RP #9 – Genis Sage. Posted on 6-20-06
Kratos walked at a quickened pace. After all, there were monsters about, and monsters only get more dangerous after nightfall. He didn't notice a tree root and tripped over it. In frustration, he decided to fly the rest of the way to Lloyd's house, in order to pick up some food for Terra's breakfast. Heavy training often leads to a heavy appetite, and Kratos didn't want his granddaughter collapsing from malnutrition. Again, he paused. Shaking his head, he almost laughed. 'I'm still not entirely sure that I have a grandchild... heh.' he thought to himself, reflecting on how he never thought he'd see Lloyd again, and happy it wasn't a dream.
Meanwhile, back at Lloyd's house, Lloyd's sparring match with Merrick was postponed because of everyone that had shown up to see him. Lloyd was accustomed to visitors, however, and was well trained in the ways of being a good host. "Okay everyone, I'll see you all in a minute. It's late, and I'm sure you'd all like something to eat!" Everyone nodded enthusiastically. "Okay, I've never tried making this before, so bear with me. I'll be turning off the lights, don't be scared, it's crucial to the recipe."
"Oh? And what recipe are you planning on making?" Yuan asked.
Merrick nodded. "Yeah, I mean, any number of things can happen in the dark." he placed a protective charm over Vanim's still unconscious body, hoping to help protect from whatever foul dish Lloyd may be cooking up. "So, what are you cooking?"
"Dwarven Pot-Luck Surprise!" Lloyd said wiuth a big grin, blowing out the lanterns.
"Dwarven Pot-Luck Surprise?" Exclaimed Ellyria, as all went dark.
"I'm scared!" Merrick half-shouted as various bangs and clunks could be heard from things being unceremoniously thrown into a large pot. "He's grabbing large blunt objects to hit us with!" Merrick was now almost half-sobbing. "OW! See? He attacked me!"
"That was me." Yuan chimed in, "I was trying to shut you up. I seem to have failed." Merrick groaned, as the noises continued.
"Almost done!" Lloyd said happily, as he threw his own boot in the pot. He lit the stove and the lanterns and said "Okay, now we just have to let this stew for a bit."
A sigh of relief all around, except for the insulted and hurt Merrick who rubbed the back of his head, holding back tears. "That was really, really mean!" he said to Yuan, and got the same general response all around, "Stop being such a crybaby!" Merrick wiped his eyes. "Hey, no one tells a bard to shut up, that's the most hurtful comment one can possibly say to me!" Merrick sighed, as he walked towards the general direction of Vanim.
"Huh?" came a less-hurt voice. "My protective charm! I gave it to this mermaid, and it's gone!" His eyes then noticed a silver chain poking out of Lloyd's pot. "YOU THIEF!" Merrick Lunged at Lloyd, who ducked and bumped into Yuan. Yuan took a swing at Lloyd and missed, hitting Ellyria. She got mad and Punched Yuan back, as Merrick kicked Lloyd into Purrti, as Anna and Kyoshi just stood back hoping not to get dragged into anything...
Kratos merely stood 20 yards away from the house and heard all the commotion. "I suppose I should go hunting, then." He said to himself, and walked away.
RP #10 – Sekhmet. Posted on 6-21-06
At the side of
the room, Anna blinked watching the antics, glancing at the commotion
that was going on. Shrugging, she went down on all fours in a more
protected position as someone, she wasn't sure who came flying over
her head and hit the wall with a loud thud. Just bearly turning her
head, she saw that was it was Ellyria, look dazed. Anna tilting her
head in a quizzical manner, her ears moving rapidly as Purrti roared
as she picked herself up, shoving Llyod off her and attacked Merrick
but only knocked him down and sat on him like a big cat sitting on a
small creature and merely looked down at him as he yelled and
screamed that he was going to Lloyd.
Purrti leaned down, looked
at him with her yellow eyes, smiled evilly then she licked his face,
with her tail twitching. Purrti looked back up turned her head to
stare at Anna, who started laughing at the unheard comment of the
human bard tasting horrible but was fun to pick on. (OOC: This is a
nearly 200 lb feline sitting on Merrick).
Purrti then preceed
just to lay down on him, and yawn, her canine teeth very visible and
she folded her front arm on his chest and looked down. Vanim remained
unmoved by everything around her.
