A Bright Era

[Vuxxa]

After ketotsue finished his introduction Vuxxa took his turn "I am Vuxxa, brother of Ketotsue. I lost my memories many years ago and after some strange circumstances I am now travelling with Thor." thinking that was all that needed to be said he got back to filling his plate, recognizing many of the foods due to the time spent dining with a couple kings he had befriended.

Ehlmaris listened intently at the introductions. After Lomash finished, he glanced over at Warbird, who, noticing this, spoke. "The only rooms we have that meet your request are in the mage's tower. However, one of my apprentices recently had a bit of an accident with a fireball. He'll be recovering for about a week in the infirmary; you can stay in his room."

As Ketotsue spoke, Ehlmaris listened intently. He felt a degree of common ground with this one, knowing how close his own name came to being forgotten. "Any answers or assistance I can provide to you, rest assured, I will." He smiles a bit as Vuxxa speaks. ^Short and simple. I like that.^

As the introductions finish, two men enter the dining hall. One is a thin man, clad in very light weight, dark green cloth with leather padding around vital areas. His graying hair flows behind him, tied loosely into a ponytail. The other is stockier, and wears a mail shirt with a tunic showing the emblem of the Darislav Empire. His short-cropped hair and beard frame his round face in a rusty auburn hue. They approach the main table and sit down at the two empty spots.

"Ah, and there they are. Since we're on the topic of introductions," Ehlmaris says, "allow me to introduce the other two Royal Knights. This is Talyn Erik Ozgoth," he proclaims, motioning to the thin man seated at the table where the bow and arrow engraving is. "He is the Royal Knight of Intelligence, and oversees all of our reconnaissance and covert operations." The man nods to the group while filling his plate. Ehlmaris gestures to the larger man. "And this is Itharius, Royal Knight of the Shield. He is in charge of defense - border patrols, fortifications and the like."

"It's a pleasure," he says, looking around at the faces seated with them. His gaze lingers for a moment on Qtchi, as he smiles a little wider and continues, "truly, a pleasure."

Clint then takes a moment to introduce the group accompanying Thor to the other Knights. Meanwhile, Ehlmaris leans over to Thor. "The stable boy to whom you refer was chosen specifically for his fascination with dragons. I'm not surprised that he takes good care of them. As for sparring, if time lets us, I'd be more than happy to join you."

Ehlmaris turns to Talyn while the group eats. "So, any news to report?"

Talyn chuckles. "Just the one thing. I think the villagers of Ishmal have gone mad." He grins slightly, then looks around the table, seeing concerned expressions on the faces seated with him. ^They never did get my jokes...^ "They... say that a beast has been terrorizing them. Burning crops, stealing livestock, so on. They claim it's some sort of dragon - but made of pure fire. If not for that last part, I'd believe them."

((Thor.... Tuesdays and Thursdays work best for me for sparring.))

(just make sure your messenger is online -_- that way we can just make a large post instead of spamming the thread, I'm sure others might agree to that.)

Thor nearly choked on the meat, he corrected himself then turned a worried glance to Talyn. "You may want to investigate a bit more, pure elemental dragons do exist but are rare. If it were not for the impurities in dragons to day, Jacuel would be made of snow or air. Never really got how colors matched elements, but I do believe he would be an Air Dragon more than anything else in days of old."
He quickly relayed the news to his partner whom took the same reaction then listened more closely to the feast. They had seen an elemental before, but a Water Dragon. He was attempting suicide when they found him beached and starting to dehydrate along the oceans. Jacuel talked sense into the gentle beast and got him to swim inland to find other dragons. If it were not for being a dragon, Jacuel realized that the elemental would have stayed for fear that the beast was thought he was the last of the dragons.

[Qtchi]

She quietly finished her portion of food, washing down the lavish meal with some tea. It was a busy table - the other travelers finally arrived and the air buzzed with conversation as each person introduced themselves. For the most part, the young archer kept her eyes upon the plate before her, oblivious to the others.

It wasn’t until the others fell to a hush, did she realize someone was sharing news.

Her chin lifted and she gazed across the table at the speaker. The man was thin, his features were rather nondescript - perhaps purposely rendered in a way for the man to easily blend in with the others. Compared to the others sitting beside him, his skin seemed to lack luster and was paler then the others… as if the man wasn't often out under the sun.

The girl patiently waited for the others to finish their meals as her ears tuned in to the man’s words.

”A beast?” She voiced, her gaze thoughtful as she raked her mind for a creature befitting the villager’s description. There weren’t many creatures of that size… nor did many creatures know spells. Could this beast be man-made? The girl wondered to herself, meeting the gaze of the man speaking.

