Lost Hope: Return of Dragon's Talon

[Bitterblue]

[dash=yellow] [fieldbox=Caela, orange] [dash=maroon] Caela couldn't help it. She bust out laughing as the battle mage flashed her red eyes warningly at her and moved a. Yes, she knew she was being very...unusual. That this behavior would unsettle the most civilized people. This was a tactic that she used often, to see how people react in uncertain situations, obviously sensing she was a possible threat from her hand on the dagger [although that was second nature to her, when she felt the presence of magic, she didn't really have to do that], her studying eyeing in silence was most peculiar. The Lady's response was...not typical. Most people react with inquisitiveness, or accusations of violence due to her posture. The lady's, however....intrigued her.

She saw the lady flinch, and then went to move away, and she moved to follow when the Prince came from out of nowhere. She gasped and her face flushed red. Grateful for the shadows, she pushed herself backwards to hide her ruby face. What was Aurel doing here? For as long as she could remember, she had dreamed of meeting this young man. But she never, ever, in her most wildest dreams, thought that the circumstance would actually occur.

Her father had taught her all the noble names, traits, everything while she was growing up. She remembered reading of the young prince of Chrysos, and being completely enthralled. She had been nursing a very strong infatuation with Aurel, prince of Chrysos. His smile, his high cheekbones, his deep, penetrating blue eyes...but not just the physical, all his previous exploits showed the potential for true courage, a kindliness that was unlike many in the realm, and most of all, a sense of justice. Although he was quite reckless at times, he would, with training, make a most excellent king. Slowing her rapid breathing, she moved within hearing range of the trio, keeping her eyes upon Aurel the entire time, trying to decide whether to intrude...

She entered range just in time to hear Eleanor introduce herself. Another jolt of recognition rushed through her...Eleanor the Great was a very powerful battle mage, she would need to watch herself. She flinched inwardly as she realized she had probably just insulted her moments ago...crap. Her ears perked once more as Eleanor and Han Young got reintroduced.

"Get in line, pip-squeaks!" Cursing silently at the missed opportunity to introduce herself to the crown prince of Chrysos. Caela lined up, with Eleanor on her right. Her magic sense thingy was going off again, with very good reason. The more powerful the magic, the stronger the sense.

She listened with not a small amount of curiosity as Darvan started insulting them in turn. She smiled at young Hildred's jab. That girl had spirit, that's for sure. Spirit yes, but smarts? Maybe not so much....Torgier was new, Inara...she had heard that name before. She just couldn't remember where.

Finally, the cruel man's gaze fell upon her, and she prepped herself to hear the worst...

"You...who are you?"

Caela blinked once in surprise. He did not know her? Even after her- "Oh yes, the ex-noble girl. Your parents supported the rebellion. We got quite a bit of money off your father, what a generous man. I hear he's paralyzed now, and even starving!" Darvan's smile grew. "Serves that traitor right!" Caela tensed, fire burning behind her green eyes. Automatically, her hand strayed to her dagger once more, but managed to stop herself. She snarled, but held her tongue, barely. Who does he think he is? Just because he's an ex-dragon talon member gives him the right to reveal our secrets? How's he any better? Just because father donated so much money the day before, unbeknownst to him, doesn't make him a traitor. Darvan should be behind bars, not given free reign....

Caela jerked her thoughts back, although she couldn't hear anything past the ringing in her ears. Her gaze fell upon Aurel's comely face. She would follow this man to the end of the world and back if he asked her to. Realizing what she had just done...Caela's face hardened once more. She may have just sworn allegiance to the prince, but he didn't have to know that. She would make it almost impossible for anyone to know....save the prince if he asked. His beautiful features drew her eye once more, but she jerked her face back to face Darvan. Her face was stone, unable to be read. Her feet shoulder width apart, her hands clasped behind her back, Caela stood at rest until told what would happen next. [/dash][/fieldbox][/dash]

 

[Bitterblue]

[dash=silver] [fieldbox=Inara Cameri, red] [dash=white]
Inara's smile grew slightly as Hildred babbled on about her family, and the irony of her ramble. Hildred, an assassin herself, was worried about her family being assassinated? There was great irony in that, and Inara chuckled at it. Yes, she was finding Hildred amiable, as well as agreeable, but she did hold back a little, knowing (instinctively) she would change demeanor's in a second's notice. This cloaked woman before her was, Inara knew, a thief, a murderer, and a scheming madwoman. She could leap upon her in a second's notice if asked by a good payer. However, at the moment Inara was interested in her behavior, and found her quite funny and lighthearted. She tried to see the good in people, even if their past wasn't pretty.

Hildred was just about to ask Inara about herself when Darvan finally entered the grounds.

"Get in line pip-squeaks!"

Inara flashed Hildred a final smile, and headed to join the line. She ended up between Torgeir and Caela. There was quite a comical difference between Inara and Torgeir. Torgeir was tall and very muscular, he had broad features that rippled whenever he flexed. Inara was short, barely above five foot, and scrawny. She wondered how they would do in a fight together, he was obviously stronger, and he had more weight to put behind his blows. But that typically meant they were slower, but not always. Inara was quick and agile, she could possibly land several non-fatal blows, but that would eventually begin to take it's toll....Inara's attention was jerked back to the present as Darvan began to insult them in turn, bringing up memories of their past they'd all rather stayed there.


"Oh, yes, the backstabbing thief, Little Harlow." Inara watched as Darvan took a few steps towards the small girl and gazed down at her, the difference in their high was very apparent as Darvan towered over her, "Your dad must be proud, though your methods are a little different you both manage to accomplish the same kind of things. Starve children, kill righteous men... both of you would think nothing of stealing a blind mans last coin." While Inara knew of Hildred's past lightly, she was shocked to hear the soldier talk like this...who was he to judge? He was lucky the Queen didn't have him executed for turning on the kingdom when it needed them most. Inara, however, kept her face neutral as he quickly moved on to his next mark.

"Oh! Of course the barbarian stayed as well! Torgeir, how's the family? Oh, right, you deserted them. Leaving mother to both tend to your injured father while somehow trying to make a livable income off an already failing economy. But what does that matter? After all, you were having fun running around with a group of marauders... that is until you barked up the wrong tree and paid the price for it." Inara was having a hard time trying to see the good in this soldier, it seemed his only goal was to intimidate them and make them think the worst of each other...that part wouldn't work. However...if the burly man by her side would willingly walk away from his family, what would keep him around this quest when the going got tough? Inara shoved the thought aside as she came eye to eye with the old goat.

"Next we have, Inara, apprentice of the Dragons Talon wanna-be. He tried to join several times but never managed to get in... I hear he died during a raid. Hah! Slain by a handful of common bandits." Inara stared at the cruel soldier; her face remained neutral while her gut wrenched violently. It shouldn't have surprised her; he was picking the worst memories of the others, why not her own? But it still felt excruciating to hear Roran spoken of like this. Roran had been a good man. Yes he had tried for the Dragon's Talon, but it was only once. He had believed that if he didn't make it on his first attempt, it wasn't meant to be.

Yes, she had stopped mourning Roran's death a while ago and moved on with her life, but Inara still didn't like to be reminded of how he died. Yes, he should have been able to take on the group, but he was ill, and old age had begun to make his bones stiff and sore, and it made him slow. Inara glared at Darvan, only letting her burning anger show through her eyes, she shoved the anguish he caused deep down, letting no one see it.

Inara knew this tactic well. Take a kernel of truth and twist it into it's worst possible form to see how the party reacts. This had to be part of the test, and she wouldn't fail. She listened as Darvan continued on past the line, listening to the insults to them and taking them to memory, if the need would ever come. She would only use this against them in a very last resort, but she did it, nonetheless.

Finally, when the old fox was finished, she looked around the group. Caela was angry. Very angry, but Inara saw her take a glance at Aurel, and her face became stone. Han Young and Aurel were kindly, Aurel's eyes showing the anguish he felt, likely for the others insulted instead of himself, Eleanor reacted with grace, and the others whom she couldn't remember the names reacted differently. She kept her eye on Caela, wondering who she was, and the reason behind the fire that had burned in those clear eyes moments ago.

Inara turned her gaze back to Darvan who had stepped back to observe them all, and she flashed him a smile, waiting for further instruction.[/dash][/fieldbox][/dash]

 

[Warenai hana]

Darvan hadn't listened to more than three or four words per person before moving on to his next victim, he didn't even give them time to fire back or defend themselves. It just showed how little he thought of them as. Just as Darvan was getting ready to lead them to the actual testing area Torgeir started a slow clap as he he pushed himself past the others. Truthfully Darvan payed little attention to Torgeir's words, but rather his actions. The old knight stood his ground, even up to the point where Torgier was clearly in his personal space. It was easy to feel the tension in the air as the group steadily looked on, probably wondering what fate would befall the norther warrior. Darvan's hand moved slowly up before firmly grasping Torgier's shoulder. "Right..." The word came out slow but strangely enough it had no emotion attached to it. He now had a good grasp of how the group handled insults, direct provocation, and in some cases anger. "Moving on." With the words of a stodgy tore guide his hand let go of Torgier's shoulder and he started to walk away. If it had not been for that single word, which may not even had been directed towards Torgier, the man had been completely ignored.

Darvan picked up the pace to a slow run and ran till they reached the castle wall. With a quick glance over his shoulder he entered a passage that led to a large underground room which was lit by only a single torch. Barely visible behind him were seven large gates which looked to have been abandoned for quite some time. "I'll re-introduce myself, I'm the queens pawn, call me whatever you'd like... Most of you here are perhaps among the strongest and most skilled men and woman in the kingdom but as you can tell I have little to no respect for any of you." His eyes carefully scanned their faces as he continued, "Make me respect you and perhaps you'll get what you came here for." He was silent for a moment before continuing. "Whether you can see it or not, behind me there are seven stone gates. Behind the gates is a room or path of some kind designed by the trap artist of Dragon's Talon herself. I'll group you up into pairs, each pair will receive a number. The number will correspond with one of the seven gates." He pulled out a slip of crumpled paper from his pocket and started to unravel it, "The groups are, Han-Young and Torgier for gate number one. Nori and Hildred for gate number three. Inara and Aurel for gate number four. Finally Eleanor and Caela for gate number seven. If you have any objections to the groups than take it up with her majesty. Go ahead and find your partner, you have until this candle burns out to get to the other side." Darvan took a notched candle and lit it with the torch. "Good luck to you." Without any further explanation Darvan entered gate number five.

 

[Applo]

Torgeir & Han Young

Torgeir watched the disappearing back of Sir Darvan until the gates swung shut behind the man cutting him off from view. With the focus of his attention gone Torgeir spun on the spot to face the rest of the group looking for the Silver haired bean pole that Darvan had called Master Hairyo something. He wasn't entirely sure this was the Han but nothing except confidence bordering on arrogance radiated off him as called to the man.

"HAN, let's go, time will not wait for us" he shouted whilst gesturing to the candle. Without waiting for a response he turned and walked strait towards gate number one. Before opening the gate he paused and loosen his sword his sword half an inch, Darvan had said they were trap rooms but you didn't survive long as a mercenary taking people on their word, he'd learned that painful lesson well enough. Just as he finished pushing stone gate open he watched as Han-Young glided past him and into the room without so much as an look of acknowledgement for thanks. Shaking his head in disgust Torgeir himself slipped through the gap before letting the heavy gate swing closed.

Coming along side Han Young, together the pair inspected the room they had found themselves in. It was roughly 100 paces to the far end and only 50 paces between the sides. Where they were standing was bathed in a greasy yellowish light cast by the torches burning on the wall. In the lit area there were multiple shelves crammed with assorted junk. Slightly in-front of the pair was as waist high podium with a carefully carved stone book mounted on top. Beyond this the floor seemed to be raised slightly although it was hard to tell because all the torches past the podium were unlit. In the flickering light it was just possible to see a door at the far end of the room.