RP #11 – Genis Sage. Posted on 6-21-06
Groaning under the weight, Merrick struggled to get up. "Oh darn, I still have magic." He said, as he dropped a big sphere of Water over Lloyd's head. This pushed his hair down over his eyes, and he tripped over a chair as Merrick chuckled evilly. "Ugh, can't breathe... any longer..." Merrick slowly passed out as those around him slowly became aware of how barbaric they were being, and slowly realizing that Merrick started it. 'At least I won't be awake for the worst of it...'
RP #12 – Sekhmet. Posted on 6-27-06
As Llyod was splashed with the magical water and stumbled over the chair, some of the water splashed off him and hit Vanim, she moaned softly but that was all. Anna suddenly realized that what she needed was water, clean water or salt, she assumed it didn't matter as the other ganged up on the bard that was under Purrti, she went to see if she could find water that might help this mermaid.
RP #13 – White Rose. Posted on 6-30-06
Nightfall...
After what seemed like an eternity of push ups, standing on paper thin logs, wearing bowls of water on top of her head, and the constant annoyance of a small bell ringing in her ears, a sweat soaked and sun beaten Terra finally got the chance to take a break from it all as the day finally ends. Lying out in the dew covered grass behind her house and breathing hard, she struggles just to move her arm. "Ugh... I'm totally drained..." She takes a deep breath. "This sucks... Why did dad have to make that awful Dwarven Potluck suprise?" She says as her stomach churns in disgust. "It's not like anyone ever eats that weird concoction... What the hell does he even put into that anyway!" She sighs... "And why is there a big fight in the house now? I remember the last time dad made that awful stuff and the gang was here. I got whacked in the head with a boot, Aaron got a kendama thrown at him, Genis got a wrench to the back of his head, Zelos got burned in the ass by a Fireball, Sheena got blown into the wall by Air Thrust, then dad got covered in magic cards... Not much even made it into that stupid pot..." She sighs in frustation, out of exhaustion, and out of hunger. "Ugh. I can't move, and I'm starving... I wish he would've made some real food..." Her stomach growls. "Bleh... I'm done..."
Emerging out of the woods after his small hunt, Kratos hears what he thinks are voices coming from behind the house. Laying his hand on his scabbard in a defensive stance, he slowly makes his way there. The cloudy night and thickness of the forest around the small house blocked out most light around the back. As he walked, he slowly delved into small thoughts about the day. The fact that he has a granddaughter, how quickly she was learning proper swordsmanship, reuniting with his old friend Deadin... the Tarivians... He stopped for a bit as he thought more about these mysterious creatures. 'Why do they wish to find the Necronomicon, or the Book of the Underworld? What do they intend to do with these...?'
Continuing on, and completely oblivious to Terra's presence for one reason or another, he nearly steps on her. Terra rolls out of the way in the nick of time, and Kratos soon finds a wooden blade at his stomach. Startled, along with Terra, he jumps back out of instinct, and Terra springs up to her feet. "Whoa!" She shouts and Kratos takes a step back, laying his hand down on the sword, gently lowering it from his body. He smirks a bit. "Good. Your reflexes are getting faster." Kratos' face comes into the moon light as it finally peeks out through the clouds.
Her eyes widen, and she jumps. "Grandpa! I...I'm so sorry!" She says as she puts away her sword. He chuckles. "I'm unharmed. But you came incredibly close to laying a hit on me. Not bad for being surrounded by darkness." She blushes. "Th...thanks..." She eyes the dead animal in his hands from his short hunt in the forest. "Eeeek! What is that!" He lays it down on the ground. "Tomarrow's breakfast." Terra looks at the Rabbit with both a drooling mouth, and a feeling of disgust. "I hate killing stuff like that... but..." Kratos tilts his head. "But?" She creeps closer to it... "I'm starving..."
Kratos raises an eye, sighs a bit, and turns around and looks at the house. Listening, he hears alot of yelling, breaking dishes, people falling over... "Are they still at it?" He says. Terra slumps, lowering her head. "... I don't get my parents sometimes... Why my dad even makes that putrid stuff is a mystery to me..." Kratos turns back around. "Alot of the things those two did were mysteries to me. I use to question whether Lloyd was really my son sometimes..." Terra busts out laughing, and Kratos looks at her. "...What did I say?" She turns to him. "I don't know. You're just funny when you talk about my parents like that. I guess it's because you're so different from them." Kratos looks up into the sky. "I didn't always use to be so serious and stoic all the time." Terra raises an eye to that. "Really? You? Not serious?" Kratos smirks. "You forget how long I've lived." He pauses and breaths. "People change over time. It's a simple, proven fact." Terra looks into the sky with him. "I'm guessing I know what caused you to change... I mean Mithos.. and then my grandma..." She lowers her head. Kratos turns his head to her and places his hand on her shoulder. "That's not for you to worry over. ...So don't."
