Egg Hatching

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Shelby

Edgesquire
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I work 10 hours days 4 1/2 days of the week as a vet tech. Some days I come home and just fall straight to bed after a long day, but others I'll come on. I also compete in obedience competitions with my dog, so a lot of my time is spent training with him. The weekends and Mondays are my best days to be on.
Writing Levels
  1. Intermediate
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  4. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
  3. Primarily Prefer Female
Genres
Modern, Slice of Life, Medieval, Romance, Action, Adventure, Animal fiction (not anthros or furries), a little bit of Fantasy
The sound of loud chattering could be heard coming from the area around the Cathedral, some tones set heavy with desperation as their minds flickered to worst cases scenario if these 'chosen ones' were not chosen in time, and others that seemed to stand out among the crowd, some seeming to be more hopeful that other people. It was odd, really, most of the tones filled with false hope, but nevertheless the tension in the air could be felt around the area despite this, people growing more anxious and scared as the minutes ticked away, never knowing whether or not the next person to set foot in the area with the eggs would be the right one.

Set with large white stones, the Cathedral was set closest to the Kingdom of Alfa, though not residing in that territory completely. Stained glass windows were situated here and there, their figures almost hidden by the vines that had continued to creep their way up the structure of the building, green contrasting with the white, the color now turning into a more grayish color. No one had paid much attention to the up keeping of the building since they had other matters to worry about, but it was obvious to see that with the neglect that it was being given its faults that most people over looked were now beaming down on the people. Cracks in the walls, some portions chipped away, doors almost coming off their hinges... But of course no one paid much mind to this. All they seemed to care about was the room where the five eggs sat, their stands situated in a half circle around the spacious room.

A line formed its way starting with that room, and still, like every day, bodies lined up, the line stretching for a few miles away from the Cathedral. Of course with the amount of people all standing around, men and women alike, even children, arguments broke out, especially between those of different villages. Most couldn't put their differences aside, but nothing could really be done about the situations. Too many people, and too little time to be dealing with other things. The squabbles always died down quickly after a few threats from knights who watched, the ones who had gone through their run with the eggs and had no luck, and though they mostly only wanted to deal with the ones from their own kingdom, they still kept thins in relative order.

Still, though, it was a shock to see so many people still standing in line, after a month of this having been going on. A lot of people continued to try, even after they had gone once before, just to check and make sure that they weren't the one. After all, being able to handle one of the eggs would be an honor, and they could potentially become a hero in the eyes of them all. Who wouldn't want that?

But putting their own reasons as to why they were doing this aside, a person just walked out of the Cathedral, head hung low with the shake of his head. The poor lad. "Next!" One of the knights who stood at the beginning of the line called out, motioning for the next person to test their luck. Grumbles could be heard, sighs and other sounds if discomfort as well. Would there ever be someone to get these eggs to respond and react? The effects of being trapped in that force field could be seen, crops beginning to stop growing, meaning a shortening of food, and just the overall well being of the land. They were going to run dry soon, they knew, which just made the situation all the more terrifying.
 
As Vexor neared the long line, with the jovial expression he usually kept on his face, people moved aside for him, some in fear of what this giant of a man could do to them, and others in contempt, not wanting to so much as be near one of such meager standing, despite that a good deal of them owed him for both his services, and treatment for wounds he had sustained while performing them.

In this way, he managed to get near the front of the line rather quickly, with but a few people in front of him. "I know I'm rather imposing, but damn... I can't go anywhere without people running for their mothers at the mere sight o' me," he mused aloud to himself as everyone got back in line, the person directly behind him holding his nose as the sickening stench of blood hit her full-force and he turned and retched onto the cobblestone walkway.

"Best get used to it quick lad. Way I hear it, one o' those eggs smells much worse than I do right now."
 
