Festival of the hunt

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Lusterless Nova

Lusterless Nova

Passionate Roleplayer
Original poster
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Posting Speed
  1. Multiple posts per week
Online Availability
A few hours each day, and many hours on Sunday (I need to work like any other bloke)
Writing Levels
  1. Adept
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
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Each of the 3 great kingdoms of the Mist Continent had its festivals. Each made people gather, but none of them attracted as many skilled fighters as Lindblum's Festival of the hunt. Monsters that were captured would be released in the city, and hunters would kill them to score points. Citizens were of course evacuated, but some preferred to see things first hand. It was their choice, and although many people got wounded each year, it was never canceled.

The Festival of the hunt would start tomorrow, and Noel was a bit excited about it. Not only because of the experience, but also because each competitor could chose a reward from the king himself. Noel wanted permission to use the royal library. Who knows what could have been written in these books? Some things even might come in handy.
To prepare for everything, he arrived early. The sun was blocked by a few clouds, but the weather was nice, and the market was as busy as usual. With his sword in the holster on the back of his hip, he began to browse through the goods, hoping to find a good offer on some useful items.
 
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Luna Valentine had come to Lindblum on a whim, deciding it was time to broaden her horizons with new people and places. Even better yet, she was there in time for a festival. After hearing what it was, she was more than excited to participate! Fighting was all she felt she was good at...other than climbing and falling face first all the time. She figured that if nothing else, this would be a great opportunity to get some training in. She didn't really bother with the marketplace as she usually had all she needed on her, her clothes and broadsword. She rarely used the sword now, preferring to fight things in hand to hand combat, anything to take her mind off the past. She had to constantly remind herself that the past is over and done with, she had to live on and live for the day. That little mantra was the one thing keeping her perky...well other than copious amounts of sugar.
 
The market was nice, and Noel managed to get some useful items. There was a whole day left until the hunt would start, so why not use the time? Noel made his way to the dragon gate, which led to the plateau the castle was standing on. It was the best place to train for now, and the quickest one to reach. He didn't just leave the city though. Going out alone was dangerous since a group of monsters was difficult to take on sometimes. He waited at the entrance for someone who looked like a fighter, or at least someone who he could imagine to work with well.
 
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Luna wandered about for some time, eventually pulling out some candy to eat. She wandered about until she became bored and headed for the front gates. She was hoping to find something to do. Maybe she could find some trees to climb or some monsters to fight. This place was still pretty new to her so she knew she couldn't go too far. She brushed her hair out of her face as she got there. She took a minute to watch the people walk in and out, most of them in a group. Adjusting her sword on her back she thought about heading out. When she tried to head out she was stopped by the guards saying that she would need at least another person before they could let her out. She sighed at the idea of finding someone to adventure with.
 
Noel waited at the gates and watched the people passing by. Most of them were not looking very strong in terms of experience. That was until a girl came to his view. She had a tail, and a scar at her left eye. The scar was a good sign for him, so maybe he should just try. He walked to her and raised his hand as he said "Hey there." Then, he took his hand down again and spoke calmly with her.
"You don't happen to be here for the hunt, do you?"
 
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Luna stopped to look at whoever was speaking to her. She looked at him for a moment when he spoke and smiled. "Yeah I am. What about it?" she said, "I take it you're signed up to? What are you doing here, scaring off competition?" she laughed a little as she joked around a bit with him. Her tail flicked back and forth behind her. She didn't even seem to notice, for her it was like it wasn't even there. This young man seemed....interesting enough. She hoped he had a sense of humor.
 
Sadly for her, Noel didn't get the joke, but he didn't take an offense to that ether.
"Easy there. Yes i am signed in, but i don't need cheap tricks. I was just wondering if you would like to explore the area. I haven't been to Lundblum myself yet, but the last thing i want is to be caught by a group of monsters. At the same time, i don't want to spend money to hire someone.
How about this? We both go and see what we can find, and share everything 50-50."
He noticed her tail and would have wanted to ask about it, but there were other races with tails too, so maybe he should just leave that matter. While Noel didn't had a tail, he had a sword at his hip with an unusual design. When looking at it, one could mistake it for scissors, but it in fact was a one handed blade with a sharp frame all around it.
 