As Han Young started to walk towards the book Torgeir followed instead his adventurer's instinct and started looking at the shelves to see if they was anything of possible use on them. When he was satisfied that they contained nothing of value he turned to see Han Young still staring at the stone book and wandered over to see what his partner was finding so diverting.

What is black when you buy it, red when you use it, and grey when you throw it away?

"What is this accursed nonsense and how does it help us." When no response was forthcoming from the willowy man Torgeir tried again "How does this help us?" When there was still no response from Han Young Torgeir could feel his patience snapping and walked to the opposite side of the podium before slamming both hands down on the stone carving. When Han Young looked up Torgeir took a satisfied step backwards, felt something moved under his left foot and then all of a sudden the floor underneath him disappeared and he felt himself falling.

As he fell he instinct took over and he flung his arms forward, just managing to reach to podium and slammed into the side of the seemingly bottomless cavern he found himself dangling above. After a moment to recover his breath he grunted and began slowly to pull himself up until he could get his knees onto the floor, before cautiously standing up and edging back round the podium. After grabbing a lit torch off the wall he tried to make sense of what had just happened.

With the torchlight he could see that the floor past the podium was made up of lot of large square tiles. Suddenly he remember the sense of something shifting under his foot. Moving to the floor tile next to the gap he'd almost fallen down he spent a moment looking at the damn thing before stepping on it gently with the ball of his foot. Under the slightest pressure he felt the tile begin to give and he quickly removed his foot. PRESSURE PADS, gods damned pressure pads.

"Any idea how we cross this" he said pointing at the floor "without falling to our deaths"

For a moment Han Young looked at him while pointing at the book

"Well say something then, don't just point at that nonsense".

A puzzled look spread across Han Young's face which was quickly pushed aside by a pained expression. After a moment he made sure that Torgeir was still paying attention before pointing repeatedly at the book and then the floor. He tried this several times to no avail. Changing track he pointed at just the book then he held his palm out to a confused looking Torgeir before pointing at the floor and the mimicked falling by dropping his hand. After he had done this several times he saw the warm light of comprehension spread across the barbarians face.

"So we need the book to stop the floor falling?"

At this reply Han Young put his head into his hands and sighed before nodding. The barbarian was so close and yet so far from what he'd meant and he couldn't be bother to correct the mistake. He had worked out the answer to the riddle and briefly debated trying to mime out the answer to the idiot before deciding against it. After several minutes of rummaging around the shelves he found what he was looking for and held it aloft for Torgeir to see.

"Why are you holding a lump of charcoal how does that help us"

Truth be told Han Young had no idea how charcoal would help them but he'd be damned if he let Torgeir know he didn't know. After signalling that he wanted Torgeir to look for more pieces of charcoal which thankfully the oaf understood, he busied himself with working out what to do with this lump of dirt in his hands. Han wandered back over to the podium whilst he looked around as he puzzled over what use a lump of charcoal could be in this room. After several minuets Torgeir came over and dumped a handful of the stuff on the floor at his feet, as he did he caught Han on the back of the head with the torch. As Han spun round to hut the oaf his eyes fixed on on the burning end of the torch and his mind spun into overdrive.

Was this why the torches in front of the podium were unlit? Could it really be a simple as that? Moving to inspect the unlit torch on the wall to his left he saw that rather than being a normal wooden torch fixed to the wall it seemed to be a metal basket connected to something in the wall. Throwing caution to the wind he placed the lump of charcoal in the basket and was rewarded with a quiet clicking noise from the tiled floor.

"What was that?" Torgeir exclaimed looking up from the shelf he was rummaging on. Han Young thought for a moment about how to convey the brilliance of what he had just achieved before deciding against it and instead indicated that the floor was safe to tread on by walking two fingers up his arm and pointing at the floor.

"No" Togeir stated matter of factly whilst folding his arms. "I've already fallen into that hole once, you think it's safe, you walk it". There was a long silence while each of the mismatched pair stared at the other, waiting to see who would give in first. Eventually Han Young started to tap his foot on the floor before letting of a large and overtly exaggerated yawn.

"Fine, I'll do it you dammed mute" Torgeir snapped yanking his sheathed sword of his hip as he strode towards the tiles nearest to him. When he reached the tile he placed his sword down on the tile and pushed down on it while taking care to keep his weight over the solid floor. As the tile approached the bottom of its movement he was tensed and ready for the square to drop away and was somewhat surprised when it didn't. After several increasingly heavy prods failed to cause anything to happen Torgeir gingerly placed his foot on the tile and pushed down as hard as he could. Maybe the silent bastard was right he thought, stepping on the next tile in the row and again when nothing happened he stood on a third. He was about to take a step further out towards the doors when Han Young grabbed his shoulder with surprising strength.

"What do you want? A reward, you were right now let us go through those doors and pray that we are not too late." Han Young waited a moment after Torgeir had finished before pointing to his eyes and then to the far side of the floor. Straining his eyes as he peered into the dark Torgeir cursed quietly. A large gap seemed to have formed between them and the door. "So how do we cross this wretched room without getting ourselves stuck then?" When there was once again no response from his partner Torgeir found himself muttering dark curses under his breath. He knew that he needed this man to get through the door ahead of him, if it hadn't been for that he would have taught the arrogant bastard a few much needed lessons with his fists. As it was he paced back and forth seething with anger and kicking the dust in the half gloom. It was this last little fact that worked its way into his mind for some reason and so while his partner continued to stare out across the tiles he walked back to where he had left the torch and with a little glee lit the lump of charcoal Han Young had placed in the holder.

Han Young was so focused on the floor that he didn't notice Torgeir light the charcoal behind him suddenly noticed a thin line of something reflective running along some of the tiles. Turning he say the lump of charcoal he had placed burning away and his mind suddenly flashed back to the riddle. Of course he thought to himself, a smile spreading across his face. "Red when you use it". The riddle had told them that they had to use the stuff. Looking back at the floor he watched as the flickering light glinted and danced off the thin crystal line, making it just visible where it hadn't been before. He had been as puzzled as Torgeir as to which tiles could be stepped on and this seemed as likely a way forward as any, more to the point he was horribly aware of time passing and it would put him in a terrible position if he failed the test while Aurel passed. Casting his doubts to the wind he stepped out onto the first jewelled tile before quickly looked to the far side of the floor to see if another row of tiles dropped away.

With nothing stillness but stillness emanating from the far side of the floor he took another step and then another on to a tile where the line of crystal turned to the right and led up to another metal holder on the far wall. Han turned to see where Torgeir was only to be greeted by the sight of the fools back as he rummaged through the shelves again. Clapping loudly until the man turned round Han Young gave a little bow as Torgeir walked over towards him only to realize to late that the man was about to tread on the wrong tile. Sprinting back along the line he tried to shove the hulk of a man backwards but failed to make contact in time and heard the sound of tiles falling into the abyss. Cursing his lack of ability to communicate with the man he felt his cool beginning to slip and after sending Torgeir to pick up the small pile of charcoal from by the pedestal focused on his breathing till the northerner returned. Taking great pains to make it obvious he showed Torgeir the line of crystals and made it obvious to only step on the tiles with it before setting off again.

Slowly the pair made their way across the floor weaving between the various holders, placing and lighting a lump of charcoal in each one. Twice more the pair caused rows of tiles to drop away, once when Torgeir took a careless backwards step and once much to Han Young's shame when his robe caught under his boot and he stumbled and Torgeir was half a second in grabbing him too late to stop his movement. Eventually the pair worked their way to the edge of the gap between remaining tiles and the floor in front of the door that was their goal. Secretly Torgeir was worried the gap was perhaps 20 feet or so across but when he spoke nothing but sugared arrogance dripped from his words.

"So how do we go forwards from here silver one. I might be able to make this jump but you I am sure could not and while I am minded to leave you here I think the old knight would count it as a failure, perhaps I could through you like a spear, you are certainly the right shape."

Whilst he stared darkly at the Torgeir for his oh so witty comments secretly Han Young agreed with the man. He knew deep in his heart that he would not cross that gap by worth of his muscles alone. He had an idea of how to cross the gap but considering what this room seemed to be doing to his magic it was a risk. But then again that was a simple communication spell, surely the ancient magic of the White Dragon priest would prevail. His brow furrowed deeply as his mind stuck on this point. Shaking his head he discarded the notion that his voice would fail, he couldn't afford to worry about it. For the first time Han Young was secretly grateful that he couldn't communicate with Torgeir, it meant he didn't have to explain his plan. Instead he signaled for Torgeir to make the jump and after a bit of persuading from Han he threw his sword across the gap before moving to take as long a run up as possible. While Torgeir readied himself Han Young prepared himself for what was to come his mind focused on the words he needed. As Torgeir began his run up and just as the mans feet left the ground Han Young's hand whipped out and grabbed the back of Torgeir's belt. The sudden extra weight ruined the jump and the pair found themselves tumbling through the air as Han waited to be facing the right way.​

"Xuàn fēng!"​

It took Torgeir several seconds to force air back into his lung after crashing into the floor but when he did he sat up and ran his mind back over what had just happened. Looking round he saw Han looking equally pained and happy. Standing up Togeir hooked his sword back on to his belt before walking across to the man. Looking at his partner with a new respect Torgeir helped him up and slapped Han Young heartily on the back whilst laughing.

"So silver hair you do have a voice and a strong one at that" Torgeir said in between bouts of laughter. "Come let us not tarry here it would be a shame to have made it this far only to fail for a lack of haste now". Still laughing and grinning Torgeir heaved the large door open and waited for Han Young to pass before after taking one last look back at the room then slamming the door shut behind him.​

 

[Banana-senpai]

Clapping a hand on Han Young's side, Aurel gave his guardian a nod. "I'll miss you." he grinned, making Han Young glare at him. The silver-haired mage was already irked by being paired with the boulder of a Northerner that Torgier was and that he couldn't do his duty of protecting Aurel. Added to the fact that he was worried for Eleanor too, he was past his patience and was ready to yell at Aurel for getting them in the mess.

Aurel knew of course, so he dropped the goofy smile and said in a serious tone. "I don't forget what you teach me so I know I'll live. You have to come out of the other side, prince's orders."

Han Young didn't look at him and went off to his assigned gate ahead of Torgier as Aurel watched. He never actually "ordered" Han Young to do anything but he wanted to be sure he would see Han Young after what would happen.

 

[Bitterblue]

Inara and Aurel for gate number four.

Inara met Aurel's eye and nodded as she stepped out of line to meet him at the fourth gate. "I'm Inara, but you already knew that. It's nice to meet you, your Highness. Ready?" Inara rolled her neck, and stretched her arms. A minute or so passed. Inara was loose, making sure she kept moving. She may be small, but she was a force to be reckoned with.

As soon as the gate opened, Inara stepped inside without hesitation. Looking over at the tall prince beside her, she flashed him a smile. Yes, he was good looking, he had caused a head or two to turn back there. But she wouldn't let that move her to swear allegiance...not yet. She didn't know the guy, sure she'd heard of him, but by name only. But she saw the determination in his eyes. He looked regal, like he was born for the role. Well, he was, wasn't-Inara's thought was cut off as her foot caught on a small lip in the floor causing her to surge forward. Yelping softly in surprise, Inara threw her hands out to catch herself. Landing somewhat un-gracefully, she pushed up on her hands to get up, but one of the tiles under her hand sank with a click. "Uh-oh." she said as she sprang up. A loud roar sounded behind her, sending waves of radiant, burning heat.

She turned to see flames jettisoning out of the floor and walls. Closing on them. Fast. Turning again, she took of at a dead run. Even at her pace, the flame was right on her back. Her armor glowed red, but didn't burn. The heat, however, surged through and snagged and twisted Inara's back. Large blisters had begun to form. Inara tried to hurry her speed, but she was already giving it all she got. Curse my clumsiness. She watched Aurel running several yards in front of her. Her foot caught again, but she managed to stop herself from falling, but let the flames get ever closer. One more stumble like that, and the flames would have her.