"The egg, at least, has the excuse of being both incapable of cleaning or smelling itself," The paladin in front of him in line sniffed with a scowl. "Cleanliness is next to godliness, ruffian, and I can see you're not near to either. You ought to let me bless you before you enter this building of god. You might catch fire. Or attract lightning."
She wasn't exactly upholding the paladin's reputation as chivalrous and kind, but then again, most paladins weren't expected to wait four hours just to walk by some damned eggs. She was only doing it because the leader of her order, Ser Blustering Gassbag, had ordered every single one of them to walk by the eggs in hope one of them would be chosen by god to hatch one and save the world. The odds of that weren't ones Ymber would have bet on, but there she was nevertheless, wearing the red-crossed white tunic of The Order with Pale Rider, her new hand-and-a-half sword, at her hip, looking the part of a proper knight and making her superiors proud.
It was almost laughable.
 
Percy was in the midst of waiting in line, minding his own business, ignoring the wretched scent of an unwashed brute two people up, when the boy between the two vomited. Percy let out a cry that was closer to a squawk than anything else, and looked up at the barbarian, a scowl on his face. "You might want to wash up so those behind you don't have to dodge vomit," he snapped, looking around with wide eyes. "Unless you're trying to sabotage me...But no, that wouldn't solve anything, if I'm a chosen one then scaring me off will do naught for our condition! What motives have you?!" Percy's voice steadily rose, along with his paranoia, as he spoke. His eyes darted around even more furiously than before, and he began to shuffle around in place. No, no, this was bad. People were starting to stare.

"Damn you," he cursed, "you've brought attention to us now! Bah, shouldn't have left home," he hissed, fidgeting with the sleeves of his black robes. He pulled the hood over his face, the only thing easily viewable being his bright blue eyes, which were wide with unreasonable fear. His eyes met with the paladin then. If paladins were here, then what was stopping them? He squawked to himself again and cut through line to stand next to the paladin, grabbing her arm and leaning closely to her ear. "Why are so many different different orders here, ser?" he whispered. If the woman were to look carefully, she'd notice the man was trembling slightly.

He took a deep breath and spoke again, "I fear another organization will be after me, and as such I cannot be in such a public place for long. Allow me to stand here, the sight of a paladin shall keep them at bay," he spoke hurriedly. The look in his eyes was one of desperation, and his tone was one of a madman on the run. It was entirely possible that Percy's sanity was not intact.
 
Oh, the frivolity of youth. A gaggle of lads had made their raucous way to the location of tthe mysterious eggs, much to the disdain of their far more sensible parents. Thankfully, they had been granted the blessing of their fathers, on the condition that they be chaperoned by the hulking and stoic man that had resided nearby for so long. Baldur had agreed to escort the half dozen teenagers to the cathedral, accepting payment only upon the safe return of the boys. It wasn't necessarily a job he was going to enjoy, but he knew the silly boys would have travelled alone and most likely managed to get themselves killed, had he not accompanied them.

Days after setting out, having endured numerous inane questions about the eyepatch and how he had come to lose his sight, along with a few idle threats from his handaxe, the group arrived at their destination. Baldur stood, stoic and calm as the excited youths guffawed and berated eachother merrily, apparently sure that at least one of them would control an egg. Their naivety was infuriating, and the stubbled man with slightly tangled, long brunette hair often thought it might be a good idea to clock their heads together, perhaps knock some sense into them. It was this thought that kept him calm every time he had to grab one or two by the collar, yanking them back from someone they were about to start a fight with, or a guard they were inadvertently taunting.

They waited in line for hour upon hour, shuffling up at an infuriatingly slow pace. But finally they were within just a few yards of the cathedral, at which point Baldur gathered his young charges, speaking sternly to them. "You do as the guards tell you. When the eggs don't respond, come back to me without a fuss. If you want to be men, you accept your lot with dignity." His lecture was shhort and sweet, and at least slightly respected. Baldur was a mysterious man to the villagers, and had become something of a local legend that the children looked up to, and although these boys were almost men now, they still regarded him as a bit of a hero.
 
Vexor took the puny man's blatant display of disgust and cowardice in stride, since he was not unfamiliar with it. After all, he had, several times, been required to defend himself from his own flesh and blood. In fact, the blood caked on his practically bare chest was that of his own brother, who'd tried to kill him during his morning meal.

