Those Who Beat The Flames (IC) (Closed)

Xenia has only caught part of Shena's words as she approached the ruckus and the rumbles of destruction up ahead filled her ears. For a moment she could have swore she saw the trees moving about, but how many people could possibly be fighting to get such a commotion from the giant sturdy trees? Positive that it was just her imagination, Xenia turned to answer the girl when in the corner of her eye she saw it. She wasn't insane.

The trees were swinging their mighty branches like a human would their arms. It was horrifying and majestic at the same time, but then it sunk in what she was seeing. Nature around her was attacking; fighting. It seemed like someone found a new person to pick on.

"I take it back." She said quickly, moving backward slowly as if a giant beast was approaching her before spinning on her heel and facing Shena once more. "Remember when I said earlier there was a very annoyed wood elf wandering around a little deeper into the mountain?"

She jerked a thumb over her shoulder, a motion that said clear as day 'That would be it.'

"Yeah, he's not going to be happy with two more intruders here."

And with that, her legs kicked into gear, jogging out of the trees she had waded in and back close to the dirt road that lead to town. Whoever that poor sucker was in there was as good as dead. She didn't stop once she hit the dirt road, the noises of that battle still rung in her ears and she kept moving.
 
Shena couldn't help but grin as she turned the mule to follow after her. She didn't even need to push him. The mule was more than happy to move down the wounded path at a brisk trot, and seemed almost frustrated that the stupid human in front of him was not faster. An angry wood elf, she had said. The idea was novel to her. She'd seen wood elves before, and yes, they generally seemed annoyed, but none had really even done so much as point a weapon at her (though one did throw twigs). She remembered thinking of them as cat-like in the way that they sat high up and hissed at passersby.

"I've met wood elves before," she called from the saddle, when they were a little farther, and both their paces had slowed down. "They usually leave you alone after you go away. I didn't even know they were capable of something like that!"
 
Thaniel moved fluidly as he fought, feeling empowered by the way the trees moved with him. Sometimes, the plant-life wasn't cooperative, and would refuse to listen to him. Everything seemed to be going fine: Thaniel would deliver a couple slashes and the human would return in kind, but no one would gain the upper hand.

Then, Thaniel made a misstep, and left himself wide open for the human. Just as it seemed that he would be slain, he felt a surge of energy course through him, and was able to duck out of the way just in time. As the human recovered, Thaniel willed a nearby bush to position itself behind the human.

Thaniel then began to push forward, backing the human against the bush, aiming to make him trip.
 
Vallus followed through with his swing, the white-gold reflecting the shades of wooded green. It pained him to spill blood on a blade of Atmos, but she would understand it had to be done. Just as Vallus expected the blade to be coated with red, he widens his eyes in surprise to see the wood elf dodge his swing with incredible reflexes, and the quick dodge caused the metal heel of Vallus' boot to uselessly spin in the dirt; the metal swinging through the air as the missed strike left Vallus on one knee, and out of position.
"Impossible...!" He mutters to himself in awe as he stands on one leg, the sword weakly at his side from the missed swing. He was facing away from the wood elf, and now he was grounded - the combat statistics were clear that Vallus was in a disadvantage. How had he managed to move so fast? Was he a magician? Or perhaps worshipped a God too?

Before Vallus could recover, he could here the scrunching of green leaves behind him, as if a plant were to come to life behind him. His heavy armour clanks against the floor, and although he was blessed with speed from an unknown source, he still didn't have the reactions to stop himself from tripping to his knees, dropping his sword as it rattled against the floor, and the heavy clank of his leg plates hitting against the floor caused his knees to painfully bruise against the ground. He had been exhausted, in an unknown domain and in a place where the sky wasn't atop him. If it weren't for those mishaps, Vallus supposed in his mind things would be different. But for now, he knew he was foolish to enter this fight - it was just the murderer that had led him onto these grounds.