He stepped closer to his own assigned gate and found himself standing with the lady knight called Inara. Aurel was pretty overwhelmed to see not just one but four ladies participating, now that he has a better grasp of what was going on. Inara was strikingly beautiful and it only confused Aurel further. How could a lady look pretty and fight? He was sure he would find out. Surely the queen trusted Inara's abilities so Aurel decided to trust the her instead.
"I'm Inara, but you already knew that. It's nice to meet you, your Highness. Ready?" She spoke and began flexing. Aurel was impressed. Her movements and the way she stood told of an experienced fighter. Han Young had educated him on how to read an opponent by their body language, specially their footwork. Inara looked dainty and tiny, which worried him, but there was a certainty in her movement that Aurel was still trying to grasp.
He bowed to her in the ways appropriate to Resthain's nobility and said, "I'm honored to fight alongside you, my lady."
The gate opened the moment he finished. He walked with her and was pleasantly surprised to see her smile a little. He couldn't help but smile back and gave her a small bow and he slowed his long strides so their pace can match.

Her lips arched gracefully but her eyes seemed to be scanning his soul. He knew the look. She was being polite but she didn't trust him. Aurel didn't mind. Believing that trust takes time, he looked around at the area and saw nothing but darkness.

A sudden clang of fallen armor alerted him, sword at the ready immediately. Inara had tripped on something so he jumped to her aid. She didn't accept his offer of help because something else caught their attention.

"Uh-oh." Inara gasped as she straightened up. "Oh...no." Aurel seconded.
The moment Aurel saw the flames, his immediate reaction was to run as fast as he could. And he was surprisingly fast since Han Young made him run in armor everyday. He glanced over his shoulder and noticed Inara was behind him and seemed to have lost her balance once more, the flames were dangerously close. He felt himself yell "NO!" as he dashed back to her, took her hand and pulled her with him. He almost didn't see the walls were closing in until he felt his armor grow hotter. He saw a clearing and used his strength to toss Inara to its direction before he jumped, rolling to a halt as the walls clenched and the room was covered in darkness again.
"I'm sorry, my lady." Aurel found Inara and helped her up. He was still panting from running. "Your armor...it's dangerous." Her armor was hot to touch so he grabbed at his cape and ripped it with his sword. "Use this, Han Young can tend to your burns when we get past-"
He paused, hearing growls.

Inara gratefully grabbed Aurels hand as he dashed back to her, even if it was a reckless thing to do. Slowly, but surely, Aurel's speed took them farther from the flames. When will it end? She thought, after about five more minutes of straight sprinting, Inara squeaked, surprised and shocked when Aurel practically threw her to the side, and then followed after.

Who does he think he is? Prince or no, he has no right to manhandle me that way. Inara glared at Aurel as he recovered himself, amd then helping her up. But her back was blistered from the heat. Her under armor and armor were fine, the Dragon scales protected well, it was just the heat.

A ripping sound brought her attention back to Aurel."Use this, Han Young can tend to your burns when we get past-"
Inara jumped to attention at the sound of vicious growling cut off the Princes speech. The sound of steel rang through the air as Inara drew her sword. Sword gripped in her right hand, Inara stood ready to attack at a moment's notice.

Just then four large, feral wolves sprang at them. Inara ducked under one while she swung her blade up in an arc. Rewarded with a yelp of pain from the wolf, Inara whirled around, prepared to finish it off when a second wolf started towards her as well. Two wolves for each, this would be easy, for her at least. She started a dance with the two wolves, staying out of reach of their teeth, but tiring them out in the process. She plunged her blade into the neck of the one she had injured earlier, effectively killing the beast. She turned her full attention on the remaining creature snarling viciously in front of her.

The wolves were the least of Aurel's worries, even though they appeared very hungry. Just by seeing how they reacted to the scent of humans, anyone could tell that the wolves must have been starved in there for days. It was also an advantage. They were weak.

"Lady Inara, please be careful." He spoke, mostly to check if she was responsive. He wasn't too sure if her burns were bad but she was unable to take his cape.
He used it instead, tossing it to the first wolf that pounced and kicking it toward one of the wolves facing Inara. It was a reflex of his to be protective of ladies. In one strike, he slew the other wolf. The other two charged for him and he was able to barely jump out of the way, just in time to slice the leg of one. He stabbed the crippled wolf, leaving his back absolutely open for the other's attack.

Inara was about to launch an attack on the remaining wolf when Aurel kicked a second wolf at hers, knocking them down. Great. He thinks I'm helpless, someone to be protected. Just going to have to prove to him that I'm not. Inara raced towards the fallen wolves, but they dashed towards Aurel, who had barely managed to get out of the way.
Hmph. Not so high and mighty now, are we? Inara smirked as she joined Aurel, forcing him to let her fight as his equal. Together, they killed the remaining beasts.
Immediately, Inara whirled on Aurel. Taking the element of surprise, she shoved him against a wall, with her sword at his throat. Looking up into those shocked blue eyes, Inara kept hers cold and hard. "What. The. Hell. Was. That?!" Fury dripped of her tongue like poison. Inara dropped, swept her leg out and sent the Prince to the floor, again with the sword at his throat. "So you think I am some helpless lady that needs defending? Think again, your highness. I am perfectly capable of fighting for myself. Would the Queen have chosen me if I weren't?" Inara was trying to get herself under control. There was nothing she disliked more than people trying to take on more than they can handle, all for the sake of protecting a lady. "Get off your sexist high horse. Yes, I am female, but that does not give you place to get yourself killed to make sure I don't break my nail. Understand?"
Inara kept her eyes on his the entire time, she probably shouldn't have done that, but she needed to get the point across.

About to thank Inara, Aurel was surprised that he felt himself pushed to a wall with the edge of her sword at his throat. "What the hell was that?!" he heard her speak but the next thing he knew was that he hit the ground with a painful clang of his armor. "So you think I am some helpless lady that needs defending? Think again, your highness. I am perfectly capable of fighting for myself. Would the Queen have chosen me if I weren't?"
His head had hit the ground when he fell and he was a little dizzy from it but he tried to speak. "My lady, I-"
"Get off your sexist high horse. Yes, I am female, but that does not give you place to get yourself killed to make sure I don't break my nail. Understand?"
Aurel was prepared to battle all sorts of things, but never did he expect to be in Inara's icy glare. He blinked dumbly at her for a moment, repeating her words in his head in order to grasp what she was angry about.

Chrysos never had laws that forbade women from taking up certain jobs but his time away from his own culture had turned him into a stranger to all nations. He only had his mother's words of guidance not all of which he understood.

But Aurel got Inara's point. He could almost imagine Han Young sneering at him for getting tackled.

"I'm sorry." He said at last, getting up. "I don't mean to offend you, I was concerned because of your wounds, too." He reasoned. "You protected me, and I do know now, you're perhaps better than me at this." He straightened up his armor, checking the locks and latches. He smiled, more out of habit than anything. "Let's get ourselves out of here now. I assume this isn't the last thing we have to endure."
With the room in mostly shadows, it was hard to tell which way to go. He looked at the carcasses of the wolves for a moment, trying to pinpoint where they came in from.

He put a hand on the wall Inara threw him to and followed it for a moment. "We can guess that these tests are meant for more than one person to complete, judging by the floor trigger from earlier and the wolves." He said, checking if she was coming. "Four wolves is quite dangerous to challenge alone, as well."
He stopped suddenly. The wall didn't end yet but the floor did. He looked down but was unable to discern how far the fall would have been.

"There has to be a path somewhere." He turned to dash back to the wolves. Using a dagger, he extracted a few of its fangs just the way Han Young taught him. He ran back to the gap and to where Inara stood. "I reckon our path shouldn't go downward but..."
He threw some fangs into the cliff. They didn't hear it land.

"That's...not the best sign." he peered down again before turning to her. "Do you see anything we could-"
His eyes went to where she was referring to. There were two logs that lay readily at the middle of the gap. The logs were about a foot wide and was thick enough to walk on but looked very unstable.

"I think. This is another test." Aurel squatted to examine the logs. "These don't look stable but I can bet we have to cross them in a special way."
He stepped on it with one foot. The log began to roll slightly and he quickly got off. "Ah. I think I understand."
Aurel looked at Inara uncertainly. "We have to cross separately, but we have to hold hands."

Inara stood back as Aurel recovered himself.
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to offend you, I was concerned because of your wounds, too. You protected me, and I do know now, you're perhaps better than me at this."

Inara smiled, but he still didn't really understand. "Thank you, Aurel. But really, stop making excuses. You counted me as weak, simply because I am a women. You have been taught that women are among those who need to be defended. Why not allow them to learn to fight, to defend themselves? We are stronger than you think." Satisfied that she got her point across, she turned stand started onward, hearing Aurel settle himself next to her side. She smiled. Inara stopped abruptly, her face paling even more. Before them was a vast canyon with a shear drop off. Heights. Why is it always heights? This is the one illogical fear she had not been able to get over.

She automatically started pacing along it's edge, trying to find a way across. She heard Aurel fiddling around with useless stuff. Why do we need to know how high we are? Just how to get across. Finally, she found a way. Two narrow logs, obviously set so they roll if not balanced on properly. Crap. Inara swore. She was the clumsiest person, she would fall.

She set one foot on, and sure enough, it started to roll. She met Aurel's eyes, seeing unease there too.

"We have to cross separately, but we have to hold hands."
Sucking in a breath, she saw that he was right. She could do this...She positioned herself next to the log, and grabbed Aurel's outstretched hands, clinging perhaps a little too tightly. He wouldn't let her fall. That she knew.

She gasped, not realizing she had been holding her breath. She met her partner's eyes, and smiled seeing the confidence in his eyes. She took a second to calm her racing heart, to keep her face from betraying the fear that still made her quiver. Finally, she followed his lead and stepped onto the log. The logs started to roll, but Aurel quickly adjusted his center of gravity, and Inara followed suit as they made their way slowly across the gap.

About half way through, Inara's foot slipped. She was sure they were done. Because of her clumsiness, they would plummet to their deaths. For a few seconds, they were both wildly trying to regain their balance, and Inara's foot slipped off the log. "Aurel!" she squeaked out, trying wildly to stabilize herself. Finally, after 30 agonizing seconds, the duo stabilized. Inara had sweat glistening on her brow. She tried in vain to cease her quivering limbs. She clung to Aurel's hands, eager to get this over with. She took the first hesitant step, and then another, keeping her eyes on Aurel's, refusing to look down.

Finally. FINALLY, they were done. She jumped off that log faster than you would jump out of a fire. She grinned at Aurel, squeezing his hand in thanks for helping her to keep her head on that last task before letting go.

She turned to the next....door? Were they done? She looked at Aurel, and then reached for the door, pushed it open and walked in first, feeling Aurel behind her. As Aurel stepped over the threshold, the door slammed shut with a finality that screamed of danger. True to the trend, water started rushing in with enough force to send both of them to the floor. Sputtering, Inara used the wall to help her up."Are you okay?" Inara had to yell to be heard over the roaring of the water. The water was up to her knees. This was bad. She looked towards the boulder, and made her way to the side and tried to push it to no avail, even when Aurel finally came and tried with her. Their combined strength wasn't enough. Out of the corner of her eye, Inara saw something floating. A pole! Made of wood? She snatched it out, dug it deep under the boulder. "Together? Come on, we can do this. We are not going to die in here!" Inara put her full weight on the lever, until her feet dangled off the ground from the effort. SNAP. CRACK. Inara fell back, landing underwater as the lever broke. Crying out in anguish, Inara grabbed Aurel's hand, collecting herself. "What are we going to do?" She cried, at an utter loss. By now, Inara was in over her chest, a few inches she would be neck deep. Aurel was only have submerged, but they were running out of time.