Silence surrounds the two... until a growl of hunger emits from Terra's stomach. She turns about three shades of red, and laughs a little... just slightly embarrased. Kratos shakes his head and shuts his eyes smiling. He sighs a bit afterwards. "Alright... This was suppose to be for tomarrow, but if you must..." He turns to the woods, ushers to her, and begins to walk. "Come on. We'll set up a small campfire near where we trained earlier today." Terra claps her hands and hops on one foot. "Yay!" She quickly joins him.
They arrive at a small clearing in the woods. The clouded night sky looms over head, and the sounds of the forest echo through the night. "I use to walk through the woods all the time when I was younger." Terra says as they begin prepping the area for the campfire. Kratos returns with some stones from the stream nearby and starts placing them. "Even at night?" Terra gathers up some sticks and kindling and brings it over. "Yeah. But I wasn't worried. Noishe was always with me." She smiles. "I use to ride on his back when I was really little. I still do sometimes, but not as much." They finally gather the last of materials, and get a couple of logs to sit down on. Terra sits and Kratos stands over the site. "I use to do the same thing long ago. Even when travelling with your father." He smiles a bit. "I'm glad Noishe continued to watch over you all. I wanted my son to have a future, so that was the one thing I asked of him before I left..." He sighs, and sticks out his hand. "Alright, pay attention. I'm not sure how this Sage boy will teach you magic, since you wear no Exsphere... but what I'm about to do is fairly basic. This will be the first and easiest spell you'll learn." Terra nods, and Kratos concentrates a bit until his hand begins to glow a reddish orange. In a matter of minutes, an brightly colored ball of orange, yellow and red appears and hovers over his hand. "Fireball!" He says with force, and directs it over to the sticks atop the rocks. Soon, a fire starts, and begins to blaze. "Wow... I can't believe that power comes from an exsphere... it's so weird..." She says with a mixed reaction. "Why does Aaron want me to learn this stuff anyway?" Kratos begins prepping their meal. "I don't know... it may have something to do with these Tarivians. But I have yet to understand why you were chosen." Terra crosses her arms. "I'll have to talk to Aaron. I don't get this... and it scares me..."
With their stomach's full about an hour later, the two sit side by side on a single log. Terra burps a bit, and blushes again covering her mouth, and excuses herself. Kratos shakes his head and smiles. "Better?" She sighs with relief, stands up and stretches. "Very..." She sits back down. "You've got a long day again tomarrow. You should get some sleep. Let's go back now." Terra gets up and goes to some soft grass on the other side of the fire. She lays down on it. "Nah. This is better. I like sleeping outdoors." She looks at him. "Come over here! It's no fun talking to myself..." Kratos shrugs, and walks over to Terra, then sits down on the grass next to her.
They talk under the stars, watching the clouds roll by for a while until the fire finally burns out, and all becomes silent again... The breathing of a sleeping teenager catches Kratos' attention and he smiles. Removing the cape from his back, he covers her in it. "Sleep well Terra..." He breaths and finally lays down himself. Crossing his hands over his chest and with a knee up he looks at the night sky. 'I don't know what's going on. But I intend to find out.' He thinks before closing his eyes and resting for the night...
RP #14 – AngelicAura. Posted on 7-1-06
Aaron awoke from his sleep. He had a rather boring day today, with the failure of Terra to learn any magic at all. He had thought about why she couldn't learn magic, and watched her while she was training with Kratos and Deadin when it hit him. It was so blatantly obvious. He had no Exsphere, and had no elven blood at all. He had run off to the Iselia Research Lab to ask if somebody had a spare Exsphere, but they explained that Lloyd had taken all of the Exspheres. It was then that the half-elven scientist from Sybak approached him with an alternate idea. She explained to him a special substance that, when you inject it into the bloodstream, will allow the user to act just the same as if they had an Exsphere. Aaron was relieved, and asked for some. The scientist ran off into the storage room. It took her nearly 20 minutes to return, but when she did, she came with a needle containing the substance. She explained exactly where to inject it, and put it into a sterile bag so Terra would not become ill from a dirty needle. Aaron took off back to the training grounds, and went to sleep for the night.