After the young, scholar, he guessed, had finished his episode, he turned to the Paladin. "Frankly Ser, I doubt the egg has to sleep with beasts for warmth, or worry about it's own flesh and blood taking a blade to it's throat either," he stated, his light-hearted smile fading for a grim expression, greatly fitting his grisly countenance.
 
It could not be said that Lissasya was not excited about this. When the butcher's son and the blacksmith's daughter had been overheard talking about running away and going, she had immediately volunteered to escort them before anyone could even say it would be a folly. Once they heard Lady Sasya was going, half the town, adults and children, seemed to take up the calling to head toward the Cathedral. Other knights also joined up, though notably her brother and sister declined, citing it was more important for them to prevent any others from trying to escape the force field. Sasya was of the opinion Father could handle it himself even in his old age, but she never tried to argue with her siblings.

Along the way, their group had been strung out, and they arrived to the line in smaller groups. She was in the last little group and had watched as the majority of her towns people, starting with the two children who had had their secret wish overheard, had walked in with faces of optimism and then walked out again with their demeanor greatly changed. But there were so many people lined up. Someone had to be chosen. Even if no one in their manor or town were chosen, surely one of these people would be. She had half a mind to stay behind if she wasn't chosen just so that she could be there that day when one was. That would be a day to behold.

Behind her, there was a group of boys shepherded by some axe-wielding man, and couldn't help but overhear him addressing them, telling them to listen to the guards and to not make any trouble, but it sounded as though he didn't believe anything could come of it and didn't sound prepared to go in himself. Sasya turned to look at him again. He was a wild man; that much she recalled from when he had joined the line.

"Are you not going in yourself, goodman?"
 
The lads entered, though of course the queue continued on into the sanctum in which the eggs were kept. It could still be a long wait for the woodsman. He was about to settle into a passive, treelike stance and drift off into thoughts of the past, when a female knigh addressed him. He was not used to such crowds, and was even less prepared for someone to speak to him unsolicited. And yet, he did manage to take it all in his stride. "No, my lady. I am no hero." That was the last thing he wanted to be, he saw himself as only a man. Yes, he was strong and full of valour, but it took something a little more than simple talent to be one of the heroes that this world needed.

"I wish you luck though, for what it's worth." He smiled wryly, apparently showing that he wasn't quite one to believe in fate and rolls of the dice. He was a logical and critical man, seeing only cause and effect. The villains were never defeated through the fated success of good over evil, it was simply a matter of tactics and strength. Maybe there was a smidgeon of luck in there at times, but it could hardly be considered the be all and end all. An untrained man could get lucky in battle, but it was underlying talent that determined whether he was successful.
 
"Oh, you must come," Lissasya replied with a smile genuine enough to combat his wryness. True, he was a wild man, even wilder than than the townspeople she had been travelling with, but there was something simply too exciting about being so near that made her forget such differences. "Even if you do not believe yourself a hero or in luck, you must at least look upon the eggs that will become heroes. To stand beside such greatness and let it pass you by!"

She waved those with her to keep following the line. And where once she was in front of her cluster, she would soon be at the back. "You wouldn't have me miss my chance waiting on you, now would you?"
 
As he pulled out a pipe, hoping to mitigate his odor in even the slightest with the less pungent smell of tobacco smoke, and tried to get a spark to catch, Vexor couldn't help but overhear the conversation of the knight and other man just ahead of the scholar and paladin. "Ye might want to go in man. Lest ye risk a cur (dog) succeeding where ye did not even try."

He puffed on his pipe with a satisfied smirk before opening his mouth and letting a wispy ring of smoke pass into the air, never dissipating for the lack of wind within the forcefield as it went higher and higher until it hit the top. "Well whaddaya know? Damned thing pulls overhead too," he mused to himself, looking left and right to be sure none of his kin were present, he didn't want a fight on his hands, and he sure as Hell didn't want to smell any worse.
 