The advice of Aurel's smug teacher echoed in his mind. Actions speak louder than words. He decided to keep quiet for the meantime and followed Inara onto the logs.

He was fairly good at physical tasks and was highly praised for his dancing abilities. He never expected it to come in handy at such a time. Aurel realized why Han Young had said dancing is for balancing and had let him join every ball in the kingdom. It gave him light and carefully measured steps although he wasn't fast. He sensed her having slight troubles so he gave her hand a gentle tug or a nudge every so often, matching her pace.

"Aurel!" Inara's voice echoed and he gripped her tight, finding his own footing relative to her. He leaned toward her a little as if to steady her weight back onto her log. He tried to control even his breathing. When they were settled, Aurel met her gaze and he gave her a reassuring nod.
They hopped on to the other side together, triumphant smiles on their faces. Aurel took a deep and satisfied breath, giving the cliff one last dismissive look before he followed Inara into another door.

It closed behind them with an ominous sound, telling them of the room's small space. He felt the door seal into the wall presumably with magic. His stomach sank.

"Oh...no..."
A sudden rush of water made them both lose their footing. Aurel managed to get up but nearly slipped again. "Are you okay?" she asked him as he hurriedly straightened up, looking around and seeing the boulder to one side.
"Yes, we have to-pole! The pole!" He reached out for the wooden pole and Inara snatched it quickly.
"Together? Come on, we can do this. We are not going to die in here!" she said with determination. Aurel helped her use the pole as a lever but he felt it splintering. "Wait, I think it will snap-"
And it did. Left with two halves of the pole, the two looked at each other. Aurel was alarmed by how deep Inara was in. At first, he was going to tell her to get up the boulder so he could use his sword but he realized that that would not only break the idea of teamwork that was present in the past tests, it might also break his sword. He looked around for a second and noticed the distance of the wall and the boulder.

"Let's kick the boulder, using the wall to push!" He shouted over the sound of rushing water. He helped her up to the boulder and she supported herself on the wall. He followed her, feeling her quick breaths on his cheek as he got close.
"On three." He looked in her eyes. "One, two, THREE!"
With an almighty push, the boulder gave way and the water splashed out. They fell with a clatter of armor and water, Aurel catching Inara's weight. She got up and helped him up, both breathing hard from exhaustion.

"We did it." He grinned and slicked his hair off his face. "After you." he let her enter the gap that the boulder was blocking.

Inara took a gulp of air before she started to have to tread water. Her feet could no longer touch the ground. She could only do this for so long, since her armor was sopping wet, and weighing her down, making it harder for her to stay afloat. "Let's kick the boulder, using the wall to push!" Inara saw what he meant, but there wasn't enough room for two-- Oh. Oh. This might get awkward. "I'm going to need your help getting in position, I can't touch the floor." Her words weren't needed however, for as soon as she got near the side Aurel was referring to, Aurel helped her into position, and quickly slid into his own. She felt his breath on her cheek as her back pressed against his chest. Inara craned her neck to meet his eyes as he began the countdown. The water was high. Taking a big gulp of air, Inara was plunged underwater as she pushed with all her might. The boulder rolled away, and the room quickly emptied of water, sending them both crashing to the ground.

Landing on top of Aurel, she started coughing. That had been close. Too close for comfort. When she could finally breathe, she rolled off of Aurel, and helped him up.
"We did it." He grinned and slicked his hair off his face. For some reason, Aurel's grin sent Inara into a fit of the giggles. Laughing hysterically, Inara tried to calm herself. After about a minute, she met Aurel's eyes and grinned widely at him. She had a feeling they were going to become good friends after this. "After you." Inara chuckled slightly, her eyes smiling. She walked through the door to head to the place Darvan told them to meet. They had to be quite a sight, dripping wet as they were, and quite disheveled too. She met his eyes once more and smiled softly. They had done it.

 

[Warenai hana]