Now, he was ready to awake Terra for her magic training. It was about 5:30 in the morning. He stepped into her tent.
"Terra, wake up." Aaron said softly.
"Aaron? What are you doing in here?" Kratos said, waking up.
"It's time for her training. I wanted to do water spells, and it's best during high tide, which is right now." Aaron explained.
"Fair enough. But you better not make her too tired to practice with us." Kratos said.
"She can go to sleep when we're done. We'll only be a couple of hours," Aaron told, "Now, Terra, are you awake?"
He leaned over her, and she opened her eyes, jolting up and hitting Aaron in the face with her forehead. Aaron fell to the ground, and rubbed his head.
"Oh, Aaron! I'm so sorry! You scared me!" she exclaimed.
"No, it's alright. You have a hard head, you know that?" Aaron joked.
"Oh…" Terra sighed.
"Well, let's go. Training time." Aaron said, pulling her up.
"Already?" she complained.
"Hey, this is the easiest way to learn your Water magic." Aaron told her.
"Oh! Speaking of magic, how will she learn to use spells without an Exsphere?" Kratos questioned.
"This," Aaron said, holding out the needle, "will allow her to act just the same as if she did have an Exsphere."
"You're going to drug her?" Kratos yelled.
"No! I'm surprised you haven't seen this. This is something that Tethe'alla made awhile back, apparently. I believe Zelos used it, too."
"Oh, that. Well, it won't harm her, correct?" Kratos asked, "I won't allow her to be harmed because of a foolish mistake."
"A scientist sterilized this for me, and showed me just where to insert it. She made sure to explain in excruciating detail, and that I had it imprinted in my brain."
"Fair enough. Terra, are you okay with this?"
"I…I-I don't know. Will it hurt?" Terra asked.
Kratos sighed.
"You're afraid of pain? You must lose it. It will hinder you." Kratos said.
"Well, hey, you have to admit, sometimes, you need a fear. But, Terra, it will only hurt for a split second, I promise." Aaron said.
"A-alright." Terra stammered.
Aaron pulled the needle out of the bag, and used a pad that the scientist gave him to numb the area the needle will go in. He then poked the needle through her skin, and injected the chrome-colored substance into her bloodstream. Terra winced until the needle left her arm.
'That wasn't that bad, was it?" Aaron asked.
"Yeah, it barely hurt." Terra said.
"Well, let's go."
Terra and Aaron stepped out of the tent and walked for awhile. They eventually reached a beach. The water rose very high onto the sand. Terra relaxed to the sound of the waves. Then, she jolted, remembering something she wanted to show Aaron.
"Hey, Kratos showed me how to do this last night! Watch!" Terra exclaimed.
She held out her hand, and it glowed orange. A ball of fire appeared over her hand, and she shouted "Fireball!" and it shot to the sand, and the flames died.
"Hmm, not bad. I plan on teaching you more advanced magic though. I guess that you saved me a minute or so." Aaron explained.
Terra hung her head. She thought she had made a real accomplishment, but Aaron apparently thought otherwise.
"Alright, well, while high tide is still here, I want you to walk in about ankle deep. Oh, and take off your shoes." Aaron told.
Terra obeyed, slipping her shoes off, and letting the wet sand slip between her toes. She felt relaxed by the sound of the waves crashing again. The moon behind her head was shining brightly on the ocean. It was truly a beautiful sight. Then she stepped into the water. It was chilling, but not freezing.
"Now, call out Aqua Laser while holding out your sword in front of you." Aaron told.
"Erm…" Terra stammered.
"Well?"
"I didn't bring my sword. I didn't think I'd need it."
Aaron shook his head and sighed. "I'll be right ba-"
"There's no need," Kratos said, emerging from the shadows nearby, "I have it. I figured she would need it."
"Are you spying on my practice?" Aaron asked.
"No, just observing." Kratos replied, smoothly.
"Alright, well, no point in telling you to leave. It won't affect anything. That is, unless Terra doesn't want you to stay. But, I will take the sword," Aaron said, walking to Kratos to get Terra's sword, "So, Terra, what do you say?"