Unable to reach for his sword, Vallus defeatedly lays on his knees on the forested floor.
"Atmos... sister... I have failed you both. It appears justice will not be served to the murderer... and I will be unable to avenge your death, Alexis..." He mutters to himself shamefully, and reaches his hands up to take off his shining steel helmet, revealing a head with long, braided platinum hair and a shaven face; eyes of sky blue and a pale skin colour resting atop a fairly average head. Not looking at the wood elf behind him, he drops the helmet to his side as it clanks and rolls against the floor.
"You have defeated me... and now, Atmos and my sister looks down on me frowningly, for I have failed to bring justice to the murderer today. You have bested me, and now, you may let me pay the price of death for my disrespect, and the disappointment of Atmos I have created." Vallus says in a voice no longer muffled under his helmet, and his braids of platinum hair were gently shaken by the light, crisp breeze that echoed through the forest. Perhaps, Vallus thought, this wasn't such a bad place to die.
 
Xenia managed to keep her desire to gasp for air suppressed and breathed quietly and deeply to try and soothe her angry lungs. Her first escape of the day seemed to have left some faint dishevelment in her chest that would constantly remind her she was lucky to have gotten away. After seeing that spectacle in the forest, she wondered if that would have been her had she raised that arrow a few feet higher.

"That's what I have experienced too." she responded, shaking her head at what could have possibly made that one lose it. While annoyed when with her, he didn't seem violent, just defensive. "Then again, I've made every attempt to avoid the ones of this region since the fire. Only the gods know how they must feel when seeing humans in their land."

While she didn't want to admit that the place she knew to be a comfort, a home in a way, was owned by someone else, she could sympathize with that anger.

"Whoever is back there is as good as dead." she said calmly, feeling little pity as she realized that they were probably the instigator. Lifting her chin, for the umpteenth time she checked the time. "Unless they can get away before nightfall."

The city wasn't much farther away, she could practically smell the line where crisp woodland air turned into smog, smoke and sweat.
 
"The fire," Shena murmured, "A mistake that will follow King Dalison to the grave. Even some of the loyalists within the city people hated him for it. Everyone realised it was too drastic after it had already been done. That's why he stopped, you know. The fire stopped him." She sighed. "I'm sorry, I must be boring you with politics. You hear a lot of it at the inner-city wine taverns and merchant lodgings."

The path was meandering out of the forest, now. She could see the first of the houses: wooden huts on the outskirts. As the landscape climbed, so did the quality of the homes within. There was cobblestone, even red brick, and in the wealthiest of districts, there was even limestone. The king's castle itself, while made of modest stone and clay, towered over it all with its sheer size.

"Is the forest really always that bad?" she asked. "I've been all over the western end, where the fire was the worst, and the wood meets the lake, and I've been working by way eastwards since. Is this violence regional? Ah, and you still haven't given me your name."
 
Olina watched in amazement as her spell worked in the wood elf. She watched as the human dropped to the ground in defeat, taking off his helmet and apologizing to his sister and God. Olina slowly climbed down the tree's trunk and hid behind it, hoping she wouldn't be seen. Her white strand of hair was still loose on her face, so she moved it behind her ear from habit. Taking in a deep breath, Olina watched, anxious to see what the wood elf would do to the human. As she waited, Olina drew the hood of her cloak further over her white hair, hoping it wouldn't shine in the sunlight. Once again, she kept her diamond daggers at the ready.
 
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Thaniel looked down upon the human as he took off his helmet and apologized to his god and his sister. As he was told to kill him, he grabbed a fistful of the human's hair and cut off the braids with his dagger, tossing the hair to the ground. Then, he grabbed the helmet out of his hands, and kicked it as far as he could into the brush. Now that the perceived danger was gone, the plant life was no longer moving, and was instead just as stoic as ever.

"You are no knight anymore," Thaniel hissed, cutting into his palm. As the blood welled up, he smeared it across the emblem on his breastplate, covering the clouds and the sun. "You are nothing. And you will go back to your human king and tell him that no human is welcome in this forest anymore. Next time I won't just take your hair and your helm."

He straightened before pointing in the direction of the road. "Go." Then, he closed his eyes for a brief moment, feeling the beings within his forest. Two were just above him. "Come out," he said to them, folding his arms across his chest.
 