Ymber sniffed, frowning at the pipe in displeasure. Her father smoked. Nasty habit, that. She had never been able to stand the smell of it. Why would someone profane their lungs with such a substance? It lacked even the honest burn of alcohol, though she disapproved of most drinking as well.

"The past is gone. The present will soon be so. Work for the future rather than dwelling on the shortcomings of what you have now," She advised him primly, practically reeking of newly-made paladin overconfidence. With that bit of preaching done, she glanced ahead, eyes on the lady knight with a hint of jealousy before her gaze turned to the smaller man clinging to her side. He seemed, if anything, a minor annoyance, but it was a paladin's job to defend those who could not defend themselves...

"You may stand next to me and gladly, goodman," She replied courteously, wondering if he was mad or if darker forces were actually afoot. "Pray tell, though, what dark forces are abroad anon? Insofar the ephemeral shield which stands stalwart abouts our land is the only darkness I have heard tell of."
 
It was probably something of a blessing that Baldur was a fairly mellow man. Had he not been, he may have seen fit to launch at this persistently annoying woman. Of course, he probably wouldn't have hurt her physically, only bellowed at her for a while. With his voice, that was usually more than enough to scare most people into obeying him. Unfortunately, this knight was probably one of those pesky resilient characters, and so even if he had attacked, there was little chance of it actually working.

As it was, none of this even crossed the brunettes mind. Instead, he only sighed in disdain, rubbing his stubbled face as he was about to respond. And then another random stranger thought to pipe in. How wonderful. He rolled his eyes, "I will come, though I do not share your fascination." He finally spoke. He did not see the point in viewing the eggs. They were just as relevant, regardless of whether he saw them or not. He was not the sort to fawn over a person - or anything else - for the simple reason that they were well known. He would congratulate a man on his achievements, befriend people shoould the allow it, but he built respect based only on true merit.
 
Vex, keeping his eyes on the door, noticed a rather large group exit, and heard a guard shout, "Next five!"

Thank God! he thought, looking over his shoulder. Pretty sure more of my kin are searching the line.
 
As five more, unsuccessful beings exited the room in which the eggs were held in, collective sighs and other groans could be heard at the sight of the five's heads held low, some of them sniffling from their misfortune. Another five had been turned away, but nevertheless they all knew they things must move on, so the knight at the head of the line shook his head and motioned for the next five to enter into the room, watching them closely as they did so. Moments went by, as they always did, before they all left the room and still those five were unsuccessful.

People were beginning to get restless, the knight could tell, but as a certain stench entered his nose he couldn't help but take a step back. No doubt it was coming from the one at the beginning of the line now, his overall being sickening as well. His eyes soon darted over to the people behind him, a paladin, a poor soul who looked too scrawny to do much, a mercenary, and a lady knight by the looks of her, before straightening his head and taking a step back. "You five, next!" His gruff voice called out, an obvious strain being heard in his tone.
 
Vexor walked in with a confident, some would even say cocky, stride. Once again he was all smiles, as he approached each egg in turn, though he nearly passed out right at the base of the poison egg's bier. In fact, the odor brought him, the blood-drenched giant, to his knees, vomitting up chunks of bear meat within that most holy of places. His vision hazing, he tried, unsuccessfully, time and again, to regain his feet.
 
Lissasya turned to the mercenary, slightly disapproving of his attempt to motivate through insult. Her glance lingered a little longer on a face down the line -- a lady paladin. Though she looked familiar, Lissasya couldn't place a name. She put that out of her mind, though, when the man replied he would see to the eggs, and beamed at him, happy he had decided to at least walk in. "It's not fascination. It's fate," she returned. Who's fate, that was yet undetermined, but someone somewhere would be chosen. It wasn't so much that she believed he would be the one, but he had already come so close. It would only take a second for him to walk in and see the eggs, but if he were the one and he had decided to walk away, they might never have a chance of returning to normality.
The insulting man strode forward, and perhaps she should have been a little miffed he didn't know what order was, but she didn't let that annoy her. Today was a day of hope. "It appears to be our chance now," she said, ready to take his arm if he offered it, though she doubted he would. He didn't look a gentleman in the least though it did seem he had done right by the boys he had come with.
 