"I apologize," She spoke in a clear, firm voice. "I'm afraid I haven't introduced myself. I am Qtchi, archer. Tis a pleasure to meet you Sir'rah."

Well, duels/fight scenes are often difficult to write, but if coordinated well, they make great reading Just remember not to God-Mod and size really isn't important... but don't pull a Vuxxa and post only 3 sentences. I sulked for 2 weeks, the last time he did that

[doug]

Lomash said "the room in the magic tower sounds perfect thank you i while rest after the meal while u enjoy your duel". Then Lomash thought he would like to see the duel but he needed the rest. The power it had taken to remove the brothers from there imprisonment was more than he had let on and he was not sure if he would ever be able to unlock that amount of power again. He had for the first time felt physically drained from casting spells with orbs it was as if tht world had a way to counter all magic. The only reason he figured he hadnt been imprisoned was the prepartion he had taken.

He thought he might consult his books after rest to try to see if there was any note of this other plane or if these creatures they had incountered but he highly doubted it. So he countinued to eat his meal listening to the conversation but focused on his own thoughts.

(trying to tell us something Q? =P)

[Qtchi]

[[I got my eye on you, Thor ]]

[ketotsue]

^ A pure element dragon... I wonder what it is that keeps them alive...^ He finished what he had left on his plate and resided to sit still until the rest of them had finished as well. He then opened the link to his brother ^ Vuxxa I get the feeling that were sitting in the eye of the storm right now... everything is just to calm... maybe it's just nerves but I can't help but to expect some nameless wounded soldier to come bursting through the door at any second.^

[Vuxxa]

Vuxxa finishes up as Ketotsue pushes into his mind ^A random wounded soldier? Do you really think that will happen?^ Vuxxa asks ^Anyway, I've never heard of a pure elemental dragon before.^ he pauses ^What signifigance do you things this has. I do know that we will probably end up helping that village brother.^ Vuxxa looked around the table, ^I wonder what everybody else thinks about this.^

((Sorry for the delay. Thor, we'll coordinate the sparring session... some time. :P))

"We've seen stranger things before, Talyn," the King says sternly. His tone implies disapproval of the scout's opinion of the village. "But either way, someone should investigate. Clint?"

The knight looks up, a bit of meat falling from his lips as he quickly swallows the bite he has already taken. "M'lord?"

"I think this seems right up your alley. Unless you've got more pressing issues to attend to, I'd appreciate it if you could pay them a visit." He then returns to his plate while the Royal Knights engage in small talk about recent activities. ^Thor.^ He glances at the dragon rider over his glass as he opens a mental link. ^Any idea what sort of things Clint should expect? As you said, elementals - not just dragons, but of any form, these days - are rare. I want him prepared, and having no knowledge of these myself, any input you'd have would be greatly appreciated.^

^Water, water, and more water. Elemental dragon or not, the beast will fear it to a point. If it's a beast of pure fire... well, all I can say is get a Water Wizard and drowned the thing then find the one that conjured it.^ "Lady Warbird, if I may be so bold, how is your training of the apprentices on elemental use? And are they able to detect others that would be able to use such gifts?" He said without looking from his plate, he knew if she saw his look, she would be able to read his inner thoughts like a book.
^Elements can be rough to handle, do not underestimate their strengths or weaknesses.^ Jacuel retorted as he listened in, Thor just nudged the mental intrusion slightly trying to get more from the dragon.

[crazysuicide]

((hi i just started reading this thread, could any1 catch me up on wat iv misssed?))

[doug]

( i think if u want to join u would have to read it to catch you up on 29 pages is a bit much to ask)

Lomash listened to the general talk at the table but was interested about the elemental dragon if it was real it could likely be part of what he had been searching for as only someone of some power could maintain an elemental for a long time. After pondering it for a while he excused himself from the table and a servant led him to the magicians tower it was a small wlak up 3 sets of stairs. The stairs wound up the tower and there where small windows which Lomash occasionally looked out to observe the city. The city looked even more magnificaiant from above than below and that was something that made Lomash respect this great city. As he got to his room it was suitable and very dark only 1 small window which had black out curtains and a small chest of drawers which he wouldn't need to use but good to know they where there. Lomash then lay down and rested he wasnt sure when he would get to rest again so enjoyed it while it lasted.

(Nice job on the description of the ascent up the tower stairs. Pretty much what I had in mind )

"Well, to be frank," Warbird began after sipping her glass momentarily, "we have not done training on the elements all that much." She looked at him, but only saw his brow, no further down his face. Her lip curled a little, barely noticeable. As Lomash excuses himself, she smiles and nods to him as if to say that his requests had been accommodated before returning to the conversation. "We've been focusing on the pure arcane essence."