[BCOLOR=transparent]When Darvan's gaze moved off of him, Nori let out a hefty sigh and his eyes returned to looking forward. With everything in him he hated that giant of a man most of all. Cold, unforgiving, negative, and a naysayer to boot. If that wasn't bad enough he was also a member of the infamous Dragon's Talon, who were irrefutably the strongest in the land, but also traitors to Resthaim. Why would Miya choose someone like him to be her personal guard? Whether it was out of jealousy, or simply a hate for Darvan personally he did not know, but this was one of the few topics he and the Queen did not see eye to eye on, even after hearing all her reasoning. Though honestly he wasn't sure why the Queen picked out many of the individuals of this group either...[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Darvan didn't seem to notice anyone talking back to him, even making fun of him, but Nori had learned early on that Darvan didn't care much for petty words, instead he valued action above all else. Words were cheap, anyone can say whatever they wanted in whatever way they wanted, but actions would never betray a trained eye. After a few short words Darvan simply turned and started a slow run, perhaps more of a quick jog, through a forested area. Anyone would be able to tell they were heading in the direction of the Castle walls, after all if you're heading away from the castle itself, where else could you go? After only a few minutes Nori's assumption was proved correct, they made it to their destination, the castle wall... or rather a large dark room underneath the castle wall.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Hildred seemed very disappointed with the lack of reaction. "Oh, I get it," she decided sullenly as her flirty attitude fell off was shed off in one fell swoop. It was almost unnerving how smoothly she was able to swap her moods...it was a sign of a skilled actress. She waited for Nori to lead the way and then jogged idly behind the others, making sure she had everyone in her sights so nobody could pull a fast one and try to knock her over or something equally as stupid.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Nori's eyes took a while to adjust to the dim lighting, he found it hard to see much of anything other than Darvan who was standing under the light of a single torch. Darvan began by reintroducing himself, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"I'm the queen's pawn, call me whatever you'd like... Most of you here are perhaps among the strongest and most skilled men and woman in the kingdom but as you can tell I have little to no respect for any of you. Make me respect you and perhaps you'll get what you came here for." [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]After his short, rather uninformative introduction he went on to explain the test then finally he told them the pairing. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Nori and Hildred for gate number three." [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Nori's mouth went dry and he clenched his fists. Why was he paired with her? Did Darvan really hold a grudge against him? Was he hated that much? Sure the two of them didn't get along but... to this extent? Nori glanced down the line at Hildred before preparing to request a new pairing, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"If you have any objections to the groups then take it up with her majesty." [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Nori's eyes widened and briefly he wondered if he had done anything to offend Miya as of late but he quickly shook that thought out of his head. 'I must be paired with her for a reason... but I'll worry about that later, first I need to survive this test.'[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Hildred grinned at Darvan's very, very vague remark about being called names. It counted as a small victory in her eyes, but she was too busy picking apart his words. Get what you came here for? But Hildred did not come here to get anything. And was the test just stroking this man's ego and trying to get a sense of respect out of him, because that would simply be too easy...Hildred's grin faded. She pulled her hood up. Everything that was thrown at her thus far was confusing; The queen assembles the strongest adventurers in the kingdom and tests them by forcing them to gain the respect of what remained of the Dragon's Talon. For what? 'What you came here for?' Was she left out of the loop here?[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]As soon as Darvan had finished talking Nori had taken off. He approached the nearest gate, 5, after only a slight hesitation he turned left, sliding slightly, and moved down the line before stopping at gate number three. His hands hit the stone and somehow Nori managed to move the large stones, in fact he did so with ease. Despite keeping a blank or cold expression almost 100% of the time Nori's face practically glowed with his surprise. He stood stunned for but a moment as he watched the doors slowly continue to open without any assistance before once again dashing forward. He didn't have any time to waist, he could not let Hildred catch up with him. That backstabber would not gain his trust and he would not be her next victim.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]But Hildred wasn't in any rush. She let Nori rush off, smirking with amusement - he seemed determined to do everything on his own and certainly didn't want to get near her. She cracked her knuckles, waved to Darvan jovially and strolled down to gate three...only she paused briefly, passing Torgeir. The thief tapped him on the arm. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Good luck," [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]she muttered before carrying on. It was curt, all business - out of all of the people she had met today there was something familiar about another hired killer in their midst which seemed to naturally attract Hildred towards the walking meat-shield. If anything, she was rooting for him.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Nori had misjudged the test. He assumed it would be some kind of obstacle course that required its participants to dodge multiple hidden traps and use wit to get through it, after all it was designed by a world renown trap artist. Nori was the furthest from prepared for what was to come. Nori made it to a large circular room and his eyes quickly dashed around trying to find a path or a lever, anything to help him move forward. After a few seconds Nori began to panic, at this rate Hildred would catch up, and heavens know he didn't want to deal with her. "Hello." A voice soothing voice echoed around the room. It was a voice Nori could only compare with the quiet voice a mother would use to calm her babe. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Who's there."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Nori instinctively drew his bow as he once again searched the room. "It's been awhile since anyone was brave enough to visit me. Stay awhile." As the voice finished its sentence Nori felt like his mind was swirling until finally his arms dropped limply besides him and his bow hit the ground.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Hildred arrived shortly afterwards, but she took a much different approach. She entered very cautiously and her footfalls were nigh silent; best case scenario she could spook Nori with her entrance, worst case she could make a sharp U turn and tell Darvan she needed a new team-mate because her last one was now a pile of entrails on the floor. She poked her head around the corner and found...an empty room. Or, well, almost empty - Nori must've passed out with excitement in the middle of the floor like an idiot. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]His body could no longer support his determination to piss off everyone else and he's dead,[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] mused Hildred, stifling a giggle at the thought.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Hildred nearly bolted it back up the ramp and out of the gate again when a soothing voice spoke right into her brain, skipping the whole 'ears' business entirely. "Another one?" it - she - asked curiously. Hildred thought fast.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] "I am here to rescue the princess!"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] she announced gallantly, puffing her chest out and crossing the threshold into the room. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"I have located the princess,"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] she added, gesturing to Nori. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"So, uh, it was nice meeting you and I'll just-...grab that-...y-yeah,"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Hildred carefully approached Nori's unconscious body and wrapped her arms around it. As she hefted the lad up into her skinny arms with a grunt and thanked every deity out there that he was just as light as she thought he would be, the voice spoke again.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Going so soon, though? Don't you want to be with your friend?" Hildred gulped as the world started to spin dangerously. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Wouldn't call him a friend-..."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] she stammered, stumbling a little. For some reason, Nori had become much heavier. "Stay, wait around…" crooned the voice and Hildred fell to her knees. She felt dizzy, her legs just stopped working. She tried to say something witty but all that came out was an incoherent gargle as she dropped Nori. The last thing she saw was the gate closing as she tipped forward and landed on top of her partner, the darkness rushing in.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]When Nori awoke he was in a very familiar room. There were many people he hadn't seen in years, the highest of Nobles, the richest of merchants, and a handful of the Royal family. The mood had quickly changed as soon as everyone saw him, "There's nothing left here, lets leave." Nori's heart felt like it was tightening. His hand found his chest but no matter how he squeezed he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling. "Hurry, we can't be caught here. It'll hurt our reputation." "To think the Lightseer's would stoop to such a level." This was a seen Nori knew all too well. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"W-wait."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] his voice was nothing more than a whisper. When this had first happened he didn't know why everyone was giving him dirty looks, why everyone was leaving. His first thoughts had been, what was his party missing? But reliving this moment he knew all too well what was happening, and it only hurt more. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"P-please, don't go. I didn't lie."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] He stood from his seat, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Wait!"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] His voice resonated within the banquet hall. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"I may have lost my magic, but I still have my character!"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] He announced. Some stopped and turned to the pitiful being fighting a hopeless fight, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"I still have my strength, my body, my wit! I'm not to be pitied, there's no need to leave!"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Hildred had no previous experience with magic. She never meddled with that part of the world because she was almost certainly at the bottom of the food-chain when it came to anything that wasn't...well, normal. It was not surprising, therefore, that when she passed out and woke up in another room she simply assumed she dreamt she was sent up to the palace on a grand adventure with a bunch of random people. She was now following the looming silhouettes of her parents out of a banquet, still feeling a bit woozy. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"What-...what are we doing?"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] she asked uncertainly, but her parents ignored her. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Mother, where are we?...Mum? Mummy? Moo-mah?" [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]The nicknames were completely ignored - she was completely ignored. Something was not right so she turned around at the sound of Nori's voice.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Nori's eyes wondered over the people, most were still leaving, only a few still stood near the end of the table glaring at him. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"I-"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]. Nori's voice broke as he caught Miya's eye while she was ushered out of the door, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"T-the foods still good! The drink is flowing! It would be a shame to leave all this food to go to waist!"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] No matter what tactics he used more and more people continued to leave, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Please, just dine at my table."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Nori whispered halfheartedly to himself as he fell back down to his seat. When he was younger he hadn't been able to move under all the condescending eyes. He had thought, maybe, just maybe if I called out to them would that have changed anything? Of course it didn't. There was no proof... proof![/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Nori quickly stood and grabbed the decorative bow that hung on the wall together with the arrow resting with it. The bow was not supposed to be used as a weapon but that didn't stop Nori, he drew the bow and loosed the arrow which found its target, an apple stuffed in a roasted pig's mouth. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Look, I'll become one of the legendary bows of Resthiam! I'll make Dragon Talons tales look like dirt compared to my own tales of glory!" [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Even though he showed his skill, still no one paid him any mind. They continued to quickly break away from the banquet hall. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Hildred was hidden at the back, and she used the crowd to slip behind one of the ornate decorations and keep out of sight. What she saw was nothing short of heart-breaking; Nori struggled pathetically to keep a hold of the disinterested audience and he was slowly left on his own. With a start, Hildred realised that she was watching one of Nori's worst moments; this must've been the moment he became famous as the failed Lightseer mage. She had been there but she did not remember it too well, and now she was revisiting it. The question was how - but every time Hildred tried to figure it out she felt like she was trying to remember a dream. Details were slipping from her mind...all she could do was focus on the here and now.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]And the here and now was painful. Really painful. There was the man Hildred thought was so arrogantly set on his course to outshine everyone and prove himself, his voice breaking, desperately trying to maintain the attention of an audience he could never redeem himself to. His hands were shaking, he was frantic, she could see Nori's chest heaving and his jerky movements all betrayed signs of fear. He was terrified - it was unlikely that he could face this moment again. Hildred glanced back at the exit thoughtfully….she could just leave him there.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]But she knew she couldn't. Hildred knew the feeling all too well, and being hard on your luck was a bitter ache that she learnt to live with, but apparently Nori needed a gentle push in the right direction.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Noir had given up, he fell back into his seat and watched the events of his fifth birthday party unfold before his eyes just as they did so many years before. He had tried several different things, his tiny hands dropped the decorative bow and he bit his lip, was there no redeeming himself? No, there must be something, maybe not now, but in the future perhaps? It's not like what happened that day was his fault either but magic doesn't just suddenly get up and leave… where did it go?[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]She practically materialised from thin air by skipping out of her hiding space, grabbing the arrow shaft with the apple and collapsing into a chair in one deft movement. Two thuds later, and Hildred's boots were on the table, her chair tilting back a little and the ornate bottle of summer wine that was unfortunately in the way spilling all over the table. Hildred took a bite out of her apple and watched Nori carefully - because she did what everyone else didn't. She stayed behind when she could have left.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Fame's a terrible thing when you get it," [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]she finally remarked, crunching a bit of her apple. Her bright blue eyes bored into Nori's; there were no theatrical performances, no gesticulation, just plain-speaking. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Take it from me, I'm one of the most famous people in Resthiam and it's not all smooth sailing. So I wouldn't bother with your 'Legendary bow' dream."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Hildred leant forward and grabbed the half-empty bottle of wine.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] "It's time we had a talk,"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] she decided firmly.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Nori hadn't noticed Hildred nearing the table, nor did he see her grab the flimsy arrow stuck in an apple, nor did he even notice her sit down right before him. Only after her feet hit the table was Nori pulled out of his swirling depressive thoughts and excuses. His eyes fell on the mini-Hildred (who looked rather peculiar, yet somehow he recognizable, despite the obvious age difference). 'I wouldn't say you're famous, maybe infamous, but not famous. Being loved and hated are two different things. And what do you mean Legendary Bow whatever? Receiving that title is one of the greatest honors of any archer!' Nori thought to himself but found it hard to open his mouth. After being ignored by so many people it was hard to find meaning in his words anyhow.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Now, I don't know what's got your knickers in a twist; I've seen you twice in my life, and you've only spoken to me once, and even then that was just a rude little comment."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Hildred didn't pretend to be hurt. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"You kept entirely to yourself, said nothing, stormed off to the gate without waiting for your team-mate and managed to get yourself into this mess. And it looks like you're having a tough time getting abandoned?[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]" The thief leaned back, frowning. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"No wonder you're so worried about being on your own, you're not making this easy on us. Hell, I don't blame 'em - I'd abandon you if I didn't know any better. Tell me, Nori, did you run ahead because you were excited to get the test underway or because you didn't want to work with me? Actually, let's not mess around, we both know the answer."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Nori listened as Hildred continued to go on and on about how he was going it all wrong, how he was making it difficult for people to like him and about how he forces everyone around him away. Well, being honest, Hildred was much better at making enemies than making friends so she shouldn't be one to talk but she did have a point, although he wasn't always like this, it was certainly true he was pushing people away now… However! It wasn't like he didn't have any friends. He had a few… well one… although perhaps her friendship was out of pity rather than anything else… but it's not like friends were a requirement. For all he knew they could just be a hindrance. Friendships were troublesome...[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Hildred sighed, pulling the apple off the arrow and prodding the tip with her finger. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"You're so dead-set on proving yourself as a Lightseer that you forgot to focus on the Nori bit. Now you've got no friends and you're flinging yourself into dangerous tests on your own. Ever stopped to think about yourself instead of what your parents think of you? At all? Ever?" [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Hildred rubbed at her face. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"I'm a Harlow, Nori. Don't sit there and mope about how I can never understand the burden of living up to a name, because I can tell you right now that we're in the same boat...it's just your end that's sinking because you keep trying to make it into a battleship without plugging the holes."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Hildred leapt up to her feet and then onto the banquet table, kicking aside meals and drinks - mainly because she could - until she was right in front of Nori. She crouched down so she was face-to-face with the understandably shocked boy, grinning. She held her hand out. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Hi, I'm Hildred Harlow. Thief and assassin extraordinaire. The Harlow Harlot. Hildy. Hilly. H.H. Pleased to meet you at least, Nori, I hope we become the best of friends."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Wait! What did she care? He could throw himself into any dangerous test he wanted, run after any fleeting dream out there, even get himself killed and it wouldn't affect her at all… don't tell me even the cold hearted assassin is pitying me now… Nori frowned. To think he'd fallen into such a state that even an assassin and thief would pity him.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Despite being completely thrown off by Hildreds appearance and words he still managed to reach out his hand and grasp hers. Nori's eyebrows raised, he hadn't expected her hand to be warm and soft. If anything he would have imagined them to be cold, hard, and rough. Something on the inside had always wanted friends and in a brief moment of weakness he had caved but he wouldn't let that moment control the situation. Swiftly he dropped her hand and stumbled backwards, knocking his chair over as he attempted to gain some footing. Hildred watched him, hawklike and crouched on the table. She tensed up a little.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"You don't understand the first thing about me. I'm not living up to a name, I'm trying to save a dying one. The difference in like night and day, the pressure of one is like sitting at the bottom of a pond, while the other is at the bottom of an ocean. You can get almost anything you want, I can't even get my own father to look at me! You're known around the world for things you've done, I'm known for thing's I could never do!"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Nori threw his arm out to the side simply to blow off steam, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Look at this scene! An empty banquet hall, I'm five! Five! This is what I've been living under since I was five! This is my cursed isolation."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Hildred personally wasn't quite sure how to take it. She never had someone open up like this before her. She flashed a smile, a sad one...who was he to claim he alone knew about that feeling? Hildred stood up on the table and loomed over him, hands on her hips. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Well, I don't know about you, but...uh, well, I-..."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Hildred paused uncertainly. She felt like a giant up there and when she looked down...well, she never took into account the fact she was so gosh-darn small. She sat on the table and tried to find a way to lower herself, leg wiggling in the empty air for a few minutes - [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Not one word, kiddo"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] - before managing to locate the chair and slip down from the tabletop onto the floor . [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Felt weird up there. Listen, Nori. I just told you we're in the same boat. Okay, maybe you don't believe me yet - but wait until we get out of the castle walls. You'll see some pretty interesting stuff. But for now, please…"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Hildred placed a hand gently on Nori's shoulder, her expression showing concern, her eyes just as unreadable as ever. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"...Trust me?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Nori's arms crossed as the miniature Hildred stood up on the table, even she looked down on him, not that it was anything he wasn't used too. He'd continue to stand tall and let her know he wasn't backing down. After all, no matter what she did she wouldn't be able to intimidate him with her four year old self. Much to his surprise however, she didn't stay up there. After maybe a minute of fumbling around at the edge of the table she finally managed to find a safe root to the floor. All the tension between them had disappeared and a smile even made it to Nori's face as he huffed in amusement but the mood quickly swayed back as she rested a hand on his shoulder. Trust? Trust her? … [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"F-fine. For now…"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Hildred sighed, standing up. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"You'd think I would get used to people being difficult...I guess I don't really have the patieeeeooowoah,"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Hildred groaned as she suddenly keeled sideways, falling off the table and grabbing the chair for support. Everything was swimming in and out of vision. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"N-nori? I don't...I don't feel too…"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] she murmured, feeling her grip loosen. She was out before she hit the ground.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Just as Nori thought they were done Hildred suddenly grabbed her head and fell to a knee while complaining about not feeling well. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Wait. What? Uh."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Nori took a step closer, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Did… did you drink some of the alcohol. You're four, you probably don't have much of a resistance to it at your age, I'll go get you so-som-some water."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Nori's body felt weak and before long he was also on the ground as well.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Hildred woke up in a cell. Again, her inexperienced mind filled in the gaps since she couldn't begin to understand the complexities of the magic, so she simply assumed she had been jailed for something...stole something, somewhere, who knew? Hildred felt like a wreck, though. She was having weird dreams - the Dragon's Talon, and banquets, arrows and apples, princes and ladies and the Queen herself? At long last, Hildred was in her element. She strolled to the bars on the window. "Planning an escape, are we?" someone said behind her.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Hildred glanced over her shoulder at the royal guard by the door. Hildred mockingly pressed a hand to her chest. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Never, officer. I'd never escape,"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] she gasped in fake outrage.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] "What do you take me for, a criminal?"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] The guard started to unlock the door and Hildred's eyes flickered to the group of guards standing by. She felt a knot of anxiety in her stomach. "We've heard about your antics, miss Harlow...and we're gonna make sure you never see the light of day." The guard opened the door and stepped inside. Hildred reached for a knife that wasn't there. Her throat went dry. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Heh, really now? I'd like to see you try - where's your proof?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"But we don't need proof, miss Harlow," replied the guard silkily. Hildred stammered [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"B-but I'm innocent. What are my charges? I have witnesses. I can pay my bail."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] The guards weren't listening - more and more of them were entering the cell. Hildred pressed herself against the wall. "This isn't about the law, this is about justice. You've been allowed to run rampant for too long...it's time someone taught you a lesson."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Nori woke up and found himself in the dungeon located in the nobel section of the Royal Capital. He had been here a few times for various reasons, normally training or turning in a bounty but he had never slept here before… Slowly Nori slipped himself out of a guards cot and stretched his arms before hearing a rather familiar voice sternly arguing with a guard. He slowly made his way out the guards quarters to see a group of maybe seven guards all standing around a cell. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"What, did the thief finally get herself caught?"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] He mumbled grabbing his gear from the wall not minding the abnormally large amount of guards standing around Hildred… after all this was Hildred they were talking about.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Hildred yelped as the guard sent the back of his hand into her face, the red print already starting to form. Realisation struck her as sharply as the blow did. She was going to be beaten, and it'll hurt all the more due to the fact she knew, with unwavering certainty, that she was innocent - and she wouldn't stop crying out that she was. A set of knuckles smashed into her nose and she felt the snap and the flood of blood into her mouth, causing her to cough and sputter. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Please! I'm innocent - stop this!"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]At Hildreds yelp Nori's eyes jolted to the cell. He stood still, still not understanding what was happening, until Hildred started crying out. Nori quickly moved, bow in hand, and jumped on a bench across from Hildreds cell. Finally Nori knew, without a shadow of a doubt, what was happening. The guards were beyond anger with her and she was about to be unlawfully beaten. Knowing the strength of some of these guards, Hildred might not even survive.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Without a hint of hesitation Nori drew a specialized arrow and gave a shout, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Stop!"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Of course the guards, blinded by their rage, ignored him and continued to slowly encircle Hildred while randomly swinging their fists just to torment Hildred before the actual beating began. Nori's fingers relaxed and a whistling arrow soared into the chief guards hand causing his freshly drawn baton to go flying. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Aren't you ashamed to call yourself the chief of the guards?! You are the face of justice in this district. Children look up to you, the citizens adore you, everyone can feel safe knowing you're protecting them, yet this is how you treat an unarmed prisoner?!"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] Nori was pissed, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"I don't care who they are or how much evidence you have against them, all of them go through the justice system and no matter what floggings are prohibited under the Queen's rule! By doing this you are directly insulting her royal highness!"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] The chief was obviously angry at first, his hands balled as his mind rapidly searched for some kind of reply to justify his actions but soon his hands relaxed. There was nothing he could do in this situation. "She was resisting, perhaps I got a little too upset. I apologize for my unsightly behavior." Quickly the guards dispersed leaving just him and Hildred.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Hildred said absolutely nothing, she lurched forward and hugged Nori tightly, shaking from head to toe, too shocked and scared to even bother crying. She had a bruise on her face and the bloodied nose left red drops on her upper lip. She remained gripping onto him for a long time until, slowly, carefully she started to calm down. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"E-every day," [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]she stumbled over her words, her usual fluency beaten from her. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Every day, every second, every time a guard walks past. Every time. I get so scared." [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]She sniffed loudly, her voice cracking. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Th-ank you…"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Honestly, Nori had little sympathy for the girl. She was afraid of the guards because of what she had done not because the guards were untrustworthy or corrupt. Still, he couldn't leave a battered bloody girl unguarded. For now he would let Hildred cling to him… even if that also meant she'd bleed on him. After a long pause Nori finally spoke up, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"If you stick with me you won't be beaten unfairly… but don't think I'll let you get away with anymore heinous crimes."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent] For the time being they were stuck together anyways, he might as well help her feel at ease, if only in the slightest. He loosely wrapped an arm around her, "Don't do anything stupid and you won't have to worry." Nori suddenly started to feel dizzy. He moved his hand from Hildreds back to his forehead and struggled to stay conscious. If he went out now both of them would end up on the floor. *thud*[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Hildred woke up first, realising she was sprawled on top of Nori. For a moment or two she remained there trying to figure out why everything stopped hurting. Was she dead? The thief kneaded her eyes with her knuckles...she felt sick with fear, the remainders of that nightmare only far too vivid in her mind. With a shudder, Hildred realised that she probably just experienced the so-called test that she was meant to be taking. Her gaze focused on her new pillow Nori as she gingerly poked him in the chest. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Did-...did we win?" [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]she asked woozily...clearly she was entirely unused to the psychological attack, and it left her feeling weak and nauseous. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Nori groans as the pressure on his stomach shifts and his stiffness becomes apparent, [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]"Hildred, get off me."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Wuz...wuzzat the test?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Yes, get off me."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Nori, Nori...do me a favour. A solid. Help me out." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Do me one to-"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Tell. No-one. About what we saw in there. That's our little secret. 'Tween you and me." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Alright, but do me one too - get off me."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Hildred tried to get up - the room stopped her, the floor slid under her and everything went dark around the edges again as she crumpled back onto the floor. This time, however, she simply blacked out instead of being forced into nightmare-land, and Hildred decided to let her partner know this by releasing another pitiful moan and wiggling a little. She looked rough, weaker than before, and unable to stand without assistance.[/BCOLOR]