Baldur was still not impressed by this turn of events, but seeing as he had now been caught up in the snowballing momentum of this ridiculous endeavour, he supposed he had little choice in the matter. This was cemented when the knight in charge of this almost farcical scene called the next few lucky souls into the cathedral, of course only to face yet more disappointment when the eggs didn't hatch for them. Oh well, it would only take a few minutes, and then they would be on their separate ways again.

He glanced at the woman, only nodding curtly, clearing his throat in a rather uncouth manner as he walked into the grand structure. He did not offer an arm, he would not have done so for any woman that did not need it, but in this case it was specifically done because the female seemed to be more than capable of hanndling herself, and seeing as she was so well equipped, it seemed rude to assume she was weak.

Once inside the sanctum, Baldur walked by each of the eggs, giving a slightly wide berth to the one that caused his fellow to vomit rather profusely. He also took care to hold his breath at this point, moving between the jittering and laughing to the still, making passes until he was permitted to leave once again.
 
Percy pulled himself even closer to the paladin. "Perhaps I have dabbled in subject I ought not have, and perhaps my want to leave such vile studies has made me a fair amount of enemies," he said, panic still easily identifiable in his voice. His eyes darted around again, scanning the crowd around him for any possible threats.

When the knight announced that the next five would be admitted, Percy nearly leaped on the paladin's shoulders. "Ah, yes. Safety," he hissed, quickly walking into the church. He walked past each of the eggs quickly, jotting down mental notes briefly before moving to the next. At the reeking purple one, he was forced to dodge vomit once again as the unwashed mercenary spewed the contents of his stomach all over the floor.

Percy squawked as was his usual manner of responding to unpleasant actions, and retreated to the smallest of the eggs. He chuckled slightly, as the egg seemed to be just as twitchy as the man observing. He scanned the room again, taking a few steps away to see what would happen. "Aye, it was a folly for me to come here. I am no chosen, I have only placed myself in the open. I am more like to have a dagger slipped between my ribs than for one of the eggs to hatch for me," he muttered to himself, drawing his cloak tighter around him, pulling his hood down to cover his fearful eyes.
 
Vexor finally managed to get up with a groan.
"That's worse than waking up after a barrel o' mead," he said as he trudged past the other eggs, finally ending with one that couldn't seem to keep still for anything. Several times he thought it was going to fall, but it just rolled back into it's former place. He laughed, seeing something of a jocular nature in these motions, and indeed, when he reached a hand out to it, it moved away with what sounded like a giggle, causing the blood-caked man to laugh harder with it. He looked like a regular madman at this point, though the toxic fumes of the first egg probably gave some temporary explanation for his lack of frustration. He didn't stop with the egg's little game until he held it in his two Goliath hands, still chuckling like a drunkard.
 
"Perhaps you should consider a less hazardous occupation," Ymber suggested, eyeing the man warily. "You seem a bit over your head." A bit... if a bit meant a league, perhaps she wasn't a liar by that statement. But what if she was? She had gotten her white armor and her sword, and never seen anything holier than a priest. If there was a god and all his angels sitting up there, she had no proof of them but for word of mouth, which really wasn't enough for her. Ymber believed in doing good because it was what men did, what true knights ought to do, not because some deity commanded it so. If he struck her down for lying, well, that would probably be fair, but she thought it unlikely and stepped into the holy building without hesitation. If the filthy and doubtlessly godless barbarian ahead of her had no worse effects than a bit of greensickness, well, she would be fine.

Her eyes were drawn to the eggs almost as soon as she entered, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She could tell instantly that there was more unexplainable power in those shells than in the entire paladin order. Once upon a time, her brothers in arms had wielded swords that glowed with power and banished demons with words, but that knowledge was all lost, and if there was magic powerful enough to counter the malaise that had fallen over the land, it was contained in those few small orbs.

"What will happen if these do not hatch for anyone?" She asked no one in particular, her brows knitting together. There had been many people lost already... what if the chosen ones were among them?
 
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