Xenia couldn't help but listen with interest, despite her scurrying around the town and even outside of it she never got word of the aftermaths of the fires. She remembered hiding in the highest mountains with the rest of those that escaped the flames of that days. Similar to the others, she didn't come down for a few years, until much of the fiasco was over. It pleased her to know that the King was chastised by his own people for what he'd done; despite knowing that the assassination attempt on the crown prince was foolish, she couldn't help but wish the despicable one had made the King his target and slit his throat instead.

"No, no. It's fine." she answered, concealing her attentiveness as she scoped out the first few layers of homes. She never attempted to make it too far into town in fear of royal guards looking to abuse their power. Xenia almost ignored Shena again, out of that insufferable habit of hers, but willed herself to not be rude and cause an argument in public.

"When the flames consumed the westward side of the forest, the people who lived on the land fled east and north." she began, taking a good look as they began to enter the city. "The eastern side was too thick to make it through, people chose to burn alive or make attempts for the city again. But with an army of soldiers that didn't care about casualties, well not many people who made it out of the forest alive stayed alive. Many of the criminals that used the forest as a resting grounds ran for higher ground. Most of them are still there and searching for the son of a bitch who caused all of this to happen. They think he's still among them. But people have been coming down for years, rare visits or moves but it happens."

Why she was explaining all of this she didn't know, but figured that the girl could do no harm. Xenia continued to avoid the name ordeal, hoping that if she kept cramming the girl with information she'd forget all about it.

"If you wandered around the forest or low mountains, you are either an unsuspecting local with money on you or you are someone with something to hide. And if you have something to hide, well I guess you are automatically shady enough to be the bastard, aren't you?"

She scoffed beneath her breath, remember the very few times she was accused of such a thing and forced to knock men unconscious to escape safely.
 
Shena smiled. It was rare for someone to talk about the woods as more of just a place for an afternoon walk. Even though the shadow of history still lingered over the city - the country, even - the only people she knew that still cared were the troupe of "knights" that tenaciously lead parties into the wood to look for their old invisible enemy. Passionate speakers, but a little aggressive for her taste. Perhaps she'd respect them more if they had solid method of identifying the guy, instead of just waving their swords wildly in the woods.

"It's rare I hear that side of the story," Shena said, "so thanks for that. I'm also glad the guy is hated on both sides. You're always hearing from - they started calling themselves the Knights of Justice, I think - that all the old criminals of the wood are covering for him, or is still affiliated with him in some way. I also can't help wonder, since you know all this, how dangerous it is to be riding behind you right now."

There were a few people on the roads now, bustling about their business. A town guard tipped his helmet as she passed. She recognised him vaguely as someone she'd seen visiting her mother's workplace a few times, and nodded back with a smile.
 
The fight was over and the little cat was pissed. She felt pity for the man in armor. Sighing she hopped out of the tree and headed straight infront of the armored man.

Her Glowing blue cat like eyes stared into his sky blue eyes as she lifts her paw to touch his armored chest. There she made a magic circle healing him and fixing his armor as the little cat speaks. "You know.... it wont be fun to slip a little enchanced abilities on them, especially when this man right here is at a total disadvantage." Looking at the back while healing she stared into the woman's eyes with her bored ones. Looking back at the man infront she knew she heard the word murderer

." Hmm.. you mean that fat man with a bloody dagger on his hands? It seems that i have encountered him... lets say i played with him a little bit." The cat smiled inwardly as she continues to heal the man's armor.
 
Vallus remains on his knees, and winces as his braids of hair were cut off. Expected the death he deserved, he was horrified to watch as his palm was sliced open, and then the blood was smeared over the symbol of Atmos. Shaking a little to regain control of himself and not let his angered and upset emotions get ahead of him, Vallus gets to his feet and looks at the wood elf, opens his mouth to say something, but closes it again. And with sigh, he began to walk off, bending over to pick up his sword and carrying over his shoulder as he walked off. He turns around and says a simple astounded sentence before he goes.
"I serve no king."