 

[Bitterblue]

Reserved for Caela and Eleanor! Collab will be edited in! :D

 

[Warenai hana]

One after another the pairs entered the next area. As far as anyone could tell it was just one large, dark room much like the one they first entered with no signs of an exit, other than the way they came. In the room there was only one source of light, a candle sitting on a ledge about ten feet above the floor which was very similar to the first candle. The only difference between the two was a minor color difference, it was easily assumed the candle marked how much time was left.

When the last pair entered the dark dank room a rumbling could be felt as stone ground against stone and the floor slowly started to ascend. The ceiling started to pull apart soon after letting the blinding sunlight fall upon all beneath it. They continued to slowly rise for perhaps half a minute before a booming voice drowned out everything else, "You made it! Welcome!" Although the words themselves were friendly the tone of voice was cold and threatening. "I believe I introduced myself as the Queen's pawn. I'm sorry to inform you, but the only pawn here is you bunch. All of you, sitting around just waiting to be disposed of. The Queen however, she's a bit more valuable to me. We'll call her, well the Queen." A chuckle followed, "There's no such thing as an ex-member of Dragon's Talon, once a member, always a member." Finally the rising platform stopped. The group was in a large ring that resembled a coliseum, the source of the voice could not be seen however it was apparent that Darvan was atop one of the large walls. "Let me tell you what really happened during the events of Lost Hope!" He paused and took an unheard breath, "What caused the mighty Dragons Talon to turn against the king?" Darvan's voice echoed off the walls, "I'll tell you, they were never part of Resthiam. Every single one of the original group was under the influence of Asla. That's right, Resthiam's greatest power was actually Asla's dagger!" Gates started to rise on four separate sides, "Unfortunately I can't have any of you walking around, everyone here would be a major hindrance to my plan. I'll have you die here." Half a dozen men started to walk out from each gate. After the first few exited it was obvious the men were just a rag tag team, all dressed and armed differently. Some had on peasants clothing, others wore full suits of armor, some wielded traditional weapons like swords, others had strange twisted peaces of metal, logs, or rocks.

Finally all twenty four of the men finished entering and the gates slammed shut. "These men will be your opponents. I doubt you'll survive but if you do I'll open a gate." Just as the voice stopped echoing a handful of the large group started to recklessly charge forward. At a quick glance anyone would assume these men to be untrained commoners, but eerily enough they gave off the air of trained killers.

 

[Applo]

Torgeir smiled as the last of the pairs arrived in the room. A large amount of time had passed since he and Han-Young had arrived in the room and he had begun to wonder if any of the other would make it through their trials. While he wasn't overburdened with concern for the well-being of his supposed compatriots there was no glory in being the better than people who fell at the first hurdle.

The sudden rumbling and grinding that reverberated around the room took him by surprise and it wasn't until the roof began to open, flooding the room with brilliant sunlight that he was able to see that the floor was being pushed upwards. Compared to this the mystery of Darvan's suddenly booming voice seemed rather minor and Torgeir half-heartedly listen to the old man's droning as they ascended into what appeared to be some sort of arena. Darvan's revelation about the true loyalties of the former Talons didn't bother him much, they had been the best, that was what everyone knew about them and that was all that mattered to him.

The appearance of armed men at the gateways out of the enclosure pulled him to attention, his arm acting almost by its own accord drawing his sword with surprising speed. Whatever else the old knight said was now completely lost to Torgeir as he paid all his attention on the half dozen or so men nearest to him.

Almost as soon as the charge began Torgeir's muscles uncoiled like tightly wound spring, exploding him into action. Ducking under the errant swipe of a pitch fork he sprung up forcing his blade through the man stomach, lifting the unfortunate soul off the ground in the process. A red hot flash of pain slicing across the back of his leg caused Torgeir to drop to his knees but self-preservation made him roll to the side, feeling the whisper of a sword swing where his neck would have been as he did.

Rising up out the dust Torgeir took stock of the situation, three men, one of whom was dressed in full plate armour were spreading out in a semi-circle around him. Behind them Torgeir could see his sword stick upright from the belly of the fallen man. Twice his assailants tested him with wild thrusts of their weapons and twice Torgeir leapt backwards of out the reach of the blows. On the third time he feigned a stumble and the attacker who tried to use it as a moment to strike was rewarded with a savage kick to the shins. Taking advantage of the fool's momentary distraction Torgeir was able to lock a hand around the man's sword arm before wrenching it aside and with his other hand grab the man's head, forcing it down on to his rising knee, feeling the body go limp at the moment of contact.​

 

[Bitterblue]

[dash=verydarkgrey] [fieldbox=Inara Cameri, red] [dash=white]
Inara shivered. That water had been ice cold, and dripping wet as she was didn't help to sustain her body heat. She sighed, there was no place for her to remove her armor, at least to take some of the weight off. She strayed a little, exploring their surroundings, It was kind of...Inara's thoughts cut off as there as a very large rumbling noise. Making her way back to where Aurel stood, she felt the floor begin to move, and an opening appeared above them.

You made it! Welcome!" Inara rose an eyebrow at the coldness in the chum's voice. Expected, but still colder and harsher than needed. "I believe I introduced myself as the Queen's pawn. I'm sorry to inform you, but the only pawn here is you bunch. All of you, sitting around just waiting to be disposed of. The Queen however, she's a bit more valuable to me. We'll call her, well the Queen." Inara frowned, this was...fake? Part of the test? "There's no such thing as an ex-member of Dragon's Talon, once a member, always a member." Finally the rising platform stopped. Inara looked around and saw that they were in a coliseum type arena. This couldn't be good. Inara met Aurel's eyes flashing him a concerned look as her hand rested on the hilt of her sword. "Let me tell you what really happened during the events of Lost Hope!" He paused and took an unheard breath, "What caused the mighty Dragons Talon to turn against the king?" Darvan's voice echoed off the walls, "I'll tell you, they were never part of Resthiam. Every single one of the original group was under the influence of Asla. That's right, Resthiam's greatest power was actually Asla's dagger!" Inara's eyes widened in surprise, but still...she doubted. Roran wouldn't ever...he would NEVER betray his majesty. Ever. Tears threatened to fill her eyes, and she fought them back. She couldn't afford to be distracted, sure there was going to be a fight. "Unfortunately I can't have any of you walking around, everyone here would be a major hindrance to my plan. I'll have you die here." Inara drew her sword immediately. She wasn't going to go down without a fight, and she knew she and Aurel would definitely be able to coordinate and work together to take out as many as possible. As soon as the steel was free the gates opened and a couple dozen men strode out, armed with...farm tools? Why give the trained killers, who they clearly were, farm tools instead of real weapons?

