a polished fingernail against the blade of the weapon he was holding for a few moments before his finger stilled and he tilted his head slightly, “An exchange of services? I’m certainly open to that…” He said, his eyes flickering over the man before returning to the weapon for a few moments. He then looked back up at Izanagi, “You seem like the type that is well able to take care of yourself. Because there is something I do want. A rare material in Rosayia Forest called Kraerhil which can be found at the foot of Enutpen’s Glory close to an abandoned house by the name of Ashaba. It’s a dangerous task, especially with the concentration of Hounds in that area, but if you come back with a sackful of Kraerhil Ore, then I will not only have the blade repaired for you but I would also give you some additional gold. A sack of ore is worth at minimum three hundred gold pieces. If it is good quality ore, then even more so. It’s a good metal to mix in with blades, as it makes them tougher and they keep their sharpness for longer. Much sought by the nobles, and the King himself has asked for such a blade. I would not blame you if you did not want this task, though. The forest is an exceptionally dangerous area, filled with monsters of all kinds.” He said, watching the man closely to see if there was any kind of reaction.