He then watches as a cat creeps from the underbrushes, and with a touch of her paw he watched his armour bend and mold back into shape. He listens to what the girl has to say, and a tear slowly rolls down his face as he bites his lip.
"T-then he's slain? Praise be..." He says in relief, then hangs his head as his half-ruined hair swings limply.
"But nonetheless, I've failed my duty as a paladin of Atmos... I've been dishonoured. I'm little more than a c-common peasant now, child... you do me grace to waste your magic on the worthless like me." He mutters, staring at the floor. He knew he shouldn't have held back whilst he was in the sky... and he sworn the sword slash would have been enough to defeat the man. But his reactions were uncanny, and left Vallus powerless whilst the sky was not above him. Without Atmos' aid, he could still fight, but only one eighth as well.
 
"..... Gah please only because someone spilled an enchantment on him dosent mean your worthless. " The cat jumped back as she shifted into a small sorceress with her bell hat bouncing as she stood infront arms crossed. "Besides you my friend would be also a great shiled with that armor of yours. You can fight with power and show that brilliance of Atmos if you were not here in this kind of place. " The girl sighed as she looked at the man in armor as she puts a hand to his head


"Dont worry say no to those words you were just in a disadvantage~" The little sorceress beamed as she quickly then turns to the wood elf. "Sorry, but you could have atleast pass a few people for today, after all the only true owner of this forest is the one who created it afterall.." She looks at him with bored eyes as she then loolks back at the armored man remembering the man in chains she looks at him

"Actually hes still alive..."she said to him as she snaps her fingers teleporting to two of them to the murderer held in black glowing chains as he struggles. "I get your helmet do whatever you want." The girl explained as she drifted off to retrive his helmet. Ofcourse she dosent want him to die nor be a dissapointment to all after all she want to do something with him after she gets back~
 
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Xenia couldn't help the smile on her lips at the girl finally questioning associating with a complete stranger running madly from an angry forest. To her, it was still absurd that Shena didn't turn her mule around and made it run as quickly as possible from her the second that weapons had been cast aside for civil, or as civil as the young women could pretend, conversation. She wondered if all the people surrounding her were like this girl, completely unknowing of the ill will that overlooked their happy little lives. While she couldn't pretend to be happy with the safety and comfort she saw the scum bag politicians and royalty indulging themselves in, she was accustomed to the life of hiding, stealing and brawling.

"I assure you, we," she began, pausing on the word 'we' to clearly associate herself with those living up north. "would rips his heart out in an instant. Above being cold hearted, we are vengeful."

She peered over her shoulder, an amused yet surprisingly nonthreatening smirk pulling at the corner of her lips.

"Do I look like a hardened defier of the law to you?"

Her eyes fell upon the guard, who she politely nodded her head at even though she knew many of the guards saw her constantly leaving of town alone. It was not ladylike, not proper for a young woman to behave in such a manner. And yet as if they knew she was a lost cause, no one tried to stop her. As they continue into the town, she began to feel that claustrophobia again; the one she associated with bars filled with brawny brainless drunks and the need to escape. She had half a mind about what tavern to visit tonight, with an inn on the second floor that would suit her just fine.

"How far into town do you live?" Xenia had full intentions of at least reaching the middle district to pick pocket some possibly wealthy men before returning to find her quarters in the lower districts.
 
Olina heard the wood elf call her from hiding, biting her lip a little. With a slight hop, she jumped from the tall tree branch and landed gracefully on her feet. She drew back her black hood and let her pure white hair fall around her face, brightening her pearl colored skin. Olina was a little cautious of the wood elf, but was glad he wasn't killed. She smiled at herself, glad that her homemade spell had worked, despite the skills she lacked. Seeing as it was not as dangerous as before, Olina lowered her daggers to her sides, the sun glinting off of them. She squinted at the cat, not sure if she was able to be trusted or not. The cat looked like one that would cause mischief for her own enjoyment. Turning her attention back to the wood elf and human, she stood and watched in silence, not wanting to bring attention to herself too soon. Not when they could easily slit her throat.
 
Shena smiled and thought for a moment. "One wonders who the man was acting for," she said, "It wasn't as if there had been any political tension in the continent." She let the thought trail off. It was a topic that was both too vast and too hollow to attempt pondering.