She launched into action, not waiting for them to charge. She charged the men directly in front of her, and met their pitchforks and the like with her blade. Putting her anger into every stroke. She drew her small dagger with her left hand, and fought. This was no different than defending her home from the common invaders, or so she told herself. These men were highly trained, and had almost slipped past her defenses several times. She danced a deadly game with the three men attacking her. She felt a slicing pain on her left arm as a pitchfork tine punctured her skin. Barely wincing, Inara started to retreat slowly until she was nearly back to back with Aurel again. Giving them both room enough to maneuver, Inara picked up the offensive again, and was rewarded when her blade sank into the man's throat. Yanking her sword out she twirled to block a blow she sensed was coming. She was able to raise her blade in time to block the blow, but she had to let herself fall in order not to impale herself upon another attackers sword. Rolling backwards, she landed back on her feet and spun with her blade out, a look of pure concentration and determination upon her face (and looking quite beautiful) as her blades felled two more of the soldiers. She caught Aurel's eye again, but only for an instant before another man charged her with metal tool. She started again, hoping the others were doing well. [/dash][/fieldbox][/dash]

 

[Banana-senpai]

The willowy silver figure of Han Young was the first thing Aurel saw in the clearing. His guardian was standing with the mountain warrior and both looked mostly unscathed. Formalities were immediately thrown as Aurel ran to him and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Han Young! You seem alright!"

The monk scoffed as if it was a given that he should pass the test. He had the self-assurance of a person who never failed in school. Aurel clapped him on the shoulder. "Those daily five charms you put on your hair sure work wonders," he chuckled as he turned to Inara with a small bow. "I formally introduce my guardian to you, Lady Inara." Aurel said, momentarily mixing up Resthaim and Chrysos customs. "This is Master Haeryongdo." Han Young was giving Aurel a look of disapproval for the prince's little blunder but bowed nonetheless. But both men were immediately distracted when they caught sight of Eleanor and the rest. Before they could all settle down however, the floor on which they stood shuddered and rose. Both Aurel and Han Young nearly stumbled as they were in mid-step when the platform moved upward. The sudden sunlight was blinding and Aurel had to shade his eyes to make sense of his surroundings. He was still confused when Darvan spoke from what felt like everywhere around them.

Han Young looked around and realized they were in a coliseum of sorts and as Darvan talked, Aurel's temper gradually flared again.

"Asla?!" Aurel echoed, his hands shaking. Han Young was about to zap him again but he turned. "The queen can't possibly...if what he says is true, she could be in danger."

Han Young shook his head in disagreement. If Darvan truly wanted them all dead, they would not be where they were. There was no doubt he is of Dragon's Talon, it should not have been a difficult task to kill or abduct the queen if that was his objective. And if she was involved in a plot to have the group killed, she would not gain anything from killing the prince of Chrysos, the nobles and of course, Han Young himself. That would only create dangerous enemies for the kingdom. Are they trying to start a war?

"NO!" Aurel's brows were furrowed as he drew his sword. He glanced at the rest as the crowd of armed men charged for their group. He briefly scanned their fighting stance, his thoughts running as he tried to think of a formation. Han Young didn't need to be told, he immediately went behind Aurel and Eleanor, uttering "Tuìshǎi." And he vanished in a flash of blue light, opting to stay invisible.

They weren't even given the time to assemble themselves, so it was only a matter of time until they all fell. They were greatly outnumbered and were effectively surrounded. Aurel did what he can to match the movements of Inara, covering where she was open. It didn't quite help that they were all somehow a little spent from their tasks.

"Lì!" Han Young's voice boomed all of a sudden, blasting three attackers straight to the walls. He was visible once again, and was panting hard. Aurel quickly ducked and met an attacker's blade with his own, aware of Han Young's vulnerability. He kicked the man and toppled him to another as he wheeled around, attempting to cover Han Young. The monk straightened up and shouted once more, "Fēngbào!" The men Aurel kicked were struck by a jolt of lightning, but Aurel was dueling another one already.

 

[Warenai hana]

Nori stood over the girl as she lay on the floor passed out and for a brief moment he contemplated leaving her there and moving on but finally his conscience got the better of him and he pulled her up to her feet. "Hildred, wake up, I'm not carrying you." Despite saying that Nori started moving forward letting Hildred's feet dragged behind. Nori entered the waiting area, almost everyone was already there... or perhaps they were the last ones to show up... Suddenly feeling self conscious about having a girl hanging on him in front of others Nori moved Hildred's arm from around his neck followed by a gentle push to move her off his shoulder. "Hildred, stand on your own now. The spell sickness should have worn off by now."

As soon as Nori pushed Hildred off him the floor shook, the ceiling started to open and they were slowly raise up. Darvan's booming voice echoed as he shouted taunts and declared his allegiance to Asla. Nori burned with anger. He never liked Darvan from the beginning, the two of them got along as well as fire and wine, but he put up with him because her highness seemed to favor him, but now... Nori's teeth ground together under his icy expression. If Darvan was a traitor, Nori would have no qualms with taking him out. He'd put an arrow right between that arrogant old mans eyes.

As soon as men started to enter to coliseum Nori loosed an arrow, sinking it in the thigh of one of the aggressors. Despite being pissed Nori wasn't going to act reckless, instead he stayed in the center of the ground and played a support role. Disabling, and guarding everyone's back. Although Nori didn't like to admit it, Darvan was much stronger than himself. If a fight did break out, he would need help... and who better, than those thrown into the same situation as himself?

Arrow after arrow flew from his bow, each hitting their mark. Some knocking a blade to the side, others landing in an ankle, one even sunk between the gap in one the the assailants plate armor. Nori had clearly shown his skill with his bow, but with two men closing in on him, he would soon have to draw his sword.

 

[Applo]

As Eleanor walked into the hall she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed to see all of the other of the queen's guests already waiting there. That meant that she and Caela had taken longer than any of the other pairs to finish their test. However before she could dwell on this fact she noticed Prince Aurel talking to Han-Young and after self-consciously fiddling with her hair she went to join them.

The rumbling stopped her dead in her tracks before she had made half the distance towards the prince and she felt her stomach drop slightly as the floor began the to ascend. By the time they reached the surface Eleanor was overwhelmingly confused. If Darvan really had been part of a betrayal of the crown then why did the queen trust him as her personal guard? Both her mother and farther would never have let such a man live, let alone allow him to reach such a position.

Eleanor's focus on Darvan meant that she failed to notice the groups of armed men entering the arena and was taking somewhat by surprise by their presence. Her vulnerability was short-lived and the first opponent to approach her was dispatched with a blast of ice to his feet, followed by an efficient swipe of her Halberd through his midsection.

After that Eleanor slowly backed towards where she had last seen Han-Young. She knew her friend was far from defenceless but she was going to make sure that his back was covered. A treacherous thought about the fact that this meant she was closer to Aurel was batted aside as she focused on the armoured giant in front of her. The pair were evenly matched and whilst both tested the other thoroughly neither seemed able to gain the upper hand for long.

"Lì!"

In the moment of confusion following Han-Young's spell Eleanor saw her opening and struck using the long reach of her polearm to sweep at the man's feet before hurling a bolt of ice to knock him off his feet. Using the shaft of her halberd Eleanor repeatedly hit the downed man's helmet until she was satisfied that he was unconscious before she pulled a long stiletto blade from her belt and knelt down to deliver the killing blow.
"Watch your back!"

Eleanor turned just in time to receive a heavy across her torso that sent her sprawling into the dust. For a moment the world was a turbid mess of noise and confusion and it took all her mental fortitude to force herself on to her feet. Looking at her attacker she counted her blessing that he had only been armed with a wooden club and not something edged. The voices of multiple instructors scolded her from across the years for having become so disconnected from the battle to have allowed such a man to sneak up on her let alone land a blow.

As she circled with the club man, making sure to stay out of his reach she noted how the fight was going as best she could whilst still watching her immediate foe. When the endless circling brought Eleanor close to her Halberd she went to launch a spell at the club man only to find that the spell fizzled into nothingness as it left her hands. Eleanor cursed her luck, she hadn't had a chance to refill her gourd since the test chamber and she was so parched that even this simple spell had failed. With the option of magic removed and her halberd denied to her Eleanor was suddenly very aware of her vulnerability and her mind spun wildly until she hit upon a plan that might just work.

Patiently Eleanor waited until the flow of the battle allowed her to manoeuvre herself into what she thought was a close enough distance to her halberd before launching the vicious little dagger at the man as hard as she could. Without waiting to see the outcome of her action Eleanor dived at her polearm, grabbing it in both hands before beginning an awkward roll back on to her feet. The dagger throw hadn't bought her as much time as she hoped and she barely had time to block the incoming blow with the shaft of her halberd.

After surviving the initial blow that fight quickly turned to favour Eleanor. The club man though skilful and quick was no match for years of training and a slash quickly found its target across the man mid-section causing him to scream with pain before the next blow silenced him for good.

As she caught her breath she was dismayed to see armoured giant getting back to his feet. Before they had been evenly matched but she was doubtful if she had enough energy to go a second round with the man. Regardless of this she took up her stance and once again began the dance between the two fighters.

This time the armoured giant seemed to decidedly have the upper hand, Eleanor would barely fend off one his attacks before the next one would begin. Without access to her magic she had no counter to the man's shear endurance and strength and she was beginning to consider calling out for help when suddenly, seemingly from nowhere a sword smashed into the side of the giant's helmet. While the metal didn't give to the blow the fighter inside was sufficiently dazed to allow himself to be pulled over backwards. Eleanor watched as the barbarian who earlier had joked so casually about life pulled apart the armour to make a gap through which he could thrust his sword repeatedly into the man flesh.​

 

[Applo]

The sight of his two remaining opponents would have caused dread in lesser men. For Torgeir the prospect of fighting two armed men, one of whom was clad in heavy plat armour brought genuine pleasure, his mouth contorting into an almost demented grin. Taking the sword from the unconscious man at his feet he posed in the impractical stance of a classical fighter and waited for the men to attack him. The pair however had clearly taken a lesson from their fallen comrade or at least were able to read Torgeir well enough to sense an unsprung trap and kept their distance.

Torgeir quickly grew impatient with the lack of action and after arming mocking noise at the pair launched himself at the more lightly armoured of the two. The club that sprang up in panicked defence was battered aside and Torgeir's fist whirled round like the hammer of a god, striking the man on the right side of his face, sending him spinning into the dirt. The falling of a shadow alerted Torgeir to the presence of the other man and as he went to move into a better position he felt himself being lifted of his feet by a blow across his chest. Despite the complaints from his muscles and lungs the second he landed on the floor he began to roll, dodging a blow from a mace the smacked impacted in an explosion of dust where he had been.

By the time the next bow struck the ground he was ready and he was able to grab hold of the weapon and the arm holding it and using all his strength pulled the armoured man, who was already off kilter from the strike down to the ground. The pair grappled in the dust for a while but eventually being lighter and more mobile Torgeir was to end up on top, pinning the fighter to the ground before using the mace to deliver several viscous blows to the helmet. The lightly armoured man he had punched was still in daze by the time Torgeir retrieved his own sword and was dispatched with a simple slash.

Tenderly Torgeir felt his chest where the mace had impacted, reflecting on how much worse the blow would have been if he hadn't already been moving in that direction and rebuking himself for being caught out like that. As he caught his breath he surveyed the arena and with some satisfaction saw that his "comrades" seemed to be having the best of the fighting. He watched for a while as the pale mountain girl from earlier went back and forth with a giant who like his recently down foe was clad in a heavy plate suit. It was obvious to Torgeir that the mountain girl was starting to fail, her movements were sluggish and her opponent was leading the fight.

Knowing that it was probably expected of him to help his companion Torgeir took a firm two handed grip on his sword and taking care to stay out of sight jogged behind the armoured man before swing his blade with all his might at the side of the helmet. While the blade didn't split the metal the impact caused the fighter inside to come to a juddering stop and before he could recover his senses Torgeir pulled him over backwards. With the his new foe on the floor and stunned Torgeir wasted no time in pulling at the edge of the chest plate to create a small gap through which he thrust his sword until he heard a bubbling noise emanating from the helmet. Standing up he looked at the mountain girl standing dumb struck.