"No, grandpa can stay." Terra shyly responded.
Kratos recoiled. Did she really just call me grandpa? he thought.
"I mean…Kratos can stay." Terra said, seeing Kratos' response.
"Alright, well, just do what I told you. Hold your sword out in front of you, towards the ocean. Concentrate, and say Aqua Laser."
Kratos scoffed. Aaron quickly told him to shut up, and let Terra take it away. She tried once, and nothing happened.
"Again." Aaron said.
She tried, and this time, made a small jet of water in the tide.
"One more time."
She tried once more, and managed to lift the water and shoot it out towards the sea.
"Alright, good. Again."
She tried again, and managed a full Aqua Laser. It shot out in a straight line towards the ocean, and slowly fell to the ocean again.
"Good, good."
"That was quick. Why can't she learn that quick with sword handling?" Kratos asked.
"Magic is easier to learn to use, I suppose. It took some intense training for me to even learn how to handle the sabers as I do now, and you and Deadin can find obvious flaws in my form. Then again, I hardly have to fight with my sabers. My magic takes care of everything." Aaron replied.
"Are you done ranting? Get back to training Terra." Kratos snapped.
Terra was staring at the two of them. When she was noticed again, she quickly spun around, pretending not to be looking.
"Very inconspicuous, Terra," Aaron joked, "Now, put that nice sword down. Try the Aqua Laser without it."
Terra handed Aaron the sword, and concentrated on the water below her. She said Aqua Laser, but nothing happened.
"Easier with something to channel your energy into, isn't it?"
Terra nodded.
"Again."
Terra tried again, still nothing.
"Again. Until it looks like before with the weapon."
Terra tried again and again. Eventually, she got it. The sun was starting to rise, and the tide was starting to get lower and lower. She had learned Spread the same way as Aqua Laser by the time Low Tide came around.
"Alright, now for Fire spells. The Fire spells are much easier to learn than Water. We'll go straight to Eruption since you've mastered Fire Ball. Let's go into this clearing." Aaron said, leading away from the beach.
"Alright, with these, I want you to try out this new technique. Watch what I do."
Aaron took off running, holding out his sabers. His eyes were closed, though.
"That's odd…what's he trying, Kratos?" Terra asked.
"I don't know. Just watch. He knows what he's doing. He's a Sage." Kratos replied.
All of a sudden, Aaron started striking the air with his sabers.
"Amateur sword handling." Kratos noted.
All of a sudden, a large dome of fire appeared out of the ground as Aaron was attacking.
"Wha-what?" Kratos gasped.
Aaron ran back over. "It's new. You cast the spell while you attack. It takes control, but once you practice enough, it's simple. Just let it flow." Aaron explained.
"Uhm, I'll try." Terra said.
"You can do it. But, let's just learn Eruption first. Just hold your hand out similar to Fire Ball, except pick a spot in the ground, and move your hand like you're lifting the dome out of the ground."
Terra nodded, and tried it. Cupping her hand in air, she shouted Eruption. She got a dome that could cover a rabbit to appear.
"Good. Again."
She did it again, and got a pretty large dome to appear.
"Once more."
She succeeded in getting a full sized dome of fire to appear.
"Good, good. Now, here's your sword. Starting swinging like Kratos and Deadin taught you, and casting the spell you just learned."
Terra forced a smile. Aaron and Kratos watched intently to what was going to happen. She swung the sword, trying to follow Deadin and Kratos' lessons, and shoot the spell off. She didn't get anything though. Kratos sighed at the sight.
"You think she can handle this so early?" Kratos pointed out.
"She can handle it. I know she can," Aaron snapped, "Again."
She tried again. Nothing.
"Again. Until you get something."
She tried again and again, to no result.
"Just give up. You're wasting time." Kratos said.
"No. Again, Terra. Try to not shout the spell, but shout it in your head. It will allow you to concentrate more on your attacking."
Kratos scoffed.
"Shut up or leave." Aaron told.
Terra started again, running and attacking. She swung her sword, and then a small dome of fire emerged from the ground. Kratos gasped.
"See! I told you, Kratos!" Aaron cheered.
Kratos simply exhaled. Then somebody emerged from the nearby woods.
"Hey, what's going on? Practicing already?" Deadin asked.
"Another person bothering my practice?" Aaron sighed.
