The Tournament

[ScarletNova]

Rane sat on the stone side of a water fountain in the middle of town. It was the town that the festival of magic is always held at. It was it's opening day. Rane thought it would be best for her team and her to get to know each other before the tournament actually started. They need to get to know each other, learn their abilities, what they each are good at and bad at.

She felt confident at that moment and sightly excited to finally meet the strangers she had written to. Most would have though it would be strange to create a team of people you didn't even know but she felt they would be alright. After all she picked the ones that seemed strong enough. She looked around hoping they would be ready for anything they would get into. She had told them all to meet her there at a specific time. It was almost that time.

 

[Falcon]

Wolf was a bit early. He was always early. It gave one time to get the lay of the land observe any hidden trick or traps that would be laid down by the enemy. Not that there would be any of that here in town, but in the wide open guarding caravans from brigands, one never knew for sure. Still, he wanted a look at this person who had written to him and invited him to be on their team for the tournament. it was strange that. Writing to strangers for a team. most people teamed up with allies, friends, siblings, or at least people they knew. Wolf had to wonder if a group of strangers could even pull it off. Oh well, he smiled to himself, the challenge would be what made the whole thing worthwhile.

Wolf scanned the area and found the fountain in question. A lone girl was seated on the edge. She looked nice enough, the question now was was she strong enough. Tugging his scarf slightly to make sure the navy blue materiel was still wrapped snugly around his neck Wolf strode forwards to stand directly in front of her.
"Are you Rane? he asked polity flashing her a confident smile. "I am Faolan, or as most like to call me, the Wolf of Snowden. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

 

[ScarletNova]

Rane looked up at the man who just approached her. "Yes. I'm Rane." She said and then gave him a smile. "Faolan, you must be one of my new teammates. All we have to do right now is wait for the others to show up. You're a little early so why don't you have a seat right here." She patted the stone nest to her.

 

[Kyy Namosaka]

Kyy walked around town, lost for a bit. All he could think was that its a good thing he left early. When he finally saw the fountain he spotted a girl and a guy. "Hey!" He runs up. "You must be Rane. I'm Kyysucara but I go by Kyy." He looks at the guy. "You must be on the team too. Nice to meet you both. m... what's your name?"

 

[ruff1298]

It was hard not to notice the girl merrily skipping by. With her wrists manacled together behind her back, the merry rattling of her chains, and the armed guard and the spellbreaker following close by, it'd be quite something if you missed her.

Her bat ears twitch--quite the oddity, considering the rest of her is quite human. She sees the little group at the fountain, and raises her hands in an awkward sort of wave.

Her guards stop, raise their weapons and tools, and aim at her. They don't stop till her hands are safely behind her once more.

The girl resumes her happy pace, ears twitching and eyes darting here and there to the decorations and ornaments put up for the Tournament.

 

[~Alcatraz]

Alik stood in the shadows just watching. He preferred to wait and watch rather than jump right in. The shadows seemed to slither around him, clinging to his arms and legs. People walked by him completely unaware that he was standing there. At the thought of no one noticing him his lips twitched upward before settling back into a blank expression.

Turning his attention back to where he was suppose to meet his team he saw two new people. He had been watching the girl calculating weither she was trust worthy or not. Now two others had arrived and were talking to her. Taking a step out of the shadows he walked over to the little group of people.

 

[ScarletNova]

Rin was about to say some else when she noticed a woman waving at them in the distance. Although she had chains with guards surrounding her, Rane didn't feel any malice from her. She waved back out of courtesy, most likely used to her parents upbringing. Once the lady had past it seemed another person had appeared out of no where. "Hey. I suppose you are one too." She said to the person who came out of the shadows. "We are almost all here." She then said to them with a smile. "And them we can get started. And don't ask with what, it's a surprise." She gave them all a wink.

 

[Falcon]

Wolf sat down next to Rane intending to ask her why she had chosen to form a team of strangers when several others approached. He noticed the strange woman's wave but chose to ignore it as he was far more interested in his new companions, Rane most of all. Wolf had to raise an eyebrow at her mischievous manner. It was in such contrast to her earlier ladylike wave that he couldn't help but wonder if she was more than she seemed. But he kept his smile even as he looked over the others. The boy Kyy, was a bit younger than him, with hair that seemed to have been intentionally styles to cover one eye. But he seemed friendly enough.

"Most call me Wolf." He said simply, "It's what my name, Faolan, means and for most it seems easier to remember." Wolf shrugged, "I don't mind."

It was then that another walked over too them. This new guy actually looked like the Type of man Wolf might try to be friends with. At least they had tattoos and piercings in common. But he was quite, and had obviously been watching Rane for some time. Wolf hadn't actually seen the guy watching, but it was a logical deduction judging from they guy's observant gaze and shy stance. Wolf hoped he was on their team and not a rival of some sort. This person looked like they knew how to do some damage.