"And there won't even be a charge for that one" he said before howling with laughter at what he saw as his own brilliant wit.​

 

[Warenai hana]

Nori leapt backwards as his assailants drew closer and fired off a few last second arrows, tripping one and injuring the other. Finally, however, it was time for him to draw his sword. He may not be as skilled with the blade as many of his companions, but he was still confident he could hold his own. He took a single step back before holding his sword before him. His free hand rested on his back as he folded away his arm. Sure his arm was helpful for balance but it could also quickly get in the way if he wasn't careful.

The first assailant approached him with a chain and sickle. Truthfully when considering weapons only he was at a disadvantage but that alone wasn't enough to cause him to turn tail and run. Knowing the only way he would be able to fight on fair grounds was to close the gap between the two of them, Nori chose to charge forward, which could be thought of as a bold move when considering Nori's defensive fighting style. Still, he charge forward with his sword slightly to the side. The weighted chain swung around, threatening to take Nori's sword arm with it but with a few swift moves Nori successfully avoided the first sweep and closed the gap between the two of them. Nori's sword stabbed out only to meet air as his assailant backed away in attempt to keep a distance between them. The second assailant had finally gotten back up to his feet. The large man, wielding a club which resembled a log rather than a weapon, moved between the two. Once again Nori was at a disadvantage.

Still, with the large man (who was injured with an arrow in his leg) would not be able to chase Nori down and because the chain and sickle wielder had no way of using his weighted chain and sickle at the same time (because of his injured shoulder and the large man standing between the two of them) Nori quickly backed up and drew his bow. His started to fire off arrows at a rapid place, most of which were simply blocked. Only two notable arrows broke past the large man's defense, one arrow to his other leg, and one landing in his stomach. The large man's legs could no longer support his weight and he crumbled, leaving only the chain and sickle user.

Nori, now low on arrows, switched back to his sword and started to once again close the gap between the two of them. Once again Nori ducked the weighted chain, this time instead of stabbing right away he moved even closer, now in range of the sickle, before swinging his sword. Using only one hand his opponent tossed the chain to the side while at the same time grabbing the handle of the sickle. It was done all in one smooth motion but not quick enough. Nori's second swing cut into the man's leg before his blade found its way into the chain and sickle users' chest. Successfully ending the fight on his own.

 

[Bitterblue]

[dash=red] [fieldbox=Caela, orange] [dash=yellow]

Caela exited the chamber glad to finally be done with the test, even if it wasn't first. She walked side by side with Eleanor, until she started heading towards prince pretty face, then started to head towards the thief. She stopped dead in her tracks as Darvan started talking....Shoot.

As Darvan finished, dozens upon dozens of soldiers flooded the arena carrying....tools? What the hell? Why wouldn't they arm them for real? She didn't have time to ponder this, as they started charging immediately. Drawing her daggers, Caela hurled herself head first into the fold with a battle cry. No one would kill her today! She dodged a pitchfork aimed at her, and leaped onto her opponent, slashing his throat with a quick deep strike of her blade. Rolling forward with her momentum, Caela landed on her feet looking for her next opponent what she saw though, was Eleanor struggling... her magic fizzle...and saw the brute launch in to save the day.

She moved to head towards her partner, but was met with two big ruffian's looking for a fight. Caela gripped Eithne and Necia tightly, as she entered her battle stance. While the two before her had long weapons, they were nothing she hadn't faced before...but they were trained killers. The first ruffian launched himself at her, and Caela ducked under his scythe, but was met by the second's club. Hissing slightly, Caela's eyes started to glow as her magic flowed through her veins. Speaking the trigger word, flames whipped out of her blades and wrapped around both of the brutes necks, earning bloodcurling screams. She yanked the blades downward, and forced them to their knees where she also slit their throats.

Steadily, Caela made her way towards her partner. She noticed one soldier she didn't see coming at her from behind. She wouldn't get there in time and Eleanor was in the way. "PRINCESS, DUCK!" she yelled as she hurled Necia towards the foe. As soon as the blade left her hands, the flames died, but it sunk into its target with a satisfying thunk. She fought her way with Eithne to her partner. Singlehandedly, she unhooked her flask of water and tossed it to the ice mage. She continued on to the bloke she'd thrown Necia at and yanked it free. Flames engulfed the blade once more, and she whirled into action once more, slaying whomever had the misfortune to get in her way.[/dash][/fieldbox][/dash]

 

[Applo]

"PRINCESS, DUCK!"

The hairs on the back of Eleanor's neck stood on end as she felt the blade fly past her. She was equally shocked on hearing the dagger bury itself into something and turning round to find a man on his knees staring at the handle emerging from his chest. Parts of her mind screamed for her to pay attention to the battle but the man in front of Eleanor held her attention until Caela's flask landed at her feet.

Looking up Eleanor met her partner's eyes and was shocked by the raw power that cascaded off Caela. Where before those eyes had been filled with contempt or boredom now they almost glowed with energy. Eleanor continued to be transfixed by Caela for a moment more until the part of that had been screaming her to pay attention was finally heard. Quickly Eleanor reached down for the flask and after looking around to make sure there was no one else sneaking up on her she prized off the stopper and began to pour the precious liquid into her mouth.

Almost immediately she began to feel better, the cracked skin on her lips began to feel supple and Eleanor was almost sure she could feel the water travelling down the back of her throat and into her stomach. She only stopped drinking when she could no longer resist the need to breathe by which time the flask was far more than three quarters empty. Whilst forcing the stopper back into the neck of the bottle Eleanor surveyed the battlefield with renewed vigour and was slightly ashamed to note that everyone but her was fighting for their lives. That would have to change although there was one more thing she needed to do first. Conjuring the first spell that came to mind she smiled when she saw the pool of blood at her feet ice over.

Moving with confidence now Eleanor re-joined the fray, starting by dispatching a fighter that Aurel had just knocked to floor before joining in the general melee. At some point the tides of the battle took her near the Harlow girl and Eleanor loosed a spell at the little thief's opponent, incapacitating the man. Eleanor didn't wait around to see what Hildred did with the opportunity although given the reputation that preceded the girl Eleanor's imagination provided a few ideas that we are cruel as they were deadly.

Eventually Eleanor found herself back near the barbarian as he tackled one of the few fighter that was of a similar size as him. As the two brutes tussled Eleanor bided her time until she saw the opening she had been waiting for and launched a spell at the ground under the feet of the of Torgeir's foe. The sliver of ice on the ground caused the man to slip and gave Torgeir all the opening he needed to land several hard punches. When Torgier stood up again Eleanor held out the shaft of her halberd, an offer that the grinning barbarian understood.

It was almost offensive to Eleanor how easily Torgeir handled the Halberd, she had had years of training with some of the finest tutors and yet somehow this barbarian looked far more proficient than her as he dealt the killing blow. When Torgeir handed her back the Halberd Eleanor was tempted for a moment to make a jibe about it being payment but decided that it would sound too forced. Maybe the Queen had known what she was doing when she picked this group.​

 

[Warenai hana]

After such a hard fought fight against two clearly skilled opponents Nori had sweat glistening his forehead and while he was tempted to remove his cloak he thought better of it. No point in exposing bare skin around unknown enemies. Swiftly Nori scanned his surroundings and found that half of the arena had been cleared of hostiles... well all but one. A single man still stood, bent over with his head resting on his knee's hugging himself. It looked like the man had lost all will to fight but for some unknown reason Nori couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about him. The feeling continued to grow to the point where he couldn't just let the man be. Normally Nori would never attack an unarmed opponent unless a life was at stake... Never the less Nori drew his bow and loosed an arrow destined for the cowering mans head. To his surprise his target managed to dodge the arrow at the last second.

The man started to drift sideways on all fours before finally standing up. A smile grew on his face as he pretended to draw a bow. Given the circumstances Nori thought the man was simply trying to taunt him but as the imaginary bow was released an overwhelming feeling of danger fell upon him, enough to make Nori attempt to dodge. Unfortunately he was too late. His right shoulder was hit by something sharp with enough impact to twist his body. Nori instinctively went to break the arrows shaft only to grope air. Without wasting time Nori began to move without taking the time to look at his wound. It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened, whoever that man was, had some sort of strange magic. Certainly he was much more dangerous than anyone he had fought so far.

Nori only had two arrows left, he couldn't start a long drawn out archery fight with this... mimic, he couldn't let the mimic waist magic by dodging arrows because there were too many uncertain factors, how much magic power does that even use? How strong of a magic user was his opponent? Even if he managed to dodge the arrows what if a stray one happens to hit the others? Nori bit his lip hard, as much as he wanted to do this by himself, he wasn't going to put someone else's well being at risk. "Master Haeryongdo." Nori gasped out barely dodging another unseen arrow, an act Nori was pretty sure, out of everyone present, only he would be able to do repeatedly. After all he had to judge the arrows trajectory based solely on hand movements, a task that even a master archer would find hard to do at first. "Would you help me." He managed to swallow his pride and ask for assistance. "My opponent is using magic I'm unfamiliar with and my quiver is practically empty." Han Young, who was obviously worn out already, wasn't in any condition to help him, but Nori wasn't comfortable asking anyone else for help. "Just get me close. That's all I ask." If he was close the mimic would change his fighting style, therefor he would only be putting his own life on the line.

 

[Banana-senpai]

Losing all sense of having a strategy, Aurel let his anger get the best of him. He noticed that Han-Young was at his limit and the rest of them were winding down. The possibility of them dying was too real despite being utterly confusing to think about. But Aurel was done thinking. Darvan's treacherous words had filled him with vicious hate.

He picked up a sword from a corpse near his feet but his opponent was not even going to give him that break. Aurel had seen him coming so he ducked out of the way and swiped his sword straight from the hip to the head. It happened so fast it looked like the opponent simply collapsed while spraying blood.

The next one who charged to him aimed low. Aurel jumped and spun away, his armor clattering heavily on the floor. Unable to get up fast, he swung his arm and let the other sword fly from his grip, slicing past his opponent's side cleanly and stopping him for the quick second it took for Aurel to get up. The opponent wasn't through and he charged on, meeting Aurel's sword wherever it swooped in. The prince was by no means the fastest nor the most powerful but he was far from exhausted, putting distance between himself and the combatant by running off tauntingly, waiting to be chased but only to sneak in another dangerously close swipe. Once he showed the slightest hint of slowing down, Aurel suddenly charged without sparing the opponent a moment to be surprised. He fell and his head rolled away as Aurel's lips curled.

He didn't pause there, leaping over to ram his shoulder on another of the armed men who was going after Han-Young. The priest had already opened his mouth to use his magic. "Save it!" Aurel yelled as he finished off the attacker.

Nori's voice made both Aurel and Han-Young turn. "Don't!" Aurel commanded, dashing in and intercepting the mimic's newest attack, immediately getting shocked at the near miss. He didn't see an arrow, but he felt something sharp graze his cheek, dangerously close to his eye. He blurted a curse in his mother tongue, utterly stunned at the close call. He's always been uncomfortable around magic and magic users, only getting used to Han-Young's tame healing spells and other helpful charms. But he heard Nori and was dead set on keeping the mimic on him.

The priest on the other hand, had other plans. "All of you, crouch." He spoke it with a normal tone but his voice boomed loud enough to echo like Darvan's. He knew he was completely going to empty his reserves but he trusted Aurel to know what to do. He took out a chunky black crystal necklace and slipped on a turquoise ring.

With a hand raised high, he shouted, "chāojí fēngbào!"

Dark clouds formed over them, not too far overhead. In the shadow of the storm clouds, Han-Young's eyes and hair became jet black. Before anyone could make sense of it all, a bright flash of light blinded the Queen's chosen group and when it cleared they realized that their opponents were simultaneously struck by lightning. As quick as it happened, the clouds faded and Han-Young collapsed.

Only three opponents remained on their feet, the mimic and two others just as ominous.