By the end of the practice, Terra had learned two of every type of elemental attack, including Shock Wave, Air Thrust, Stalagmite, and Ice Tornado. She had also done pretty well with the moving casting technique.
"Well, this has been quite a successful session. Now, I'm afraid I have to end it." Deadin said.
------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile at the Iselia HQ
"Take it down!" shouted the War General, "Where's Sage when you need him?"
The soldiers were fighting against the creature that had just been placed on the dissection table the other day. The angel-like red monster was attacking the Headquarters. It had broken a hole in the roof in the Research Lab, and flown out to the outside to pummel it with fire balls the size of meteors.
"Strike it down! Lightning!" the War General shouted.
Lightning bolts appeared everywhere. The Archangel of Fire was struck through the wing with one, and started falling. Catching itself, it flew high in the air. It held its hands out, and a large flash of red light in the hands of the creature. The light was replaced with two flaming spears. It launched them at the army below it. Then, two more reappeared. It continued launching an assault on the grounded enemies below. Finally, the army went on the defensive, casting shields every time a spear was thrown at them. Then, it would switch to Lightning again.
"Switch to using Tornado!" the War General commanded.
Out of nowhere, many funnels of swirling air appeared around the Archangel, dragging it down to the ground. The military moved in for a frontal assault. It simply used Explosion on the enemy. Their numbers were dwindling fast.
"You've got to be kidding me!" the War General shouted, angrily, "Take it down, NOW!"
The army started casting random spells on the creature, trying to pin it down to the ground so they could attack it. Anybody close enough to the enemy was either burned to death, and suffered from third-degree burns. Finally, they stunned it.
"Water spells, quickly!" the War General shouted.
The remaining members of the army all used Spread at the same time. The Archangel was sent into the air, and came crashing back down.
"Let me finish it!" the War General shouted, "Tidal Wave!"
A large typhoon finished off the beaten Archangel of Fire. It disappeared in a bright flash of red. Then, a large flame engulfed the War General. Several men started running to him.
"Stop! Let it happen! It's not hurting me." he said.
The army stopped. The flame entered the general's body, and with another flash of red, the area was filled with Tarivians with spines poking out from nearly every inch of their body. They shot them into the air, and they fell back into the Tarivians. They then bowed.
"Perfect. Exactly what we need to win this war," the War General grinned.
They disappeared in an instant.
"I'm reporting the good news to the Mayor. Good work, men," he said, heading to the Mayor's office.
RP #15 – Genis Sage. Posted on 7-1-06
Headaches all around, as everyone's stomachs protested painfully. It was morning, and all was settled. The protective charm Merrick had placed upon Vanim now hung around his own neck once more, after having recovered it from Lloyd's giant dwarven pot. Vanim had woken up as well, but was confused by everything and felt like a fish out of water, so to speak. Now, Anna and Purrti were trying t fill her in on what had happeened. Lloyd and Merick had reconciled after the fight, and even Yuan forced a very fake smile about the night's events.
"I am not a morning person..." Merrick yawned, as Lloyd told him to get his sword ready.
By now, everyone knew of the friendly contest Merrick and Lloyd would compete in, and wanted to watch the events. Lloyd welcomed them to watch the fight, then to handle his business with everyone.
"Wow, an audience..." Merrick commented, as Lloyd prepared the ring for their sparring match. Merrick started to get nervous. "Darn it, I'm a bard, not a fighter! I perform song, not finesse..."
"Oh, suck it up." Yuan told him, "Silly songs mean nothing if you can't fight alongside your friends, otherwise, you're just a liability and best left behind." This stuck a nerve, and Merrick had a painful flashback of his friends that he made as a mercenary over the years and how some of them met painful deaths.
"You..." Merrick glared right into Yuan's eyes. "I'll show you... liability to my friends? You... you can't even imagine what it's like, watching them die as their own inability to fight cost them their very lives as I was busy fighting my own attackers... ugh!"
Yuan held merrick's neck in his hand, suspended off the ground. "Don't make assumptions if you wish to achieve your goals." was all he replied, obviously angered by Merick's outburst. Merrick paused, realizing that perhaps Yuan had indeed witnessed the same type of adventures he had.
Shruging off the feeling of impending doom since he was no longer about to be choked, he picked up his sword, the Obsidian Catastrophe, and headed for the ring. It was a circle drawn in the dirt and grass, on the other side of the river away from Lloyd's house.