 

[SaejiFine]

Arriving in town only earlier that day Dominic made his way towards the central area where the letter had told them to meet, his families ornate rapier at his waist. He wore a suit and tie preferring to look his best as any young member of nobility. To him it was not just a matter of when you arrived to the party but how you arrived and he wanted to look his best. Send a good message that he wasn't some commoner that she'd sent word to. Sighting up ahead what must have been the gathering of people he pushed his glasses up by the nose piece with a single finger.

After his vision and he had walked a little closer he realized how beautiful the one in the center was. Stepping to the side as two guards passed him, each surrounding a small girl who was in chains. A look of slight annoyance crossed his face as he had to move out of the way. The look of the guard didn't help much. The girl in chains caught his eye however and he slowed down only a moment. She was strange, bat wings for ears? He'd never seen something like that, of course Dominic was something a freak in his family. It's just that he had no outward inclination towards his abilities. He continued walking without much thought assuming he'd never meet her again, unless they were leading her to the tournament. Stocks more than likely.

Dominic arrived precisely on time by his watch, clicked his heels once before bringing his hand to the front and across his chest in a very formal bow. "Dominic Foudre at your service, you must be Rane. It is a pleasure to meet you." He finished his bow and looked at the others that were there. A somewhat ragtag group it seemed. However his eyes kept returning to Rane, she was quite beautiful now that he was closer.

 

[ScarletNova]

Rane looked up at Dominic. A formal bow, something she was used to although she would never tell them that. "Yes. I'm Rane." She said to answer his question. "Dominic? Well then I think we have all of us here now." She gave them all a smile. She took a minute to look at the people she had chosen. It was after all the first time they have even seen each other. "Let's see. We have Wolf, Kyy, Alik and Dominic." She then said as she pointed to each one of them as she spoke their names.

She laughed a bit. "I'm sure you all feel that this is kind of strange but I feel like it will work out. Judging by the looks of you all, I think we are going to be one of the strongest teams there is. Of course, we need to get to know each other first." She paused for a moment. "We need to know what each of us are good at and even bad at. Thats the best way of making a team of random people work."

 

[~Alcatraz]

Alik gazed at all of them, his observant eyes somewhat hidden behind his black and white hair. Even as he looked at all of them he would pause on Rane longer than the others. When the guy Dominic came over and bowed so formally it was easy to tell he came from a wealthy background unlike himself. Alik made sure he stood slightly away from everyone else and stayed silently watching. While most would have jumped in and started going on about his or her ability he wanted to hear what everyone else's was before stating his own. These were all strangers to him all he knew about them were their names and nothing else. If they were to be a team they would have to work together. He just didn't know if they could or if it would all fall apart.

 

[Falcon]

"I suppose you are referring to our abilities?" Wolf questioned, "and not out personal weaknesses? Well in that case-" he stretched out a hand and moved his fingers in a swirling motion as he brought the same hand around to close in a fist beneath his free hand's open palm. There was a flash of bluish white light and the air suddenly chilled as he moved frost forming in the path his hand had taken and spider-webbing through the air so that when his two hands met he ended holding a long dagger made of pure ice.

"I'm an ice-mage," he said stating the obvious. "Given enough time and planning I can create anything. Actually given the right resources I can do anything Ice or not." he grinned at them, "I've also spend some of my time in the guard training to be a tactician so . . ." he shrugged as if it were nothing. "As for weaknesses-" he paused and looked around wondering exactly how much he should say, but they were talking abilities and not personal so he supposed it would be all right. "I'm not elegant. I don't do showy stuff, and I probably wouldn't know art if it bit me in the backside," he tempered his language a bit to favor the girl sitting next to him. He had a feeling she was used to more, appropriate, talk. "If we are supposed to be getting points on style I wouldn't count on me to much . . . if you need a finishing result quickly with the least amount of effort -"

Wolf's grin only grew wider as he surveyed the rest. he had a feeling that the newest member, the obviously rich boy, would be able to make up for what he lacked in the style department.

 

[ScarletNova]

Rane sat there quietly while watching Wolf show them what he could do. When finished she began to speak again. "An ice mage, I think that magic will come in handy." She said in reply. "Don't worry about it being showy or not, I'm sure we all have our specialties." She turned to him directly and gave him a smile. Once after she turned back to the others. "Alright, who's next?" She asked. "I won't show mine until last. I want to leave you all guessing right now."

 

[Kyy Namosaka]

Kyy nods. "I'll go. I'm a Time Mage." He looks over at a family and puts his hand up, drawing a clock. The dart they throw stops in midair for a moment before finishing its path. "I'm mostly here to test myself but I have no problems being a team player." He thinks. "My weakness would probably be Physical Magic though mages of that kind are less common."