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Luna frowned a bit when she noticed he didn't get her joke. "Well....sure. I'm new around here too. That sounds like it'd be fun. So what's your name stranger?" She asked as she held out her hand, "I'm Luna, Luna Valentine!" She had a grin on her face as she stood there. Her tail seemed to flick a bit faster and she seemed pretty pleased to meet him. Then, she noticed his sword. "Huh, odd sword ya got there!" She commented as she looked at it for a few minutes. She suddenly seemed more interested in his sword than his name, it was odd but that's just how she was. She was easily distracted by things like that.
 
That sounded like he got himself a 2 fighter group. A good thing, which made his mood a bit better.
"I'm Noel Vale, and some call me Nova. Nice to meet you Luna."
She then seemed to have noticed his sword, and her reaction wasn't new to him.
"I get that a lot. The sword has a story of its own, and it even has a name. But how about we get moving and talk on the way? I heard there is an area with treasure nearby, so let's get it before someone else has the chance."
As soon as they were out of the gates, Noel went west. There didn't seem to be anything, but it was probably behind the forests and mountains. (The world map doesn't get well with proportions, so let's just roll with that for now.)
On their way there, there were no monsters yet.
"Unless we get interrupted, it looks like we have some time to talk. Got any questions?"
 
Luna looked at him and shook his hand as he introduced himself. "Nice to meet you too Nova!" She said with a smile, "We can totally talk on the way!"
She was more than happy to tag along behind him. She followed him and took in the area. Her eyes constantly darting around as they walked.
So far, things had been peaceful which was fairly boring. When Nova spoke up again she stretched and shrugged.
"I'm not really a questioning kinda person. When you run about exploring all the time you kinda just learn to roll with everything." She explained, "Lemme think.....Guess I'd like to know more about your sword if you're up to talking about it. If not you can ask me questions. To be honest, I'm not used to meeting a lot of new people. You're the first person I've talked to in at least two years."
 
Nova noticed that she was good with paying attention to the area, which would come in handy. She was a bit odd, but for Nova, this was a good thing. Normal people were boring working with.
"I don't mind. Well, you see..."
Before they could start talking about it, monsters began to approach. They came from their left.
"You know what? Let me show you instead. I take them on if you don't mind."
As they came closer, Nova and Luna would see that it were two Blazer Beetles. Good enemies for Nova since they may be big and strong, but slow.

When they were close enough, Nova ran at them. Instead of going at one at a time, he threw his sword at one of them, letting it rotate like a flying saw and cut right through the monster, while he created a blue sphere in one of his hands, got close to the other, and blasted it bits by smashing it through its chitin and allowing it to explode. There was a clear difference in power between him and the two monsters, so it was safe to assume that he was a trained fighter. After all, he took down both monsters with just 2 hits.
The sword he threw seemed to have just vanished at some point, but he didn't bother looking for it. He just focused some energy into his palm, and with a small flash of light, it appeared again in his hand. Nova put it back into the holster on his back and walked over to Luna again.
"Long story short: It's not really a normal sword."
He took the fingerless glove of his right hand off and showed her his palm. There was some kind of tattoo, or maybe a seal.
"This allows me to summon it, which means i am never without a weapon. Oh. And its name is Klinge."
 
Luna was more paranoid than anything. While they walked she listened to him. However when the monsters approached she shivered.
They looked far too much like spiders to her and she seemed more than happy to let him go on ahead and fight them.
She watched as he threw the sword and used some sort of energy on the second. Then, she saw his sword return, just appearing in his hand.
"I see," She said as he showed her the strange mark on his hand, "Okay, that makes sense. Not the strangest thing I've seen in my life."
She seemed somewhat interested and yet at the same time she wasn't. She was a bit nervous about talking and was almost afraid she'd said too much already.
"So, you've got a neat sword that you can summon if it just vanishes and some sorta magicky energy thing. Got it." she said nodding.
 
After she saw the mark, Nova put his glove on again.
"Yes, that's pretty much the sum up. You get it much faster than other people."
Usually people asked him dozens of questions about what he did, so it was a nice change that someone just accepted this matter as it was.

They could proceed a bit until the next group of monsters came in. Two Pythons, which while standing, were big enough to be at someones stomach. Quick reflexes, and difficult to attack. They approached slowly, but not so slow that they should take too long preparing for them.
"I had the last two. Wanna take them, or fight side to side?"
In just a few more moments, they would be close enough to attack.
 
"I got it!" Luna said before charging straight in at them. She wasn't a waste time kind of girl.
In moments she was up to them and actually kicked one square in its head. It fell off to the side before getting back up.
A few more kicks to the head she took it down, it was now that he could see...she wasn't wearing shoes.
She took out the other one without a problem in much the same fashion as the other. When she finished she walked back over to him.
She smiled as she walked back up to him, one of her feet had a slight cut on it, though she didn't seem to notice.
"So, what can you tell me about yourself?" she asked.
 