"The rules." Ellyria read from a list Lloyd gave her. "No wan is aloud too... um, who wrote this?" she asked meekly. Yuan rolled his eyes. Lloyd groaned. He raised one hand to get her attention.
"Okay, so my spelling still needs work. I'll say the rules. One! No dirty hits, sand in the eyes, noe of that. Two! If you set a foot outside of the ring, you lose. That's al there is to it. Are you ready?"
Ellyria sighed. "Why couldn't he just say that in the first place?"
"GO!"
Merrick charged, but Lloyd jumped clean out of the ring! His wings appeared and laughed. "Rule number one! Never agree to rules your opponent lays down; they might end up killing you. You see? I can't touch the ground, right? but am I?" Merrick groaned, as Lloyd hovered about 4 feet off the ground, about 4 feet away. Barely out of reach, too...
Merrick lowered his weapon. "Booooriiiing, I wanted a fight..." Secretly however, his heart was racing; could he get wings and fly, too? He wanted too. That would be much faster than walking everywhere.
"Rule two! NEVER let your guard down!" Lloyd said as he charged. Merrick blocked, but almost flew out of the ring. Suddenly, Merrick's field of vision turned a shade of yellow; as his hands and sword's runes began to glow red. Time had stopped, motions were ceased, though they could still talk, and his weapon was taking over. "No... not again, not now!" he gasped, as Lloyd simply looked at the sword.
"What...?" he asked, as a pillar of flame errupted from Merrick's feet, sending Lloyd crashing into his house! "UGH!" Lloyd gasped as time resumed. The tongue of flame dissapeared, as time froze once more.
"No, not again! Stop, you'll kill someone!" Merrick shouted at his sword. This time, Dravity became distorted, sending Merrick alone flying. "I wish I had more control of this weapon!" Merrick screamed, as he fell into the river.
"What the hell is going on?" Yuan asked. Merrick dropped his sword in terror.
"Sometimes... sometimes, it does these things. Sometimes it hurts me, sometimes it hurts others. I... I don't want it to happen again... I can't control it... I don't know why, the magic is too strong!"
Suddenly, time froze once more. The Obsidian Catastrophe lifted off the ground, and turned on Yuan. "NO!" Merrick cried, as he broke free of the enslavement of frozen time and dove in front of him. A serious stab wound tore right through his left arm, but the sword spun around and began to move again. Without thinking, He grabbed the handle with his right arm, and the sword flew away, with him holding on to it!
"Damn!" he swore, "It almost never does this, why does it pick now of all times to to wonky?" He became dizzy and disoriented as he whipped between the trees at such a high speed, in circles... It changed paths, and collided into a tree less than a minute later.
By this time, time had resumed, and a group had noticed Merrick's misfortune. Terra raced over to him and called. "Hey, K... Kratos! It's him, the guy who went to see dad earlier! What happened?" Merrick had fallen to the ground, yet his sword remained stuck.
"First Aid!" Kratos quickly cast on his wounds. "I don't know, but I did feel a great power not long ago, like a distortion of sorts..." He noticed the weapon lodged in the tree. "This sword... it feels... never mind, the feeling's gone now. Terra, keep watch over him! I must go check with Lloyd to see what happened!"
Terra sighed. "Oh sure, get the dangerous job! This sucks!" She then grinned slightly. "Oh well, a break is a break..."
Deadin, however, merely shrugged. "Kratos is gone and told you to keep watch. True, one of us must keep an eye on him, and it takes 2 to train. I suppose we can take a break... after all, that Aaron fellow seems to be enjoying his nap over there..."
Sure enough, Aaron was asleep at the base of a large tree, and had no idea at what had just happened. Terra almost laughed.
Meanwhile, Merrick opened his eyes... and saw the hilt of his weapon right above him. Merrick screamed and jumped up, alerting the three (as this woke Aaron) to his presence. "I must uncurse this sword, but how?"
Aaron approached the sword and examined it. "There was once great power in it, but it has been used up. My guess is that you subconsciously store your body's mana in it, and it gets too built up. If you can learn to release it at the right moment, you may be able to control it...
Aaron taught Merrick how to purposely store mana in his weapon, as well as release it, yet every time it yielded a completely random result, the funniest being turning himself into a goose temporarily. After an hour, they realized that the Obsidian Catastrophe could not be controlled.