 

[~Alcatraz]

Looking at all of them for a second Alik sighed while stepping closer towards them all. "My ability is Darkness Manipulation. I can create, control, manipulate, materialize, and summon darkness/shadows." Holding out a hand palm facing upward a small ball of darkness appeared. As he talked the darkness took on different shapes and forms. "I can create a variety of different weapons with it as well. Weaknesses...I don't work well with others, I am used to doing things on my own. But I am willing to try. I guess you could also say I have trust issues..." The darkness slithered up his arm as if it were snake, the area around him seemed slightly darker than everywhere else. His eyes trailed after the darkness as it made its way up his arm.

"From my time of living on the streets I have picked up a few things along the way. I am good at hand to hand combat and using weapons. I can also pick almost any lock out there and am able to sneak around going unseen thanks to my ability." Lifting his eyes to stare at everyone else he let the darkness slowly fade away. Once he was done talking he took a step back, away from the group of people.

 

[ScarletNova]

"Great." Rane began to say after his performance. "Two other abilities that will be a great help. I wouldn't worry about the whole team thing, there are times when we don't have to work as one. There are one on one battles." She said to Alik. "And what about you?" She then asked Dominic. "What can you do?"

 

[SaejiFine]

To say that Dominic was impressed by the show of power in these few people would be a bit of an understatement. Father had told him about all of the many magic users which he'd seen, worked with, or even fought with. However Dominic had rarely left his home or countryside for very long and to see the show of power around him... it suddenly made him feel less like a freak. Some mistake which had just so happened to make it's way into the Foudre family. His father had always called it a blessing from the gods watching over his family but Dominic just saw himself as a little different.

Despite how impressed he was by the show of power Dominic did not show it, did not let it phase him on the outside. Now Rane had looked at him to see what he could do, "Of course," Seeing what he needed in the distance he smiled politely. In a blink of an eye he'd crossed the square to a fruit vendor, paying for a single apple he then seemed to blink back into place with the rest of his "team". Holding the apple at arms length he tossed it into the air. Drawing his rapier he spoke as he watched the apple float for a moment and then fall back down. "My family says that I have been blessed..." with precision and grace he seemed only to make one movement and then he caught the apple on the tip of his thing blade. As his sword touched it, the apple fell into six pieces on the ground. "I am an accomplished swordsman, and..." He held his open hand out as his eyes began to crackle with electrical energy. Channeling it along his arm it formed a ball in his hand. It crackled brightly as he held it for all of them to see. "I can form and control lightning."

Letting it fizzle out he looked around them, "But I must confess I have never been in actual combat before, just training with various people. Don't underestimate me however." He quickly added hoping that they didn't feel he was the weakest link in the chain. Sheathing his blade with the same elegance he'd cut the apple he turned to Rane, "That leaves you madam, show us this power you've kept secret."

 

[Falcon]

Wolf whistled, "Control lightning you say," his calculating eyes flicked around the group taking in their abilities and forming battle scenarios though nothing had even started.
"If I were to say, create a lighting rod out of ice," he asked Dominic, "you could then jump a bolt between yourself and it striking down everything in between?"

If the answer to that was yes then Wolf could easily see how just two two of them could take out a number of opponents. Kyy's ability to slow time could easily make the different in a number of scenarios, and then there was The guy who used shadows and the potential for than guy to get behind enemy lines. Yes, they would be a good team.

Come to think of it, Wolf realized, Shadow guy still hadn't offered up his name. Wolf was about to ask when he realized doing so would interrupt Rane. Oh well, he could always ask later.

 

[ScarletNova]

Rane laughed. "You all have such great power." She said. "Hmm..well I have to admit I'm a little like you Dominic when it comes to weakness. I have never been in a fight, not even once in my lifetime. But don't think I don't know how to!" She paused for a dramatic effect. "As for my power." She thought a moment on how to show them. She raised her body up off of the water fountain ledge. She pulled out her arms gracefully, separating her fingers a bit. She made a quick smile. "This is what I can do." She said, suddenly all the objects around them began to levitate. She moved her fingers a bit, making the objects move around a bit in the air. She then gracefully set a few of them down, keeping others still in the air. She then had them come closer to her. She moved her hand around, her palm facing up and let one of the objects hover over it. It then sat down onto her hand. The rest she moved into their original spot. In her hand however was a small stuffed bear.

"I have telekinesis." She said. She then lifted the bear again and gave it to a child nearby. She slipped out some money of her pocket, without moving and let it float over to the shop that she had taken the bear. She put it in the owners hands and gave him a smile. When she was finished she sat back down on the ledge nest to Wolf.

 

[Kyy Namosaka]

Kyy watched his teammates as they showed their powers. Just like Wolf, he too was already thinking strategy. He smirked at the lightning rod idea, thinking it to be brilliant. He was kind of jealous of his wits. He may have been a good tactician but Wolf was a genius in his eyes. And Dominic kind of reminded him of someone he used to know. Alik was different though. All he had to compare him to was himself, the real Kyy, not the face he put on.