Her display of skills was not what he expected. She didn't even use her sword. Was she holding back?
"There's not that much to tell. Most would call me an Adventurer, but i am more of a researcher actually. Ancient ruins, forgotten structures, the knowledge of old books. I love to dig into these matters. Sometimes it also is quite useful, but that's another story.
If i win, i want access to the royal library. Who knows what the nobles keep for themselves? What about you? What will you ask for if you win.
Oh and you got your foot cut. Want a bandage for it?"
 
"Oh, the prize isn't pre-decided? I dunno....maybe a big feast or some cake or something I guess," Luna shrugged when he asked what she'd want.
"I uhh..I can't really ask for much else. I don't need much. Oh...I did cut my foot?" She looked down and seemed completely unphased. "Huh. uhhh no. I mean it's not that bad is it?"
The cut was fairly deep and seemed to have been made by the scales from the pythons. Most people probably would've noticed first thing and yet she didn't.
"But I mean if you think it's bad I guess we can bandage it up. Not like I can feel it." She shrugged seeming completely uncaring about her foot.
She was an oddball, that was certain. She found him interesting though, he was a smart guy and she was starting to wonder if he could teach her things.
She wouldn't ask for much, just some basics like reading. She could write her own name but she always wanted to work on spelling, something about reciting letters in a specific order was enchanting to her.
 
Nova nodded to her and pointed to a rock that was about knee high and pretty much flat.
"Just sit down on that one and I'll show you another trick."
This girl was a bit simple minded, but that was totally okay. She made up for that with honesty and skill, and she was nice to talk to. Once she sat down, Nova took her foot carefully with one hand, and put his other on the wound. His strange blue energy came from his hand, and the wound began to close itself slowly. When he was done, he didn't stop though. After putting her feet down, he grabbed into his pocket and took some bandages out.
"I'm not a healer, but little wounds like these are no problem. If you don't want to wear shoes, at least protect the soft parts of your feet. This is how its done."
He wrapped the bandage over the middle of her feet, and over her ankles as well. They were thin enough to not bother her in terms of combat strength, but not so soft that they couldn't be useful. Nova then put some kind of paste over the outer side of the bandage and got up after he was done.
"That's a simple trick, but it should work. That paste is a kind of hard gel made of monster bones. It's usually a glue, but when you use it like that, you have a kind of armor for your feet. Try some kicks."
 
Luna looked at Nova but nodded when he told her to sit on the rock. She sat down and watched him as he took her foot. She watched him, rather than the energy.
She couldn't care less what he was doing with her feet, she was more interested in him. She frowned when he commented about not wanting to wear shoes.
"It's uhh....it's not that I don't want to wear shoes....I don't have any. I had an old pair of boots but I wore through them in three months," She said as she looked at him.
She hated admitting to her rather....meager background. "Anyways it's not like I ever notice anyways." She got up when he asked her to try some kicks and did so.
Unlike her appearance it seemed like she'd been classically trained in some form of martial arts, which was a bit odd considering she didn't really look like she had much to her name.
Her clothes were clean but her pants and jacket were a little on the faded side. It didn't look like she took much care of herself at all.
 
Her kicks were unusual for a normal person. Precise and powerful. She must have had some sort of training, or master.
"I see. Well then instead of a meal, how about you wish for money instead? I heard that the last time someone asked for money, he got around 10.000 gil.
But if you want boots, we may have some luck once we arrive at Pinnacle rocks. I have what i need the most, so we can sell whatever treasures we find there. 50-50 Remember?"
Nova began walking again, and they were just about to arrive, but he couldn't hold back his curiosity by now.
"If you don't mind me asking. Who trained you? Your style looks a lot like actual material arts instead of street fighting."
 
"I guess...but I don't really...know what I'd do with money. I mean I'm happy with what I've got. I hunt on my own and can cook my own meals," She said as she walked with him again, "But if we find any I'll take a pair. I don't really need much in the world, just enough to get by. I just figured this festival would be fun, get my mind offa things."
When he asked about her training she shrugged. "Not really a tough question. My father trained me from the time I could walk.....and uhh...I just kept it up after...some stuff happened." She replied trying to give an accurate answer without telling too much more about herself. "I'm not very good with a sword but I can swing it and do some heavy damage so that's enough for me. I've just always been a bit odd. That's all."
 
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