"I guess this weapon has completely random effects." they agreed. "Just use it's power every now and then to lessen the negative effects... yeah, should work..."
"One last try." Merrick said, as he grasped it. He was blasted off his feet and flew headlong into a tree again, knocking him out...
RP #16 – Dragoon Taryn. Posted on 7-3-06
The group watched as Merrick went flying into the air.
"Think he'll be okay? That was so weird," Ellyria remarked.
"Heh, an amateur like that, wielding a sword with such power..." Yuan muttered under his breath, then said louder, "Miss... Ellyria, I'm going to find Kratos now. He's supposed to be around here, hopefully."
"Oh, I'll go with you!" Ellyria replied, turning to wave at the others, "Okay, we're off!"
The pair entered the dense part of the forest to search for the area where Kratos, Terra, and Deadin had made camp.
"You know Miss Hi... Ellyria, it isn't necessary to come with me now. You're a mercenary, correct? You should go back to your guild."
"Ah, well..." Ellyria began, "Business has been slow lately, I can't get back to Asgard to finish my current job. Palmacosta closed off its borders due to their attack on Iselia, and now these weird alien things have been showing up? And they attacked me! I think I'm better off sticking with you for now. Um... until I can find more work."
"Hmmmm," Yuan replied before turning his attention back to the forest in front of him.
Worst reply ever, Ellyria thought, mentally kicking herself, I might as well have said I was lonely and wanted a traveling companion.
After a while they came to a small clearing, where they found a young girl, an older man, and a teenage boy surrounding their missing bard.
"Ha, well, at least we know where he ending up," Ellyria said, trying to suppress a giggle.
Yuan just shook his head and chuckled. "Indeed."
RP #17 – Sekhmet. Posted on 7-5-06
As mermaid and the two felines talked and watched the humans fight, Purrti explained part of the fighting to Vanim and to Anna. The mermaid grew bored until the sword went wild. Anna blinked, mewed a question to Purrti, who merely laughed. The three girls left to go find something to do, besides watch humans try killing each other. Purrti spoke with Vanim regarding training Anna in elven magic, Vanim looked at Anna and questioned her in elven regarding the magics, she already knew. About an hour or so past and Vanim not fully satified with Anna's answers, agreed to teach Anna elven magic.
RP #18 – Sekhmet. Posted on 7-6-06
Vanim take Anna to the field beside the ocean, Purrti watches at a safe distance... though she thinks what is safe distance with magic? She watches as Vanim has Anna face the ocean to practice the spells making them somewhat safer then toward the land. She watches as several merfolk scatter at Anna's first attempt and Vanim reframing from smiling as they dove under dodging the fireballs. Several hours pass as the sky grows dark, Vanim suddenly turns to look around as if she sences something and calls Purrti over and points toward the sky.
Purrti: Dark magic grows above... something wicked this way comes
Vanim: True. By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes... (ooc: ok. enough of MacBeth) starts laughing at Anna's expression We need to warn the others...
Anna: We may not have time... points toward the forest if anyone it would be those in the forest not the town.
RP #19 – Sekhmet. Posted on 7-9-06
Vanim looked over at the forest, a place she has never been in her entire life. She, however, agreed whoever what in the forest was going to be attacked, as to when she was uncertain.
Purrti: Fun, Mermaid in forest... talk about a fish out of water...
Vanim: smirks And the cat is out of the bag... Began laughing as Purrti made a face sticking out her tongue Shall we go into your world as you big fuzzballs wouldn't be comfortable in mine.
Anna: HEY!
Vanim: chuckling Let's go... It's time I visit your world
The three take off into the forest, Anna and Purrti pointing out different floral and fauna to Vanim, who was taking everything in with great awe and wonder.
RP #20 – Sekhmet. Posted on 7-10-06
Vanim knelt beside a doe as her fawn looked on in wonder, the doe had been injured by some creature, Anna and Purrti for the time being stayed their distance as they watched her. Anna commented to Purrti that they are going to have to go hunting soon as the human's food was not that satisfying and the sight of the deer was not helping, nor was Vanim scent of fish. Several minutes later, they came upon the campsite of Deadin and the others but they had already gone to go practice some place. Purrti and Vanim decided it was time to head out of the forest hopefully to the oceanside so Vanim could introduce them to the young merwarrior that recogmended Vanim to Anna. They quickly headed out not finding the danger that they were sencing.