"Nobody ever looks like a hardened criminal in this city. It's a matter of good acting and good disguise," she replied, then smiled. "And a certain namelessness, I'd imagine."

At the mention of home, she turned her head towards the castle. If it were the evening, its great shadow would have been cast over them like a soft blanket. "I live in that part of town just south of the castle," she said, "with the haughtiest of noblemen and the most pompous of merchants. No, I don't bathe with molten gold - I'm sure that's what you were thinking. Nobody ever knows about the discreet little homes tucked around the shadows of the grand mansions and stately halls. In any case, I have to return Ned first, and you seem to be headed in the direction. What about you?" she asked, "Is your home around here, or is that also a secret?"

She was cautiously prodding at the woman now, who was speaking pleasantly and politely despite the gaps Shena had noticed in her identity. Amidst the bustle of bodies and the watchful eye of the city guard, she felt protected enough to do so.
 
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In an old alley behind a bakery, the slight breeze moved dust and dirt along the grey, cold stones. The path wasn't paved, being too far away from the main roads to even be thought about. The buildings were small, run down and dull in colour. Indeed, this was one of the worst places to live as it was full of homeless thieves, dangerous creepy crawlies such as snakes and spiders and bumbling drunks starting fights on every street corner. But this alley way was quiet, falling still as the wind ceased its murmur. The only sound that could be heard was the heartbeat of one man. A money shark whose job was to collect debts from poor families or even street rats. His breath was quick as sweat shimmered on his bald head. His chocolate eyes searched the alley nervously, knowing that someone, or something, was watching him.

"W-Who is there?" he called out, fear evident in his shaking voice. "Show yourself!"

Nothing moved. Not even the wind had answered his call. The man jumped, a rat scurrying across the stones in front of him, only to disappear into a hole in the wall of the bakery. He shivered, turning away and continuing down the alley as the cloud covered the moving sun overhead. A shadow moved behind him, the clouds covering it's movements . Their existence was not heard, the only thing giving them away was the feeling of their presence. The man suddenly turned around, looking around frantically and obviously shaking. "I-I-I know y-y-y-ou're t-t-there!" he called out, fumbling with his words. "G-g-g-o away now! B-b-before I-I get t-the guards!"

Still, nothing moved. The man sighed, turning away. The moment he did so, there was a flash of light as a strand of sun hit the blade of a very, very old knife. The knife flew silently, embedding itself in the back of its target. Baltemont fell to the ground with a thud, not a single around escaping from his lips as the life drained out onto the blade. The shadow detached itself from the darkness surrounding it, stepping out into the middle of the alley, its footsteps now heard. The assailant bent down, easily pulling out the knife and cleaning the blade on the shark's jacket. Standing up straight again, the shadow let out its black hair, letting it tumble down her shoulders. She pushed the blade into her pocket and started towards the road, leaving the body behind.

Stepping out into the light, the girl stared up into the sky, her brown eyes shimmering in the sun. Smiling to herself, she glanced around the street, making sure no one was watching before changing. The girl was able to undergo metamorphosis, the ability to change any part of her body. As she walked, her long black hair shortened to sit at shoulder height, changing colour to a reddish colour. The black skin lightened to tan and the brown eyes changed to green. Alda Atalyah Maja was a well known assassin, one that had never been caught thanks to her ability. When she wasn't killing for money, she was bumping into random people, pick pocketing for their money. The girl made sure never to hit the same person twice and never to stay in the one place for more than three days.

She had two rules; agility and silence. Agility so that no one would know what had hit them and silence, no one would hear her voice. It was Alda's belief that for someone to talk, it meant that they trusted the other person enough for them to hear their voice. A person could learn a lot about the other from the way they talked, too. They could learn their voice, earning the ability to pick it out in a crowd, they may pick up where that person was from due to an accent someone may have. And they could learn how smart one really was. Alda rarely talked, but when she did, she always made sure that she never gave any hints as to how intelligent she was. She often pretended to she couldn't read, as it was rare amongst those who lived in such a place, though she could read in many different languages. Her knowledge on science was vast and if she wanted to, she may have been able to become a scientist. But of course, once a thief/assassin always a thief/assassin.