Ehlmaris, also watching Thor, pushes his plate forward a bit and folds his hands in front of him, forearms resting on the table before him. "She's right. I suspect-" Ehlmaris thinks momentarily, communicating to Thor: ^based on your avoidance of her gaze^. He continues, "that our rank and file mages would not be capable of providing further information or assistance on this matter." He turns to the Lady. "Perhaps you could join Clint on this?"

She turns to him, her mouth opening slightly as if to speak, then closing as she turns to Clint. The Knight has also diverted his attention from the food to the conversation at hand. His eyes rest on a small flame, flickering atop a candle in the centerpiece. Warbird bites her lip softly before turning back to the King. She nods. "I will accompany him." She glances around the table briefly. "Seems to be stacking up into another adventure. Would anyone else care to come along? Thor, I'd imagine you and Jacuel would be interested in this. Whoever is controlling this likely knows a thing or two about dragons and their history. You two could learn something."

[crazysuicide]

mk sounds good*starts reading*

[ketotsue]

^I have heard of them before came into contact with one but only once, It died shortly after i meet it though so I barely had any time to understand the beast. But yes hopefully we will go to aid the village I would like to see one not on it's death bed^ . So far most of the conversation had been rather pointless or at least he thought so. That was untill he heard this "Seems to be stacking up into another adventure. Would anyone else care to come along? Thor, I'd imagine you and Jacuel would be interested in this. Whoever is controlling this likely knows a thing or two about dragons and their history. You two could learn something."

" If there is no objection I will acompany them, elementals tend to be somewhat... resistant to the physical side of the world, though... ". He looked over at the knight 'Clint' then to 'Warbird'..."from the looks of them I would say there is more than meets the first glance". When he stoped speaking he couldn't help but eyeing the large knight Clint. He then began to talk to his brother through the already open mind link ^ There is something odd about that man^ his eyes still did not waver from Clint ^ Do you see it? ^

"Sounds good, it might be wise for you to join as well. The vaction would do you good and you will be seen by the populace." Thor pushed his plate away and glanced at the kitchen door as it opened, thankfully he did not see another tray of food. "And it will allow me and Jac to come out of our norm a little. We both get tired of lugging that cart around all the time. It'd be nice to be warriors of the kingdom again. What do you say, hmm? Will you join us?"

Ehlmaris nods, but not in excitement or anticipation. This was more a nod of submission, as if he had been left no choice in the matter - and if he had, he would have taken any other road than this. The King, having been bored to tears of all the diplomacy and legislation involved in running the Empire, should've been more eager to accept the invitation. Clint can't help but notice how slow his liege's head moves. He exchanges a quick glance between Ehlmaris and Thor, remembering back to his intrusion into the ethereal realms. ^Follow Thor...? Something's not right here...^

The King speaks. "It's settled then. Ketotsue, you are more than welcome to come along on this journey. The same goes for Lomash and Vuxxa." He looks around the table, pausing a moment on each person's face. "I don't anticipate the need for the show of force this group would likely be able to produce, but," he says as his eyes meet Thor's, "we can never be too prepared."

Warbird rises from her seat. "If you'll excuse me, sire, I shall alert our aides to make ready for our departure. I assume we are leaving in the morning?" The King nods. "Very well then. By your leave," she says, bowing her head to him, and then turning to the table, continues. "I suppose I'll be seeing the rest of you in the morning. Until then, farewell." She bows gracefully before strolling out of the room.

"Mmm, Jacuel will prep our gear tonight. But he is preoccupied currently, his guest has arrived. Farewell, mage." He passed a wink towards Warbird. "I believe that you have an appointment to keep, sire." He chuckled then leaned back in his sit stretching ever so slightly.
He hoped the man had learned new things since they last fought together, but with politics, things could get a bit messy then rusty.

[Vuxxa]

Vuxxa listened to the conversation until Ketotsue spoke to his mind ^There is something odd about that man. Do you see it?^ Vuxxa looked at Clint, ^Yes, he is no simple knight.^ Then after he listens to the kings invitation ^Of course I will be going too.^ Vuxxa watched as Warbird left, then Thor spoke up "Mmm, Jacuel will prep our gear tonight. But he is preoccupied currently, his guest has arrived. Farewell, mage." Vuxxa spoke to his brother again ^So, do you expect there to be some sort of trap to be good and ready for us when we reach the dragon^