Alda sighed, shaking her head at the thought. She started towards the butcher shop, feeling a bit hungry after such a boring job. She would head back to The Thistle Hotel later that day to collect her pay. Maybe even have a drink whilst she was there.



((I have messaged the owner of this RP and they have given me the okay to join, thank you.))
 
Searching for the helmet in the woods she saw a pice of armor behind the rock. Approaching it she saw the helmet shining from the light and it cauth her by intrest. Picking it up she puts it on top of her head wearing it..

"Wooaaa so dark~" she said as her voice echoed inside the helmet. Running back to the place they teleported she stood beside the man wearing his helmet as she makes a magic circle around the murderer releasing him but his hands and feet were binded with iron.
 
Vallus remains standing weak, breathing a little as the girl attempts to do what he thought was reassure him, but he knew that he'd dissapointed Atmos - deeply. The running blood down his hand slowly pooled on the floor, shining crimson on where the wood elf had smeared the blood. Suddenly, Vallus felt somewhat empty, and unsure what to do as he weakly gripped the sword. Although she was trying to make him feel a little better, the girl who had suddenly turned into a small woman clearly didn't know his code of honor, so he remains silent as he continues to slowly walk. However, at the sound of her capturing the murderer, he stops in his tracks, with the clanking of armour as he slowly turns to see the very man that murdered his sister. Eyes widening with a furious combination of realization and rage, he strikes the man across the face with a blooded hand near as soon as he appears, leaving a red, bloody handprint across his face.
"Filthy scum! I'll have you purified by Atmos herself!" He yells, but he realized his sword didn't glow blue as it should of done as he raised it. In surprise, he looked down to his chestplate in panic, and wipes the blood off where the emblem should be. The emblem wasn't there.

Atmos had left him.

He falls onto his knees as the cold impact of realization hit him. He knew he'd have displeased his God, but not in a way that would banish him against his occupation. A purifier, and one who dealt justice in the name of her. But his anger and his foolishness in his time here in the forest had clearly shown the true side of him. Perhaps, he thought, he was no longer worthy in Atmos' name. He was barely aware of the struggling murderer at his side, fat in the dark bindings as he winces and growls as he tries to escape - but all to no prevail.

He should have been leaving as the wood elf commanded him by now, but he was still in sight of him as was astounded on his knees. He slowly turns back, seeing a new wood elf with silvered hair - which was surely an accomplice of the elf who dishonoured him. Vallus looks at her, a combination of confusement, anger, and the continued amazement to realise he'd been banished by his Goddess.

It wasn't long before the girl returned wearing his helmet, but by the time she had finished making the magic circle, the helmet turns to a fine grey dust that crumbles around the girl's head and falls to the floor, the once beautiful shining helmet now a pile of ash-like granules. Vallus' armour stops shining with brilliance from the white steel plating, as does his beautiful sword, and his armour slowly transforms into normal, standard and slightly rusted grey steel as his sword become slightly blunt and lost its beautiful shine. Overall, Vallus now looked like a common warrior you'd see on the road, with blood smeared on his front and his hair now of a short, forcefully cut style that was now a plain brown instead of platinum. He slowly looks to the murderer at the floor, who was struggling in his iron binds, and Vallus felt horribly weak as he falls slowly to his back, emitting an exhausted cough.
"C-curse... you... murdering... scum..." He whispers to the murderer as he lays next to him, managing to spit in the murderer's face before Vallus closes his eyes from exhaustion, his consciousness fading.
"A-A-Atmos..." He mutters in disbelief, then becomes powerless as he closes his eyes, thinking in his mind that he was going to die for his failure, although he had actually been knocked out cold from the sheer removal of power from his veins.
 
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((Welcome to the RP, and welcome to Iwaku, Demmy! We'll get your character involved in the plot ASAP. I can get easily get Shena into that hotel later; it fits flawlessly with her daily schedule.^_^

Also does anyone else think we need an OOC thread for this sort of plotting notes thing?))
 
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